Thursday, September 19, 2013

(Sep 19,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Who is a good seeker?

Who is a good seeker?
Divine Life Society Publication: Discourse 38 (Chapter 13) Commentary on the Bhagavadgita by Swami Krishnananda

Amanitvam adambhitvam ahimsa kshantir arjavam, acharyopasanam saucham sthairyam atma-vinigrahah (13.7).
Indriyartheshu vairagyamanahankara eva cha, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-doshanudarsanam (13.8).
Asaktir anabhishvangah putra-dara-grhadishu, nityam cha sama-chittatvam ishtanishtopapattishu (13.9).
Mayi chananya yogena bhaktir avyabhicharini, vivikta-desa-sevitvam aratir jana-samsadi (13.10).
Adhyatma-jnana-nityatvam tattva-jnanartha-darsanam, etaj jnanam iti proktam ajnanam yad-ato’nyatha (13.11).
All these things mentioned here in these verses are called knowledge. “I consider these virtues I have mentioned as real knowledge.” “Whatever is the opposite of what I have said here, is ignorance.”

A student of yoga, a spiritual seeker, is humble. He does not expect respect from anybody, but offers respect to everyone.  If grass is trampled on, it simply bends; it doesn’t resist. We should consider being humbler than a blade of grass. Even if we cut off large part of the tree, it again shoots up tendrils and leaves. It is very tolerant. Thus, the devotee should be as tolerant as a tree and as humble as a blade of grass, giving respect to everybody and wanting respect from nobody.

A spiritual seeker  never demonstrates himself as a seeker of God, a lover of God, a spiritual seeker. He looks like anybody else in the world. There is nothing special or anything particular that we can cognize in that person. He hides his knowledge and his sadhana. It is said the sadhana that we perform, the mantra that we chant, and the Guru whom we worship should not be revealed to anyone. Adambhitvam means there is no demonstration of ahankara.

Ahimsa, non-violence, is something well known to us. All beings should feel fearlessness towards us.

Kshantih is forgiveness. If somebody does something wrong to us, we should not do the same to them. We forgive them because, after all, everybody is susceptible to making some mistake or the other. We should be honest and straightforward, and not hide anything. We should not think one thing, say another thing, and do something else.

Kayena vacha manasa: There should be harmony; otherwise, there will be non-alignment of personality.

Acharyopasanam: We should always be humble and worshipful before our teacher, who imparts knowledge to us. We should not show our greatness or our ego before the teacher or the Guru. Let him be worshipped as the veritable manifestation of God Himself. Saucham means physical purity, both inwardly as well as outwardly. Sthairyam is the decision that we have taken to achieve God-realization in this birth, and not in a future birth. Atma-vinigrahah is self-restraint, the control of the senses and the mind.

Distaste for the objects of sense. There is nothing in this world which can delight us. Therefore, we should be rid of longing for the objects of sense.

We should not project our ego in any way whatsoever, nor go on thinking how we were born into this world, how we have grown up, how we will become old and leave this body one day. Is this world – where everything decays, decomposes, and turns to dust – a haven of pleasure and joy? How can anyone pat himself on the back and say that he is well off in this world?

We should think of the way in which we were born into this world – a very, very unpleasant way indeed in which we were born. The process of dying, the going from this world, is also very unpleasant indeed. Old age is unpleasant, sickness is unpleasant, all kinds of sorrow which we have to encounter daily, and the defects of sense objects – these truths in life, are to be contemplated upon every day.

There is defect in every sense object. It looks honey-coated and tasty, but inside there is a poison which will kill us. Ordinary poison cannot be considered as dangerous as the poison of sense objects, because ordinary poison – scorpion or even snake venom – will destroy us only once; but the contemplation of sense objects, will kill us in several births. Therefore, these kinds of sorrows should be borne in mind, and we should not be entangled in them.

Therefore, we should be detached from things, and live an individual life. If we are householders, we have some duty to perform as a trustee of an institution, not attaching oneself to anything, but doing one's duty very, very meticulously. We may live at home, but we should detach ourselves, knowing well that one day or the other we will leave this, and also knowing that one day or the other they will leave us. Hence, attachment is unfounded and unwarranted.

Whether pleasant things or unpleasant things come – whether good news comes that makes us feel happy, or there is something which makes us very unhappy – we should keep our mind in a state of balance and not be tilted either to this side or that.  

Finally, we should resort to God only. Ekabhakti, means wanting only one, and not wanting anything else.

As far as possible, we should try to live in ekantavas, have ekantavas, and be satisfied in ourselves and not require anybody else with us. If there is a crowd of people, we should leave that place and go somewhere else – sit under a tree. We should not have any kind of taste for organisations, crowds, and the noise of human society. We should be alone to ourselves.

Our daily routine should be working for the acquisition of adhyatma jnana, the knowledge of the Self. We should work for it day and night. We should aspire for the vision of Truth, and ask for nothing else. If we have these qualities, we have knowledge. If we do not have these qualities, we are ignorant. It is said that we should aspire for knowledge of Truth.

What is Truth? (13.12): "I shall now tell you what Truth is. That Supreme Brahman is the Ultimate Truth, after knowing which there is attainment of immortality." It has no beginning and no end. It cannot be designated either as existing or not existing. It cannot be called existing because whenever we think of any existing thing, we want to see it with our eyes or consider it as some object of some sense organ. As it is not the object of any sense organ, we do not consider it to be existing; but neither is it not non-existing – because, ultimately, it is the only existence. Na sat tan nasad uchyate: Therefore, it cannot be regarded as sat, and it cannot be regarded as asat either.

Excerpts from:
Discourse 38 (Chapter 13) Commentary on the Bhagavadgita by Swami Krishnananda

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?

If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at:

No comments:

Post a Comment