DEIVATHIN KURAL #147 (Vol #4) Dated 15 Feb 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL #147 (Vol #4) Dated 15 Feb 2011

(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 middle of page number 820 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
423. As we progress towards that final leap into ‘Aatma Vichara’ there has to be a continuous clarity in our minds that we are doing our duties, all the prayers and service, for that purpose. While cleaning the Sombu, even when we use sand, tamarind, puNNakku and coconut coir, do we not keep using some clean water from the beginning? Similarly all our actions by mind, speech and body are meant to make us prepared for that last bridge to be crossed. So, right from the beginning some introspection has to be persevered with. Some time everyday has to be devoted for sitting down with our eyes closed in trying to be without thoughts.
424. When we try to clean and polish may be the Sombu or the floor of the Pooja Room or the Idol of the Moola Vigraha – whatever it is, it has not been made newly by us. We have not changed it. It is as it is. All that we have done is to remove whatever is not to be there. Similarly, this Aatma is there forever in its pristine glory. To make it self effulgent is what we have done. Actually, we have not cleaned the Aatma! We have rather cleansed our own minds of the dirt and cobwebs. It is this mind that has to be effaced, erased and nullified. When I say the mind, I am including the anta: karaNa, speech, body, buddhi, ahankaara, chitta and thoughts!
425. Wrong sinful acts such as Kaama, Krodha et al are to be desisted by doing the things as ordained in the Saastraas as per the caste and ashrama. The aim is to inculcate love, respect, habit of helping others, humbleness and such good intentions and behaviour. The negative attitudes are what are called the Asuric tendencies and good positive ones are the divine ones. In the battle of wits between the negative forces and positive ones is Deva – Asura conflict I spoke to you earlier. In this at times even the Devas develop some of the negative traits. They get angry with the opposition, and use deceit to defeat the opposition by hook or crook! In getting Lakshmi and Amirtam, the Devas do get carried away and try to win by under hand methods. We read about such things in Puranas and the only explanation can be that, the ultimate goodness is beyond even these comparative values.
426. There is one clear example of the Devas getting deceitful as given in the Upanishad. Having defeated the Asuras in battle, the Devas, without realising that it is all due to the power of God that they had won, got head weight and developed much pride in their infallibility. There is a story as given in Kenopanishad about it. This can happen with us too. We may do everything as given in the Saastraas in terms of daily and periodical rituals and observances of fasting and prayers. But in the bargain we may develop pride and the sense that we are too good! Instead of inculcating humility, we may end up feeling ‘that we have done so much good’! That is why, along with our practices and observances, we should be constantly remembering that even our good intentions are a blessing of the Lord. So we have to imbibe the feeling that, ‘whatever I am doing is not for me as an individual; somehow we are playing a part; whether it is the role of a king or a beggar, I have to do justice to the role played; one day I have to discard all this makeup and disguise and get back to my reality’. In this disguise, we have to be true and obviate any possibility of going astray. We have to constantly remind ourselves that none of this role playing is permanent. So I should do nothing to perpetuate my role playing. The ‘ahambhaava’ of pride should always be kept at arm’s length so as to obviate what happened to the Devas at the end of the Deva – Asura battle!
427. ‘Ahambhaava’ has a meaning of “to know as to who I am!” That is now not at all clear to us. We have some hazy idea about ourselves based on the relative position in the transactional world. What prevents us from knowing our true self is the combined effect of our past actions. It is to rub off that dirt and dust that we are persevering. If we think on these lines every day, we can avoid many of the pitfalls resulting out of our ego consciousness. In the initial stages, to obviate pride and do whatever is just and equitable on all occasions it is Easwara Bhakti that will stand by us. Devotion to Almighty will save us from the violent oscillations of the mind and enable us to focus on the righteous line of thinking and action.
428. Many Names for Love. Devotion is Love of God. Love has many names depending on whom it is directed towards. Love towards people of equal age is friendship or ‘Maitri’. With elders it is regard and respect. With children it is ‘vaatsalyam’ and towards people of the opposite sex it is passion or ‘sringaar’ or crush, fancy, craze, infatuation or lust. Directed towards people who are poor and not so well off, it is ‘parivu and karuNa’, kindness or compassion. Love from Saints and Mahatmas towards the common man is ‘Kripa or Dayaa’. What we have towards them is respect and veneration. Their one word or even kindly look is so powerful that it can change our life inside out! At the top most pinnacle of such love is God’s love for the living beings at large, known as ‘blessings, benevolence or Anugraha’! What the devotee has got for God is ‘Bhakti or Anbu’ or Devotion and yearning!
429. What is Anbu? It is our mind dissolving in the other’s mind. What is the end stage? Our minds melting in Aatma is that end stage. What is the difference and similarities between our minds dissolving in another’s mind and dissolving in Aatma? A step earlier than dissolution is mixing. You put sugar in milk and mix. Before dissolving it is stirred. They are still apart. Then after dissolving they are not two entities. They are one and the same. This is ‘Aikyam’. To become one that is ‘Ekam’ is ‘Aikyam’. Till mixing they are different and after dissolving they are one! In the intermixing of Dwaitam there cannot be ‘Aikyam’. The Panditji or Vadyaar comes to our house and mixes rice and gingili. It remains a mixture.
430. Aatma is one that stands apart independently, pure and all by itself. To mix the mind in it is impossible. This mind being a non-entity, it can never even approach the Aatma. How to mix the two? It is here the need for the approachable Easwara who is Aatma, but within our reach and so be devoted with love, adulation and admiration. Hence, we make use of the nomenclatures of Paramatma and Jeevatma. Jeevatma is the small mind. We saw before that the Paramatma is the cosmic mind. This small mind of ours cannot approach or mix and dissolve in that Aatma. But it can be mixed and then dissolved in Easwara our Creator. He will also like a mother be kind enough to grant us the proximity, nearness and oneness! Jeevatma as the devotee of Easwara can venture to approach and slowly get himself dissolved in Him. Then the Jeevatma – Paramatma differentiation finishes and Adwaita Anubhava results. Our mind is no more and we become one with the Lord God who made us all!
431. Achievement of Adwaita Mukti by Devotion. Bhagwan Sri Krishna has said exactly this in the Gita Chapter 18, Sloka 55. “Bhaktya maam abhijaanaati yaavan yaschaasmi tatvata: I tato maam tatvato gnyatvaa visate tad anantaram II”. This means, ‘By devotion he knows me in truth, what and who I am; then having known Me in truth, he forthwith enters into the Supreme.’ He says ‘anantaram visate’ - ‘visate’ means enters; ‘antaram’ means gap; ‘anantaram’ means without a gap. So He says that the human Jeevatma without a let enters the Paramatma forever! Please do not think of somebody physically entering another. Till he is devoted to God, the devotee is the first person and God is the second person singular grammatically. With the Dwaita moksha, the aim is not yet reached. Then, ‘tato’ means after that, the devotee ceases to be somebody else and becomes one with the Lord, ‘visate’, enters!
(We will continue this discussion.)
Sambhomahadeva.