STHAVAR TIRTHA JANGAM TIRTHA

"Mud mangalmay sant samaju,
Jo jag jangam teerath raju"

"Company of holy saints is like a mobile tirtha"

Baalkand, Ramcharitmanasa

"Tirath gaye se ek phal,

Sant mile phal chaar….

Sat guru mile anek phal,

Kahe kabir vichaar…"

Kabir


STHAVAR TIRTHA AND JANGAM TIRTHA

Everyone knows about TIRTHA or places of pilgrimmage. Tirtha is a physical place made holy due to its association with a saint. Every religion has them. Eastern faiths such as Hinduism, Jains, Buddhist and Sikhs all have many places of pilgrimmage. These are places which are located at a certain place and one has to physically go there to benefit from the positive vibrations that holy places have. These are called STHAVAR TIRTHA. Meaning these are fixed in one physical location.

People want to visit these places of pilgrimage in the hopes of resolving their sins and earn merit. Some people visit them to elevate themselves spiritually. Some people visit them because they want money, boons, material things etc. But not many people can go to the places of pilgrimage because either they do not know about them, they do not have time or the money or simply they are ignorant. Those who do not know about them or those who are ignorant are unfortunate. Even more unfortunate are those who know about them and have the time and the means but do not go. Those are worse than the previous group. Having known about the pilgrimage and not going for it is in excusable. At times there may be valid reasons for not be able to go on a pilgrimage, for example family responsibilities etc.

For individuals who want to go and visit Tirthas or places of pilgrimage but have a good reason for not be able to do that, another form of resource is available. SAINTS who travel from place to place. These are called JANGAM TIRTHA. Jangam menas mobile, one that does not stay at one place. Saints move from one place to another. They never stay at one location for too long. where ever they go their presence creates the same positive vibrations and effects that a STHAVAR tirtha has. By His presence a saint creates the environment, aura and vibrations which offer means to elevate oneself spiritually and experience that unconditional peace that resides within us. It is the experience of most of us that when we go and spend time in the company of a visiting saint, we feel calm and at peace. The place feels so divine and tranquil. One naturally feels like helping others, one feels motivated to do get over the bondage of the material world, it has a purifying effect on our senses, body, mind and intellect. As these are purified the true Self shines through.

Since everyone can not go physically to places of pilgrimage, one should take full advantage of any visiting saint and spend as much time as possible in His or Her company. This is also a form of Satsanga. ( company of SAT or Truth ). Not just any truth but Absolute truth. Truth that is not defined by time or place like other relative truths.

From personal example: I visited the Kerala Ashram of Amritanandmayi ( AMMA) and it felt great and had a super spiritual experience. The whole place had a special sense of calmness, tranquility, love and devotion. This was Sthavar Tirtha. I had to physically go there. I also met AMMA when she was visiting Detroit and their was a spiritual program at one of the hotels. The feeling was the same as when visiting the Ashram. Why ? Because the Saint was there and by Her presence she had transformed that hotel into a Tirtha. Even though it was a hotel but while She was there the place had all the qualities and benefits of a Tirtha. It felt great spiritually and it felt the same as when visiting the Ashram in Kerala. So this was a Jangam Tirtha, brought into existence by the visiting Saint. The place turned into a Tirtha due to the presence of a Saint.

Similar was the feeling when I was in the company of SRI SRI Ravishankar, in whose company I spent time in Texas for few days in the month of April. The place had a different feel before He arrived. After He arrived the whole place was transformed and elevated to an entirely different level, spiritually. The vibrations, the feelings of calm, tranquility and peace were hard to miss. This is another example of Jangam Tirtha created and brought into existence by a visiting Saint.

Lucky are those that can visit places of pilgrimage. but those who can not go to such places, should not despair. The visiting saints offer the same opportunities when such saints are travelling and they happen to come and visit where we are. There is a bhajan which goes like this:

“Bhag bade jahan Sant padharey
ye Santan hai bade upkari
Sharan aye ko lete ubari”

( We are very fortunate that Saints have visited us, these saints are very benevolent and generous, seek their blessings and they will save you from being drowned in this world)

"Tirath gaye se ek phal,

Sant mile phal chaar….

Sat guru mile anek phal,

Kahe kabir vichaar…"

By Kabir

CHOICES WE MAKE: OFFERING OF DEVOTION OR A TOOL FOR INDULGENCE

CHOICES WE MAKE

Three guys were going where they wanted to go.

One of them was going to the home of a prostitute for a night of indulgence.

The second one was going home to his wife and children after a days work.

The third one was going to the temple.

They all stopped at a garden and saw beautiful flowers.  One flower, a beautiful sunflower stood out with its beauty and vibrant colors.  Flower saw these three guys coming toward him and wondered who will pick him and take it to his destination.  They all asked the sunflower to come with them.  

The guy going to the prostitute said to the flower:  You will adorn the beautiful hair of his lover and be surrounded by fun, games, all kinds of luxuries and see all kinds of beautiful sights and hear beautiful sounds.   What would happen after that ? The flower asked.  Well after some time you will be no more the beautiful and fragrant as  you are now and will be thrown away in trash in the morning.  

The second guy said, I want to take you with me and give to my wife and children, they would certainly enjoy having such a beautiful flower in the house.   You will be a symbol of my love for my wife and children.   And than what ?  The flower asked.  Well after you lose your beauty you will be thrown away in trash and I will find another beautiful flower tomorrow oon my way back from work.

The third guy said, I am going to offer you to the Lord in His feet and the you  will become an offering of devotion, a symbol of my  love and devotion to the Lord.  Flower asked, and than what happens to me ?  The man said: some devotee may take  you home as a symbol of Lord’s grace  and  prasaad and keep you with him in his home shrine, even after your leaves have dried up and shrivelled he is not goingto throw you away. Whenever he would look at you, it would remind him of the Lord’s Grace.  In essence you will become a symbol of devotion and love for a long time to come, even if your petals and leaves have all dried up.  

Flower started to think.  Do I go for the luxuries and opullence of the home of  the prostitute, or shall I go the home of a householder and adorn his wife and make his kids happy ?  Either way the value of my existence is only as long as I am beautiful looking and have lot of fragrance in me.  OR should I forego all that and let the third guy take me and offer me to the Lord, where I would become a symbol of devotion and not only when I am offered to the Lord but also become a Prasaad  that a devotee would receive.  Which one of three options do I take.  Become an object of indulgence, or become and object of pleasure or become an offering of devotion to the Lord.   

I do not know which option that flower selected.

But we are given these options in our life all the time.  This life is precious.  Do we want to use it up for indulgence, or use it up for fun and pleasures or transform it to become  an offering to the Lord.  The choice is ours and only ours to make.  Here our life is the flower, each of us can be any of these three guys and we are the ones who will have to make the choice.  Do we make this flower, our life, an offering to the Lord or do we use it up for indulgence and fun.  do we offer our life to this world or do we offer it to the Lord.  What choice makes this life worthwhile and noble vs what makes it just another life in the chain of so many lives we have had.  How does my life become different from billions of other human beings on this earth. 

Next question:  what does it mean to offer this flower of life to the Lord.  Does Lord need anything ? NO.  He does not lack anything, he has everything.  He is the giver and not the taker.  so what does it mean to give this life to the Lord ? 

 Think of it this way.  A parent has two sons.  One is prosperous and well  to do.  The other one is poor and not so well to do.  Parents do not need anything.  But when the well to do son goes out and helps the not so well to do son, it makes the parent happy.  Not because parents needed anything for rthemselves. but seeing the rich son help the poor one makes the parent happy and endears the rich son to the parents all the more.  Apply  this to this  life.  Helping the poor and the unfortunate ones is the best way to offer oneself to the Lord.  Seva or selfless service to the fellow humans is the best form of worship and the best way to offer ones life flower to the Lord.  Than this flower of life will truly become an offering or a prasaad of the Lord.

SATSANG AND SPIRITUAL DISCOURSES

SATSANG AND SPIRITUAL DISCOURSES

 Often people wonder “ Why should I attend Satsang or listen to Spiritual discourses” “ What good would it do to me ?” The one who is asking this question should consider themselves very lucky that this question has arisen in them. To most people such a question does not even arise in their minds so engrossed in the worldly things. Most people don’t even have any idea that such opportunities as Satsang and discourses exist. They are going about their own merry ways until the last day of their lives. So if this question has arisen in the mind, that is a very good thing. We are inherently divine and pure but our divinity and pure nature has been obscured by the materialistic and externally oriented awareness.


For an average worldly individual, awareness is object oriented and looks for happiness in the outside world. Although the outside does provide moments of happiness, no doubt, but these are not long lasting, we all know that, but at the same time we also know that the availability of these moments or opportunities of happiness in the outside world are not in our control. We think we can control them, but we know we can not because often we see that even though we did everything like it was supposed to be, but the happy moment that we were looking for did not materialize. If the environment or the people around us are not favorable or the resources are not adequate, no matter how much we try these moments of happiness may materialize only partially or not at all.

Why we look for happiness outside ? Our true nature is that of happiness and therefore we are looking for what we truly are: “happiness” or “Ananda” But we have forgotten that there is an in-exhaustible source of happiness that lies within us. This inexhaustible source is not only within ourselves but it is also accessible any time and anywhere without being dependent on the external factors. This is a very important point to remember. It is available any where and all the time without being dependent on any thing outside. But we have forgotten this fact and we continue to look outside. Like the Kasturi Mrig ( Musk Deer), who is looking for the fragrance all over the forest not realizing that the fragrance is right within himself. Ignorance of this fact makes this Kasturi mrig go round and round everywhere looking for what is within himself.. Same is the condition of human beings. They have forgotten their true state of being, they have forgotten that the source of happiness is within. They have forgotten their true nature.


When we attend Satsang and spiritual discourses delivered by realized saints, we are able to get over our ignorance, we are able to dispel our prejudices, preconceived ideas etc and get on the path of sadhna that leads us the discover, within ourselves, what has always been there but was enveloped by the clouds of ignorance. Through these discourses and satsang we are able to see and experience our true divine and transcendent self, which is the source of unlimited happiness.

But we have also seen that many people come to the discourses and satsang but not everyone is able to get in touch with their true self and experience that true happiness. So the next important point to bring up is: How does one attend these satsangs and what is required in a sadhak so that he or she can derive the most benefit ? Scriptures say:



Shravan Manan and Nidhidhyasan:


This is the sequence to be followed to get the most from satsang. Shravan is listening, we all know that. But what kind of listening ? Just sitting there and catching a few words here and there interspersed by other random thoughts arising in a fleeting mind which is going all over the place ! No this is not the kind of listening that helps. Shravan and listening has to be with enthusiasm, concentration and intense interest. One can not be casually sitting in satsang and not paying 100% attention to the speaker. Listen with lot of interest and enthusiasm. This is the key point to remember. So you are listening with interest and enthusiasm, is that going to be enough ? No !

Shravan has to be followed by Manan or reflection on what you have heard. Even if we listen intently but as soon as we get up and leave the place and go back to our usual random mental thought patterns, what ever we have heard, no matter how useful, it will be of no benefit unless we have reflected on what we have heard. We need to ponder, analyze, reflect and think over and over again and try to get to the core message, the true message and the real intent contained in the teaching. Only when we do that continuously we will reach the next stage called Nidhidhyasan. Than we become one with the message and the messenger. We attain unity with the knowledge contained in the message. If we do not follow these three steps while attending the satsang, we will not get anywhere in our spiritual path.


Teachings contained in the spiritual discourse are like a seed. Not just an ordinary seed but a seed that, if it sprouts and grows, has the potential to completely transform ourselves. But like any other seed, this seed requires the right kind of soil, the right amount of sun, water and fertilizer and tending. We won’t just throw a seed anywhere, be it a concrete surface or poor quality soil and hope that it would grow into a healthy fruit bearing tree. Similarly simply sitting through a satsang and being give the seeds of spiritual teachings and not providing that seed a healthy supportive environment that would be most conducive to growth, than not only how many satsangs we attend, not only how many pilgrimages we take, not only how many saints we come in contact with, none of that would help that seed to grow unless we prepare the soil. That is where the teaching comes: “The teacher will appear when the student is ready” Teacher is always there throwing seeds but the soil, the student is not ready and all those seeds simply wither away.




Teachings obtained in a satsang act like a shilpi or a sculptor. Just like a sculptor starts with a stone and gradually chisels away tiny pieces of stone one little bit at a time and creates a beautiful statue, perfect in so many ways, similarly we can become a sculptor ourselves and gradually chisel away our ignorance, impurities etc using the teaching received in a satsang as a tool. Just as a statue is not created in one day and not just with one strike of the hammer and chisel, similarly the task to unleash the real us from the stone takes a sustained chiselling over a period of time. 

Sthita-Pragna and Sthira-Buddhi

Sthita-Pragna   and Sthira-Buddhi

Lord has given a great teaching as to how to easily achieve that Supreme Peace that we all are after and we deserve but do not know that it is within us but do not know that it is there in us nor we know how to find and experience it.  in chapter two and also in chapter 5, He has given us the introduction to what this peace is and how to achieve it.

Verses from Chapter 2:


O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of sense desire which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness. 2.55



One who is not disturbed in spite of the threefold miseries, who is not elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind. 2.56



One who restrains his senses and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence. 2.61



Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence. 2.68

A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego--he alone can attain real peace. 2.71

A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is to be understood as already situated in Transcendence.  5.20

Verses from chapter 5

Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure or external objects but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme. 5.21


One who is beyond duality and doubt, whose mind is engaged within, who is always busy working for the welfare of all sentient beings, and who is free from all sins, achieves liberation in the Supreme. 5.25

Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future. 5.26



What is Sthira buddhi:

Sthir buddhi is the one who does not loose his cool in adverse circumstances and also on the contrary does not get too excited in favorable environment.  There are ongoing and constant inputs being recieved through our senses and also due to the ongoing vrittis in the mind.  These can lead to disturbance in the buddhi or intellect.  For example if we are engaged in a particular action and we suddenly see something nice, the tendency is that we are distracted and our efficiency for our  task at hand diminishes.  Or if I am doing something and a thought comes to mind of some tasty food I have  had in the past, than a sthir buddhi will react differently to that vs one who is not sthir buddhi ( One could call them fickle buddhi ).  A sthir buddhi will say, yes I have this thought coming to my mind of this tasty food I had, but right now I need to focus on my task on hand and he will continue to focus on what he is doing.  But one who is not sthir buddhi ( fickle buddhi ) he will immediately start planning how  he is going to go about getting that food again and this leads to a loss of his concentration in his work.  Same can apply to heat or cold.  If the air temperature rises and it gets too hot or if the air temperature drops and it gets too cold,  we all start complaining and lose focus of what we are doing.  But a sthir buddhi will be able to see those changes as fluctuations in the physical environment and not allow them to affect his concentration  in his work.  

Our Buddhi or intellect gets misdirected primarily due to the input  through our eyes from things that we see, through our ears as we hear things, through our skin as we feel and touch things, through our tongue as we taste things, through our nose as we smell things etc.  Of course mind is an ever present entity busy with thoughts  etc that throw us off balance.  The problem is not that we do not let our senses perform their functions or our mind perform its functions.  Problem comes when we get carried away with these functions.  eyes haveto see and the ears have to hear, nothing wrong with that but not being aware that these phenomena are happening due to the vry nature of the senses, as we are influenced by these interactions, that i what causes problem.  Like lord says, like wind can sweep away a boat, similarly senses and their activities can carry away the buddhi of a person or as seeker.  

What is the benefit of being Sthirabuddhi

Being Sthir buddhi offers many benefits.  These pertain to things in this world and also  many benefits for the spiritual progress and aid in the union with the Lord.

Material benfits for this world are simple to understand.  We can relate to them easier. If my intellect is stable and does not go through wild fluctuations from moment to moment I will be able to concentrate better on my work. Better concentrtion  means be able to finish my work in less time.  So much money is spent dealing  with childhood and adult attention defecit disorders’ evaluations and tratment.  

In the spiritual realm stable intellect leads to purity of the antahkarana,  that in turn leads to experience of that peace that comes from being in contact with our true source, the atman.  when Buddhi is sthir, the vrittis of the mind subside.  when those vrittis subside, the real peace that lies within each of us, can be experienced.  

How to become Sthirabuddhi

By practicing yoga of Equanimity:  In this Yoga, the seeker discards attachment to the outcome of his actions, he is not affected by the profit or loss, gives up desires, withdraws senses from their objects,  by overcoming anger, fear and attachments.  He is compared to a tortoise who withdraws his limbs within himself similarly a seeker who sithdraws his senses to himself, is the one who is not affected by the interaction between the senses and the objects.  This is how he practices yoga of Equanimity and once established in it he is known as Sthirbuddhi or Sthita prajna.  

Like a lake which has a diamond sitting at the bottom.  This can not be seen if there is turbulence in the water.  But if the water is calm and quite, that diamond lying at the bottom of the lake is easily visible.  The true peace within us, is that diamond, it is hidden from us due to the turbulence in our mind, mind becomes turbulent due to the input from our senses.  Once the senses are quietened the turbulence in th emind subsides, when that turbulence subsides, the intellect becomes stable or sthira, that in turn allows us to see that peace within us.  Once we know how to experience that peace we can access it any time and anywhere.  It does not depend on anything outside.  No one steal it from us, no one can destroy it either.  

VIVEKA

VIVEKA

 

 It is the first step in Saadhna Chatushthaya.   Saadhana Chatushthaya includes Viveka, Vairagya, Shath-sampat, Mumukshatva.  Viveka is  considered the first and foremost requirement for the seeker who is ready to embark on the path.  It is something that needs to be there before the journey begins but it continues to  develop as the journey is progressing and when the true VIveka has been realized the goal is not far. 

  

 

 Viveka is that which helps you understand the difference between: 

 

What is Permanent or Transient

 

What is Pure and Impure

 

What is Self and Non Self

 

What is Mine and Not Mine

 

What is Truth and Non Truth

 

What will Stay and Not Stay

 

What is Real and Unreal

 

If one lacks Viveka than one will take unreal as real, take this body as permanent and beleive this body to be your real self and be driven by the desire to maintain and preserve it.  Enage in unholy and impure actions.  Will go to  extreme measures to beautify and prolong its existence.  Believe this body to be the only truth, very well seeing others die all the time, not  see that one day this body of yours will die also. Never looks back and reflects that there was a childhood but it is gone, there was youth and it is gone and there was energy of adulthood and it is going away and soon there will be onset of the inevitable old age and disease and death.  But due to the lack of Viveka, one does not see any of this and blindly keeps running after the material gains.

 

Vivekachudamani by Adi Sankara has called Viveka as the Crest Jewel of Spirituality.  Viveka is the most important faculty that a seeker needs to develop to be able to achieve realization.

 

 

He is a suicide who has somehow achieved human birth and even manhood and full knowledge of the scriptures but does not strive for self-liberation, for he destroys himself by clinging to the unreal.  verse 4
Some of the links to commentaries on Vivekachudamani:
Translation by Swami Madhavananda
http://www.celextel.org/adisankara/vivekachudamani.html
Translation by John Richards
http://www.realization.org/page/namedoc0/vc/vc_0.htm

 

 

Vaasana, Sadvaasana, Durvaasana

Vaasana, Sadvaasana, Durvaasana

Vaasana means that which exists and lives in the subconscious that drives our mental and physical actions.  Vaas means staying.  When we say there is 'Vaas' of this in here it means that thing is situated in here.  Word Niwaas which literally means home denotes where people live or  where people have their Vaas.   It is a common saying " This guy has the Vaas of Saraswati on his tongue"  meaning Saraswati lives on his tongue and  what he says, materializes. 

 

 Everything that is in the subconscious, is what has it's Vaas inside us.   Which really means all the past memories and impressions of past actions. This is easy to understand, even an illiterate person would say yes to that.

 

 How did Vaasana come to be used in a negative sensual sense ?  Because as human beings are mostly driven by the desires for  sense pleasures and because our  actions are driven by hidden tendancies, it came to be said that these sensual desires were a form of Vaasana.  The truly correct way to describe such drive for sensual pleasure should be termed " Durvaasana".  'Dur' means impure, non spiritual, wrong, sinful etc.  ( Durvaasa muni, had Vaas of lot of Dur-vaasanas in his psyche, such as getting really angry at trivial matters and giving Shraap or curses to people, he was angry at )

 

Vaasana is closely related to Samskaraas.  Samskaaras are cumulative effect of all the past experiences and actions of body, speech and mind, that we have engaged in, up until any given moment and those reside (have their  Vaas ) in our subconscious forever and they determine how we act in any given situation and moment.  so one could say that Samskaaras form the root and Vaasanas are  the offshoot from those Samskaaras resulting into actions of mind, speech and body.  

 

Sadvaasna is there:  when we are driven to perform  actions which are pure, charitable, Saatvic and  working towards God realization.

 

Durvaasana is there;   When we are driven to perform  actions which lead to  sensual pleasure, greed,are  hurtful to others and take one away from the path of God realization.

 

Because both of these are dependent on the samsaakas from previous and this life, to some extent we have limited control on these Vaasanas.  But one benefit of human life is that we do have some control on our actions ( Not 100% ), therefore we have the opportunity to input good Samsaakaras in our subconscious and with constant effort we can gradually increase the proportion of good Samsaakaras that have a Vaas in our subconscious, which in turn either later in this life or in the next life will give rise to more Sadvaasanas than Durvaasanas.

SPIRITUALITY ! WHY ?

Spirituality !  why ?

 

When we look around we see lot of people who are not spiritual or religious who are having a great time, they are having the time of their lives.  Makes one wonder if it really is of any use to be spiritual or even try to be spiritual.  When someone who is spiritual and he or she is talking to someone who is not, this is the common questions and it makes sense.  If someone telle me that I will go to heaven if I live my life in spirituality or if someone tells me I will have a better life next time, than all that is something that someone is promising me in the future.  Especially if it is  being promised in a future which no one can verify,.  There is no way for me to make sure what I am being promised is going to be delivered because no one who dies and goes to heaven is able to come back and report what is out there.  Although the religious leaders, saints, swamis etc will say that they have experienced what it is on the other side to some extent.  But than we have to take their word for it. 

 

So to be able ot convince me to be religious or spiritual the benefits have to start here in this life, now at this time.  Not in the next tlifwe and not in the future life.  No one has seen any of that future stuff.

 

So what are the benefits of being spiritual in this life:

 

You will begin to see a change in the way you handle things:  You won't over react to the situations.  Not that adverse things won't happen to you  or to your loved ones.  But the difference would be that you will bounce back much faster and the events will not leave  a long lasting mark on your psyche or personality.  In contrast the reaction previously where the mark left by an adverse experience could be like a line drawn on stone, to stay there forever, now the it is like a line drawn on water.  IT goes away much faster and you get back to your life faster.  How does this help ?  You won't be boiling inside for days and months.  Boiling for days and months inside means lot of ill effects on your health.  High  blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease to name a few.  So if you are not boiling inside forever and you do not get any of these health problems, is that not a benefit here and now ?  You do not need to wait for a future life to reap the benefits of spirituality.  Not only you are the recipient of these health benefits, your family and friends will be also spared the ill effects of your anger which otherwise would have lasted for days and months.  So you will have a healthier family and friend circle.

 

You will also be able to be and stay happy spontaneously.  What does that mean ?  Most of the time we are happy because we  possess an object or we are in a situation of our liking and we are happy.  But it is a common observation that those objects and situations are not everlasting.  Sooner or later they change to the worse and if we are dependent on them for our happiness than what happers ? we become unhappy again.  But if we are spiritually trained we still enjoy the pleasant in the objects and situations but more so we are able to get in touch with an infinite source of happiness that lies within us.  Spirituality trains us to be able to tap into that source of happiness that can be had anywhere we are.  It does not depend on anything outside.  We can tap into it Any time and any where and as much as we want.

 

One could also say that a spiritual person gains wisdom to see  the transient nature of things and situations and he is prepared for them to end any time.  So the degree of attachment he would feel to those situations and objects would be moderated by the wisdom he possesses.  He will enjoy while the object is there but accept the absence of the object when it is not there.

 

Combination of all of the above gives us a form of peace and tranquility that can not be had any other ways.  It will show on our face and how we interact with other people, it will reflect in how we use the natural resources or for that matter any other resources.  It will reflect in how we interact with other living beings in general, not just with other human beings.

 

Some of the qualities of the Spiritual person are as follows:

 

Will have compassion and be kind to others including all living beings, not just human beings

 

Will be naturally happy and tranquil

Gita Chapter 18

Gita Chapter 18

This chapter summarises many key concepts propounded in the first 17 chapters.  Sort of a recap of the main principles:  What is karma yoga, what are the three qualities of nature and their relevance to what we do and how we do,  waht is best way to realize The Lord.

Karma Yoga as explained in Chapter 18:

One could be a Sanyasi and a Tyagi ( renouncer ) while at the same time being  engaged in action.  How ?  If you are not attached to the outcome and the fruits of your actions than even though you may be busy performing actions, you are a Sanyasi and Tyagi.  But if you have left the home but are performing what appears to be religious and spiritual actions but are doing them with attachment to your ashram or matha, than you may appear to be a Sanyasi, but you are not.  It is seen that someone may have become a sanyasi but now is very attached to  his asgram or congregation and the whole arrangement that goes with it.  They are namesake sanyasis only.

 If someone has given up action due to some delusion or due to being afraind of discomfort, than that type of renunciation is Raajasic/Taamsic renunciation and has no spiritual benefit to the seeker.

Often we feel we are causing the actions to happen,  But truly we have very little control on what is happening.  Five factors that determine what happens are :  who is acting to perform, where is he situated ( the place ), what tools he has at his disposal, what kind of effort he is making and the fifth but most important  being the sanskaras, the impressions from all the experiences from our previous lives and this life.  It is easy to see how these would influence the outcome.  Often we make the best effort but our tools do not perform like we expected, or we have the right tools but we do not make the effort required, or we have the right place, right tools, right motivation but the doer is week and incapable.  even when all these are fit, things may not go as we expect them to be and that is when the predetermined sanskaras or Divine will has played a role to cause the outcome to be other than what expected.

Knowledge that gives us the vision where we see Him in everything and see everything in Him only is considerd Saatvic knowledge.   That is the most desirable and tru knowledge.  But if we see everything in this world as a separate entity and we do not see the unity in this existence, it is Raajsic knowledge.  But for someone who is entirely self centerd on himself only than that knowledge is Taamsic knowledge.  so one can see the progression from Saatvic where a unity is seen in everything, it is saatvic from one extreme to the other extreme where a taamsic person only thinks of himself and nothing else.

Similarly examples are given of who is the Saatvic doer, raajasic doer, Taamsic doer.  Same thing applies to the inteligence,  resolve, pleasures and happiness.  Lord gives examples of how each of these can be saatvic, raajsic or taamsic.  Finally He states that there is nothing in this creation which is not characterized by one of these three gunas of prakriti.  ( The seeker may ask the question: so what does it mean for me ?  The answer is given in chapter 14 where Lord advises:  See yourself to be separate from these and not be influenced by the interpaly and interaction of these gunas )

Verses 41 - 48 introduce how one can achieve God Realization.  Lord describes the duties of all four varnas of the society.  some of these appear to be superior to others.  But Lord emphasizes that no task or duty is inferior to others and one should not think that my duty is inferior to the other person's duty.  As long as one performs his duties with full devotion to Lord and with all the qualities described earlier in the chapter, he will, no doubt, achieve God Realization.

From verse 50 thru 59 Lord is describing who and how one unites with The Lord.  he is describing the qualities of the right kind of seeker.These include:  sense control, self discipline,  established in dispassion, consumes very little, avoids crowded palces, firmly established in yoga etc.  Such a seeker gets established in the Para Bhakti ( supreme devotion ).  Once he is established in such supreme bhakti he is becomes qualified to truly know what od is, and once he truly knows what God is, he is able to unite with The Lord.  Once he is established in The Lord, than he is still able to perform all the actions but at the same time not be affected by them.  To the outside world he may be appear to be acting performing but he is completely free of any binding effects of these actions because he has offered all these to The Lord.

Most important verses of this chapter;

Verse 65:

Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.

Verse 66:

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear. Finally arjuna accepts the knowledge givenby The Lord and he says: Arjuna said, My dear Krishna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy, and I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions. Sanjaya says the concluding verse: Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.

PurportFFiFf

Gita Chapter 17

Gita Chapter 17

Lord discusses the concept of  The Good ( Saatvic ),  The Bad ( Rajasic )  and The Ungly ( Tamasic)

If we do not understand these concepts and how they apply to what  ever action we do, material or spiritual, than the results of those acttons could be very good or could be very dangerous.  Even actions that appear t to be good such as Charity, Penance and Pooja etc, if done with  a certain mindset, can have good or bad outcomes. 

any given human being behaves according to his Swabhava, innate nature or tendancies.  These inturn depend on Sanskaras which in turn depend on the past Karmas.  Based on these Swabhavas, human beings can be classified in three main groups:

Saatvic  ( The good )
Rajasic  ( The Bad )
Taamasic ( The Ugly or really Bad )

Each category of individual will have certain way of acting and doing things.  This is what the main teaching is of chapter 17 of Bhagwadgita. 

Saatvic Person:   Will like food which  promotes longevity, happiness, cheerfulness, easy to digest  and promotes a calm mind.  He will follow the scriptures and will not engage in poojas which are done with a motive to hurt others.  He performs pooja as a matter of his duty.  He gives charity to the well qualified  recipient  at the right time and at the right place.  He honors the learned, and practices control on his senses, body and mind.  He performs charity and yajna without any expectations of any returns.

Raajasic person:  Will like food which is bitter, sour, salty,  hard to digest and food which promotes ill health.  He engages in severe penance causing pain and suffering to the body and the ONE residing inside him ( The Paramatma ).  He performs poojas and yajnas with a desire for recognition and fame.  His religious actions are prompted by desire for fruits.  He practices charity unwillingly and  with the hope of gaining fame and popularity. 

Taamasic Person:  He likes food which smells, poorly cooked, impure and polluted.  He engages in poojas and yajnas without following the proper methods and his religious actions are driven with the desire to harm others.  when he gives charity, it is to those who do not deserve it and he does it insultingly to the wrongful recipient in wrong place and time.

On a separate note Lord refers to OM TAT SAT.  He explains what these are and how these are applied.

OM represents the LORD as the  primordial sound, the very first manifestation of The Lord, in the form of sound.  Because OM was the firs manifestation of The Lord, whenevr the learned start anything auspicious they chant OM to recognize that OM came before the rest of the craetion did.  and also the sound of OM is the closes one can come to the Lord

TAT represents the LORD as 'that'  without specifying what is 'That', because one can not define what 'That' is.  Encompasses everything there is. " I am offering all my actions to That" is the feeling when one chants 'That'.  In this way one offers everything to The Lord. 

SAT represents the LORD as the Truth, Praiseworthy, auspicious and underlying all spiritual actions. So to denote something as pure or praiseworthy we place SAT before that. For example we say Satnaam, denoting purity or Godliness in the name.  or we say Satkaarya, meaning purity or  Godliness in actions.  or we say Satsanga denoting purity or Godliness in the company and so on and so forth.

 Lord is the Absolute Truth (SAT) , not  subject to time or place.  Everything else is a relative truth, being subject to and defined by time and place.  Everything we can sense with our sense organs and mind is true now and here but it was not true in the distant past and will not be true in the distant future.  What we sense is only true at a certain place only for a short time.  On the contrary Lord always was , is and will be and He is everywhere at the same time.  Therfore He is the Absolute Truth or SAT in the true sense.

ओम् तत् सत्

Gita Chapter 16

Gita Chapter 16
Key verse:

Daivi tendancies or Sampada leads to release from bondage
Aasuri  tendancies  or Sampada  leads to bondage

The transcendental (Daivi ) qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demoniac ( Asuri ) qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pandu, for you are born with the divine qualities.

Cause of Aasuri Sampada being dominant:

Kama ( desire ), Krodha ( anger ) and Lobha ( greed ) These are the three main perpetrators that promote  the development of Asuri assets.

There are three gates leading to this hell--desire, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.

Effects of Asuri tendancies:

Not only constantly going around the cycle of birth and death, but also being destined to be born and suffering through   the worst forms of Naraka and degraded life forms.  

Solution:

Study and follow what the scriptures say.  When you are not sure what your duty should be, look at what the Shastra ( scripture) says.  If one studied and   acted according to the teachings in the scriptures  he will attain real knowledge, peace, realization and ultimately reunion with  God.

One should understand what is duty and what is not duty by the regulations of the scriptures. Knowing such rules and regulations, one should act so that he may gradually be elevated.

There are lot of details in the chapter regarding what Daivi qualities are and what Asuri qualities are. 

Divi qualities:  Verses   1 - 3

Fearlessness, Charity, Study of scriptures, staying resolute through difficulties in the spiritual path, non violence, compassion  to name a few.  Reader may look through these in the full text.

Asuri qualities:  Verses    4,  7 - 19

Arrogance, pride, anger, not knowing waht is right or wrong,  engaging in wrongful actions in mind, body and speech, hurting others,  full of unending desires and going to any length for the fulfilment of those desires. victim of lust and anger, ruthless pursuit of  material gains etc.  Even when they appear to be performing religious activities those activities are done with arrogance.  These are only a few of the Asuric tendancies.

Bottomline:

Study and live according to the scriptures.   Be good and do good.  If one does that, than he/she will be freed from this cycle of birth and death.  Even if not freed from the cycle of birth and death, good deeds will give us birth in good families while if we engaged in bad deeds ( Asuric) than we are bound to be born in Naraka and would have to go through suffering.

Gita Chapter 15

Gita hapter 15

Key Point:

Lord is the basis of everyhing, everything originates from Him, He is beyond what we see, He illuminates everything, what we see is perishable, Lord is imperishable, He could be realized by those Pure hearted Gyanis who are free of ego, attachment, desires and who are free from the duality of love-hatred, hot-cold etc.  once seeker has come to His abode than he is freed from this cycle of birth and death.

Simile of a tree is used to describe this creation.  Lord being the root of this tree.  Everything including Brahma springs from Him.  The interaction of Jivatma and three gunas of Prakriti along with the senses, mind etc creates this ongoing play that we call the Tree of the  world.  The Jivatma stays bound by this never ending cycle.  The ignorant ones who do not see this, keep going back and forth between birth and death.  Only the ones with the qualities described above are able to see this play with the help of  this wisdom.

Even though Jivatma is considered immortal but Lord is beyond that Jivatma as well.  Knowing Jivatma is not good enough.  One has to know The One that is not only beyond the apparent physical structure or body, but the one which is beyond Jivatma as well.   He is the source of all knowledge, He is before and after everything perishable and imperishable, He is the light of the Sun and Moon, He is the sustainer of all living entities, He is the One who just  IS ! ( has been, is and will be, He is not subject to the definition of past, present and future ).

Such a  One who is  beyond Sharira and  Jivatma  has been called Parameshvar, Paramatma and Purushottam.  He is the One that should be known.  Once He is known and realized than there is no more any birth or death.

Gita Chapter 14

Gita Chapter 14

Key Points:

Lord elaborates some of the key points from Chapter 13.  The concept of creation having come to existence due to the combination of the impure Prakriti and the pure Atman or jiva.  Also He provides a method as to how the seeker cam free himself from this bondage.
Jiva or the life form comes from, and is part of God or Brahman (not to be confused with Brahma, a member of the trinity)
Material  world is part of Prakriti.
Placement of Jivansh by Brahman or God in the Prakriti is the basis of the creation of 84 lakh species, Human being one of them
Jiva  being an ansh of God is inherently pure while material being part of Prakriti is impure
Association of Pure  Jiva with the impure  material prakriti and jiva not remembering it’s true nature leads to Jiva going through lot of suffering not only in this life but in the future lives as well.
Prakriti has 3 properties or qualities: ( The good, the bad and the ugly )
               Sattvic:    The ‘good’  leaning to Knowledge, light and calmness
               Rajasic     The ‘bad’  leaning to action, dynamism, selfishness
               Tamasic    The ‘ugly’   Destructive, negative,  driven by ignorance

Sattvic qualities are characterized by inclination to knowledge, spiritual practices, mental tranquility.
Rajas qualities are characterized by action, dynamism, enjoyment of the financial and material prosperity.
Tamas qualities are characterized by ignorance, not realizing who we truly are, engaging in intoxication, crimes and selfishness.
When Jiva identifies itself with these qualities it  is subject to the effects  of these qualities.  
This association also leads to the bondage of the Jiva in this life and due to the association with these qualities and the effect of these qualities it is destined to be born in a future life of Sattva, Rajas or Tamas.  Even though it would appear that Sattva is a great  quality to have and that is true relative to the Rajas and Tamas, but Sattva being a quality of Prakriti, nevertheless, it is still a form of bondage because it is not a quality of Brahman or God.


When a person is inclined to spiritual pursuits it is said that Sattva is dominant
When a person is driven by action and dynamism and life’s material enjoyments, it is said that Rajas is dominant
When a person is living a life of intoxication, crime, greed and selfishness and harming others, it is said that Tamas is dominant.
In a given person’s life at one time or the other  one of these three are dominant and the the proportion of these three is constantly changing.  So that we will see that the same individual behaves in a Sattvic manner at one time while at other times it behaves in a Raajasic or  Tamasic manner.  Often not knowing that his behavior is being determined by one of these qualities.
Our goal  should be to be able to  understand that my true nature is pure and divine and I am not part of the prakriti.  Therefore when  in me or around me when I see the effect of one of these qualities, I should not be perturbed and strive to continuously abide in my true self.  If I am able  see myself to be separate from these qualities, than I am able to get in touch my true nature and that is where the unlimited peace, tranquility and happiness is.  In other words I am able to reunite with the Supreme, from where I originated to begin with.

Gita Chapter 13

Gita chapter 13

Key points:

Kshetra same as the physcial body comprising of several components.

Kshetrajna  is the knower.  The ultimate knower being the Lord Himself

Knowing these facts is true knowledge.  Seeing the true nature of this kshetra and Kshatrajna would allow the seer to  separate himself from this and free himself from the impurities that come with the identification with the kshetra.

After describing the kshetra Lord describes the nature of Kshetrajna or the knower of the kshetra.  Lord says this knower is Me only.  He is everywhere, knows everything, even though it pervades teh body, senses, mind,

Kshetra has many components and characteristics some of them are good qualities whereas many others are really defects and impurities

Kshatrajna ( The Lord ) pervades everything and makes evrything happen but is not affected by the actions of what He pervades.  One example would be that of electricity.  Electricity is present in various different appliances.  Electricity is the same but what action takes place varies from appliance to appliance depending on the components and parts of the appliance.  How appliance behaves has no effect on the electricity.  Similarly Atman pervades and powers everything, without Atman nothing will sustain but each object has it's own nature due to different combinations of Prakriti's Gunas, Sattva, Rajsa, Tamas.  This is not a perfect example, because at the Atman and object level, ulimately even the object is only a modification of the Atman in one sense.  But on the other hand appliance is not made up of electricity.  While the object at a very deeper level is comprised of Atman only.  But I am giving this example to create an understanding at a very gross level.  Ultimately Vasudeva Sarvam Iti  is the ultimate truth.  Understanding this and knowing this is the True Knowledge.

There are several components to what this knowledge is:

Seeing the impermanence in the objects of nature vs  permanence of the Atman

The creation comprises of the union of the permanent ( Kshatrajna or the Lord ) and the impermanent. ( Prakriti )

Atman and paramatman is the same.  Lord is uniformly situated and makes up the essence of everything.

He (Lord ) is the creator, sustainer and destroyer of everything

He is the knowledge, knower and to be known

He illunminates everything, He only appears to be divided but He really uniformly pervades everything.

Lord is not the doer of what happens, Prakriti  is the doer.  Seeing the permanent ( Lord ) as the basis of and underlying all the impermanent, is true knowledge.

Particularly important verses which deliver the key message of Chapter 13 are:

O chief of the Bharatas, whatever you see in existence, both moving and unmoving, is only the combination of the field of activities and the knower of the field.

One who sees the Supersoul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies, and who understands that neither the soul nor the Supersoul is ever destroyed, actually sees.

One who can see that all activities are performed by the body, which is created of material nature, and sees that the self does nothing, actually sees.