(Feb 6,2014) Spiritual Message for the Day – Be Aware of Your All-Pervasive Nature by Swami Krishnananda

Be Aware of your All-Pervasive Nature
From particular to the Universal – This Brahman is What I Am

Divine Life Society Publication: Sandilya Vidya by Swami Krishnananda

Dādau brahmāhamasmītyanubhava udite khalvidah brahma pascat, is a passage from Acharya Sankara’s ‘Satasloki’ wherein he makes a reference to Sandilya vidya. He mentions how the consciousness rises gradually from the level of individual perspective to the universal one. It is not easy to understand because of the fact that we cannot distinguish between our personality or individuality and the Atman, to which reference is being made. We always mix up the two. The Atman is myself, and we know very well what we understand by the word ‘myself’. It is an inveterate habit of the mind to think in terms of the body. So, whatever be the thing that is associated with individuality is at once identified in meditation. The kernel that is within us, the essence that we are, is to be separated from the body that we appear to be in this technique of meditation. In the beginning, there is consciousness that one’s own self is all. Now, this is not merely a statement that is to be studied grammatically or linguistically, but is a matter of experience. One’s location in all things in addition to one’s own body becomes a revealed truth in the advanced stages of this meditation.

It is something like the space within a vessel realizing that it is everywhere. Just compare yourself to a little space that is contained in a small glass tumbler which has got obsessed with a notion that it is inside the glass tumbler only and that what is outside as space is not itself, but an object of itself – something external to itself. It has to elevate itself to the awareness of the non-distinguishability between itself and the external space. I am the all! The space within the vessel realizes that it is all-space. It does not mean that it has become all-space by any effort of its imagination or activity. It is just a rising to the awareness that the wall around it, namely, the tumbler or the glass, is not going to limit its all-pervasive nature.

Then the realization comes – khalvidah brahma pascat. It is not merely the ‘I’ that has become all, but every one is the same all. The Self that is in me is not in me only. The assertion, “aham brahmasmi – I am Brahman” can be made by each center of individuality in a similar manner. This is a larger realization, says Sankara. It is a rise from the limitation of one’s individuality upto the cosmic Reality of one’s essence, with a simultaneous awareness of the identity of every self, the so-called multiplicity of selves, with this single Self. So it is the total of all the selves in an indistinguishable mass rising to a single comprehension of the great Absolute Brahman. This is the actual inner import of the meditation which is called Sandilya Vidya.

Excerpts from:

Be Aware of your All-Pervasive Nature – Sandilya Vidya by Swami Krishnananda

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(Jan 11,2014) Spiritual Message for the Day – Bhaja Govindam by Swami Chidananda

Bhaja Govindam

Divine Life Society Publication: Bhaja Govindam by Swami Chidananda

In those days, schools, which were called pathshalas, were held in open. Shankaracharya was coming back after a bath in the holy Ganga in Varanasi. There was a scholar completely absorbed in getting by heart some grammar rule (sutras): "Dukrin karane, Dukrin karane, Dukrin karane."

Something struck Shankaracharya. He thought: "What is the sense if this man will stretch his brain for the whole life to remember the grammar rules? Will this help him? One day death will come and say, Come on!": Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityuh [Certain is death for the born. Gita 2.27] One day all of us have to go, we are only passers by here, we are merely travellers; this is not our ultimate abode.

Spontaneously, on the spur of the moment, the Bhaja Govindam Stotram flowed from his mouth.

"What is this? The whole life will be wasted in this. Instead of making use of God-given intellect for vichara, viveka and Self-realization, here is one who is intent upon mere intellectual acrobatic exercise. This is not good. What will help him at the time of death? Adore the Lord, remember Him, take His name, Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam. "

The Refrain: The recurring refrain is: "Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam. " Inspired at that moment by this foolish man’s giving away his God-given life, time and intellect to this little thing like getting by heart a grammar rule, Shankaracharya says:

भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं
गोविन्दं भज मूढमते।
संप्राप्ते सन्निहिते मरणे
नहि नहि रक्षति 'डुकृञ् करणे'॥
भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं।

Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam
Govindam Bhaja moodhamate;
Samprapte sannihite marane
Na hi na hi rakshati dukrin karane.
Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam. [Dhruva padam]

[O deluded man! Surrender yourself to the Lord, sing the name of the Lord, take shelter in the Lord! Seek Govinda. When the inevitable death overtakes you, never, never will the grammar rule ‘dukrin karane’ take care of you. (Refrain)].

This introductory admonition explains: "When death comes, this knowledge is not going to save you. Therefore, adore the Lord who will liberate you from the cycle of birth and death once and for all, and take you to the realm of His (which is) beyond darkness. [Having gone thither they return not; that is My supreme Abode. — Gita, 15.6]. Try to attain That, O man!

[These three, so difficult of attainment, are acquired only by the kindness of the gods: humanity, desire for emancipation, and the guidance of (spiritually) great man. - Viveka-chudamani, 3].

"What a wonderful chance this man is missing just for the sake of earning his livelihood and maintenance! Instead of using discrimination between the Eternal and perishable, he is using his God-given intellect and putting his heart and mind in this mere repetition for remembering by heart a grammar rule! What a great pity!" Shankaracharya is moved; and he says: "Look here! This is all right. But worship the Lord. Direct your mind to God. In that alone is your highest welfare."

This particular teaching has an appealing naturalness and spontaneity. It has got a universal appeal, because evidently this student whose repetition attracted Shankaracharya’s ears must have been a young man preparing to enter life, not yet having entered into life. Shankaracharya thought: "This is the right time that one should be made aware of the higher purpose of human life, the deeper significance, the great objective and Goal for which one has been sent here."

If he enters into life with a proper understanding about life: "Why have I come here? What is the objective for which God has sent me here?" — then all will be well. He will take care of his secular side without neglecting his spiritual side. He would have died in ignorance, if that right understanding is not given at this entry point of life when one is young, when one needs to be awakened and made aware that life is more than mere eating-drinking-sleeping, earning, putting aside little bit of money, having a family, and getting caught and entangled in the cobweb of samsara, in the net of maya’. Being born in ignorance, having lived all his life in ignorance, non-discrimination, avichara, aviveka, he would have died too in ignorance.

Excerpts from:

Bhaja Govindam by Swami Chidananda

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(Dec 3,2013 ) Spiritual Message for the Day – Waste Not This Rare Human Birth by Swami Sivananda

Waste Not This Rare Human Birth

Divine Life Society Publication: Waste Not This Rare Human Birth by Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj

Salutations again and again at the Holy Feet of the great Sage, Sri Vyasa Bhagavan Sri Krishna-Dwaipayana, who edited the Vedas, composed the Brahmasutras, and wrote the Mahabharata and the eighteen Puranas including the Srimad-Bhagavata; salutations to the Brahmavidya Gurus, all Saints and Sages of yore to the present day.

Jagad-guru, Sri Sankaracharya, who was an Avatara of Lord Siva, delved into the precious wisdom of the Upanishads and brought out the most rare gem in the form of the unparalleled Advaita philosophy or the Monistic idealism which gives you, in a nutshell, the glorious truth that you are in essence Divine beings, ever perfect, free, full and blissful. This idea is contained in his famous memorable Sloka: ‘Slokardhena Pravakshyami Yaduktam Granthakotibhih; Brahma Satyam Jaganmithya, Jivo Brahmaiva Naparah.’ This gives the very essence of all spiritual wisdom, and it is the last word in the transcendental realization expressed in the form of this famous Sloka. Bliss is to be found in the spiritual Reality which is within you. Realize this and be free.

Now this ultimate declaration has been given—well and good. But how to attain it? Because you know that in your actual experience of worldly pleasures, your mental impressions are, unfortunately, gathered through the instruments of the mind and the senses. So, when your entire experience of pleasure gives you a perception of Asat, Achit and Duhkha, how can you find the Satchidananda Atman? Everything in this world is fleeting in character. You do not find Chit (consciousness) anywhere but only the Jada (insentient) everywhere. ‘Sarvam Duhkham Vivekinah’,—according to this declaration there is only pain to be experienced in this world. If pain is constantly experienced by you, how can you find Ananda or Bliss? And in answer to this, seers and sages of yore have shown the way by which we have to reach our goal, step by step.

In the Vivekachudamani, there is a Sloka which runs as follows: ‘Durlabham Trayamevaitat Daivanugraha-hetukam; Manushyatvam Mumukshutvam Maha-purushasamsrayah.’ Three things are very difficult to obtain. Only through the grace of God the Jivas obtain them. To be born as a human being is no small privilege. It is a very precious gift given by God to the Jiva. Having got a human birth, to have an aspiration for liberation is the next difficult thing to obtain. So, if one obtains both these, one is indeed doubly blessed. But having been born as a human being, if you do not want to know, and yet even after knowing that, if you do not know the way, you are not fully blessed. Therefore, if you get the shelter of a Mahapurusha, one who has known what has to be attained and one who is in a position to show you the way, you can admit that you are thrice blessed. This unique blessing has to be remembered always. Then alone will you be careful not to waste the opportunity. When you know the real value of a thing, you take proper care of it, and not otherwise.

The only thing that stands in the way of your spiritual realization is your own mind, the ego, or call it by any name you like. It is precisely in order to see that this obstacle is removed and one gets at the ultimate goal of human life that one goes to the preceptor or Guru. The Guru has destroyed the limiting mind and he knows the method as to how one has to destroy it. Let us suppose that a man who is desirous of leading a spiritual life goes to a Guru and asks for his advice and guidance; and the Guru tells him, "Be good, lead a virtuous life, serve selflessly, love all, share with others what you have, purify the mind, meditate with one-pointed mind, etc." But, if the man does not sincerely strive to follow the Guru’s advice, what benefit will he thereby derive? Absolutely nothing. He will be in no way better than what he was. It seems that one does not want to practice anything, but there is only the expectation of the result. What a sad state of affairs!

This life on earth is a halting place on the way to the achievement of the Goal of life. Earthly life is transitory, for it is seen that everything that is born dies. Death is not the end of life, since without a continuation of life therefrom the value of the deeds and experiences in this life would be rendered nugatory. There were births and deaths in the past, there will be births and deaths in the future, too, until Self-realization is attained. Life is a long chain of which the recurring births, planetary lives and deaths are links.

Birth is caused by desires and actions, and birth becomes the cause of further desires and actions. This present life is, therefore, meant to train the individual to qualify himself for a higher life. viz., to stop births and deaths ultimately. This life is not the goal or the end, even as the path is not the same as the destination. If earthly life were the final goal, none would have died here, there would not have been mutation, pain and sorrow, and there would be no sense of imperfection and no further urge or aspiration to transcend the present condition. The ever-changing world proves the existence of an unchanging imperishable Being.

Remember that you came alone to this world and also you will pass away alone from this world. None will help you except what you have done here in this life. Your deeds will search you out and follow you as calves follow their mothers even in the midst of a big herd.

Your life is short and there are many obstacles to get over. Therefore, exert now with earnestness. Waste not precious time but utilize every moment for the noblest of causes. Finish your journey quickly by practicing right Sadhana (spiritual endeavor) with the guidance of a Guru or preceptor. Great shall be your glory and glorious shall be your success. May peace be with you on your spiritual path. May blessedness wait upon you in all your pursuits. May the Supreme Master, the Lord of all, shower His blessings upon you all!

Excerpts from:

Waste Not This Rare Human Birth by Swami Sivananda
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Brahman Is Real, The World Of Dualities Is Unreal by Swami Krishnananda

Advaita Vedanta does not naively say that Brahman is real or that the world of dualities is unreal. To attribute this sort of statement to the system would be something like calling the dog a bad name in order to hang it. The sense in which the doctrine asserts the absoluteness of Brahman would also explain the sense in which its relation to the world of experience is to be understood. My feeling is, this doubt arises due to a superficial reading of the philosophical problem involved, just either by hearsay or reading some titbits here and there, without going into the profundities of the subject.

The Advaita Vedanta does not hang on Sruti alone, though it has no reason to doubt the validity of the word of the Sruti. Firstly, take the question concerning the Sruti: The statement that Brahman is the cause of the Veda is not to be understood as if the Veda is an effect proceeding from Brahman as the cause, in which case the Veda would be non-eternal. What this position actually means is that the Veda is to be understood as an embodiment of eternal principles or truths, and here what is to be considered as eternal is the principle involved and not necessarily the way in which it is embodied in word or language.

 

For instance, to give an example, that two and two make four can be taken as a permanent principle which cannot be changed, but the language in which it is expressed or the purpose for which it is applied need not be taken as equally permanent; because the same truth can be expressed differently in different languages and may be applied for variegated purposes. Also, Brahman does not cause the Veda as a potter causes the pot or a carpenter causes the table. Here causation is to be understood in a highly metaphysical sense, and not in an empirical way.

 

The very fact of the existence of Brahman implies the existence of the eternal principles mentioned, even as, we may say, the fact of the existence of a three-dimensional universe implies the validity of the principles of mathematics. We cannot say that mathematics is caused by the three-dimensional world, so that mathematics would be a non-eternal fact. On the other hand, the fact of the validity of mathematics is a logical consequence of the three-dimensional world of space and time, and a logical deduction does not become non-eternal merely because it proceeds from a premise. The premise is in a way the cause of the deduction in a logical process of implication, but the implication does not become non-eternal because it is inseparable from the fact of the premise. Thus, the causation of Brahman in respect of the Veda does not in any way mean the non-eternality of the Veda, if we are careful to see that causation here is understood logically and not empirically in the sense of something proceeding from something else as if the one is different from the other.

Further, it is sometimes suggested that even the word of the Veda is eternal, even as an embodiment of eternal principles. This, again, is to be understood in its proper spirit. We may explain this position thus. Though the expression of a fact in a particular language may be considered as non-eternal, in the sense that it is finite because of its differentiation from other languages, yet the fact of it being possible to express a thing in that particular way should be considered as a permanent possibility, and here the word assumes a sort of eternality, Parinaminityatva, to put it in the language of Acharya Sankara, though not Kutasthanityatva as is the nature of Brahman itself. No one can say that the English language, for instance, is an eternal fact. Yet, no one can also deny the possibility of expressing a fact in that mode of language at any time or claim that the possibility can ever be absent and be non-eternal. I hope you catch the point of this interesting feature.

When Acharya Sankara says that the Veda itself is unreal from the Paramarthika point of view, the same is to be understood in the sense of nothing being eternal except Brahman, and even the Veda cannot be eternal if it is to be understood as something other than Brahman, for there cannot be two infinities or two eternalities.  Here you will notice that the two apparently contradictory statements of Acharya Sankara are really not contradictory, for they have to be understood from two different points of view or angles of vision, from which position the statements are made.

The problem of free will and determinism can also be explained by a homely example afforded by the science of psychoanalysis, to give only one instance as to how it can be explained. The patient is made think in a particular manner by the determined will of the psychoanalyst, but patient always feels that he or she is having out of complete freedom of choice, notwithstanding the determinism of the will of the physician that is at the back of it. Perhaps you remember the interesting statement of Spinoza that a stone which is thrown into the sky by someone may feel that it is moving up of its own choice, if only it had consciousness of its movement. We feel that we eat a particular diet out of our free will and nobody compels us to eat such and such a thing, though it is well known that the choice of diet is determined by the physiological condition of the person; so where is free will here? Swami Vidyaranya, in his Panchadasi, says that free will is the way in which the omnipresent will of the Absolute (or you may say, Isvara) operates through the individuality of a created being. Here, again, it is a question of viewpoint or standpoint. The consciousness of agency in action is what is known as free will, though this consciousness itself may be impelled by a law that is operating in the universe. So, where is the contradiction between determinism and free will? Man will not be held responsible for his acts if he is conscious from the bottom of his heart that the universal law is operating through him, but he will certainly be responsible for what he does if he knows that he exists as an individual and therefore actions proceed from him and not from the universal reality. No one can do wrong unless this doing proceeds from individual consciousness which contradicts the fact of its being determined by another. Thus, there is a mix-up of arguments here, when doubts are raised as to how man can do wrong if he is determined. The doubt arises from a fallacious argument.

The problem of evil, again, is an old, hackneyed theme, which has been explained by masters of thought already. It exists in the world even as illness exists in a human organism. But do you believe that illness really exists in a person unless there is a maladjustment of the parts of the organism? The evil does not exist except as a condition of operation, and it is not to be understood as a thing hanging over us from somewhere outside. All this difficulty arises due to an anthropomorphic conception of God as somebody sitting in heaven and controlling the destiny of the universe. If God is understood as universal Omnipresence or Absolute Being, the very question of evil will be a self-contradiction, because that would imply the finitude of God. Here, again, the flaw in the argument that raises such questions can be seen.

(May 14,2013) Sankara – The Genius: Sankara Jayanti Message by Swami Krishnananda

Sankara – The Genius

Divine Life Society Publication: Spiritual Import of Religious Festivals by Swami Krishnananda

Sankara Jayanti message given on the 17th of May, 1972

Today is Vaisakha Sukla Panchami, the fifth day in the bright fortnight in the month of April-May, when we celebrate the advent of the great Acharya Sankara who is often referred to, by his followers, as Bhashyakara (the commentator on the Prasthana Traya – the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita).

The goal of human life depends upon the relation of the human individual to the world. Religious teachers and prophets came to specify the goal of human life, the ultimate purpose behind all the activities of mankind. And they differed from one another in their concept of the relation of the individual to the cosmos.

Shankara’s thought is a logical consequence of all the thoughts that preceded his coming into being. There were systems of thought called the Darsanas. You must have heard of the schools of thought known as Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and certain other mystical and ritualistic philosophies which were in minority, of course, yet prevalent during the time of Sankara.

But many questions posed themselves before the minds of people and these philosophies were found not satisfactory. How could we reach this God who is extra-cosmic – what is the way? His hands cannot reach us and our thoughts cannot reach Him. Is there a ladder from earth to heaven where God lives?

Advaita Vedanta of Adi Sankaracharya came as a remedy to the diversified ways of thinking which created an unnecessary conflict even in daily practices of human beings, and this he did without going contrary to the injunctions of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Scripture and reason were the two aids in the arguments of Sankara. He was a tremendous logician, who based his arguments entirely on the principles of logic, but without contradicting the intuitional revelations of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Intuition is not opposed to intellect, was what Sankara proclaimed. Nor can we say that intellect is complete in itself. The conclusions of the intellect have to be corroborated by the revelations of the Srutis. Sruti, Yukti and Anubhava – scripture, argument and experience – have to go parallel along a path leading to a single goal. Scripture is the support for the argument, while argument supplies the strength for the exposition of the scripture, both of which lead to the direct experience or Anubhava. Reality is experience. Brahma Sakshatkara is the same as Anubhava of the Supreme Being.

Unfortunately, today we have no proper expositions of the Vedanta philosophy. A complete philosophy of Sankara is not available in any single book. We may read any book written anywhere, but we will not find a complete presentation of his philosophy. The Upanishads themselves are all-comprehensive and an exposition of them, which is the system of Vedanta, has naturally to be many-sided. Even if we read the Brahma Sutra Bhashya of Sankara, we will not know or understand the entire teaching of it. It requires study under a Guru to have a complete view of the entire perspective of Sankara's teaching.

As Buddha was misrepresented, and Christ is being misrepresented, Sankara was also misrepresented. So to counteract the misrepresented attitudes, there came other Acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhva and others. One cannot wholly and satisfactorily explain the subtle relation of the soul to God. A satisfactory attempt to blend the thoughts of many schools of philosophy – Dvaitins, Advaitins and Visishtadvaitins etc., has been made by Sankara, who himself was a genius.

For the beauty of the language of Sanskrit, and the depth of philosophical wisdom and the help they can offer us in our practical life, Sankaracharya's works have to be studied. There is a beautiful poem by Sankara known as Prabodha Sudhakara. It is a very beautiful work because it combines Bhakti and Vedanta. Like all great Vedantins, Sankaracharya was also a devotee.

Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj was a great admirer of Adi Sankaracharya, and in his teachings we will find the spirit of Sankara. If we can understand Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj properly, we can understand Sankaracharya also. Of course, it is very difficult to understand both, because they are many-sided geniuses. So let us study their works and try to live a practical life of Vedanta and Bhakti.

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Sankara – The Genius, Sankara Jayanti Message by Sri Swami Krishnananda

Sankara by Swami Sivananda