DEIVATHIN KURAL # 109 (Vol #4) Dated 01Dec 2010

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 109 (Vol #4) Dated 01Dec 2010

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the start of page number 604 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that here in 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
122. This mind of ours is a special endowment of nature not available to all the animals. There are animals better than human being in certain respects. Some animals can run faster (horse and panther) or can jump higher (kangaroo and frog) or make use of their olfactory nerves in tracing out a trail! But, it is the human being who is equipped with the superior system of mind which is a combination of , ‘man, buddhi, chitta and ahankara’ that is, mind capable of data collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, interpretation, reasoning and imagination. He may not know things such as Life or Atma or God but, knows verywell about this mind of his. More than the happiness of ‘Karma Indriyas’ that is, action oriented instruments of the body he values the happiness of the ‘Gnana Indriyas’ that is, awareness oriented instruments of cognition! Why does he fall for the habit forming alcohol and drugs? Under total intoxication with the eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear and mouth that is blabbering; confusing all the instruments of cognition; with no control over his hands or legs goes and falls into a ditch wallowing in the muck; hits himself right and left in self deprecation! Why does he do all that? In his drunkenness he evidently gets some satisfaction by being cruel with his own body which he loves more than anything else normally! That is why in that state he has forsaken his bodily instruments of action as well as cognition and brains, in search of some happiness of the mind! To forget all his worries and find the happiness, he has reneged his physical being, brain, body and reputation in that state of being sozzled!
123. OK. Let me ask you that old question once again. Does that happiness stay with you? However much you may drink, sometime the intoxication lifts. By the time you are out of it, your happiness is gone with a pronounced feeling of depression! With spoilt health, finances in doldrums and a bag of sins overflowing, we are in store for further untold miseries as negative effects of Karma to be gone through. That is what is said as, “paapam charathi poorushaha!”
124. For man, this happiness of the mind seems more important than the thrill or Ananda felt by any part of the body. But, even this thrill or satisfaction is not forever! After some time one gets satiated or tends to forget it. We read a novel and greatly like it. Later even when we go to sleep the mind is mulling over the events of the story line. Similarly the Thodi Raaga by the Vidwaan in the concert keeps echoing in the mind even days later! The Namboodiri’s pooja in the small spaces of sanctum sanctorum of the Badri Nath Temple, when he was anointing and decorating the idol, dancing in time with the chanting of Vishnu Sahasranama; may stay with us for years! But in the night when we go to sleep, we would like this mind of ours to become thoughtless. Instead if it goes on reviewing the cherished experiences of the day or past, we do get fed up with the pestering mind! Thinking of this mind to be real ourselves, we are ready to leave everything else! But, at some stage we do not like the meanderings of the mind and would love to sleep, as though the mind is also dead! In sleep, is there any happiness for the body, mind or buddhi (brain or intellect)? Still we all love the stillness of sleep. For four days if we are sleepless, our Body, Mind and Intellect system is tired and in chaos! A rich person is lying in a silken bed, in a open terrace in the marble house, when the moon is shining in all its glory, with the beautiful, loveable wife playing on the VeeNa, after having had a royal dinner, munching on heavenly Taamboolam! After some time, even he would like to forget about all this including himself and would like to go to sleep! As all other blissful experiences become sated at some time or the other, sleep does not become unwanted, as there is no sensation or feelings in sleep. Even then the stirrings of the mind bring in the dreams. Then as he wakes up he yawns again. There comes a time when sleep is also not welcome anymore and you are ready to jump out of the bed saying, “Enough is enough, I say!” Even the love for sleep gets sated at some time or the other!
125. Every desire is dominant for some time becoming a passion, then fades away but, doesn’t die and comes back with renewed vigour. The material that satisfies the desire is required repeatedly making the user addicted to it. Once you are an addict then sorrow is in store for you. If shower bath is the habit, can you get a shower bath everywhere? If you are addicted to classical music can you get that always and every time? If you are keen on high quality literature, even to test and find out, you have to read substandard material. You can never rely on other’s opinion as that would keep varying. Even Oscar awards and Nobel Prizes are given at times to unworthy reciepients! Desire inculcates habits and that gives raise to many such problems. Not only is it only due to liquor, cigarettes, club, racing and gambling; even the so called respectable habits can and do give you pains in the back, side and heart! Whatever gave you the maximum happiness can dry fry you aspiring for more! For the one who likes high class music; for the one who loves folk songs; for the connoisseur of classic literature; for the one who loves ‘tappaan koothu’; for the one who is fond of Iddly Saambaar; those very passionately desired things when not obtained; lead to shattered expectations, disappointments and disgruntlement! If you do not have that desire, you do not have to face such sorrow and can also avoid becoming cynical!
126. Once you have fixed your mind on one specific thing and become passionate about it, you are thrilled when you get it and feel extremely sad when you do not get it! In the bargain even similar things of equal standards are considered unworthy of your attention! If you happen to like one particular Raaga of one particular artist, when some other artist or even the same artist is singing some other Raaga and the whole audience is going ‘Ga Ga’ over it, you still end up crying that it is not as good as what you had heard one day! The same thing happens about Gods and Saints too. If you are very fond of Thiruppathy Balaji and are in some other temple where all the assembled devotees may be deeply engrossed in devotion, you may be missing the whole thing! You happen to have taken a liking to one Saint or God Man as a favourite. Looking at anybody else, you are not moved at all and end up saying that he or she is not as good! Then you are in your own favourite deity’s presence in Thiruppathy. But your mind does not approve of the elaborate decoration because it is not as good as what you had seen some other day. You are listening to your favourite speaker talking on Bhagawat Gita and you are thinking that it would have been better if he was talking about Viveka ChoodamaNi. These are all examples of how because of our fixation in one, we are missing out on others, despite the fact that what we prefer cannot always be obtained or enjoyed! What we like, we get only at times. When we do not get it, we feel bad and at times very annoyed!
127. When we get habituated to various drugs, to leave the habit is becomes next to impossible. Despite the best of intentions, in trying to leave these habits one suffers because of withdrawal complications which affect the mind, body and intellect in many adverse ways. People even try to commit suicide, I am told. Despite knowing these likely pit-falls, people somehow fall prey to temptations and then find it extremely difficult to rid themselves of such habits!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.