Guest guest Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 “Present bondages are said to be of four types — ‘vishaya asakti lakshanam’, ‘buddhi mandyam’, ‘kutharkam’ and ‘viparyaya duragraham’. The first of these means great desire for material things; the second, inability to grasp the teachings and expositions of the Guru; the third means to understand perversely the teachings of the Guru; the fourth is to feel egoistically that ‘I am learned in the Vedas’, ‘I am a Pandit’, ‘I am an ascetic’. These four are called present bondages. If it is asked how these can be overcome, the first can be overcome by tranquillity (sama), by curbing the evil propensities of the mind (dama), by detachment (uparati) and by indifference to external things (titiksha). The second type can be overcome by hearing the teachings of the Guru over and over again; the third by reflection or contemplation; and the fourth by profound meditation on a thought. If, in this way, the obstacles are removed and destroyed, seekers get confirmed in their belief that they are themselves the embodiment of the Self (atma-swarupa). “As for future bondages, they arise from acts done without anyone knowing they are sinful. How can this be discovered? A seeker should recognize it as a future bondage when some action presents itself which makes him feel that he wishes to do it because the doing of it is an act of human kindness and sympathy; and so he is tempted into doing it. He does not realise that the act will be the cause of future bondage. If he thinks that, by being a non-doer (akarta) and worldly-detached (asanga), the fulfilment of the desire will not affect him and he can therefore do the act, he will become bound all the same and will be freed from the bondage only after several more births. Source: Letters from and Recollections of Sri Ramanasramam -- Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Prasanth Jalasutram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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