THE ART OF LISTENING

The greatest gift that the god has given us is the ability to be silent, if we so choose. The choice is ours, as one need not listen to others and does his piece of non stop talking which may irritate others. A good listener always scores over others in his path to progress.

We seldom make use of our listening ability. Instead we like to hear our own voices, and because of our ego, few of us make for good listeners. The truly learned are always good listeners. Their humility makes them good listeners. But we expose our ignorance to the learned, by talking when we are supposed not to.

A koel and a crow are similar in appearance; unless the crow opens its mouth to caw, we cannot tell the difference easily. In the same way, if we observe silence when in the company of the learned, there is the possibility that the fact that we are ignorant may not become apparent. The moment we venture an opinion, our ignorance is on full display. Thus Listening is an art that we must cultivate.

When we are full of ourselves, we are proud like a majestic elephant. But it is only when we listen to the learned that we realize how little we know. The words of the learned are like a medicine for the fever of pride. But to even know that we have pride, we must realize the folly of attachment to worldly things.

Our ignorance feeds our pride, our pride keeps us from paying attention to the words of the wise, and this further feeds our ego, and we are trapped in this web of pride and ignorance. We are like a dog that has found a bone.

The bone is almost bare, with very little flesh on it. The dog chews the bone and the act of biting the hard stuff, makes the dog’s gums bleed.

The ignorant dog thinks that the blood has come from some flesh attached to the bone, and so it bites even harder, making more blood come forth from its gums. And this the dog continues to do without knowing that it is its own blood that it is tasting, and not the blood from any flesh in the bone. We are like this dog with a bone. We do not realize the dangers of attachment to worldly pleasures. We do not realize that such attachment keeps us from liberation.

We must therefore cultivate the art of listening, so that we may benefit from the words of the learned. Let us practice the art of listening and perfect the same for our own good.

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

UPANAYANAM

Since time immemorial, different ceremonies have been performed to greet the arrival of youth. Upanayanam is an initiation into brahmacharyasrama. The father teaches his son the gayatri mantra which is believed to be the basis of all mantras. It is the essence of Rigveda, Samaveda and Yajurveda. He is then declared a Brahmachari and ready to learn Vedas and scriptures. So the best time to learn “Bhagavad Gita” and Vedanta philosophy begins here and now.

Naandhimukha Ceremony:

A ceremony performed to obtain the blessings of the ancestors of the family before the festive occasion of the Upanayanam.

Uthakashanthi:

For the purification of the mind and body and the protection of the child, all the deities are invoked in water through the chanting of the manthras and this water is poured over the child, during the Uthakashanthi.

Aajyabhaagaantha Homam:

By praying to the god of Fire, Agni, the child is blessed with long life, intellect, courage etc.

Yagnopaveethadhaaranam:

The father places the sacred thread across the child’s left shoulder under the advice of Guru. The sacred thread consists of three strands signifying Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. This represents also Jnana, Karma and Bhakthi. What comes next is Moonji a girdle made out of Munja grass is tied around the waist of the child. This is to protect his purity and to keep evils away.

Kumarabhojanam:

The boy is fed along with a brahmachari after the “Yagnopaveethadhaarana”.

Brahmopadesam:

The Gayathri Manthra is a supreme manthra and protects those who recite it. The boy’s father becomes his guru and whispers into his ears this powerful ‘Gayathri Manthra’.

Soorya Darsanam:

Boy is then taken outside and shown the sun. The assumption here is that he will be protected by the sun Soorya deva.

Bhikshakaranam:

The boy symbolically asks for alms of rice from his mother and other women. Bhikshakaranam was done to make one humble and control the ego. It enables the young Vatu to control the senses, which is absolutely essential for receiving Vedic Knowledge.

Abivathanam:

After upanayanam the boy seeks the blessings of all the elders present by saluting them on their feet with sashtaanga namaskaram. After namaskaram, the child introduces himself by his rishi, parampara, gothram, suthram and name step by step. The first person chosen for abivathanam is one’s own mother! – One who has introduced him into this world.

Thus there is a meaning to every stage of a person in life and we saw here one such stage Viz. “Upanayanam”. Let’s be aware of the inside facts of the activities involved in performing one’s Upanayanam. It is an interesting stage in one’s life and if he chants the gayathri mantra daily and performs his duties without fail then he can reach great heights.

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

TATHVA BOTHA AND BHAGAVAD GITA

People in general are interested in their physical future, financial future and Family future. Life becomes an asset to those who have Peace, Security and Happiness. “Bhagavad Gita” gives all the three things. One should know how to confront life by reading the teachings of Gita.

Bhagavad Gita talks about three disciplines, which are as under:-

1. Karma Yoga – Action centered spiritual discipline. (Involves action).

2. Upasana Yoga – Meditation Centric spiritual discipline. (Centered on meditation).

3. Gnana Yoga – Spiritual discipline centered on spiritual knowledge. Knowing the truth (Tathvam) behind everything. Truth behind myself/ World/ God (Soroopam/ Tathvam).

There is only one aim for all the three disciplines Viz. helping us in getting peace, security and happiness.

As you grow old, the feeling of insecurity increases. Anxiety is the second problem to be addressed. These two are cutting us all the time. In this contemporary world we call anxiety as Stress. Vedas are called as Stress busters in modern language. The essence of Vedas is the scripture, “Bhagavad gita”. Gita is available as a part of Mahabharata. It is a dialog between lord Krishna and Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

We have to study Tathva Botha before studying Gita. Tatva Botha condenses the Gnana yoga part of Bhagavad Gita. It is the knowledge of Tathvam which is the essential nature of the individual, world and god. It is supposed to be written by Adi Sankaracharya. First we gain information and then transformation takes place. i.e. a change in our personality.

To be happy, I don’t require anything other than myself. Happiness does not depend upon presence of people, world or possession as per Vedanta. Tathva Botha talks about the knowledge of truth of Jiva, Jagath, Iswara (Creator of universe). When I gain knowledge I get freedom from ignorance. When I switch on the light I get freedom from darkness. According to scriptures majority of the problems in life are due to ignorance. (Spiritual ignorance). The other 50% of our problems are exaggerated. Ignorance seen through a magnifying glass converts a mole hill into a mountain. We have to gain self knowledge to be free from self ignorance.

Tathvam which is the truth is nithyam. There is no change in it and is permanent and a changeless principle. Atathvam is a changing one. The whole universe consists of changeless truth and changing non truths. For attaining spiritual success we require internal wealth. Internal wealth comes from mental discipline or thought discipline. In addition we should have the knowledge of discrimination and detachment. Discriminative knowledge between the changeless and changing is the following; Changing things are many (mind keeps changing). There is one changeless reality which is the changeless truth. The changeless truth in our scriptures is called Brahman or Atma or Tathvam. Spiritual scriptures talk only about Brahman. Everything other than changeless principle is Anithyam (Changing). Everything other than Brahman including time, space, air, water, earth, planets, stars, galaxy, micro molecules and atoms are Anithyam (Non permanent) and are subject to change. In astronomy we can see that stars are changing and die a natural death becoming red. Why should we know this?

All changing things can offer something to us and so also Brahman. Thus we can prepare ourselves properly by knowing the things offered to us. 90 percent of our problems are due to our wrong expectations. Avoiding irrational expectations can save us from disappointments. Life is full of disappointment when I expect a wrong thing from a wrong door. We have to set that right.

The world is full of variety (of plants, animals, human being). Each variety has its own beauty. World offers novelty Viz., newer and newer things (new plants, species, animals etc). Even though the world has all these things, it doesn’t have stability. You can never hold on to anything for long. It will disappear right under your nose. Relying upon an unstable world for our security is a big risk. What can’t give security can’t give peace also. If it doesn’t give peace and security, it can’t give happiness too. (“Bhagavad Gita”, 2^nd Chapter). Even if it gives peace it is only temporary and will be short lived. It will be a peace which will go to pieces.

Changes in this world are unpredictable. People who are friends for some time, suddenly don’t love or enjoy contacting us and suddenly disappear. Nowadays we can’t hold on to our parents and children. Even marriage will not last long. Growing old is a predictable change and we don’t have a control over that. I should be prepared for any type of change anytime. If changes come as a shock it is not the mistake of the world or lord. It is my own mistake. Scriptural study is the only emotional insurance which will strengthen the mind. Make the mind to bounce back with resilience. If something wrong happens ask so what?

Dispassion or detachment to all sense pleasures in this world is required. Sense pleasures cause addiction or slavery. I lose my freewill. The greatest asset of a human being is his freewill i.e. the capacity to decide what to do and what not to do. When you entertain your freedom to say yes, make sure that you entertain your freedom to say no also. At any point of time one should not lose his freewill. Freewill is the one which makes me different from an animal.

Meek surrender to all situations is an unhealthy approach on the part of an individual. When unfavorable situation comes, I impulsively do something to remedy the situation. (Verbally or physically). Sometimes remedy becomes worse than the disease itself. By reacting impulsively I am not using my freewill. Also I am not using my discrimination. This is called reaction. By thithiksha (endurance or tolerance or patience), I avoid inaction and I also avoid reaction and take the appropriate remedy. Tolerance means enough self control to avoid impulsive responses by choosing a remedy and take a proper response. We should keep in our minds that whether it is cold or hot, favorable or unfavorable situations, good or bad, you should respond thoughtfully after deliberate thinking. Anger is considered a great weakness on the part of the individual. Anger is the cause of impulsive responses. Impulsive responses are risky and lead to unwanted consequences. (3rd Chapter of Gita).

Thus we can see that Tatva Botha is the knowledge of the truth. Truth of the individual, truth of the world, truth of the god. All the truths happen to be one and the same. We should look for freedom from ignorance by seeking knowledge. Freedom from a problem caused by ignorance is called Moksha. Freedom from samsara is the benefit called Tathva Botha. Let us read “Tatva Botha” before reading “Bhagavad Gita” for our own benefit and for getting peace, security and happiness.

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com