Waves - talk - unspoken version

[Guest guest]

When aditiji asked for my presentation, I was hesitant to post it since

1. There is nothing original in it and 2) It was incomplete and 3) since

I was the last speaker of that session, the others already covered what

I intended to say and but I said anyway. While Benjamin send me a copy

of his paper way in advance, I ended writing whatever on Thursday night

before the conference, as was procrastinating up to the last day. Most

of it is what I remember from the lectures of my own teacher and from

H.H. Swami Ranganathanandaji ( a great soul indeed) of Ramakrishna

Mission. I stopped wherever it is with out completing and ended up

taking whatever came to my mouth since I do not like to read a paper not

I have any visual things to present. To cover up all these short

comings, I ended up speaking loud (which Benjamin mistook as forcelful)

so that they do not remember what they heard before to the degree that

my throat became so dry and Dr. Yadunathji has to rush to get a glass of

water. One gentleman, I think he was the professor of Physics, said he

disagrees with me -He said Krishna's teaching in B.Geeta is original and

Krishna said ignorance covered knowledge etc. He was one the

physicists who presented a paper on 'Investigation of Consciousness'.

Since even my talk itself was not original I took his remarks as comment

rather than a question and passed it. So here I go - the unedited

version with all the required mistakes - since that is also my

fundamental problem.. My apologies to Sree CNji if I am distracting the

main topic of discussion; but again one may be able to find some

relavace to reality. I have to thank our great friend Sundarji for

providing me exact references.

 

Hari OM!

Sadananda

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GIta’s Emphasis on

Knowledge

 

Introduction: Bhagawad GIta occupies a unique place in the pursuit of

truth, the truth that transcends time and space – sanaatana dharma. The

student of GIta is a man of action, Nara, who has completely surrendered

to his teacher, the Lord of the Universe, NArAyana, and the teaching is

in the midst of a battle filed. The dramatization of the set up is

unique and symbolizes the relevance of GIta to resolve an eternal

conflict – the fundamental human problem - conflict of do-s vs. don’t-s,

conflict of duty vs. attachments, conflict of right vs. wrong or

essentially the conflict of dharma vs. adharma. The setting is the

reflection of human life, which involves facing the conflicts and

resolving them. It is a sport with divine, where playing itself is fun.

The teaching in GIta is not sectarian or parochial – it is addressed to

all human beings transcending gender, cast, creed, or nationality- to

all those who are struggling to experience their divine nature, the

universal oneness of their soul. It is the teaching that synthesizes

the unity than exemplifies the diversity, that integrates than

differentiates, that invites than imposes; like a mother who steers the

child to a greater happiness with love. It evokes bhakti or love for

the higher, out of fulfillment than out of emptiness, with love-divine

filled with compassion and sacrifice than love of greed, of demanding or

begging.

 

There is nothing original or historic in the teaching in GIta since it

only echoes the eternal teaching by a universal teacher, who proclaims

the teaching from eons, that was sung by sages and saints of the yore –

RiShibiH bahudA gItaM.... It is a quintessence of Upanishads milked by

Lord Krishna himself for the benefit of humanity – “sarvOpaniShadO gaavo

dhOgdhA gOpAla nandanaH….” It does not deal with a philosophy of an

academic interest, but deals with Brahma vidya, about the knowledge of

eternal reality along with the science of dynamic application to acquire

that knowledge, yoga shAstra. The love or devotion that is emphasized

is rational and not sentimental, and it is universal with fullness as it

is all inclusive, and not narrow mindedness with exclusions. It

proclaims - “yO yO yAM yAM ..”, “whoever, whoever he may be he who and

whatever, whatever form he worships me, the universal principle with

full devotion, in that and in that form alone I give him faith”. It

emphasizes the formless form of the ever existent truth -which includes

all forms while excluding none – “mayA tatam idam sarvam jagat avyakta

mUrthinA …”. “Nachamastaani bhUtAni .. – avyakAdIni bhUtAni ..” Since

He is all-inclusive, any form is as good as any other form. There is

no-idle worship but worship of the ideal behind all idols. Hence, one

can invoke Him in any form that captures ones imagination and that can

uplift his mind away from all forms. Krishna emphasizes that

contemplation on formless form is difficult until ones mind is purified.

‘kleShodhikataraH tesham … dehavadbir avApyate”.

 

Bhagawad GIta is applicable for all centuries to come and for all

humanities, since it deals with eternal reality and the man’s struggles

to realize that. It caters to all, recognizing the divergence in the

mental and intellectual evolution of human beings with varying portions

of satva, rajO and tamO guNas, their mental traits. Hence the

prescribed yoga or the path for a student depends on his mental make-up

just as the prescribed medicine depends on the nature of the disease and

patient's condition. Thus it deals with the science of yoga, yoga

shAstra. Its approach is catholic taking one beyond the narrow

corridors of fanaticism, without any exclusiveness that is contrary to

the oneness of the totality. Hence it is universally applicable for all

ages and for all centuries to come. One can adopt its exposition to

meet changing needs of the 21st century without compromising the

essential teaching, since it address the persistent fundamental human

problem, that existed at Arjuna’s time and that exists now, and will

continue to exist for centuries to come as long as humanity exists.

 

Fundamental Human problem

 

The introductory chapter of GIta captures the attention of one and all –

Arjuna's viShAda yOga - a dramatization of a war within due to inability

to face the war outside. The problem is centered on the ones delusion

due to ignorance of ones own innate nature. The self-ignorance caused

misunderstanding leads to incorrect relationships with others. Arjuna’s

problem was not temporal, whether to fight or not to fight that

particular war–but centered on the fundamental assumption about himself

and his relationships with others. He took himself to be what he was

not, as the body, as the mind and as the intellect, similar to any one

of us. This misapprehension of himself was due to his self-ignorance, as

he did not know his true nature. Hence he grieved for the impending

death of his kith and kin, his grand fathers and teachers, whom he

revered and that too their death by his own arrows. He felt that it was

better to live on alms than enjoy the kingdom tainted by the blood of

his teachers and grand sires. He took himself as the killer, a doer of

heinous action. Thus he considered himself as well as others as a

mortals, unhappy and ignorant – the three fundamental errors that any

human makes due to non-apprehension of himself. What Krishana presents

to Arjuana is a different vision of Arjuna or for that matter of any

ignorant human being – he is not a mortal but he is eternal ever

existing entity. He is not unhappy, he is complete and full, puurnam or

ananda swaruupam. He is not ignorant but the very knowledge itself

knowing which everything is known. In short he is sat chit ananda

swaruupa. Arjuna’s problem is, therefore, a fundamental human problem –

non-apprehension of oneself causing misapprehension of oneself. Krishna

diagnosed the root cause for his grief and declares immediately that his

grieving was unnecessary – asochyAn anyasochatvam. The Bhagavad Gita

teaching started only after Krishna discovered a student in Arjuna –

that is only after the student completely surrenders himself to the

teacher– shishyatvoham sAdhimAm tvAm prapannam.

 

Problem Centered on the Self:

 

Fundamental human problem is centered on oneself. Everyone knows that

one is an existent and one is conscious – conscious of objects as well

as conscious of oneself(self-conscious). Yet one identifies oneself as

“I am this body or I am this mind and I am this intellect” and I am

different from the rest of the universe that consists of other bodies

and other objects. This misunderstanding leads to -“This is me and that

is mine” - ahankaara and mamakaara–ultimately “ I will be more happy if

everything becomes mine”. When one identifies oneself with ‘not-self’,

which is limited in space-wise, time-wise and object-wise, the life

struggles continue in order to overcome one's limitations. Gaining

things, ‘pravRitti’, that are in harmony with one likes, or getting rid

of things that one dislikes become the pursuits of life - all to gain

absolute uninterrupted happiness which becomes the central theme of

one's life. KrinshNa declares “ one who is free from all wants and who

revels in himself by himself, he is the wise person ever established in

that knowledge – he is therefore no more ignorant of himself – prajahAti

yadA kAmAn sarvAn pArtha manO gathAn, AtmanyEva AtmanA tuShTaH

sthitaprajnastadOchyatE’. A wanting or longing mind is the desiring

mind for ‘objects’, gaining which one feels happy until desire for

another object arises. Krishna says gaining happiness by fulfilling

desire is like pouring ghee to put out the fire. One goes after what

one does not have. One can cease to have any more desires for objects if

one has all the objects in the universe, nay the universe itself. That

is similar to trying to gain infinity by adding finite quantities which

is even mathematically impossible. One can neither gain infinity nor

become infinity by addition of finite entities– at the same time one

cannot be happy with perceived limitations. Problem at the outset is

impossible to solve yet one cannot but try to solve the problem of

finiteness or limitations. There lies the fundamental human problem –

that is true now, that is true in the past and will be true for

centuries to come. The solution lies not in trying to solve problem of

limitations but in recognizing that problem itself is an illegitimate

problem.

 

Krishna says wise man is the one who has no more desires for ‘anything’

and he revels in himself by himself. This will not make any sense

unless the self he revels in is the self that is limitless and infinite.

A finite cannot become infinite unless the ‘self’ is already infinite.

If one is already infinite there is no need for seeking to become

infinite by acquiring ‘things’, unless one does not know that one is

already infinite. Hence the problem is centered on self-ignorance.

Hence true knowledge or liberation involves realization of what one is,

since all human problems are due to this ‘self-ignorance’. ‘ayam aatma

brama’ This self is infinite; ‘braha veda brhmiava bhavati, knower of

Brahman become Brahman, Mundaka 3:2:9; brahamavidApnoti param .

Taittir. 2:1:1, brahmaiva bhavati, Sharabha 37, brahmaiva brahmavit

svayam . Atma 23, brahmaiva bhavati svayam, KathaRudra 15, sthirabuddhiH

asammUDho brahmavidbrahmaNi sthitaH, Dhyana 6; Gita 5:20. Hence wise

man revels himself by himself, and so he has no other desires since is

he is self-contended. In fact, scripture echos that any desire of any

object is only to arrive at the self-free from wanting this is brought

by yAjnavalkaya’s teaching to Maitreyi in Bri. Up – aatmanastu kaamaaya

sarvam priyam bhavati.

 

If I am the nature of sat, chit and ananda, which is infinite and

therefore excludes no thing, then the question arises about the world

which is of the nature of achit or inert. Upanishads ascertain and GIta

echos that universe is just a projection of oneself and hence everything

is oneself and oneself in everything, ‘sarva bhUtastam AtmAnam sarva

bhUtanicha Atmani, Ikshate yoga yuktAtmA sarvatra samadarshaNa’.

Upanishads declare ‘ sarvam khalidam brahma’ everthing is Brahman and

nehanAnAsti kinchana, aham brhmaasmi, etc. If everything is Brahman and

if there is nothing other than brahma and I am that Brahman then how one

can explain the creation of ‘inert’ from sentient Brahman. There lies

the fudamental ontological issue of the reality of the world.

Scriptures are definite that Brahman which is conscious entity is the

material cause for the universe as well. Upanishad declare – yatova

imaani bhUtAni jayante, yena jAtAni jIvanti, yat prayam tyabhisham

visanti – tat vijnaanaswa tat brahmeti – Krishna echos – gatirbhartaa

pabhusAkshii nivaasaH sharaNaM suhRut, prabhavaH pralayaH sthAnam

nidhAnam bIjamavyayam – yomaam pasyati sarvatra sarvancha mayi pasyati –

BhUmirAponalovAyuH kham manobuddhirevacha, ahankaaramidIyam me

bhinnAprakRitirashTadhA; apareyam itastanyam prakRitam viddhimeparAM,

jiibhuutAm mahAbhAho yayedam dhAryate jagat; If conscious entity is the

material cause how can it produce inert quantity, the universe. Hence

the universe is not considered as absolutely real but not unreal either

like vandhyA putraH, son of a barren women. Best analogy is like the

creation of the world of objects in a dream. The dream objects appear

to be real during the course of a dream, but when one is awaken they all

resolve into me. They come from me, sustained by me and go back into

me, the conscious entity – just the same way the world arises from

Brahman, sustained by Brahman and goes back into Brahman – Upanishad

provide a simple but concrete example for the creation – it is like

creation of gold ornaments from gold. One can say the ornaments come

from gold, sustained by gold and go back into gold. Gold remains as

gold even in this transformation while gold appearing to be different

from bangle, ring, necklace and bracelet and so on. Upanishads declare

that what was before is only Brahman. Creation is like gold projecting

into many – the truth is there is only gold the rest is only apparent.

One plus many apparent is only one. There are no distinctions are

division in gold yet all divisions and distinctions are in the rings,

bangles etc which are nothing but forms with names. MayA adhyaksheNa

prakRitiH suuyate sacharaacharm and that prakRiti is none other than

mAya, mAyantu prakRitin vidyAt mayinantu maheswaram says swetaswara

Upanishad. Maya means that which appears to be there but not really

there – it is ring but really it is not ring but gold only – ring is

only a name for a form of that gold undergoes mutation of creation,

sustaance and destriction while gold remains as gold in these apparent

transformations. Creation is that what is into different forms and

shapes with apparent mutations in the forms and names but substantive

remaining the same. Hence Krisha declares an absolute law of

conservation principle – that which exists never ceases to exist and

that which is non-existent can never come into existence – This law

applies to any thing that exists that is applies not only to matter and

energy as physics enumerates, but also on absolute scale to include

‘soul’. Hence creation cannot be something out of nothing but something

out of something that is preexisting. It is an assemblage of things

that exists all emanating from Brahman that exists – hence the creation

is only my lower nature Krishna thus echoing again the scriptural

statement – tasmaat va etasmAt AtmAna AkAshaH sambhUtaH, AkAshAt vAyuH

…tittreya Up.

 

The next question is If death involves separation of ‘soul’ from the

body, and since there are many bodies there has to be many souls. The

each soul limits the other and not any one soul can be Brahman. If that

is the case the liberation becomes impossible since limitation is

eternal. KrishNa counter this in the thirteenth chapter in discussing

the ksheta and kshetrajna. He says – idam sharIram kouteya kshetam

ityabhi dhIyate, etadyo vettitam prAhuH kshetrajna iti tad viduH|

kshetrajnam chApi mAm viddhi sarva kshetreShu bhArata, kshetra

kshetrayoH jnaanam yatta jnaanam matam mama| This body is called field

of experience and one who knows is called knower of the field. Also know

me as the knower of the filed in all fields. The knowledge of the field

and the knower of the filed is called ‘knowledge’. Krishna rules out

multiple kshetrajna-s or knower. Knowing principle which is sat chit

ananda swaruupam is one only. It is like the same electricity that runs

through the bulbs, fans, heaters and airconditioners etc etc but its

expression in each is different due to differences in the fields. In

the same way, one entity expressing different ways in different upadhi-s

or material envolopments. The expressions are dharma-s of the upadhi- s

but the enlivening factor that makes the upadhi’s express is the same.

The can express only when the enlivening factor is there. This echo-s

Upanishad statements – yena cakshuumsi pasyati – yena sotram idam

sRinam, yenaahu mano matam, yena praNa praNIyate – tadeva brahma – that

because of which eyes see, that because of which the ears hear, that

because of which the mind thinks, that because of which the phisilogical

functions are expressed that alone is Brahman.

 

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Inconclusive until one discovers oneself by oneself !

 

What an excuse!

 

 

 

 

 

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What you have is destiny and what you do with what you have is self-effort.

Future destiny is post destiny modified by your present action. You are not only

the prisoner of your past but master of your future. - Swami Chinmayananda