Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Story 52 – Story of Baana Yudha - 15
Explanation
We saw in the previous day as to the Lord being all-pervasive, immovable, indivisible Consciousness. Let’s continue with analysis of the Lord’s nature.
The world that we see was created from the Lord, exists in the Lord and vanishes unto the Lord at the time of destruction. Such a world which came form the Lord, exists in the Lord and vanishes unto the Lord cannot be different from the Lord. Even as the pot that comes from mud, resides in mud and merges unto mud isn’t different from mud but is just an illusion of name and form in mud, similarly the world is just an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord.
If the world exists, the Lord is the cause/substratum of the illusory world. Lord is both cause and substratum because the world isn’t real – if the world is real, then the Lord will be the cause of the world. But the effect of world which is just an illusion in the cause of Lord means that the Lord is both the cause and substratum of the illusory world.
This again re-iterates the truth that the Lord is all-pervasive (pervades the entire world) as any cause pervades its effect (the cause of mud is seen as pervading the effect of pot). The Lord who is the cause/substratum of the world is the light behind the very existence of the world. Any object in order for it to exist needs a light – the world which is not real but an illusion is illumined by the light of the Lord.
If it is very tough for us to remember all these various logical arguments and analysis, then we can simply remember that “the entire world is just an illusion of names and forms in the Lord”. As Prof. Balakrishnan Nair beautifully puts it, Vedanta can be summarized in just three words – Ishwara Naamam Roopam (Lord, names, forms). The Lord is real whereas the names and forms are mere illusions. We can find this in any object of the world – any object is just another name and form in the Lord. One who perceives the Lord goes beyond sorrow whereas a person who perceives names and forms while forgetting the Lord will constantly suffer in sorrow and pain. Such an ignorant person who fails to perceive the ever-present, all-pervasive and blissful Lord will take birth again and again thereby getting whirled in this vicious circle of birth-death (termed as samsaara).
Thus in order for a seeker to jump from sorrow and rejoice in bliss, he/she just needs to remember that the entire world is just an illusion of names and forms in the Lord. When a seeker remembers that the world is just an illusion, he/she goes beyond duality – duality arises only when we think two things really exist. When duality is not there, then there are no likes and dislikes. If there are no likes and dislikes, there isn’t any attachment or aversion. If there is no attachment or aversion, then there is no temporary happiness and sorrow.
Thus the simple one step solution to eternal bliss is always remembering the Lord as the non-dual reality behind the illusory world of names and forms. This is what Siva is briefly pointing out to us in the form of a praise to Lord Krishna.
Let us try to always remember the Lord as the non-dual reality behind the illusory names and forms of the world so that we never again suffer in sorrow but rejoice in eternal bliss.
Siva continued his praise:
What is seen as the world is just a part of you – as you are the supreme cause/substratum of the world. You are one without a second. But in order to reveal yourself, you have become the entire world (based on Maya).
Explanation
Many seekers get a very basic doubt as to what is the purpose of the world. Ultimately the world doesn’t exist at all but most of us are not in that state to completely reject the world as we experience the world and are suffering due to the world. As long experience and suffering due to the world is there, we have to temporarily acknowledge the world and negate it by pervading it with Ishwara.
Krishna thus says in Gita
Anityam asukham lokam imam praapya bhajasva maam
Having attained this temporary and sorrowful world, be devoted to me (devotion means seeing Ishwara everywhere).
It is one thing to say that the world doesn’t exist and is an illusion whereas it is a completely different thing to live by that statement – only a realized master will be ale to live in that truth of world not existing at all.
Once a sadhu started living near Dakshineshwar. Many ladies who used to visit Ramakrishna Paramahamsa complained about the character of the sadhu. After getting many complaints, Sri Ramakrishna decided to give the sadhu a visit. He met the sadhu and asked him about the complaints of character. The sadhu replied “even as the world is an illusion, my character is also an illusion”. Ramakrishna decried such knowledge and left the place.
What use is such knowledge wherein a person believes in something but isn’t able to implement it? Here the sadhu believed that his character was an illusion but the scriptures don’t tell us to live a bad life in the world terming the life as an illusion. If the world is an illusion, then such a person will not crave for people or fame or money. A person who remembers that the world is an illusion will live in the world without affecting others as much as possible and not depend on anybody else. Though each role in a movie is an illusion, actors like Tom Hanks don’t say “the role is an illusion” and portray in the nasty possible way. Instead they portray the role to perfection.
What we have to remember is that merely knowing something isn’t enough – trying to live by that knowledge is important in order to benefit with the fruit of the knowledge.
The world is constantly shouting at us that “I am an illusion of names and forms in Ishwara”. This is what Siva beautifully says as “in order to reveal yourself, you have become the world”. The very purpose of the world is to reveal the ultimate reality of Lord as the non-dual reality behind itself. As long as we don’t reveal this true nature of the world, the purpose of the world remains unfulfilled – this also means that the purpose of life itself will be unfulfilled (ignorance, sorrow and suffering will be the result of not understanding the true nature of the Lord).
In order for a seeker to rejoice in bliss, it is essential to contemplate in our mind that the entire world is just an illusion of names and forms in the ultimate reality of Lord. This doesn’t mean we have to renounce all actions and meditate in a forest. Externally we can do any action that we are supposed to be but internally always contemplating that the world is nothing but the non-dual reality of Lord.
Let us try to always remember the Lord as the non-dual reality behind the illusory names and forms of the world so that we never again suffer in sorrow but rejoice in eternal bliss.
We saw in the previous day as to the Lord being all-pervasive, immovable, indivisible Consciousness. Let’s continue with analysis of the Lord’s nature.
The world that we see was created from the Lord, exists in the Lord and vanishes unto the Lord at the time of destruction. Such a world which came form the Lord, exists in the Lord and vanishes unto the Lord cannot be different from the Lord. Even as the pot that comes from mud, resides in mud and merges unto mud isn’t different from mud but is just an illusion of name and form in mud, similarly the world is just an illusion in the ultimate reality of Lord.
If the world exists, the Lord is the cause/substratum of the illusory world. Lord is both cause and substratum because the world isn’t real – if the world is real, then the Lord will be the cause of the world. But the effect of world which is just an illusion in the cause of Lord means that the Lord is both the cause and substratum of the illusory world.
This again re-iterates the truth that the Lord is all-pervasive (pervades the entire world) as any cause pervades its effect (the cause of mud is seen as pervading the effect of pot). The Lord who is the cause/substratum of the world is the light behind the very existence of the world. Any object in order for it to exist needs a light – the world which is not real but an illusion is illumined by the light of the Lord.
If it is very tough for us to remember all these various logical arguments and analysis, then we can simply remember that “the entire world is just an illusion of names and forms in the Lord”. As Prof. Balakrishnan Nair beautifully puts it, Vedanta can be summarized in just three words – Ishwara Naamam Roopam (Lord, names, forms). The Lord is real whereas the names and forms are mere illusions. We can find this in any object of the world – any object is just another name and form in the Lord. One who perceives the Lord goes beyond sorrow whereas a person who perceives names and forms while forgetting the Lord will constantly suffer in sorrow and pain. Such an ignorant person who fails to perceive the ever-present, all-pervasive and blissful Lord will take birth again and again thereby getting whirled in this vicious circle of birth-death (termed as samsaara).
Thus in order for a seeker to jump from sorrow and rejoice in bliss, he/she just needs to remember that the entire world is just an illusion of names and forms in the Lord. When a seeker remembers that the world is just an illusion, he/she goes beyond duality – duality arises only when we think two things really exist. When duality is not there, then there are no likes and dislikes. If there are no likes and dislikes, there isn’t any attachment or aversion. If there is no attachment or aversion, then there is no temporary happiness and sorrow.
Thus the simple one step solution to eternal bliss is always remembering the Lord as the non-dual reality behind the illusory world of names and forms. This is what Siva is briefly pointing out to us in the form of a praise to Lord Krishna.
Let us try to always remember the Lord as the non-dual reality behind the illusory names and forms of the world so that we never again suffer in sorrow but rejoice in eternal bliss.
Siva continued his praise:
What is seen as the world is just a part of you – as you are the supreme cause/substratum of the world. You are one without a second. But in order to reveal yourself, you have become the entire world (based on Maya).
Explanation
Many seekers get a very basic doubt as to what is the purpose of the world. Ultimately the world doesn’t exist at all but most of us are not in that state to completely reject the world as we experience the world and are suffering due to the world. As long experience and suffering due to the world is there, we have to temporarily acknowledge the world and negate it by pervading it with Ishwara.
Krishna thus says in Gita
Anityam asukham lokam imam praapya bhajasva maam
Having attained this temporary and sorrowful world, be devoted to me (devotion means seeing Ishwara everywhere).
It is one thing to say that the world doesn’t exist and is an illusion whereas it is a completely different thing to live by that statement – only a realized master will be ale to live in that truth of world not existing at all.
Once a sadhu started living near Dakshineshwar. Many ladies who used to visit Ramakrishna Paramahamsa complained about the character of the sadhu. After getting many complaints, Sri Ramakrishna decided to give the sadhu a visit. He met the sadhu and asked him about the complaints of character. The sadhu replied “even as the world is an illusion, my character is also an illusion”. Ramakrishna decried such knowledge and left the place.
What use is such knowledge wherein a person believes in something but isn’t able to implement it? Here the sadhu believed that his character was an illusion but the scriptures don’t tell us to live a bad life in the world terming the life as an illusion. If the world is an illusion, then such a person will not crave for people or fame or money. A person who remembers that the world is an illusion will live in the world without affecting others as much as possible and not depend on anybody else. Though each role in a movie is an illusion, actors like Tom Hanks don’t say “the role is an illusion” and portray in the nasty possible way. Instead they portray the role to perfection.
What we have to remember is that merely knowing something isn’t enough – trying to live by that knowledge is important in order to benefit with the fruit of the knowledge.
The world is constantly shouting at us that “I am an illusion of names and forms in Ishwara”. This is what Siva beautifully says as “in order to reveal yourself, you have become the world”. The very purpose of the world is to reveal the ultimate reality of Lord as the non-dual reality behind itself. As long as we don’t reveal this true nature of the world, the purpose of the world remains unfulfilled – this also means that the purpose of life itself will be unfulfilled (ignorance, sorrow and suffering will be the result of not understanding the true nature of the Lord).
In order for a seeker to rejoice in bliss, it is essential to contemplate in our mind that the entire world is just an illusion of names and forms in the ultimate reality of Lord. This doesn’t mean we have to renounce all actions and meditate in a forest. Externally we can do any action that we are supposed to be but internally always contemplating that the world is nothing but the non-dual reality of Lord.
Let us try to always remember the Lord as the non-dual reality behind the illusory names and forms of the world so that we never again suffer in sorrow but rejoice in eternal bliss.
# posted by vedanta : 9:29 AM
