Bhajagovindham - An Analysis 5

Health and Happiness - Dr Dwarakanath

The pleasures of worldly life, such as wealth, friends and youth, are deceptive appearances, do not boast of them. Understand that each one of these is destroyed within a minute by the unchangeable factor called ‘time’. Be detached and dispassionate from the illusion of the world of maya and cultivate renunciation and realise the state of Brahman. If fortune begins to frown on one, one should not, therefore, be proud of one's wealth, youth, health, etc. all the arrogance born out of these false attachments will change in a moment into shame, because of their instability. One invites problems when one maintains relationship with the world of objects, feelings and thoughts through one's body, mind and intellect.

Indulgence in sense enjoyment will lead to miseries, the desire to possess and enjoy will one day end in dissipation, as these sense objects will wither away with the time, wealth is neither constant nor stable. Many human beings are slaves to this aspect of maya, as the materialistic world is completely dependent on this. In the same way the other faces of maya are youth and friends. The youth of today will be an elderly person of tomorrow, one cannot escape from the kala-chakra, i.e., jaws of the wheel of time. With the passage of time, the body decays and perishes. Sankara, therefore, warns that one should not dissipate one's energies in these false vanities. instead, realising the illusory nature of these world of objects, one should concentrate and realise the state and true nature of Brahman, only that will give relief from the vicious cycle of birth-death-birth.

Both pleasure and pain must be borne with equanimity. A person leading a dharmic life must also submit to sorrows as willingly as one accepts pleasures. Following the words of Sankara sincerely, one shall acquire the courage to bear the sorrows of life unperturbed. In the silent march of the wheel of time, days and nights and with it the age slips unnoticed and unrealised. One may escape any or all other hardships, but death and the parting of ways are inevitable. Time will never stop for any person and under any circumstances. Present will become past and the future will become present. While the past disturbs the present, the future worries it. It is true with almost all human beings that when the luck is not in favour, any amount of manoeuvre will not yield desired results and all plans get defeated and routed. One must acquire the true knowledge to bear these vicissitudes of time and life with fortitude.

Sankara is teaching and preaching, Nachiketa's exchange of words with Yamaraja (lord death), rejecting all gifts that he offers to him for learning the same true knowledge, which Sri Adi Sankaracharya is preaching, will bear the true testimony. Time cuts off the days of life and the death snatches away the life. The jiva will ultimately depart with painful bundles of vasanaas acquired in one's desire-ridden selfish life. The mind makes one to believe that all objects of glitter with an illusory beauty will give happiness, but time proves it otherwise. Life steadily ebbs away, but the desires only grow due to sense gratifications. Although with the age, human being becomes infirm from disease ridden body, desires and sense-enjoyments, worries and anxieties still haunt one. It is not too late to realise the truth and follow the path shown by Shankara to reap the benefits in this birth and in the forthcoming ones.

For more articles from Health and Happiness Click here

Life and the Rubik Cube

Smart Plus - Rakesh Mittal I A S

Some years back the Rubik Cube came out as a popular and interesting game. It is a cuboid with six faces of six different colours. Each face consists of nine squares and each square can be rotated on two different axes. The game involves rotating of these squares in such a manner that each face of the cuboid becomes a single colour. Overall it is a complex exercise and most players fail to achieve the desired result. However, many have acquired such a skill that they can achieve the desired result in a surprisingly short time. It is a beautiful sight to see the six faces of six different colours presenting a harmonious look.  Some books have also been written on this game and shows held to demonstrate it. I myself however never got much interested in the game and therefore did not often play it.

Once I had gone to Trichur on the occasion of Guru Poornima. In the evening I was on a walk with another devotee who is settled in Muscat. He told me about the craze for this game in certain countries and how some of the players had acquired a great skill in it. And then we started comparing life with the game of Rubik Cube. We felt that life too was as complicated as the Rubik game and that it was a question of acquiring a skill in living if we wanted to make it harmonious. In the Rubik game, as one proceeds, one finds that despite one’s best efforts different colours intrude and it becomes almost impossible to bring the same colours on all the six faces. Some are able to achieve success on one and some on two or three faces. Very rarely does one find a player who can restore all the faces to a single colour.

In life too, as we proceed to achieve harmony, some event or the other breaks it and we have to start afresh. It is only after we have learnt the art of living that such events do not disturb us but in a way make life more interesting and challenging. With the growth of wisdom, the time taken to accept these events gets reduced further and further. Thereafter, all events of life are accepted in a very natural manner. Eventually one becomes like those players of the Rubik Cube who reach the six~face stage within a very short time. For such people life becomes harmonious and nothing can disturb them.  Such persons are the yogis in the true sense.

Reaching such a state of harmony is the ultimate purpose of life.  For this one has to understand the principles of life, believe in them and practise them. There is no short-cut to it.  However, once this skill is acquired, no one can take it away from you. You will then be able to play with life in the same way as a skilled person plays with the Rubik Cube, notwithstanding its complex nature.

Read more articles from Smart Plus, Click here

Peace and Awe

Message of Peace - P K Shamsuddin

Until the exit of the Jewish tribe Banu Al Nadir from Medina, Mohammed’s secretary was a Jew who helped Mohammed in communicating in Hebrew and Cyriac as well as in Arabic. After the evacuation of Banu Al Nadir tribe, Mohammed changed his secretary and appointed Zayd Ibn Thaeid and asked him to learn Hebrew and Cyriac languages. Peace was restored in Medina after the evacuation of the tribe Banu Al Nadir. This continued until the following year. Mohammed remembered the pledge of Abu Sufian to destroy Muslims. Mohammed also remembered that Abu Sufian has challenged to meet once more to meet the Muslims at Badr. However, Abu Sufian postponed the proposed attack to another year till he sent a messenger to Medina to inform the Muslims that the Meccans have collected a huge army such as Arabs had never achieved before and that they would destroy the Muslims once and for ever and inflict upon them untold miseries. The Muslims reacted with apprehension but were eager to remain in Medina and not to go out to meet their enemy at Badr. However, Mohammed said differently and with some hesitation decided to march to Badr to meet the enemy. Mohammed appointed Abdulla Abu Qubaay to look after the administration of Medina in his absence.

Muslims arrived at Badr and waited for the Meccan army. The Meccans sent two thousand fighters under the leadership of Abu Sufian. However, Abu Sufian was not enthusiastic to fight and decided to return to Mecca. He advised his people that since they could not do well in war outside Mecca, it was better for them to return home. Accordingly they returned to Mecca along with the army. The Muslims remained at Badr for eight days. During that time, the Muslim army got engaged themselves in some trade and made huge profit for which they thanked God. Mohammed and his army returned to Medina. Mohammed was happy that the Muslims recaptured their prestige. In the meanwhile, news came to him that a group from Ghatafn was leading an army to fight him. Mohammed planned to attack and surprise them before they could complete their procession. Gathering a force of four hundred, Mohammed led the army to Dhat Al Rik, where the enemy had rallied. The Muslim army took initiative to make the surprise attack and the army of the tribes ran back leaving their equipments and properties. The Muslims returned to Medina. Mohammed established night and day sentry. The enemy however never showed up their force and Mohammed also returned to Medina after fifteen days.

 To read more articles from Message of Peace, kindly Click here

Chathurashram for a New Age – 1

Blooming Stars - Swami (Dr) Snehanand Jyoti 

The Chathurashram (the four stages of life of an individual in traditional India) Parampara (tradition) is modified, reinterpreted, and adapted for the needs of the modern person. In the present scheme, sathyashram (training in and living truth) more appropriately takes the place of brahmacharyashram (moving in God); grihasthashram (family life) is more aptly replaced by sevashram (life of service to family and society); vanaprasthashram (retreat from worldly pursuits and desires) is substituted by paramarthashram (the pursuit of the ultimate good); sanyasashram (the life of renunciation) is replaced by siddhashram (place for realization). What is the need for change?  Brahmacharyashram, which is very broad and general, and should be applied to all the ashrams. Everyone should be living and moving and having being in the ultimate reality, Brahman. Brahmacharya is wrongly reserved to celibate life with some kind of prestige attached to it. Brahmacharya is not anyone’s monopoly; all should practice it. Grihasthashram is also given a broader meaning in sevashram which should be uniquely characterized by service to others including one’s family. Sevashram culminates in paramarthashram (retired life) that focuses on the ultimate good as well as a preparation for siddhashram (a place for complete renunciation and realization. The modified ashrams are also more in tune with current needs and aspirations. Besides that there was a wide-spread living of these ashrams in practical day-to-day life is very seriously doubted. Women were excluded from these ashrams.

The old Vedic tradition did well in the past, and partly or wholly influenced the life of the Indian people. It was more theoretical, conceptual, and ideal than real and practical. Currently it can provide a much-needed frame-work for a new model that preserves the good elements of the old tradition. It is only fair that everything old as well as new is thoroughly scrutinized and adapted for our times. I strongly feel that is what the seers of old did in their life time. As they passed on what is worthwhile, i. e., tradition, it is imperative that we pass on what we find useful and valuable to later generations. After all the very Latin word tradere from which the word tradition comes means to hand over or to pass on. We are not mere static vehicles that uncritically just hands over our past. We are dynamic conveyors who dare to modify and adapt the useful past, and pass it on with our own findings culled from our lived experience. We alone are the authority of our experience. To give undue importance to any other epoch or time neglecting our own does justice to no one. Therefore we thoroughly scrutinize and evaluate the past, take what is relevant and good, and add our own findings before passing on. It would have been utterly foolish, for instance, to pass on the evil practices of caste system as they were handed down to us. We have a right and an obligation to make the necessary corrections of any tradition, rituals, and customs.

It is important to give a few pivotal concepts to place the four ashrams in their proper context. Brahma sathyam (God is absolute, real, and unchanging truth); jagan mithya (the world is unreal, changing, and illusory). There is Nirguna Brahma: the absolutely unreachable, undefinable, and static, Brahman who cannot at all be predicated with any attributes, and there is Saguna Brahman:  the Brahman that is dynamic and heaped on with anthropomorphic forms and attributes. There are three kinds of truth: parmarthika sathyam (the absolute and unchanging truth), vyavaharika sathyam (the truth related to everyday life in the world that is constantly changing), and prathibhasika sathyam (the truth that is illusory and confusing). All material objects and persons are composed of three gunas (qualities): satva (being, order, purity), rajas (atmosphere, change, movement), and tamas (darkness, inertia, ignorance). All persons will have these qualities. The level of consciousness will depend on the proportion of these qualities in each person. The more the satva tendency in a person the higher the consciousness. The four purusharthas (the aims or objectives of human life) – dharma (righteousness, duty), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure, desire), moksha (liberation) complete the list of the key ingredients that make the life of a person rich and purposeful. The varnashrams that resulted in the ugly, destructive caste system did enough damage to humanity, and is better confined to the garbage can of history, and is not included in the key concepts. (To be continued).


For more articles from Blooming stars, kindly click here.

Generous Damage

Life's Lessons - Joseph Mattappally

Donate generously; this is one of the advices people generally hear, perhaps on a daily basis. The very thing generated in every mind is always an amount of money, carelessly thrown out. A donation is precisely a gift given in cash or kind, mostly for charitable purposes; it may take various forms. Attitude to share is one of the basic passions in any human being. The present day donors know that they haven’t enough time to locate the needy and share a part of their fortune with them; they are more or less compelled to endorse choice agencies to do the job on their behalf. Modern agencies are bright enough to assure the donors all the credits in their karma account with Cosmic Central Bank. They know such an offer will help them fetch more. Since donations are considered to be a heavenly act cleansing the spirit, it always is considered a pretty good spiritual deal for the busy. But, does such an attitude serve the purpose? Look at this story.

This story took place in Bandar, a remote small town in Andhra Pradesh state. One day, a person was walking through the streets of the town. His walk was peculiar, as if that of a person who never needs to lower his head anywhere. As he walked, he noticed that a young boy, who was sitting outside his house aside the street, is crying aloud. The man approached the boy and asked him the matter. Sensing the empathy in his eyes, the boy spoke, still sobbing, “Swamiji, my father died quite recently, leaving my mother and two brothers. I am the eldest of the children, who has to earn for the rest. I searched a lot for a job, but I was not able to get one anywhere”.

The person thought for a while; he wanted to help the young boy somehow. He said, “Come with me”. They went to a Bank, the manager of which was known to this man. The man requested the Manager to train the boy on some Bank related work. It was done and the boy began learning the work with great devotion. The man gave the boy some money before leaving. Next month also the man came to the Bank to give the boy some more money. On the third month, since the boy had acquired enough experience, the Bank recruited him to the job and thus the young boy was enabled to stand on his own legs. The person was none other than Dr. Bhogaraaju Pattaabhi Seetaaraamayya, one of the frontline freedom fighters from Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Seetaaraamayya was a man of values who never compromised with the outside world of masks. His statue is still in front of the Andhra Bank branch in Bandheri, but I doubt if there is any viewer who lives by the theory as laid down by this great man. 

To read more stories from Life's Lessons, kindly visit Indian Thoughts

Bhaje Govindam 4

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)

Read more articles from Health and Happiness

Whom Do We Address To

Smart Plus - Rakesh Mittal I A S 

After taking over as Development Commissioner (Iron and Steel) at Calcutta in July 1994, I paid a brief visit to Madras on my way to Trichur. On my return also I stayed at Madras for a day. I had flown from Calcutta to Madras and from Madras to Calcutta by Indian Airlines. Incidentally both the flights caused some anxiety and inconvenience. The flight to Madras took off from Calcutta almost in time but as soon as the plane was airborne, the captain declared that it had developed a technical problem and landed back at Calcutta. There was no immediate announcement of the alternate arrangement by the Airlines. I was to catch a train from Madras to Trichur in the evening and it was already noon at Calcutta. While all the passengers became anxious, I was all the more so. However, I was sure that some alternative would come soon and fortunately it did. Contrary to expectations, an alternate plane was arranged by Indian Airlines and we again left Calcutta at about 13.00 hours so as to reach Madras in time. As a result, I could attend to some of my official duties as well as comfortably catch the train for Trichur.

On my way back, initially the flight was announced to be on time. The passengers passed through the Security Check and were waiting in the lounge for boarding announcement. However, after some time an announcement was made about the plane having developed some technical problem and the consequent delay. The passengers were advised to come out of the lounge, get new boarding passes and also some refreshment from the snacks-counter. The flight was a late evening flight and this delay made it very inconvenient. Naturally the passengers were very upset at this announcement and reluctantly left the lounge to follow the instructions. I too felt the same way but within I was keeping my cool. After going through the drill of surrendering boarding passes and getting new ones, we stood in a queue for light refreshments. We were expecting something better to be served so as to partially take care of our annoyance but what we were given only added to it. On a big paper plate there were two small biscuits along with the choice of a cup of tea, coffee or cold drink. There was visible annoyance on the faces of all the beneficiaries of this hospitality and the ripples were widening in the queue also. So much so that one of the passengers standing in the queue lost his temper and started abusing not only the Indian Airlines but the whole of India. Of course, most of us were doing so silently. He appealed to a co-passenger to take him to a good city restaurant so that he could eat something better. However, it was not feasible at that time but any way, he refused to accept the snacks offered by the airline. I watched all this with amusement and in the process got a better deal from the counter staff who gave the share of such passengers to others. Overall I did not dislike the refreshment as I was quite hungry. Fortunately soon the plane was declared to be fit and our hopes of reaching home the same night revived.

Well, the point I am making here is about the outburst of the gentleman in the queue at Madras airport.  Such outbursts are not uncommon. We come across such incidents almost daily. Only the victim and the target of the outburst vary. If such outbursts are carefully analysed, one would come to the conclusion that we all are victims of one another. ‘A’ may curse’B’, ‘B’may curse ‘C’ and ‘C’ may curse ‘A’. The net result is that sometimes we are victims and sometimes the cause of such outbursts.  We forget that after all the quality of human beings in a given set-up is the same and that we ourselves are no better than others. If we are not prepared to see any faults in us and remove them, what right do we have to expect perfectness from others? In such situations, it is very difficult to understand to whom we should address our outburst.

I am not saying that inefficiency or bad service should be accepted. By all means it should be resisted and resisted forcefully. But mere cursing does not help. In all probability such outbursts make the system worse. The right approach would be to understand the situation coolly and if found that it has arisen as a result of willful neglect or callousness on the part of an individual or system, the same should be dealt with in an effective manner. That way we will not only save ourselves from agony and anger but will render a service to the system as well as to other possible victims. In short, the problem should be addressed to a definite target, and not in the air which helps no one.

The second lesson to be learnt from such events is to consider whether we ourselves are not a cause of such situations, when it comes to our dealing with others. As a matter of fact, this is a better way of addressing the problem and, if all of us do so, there will be no occasion for situations which upset us. We may also be a cause of such situations and if others cause so much agony to us, why should we not avoid such situations? This approach will not only help individuals but also the system.

Thus, whenever a situation upsets us, the problem should not only be addressed to the relevant authorities with an objective mind, it should also be addressed to oneself. But most of us do not do; and thus add to the problem instead of solving it. No wonder, we increasingly face such situations and make our lives more miserable. Let us, therefore, approach problems with an objective mind. Afterall the purpose of all progress is to feel more peaceful. But if instead of feeling peaceful, we feel upset and anxious like the friend at Madras Airport, the purpose of the progress is lost. In all probability he was a successful person in life but that success became the source of his trouble because he did not address the problem correctly.

So next time you come across a situation which upsets you, remember to address it correctly.  That way you will help yourself as well as the system.

To read more articles from Smart Plus - visit Indian Thoughts