Thursday, April 19, 2007
Story 43 - Story of Yayati - 07
Yayati continued:
There is only one way out of these never ending desires. The way is to maintain equanimity towards all beings. Everything should be seen as pervaded in and out by Lord. Thus there would be no differences in vision - differences in vision causes a person to get attached or averted to things and people. Attachment and aversion in turn leads to happiness and sorrow. For a person who knows that everything is Lord alone, everything is filled with bliss alone.
Explanation
We saw in the previous day as to the futility of fulfilling desires. Desires can never be fully eliminated by enjoying or fulfilling them. We saw Yayati explaining to his wife that try to end desires by fulfilling them is like trying to extinguish fire by pouring ghee on it; the fire will not be extinguished but only will burn more vigorously.
We might then think that if desires cannot be fully eliminated by fulfilling them, then what is the way out of this ocean of desires leading to more and more births? This is being answered by Yayati himself here. There is one and only way out of the delusion of desires. The way out if by knowing that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. We have to continuously remember that the dual entities of the world are nothing but the non-dual reality of Lord alone. Even as different gold ornaments are merely names and forms in the reality of gold, similarly the names and forms of the world are mere illusions in the reality of Lord of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. Once a seeker knows that the Lord alone exists here, he will be seeing the Lord as the underlying reality behind the various names and forms. Thus the dual world will be seen as nothing but the Lord alone. When a person sees everything as the Lord, then he cannot like or dislike anything as everything is but the Lord alone. When there aren't any likes and dislikes, there is neither attraction nor aversion to a particular thing or person. It is attachment and aversion which leads to temporary happiness and sorrow. When something good happens to the person that we are attached to, we become happy. When something bad happens to that person, we become sad. Similarly when something good happens to a person we hate, we become sad - when something bad happens to the same person, we become happy. Thus temporary happiness and sorrow are due to attachment and aversion which in turn are due to likes and dislikes. Likes and dislikes are caused due to considering the entities of the world as different from one another. This vision of things as different from one another is the vision of a deluded person as the reality behind the dual and different things is the absolute non-dual reality of Lord. Thus once a seeker realizes that everything is but the Lord alone, he will see everything as the Lord. There is nothing that he likes or dislikes. Therefore he is devoid of both temporary happiness and sorrow. Thus he is ever steady and ever established in the ultimate reality of Lord.
Constant contemplation on the non-dual reality of Lord will lead a person to realize his very nature of Lord. This Lord is of the nature of bliss. Thus such a person is ever blissful. When the person is blissful, he is peaceful, content and satisfied. Such a contented person cannot have any more desires as all desires are towards perfection and bliss. When the seeker already is perfect and blissful, there are no more desires to be fulfilled. Thus desires are totally ended by such a seeker.
This is the one and only way to end desires - through knowledge that everything is the Lord alone and seeing the Lord in everything through constant contemplation of the Lord.
Bhagavatham through Yayati pointing out the way out of delusion of desires is thus telling each one of us to see the ultimate reality of Lord everywhere and thereby get rid of desires which causes us to suffer in this delusion of samsaara and making us take more births in order to fulfill desires.
We will continue with Yayati's statements to his wife in the next day.
Yayati continued:
A person whose mind has been purified and intellect strengthened by conviction about the Lord will see everything in the world as the Lord alone of the nature of bliss. But those whose intellect is faulty (durbuddhis) will never be able to get rid of the desire and craving for sensual pleasures. Even as the body becomes weak and old, still the thirst in the mind will be there for such ignorant people. The strong indriyas make even the greatest of vidvans a slave. I have been enjoying the sensual pleasures for so many years. But the thirst to enjoy more has been increasing day by day. Therefore I am forsaking this thirst for sensual pleasure completely.
I have decided to go to the forest and stay with the animals there. Everything that is seen or heard is only an illusion of Maya. I will never again be subject to the thirst for such illusory objects of the world. This bondage of samsaara is the cause of destruction of one's ever present Atman - he who knows this is the real vidvaan (scholar).
Explanation
Yayati is here concluding his advice and statements to his wife Devayani. We find here Yayati giving a crisp definition of vidvaan or a scholar which is an echo of a similar verse in Gita 4th chapter:
Yasya sarve samaarambhaah kaamasankalpa varjithaah
Jnaanaagnih dagdakarmaanam tamaahuh panditham budhaah
He whose all actions are started not due to desires or imaginations (like an ajnaani) and is like a burnt seed, he is called a pandit or vidvaan.
A person doesn't become a scholar merely by reciting or by-hearting slokas or the various bhashyas available on the scriptures. A real scholar is one who knows what is really to be known - that there is only one entity here which is the non-dual reality of Lord and that everything else is an illusion of names-forms in the reality of Lord. Such a person is never affected by the activities in the world; he doesn't crave for anything; he doesn't desire anything as he is ever immersed and rejoicing in the bliss which is his very nature of Lord. Such a person is alone fit to be called a vidvan or scholar.
Today we find many self-proclaimed scholars and realized saints who have somehow learnt a few scriptures by-heart and try to get the attention of disciples and devotees. These people are only book-worms who don't even have strong intellectual conviction about the reality - all these people seek is fame, money, power, following etc. Take any of these from such self-proclaimed saints and their attitude will change. But the real scholar is one who is unaffected by all activities - he isn't bothered about whether he is getting money or fame or followers as he knows that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists.
It is very important to understand this aspect of definition of a scholar because only a person who knows that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists is a real scholar; such a real scholar alone can get eternal bliss which is what we all are striving for each and every moment of our life. It is also important to understand this lest we fall under the wrong Guru and wrong sadhanas which will not take us to the ultimate reality of Lord but also lead us in the wrong direction.
The various meditation techniques, the various devotion techniques, the various Samadhi practices, the various social services - all these will not give us eternal bliss. Though many of today's saints like Sri Sri Ravishankar, Sai Baba, Maharshi Mahesha Yogi etc. point out these sadhanas which often is focused on social service, the scriptures are very clear about the one and only path to eternal bliss - that path is not social service. Where can we have social service when the society that we are in itself is an illusion in the non-dual reality of Lord? Will such saints be satisfied by the social service they are doing in the world? Will any social service person get satisfaction and contentment at the end of his life through social service? No - satisfaction can be achieved only through knowledge that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists. People who are too much into social service and other sadhanas not giving emphasis to knowledge and constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord will only end up in sorrow when they find themselves not getting near to eternal bliss.
The greatest of social service people in the world which include Jesus Christ and the Buddha among many others were not satisfied through social service; they were not able to do real service to the world because it is impossible to serve the world which is only an illusion. Doing service to the world is like doing service to the dream world which we saw yesterday night!!! There is nothing foolish than that.
Real service of the world is knowing that the world is nothing but an illusion of names and forms in the reality of Lord. Such a seeker who knows the world to the Lord alone and sees the Lord in everything is only doing social service. This path of constant contemplation of the non-dual reality of Lord alone will lead us to eternal bliss. All other sadhanas including meditation and bhajans will only give us a temporary glimpse of happiness. Ask any bhajan singing person what will happen if he is unable to sing bhajans and the answer will be that he will become sad. That is the state of all sadhanas in the world which is not accompanied by knowledge that the Lord alone exists here.
A person whose intellect has been convinced that the Lord alone exists here and thereby contemplates on the Lord alone will be lead to satisfaction and contentment. All other people will be lead to more and more desires which in turn will lead to more and more births until they come to knowledge realizing their very nature of non-dual Lord.
Bhagavatham through the definition of vidvan or scholar here is thus pointing out to us who is a real scholar and who has to be followed if we are to get to eternal bliss.
There is only one way out of these never ending desires. The way is to maintain equanimity towards all beings. Everything should be seen as pervaded in and out by Lord. Thus there would be no differences in vision - differences in vision causes a person to get attached or averted to things and people. Attachment and aversion in turn leads to happiness and sorrow. For a person who knows that everything is Lord alone, everything is filled with bliss alone.
Explanation
We saw in the previous day as to the futility of fulfilling desires. Desires can never be fully eliminated by enjoying or fulfilling them. We saw Yayati explaining to his wife that try to end desires by fulfilling them is like trying to extinguish fire by pouring ghee on it; the fire will not be extinguished but only will burn more vigorously.
We might then think that if desires cannot be fully eliminated by fulfilling them, then what is the way out of this ocean of desires leading to more and more births? This is being answered by Yayati himself here. There is one and only way out of the delusion of desires. The way out if by knowing that there is nothing here but the Lord alone. We have to continuously remember that the dual entities of the world are nothing but the non-dual reality of Lord alone. Even as different gold ornaments are merely names and forms in the reality of gold, similarly the names and forms of the world are mere illusions in the reality of Lord of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. Once a seeker knows that the Lord alone exists here, he will be seeing the Lord as the underlying reality behind the various names and forms. Thus the dual world will be seen as nothing but the Lord alone. When a person sees everything as the Lord, then he cannot like or dislike anything as everything is but the Lord alone. When there aren't any likes and dislikes, there is neither attraction nor aversion to a particular thing or person. It is attachment and aversion which leads to temporary happiness and sorrow. When something good happens to the person that we are attached to, we become happy. When something bad happens to that person, we become sad. Similarly when something good happens to a person we hate, we become sad - when something bad happens to the same person, we become happy. Thus temporary happiness and sorrow are due to attachment and aversion which in turn are due to likes and dislikes. Likes and dislikes are caused due to considering the entities of the world as different from one another. This vision of things as different from one another is the vision of a deluded person as the reality behind the dual and different things is the absolute non-dual reality of Lord. Thus once a seeker realizes that everything is but the Lord alone, he will see everything as the Lord. There is nothing that he likes or dislikes. Therefore he is devoid of both temporary happiness and sorrow. Thus he is ever steady and ever established in the ultimate reality of Lord.
Constant contemplation on the non-dual reality of Lord will lead a person to realize his very nature of Lord. This Lord is of the nature of bliss. Thus such a person is ever blissful. When the person is blissful, he is peaceful, content and satisfied. Such a contented person cannot have any more desires as all desires are towards perfection and bliss. When the seeker already is perfect and blissful, there are no more desires to be fulfilled. Thus desires are totally ended by such a seeker.
This is the one and only way to end desires - through knowledge that everything is the Lord alone and seeing the Lord in everything through constant contemplation of the Lord.
Bhagavatham through Yayati pointing out the way out of delusion of desires is thus telling each one of us to see the ultimate reality of Lord everywhere and thereby get rid of desires which causes us to suffer in this delusion of samsaara and making us take more births in order to fulfill desires.
We will continue with Yayati's statements to his wife in the next day.
Yayati continued:
A person whose mind has been purified and intellect strengthened by conviction about the Lord will see everything in the world as the Lord alone of the nature of bliss. But those whose intellect is faulty (durbuddhis) will never be able to get rid of the desire and craving for sensual pleasures. Even as the body becomes weak and old, still the thirst in the mind will be there for such ignorant people. The strong indriyas make even the greatest of vidvans a slave. I have been enjoying the sensual pleasures for so many years. But the thirst to enjoy more has been increasing day by day. Therefore I am forsaking this thirst for sensual pleasure completely.
I have decided to go to the forest and stay with the animals there. Everything that is seen or heard is only an illusion of Maya. I will never again be subject to the thirst for such illusory objects of the world. This bondage of samsaara is the cause of destruction of one's ever present Atman - he who knows this is the real vidvaan (scholar).
Explanation
Yayati is here concluding his advice and statements to his wife Devayani. We find here Yayati giving a crisp definition of vidvaan or a scholar which is an echo of a similar verse in Gita 4th chapter:
Yasya sarve samaarambhaah kaamasankalpa varjithaah
Jnaanaagnih dagdakarmaanam tamaahuh panditham budhaah
He whose all actions are started not due to desires or imaginations (like an ajnaani) and is like a burnt seed, he is called a pandit or vidvaan.
A person doesn't become a scholar merely by reciting or by-hearting slokas or the various bhashyas available on the scriptures. A real scholar is one who knows what is really to be known - that there is only one entity here which is the non-dual reality of Lord and that everything else is an illusion of names-forms in the reality of Lord. Such a person is never affected by the activities in the world; he doesn't crave for anything; he doesn't desire anything as he is ever immersed and rejoicing in the bliss which is his very nature of Lord. Such a person is alone fit to be called a vidvan or scholar.
Today we find many self-proclaimed scholars and realized saints who have somehow learnt a few scriptures by-heart and try to get the attention of disciples and devotees. These people are only book-worms who don't even have strong intellectual conviction about the reality - all these people seek is fame, money, power, following etc. Take any of these from such self-proclaimed saints and their attitude will change. But the real scholar is one who is unaffected by all activities - he isn't bothered about whether he is getting money or fame or followers as he knows that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists.
It is very important to understand this aspect of definition of a scholar because only a person who knows that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists is a real scholar; such a real scholar alone can get eternal bliss which is what we all are striving for each and every moment of our life. It is also important to understand this lest we fall under the wrong Guru and wrong sadhanas which will not take us to the ultimate reality of Lord but also lead us in the wrong direction.
The various meditation techniques, the various devotion techniques, the various Samadhi practices, the various social services - all these will not give us eternal bliss. Though many of today's saints like Sri Sri Ravishankar, Sai Baba, Maharshi Mahesha Yogi etc. point out these sadhanas which often is focused on social service, the scriptures are very clear about the one and only path to eternal bliss - that path is not social service. Where can we have social service when the society that we are in itself is an illusion in the non-dual reality of Lord? Will such saints be satisfied by the social service they are doing in the world? Will any social service person get satisfaction and contentment at the end of his life through social service? No - satisfaction can be achieved only through knowledge that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists. People who are too much into social service and other sadhanas not giving emphasis to knowledge and constant contemplation of the ultimate reality of Lord will only end up in sorrow when they find themselves not getting near to eternal bliss.
The greatest of social service people in the world which include Jesus Christ and the Buddha among many others were not satisfied through social service; they were not able to do real service to the world because it is impossible to serve the world which is only an illusion. Doing service to the world is like doing service to the dream world which we saw yesterday night!!! There is nothing foolish than that.
Real service of the world is knowing that the world is nothing but an illusion of names and forms in the reality of Lord. Such a seeker who knows the world to the Lord alone and sees the Lord in everything is only doing social service. This path of constant contemplation of the non-dual reality of Lord alone will lead us to eternal bliss. All other sadhanas including meditation and bhajans will only give us a temporary glimpse of happiness. Ask any bhajan singing person what will happen if he is unable to sing bhajans and the answer will be that he will become sad. That is the state of all sadhanas in the world which is not accompanied by knowledge that the Lord alone exists here.
A person whose intellect has been convinced that the Lord alone exists here and thereby contemplates on the Lord alone will be lead to satisfaction and contentment. All other people will be lead to more and more desires which in turn will lead to more and more births until they come to knowledge realizing their very nature of non-dual Lord.
Bhagavatham through the definition of vidvan or scholar here is thus pointing out to us who is a real scholar and who has to be followed if we are to get to eternal bliss.
# posted by vedanta : 2:00 AM
