The Divine State
Jaya Dayal Goyandka Late
The Lord describing the state of the God-realized soul or the Brahmic state says- "This is the divine state, O Partha; having attained thereto, one does not lapse into delusion; fixed in that state even at the final hour, one can attain the bliss of God" (Gita II. 72).
And indicating that state He says--
"That which is night to all beings, in that state (of Divine Knowledge and Supreme Bliss) the God-realized Yogī keeps awake. And that (the ever-changing, transient worldly happiness) in which all beings keep awake is night to the seer" (Gita II. 69).
It follows, therefore, that if a man however sinful and degraded he may be, even in his last moments becomes devoted to the Lord and purges himself completely of all worldly desires, he may attain a blissful state. And if he thus becomes firmly established in God, he undoubtedly attains the highest state of bliss. Sentiment is as potent, if not more, as action. And so it behoves us to intensify our feeling of other-worldliness and try to establish ourselves ever firmly in God.
One who keeps his mind and senses under complete control and concentrated on God, is like a man wide awake; whereas one who forgets God is like a man who sleeps losing all sense of external objects. Such a one is lost in darkness and has no sense of spiritual values.
The sage or seer who has firmly established himself in God becomes oblivious of the worldly objects. In this illuminated state objects vanish or they lose their significance completely. For him the darkness of night is the enjoyment of sense-objects by the worldly-minded people. He loses himself completely in the contemplation of God.
It is the law of life that the feeling prevailing at the last moment of a man's existence determines the future career of the human soul. The Gītā also endorses this fact in the following verse-
"Arjuna, thinking of whatever entity one leaves the body at the time of death, that and that alone one attains, being ever absorbed in its thought" (Gītā VIII. 6).
And therefore, the Lord exhorted Arjuna in the next verse to think of Him all the time-
"Therefore, Arjuna, think of Me at all times and fight. With mind and reason thus set on Me, you will doubtless come to Me."
It is true that the dominating thought or feeling at the moment of death determines man's destiny; but who can be sure that the desired exalted feeling would be awakened at that critical moment to the exclusion of all other disturbing and distracting thoughts? Death may over-take us quite suddenly and catch us unawares. The heart may fail any moment. So it would be indiscreet to depend upon the last moment in life to induce the right thought or feeling.
It is therefore necessary to be always, every moment of life, aware of death and remember the Lord at all times, and keep our feeling in a state of exaltation.
One may follow the path of devotion or of Yoga; but the mind must be kept in a sublime state. The meritorious deeds, religious rites and charitable actions of a man, if performed with a selfish motive may prove fruitful and the Devatās may grant him the desired object; but the Lord will never grant his prayers unless they are definitely for his ultimate good. He is constantly watching our interests and desires that they may be promoted. He is merciful and the sages too are always anxious for our welfare. The scriptures are ever ready to guide us on the right path. But, unfortunately, it is we who are to be blamed for acting prejudicially to our own interest. All our actions must have their sanction from the scriptures and our motive must be high and noble; so the action thus prompted would also be sublime. When the motive is not mean or selfish, then the action proceeding from it would also be unselfish, though it may appear otherwise to others. What is required is complete absence of personal or selfish idea and the desire to gain any individual advantage. It is a mistake to suppose that such a state of mind is difficult to attain. Even an attempt to attain it gives one immeasurable joy and peace. Even the acceptance of some service from others to please them cannot interfere with one's selfless motive.
As every atom of our body and mind is filled with selfishness, overcoming selfishness seems to be an impossible thing. Often good deeds give a wrong impression of the real intention of the doer. His acts of philanthropy and public service may show him as a selfless person, but we cannot guess his real feelings. But one who is truly selfless experiences peace, joy and luminous wisdom. When the mind is completely free from all desires and cravings it attains real peace, as the Lord says in the Gita-
"He who gives up all desires, and is freed from attachment, ego and thirst for enjoyment, attains peace" (II. 71).
The Lord further says
“As the waters (of various rivers) enter the ocean, which though full on all sides, remains unobstructed, likewise he, in whom all enjoyments merge themselves, attains peace; not he who hankers after such enjoyments" (II. 70).
The divine state is thus compared to the ocean which is ever full and remains the same even if all the rivers pour their waters into it. Similarly the man who has firmly established himself in God, remains undisturbed and never loses his mental balance though all the enjoyments of the world may be easily available to him. This divine state bestows on him a limitless measure of peace, bliss and illumination of knowledge. As a matter of fact he becomes an embodiment of them all. On the other hand, one who is constantly hankering after worldly enjoyments never gets peace of mind. How sublime is the divine state is made clear by this contrast.
It is not correct to say that the attainment of this divine state is very difficult, as even an attempt in that direction imparts a kind of bliss. When fully established in it one undoubtedly gets supreme beatitude. Only so long as its real significance is not realized, it appears difficult of attainment. Really speaking, the relation between the human soul and the world is founded upon mere presumptions.
Inert matter can have no real relation with the living soul, as their very natures are different. It is vain on our part to renounce anything which has no real existence. And supposing that the things we renounce have a real existence, then it means that we give up our sense of ownership for things which were never ours. It is only the demand of justice to surrender what is not ours. It is not true renunciation. We have only given up a false sense of ownership as it was proper to do, and nothing more. This must lead to peace of mind.
One who looks upon worldly objects as one's own is a thief and deserves punishment as such. Whatever one has more than he needs, must be spent in the service of God. To possess what is superfluous amounts to thieving or misappropriation. We have no right to keep what must rightly go to others. To say the least it is folly, if not theft.
There is another attitude also regarding our possessions. It is to look upon them as really belonging to God and ourselves as their mere custodians. If this is a sincere feeling or belief then there can be no hesitation in employing them in the service of God immediately where there is an opportunity to do so. And it must be a source of real joy to render unto God what is His. But if there is the slightest hesitation in parting with things, then our feeling is not sincere. And we look upon things as our own and delude ourselves by saying that they are God's. Our possessions, which we hold in trust, when used in the service of God, give us great joy. It is a matter of practical experience.
All worldly objects, really speaking, belong to God, and we have no right to own or use more than our just needs. This is as it should be in case of every man. But the great souls who tread the path go beyond this. They look upon worldly things as abominable dirt; and to them their renunciation imparts a real relief and satisfaction as one feels after evacuating foreign matter from the body. What was deposited with us on trust gives us a sense of relief when returned intact to the owner on demand. Such should be our feeling when we render unto God what is His.
There is hardly anything in the world which we can call our own. We are not even the master of our body. Everything belongs to God. The human body after death is dissolved into its elements and there remains nothing which man can claim as his own and take it with him after departing from the world. It behoves us, therefore, to take the fullest advantage of the body for our spiritual advancement. And that is our real gain. Illness should not upset us and even in suffering we should give greater attention to our religious practices such as cultivation of devotion or acquisition of knowledge. Who knows that the present illness may be the last and it may put an end to life; and so it should be the endeavour of the sick person to be more attentive to his practice and to maintain the right attitude.
Every man has a right to possess and enjoy the ban necessities of life. Such things are to be shared equally by all. Anyone who appropriates more than his requirements to the prejudice of others' share or retains possession them depriving others of their due is, to say the least, unwise. He should know that his action is unjust. On other hand, if he keeps things on trust thinking that they are God's and are to be used for His service, there is no harm in collecting them in ever-increasing number. Then he becomes an agent of the Lord for collecting and disbursing those things. But he should be free from feeling of pride in performing this function.
When he has rendered any service to some person, he should think that God in his mercy gave him an opportunity to serve and for this he should feel grateful. Thus God is taking His things back and giving him a chance of earning merit and gaining emancipation from the world. It gives pleasure and satisfaction to the man as the things in his possession were utilized for the service of the Lord. We should therefore, be always ready and willing to render things to the Lord as they are really His.
If we were to die without forsaking the sense of ownership with respect to our possessions, we shall have to face dire consequences in the next world. And all our possessions will no more be of any use, and they will pass into other hands unknown to us. In any case we shall have little to do with them. It is, therefore, necessary that in our life-time we should renounce our claim to the ownership of things and wash away our sins. For the sustenance of life one depends upon God and not on the worldly objects. To beg God for our daily bread no doubt smacks of selfishness; but it is not so bad as appropriating what belongs to Him or to the entire humanity. As a matter of fact there is nothing which we can claim to be our own, and if one dies without realizing this, one would be punished like a thief. Reason and the scriptures also support this irrefutable fact.
Taking into account all these things we should renounce our fictitious claim to all worldly objects and to our own body, and establish ourselves firmly in God. This untenable claim is a great hindrance in attaining the divine state. It keeps our mind in bondage and causes pangs at the time of death and punishment follows hereafter. It is the root of evil in one's life-time and also after death. A little reflection will make it quite clear that we are responsible for our own doings, and that there is no real relationship between the soul and the body and worldly objects. The sooner this great truth is realized the better for us. Then it would be possible to render unto the Lord what is His, and renouncing our ownership of things we shall dedicate them to His service. Then we shall be able to establish ourselves completely and firmly in Him, and thus finally attain to Him. This is the divine state.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Jaya Dayal Goyandka and March 1995, Kalyana Kalpataru
The Divine State
Jaya Dayal Goyandka Late
The Lord describing the state of the God-realized soul or the Brahmic state says- "This is the divine state, O Partha; having attained thereto, one does not lapse into delusion; fixed in that state even at the final hour, one can attain the bliss of God" (Gita II. 72).
And indicating that state He says--
"That which is night to all beings, in that state (of Divine Knowledge and Supreme Bliss) the God-realized Yogī keeps awake. And that (the ever-changing, transient worldly happiness) in which all beings keep awake is night to the seer" (Gita II. 69).
It follows, therefore, that if a man however sinful and degraded he may be, even in his last moments becomes devoted to the Lord and purges himself completely of all worldly desires, he may attain a blissful state. And if he thus becomes firmly established in God, he undoubtedly attains the highest state of bliss. Sentiment is as potent, if not more, as action. And so it behoves us to intensify our feeling of other-worldliness and try to establish ourselves ever firmly in God.
One who keeps his mind and senses under complete control and concentrated on God, is like a man wide awake; whereas one who forgets God is like a man who sleeps losing all sense of external objects. Such a one is lost in darkness and has no sense of spiritual values.
The sage or seer who has firmly established himself in God becomes oblivious of the worldly objects. In this illuminated state objects vanish or they lose their significance completely. For him the darkness of night is the enjoyment of sense-objects by the worldly-minded people. He loses himself completely in the contemplation of God.
It is the law of life that the feeling prevailing at the last moment of a man's existence determines the future career of the human soul. The Gītā also endorses this fact in the following verse-
"Arjuna, thinking of whatever entity one leaves the body at the time of death, that and that alone one attains, being ever absorbed in its thought" (Gītā VIII. 6).
And therefore, the Lord exhorted Arjuna in the next verse to think of Him all the time-
"Therefore, Arjuna, think of Me at all times and fight. With mind and reason thus set on Me, you will doubtless come to Me."
It is true that the dominating thought or feeling at the moment of death determines man's destiny; but who can be sure that the desired exalted feeling would be awakened at that critical moment to the exclusion of all other disturbing and distracting thoughts? Death may over-take us quite suddenly and catch us unawares. The heart may fail any moment. So it would be indiscreet to depend upon the last moment in life to induce the right thought or feeling.
It is therefore necessary to be always, every moment of life, aware of death and remember the Lord at all times, and keep our feeling in a state of exaltation.
One may follow the path of devotion or of Yoga; but the mind must be kept in a sublime state. The meritorious deeds, religious rites and charitable actions of a man, if performed with a selfish motive may prove fruitful and the Devatās may grant him the desired object; but the Lord will never grant his prayers unless they are definitely for his ultimate good. He is constantly watching our interests and desires that they may be promoted. He is merciful and the sages too are always anxious for our welfare. The scriptures are ever ready to guide us on the right path. But, unfortunately, it is we who are to be blamed for acting prejudicially to our own interest. All our actions must have their sanction from the scriptures and our motive must be high and noble; so the action thus prompted would also be sublime. When the motive is not mean or selfish, then the action proceeding from it would also be unselfish, though it may appear otherwise to others. What is required is complete absence of personal or selfish idea and the desire to gain any individual advantage. It is a mistake to suppose that such a state of mind is difficult to attain. Even an attempt to attain it gives one immeasurable joy and peace. Even the acceptance of some service from others to please them cannot interfere with one's selfless motive.
As every atom of our body and mind is filled with selfishness, overcoming selfishness seems to be an impossible thing. Often good deeds give a wrong impression of the real intention of the doer. His acts of philanthropy and public service may show him as a selfless person, but we cannot guess his real feelings. But one who is truly selfless experiences peace, joy and luminous wisdom. When the mind is completely free from all desires and cravings it attains real peace, as the Lord says in the Gita-
"He who gives up all desires, and is freed from attachment, ego and thirst for enjoyment, attains peace" (II. 71).
The Lord further says
“As the waters (of various rivers) enter the ocean, which though full on all sides, remains unobstructed, likewise he, in whom all enjoyments merge themselves, attains peace; not he who hankers after such enjoyments" (II. 70).
The divine state is thus compared to the ocean which is ever full and remains the same even if all the rivers pour their waters into it. Similarly the man who has firmly established himself in God, remains undisturbed and never loses his mental balance though all the enjoyments of the world may be easily available to him. This divine state bestows on him a limitless measure of peace, bliss and illumination of knowledge. As a matter of fact he becomes an embodiment of them all. On the other hand, one who is constantly hankering after worldly enjoyments never gets peace of mind. How sublime is the divine state is made clear by this contrast.
It is not correct to say that the attainment of this divine state is very difficult, as even an attempt in that direction imparts a kind of bliss. When fully established in it one undoubtedly gets supreme beatitude. Only so long as its real significance is not realized, it appears difficult of attainment. Really speaking, the relation between the human soul and the world is founded upon mere presumptions.
Inert matter can have no real relation with the living soul, as their very natures are different. It is vain on our part to renounce anything which has no real existence. And supposing that the things we renounce have a real existence, then it means that we give up our sense of ownership for things which were never ours. It is only the demand of justice to surrender what is not ours. It is not true renunciation. We have only given up a false sense of ownership as it was proper to do, and nothing more. This must lead to peace of mind.
One who looks upon worldly objects as one's own is a thief and deserves punishment as such. Whatever one has more than he needs, must be spent in the service of God. To possess what is superfluous amounts to thieving or misappropriation. We have no right to keep what must rightly go to others. To say the least it is folly, if not theft.
There is another attitude also regarding our possessions. It is to look upon them as really belonging to God and ourselves as their mere custodians. If this is a sincere feeling or belief then there can be no hesitation in employing them in the service of God immediately where there is an opportunity to do so. And it must be a source of real joy to render unto God what is His. But if there is the slightest hesitation in parting with things, then our feeling is not sincere. And we look upon things as our own and delude ourselves by saying that they are God's. Our possessions, which we hold in trust, when used in the service of God, give us great joy. It is a matter of practical experience.
All worldly objects, really speaking, belong to God, and we have no right to own or use more than our just needs. This is as it should be in case of every man. But the great souls who tread the path go beyond this. They look upon worldly things as abominable dirt; and to them their renunciation imparts a real relief and satisfaction as one feels after evacuating foreign matter from the body. What was deposited with us on trust gives us a sense of relief when returned intact to the owner on demand. Such should be our feeling when we render unto God what is His.
There is hardly anything in the world which we can call our own. We are not even the master of our body. Everything belongs to God. The human body after death is dissolved into its elements and there remains nothing which man can claim as his own and take it with him after departing from the world. It behoves us, therefore, to take the fullest advantage of the body for our spiritual advancement. And that is our real gain. Illness should not upset us and even in suffering we should give greater attention to our religious practices such as cultivation of devotion or acquisition of knowledge. Who knows that the present illness may be the last and it may put an end to life; and so it should be the endeavour of the sick person to be more attentive to his practice and to maintain the right attitude.
Every man has a right to possess and enjoy the ban necessities of life. Such things are to be shared equally by all. Anyone who appropriates more than his requirements to the prejudice of others' share or retains possession them depriving others of their due is, to say the least, unwise. He should know that his action is unjust. On other hand, if he keeps things on trust thinking that they are God's and are to be used for His service, there is no harm in collecting them in ever-increasing number. Then he becomes an agent of the Lord for collecting and disbursing those things. But he should be free from feeling of pride in performing this function.
When he has rendered any service to some person, he should think that God in his mercy gave him an opportunity to serve and for this he should feel grateful. Thus God is taking His things back and giving him a chance of earning merit and gaining emancipation from the world. It gives pleasure and satisfaction to the man as the things in his possession were utilized for the service of the Lord. We should therefore, be always ready and willing to render things to the Lord as they are really His.
If we were to die without forsaking the sense of ownership with respect to our possessions, we shall have to face dire consequences in the next world. And all our possessions will no more be of any use, and they will pass into other hands unknown to us. In any case we shall have little to do with them. It is, therefore, necessary that in our life-time we should renounce our claim to the ownership of things and wash away our sins. For the sustenance of life one depends upon God and not on the worldly objects. To beg God for our daily bread no doubt smacks of selfishness; but it is not so bad as appropriating what belongs to Him or to the entire humanity. As a matter of fact there is nothing which we can claim to be our own, and if one dies without realizing this, one would be punished like a thief. Reason and the scriptures also support this irrefutable fact.
Taking into account all these things we should renounce our fictitious claim to all worldly objects and to our own body, and establish ourselves firmly in God. This untenable claim is a great hindrance in attaining the divine state. It keeps our mind in bondage and causes pangs at the time of death and punishment follows hereafter. It is the root of evil in one's life-time and also after death. A little reflection will make it quite clear that we are responsible for our own doings, and that there is no real relationship between the soul and the body and worldly objects. The sooner this great truth is realized the better for us. Then it would be possible to render unto the Lord what is His, and renouncing our ownership of things we shall dedicate them to His service. Then we shall be able to establish ourselves completely and firmly in Him, and thus finally attain to Him. This is the divine state.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Jaya Dayal Goyandka and March 1995, Kalyana Kalpataru