Random Useful Thoughts - Call of the
Absolute
·
The difference
between the natures of Isvara and jiva is something like that between the
meanings of the words, ‘God’ and ‘dog’. There is no doubt some relation between
the two, and yet what a contrast of characters! In the jiva the character of Isvara is completely
reversed in a topsy-turvy manner, though the relation between Him and the jiva is, no doubt, there.
·
Dharma is that
sustaining universal impulse which conduces to the prosperity of the individual
both here and hereafter. This means that the observance of Dharma does not
violate the laws of the world for the sake of the Spirit or of the Spirit for
the sake of the world. It views existence both in its depth and its width.
·
The conclusions of
physical science are as much true as the discovery that all the plays of
Shakespeare are only combinations of the 26 letters of the English alphabet.
This is no doubt a truth which no one can controvert or refute. And yet the
heart will revolt against this conclusion since it apprehends in the Works of
Shakespeare something more than the constituents of the alphabet. This is true
in the case of every other observed phenomenon, also.
·
The mind and the
body get identified with each other, like fire and iron in a red hot iron-ball,
in such a way that thought cannot be separated from object. There is always a
flow of thought with perpetual reference to the body, and all human judgment is
thus vitiated by the prejudice that the body is the thinking self. All science
and even philosophy cannot help playing second fiddle to this erroneous
hypothesis, and thus cut the ground from under their own feet.
·
Hanuman is said to
have told Sri Rama: “From the point of view of the body, I am Thy servant; from
the point of view of the jiva, I am a part of Thyself; from
the point of view of the Atman, I am Thy own-Self.” These three standpoints
correspond to the three great systems of philosophy propounded by Madhva,
Ramanuja and Sankara.
·
The thought of God
is like the centripetal cohesive force in a star or a planet, which drives its
constituents to its centre by a pressure of inwardly directed energy, and is
strikes a universally attuned equilibrium of the entire personality in relation
to creation as a whole, provided the thought is deep enough and is sincerely
raised in one’s mind. It produces a thrill beyond words.
·
While Maya follows
Brahman, the jiva follows Maya. It seems that while Rama
was walking in the forest, Sita was following him and Lakshmana was following
her. Maya obstructs the vision of Brahman by the jiva.
·
Forces which
constitute the universe react and interact among one another for effecting a
higher integration - we may call them men and things, and so on in a state of
ignorance. These activities of forces are the history of the universe.
·
Hanuman is a combination
of strength and intelligence. He was anakhanda-brahmacharin.
His life demonstrates that the ojas-sakti generated through brahmacharya heightens both understanding and
vitality in a maximum degree.
·
The effect of one’s
reading and learning can be seen in one’s behaviour. If the behaviour has not
changed, it means the learning acquired is like water poured over a rock, which
gets wet only on the surface without allowing the water to seep into it.
·
The four ashramas of life are not four different stages
with a jump from the preceding to the succeeding. Each following stage is the
flowering of the earlier, a maturing, including and transcending of the past
conditions, like the higher and higher standards in education superseding the
earlier ones.
·
Death is the law of
life. It is the law that requires a constant transformation of all composite
elements and a reshuffling of all existent forms. Thus, death cannot be
avoided. And it can take place at any time, though it has its fixed time.
·
Just as twenty-five
paise are contained in a quarter rupee coin, the twenty-five manifestations of prakriti are contained in the purusha, though
invisibly and intangibly. Though the variety of manifestation is manifold, it
is all inherent in its cause, like a chair present in wood.
·
The ‘Advaita’ of
Sankara is not so much the assertion of oneness as the negation of duality, as
the names of his system suggests. God is not one or two or three, for He is
above numerical affirmation. He is not anything that we can think of, but,
however, He does not involve in any difference; hence He is ‘Advaita’,
non-dual. Such is the cautious name of Sankara’s system of philosophy.
·
Brahma, Vishnu and
Siva are not three gods, but the one God performing three functions. There can,
thus, be no superiority or inferiority among them. They are like the three
faces of a crystal where one face reflects the others.
·
An individual has as
many organs as are required to fulfill the wishes that are embodied in the prarabdha karma of a given life, and these organs are
of such quality and capacity as the needs of the individual concerned. Nothing
more, and nothing less is given to us in this world.
·
Every adversity
should stimulate more and more strength in us, enough to be able to overcome
onslaughts of such types again. Every fall should propel us to a higher
aspiration, a longing which should never be dampened, threatened or vanquished
at any time.
·
Avidya is the
disposition by which one mistakes the non-eternal for the eternal, the impure
for the pure, the painful for the pleasant and the not-self for the Self.
Avidya is the seed of egoism, craving, hatred and clinging to one’s body, so
hard to overcome.
·
When senses trouble
you, remember the sages Narayana and Nara. They are the supreme masters over
the senses, before whom Indra had to bow his head in shame.
·
There are two
greater wonders: The starry heavens above, and the moral law within. Neither of
these can be fathomed to their depths, and they will remain a wonder forever.
They are endless in their extent and no one can study them as ‘external’
objects.
·
When Maricha cried
out: “O Lakshmana, O Sita,” Sita mistook it for Rama’s voice. She could not
identify Rama’s voice as different from that of another, though she had lived
with Rama for so long. So is the case with the jiva. It has
forgotten its association with the Absolute and cannot distinguish the call of
the Spirit from the clamours of the senses. This is called delusion.
·
Krishna was a person
of great enjoyments. Vasishtha was devoted to rituals. Janaka was a king.
Jadabharata was looking like an idiot. Suka was renowned for his dispassion.
Vyasa was busy in teaching and writing. But all these are regarded as equal in
knowledge. Different forms serve different purposes, but their essential being
is one.
·
Man’s conscience in
its essentiality is not an accomplice of harm and injury being done to anyone.
It is necessary for the evil one intending to destroy others to destroy his own
conscience first. The self of the killer is killed much before the act of killing
takes place.
·
It is unwise to say
that the world is good or bad, for the world is one of the conditions through
which the ‘gunas’ - sattva, rajas and tamas - evolve in the course of time. All
things can be found always in different places and hence our narrow judgments
confined to a limited perception of truth cannot be correct. How can we say
that any part of ‘prakriti’ is good
or bad?
·
Great men are not
those who run fast and speak much but think deep and live wisely. More than
doing it is being something - a change of outlook and attitude. We are great,
not because we are something to the world but because we are something in
ourselves, even if the whole world is not to exist at all.
·
It is impossible to
use one’s commonsense when one is in the grip of intense desire; for passions
have no commonsense. They have neither reason nor logic, like the overwhelming
force of a mighty river in floods, or like a beast caught at bay. Conquest over
the human passions is the same as self-control, for the personality of man is
but a bundle of latent and patent forces which seek expression in various ways.
·
The Ganga destroys
sins; the moon destroys heat; the kalpavriksha destroys poverty. But
the company of the wise ones destroys sin, heat and poverty all at once.
·
It is said that when
the devotee takes one stop towards the Lord, he is greeted by the Lord with a
hundred steps. The Bhakti-Sastras state that the love of God for the devotee is
more than man’s love for God. The power of the Whole is intense than the force
of the part.
·
Religion is the
reaction of the human mind to its notion of God.
·
Dharma is that
sustaining power of Righteousness by which one acquires here, prosperity (adhyudaya) and attains in the end
eternal blessedness (nihsreyasa). It
is the law that maintains the balance of forces in the Universe and dispenses
the retributive justice to the individuals in such a manner as the equilibrium
of creation is never disturbed.
Continue to read:
If you would
like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact
the General Secretary at:
