Seven Steps to Kaivalya

     The path of journey of a jiva that got embedded in an elemental body is arduous; symbolically, it is like reaching Kedarnath or Badrinath from the plains of the R. Ganga. The inner urge of the soul is to get rid of the embedded state and attain liberation, attain its pristine pure state of Consciousness. This is Vaikuntha, Kaivalya, or Kailasa. Once the jiva reaches this height of pure consciousness it will remain undisturbed; this state of peace and bliss is what is mukti, moksha. This cane be attained by taking recourse to ashtanga yoga, kriya yoga, sudarshana yoga, japa, dhyana, satsang and svadhyaya, dharana and samadhi. The Bhagavad-Gita offers sankhya, bhakti, jnyana, dhyana and pranayama and finally if nothing works, one cn attain Shree Krishna by merely surrendering to Him! He offers total support and takes care of the jive when it surrenders unconditionally and remains with Him always chanting His name till the last breath..

   Symbolically, the seven steps to Kaivalya is like entering a temple. One has to cross seven doors to reach the sanctum sanctoram (garbha gruha). We all go to the annual festival (jatra) and wait in que for darshan. It is difficult to have darshan in the crowd and, may not get darshan at all!  

The seven doors to be crossed are: first,  the main entrance. This is the most impressive one, with tall, broad and and hefty doors. The entrance has one front door and an inner door. When one enters the front door there is a small vacant space where the drums and other musical instruments are kept. As one crosses this door a wide open space welcomes the devotees. A small stone mantap is found here where the utsav-murti is placed during processions or dance and music programs are held in this place. Then comes the main temple. Here again, the entrance has a door leading to inner precincts. Like this there are six more up to the inner deity. The most curious thing is that the outer wall of the temple is decorated with models of devi devatas, amorous couples, yakshas, kinnaras, gandharvas, sequences from Mahabharata or Ramayana or the Bhagavad-Gita and selected passages of scriptures. The sexy postures are an indication of the blemished mind and these instruct the devotees to drop all the mental obsessions and enter the temple with a pure mind.

  The seven doors, symbolically, represent our own (a) five senses whose activities cannot be silenced, (b) vibrant volatile mind (chanchala chitta) that has to be silenced, equipoise, (c) perverted Intelligence and vipareeta buddhi, (d) ahankara, (e) individualized consciousness (vyaktigata prajnya), and finally, (f) atma and (g) paramatma in the inner-most precincts.
   Incidentally, these seven doors are the seven doors we in the Gopuram of the temple. The gopuram is vertical and the seven doors of the temple are horizontal. Both ways, these are symbolic of the steps that we have to climb or journey we have to cover to reach kaivalya, the ultimate destination. These seven steps are also the seven chakras in our sushumna nadi and the seven levels of consciousness that we have transcend in order to reach 'unity consciousness' or the state of nirvana, kaivalya. A person who sits in asamprajnya samadhi reaches here!

  It is extremely difficult to cross, or transcend all these seven doors to reach the inner-most precincts and have darshan of the supreme Lord who resides within us. But, any determined jiva can work hard and reach here. This is the end of the journey of the jiva..      .