Advaita from scratch - Kanchi Mahaswamigal's Discourses - 9

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Kanchi

Mahaswamigal's Discourses on Advaitam

 

KMDA – 9

 

(For KMDA - 8, see#44161)

(This series started with #43779)

 

Tamil

original starts from http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part4kural301.htm

 

Note: In these discourses, `the Acharya'

refers to Adi Shankaracharya. The speaker is the Kanchi Mahaswamigal.

 

Reduction of Mental

distractions in ShAstra-Karma

 

Let us take the ShAstra-karma known as pUjA. This is an action, in fact a series of several

actions, no doubt. But in doing this, while in the act of doing pUjA, several thoughts do arise – like

"I have now to do the Tulasi archanA",

 

Note by VK: [archanA = formal

offering of flowers to God

repeating names of God in succession,

each preceded by AuM and

followed by namaH,

the names being in the dative

case]

 

"I have now

to do the archanA with the bilva leaves", "I have to light the

lamp properly", "while doing circumambulation I should not trip over the pUjA vessels" and so on. Several thoughts do arise and one does the

several actions which together constitute the pUjA, following each thought.

Thus while bhakti is generally a thought process, when

translating it into action it generates several thoughts.

 

This is true of every action. Each of them does break up into several

thoughts.

 

Now let me come to the point to be noted here.

Every action or karma is associated

with a series of thought processes. But the point is, the mind, while being

involved in this karma does not get

into other thoughts which are unrelated to this karma. If you leave the mind to itself it will wander aimlessly

over things totally unrelated to each other. This dissipation of the mind does

not occur when you focus it into one action or karma. While doing that action

it dwells on only those things which are related to the main karma. To this extent action itself

disciplines the mind. Of course it may not be a complete discipline. But in some sense there is mostly a

uni-directional restriction or piloting of the mind.

 

When one is not doing any work but only sitting

quietly or lying down, it is generally not possible to focus attention on one

thought or only related thoughts. The mind simply runs amuck in all sorts of

directions into mutually unrelated subjects and topics. On the other hand if

one is engaged in a particular task, the mind stops with thoughts that are related only to that task on hand. Suppose you

sit, saying `Let me do meditation on God'.

The mind refuses to cooperate; in fact it takes you into most unwanted avenues.

Many persons do come to me and cry over this common failing. If instead, one

sits to do, say, a pUjA to some

Divinity, there is a focussing of the thoughts.

Even though the mind is prone to think of several things unrelated to

the pUjA, the situation is not as

haphazard or helter-skelter as what it was when you sat to meditate.

 

It is not pUjA

alone. Even when you sit for a game of cards, one's mind concentrates only on

those things related to what one is playing. Children intently playing a game

of cricket in the backyard would not even hear their mother calling them for a

sitting at the dining table to have some eats which they like most.

 

The ShAstra karma that our elders have

chalked out for us do good to us in two essential ways. While other tasks very often anchor our minds

to irrelevant or even wrong things, the ShAstra karmas draw our minds

only into good and noble thoughts. This

is number one. Number two is they draw

us away from all bad thoughts.

 

When one is intent on a certain action-work, Mind

takes the back seat. Even then mind does benefit by this. As far as we can

understand, when we are involved in a ShAstra-karma, whether it prompts

us to think good thoughts or not, certainly it detracts us from entertaining

bad thoughts and even more so, it restrains us from doing bad actions. This is the great advantage.

 

Action

(Work) and Meditation

 

Let us take a simple action, namely the task of

cleaning the temple premises and corridors. "He is the Lord of all the

Universe; He pervades everything in the world; but out of our foolishness we

don't understand His pervasion. It is for our benefit He manifests and stays

here in the archA (vigrahA – icon) and this temple is therefore

His living place. If we can keep this temple spic and span, our hearts also

will be free of all dirt. And to boot, if all the residents of this community

join in this task, then the community will be free of dirts like hate, envy and

difference." This should be the attitude, coupled with gratitude, when we clean

the temple. But the very act of dusting and cleaning may prevent us from

getting absorbed in noble thoughts like this. For a total one-pointedness in

such thoughts action does present some obstacle. There is no doubt about it. To

a certain extent, maybe even to a large extent, work and action may organise

our thoughts but it will not help a complete one-pointedness in the thinking.

Thought and action are already a two-fold process.

 

"O.K. Swamiji, if it is so, then why take up work

and action? Why not I sit for meditation quietly without doing any hands-on

work and try to get the one-pointedness towards good thoughts?"

 

Sit and try, my dear.

 

Throw away that sweep and duster and sit.

 

"Yes, Swamiji, I am seated"

 

O.K. For some time sit still and meditate.

 

……………………………..

 

(The Swamigal dramatises both sides of the

conversation, and now keeps silent for a little time)

 

How is meditation going on? Have I disturbed your meditation by asking

questions?

 

"No, Swami, no.

You have not disturbed me. Nothing

of the sort. It went off on its own. Even to say `went off' is wrong. From the

very first, the thoughts did not converge. What to speak of `disturbance'? As soon as I sat and started, maybe for a

moment or two, there was some peace in good thought. The mind was absorbed in

God. Almost immediately the thought came: `Therefore Bhakti and meditation are superior to Karma. Yes, this is superior; karma

is inferior'. I am telling you frankly. The thoughts got dissipated and went as

far as to think: `Why is this Swami always talking about Karma? He ought to be talking about advaita'. The thought went on: `He even cites examples

of Krishna paramAtmA and Adi Shankara

and says they also said the same thing'.

How can objective and practice be so much at variance?'.

 

"And the thought continued: In theory they say

Gandhism is the objective. But in practice they open more and more factories

and keep on increasing the military budget.

This led on to umpteen thoughts about politics. Who should be voted in

at the next election? … thus the thought

led on to even cursing the leader of the party not to our liking, to the extent

that the thought wished he perished! Oh

`what a pity! We wanted to clean the corridors of the temple, and then thinking

that meditation is a better thing to do we sat here. But now in our own mind so

much dirt has accumulated. The dusting

and clearing work of the dirt in the temple is a nobler task. It may not

regulate the thoughts along noble channels, but it certainly prevents the mind

from distraction and dissipation into thousand unwanted directions. Enough is enough with this meditation. Let me

go back to the task on hand. But I have

boasted to the Swami that I will do meditation.

It is really embarassing to go back to him and accept defeat …' That was the time, Swamiji, when you spoke up

and called me. Maybe because of the

merit of the fact that I came to clean the temple corridors, I am being enabled

to tell you all this frankly!".

 

Cleaning the corridors of the temple involves a

score of other tasks – like procuring water, assembling different kinds and

sizes of water containers, brooms, brushes, washing chemicals, attending to

blocked waterways and so on. All these can block the noble thoughts arising in

the mind. But inspite of that, until the maturity is attained for silent

meditation – in fact that maturiy is itself a possible result of such unselfish

service – until such time, it is better to be involved in the action of service-rather

than sitting for meditation for which one is not spiritually ready. At worst

such service will divert one very much from `bad' things. That itself is a

great advantage, though not from the positive side; it is actually a benefit by

reducing the negatives.

 

But let it not be misunderstood that even an attempt

at meditation should not be done. Not to try to divert the mind towards the

noblest of tasks that it can do and to keep involved in action all the time

does not befit a human being with a mind. Man is not born to be like that. He

can as well be a machine in a factory. For achieving a certain perfection in

meditation at some time in one's life, one surely has to start early even

though with an immature mind.

 

A weak frail person may do yogAsanAs to

become strong and healthy. Of course the frailty of the individual will make it

difficult for him to do the yogAsanas. But should he not make an effort?

May be a start can be made for five minutes, which slowly and gradually should

be aimed to be increased to ten, fifteen minutes and higher. That is how many

have achieved success. The thought of

Atman and effort at advaita thinking must begin for you all even now; that is

why I am making all these lectures. In order that this thought may sprout and

be stable I wish you all get the necessary purity of mind (chitta-shuddhi)

and that is why I want you to do the ShAstra-karmas. That will give you

the purity of mind and in the end, the noble thought-process and the meditation

will all give place to a jnAna-experience.

 

(To be continued in KMDA 10)

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

PraNAms to Kanchi Maha Swamigal.

profvk