SAMSARA AND its CURE

‘Samsara’ is defined as a constantly repeated occurring in our mind a sense of helplessness of various degrees. Helplessness will lead to anger and anger will lead to frustration and frustration will lead to depression. When this happens repeatedly, our attitude to life changes. We look upon life as a liability or a burden. This negative attitude towards life and constantly praying to God that we should never be born again will come in our mind. If we look upon life as a wonderful thing why should we pray to God? This whole package is called “Samsara”. Self knowledge will remove our negative attitude towards life. We will look life as a blessing. All the human beings have got this Virus called Samsara. This disease is called Samsara Ragaga which is extremely difficult to cure but is not impossible.

‘Samsara’ is a disease. This problem is faced by all human beings without exception. One has to go through four stages in order to get cured from the disease of Samsara.

First of all one should discover that he is suffering from samsara. One should acknowledge this fact by himself.

Secondly one should understand that he can never solve the problem by himself. There is no home remedy for samsara problem. Therefore an understanding of the fact that he is helpless in solving the problem by himself is necessary. This discovery of helplessness is the second stage. One should make a serious decision to seek help from outside. As long as I have the ego I will never seek help from outside. Only when I am helpless will I take help from outside which is called spiritual help. (Spirit means ‘Atman’)

Thus the third stage is deciding to seek external help in the form of a Guru. Once you have seriously and desperately wanted a Guru and pray to God, you are equally helpless in identifying the right Guru. Upanishads gives an explanation. A blind person was caught in a thick forest needs the guidance of someone to help him come out of the forest. The person who helps should not be a blind person himself. How does one know whether the other person is blind or not? If I am unlucky and hold on to the other person who is also blind, then the chances of falling will increase. When he falls then I will have to fall. Therefore I have twofold helplessness. I don’t know the remedy. I don’t know the Guru who can help me. We can observe in the 2^nd chapter end portion of ‘Bhagavad Gita’ Arjuna asks lord Krishna as to how to identify an enlightened person. Similarly once we come across such a guide who is hopefully ready to help me, I then go the third and 4^th step.

The fourth stage is called Saranagadhi with shreddha and Bhakthi. Then sishya is taken across the ocean of samsara.

Thus we can see that Arjuna has gone through the 1^st stage in the 1^st Chapter of Gita. Arjuna the master gets converted to Arjuna the disciple. Krishna the Charioteer gets converted to Krishna the spiritual guide. Sanjaya is reporting the desperate condition of Arjuna in the end of the first chapter of Gita.

Arjuna is a picture of misery and conflict which is a most powerful symptom of samsara. Arjuna the most valorous and a manly man, who is never given to emotionalism etc., start shedding tears showing the intensity of samsara.

The rule for a spiritual person is to never transfer his spiritual wisdom to anyone unless he asks sincerely. Bhagavan Krishna follows this principle. Arjuna has not asked for advice and Krishna did not give advice. Krishna is saying a few words so that Arjuna will go through the other 3 stages of samsara.

In the 2^nd Chapter Lord Krishna gives the solution to Arjuna. Controlling the external factor (Our peace of mind is linked to the external factor) to ensure our peace of mind. You have to delink your peace of mind from the external factor. This is tough but a practical approach. Trying to control the world is an impractical approach. We should work for emotional immunity. Freedom from emotional dependence is Moksha.

Thus the situation changes from one of battle to one of spiritual dialogue. Sanjaya reports to Dhirdarastra the developments in the battle field. Dharma is on the side of Pandavas and they win ultimately in spite of trials and tribulations that they go through.

Be blissful.

S.Sekar

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

SUMMARY OF THE FIRST CHAPTER – BHAGAVAD GITA

The main subject matter of ‘Bhagavad Gita’ is self knowledge or spiritual wisdom. What is contained in Bhagavad Gita is borrowed from the original scriptures known as Vedas. Gita contains the extracted wisdom from the Vedas; especially from the final portion of Vedas. Vedas is known by two names. They are Veda Antaga (‘Vedanta’) which occurs at the end part of Veda. The other name is ‘Upanishad’. Upa means Self or Atma, the real self. Body/Mind is not the real ‘I’. They are the instruments and the medium. The real ‘I’ is different from the body medium. That real ‘I’ is called “Atma” in Tatva Bodha. ‘Ni’ means clear knowledge. ‘Shad’ refers to the function/ benefit of self knowledge. The removal of ‘Samsara’ is given in the Upanishads.

Samsara is defined as that which constantly and repeatedly occurs and gives a sense of helplessness of various degrees. Helplessness leads to anger; anger leads to frustration; frustration leads to depression. A person’s attitude to the Life changes when the problem of Samsara happens repeatedly. One starts to look upon life as a liability or a burden. Due to this negative attitude towards life he starts praying to god that he should never be born again. If one looks upon life as a wonderful thing why should he pray to God? Acquiring self knowledge will remove one’s negative attitude towards life. You will start to look upon life as a blessing. Upanishad teaches us Self knowledge. If the teaching is not received properly it will not bless a person or it may become unproductive or counterproductive. Vedas declare that this teaching should be received only from a Guru and not a self taught one. Upanishads declare that Lord Krishna also declares the same. This teaching should come to a sishya from a Guru. It is called guru - sishya Samvadaga.

Before actual teaching starts, a story is narrated. The story by itself doesn’t have a value of its own. For example you can see in Katopanishad a story consisting of several slokas. In the 1^st Chapter of Bhagavad Gita is given the story of Mahabaratha. One should not probe into the story and ask whether it is Historical or fictitious. We require only a qualified student and a qualified teacher. We should not have misplaced curiosity. We should not ask irrelevant questions. One of the qualifications of a spiritual student is to avoid misplaced curiosity. Throughout the scriptural study we should know what questions to ask and questions that we shouldn’t ask. Otherwise you lose the importance of spiritual wisdom.

Arjuna discovers the problem of Samsara in the battlefield. He was immobilized and not able to move forward in his life.

First Chapter has got 5 topics.

1^st Topic is from verse 1 to verse 20

We get the description of the battlefield of Khurukshetra and the preparations for the Mahabharata war. Kauravas are the representatives of Adharma. Pandavas represent Dharma. They both go to war. Dharmayuddham was necessitated. Therefore they assembled in the Mahabharata battlefield. Dhirdharastra was physically and spiritually blind. Sanjaya reports to Dhirdharastra through telepathy about the war going on in the battlefield.

Duryodhana is diffident and goes to Dhrona and tells him that their army is weak and Pandavas are stronger. He adds that they should take Bhisma with them. Thereafter Bhisma blows the Conch indicating the start signal and the beginning of the war.

2^nd Topic is from Verse 21 to verse 25

There was a sudden transformation in the mind of Arjuna. He feels like looking at Kauravas in close quarters. They were his relatives. Due to some play of destiny he instructs Krishna the charioteer to bring the chariot to the middle of the battlefield between the two armies, to look at the scene from close quarters.

Duryodhana is adharmic and has committed pancha maha papam. He is an athathayi and deserved capital punishment during the time of Mahabharata. He has dhurbhuddi. Arjuna knows that Mahabharata war was a Dharmayuddham. Lord Krishna has endorsed that and becomes a charioteer of Arjuna. Arjuna’s Bhuddhi was clear after coming to the middle of the battlefield.

3^rd Topic is from verse 26 to verse 28

The three portions of samsara are Raga (Attachment), Soga (Grief) and Moga (Delusion). Arjuna is no more a unique character. Arjuna becomes the representation of a human being and the problem he faced is a human problem. Arjuna is a representation for humanity. Bhagavad gita is a teaching for the humanity and is valid even in the 21^st century AD. Raga is a philosophical proof and emotional attachment to any external factor in the form of situations, objects or people and getting them emotionally attached is called raga. Arjuna’s problem is the emotional attachment to certain people like Bhisma and Drona.

4^th Topic is from verse 29 to verse 34

Attachment will invariably lead to grief without exception. We will be concerned about the object of attachment. We can see that the objects, people and situation continually changing. They are unpredictable and uncontrollable. They are unfavorable changes. Objects of attachment will become sources of sorrow. For example we can take a wrist watch. So long as it is inside the shop there is no worry and you are liberated. When the watch is with you then you become attached. You have empowered the watch and got attached to it. Raga or attachment makes me vulnerable. Arjuna becomes vulnerable because of his actions. Arjuna goes through intense grief because of imaginary death of the people. Intensity of grief or sorrow is directly proportional to the intensity of attachment. The object of attachment may vary but the problem of attachment is universal. The problem is called samsara.

5^th Topic is from verse 35 to verse 47

When a person is emotionally disturbed internally, his rational intellect is suppressed or over powered. Intellect has the power to solve most of the problems in our life. Intellect can function only when you are balanced emotionally. In delusion (moga, incapacity to judge the situation properly and seeing something in the opposite way) state you don’t know what to do or what not to do. Arjuna goes through the same condition. Law of discrimination is called Viveka in Sanskrit. Arjuna was in a deluded state which is aviveka i.e., moga. In delusion state you don’t know what to do or what not to do. Arjuna goes through the same condition. The question arises as to whether the Mahabharata war is Dharma Yuddham or Adharma Yuddham. Dropping the war is a wrong decision. Going away from the war is also a wrong decision. Once the emotion overpowers the intellect, the intellect has the knack of justifying the emotional weakness. A liquor addict will justify the addiction. We can also see that once the flames become big, wind will start supporting the fire. Arjuna gives a long lecture to Lord Krishna. Yuddham is himsa and will cause adverse consequences at family level, social level and religious level. One should know that you can never educate anyone who doesn’t want to be educated. Arjuna Vishadha Yoga in the first Chapter of Gita deals with Arjuna’s grief. At this point of time both Arjuna and Krishna are silent which Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra. Vyasa presented Arjuna’s part of samsara in the battlefield of Khurukshetra. This samsara was in the form of Raga (attachment), Soga (grief) and finally Moga (delusion or conflict whether I should fight or not fight the Mahabharata War).

We should know that Moga is a problem of samsara not only for Arjuna but for the entire humanity. Arjuna is a representation of human beings. This problem of samsara is manifested only at a moment. All the human beings have got this virus called samsara. Even suicidal thoughts will come as to what is the use of living in this world? When our psychological immunity is low Raga flares up in us. This disease is called samsara ragaga. This is extremely difficult to be cured but not impossible.

A materially successful human being will have a falter ego. I will never think of doing Namaskara to someone. One will not have the humility. Arjuna is a successful materialistic person and he does Saranagathi to Lord Krishna which is explained in the 2^nd Chapter Verse 1 to Verse 10 of Bhagavad-Gita. Without humility or being egoless one will never get to know Vedanta.

Concluding Portion of 1^st Chapter

OMTatSat will be explained in the 17^th Chapter of Bhagavad-Gita. These are the three names that we utter at the end of every chapter and refer to the three names of the Lord. OM means the protector of the devotee. Tat means the Lord who is beyond our sense perception (sense organs). Sat refers to the eternal one. God is immortal.

Pratama adyaya refers to the 1^st Chapter of Gita. Gita has 18 chapters. Every chapter is given a title based on the predominant content of the topic. 1^st chapter is Arjuna vishadha yoga. It talks about Arjuna’s grief or Arjuna’s samsara.

Srimad Bhagavatgitasu refers to the scriptural text called srimad Bhagavad-Gita. Gita means a philosophical discourse like Uttava Gita, Bhagavad-Gita etc. This discourse is given by bhagavan Lord Krishna. The word Spiritual is that which deals with Spirit. Spirit means the ultimate reality or truth called Brahman. The Main theme of entire Gita is Brahma Vidya. It is the knowledge of reality, ultimate truth behind individual reality which is the truth of God.

Yogashashtrey means as follows: Unprepared mind cannot receive this knowledge because this subject is dry and boring. One should be mature enough for refining (preparing) his mind for receiving the knowledge. We should note that not only reception is important but also retention is important. All this disciplines put together is yoga sashtra. Without Bramha Vidya, yoga shastra is incomplete. The purpose is to get out of samsara consisting of helplessness, anger, frustration and depression which should go away from my life. The whole teaching is given in the form of a dialogue between a Guru and a Shisya.

Spiritual knowledge requires our effort and the guidance of an acharya. It cannot be gained independently. Acquiring Spiritual knowledge is a systematic education program. Here questions are raised by the shisya and his doubts are cleared. Dialogue will continue till the shisya attains spiritual knowledge.

S.Sekar

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com