So far, Shankara was talking to us about ourselves, and that remains His main concern.
But, today he tells us what to do with the world that causes us so much pain, agitation, sorrow, disappointment. So what is Shankara's solution?
Shankara teaches us Magic!! Yes, he tells us to Just make the world disappear!!
Whoa!!! How? To know that, we have to first understand the World, as Shankara means it.
Shankara is not teaching us to make the trees, the mountains, the people, the buildings disappear. That's cheap trickery! No, let them be because they are not the cause of sorrow. That is God's creation. It is beautiful and beneficial. It is called Jagat - this wonderful world.
Shankara tells us to make "our" world disappear - that which is called Samsara - the painful personal world each of us lives in. It is the relationship I establish with the Jagat. It is my own attachments and aversions with the objects, people and situations of the Jagat. It is the world which exists only in the projections and perceptions of of my mind. It is this inner-world where I operate out of. It is this Samsara which is the cause of my suffering, never the Jagat.
A man swimming in the Ganga spotted a beautiful silver-coated walking stick floating in the river. He swam towards it and caught it immediately. As he swam back to the banks, he got caught in a terrible whirlpool and almost died. The stick slipped his hand in the midst of the struggle and went away with the flow of the river. Finally he managed to save himself somehow and swam to the bank. Having reached there, one could here him weeping bitterly till late in the evening in sorrow of the lost stick. The stick was, is and will be in the river. By itself it is harmless and innocent. But having considered it his own and then gotten attached to it, the man suffered. This is Samsara - it is my own personal world. The stick is never the problem. My Samsara built around the stick is.
Shankara tells us: Make this Samsara, this intricate personal world, disappear.
How? With clear thinking and Self-knowledge. There is no other way to end this Samsara-trap. It will engulf us totally and leave us drained and dissipated. The only way to safety is clear thinking.
When Knowledge arises that this Samsara is a product of my own mind and has no power other than that rendered by me, the Samsara gets disempowered. When a kid enters his room and there is no light, the ghost in the room scares the kid so much that he feels he never wants to go back to the room. But when the Mother comes and switches on the lights and the child sees clearly, the ghost and all its powers disappear. And the kid sits in the same room and happily plays.
Similarly, till the light of Knowledge is not brought, the darkness of ignorance makes us suffer the ghost of Samsara. But when the Light of Knowledge is lit and I see clearly, the Samsara-ghost disappears and its power to make us suffer is gone forever! We can then just play in this world (Jagat) happily ever after.
Knowledge thus is the antidote of the suffering. Knowledge will make me aware that objects, people and situations by themselves can't cause me sorrow unless I make them a part of my Samsara. Suffering is caused by my false projections of joy & sorrow on them.
Vedanta is not against the world or living in it. Vedanta says let it be. Don't get attached to it nor let it become the cause of your suffering. Think clearly and destroy the Samsara.
When the vigour of youth is gone from a person steeped in old age, lust has no sway any more. When the water has dried up to the last drop, there is nothing left to call a lake. When there is no wealth and power, there is no popularity and social life. And when there is KNOWLEDGE & CLARITY, there is no more the scope of Samsara. Samsara is the dirty stink coming from the dustbin of ignorance. Remove the trash within. Ignorance is the trash. THINK!
Practice:
1. For every person, situation and thing that causes you hurt, fear, stress, sorrow and anger, think what he/she/it does to a stranger in another part of the world. If it doesn't affect others but affects me, it means there is no suffering in it, but it is in my mind.
2. Every night, spend 10 minutes consciously thinking of everyone and everything that form a part of your Samsara and consciously distance yourself from them.
3. Situations are a part of Jagat. Suffering is a part of Samsara. Samsara is a par of your mind. Every time you are suffering, remind yourself that this suffering is a product of the mind. And you can use the same mind to withdraw the projection also!
4. Study Vedanta. It is the only Science in the all of the world's spiritual literature that gives us the kind of Knowledge and Clarity which teaches us to make peace with the world by falsifying it and without running away from it.
QUOTE:
"You are not lost in a dream, but you are dreaming that you are lost. Stop dreaming!" - Gurudev
THINK!
TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 10.
But, today he tells us what to do with the world that causes us so much pain, agitation, sorrow, disappointment. So what is Shankara's solution?
Shankara teaches us Magic!! Yes, he tells us to Just make the world disappear!!
Whoa!!! How? To know that, we have to first understand the World, as Shankara means it.
Shankara is not teaching us to make the trees, the mountains, the people, the buildings disappear. That's cheap trickery! No, let them be because they are not the cause of sorrow. That is God's creation. It is beautiful and beneficial. It is called Jagat - this wonderful world.
Shankara tells us to make "our" world disappear - that which is called Samsara - the painful personal world each of us lives in. It is the relationship I establish with the Jagat. It is my own attachments and aversions with the objects, people and situations of the Jagat. It is the world which exists only in the projections and perceptions of of my mind. It is this inner-world where I operate out of. It is this Samsara which is the cause of my suffering, never the Jagat.
A man swimming in the Ganga spotted a beautiful silver-coated walking stick floating in the river. He swam towards it and caught it immediately. As he swam back to the banks, he got caught in a terrible whirlpool and almost died. The stick slipped his hand in the midst of the struggle and went away with the flow of the river. Finally he managed to save himself somehow and swam to the bank. Having reached there, one could here him weeping bitterly till late in the evening in sorrow of the lost stick. The stick was, is and will be in the river. By itself it is harmless and innocent. But having considered it his own and then gotten attached to it, the man suffered. This is Samsara - it is my own personal world. The stick is never the problem. My Samsara built around the stick is.
Shankara tells us: Make this Samsara, this intricate personal world, disappear.
How? With clear thinking and Self-knowledge. There is no other way to end this Samsara-trap. It will engulf us totally and leave us drained and dissipated. The only way to safety is clear thinking.
When Knowledge arises that this Samsara is a product of my own mind and has no power other than that rendered by me, the Samsara gets disempowered. When a kid enters his room and there is no light, the ghost in the room scares the kid so much that he feels he never wants to go back to the room. But when the Mother comes and switches on the lights and the child sees clearly, the ghost and all its powers disappear. And the kid sits in the same room and happily plays.
Similarly, till the light of Knowledge is not brought, the darkness of ignorance makes us suffer the ghost of Samsara. But when the Light of Knowledge is lit and I see clearly, the Samsara-ghost disappears and its power to make us suffer is gone forever! We can then just play in this world (Jagat) happily ever after.
Knowledge thus is the antidote of the suffering. Knowledge will make me aware that objects, people and situations by themselves can't cause me sorrow unless I make them a part of my Samsara. Suffering is caused by my false projections of joy & sorrow on them.
Vedanta is not against the world or living in it. Vedanta says let it be. Don't get attached to it nor let it become the cause of your suffering. Think clearly and destroy the Samsara.
When the vigour of youth is gone from a person steeped in old age, lust has no sway any more. When the water has dried up to the last drop, there is nothing left to call a lake. When there is no wealth and power, there is no popularity and social life. And when there is KNOWLEDGE & CLARITY, there is no more the scope of Samsara. Samsara is the dirty stink coming from the dustbin of ignorance. Remove the trash within. Ignorance is the trash. THINK!
Practice:
1. For every person, situation and thing that causes you hurt, fear, stress, sorrow and anger, think what he/she/it does to a stranger in another part of the world. If it doesn't affect others but affects me, it means there is no suffering in it, but it is in my mind.
2. Every night, spend 10 minutes consciously thinking of everyone and everything that form a part of your Samsara and consciously distance yourself from them.
3. Situations are a part of Jagat. Suffering is a part of Samsara. Samsara is a par of your mind. Every time you are suffering, remind yourself that this suffering is a product of the mind. And you can use the same mind to withdraw the projection also!
4. Study Vedanta. It is the only Science in the all of the world's spiritual literature that gives us the kind of Knowledge and Clarity which teaches us to make peace with the world by falsifying it and without running away from it.
QUOTE:
"You are not lost in a dream, but you are dreaming that you are lost. Stop dreaming!" - Gurudev
THINK!
TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment