Musings of A Mystical Yogi
When everything is predestined in life and pre-planned by the Lord, why does man endeavour to do and undo things? Should one's repeated failures in respect of a certain work be also taken as the Will of the Lord? Is it a fact that we get what we deserve or is it that we are not really fit for what we actually aspire for? This doubt is eluding a clear-cut answer from my own limited brain. I refer the same to your greater brain to re solve this doubt and I hope you will do so.
Answer: It is true that everything is predestined and pre-planned by the Lord; and only in accordance with the holy writ, everything takes place. God has given free will also to the individual to do right or wrong, to discriminate between the Preyo Marga and the Sreyo Marga. If one is endowed with true wisdom as to the fleeting and painful nature of the worldly enjoyments, one can exert oneself in the right direction to do or undo his Prarabdha, the portion of Karmas ripened for actual experience in this current birth. Without the Lord's special grace, none can make or mar himself. Even for realization, the Lord's grace is necessary. For obtaining the Lord's grace, intense Purusha Prayatna, otherwise known as Purushartha, which is voiced forth throughout the famous "Yoga Vasishtha" is to be put forth..
Whether it be failure or success in any undertaken work, it is but the effect of the Lord's grace and will alone. Accept everything in the light of Vedantic indifference. Be a silent witness and rejoice over the mystery of the Lord.
Everybody gets what he actually deserves; nothing more, nothing less. The Divine Law is altogether different from man-made law. The Law and Verdict and Judgement of the Lord is final and unquestionable. No bribing business there. His Law is always impartial and uniform and even, with the whole of mankind, why only mankind, with the whole of His own creation.
Aspiration on the mundane side is but an expression of egoism that bursts forth in every moment of man's life through actions, thoughts and speech. Unless it is, as already stated, willed by the Lord, nothing mundane or spiritual is possible of attainment by any human being on earth. God actually helps those that help themselves, provided that the thing aspired for is in strict conformity with the injunctions of the holy writ. From the cradle to the grave, from birth till death, from the moment of awareness to that of eternal rest, the guiding factor of man should be continuous self effort and self-effort alone, based on surrender, without minding the results.
What is the difference between Jivatman and Paramatman?
Answer: Jivatman is the individual soul, a reflection of Brahman in Avidya or the mind. Paramatman is the Supreme Soul, Brahman or the Atman. From the empirical viewpoint, the Jivatman is a finite and conditioned being, while the Paramatman is the infinite, eternal, Sat-chit-ananda Brahman. In essence, the Jivatman is identical with Paramatman when Avidya is destroyed.
Why was Gita taught on the battlefield?
Answer: There was some meaning in the Lord's choosing the battlefield for the Gita teaching. Yes. He wanted to point out to us that wisdom should not recline on the armchair. If his wisdom did not accompany a man to the field of battle, it was no wisdom at all! Any man could talk philosophy "after dinner"; any man could discourse upon the most intricate points in the Yoga Shastras sitting comfortably near the fireplace. But that is no wisdom at all; it is mere lip-service to the supreme science of Knowledge of the Self. It is hypocrisy. These people generally fail when they face a trial, when their wisdom is put to the acid test of practical demonstration, when they find themselves in a crisis.
Krishna's Panchajanya roars a big 'No'!. That is not the real wisdom; person's real wisdom will serve you right on the battlefield of life, right in a middle of crisis, and will enable you to surmount the obstacle, resist the temptation, arise victoriously from the trial. You will convert the trial into a great opportunity for revealing your genius. For, genius is often made by crisis.
A strong character will not succumb to tests and temptations, however strong and powerful they may be. On the contrary, a strong character reveals its strength only at the time of such crises. A morally weak man talks philosophy when things are getting on the way he wishes them to; but his philosophy takes leave of him at the sight of a test. Whereas, a morally strong man may give no indication whatsoever of his strength in ordinary times, but when a great trial faces him, he reacts most surprisingly and reveals his character.
That is what Sadhaks should understand from Krishna's choice of the dreadful platform of the battlefield for His discourse. It was, as it were, a fitting prelude to the great Yoga of Equanimity that He was about to preach through Arjuna to the entire humanity.
How does the mind differ from the Soul?
Answer: The mind is a special, limited particularization of the Soul-consciousness, which is unlimited and never ceases to be all-pervading. The mind is the form of the collective totality of desires, and hence, it is inert and powerless. But it appears to be conscious and powerful as the Inner Self or the Soul is reflected through it. The mind alone is the real person or the individual and it is the real doer of all actions. It is the experiencer of every condition in the universe, both objectively and subjectively. The Soul is the Absolute which is not really affected by any experience of the mind. The mind is mortal, while the Soul is immortal.
Are Understanding and Intuition interrelated?
Understanding and intuition are interrelated. Intuition does not go against Nature's laws of understanding, but it goes beyond them. To illustrate: The electric current flowing into a light bulb manifests in a tangible way in the form of light, the brilliance of which is determined by the wattage of the bulb; but it is the electricity itself, traveling invisibly through the wires to the bulb, that is the cause of the light. Similarly, man's intelligence is the light of cognition in the body, and intuition is the current flowing through the wires of mind and intellect to produce that light.Human beings have perception and intelligence to understand the world of objects; the soul is endowed with the power of intuition to understand not only the world of objects, but also all inner psychical phenomena and their intrinsic spiritual nature. Intelligence interprets phenomena, the outward appearance of things; intuition reveals the underlying noumena. Through the sense windows man looks at the objects of sense; but in deep inner perception, where the senses and intellect cannot reach, intuition prevails.
Can a man not lead a good, virtuous life, be charitable, truthful and noble, work for the welfare of the community and die a good man, without aspiring for anything beyond this life?
Answer:If you lead a virtuous life and die, you will die as a good man, not as a saint. You will not attain Moksha.
You have hundreds of good men. But, how many saints have you got? Even real aspirants are rare in the world now. Even in your category of "good men", there are grades. How many good men have you got of Gandhiji's type?
What do your good men do? They may be truthful and noble; they may be charitable and pious. But, even they will be selfish at the core. They will hoard wealth and look after only their own wife and children. Will they feel that all children are theirs? When they bring sweetmeats from the bazaar, will they give to other people's children first? No, no. Because they have no knowledge of the truth that the One Self dwells in all beings. Unless this understanding of the Truth dawns on them, unless they meditate upon this Supreme Reality and strive to realize It, how can they develop renunciation and the true spirit of selfless service?
To be a good man is no doubt a better ideal than to be merely a human animal full of vicious qualities. But it is only a means to an end; it is only a step nearer the goal, not the end or the goal itself. The goal is Self-realization or Moksha. In order to achieve that, you must be good and do good; and you must do more-- you must cultivate discrimination, dispassion and a correct attitude to life; you must meditate, do Japa and Kirtan, study scriptures. Then by the grace of God, you will attain the goal!
In all matters with which it is connected, science gives us a precise account of how a particular thing is constructed and how it grows. We are also given the successive signs that mark the growth. Are there, in the practice of Yoga, any definite indication to measure the aspirant's progress--for instance, some experiences that he would have after, say, three months of practice, others which he would come upon after a year, and so on?
Answer:Various Yogas give various experiences. The practice of Pranayam and Hatha Yogic Kriyas, for instance, would give a graded series of psychic experiences. Seeing all kinds of ethereal lights and hearing certain Anahata sounds belong to this category. Here, the sages who have propounded these Yogas have given very definite stages of spiritual experience. As the Kundalini passes from Chakra to Chakra, the Yogi has certain definite, verifiable experiences. That is because each Chakra governs a particular Tattva, and its mastery, therefore, gives specific experiences.
Similarly, in Tantrik Sadhana also, they have been able to give a definite chart of spiritual experiences. Each Sadhana has its own particular Siddhi; and therefore, the experiences of all Sadhaks following a particular Sadhana are invariably the same.
But, these are all lower experiences of an inferior type. They are psychic experiences which need not necessarily denote the aspirant's spiritual progress. Even the Bhakta's experiences of horripilation, shedding of tears, etc., though they are not so perfectly graded as those of the Hatha Yoga practitioner, do not necessarily indicate spiritual progress.
When you enter the domain of the Spirit, you come into the sphere of the Infinite. Infinite are the Yogas and infinite are the experiences too. Each person's Yoga is his own. For that person has brought his own past birth Samskaras and desires or Vasanas and he strives in his own way to reach the goal. These two, interacting on each other, give him his various experiences. For instance, when he or she approaches the transcendental, infinite, immortal Self, the aspirant would enjoy great inner peace and indescribable happiness. He is not easily affected by what goes on around him. Not only this, he is able to radiate peace and happiness to all those who come into contact with him. He becomes good and radiates goodness. This is the most important sign of spiritual progress. God is perfect goodness. The aspirant who progresses towards the realization of God, therefore, grows in goodness. His evil qualities slowly vanish and are replaced by sublime virtues. If this most essential element is not there, then all other visions and sounds are practically useless. By his mere presence the advanced Yogi is able to inspire people to lead a good life, free from hatred and malice. His heart is filled with cosmic love, and therefore, he serves all spontaneously and selflessly. These are all real signs of spiritual progress.
But, beyond all these, is the ultimate experience. That is indescribable. Peace and happiness, undisturbed tranquillity of mind-- these are all great signs of progress, but they do not constitute the goal. The goal is to become God. You must become one with God. This is achieved through ceaseless practice of meditation after establishing oneself in virtue and goodness. That supreme experience, when the Yogi feels he is one with God, no words can describe. Musings Of A Mystical Yogi Part II
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