Handling Fear

(Adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

 Fear is a powerful emotion which can become a very big obstacle in pursuing any goal and in attaining success.  One thing that anyone can notice by one’s sheer observation is that fear is common to all human beings, young and old. In fact it even extends to animals and plants. Therefore, one can see that fear is an instinctive and a natural emotion which is provided by Lord in all living organisms.  Whatever is instinctive and natural, one cannot totally condemn or criticize. Since it is instinctive, since it is natural, and since it is provided by Lord Himself, it must have some purpose and function. Therefore, one should ask the question - what is the function of the instinctive fear that is found in all living organisms, including animals and plants?  The psychologists say that fear is a part of defence mechanism.  Fear occurs as a warning signal to alert the living organisms whenever there is a threat from outside.  Whether threat is an actual or a perceived one, fear acts as a messenger or as a warning signal to alert the organism.  It is a messenger, a warning signal so that one can take precautionary measures to save oneself.  Further when fear comes, certain biochemical changes take place physically and one gets enhanced capacity so that one can have a fight or flight response. In fear, one gets some extra strength as some enzymes are secreted and get activated.  Even sensory powers are activated in animals and human beings.  Therefore, existence of fear is a blessing as well at times and one need not have any regrets if fear comes now and then.  If one wonders why then fear is talked about as a problem to be avoided, Scriptures explain that while fear as a messenger is a blessing, fear as a guest or resident is an obstacle for growth and hence fear, Bhayam, is classified as Tamo Guna while fearlessness, Abhayam, is described as Daivi sampath in the 16^th chapter of Bhagavad Gita.

To discourage the mind from entertaining fear thoughts, Scriptures mention four methods that are strewn all over the Scriptures. The first method is Yogabhyasa.  Training the mind to remove the fear thought continuing in the mind is Yogabhyasa.  Patanjali yoga sutra (1-2) defines yoga as ‘Chitta Vritti Nirodhaha’ i.e. the capacity to control the flow of thoughts. One controls the thought patterns and weeds out unhealthy thoughts by training the mind.  The fear thought arrives without our will and without our permission either because of instinct or because of vasanas. But without support of our will it cannot continue, point out the Sastras.  Patanjali yoga sutra (1-12) declares ‘abhyasa-vairagyabhyam tan-nirodhah’ i.e. through practice and dispassion the thought pattern of the mind is to be controlled. Therefore, whenever it comes, one should deflect the attention of one’s mind by giving the mind constructive and healthy occupation and activity.  Even as the fear arises, one should give an auto suggestion that fear is useless, fear is obstructive and fear is harmful to one’s health.  This practice of deliberate avoidance of fear thought and deflection when it occurs is called Yogabhyasa.

The second method is Bhakti Abhyasa.  This method is based on the principle, ‘whenever fear arises in the mind, the impact of fear is inversely proportional to the self confidence that one possesses’.  Lack of self confidence leads to magnification of the impact of fear.  Lesser the self confidence, greater the impact of fear and greater the impact of fear, wilder the imagination. Wilder the imagination, weaker the self confidence. Thus, one gets into a vicious cycle; fear destroying the self confidence and that improving the fear leading to a panic attack.  Therefore, the second method is weakening the impact of fear by improving self confidence with the thought that I do have the resources to confront and overcome the threats.  And one of the methods of building up self confidence is Iswara Bhakthi.  “Ishwara sarva bhutanam hruddeshe arjuna tishtati (The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna,)” declares Lord Krishna in Gita (18-60). So remembering Bhagawan with devotion all the time one can draw strength from Bhagawan and boost one’s self-confidence with the thought that he is not alone and Bhagawan is always with him.  Greater the self-confidence, lesser the impact of fear.  This practice of deriving strength from the thought of Bhagawan with Bhakthi to face any threat with self-confidence is Bhakthi Abhyasa.

The third method is called Vairagya Abhyasa.  This is based on a very important teaching in our Scriptures that the whole cosmos including the Pancha Bhutas is the body of the Bhagawan as Vishwa Rupa Iswara.   So all the living beings including all our bodies are within the body of the Lord.  Therefore, everything belongs to the Lord.  Lord alone is the owner of everything. Lord alone is the controller of everything.  While the individual does not own anything and cannot control anything, his ignorance causes Mamakara, the feeling that I own things.  Mamakara causes attachment and attachment causes fear.  Mamakara, claiming ownership and controllership over persons and objects, is a spiritual offence and Sastras say that fear is a punishment given by the Lord for this offence.  Renouncing ownership idea over objects and persons in favour of the Lord leads to removal of cause for fear and is called Vairagya Abhyasa.

The fourth method is called Jnana Abhyasa.  While the other three methods seen earlier can accomplish only what Swami Paramarthananda calls as FIR reduction in case of fear, where FIR reduction stands for reduction of Frequency, Intensity and Recovery period, Jnana Abhyasa can totally remove fear. This is because in Jnana Abhyasa one does not identify oneself with one’s body-mind complex equipped with the Athma Jnanam that one’s real Self is Sat, Chit, Aananda Athma which is no different from Brahman and has the conviction of the Maha Vakhya “Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman)” born of Self-knowledge. Fear is for the mind only and claiming one’s higher stature as Athma and not identifying oneself with the mind, one frees oneself from fear.

Thus, we have four methods given by the Sastras for handling fear; Yogabhyasa, Bhakti Abhyasa, Vairagya Abhyasa for relative freedom from fear and  Jnana Abhyasa for absolute freedom from fear.

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Discovering Divinity through Yoga

(Adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

 All human beings are divine as all of them have Athma as their Real self and Athma is same as Brahman.  But only few people know this and of the few who know still fewer succeed in manifesting their divinity through sadhanas and they are revered as Mahathmas.  A rock from the mountain gets transformed into a beautiful figure of a deity through the skill of a sculptor. Here, the sculptor goes through three stages. First he uses gross and very big chisel and removes big chunks of rock because it is totally out of shape. He removes big chunks of rock and then you get some kind of a shape resembling a person. There afterwards, he uses a little bit subtler chisel and removes minor chunks of rock or stone. Then, it has become a finer one but still, he has to make fine adjustments. Eye lids, nose, nostrils, ear and ear holes he has to bring out. Finally, he uses the finest chisel to remove the last layer of minor stone pieces.

Human beings are like the rock with divinity incorporated in them.  To bring out the divinity, one need not acquire anything.  One has to only remove extra coverings, extra impurities, and extra encrustations like the sculptor working on the rock.  When the extra impurities are removed, then the ordinary human being’s divinity comes into manifestation.  So, one’s entire sadhana to bring out the divinity is not acquiring things but removing the extra coverings.  The scriptures point out to three layers of covering. The first layer is called Malam; the second layer is called Vikshepa and the third layer is called Avarana. So, divinity in persons is covered by three layers of obstacles; Malam, the grossest one, Vikshepa, the next subtler one and Avarana, the subtlest covering. 

One has to remove the three layers of obstructions through three types of yoga.  The first one is Karma yoga, to remove the grossest layer of obstacle, Malam.  The next one is called Samadhi yoga or Ashtanga yoga, to remove the second layer of obstacle, Vikshepa. The third is called Jnana yoga, to remove the finest layer of obstacle, Avarana.  As one removes each layer of obstruction by appropriate sadhana, the divinity in one becomes more and more manifest.

Malam literally means dirt or impurity.  The dirt is to divide the world into two parts and label one as the cause of sorrow and the other as the cause of happiness.  This sows the seeds of raga and dwesha in one’s mind causing attachment and aversion in one's behaviour. But as scriptures point out world is neither source of joy or sorrow because no object is universally loved or hated by all at all times.  It is all one’s attitude and reaction to objects and events that bring about joy or sorrow.  Karma yoga sadhana cleans the mind of this impurity and gives Chitta Suddhi.

Karma yoga can be defined as proper action plus proper attitude.  The scriptures divide the actions into three types, Satvic karma, Rajasic karma and Tamasic karma.  Satvic karma is that which is beneficial to all while Rajasic karma is selfish action and Tamasic karma is harmful to others.   And proper action means Satvic karma in which Rajasic karma is less and Tamasic karma is avoided.  Performing action with an attitude of offering to Lord called Iswarpana Bhavana and accepting the result whether beneficial or not as a gift from the Lord called Prasada Buddhi constitute proper attitude.   Therefore Karma yoga is doing Satvic karma with Iswararpana Bhavana and Prasada Buddhi.  This Karma yoga sadhana removes the grossest layer of impurities called Malam.

Second layer of impurity is the subtle impurity of Vikshepa, the wandering mind.  When the mind wanders, the sense-organs it controls and co-ordinates, function disharmoniously.  Through Ashtanga yoga, concentration of mind on the work on hand is achieved.  Through concentration of mind, coordination of the functions of ten sense organs under the control of mind is achieved.  This is called integration of personality.  Even in the material field be it sports, arts etc. all the senses functioning in harmony under the control of mind with concentration is necessary for perfection in performance and success in achievement.  In the spiritual field it is all the more necessary as the subject matter is subtle and not external while the tendency of the mind and sense-organs is to wander in the external world. With the integration of personality through Ashtanga yoga, Vikshepa is removed and one is enabled to perform with Chitta Ekagrata, single pointed mind.

The third and subtlest impurity is Avaranam.   Avaranam is nothing but self ignorance. Self ignorance means that one does not know, whatever one has been seeking in life is already within oneself and keeps looking for it elsewhere. We all have got an eternal, permanent, non-drying source of Ananda within ourselves in Athma as Self.  Not knowing that the source of happiness and security is within oneself, one is going after external sources of happiness and security.  Lord Krishna states in Gita (3-17) that the one who feels fulfilled and is happy with himself is not dependent on the world for anything like happiness, as follows:

Yastwaatmaratir eva syaad aatmatriptashcha maanavah I

Aatmanyeva cha santushtas tasya kaaryam na vidyate. II (3-17)

That person who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied in the Self, who is content in the Self alone, verily has no action to perform (as he has no requirement to fulfil).

The scriptures point out that one needs to have the guidance of a competent Guru to gain the Athma Jnanam that reveals that one is source of one’s own happiness and security as one’s true Self, Athma, is none other than Brahman.  Guru guides that seeker with Chitta Suddhi and Chitta Ekagratha through the three stages of Jnana yoga i.e. Sravanam, Mananam and Nitidyasanam to acquire doubt free Jnanam and derive the benefit of the Jnanam through internalising it.  One acquires the scriptural knowledge through Sravanam and has his doubts in the acquired scriptural knowledge removed through Mananam and internalises the doubt-free knowledge through Nitidyasanam.  And that person who is happy with himself and who is not disturbed by whatever happens in the creation is a liberated person, Mukta Purusha.   “Aatmanyevaatmanaa tushtah sthitaprajnastadochyate..(He is satisfied in the Self by the Self and is said to be one of steady wisdom!)” remarks Lord Krishna in Gita (2-55).  When one through Jnana yoga removes the third impurity of Avaranam also after removing the impurities of Malam and Vikshepa he enjoys Purnatvam as the person who has discovered his Divinity.  Such a person is not only a source of joy for himself but also becomes a source of joy for the other people also because he helps other aspirants to discover their divinity by becoming a Guru.

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Guru and Self – Knowledge

 

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s Gurupurnima talk)

One can have a doubt whether a Guru is necessary for gaining Self-knowledge and whether one cannot gain Self-knowledge through self-study of sastras. Scriptures say that Self-knowledge, Athma Jnanam, is about the spiritual truth which is beyond the material world of time and space, and with the limitations of human intellect one cannot attain it by oneself without the guidance of a proper Guru. First let us see the six-fold limitations of human intellect i.e. purusha buddhi doshaha shat, that scriptures talk about.

The six-fold limitations are:

1)    Ajjnanam, ignorance

2)    Samsayaha, doubt

3)    Viparyayaha, erroneous perception

4)    Pramadhaha, negligence or oversight

5)    Vipralabdihi, being misled by other’s teachings or discoveries

6)    Apatukaranatvam, limitations of the instruments i.e. sense-organs

Now let us see them one by one.

Ajnanam – Ajnanam means ignorance.  The intellect is ignorant by itself.  It is through learning, the intellect gains knowledge; degree of knowledge depending on the degree of learning.  For example a doctor will have greater knowledge of one’s body than oneself.  

Samsayaha – Samsayaha means doubt.  One’s study generates doubts and as the understanding of a thing improves with more study, old doubts get cleared only to give rise to new doubts.  So one’s knowledge will always be assailed by Samsayaha and one cannot be absolutely sure about the knowledge one acquires.

Viparyayaha – Viparyayaha means erroneous perception or wrong perception like the parallax error. Looking at something one can make a wrong conclusion due to mistaken perception like concluding the star’s size as small by only looking at it.

Pramadhaha – Pramadhaha means negligence or oversight.  Where many factors are involved, one may miss some hidden factors, some hidden variables in making a conclusion.  This we can see in physical diagnosis or prediction.

Vipralabhdhi – Vipralabhdhi means being deceived by other people’s discoveries or teachings.  Human intellect is subject to be misled by many factors like the false news circulated in the social media.  This susceptibility of human intellect in being prejudiced by other factors is called Vipralabhdhi 

Apatukaranatvam - Apatukaranatvam means being limited by one’s sense organs. The world that one is seeing is as presented by one’s sense organs. One does not know what is there exactly as sense-organs have their limitations.  

So it is said that with defective intellect and defective instruments of knowledge, sense-organs, one can never know the truth of the world by oneself.  So if one requires a Guru or coach to gain correct knowledge even in worldly matters like arts, science etc then what to talk of the highest spiritual knowledge.  That is why scriptures uniformly echo the words of Mundakopanishad, Mantra 1-2-12; “--tad vijnaanaartham sah gurum eva abhigacchhet, samitpaanih shrotriyam brahma-nishtham.( In order to obtain that knowledge (Brahma Vidhya), let him approach that spiritual preceptor, who is well-versed in the scriptures, and who is firmly established in Brahman, in the prescribed manner with fuel in hand)”. Lord Krishna also tells Arjuna as follows in Gita (4-34)

Tadviddhi pranipaatena pariprashnena sevayaa I

Upadekshyanti te jnaanam jnaaninas tattwadarshinah II

Know that through prostration, enquiry and service.  The wise who have realised the Truth will instruct you in (that) knowledge. (4-34)

Vidhyaranya Swami points out in Anubhuthi prakasa that scriptures contain many statements which are seemingly contradictory.  In one place Advaitam is talked about and in another place Dvaitam is talked about and in another place, Visishtadvaitam is talked about. All of them quote Vedic support.  The subject of study, Brahman is subtler than the subtlest. With the result, more one studies by oneself, more will be the doubts. So all the more the necessity for the guidance of Guru in the study of scriptures, Vidhyaranya swami declares.  If we have instances of some Mahathmas who have gained Brahma Vidya and blossomed into Jnanis without the guidance of Guru, we should consider them as exception to the rule that proves the rule.

Granted Guru is required for study of Brahma Vidya, then we come to the next question as to who is a Brahma Vidya Guru.  Guru is a live person who exists in flesh and blood and who communicates the teaching of the Truth contained in the scriptures to the sishya.  Self Knowledge is always the result of a samvadaha.  Samvadaha means a dialogue while Vadaha means an argument.  That is why Upanishads that reveal Self-knowledge are in the form of Samvadha where Guru’s teaching is in the form of reply to sishya’s question.   Guru gives the teaching on the basis of the Scriptures which have come from the Lord who is free from the six-fold Dosha.  The student gets his doubts cleared through discussion with the teacher. That is why the teaching is called a dialogue.

In the Scriptures, the Gurus are divided into three types. They are Uttama Guru, Madhyama Guru and Adhama Guru.  Uttama Guru is a shrotriya, the one who has got the scriptural knowledge by studying under a competent teacher and Brahma Nishta, the one who has assimilated and internalised the knowledge.  Madhyama Guru is one who has the doubt-free knowledge but has not assimilated the knowledge.  So he has the academic knowledge as information only without any impact on his life-style.  Such a person is called kevala shrotriya and he is not a Brahma Nishta.  Adhama Guru is the exceptional case of one who has gained Athma Jnanam without Guru and the systematic study of scriptures and so does not have the methodology of teaching though he is a Brahma Nishta.  So if one wants to learn the scriptures one should approach an Uttama Guru or at least a Madhyama guru.

This brings us to the question, how to find an Uttama Guru.  One can never search and find a Shrotriya Brahma Nishta Guru as one can never know who is a Shrotriya Brahma Nishta Guru because to identify a Shrotriya Brahma Nishta Guru, one should oneself be a Shrotriya Brahma Nishta. With the thirst for guidance, when one prays to the Lord, then through Lord’s Grace one will be blessed with such a Sadguru.  Sri Adhi Sankara affirms this in Viveka Chudamani verse 3.

Durlabham triyamevai tad devanugraha hetukam I

Manushyatvam mumukshutvam mahapurusha samshrayaha II

Very rare indeed are these three things and happen only due to the utmost Grace of God—a human birth, yearning for liberation, and the blessed association with an illumined sage (for getting Self-Knowledge).

Lastly an Uttama Guru does not encourage a cult to grow around him by declaring that whatever greatness attributed to him, that belongs to the Sastras only and also to his own Guru who taught him the sastras.  It is the lineage of such Uttama Gurus that is keeping the tradition alive teaching scriptures to qualified students.  This Guru parampara is remembered and honoured on the Gurupurnima day.

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Spiritual & Mental Liberation

 

(Based on Swami Paramarthananda’s Gurupurnima talk 2015)

In Vedanta, three words are repeatedly used. Those three words are sadhana chathushtayam, Jnanam and Moksha.  Sadhana chathushtayam is the four-fold qualification; Viveka (discrimination), Vairagyam (dispassion), Samadhi shatka sampatthi (six qualities of mind-discipline), and Mumukshutvam (desire for liberation), shortly referred as 4D’s i.e. Discrimination. Dispassion, Discipline and Desire.  Jnanam refers to Self-knowledge, the knowledge of Athma.  Moksha stands for Liberation from samsara which a qualified student with the four-fold qualifications attains when he gains Self-knowledge, Athma Jnanam.  Samsara is translated as emotional disturbances or emotional distress.  Sastras frequently mention soka or grief and bhayam representing worry, fear, anxiety etc. to represent samsara.  So these two words, grief and fear, can be taken to represent all emotional disturbances i.e. samsara.

Swami Vidyaraṇya in his work Jivan mukti viveka, the basis of Swami Paramarthananda’s talk, points out that Moksha as freedom from emotional disturbances can be viewed from two different angles. One is the conventional angle where 'freedom from emotional disturbances' means, 'the mind will be free from all emotional disturbances' as all emotional disturbances belong to the mind.  This we shall call as mental Liberation. A Jnani, as one who has attained this state of mental Liberation, Lord Krishna describes in Gita (14-24) as follows:

Samaduhkhasukhah swasthah samaloshtaashmakaanchanah I

Tulyapriyaapriyo dheerastulyanindaatmasamstutih II  (14-24)

He to whom sorrow and happiness are alike, who is established in his own Self, to whom a lump of earth, iron and gold are the same, to whom the agreeable and the disagreeable are the same, who is wise, to whom censure and praise are the same.

The second interpretation of Moksha is from sastraic angle where a Jnani is described as one who has gained Athma Jnanam i.e, the Jnanam that he is not the body-mind complex but he is the Athma free of body-mind complex.  Athma being independent of body, mind, senses etc, is also free of all disturbances and distresses, physical and mental all the time.  So from the angle of Athma also a Jnani is free from all emotional disturbances and this we can name spiritual Liberation as Athma is usually referred to in West as spirit. Thus Moksha can be defined in two different ways from two different angles i.e. mental Liberation and spiritual Liberation.   As sastras talk about both of them, Swami Vidyaranya states in Jivan Mukthi Viveka that both types of Liberations are important and indeed they are complementary.  He also points out where the two differ and how. That we shall see hereafter. 

Of these two Liberations, spiritual Liberation is directly connected to Jnanam because, through Jnanam alone, one comes to know that "I am the Athma, which is free from all disturbances all the time".  Therefore, Jnanam is the direct cause of spiritual Liberation and sadhana chathushtayam is only a supportive cause for spiritual Liberation.  But sadhana chathushtayam is the direct cause of mental Liberation for which Jnanam can only be a supportive cause, Vidyaraṇya Swami points out.  Secondly Jnanam is not variable and so spiritual Liberation is also non-variable. But sadhana chathushtayam is variable and depending upon that mental Liberation is also variable.  Mental Liberation or mental peace is directly connected to sadhana chathushtayam.  The degree of mental Liberation is dependent on the degree of sadhana chathushtayam. This is true of all including Jnanis.  And all who find their level of mental Liberation or mental peace low should concentrate on improving their level of sadhana chathushtayam. 

Vidyaranya Swami goes on to point out that in sadhana chathushtayam also, two qualifications are extremely important for mental Liberation.  They are Sama, mind control and Vairagyam, dispassion.  Sama can also be defined as the skill of using mind as one’s instrument.  Since mind is a flow of thoughts this will amount to skill of regulating thoughts, which Swami Paramarthananda labels as ‘thought displacing skill’ and we shall use the same term hereafter i.e. ‘thought displacing skill’ for Sama.  When one has this skill, one will be able to handle all emotional disturbances.  Because, all emotional disturbances are in the form of mental activity i.e. in the form of thoughts only, one can displace any type of thought, whether it is bhayam, worry or anxiety with this skill i.e. Sama.

For gaining and improving the thought displacing skill, Vidyaranya Swami emphasises meditation as a means.   It can be upasana dhyanam or nitidyasana dhyanam or any other form of meditation.  The simplest form of meditation suggested is Manasa Japa, the mental chanting of any mantra.  As skill of concentration in meditation improves the capacity to evacuate the mind of emotional disturbances through thought displacement at will, also improves.  This is very important as arrival of emotional disturbance one cannot totally stop.  One can only curtail its duration once it arrives and thereby reduce its impact through thought displacement to a chosen one.  Persistence of emotional disturbances, however legitimate and justifiable they may be is not only non-beneficial but also harmful as they obstruct one’s performance of duties to oneself and others.  So sastras say that persistent emotional disturbance is an obstacle to mental Liberation and even for claiming the spiritual Liberation as mind is preoccupied with the disturbances.  Further persistent emotional disturbances are harmful to one’s health as well.

If the role of Sama is removing/reducing the emotional disturbance, the role of Vairagyam is avoiding emotional disturbances.  Vairagyam is, "the skill of reducing or weakening raga and dwesha i.e. attachment and aversion or likes and dislikes”. Raga and dwesha cannot be eliminated; but they can be weakened.  Weakening of raga-dwesha is required, because raga-dwesha alone is the cause of all emotional disturbances.  World disturbs one only though the channel of one’s raga-dwesha.  Wherever one’s likes and dislikes are there, through that alone, events will disturb.  That raga-dwesha also is only where one has got ahankarah and mamakarah.  Like, in the body, mind, one has ahankarah; in the family, property etc., one has got mamakarah.  This ahankarah, mamakarah, raga and dwesha alone are responsible for the arrival of emotional disturbances. Therefore, if one wants to reduce their arrival, one has to weaken raga, dwesha, ahankarah and mamakarah. To weaken raga, dwesha, ahankarah and mamakarah one has to reduce dwelling on them and surrender to Bhagawan remembering “I am not the controller and owner of anything.  Only Bhagwan is the owner and controller of everything”.  Lord Krishna says to Arjuna in Gita (6-35)

Asamshayam mahaabaaho mano durnigraham chalam I

Abhyaasena tu kaunteya vairaagyena cha grihyate.II

Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed Arjuna, the mind is difficult to control and restless; but, by practice and by dispassion it may be restrained! (6-35)

Practice is the practice of displacing emotionally disturbing thoughts as and when they raise their head and dispassion is to prevent their raising their head itself as far as possible.  Applying together these two can bring the restless mind under control keeping at bay the disturbing thoughts.  Here Vidyaranya Swami sounds a note of caution.  Mind being anathma is subject to the influence of a number of known and unknown factors and so mental Liberation can never be absolute.  It can only be relative and that too fluctuating.  That is why the primary aim of sastras is not mental Liberation but spiritual Liberation gaining which one can improve the mental Liberation through Sama and Vairagyam at his own pace.

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Scriptural study and Behaviour

(Adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

Study of scriptures is not for preaching to others or for changing others but for changing oneself.  One can change only oneself.  And one cannot change others unless they want to change.  Changing others is possible under three conditions only.  The first condition is that the person has made a decision to change. Second condition is even as the other person has decided to change he must have a desire to take help from this person. One can offer help only when the other person wants to change and he has a desire to take help from this one. Because one cannot give something unless the other person is willing to receive. Otherwise whatever one gives will only drop out. And the third condition, the most important condition, is that the person offering to help should be competent to help others. If these three conditions are satisfied then one can try to help others to change.

As regards changing oneself, one should have strong desire to change.  Second he should take help from God through surrender to God.  And if these two conditions are met then God Himself will change one or He will send competent people to help one to change for the better.  When one recognizes this fact then one’s attitude to scriptural study will become different and he will find that his personality changes gradually like a butterfly changing from a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. In the case of a human being the change will be internal and one will mature into a wonderful and attractive person internally.  But between a butterfly and human being, there is a big difference. In the case of a butterfly, the change happens naturally for it is programmed that way genetically.  In the case of a human being it does not happen automatically but one has to use one’s free will to initiate the change and seek God’s Grace through surrender for complete transformation.  Otherwise scriptural study will cause no transformation and remain mere information only.

One unfortunate fact about change is, it is a painful affair.  As one becomes cosy and comfortable in one’s habits and in one’s way of behaviour one does not want to give it up to change.  Unless one is willing to undergo that pain, there cannot be change. The scriptures constantly emphasize the fact that along with scriptural study, there must be a change in our personality.   It is said, “as vichara changes, the achara must also change.”  Vichara means the changes in the thought process as learning takes place. The internal change must bring a change in our external personality.  Achara means speech and action.  We find that one has got all the knowledge in the world when it comes to advising others. But when it comes to one’s own life, one forgets this knowledge and does not apply the values he had learnt in his own life.  One should guard oneself against this weakness in his behaviour.

One must lead a disciplined life by Achara – speech and actions- learnt in the scriptures.  In regard to speech, one should not talk too much and exercise quantity control in talk.  Then only one can have quality control over words, as Sri Adhi Sankaracharya advises in Viveka Chudamani.  Secondly one should be alert in one’s actions.  Dharma is not something that is only spoken in words but it should exist through one’s actions.  Scriptures emphasize Achara.  That is, one must remove the gap between what one knows and what one is.

For persons who do not change and also do not want to change, in spite of all the scriptural studies, the scripture sounds a warning.  Digested food contributes to one’s growth. But the very same food when not properly digested can turn into poison and harm the person.  The study of scriptures is akin to taking food.  When it is assimilated and leads to change in behaviour it aids one’s spiritual growth.  When they are not assimilated but simply stuffed they become counter-productive by contributing to one’s ego problem through VidyaGarvam.   VidyaGarvam is the worst garvam for which there is no parihara because for all kinds of arrogance, Vidya is the solution. But if Vidya itself is a cause of pride then even Bhagawan cannot help one. So one should assimilate the teaching and guard against it itself contributing to arrogance.

Any amount of scriptural study will not benefit or purify the mind unless the person is keen to follow what he has been taught. One might have studied all the four Vedas and also the six Angas but he can still be cantankerous and problematic and as egoistic as before.   Without Achara, Vedas cannot purify a person.  During crisis that knowledge as mere book knowledge will not help and it will be only in his head without being of any practical use to him.   A Vedic scholar is one whose life is dharmic.  Mere scriptural knowledge is useless unless it is backed by a dharmic life.   So to benefit by this knowledge one should change oneself and one’s behaviour to conform to the Achara emphasised by the scriptures, with the scriptural knowledge embedded in one’s mind, well assimilated.

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Seven Healthy Habits

(Adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

Hindu means a Vaidika who follows a way of life, prescribed by the Veda.  Veda also prescribes certain fundamental rules regarding conduct for every Vaidhika, Hindu, to follow.  They are the common rules to follow for all the Hindus irrespective of their varna, asrama or sex. These common rules together are called Sadachara.  Achara means code of conduct or habits and Sadachara means healthy code of conduct.   They are compulsory for every Hindu who wants to lead a Dharmic way of life.   All the other religious activities like pujas, prayers etc, are validated only when these healthy habits are observed.  There are seven of them, as listed below.  Of the seven, the first three are in relation to oneself; the next three in relation to others and last governing all the six.

1)    A life of discipline; discipline of planning and preparing in advance.

2)    Hard work for completing the job on-hand perfectly.

3)    Aesthetic excellance in work I.e. neatness , orderliness etc.

4)    Being true to one’s inner conscience.

5)    Obedience to sastraic instructions.

6)    Consideration for others.

7)    Sincerity in the observance of rules.

Let us see them one by one in a little more detail.

Our scriptures point out that one should never take to any thoughtless action.  All the actions, whether they are minor or major, secular or sacred, religious or spiritual, must be preceded by advanced planning, advanced preparation. All the thoughtless actions may lead to adverse consequences, which will not only affect the performer, but will affect all the other people who are associated with that.  Therefore, thoughtless action is a form of Himsa to oneself and also to others.  All thoughtless actions will come under Tamasic karma. All those actions which are preceded by preparation, planning and rehearsal are called Satvic karma. Tamasic karma is Durachara and Satvic karma is Sadachara.  Lord Krishna describes Tamasic karma in Gita 18-25 as below:

Anubandham kshayam himsam anapekshya cha pourusham I

Mohadarabhyate karma yatattamasamuchyate II

That action is declared to be Tamasic which is undertaken out of delusion, (and) without consideration of its consequence, loss to oneself, harm to others and (one’s) ability. (18-25)

Lord Krishna gives us the clue as to what all factors must be thought about before doing any action. One must think of the adverse consequences which will affect oneself or other people especially, family members, the expenditure involved in the form of time, energy and money in that action, one’s resources, whether they are physical, emotional or time, including financial resources without overestimating the resources and underestimating the drawbacks.  So, the first Sadachara or healthy habit is the discipline of preparation, planning and if necessary, rehearsal.

Planning and preparation are no doubt important, but equally important is dhrithi, hard work for implementation. Implementation is a hard work, as obstacles may rise in implementing the plan which would have to be overcome with hard work backed by perseverance and strong will.  Lord Krishna describes satvic dhrithi as follows:

Dhritya yaya dharayate manah pranendriya kriyah I

Yogena avyabhicharinya dhriti sa partha satviki II

O Partha, the unwavering firmness with which one controls the functions of the mind, vital forces and the organs, that firmness is satvic. (18-33)

With Satvic dhriti one should attempt to complete the job and that too with as much perfection as possible.  Swami Chinmayananda says aiming at perfection is a spiritual trait. So the second Sadachara is hard work for completing the job with perfection.

Vedic tradition always values aesthetic excellence.  Aesthetic excellence consists of three things. One is that every place and thing that we handle should be extremely neat and clean. Every place that we make use of, whether it is house or office must be spic and span.  Lord Krishna calls it ‘Soucham’ in Gita.  The second component of aesthetic excellence is orderliness with regard to everything one handles in one’s house or working place or any place, for that matter.  The third component is beauty or attractiveness.  It is not an exercise in glamour but an expression of one’s sense of beauty. The Rangoli drawn before the house, after it is swept and washed clean with a lighted lamp in the middle is an example.  Similarly decorating the puja room with Kolam and flowers and deities with Vastram, Chandanam, Kumkum, Mala etc. all constitute aesthetic excellance. So the third Sadachara is aesthetic excellence. These three i.e. planning and preparation, hard work and aesthetic excellence are Sadachara associated with oneself.

Now let us see the three healthy habits from the standpoint of a group.  With regard to one's family and social life also, these three habits apply.  The first one is honesty or integrity.  Human beings have got a free will, which they can use properly or abuse. Because of the abuse of free will, one may violate several healthy values, out of selfishness. When one abuses the values, one harms oneself and others.  Bhagawan has created an in-built check to warn against abuse in the form of Conscience.  Conscience working according to the Universal principle; “what I don’t want others to do to me, I should not do to the others” warns one, whenever one violates this principle. It is called guilt. Bhagawan has given such a conscience that it will prick one in the form of guilt when one tends to violate.  At that moment, one must restrain oneself and should not go according to one’s natural tendency, which is selfishness, but go according to the scriptural values. One must always keep the inner voice loud and clear and restrain oneself whenever the inner voice says ‘no’. This is the fourth Sadachara, being honest to ourselves.

The fifth Sadachara is obedience and scriptures talk of two types of obedience.  The first obedience is the obedience with regard to the instructions given by one's seniors who are supposed to be the models of Sadachara.  Seniors may be in the form of parents or guru or rulers, only the seniors should be models of Sadachara.  The second obedience is obedience of all rules and regulations, which are important in any form of group existence. The rules are called Dharma. Whether they are religious rules or secular rules of the society, whatever instructions are given, our scriptures say always follow the rules. This is obedience, the fifth one.

The sixth one is consideration for others.  Always remember that we are never alone in the family or in the society.  Therefore, before doing anything, keep in mind how our action will affect others.  Bhartruhari talks about three different types of people. Uttama Purusha is one who sacrifices even his self-interest while considering other’s wellbeing.  Madhyama Purusha is one who takes care of his Self Interest as well as other’s wellbeing in parallel. Adhama Purusha is one who takes care of only his Self interest even at the cost of the wellbeing of others.  Always expand your mind to accommodate others’ interest as well and never be an Adhama Purusha in your dealings with others. This is called Hitatvam, consideration, the sixth Sadachara.

The seventh Sadachara is sincerity, sincerity with regard to the implementation of the previous six rules.  It is not easy to do that without falling a victim to laziness, the biggest obstacle in implementation. So let us implement them without finding excuses, for the benefit of ourselves and for the people and society we belong to.  These seven habits are valid in all stages, in all times and constitute Sadachara. 

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