Pride hath a fall

Pride is a great vice which prevents us from seeing and facing reality. We have an exaggerated opinion of our dignity, importance or bearing which exists in our own mind. We have no qualms in displaying our pride in our behavior or conduct. Many a times, our pride is unwarranted as we lack the qualities for which we feel so proud of ourselves. This can be clearly seen by others and not by us. We become a laughing stock in society and it is hard to understand or recover from such shock as our pride closes our eyes to reality.  An inflated state of self should be supported by sufficient qualifications or qualities. Even when we are highly qualified or have what it takes to be proud, we should remember that there are many others who are better than us.  Let us take a look at the amusing story of the jackal and the proud wolf whose pride took a mighty tumble:

A jackal met a wolf and both of them were chatting when the wolf suddenly asked the jackal how much he had studied. The jackal replied that he was only half educated. The wolf replied with great pride that he was twice educated as the jackal and therefore should be addressed as ‘Sir’. Just then a ferocious tiger came there. He positioned himself to leap at them and kill them. The wolf was very frightened and he was not able to speak. The jackal was a quick thinker. He said that they were seeking him as they wished to consult him on a matter which needed the tiger’s superior intelligence. The tiger relaxed and asked what the problem was. The jackal said that he had caught two plump chickens and the wolf who claimed to be more educated than him wanted a whole chicken for himself and while the jackal felt that it was not fair.

The tiger asked the wolf his qualifications. The wolf’s teeth clattered in fright. The jackal interpreted it by saying that the wolf has as many qualifications as teeth in his mouth. The tiger opened his mouth in a big grin and bared his fearsome teeth. He then claimed that his qualifications were more than the wolf’s. The frightened wolf fell flat on his face. The clever jackal said the wolf was prostrating to the tiger’s teeth and he too prostrated in front of him for having settled his issue. The jackal said that since the tiger was the most qualified, he could have both the plump chickens.

The tiger recalled the taste of chickens he had eaten in the past. He planned to have both the chickens and also kill and eat the jackal and the wolf as they were both stupid and less educated than him. He was superior to both of them and deserved it all. The jackal led them to the side of a hill where there was a tunnel. He asked the wolf to go and fetch the chickens for the tiger. The wolf squeezed through the narrow tunnel and escaped. When he did not come out, after some time, the jackal said he would go in and get the chickens and also bring out the wolf – the tiger could punish him for his tardiness. The jackal also squeezed through the tunnel and escaped. The tiger waited for some time and realised that he had been tricked. He forgot that he was highly educated and hurled abuses and curses at the jackal. The jackal and the wolf escaped from the other side of the tunnel. The wolf got back his voice and said: You may be uneducated but you certainly have got brains. The jackal replied: Thank you – Sir!

The false pride of the tiger made him lose his prey and the false pride of the wolf got him into a bad situation. But both of them did not learn their lessons. The tiger lost his meal and the wolf would not survive another attack without help from the jackal. Pride is a disagreement from truth.  We must remember that Truth always wins and Truth is God. Having silly pride ensures a definite fall!

Do not get stuck on the fly paper

Modern life is measured by success in financial growth, power at work, a large home in suburbs, cars and lifestyle products and possessions. Millions of successful adults today live a life of frenzied activity. The global – technology driven lifestyle we have today with its gadgets of cell phone, high speed internet, instant messaging, blackberries, email on the go plunge us into hectic activity and keep us on call twenty-four by seven. We work for longer hours than before and seem to participate in an endless rush of activities at home and work.

The modern trend of the society called sophisticated life lures people like a honey comb lures bears. The rock beats, the metal music, the dance mode, the drinks, the fast cars, the faster life pace holds an unholy attraction to most. Doing drugs and having special cocktails seem to make people feel special as they indulge in these more and more. They feel their lives are larger than life and better than all others. One person or a group sets the trend and the fashion magazines and newspapers highlight it. And the rest of us follow blindly like sheep and do not see the precipice we land on.  The more number of followers in a group, the more popular it becomes. What was a trend becomes a fashion and the fashion becomes a lifestyle.

This fast paced life keeps us in a hurry always. We are always performing a balancing act of doing too many tasks at the same time.  We exert pressure on ourselves to remember and do too many things. We take upon ourselves far more work than what we can handle and not able to keep track of the details or jobs we are expected to do.  As a result, we start forgetting things, become impatient, angry, worried and stressed out. Modern life and our need to follow the trend and fashion – to be one with the crowd – saps our creativity and joy from life and even our sense of humour. We live just like the fly in the story given below:

A fly was flying around and spotted a web. The sparkling lines of the web lured it and it seemed so attractive that it flew around it a few times. But it was reluctant to land. The resident spider who was watching it, poked out its head and invited it in. The fly refused. It was looking around for other flies and since it did not see any, it did not wish to come there. It felt safe only with others of its own kind in a crowd.

The fly flew off to a safe distance away from the sticky web of the spider. It suddenly saw a large number of flies sitting on a big piece of paper. A bee suddenly appeared near it and buzzed a warning: Do not land there, it is a fly paper. All those flies are stuck to it and so will you be if you land on it. The fly had no eyes for the fly paper. It saw many flies dancing and waving their legs in merriment. It replied: What nonsense! They are all enjoying themselves. I will also join them in their mirth making. 

The bee buzzed again in warning: No! Take care. Pay heed! They are not dancing! They are trying to free themselves! The fly would not listen. It landed on the flypaper and settled and got stuck.

We think we should be with the crowd, dancing and enjoying ourselves. But the crowd is not dancing or enjoying.  They are stuck ruthlessly to lifestyle which does not let them go and which saps them of their life energies. Let us unstick ourselves from the fly paper. We must make time for our family and soul. Daily japa and meditation, a peaceful time of reading of sacred scriptures will put life back in perspective and we will be able to prioritize our lives. Then we can let go of unimportant activities and schedule time for things that really matter. And what matters most in life is love for family and God.

Attachment leads to blindness

Attachment to self and to one’s possessions is a great vice. We are always attached to our physical form and beauty. This attachment to self leads to obsession with our complexion, color, shape, size of nose, body etc. It makes us feel we are the best. Such thoughts are good as it increases our self confidence. But they are also painful as we feel superior to all others. We become egoistic and treat others with disrespect and disdain. 

Attachment to self and self image also causes pain when we are not satisfied with the shape of our nose or lips or parts of body and work to change them. This has caused the tremendous growth of the cosmetic industry and cosmetic surgery where advertisements increase our attachment to self image and steer it towards increased sale of products.

Attachment can be towards our possessions and things and we feel what we have is the best and the choice of others is unworthy. When there is undue attachment towards our possessions, it leads to many problems. We get violently angry when some damage occurs to our things and blindly hit out at the person who has caused the damage to our things. Sometimes we even inflict damage to the superior objects which belong to others so that what we have is the best.

Attachment can also be towards other people wherein we blindly love and see not the faults of others or their shortcomings. This intense attachment remains for a short time and then when differences set in and pain sears us, reality is revealed and it turns into disillusionment. Attachment of this sort is seen in all sorts of relationships and leads only to disappointments in life.

Attachment to self, family, relationships and property makes us blind to reality. We fail to see things as they are and live in a world of fantasy where things are beautiful, fantastic and we are superior to all. We fail to see ourselves as the world sees us. Sooner or later, someone kicks us to see the reality and our dream world shatters and we pay a high price.

Attachment in any form leads only to pain. We must love and appreciate who and what we are, who and what others are and also the things we possess. We should also know that there are superior standards and we must work constantly to improve ourselves and also learn to be content with the possessions we have. We must love people for what they are and not for what we want them to be. When we are attached to people, we fail to see their shortcomings. We place them on a pedestal and they fall off it. This causes hurt and misery for all. Let us look at the typical views and ensuing results of attachment – the story of an owl and eagle:

An owl once helped an eagle and the eagle promised the owl that he would never harm the owl’s chicks. The mother owl was doubtful. She wondered if the eagle knew how her chicks looked like. For all she knew, the eagle did not know them and could mistake them for some other bird’s chicks and eat them. The eagle asked her to describe her chicks so that he would recognise them and not make a mistake.

The owl’s chest puffed up with pride when she described her chicks. She loved them very much and was extremely attached to them. She said: Oh it is not possible to mistake them for any other bird’s chicks. They are so soft, fluffy and by far the most beautiful chicks in the entire forest. As the eagle was flying around one day, he saw a nest filled with screeching chicks. He looked at them carefully. They had their red mouth gaping open and were quite ugly. He was sure they were not the owl’s chicks as she said they were the most beautiful in the entire forest. Without a second thought he swooped upon them and ate them. 

When the mother owl returned, she found her nest empty and a few bloodied feathers. She screamed and wept: How could the eagle forget his promise? I had told him my chicks were the most beautiful and yet he ate them!  

Attachment blinds us to reality and causes great pain. We are unable to see things as they are.

Our Basic Nature does not Change

We are not our bodies. We are the soul. We have the unfortunate habit of identifying with our physical body or mind all our lives. This creates separation of us from our real self which is the Soul. The Soul is a spark of God. We live our lives in denial of our real nature which is the bliss of the soul. The reality of soul is acknowledged by all when the soul leaves the body. At that time, we say Mr Xyz has left his body and then the body is buried or burnt as per the customs and rites. What has left the body is the soul. After that the body is lifeless and becomes a piece of rotting meat which cannot be kept at any residence for even few hours.

Hinduism teaches that the soul dons a new body and embarks on a new life in order to fulfil its wishes and desires and to reap the fruits of past karma and also perform new karma. We keep on making same mistakes and finally we learn through pain that there is no permanent joy in material life and we reach out to God in order to get eternal bliss. The Soul which is within us does not change. It reaches out to us every time and reminds us that life on earth is  not permanent and we must seek only eternal bliss. Our basic nature does not change and we are driven finally on spiritual quest and inner knowledge and wisdom which  reveals to us our true nature of bliss. Whether we are born dark or fair or brown or pink or tall or fat or thin- we all ultimately search for our true nature which is unending bliss. Every soul that is there in universe ultimately yearns for bliss which is the true nature of soul.  

Let us see the story of a sage and the mouse which shows that our basic nature does not change:

A sage was performing worship in middle of a river with his hands outstretched. An eagle which was flying overhead dropped a baby mouse into the outstretched hands of the sage. He took it home and converted the baby mouse into a baby girl. He and his wife took great care of the child and she grew up to be a beautiful loving daughter. Years passed quickly and she was soon sixteen.  It was time to get her married. The sage and his wife decided that the Sun God would be an ideal husband for her.

The sage invoked the Sun God and He appeared.  The sage asked Him if he would marry his daughter. The Sun God was agreeable but the girl said refused as she feared that she would be burnt to a crisp by the heat and light of the sun. So the sage asked the Sun God to suggest a suitable partner for his daughter. The Sun God suggested the name of the Lord of Clouds as He had the power to hide the brightness of the Sun. 

The sage prayed for the Lord of the Clouds to appear and He appeared in front of the sage. But the daughter refused to marry Him as He was dark and thundered. So the sage asked Him to suggest a suitable husband for his daughter. The Lord of the Clouds said that the Wind God would be good as He had the power to push away the Clouds. When the Wind God appeared in front of him, the girl rejected Him as she did not like to marry anyone who was always on the move. The Wind God suggested the name of the Mountain God as the mountain can easily block the wind. When the Mountain God appeared in front of the sage, his daughter rejected him as he was cold hearted. The Mountain God suggested a mouse be selected as the mouse was soft and could easily burrow a tunnel through the mountain.

This time the girl was very happy and ready to marry the mouse. The sage converted her back into a mouse and got her married. The basic nature of a person does not change. The mouse became a girl who again became a mouse. We are part of God and became human and we will again merge with God and bliss. So let us do our SitaRam Mantra and dhyan daily with great zest and attain our basic nature – that of bliss.

Nature of Man is Bliss

Man is a spark of God and his soul is a shard of the Great Light. The Soul passes through countless life forms in the Universe and finally when it wishes to merge with God, it assumes the human form on Earth. The human form is equipped with intelligence and facilities for the return journey of the Soul to God. All other life forms on earth live by instinct and their base natures. Only man is given the capacity to rise beyond the form, to reach and merge with the Origin of the Universe.

When we live our lives on earth, we undergo various emotions repeatedly - desires, fulfilment, yearning, pain, joy and sorrow. We accept that these experiences are a part of our day to day existence. Yet there is something within us which pushes us to reach for higher levels of existence where there is no pain or sorrow and there is unending bliss. Bliss is an intrinsic part of our nature and soul. The Nature of our Soul is bliss. We do not realise that we reach out for this state as it is our nature to be blissful. Sorrow is not a part of our Soul. Sorrow comes as part of living in material world and seeking our joys and fulfilment in material things and not in the eternal light which abides in us.

We walk the spiritual path in order to free ourselves from sorrow and vices which afflict our lives. We seek to get knowledge and wisdom by which we rise above the duality of life – pleasure and pain and live in the inner joy and bliss. Bliss is the reality of our existence. Knowledge of Self or knowledge of Soul gives bliss and both are interdependent.  We suffer in life as we have imperfect knowledge of the Soul and the reality around us and our bodies and span of years in body are limited. These cause great unhappiness as we do not know what happens to us after death nor do we know how to live our lives in peace and happiness. The knowledge that there are ways of attaining our original state of nature –bliss – gives us great peace of mind and we are ready to face the journey on the spiritual path.

The Guru teaches us the practices of the path and gives us knowledge. He teaches us how to free the mind from the shackles of material world. Meditation on divine name or divine form is one of the means by which we separate the mind from the external data of senses which pours into us with tremendous force at all times. When the knowledge of Soul is acquired, the mind is freed from the senses and their impact on the mind and our lives. This allows the radiance of bliss shine within us.

We tend to approach the path of spirituality the same way we study a course in mathematics or sciences – with logic and intelligence. This approach does not work as Divinity is beyond the senses, logic or intelligence.  It is essential to have the guidance and help of a Master or Guru who knows the path to Divinity and has walked the path successfully. Such a Guru can guide us successfully. We have to implicitly follow his teachings and the practices and then Grace works to help us overcome hurdles and fill up the gaps in knowledge and experience. 

Many fear walking the spiritual path as they feel that they will lose out all sensory activities and enjoyments of the world. It is not so. Knowledge of the soul and living in bliss enables us to live in this world with greater peace and harmony and we are able to function and do our duties more effectively than before. The senses are keener and sharper than before and the enjoyment is to the fullest. The great difference is there is no yearning and attachment for the sensory joys. We are able to take them as they come and let them go when they go. So we enjoy without the resulting pain of attachment and sorrow when it is over.

We should do our SitaRam Mantra Japa and meditation daily and in a disciplined manner so that we can live our life of bliss. In the initial states we feel bliss for a short time during the practices. With practice or abhyasa, we are able to live in peace and bliss at all times.

She played with the infant Lord

Japa – Gopaler Ma

When bhakti of God is true and surrender to Him is to the fullest, Divinity manifests and rewards in ways beyond human comprehension.  It is hard to believe how the Infinite One assumes a form and enacts the play of love with his devotee. These are true life incidents of a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa who followed the path of bhakti and japa yoga which ultimately lead her to self realisation. Gopaler Ma practised the Vatsalya Bhava or the attitude that the Lord was her child and she attained the vision of Bal Krishna and self realisation.

Gopaler Ma was born as Agohermani Devi in a Brahmin family in 1822 in Kamarhati in Calcutta. She was married when she was a child and became a widow even before her marriage was consummated. Her husband’s family Guru initiated her into spiritual life and gave her the mantra of Gopala as the form of child Krishna was her ishta or favoured deity. The Hindu widows of those days did not remarry and Agohermani lavished all her time and energy and one pointed devotion on her spiritual practices. After the death of her parents, she went to live in the estate of Sri Govind’s widow who was the owner of Sri Radha-Krishna Temple which was on the banks of the holy Ganges.

Agohermani was short, well built and had brown skin. Her face shone with her inner purity. As per practices of those days her head was shaved. Later in life she donned ochre robes. She sold her jewellery and husband’s property for five hundred rupees and invested it. She got four rupees as interest per month and she lived on that. She lived in a small outhouse with very few possessions. She slept on the floor. She had a Ramayan and a pair of glasses.  She had her mala in a white cotton bag. She spent hour after hour doing japa of the Gopala Mantra, absorbed in her love for Him. She ate simple food and lived a simple life without any comforts and luxuries, with intense longing for God. She woke up at 2 am, washed her face and hands and sat for japa till 8 am.  She did cleaning work and other jobs at the Temple. She bathed twice. She used to meditate in morning after bath. Then she would collect dry wood and cook a simple meal and offer the food to Bala Gopala. She would place a plantain leaf and a wooden seat and ask Him to come and be seated for food and then serve the food on the leaf and offer Him the food. Then she would have the food as prasad. After resting for a while she would do japa again in the evening and attend the Temple services. She would have a simple supper of prasad of coconut balls and milk. Again she would do japa till midnight. She followed this routine for over 30 years. 

By 1880s, Sri Ramakrishna had become well-known and Aghoremani and her landlady visited him. He recognised her spiritual stature and praised her. She visited him after that and every time he would ask her for some simple food and she would carry it for him and he would eat with relish. Then she had an extraordinary experience where BalaGopala (child Krishna) came Himself and helped her when the wind blew away the leaf on which she placed the food for her God. She realised the Lord had come and became crazy for His Darshan again. In 1885, one morning at 3 am, she saw Sri Ramakrishna sitting near her with his right fist clenched. She gathered courage and took his left hand and Sri Ramakrishna’s form disappeared and it was her beloved Bala Gopala, a ten month baby, sitting there.  The baby Krishna was sweet and naughty and would play with her at all times and not allow her to do japa or other work. Wherever she turned she saw Him. Modern science cannot understand or accept such experiences. But she had entered into the super state of consciousness, a realm of mystical experience where logic, thinking, intellect are unable to explain convincingly and there is direct communion with God. She was named Gopaler Ma because of the great grace granted to her.

This form of Sri Krishna stayed with her till her end. Her experiences have been verified as true by Sri Ramakrishna. He told her that she was fully realised and Swami Vivekananda who was a jnani was greatly inspired by her bhakti for Bala Gopala.

Even his bones spoke!

Extreme bhakti – Chokamela

Pandharpur has been a religious centre of Maharashtra since long. Many great saints were born here or visited this place and worshipped Sri Panduranga – or Sri Krishna. This centre of worship was controlled by the Brahmins who observed the caste system rigidly and many great devotees of Panduranga were victims of their harassment. The story of Chokamela, his extreme bhakti and his suffering is a real story set in those days where the Brahmins controlled the pilgrimage town.

Chokamela was born in Mahar caste – a low caste and was not allowed into the temple. He was a great devotee of Panduranga. Since he was not allowed inside the temple, he used to stand near the outer walls and sing the names of Panduranga and dance in ecstasy of his bhakti for his God. Pilgrims would flock and hear his songs and this made the Brahmin priests at the temple very angry with him. 

Some pilgrims made fun of Chokamela saying that the Lord was angry with him as he was not permitted within the temple.  Chokamela was sad when such remarks were made. Once he was very distressed and went to bed without eating. The darkness of the night was shattered by a brilliant light and the Lord appeared before him and led him by hand to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Chokamela was scared to enter in the sanctum sanctorum. The Lord said that the sanctum sanctorum was always in the darkness of the superstitious practices of the priests and followers and it was lit by the bhakti of Chokamela.

Chokamela questioned the Lord regarding how the devotees should live in order to attain moksha or salvation. The Lord named three things: One: They should chant the name of God incessantly. What results were got by yagnas in the previous yuga or time, the same could be obtained by taking the name of God continuously in this yuga. Two: Good behaviour – a devotee should overcome anger, jealousy, attachment, lust, possessiveness and practise nonviolence, selfless love, patience and celibacy. Third: company of good people or satsang – the devotees should have regular satsang. This gives support to our faith and practices and protects us against the lack of faith in God. Satsang keeps us in presence of God.

The next morning, when Chokamela was found inside the temple, the priests punished him by banishing him to the other side of the river. The Lord missed his songs so much that He appeared in Chokamela’s hut and had dinner with him. Chokamela’s wife spilled curds on the Lord and Chokamela was angry with her. One of the priests thought that Chokamela was shouting at him and slapped him. The priest bathed in river as he had hit an untouchable and went to the temple. He found curds on the dress of the Lord and His cheek was red and swollen. The priest realised what had happened and rushed to the hut of Chokamela and sought forgiveness. The Lord devised this play to show all the greatness of Chokamela.

One day Namadeva, went to the temple and found tears running down the cheeks of the Lord. The Lord told him that Chokamela was dead and he wanted his bones to be collected and buried in front of his temple. Chokamela had died in an accident and there was a mass burial of all the people who had died with him. Namadeva asked the Lord: How do I identify the bones of Chokamela from others. The Lord said: Pick up the bones and place them to your ear. Chokamela has done so much of my nama japa that his bones chant the name of ‘Panduranga Vittal’. 

Namadeva went to the site of the accident and picked up bones and held them to his ear. He could hear some of the bones chanting : Panduranga Vittal Panduranga Vittala. Chokamela was so permeated with the nama of the Lord, that his bones echoed it. Namadeva collected such bones and buried them in front of the temple of Panduranga. Even today devotees visit that place before they enter the temple. Nama Japa or Smaran of God should be done in this way – that it permeates our being and our very cells, bones and hair echo the name of the Lord.

Anger blinds reason

Anger is a very strong emotion which flows strongly through us when we are in danger or feel a perceived threat. The threat or perceived threat can be to our lives, property, self respect, image, dignity, power, position, status etc. The natural and immediate response is that of rage. When rage flows through us, we become blind to reason or logic and commit shameful acts without second thoughts. We are also physically affected. Our teeth clench, the blood races in our body, the heartbeat accelerates, face flushes and our hands fist. In extreme anger there is physical violence. 

Greed and possessiveness spark off anger. Anger is like a forest fire.  A mere spark can burn down an entire forest which took many thousands of years to grow and attain the shape and size it is now. Similarly, in a matter of seconds, there is a spark of insanity and violence and we commit acts by which relationships which are long standing are destroyed in matter of minutes. Most of the times, there is no logic in anger. A parent sees his children fight. The elder one is hammering the younger one. In order to stop the anger and violence of the angry child, the father will raise his voice and his hand too! He does not stop to think what example he is setting. Is it alright to stop anger and violence with more anger and violence? We see such instances regularly in our daily lives and we are also guilty of such offences. A lifetime of discipline and love are thrown out of the window.  We are unable to think and we become insane. The story of the monk and the gem polisher teach us valuable lessons in anger management:

Once, there was a Gem Polisher who was religious and charitable. His family offered alms of food daily to a certain monk. One day when the monk was entering the Gem Polisher’s home to collect his daily alms, the King’s messenger also arrived carrying a giant ruby for the Gem Polisher to work on. The Gem Polisher was in the kitchen cutting up some meat and his hands were covered in blood. He accepted the ruby and put it on the table to work on it later. The stone was red with blood from the man’s hands. He then washed his hands and went to get alms for the monk. In the meantime, their pet bird noticed the ruby red stone dripping with blood and thought that it was something to eat. It picked it up and swallowed it before the monk could prevent it from doing so. When the Gem Polisher came back into the room with alms, he noticed immediately that the giant ruby was missing. He called his wife and son and questioned them and the monk about the missing ruby. All of them denied taking it.  He assumed that since the monk was the last one in the room with the gem, the monk was the thief.

The Gem Polisher feared the consequences of loss of the giant ruby and decided to beat the truth of the monk. His wife warned him repeatedly that the consequence of doing harm to a noble being would be far more severe than the punishment which would be meted out by the king. The man was far too furious at the thought of theft and betrayal by the monk to listen to his wife. He tied up the monk and beat him up severely and the monk began to bleed from his head. The pet bird noticed the blood flowing from the monk’s head and flew close to see. It received a stray blow from its master and died on the spot. Then only the monk told the Gem Polisher that the bird swallowed the ruby. The Gem Polisher quickly cut open the dead bird and found the gem. He realised the huge mistake he had made in anger and fell at the feet of the monk trembling with fear. The monk forgave him and said he felt no ill will towards him. What the monk had undergone was an old karmic debt and now he was freed.

The monk gives us a fine demonstration of how to face unbridled wrath. There was no way the Gem Polisher would believe that the bird ate the gem and he would surely kill the bird to check the truth.  The monk protected the life another being and was gentle and compassionate in his response to the violence of anger expressed toward him. When anger clashes with anger there is only more violence and bloodshed and the problem cannot be overcome. While we may not face such a dramatic situation in our daily lives, we must remember not to respond to anger with anger and hold on to compassion and peace in our response. Then we stand a chance of helping the other to overcome his anger and also get better hold over our emotional disturbances. Let us remember the peace and love of the Lord and hold on to the SitaRam Mantra and overcome our anger.

Do not be a beggar!

When we look at the grand scheme of creation, we find a great amazing truth – even before we were born, all our necessities have been provided for by God. There are 8,400,000 species of life. All these species coexist together in harmony and balance. The survival of all species has been superbly orchestrated by nature. Bacteria and insects break down organic material and produce soil and nutrients on which plants grow. Plants provide oxygen and food for other animals and a host of other benefits. Bees, insects and other animals help in pollination cycle and keep the reproduction on. The entire cycle is balanced and each and every single living creature is provided food, water, shelter and survival.

Every species of life on earth lives and survives without greed except man. Man is the only species who earns and collects what he does not need and cannot use in his lifetime. Man earns and accumulates wealth. Those who have not been able to earn wealth to levels they yearn for have only one desire in life – to earn more and more. And no man has been satisfied with what he has earned. Till now no man has been successful in carrying with him his wealth or property into his afterlife. We have enough for our needs and yet we are beggars. We yearn for more and more and seek more and more from God. In our frenzy to earn more, we destroy nature, the delicate balance of life, climate and environment and seek to fulfil our greed at the cost of all. Yet there is only one thrust in our mind – O God, give us some more wealth today!

We must realise that every single requirement of our lives has been provided for by God and we can have a very good life and develop our potentials and reach our goals of life including final goal of self realisation without plundering or hurting others. We have enough for our needs and definitely not enough for our greed. The truth is – nature provides for us without asking. The sun shines daily, rain falls, the wind blows, plants grow and animal life flourishes and we are given in abundance without our begging or seeking anything. The one who lives a content life is rich beyond imagination as he is happy with what he gets and has ample time to do work of his choice, self development and walk the path of God. Let us see the munificence of God in providing for all our needs and stop begging Him for mere wealth. Let us love Him and seek to love Him more and more for all that He has blessed us with – His Own Self. We learn these lessons from story of a saint and a merchant – a tale of contentment and greed:

A saint sat in meditation, his face glowing with peace and the light of God. One could make out his absorption in the Divine Light. A merchant who was observing him was touched by his devotion and sincerity. When the saint got up from his meditation, the merchant offered him a bag of gold coins and said: Please accept this money. I know you will use them in service of God.

The saint said: Sir, please wait. I need to ask you something before I accept your money. Are you a wealthy man? Do you have sufficient money at home? The merchant gave a very quick and easy answer: I have enough money at home, at least a thousand pieces of gold coins at home.

Do you want a thousand pieces more? : asked the saint. The merchant answered in affirmative: Who does not want more coins? Even a thousand more coins beyond that? And who does not work for it? I seek to get more and more money daily. And I pray devoutly to God everyday for more and more wealth!

The saint returned the bag of coins to the merchant: I am sorry I cannot take your money. A wealthy man cannot take money from a beggar! I am content with what God has given me and He fulfils all my needs. But you are a beggar as you are always dissatisfied with what you have and always beg God for more wealth!

Do not be a beggar! We cannot carry our wealth with us after death! Only the love and name of God comes with us. Let us earn that wealth and be SitaRam billionaires! 

What kind do you offer?

We make different kinds of offering in our lives to various people around us and also to God. The father works at a job and earns money and this is offering to the family. The mother cooks, cleans and takes care of the family. The children contribute by doing their share of household chores and small jobs. The manufacturer, farmer, laborer, doctor, banker, insurance agents, television and other media and various others offer  their services to the society. We offer our services to the poor and the needy. We contribute to the society and the nation by various good works, donations and awareness programs. We offer money, pooja and donations at the temple. We offer food, flowers and prayers to God. We make offerings of bribe money to God for work done for us. We are very proud of our offerings but rarely pause to think of the quality of offering.

Any offering we make is coloured by the love and emotions that are behind the offering.  When we give some money to the poor with arrogance and pride, the value of the offering is zero. Though the poor may accept the offering with gratitude, we lose out due to the incorrect emotions behind the act.  We generally buy the best for our family and self and when it comes to others, it is always second or third rate quality that we can afford. We rarely see others as human beings and see ourselves as great, different and distinct. When we make offerings to God, it is not always the best materials available.  We rationalize that it does not hurt Him as He does not directly use or consume our offering. Whether we offer to our family or friends or society or nation or the Gurus or God, we must ensure that there is the right attitude of love, respect and thankfulness in our offering. Else the blessings and benefits of the seva as in heightened state of consciousness will not be there and the receiver of the benefit will have incomplete results. Seva without love and purity has a negative effect and is not acceptable to Guru and God.

During one of his travels, Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh Religion took shelter in the house of Lalo. Lalo was a poor low caste Hindu carpenter. Lalo served Nanak with love, reverence and spirit of service to God. Nanak was extremely pleased with the love and seva of Lalo. So he stayed in his home for two weeks. Then he overheard the gossip of people: “Nanak is a high caste Hindu. He should not stay in the house of a low caste carpenter. It is not right”.

Just then, a wealthy landlord of that neighbourhood organised a big feast for all the people in the area. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras – the high caste teachers, the military and police, the traders, farmers and artisans and the cleaners & manual labourers- were all invited. A Brahmin friend informed Nanak about the feast and told him that he must attend it. Nanak did not believe in caste system and considered all men equal. He did not wish to attend the feast. He said: “I do not belong to any of the four castes. So why invite me?”  The Brahmin joked: “Now I know why you are called a heretic! Please attend the feast. Else you will displease the landlord Sri Malik. He is a very rich and powerful man in this area. You will have to surely answer to him”.

Nanak did not go to the feast. The landlord came in search of him and confronted him. He said: “You disregard my invitation and dishonour me. You ignore your own caste and stay and eat with a low caste man. You set a bad example to the society”. Nanak replied: “I have no craving for fine food. Because you feel offended I will come to your banquet and eat my share of the elegant and fine preparations you have made”.

Nanak asked Lalo to come with him and bring with him some of his simple food. A plate of the rich delicious food of the landlord was set in front of Nanak and also another plate containing the simple food of Lalo. Nanak took Lalo’s simple food in his right hand and the landlord’s rich food in his left hand and squeezed them both. Lo and behold, milk flowed out from Lalo’s simple food and blood from the landlord’s food.

We must check how our offering is - is it blood or milk!

Tapas for the Householder

The practice of tapas can also be done by the householders quite effectively. All the spiritual practices we do are aimed at attaining concentration or focus on God. This turns the focus of our sense organs and energy  towards the inward or within self. The sense organs waste a huge amount of energy by aimless wandering in the external world. When the sense organs are turned inward in prayers, meditation, mantra japa and other practices, all this energy is conserved. Regular and sustained spiritual practices produce heat in the body which is called tapas.

Tapas is not extreme austerity. We can live our normal lives as householders and still practice tapas successfully.  We need to have a correct understanding about tapas for it. Tapas is having control over thought, word and deed. We can easily control our actions and words. But it is difficult to control thoughts. When we learn to watch our thoughts and not act on the wrong ones, we attain thought control. With regular practice, a stage comes when we will not think wrong about anyone or anything. Control over thought, word and deed helps us not just in spiritual life but also in our worldly life as we have better relations, work ethics and are reliable and trustworthy.

Tapas is non-attachment to worldly objects, sensual enjoyments, material enjoyments. This does not mean that you do not own or possess objects of comfort or luxuries. It only means that you use them and enjoy them but are not attached to them and crave for them. It is like travelling in a plane and enjoying the comforts of it and not hankering to own it.  When we live like this, we are like the lotus in the pond. The lotus draws its nourishment from the mud and mire but floats on the water without getting dirty.

Tapas is developing a strong will power and acquiring wisdom and knowledge which help us to rise above anger, lust, greed, attachment, jealousy and pride. It is also remaining in balance during heights of joy and depths of sorrow. When we acquire these qualities, our stress levels in the world reduce drastically and we become peaceful and balanced. This helps us to live a better quality life and enjoy loving relationships.

Tapas is living a simple life style and being self reliant. It is the ability to understand the cause of pain and discomforts of body, mind and emotions and rise above it. We do not blame others around us for our suffering. We understand that we are ultimately responsible for ourselves and we overcome and reduce our own suffering.

Tapas is living in the present and not yearning for the past or future. It is the right understanding that though we are influenced by deeds of past, we still have choice to do the right thing now and by doing so the future takes care of itself. Tapas is walking the Middle path where we do not go to any extremes in life for anything. We understand that suffering and happiness are short lived and only the Divine Peace, Divine Love and Divine Bliss are permanent. It is not making the body suffer through too much fasting or too many restrictions. It is keeping the body fit and learning to live with love, compassion, patience, courage, will power, determination, perseverance, acceptable compromises, forgiveness, self-discipline, positive thinking, peace, correct understanding and non-attachment.

Being faithful and loyal to the partner in life and giving unconditional love and care is tapas. It is doing good and offering all actions to God and accepting the fruits as prasad from God. It is serving God and seeing God in all. When we work on ourselves and attain a state of purity, it is tapas. By doing tapas, we get knowledge and wisdom and eventually attain enlightenment. Doing tapas helps us to have a better life.

Tapas - Goddess Parvati

When Divinity takes birth in human form, it accepts many imperfections of the human body and emotions.  The human form cannot merge with the Universal Consciousness by any normal means of liking or lust. Only tapas – stringent mantra japa and meditation over a period of time brings purification which enables man to finally merge with the Cosmic Purity. There is nothing in the Universe which cannot be obtained by tapas. Tapas is the means to obtain material as well as spiritual goals, heights and perfection. Divinity assumes human forms many times and teaches us by example about how to do tapas and attain purity and perfection. The Union of Goddess Parvati with Lord Shiva is one such example.

Lord Shiva went into extremely long period of meditation after Maa Sati left Her Body. It was essential that Shakti (power of action) and Shiva ( Eternal Consciousness) be united for right action and welfare of world. At the intense prayers of Gods, Shakti manifested Herself as a girl child at the home of Himavan – the King of Mountains. Goddess Parvati is the personification of Adi Shakti – the Primeval Power of the Universe. She is the power that holds all the galaxies in their place without dashing into each other.  She is the source of all Forms of Divinity.  She is the Mother of all humanity and creation. She is the heat of our body, She is the warmth of our breath, She is the Kundalini Shakti who takes us back to our home. In Her righteous anger, She manifests Herself as Durga and Kali, in Her blessings of wealth as Lakshmi and in wisdom and knowledge as Saraswati. The means by which She transformed Herself from Her human form into Her original divine form is through intense tapas.

Parvati visited the place where Shiva sat in meditation and did service to Him by bringing water, sweeping and cleaning, collecting flowers and fruits for worship etc. But Shiva never noticed Her. So She enlisted the help of Kama the God of Love and his consort- Rati, to help Her. When Shiva’s meditation was disturbed, the blaze emanating from His Third Eye reduced Kama to ashes. Parvati realised that the only way of winning over Shiva was not through Kama or Lust but by intense tapas or austerities. She obtained permission from her parents and went to the sacred spot of Gangavatara. Today this spot is also known as Gowri Peak. Her penance was rigorous. During summer, in the sweltering heat, she lit fire on all four sides and sat in between them and did tapas. In rainy season, She sat on a rock in the pouring rains and howling winds and meditated with Shiva as her sole focus. In winter, She stood neck deep in cold water of the pond and immersed in the form of Shiva. Heat, cold, rain, pain, sorrow – nothing affected Her. Her mind was fixed on Shiva and She had full control of Her senses and emotions. 

Parvathi wore simple flaxen cloth and twisted Her Hair on top of Her Head.  She performed the most rigourous self mortification. She chanted mantras with full focus and concentration which enabled her to conquer hunger and thirst. In the early days, She ate only fruits and gradually gave up that also. Then She lived on leaves or ‘parna’. Soon She left that also and lived on air. The Rishis of the forest name Her ‘Aparna’. She now rivalled Shiva in Her ability to control Her physical needs and cut Herself off from the world.  The emanation of power from Her Tapas changed the entire environment around Her. The creatures of the forest became mild and peaceful. The  area around Her was full of love, peace and kindness. The power of heat from Her tapas shook Shiva out of His meditation and made Him accept Her as His better half.  Shiva married Parvati in the presence of all the Gods and took Her to Kailas which is the pivotal centre of the universe. Her love conquered and enslaved the austere, ascetic Shiva who became a loving partner to Parvati.

The tapas of Parvati transformed Her from a human to God  and manifested  the full stature of Her Inner Divinity. Shiva taught Her the secrets of    Vedas, yoga shastras, tantra and worship which are written in book forms and the sacred knowledge was spread to the world due to Parvati.  It is only by power of tapas we can overcome our karmas, purify this human existence and attain enlightenment.

Tapas - Vashista

Maharishi Vashista was the manas putra or mind born son of Lord Brahma the Creator. He was also one of the seven Rishis – SaptaRishis. His entire life was full of tapas and austerities and he served the Lord Himself and mankind all his life.  He was self realized and without ego and had great power due to tapas. Hence he was called  Brahmarishi. He was a householder and married to Arundhati and they had a hundred sons. Once, Lord Brahma told him that Lord Vishnu would incarnate in the Raghu lineage. In order to be near the Lord and serve him and watch the divine drama first hand, Vashista took up the post of priest to the Raghu dynasty. He also started a school in his ashram so that the local youth could be educated in the right manner and contribute to the progress of the kingdom. He knew that the avatar of Lord Vishnu would come and study in his ashram. When Lord Vishnu born to King Dashrath, Vashista named the baby- Rama.  The sacred name of Rama existed before the birth of Rama and was not given to any other person till then.

Once, Vishwamitra came to the ashram of Vashista. The sage received him and offered him unmatched hospitality. The food and other offerings were given by Nandini, the sacred cow. Vishwamitra wanted the cow for himself and asked Vashista for it. Vashista refused as the ashram was under the protection of Nandini and she was a family member. Vishwamitra tried to take the cow by force but the cow protected herself by producing an army who attacked and destroyed the army of Vishwamitra. The sons of Vishwamitra also joined in the battle and were killed. Vishwamitra felt terribly humiliated and went to the forest and did great tapas of Lord Shiva. Pleased with the tapas, Lord Shiva gave him many divine astras or spells for using in warfare and also knowledge.

Vishwamitra went back to Vashista’s ashram and used the divine astras and tried to defeat him. Vashista did not summon any army or weapon in defence. He simply held his Brahma Danda ( the wooden staff carried by Rishis) in front of him. Divine astras or weapons were released one after the other by Vishwamitra but of no use. The Brahma Danda simply absorbed all the attacks and weapons into itself and Vashista and the ashram were unharmed. The power and strength of Vasishta’s tapas was concentrated in the staff. The Brahma Danda represents the power of tapas of any Rishi and is the symbol of Nirguna Para Brahman – the formless Divinity. Vashista’s tapas was so powerful that he could withstand even the Brahmastra – the most powerful astra  or warfare weapon of the Universe. Vishwamitra was well and truly defeated and he learnt that the real power of any person came from tapas by which one is enlightened. So he sought to perform tapas like Vashista and become his equal.

Vashista played a great role in shaping the Raghu Dynasty. Once, when there was a famine in Ayodhya, he helped all the people and animals with the power of his tapas. Vashista gave the mantra to Bhagirath by which he was able to bring the Ganges to earth. He advised King Dilip to serve Nandini and Nandini blessed the king with a son.  He advised King Dashrath to perform the Putrakameshti Yagna for begetting sons. He taught and guided Sri Rama at the ashram. He gave Sri Rama the Shaktipata of Kundalini Maha Yoga and taught him how to transmit it.

Vashista was reputed for his tapas, wisdom, patience and unconditional love. He was given title of BrahmaRishi as he was enlightened. All his greatness came from the power of his tapas.

Tapas

Tapas means fire or heat. Fire is a great purifier. Fire removes all the dross and what remains is  pure matter. Burning in fire allows the golden radiance of the pure and the true to glow.  When gold is mined from earth it is impure and has other minerals mixed in it. When it is burnt in fire, all the impurities are burnt and the metal glows in its golden purity. The same is the case when we do tapas. All the dross is burnt within us and we are connected with the Universe and glow with the radiance of God.

Tapas is a heat or force generated in us when we do spiritual practices. Whether it is singing the name of God, or hearing His greatness, or reading a sacred text daily, or doing japa of Siddha mantra or meditation – in all the practices the sense organs are diverted  inwardly. The consciousness and the sum total of our energy which is normally used by the sense organs outside towards objects of sense are focussed within and on God. We prevent the sense organs from focussing on external objects by not concentrating on seeing, tasting, touching, smelling or hearing. At the time of inward focus, we think only of the sacred name of God or Light or Consciousness and not other things. By doing so, we prevent our energy from leaking outwards. All our energy is directed and focussed within and retained inside. When this is done on a regular basis, it creates heat and the retained energy within makes us feel strong, energetic and forceful. This is tapas. 

Those who do japa and meditation with the Siddha mantra and those who meditate after taking the Shaktipata of Kundalini can easily feel the force of tapas within themselves in a short period of time. The vibrations of the Siddha mantra help in easier and stronger focus within self and add to the heat generated. When the spiritual practices are followed regularly and in a disciplined manner, the heat of tapas burns all the physical toxins, mental junk, samskaras or mental impressions of past and karmic burdens that we carry. Slowly but surely, we can feel the difference in ourselves.  We are less prone to anger or lust or jealousy or attachment or pride or ego.  We are able to overcome our lower selves

In our spiritual practices, we focus on God. When we do so, we withdraw all our sense organs from the external world and focus them within. Being centred on God within ourselves is the highest tapas. This is also Yoga. Yoga means yoking ourselves to God. Yoga or Tapas are not mysterious processes. They are simple. It is living with God as centre in your life. And God is within us. All our life force is now centred on God.

We live in illusion that world is outside us and so is God. When we have right understanding that the Universe is within us and God is the Universe and we are not apart from Him – this is tapas. As long as we have this illusion of separation from world and God, we are always at conflict with ourselves and with the world. When we realise the truth that all is One and that One is within us, we are at peace and the world is at peace with us. We are at harmony with all creation.

This internal focus and tapas bring about intense self purification. Our desire for spiritual development becomes more, our faith intensifies. We cultivate greater endurance, willpower and balance in life. Moderation in eating, sleep and reaction are necessary. In Bhagwad Gita, Sri Krishna says: Yoga is not for him who eats too much nor for him who eats too little. It is not for him who sleeps too much nor for him who sleeps too little. For him who is temperate in his food and recreation, temperate in his exertion at work, temperate in his sleep and waking, yoga puts an end to all sorrows.

Tapas liberates us from identification with the body and unites us with the invisible power of God. Realizing this truth is the greatest tapas.

Listen to the Bear!

Our entire life is planned and executed on expectations. We expect our partner to be loving and wise and that he/she should read our minds and fulfill our wants without our expressing it; our bosses to understand our work and give us raise without our asking, our children to be the ideal ones without any effort by us; our homes to be neat and clean without doing the actual cleaning, for us to be powerful and famous without any hassles, to have endless wealth without effort and be well-known without the drawbacks of popularity.  Our expectations are not always fulfilled and we are in misery and pain.

We live in the era of credit finance. We earn a fixed amount but spend more than we earn due to plastic money. We are forever in debt. Our homes and lives are filled with useless things which do not give us the joy that we expected from them when we bought them. And now we have to pay for them and we do not have the money for it. Every month we are in deeper and deeper debt as we cannot control our spending and we do not have money to pay for our splurges.  The trading on the Wall Street, the government expenditure with borrowing from overseas, empty expenditure without earning - all result in spiralling prices, more misery and debt and growing crimes at the national and world level.

We must simplify our lives. Definitely, we should live in comfort but not at the cost of increasing debts. We must learn to prioritize our desires and let go of those which we can live comfortably without. The advertisement world is geared up to increase our wants. Let us learn to choose wisely without falling into their trap. We must live and spend within our means and also save for a rainy day.

We must not live in the clouds without working for it in the present now. Also our calculations and expectations must be realistic and not rosy. If we live in an inner dream land without the right work and understanding, we face a mighty crash. We see this phenomenon in all the countries of the world. Let us see a small story of expectations and its lesson:

Sonu and Keshav were bear hunters. Once, it was a bad season for them and they were not able to get any bear skin for sale. They walked to a village at the edge of forest and searched in the forest for bears. Four days passed and the fifth too. They saw nothing and got nothing. All their money was spent and they had pledged a part of the sale of the bear skin (which they were going to get by hunting) against the cost of their lodging and boarding. On the sixth day they spotted a huge bear. Sonu was very nervous. He had no courage to face such a huge bear. Keshav was also scared but put up a good show. He said he would take on the bear by himself.

So Sonu ran off and climbed the nearest tree very quickly and Keshav stood ready with his gun to shoot the bear. As the huge bear came lumbering nearer, Keshav grew more scared and he began to tremble. He mustered up enough courage to raise his gun to shoot but his hands were trembling so much that the gun went off and he missed the bear.

Keshav remembered the old hunter’s trick – bears do not touch a dead body. He threw himself flat on the ground and waited for the bear to come near him. He held his breath and went stiff. The bear came up to him and sniffed all around him and lumbered off. Sonu watched the entire incident perched on the top of the nearby tree. He came down running and helped up his friend. He congratulated him on his narrow escape. He was very curious to know something. He had seen the bear sniff around Keshav’s face and the bear seemed to whisper something in Keshav’s ear. He asked his friend: What did the bear whisper in your ear? His friend replied: Don't sell the bearskin before you have caught the bear. 

This is a very important lesson for us – We should not sell the bearskin before we have caught the bear! We should learn to live within our means. We should have realistic expectations in life in everything – relationships, work, earnings and dreams.

Bear your burdens with ease

We all have many grouses against God for making us carry so much burden and pain in life. Right from the time we are born, we face problems after problems. Health issues, money, relationships gone sour and prickly, jobs, wife, children, family, boss, colleagues, power, name, fame, acceptances by others, why, even God is a problem and burden to us. When we look back, we feel we have been carrying unbearable weights on our backs all our lives and no one should suffer the way we do. Our expectations, increased desires and needs in life, the stress of modern life and competitive world, global financial crisis and crashing markets, corrupt politicians, all seem to particularly target our lives and make us miserable. How then can we carry our burdens easily?

We must remember that we are given only what we can carry. The universe never throws us into pits which we cannot climb out of. Before any problem is created, the solution is made available first. Divinity has devised a beautiful life for us.  Even before the birth of a child, the milk to sustain its life is made ready in the mother’s body. God always provides for us needs but our greed is so much that we commit blunders which cause our suffering. When we plant thorny cactus, we cannot expect lotuses to bloom from them. We are responsible for our own problem – our actions of this life or previous lives have sown the seeds for which we reap the fruits today.

There was a young man who felt that all was hopeless and lost in his life. He called upon God to help him. God appeared in front of him and said: Come with me and place your burden in this room. And go through that door and pick up any burden of your choice which you feel you can carry easily. The young man was happy and went quickly into the room and placed his burden down. Then he went through the other door and looked around at the bundles of burdens placed there. Some of the bundles there were huge. He could barely see them halfway through. He looked around and finally picked up a tiny one placed in a corner and said: O God, I chose this one. I can bear this one. God smiled and said: My son, this is the one you brought in with you!

Anytime we feel we are carrying too heavy a burden and life has been playing games with us, we should look around and see the lives of others. We will understand that as compared to all others, our lives are quite good and that we are blessed. Let us stop whining and learn to be grateful for all the mercies bestowed on us.

There is another way of facing burdens in life. We can become so large within ourselves that the burden placed on us insignificant. A student grumbled to his Master about his burdens in life. The Master asked him to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and drink it. The student took a sip and spat out as it was unbearably salty. The Master then asked the student to take another handful of salt and throw it into a lake. Then he asked the student to drink the water. The water was cool and sweet to taste and the student drank his fill with gratitude. The Master explained to the student: The pain in life is like handful of salt you threw into the glass or lake now. It remains the same. No more or no less.  But the amount we taste depends on the container we put it into.

We must enlarge our sense of being. When we sit in meditation, we lose identification with the body and senses and raise our consciousness to higher dimensions. We become vast from within. When we meditate regularly, our container becomes large and we can hardly taste the pain which is in it. Regular and disciplined japa with SitaRam Mantra and meditation helps us to carry our burdens easily and enlarge our being. So we hardly taste the pain in our lives. Let us learn to bear our burdens with ease.

The Enlightened- Jnanadev

Among the greatest jnanis – the followers of path of knowledge and wisdom- was Sri Jnanadev of Maharashtra. His life mission was primarily translating the Bhagwad Geeta into Marathi so that the knowledge of divine wisdom as taught by Sri Krishna for daily living was available to the common people. In those days, the Brahmins who knew Sanskrit and the Vedic rites controlled the knowledge and the society and all others in society were at the mercy of the Brahmins as they had to depend on them for the translations and interpretations.

Jnanadev’s father had become a monk but due to order of his guru, his father came back to his wife and they had a family of four children. Jnaneshwar was the second child. The family was ostracized by the society as Jnanadev’s father had broken the vows of sanyas or monkhood. The family was asked to perform purification rites and get a clearance letter from the well known Brahmins in society; else the boys of the family would not be invested with the sacred thread. Unable to get the purification letter, the parents of Jnanadev walked into the Ganges and drowned themselves.

The children were left alone and went to Paithan which was a spiritual centre. The Brahmins refused to give them a purification letter. Jnaneshwar argued that all were equal - the One Brahman – the Advaita philosophy. A buffalo was passing by. One Brahmin said that the buffalo was named Jnana and if the buffalo Jnana and the human Jnanadev were one, Jnanadev could ask it to recite the Vedas. Jnanadev was already enlightened and was one with the Spirit. When he looked at the buffalo, he saw the oneness of the Atman which pervaded the Universe. He lovingly asked it to chant the Vedas and the buffalo chanted the Sanskrit Slokas of Vedas. The awestruck Brahmins sought forgiveness and gave the required letter of purification.

Many such incidents abound in the life of Jnanadev which showed his enlightened state. There is a famous encounter of Jnanadev with the Yogi Changdev. Yogi Changdev had mastered hatha yoga techniques by which he controlled aging. At that time he was over 400 years old. He possessed many Siddhis and a formidable reputation as a Yogi. He was peeved that a young boy who was hardly 16 years old got so much love, respect and honour from all. He wanted to challenge Jnanadev but could not show him disrespect or insult him. In order to test the wisdom of Jnanadev, he sent him a blank letter. In reply, Jnanadev sent him a poem of sixty five verses of his teachings. These are known as Changdeva – pasashti. But Changdev could not understand the verses. 

Changdev wanted to check out if Jnanadev really meant something in those verses or was insulting him. So he decided to visit Jnanadev riding on a tiger with a retinue of 3000 disciples. As he neared Alandi, where Jnanadev was living, Jnanadev came to know of the Yogi’s visit. He and his brothers and sister were sitting on an old wall.  Jnanadev was always one with the Universal Consciousness.  So when he commanded the wall to rise and fly in the sky, it flew. Jnanadev and his siblings flew on the wall to visit the Yogi and pay their respects. Changdev controlled a living being – a wild tiger, but Jnanadev was so one with Divinity that he controlled the inanimate wall. Changdev realised the greatness of Jnanadev and surrendered to him. But his ego was still strong and powerful. So Jnanadev asked Changdev to request one of his disciples to sacrifice himself so that Changdev could attain immediate Brahmajnana – the knowledge of Self. Changdev was very confident that all his disciples were dedicated to him and would do anything for him. But next morning, all of his disciples vanished. Changdev’s ego was utterly destroyed and he prostrated in front of Jnanadev in surrender. When his ego was vanquished, he attained enlightenment. Ultimately, Changdev became one of Jnanadev’s leading disciples.

The mysteries of the Enlightened ones can be marvelled at but rarely understood!

The Enlightened – Sage Sukadev

Sage Sukadev was the son of Sage Vyasa. He was born enlightened and was far more advanced than his great father, Sage Vyasa who had collated and written all the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. Sukadev was a little boy of sixteen. He was one with all his surroundings – the trees, lakes, mountains and everything. He used to walk around naked without any body consciousness. He saw no distinction between the male and female sex. All were same for him.  He would walk among naked bathing women and they would not feel any self consciousness as Suka has no distinction of sex. Once Sukadev went out wandering and his father, Sage Vyasa ran after him calling out: Suka, my son, where are you? The trees in the forest started vibrating and murmured: I am here, I am here! Such was the oneness Sukadev had with his surroundings and the Cosmos.

There is another incident narrated in Mahabharata about Sage Sukadev. The great war of Mahabharata was over and Yudhisthira, the eldest  Pandava brothers was crowned  King. Yudhisthira wanted to perform a great yagna and do a lot of charity. He had a desire to feed a vast number of people after the yagna and also wanted to know how to keep count of the number of people who ate food. He asked the great Sage Vyasa to devise a method of counting. Sage Vyasa hung  a bell and chanted a mantra and said: When a thousand people eat, this bell will ring once. You can count the number of times it rings and keep a count of the number of thousands of people who have eaten. 

The yagna was conducted on a grand scale. Thousands of Brahmins chanted mantras and made offerings to the fire. Yudhisthira made generous donations to all those who came. The attendees and guests to the   yagna had a sumptuous meal and went away taking their gifts. Suddenly the bell started ringing continuously. Yudhisthira went to the bell to check if something was wrong with it. Sage Vyasa said that his bell could do no wrong. There was a tremendous mystery behind the bell ringing in this continuous manner. The bell would ring once only when a thousand people ate. So he asked Yudhisthira to check if anyone else was eating.

Yudhisthira went around the area of the yagna to check who was eating. He found a little sixteen year boy sitting in between the remains of the food eaten by others and licking at the leaves of food. This boy was radiant but thin and unkempt and he had a dog with him. When the boy ate one grain of rice, the bell started ringing. Yudhisthira ran to Sage Vyasa and reported: There is a poor boy sitting there amongst the food left by others. He is eating one grain of rice and immediately the bell rings as if one thousand people have eaten. Who is this boy?

Ved Vyasa replied: That boy is my son Sukadev. He is an enlightened being. He is the whole universe himself.  If he eats one grain of rice, it means millions of people have been fed. Yudhisthira was ashamed of himself and wept. He said: I never knew such a person existed. I was boasting that I have fed millions of people. Yudhisthira prostrated before Sage Sukadev, but Sukadev was unaware of it. He was fully merged in the ParaBrahman – the Supreme Power. The play of God and His ways of teaching us lessons are as mysterious as Him.

The Enlightened - Raidas

Raidas belonged to the times when the caste system had it stranglehold on India. He was a cobbler by caste and mended shoes. He lived in Varanasi, the capital of Hinduism in those days. Having received the Rama Nama Mantra from Sadguru Ramandacharya of the Vaishnava tradition, Raidas had advanced to great spiritual heights and was an enlightened being. He saw the Light of existence everywhere around him and to him the waters of the Ganga were no different from the water he used in a cup for wetting and sharpening his tools of trade. Raidas saw the sanctity of God all around him and the Universe also responded to Raidas with great love and abundance.

Let us look at an incident in the life of Raidas which tells us of his highly enlightened nature: 

Raidas lived near the Ganges and worked for his living making and mending leather shoes. Once a group of pilgrims came there and saw Raidas busy working on fixing some shoes. They gave him several pairs of shoes to mend and as he started his work, they asked him how many times he had taken bath in the holy waters of the Ganga. Raidas replied that he had not bathed in the Ganga at all. The pilgrims were puffed up with ego and pride. They told him: We do not want you to repair our shoes. You are an atheist who lives near the sacred Ganges who has never bothered to bathe in this holy river.

By that time, Raidas had already done their work and so they paid him a few coins for mending the shoes. He refused to accept money from them as it was his principle not to accept payment from pilgrims. They were insistent so he said: Please offer these coins in the Ganges River saying that they are an offering from the cobbler Raidas. The pilgrims went to the Ganges to take bath and threw the coins in the waters saying mockingly: Divine Mother Ganga, these coins are an offering from the cobbler Raidas. To the astonishment of the pilgrims, two beautiful hands appeared from inside the river and caught the coins. A heavenly voice said: I am honoured to accept this gift from Raidas- the Great Soul. Please offer to Raidas my gift. The two hands then gave them a beautifully crafted golden bangle studded with precious stones.

The pilgrims did not give the gift of the Ganges to Raidas. They took it to the King of Varanasi and offered to him.  He was very pleased with their gift and offered them a large sum of money as reward. The King presented the bangle to his Queen. She liked is so much that she wanted another one to make a matching pair. The King ordered the pilgrims to get another bangle. The pilgrims had no choice but to tell the truth. The King went to the hut of Raidas and asked him to get another bangle from the Ganges for his Queen.

Raidas has a small container with water in front of him. He used to wet leather in it and also wet the tools of his trade for sharpening them. He said: If our mind is pure and we love Mother Ganga, She will be present even in this container. He put his hand inside the container and removed an identical bangle and offered to the King.  The stunned King fell at the feet of Raidas and sought forgiveness and  blessings. Raidas blessed him and continued to mend shoes.

Raidas became a great philosopher and supporter of the Vaishnava cult. His writings were simple and easy to follow and he taught the highest philosophy in the language of the common man. Some of his writings are found in the Guru Granth Saheb.  Meerabai, the princess saint of Rajasthan was the disciple of Raidas. The touch of Raidas was the Midas touch which enabled Meerabai to realise the Formless Giridhargopal who pervaded the entire Cosmos within  herself and all around her.People all over India respect and revere Raidas as a saint and Guru of the highest order. The cobbler of Varanasi rose to the ranks of the Enlightened and helped many others on their journey!

Enlightenment

The goal of human existence is enlightenment. It is the very pinnacle of achievement that a man can achieve. We are all aware of the glory of creation on earth, of the various forms of life and non living matter. Beyond earth are the Solar System and the Milky Way and other galaxies. When we ponder about the Universe and the size and complexity of creation, it is mind boggling.  There is a common factor, a bond or link between all of the creation. Like the thread which binds and holds multi-color flowers and leaves in a massive garland, there is the universal consciousness which is common to all creation and which holds and binds all creation. Realizing this truth and becoming one with the universal consciousness is enlightenment. Then we are a part of all and all is one with us.  

The question arises whether enlightenment is a gradual process or it takes place at once. It can be both - it can be gradual and or it can be sudden and abrupt for some. A labourer is working on a huge rock to break it. It takes a hundred blows to break it. Where a rock breaks at the 45th stroke, it means that it has undergone 55 hits before.  Every hit made previously on the stone has weakened the stone. We hear of great saints who have received enlightenment effortlessly. It only means that they have worked on themselves in their previous lives. We place water for heating. The temperature gradually climbs up and suddenly the water starts evaporating. The process of vaporization goes on slowly and invisibly as the water is heating and then suddenly we see the water turn into vapour. The process of enlightenment is similar.

When man lives at the level of survival, there is no question of enlightenment. A day comes when questions arise in the mind about what is good and what is bad and the desire to do good consciously arises from within.  The Yoga Vashista says that the first stage of enlightenment comes with a strong desire to do good. The next stage is that of thinking what good we can do and how we can do it. Then the mind focuses on the proper thing to do. During this process, the ego begins to melt or thin out a bit. Hence the distractions of the mind are less and we can think of one thing only. The mind is a layer which covers the ego. When this layer is dark and thick with self importance, greed, pleasures and desires, the light of the soul cannot pass through the mind and reflect in our lives. When the ego loses hold over mind and the mind focuses on doing good things, the hold of sensory objects and desires on us becomes less strong and less tenacious. Till now we are still in the preparatory levels.

In the next stage, the purity or satwa quality of mind manifests from within and we feel as if there was a flash within self. It is like beholding lightning from within and not in the skies. We are still at the gateway of enlightenment and not in it. This is a stage of high purity. In the stage after that we experience the stars, sun, planets – the very universe within self. We experience the Cosmos within self. We know that all is within and nothing is out there. There is great detachment in this stage. In the next stage after that, we experience what is taught today in science – that all matter is made up of light. We experience flood radiance everywhere as if there is nothing but light in the universe. Here we watch the radiance. This is Savikalpa Samadhi. In the final stage, we merge with the light and there is no watcher. All of the cosmos is light and we are light and we are one with the light.  Here the radiance sees the radiance. This is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi. It is also called the turiya state. 

A person comes out the Nirvikalpa Samadhi and continues to live.  Where the body is not properly prepared by long regular sadhana, the person could leave his body within a few months as the body and mind cannot sustain receiving such high levels of bliss. Many great masters continued to live and teach for long periods of time after enlightenment. Some great masters exist in their subtle bodies, guiding souls on their way to God. India stands tall and strong due to the sacred vibrations and blessings of such Enlightened Masters. Every soul in cosmos is working its way to enlightenment.

You reap what you sow!

The Law of Karma says what we do unto others is what we get. We do good unto others and we get good. If we do bad unto others, we reap pain. This law is inexorable. It does not change for anyone or at anytime or anyplace.  We know this to be true and yet we all think that we can escape this law and become bold. Then we do deeds which later give us only fruits of pain and despair.

Who we are today is a result of our past actions.  We reap now what we have sowed earlier. And what we do now – what we sow now – is what we will reap in future. Our previous thoughts and action determine who and what we are today. We have been given intelligence, discrimination and knowledge to think and act and carve our future. When we act prudently and judicious now in the present, we set the stage for our future.  Further, Divinity always gives us the chance to change our present and future. Only we need to steer the changes in the right direction. Let us look at the life of the Cruel King and the transformation in him:

Once there was a King who was very cruel and unjust. He inflicted harsh penalties and punishments on his subjects and tortured them. His kingdom was vast and he was very rich. But his subjects hated him and wished for his death or dethronement.

One day, the King went on a hunting trip and came back a changed man.  He announced that he had turned over a new leaf and there would be no more cruelty or injustice in the kingdom. All were very surprised and even more so when the King followed what he said. He reduced the taxes and heard the cases and complaints of the people with compassion and balance. He meted out justice with love and understanding and became a Father to all his subjects. His transformation was drastic and he came to be known as the “Gentle Monarch”.

After many months, when all were sure that the change in the King was permanent, one of the ministers plucked up enough courage to ask the King: Your Majesty! Please tell us what happened by which there is such a magical transformation in you. 

The King replied that when he was hunting in the forest, a chain of incidents happened which taught him a very valuable lesson. As he was galloping through the forest, he saw a fox being chased by a hound. The hound managed to catch it and bit its leg and lamed it for life, but the fox escaped into his hole. Later on as the King rode into the village, he saw the same hound barking at a man. Even as he watched, the man picked up a large stone and hurled it at the hound. The stone hit hound on its leg and broke it. The man walked away laughing and suddenly a horse came galloping towards him. He was not able to move aside quickly and the horse kicked him and shattered his knee and disabled him for life.  The King watched the horse keenly to see what would happen to him. He saw that as the horse galloped with great speed, it suddenly fell into a hole and broke its leg.

The King reflected on the chain of events and suddenly realised that evil begets evil. Nature was showing him through a chain of incidents that if he continued his evil ways, he will be overtaken and punished by greater evil. So he decided to change.

The minister saw that the King had truly changed and greed overcame him. He decided to assassinate the King and take over the throne and the large rich kingdom. He was immersed in his thoughts and his plotting and that he did not notice a flight of steps in front of him. He tripped over and fell down and broke his neck.

Let us use the magnificent gifts of knowledge, intelligence and discrimination that we are blessed with and make the right changes in our lives that we reap the best crops of the seeds we sow today.

Be hit by lightning like I was!

Extreme Bhakti – Bhama Khepa

Bhakti is love for God. It is not pale or diluted love.  It is not love felt for the one hour we sit in japa or meditation.  Nor is it a single day of love as in the Sunday or Friday or Saturday we go to the place of worship and offer prayers to God. It is love beyond reason or logic. It is illogical love and surrender to the Power of the Universe. The bhakta or lover of God sees nothing but his favourite form of God and calls out to Him in mad love. Only when man has such depths of love for God, he can go near to God. Love has to be unfathomable and deep. God seeks undivided love from us. When we are able to give ourselves to Him in such depths of surrender and love, He becomes ours at all times! Only extreme love  is the means of bringing God to us.

The lives of all saints of India and the world tell us of such extreme love and devotion to God.  Meera sang and danced in front of her Giridhar, Tukaram walked on roads calling out to Vitthala, Gora Kumbha danced in his clay and made pots invoking Panduranga and with every strand of thread that Kabir wove, he called out to Rama. We see today, an incident in the life of Bhama Khepa and his extreme love for Maa Tara of Tarapith.

Bhama Khepa was a great siddha who lived in west Bengal. He was a devout child of Maa Tara. He learnt the basics of tantra worship of Maa Tara from his father and became the temple priest after the death of his father. Though a great siddha, he used to live alone and act, talk and behave like an insane person. He was treated as a mad man by most and thought of as eccentric by those who cared for him. His devotion to Mother Tara was so much that She manifested before him and talked to him and took care of him. But because of his strange habits and behaviour, he was replaced by other priests. He left the temple and had no grudge against the priests who replaced him.

Once Bhama Khepa was at the temple of Maa Tara at night calling out to Her in love and worship. The priest could not stand the sight of the dirty man in tatters babbling out in front of the deity. He told Bhama Khepa to leave the temple but Bhama Khepa did not obey him. This enraged the priest as his authority was questioned. In those days none dared to question or disobey a Brahmin. The priest picked up a long stick and whacked Bhama Khepa’s backside  very hard. Bhama Khepa  yelped and jumped in pain. He was enraged. He looked at the Mother with anger. He said: You are the force behind the Universe. You are the doer of all actions. You give inspiration to people to think and act. This priest here is your puppet. He has no capacity to earn and eat. You give him food. You are the one who inspired him to act in this manner and hit me. I hold YOU responsible Maa Tara. You made him hit me. I was hit as if by a bolt of lightning. I curse You for what You did to me for no fault of mine. May Your temple be hit by lightning and may You know what it is to be hit by lightning like I did now!

The Mother smiled and took upon Herself the curse of Her son.  She was playing games with Her son. He understood Her play and took Her to task for it. It takes extreme bhakti to play with the Mother of the Universe and curse Her in this way and for Her to accept the curse joyfully. Even now, once each year, that temple is hit directly by a bolt of lightning.  This is an illogical phenomenon and has no rational explanation. No one can understand or fathom the Play of God or Her love for Her devotees! It is only when we develop such love for the Mother, that we can play with Her and She can play with us. The joy and bliss of such a love and play are of another plane altogether. And how easy it is to develop and increase love for Her. She has given us this body, this life, this marvelous earth to live!