Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Welcome to e-Sri Sanai, Janmashtami, 2009


by Sri Sandip Dasgupta
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Welcome to the Janamashtami issue of e-Sri Sanai. This is the holy day when Sri Krishna took birth as a Poorna Avatar. He descended upon this planet to set Dharma onto a firm footing and also to spread the message of Universal love, based on Premleela (Love-game) with His devotee lovers.

We have had the good fortune of coming in contact with Sri Sri Babathakur and His unique message of “All Divine for All Time as It Is”. Let us try to study this in slightly greater detail.

Since every individual or object in this universe is a manifestation of the same all-pervading Brahman/I-Absolute, He emphatically declares that everybody and everything in this world is “All Divine”. If we keep this in our mind always, the differences we have even with our strongest foes will disappear. So please keep that in mind when you harbor ill-feelings against anybody in the future - be it at work, at home, on the streets, or even at the shopping malls.

Sri Babathakur further emphasizes that this I-Absolute always remains unchanged with the passage of time. Men and women may come and go from this earth, but the substratum behind them always remains the same. This is similar to the case of the electric current which despite producing different effects when flowing through different electrical objects, in essence remains the same. When flowing through a bulb, electricity produces light. When flowing through a kettle, it produces heat. When flowing through a refrigerator, the same electricity cools the objects inside. The various forms of life in this universe are mere expressions of the same I-Absolute and the relationships between these forms are temporary. The only permanent relationship is the one between I-Absolute and the individual forms. When Sri Sri Babathakur says “All Divine for all time” - He is saying that essentially we are all Divine, and we shall remain Divine with the passage of time.

Lastly Sri Sri Babathakur also points out that the Divine nature of I-Absolute (and hence that of all of us) does not get altered at all. As one traverses through space, the nature of the Divine remains the same. As time passes, the Divine does not change. Since the nature of the Divine (which is the essence of all of us) does not change from one life form to another, does not mutate with time or space, It is absolutely homogeneous. Thus if there is sameness amongst everybody, then there is no reason to have differences amongst the various life forms. This is indeed the message of universal love - whereby one must love everybody, all the time.

On this holy occasion, I am happy to announce that the “Saccidananda Society USA Chapter” has begun functioning as an “Unincorporated Association” as of June 28, 2009. Sri Subir Purkayastha was personally present to guide us through the formation of the chapter, the drafting of its constitution and the formulation of its bye-laws. We are currently in the process of obtaining tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Services in the USA. We are also happy to inform readers that we are in the advanced stages of registering the “Saccidananda Society Canada Chapter” as a charitable organization in Canada.

GURUVANI


"The goal of Brahma/ Atma-Vidya is not the knowledge of dualism of the creator and creation, subject and object, but the realization of the illusoriness of the sense- perceived world, and the Oneness of Jiva, Brahman and the Universe. But a man who is under the spell of ignorance cannot directly experience this Oneness. He is deluded by the object as names and forms of creation. He cannot deny the actuality of phenomena. As long as he remains ignorant, the world is real to him and so are its pair of opposites such as good and evil, real and unreal, joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, righteousness and unrighteousness etc. These pairs of opposites directly support the relative existence and maintain that. The sense of duality is the hindrance to the 'Knowledge of Non Duality'. Only a highly qualified spiritual aspirant is able to conceive the Impersonal Absolute and meditate on It. Be pure in mind and intellect and free from desires, he alone can seek Brahman / Atman and realize 'That' directly by meditation, while the rest, the approach to the Impersonal Reality lies through the Personal God. This Personal God is the Lord of the Universe, Ishwara, the Omniscient Divine personality. Therefore, the worship of Ishwara or the Personal God is recommended by the theist at the beginning of spiritual life. Worship, prayer and devotion (love) enable a beginner to fix his mind on God and strengthen his power of concentration. Ordinary man considers himself as a psychophysical being conditioned and limited by body, mind and ego. As long as he regards himself as such he is unable to be fully aware of Atman or Pure Spirit as his True Self, so he cannot effectively meditate or contemplate on Impersonal Reality. As he is conscious of his many weaknesses and limitations he feels the need of prayer and other external supports. As not being of desire free nature and given to duality he worships the Personal God for protection, guidance and grace. Though in the end the worshipper realizes that both he and the Personal God are non-different, being manifestations of Brahman, yet as long as he is conscious of his individuality and retains even a trace of his ego, the distinction between himself and the Personal god holds good, and the latter is to be regarded as as the Highest Reality in the relative plane. From the sense of duality the standpoint of name and form a toy lion and a toy ship, though both made of clay, cannot be identical; similarly from the relative standpoint a man and the Personal God though both are admitted by the non-dualists to be manifestation of Brahman, cannot be identical. But the same lion and ship reduced to clay lose their difference; likewise, the man and the Personal God reduced to their Ultimate Cause, Pure Atman or Brahman, lose their differences. For men, victims of ignorance, that is for men of duality there is need of prayer and worship."

“Manam oru Kurangu...”


Smt. Latha Subramanium
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“Manam oru Kurangu...” is a song I often heard while growing up in Chennai in the seventies. The songs says that the mind is a monkey. It was probably written even before I was born. Yet, I wonder how the poet/singer could describe my mind so precisely. My mind is indeed a monkey! Some days, it is like a monkey on many cups of mocha. Thoughts come and go so rapidly. My mind leads me to the past. It can race back several decades in a few seconds, and leaves me exhausted with anger and sorrow. It can also zoom forward into the future and leave my heart pounding with fear and anxiety. My body stays in the present, but the mind that travels through time makes my body feel the ravages of time travel!

In addition to this overactive mind, I have always felt this intense thirst, a longing, a craving, an undefined yearning for something. I never felt complete. School, college, family, work did not fill this void. Clothes, jewelry, movies made me more miserable. I found myself strolling through library aisles, searching for the missing piece that was going to make me complete. The library introduced me to Zen Buddhism. I started reading books written by many great Buddhist monks. My readings gave me more insight into the workings of my mind. “Living in the present,” is a concept I understood through my intellect, but could never adhere to it.

Then by God’s grace, a teacher entered my life. While my children attended Balavihar classes conducted by the Chinmaya Mission, I started attending lectures on the Gita. I would sit at the very back of the lecture hall. Initially I wouldn’t even be sure about making it through the entire one hour of Swamiji’s discourse on “Bhagavad Gita”. However a miracle happened. I begun sitting through the lecture completely absorbed. The first chapter of the Bhagwad Gita talks about Arjuna's grief. I somehow could relate to him and my heart went out to Arjuna. I started attending the lectures regularly in the hope of finding peace for Arjuna. Over a couple of years, Swamiji's brilliant lectures made me see myself as Arjuna, and I started looking forward to Sunday morning sessions with my guide and friend , Lord Krishna. The Gita slowly guided me to other texts like Chandogya Upanishad, Tattva Viveka, and Upadesha Saram. When Swamiji chants the verses in Sanskrit, a feeling of nostalgia settles within me. I always have this feeling that I have heard it before and it fills me with a strange calmness. Bhajans, chanting sholkas, reading the scriptures, thinking and reflecting on them has helped me anchor my mind for a few minutes every day. Now, meditation seems to come more naturally to me. I train myself to remain in the “present” through these brief periods of the day, hoping that this will slowly enable me to stay absorbed in whatever I am doing through the day.

My mind continues to be a “monkey.” But a shift has occurred. I am able to observe and witness the antics of my mind. I must confess that sometimes I find it pretty funny. I have also learnt that the repertoire of thoughts that goes through my mind is limited, quite predictable and repetitive. The feeling of emptiness gets filled with fleeting moments of “mindfulness,” when my mind and body are completely synchronized.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Getting lost at Vaishnodevi


by Sri Siddhartha Dasgupta and Sri Sandip Dasgupta
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In June 2006, during our annual trip to India, my family decided to go to Vaishnodevi.

An Introduction to Vaishnodevi:

Vaishnodevi is a famous place of worship in India, located on a hill in the state of Kashmir. The temple is situated at an altitude of 6600 feet above sea level. Millions of devotees visit Mata Vaishnodevi’s temple every year. It is said that one gets to go to Vaishnodevi temple only when the Mother beckons you (“Mata Ka Bulava” as they say in Hindi). My parents had been desirous of visiting the temple for a few years – but it hadn’t materialized until the summer of 2006.

The pilgrimage starts from the bottom of the hill in a place called Katra. Most people hike from Katra to Vaishnodevi - however a few go on horseback or in a helicopter. There is a “structured” walkway to reach the shrine, but there are also steep steps to take as “shortcuts”. Thousands of people can be seen hiking to the temple and back - all throughout the day and night. The hike is 14.5 kms long and takes about 4 hours without stopping.

A special ticket to enter the temple is needed. One has to purchase the ticket at the basecamp in Katra. The ticket is checked at a couple of places on the way to Vaishnodevi. Once you reach the destination, a special line is formed for people to enter the temple. Entry to the temple is based on group numbers assigned to an individual. More details can be found from the following website:
https://www.maavaishnodevi.org/new1/index.html

The story of my experiences of visiting Vaishnodevi:

We decided to visit Vaishnodevi as a group of seven consisting of:
• My grandmother
• My parents
• Sunetra Aunty and her daughter Dolly
• My brother (Raja) and I

We left Delhi by train on June 28, 2006 before sunrise. After arriving in Jammu, we rented a car to reach Katra. We reached Katra around 5pm and decided to begin our journey immediately. Our plan was to hike throughout the night so as to beat the heat of summer at Katra.

Some people in our travelling group bought “walking sticks” at Katra to help them hike up to Vaishnodevi. I had chosen not to use a stick to help me climb the hill. My father had engaged a porter who would help us carry our luggage up the hill. The porters began hiking at a much faster pace than us. My brother was trying to keep pace with them. My father and I decided to increase our pace too. It was still very hot and humid. I could not keep up with the pace as my stomach started hurting. My father advised me to “walk at my own pace”.

The weather remained very hot and humid. As I was walking up, I found many staircases which were meant to serve as shortcuts to the shrine. So, I took most of the shortcuts and arrived at the top quickly - meaning, I arrived at the top earlier than anyone else in our travelling group! I didn’t know what to do – whether I should go to the Darshan line or go to the Guest House. All the signs were in Hindi, which I can neither read nor understand. All the people around me were speaking in Hindi!

I walked a little bit back down in hopes of spotting someone from our group, yet I couldn’t see anyone. I then walked back up & contemplated over my situation for a while. After pondering for a bit, I decided to just go for the Darshan. Upon arriving at the Darshan entrance, I asked the ticket taker/Darshan Guard if “Sandip Dasgupta had arrived at this place?” However he didn’t seem to understand much English and spoke only in Hindi. Both of us were confused, kept staring at each other while the devotees walked past us for their Darshan.

After a while, I went to the Darshan entrance again and asked, “Has Sandip Dasgupta entered here?” Finally, the guard put me into some Darshan line (which my parents reckon was some sort of a “VIP Darshan Line”!). I did the Darshan and came out with Prasad & a red mark on my forehead. I then walked back to our guest house – where we had a booking to stay for two nights or so. At that point of time, it was the early morning of June 29th, 2006, before sunrise. I had thus completed my journey to the top and Darshan without a bite to eat and without a drop of liquid!
I asked for my father’s name at the guest house and they confirmed that my father had a booking there. But they could not give me a room because my father had to first pay the money for the room. I decided to wait in the lobby of the guest house.

Suddenly, my mother & brother found me at 4am on June 29th 2006. They had all assumed that “I WAS LOST!!!”. They were overjoyed to see me. My father was then informed by the security folks that I had been “found”. Gradually all the other members of our group were informed and we were all happily united together. Now I was the experienced person in the group and I led them all to the temple for Mata’s darshan.

The parents’ side of the story – by Sandip Dasgupta

When I told Siddhartha that he could walk at his own pace, I had always assumed that he would be walking slower than us. The pathway to Vaishnodevi is very well structured – no forks or merges. Since my wife, mother, Sunetra and Dolly were walking at a slower pace, Siddhartha would always be in between Raja and myself. After walking for about an hour, we found that foot traffic had been stopped because of a landslide. So, we decided to stop and wait for the other members of our group. After about 45 minutes, we spotted the rest of our group members except for Siddhartha.

My heart started skipping beats and my wife became very nervous too. We approached the security booth and they offered to send out an alert to all their posts. They also began making announcements – but in Hindi. They also allowed me to make announcements in Bengali. My wife and I decided to go back to the basecamp in Katra on horseback to retrace the path and see if Siddhartha was to be found anywhere on the way. We knew he did not have any money, we knew he did not know Hindi and we all were feeling the extreme heat – so we were trying to imagine his situation, lost in a completely unknown place. We were unsuccessful in finding Siddhartha.

We lodged a formal complaint with the police and decided to climb up to meet the rest of our group members. We got tremendous support from the porters, the horse owners, the security men and the police. They all emphasized the fact that nobody had ever got lost at Vaishnodevi. Even a two year old who had got lost at one time was apparently found at the temple! They simply asked us to keep faith, not lose sight of our objectives and continue our journey to the temple. They insisted that we would certainly find him. Just as we began to gather our courage, we found out that three humans and five horses had died in the landslide. The dead bodies were carried away in front of us. That made us even more anxious.

We mustered the courage to restart our journey up the hill as advised by everybody around us. Suddenly we came to a fork. We decided to break up into two groups and proceed on two different paths to the temple. This would allow us to look for Siddhartha in a methodical way. The two porters told us where to meet at the top. The two subgroups were now accompanied by a porter each as a guide. Sharmila and Raja decided to go on horseback. The rest of us decided to walk. Since my mother has difficulty walking, I had asked her to climb very slowly. I began rushing up the hill with the hope of finding Siddhartha. My mind was also thinking of next steps if we were unsuccessful in finding him amongst the thousands of people that were streaming past us.

One thing that was common amongst all the devotees – they were chanting “Jai Mata Di” all through the journey and I wasn’t. So, I decided to start the same too. A hailstorm began – but that did not deter me. I kept climbing the hill and arrived at the meeting point – hoping to find Siddhartha or at least Sharmila and Raja. They were expected to reach faster because they had decided to ride on a horseback. When I did not find any of them, I was really worried. I had now lost touch with three of my family members.

Suddenly I heard my name being announced on the PA system. I was being asked to report at the nearest security station. As soon as I identified myself, they gave me the news that Siddhartha had been found and that he was at Gauri Bhawan, the hotel I had booked. My joy knew no bounds. I rushed towards Gauri Bhawan. On the way, the various horse owners and porters who had seen my plight throughout the night came up to me and gave me the good news too. I was touched to see how personally they got involved in helping me – God bless them is what I instantly wished. I found Siddhartha, Raja and Sharmila happily chatting. I checked them into the room and rushed back to give the news to Sunetra and Dolly. Then I rushed down to find my mother and gave her the good news. She had only reached halfway to the top of the hill. She had been struck by a boulder during the hailstorm and had fallen down. However, she had managed to get up and continue the pilgrimage.

After checking into the hotel, we took a shower and decided to go for the Darshan immediately as the lines were quite short. This time the experienced pilgrim in the form of Siddhartha was guiding us to the temple. We had a beautiful but hurried Darshan. Soon after that we began to feel extremely hungry as we had not eaten for over 15 hours.

My conclusion – Siddhartha Dasgupta

We ate lunch at a restaurant, which my mother thought was the “DIRTIEST” restaurant she EVER SAW! However, we all (except for my mother) ate bowls of “CHHOLE” and freshly fried Bhaturas. Our stomachs survived the food.

My conclusion – Sandip Dasgupta

The Cholle Bhature was indeed great in taste and freshness. We decided to skip the two nights of stay we had planned at Vaishnodevi and head back to Katra immediately. On the way back I saw that there were steep stairs down all the way to Katra. It was these staircases that Siddhartha had climbed up as a shortcut – I guess he took full freedom of my statement, “Walk at your own pace”.

Sri Sri Babathakur's Advice


by Prof. R.C. Shastri
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On 2nd of June 1975, I went to Banidi’s (Smt.Bani Chakraborty) residence along with my son Krishna to have the Darshan of Sri Sri Babathakur.

Sri Sri Babathakur always received any one who came to have His Darshan with so much love, that it is indeed difficult to describe so in words. Quite simply put, we find in His life the manifestation and the demonstration of what He always tells us: “Akhanda Bodhe Mene Maaniye Cholo” - that is, accept all as verily the Divine. He is Love personified.

We were sitting in front of Him. It is Sri Sri Babathakur who usually starts the conversation enquiring about mundane matters. However in no time, He takes us on to an entirely different plane. Of course this expression of taking off from one plane to the other is from our (His bhaktas') stand point.

I almost complained to Sri Sri Babathakur that Krishna was not practicing to sit straight and was not doing things with attention. Sri Sri Babathakur then told Krishna to try the following. Though this instruction was meant for Krishna, it holds good for all of us. “Sit straight with the spine erect. Start from the base of the spinal column and move up slowly in steps, mentally, counting from 1 to reach the crown of the head (sahasrara) by 100. Then move down from the crown of the head towards the base of the spinal column by the same steps slowly counting down from 100 to 1. With this practise concentration develops, and you can study well with proper understanding. One reading is enough for you to remember anything you read. Whatever you will can be done, as the will power increases enormously. Only that much can be said for the present. After one settles down and the timing in steps to go up and down is perfected, numbering may be replaced by a mantra, OM or simply MA.”

On another occasion Sri Sri Babathakur told us about another useful practise that helps boost the mental faculties enormously. One has to choose some good piece of literature. Start remembering by heart say, just 4 lines a day. This can continue for a week, for 15 days or even for a month. Then for the next cycle of week or fortnight or a month (whatever your choice) double the lines you are remembering by heart to 8, then to 16 and further to 32. If this exercise is done properly, then even without our conscious attempt, originality of expression will develop with an irresistible spontaneity.

Sri Sri Babathakur then told me to teach Krishna some Sanskrit slokas; not just 4 or 5 lines, but say about 40 to 50 lines.

We may perhaps think of learning some classical works like Gurupaaduka Stotram, Nirvana Shatkam, Vishnu Sahasranaama Stotram, Srimat Bhagavat Gita etc., while praying to Him to reveal the essence of these stotras in our hearts.

After listening to a devotee narrate Ravana's Shiva Taandava Stotra (which is comprised of about 15 slokas), Sri Sri Babathakur told us that by reciting this stotra, many ailments of the body may disappear and asthama infact may be cured.

Sri Sri Babathakur guides us from where we are to the highest of heights. His “Missionless mission” being the declaration of the truth eternal “All Divine for all time as it is”

The Bhagwad-Gita’s first shloka


by Sri Abhijit Mandal
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The first shloka of Bhagwad-Gita is perhaps its best known verse amongst those having a casual familiarity with this most spiritual of texts. Yet it can be argued that few are aware of the true purpose and significance of the opening shloka:

Dhrita-raashtra uvaacha
Dharma-kshetre kuru-kshetre samveta yuyutsavah
Maamakaah paandavaa-schaiva kimakurvata sanjaya


Typically, this shloka is treated as an introduction to both the context and the background of the imminent war between the two factions of the Kuru vansh – the Kauravas, and their cousins the Pandavas. It tells us that the proceedings of the war are going to be narrated by the blessed Sanjaya to the aged and blind Dhrita-rashtra.

Beyond this obvious meaning, one can search for significance. The traditional and rather easy interpretation of the shloka is that there are two sides involved in the fight - the good and the not-so-good (evil). And that physical (as well as mental) blindness is perhaps leading the king (i.e. Dhrita-rashtra) to covertly support the ‘wrong’ side.

Most well-known commentaries on the Bhagwad-Gita ignore the significance of the first chapter all together. For example, Shri Adi Sankaracharya’s commentary of the Bhagwad Gita begins with the second chapter when Krishna starts speaking about the Man of Wisdom. The first shloka of the first chapter does not even bear a mention in Sankaracharya’s classical text.

However, as a student of ‘I’ and its manifestations, one could perhaps take a closer look at this shloka whose real significance is to introduce us to the obvious symptoms as well as the manifestation of spiritual blindness.

More specifically, if we were to focus on the first part of the second line of the shloka, we would find it alluding to Dhrita-rashtra discriminating between those on his side (maamakaah) and those presumed to be on the other side (Pandavas). Clearly we have a person here who is not only physically blind, but also spiritually blind. This blindness becomes apparent when evaluating Dhrita-rashtra’s loyalties using two approaches. From a traditional Advaita perspective, Dhrita-rashtra is someone engaged in the wrong sort of discrimination – one that’s leading him to view the Kuru clan as comprising of two separate factions pitted against each other in the pursuit of material and emotional gains. Given his limited spiritual vision, he is incapable of perceiving the unity underlying all of mankind. He does not realize that all men (or for that matter all beings) are but different manifestations of the All-pervading One.

An analysis using the ‘I’ approach leads one to a similar conclusion. The two sides ready to go to war against each other, the motivations behind the war, and the anticipated material and emotional gains (from either Arjuna’s or Dhrita-rashtra’s point of view), all manifest from the participation and activities of the weak and external 'I'. As long as this weak ‘I’ is captivated and engrossed in the play of the external 'I’, I should not hope to achieve anything more than a fleeting moment of peace. From the standpoint of the eternal and omni-present ‘I’, this is just the play of the dynamic nature of the true ‘I’. To be spiritually aware means that I recognize this and not associate/identify with it, irrespective of participating in the play or not.

In Pursuit of Knowing the Self


by Sri Subbu Venkatkrishnan
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As spiritual seekers, we are often urged to do our sadhana. Let us start by trying to understand some things about what sadhana really is. The most common meaning of the word sadhana is, ‘the means by which something is achieved.’ The end desired to be achieved is called sadhya. The one who is trying to achieve a desired end is called a sadhaka. The sadhya or desired end is always kept in view by the sadhaka or seeker who connects himself or herself with the sadhya through sadhana.

Life can be looked upon as a series of ends which have already been achieved and/or which are yet to be achieved. Usually, more than one mean is available to achieve any given end. These means may be righteous whereby the seeker takes into account the moral and ethical codes of his or her conduct. The means may be unrighteous whereby the seeker tramples upon the rights and requirements of others. As a human being, one is endowed with the faculty of choice and so one can choose the means he/she considers to be the most appropriate. My writing is open to my choice. You also have a choice to read or not read this - you can choose to sleep or do something else instead of reading. If I want to reach a particular place, I can do so either by walking, by driving a car, or boarding a bus.

When we analyze the pursuits of our life, we find that the end or the sought is always something other than the seeker – i.e. what I want to achieve is something other than myself. The end may be money, wife, children, name, fame, power, etc., which I do not have at the moment and which I wish to gain. When the end is something other than me - that is, separated from me by time and place - the end as well is open to choices as are the means. When the end or goal of life is not understood, the ends keep on varying. Then, every small end assumes the proportion of the end. But when that end is achieved, it yields its place to yet another end, and so the cycle goes on and on. The ends become endless, and bring about an end to the life of this person. Everyone usually has a long list of what is to be accomplished in spite of all one has achieved so far, because they haven’t yet discovered that one true end of life!

So, what is the real end that I am seeking and that seems to elude me at all times? It must be the end that frees me from all of my desires because I entertain a desire not to keep it going but to fulfill it. In our discussion of sadhana here, it is this end which we shall address ourselves to and not the limited ends such as wealth, fame etc., which perpetuate the wants. We are interested in that end which can be called the end. And with regard to this end, the human being has no choice. This is the end that is desired by everyone, at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances. Even if a person appears to be pursuing various ends, this is the end that is in the background - the end behind all ends. The means of achieving this end is what we mean by sadhana in this discussion.

Life should be meaningful, purposeful – i.e. I should see the meaning of life, and then the whole life becomes the means to achieve that end. If I know the end, the other ends in life such as a house, or an industry, or a spouse, or a child can be seen in their proper perspective. They can all become the means to achieve the ultimate end. The sadhana, i.e. the mean becomes meaningful only when I know the sadhya, the end. If I want to see a form, the eyes become the means. If I want to hear a sound, my ears become the means. Once the end is clear, the mean also becomes clear.

As discussed earlier, the real end behind all ends is to end one’s desires. There are three approaches towards ending a desire: 1) by acquiring the object of desire as followed by a samsari, 2) by giving up the desire as followed by a tyagi, and 3) by growing out of the desire as followed by a sannyasi.

The one who goes about fulfilling the wants as they arise in the mind finds that more wants keep cropping up even before one want is fulfilled. No one end seems to satisfy him because he finds that an end loses its significance by the time it is achieved. No particular end seems to give him freedom from dependence. Such a person who finds himself as dependent upon the fulfillment of desires is a samsari.

A tyagi is the one who has given up an object or a desire either because of an ideal or because of a bargain to get something better. However a tyagi still retains a taste for the object. For example, take the case of a boy playing with marbles. Marbles are the most precious thing to him and he would not settle for anything else, not even money. If his father asks him to stop playing with marbles, he may do so only because he has value for his father’s word or because he is promised something that he ends up deeming even better (e.g. a cricket bat). This is not a mature way of getting rid of desires because the dependence on things desired is not totally eradicated.

The same child, when he grows old has no craving for the marbles. He has grown out of his desire for marbles. He is no more tempted by marbles. He may play with marbles with his child, but he will not feel happier upon winning them or feel a loss upon losing them. He has neither a raga or a dvesa. He is a sannyasi with respect to marbles. A sannyasi is one who has grown out of wants and who therefore enjoys real freedom. A sannyasi is not dependent upon any external object or situation for his happiness. Everyone is a sannyasi with respect to a few things. For example, we are sannyasis with respect to the banana peel, but not with respect to the banana.

In our life, the sadhya and sadhanas keep changing but one thing remains constant - that is the sadhaka or the seeker. Do I always want to remain the seeker? Do I want to remain dependent upon objects and situations for my happiness, or do I want to be free? Everyone no doubt wants to be happy, but everyone also wants to be free. There is happiness in freedom and unhappiness in dependence and hence everyone wants to be like the sannyasi (who is not dependent upon anything else for his happiness). This total freedom is called moksa which means liberation or total release from dependence. Only when I discover an adequacy, fullness, a richness that is not other than me, do I feel fulfilled. The sadhana must be such that it attains the sadhya, the lasting fulfillment that every human heart yearns for.

The question that naturally arises is, ‘What is the mean to this end?’ No one will undertake a pursuit unless one knows it will achieve the desired end. The nature of the mean depends upon the end. Therefore, the end must be ascertained before one can decide upon the proper mean. What everyone wants is absolute freedom, the fullness, the limitlessness. But we find that in all our pursuits of acquiring and enjoying, there is invariably a loss associated with every gain. If I acquire power, I lose the money or the resources with which I bought the power. If I acquire a car, I have to give up my savings. If I get married, I lose the freedom of bachelorhood. From the standpoint of what I acquire, there is a gain - but from the standpoint of what I spent for it, there is a loss. Even if it is the gain of swarga, there is the loss of punya. Thus we find that every gain is limited, and there seems to be no way of achieving absolute gain by means of fulfilling the desires.

If a person cannot achieve this absolute gain, this completeness, can he or she give up the seeking? No, because this is a natural urge like hunger or thirst. A cultivated or an acquired desire can be given up by reasoning with the mind, but a natural desire cannot be given up through deliberation or force. On the one hand I cannot achieve the absolute gain through actions. On the other hand, I cannot give up the seeking to achieve the absolute gain. There appears to be a fundamental problem here! Only when I appreciate this problem and realize that the usual means and ends cannot give me what I seek in life, do I become a true sadhaka. At this stage, one wants to do something odd because all normal and accepted things have already been tried out. We think this fulfillment, the so-called enlightenment, is an event in time that will hit us as we do something strange – perhaps while sitting under a bodhi tree!

However one cannot gain completeness by merely becoming or achieving something because completeness means an absolute gain and no loss. I cannot become complete through a process of becoming - because any becoming involves change, and change means giving up the previous state and reaching a new state. Thus in a change there is a gain and a loss as well. A child wants to become an adult so that he/she can be complete, but the adult loses the freedom of a child. By getting a Ph.D, I am not going to be complete. In fact, I will be more keenly aware of the areas in which I am ignorant. Any sadhana that achieves a sadhya can fall only within the framework of time and space. So, no process of change can make a person complete. Since becoming complete is not possible, there remains only one possibility – and that is the possibility of me already being complete! However if I am already a complete being and still want to be complete, it means I do not know myself. From self-ignorance, there is a disowning of the self and hence this predicament.

It is a fact that I disown myself and then search for myself. I have concluded that I am incomplete, and also realize that any addition to myself or change in myself only leaves me incomplete. What sadhana then can remove this assumed incompleteness? The sadhana must be such that it removes this self-ignorance. That sadhana or the means can only be self-knowledge because knowledge alone can remove ignorance. Knowing my real nature is the only means of eliminating self-ignorance and the assumed incompleteness arising out of it. Hence the primary means of achieving completeness, fulfillment, and freedom is the knowledge of the Self.

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, there is a statement that says, Atmanastu Kamaya Sarvam Priyam Bhavati-----whatever is dear to me is dear because I love myself. This statement shows that I always love myself and therefore my innate nature is happiness since everyone including me loves happiness. It further shows that I love the things and beings of the world not for their sake, but for the sake of the Self. So, happiness or ananda is what I am seeking in and through the pursuits of gaining things and through the relationships in my life.

That happiness is my true nature becomes clear when we analyze an experience of happiness. When I am happy with an object, I feel at home with the object. At that moment, the mind does not demand anything and is quiet and content with itself. I like this state of mind because it reflects my nature which is absolute peace, contentment, and freedom from desire. Any object that creates such a condition of mind becomes an object of my liking. I am not happy with an agitated or demanding mind because it does not reflect my true nature. Thus I like myself and therefore also a mind that reflects my true nature. My true nature is happiness because I like happiness and dislike unhappiness. Everyone is happy with what is natural and unhappy with what is unnatural. I cannot be comfortable with a dust particle in my eye or a bug in my ear – they are foreign to me, they are irritants and so I want to get rid of them. Similarly, I find that I am not comfortable with unhappiness because it is an irritant and is not my true nature. I never want to get rid of happiness or ananda and so ananda must be natural to me. Similarly, being free is my nature because I love freedom and want to get rid of all shackles. I am limitless because I cannot stand limitations. However even though I am limitless, I do not enjoy limitlessness because my nature is covered by ignorance. Ignorance can only be removed by knowledge and so Self-Knowledge is the primary sadhana.

To gain any knowledge, we must have a valid and adequate means of knowledge. The type of knowledge sought determines the nature of the means of knowledge one should adopt. For example, to perceiving colors, eyes are the means. To perceiving sound, ears are the means. What I want to know is ‘I’ the Self - not the limited little self I take myself to be, but rather the limitless, complete Self. The primary means of knowledge at my disposal, the sense organs, are capable of knowing only the external world. They can give me only perceptual knowledge. The capacity of sensory organs can be improved or enhanced by the use of instruments such as telescope, microscope etc., which enable us to perceive the objects that cannot be seen by the naked eyes. But the Self is the Subject behind the senses---i.e. the senses cannot objectify the Self. Other means of knowledge such as inference, presumption, comparison, etc., are also not applicable in case of the Self, because these means too are based on sensory data. For example we can infer the presence of fire (the cause) when we see smoke (the effect) or we can infer the presence of a rat (the whole) when we see its tail (a part). Self is not connected with anything in terms of cause and effect or in terms of whole and part - and so these indirect means of knowledge are also not applicable in the case of understanding the Self.

All the means of knowledge available to me are of no use in knowing the Self. But it still has to be known – i.e. I must know I am full and complete in order to overcome the sense of limitation and inadequacy. So, we have to look for an external means of knowledge and this means is the Vedanta or Upanishads----vedanto naama upanishad pramanam. Vedanta is in the form of words and it is also called sabda pramanam, a means of knowledge in the form of words. What cannot be perceived by the sense organs or inferred by the mind can be revealed by the words. Hence the Self is called the ‘Being revealed by the Upanishads’. How do the Upanishads reveal the Self to Me? By changing the vision about myself, by removing the notions I entertain about myself. I take myself to be a limited, helpless being, a seeker of freedom. This self-judgment keeps me away from being the Self. The Upanishads reveal, “You are not different from what you want to be. You are not limited or inadequate. You are indeed the limitless, complete being. That You Are (Tat Tvam Asi)”.

This removes all the notions I have been entertaining about myself and removes my ignorance. Removal of ignorance is the same as knowledge of the Self - so the primary means of Self-knowledge is enquiry based on the Upanishads. What should I do to know the Self clearly without any error or doubt? First the teaching of the Upanishad has to be listened to, sravanam, followed by reflection, mananam, followed by meditation, nidhidhyasanam. By mananam, the knowledge gained by sravanam is assimilated, and by nidhidhyasanam it is made free from error. Most of us would ask, ‘How does Self-knowledge not take place in spite of hearing about the Self so often?’ The words of the Upanishads do not seem to create the direct knowledge they are supposed to create. It appears as though I have understood all that the words have to say and still find something lacking. Do I have to do something else? Eyes are the only valid means for realizing the knowledge of color, and yet if we cannot see colors properly, we must do something to correct the eyes rather than trying to gain this knowledge through the ears or any other organ of perception.

Similarly, the words of the scriptures are the only valid means of knowledge to make me realize what I am. They must give me direct knowledge because the subject of knowledge, I, is already available. This is not like the knowledge gained by someone when he hears about a laddu. If he does not know what a laddu is and I describe the laddu using words, his knowledge will at best be indirect. Once he does something else, i.e. taste the laddu, he gets direct knowledge. This is not so for Self knowledge, because the Self is already obtained. The words therefore directly reveal the Self. There is no second step. The second step is needed in case of the laddu example only because the object is different from the subject.

However, if I don’t get direct and immediate knowledge from the words, I must look at them again, just like checking the eyes if they do not produce the knowledge of color. So, vichara or enquiry must be performed again and again to ascertain the meaning of the scriptures since words are the only medium to communicate the Self, and enquiry must be conducted repeatedly until we realize the essence of the Self. Direct knowledge has not taken place if one hand I think I have understood the Self, while on the other hand I don’t ‘feel’ like a complete and limitless being. There is no business of ‘feeling’ here, there is simply knowing.

If I am not able to see the meaning of these words, which is myself, there must be something wrong with my mind where the meanings are seen. Unless I see the meaning of the sentence as myself, it is a meaningless sentence. It does not become meaningful in spite of repeating it several times. That means that the intellectual discipline or preparedness of mind is lacking. Take the case of consoling a man who has lost a near and dear person. In that sorrowful state, if we tell him, ‘You are ananda’, he wouldn’t be able to appreciate it - in fact it will upset him. Even if he sees the reasoning of how he can be nothing but ananda, the sorrow remains. The words do not create any impact. Similarly, the words of the scriptures do not create an impression on my mind if it (i.e. my mind) is not ready to see the meaning.

Ignorance is the main obstacle to Self-knowledge and the words of the scriptures are meant to remove this. But when the words are not able to create knowledge, it shows there are some other obstacles. These secondary obstacles are two-fold - one is impurity of the mind or mala, the second is distraction of the mind or viksepa. Action performed with the attitude of worship (karma yoga) is prescribed by the scriptures to eliminate the impurities of the mind, while mental worship, chanting of the mantra, meditation etc, (all of which can be called as upasana) are recommended to eliminate the distraction of the mind. When one becomes free from the obstacles of mala and viksepa, the meaning of the words of the scriptures is directly understood and Self-knowledge takes place. Performing our sadhana is concerned with removing the obstacles of mala and viksepa. Upon their removal, the mahavakyas of the scriptures are directly understood and Self-knowledge takes place.

Om Namah Shivaya.

Air Conditioners - a boon or a bane?


by Sri Sandip Dasgupta
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For the last few years whenever we have visited India during the summer, we have had the good fortune of avoiding the extreme heat by sitting indoors in an air-conditioned room and sleeping blissfully at night. These days there are even air-conditioned radio taxis that will pick you up at your doorsteps and drop you in front of an air-conditioned mall. One can then spend the whole day at the mall - totally oblivious to the sweltering heat outside. This experience is quite in contrast to the lifestyle we grew up with in India when we were kids and hence I am forced to look at the other side of the story.

The principle behind the air conditioner is to suck out the hot and polluted air and release it to the outside air - much like sewage is dumped into a sewer line for treatment before being discharged into the river or ocean. The temperature of the air that is exhausted by the air conditioner is at least 10 degrees higher than that of the outside air. This principle seems to work reasonably well in Western countries where the population density is low, the air is clean and there are very few living beings working out in the open air during the sweltering heat. But let us analyze the same situation in a densely populated country like India.

Even with the rapid economic strides made by India in the last few years, I would contend that no more 10% of the population can enjoy the comfort of the air conditioner. This 10% of the population is discharging hot air into the atmosphere on a regular basis. This 10% of the population is continuously discharging humidity into the already humid atmosphere. Now let us look at how life has changed for the remaining 90% of India’s population.

As I drive through the roads, I see construction workers appearing to perpetually be working on public works projects throughout the year. I look at the street urchins trying to sell petty goods at every traffic signal. I see a large number of workers who still walk or bike from their house and back. I begin counting the massive amount of workforce employed as delivery boys who are on the roads constantly during the day. The list goes on and on - and I don’t feel their daily experience.

These people are all humans too - but life has become worse for them over the years. There working hours have not changed, the nature of their jobs hasn’t changed. They however have to toil in an atmosphere with much more humidity and much more hotter air than ought to be subjected to. When they go home at night, they probably have access to a fan - but the nights do not get cooler anymore thanks to a more polluted atmosphere. What will happen when 25% of all the population will begin using air-conditioners in a populated country like India?

The same Brahman resides within all of all of us – irrespective of whether we’ re part of the 10% enjoying the comforts of an air-conditioner, or part of the 90% that doesn’t have access to these luxuries. One can argue that this is all “Karma Phala” - but what about the fact that “I” (as an enjoyer of luxuries) am doing nothing about improving the situation. Isn’t that bad “Karma” on my part? Will I have to suffer similar consequences in a future life? I sincerely pray to my Guru, Sri Sri Babathakur to show me the light and help me find the answers.