Health and Happiness - Dr Dwarakanath
In a Sloka, Bhajagovindam, Shankara says, “Do not fall prey to maddening
delusion and get enticed at the sight of the physical glamour & sex having
full bosom of young maidens and their naval, as these are nothing but a
modification of flesh and fat. The same suits for women's attraction towards
men. Do not fail to remember this truth and think over and over again in your
mind. One understands that one's wife is another's daughter or sister or
some such relation. Having born independently, in the journey from birth to
death, one acquires many such relations and bonds and when the death descends, all
these relations vanish in thin air. Ultimately, one realizes the truth that one
belongs only to the divine father or mother and nobody else. All relations
other than the relation with the main source of universe is false, causes
unhappiness, anxiety and worry. It means these relations are transitory and
temporary in nature and as such do not give any permanent happiness by any
means.” Sankara asks his younger brethren in this sloka to ponder over the
weakness of extreme attachment to things of the world outside and the futility
that it brings ultimately.
In another sloka Shankara says that the company of the good weans one
away from false attachments; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion,
when the delusion ends, the mind becomes unwavering and steady and from an
unwavering and steady mind comes jeevan mukti (liberation even in this life).
It is very clear from what has been said so far that to live in attachment is,
certainly, an ill rewarding program of existence. To waste one's life in lust
and in passion of one's flesh is definitely dissipating oneself in all
faculties. One has to withdraw from all such activities and spend the energy so
conserved in seeking and serving god. the best, easiest and the only way for
such a conduct is to associate oneself with good and enlightened men, which
provides occasion for one to practice withdrawal from desire and attachment. As
desires and attachments become less and less, the delusion diminishes and
calmness and equanimity descends upon oneself. As we have understood from the
earlier slokas and their commentary, desire and delusion wrap the mind and
cloud the perception, obstructing the power to discriminate between the good
and the bad, between the lofty and the low and between shreyas and preyas.
Desire and attachment are the cause of delusion and delusion leads to
confusion. As the mind ceases to agitate, internal purity ensues. At this
stage, one reaches the state of equilibrium and enjoys divine peace. It is a
step by step struggle like the elements of good slowly occupies the place
vacated by the elements of bad and evil thoughts, as one occupies oneself in
satsang. So, one must always cherish the company of the devotees of God to
attain salvation at the end. At the same time, one should not indulge in criticism
of others, who do not believe in God or who are not devotees, as despise them
would be arrogance. One day they also change the path and they must also
receive the grace of God. The hearts of those devotees should melt for the
welfare of those who do not believe in God. We must grieve for those who are
not blessed with devotion, if a person, who is not genuinely distressed at the
sufferings and pain of others, is not a godly person at all. Of course, it is
very difficult for a beginner, for a devotee, who has just started his
spiritual journey like me, to understand, appreciate and put into practice such
noble intentions.
Sankara, having understood this practical difficulty of the beginners in
devotion, has given a ladder-of-progress, by carefully climbing which, a seeker
can comfortably reach the pinnacle of perfection. IN spite of all
this discussion, the fact remains that we are living in the midst of tremendous
temptations of life, whether it is amassing wealth or running after men/women
or artificial life or pretentious postures, etc. the objects of fascination are
so numerous and their enchantments are so powerful that it is too difficult to
resist and fight against. It is, therefore, advised by Sri Adi Sankaracharya to
keep company of good people or look always for satsangs; only with good
thoughts from within one can keep on fighting against the predating bad habits
of this life and 'prarabdha' of earlier lives. One has to fight against the
hordes of temptations every day, at the same time, and for that one has to look
for association with the good people. (Continued)
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