Sadhana Panchakam - Post 48

Now we come to the most difficult of all areas regarding Titiksha – the mental level, the fortress of the Ego. Mental torments are very hard to handle unless one is spiritually advanced and lives above the “Ego-line”. That is where all of us are bound for one day!

As Sankara says prior to realization of the identity of the self with Brahman, the world of senses and other things have their existential validity. As he dramatically puts it, scriptures cannot be authority against facts that can be observed. 

Even if hundred vedic texts declare that fire is cold and devoid of light that cannot be authority of the fact of life. Scriptures are merely informative; they do not alter the nature of things perceived but only supply information of the things not perceived. Therefore, Sankara says prior to enlightenment of the self, performance of actions is normal and proper.

But the regrettable part, however, is that persons without comprehensive perception and sense of discrimination tends to believe that their empirical life is the real life and there is nothing besides and beyond the empirical perception.

Sages of the yore have been so strict that they have said, with vairagya is dispassion, one should show the same indifference to things temporal, which one shows to all the thoughts from the world of Brahma to the world of the mortals, treating them all as the excreta of crow. 

Mundaka Upanishad  says that when one sees the creator of the golden hue , the Lord, the Purusha, the source of Prajapati Brahma, then becoming a man of Wisdom, shaking all the concepts of good and evil and freed from all stains, attains the supreme similarity or absolute similarity (saamya) or non-duality. 

Vairagya is not only disinterest in performance of actions with attachment to fruits thereof but also performance and non-performance of actions with the idea that he is the performer or non-performer of those actions. 

It is also desiring to possess or to renounce. When one becomes aware that samasara is made of such thoughts, then his attention would not be to perform actions, even rites and rituals, worship, sacrifice, oblations in fire and charity with any desire in mind. 

To the question, why such activities are encouraged by scriptures, Sankara clarifies that scriptures reveal only the means to attain the various goals by man, enjoining meditation on the naama, essence as Brahman, knowing well that the things, rites and rituals are different from Brahman. 

So long as one does not recognize the stump of wood, as the stump of wood, and takes the stump to be a man, meditation is helpful necessity. Therefore, Sankara says that the injunctions about rites and rituals are operative only as long one is not disciplined for enlightenment.

Krishna has simple rule. Since one cannot remain even for a moment without performing actions because actions are due to the inherent power of nature, it is only ignorant person who thinks he is performer of actions. 

Therefore, he should perform his actions without any expectation of the fruits of actions, performing them as and by way of sacrifice for the luminous being, accepting fully well that all actions save those for and as sacrifice are bondage, or alternatively offering the fruits of action to the divine essence with consciousness fixed in the Self, being free from desires and egoism. 

So, the ongoing war is not external, but against the six-fold enemies within oneself, like ostentation, arrogance, egoism, anger, harshness and ignorance. It is easier to express hate and root out external enemies but difficult to destroy the internal ones. It is human nature to justify one’s internal faults and deficiencies than to fight and root them out completely.

The work which is prescribed without attachment is the work to be done with impassioned disinterest. 

Great beings like Janaka and other performed actions for the welfare of the worlds.

Impassioned dis-interest is not being irreverent to the things in life but being detached from them. It is a leap from the particular to the universal, being aware of the infinite beyond the restrictive finite life. It is transcendence from sense influenced intellect to the infinite possibilities of Mind. 

Impassioned person is a stithaprajnya, stable in consciousness who is attuned to samadhi – equanimous intellect. 

Exclusion of desire from mind brings about inner state of freedom, the delight of the self-attuned to the Self within. It is not external renunciation of gross objects but internal acceptance of the Will of the Supreme Self. 

According to Gita, Nirvana is Bliss of Beatitude, the positive state of experience and not the negative state of existence. Nirvana is being without the influence or withdrawal of ‘. . the senses from the objects of senses, like the tortoise drawing its limbs within itself, his awareness is well-established . . .’.

Performance of Action becomes important when it is subservient to spiritual life. It is not neglect of the gross body and restraint from being influenced by the senses. 

Thus he attains Nirvana, detachment from constraints of the body. Ignorance that body is the Self being removed, not with dissolution of the body but by awareness of super-consciousness without denying the gross body.

Therefore, one who does not rejoice on obtaining the pleasures or sorrows when unpleasant things come to him, he is firmly established in Brahman without any bewilderment. 

Krishna desires that humans should rise over the infirmities which the senses and attachment to life around has brought on him and like be a witness to the events taking place around him with troubled by the nature of dualities, untouched by the pleasures and pains, the self-righteous-ness and sins, indifferent to success and failures.

 

A devotee asks Swami, Swami, You should give us that strength too. You have immersed us in an illusion. We do not know how to maintain ourselves.

 

Bhagawan Baba answers: “Again the same illusion! Do not blame maya. Even when you are in maya, do your duties. Only then you will understand the hidden principles. 

From the principles, you gain the knowledge from which you obtain peace. From peace you get sukha and that is svarga. If you do not try even a little bit, I cannot give you everything. 

In a shop, unless you pay, you do not get the materials. Similarly, if you give the money of knowledge, devotion and vairagya, you get the material called spiritual power. 

Think for yourself: An engineer can draw any number of plans. Only when the owner spends money and the workers build it, the building gets completed. 

Your desires are like feeding less and expecting the cow to give a lot of milk. There are no shortcuts. Do sadhana, do sadhana, do sadhana. The trials and tribulations of samsara can be likened to depressions and elevations on the riverbed. These are covered when the river is flowing in spate. 

By contemplating on My name and with My grace your problems and sorrows will vanish. Samsara can then be crossed easily.”

 

Love.

 

Live Session Tomorrow on Moksha Gita - Part 2

 

https://youtu.be/GwkwD0lBN7w

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 47

Human being unlike other animate creatures in creation is a talking animal, though other species too have their own language of communication. But unlike human beings, whose imaginative mind plays a greater role in communication with one another, others in animate creation, it is generally seen that they communicate with others more in response to their emotions than with their mind. 

Krishna points out in Bhagavad Gita (III.27) that human being, influenced by their ego-sense or the 'I-sense' tend to think that they themselves are the doers and not the attributes and inclination with which they are born in Nature. 

It is only when the seer perceives that the attributes are the real doers and no one else, becoming aware of That which is beyond these attributes becomes delivered.

Krishna further mentions that it is the craving and the consequential anger born of passion to be the root cause, covering all this as fire is covered by smoke, as mirror by dust, as embryo by the womb. Enveloped by these insatiable craving, the wisdom of the wise is constantly endangered. Mind, intellect and the senses are the foundation of the desire, veiling which it deludes the self within.

Sankara also informs that it is common experience of all people that they are ignorant of nature of the self and prompted by craving and attachment, undertake activities with great enthusiasm. In the final analysis there are only two kinds of people – unenlightened and the enlightened ones. 

The unenlightened ones, feeble in understanding or in knowing the way of action or of renunciation, having neither purity of mind or clarity of vision, neither good conduct or ethical behavior, declare the world to be unreal, without any supreme controller, being impelled only by desire, know not the proper Path to be traversed. 

The enlightened ones are restrained in thoughts and speech, accepting that even though speech is silver, silence for them is undoubtedly golden. 

Their communication is pregnant in Wisdom and their thoughts, speech and actions, born of reflection and meditation, are effective as of those who are born with authority to speak. Not everyone who speaks of God but one who does work ordained by Him that is noble, says Jesus Christ. 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares that Brahman made Mind, Speech and Praana – Primal Breath as His instrument of effulgence, therefore, it is said this is what is known, what is to be known and what is unknown. 

Whatever is known speech becomes its form, for Speech is the knower and through Speech alone it (Knowledge) is protected. Similarly with Mind and Praana. 

Yajnavalkya says the indemonstrable and constant Being, can be realized as One only. The Self is taintless, beyond space, unborn, supreme and constant. Knowing Him alone, let a seeker of Wisdom concentrate on Wisdom, Brahman and not depend on mere words, because that would be merely weariness of speech.

A Sadhaka should concentrate more on silent reflection and meditation rather than expressing opinions howsoever they may be or appear to be illuminating.

Arguments for the sake of argument neither convinces the wise nor the discerning ones, only fooling the undeserving and the unqualified. It is like concentrating on the leaves rather on the wood. Therefore such speech is said to be bluff and bluster, mere weariness of speech. 

When we observe the lives of saints, we find they lead very quiet lives. They not only speak very little, but conduct themselves with great dignity and respect for others. The seeker of Truth soon comes to realize that companionship can be a help in life only when it is respected and not abused or taken for granted.

There are spiritual benefits in restraining the tongue.

 i) Not uttering a ‘wasteful word’ may limit our relationships, but it will make available more time for Sadhana.

ii) Immense power lies at the tip of the tongue. By keeping a close watch over our words, we soon acquire the habit of uttering only words which are helpful to others. 

The seeker trained in this art soon acquires a tremendous power to influence others. His words compel the attention of others.

iii) One who does not waste his words always encourages others, he never condemns or criticizes. He is quick to see good qualities in others, and draws out the best in them. He never bothers about their faults and weaknesses. 

These are enormous spiritual gains in life for a spiritual seeker.

How can silence of speech be achieved?? It is only possible ultimately when the mind is silenced.  

Sri Ramana clearly points out on what "silence" is.

Ramana  says,

 

“The most valuable thing in the ocean lies on its floor. The pearl is so small a thing, yet so valuable and so difficult to procure. Similarly, the Self is like the pearl: to find it you must dive deep down into the silence, deeper and ever deeper, until it is reached.” 

“Silence is of four kinds: silence of speech, silence of the eye, silence of the ear, and silence of the mind. Only the last is pure silence and is the most important.” 

Only when the mind is silenced, silence of eye, ear, speech can happen which would be a natural outcome of the silenced mind.

We celebrated Christmas just a couple of days before. Let us end this post with an affirmation from the Bible on silence.

 Love.