Ramanisblog

Tag: Religion & Spirituality

  • Devotion Out Of Fear Is Fine

    Recently I had been to Palani,Tamil Nadu for performing the hair Tonsuring Ceremony of my Grand daughter.

    Palani Temple,Tamil nadu
    Palani Temple

    My son who is neither a Believer nor a Non Believer, depends on his mood swings, as it is with most of us(only he is honest about it),as usual posed a question as to whether it is really Fear that impels one towards Devotion.

    This question has a bearing to his statement the earlier Day and my reply.

    He said he did not believe in Customs and is following because he is told so, so as not to offend me.

    I replied him that there are things one learns in Life by experiences and  times by paying a heavy price.

    It is better looking foolish than to suffer and regret.

    I also added, that , as far as visiting Temples to complete a Vow or a Family tradition,one must never set a time frame for completion of the Ceremony and for that matter visiting and darshan of God, when he asked me as to when we are expected to return after completion of the Ceremony, wanted a time frame.

    I narrated an earlier incident when I visited Tirupati to have a darshan of Lord Balaji along with my 8year Old Daughter and my nephew.

    My Nephew is quite religious and is a senior Guru for visiting Sabari malai, which he has been visiting yearly for over forty years regularly.

    While we were driving to Tirupati from Chennai he told me that ‘

    ‘Ramani, we need Five  hours to travel both ways, take one hour for darshan in Special Entrance, leave a buffer of  an hour and we should be back by

    One PM( we left Chennai by 6 AM)

    I told him not to set a time frame to the One who sets Time for Every One, that too, to Lord Venkateswara.

    He laughed off saying that I am a Superstitious Fool.

    We reached Tirupati, entered the Special Entrance, queue,into the Single lane fenced by iron barrier, from where one can not come back before the darshan is over.

    We were made to wait for Seventeen Hours to have the darshan .

    Imagine my plight as my daughter refused to get down from my Hips and I had  to attend to her calls of Nature, demand for Food!

    From that day I stopped even discussing the plans.

    As I remarked in one of my Posts, I leave for visiting Tempe,s with no fixed Plan and cover them as I go by and I have been Blessed with immediate and Easy darshan of the Deity, wherever I go.

    It was against this background my son told me that I follow Religious Rites, believe In God,being Spiritual because of Fear.

    I do not know.

    Fear of the Unknown is nothing to be ashamed of and I admit to being guilty of this.

    People do not admit it, I do.

    Thirukkural, a treatise in Tamil on par with The Bhagavad Gita says.

    அஞ்சுவ தஞ்சாமை பேதைமை யஞ்சுவ       அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சாமை பேதைமை அஞ்சுவது
    தஞ்ச லறிவார் தொழில் (08)                              அஞ்சல் அறிவார் தொழில்.
    இதன்பொருள்:
    அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சாமை பேதைமை- அஞ்சப்படுவதனை அஞ்சாமை பேதைமையாம்; அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சல் அறிவார் தொழில்- அவ்வஞ்சப்படுவதனை அஞ்சுதல் அறிவார் தொழிலாம்.
    It is Foolishness not to be afraid of what is to be afraid of.
    The Wise fear what is to be feared.
    The question as to why man believes in God is often explained as “Fear’ (in a derisive manner)
    All our actions are impelled by Emotions or Instincts.
    We eat because we are forced to eat because of Hunger, we have Sex because we expect pleasure.
    Similarly if one were to worship and Believe in God because of Fear, Be it.
    So long as  I am happy and believe that something bad will not happen to me and Good alone will result, it does not matter why I and what I believe in.
    Period.

  • I Never Get Freed AdiSankaracharya Nirvana Shatakam

    Bondage, be it at the Transient or the Transcendental Level, needs  two entities.

    One never gets Bonded or bonded to when only he Is Present.

    In Indian Philosophy even yearning for Realization causes Bondage!

    The fruit that accrues of it is  the eternal desire to be Free,

    So to be a fully Liberated Soul, one is not to yearn for Realization , it as a Goal.

    The goal is to be that of simply knowing One’s True Nature and not anything else.

    This is true Moksha or Nirvana.

    Unlike Buddhism the Nirvana is not Nihilistic,One Becomes a part of the Whole .

    Lord Nataraja
    Sivoham,Ananda Thandava of Siva

    The Part can not rejoice having become one for it has been the Whole all the while and the impression of being a Part  is a temporary Illusive Phenomena,necessitated by Ignorance, impelled by Karma Vaasana,Remnants of the results of actions performed .physically and mentally.

    Upon this Realization , verily there is No need for Freedom nor is there One really.

    This is what the Acharya says,

    अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकाररूपो
    विभुत्वाच्च सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम् ।
    न चासङ्गतं नैव मुक्तिर्न मेयः
    चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥६॥
    Aham Nirvikalpo Niraakaara-Ruupo
    Vibhu-Tvaacca Sarvatra Sarve[a-I]ndriyaannaam |
    Na Caa-Sanggatam Naiva Muktirna Meyah
    Cid-aananda-ruupah Shivo[a-A]ham Shivo[a-A]ham ||6||

    6.1: I am Without any Variation, and Without any Form,
    6.2: I am Present Everywhere as the underlying Substratum of everything, and behind all Sense Organs,
    6.3: Neither do I get Attached to anything, nor get Freed from anything,
    6.4: I am the Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva,
    The Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness.

    I have written on Niravana Shatakam with a few of the explanations I thought of.

    I am concluding this for the time being , I might post on the same later.

    For Adi Sankaracharya is an Ocean.

    You can drink as much as you can hold at a time.

    As in Life, the measure varies at different times.

    When I get some additional thoughts I shall post.

    In the meanwhile I conclude this with Shankaracharya’s concluding Sloka of Soundarya Lahari, where he beautifully illustrates the inadequacy of words!

    प्रदीप ज्वालाभि-र्दिवसकर-नीराजनविधिः
    सुधासूते-श्चन्द्रोपल-जललवै-रघ्यरचना ।
    स्वकीयैरम्भोभिः सलिल-निधि-सौहित्यकरणं
    त्वदीयाभि-र्वाग्भि-स्तव जननि वाचां स्तुतिरियम् ॥ 100 ॥

    “pradīpa jvālābhi-rdivasakara-nīrājanavidhiḥ
    sudhāsūte-ścandropala-jalalavai-raghyaracanā |
    svakīyairambhobhiḥ salila-nidhi-sauhityakaraṇaṃ
    tvadīyābhi-rvāgbhi-stava janani vācāṃ stutiriyam || 100 ||

    O Mother( the very source) of all words !  this hymn addressed to you with your own words is like doing neerajana to the Sun with the light of small lamps,  offering arghya  to the moon from the water of the moonstone and doingtarpan to the ocean by its own water.  [Note:  The sun is the source of all light which itself is used to worship the Sun.  The moonstone melts and becomes water in moonlight.]

    Related articles

  • No Guru Neither Disciple Sankaracharya

    I recall n incident form the Life Sri Ramana Maharishi.

    When Paul Brunton, Maharishi’s Biographer  requested Ramana to take him as His Disciple.

    Ramana Maharishi replied,

     

    Ramana Maharishi
    Sri Ramana Maharishi

    “Who is Guru and who is Sishya, every one has to seek one’s own Salvation’

     

    Height of Advaita.

     

    At the Paramaarthika, Transcendental Level, there is no Identity except being One, even this I am not sure whether a part can identify itself a part of the Whole.

     

    The World of Names and Forms are Real and Illusory, All at the same time, depends on one’s respective and stand point.

     

    Watch a child start expressing its likes and dislikes, especially of people.

     

    It expresses spontaneously without being able to rationalize.

     

    It forgets them as soon as people are out of sight.

     

    It lives in the present, no associations, consciously.

     

    Otherwise the Child is Full of Happiness or Bliss.

     

    Its smile conveys its Blissful State,especially when it is asleep.

     

    This is Ananda, unsullied by Impressions.

     

    This is Nirvana. The Original State.

     

    न मृत्युर्न शङ्का न मे जातिभेदः
    पिता नैव मे नैव माता न जन्मः ।
    न बन्धुर्न मित्रं गुरुर्नैव शिष्यं
    चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥५॥
    Na Mrtyur-Na Shangkaa Na Me Jaati-Bhedah
    Pitaa Naiva Me Naiva Maataa Na Janmah |
    Na Bandhurna Mitram Gurur-Na-Iva Shissyam
    Cid-Aananda-Ruupah Shivo[a-A]ham Shivo[a-A]ham ||5||

    Meaning:
    5.1: Neither am I bound by Death and its Fear, nor by the rules of Caste and its Distinctions,
    5.2: Neither do I have Father and Mother, nor do I have Birth,
    5.3: Neither do I have Relations nor Friends, neither Spiritual Teacher nor Disciple,
    5.4: I am the Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva,
    The Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness.

    Related articles

  • Six Systems Of Vedic Worship Sankaracharya

    Hinduism is like a Doctor, prescribes , but it leaves it to the individual to choose. as Hinduism is highly individualistic.

    There are thoughts from the Vedic Times which include Atheism of Charvaka,Materialism.

    Shanmatha
    Shanatha Of Sankaracharya

    One is left to choose what suits him the best.

    Even the Vedas have Karma Kanda(Details of Duties),Gnana Kanda(Path Of Knowledge)

    There is no recommendation of Idol Worship in The Vedas.

    This was a later development.

    All this had such an effect that people were following innumerable Gods and Goddesses,Minor Deities.

    There were no system of worship.

    To add to this muddle was the influence of Mimaamsa Philosophy which spoke of only Karma Kanda , with no reference to God.

    Then there was Buddhism and Jainism advocating Godlessness, Nireswaravada.

    Sankaracharya  came and reorganized the systems of worship.

    As indicated in my earlier post, they are six in number,

    Ganapathyam, The Worship of Loed Ganapathy,Ganesh.

    Ganapathy is referred to in the Vedas and we have Ganoponishad

    This has been given priority by Sankaracharya.

    Next is Soumaaram, Worship of Lord Suryanarayan, the Sun God.

    Surya is called’ ‘Prathyaksha Brahma’ ‘The Visible God’

    One tidbit on this.

    The concluding portion of Sandhyavandan , which is performed daily, was not found in the original text.

    ‘Nama Savitre Jagadeka Chakshushe…Kesavam Prathi gachchathi”

    This was included by Lord Krishna, when he performed the Grahana Tharpan, when it was not due and was taught to Yudhishtir>

    Kaumaaram, Worship of Lord Subramanya,

    Lord Subramanya is not mentioned in the Vedas.

    But Skanda is mentioned, this later became Subramanya.

    The meaning of the word Subramanya is The Best Brahmin , Brahmin being the one who realized The Reality,Brahman, for it was Lord Subramanya who explained Pranava , Om,to Lord Siva.

    Saivam,Woship of Lord Siva.

    Lord Siva is not mentioned directly n the Vedas, but Rudra is.

    In the Rudra Prasna the moola Mantra of Lord Siva is kept secretly in the Namakam in the middle of the eleven Anuvaakas, that too in the middle of the sloka

    ‘Nama Sivaya Ca, Sivadhrayaca,’

    Saktam, Worship of Goddess Uma ‘Parvati’

    Shakti is worship is mentioned elaborately in the Vedas by referring in the Durga Suktham,Sri Suktam,Neela Suktham.

    One important reason that Sakthi worship is considered superior is the fact that the word UMA contains all the letters of the Pranava, OM

    ‘Akaaram, Ukaaram and Makaaram”

    Vaishnavism, Worship of Lord Vishnu.

    Lord Vishnu is mentioned in the Vedas.

    The term Vishnu means ‘ one who supports’, from the word ‘Jishnu’, supporting.

    Vishnu is considered to be an Amsa  a part of Naranayana,

    Narayana means one sets example for Men as to How to Live ‘Nara Ayana’for Men How to Live(path)

    Another meaning is ‘ one who Lies in Water”

    The we have Purusha Suktham, which many people take it to refer Lord Vishnu.

    It is not.

    Purusha Suktham refers to and explains Universal Evolution and Cosmic Principles.

    Thus we have Purusha Suktam,Narayan Suktham and Vishnu Suktham, each denoting a different, yet One Entity.

    Thus the Six Systems of Hindu Worship was organised by Shankaracharya.

    However there are  more Deities and they fall under the Category of Minor Deities,  Town”Village Deities .

    I shall post about this later.

    Related articles

    http://ramanisblog.in/2013/06/16/six-gods-to-worship-sankaracharya/

  • Why,How Faith Helps Imperfect Yoga Sutra 1.20

    Panajali has explained how and Yogis were reborn in the Yoga Sutra 1.20.

    Wisdom
    Wisdom Quote

    He explained that this is due to the remnants of  impressions in one’s chitta, though one has been practicing Yoga arduously.

    Patanjali goes deep into the cause for this aberration in attaining Samadhi.

    This Yoga Sutra lists five causes.

    Faith,(Shraddha)

    Strength of Will, Energy,( Virya)

    Smriti, (Remembrance)

    Samadhi, Deep Contemplation and

    Prajna,(Cognition,Right Awareness)

    Sraddha.

    Faith is fundamental.

    Whether one likes it or not, one practices it;the only difference between those who have faith and those who do not have is that while the former is aware of and acknowledges it, the latter is either unaware or  refuses to acknowledge it.

    Those who deny Faith have faith at least in what they believe in or in the Belief that they do not believe.

    The rationalists are the funniest lot.

    They do not believe in any thing which they can not reason out, forgetting that Reason can nor t be proved except by its results or by Inference, both premises are at fault.

    Who can guarantee I will live after I post this Blog  or live as I post?

    Scientists, not all of them, do not believe in anything excepting what Science tells them to, conveniently forgetting that Science is based on, mainly, two  assumptions,

    Law Of Uniformity of Nature and

    law Of Causation.

    Both are axioms, they can not be questioned.

    If Faith is Belief is unquestioned trust on something that is proved, then where does this leave Science?

    We assume that Nature behaves Uniformly and systematically.

    What if it it is not?

    There are already Theories of Chaos, Uncertainty Principle in Science.

    Law of  Causation.

    Two events occur.

    We connect them by saying one is the Cause of another.

    That’s all.

    So faith is something which drive us whether we acknowledge it or not.

    Now we have positive thinking.

    Not all positive thinking is probable or even possible.

    Still we are advised to follow it.

    Why?

    Because it delivers.

    Patanjali says this.

    Have Faith , continue having it and you will get results.

    To me  so long as it delivers results it is fine, no matter whether it is true or false.

    Yoga Sutra 1.20Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.
    • shraddha = unconditional faith, trust, confidence, belief, certainty
    • virya = energy, strength of will
    • smriti = memory, intentful remembrance, mindfulness
    • samadhi = deep absorption of meditation, entasy
    • prajna = wisdom, discernment, super cognitive
    • purvakah = preceding, coming before, prerequisite
    • itaresham = of other people

    Simple, straightforward outline: The five principles and practices in this sutra form a very simple, straightforward outline of the personal commitments needed to follow the path of Self-realization. It is very useful to memorize these five, and to reflect on them often.

    2. Virya, Strength of Will.

    Feelings are born out of Instinctive actions/reactions.

    Feelings develop into Emotions.

    Emotions backed by Cognition develop into Will.

    Have Faith, Develop the Will.

    3. Smriti, Remembrance.

    It is a fact that we forget what we want to forget and remember what we are interested in.

    Remembering  something is conditioned by our our Will.

    The Will is strengthened by repeatedly recalling what we want to remember,.

    This is called Adyayana in Sanskrit.

    4. Samadhi, Regular repeated Concentration aids the process of Samadhi.

    5. Prajna,Wisdom.

    Means Discernment, The ability to distinguish between the Correct and the Incorrect, Right form the Wrong.

    While discernment of correct and incorrect is based on facts alone, choosing Right and Wrong is instinctive.

    Sometimes facts may mislead us into deciding what is Right or Wrong, but instinct never fails.

    The problem is identifying true instincts as at our present development as Human Beings we are cloaked by Culture and Civilizations and most of the time we do not recognize  instincts or the Gut feeling.

    The vigorous practice of  these five principles will ensure a Yogin from lapsing into this mundane World of names and Forms because of remnants of Impressions due to imperfect practice of Yoga.

    Related:

    http://ramanisblog.in/2013/05/29/why-some-yogis-are-reborn-yoga-sutra-1-19/

    Related articles