Vidura Neeti - 7

By Chitra Devraj

(Guruji often used to say that mere reading of cookery book is of no use. That will never quench our hunger or thirst. We need to practically cook and thus become knowledgeable).We should never be satisfied by simply attending and hearing the discourses. Intellectual knowledge of the Atman is only the first stage. There are many more ladders we need to climb on after the acquisition of this intellectual knowledge. Up to this level the knowledge is only indirect knowledge. Let us all strive to become and be. (Guruji often used to say that mere reading of cookery book is of no use. That will never quench our hunger or thirst. We need to practically cook and thus become knowledgeable).


HOW MAUNA IS TO BE PRACTISED HERE? HOW TO ACHIEVE THE EMANCIPATION BY MAUNA?

After the senses have been restrained and after the will has been merged in the pure intellect, that state succeeds is one of the utter absence of worldly thought (SILENCE) and he abides in it and he ‘is’.

The ingredients are already given by Sage Sanatsujatha and Vidura. We need pure mind. ‘Mana eva manushyaanaam kaaranam bandha mokshayah’ – the mind is the cause of bondage and the same mind is the cause of liberation. If the mind turns outward to the world of objects, it develops attachment and falls into the pit of desires and finally leads one to sorrowful life of samsara. As said in the earlier chapters, it leads one to the fear of death.

The mind when turned inward (U-turn), with all the senses controlled, really enjoys the bliss within and escapes the fear of death.

PRATYAAHARA is a stage within the seekers, wherein they withdraw the whole mind from its wanderings and to apply the entire energy at a single thought which the seeker chooses. Having reached this stage of mental with drawl, the seeker walks in the path of DHAARANA (concentration), DHYAANA (meditation) and SAMAADHI (the final realization).

We all know that a mere physical body will not move, grow or act unless the Life-Principle presides over it. A dead body can no more smile, eat or walk, think or feel. When once this energy flows out, the body falls down and in a short time, starts decomposing into very elements (earth, fire, water, sky, ether) from which it had come. The man would have lived as a great giant, a great king but the end is same for everyone be it a king or a beggar.

All of us are reading this scripture, grasping the words, analyzing them intellectually and understanding the essence only because of the presence of the Lord or the Brahman within us. Using a telescope we can see far off objects, but we cannot see our own eye using the same telescope. The supreme truth is the eye of the eye, ear of the ear. The power house behind all the activities within us and also the whole universe is this Brahman.

The gold may take different shapes and sizes like bangles, chain, ring, watches but the substratum is Gold alone. The clay takes different shapes of pot, lamp etc. but all cannot exist without clay. All of us are made up of different body levels, mental levels and intellectual levels, but the basic principle behind our life is the same, the Brahman.

Those who see externally will find differences. But those who see internally know that we are one and the same, the Supreme Consciousness. The silence takes one inward. Words and languages take one outside or away from the heart. All our scriptures are prompting us to leave our desires which can never bring us peace and happiness and at the same time to go inward where we have everything what we seek for in the outer world.

By reading this we know we are the Spirit. But the next moment we come back to body level and speak and live as if this body is real. We say ‘I have grown dark’, ‘I am fat’, ‘this dress looks nice only on me’ – all are body based thoughts. When we are with our mind we say ‘I am doubtful’, ‘I am agitated’, ’I am worried’. When we are with buddhi we think ‘I have a solution for this problem’, I am dull’ and so on.

The only way to practice the truth is in silence by discriminating between real and unreal. Vivekachoodamani (Crest Jewel of Discrimination) written by the great saint Shankaracharya says that Viveka and Vairaghya are the two wings which a seeker needs to carry. Whenever and wherever one comes across the anaatma vastu (unreal thing or impermanent), they need to negate or not go for it (nethi nethi). The more we talk about it or more we hear about it or more we read about it doesn’t take us anywhere near. It is just like a road map. It shows us the direction to the treasure. We need to walk every day, every moment towards it. That is the way one can abide in the ultimate. Our Guruji said once that if the bulb is wound by layers of cloth, can it give us the light? The light is already there. It is not that we are going to bring something new. The whole saadhana of silence is to unwind the layers so that the light can be seen by us.

We all want light and happiness in life. But we don’t know the fact that with every desire we are making another layer of cloth and increasing the darkness of ignorance. Brahman is not something un- achievable. Brahman is not something outside. It is the very essence of everything…you, me, all moving and unmoving things, known and unknown…. Like if we know gold, everything made of gold can be known. If we know iron, everything made of iron I can make out. Similarly in the seat of silence, what I experience I will be able to extend the whole experience to everything I feel, touch and see.

YOU SAY MY LORD, THAT THE WISE MAN PERCEIVES THE EXISTENCE OF BRAHMAN IN HIS OWN SOUL. TELL ME WHAT THE TRUE FORM AND COLOUR OF THE OMNIPRESENT AND ETERNAL BRAHMAN IS?

Neither on earth, nor in the sky, nor in waters of the ocean, is there anything like that. Neither in the stars, nor in lightning, nor in the clouds, is its form to be seen, nor is it visible in the atmosphere, nor in the Devas, nor in the moon, nor in the sun. incapable of being compassed, and lying beyond the reach of the limited intellect, even the universal Destroyer, after the dissolution, is destroyed in it. Incapable of being gazed, it is subtle as the edge of the razor, and it is grosser than the mountains. It is the basis upon which everything is founded. It is unchangeable. It is this visible universe. It is vast. It is delightful. Creatures all sprung from it and return to it. It is free from all duality. It is without any change.

Katopanishad tells beautifully that ‘He, who has known that which is without sound, without touch, without form, without decay, without waste, eternal, without smell, without beginning, without end, beyond great and unchanging, is freed from the jaws of death’

Shri T.T.Rangarajan in his talk on Saturday told that material path is from one to many whereas spiritual path is from many to one. Where all differences, dualities (heat and cold, pleasure and pain, maana and apamaana) end, in that silence (no disturbances from all), the truth manifests itself. Lord Krishna says in Gita that the mirror reflects everything before it clearly because of its fitness. Like the mirror if the mind is pure without any tinge of dirt, the Lord will reveal Himself to us. Once, Swami Chinmayananda was having lunch with the children in the ashram. As we know, Chinmayanandaji has a long beard. Few rice particles stuck to his beard. A child came near Swamiji and said ‘Swamiji there is dirt in your Dhaadi’. Chinmayaji took out the few particles of rice. He said, the rice particle in the plate is said to be ‘annam’ and the same rice particle in the beard is said to ‘dirt’. Dirt is a thing lying in the unwanted place. Our emotions, attachments are all in unwanted places…towards our relatives, our properties, to our body. If the attachment is towards the Lord and we have Love for the Lord, we will be in right place in our life to win over the death.

Lord Krishna says that the body is the temple and the soul is the Lord in the temple. Our focus is at present only in managing the temple walls, with different colour paints. The time we look into the Lord in us, the purpose of life is achieved.

CONCLUSION:

IF WE WANT TO WALK IN THE PATH OF LIGHT, WALKING IN THE PATH OF DARKNESS IS AVOIDED. IF WE WANT TO BE HAPPY, GRIEF IS AVOIDED. IF WE WANT LORD, THE WORLD IS AVOIDED. The time we chose higher things in life, the lower automatically falls off. Let us climb up the ladder of life to reach the ultimate goal of life, to be one with the Brahman.

The stagnant water always smells bad. Let us not live in that stagnant level of mind. The one lotus present in the slushy pond makes the whole pond beautiful. Every one of us can become that lotus in this slushy pond of samsara. Let us add beauty and love to life which is possible only through the jnanam that ‘I am not this body. I am the supreme Brahman’. All of us have the potential to reach the goal. For a Prime Minister post many may fight but only one wins whereas all people who win their mind becomes a Jnani and A very happy man. Win the mind and the senses and conquer the area unattended in our lives that is the LORD in our heart.

Lord Krishna says in Gita 2nd chapter ‘Some have a glimpse of Him as a marvel, some speak of Him as marvel, and yet others hear of Him as a marvel. Yet none understands Him in truth, in spite of seeing, speaking and hearing about Him. Ramana Maharishi says ‘it is always new’. Let us make ourselves fit to have the experience which is always there in us. Only the focus needs to change.

We will continue how to control the thoughts and confusions in life so that we get into the silence prescribed here in the coming weeks.

HARI OM!