Complacency Will Not Help?

In matters of spiritual attainment the wise men caution us: "Complacency will not help". It is true. We all think, "Everything is fine with me". In fact, nothing is fine. The very existence is precarious. This has been well narrated. A person who saw a tiger charging at him jumped into an old well nearby and was precariously hanging to sa small plant on the  dilapidated wall. The tiger was looking down at him and a crocodile was looking up to grab the poor fellow. He did not notice a serpent hissing at him from a nearby hole. Despite the fact that the tender plant he was holding on was falling apart, his attention was on the dripping honey and wanted to lick it!" This is our situation. Time eats away all our dreams and aspirations and we will not be happy even if we get what we desire! Do we care to notice the reality of our existence?
  One in a billion may even know the reality, and not even one of the wise who knows will ever understand it clearly, let alone try to experience it! The Bhagavad-Gita shows the way. One must read a few passages daily and contemplate on them. The sum and substance of what The Supreme Lord says: "Come to Me. I shall take care of you". Do we have faith in Him?

The Way Out?

    There is no doubt that we, as living beings (jivas) are stuck here for an eternal journey in a circle, cycle of birth and rebirths. Moreover, old age, sickness, and death are a certainty. Hence we  are stay-put as troubled souls, atrupta jivas, what is the way out?

   This problem of suffering, inevitable old age, sickness, and death made Siddhartha Goutama take to intense meditation and finally drop the very problem as an insolvable one and 'just sat down discarding the very search'. He kept quiet, not even uttering a word!. This 'nirvana' is probably the only solution to the problem? in other words, it is yoga, contemplating on 'nothingness', the brahmn.  

Are We Stuck Here?

As humans,we were sparks of fire, particles of Light, quantum of radiant energy freely moving in the sky. The ancient sages called this energy as angirasa. Having arrived here on this Planet Earth, we have taken many a different form- from insects to birds, animals and the humans. We have grown from almost invisible energy particles like the elements and compounds and chemical bonds and survive on food. Is this the end? Is there no outlet to get out of here? Should we go on indulging in sensuous life, just eating, sleeping and some recreation?Is it just earning a livelihood, rearing a family and finally depart? Have we learnt any lesson from this life? Is this just a wasteful life? Who will answer? Should we look to somebody else to find an answer to our problems?

   Wisdom lies in understanding what is life and how analyzing how we have lived our life. Most of us are unaware of the fact that we are living a stereotype life, repeating the same and just running chores by habit. It is time we think and keep some time for looking at our self, atmavalokana.

   There are many who argue that this life is for service to humanity. Some argue that one should serve and not expect anything in return. The Gita gives us some clues. But it certainly avoids imposing any solution to our problems.It gives us freedom of choice.Ultimately, it suggests "Just Keep Quiet". It suggests that we should surrender our ego and serve Him, chant His name, always think of Him and He will protect us and take care of us. Why not we just do that. We must close all our account and leave this place just as pure as we arrived here. This state of 'absolute purity', purity of body, mind, thoughts, actions, intellect and ego and even our blemished soul is difficult to attain. There is no way out. We all get stuck here. We go on earning browny points, balance brought forward, and take birth repeatedly only to die and take birth again. If we reduce our burden and cleanse our stains that make the soul appear blemished, we may cross the ocean of sansar. Trust in Him and go ahead.

Monks and the Monasteries

There are a number of Institutions like the Ramakrishna Mission, ISCKON, Buddhist monasteries, Jain monasteries, and thousands of mathas of each and every religion. Most of these people start with simple white cloth for dress and many take to saffron cloth. At least, some do not know why they should have a dress code;however, it is a must. They also wear Rudrakshi and other beads. Some carry out very tedious rituals regularly and follow strict discipline. Some take to study of scriptures and practice rituals as per their tradition. They go on lecture tours and spread awareness of the religious faiths and belief systems. In fact, it is extremely difficult to say anything about monks and the monasteries. It is also not easy to take to asceticism, monk-hood, or the sanyasa. Very few are ordained by divine proddence to take to sanyas. We all have stages in life like childhood, adolescence and youth, married or grihasta and finally vanaprastha (not literally going to forest, but sitting lonely till death calls?). Some people remain single due to family situation (where responsibility after loss of parents) or jilted lover, or may be some reason or the other. This should not be mistaken for sanyas. Sanyas is renunciation. This is not easy unless it is a carry-over of a person's karma. sa(u)m nyasa is total renunciation. Sat nyasa is the right path. Snayasa is taking to saffron-clad lonely life dwelling near God in temple or ashram. Some people cannot overcome their sensuousness and fall prey to worldly life and leave it. Some continue sensuous life even after they get into sanyas and this is dangerous. People who have led a a very fruitful life, happy and contented taking to renunciation in old age is the true sanyas. Others who enter sanyas at young age may or may not succeed in maintaining true sanyas. True sanyas needs nothing but loneliness, joy and happy state of mind obtained not from external objects, but from the fountain of elixir from the soul. This requires atmajnyan, Self-Realaization, Atma sakshatkara. A true sanyasin is one who is simple, true to his self, and unassuming and beyond all religious faiths and belief systems. One has to transcend time, space, causality and all gunas to become a true sanyasi. That's it. Om tat sat iti.

The Vedic Doctrines

I know this undecaying, primeval One, the Self of all things, which exists everywhere, being all pervading and which the wise declare to be free from birth. The teachers of Brahman, indeed, speak of It as eternal. [Yajur Veda, Part I, Chapter III, 21]/ He, the One and Undifferentiated, who by the manifold application of His powers produces, in the beginning, different objects for a hidden purpose and, in the end, withdraws the universe into Himself, is indeed the self-luminous-May He endow us with clear intellect! That Supreme Self is Agni (Fire); It is Aditya (Sun); It is Vayu (Wind); It is Chandrama (Moon). That Self is the luminous stars; It is Hiranyagarbha; It is water; It is Virat. Thou art woman, Thou art man; Thou art youth and maiden too. Thou as an old man totterest along on a staff; it is Thou alone who, when born, assumest diverse forms. Thou art the dark-blue bee; Thou art the green parrot with red eyes; Thou art the thunder-cloud, the seasons and the seas. Thou art beginningless and all-pervading. From Thee all the worlds are born.[Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa. Part I, Chapter IV, 1-4] He who knows Brahman, who is all Bliss, extremely subtle, like the film that rises to the surface of clarified butter and is hidden in all beings-he who knows the radiant Deity, the sole Pervader of the Universe, is released from all his fetters. The Maker of all things, self-luminous and all-pervading, He dwells always in the hearts of men. He is revealed by the negative teachings of the Vedanta, discriminative wisdom and the Knowledge of Unity based upon reflection. They who know Him become immortal. When there is no darkness of ignorance, there is no day or night, neither being nor non-being; the pure Brahman alone exists. That immutable Reality is the meaning of ‘That’; It is adored by the Sun. From It has proceeded the ancient wisdom. No one can grasp Him above, across, or in the middle. There is no likeness of Him. His name is Great Glory (Mahad-yashah). [Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa.,, Part I, Chapter IV, 16-19]. You have no knowledge of him who created these worlds; some other thing has interposed between you. The reciters of hymns who ravish life in their ritual proceed with their muttering, enwrapped in confusion and ignorance. [Rk Veda X, 82, 7]. Endowed with gunas, the jiva performs action, seeking its fruit; and again, it reaps the fruit of what it has done. Assuming all forms and led by the three gunas, the jiva, ruler of the pranas, roams about following the three paths, according to its deeds. Of the size of a thumb, but brilliant, like the sun, the jiva possesses both volition and egoism. It is endowed with the qualities of both buddhi and Atman. Therefore it is seen as another entity, inferior and small as the point of a goad. [Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa.,, Part I, Chapter V, 7-8] Rosy Dawn advances, adorned with the brightness of many a beam. She pursues her way on her well-equipped chariot, arousing Men to joy. Come, O twin Spirits, at break of day on your powerful chariots. We offer in sacrifice this honey-sweet draught for your delectation. How is it that, though united and unsupported, he does not fall down? By what inner power moves he? Who has seen? A firm pillar, he protects heaven's vault.[Rk Veda IV, 14, 3-5] The embodied soul, by means of good and evil deeds committed by itself, assumes many forms, coarse and fine. By virtue of its actions and also of such characteristics of the mind as knowledge and desire, it assumes another body for the enjoyment of suitable objects. He who knows the Lord, who is without beginning or end, who stands in the midst of the chaos of the world, who is the Creator of all things and is endowed with many forms-he who knows the radiant Deity, the sole Pervader of the universe, is released from all his fetters.[Yajur Veda, Shvet. Upa.,, Part I, Chapter V, 12-13] If the sunbird, rising, extracted his foot from the sea, neither today nor tomorrow would exist, neither night, day, nor dawn. The eight--wheeled moves on one rim, to and fro, thousand-syllabled. With one half it engendered all creation. Of its other half what sign? [Atharva Veda XI, 4, 21-22] Foremost Purifier, let your lights shine on us now, inspiring us to skill of mind and hand. [Rk Veda IX, 36, 3] 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] The Vedic prayer is: “Arouse us today to success and good fortune. To loftier joys promote us, O Dawn! Grant to us wealth of every kind, O Goddess renowned, friend of Man!” [Rk Veda VII, 75, 2]

Divine Intervention

It seems not all are at once ready for 'attainment' or 'liberation', mukti, moksha. Each one of us are at different stations in journey of life. some have started early and some late.; those who started early may be nearing the end of their journey.Many have to end till the last, the 'dooms day'! However, there may come a day when his/her life is shattered, shaken from slumber and dreams of this make-believe world and taken out of the rut, the mundane! They suffer a lot, no doubt, but that is the last suffering. There will be no more problems. Many may not return to this death-knell, 'mrutyu loka', by the grace of the Lord. Nobody knows how this turning point comes in the life of a jive. We, as humans, live in a mysterious world. There are invisible force governing our existence. There are a number of subtle aspects such as atomic energy, gravitation,solar radiation, electromagnetic forces, light, heat, sound, waves and vibration of innumerable types like x-rays, alpha, beta, theta, gamma, infra-red, ultra-violet rays seven colors, etc. Each and every one of these, separately and collectively influence our body health, mental health, thoughts and ideas, images, imagination and dreams and our struggle for achieving dreams, success and failures. The Vedic texts and agama shastra have dealt with these in great detail. We have got very few published works on these. The Ahirbudhnya samhita, the Jayakhya, the Lakshmi Tantra, Narada samhita, and a few others are available in print. The scientists are also working on these aspects. What exactly happens in a jiva's life from birth to death, rather from conception to depart from the embodied state? Who decides what in the life of a jiva. Is it luck, destiny, vidhi or karma, purva-punya or some invisible hand called adrushtha? Do the distant stars and planets of our solar system affect our life? What radiation waves affect our body cells and create, mould or shape our body, mind and thoughts, actions and the consequent karmaphala? All these are mysterious. These secrets can be visualized and explained by yogins who take to serious penance, askesis, tapas. We have some secrets revealed in the Gita, as told by Bhagavan Shree Krishna to Arjuna. We have given some clues in these blogs. But not all will ever be able to understand them. What prevents from even attempting to know these may be the karma. Karma is a very strong force by itself! Not all can become yogins, drushtara, or rishi. There comes a turning point in every jiva's life when the tormented jiva seeks solace at the feet of the Lord. The Lord takes pity on the jiva and redeems it. This is 'Divine intervention'.

The 'Transient' and the 'Transcendental'

    The material universe is transient, in the sense, ever-changing. All gross matter- physical, chemical, biological, etc. are transient, in the sense that they come under the law of 'entropy'. They possess a quality that makes them change with time. These qualities are the qualities of nature (prakruti), hence, acquired ones and, not their basic ones. The physical gross matter is the outcome of the manifest brahman, i.e. the eternal, formless, and  unchanging! The basic nature (mula svaroopa) is subtler-most and invisible. There are several stages- from an invisible wave and vibration, sound, syllables, word and its meaning and the gross products- solid, liquid, gas and the plasma. This ever-changing nature is the transient. Everything on this earth, including the planet,is transient. Everything changes from second to second and minute to minute. The forms undergo remarkable changes over time. Nothing can stop this change. Further, all these deteriorate and attain their original nameless, formless, function-less invisible state.

    The 'transcendental' is the 'one beyond'. Here, the existential 'reality' is beyond the threshold, the border, the boundary. It is a state where all vibration stops. It is the natural state. All that exist in gross diverse material forms have manifested from this base. However, this base is not the one with any quality, form or function. It is subtle, almost potent and not yet become kinetic, almost static and not yet become dynamic. As humans, we all see that is kinetic, dynamic and the functional. We cannot dwell deep in that state unless we cross the threshold!

    The yogins who wanted to know the truth, the reality of existence, tried the yogic path and reached the core of the existence. They realized the existence of several boundaries and tried to cross them, one by one, and transcend all limitations. These limitations are time, space and causality. Once the yogins crossed the basic three levels of bhu, bhuvah and svah, as ell as, the muladhara, svadhishthana and the manipura plexus of consciousness which represent the earth (soil/food), water, and fire (ethereal/pranic) principles, the yogin reaches the aerial (vayu tattva, clairvoyant state).  

   The transcendental state is thus one of 'beyond the senses and mind. Here the senses are withdrawn from their external wanderings and the mind is stilled (at rest). The yogic trance is the state where the yogin is deeply involved with the abstract, non-material, divine and the other-worldly (paramarthika) seeking redemption from the cycle of rebirths. The path suggested by Patanjali, Shandilya, Bhagavan Shree Krishna are jnyana, viveka, vairagya and yajnya, dana tapas. This way, the yogi chants the name of his choicest mantra and the devata and rests in peace with. This leads to samadhi. This is the first step toward attaining liberation, salvation, mukti or moksha- the very purpose of life, purushartha sadhanam. After all, who wants to appear in different gross forms and suffer transient states?