Sadhana Panchakam - Post 10

Swami continues...,,

 

"A great sage used to say, "If you sing hymns of praise to the Lord and offer a light to him, then the entire world will shine with the effulgence of that light." In your worship you take a flaming lamp, and offer the light to the Lord. 

 

Your mind, which is made up of many desires, can be likened to the oil, the wick can be likened to the sacred wisdom you have gathered. 

 

When you join these two together, using your wisdom to turn your desires to God, then you get the effulgence of divine light blazing forth from their union.

 

For this oil and wick there must be some holder. The body can be thought of as the container which holds this oil of desires and the wick of wisdom. 

 

The blissful joy that you feel is the effulgence of the light coming from this sacred lamp. If there is only a wick and you try to light it, it will not burn. Or, if you want to light the oil itself, you will not be able to do it. But when the wick is associated with the oil, then it will be able to burn, and you will have light.

 

Another way of seeing this oil and the wick, is to think of action or work, which is associated with the mind and its desires, as the oil. 

 

The buddhi, or the intuitive intellect, which is associated with wisdom, can be thought of as the wick. When you combine these two, namely, action and buddhi, in other words, when you make all your actions sacred, following the dictates of your highest inner motivator, then the light will shine forth. This light is the eternal light of the atma. 

 

When all your actions become sacred, you will come into awareness of your eternal truth, you will be basked in the light of the one immortal self. 

 

Now, the flame in the lamp has a number of individual characteristics. When there is a breeze, the flame will flicker. When water comes on it, it will sputter, making some sound. If there are impurities in the oil, it will give forth smoke. It also gives off heat; if you touch it, it will burn you. 

 

And, depending on the type of oil and the flow of air there will be different colors to the light emerging from the flame. These various characteristics belong to the flame, but they are not associated with the radiance that emerges from the light of that flame. 

 

There is only one characteristic to that radiance; that is, it envelops all it touches in the splendor of its effulgence. The flame has a number of different attributes, but the effulgence of the atma has only the one attribute of illuminating and removing darkness. 

 

That immortal inner light of the atma is given equally to all people. That is its one all-encompassing quality. But, for the flame of life, there will be many individual characteristics. Many changes and problems will come into it. 

 

The three Types of Actions

 

There are the ordinary actions which lead to ordinary results, which in turn, lead to more actions in an endless cycle. This is like a flame that burns steadily one moment and sputters the next, or burns in various hues and at various temperatures. 

 

Then there are the good actions, those which always bring good results. These good actions are like an unchanging flame which is ever steady. 

 

This second type of activity applies to performing your worldly duties in a righteous manner, being active in good causes, engaging in devotional practices, etc. These are all good actions but along with them, there will still be a clear interest in the results. 

 

The Vedas have declared that even the best and most beneficial actions performed with interest in the results can only take you as far as heaven. You should not be under the impression that heaven endows you with immortality; when the merits of the actions have been consumed, you have to come back down to earth. So, this second type of action, also perpetuates the cycle of birth and death. 

 

Lastly, there are actions which are not related to the attributes of the flame. This third type of activity is associated with the pure radiance, the effulgence of the atmic light. For such actions, interest in the fruit is not relevant, at all. Such actions emerge out of your inner nature, your deepest truth, which is divine. 

 

You perform all your actions as an offering to the divinity, knowing that the one divinity is in everyone. Such sacred acts can be called yoga, for then you are engaged in karma yoga. This is purity in action where there is no attachment to the outcome.

 

Realize that when you are interested in the fruits, they soon become exhausted, and new actions have to be undertaken again and again, in an endless cycle. 

 

As long as your merits last you enjoy heaven, but as soon as they get exhausted you must again descend into birth. 

Therefore, while describing the doctrine of karma to Arjuna, Krishna said, 

 

"Instead of aspiring for the temporary result of an action, which keeps you bound to the cycle of birth and death, aspire to realize the supreme divinity which is your own true self. When you know that the one divinity is the immortal self of all and act from that knowledge, then your actions are aligned with the divine will and they will be sacred. 

 

Then you will never have to come back into birth again. But, if instead, your actions are motivated by the results, which, in turn, leads you into to life after life and you are perpetually coming and going, then how will you ever be able to reach your permanent goal?" 

 

(Sai Baba Gita)

 

Love.

 

 

 

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 9

  

It is common for all animate and inanimate creatures to perform actions and no one can remain without performing them.

 

However, in spite of the creatures generally performing their actions impelled by attributes and inclinations, the human beings have a distinguishing attribute, viveka, which distinguishes them from the others in animate world, the sense of discrimination between what is Proper (Shreya) and what is Pleasant (Preyas), and  perform their actions on the basis of their sense of discrimination.

 

This distinctive characteristic makes the human beings superior to all other creatures. Karma, as a philosophical concept, represents both the Cause as well as the Effect of the performance as well as non-performance of actions, according to which one becomes responsible for the actions performed as well as for actions not performed. 

 

Each action is performed with definite intent in Mind, many responses being in conformity to each one’s guna (attributes) and svabhava (inclination/ tendency).

 

When actions are spontaneous then they become sourced from the one's essence, the self within, uninfluenced by the attributes and inclinations, like a dancer would perform his/her dance, the movements and gestures responding and conforming to totality of the dance. In a dance, each movement and gesture is as important as the dancer is. 

 

Each movement and gesture emanates from and owes its existence to the essence which is within the dancer. Once the dance begins, each movement and gesture weaves its own individual and distinct pattern. 

 

The dance ends as one common, composite and comprehensive form, the movements and gestures not remaining as distinct and independent. 

 

The movement and gesture cannot be the dance, cannot have affinity with or can they be like the dance, even as luminous rays cannot be the Sun. 

 

They can be part of the essence without having the fullness of the essence. Once the dance ends, the act of performing and the person performing cease, only the dance remaining eternal as composition.

 

The Cause and the Effect are essentially cyclical. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether Karma as Cause was earlier or the Effect, whether Karma as Effect initiates further Karmas. 

 

Swami says,

 

"Embodiments of Love,

 

For every action there is an outcome, and subsequently, this outcome gives rise to another action. This ongoing cycle of action and result, result and action, manifests itself in a way similar to the cycle of the seed and the tree. 

 

The seed and tree also follow one after the other, with the seed giving rise to the tree and the tree giving rise to the seed. Without a seed you cannot have a tree and without a tree you cannot have a seed. The same thing is true for an action and its result. 

 

These are natural cycles in the world. When this is so, with one always following the other, why should you take a special interest in the outcome? 

 

Your duty and responsibility is to perform the right action; have no concern about the result. Krishna told Arjuna, "In this battle, you should be indifferent to what happens to your own people or what befalls you. Do your duty without letting your mind to dwell on the outcome." 

 

Every Worldly Experience can be traced to Karma 

 

Action is called karma. You are born in karma, you develop in karma and you die in karma. It is karma, or the actions you perform, which are responsible for all good or bad, sin or virtue, profit or loss, joy or sorrow. 

 

Truly, karma is responsible for your very birth itself. Karma is really the creator for mankind. It shapes your life. It follows then that you should not look upon action with carelessness. Your entire life is associated with action. Therefore, recognize the importance of right action and engage in that, unwaveringly. 

 

Do not think that action is just a small thing. It may start as a small sapling but it will grow into a very big tree. Before a seed can become a tree, it has to break out of the soil in which it was sown. Then, once it has become a big tree, it will offer you its fruit. 

 

Whether this fruit brings you joy or sorrow depends on the seed that you have sown. To get the very finest fruit, the seed of action which you have performed must be of the highest quality and it must break out of the soil of egoism. Then this action can be transformed into yoga. Yoga is union with God. 

 

(Source- Sai Baba Gita) 

 

 Continued......

 

 

Sadhana Panchakam- Post 8

 

As the author had clarified, we are not going to limit all these instructions only for “Brahmacharya” Ashram. So we will try to introspect on each instruction at universal level, at deep philosophical level, no matter how many posts we take for each of the 40 instructions.

  

Tad Uditam: “Duties ordained”. These are duties prescribed according to the Vedas.

 

Karma: This is a technical term, having a specific contextual meaning, in spite of many other meanings of the word. In the science of self-development, Karma means actions performed as well as the reactions produced by such actions.

 

Vihita or actions approved by the Vedas are classified into 4 types. They are:

 

i) Nitya Karmas: One’s daily round of duties. When performed well and regularly, they bring about our self-purification. They work out and reduce our Karmic bundle.

ii) Naimittika Karmas: The actions performed on special occasions.

 

iii) Kamya Karmas: Actions arising from personal, legitimate desire. Kamya Karma is permitted to the extent that they do not deny others their rights and do not violate Dharma or the Laws of Righteousness. (We covered this under “Kama” when we dealt with 4 Purushartha in our Karma session/ Karma blog posts.

 

iv) Prayaschitta Karmas: Expiatory actions which are necessary to wipe away the effects of unknown Karmas from past births and those being done unconsciously moment to moment in this birth. 

 

Scope of Work in the Gurukula:

 

The student is given many tasks to do in the Acharya’s household. Through these tasks, the household is kept running. So it is not just a laboratory exercise, but is actually fulfilling an important function. The students virtually produce their own needs by engaging in these tasks. They take care of themselves under the direction of the Acharya and his wife.

 

A sense of responsibility gets instilled in them.

 

In days of yore, the tasks would have been different from what we see children doing these days. Then it was mostly agricultural work. There was the chopping of firewood, for instance. 

 

The cows had to be tended; Lord Krishna as a child loved this task greatly and has given dignity to it. India’s traditional love and care for cows has a rich scriptural support which comes from the life of Lord Krishna in Brindavan.

  

Today the tasks may have a different nature, but their essential purpose is the same namely, to survive. The content of the work is immaterial.

 

The supervision of the students by the Acharya and his wife, the Guru ma, made all such tasks a Sadhana. And Sadhana is what this text is all about.

  

There are two ways of looking at how a disciple undertakes his duties in Gurukulam to the best of his abilities.

  

1. Diligence: From an ordinary level, ability may be viewed purely as diligence. It pays to be diligent, to have a hard-working disposition. Diligence brings with it success in any venture. There is much more to one’s ability than just that.

 

2. Perfection: At a deeper level, one may view “best” as the desire for Perfection in work, regardless of any material gain, i.e. the pursuit of perfection for its own sake. This, too, will improve the profitability of the work, but the gain in character outweighs that.

 

To attain this perfection requires a highly developed mind, not just a hard-working mind. It requires a level of concentration of a very high order to keep focused on the details of a particular task. To be meticulous, orderly, neat, and fully focused brings out the “hidden benefit” of Perfection. These are found to be very essential for our Sadhana later.

 

We will take a break and see how Guru guides His students, His disciple, to perfection.

 

“I am always ready to help you,” said Swami Sivananda. “My sympathies are ever with you. I will radiate joy, peace, and thought-currents of love to you. I will inspire you. But I cannot do the work for you. You yourself will have to do the work. The struggle and exertion must come from your side.”

 

Nothing pleases the guru more than seeing the disciple stand on his or her own two feet; at some point the disciple must do the practices alone, eventually reaching the goal. 

  

Swami Rama wrote in his autobiography, “We should not worry about who will guide us. The question is: Am I prepared to be guided? Jesus had only 12 close disciples. He helped many, but he imparted the secret wisdom only to those few who were prepared. The Sermon on the Mount is comprehended by only a few, not by the multitudes.” 

 

 

Maa Amritanandamayi tells a story,

 

“Once a young man went to a saint and became his disciple. The saint said to him: “You write down whatever you have known and learned about religion and spirituality. It will benefit you. Then come and show it to me”.

 

The disciple, heeding fully to the Guru’s command, started writing in a big notebook whatever he knew so far in life about religion and spirituality. It took one year for him to complete it. He brought the notebook and handed over to the Guru.

 

The saint opened the notebook and glanced over several pages for a while. Then he said, “This is indeed written with clarity and mental focus. It can really give the reader the needed spiritual fillip to tread the path of spirituality. Your one year of hard work is reflected in the contents. However, it is rather too long. Can you please do a precis writing and reduce the length?”

 

The disciple agreed and went back. It took five years for him to condense his ideas and reduce it to half of its original length. He brought it to his Guru. The guru leafed through it and said, “Well done! Ideas are very clear and the writing style is excellent! However, I want you to make it considerably more brief”.

 

The disciple was disappointed when he heard this. However, bowing to the Guru’s wish, he started rewriting it. It took 10 years for him to finish the task of condensing all his ideas to just 5 pages. He submitted it to the Guru saying, “Master, I have condensed all that I have understood on spirituality in these 5 pages. I am thankful to you for making me fit for grasping this truth”.

 

The guru went through the five pages fully and thoroughly. Then he said, “Extremely well written! You have achieved it purely through your concentration and spiritual austerities. Yet, there is a little shortcoming in this. Try to rectify it”.

 

Years went by. The guru was getting old. He became bed ridden. The time had almost come for the guru to leave his mortal body. 

 

The disciple came to the guru and prostrated before him. He handed over a piece of paper to the guru. The guru glanced it. There was nothing written in it. 

 

Immediately, the guru placed his hand on the disciple’s head and blessed him, saying, “Now you have grasped the truth fully. Let the truth henceforth be revealed to you and shine in you”. In that very moment, the disciple attained enlightenment. He sat silently at the feet of the guru. The guru left his mortal body and merged with the infinite.”

 

 

Continued……

 

Love.

 

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 7

 Here are four characteristic Features of the Vedas:

 

1. Knowledge is Graded: Vedic knowledge is administered in doses, exactly like a graded course at school, according to one’s age and capacity to understand, as well as one’s need. For this reason, it may be split into Karma Kanda, Upasana Kanda and Jnana Kanda to cater for people in different stages of evolution.

 

2. Secular & Spiritual in Content: The Vedas refer to all knowledge, both secular and spiritual, i.e. Apara and Para Vidya. 

 

In modern times, “secular” in India has been gravely misunderstood to mean “nothing to do with religion”. It should in fact mean “connection with all religions.” The movement of growth is always from the secular to the spiritual, and there is no conflict between the two. 

 

Secular knowledge is about the laws that govern the manifested external world, while spiritual knowledge is about the laws that govern the un-manifested spiritual world.

 

3. Includes Ethics and Morality: The Vedas blend the study of the sciences with Dharma or the Science of Ethics. Dharma is very much a part of the teaching of every subject.

 

A strong element of discrimination is built into the Vedas. A student is taught to understand that whilst he may be free to do as he likes, it is better to choose correctly use the knowledge taught for the good of man rather than for his harm. Making the correct choice is very much part of his education.

 

4. Has a Scientific Approach & Flexibility

 

It is grossly incorrect to say that the Vedas are outdated or archaic. The Vedas have a scientific approach to knowledge, both secular and spiritual. They focus on the fundamental principles that relate to a particular field of study, and deal with them in an integrated and concise manner. This style of the Vedas needs to be grasped.

  

We have the Advaitic philosophy of Sri Shankaracharya which dates around 800 AD; the Visisht-Advaita philosophy of Sri Ramanujacharya dates around 1100 AD; the Dvaita philosophy of Sri Madhvacharya dates back to 1300 AD. 

 

All of these systems are based on the Vedas, and they all have some useful role to play in the evolution of mankind. There is a freshness and vitality in the Vedas that renders them open to such treatment.

 

The Science & Art of Studying

 

Adheeyataam: The use of this word for study is very significant. When broken down the word means “to chant, listen and reflect”, i.e. Parayana, Sravana and Manana combined.

 

It is a very scientific process. Chanting prepares the mind to receive knowledge. Then listening takes in the knowledge. And thirdly, reflection digests and draws out the nourishment from the knowledge. The ancient Indian sages knew the science behind studying.

 

Studying is also an art. Great skill is needed in the process of study. Teachers hold the highest responsibility to see to the spiritual development of the growing generation so that a healthy society can be built up. Indians have a very special reverence for knowledge, whether it is secular or spiritual. A learned person is always adored in the community.

 

A consequence of this is that society's teachers are chosen from the very best minds. Those who have a predominance of Sattva in them are suited to fulfill this role. 

 

We shall conclude the first instruction with an incident which depicts, how to practice and live, not merely learn vedas.

 

Swami always ensured that practice is more important than preaching in life and more  so for spiritual sadhana.

 

He always used to say that His key focus is always on the transformation of humans to realize his innate divinity.

 

He is a hard task-master, intent on maintaining the moral standard of those who claim to be masters of the ancient scripture. 

 

An example of how Baba brings in real change in people is visible from the letter written by Baba to a Pundit from the East Godavari District. 

 

The pundit was desperate financially. In his despair he denied his wife the permission to write to Baba asking for succour. Two days later, he was amazed to receive a letter from Baba who was at Prasanthi Nilayam, 420 miles away. In that Baba severely reprimanded him for it.

 

Swami wrote to the pundit, 

 

"Why did you tell your wife no permission to write a letter to me? Will I not know if she doesn’t write a letter? You went to Ramachandrapuram expecting to collect some little money through discourses on the Gita and that you returned home having incurred loss. 

 

Do I not know that you then started condemning yourself that all your learning and experience was a waste? Is it a burden for me who is provider for all this world, to provide for you and your family? I am placing all these hardships on you only to teach you a few lessons". 

 

"When life flows merrily on, people claim that it is due to own effort and forget the Lord. When failure resists the flow, they grow desperate, start cursing and lose faith. 

 

This is insulting the Atma tattwa, Vedic principle which you really are, that knows no pain or joy. Engage yourself in your duty to practise it courageously and gladly. Strive and experience the highest truth to gain the Purusharthas. 

 

For remember, Sai is in every person. So when you decry another, you are decrying Sai Himself". 

 

Baba closes the letter as "He who resides in your heart, Sai"."Nee Hrudayanivasi, Sai"! "

 

Thus, Swami drives home a key lesson to all His devotees 

 

"Knowledge (here, Vedic knowledge) is for Life, not for living"

 

All the study of vedas (which is the 1st of the 40 instructions) must culminate into the living experience of "ONE NESS" of all which Swami beautifully wrote in His letter as "Sai is in every person".

 

This is the essence of the final part of vedas - the vedanta or Upanishad.

 

It is said - "Vedanta Nama Upanishad Pramana"

 

To understand vedas (vedanta in particular), one has to read, understand, get convinced, contemplate, meditate and absorb the teachings of Upanishad!!!!!

 

Vedanta = Upanishad!!

 

 

Love.

 

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 6

Sankara cautions that awareness of Brahman referred as para vidya, supreme Wisdom of the imperishable Brahman is not possible without communication from an enlightened Teacher, even if one has the Knowledge of the words contained in the vedic scriptures.

Since Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, upasana should be like uninterrupted flow of oil through continuous and constant receptivity, reflection and meditation and not spasmodic, sporadic or intermittent. 

One should ensure that one's every action becomes 

Tapas - energized austerity of external body and internal consciousness 

and 

Yagna - performance of actions to keep in motion the wheel set by the Lord. 

Vignyan, on the other hand is extra-ordinary wisdom sourced through supra-sensory medium. like a sudden flash of lightening, as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says. This vignyan can be known as Vedanta.

 Swami Sivananda says

“Vedanta literally means ‘the end of the Vedas’. The Vedas are mankind’s oldest scripture, containing the wisdom of all ages. The last part of the Vedas is made up of the Upanishads, whose sublime philosophy is called Vedanta and which have strongly influenced even great Western philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer. 

Vedanta is one of the six main systems of Indian philosophy. Its beliefs are non-dualistic. It declares that liberation cannot be reached by means of rituals, actions or charity. The goal of Vedanta is knowledge of Brahman (Absolute Existence) which is beyond the illusion (Maya) of the world and of one’s own mind. This ultimate reality lies beyond the realms of the limited intellect and the manifest world.

The philosophy of Vedanta represents an ideal which can be achieved through the practical methods of yoga. Vedanta says that, in essence, we and the Supreme Self are one. It reminds us of our true nature. A common Self or Consciousness dwells in each one of us. Thus Vedanta tells us to overcome the feeling of individuality, the belief in ‘me’ and ‘mine’. Instead, we should identify with the eternal, effulgent essence – to see the Self within us and in all beings. Vedanta teaches the unity of life and the unity of consciousness.”

Sankara assures that temporal activities and rites rituals prescribed by vedic and other scriptures cease when Wisdom dawns. Then the energized mind, drives out all obscurity from the mind commends not the Knowledge of the vedic scriptures but the comprehensive and all-inclusive Wisdom, not memorizing the words but being consciously receptive, reflective and meditative. If the purpose is well established in mind, the fulfillment becomes purposefully fulfilled. 

The mind having access to every noble thought coming from all quarters, one becomes comprehensively enlightened ‘as it were like lightening which flashes forth or the winking of the eye’.

 

Love.