Deivathin Kural Series - 4

Om Namah Sivaya.
It is the mind that differentiates us from all other life forms on earth. It is the mind once again, that differentiates, us from God, in whom we belong. If you tell this mind to go, it will not go easily.
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Some digression is warranted here:- At one end of the spectrum is a western philosopher’s starting point, ‘I think I am, so I am’. At the other end of the spectrum is Indian or Hindu philosopher’s starting point, ‘mano laya or mano nigraha’ meaning, ‘annul the mind , and then only, you are your-self.
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By the same mind we have to grab Him. He has made the mind behave like a monkey. Now it has grabbed the physical body powerfully. But this body is perishable. This monkey of a mind will give up it’s hold on this perishable body, only if it gets the imperishable fruit. This imperishable fruit is Paramatma. Catching hold of Him by the mind, slowly we should make an effort to give up the Bodily-Identification (dehabhimanam). For this purpose, Devotion, Pooja, Rituals, Visiting shrines and holy places, Japa or Rosary, Chanting, Bhajans and such things are required. In a person in whom, the bodily-identification is totally extinct; for him, ‘ the idea that we are Jeevatma and God is Paramatma’, this differentiation also disappears. He becomes that.
Arunagirinadhar, who has sung, ‘thiruppugazh’, on Murugan, experienced that, when he says,
‘nee verenadirukka, nan verenadirukka...’. Arunagirinadha says, ‘with your grace may I reach that Anubhava or experience where You and me are non-different. Similerly we will also attain to that experience of non-differentiating secondlessness.
A-dwaitam is a concept of Adi Sankara. What is adwaitam? Dwi in Sanskrit means two. The word two comes from that only. The letter ‘d’ in ‘dwi’, becomes ‘t’ in ‘two’.
Though pronounced as ‘too’, the ‘w’, after ‘t’, has the phonetic sound of ‘va’. So ‘dwi’ is ‘two’.
Dwitam means duality and adwaitam means non-duality or secondlessness.
Which second is not there? Now we feel that God is one and then the ‘Jeeva’, or the individual soul, is the second. Is it not so? Sankara says that there is no second. Other than the one true being, there is no second entity. All this is only make believe. The ‘One’, by its power is exhibited as so much variety, seemingly many. One man may don many different dresses, but is still the same inside. Similerly all the multivarious living beings are in reality, one and the same. The differenciation is only for the apparent worldly affairs. The power which makes this possible is Maya. When we understand this, we wont be the limited beings, but will become the complete truth without any lack or blemish. This is what Sankara taught.
This experience of Adwaita, once undergone, then there is no problem, no fear,no hatred, no ties. When there is some thing other than us, then there can be fear, affection, hate and so on, which can bind us. This is the worldly involvement. When there is nothing other than us, who can be bound? What will bind us? When there is no second entity, other than ourselves, what can be the restricting factor? This is the state of Mukti or Moksha or Nirvana.
This state is not to be obtained, some day in the future, some where in Vaikunta or Kailasa or Heaven or some other domain. This can be experienced here and now. This is not to be obtained newly. Brahmam, the limitless truth, is eternally, boundless. Where ever you see the space, it is there every where in the universe. Even if you keep a million or zillion pots, the space inside the pots, is the same as outside. ( We know that inside the walls of the pot too, inside the sand or clay, inside the Silicon di oxide, inside the Silicon and Oxygen atoms too, there are vast spaces! Anu Aakaasam!)
Sambhomahadeva.