Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Story 26 –Kapila Upadesha – 6
Srimad Bhagavatham - A Spiritual Insight - Story 26 – Kapila Upadesha – 6
Lord Kapila mentioned some of the qualities that are required to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. We will try to analyze a couple of those today – Sraddha or Faith and Bhakthi or Devotion
Explanation
Sraddha is a very meaningful word in Sanskrit which is loosely translated in English as either faith or belief. Adi Sankara mentions in Vivekachoodamani and other works of his that Sraddha is having faith in the scriptures and the words of the Guru.
We find even in worldly pursuits and knowledge that faith is very important. As AMMA says faith is inevitable in the world. There is a normal objection raised against faith by the modern critics who catching upon the limited SCIENCE claim so many things. The objection is that the different things that scriptures and Mahatmas proclaim are all blind faith only. Since it is blind faith, it should not be taken resorted to. When the scripture says that “there is God who is present everywhere”, the critics claim that this is a blind faith because God cannot be seen & hence there is no such God.
All such criticisms have been answered in a convincing manner by the very early philosophers (as early as the 8th century) like Udayanacharya, Sankaracharya, Madhvacharya etc.
AMMA says that any faith is blind only. There is no faith which is not blind. Let’s take an example: I am typing this mail. You people are expecting this mail to reach the destination mailbox daily. Isn’t this faith itself blind only? It might happen that the next moment this limited body might fall down and collapse, it might happen that virus strikes the internet and all communication through internet is stopped for some time.
We all normally take bus to reach office. When a person boards the bus, he boards it will the faith or belief that it will take him to his destination (office in this case). But what guarantee is there that it will take him to the office, instead an accident might happen & it might take him to the hospital. Thus the faith which one has while boarding the bus itself is a blind faith only.
Thus we can convincingly conclude that all faith are blind alone. Then what is the use of such BLIND FAITH and why take resort to just some blind faith like belief in God etc.? Scriptures and saints never tell a person to blindly follow their words. They clearly state that examine whatever has been told and if it is logical and without faults, then follow it. If whatever has been said is illogical, reject it and do not follow it.
Sri Krishna says in the last chapter of Bhagavad Gita after instructing Arjuna on the ultimate reality of Lord
“Ithi te jnaanam aakhyaatam guhyaat guhyataram mayaa
Vimrishyetat ashesheena yatha icchasi tathaa kuru”
I have instructed you on the most secret knowledge of Brahma Vidya – examine it without leaving any space for doubt and whatever you feel, do it.
This is where the greatness of the scriptures comes into picture. They never force a person into doing things – instead they show the right and the wrong path. They also proclaim that if the right path is followed, eternal bliss will be rejoiced. But if the wrong path is followed, only sorrow will be attained.
Scriptures are very important because they are faultless, they have been tested & verified by people from time immemorial – they are the very experiences of the saints. A Guru is one who is the living embodiment of the scriptures. Scriptures are not living but are just books with some knowledge – these are made practical by the living Gurus. It is always good to take resort to that which has been verified and which is known to give good fruit alone rather than taking resort to that which is doubtful as to its fruits. This is the reason why Sankara mentions that FAITH or SRADDHA is belief in the scriptures and the words of Guru because both are faultless and are sure to give good fruits.
What is good fruit??
Good fruit is real devotion to the ultimate reality of Lord. The good fruit is when a seeker progresses towards the ultimate reality of Lord – good fruit is when the seeker is moving closer to the Lord and his ignorance veil vanishes. These good fruits can be achieved only when a person takes resort unto the scriptures or the Guru. Unless he does that, there is always a chance of his falling into the wrong path and falling down from the path of spirituality.
Thus, when there is faith in the words of the Guru and the scriptures, then devotion towards the Lord becomes manifested. Devotion is constant remembrance of the Lord without any other thoughts. This constant remembrance or contemplation is possible only when a seeker is convinced of the goal or the Lord that it will give him eternal bliss. Therefore faith is essential for a seeker to become a devotee. Devotion is not just merely going to temples or chanting the name of the Lord once a day – devotion is constant remembrance of the Lord. Devotion is when the thought of Lord never leaves the mind & the thought of Lord is continuous like oil flowing from a cup.
Ramana Maharshi beautifully gives the two qualities of real devotion in Upadesa Saram 7
Aajya dhaarayaa srotasaa samam
Sarala chintanam viralathah param
That meditation or concentration is better than diverted concentration (where multiple thoughts are maintained) and it is real devotion where the thought is continuous like flow of oil & pure like water.
When a seeker remembers the Lord before taking his meals, offers the meal to the Lord & then eats it as if it is the prasaad of the Lord – this is real devotion. When a seeker does his work constantly putting 100% effort into the work as a result of finding the work as worship to the Lord present everywhere – this is real devotion. When a seeker sees the Lord in all beings, always does good to others, always sings about the Lord, always talks about the Lord, always thinks about the Lord – this is real devotion.
Real devotion can be achieved only when a seeker knows who the Lord, whom he is seeking, is. The Lord is the reality behind all the illusory things in the world. The Lord is the only entity present in the world. The Lord is of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. He is present in and out of all beings and things in the world. The world itself is nothing but an illusion seen in the reality of Lord. Lord is not different from one’s own real nature – Lord is one with the individual Self (who considers himself as limited due to ignorance about his real nature of Lord and due to identification with the illusory objects in the illusory world). Lord is one without a second. Since Lord is alone present, he is all-pervading. Since Lord is the substratum behind the illusory world, he is omniscient (he knows everything in the world as the world is only an illusion in the Lord even as the water seen in desert is only an illusion in the desert).
When a seeker realizes the quality and nature of such a Lord, he always strives to realize the Lord – because he knows that the objects in the world are temporary and cannot give eternal bliss which is being searched each & every moment by all beings in the world. Since the world is temporary, there is only one permanent entity which alone can give eternal bliss to the seeker – this entity is the Lord who is variously termed as Brahman, Ishwara, Paramatman, Atman, Self etc. in the various scriptures.
Let us all try to remember the Lord who is present in all places & who is the reality behind the illusory world so that we may come to realize that the Lord who is all-pervading is our own very nature only & not different from us. When this reality is known, there is nothing but eternal bliss alone which is the ultimate goal of any human beings. Let us try to implement devotion by having faith in the words of Mahatmas so that the devotion culminates in realization of the ultimate reality that there is nothing here but only non-dual and eternal Consciousness.
Lord Kapila mentioned some of the qualities that are required to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. We will try to analyze a couple of those here– Detachment & dispassion
Explanation
Detachment is a word which is misunderstood by both common people as well as spiritual seekers also. Detachment and dispassion are not entirely two different words but these are related words. Dispassion or vairagya is split broadly into two – paraa vairagya or higher dispassion and apara vairagya or lower dispassion. Higher dispassion is the real dispassion whereas lower dispassion paves the way for the higher dispassion.
What is lower dispassion?
Drishtaanusravika vishaya vitrishnasya vasheekaara samjnaa vairagyam says Patanjali in Yoga Sutras
Being detached to all the objects and pleasures attained through hearing, sight or any other means is called lower dispassion.
Here dispassion is getting detached from the worldly objects – this can be temporarily achieved even when one’s dear or loving person dies or passes away. This is not real dispassion as this might be temporary and will fade with time. The dispassion that one gets with the world due to sorrows & sufferings which he gets from the world might not be permanent and will thus fade away with time.
What is higher dispassion?
Tatparam purusha khyaatheh guna vaitrishnam
Being detached to objects as one is attached to the ultimate reality of Brahman or God is higher dispassion. This is what is really called as Dispassion by none other than AMMA.
This dispassion is the real dispassion and permanent because this detachment doesn’t arise out of surroundings or environments instead it is created because of love towards the eternal bliss which will be rejoiced from the ultimate reality of Brahman or Consciousness. A seeker should always try to have higher dispassion because where there is real dispassion, realization is not far as scriptures and lives of saints illustrate.
Real detachment is that in which the individual seeker is neither unattached to objects in the world nor he is attached to the objects. This sentence might seem contradictory but when real detachment is defined as “detached attachment”, the contradiction vanishes & the theory becomes crystal clear.
Spiritual practices are well explained through the activities and incidents in the lives of great saints rather than the dogmas of various philosophies. Sri Ramakrishna was once asked wrongly by a person to leave the room where he was staying in Dakshineshwar. Within a moment, Sri Ramakrishna took his mat and folded it between his arms and started walking away. Suddenly Mathur Babu came running & said “My servant told to the wrong person, I did not tell you to go out, please stay back”. The very next moment, without any expression in the face, Sri Ramakrishna went back into the room. See the amount of dispassion and detachment!!! This is what a seeker should aspire to achieve.
There is yet another incident in the life of Swami Vivekananda to illustrate his detachment or rather attachment to the ultimate reality of Consciousness while still being attached and obedient to his Guru. Once swamiji was walking with another brother-disciple and they were going to meet Sri Ramakrishna. Swamiji was crying completely on the way. On reaching the room of Sri Ramakrishna, the brother-disciple said to Sri Ramakrishna about the same. When Sri Ramakrishna asked the reason for the same, swamiji replied “You have told me to pursue my higher studies. On the way, I remembered Sankara’s statement about Viveka and Vairagya in Vivekachoodamani and I thought why am I learning all temporary and impermanent knowledge instead of pursuing the ultimate reality and hence started crying about the same”.
These are some incidents from which the seekers have to learn and try to implement this in life. That is real dispassion and detachment if the seeker is able to leave everything in the world this very moment for the sake of the ultimate reality of Brahman or God. If the seeker says that “I have duty towards my parents and siblings”, this is what is called as attachment and passion. Unless attachment from the world & its objects completely vanishes, the ultimate reality of Brahman will not be realized.
In a lighter sense, we can say that God is highly possessive – he is like a child who will require complete attention to bestow his grace & bliss on the individual. This brings the story of baala Krishna which AMMA used to tell to memory. This story tells about the result that would happen if we don’t give attention to the reality of God and go after sensual pleasures or so-called duties in life. Yashoda was once breast-feeding Krishna. Krishna was very hungry at that time & naughty too! At that time, Yashoda remembered that she had kept some milk for boiling. Leaving Krishna who was very hungry there itself, she went to look after the 2-glass milk that was kept for boiling. After looking after the milk, she returned back to find that Krishna had spilled the entire ghee in the house as he was very hungry. This is what will happen if we discard the reality of God in the name of worldly duties and activities. We will not only lose the worldly relations but will enter into the delusion of samsaara for births and deaths.
If a person claims that it is his duty to look after his parents etc., it is utter foolishness because where the innumerous parents able to look after their children during Tsunami or the earthquake in Pakistan? Even when the individual knows that he is incapable to doing anything in the world without the blessing and grace of the Lord, still if he claims to be looking after them, what more foolishness and idiotic nature than this?
Sri Krishna in clear words tells that “Renounce all activities and seek me alone – I will save you out of all sins, don’t worry”. He again says “Think about me alone, without any other thoughts. I will thus look after you good and bad”.
When this attitude of “GOD First” and “everything else second” is achieved, only then does the seeker gain the quality of detachment or dispassion. Unless there is real dispassion, the reality of God can never be realized. Unless the reality of God is realized, there will only be sorrows and sufferings in the illusory world. And since the very desire or goal of any human being is removal of sorrow & enjoyment of eternal bliss, what is required is realization of the reality of God. To realize the reality of God, there should be real dispassion. Real dispassion is present only when God is given prime importance in life & all other things are given secondary importance.
This doesn’t mean a person has to renounce and go to a forest – but it only means that remember God and do all actions as offering unto Him. It only means that don’t comprise God for anything in the world. But think God and do all actions – thus the mind becomes pure & dispassion arises in such a mind. And such a mind is the place where God is clearly realized as bliss in nature. This is what the scriptures call as Moksha or liberation.
Lord Kapila mentioned some of the qualities that are required to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. We will try to analyze a couple of those today – Sraddha or Faith and Bhakthi or Devotion
Explanation
Sraddha is a very meaningful word in Sanskrit which is loosely translated in English as either faith or belief. Adi Sankara mentions in Vivekachoodamani and other works of his that Sraddha is having faith in the scriptures and the words of the Guru.
We find even in worldly pursuits and knowledge that faith is very important. As AMMA says faith is inevitable in the world. There is a normal objection raised against faith by the modern critics who catching upon the limited SCIENCE claim so many things. The objection is that the different things that scriptures and Mahatmas proclaim are all blind faith only. Since it is blind faith, it should not be taken resorted to. When the scripture says that “there is God who is present everywhere”, the critics claim that this is a blind faith because God cannot be seen & hence there is no such God.
All such criticisms have been answered in a convincing manner by the very early philosophers (as early as the 8th century) like Udayanacharya, Sankaracharya, Madhvacharya etc.
AMMA says that any faith is blind only. There is no faith which is not blind. Let’s take an example: I am typing this mail. You people are expecting this mail to reach the destination mailbox daily. Isn’t this faith itself blind only? It might happen that the next moment this limited body might fall down and collapse, it might happen that virus strikes the internet and all communication through internet is stopped for some time.
We all normally take bus to reach office. When a person boards the bus, he boards it will the faith or belief that it will take him to his destination (office in this case). But what guarantee is there that it will take him to the office, instead an accident might happen & it might take him to the hospital. Thus the faith which one has while boarding the bus itself is a blind faith only.
Thus we can convincingly conclude that all faith are blind alone. Then what is the use of such BLIND FAITH and why take resort to just some blind faith like belief in God etc.? Scriptures and saints never tell a person to blindly follow their words. They clearly state that examine whatever has been told and if it is logical and without faults, then follow it. If whatever has been said is illogical, reject it and do not follow it.
Sri Krishna says in the last chapter of Bhagavad Gita after instructing Arjuna on the ultimate reality of Lord
“Ithi te jnaanam aakhyaatam guhyaat guhyataram mayaa
Vimrishyetat ashesheena yatha icchasi tathaa kuru”
I have instructed you on the most secret knowledge of Brahma Vidya – examine it without leaving any space for doubt and whatever you feel, do it.
This is where the greatness of the scriptures comes into picture. They never force a person into doing things – instead they show the right and the wrong path. They also proclaim that if the right path is followed, eternal bliss will be rejoiced. But if the wrong path is followed, only sorrow will be attained.
Scriptures are very important because they are faultless, they have been tested & verified by people from time immemorial – they are the very experiences of the saints. A Guru is one who is the living embodiment of the scriptures. Scriptures are not living but are just books with some knowledge – these are made practical by the living Gurus. It is always good to take resort to that which has been verified and which is known to give good fruit alone rather than taking resort to that which is doubtful as to its fruits. This is the reason why Sankara mentions that FAITH or SRADDHA is belief in the scriptures and the words of Guru because both are faultless and are sure to give good fruits.
What is good fruit??
Good fruit is real devotion to the ultimate reality of Lord. The good fruit is when a seeker progresses towards the ultimate reality of Lord – good fruit is when the seeker is moving closer to the Lord and his ignorance veil vanishes. These good fruits can be achieved only when a person takes resort unto the scriptures or the Guru. Unless he does that, there is always a chance of his falling into the wrong path and falling down from the path of spirituality.
Thus, when there is faith in the words of the Guru and the scriptures, then devotion towards the Lord becomes manifested. Devotion is constant remembrance of the Lord without any other thoughts. This constant remembrance or contemplation is possible only when a seeker is convinced of the goal or the Lord that it will give him eternal bliss. Therefore faith is essential for a seeker to become a devotee. Devotion is not just merely going to temples or chanting the name of the Lord once a day – devotion is constant remembrance of the Lord. Devotion is when the thought of Lord never leaves the mind & the thought of Lord is continuous like oil flowing from a cup.
Ramana Maharshi beautifully gives the two qualities of real devotion in Upadesa Saram 7
Aajya dhaarayaa srotasaa samam
Sarala chintanam viralathah param
That meditation or concentration is better than diverted concentration (where multiple thoughts are maintained) and it is real devotion where the thought is continuous like flow of oil & pure like water.
When a seeker remembers the Lord before taking his meals, offers the meal to the Lord & then eats it as if it is the prasaad of the Lord – this is real devotion. When a seeker does his work constantly putting 100% effort into the work as a result of finding the work as worship to the Lord present everywhere – this is real devotion. When a seeker sees the Lord in all beings, always does good to others, always sings about the Lord, always talks about the Lord, always thinks about the Lord – this is real devotion.
Real devotion can be achieved only when a seeker knows who the Lord, whom he is seeking, is. The Lord is the reality behind all the illusory things in the world. The Lord is the only entity present in the world. The Lord is of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. He is present in and out of all beings and things in the world. The world itself is nothing but an illusion seen in the reality of Lord. Lord is not different from one’s own real nature – Lord is one with the individual Self (who considers himself as limited due to ignorance about his real nature of Lord and due to identification with the illusory objects in the illusory world). Lord is one without a second. Since Lord is alone present, he is all-pervading. Since Lord is the substratum behind the illusory world, he is omniscient (he knows everything in the world as the world is only an illusion in the Lord even as the water seen in desert is only an illusion in the desert).
When a seeker realizes the quality and nature of such a Lord, he always strives to realize the Lord – because he knows that the objects in the world are temporary and cannot give eternal bliss which is being searched each & every moment by all beings in the world. Since the world is temporary, there is only one permanent entity which alone can give eternal bliss to the seeker – this entity is the Lord who is variously termed as Brahman, Ishwara, Paramatman, Atman, Self etc. in the various scriptures.
Let us all try to remember the Lord who is present in all places & who is the reality behind the illusory world so that we may come to realize that the Lord who is all-pervading is our own very nature only & not different from us. When this reality is known, there is nothing but eternal bliss alone which is the ultimate goal of any human beings. Let us try to implement devotion by having faith in the words of Mahatmas so that the devotion culminates in realization of the ultimate reality that there is nothing here but only non-dual and eternal Consciousness.
Lord Kapila mentioned some of the qualities that are required to realize the ultimate reality of Lord. We will try to analyze a couple of those here– Detachment & dispassion
Explanation
Detachment is a word which is misunderstood by both common people as well as spiritual seekers also. Detachment and dispassion are not entirely two different words but these are related words. Dispassion or vairagya is split broadly into two – paraa vairagya or higher dispassion and apara vairagya or lower dispassion. Higher dispassion is the real dispassion whereas lower dispassion paves the way for the higher dispassion.
What is lower dispassion?
Drishtaanusravika vishaya vitrishnasya vasheekaara samjnaa vairagyam says Patanjali in Yoga Sutras
Being detached to all the objects and pleasures attained through hearing, sight or any other means is called lower dispassion.
Here dispassion is getting detached from the worldly objects – this can be temporarily achieved even when one’s dear or loving person dies or passes away. This is not real dispassion as this might be temporary and will fade with time. The dispassion that one gets with the world due to sorrows & sufferings which he gets from the world might not be permanent and will thus fade away with time.
What is higher dispassion?
Tatparam purusha khyaatheh guna vaitrishnam
Being detached to objects as one is attached to the ultimate reality of Brahman or God is higher dispassion. This is what is really called as Dispassion by none other than AMMA.
This dispassion is the real dispassion and permanent because this detachment doesn’t arise out of surroundings or environments instead it is created because of love towards the eternal bliss which will be rejoiced from the ultimate reality of Brahman or Consciousness. A seeker should always try to have higher dispassion because where there is real dispassion, realization is not far as scriptures and lives of saints illustrate.
Real detachment is that in which the individual seeker is neither unattached to objects in the world nor he is attached to the objects. This sentence might seem contradictory but when real detachment is defined as “detached attachment”, the contradiction vanishes & the theory becomes crystal clear.
Spiritual practices are well explained through the activities and incidents in the lives of great saints rather than the dogmas of various philosophies. Sri Ramakrishna was once asked wrongly by a person to leave the room where he was staying in Dakshineshwar. Within a moment, Sri Ramakrishna took his mat and folded it between his arms and started walking away. Suddenly Mathur Babu came running & said “My servant told to the wrong person, I did not tell you to go out, please stay back”. The very next moment, without any expression in the face, Sri Ramakrishna went back into the room. See the amount of dispassion and detachment!!! This is what a seeker should aspire to achieve.
There is yet another incident in the life of Swami Vivekananda to illustrate his detachment or rather attachment to the ultimate reality of Consciousness while still being attached and obedient to his Guru. Once swamiji was walking with another brother-disciple and they were going to meet Sri Ramakrishna. Swamiji was crying completely on the way. On reaching the room of Sri Ramakrishna, the brother-disciple said to Sri Ramakrishna about the same. When Sri Ramakrishna asked the reason for the same, swamiji replied “You have told me to pursue my higher studies. On the way, I remembered Sankara’s statement about Viveka and Vairagya in Vivekachoodamani and I thought why am I learning all temporary and impermanent knowledge instead of pursuing the ultimate reality and hence started crying about the same”.
These are some incidents from which the seekers have to learn and try to implement this in life. That is real dispassion and detachment if the seeker is able to leave everything in the world this very moment for the sake of the ultimate reality of Brahman or God. If the seeker says that “I have duty towards my parents and siblings”, this is what is called as attachment and passion. Unless attachment from the world & its objects completely vanishes, the ultimate reality of Brahman will not be realized.
In a lighter sense, we can say that God is highly possessive – he is like a child who will require complete attention to bestow his grace & bliss on the individual. This brings the story of baala Krishna which AMMA used to tell to memory. This story tells about the result that would happen if we don’t give attention to the reality of God and go after sensual pleasures or so-called duties in life. Yashoda was once breast-feeding Krishna. Krishna was very hungry at that time & naughty too! At that time, Yashoda remembered that she had kept some milk for boiling. Leaving Krishna who was very hungry there itself, she went to look after the 2-glass milk that was kept for boiling. After looking after the milk, she returned back to find that Krishna had spilled the entire ghee in the house as he was very hungry. This is what will happen if we discard the reality of God in the name of worldly duties and activities. We will not only lose the worldly relations but will enter into the delusion of samsaara for births and deaths.
If a person claims that it is his duty to look after his parents etc., it is utter foolishness because where the innumerous parents able to look after their children during Tsunami or the earthquake in Pakistan? Even when the individual knows that he is incapable to doing anything in the world without the blessing and grace of the Lord, still if he claims to be looking after them, what more foolishness and idiotic nature than this?
Sri Krishna in clear words tells that “Renounce all activities and seek me alone – I will save you out of all sins, don’t worry”. He again says “Think about me alone, without any other thoughts. I will thus look after you good and bad”.
When this attitude of “GOD First” and “everything else second” is achieved, only then does the seeker gain the quality of detachment or dispassion. Unless there is real dispassion, the reality of God can never be realized. Unless the reality of God is realized, there will only be sorrows and sufferings in the illusory world. And since the very desire or goal of any human being is removal of sorrow & enjoyment of eternal bliss, what is required is realization of the reality of God. To realize the reality of God, there should be real dispassion. Real dispassion is present only when God is given prime importance in life & all other things are given secondary importance.
This doesn’t mean a person has to renounce and go to a forest – but it only means that remember God and do all actions as offering unto Him. It only means that don’t comprise God for anything in the world. But think God and do all actions – thus the mind becomes pure & dispassion arises in such a mind. And such a mind is the place where God is clearly realized as bliss in nature. This is what the scriptures call as Moksha or liberation.
# posted by vedanta : 8:52 AM
