BHAGAVAD GITA. CHAPTER III.1-2.

Gita series – part 34. We now begin our discussion on Chapter III of Bhagavad Gita consisting of 43 verses. This chapter is called “karma yoga” or the path of action. In this chapter, Krishna underlines the importance of performing prescribed actions. He also analyses the effects of performing and non-performing karmas. Karmas are classified into two groups, the first causing bondage and another leading to liberation. In spite of Krishna’s holy sermons, Arjuna remains as a perplexed man and seeks further clarifications from the Lord. Arjuna asks Krishna “Oh! Janardana! When you consider wisdom is superior to action, Oh! Keshava! Why do you want to engage me in doing awful actions? By your ambiguous speeches, you are confusing my intelligence. Please advise me decisively, the one thing by which I will achieve the highest good” (verses 1 and 2). Krishna told Arjuna in II.48 “take refuge in balanced wisdom” and this apparently appears to be the cause for Arjuna seeking clarifications from Krishna. Arjuna’s mind remains confused in spite of Krishna’s preaching. Krishna said that those who perform actions for the sake of benefit of its fruits are in miserable condition. Fruits of actions mostly accrue to the body. The point that Krishna drives home is that one should not attach importance to the body that is susceptible to decay, degeneration and death. Instead, Krishna advises to pursue the Supreme knowledge by developing the highest level of consciousness to realise the Brahman within. There could be another reason for Arjuna’s confusion. Knowledge cannot be attained without engaging body in actions. But one should not get engrossed in such bodily actions, as that would lead to addiction and subsequent miseries. This is what Arjuna refers to as ambiguity in the speech of the Lord. This is an occasion to explain the importance of the mind. Unless, the mind of the disciple is attentive to the teachings of his master, the substance of the teachings cannot be grasped properly. What Krishna said in chapter II was “live, but do not live in it”. Live means live to perform one’s karmas and do not live in it means do not get attached to the actions looking for fruits of the karmas. In other words, Krishna said that do your duty and leave the rest to Him. It is probably due to the inertia of the mind that Arjuna could not grasp the subtle teachings of Krishna. Arjuna is well known for his intelligence and quick actions. The circumstances in which he was placed (the battle ground) could be one of the reasons for his inattentive mind. Arjuna’s mind was full of compassion for his masters and relatives who are bound to perish in the battle as Arjuna was so confident of his abilities. Now Arjuna asks Krishna one final advise from Him to act decisively.

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 418 - 421

Jadashakthi (418) She is the power of inanimate energy. Generally, two types of energies are referred to in the process of creation. One is the non-pulsating (inanimate) energy and the other is pulsating energy. Both are creative energies. The latter is also known as dynamic aspect of the Brahman. This nama discusses on the non-pulsating nature of creation. Inanimate energy or apara-prakriti is considered to be of the lower grade when compared to para-prakriti or pure energy (nama 366 is para). There two forms of prakriti are the different modifications of maya or illusion, which forms part of the Brahman. Without maya, the Brahman on its own cannot function. In nama 416 She was referred to as chitchakthi. This nama refers exactly the opposite of Chitchakthi. But the creation is not possible without the combination of chitchakthi and jadashakthi. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita (VII.4 and 5) “My manifested nature has eight fold differentiations: earth, water, fire, air and akash (ether) in combination with mind, intellect and ego (three of the four internal tools). This is my lower nature (apara-prakriti). But understand that my different and higher nature (para-prakriti) is the jiva, the self-consciousness and life-principle that sustains the cosmos”. Jadashakthi forms part of the saguna Brahman (the Brahman with attributes). This saguna Brahman uses both inanimate and animate energies for creation. This is based on the principle that two factors are needed to create a third. Jadashakthi is responsible for creating the objective world (conscious mind is objective in nature) that is described in the next nama. Jadatmika (419) She exists as the objective world of maya that has been discussed in the previous nama. Except the Brahman, everything else is called maya. When the universe is called as object, then realizing the Brahman can be called as the subject. Please click here to understand subject and object. Gayatri (420) She is in the form of goddess Gayatri or Gayatri mantra. We have already discussed about Gayatri mantra in Part I and Part II. Chanodogya Upanishad III.12.1 says ‘All that exists in this world, whatever there is, is Gayatri. It is the word that is Gayatri, for the word gives names to all things and it also tells them not to fear’. The Upanishad also says that the Gayatri mantra protects and saves a person who repeats this mantra. She is considered as mother of all the Vedas. There is a story in padma purana about Gayatri which goes like this: When Lord Brahma was performing a fire ritual, he called his wife Savitri. She said that she would come with Lakshmi and other goddesses. Brahma became wild and substituted a cowherd’s daughter (Krishna’s dynasty) for his wife. He named her as Gayatri. Accompanied by her, Brahma decided to hasten the fire ritual. At that time, Vishnu told Brahma to marry her in the gandharva form of marriage (mental union of a man and a woman) and Brahma thus married Gayatri. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita X.35 ‘among poetic meters I am Gayatri’. Krishna elaborates in chapter X, verses 21 to 41 ‘His prominent manifestations among the beings, forces and objects that are the causes and the results of His creative, preservative and terminative activities of the cosmos’. Therefore, Gayatri is considered as the powerful of all the poetic meters. Lalithambigai is said to be in the form of Gayatri. The appropriate way of interpretation is that Gayatri is a form of Lalithambigai. Vyahriti (421) Next to pranava are three vyahritis Bhuhu, Bhuvaha, Suvaha. These vyahritis represent further manifestation of OM and this manifestation is called origin of speech and said to represent the three worlds of this universe. These three worlds originated from the three letters A, U, M of OM. From these vyahritis, was derived the Gayatri mantra. Gayatri mantra is the origin of three Vedas (Rig, yajur and Sama Vedas). But what do these three lokas or worlds mean? They mean the three stages of consciousness. Bhuh means the lower level of consciousness and means the lower planes. Bhuvah means the ordinary or normal level of consciousness that is associated with our day to day activities. This vyahriti refers to the earth. Suvaha means higher level of consciousness. The higher level of consciousness is used to realize the Brahman. Thus, the three vyahritis in fact mean the modifications in the level of consciousness. (reproduced from the posting ‘gayatri mantra explained’ marked as Part I in the previous nama).

EXPERIENCE OF KNOWING

This is part IV of the series ‘the supreme creation’. In the first part of this series, we have discussed about the internal tools. In the second part, we discussed about soul and in the third part, we discussed about prakriti. In this part, we are going to discuss about the Brahman. The Brahman is known by several names like Supreme Self, God, Father, Spirit, Absolute etc. He is the cause of creation and it is beyond our comprehension to know Him. He does not have a shape or form. All scriptures talk about Him as self-illuminating light and without this light, the whole universe will plunge into total darkness. The Brahman is described by these scriptures mostly be negations, refutations and affirmations only, as none has the capacity to know Him fully well. To make it understandable, the Brahman can be explained as the supreme level of consciousness that is non-relational. It is beyond the study of subject and object and is the ultimate, beyond which nothing exists. It is immanent in nature and a casual reality with all the apparent effects. It is better to err on the safer side by saying that nobody knows the time of its origin. It does not have a parentage. Therefore, it is considered as the root cause of everything that exists in this universe with the understanding that the present, past and future tense of the word existence is implied. Since it does not have a form, ancient sages and saints describe the Brahman in whatever form they visualised Him. The difference in the meaning of manifestation and visualization is to be specifically understood. Manifestation is the indication of the existence or presence or nature of some person or thing, whereas visualization is a mental image that is similar to a visual perception or becoming aware of something through the senses. In manifestation, senses are not involved and in visualization, senses are involved. The objects are perceived only through senses. For perceiving something, you need to have a prior experience of an object. In reality, the Brahman can only be manifested and cannot be visualized. This is based on the theory that the Brahman is formless. For easier understanding, the Brahman is divided into two categories viz. the Brahman with attributes and without attributes. The Brahman without attributes is logically concluded as the Supreme one. This form of the Brahman is not partaking in the actions of the universe. Assuming for a moment that He has the form of a human, then it can be said that He stands as a witness to all the happenings in the universe mainly due to unfolding of karmas of various souls. A person getting aware of another person or an object is a process called knowing. The process of knowing evolves out of unfolding of karmic accounts of souls. Karma manifests on the basis of Newton’s third law ‘for every action there is an equivalent and opposite reaction’. But this karmic manifestation does not unfold in a single birth, but over various births consisting of various forms. Over a period of time, the actions that constantly take place in this universe undergo gradual changes and this process is known as evolution. Therefore, spirituality does not override the scientific principle of evolution and in fact analyzes the process of evolution more intensively and thoroughly, without any ambiguity. That is why spirituality always accentuates that the knowledge of the highest order is an essential component of Self-realisation. Returning back to our discussion on the concept of knowing, the process needs a knower who acts through his mind to know an object. The object is called known. Both the knower and the known undergo degenerative changes as they are subjected to the factors of time and space. The act of knowing is an experience and when the knower and the known undergo changes, the experience of knowing has, also to undergo changes. The experience of knowing sometimes gives pleasure and sometimes gives pains. If we consider the Brahman as omnipresent, then the pleasure and pain that are being felt by our body, also happens in the Brahman. This way of thinking goes to prove that, the Brahman exists within us as well, due to the simple fact of its omnipresent nature. Self-realization is a mental process by which the experience of pleasure and pain is felt by the Brahman within, by disassociating our mind from the experience. Here the Self means the omnipresent and omnipotent Brahman. He is omnipotent because He is cause of every action without actually associating in the action itself. The cause of his action is being manifested in our physical body. Our mind fails to recognize the cause due to the influence of maya or illusion. The discussion of the Brahman is yet to be concluded. One this discussion is over, we have to proceed to the external tools and the effect of combination of all these factors in the process of creation. (to be continued)

THE ETERNAL PEACE

Gita series – part 33. Chapter II. Verses – 71 and 72. Krishna now concludes Chapter II called ‘sankhya yoga’. “That person who relinquishes all his desires, devoid of self-concern and ego and without smallest wants, he alone can realise peace. Arjuna! This is the stage of ‘Self-realization’. After reaching this stage, that person never gets bewildered. Even at the time of his death, he is steadfast in this stage and attains eternal bliss” (verses 71 and 72). Krishna concludes this chapter by high spotting the end result of pursing the path of sankhya yoga. The first thing that Krishna advocates is to get rid of desires. Desire is caused by mind when it is in an unsatisfied state. Desire can be countered by faith, positive thoughts and affirmations. Most of our desires are caused by longing for objects that are beyond our reach. When we are unable to attain what we long for, it leads to frustration and anger. Therefore, desire is the root cause for all mental afflictions. Once the desire is relinquished, the other elements like anger, frustration, attachments, etc do not manifest. This is the ideal condition for mental peace. Another factor is ego. Krishna distinguishes between ego and self-concern. Ego is related to conscious mind, when it is devoid of forgiveness and compassion and operates only internally. Ego is the by-product of intelligence and forms a veil around the Supreme Self. Unless ego is abstracted, the Self can never be realised. Therefore, ego becomes the potential enemy to self-realization that is to be destroyed at its infancy. But self-concern is a process of attempting to get personal recognition leading to unreasonable self-esteem. Self-concern is generally achieved through unacceptable means and actions. Self concern always works externally. Apart from desire, ego and self concern are also to be relinquished to realize the Supreme Spirit or the Brahman within. The self-realized person never descends from this level. He has reached this stage after persistent practice by pursuing a rigorous path. By now, he would have realized the difference between this stage and all other lower stages of consciousness. He would have realized the eternal happiness of his present stage. His mind would have got fused to this stage of eternal bliss. As his mind gets fixed on the Supreme Self, it does not get afflicted by material and objective pleasures. There is no cause for any bewilderment due to the fixate stage of his mind. He clearly understands that gross body is susceptible to decaying and merely acts as a sheath or cover to the Brahman within. The process of this covering is called maya or delusion. Therefore, he does not attach importance to his physical body. His entire thought is fixed only on the internal self- illuminating Atman or Brahman. Even at the time of his death, he continues to fix his concentration only on the Brahman. His soul peacefully leaves his body and merges with the Brahman not to be born again. The merger of this soul with the Creator is called as ‘eternal bliss’. This concludes Chapter II of Bhagavad Gita called Sankhya Yoga.

SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE

Gita series – part 32. Chapter II. Verses – 69-70. “What appears as darkness (night) to all the creatures, the realized person is awake in that darkness. While all other creatures are awake, for the realised person, it is like darkness wherein he introspects. All material comforts flow towards the self-realized person without causing any changes in him like waters flowing into the ocean without causing any impact on the ocean. He only gets peace and not the one who desires worldly pleasures” says Krishna. The darkness referred here is the darkness of spiritual ignorance. Spiritual ignorance is different from the regular ignorance. The latter is obtained by education and the former is attained by self-control and will power. Spiritual ignorance is also known as ‘avidya’. A person may be highly qualified but if he lacks spiritual wisdom, then he is said to be engulfed by the influence of maya or illusion. It is to be understood that pursuing spiritual path enables a person to concentrate more on his job resulting in better output. This happens on account of developing higher level of awareness. Maya plays a very significant role in retaining a person as spiritual nescient. One has to transcend the effects of maya to evolve spiritual wisdom which is possible only by sincerely practicing internal exploration. This is a slow and gradual process that could take many births. But a beginning is to be made at some point, as one cannot continue to suffer from miseries birth after birth. Krishna says that darkness of maya does not and in fact cannot cast its influence on a self-realized person. Even if we interpret on the literary sense, a self realized person does not distinguish between day and night as he always stay connected with the Supreme Spirit. Introspection by a self realized person is happening perpetually as he has established a firm commune with God and he stays with Him. Therefore, whatever action he does, he does not take credit for the fruits of such actions as he is incapable of differentiating him with the Supreme Self. Whether it is light or darkness, be it day or night he does not attach importance to such materialistic changes. Since such self-realized person does not have desires, he always remains peaceful. When mental stability is attained, whatever the material comforts one gets without asking for them, will not modify his steadfast mind. He remains contended and either pain or pleasure does not change his attitude. In the absence of desire and attachment, he stays calm resulting in mental peace. Peace is nothing but mental modification without desire, attachment and ego. But the peace is initially disturbed and finally destroyed if the mind gets transmuted to its original mundane form. Though the mind is untransmutable in nature, by practicing meditation, it can be refined and retained.

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 416-417

Chitchaktihi (416) Chit means pure consciousness and the pure knowledge. The Brahman (without attributes or nirguna Brahman) is made up of three important aspects. They are sat (perpetual existence), chit (the present nama – pure form of consciousness) and ananda (the bliss). These three attributes together is called ‘satchidananda’ and the Brahman is also known by this name. The pure consciousness here means the spiritual consciousness. Only the pure and un-afflicted knowledge is capable of producing spiritual consciousness. Let us now understand Chit. It is also known as chidatma. When this is reflected in universal nescience, it is known as the Ishwara and when reflected in individual nescience it is known as soul. Ishwara is not the Brahman as it is the reflection of universal nescience. There are two aspects to this interpretation. Here, Ishwara is said to be reflective in nature and not self-illuminating. Self-illumination is the exclusive quality of the Brahman. Secondly, the Brahman can never be associated with nescience. This Ishwara is said to be the Lord of prakriti or the nature. The soul or individual nescience comes into contact with prakriti, the soul induces evolution of a new physical body for the karmas embedded in it to manifest. However, Ishwara remains in an unconditioned form, but the soul continues its conditioned form afflicted by the lower levels of consciousness, which is also known as individual conscience. Ishwara remains un-afflicted by the influence of three gunas and the soul gets influenced by three gunas, leading to creation. Ishwara can be interpreted as the cosmic counter part of soul. Ishwara and prakriti in combination with other 24 principles or tatwas cause the creation. Therefore, we get introduced to a new principle in this nama that is known ‘Ishwara tatwa’ or the principle of Ishwara in this sahasranamam. Since Ishwara is said to be the Lord of Prakriti, it can also be called as the aggregate aspect of maya and the individual souls are aggregative. This principle or tatwa of Ishwara is one among the four distinctive states of the Brahman, the other three being avyakta (nama 398), hiranyagarbha (it is within the subtle body. It binds all the constituents of the universe together) and virat (nama 778. the universal cosmic form). Svetasvatara Upanishad (V.1) also refers to this phenomenon. ‘Para Brahman is higher than hiranyagarbha. Knowledge and ignorance are both hidden in Para Brahman. Ignorance is the cause of birth and death, but knowledge leads to immortality. He who controls ignorance and knowledge is separate from both. That is Brahman (pure and without attributes) the supreme’. This nama says that She is in this form of chitchakthi. Chetana rupa (417) It is called chaitanya, the pure and unconditioned form of consciousness, in its functional state. It can also be explained as the purer form of the preceding nama. The entire universe emerges from this chaitanya that has two sides. The first one is gross and the other one is subtle. The gross form is made up of name and form and the subtle form is made up of mind and its modifications called anthakkaranam (mind, intellect, consciousness and ego). The gross form gives direct experience and the subtle form gives internal experience. In the stage of Chaitanya, both objective and subjective worlds get formulated as experiences. Her chetana form or chaitanya form is also known as Her vimarsha form.

AMALGAMATION OF MIND AND THOUGHT

Gita series – part 31. Chapter II - Verses–66-68. Krishna continues his sermons. “The one who could not control his mind and senses will never have preternatural intelligence. The person with such intangible intellect shall never have professed mind that never leads to peace. A man without mental peace can never have happiness (comforts).” Krishna himself cites an example in the next verse. “As a boat in waters sweeps away by the wind, so a man’s mind succumbs to one of the drifting senses, that particular sense sweeps away that man’s intellect. Therefore, mighty armed (Arjuna), whose senses are subjugated from the sensory objects, his intellect becomes steadfast”. Krishna repeatedly stresses the importance of sense control. If senses are controlled, mind automatically gets controlled. Mind functions on the basis of sensory perceptions. Influence of senses on the mind normally is very strong. The mind becomes happier when it gets influenced by the senses. Mind acts through the organs of actions (karmendriyas) when it gets its necessary inputs through the organs of perception (jnanendriyas). When the mind functions under its refined form called ‘intellect’, mind decouples itself from both karmendriyas and jnanendriyas. Preternatural intelligence is the more refined form of intellect. Only this type of intellect is capable of associating with consciousness in higher planes. When the consciousness ascends to higher levels, the preliminary impact is the mental stability. When the mind is stabilized, it does not wander and at the same time tries to explore internally to focus on the Self. When the mind is allowed to wander externally, it never recognizes its Creator. This happens on two counts. First, that the mind is so created, that it always wants to get itself entangled with materialistic pleasures primarily to unfold the effects of karmas of the soul. Secondly, the mind does not have genetic mutation to look within. Therefore, it is imperative that the practice alone can smother the mind to get rid of its afflictions by the materialistic pleasures. That is why meditation is prescribed as a tool to tune and refine the mind to transform itself into intellect, by destroying ego. Intellect is nothing but the superior knowledge whose sole aim is to pursue the path of knowing the Brahman or the Creator. Intellect is not something new that we create and it is only the primordial mind that modifies itself into intellect by proper taming. As long as the mind continues to exist in its original form, it never realises peace and always remain agitated. An agitated mind can never focus as its concentration is diffused like light passing through a glass pyramid. Such a situation never leads to happiness. The happiness that Krishna talks about here is not the happiness derived from the carnal pleasures that are temporary in nature. But He refers to the eternal joy that transforms into bliss. Even forgetting for a moment about the eternal happiness that Krishna talks about, for attaining materialistic happiness we always need amalgamated mind and thought to earn the materialistic wealth. The concentration on the job we perform becomes paramount for proper execution. You cannot find a successful professional who does not possess such amalgamated mind with its by-product thought. In the next verse (67) Krishna further explains this phenomenon by citing an example. When a boat is sailing, a strong wind sways the boat in the direction in which it blows. The other factors being conducive for sailing, the boat gets swayed by only factor called the wind. In the same way, if any one of the senses is not controlled, that sense manifests and afflicts the mind and keeps the peace at bay. Therefore, it is important to control all the senses without exception. When we talk about senses, it always refers to jnanendriyas (ear, skin, eye, tongue and nose) and its products called tanmatras or perceptions. Only the jnanendriyas make karmendriyas to function, as the former is only capable of perception and the latter executes the perceived actions. For example if ear alone functions, the mind gets addicted to the melody of music. If the music is not made available to the mind, it starts wandering looking for the music from all sources, which leads to desperation, anger, etc one after another finally leading to imbalanced mind affecting his intellect. Krishna also says that senses should be decoupled from the sensory objects. For example, if the ear is disconnected from the music itself, then there is no question of the mind wandering elsewhere searching for the music. The senses can be brought under control, only by delinking the source of perception (tanmatras) from the sensory objects. If this is achieved, one’s intellect becomes steadfast and incapable of intrusion by any sensory influence.

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 411-415

Shishshesta (411) Shishtas are those who follow the righteousness prescribed by sastras. Shishtas is also explained to mean those who control their senses and knower of Vedas. Their actions are based on the sastras that are derived from Vedas. She likes these shishtas. Vishnu is known for His righteousness. It is also said that one should worship God, as prescribed by their respective orders and not simply by flowers, etc. Vishnu Sahasranamam nama 310 is also shishshesta and the interpretation given there to, is that He (Vishnu) likes men of knowledge (jnani). Krishna himself says this in Bhagavad Gita (VII.17) “Chief among them is jnani, ever constant and one pointed in devotion. I am exceedingly dear to him and he is exceedingly dear to me”. Krishna did not stop with this. He proceeds to say “A man so illuminated is hard to find and such a stage is reached after many incarnations” (VII.19). Shishtapujita (412) She is worshipped by such shistas referred to in the previous nama. Jnani does not worship somebody who is not worthy of his worship. He will worship only the Supreme Self, the Brahman. This nama is an extension of the previous nama which confirms Her Supreme state. Aprameya (413) She cannot be measured. Only the Brahman alone cannot be measured. Because She is aprameya, She is worshipped by jnanis (shishtapujita). Vishnu Sahasranamam nama 46 is also aprameya. He cannot be known through senses as he is devoid of qualities such as sound etc. He cannot be visualized because we have not seen Him. He cannot be known through examples because there is nothing to make a comparison (this is based on the simple logic that a rat cannot be compared to a lion though both have four legs, a tail etc.). He cannot be known either by affirmations or by negations as we do not have any basis for such affirmations and negations. But Vedas and Upanishads try to explore (though by affirmations and negations, as the perceptive knowledge can be inferred only by such affirmations and negations only) Him as “That” and says that He exists as self-illuminating light witnessing the activities of His creation. Kena Upanishad explains this point a little more elaborately. “Know that alone to be Brahman which the mind cannot comprehend and which shistas say makes the mind function. Brahman is not this sense world, which people worship”. The Upanishad continues to say “If you think (guru addressing his disciple) ‘I know the Brahman well’ then it is for certain that you know little about the nature of the Brahman. You know only its manifestation in the individual self, the gods, and the phenomenal world. Therefore, Brahman should still be thoroughly investigated”. But we need some basic inputs to know Him. This is explained in the next nama. Svaprakasha (414) She is self-illuminating. Brahman alone is self-illuminating and all other illuminating objects like sun, moon, stars etc derive their light only from the Brahman. Only because of this self-illuminating light, we are able to see this materialistic world. This concept is explained in Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.9 which says “revealing his own luster by his own light”. This is the state where the light is free from everything else, let it be even the five basic elements. He is not afraid of any one, because, there is no one besides Him. Katha Upanishad says (II.ii.15) “In the presence of Brahman the sun does not shine, nor the moon and stars, nor does the lightning, let alone this fire. When Brahman shines, everything else follows. By its light all these are lighted”. This nama also reaffirms Her as the Brahman. Mano-vachamagochara (415) The qualities of aprameya (413) are now being explained. She is beyond mind and speech. This stage has been explained by Kena Upanishad which we have seen earlier. If She is known as the One beyond the perception of mind, everything else is struck down as they are only intersections of mind. Taittiriya Upanishad (II.ix) also explains this situation. “That from which, words come back, they turn away. How can words express the Self? Can that which is finite express the Infinite? No. It is beyond words, beyond thought. The mind also cannot grasp this Brahman. You can think of something that is familiar, that is known to you, but how can you think of something about which you have had no experience at all? Our thoughts are always limited by experience”. This nama says that She can be realized only through pure knowledge, the knowledge to which we are never exposed to.

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SUBJUGATED SENSES

Gita series – part 30. Chapter II - Verses–64-65. Krishna continues. “The man with self-control, without desires and aversions with subjugated senses and still associated with material objects attains internal calmness. If internal clarity is attained, all his grief will be annihilated. His knowledge soon becomes well established in the Supreme Self” (verses 64 and 65). Senses can be controlled through different routes, but these routes do not keep the senses under check always. The only way to eternally control the senses is to calm the mind. There is no point in leading a saintly life, internally associating our thoughts with material pleasures. In spite of the pleasure objects being recognized by the eyes, the information provided by the eyes to the mind should not alter the firm attitude of the mind. If one develops such a firm mental attitude, irrespective of what is around him, he is not influenced by any sensual objects. Self-control is the stage beyond desires and aversions. Plenty and paucity do not make difference to him, as his senses are totally under his control. A person is said to have reached the stage of self-control only when his consciousness does not fall from higher planes to get associated with material world. When we say subjugated senses, we have to know the authority to which they are subjugated. Obviously, they have to be submitted to the Supreme Self. If they are subjugated to the mind, then there is every possibility of falling from the higher level of consciousness to the lower level of consciousness. When a person so fond of chocolates is not tempted, when boxes of chocolates are around him, he can be known as the person who has subjugated his senses to the Self. This is called self-control without desires and aversions. Most of the times, it is possible to control the desires, but controlling aversions could be a difficult task. Aversion, anger and hatred are the most difficult qualities to control. However, it is important to control negative thoughts, as they cause serious damage to the mental equilibrium. If you look at those negative thoughts, you may observe that any one among them could lead to other negativities, heading to annihilation. The inner calmness refers to the un-afflicted mind. When the mind is not influenced by senses, the mind is calm. On the contrary, if influenced by senses, the mind gets agitated with all negativities and in the process, influences the organs of action. When organs of action function under the influence of an afflicted mind, it enslaves him to habits. It is like drunken driving, which could cause unexpected accident. In order to avert such accidents, Krishna advocates a calm mind. The organs of actions are the main reason for accruing sins which in turn influence karmic account. When mental clarity is attained, the mind never gets adversely influenced under any circumstances. Such clarity can be attained only through single pointed internal focus on the Self and this process is called meditation. When the mind is calmed by meditation, the bliss is realized, making him to be with that bliss forever. In such a stage, he has neither inclination nor time to think about extraneous objects. When he does get himself associated with actions that he performs, naturally the fruits of such actions are not realised by him. He knows that cause of such actions is not gross body, but the internal Self, with whom he has identified himself steadfastly.

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 403-410

Maha-kamesha-nayana-kumudahlada-kaumudi (403) Maha Kamesha is Shiva, nayana – eyes, kaumada – the moon of second half November and first half of December (the month of karttika), kumuda – lotus flower. On seeing Lalithambigai, Shiva’s eyes become wide open like lotus flower blossoming when the moon shines. Shiva’s happiness is reflected through his eyes on seeing Her. The moon in the month of Karttika is said to be bright. There is another interpretation. Kumuda is made up of ku + mud. ‘Ku’ means inferior and ‘mud’ means pleasure. Therefore, ‘ kumuda’ means worldly pleasures. Worldly pleasures are always considered as inferior because it ultimately leads to miseries and pains. Lalithambigai, being the Supreme Mother, takes pity on those who indulge in worldly pleasures and take them to Shiva for final liberation. If the motherly care of Her is properly understood, all of us can get rid of our difficulties. The only thing that is required from our side is to realize Her. Bhakta-harda-tamo-bheda-bhanumad-bhanu-santati (404) She dispels the darkness of ignorance of Her devotees. This is compared to the sun dispelling the darkness when it rises. She being the supreme mother does this out of compassion. The very thought of Her dispels ignorance. Krishna describes this compassion in Bhagavad Gita (X.11) “From sheer compassion I, the divine Indweller set alight in them the radiant lamp of wisdom which banishes the darkness that is born of ignorance”. Shivaduti (405) She requested Shiva to be Her messenger to two demons. Since Shiva Himself acted as Her messenger She is known as Shivaduti. Shiva duti is one of the 15 thithi nitya devis in Sri Chakra. Shivaradhya (406) She is worshipped by Shiva Himself. Shiva by meditating on Her, obtained his ‘ardanareeswarar’ (half Shiva and half Shakthi) form. As a result of meditating on Her, Shiva became the lord of all siddhis. These siddhis or superhuman powers originate from Her, through Her subtlest kundalini form. This nama conveys this subtle message. Soundarya Lahari verse 1 says “Shiva united with Shakthi is able to manifest. Otherwise, Shiva does not even know how to pulsate”. Shivamurthi (407) Her form itself is Shiva. In fact, there is no difference between Shiva and shakthi. Shiva means auspiciousness. Because She is the embodiment of auspiciousness, She is called Shivamurthi. Rik veda says (X.92.9) ‘With reverence, we present your hymn today to the mighty Rudra, the ruler of heroes, the rapid and ardent deities with whom the gracious (Sivah) and opulent (Rudra) who derives his renown himself, protects us from the sky’. Shiva is full of grace and happiness and considered as the Supreme protector. When She is said to be in the form Shiva himself, it is considered as a great honour for Her. This could also mean nirguna Brahman or Brahman without any attributes. This Sahasranamam ends by saying Shiva (998), Shiva-Shakthi ikya rupini (999) and Lalithambiga (1000). Shiva also means the liberation and murthi means form. The final liberation is attained only by self-realisation which is possible only through knowledge or vidya. That is why Her worship is known as Sri Vidya or the supreme knowledge. Shivankari (408) She dispenses happiness. Shiva means auspiciousness and ‘kari’ means giver. She does this to Her devotees by dispelling their ignorance called avidya. When avidya is dispelled, knowledge is attained paving the way for self-realization. She is ‘sarva mangala mangalyae’ (the provider of happiness) says Durga Saptasati. Shivapriya (409) She is the beloved of Shiva. Shiva is loved by her. Shiva is dear to Her. Shivapara (410) Having compared Her to Shiva, now vak devis proceed to say that She transcends Shiva Himself. Para can be explained as follows: Pertaining to the ultimate or supreme as opposed to the immanent here and now aspect of reality which is ‘apara’. Brahman can be conceived from two angles. One is Para Brahman, the supreme of the two and other is apara-Brahman, the lower of the two. The former is attribute less and hence is inconceivable. Since She transcends the stage of Shiva, She is considered as the Supreme Brahman. That is why She is known as Para. Knowing Her is ‘Para Vidya’ or the supreme knowledge. The appropriate interpretation of this nama is that She reveals the Supreme or Para Shiva or Paramashiva to Her devotees. Paramashiva can be explained as ‘the Absolute, understood as the casual substance for everything apparent’. This explanation is also in agreement with Her prakasha-vimarsha-maha-maya-swarupini form. Namas 405 to 410 explain Her attributes with particular reference to Shiva.

LAW OF KARMA, THE LAW OF THE LORD

This is part IV of the series ‘the supreme creation’` KARMAS: Having understood soul and prakriti, understanding the law of karma is significant as karma gets embedded in the soul to manifest with the aid of prakriti. To understand the theory of karma, the basic requirement is the principle of immortality of the soul and its transmigration. When a soul transmigrated into a gross body, the soul is called jivatma. The final liberation is only for this soul. Once the soul is liberated, it loses its unique quality of transmigration and merges into Paramatma or the Brahman. Nobody knows how long it will take for a soul to merge with the Brahman. This largely depends upon the quality of the soul. Liberation of the soul is different from the soul reaching the heaven. The concept of heaven and hell may not be a reality. At the most, they can be referred to as the resting place for the soul for a short duration. After leaving a physical body at the time of death, the soul migrates to akash or ether un-affected by other base elements. There could be many such souls in the ether. It is invisible as it is said to be much smaller than an atom. The thought of heaven and hell could have been conceived by saints and sages simply to make us to understand and differentiate between good and bad deeds. If one is frightened with the sufferings in hell, naturally he will think twice before executing an evil act. In the same way, one is induced to perform righteous acts to enjoy the comforts of the heaven. Therefore, one may not take serious cognizance of heaven and hell. But at the same time, it is to be remembered that performing good or bad deeds certainly has an impact on the soul, which could certainly manifest in the physical body. Before we proceed further, let us understand how karma unfolds. Newton’s third law states that for every action, there will be an equal and opposite reaction. Same is the principle applied to the law of karmas. Karmas are divided to four categories. They are Sanchitam, Prarabdham, Kriyamanam and Agamyam. Sanchitha karmas refer to our previous actions. We do not know about the actions done in our previous births. Prarabdha karma is a portion of the Sanchitha karma which unfolds in our present life. These two karmas are to be experienced by us at any cost. Kriyamana karmas are those that we accrue out of our actions in our present life. Agamya karma is the sum total of the karmas at the end of the present life. There is only one exception to this rule. If our Kriyamana karmas (the karmas we do in this life) are exceptionally good, then there is a possibility that the effects of sanchita karma may not be extremely adverse. The agamya karma is arrived thus. Sanchita karmas + or- Prarabdha karmas + or – kriyamana karmas = agamya karmas. Agamya karma is a bundle that is carried by the soul to manifest in our future births. Depending upon the first three, agamya karma may be zero also. This means, there will no rebirth and the soul has attained liberation. There is a definite path by which karmas are stored, to manifest in the subsequent births. This again is based on the effects of good or bad deeds that we had performed in the previous births. These are stored as samskaras or subliminal impressions. Impressions are the traces of net karmas of earlier births. These subliminal impressions produce vasanas. Vasanas can be explained as ‘willingly empowered desires’ that are bound to unfold at any future births. These vasanas if bad, induces the mind and body to perform evil acts, resulting in the accumulation of bad karmas causing further rebirths merely to undergo sufferings. If vasanas are good, even then, it causes rebirths, but instead of sufferings, one may enjoy pleasures. Rebirths can be avoided only if we dissociate ourselves from the fruits of our actions. Samskaras and vasanas directly affect karma. Karma in turn influences the soul to unfold in the form of physical and mental miseries. Whatever happens in this life is due to two factors. One is due to the unfolding of karma and the second is due to the cause of future karma. All our actions are recorded in our karmic instrument. Unfolding of karma can never be averted; however, the cause of future karma can surely be prevented. Fate and destiny are very often wrongly interpreted. No doubt, these are pre determined by the law karma. At the same time, one cannot sit back and undergo miseries and sufferings citing fate and destiny, the products of karma as the reason. Though nothing can be significantly altered during this life, by performing righteous actions, the future sufferings can surely be avoided. In short, we can say that one’s spiritual pursuit largely determines the pleasure or pain one gets as karma alone is accountable for the manifestation of the soul. That is why law of karma is called the law of the Lord, as the Lord never transcends His own laws. This is the reason why one has to undergo sufferings and miseries in spite of pursuing spiritual path in this life. (to be continued)

MIND CONTROL

Gita series – part 29. Chapter II - Verses–61-63 Krishna continues to address Arjuna. “One who represses all his senses and fixes his consciousness on me and surrenders unto me, his senses are under his control and his intellect becomes steadfast. Dwelling on sense objects causes attachment to them. Attachment leads to craving, craving leads to anger, anger leads to delusion, delusion leads to loss of memory, loss of memory leads to loss of intelligence, loss of intelligence leads to disintegration” (verses 61 to 63). Repressing senses and fixing consciousness in the higher planes are two different issues, the former leading to the latter. Repressing or controlling the senses is associated with the mind. When our mind is not under our control, it always looks up to the sensory organs to keep itself busy. But if the mind is trained to function under our control, the situation differs. Mind can be controlled only by higher level of knowledge called intellect and higher level of consciousness. When the mind is well trained and brought under our control, it is able to distinguish the difference between the impermanent happiness and permanent joy. The impermanent nature of happiness is associated with the body and the permanent joy known as bliss in advanced stages is derived by the refinement of mind, intellect, consciousness and ego called anthakkaranam or the internal tools. When the mind gets rid of the afflictions of senses, it becomes loyal to its master called consciousness. This is what is termed as keeping the mind under our control. You cannot approach the mind through any other sources, except consciousness. When consciousness is able to penetrate and transgress the lower levels of activities that are associated with senses, it gets associated with higher level of wisdom called intellect. Intellect does not understand the lower level of intelligence that stands attached to the senses, as it guides the mind only on issues that are not associated with senses. This is what Krishna means by saying ‘his intellect becomes steadfast’. This is a stage where the mind totally gets dissolved into the intellect. If the intellect alone prevails, sense organs have no role to play as the intellect cannot be influenced by the tentacles of sense organs. What happens if one is not able to control his senses and not able to make his intellect steadfast? Krishna addresses this issue. There are serious implications; one affliction leading to another and at the end, his mind becomes infested with afflictions and adversities. If one continues to dwell on the influence of senses, the end result is annihilation. For annihilation, there has to be a beginning somewhere and the beginning is made by the mind by associating with sensory objects. Let us take a sweet as an example. You derive happiness if you consume a particular sweet daily. Over a period of time, your mind develops attachment to that sweet. If the sweet is not available on a particular day, your mind craves for it. You go to all the stores to find out the availability of that sweet. Unfortunately it is not available anywhere. You get wild and your mind goes out of your control. You develop hallucination about the sweet, as you are so attached to it. Attraction is the cause for this attachment. Hallucination leads to imbalance of memory. Imbalanced state of mind leads to strange acts that lead to loss of self esteem. When you are not in a normal state of mind, your consciousness level is either negative or very low. In the absence of good consciousness level, intellect, the prime requirement for spiritual life cannot be developed. Your path to annihilation starts from anger as anger distorts the mind joining hands with your ego and becomes too powerful for repair at a later date. When such a situation happens in an individual, he is called insane. If the same situation happens to a group of people (society, nation etc), it is the indicative factor for the annihilation of the society or nation. Disintegration of a society or nation begins from an individual. What we are distained to get in this birth, surely we will get at any cost. Without understanding this principle and developing desires for those objects beyond our normal reach, leads to total destruction.

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 398-402

Avyaktha (398) This could be considered as further extension of the previous nama. Avyakta is the state of prakriti in its un-manifested form, with the three gunas in equal proportions. Avyakta is the first stage of the Brahman that cannot be explained, as this is the purest form of the Brahman, without parentage. This stage is also known as turiya or the fourth state of consciousness, the other three being sleep, dream and deep sleep. It is the non-dualistic state, where the Brahman without a second is realized. This stage is explained by Brahma Sutra III.ii.23 which says “Tat avyaktam hi aha”. This means “That Brahman is un-manifest”. This is further explained as ‘It is not comprehended through the eye, or through speech, or through other senses. Nor it is attained through austerity or karma. It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived’. When the nirguna Brahman (the Brahman without attributes) desires to create, the maya undergoes modifications and this modified stage of maya is called ‘avyakta’. Further details are available under Supreme Creation Part I and II in this blog. Vyaktavyakta-svarupini (399) It is vyakta (manifested) + avyakta (un-manifested) svarupini. She is both manifested and un-manifested form. Since this form is the first of manifested form, it is called ‘mahat’ which means great. It is the fundamental tool of the phenomenal universe. This mahat is endowed with supreme knowledge. The undifferentiated prakriti is mahat. From this mahat, further evolution takes place. Vyakta means perishable and avyakta means imperishable. The soul-Brahman relationship is cited here. In general, this stage provides happiness and the final salvation. This nama means the first signs of creation and such a creation and final liberation both caused by Lalithambigai. Vyapini (400) She is all pervading. Because She is mula-prakriti and avykata, She is all pervading. She is also called ‘eka’ elsewhere, because She is the one who is all pervading, the nature of the Brahman Vividhakara (401) She has many forms. All these forms arise out of mula-prakriti. She takes different forms while performing different functions. As the creator, She is the Supreme mother or Brahma rupa. As the sustainer, She is Vishnu rupini. As the destroyer, She is Rudra rupa. As a witness to the total dissolution, She is maha pralaya sakshini. Vidya-avidya-svarupini (402) She is the form of knowledge and ignorance. Vidya is not just knowledge. It is the supreme knowledge leading to self-realization. Avidya is the opposite of vidya. Isha Upanishad XI.11 explains vidya and avidya thus; ‘He who worships gods and goddesses (vidya) and also performs sacrifices (avidya) attains immortality by sacrifices (avidya) and attains bliss by worshipping gods and goddesses (vidya).’ Vidya is pure knowledge leading to the Brahman or the supreme Self. Avidya means ignorance of the Brahman. In the stage of avidya, one continues to be associated with performing rituals like fire rituals, external worship etc. But when these two are combined, that is performing rituals etc, without any selfish motive and without any attachments to the end result of an action, along with internal search and exploration through meditation, one is said to benefit from the both leading to bliss. But only when avidya dissolves into vidya, the final liberation is attained. She is in the form of both knowledge and ignorance. She is the giver of knowledge (path to spirituality) as well as ignorance (maya).

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 396-397

Parameshvari (396) She is the supreme ruler. She is Supreme on two counts, one on Her own and second because of being the wife of Supreme Shiva. Shiva is Parameshvara and His wife is Parameshvari. Vishnu Sahasranamam 377 is Parameshvara. It is interpreted as the able administrator. Gita XIII.27 says “He sees truly who perceives the Supreme Lord (Parameshvara) present equally in all creatures the Imperishable (Parameshvara) amidst the perishing”. Mulaprakriti (397) This nama provides the reasoning for the previous nama. She is the Supreme ruler (Parameshvari) because She is the root of origin. Prakriti at best can be explained as the nature. It can also be called as maya. Prakriti in combination with the individual soul and mind, intellect and ego form the creation. In fact soul has to depend on prakriti to manifest. Prakriti holds the three gunas or qualities satvic, rajasic and tamasic and three types of creative actions icha, jnana and kriya (desire, wisdom and action) shakthi. At the time of manifestation of origin of life, the prakriti beholds the individual soul by its sheer enticing powers of the gunas and creative actions (the powers of maya or illusion), makes the soul to manifest. The soul on its own is passive in nature and has to purely depend upon the prakriti to get the karmas embedded in it to unfold. More details are provided in soul and prakriti. Prakriti is said to be the kinetic form of energy. This is also known as maya or the Brahman with attributes or Shakthi or vimarsha form of the Supreme. Without this kinetic form of Shakthi the creation can never take place. Apart from playing a significant role in creation, the prakriti plays a vital role in sustaining the creation. At the time of origin of the universe, the Supreme Self alone prevailed. When the origin manifests into creation, it first becomes space then air, fire, water and earth. From earth plants, animals, man etc unfolded. This is the teaching of Taittiriya Upanishad (II.1). Prakriti in its un-manifested form is called ‘avyakta’. This is the state of prakriti where all the three gunas are found in equilibrium. Any change in this equilibrium of gunas in prakriti leads to desire, wisdom and action. This in combination with ego and intellect give rise to further creation. Therefore, prakriti is the root of all creations. This is also known as the Brahman with attributes or saguna Brahman. This is also known as prakasha-vimarsha maha maya swarupini or Shakthi. Since Shiva has to totally depend upon this Shakthi for His creative aspect, She is known as the consort of Shiva. Beyond the state of ‘avyakta’ there is the Brahman without attributes. Katha Upanishad says (III.10) “The Self is beyond thought and speech; the eyes cannot perceive it”. The Brahman is the root of all creations as there in nothing beyond that. Shakthi is called mulaprakriti because She is the part of the Brahman or the vimarsha form of the Brahman, without which creation is never possible. Chandogya Upanishad VI.ii.3 says ‘The Existence (the Brahman) decided, I shall be many’ which means the prakriti. Mundaka Upanishad I.i.8 also confirms the above statements Katha Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishad. It says ‘The Brahman grows by penance’. Whatever be the sayings of the scriptures, the root of creation is prakriti on whom the Brahman depends extensively to create and sustain the universe. This the meaning of this nama.

CLEANSING THE SUB CONSCIOUS MIND

Gita series – part 28. Chapter II - Verses–58 – 60 Krishna continues to delineate on sthita-prajnan. “When a person withdraws all his body parts (limbs or senses) inwardly like a tortoise, his wisdom attains steadfastness. For the one who restrains from the sensual pleasures, the yearning for such pleasures does not get exterminated. But, for sthita-prajnan, after realizing the Supreme Self even such yearning ceases to exist. Arjuna! Unable to demolish bondage, the destructive senses forcibly seize the mind of a knowledgeable person” (verses 58 to 60). These three verses emphasize the importance of controlling the sensory organs. The sensory organs mean the manifestation of the five elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth. These five basic elements of the universe manifest into ten sense faculties (five cognitive and five actions). The problem with these faculties is that they pass on the outwardly gathered information to the mind. The mind in its ordinary form, on receipt of such information from these faculties gets afflicted and again functions outwardly to gratify the inputs received. Let us take an example. The eyes see a sweet, the nose smells it, the mouth lingers its taste. At this point the sweet is not consumed and merely kept on the table ready for consumption. These sensory organs influence the mind and the mind in turn orders hands to pick the sweet and orders the mouth to consume it. Therefore, when the mind receives inputs from these sensory organs, such inputs are always converted into desires and such desires are accomplished through other sensory organs. This is the normal functioning of the mind. In such a situation, the mind controls our functions. The body succumbs to the desires of the mind. Instead of mind exercising its control on us, we can keep the mind under our control by training and taming it in such a way that it does not respond to the influence of these sense organs, then the mind cannot execute its desire through the sensory organs. Here the prana or the breath plays an important role. If we could learn to control our prana by proper breathing exercises, the sensory inputs to the mind to a great extent can be controlled. However, this should be followed by internal exploration by way of meditation. A good meditation can always manipulate the consciousness. There is another point that Krishna expounds emphatically here. The sensual pleasures are endowed with potential power of destruction. One may refrain from such pleasures for a certain time. This does not mean that one has conquered his senses. Refraining for shorter periods mean that the desire for such sensual pleasures does not get exterminated in totality. In other words, though such a man does not succumb to the whims and fancies of the mind, the thought of sensual pleasures still persists in his mind in a corner that could manifest at anytime. The ecstasy of being with the Self, overpowers all the activities of the senses. He enjoys the state of bliss while raising his consciousness to the highest and purest level, pushing aside his intellect and ego. Therefore, it is not enough to just stay away from the sensual pleasures, but to remove all the traces of such thoughts from the mind. What the practitioner achieves by dissociating his mind from the materialistic world and connecting it with inner Self by appropriately manipulating the level of consciousness. Jesus Christ answers this question “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward three openly” (Matthew 6:9). This is the stage one should yawn to achieve. This stage is called ‘point of no return’. This is the point of no return because; one gets blessed by the God himself so that his level of consciousness does not melt down to the mundane physical plane. Only the lower level of consciousness is associated with inner tools such as mind, intellect and ego. The external tools in conjugation with the internal tools make a person to get colligated with all materialistic pleasures. When consciousness transcends all types of tools, the bliss is not very far off to get realized. Krishna drives home the point that renunciation has two angles. One is the physical and another is mental. These two are known as body and soul. The man of wisdom or sthita-prajnan knows how to discriminate between his body and soul. He does not get deceived by identifying both as one and the same. Therefore the subconscious mind is always powerful than most of the lower planes of consciousness. Cleansing of the subconscious mind also becomes imperative to know the Self within. (to be continued)

THE SUPREME CREATION - PART III

This is part III of the series ‘the supreme creation’. PRAKRITI: The soul or purusha can manifest only if it interacts with prakriti, which is also known as the nature or creative self-unfolding act. This interpretation itself will explain the nature of prakriti. It is only the prakriti that unfolds the act of creation. When the soul is associated with prakriti, the latter unfolds first into the subtle non-materialistic form and later into the gross form. The gross form can be identified under three broad classifications such as sthula (gross), sukshma (subtle) and karana (casual). A comparison can be drawn between an automobile tyre and the three types of bodies. An automobile tyre has an outer portion made up of rubber, beneath that lies the tube that holds the air inside. A car cannot run without the effective and coordinated functions of all the three. The outer tyre is the gross body, the tube holding the air is the subtle body and the air that is inner most and invisible is the casual body. Similarly, without these three forms, our existence is impossible. These bodies, in reality, are the reflections of the levels of consciousness. The respective bodies can be recognized only if the consciousness level is modified, refined and purified. Purer is the level of consciousness higher is the level of spirituality and finer is the type of body. These three types of bodies are the reflections of the prakriti and this reflection is known as maya or illusion. The gross body reflects the materialistic world, the subtle body reflects the world of vitality and the casual body reflects the casual world. These three stages are realized in the three states of awake, dream and deep sleep. The gross and subtle bodies are the effects of the casual body. The basis of these types of bodies is the casual body, or the casual manifestation of consciousness. In certain schools of thoughts, a reference to another state called the fourth state or turiya state is mentioned. In fact, this turiya state is to be accepted by everybody. Only in this state, where the consciousness transcends all bodily afflictions and gets purified and becomes fit to be called ‘cit’. Mandukya Upanishad I.7 authoritatively describes this turiya state. “Turiya is not consciousness of what is happening within. It is also not the consciousness of what is going on without. It is not consciousness of anything in between. It is not the consciousness of all objects simultaneously. It is not unconsciousness either. It is invisible, not susceptible to any kind of usage, not within the reach of any organ of action. It is beyond perception of any organ, beyond thought and not to be indicated by any sound. In it there is only consciousness of the Self and there is a cessation of the world as such. It is the embodiment of peach and all that is good. It is one without a second. The fourth state is turiya. Wise people consider this to be the Self. This Self is to be realised”. The Self in turiya state is the purest form of consciousness. In this stage, the consciousness remains all alone, without any affiliations and afflictions. The prakriti is potentially a powerful tool that binds the soul to manifest in the form of bodies discussed above, just to manifest and unfold the karmas embedded in the soul. When the soul is under the lustful embrace of prakriti, the soul that was part of the Supreme Brahman forgets its own nature, and identifies itself with ego. The deceptive and illusionary nature of prakriti engulfs the soul with all sorts of addiction, affliction and confusion and makes the soul totally confused. This particular stage of the soul is said to be ignorant or the state of avidya contrary to vidya or knowledge. The pure soul now stands veiled by the effects of prakriti called maya or illusion. (to be continued)

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 391-395

Nitya-shodashika-rupa (391) This is a reference to the sixteen deities representing 16 lunar days and they are worshipped in Sri Chakra. The 16th deity is Lalithai Herself. These fifteen deities are said to represent 15 bijas of Panchadasi mantra and Lalithai as the 16th deity representing Shodasi mantra. Shoadasi mantra has 16 bijas, the additional bija being ‘shreem’ (it is also mentioned as ‘srim’ in phonetic pronunciation (Lakshmi bija). Shodasi mantra is considered as the most powerful mantra of all. This is the mantra meant for the final liberation. This Shodasi mantra refers to a type of fire ritual called ‘agnishtoma’ . She is pleased with those who performs this fire ritual or with those who recite Shodasi mantra. Such form is called ‘nitya shodashika rupa’. During the dark fortnight (waning) of the moon, Lalithambigai is said to be in the sun (surya mandala) and during bight fortnight (waxing) She is said to be in the moon (Chandra mandala). It has also been said that those who got initiated in Panchadasi mantra should use bright fortnight for perfecting this mantra and those who got initiated in Shodasi mantra should use dark fortnight for perfecting this mantra (attaining mantra siddhi). Those who recite Panchadasi mantra should practice it in day corresponding to the sun and those who practice Shodasi mantra should recite it in the night, corresponding to the moon. Srikanthardha-sharirini (392) She has half the body of Shiva. Srikantha is another name of Shiva. Sri means poison and kantha means throat. There is another interpretation for this nama. The first alphabet of Sanskrit is ‘a’ which is also known Srikantha. The first alphabet is said to be in the form of ‘para’ form of sound which gets modified into vaikari at the time of delivery of speech. Since the first alphabet is considered as half of other alphabets put together, She is known as Srikanthardha sharirini. The first letter is also known as ‘Srikathardham’. Brhadaryanyaka Upanishad I.iv.3 describes this condition thus: ‘He (purusha or soul) desired a mate. He became as big as, man and wife embracing each other. He parted this very body into two. From that came husband and wife. This is one- half of oneself, like one of the two halves of split pea. Therefore this pea is indeed filled by the wife. He was united with her. From that men were born’. Prabhavati (393) She is endowed with the power of effulgence. She is surrounded by eight devis each representing one ashtama siddhi. Since these eight goddesses are very powerful, they are illuminant. These eight devis are called prabha. Prabhavati is the one who is surrounded by prabhas. Prabharupa (394) The luminous light that was referred to in the last nama is said to be powerful in this nama. These devis derived their illumination from this brightness. She is said to be in the form of Supreme light. Chandogya Upanishad III.14.2 describes this light ‘He is controlled by the mind. He has a subtle body and he is luminous’. Prasiddha (395) She is well known to everybody. She is said to be in the form of inner self of all living beings. When somebody says ‘I’, it actually means Her, as She is the Self.

SURRENDERING FREE WILL

Gita series – part 27. Chapter II - Verses–55-57 Krishna answers Arjuna’s questions. “When a man relinquishes all the desires of his mind and contented in the atman, by the atman, he is considered as ‘sthita-prajnan’ (the person who established himself firmly with God-consciousness). He, whose mind is neither shaken at the time of misery, nor attached to happiness, he who is totally free from desires, fear and anger is known as sthita-prajnan” (verses 55 and 56). Krishna described the qualities of sthita-prajnan. He is known as a person who established himself or identifies himself with the highest level of consciousness. The highest level of consciousness is known as the Brahman or God. This is the stage that leads to the enlightenment, which is possible by totally surrendering everything to God. The desire of God itself should not be prevalent at this stage. The highest level of consciousness is known by different names such as the illumination, self-realization, enlightenment etc. But his is far from total liberation. The final liberation is the stage where the individual soul merges with the universal soul, transcending births and deaths. Therefore, sthita-prajnan is the penultimate stage to final liberation. This is the stage where the internal tools are trained to singularly focus on the Supreme Spirit. In verse 55 Krishna uses the word atman twice ‘contended in the atman by the atman’. The correct meaning of atman is ‘soul’. There are two types of souls. One is ‘soul’ which means the individual soul and the other is ‘Soul’ (note the capital ‘S’ here) which refers to the Brahman. The former is jivatma and the latter is Paramatma. What Krishna says is that one should dissolve one’s ego that is predominantly placed in the individual self in the vast and eternal nature of the Supreme Soul. But this stage can be reached only by proper practice of karma yoga. However, what are the qualities of such a great person? Krishna further elucidates. Such great persons (sthita-prajnan) have the subjective experiencing of existence is no longer limited by the self-loving ego or personality blocks. They have only one-pointed mind, making a progressive surrender to God. In such an advanced situation, desire, fear and anger have no place at all in his thoughts. In fact, he does not have a second thought, except the thought of God. In this stage, his kundalini energy is primarily responsible for surrendering even his free will (will not influenced by sensory organs) to the will of the divine. Krishna continues “The one whose mind is unattached to anything, neither exited nor disturbed while beholding good or bad, his knowledge is permanent” (verse 57). The previous two verses described the qualities of sthita-prajnan. Now Krishna describes the benefits accruing to such learned men. In the first place, he is beyond bondage and its associated afflictions. He cannot differentiate between his child and a street dog. Both are same for him, because he knows for certain that what exists within him (the Brahman) also exists in his child and the street dog. His speech will reflect and expound the eternal truth. He knows that his body and mind are responsible for realizing the evils of dualities such as pleasure and pain, good and bad, etc. He knows to distinguish between soul on one side and his body and mind on the other side. This capacity to differentiate and distinguish is termed as permanent knowledge, as this knowledge of the Soul or Spirit is indestructible.

THE SUPREME CREATION - PART II

Before we proceed to the external tools, we should know about three important concepts that do not fall under either of the categories, but have a more powerful role in the creation. They are ‘purusha’ the soul, ‘prakriti’ the nature and the ‘Brahman’ or ‘Spirit’ called God. SOUL: In the creation of God, there are countless souls (purushas) that manifest as the living beings. These souls do not undergo any changes at any point of time. They do not have energy and will and are passive in nature. Since it is said to be smaller than an atom, it is not visible even under a powerful microscope. Though clinically the presence of soul has not yet been established, sufficient research is underway to interpret the phenomenon. As the soul is considered as the divine secret, the ultimate result of any clinical study is doubtful. However, elaborate non-clinical studies more or less describe the soul in a unified voice. Soul is considered as the reflection of the transcendental essence of the Brahman. This goes to prove our earlier statement that souls on their own, do not have energy and will. More or less this phenomenon of the Brahman – soul concept can be explained like the moon deriving its light from the sun. The light of the moon is illusionary making us to believe that the moon has its own light. However, the fact is that it gets reflected by the light of the sun and is not self illuminating. So, by and large, the soul and the Brahman are not different, though there exist certain subtle differences. Probably, the one main difference is the ‘karma’. The Brahman is not bound by karma, whereas the individual soul is bound by karmas. There is another school of thought (Vedanta) which advocates that the Brahman takes the form of atman or the individual soul enabling the individual beings to act, but remains unconnected to the actions or to the results of actions. Purusha is the term used by Sankhya school of thought and atman is the term used by the vedantic school of thought. Both these terms refer to the individual soul. The soul continues to exist in a gross body as long as the body functions. Once the gross body ceases to function after death, the soul also leaves the body along with prana which is also known as the vital force. The fate of the soul after death is determined by the law of karma that remains embedded in the soul, wherever it goes. Karma is like a voice recorder in an airplane, where in the results of all the actions and thoughts are recorded. If someone believes that he is doing an action unaware to anybody, should always bear in mind that his actions are recorded in his karmic account. It is to be understood that karma is the result of various decisions made by the mind that ultimately determines the destiny of the soul after death. That is why pursuing spiritual path and firmly establishing spiritual progress are considered as essential factors in reducing the impact of karma. Karmic account is not only historical but also contains long forgotten evolutionary aspects as well. Therefore, ultimately the soul unfolds its action in a physical body depending upon its karmic account. In such a situation, the soul does not undergo any changes or modifications based on the fact that it is a mere reflection of the Brahman or the Supreme Spirit. The soul can manifest only if it is associated with prakriti about which we will discuss in the next posting. (to be continued)

THE SUPREME CREATION - PART I

The origin of worldly experience begins when anthakkaranam or the internal tool co-ordinates with bahyakarana or the external tool. Instead of using the word coordination, the appropriate word would be interdependence. This is a slightly complicated process but lays a strong foundation to progress considerably in the path of self-realization. Articles of this type coupled with interpretations of Bhagavad Gita and Lalitha Sahasranamam will surely provide sufficient impetus to self-realization. Before we proceed with the understanding this process, we have to go into the details of internal and external tools. INTERNAL TOOL: Internal tool is also known as anthakkaranam as it works internally on subtle plane. There are four components of this internal tool. They are mind, intellect, conscience (lower level of consciousness) and ego. Mind is one of the amazing instruments of human life. Mind is endowed with the power of creation and when manifested, the dualities like pain and pleasure are realized. The mind could be pure or impure depending upon certain external influences. If mind is not properly trained and tamed, it turns out to be a potential source of danger, dangerous than the weapons of war. Therefore, when one decides to pursue the path of spirituality, mind has to be quarantined, as otherwise it acts according to its likes and dislikes. It develops likes and dislikes from the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas. All the three gunas are always prevalent in all the human beings, but not in equal proportions. At the most these gunas can be interpreted as harmonious, mobility and inertia. But these gunas play an important role by influencing the mind and making the mind susceptible to likes and dislikes. The next is intellect or buddhi. This is not just wisdom which is merely the ability to apply knowledge, experience, understanding or common sense and insight. Intellect is the refined form of knowledge. Intellect can be defined as the intuitive aspect of consciousness. Intellect and mind are interdependent on each other. When mind is not in a position to make the final call, it seeks the help of the intellect to find a solution. The solution provided by the intellect is called intellectual conviction, the process by which the intellect convinces the mind by providing a solution. The highly refined form of intellect is able to establish commune with God. Its unrefined form comprehends the materialistic world. Therefore the intellect can be broadly classified as higher and lower forms. The lower form of intellect is known as knowledge that is associated with worldly affairs and associated with individual conscience (lower level of consciousness) and the higher form of intellect that is refined and pure is associated with higher levels of consciousness. At the time of merger of individual of consciousness with universal consciousness, it is only the intellect that accompanies the individual consciousness till the gates of the universal consciousness. The third of the internal tool is the individual consciousness (individual awareness) as opposed to the pure consciousness of God (absolute awareness). The individual consciousness not willing to pursue the path of spirituality is also known as individual conscience (sense of right and wrong). Irrespective of its level, consciousness plays the most important part knowing the existence itself. The highest level of consciousness relinquishes the ego to ultimately merge with the Supreme Spirit or God. Out of all these four components of the internal tool, consciousness is the most important factor in realizing God or realizing the Self, a process known as self-realization. It is only the individual conscience that blossoms into consciousness. But the conscience is to be kept clear, clean and calm to move towards consciousness. Though conscience is not powerful like consciousness, still it can cause a serious damage to the mind by not willing to forgive certain actions that mind performs through senses. That is why it is said ‘God may forgive you, the law may forgive you, but your conscience will never forgive you’. All of us have to certainly answer to our conscience. Righteousness plays an important role in evolving conscience into consciousness. The last of the internal tool is ego, the potential enemy to all the seekers of spirituality. This evolves from the intellect. Ego and conscience may appear to be the same because both of them have the influence of the three gunas. Ego is more influenced by these gunas than conscience. The predominance of a particular guna is reflected in the ego of a person. Ego is concerned more with practical realities than with inner thoughts and feelings. It is associated with subjects and objects. But conscience does not deal with such a situation. Conscience can be interpreted as un-conditioned self awareness and when it becomes conditioned, it evolves as consciousness. The Supreme self is veiled by ego. For all the actions of the Supreme Self, ego takes wrongful credit. But the reality is that the universe cannot exist without the influence of the ego. But one should try to understand the limitations of ego. The state when ego and consciousness stand united, ego continues to dominate and this stage is known as “I” consciousness or the awareness of the self. As long as this stage is not transcended, God can never be realized. This powerful ego can be dissociated from consciousness by two methods. In the first method, by exploring the internal self, the connection between consciousnesses is to be severed by lifting the consciousness to higher planes. In the second method, the ego can be surrendered to someone who is superior to it namely God. Another effect of ego is to prevent the intellect to gain further strength thereby blocking the path of spirituality. Ego is the worst enemy of the individual. These are the basic functions of the internal tool. In the next posting we will go into the details of external tool and the union of these two tools making the creations possible. (to be continued)

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 383-390

Sadyah-prasidini (383) She bestows Her grace immediately for those who seek Her within. This has been discussed in the previous two namas. By such internal worship, Her immediate grace is imminent. Vishva-sakshini (384) She is the witness of the universe. This is the unique quality of the Brahman without attributes. This is the supreme form of the Brahman. Only the Supreme Brahman stands as a witness to the happenings of the universe, without partaking in the activities. Sakshivarjita (385) But She is without witness. The existence of the Supreme form of the Brahman cannot be witnessed by anybody, as this form of the Brahman has no known source of origin. Another quality of the pure Brahman is referred here. Shadanga-devadayukta (386) Shad (six) + anga (parts) means six parts. For every mantra there are six parts and each such part is under the control of a god/goddess called anga devatas of the presiding deity. These six parts are heart, head, tuft of hair, armor, eyes and weapons. Before and after the recitation of a mantra, the deities of these parts are worshipped in our bodies by touching the respective body parts with fingers. This is with regard to the external worship. Shiva has six types of known qualities and they are omniscience, completeness, supreme level of consciousness, freedom, everlasting power and infinity. These six are the qualities of the Brahman without attributes or prakasha form of the Brahman. This nama says that She is surrounded by these six anga devatas. It is important to remember that She is described as the Brahman without attributes or the prakasha form and as the Brahman with attributes or the vimarsha form. Shadgunya-paripurita (387) She is endowed with six qualities that are considered auspicious. They are prosperity, righteousness, fame, material wealth, wisdom and dispassion. Dispassion because, She will not show any special favours to a select few, transcending the law of karma. She does not encourage favoritism. Nitya-klinna (388) Her ever compassionate nature is referred here. This is an extension of nama 326. Karuna-rasa-sagara. Nityaklinna is the name of a titi nitya devi (third day of the lunar fortnight). Nirupama (389) She is without comparison. Brahman is infinite and a person with finite (limited) cannot describe Him. Svetashavatara Upanishad (IV.19) says ‘There is no way of describing Him. All you can say about Him is that He is what He is’. Shankara says ‘There is nothing like Him and nothing to which He can be compared. He is one without a second. He is limitless. The only way you can describe Him is to refer to His uniqueness, which is really saying nothing’. There is a story about this concept. Two brothers were sent by their father to a guru to pursue the spiritual path. When they returned, father asked both of them to describe God. The elder brother gave an extensive lecture about God. When the younger one was asked, he kept quite. Their father said ‘You are not saying anything because, you realized that God is a subject about which nothing can be said without making a mistake’. This is the concept of God. Nobody can describe the Brahman in totality. At the most one can discuss about Him only by affirmations and negations. Nirvana-suka-dayini (390) Nir (freed) + vana (body). When body is freed from the mind, it leads to bliss. When higher level of consciousness is reached, physical body is forgotten. When bodily afflictions are dissolved, what is derived the eternal bliss. She confers this bliss to those who worship Her as per namas 381 and 382. This stage is described by Krishna “Only that yogi who possesses the inner bliss, who rests on the inner foundation, who is one with inner light, becomes one with Spirit. He attains complete liberation in God. With sins obliterated, doubts removed, senses subjugated, the rishis contributing to the welfare of the mankind, attain emancipation in the Brahman”. (Gita V.24 and 25)

GOD CONSCIOUSNESS

Gita series – part 26. Chapter II - Verses–53 – 54 Krishna continues to address Arjuna “When your intelligence is afflicted by different Vedic revelations, become firmly united with the Supreme and at that time you attain the yoga” (verse 53). Vedic revelations mean different interpretations of the Brahman. The final destination being the same the route taken to reach the destination could be different. If we ask different persons about the routes to reach the destination, each of them will give their own routes. Likewise, different ways and means are advocated to reach the Brahman. Though Indian philosophy has different systems, ultimately they all lead to the Supreme Spirit or the Brahman. There are six known major systems of Indian philosophy. They are Sankhya system, yoga system, mimamsa system, vedanta system, vaisheshika system and nyaya system. All these systems advocate different methods that are unique to each of them. They advocate spiritual awakening by prescribing different practical guidelines. But philosophy has its own limitations. They can neither advocate nor formulate the highest level of Supreme Consciousness, beyond a certain level. For example one may say that consciousness is God, another may say Truth is God, yet another may say love is God and there cannot be any limit to such interpretations. There are many Upanishads and all of them try to identify the Brahman in their own way, but none of them can pinpoint the Brahman as It is. The truth is that the Brahman is beyond all such complicated narrations. The simplest way to understand the Brahman is to identify Him within, the power of the Soul (not the soul) that makes us to function. Instead of locating Him within, we run from pillar to post, attend classes, watch videos, etc and visit all other places where we can never find Him (of course this is opposed to the omnipresent nature of the Brahman). This is what Krishna means by uniting with the Brahman and this phenomenon is known as yoga. The statement of Krishna also underlines the importance of having a single Guru while pursuing the spiritual path. ‘Firmly united with the Supreme’ means always remain with the thought of God, without any possibility of coming back to the mundane world. At this stage, whatever we do is on behalf of God and this stage is attained only when duality is made to perish. Now Arjuna again questions Krishna. “Keshava! What are the characteristics of a person who attained the state of ecstasy (samadhi), with fixed mind? How does this man speak, sit and walk” (verse 54)? Arjuna uses ‘sthita-prajnan’ a unique word for the first time. This word is often repeated subsequently. The correct interpretation of this word would be ‘the person who established himself firmly with God-consciousness’, a stage where individual consciousness stands merged with universal consciousness. We can also interpret this stage where the individual soul stands merged with the Brahman. This is the stage of standalone consciousness transcending all the lower planes of awareness. This question arises out of Krishna’s reference to ‘firmly united with the Supreme’. Arjuna was curious to know the characteristics of such a person. Such God-consciousness man differs naturally from others. We function in this world by looking for God and the God-consciousness man functions on behalf of God while working for this world. This stage is called Krishna consciousness or Christ consciousness. These blessed ones, always remain in divine ecstasy without shirking their worldly responsibilities. Krishna begins His description of these blessed ones in the next verse.

ISOLATE THE EGO

Gita series – part 25. Chapter II - Verses–50 - 52 Krishna continues to explain the importance of yoga. “The one who has an even mind gets rid of both virtues and vices, even during this life. Therefore, be with this yoga which is the art of executing all actions. Those wise men with balanced mind, by surrendering the fruits of actions, free themselves from the bondage of death, reach the Supreme place. When your wisdom fully transcends the darkness of delusion, then you reach the stage of callousness to the matters that have been heard and yet to be heard”. Mind should be trained in such way that it considers both happiness and sorrow on the same level. Normally mind controls our actions and instead if we could tame the mind to be under our control, then the mind is said to be even or balanced. This stage of the mind is called yoga or yogic mind. The level of individual consciousness merging or uniting with the universal consciousness is yoga. In such a situation, ego is isolated. When ego is isolated, mind loses its best friend to instigate and influence it. When it loses its best friend mind, for a moment unable to find a proper direction, it comes under our control. When ego is isolated, mind is made to realize that it cannot claim ownership for the actions done by it. By further practice it is made to realize that it is the Brahman who is responsible for all the actions performed by it. If the mind is not tamed, then it is influenced by the senses and afflicted by ego and attaches importance to the gross body. All the actions of the body are carried out by the mind only and this is the reason why it gets influenced by ego and takes undeserved or false credit for the fruits of actions. Why yoga is considered as important? Yoga attempts and succeeds to bring out the best within, to isolate the ego from the Self by means of pure knowledge or the knowledge for self-realization. Yoga is a tool that connects mind, body and soul and does not differentiate them as different entities. It attempts to unify this trio on the spiritual plane as opposed to mind that works on the physical planes. Yoga should not be construed as a physical experience but as a coordinator between body, mind and soul. Yoga in its advanced stage makes one realize the eternal Truth. But such a transition has to be gradual and cannot happen at a faster pace as this would derail the process itself. That is why Krishna attaches greater importance to Yoga in the beginning chapters. The experience of yoga leads to wisdom. Krishna calls the experienced as wise men. Wise men do not attach importance to the results of actions as they surrender the fruits of actions to the Brahman. Such unconditional surrender becomes possible only if ego is totally dissolved. But it is possible that it could rear its ugly head at anytime, if the mind is not properly trained to function without the influence of ego. This is known as the supreme sacrifice that happens at the doors of God. The fortunate ones who could tame their minds to function without influence of ego and senses, become out of bound for emotions to influence. If such a stage is attained, he transcends the cycle of birth and death. His free will is ready to take him for final liberation. The matters heard and yet to be heard means the level consciousness. When the consciousness reaches higher levels it also transcends time and space. The highest level of consciousness is beyond light and sound. There exists nothing except this consciousness, all alone ready to merge and be with the Supreme Brahman.

LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 381-382

Rahoyaga-kramaradhya (381) This nama and the next one discuss about worshipping Her secretively. Secretive worship means worshipping Her internally without resorting to external rituals. Worshipping Her within is considered as a powerful tool to realize Her, as only Her subtlest forms can be worshipped within. Her subtlest form as we know is Her kundalini form. In the sahasrara or the crown chakra, She conjoins with Shiva and worshipping this Shiva-Shakthi union is considered as the secretive worship. Obviously, others cannot partake in this internal worship. The internal worship, be it Her gross form, or Her subtler kamakala form or Her subtlest kundalini form attains great importance. In the external rituals, the sadaka or the practitioner is associated with actions. The concentration gets diverted and diffused from the focal point of the worship to the mundane form of the ritual. In the internal worship, the entire focus is fixed on Her and there are no distractions. Though distractions cannot be avoided in the beginning stages of internal worship, when the practice is intensified leading to the stage of bliss, a sort of addiction is developed by the practitioner to be with that bliss. The stage of bliss cannot be described in quotidian language and to understand it one has to really make sincere attempts while pursuing the path of spirituality. Secondly, the stage of bliss does not vary depending upon the forms of God. Bliss is a unique phenomenon, applicable to all forms of worship. In Sri Vidya cult, there are two types of worship. One is called ‘samayachara’ worship, the internal worship. The other is ‘kulachara’ worship or the external rituals. Soundarya Lahari verse 8 makes a reference to this ‘samayachara’ or internal worship. ‘You are seated in the middle of ocean of nectar (sahasrara), with Shiva tatwa as the base and Sadashiva tatwa as the cushion, offering bliss. Only the blessed ones meditate on this form of yours’ says this verse. A question may arise, being Shiva’s wife how She can sit on a couch with Shiva as its base and Sadashiva (the higher form of Shiva) as the cushion. In scientific parlance, two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Therefore it becomes possible to interpret that Shiva and Shakthi are no way different from each other. That is why Shiva-Shakthi union assumes great importance. Scriptures also point out that the state of bliss can be attained only by those who always remain with Her thought and not by those who get involved in material prosperity. Rahastarpana-tarpita (382) In the initial stage of pursuing spiritual path and in order to control the mind, recitation or repetition of mantras is practiced, so that the mind does not get diverted to extraneous thoughts. Such mantras should be recited after understanding the meaning of the mantra. For example let us take the Panchadasi mantra. There are fifteen bijas in that mantra and we have elaborately discussed the meaning for each bija. When a mantra is recited there are two things that are important. The first one is dhyan sloka or the meditative verse that describes the form of the god or goddess. This helps in visualizing the form of the deity. Second is the mantra that infuses life to the visualized form. This situation is applicable only in the initial stages and as one progresses, further guidance is received from the concerned deity itself by way of communion. This nama says that such mantras should be recited only mentally. There is another interpretation for this nama. This nama could also be interpreted as ‘secretive oblations’ offered at the internal fire (fire generated and persists at the muladhara chakra to keep the body alive). The oblations consist of the 36 tatwas or the principles that are responsible for our karmas, either good or bad. In Sri Vidya navavarana puja there is one separate ritual called ‘internal oblation’ wherein all the dualities are sacrificed in the as oblations in the internal fire.

FRUITS OF ACTIONS NOT OURS

Gita series – part 24. Chapter II - Verses– 48 and 49 Krishna continues “Oh! Dhananjaya! Perform all your actions concentrating on yoga, forgetting attachments, and considering both success and failure equally. This evenness of mind is called yoga. Actions performed with desire are greatly inferior to this yoga. Arjuna! Take refuge in balanced wisdom, as those who perform actions for the sake of benefits of its fruits are in miserable condition” (verses 48 and 49). This is only a prelude to the karma yoga that Krishna is going to talk about in the subsequent chapters. Those who perform actions attaching importance to the results of such actions are considered to be in miserable state. While performing such actions, their mind will be only with the results of the actions and not on the action itself. What Krishna says is that one should perform his duty without aiming at the end result. Such an attitude can be developed only if one considers success or failure with a balanced mind. This attitude is called yoga by Krishna. Generally yoga can be explained as the union between the individual self and the supreme self, where the duality of mind and matter is dissolved into the supreme Self or the Brahman. In can also be explained as a process by which internal instrument called anthakkaranam is merged with the Supreme. The basic requirement of yoga is the mind un-afflicted by sensory organs. Evenness of mind is the first step towards spirituality, as the evolution of a soul purely depends upon the modifications of the mind. There is a saying that there should be no longing even towards God. The process of yoga has a direct bearing on karma that gets embedded in the soul which unfolds by causing various actions through the body. That is why there is always a link between mind, body and soul, the one affecting the other two. Therefore any action that we perform is due to the unfolding of karma in this birth. We fail to understand this reality and out of our ego and ignorance, we take credit for the good results and curse our fate for the bad results. Fate is nothing but the state of mind afflicted with ego when the desired result is not achieved. At the same time if the result of an action turns out to be positive, we never talk about fate and we take the credit for its success. Fate can also be explained as the power of our will. If our will is powerful, the end result of our action also turns out to be positive and if our will power is not that powerful, the end result of our action turns out to be negative. That is why Krishna says that we should never get involved with end result of an action as the mental state begins to differentiate between happiness and sorrow based on the outcome of the result of an action. Such a stage becomes possible only if one is able to dispense with material attachments. This stage is called Krishna consciousness or Christ consciousness. For the one who practices regular meditation, this state becomes a reality only when his consciousness level reaches and transcends ajna chakra or the third eye. What is balanced wisdom? Krishna gives a detailed description of this in ‘buddhi yoga’ in later chapters. At this point let us know the balanced wisdom as the un-afflicted state of mind beyond discrimination and desire. All the actions performed with an eye on its fruits, will lead only to miseries, says Krishna. When an action is performed with intent of desire, naturally it leads to miseries. Any action performed without surrendering its fruits to God is the cause for all miseries. This is because, desire leads to bondage and attachments, affecting our senses and ultimately causing a deep dent in our karmic account. The karmic account is sure to unfold either in this birth itself or during subsequent births. That is why fruits of actions are considered as miseries as they are sure to land you in sufferings. Krishna’s concept is very simple. What He says is that ‘you do your duty and I shall perform mine’. Though He does not say this explicitly at this point, He dwells on this elaborately in later chapters. The point driven home is that one should perform his duties without looking into the fruits of such actions. If one does so, he is bound to undergo sufferings and miseries. These sufferings and miseries arise due to mental changes causing desire and attachment working through our senses. When mind gets afflicted by the influence of sense organs, then it does not augur well with the progress in spirituality.