End of the Journey

    What happens when the jiva finally comes to the end of its journey?

    Katha and the Koushitaki Upanishads give an elaborate account of this, as also, the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch. VIII). Normally, the Jiva sheds off its mortal shell but retains what all it has acquired since the beginning. Thus, the soul is blemished, corrupted, heavy with the stains of unfulfilled desires and struggles hard to rise above the earth. However, it may, with all its yogic practices and siddhi, climb higher and higher to reach even up to Brahmn. There are several Vedic and Upanishadic teachings in this regard.  The journey continues until and unless it seeks total redemption, emancipation by inquiry into the Self. But when is that total liberation, mukti, forthcoming? How does it come? Will it ever come at all? Or, does it come with Knowledge, jnyan- Atmajnyan, realization of the Self?

  King Janaka exclaims, “Where is Knowledge? And, where is Ignorance? Where am I? What is known as Me, mine? Where is bondage? What is mukti, liberation (to one who is already free)? For the one who knows him to be the Self, there is no form to define. Nothing indeed, says, King Janaka, the realized one, the one who has transcended all delusions of the mind. There is nothing that the scripture can say, or knowledge of the Self has to say to a realized one (videha mukta). There is no job to be accomplished for there is no desire and nothing to hold on to. For the one whose mind is absolved of every duality, nothing needs be done and nothing binds him; there is nothing to experience; the mind is already rooted in the Self and hence free of all or any specifications. There is neither here, nor there for him and he knows where he is! And, he is fully conscious of his self; he is consciously conscious of his self. This total awareness is Brahmn.Ashtavakra makes these points clear in his own inimitable style in his Ashtavakra Gita. 

     The jiva that arrived on the Earth via the Sun rays is supposed to be on its eternal journey called nArayana or ‘nArA ayAna’. The terms nAra (canal/flow) and ayana (home) mean the flow of consciousness. It is the all-pervasive consciousness that takes to embodiment as an elemental Jivatman on the earth with the help of earthen material (H+C+O and other mineral compounds of soil). Once it dons the form it acquires the earthly qualities and starts its journey as a child to ripe old age it experiences the qualities of the earth and suffers. This suffering is due to ignorance as to its true nature. Since the jiva has descended from higher consciousness (super-conscious) to lower individualized consciousness, descended from mahat to kinchit, rather, it moved, acquiring in the process blemishes (mala) such as desires, attachment (moha), ego, anger, ego, etc.

    In the beginning the Mind and the Consciousness are pure and pristine, one and the same, in the beginning. As the pure mind moved away from the heart to the brain, it acquired all the qualities, antahkarana, and became muddled. This is the predicament of the jiva that prompts it to take repeated births and deaths. This journey of the jiva on the earth from birth to birth via death acquiring different forms is the karma. The embodied Jiva discards the body just like the worn out clothes only to take the new one. However, the embodied soul seeks redemption, liberation, mukti, moksha and, this calls for a solution. It seeks some guidance like a Guru and some means like yoga. The Bhagavad-Gita shows the way [See the Verse [See the Verse 8 Ch.5: antakaale. ].

    Consciousness is all-pervasive and a powerful one. It has its outward as well as inward, upward or downward, internal and external flows. Perception, sensation, retrieving from memory, or recollection, discernment, discretion, ideas, images, and imaginations are of the nature of world-oriented consciousness based on facts. There is the ‘self-oriented consciousness’, not so apparent although continuous and does not cease even in sleep. In fact, we are conscious and alive even in deep sleep but it is concealed by ignorance, avidya. Consciousness acts as a passive background, a witnessing self. Consciousness does not cease to exist although the jiva is in a state of shock or deep sleep. The ego feeling in the jiva, its attitudes, actions, and subjectivity in behaviour, anguish, frustrations, pleasures, pains, likes and dislikes, happiness or misery, joy, etc are all the effect of the Consciousness working as a groundwork or background of the self and its conscious awareness. But for conscious awareness, the jiva has no sense of its self or the world.

   Consciousness is found in a static or dynamic, vibrant or calm, in an agitated, flux, forward and backward movements, moving up and down, expanding and contracting, and in various layers of thicknesses. It is found in a distinct collective or individualized form or even, in an objective or subjective form? So far nobody has clearly defined what this consciousness and its true nature is. It works as backdrop and and sometimes vibrates giving an illusion of some structure and form. It reveals and conceals nature and its true forms leaving a mystery behind all this creation. There is none so far who has ever seen anything in the absence of this backdrop called consciousness. It is this Consciousness that makes one aware of his/her/its existence!

    It has been reiterated here that everything exists in the light of ‘chit’, consciousness. Nothing exists in this universe without the Consciousness. Consciousness in its potential static state is Brahmn. It is dynamic silence, a great potent force, at its best! Consciousness in its outward moving dynamic aspect is the world. Thus it acts as a decisive factor both within and without of an individual. In its inward movement it takes the jiva to unfathomable depths revealing several layers of the inner world. In its outward movement, it takes the jiva to farther and farther worlds- beyond the visible, objective, and illusory world! It works between the boundaries of idea within (mind) on the one hand and facts (outer world). The jiva working between the idea and facts with its limited tools of senses, buddhi, and mind fails to grasp what is larger and farther and thus suffers. When the jiva takes to yoga and tantric it gains entry into the mysterious world of reality!

   However, the living beings (jiva rashi) that inhabit the earth have forgotten the route in which they arrived here. Obviously, the return journey is difficult. Even those who have taken the path to salvation, or reach the place where they came from have not left any clue for others to follow. It is said, about 2000 persons disappeared on their way to Bhairaveshvara temple, near Vaishno devi (from Katra in Jammu-Kashmir). Hence, we do not know for certain what happens when we take a journey to Kaivalya. Even some of our forefathers who went to Badrinath or Kedarnath never returned. Suvh is the story of salvation and it is no wonder nobody wants to try this risky business of return journey. If some jivas think, 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' and do not risk the try for the unknown, there are some who think 'the forbidden fruit is sweeter' and want to give it a try.. It seems some such daring ones have successfully crossed the sansar, bhavasagara and attained immortality, as revealed from the scriptures. 

   Those who are fed up with the routine life on this earth and want to seek new adventures and end this eternal journey on this earth may try this. It is definitely worth trying! But it is foolish to think that there is no other world than this earth! The humans can, as well, live and enjoy without the physical body; even now the physical body is an adjunct and only the mind is playing a major role in the life of the jiva. The devi devata do not have physical body and still accept our offerings as naivedyam and bless us!