The Ideal Way to Get Really Close to God
Once upon a time, a musk deer went searching for musk. Round and round the forest she went, month after month, quite unaware that the heady fragrance, so desperately sought by her, lay beneath her own belly button. Many times, we humans, too, behave like the musk deer. We search for self-realisation outside, blissfully unaware that it lies within us, all the while untapped. To experience this bliss, however, the seeker has to put ina different sort of effort with regularity and devotion. One way lies through the world of forms, through the path of bhakti, where the seeker concen- trates on any of the manifest forms of the Ultimate. The other more arduous way of other more arduous way of knowledge involves seeking the truth as the Unmanifest, without any attributes. The former is called saguna upasanŠ° and the latter nirguna upasana of no-attributes. "Of the two, which is superi- or?" the Pandava prince Arjuna his divine chario- teer, in Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita. While both paths lead to the same goal, the way of no-forms is not an easy journey for ordinary mortals, the Lord replies. How do you grasp That, which lies beyond all epithets and qualities even as you control your senses and keep searching for the truth with absolute even-mindedness? Much as you may want to do so, you just cannot reject maya or illusion overnight You cannot suddenly deny all You cannot suddenly deny all as unreal or non-existent You can only pray to the Lord to part the curtains. This then is saguna upasana, where the seeker takes sole refuge with the Lord with unswerving faith or bhakti. And the Lord, in turn, assures the bhakta that He will indeed redeem him swiftly from the ocean of transmigratory existence, over which the shadow of death hovers permanently. To earn such grace, however, the devotee has to consecrate all his actions, offer that entire he is, or does, to the god he worships. The devotee does not stop performing his duty, he only does what he has to do with constant awarenesS of his ultimate objective. The best way to get immediate and everlasting peace, Krishna finally tells Arjuna, is through the renunciation of the fruit of all action. This means doing your duty with the full faith that the fruit, what ever it may be, is the prasad or blessing gifted by the Lord. Seeing this from the reverse perspective makes renunciation of the fruit of action the first step in the ladder to ultimat realisation. If you can b completely honest to yourself and truly act without clamouring for the fruit of your action, positive energy will be released. This will automatically lead you to higher levels of aware ness. However, one also needs to guard against complacency as well as feverish ness if one is to progress on this path of abhyasa. "He who has schooled himself to rise above any rigidity; one who uses his judgment to accommodate change; he who is free from ego, envy, fear and anxiety; he who remains unaffected by all pairs of opposites such as praise or censure, joy or sorrow; he who is clean and compass sionate, selfless and de tached, and most important, one who feels, nay, exults in the knowledge that he is working through Me alonesuch a devotee is extremely dear to me", Krishna assures Arjuna. One who is thus enlightened relates to the world out of his own fullness and not out of any calculated need to seek anything from anyone. (The writer is the 11th Mathadhipati of the Shri Chitrapur Saraswat Math. He will deliver a discourse at Kamani Auditorium in Delhi on February 11 at 6.30 p.m. Website: www.chitrapurmath.net)
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram 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: Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram and Speaking Tree,Times of India
The Ideal Way to Get Really Close to God
Once upon a time, a musk deer went searching for musk. Round and round the forest she went, month after month, quite unaware that the heady fragrance, so desperately sought by her, lay beneath her own belly button. Many times, we humans, too, behave like the musk deer. We search for self-realisation outside, blissfully unaware that it lies within us, all the while untapped. To experience this bliss, however, the seeker has to put ina different sort of effort with regularity and devotion. One way lies through the world of forms, through the path of bhakti, where the seeker concen- trates on any of the manifest forms of the Ultimate. The other more arduous way of other more arduous way of knowledge involves seeking the truth as the Unmanifest, without any attributes. The former is called saguna upasanŠ° and the latter nirguna upasana of no-attributes. "Of the two, which is superi- or?" the Pandava prince Arjuna his divine chario- teer, in Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita. While both paths lead to the same goal, the way of no-forms is not an easy journey for ordinary mortals, the Lord replies. How do you grasp That, which lies beyond all epithets and qualities even as you control your senses and keep searching for the truth with absolute even-mindedness? Much as you may want to do so, you just cannot reject maya or illusion overnight You cannot suddenly deny all You cannot suddenly deny all as unreal or non-existent You can only pray to the Lord to part the curtains. This then is saguna upasana, where the seeker takes sole refuge with the Lord with unswerving faith or bhakti. And the Lord, in turn, assures the bhakta that He will indeed redeem him swiftly from the ocean of transmigratory existence, over which the shadow of death hovers permanently. To earn such grace, however, the devotee has to consecrate all his actions, offer that entire he is, or does, to the god he worships. The devotee does not stop performing his duty, he only does what he has to do with constant awarenesS of his ultimate objective. The best way to get immediate and everlasting peace, Krishna finally tells Arjuna, is through the renunciation of the fruit of all action. This means doing your duty with the full faith that the fruit, what ever it may be, is the prasad or blessing gifted by the Lord. Seeing this from the reverse perspective makes renunciation of the fruit of action the first step in the ladder to ultimat realisation. If you can b completely honest to yourself and truly act without clamouring for the fruit of your action, positive energy will be released. This will automatically lead you to higher levels of aware ness. However, one also needs to guard against complacency as well as feverish ness if one is to progress on this path of abhyasa. "He who has schooled himself to rise above any rigidity; one who uses his judgment to accommodate change; he who is free from ego, envy, fear and anxiety; he who remains unaffected by all pairs of opposites such as praise or censure, joy or sorrow; he who is clean and compass sionate, selfless and de tached, and most important, one who feels, nay, exults in the knowledge that he is working through Me alonesuch a devotee is extremely dear to me", Krishna assures Arjuna. One who is thus enlightened relates to the world out of his own fullness and not out of any calculated need to seek anything from anyone. (The writer is the 11th Mathadhipati of the Shri Chitrapur Saraswat Math. He will deliver a discourse at Kamani Auditorium in Delhi on February 11 at 6.30 p.m. Website: www.chitrapurmath.net)
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram 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: Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram and Speaking Tree,Times of India