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Verse 4:

nalini dala gata jala matitaralam tadvat jivitamatishaya chapalam viddhi vyaadhy abhimaana grastam lokam shokahatam cha samastam

Like a water drop drifting on a lotus leaf, life is extremely uncertain; gripped as it is by disease and ego and is full of sorrow.

naliniidalagata = nalini + dala + gata = lotus + petal + reached / gone; jalam = water (drop); atitaralam = ati + taralam, very + unstable tadvath = like that; jiivitam = life; chapalam = fickle-minded; vyaadhi = disease; people; = and; grastam = having been caught / seized atishaya = wonderful; viddhi = know for sure; abhimaana = egoism; lokam = world; cha

shokah grief hatam = attacked (hata) samastam = entire

Unstable nature of human life: Further continuing his advice to the seeker to have an opposite view, Adi Sankara compares the life of man to that of a water droplet precariously drifting on a lotus leaf. As long as the droplet is on the leaf, it appears lustrous and active; but there is ever lurking danger of the droplet dropping off the leaf at the slightest movement of wind in the vicinity. It is not just that life is uncertain; even lifes so called pleasures are transitory too. The tendency to leave spiritual affairs to a later day, a rather late part of at that, is too obvious to be missed. For such people who tend to delay, procrastinate and postpone spiritual practices Adi Sankara points out the transitory nature of life itself and the need for immediate attempts at knowing truth. Human life is gripped by diseases and disabilities. To think, while young, that spiritual efforts to seek realization can be relegated to an old age, is to over look the fact of impending physical and emotional troubles. Bhajagovindam impresses upon us the fact that we are here as spiritual beings to have physical experience and not physical beings to immerse ourselves in physical and sensory pleasures only. Apparently glittering and yet ever drifting: The water droplet on a lotus leaf looks bright thanks to sun shine and is seen constantly drifting here and there, as if it very active and enjoying its role; but yet at the slightest movement of wind the droplet slips and drops off. Mans life is also like that of the water droplet, seemingly satisfying and fulfilling and yet simmering with troubles, unhappiness and uncertainty. Obstacles to practice: Disease and deceit are always around and hence any delay in the practice will be very detrimental to the real spiritual evolution for which man landed himself here on earth. It is not only disease, fickle mindedness and egoism that are obstacles to progress, there are many more. These are enumerated by Patanjali Maharshi in his Yoga Sutras:

Vydhi_Styna_Sanshaya_Pramda_alasya_Avirati_Bhrntidarsh an_Alabdha Bhumikatva_Anavasthitatva_Tvni Chitta_Vikshepah_Antaryh_Anavasthitatva_Tvni Chitta_Vikshepah_Antaryh Disease dullness and doubt; laziness and sloth; Confusion and lack of concentration; False perception and unsteady mind

Are obstacles of different kind

World is full of sorrow: This statement of Sri Sankara should not be misinterpreted as being defeatist. He is not referring to the terrestrial world of objects. His reference to the three worlds is: the physical, mental and causal. Since, as he has earlier pointed out that everything in this world is illusory, impermanent and transitory; searching for lasting happiness in a world of impermanency is to say the least foolish. Hence he asks us to search for truth and ensure eternal bliss.

The presence of thought is for misery. The cessation of thought is happiness. Yogavasishta

Verse: 5

yaavadvittopaarjana saktah staavannija parivaaro raktah pashchaajjiivati jarjara dehe vaartaam koapi na prichchhati gehe

As long as you earn the wealth that everybody yearns, the family you love will appear to love and care. But when the cage of your body gets old, they would not even ask you about your welfare yaavath = so long as upaarjana = earning / acquiring; vitta = wealth; shaktah = capable of;

staavannija = tavath + nija, till then + one's; parivaarah = family; raktah = attached; pashchaath = later; jiivati = while living (without earning); dehe = in the body; koapi = kah + api, prichchhati = inquires / jarjara = old / digested (by disease etc); vaartaam = enquiry / inquiry; whosoever; even one; asks / minds; na = not;

gehe= in the house.)

The waning utility factor:

At times it appears as though Adi Sankara is elucidating modern day conditions. How true he sounds when he says that the retinue will follow only so long as you have something to dole out! Ask any politician who is just out of power, he will vouchsafe this statement. For that matter ask any beaurocrat who had just retired or a business man who has gone into liquidation; they will vouchsafe too. So long as power and pelf, youth and energy, wealth and valor are there people will crowd around singing glories and praising the owner as the demigod on earth. Let him lose them, the very same crowd will not only dump him but abuse him as well! It is equally true of the family man. So long as he is the breadwinner and provider, everyone in the family, at least pretends to listen to his counsel and shower praises. Let him lose his health or distribute his wealth before his departure from the earthly plane, even his servant will not care to look at him.

Free from desire, you realise the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. Chase after money and security, your heart can never unclench. Care about peoples approval, you will be their prisoner. Zen Buddhism

Robbers wife refuses to share his sins. Thousands of years ago there lived a hunter who lived by robbing and looting. He lived in a jungle with his wife and children and no traveler who passed through the jungle was safe. If need be he never hesitated to kill the innocent pilgrims to achieve his object. One day Devarshi Narada passed through the forest. As usual the hunter was on the look out for victims and as soon as he saw a sage approaching joyously singing and playing on his Veena, he thought he would have best of the chance to get rich. With a thud, he jumped down before the sage from the branch of a tree where he was hiding. Flashing his sword he threatened, "Give away all that you possess. Otherwise I will kill you." Narada was the son of Brahma Deva himself and he was never afraid of any one. He saw God in all and loved at all. He looked kindly into the eyes of the hunter and said, "Why do you want to kill me? I have never harmed you." The robber replied, "It is not because of anything you did that I want to kill you. I want your wealth to maintain my wife and children. If you obstruct me in getting them I will kill you." Narada was not perturbed by his threatening attitude. He said, "Very well., you may do as you please. But please tell me one thing. You say that you are committing all this sin for the sake of your wife and children. They who are sharing the wealth earned by you, will they share the sins that you are earning too? The robber was non-pulsed. He never thought of the matter in this light before. He

replied, "Of course, they will have to. Why else should I commit sins for their sake?" Narada moved his head in disagreement and said, "No, they will not. If you have any doubt, go and ask your wife and children." The robber was suspicious that Narada might be playing a trick on him to escape. He sternly said, "No, I won't leave you and go. You are just trying to hoodwink me and escape." Narada laughed at his suspicions and assured, "No, my son, I promise you that I won't escape. I will surely wait for you till you return. If you don't believe me, tie me up to one of these trees and go to your house." The robber tightly bound Narada to a nearby tree and hurried to his home. Ever since the sage asked him the strange question he was disturbed in his mind. Had he been ruining himself with sins to no purpose? He went home and called out his wife and all the children. He said, "My dears, you know how I had been earning wealth by robbing and killing, to maintain you all. You have been sharing all that I earned. Won't you be sharing the sins earned by me also? The wife and children were horrified at the suggestion.

They said, "We are your dependents and it is your duty to maintain us. We never asked you to commit sins for the purpose of the wealth. If you choose to commit sins, it is your own look out. How are we concerned with it? You alone will have to bear the result of your sins." Suddenly the eyes of the robber were opened. He realised that he was accumulating terrible sins from which there was no escape. Why should he lead a sinful life for these people? He ran back to where Narada was and hastily untying his bonds fell at his feet. Deep in grief, he begged, "Mahatma, in ignorance I have committed many sins. Please tell me how I can redeem myself. I have no more desire to lead this life of sin. Pray, save me."

Narada rejoiced at his transformation. He lifted the robber to his feet and told him, "Fear not, my son. There is one name, the Taraka, which redeems even the greatest of sinners. Repeat the name with all your mind and soul in it. All your sins will be washed away soon." He then whispered in his ears the sacred name, "Rama" and asked the robber to repeat it.The whole of his life was spent in doing and saying only harsh things. So the robber could not utter the word "Rama" try as he might. But Narada was too kind to leave him thus. So he tried another method. He slowly uttered the word "Ma ra" inverting the sacred name. This time the robber could pronounce the letters, "Ma ra" , Ma ra...." And he started repeating the letters in quick succession... "Ma ra, Ma ra, Ma... Ra.... Ma Ra...Ra...ma...Rama....Rama....Rama..." Thus after a time without his realising it, the robber was repeating the Taraka nama. He was captivated by the charm of the sacred name and he went on repeating the name forgetting his surroundings. He sat on like that continuously without moving and without opening his eyes and years passed away. Seeing him sitting like an immovable stone, ants, worms and insects crawled fearlessly near him and on him and built their homes and nests. The ant hills grew and grew until they covered him fully and he could not even be seen. Thus was born Valmiki, born out of valmikam (Valmikam stands for ant hill)

Verse: 6

aavatpavano nivasati dehe taavatprichchhati kushalam gehe gatavati vaayau dehaapaaye bhaaryaa bibhyati tasminkaaye

As long as there is breath in the body, at home, they enquire of your welfare. Once the breath leaves the body and the body decays, even the wife is afraid of that lifeless body yaavath = so long as; nivasati = lives / dwells; taavath = till then; kushalam = welfare pavanah = air / breath; dehe = in the body;

prichchhati = asks / inquires; gehe = in the house; gatavati =

while gone; vaayau = air (life-breath); dehaapaaye = when life departs the body; bhaaryaa = wife; bibhyati = is afraid; fears; tasminh + kaye, that body.) tasminkaaye =

Man has become body minded! So much is our identification with the body, even the wife who till the other day adored and admired her husband, shuns away in fear by looking at the lifeless body of her dead husband. She imagines her husband only in his body form, not in the soul form. As long as breath is active, so long does the wife or other relatives or friends or kith and kin; respect and adore the person; for all these people recognize only an embodied soul, not a departed soul. Yes, body is important. Yes, body is the temple housing the soul. Yes, body need be nurtured and well maintained. But beyond that body orientation is wrong, it is absurd. To think that we are bodies and all the time worry about its looks and dress it with perfumes and pastes is wrong. Greater effort should be put to decorate and perfume mind with abhyasa and vairagya. We should free the mind of its wrinkles of greed, lust and anger and the toxins of evil tendencies.

It is bondage is when the mind longs for something, Grieves about something, Rejects something, Holds on to something, Is pleased about something, or Feels annoyed at something.
Ashtavakra Samhita

Verse 7:

baalastaavatkriidaasaktah tarunastaavattaruniisaktah vriddhastaavachchintaasaktah pare brahmani koapi na saktah

As a child, one is absorbed in play. As a young man, attached to women; As an old man, one is lost in worrying thoughts; Alas! no one is attracted to the Supreme Brahman, God.

:baalah = childhood; kriidaa = play;

taavath = till then;

saktah = attached / engrossed / absorbed; taavath = till saktah = attached / taavath = till then;

tarunah = adolescent; young man; then; tarunii = young woman; engrossed; vriddhah = old man;

chintaa = worry; saktah = attached / engrossed / absorbed; parame = in the lofty; high; supreme; brahmani = (in) Brahman ; God; koapi = whosoever (nobody); na = not; saktah = attached / absorbed; engrossed.)

he emotional attachment: While Sri Sankara through the previous verse discouraged the body attachment, through this verse he addresses the seeker to get rid of emotional attachment. The attachments to the transient toys and thoughts is very discouraging, in the context of the need to attachment to the permanent God. In short man has a propensity to choose the pleasant over the good. Kathopanishad says that every person will always get the option of treading 1. The path of that which is right & good the Sreyas 2. The path of immediate pleasure the Preyas. Those who choose the path of Sreyas will make the best of their lives, while those who succumb to the latter will have to pay the price destined for the deluded ones The path of pleasure is in fact leading man to the pit of pain. Not understanding this simple fact of life, despite repeated experiences, man again and again becomes a prey and turns out to be a victim of object orientation and pursues the path of the preyas. The Upanishad says:

Sreyascha Preyascha manushyametah tau sampareetya vivinakthi dhirah: Sreyo hi dhiro abhipreyaso vrineethe Preyo mandho yogakshemadh vrineethe Both good and pleasant approach man; the wise man examining the two, discriminates between them. The wise man verily prefers the good over the pleasant, but the foolish man chooses the pleasant through love of gain and attachment Though man has the freedom to choose, yet, from the point of view of means and ends, sreya and preya approach man in a mixed

up form, as it were, in a form difficult to discriminate by a man of poor understanding says Adi Sankara in his commentary on this verse from Kahopanishad. There are two directions along which the mind of man moves, viz. the outward and the inward. The outward path is the way of pleasure and enjoyment. The inward way is that of the search for Reality. The two terms, sreyas and preyas, used in this instructive verse, refer to blessedness and sensory satisfaction respectively. The human mind is always after immediate results. It does not care so much for ultimate values. Let me know; what I get, here and now, I care not, as for the morrow, If the path will result in sorrow That then I will face anyhow somehow. This seems to be the usual argument of the one under illusions sway. Sri Sankara, out of his immense compassion and love for mankind fervently appeals to us to see the reality of pain lurking behind every apparent pleasure and advices the seeker to choose the good instead of the pleasant.

Karma is intended for purification of mind, not for understanding the nature of an object. Knowledge can be had only by reflection; not even a little bit of it can be known by performing even a crore of karma. Adi Sankara Vivekachudamani 11

Verse: 8

kaate kaantaa kaste putrah samsaaro.ayamatiiva vichitrah kasya tvam kah kuta aayaatah tattvam chintaya tadiha bhraatah

Who is your wife? Who is your son? Strange is the (way of the) world; Of whom are you ? From where have you come? Brother, now ponder over these truths.

kaate = ka + te, who + your kaste = kah + te, who + your; sansaarah = world / family; great / big / very much; mysterious; kasya = whose; from where; truth / nature; tvam = you;

kaantaa = wife; putrah = son; ayam = this; atiiva = vichitrah = wonderful / kah = who; kutah = tattvam =

aayaatah = have come;

chintaya = think well / consider; bhraatah = brother.

tadiha = tat.h + iha, that + here;

Relationships belong to the body, not you:


It is only as long as one remains body orientated that one looks at others, be it wife or child, mother or father, uncle or aunt or cousin or in laws as relatives; for they are related to the body. Once realization dawns, he would look at everyone as the Lord expressing Himself in diverse ways amongst diverse people. The realized soul would continue to be kind and good, polite and helpful; for that would be his very nature. But this kindness etc would not be confined to erstwhile relatives but to every being on earth. Sri Sankara wants the seeker to understand and appreciate the fact of relationships being limited true only as long as one assumes himself to be a body. The moment realization dawns that one is the eternal Atman, he will get out of individualized relationship and turn universally related to all creatures. What have you learnt if you do not know where you were before this birth and where you will go after the bodys death? asks King Jaivali to Svetaketu. (Chaandogya Upanishad) King Svetaketu King Svetaketu King Svetaketu King Do you know how these people diverge after death? I do not know. I have no answer to your question. Do you know how they return to the world? I do not have an answer to this question too Do you know how the other word is never filled with so many people thus dying again and again Sorry. I do not know. I have no answer to this question either Do you know after how many oblations are offered, water rises up possessed of a human voice and speaks up I have no answer to this question as well. I do not know Do you know the means of access to the way of the

Svetaketu King

Svetaketu King

gods or the way to the manes? I have no answer to this question as well. I do not know What have you learnt if you do not know where you were before this birth and where you will go after the bodys death? What did you learn at the school then? You do not know answers for the most fundamental of all questions. How do you consider yourself educated if you do not have answers for these basic questions?

Like Svetaketu we are all puffed with pride about our secular knowledge and like him we are ignorant of truth of our being the eternal Atman. Sri Sankara asks us rhetorically to examine and realize our true nature and get rid of attachment based on body oriented relationships and the consequent attachment and aversion. Sri Sankara asks us: Of whom are you? From where have you come? Brother, now ponder over these truths. It is worth noting his addressing the seeker as Brother Of whom are you? From where have you come?

Mom and Dad, this body is your gift to me, but the mind is my own.

Where does a man originate from? If man were to be assumed to be a one-off entity, coming from nowhere and going into oblivion on death, it can be assumed that they come from the parents. This is the belief of some physiologists. Heredity is the reason, they would say. The reproductive cell in the male, called the sperm and the reproductive cell in the female called the ovum, join to form a new

cell called the zygote, the fertilised egg, which develops into an individual in due course. Now, how is a genius or an idiot is born? According to the modern biologists it is a chance, an accidental fusion. That is the best explanation one can think of, if he does not believe in souls reincarnation. The fact is one can know about a tree not by study of the seed, but by study of the tree. One can know about a man by studying man. When we observe geniuses like Adi Sankara or a Goethe, who have had nobody up in the family hierarchy who were geniuses or when we see cases of previous birth memory, we cannot but come to the conclusion that the birth of man is not an one-off event and his capabilities are not based on chances. Sankara had mastered the Vedas when he was only seven, he wrote his commentaries when only sixteen. Goethe, the eminent German poet was a master of seventeen languages before he was fifteen year old. Sri Sankara wants the seeker to ponder over this question: Of whom are you? From where have you come?

Look on such things as friends, land, money, property, wife, and bequests as nothing but a dream or a magician's show, lasting three or five days. (Ashtaavakra Gita 10.2)

The Three Friends of Man


The wisdom of Vedanta says: Never trust a friend who has not been tested. The following story, The Three Friends of Man, beautifully describes who can be trusted as our true friend. In a small village there lived a pious man, virtuous and honest. One day he received a summons from the king to appear before him for judgment. The king was known for his eccentricity, unpredictability, and cruelty. The pious man became very much disturbed and afraid. He had never done anything wrong or unjust, so how could he receive a summons like this, he wondered. The pious man had three friends: his best friend, his next best friend, and his least intimate friend. He went to his best friend, explained his fear and distress to him, and asked him to come with him to the king's court. His best friend, standing inside the front door of his house, heard the whole matter and said: "I am afraid I cannot accompany you to the king's court. I can only say good luck to you, my friend," and he closed the door in his friend's face. The pious man became terribly disappointed to realize that one whom he had always regarded as his best friend would desert him and leave him out in the cold. He then went to see his next best friend, told him the whole problem, and made the same request of him. This friend said: "I know you to be a good man and I could never imagine your doing anything wrong. I'll accompany you up to the palace gate, but I do not intend to enter the palace and stand before the king, because he is unpredictable and eccentric and may decide to put me in jail along with you." The pious man became disappointed for the second time. Sad at heart and disillusioned about human goodness, he went to his least intimate friend, from whom he never expected any help. When this third friend heard of his problem, he said to him: "I do know you to be an honest man and also I am certain that you are incapable of doing anything wrong. Don't worry, my friend, but go home and come leisurely to the court of the king. I am going ahead to testify to the king about your honesty and goodness." The pious man was greatly surprised

at this pledge of support from a friend to whom he had never paid much attention. The pious man in the story represents a human individual in distress, the king, death and the summons, the call of death. The palace gate stands for the graveyard. The "best friend" represents money and possessions, which say goodbye to person at death and never come out of his house to accompany him. The "next best friend" represents relatives and friends, who accompany him only up to the graveyard and then leave his dead body there. The "least intimate friend," to whom he never paid much attention, is the memory of his good deeds, performed with selflessness for the benefit of others. The memory of his good deeds becomes his sole support in his fearful, solitary journey hereafter. Such a memory is his only true and trusted friend.

"Brothers, wives, fathers, and friends, who were very near and dear to the heart, are all instantly alienated and turned into foes by even an insignificant sum of money. Even the least amount of money upsets them and inflames their anger, so that they immediately part company, and all at once abandoning cordiality they rival and even kill one another." Bhagavat Gita

Verse 9:

tsangatve nissangatvam nissangatve nirmohatvam nishchalatattvam nishcalatattve jiivanmuktih

nirmohatve

From the company of good and holy people, one develops a state of nonattachment; from this comes freedom from delusion; this leads to a state of tranquility of mind, which enables one to attain freedom.

satsangatve = in the company of sages and saints; nissangatvam = non-attachment / detachment; nirmohatvam = absence of infatuation/ clearheadedness; nishchalatattvam = tranquility /

imperturbability / steadiness + freedom from bondage of birth

jiivanmuktih = salvation

Sat sangham: In Sanskrit, the term Satsangam literally means in the company of truth. It has come to describe a gathering of people in search of Truth. Sat refers to existence, truth or God. Through the SATSANGAM one can develop good qualities, good thoughts, good feelings and do good deeds, and thereby transform his human nature into Divine nature. This, in fact, is the primary duty of every individual. To develop good qualities, one has to get rid of one's bad traits. The best of good company is the presence of God by ones side. But that fortune was reserved for Narada who was blessed to be always in the company of Narayana or Arjuna who had the fortune of being with Krishna. Next best Satsangha can only be that of the Guru. Why should one go to a Guru? One can do tapas, dhyana, japa, etc. on his own. But unless one takes the dust of the Lotus Feet of the Guru on his head his sadhana will prove futile. The last, if not the least, is the company of scriptural texts. Fortunately there are number of good books available. It should be noted however that books cannot be a substitute to a good Guru. Along with study, if the seeker can practice and cultivate dispassion there is hope for salvation, if not in this birth, at least in later ones. The term satsangham has also come to describe a gathering of people in search of Truth. In addition to study of scriptures, 1. being in the company of God by way of chanting in praise of God, 2. associating with persons of similar background who are also in search of truth, 3. visiting temples and other places of pilgrimage where one can feel the presence of his chosen deity or Guru 4. practicing pranayama and pratyahara

performing such other rituals and rites that one deems fit and by experience has come to realize their potency are all ways of keeping the company of truth.
SATSANGHA : Company of Saints and Sages , Holy Men, Spiritual discourses, Reading of spiritual books and attending spiritual congregations. NIS -SATSANGHA TVAM : Disengagement from all activities other than the minimum needed to continue to be involved in the family and profession. NIRMOHATVAM : Detachment from sense objects, lack of interest in matters mundane, disinclination to participate in parties and festivities. N ISCH ALATVAM: Steadiness of mind, focused attention on the Lord and thoughts about Truth and the falsity illusory nature of the world. JIVANMUKTHIH: Emancipation, enlightenment , uncovering of maya , Jiva s identification with the Eswara , even while encased in the body.

5.

When the mind stops linking itself to the past and to the future, it becomes no-mind
Yogavsishishta

Scriptures describe Seven Steps to liberation thus:

Seven steps of knowledge* Step Step Step Step

1 2 3 4

Virtuous Wish Reflection

Preceded by absence of worldly desires Preceded by association with scriptures and practice of dispassion Non attachments to objects.Thinness in thought arising out of non-attachment On practice of above 3 steps Mind becomes pure on cessation of desires On practice of above 4 steps Shooting up spectacle of Pure Being. On practice of above 5 steps Absence of thought of inner and outer objects By long practice of above 6 steps And by non cognition of difference

The state of thin mind Entering into being Non union

Step 5

Step

non-ideation of objects Going into Fourth state of consciousness

Step

Sage Vasishta tells Rama (Yogavaasishta): Satsanga serves as a boat to cross this terrible ocean of samsara. The company of sages even for a moment is highly beneficial. Even the dharshan of Mahatma destroys sins and elevates the mind. The company of virtuous people produces the fresh blossom of discrimination. The company of sages wards off all disasters and destroys the tree of ignorance. Sages prescribe the best rules of conduct for aspirants and teach them the correct mode of life. The company of virtuous sheds light on the right path and destroys the internal darkness of man. The company of sages is the unfailing means to conquer and this dire mind

Avoid the company of the evil ones

A man is known by the company he keeps and Birds of the same feather flock together are maxims that are true in every sense. The company of the evil begets evil. The company of the evil persons weakens the heart and ruins ones spiritual life. The company of those who speak evil, whose every action is in the nature of hurting fellow human beings, who have scant respect for the noble and hence pride themselves in deriding the noble, should be eschewed. Evil company destroys spiritual resolve. At times evil men not only destroy spiritual life but ones worldly life as well. Evil company is not necessarily the gangster type. By evil company is meant anyone and anything that leads to downward pull of worldly affairs, wealth and valour, honour and esteem and all such body and mind related attachments. Every sense object is a standing invitation to sin. Sri Sankara says: Just as a tortoise withdraws its head into the shell whenever there is danger, a human being should withdraw his senses from the sense objects into himself. Whenever senses go hither and thither on their own it is danger time for the human. The tortoise has to draw into its shell only when it smells danger but the human being has to do this all the time. Doing this all the time is the sadhana.

People who understand renunciation consider the renunciation of mind (giving up of thoughts) as complete renunciation Yogavasishta

Trust not the evil ones:


Aesops Tales) A Wolf followed a flock of sheep for a long time, and did not attempt to injure one of them. The Shepherd at first stood on his guard against him, as against an enemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements. But when the Wolf, day after day, kept in the company of the sheep, and did not make the slightest effort to seize them, the Shepherd began to look upon him as a guardian of his flock rather than as a plotter of evil against it; and when occasion called him one day into the city, he left the sheep entirely in his charge. The Wolf, now that he had the opportunity, fell upon the sheep, and destroyed the greater part of the flock. The Shepherd, on his return, finding his flock destroyed, exclaimed: "I have been rightly served; why did I trust my sheep to a Wolf?"

Wood that is put in fire burns slowly, loses its form and finally turns into ashes. Similarly a person who comes into contact with the fire of satsang kindled by a mahatma loses his hardness and becomes spiritually transformed and evolves into a higher being Swami Sundara Chaitanyananda

Verse: 10

vayasigate kah kaamavikaarah shushhke niire kah kaasaarah kshiinevitte kah parivaarah gyaate tattve kah samsaarah

What good is lust when youth has fled away? What is the use of a lake that has dried up? Where are the relatives when wealth is gone? Where is samsaara, the worldly life, when the Truth is known? vayasigate = advanced / gone; kva?(where) (use) is the weakened state of vayasi + gate, when age has

kah = who / what use (in the sense of kaamavikaarah = sexual feeling; niire = water; ka = what kaasaarah = lake; vitte = wealth; kshiine = spent-up / kah = what (use) for; gyaate = in the kah = what (use) is;

shushhke = in the drying up of

parivaarah = family (is there? realized state; tattve = truth; samsaarah = world / family bond

When attachment is lost, everything is gained: When youth is lost, lust is useless. Lust makes sense only when in youth. With old age setting in and parts and limbs failing and frail, one can have no outlet for his lust. Lust is thus coterminous with youth. When water is lost, lake is useless. The very word lake makes sense only when there is water. Only that water bed on the otherwise dry shallow land can be called a lake. When wealth is lost, relatives are useless. Relatives will be there around alright, even when one has lost his wealth. But they would not have the same regard and profess the same respect, since they find no use for the poor man now. In all the three cases when the content, namely youth, water and money is lost, the container is observed to be useless. But when attachment is lost, everything is gained. In the fourth case, when the container full of attachment and aversion is emptied, everything is gained. Samsara is when attachment is and the consequent lust and desire are present. There is no more samsara when the attachment is gone. Samsara exists a long as illusion persists. Under the spell of illusion one assumes that he will have a lasting relationship and conjugal bliss in matters related to family and friends. Under the spell of illusion one assumes himself to be the physical body and gets entangled in relationships. Bondage is Samsara: ASHTAVAKRA says: Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.

It is mind that causes bondage. Mind binds itself to objects and gets pleased or displeased depending upon whether the object had given it the expected satisfaction or not. Going beyond mind is attaining freedom. Clinging on to mind is bondage. As long as longing and craving, wanting and worrying lasts, so long can it be said that mind lasts. As soon as accepting or rejecting is given up, so soon can it be said that mind is transcended. Buddha puts it beautifully and logically while tracing the genesis and growth of the problem of suffering and explains how due to ignorance (not being aware that one is in fact the Atman) birth after birth one tends to wallow in misery and pain.
Ignorance arises, reaction occurs If craving arises, attachment arises

If reaction occurs, consciousness occurs

If attachment arises, process of becoming follows

If consciousness occurs, mind and matter

If process of becoming occurs, birth occurs

If mind and matter occurs, senses follow

If birth arises, decay and death follows

If contact arises, sensation occurs

Thus continues misery birth after birth

If sensation occurs, cravings arise

Disease is never cured by pronouncing the name of the medicine without taking it. Liberation is not achieved by talking about Brahman without direct perception. Adi Sankara Vivekachudamani (64)

Verse: 11:

maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvam harati nimeshhaatkaalah sarvam maayaamayamidamakhilaM hitvaa brahmapadaM tvaM pravisha viditvaa

Do not take pride in wealth, friends, and youth. Time takes away all of these in a minute; give them up having known that all these things are nothing but delusion, and enter the state of God realization and merge in Brahman. maa = do not; jana = people; kuru = do / act; d yauvana = youth; hana = wealth; garvam = arrogance /

haughtiness; harati = takes away / steals away; nimeshhaath = in the twinkling of the eye; kaalah = Time; sarvam = all; maayaa = delusion; mayam = full of / completely filled; idam = this; akhilam = whole / entire; buddhvaa = having convinced; brahmapadam = the state / position of Brahma / God-realized state; = tvam = you; having pravisha = enter; known / viditvaa realized.)

Sarvam maya:
MAYA means "that which is not" (i.e. illusion). It refers to accepting the temporary as having lasting value, and looking for enduring happiness in this world. In the twilight, one may easily mistake a rope for a snake. In so doing, we feel fear. Hence fear and other emotions are often based on illusion, an incorrect perception of reality. If one pursues a mirage of an oasis in the desert, one will not find water but will be misled. Similarly, this world provides no real happiness, which exists only as an elusive dream The mirage indicates the presence of a real oasis, of real water. Similarly, our desire for happiness, though frustrated, implies that real pleasure does indeed exist and that one is sat-chit-ananda swaroopa. Maya gives rise to ignorance: Maya or illusion gives rise to avidhya or ignorance. Maya Since Maya veils reality it is said to be the cause for Thamas the veiling power in man. Sattva Rajas This veiling power, called Avarana the avarana sakthi, in Vikshepa turn gives rise to the rajasic nature in man, the projecting power, called the vikshepa sakthi. Because of this fragmenting and projecting power of vikshepa, man sees many where there is only one.
Brahman

Under MAYA'S influence, the individual mistakenly identifies himself with the body. Such false identification results in such thoughts as "I am white and I am a man," or "This is my house, my

country, and my religion etc". The feeling of me and mine and all the associated ills like lust and anger are a direct result of this false identification. Race, gender, family, nation, bank balance, and sectarian religion are all results of false identification. The consequent wars and exploitation, as well as deprivation and denigration too are the results. Under this sense of false-identity man aspires to control and enjoy matter. However, in so doing he continuously succumbs to lust, greed, and anger. In frustration he often redoubles his efforts and, compounding mistake upon mistake, and falls deeper into illusion. This quagmire and quicksand drags man to deeper and deeper misery from which he struggles to extricate. Youth, wealth and friends and pride in their association are also the results of the illusion. Under illusions sway one wastes away precious youth in the company of friends and indulges in placating the senses. Sri Sankara cautions the seeker to understand the fact of illusion and make effort to get rid of illusion. When there is darkness it is prudent to light a lamp rather than fancy friendship or fear objects.

"On the basis of this misconception which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life's illusions and thinks in terms of 'I and mine."" Bhagavat Purana

Verse: 12

dinayaaminyau saayam praatah shishiravasantau punaraayaatah kaalah kriidati gachchhatyaayuh tadapi na mujncatyaashaavaayuh

Day and night, dawn and dusk, spring and winter, come and go again and again; Time enacts its play and life goes in vain; Yet the fire of desire doesnt quench Yet the fire of desire doesnt quench. dinayaaminyau = dina + yamini, day + night; saayam = evening; winter; again; praatah = morning; shishira = punah = kaalah = Time;

vasantau = (and) spring season; aayaatah = have arrived; kriidati = plays;

gachchhati = goes (away); tadapi = tath + api, then even; aashaa = desire;

aayuh = lifespan / age; na = not;

mujnchati = releases;

vaayuh = air (meaning craze) (the wind of desire does not let off its hold.)

Time quenches not thirst: Why is it that, day in and day out, year after year, from birth to death, birth after birth, man over millenniums has been running after objects? What is it that he is seeking in the objects and why is it that repeatedly, even after attaining the objects, he still finds no lasting satisfaction? What propels one to go after objects, knowing fully well the attendant problems and miseries? If we look closely the one underlying desire in every being is to be, to know and to be happy. There is no living being, be it an ant or an elephant, a reptile or a human who does not want to be. To be forever. To live for ever. Even a mosquito knows where to breed and how to suck blood. Knowing is inherent and as a corollary wanting to know too is. To live happily is the desire in everyone. Thus sat (to be), chit (to know) and Ananda (to be happy) is the goal of every being. This desire to be sat-chit-ananda is inherent because everyone IS already one such, but has forgotten, He is longing to become what he already IS, because of ignorance of the fact of his already being what he seeks to be. Happiness is the very nature of the Self; happiness and the Self are not different. There is no happiness in any object of the world. We imagine through our ignorance that we derive happiness from objects. When the mind goes out, it experiences misery. In truth, when its desires are fulfilled, it returns to its own place and enjoys the happiness that is the Self. Similarly, in the states of sleep, samadhi and fainting, and when the object desired is obtained or the object disliked is removed, the mind becomes inward-turned, and enjoys pure Self-Happiness. Thus the mind moves without rest alternately going out of the Self and returning to it.

Fire of desire is difficult to control: Arjuna asks Lord Krishna: What force is that, that drags us towards the objects and propels us to sin, even against our own will; as if by some compulsion? Lord Krishna answers: Know that the enemy here on earth is desire and anger, which arise from all consuming rajasic guna Lord Krishna says it is the rajasic guna that is responsible for the outward object oriented nature of man. But what is this rajasic guna? Naturally the answer leads us nowhere. Further study is needed to probe this aspect more and arrive at a solution. Without this solution, there can never be peace of mind. The elusive objects are like mirages. Chase them and they lead us further on. Chase them further, farther it goes. Until, tired and exhausted one falls dead, gets up again with a new body, continues the quest and finds his troubles continuing too. Rajasic guna can be translated as activity oriented nature? For the question, why one is activity oriented, the answer is, it is very purpose for which he has taken on a new body. Now that there is a new body, it is also possible to realize that taking on new bodies repeatedly is of no use and desires can never be quenched. The quest should therefore be to realize that desires are the byproducts of delusion and delusion is due to false identification with the body-mind unit. Naturally efforts should be towards deidentification. Cultivating association of Gurus and men of wisdom, study of scriptures, practice of praanayama and pratyahara etc are all efforts aimed at de-identification and realization of ones true nature as the un-decaying Atman and not the decaying body. Deidentification process involves abhyasa and vairagya.

The story of Mr Greedy


Mr Greedy kept praying God, until one morning, God blessed him with a boon: Greedy could choose to run in whichever direction he wants from where he was standing, unto 24 long hours. As he crosses the miles, the distance will be taken as the radius and a circumference drawn; all the properties- buildings, roads, lakes and even the bus stations, airports and railway terminals that come under the circumference would be his, for him to keep or sell. Greedy kept running and running non stop. By the evening he had already crossed the city, the suburbs and even some villages nearer the city. All property under the 16 mile radius, which meant the entire city and adjoining suburban area and villages were his. Since morning, he ran for sixteen hours. He was already panting for breath, exhausted. But the temptation to keep running was higher now. Additional mile would mean a bigger circumference and larger property to be had. He ran and ran and ran until by the twentieth hour he fell dead! Greedy did not realise that the boon had a built in bane. Greed did him in, for he could see only the gain to be accrued as he ran, but did not notice the impending loss of his very life!

Even if one performs severe penance for thousands of years there is no use. There is no other means than cessation of thoughts. Be without wish Yogavasishta

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