The SriKrishna doctrine for spiritual living

(Continuing from the previous blog post - Life story of SriKrishna)

As we discussed in the last blog lost, the initial years of SriKrishna in Gokula and the obstacles he overcame as an infant are metaphorical of the early stages of a spiritual master in making. Once the foundation for spiritual learning has thus been laid firmly, the next steps in the spiritual journey for such a person are the swādhyāya and pravachana or receiving, internalization and furthering of the spiritual knowledge. The appropriate metaphor of the cow is chosen to represent the scriptural texts which act as the vehicles of spiritual knowledge. The location where the fostering of this knowledge occurs is also appropriately named as 'Govardhana' meaning a place for flourishing of cows. It is interesting to note that a parallel for the cow metaphor is also found in the Chāndogya Upanishad where the student Satyakama is given few cows by his Guru and asked to grow the herd and come back for spiritual instructions when the herd's population has reached one thousand.

Returning to where we had left off on the story, the residents of Gokula who were troubled by the many attacks from demons,  decided to move their settlement to a different location in order to ensure the safety for SriKrishna and his brother Balarāma. The new place, Vrindāvana, that was situated on the banks of river Kālindi and in the valley of a hill known as Govardana which offered plenty of pasture for the cows to graze. In Vrindāvana, SriKrishna, in the company of other Gopa boys, grew up to be a cute, mischievous , young boy who was extremely dear to the hearts of everyone in the clan. 

Even though the Gopās were relieved for some time from the incessant attacks of the demons at their new residence,  eventually those attacks resumed. We are told of five different incidents in which the demons, using a disguise each time, slipped into Vrindāvana  and attacked SriKrishna. These Asurās who attacked took different forms including a large python Aghāsura, a giant stork Bakāsura, a violent calf Vatsāsura, a donkey Dhenkāsura and a Gopa boy Pratardana. Each and every one of the Asurās were ultimately eliminated by SriKrishna and his brother Balarāma, once the Asura's true nature was revealed to them.

Though it is extraneous to imagine two young boys taking on such powerful creatures as these Asurās, we can metaphorically understand these incidents to be the many challenges that are faced and overcome by a spiritual leader while developing and furthering spiritual knowledge. Just as the entire group of Gopās along with SriKrishna unknowingly entered the mouth of the python Aghāsura mistaking it for a cave, a spiritual leader along with followers, could get easily get guided  down a completely wrong path in their way of thinking, raising the possibility of laying waste to the  entire corpus of knowledge they have developed together.(Remember what happened to David Koresh and his followers in Waco, Texas?).  Or, he or she can be completely arrested in spiritual progress by a misplaced doubt that arises in an unguarded moment  in the way SriKrishna was swallowed by the giant stork  Bakāsura. Alternately, it could be a direct charge  by someone with a powerful, opposing viewpoint (Vatsāsura) unsettling one's faith or a tricky, clever argument by someone with a dumb idea (Dhenukāsura). Finally, one can simply get carried away by the bad influence from a peer on whom one has misplaced trust. All these challenges are significant and not easy to overcome. The story of SriKrishna warns of these dangers and prepares the seeker to be ready to overcome them.

The greatest danger to perfecting spiritual  knowledge, however, lurks deep inside one's own heart. This is explained through the story of the multi-headed serpent Kāliya who is supposed to have been living in a cave at the bottom of Kālindi river near Vrindāvana. Few of the Gopās and their cows who had gone down to the Kālindi river to quench their thirst fell unconscious as they were affected by the venom spewed by Kāliya . Jumping into the water from a tall tree on the banks of the river, SriKrishna challenged Kāliya to take on him. Kāliya duly did so by coiling himself around SriKrishna and threatened to kill him with his poisonous fangs. Breaking himself free from the coils of the serpent, SriKrishna managed to climb up on the many hoods of Kāliya and subdue the serpent by stamping down on its hoods. This great dance of SriKrishna on top of the hoods of the serpent is famously known as the Kāliya Mardana.

Now, let's look at the metaphorical aspects of this story. It is well known in Vedānta that there are six negative qualities of mind -  kāma (selfish desires), krodha (rage), lobha (avarice), moha (delusion), mada (vanity) and mātsarya (jealousy) - that need to be subdued in order to make progress in the spiritual journey. These tendencies that are dark and hidden in our subconscious mind  are like the hoods of the serpent Kāliya who is also dark in color and lives in a hidden cave.  Another key point to note in the image of SriKrishna's taming of Kāliya is that in addition to stamping down on the hoods,  SriKrishna also holds Kāliya firmly by the tail on his left hand.  The message here is that a mere suppression of the negative tendencies is insufficient and one needs to have a strong grip on the root cause of these negativities which is ahamkāra, or the 'I Consciousness'.

The next major incident in SriKrishna's young days is the encounter with Indra, the King of Devās. It was

customary of the Gopās to offer an annual sacrifice to propitiate Indra, the Lord of the clouds, to show their gratitude for the unfailing rains he brings every year. As the Gopās were getting ready to organize this festival, SriKrishna intervened and convinced the community to offer their felicitations to the Govardana hill instead of Indra. Feeling slighted by the community, Indra unleashed his ferocious clouds to pour down on Vrindāvana and cause a flood. As the situation on the ground worsened, the residents gathered in front of SriKrishna seeking a refuge from the misery. SriKrishna performs a great miracle at that time, growing himself big and lifting up the Govardana hill as a shield to protect everyone from the downpour. He stayed in that position offering a shelter to all the residents until the clouds exhausted all the water in them. Indra duly appeared and sought pardon from SriKrishna recognizing him to be MahāVishnu himslef.

The Indra in this story stands for the source of all material wealth. A spiritual person, though he or she needs some material wealth to survive, does not direct his reverence towards the source of such wealth. Instead what such a person should revere are the values and principles that enable growth of spiritual knowledge and insight (Govardana). When challenged by materialistic difficulties, such a person finds refuge under the values and principles he or she upholds and uses them as a shield until the difficulties pass. In Vedānta, this  important quality of a seeker is known as thithiksha or forbearance. In this story of Govardanodhārana, we are reminded of the need for forbearance in spiritual life.

As SriKrishna continues to grow up and become a teenager, we come to the most controversial aspect of SriKrishna's life story - his relationship with the Gopika women. It is said that every Gopika woman, single or married, madly desired for SriKrishna's company. One fine night in an autumn month, when the sky was lit bright by the full moon, SriKrishna sitting on the banks of river Kālindi, played  a most attractive tune on his magical flute. Mesmerized by the enchanting tune, the Gopikā women left their homes, some of them even their husband and children they were attending to, and arrived in front of SriKrishna, in a trance. There, each and every one of  them found for themselves an image of SriKrishna to give them company to fulfill their intense desire for his companionship. As the moonlight danced throwing silvery streaks on the waves of Kālindi, the Gopika women danced with SriKrishna to his music, all night. This dance of SriKrishna with the Gopika women is known as the Rāsa Leela and is highly revered in the Hindu Bhakti tradition as a great act of devotion in spite of the moral transgressions the story might imply.

Until this point, we have seen SriKrishna as a spiritual master in the making, nearing a perfection in knowledge and practice. What should be the attitude of such a person who has reached highest levels of spiritual maturity, towards everyday living? Should that person shun all joys of life and become a hermit or should he or she engage back with the world? The Rāsa Leela story offers SriKrishna's definitive answer to this question.

The Sānskrit word Rasa means the essence, particularly the essence that produces joy. Rāsa are the manifestations of Rasa. The word Leela means a  playful, sportive engagement. Therefore, combined together the word Rāsa Leela means a playful engagement with the many manifestations of joy, in a way that such an engagement with the world will be devoid of the entrapments of attachment, dependency and aversion. According to the Rāsa Leela story, this must be the attitude towards everyday life by a person who has reached the highest level of spiritual maturity. Again, do note that for those of us who have not reached the pinnacle of such spiritual maturity, a caution less engagement with the world would not be the right choice.

Based on the stories above and their metaphorical interpretations, the Srikrishna doctrine for spiritual living could be summarized as follows:

1. Prepare the self for receiving spiritual knowledge (The Gokula period).
2. Learn, reflect, share and grow the spiritual knowledge while watching out for the common pitfalls (The early Vrindāvana period) 
3. Overcome the inherent negative tendencies lurking deep within the heart (Kāliya Mardana story)
4. Develop forbearance, reject materialistic tendencies and uphold  values and principles (Govardanodhārana story)
5. Having attained spiritual maturity, engage back with the world and the many meritorious joys of life, avoiding attachment, dependency and aversion (Rāsa Leela story)

What about the messages from rest of Srikrishna's life story? Hopefully, with SriKrishna's blessings, we will continue to examine rest of his life's journey to become the Jagdguru, the universal teacher and master.

Life story of Lord SriKrishna - Is there more to it than what meets the eye?

Srimad Bhāgavatha occupies a very unique place in the Hindu religious literature,. Though not as ancient as the  other Hindu religious texts like Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita or Vedanta Sutra, it is never the less recognized as a corner stone of Hindu faith. Considered to belong to the Purāna category of Hindu religious texts, Bhāgavatha has time and again proved itself to be much more than a mere collection of mythical stories and has in fact earned the title of  Mahā Purāna, the greatest of all the Purānas. 

Central to Bhāgavatha is the story of SriKrishna in whom it finds the perfection among all of Vishnu's many incarnations.  The image of SriKrishna of Mahā Bhāratha takes a much more divine and mystical color in the Bhāgavatha where he is portrayed as God Supreme, performing may miracles right from birth. The mystical stories of Bhāgavatha, that some time tread on the edges of logical fallacies and unnatural phenomena, are both a source of spiritual panacea for the faithful and cause for disillusionment for the skeptic

Bhāgavatha is not merely a Bhakti text. There are many instances of Vedānta and Advaita thoughts expressed and professed in it, from beginning to end. In fact, the very starting sentence of Bhāgavatha and the second sutra of Vedanta Sutras are exactly same ("janmādyasya yathah" ). Also, Bhāgavatha's intended purpose is stated as  "let the ultimate truth shine in the intellect" (satyam param dhimahi). Those who subscribe to the Vedanta philosophy prefer to be rational in their thought process and not engage in promoting blind faith in any God personality, especially evangelizing a faith that is founded on miracles. Given that the Bhāgavatha text was written by a Rishi who was well established in Vedānta, what exactly are we to make of the many miracles described in it? Are these strictly a narrative for the faithful or is there something more to them than what meets the eye? Let's examine to see if there are, in fact, any deeper meaning attached to them.

Life stories of SriKrishna are so popular that I will not make an attempt to recount them here in detail. One of the purposes of his birth is supposed to be for lightening the burden born by Mother Earth as the human population increased and evil nature spread. SriKrishna is supposed to have caused both the great war of Mahā Bhāratha as well as the Yādava clan civil war, for accomplishing this purpose of 'lightening the load' on Earth . Not a pleasant mission for a merciful God to cause such misery! But, think of this in another perspective. There are so many of us in this world who go around with heavy hearts. What if the very purpose of SriKrishna's life was to show us a way to eliminate the heaviness in our heart so that both we and Mother Earth could get a relief?

Born in a prison in the city of Mathura to Vasudeva and Devaki, SriKrishna was surreptitiously moved to the custody of Nandagopa and Yasoda, to evade the wrath of King Kamsa who was awaiting to kill him at birth. SriKrishna grows up in the Gokula (literally, the house of cows) under the loving care of many Gopas and Gopikas. He faces many attacks from the demons dispatched by Kamsa and manages to overcome them all. In the infant days of SriKrishna, the first demon to attack him was the demoness Putana, who approached deceptively as a beautiful maiden and tried to poison him.  The next was the Asura Thrinavartha who came in as a dust storm and tried to carry SriKrishna away. The third was Chakatāsura who disguised himself as a cart and offered shade but with the intent of crushing SriKrishna under the wheels. In addition SriKrishna had a close call when two slender, tall trees who were actually the cursed Gandharvas Nala and Kubara, fell over close to him while he tried to crawl between them, dragging along a wooden mortar he was tied to. Needless to say, the infant SriKrishna managed to vanquish all the three demons and released Nala and Kubara from their curse.

Let us look at some of the possible symbolism that are used in the above stories of Bhāgavatha. First of all, why was SriKrishna growing up at the Gokula? The cow (gava) is considered sacred in Hindu mythology because the Sānskrit word gava also means the Veda mantra. Just as the cows that are of many color yield the same white milk, the meaning yielded by all the Veda mantra are the one and same truth. Churning this truth in one's mind, we are expected to recover their essence like butter out of butter milk and internalize that essence.   Therefore, the image of SriKrishna as the cowherd (Gopala) who relishes on butter ('maakhan khaayore') is indicative of his spiritual evolution. We could imagine that what is being conveyed in the stories of SriKrishna's life in Gokula are in fact his initiation into spirituality.

According to Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, there are five klesa (obstacles) that are in the way of one embarking on spiritual journey. They are Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (ego), Rāga (attachment), Dvesha (aversion) and Abhinivesa (clinging to life). One can embark and stay on the spiritual journey only by overcoming these obstacles. Now let us look at each of these in detail.

Avidya - Though translated as 'ignorance', the exact meaning of this word is 'defective knowledge'. In Avidya, there is not only a lack of true knowledge but also the presence of a mistaken understanding about truth. It is what we might call as a double whammy! What better way to present this complex concept than the image of a demoness who with the intent of poisoning the baby, comes disguised as a damsel and offers to nurse the innocent child. Avidya is not overcome by running away from it but rather confronting it and sucking the life out of it, which is exactly what SriKrishna does with Putana,

Asmita - Again, the translation is 'ego' but the intended meaning is 'self-identity'. We all have not just one but many different 'self-identities' like son, father, brother, citizen, patriot - you name it. These many self-identities are swirling around us is like a dust storm and sweeps us off our feet. making us forget our true nature. In the story we are given the image of Thrinavartha who comes as a dust storm and carries away the infant SriKrishna. How does one escape from such a storm? Only by remaining in our own true self, as SriKrishna does by becoming heavier and heavier, making it impossible for the Asura to carry him anymore

Rāga and Dvesha - Attachment and aversion are two sides of the same coin or in other words, they are like twins. They are both born from possessiveness just as the brothers Nala and Kubara who were the twins born to the Lord of wealth, Kubera. There is practically no way to live in this world without having the feelings of attachment and aversion. However, what needs to be overcome is our entrapment in them. Just as  SriKrishna who is bound to a wooden mortar is entrapped between the two slender trees who were Nala and Kubara,  released himself as well as them, we also have to seek a liberation from Rāga and Dvesha, not by eliminating them completely but freeing ourselves from their affect and entrapment.

Abhinivesa  - The tendency to cling to life is wired into every living soul. As Patanjali says in the Yoga Sutra, even the best realized souls fail to free themselves from this tendency. While clinging to life is our unavoidable reflexive behavior, what we could consciously do is to catch ourselves as we vainly try to find sense of security in things like relationships, wealth, power etc. In the story, we see an infant SriKrishna being placed in the shade of a parked cart which actually was the Chakatāsura in disguise. SriKrishna knocks down the cart and it breaks into pieces, saving himself from being run over by the cart.

Where does SriKrishna's life journey continue from here and what other messages does it have for us? We will see more the next time

Meditation: The act of emptying the Self

The popularity of meditation has increased significantly in recent times, which is a good thing and a bad thing simultaneously. The good news is that more and more people are becoming aware of what meditation is. The bad part is that those who get to experience little bit, interpret the tip of the iceberg to be the whole thing. Practices like mindfulness meditation are popular for their benefit to both the religious and irreligious equally, irrespective of their belief systems. Those who who do not have the time to locate and spend time with a proper teacher to learn meditation can now get iPhone Apps to help them develop ‘meditation skills’! Meditation, which is a serious practice undertaken only by those who have advanced sufficiently in their spiritual journey, has now become the routine for even the uninitiated. Let’s spend some time examining what exactly Mediation is supposed to be according to Hindu religion.

To understand mediation better, let us first revisit the story from Kathopanishad. Kathopanishad opens with the story of this person named Vājasravas who is conducting a ritual in which he is giving away in charity everything that he possesses. As his young son, Nachiketas observes, his father was doing this act of charity just for the sake of the ritual and not much for the sake of recipients. For example, he was giving away cattle that were weak, unproductive and incapable of reproduction, which would only become a burden for the recipient. Fearing that demerits of such burdensome gifts would bring about sufferings in future to his father, Nachiketas decides to force his father to donate him to somebody. Vājasravas ignores the repeated questions from his young son initially but Nachiketas was insistent. Irritated by the pestering question from the child, Vājasravas finally responded in anger saying ‘mrityave tvām dadāmi’, “I am gifting you to the Lord of Death”. Nachiketas took these words from his father literally and decided to pay a visit to Lord Yama, the God of Death, at his abode. 

When Nachiketas arrived outside of Lord Yama’s palace, Lord Yama happened to be away. Nachiketas had to wait outside Lord Yama’s abode awaiting his return for three days and three nights. When Lord Yama arrived, he was remorseful of leaving a young Brahmachari unattended for three days. As a compensation for this, Yama offered him three boons to choose. With the first boon, Nachiketas sought peace with his father who was angry at his persistence. With the second boon, he sought a yagna ritual that will enable attainment to heaven after death. With the third boon, Nachiketas asked to be instructed on the highest spiritual knowledge about the nature of Brahman and Self.

Now, let us look at the metaphorical interpretation of this story. The word ‘vāja’ indicates a horse and ‘sravas’ is a stream. Thus, ‘vājasravas’ means a galloping horse that flows like a stream, which is nothing but life. ‘Vājasravas’ in this story can be thought of as a metaphor for the individual self; existing in time, aware and experiencing life. While accumulating the experiences, the individual self identifies itself with its faculties for cognition like sight, mind etc. and defines itself in terms of relationships with the objects of interaction. The ritual that Vājasravas engages in, giving away all his possession is an exercise of negating these multiple associations that the self has accumulated.  This ritual can be done at a thought level in Meditation and is in fact the first stage of meditation called Dhārana, where one starts to decouple the self from its many identifications.

The challenge with the process of Dhārana is the risk of it becoming a mere intellectual exercise. The negation can quickly become mere words repeated with no substance like the unproductive, weak cattle Vājasravas was giving away.  During the process of negation, when one has emptied everything that defines one’s self - all the relations, possessions etc. - what would be left is the nascent core of self-identity. Whom does that nascent core of self-identity belong to, other than Death who ultimately takes it away whether offered or not!  For the final release, this individual self must have a dialog with death and this dialog is another important step of meditation. Indeeed, one has to approach the subject of death with all the innocence of a Brahmachāri like Nachiketas.

Sri Sankarāchārya has beautifully captured the essence of this process of Dhārana in his Nirvāna satakam:

"manobudhyahamkara chitthāni nāham

 na cha srotra jihve nacha ghrāna netre

 nacha vyoma bhumir na thejo na vayu

 childānanda rupah sivoham sivoham

“This mind, intellect, individual self and consciousness, they are not me; nor the (faculty of) ears, tongue,nose and eyes. Neither am I the sky or earth, nor the fire or air. I am Siva who is (pure) awareness and bliss; I am Siva”

“na mrityur na sanka na me jātibheda

 pitah naiva me naiva mātah na janma

 na bhandur na mitram gurur naiva sishyam

 childānanda rupah sivoham sivoham”

“I do not recognize death or divisions and I have no hesitations. I have no father or mother, nor am I limited by this instance of life. I have no (identification with my) relatives, friends, teachers or students. I am Siva who is (pure) awareness and bliss; I am Siva”

The thought process of negating worldliness is to be followed by an affirmation of transcendence. This thought process when sustained, takes one to the next step of meditation, which is Dhyāna where the focus is purely on the nature of Brahman. The Kathopanishad provides a great summary of the process of Dhyāna in a single verse:

"yasched vāg manasi prājna

 thad yasched jnāna ātmani

 jnānamātmani mahati niyasched

 thad yasched sāntha ātmani" (Kathopanishad Canto 1, Valli 3, Sloka 13)

“Let the awakened one merge the words (self-expressions) in the mind (ideas), and the mind (ideas) in self-consciousness, the self-consciousness in the universal consciousness and the universal consciousness in the peaceful Ātman (that has no movement)”

One starts the process of Dhyāna with thoughts that are either about a favorite deity or about the absolute nature of Brahman. Then one would observe these thoughts and allow them to merge slowly into the very ideas from which they originate. Silence would start to take over and what would remain is the simple process of observation devoid of all judgements. This is the jnāna ātma. Becoming one with this self-consciousness that purely illuminates, one would expand it to envelop the entire existence, the mahat or universal consciousness. At this stage, the dimension of space is transcended but the awareness of time persists. When the awareness of time is also transcended, one arrives at the doorsteps of Ātman and is ready to move on to highest stage of meditation, known as ‘Samādhi’.

There are no verbal descriptions available for the stage of Samādhi. The only thing that is said of Samādhi is that it is not a subject of experience and nor does it leave any memory trails. As the Kenopanishad says, if any one claims to know and verbalizes what it is like to be in Samādhi, know for sure that person is faking it.

Here is how Kathopanishad concludes the instruction on meditation:

"asabdam asparsam arupam avyayam

 thadārasam nityam agandhavatscha yat

 anādyanantham mahata param dhruvam

 nichāpya thanmrityu mukhāth pramuchyate (Kathopanishad, Canto 1, Valli 3, Sloka 14)

“Having reached that great, firm transcendence that is devoid of sound, touch, taste, or smell, is formless and infinite with no beginning, one is released from the jaws of Death”

A realized soul does not stay in Samādhi forever. What happens when he or she is not in Samādhi? Again, Kenopanishad says:

“pratibodhaviditham matham amrutatvam hi vindate”

“Constantly aware of this (the state of Samādhi as the true nature of self) in every pulse of consciousness, one attains immortality”

Attaining this state is the purpose of Yoga, as Sage Patanjali says at the beginning of Yoga Sutra:

“yogah chitthavritthi nirodhah

 thadaa drashtu swarupe avasthānam” Yoga Sutra, verse 1

“Yoga is the cessation of all movements in consciousness; then the self resides solely in its true nature of observance”

This is Meditation.

Om Tat Sat.

Contemplations on the occasion of Mahā Sivarātri

Mahā Sivarātri, the only Hindu festival that spans an entire day and night, is not only a day of festival but also a day of contemplation with many serious observers of the festival choosing to fast and desist from speaking for the entire period.  Lord Siva is the role model for ascetics, symbolizing the commitment to austere life and self-discipline. Unlike the typical Hindu festivals that are extremely celebratory, Sivarātri is an unique festival that calls for moderation, withdrawal and introspection.

The Siva Linga is the one of the most misunderstood icon of Hindu religion with many mistaking it as phallus worship. The literal translation the Sānskrit word linga is ‘sign’.  The linga is in fact a physical representation of  the ‘thump-sized indweller who resides all the time in the innermost cave of heart of all people’ (“angushta mātra purushontharātmā sadā janānām hridaye sannivishta” – Kathopanishad) . The linga is dark denoting its hidden nature starting from a single point and expanding downward just like this universe from the singularity of big bang. It is also the sign of divinity that is present in every single human being.

Lord Siva is the destroyer, a bringer of death and an icon of ferocious anger.  How is that he has come to be an idol of worship?  Apart from the Purāna story of Lord Siva saving the world from the poison of kālakuda, we should also search into the Upanishads to understand the height of Siva’s stature. In the Kathopanishad, as the God of Death, Lord Yama, concludes his first set of instructions to Nachiketas, he says this:

“yasya brahma ća kshatram ća ubhe bhavata odana

 mruthyur yasyopasećanam ka itthā veda yatra sa”

“Who then can know where is this (mighty self) for whom knowledge and effort are the main courses of food and death the condiment (pickle)”

There are three identifications of the self that we use to define our own selves. They are,  ‘I know’, ‘I do’ and ‘I am’. Everything else that we consider to be us are built on these three fundamental identifications. Of these, knowledge and effort brings to the soul experiences which are like food that is savored to nourish the soul through experiences

To understand the symbolism used here for death, we need to dwell little into the Indian style of eating. A spicy pickle is generally served along with the main courses of food in the platter. The eater takes a break from eating the main course by taking a little of this pickle and places it on the tongue to invigorate the taste bud and increase the appetite. It is this spicy pickle that is indicated here to represent death. Death is a temporary break to the soul’s consumption of knowledge and effort, accelerating its aptitude for more experiences. And, death is a redefinition of all identifications arising from  ‘I am’

Moksha or the final release is the ending of all the three identifications mentioned above which are bondages for the soul. Therefore, we pray to Lord Siva for Moksha with this powerful mantra known as the Mruthyunjaya mantra (mantra for winning over death)

“thryambakam yajāmahe sugandhim pushti vardanam

urvārukamiva bandhanāt mruthyormuksheeya māmrutāt”

“I worship the thryambaka (that removes the three identifications)   which is fragrant and nourishing (restoring my divine nature and strength). Release me from the bondage of death just as a melon is removed from the creeper”

The identifications ‘I know’, ‘I do’ and ‘I am’ has only made us weak, subjecting to the joys and sorrows of the world. Lord Siva, who is the destroyer of these three identifications using his bow thryambaka is the solace to remove these identification as painless as a ripe melon falling off of the creeper of Samsāra (the world experience)

This is my contemplation for this Mahā Sivarātri. Felicitations to you all on your spiritual journey

Bhakti - Discovering the God of Love

The history of the world is fraught with wars, few of which like the 'Hundred years war' between the English and French and the Holy Crusades had lasted for many decades. Some of these wars, like the struggle for power between Babylonians, Greeks and the Persians, had even continued over many centuries.  However, all of these wars pale in comparison in terms of their longevity with another 'war' that has been going on for over many millennium. It is the war between the 'heart' (emotion) and 'head' (rational) for dominance over the matters of the soul in the spiritual world. Both sides have taken turns to  dominate for some time with neither managing  to record a conclusive victory. While the philosophers  have declared 'I think, therefore I am', the devout have roared back,  'I love. Therefore I am' ( though not in exact these same words). Interestingly, this 'war' had been fought both in the western and oriental world approximately during the same time period.

During the final centuries of BCE,  philosophy had dominated the realm of religion.  For the philosopher,  God was an abstract entity devoid of any worldly qualities including human nature and emotions. We see this in the philosophy of Plato, the Buddhist concept of 'emptiness', the Tao of Lao Tsu from China  and the Vedic concept of 'Brahman'. The pathway to God realization was through learning, understanding, reflecting, meditating and abstaining  from worldly engagements. The schools of philosophy that emanated at the time in India, the likes of Sāmkhya, Nyāya ,Vaiseshika etc. were also of this viewpoint.

But then, there was another common, human phenomenon - Love -  that also was also abstract and beyond definition. One may be tempted to quickly say that 'Love' is an emotion. Think again, is it? Love is instinctive and one knows when it is present and when it is not, whether expressed or unexpressed. 'Love' appears to happen in the soul and its awareness. And, without love, life may exist but it cannot be intelligent or know joy.

Spiritual masters who had realized the ultimate had never become devoid of love. Vālmiki in Rāmāyana was perturbed by the plight of a bird whose companion was killed by a hunter.  Gautama Buddha was extremely compassionate about the sufferings of people. Even the Rishis of Upanishads who have expounded on the 'Nirguna Parabrahman'  have not depicted God as insensitive to the world. In the Kena Upanishad where the Brahman is defined as a principle beyond human comprehension, there is a metaphorical story of Brahman appearing in the form of an Yaksha to  correct the boisterous Deva clan who were celebrating their victory over their rival, the Asura clan. In the Chāndogya Upanishad, the Brahman which is described to be abstract is also metaphorically described as the 'Golden Purusha in the Sun'. However, it is also very clear that the God of the Upanishads was certainly not one who would want to continuously meddle with the ways of the world.

The Biblical God of Jewish religion, Jehovah,  is as human in nature as one could imagine a God to be. He is envious, punishing, partisan and demands sacrifices. Jesus Christ changed the understanding of this all-powerful, angry God to the loving figure of 'Father in the Heaven', who was both benevolent and merciful.  The God of Christianity became the single, 'creator' God who had condemned humanity for its 'original sin' but then  begotten a son, Jesus,  to offer humanity the opportunity for redemption. Over a period of time, 'Love' has come to be central to Christianity than its theology.

The Greeks had started with the idea that Gods are heroes who accomplish great deeds. These Gods slew monsters, fought in wars  and intervened in human life to support those who cared for them and made life difficult for others. Reading through Homer's tales, one may wonder what exactly is the 'Godliness' in most of them! Being a "God' on Mount Olympus was more like a privileged existence. With the advent of philosophy in the later periods, through  the likes of Plato and Aristotle, there was a much better refinement to the concept of God in Greek civilization. Again, like their Indian counterparts, the philosophers of Greece and Rome also struggled to fit 'love' into the fold of an abstract entity that God was.

In the western world, the first religious leader who effectively combined the rationalism of philosophical thinking with  'love', was St. Augustine who lived in the 4th century CE. St. Augustine had transformed himself from a loosely led life by effectively integrating the thoughts of religious leaders like St. Paul and philosophers like Plato. St. Augustine's contributions were also instrumental in establishing the theological foundation for Christianity. During the same time In India, the devotional stream of religion had cut a parallel course to the schools of philosophy. Some of it, as in the Puranas, had followed a path similar to the Greek, where the Gods were heroes who accomplished many deeds, mostly ensuring a win for good over evil. It is interesting to note that  most of these purānic Gods were worshipped but not really 'loved'. The Ithihāsas like Maha Bhāratha and Rāmāyana had introduced the concept of God taking a human form and living a human life. Building up further on this, another parallel stream, that of Vaishnavites, had followed a path similar to early Christianity, establishing a single creator God in Lord Vishnu,  who was all-powerful, benevolent and compassionate. Similar thought process led to the advent of Saivites who believed this single, powerful God to be Lord Shiva as also the Sākteyas who considered the female Devi to be the primordial, benevolent, all-powerful God.

India had to wait until 9th century CE to get an equivalent of St. Augustine. Adi Sankara was the first religious leader in Hindu religion to effectively integrate the philosophy of Vedanta with six different Bhakti movements that had become predominant during his time. Adi Sankara, through the campaign of debates he did across India,  also effectively reduced the influence of many schools of philosophy.  After Adi Sankara's time, the only schools of philosophy that remained significantly influential were Vedanta and Yoga. Adi Sankara composed many hymns, that expounded poetically on devotion and love. My favorite is his hymn on the River Ganga which is musical, poetic and beautiful in its expressions of love, affection and regard.

In the Hindu religion, the God who is adored most is probably Lord Rama while the God who is loved most is undoubtedly Lord Sree Krishna. Worship of Vāsudeva Krishna supposedly dates back into BCEs. But the widespread popularity and following probably happened post  8th century. What is unique about Lord Sree Krishna is that he is worshiped as a God in many forms corresponding to his life stages; as a toddler, child, young adult, youth and middle aged. It will take volumes to write comprehensively on who and what Sree Krishna was.It is also extremely difficult to write even one sentence on what he was not. The oceanic poetry of Sant Sur Das, thousands of verses of Srimad Bhagavatam  and the romantic lyrics of Sree Jayadeva together feel incomplete in depicting all dimensions of Sree Krishna's mystifying personality. Through Bhagawad Gita, Sree Krishna has offered  a means to live a balanced spiritual life combining rational thinking, active living, devotion, love and compassion. Let's remember and offer our pranams once again to him on this day of Sree Krishna Jayanthi.

As the Bhakti movement gained momentum in India during the 10 thru 15th Century CE, there was an explosion in temple building all across India. And, the means of worship also evolved becoming more and more social and community focused. There was also the pressing need in the intellectual circles to reconcile philosophical thinking and Bhakti. As a result were born the  Dhvaita school of philosophy of Sri Mādhwachārya followed by the Visishtādvaita philosophy of Sri Rāmanuja. (More on this, later). There was also the influence of Sufi practices that followed the Islamic invasions after the 10th century CE, which resulted in a different stream of Bhakti practitioners of the like Chaitanya Mahāprabhu in the Eastern regions of India. This trend of Bhakti's domination in the society's mainstream continued until the 19th century CE when Swami Vivekananda turned the tide once again towards rational thinking and Vedānta.

Today, our generation is in a uniquely advantageous position to understand the value and purpose of Bhakti (devotion) and Gnāna (knowledge). Success in spiritual life awaits those who are able to effectively utilize and balance both Bhakti and Gnāna, the practice of which Lord Sree Krishna calls as Buddhi Yoga.

Ramayana - A spiritual journey?

Continuing from the last blog post "Ramayana - The autobiography of a Rishi?")

Here is a million dollar ethics question. What exactly makes someone 'good'? Is it the person's actions, virtues, thoughts or intentions?  Valmiki, in his wisdom, seems to have come to the conclusion that it is intention that ultimately matters. For example, in Ramayana, we see the negative character of Ravana who was a great devotee of  Lord Shiva and had performed a long, arduous penance to Brahma (all good actions) but, at the same time, had the bad intent of perpetuating evil. On the other hand, we see Sugriva who had made a bad decision to close the mouth of the cave where his brother Vali was fighting with a demon, having assumed that Vali was dead.  Sugriva was severely punished by Vali, who had survived the fight with the demon. He was meted out this unfair punishment in spite of him having done his 'bad action' with a good intent. Vali who didn't care for Sugriva's explanation and acted 'unethically' was ultimately punished by Rama.

Later in the epic, we see the positive character of Vibheeshana who deserted the side of his brother Ravana and allied with the enemy to bring him down.  His actions in this regard could be interpreted as completely unethical based on the general norms. However, Vibheeshana does his actions with the good intent of preserving righteousness in the world and hence is respected and rewarded.

In general, we find  this effort to delineate good from evil based on intention, all across Ramayana.  It is in this context that we need to see Valmiki's attempt to symbolize the abstract idea of 'goodness'  through the character of Sita, deriving her name from the sanskrit word 'Satva' meaning purity. Moreover, it was important for Valmiki to see 'goodness' married to the 'intelligent self', to depict the ideal human he had sought in Rama.

As we all know, good intentions can get easily misled by misconceptions that are the mirages (mareechika) of life. A golden deer desired by Sita, lured Rama away into the forest. A trickery by the disguised Rakshasa, aptly named Maareecha, forced Lakshmana to leave Sita unguarded.  Ravana who is completely convinced that Sita deserves to be his queen and no one else's, abducted her to Lanka. Thus, we get introduced in the epic to the Rakshasa brothers Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibheekshana. Ravana, who is also known as Dasagreeva, i.e.,  ten headed, has come to be one of the greatest symbol of evil in India's Ithihasa tradition.

Now let's look at this from a spiritual journey perspective. The primary obstacle in the path of a spiritual seeker is the mind. We all know that this mind of ours, sometimes has 'a mind of its own', compelling one to act against own will. Hence it has been rightly said, "the heart has its own ways that the intellect will never understand".  Manojaya or the overcoming of the compulsive nature of mind is the goal of every spiritual seeker who is seeking moksha, i.e liberation and freedom. 

Coming back to the context of Ramayana, those of you familiar with the geographical shape of the island of Lanka, would know that it is shaped like a heart. Valmiki places the ten-headed Dashagriva, the power of conscious mind with its control  over the five sense organs and five organs of action, as the king of Lanka. His brother, the power of sub-conscious mind, is Kumbhakarna or the 'potbelly eared'. The sub-conscious is mostly asleep but has the incredible ability to listen to everything happening and retain impressions. And, as Freudian thinking goes, the subconscious mind  is a giant in terms of the power it wields. The third brother, Vibheeshana, is fearless in voicing his considered opinion like the conscience within us. Conscience becomes an ally to the intelligent self. Thus it appears to me that the stage set in Lanka for the war as depicted in Ramayana,  is a symbolic representation of  the struggle of a spiritual seeker to gain mastery over mind, that too with the goal of releasing 'goodness' from subservience to the compulsive powers of emotions and mental impressions.

Now, let us look at the allies of the intelligent self in this war. They are primarily Sugriva, the firm-necked one, who symbolizes mental discipline and Hanuman, the symbol of Shraddha (faith) and Bhakti (devotion). Vali who symbolizes the prolific nature of mind which is highly distracting and prone to unethical behavior, is killed and Sugriva is established as king of 'vanara'. The ocean that represents the continuous disturbances arising from the heart, is overcome with a bridge built with the blessings of Varuna, who is the God of universal order. This march to Lanka by the vanara army of Sugriva and Hanuman may very well represent the process that Patanjali calls in Yogasutra as 'pratiprasava', i.e., the reversal of the process of origination.(More on this at another time}

On attaining victory, the intelligent self, Rama, is now reunited with goodness, Sita, and regains the kingdom of Ayodhya. Sita is accepted by Rama only after she proves to be untainted from association with the compulsive natures of mind. This spiritual evolution of being good and becoming completely devoid of any selfishness or motives is what Valmiki considers as 'pattabhisheka' and 'Ramarajya'  or the attainment of true lordship over life. This feels like the culmination of the story, but Interestingly, Valmiki  doesn't end the spiritual journey with this attainment. 

In the Uttara Ramayana, we find Rama's abandonment of Sita and the birth of Lava and Kusha. For a spiritual seeker who has reached the highest level of maturity, even goodness is only a relative consideration from the earthly life's perspective. In the journey to the absolute, the Satva quality is also finally given up by the seeker and thus Sita is depicted as being abandoned and  returned to her mother, the Earth. 

The story of Rama's journey is then elaborated by Sage Valmiki and shared though the twins Lava and Kusha.

Lava, his name derived from the word Lavana meaning salt, is symbolic of the Grihasta Asrami (those who stay on the family oriented life). Kusha, indicative of the kusha grass used by ascetics is symbolic of the  Vanaprastins and Sanyasins (those who have retired to the forest for contemplative life). This could mean that there are two interpretations possible of Ramayana, one based on Bhakti for Grihasta Asramins  by Lava and other based on Gnana for ascetics, by Kusha. The former is better established and known widely while what you see here is an attempt to discover more of the latter.

Ramayana is an incredibly resourceful scriptural text and has remained a beacon of enlightenment for many over the centuries. That it continues to offer still new perspectives only speaks volumes to the greatness of this story and the genius of the mind of Sage Valmiki.

PS: The interpretation above is by no means an attempt to belittle or nullify the other existing views. It is only an alternate, exploratory view from a purely spiritual perspective

Ramayana - The autobiography of a Rishi?

The story of Ramayana is embedded in the heart of every Indian, educated and uneducated alike, irrespective of religious affiliation. It is very much doubtful  if there ever was  another work by a single person,  inspiring and influencing in such an undiminished  manner for more than two millenniums. Many in India and the world have continued to celebrate the birth of Rama on the Ramanavami day with same  reverence and religiosity as has been done for centuries. However, after having read and re-read this epic and its multiple interpretations many a times over, I had recently started to wonder if in fact we had failed to recognize the real hero of this epic. Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, didn't name the book as Rama katha (story of Rama) or Rama Charitha (historical exposition on Rama). He instead chose to call it as Rama ayana ,i.e., Rama's journey. It is quite reasonable to suspect if Valmiki had seen a reflection of his own spiritual journey in Rama's travails. Is the  story of Valmiki deftly hidden inside this story of Rama and is he the real hero here?

The story of the origins of Valmiki is that he was a robber in the forest, who would mercilessly attack the passers by for loot. He is supposed to have been transformed by a group of Rishis who forced him to consider the futility of living such a sinful life.  This robber, Rantakara, takes to a life of contemplation and is so lost in his meditation that a Valmikam, i.e., anthill forms all around him. Awakened from this deep meditation, Ratnakara emerges from the anthill as a Rishi and is named Valmiki. 

Now, consider this. Aren't each of us actually living the life of a robber, taking from the world what comes by, for own survival?  Isn't this very system of having to kill in order to live that actually bothered Ratnakara?   We again find this agony coming from Valmiki, when he encounters a hunter who kills the male partner of a pair of birds.  The answer of saints and philosophers to this fundamental question has mostly been practical only to those few who were ready to withdraw into a shell from the general society.  And, to that scenario arrived Valmiki, refusing to stay in the shell and asking the question, is a perfect life feasible while living in the midst of this world? And, thus begins the spiritual journey of Valmiki and the story of Ramayana. (Ramayana starts with the words 'thapa' and 'swaadhyaya', contemplation and self-learning, the two fundamental 'must have' s for a a spiritual journey)

The story begins with the four sons who are born to King Dasharatha; Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shatrugna. This could be an attempt to represent the self as partitioned into four; an intelligent self (Rama), an aspirational self (Lakshmana), a transactional self (Bharatha) and a survivalist self (Shatrugna). Logically, every one of us have these four parts within us. It is ideal for the intelligent self to be the ruler. However, the attempt of the intelligent self to be the ruler is prevented by the Rajo guna of Prakriti, (Kaikeyi) who prefers the transactional self to be the ruler. The pathway for the intelligent self to become the ruler of self is a journey  inward, which is depicted in Ramayana as a banishment to the forests of  the south.

Encountering and eliminating many negative forces, Rama mostly spends his time in forest at Chitrakoota. From the perspective of the inner world, Chitrakoota or the place where the images are formed, is where our many perception of external world  conglomerate. One of the major steps in the spiritual journey is to be able to have an objective view of these images and destroy the negative tendencies that adversely impact them. From Chitrakoota, Rama moves to Panchavati, the mount with five gardens. The concept of the five Pranas as the energy fields of the life force is well known in the Hindu schools of philosophy.  Again, the control of Prana and objective disassociation of one's self from the movements of prana is the next important stage in spiritual practice.

We haven't yet discussed the important character of Rama's wife, Sita. The word 'Sita' appears to be  derived the word 'Satva', the quality of goodness and luminescence. The goal of every spiritual practitioner is to increase the Satva nature of self and minimize the Rajas and Tamas natures. In the context of Ramayana, Sita appears to be the sole companion of Rama, as goodness must be that of the intelligent self of a spiritual practitioner. As Rama comes to find out soon, there is an extreme difficulty to being good.

More of that journey on the next blog post. Have a wonderful Sri Rama Navami!