“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – X (Shloka – 11)
Wise people desire to realize Brahman only.
Meaning: In this world, there are two kinds of ‘Shreya’ (preferable) things and two kinds of ‘Preya’ (pleasurable) things:
(i) ‘Kamya Shreya’ (short-term, lower-desire-oriented preferable things) and
‘Kamya Preya’ (short-term, lower-desire-oriented pleasurable things), and
(ii) ‘Atyantika Shreya’ (long-term, higher-desire-oriented preferable things) and
‘Atyantika Preya’ (long-term, higher-desire-oriented pleasurable things).
Among these, both ‘Kamya Shreya’ (desires to attain heaven and others) and ‘Kamya Preya’ (desires for sense pleasures) are the cause of suffering. Even though both of these lose their charm after some time, ignorant people continue to desire them.
‘Atyantika Shreya’ (things which are always good for us) and ‘Atyantika Preya’ (things which are always likable) aim for the realization of Brahman (the Ultimate Reality) which is the source of infinite bliss. Therefore, wise people desire the realization of Brahman. This has been mentioned in the Kathopanishad, which is divided into six sections.
Comments: The story of Kathopanishad is very well-known. Once, Rishi Vajashravasa wanted to perform a ‘yajna’ in which he had to give away everything that he possessed in order to get the highest benefit. At that time, a person’s wealth was measured on the number of cows he/she owned. Rishi Vajashravasa had a young son named Nachiketa. Vajashravasa, out of love for his son and thinking about his livelihood, kept the healthy cows hidden and wanted to give away all the weak cows. Nachiketa found out what his father was doing and thought that this act would not bring good to him. Nachiketa thought that if his father gives him away to someone, then he would not have to worry about his livelihood.
Nachiketa asked his father to whom he would be given. His father ignored this question. But when Nachiketa asked him two-three times, then his father, out of anger, told him that he would give him to Yama, the Lord of death.
Nachiketa sat in meditation and went to Yama. He found that Yama was not at home. His wife asked Nachiketa to come inside the home and wait for Yama. But Nachiketa waited outside the house for three days and three nights without any food or drink. When Yama came home and found out, he sought to appease Nachiketa by offering him three boons. Nachiketa agreed to it.
For his first boon, Nachiketa asked that when Yama would release him and sent him back to his home, his father would forgive him and would receive him with love. This boon was granted.
For his second boon, Nachiketa asked for Yama to teach him the yajna which would take him to heaven. Yama taught him the yajna and was he pleased to find that Nachiketa was a very fast learner. Yama said that now onwards this yajna would be known as ‘Nachiketa Yajna’.
For his third boon, Nachiketa asked Yama the following question: One group of people on Earth says that there is life after death and another group of people says that there is no life after death — which is the truth? Yama told Nachiketa that this was a very difficult thing to comprehend and therefore he should ask another boon instead. But Nachiketa was determined to know, ‘whether there is a life after death’. Yama instead offered Nachiketa a long and healthy life, as much wealth as he wanted, horses, chariots, musicians, dancers, and all the possible worldly pleasures as an alternative to answering his question. Nachiketa rejected all of Yama’s offers, saying that all these things give happiness only for a few days and they were of no use. Nachiketa said that he had found a great teacher like Yama who possessed this knowledge about life after death and therefore he did not want anything else.
Yama was pleased by Nachiketa’s intense desire to get the highest knowledge and his clear understanding of the futility of the worldly pleasures. Yama said that anyone else would have been drowned in the river of temptations he had offered, but Nachiketa had discarded all of them in order to seek the highest knowledge.
Now, what Yama told Nachiketa is stated in the Shatashloki shloka -11.
Kathopanishad (1.2.2) says, “Both, the preferable and the pleasurable things, come to a human being. Wise people thoughtfully analyze them, separate them, and select the preferable over the pleasurable. On the other hand, the dull-minded, for the immediate gratification of their sense-pleasures, select the pleasurable over the preferable.”
There is a general tendency of the human mind to go for immediate pleasures and to find a short-cut for success and enjoyment compared to a path that gives longer-lasting joy and uplifts the mind to a higher purpose but requires hard work, struggle, and a long time commitment. Kathopanishad describes the reason why this is the case.
Kathopanishad (2.1.1) says, “The Creator has deluded the senses by making them extrovert. Therefore, a human being seeks pleasures outside and never looks within. But a wise person, who is seeking infinite bliss and immortality, turns his/her senses within and realizes the inner Self.”
Someone asked, Swami Nikhileswarananda, the head of the Ramakrishna Ashram, Rajkot, India, a question: “How much spiritual practice should I do?” The Swami asked him a counter-question: “How much bliss do you want?”
Here is a series of Q&A I had with my Vidyapith students:
Q: “Why are you studying hard?”
A: “For good grades.”
Q: “Why do you want good grades?”
A: “So we can go to a good college.”
Q: “Why do you want to go to a good college?”
A: “So we can find a good job.”
Q: “Why do you want a good job?”
A: “So we can make lots of money.”
Q: “Why do you want lots of money?”
A: “So we can have an enjoyable family life.”
Q: “Why do you want an enjoyable family life?”
Students smiled at this and to end the conversation said, “Just to enjoy, to have fun.”
This is a general trend in society: if we make lots of money, then we can have an enjoyable family life and be happy. There is some truth in this and I am not against this trend. But there are other higher goals in life which can give us a longer-lasting and deeper joy and satisfaction than sense-pleasures bought with money. There is greater joy in going deeper into music, dance, studying and writing, doing research in various fields, doing spiritual practices, and performing unselfish service to the community and others.
Among all of these, over the period of thousands of years, wise people have found that doing spiritual practices to realize one’s true divine identity (which Vedanta calls the Self or Atman) seeing that same Atman in all, and doing unselfish service to all gives us an abundance of bliss, satisfaction, and fulfillment of all our desires. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The only way to find this out is to try it. We may study well, have a good job, make money and perform our family responsibilities, but along with it we have to spend time on our personal spiritual development and do some unselfish service to humanity. There are a few people who have understood that Self-realization and unselfish service to humanity is the highest goal of life and that gives us everything we are looking for in our human life. Such people give up everything else and devote their entire life to realize this goal. There are also others who have understood this highest goal, but they are living family lives. They perform their family responsibilities as an offering to God and try to achieve this highest goal by giving it the highest priority in life. This shloka talks about this highest goal. Let us work hard to achieve this goal and make our life a blessing.
(Thanks to Sonali Tatapudy and Rushil Desai for their help in editing this post.)
mahendrajani 