Saturday, November 5, 2011

Search for meaning of life (Article published in Speaking Tree TOI on 04-11-2011)

Our quest for the meaning of life comprises a speculative question with apprehension about our existence, its purpose and significance. When we probe more into this we ask questions: "Who am i?" Why am i here?" "What is my role in this universe?"

Whether one is an atheist, theist, agnostic or a smart mix of all three, these are haunting questions we`ve been asking since long. Some try to find answers while others remain unruffled. The reason why some are undisturbed by these questions is that the answers to these questions are various and they involve drawing from philosophy, theology, ideology and spirituality. The quest for the answers may confuse the seeker but those who are keenly interested to know will find the answers as easily as peeling a banana.

The life of a human being is an opportunity to enable us to move forward from bondage to liberation. To transcend bondage one has to know that the fundamental prerequisite quality is to engage in inquiry. We have the ability to know the how and what of all that we perceive.

Those who never enquire about the nature of life are missing the opportunity to know about life - for it is only in human form that we have the capacity to seek knowledge. Can a dog enquire about the purpose of its life? It is worried more about catering to its basic requirements like food, water and other physical needs. In contrast, the human form of life is gifted with the exceptional ability to enquire beyond these physical needs. While other species possess manomaya kosha, the mental sheath, only humans have vijnanamaya kosha, the wisdom sheath that enables us to pose questions that go beyond basic instincts.

The ability to question is seen in a child that asks questions all the time. As conscious intelligence develops fully and is encouraged, it elevates the level of enquiry, including deeper questions about life. This is the only trump card for us to probe further into the real purpose of our existence and what we need to do to better ourselves in particular and society in general. This probe helps us to rise above insignificant and mundane issues. As one grows spiritually, one tends to think about higher things and so does not get trapped and lost in materialistic matters.

The purpose of life is to realise the inherent bliss and tranquillity within. Once this is understood our self is elevated to higher dimensions wherein it merges with the Absolute. As this awareness is felt we will realise that the rat race we were in to achieve power, riches or fame was really so insignificant - in fact, not worth getting agitated over. No wonder it was providing short-term happiness which has left us with a void feeling.

The answer to the meaning of life is in us and in the journey within. The quest for it outside is unfruitful, tiring and unfocussed. Life starts providing answers as we take the beautiful journey inward. The search within will transform life and showcase the true nature in us. As soon as the true being shines in us the radiance beams a warm glow which accompanies us; then the delusion of this illusory world annihilates and life becomes beautiful and seems to be surrounded by miracles. This is the process of moving from bondage to liberation.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Experience the Truth (Article published in Speaking Tree TOI on 21-09-2011)

Knowledge of scriptures might bring a sense of accomplishment and happiness but unless our attitude is flawless and our conscience clear, it will be hard to achieve steadfastness and bliss.

How much ever one is well versed in the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita -- and even if one has shlokas at his finger tips, he must possess control over his senses, limit his desires and contemplate on the knowledge he has, to attain spiritual progress. Ravana had unmatched knowledge but his attitude was not good.

The continuous chain of trials and tribulations of various degrees of magnitude in life could help a seeker understand the meaning and purpose of life. An ignorant person blames either God or Destiny or even more so his family and friends for all that happens to him.

A man wants his young son to learn swimming. He takes him to the nearby lake to give him lessons on how to swim. He first ties an inflatable tube to his waist, so that it lets him float. After some days the boy is familiar with the up thrust got by the arm cycle and leg kick, and he experiences buoyancy. When the father is confident that the boy can float without the help of the tube, he removes it and lets the boy swim without the help of the tube. An inflatable swimming tube only helps the boy to remain afloat on the surface of the water; it only assisted him in learning how to swim. Likewise, scriptures help us to get a vision; we get a vivid account of the glory and splendor of the omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence of the Absolute Truth. However, ultimately we can progress on the spiritual path only by our own effort.

There are many scholars and pundits who boast and want to prove that the philosophy that they follow is superior to that of others'. These philosophies are like the materials used to keep the boy floating in water. While one person uses an inflatable tube to keep afloat, others have used the dried, unpunctured bottle gourd, some use thermacool blocks, some others use float boards. What is important is that the student needs to learn how to swim; how to keep afloat - it does not matter what the aids used are. No one will ever ask us what type of material we had used to keep ourselves afloat while we were learning to swim. It is the same with philosophies also; the main criterion is to reach the goal.

Truth is one but the means to know it are numerous. Hence the facts regarding the Truth are many. Facts are not self-explanatory; they are analysed by theories and theses and these may differ from each other. We have accumulated vast mounds of information about the Truth, but very few have experienced the Truth.

Truth which is absolute can never be comprehended by the human mind since it is relative. It is impossible to know the Absolute Truth although by the uninterrupted sadhana and grace of the guru, the Self can experience it. Truth thus experienced is but our own experience. This is a universal law, which, if understood, can take us to Bliss, eternal happiness. We are that Self which is comprehensive, composite, part of Cosmic Consciousness and therefore immortal and infinite -- beyond death and destruction. Awareness of this is the experience of Truth.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

"It's all about your attitude" Article in Speaking Tree published on 27 July, 2011,



The main cause of bondage is identifying Self with body and mind, both of which are not eternal. The body is constantly changing. We assume doer ship through the mind - which we identify as our Self - and any action performed by thought, word and deed is wrongly associated with Self. But the Self is non-doer; it is just a witness. Only the ignorant consider the Self as doer. A person who is aware of this truth is free from bondage of the subtle body which is the mind and intellect concept. Such a person is able to evolve to higher realms.

The sentence “I am not the doer, Providence alone is the doer” means that my wisdom and the thinking capacity that is in me would not have been possible if the One present in all of us is not guiding my thoughts. I am not the actor, writer or performer - someone is acting, writing or performing through me; that One is the Cosmic Self, whatever name we might wish to assign to the Power.

It is the knowledge of a Jnani or the emotional feeling of a Bhakta that brings out non-doership which annihilates ego. An unchecked ego hinders the flow of thoughts. Tons of praise may come your way from those who appreciate creative work produced by your efforts. And the praise may sometimes make you feel proud. Yet it makes sense to let all the praise reach the One who is guiding you, so that there is no hindrance for further flow of thoughts.

You don't have to imbibe non-doership; it should be as naturally present as hunger is present. Does a lion need to learn how to hunt? Or a deer, how to flee? No, it is just there as a natural instinct. Similarly, having the skill to understand non-doership should come naturally to the one who has become the Drashta or seer; or perhaps who is just a witness. Only the ignorant would say that every event is happening due to them.

For Karya or something to happen, three things are necessary: The person who does the job, parent material and the instrument to do it. Take, for instance, the making of a pot. You have the potter who makes the pot, the parent material is the clay and the instrument to make the pot - the potter's wheel. If the pot (Karya) has to be made, the potter will use clay and the potter's wheel. Here the potter is Abhinna Karana or undifferentiated cause, clay is Upadana Karana or essential cause while the potter's wheel is Nimitta Karana or the instrumental cause. Hence the potter's wheel cannot take credit for the pot. The credit goes to the potter and clay. A potter can choose any potter's wheel he wishes. Similarly, in our lives we are all like the potter's wheel in the hands of the great Potter, the Supreme. Neither are we potter or clay; the Supreme is all three.


What is so special in having an attitude of non-doership? At the gross level it will keep ego in check. At the subtle level, it will not let you become the bhokta, the enjoyer. I am neither karta nor bhokta. This will ensure that one does not return in another life to enjoy or suffer the fruits of past deeds. The attitude of non-doership would put an end to the cycle of birth and death.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Real and The Unreal (Article published in Speaking Tree TOI on 27-09-2011)



Scriptures say that reality is eternal, unchangeable, has no distortion and is beyond distinctions of time, space and individuality.

The Hiranyagarbha or primordial seeds of life that self-emanated with the support of the five elements – ether, air, fire, water and earth – came to be this vast universe. To understand this better we have to know about transformation of matters.

Chethana vastu or that which has life, which has chaitanya or consciousness, will never get transformed. Any jada vastu or that which is lifeless will get transformed. The body is a chethana vastu till the life breath is present, but will get transformed once the chaitanya is lost. Body will get mixed with mud and could become a plant one day. If we examine a plant in the pot, the plant will use up all the mud and grow, one day if we happen to re-pot it we observe that only roots are present; very little soil is left in the pot. What happened to the soil? Yes, the soil has been transformed into the plant. Are the soil and the plant different? No, they are one and the same in different name and form.

Reality can be viewed at three levels: Paramarthika or the absolute, Vyavaharika or what is relative and Pratibhasika or the illusory. Reality of the non-dual whole which is the infinite non-dual consciousness of being, 'I am' is the absolute reality. This is Brahman, the primordial and that which has no distortion with respect to time, space and individuality. So Vedanta tells all that is present is Brahman and that Brahman is reality.

Until such time as when we come to know absolute reality, the empirical world is projected in all its diversity. This makes us feel the existence of the relative reality. Anything that is relatively real appears to be real at certain times and under certain conditions, and it ceases or changes its appearance at other times and under other conditions. Since it is not real at all times, it is not real even when it appears to be real. Relative reality is experienced by all as the same.

Erroneous imagination of something which does not exist or illusions and hallucinations which have no existence apart from the mind that imagines them is illusory reality.

Let us consider clay and call it Brahman, the absolute reality. A potter makes a pot out of it. Now the pot becomes relative reality. Even though it is clay we call it pot since we see it in the form of a pot. Once the pot is broken it will go back to its original form, clay. An individual who has purchased the pot will think he can make use of it by cooking rice in it. This is illusory reality. This is purely one's own imagination, since one can cook rice or boil water, or make tea or the pot may even crack before one puts it on the fire.

In Vedanta, the oft-repeated analogy is of the rope and snake. Originally the material of the rope is Brahman – this is absolute reality. Due to its appearance in the form of a rope we call it rope and this is relative reality. In darkness if someone mistakes the rope to be a snake, this is illusory reality. One can imagine a rope to be a coiled snake, piece of stick, or a crack in the ground and this is left to the individual's imagination.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Dharma of right conduct (Article published in Speaking Tree TOI on 07-02-2011)

Dharma is the principle of righteousness. It is the unifier and sustainer of social life. The code of righteousness is meant to help us regulate our lives in this world -- just as we need a constitution, written or otherwise, that helps us make the framework for the governance of a country or an institution.

Since the constitution of a country is conceived and framed by human intellect it could become out-of-context over the passage of time and therefore, amendments may become necessary, from time to time. On the other hand the rules of righteousness are evolved by the Supreme -- they are valuable and relevant in any context -- and hence they are eternal. There is no room for corruption in its implementation. All are equal before it. Righteousness brings as its consequence happiness, both in this world and in the next. If we protect it, it will protect us.

That which elevates is righteousness. It leads us to the path of perfection and glory and helps us to have direct communion with the Supreme. Righteousness is at the heart of ethics. Striving intently to uphold it is the purushartha or the concept of pursuits of life. And these are dharma or righteous conduct, artha or acquisition of wealth by honest means, kama or desire for physical and mental wellbeing and moksha or liberation of the embodied soul from the vast ocean of acquisitive life.

Scriptures say that dharma and moksha are like the river bed to artha and kama, and so should never be breached. At the end of the Mahabharata war, Bhishma, lying on a bed of arrows, tells Yudhishtira that whatever creates conflict is non-righteousness and whatever puts an end to conflict and brings about unity and harmony is righteousness. Anything that helps to unite all and generates love and universal brotherhood is righteous. Anything that creates disagreement, divide and disharmony is non-righteous. Any righteous act brings good karma.

"Dharmo rakshati rakshita." An incident during the Mahabharata war illustrates this. During the war in the thick of combat Arjuna sees the blurred vision, like a figure exuding a flame-like radiance, in the opposite camp. At the end of the day an intrigued Arjuna asks Vyasa: "What was that blur of light, a figure, I think, I could see in the opposite camp even as I was engaged in combat?" Vyasa asks: "Son, did you notice the figure holding a trident?" Arjuna says" Yes, I could see a trident in the hand." Vyasa says: "He is none other than Maha Rudradeva; He is helping you since the war which you Pandavas are fighting is dharmic" Arjuna asks "If Shiva wants to assist me in the war, why is He in the Kaurava camp? What is He doing there?"

Vyasa tells Arujuna that Maha Rudradeva does not tolerate adharma He is there to deter those who have supported adharma. He is known for destruction; by His mere presence in their camp He is sucking all the vigour of the warriors on that side. Hence Kaurava warriors who were known for their strength now seem weak, sapped of energy. Vyasa tells Arjuna that whatever is done in righteousness, the support to that act comes from all sides. Vyasa says in the Mahabharata: "Do not forsake your code of righteousness out of desire, being overwhelmed by fear or greed or even when threatened with death -- as righteousness is eternal whereas being happy or unhappy is momentary. The embodied soul is eternal and the gross body is perishable."


Sreeram Manoj Kumar

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Four Ways of Showing Devotion to God (Article published in Speaking Tree TOI -Apr 14 2003)

The Bhagavad Gita recommends Bhakti Yoga towards attaining moksha . Krishna tells Arjuna that a person who thinks of Him at least at the time of his death is liberated of all his sins. A surprised Arjuna asks Krishna how one could foresee the time of his death.

Krishna tells Arjuna, he should think of Him while carrying out his prescribed duty. With his activities dedicated to Him and his mind and intelligence fixed upon Him, he would attain Him.

Krishna explains the four types of devotional service rendered to Him: One who thinks of Him at the time of distress is the aartha. One who is worried by the struggle for prosperity, power, self and property is the Artha-arthi .

A third who yearns for the realisation of the atman , reads the scriptures and sacred texts, moves in the company of spiritual practitioners, and is always motivated by eagerness to reach the lotus feet of the Lord is the jijnaasu . The fourth is the jnani . He is immersed in the Brahmathathwam and looks for the Lord in all possible places; he yearns for nothing.

The aartha worships Him only when he is in difficulty. When he prays to Him, the Lord hears it and satisfies him only in relation to that particular difficulty. So too, when the artha- arthi prays for riches, power or high status, He listens and awards him only the particular thing he craves for.

The jijnaasu is blessed with the chance to work without expecting the fruit of activity, with a Guru as guide, with an intellect that is sharp enough to discriminate between atma and anatma , and so is helped to achieve his goal. The jnani needs His help to be saved from distractions and is able to concentrate on the single aim of liberation.

Lord Krishna regards the jijnaasu and jnani as the ideal. The devotion of Gajendra , the elephant that was saved by the Lord from the mouth of the crocodile, was aartha. Sudama, Krishna's friend, exchanged beaten rice for richness, displaying artha-arthi devotion.

The devotion of Gora Kumbar, the ardent devotee of Panduranga Vittal was of jijnaasu , thinking of the Lord always, knowing that He is present to look after his and his family's welfare. Prahalad was a jnani who saw the Lord in all things and surrendered himself completely to the Lord.

Devotion is not only a way of asking for material gains or the answer to unlimited wants. It can also be a thanksgiving for all the good He has given us. He would give us what we deserve. A prayer that is done without any expectation or desire is indeed the best.

Prayer lightens the heaviness of our heart by making it receptive to God. Prayer is expecting God to decide what is best for us when we are in a dilemma. Prayer is not asking, but a communion with God through single-minded devotion; it helps us to be disciplined.

It is a tuning of the mind through meditation. Prayer is surrendering oneself to God completely, and letting the mind and ego merge in silence. Prayer represents a mystic state when the individual consciousness is absorbed in God. It is an act of uplifting the soul through love and adoration for Him.

Devotion to God is tonic for the soul. When the mind becomes pure through the power of prayer, the intellect becomes sharp and keen. It elevates the mind and exempts us from the fear of death and brings us closer to God. Prayer can work wonders. Healing by prayer is not uncommon.

Mahatma Gandhi says: "Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening, there is no peace without the grace of God, and there is no grace of God without Prayer."

Sreeram Manoj Kumar