Bhaja Govindam - Post 10

Verse-9

सत्सङ्गत्वे निस्सङ्गत्वं निस्सङ्गत्वे निर्मोहत्वम् ।

निर्मोहत्वे निश्चलतत्त्वं निश्चलतत्त्वे जीवन्मुक्तिः ॥९॥

Satsangatve nissangatvaṁ

nissangatve nirmohatvam,

nirmohatve niścalatattvaṁ

niścalatattve jīvanmuktiḥ.

(Through the company of the wise or the good arises non-attachment; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion; where there is freedom from delusion, there is abidance in self-knowledge, which leads to freedom while alive.)

Adi Sankaracharya says, philosophers should come up with methods by which the seeker is able to “walk this path”.  How does one who is enjoying all worldly pleasures all of sudden go to living a recommended life? For this, Sankaracharya gives a simple ‘ladder of progress’ by which the climber can comfortably reach the highest reaches of perfection.

The first eight verses come as a great force to blast one out of his comfortable anchors in life. That is the first phase of spiritual transformation. Now we come to the first of the verses that extend a positive helping hand to the seeker of Truth. 

First Step in the ladder - Satsang- In the company of the good.

 Our very existence is full of temptations. Let us compare our lust and passion to a fort. We can build a good one in our intellect. But how good is the fort, can it protect you against all the worldly pleasures which are like the enemy waiting outside the fort to attack you. Shankaracharya says the object fascination and enchantment is so powerful that an individual seeker cannot by himself fight it. 

In order to give him more strength and courage he recommends Satsang. Company of the good with good thoughts. Those who are devotees of the Lord and are themselves seekers of the highest. This is to protect him from the rising waves of passion. Now with such a congregation of good people he can build a fortress that can protect him from the magic world outside.

The start to spiritual life is Satsang. Satsang brings light into one’s life, faint at first, but with time becoming brighter and brighter, until all the dark corners of one’s life are touched by its radiance. The story of Ratnakar’s stunning transformation through Satsang with Rishi Narada was given as an example. 

The company we keep determines the thoughts we cherish. Satsang is being in contact with the Sat that a Mahatma or saint represents, not being physically close to him. 

Author rendered a talk in Kenya where, while mentioning about how Bharatha treated / followed / remembered Sri Rama while Rama was in exile for 14 years, he said, “The paduka of Sri Rama for Bharatha or for that matter, of one’s Guru for every disciple is not only a pair of padukas but they are verily to be considered as Rama / Guru’s teachings”. 

This is the real Satsangh, to be in constant companionship of SATH, TRUTH, the instructions of God / Guru!

Second Step in the ladder - Nissangatvam - Detachment.

The first fruit of Satsang is seen when we become a little detached to things we once clung onto with intense attachment. The light of Satsang lifts the veil of delusion that clouds our intellect. From that point onwards, spiritual life begins in earnest. 

With the influence of good people, the mind develops a secret of detachment. We all know it is   mind that puts value to the objects. Once the mind realizes that one needs to develop detachment to the objects, the person is at the second step in the ladder.

Third Step – Nirmohatvam - Rising above delusion.

Once you are detached, Because of detachment you attain a state of Nirmohatvam which is delusion of the mind. When the mind realizes that these inert objects are all part of moha (delusion), then these objects don’t exist anymore in the mind.

Moha or delusion arises only when you are attached to some object/human being.

When detachment has set in due to association with Sat, then it is but natural that one is relieved of Moha/Delusion about any object.

Fourth step: Nischalatattvam - Immutable reality. 

When you extinguish your vasanas, then your mind starts seeing the Immutable reality.

When the all powerful delusion is gone, the waves of passion and desires that have been incessantly battering on man and persecuting him,  become powerless and only then, the man stands unaffected by external influence  of any kind.

Final culmination - Jivan Mukti - Liberation while alive

When the above state is reached, the mind which has been the seat of trouble all along vanishes, leaving one in his natural state of equanimity and absolute bliss.

When such experience of immutable reality is more established in one, then he is said to have attained Jivan Mukti or liberated in life.

Swami Sivananda says,

“Jivanmukti is that state in which the sage gets established in Satchidananda Brahman. He becomes the Brahman. The phenomenal universe does not vanish from his vision. 

Just as the man who was duped in the beginning by the water in the mirage knows that it is only illusion after careful examination, so also the liberated sage fully knows that this world is mere illusion though it appears to him. Freedom from the Kleshas or afflictions is Jivanmukti. 

The liberated sage is not affected by pleasure and pain. He knows fully well that pleasure and pain, action and enjoyment are the attributes or Dharma of the Antahkarana. He has now separated himself from the mind. He now stands as a spectator or witness of the mind.”

Love.