The Purpose of Life III - a discourse by HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamy

[Guest guest]

Respected Ramanuja Bhaktas,

 

The ability to have free control over our mind and intellect, and the

ability to put our thoughts into practical action is a great gift to

humanity, one that sets us apart from all other creatures in this world.

 

Sadly, the nature of present day life has conditioned human beings to

limit our use of this magnificent gift. Our interests today are mundane

and immediate. I have a house with a 2-car garage, but feel that a

house with a 4-car garage would be better. So, I strive for that.

 

The Upanishads, particularly, the Taittiriya Upanishad tells of the

great advancements that an individual can make if one conditions his/her

mind and thoughts towards great things. This conditioning process

involves contemplation on the meaning and power of certain specific

mantras.

 

For example, if a person wants to achieve tremendous power, the

Upanishad suggests that one meditate on the word "Brahma." If we wish

to achieve invincability, then we should meditate on "Prathishta:ha."

There are many, many other examples. But, each limits us only to that

one specific achievement.

 

But, to know the purpose of life is to achieve everything. For this,

there is one simple word that we need, a word that we are all familiar

with, "Namaha".

 

Namaha is used in so many different ways throughout the day. When we

greet each other, we Indians traditionally use forms of this word -

"Namaste:", "Namask:aram", "Namaska:r." When we go to the temple to

perform archana, the priest recites it for us 108 times with each name

of the deity that is being worshipped - "Ke:sava:ya Namaha",

"Na:rayana:ya Namah,Ma:dhava:ya Namaha" and so on. Of course, in

this day and age, the priest, sensing our need to complete the ritual so

that we can go home quickly, and perhaps also out of his own unawareness

of the importance of this word, simply recites as fast as he can,

generally slurring the words so much that we can hardly recognize what

the Upanishads say is the most important word in the recitation.

 

Meditating on Namaha leads us to what is really necessary in order for

the betterment of ourselves and the betterment of this world. It is

what we should strive to cultivate in our life, it is our life's true

purpose. And in Sanksrit and Telugu, it is defined by just two words,

"vinayam" and "vidhe:yata".

 

Vinayam means polite conduct, modesty, and humility. Vidhe:yata means

an obedience to what one ought to do; it is virtue guided by good

principles.

 

Humanity should cultivate these good qualities and put them into

practice, because having these firmly established in our mind and heart

will naturally blossom into respect for our elders, respect for our

sa:stras, respect for our Teachers, integrity, dignity, pure love for

God, and compassion for our fellow living beings. This refined approach

to life is what we must all constantly strive towards.

 

So, does merely blindly chanting, Namaha and saying Namaste: to everyone

move us towards this goal? No. We need to recite this wonderful mantra

with a proper understanding of its deeper meaning.

 

For this, we must require some patience, as this subject will be

addressed in HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy's next Telugu discourse at the

end of April.

 

Jai Sriman Na:ra:yana!

 

Azhwa:r Emperuma:na:r Jeeyar Thirvadigale: Saranam

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

mohan