[Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] yajna, desire and detachment.

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HARI AUM

 

We are blessed to have Sarojaji amidst us.

 

This posting has a lot of insights into the working of

the mind. The Goal of Vedanta is to take a person from

the lowest point and release him with the Supreme. The

Upanishads accompanies one throughout the journey. But

it is too laborious to carry them alongwith. Hence the

'gita' -which is its essence, concise, brief and to

the point. Like a road map . But to read the map too

one needs the help of someone who knows how to read

it. Sarjaji is doing exactly that. Let us make best

use of the opportunity. Read, study and clear the

doubts. She has better grip and is approachable too.

 

Regards

 

Balagopal

 

NARAYANA NARAYANA NARAYANA

 

 

 

--- Saroja Ramanujam <sarojram18 wrote:

 

> Krishn has given the answers for all thi in Gita

> when He says taht the way to become detached is to

> become a sthithaptrjna.( ithink that I have already

> posted the matter given below but since this is only

> the right answer I am giving it again.

>

> Prajahaati yadhaa kaaman sarvaan Partha

> manogathaan atmanyaivatmanaa thushtah

> sthithaprajnastatdochyate. One is known as

> sthithaprajna when he gives up all desires that

> arise in his mind and rejoices in his own self. Let

> us see what this means. Thushtah means happy and

> contented. When does a man become so? Let us take,

> for example an instance where one learns that he has

> become a father of a boy. He has been desirous of

> getting a child so long and now the desire is

> satisfied. So he is happy but only until he starts

> desiring for some other thing , like providing for

> his son etc. Hence the joy lasted only as long as no

> other desire has started in its stead. This proves

> that happiness comes not out of satisfying a desire

> but only in the absence of any other desire.

> Therefore if one wants to remain happy he should

> lengthen the gap between one desire and the next

> Swami Chinmayananda used to give an

> equation for happiness as follows:

> Number of desires fulfilled

> --- & = the

> quotient of happiness.

> Number of desires entertained

> .

> When the denominator becomes zero the value of

> the quotient is infinity. So it follows that only

> the absence of desire will result in infinite

> happiness. This can be verified through experience.

> Generally one’s childhood is always remembered as

> the happiest part of our lives except for some

> unfortunate beings. If we analyse as to why it was

> so, we could see that in our childhood we had very

> few simple desires which were mostly fulfilled. As

> we grow older we multiply our desires so fast that

> it becomes impossible to satisfy all of them even

> during the whole span of life.

> Atmanyaivaatmanaatushtah, revelling in the joy of

> one’s own self. Man runs after sense objects

> expecting them to provide happiness which is a

> myth. If so, the same object will not be the source

> of happiness for one and give sorrow to another and

> the same source of happiness will not bring sorrow

> at a different time. External object does not bring

> joy or sorrow but our joy or sorrow

> depends on the way we react to it. Hence happiness

> must come from within, which explains the reason

> why the man of realization is always happy. He is

> experiencing the bliss , which is the real nature of

> the Self .He is happy within because he has given

> up all his desires . Therefore he does not react to

> the circumstances that gives joy or sorrow to the

> ordinary man. He has no attachment nor repulsion for

> sukha or duhkha, joy or sorrow because he is devoid

> of passion fear and anger. So he , whose mind

> neither rejoices with , nor recoils from good and

> evil , is a sthithaprajna the one whose mind is

> stable.

> Now the question is, how does he manage to

> become detached so as not to be affected by sukha or

> duhkha nor by good or evil? The answer is given

> thus Yadhaasamharathe chaayam koormangaaneeva

> sarvasah indriyaneendriyaarthebyah thasya

> prajnaprathishtithaa. Just as a tortoise withdraws

> its limbs into its shell he withdraws his sense

> organs from the sense objects .This does not mean

> that he goes on in the world shutting his eyes ears

> etc. but he does not allow the sense objects to

> affect him. The damage is done only when the mind

> runs after the senses as is seen later in the

> discourse when Krishna says Indriyaanaamhi

> charathaam yanmanoanuvidheeyathe thadasyaharati

> prajnaam vayurnaavamivambhasi. When the mind follows

> the senses it takes away one’s determination like

> a boat which is carried away by the wind .The sense

> objects turn away from him who is not attracted

> towards them but still the propensity to enjoy the

> sensual pleasures remains , though not encouraged

> , until the final consummation with the Supreme.

> Rasavarjam rasoapyasya param drshtwaa nivartathe.

> ‘Arise, awake, stop not till the goal is

> reached’, thunders the Upanishad. But before

> proceeding we should know the pitfalls we will

> encounter on the way in order to be guarded against

> them. But this is more easily said than done.

> Indriyani pramaatheeni haranti prasabham manah ,

> says Krishna , even for a wise man vipaschithahwho

> tries hard yatato hyaapi Kountheya purushasys

> vipaschithah.

>

> Krishna now traces the descent of man from the

> state of infinite bliss which is his real nature.

> dhyayato vishayaan pumsah sangastheshoopajaayate.

> This is the first step by which one descends from

> his mansion of bliss. When we think about an object

> continuously we get attached to it. This is sanga

> .Then we start desiring it sangat sanjaayate kaamah,

> which, when thwarted , results in anger kaamaat

> krodho abhijaayate. Then comes sammoha delusion.

> When the intellect is clouded with anger one is not

> .able to think straight. That is, we imagine

> something which is not there and that is delusion.

> sammohaat smrti vibramah.’. From sammoha arises

> confusion of memory. When angry we forget whom we

> are talking to,and what they have been to us in the

> past. In the Sundarakanda of the Valmiki Ramayana,

> Hanuman says kruddho hanyat guroon api,.angry man

> will not hesitate to kill even his elders or even

> his preceptor. This will happen because he forgets

> everything except the cause

> of his anger, not caring whom he hurts. The

> confusion of memory results in the loss of reason

> buddhinaasah due to which he comes to ruin. As

> Krishna elaborates later, kaama or desire is the

> principal enemy of man followed by the other forces

> of destruction , namely , anger , delusion pride,

> avarice and jealousy. So the only way to avoid

> downfall is to cultivate placidity of mind. This is

> achieved by self control. Raagadveshaviyuktaistu

> vishayaanindriyaischaran aatmavasyairvidheyatma

> prasaadam adhigachchati. A man of discrimination

> enjoys the sense objects through his senses but does

> not cling to them, being free from likes and

> dislikes. With the attainment of the placidity of

> mind all the sorrows come to an end , that is to

> say, he is free from the woes of samsara.

> The description of a sthithaprajna comes to

> a close with a portrait of the man of wisdom , one

> whose senses are completely restrained from their

> objects and who, having given up all desires moves

> freely without attachment, ego and possessiveness.

> Vihaaya kaaman yassarvaan puman charati nissprhah

> ;nirmamo nirahankarah sa shaantim adhigachchati. In

> him all enjoyments merge themselves like the

> rivers entering the ocean. Rivers are continuously

> falling into the ocean which remains unperturbed ,

> maintaining its own level. So too , a sthithaprajna

> remains calm while enjoying the sense experiences

> without being affected by them Aapooryamaanam

> achalaprathishtam samudramaapah pravisanti yadvat

> ;tadvat yam kaamaah pravisanti sarve sa

> shaantimaapnoti na kaamakaamee.’ Krishna concludes

> his portrayal of the sthithaprajna now. That, which

> is night to all beings the realized man keeps awake

> and that in which all beings keep awake is night to

> the seer. This does not mean

> that a sthithaprajna is a night owl! The state of

> Divine knowledge and supreme Bliss is like night to

> the ignorant whereas it is as clear as the day to a

> jnani. On the other hand the ever changing,

> transient worldly happiness does not mean anything

> to him. Yaa nisaa sarvabhoothaanaam tasyaamjaagarti

> samyami,yasyaam jaagarti bhoothaani sa nisaa pasyayo

> muneh.’This , says Krishna , is the braahmee

> sthithih, the state of realization, having reached

> which, one never lapses back into delusion. He

> remains in it till the end of his life, and shedding

> his mortal coil ,he attains Eternal Bliss.

>

> Kama and krodha, coupled as one, is the

> formidable enemy of man, says Krishna. Kama esha

> krodha esha rajogunasamudhbhavah , born out of

> rajas. The craving for something is kama which

> changes to krodha when obstructed. Hence they are

> not two but one,. Incited by which, man commits sin.

> The knowledge of right and wrong becomes obscured by

> this craving for the object of desire and hence Kama

> is called jnaninah nithyavairi, the perpetual foe of

> man. Wisdom becomes obscured by desire as the fire

> is by the smoke, mirror by dirt and the embryo by

> the womb. Dhoomenaavriyathe vahnih yathaadharso

> malenacha yatho ulbena aavrtho garbah

> thathaathenedhamaavrtham. Aavrtho jnanamethena

> jnaanino niyhyavairinaa. The desire is insatiable

> like fire. This is why it is termed as a formidable

> and perpetual enemy of man. Desire never becomes

> extinguished by fulfilling it. On the other hand it

> only increases like fire being fed with fuel.

>

> The three analogies given to describe the

> obscuration of wisdom by desire are significant.

> First is the fire being obscured by smoke. This

> denotes a nature predominant of satthva where the

> wisdom is slightly obscured as the fire with smoke.

> Once the smoke clears of its own accord the fire

> becomes visible. Similarly a person who is of

> saathvik temperament needs only a little help from

> the sastras or his guru to clear his ignorance which

> is only slight like smoke that conceals the fire.

> The next example of mirror covered with dust refers

> to one who has more rajas and thamas due to karma

> accumulated in the past lives. It takes time for a

> mirror to become covered with dust. This can be

> removed only through persistent effort like cleaning

> a mirror with a cloth. That is the wisdom can be

> acquired

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