27. Spirituometry

<< Previous - Part 4 - The Final Chapter

The scriptures describe the qualities of a Jnani in very much detail. For e.g. the last 18 verses of the second chapter of the Gita are fully dedicated to explaining Sthita Prajna Lakshana. It has been repeated in several other places in the Gita as the qualities of a true devotee, qualities of a Karma yogi etc. They all finally describe the same – Realized state – by various names. Adi Shankaracharya, in his commentary of the Gita, mentions that these qualities are described for two purposes – to describe the Jnani, and to exhort what qualities a practitioner should try to build in him/her.

The qualities of a Jnani, are of great reference value for a seeker. It is like the goalpost on which we should always have an eye, even if we are at the other end of the field. Else the sense of direction itself will be lost. So, without doubt, and with common sense, knowing the Sthita Prajna Lakshana is a necessity for the practitioner.

But then, for direction vector to be meaningful, there have to be two points. Beginning and the end. A friend of mine once asked me “Suppose I tell you now ‘Let us go to the market’. What is the first thing that you will do?”. I said “Dress up myself”. He asked back “Before that?”

“Get up from the chair”         “Before that?”

“Agree to come with you”     “Before that?”

“Before that? I listened to your request of going to the market”

“You are very close. After you listened to me, and before agreeing to come, you did something. It happened so fast and spontaneously, that you are taking it for granted”

“I do not know”

“You located your current position relative to the market. Before the smallest activity that you do, this is the very first thing you do – decide where you are with respect to the target. It may not only be with respect to distance. It will be with respect to anything – distance, time, money, abilities etc. Locating the current coordinate the first essential step before moving to another coordinate.”

I thought over it, and you too imagine with me. Suppose I am suddenly left in an unknown place, in the middle of a street in a city. I want to go back home. What is the first thing I ask the people around? It is “What is this place?”, isn’t it? My first question can be nothing else apart from locating my current coordinate. Destination coordinate gets meaning only after I know my current coordinate. When I am in that unknown place, I very well know the map of my country. I very well know where my hometown is, in the map. I even know the latitude and longitude of my house. But will any of that help without locating my current coordinate? Only if both are known, current coordinate and destination coordinate, there can be a meaningful direction vector and hence, a journey.

In a situation such as the one above, this fact is very conspicuous. But this happens all the time in all our activities. Even if I am in my house and decide to go to the market, this is the very first reckoning that my mind does – locating the current position. But it is so fast that it goes unnoticed. When in my house, it only takes a fraction of a moment for locating the current position, as mind has done it several thousand times before.

And after locating the current position, immediately mind tries to locate the destination w.r.t. the current coordinates. Suppose I am new to the city and I do not where the market is. Now I would enquire about the location of the market w.r.t. the location of my house only. It does not mean anything to me if someone says “Market is next to the Central movie theatre”, because I do not know where that movie theatre is w.r.t. my current location. Then I will try to find land marks one by one, in a chain, until I get one known land mark – a land mark whose coordinates are known to me w.r.t. my current location. That first land mark may be just a few yards away from my house. And then the whole picture becomes clear to me. I get a clear idea about the path joining my location and the market. So, finally, what matters to me is the shortest path between my location and the market, not all the paths that lead to market.

During my journey, although my goal is market, initially I ask for the directions to the landmarks, and not the market (assuming that the market is quite far from the house). This may be everybody’s experience. And once a particular landmark is reached, we ask for directions for the next landmark and so on until finally we ask for the market itself. We do that because, if we directly ask for market initially, the guide (?) dumps a heap of right-left-straight information on us that leaves us more confused. We finally walk away from him, pretend to walk a few feet, wait for that enthusiastic guide to disappear from the scene, so that we can ask another person ;) And now that we have learnt our lesson, we ask for directions to the next land mark in the list, and not the market directly. But all the while, our aim is market and not the landmarks.

Now let us end this market business and look at how to apply this to what really matters. If we summarize the market example we can note several points:

First, we should note our current coordinate. Perhaps some of the earlier posts did that to a certain extent – honestly accepting to ourselves all our negativities openly without hiding anything from ourselves – no Self Cheating. At the same time we note our strengths as well. But soon I realized that accepting all the negativity in myself itself boosted positivity! So, there was no need of a specific identification of the strengths. Strength was always there, only hidden by weakness.

Second, we note the destination coordinate. Scriptures describe the final state as we saw earlier.

Third, only bother about the shortest path between the source and the destination. Do not dump ourselves with the whole map of the city. There may be hundreds to paths, but we have to choose what is easiest and shortest for us – mainly enquiry or surrender – Jnana Marga or Bhakti Marga. Even a mixture of two or three paths helps as per masters. But certainly not keeping our foot in every road that we see, just because it is very neat and clean. Or if we start walking on a road just because many are walking on it, it may lead us nowhere. Who knows where those people are walking to? Their aimed destination may be name-fame, money, health, miracles etc, and not realization.

Fourth, initially aim at the landmarks and not the destination directly. If we directly look at the destination, it may only leave us confused and stranded, as we saw in the Miraculous Mistake and the Extrication of Extremes. When we get sufficiently closer to the destination, then we may aim directly at the destination itself and ditch the landmarks.

Fifth, do not stick to the landmarks so much that they themselves become the goal. Always remember the final destination even if we are currently aiming at the landmarks.

It may be a good idea to look at the fourth point (landmarks) in detail.

Jnani, Mukta, Sthita Prajna – these are all the different names of the final realized state.

Jijnasu, Mumukshu, Sthita Prajnabhilashi – these are all different names for a genuine seeker (well, the last one was coined just now, I don’t know if it exists in scriptures! Let Samskrita scholars worry about that, not our head ache!)

As we saw earlier, the qualities of a Jnani (the destination coordinate) is already very well explained by the scriptures. Let us have our eye on this goalpost constantly, but for the time being aim at the landmarks. Qualities of a seeker would serve as the landmarks. The qualities of a seeker (the landmarks) are also well explained in certain scriptures, especially the Viveka Chudamani of Adi Shankaracharya. In fact, without our knowledge, we have looked at details of several qualities of a Jijnasu in the earlier posts. Now, let us look at these Jijnasu Lakshanas as per the scriptures, in simple terms. This may act as a summary to some of the earlier posts. And just notice that the middle path is a common factor in most of them.

He, who uses his common sense to clarify things to himself, rather than going after blind beliefs, or dry logic, is a Jijnasu (Viveka – Discrimination – I prefer ‘Common sense’, I believe you too opt for simple terms!).

He, who tries neither to suppress, nor to give free vent to his strong likes, but believes in slow and gradual withdrawal from the likes, is a Jijnasu. (Vairagya – Dispassion)

He, who intelligently cuts down external sense objects one by one very systematically over a period of time (neither with a sudden and blind cut-down of everything at once nor with lack of any efforts to cut down anything whatsoever), is a Jijnasu. (Dama – External sense control – Matches with Pranayama of Ashtanga Yoga). This sounds as simple regulation of life style by moderating everything one by one.

He, who constantly monitors his sense inputs and what the mind munches, regulates them and moderates them to taper off the Prana expenditure gradually over a period of time, again without blind suppression or free day dreaming, is a Jijnasu. (Shama – Internal sense control – matches with Pratyahara of Ashtanga Yoga)

He, who while constantly waging the war against his sense demands and the mind as above, loses the war very miserably thousands of times, but still does not feel like a loser, and keeps the war-drums beating, finally to taste victory one day is a Jijnasu. (Titiksha and Samadhana – withstanding the loses and saying “We will see next time” with the same determination and poise after each lose). The game ends only when we win!

He, who finds interest, curiosity and hence a sense of effortlessly being occupied, while contemplating about spiritual concepts, Self-enquiry etc, and develops it over the years into a huge tree whose branches begin to occupy all the activities of the day, is a Jijnasu (Uparati – enjoying the proximity of our ego to our own true Self, finally to merge into the Self one day). This is opposite of Shama-Dama-Vairagya. There we gradually cut down one set of trees, and here we aid the growth of another set of trees.

He, who has unshakable faith that the destination exists, without the slightest of doubts, solely based on his spiritual longing, although he has never seen the destination, is a Jijnasu. This is something like, even if someone has never seen water in his life, he will have to believe the existence of water solely based on his thirst. Existence of water cannot be denied, because there is thirst. (Shraddha)

And finally and obviously, he, who begins to feel the spiritual thirst, feels a great void in the worldly affairs, goes into frequent depressions, cries for it constantly, and begins to find light gradually, is a Jijnasu. (Mumukshatva – Longing for liberation)

Since this chapter talked about the various the coordinates of the spiritual journey – source, destination and the intermediate coordinates, it is named as Spirituometry (you know… Geometry).

26. Part 4 - The Final Chapter

<< Previous - Part 3 - The Descent

As we saw in Part 1 and 2, the Saraswati civilization was built on only two factors – science and service. Their science, which was mostly common sense, and the injunctions on performing charity held the society in the clutches of positivity. They did not require a ‘God’ to feel confident and secure. Idol worship was unheard of in the Vedic periods. When we know that we are right in our activities, automatically confidence boosts up. When the whole society was living as one big family based on responsibilities of Swadharma, there was only positivity and confidence everywhere. And then a few of them moved into deeper questions and realized the ultimate truth of creation. They taught the systematic ways of realizing that truth to the rest of the society. The ultimate truth was called by various terms such as ‘Brahman’, ‘Atman’ etc. The results of their Self-Enquiry were recorded as Upanishads and preserved.

When the Varna system got adulterated as explained in the earlier posts, there was no proper administration on Swadharma. The very foundation of the system shook, and as a consequence the conducive environment for spiritual enquiry was lost. Self-Realization became rarer and rarer and one day became almost unheard of. Brahmanas became Brahmanas just to idly sit and receive charity. Brahmanas now became mere data recorders who could promptly reproduce what was already written down by the earlier generations. They mugged up the entire research database (Vedas) instead of doing the research on their own. They forgot that experiences were to be experienced and not for theoretical learning. They denied to accept that they do not have experiences of their own. Because they were now addicted to the respect of the society. They were not ready to lose their status and dignity by letting others know that they are not Self-Realized. But there was a problem. Anybody could easily mug up the Vedas and other Shastras and become equal to them. So, all other Varnas were denied access to the knowledge database. Only Brahmana families mugged up all the shastras and showcased their memory power, Samskrita scholarliness in front of the society. Shastra knowledge itself became the ultimate knowledge. Brahmanas accumulated money and became owners of even entire villages. A Varna, that was meant to preserve knowledge, now went after Power and Wealth, but still called themselves as Brahmanas. How funny it would be if a soldier became a cook and still called himself a soldier? He would only be an uncooked soldier!

But as we saw in ‘Hide and Seek’, won’t we know when we are doing something rubbish? Didn’t the dummy Brahmanas know that they were empty inside? They knew, very well than any others. And that grew as a guilt within them. They had read all the Upanishads and had learnt the word ‘Brahman’. They themselves had not realized it, so they had no idea what this ‘Brahman’ is. They only knew that realized people had called it as Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient etc. So, now these guilty Brahmanas were in a fix. They knew that they were erring, and as a consequence they were now afraid of this ‘mighty’ Brahman. When we do mistakes it is our own Self that pricks us more than anything else. And when we do not listen to our Self, it turns into fear of an unknown entity called God. So, they were now scared of this all-powerful entity called Brahman. The concept of a ‘Punishing God’ sprouted, and this was the seed of negativity that spread throughout the entire society in no time.

Brahmanas, afraid about their own punishment by an unknown God, spread the same cock and bull story to everybody. Brahmanas, who were supposed to spread positivity and confidence in the society, now spread negativity – “If you do not perform this Yajna, God will punish you”, “If a shudra reads Veda, God will make him suffer for 7 lives” etc became the slogans. During the degradation of the society, and the deadly wars that took place, the Vedic science was also lost and had become empty rituals. No one knew what the exact mechanism and purpose of the Yajnas was. Brahmanas, who were supposed to know that, only knew the procedure and the mugged up mantras. And if someone asked them ‘Why should I perform this Yajna?’ the readymade answer was ‘To please God. Else, God will punish you’!! How could a learned Brahmana say ‘I do not know’ in front of the society? J

Now, this person ‘God’ was very mysterious and no one knew exactly what it was. They only knew to be afraid of him. Everybody gave their own chosen name an form to it. They began installing idols and worshipping. Worship rituals, which were not available till then, were written down and made as Shastras. All began acting like puppies and made God a big and powerful Dog! All their activities were out of fear of this dog and to please this dog. Negativity spread like a wild fire throughout the civilization. All slowly forgot that ‘Brahman’ was a state that had to be realized, and made it a distant and absurd concept.

Then came the Buddha. He searched for answers and found the ultimate truth that was long forgotten. He realized that same truth which ancient Vedic people had realized. His message of Nirvana, and his teachings to attain that state spread far and wide across the Indian subcontinent and even beyond. By seeing the slavery of the people to the concept of ‘God’ he did not answer to any questions related to God. He only encouraged people to reach that state of Nirvana by constant efforts. He openly proclaimed that ‘Buddha’ is only a state that can be attained by anybody. He was only promoting the truth of the Upanishads, the truth of ‘Brahman’ with different terminology – ‘Niravana’, ‘Buddha’. But ironically the Vaidika Brahmanas called him an atheist! And thus, his teachings, although the repetitions of the Upanishads in a different way, were made as a different religion altogether.

Buddhism flared up Jnana Marga and common sense once again in the country. But since it was dependent on one person – Gautama Buddha, after his demise, dilution occurred again. Slowly again people slipped into negative habits of fear. Even the followers of Buddhism began keeping Buddha’s idol and worshipping it! Adi Shankaracharya also revived the path of Jnana and resurrected the falling wisdom of the country. But Jnana Marga could not reach the same heights as in the Vedic periods. Because it could not reach the common masses very efficiently.

After several hundred years, came a genius solution to this swamp of negativity – Bhakti, Devotion. A big wave of devotion swept across the country. It is not that devotion was not heard of before. It was always there, even in the time of Vedic era, but not prominent. Jnana marga was the mostly sought after path. And later Bhakti was struggling to show up amidst fear. But now it became the most popular trend. Genuine devotees used idol worship itself to promote positivity instead of fear. They promoted love and devotion towards God and proved that even complete surrender will lead to the same goal as Self-enquiry of Jnana marga. Every village, every town in India was blessed with a realized devotee who popularized songs of devotion (Bhajans) which reached every common man of the country. All the knowledge database of the Samskrita shastras were now available as simple songs in local languages. Bhakti Marga poured soothing rains of devotion on the dry lands of money and power.

And thus, now in the 21^st century we are blessed with the best of both – Jnana and Bhakti. For some reason, Lakshmi is still dominant, but that is fine. Truth still triumphs. We have the teachings of both self-enquiry and self-surrender available at our doorstep. It is only that we are not making an effort to open the envelop and read the letters. How long will we postpone? It has to be realized one day or the other. Self-Realization is an inevitability. It cannot be escaped!

There are some news that Government of India is planning a mega-project to bring the river Saraswati back to its past glory. Perhaps it will also be the revival of the Jnana that dried up with that river? J

- इति स्वयंवाचित सरस्वती पुराण समाप्ता -

- Self-told Saraswati Purara Ends -

Phala Shruti (What you will get if you read this Purana): Whoever reads this Saraswati Purana everyday will be blessed with wealth, power and success!

Oh Sorry, the entire story is about knowledge and finally Phala shruti says "Wealth, power"! But this is how almost all Phala shrutis are written. Now you decide what gave rise to these Phala shrutis - Fear or Devotion? Greed or Love? J

The moral of this long story – The story taught me two things. Firstly, this is the story of Self-Realization itself. So, it taught me that Self-Realization is not vague and absurd. It is as true as my existence. If I exist, my realization also exists. The story put all the misunderstood concepts out in the open – the concept of religion, God, rituals etc. It also analyzed why and how fear sprouted, and why the dark ages of blind belief set in. The story made me feel free, free of all the clutches of negativity. Knowing negativity thoroughly is itself the dissolution of negativity.

Secondly, the story showed that we should not bother about the rise and fall. That keeps happening. Even with spirituality. ‘Cycle’ is the nature of nature. Nobody is the savior of anything. It is all only a drama, a dream. All the story of history is only your dream! You listen to some history in your dream, but is that real? Did all that happen? Or is it that you create it and listen to it? You are the only reality, not as the body, but as awareness. Everything in the dream keeps changing. But truth never dies, dreamer never dies. Death can die, but consciousness can never die! Dreamer always exists, and hence the question ‘Who Am I’ is inescapable, and hence the answer is also inescapable.

Wikipedia link to Saraswati River