One has to put in efforts in order to experience bliss or everlasting
happiness. This effort is called as sadhana or spiritual practice.
Sadhana is the practical aspect of Adhyaatma Shastra or Science of
Spirituality. In the field of Medical science, one is recognized as a
doctor only when he has studied the books (theory) and has given
treatment to the patients, during his study period. One can never become
a doctor just by reading books. Similarly one cannot understand Dhyaan,
Jnan, Bhakti, Shraddha.. etc. by just reading about it. One has to
undertake spiritual practice (sadhana) in daily life, to experience it.
In this part, we shall learn about the efforts that one should put in, to achieve final liberation.
:: Which is the simplest sadhana in Kaliyug? ::
In this fast-paced era of strife [kali yuga], which is the simplest and
most practical method to attain the state of God realization?
The simplest sadhana in Kaliyug is chanting (namajapa). Our four main
Vedas, Upanishad, Shreemad Bhagwat Geeta, Shreemad Bhagwatpuran etc…
clearly explain the importance of naam sadhana.
Saint Tulsidas has said,
नामु सप्रेम जपत अनयासा ।
भगत होहिं मुद मंगल बासा ।।
सुमिरि पवनसूत पावन नामू ।
अपने बस करि राखे रामू ।।
Meaning: A devotee can easily get immersed in the ocean of Bliss, when
he chants with love. Son of Vayu, Hanuman won Sree Ram’s heart only by
chanting His name continuously.
Yajnaanaam japa-yajnOsmi (श्रीमद्भगवत्गीता १०:२५)
Meaning: I am Japa among all the Yajnas -Lord Krishna in the BhagavdGita.
:: What is the Meaning of chanting or naam jaap/japa ::
Chanting (japa) means repetition of some letter, word, mantra or
sentence. Nama japa means repetition of God’s Name and mantra japa means
repetition of a mantra. The terms japa and the Name (Nama) are often
used synonymously with chanting.
:: Why is it important to Chant? ::
Continuity in spiritual practice is achieved only through chanting. The
Name is both the tool and the target. The ultimate objective is to
merge with the Name.
:: How does chanting The Lord’s Name’ work? ::
‘The subconscious mind carries millions of impressions. It takes a very
long time to erase even a single impression or ‘vaasana’. As such, a
considerable period of time would be wasted in overcoming the tendencies
of the subconscious mind by following restraints and regulations
(yam-niyam). It is more important to make continual efforts to merge
with The Absolute Being (Purush), rather than to try and erase such
impressions from the mind, which arise from Prakruti. This can be
achieved by Naama japa. The mind, intellect, subconscious mind (chitta),
among others, are all constituents of Prakruti and these function
according to their own characteristics. Instead of wasting one’s
spiritual practice in resisting the workings of the above, It is better
if that time and effort is utilized to progress towards the God
principle (Purushtattva) by becoming one with the Name (of God) that one
repeats (chants).’ - Saint Bhaktaraj Maharaj
:: What are the BENEFITS of Naama Japa ::
- Benefits with reference to Psychology -
A. At least while chanting, no new impressions about other things are
created on the subconscious mind. In order to prevent the development of
new subconscious impressions, repeating (chanting) The Lord’s Name, is
the best path to follow in the waking state.
B. When chanting is in
progress, the conscious mind does NOT accept impulses coming from the
centers like the desire & instinct centre, like & dislike
centre, temperamental characteristic centre, etc. of the subconscious
mind. If this continues for quite sometime then impressions in these
centers start decreasing.
C. The power of concentration increases.
- Benefits with reference to Spirituality -
A. If the Name of a deity is repeated (chanted), the Deity gets appeased.
B. If one chants some bijakshara, one can acquire control over a
particular element like the tej (absolute fire) element …and can acquire
a supernatural power [siddhi] accordingly.
C. A non-action (akarma
karma): If one chants the Lord’s Name while performing an action
(karma), then that action becomes a non-action, i.e. no accumulated
account (sanchit) is generated from it. Since no new accounts are
created, after experiencing all that is destined, one can quickly get
liberated from the cycle of births and deaths.
**Let us say, the
accumulated account of an individual is 100 units at the time of birth.
On an average in one birth, undergoing destiny depletes 6 units. This
means one should be able to attain Liberation within l6 to l7 births.
But this does NOT HAPPEN because, whilst one is undergoing 6 units of
destiny, new accounts are simultaneously being created by one’s willful
actions (kriyaman karma). New accounts rise by 10 units. Hence, at the
time of death, the accumulated account has become 104 units instead of
94. Consequently, an individual gets more and more entrapped in the
cycle of births and deaths. To prevent such a thing from happening, the
action performed should be converted to a non-action (akarma karma)!!
This can happen only by chanting The Lord’s Name.
:: Which God's Name should one chant? ::
We should chant the Name of God depending on the religion or sect of our birth.
:: There are Several Gods-Goddesses in Sanatana/Hindu Dharma.
So which God’s Name should Hindus chant? ::
Hindus should chant the name of their Kuladevata (Family Deity) in the
initial stages of Sadhana. Ishta Devatha’s name can also be chanted, but
after the initiation from a Guru.
The meaning of Kuldevata (Family
Deity) is, the [care taking] deity of the family in which you are born
to. In Hinduism, every family has a particular Deity whose worship
brings about worldly and spiritual progress for that family.
:: How to chant the name of the Kula Devata? ::
If the name of Kuladevata is feminine gender i.e. Kuladevi, then the chant is formed as follows:
First say ‘Sree’, followed by the name of Kuladevi and then end with ‘devyei namah’.
If the name of the Kuladevata is masculine gender i.e. Kuladev, then
the chant is formed as follows. First say ‘Sree’, followed by the name
of Kuladev, like ‘Ganeshay’ or ‘Maheshay’ and then end with ‘namah’.
Now let us see some examples to understand this
If the Kuladevata is ‘Amba Ma’, then chant ‘Sree Ambadevyei namah’.
If the Kuladevata is Ganeshji then chant ‘Sree Ganeshay namah’.
There can be some exceptions to this. For example, if your Kuladevata
is Hanumanji, then you will have to chant ‘Sree Hanumate namah’.
:: Naam Japa to eliminate distress ::
Before commencing any spiritual practice, it is extremely essential to
recognize why he/she is stressed out or the cause for agony. Efforts to
overcome this have to be made. The following explanation will illustrate
its importance.
Most people and 50% of true seekers are
afflicted with distressing energies. Due to distressing energies, a
person experiences physical or psychological distress and/or constantly
encounters some obstacle in his/her life. Externally, though one may
attribute this distress or obstacles to physical, psychological or
worldly factors, yet their true cause is -affliction by distressing
energies. No amount of gross treatment can relieve the physical or
psychological distress caused by distressing energies completely. Just
as fever contracted due to malaria can be cured completely only with the
aid of anti-malarial drugs, so is this. Distressing energies also cause
obstacles in the spiritual practice of seekers. Consequently, seekers
do not reap the expected benefit of their spiritual practice as most of
it is expended in alleviating the distress caused by distressing
energies. For instance, if one’s vital energy (pranshakti) has decreased
due to distressing energies, then most of one’s spiritual practice is
spent to restore it. So also, distressing energies take the benefit of
the spiritual practice of seekers thus depriving them of the expected
results despite undertaking a lot of spiritual practice. This shows how
necessary it is to give priority to eliminate distress due to
distressing energies.
EVERY DEITY IS A SPECIFIC PRINCIPLE. When
we chant the Name of a deity, its principle gets drawn towards us.
Distressing energies too are of different types and possess their own
inherent qualities. The seven commonly worshipped deities namely
Ganapati, Shrikrishna, Datta, Maruti, Shrirama, Durga and Shiva have the
ability to destroy almost all types of distressing energies. Depending
on a seeker’s constitution, spiritual practice in his previous birth and
type of distressing energy, CHANTING of one or more Names out of these
seven have proven to be useful to the seeker to eliminate the distress
due to distressing energy.
a. First of all, one should recognize his/her affliction and identify the Name of the deity, who can eliminate it.
The following experiment of chanting the Names of the seven deities
will assist in this. After performing the experiment of chanting all the
seven Names in a specific manner, one will know the Name with which one
experiences some distress. One can conclude that the Name of that deity
with which one experiences some distress is most useful to overcome
one’s distress due to distressing energy. That Name should be chanted
for a maximum period of the day till the distress is overcome
completely. ALSO, one should use other remedies along with the nama japa
to overcome the distress. Refer to the holy text ‘Remedies to eliminate
distressing energies’ for details on these remedies and the method of
experimenting the Chanting. After the distress due to distressing
energies is totally overcome, one can undertake Naama japa as given
below.
Name of one’s favorite deity or benevolent (ishtadevata) or that recommended by the Guru?
The deity who is responsible for spiritual progress such as: the family
deity or the deity given by the Guru as Gurumantra is known as the
benevolent deity or ishtadevata. Most people consider the deity
bestowing worldly benefits or the deity of one’s liking as the
benevolent deity.
One should chant the Name imparted by the Guru instead of chanting the Name of one’s favourite deity for the following reasons.
A. One does not understand which Name is best suited for one’s own
spiritual progress. Only the Guru is capable of providing this guidance.
B. Repeating the Name of one’s favourite deity helps only to enhance
one’s sattvik (sattva predominant) nature. The gurumantra however can
take one up to the unmanifest state (nirgun), that is beyond the three
components (trigunatit).
C. The gurumantra does not contain mere
letters but encases spiritual knowledge (dnyan), divine consciousness
(chaitanya) and the Guru’s blessings as well. Hence spiritual progress
is faster. This Name containing divine consciousness is called a sabija
or a divya (divine) mantra. However, one has to practise Spirituality to
obtain the ultimate result by chanting the sabija mantra.
D. Due
to faith in the Guru, one chants the gurumantra with greater sincerity
than the mantra decided upon by oneself. Also while remembering the Gur,
one tends to chant the Name given by Him and thus one’s chanting
increases.
E. While one chants the Name of the favourite deity, at
least some amount of ego accompanies it. On the contrary, when chanting
the Name recommended by the Guru, there is no ego.
:: Which Name should one chant if the Guru has not imparted a Name? ::
One should chant the Name of the kuladevata [can be either male or the female].
A. A family (kula) is made up of those people who are closely related
to each other by blood as well as karmic debts. Depending upon which
family deity’s worship is conducive for his spiritual progress, an
individual is born in that particular family.
B. Kula also means
the Muladhar chakra, energy or spiritual energy system (kundalini). The
kuladevata ALSO means THAT deity with the worship of whom, the dormant
spiritual energy [kundalini) in the Muladhar chakra is activated. When
this energy is activated, the is spiritual progress begins. If one has
both a male and a female Kuladevata, then one should chant the Name of
the female kuladevata because She is appeased faster due to Her closer
link with the pruthvi (absolute earth) element compared to the male
family deity.
C. If one is not aware of the Name of the family
deity, then one should chant the Name of his/her favorite deity or
simply-"Shri Kuladevatayai namaha." Once this kind of Chanting reaches
its completion, he/she coincidentally encounters someone who tells who
the family deity is. It MAY also happen that the Guru Himself comes into
a seeker’s life and blesses him with a gurumantra.
D. Worship of the family deity began in the post-Vedic and pre-Puranic period.
E. The spiritual practice is said to be complete when the subtle body
imbibes all the principles in the universe. Just as the cow is the only
animal which has the ability to attract the frequencies of all the
deities in the universe (that is why it is said that there are 33 crores
of deities in the cow’s abdomen), so also only chanting of the family
deity’s Name has the potential to attract all the principles in the
universe and increase them all up to 30%. Contrary to this, chanting the
Names of deities like Vishnu, Shankar, Ganapati, Lakshmi, etc.
increases only that particular principle in which one is deficient. This
is akin to taking vitamin A, B, etc. as a supplement to reduce the
deficiency of that particular vitamin in the body.
:: Why is nama japa essential for further spiritual progress? ::
: For whom is it useful? :
The point elucidates why Nama japa is essential for a seeker in the
primary stage. Those who have attained a spiritual level of at least 50%
through spiritual practice may have completed the stage of chanting the
Name of the Kuladevata. Generally, this stage can be completed in the
present birth by Mama japa for approximately 15 to 20 years. It can also
happen if an individual is born in the same family after the previous
birth and the repetition cycle is completed due to continued practice.
If one renders service/Seva and does charity in addition to the nama
Japa, then this stage can be completed within 5 to 6 years. For further
spiritual progress, it is beneficial if seekers do nama japa of another
deity other than the Kuladevata. One can decide which Name of The Lord
is essential by Chanting the Names of the other deities according to the
specific method of experimentation.
The Lord’s Name found by
this method of experimentation is considered to be the gurumantra
itself. However if one begins to experience distress when chanting,
he/she should stop it. The experimenting should be continued till one
does not experience any distress. Then the Nama japa to that deity can
be continued for the spiritual progress.
:: What about those who have been initiated with a gurumantra? ::
Those who have been initiated with a gurumantra should not decide which
nama japa they should undertake for further spiritual progress through
the method of experimenting. Instead, they should repose faith in the
Name imparted by the Guru and chant it continuously.
: More about the method of Nama Japa:
When addressing someone instead of simply using his name, one refers to
him respectfully as Shri. (Mr.), Smt. (Mrs.), etc. Similarly, one
should chant the Name of the family deity in a way that expresses
respect. Shri should prefix the Name of the family deity, the Name that
follows should be in dative case (chaturthi pratyay) and should conclude
with namaha. For instance if the family deity is Ganesh then ‘Shri
Ganeshaya namaha’, if it is Bhavani, then ‘Shri Bhavanidevyai namaha’.
Since it is difficult to pronounce ‘Shri Bhavanyai namaha’ one should
use devyai.
When the family deity is in the form of two deities
(For example Laxminarayana, Ishwarlaxmi….) then 50 % of the deity
principle of both, the male deity and the female deity is activated.
Chant in the following way - The deity's name should be chanted
prefixing Shri to it, followed by the dative case (chaturthi pratyay),
according to the second deity and concluding with namaha. For example,
if the family deity is Ishwarlaxmi, one should chant ‘Shri
Ishwarlaxmideyai namaha.’ If Laxminarayana is the family deity then one
should chant ‘Shri Laxminarayanaya namaha.’
:: Why should the seeker not chant the name of a saint? ::
One should not chant the name of a saint for the following reasons.
A. No saint has recommended the chanting of His own Name or that of
another. For instance, Tukaram Maharaj has not advised the chanting of
Saint Dnyaneshvar’s Name.
B. Our history of thousands of years
records no instance where a temple of a saint or a sage has been
constructed. Only temples of deities have been erected. Nowadays
however, a wrong trend of constructing temples of saints has set in.
C. Since the law of creation, sustenance and dissolution is applicable
to saints as well, Their energy persists only for a limited period of a
few hundred years. Thereafter, They are unable to respond to one’s
call. As against this, deities are eternally present from the time of
creation of the universe till its dissolution.
D. Saints are born
to carry out a particular mission and for that They possess manifest
energy. So if Their Names are chanted then the manifest energy could
possibly cause distress to some. Contrary to this, since a deity mostly
has unmanifest energy, chanting its Name does not cause any distress.
Besides a seeker does not want energy, he wants Bliss (Anand) and
Serenity (Shanti).
:: Where should one do Nama Japa? ::
Since everything is created by God Himself one can chant His Name
anytime, anywhere. Chanting when carrying out day-to-day activities is a
superior form of practising Spirituality. This is so because, firstly
the spiritual practice becomes continuous. Secondly performing worldly
activities along with chanting of The Lord’s Name renders them as good
as not being in the Great Illusion (Maya). Also it helps in karma yoga
or dedicating that action to God. Thridly, It helps one to remain in
communion with The Lord under all circumstances. This is called
sahaja-sthiti or sahajavastha.
Some ancient scriptures mention
that nama japa done in cowsheds of the home, temples, and places near
waterbodies, and mountains give more benefit compared to that done at
home. In other words, nama japa should also be done when a person goes
to these places!!
Nama japa should be done with faith and righteous behaviour
“The one who chants the Name of Lord Viththala should observe restrictions.” - Saint Tukaram
Implied meaning: If the one chanting the Name of The Lord does not
observe righteous behavior, then the entire spiritual practice is wasted
in nullifying the resulting defects.
What are the benefits of synchronising nama japa with the breath?
One remains alive due to respiration and not due to chanting. Hence,
one should synchronise chanting with the breath by concentrating on the
breath.
The benefits of chanting with the breath are as follows.
A. Nowadays, due to pollution of the atmosphere with rajas and tamas
components, polluted thoughts invade the mind along with the breath and
cause mental disturbance. When chanting with concentration on the
breath, the frequency of undesirable thoughts decreases.
B.
Concentrating on the breath means CAPTURING the PRESENT MOMENT. On the
contrary, entertaining any other thought means either contemplating on
the past or the future. Since it is essential for a seeker to
continuously live in the present, it is necessary to concentrate on the
breath.
C. Whilst chanting even if one gets a vision of God due to
spiritual emotion (bhav), duality persists. As against this, when
chanting with the breath, due to devotion in the Name one does not get a
vision of the unmanifest (nirgun) God. He/she marches towards
non-duality (advaita), and merges with the Name.
Those whose chanting of The Lord’s Name occurs spontaneously, all the time need not synchronise it with the breath.
:: What about other thoughts during chanting? ::
Despite experiencing Bliss with the Name, why does the mind wander
towards other thoughts? What should one do when one cannot concentrate
on chanting? Initially, due to impressions in the subconscious mind
(chitta) stray thoughts enter the mind while chanting. But with practice
there is a gradual reduction in these thoughts. One should keep in mind
that concentration is the target, not the tool.
:: Sometimes there is distress after Nama Japa. Why does this happen? ::
The reasons for it are given below.
A. Chanting the wrong Name: If a seeker of the level of the pruthvi
(absolute earth) element or apa (absolute water) element suddenly starts
chanting the Name associated with the tej (absolute fire) element, (the
sun) then the radiance generated through it may cause distress.
B.
Problems caused by distressing energy: If one is affected by
distressing energy, he/she initially experiences discomfort even with
appropriate chanting. However, it gradually subsides and finally stops.
The cause for this initial distress is the tussle between the
distressing energy troubling the individual and the pleasant energy
generated by the chanting.
//HariH Om//
- from the Desk of Usha Swarup
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FEAR OF DEATH
Swami Adiswarananda
Where Do the Dead Go after Death?
Vedanta speaks of the four courses that people may follow after death.
First, the yogis who lead an extremely righteous life, meditate on Brahman, and follow the various disciplines of yoga, repair, after death, to Brahma-loka (roughly corresponding to the heaven of the Christians) and from there, in due course, attain salvation, known as kramamukli, or gradual emancipation. Second, die ritualists and the philanthropists, who cherish a desire for the fruit of their devotion and charity, repair, after death, to Chandraloka, or the lunar sphere. After enjoying immense happiness there as the fruit of meritorious action, tiiey come back to earth, since they still cherish desires for worldly happiness. These are called gods or deities in Hinduism. Third, those who perform actions forbidden by religion assume, after death, subhuman bodies and dwell in what is generally known as hell. After expiating their evil actions, they are reborn on earth. Fourth, the persons who perform extremely vile actions spend many births as such insignificant beings as mosquitos and fleas.(1)
In regard to the universe and its various planes or spheres, Vedanta presents the following theory: "All these spheres are products of matter and energy, or what Samkhya philosophy calls akasha and prana, in varying degrees. The lowest or most condensed is the solar sphere, consisting of the visible universe, in which prana appears as physical force and akasha as sense-perceived matter. The next is the lunar sphere, which surrounds the solar sphere. This is not the moon at all, but the habitation of the gods. In this sphere prana appears as the psychic forces and akasha as the tanmatras, or fine, rudimentary elements. Beyond this is the electric sphere, that is to say, a condition in which prana is almost inseparable from akasha; there one can hardly tell whether electricity is force or matter. Next is Brahmaloka, where prana and akasha do not exist as separate entities; both are merged in the mind-stuff, the primal energy. In the absence of prana and akasha, the jiva, or individual soul, contemplates the whole universe as the sum total of the cosmic mind. This appears as a purusha, an abstract universal soul, yet not the Absolute, for still there is multiplicity. From this sphere the jiva subsequently finds his way to Unity, which is the goal of his earthly evolution.
"According to the Non-dualistic Vedanta these spheres are only visions that arise in succession before the soul, which itself neither comes nor goes. The sense-perceived world in which a man lives is a similar vision. At the time of dissolution, these visions gradually disappear, the gross merging in the fine. The purpose of the Hindu philosophers in treating of cosmology is to awaken in man's heart a spirit of detachment from the relative universe." The experience of happiness in different planes or spheres after death is transitory. The dwellers in these planes come back to earth and commence again their life of pain and suffering. Even the most fortunate dwellers in Brahmaloka must wait a long time before they attain complete liberation. On the other hand, Self-Knowledge, which can be attained by every human being, confers upon its possessor liberation in this very life. He does not have to wait for a future time to taste the bliss of immortality. This attainment of liberation through Self-Knowledge, while living in a physical body, is the goal of human life. The Hindu scriptures treat of the various cycles and planes and spheres, and also of the various courses open to the soul after death, in order to spur men to strive for Self-knowledge and the attainment of liberation here on earth." (2)
But none of the four courses is followed by the person who has attained Self-Knowledge.
The man endowed with Self-Knowledge attains liberation in this very life. His soul does not go to any sphere, for he has realized its identity with the all-pervading Consciousness.... All living beings, without any exception whatsoever, will attain Self-Knowledge and liberation." (3)
What Happens at the Point of Death
Vedanta gives a vivid description of what happens at the point of death.
When the soul departs from the body, the life-breath follows; when the life breath departs, all the organs follow. Then the soul becomes endowed with particularized consciousness and goes to the body that is related to that consciousness. It is followed by its knowledge, works, and past experience. Just as a leech supported on a straw goes to the end of it, takes hold of another support, and contracts itself, so does the self throw this body away and make it unconscious, take hold of another support, and contract itself. Just as a goldsmith takes a small quantity of gold and fashions another - a newer and better - form, so does the soul throw this body away, or make it unconscious, and make another - a newer and better - form suited to the Manes, or the celestial minstrels, or the gods, or Virat, or Hiranyagarbha, or other beings.... As it does and acts, so it becomes; by doing good it becomes good, and by doing evil it becomes evil - it becomes virtuous through good acts and vicious through evil acts.(4)
The thought at the time of death determines the future life of the soul: "For whatever object a man thinks of at the final moment, when be leaves his body - that alone does he attain, О son of Kunti, being ever absorbed in the thought thereof." (5) Vedanta lays great stress on the thought and the state of mind at the time of death as determining the future of the soul. Thought is endowed with a self-creative power. Our inner being changes into that of which we insistently think with faith and devotion. We become that on which we keep our minds fixed and to which we constantly aspire. The ever-recurring thought of a lifetime, whether good or bad, presents itself vividly at the time of death. We cannot get rid of it, as the sleeping man cannot get rid of his dream. Since the character of the body next to be attained is determined by what a man thinks intensely at the time of death, he should always think of God if he wants to attain Him after leaving the body. This idea of the Gita is not analogous to the indulgences and facilities of popular religion. The absolution and last unction of the priest does not make death edifying and spiritual after an unedifying and profane life. Even while the priest performs his rites, the dying man may be cherishing in his mind the thought in which he has indulged all through life.
The embodiment of the soul is apparent and not real. Therefore its birth and death are also apparent only. A knower of Self realizes that repeated cycles of birth and death are like nightmares and not real. A knower of Self is truly awakened. Though experiencing disease, old age, and death, he remains unruffled by them because he knows that they are charecteristic of the body and not of the Self. He is also free from desire, which arises when one is identified with the body. For if a person has realized himself to be Brahman, infinite and all-pervading, and if he sees himself in the universe and the universe in himself, he cannot desire anything. Self-Knowledge liberates the individual soul from its bondage and delusion. Only Self-Knowledge can overcome death.
This is the Vedantic conception of immortality, an immortality not to be attained in heaven, but here on earth in this very body through the knowledge of the immortal nature of the self. About the enlightened person the Upanishads say: "Dwelling in this very body, we have somehow realized Brahman; otherwise we should have remained ignorant and great destruction would have overtaken us. Those who know Brahman become immortal, while others only suffer misery." (6)
According to the Upanishads, unillumined souls go to heaven or return to earth for the satisfaction of their unfulfilled desires. He who desires is reborn. But the man who does not desire is not reborn. Regarding this there is this verse: "When all the desires that dwell in his heart are got rid of, then does the mortal [man] become immortal and attain Brahman in this very body." (7) The knower of Atman is like a man who is awakened from sleep and dreams no more of empty things. He is like a man who, having been blind, has received back his eyesight.
The Soul's Journey to Freedom
The soul's three basic desires - immortality, unrestricted awareness, and unbounded joy - are attained only when it discovers its true identity, the all-embracing Self. In search of its identity, the soul changes bodies and places, and finally, knowing the limitations of all pleasures and realizing that everything finite is shadowed by death, it practises detachment and desirelessness and realizes its immortal Self. Immortality is the return of the prodigal son to his all-loving father. It is the return of the reflection of the sun to the sun. It is the river of individual consciousness meeting the infinite ocean of Pure Consciousness. It is the realization that we are like leaves of a tree and that our true identity is the tree. It is our separative existence joining the infinite existence of absolute freedom. So the Upanishad says: "There is one Supreme Ruler, the inmost Self of all beings, who makes His one form manifold. Eternal happiness belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves - not to others." (8)
The journey to this final freedom is a solitary one - alone a person is born, alone he suffers, and alone he dies. By realizing his true Self he becomes united with all beings and things and attains to final freedom. Only then comes the end of all sorrow, all fear, all anxiety.
The doctrine of rebirth is the most plausible theory to help us understand the meaning of life and the diversities of existence. Each person is born with a blueprint of his or her mind that carries the impressions of past lives. Death seems fearful because we died many, many times before. Although we do not remember the incidents, the effects of those experiences remain stored in the conscious mind in a minute form. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna (Bhagavad Gita), "Many a birth have I passed through, О Arjuna, and so have you. I know them all, but you know them not, О Scorcher of Foes." (9) In the Bible, Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the prophet Elias reborn. "If ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." (10)
The Exhortations of Vedanta
Death is an inescapable and inevitable reality. To ignore it is utter foolishness. To avoid it is impossible. To hope for physical immortality is absurd. Vedanta exhorts in this regard as follows:
(a) Make death a part of life by understanding that life without death is incomplete. As soon as we are born, we begin to die. Life is sacred and so we cannot afford to squander it in daydreams, fantasies, and false hopes. Life without death, pleasure without pain, light without darkness, and good without evil, are never possible. We must either accept both or rise above both, by overcoming embodiment through the Knowledge of the Self. Death is certain for all who are born. As the Bhagavad Gita says: "For to that which is born, death is certain, and to that which is dead, birth is certain. Therefore you should not grieve over the unavoidable." (11)
(b) Develop immunity against death by practising meditation and dispassion. In meditation we try to reach our true identity, the deathless Self, by crossing over the three states of consciousness— waking, dream, and deep sleep—and becoming videha, or bereft of body-consciousness. In this practice, we partially and temporarily die in our physical and mental existence. Along with meditation, practise dispassion, which is knowing that nothing material will accompany us when we leave this earth, and that nothing in this world can be of any help to us to overcome death.
(c) Build your own raft. Vedanta compares this world to an ocean, the near shore of which we know, while the far shore remains a mystery to us. The ocean has bottomless depth, high winds, fearful currents, and countless whirlpools. Life is a journey, an attempt to cross this ocean of the world and reach the other shore, which is immortality. No one can take us across this ocean. Vedanta urges us to build our own raft by practising meditation on our true Self. No practice of this self-awareness is ever lost. As we go on with our practice, all our experiences of self-awareness join together and form a raft of consciousness, which the Upanishads call the 'raft of Brahman'. Sitting on this raft of Brahman, a mortal crosses the ocean of mortality: "The wise man should hold his body steady, with the three [upper] parts erect, turn his senses, with the help of the mind, toward the heart, and by means of the raft of Brahman cross the fearful torrents of the world." (12)
The word Brahman in the verse signifies Om. Repetition of the word and meditation on its meaning are prescribed for this practice. Vedanta asserts that Self-Knowledge, or Knowledge of Brahman, alone can rob death of its paralyzing fear. So long as this Self is not cognized and realized, life will be shadowed by death and the world we live in will be the world of sorrow and suffering.
(d) Free yourself from all attachments. Our attachments and desires keep us tied to our physical existence. We often hope for the impossible and want to achieve the unachievable. To free ourselves from these attachments and desires, we need to cleanse ourselves. Just as we cleanse our body with soap and water, so do we cleanse our mind with self-awareness. The Mahabharata advises us to bathe in the river of Atman: "The river of Atman is filled with the water of self-control; truth is its current, righteous conduct its banks, and compassion its waves. О son of Pandu, bathe in its sacred water; ordinary water does not purify the inmost soul." (13)
(e) Know your true friends. Know that our only true friends are our good deeds - deeds by which we help others in most selfless ways. At death, everything of this world is left behind; only the memories of all the deeds we performed in this life accompany us. The memories of good deeds assure our higher destiny and give us freedom from fear of death, while the memories of bad deeds take our soul downward. Therefore, a person must try to accumulate as many memories of good deeds as possible while living.
(f) Perform your duties. Life is interdependent. For our existence and survival, we are indebted to God, to our fellow human beings, and to the animal and vegetable worlds. Many have to suffer to keep us happy, and many have to die for our continued existence. We are indebted to all of them. To recognize this indebtedness and make active efforts to repay them is the sacred duty of life. By doing our duties, we become free from all sense of guilt. Be a blessing to all, not a burden. Remember, when you were born you cried, but everybody else rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die everybody will cry, but you alone will rejoice.
(g) Know for certain that death has no power to annihilate your soul. Our soul, our true identity, is the source of all consciousness. It is separate and different from our body and mind, which are material by nature and are subject to change and dissolution. The consciousness of the soul in each of us is part of the all-pervading Universal Consciousness and is the deathless witness to the changes of the body and mind. The Universal Consciousness is like an infinite ocean and we are like drops of water. We rise to the sky from the ocean, and again we fall into the ocean as raindrops, ... will in the end, sooner or later, come together as part or me ocean. In the words of Swami Vivekananda:
"One day a drop of water fell into the vast ocean. When it found itself there, it began to weep and complain just as you are doing. The great ocean laughed at the drop of water. "Why do you weep?" it asked. "I do not understand. When you join me, you join all your brothers and sisters, the other drops of water of which I am made. You become the ocean itself. If you wish to leave me, you have only to rise up on a sunbeam into the clouds. From there you can descend again, a little drop of water, a blessing and a benediction to the thirsty earth." (14)
Hatha Yoga
("Forceful Yoga"). Basically, the first 4 limbs of the Ashtanga system
are considered hatha yoga. The main focus is the physical and energetic
purification and training. Its goal is to bring the physical body into a
perfect state of health so the soul has a fitting vehicle of expression
to work through.
