Sunday, January 21, 2007
Story 40 – Story of Ambariksha -2
Ambariksha was a king who considered everything as filled in and out with the ultimate reality of Lord. He did all actions as an offering to the Lord. But even though he was ever established in the ultimate reality of Lord, he didn’t renounce actions. He did all actions but detached from the actions – as a mere witness to those actions.
He did many yajnas including ashwamedha for the welfare of the world. He would also personally attend those yajnas – but he would not ask for anything from the devas. For a person who has realized the ultimate reality of Lord, all siddhis and prosperity would be ever present whenever required. He whose all desires have been fructified by getting eternal bliss, what else can he desire???
Thus following the bhakthi yoga of offering everything unto the Lord all the while remembering that the Lord alone existed, Ambariksha was leading a pious life being detached from all the activities that he was doing as an emperor.
Explanation
In the previous posting instead of Ambariksha, Ajaamila was mentioned. Seeking pardon for the same and getting people confused over the same.
As we have been learning, activities doesn’t matter – what really matters is the attitude of surrender towards the ultimate reality of Lord. Even if we commit mistakes in life, those cease to be mistakes when we offer it to the Lord remembering that everything is only an illusion of names and forms in the ultimate reality of Lord. Such action is not at all action but an offering to the Lord. Such an offering purifies the mind thereby making the intellect clear about conviction that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. This in itself leads the seeker to realize his very nature of the ultimate reality of non-dual Lord – realizing which there remains nothing else to be sought.
We find in the puranas and other places that jeevan mukthas are people who don’t have any desire and thus don’t seek anything – they are ever immersed in eternal bliss – they even share this eternal bliss which any person is able to experience while in their presence. This is possible for jeevan mukthas because they have known that by knowing which everything is known – they have realized that by realizing which everything is realized & there remains nothing to be sought. We go on seeking things in the world because we are content with whatever we get. Contentment is not there because we don’t get eternal bliss – ever-lasting happiness. The happiness that we get from worldly objects is temporary. The objects themselves are constantly changing and hence we don’t get eternal bliss from them. It is for this reason that we keep on seeking things thinking that we might get eternal bliss from any of those. We are ignorant of the fact that we cannot get eternal bliss except from the ultimate reality of Lord. Until we realize the fact that the worldly objects will give sorrow and sorrow alone, we will keep on seeking the worldly objects. But once we realize that the worldly objects will give sorrow only, we will start seeking the eternal entity that can give us bliss. Such a seeker is called a mumukshu who desires liberation or salvation in the form of complete cessation of sorrow and enjoyment of eternal bliss.
A mumukshu after realizing the futility of happiness from worldly objects seeks a Guru and learns the scriptures. From the scriptures, the mumukshu realizes that the ultimate reality of Lord alone is permanent and that realization of the ultimate reality of Lord alone can give us eternal bliss. Thus he follows the spiritual path of constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord and offering all actions unto the Lord. Following this, he realizes that the Lord alone exists – thereby all distinctions of “I”, “mine”, “you” etc. vanish. Such a seeker thus ever rejoices in the eternal bliss which is the very nature of the Lord. After getting eternal bliss, there is nothing else that is to be achieved for the seeker. Hence he doesn’t want anything at all from and in the world. He is ever content with whatever is there. If he is given something to eat, he will be happy – if he is not given anything to eat, still he will be happy. If he is given a boon, he will be happy – if he is cursed (like Shukracharya cursing Mahaabali), he will still be happy.
It is this state of being ever blissful which Vedanta terms as moksha or culmination of all desires. We will see in the coming days as to how Ambariksha is able to remain steadfast and unaffected by activities so that we may also try to realize the ultimate reality of Lord & be ever blissful.
Ambariksha considered everything starting from his wife, the kingdom, the soldiers, the people of his kingdom, the various jewels etc. as unreal because he knew that the ultimate reality of Lord alone existed. But still he nourished and looked after each of these considering all of these as filled in and out with the Lord (as per the upanishadic dictum of Ishavaasyam idam sarvam – everything is filled with the Lord).
Following such an attitude, Ambariksha was ever steadfast in the ultimate reality of Lord gaining supreme and one-pointed devotion towards the Lord. The Lord always looks after the needs of his devotees. The Lord therefore, without Ambariksha knowing it, had instructed the sudarshana chakra to look after Ambariksha and protect him from enemies and other things.
Explanation
What is the reality behind the temporary and sorrowful world???
The reality behind the world can be explained in two ways (both meaning the same thing). One is jagan mithyaa or that the world is an illusion. The second is that everything is pervaded in and out by the Lord. As any illusion is nothing but an apparent perception in its substratum, the world as an illusion of names/forms is an apparent appearance in the ultimate reality of Lord. As the illusory water seen in desert is pervaded in and out by desert, similarly the entire world is filled in and out with the Lord. Both these ways of seeing the world are true and right. It is but wrong if a person says that “everything is pervaded by the Lord” is real and “the world is an illusion” is not right – this is the attitude that we find I many bhakthas following the bhakthi schools of Vedanta.
Accepting one is accepting the other – both cannot live without the other. One leads to the other. The world is an illusion as the names and forms but it is the ultimate reality of Lord as the substratum. If we see the world from the perspective of changing names and forms, then it is an illusion and thereby unreal. But if we see the world as an appearance in its substratum of non-dual Lord, then the world is real and pulsating each moment with the Consciousness that is the nature of the Lord.
Thus we all as seekers of the ultimate reality of Lord should consider this world as pervading the Lord in and out. What this means is that whenever we see anything in the world, we should contemplate in the mind that it is filled with the Lord & hence is the Lord alone. When we see the monitor in front of us, we should understand that the monitor is also the Lord only. This doesn’t mean that we have to catch hold of the tiger in the zoo and say that it is the Lord!!! This only means that though externally we see things as different internally we know that everything is only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus dvandva bhaava or the notion of duality slowly vanishes from our mind through the contemplation that everything is the Lord alone. When duality vanishes, likes-dislikes vanish. When likes-dislikes vanish and we know everything as the ultimate reality of Lord, there is nothing to get attached to or averted from. When there is no attachment or aversion, there is no happiness or sorrow. Such a seeker then ever rejoices in contemplation of the Lord. As is the object of contemplation, so is person – thus when the seeker always contemplates and rejoices in the ultimate reality of Lord, he becomes the Lord and enjoys the bliss which is the very nature of Lord. When the seeker realizes thus his very nature of Lord and rejoices in the bliss, this state is called the state of realization or moksha avasthaa or jeevan mukthi. It is this state that is the culmination of all seeking worldly as well as spiritual. Once such a state wherein the seeker rejoices in the eternal bliss of the Lord, then there is nothing to be aspired or attained.
Then there is only bliss, bliss and bliss alone. This is what Sankara beautifully brings out in the Bhaja Govindam thus:
Yogaratho vaa bhogaratho vaa
Sangaratho vaa sangaviheenah
Yasya brahmani ramathe chittam
Nandhathi nandhathi nandhathi eva
A person might be doing yoga; or enjoying sensual pleasures; getting attached to people or being totally detached – but for the person who is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Brahman (or in whose mind is ever fixed on the Lord), such a person rejoices, rejoices and verily rejoices.
It is this state that we find Ambariksha in – though he knew that the world is an illusion, he didn’t either run away from it or ignore it – instead he considered it as the ultimate reality of Lord. Though he was doing all activities, yet his mind was ever contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord – thereby he was ever blissful.
To such a devotee who is ever immersed in the Lord and is a muktha purusha, the Lord himself is present for protection. We will see this aspect in the next day.
He did many yajnas including ashwamedha for the welfare of the world. He would also personally attend those yajnas – but he would not ask for anything from the devas. For a person who has realized the ultimate reality of Lord, all siddhis and prosperity would be ever present whenever required. He whose all desires have been fructified by getting eternal bliss, what else can he desire???
Thus following the bhakthi yoga of offering everything unto the Lord all the while remembering that the Lord alone existed, Ambariksha was leading a pious life being detached from all the activities that he was doing as an emperor.
Explanation
In the previous posting instead of Ambariksha, Ajaamila was mentioned. Seeking pardon for the same and getting people confused over the same.
As we have been learning, activities doesn’t matter – what really matters is the attitude of surrender towards the ultimate reality of Lord. Even if we commit mistakes in life, those cease to be mistakes when we offer it to the Lord remembering that everything is only an illusion of names and forms in the ultimate reality of Lord. Such action is not at all action but an offering to the Lord. Such an offering purifies the mind thereby making the intellect clear about conviction that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. This in itself leads the seeker to realize his very nature of the ultimate reality of non-dual Lord – realizing which there remains nothing else to be sought.
We find in the puranas and other places that jeevan mukthas are people who don’t have any desire and thus don’t seek anything – they are ever immersed in eternal bliss – they even share this eternal bliss which any person is able to experience while in their presence. This is possible for jeevan mukthas because they have known that by knowing which everything is known – they have realized that by realizing which everything is realized & there remains nothing to be sought. We go on seeking things in the world because we are content with whatever we get. Contentment is not there because we don’t get eternal bliss – ever-lasting happiness. The happiness that we get from worldly objects is temporary. The objects themselves are constantly changing and hence we don’t get eternal bliss from them. It is for this reason that we keep on seeking things thinking that we might get eternal bliss from any of those. We are ignorant of the fact that we cannot get eternal bliss except from the ultimate reality of Lord. Until we realize the fact that the worldly objects will give sorrow and sorrow alone, we will keep on seeking the worldly objects. But once we realize that the worldly objects will give sorrow only, we will start seeking the eternal entity that can give us bliss. Such a seeker is called a mumukshu who desires liberation or salvation in the form of complete cessation of sorrow and enjoyment of eternal bliss.
A mumukshu after realizing the futility of happiness from worldly objects seeks a Guru and learns the scriptures. From the scriptures, the mumukshu realizes that the ultimate reality of Lord alone is permanent and that realization of the ultimate reality of Lord alone can give us eternal bliss. Thus he follows the spiritual path of constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord and offering all actions unto the Lord. Following this, he realizes that the Lord alone exists – thereby all distinctions of “I”, “mine”, “you” etc. vanish. Such a seeker thus ever rejoices in the eternal bliss which is the very nature of the Lord. After getting eternal bliss, there is nothing else that is to be achieved for the seeker. Hence he doesn’t want anything at all from and in the world. He is ever content with whatever is there. If he is given something to eat, he will be happy – if he is not given anything to eat, still he will be happy. If he is given a boon, he will be happy – if he is cursed (like Shukracharya cursing Mahaabali), he will still be happy.
It is this state of being ever blissful which Vedanta terms as moksha or culmination of all desires. We will see in the coming days as to how Ambariksha is able to remain steadfast and unaffected by activities so that we may also try to realize the ultimate reality of Lord & be ever blissful.
Ambariksha considered everything starting from his wife, the kingdom, the soldiers, the people of his kingdom, the various jewels etc. as unreal because he knew that the ultimate reality of Lord alone existed. But still he nourished and looked after each of these considering all of these as filled in and out with the Lord (as per the upanishadic dictum of Ishavaasyam idam sarvam – everything is filled with the Lord).
Following such an attitude, Ambariksha was ever steadfast in the ultimate reality of Lord gaining supreme and one-pointed devotion towards the Lord. The Lord always looks after the needs of his devotees. The Lord therefore, without Ambariksha knowing it, had instructed the sudarshana chakra to look after Ambariksha and protect him from enemies and other things.
Explanation
What is the reality behind the temporary and sorrowful world???
The reality behind the world can be explained in two ways (both meaning the same thing). One is jagan mithyaa or that the world is an illusion. The second is that everything is pervaded in and out by the Lord. As any illusion is nothing but an apparent perception in its substratum, the world as an illusion of names/forms is an apparent appearance in the ultimate reality of Lord. As the illusory water seen in desert is pervaded in and out by desert, similarly the entire world is filled in and out with the Lord. Both these ways of seeing the world are true and right. It is but wrong if a person says that “everything is pervaded by the Lord” is real and “the world is an illusion” is not right – this is the attitude that we find I many bhakthas following the bhakthi schools of Vedanta.
Accepting one is accepting the other – both cannot live without the other. One leads to the other. The world is an illusion as the names and forms but it is the ultimate reality of Lord as the substratum. If we see the world from the perspective of changing names and forms, then it is an illusion and thereby unreal. But if we see the world as an appearance in its substratum of non-dual Lord, then the world is real and pulsating each moment with the Consciousness that is the nature of the Lord.
Thus we all as seekers of the ultimate reality of Lord should consider this world as pervading the Lord in and out. What this means is that whenever we see anything in the world, we should contemplate in the mind that it is filled with the Lord & hence is the Lord alone. When we see the monitor in front of us, we should understand that the monitor is also the Lord only. This doesn’t mean that we have to catch hold of the tiger in the zoo and say that it is the Lord!!! This only means that though externally we see things as different internally we know that everything is only an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord. Thus dvandva bhaava or the notion of duality slowly vanishes from our mind through the contemplation that everything is the Lord alone. When duality vanishes, likes-dislikes vanish. When likes-dislikes vanish and we know everything as the ultimate reality of Lord, there is nothing to get attached to or averted from. When there is no attachment or aversion, there is no happiness or sorrow. Such a seeker then ever rejoices in contemplation of the Lord. As is the object of contemplation, so is person – thus when the seeker always contemplates and rejoices in the ultimate reality of Lord, he becomes the Lord and enjoys the bliss which is the very nature of Lord. When the seeker realizes thus his very nature of Lord and rejoices in the bliss, this state is called the state of realization or moksha avasthaa or jeevan mukthi. It is this state that is the culmination of all seeking worldly as well as spiritual. Once such a state wherein the seeker rejoices in the eternal bliss of the Lord, then there is nothing to be aspired or attained.
Then there is only bliss, bliss and bliss alone. This is what Sankara beautifully brings out in the Bhaja Govindam thus:
Yogaratho vaa bhogaratho vaa
Sangaratho vaa sangaviheenah
Yasya brahmani ramathe chittam
Nandhathi nandhathi nandhathi eva
A person might be doing yoga; or enjoying sensual pleasures; getting attached to people or being totally detached – but for the person who is ever immersed in the ultimate reality of Brahman (or in whose mind is ever fixed on the Lord), such a person rejoices, rejoices and verily rejoices.
It is this state that we find Ambariksha in – though he knew that the world is an illusion, he didn’t either run away from it or ignore it – instead he considered it as the ultimate reality of Lord. Though he was doing all activities, yet his mind was ever contemplating on the ultimate reality of Lord – thereby he was ever blissful.
To such a devotee who is ever immersed in the Lord and is a muktha purusha, the Lord himself is present for protection. We will see this aspect in the next day.
# posted by vedanta : 7:23 PM
