Lessons in Spirituality-Hindu Article

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Lessons in spirituality

CHENNAI, OCT.8. Among the innumerable living beings in the world man

has an advantage because he is endowed with the faculty of

discrimination which can be utilised to realise his spiritual nature

and thereby put an end to rebirths. But in his daily engagement with

the world he gets carried away easily by sensory attractions and

becomes more involved with material pursuits without striving for the

spiritual goal. Narayana Bhattatiri has shown how to overcome this

human weakness in his hymn, the Narayaneeyam. He says very clearly

that it is possible to remain steadfast in the pursuit of the goal of

liberation only by the Lord's grace. Hence his constant prayer to the

Lord of Guruvayur to be devoted to Him in this hymn so that he does

not stray from this objective.

In his discourse, Sri P.R.Vaidyanatha Sastrigal said divine grace

enabled one who was keen on attaining liberation to learn from the

world around him. This truth is the crux of the Uddhava Gita, which

occurs in the Bhagavata Purana on which Bhattatiri has based his

hymn. This Gita is the farewell message of Lord Krishna to His dear

friend and devotee, Uddhava before He left the world after completing

His mission in this incarnation advising him to retire to

Badarikashrama. It is intended as His teaching to humanity

highlighting the importance of utilising this human birth for

attaining liberation from bondage.

A spiritual aspirant can learn to look upon everything as his Guru so

that every experience becomes a lesson in spirituality. This Gita

shows how it is possible to overcome desire by observing the male

elephant, which can be easily ensnared by a female elephant. That it

is counterproductive to waste one's entire life in accumulating

wealth can be learnt from the bees. Others enjoy the honey they

gather with so much industry.

One can learn to be wary of sweet-sounding talk by watching a hunter

trap a deer by luring it with music. By observing how a fish can be

baited with food it can be surmised that over-attachment to food is

an impediment to spiritual progress as it increases craving leading

ultimately to indulgence. The Bhagavata Purana in this context

highlights the importance of solitude in spiritual life by the

example of the courtesan, Pingala, who learnt it the hard way in her

life. A bird that was carrying food became the target of attack by

other birds. Similarly a spiritual seeker who has a lot of

possessions will have to suffer due to anxiety about guarding them

from others.

 

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