Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Story 45 - Story of Bala krishna's plays - 10
Brahma continued:
Bondage of samsaara and moksha are nothing but different terms for Ajnaana (ignorance). They are but mere terms and nothing else. You are always of the nature of Existence and Consciousness. If a person does vichara to analyze yourself in the ever experiential atman, this will become very clear. There cannot be day and night in Sun – this is similar.
Explanation
We all know that there is really no day and night. It is only based on the Sun’s light falling on a part of the world and not falling that we call as day and night. Since day and night is dependent on the Sun, therefore it is clear that there cannot be any day or night in the Sun (as the Sun is the basis for day and night).
Similarly the ultimate reality of Lord is the basis for bondage and liberation (as nothing really exists apart from the Lord). When a person doesn’t know his very nature of Lord, then he is in bondage. When a person knows his very nature of Lord, then he is in liberation. Since bondage and liberation are based on the Lord, there is no bondage or liberation in the Lord. Thus bondage and liberation both are from the perspective of ignorance alone. It is only for the ignorant person that we say that “you are bonded” and “you need to be liberated”. It is only for the ignorant person again that we show people who are liberated through various characteristics. Both bondage and liberation are at the empirical level and these are only illusions in the non-dual reality of Lord.
The reality is that the Lord alone exists here, one without a second. Anything apart from the Lord is only a mere illusion of name and form in the Lord. Thus when a person is ignorant about his very nature of non-dual Lord, bondage and liberation comes into existence. Such a person thinks himself to be bonded and thereby seeks liberation. But the reality that Sankara among other acharyas propound is that we all are the ever liberated Self (which is not different from the Lord). If a person is open and bold enough to tread the path put forth by Vedanta (the path of sravana, manana, nidhidhyasana), he will very easily be able to experience this truth that there is neither bondage nor liberation.
Sankara beautifully encompasses this in Nirvana Shatkam
Na dharmo na chaartho na kaamo na mokshah
Chidananda roopah sivoham sivoham
There is neither dharma nor artha, neither kaama nor moksha; I am the Self of the nature of Consciousness and Bliss.
The Lord himself proclaims this in many places of Gita that “I am the Self in all beings”, “the world is temporary”, “I pervade the world” etc.
Brahma till now was speaking about the truth and as to how to achieve the truth but here he speaks about reality from the ultimate level or ultimate viewpoint. This ultimate viewpoint is that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists – there is neither creation nor destruction; there is neither ignorance nor knowledge; there is neither bondage nor liberation; there is neither the ajnaani nor the jnaani. It is very tough to understand this but Brahma helps us by giving the analogy of Sun towards day and night (which we have already discussed earlier in this mail).
A person who uses his intellect to discriminate and analyze the words of Brahma, he will very easily be able to apprehend, appreciate and implement this reality that there is neither bondage nor liberation but the ultimate reality of Lord alone exists here.
Brahma continued:
There is no need to explain this in depth. Whoever wants to know will really know. Let me ask your permission to start back to my place.
Thus Brahma circled the Lord three times, prostrated and then left to his own world.
Explanation
We come to the end of this story about Bala Krishna’s plays. Brahma concludes his speech by telling that there is no need to explain things in depth. This is one of the truth that Shukracharya says to Mahabali after explaining that Chit alone exists here. Shukracharya then tells that if a person is not able to understand this, then it is as if he is offering things to ashes!!! (meaning that the ritual will not happen properly as there is no fire at all).
The truth is so simple that even a little child would understand it – but still if a person is not able to understand it, there is no necessity and purpose in trying to explain it again and again through different analogies.
What is the truth that is so simple and whoever wants to know will know?The truth is that there is nothing here but the ultimate reality of Lord alone exists. The duality that we perceive is only an illusion in the reality of Lord. The dual world that we perceive is like the dream world which is nothing but an illusion in the dreamer – even as the dream world is nothing but the dreamer alone, similarly the dual world is nothing but the ultimate reality of Lord. Once a person understands this truth that there is only the Lord here, then he will see everything as an illusion of names and forms in the Lord – such a person will therefore be seeing everything as the Lord alone. When everything is seen as the Lord, then there is neither like nor dislike towards things in the world. When there are neither likes nor dislikes, then the person will not be having love and hatred (raga dvesha or kama krodha). When there is neither love nor hatred, then the mind is ever focused on the Lord and without any distractions. Such a mind which is devoid of the dual notions of love and hatred will be calm like an ocean without waves. Such a mind is said to have merged into the source of Self or Lord. Such a mind is not at all a mind but the Lord alone. Therefore such a person whose mind is without any thoughts and passions has himself merged into the ultimate reality of Lord. When a person merges into the reality of Lord, then he is ever blissful as bliss is the very nature of Lord. Thus he is ever happy, ever content and ever satisfied with whatever is available to him. This is the state of mukthi wherein a person is always blissful and happy. It is this blissful state that we all are seeking in the form ever-lasting happiness. But since we are searching for it in the external world, we don’t get bliss. In order for us to get bliss, we will have to seek it by understanding the truth that everything is only the Lord and thereby seeing everything as the Lord.
Once we follow this sadhana, we will be able to lead life like Krishna – ever happy though involved with many wifes, many wives and being in the midst of the destruction of his own clan. Through this particular story about the Lord’s plays, we hear the truth in beautiful words of Brahma.
We will see a summary of this story in the next day before starting with the next story of Bhagavatham.
Bondage of samsaara and moksha are nothing but different terms for Ajnaana (ignorance). They are but mere terms and nothing else. You are always of the nature of Existence and Consciousness. If a person does vichara to analyze yourself in the ever experiential atman, this will become very clear. There cannot be day and night in Sun – this is similar.
Explanation
We all know that there is really no day and night. It is only based on the Sun’s light falling on a part of the world and not falling that we call as day and night. Since day and night is dependent on the Sun, therefore it is clear that there cannot be any day or night in the Sun (as the Sun is the basis for day and night).
Similarly the ultimate reality of Lord is the basis for bondage and liberation (as nothing really exists apart from the Lord). When a person doesn’t know his very nature of Lord, then he is in bondage. When a person knows his very nature of Lord, then he is in liberation. Since bondage and liberation are based on the Lord, there is no bondage or liberation in the Lord. Thus bondage and liberation both are from the perspective of ignorance alone. It is only for the ignorant person that we say that “you are bonded” and “you need to be liberated”. It is only for the ignorant person again that we show people who are liberated through various characteristics. Both bondage and liberation are at the empirical level and these are only illusions in the non-dual reality of Lord.
The reality is that the Lord alone exists here, one without a second. Anything apart from the Lord is only a mere illusion of name and form in the Lord. Thus when a person is ignorant about his very nature of non-dual Lord, bondage and liberation comes into existence. Such a person thinks himself to be bonded and thereby seeks liberation. But the reality that Sankara among other acharyas propound is that we all are the ever liberated Self (which is not different from the Lord). If a person is open and bold enough to tread the path put forth by Vedanta (the path of sravana, manana, nidhidhyasana), he will very easily be able to experience this truth that there is neither bondage nor liberation.
Sankara beautifully encompasses this in Nirvana Shatkam
Na dharmo na chaartho na kaamo na mokshah
Chidananda roopah sivoham sivoham
There is neither dharma nor artha, neither kaama nor moksha; I am the Self of the nature of Consciousness and Bliss.
The Lord himself proclaims this in many places of Gita that “I am the Self in all beings”, “the world is temporary”, “I pervade the world” etc.
Brahma till now was speaking about the truth and as to how to achieve the truth but here he speaks about reality from the ultimate level or ultimate viewpoint. This ultimate viewpoint is that there is nothing here but the Lord alone exists – there is neither creation nor destruction; there is neither ignorance nor knowledge; there is neither bondage nor liberation; there is neither the ajnaani nor the jnaani. It is very tough to understand this but Brahma helps us by giving the analogy of Sun towards day and night (which we have already discussed earlier in this mail).
A person who uses his intellect to discriminate and analyze the words of Brahma, he will very easily be able to apprehend, appreciate and implement this reality that there is neither bondage nor liberation but the ultimate reality of Lord alone exists here.
Brahma continued:
There is no need to explain this in depth. Whoever wants to know will really know. Let me ask your permission to start back to my place.
Thus Brahma circled the Lord three times, prostrated and then left to his own world.
Explanation
We come to the end of this story about Bala Krishna’s plays. Brahma concludes his speech by telling that there is no need to explain things in depth. This is one of the truth that Shukracharya says to Mahabali after explaining that Chit alone exists here. Shukracharya then tells that if a person is not able to understand this, then it is as if he is offering things to ashes!!! (meaning that the ritual will not happen properly as there is no fire at all).
The truth is so simple that even a little child would understand it – but still if a person is not able to understand it, there is no necessity and purpose in trying to explain it again and again through different analogies.
What is the truth that is so simple and whoever wants to know will know?The truth is that there is nothing here but the ultimate reality of Lord alone exists. The duality that we perceive is only an illusion in the reality of Lord. The dual world that we perceive is like the dream world which is nothing but an illusion in the dreamer – even as the dream world is nothing but the dreamer alone, similarly the dual world is nothing but the ultimate reality of Lord. Once a person understands this truth that there is only the Lord here, then he will see everything as an illusion of names and forms in the Lord – such a person will therefore be seeing everything as the Lord alone. When everything is seen as the Lord, then there is neither like nor dislike towards things in the world. When there are neither likes nor dislikes, then the person will not be having love and hatred (raga dvesha or kama krodha). When there is neither love nor hatred, then the mind is ever focused on the Lord and without any distractions. Such a mind which is devoid of the dual notions of love and hatred will be calm like an ocean without waves. Such a mind is said to have merged into the source of Self or Lord. Such a mind is not at all a mind but the Lord alone. Therefore such a person whose mind is without any thoughts and passions has himself merged into the ultimate reality of Lord. When a person merges into the reality of Lord, then he is ever blissful as bliss is the very nature of Lord. Thus he is ever happy, ever content and ever satisfied with whatever is available to him. This is the state of mukthi wherein a person is always blissful and happy. It is this blissful state that we all are seeking in the form ever-lasting happiness. But since we are searching for it in the external world, we don’t get bliss. In order for us to get bliss, we will have to seek it by understanding the truth that everything is only the Lord and thereby seeing everything as the Lord.
Once we follow this sadhana, we will be able to lead life like Krishna – ever happy though involved with many wifes, many wives and being in the midst of the destruction of his own clan. Through this particular story about the Lord’s plays, we hear the truth in beautiful words of Brahma.
We will see a summary of this story in the next day before starting with the next story of Bhagavatham.
# posted by vedanta : 7:56 PM
