Hinduism is the Only Dharma

Hinduism is the Only Dharma in this multiverse comprising of Science & Quantum Physics.

Josh Schrei helped me understand G-O-D (Generator-Operator-Destroyer) concept of the divine that is so pervasive in the Vedic tradition/experience. Quantum Theology by Diarmuid O'Murchu and Josh Schrei article compliments the spiritual implications of the new physics. Thanks so much Josh Schrei.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Chapter 2: Beyond Death

🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 8)

*Chapter 2: Beyond Death*

_Fire is present in piece of wood. But it is not manifest_. For fire to manifest, you need another piece of wood to rub against it. That is how they would make fire in the ancient days. From a long, long time, knowledge has been flowing between the Master and the disciple. The Master is one wood, the disciple is another – one is answering and the other is questioning, and together they produce this fire – the question and answer. Their sincerity gives rise to spiritual fire, which consumes the wood, which consumes life.

After having heard from his father, “I give you to death,” Nachiketa moves to the door of death without any fear. Often children don’t know any fear. They are very curious; very scientific in their approach. They are logical. At the same time their emotions are alive, they are not dry or dead. For a seeker this is essential – the mind is alert and awake, at the same time, emotion is alive also.

There are three types of disciples. First is the one who does what is needed even before he is asked. He understands the mind of the Master and does it. The second type of disciple is the one who does after he is asked. The third is the one, who is asked to do several times and still doesn’t do it, doesn’t follow any instructions. Nachiketa thinks, “I want to be the first or the second kind, not the third kind of disciple. Since father has given me to death, I am going to go there.” He goes to the door of death and waits there for three days.

When a pure heart, a sincere heart moves in any action, even death bows to them. A seeker with wisdom is supreme. Death bows in front of them. Patience is another quality of a disciple, infinite patience! In fact, whole learning is testing one’s patience, that’s all. Teacher used to be very tough in testing patience – how soon will you lose it, how long can you sustain your calmness, beat all the adversities. Yama tested Nachiketa for three days. “Let us see how patient he is; is he worth giving further instruction?” He found this boy very calm and serene, with no trace of complaint – with serenity and innocence. “He has the patience to wait”, Yama thinks, so he says, “I grant you three boons. Ask.”

The first boon Nachiketa asked was, "Let my father’s temper get cooled down. Let him receive me with love when I return back home.” Lord Yama said, “Ok, that’s done.” That shows innocence – how in spite of father’s anger, the son didn’t get angry at the father. He wished good for his father. He wanted his father to enjoy the merits of the yagna he was doing. So he requested, “Let my father receive me with love.”

To be continued.....

🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 9)

*Chapter 2: Beyond Death*

स्वर्गे लोके न भयं किञ्चनास्ति
न तत्र त्वं न जरया बिभेति ।
उभे तीर्त्वाऽशनायापिपासे
शोकातिगो मोदते स्वर्गलोके ॥

स त्वमग्निँ स्वर्ग्यमध्येषि मृत्यो
प्रब्रूहि त्वँ श्रद्धधानाय मह्यम् ।
स्वर्गलोका अमृतत्वं भजन्त
एतद् द्वितीयेन वृणे वरेण ॥

The natural desire of every life is to have comfort, to get into a place where there is no misery, no sorrow. The goal of human life is to move towards heaven. Heaven means a place where there is no death, no destruction, no old age, where there is no suffering. Where is this place? Is it somewhere up in the heaven? How to get there? What you should do to get to a state where there is only bliss? This was the second boon. The Lord of Death taught Nachiketa how to attain heaven, where there is no misery.

Life is heavy when you recognize that there is misery. Whenever you recognize misery, you want to get rid of it; otherwise it is not called misery. Happiness is something which you cannot reject. What is the definition of happiness? That which you cannot renounce is happiness. That which you cannot hold on to, or desire to be in. The place where you never want to go to is hell. The place where you always want to be in is heaven. It is but natural for every human being to want to be in heaven. How? Death teaches you. Death is not cruel, death is very compassionate. The Lord of Death teaches Nachiketa what death is all about. It doesn’t take away life, it enhances life. Knowledge of death makes life very rich.

In California, in the early 90’s when we were teaching courses in the bay area, with the group of people, who were HIV positive and had cancer, one of them shared, “From the moment I realized that I have AIDS, I lived every moment. My life has become much more precious. All those years, I was not living at all. I just existed. I never cared about my life. *Now that I know I am going to die, I have suddenly become so alive. This disease has brought life into my life. I feel grateful.* He looked so uplifted.” There was such glow on their faces; nobody could say that they were sick. The knowledge that “I am going to die” had somehow kindled the light.

I felt that was interesting. How I wish people were aware that we are going to die, even without disease! My job would be done. If everyone understood that they are going to die, why would they be angry or greedy? Why would they be worried? All this negativity that they are reeling in day and night would simply disappear. Life would become much simpler. People should understand it is so simple. It is a matter of time, only a few years. _What differences does it make how many years or months? You all are going to be finished one day. This walking, talking body will become silent. This awareness of death can make you much more alive._ *It can take the slumber out of you and it brings heaven right here.*

All that you are worried about from morning till evening is pleasure and comfort. For that you do everything possible, destroying your own self, your own mind. Neither that pleasure nor comfort is going to be with you forever, and definitely not in the last moment. It is not so pleasurable.

We do all wrong things for comfort and pleasure. You get pleasure in many ways – physical pleasure, pleasure that you can gain from people’s attention and recognition. All this comes under the category of pleasure.

To be continued....

🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 9)

*Chapter 2: Beyond Death*

स्वर्गे लोके न भयं किञ्चनास्ति
न तत्र त्वं न जरया बिभेति ।
उभे तीर्त्वाऽशनायापिपासे
शोकातिगो मोदते स्वर्गलोके ॥

स त्वमग्निँ स्वर्ग्यमध्येषि मृत्यो
प्रब्रूहि त्वँ श्रद्धधानाय मह्यम् ।
स्वर्गलोका अमृतत्वं भजन्त
एतद् द्वितीयेन वृणे वरेण ॥

The natural desire of every life is to have comfort, to get into a place where there is no misery, no sorrow. The goal of human life is to move towards heaven. Heaven means a place where there is no death, no destruction, no old age, where there is no suffering. Where is this place? Is it somewhere up in the heaven? How to get there? What you should do to get to a state where there is only bliss? This was the second boon. The Lord of Death taught Nachiketa how to attain heaven, where there is no misery.

Life is heavy when you recognize that there is misery. Whenever you recognize misery, you want to get rid of it; otherwise it is not called misery. Happiness is something which you cannot reject. What is the definition of happiness? That which you cannot renounce is happiness. That which you cannot hold on to, or desire to be in. The place where you never want to go to is hell. The place where you always want to be in is heaven. It is but natural for every human being to want to be in heaven. How? Death teaches you. Death is not cruel, death is very compassionate. The Lord of Death teaches Nachiketa what death is all about. It doesn’t take away life, it enhances life. Knowledge of death makes life very rich.

In California, in the early 90’s when we were teaching courses in the bay area, with the group of people, who were HIV positive and had cancer, one of them shared, “From the moment I realized that I have AIDS, I lived every moment. My life has become much more precious. All those years, I was not living at all. I just existed. I never cared about my life. *Now that I know I am going to die, I have suddenly become so alive. This disease has brought life into my life. I feel grateful.* He looked so uplifted.” There was such glow on their faces; nobody could say that they were sick. The knowledge that “I am going to die” had somehow kindled the light.

I felt that was interesting. How I wish people were aware that we are going to die, even without disease! My job would be done. If everyone understood that they are going to die, why would they be angry or greedy? Why would they be worried? All this negativity that they are reeling in day and night would simply disappear. Life would become much simpler. People should understand it is so simple. It is a matter of time, only a few years. _What differences does it make how many years or months? You all are going to be finished one day. This walking, talking body will become silent. This awareness of death can make you much more alive._ *It can take the slumber out of you and it brings heaven right here.*

All that you are worried about from morning till evening is pleasure and comfort. For that you do everything possible, destroying your own self, your own mind. Neither that pleasure nor comfort is going to be with you forever, and definitely not in the last moment. It is not so pleasurable.

We do all wrong things for comfort and pleasure. You get pleasure in many ways – physical pleasure, pleasure that you can gain from people’s attention and recognition. All this comes under the category of pleasure.

To be continued....

🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 10)

*Chapter 2: Beyond Death*

प्र ते ब्रवीमि तदु मे निबोध
स्वर्ग्यमग्निं नचिकेतः प्रजानन् ।
अनन्तलोकाप्तिमथो प्रतिष्ठां विद्धि
त्वमेतंनिहितं गृहायाम् ॥

लोकादिमग्निं तमुवाच तस्मै
या इष्टका यावतीर्वा यथा वा ।
स चापि तत्प्रत्यवदद्यथोक्तं
अथास्य मृत्युः पुनरेवाह तुष्टः ॥

Nachiketa was instructed to climb the steps of heaven. What are those steps? He was taught how to bring together 720 bricks, how to organize them. This is a secret. Think, what is this 720? Nachiketa learnt all this. When the disciple learns fast, it is the pride of the teacher. The Lord of Death got very pleased, “You learnt this with such sincerity, honesty and with such sharp attention; I will give you one more gift.” He gave Nachiketa a necklace.

तमब्रवीत् प्रीयमाणो महात्मा
वरं तवेहाद्य ददामि भूयः ।
तवैव नाम्ना भविताऽयमग्निः
सृङ्कां चेमामनेकरूपां गृहाण ॥

It was a most amazing piece of necklace, which would also make sounds that were very pleasing. He gave him a necklace of red, blue, white and green colours which could make melodious music. This is a koan that you have to look into (Koan - a story, a dialogue, a question or a statement, which is used in Zen practice to provoke "the great doubt" and test the student's progress in Zen practice). What are those 720 bricks that Nachiketa learnt to gather? Pleased by his clarity if mind, sharpness of intellect, his ability to grasp and understand, he gave a gift as an extra boon. What was the beautiful gift that the Lord of Death gave Nachiketa?

येयं प्रेते विचिकित्सा मनुष्ये –
ऽस्तीत्येके न्यायमस्तीति चैके ।
एतद्विद्यामनुशिष्टस्त्वयाऽहं
वराणामेष वरस्तृतीयः ॥

Nachiketa said, “This is my third boon.” When someone dies, some say they still exist, some say they don’t. Who else can teach me this other than the Lord of Death. You know the truth. I want to know what happens when a person dies.

Very few people are curious about it. We take life for granted, we take death for granted. We never question what happens after life? What is death? How it happens? Where do we go after we die? We live here as though we have been here forever. In one way it is correct. Your spirit has been here even before the stones and trees. Your spirit is so old. It is not the way we think – that the body comes first and then spirit. The spirit comes first and then the body gets formed. That’s what happens in the womb. If the spirit is not there, the body will not be formed. Spirit first and then matter. Even before anything existed on this planet, you were there, I was there. We have been here many times. This is not first time. I know it. I only wish you remember a little bit at least. We have been here so many times. We have forgotten that. The inquisitiveness is dead, it is gone. What is death? What is life? They are two sides of the same coin. If you know life thoroughly, you know what death is. If you know death, you know what life is. This young boy said, “I want to know.”

To be continued.....


🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 11)

*Chapter 2: Beyond Death*

देवैरत्रापि विचिकित्सितं पुरा
न हि सुविग्येयमणुरेष धर्मः ।
अन्यं वरं नचिकेतो वृणीष्व
मा मोपरोत्सीरति मा सृजैनम् ॥

Yama said, “Don’t ask me this. Please release me from this promise. This doubt has haunted so many people. They haven’t known it. Please ask for anything else. I will give you any other boon, but don’t ask me the secret of death.” There are five great secrets. The secret of death and the secret of birth are among them. The Lord of Death said, “Ask anything else. Ask for pleasure, ask for lovely women. Whatever is your desire – you want a kingdom, I will grant it to you. Leave me with this. Since I have promised, I have to fulfill my promise. But please don’t ask me the secret of death.”

श्वोभावा मर्त्यस्य यदन्तकैतत्
सर्वेन्द्रियाणां जरयन्ति तेजः ।
अपि सर्वं जीवितमल्पमेव
तवैव वाहास्तव नृत्यगीते ॥

न वित्तेन तर्पणीयो मनुष्यो
लप्स्यामहे वित्तमद्राक्ष्म चेत्तवा ।
जीविष्यामो ञअवदीशिष्यसि त्वं
रस्तु मे वरणीयः स एव ॥

Nachiketa said, “When I see death, it is imminent in life. It is unavoidable in life. What do I do with all that you are offering? You keep your chariot; you keep your horses, your beautiful women for yourself. When you (death) are staring at my face, how can I enjoy all this? What use is it? They are there for a moment and then they are not there; so momentary. They wear out vital powers of life.” There is difference between bliss and pleasure. Bliss energises you, pleasure depletes you. Pleasure is momentary and drain prana; energy goes out. The capacity of the five senses is limited. However tasty the food is, you can’t take more than what your system can take. You can’t enjoy sex more than your body can respond to. You cannot listen to music forever. You can enjoy only to some degree. The five senses have limited capacity but the mind has unlimited desires. There is an imbalance between the desire to enjoy and capability of the senses to enjoy. Then conflict arises. You feel miserable. He is not saying it is wrong to enjoy the five senses, to enjoy pleasures of life. There is nothing wrong, but giving it more importance than life itself is disastrous.

देवैरत्रापि विचिकित्सितं पुरा
न हि सुविग्येयमणुरेष धर्मः ।
अन्यं वरं नचिकेतो वृणीष्व
मा मोपरोत्सीरति मा सृजैनम् ॥

There has always been this conflict in the world. The believers say there is life beyond death. Non-believers say there is nothing. It is all made up of chemistry, just combination of matter, which gives life. Once the matter dies, everything dies, there is nothing; no life after this. This is what atheists say. Atheists are not new to the planet. They are there from the time of inception of this mankind. They have been there from the beginning. Real seekers want to know, what the truth is. They don’t dismiss the believer and they don’t dismiss the atheists as well. The beauty of spirituality is: you don’t condemn the atheists, nor do you condemn the believer. It is people in extremes who keep condemning each other. Believers condemn the non-believers and non-believers condemn the believers. Spiritually elevated persons are very scientific in their temper and Upanishads are utterly scientific. There is nothing that refutes logic in any of the Upanishads. That is the greatness and beauty of it. It doesn’t limit itself to reason, nor does it condemn reason. It walks the steps of reason to reach the Ultimate truth. This is fantastic. That’s why when Albert Einstein read the Upanishads he said, “My life has changed. My whole perception has changed.”

Nachiketa, as a true seeker, said, “Some people say that nobody exists after death and some say there is life after death. But who else can tell me other than the Lord of Death himself.” Experience is the best educator. When you are encountering death, what else can be more powerful than death itself educating you?

To be continued....


What China might be actually aiming for

Chapter 1: At the door of death -Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 4)

*Chapter 1: At the door of death*

बहूनामेमि प्रथमो बहूनामेमि मध्यमः ।
किँ स्विध्यमस्य कर्तव्यं यन्मयाऽद्य करिष्यति ॥

Nachiketa thought, “let me be the first to do among those who are going to die. Everyone is going to die. I will go a little earlier. Like corn which ripens and falls and then, comes up again. Everything is temporary. People are dying and I will also die. It’s just that I am going a little early, I am going to go to the Lord of Death.”

Nachiketa knew that his father said it in anger, but he still went to death. This is very beautiful. This _Upanishad_ is about the dialogue of this young boy and the Lord of Death.

What is death? What is the ultimate secret that nobody is able to unravel? What is that? There is another story related to Nachiketa. Once, Vajashravas was praying on a riverbank. He accidentally left all his belongings on the river bank and came back home. He told his son, “I forgot my pot. Go and get it.” By the time Nachiketa went to the river bank, the water had risen and the tide had washed away all his father’s belongings – yoga mat, water pot, etc. Nachiketa came back and said that all the belongings were lost. Vajashravas got angry and said, “You are useless. Why didn’t you do anything? You better die! You are good for nothing! Get lost! ” Nachiketa immediately died there. That is why you should never say negative things if you are a good sadhak. Your words carry power. If you call someone stupid, even though that person is not stupid, he will become stupid. Vajashravas was such a great sadhak. He said, “You are good for nothing, you better die” and that boy fell on the floor and died right then. When his son died, Vajashravas became miserable. “Oh My God! What I have done?”

अनुपश्य यथा पूर्वे  प्रतिपश्य तथाऽपरे ।
सस्यमिव मर्त्यः पच्यते सस्यमिवाजायते पुनः ॥

Now the experience of death is described here – what happened to Nachiketa. The spirit of Nachiketa left the body and went to the abode of Yama, the lord of death. Yama told him, “You have come here just because your father’s words are so powerful and they had to be fulfilled. It is not your time yet. Go back. You still have to acquire knowledge and give love.” Nachiketa was dead for one whole hour while his father lamented and prayed. Suddenly, the boy got up and looked effulgent. Having met death and then coming back to life was the most wonderful thing. It was then that he propounded the whole fire ceremony, named after Nachiketa.

He described what death is. It is nothing to be afraid of. Nachiketa proclaims that death is beautiful, that there is no fear, there is eternal silence. If you have read about people having near death experiences, they all say the same thing. They go through a tunnel and see a light. Sometimes the light tells them that it is not yet time and they should go back. The same thing happened some thousands of years ago to Nachiketa. He went through effulgent light, but was told that it was not his time, and that he should go back. So, Nachiketa came back after an encounter with death. This is one story.

What is death? Is it something to be afraid of? How does death happen? Honour death; people who commit suicide are not honouring death. You must remember this. The craving for living, results in suicide not in death. There is a big difference. They can’t bear the pain; they can’t get rid of it. Their life is important for them, not death. So, they commit suicide. That which is different from the body, different from everything around that is changing, is central to spiritual growth.

To be continued......

🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 5)

*Chapter 1: At the door of death*

Nachiketa goes to the abode of death and waits there for 3 days without food and water. There is greater, deeper knowledge here. What happens in the process of death? What happens to you when you die?

First, the mind withdraws from the five senses with their impressions. You stop feeling, numbness comes. Sensations in the body disappears. Then sight gets blurred and vision goes away. Sense of touch goes away, sense of taste goes away,  sight goes away and then smells and finally sound disappears. When somebody is dying, they keep a candle burning so that if the soul, the spirit leaves the body, it can feel the light, see the light and remind itself that it is light and move on. This ritual is there in all ancient traditions.

The mind is retrieved from the five senses, with the impressions of those senses. Once it snaps out of the body, it feels such a freedom; it is like coming out of cage!. The spirit becomes so peaceful. In its peace, it also has impressions of craving. If a person is fond of ice cream, burger, that fondness will remain there for some time. It takes three days for the spirit, to really adjust to the other side. You have come out of the body. You don’t know how to get into the body. It doesn’t interest you also – the body is not interesting anymore. It looks like garbage. Suppose, you have used a tissue and thrown it in the garbage, will you take it and use it again? The same feeling comes to the spirit when it snaps out of the body. It doesn’t care about the body anymore. If it wants, it will take another body somewhere else. It takes almost 48 hours,i.e.2 days to get used to the other side, to get relief from this side. It is very significant. That is why for three days, friends and relatives are in more anguish. They start getting some relief after three days. In the ancient days, ten days were kept for mourning. In these ten days, you could cry as much as you wanted and _celebrate_ on the eleventh day. You should mourn for a maximum of ten days, no more.

There is a time zone here but when you leave the body the time zone changes. Six months here is a day there and six months here is a night there. Our one whole year is one day there.

For three days, Nachiketa waited at the door of death but the Lord of Death did not come. Nachiketa didn’t eat anything. He was there – poised, peaceful, calm and an uplifted spirit. Even death became apologetic to him.

वैश्वनरः प्रविशत्यतिथिर्ब्राह्मणो गृहान् ।
तस्यैताँ शान्तिं कुर्वन्ति हर वैवस्वतोदकम् ॥

आशाप्रतीक्षे सङ्गतँ सूनृतां चेष्टापूर्ते पुत्रपशूँश्च सर्वान् ।
एतद्वृङ्क्ते पुरुषस्याल्पमेधसो यस्यानश्नन्वसति ब्राह्मणो गृहे ॥

Yama said, “When a spiritual guest enters the house like a bright flame, he must be received with water to wash his feet.” This is to glorify hospitality. If you are not hospitable, you lose all your merit. You do so many things but if you are not kind, not caring for your guest, then you have lost all merit.

To be continued....


🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 6)

*Chapter 1: At the door of death*

This is what the Lord of Death, Yama said,

तिस्रो रात्रिर्यगवात्सीर्गृहे मे ऽनश्नन् ब्रह्मन्नतिथिर्नमस्यः ।
नमस्तेऽस्तु ब्रह्मन् स्वस्ति मेऽस्तु तस्मात्प्रति त्रीन्वरान्वृणीष्व ॥

Yama gave three boons to the boy – “I owe you three boons because you have been so calm, so quiet, you have meditated, you have been spiritual. You have been thinking of something higher.”

शांतसङ्कल्पः सुमना यथा स्याद् वीतमन्युर्गैतमो माऽभि मृत्यो ।
त्वत्प्रसृष्टं माऽभिवदेत्प्रतीत एतत् त्रयाणां प्रथमं वरं वृणे ॥

Nachiketa said, “O Lord of Death, as the first of these three boons, grant that my father’s anger be appeased, so that when I return he may receive me with love.”

The father’s anger weighed heavily on the child, Nachiketa. The first boon he asked was an immediate relief from that. A very simple mind, simple question, simple needs. The greater you are the simpler your needs and desires are. Your wish is very simple – let everybody be happy. No complication. It is the first boon Nachiketa asked for.

In the process of death, one sense gets into the other and finally, the mind, with all the impressions of the five senses, snaps out. Though it snaps out, it still has the ability to listen to sound. That is why singing and chanting is very good for people on the other side. Meditating is very good for people on the other side. Your meditation, your peace touches their soul. It gives them relief. If you are crying and feeling miserable, they also feel that misery.

For the first three days, it is intense and after three days, the soul starts adjusting to the other realm. It keeps moving away from this. Very few souls are earth bound, they don’t go far for long time. They are very few, about 0.1%. Someone who is fond of chicken will be found in a poultry farm. That is why the last impression of your life is very important. It becomes like a balloon over the spirit.

Further in the _Upanishad_, what is the size of the soul, what all happens, how it moves is explained.

To be continued....


🌷 *Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 7)

*Chapter 1: At the door of death*

यथा पुरस्ताद् भविता प्रतीत
औद्दालकिरारुणिर्मत्प्रसृष्टः ।
सुखँ रात्रीः शययिता वीतमन्युः
त्वां दद्दशिवान्मृत्युमुखात् प्रमुक्तम् ॥

First boon is granted – let my father’s anger be appeased. Many times, as seekers when you meditate, you feel, “Nothing is happening to me.” Do you know why? Because some of your merits are being passed on to your forefathers. There is no escape from it. When you meditate. Or do something good, a portion of it, those good vibes are passed on automatically. It is like clearing your past debt. When you meditate, a little amount of merit goes to those who gave you this body. Somebody gave you this body and because of it, you are doing everything that you are doing. So some portion of your merit gets automatically transferred. Like inheritance – your father or mother or somebody passes on and you automatically inherit whether it is their loans or earnings, they just fall on your head. In the same way, in the subtle world also, these things get transferred. A Sanyasi or a monk is the one who, while living, completely fulfills all duties and obligations and washes his hands off. Then there is no connection with the ancestors of any sort. That is monkhood- sanyasi, fourth of the ashrams.

First 25 years learn as much as you can – the student life. Next 25 years enjoy your life as a house holder. Settle down, get married, have children and all that. Third quarter of your life, from 50-75 years is Vanaprastha, be a social worker. It means there is no more ‘my, my, my’! Now you are for everybody in the society. You share yourself with everybody and you are godfather or god mother to everybody. Broaden your scope from ‘only my child’, to ‘our children’, from a limited family to an unlimited society. The last quarter – from the age of 75-100 years, you are supposed to live as a recluse. You are in a state of ‘I am nothing’, ‘I want nothing’. There are four stages or ashrams in life. Some take a jump from first to fourth, they don’t have to go through the middle.

Some people lose interest in food when they are nearing to death. Some crave for more food towards the end of life. In that case, within those ten days, it is good to feed some people, the food the deceased were fond of. When they smell those foods, the spirit feels. “Ok, I have had this for now.” It gives them some sort of relief.

To be continued.....


Chapter 1: At the door of death -Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

*🌷 Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 3)

*Chapter 1: At the door of death*

उशन् ह वै वाजश्रवसः सर्ववेदसं ददौ ।                तस्य ह नचिकेता नाम पुत्र आस ॥

The Vishwajit yagna was done by Vajashravas and he gave away whatever he had, in the ceremony. He had a small eight year old son. His name was Nachiketa.

तँ ह कुमारँ सन्तं दक्षिणासु                   नीयमानासु श्रद्धाविवेश सोऽमन्यत ॥

He saw his father giving everything away. He was running around and observing what his father was doing. He was watching everything with a lot of faith, “Oh. Father is doing all this. He is doing such a great job. He has given everything away.” He also saw his father giving away cattle which were old. He noted that his father was giving away things which were not useful also. His father would not get any merit out of that. Children are very smart, smarter than their parents. They are also so innocent.

पीतोदका जग्धतृणा दुग्धदोहा निरिन्द्रियाः ।             अनन्दा नाम ते लोकास्तान् स गच्छति ता ददत् ॥

Sometimes people give away things which are of no use to them, like old clothes. When the tsunami hit (South East Asia, 2004), we were involved with relief work and we donated many clothes. Nobody wants to take old clothes. Even poor people dumped them back. So, we had to burn them all. Even the poorest of people want to have something new.

स होवाच पितरं तत कस्मै मां दास्यसीति ।     द्वितीयं तृतीयं तँ होवाच मृत्यवे त्वा ददामीती ॥

When Nachiketa saw old things being given away, he thought, “This is not good. This is not going to bring merit to my father. My father is so possessive of me. He should give me away too.” He went and asked his father, “To whom are you going to give me?” Vajashrvas was engaged in something and did not reply. Nachiketa kept asking the same question again and again, pulling and bothering him. Finally, Vajashravas got irritated and said, “I give you to death. Get lost.”

If you see the world from a child’s mind, it is a very simple and beautiful place. A child’s mind doesn’t know what victory or loss is and what gain is? There is no such restriction, no such barriers. I remember once, when my sister was very young, she came back from school and told mother that she got zero in maths test. She was happily jumping around and saying, “I failed today. I failed today". You should be sad about failing. That’s what parents teach children, that failing is not good. But she was happy and telling everybody that she failed. What is failure, what is success? For a child it doesn’t matter. Once, my sister and I went to uncle’s house. He had used all the official leaves that he got from his office. He informed his office that he was sick so that he could take us for a picnic. But someone from his office came to the house and my sister told him, “Uncle is saying he is sick and he is taking us out for a picnic.” When my uncle heard this, he said, “My reputation has gone.” My sister asked immediately, “Where did it go?”

Nachiketa asked his father to whom he is going to give him? He asked with much faith and innocence. Vajashravas said, “I give you to death.” Fathers and mothers usually tell us to get lost but they really don’t mean it. Nachiketa said, “Yes, this is the place where everybody dies. So many have died and those who are living will also be dead. Those who will come in the future will also die. When death is certain, let me go there now.” 

It is very similar to what Lord Buddha experienced. Buddha never knew what death was. Astrologers and priests told his parents that Buddha should never see death. If he sees death then you will lose him. But one day Buddha compelled his charioteer to take him out, and when he went out, he saw an old person for the first time in his life. He asked his charioteer about it. His charioteer said, “He is an old man and that we all will be one day.” Buddha was a young boy, just 20 years old. When he heard that, he said, “I have already become old. If this is what is going to happen for sure, then it has already happened.” Then he saw a corpse, and asked what it was. His charioteer said. “This also will happen to everybody. When you are dead, four people will carry you and you will be cremated.” Buddha said, “I am already dead. I have that experience right now.” *If the mind is sharp, you don’t wait for the experience to happen to you.* Anyone’s experience becomes your own experience. _You don’t have to go there and experience all the suffering_. You look at the suffering and you think, “I have already suffered.” The intellect reflects that experience.

To be continued....

Chapter 1: At the Door of Death- Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

*🌷 Katha Upanishad (Katopanishad) by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 2)

*Chapter 1: At the Door of Death*

Now the Upanishad begins

Long long ago, there lived a very pious man called Vajashravas. He got his name because of his passion for feeding people. He would feed anybody who comes to his house ar anytime of the day. No body would go hungry from his house. He would feed the entire town! So, he became very famous and known by the name Vajashravas. His son was very proud of his father. Whenever the father does anything big, children want to excel like him. If a father has become a good businessman then his children want to be like him. Vajashravas’ son too, wanted to excel his father. The father was giving away food, but when the son grew up, he wanted to give away everything. There is a joy, immense joy in giving. So, this thought of giving away everything was lodged in his head. There is a *yajna* called *Vishwajit yajna*, which means the yajna performed to win the universe.

Alexander wanted to win the world.He wanted to possess everything. He went on plundering and looting country after country. But in the ancient days, victory was in giving. The one who gave became victorious. Today there are so many businessmen, but only one or two put 90% of their earning into social service. Everybody acknowledges them and they have won the hearts of the masses. They are well known all over the globe. When businessmen from America come and talk to people in India, they realize that they should also give back to society. Vishwajit is a yajna by which you can win the whole world by giving. Isn’t that a great concept? You don’t win by acquiring and possessing. *No emperor has won this world, but those who have given away everything that they have, have won the hearts and minds of people.*

What did Jesus do? He did Vishwajit yajna – he gave everything away. Lord Buddha gave everything away. Adi Shankara gave everything away. Yajna is that ritual, that ceremony, which brings everyone together, which honours the divine, which is a part of our giving back to the universe, from which we have been taking all the time.

A Yajna has three aspects:

Deva Pooja – honouring the Divinity

Sangatikarna – bringing everyone together

Dana – giving away

To be continued.....

Katha Upanishad by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

🎪 Welcome to *KATHA UPANISHAD - Secret of Death - Commentary by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🎪
           
🌷 Introduction 🌷

The whole world runs away from death , because death snatches everything , but the one who accepts it and willingly faces it , receives something from death itself. Ironically , knowledge of death gives you the gift of life. Katha Upanishad tells the story of young Nachiketa who goes to face the lord of death and the extraordinary dialogue that ensues between them. Upanishad means sitting close to the. master. Gurudev takes us through this beautiful story integrating its profoundness with real-life situations , turning abstract philosophy into existential reality.

*The Chapters include:*

*1. At the door of Death*
*2. Beyond Death*
*3. The Grace of the Divine*
*4. Beyond the layers of existence*
*5. Winning Immortality*

-----------------------------------

*🌷 Katha Upanishad by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar* 🌷
(Day - 1)

*Chapter 1: At the Door of Death*

Upanishad means sitting close, sitting near the Master, not just physically, but also with attention, with the presence of mind in the space as that of the Master. Katha Upanishad – Katha – ‘tha’ means the final. What is the final thing about life? What is the end? What is the ultimate?

Every Upanishad begins with a Shanti Mantra and ends with a Shanti Mantra. Shanti means peace. Only when you have peace can you think of higher knowledge. Higher knowledge cannot be grasped by a disturbed mind. The mind needs to be calm, free from anguish, from hatred, from cravings, and then higher knowledge can be attained.

ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ भुनक्तु । सहवीर्यं करवावहै ।
      तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु । मा विद्विषावहै ॥
          ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

ॐ सह नाववतु । - Let us be together.

सह नौ भुनक्तु । - Enjoy this life together.

सहवीर्यं करवावहै । - Let us grow in strength together.

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु । - Let us become effulgent, glow together.

मा विद्विषावहै ॥ - Let us not hate each other.

Let us be together. Let us grow together, let us eat together, let us enjoy together. This shloka is the foundation of learning. This mantra is also chanted before having food.

भुनक्तु means eating, but in this shloka, it doesn’t mean just eating. It means to experience the whole world. When our sights don’t match, when our perceptions don’t match, then there is conflict. सह नौ भुनक्तु – let our perception match. Let us see things together, let us experience the same. One experiences one thing and the other experiences something else, then there is conflict. But if both experience the same thing together, then there is peace and tranquillity.

Suppose one person likes something and says , “Wow, this is so great!” But the other person says, “This is horrible!”, then they cannot enjoy. If you go to a picnic with your spouse and you are happy but your spouse is not, then both of you become miserable. When both of you enjoy together, then there is peace and harmony.

सह नाववतु – Let us be together. We are together anyway. If we are born during the same time on this planet, then we are meant to be together. When we are meant to be together, let us be together mentally also. Let us be together with the spirit. It is the mind, the intellect which creates barriers and you have to remove the barriers through the intellect. Hence the prayer – Let us be together, let us grow together, let us shine together.

When a very talented person is interviewed, the first thing asked is – Who is your teacher? This is tradition. A brilliant sitarist will be proud of his teacher. In soccer matches, they ask who the coach is. The coach gets the credit for victory. Students feel very proud of being students of a particular teacher.

सहवीर्यं करवावहै – Let us glow in effulgence together. Let us grow in strength together.

मा विद्विषावहै – Let us not hate each other.

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ - Let there be peace in our Soul, in our Mind and in our Environment. You can go deep into knowledge in a peaceful environment, but you can’t do so if the environment is disturbed. If your mind is disturbed, you have to do pranayama, yoga, meditation and kriya to calm it and only then you can talk about higher knowledge. The minute you sit close to the Master, the vibration is already getting transferred and by the vibration, the mind is already becoming calm.

To be continued....

Sunday, July 12, 2020

ज्ञान और प्रज्ञा – योगसूत्र। यह प्रज्ञा है क्या ?

सामान्यतः बुद्धि विवेक और ज्ञान को एक ही अर्थ के प्रवाह में प्रयोग किया जाता है । किन्तु इनकी अर्थ-गर्भिता और गूढ़-गर्भिता के भावो में अंतर है।

बुद्धि वह होती है जो यथार्थ निर्णय देने वाली हो । जो जैसा है वैसा ही देखना , जानना
जब बुद्धि सजग हो तो विवेक जागता है ,
विवेक के परिपक्व होने पर प्रज्ञा --प्रखर ज्ञान का उदय होता है ।
जब प्रज्ञा परिपक्व होती है तो ऋतुम्भरा ज्ञान का उदय होता है -ज्ञान की शुद्धतम अवस्था।
प्रज्ञा ज्ञान की ही एक अवस्था है ।

ज्ञान और प्रज्ञा – योगसूत्र में .

मह्रिषी पतंजलि विरचित “योगसूत्र” में इस विषय पर विशद चर्चा की गई है . उसे देखते हैं

योगसूत्र १/१६ – की व्याख्या में भाष्यकार “व्यास” लिखते हैं “ ज्ञानस्यैव पराकाष्ठा वैराग्यं “ अर्थात ज्ञान की पराकाष्टा वैराग्य है

जबकि प्रज्ञा – तीन तरह से प्राप्त हो सकती है

आगम (श्रुति ) : पठन अर्थात पढने से या (श्रुतियों – वैदिक साहित्य के ) ज्ञान से

अनुमान : मनन अर्थात सोचने से

निर्विचार समाधि के उपरान्त

योगसूत्र के अनुसार , अंतिम प्रकार की प्रज्ञा – सर्वश्रेष्ठ होती है क्योंकि यह आत्म साक्षात्कार से प्राप्त होती है – महज सैद्धान्तिक या अनुमानित नहीं है .

यह प्रज्ञा है क्या ?

स्मृति परिशुद्ध होने पर स्वरुप शून्य होकर अर्थमात्र दिखाई देने वाली सब समाप्त करनेवाली अवस्था अचानक मिल जाती है – जिसका सतत प्रवाह – अध्यात्म प्रसाद रुपी - प्रज्ञा है

श्रुतानुमानप्रज्ञाभ्यामन्यविषया विशेषार्थत्वात् (1-49)

विशेष विषयक होने के कारण श्रुत और अनुमान से जनित प्रज्ञा से भिन्न विषयक है

यह प्रज्ञा इसीलिए ऋतम्भरा प्रज्ञा कहलाती है - ऋतम्भरा अर्थात सत्यपूर्ण

इसके सात भेद हैं –

तस्य सप्तधा प्रान्तभूमिः प्रज्ञा (२/२७ )

प्रज्ञा सात प्रकार की होती है

जिनमें चार प्रकार की कार्य विमुक्ति है . यह बाहरी घटनाओं से अपने चेतन को अलग करता है ,स्वतंत्र करता है

बाकी तीन प्रकार की चित्त विमुक्ति है , जिससे मन से स्वतंत्रता मिल जाती है.

यह प्रज्ञा प्राप्त होने के पूर्व विवेक ख्याति – अर्थात – बुद्धि से पुरुष को अलग करने का विवेक आना चाहिए .

ऋतम्भरा प्रज्ञा की इन सातों प्रकार के बारे में बताना काफी विशद रूप ले लेगा

इन सात भेदों के बावजूद यह प्रज्ञा क्रमश: नहीं मिलती है . इस संबंध में वाचस्पति मिश्र योगसूत्र पर लिखी अपनी टीका में कहते हैं :

रज और तम गुण से शून्य हो जाने से बुद्धि में प्रकाश का उत्कर्ष होता है – ज्ञान शक्ति का चरम उत्कर्ष होने पर जो कुछ प्रज्ञात होता है वह संपूर्ण सत्य होता है और वह ज्ञान साधारण अवस्था के ज्ञान के समान क्रमशः उत्पन्न नहीं होता किंतु उसमें ज्ञेय विषय के सभी धर्म एक साथ प्रकाशित होते हैं फिर भी यह प्रज्ञा श्रुतानुमानजात प्रज्ञा नहीं है किंतु साक्षात्कार प्रधान है . (श्रुतानुमानजात : श्रुति और अनुमान जनित )

धारणा , ध्यान और समाधि तीनों का एक ही विषय पर संघठित होना संयम कहलाता है - जिससे प्रज्ञालोक मिलता है

तज्जयात्प्रज्ञालोक: (3/५ )

उस से प्रज्ञा लोक मिलता है .

उपरोक्त से स्पष्ट है – ज्ञान सबको मिलता है – पर प्रज्ञा नहीं .

आगे देखते हैं , आधुनिक विचारक इस पर क्या विचार रखते हैं

पहले : जग्गी वासुदेव :

बुद्धि और प्रज्ञा का फर्क समझना होगा हमें

अंग्रेजी में दो शब्द हैं – इंटेलेक्ट और इंटेलीजेंस। हिंदी में इंटेलेक्ट को बुद्धि और इंटेलीजेंस को प्रज्ञा के रूप में समझ सकते हैं। अधिकांश लोग यह समझ ही नहीं पाते कि कहां बुद्धि का दायरा खत्म होता है और कहां से प्रज्ञा का आयाम शुरू होता है।

योगसूत्र की व्याख्या ( पतंजलि . व्यास और वाचस्पति मिश्र – तीनो द्वारा ) के अनुसार यह बिलकुल गलत है . प्रज्ञा – स्वरुपशुन्यता के फलस्वरूप अंतर का एकदम स्व प्रकाशित होना है – शुन्यता यहाँ प्रधान है – बुद्धिमता ( इंटेलीजेंस) कदापि नहीं . सबसे दुःख का विषय यह है कि – योग के आठ में से तीन अंगों से ( धारणा .ध्यान , समाधि ) बनने वाली प्रज्ञा को उन्होंने महज़ एक शब्द – इंटेलिजेंस – में लपेट लिया – वह भी तब – जब अकेले – ध्यान – ही मैडिटेशन – कहलाता है . स्पष्ट है – उनकी प्रज्ञा सम्बन्धी यह अवधारणा सिरे से ही गलत है और प्रमुखत: विदेशी सह अंग्रेजी साधकों हेतु गढ़ा गया है – जिसमें दिव्यता है ही नहीं . आत्म आलोक ,स्व प्रकाश है ही नहीं .

सबसे बड़ी बात यह है कि – योग सूत्र (२/२७ ) के भाष्य /टीका में – सप्तधा प्रज्ञा के छठे प्रकार की चर्चा करते हुए यह लिखा गया है –

स्पंदन निवृत - समस्त गुण पर्वत शिखर से – पत्थरों के टूट गिर मिट्टी में मिल जाने सदृश्य – बुद्धि की इस उच्च अवस्था से गिर – अपने कारणों में मिल हतं हो चुके हैं.

अब योगसूत्र के इस भाष्य – में बुद्धि की उच्च अवस्था से गिरना निहित है – और जग्गी वासुदेव जी – फिर भी इसे इंटेलिजेंस से जोड़ना चाह रहे हैं .

अंत में – श्री अरविंदो

मनुष्यके अंदर दो संबद्ध शक्तियां है -- ज्ञान और प्रज्ञा । ज्ञान एक विकृत माध्यममें देखा हुआ उतना-सा ही सत्य है जितना कि मन टटोलता हुआ प्राप्त कर सकता है; प्रज्ञा वह है जिसे दिव्य दर्शनका नेत्र आत्मामें देखता है ।

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