Festival of Lights- Deepavali

   Come 'Deepavali', also known as Diwali, the entire country rejoices celebrating the festival of Lights. The festival has significance in that "the evil is warded off, ignorance is cleared, and darkness ends"! This is the day of worship of machines, tools, and weapons that produce, protect, and help us to preserve ourselves. Naraka chaturdashi, Bali padyami are significant in that Vishnu and Lakshimi are worshiped. Vishnu came as, Vamana, a dwarf brahmin boy and asked three feet of land from the arrogant King Bali (of Indonesia?). His pride was annihilated when he gladly acceded to His request and offered him three feet. To his astonishment, one foot covered heavens, the other earth and the third one had no place but the head of King Bali. Thus, King Bali's pride ended!  In fact these three paduka, feet are there even today- one in Bali Is., one in Gaya and, the third one under the Kaba in Mecca, the ancient site of Vishnu pada!

   This has a good lesson for us, too. Our ignorance is cleared by knowledge,darkness is cleared by Light, and pride by sacrifice. 

Creator and His Creation

The Vedic hymns give us a clear idea about the creation and the power behind it.  

  “Some learned men speak of the inherent nature of things and some speak of time, as the cause of the universe. They all, indeed, are deluded. It is the greatness of the self-luminous Lord that causes the Wheel of Brahman to revolve. He by whom the whole universe is constantly pervaded is the Knower, the Author of time. He is sinless and omniscient, It is at His command that the work which is called earth, water, fire, air and akasa appears as the universe. All this should be reflected upon by the wise. The yogi who first performs actions and then turns away from them and who practices one, two, three, or eight disciplines, unites one principle with another principle and with the help of virtues cultivated by the self and of subtle tendencies attains Liberation in course of time. He who attains purity of heart by performing actions as an offering to the Lord and merges prakriti and all its effects in Brahman, realizes his true Self and thereby transcends phenomena. In the absence of maya, both collective and individual, all his past actions are destroyed. After the destruction of the prarabhda karma he attains final Liberation.” [Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa., Part I, Chapter VI, 1-4]

   “With all the pleasing skill we may; the birth of Gods we now proclaim in chanted hymns, that Men to come may know the truth of what   befell. The Lord of the Holy Word, like a smith, blasted and smelted them together. In erstwhile ages of the Gods from nonexistence existence came.” [Rk Veda X, 72, 1-2].

  “The Seer, our father, once offered all these worlds in oblation, assuming a priestly role, and sought to gain riches by the power of prayer; he himself entered later creations, while shrouding in mystery the first creative moment. “

What was the primal matter, what the substance? How could it be discerned, how was it made? From which the Designer of all things, beholding all, fashioned the Earth and shaped the glory of the Heavens?”

  “A myriad eyes are his, a myriad faces, a myriad arms and feet, turning each way! When he, sole God, creates the Earth and Heavens, he welds them together with whirring of arms and wings.”

What was the timber and what the tree from which the Heavens and also the Earth were chiseled forth? Ponder, O wise Men.     Question in your hearts. On what did he rely when he formed these worlds? 

    “The haunts where you dwell, O Designer ever true to your laws, on high, in the depths, and in every region between, disclose to your friends at the hour of oblation. Willingly offer your body in sacrifice, thus enhancing its vigour.” [Rk Veda X, 81, 1-5].

   “With all the pleasing skill we may; the birth of Gods we now proclaim in chanted hymns, that Men to come may know the truth of what befell. The Lord of the Holy Word, like a smith, blasted and smelted them together. In erstwhile ages of the Gods from nonexistence existence came.” [Rk Veda X, 72, 1-2].

"Sit and Wait for Death"?

    Nobel Laureate for Chemistry this year is a 95 year old person. When asked: "Are you still working?" he answered, "What should I do? Should I retire, sit and wait for death?"

   This raises a question 'what is it he is talking about'? He is aware of 'death' awaiting. He does not know when it comes. He thinks he has to sit and wait and there is nothing else to do. But this is not the case of a person of spiritual background, legacy, samskara. 

    The question remains- "Should one continue to work till death?" At 95, if a person wants to continue to work till death, there is no problem. It is his sheer will and wish. Much depends on his good health and mind and moods. But this raises a fundamental question "Whether a person is born here to work, earn name, fame, money and live a life of joy and happiness, or live like Sri Shankaracharya? A material scientist always thinks of 'Matter'. A spiritual thinker always thinks of the 'Spirit' behind that 'Matter'. Matter is gross and may be found in solid, liquid, plasma or the gaseous state. Even we, the humans as 'Matter' is a composition of air, fire, water, food (earth/soil) - the pancha bhuta. We are water (70%) and earth (28%)- mostly, carbon-hydrogen-oxygen and a small proportion of other elements, compounds and minerals. It is natural for a person of limited knowledge (thinking only of matter) to think only of materialistic worldly things and very rarely takes to spiritual studies and practices (yoga). For an enlightened matured person spiritual attainment of the natural state is more important than achieving worldly successes.

    The time required for spiritual attainment is too long,often taking the jivatman several lives to attain it! The worldly person forgets that the earth is a death knell and whoever and whatever appears here is limited by time, space and causality. Old age, sickness and death are certain. Hence the jiva should strive to attain to its natural state, the state before taking the earthly existence before it is too late. One should attain this true nature before becoming old and infirm. The mind of a Hindu is always working in this direction. India is 'yoga bhumi', not a 'bhoga bhumi'. It is sad people do not understand this secret.

Stages of Awareness (prajnya-stara)

    There are different layers of Consciousness although Consciousness is ONE only! The thick layers are at the top and the thinner and thinner lower. The highest is the 'Krishna prajnya' and the lowest is the 'Bhishma Prajnya'. Now we, the humans, are endowed with only a small and limited consciousness. We have to struggle hard toraise in our level taking recourse to yoga.

 The jiva runs through three stages such as jagrata, sapna, and sushupti. These are stages are separated by narrow intervals of short period that goes without notice. The person, purusha, awake through all these three stages is the Agni deva. He is vaishvanara during jagrata, taijasa during svapna and prajnya during sushupti. He is also present and mahat or vishva during the fourth stage called turiya. He is called daiva and brahmn in the higher stages beyond.

   When the self remains in the dream state, these are its achievements (results of past action): It then becomes a great king, as it were; or a noble brahmin, as it were; or attains, as it were, high or low states. Even as a great king, taking with him his retinue of citizens, moves about, according to his pleasure, within his own domain, so does the self, taking with it the organs, move about according to its pleasure, in the body..

    Next, when the self goes into deep sleep-when it does not know anything-it returns along the seventy-two thousand nerves called hita, which extend from the heart throughout the whole body and remains in the body. As a baby or an emperor or a noble brahmin lives, having reached the summit of happiness, so does the self rest.

     As the spider moves along the thread it produces, or as from a fire tiny sparks fly in all directions, even so from this Atman come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings. Its secret name (Upanishad) is the Truth of truth. The vital breaths are the truth and their truth is Atman. [Yajurveda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad II, I-Relative Aspects of Brahman, 18-20]

    These seven gods that prevent decay worship it (the calf): through these pink lines in the eye, Rudra attends on it; through the water in the eye, Parjanya attends on it; through the pupil of the eye, the sun attends on it; through the black of the eye,fire attends on it; through the white portion, Indra; through the lower eyelid, the earth; and through the upper eyelid, heaven attends on it. He who knows this-his food does not diminish. [Yajurveda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad II, II-Description of the Prana, 2]

     May whatever appeasements there are in the world, known by the Seven Sages, may they all be gracious to me! May peace be with me! May fearlessness be with me. [Atharva Veda XIX, 9, 13]

'Pravrutti' and 'Nivrutti'

   There are some verses in the Gita where Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, "Surrender to Me. I shall take care of you". It is also said that, "There is no need to do anything! I am the doer." But, these statements are not meant for all. These statements are age-specific! People of different ages like the children, adults, middle-aged and the family people are excluded from this. It is natural for these people to be engaged in some action and there is no escape! Aged people who are asked to retire from all activities need to take this advice of the Lord and keep quiet. But, even these aged people are not exempt from certain daily routine activities such as eating, sleeping, walking and maintaining the body. However, it is important to note that these routine activities also can be avoided like the Yogis who sit in transcendental meditation for long hours and days!

   'Pravrutti' is action, and 'nivrutti' is inaction. It is natural for people to be engaged in action when there is no other alternate, but work. However, people who are well provided for, having no problem of earning a livelihood are also seen unnecessarily engaged in action. Here lies the cliche. The Yogi who wants to attain the state of the absolute, brahmn, takes to sacrifice. Yogis sit in kumbhaka sacrificing the in-breath for the out-breath, and the out-breath to in-breath! The state of absolute quietness is advocated here! The question of eating and sleeping does not arise here, at all! This is the spiritual practice of a few yogis who take to advice of the Lord, "tasmad yogirbhavaarjunaa|

   All actions bring forth reaction and fruits of action in turn and leads to eternal bondage. there is no solution other than taking to yoga for the one who wants to break the shackles of chains of repeated births and deaths. Hence this rigorous spiritual practice is advised by the Lord.
   See pravruttim cha nivrutti... Ch. XVI verse 7; Ch. 18. Verse 30; sarvadharmaan parityjya... Ch. XVIII Verse 60, sarvarambha parityagi; sarvaasha parityjya, sarvabhava parityajya, etc. All these verses advice the devotee to renounce the worldly transient happiness and surrender to Him. he will take of His devotees!

Navaratri

The term 'nav' (nine) 'ratri' (Chit-shakti/ Knowledge/Forces) actually means nine (types) knowledge. These are akin to nine 'bhava-rasa' (emotions), nine musical tones (sounds/raga). The firs emanate of the maha purusha Narayana is the prakruti ; 5 jnyanendriya and manas, buddhi, chitta, and ahankara. Now the entire universe is the product of these nine aspects of prakruti/nature. The learned ones worshiped prakruti in these nine forms giving it the feminine forms in the nine Devis. In fact all the forces that emanate from th epurusha are termed feminine although these are no different from the purusha. Lakshmi Tantra of the Agama Shastra gives more details.

    one should be cautious about using the terms like feminine forms! There are no masculine or feminine at higher levels of consciousness ('chit'). The principle of 'oneness' (samatvam) should always be kept in mind. Purusha and prakruti are one and inseparable! It is the manifest forms that give us illusion of separateness! This avidya, lack of higher knowledge, has given rise to tantrics to separate shive /shakti from shiva /pusrusha, forgetting the fact that shive is the prowess of shiva only! there is no sunrays without the sun or the waves without a sea. The heat and the fire are inseparable. Thus, whoever attains to this oneness becomes one with the the supreme!

  The practice of worshiping separate Goddesses like Durga, Sharada, Kamakhya, Mahalakshimi or any other Devi by different names, almost a hundred, may be the result of identifying the powers of the supreme! All that we worship reaches the One supreme narayana! sarvam vasudevam iti |

Bhagavan Shree Krishna

Who is “Bhagavan Shree Krishna”?

   Nobody knows who this supreme Lord paramatma shree Krishna is ! The Lord only is saying that nobody can ever know him, especially, when He is presented in human form, avatara purusha !“Just because I have donned the human form the fools do not know Me.” Neither these fools know the Unborn and the Indestructible Paramatman Shree Krishna, nor do they know the great hero born of the ‘Power of the Sacred Word’ (mantra shakti) of Indra called Arjuna ! The supreme Lord has the power of ‘tirodhana’ and thereby may assume any form simultaneously and appear or disappear, as and when, and wherever it pleases Him. The reason behind this statement “Nobody can ever know Me” is very simple. The Lord, says, “He only exists and none, besides Him”. Further, He, the Lord, is not somebody, something or some subject that be seen, known or understood! Bhagavan is the unborn, eternal, immortal Power, force, energy behind all creations. He is the unmanifest maha purusha, the seed that propagates the entire universe in different names, forms and functions, in His own manifest forms. It is like the one invisible potent seed that creates a tree which becomes a forest! So also the manifest forms of jiva that replicate in the same way, on the same principle. This is stated in “Everything we see is Krishna”. Chapter II explicitly states that all that exists is Krishna only. 

  The ‘Gitopadesha’, as revealed to the First ever self-manifest person (manas) svayambhuva manu, the first self-manifest (svayambhu) makes it clear that the human beings now reading these lines never existed at that time! The Gita, as the para vidya, knowledge supreme, pertaining to Creation, sustenance, development, and dissolution dates back to at least 4.56 billion years when the Sun, Vivasvan, was just born. The Earth as a planet of the solar system and the Moon as its satellite, came later! So, where were the humans at that time! Even the Sun as a star, svayambh manu Vivasvan was not yet there when the supreme Lord only existed as Aditya, now Shree Krishna! 

The first six manvantaras that have gone by are: 1. the svayambhu, 2. svarochisha, 3. Uttama, 4. taapasa, 5. raivata, and 6. chakshusha. The present manvantara is the seventh known as the vaivasvata. The next seven manvantaras to follow are: 1. surya savarni, 2. Daksha savarni, 3. brahma savarni, 4. dharmasavarni, 5. rudra savarni, 6. deva savarni, and 7. the indra savarni manvanatras. Incidentally, all these manus are nothing but stars having their own saptarshis, devi-devata, physical powers or elemental gods, or deities called Shakti! Each cycle lasts for 4, 320,000 years!

    We, the human beings, reading the Gitopadesha today, in the kaliyuga (First quarter/prathama charana or paada) of the chatur-yuga (the other three being kurta or satya, treat, and dvapara), the last phase of the Seventh manvantara called the Vaivasvata manvantara) should be careful in understanding what the Lord Shree Krishna is speaking about His divine plan of Creation and the paraphernalia of all that is to come to the Sun, just when He was appearing in the Heavens! The Sun, at the head of the solar system, is to run the entire creation, sustenance, development, and dissolution as His own manifest form as Vishnu, Surya Narayana! This is the divine plan of the Gita. These are the words of the Lord- Bhagavan uvacha.

    The supreme Lord holds the key and the jiva works according to the dictates of the Lord. Finally, as a Yogacharya, the Lord helps the jiva to realize its true nature and merge in Him. 

FACE

   The most intriguing aspect of creation is the face, particularly, the eyes.But for the face, there is no difference whatsoever in body. All bodies are same foe either the tigers or cats and dogs, or even men and men. Only the eyes make the difference. The worst thing is that even these bodies and faces undergo change over time. This is the maya aspect of creation. This leads us to the fundamental principle of 'maya' (illusion).

    Now, the problem is of identification. The eyes are instrumental in identification. Behind the eyes lie the powerful instrument of Mind.Mind sees through eyes, or may even see without eyes! The Mind sees through an inner eye lit by the soul, the Atman. Ultimately, the Atman is more important. This 'Atman' is the same for all.  Thus, only those who see through the eyes. light, of the Atman only see the true face!
   What all we see is ourselves! When we look at a person, we see ourselves in their eyes. This 'oneness' is the fundamental principle. The Bhagavad-Gita explicitly states that a "jnyani is one who sees oneness". 'Samatvam', equanimity, is the very essence of the Gita.

    The jnyani is one who has trained himself to see through the Atman and thus overcomes illusion!