“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – XV (Shlokas – 20 & 21)
Offering food to gods, guests, and needy people
Meaning: When one eats food after offering to gods, goddesses, and guests, then the food becomes nectar for the person. Otherwise the food becomes useless for the person’s spiritual development. The scriptures say that if a person cooks food only for himself/herself, then that food becomes like death to the person.
One who eats food without offering to gods, goddesses, guests, and the needy people is considered an embodiment of sin in this world. A person who eats food without offering the food as an oblation to the Pranas as prescribed in the scriptures is a dead person, meaning is not spiritually alive.
Meaning: A person, who gives food to the poor people visiting his/her house, is considered ‘Bhoja’ (the Giver) in the universe. Such a person receives abundance of food for the sacrifices and does not have an enemy. But, one who does not give food to the starving friend or to people who is constantly serving him/her is not one’s own friend (meaning he/she is one’s own enemy). Even the food, like an enemy, wishes to leave such a selfish person.
Reflections:
The importance of food:
There is a well-known mantra of Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1.3) which says,
“Verily, from that Atman (Brahman) was born akasha (space);
from akasha, air was born;
from air, fire was born;
from fire, water was born;
from water, earth was born;
from earth, herbs and vegetation was born;
from herbs and vegetation, food was born; and
from food, human beings were born.”
Thus, the whole creation comes down to the food which is useful to create and nourish human beings.
Further, Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1.4) says, “Verily, from food are produced all creatures – whatsoever dwell on earth. Furthermore, by food alone they live, and in the end, they do return to food; for food alone is the eldest (first born) of all beings, and therefore it is called the panacea for all.”
Why bless the food by prayers and offering to God?
Chhandogya Upanishad (6.6.5) says, “Thus, my dear, the mind consists of food, the prana consists of water, and the speech consists of fire.”
Food nourishes our body and mind. If we don’t eat for a few days, our mind cannot function properly. Moreover, the food affects our thoughts. If we eat food prepared and/or offered by a person with a good character, our mind nourishes good thoughts. But, if we eat food prepared and/or offered by people with bad character then our mind cherishes bad thoughts.
There are people who could feel the subtle vibrations emanating from other people. They feel that a person with a good character spreads positive and spiritually uplifting vibrations and a person with a bad character spreads negative and spiritually harmful vibrations around. Holy company means in whose presence all our holy thoughts come on the surface of our mind.
Sri Ramakrishna used to feel such vibrations and he would not be able to touch a glass of water or a food-plate which is brought by a person with a bad character. Once, in the presence of Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) a religious-looking person brought a glass of water to Sri Ramakrishna which he could not touch it. Narendra was shocked and had a doubt about the validity of Sri Ramakrishna’s action. Narendra afterwards inquired about the character of that person by talking to other people and found that he was not of a good character.
Sri Ramakrishna was eating food at Balaram Basu’s house without any reservation. He himself said that, ‘At Balaram’s house there is a worship of Lord Jagannatha and therefore the food is pure’. He also told Balaram to feed young devotees like Narendra, Rakhal, Latu and others because they were embodiment of Lord Narayana and by feeding them lots of good will come to him. The following mantra of the Chhandogya Upanishad tells us why the pure food is important.
Chhandogya Upanishad (7.26.2) says, “When the food is pure, the mind becomes pure. When the mind is pure, the memory becomes firm. When the memory is firm, all the ties are loosened.” Meaning the awareness of Atman within becomes firm and all the bonds created by the ignorance with the body, mind, and the world become lose and one becomes free.
While eating in the restaurants and other people’s houses, we don’t know who had cooked the food, who had brought the food and what kind of vibrations the food has been carrying. Therefore, it is important to offer the food to God and purify it before eating. Thus, we remove the negative vibrations and create positive ones. Many religions have this food offering ritual before eating. In many Hindu houses the first plate of cooked food has to be offered to the deities in the shrine room before eating. This is they called a ‘naivedya’.
Warning: We should be aware that one has to be very much advanced in the spiritual path in order to feel the positive or negative vibrations emanating from other people. Those who feel it will never condemn people. Thus, we should not start judging people. Therefore, it is best to bless the food by prayers and then eat it. The knowledge and awareness of Brahman destroys all kind of negative vibrations.
At many places people recite the fifteenth chapter or the following shloka of the Bhagavad Gita before eating:
Gita (4.24): “To the enlightened person, Brahman is the offering and Brahman is the oblation, and it is Brahman who offers the oblation in the fire of Brahman. Brahman alone is attained by the person who thus sees Brahman in action.”
Here eating food is considered as an offering to God residing in the body. The Ultimate Truth is that there is only one Existence (Consciousness, or Brahman according to the Vedanta) which expresses Itself through various names and forms. Repeating this shloka before eating reminds us that we have to realize this Ultimate Truth. Thus, each time we eat, thinking about Brahman becomes an important spiritual practice.
Also, God is considered as the fire in the stomach which digests all kinds of food.
In the Bhagavad Gita (15.14): Shri Krishna said, “As the fire Vaishwanar, I (the Lord), enter into the bodies of all living beings, and mingling with the upward and downward breaths (Pranans) digest the four kinds of food.”
Thus, blessing the food that we eat is very important. That is why in many religions there are prayers to recite before eating.
The following are a few more prayers for blessing food:
Children’s Prayer:
God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. By his hands, we are fed. Let us thank him for our bread.
A Few more Christian Prayers:
“Without Thy sunshine and Thy rain We could not have the golden grain; Without Thy love we’d not be fed; We thank Thee for our daily bread. Amen.”
“Bless, O Lord, this food to our use and us to thy service, and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.”
“Our Dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food. Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus’s name.”
“Heavenly Father, bless this food and bless our friends and family who’ve come to dine with us today.”
“God, many hands made this meal possible. Farmers grew it. Truckers drove it. Grocers sold it. We prepared it. Bless all those hands, and help us always remember our dependence on you. Amen.”
Humorous Prayers:
“Good food, good sweets, good Lord, let’s eat.”
“Lord, bless this bunch as they munch their lunch.”
Why offering to Prana?
Prana is the energy by which all our senses function and we are alive. By offering food to the Prana we become aware of the its important function. There is a story in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (6.1.7-13).
There was a dispute among the sense-organs. Each one thought that it is superior to all other organs. They could not come to a conclusion. Then, they all went to Prajapati (the Creator) and asked him, “Which one amongst us is the most superior?”
The Prajapati said that each sense-organ can leave the body and go on a vacation for a year. In that process you will find the answer.
Then, one by one, the organ of speech, the eyes, the ears, the mind, and the organ of generation went on vacation for a year. But, the body continued to live without that sense-organ. Finally, the vital breath (Prana) was about to depart, it uprooted all the sense-organs from their respective places just as a great, noble horse of the Sindhu country tears up the pegs to which his feet are tried. All the sense-organs said to the Prana, “Venerable Sir, please do not leave the body. We shall not be able to live without you.”
This story tells that the vital force (Prana or the energy) is very important in our life. We take it for granted the energy which keeps us alive and which is the fundamental cause of our activities. To make us aware of the importance of the vital force (the Prana), the Hindu scriptures instruct us to offer the food to the Pranas before eating. Those who know the scriptures offer food to the five pranas by saying, (i) Om Pranaya Swaha, (ii) Om Apanaya Swaha, (iii) Om Vyanaya Swaha, (iv) Om Udanaya Swaha, (v) Om Samanaya Swaha and (vi) Om Brahmane Swaha.
(i) Prana takes care of the breathing through the nose and the mouth and also maintains the pressures of the eyes and ears. (ii) Apana takes cares of the lower parts of the body and helps to push out things from the organs of generation and evacuation including the baby from the mother’s womb. (iii) Vyana works in the several thousands of arteries to circulate the blood. (iv) Udana helps the soul to exit the body. (v) Samana distributes properly the nourishing essence of the food digested in the stomach to all the sense-organs.
Offering food to the needy people and the guests:
By thinking about ‘Me’, ‘Me’, and ‘Me” for twenty-four hours, we make our self very limited and confined to a small frame of body and mind. The goal of spirituality is to expand our little self to the whole universe and see all beings in our Atman and our Atman in all beings. A very simple and tangential spiritual practice is to offer food to the needy people, to the people who are dependent on us, who are around us and are hungry. More we share, more we expand from selfishness to unselfishness. The Bhagavad Gita condemns in strong words the attitude of enjoying things without thinking of others or sharing with others.
Bhagavad Gita (3.12) says that a person is verily a thief who enjoys what has been given by gods and goddesses without offering anything in return.
Bhagavad Gita (3.13): Shri Krishna said, “Good people, who eat the remnant of the sacrifice, are freed from all sins; but wicked people, who cook food only for themselves, verily eat sin.”
One of the important teachings of these Shatashloki shlokas is to be unselfish and to give. To reflect upon Swami Vivekananda’s teachings on unselfishness is very helpful for our spiritual development.
Swami Vivekananda says:
“Unselfishness is God.”
“Are you unselfish? This is the question. If you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book, without going into a single church or temple.”
“The life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.”
Simple Practices:
Thinking about the teachings of the shlokas 20 and 21 of the Shatashloki, I remember a simple practice that Vandana Aunty had taught to the Vivekananda Vidyapith students. She said that whenever we go to buy groceries, we must buy a can or a box of non-perishable food for the needy and hungry people and then we have to donate them in the nearby soup kitchen. We can also regularly give in charity and support soup kitchens or other institutions who feed hungry people.
I will conclude with another important teaching of Swami Vivekananda:
Swami Vivekananda says, “There is no higher virtue than charity. The lowest person is one whose hand draws in, in receiving; and the highest person is one whose hand goes out in giving. The hand was made to give always. Give the last bit of bread you have even if you are starving. You will be free in a moment if you starve yourself to death by giving to another. Immediately you will be perfect, you will become God.”
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – XIV (Shloka – 19)
Four causes of freedom and four causes of bondage
Meaning:
The following are four practices to attain freedom from all bondages:
(i) Charity: Money or things given to a deserving person or an institution as an offering to God, without having any selfish motive. In a broader sense, it includes any form of unselfish service rendered to people or institutions.
(ii) Forgiveness: Forgiving a person without keeping any anger or hatred for that person in the mind. It also includes continuing to perform our responsibilities without getting agitated with people or situations, and keeping our mind calm and serene. We perform our responsibilities as an offering to God.
(iii) Faith: Having a firm faith that the words of the scriptures and my Guru are true and helpful in my spiritual path. To have a firm faith in the existence of God, or the Ultimate Reality, or the supreme power which creates, preserves, and dissolves this universe.
(iv) To follow the Path of Truth: Making efforts to understand and realize that there is only One Truth, or One Reality, or One Existence in the universe. In the Vedanta, that reality is called Brahman (Sat-Chit-Ananda; Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute). With reference to an individual, we call it Atman. Atman and Brahman are same. It also includes speaking the truth and practice to maintain our thoughts, speech, and actions in unison.
The opposites of the above four are the causes of bondage. Because we have to overcome them to realize Brahman (the Ultimate Reality), they are called ‘a Setu’ or a bridge. The following are these four opposites:
(i) Greed: Wanting more and more worldly possessions and pleasures, and not being satisfied with what we have.
(ii) Anger: Getting angry when we don’t get what we want and do get what we hate. It includes not forgiving people who had made mistakes. Hating people who we think are the obstacles in our path of fulfilling our worldly desires. The thought of vengeance is another form of anger.
(iii) Having lack of faith and cherishing doubts: Doubting or being skeptical about the words of the scriptures and the spiritual teachers including our Guru without much thinking is a big obstacle in the spiritual path.
(iv) To follow the path of lies or falsehood: A path of falsehood is to disregard the Ultimate Reality that our true identity is Atman, and to live with the idea that ‘I am only body and mind’. A person with this ideology remains engaged in acquiring short-lived pleasures of body and mind. Such ideology leads a person to a stage when he/she will not have any shame to lie or cheat for selfish reasons.
If a person avoids the above mentioned four causes of bondage and practice the first four – charity, forgiveness, faith, and following the path of Truth – attains heaven, and immortality. Also, having realized the effulgent Ultimate Reality (Brahman), he/she becomes free from all the bondages of the world.
Reflections:
(1) Charity Vs Greed: While talking about renunciation, Shri Krishna told Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (18.5), “One should not renounce Yajna(offering), Dana(charity – giving money, knowledge, or any kind of help to others without any selfish motive), and Tapa(austerity – spiritual practices and self-control). But one should perform them because they purify the wise people.” When mind becomes pure, one can realize one’s true divine identity (Atman).
In the Bhagavad Gita (17.20-22) three kinds of charity (Dana) have been mentioned; sattvika (superior), rajasika (mediocre), and tamasika (inferior).
When charity is performed (1) with the spirit that ‘I must give’, (2) without expecting any worldly return, and (3) done at the right time, right place, and to a worthy person, then it is held to be of the sattvika (superior) nature.
When charity is performed (1) expecting some worldly return, (2) to fulfil one’s selfish motive, and (3) done with reluctance or grudge, then it is considered to be of rajasika (mediocre) nature.
When charity is performed (1) without respect or with disdain, (2) done at an improper place, and time, and (3) for an unworthy person and cause, then it is of the tamasika (inferior) nature.
Definitely, we must perform sattvika charity.
On the other hand, greed makes us selfish. It limits our vision to our little limited self. Also, greed cannot be satisfied. It is like fire. If we try to feed the fire, it increases more. Greed makes our life more miserable.
The gist of all our spiritual practices is to go from selfishness to unselfishness, from the ‘little-self’ bounded by the body-mind to the true Absolute Self (Atman) which is eternal, and free from all bondages.
(ii) Forgiveness Vs Anger and hatred:
There is a saying that ‘To err is human, but to forgive is divine’. Forgiveness comes out of love for all and from a deeper understanding of life. An egotistic and selfish person hardly forgives.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “The weak never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
A compassionate and thoughtful person thinks that ‘I make mistakes; similarly other people also can make mistakes. Why should I get upset when other people make mistakes?’
Anger and hatred are our thoughts. If we change our thoughts, then our anger or hatred can go away. For example, if someone comes and criticizes us or tells harsh words, then our usual reaction is to criticize that person by telling all his/her wrong-doing or to tell him/her harsher words. Then, we feel good by our retaliation. We usually react and do not act.
From the following famous story related to Lord Buddha, we can learn a great lesson about how love and understanding can overcome anger and hatred.
Once, a young man came to Lord Buddha with anger and hatred. He then criticized and ridiculed Buddha in an inappropriate language. Buddha listened to him quietly with his usual serene face. After the young man had finished, Buddha asked him, “Suppose you bought a gift to give it to a person and the person does not take it, with whom the gift remains?” The young man was puzzled by the calmness of Buddha and his question. Anyway, he replied, “Of course it remains with me.” Buddha said, “Look my son! You bought this gift of anger, hatred, insults, and falsehood. I am not accepting it. Hence, all these remain with you. This way you are hurting yourself.”
The young man understood the greatness of Lord Buddha. He learned a valuable lesson that day. He bowed down to Buddha.
Lord Buddha also teaches us how to act and not to react. I was thinking about this topic and ‘AAA – practice’ came to my mind.
Absorb: The first ‘A’ stands for ‘to Absorb the situation’. Buddha absorbed the situation. He understood the motive of the young man.
Analyze: The second ‘A’ stands for ‘to Analyze the situation’. Buddha must have thought about the best way to handle this situation.
Act: The third ‘A’ stands for ‘to Act properly’. By asking a question and making the young man realize the situation, Buddha acted properly. The result was the transformation of the young man. We all have goodness within us. Ignorance and impure thoughts cover our goodness. As soon as ignorance and impurity go away, our goodness shines from within.
I am sure we can find tons of such examples in the lives of great personalities, especially in the life of Saints.
Anger, hatred, and vengeance are like terminal cancers. They destroy the person who cherishes them in the mind. Also, we must remember that when we hate someone, we are giving a special place to that person in our mind. When we forgive someone, the matter is over, and our mind will be free from the person and the situation. The goal of a spiritual seeker is to realize that God has become everything.
Regarding mistakes, the difference between an egotistic person and a wise person is the following:
An egotistic person sees once own mountain-like mistake as a muster-seed like mistake, and other people’s muster-seed like mistake as a mountain-like mistake. While the wise person sees the opposite.
(iii) Faith Vs Doubt:
Shri Shankaracharya in his “Viveka Chudamani” book (25 or 26 shloka depending on the book-version) describes ‘faith’ as follows:
“’Accepting the words of the scriptures and one’s spiritual teacher (Guru) as ‘true’’ is called ‘faith’ by the wise people by which one can realize the Ultimate Reality (Atman or Brahman).”
We have faith in the words of plumbers, electricians, doctors, air-pilots, and others, but our mind creates doubts in the words of the saints and scriptures.
The words of the scriptures are the collections of the words of the seers of God. The words of the saints also are based on their direct experience of God and they agree with the words of the scriptures. In many cases, the words of the saints explain the words of the scriptures in our contemporary language. Saints and seers of God are unselfish. We have to do spiritual practices according to our Guru’s (spiritual teacher’s) guidance. If we don’t have a Guru or any other guide, then initially, we can sincerely practice the way we understand the scriptures and pray to God for the guidance. If we are sincere, we will get the proper spiritual guidance. Sri Ramakrishna says that if we are sitting in a wrong bus, someone will tell us that ‘My friend, you are sitting in a wrong bus.’ Then, they guide us to a right bus.
All saints tell us the importance of faith.
Sri Ramakrishna said that from time to time we should live in the company of holy people and go into solitude to meditate on God. Furthermore, we should practice discrimination (thinking about what is good and bad for me) and pray to God, “Please give me faith and devotion”. He said that, “Once a person has faith, he has achieved everything. There is nothing greater than faith”.
In a lighter tone Sri Ramakrishna said that Lord Rama has to build a bridge to cross the ocean, but Shri Hanuman, having faith in the name of ‘Lord Rama’, jumped over the ocean. He didn’t need a bridge.
Doubts can destroy a person. Genuine questions to understand the spiritual instructions in order to make spiritual progress are most welcomed by all saints. When a person does not want to do spiritual practices and wants to continue to fulfill his/her worldly cravings, then he/she creates purposeless doubts to find excuses.
In the Bhagavad Gita, at the end of the Chapter 4, we find a very clear message about the faith and doubts.
First we look at the shlokas (4.39) regarding the importance of faith.
Meaning of Gita (4.39): Shri Krishna said, “A person who is full of faith, has intense desire to realize Brahman and has a complete control on one’s senses attains the Highest Knowledge. Having attained the Highest Knowledge, this person immediately attains the Supreme Peace.”
Attaining the Highest Knowledge is realizing Atman or Brahman. The Highest Knowledge destroys all our bondages and makes us free. Note that the faith has been mentioned here first.
Now, let us see how Shri Krishna gave clear instructions to Arjuna about the doubts.
Meaning of Gita (4.40): Shri Krishna said, “One who is ignorant, without faith, and always doubting ruins oneself. For a doubting person, there is no happiness in this world or the world beyond.”
A fate of a doubting person has been very clearly mentioned here. We have to destroy our doubts by proper knowledge. Also, by performing our responsibilities properly, we can destroy our bondages.
Meaning of Gita (4.41): Shri Krishna said, “O Dhananjaya (Arjuna)! Actions do not bind a person (1) who has offered the results of all actions to the Lord, (2) who has destroyed all the doubts by the knowledge of the Self, and (3) who has total self-control.”
Selfish actions or the actions performed for the worldly pleasures bind a person. One has to suffer the consequences of one’s own actions. Bhagavad Gita is teaching us how to perform our actions as a practice of Karma Yoga to attain the Highest Knowledge which makes us free from all the consequences.
The following is the final command of Shri Krishna to Arjuna regarding the doubts.
Meaning of Gita (4.42): Shri Krishna said, “Therefore with the sword of Knowledge destroy your doubt about the Self, the doubt that is born out of ignorance and resides in your heart. Then, arise O Bharata (Arjuna) and devote yourself to the Karma Yoga.”
(iv) Truth Vs Falsehood:
Sri Ramakrishna says that in this time and age if one follows the truth then one can realize God.
In the “Shiksha Vally” of Taittiriya Upanishad the spiritual teacher gives the final commands to the graduating students who had completed their study of the Vedas. The very first command is “Satyam Vada”, meaning ‘speak the truth’. Further, he emphasized again by saying “Satyaanna Pramaditavyam”, meaning ‘don’t deviate from the truth’.
Thus, speaking the truth and not deviating from the truth is most important in our life. Also, we have to be sensitive when we speak the truth. We have to be polite, respectful, and try not to hurt people in speaking the truth. It doesn’t mean that we have to lie to please people. If we have love for all people then we will find a way to present the truth without hurting people.
There is a ‘subhashita’ which says that wise people’s thoughts, speech, and actions are in alignment. They speak what they think and do what they say. We call it honesty and sincerity. We find honesty and sincerity in the life of all saintly people. Sri Ramakrishna was very keen about following any promise he had made to himself or to others. Truthfulness is very important in the spiritual path. A hypocrite cannot make any spiritual progress.
Mahatma Gandhi gave a title ‘Satyana Prayogo’ to his autobiography in Gujarati, and it is translated in English as “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”. The following quote reveals his deep introspection on the truth and God.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “The word Satya (Truth) is derived from Sat, which means ‘being’. Nothing is or exists in reality except Truth. That is why Sat or Truth is perhaps the most important name of God. In fact it is more correct to say that Truth is God, than to say that God is Truth.”
It seems that Mahatma Gandhi was referring to the following definition of the Ultimate Reality (Brahman) given in the Taittiriya Upanishad.
Meaning: Brahman is ‘Satyam’ (Reality or Existence), ‘Jnanam’ (Knowledge or Consciousness) and ‘Anantam’ (Infinite).
Satyam: ‘Sat’ stands for Truth. Existence or Reality is the Ultimate Truth. Anything that changes is not the truth. Thus, the Ultimate Reality or the Existence which is unchangeable is addressed by the Upanishads as Brahman. An example is given that in all the golden ornaments like ring, necklace, and earrings etc. the gold is real. The gold is appearing as the ring, or necklace, or an earring.
Jyanam: Brahman is Knowledge itself. It is Awareness or the Consciousness. This shows that Brahman is not matter. As in the light of the sun we can see things and perform our actions but the sun is unaffected by our thoughts and actions, similarly, due to Brahman, as the Witness Consciousness, we are aware of everything.
Anatam: Brahman is Infinite. There are no limitations on Brahman.
Thus, Brahman is an Infinite Existence and Awareness or Consciousness which appears as varieties of the things in the universe.
Actually, Brahman is beyond the comprehension of the mind and the senses. Brahman is indescribable. Whatever words describe becomes limited. Tons of books have been written and tons of lectures have been given on Brahman. These are mere attempts to give an idea of Brahman. Brahman has to be experienced directly. Rishis and great saints have experienced Brahman.
There is another important mantra of the Mundakopanishad regarding the Truth.
Meaning: Truth alone prevails, not falsehood. By truth the path is laid out, the Way of the Gods, on which the seers, having satisfied all their desires, proceed to the Highest Abode of the True.
The shloka-19 of the Shatashloki says that realizing Brahman as Truth we can remove all our bondages. If we don’t accept this Truth and follow the idea that we are just body and mind, then we add more bondage on ourselves and live like a slave of the senses. Falsehood is not accepting the Truth that there is only One Existence, or One Reality.
Note that the first two practices are simple in nature like giving in charity, and forgiving. Then, the next two practices, namely faith and following the Truth are subtle and deeper. Following these, we make progress from our ‘little self’ to our absolute true ‘Self’. As a result, we get rid of all our bondages, become free, and enjoy the Infinite Bliss and attain the fulfilment in life.
In order to avoid the miseries and the bondage of life, we must avoid the opposites of the above four.
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – XIII (Shlokas – 17 and 18)
Renunciation of attachment and desires
The following shloka is for the person who wants to dedicate one’s life completely for God-realization (Self-realization) and service to humanity. First, one has to sever all external attachments with family and friends; second, one has to live with minimum without demanding much from the society; and third, one has to give up complete attachment with one’s body and mind and focus on God or one’s own divine Self.
Meaning: Just as a snake discards one’s skin and moves away, the aspirant seeking God alone in life should leave home and free oneself from the attachment to family and possessions. Just as a traveler resorts to the shade of the trees for a short rest and proceeds on the road, the aspirant may remain in the body and try to maintain it with minimum necessities. Such an aspirant may eat fruits fallen from the trees or receives necessary food from the society to satisfy one’s hunger. In order to realize Self (God), the aspirant should focus his/her mind on Self (God) and completely give up identification with one’s body and mind.
Comments: Clearly, this shloka is for those who have an intense desire to realize God and are ready to do anything to achieve that goal. We see that such a group of people is about 1% of the human population. It is amazing that in the midst of the world which offers various kinds of sense-pleasures, there are people who do not want any of this pleasure and they want to realize God. The following teaching of the Bhagavad Gita explains these rare phenomena.
At the end of the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita (6.37-39), Arjuna asks Shri Krishna, ‘what happens to a Yogi who is endowed with faith, but did not realize Self (God) before death? Would that Yogi be perished like a riven cloud?’ Shri Krishna said that such a Yogi does not get destroyed in this life or the next life. No bad thing happens to the person who had done any spiritual practices. After death, such a Yogi takes birth in a pure and prosperous family or the family of yogis rich in wisdom. There, the Yogi gets opportunity to connect with his/her spiritual knowledge acquired in the previous birth and continue to strive to realize the Self (God).’
What happens to the other 99% of the population? Vedanta says that each individual is ultimately going to realize one’s own true divine identity, called the Self (God). The purpose of the world is to make each individual attain that goal; only thing is that 99% of the people have to reach that goal going through detours. These detours could be shorter or longer. 99% of the people have to satisfy their worldly desires before they realize that ‘the goal of human life is to realize this Self and not to go on running after the worldly pleasures’. The worldly pleasures promise infinite happiness, but they only provide limited happiness along with lots of miseries and worries. Even the satisfaction of a worldly desire increases lots of greed to acquire more and makes life miserable.
Can a householder realize Self (God)? Sri Ramakrishna says that a householder can certainly realize God. But, every now and then, the householder has to go in solitude and reflect upon what is Real and what is Unreal. He/she has to realize that Self (Brahman or God) is only Real and everything else is unreal or temporary. Sri Ramakrishna told that King Janaka had realized Brahman, but he did lots of intense spiritual practices before. A householder also has to do lots of spiritual practices and perform one’s responsibilities in a detached manner prescribed by the Bhagavad Gita.
A Sadhu, one who has renounced everything to realize God, gives up everything externally and mentally. A householder has to renounce everything mentally. Sri Ramakrishna says that ignorance is ‘Me and Mine’ and “I am a doer’. One has to think that ‘everything belongs to God’; God has created everything, God preserves, and God dissolves. Even our body is not ours. We do not have total control on our body. We cannot control our heart, digestive system, and many other body’s functions. Thank God that we do not have control on it, otherwise we will mess it up. Similarly, we do not have control on our family members, friends, the world, and the circumstances. Things happen by some higher power, which we call God. We are just the instruments in the hands of God. A householder can mentally change this attitude from ‘Me and Mine’ to ‘Thee and Thine’ and realizing that ‘God is the ultimate doer of everything’, and work as a God’s instrument. This is householder’s renunciation.
Many people enjoy taking name of God, singing dhoons, bhajans, and hymns and listening to the spiritual discourses, but when the word ‘renunciation’ comes, they get turned off. They love their worldly pleasures and do not see anything wrong in enjoying them. They think why we cannot do both: enjoy the worldly pleasures and sing God’s name or listen to spiritual discourses? They are only touching the ocean of the spirituality and may be occasionally swimming on the bank a little bit. When they realize that the worldly pleasures cannot give them what they were looking for, namely the Infinite Bliss, the Ultimate Knowledge, and Fearlessness (especially the Victory over the fear of Death), they go deeper into the spiritual practices leaving the world aside.
We have to remember how many sacrifices a person makes to achieve any worldly achievement. To acquire money, or power, or position, or a title, one gives up comforts, food, sleep, family-friend-time, and many worldly pleasures. Then, to achieve the highest thing a human being can achieve, namely, the realization of God, it is not surprising that we need to take our mind off from all the distractions of the world and fully focus it on the Self.
The positive attitude of Vedanta:
Without knowing the complete message of Vedanta, people get turned off by the word ‘renunciation’. Renunciation is giving up the wrong or faulty ideas and replaces them with the right ideas or the ‘ultimate Truth’. Sri Ramakrishna gave an excellent example. A person wants to go to the terrace of a building by climbing up on a staircase. He/she goes on the first step and asks, ‘Is this the terrace?’ and then denies it knowing that ‘it is not the terrace’. Thus, he/she denies all the steps and reaches to the terrace. After reaching the terrace, the person realizes that the steps are made out of the same material that the terrace is made of. Meaning, a person initially denies that my body, mind, vital forces, intellect, joy, family, friends and the world is Brahman (Atman or Self), and then by realizing the Self (Atman or Brahman), finds that everything is Brahman. Endowed with the limited physical characteristics (Upadhis), Brahman appears as material like body, mind and other things, but ultimately everything is Brahman. This is the highest knowledge.
Desire, anger, and greed:
The following shloka describes how the three major enemies of a person, namely, the worldly desire, anger, and greed, arise in the mind.
Meaning: At first, desire for sense objects arises in the mind of human beings. Then, the mind craves and makes efforts to acquire these sense objects. After acquiring the sense objects the mind enjoys them through senses. When the mind cannot acquire these objects, then anger rises. For the acquired sense objects, the mind wants to protect them. Thus, greed arises in the mind. These three (desire, anger, and greed) are the cause of human being’s spiritual downfall. A wise person should focus one’s mind on the Self and the ways to realize It and stay away from the chain of desire, anger, and greed.
Comments:
It is very natural that the mind seeks joy in the worldly objects. Since these worldly objects satisfy the cravings of the senses, the senses drag the mind outside in the world. According to the Vedanta, this is the play of the Maya, the power of Brahman.
Why senses run outside?
In the following shloka of the Kathopanishad, Lord Yama explains this play of the Maya:
Kathopanishad (2.1.1):
Meaning: The self-existent Supreme Lord delude the senses (destroy their super-power) by creating them with the outgoing tendencies. Therefore, a human being looks only outside and not the inner Self. A wise person, seeking the Immortality and Bliss, turn his/her senses introvert to realize one’s own inner Self.
Hide-and-seek game:
Sri Ramakrishna talks about a children’s play, called hide-and-seek. In that game a grandma sits on a chair in the middle of an open area of a house. One child, called a leader, begins the game by facing his/her face towards a wall covering sides of his/her eyes with palms and counts 10. During this time, all other children hide in the various corners of the house. After counting 10, the leader tries to find another child and touch the child to make him/her ‘out (caught)’. If the child, who was found out, runs faster than the leader and touches the grandma, then he/she will be considered ‘saved’ and ‘not out’ (not caught). The one who gets ‘out’ becomes the next leader and the game goes on. The fun of the game is (1) to find places to hide, and (2) if found out by the leader, then to run around and somehow touch the grandma before getting caught.
Sri Ramakrishna used to say that in the beginning of the game if all go and touch the grandma, then the fun part of the chasing and screaming of the children of the game will be missed. The grandma enjoys the running around of the children and their joyful noises when they run. Thus, the world is a play of Maya. Touching the grandma is getting liberated. Maya does not want all get liberated, so the worldly game goes on.
Usual complain:
By listening to this hide-and-seek game and the play of the Maya, usually a thought comes to the mind, ‘well, it might be fun for the Maya, but we suffer in the world and the Maya is having a good time at our cost.’
The Vedanta’s answer is that ‘Everything is Brahman. Out of ignorance a person separates oneself from the Brahman, creates a small self with body and mind (called ego) and enjoys as well as suffers.’ After much spiritual practices, by Brahman’s (God’s) grace, one realizes this Ultimate Reality, and goes beyond the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain. Many don’t like this answer of the Vedanta. But, when we go deeper and reflect upon the Ultimate Reality, we understand the significance of the real answer. All other answers do not stand the reasoning.
Now, as long as we have ‘ego’ and we consider ourselves as different from Brahman (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute), we have to do spiritual practices and follow the guidelines provided by the scriptures in order to realize the Ultimate Reality (or Truth).
Many wise people have realized that all other worldly answers and efforts are like “Band-Aids” and do not solve the real problem.
A few teachings of Bhagavad Gita:
This Shatashloki’s shloka directly reflects the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. The following shloka of the Bhagavad Gita tells us how harmful desire, anger, and greed are.
Gita (16.21)
Meaning: Desire (especially lust), anger, and greed are the three doors to hell (the lowest state of consciousness in the relative world). These three destroy the self. Therefore, a person should get rid of them from one’s mind.
It is NOT easy to get rid of desire, anger, and greed. First, we have to understand how harmful they are. When a person finds out that there is a poisonous snake in the house, then that person will be eager to get rid of this snake as soon as possible. Legitimate desires are okay. But, illegitimate and harmful desires which bring ruin to a person and make a person slave have to be renounced. Second, we have to regularly do spiritual practices. By spiritual practice, we understand what is going on in our mind and we can separate good and helpful desires from the bad and harmful desires. Third, we have to have ‘holy company’; company of people who have renounced these three things or even trying to renounce them. Holy company also includes inspiring books, and audio-video lectures. Fourth, we have to avoid the company of those who encourage us for worldly desires, anger, and greed. If we cannot avoid such people, we have to be careful not to have their influence on our mind.
A person with steady intellect:
At the end of the chapter-2 of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asked Shri Krishna, ‘What are the characteristics of a person with steady intellect who has merged in the Samadhi (meaning has attained the Highest Knowledge)’. The very first characteristic presented by Shri Krishna is most appropriate here.
Gita (2.55)
Meaning: O Partha (Arjuna)! When a person casts off all the desires of the mind and is fully satisfied by dwelling on the Self alone, then that person is called ‘a person with steady intellect’.
Can we get rid of all desires?
The answer is ‘NO’. As long as a person is alive, he/she will have a desire to maintain the body by providing it food and other necessities. Then, why Shri Krishna said that the person has cast-off all the desires? I will just share my thoughts on this.
We see from the lives of all the people who had attained the highest knowledge that at one point in their lives, each one of them had only one intense desire left, namely, to attain the highest knowledge. They had lost interest in all other desires including the desire to keep the body alive. During the spiritual practices, at one point Sri Ramakrishna’s mind was filled with only one desire, ‘I want to realize God’. The mind was not available to think even for the food. A sadhu used to put food in his mouth and with a stick used to push it inside. That is how he survived during his intense spiritual practices. Such lives show the validity of Shri Krishna’s words that a person has casts off all the desires.
As long as we have many other desires, we cannot realize God. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that in order to pass a thread through an eye of a needle, all the fibers of the thread should be combined and make it one-pointed. Even if a small fiber is sticking out, the thread cannot go through the eye of a needle. When the desire to realize God becomes intense, the other desires fade out. Even when one enjoys doing spiritual practices regularly, the harmful and useless desires slowly drop off because they become hindrance. When such desires drop off, one feels peace within.
Sri Ramakrishna gave another example of a child. As long as a child is busy playing with toys, the mother takes care of the housework. If a child gets bored with one toy and screams “Maa”, the mother knows from the scream that the child is still interested in playing with more toys. Finally, when the child really gets bored playing with the toys and there is only one desire left, namely, ‘I want my mother’, then the real scream comes. The mother knows this scream and she comes running to the child.
After God-realization, God keeps desires in the minds of the Saints and Sages to maintain their bodies in order to guide humanity in the spiritual path and enjoy taking name of God.
The following shlokas, Bhagavad Gita (2.62-63), tell us how desire, anger, and greed bring our destruction.
Meaning: When a person dwells on the worldly objects, he/she feels an attraction for them. This attachment gives rise desire to acquire these objects. When one does not acquire them, then that breeds anger.
From anger comes delusion (lack of clarity in the mind); from delusion, the failure of memory (of all good things one had heard), the ruin of discrimination (between what is right and what is wrong); and from the ruin of discrimination the destruction of the person.
I will conclude with another two shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita (2.67-68) which tell us why we should control our senses.
Meaning: For even one of the roving senses, if the mind yields to it, carries away discrimination as a gale carries away a ship on the waters.
Therefore, O mighty Arjuna, his wisdom is steady whose senses are completely restrained from their objects.
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – XII (Shlokas – 14 – 16)
Attachment and Renunciation
‘Viveka’ and ‘Vairagya’
In order to realize our true divine identity (Atman or God), we need two things, namely, Viveka and Vairagya. Viveka is the power to separate between what is permanent and what is not permanent. Viveka helps us to establish in our mind that only Brahman (or Atman or God) is permanent and all other things which have names and forms are impermanent, i.e. all other things have a beginning and an end.
Why ‘Vairagya’?
Once we are convinced that only Brahman is permanent, then we have to focus our mind on Brahman (or Atman lying within) in order to realize it. However, we are so much attached to our body and mind and all things related to them that it is hard for us to focus our mind on Brahman. That is why we need Vairagya or dispassion to withdraw our mind from the impermanent things, mainly our body and the worldly desires. Our mind has so many worldly desires that it is hard for us to withdraw it from the world and focus on the Atman or the Brahman. Our worldly desires create an attachment to our body and all related things.
Sri Ramakrishna used to give an example of a mongoose. A mongoose had a hole on a wall to live there. Whenever it wanted to rest, it will go in the hole and take rest. Someone found an opportunity and tied a brick to the mongoose’s tail with a string. With the weight of the brick, the mongoose fell down from the hole. Afterwards, whenever it tried to go to its hole to take a rest it falls off from its hole because of the weight of the brick. With this example, Sri Ramakrishna said that the mind of a worldly person is like the mongoose. The mind wants to focus on God or Atman, but due to the ‘Vishaya Chinta’, meaning the thoughts of the worldly desires, the mind comes down to the body and the world. The worldly desires are like the brick tied to the mind.
Sri Ramakrishna gave another simple but revealing example. He said that as long as a child is busy with playing toys, the mother takes care of the house choirs. If the child gets bored with one toy, then he/she will give a cry ‘Maa’. But, the mother knows that this is not a real cry. The mother continues doing her work. Soon, the child gets busy with another toy. Finally, when the child gets bored with all the toys and wants only his/her mother, then the child cries from the bottom of his/her heart. The mother knows this real cry. At that time, she puts away all her work, comes to the child and takes the child in her lap. Similarly, when we are tired with all the worldly objects and search for God (or Atman), then we can realize God.
Thus, dispassion towards worldly pleasures is needed to focus our mind on Atman which is beyond the body and mind. Bhagavad Gita (16.21) says that lust, greed, and anger take us to the life of hell. Therefore, we have to get control over them and let them not dominate our life. Sri Ramakrishna mainly talks about ‘lust and greed’ to be the cause of all our problems. Note that anger follows lust and greed.
When dispassion or ‘Vairagya’ comes?
Dispassion comes when we understand that the worldly pleasures
(i) cannot give us the infinite bliss that we are looking for
(ii) have long term consequences and we have to pay a very high price to acquire athem,
(iv) make us slave of their objects, and
(iv) drag our mind down to the body-level and cannot let us focus on the Atman.
How to develop dispassion?
Sri Ramakrishna said that in order to develop such detachment, every now and then we have to go into solitude and reflect upon what is real and what is unreal. We have to establish in our mind that only Brahman or Atman or God is real and all else is temporary.
Along with this, we have to seek holy company which encourages us to acquire love for God and develop dispassion towards illusory pleasures which give us little joy and lots of suffering. We also have to do spiritual practices to uplift our mind from the impermanent things and focus on God.
‘Vairagya’ is not negative
It looks that in order to make spiritual progress we have to give up the ‘fun’ of our life. Apparently, it looks that way, but really, it is not true. We are so attached with the little pleasures of body and mind that we do not want to give them up for higher pleasures even though we suffer so much. When we realize how much we are suffering unnecessarily for little pleasure, then we do not mind to give them up and strive for the higher pleasures or what we call infinite bliss. When a house is on fire and we run away to save our lives, we won’t say that we have renounced the house.
A Sadhu (one who has renounced everything to realize God) told a householder, “Look, your renunciation is greater than mine. I have renounced little pleasures in order to acquire infinite bliss, but you have renounced infinite bliss for little pleasures.”
Should we then renounce everything?
The immediate question comes: should we then renounce the world and become a ‘Sanyasi’ or a ‘Sanyasini’? Those, who have intense desire to realize the Atman or God, have total self-control, and are ready to dedicate their lives for the realization of the Atman (or God) and unselfish service to humanity, renounce everything for that cause. But, such people are one percent of the total population. The other ninety-nine percent of people have to carve out their path to God-realization while living in the world. We do not have to physically renounce the world. Those who live householders’ life have to mentally renounce everything. In general, we have to change our outlook of ourselves and of the world.
The spirit of detachment:
Bhagavad Gita teaches us how to live in the world with the spirit of ‘detachment’ (Anasakti). We can live in the world, but the world should not be in our mind. It is like sailing a boat in the river without having the river water in the boat.
We have to develop two main things in our mind, speech, and actions:
(i) Nothing belongs to me, not even my body. I do not have total control on my body. Everything belongs to God, who is the creator, the preserver, and the dissolver of the universe.
(ii) God is the doer of everything and I am an instrument in the hands of God.
From the devotional point of view, this ‘Anasakti’ or detachment is ‘a complete self-surrender to God’ (Sharanagati). Devotee asks God for the guidance and follows sincerely their inner calls. Such devotees cannot do anything improper, unethical, or harmful. If unconsciously one thinks to do an unethical or a harmful thing, he/she feels from within that it is not proper.
The above mentioned attitudes are easy to say, but very difficult to develop. For that, first we have to learn from the spiritual teachers the proper meaning of the ‘Anasakti’ and ‘the complete self-surrender’ of the Bhagavad Gita. Then, we have to learn the ways to practice them, and finally, we have to continue these practices until we reach our goal.
Benefits:
There are tons of benefits in developing ‘Anasakti’ and ‘complete self-surrender’. In order to know these benefits we have to study three things from the Bhagavad Gita: (i) the characteristics of a person with steady intellect (chapter 2, shlokas 55-72), (ii) the characteristics of a devotee (chapter 12, shlokas 13 – 19), and (iii) the characteristics of a person who is beyond the three gunas (chapter 14, shlokas 22 – 27). We will find that there are many common characteristics. A person with these characteristics finds inner peace, fulfilment of life, attains all the benefits a life offers, and lives a spiritually healthy sane life. Such a person is a blessing to himself/herself and to the society.
From all these characteristics, if I have to select a couple of them, then I would say:
(1) Keeping the mind calm in the midst of pairs of opposites that life brings; for example,
(i) Not to get elated, lose head and do wrong things while enjoying the legitimate desires and on the other hand not to get depressed or frustrated during the sorrowful time. Learn to keep the mind calm during the sorrowful time, bare the pain and realize the deeper lessons such time brings.
(ii) In success not to become arrogant or egotistic, but giving credits to all who deserves, especially the grace of God. On the other hand, in the failure not to lose faith in oneself, accept the responsibilities, not to blame others, not to brood over the failures, but learn from the mistakes and move forward.
(iii) In honor, remain humble and give honors to others who deserve. In insults, not to become angry and not to hate one who insults, but remain calm and learn if the insult teaching us anything. If there is nothing to learn from the insults, then think that the person out of ignorance is behaving in certain way and bless the person.
(2) Acquire fearlessness: Such a person has conquered the fear of death which is the cause of all fears. Being focused on the immortal inner Self, one feels that he/she is immortal as the Self. The bodies come and go and that has nothing to do with the Self.
(3) Loves all and hates none: Such a person realizes that the inner Self (Atman) is the same in all the people. Knowing this, one loves all and ready to serve all. This feeling of Oneness brings inner fulfillment and fearlessness.
(4) Infinite Bliss within: All the desires of such a person get fulfilled and had no desire left. This brings inner satisfaction. Such a person enjoys every moment that God presents and truly lives in the world as a master and not as a slave. Remaining focused on the inner Self, whose nature is infinite bliss, he/she experiences the infinite bliss within all the time. Wise people say that the sum total of all the worldly pleasures looks like a fraction of this bliss. Also, this bliss has no consequences compared to every worldly happiness is followed by misery.
By knowing even a few benefits, I wonder, why one would not get encouraged to follow the spiritual path to acquire such a state!
Three shlokas of Shatashloki on ‘Vairagya’:
In the Shatashloki of Shri Sankarachary, we find the following three shlokas about the dispassion which leads to renunciation. They cover various aspects of dispassion and renunciation. A sincere spiritual seeker can learn many things from these shlokas.
Two kind of “Vairagya”
Meaning: There are two kinds of renunciations: (i) “Nairvedya” and (ii) “Jyana Garbha”.
(i) Nairvedya: This is a type of renunciation develops after one experiences lots of pain caused by his/her own desires and selfish expectations from his/her friends and family members and the unsatisfied greed for his/her worldly possessions.
(ii) Jyana Garbha: This is a type of renunciation which develops after listening to the spiritual discourses which tells that the goal of life is the realization of one’s true divine identity. After being convinced with this goal one develops intense desire to realize this inner divinity. At that time, one’s mind gets withdrawn from all the worldly pleasures as one does not want to look at the vomited objects.
People who have total control on their mind and have developed the “Jyana Garbha” renunciation, they first renounce the world and then they also renounce their attachment to their body and mind.
Comments:
If the ‘Vairagya’, dispassion towards the worldly pleasures, does not develop an intense desire to realize God or Atman, then it indicates that there is a serious mental or physical problem with that person. In that case one has to consult appropriate medical doctors. Swami Adiswarananda used to say that if someone has lost interest in the world and has no desire to make any spiritual progress, then that person may have a bad lever or any other physical or mental problem, like depression, or a zero bank balance, meaning serious financial problem.
One kind of temporary “Vairagya” is called a ‘Markat Vairagya’ (Monkey Renunciation) or a “Smashana Vairagya” (Cemetery Renunciation). This happens when one has bad experiences from the world, has painful family problems, or when one’s a beloved person dies. Temporarily one finds that the world is not pleasant and nice and a whole life can be snatched away from a person in a single moment. Usually, this kind of renunciation does not last long. As soon as the person gets involved in other worldly activities, this renunciation goes away. Such renunciation is not reliable.
The real renunciation comes when one realizes that seeking infinite bliss from the finite worldly objects is an illusion and the real bliss comes from realizing our Atman, our true divine identity.
In that state the worldly objects look like the vomited objects. Also, the real renunciation is the detachment of the soul from the body and the mind. Realizing that one’s true identity is Atman, one detaches oneself from the body-mind material identity – that is the true renunciation. In that state one lives in the spiritual plane and uses the body and mind as an instrument.
The causes of suffering:
Meaning: In the three worlds (Earth, Heaven, and Hell), all living beings struggle to acquire happiness. No one struggles to acquire suffering.
Suffering is caused by two things, ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’. (i) ‘Me’ is the thought that ‘My body-mind is my true identity.’, and (ii) ‘Mine’ means getting attached with the people and objects related to this body-mind.
People know the above mentioned two causes of the suffering. Still, out of delusion they think that ‘My body is my soul’ and experience untold miseries due to the disease of the body and the loss of spouses, children, relatives, or wealth. No one feels any pain when one’s enemy dies.
Comments: As it was mentioned earlier, ‘Me and Mine’ and the ‘Doer-ship’ (I do everything) are the causes of ignorance and all suffering. A devotee replaces ‘Me and Mine’ by ‘Thee and Thine’. Such a devotee thinks that ‘everything belongs to God’; ‘nothing belongs to me – not even my body’. Also, a devotee thinks that ‘God is the doer of everything and I am just an instrument of God’. To truly realize these truths, we have to do lots of spiritual practices. When there is no attachment we do not have any suffering, like the death of an enemy or a total stranger.
Detachment leads to peace of mind:
Meaning: When a traveler is going towards his/her home and on the way stays overnight at a hotel, he/she does not develop attachment to the hotel room and will not feel any pain while leaving it in the morning. Similarly, if a person does not have any attachment to his/her body, then he/she will not be elated or disturbed by the joys and sorrows of the body.
One who has understood that as the clouds come and go in the sky, everything in this universe is transient and subject to change, and whatever is going to happen will happen, such a person, like the sky, lives the life accepting whatever the life brings and remains undisturbed.
Comments: When we can detach our Atman from our body and mind, then we can live like the sky mentioned in the shloka.
Atman is eternal and it can take many bodies. Thus, each body is just like a hotel room occupied for a time being.
Once a wandering monk somehow got into a king’s palace and started living in a corner of the palace. After sometime, the guards found him and told him that this is a king’s palace and he cannot live there. The monk laughed and said that ‘this is not a king’s palace, but is a hotel.’ Out of respect for the monk, the guards did not use the force, but tried to convince him to leave. But, the monk was stubborn and keeps repeating that ‘this is not a palace, but a hotel room’. The king came to know about this and out of amusement went to the monk and presented himself. The following is the dialogue took place between the monk and the king:
The monk: “O King, since how long have been living here?”
The king: “For the last 40 years.”
The monk: “Who lived before you?”
The king: “My father lived here.”
The monk: “Who lived here before your father?”
The king: “There was another king.”
The monk: “Who lived here before that king?”
The king: “There was another king who lived here and he had built this palace.”
The monk: “You see what I am talking about. Nobody lived here permanently. Everyone lived here for a while and left. This is just like a hotel.
The king saluted the monk, thanked him for his words of wisdom and made an arrangement for his stay.
Thus, our body is a temporary place for our Atman to stay and do Its work. When time comes we have to live this body. While staying in the body, we enjoy when favorable things happen and we have to go through the sufferings of the body without complain thinking that we have to pay the property tax for living in the body. A person who has realized Atman lives with an attitude ‘seek not, avoid not’.
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – XI (Shlokas – 12 & 13)
How the seekers of God live in the world?
According to the Vedanta Philosophy, the goal of a spiritual seeker (or an aspirant for liberation) can be expressed in various ways. The following is a list of a few of these expressions:
(1) To attain the highest knowledge.
(2) To realize that one’s true identity is Atman,
(3) To realize God and to experience that God has become everything.
(4) To realize that ‘Brahman is the Ultimate Reality and Brahman is appearing as the universe’. For such a person three things become one; the knower, the object of knowledge, and the knowledge.
(5) To attain the state of ‘Sthita-prajna’, a person having steady intellect all the time.
(6) To attain a state of ‘Gunatita’, a state beyond the three Gunas, sattva, rajas, and tamas.
(7) To break all the bondages and be completely free.
(8) To attain a state of complete self-abnegation, meaning one constantly realize that everything belongs to God and I am an instrument of God.
A seeker of God always wants to know how one should live in the world while pursuing to achieve one’s spiritual goal. Shri Shankaracharya in the following two shlokas of Shatashloki gives a very clear guideline on how a spiritual seeker practicing Jnana Yoga (the Path of Knowledge) lives in the world.
Shloka – 12:
Meaning: An aspirant of liberation who has been established in the Atman (one’s true identity) residing within lives in the world in the following way:
(1) While engaged in the activities, looks upon oneself as a wave in the ocean of Brahman (Pure Consciousness),
(2) While sitting, thinks of oneself as a jewel strung on the thread of Brahman,
(3) While experiencing sense objects, sees all the objects as Brahman, and
(4) While sleeping, thinks of oneself immersed in the ocean of the bliss of Brahman.
Comments: While living in the world, an aspirant of liberation wants to keep his/her mind connected with Brahman (or God). This shloka gives us a very clear picture of how we can connect ourselves with Brahman in all our various states.
(1) When we are engaged in activities, we can think that we are the waves of the ocean of Brahman (Pure Consciousness). We are part of Brahman. The ocean is always active. The whole universe is active including the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the earth, and all beings. We can think that we are performing our responsibilities given to us by Brahman (God) and we can perform them only through the power of Brahman.
(2) When we are not active but awake, we can think that we are connected with all as the jewels of a necklace connected by a thread. This thread is the Atman or Brahman.
This reminds the message of the Bhagavad Gita (shloka 7.7): “O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), there is nothing higher than Me (Brahman). All are strung on Me as a row of gems on a thread.”
The Ultimate Knowledge is the Knowledge of Oneness. If we remove our names and forms we are all one. We are Pure Consciousness. The names and forms separate us from each other. Once we know the oneness behind all of us, all the negative things like fear, jealousy, hatred, greed, and others go away and our lives get filled with love and compassion for all.
(3) While enjoying the sense-objects, we can think that ‘everything is Brahman’.
Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (7.11) says, “I am the strength of the strong, free from longing and attachment. O Bharatarshabha (the Lord of the Bharatas – Arjuna), I am the desire in all beings that is not contrary to dharma.”
While fulfilling the legitimate desires, if we do not want to get bounded, then we have to be detached. A spiritual seeker has to develop a skill to enjoy legitimate desires without becoming a slave of the objects. For example, wise people say that ‘it is okay to drink tea or coffee, but make sure the tea or coffee does not drink you’. This means that we do not become slaves to the objects of the world. Everything we have to do in moderation and we have to have total control over ourselves. Therefore, in the above shloka, Shri Krishna used the words free from longing and attachment. To attain this state we have to learn to be detached and it is possible when we have total control over our mind and the senses. One way to be detached is to offer the results of all our actions to God. Through spiritual practices, holy company, reflections, and the grace of God, we acquire inner strength which helps us get such control and learn how to be detached.
(4) I have heard from Swami Adiswarananda that ‘a spiritual seeker who sincerely does spiritual practices and does not do anything wrong gets a good night’s sleep’. He/she has nothing to worry about. His/her conscience is very clear. In addition to this state of mind, if the spiritual seeker thinks while going to bed that ‘he/she is going to get immersed into the bliss of Brahman’, then that will be the best way to sleep and connect oneself with Brahman. Dreamless deep sleep gives us an idea of the blissful state of Samadhi, the highest state that a spiritual seeker can attain. In the dreamless deep sleep, our ego remains in a subtle form. This ego comes back as soon as we are out of deep sleep and then we become our formal self. But, in the Samadhi, one’s ego gets completely effaced and the person becomes free from all bondages and sufferings, and one experiences infinite bliss. Such a person’s ego remains like a line drawn on water.
Thus, in our daily activities, we can remain connected with our ultimate goal, Brahman.
The following shloka describes more ways to look at the world.
Shloka – 13:
Meaning:
A person who has acquired the highest knowledge (Jnana) and had direct experience of the highest truth (Vijnana) realizes the following: (1) The whole universe which is made out of names and forms is a fraction of Brahman, (2) Because of the indwelling Self (Atman), all beings of the universe move around as living beings and experience the objects of the world, and (3) Just like the sun, the Self is neither a performer of any action nor the enjoyer of it. Such a person lives in the world keeping his/her mind always focused on the Supreme Self (Atman/Brahman).
Comments:
Sri Ramakrishna explains Jnana and Vijnana by giving simple examples. He says that just knowing the milk and seeing it is Jnana, but drinking the milk and gets nourished by it is Vijnana. One who has known about God and has seen God is a Jnani and one who has an intimate relationship with God and converses with God is a Vijnani. Thus, the Vijnani remains constantly aware of the presence of God or Brahman and knows how to live in the world with that awareness.
Brahman is appearing as the universe, but because of the names and forms, we see things differently.
Because of the power of Brahman, residing in the beings as Self (Atman), all beings get power to move around and perform all their functions. Also, the consciousness of the Self illumines the intellect and through that, all living beings experience the objects of the universe.
The sun shines and in its light people can see things and perform all their actions. But, the sun is not the performer of any action. Also, the sun is not affected by the results of the good or bad actions of the people. Similarly, the indwelling Self is a witness consciousness. In and through Its light of consciousness people experience the objects of the universe and perform all kinds of actions. The Self is not the performer of any action and so It is not affected by the result of any action. A person who performs the actions experiences the results of his/her actions. This person is the ‘ego’ (Jiva) made out of the body-mind complex which separates itself from the Self. That Jiva enjoys or suffers the consequences of its actions. When the ‘ego’ vanishes, the ‘Jiva” becomes one with the ‘Self’.
Shri Ramakrishna used to say often that ‘I am an instrument and the Mother of the Universe is its operator.’ He also said that several fruits when ripped their seeds get separated inside from the fruits. If you shake the fruits, then you can hear the sound of the separated seeds. Thus, when a person realizes that his/her true identity is the indwelling Self (Atman), and not the body-mind complex, then he/she mentally separate the inner Self from the body and mind. Such a person realizes that in the light of the Atman the body and mind are functioning, but the Atman is doing nothing. The following shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita express this truth very explicitly:
Bhagavad Gita (5.8-9): “The Yogi, the knower of Truth, clearly realizes that in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, walking, breathing, sleeping, speaking, emitting, seizing, and opening and closing eyes, he/she is doing nothing; only the senses are busy with their objects.”
In the fourteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna says that according to the dominance of the three Gunas, namely, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, the body and the mind of a person perform all actions. A person who has gone beyond the three Gunas knows very well that the “Gunas are acting through the body and mind”. By knowing this he/she remains as a witness consciousness without being disturbed by the Gunas’ activities.
This shloka gives a clear picture of how a Jnani and Vijnani live in the world keeping one’s mind connected with the Supreme Brahman. A spiritual seeker should try to live in the same way.
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.)
“Shatashloki” of Shrimad Shankaracharya –IX (Shloka – 10)
Only Atman is likable for all the time
Shloka – 10
Translation: In this world, one likes an object (or a person) as long as it gives happiness. On the other hand, one dislikes the same object when it gives pain. No object is likable or dislikable for all the time. Sometimes a likable object becomes unlikable and an unlikable object becomes likable. But, Atman is the only one that is likable all the time.
Comments:
Love, happiness, and selfishness: This shloka states simple facts that in this universe love and happiness are inter-related and are in direct proportion. If an object gives more happiness, then it becomes more lovable in proportion to happiness. On the other hand, pain and dislikes are inter-related and are in direct proportion. If an object gives more pain, then one dislikes it in direct proportion to the intensity of the pain.
This fact has two levels. On the general level, it applies more to the selfish people. They love themselves and they love who gives them happiness. They love people as long as their selfish interest is fulfilled and dislike them when their selfish interest is hindered. We may get surprised whether the same person loved us a few days ago and how that love disappeared. But, this is the way of the world. Let us look at the deeper side of love, likes, and dislikes.
The Parents’ Love: Does this above mention fact apply to the parents’ love for their children, and especially, mothers’ love for her children? Out of love, going through so much sacrifices and suffering, parents raise their children. Children out of their ignorance and lack of maturity give pain to the parents, but the parents continue to love them. It seems that this fact does not apply to them. But, if we reflect upon this, then we find that parents also derive joy within to do something for their children even though children give them pain. I have seen, little children kicking their mothers, but mothers continue to feed them. However, the parents’ love is limited to their children, and so it is considered as an attachment. But, this love is better than selfish people’s love. Sri Ramakrishna said that God puts love in the hearts of the parents, so their children can grow.
A sincere and dedicated teacher may not be likable to a lazy student who wants success without any efforts. But, a student who wants to learn and make progress in his/her field will not mind the teacher’s strict attitude, demand for progress, criticism, or even scolding. The student understands that it is for his/her progress the teacher is taking the trouble. Parents also play such a role as strict teachers to raise their children properly. In these cases, even though there are pain and suffering, but students or children love their teachers and parents. Besides parents, school, and college teachers, there are many kinds of teachers in society helping their students, or players, or assistants, and others.
The genuine spiritual teachers, besides various guidance and training, work on the ego of their disciples. They want to remove the false ego of their disciples and develop humility in them to become worthy of spiritual knowledge. It is painful, but sincere disciples undergo this training and still keep the love for their teachers.
Holy people: Then, there are a much deeper side of love, likes, and dislikes. There are people on earth who see God in all and love all. They are ready to serve all as worship to the God residing in them. Their love is unconditional and they do not expect anything from anyone. Offering service to all as the worship of God is their greatest happiness. Serving all is not easy. There is a saying that the mouth bites the very hand which feeds it. Many times people enjoy being served and simultaneously criticize who served them. But, the holy people continue to serve all irrespective of the people’s behavior that they serve.
There is a famous example of a holy person who was taking a bath in a river. He saw a scorpion was drowning in the river. He put his hand under the scorpion and tried to lift it up above the water. As soon as his hand touched the scorpion, it bit his hand. The holy person could not hold the scorpion in his hand. The scorpion started drowning again. The holy person tried to help it again and the scorpion bit his hand again. The holy person was again extending his hand to save the scorpion. Someone on the shore who was watching this whole scene shouted to the holy man saying why he is trying to save the scorpion who continues to bit him. The holy man said that the scorpion is not giving up its nature to bite, then why should he give up his nature to help? This is a very high state of love. But, there are holy people on earth who love all and serve all without thinking of any return or about their own life.
A difference between a holy person and a selfish person is evident. If we have done ninety-nine bad things and one good thing to a holy person, then the holy person will remember one good thing and forgets all the ninety-nine bad things. On the other hand, if we have done ninety-nine good things and one bad thing to a selfish person, then that person will remember only that one bad thing and forgets all the ninety-nine good things.
The nature of mind: This shloka brings out another important point that no object is likable or unlikable all the time. The likable may at some time become unlikable and an unlikable at some time becomes likable.
We have heard from Swami Chinmayananda one of his life experiences. He was observing silence during his meals. In one house a host served him Karela (the bitter gourd), which are very good hygienically but are bitter. He thought that let him eat that first and then enjoy the other items that were served. He finished the Karela first. The host thought that Swami likes Karela. The host mother served him more Karela. This time, Swami Chinmayananda kept the Karela up to the end and somehow swallowed them up and drank water. The next day, Swamiji was going for a bhiksha to another house. Now, this new host called the previous host and asked what items the Swami likes to eat. This host said that Swamiji loves Karela. Swami Chinmayananda felt bad to tell people that he does not like Karela but eats them because people were serving him with love. Then, Swamiji said that after eating Karela from eight to ten houses, he started liking them. Thus, unlikable things may become likable.
The mind is amazing and it is very difficult to understand its nature. The mind craves for something and if we make efforts to acquire that object, then in the middle or at the end it loses its interest in the object. Many times even it starts liking something else. One of the difficult spiritual practices is to control the mind. Most people unknowingly become slaves of their minds. They think that they are free to select what they want, but actually, out of mind’s slavery, they are forced to select a particular thing. We find that in most cases love and hatred depend on the mind’s moods and the mental states.
Swami Brahmananda said that controlling the mind is like controlling a naughty restless child. Spiritually advanced people have control over their minds. Their minds will do what they want them to do.
Also, when situations change, then our needs also change. For example, warm clothes give warmth in the winter, but they make us feel uncomfortable in the summer. Things which are good in one surrounding or at one stage, may not be good in other surrounding or at another stage. The toys which entertain children will not entertain them when they become youngsters. Similarly, the things which youngsters like, they may not like them when they become adults.
Love for Atman: This shloka is actually connected with the previous shloka – 9. We learned in that shloka that because Atman is residing in all, we like all.
Those spiritual seekers, who sincerely do spiritual practices to realize Atman (God or Brahman), find that the more they advance in their path, their love for Atman or God increases more. As we have seen that in the case of the worldly love, a likable thing may become unlikable, and an unlikable may become likable. But, in the spiritual path, God, or Atman becomes more and more likable. Finally, a spiritual seeker realizes that Atman or God or Brahman has become everything. That is why they love all and ready to serve all.
Therefore, this shloka says that seek only Atman. The worldly things lose their luster when we see them as matter, but, if we realize that everything in the universe is covered by God or Brahman, then we love all and serve all.
Kaivalyashtakam is one of my favorite hymns. Many saint-poets of India did not attach their names with their poems or hymns. This is one such hymn. The saint-poets think that God inspired them to write poems or hymns, or these poems or hymns revealed to them from within, therefore they are not the authors. It is a great example of selflessness.
Gita Press, Gorakhpur has done a great service to humanity by publishing Hindu scriptures with excellent printing and binding. Also, the prices of these scriptures are most reasonable. The Kaivalyashtakam is hymn # 72 in the collection of hymns, called “Stotra Ratnavali”, published by the Gita Press, Gorakhpur.
Kaivalyashtakam is a hymn with simple Sanskrit words, but it is very poetic and it expresses the fundamental principles of spirituality. The refrain in this hymn is “Harer Naamaiva Kevalam”, which means that ‘repeating the name of Hari (God) is the only important thing for spiritual life.’
Sri Ramakrishna learned Vedanta philosophy from a great spiritual teacher Totapuri. Following the Vedantic meditation under the guidance of Totapuri, Sri Ramakrishna attained the Nirvikalpa Samadhi within a couple of days. Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the highest state in spirituality. In this Samadhi one’s mind completely merges with the Ultimate Reality, called Brahman. In that state, one remains in a continuous blissful state and that person has no consciousness of his/her body and mind and space and time. Totapuri was amazed to find that what took forty years of spiritual practices for him, that Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Sri Ramakrishna attained in a few days.
However, next day, Totapuri was amused to see that Sri Ramakrishna was chanting Mother Kali’s name and clapping his hands. He was thinking why Sri Ramakrishna is behaving like a beginner in the spiritual path after attaining the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Totapuri wanted to express this thought to Sri Ramakrishna, so he said to him in a light tone, “What? Are you making chapatis (Indian bread made by hands)?” Sri Ramakrishna said, “I am taking the name of God.” Totapuri believed in God without form and he did not find it necessary to go to the temple, or take the name of God with a form, or worship such God and perform any rituals for his spiritual progress. We know that later he had a severe stomach ache. He sat in meditation and started thinking, “I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am Atman, I am Consciousness, I do not have any pain.” But, his meditation on the formless Brahman could not lift up his mind beyond his stomach pain. Out of frustration, he decided to drown himself in the river Ganga. At that time, he had a vision of the Universal Mother who showed him that She is the power of Brahman and everything happens according to Her wish. His heart was filled with devotion. He understood the significance of chanting the name of the Mother. Thus, Sri Ramakrishna and Totapuri taught us the significance of chanting God’s name. Saints who have realized God say that chanting God’s name is enough to attain everything in the spiritual path.
Sri Ramakrishna also said that when a person sings musical notes ‘Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, and upper Sa”, then one cannot stay on the upper Sa note for a long time. After some time one has to come down to the lower notes. Similarly, one cannot remain in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi for a long time. After some time, one has to come down to the body-mind level. Now, when we are aware of our body, our name, and form, then God also has a name and a form. At that level chanting of God’s name is the most effective way to focus our mind on God.
Name and form are inseparable. This way ‘Nama’ (God’s name) and ‘Nami’ (the form of God represented by that name) are inseparable. If we chant ‘Rama’ then the form of Lord Rama comes to our mind and if we think of the form of Lord Rama, then the name ‘Rama’ comes to our mind. In India people chant ‘Rama Nama Satta hai’, meaning the name of Rama is the Ultimate Truth. Since Rama as God is the Ultimate Truth, the name of Rama is also the Ultimate Truth. This is also the meaning of “Harer Nmaiva Kevalam’.
Now, let us look at the meaning of the eight stanzas of the Kaivalyashtakam and develop a love for chanting God’s name. The word ‘Ashtakam’ means a collection of eight stanzas. Many hymns have been composed with eight stanzas and we find the word ‘Ashtakam’ attached to the title of the hymn.
Stanza – 1:
Meaning:
God’s name is the sweetest among all the sweet things,
God’s name is most auspicious among all auspicious things,
God’s name is most purifying among all purifiers,
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
In life, all sweet things lose their sweetness at some point. Change of the situations or change in the things themselves or change of the mind-set makes the worldly things lose their sweetness. Only chanting God’s name with proper understanding makes it sweeter and sweeter every day.
Chanting God’s name brings all the good in our life. It brings us peace of mind, gives us the inner strength to go through the sufferings of life, and brings inner satisfaction.
Chanting God’s name develops a love for God and this love for God destroys lust, greed, anger, jealousy, and other impurities from our mind.
Chanting God’s name gives us everything that spirituality offers.
Stanza – 2:
Meaning:
Everything from Brahma, the creator of the universe, to the blade of grass is covered by Maya.
Chanting God’s name is the Ultimate Truth, that is the Ultimate Truth, and again I repeat, that is the Ultimate Truth.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Whatever we perceive through our senses have a beginning and an end. They are constantly changing. Worldly things look different than they actually are. We get trapped by their external glories. These temporary things cannot give us permanent happiness. If we consider the worldly things or worldly situations as permanent, then we suffer when these things change or we lose them. If we understand that the worldly things and situations are impermanent and they may change at any moment or vanish, we prepare ourselves to accept the change, and then we can live in the world with sanity.
Our body and mind constantly change, but our Atman under whose background we perceive these changes is permanent. It is the support of our bodies and mind. Similarly, in the world, all things are constantly changing, but the support of the world, Brahman, is not changing. It remains the same and in the background of Brahman, we perceive the changes in the world. Our true nature is that Atman which is the same as Brahman. That is the only truth.
We can directly realize this Atman or Brahman by focusing our mind within ourselves in meditation. But, it is very difficult for most people. The other way is to focus our minds on the forms of God, or the forms of incarnations of God, or the forms of the realized beings. Since the name and form are inseparable, by chanting God’s names, or incarnations’ names, or realized beings’ names, we become one with them and through them, we realize our true divine identity. Thus, chanting God’s names lead us to the highest goal of spirituality.
Stanza – 3:
Meaning:
One who teaches us to chant God’s name, he/she is our spiritual teacher, our father, our mother, and our sibling.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Father, Mother, spiritual teacher, and siblings think for our good. They wish that we are in good health; we study well, have an excellent job, earn lots of money, have a happy family life, and acquire name, fame, power, and the highest position in the world. No doubt, these are good wishes. But, all these things give us temporary happiness. Since the worldly happiness and miseries go together, we cannot have happiness without miseries. This stanza says that among them those who teach us to chant God’s names are the best well-wishers. Because, chanting God’s name will give us eternal happiness, satisfaction, and everything that we are actually looking for in the world.
Stanza – 4:
Meaning:
There is no guarantee which one will be our last breath.
Therefore, chant God’s name from childhood.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Life is unpredictable and very short. Time flies very fast. So, we have to start chanting God’s name from childhood, if we really want to enjoy the precious fruits of our spiritual efforts. If we have missed it in our childhood, then we have to start chanting God’s name as soon as we have realized its importance. People think that when we finish our worldly duties and retire, at that time, we will take the name of God. But, it does not work that way. As Swami Brahmananda has said that it is like on a hot summer day, a person is waiting on the shore for the waves to stop, so that he/she can jump in the ocean to cool down. Waves will not stop. We have to jump in. Also, whatever our interests are at present, the same interests will continue when we retire. We cannot all of a sudden develop spiritual interest when we retire.
Stanza – 5:
Meaning:
God always resides where the devotees chant God’s name with devotion.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Sri Ramakrishna said that a devotee’s heart is God’s dwelling place. This stanza simply tells us where we can find God. We can truly feel God’s presence where sincere devotees chant God’s name. God, residing in the hearts of such devotees, manifests even outside in that environment. When we truly love God, we can feel the spiritual vibrations in such an environment.
Stanza – 6:
Meaning:
Oh! It is painful, it is terrible, and it is most painful when we give up chanting God’s name for short-lived worldly pleasures. It is like giving up a jewel, in order to get a mere piece of glass.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Chanting God’s name gives us inner peace and strength of mind. It also keeps our minds clear about what we think, speak, and act. Thus, we can live a sane life with awareness. Our life will be a blessing to ourselves and to others also. A person finds a big difference between a life lived on the spiritual background compared to a life lived to fulfill worldly desires without any spiritual background. One is like living in a nice, cool, comfortable place and the other is like living in a hot scorching sunny place having no shelter. A life lived only to fulfill worldly desires is more filled with problems, anxieties, dissatisfaction, sorrows, and frustration than joy and satisfaction. When people get used to the sufferings of life, they think that it is the only way to live. It is true that only fortunate people develop a love for God and love to chant God’s name.
Stanza – 7:
Meaning:
O my ears! Always listen to God’s name.
O my tongue! Always repeat God’s name and sing God’s glories.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
We have to occupy all our senses and mind to think of God. This can be done in various ways. This stanza indicates that let our ears listen to God’s names, tongue sings God’s glories, hands clap giving rhythm to our singing, eyes visualize God’s form, and legs take us to the holy places or to our prayer-room or to a quiet place where we can sing God’s glories. We can offer all our work to God and make them as worship to God. We can offer our whole life to God by doing God’s work.
Stanza – 8:
Meaning:
God’s name gloriously dwells above all in the world as ever pure Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss Absolute) making the joy of the whole world as mere straw.
Chanting God’s (Lord Hari’s) name is most important in the spiritual life.
Comments:
Upanishad says that the joy of the whole world is a very small fraction of the bliss of God-realization. Even by going a little bit closer to God, we can feel a big positive change in our life. It is like on a hot summer day if we got closer to an ocean we feel the cool breeze and experience joy.
Sri Ramakrishna says, “’ Distaste in taking the name of God!’ Because of the ignorance and impurities of the mind if distaste develops in taking God’s name, then there is no chance for us to save ourselves from the miseries of the world. On the other hand, if in our life we develop a little bit of taste in taking God’s name, then there is a great hope to save ourselves from the miseries of life. So, develop taste in taking God’s name. Repeat God’s name regularly. Repeat the name of Durga, Krishna, Hari, or any name of God which you like. By repeating God’s name, ‘Anuraga’, (intense love for God) develops day by day. Then one experiences bliss and becomes fearless. This intense love for God definitely will remove the ignorance and impurities of the mind and definitely one receives God’s grace.”
Let us sing this hymn, reflect on its meaning, mold our life accordingly, and enjoy the unlimited eternal bliss in our life.
I thank Jyoti and Chintal Shah for singing Kaivalyashtakam hymn and a dhoon for this post. Listen to it, sing it, think about its meaning, and experience spiritual joy.
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – VIII (Shloka – 9)
Make all efforts to realize the Atman residing within
Shloka – 9: Because of which a person loves one’s own body, spouse, children, and wealth, that Atman is the most lovable thing. All things other than the Atman are the cause of suffering. Therefore, all things other than the Atman are not pleasurable. One who is seeking the highest good of oneself is ready to sacrifice one’s own life, family, relatives, and all other things. Therefore a wise person should make all the efforts to realize the Atman only and nothing else.
Comments:
There is a well-known message in Brihadaranyaks Upanishad. Rishi Yajnavalkya was going to retire from the family life and was going to spend his time as a Sanyasi (all renounced person who is fully focusing his mind on the Ultimate Reality – Brahman). He wanted to divide his wealth between his two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani. This way he was also asking his wives for their permissions to let him renounce everything and focus his mind on the Ultimate Reality. Without their permission, he cannot renounce his responsibilities as a householder.
Brihadaranyaka (2.4.1-5): Sage Yajnavalkya said, “My dear Mitreyi! I am going to renounce this (householder’s) life. Let me make a final settlement between you and Katyayani.”
Thereupon, Maitreyi said, “O Venerable One! If indeed the whole earth, full of wealth, belonged to me, would I be immortal through that?” Yajnavalkya replied, “No. Your life would be just like that of people who have plenty. There is no hope of immortality through wealth.”
Maitreyi said, “Then, what should I do with that which would not make me immortal? Please tell me of that alone which you know to be the only means of attaining immortality.”
Yajnavalkya replied, “My dear, you have been my beloved so far and now you are talking which is most dear to me. Come, sit down, I will explain to you what makes one immortal. As I explain that to you, you reflect upon it and meditate on it.”
Then, Yajnavalkya said, “Verily, not for the sake of the husband, my dear, is the husband loved, but he is loved for the sake of the Self (Atman or Brahman).
Verily, not for the sake of the wife, my dear, is the wife loved, but she is loved for the sake of the Self.
Verily, not for the sake of the sons (children), my dear, are the sons (children) loved, but they are loved for the sake of the Self.
Verily, not for the sake of the wealth, my dear is wealth loved, but it is loved for the sake of the Self…
Verily, not for the sake of the All, my dear, is the All loved, but it is loved for the sake of the Self.
“Verily, my dear Maitreyi, it is the Self that should be realized – should be heard of, reflected on, and meditated upon. By the realization of the Self, my dear – through hearing, reflection, and meditation – all this is known.”
The ninth shloka of the Shatashloki clearly expresses sage Yajnavalkya’s teachings. When Atman leaves the body of a spouse, or a child, or a friend, then the body starts deteriorating and it has to be cremated as soon as possible. This makes it obvious that people loved the Atman residing within the person and not the body of the person.
Wealth has some value as long as we are alive. Wealth is material; it is a metal or a paper. A little reflection makes us aware that the value of wealth is limited. Wealth cannot buy love or mental peace. If wealth is not properly used, then it becomes a cause of suffering. Material possession also causes suffering. When we bought our first car, I had to park it on a busy street in a city. From our bedroom window, I could see our car. At night, a couple of times, whenever I heard some weird noise like car abruptly stopping with a squeaking break’s noise, or a person hitting a car while parking, I woke up to see whether it is our car. After waking up for a couple of times, I thought to myself, ‘Did I buy this car for comfort and pleasure or for a worry?’ Then, I laughed at myself and slept well.
There is a rule of the universe that except the bliss of realizing the Atman, anything that gives us material joy becomes the cause of suffering as well. Many times the material joy is little than the sufferings that follow. Saint Tulsidas said that we suffer when we meet people who do harmful things and we suffer when good people leave us. Joy and sorrow come together. We cannot have one without the other.
Fear and worry are connected. We worry because we have some kind of fear in the back of our minds. Saint Bhartruhari tells us in his Vairagya Shataka (shloka 34) that fear is attached to everything in this universe:
“If we go to enjoy something, then we have a fear of disease,
If we take pride in our heredity, then we have a fear of falling from its status,
If we have wealth, then we have a fear that the king might take it away (right now the IRS),
If we keep silence, then there is a fear that we are considered weak,
If we are physically strong, then we have a fear of an enemy,
If we have beauty, then we have a fear of old age,
If we take pride in our expertise, then we have a fear of someone knowing more than us,
If we take pride in our virtues, then we have a fear of a fault-finder pointing to our vice,
If we have body consciousness, then we have a fear of death,
In short, all things in this universe filled with fear except the renunciation. The renunciation only can make a person fearless.
The fear of all fears is the fear of death. In the conversation of the Rishi Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi we learned that realizing Atman makes us immortal, meaning it removes all our fear of death. Upanishads say that there is no other way to go beyond the fear of death except realizing our Atman. When we realize that our true identity is Atman which is eternal, that it was never born and so it will not die, then we can overcome the fear of death. We understand that what dies is the physical existence consists of our body and mind which we mistook as our true existence.
What is the way? According to Saint Bhartruhari, renunciation makes us fearless. What do we renounce? We have to renounce our false association with our body and mind. Simultaneously, we have to realize that our true identity is Atman or Brahman, and the goal of human life is to realize this Atman. By realizing Atman all our desires get fulfilled, all our doubts about life get destroyed, all our fear vanishes, and our life gets fulfillment.
In a collection of Sri Ramakrishna’s Bengali teachings, I read, “If we can see our true Self (Atman) in our self, then everything is accomplished. To see this we have to do spiritual practices. To be able to do these spiritual practices we have a body. To create a golden image, one needs a clay-mold. Similarly, we have the mold of the mortal body to realize the immortal Atman.”
Many people who have understood the importance of achieving this goal of life have renounced everything and had plunged into making efforts to realize the Atman. However, these people are one percent of the human population. For the other ninety-nine percent of the people, Sri Ramakrishna said that they have to renounce mentally. We can live in the world and perform all our responsibilities, but every day we have to sit in a quiet place and reflect upon ‘What is permanent and what is impermanent’. We have to think that our true identity is Atman or Brahman, the Ultimate Reality. We have to understand that the Power of Brahman which we call God or Shakri (Mother) or Mahamaya had created this universe; He/She preserves it and dissolves it. After doing our spiritual practices sincerely and regularly for a while, when we go deeper within, then we realize that in reality, God has become everything. The Ultimate Reality Brahman is appearing as various things of the universe with various names and forms.
Most people find it difficult to think that ‘I am Atman’. Our ‘ego’, meaning our body-mind-consciousness is so deep that it will not let us separate from it and let us think “I am Atman’. Sri Ramakrishna said that since the ego does not go away easily; let the rascal ego remains as a ‘devotee ego’ or ‘a servant ego’. He calls it a ‘ripe or mature ego’. A person with this ripe ego thinks that everything belongs to God; nothing is mine, not even my own body and mind. God gave me responsibilities to fulfill and I must perform my responsibilities as an offering to God or as a worship of God. If we start with this attitude, then slowly we will understand that God is the Ultimate Reality, Brahman. The Brahman is within me as Atman and because of its power my body and mind function. Then, comes a time when we can realize that Brahman is appearing a universe with its various names and forms. This shloka says that we must make all efforts to attain to this state.
Last week in a five-day summer camp 10th-grade high school students requested that they want to learn Shri Hanuman Chalisa. I was very happy to teach them because it is the best opportunity for me to learn and think more about Shri Hanuman Chalisa. Since this was one of the four topics of their camp, we only had five online classes. But, to my amazement, they enjoyed learning its text and meaning, and most importantly singing it. A few students learned the whole Hanuman Chalisa and most of them learned 24-28 chaupais out of 40. Almost all the students told me that during these days their minds keep repeating the Hanuman Chalisa. Students enjoyed remembering Sri Hanumanji’s character, vigor, intelligence, love, and devotion and his eagerness to do any work for Lord Rama.
The poet-saint who wrote Shri Hanuman Chalisa
Saint Tulsidas (1532 – 1623) was a Hindu poet-saint who was a great devotee of Lord Rama. He had a vision of Sri Hanumanji, the ideal servant of Lord Rama. Sri Hanumanji helped Saint Tulsidas to have the vision of Lord Rama.
The great epic Ramayana was originally written by Sage Valmiki. Saint Tulsidas wanted the Ramayana to be known by all in Northern India whether they knew Sanskrit or not. He rewrote the Ramayana as “Rama Charita Manasa” in the people’s language Awadhi which is close to Hindi. Today almost all Hindus in North India are familiar with or have heard of The Rama Charita Manas and they have been inspired by the virtues and devotion described in the book. The Rama Charita Manas has seven Kands (sections) in which the Fifth Kand is called the “Sundara Kanda”, meaning it is an excellent, wonderful, and most appealing Kanda. It describes courage, intelligence, humility, and the mighty power of Sri Hanumanji.
Saint Tulsidas wrote separately “The Hanuman Chalisa”, a forty-line hymn describing the glories of Sri Hanumanji. Each line of the hymn is called a “Chaupai”, a verse with two parts which rhyme. Chalisa means forty. Besides the forty lines, the Hanuman Chalisa also consists of two ‘Dohas’, in the beginning, to pray Sri Hanumanji and one Doha at the end asking Sri Hanumanji to reside in the heart of a devotee along with Lord Rama, Mother Sitaji and Lord Rama’s brother Sri Lakshmanji. Doha is a verse with two lines.
The Hanuman Chalisa describes various heroic acts of Sri Hanumanji along with his virtues and his various names. It also mentions the benefits of reciting this hymn. Today, millions of Hindus in India and all over the world are reciting this hymn regularly.
Before we go over the text and the meaning of the Hanuman Chalisa, I wanted to go over the associations of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda with Lord Rama, the Ramayana, and Shri Hanumanji. These are inspiring incidents and thoughts which may help to appreciate the Hanuman Chalisa.
Sri Ramakrishna’s worships of Lord Rama and Hanumanji:
Sri Ramakrishna’s family deity was Lord Rama. It is inspiring to see how Sri Ramakrishna gave his hundred percent mind, intellect, and heart in each of his spiritual practices. His spiritual practices were very natural. He had no inhibition and not the slightest trace of worry about the people’s opinions. The following two descriptions can give us some idea of how he had a vision of Lord Rama and Mother Sitaji and how he became one with Sri Hanumanji.
Worship of Ramalala:
About the year 1864 (when Sri Ramakrishna was about 28 years old) a wandering Vaishnava monk, called Jatadhari (one with matted hair), went to Dakshineswar. He was a devotee of Lord Rama. He had a small metal image of Lord Rama which he was daily worshipping it by giving a bath, feeding it, playing with it, taking it for a walk, and making it sleep. For the monk, it was not an image but a living Lord Rama. The monk was calling it Ramalala, out of love. Sri Ramakrishna loved this Ramalala.
One day, the monk came to Sri Ramakrishna and said that he had a vision of Lord Rama by worshipping the Ramalala and he wanted to give it to him to continue the worship he was doing before he moves on. Sri Ramakrishna was overjoyed. Afterward, Ramalala became a favorite companion of Sri Ramakrishna. Later on, he described to the devotees how the little image would dance gracefully before him, jumps on his back, insist on being taken in his arms, run to the fields in the sun, pluck flowers from the bushes and play pranks like a naughty boy. A few days later Sri Ramakrishna was blessed through Ramalala with a vision of Lord Rama. He realized that the Lord Rama of the Ramayana pervades the whole universe as Spirit and Consciousness; that He is its Creator, Sustainer, and Dissolver. He is the transcendental Brahman, without form, attribute, or name.
Worship of Shri Hanumanji:
Once, during his stage of spiritual practices, Sri Ramakrishna began to worship God by assuming the attitude of a servant towards his master. He imitated the mood of Sri Hanumanji of the Ramayana, the ideal servant of Lord Rama, and the traditional model for his self-effacing form of devotion. When he meditated on Sri Hanumanji, his movements and his way of life began to resemble those of a monkey. His eyes became restless. He lived on fruits and roots. With his cloth tied around his waist, a portion of it hanging in the form of a tail, he jumped from place to place instead of walking. He became one with Sri Hanumanji. After a short while, he was blessed with a vision of Mother Sitaji, the divine consort of Lord Rama, who entered his body and disappeared there with the words, “I bequeath to you my smile.”
Thus, Sri Ramakrishna identified himself with Shri Hanumanji and as Shri Hanumanji had found Mother Sitaji, he had a vision of Mother Sitaji.
(The above mentioned two descriptions are based on the biography written by Swami Nikhilananda in “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna”.)
Let us learn more about Sri Hanumanji from Swami Vivekananda.
Swami Vivekananda telling the story of Ramayana:
“When Rama and Lakshmana returned to the cottage and found that Sita was not there, their grief knew no bounds. They could not imagine what had become of her. The two brothers went on, seeking everywhere for Sita, but could find no trace of her. After long searching, they came across a group of “monkeys”, and in the midst of them was Hanuman, the “divine monkey”. Hanuman, the best of monkeys, became the most faithful servant of Rama and helped him in rescuing Sita, as we shall see later on. His devotion to Rama was so great that he is worshipped by the Hindus as the ideal of a true servant of the Lord.”
A great Bhakta (Hanuman) once said when asked what day of the month it was, “God is my eternal date, no other date I care for.”
Swami Vivekananda’s love for Ramayana and Hanuman:
In boyhood, Swami Vivekananda had a great predilection for hearing the chanting of the Ramayana by professional singers. Wherever such chanting would take place in the neighborhood, he would attend it, leaving the sport and all aside. Swamiji related how, while listening to the Ramayana, on some days, he would be so deeply engrossed in it as to forget all about home, and would have no idea that it was late at night, and that he must return home, and so forth. One day during the chant he heard that the monkey – god Hanuman lived in banana orchards. Forthwith he was so much convinced that when the chant was over, he did not go home straight that night, but loitered in a banana orchard close to his house, with the hope of catching sight of Hanuman, till it was very late in the night.
Hanuman (Mahavir) is the great ideal:
A disciple asked Swami Vivekananda: What ideal should we follow now?
Swami Vivekananda: You have now to make the character of Mahavira your ideal. See how at the command of Ramachandra he crossed the ocean. He had no care for life or death! He was a perfect master of his senses and wonderfully sagacious. You have now to build your life on this great ideal of personal service. Through that, all other ideals will gradually manifest in life. Obedience to the Guru without questioning, and strict observance of Brahmacharya — this is the secret of success.
As on the one hand, Hanuman represents the ideal of service, so on the other hand he represents leonine courage, striking the whole world with awe. He has not the least hesitation in sacrificing his life for the good of Rama. A supreme indifference to everything except the service of Rama, even to the attainment of the status of Brahma and Shiva, the great World of gods! Only the carrying out of Shri Rama’s best is the one vow of this life! Such wholehearted devotion is wanted….
The Damaru and horn have to be sounded, drums are to be beaten so as to raise the deep and martial notes, and with “Mahavira, Mahavira” on your lips and shouting “Hara, Hara, Vyom, Vyom”, the quarters are to be reverberated… Through the thunder – roll of the dignified Vedic hymns, life is to be brought back into the country… If you can build your character after such an ideal, then a thousand others will follow. But take care that you do not swerve an inch from the ideal. Never lose heart. In eating, dressing, or lying, in singing or playing, in enjoyment or disease, always manifest the highest moral courage. Then only will you attain the grace of Mahashakti, the Divine Mother.
Hanumanji’s attitude:
“Hanuman, the devotee of Rama, summed up his philosophy in these words: When I identify myself with the body, O Lord, I am Thy creature (servant), eternally separate from Thee. When I identify myself with the soul, I am a spark of that Divine Fire which Thou art. But when I identify myself with the Atman, I and Thou art one.”
Hanuman’s example of Eka(One)-Nishtha which leads to Serva(All)-Nishtha:
Swami Vivekananda: “During his lifetime, Rama came again as Krishna; and Hanuman, being a great Yogi, knew that the same God had come back again as Krishna. He came and served Krishna, but he said to him, “I want to see that Rama-form of yours”. Krishna said, “Is not this form enough? I am this Krishna; I am this Rama. All these forms are mine”. Hanuman said, “I know that, but the Rama-form is for me. The Lord of Jânaki (Lord Rama) and the Lord of Shri (Lord Vishnu) are the same. They are both the incarnations of the Supreme Self. Yet the lotus-eyed Rama is my all in all”. This is Nishtha–knowing that all these different forms of worship are right, yet sticking to one and rejecting the others. We must not worship the others at all; we must not hate or criticize them, but respect them.
This is indeed the most poetical and forcible way in which the theory of Ishta – Nishtha has ever been put. This Eka – Nishtha or devotion to one ideal is absolutely necessary for the beginner in the practice of religious devotion. He must say with Hanuman in the Ramayana, “Though I know that the Lord of Shri and the Lord of Janaki are both manifestations of the same Supreme Being, yet my all in all is the lotus-eyed Rama.” Or, as was said by the sage Tulasidasa, he must say, “Take the sweetness of all, sit with all, take the name of all, say yea, yea, but keep your seat firm.” Then, if the devotional aspirant is sincere, out of this little seed will come a gigantic tree like the Indian banyan, sending out branch after branch and root after root to all sides, till it covers the entire field of religion. Thus will the true devotee realizes that He/She who was his own ideal in life is worshipped in all ideals by all sects, under all names, and through all forms.”
Text, transliteration, and meaning of Shri Hanuman Chalisa:
Shri Hanumaan Chaalisa
Dohas
Shri Gurucharana saroja raja nija manu mukuru sudhaari Baranau Raghuvara bimala jasu jo dayaku phala chaari Buddhihina tanu jaanike sumirau pavankumaar Bala buddhi vidyaa deho mohi(n) harahu kalesa bikaara.
After cleansing my mind with the holy dust of the lotus feet of my teacher, I engaged myself in describing the untainted pure glory of Sri Ramachandra by knowing which we get all the four fruits of life – Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
I am devoid of intelligence. With that awareness, I remember Sri Hanumanji, the son of the wind god, and humbly ask him to give me strength, intelligence, knowledge which destroy all the miseries of my life created by the ignorance.
(1) Victory to Sri Hanumanji who is an ocean of knowledge and virtues. O Kapisha! You illumine all the three worlds – Heaven, earth, and hell (the whole universe).
You are the messenger of Sri Rama having immeasurable strength. You are the son of Mother Anjana and named as the son of the wind god.
Having a strong body like the vajra which cannot be destroyed by anything, you are Mahavira, the valiant and brave. You remove the impurity of the intellect and in your presence, we feel the wisdom and our intellect becomes pure.
Your complexion is golden of a yogi. You are adorable with your outfit, curly hair, and earrings.
(2) You carry in your hand a mace of a lightning bolt and a flag of renunciation and victory of Sri Rama. You are wearing a sacred thread, a symbol of purity and commitment to God-realization. You are a descendant of Lord Shiva and the joy of Shri Kesari. The whole world bows down to you.
You are endowed with the highest knowledge and possess all virtues. You are extremely smart and skillful. You enjoy singing the glories of Sri Rama and all the three, Sri Rama, Sri Lakshmana, and Mother Sitaji, always reside in your heart.
Sukshma rupa dhari siyahi(n) dikhaavaa bikata rupa dhari Lanka jaraavaa Bhima rupa dhari asura sau(n)haare Raamachandrake kaaja sau(n)vaare Laaya sajivana Lakhana jiyaaye Shri Raghuvira harashi ura laaye Raghupati kinhi bahuta badaai tuma mama priya Bharatahi sama bhaai.
(3) By taking a subtle form you found Sitaji and talked to her with humility. On the other hand, you became a giant and burn the whole city Lanka and with the mighty form, you destroyed demons. Thus, you did Sri Rama’s work.
You brought sanjivani to save Sri Lakshmanji’s life. For this act, Sri Rama embraced you with a lot of love and praised you by saying that “You are as dear to me as my own brother Bharat.”
Sahasa badana tumharo jasa gaavai(n) asa kahi Shripati kantha lagaavai Sanakaadika Brahmaadi munisaa Naarada Saarada sahita Ahisaa Jama kubera Dikpaala jahaa(n) te kabi kobida kahi sake kahaa(n) te Tuma upakaaraa Sugrivahi(n) kinhaa Raama milaaya raaja pada dinhaa.
(4) Sri Rama embraces you saying that the Shesh Naga with thousands of mouths praising your glories and so do Sanak, Brahma, Munis, Narada, Saraswati, Ahisa, Yama, Kubera, the gods who protect all directions and others.
Compare to this, how a mere poet can describe your glories adequately? You rendered a great service to Sugriva by introducing Sri Rama to him and making him a king.
(5) It is well-known that Vibhishana accepted your counsel and became the king of Lanka.
You flew to swallow the sun which was millions of miles away thinking that it is an apple.
It is no wonder that you put Sri Rama’s ring in your mouth and in one jump crossed the ocean. With your grace, all the impossible-looking works of the world can be made possible.
Raamaduaare tuma rakhavare hota na aagnyaa binu paisaare Saba sukha lahai tumhaari saranaa tuma rachchhaka kaahu ko daranaa Aapana teja samhaaro aapai tino(n) loka haa(n)ka te kaa(n)pe Bhuta pisaacha nikata nahi(n) aavai mahaabira jaba naama sunaavai.
(6) O sentinel of the Lord! No one can enter Sri Rama’s abode without your consent. By your grace, one can enjoy all the happiness of the world and need not have any fear under your protection.
When you roar all the three worlds tremble. Only you can control your own might. When your devotees repeat your name saying ‘O Mahavir!” the evil spirits cannot come near them.
Naasai roga harai saba piraa japata nirantara Hanumata biraa Sankata te(n) Hanumaana chhudaavai mana krama bachana dhyaana jo laavai Saba para Raama tapasvi raajaa tinake kaaja sakala tuma saajaa Aura manoratha jo koi laavai soi amita jivana phala paavai.
(7) O mighty Hanumanji! One who constantly repeats your name can overcome all the diseases and suffering. One who at all the times aligns thoughts, speech, and actions and meditates on Hanumanji becomes free from all the troubles.
The austere king Sri Rama is the ruler of all and you help accomplish all his missions. One who surrenders to you gets all his/her desires fulfilled.
Chaaro(n) juga parataapa tumhaaraa hai parasiddha jagata ujiyaaraa Saadhu santake tuma rakhavaare asura nikandana Raama dulaare Ashta siddhi nau nidhike daataa asa bara dina Jaanaki maataa Raama rasaayana tumhare paasaa sadaa raho Raghupatike daasaa.
(8) Your glory is acclaimed in the four Yugas and your radiance is spread all over the universe. You are a protector of Saints and a destroyer of demons. Sri Rama has great affection for you.
Mother Sitaji granted a boon to you so that you can give anyone the eight Siddhis and the nine Nidhis. You have a great remedy for all problems which is the name of Sri Rama. You are always ready to serve Sri Rama.
Tumhare bhajana Raamako paavai janama janamake dukkha bisaraavai Anta kaala Raghubara pura jaai jahaa(n) janma Haribhakta kahaai Aura devataa chitta na dharai Hanumata sei sarva sukha karai Sankata katai mitai saba piraa jo sumirai Hanumata balabiraa.
(9) By chanting your name one can realize Sri Rama and thus becomes free from the sufferings of many lives. After death, he/she enters the eternal abode of Sri Rama and remains his devotee whenever he/she takes birth on earth.
Other gods may not take care of you, but whoever serves you enjoys all happiness. O Hanumanji! Those, who remember you, the mighty god, become free from all problems and sufferings of life.
Jai jai jai Hanumaana gosaai kripaa karahu Gurudevaki naai Jo sata baara paatha kara koi chhutahi bandi mahaa sukha hoi Jo yah padhai Hanumaan chalisaa hoya siddhi saakhi Gaurisaa Tulsidaasa sadaa Hari cheraa kijai naatha hridaya ma(n)ha deraa.
(10) Victory to Sri Hanumanji. Please be gracious to me as my Supreme Teacher. One who recites this prayer a hundred times becomes liberated from the earthly bondage and enjoys the highest bliss.
One who recites this Hanuman Chalisa attains the highest state and Lord Shiva becomes the witness for that. Tulsidas is the eternal disciple of Lord Hari and prays, ‘O Hanumanji! Please reside in my heart forever’.
Doha Pavanatanaya sankata harana mangala murati rupa Raama Lakhana Sitaa sahita hridaya basahu sura bhupa.
O Hanumanji, the son of the wind-god, remover of the problems of life, the embodiment of the blessings, please reside in my heart with Sri Rama, Sri Lakshmana, and Mother Sitaji.
Siyaavara Raamachandraki Jai Pavanasuta Hanumaanaki Jai Siyaavara Raamachandraki Jai sharanam.
Victory to Sri Rama, the husband of Mother Sitaji!
Victory to Hanumanji, the son of the wind-god!
Victory to Sri Rama, the husband of Mother Sitaji!
I surrender to you.
Reflections:
Why Shri Hanumanji is a great ideal?
Swami Vivekananda said that Shri Hanumanji is a great ideal for a devotee because of (i) Shri Hanumanji’s one-pointed love for Lord Rama and (ii) Shri Hanumanji was an ideal servant of Lord Rama and he was always ready to do Lord Rama’s work. We should remember that Shri Hanumanji had the highest knowledge of Advaita Vedanta, but he chose to be a devotee and a servant of Lord Rama as long as he has a body-consciousness.
Why do I recite Shri Hanuman Chalisa?
When I recite Shri Hanuman Chalisa,
(1) I join with Saint Tulsidasji in his beginning prayer consists of the two dohas and request Shri Hanumanji to help me (i) purify my mind by surrendering to my spiritual Guru, (ii) remember the untainted glories of Lord Rama, (iii) understand that my intellect is limited and (iv) develop strength, pure intelligence, and acquire spiritual knowledge with which I can remove my fundamental ignorance which creates all the problems of my life. The fundamental ignorance is that I forget my true divine nature and start thinking that I am nothing but my body and mind.
(ii) While reciting Shri Hanuman Chalisa, I try to imagine all the life incidents of Shri Hanumanji which have been described in it.
I enjoy singing the glories of Shri Hanumanji and remember that Shri Hanumanji is a great ideal. Thus, I pray to develop one-pointed love for God and be ready to do God’s work.
(iii) After completing the recitation of Shri Hanuman Chalisa I join again with Saint Tulsidasji in the last doha to pray to Shri Hanumanji to reside in my heart along with Lord Rama, Mother Sitaji and Shri Lakshmanji and manifest their divinity through my thoughts, speech, and actions.
Reciting Shri Hanuman Chalisa for the worldly gain:
Many hymns have a few lines which say that if we recite the hymn then our sufferings will go away and we get worldly benefits.
In this hymn also we find similar lines like “One who remembers Shri Hanumanji, then disease and all the sufferings of the person goes away, ghost and evil spirit don’t come near him/her, and all the desires of the person get fulfilled”.
I think we have to understand these lines in a proper perspective. We have to read and emphasize other lines that bring the deeper meaning of these lines. For example, the same Hanuman Chalisa says that “By chanting your name one can realize Sri Rama and thus becomes free from sufferings of many lives.” This clearly tells us the purpose of reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, namely ‘Realization of God’ which removes all the problems and sufferings of this life and the future lives.
If someone is sick or in trouble, then there is nothing wrong to pray to God for the recovery of the person from his/her illness and being free from the trouble. We love God and we can tell all our troubles to God and pray to God. But, after the prayer, we have to surrender to God’s will. This way we will acquire inner strength and fearlessness which allow us to go through the difficult challenges of life and would be able to bear all the sufferings. There is no other sane way to live our life.
Our prayer is not a business contract like ‘O God! I pray to you and in return, you remove my sickness or trouble.’ God is the creator, preserver, and the dissolver of the universe. There is a divine plan behind this whole universe that we cannot fully understand. In the infinite universe of God, even the whole earth is a tiny little dot, then how can we demand God for our little selfish needs! We cannot tell God what to do. We can only pray to God and then leave everything to God’s will.
Sri Ramakrishna said that he had never asked God for anything except knowledge and devotion. He did not ask Mother Kali for his recovery from his throat cancer. He taught us that we should only pray to God for knowledge and devotion. Swami Vivekananda, as Naren, also did the same thing. He could not pray for his family’s financial crisis to the Divine Mother. He went to pray for it, but instead, he prayed for knowledge and devotion. This is exactly the main purpose of all the hymns – to develop a love for God and realized God. Then all our problems will be solved.
People, who just pray to God to fulfill their worldly desires, may lose faith in God when these desires are not fulfilled. Ultimately they lose all the great benefits of spiritual development.
Let us enjoy reciting the Hanuman Chalisa to develop one-pointed love for God and to become a true servant of God like Shri Hanumanji. May Shri Hanumanji bless us all.
Melodies of Shri Hanuman Chalisa:
Several great artists of India have sung Shri Hanuman Chalisa in various melodies. All these are available on the internet. Several of the melodies are based on the Indian Classical Ragas. There are many melodies based on folk tunes.
A few years ago, singing Shri Hanuman Chalisa, a melody based on the Bhairavi Raga came to my mind. I am so grateful that Shri Ghanashyambhai Senjalia sang for this post the Hanuman Chalisa in Raga Bhairavi. Here is the audio of this recording:
I wanted to add audios of more popular folk tunes. I requested Chintal and Jyoti Shah to sing the Hanuman Chalisa in the folk tune that they are familiar with. I sincerely thank them for this recording which I am presenting here.
There was another popular tune that I had heard from many people. I found that Devika Gadhavi sings in that tune. So, upon my request, Devika sang for this post in short notice. I sincerely thank her for this audio recording which I am attaching here. I hope you enjoy all these recordings.
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – VII (Shloka – 8)
The Teachings of the Upanishads
Shloka – 8
Translation:
To appease a child who is crying for a long time, his/her mother gives the child various fruits like grapes, or dates, or a mango, or a banana to eat. Similarly, the Upanishads have prescribed various methods to bring peace and to acquire proper knowledge to the disturbed mind of a deluded person whose delusion has been piled up due to the ignorance of innumerable past lives.
Comments:
A Mother consoling her crying child:
This picture of a mother and child is universal. The food items may vary. I wonder how many children will be appeased by fruits! This mother must be of a Sattvika nature who gives Sattvika food to her child. Usually, the candies and the cookies appease most of the children. However, the picture of a crying baby and mother’s various attempts to appease her child is universal and eternal. It is an appropriate picture which follows by Shri Shankaracharya’s message.
Shri Shankaracharya considers the Upanishads as the Mother of all people and the Upanishads through their teachings trying to appease the crying people. The people are crying like babies due to their problems of life and many problems are self-created. Shri Shankaracharya says that the fundamental cause of all human problems is the ignorance of the Reality. A person by ignorance thinks that ‘I am such and such a person and I am this body and mind.’ With that ignorance, all the problems begin.
The cause of crying:
Children cry when they don’t get what they want, or they are hungry, or something is hurting them, or they are tired or sick. Adults think that the children are ignorant and they cry because they have a lack of understanding. But, adults also cry. They cry mainly when they are sick, or they lose their near and dear ones, or they lose their jobs or money, or their desires do not get fulfilled or they feel helpless. I am sure the wise people who love all and have compassion for all feel the pain of the crying adults, but they know that these adults are crying because of their ignorance and lack of true knowledge.
In human life, there is little joy and lots of suffering. Birth, old age, sickness, and death are painful. Dejection, any kind of loss, and not getting what we want is painful. On top of this natural calamities come. Many people were happy with their normal life. But the coronavirus came and disturbed the happiness of people all over the world. Everywhere people are filled with the fear of death and uncertainty of life. In the hospitals, people are separated from their families and are suffering alone and many of them are dying alone. Maybe after a few months or a few years, the coronavirus situation gets under control and we may go back to the ‘revised normal’ living. But after that, the whole package of our previous joys and sorrows, desires and disappointments, future plans and their obstacles, and many other things will come back and they will occupy our mind. Sri Ramakrishna says that “If you throw a brick-bat into a pond covered with moss, you get a glimpse of the water. But a few moments later the moss comes dancing back and covers the water.” Similarly, in painful times we come face to face with Reality of life, but then the Mahamaya, the deluding power of Brahman, covers our minds with many unfulfilled desires and we forget the Reality.
Even without any natural calamity, we are not always happy. Our desires have no end. When our desires are not fulfilled we are unhappy. Even when our one desire gets fulfilled, other desires occupy our mind and will not let us enjoy the happiness we had acquired. Many times, we work day and night sacrificing all our comforts and pleasures to acquire one worldly object. But when we get that desired object, our mind loses interest in that object. Thus, the problem is not in worldly objects, but it is in our minds.
The real urge to acquire spiritual knowledge:
Only when we realize that the worldly objects cannot give us longer-lasting happiness, then we look for something higher than the worldly objects to acquire longer-lasting happiness. Lord Buddha saw this longer-lasting happiness or serenity on the face of a mendicant who had no worldly possession. Shri Ramakrishna said that as long as the child is busy playing toys, the mother gets all the work done in the house like cooking and other choirs. When the child gets tired of playing with the toys and really needs his/her mother, then the child screams for the mother. At that time the mother puts away the pots and pans and comes to the child running. Similarly, when we realize that the worldly objects like toys cannot give us the longer-lasting happiness, then the real hunger for the higher knowledge comes. Until then we have to go through the waves of joys and sorrows in life where the waves of sorrows are higher and deeper than the waves of happiness. We appreciate and understand the value of the Upanishad’s teachings when that real cry comes from within.
Would crying help?
From the human and the practical point of view crying helps to vent out our pain lying within. If people don’t cry and keep the pain inside, then they develop psychological problems that are harmful.
However, just venting out our pain by crying and then get back again into the same routine of life which keeps us in the vicious cycle of suffering and crying, does not help to remove the main cause of our suffering. People think that crying to God may help fulfill our worldly desires. Swami Vivekananda says that such crying increases our superstitions.
Swami Vivekananda: “You know in your inmost heart that many of your limited ideas, this humbling of yourself and praying and weeping to imaginary beings are superstitions. Tell me one case where these prayers have been answered. All the answers that came were from your own hearts.
You know there are no ghosts, but sooner are you in the dark than you feel a little creepy sensation. That is so because in our childhood we have had all these fearful ideas put into our heads. But do not teach these things to others through fear of society and public opinion, through fear of incurring the hatred of friends, or for fear of losing cherished superstitions. Be master of all these,
What is there to be taught more in religion than the oneness of the universe and faith in one’s self?”
In the following passage, Swami Vivekananda says that the ultimate help is going to come from within. There is no use of crying.
Swami Vivekananda: “It is a tremendous error to feel helpless. Do not seek help from anyone. We are our own help. If we cannot help ourselves, there is none to help us. …”Thou thyself art thy only friend, thou thyself art thy only enemy. There is no other enemy but this self of mine, no other friend by myself” (Bhagavad Gita 6.5). This is the last and greatest lesson, and Oh, what a time it takes to learn it! We seem to get hold of it, and the next moment the old wave comes. The backbone breaks. We weaken and again grasp for that superstition and help. Just think of that huge mass of misery, and all caused by this false idea of going to seek for help!”
The cause of our suffering is ignorance:
The Upanishads say that the cause of our sufferings is the ignorance of our true identity which is called ‘Atman’. We think that we are just our body and mind, but through reflections, meditations, and proper spiritual practices Rishis and many saints realized that behind our body and mind there is something eternal and non-changing substratum called ‘Atman’ which is our true nature. By nurturing the ignorance of our true nature we suffer again and again.
Swami Vivekananda says, “The main cause of all bondage is ignorance. Man is not wicked by his own nature–not at all. His nature is pure, perfectly holy. Each man is divine. Each man that you see is a God by his very nature. This nature is covered by ignorance, and it is ignorance that binds us down. Ignorance is the cause of all misery. Ignorance is the cause of all wickedness, and knowledge will make the world good.”
Swami Vivekananda says, “A caterpillar spins a little cocoon around itself out of the substance of its own body and at last, finds it imprisoned. It may cry and weep and howl there; nobody will come to its rescue until it becomes wise and then comes out, as a beautiful butterfly. So (it is) with these our bondages. We are going around and around ourselves through countless ages. And now we feel miserable and cry and lament over our bondage. But crying and weeping will be of no avail. We must set ourselves to cutting these bondages.”
What to do then? Swami Vivekananda talks about it in the following passage:
Swami Vivekananda says, “If the room is dark, do you go about beating your chest and crying, “It is dark, dark, dark!” No, the only way to get the light is to strike a light, and then the darkness goes. The only way to realize the light above you is to strike the spiritual light within you, and the darkness of sin and impurity will flee away. Think of your higher self, not of your lower.”
This higher self is within us.
Swami Vivekananda says, “The Vedanta proves that the truth for which we have been searching all this time is present, and was all the time with us. In our ignorance, we thought we had lost it, and went about the world crying and weeping, struggling to find the truth, while all along it was dwelling in our own hearts. There alone can we find it.”
The teachings of the Upanishads:
Swami Vivekananda brought out two major teachings of the Upanishads: ‘Oneness’ and ‘Faith in one’s Inner Self’.
The ‘Oneness’ is the ‘Oneness of Existence’. The Upanishads teach that there is only one Reality, one Existence behind the varieties of people, animals, trees, plants, stars, sun, moon, planets, and all the objects of the universe. The same Brahman appears out of our ignorance as a variety of things. It is like waves in the ocean of consciousness. Various waves arise in the ocean. They look different, but they all are nothing but the ocean water. They appear in the ocean and again merge in the ocean.
The following passage gives us some idea about the Brahman:
Swami Vivekananda says, “The Purusha (Brahman) does not love, it is love itself. It does not exist, it is existence itself. The Soul does not know, It is knowledge itself. It is a mistake to say the Soul loves, exists, or knows. Love, existence, and knowledge are not the qualities of the Purusha, but its essence. When they get reflected upon something, you may call them the qualities of that something. They are not the qualities but the essence of the Purusha, the great Atman, the Infinite Being, without birth or death, established in its own glory. It appears to have become so degenerate that if you approach to tell it, “You are not a pig,” it begins to squeal and bite.”
The same Brahman reflects in each individual as an Atman. Sri Ramakrishna says that imagine the body is like a plate and the mind is like water in the plate and in that water there is a reflection of the sun, which is Atman. This Atman is our true identity. It is divine. It is never born and does not die. Its nature is Existence-Knowledge-Bless Absolute. By realizing It all our fear of death goes away, our mind gets filled with bliss, and we get endowed with tremendous inner strength. This is the second thing we can learn from the Upanishads, ‘the faith in our true identity – Atman.’ By realizing Atman, we can remove the cause of all our sufferings.
Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings of crying:
Sri Ramakrishna says that people shed a jug of tears for their relatives, money, and many worldly things, but who cries to realize God. If people sincerely cry for three days to realize God, then they have a vision of God.
This crying is not for the worldly rewards and for worldly gain. This crying comes when we understand the futility of trying to get longer-lasting happiness from the finite worldly objects. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that often one has to go into solitude and reflect upon the ultimate truth, ‘Brahman alone is real (permanent) and everything else is unreal (impermanent)’. By realizing the eternal and omnipresent Brahman, we feel infinite bliss within and we can go through the joys and sorrows of life keeping our mind always focused on the Brahman. Then, we may cry due to human suffering, but we will not get deluded. We always remember that this world is impermanent and we have to move on.
The Upanishad’s teachings will make us strong and fearless and will give us the fulfillment of life. The four yogas (Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Karma Yoga), developed from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, are also helpful to remove our sufferings of life.
Note: Today is Lord Buddha’s Birthday. His goal of life was to remove the sufferings of life and bring bliss within. May we make sincere efforts to remove the sufferings of our life and bring peace and bliss within.
Meaning: From Brahman came the creation, preservation, and the dissolution of the universe.
Comments:
Only nothing comes out of nothing:
This sutra says that the universe did not come out from nothing. Only nothing comes out of nothing.
The Big Bang Theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the Universe. Under this theory, space and time emerged together 13.8 billion years ago and the energy and matter initially present has become less dense as the Universe expanded.
The most widely accepted theory of planetary formation, known as the nebular hypothesis, maintains that, 4.6 billion years ago, the Solar System formed from the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud which was light-years across. Several stars, including the Sun, formed within the collapsing cloud. The gas that formed the Solar System was slightly more massive than the Sun itself. Most of the mass collected in the center, forming the Sun; the rest of the mass flattened into a protoplanetary disc, out of which the planets and other bodies in the Solar System formed.
However, something was there to expand. According to the Rishis, who reflected upon the fundamental questions of life like: (1) What is my true identity? (2) What is the purpose of my life? (3) How this universe came into existence? (4) What is the reality behind this constantly changing universe? (5) Who is preserving this universe? (6) What is the ultimate end of this universe? (7) What is my relationship with the universe? (5) What is my relation to all other beings? and found their answers through their scientific search within. They found with their inner search and reflections that there is only one Ultimate Reality which they call it ‘Brahman’ and the same Ultimate Reality appears as the universe. This conclusion matches the scientific conclusion mentioned above.
In the previous sutra, it has been said that when one has a proper background, then an intense desire comes to inquire into the nature of Brahman. It was also established that the knowledge of Brahman makes one free from all bondages, destroys all doubts regarding one’s own existence and the universe, brings fearlessness, peace of mind, and fulfillment of life.
Now, in order to know or realize Brahman, one should know ‘What is Brahman?’ and “What are the characteristics of Brahman?”
Doubts and arguments for impossibility to acquire the knowledge of Brahman: Some people say that “Brahman has no characteristics by which It can be defined, and in the absence of definition It cannot be known, and consequently there cannot be any liberation or freedom from all bondages.
Answer: This sutra and its commentary give the answer to this question. It is not easy to describe Brahman, but sincere attempts are made to give as much idea of Brahman as possible. A mother points out a finger to the moon and tells her child, “Look at the moon.” The hand and the pointed finger are not the moon. They just point towards the moon. The child has to see the moon. Thus, Brahma Sutras and all the scriptures just point out to the Brahman. People have to follow the directions given by the scriptures and do appropriate spiritual practices to realize the Brahman. Those who have followed properly, they had realized the Brahman and their experiences match with the experiences of the Rishis who have realized It. Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, and many other saints are examples of people who have realized the Brahman.
There are two major definitions of Brahman.
Tatastha Lakshana:
This sutra gives a definition of Brahman: “That which is the cause of the universe is Brahman – where the imagined “cause of the world” is indicative of Brahman.
This is called the ‘Tatastha Lakshnana’, meaning that characteristic of a thing which is distinct from its nature and yet serves to make it known.
In the definition given by this sutra, the origin, sustenance, and dissolution are characteristics of the universe and as such are in no way related to Brahman which is eternal and changeless; yet these indicate Brahman, ; which is imagined to be the cause of the universe. Actually, Maya, the power of Brahman, creates an illusion due to which the Brahman appears as the universe separate from Brahman. It is just like an imagined snake indicates the existence of a rope. One says ‘that which is imagined as a snake is the rope.’
Swaroopa Lakshana:
The scriptures give another definition of Brahman.
Taittiriay Upanishad (2.1.1):
“Truth, Knowledge, Infinity is Brahman.”
This is called the Swaroopa Lakshana, that which defines Brahman in Its true essence. These words, though they have different meanings in ordinary parlance, yet refer to the one indivisible Brahman. It is like the same man is refer to by the words father, son, brother, husband etc. depending on the relationship with the other individuals.
In the universe grasped by the senses, knowledge comes by various means, like direct perception by the senses, reasoning, inference, and others. But, we have to note that this sutra does not arrive at the fact that ‘The Brahman is the first cause of the universe’ by reasoning, or inference or any other means.
Brahman cannot be so established independently of the scriptures (Shruti).
Cause – effect reasoning: Each effect has a cause. The existence of the universe is an effect and it must have a cause. But, we cannot logically establish with certainty what exactly the nature of that cause is. Since Brahman is not an object of the senses, we cannot say that the Brahman alone is the cause of the universe and nothing else. The relation between the cause and the effect can be established when both the objects are perceived.
Inference and Reasoning: Inference and other means may give only strong suggestions of Brahman’s being the First Cause of the universe. But, a thing established by mere inference, however well thought out, is explained otherwise by greater intellects. A sound heard from a floor upstairs can be inferred through reasoning, but we cannot say with certainty that it is the only reason for the sound.
The reasoning is also endless according to the intellectual capacity of people and therefore cannot go far in asserting the Truth.
It is a direct experience that carries the weight. Therefore all the scriptures are authoritative in asserting the Truth because they are the records of the direct experience of the masterminds (Rishis) who have come face to face with the Ultimate Reality. This experience can be checked up to a point through reasoning, but the reasoning should be based on the scriptures. Reasoning not based on the scriptures does not lead us anywhere. Therefore the scriptures having the records of the direct experience of the Truth of the Rishis are called ‘Aptavakya’.
Thus, the prime object of this sutra is not to establish Brahman through inference, but to discuss scriptural passages which declare that ‘Brahman is the First Cause of the universe.
Taittiriya Upanishad (3.1):
“Bhrigu, the son of Varuna, approached his father Varuna and said, ‘Venerable Sir, teach me about Brahman.’ Varuna told him, ‘…That from which these beings are born, by which they live after birth and into which they enter (at the time of dissolution) – try to know That. That is Brahman.”
The sutra asks us to collect the Vedanta texts for the full comprehension of Brahman. Once, the scriptures have declared Brahman to be the First Cause, we have to reason to understand these Vedanta Texts and not to reason to contradict them. We must reason to find out the Truth lying behind these Vedanta texts.
Vedanta Practices:
Vedanta prescribed the following three kinds of practices in order to realize Brahman:
(1) Shravana: We have to listen to or read the scriptures (Shrutis). Listening to scriptures from a person who has realized Brahman or whose goal is to realize Brahman and who is sincerely making efforts to achieve that goal is better than reading the scriptures ourselves. These people tell us the essence of the scriptures and save our time to find this essence. We can then read the scriptures to better understand the essence we had heard.
(2) Manana: After listening to and reading the essence of the scriptures, we have to reflect upon them. Sri Ramakrishna always emphasized to sit in the solitude and reflect on the essence of the scriptures which is, ‘Brahman alone is real and everything else is unreal, meaning impermanent’. We have to reflect upon the reasoning and the elaboration provided to us establishing the Ultimate Truth of the scriptures by the Sages who have realized Brahman.
(3) Nididhyasana: We have to meditate on the nature of the Brahman in order to realize It ourselves. If we have done Shravan and Manana practices properly, then our meditation becomes deeper and focused on the Brahman. We have to continue our meditation practices until we realize the Brahman.
Intuition: Meditation leads us to intuition. By intuition is meant that kind of mental modification (Vritti) of the mind (Chitta) which destroys the ignorance. The main ignorance is to think that ‘I am this body and mind’, ‘I am not Brahman’, and ‘This universe is different from Brahman’. When the ignorance is destroyed by this mental modification in the form of Brahman (called Brahmakara Vritti), then Brahman, which is self-luminous, reveals Itself within.
The difference between ordinary perception and realization of Brahman:
In ordinary perception, first, our senses bring an external object to our mind, then our mind (Chitta) takes the form of that object, and the consciousness reflected through intellect in this modification of the mind manifests the object. Thus, our ignorance about the object will vanish.
In the case of the realization of Brahman, the mental modification in the form of Brahman (Brahmakara Vritti) destroys the ignorance mentioned above, and the Brahman, being self-luminous, and Pure Consciousness reveals Itself within.
Since the destruction of the ignorance is most important, the scriptures mostly talk about Brahman negatively, saying ‘Neti Neti” (Not this, not this), means ‘body is not Brahman, the mind is not Brahman, intellect is not Brahman, what we perceive through our senses is not Brahman.’
However, Sri Ramakrishna gave an excellent example regarding this. He said that if we are going to the terrace of a house, we climb each step and ask, ‘Is this the terrace?’ and the answer is ‘No’, until we come to the terrace. Thus, we deny all the steps as not being the terrace. But, after reaching the terrace we find that the steps are made out of the same material as the terrace is made out of. This means that after negating everything, when we realize Brahman, then we find that everything is Brahman. There is nothing in this universe that is not Brahman. Only out of ignorance we perceive everything as different from Brahman.
The difference between ‘an inquiry into Brahman’ and ‘a non-Brahman religious inquiry’:
In a non-Brahman religious inquiry, a person usually wants to achieve a worldly thing or wants to go to heaven for enjoyment. In that case, one has to have faith in the scriptures, perform the required rituals, and then wait for the result. In this case, only faith is required to acquire the predicted result. Also, note that one has to wait for the result.
In the inquiry into Brahman, we do not have to wait for the result. As soon as the ignorance vanishes, the Brahman reveals from within. Note that the Brahman has already existed before. We have to make efforts to destroy our ignorance, and not to reveal Brahman. In this process of realization of Brahman, faith, reasoning, and other methods are available to destroy our ignorance.
Brahman also has been described as “Sat-Chit-Ananda”, Existence, Knowledge, Bliss Absolute, and as “Shuddha, Buddha, Nitya Mukta”, Pure, All Knowledge, and Ever Free from all the bondages.
We will know more about Brahman by studying the remaining Brahma Sutras.
By studying the Brahma Sutras, we learn the following:
(1) The Nature of Brahman (the Ultimate Reality or Truth, the One Existence). It can be thought of as Pure Consciousness.
(2) We learn the characteristics of Brahman which have been realized by the Knowers of Truth, called the Rishis.
(3) We find the seeds of the “Vedanta Philosophy” which have been fully developed later on by the great teachers. Especially, we can be familiar with the background of Swami Vivekananda’s lectures on the Vedanta.
(4) We learn some of the important passages from the Upanishads. In particular, we learn the true meaning of those passages of the Upanishads which are unclear or ambiguous.
(5) By knowing correctly the nature of Brahman we can get rid of our spiritual and religious superstitions which could be the obstacles in our spiritual development.
Now, let us start to learn about the Brahma Sutras. It is said that people at least should learn the meanings of the first four Brahma Sutras.
The 555 Brahma Sutras are divided into four chapters. Each chapter has four sections and each section has several topics.
Chapter -1: “What is Brahman?”
Topic – 1: The inquiry into Brahman and its pre-requisites (sutra-1)
Sutra-1:
Meaning: Now, therefore, the inquiry into the real nature of Brahman.
Comments: Now, means after being prepared to inquire about the Brahman.
How do we prepare ourselves?
To prepare ourselves for the inquiry into Brahman, the following four practices have been mentioned by Shri Shankaracharya in the Viveka-Chudamani:
(1) Viveka – Awareness of what is permanent and what is not permanent. (The word discrimination has other connotations, so I would not use it.) Logically, emotionally, and through experiences we have to come to an understanding that anything that has a beginning and an end is impermanent. Thus, our body, mind, and all the objects of the world which we perceive by our senses are impermanent. The One Reality or One Existence, called Brahman, lies behind all the impermanent things. It is the only permanent reality. It is our true identity and the goal of life is to realize it.
(2) Vairagya – Giving up the cravings for the impermanent.
Shri Ramakrishna said that a child is busy playing with toys. During that time the mother takes care of the cooking and other choirs of the house. But, when the child gets bored by the toys and gets hungry, then the child screams for the mother. At that time, the mother puts away the pots and pans and runs to the child.
Vairagya is like ‘getting bored’ by all the temporary joys of the senses and realizing that the worldly objects cannot give us permanent happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment of life. When this understanding comes, then naturally one gets withdrawn from the worldly objects and seeks the realization of Brahman which gives infinite bliss and the fulfillment of life.
(3) Shama-Dama-Shada Samppati: The following six practices are important to have:
(i) Shama: Withdrawing the mind from all the sense objects, meaning giving up all the thoughts related to the sense objects and focusing on Brahman, is called Shama. We need to acquire the control of our mind by constant practice of japa and meditation.
(ii) Dama: In order to have control of the mind, we need control of the senses which is called Dama. We have to practice both the Shama and Dama together. They are inter-connected. The control of the senses can be acquired by practicing austerity. For example, have a daily spiritual schedule to do spiritual practices and strictly follow it for several years, at least twelve years. Then, controlling the senses by various austerities, like fasting, controlling what we watch, listens to, eat, and other sense-related activities. Practicing truthfulness (Satya), non-violence (Ahimsa), celibacy (Brahmacharya), not to be greedy, or envy or jealous (Asteya) and have a simple living (Aparigraha) are also important practices.
(iii) Uparati: Giving up all worldly dependency and being dependent only on the Self (Atman or Brahman) is important. From the devotional point of view, it is surrendering to God. We have to practice to withdraw our minds from the world and focus on Brahman.
(iv) Titiksha: Bear the worldly suffering without any complaint or worry is essential. We have to think that God is the doer of everything. As good-time cones, bad-time also comes. We just have to go through all the situations of life keeping our mind focused only on the goal of life – Self-realization.
(v) Shraddha: Having faith in the words of the scriptures and in the teachings and guidance of Saints, Sages, and our spiritual teachers is a must. In the world, we have faith in the news-media, doctors, plumbers, electricians, accountants, lawyers, airplane-pilots, and others. Many of them are selfish, but we have faith in them and follow their instructions. Then, why cannot we have faith in the words of the scriptures and the Saints who are unselfish and are telling us for our good? Our ego is the main obstacle in having this faith. In the spiritual path, we think we are wiser than the scriptures and the Saints. It is hard for many of us to accept that even though we may be very advanced and knowledgeable in the worldly fields, we are just KG students in the spiritual path.
(vi) Samadhan: Fixing the mind and the intellect on Brahman with a firm conviction that realizing Brahman is the goal of human life and my life’s mission will be fulfilled if I realize It.
4) Mumukshutva – means to have an intense desire to realize Brahman. We can study scriptures and acquire the intellectual grasp of the teachings of the scriptures and Saints, but if we have not developed an intense desire to realize Brahman, then it is of no use. Restlessness and passion have to be developed naturally to realize Brahman. At the end of the day, seeing the sun-set Shri Ramakrishna was rolling on the ground crying profusely saying ‘O Mother! One more day is gone and I have not realized Thee. Would my life go in vain without your vision?”
To realize God or Brahman, Shri Ramakrishna says that one has to combine the intensity of the three attractions: the greedy person’s attraction for wealth, a loving husband’s or wife’s attraction for his/her spouse, and the mother’s attraction for her child.
Note: When we read all the pre-requisites needed even to inquire about the nature of Brahman, we get dishearten and think that we will not be fit for such knowledge in this life. We should not be disheartened because of these pre-requisites.
I think these pre-requisites tell us that God-realization is not possible just by doing casual spiritual practices, performing a few religious rituals, reading a few books, listening to a few spiritual discourses, and occasionally chanting the name of God. God-realization or realization of Brahman is the highest state a human being can attain. It needs a life-time commitment, an intense desire and a readiness to make all possible efforts to achieve this goal.
Actually, the pre-requisites give us a guide-line to achieve this goal. We have to follow this guide-line. It is not the case that we have to fulfill all the pre-requisites first and then inquire into the nature of Brahman. Simultaneously we have to prepare ourselves with proper spiritual practices and inquire into the nature of Brahman. As we make progress in fulfilling the pre-requisites, we also make progress in understanding the nature of Brahman. After some spiritual practices if a question comes to our mind ‘why am I not realizing Brahman?’, then we have to look at the pre-requisites and we will know the reason.
Benefits of realization of Brahman: If we truly understand the importance of the realization of Brahman, then our desire to attain it becomes more intense. Swami Vivekananda says that a genuine thief who is looking for wealth finds that in the next room there is precious jewelry hidden, he/she will make all the efforts to acquire that jewelry.
The benefits of realizing Brahman are unlimited and hard to write down on a piece of paper. But, I will write down a few benefits which I think important to me:
(1) A human being is looking for three things in life: (i) the Ultimate Knowledge which solve all the fundamental questions of life, (ii) Infinite Bliss which does not depend on any worldly object, and (iii) Immortality, becoming fearless by conquering the fear of death and thus all fears of life. The realization of Brahman gives all these three which we cannot attain by any knowledge of the world.
(2) Removes all the sorrows of life
(3) Brings peace, satisfaction, and fulfillment of life
(4) It makes us feel connected with all. Thus, we develop unselfish love for all. What we give to the world that we receive from the world. Thus, by giving unselfish love to all, our life gets filled with unselfish love. Even we can transform the hatred into love.
(5) All our doubts, confusion, and superstitions will vanish.
Therefore, the inquiry into the nature of Brahman:
People, who have understood the benefits of realizing Brahman plunge into the spiritual practices to realize It. We do not have to wait to enjoy the above-mentioned benefits until we realize Brahman. Shri Ramakrishna says that on a hot summer day when we go towards an ocean, we feel the cool breeze of the water, enjoy listening to the sounds of the waves and the chirping of the birds and other things. Thus, even during the journey to realize Brahman we enjoy all the benefits. Let us just start the journey. We will never regret it.
Let us learn the nature of Brahman and then realize that our true identity is Atman, the support of our body and mind and it is not different from Brahman (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute).
(This is a part of my notebook that I had prepared during the study of the Brahma Sutras in our Monday classes. We followed the commentary by Shri Adi Shankaracharya. The following two books were used as the references:
“Brahma Sutras, According to Shri Shakara”, Swami Vireswarananda, Advaita Ashrama Publication Department, Kolkata, India, 10th Impression, November 2008
“Brahma Sutras”, Sri Swami Sivananda, The Divine Life Society Publication, Shivanandanagar, India, 6th edition, 2016)
Prasthanatrayi:
The Vedanta Philosophy is based on the principles or the truths taught in the Prashathantrayi.
The word “Prasthana” in Sanskrit has various meanings, for examples – Advent, cause, course, departure, dispatching, dying, inferior kind of drama, journey, march, method, moving, place of origin, proceeding, procession, religious mendicancy, sect, sending, away, setting out, starting-point, system, walking, and way to attain.
The main meaning of “prasthana” is “proceeding”. We can say that “prasthana” means “proceeding towards one’s liberation”.
The word “Trayi” in Sanskrit means a collection of three.
Thus, “Prasthanatrayi” means “three sources of books for liberation”: (1) The Upanishads, (2) The Brahma Sutras, and (3) The Bhagavad Gita.
(1) The Upanishads, known as Upadesha prasthana (injunctive texts), and the Śruti prasthāna (the starting point or axiom of revelation), especially the Principals of the Upanishads. There are more than 108 Upanishads. Among them, the following eleven Upanishads are considered as major ones: Isha, Katha, Kena, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aittareya, Taittiriya, Swetaswatar, Chhandogya, and Brihadaranyaka.
(2) TheBrahma Sutras, known as Nyaya prasthana or Yukti prasthana (logical text or axiom of logic). The Brahma Sūtras (also known as the Vedānta Sūtras, Bhikshu Sutras or Shariraka Sutras), systematize the doctrines taught in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gītā. As mentioned above, Brahma Sutras are also known as Bhikshu Sutras or Shariraka Sutras. Bhikshu refers to Sanyasins. Thus, there were sutras for the Sanyasins. Shariraka refers to the Atman living in the body. Thus, Shariraka Sutras means the Sutras for the Atman.
(3) The Bhagavad Gita, known as Sadhana prasthana (practical text), and the Smriti prasthāna (the starting point or axiom of remembered tradition) The Bhagavad Gītā is a part of the great epic Mahabhārata.
The meaning of the word “sutra”:
The word “sutra” in Sanskrit means ‘a meaningful condensed sentence written by a qualified person in the field’. It also has other meanings such as a thread, knitting, a symbol, an indication etc.
The great teacher Madhvacharya in his commentary on the “Brahmasutras” quotes the meaning of the word “Sutra” from “Padma Purana” as follows (with the sandhis separated:
“The learned people in “the science of the sutra” say that the “sutra” means a sentence which has the following characteristics: (1) concise, (2) unambiguous, (3) gives the essence of an aspect of a topic or the topic itself, (4) it enlightens from all the possible aspects of the topic, (5) devoid of repetition and (6) faultless.
The author and the time of Brahma Sutras:
It seems that there were Bhikshu Sutras which were known among the Sanyasins. Then, Rishi Badarayana, starting with the Bhikshu Sutras, systematized and summarized the teachings of the Upanishads into the Brahma Sutras.
The Bhagavad Gita was written before the birth of Buddha. The Brahma Sutras were written before the Bhagavad Gita because there is a reference of Brahma Sutras in Bhagavad Gita (13.4):
It says, “This (teaching or the truth) has been sung by the Rishis in various ways and through various hymns and has been established logically and convincingly in the words of the Brahma Sutras.”
This indicates that the time of the Brahma Sutras is before 400 B.C..
Now, surprisingly, there are references of the Bhagavad Gita in the Brahma Sutras (for example 2.3.45 and 4.2.21). This shows that Rishi Vyasa, the writer of the Mahabharata and thus of the Bhagavad Gita, may have re-written these sutras. Hence, Rishi Vyasa’s name is also associated with the Brahma Sutras.
The Number of Brahma Sutras: There are four chapters in Brahma Sutras and each chapter has four sections. There is a total of 555 sutras. The following are the names of the chapters of the Brahma Sutras and the number of sutras in each chapter:
Chapter I: What is Brahman? (“Samanvaya Adhyaya” which has four Sections; 31+32+43+28) 134 SUTRAS
Chapter II: Review of competing theories (“Avirodha Adhyaya” which four Sections; 37+45+53+22) 157 SUTRAS
Chapter III: The means to spiritual knowledge (“Sadhana Adhyaya” which has four Sections; 27+41+66+52) 186 SUTRAS
Chapter IV: The benefit of spiritual knowledge (“Phala Adhyaya” which has four Sections; 19+21+16+22) 78 SUTRAS
Total sutras are 134 + 157 + 186 + 78 = 555
The Well-known Commentators on the Brahma Sutras:
There are many commentators who explained the meanings of the Brahma Sutras. Among them, there are five famous commentators, namely, (1) Shri Shankaracharya, (2) Shri Ramanujacharya, (3) Shri Nimbarkacharya, (4) Shri Madhvacharya, and (5) Shri Vallabhacharya, who have established five different schools of thoughts which currently exist and have many followers. These are all called the Schools of the Vedanta Philosophy.
It is amazing to see that all these five Acharyas (Teachers) accept the teachings of the Vedas. They all believe that the goal of human life is to realize the Ultimate Reality, Brahman. They differ in their interpretations of the Brahman, an individual soul, the relationship of an individual soul with the Brahman, the idea of the world and the relationship between the world and the Brahman. They all interpret the Brahma Sutras in a way that justifies their own philosophies about the reality. Many times, the same sutra has been interpreted in different ways.
Note: There are two main reasons why there are different interpretations of the same sutra: (1) The sutras are concise and brief, so there is room for interpretations and (2) Brahma Sutras do not establish any philosophy. They just state the truths of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
The Five Schools:
(1) Shri Shankaracharya (788-820 AD): The exponent of Monism. (Advaita Vada).
Brahman is attribute-less, immutable, and pure intelligence
Iswara is a product of Maya – the highest reading of the Nirguna Brahman by the individualized soul.
The world is a Virata or apparent transformation through Maya of the Nirguna Brahman but not in reality.
The Jiva, in reality, is all-pervading and identical with Brahman, though as individualized by its Upadhi (adjunct), the internal organ, it regards itself as an atomic, as an agent, and as a part of the Lord.
The knowers of the Nirguna Brahman attain Brahman directly and have not to go by “the path of the gods”.
But, the knowers of the Saguna Brahman go by “the path of gods” to Brahmaloka from where they do not return. They attain Brahman at the end of the cycle.
Knowledge is the only means of Liberation.
(2) Shri Ramanujacharya (11th-12th century AD): The exponent of Qualified Monism (Vishitha Adviata Vada).
Brahman is a Personal God with attributes. It is endowed with auspicious qualities. Intelligence is its chief attribute. It contains within Itself whatever exists.
World and individual souls are essential real constituents of Brahman’s nature.
Matter (Achit) and soul (Chit) form the body of the Lord.
The universe is not unreal or illusory but is a true manifestation or Parinama of Brahman. Just as milk transformed into curd, so also Brahman has transformed as this universe.
Lord Narayana is the Inner Ruler (Antaryamin).
The individual soul is really individual. It will remain a personality for ever.
The soul remains in Vaikuntha forever in the state of bliss and enjoys the divine Aisvarya of Lord Narayana.
Bhakti is the chief means of final emancipation.
(3) Shri Nimbakacharya (11th Century): The exponent of the Theory of Difference and Non-Difference (Bhedabheda Vada OR Dvaitadvaita OR Dvaita-Advaita-Vada).
Brahman is both Saguna and Nirguna.
Brahman is both the efficient and the material cause of the world.
The universe is not unreal or illusory but is a true manifestation or Parinama of Brahman (Similar to Sri Ramanuja).
This world is identical with and at the same time different from Brahman just as the wave or bubble is the same and at the same time different from water.
The individual souls are the parts of the Supreme Self. They are controlled by the Supreme Being.
The final salvation lies in realizing the true nature of one’s own soul.
Bhakti is the means for liberation.
The individuality of the finite self is not dissolved even in the state of the final emancipation.
(4) Shri Madhvacharya (13th century AD): The exponent of Dualism (Dvaita Vada).
(5) Shri Vallabhacharya (1479-1531): The exponent of Pure Monism (Suddha-Advaita Vada).
There is one more major school formed by Shri Chaitnya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534):
(Achintya-Bheda-Abheda Vada)
Note: These schools look contradictory, but actually they are not contradictory. They are created to suit the mental states of various kinds of people. Even the same person at different times lives in different states of mind and he/she feels comfortable to accept the reality described in one of the schools at that time.
Shri Ramakrishna said that “Jato Mat, tato Path’ (As many opinions, those many paths). Sri Ramakrishna said that a mother cooks verities of dishes to suit the stomachs and the tastes of her children.
Hanumanji’s State of Mind: The following shloka tells how the mind of a devotee remains on different states at different times.
Once Lord Rama asked his devotee and a servant Shri Hanumanji how he looks at him. Shri Hanumanji gave an excellent answer which tells about the minds of all devotees of God. He said the following:
Shri Hanumanji said, “O Lord Rama! When I am aware of my body, then I feel that you are my master and I am your servant. When I am aware of my soul lying behind my body and mind, then I feel that you are infinite consciousness and I am a part of you. When I am aware that I am Pure Consciousness, then I do not see any difference between you and me. This is my firm conviction.”
Thus, all thoughtful interpretations of the Brahma Sutras are useful at the various states of human minds to understand the Reality.
Realization of Brahman: According to the Vedanta Philosophy, the goal of human life is to realize Brahman. It means to realize that each individual’s true identity is divine. It is called Atman, which is the same as Brahman. The nature of Atman or Brahman is Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute). The following are the three major benefits of realization of Brahman:
(1) Attaining Moksha (Liberation from all bondages and not to be born again and get bounded.)
(2) Atyantika Dukha Nivrutti (Cessation of all the sufferings of the world) and
(3) Paramananda Prapti (Experiencing infinite bliss within which does not depend on any external object and attaining complete fulfillment of life)
On Tuesday, November 26, 2019, ‘Wayne Township Celebration of Thanksgiving’ was held at Our Lady of Consolation, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, NJ 07470 at 7:00 p.m. It was sponsored by Wayne Clergy Fellowship. The main program has been attached at the end of this post. I was very happy to be invited to share my thoughts on this occasion as a representative of the Hindu faith. All the speakers were given a couple of minutes to share their thoughts.
It was a great pleasure to be with people of various faiths and find out that all religions talk about love, peace, service, and gratitude. The following are my thoughts which I shared on that day.
Dear Friends:
Good evening and Namaste:
I sincerely thank the organizers for inviting me to participate in this Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. It is my great joy to be with the people of various faiths celebrating “Thanksgiving” together.
One of the main principles of the Vedanta Philosophy of Hinduism is “Unity in Diversity”. It says that there is only one Existence, one life-force which is manifesting through varieties of human beings, animals, plants, birds, and many other things. We are all connected. Keeping this in mind, there is a Hindu prayer which I recite every day and so do millions of Hindus:
May all be happy,
May all be healthy,
May good comes to all,
May no one suffers
The great teacher and Saint Swami Vivekananda, in his 1893 lecture delivered in America have said, “Unity in variety” is nature’s plan in the evolution of the universe, and that only by harmony and brotherhood among religions and by mutual toleration and help can the mission and destiny of humanity be accomplished.”
As we evolve in our understanding, we see more and more unity in this diverse world. As Mr. so and so I am different from all, but as a human being I am same as all human beings. As a being, I am the same as all living beings, humans, animals, plants, trees, and others.
Bhagavad Gita is the essence of the Hindu Scriptures. It consists of 18 chapters and 700 shlokas (verses). In chapter 6, shloka 29, Shri Krishna says,
I know recently many people are taking Yoga lessons and do Yoga exercises. It is good for health and the soul. In this verse, Lord Shri Krishna himself tells us who is a true Yogi.
He says, “A person established in the Yoga sees all beings in God and see God in all beings. He/she respects all equally.”
Again in Chapter 18, shloka 20, Shri Krishna says,
“When one sees unity in diversity, then he/she has acquired the highest knowledge.”
Thanksgiving is an occasion of family get-together. About family a Hindu scripture Maha Upanishad says:
– (meaning) for a broad-minded person, the whole universe is one big family.
In nature, we find that
The sun shines equally on all beings.
The clouds shower rain on all beings
The air provides oxygen to all
The fire cooks meals for all and
Mother Earth holds all beings.
Thus, nature is teaching us to see the same life-force in all, love all, and serve all.
Thank you.
Wayne Township Celebration of Thanksgiving
Sponsored by Wayne Clergy Fellowship
Our Lady of Consolation, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, NJ 07470
Tuesday 11/26/2019 at 7:00 pm PRELUDE OLC Musicians
WELCOME Fr. Michael Lombardo
PROCLAMATION OF THE DAYMayor Christopher Vergano
SURAH-AL-FATIH & ISLAMIC PRAYER Imam Ali Aktan
HYMN: We Gather Together/Adapted by Lavon Baylor OLC Musicians
JEWISH PRAYER: Modim (We are Grateful) Rabbi Meeka Simerly
COMMUNITY SONG: If I Had a Hammer/Peter Seeger
CALL TO GRATITUDE:Psalm 138 Rev. Robert Mountenay
REFLECTION: The Awakening Mind Of Giving John Cerullo
COMMUNITY SONG: Let There Be Peace on Earth OLC Musicians
REFLECTION Deacon Deborah Drake
SONG: Imagine/ Based on John Lennon’s All Community Youth
REFLECTIONDr. Mahendra Jani
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING Rev. Andy Smith Food donations received tonight will go to Wayne Interfaith Network Food Pantry.
CLOSING BLESSING Rev Mary Marcus & Rabbi Randall Mark
POSTLUDE * Those able are invited to stand OLC Musicians
Thank you for joining in this Interfaith Thanksgiving Service,
sponsored by the Wayne Clergy Fellowship.
PARTICIPANTS
Imam Ali Aktan North East Islamic Community Center
John Cerullo Tibetan Buddhist Center for Universal Peace
Deacon Deborah Drake St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
Dr. Mahendra Jani Vivekananda Vidyapith
Ft. Michael Lombardo Our Lady of Consolation
Rev. Mary Marcus Preakness Reformed Church
Rabbi Randall Mark Congregation Shomrei Torah
Rev. Robert Mountenay St. Timothy Lutheran Church
Melek Oztoprak & Hikmet Ozdemir Peace Islands Institute*
Rabbi Meeka Simerly Temple Beth Tikvah
Rev. Andrew Smith Grace United Presbyterian Church
Mayor Christopher Vergano Township of Wayne, NJ
Rev. Marvin Wills United Methodist Church in Wayne
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – VI (Shloka – 7) The Witness Consciousness
Shloka – 7
Translation:
A man who earns his livelihood by entertaining people and scaring small children by painting his body like a tiger and wearing a tiger’s mask does not attack or eat animals or human beings like a tiger. A man who dresses up as a woman for a performance in a drama does not think that he is a woman and does not seek a husband. Similarly, when one realizes that one’s true nature is Atman and is separate from the body and mind, that person considers oneself as a witness consciousness residing in the body and is not affected by the actions of the body and mind.
Comments:
In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna says (9.8-9), “With My Power (Prakriti), I (Brahman) create all beings again and again whose destiny has been framed by their past actions. But, being the witness consciousness, I (Brahman) am unattached to their actions and do not get affected by their actions.”
According to the Vedanta philosophy, Brahman (Pure Consciousness) is the support of the existence of the universe and Atman (the individual Pure Consciousness) is the support of the existence of an individual.
Note: ‘The State of Witness Consciousness’, ‘Lack of Doer-ship’ and ‘Being Unattached’ are inter-connected.
Let us try to understand the ‘State of Witness Consciousness’.
State of Witness Consciousness: Pure Consciousness is infinite. It is never born and it does not die. An individual Pure Consciousness gets tied to the body-mind form. This body-mind form has a beginning (birth) and an end (death).
Question: How can the infinite and all-powerful Pure Consciousness get tied to the body-mind, which is made out of matter?
Answer: Shri Krishna explains in the fourteenth chapter of Bhagavad Gita that the Pure Consciousness (Atman) is tied to the body-mind by three gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. Sattva is pure and luminous and it ties Atman to the body-mind by spiritual knowledge and pure bliss. The nature of Rajas is passion and attachment. It creates desires for worldly pleasures and ties Atman to the body-mind in actions. Tamas is created by ignorance and it creates delusion which ties Atman to the body-mind by laziness, inadvertence, and sleep.
The fact is that our true identity is Pure Consciousness. Due to ignorance, each one of us assumes that ‘I am nothing but my body and mind.’ This ignorance is deeply engrained in our mind. It creates desires that ‘I will be happy if I sleep, or work to attain something, or do spiritual practice.’ Thus, the mind remains in the Tamasika, Rajasika, or Sattvika states accordingly. After some time (this time could consist of thousands of lives) going through lots of suffering and life-experiences, we start understanding that the sattvika state gives us longer-lasting happiness and a better understanding of our lives. As we establish ourselves in the sattvika state, we find that ‘Our true identity is something higher than our body and mind.’
Shri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (14.19-20), “When a person realizes that he/she is beyond the three gunas, is a witness consciousness, and only the three gunas are the cause of all actions, then he/she attains My (the Supreme) state. Then, he/she goes beyond the three gunas. Thus, he/she becomes free from the cycles of birth-death-birth and all the suffering of the body-mind and attains Immortality and the highest bliss.”
Note: When one realizes that ‘as Witness Consciousness I am different from the body-mind form’, then one attains the ‘State of Non-doer-ship.’ In that state, one feels that the body-mind functions according to the rules of its nature. This is exactly ‘The State of Detachment;’ being aware of one’s Atman, one is detached from the body-mind form.
Question: If the Pure Consciousness is different than the body-mind and the body-mind does not have its own consciousness, then how can the body-mind function?
Answer: According to the Vedanta Philosophy, the body-mind has borrowed consciousness. An example is given to understand this borrowed consciousness. Let us put potatoes into a pot filled with water and put that pot on the stove. Turn on the stove. After some time the water boils and the potatoes start jumping. The potatoes do not have their own energy to jump. But, it is the energy of the fire comes through the boiled water to the potatoes that make them jump. Thus, Pure Consciousness illumines the intellect, which illumines the mind, and then through the borrowed consciousness of the mind, the senses function.
That is why Shri Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita (3.42-43), “The senses are superior to the body and the objects of the senses, the mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, and the Atman (Pure Consciousness) is superior to the intellect. By knowing this, with the power of Pure Consciousness, control the intellect, mind, and senses, and destroy the enemy, called the ‘cravings’ which brings all suffering and delusion.”
Question: A natural question comes: ‘How can one comprehend the Atman (Pure Consciousness) residing within as a witness consciousness?’
Answers:
First, we have to understand that Brahman (Pure Consciousness) is infinite and beyond the comprehension of our finite mind. Therefore, all our expressions to describe Brahman will fall short. However, analogies and examples give us some idea of Brahman. After acquiring some idea, sincere seekers, through meditation, experience the presence of Brahman within as the witness consciousness.
I will cite a few of these examples:
(1) Electricity: We know that electricity is flowing in the wires which are hidden in our house walls. We see only the outlets. Now, in these outlets, we can plug-in lamps, heaters, fans, air conditioners, cookers, food processors, phone and computer chargers, vacuum cleaners and other equipment. Each equipment has its own function and two different pieces of equipment may have two contradictory functions, but the electricity powering each of them is the same. Electricity does not directly provide heat or cold nor does it do the cooking; the equipment does the work. Similarly, in the presence of the Atman, the body and the mind function. Thus, we can think that electricity is like the witness consciousness.
(2) Light: Shri Ramakrishna said that in the light one may be reading holy scriptures while another may be preparing false documents to commit a crime, but the light is unaffected by these acts. Here, the light is witness consciousness.
(3) Sun: Kathopanishad (2.2.11) says, “The sun helps all the eyes to see, but is not affected by the blemishes of the eyes. Similarly, Atman who dwells in all beings is the cause of all the awareness, but it is not affected by the suffering of all beings.” The sun is an example of witness consciousness.
(4) The reflection of theMoon: It has been mentioned in the scriptures that the reflection of the full moon in the water of a lake, a river, or an ocean appears to move up and down with the waves, but the moon itself is not moving. This indicates that, like the reflection of the moon, the thinking power of the intellect is the borrowed power of the Atman.
(5) Lotus Leaf in the Water: In the Bhagavad Gita (5.10) Shri Krishna says, “One who offers the results of all actions to Brahman and works without any attachment does not get affected by the ill results of the actions, just as the lotus-leaf is not affected by the water.” The lotus grows in the water and its leaves remain in the water for a long time but do not get affected by it and remain green. Thus, the lotus-leaf is a good example of a state of witness consciousness.
(6) Fire and Knife: Saints and sages give simple examples of fire and a knife to explain the witness consciousness. Fire can be used to cook food and it can also burn a person, but it is not the fault of the fire. Similarly, knives are used to cut vegetables and fruits to eat, but can also cut one’s finger. It is not the fault of the knife.
(7) Movie Screen: This is a very concrete example to get an idea of witness consciousness. We see various kinds of movies on a movie screen like tragedy, comedy, horror or an educational movie. We laugh or cry or learn, but the movie screen remains unattached by all these movies and the moods they create.
(8) A Babysitter: Shri Ramakrishna gave a wonderful example of a babysitter from our day-to-day life to explain the deeper and difficult concept of working with full mind and heart while still remaining unattached. He said that a babysitter takes care of the children whose family she is hired by. She calls them ‘My Dear Gopal’ or ‘My Dear Hari or Dhara’ and shows her love as if they are her children. But, in her mind, she is very clear that these children belong to the owner of the house and they are actually not hers. Similarly, we have to work with all, love all, take care of all the people who depend on us, but we have to remember that they are created and nourished by God and their lives are controlled by God and we have no control over them. This is a sign of Ultimate Knowledge. A person, who experiences him/herself as the witness consciousness, sees that his/her body-mind does all the work and as Atman (Pure Consciousness) he/she is unattached to these actions.
(9) Living in Hotels: A wandering monk was passing by a king’s palace. He somehow got inside the palace, occupied a corner and lay down to take some rest. Security guards came and told him that this is a king’s palace and he has to leave. The sadhu said that it is a Dharamshala, meaning a place where wandering pilgrims can stay for a while and take rest. The security guards tried to explain to the sadhu that it is not a Dharamshala, but rather a king’s palace. But the sadhu did not budge. As the sadhu was a man of God, the security guards did not want to hurt him or force him to leave. They were confused. One of them informed the king about the situation. The king was amused and wanted to talk to the sadhu. The sadhu asked the king, “O Dear King! For how long have you been living here?” The king replied, “For the last 35 years.” The sadhu asked, “Who lived here before then?” The king said, “My Father lived here.” The sadhu asked, “Who lived here before your father?” The king said, “There was another king who built this palace and lived here.” The sadhu said, “O King! See this palace is like a Dharamshala or a hotel where people come, live for a while and then leave. You also will live for a while and leave this palace. Your 35 years is like a day compared to the infinite time. Similarly, our body is also like a hotel-room which we have rented for a while and as Atman, we have to leave this place after some time.” The king knew that this sadhu was a realized person and had come to teach him a life lesson. The king honored the sadhu and made him his guest for a couple of days. Then, the sadhu continued his pilgrimage.
Wrong interpretation of the witness consciousness state: People can twist or misinterpret the highest truths and mislead themselves and other people. The state of witness consciousness uplifts a person and brings out the best in him/her. But, its misinterpretation can degrade a person and bring harm to the person and others.
We should know that only a person with total self-control, pure in mind, having no ego or selfishness can attain the state of witness consciousness. A person with an impure mind or with a selfish motive may think that he/she has attained the state of witness consciousness and is not affected by whatever his/her body-mind does. A person may do wrong or evil things and may think that he/she has nothing to do with the act. This is dangerous. Such a person is called a hypocrite. But, it is certain that if one does a wrong or evil act, then one has to suffer its painful consequences. A person attaining the state of witness consciousness is so well established in morality and ethics that his/her body-mind cannot do any unethical or harmful thing. If such a person had done anything wrong unwillingly, then he/she will immediately accept his/her mistake and would not mind the painful consequences.
Two more excellent examples: In addition to the examples mentioned above describing the state of witness consciousness, the Shatashloki’s shloka-7 gives two more excellent examples:
(1) A person who earns one’s livelihood by wearing a tiger mask and painting oneself like a tiger knows very well that he/she is different from the tiger. He/she does all the acting of a tiger to amuse people or scare children, but he/she will not eat animals and people like the tiger does. Thus, we perform our various roles in life, but we can realize that our true identity is pure consciousness.
(2) The second example is similar. A man who dresses up like a woman to perform a female role knows very well that he is not a woman. Here it has been shown that gender is also an external thing. Pure consciousness has no gender.
What are the advantages of attaining the state of witness consciousness?
If we practice and realize the state of the witness consciousness, then we see the following advantages in our lives:
(1) Finding better solutions: We see our body-mind objectively. Whenever we look at each problem objectively, we can understand the problem and see a solution. In that state, we can see the causes of our problems in life. Once we realize these causes, either we solve the problems or we get inner strength to bear the problems. Thus, our quality of life improves.
(2) Live with serenity: We attain the state of serenity. We can keep our mind balanced in joy or sorrow, honor or insult, success or failure, love or hate, and many such pairs of opposites. We acquire a total control on our body and mind.
(3) Views of people and situations change: When we are attached to our body and mind, we think of everything from the selfish point of view. We try to use people and situations to give happiness to our own body and mind. We forget that each individual is free, has his/her own life, and is not born to make us happy. When we see that people or objects of the world are obstacles to our happiness, then we get angry. With the practice of witness consciousness, we try to give more than we receive because we see that other people are not different from us. Seeing that all people are basically nothing but pure consciousness, we develop a bond of unselfish love with all and we express that love through our thoughts, speech, and actions. What we give, that we get. When we express unselfish love to all, we receive unselfish love in return. In that state even if we don’t receive unselfish love in return, it does not bother us at all since our happiness does not depend on any external thing. Many times children get angry towards their loving parents, but the parents just smile and continue performing their responsibilities towards them.
(4) Fearlessness: The cause of all fear is the fear of death. When we realize that we are pure consciousness separate from our body and mind, the fear of death goes away. Pure consciousness is not born, and so it does not die. The body and mind were born, so they die. We see that they are just temporary instruments to express pure consciousness. The Upanishads say that there is no other way to overcome the fear of death.
(5) Monitoring our progress: When we understand the mechanisms of our body and mind objectively, then we can monitor them in a better way. We can guide our body and mind to take ourselves towards the highest state – the realization that ‘I am Atman and my nature is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.
(7) Not to add bondages: The body-mind has been formed to perform certain actions based on our past Karma. There is a chain of action-results-action based on the chain of cause-effect-cause. We can cut this chain by not adding any unnecessary desire and thus not performing unnecessary action.
(8) Becoming a good performer of our responsibilities: When we know exactly what our responsibilities are, and we can watch the performance of our body and mind objectively, then we become an excellent performer. We all came here to play our roles. If we understand that role, then we can perform better.
Remember the famous lines of William Shakespeare: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…” (From ‘As You Like It’, Act II, Scene VII).
As an excellent actor/actress, when one becomes attached and detached as needed from his/her performance in the world, then his/her every action becomes a piece of perfection. Echoing this thought, there is a hymn which says, “O Krishna! Your every action including walking, talking, friendship, playing flute, dancing, and dealings with others is filled with love and is sweetness.”
The state of witness consciousness and doer-ship: As we discussed before, when a person realizes that he/she is nothing but pure consciousness, is different from his/her body-mind, and that his current actions result from the three gunas, which result from past actions, then he/she feels that he/she is not the doer of all actions. Sri Ramakrishna used to sing a song, “O Mother (the Power of Brahman)! Everything is happening according to your wish. Actually, you are doing everything, but people think that I am doing everything.” This is also the ultimate surrender to the will of God. With complete surrender to the will of God comes perfection in our performance, and we experience inner peace and bliss.
(Thanks to Sonali Tatapudy and Rushil Desai for editing this post.)
“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – V (Shloka – 6) We create our own destiny
Shloka – 6
Translation (Shloka – 6):
A silkworm, thinking that it is very wise, creates a cocoon around itself and lives in it until its death and tries to fulfill its desires. Similarly, each individual creates one’s physical body and mind based on the actions performed in his/her previous life and lives on earth to fulfill his/her desires.
(The silkworms and their cocoons. The image is from dreamtime.com)
Comments:
We are born and we spend our lives making plans for what we want to do and performing various activities. In the midst of all this planning and activity, a few people take a pause and ask questions like: (1) Who decided that I should be a man or a woman? (2) Who decided how my face and body should look like? (3) Who selected my parents? (4) Who selected my family environment?
What are the answers? We can think of the following four answers:
(1) These are silly or useless questions for we can never find their answers.
(2) It is all a result of probability and chances. If the chromosomes X and Y combine, then a boy is born and if chromosomes X and X combine, then a girl is born.
(3) Parents’ genes decided.
(4) Nature decides everything.
(5) God is the creator and God decides everything that happens.
The answer #1 seems mostly agnostic, partly pessimistic, and shows a lack of enthusiasm to seek answers.
The answer #2 is a sophisticated way to get out from finding an answer. Since everything in nature is working precisely, how can we think that things happen randomly? We can admit that we do not understand many phenomenon of nature. But, in the past, we did not know many things like how rain comes, how lightening happens, how eclipses happen, etc. Humans had assumed these to be an act of some mysterious power. But, now science has explained many such natural phenomena. With regards to answer #2, we can further inquire, ‘who makes the chromosomes?’ and ‘who combines them?’.
Answer #3 is partially true as long as our physical structure is concerned. Our nose, and eyes, and chin etc. may look like someone in our family. But, parents did not decide their children’s gender. A family can have all boys, or all girls, or boys and girls both. Further, if we go to the inner nature of mind, then we find that siblings have different personalities even among twins or triplets. Parents themselves are surprised when their children reveal various mental tendencies. Thus, parents do not decide things about their children’s mental make-up. They can provide some external environment for their children to help them grow in a certain way, but it is not in their hands to decide how the children will grow.
Answers #4 and #5 are almost the same, only the names are different. People who do not like to say the word ‘God’ may choose the word ‘Nature’. However, it seems that God has ears to hear, but the Nature does not have ears. Nature is like a big giant elephant walking on the road and the beings are like ants and insects who helplessly get crushed under its feet. Even if the smaller beings say something, it is of no avail. On the other hand, we feel that God is some Being who can listen to us. Let us then for the time being consider answer #5.
Most of us feel that God listens to our complaints more than our prayers. Therefore, people complain to God more often than they pray to God. People complain, ‘O God! Why did you make me a woman or a man?’, or ‘Why didn’t you created me as a handsome man or a beautiful woman?’, or ‘Why did you give me a birth in a poor family?’ or ‘Why do I have to struggle so much for my achievements while some others get them easily?’ etc.
We can bring more pressure on God for His/Her favoritism when we find that (1) One child is born in an affluent and totally secure environment while another child is born in a poor family in a neighborhood where gun-shots often go on like fire-works and where one considers oneself lucky if one survives for one more day. (2) One child has a healthy body while another one has many physical problems from childhood. (3) One person has an abundance of wealth and can do whatever one wants while another has to worry everyday how to bring some food on the table. (4) One child is excellent in studies, art, music, sports etc. from the childhood while another one is struggling to learn basic things in the schools. (5) One child has many virtues and follows a disciplined life while another one has destructive tendencies and does not feel bad doing unethical things.
We ask, if God has created all, then why are there differences? Why is God partial to a few and cruel to others? Do we have answers of these questions? Because of these differences, many people do not like to think of God. They do not see any purpose in praying to God.
In the ancient time Rishis thought about this and they found a logical answer to these questions. They found that in this universe there is a chain of cause and effect. Every action has a result and the result becomes the cause of another action, which in turn call an effect. If I drop a glass-cup on a hard floor, it breaks. If I walk on these pieces of glass, then I will cut my feet and bleed. If I do not take care of the bleeding, I will suffer severe physical problems. Originally, I might have dropped the glass-cup for some reason. Similarly, there is a long chain of cause-effect for everything that happens in the universe. The problem is that most of the time we see the effects and not the causes. Thus, our current situations are the effects of our past actions. We do not have to blame God for our situations. This is the Theory of Karma.
I have to make one point very clear here. If someone is suffering, we cannot come out and say that ‘you are suffering because of your past karmas’. That is very cruel. It is a sign of an ignorance and lack of sensitivity on our part. At that time, we have to try to help the person who is suffering. If we cannot help, then at least we wish and pray that the person’s sufferings be removed or the person gains strength to go through the sufferings. The Theory of Karma should be applied to ourselves. We have to take full responsibility of our current situation. If we want to change our current situation in the future, then we should properly start working on it now.
Based on the Rishis’ realization, Vedanta teaches the theory of rebirth based on the Theory of Karma. The Bhagavad Gita (8.6) tells that, “According to the person’s strongest desire at the time of death, the person is reborn to fulfill that desire.” Suppose a young man or woman believes that sleeping for most of the time (say 12 or more hours a day) is the best state to acquire happiness in life. These days, it is hard for a human being to sleep for 12 hours or more per day. One’s studies, job, daily choirs, and family and/or society will force the person to wake up. For the person desiring 12 hours of sleep, this causes unhappiness. To such a person, the compassionate Mother Nature gives him or her body of a crocodile in their next life. When this person’s sleeping desire is fulfilled and he or she thinks that ‘I had enough with sleep, now I want to run around like a rabbit,’ then the gracious Mother Nature will make the person a rabbit. Thus, it goes on. Thus, we are responsible for our current situations in our life. We are the result of our past desires. Mother Nature or God had given this life to fulfill a few of those desires.
On the other hand, if a person wants to attain the highest knowledge of the Ultimate Reality, and has engaged in lots of spiritual practices for this purpose, but dies without attaining it, then the Bhagavad Gita (6.40-6.43) says, “The life of such a person does not become ruined. No bad things happen to a person who has engaged in spiritual practice. After enjoying the results of his/her good actions (spiritual practices), the person takes birth in a pure and prosperous family. Or he/she will be born in a family of yogis rich in wisdom. Such a birth is difficult to gain in this world. There, he/she remembers all his/her past spiritual practices and continues to strive further to attain the highest knowledge.”
As a being goes in a cycle of birth and death, the whole universe moves in a cycle of creation-preservation-dissolution. In Bhagavad Gita (9.7-9.8), Shri Krishna says that He, as Brahman, the Ultimate Existence, by His Power creates the universe in the beginning of a cycle, (nourishes the universe), and at the end of the cycle dissolves it into Brahman. Thus, all the beings are born again and again.
The Theory of Karma, the Theory of Rebirth, and the Cyclical Theory of the Existence of the Universe seem logical and answer most of the questions we have raised earlier. They are also consistent with a principal central to Vedanta philosophy, that there is only one existence. Vedanta calls it ‘Brahman’. One can also call it ‘Pure Consciousness’. According to Vedanta, the Universe is nothing but only one existence Brahman (Pure Consciousness) appearing as various objects and beings of the universe. Brahman is eternal.
According to Vedanta philosophy, a human being is a part of the universe, and therefore he/she is nothing but the Pure Consciousness or Brahman. And like Brahman, he/she too is eternal. However, when he/she thinks that ‘I am an individual that has a separate existence from Brahman having a certain body and mind’, then he/she goes through the cycle of birth and death. Vedanta philosophy says that this thought leads to all the following problems:
(1) An individual thinks that he/she is not happy and will be happy only if his/her desires are fulfilled.
(2) A person creates a small world around him/her and thinks that he/she is responsible for that small little world. However, when some undesirable thing happens against all his/her efforts or a near and dear one dies, then the person feels helpless and becomes frustrated.
(3) An individual thinks that he/she is limited and the whole universe is against him/her.
(4) A person is constantly threatened by the fear of death, his/her non-existence.
Shri Shankaracharya says in Shaktashloki Shloka 6 that this thought (which he calls a basic ignorance) is like the cocoon of the silkworm that has been created around oneself. An individual can break this cocoon with the firm conviction that ‘I am nothing but Brahman, the Pure Consciousness. My body-mind existence has been created by me, separating myself from the eternal Brahman.’ But, it is sad that due to our ignorance we passionately love our body and mind and the world we have created around them. As a consequence, we suffer and go through the cycle of birth and death.
Vedanta emphasizes that the realization, ‘I am not different from Brahman’ removes all our sufferings, bondages, and fear. We feel connected with everything in the universe, especially with all beings. From this connectedness springs love for all in our heart. Such love gives us fulfillment. Vedanta describes various paths to break this cocoon and be free, in particular the Four Yogas described in the Bhagavad Gita.
Many other great teachers and saints have described various ways to break this cocoon and be free from our sufferings, bondages, and fear.
The last word on listening to spiritual discourses
Thinking about the Bhagavad Gita, the following shloka came to my mind:
After the dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjuna, which is contained in most of the 694 shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna told Sri Krishna, “O Krishna! My delusion is gone. Through Your grace, I have regained my memory (of my true identity, Atman). All my doubts have been destroyed. My mind is clear and I have a firm conviction about my responsibility. I will follow your command.” (Gita 18.73)
These are the last words of Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. The dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna ends with these words. Sri Krishna answered the many questions of Arjuna and explained to him that the goal of life is to realize his true divine identity as the Atman, and how he can face the unpleasant and sorrowful situation that was forced on him by his cousins. Shri Krishna showed Arjuna how each of his responsibilities can be turned into spiritual practice, which can help to realize the Atman. The remaining 5 shlokas are the thoughts and expressions of Sanjaya.
Through this shloka, Arjuna shows us what should be the final outcome after listening to a spiritual discourse or having a spiritual dialogue. Each word of this shloka is important.
Let us review the meaning of each word of the shloka and reflect upon it.
– My delusion is gone.
What is the delusion here? The greatest delusion of life is to think that we are nothing but our body and mind. We forget that our true identity is Atman, which is birthless and deathless. It is infinite, omnipresent and omnipotent. Limiting our self to the body and mind is the cause of all suffering and all delusion in life. We block the Reality of life and therefore, we suffer. Thus, after listening to spiritual discourses, this delusion must go.
– I have regained my memory.
Deep within each of us there is awareness that ‘My true identity is divine. It is infinite and not limited by my body and mind.’ The Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita refer to this identity as the Atman (or Brahman in the context of the universe) and its nature is Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute).
‘Existence Absolute’ means ‘I am the Pure Consciousness from which the whole universe came (including my body and mind), which is nourished by It, into which the universe ultimately dissolves.
‘Knowledge Absolute’ means that the Self-Luminous Pure Consciousness illumines my intellect because of which I can think and perceive the universe.
‘Bliss Absolute’ means all my joy, inner (experienced, but not caused by the senses) and outer (which arises from the contact of my senses with worldly objects), is due to the presence of this Pure Consciousness (my true identity).
Arjuna says that he has regained this fundamental memory, that he is nothing but the Atman.
– O Krishna! Through your grace I have attained all these.
When the fundamental delusion is removed, the knowledge or the awareness of our true identity as Atman is revealed from within. This knowledge does not come from outside. However, we need help from the outside to remove our fundamental delusion. The idea that ‘I am nothing but this body and mind’ has been deeply ingrained in every fiber of our being; therefore, for most of us, it is difficult to remove this idea by our own efforts. Arjuna found that Shri Krishna’s teachings helped him remove this delusion and he is recognizing this help.
– I am firm.
This means that ‘I am clear in my mind. My intellect is steady. I know what I am supposed to do’. At the end of the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna describes the characteristics of a person with steady intellect. The Sanskrit word for such a person is ‘Sthitaprajna.’ Arjuna is stating that his intellect is steady now.
– All my doubts are gone.
After listening to spiritual discourses, having spiritual dialogues, and doing spiritual practices accordingly, we have to come to a stage when all our doubts are removed. First, intellectual doubts have to be removed and then after realization of Atman, all our doubts are resolved. Suppose the Sun is covered by the clouds and we cannot see it. Then, doubts come to our mind about whether or not the Sun exists. But, when the clouds are removed and we see the Sun directly, we feel its warmth, and in the sunlight we see everything clearly, then all our doubts about the existence of the Sun go away. At that time, we do not need any further proof of whether the Sun exists. In fact, we realize that the clouds were perceived only because of the presence of the Sun.
After listening to Shri Krishna’s teachings and having visions of both forms of Shri Krishna, the human and the Infinite, all of Arjuna’s doubts were gone.
– I will follow your command.
These words show that Arjuna was not interested in intellectual knowledge. He had to face a sorrowful situation and he was confused about the right thing to do. He needed a clear-cut answer and a clear-cut way to perform his responsibility. He stated his thoughts in the first chapter and the beginning of the second chapter. Based on these thoughts he initially decided not to fight. But deep down in his heart, he had a feeling that he was not thinking right. He had tremendous faith in Shri Krishna. That is why he said that ‘I surrender to you. Please tell me what is good for me.’
Shri Krishna first rebuked Arjuna for becoming a victim of his cowardliness. He said to Arjuna that this kind of behavior does not fit him. Then, Shri Krishna told Arjuna the essence of the Upanishads, explained to him that the goal of life is to realize Atman, and described the four Yogas (the four paths to attain this goal). Shri Krishna told him that by properly performing one’s own responsibilities one can realize one’s true identity as the Atman.
Arjuna did not swallow whatever had been said without understanding. Whenever he had questions, he did not hesitate to ask them to Shri Krishna. A couple of times it seemed that he was being blunt. Once he said, “O Krishna! You say that knowledge of the Atman is superior to actions. Then, why are you trying to encourage me to perform these horrible actions? You are confusing me with contradictory thoughts. Please tell me one thing which is good for me.” Another place he said, “O Krishna! You praise renunciation of actions, and then you talk about performing actions unselfishly. Please tell me which one is better.” When Shri Krishna said that he had taught this Karma Yoga to Vivasvata, Arjuna pointed out to him that he (Shri Krishna) had been born now and Vivasvata was born long ago, so how should he (Arjuna) believe that Shri Krishna had taught this Yoga to Vivasvata.
Shri Krishna was a great teacher. In his presence Arjuna did not have any fear to ask any question he had. After explaining in various ways why Arjuna should perform his responsibility, at the end, Shri Krishna gave Arjuna the freedom to do what he thought was right.
Arjuna was a great disciple. He reasoned to understand what Shri Krishna wanted to tell him. He reflected upon Shri Krishna’s teachings. With Shri Krishna’s grace he was able to realize the Ultimate Reality (Brahman) and finally with a clear mind, free from all doubts, and a firm conviction, he said, “I will follow your Command.” He was ready to implement what he had learned.
After realization of one’s true identity (Atman), all the desires of the realized person are fulfilled. Then he/she has nothing remaining to attain to be happy or any desire to accomplish anything further. But, many realized persons continue to work for the good of humanity. They set up ideal examples of saints and/or householders for people to follow and thus they inspire people to realize their true identity.
Sri Ramakrishna encouraged Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) to be such a person. It is good to remember the famous incident in Narendra’s life. Narendra asked Sri Ramakrishna to give him a boon to remain merged in Samadhi for three to four consecutive days with a few interruptions now and then for a bite of food. Sri Ramakrishna said, “You are a fool. There is a state higher than that. It is you who sings: ‘O Lord! Thou art all that exists.’” On another occasion, in response to a similar request from Narendra, Sri Ramakrishna said, “Shame on you! You are asking for such an insignificant thing. I thought that you would be like a big banyan tree, and that thousands of people would rest in your shade.” Thus scolded, Narendra shed profuse tears. He realized the greatness of Sri Ramakrishna’s heart. Thus, Sri Ramakrishna encouraged Narendra and all disciples to serve all beings, seeing God in them before and after the realization of God (Atman).
Sri Rama’s devotee Hanumanji had also set an example. He jumped over the ocean to cross it to find Mother Sitaji. A Mainak mountain asked Hanumanji to take some rest and then go forward. But, Hanumanji just touched the mountain recognizing the mountain’s love for him and said, “Until I finish Sri Rama’s work, how can I take any rest?”
Thus, many realized beings continue to serve humanity unselfishly.
Conclusion: Arjuna’s words are the last word on listening to spiritual discourses and dialogue. He showed us that when we listen to spiritual discourses: (1) we should make sure that we learn about the goal of our life – realizing God or our true identity as the Atman (the Ultimate Reality). (2) We have to reflect upon the spiritual discourses and respectfully ask questions in order to understand the teachings presented to us. (3) Following the teachings, ultimately our fundamental delusion should go away. (4) We have to realize Atman. (5) We respectfully and with humility recognize the valuable contribution of our spiritual teachers. (6) We have to acquire a state of having a ‘steady intellect’. (7) All our doubts must go away, and (8) We perform our responsibility unselfishly and serve humanity.
(Thanks to Rushil Desai and Sonali Tatapudi for editing this post.)
We are very fortunate that Sri Ramakrishna was born before us and made the spirituality real, tangible, and clear. From his life, he showed that the highest state of “God Consciousness” is real. While living like a normal person in the world he showed that one’s mind can be uplifted often to the level of God Consciousness. He guided his disciples to God Realization and showed us that the goal of spirituality is tangible. There are various and contradictory looking thoughts in spirituality, but Sri Ramakrishna showed that they are not contradictory. For example, he said that God has a form and God is also formless. The ocean water has no form. But, due to cold, at some places the water becomes ice. Similarly, by the devotion of the devotee, God assumes a form. Then, when the sun of knowledge shines, then the ice melts and becomes the formless water.
We can know Sri Ramakrishna’s life and teachings through Swami Vivekananda’s lectures, Shri Mahendranath Gupta’s “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna”, Swami Saradananda’s “Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play” and other direct disciples’ teachings. They had personally witnessed Sri Ramakrishna’s life and had received guidance from him. Thus, Sri Ramakrishna’s life is not a myth.
Sri Ramakrishna’s life and teachings are like a big ocean of nectar in which we can take deeps and uplift ourselves spiritually. To celebrate his birthday, we have to reflect upon one of his life incidents or his teachings. Sri Ramakrishna’s many teachings are ‘sutratmaka’, like formulas. We can easily remember, reflect, and follow them.
I was thinking about one of Sri Ramakrishna’s main teachings:
(In Bengali) “মানবজীবনেরউদ্দেশ্য–ঈশ্বরলাভ”
In Devanagari transliteration: “मानब जीबनेर उद्देश्य – ईश्वर लाभ”.
In English, “The Goal of Human Life is – God Realization.”
For most people, the goals of life are: going to school, going to college, study, get a degree, find a good job, make as much money as possible, acquire name-fame, recognition, power, position, get married, have a family, raise children and grand-children and die. Enjoy the world as much as you can. For the majority of people, these goals are satisfactory. Every now and then questions may come about the significance of these goals, but people brush them off as useless thoughts.
However, for some people, these goals are not satisfactory. They ask questions, such as : (1) is there any purpose for my birth? (2) Is there any meaning in my life? (3) Money, power, worldly pleasures do not give longer lasting happiness. Is there something else which can give me permanent happiness which does not depend on any worldly object or a person? (4) Is there life after death? (5) What is my true identity? (6) is there something beyond my body and mind?
For such inquiry-oriented people who cannot be happy with the temporary pleasures of the world, Sri Ramakrishna reminded the goal of life and it is ‘God Realization’. From his life, he showed that ‘God Realization’ is not an abstract or imaginary thing. He showed that this goal can be achieved in life.
Human beings want to know, to be immortal, to be fearless, to be permanently happy, and to love and to be loved. “God-Realization’ gives all these things and more.
Sri Ramakrishna showed a way to realize God. He said that regularly go into solitude, pray to God, discriminate between what is temporary and what is permanent, and keep holy company. When a person has an intense desire to see God, then God reveals to that person.
May we practice what Sri Ramakrishna taught and make progress towards the achievement of this goal of human life – God Realization.
mahendrajani 