Hinduism and Family life

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s lecture)

 

In a Vedic society, family is the basic unit which means Veda gives great importance to family life.  According to the Vedic vision, the Vedic family is designed in such a way that it can fulfill all the human puruṣhartha - dharma, artha, kama and Moksha and can also transform a human being.   To put in Swami Chinmayananda’s language, transforming the animal-man into a man-man and man-man into a God-man. This is possible, if one follows a Vedic life.

Veda says that desire for a partner, desire for getting progeny, and desire for raising a family is an intrinsic desire of all living beings, including human beings. This is the fundamental universal aspiration or desire, which is called artha-kama-iccha. Therefore, family-life fulfills the first fundamental and universal desire of a human being for artha and kama. But Veda doesn’t stop there.  Veda further points out that if we use a family life, only for artha and kama, there will be no difference between animals and humans.  Therefore, family-life must be utilized to convert one from a mere animal-man to a man-man through raising one’s mind through dharmic activities.

Veda prescribes several dharmic activities for the grihasthas to bring about an internal transformation to develop values, to refine one’s mind, to remove one’s selfishness and to expand one’s mind to accommodate the entire cosmos, that is possible only by service, which come under the collective name of Pancha Maha Yajna.  They are Deva, Rishi, Pitr Yajnas, religious activities seeking the grace of God, grace of the rishis and grace of one’s ancestors, and Manushya Yajna and Bhuta Yajna, service activities.  These are designed to reduce one’s ahamkara, mamakara, raga, dwesha, and to expand one’s mind. Not only Veda prescribes all these activities as compulsory activities, but Veda insists also that they must be done by the family members together. This is very important, because, only then, family will function as one team and as one unit.   The common minimum programme for a family is dharma and Moksha.  For the sake of dharma and for the sake of future Moksha, the family should be together as one unit and work together as one unit engaging in dharmic activities. It is the vision that is given by the Veda.

If every family remembers this and keeps dharma and Moksha as primary, then that family will complete one full term of gṛihasthasram life and the gṛihastha will get converted from animal-man to man-man i.e. from artha-kama-pradhana person to dharma- pradhana person.  According to Veda, the full term of grihasthasram means raising the children to become healthy, responsible, well-educated adults. In the Vedic society, getting the children married also was considered as part of grihasthasram term.  When that much is accomplished, then grihasthasram life is completed. 

Veda also offers a beautiful program for those who are interested to grow further after completing the responsibilities of the grihasthasram.  Because man-man to God-man is the ultimate growth. For that, Veda offers a comprehensive retirement scheme, in which one retires from professional, social and family life as well and dedicates life for only spiritual enquiry and contemplation, jnana-yoga-pradhana life consisting of sravanam, mananam and nitidhyasanam.  For this one can even change to Vanaprasthasram or Sanyasasram as retirement life-style, as an option.  When the couple, the husband and wife, decide to dedicate their lives for spiritual sadhanas only, they must look upon themselves as co-seekers in spiritual life and not as husband and wife.  Freeing themselves from social, professional and family distractions they must devote themselves to self-enquiry and contemplation.

They can also choose to stay with their children or away from them.  Only, now the role of the parents and the role of children get reversed. Until now, parents served the children, helping them to grow. Now the children have to serve the parents to pursue their spiritual life style.  It means, children have to provide all the support to the parents, nearby or far away, whatever is the type of support, financial support or maintenance of the infrastructure, or all of them.  Children should take care of them and help them getting involved in spiritual activities only without dragging them to the worldly activities.

Lord Krishna gives a beautiful guideline in the Bhagavad Gita (13 – 10,11 & part 12) for the retiree's spiritual life as: 

Asaktiranabhishvangah putradaragrihaadishu;

Nityam cha samachittatvam ishtanishtopapattishu. II10II

Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home and the rest, and constant even-mindedness on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable.

Mayi chaananyayogena bhaktiravyabhichaarini;

Viviktadesa sevitvam aratir janasamsadi. II11II

Unswerving devotion to Me by the Yoga of non-separation, resort to solitary places, lack of delight in the crowd of people;

Adhyaatma jnaana nityatvam tattva jnanartha darsanam; --

Constancy in Self-knowledge, perception of the goal of true knowledge – ((first line of 12)

    One should gradually get detached from the family, the children, the grandchildren including the spouse.  One should not be obsessed with the events that happen in the life of children and grand-children. Family obsession must be gradually dropped and with an equanimous mind one should pursue Vedanta-vichara.  One should resort to seclusion more and more, engage in study and contemplation more and more. And gradually grow into one’s own highest nature, Brahman or Athma. This is called Mokṣha-pursuit. In fact, Moksha is dropping of Self-ignorance, Self-misconception and the sense of Self-limitation through discovering the nature of Self-identity i.e. identity with Brahman as “Aham Brahmasmi”.  This spiritual sadhana must dominate the life of a retired grihastha.

     Even though, Moksha is the primary goal, there are other secondary benefits as well, and the biggest practical benefit is the ability to confront old age.  Fear of death, lot of anxiety and problems regarding health and degenerative diseases will start appearing as the age advances.  Spiritual knowledge and pursuit helps one in old age to confront them without emotional upheaval.   One who has discovered the immortality of his Self as Brahman will face the mortality of his body without worry and anxiety, with the knowledge that purpose of this body is not for enjoying worldly pleasure, but for discovering one’s immortal nature. Such a person as an active grihastha was pursuing dharma, artha and kama and as a retired grihastha, supported by children, is pursuing Moksha and will lay down his life as an Athma-Jnani.   This process is the transformation from man-man to God-man and we can say, this is the Vedic vision of an ideal family life.  

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The Spiritual Journey Within

Adhyathmika Yatra

(Based on the lectures of Swami Paramarthananda)

A spiritual seeker, seeking answers to the questions, “Who is God?” and “Who am I?” etc., needs to undertake a spiritual journey within to get the answers.  The starting sadhana for this spiritual quest is given as Karma yoga in scriptures.  Karma yoga is elaborately discussed in the third chapter of Gita and can be briefly defined as proper actions performed with proper attitude backed by proper values.  Swami Paramarthananda defines Karma yoga using an acronym “RIDE”, where each letter stands for an instruction.  R stands for ‘Reduce Adharmic activities’; I for ‘Increase Dharmic activities’; D for ‘Dedicate all actions to the Lord’; and E for ‘Experience everything as Prasada’.

Reduction of Adharmic activities: - Adharmic activities are the actions and responses that do not conform to Dharma, as laid down by the scriptures.  They act as obstacles to one’s spiritual progress and they must be reduced gradually over a period of time with commitment. Lord Krishna has given a list of qualities that gives rise to such actions as Asuri sampath in the 16^th chapter of Gita. In simple language it can be stated as avoidance of all actions and responses which one does not want from others towards oneself.  In short, don’t do unto others what you don’t want others do unto you, is the prescription. That means one should strive to be alert and watchful all the time to avoid all prohibited actions and responses completely.

Increase Dharmic activities: - Simultaneous with reducing Adharmic activities, one must try to increase the performance of Dharmic actions.  These are popularly known as Pancha Maha Yajna in the form of reverential attitude and worship/service of 1) deities symbolizing divinity (Deva Yajna); 2) sages and rishis and scriptures (Brahma Yajna); 3) parents and forefathers (Pitru Yajna);  4) society at large (Manushya Yajna); 5) animals and plants and the environment itself (Bhutha Yajna). 

Dedicate all actions to the Lord: - Doing all one’s actions as worship of Lord, treating material consequences as subservient to spiritual growth. This is also called Iswararpana Buddhi. 

Experience everything as Prasada: - To accept and experience the results of actions as Iswara Prasada, without complaint, and without question ‘Why me’.

Before the seeker starts on the spiritual journey, God is in one’s life, only for a brief moment during prayer at home or in occasional satsang or during a visit to temple, where he seeks something for himself or for people close to him or where he seeks to avoid something for himself or for people close to him.  He blames everybody else including God, for things going wrong with him.  He wants to change everything else and everybody else except himself.  As he progresses in following the ‘RIDE’ in Karma Yoga, God-consciousness underpins all his thoughts and actions. In fact the priority shifts away from material pursuits and his prayers also reflect it.  The seeker seeks Lord’s Grace only at all times for his spiritual advancement.  Even the material benefits he seeks are to equip him better for progress in the spiritual path.  And as he progresses in the practice of Karma Yoga, spiritual goal becomes the primary goal of life and he develops purity of mind conducive for the acquiring and absorption of Jnanam through Jnana Yoga

Jnana Yoga consists of three stages; Sravanam, Mananam and Nitidyasanam leading to acquisition, absorption and assimilation of Self Knowledge through the analytical study of Sastras. Of these Sravanam, the first stage is consistent, systematic study of Sastras under a competent Guru over a length of time where the Guru’s teaching of Sastras acts as a virtual mirror to discover one’s Self removing Self ignorance.  The subject is so subtle and truth it reveals is so ‘startling’ that Swami Paramarthananda advises one should prepare for it through PORT reduction where PORT stands for possessions, obligations or responsibilities, relationships and transactions, which with their demands on time and mental preoccupation will be an obstacle for deep study and contemplation.  So to get quality time for the study of Sastras and to benefit by it PORT reduction is advised. When one with PORT reduction goes through consistent and systematic study over a length of time one learns the Truth from the Vedantic scriptures that was termed ‘startling’ earlier.  This message Swamiji sums up in five capsules which run as: 

1)    I am of the nature of eternal and all-pervading Consciousness.

2)    I am the only source of permanent, peace, security and happiness

3)    By my mere presence, I give life to the material body and through the body, I experience the material universe. The word “body” includes the mind because the mind is also a subtle form of body

4)    I am not affected by anything that takes place in the material world and in the material body, including the material mind

5)    By forgetting my nature, I convert life into a struggle and by remembering my nature, I convert life into a sport or entertainment.

Consciousness, which is defined as oneself, has five features which are, again in the words of Swamiji:

1) Consciousness is not part, product or property of the body

2) Consciousness is an independent entity or principle which pervades and enlivens the body

3) Consciousness is not limited by the boundaries of the body

4) Consciousness continues to exist or survive even after the death of the body

5) The surviving consciousness is not accessible because of the absence of the body medium

When the seeker learns the five features of the Consciousness and relates it to “I” and tries to use the word ‘I’ in the meaning of Consciousness, several doubts assail him, which have to be cleared through Mananam.  Mananam is the process through which all the intellectual obstacles in the way of absorption of this knowledge is removed and the knowledge gets converted to conviction. Discussion with Guru and fellow-seekers and also self-contemplation helps the student to have the doubts clarified and be intellectually convinced. This doubt-free knowledge has to be assimilated deconditioning all the negative emotions developed in the ignorant mind so that it becomes his second nature, which turns him into a Jivan muktha.  This process of internalisation of knowledge is effected  through  Nitidyasanam, Vedantic meditation.  Chapter 6 of Bhagavad Gita discuses this meditation only.  Nitidyasanam involves meditation on Mahavakhyas that spell out the Jiva Brahma Ikyam.  With successful assimilation of Mahavakhya teachings, the Vedantic message “Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithya, Jeevo Brahmaiva na Parah”, the seeker blossoms into a Jivan Muktha, with his views of world, God, himself and Moksha completely transformed. 

In the new mindset he no longer sees the world in the triangular format of Iswara, world and Jiva, but only in the binary format of athma and anathma where athma only is absolute Reality while anathma is only apparently Real.  His goal of Moksha at a future date is also changed as he sees himself as a Muktha Purusha all the time with the upadhi of body.  So in his view no bondage, no Liberation; no Jivan Mukthi, no Videha Mukthi applies to him.  If one after realization of his inner Divinity can stay steadfast like this with the inner conviction of the essential Divinity of one and all as well, then that person can be said to have arrived at the end of the spiritual journey. The journey that started at Aham (ego) and continued to Daso’ham (triangular format) now ends with the assertion, after Realisation, of So’ham (binary format).

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Plan for Permanent Happiness

(adapted from the lecture of Swmi Paramarthananda)

“Happiness ever, Sorrow never” is the aim and ambition of every living person,  irrespective of their age, sex, religion and nationality. But this cannot be achieved through any worldly object or relationship. This is possible only through the realisation of one’s identity at the level of Athma with Brahman through Self-knowledge, Athmajnanaam.  Brahman is described as Sat, Chit, Anand i.e. pure Existence, pure Knowledge and pure Happiness. So attaining this Atmajnanam, one is liberated from the feeling of limitedness and no more for him, while living, the struggle for happiness.  At death his Self, Athma, merges with Brahman and he is released from the cycle of birth and death. So Athmajnanam is a liberating knowledge that confers Liberation from Samsara while living and liberates one from the cycle of birth and death at death. This Liberation is called Moksha and this only confers permanent happiness.

Vedas, the only source for Athmajnanam, also show the way how one can plan for Moksha, by generating in one an ardent desire for Moksha, Moksha iccha, to be followed by efforts for acquisition of Moksha yogyatha, qualification for Moksha.  Both iccha and yogyatha are essential as without iccha, one will not exert for yogyatha and without yogyatha, iccha alone will not bear fruit.  Veda prescribes two types of karma yoga to develop Moksha Iccha and Moksha Yogyatha.  When one develops both Iccha and Yogyatha, that person will  sincerely and seriously embark on the step of seeking Athmajnanam.  Veda then through jnana yoga guides the person to spiritual enlightenment and Liberation.

In the first stage of karma yoga the seeker is made to become aware of the value of Moksha and develop a serious and committed desire for Moksha, Moksha Iccha. For this the Vedas suggest a life style designed to help the seeker to refine his mind to gain samathvam i.e equanimity and to be free of other preoccupations. And if a person goes through such a karma yoga exercise, he will learn a very very important lesson, which the scriptures present   as “Sarvam Paravasam dhukkam, Sarvam atmavasam sukam”. Paravasam dhukkam means depending upon the external world emotionally brings sorrow as it is the cause of anxiety and frustration. The reason is two-fold. One, the conditions of the external world is constantly changing and so the world and the people and the relationship are all unpredictable. The second reason is the conditions of the world are not under one’s control.  No doubt, one has a free will to contribute to the universe, but one doesn’t have sufficient power to control. One has a contributing freewill; one doesn’t have a controlling freewill.   As a karma yogi one will soon discover that the world is unpredictable, uncontrollable and unsustainable and depending on that world for one’s peace, security and happiness is a great risk.  To avoid disappointment, frustration and even anxiety, the only way is, one should stop depending on the world.  One may live in the world, one may use the world, one may serve the world, one may experience the world, one can do everything except emotionally leaning on that. We have the example of the cardboard chair; the cardboard chair is beautifully made, well decorated; one can keep it in the showcase, but one cannot sit on that.  In the same way, world has got beauty, world has got variety, world has got novelty, but world doesn’t have stability. Therefore, one cannot lean on the world and if he does he will have regrets later.  So as karma yogi one learns to discover peace, security, and happiness in oneself rather than from the world.

Veda says “ getting Iccha for Moksha alone is not enough: one will have to develop the Yogyatha as well”  For that one requires karma yoga number two through which alone, can one get the Yogyatha.  In karma yoga number two the scriptures prescribe a life of service and contribution, a life of giving rather than taking.  Consumer to contributor conversion is a very important conversion and the Vedas themselves prescribe five levels of contribution known as “Pancha Maha Yajna” They are:

1)    Brahma yajna – This is also called Rishi Yajna. This involves daily study of the scriptures and regular sharing of the scriptural knowledge with others through teaching, writing and satsang.  By so doing one discharges the debt to Rishis who by preserving and passing on made this knowledge available to us.

2)    Deva yajna– This involves ritual worship and prayer of Devas including Homams and Nitya karmanushtanam like Sandhyavandanam. Lord Krishna refers to this yajna only,when he tells Arjuna in Gita (3-11)

Devan Bhavayathanenate Deva bhavayanthuvaha
Parasparambhavayanthahsreyahparamavapsyatha

Nurture the Devas with this sacrifice and may the Devas nurture you. Mutually nurturing each other you shall attain the highest good.

3)    Pitruyajna - offering tarpana, libations regularly in respect and gratitude to all Pitrs and Pitr Devathas.   The word Pitrs primarily means the immediate ancestors i.e. father, mother etc. In Srartha ceremony three generations like father, grandfather and the great grandfather etc., are remembered and pindas, cooked rice balls, are offered to them. 

4)    Manushya yajna — Caring for, looking after and feeding fellow humans. Food and clothes to the poor and needy and shelter to the homeless all come under Manushya yajna.  In short all social services and  anna dhanam in functions and festivals besides feeding a guest will all come under Manushya yajna.

5)    Bhutha yajna — Caring for nature and all life. Not only feeding animals like cow, insects like ant and birds like crow but also caring for them as well as the plants and trees etc., in the environment come under Bhutha yajna.

This fivefold contribution is Karma Yōga number two. Along with this fivefold contribution, scriptures talk about developing healthy ethical values also which is also a part of Karma Yōga number two. One part is contribution, second part is developing ethical values.  In the 16^th chapter of Gita Lord Krishna talks about the positive virtues and the negative mental traits under Daivi Sampath and Asuri Sampath.

So Samatvam is Karma yoga number one, Sat Karmani plus Sat Guna is Karma Yoga number two. If a person follows these two Karma yogas, then he becomes ready for entering Jnana yoga, for receiving the Self-knowledge. The two forms of Karma yoga are given in the Veda Purva Bhaga, the first part of the Vedas and, Jnana yoga for self knowledge is given in the Veda Anta Bhaga, the latter part of Vedas.

This essential teaching of Vedanta, Self knowledge, Swami Paramarthananda presents in the form of five capsules.  These together sum up the Self knowledge given by the Jnana Yoga part of the Vedās. The five capsules of Self knowledge are:

1) I’m of the nature of eternal and all pervading consciousness principle.
2) I’m the only source of permanent peace, security and happiness.
3) By my mere presence, I give life to the material body and through the body, I experience the material universe.
4) I’m never affected by any event that happens in the material universe and in the material body.
5) By forgetting my nature; I convert life into a struggle and by remembering my nature; I convert life into a sport (lila).

Therefore, the life plan as given by Vedas is as follows: - Follow Karma yoga one, develop Moksha Iccha; follow Karma yoga two, develop Moksha Yogyatha; follow Jnana yoga in the form of sastra vichara, comprising sravanam (study), mananam (reflection) and nitidyasanam (assimilation), attain Athmajnanam; and  with the absorbtion of the five capsules of Vedanta and rememberance of one’s true nature make the life a source of permanent happiness as Jivan Muktha.

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Five features of traditional Bhakthi

(adapted from a lecture of Swami Paramarthananda)

What we call as traditional bhakti is one that is not an emotional attachment to a finite God in the form of a person. It is not an emotional obsession; but, it is the love and reverence for the infinite limitless God, based on scriptures.

The first feature of traditional bhakthi, as visualised by our scriptures is, reverential appreciation of God (Brahman) as the comic Intelligence behind the order, harmony and natural functioning of the entire universe consisting of sentient, living beings and insentient material objects.  Our scriptures define the cosmic Intelligence as the eternal, all-pervading Consciousness principle. Mundakopanishad states (1-1-6):

yat tad adresyam agrahyam agotram avarṇam acaksuhsrotraṃ tad apanipadam ।

nityam vibhuṃ sarvagatam smam tad avyayaṃ m paripasyanti dhiraḥ ॥

(By means of higher knowledge) The wise realize everywhere that which cannot be perceived and grasped, which is without source, features, eyes, and ears, which has neither hands nor feet, which is eternal, omnipresent, all-pervasive, extremely subtle, and imperishable, and which is the source of all.

That means there is no specific form for God and provisional forms are adopted only for relating to Him for worship with puja, abhishekam etc.  Getting hooked to a form will make it difficult to transcend the form, with higher knowledge (Para Vidya). Though one starts with a provisional form as ishta devata, one must always keep in mind that God is invisible, inherent, Intelligence that is pervading everywhere, who is invoked as the Ishta devata with a particular form and name.   One starts with a provisional form; but later with the growing Jnanam, God is recognised as, the invisible, inherent, Intelligence that is pervading everywhere. Therefore, the first feature of bhakti is, reverential appreciation of God as cosmic Intelligence.

The second feature of bhakti is, reverential appreciation of the universe itself as the body of God.  If God is inherent in the entire universe, pervading the entire universe, the universe must be the physical body of the Lord.  Appreciating the universe as the body of the Lord is appreciating the whole universe as Viswarupa Ishwara.  This reverential appreciation of the world is very important; because, as the appreciation of the whole universe, consisting of a mixture of good and bad, will gradually dilute both one’s attachments and aversions.  Greater the appreciation, lesser will be the raga dwesha.  In Viswarupa Bhakthi, there can be no difference between Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu as the universe is one and the same.  Rudram is description of Shiva as the universe. Purusha Suktam is the description of Vishnu as the universe.  So in Viswarupa Bhakthi one can grow out of the narrow division between deities and foster a sense of unity and oneness among them.  So whatever the form one adopts for Ishta devata, one should not forget that God is not confined to that form and the whole universe is manifestation of God only.  

The third feature of traditional bhakthi is the reverential appreciation of God as the source of the Vedas, our primary scriptures.  Svetasvatara Upanishad (6-18) states:

yo brahmanam vidadhati purvaṃ yo vai vedaṃsca prahinoti tasmai I

tam ha devam atmabuddhiprakasam mumuksurvai saranamaham prapadye II

Seeking Liberation, I take refuge in the Lord, the revealer of Self-Knowledge, who in the beginning created Brahma and delivered the Vedas to Him.

Vedas are not only a manual for life but also our only source of knowing God Himself.   With all our instruments of knowledge, including modern scientific equipments and all the research, one is not able to discover God, indicating that God is not accessible for the human instruments of knowledge.  So the only source of knowledge of God is Vedas only.  One is grateful to God for giving the Vedas to know Him, for without knowing about Him there can be no bhakthi or bhaktha.

The fourth feature of traditional bhakthi is the reverential appreciation of Vedas themselves as a gift from God.  A bhaktha is one who uses Vedas as the guide for his life with full faith in its validity as God-given manual for life.  One of the Pancha Maha Yajnas is Brahma Yajna, worship of the scriptures through reverential study and this is possible only if one has reverence for scriptures.  Swami Paramarthananda calls Vedas as GPS, God’s positioning system, for life.

The fifth feature of traditional Bhakthi is the regular, systematic reverential study of the scriptures.   This is one of the Pancha Maha Yajnas and also then only one can follow the lifestyle and code of conduct given in Vedas. But one faces difficulty because of the volume of the Vedas and the difficulty of Vedic language which is not easy to follow with mere knowledge of the language.  God, as Lord Krishna, has condensed the Vedas in a simpler language in 700 slokas spread over 18 chapters in Bhagavad Gita.  Madhusudhana Saraswathi praises Bhagavad Gita thus:

sarvopaniṣado gavo dogdha gopala-nandanaḥ|

partho vatsaḥ sudhirbhokta dugdhaṃ gitamṛtaṃ mahatII

All the Upaniṣhads are the cows. Krishna is the milker. Arjuna is the calf. The

pure-minded are the enjoyers (of the milk).  The supreme nectar of Gita is the

milk.

In the 16^th chapter of Gita, Lord talks about the right values to be followed as Daivi sampath and wrong habits to be given up as Asuri sampath.   In various places it talks about sat karmani, proper actions; sat bhavanah, proper attitudes; and sat gunah, noble qualities which are to be adopted by a true, sincere devotee.  Such a study makes one an informed bhaktha and one’s informed bhakthi is free of common misconceptions, two of which are listed as follows.

One of the popular misconceptions is bhaktha will have no problems in life.  The scriptures do not make such a promise.  On the contrary they state that prarabdha karma has to be experienced by everyone, bhaktha or non-bhaktha.  Bhakti will give inner balance and inner strength, which will help one confront one’s karma with courage and confidence.  Second misconception is that mere bhakthi without karma can help one achieve one’s goals.  Bhakthi promises only God’s grace and not miracles and bhakthi is not a substitute for karma.  So bhakthi must be an informed bhakthi, to be free of misconceptions and seek only His Grace. For that reverential study of scriptures is necessary.  Reverential systematic study of scriptures confers another benefit as well.   Systematic study of strictures with a refined mind under a guru will help one to acquire knowledge of Self, Athma Jnanam, and attain Moksha, Liberation.

So to sum up the five features of traditional bhakthi are:

1)    Reverential appreciation of God as the cosmic Intelligence

2)    Reverential appreciation of the very visible universe itself as the very body of God

3)    Reverential appreciation of God as the source of Vedas

4)    Reverential appreciation of Vedas as God-given life-manual

5)    Reverential study of scriptures 

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God and the Universe

(adapted from a lecture of Swami Paramarthananda)

Svetasvatara Upanishad (6-18) states:

yo brahmaṇaṃ vidadhati purvaṃ yo vai vedaṃsca prahiṇoti tasmai I

taṃ ha devaṃ atmabuddhiprakasam mumuksurvai saranamaham prapadye II

Seeking Liberation, I take refuge in the Lord, the revealer of Self-Knowledge, who in the beginning created Brahma and delivered the Vedas to Him.

The Vedas that have been handed to Brahma, and coming down to this present day is a guide book for living and offers guidance for living to those who have the trust in the validity, efficacy and utility of Vedas. Those who have shraddha in Vedic teachings were called Vaidhikhas, who are now called as Hindus.  Vedas prescribe a life-style that is God-centred for its followers.  For a devout Hindu the day starts with the remembrance of God and in every activity during day God is remembered.  For instance during bath God is visualised in the heart and bath is considered as an abhishekam to the Lord.  Pradhakshinam a  Hindu does in temple is a symbolic declaration that his life will be centred around God only,  Not only the daily chores but also all other aspects of Hindu life like music and dance, art and architecture are all centred on God.

The scriptures not only give the instructions but also teach the significance of each action.  But over the period of time, the backup teachings were lost and the scriptures are not studied with sraddha; only the traditions are maintained with the result the practices now appear to be ‘meaningless rituals’ to the younger generation.  But one will understand that rituals like puja are not meaningless if one learns the principle and purpose behind it. Let us see a few salient points of the backup teaching in support of the God-centred lifestyle, starting from the common definition of God. 

The common provisional definition of God is ‘Srsti Kartha’, creator of the world.  Scriptures themselves refine that definition for serious thinkers, the reason being that according to Vedas nothing can be created or destroyed, which idea is echoed by modern science through its law of conservation of matter and energy.  Only transformation takes place; nothing is created, nothing is destroyed. Before the world came into existence, it was already existent in potential form only.  What was potentially existing in an un-manifest form alone comes to manifestation in what we call ‘creation’. This un-manifest form is called the seed of universe.  This 'seed', which existed before the emergence of the universe, is called God.

This Lord Krishna points out in Bhagavad gita (7-10),

bijaṃ maṃ sarvabhutanaṃ viddhi partha sanatanam [7.10]

O Arjuna!, may you understand me, the Lord, to be the very cause or the seed of the entire universe.

Sri Adhi Sankara also mentions in Dakshinamurthy stotram:

 bijasyantarivankuro jagadidaṃ prannirvikalpaṃ punaḥ

mayakalpita desakalakalana vaicitrya citrikṛtam I  (first half of sloka 2)

This universe, undifferentiated at first like a sprout within the seed, becoming manifold through maya's aspects of time and space.

From that 'seed' - which is called God - alone, the entire universe, consisting of all the galaxies and planets and all living beings, emerges. Then, the scriptures point out that you can divide the entire universe broadly into two categories.  One is, inert material universe - called acetana tattvam; and the second is sentient living beings - which is called the cetana tattvam.  So this manifest universe consisting of cetana- acetana tattva dvayam, evolved out of that one 'seed', called God.  That means both the tattvams existed in God in potential form and emerged out of it in ‘creation’.  Lord Krishna names them in the Bhagavad gita as Puruṣha and Prakṛti,  Purusha referring to the chetana tattvam and Prakṛti referring to the achetana tattvam.  Purusha evolved in the form of living beings. Prakṛti evolved in the form of the inert principle.  So, the first lesson of the backup teaching is; the God, which is the centre of our life, is the 'seed' of the universe, which is cetana-acetana tattva dvayam.

The second lesson arises from God being the seed of the Universe.  As God is seed, God is kaaranam and universe being the product is kaaryam.  From this kaarana-kaarya sambanda we can draw certain conclusions.  One of the popular examples given in the scriptures to illustrate kaarana-kaarya sambanda is gold and gold ornaments, gold being the cause of various gold ornaments made out of it and gold ornaments, the product i.e. gold, the kaaranam and gold ornament the kaaryam.  From the study of their features; we can draw four conclusions regarding kaaranam and kaaryam

1)    Gold, the cause, is one only from which various ornaments of different designs and shapes are made. So while kaaranam is one, eka, Kaaryam is many, aneka

2)    Gold only is the substance that has weight in all ornaments, which are all gold +nama+rupa.  Without gold the ornaments are reduced to weightless nama and rupa,  So kaaranam is the essence, sara, and Kaarayam having no substantiality of its own is asara

3)    Gold was there in the past, before it was converted into ornaments. Gold is therein the present as ornaments.  Even if the ornaments are melted in future, gold will still remain. So kaaranam, in relation to kaaryam is present in all the three periods of time and so permanent, nitya, while kaaryam temporary, existing in the present only, anitya.

4)    Gold has independent existence and is satyam as compared to ornaments which do not exist without the gold and have dependant existence, asatyam.  So kaaranam is satyam and kaaryam is asatyam.

Applying this to God and universe we learn that God is eka, sara, nitya, and  satyam while universe is aneka, asara, anitya and asatyam.  But universe has its own plus points like variety, beauty and novelty but it has no stability to rely upon as it is asara, anitya and asatyam. Human beings suffer from a feeling of insecurity, which is termed samsara.  Among many definitions of saṃsara, one  definition is, the sense of insecurity.  As a child one clings to mother for security and as one grows up this clinging for security continues, only it gets transferred to various objects of the world like money, fame, relationships etc.  Freedom from the feeling of insecurity, called Moksha, cannot be attained through reliance on anitya vasthu, the objects of the world.  Worldly objects are like a cardboard chair.  They can look beautiful in various designs but you cannot lean on them or sit in them as they are not stable and strong enough.  Emotionally leaning on any object of the world for security leads only to emotional trauma.  Therefore, scriptures guide us that if one wants to solve the fundamental problem, then one must turn to God for security.  Spirituality begins when one recognises the problem of insecurity and turns to God who is sara, nithya and satyam.  Rely on God for getting out of the feeling of insecurity, is the second lesson of scriptures.

The third lesson of scriptures arising from the previous two is on “How to find God and security?”  Scriptures present it in two stages.  The first stage is preparation of the mind to find God.  Because, God is an extremely subtle principle, being ultimate seed and cause beyond even time and space.  So in the first stage one makes use of the world to refine the mind using world as a field of service i.e. by serving the world in different areas through pancha maha yajna.  When with a refined mind one seeks God through scriptural study with the help of a guru, one discovers God in oneself as one’s Own Self, Athma.  God being the kaaranam pervades the kaaryam, the world, as gold pervades the golden ornaments.  The infinite, nitya God pervades the finite anitya universe with its sentient and insentient divisions.  And so what one discovers is;  “In this very world, in every object, in every living being, that includes ‘me’, God is there and so in  'me', the imperishable God is available within the perishable part of 'me'.    

In kathopanishad Lord Yama teaches the same to Nachiketas:

angusthamatrah puruso madhya atmani tisthati I

isanam bhutabhavyasya na tato vijugupsate I etadvai tat II (2.1.12)

The Purusha (Athma), of the size of a thumb, resides in the middle of the body as the Lord of the past and the future; knowing Him one fears no more. This verily is That.

When one seeks the God and discovers It as one’s own Athma, then life is no more a struggle for security but an expression of security and one does not need anything else for one’s peace, security and happiness as one has found them within oneself.  Then life becomes successful and meaningful; because, one would have solved the fundamental problem of samsara.  But, all these are possible only if one takes the guidance of the guru and the scriptures and leads a life which is God-centric.  And the rituals in Hinduism are really a periodic reminder to the devout Hindus not to get lost in worldly pursuit, swerve from a God-centric life and forget the real goal of discovering security in that God which is one’s own Self only. 

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The glory of Sanathana Dharma

(Based on Swami Paramarthananda’s New Year talk, 2018)

Sanatana Dharma is the original name of the ancient religion now popularly called Hinduism.  It has originated in the Indian subcontinent over 5000 years ago.  The people who lived beyond the Sindhu River were called Hindus by people of other countries and the term Hinduism later came into use to denote their religious system.  Sanathana Dharma is not a religious system like Christianity or Islam but is a value system embodying a code of conduct that has spiritual freedom as its core. The expression Sanathana Dharma is a combination of two expressions, Sanathana and Dharma, whose meaning we shall see first.

The word ‘Dharma’ can be defined in many ways. Three of them we shall see here.  The first definition of Dharma as given by Jaimini Mahaṛiṣhi in his purva mimaaṃsa sutras, is “codana laksanah  arthah Dharmah"  meaning ‘anything revealed by Veda is called Dharma‘, in short, Vedic teaching,   The second and third meaning denotes the benefit of adhering to Dharma, externally and internally.  The benefit at external level is, maintenance of harmony and peace at all levels, macro and micro.   The benefit at internal levels is the third meaning of dharma.   It is giving one peace and harmony within oneself.  A dharmic person can enjoy peace and joy in life at the material level while earning puṇyam at the spiritual level.   

Sanathana means eternal and everlasting i.e. valid for all times.  It is believed that these teachings have been given by the Lord Himself, through the medium of Rishis. Swethasvatara upanishad states (6-18):.

yo brahmaṇaṃ vidadhati purvaṃ yo vai vedaṃsca prahiṇoti tasmai I

taṃ hadevaṃ atmabuddhiprakasaṃ ṃummukshurvai saranamaham  prapadye II

(Seeking Liberation, I take refuge in the Lord, the revealer of Self-Knowledge, who in the beginning created Brahma and delivered the Vedas to Him.)

Therefore, it does not have a beginning.   The Lord is the maintainer as well of this Dharma.  In the Bhagavad Gita(11-18)  Arjuna tells Lord Krishna, "tvam avyayaḥ sasvata dharmagopta"  meaning ‘you are the protector of this eternal Dharma’. So it is eternal also, with Lord’s protection. So it is beginningless and also eternal and it is called Sanatanam.  The second meaning of the word Sanatanam is, that which is ever valid and therefore that which will never go out of date.  Therefore, the final meaning of Sanatana Dharma is eternal and ever valid Vedic teaching.  These teachings have been elaborated and clarified in several supportive scriptures like smṛti granthas, itihasas, puraṇas etc.

The main glory of Vedic teaching is that it helps us to appreciate that the world, in which we are born, is the most wonderful infrastructure that human mind can conceive of.   Not only it supports life; but also it supplies all the resources for physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth.  It is a well organised system with perfect physical and moral laws.  It has provision for the all-round growth of all; humans, animals, trees etc.  Taittriya Upanishad in its 7^th section of 1^st chapter describes how well the external world of objects and people and the internal world of individual body-mind complex are created and maintained.  Aadhi Sankaracharya in his Brahmasutra Bhashyam praises creation as a gift from the Lord endowed with inconceivable perfection and order.

The scriptures, while expecting one to appreciate the glory and value of this universe, they also prescribe some duties by the performance of which one acknowledges the contribution of the world and expresses one’s gratitude. The creation is not only a gift from the Lord’s but also His very manifestation.  So one should “appreciate, admire and be reverential to creation”.  Treating creation as divine itself is the foremost lesson of the scriptures.  Divinity has to be recognised as available within us and through our every perception. The first lesson Veda teaches is “Sarvam Brahmamayam”

The second lesson is to remember that the cosmic infrastructure itself has an inbuilt harmony and one should not disturb the harmony.  Threat arises only from the human beings and not from the rest like animals, plants etc.  So scriptural guidelines are meant for humans only. This basic guideline is twofold: 1) being helpful to others (paropakara) and 2) avoiding harming others.  In fact non-violence, ahimsa, at all levels, physical, mental and speech, is glorified as supreme value.  All other values are built on the above guideline.

The third lesson is one should take care to be a contributor to Nature and not remain a mere consumer.  The Vedas prescribe five avenues for offering this contribution, known as pancha maha yajnas.  The first is called Deva yajna, where ritual worship is offered daily to the Lord who has provided the wonderful infrastructure.  In worship one prays for the peace and joy for the entire creation with the words “Sarve janah sukhino bhavanthu” meaning ‘Let all be happy’.  The second is Pitru yajna. It is showing gratitude to parents, who brought one into the world and took care of that one in one’s growing period, by taking care of them in their old age and remembering them even after death through religious ceremonies.  The third is Manushya yajna wherein one acknowledges the contribution of other human beings through sharing one’s resources with others, which includes all types of social service and charity.  The fourth is Bhutha yajna wherein one takes care of the animals and plants. Fifth is Brahma yajna, wherein one expresses gratitude to the Rishis and Guru parampara who have brought this knowledge to the present generation, by doing one’s best to preserve this knowledge for future generations through study and propagation.

Understanding and assimilating the Vedic teaching and the principle relating to the cosmic infrastructure will help not only in leading a meaningful life while young but also in handling the emotional problems related to old age and death as one advances in age.  Scriptures and in particular Gita contain many passages highlighting the mortality of people and objects. Lord Krishna points out to Arjuna in Gita(2-27): “jatasya hi dhruvo mṛtyurdhruvamjanma mrtasya ca” meaning  ‘Death is certain indeed for one who is born; and (re)birth is certain for the dead’.   So death is certain but it is not the end and is only a transition from one body to another.  Just as birth is an event in time, death is also an inevitable event in time.  Lord Krishna compares change of body to change of clothes in Gita (2-22):

Vaasaamsi jeernaani yathaa vihaaya Navaani grihnaati naro’paraani;I
Tathaa shareeraani vihaaya jeernaani Anyaani samyaati navaani dehee.II

Just as a person casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so also the embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters others that are new.

So at death only a worn out or diseased body is replaced by a new body. These thoughts can help to console and avoid the emotional turmoil related to anxiety over old age and death.  The scriptures also provide another solution for the problem of anxiety in the form of offering prayers to Lord and deriving strength from the very Lord to go through all these mental turmoils with emotional strength.  By learning, assimilating and following the Vedic teachings one can partake of the glory of Sanathana Dharma.

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