Journey of the Jiva

   What all that appears, what all one sees here, is not the whole Truth. Everything has a subtler source and is sublime. In fact, the ‘Truth’ does not lie here in the outside since it is concealed within as ‘para’ and can be visualized as ‘pashyanti’; it concerns one’s inner Self. All that one sees, hears, and experiences sensually is subject to change and hence unreal.   

    This journey of the jiva (‘yana’) on the planet earth is either horizontal or vertical. A person going round and round the world never reaches the end for the obvious reason that it is in a circle he is moving with no end in sight. On the othe hand, a person who takes to direct flight, albeit in a different form, beyond the solar sphere takes necessary training in yoga, transcendental meditation, and flies off at the speed of Light or even more! This takes him to the ultimate goal. Normally, we find people travelling long-distance take to fast express trains, often get down for a cup of tea in a tea stall on a wayside station, miss the train, and get lost.  So also, is the fate of the jiva that gets into distractions such as marriage, family, and business. A wise man is unconcerned with the goings-on in the world (sthita prajnya) and continues his journey unperturbed. He is a jnyani whose mind and senses are under his control. He will have no disillusionment, disappointments, and unhappiness at the end. He, who is a sthitaprajnya, is a steady person- unperturbed by the happenings. He is a realized soul. The Bhagavad-Gita gives us a clear idea as to this.

   In yogavashishtha, Sage Vashishtha tells Shree Ramachandra that, “The phenomenal world is full of disjointed objects and anything made of parts are bound to give way anytime”. When all the parts of a machine give way there will be nothing left of the machine. So also, phenomenal objective world including the human body work as a machine. In course of time these get worn out. All the parts of the body are subject to wear and tear, fail sometime or the other. Those who foolishly stick to their temporal body are bound to suffer at the end. Even if the life-force (prana) wants to leave the body the incumbent’s desires and attachment do not allow it and this leads to misery. But, the wise give up desires and attachment to physical body, abhinivesha, and live happily forever unmindful of the behaviour of the body. The wisdom lies in ‘let go’, drop, all attachments, desires, wants, desires and live happily resting in peace with one’s own inner Self.

   Anything that gives happiness, joy, for a short time is temporal. Any external object that brings temporal happiness to the senses, mind and the bloated ego will come with a package of disappointments, disillusionment, unhappiness, and misery. Nothing is permanent in this phenomenal world. This awareness brings freedom.

   Everything is just an experience and nothing else. The embodied soul experiences the qualities of Nature. This experience is of no avail to a soul hankering for liberation. It is only the realization of the impermanence of the objective world and renunciation that help the soul. This knowledge (jnyan), wisdom (viveka) and renunciation (vairagya) will not come easily to a sensuous jiva that hankers after enjoyment day in and day out wandering in the external world. It should come as a carryover of the sadhana in the previous lives, or as a result of good deeds (purva punya), divine grace (anugraha), or firm determination (dhruti) to extricate oneself from the mire at any cost. It is an inward journey.

     Contrary to the general belief, this spiritual advancement needs no academic qualification, nor does it require any external assistance like an ashram and a guru. The real guru is within and an earnest desire to look within is what all that is required. “Atman knows all”, is the fundamental principle. The term ‘Guru’ (gu and ru mean the light that wards off darkness) applies to Atman, too. Any book, a stone, or tree, or just Silence for that matter, will help in this!

   Just “keep quiet”; be established in the Self (sva-stha); don’t do anything- ‘no thinking’, a thought-less state of mind, not even a blink of the eyelids is the rule. However, there is a difference between just keeping quiet not knowing what to do and keeping quiet after realizing the futility of this worldly mundane existence. A jnyani sits quiet after self-realization. Many great thinkers advocate social service, helping the poor, engaged in some useful selfless action. There is a cliché here. As long as one is engaged in external objective world it strengthens his bondage and becomes difficult to extricate oneself. It is this simple truth that prompts many a jnyani to take to secluded place and take to askesis tapasya. The ultimate goal is to seek liberation of the repeated embodiment of the soul in its earthly existence as soon as one realizes the true nature of the jiva. There is not much time to spare. 

    Thus, the most important thing to remember in spiritual development is to sit quite, be in deep silence. There are several steps here. One has to descend slowly to the depth of inner self. Always remember the fact that there is no second person involved here. It is just one’s own business. It is just closing the door to outside world and taking to meditation, take to deep breathing, or just observe the rhythm of breath, and try to look inward. This will help. Some people retire to forests, hills and mountains seeking peace, ignorant of the fact that it is their own turbid mind, the stubborn idiotic wandering mind, that follows wherever they go. Some wise men stay wherever they are and just keep quiet. They live and work selflessly, with love and sacrifice, and utilize all the available time to their meditation, to just keep quiet.

    The wise ones switch of the mind and save energy just like we put off light when not needed. Yogins sit quiet, contemplate on silence, quietude, brahmn. Some sadhakas sit gazing at sky, or an empty wall! They know anything else will distract mind and run imagination wild. God also helps such wise seekers who surrender to ‘His Will’. They know the trick revealed by Shree Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita. It is the Mind- filled with desires, dreams and aspirations, miserable ones- the vikshipta manah, the troubled ones angry, agitated mind- udvighna, prakshubdha manas, mano vikalpa that is the mischief-monger. Hence, manolaya or manonasha by Hathayoga is suggested as the solution. But, this is very difficult since man is governed by the mind and lives by it. Man is called manasa sanchari, living- talking, walking, and working by mind and moods. How can one survive by killing one-self?

   Therefore, unless desires are cancelled by wisdom, knowledge of the self, realization of futility of looking for fulfilment of the impossible, the ignorant cannot still their mind. There are many people in the world who think they have attained worldly success and are happy. They have scrolls of certificates, prize money and shields, trophies to satisfy their ego. Their bloated ego pays lip sympathy to its Master and has no humility to surrender to the supreme, the divine Mother. Hence, all these are meaningless attributes, wasteful acquisitions. These are not helpful in the ‘Realization of the Self’, ‘liberation of the embodied soul’, the real bliss that gains from absolute freedom. Anything that pleases the mind and the senses, boosts up ego, and brings material prosperity will not bring the ultimate supreme bliss, unbounded happiness, peace and immortality (amaratva), meaning, freedom from fear of death. Art forms such as music, dance, drawing and painting, sculpturing, writing poems and novels, or even rituals and study of scriptures, discourses, and social service in the name of god will not help in the realization of the Self, ‘Atma sakshatkara’, since all these are external to it (the Self).