Purification of the Soul

     The very term 'Purification of the Soul' is contradictory since the 'Soul' (Atman) is already pure and there is no need for its purification! However, this term has come into usage in spiritual practice as result of the understanding that the soul has acquired blemishes since it took the form of a body and form. The Soul being a spiritual entity, known for its pristine purity like a crystal it is believed to be reflecting or refracting whatever color that comes in contact with it! It is for this reason, the saying 'purification of the soul' came into usage. It only means removing what all has given it a name and form ar attribute it with certain powers and functions. The Soul, or Atman is by virtue of its manifestation as brahmn is eternal and unblemished. It has no quality, shape or function. It is the pure consciousness by itself and it is totally bereft of any attributes. Since the Atman or the soul is the basis of all that exists there exists no base for it! It is upadhi rahita. 

   Now, the question of cleansing the soul means removing what all covers or shades that cover the light, reducing its brightness. What all that covers the soul as a living being is the gross body of flesh and bones and blood. The five enveloped of the Atman are the annam or food, prana or the life-force, manas (Mind), jnyan (material knowledge), and the anand or joy and happiness that are often followed by misery and unhappiness. Hence these five envelopes should be removed! And, the the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas are creating a mess in the life of the jiva and once these are removed, there appears the glow of dvine light, the jiva jyoti, a light that needs no wick, oil or can!         The jiva is entangled in its self-created web in such a way, like a silkworm weaving its cocoon, it seems extremely difficult, if not impossible, to come out of it. The jiva has spread its wings of desire so deep and wide that it cannot withdraw! The eyes ears, tongue and all that have developed hundreds of out-going instincts in search of recreation, entertainment and refreshments that the desire and wants never end! Now, a magical event, a turning point, a mysterious power only should bring them (these senses) back. The Guru is the answer.
    Thus, the return journey of the jiva is one of discarding what all it has acquired to equip itself to play a drama in life, like an actor dressing up for a show. Once the drama is over, the jiva leaves the stage discarding what all it covered itself. In fact, all jivas put on a mask and play different roles in the drama of life, and lo, many forget their true nature and get lost in wilderness.
   We have to remember that there is a script writer, a director and a producer behind all these shows! He is none else than Bhagavan Shree Krishna, as He Himself proclaims in the Gita. Here He advises Arjuna and through him to all of us how to get out of this magical Urdhvamula Ashvatha Tree where all jivas including their Creator, Protector and the Destroyer live !   

'Cleanse' or Purify?

    These words- 'cleanse' or purify are the words of advice given by the knowledgeable, learned, people about mukti, moksha, emancipation, or liberation. The Patanjali ashtanga yoga sutras stress the importance of yama and niyama in which 'shoucha', cleansing is given a very important preliminary requisite. 'Shoucha' is cleansing and it is of  two types- inner and outer. Outer body cleansing is done by bathing in rivers. The process of inner cleansing is very intricate and extremely slow difficult process. Many a times, the spiritual seekers fail to pass this test! Inner cleansing is stated as - purification of thoughts, ideas, and images that occur in mind (manah shuddhi). Purifification of mind is cleansing the mind of all desires, aspirations, memories, and stilling the mind by manonasha, laya yoga. Inner cleansing by sadachara, correct thinking and practice, performance of pure deeds are all included here. Purification of soul, Atma parishuddhata, is something that can never be understood by us, ordinary people! There is no clarity regarding the nature of the jiva and the need for cleansing it in order to get emancipation, liberation, mukti, or moksha. 

    Ordinarily, the jiva is a form of a living being, and here it is a human, and it is understood as such. But, the term jiva includes all sorts of living beings that are found on this planet earth, not necessarily, the humans! Thus, this cleansing, purification, is addressed to all living beings and particularly so, the humans. Every jiva, living being, whether plants, birds, animals or men need cleansing in order to be liberated. Many cleansed beings are there amidst us and the examples of plants and animals are many and include all those which we worship during different festivals.

    Thus, the central idea is one of cleansing. But cleansing of what? It is clearly stated that the jiva has acquired blemishes, impurities, due to its desires and actions and has to be cleansed in order to attain to or revert to its pure state. The pure state is one of unadulterated, pristine state. This question of accumulation or acquisition of impurities, blemishes needs to be clarified.

(to be contd.)

    .

'Out-Going' Nature of the Senses

   'Life' is all about the function of Mind and the Senses. In fact, the Mind is also considered as the Sixth among the Senses- five jnyanendriya, together with the five karmendriyas it is the Eleventh. Thus, the jiva functions in the outer world using the Mind and the Senses. Here the Intellect (buddhi) and the Ego (ahankar) also play their role and put the jiva in a fix, an eternal bondage. The 'Ego' is an important factor that runs the jiva's affairs by dictating 'what to do' and 'what not to do'. It is to satisfy the ego that the jiva runs on errands as dictated by the Mind and use the Senses as its instruments. By themselves, the Senses are of no use! It is the ego that sits on the throne of the Mind and runs the jiva all around serving its purpose and the Buddhi is not in a position to influence its action unless the Mind seeks its service. So, the jiva works senseless,mindlessly in the absence of buddhi; actually, buddhi (Intellect) gets its light from the prajnya (Consciousness). Prajnya gives the flashlight and the buddhi should catch it! But if the buddhi is engaged with the mindless actions of the senses, it loses its focus on the Light.  All these cumbersome affairs of the jiva are of no avail to jiva's liberation from its eternal embodiments! So, the way out of this wranglings is suggested by the Lord in the Gita (2.67). The Lord says,

                    tasmaadyasya mahaabaaho nigruhitaani sarvashah |

                    indriyaanindriyaarthebhyahstasya prajnya pratishthitaa|| 

. Meaning, "Therefore, valiant Arjunaa, mahaabaaho, his wisdom becomes established whose organs in all their varieties are withdrawn from their objects."

   The nature of the phenomenal objective world has already been discussed. The objects do attract the senses, however, the senses may not pay attention to them unless the mind tunes them to the obejects and directs them to experience and submit them to it. If the Mind is not interested in the objective world, there ends the matter! So Bhagavan Shree Krishna is advising us through Arjuna that we should still the mind and see that the senses are withdrawn so that the jiva can start the inward journey towards liberation, emancipation,mukti from repeatwed embodiments.

    Thus, it is very clear the jiva cannot go on enjoying the worldly sensuous objects as well as seek liberation at the same time. Either, it(the jiva) has to close the door for the out-going senses and with- draw them, or just forget about attaining absolute peace and enjoying a more permanent greater happiness as well as 'liberation'.

Sensation and Consciousness

   The world is phenomenal and objective, transient and, as such, subject to change from moment to moment. The objects perceived by the jiva are just the images presented to the perceiver and the perceived become one the moment the jiva becomes consciously aware of what it perceived! This oneness is the unity of the objective world and the jiva and there exists a sense of fulfillment here. However, the jiva hankers after these objects and the senses run after them directed by the fickle mind due to ignorance, avidya. It does not know what it perceived is nothing but what it desired and its ichha and sankalpa, and conscious awareness of these only brought it(the desired object) to its awareness as sensation. Thus sensation is dependent on conscious awareness!

   The objects do exert an influence due their inherent qualities and attract the jiva towards it. But, this is not in any way the real nature of either the objects or the jiva that aspires and desires for them. The real nature of the jiva is different from the real nature of the objects. While the objects are subject to change, the jiva is not so! The true nature of the jiva at its core as the Self, the Atman, is eternal, changeless, and self-satisfied and needs nothing from outside for its joy or happiness. Thus the objective world is on the one hand, is the self and on the other is not desired by the Atman! This is what every jiva has to understand in order to escape the attractions of the changing worldly objects and be happy and joyful. All yogins are thus totally, indifferent, if not averse, to worldly objects. Real happiness lies here.

     Tht fundamental principle is that "Consciousness, when aware of the objective world creates a phenomenal objective world and, when it is conscious of itself, it is totally independent, as 'Shiva' in His totally silent meditative mode.This is the ultimate attainment of the jiva. The fundamental principle here, again, is "Shiva only becomes jiva and the jagat" So, jagat is the outward expression and Shiva is the inward expression of the jiva! Now, the jiva is interested in the jagat as long as there is desire in it to experience the sensation, the sensual aspects of the worldly objects. However, this desire is insatiable and the jiva is unaware of it due to its ignorance, avidya, nescience. The moment the jiva becomes aware of the insatiability, futility of running after worldly objects, name, fame, wealth and social status, etc it gives up its efforts and turns inward, toward Shiva.  

Why the Jiva gets into Trouble?

   The world is full of trouble and turmoils and the jiva that runs after worldly pleasures get into trouble and turmoils. Most of the time the jiva is not aware of the nature of the world as a result of which it suffers!It is also true that some jivas get into trpuble knowing full well the true nature of this transient world! This running after worldly attainments knowing fully well that they are transitory, not fulfilling and seducing to eternal bondage is attributed to avidya, knowledge covered by desire and attachment. There a number of great teachers, learned persons, Acharyas who have explained the true nature of this world.

   The world is made of components (bhuti) that are varying and subject to eternal changes as long as they exist. Air moves, fire burns, water flows and even the earth shakes, vibrates, sometimes terribly! All the objects that are found in this ever-changing world are also transient, ever-changing. Nothing is permanent here. The jiva that eagerly runs after these ever-changing objects is by itself transitory and it does not take cognizance of it and this is avidya! Sage Vashishtha taught this jnyaanayoga to Sri Ramachandra and it is surprising that Ram ran after the Golden Deer! If this is the fate of Sri Ram, what can an ordinary jiva do when avidya covers its intelligence?

   The factors that decide the path of journey of jive on this earth is already shown in the road map! The road map is Sri -Chakra. Every jiva should know this and follow the advice of his teacher who can guide him/her through life. In the absence of a good reliable teacher, the jiva goes astray. Only a tru guru can lead the jiva through the troubles and turmoils of this turbulent world. We see unrest, war-torn lands like Mosul in Iraq and the exodus of refugees! Is there any answer? Are we living in a civilized world where people are afraid of touching arms and ammunition for fear of God? Will there be ever a peaceful coexistence of people in countries of Asia and Europe?Why not?

    All the problems of the world are dur to desire and fear, desire to acquire more power and fear of losing what one has!

"SENSATION"

    The  human forms are the finest of all creation! Of all the species of life and their forms the human form is better equipped to experience the nature. There are five senses and the Mind that give an upper hand to humans over the animals, birds and plants. There is no doubt that the animals, birds and plant life-forms do experience and exhibit their intelligence. But the humans are equipped with the power of giving a verbal expression to their understandings and experience.  However, the humans are yet to develop the potential vested in them to experience the highest! 

   Sensation is an activity that depends on many factors. The basis of all experience is consciousness followed by intelligence (buddhi) and ego; ego (aham) is said to be the experiencer, the purusha who experiences. What one experiences is also something reaffirmed or retrieved from memory! Hence, aham (the I) already knows it. For those who think that they are experiencing anything for the first time, it must be said that they have forgotten their previous birth's experiences. Since the "Atma knows all" is the fundamental principle everything we experience is what we have already experienced and retrieved from memory! Moreover, who experiences what?

   What all one experiences is the materials of the objective world. There is nothing beyond the Mind! Everything comes within the purview of the mind and, mind is nothing but consciousness! One can experience whatever is presented to the senses and the mind by the buddhi and the prajnya. None xan experience anything whatever, even if it is physically present in front of the eye unless the mind fixes (focus) attention on it prompted or prodded by desire (iccha). Desire the prime mover. Buddhi is the agent of 'aham', the I, who wants to experience. In a way the entire life is thus, one of mere experiences that is nothing but memory, in a sense! Everything becomes a thing of the past and hence a memory since time is fleeting! There is nothing like present since it(the present, tense, is the product of a future, presented to us for a moment, and pushed out, thrust behind into a trash can of memeries. Thus we revel as if we are enjoying not knowing that it is just a momentary experience, neither true nor false!

    The five sense that help the jiva to experience its desired objects or even the unsavory ones, are controlled by a number of intricate factors. Every dense organ like the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and the skin are supported by their respective deities like the fire, air, space, water and earth! These deities are  explained diagrammatically in Sri-Chakra as the akarshini, vashini, nityas and the like. Unless there is a powerful force behind our desirre that prompts us to look for some experience, the jiva will not bother about anything! It is kaal (Time), vidhi (fate) Luck (adrushtha) ot destiny that prompts desire and the jiva runs after it (the desired object). Hence the jiva does not know initially what it wants and goes after something that the extraneous factors decide for it. The jiva is thus governed by a number of extraneous unseen and unknown factors. This is termed as fate or karma or the fruits of previous actions- prarabhdha, or sanchita karma! .    

"yuj" , meaning the union of Body, Soul and Mind.

  All the human misery are traced to one single factor- the absence of knowledge of the true nature of the Self. This is called 'avidya' meaning, knowledge covered by attachment (moha) and ego (mada) and anger (krodha). This avidya or mithya-jnyan, knowledge influenced by qualities makes this world illusory, mithya, in this sense of the word.
 Normally, one is prone to think that the humans are just a body, mind and soul. The nervous system plays a very significant role in the life of a person. The nerves and neurons serve the purposes of transport and communication. The body is maintained by the efficient working of the nervous system and the body suffers if the system fails. One central nerve, the kurma nadi, divides into hundreds and hundred of branches and together 72 000 of them serve the body. The body is paralyzed if the nervous system fails. The ancient scriptures have given instructions regarding the techniques of maintaining an efficient system by following yoga, The very term 'yoga' means a well-coordinated working system of body, mind, nervous system, and tuning it to the soul, Atman. This purpose is achieved by taking recourse to yogasana and pranayama; however, these are merely steps to the ultimate goal of attaining to the absolute state of nirvikalpa samadhi. In this state of absolute unity of the entire system of body, mind and soul and the nervous system the jiva can maintain perfect health. The purpose of good health or svasthya is to establish oneself in one's self. The self (sva) established (stha) person is a yogi. The yogi established in his Self (Atman) is consciously aware of his Self. This is also the state of 'Shiva'. 'Shiva' is consciously aware of his pure and undisturbed state! One who is consciously aware of the spontaneous nature of breathing is also said to be in a deep state of meditation!   

   The soul is the core of the substance, the body. But once it enters the material substance, body as an earthen pot, it becomes a silent witness and will not participate in the affairs of the function of the body. It is this soul power (Atma-shakti) that creates and runs the body, and, as such, it should be made to actively get associated with the body and mind through the nerves and neurons though asana and pranayama.  But, this asana and pranayama are merely tools to work out, a means and not the end or goal of yoga. the goal of yoga is not only to maintain a healthy body and a very calm and pleasant disposition of mind, but also to tune it to the Soul (Atma). This fine tuning of body, mind and soul is possible by dhyana (meditation). Most of the teachers teach only asana and pranayama as an exercise, a means to good health and will not bother about the other steps such as svadhyaya, satsang, nidhidhyasana, japa, yajnya, dana and tapa  leading to samadhi. Samadhi is of two levels- savikalpa and nirvikalpa. The ultimate purpose of human life is to get merged in absolute silence, a state of total peace, mahattanta shanta. This state is said to be the ultimate, the absolute and the highest state of 'existence', as well as, 'non-existence', a state of "is and is not", or "I am that", So'ham asmi..  .

... and now, the modern scientific version.

   The scriptural version of creation has been given and now, the modern scientific version is quite interesting. All that we find here are materials that have a beginning in their primordial state as a p-particle called Xi-cc++ quarks that go to make the protons and neutrons, the fermions and the bossons the electrons and the like. All these are, in fact, invisible waves of Light! The Sun is a mass of Hydrogen and the activity such as fission and fusion creating Helium and the consequent radiation as electromagetic waves govern all that is formed out of the solar flares as the planets and their satellites, including the life-forms on earth. Thus, the Sun and its quanta of radiant energy waves have producd all that we see here. This activity of the Sun runs for another 7.44 billion years, at the most 8 billion years! Thus Energy that is present in space is the main basis of all thet we find here as organic or inorganic matter. This is the basic knowledge.
  Every living organism is just a combination and composition of a few important elements- Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Calcium and the like. The human body is almost 70 per cent water and the rest is flesh and bones with a network of nerves and neurons carrying air, blood, subtler waves and vibrations. These are similar to the pancha mahabhuta (bhutadi) mentioned in scriptures- space, air, fire, water and soil (earth).The core of the substance is Energy particle (E), the battery- almost a stellar battery cell charged by solar radiation. It is the soul, Atma, the cores of the substance!

   Sage Kanada is the author of the Naiyaya and Vaisheshika darshana shastra where the atomic structure part-less atom, trasareNu, aNu, dvyANu of the soul, Atman is discussed. The Sankhyans and the Vedantins, however, have not agreed to these proposals since they find something more powerful that create these atoms- trasarenu, dvanu and tryanus.The soul is said to be of the size of a barley or mustard; it is also stated to be a thumb-sized light that needs no oil, vick and pot! There are many interesting aspects of the jiva acquiring a body, Shiva becoming a jiva or paramatman as jivatman presenting a myriads of life forms on earth!
   The Sun, being the mainstay of all planets and a significant energy source supports all living beings with the supply of Light and Heat. The life-supporting energy is the actinic rays. Our soul is constantly generating, if not recharged, enough energy to run the body. However, the source of this Energy is not only the Sun rays, but the radiant energy from the distant stars as well. Our birth chart shows the star under which we are born, in the sense, the stellar particle of that particular star entered the earth via the sun rays and got embedded in soil and moisture to create life forms, may it be a blade of grass or an earth worm! The DNA analysis has shown that humans have 60 per cent earth worm as its DNA. By the way, these nucleic acids (as in Ribo or Di-ribo) are the basic ingredients of the cells. The components of a cell are: the amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, genes, chromosomes, hormones enclosed in a protein gelly-cover. The single sperm that successfully made its entry into the egg in the womb rapidly divided and multiplied to construct tissues, organs, and body according to the message received from the genes. The most surprising fact of life is the Intelligence and knowledge, technology and the blue-print of the jiva, and the road map of the journey already hidden in the cell! All these are already there as an in-built mechanism. The sperm hold the key. The off-spring takes the form of its parent material; however, this is limited only to the form, not to the other essentials of life such as growth and development of manas, buddhi, ahankara and prajnya. These are not common to all. Even among the humans, not all are developed in this sense of the term. The highest level of development in human life is yet to come!

   Thus, we have the body, mind, Intelligence, ego and consciousness at different levels or stages of development. Thus different jivas are at different stations in life. Many are sill their infant or immature stage of mental development with very little intelligence. Ego is common to all and gets reduces with the maturity and spiritual development of the jiva. Now, what makes life in the ordinary sense is just feeding the body with proteins and carbohydrates to maintain the functions from birth to death. This is not the purpose of life as the jiva is designed to attain something else! That has to be discovered by the jiva itself by its own persistent thinking since the human being is a thinking animal. Ultimately, the jiva should attain the state of pure consciousness!

    The higher and higher states of existence are that of existence, even without a physical body, and the jiva exercising the powers of Nature, prakruti, in its full potential shakti. In fact, even otherwise, the physical body plays only a limited role of movement, but the mind, intelligence and the ego runs the whole life. This is what makes a person a specialist in one or two faculties. But the jiva as a human being (manava jiva) can attain to the highest levels of devata, rishi, maharishi, devarishi, rajarishi, or a brahmarishi, and ultimately rest in brahmn. All the different stages of development of man are explained in Srividya, Sri-chakra, the yoga shastra, Garbhopanishad, Koushitaki, katha and kena, mundaka, and other Upanishads.
 An attained person is one who even as a human being living and working can be at a level of this brahmn, the highest. This highest state is the param padam where the jiva is 'happy for no reason' and  needs no external support!

The 'Trinity'

   'Purusha', 'mahat/ (prakruti) and 'kaala' are the three (trinity) from which the universe finds its expression. Be it a star or galaxy, or may it be the sun and its family of planets and satellites, or the land and water supporting all living beings, all are manifests forms of one supreme power that manifests as the 'trinity'." Like water or clay, this prakruti is the material cause (nimitta karana) and purusha is the unchanging category that contributes to the causal operation (upadana karana) merely by its contiguity." (Ahir. Sam.)  

   "With the evolution of the 'mahat' the manus descend into it. From the mahat and in the mahat there spring the senses by which the objects are perceived as existent or non-existent." (ibid,)

   "Again from and in the mahat there springs the ahankara (ego) through the influence of the spiritual energy of God." (ibid VII 15). The ahankara is also called by the names of abhimana, prajapati, abhimantaa and boddha. The ahankara is of three kinds- vaikarika ((predominant sattva), taijasa (predominance of rajas), and bhutadi (gross elements, predominance of tamas). The ahankara manifests itself as will, anger, greed, mind (manas) and desire (Trisha)." (ibid,)

   "From ahankara then there is produced the organ of thinking (chintanatmaka indriyam) of the 'manus' called the  'manas' It is at this stage the manus become first the thinking entities (manavas) "

   "From the tamas side of the ahankara as bhutadis there is produced the Shabda (sound) tanmatra) from which the akasha (space/sky) is produced." Thus Mind and sound is the source of space! "Akasha is associated with the quality of shabda (sound) and gives room for all things." In fact, Light and sound travel through space to manifest in different forms all entities!

   "Akasha is thus regarded as unoccupied space, which is supposed to be associated with the quality of sound. With the emergence of the akasha manus (and manas) descend into it"
   The manus are Saavarni, Dharma-saavarni, Daksha-saavarni and Saavarna. These manus come along with the seven Rishis like Bhrugu and  others. 

  Similarly, from vaikarika ahankara emerges organs of hearing and speech. The manus at this stage associate with these. From bhutadi emerge the vayu (air) and the touch potential (sparsha tanmatra) and the manus descend into it."Light-heat potential is produced by the bhutadi and by the spiritual essence of God emerge all the sense organs to experience the tanmatras. Speech and hearing is thus associated with the vayu and fire tanmatra. 
  "When all the category of the ten senses are developed,there are produced the function of imagination, energy of will or samrambha, the five pranas such as apana, udana, vyana, samana and the prana, from manas, buddhi, and ahankara, and through their development are produced all the elements that may cooperate together to form the concrete personality." (Ahir. Sam., VII 42-43)
  Dissolution also takes place in the reverse order! 
   This is how the jivas take shape and the humans are working from birth to death depending on Nature, prakruti. [See Surendranath Dasgupta's A History of Indian Philosophy, pp. 45-50] 
[Note: Persons interested in editing these blogs in the form of a book may do so and inform me at divinegracefoundation@gmail.com).

Intellect (Buddhi) and Mind (Manas)

  "'Prakruti' (Nature), the first manifestation of Purusha as His svabhava, guna, is at the root of the manifest forms of Intellect and Mind. In fact, everything is in a subtle state in Space, Akasha. Akasha accommodates and holds all. Buddhi evolves from one of the three gunas- the Tamas or gross aspect.and forms the ego (ahankara). The five subtler aspects of the sense orgas, viz, touch, sound, sight, taste and smell that produce the five gross elements- earth, water, fire, air and space manifest here. These five sense objects are the tanmatra. These are thus the subtle aspects of the gross objects. These are also the root cause of creation of the organs like the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin- the jnyanendriyas, as well as, the five karmendriys- hands, legs, etc. The manas (Mind) is born out of this tamas along with ahankar.(ego)." (Ahir. Sam.,)

  Thus we have an account of creation as given in the Ahirbudhnya Samhita of the Pancharatra Agama Shastra. Otto F. Schraeder has given a very detailed Introduction to Pancharatra along with the Chapterization of Ahirbudhnya Samhita.  A brief account of these are also found in the History of Indian Philosophy by Prof. Surendranath Dasgupta, pub. MLBD.

   The modern scientific version of evolution as explained by Erasmus and Charles Darwins and the pundits of Neo-Darwinism are there to see. However, these are still under review and reconstruction. There is question of simultaneous origin of all the paraphernalia of the objective world and some argue that the evolution is a gradational sequential one. The Bhagavad-Gita and other scriptures emphatically state all that exist always exist as projection and withdrawal- a magical performance by the supreme Lord. Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, "As a power of His Nature, svabhava or prakruti, guna He projects the world and He withdraws it as Kaal."

  Hence it may be said, all that we see always exist and it is just a transitional event bound by Time, Kaal. In fact, we all, as humans, appear and disappear in a matter of hundred years just as our grand parents and parents! This world was there before I took birth and will be there even after my mortal remains are consigned to fire after what is called my 'death'. But my own replica as a son and daughter is there to carry on my genes, chromosomes and hormones, DNA and RNA! What is so strange if we say that my father only became my self! What entered my mother's womb as a sperm is the seed and what came out is my self in another form. Thus, the reality is that both my father and myself are one only. I only become two due to my desire to have a wife and become three, four, many due to expansion as a family. Hence all are one only, the product of desire and that desire is Brahman! This is what is difficult to understand by common man.

   At what stage this prana, prajnya, manas, buddhi, ahankara, and all such subtler aspects enter and cover the baby during its formative stage in the mother's womb is still a mystery. It is beyond the scope of medical science!

Evolution of Mankind

    The creation of the universe- almost from the beginning of the appearance of a mass of stellar dusty cloud in the form of a man (purusha) with a head, trunk and stretched legs as depicted in the images obtained from the latest Telescopic camera to the birth of stars and galaxies down to the Star belching out flames that formed into planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Rahu and Ketu  (Pluto excluded due to its behavior), as well as, the Moon, a satellite of the Earth. The living beings so far found only on earth may also exist elsewhere and we may not know it! This logically speaking, the Sun is Hiranyagarbha, Golden Womb, that gave birth to Planets and the Mother Earth gives birth to living beings. Then Sun is the Mother of the Earth and other Planets. As the Divine Mother, the Sun supports life on earth and the Earth as our Divine Mother feeds and clothes us and provides shelter too. Then Who is the Divine Father? Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, "I am the Purusha who puts seeds in the womb and create all jivas". (Gita). Narayana is the Father. Whatever the mythological statements, the modern scientific versions do not differ in any way from that.

    The Sun is chief source of light, heat and energy on earth and all living beings including vegetal kingdom depend on sunlight.This Light has seven colors and and the fringe of the VIBGYOR band is under serious study by scientists. This Light has been the source of not only the light, but also it is the source of all energy, sound, gravitational force and electricity and magnetism. Time begins with radiation and we have atomic clocks which record accurate time across the globe. Thus we have the preliminary requirements for life are satisfied. But, this will not explain the aspects of manas, buddhi and ahankar of the jivas. These are explained in the spiritual texts like the Ahirbudhnya Samhita in detail and we quote a few paragraphs from that..

   "Aniruddha, by the fervor of yoga, evolved the original element of Time in its twofold form as 'kaala' and 'niyati'.He also evolved the original energy as guna into three -sattva, rajas, and tamas, in succession." There are also diverse views expressed in this regard.. Some say, from sattva evolve rajas and tamas and some say from tamas evolved rajas and tamas. Some say, it is the disequilibrium of these three gunas that cause creation and equilibrium of these will be the end of the creation. Actually, all the three exist in different proportions in the living beings. Man is sattvic in the early morning and becomes rajasic in the day time and becomes sattvic in the evning and becomes tamasic at night.  Also there can be a highly rajasic or tamasic, or sattvic persons for most part of the day and night.Thus, these gunas or qualities exhibited by man depends on the food andwater he /she consumes, too. There is no certainty as to who is totally sattvic or tamasic or rajasic and none of these ever count when the jiva seeks moksha. The jiva seeking moksha should transcend the three gunas.  "Nistraigunyobhavaarjuna; tasmad yogirbhavaarjuna, says Shree Krishna."  

Manifest Forms of Vasudeva

  Everything is Vasudeva. sarvam vasudevam iti | Vasudeva is brahmanda nayaka, the Supreme Lord of the Universe, He is the manifest form of Sri Hari Narayana. Maha Vishnu is his manifestation as the all-pervading supreme Consciousness. The manifest forms of Vishnu as Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are the powers of Maha Lakshmi. Everything is thus manifest forms of One single invisible power (shakti) only. Each of these powers, Shakti, are again manifesting as different powers or shakti. There is nothing besides this Shakti,  power, called Lakshmi. Thus, Lakshmi, the power of Vishnu runs this Universe as the Mother where as the Father is Narayana. Lakshmi Narayana principle has to be clearly understood in order to know this world. Here, again, the names of Shiva Parvati may be substituted for Lakshmi Narayana and it does not make much difference.It isjust a nomenclature and the  powers vested in them are the same.   

 Light stands for Jnyan (knowledge); and, Life (Prana) or vital force. Both these govern the universe and its living beings. In fact Light also contains energy and life-force (pranic energy). The term Light (L I G H T) stands for Life, Intellect, Gravitational force (G -of attraction), Sound Measured in Hertz (H - in sone , decible, 1000 hertz perceived loudness or 40 db or 1 sone is the frequency unit of sound. phon a unit of subjective loudness) and Time (T)-  are the essential ingredients of universe. Light is the principal means of understanding the universe for the physicists. Thus, the Light emitted by the Sun as electromagnetic waves run the affairs of the earth! The names of these elements in samskruta bhasha are the names of devi devata! Hence, there is not much of difference between the modern scientific version and the ancient Vedic version of the Universe. Only language is different.

  

Process of Creation

"Aniruddha was directed by Pradyumna not only to develop the unconscious power, Shakti, but also the Purusha which exist as it were inside that power, which shows itself as 'niyati', destiny, and 'kaala', time. From the unconscious power as destiny and time evolves first the sattva guna and from sattva guna and from it the rajoguna and from the rajas the tamas. This is how qualities (guna) appear from their deities, the manifest forms of power from Vasudeva and Sankarshana. Vishvaksena samhita says, Aniruddha created Brahma and in turn he created all the men and women." (Ahir. Sam.,)

The Inner Controller- "Antaryamin"

   "There is some extraordinary invisible power (adrushtha shakti) that control all our thoughts and actions. Ahirbudhnya Samhita gives a detailed account of the manifestation of these shakti, powers of God, or manifestations, as vyuha, vyuhantara, vibhava, archavatara, antaryamin, etc. "In the form of antaryamin, or the inner controller the Lord resides in us, and it is through His impulsion that we, as jiva, living beings commit actions, good or bad and thereby enjoy or suffer, respectively. Thus, in any escape from the inner controller. In another form of His, He stays within our heart as the object of our meditation."

gunas and kaala

Contemplate on the following:

  "In the foetus-like condition of the manus in the energy (shakti) of God there exist the entities of guna (prakruti- sat, rajas and tamas) and kaala (Time). Through the operation of supreme energy or will of God (vishnu sankalpachodita) there springs up from time-energy (kaala-shakti) the subtle destiny (niyati) which represents the universal ordering elemental (sarva niyamaka). kaala (Time) and Guna (quality) exist in the womb of the shakti. " (Ahir. sam.)

 [Note: Time is also Energy. The 'Wheel of Time' is "Sudarshana Chakra", personification of Lakshmi, the power (Shakti) of Vishnu. None can ever know what is hidden in the womb or wheel of time, kala-garbha.  The entire universe comes under the control of time, niyati, kaala miti, limitation of time. 'Kaal' is also ya ma or maya. Time is illusion and there exists nothing like time once we leave the earth and fly at the speed of time (186000 m.p.s). Time on earth is the result of the relative movement of the earth (revolution in relation to moon and the sun and rotation of the earth on ts axis). all these are not visible to us since we already in it. Moreover, what all we have as 'time' is the ingenuity of dividing what is indivisible and that which has no beginning or end! Hence everything is an illusion here!] 

Think It Over

What is Self? The Self is a self-manifesting Intelligent Entity:
   "All things require for their manifestation another category that does not belong to their class, but since also there is nothing on which the self can depend for its consciousness, it has to be admitted that the self is a self-manifesting intelligent entity ". (Yamunacharya's doctrine of Soul).

Who identifies objects as this and that?

  "The states of consciousness have thus to be regarded as being the states of the self, which by its connection with the different objects manifests them as this or that consciousness. Knowledge of this or that subject is thus but different states of consciousness, which itself is again a characteristic of the self, the soul." (ibid,)

Think It Over

   The following selected quotations from various sources are put up here for a careful study and deeper thinking by every spiritual seeker. This is the practical way to spiritual development. It is said that chintana (deep thinking), manthana (repeatedly thinking about the subject and finding the deeper meaning), and nidhidhyasana (focused attention and contemplation on the subject) and study of scriptures are the preliminary steps. the scriptural part is supplied here. These are also subjects of deeper study and meditation.

Think it over

   "With the evolution of the 'mahat' the 'manus' descended into it. From the mahat and in the mahat there spring the senses by which the objects are perceived as existent (sada) and non-existent (asada)". (Ahirbudhnya Samhita VII. 9) 

   "Like water or clay, the prakruti is the evolutionary or material cause, the purusha is the unchangeable category that contributes  to the causal operation merely by its contiguity. The category of time is the internal dynamic pervading the prakruti and the purusha. The trinity of prakruti, purusha and kaala is the basis for the development of all the succeeding categories." (Ahir. Sam.,) .

[Note: Each one of the above statements are for contemplation and they constitute the basic principles, moola tattva, that leads one to Atmajnyan,  the 'knowledge of the Self' and finally realization(of the Self) and liberation. Some of these concepts have already been described in the previous blogs].  

yogasu karma koushalam |

    Happiness and joy comes from doing action in an intelligent way as per the advice of Lord Sri Krishna. All actions bring forth certain results and fruits of action in their wake. This cause and effect are inborn traits of prakruti, maya ('ma' and 'ya' (that which can be measured). Time and distance are also involved in this intricate relationship between cause and effect. This link, inevitably causing end result, is prompted by 'desire' that become seed for next birth has to be cut asunder in such a way that the action will not bring bondage. Every jiva is endowed with intelligence and this should be used to eliminate the consequences of actions. This can be done by abnegation of the self, offering the fruits of action to the Lord, or working for common good selflessly (loka sangrahartha) .

   There is another angle or perspective to this. One can be happy and joyful without doing anything. This seems absurd in the beginning since everybody works to get something, attain something that give joy and happiness.This desire and action (iccha and sankalpa) runs the jivas on errands from pillar to post. This running after things desired by the mind and the senses, prompted and goaded by the ego stops the moment the jiva remembers the doctrine of maya. The world is a stage on which every jiva plays a role and acts with a mask! The role of a jiva may end but the play never ends! The jiva has to get behind the screen once its role is over. This is the rule. But many jivas do not understand this and get into trouble to continue even after its role is over! This is the reason why the jiva suffers. 

    The stages of life are well marked as childhood, adolescence, youth. maturity, and senile or old age. These are also marked by brahmacharya, gruhastha, vanaprastha and sanyasa ashrama states. A person should understand this and gradually drop one by one this states as he/she grows older and older and should be mature enough to take to sanyasa at the end. Little does the jiva know these when it takes birth as a human and runs the mill. Most of the jivas never mature enough to drop these earlier states and move on to higher and higher ones. Thus we see even old people behaving like kids! The Gita clearly state that one should take to study of scriptures and develop higher knowledge (paraavidya) paramarthika jnyana and attain to moksha (liberation of the embodied soul) through wisdom (viveka) and renunciation (vairagya).

   The secret of attaining joy and happiness without depending on the external world is the central theme of the Gita. It is difficult to understand the secrets revealed by Bhagavan Shree Krishna in this regard. He, the Lord, no doubt says that He is revealing the secret of all the secrets (guhyatama guhyam) how to be permanently happy and joyful without any external support (upadhi). We are drawn by the attractions of the world due to the senses, mind, buddhi and the ego on the one hand and due to attractiveness and the power of attraction of worldly objects. Each and every sense organ has Devi or deity called Akarshinis, that controls both the attractiveness and the drawing power of objects as well as the outgoing power of the senses. Once we appeal to these Devata through mantra japa and gain their grace we will be able to overcome the worldly attractions. Each Devata has a mantra and the most powerful mantra is the Tarika- Om aim hreem |

   There are also different mantra for different Devata such as the Days and nights.Each Day and each night of the Lunar days and nights has a specific name of the Devata and Her mantra. By chanting these regularly, the spiritual seeker can overcome the powers of attraction of the material world and conquer 'kaal' (Time) and  days and nights disappear for such siddhi purusha (attained persons)! 

   When Bhagavan Shree Krishna says "sarvaramabha parityagi" meaning, one who does not work or even desire is dear to Me He means a yogi who is totally averse to worldly ambitions and desire to possession or enjoyment is dear to Me. He means vairagya and advises Arjuna to take to yoga to attain to samadhi and thereby merge in Him (in nirvikalpa samadhi). It is the attained persons who can keep quiet and enjoy all the joy happiness as explained in the Vedic verse on dva suparna (Two golden-feathers falcons)  No amount of struggling in this world will ever bring ultimate happiness since what all one attains is subject to time, space and causation here. This will make the jiva realize the futility of worldly attainments and makes him/her turn towards the Lord.

Cognizance

   'Taking cognizance' means giving attention to a subject that may otherwise go unnoticed. Thus, we have to take cognizance of a certain subject that would otherwise go unnoticed. How many things go unnoticed every day is something very important and we never know that! The Mind can do one thing at a time. It can think or act and cannot do both at the same time. Many thinkers never act; so also many activists never even think what for they are fighting, arguing or working. This is the problem. Now coming to this task of  'taking cognizance of' requires a lot of attention, conscious one, at that.it is the Consciousness that is the datum line here. Cognizance is the product of 'chit-shakti. Chit or Consciousness is brahmn. prajnyanan brahmn |

   Now, who is cognizing of what? The Atman or the soul is the cognizer and cognizance is the function of the One who resides within us , ie, brahmn, paramatman. The jiva is only re-cognizing what it has already experienced during the several previous births. In this way, it is recognition, pratyabhijnyam that the jiva does in its long journey of life. When the jiva recognizes its true nature the search ends. The jiva stops all its search the moment it realizes who it is! This is pratyabhinjya hridayam eulogized in Kashmir Shaivism.  

  The most significant aspect of this pratyabhijnyam or recognizing or rediscovering (that is lost or untraceable?) is that the knowledge is there but it is covered by some envelope. Generally, one loses sight of one thing when attention is diverted  or something more pressing draws his attention. It is also our greed, avarice, desires and attachment that make lose sight of the truth. This is how jiva gets into trouble. Whoever hears the inner voice, advice of the heart and not the fickle mind and perverted buddhi, will get over the troubles and turmoils of sansara, bhava sagara. A yogi or jnyani is unperturbed by the distractions of the senses, mind, buddhi and ahankar and concentrates on the soul, Atman and there by attains the highest, param padam.

Cognition

The phenomenal objective world is said to be illusory, in the sense it is transient, ever changing, impermanent and maay disappear anytime! What we see we believe. But, we do not know wwhether what we see is there is real or not. It is like the 'Golden Deer' behind which even the learned Sri Ramachandra ran and got into trouble. Apart from things like the silver in the conch-shell or the rope appearing like a snake in dark, there are real life disappointments, too. What we so eagerly sought after turns out to be very disappointing.  The world appears yellow to jaundiced eye. It is the defect of the eye, a disease due to bile emission that causes things to appear yellow and the things are actually not that! The error is correct with improvement with the health. The eye can see what lies ahead provided there is the focused attention and mind is the instrument behind this cognition; along with the mind there is intelligence (buddhi), ego (ahankar) that determine what tone sees. There are a number of factors besides the person's eyes, mind, buddhi and ahankar and capacity to understand what one sees. There is a stage in everybody's life that decides what one sess and understands! At young age as a child, the capacity starts from almost nil to some what limited; this may not improve through out life in some people's case.Some go on improving their ability and reach as high as possible and even get recognition for this ability. So nothing is certain about who sees, what he understands and whether it is the whole truth. 

    Howverm, tehre is something else that we are speaking about here. It is about the subtler aspects that detrmine what appears! Even the sciene has come to the conclusion that what we see as solid is not solid since it is made of insignificant invisible parts! The spiritual texts describe the evolution of the universe the same way as science does; physicists dealing particles, waves, sounds and biologists speaking about cells and chemists speaking about enzymes and amino acids and DNA all come to the same fundamental truth. There is some indefinable secret power behind this creation. There is some catalyst that turns H2 and O into water. There is an unending chemical activity entering in and coming out that decides the diverse objective universe. Behind all these lies only one supreme power, shakti. In fact, our body is nothing but a bundle of cells, chemical bonds, and a vibrant energy principle.

   Hence, we can never know what is ahead of us! We blindly run after fulfilling our desire and feel disappointed when we attain them. Leave the house locked for a month and see that everything has deteriorated; however clean you have left them, dust has covered. The Law of Entropy works. There are a number of factors working behind our thoughts, ideas, images and imagination, and by the time what we see and experience everything has come to naught! This is the cause of illusion. Nothing is real for certain here.Expectations bring disappointment. However, our happiness does not dependonany extraneous things, persons or issues, but the Self.The Atman, the Self, is always happy and contented since it needs nothing! Rather it supports all that weare seeing and experiencing!

Appearances are Deceptive?

  The contentious issue in philosophical teachings is the deceptive world appearing as real and people feeling disappointed even after achieving what they desired. But,this is not so in spiritual experience since the spiritual seekers get the clear idea about the 'true nature' of the phenomenal transient world and feels happy discarding it. There is no question of disappointment to any spiritually attained person.There are volumes and volumes of literature on this contentious issue. Ever since the doctrine of 'neti, neti' ('not this, nit this') was presented by Sri Shankaracharya, there has been an unending discussion and many have criticized this view of 'The illusory world'. In fact, when one discards all that is an adjunct, a part, a support or upadhi what remains is the truth, 'brahmn'. Brahmn is the only sat existence and all else exist as the manifest forms of 'brahmn' only. sarvam khaluvidam brahma |. 

   What exactly is meant by "illusory world"? It is the transient, ever changing nature of the objective world that comes within the grip of time, space, and causality. It is.the phenomeanl objective world, including the jivarashi, that are subject to continuous change.All that is found on this earth  goes on changing from time to time and, finally gets dissipated. We know how uranium becomes lead and how a person grows old and dies! Almost all the people have died in a state of total disappointment despite occupying highest position in public offices. Nothing is certain here since everything is subject to change.This transient nature is called 'maya'. The syllables 'ma' and 'ya' also mean that which comes within measurement (of time and space). It also means that which is reduced to nothingness by time (ya and ma)! There is nothing certain about anything we see, touch, feel here! Thus, the Upanishadic doctrine of 'neti neti' is based on practical experience. 

   What the protagonists of  'a areal world' argue that there is nothing illusory about the world that appears to us and what we experience is real. There is absolutely no doubt about this since our understanding about the material world is definitely real. This is called idam sat. This is true now and here; however, this is not true for all times to come. A person feels disappointed when he finds that anything he so ardently desired and worked for turns out to be not that he wanted. Then what is that he desired? We do not realize the fact that there is a time gap between the time we desired and the time when we achieved or attained it. This time eats away all the joy of attainment!

   What is true, real, permanent or eternal is that which gives a joy for ever. This joy is true since it does not end with time! All the joy and happiness that we get without any external support, upadhi, is real and true happiness. This is the joy, happiness that sprouts from the heart for no reason.