THE NATURE OF THE MIND

THE NATURE OF THE MIND



SLOKA 7
Aajyadharaya Srothasa Samam
Saralachinthanam Viralathaha Param

Like the (continuous) flow of ghee or a (flowing) stream, an unbroken (stream) of thought is far superior to broken, interrupted thoughts.

Aajyam - clarified butter, ghee
Dhara - a stream of water, a line of descending fluid, stream current
Strothasa - a stream, current flow or course of water, a stream or river
Sama - same, identical
Samam - like, similar, resembling, in the same manner
Sarala - straight, not crooked, honest, upright, sincere
Chintanam - thinking, thinking of
Virala - having interstices, separated by intervals, loose, wide apart
Param - highest, best, most excellent, greatest


In the world of today, broadly there are two streams of philosophical thought. One can call them Western and Eastern thought.

Western philosophy takes its roots in ancient Greece. At that time, approximately 500 BCE, there was a close relationship between religion and philosophy. However, as the years passed by, Western philosophy separated itself from religion and became more rational and logical and more associated with scientific thought. In fact, that is the reason why in the ancient universities ( Alexandria, Cordoba, Oxford etc) of Europe, the highest academic qualification was called ‘Doctor in Philosophy’. Some of the great philosophers of the West such as Aristotle and Descartes were also scientists and mathematicians. Plato’s Academy in Athens taught perhaps both mathematics and philosophy.

In recent times, particularly in the last century or so, Western thought has been studying the mind. This field of science has come to be called ‘psychology’, a study of the Psyche. One of the celebrated scientists in this field is Sigmund Freud and he has really contributed to an analysis of the mind to a great extent.

Western thought analyzes the mind in three parts called ‘Conscious’, ‘Sub-conscious’ and ‘Unconscious’. The Conscious Mind is the waking condition and quite a lot of research has taken place on how the human mind works in the waking condition. The human brain and the nervous system is connected with this and there is an ongoing debate about whether the brain is the mind or whether they are separate entities. The Subconscious Mind is the dreaming condition. It is a layer of mind that is just below waking consciousness and Freud carried out detailed investigations to establish how the Subconscious Mind operates and influences the Conscious Waking Mind. Memories lurking in the Subconscious Mind tend to color and condition how the Conscious Mind operates. Freud also discovered what he thought was a deeper layer of Mind and he called it the ‘Unconscious’. While the Conscious Mind may be aware of the thoughts and feelings in the Subconscious, it may be totally unaware of the Unconscious. He theorized that the Unconscious could be deep suppressed memories and experiences that occasionally sprout up and enter the Subconscious and Conscious levels and sometimes drastically influence behaviour. Freud was born in a Jewish family. He was more of a scientist by training and was not too interested in his own religion, let alone Christianity or Vedanta and Eastern thought.

In recent years, and particularly the last few decades, Western science is beginning to get deeply interested in concepts of consciousness and is finding Vedanta, Buddhism and Eastern thought of great interest.

Eastern thought takes its roots in the Vedas. The Mandukya Upanishad from the Atharvana Veda , is a brief but masterly treatise on the Vedantic view of the structure of the universe. It describes a fourfold structure :
The Physical Universe - and at the human level the Body
The Subtle or Mental Universe and the Mind
The Supersubtle or Spiritual Universe and the Soul or Atma
The Essential Permanent Stuff that is the cause and the material of which all the above three layers are made of , Brahman or Paramatma.

The Vedas declare ‘All this is Brahman’ meaning that Brahman, a formless permanent unchanging Base, is that which manifests as Soul, Mind and Body. I like to call it ‘The Fourfold Structure of the Universe’ where the formless Brahman transforms Itself into innumerable Souls or Jeevatmas, each with its own unique Mind and through the Mind creating a unique World of its own and its own Body.

Each Soul creates its own unique perception of the world. The human, the animal, the bird, the insect, the plant, the rock all have their own unique ‘World view’ based on their unique instruments called ‘Sense Organs’. The same object will be seen differently by a man, an animal, a bird, and an insect. There is no common World, all that there is , is Brahman viewed and perceived differently by each species. The Sanskrit term for species is ‘Jati’.

This term is often confused these days with the term ‘Varna’ and hence there is considerable misunderstanding when different strata of societies are called ‘Jatis’ or species. That is not correct .

The term ‘Varna’ refers to ‘aptitude’ or ‘inherent orientation’. Each Soul or Jeevatma is unique and has a unique ‘aptitude’. These aptitudes have been classified into four broad categories, that is, ‘intellectual or mystic’, ‘administrative or action-oriented’,’business oriented or logistical’ and ‘labor oriented or physical’. Every one of us is a mixture of these four aptitudes and we all need to work at different times in life in different roles. Invariably, we all start as ‘labor-oriented’ people, slowly becoming ‘business-oriented’ then take up leadership positions in the community as ‘administrators and protectors of society’. We all end up as ‘mystics, philosophers and teachers’. These days, everything in the world gets ‘branded’ by society, so there is a tendency to brand even human beings on the basis of the ‘Varna’ of his/her parents. If a parent is an priest, then the child is ‘branded’ a priest. If the parent is a laborer then the child is branded a ‘laborer’. If the parent is an administrator then the child is branded as an administrator and similarly with businessmen. This kind of branding of human beings is not fair and goes against the inherent democracy in the Vedas. Every person is just a human being. He belongs to the species or ‘Jati’ called ‘Homo Sapiens’. He is certainly not an animal or a bird or insect. But he is a human being. The Vedas declare that a Soul evolves over a long period of time and through several births to the human incarnation. Every human has to then progress through the four Varnas and ultimately qualify to become ‘Immersed in Brahman’ or ‘Self Realized’ or ‘Brahmana’. I feel the term ‘Brahmana’ comes from ‘Brahma Ramana’ that is ‘One who delights in Brahman’. Everyone of us has to reach that state, not through birth but by effort also called Sadhana.

There is a difference between ‘Excellence through Endowment’ and ‘Excellence through Achievement’. In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna declares that every soul can attain the highest state of ‘Immersion in Brahman’ provided he is willing to ‘Practice’. Sri Krishna calls it ‘Abhyasa’.

There is nothing demeaning about physical labor. All of us are obliged to work for the beauty of the world. I feel the term ‘Shudra’ arises from ‘Shuddha’ or ‘Purity’. Self purification is the first step towards Moksha. If we do not keep our body and environment and our mind pure and clean, how can we progress to Spirituality?

We all need some business acumen to survive within the limited means provided to us. I feel the term ‘Vaishya’ comes from ‘Vishnu Aishwarya’ meaning ‘The Prosperity of Divinity’. Divinity has provided enough in Nature to sustain us provided we control our desires.

And to reach that state of exaltation called ‘Brahma Ramana’ we need to keep careful watch on our inherent enemies, ‘Kama (desire), Krodha (anger) and Moha( delusion)’. That is why I feel the term ‘Kshatriya’ arises from ‘Kshaya Triya’ that is, ‘Destruction of the Three’. It is by overcoming lust, anger, and delusion, it is by keeping clear headed, calm, discriminating and devoted, filed with love for all, serving all, that we destroy these three enemies. We have to protect our own selves from these enemies. Everyone of us has to mature to this level, become the king of our own inherent self, before we can delight in Brahman.

The progression through the ‘Varna’ system in our life is another definition of Sadhana.

The Shudra in us is the Brahmachari, concentrating on internal and external purity or ‘Shudatwa’. The Vaishya in us is the Grihasta who earns, conserves, fulfils and creates the finances for society. The Kshatriya in us is the alert soldier. The Vanaprastha who contemplates, renounces, sacrifices and is prepared to give up his own life, not for any material gain, but for attaining Brahman. And the Brahmana in us is the Sanyasin whose only duty is to teach, guide, interpret, and help society maintain its purity, unity and its essential contact with divinity.

This then is called ‘Varnashrama Dharma’, an extremely important part of social upliftment and harmony. It is the essence of Eastern democracy.

The inherent aptitudes and the resultant attitudes are encased in the ‘Karmas’ or ‘Vasanas’ of each individual. They not only color his mind but also practically guide his life. In a way ‘Mind is Destiny’.

The moment of birth is important and the ‘Karmas’ get frozen at that moment, determining how the individual will be inclined to live his life. That is why the interpretation of these frozen ‘Karmas’ is considered important in understanding human personality and has resulted in the importance given to ‘horoscopes’ in India. The term ‘horoscope’ derives from the root ‘hora’ which also means time and from which the term ‘hour’ arises.

The ‘Karmas’ determine the place of birth, the culture, the family, the circumstances and the environment into which one is born and grows up. One person may be born on the footpath to a beggar and the other in a palace to a queen. One person may be born in a priestly learned family and the other in a trading or an agricultural community. Wherever one is born, it is a step in one’s evolution.

However, birth does not determine aptitude or attitude. It is Karma which determines aptitude and attitude. A prince like Siddhartha can aspire to become a Buddha; a carpenter like Jesus can become a son of God; a moneylender like Kanakadasa can become a saint; while a great king like Vishwamitra could become a Brahmana and compose the Gayatri Mantra which is imparted to the young man. It is the inner urge that determines destiny, not the outer manifestation.



Thus the mind is considered extremely important in outlining one’s destiny.

The Mandukya Upanishad describes the Subtle Universe and the Individual Mind as comprising nineteen components :
- the Subtle forms of the organs of perception viz the Jnanendriyas ( ear, skin, eyes, nose and tongue);
- the Subtle forms of the organs of action viz the Karmendriyas ( mouth, hands, feet, genitals and anus);
- The Five Pranas which are inherently subtle;
- Manas or thoughts;
- Buddhi or intellect;
- Ahamkara or individuality (‘I am the Do-er ship);
- Chitta or memory.
The Brain in the physical body is like a Personal Computer or hardware; Mind is like software. The Subtle Universe is like the vast infinite Internet.

Mind is connected on one side to the Body at the Brain and on the other side to the Subtle Universe. Each Jeevatma has a separate Mind defined by its own Vasanas. The Subtle Universe acts as a medium through which each Mind can connect to other Minds. This has been proved in science by the phenomenon called ‘Hypnotism’ whereby one Mind can control other Minds, obviously through the Subtle Universe. Today’s mobile telephony is an example of this in physical terms.

In this sloka, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi introduces the Mind and basically compares the Manas or ‘stream of thoughts’ to the flow of oil or ghee or to a stream of water. However he cautions us that the Manas has the tendency to flit from one thought to another restlessly. The challenge is to make the thoughts to flow in a continuous stream. If by its very nature ( Swami used to call the Manas as ‘Monkey mind’) the thoughts in the Manas tend to jump from one concept to another, then how to control it and make the thoughts flow in a continuous stream ?
We will examine these concepts a bit more in detail in the next blog.
Meanwhile I do hope you continue to find these discussions interesting or at least intriguing. I will be happy if I have managed to provoke your curiosity at least.
With all the very best wishes for the season ( Pongal and the movement of the sun into the northern heavens called Uttarayana and Republic Day and Martyr’s Day on which day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated ...) and with prayers to Swami who is none other than the Almighty for your welfare and happiness and prosperity...


With my Guruj Sri Ajit Dalvi when he visited Muddenahalli - in the library with a rare spiritual soul in the form of a student Seshadri...

Love God Bless Sairam

THE POWER OF SOUND

Over the last year, I have been variously engaged in either repeating Vedic mantras loudly during various rituals or singing the lovely Sai bhajans or repeating a prayer quietly in my mind. I stand convinced that the humble sounds produced by the human mouth are capable of penetrating into the deepest core of the universe and help one soul to communicate with the super-subtle Oversoul or Paramatma Itself.

The science of physics recognizes ‘sound’ as an energy vibration. In the spectrum of energy frequencies, human sound comes right at the bottom of the range of frequencies, at between 40 cycles per second to 4000 cycles per second. The electromagnetic spectrum extends right up to 10 to the power of 28 cycles per second, which is in the area of ‘cosmic rays’. Visible light is in the range of 10 to the power of 14 cycles per second. The radio waves, which have been recently in the news, are in the range of 10 to the power 6 to 10 to the power of 8 cycles per second. From a physics standpoint, audible sound waves do not travel in a vacuum.

From a Vedic viewpoint, sound or
‘Shabda’ as it is termed, operates at four levels corresponding to the four layers or levels of existence, viz the basic Brahman, the soul or supersubtle level, the mental or subtle level and the physical or gross level.


The four levels of existence- Brahman( the aura around the body), Soul or Atma, Mind and Body

Human sound and all physical sounds are at the physical or gross level and are called ‘Vaikhari’. From this is derived the term ‘VAk’ or words. At the mental level, this vibration is called ‘Madhyama’. It is in the mind that forms ideas, words and descriptions take shape. At the supersubtle or soul level, the vibration is called ‘Paschyanti’. It is in the form of a concept. At the Brahman level, it is called ‘Para’.

Several scriptural texts including the Sri Lalitha Sahasranamam, the Sri Ganesha Atharvasheersham, etc describe ‘Shabda’ initiating as ‘Para’, then transforming into ‘Paschyanti’, then becoming ‘Madhyama’ and then finally being expressed by the human vocal chords as ‘Vaikhari’.

At the Brahman or ‘Para’ level, the ‘Shabda’ vibration is also called ‘Nada Brahmam’. It is a very basic or primeval vibration and is a combination of the three sounds ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’ and is called ‘OM’.



Sai with a Tanpura

Brahman can thus be said to be formless but of the nature of ‘Nada’ or ‘Omkara’. In Indian classical musical tradition, the rendition spans seven notes called the ‘Sapta SwarA’. They are ‘Sa’, ‘Ri’, ‘Ga’, ‘Ma’, ‘Pa’, ‘Da’, and ‘Ni’. This is the standard octave. Of these the notes ‘Sa’, ‘Pa’ and the higher ‘Sa’ form the basis and are called ‘Sruthi’. The combined effect of the sounds ‘Sa’, ‘Pa’ and ‘Sa’ is not unlike the ‘OM’ sound. They form the three strings of the ‘Tanpura’ which is an instrument that always accompanies a vocalist or any musical instrument as it provides the background drone. All musical creativity is around this basis. The ‘Sruthi’ forms the foundation or basis. Various combinations of the other notes, with multitudinous variations in the ascending and descending scales are called ‘Raga-s’. The ‘Ragas’ are like patterns in a cloth while the basic thread that is woven into the cloth is the ‘Sruthi’. Patterns, designs and colors are innumerable, but the basic cloth remains the same.

http://www.carnaticindia.com/images/learn_music/varisha1.mp3

Classical music is said to flow from the ‘heart’ or the innermost core of the universe or ‘Consciousness’. It is considered sacred and is indistinguishable from Divinity. God is Music.

The musical nature of Brahman is treated in the Sama Veda. Thus Indian classical music derives from the Vedas.

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi guided the aspirant inwards to his own heart to re-discover his true identity. However, He himself would compose and sing the praise of His Arunachala in the ‘Aksharamanamalai’ with the words:
‘Arunachala Shiva, Arunachala Shiva, Arunachala Shiva Arunachala.......’

http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/music/arunsiva.htm

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, in contrast, was on a mission to uplift and transform humanity and so He encouraged devotees to try and relate to Divinity through devotional music, closely related to classical music, in the form of ‘Bhajans’. The very first instruction He gave on October 24, 1940, even as He declared His Avatarhood, was the bhajan ‘Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam...’. It is indeed a beautiful bhajan:
“Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam
Dustara Bhava Sagara Tharanam
Guru Maharaj! Guru Jai Jai!
Sai Nath Sri Guru Jai Jai!

Om Nama Shivaya! Om Nama Shivaya!
Om Nama Shivaya! Shivaya Nama Om!
Arunachala Shiva! Arunachala Shiva!
Arunachala Shiva! Aruna Shivom!
Omkarambhava! Omkarambhava!
Omkarambhava! Om Namo Baba!

Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam
Dustara Bhava Sagara Tharanam!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76NvQD21IrM

So in these compositions of both Sri Ramana and Sri Sathya Sai Baba one sees the interconnection between the two great souls, both invoking ‘Arunachala’ !

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi used to teach the ‘Aksharamanamalai’ to his early devotees and asked them to sing it as they went begging for food in the lanes of Tiruvannamalai City.

Similarly, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba taught bhajans in his sweet mellifluous voice to His devotees for the first thirty years of His mission. He has played the veena and used to render Thyagaraja Keerthanas with ease. He would often compose bhajans on the spot and they all extolled the unity of devotion and the fact that all the names of God refer to the One Alone.

Music is the language of the heart. It flows from one’s consciousness. The words, the sentiments, the ideas and the lyrics, are products of the mind. And the vocal chords are instrumental in producing the sounds.


Bhava-Raga-Thala

Baba used to go into ecstasy and samadhi many times when His students sang bhajans. He would often say that the simplest way of relating to God in this Kali Yuga is by song, sung with devotion and love right from the heart.


Ecstasy and Samadhi

Similarly He would say that the Vedic mantras are very important for the balance of the universe. Both Sri Ramana and Baba encouraged the repetition of Vedic mantras. During Baba’s lifetime Vedic Yagnas, Yagas and Homas were conducted on innumerable occasions, strictly in accordance with the provisions of the authoritative texts such as the Yajur Veda. He often said that this was very important for ‘Loka Kalyanam’ or ‘the welfare of the worlds’.


The Ati Rudra Mahayagnam in 2006

Incidentally, the term ‘Kalyanam’ has come to mean ‘Marriage’ in contemporary usage. It really means that marriage is for universal welfare, for the sustenance of society and the welfare of all the worlds.


Baba materializing the sacred nine gems

It is in this context that we have to understand Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi’s Sloka 6 of the Upadesa SAram. In this sloka , He extols the outward vocal expression of devotion, be it in the form of a prayer or invocation or mantras or bhajans or song, but gently guides the Sadhaka inwards to sing or repeat the prayer mentally, to understand the meaning of the prayers and to finally transcend the mind and merge into his true Self, the Atma.

Sloka 6


The Kumbabhishekam (consecration) of the Shrine to His mother

Uththamasthavaadhuchchamandhathaha
Chiththajam Japa Dhyanamuththamam

Uthama - Best, excellent, foremost, uppermost, highest
Sthavaha - praising, celebrating, eulogising
Athi - very, exceedingly, over, beyond
Uchcha - high, elevated, excellent
Mandhataha - faint, slow, low, deep, gentle
Chiththajaha - born in the mind, love, passion
Japa - to utter in a low voice, repeat internally
Dhyanam - meditation, reflection, contemplation
Uththamam - superior

Far superior to praising (or singing the praise of God) is to repeat (the prayers) in a low voice; meditation is superior to repeating (prayers) in the mind.

From earliest times Man recognized the Divine Principle in the manifest Universe which surrounded him. Naturally he saw a variety of facets of the Divine Principle in the multiple manifestations. The sun was a predominant symbol of God for life on earth seemed impossible without the beneficent blessings of the sun. It represented constancy. It was unchanging, permanent, resplendent, life-giving and selfless. Similarly man saw various aspects of Divinity in rivers, the ocean, in rain, in trees, in plants, in fruits, vegetables, in birds, in insects, in reptiles, in animals. The all-embracing Banyan tree symbolized God. The ever compassionate cow represented God.

Over the millions of years of evolution, every generation of human beings threw up rare individuals who not only recognized Divinity in the outer Universe, but explored and many times experienced Divinity within themselves. These persons emerged as the Realized Ones, the See-ers, the Drashta, the Rishis. They articulated the concept of Divinity in the form of songs, prayers and complex permutations and combinations of sounds which came to be known as Prayers or Mantras. These sounds could be expressed out loud or expressed internally in the mind.

Depending on the stage of development of individuals, the prayers were simply repeated or internalized and analyzed for what they represented.

The evolution of songs and prayers can be considered to have possibly evolved in parallel with language forms.

It would appear that Sanskrit, a word which itself derives from a concept of ‘culture’ or ‘Sanskruti’ was one of the earliest forms of language and means of expression of Divine concepts.

These expressions and articulations and outpourings of the Rishis came to be known as the ‘Vedas’, a word which derives from the concept of ‘knowledge’ or ‘Vid’. Over millions of years intellectual explorations of the Universe, emotional outpourings of awe, respect and devotion and philosophical concepts regarding Divinity accumulated in the form of countless ‘Vedas’. These expressions are said to have been classified and organized for passing on to posterity by a great Rishi called Vyasa as recently as only 5000 years ago.

Vyasa classified them into four major schools of thought, viz, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharvana Veda. The Rig Veda is a collection of ancient expressions relating to Nature. The Yajur Veda is a compendium of forms of worship. The Sama Veda focuses on the relationship between sound and Divinity. The Atharvana Veda is replete with scientific methodology.

One more interesting aspect of this classification by VyAsA is the uniform three fold structure of the Vedas. Each Veda has three sections. The first section is called the Mantras. They contain a series of prayers. The second section is called the Brahmanas and is the ritualistic portion. The third section is called the Vedanta or ‘Veda- anta’ (end). It is also called Upanishads and contains philosophical and metaphysical truths.

It is difficult to state categorically as to the sequence in time of these expressions as they had been brought to the awareness of man over millions of years. Some authorities indicate that possibly the Rig Veda and its contents may be the earliest in time followed by the Yajur followed by the Sama and finally the Atharvana.

Over the last three Yugas, the Sathya, Thretha and Dwapara Yugas, extending over a vast expanse of time in this Universe, the outpourings of the Rishis, saints and Realized Ones could have got to be forgotten, vitiated, mutilated , distorted and misinterpreted. It was left to VyAsA at the beginning of this Kali Yuga, just after or during the lifetime of Sri Krishna, to re-invigorate, re-state, re-compile the Vedas in the present classification and format and establish schools of thought to specialize in each Veda and make it the duty of society to revere and sustain these schools.

Incidentally, I come from the Yajur Veda tradition and it is conceivable that my earliest forebear, the Rishi Kaundinya, who is invariably invoked whenever a ritual is performed, was a direct disciple of Veda VyAsA and had his own school of research and study with students who were dedicated to the studies. It became the tradition to state this lineage. This lineage was called a Gothra. And it was ensured that there would be no marriages within the same Gothra because it is like belonging to the same family. My late wife belonged to the Kaushika Gothra (Kaushika being another name for the sage Vishwamitra who conceived the famous Gayatri Mantra). My mother also came from the Kaushika Gotra. There are countless such Gotras in India named after important Rishis. My daughters are married into the Srivathsa and Bharadwaja Gotras.

The concept of puja or worship in a ritualistic manner derives from the ritualistic portion of the Vedas.

Starting in earliest times from a simple prostration to the rising sun, a cleansing of one’s body in a river or the lighting of a lamp in the house to symbolize the rising sun, or a sprinkling of water to symbolize the immersion in a river, mankind evolved complex and elaborate rituals involving every aspect of nature, flowers, grass, leaves, fruit, honey, milk, sugarcane, seeds and so on. These methodologies, over millions of years, sanctified and corroborated by great saintly persons, came to be considered as a compulsory form of worship.

In earliest times, every member of society was enjoined to perform certain rituals. As the human population grew and society came to be organized and structured in various ways, the performance of rituals came to be restricted to a priestly class. The majority of the population progressively lost touch with the language of the prayers, their meaning, what the rituals and symbols symbolized and the methodology of the rituals. At various stages of human evolution, great thinkers and reformers have appeared who corrected the situation and re-interpreted and re-stated the eternal truths.

From worship of the God Principle everywhere and in every aspect of Nature, man started locating special places for worship of the Divine Principle. These came to be called Temples.

These temples or places of worship would have a symbol of the God Principle. The ancient Sanskrit word for ‘symbol’ is ‘Lingam’ and the earliest such symbol which was conceived of, as representing God, was an elliptic, oval-shaped form. This symbol or Lingam was worshipped as representing God. Later, under the influence of reformers and saints, each aspect of God was creatively conceived in a kind of human configuration or human form. But the complex nature of the Divine Principle many times did not permit a simple human form to suffice to express the principle. Thus these semi-human symbols of Divinity came to display multiple faces ( Brahma) or multiple hands ( Vishnu) or to embody various additional symbols representing auspicious qualities ( purity -Ganga, moon -Mind, on the head of Shiva) or a large elephant’s head to represent Intellect ( Ganesha) or destruction of evil ( Durga) and so on.

This evolution of symbolism threw up newer and newer forms of God as appropriate at a particular time or age, or for a particular community. Each such form of God or Deity had followers and over time these followers evolved into cults of worship and narrow exclusive segments of society.

Such was the extent of proliferation of cults, modes of worship and what could be called ‘Religions’ around 2000 years ago, that a series of Divine Personages appeared in the forms of Zoroaster, Buddha , Mahavira, Jesus Christ, Mohammed and Adi SankarA to re-state the fundamental truths once again, break iconoclastic formulations, obscurantist sects and religions, the hold of the priestly classes over the minds of common men, and make humanity aware of the simplest elucidations of Divinity and the inherent unity of Divinity.

Such Divine ‘interventions’ in the evolution of mankind have taken place countless times over the Yugas. Many of these personages were known, recorded, recognized but many quietly performed their task of regeneration, rejuvenation and re-structuring of society and passed on. Some of the greatest such personages are recorded in the Vedas as Rishis. In every Yuga, at least once if not more often, Divinity is known to have ‘descended’ or ‘taken birth’ on planet Earth in human form to decisively correct the path of mankind.

Such persons embodying the full range of Divine powers have come to be known as ‘Avatharas’ or ‘Incarnations of the Divine’. Such are Vamana, Parasurama, Sri Rama and Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna elucidated the ‘Avataric Purpose’ most lucidly when He stated that whenever the path of Truth gets vitiated on earth, and the forces of obscurantism, ignorance and non-righteousness become overwhelming in their eclipse of matters Divine, then the God Principle crystallizes or concretizes Itself in human form to reform society and put mankind back on the correct path.

Thus the great Avatharas have themselves been subsequently recognized as God. Their expressions and everything associated with them is imbued with Divinity and becomes a part of worship.

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi was a Realized Soul and Himself an expression of the God Principle. In the evolving Kali Yuga, He not only re-stated eternal Truths but clarified and showed man a simple path to the Truth. This is encased in the Upadesa SAram and every one of His writings and every aspect of His life.

To humanity in the 20th century, divided vertically into religions, and horizontally into strata of society ( the rulers and the ruled, the caste system, men and women, rich and poor, the developed and the developing world, and so on ), He indicated a universal methodology, shorn of ritual , mysticism, mystery and freed humanity to re-discover the Truth in its simplicity, sublimity and purity, irrespective of the person’s background.

In this sixth Sloka of the Upadesa SAram, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi clarifies that of actions, worship is preferable. Of accepted forms of worship, including rituals and incantations, internal worship is preferable to external worship. In internal worship, repetition of a prayer helps focus and concentrate the mind but submersion in Consciousness or ‘meditation’ is preferable or the most preferred.

In listing out these steps to the Inner Path, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi gives the devotee the freedom to move step by step towards meditation in its pristine form. He acknowledges that, born in the society of the 20th or 21st century, the human being has to necessarily become aware of the forms of worship and the methodologies of that part of society in which he has been born and slowly progress towards an INNER CONSCIOUSNESS. Without stating it Bhagavan Sri Ramana clarifies that wherever one may start in whichever religion one is born and grows up, whatever form of worship one is used to , one can definitely free oneself of these trappings and re-discover ONESELF and ONE’S CONSCIOUSNESS. That SELF and CONSCIOUSNESS is free of all limitations, all multiplicity. It is UNITARY, ONE, the TRUTH ALONE. That is the meaning of the Vedic dictum:
‘EKAM SATH’ and ‘THATH SATH’.

Before one can appreciate this inherent Truth, it is necessary for all of us to come to terms with the forms of worship that prevail in our respective religions. It behoves us to participate and perform the rituals and practices that are prescribed. But it is also important to understand that all outer worship and ritual is only one form of expression to orient oneself to the eternal Truth that is embedded in one’s Soul. So ultimately, however pleasant the singing of bhajans may be, however satisfying the performance of a puja may be, and however wonderful the service of humanity may be, one has to turn inwards to the innermost core of oneself.

That turning is possible only with the aid of the ‘Mind’. Many of us are caught up in the performance of various duties in life. It is not always possible for us to withdraw and introspect or meditate. In such a case, both Sri Ramana and Sri Sathya Sai Baba advise us to work with the realization that we are serving God in the manifest world. Our parents, our spouse, our children and grandchildren, our bosses, our customers, our friends and in fact the whole visible universe becomes a manifestation of God and everything we do is for God.

However at some moment in our life depending on the special circumstance relating to him or her, it becomes necessary for us to turn inwards for that is the royal path to the discovery of Truth and the Purpose of Life. And from the next Sloka onwards Bhagavan takes us inwards.




I am rapidly reaching that point in my life. By the Grace of God, I may seem to be doing some work and interacting with the world, but essentially I am turning inwards. May you also discover your stage of your life, the purpose of your life, and while performing your duties try to find the way to move forward and inward to the Truth.


The mountain Skandagiri with the dome of the library at Muddenahalli- my Karma-Dhyana Kshetra

January 1 is called New Year's Day according to the Christian calendar. There are of course several New Year's Days with their own logic in various religious systems. Still January 1 has today become an important milestone in all our lives. May I wish you a Very Happy, Holy and Prosperous New Year and may all of you, so dear to me and representing the Divine Principle in my life, attain all that you aspire for.....

All my love, God Bless and Sairam


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76NvQD21IrM
http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/music/arunsiva.htm

THE CONCEPT OF SEVA

The term ‘Seva’ means Service. It implies unconditional and devoted service with no expectations in return. It is often called ‘Selfless Service’ although the description is inherently contradictory. This is because ‘Seva’ implies ‘Service to Divinity or the Self’. So it might be more appropriate to call it ‘Self- full or Self- oriented Service’ rather than ‘Selfless Service’. However I am just playing with words, because the word ‘Self-less’ really means ‘Free of Selfishness or Ego’. It is a way of focusing on the Divine Principle in the Universe.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba has always stated that ‘Seva’ is the best personal Sadhana for this age, the Kali Yuga. He used to say ‘Manava Seva is Madhava Seva’.
About a decade ago, Baba launched a new focused program called ‘Grama Seva’ during the Navaratri festival. He declared “Grama Seva is Rama Seva’ and directed that during the nine days of Navaratri, all His University students and staff should systematically visit all the villages in the vicinity of Puttaparthi and present food, sweets and clothes to every household. It was both a means of sensitizing the students to the realities of rural life as well as sensitizing the village folks to spirituality.
This year I was blessed to participate in this program. It was a remarkable experience. Considerable planning and preparation had gone into the program. Every village had been visited and mapped. Team leaders were knowledgeable of the geography, the logistics and the disposition of the households. There were nearly fifty trucks each carrying nearly ten to fifteen students and a couple of staff members apart from the stocks of food, sweets and clothes.



Each truck had a ‘Communicator’, generally a student who operated a wireless Walkie Talkie system to keep in touch with the ‘Home Base’, keeping them continuously informed of the progress, seeking replenishments of stocks if required or offering surplus stocks if available. All the campuses of the Sri Sathya Sai University, that is the Prashanti Nilayam, the Anantpur, the Whitefield and Muddenahalli campuses, were represented in full.



On reaching the village, we first went to the local temple and starting from there, we wound our way through the village, singing bhajans, a form of Nagar Sankirtan, by which we announced our arrival to all residents. Thereafter, in a systematic fashion, we went lane by lane, house by house, handing out the food packets, the sweets and the clothes. We enquired from the resident of each house, how many people lived in each house and accordingly handed out the appropriate number of packets.



The Gram Seva program has been going on from the year 2000 and both students and the villagers were aware of the modalities. I was touched by the enthusiasm of the villagers and the lovely decorations, festoons, rangolis (floor patterns) and smiles with which we were welcomed. It was obvious that they were in fact welcoming Bhagavan Himself.

Baba organized the ‘Seva Dal’ sometime in the sixties. This was a purely voluntary group of devotees for carrying out all sorts of operations. These included cleaning of the ashram premises, crowd handling and management, help in the canteen and kitchen, security duty on the ashram premises, and in the residential quarters, help in the hospitals and in the early years, even the construction work at Prashanti Nilayam. Seva Dal workers came from all parts of India to a planned calendar which allotted fifteen days to each State Seva team.
The Seva Dal volunteer was distinguished by the white uniform he wore and the blue and white scarf around his neck. Devotees considered themselves fortunate to be part of the Seva Dal corps. Stories abound of Baba’s immense kindness and love for them and such stories are still pouring in.

The concept of service to humanity is based on the ‘Universality of God hood’, on the fact that the universe, with all its myriad manifestations of nature, of man and animals, birds and plants, is but a manifestation of the Divine. Recognition of this inherent Divinity in nature is the principle underlying both the Navaratri festival where Nature is revered as the Mother and the Seva movement.



It was extremely fortunate for me to get a first hand experience of Seva at Puttaparthi and simultaneously witness the Veda Purusha Jnana Yagna which is performed at the same time. It was so appropriate for my commentary on the Sloka 5 of the Upadesa SAram wherein Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi talks of the Seva concept and the reason for considering the world as Divine. Is it not remarkable that both Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Bhagavan Sri Ramana propound the idea of Seva as a primary Sadhana?

UPADESA SARAM SLOKA 5

Jagatha Ishadhhee Yuktha Sevanam
Ashta Murthibrudh Devapujanam

Jagathaha - the world, moving, moveable, changeable
Ishaha - the lord of the universe, the supreme deity
Dhee - intellect, understanding, mind, idea, imagination.
Yuktha - joined, united, fastened, yoked, filled with
Sevanam - the act of serving, service, worship,
Ashta - eightfold
Ashtamurthi- the eight- formed, an epithet of Siva, the eight forms being the five elements, the sun, the moon and the sacrificing priest.
Brudh - bearing, upholding, supporting, full of, endowed
Deva - divine, celestial, a god, deity
Pujanam - worship

Serving the world, understanding (conceiving of) it as an integral manifestation of God (represented) as comprising of the eight aspects of Divinity (namely, the five elements, the sun or intellect, the moon or mind, and ego-consciousness).
The Manifest Universe, including the body of the observer (or experiencer) is a composite of the five Mahabhutas (or Primordial or Basic) elements. Various manifestations are observed to express degrees of combinations of the elements. Thus the human observer will experience the world of solids, liquids, gases and the atmosphere and the all-permeating and all-encompassing space. The existence of the atmosphere is experienced primarily by the sense of touch, sometimes by accompanying sound (such as a gale or tempest). The existence of space is only experienced by the sense of hearing. All this has been dealt with at length by us in discussing the Sloka 4.
However, how does one clarify the difference between ‘living’ and ‘non-living’ manifestations? One day the plant is clearly ‘ALIVE’ and some days later it ‘DIES’. The plant exhibits its ‘LIFE’ by certain aspects such as the green color, the growth of shoots and leaves, flowers, fruit. When it ‘DIES’ it simply dries up. What is this ‘LIFE PRINCIPLE’ in the plant?
Similarly, animals exhibit their ‘LIFE’ through mobility, expression of sounds, breathing. When they ‘DIE’ the body becomes still and gradually disintegrates and is soon absorbed into the primary elements.
In the same way, one experiences ‘LIFE’ in human beings. Mobility, speech expression, movement of hands and feet, the existence of the heart beat and pulse, the process of breathing in and out and the processes of evacuation of the bowels, all signify the existence of ‘LIFE’. In contrast ‘DEATH’ is followed by the disintegration of the body.
What then is this ‘LIFE PRINCIPLE’? Why is it absent in many parts of the manifest universe?
This aspect of ‘LIFE’ is called ‘PRANA’ in the ancient scriptures. It is definitely not a ‘MATERIAL’ phenomenon which can be measured by any kind of instrumentation known to man.
Thus, in addition to the existence of the five Basic Elements, PRANA is a sixth ‘SUBTLE’ element. The word ‘SUBTLE’ is chosen to signify that it is incapable of being observed or measured by any of the ten organs of man. Its presence can only be inferred by the resultant behavior of a plant, animal or human being.
This leads us to the realization that perhaps more phenomena of a ‘SUBTLE’ nature exist than experienced by the sense organs.
One can consider that, like the manifest physically cognizable universe, there exists a ‘SUBTLE’ universe, which is invisible to the sense organs but whose existence can be cognized or inferred from certain phenomena observable by the sense organs.
Prana, Mind and Intellect can be said to be the three such ‘Subtle’ elements comprising an ‘invisible’ universe. This invisible or subtle universe exists externally (to the human being) and internally (within the human being).
Just as the sense organs are the connection between the human body and the external universe, similarly the process of breathing, the process of thinking and the process of awareness are the links between the internal ‘subtle’ human system and the external ‘subtle’ universe.
Of these, ‘BREATHING’ is a very important process and a link. It interconnects the ‘PRANA CENTER’ in the human being to the ‘UNIVERSAL PRANA’. The living being, humans, animals and plants, alike, draw sustenance for life through breathing, eating and drinking. Prana permeates the universe, in all its aspects. It is available in all that is manifested, solid, liquid, gas and energy forms. It is most easily and readily accessible through the atmosphere and hence, for the living being, breathing is a key process through which it absorbs Prana and , so to speak, recharges its Pranic Center.
If the living being is deprived of food and liquid, it can still survive as a living being, if air is available. If air is not available the living being will soon ‘DIE’. This could mean that the Pranic Center in the living being which makes it ‘ALIVE’ needs to be continuously kept re-charged, as it were, from the external Prana.
Just as the umbilical cord is the indispensable conduit of life-giving sustenance to the embryo, growing in the mother’s womb, similarly the process of breathing is the indispensable conduit of life-giving sustenance to the living being. The physical umbilical cord which is cut off on the birth of the baby is replaced by the ‘BREATHING UMBILICAL CORD’ which is subtle.
The ‘PRANA CENTER’ in the human being is closely linked to the ‘MIND CENTER’ and ‘CONSCIOUSNESS CENTER’. Prana, Mind and Consciousness are all, so to speak, located at the same center, and they are closely interrelated and bound to each other. This integrated center of ‘LIFE’ in the human being is called ‘HRUDAYA’ or ‘HEART’ in the ancient scriptures. The Hrudaya is subtle in nature unlike the physical ‘heart’ which lies on the left side of a human being, for example, and is responsible for the circulation of blood.
The subtle ‘Hrudaya’ is responsible for giving life to the mass of matter called a body and for ensuring all ‘life-sustaining’ processes such as blood circulation, breathing, evacuation, digestion and also all mental, emotional and intellectual activities.
These processes are said to be controlled, actuated and regulated by different subtle aspects of ‘Prana’ called the Five Pranas, namely, Prana, Apana, Udana, Vyana and Samana. Prana is subtly responsible for all body activities and mind activities. Thus in one ancient school of thought the human system is conceived to be several layers or KOSHAS, called the
ANNAMAYA KOSHA or Physical Body
PRANAMAYA KOSHA or Prana Layer
MANOMAYA KOSHA or Mind Layer
VIGNANAMAYA KOSHA or Experience Layer (Intellect)
ANANDAMAYA KOSHA or Bliss Layer.
We will now further examine this concept.
The physical body and the mind are kept ‘alive’, so to speak, by the Prana. Hence this PANCHAKOSHA definition of the human system describes Prana as in between the body and the mind and thus energizing and activating both aspects. The experience gathered through interaction with the world by the body and the mind is stored and retained as memory in the Vignanamayakosha. This layer includes the associated analytical abilities. All three subtle aspects, that is, Prana, Mind and Intellect-Memory-Experience are located in the Hrudaya.
Beyond this center, and in fact, the subtlest cause of everything is the Consciousness Principle and is here called the Anandamayakosha. Pure Awareness is inherently Blissful. Pure Awareness is characterized by a condition of Bliss, Perfect Peace and Pure Love. This is a state of EXISTENCE and the subtlest TRUTH behind all that is manifest.
This type of description of the human system is also described as SHARIRAS or bodies in another school of ancient thought. This lays out the Physical Body or STHULA SHARIRA, the Subtle Body or SUKSHMA SHARIRA and the raison d’etre , the Inner Cause of all that is Manifest, the KARANA SHARIRA.
In the Sloka 5 of the Upadesa SAram, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi describes the Manifest world as comprising the Eight fold Integrated Deities or Aspects. What are these?
They are:
The Body and the Material World (built of the Five Elements)
The Mind
The Intellect and Experience
The Prana
The eighth aspect is here above indicated as Prana. Several interpretations substitute Ego-consciousness, Time and in one case, the Officiating Priest instead of Prana.
These eight fold components of the human system also apply, on a global basis to the whole of the created universe. It will thus be observed that the created universe comprises not only the Manifest universe (formed by the permutations and combinations of the five elements and Prana) but also comprises the Unmanifest or Invisible universe. Indeed it is clear that the Unmanifest Universe may be much more in content than the Manifest.
The Purusha Suktam, which is one of the world’s oldest treatises on creation, and is present in all the Vedas, talks of the Four Padas ( quarters) comprising the physical, subtle or mental, the soul or supersubtle and the underlying basis or Brahman. The Omkara or Pranava symbol also talks of the three levels of creation, the Bhu (physical), Bhuvaha (subtle or mental) and the Suvaha (soul or supersubtle) levels.
Bhagavan emphasizes that the universe that one experiences is a complex combination of the eightfold or fourfold or threefold or fivefold aspects, whichever way one wants to view and understand it. It is inherently Divine and one Sadhana that he also explains is to relate to the universe as Divine. This is Seva and it is a form of Worship.
Sloka 5 reemphasizes the concept of NishkAma Karma which was talked about in the context of Sloka 4. Life is a series of activities. One needs to consider everything one does as Worship of the Divine. In particular, the elements that comprise the physical universe are Divine, the Mind and minds that one experiences are Divine, the intellectual analysis one encounters is Divine and life in every form is Divine.
Such an attitude prepares one for further progress towards the Truth. Living in the full consciousness of Divinity is the best Sadhana. Baba called it ‘Paropakara’ which He explained as ‘Para meaning God, Upa meaning near to and Kara meaning work’. This term is often translated as ‘Working for the benefit of others’ but in the light of Baba’s interpretation it means ‘Working to be near to God’. This means considering the whole world as Divine. That is Seva in its purest form.
This last month has been a revelation to me personally of the value and the beauty of Seva as Sadhana. I pray that all of you may benefit from such an experience and enjoy the Bliss that descends on one who is immersed in it.
Today is the sacred festival of Deepavali or Diwali when one lights the lamp of wisdom in one’s heart to dispel the gloom and darkness of ignorance. I will separately be sharing a collection of interpretations by Baba with all of you.
All my love and God Bless and Sairam




http://www.saibabaofindia.com/Grama-Seva-2010-Puttaparthi.htm
http://www.freewebs.com/fort-samithi/prasanthi-seva.htm

HOW WORK IS PERFORMED

UPADESHA SARAM
SLOKA 4
HOW KARMA IS PERFORMED
Kaaya Vangmanaha Karyamuththamam
Poojanam Japaschinthanam Kramath
Kaaya – the body
Vak –speech, language, talk, words
Manaha ( manas) – mind
Karya – what ought to be done, performed
Uthamam – best, excellent, foremost, highest
Poojanam – worshipping, adoring
Japa – repeating or muttering prayers in an undertone, repeating passages of the Veda or names of deities
Chintanam – thinking
Kramath – gradually, in step by step, progressively
The best action (or work) is performed by the body, the power of speech and the mind (respectively) to carry out worship (of a deity) and( then) to repeat prayers ( or incantations) and (further) to meditate in a step by step ( and progressive) manner.

THE NATURE OF WORK OR KARMA
Indian philosophy considers work (karma) from several angles. It is interesting to look at these viewpoints so we develop deeper insights into the wealth of meaning enclosed in Bhagavan’s apparently simple statements.
• KARMA FROM THE VEDIC VIEWPOINT.

As we have discussed already, the Vedas comprise basically two sections, the Karma Kanda and the Jnana Kanda. The Karma Kanda looks at work or karma primarily from a duty viewpoint.
Action or Work in human life is considered to be of two types: loukika
and aloukika.
Loukika work is work performed in the temporal world for material benefits and survival.
Aloukika work is work performed for spiritual benefits. This type of work is itself classified into two types: nithya and naimithika.
Nithya karma is work performed as a routine everyday and mainly comprises sandhya vandanam, simple puja to one’s favorite deity, prayers during bath, prayers before meals and prayers before sleep. This is conditioned by one’s family traditions, the prevailing culture in society, the traditions of a country and the religion to which one belongs. The nithya karma is meant to help a person maintain contact with the Divine Principle.
Naimithika karma is the performance of rituals in accordance with one’s family tradition and one’s religion and generally covers three important components:
-Duty to one’s forefathers, the pitrus;
-Duty to Gods or the Divinity inherent in various aspects of life, the devas;
-Duty to all other living organisms in the environment, bhutas.
Loukika karma is the work that one performs in the course of one’s studies and as part of one’s career. This work is colored with the need for survival, for ensuring material benefits, and involves interacting with the world in many ways.
Every religion has its own interpretation of nithya and naimithika karmas. Many of these practices have fallen into disuse over the centuries because the teachers in the religion have not been able to explain the meaning and utility of these practices. India has been singularly fortunate in continuing the practice of Vedic practices in spite of foreign onslaughts and the infusion of foreign cultural practices. This is because of the existence of the system of Gurukula or the ‘tradition of the teacher’. The teachers are enjoined by the Vedas to preserve, practice, teach, interpret, and inculcate the Vedic practices. The teacher or the Guru is considered as equivalent to the Divine Principle and through such highly educated and accomplished teachers, the system of Vedic practices has remained intact through generations. People were chosen for this duty based on their knowledge, their aptitude, and their insight.
(From time to time through history these positions were taken by less accomplished men or ambitious men or politically inclined persons. During these times the system tended to be misused and misinterpreted. However every time such an eventuality occurred, there was a Divine intervention. Buddha was a rebel who refused to accept the Vedic teachers probably because the system had developed fissures. Sri Sankara was another rebel who questioned the Buddhists whose system had developed inconsistencies. The Purana describes the case of Prince Prahalada who questioned the obduracy and attitude of his own father, Hiranyakashipu. Another important case is of the King Bali who refused to accept the injunction of his Guru, the sage Shukracharya and submitted to the Divine Incarnation, Vamana. When the Vedic practices were on the brink of destruction by King Kamsa, the Divine Principle incarnated as Sri Krishna and re-established the supremacy of the Vedic way of life. Such instances are seen in the case of other religions as well, such as the intervention of Martin Luther when the Christian Catholic Church was beset with corrupt practices.)
• THE KARMA YOGA OF SRI KRISHNA
About 5000 years ago, a new interpretation of the Vedic Karma Kanda was promulgated by Sri Krishna. This is recorded by Sri Veda Vyasa in the famous Bhagavat Gita, the Song of the Lord, where Sri Krishna’s philosophy is set in 700 stanzas. In this treatise, Sri Krishna describes the concept of Karma Yoga. When Sri Krishna uses the term Karma, He covers both the aloukika (spiritual) and loukika (material) forms of work. He cannot be said to be talking only of the spiritual practices.
He essentially differentiates between kamya (desire-driven) and nishkama (desire-less) work.
Kamya karma seeks a result, a reward and a return. Kamya karma is
motivated and driven by desire for something.
Nishkama karma is totally desire-less and driven more by a sense of
duty than desire.

Many Vedic practices can have a clear favorable result envisaged as the objective. Yagnas and Yagas are known to be related to the birth of progeny or the urgent need for rainfall. The Putrakameshti Yaga performed by King Dasharatha was for the clear purpose of progeny. Similarly the Rajasuya Yaga performed by Yudishtara was for the purpose of establishing his right over a territory and to elicit the acceptance of his peers to his supremacy. Another instance of the performance of a complex Vedic Yaga for the explicit purpose of establishing the supremacy of a King is the performance of the Ashwamedha Yaga by Sri Rama when He was challenged by His own sons, Lava and Kusha. There are countless Vedic practices listed and given in detail in the Karma Kanda of the Vedas for clearly result – oriented purposes.
Just as the Roman Catholic Church started focusing on the material aspect of its practices involving money, and the Jewish Temples started demanding the sacrifice of animals at a tremendous cost to the ordinary devotee (that resulted in the denunciation of the practice by Jesus), so can a powerful priestly class learned in the Vedas take advantage of the ordinary devotee.
There are two aspects to the performance of ritual practices, that is, the performer of the ritual (yajamana) and the counselor or adviser (purohita). They are both important for the successful implementation of the ritual. Normally, Vedic tradition advises the performance of a particular ritual in a specific manner for the fulfillment of the purpose of life for the yajamana and his family. Nearly 40 different practices are enjoined on a householder in the course of his life. This advice ensures the fulfillment of the householder’s duties to the three groups, the pitrus, the devas and the bhutas. This ensures the stability of the universe. The role of the purohita is to advise the yajamana on the correct practice in all its aspects. In this pristine form, the ritual is nishkama or desire-less as it only seeks the natural stability of the universe in all its aspects.
However, when the greed for power becomes the motivation as in the case of Kamsa who usurped the throne from his father and wanted to get his accession constitutionally ratified by a Vedic practice, or the case of Hiranyakashipu who wanted to perpetuate his own name as the preferred deity in place of Vishnu, or the case of Ravana who wanted to get Sita’s acceptance of his overlordship, then the same Vedic practice becomes malafide and kamya.
Similarly, if the adviser or counselor becomes greedy and wants to make money out of the performance of a ritual by an ignorant devotee who is fearful of the consequences of failure to do so, then the ritual becomes kamya.
In focusing on the question of kama (desire) and nishkama (desirelessness), Sri Krishna brings up the question of ‘motive’ in the Bhagavat Gita.
The performance of Vedic practices is important for the stability, the balance and the prosperity of the world and the universe. That is the raison d’être for the householder who earns and spends for the benefit of his family and the world at large. The grihastha (householder) is the bulwark for the maintenance of the purohita class and for their upkeep and their continued knowledge and performance of Vedic practices. Both have to work selflessly without a tinge of greed or personal aggrandizement. Such nishkama work is enjoined and upheld by Sri Krishna as the most important duty of both.
Both performers use their body, their speech and their mind to ensure that the Vedic practice is performed in the right manner.
Indeed the same conditions apply to aloukika or materialistic work too. Every action has to be considered as a duty to be performed selflessly. This is the message of Sri Krishna, Bhagavan Sri Ramana and indeed Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

• THE ROLE OF THE BODY, SPEECH AND THE MIND


The ancient analysis of the human body is to define his body in terms of ORGANS OF PERCEPTION (Jnanendriyas) and ORGANS OF ACTION (Karmendriyas). Both are five in number, that is, there are five organs of perception and five organs of action.
PERCEPTION ACTION
1 Ears ( sound) Hands (to write, eat, hold,work)
2 Eyes (form, light) Legs ( to stand,walk, lift, push)
3 Mouth (taste) Mouth (to eat, drink, speak)
4 Nose (smell) Genitals (to urinate, reproduction)
5 Skin (touch) Anus ( to excrete)

Each of the organs of perception are designed to identify, be sensitive to and experience a specific aspect of the manifest universe.
These characteristics of the manifest universe are called TANMATRAS or VISHAYAS. Each specific characteristic is present in nature because of a specific component. The manifest universe is said to be a combination of five basic elements or building blocks called the PANCHA MAHABHUTAS. The material universe is a wonderful and multifaceted set of permutations and combinations in all sorts of myriad ways of the Pancha Mahabhutas.
Each Mahabhuta is distinctly characterised by a specific Tanmatra or Vishaya. Also the Pancha Mahabhutas are themselves evolved from each other in a specific way and are thus closely interrelated.
This declension and derivation is as follows:
Pancha Mahabhuta Derived as Tanmatra/Vishaya
1 Akasha (Basic Space) Akasha Sound
2 Vayu ( Basic Air-Gas-Vapour) 1/2 Akasha +1/2 Vayu Touch
3 Teja (Basic Energy,Heat,Light) 1/2 Vayu + 1/2 Teja Sight, Form , Light
4 Jala( Basic Liquid) 1/2 Teja +1/2 Jala Taste
5 Prithvi (Basic Solid ) 1/2 Jala + 1/2 Prithvi Smell
Thus solid manifestation incorporates all the Mahabhutas in differing degrees. All solids display smell, taste, form( or color), texture(or touch) and sound (or vibration).
The liquid manifestation incorporates all except the Prithvi or solid Tattva ( or Principle). Hence all liquids display taste, form (or color), touch ( or feel) and sound (or vibration).
The energy manifestation incorporates only three Mahabhutas, that is, light ( or color), touch( or feel) and sound( or vibration).
The air manifestation incorporates touch ( or feel) and sound ( or vibration).
The basic space manifestation is pure space and carries only vibrations of sound.
Most of the material world that we experience in our day to day life comprises the Prithvi Tattva and hence almost everything we experience gives us all sensory experiences like smell,taste, color, or light(form), touch and sound.
Pure distilled water may come closest to the Basic Jala Tattva and not have smell. Pure light or heat may come close to the Basic Teja Tattva and not have smell or taste. Pure air, as met with at very high altitudes will have only touch.
All aspects of the manifest world have the Akasha Tattva and hence conduct sound vibrations. Thus sound is considered a means of interpenetrating the whole of manifest creation. This gives a clue to the importance given to sound in the Vedas and the Mantras contained therein.
The human being, like many other forms of creation, is thus endowed with the inherent power to produce sound. The sound issues forth from the mouth and is conditioned by his vocal chords, the movement of his tongue, the movement and position of his lips and the volume of air he pushes out from his throat.
Man can perform a variety of actions with various parts of his body. In addition, he is capable of producing a variety of sounds from his mouth. The mouth is both an organ of perception (taste) and an organ of action (sound). The Sanskrit word for the voice of man is VAK.
The five organs of perception and the five organs of action work closely together to help man live his life. Thus with the organs of perception taking in stimuli and the organs of action giving out stimuli, man coordinates his life.
This coordination of perception and action, the eye and the hand, the ear and the voice, the taste and the hands, and so on takes place through the power of MIND.
The whole body, with its ten organs, acts through instantaneous messages through myriad nerves connected to the brain. The brain in turn is activated by the mind.

• THE MIND
MIND is a complex concept. There are many facets and generally, when one uses the word ‘Mind’ one means a composite of all these facets. What are these facets?
The first facet of Mind is THOUGHTS. Mind is described as continually thinking thoughts. Thoughts of one kind or another are continually streaming through the Mind. Ancient scriptures compare the stream of thoughts to an unending flow of oil.
Thoughts have ‘content’ and ‘feeling’. Content (or matter or facts or data) is like the texture of a material. Feeling (or emotions) is like the color. Every thought is inextricably associated with a feeling.

The next facet of the Mind is MEMORY. Memory is stored thoughts, and like all thoughts, it has content and feeling. This stored memory could be from experiences of this lifetime or it could also include experiences of previous lives. Memory can enter the thought stream in the waking condition. One can recall memories consciously when awake. Memory can enter the thought stream in sleep. The stream of thoughts, including content and feelings, experienced in sleep is called DREAM.
The next facet of the Mind is INTELLECT. Intellect is an inherent capacity to organize, categorize, analyze, correlate, infer (or draw conclusions), and sort out. The intellect watches the thought stream and examines the content and is continually analyzing.
The intellect is like a tape-recorder. It can move back and forth, and examine even the stored memories, to the extent they are accessible, and analyze them.
The next facet of the Mind is WILL or CONSCIOUSNESS or AWARENESS. This is an awesome all-encompassing power which makes a person aware of his thoughts, his feelings, triggers off the intellect to analyze, understand, categorize, compare, etc. And it has the power to induce a decisive ability to decide, to weigh and take a decision. Consciousness is aware of wakefulness and dreams. A person will wake up from sleep and will be ‘aware’ that he was dreaming. This awareness is consciousness.
As a person lives his life, watching the world, reading, learning and so on, he accumulates ‘knowledge’ which is thoughts and their associated feelings and intellectual categorization, analysis and cataloguing of the thoughts and a total awareness of this process. With passage of time and through the process of living, he ‘gains’ in knowledge, he becomes more and more aware. All this awareness is truly the development of his mind. The world remains the same. His mind develops.
Ancient scriptures, for convenience of understanding, use discrete terminology for these different aspects of the mind:
MANAS being thoughts and feelings;
CHITTHA being stored memories of thoughts and feelings;
BUDDHI being intellect; and
PRAGNYA being awareness.
It is found that the human being tends over his lifetime to develop a concept of ‘SELF – AWARENESS’. He develops a feeling of separate individuality. He thinks of himself as a separate entity, with a name and form, as a man or woman, as a student, as a son, a husband, a father, a professional, and so on. Many many facets of his individuality, his body, his color, his thoughts, his feelings, his stored knowledge, his ability to analyze and so on form a multi-faceted person. This is called ‘PERSONALITY’. Each individual thinks of himself as a unique separate person. He is able to differentiate himself from all other persons, and he is able to identify himself uniquely in the world. This is called ‘INDIVIDUATION’. It creates a perception of separateness, a special identity, and this is another aspect of the mind and is called EGO or EGO CONSCIOUSNESS or AHAMKARA.

Ahamkara may be said to stem from the two roots, Aham (self) and kaara (making, doing, performing, working, maker, doer, author). It is described as the ‘sense of individuality’ or ‘I-am-the-doer’-ship. As a compound word, it is also defined as ‘egotism, sense of self, self-love’ and is considered as avidya or spiritual ignorance in Vedanta. It is described in SAnkhyA philosophy as the third of the eight producers or elements of creation, that is, the conceit or conception of individuality.
This sense of individuality is impressed on the human being practically from the instant of birth. Apart from this, the new born carries within itself the collection of impressions of past lives. It is possible that the child derives a sense of individuality by virtue of genetic inheritance from the parents. Ahamkara is a kind of self-consciousness which arises from three causes, viz, impressions of past births, inheritance from parents ( and their own past impressions) and the external environment where it lives and grows. This feeling of ‘separateness’ throws up the positive emotions of desire, attachment, and pride and the negative feelings of anger, jealousy and hatred. In a way, these six feelings are internally complementary, that is, desire (and its non-fulfillment causing anger), attachment (and its non-reciprocation causing hatred) and pride (and its non-recognition causing jealousy). These six elements of Ahamkara are many times called the ‘six enemies (kama, krodha, moha, lobha, mada, and matsarya).
Ahamkara is an integral and finely interwoven aspect of the mind and is closely interrelated and intermingled with intellect, thoughts and memories. It propels the mind and is in turn energized by external experiences gathered through the organs of perception.

• WORSHIP AS WORK



Man’s actions can be said to be of two types, AUTOMATIC (or programmed or instinctive) and CONSCIOUS (or deliberate and thought out). All actions which emanate from the body, speech and thinking based on Karma or impressions can be said to be of the automatic type. Bhagavan has already indicated in the first two slokas that such automatic or instinctive actions result in further addition to the bundle of Karmas or Impressions, described by Him as an ocean and result in more and more unpredictability in life, and the possibility of disappointments and misery. These disappointments cause the six emotions of Ahamkara to be further fuelled and this only results in an endless series of births.
However, all actions that emanate from an Awareness of the Omnipotence of the Divine Principle to guide the universe tend to cleanse the entire human system. Actions based on Awareness of the Divine Principle necessarily have to be dedicated to the Divine Principle. Such actions dedicated to the ‘ALL-MIGHTY’ or God, is known as WORSHIP, whether by the body, speech or mind.
The worship by the body is called PUJA;
The worship by the speech is called JAPA;
The worship by the mind is called DHYANA.
Such God-conscious performance of work is possible only by consciously turning the awareness away from the external world, from the perceptions of the organs of perception, from the thoughts that derive from such perceptions, the intellectual tendency to analyze everything and the perception of individuality and separateness.
Action that takes place with one’s awareness centered on God within is termed ‘DESIRELESS ACTION’ or ‘AHMAKARA-LESS ACTION’. This applies to the actions of body, speech and mind. Mind, in fact, energizes speech and the body and propels their performance. Thus directing the Mind to God will automatically re-orient the speech and body. Thus, starting with making the body worship God, one progresses to making the speech worship God and finally progresses to directing the mind towards God.
Mental worship is by far the most potent action. Mental worship is called ‘INCESSANT CONTEMPLATION OF GOD’ or ‘MEDITATION’. Bhagavan categorically indicates that of all three types of action, Meditation on God is most preferable and is most helpful to the human being in achieving the key objective of human life which is ‘REALIZATION OF’ or ‘MERGING WITH’ or ‘ABIDING IN’ the God Principle.
Bhagavan thus describes the concept of ‘EXCELLENCE IN WORK’ and smoothly progresses to the concept of ‘EXCELLENCE IN THOUGHT’.
The same idea is repeatedly mentioned by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavat Gita.
“Ananyas Chintayanto Mam ....” - continually thinking of Me
“Mayi Sarvani Karmani ....” sacrificing all your actions to Me
So one can say, THOUGHTFUL ACTION is better than THOUGHTLESS ACTION. The thought we are referring to is ‘The thought of God’.
This instruction thus clarifies that both the aloukika and loukika types of action need to be centered on God. When all action is centered on God, then automatically it becomes nishkama in nature and will not generate any karmas or vAsanAs.
One can thus say with conviction that there is only one type of work and that can be called ‘dharmya karma’. Dharma is the definition of God in day to day life. Follow your Dharma and do your work. You will surely succeed in the one and only objective of this human life, Moksha. We will have to wait for a future opportunity to examine what is Dharma in life.



On the first day of September, as this edition of our blog gets hopefully uploaded, we will celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival of the Son of Shiva (or Brahman) and Parvathi (or Nature). Who is this Son? None other than you yourself, the resplendent Human Being!!! Think over the symbolism of Ganesha the elephant-headed God. Did you realize that the Human Being with his great Intellect is Ganesha? Let the great head which symbolizes your intellect be conscious of your father, Brahman-Shiva and your mother, Prakriti-Parvathi always and you will be surprised how you succeed in your pursuits in the world as well as in your spiritual pursuits. No obstacle will ever deter you. No attachment will ever deflect you. You will always be self controlled and righteous. You will find solutions for all the world’s problems. And you will be an example, a model for everyone for all time!

All my Love, God Bless and Sairam

THE CONCEPT OF FREEDOM AND IMMORTALITY

UPADESA SARAM SLOKA 3 - FREEDOM AND IMMORTALITY

THE CONCEPT OF FREEDOM
This month ,on August 15, we in India celebrate the 64th anniversary of the attainment of freedom and the formation of the sovereign democratic nation called India. Prior to this date this sub-continent belonged to a variety of sovereign countries, big and small. The largest part of the sub-continent was ruled by the Government of Great Britain. Most of this part accrued to them as a result of military conquest. Some parts came to them through various forms of accession, some voluntary and some under political pressure. There were small parts ruled by France and Portugal. The rest comprised nearly 850 independent monarchies of different sizes and all with separate treaties with Great Britain.
The nationalistic movement originated largely in the British ruled areas which were called Presidencies. The overall administration was carried out by the office of the Viceroy or Governor-General who derived his authority from the British Crown and was accountable to the British Parliament. The Governor-General had his own staff and an Imperial Council to advise him. Originally the offices of the Governor-General were located in Calcutta ( now renamed Kolkatta). However in the early years of the 20th century the capital was transferred to New Delhi which was the traditional capital of earlier empires.



Mahatma Gandhi was largely responsible for creating and inspiring the nationalistic movement. He transformed the Indian National Congress, a creation of the British, to become a political entity to represent Indian national interests. He conceived of the idea of Swaraj or Self – Rule. Today he is considered to be a political figure who challenged the British and made them transfer their possessions to an Indian political entity. However his concept of Swaraj was intrinsically based on the Indian scriptures. The term ‘Swa’ in the Vedic terminology stands for the ‘Self’ or ‘Atma’ which is another term for God or Brahman. The term ‘Rajya’ stands for ‘rule’ or ‘management’ or ‘administration’. So his concept of Swaraj meant ‘Rule of God’.
He was an intensely spiritual person and a catholic admirer of everything spiritual. He admired the teachings of Jesus as given in the Holy Bible. He also studied and practiced the precepts taught by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavat Gita. He was perfectly comfortable with Islam and its precepts. He refused to wear his beliefs on his sleeve, as it were. He simply put the ideas into practice in the form of his ‘Satyagraha’ movement, his emphasis on Truth, Love and Compassion, his agitation for the freedom of any devotee from any class of society to enter and worship in a temple, his emphasis on simple living and high thinking, his demand for equal rights for women, his emphasis on the upliftment and education of the socially depressed classes, his simplicity and austerity.


Jawaharlal Nehru - the Visionary to whom I owe my education in the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur in West Bengal and who laid the foundation for the industrial infrastructure of India which carved out my career-
"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom." - the beginning of the speech that Nehru made at midnight on August 15, 1947.

Inspired by him and guided by him, stalwarts such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and countless others, evolved the concept of a unified country to be called ‘India’ or ‘Bharat’. The British did not understand this concept because they had experienced only the divisiveness of Indians during their rule and had probably exploited this divisiveness to their political advantage. The division of the sub-continent into two sovereign nations called India and Pakistan was the result. Notwithstanding this difficult situation the Indian leaders proceeded to create systematically a Constituent Assembly representing the whole polity from both the British ruled and the non-British ruled territories and evolved a written Constitution of India and the concept of a sovereign, democratic, secular republic with full adult franchise and with a federal structure where the territories were ruled by local governments called ‘States’ which were accountable to a Central Federal Government in New Delhi which in turn was accountable to a freely elected Parliament. The saga of the creation of India is a wonderful story by itself.
Many families in India were involved in one way or another in this saga. My own family, particularly on my father’s side, were deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and the freedom struggle. My paternal grandfather, Sri Vangal Muthuswamy Iyer, was a great admirer of Gandhi and the elder brothers of my father were Congressmen who gave up lucrative careers and education during the Civil Disobedience movement in 1929. My father was denied entry into the ICS ( Indian Civil Service) when the authorities discovered that the brilliant young man who had performed outstandingly in the written examinations was related to people who were currently in jail. I was named ‘Mohan’ after Gandhiji. I was born in 1939 on the eve of the Second World War and in the midst of the tumult of the final phase of the freedom struggle. Ironically my father finally found employment under the British in a gold mining company in Kolar Gold Fields, about 100 km north east of Bangalore and my earliest education was almost entirely in English and my earliest friends were all English kids. I am still most comfortable in the English language, my pretensions to knowledge of Tamil and Sanskrit notwithstanding.


Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - The Man of Steel -On truth
"I cannot speak anything but the truth. I cannot turn back on my duty, just to please some one."

I was blessed with a student of history as my wife and her father was deeply interested in world developments in history, constitutional law and sociology. I discovered a lot about the world and about Great Britain and India as a result and understanding the roots of present day civilizations is a topic of abiding interest.
All this is of interest because there is so much confusion in the world at large and in Indian polity and society in particular today. There are many critics and some cynics. What we are observing the world over is the cost of freedom. Whether in the US or in the UK or in India we notice that people seem to have taken the freedom that they enjoy to extremes of selfishness and self aggrandizement. One even hears of the misuse of the freedom of speech and of the press itself. The actual truth is hidden behind layers of untruth, half truths and confabulations and confusion.
The Sadhana that is taught by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi deals with this very aspect of human personality in the Upadesa Saram. All the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Sathya Sai Baba are similar and point in the same direction.
Indian thought says that the very reason for human birth is to attain ‘freedom’ which is called ‘ Moksha’ or ‘Mukti’. Some people may consider that it is perfectly acceptable to attain something great by dubious means and that one may seem to get away with it for some time, often for a lifetime. However this way of living is fraught with danger. Bhagavan calls it an ocean of misery. One day or the other one is bound to be found out and then follows only misery for oneself and for one’s family.
So although we attained political freedom as a result of the efforts of stalwarts such as Mahatma Gandhi we have not individually understood that he was only setting the stage, preparing us , giving us an opportunity to discover true ‘freedom’ , the ‘freedom of the spirit’. That was what he meant by ‘Swarajya’. We are still bound by our lusts, our desires, our wants and we take all sorts of dubious steps to attain the fulfillment of those desires. We lose touch with the ‘Swa’ in us and are attracted by the lure of wealth, possessions and money. Today countries are facing problems because their overall objective became ‘money at any cost’. Eminent professionals are behind bars facing legal problems.
Society comprises individuals. Families comprise individuals. It is of utmost importance today for every individual to understand what Bhagavan Sri Ramana is saying and work on himself or herself. He/she has to willingly, voluntarily, give up such desires and opt to sacrifice such comforts for the common good. We need to come to terms with the concept of God, with the law of nature and karma, with the methodology of morality and ethics and the greater good, with simplicity , austerity, with cleanliness of everything we touch and experience, with the concept of purity, of unity and divinity. Such is the significance of ‘Independence Day’ which falls on August 15 and the Independence Days of all nations as and when they occur. Our leaders need to understand the precepts of the Vedas, of the teachings of saints and realized souls like Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi. We need to find that little time to read, think over, contemplate and understand these concepts. Above all, we need to start, in howsoever small a way to put these ideas into practice. I urge you all to think over this, give up your cynicism and make a start to practise yourselves. Because when individuals transform, then families transform. When families transform, then society transforms. When society transforms then nations transform.
So make a beginning on this Independence Day!!!!

Let us see what Bhagavan has to say in Sloka 3…….

THE ATTAINMENT OF FREEDOM - Sloka 3 -

Iswara Arpitam Nechchaya Krutham
Chitta Shodakam Mukti Sadhakam

Iswara - The Supreme God
Arpitam - (arpanam) - Giving, offering, giving back (dedicating , sacrificing )
Na - without
Ichchaya - (ichcha) - wish, desire, will - at will
Krutam - (kruti) - action, deed
Chitta - the mind, reasoning faculty- also the heart considered as the seat of the intellect
Shodaka - Purificatory, cleansing, corrective
Mukti -release, liberation, deliverance, freedom, emancipation, salvation
SAdh - complete, finish, accomplish, achieve, gain, secure, obtain, (sadhaka - accomplishing, fulfilling, completing)

Action ( or work) offered ( dedicated) ( as worship) to God ( or the Supreme Spirit) without any desire ( or wish) ( for results or fruits) cleanses ( or purifies) the mind ( or memory or consciousness) ( thus eliminating the effects or impressions of past actions and countless lives) and the achievement ( or fulfillment or accomplishing ) of freedom ( or liberation or emancipation or deliverance) ( from future births).

God or the Divine Principle manifests Itself in multitudinous forms, both living and non-living. Each manifest form is thus a particle or part or aspect of God. The manifested form then proceeds to evolve Itself through a series of further manifestation.

The non-living manifestation appears to remain unchanged for extremely long periods of time. As the manifested form evolves into other forms, the period of such manifestation or the life tenure, as it may be called, appears to become shorter. In the ultimate crowning manifestation called the human being the life span currently averages about a hundred years.

From the instant of first manifestation, that part of God, appears to be given a unique identity or identification, in the Divine system. This identity is often called the JIVA or JIVATMA especially when it reaches the stage of manifestation as a living being. Thus right from plants to bacteria to animals and birds, each manifestation can be said to be a unique specific recognizable Jiva. The Jiva is the repository of all impressions or effects collected during several births.

The Jiva is considered to be the subtlest innermost essence of any particular form and it carries with it the imprints or impressions of every birth. These imprints are collected in what is called the innermost unconscious or unknown recesses of its consciousness. This container of its identity and impressions is often called the Soul.

Each soul or Jiva, which is a minute part of God, thus progresses through the long and convoluted process or cycle of innumerable births in gradually evolving forms until it reaches the zenith of the evolutionary process and reaches birth as a human being.

By this time, the Soul or Jiva is completely encased, so to speak, in layers and layers of impressions collected in its evolutionary births. The human manifestation is significant for several reasons, foremost of them being the endowment of MIND, comprising THOUGHTS, INTELLIGENCE and CONSCIOUSNESS. This faculty in the human gives it a power of choice of orientation of its consciousness, outward in the world of Nature for its survival as a living entity, and inward into its own consciousness and towards the Soul.

As Man progresses through countless births as humans, he may many times progress and regress. Progress is defined as his evolving awareness that he is a part of God who encased within himself. Regression is defined as his continued involvement in the processes of survival in the world.

Ignorance is the characteristic of all forms of Nature, whether living or non-living. These forms expend their life times living according to their ‘nature’ that is, according to the programming of their system. This programming is called INSTINCT. Living by instinct is living in ignorance of one’s true nature which is Godliness or Divinity. All of Nature lives its life tenures in this ignorance. But Man is endowed with the power of choice to Illuminate himself with the knowledge or awareness of the Truth about himself, that his innermost core , his Soul or Jivatma, is a particle of Divinity.

All of Nature is actually Divine but is ignorant of this Truth. Man alone has the capability to become aware of this Truth that he and all Nature is Divine.

This awareness of the Truth of his own Divinity calls for his effort to remove the thick coverings of past impressions called Karma. The process of this struggle to remove the coverings is called SADHANA.

The opportunity to live and work is the opportunity provided to him for Sadhana. Work or action is the means to remove the coverings of past impressions or Karma.

Karma (action) removes Karma (impressions). As the coverings get loosened and fall away, Man’s innate Divinity stands revealed. This revelation of Divinity is called REALIZATION. When man realizes his true innermost nature or Divinity, he at once becomes free of all impressions, both past and in the future. In that pristine condition of purity, he becomes innately automatically and forever free of the possibility of ever absorbing any fresh impressions.

Thus the removal of these coverings of impressions is considered similar to the process of cleansing or purification.

Because past impressions cloud man’s awareness of his true state of pristine purity, they are called dirt or MALA. The condition of purity is called NIRMALA. The process of removal of the impurities is called PURIFICATION or CLEANSING.

But is the process of purification very simply just understanding this Truth? Is awareness of this Truth enough to ensure realization? Is awareness the same as realization?

When I am made aware of something do I automatically realize it?

Because man has to survive in the world he has to work or perform actions. Is all work capable of purifying man? Did we not say earlier that work or action creates effects or impressions? If, therefore, man is obliged to work or perform action for survival, then does he not collect more impressions and hence cover the Truth within himself even more? Then how can work liberate him from the coverings?

Liberation comes to man provided he works with a particular ATTITUDE OF MIND. That attitude is called a DIVINE or SPIRITUAL or GOD-ORIENTED Attitude. The Divine Attitude in man is that frame or condition of mind whereby he ACCEPTS that the entire manifest Universe is a manifestation of God; that he has evolved through countless births and lives from gross non-living forms through immobile living forms through a variety of mobile living forms to this present manifestation as man; and every result that he experiences in his life, every experience he has in the world, every encounter, every relationship, every act that happens is an ACT OF GOD; and thus, in this state of acceptance of the above precepts, when man works or acts or performs, thinking continually of God, offering every action of his to that Divinity, experiencing the whole world as God, then the effects of such God -dedicated acts of his only cleanse his own mind and internal system.

Thus Bhagavan states that all action of man, dedicated to God, without any trace of desire for result, cleanses man’s innermost consciousness, loosens and removes all coverings and helps him attain freedom from future births. The secret is ‘No desire for results’ and ‘everything is for God’.

May this awareness help each and every one of you to reach the goal of human life, which is MOKSHA or FREEDOM!!

Om Namo Bhagavathaye Ramanaya!!
OM SRI SAI RAM!!!