554
Sharing Teachings from Scriptures of Sanātanaḥ Dharmaḥ and Self Realised Masters. Owner - @Vasudevom #spiritual #sanatandharma #hinduism
na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre
Atma is not born, nor does it ever die; after having been it does not cease to be, unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, it is not killed when the body is destroyed.
~ Gita 2.20
Though the body is destroyed, yet the all-pervading Atma never dies. It shows that Atma remains only as a witness to the modifications of the body like birth, youth, and death, and of the mind in the form of pain and pleasure. The disturbance of the storm clouds does not affect the sun or the sky through which they pass.
Therefore man should not identify himself with the foul perishable body and the ever-functioning mind but should hold on to his identity with the Self.
Supreme bliss and courage are realised by the wise who are one with Atma. The fear of death is at once driven off by the knowledge that he is the immortal Atma.
Question: What is the nature of Atma?
Answer: It has no birth or death. It is eternal, firm, and immovable. It is the ancient one. It exists when the body dies.
@guruvaakya
antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śharīriṇaḥ
anāśhino ’prameyasya tasmād yudhyasva bhārata
Only the material body is perishable; the atma within is indestructible, immeasurable, and eternal. Therefore, fight, O descendent of Bharat.
~ Gita 2.18
Subject to end:- These bodies are subject to death. You are not the body. You are Atma, the indweller, holding the body as a vehicle. So no one should depend on the perishable bodies. You should hold on to Atma, till you obtain the consciousness of your identity with Atma, and cut off the false identification with the body.
Of the physical: Atma is not far away. He is in and pervading the body, but completely free and uncontaminated by all the modifications of the physical and subtle bodies. Man should constantly cultivate his identity with Atma, and reject the identity with the body (dehAtmabuddhi) and remain as Atma. .
Therefore fight: Since Atma is imperishable, and the bodies are subject to death now or hereafter, the Lord exhorts Arjuna to carry out his duty and fight the battle free from sorrow and fear. The Lord wants his disciple to act in the light of his knowledge of Atma, the perishable nature of material things.
Question: What is the nature of the body?
Answer: It is subject to dissolution and death.
Question: What is Atma, the dweller of the body?
Answer: It is real, imperishable,, and unknowable by the senses and the mind.
@guruvaakya
nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayorapi dṛiṣhṭo ’nta stvanayos tattva-darśhibhi
The unreal has no being, the real has no non-being. The final truth of these two has been seen indeed by those who have experienced the essence of things.
~ Gita 2.16
Knowers of the truth:- This refers to persons who have directly seen the final Truth. For them, lt is no longer speculation or argument or more imagination, but direct perception. Such realised person understand clearly what is real and what is not real.
The body and the world are subject to destruction, and so they are temporary.
The Atma alone is real and permanent entity.
Atman exists all the time. Past, present and future.
The person of knowledge knows the truth. Others who are ignorant confuse the two by ascribing reality to the temporary (body and the world) and denying the real and Ever-Existent, (the Atman). This Confusion is the root cause of all sorrow and suffering for mankind.
To deny the existence of the real and permanent Atma, who alone is real, is the first error.
Attachment to temporary , limited and perishable body and world, is the second error.
By the first error, what is real vanishes and so the eternal Atma becomes something that is far away from us.
By the second error what is perishable and temporary is taken for the permanent and thus the ignorant person brings endless suffering and sorrow.
To end the sorrow, it is just enough for the person to see the real as real (permanent as permanent), and the temporary as temporary. This is the way to peace and the removal of sorrow.
@guruvaakya
mātrā-sparśhās tu kaunteya śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ’nityās tans-titikṣhasva bhārata
Contact of the senses with the objects produces heat and cold, pain and pleasure. These experiences come and go, and are impermanent. Endure them, O Arjuna!
~ BG 2.14
Producers of pleasure and pain: The pleasure experienced by the senses is not pure pleasure. It is mixed with pain. If it is a pure pleasure, it should not have any touch of pain either -before or afterward. Elsewhere in the Gita, it is said that the pleasures derived through contact of the senses with worldly objects are themselves the source of pain. The common experience is also the same. The same thing causes pain and pleasure under different circumstances, in varying degrees. There can be no such thing as pleasure apart from pain. They are the two sides of the same coin. They are called dvandvas’ – pairs of opposites, which always go together. So the Lord speaks of them together as producers of pleasure and pain.
With beginning and end: When worldly pleasures come no one need be elated, for their nature is not simply to appear but to disappear also, and where there is elation there should be depression. Pleasures come as guests and again depart. They are transitory and short-lived. Therefore one should not get himself attached to them. Such attachment will always lead to pain when they disappear, and it is absolutely certain that they disappear in course of time. He is then the ‘dhira’- the person of courage, who is disinterested in them and feels no attraction for them. The ignorant person is deluded by the superficial attractions offered by sense objects, runs after them, and gets himself caught in the whirlpool of Samsara.
The duty of every thoughtful a person is to seek Truth in the midst of this changing phenomena, and the unadulterated Ananda which is pure and perfect and which brings no pain in its wake. The Lord exhorts Arjuna to seek such permanent happiness.
Endure: Endure them (Titikshasva). This is one of the great mantras of the Gita. Man should be equal-minded when cold and heat, pleasure and pain, come in the form of an endless chain. So long as man has the body, they come. No one can stop them. So the Lord gives the satvic law (titikshasva) – endure them. Like sama and dama – control of the internal and external organs, titiksha’ – endurance is an absolutely necessary qualification for the spiritual seeker.
@guruvaakya
na tvevāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ
na chaiva na bhaviṣhyāmaḥ sarve vayamataḥ param
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings of men. Never will there be a time hereafter when any of us shall cease to be.
~ gita 2.12
Through this verse, the Lord teaches the Mahavakya’ “tat tvam asi” (You are That) ‘I’, ‘you’ and all beings in the world are all forms of the one Supreme Self.
So the individual being and the Supreme Being are not two separate entities, but one and only one. This is the most secret of all spiritual secrets. This is the essence of Brahma Jnana.
Three important facts come out in the Lord’s declaration that all beings are eternal.
- Atma is eternal,
- Each individual being is Atma and not the body with name and form,
- The one Atma pervades all beings in the world.
This teaching inspires tremendous strength and courage. When a man comes to know that he and others essentially do not perish, do not die, there is no cause for grief at all. Death is then regarded as only a change of name and form. When the seed breaks up and grows into a plant, there is no need for grief at all. The name and form of the seed have disappeared, but it is there in the form of a plant.
Lord Krishna found out the root cause of Arjuna’s grief and sorrow, and he knew that the knowledge of Atma alone could put an end to all weakness and despondency. So he starts his teaching with the tremendous affirmation of the immortality of the Soul and the deathlessness of the individual being.
All of us hereafter: ‘all of us’ – From the point of view of the Supreme Self, there is no separation between God, Guru, and the common man. All belong to the same eternal existence.
The individual being manifesting as the ego is the result of the limitations of the body, mind, and senses. When these limitations are discarded, the so-called individual being, the ego, becomes veritably the all-pervading Supreme Self. That is the Reality. Knowing that he is the immortal Atma, where is sorrow, where is weakness? Thus the Lord inspires Arjuna with courage born of knowledge.
@guruvaakya
Am I this body, mind and intellect?
Do the pleasures of this world give real happiness and peace?
Are the objects of this world permanent?
Are my actions bringing happiness, joy, peace and harmony to others, or are they bringing them pain, unhappiness and misery?
Reflect thus and enjoy peace.
- Sri Swami Sivananda
@guruvaakya
JAPA YOGA
- In this Kali Yuga, Japa Yoga is an easy way for attaining God-realisation.
- Japa is the repetition of any Mantra or Name of the Lord with Bhava and feeling.
- Japa removes the impurities of the mind, destroys sins and brings the devotee face to face with the Lord.
- Every Name is filled with countless powers; just as fire has the natural property of burning things, so also the Name of God has the power of burning the sins and desires.
- Sweeter than all sweet things, more auspicious than all good things, purer than all pure things, is the Name of the Lord.
- Name of the Lord is a boat to cross this Samsara. It is a weapon to destroy the mind.
- The repetition of the Mantra again and again generates great spiritual force and momentum and intensifies the spiritual Samskaras or impressions.
- Mananaat Trayate iti Mantrah: By the Manana, constant thinking or recollection, one is released from the round of birth and death; so it is called Mantra.
- Repetition of Mantra raises vibrations. Vibrations give rise to definite forms. Repetition of Om Namah Sivaya gives rise to the form of Lord Siva in the mind; repetition of Om Namo Narayanaya gives rise to the form of Lord Hari.
- The glory of the Name of God cannot be established through reasoning and intellect. It can certainly be experienced or realised, only through devotion, faith and constant repetition.
- Japa is of three kinds, viz., Manasic Japa, Upamsu Japa or humming, and Vaikhari Japa, loud and audible Japa.
- Mental repetition of Japa, Manasic Japa, is more powerful than loud Japa.
@guruvaakya
THE LAW OF KARMA
WHAT IS KARMA?
Karma means not only action, but also the result of an action. The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the action, and cannot be divided from it.
Breathing, thinking, talking, seeing, hearing, eating, etc., are Karmas. Thinking is mental Karma. Karma is the sum total of our acts both in the present life and in the preceding births.
Any deed, any thought that causes an effect, is called a Karma. The Law of Karma means the law of causation.
Wherever there is a cause, there an effect must be produced. A seed is a cause for the tree which is the effect. The tree produces seeds and becomes the cause for the seeds.
HOW KARMA IS FASHIONED
A person is threefold in his nature. He consists of Ichha (desire, feeling), Jnana (knowing) and Kriya (willing). These three fashion his Karma. He knows objects like chair, tree, etc. He feels joy and sorrow. He wills to do this, or not to do that.
Behind the action, there are desire and thought. A desire for an object arises in the mind. Then you think how to get it. Then you exert to possess it.
Desire, thought and action always go together. They are the three threads, as it were, that are twisted into the cord of Karma.
Desire produces Karma. You work and exert to acquire the objects of your desire. Karma produces its fruits as pain or pleasure. You will have to take births after births to reap the fruits of your Karmas. This is the Law of Karma.
THE WORKING OF THE LAW
The Law of Karma is one of the fundamental doctrines in Hinduism.
As a man sows, so he shall reap. This is the Law of Karma. If you do an evil action, you must suffer for it. If you do a good action, you must get happiness. There is no power on this earth which can stop the actions from yielding their fruits. Every thought, every word, every deed is, as it were, weighed in the scales of eternal, divine Justice. The Law of Karma is inexorable.
Things do not happen in this universe by accident or chance in a disorderly manner. They happen in regular succession. They follow one another in a regular order.
There is a certain definite connection between what is being done now by you, and what will happen in the future.
- You cannot deny or doubt your existence. You always feel that you exist. This existence is Atman or your own Self. The knower of the doubt or denier always exists. That knower is your own Atman.
- In dream you are distinct from the physical body. In deep sleep, you are distinct from the body and the mind. You enjoy peace and bliss in deep sleep. This proves that you are neither body nor mind, but you are All-Blissful Soul.
- There is only one Reality or Truth. That is Brahman or Atman. All appearances are unreal. They are the effects of Maya, the illusory power of Brahman.
- Behold the one Immortal Atman in all names and forms. This alone is correct perception.
- Ignorance is the cause for pain and sorrow. Annihilate this ignorance through Brahma Jnana. All miseries will come to an end.
- This Atman is beyond time, space, causation. Time, space, causation are mental creation.
- Just as snake is superimposed on the rope, this world, and the body are superimposed on Brahman.
- Bring a light, the snake vanishes; rope alone remains. Attain Illumination, this world and this body vanish. Atman alone remains. That Atman thou art. Tat Tvam Asi.
- Identify yourself with the Atman which is non-doer, non-enjoyer. You will attain Immortality and eternal Bliss.
- Sensual pleasure is only pain. It is momentary mental excitement, momentary sensation of flesh, momentary itching and scratching of the senses. You can have eternal bliss in your own Inner Atman alone.
- Constantly think of the Immortal, all-pervading Atman. Give up thinking of body. You will attain Self-realisation.
- You are ever free. You are already free. Moksha is not a thing to be attained. You will have to know that you are Atman, that you are free.
- Destroy the Vasanas, subtle desires, and Trishnas, cravings. This will lead to the annihilation of the mind. Destruction of the mind will lead to the attainment of Brahma Jnana or wisdom of the Self.
@guruvaakya
Just as fire blazes forth when the ash above it is removed, Brahman shines forth when the veil of ignorance, which conceals It, is removed. Just as butter is perceived when milk is converted into curd and churned, so also Brahman is perceived through the churning of meditation.
Just as hunger, thirst, pain, taste, etc., have to be experienced, but cannot be seen by the fleshy eyes, even so Brahman has to be experienced through deep meditation and Samadhi. Just as the tiny bacilli that produce cholera, typhoid, etc. cannot be seen by the naked eye, but can be seen with the help of a microscope, so also Brahman cannot be seen by the physical eyes but can be seen through the eye of intuition.
He who sees all, but whom no one beholds, who illumines the intellect, the sun, moon, stars and the whole universe, but whom they cannot illumine, is Brahman.
He sees without eyes, hears without ears, feels without skin, tastes without tongue, grasps without hand, walks without feet, smells without a nose, knows without a mind, because He is pure, all-pervading Consciousness.
He is formless (Nirakara), without Gunas (Nirguna), without any special characteristics (Nirvisesha), without parts (Nishkala), without limbs (Niravayava), without action (Nishkriya). He is eternal (Nitya), pure (Suddha), perfect (Siddha), free (Mukta).
Brahman is Truth (Satyam), Wisdom (Jnanam), Infinity (Anantam). He is Peace (Shantam), Auspiciousness (Sivam), One without a second (Advaitam). He is without old age (Ajaram), immortal (Amritam), fearless (Abhayam), and the Highest (Param). He is the absolute (Kevala).
That place, where all speech stops, all thoughts cease, where the functions of the intellect and all organs stop, is Brahman, Existence- Consciousness -Bliss.
Brahman is with form and without form, and He is above forms. He is actionless; He is the actor also. He is the manifest; He is the unmanifest. He is immanent; He is transcendent.
There is a living, unchanging, eternal Consciousness that underlies all names and forms, and that holds all together. That is God or Brahman.
@guruvaakya
Brahman is within and without. He is above and below. He is in front and behind. He is in all sides. He is everywhere, like the all-pervading space. He is Chidakasa (space like consciousness)
The five attributes:
Existence (Sat), Consciousness (Chit), Bliss (Ananda), Eternal (Nitya), and Fullness (Paripoorna), express Brahman in the best possible manner. Meditate on these and realise Him.
Behind this world show, behind this physical phenomena, behind these names and forms, behind the feelings, thoughts, emotions, sentiments, there dwells the silent witness, your immortal Friend and real Well-wisher, the Purusha or the World-teacher, the invisible Power or Consciousness.
Just as one thread penetrates all flowers in a garland, so also one Self, Atman penetrates all these living beings. He is hidden in all beings and forms, like oil in seed, butter in milk, Prana in the body, sun behind the clouds, fire in wood, salt in water, scent in flowers.
Just as the light is the same in bulbs of different colours, even so the bodies and mental Bhavanas (attitudes) are different, but Atma is one in all beings.
Just as the sun, reflected in various pots of water, appears to be many, so also the Atman appears to be many when reflected through various minds in various bodies.
@guruvaakya
Brahman is Ananda-Swaroopa (nature of bliss).
He is Anandamaya (made up of great bliss).
He is Ananda-Ghana (full of pure bliss).
He is Ananda-Murti (Embodiment of bliss).
He is Ananda-Vigraha (bliss personified).
He is Ananda-Sagara (ocean of bliss).
He is Parama-Ananda (supreme bliss).
He is Ananta-Sukha (infinite bliss).
He is Nitya-Sukha (eternal bliss).
He is Akhanda-Sukha (complete bliss).
Those who realize this Brahman will attain infinite supreme Eternal unending Ocean of bliss. This is also a aim of human life and a moksha.
@guruvaakya
SELF-KNOWLEDGE DESTROYS GRIEF
yad ātmatattvena tu brahmatattvaṃ dīpopameneha yuktaḥ prapaśyet /
ajaṃ dhruvaṃ sarvatattvair viśuddhaṃ jñātvā devaṃ mucyate sarvapāśaiḥ // 2.15 //
When the yogi beholds the real nature of Brahman, through the Knowledge of the Self, radiant as a lamp, then, having known the unborn and immutable Lord, who is untouched by ignorance and its effects, he is freed from all fetters.
The question what happens when the Jiva, individual soul, is absolutely purified by knowledge is answered in this Mantra. The answer is that he simultaneously realizes his identity with Brahman just like a lamp becomes luminous when it is lit. As the luminosity is the very nature of the lamp which it regains when it is lighted so also the jiva (individual soul) identifies himself with Brahman and its power the moment he acquires Self-Realization.
The point to note is that the identity of Jiva with Brahman is not something which is attained but it is their very nature, an eternal fact, which is cognized only in Samadhi.
The realization is that the Jiva was never different from Brahman or the thing that is sought just as the lamp and its luminosity were never different from each other and that there was never a Jiva really speaking (Brahman alone existed)
- Svetasvatara Upanishad - Chapter 2
@guruvaakya
What is Yoga?
Yoga IS TO live in God, to commune with God. Yoga is complete life. Yoga shows you the marvellous method of rising from evil to good and from good to holiness, and then to eternal divine splendour. Yoga is the art of right living.
Yoga is a science perfected by the ancient seers of India for humanity as a whole. It is an exact science, a perfectly practical system of self-culture.
Yoga is primarily a way of life, not something that is divorced from life. Yoga is for all and is universal. It is a way to God.
It is a Yoga is union with God. It is union with all life. Moral purity and spiritual aspiration are the first steps on the path of Yoga. An aspirant should have faith. An austere and simple life are indispensable.
The four main paths to God-realisation are:
- Karma Yoga: Path of Working selflessly, without desire and attachment to the result of the work, and dedicating them to God.
- Bhakti Yoga: The path of love and devotion to God.
- Raja Yoga: The path of Meditation by controlling the mind and prana.
- Jnana Yoga: The path of knowledge wherein a Yogi discriminates between Nitya (Real, Permenent & Independent Reality) and Anitya (Unreal, Impermanent & Dependent reality).
What are the benefits of Yoga practice?
Yoga brings perfection, peace and lasting happiness. You can have success in every walk of life. You can have calmness of mind always and can attain a high standard of health. Yoga will free you from all kinds of pains, miseries and tribulations, and finally God-Realization.
@guruvaakya
Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārthesv abhijñah svarāt
tene brahma hrdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayah
tejo-vāri-mrdām yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo 'mrsā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhīmahi
O my Lord, Shri Krishna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading God, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Shri Krishna because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahma, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water.
Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.
~ Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.1
@guruvaakya
ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ yaśh chainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate
He who thinks that Atma slays, or he who thinks that Atma is Slain, both these do not know the Truth. Atma does not slay, nor is slain.
~ Gita 2.19
1. Since Atma does not slay, it follows that Atma does not perform any action. It is actionless. It does not do anything, nor does it prompt anything to do. The sense of action and the feeling of activity belong to Buddhi only and do not touch Atma which is beyond Buddhi. He is an ignorant man who ascribes action to Atma.
2. Atma is imperishable and so it cannot be slain. It is eternal and unchanging. Therefore, the spiritual aspirant should persistently contemplate that he is the immortal Atma, the witness of the physical and subtle bodies, the ever pure and perfect.
Question: What is the nature of Atma?
Answer: It is free from all action. It does not slay, nor is it slain.
@guruvaakya
avināśhi tu tadviddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
vināśham avyayasyāsya na kaśhchit kartum arhati
(O Arjuna!) Know that Atma by which the whole universe is pervaded is indestructible. No one can cause the destruction of the imperishable.
~ Gita 2.17
Since everything – the moving and the non-moving objects of the world -is pervaded by the Atman, which is present in the heart of every individual, one should consider every object as the manifestation of the Atman and be full of love and kindness for all.
A person should not commit any sin, since Atma, the Lord, is present everywhere. Since nothing can cause the destruction of Atma, one should contemplate and strive to live in Atma without any kind of doubt or fear.
Question: What is the nature of Atma?
Answer: Atma pervades the whole universe. It is imperishable. No one can cause its destruction.
@guruvaakya
yaṁ hi na vyathayantyete puruṣhaṁ puruṣharṣhabha
sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛitatvāya kalpate
The firm person who is not affected by pain and pleasure, who remains equal-minded, surely is fit for immortality, O Arjuna, Chief of mortals!
~ Gita 2.15
Chief among mortals: He who has controlled the senses, who is not attracted by worldly objects, and who is equal-minded in pain and pleasure, is the best of men. Worldly greatness is not enough, but along with it, one should acquire spiritual excellence also. Then alone he becomes the chief among mortals. The Lord exhorts Arjuna to acquire spiritual greatness, and so he addresses him as ‘chief among mortals’ – (Purusharshabha)
Equal in pain and pleasure: Firmness of character implies equanimity of mind under all conditions of pain and pleasure. He is firmly fixed in Atma who feels that the pairs of Opposites (`dvandas’) are only modifications of the body and mind. Pleasure is only a wave of the mind, and pain is also a wave of the mind. The Atma is above the mind. It is a witness of these changes. So the firm man is indifferent to them.
He is fit for immortality: Liberation is known as immortality. The world of name and form is dead matter, Jada. It is subject to birth and death. The state of Atma is deathless. So liberation is not something to be acquired fresh by man, but it is his essential nature. It is not something existing in the Heaven or sky. It is immortality here and now and forever. He who attains this state does not come under the power of death. He has no need to take a body again.
Question: What is Moksha?
Answer: The state of permanent happiness ‘ananda’ is Moksha.
Question: Who can attain it?
Answer: He who is not drawn by sense objects, who is firm and equal-minded in pain and pleasure attains it.
Question: Who is a firm man (dhira)?
Answer: The man of equanimity in pain and pleasure, in the midst of all the tremendous agitations of life, is entitled to be called a firm man (dhira).
@guruvaakya
dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati
Just as a person in this body passes through the various stages of boyhood, youth, and old age, like so, he passes into another body after death. The wise know it and are not deluded.
~ Bhagavad Gita 2.13
Boyhood, youth, old age, and migrating into another body – these four stages are inevitable for the physical body.
In the body: It is made clear that these changes affect the body and not the Atma. When from boyhood one passes to youth, and from youth to age, he does not grieve. No one grieves when the seed dies as it is giving birth to the plant. And so, the Lord questions why one should grieve when the body falls and another is taken up by the individual being. The wise who know the secret remain firm when these changes overtake the body.
The first three stages are seen and known by all, but the fourth change is unseen and so it is looked upon with a feeling of awe and wonder. But the Lord points out that even this change is just like the former and not in the least different from them. So he exhorts everyone to know the truth and be fearless.
It should however be remembered that the Jnani (Self-realized person) whose ‘karmic’ force is already exhausted has no need to take another body. The common man is subject to the law of rebirth till the last when he too becomes free.
Cycle of the body :
Boyhood – Youth – Old Age – Rebirth.
The cycle rotates inevitably so long as the karma force works. When it is destroyed by knowledge of Atman, the person is freed from the cycle of birth and death. This is liberation (Moksha).
Question: What are the changes for the physical body?
Answer: Boyhood, youth, old age, and rebirth in the body are the changes.
Question: Who is the person of courage?
Answer: He is the man of courage who does not grieve when these modifications overtake the body, when man dies and passes into another body.
@guruvaakya
śhrī bhagavān uvācha
aśhochyān-anvaśhochas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānśh cha bhāṣhase
gatāsūn-agatāsūnśh-cha nānuśhochanti paṇḍitāḥ
The Lord said: O Arjuna! You grieve for those for whom there need be no sorrow, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise do not grieve for the dead or living.
~ Bhagavad Gita 2.11
The teaching of the Gita starts from this Sloka. So in the Gita-Sastra, this verse is regarded as the seed or source (Bija). Just as the whole tree is involved in the seed, the whole of the Gita Sastra’ is implied in this Sloka.
The message of the Gita starts with the word ‘Asochyan’ and ends with the words ‘ma suchah’ (do not grieve). So it appears that the main purpose of the Gita teaching is “the removal of sorrow.”
Those who should not be grieved for: Every object in the world has five aspects: (1) existence, (2) light (consciousness) (3) bliss, (4) name, and (5) form.
Of these, the first three - existence, consciousness, and bliss (sat, chit, ananda) are real and eternal.
The later two, name and form (nama and rupa) are temporary and transitory.
The first three constitute the real nature of a person, and not name and form of a physical body. But such is the power of ignorance (avidya’) that a person sees, knows and clings to the later two only – namely name and form of a body.
The first three are not directly seen, though they are experienced every moment of life. Thus, if we analyse and go a little deeper into the real nature of oneself we find that it is indestructible and eternal.
Only the later two (name & form of a body) go on continuously changing from time to time.
Therefore, since the real nature of a person is eternal, one need not weep and wail for the modifications of name and form which he observes in life and death.
When the real nature of a person is deathless, for whom should we grieve, and for what? That is the Lord’s position.
@guruvaakya
Action—Habit—Character—Destiny
Thought moulds your character. If you entertain noble thoughts, you will develop a noble character; and if you entertain evil thoughts, you will develop a base character. This is the
immutable Law of Nature.
Therefore, you can deliberately shape your character by cultivating sublime thoughts. Thought materialises and becomes an action. If you allow the mind to dwell on good, elevating thoughts, you will do naturally good and laudable actions.
Conduct or behaviour reveals your character. Conduct also moulds your Character.
Cultivation of good conduct needs rigorous discipline and constant vigilance. You will have to watch every thought, word and action. You must be extremely careful when you conduct yourself with others. With all your good intentions, you will be carried away by the force of your previous wrong impressions, instincts and impulses. Even highly educated people lack in behaviour. Good behaviour indicates that you have a refined or polished, disciplined mind and real, good spiritual culture. The practice of Japa, Pranayama and Mauna (or vow of silence) will help you to control the impulses etc.
You sow an action and reap a habit. You sow a habit and reap a character. You sow a character and reap your destiny.
Hence, destiny is your own make-up. You have built it. You can undo it by entertaining noble thoughts, and doing virtuous actions, and changing your mode of thinking. Now you are thinking that you are the body, Mr. So and so. Now, start the anti-current of thought. Think that you are all-pervading, immortal Brahman. Brahman you will become. This is an immutable Law.
@guruvaakya
As You Sow, So You Reap
If you put a seed in the earth, it sends up a little stem. Then leaves come out of the stem. Then come flowers and fruits. There are seeds again in the fruits.
Mango seed only produces mango tree. If you sow rice, you cannot expect a crop of wheat. The same sort of seed produces the same kind of plant. A human being alone is born from the womb of a woman, a horse from a horse and a dog from a dog. Similarly, if you sow the seed of an evil action, you will reap a harvest of pain and suffering. If you sow the seed of a virtuous action, you will reap a harvest of pleasure. This is the
Law of Karma.
Whatever you sow by your actions come back to you. If you make others happy through service, charity and kind acts, you sow happiness like a seed; and it will give you the fruit of happiness. If you make others unhappy through harsh words, insult, ill-treatment, cruel acts, etc., you sow unhappiness like a seed; and it will give you the fruit of pain, suffering, misery and unhappiness. This is the immutable Law of Karma.
Your actions in the past are responsible for your present condition. Your present actions will shape or mould your future.
There is nothing chaotic or capricious in this world. You become good by your good actions, and bad by your evil actions.
If you entertain evil thoughts, you must suffer the consequences. You will be in difficulties.
You will be surrounded by unfavourable circumstances. You will blame your surroundings and circumstances.
Understand the law and live wisely. Entertain noble thoughts. You will be happy always.
Who is God?
- God is Satchidananda (Existence, Consciousness and Bliss Absolute).
- God is Truth. God is the Light of lights. God is all-pervading intelligence or consciousness.
- God is all-pervading Power who governs this universe and keeps it in perfect order. He is the Inner Ruler of this body and mind (Antaryamin). He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.
- He exists,—past, present and future. He is unchanging amidst the changing phenomena.
- He is permanent amidst the impermanent, and imperishable amidst the perishable things of this world.
- He is eternal, perpetual, indestructible, immutable and imperishable. He has created this world through the three Gunas—Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas—for His own Leela (play). He has Maya under His control.
- He is Swatantra or independent.
- Eternal Happiness and Supreme Peace can be had only in God.
- He is an embodiment of eternal bliss, supreme peace and wisdom. He is all-merciful, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He has neither beginning nor end. He is the Supreme Being or Paramatma or Brahman .
- The Gita styles Him as Purushottama or Supreme Purusha or Maheswara. He knows everything in detail.
- He is the support for this world, body, mind, senses and Prana. Without Him not an atom can move.
- He is the womb for the Vedas. Indra, Agni, Varuna, Vayu and Yama are His assistants. Earth, water, fire, air and ether are His five powers. Maya is His illusive Shakti (power).
- God is Swayambhu, self-existent. He does not depend upon others for His existence.
- He is Swayam Prakasha or Swayam Jyoti, self-luminous. He does not want any light to reveal Him. He reveals Himself by His own light. God is Swatah Siddha, self-proved. He does not want any proof, because He is the basis for the act or process of proving. God is Paripoorna, self-contained.
- He contains everything in Himself. The entire universe is in Him. God is Swasamvedya. He knows by Himself.
- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the three aspects of God or Brahman.
- Brahma is the creative aspect;
Vishnu is the preservative aspect; and Siva is the destructive aspect.
@guruvaakya
What is Atman?
There is an Atman or Self independent of body and mind. This Atman is immortal, unchanging and infinite.
- This Atman is Sat-chit-ananda (Existence- Consciousness- Bliss-). It exists in the past, present and future.
- This body perishes, but the Atman or the indweller is Immortal. So, you should not grieve when anyone dies. In essence everyone is Immortal Atman.
- This Atman cannot be hurt by anyone. It is subtle, all-pervading. It is the Innermost Self of all.
- This Atman is birthless, deathless, changeless. When the body is killed, He is not killed. Therefore grieve not, lament not, regret not. Be always cheerful.
- Fire cannot burn this Atman, sword cannot pierce this Atman, bomb cannot destroy this Atman, machine-guns cannot kill this Atman.
- This Atman is eternal, immovable, secondless, self-existent, self-centred. Therefore, knowing this to be such, you shouldn't grieve when anyone dies.
- This perishable body will certainly pass away. Indweller can never perish. You are the immortal Atman.
- Brahman or Atman is beyond the reach of the mind and speech. He is beyond logic, reason, mental process, science. He must be realised through meditation, in Samadhi.
@guruvaakya
Meaning of Rama Nama -
1. The syllable ‘ma’ is vital for Shiva mantra (na ma śi vā ya – without ‘ma’, it would be Na Sivaya). ‘ra’ is vital for Madhava mantra (namō nā rā ya ṇā ya – without ‘ra’, it would be Na Ayanaya). ‘rāma’ is the supreme union of this two essential syllables.
2. ‘rāma’ is the combination of three syllables – ‘Ra’, ‘A’ and ‘Ma’ denoting Fire, Sun & Moon respectively.
As Lord said in Bhagavad Gita, these three are the only sources of energy. Hence, ‘Rama’ is the only source of radiant energy in this universe.
3. ‘Rama’ is the Vedantic term for the ‘Self’ that exists as the consciousness within everyone.
4. ‘Rama’ is the ‘Supreme Brahman’ (Para Brahman) that is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent
From Yogic standpoint, Continuous recitation of ‘Rama’ mantra energizes the Fire (sushmna nadi), Sun (pingala nadi) & Moon (ida nadi) ecosystem within us and awakens ‘Kundalini’.
Nadi's are the energy channels in the body where energy flows.
- Lord Siva elucidated that ‘Ra’, ‘A’ and ‘Ma’ denote Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.
Hence Rama is the embodiment of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.
- ‘śvē mahimnē rājatē iti’ says Upanishad meaning that the Supreme Brahman is radiating effulgence.
Combining ‘Ma’ in Mahimne and ‘Ra’ in Rajate, ‘Rama’ denotes the self-luminous Supreme Self.
- ‘Rama’ mantra is ‘Taraka’ mantra. Chanting of ‘Rama’ mantra purifies both mind and body transforming one into an exalted character and thereby transporting into a higher plane of existence ultimately leading to self-realization.
@guruvaakya
Brahman is different from the world, yet there is nothing which is not Brahman. If anything other than Brahman is seen, it is as illusory as “water in the mirage.”
Whatever is seen or heard is no other than Brahman. Through Tattva-Jnana, this world is seen to be Satchidananda, the secondless Brahman.
He who has the eye of Wisdom sees Satchidananda Brahman in all things, but he who has not the eye of Knowledge cannot see it, just as a blind man cannot see the brilliant sun.
The Jiva (individual soul) melted in the fire of Jnana, kindled by Sravana, etc., is cleansed of all impurities and shines by himself like burnt gold.
The Atman is the sun of knowledge that rises in the Akasa of the heart, destroys the darkness of ignorance, permeates and supports all, shines and makes everything shine.
That actionless Yogi who has given up the limitations of direction, place, time, etc., who worships and attains the Atma which is all-pervading, eternal, blissful, spotless, becomes all-knowing, all-pervading and immortal.
@guruvaakya
NATURE OF REALITY
That something by possessing which there is nothing more advantageous to be possessed, whose bliss is greater than the bliss obtained by any other source, by knowing which there is no greater knowledge to be attained, should be understood as Brahman.
That something, after seeing which there is nothing more to be seen, after becoming which there is nothing more to become, after knowing which there remains nothing to be known, should be understood as Brahman.
That something which is all-pervading, around, above, below, which is Satchidananda (existence, knowledge and bliss), which is one without a second, endless, eternal, one and one alone, should be understood as Brahman.
All objects are united with That. All actions are united with Brahman. Therefore Brahman pervades everything, just as butter is in every particle of milk.
That which is neither subtle nor gross, neither short nor long, which is unborn, unchanging, destitute of form, quality, caste and name, that should be understood as Brahman.
By whose light, the sun, moon etc., shine, but which is not illumined by these, and by whose light all these objects shine, that should be understood as Brahman.
Like fire in a red-hot iron ball, Brahman, pervading the whole world, both internally and externally, illumines it; and without being illumined by anything else, shines by its own light.
@guruvaakya
Realise That to be Brahman, the attainment of which leaves nothing more to be attained,
the blessedness of which
leaves no other blessing to be desired and the knowledge of which leaves nothing more to be known.
which, when seen, leaves nothing more to be seen,
which having become one
is not born again in this world and which, when knowing
leaves nothing else to be known. which is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute, which is Non-dual, Infinite, Eternal and One and which fills all the quarters - above and below and all that exists between.
which is
Non-dual, Indivisible, One and Blissful and which is indicated in Vedanta as the Immutable Substratum,
realised after the negation of all tangible objects.
Deities like Brahma and others taste only a particle, of the unlimited Bliss of Brahman and enjoy in proportion their share of that particle.
All objects are pervaded by Brahman.
All actions are possible because of Brahman:
therefore Brahman permeates everything as butter permeates milk.
Realise that to be Brahman
which is neither subtle nor gross:
neither short nor long:
without birth or change:
without form, qualities, colour and name.
That by the light of which the luminous, orbs like the Sun and the Moon are illuminated, but which is not illumined by their light,
realise that to be Brahman.
Pervading the entire universe
outwardly and inwardly
the Supreme Brahman shines of Itself
like the fire that permeates a red-hot iron-ball and glows by itself.
Brahman is other than this, the universe. There exists nothing that is not Brahman.
If any object other than Brahman appears to exist, it is unreal like the mirage.
All that is perceived, or heard,
is Brahman and nothing else.
Attaining the knowledge of the Reality, one sees the Universe as the non-dual Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute.
- Sri Adi Sankaracharya.
Atma Bodha. Verses 54-64.
Translated by Swami Chinmayananda.
@guruvaakya
Anger is an enemy of peace, wisdom and devotion. Slay anger through love, patience, forgiveness, Japa and meditation.
The fruits of spiritual discipline and meditation are freedom, illumination, perfection, equanimity, peace, one-pointedness of mind and eternal bliss.
Be constantly vigilant. Be patient. Be steadfast.
~ Swami Shivananda Saraswati
@guruvaakya
Celibacy
Mental calmness and vigour, will-power and strength, irresistible and invincible vigour manifest when a person practices celibacy. Celibacy results in good health.
Lust ruins life, lustre, strength, vitality, memory, wealth, peace, holiness, devotion and wisdom. It produces a fickle mind. So slay lust
~ Swami Shivananda Saraswati
@guruvaakya