An interesting way of presenting Vedanta

Posted on August 19, 2013 by gokulmuthu

All creatures seek happiness. Human beings have three ways to pursue happiness: by experiences, by actions and by knowledge. These roles are called – bhoktaa (experiencer), kartaa (doer) and jnaataa (knower), respectively.

Most of us pursue happiness through experiences. We evaluate the world as likes (raaga) and dislikes (dvesha) – as those that give pleasure or pain. This raaga-dvesha based evaluation of the world governs our worldview. We run after those that we think give pleasure, and run away from those that we think give pain. The question is, “Is this an effective way to pursue happiness?”

In Kathopanishad, the young boy Nachiketa raises three points to indicate that this is not an effective way to pursue happiness:

  1. All sense organs and mind lose their power with time. When we enter a room where there is an incense burning, we feel its strong smell. Within a few seconds, we get used to it and no longer feel the smell. The joy that we get of eating the first sweet is much more than the joy that we get out of eating the second or third. Also, indulging more harms the health and wealth, which prevents from indulging in even a small way later.
  2. No amount of indulgence can give satisfaction. How much ever we get something, there is always scope for getting more. There are always others who have more. This applies both in quality and quantity.
  3. No pleasure or possession or fame is permanent. There is a last day or last moment to everything in this world. Even if they do not leave us soon, there will come a time when we will have to leave them.

What we seek is permanent unconditional happiness. If there is such a thing, it should be here and now with us. Does that mean there is no such a thing? Fortunately, there is, because there have been people who have got it. So, it being unconditional, should be with us too. The only possibility is that we do not know that we have it. We do not know how to avail it and manifest it. Thus, the gap is only knowledge. This knowledge is the only way to attain permanent unconditional happiness. Thus, we can be really happy only as a jnaataa.

Thus, as a bhoktaa we can never have permanent unconditional happiness. However, as a jnaataa we can have permanent unconditional happiness. What prevents us from this knowledge? Vedanta says: unprepared and ignorant mind. The knowledge gained by systematic learning under a competent Guru will remove the ignorance. But before that, the mind should be prepared.

Interestingly, the preparation is by pursuing happiness by way of action. Being a kartaa prepares the mind. This pursuit also gives a happiness, which is more permanent and reliable than the happiness got by being a bhoktaa. Thus, the initial portions of the Veda encourage people to pursue happiness by being a kartaa. This is called Karma Yoga.

Thus, Karma Yoga is pursuing happiness as a kartaa, as opposed to pursuing happiness as a bhoktaa. The various popular statements point to this only: “Do your duty without an eye on the results”, “Enjoy the journey instead of worrying only about the destination”, “Means are equally important as the end”, “Be equanimous in success and failure, and make sure that you learn the lesson”, “What you are is more important than what you have”, etc.

When we convert ourselves into kartaa, we start evaluating the world as right and wrong, instead of as likes and dislikes. Irrespective of whether something causes pleasure or pain, we do what is right and avoid what is wrong. The entire worldview is different. Here are some differences:

bhoktaa kartaa
Evaluates everything in the world as pleasant experience and painful experience Evaluates everything in the world as right action and wrong action
Asks, “What is in it for me?” Asks, “How can I add value to it?”
Always sees how to grab Always sees how to help
Expects things from everyone Gives things to everyone
Beggarly attitude Kingly attitude
Tussle with the world Peace with the world

Thus, even without other benefits, being a kartaa itself a better proposition than being a bhoktaa. When we spend some years of our lives as kartaa and change our worldview in accordance with it, we gain the maturity to pursue happiness as jnaataa.

These three kinds of pursuits cover the four pursuits of man (purushaarthaas):

  • bhoktaa – artha (security) and kaama (luxury)
  • kartaa – dharma (virtue)
  • jnaataa – moksha (freedom)

A person who is under the spell of lethargy (tamas) can understand only sticks and carrots. To become active by being a bhoktaa is the way. A selfishly active person (rajo-tamas) should become a kartaa, thus becoming selflessly active (rajo-satva). This karma yogi should become introvert (satva) to become a jnaataa and thus go beyond the three gunas (guna-atiita). Permanent unconditional happiness (moksha) can be attained only by being a jnaataa.

 This is the path shown by Vedanta in the Veda, Gita and other scriptures.

Thus, the first step in spiritual life for most of the people is to stop being a bhoktaa and start being a kartaa.

Download article as PDF
Posted in hinduism, vedanta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why Religion?

Posted on July 15, 2013 by gokulmuthu

There is a lot of debate on various questions related to religion. What is religion? Why does man need religion? Can a person be religious and scientific? Why does man need several religions? Do all the religions lead to the same goal, as some people claim?

Here are some important questions:

  1. Inspired by what, can a person hold on to speaking the truth and not tell a lie, even if it will cause great pain, cause great material loss, cause great dishonor, or cause even death?
  2. Inspired by what, can a person not intend any harm to any person, creature, society, culture, environment, etc. even if it will cause great pain, cause great material loss, cause great dishonor, or cause even death?
  3. Inspired by what, can a person look upon every other person or creature, not as an object of sense gratification, but as a thinking and feeling living being?
  4. Inspired by what, can a person not desire or claim anything that has not been provided to him/her as a fair and legal compensation of his/her contribution to the world and society?
  5. Inspired by what, can a person lead a simple and sustainable life so that there is enough for everyone in this world now and for the generations of the future?
  6. Inspired by what, can a person love every person and every living being as his own self, irrespective of species, gender, domicile, religious belief, religious practice, intelligence, culture, language, moral stature, etc., and serve others genuinely for their short term and long term well-being?
  7. Inspired by what, can a person be absolutely immune to sorrow, depression, anxiety, anger, greed, jealousy, arrogance and other such psychological problems, that tend to arise out of the various favorable and unfavorable situations in life?

So far, humanity has found only one single silver bullet that can address all the above seven questions. And, that is called religion. Anything that does not promote the above seven points, cannot be considered as a religion at all.

Religion complements the other pursuits of life like science, politics, economics, etc. Their domain and purpose are different. So they cannot conflict. A person can be religious and scientific at the same time. But a person cannot be religious and a crook at the same time.

Religion is needed to make the life of a person and society complete. The seven points are goals in themselves. Questions like, “What is the use of telling the truth?”, “What is the use of not harming others?”, etc. are as invalid as the questions like “What is the use of being happy?” and “What is the use of being safe?” Hinduism calls the first five points as Dharma and the last two points as Moksha. They are the higher two goals of human life. The lower two goals are safety (Artha) and happiness (Kama).

Different religions are different belief systems or groups of belief systems. Depending on the temperament and understanding capacity of people, different belief systems present different philosophies to answer the questions, “Who am I? What is this world? What is my relationship with this world?” Based on that, different systems present different things as the goal. Some belief systems present “eternal life with a Supreme Being after death” as the goal. Some belief systems present “enjoyment of various pleasures in a different place after death” as the goal. Some systems present “deliverance from the eternal cycle of birth and death” as the goal. Some systems present “recognition, here and now, of one’s own eternal nature as pure Consciousness” as the goal. Based on the various philosophies and goals, different practices to reach the goal are presented.

As the philosophies are different, the goals are different and the practices are different, there is no way that they can accept each other. The only commonality between the various religions are the seven points that are given. When these seven points are accepted as the real goal and way of all religions, different religions can peacefully co-exist in a mutually acceptable and mutually strengthening way.

This is what I understand by Sri Ramakrishna’s famous words, “Yatho math thatho path” – “As may opinions, so many ways”.

Download article as PDF
Posted in hinduism, spiritual life, vedanta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Einstein talks Vedanta

Posted on June 13, 2013 by gokulmuthu

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. – Albert Einstein
This is exactly what Hinduism says. This expansion is exactly what Hinduism calls “spiritual growth”. This “liberation from the self” is exactly what Hinduism calls “moksha”.

Download article as PDF
Posted in book notes, hinduism, vedanta | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What is Moksha?

Posted on June 13, 2013 by gokulmuthu

You are in reality of the nature of pure Consciousness. You are eternal. You have no birth nor death. It is Nature that keeps changing in front of you, appearing in your Consciousness, like reading a book. Out of ignorance, you have identified yourself with the body and mind. That is the root of all the problems. Your tremendous attachment to the body, mind and the world prevent you from looking beyond. By being good and doing good, your attachment to the world will reduce. Then you will be able to see through the ignorance. When you realize that you are neither the body nor the mind, but you are the pure eternal Consciousness, you will realize your immortality, which has been your real nature all through. This realization is called Moksha.

Everything in religion and spirituality is only preparation, to reduce the attachment to the body, mind and the world, so that this knowledge can manifest.
Added later:
Our concept of Moksha or freedom is “emotional” freedom. Surely the body has limitations. And, so does the mind. People around us will not be as we may wish them to be. But at the emotional level, we are completely free. In any situation, if we decide to be unshaken emotionally and decide to put up a smile and be genuinely cheerful, we have the full freedom to be so. Problems will be there in life. But we need not be overwhelmed by the problems. This “emotional unshakeability” and “emotional fulfillment” is the sign of spiritual freedom. Not depending on any people, objects or situations for our happiness is called Moksha or freedom. We all have this freedom. Due to wrong identification and attachment with mind, body, people, objects, situations, etc, we lose sight of this freedom to be happy, and because of ignorance, we grieve. This is called Samsara or bondage. This unfulfillment and misplaced value shows up as greed, jealousy, lust, arrogance, anger, etc. By gaining the right understanding and tuning the thinking habits accordingly, we manifest the total freedom from all these psychological problems. This is what is called Moksha in Hinduism.
Moksha has nothing to do with health, longevity, mental powers, intellectual powers, miraculous powers, control over nature, ability to cure, etc. Jivanmukti is a simple state of complete emotional independence that can be achieved here and now.

Download article as PDF
Posted in advaita, hinduism, spiritual life, vedanta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The context of four varnas in the Gita

Posted on June 8, 2013 by gokulmuthu

The Gita refers to four varnas – divisions in human beings – in the fourth chapter (4.13) and also in the eighteenth chapter (18.41-18.44). In 4.13, Krishna says “chaatur varnyam mayaa srustam guna karma vibhagashah” – “the four divisions of people have been created by Me based on the character and profession”.
This is an often misquoted verse. To understand the true spirit of the verse, one has to see how the topic is developed in the previous verses. Here is an outline:
In these verses 4.6 to 4.13, Krishna speaks as God.
God is the material and sentient cause of this world. He is the substance out of which everything in the universe is made, like gold is the substance out of which various ornaments are made. However, unlike gold, He is the sentient cause also. So, it is He who appears as everything. The diversity that we see is only in name, form and function, just like the diversity in various ornaments made of gold. Thus God is in and through everything in the universe. There is no time or place or substance apart from Him.
All the laws of the universe are His manifestations only. He is not the maker of the laws. He is the laws. This includes the physical and moral orders. The moral order is the one which is commonly referred to as “As you sow, so shall you reap.” This is called the law of Karma. When people lose faith in the moral order, there is confusion and unrighteousness in the world. The law of Karma will anyway take effect in due course of time. But due to lack of faith, people would have done a lot of undesirable actions, for which they would have to pay very dearly later. So, out of compassion, God comes among the people and establishes the faith in the moral order.
Now, Krishna says in 4.9, one who knows Him thus – as the God, of whom the universe and its laws are manifestations, who, out of compassion, comes whenever needed to establish faith in the moral order – will attain Him.
Now two questions arise:
1. What is the relationship between knowing Him and attaining Him?
2. What about people who were born before His current incarnation as Krishna?
To these, He answers in 4.10,
1. One, who has truly understood the concept of God as mentioned, will naturally follow a moral and ethical life. Knowing that it is God who has become the universe, he will not get attached to the names and forms. He will see God in and through everything in the universe. He will do everything that he does as an offering to God. He will accept everything that comes as a gift from God. Thus he will be free from all psychological problems like anger, fear, anxiety, jealousy, arrogance, etc. With the mind thus purified, he will easily understand his own true nature and his relationship with God, and thus will attain God.
2. Many people in the past have attained to God like this, through the teachings of the various incarnations of God. There were infinite number of incarnations in the past. There will be infinite number of incarnations in the future also. Thus, this path is not specific to this incarnation as Krishna.
Now, the question arises, “Isn’t God being partial? Some people attain Him and some people do not.”
Krishna answers this question in 4.11. It is not that God wants to give the knowledge about Himself to some people and wants to withhold it from other people. To everyone in this universe, whatever be their pursuit, it is He alone who gives the fruits of their action. Most people seek pleasure, possessions and power. They get those. Some people seek God. They get Him. So, God cannot be said to be partial. He gives what each person seeks and works towards.
Now, the question arises, “Why is it that most people seek material gains and only some people seek God?”
Krishna answers this question in 4.12. The path to God and goodness is long, narrow and difficult. The results, though superior, come after long struggle. Whereas the path to the gains in the world like pleasure, possessions and power is short. The results, though inferior, come soon. So, most people, due to lack of faith, patience and perseverance, choose the shorter and quicker path.
Now, the question arises, “Then what is the way for the people who are short sighted? Will they never seek God and attain Him?”
Krishna answers this question in 4.13, in the verse on varna (divisions among people). In this very pregnant verse, Krishna says, “People are divided according to their near or far sightedness. They seek different things based on that. They take up different professions based on what they seek. Gradually, they develop maturity and develop more and more far sightedness, and thus are on their way to finally seek God.
“The most near sighted people seek only pleasure. They just want to eat well, sleep well and enjoy sense pleasures. They do not want to postpone their gratification even by a short time. They are shudraas. The best way for them to develop is to serve loyally under the guidance of others.
“Some people are slightly more far sighted. They have realized that by money they can get all the pleasures when and where they want. So, instead of pleasure, they seek wealth. They would be ready to forgo food and sleep to earn wealth. They are vaishyaas. They are best to lead agriculture, industry and trade. By pursuing and creating wealth, they will make the society wealthy and prosperous.
“Some people are still more far sighted. They have realized that by having money, what they have is all that they have. But, by building up a good name and trust among people, they can mobilize and control much more money than what they directly possess. They would be ready to forgo food, sleep and even wealth to gain and maintain their reputation. They are kshatriyaas. They are best to rule the country, be judges, make policies, etc. Their priorities in life will suit these functions in the society.
“Some people are still more far sighted. They have realized that knowledge is power. Having knowledge is much more worth than handling power directly. They value knowledge more than anything else. The knowledge makes them humble and always eager to gather more and more knowledge from every source possible. They are braahmanaas. They are best to be teachers. They would be the best to acquire, develop, preserve and disseminate all kinds of knowledge in the society.
“Further than this is the spiritual knowledge that it is God who appears as everyone and everything. There is no option except to interact with God every moment of life. There is absolutely no threat or insecurity in the world. There is absolutely no cause for regret about the past or anxiety about the future. Everything is God and each person is an integral part of God. Deep understanding of this knowledge is worth much more than any other knowledge. It is the role of the braahmanaas also to acquire, develop, preserve and disseminate this knowledge in the society.”
Thus, as part of the development of the topic, Krishna presents the four varnas as a natural gradual development of people, from being very narrow and short sighted up to being all expansive. In 18.45 to 18.48, Krishna says that the fastest maturity happens to a person who follows the profession that is best suited for his/her temperament as mentioned above.
The second half of of the sloka answers the question, “By creating all these elaborate schemes for people to develop, You are doing a lot of work. What is your motivation?” Krishna replies, “This is just the way Nature works. I do not do anything.”
(Sankara explains the four varnas based on the three Gunas – satva, rajas and tamas. That discussion can be found in the Gita lecture notes, chapter 4.)
 

Download article as PDF
Posted in hinduism, vedanta | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments