In the 10th Chapter of
Bhagavad Gita, Krishna spoke to Arjuna in 35 verses. Krishna was talking about
the various manifestations of the truth (the reality).In our
journey of life, we experience the same truth (God principle) as is explained
analytically in the 10th Chapter.
Any
spiritual seeker constantly seeks inputs from all sources until he discovers a
path to transform himself. Similarly, you will have to explore and identify a path by
which you can transform yourself. In this process, it is important to remember
that only you can lift yourself. Only you have to step up and take
responsibility for your evolution and growth. In this journey of seeking
transformation, you will attain knowledge from various sources; however, you
should understand that knowledge alone without comprehension would not serve the
purpose. Therefore, comprehension of the knowledge is necessary to attain
complete transformation.
Krishna spoke to Arjuna,
a spiritual seeker and was available to give him the entire philosophy and
knowledge needed for spiritual transformation. However, as previously spelt
out, knowledge ‘as is’ is meaningless unless the
receiver is able to comprehend and utilize it, even if the receiver is the
great Arjuna himself. In undertaking this journey of transformation, a seeker must
self analyze the answer to one important question.
What sort of human are
you?
The very purpose of
having sessions on Bhagavad Gita is to help one, help himself. To help yourself
ascertain your level of spiritual development, you can draw a graph on
spiritual development of a person from 0 to 100 on x axis and the life of the Athma
at y axis, where zero denotes that a person is not at all developed and 100
denotes a fully developed person. At zero, the person’s actions can be
categorized as self-centered, taking interest only in the activities of his
family and himself. He is incapable of thinking beyond his own circle. This is
the primary level of development and is observed in almost all animals and
insects. Unfortunately, most of us also fall in this category.
Here, the important
difference we need to realize is that we are different from these other living
things. It is because we are bestowed with physical and mental faculties much
higher than them and therefore are created to achieve a higher level of development.
Keeping in mind that you
need to progress from zero to hundred, you must start thinking beyond your
circle. Let your home be the centre of your affection but not the boundary
of your affection. Albeit your family’s sorrows are your sorrows, and their joy
yours, these feelings must gradually but steadily spread from the inner circle
(family) to everyone.
Do not feel content with
the knowledge that you have come across but not understood or utilized. Break
free from the shackles of ignorance and try to learn and implement the
knowledge gained. For example, if a businessman is interested only in his
business and a homemaker only in her home, both fail to look beyond the circle
drawn by them. This indicates that they are at the Zero percent (0%)
development level.
You should realize that
to get 100% development level, you have to look beyond your inner circle by
stretching your boundaries. Try to apply the knowledge like Arjuna, which would
help you in your spiritual growth. Once you are able to expand your circle
size, and are able to treat them similar to your inner circle, your spiritual
growth increases.
Understand how life is a
wonderful opportunity and discover the meaning of life by starting to accept
all as your own. Find the purpose of your life and not live through life as is.
As life is filled with a lot of ups and downs, enjoy each moment and understand
the reason for such fluctuations in your experiences. However, most of you are
fatigued and tired by the time you reach middle age. This is because you fail
to stand and smell the roses along the way. The ups get overshadowed by the
downs we face. You should not let this happen.
This brings us to
empirical knowledge on a spiritual journey. This journey of spiritual
development is explained to us very eloquently in Bhajagovindam by Adi
Shankara. He explains the vicious cycle of birth and death and what one needs
to do in order to escape this vicious cycle.
In the Shloka 21 of
Bhaja Govindham, the stanza “Punarapi
jananam punarapi maranam
Punarapi janani jaTarae
shayanam Iha
samsaarae bahudhusthaarae Krupayaaparae paahi murarae” denotes a cycle of birth
and death a human has to undergo based on his Purva Janma Vasanas (inherited
predispositions) and the law of karma (sum of a person's actions in this and
previous states of existence). Till we attain the 100% level of spiritual
development we will all undergo this vicious cycle of birth and death.
Although, there is no set time when one can decisively tell when one can escape
this cycle of rebirths, it is very well elucidated in the following shloka,
what steps one needs to take in order to progress fast and forge in that
journey towards the 100% level of development.
The whole shloka focuses
on intellectual bondage. It urges you to pose important questions by ourselves
and find the answers to the same by yourself. However, when you fail to pose
these questions or find answers, our ignorance in these matters boomerang on
you and cause sorrow, you in turn blame the other person or the environment or
even God! This shloka calls on you to maintain a dispossess viewpoint towards
our possessions even during your ownership over them. It is important to
understand that attachments need to go, but not objects of attachment. The
problem is with your attitude and not the objects. Detachment is the removal of
selfishness, demands and expectations. However, maintaining this spirit of
detachment in our relationships or over our possessions is what is difficult.
Today you put in a lot of effort to acquire things or maintain relationships
but your possessiveness towards them makes you agitated, bitter and irritated.
To overcome this, you must analyze all the things you feel attached to, then
remove the possessiveness but retain the possessions, only then will you enjoy
the fruits of your labor.
Conclusion:
In
this process of spiritual development, it is important to understand that
actions based on superstitions and beliefs would not provide solutions your
problems. There is no other way to come out of or mitigate your problems except
by finding the truth (posing the right questions and finding answers for them). You may feel
unhappy, agitated, and devastated in your journey of finding the truth.
Understand
that the ultimate abode of all you experience in the world is the truth. Everything
is happening in the universe as governed by that truth viz., the law of
gravity, water boiling at a particular temperature, water freezing at a specific
temperature; there is a law governing all this, which is the ‘ultimate truth’.
In Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna says to Krishna, "Reality is that truth that I am
seeing". Everything
is happening because of cause and effect. If you wish to lead a life where you
are spiritually developed, start acting now. You are the maker of your fortune.
Whatever you do today will have an effect on tomorrow. Even the smallest
of steps you take to find the truth would result in giant leaps of your
spiritual development.
It is crucial for you to
reflect over this truth right here and right now. You have to understand that
time is of essence here. Do not waste your precious time on pursuing only
material ends. Go find the truth and spread the knowledge about the process.
Be blissful.
S.SEKAR
Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com
Date: 02-02-2021
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