It is very difficult for an embodied self soul to transcend illusion created by identification with mind body orgasm but Lord Krishna in Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta has given freedom to self soul to attain freedom from illusion by devotion unto Him.
This entire universe is pervaded by three modes of material nature. Lord Krishna says in chapter seven:
Tribhirgurhmayerbhavebhirebhi sarvamidam jagat I
Mohitam naabhijanati mamebhayah paramavayayam II (7.12)
The whole of this creation is deluded by these objects of nature- sattavic, rajas and tamsa; that is why this world fails to recognize me standing apart from these evolutes and imperishable.
Entire universe is the result of inter action of self soul with three modes of nature. Verse 40 of chapter 18 is self explanatory in this context
Na tadasti prithviyam va divi deveshu va punah I
Satvam parkritirjermuktam yadebhi sayatribhirgurheh II
There is no being on earth, heaven and again among demigods who is free from three modes of materil nature viz purity or goodness, passion, and ignorance.
All beings are after effect of attachment of self souls with three modes of nature and they remain attached to material because of them.
All these modes are emanating from supreme infinite Lord Krishna but he is not affected by these modes of material nature.
As they are his manifestation, they are under his control.
The Lord is Nirgunah.
So is the self soul living entity, consciousness free from all these modes except for identification.
Lord Krishna is the creator of the material nature and is never affected by these modes.
The self souls which is the unique creation of almighty, establishes their relation with these modes by identification with mind and intellect. They are hence bound; otherwise they are ever free like the Lord himself.
The three modes of material nature are always present in every aspect of creation.
There is variation of presence as described in chapter 14.
Sattvam rajastama iti gurhan parikiti sambhvha I
Nibhananti mahabaho dehe dehinamavyayam II (.5)
Arjun! Sattava (goodness), Rajas (passion), Tamas (ignorance)- these three qualities born out of nature tie down imperishable soul to the body.
Three qualities sattav, rajas and tamsa born out of nature bind the imperishable soul to the perishable body.
These qualities of the nature have strict binding effect on the soul. Though the difference is invisible yet it can be traced with deep self observation and knowledge.
The Lord has made it clear that the individual soul is the reflection of god himself-
mamavnasho jeevloke jeevbhutahsanatanah (15.7)
But when it comes in contact with these qualities of nature, it involves itself with these qualities of nature to that much extent that it forgets its true self.
Supreme Braham is indestructible and the individual soul is his own reflection, but for the bondage caused by qualities of nature the soul is free.
Tatra satvam nirmaltwatparkashakamanamayam I
Sukhsangen badhnati gyansangen chaanagh II
Rajo ragatamakvidhi trishnasangudbhawam I
Tannibhnati kontey karamsangen dehinam. II
Tamas tu agyanjam vidhi moanam sarvdehinam
Parmaadalasyanidra tannibadnati barat
Satvam sukhe sanjayati rajah karmanhi bharat
Gyanam avritiya tu tamah parmade sanjayatiut (14.6-9)
Arjun! Satva being immaculate, is illuminating and flawless, through identification it binds the Soul with wisdom and joy.
Arjun! Effect of Rajas is passion born of attachment and it binds the Soul through attachment to actions and their fruits.
Arjun! Know Tamas, the deluder of all those who look upon as their own self as an embodiment, as born out of ignorance. It binds the soul through wrong, sloth and sleep.
Satva drives one to joy, Rajas to action; Tamas, clouding wisdom, incites one to error , sleep and sloth.
Lord Krishna has deliberated every aspect of life in Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta. This has been purposely done for guiding the individual soul in human form to realize itself and seek its salvage from the birth and death.
To end this cycle once for all one should separate grain from chaff.
Different qualities and effects of all three gunas have been enumerated.
Control of mind and senses, fortitude, discrimination, devotion to duty, truthfulness, generosity, dispassion, faith, shame, charity, sincerity, modesty and taking pleasure in self are the modification of satva.
Desire, activity, pride, covetousness, haughtiness, praying for comforts, seeing of difference, sense pleasure, disposition due to pride, love for fame, making fun, display of power and aggressiveness, enterprise, these are the effects of rajas
Anger, greed, falsehood, cruelty, begging, stimulation of piety, fatigue, quarrel, grief, infatuation, dejection, a miserable feeling, sleep, expectation, fear and inertia are the modification of tamsa.
If one has exclusive one of the three gunas then one will be having a fixed sort of nature but the past deeds of one’s previous birth if they are mixed one, its results in an mixed nature (as in human form) and it is the most elusive for the soul and it ultimately identifies with the body or with senses, their objects or a particular organ.
The form of beings is result of attachment with these evolutes of material nature of lord. The quality of goodness is a way to salvation, quality of passion is way to the material world and attachment to ignorance leads one to lower bodies or vegetation.
Lord being beyond the parameter of these modes is invisible to the self souls because of their identification with the modification of material nature. Imperishable Lord is present in all beings and non-beings of this creation and he himself is their form enjoying all these modes but still a witness present in the hearts of all beings.
But his three folded divine power of modes is so powerful that it has kept self soul in its darkness.
Lord Krishna tells how to transcend this divine illusory power:
Daivi heaisha gurhmayi mam maya durtayaya I
mamev ye parpadayante mayametam taranti te II (7.14)
This divine energy of mine consisting of three modes is difficult to over come, those who constantly pray me, they easily cross this divine power mine.
Lord is telling all beings that this power of Lord is insurmountable but those who surrender unto him cross this divine and inscrutable power and ultimately go to Lord, their own self.
These modes act like a rope and the self soul opts itself to bind itself in this rope of material nature in quest of happiness through senses gratification.
Nobody can tell the specific time as to when this bondage was inflicted by self soul on itself.
But one certain aspect of this human form is that the Lord is extremely happy with the embodied self soul.
It has been very kindly bestowed with this human form having access to intellect or wisdom to now separate itself from the bondage by mere realization of this fact that embodiment is separate and he has no connection with it it is golden chance to detach itself from the actions and their fruits.
How to shed this bondage?
This is possible in two ways:
mukhayatah tu mahat kripa bhagwadkripalashdva
(Verse 38 of Narada Bhakti Shastra)
It is possible through the association of self soul with the other souls who have attained the realization of lord.
A person whose hands and feet are bounded cannot reclaim his freedom unless he is helped by a free man who may untie his rope and help him free.
It is the liberated soul who can guide a bonded soul to liberate itself.
Any kind of reading or meditation can not help the self soul to achieve this target.
Proper guidance of enlightened one is compulsory.
Uthishth, jagarat, prapya varan nibodhayat
(Kathoupnishad)
The other way is the lord’ own mercy which may come only through his own wish or on acceptance of prayer.
One important thing is that complete surrender makes lord to use his kindness and direct his inscrutable power of material energy to relive the conditioned soul.
But the egoists don’t devote to Lord:
na mam dushkritano mudha parpadayane naradhamah I
mayayaphritgyana asuram bhavamashritah II (7.15)
Those whose wisdom is shadowed by my inscrutable material energy and who have embraced demonic nature, such foolish and veil persons don’t adore me.
Those persons who are involved in materialism and eluded by passion and ignorance don’t adore Krishna, because they think embodiment as their own self. They call this body as their self. In doing so they are very happy and proud of attaining material accumulations for sense gratification.
They also see inexhaustible Supreme Self Krishna as human being.
They don’t see and recognize their ‘conscious self’ an eternal part of supreme consciousness, the self of all beings and superseding every one.
They are carried away by ignorance and gross foolishness, caused by the three qualities of nature imbibing in them.
Lord Krishna defines the liberated Self Soul in chapter 14
Parkasham ch parvritim ch mohamev ch pandav
Na dvethi samprivritani na nrivritani kankshayti (14. 22)
Shri Bhagwan said: Arjun he who hates neither light of knowledge, nor activity, nor even stupor, when prevalent nor longs for them when they have ceased.
First of all the all kindled soul is unaffected when wisdom outcome of goodness mode of material nature (satva) endows upon him, activity born out of passion mode (rajas) and stupor created by ignorance mode (tamsa) as he has attained a position sublime to these modes. he is always conscious of his inner self .
He is ever alert, being master of senses, desire less, freed from the all the three modes, while waiting for the time of leaving the embodiment and going to his real abode of ‘Brahman’, gets rid of the cause of embodiment itself by transgressing the cycle of birth and death.
Udaseen vad aseeno gurheryorna vichalayete I
Gurha vartant itiev yoavtithti nengate II
Samdukh sukh swastha samloshthaashmkanchna I
Tulyapriyaapriyo dhieastulyanindaatamstuti II
Manapmanyostulyastulyo mitraaripakshyo I
Sarvaarambhprityagi gurhanatitah sa uchayte II
Mam ch yo ayaybhcharerhbhaktiyogen sewate I
Sa gurhansamteetyaetan barahambhuyae kalpate II
Barhamano hi partithaahamamritasyaavavysya ch I
shashwat ch dharmasya sukhasyaekantikasya ch II(14..23-27 )
He who sitting like a witness is not disturbed by gunas (Three qualities of material nature) and who knowing that gunas(Three qualities of material nature) are moving among gunas(Three qualities of material nature), remains established in identity with God/self and never falls from this position
He who is once established in Self, for him there is no difference between sorrow and joy, he takes the clod of earth, a stone, a piece of gold as equal value, for him pleasure and displeasure are alike and same he treats censure and praise.
He who is indifferent to honor and dishonour, sameness for him friend and enemy, he has lost the feeling of doer ship in all actions is stated to be above three modes of nature.
He who constantly worship me through Yoga of exclusive devotion, transcending these three qualities of nature, he is eligible to attain Braham
For I am the ground of imperishable Brahman, eternal nectar, immortality and of the eternal virtue and unending immutable bliss.
The mind is swayed by the past deeds and accumulations in form of body, senses, intellect, as it dwells on sense objects experienced or heard of in many bodies it has obtained till now, when it goes to new body, sleeps over the past and identifies itself with new one.
Though the self soul is free from all bondage but when it follows the mind like lover following his fiancée, it subjects itself to bondage.
This bondage does not exist but the identification with subtle body binds the eternal self with action/sorrow-joy, hatred –desire and unending pairs like this.
When one is able to renounce the attachment with body and its relations in this world he recognizes his own self. with this recognition, reality dawns upon him that the body he has occasionally got is not his ‘self’ rather it is the out come the past works of the previous body or bodies. his identification with it is nothing but fake and unreal. body is transitory. it is fake cover of material nature.
Being enlightened of fact that self being eternal part of ‘supreme self’ one now does not identify itself with any deed of this body.
For him now there is no difference in pairs of sorrow or joy, hot or cold and like pairs.
Inscrutable power of supreme self, consisting of three gunas (three qualities of material nature), creates through them innumerable modifications. All pairs of these modifications consisting of not only animate but inanimate too and the feelings and their likes are also because of these qualities one with realization does not differentiate between them.
Even scolded by wicked or insulted, ridiculed ,calumniated, beaten, bound, robbed of living, or spat upon or otherwise badly treated by the ignorant- being thus variously shaken and placed in dire circumstances and extremities, the one shunning attachment and desires remains unaffected.
Lord Krishna is the supreme self Braham - existence-knowledge- bliss absolute. As he is the originator of all this and many other galaxies, he holds the key to peace eternal and material prosperity.
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