Birth Death and Interval

Disillusionment, disease, debility and death may be the most accursed terms but much of philosophy, medical science and spirituality have evolved and flourished around them. Disillusionment transformed Gautama into Buddha. His father's death led the boy Venkatramana on the path of inquiry, turning him into Ramana Maharshi. An incurable disease propelled Narayana Bhattatiri to repackage the Bhagavatam into an epic poem called Narayaneeyam.

Understanding death is not possible without understanding birth and what caused it. Why are we here? From the darkness of the womb we go unto the womb of darkness called death after traversing a well lit zone called life. People are born to fulfill residual desires and the outstanding obligations of their previous tenure. The earth is karma bhoomi and here alone and nowhere else, human being has a facility to execute their desires and obligations. What is born is not man but a medley of accumulated desires, hatred, anger and frustrations. The physical frame is just a bundle of electrical bulbs through which the cross-currents of emotions express themselves. We are here on our own volition, to undergo pain and pleasure and gain vital knowledge necessary to go beyond pangs of birth.

Seeking an answer to the question: What after death? Is like wanting to know what lies beyond the edge of the universe. No one has gone there on a fact-finding Mission and come back with a status report. However, there have been reports of evidence being available on reincarnation and rebirth. Strangely, while there have been numerous incidents of people remembering their previous births with fair amount of accuracy, three has been no instance of people recalling what transpired in the interval between two births. The plausible explanation for this could be that mind remains in hibernation in the intervening period.

Death is a welcome pause in a long journey of the soul in its evolutionary course. Death is stocktaking time. After assessing the merits and demerits of the previous birth the soul is replenished with newer equipments to resume its journey. There is as much purpose in death as in life.

More often than not, death is dreaded for its timing rather than its occurrence. When a young person dies, we react far more intensely than we do when an elderly person dies. But the difference is only in perception. When the physical body or mind or mind loses its capacity to execute karma or finds no further scope within the existing framework, it contrives to have a tryst with destiny.

Every death is an inconsolable loss for near and dear ones. For the bereaved, death is a source of sorrow but for the deceased it is the cessation of all pain. We weep not because somebody had got relief but for our own sorrow. All considered death is the only viable option for this organic body, which past its prime, tends to degrade even while alive. Today has to vacate its place for tomorrow to come in Ramana Maharshi was once asked by a group of disciples. 'Where do people go after death? He responded: Did you enquire where they came from, to be able to ask this question?

None has escaped the jaws of death but some have escaped the jaws of birth and attained immorality.

Family should be Ideal

Meaning: According the line of Athervaved 3/30/2 — in an ideal home, children are obedient to their parents. The parents are well-wishers of their children. The husband and wife's mutual relationship is sweet and happy. Only such families always thrive and are happy.

Message: On the basis of the Vedas, the rishis (sages) have divided the human-life into 4 'ashrams'. The four ashrams are - brahmacharya ashram, gruhastha ashram, vanprastha ashram, and sanyas ashram. Considering a life-spam of a hundred years, these ashrams have been specified. Only in the Vedic religion, these ashrams of 25 years each have been categorized and this is the specialty of the Vedic streams of thought. The word brahmacharya is made of two words i.e. 'Brahma' or God and 'aacharan' means conduct. Thus it implies the conduct as followed by God. The second meaning of brahmacharya is celibacy. Thus the combination of two meanings implies the attainment of physical, mental intellectual and spiritual strengths, through celibate living up to attainment of 25 year for a successful material and spiritual life. During gruhastha ashram which means the life of a householder, the above powers are used and the man employs his earnings in deeds connected to a householder's duties and to fulfill to his wife's and children's needs. Then he reinforces his powers in the 3rd phase i.e. vanaprastha ashram through 'brahmacharya' (i.e. celibacy), self-study, japa (i.e. recitations) and tapa (or(austerities). In the sanyas-ashram he distributes to the society his acquired knowledge, wisdom and experience. This organization of a man's life into four ashrams is a very great specialty of Vedic religion.

If brahmacharya ashram is the foundation of life, then gruhastha ashram is a beautiful building constructed on it. Gruhastha ashram has its own importance, usefulness and achievements. In gruhastha ashram, the sentiment of self denial gets strengthened. The family members with love and cooperation for each other are eager to bear hardships for the sake of other members of the family. And in what words to describe the great sacrifice of a woman? She is the very incarnation of self denial. As wife, sister, and daughter or as mother her self denial contributes to the divine joy in the family. A restrained life contributes to excellent health. The householder making a living through pure means maintains sweet relationship with his relatives, associates to get the facilities for making his life happy, peaceful prosperous, and so also the society.

A family is made up of more than one person living together. Thus besides the husband and wife, there are; son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, grand-father, grand-mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law etc. The sweetness and purity of relationships between them creates an atmosphere of a special cheerfulness, happiness, joy and lively bustle. If there is a closeness of love and trust between the husband and wife, then the feelings of love, affection, faith and service for each other will be created. All will think of the interest of each other and will do beneficial work, and the situation of giving importance to money above everyone else, including family members, will not arise. With a sense of belonging, generosity and cooperation, all will serve each other and there will be joy and happiness in the family.

Only love and friendliness are the foundation of an ideal family.

Identity of a Man is His Character

Meaning: As expressed in the line of Rigved 10/117/8 — "In this world all are not equal in status. All are in ascending order, someone wealthier than the other, someone more learned than the other, and so on. To compare one's own self with someone with more capacity is always painful, therefore whatever we have received should be considered as a favor from God and we should go on ddoing our duty."

Message: 'Gyanmay karma evam karmamay gyan' is a proclaimed truth of Nepalese philosophy which means our deeds should be backed with knowledge and our knowledge should be in action i.e. there is a need for harmony in knowledge and deeds. The goal of all our scriptures and learning is only this that the light of the ultimate knowledge within our hearts should continuously brighten up our path of life.

All are not alike in this world. Not only the birds, animals and insects, but even men differ in their worth and capacities. Each man in not capable of carrying out every task, nor is he capable of every attainment. Mostly men themselves run away from work and keep on carrying for not obtaining various achievements. Most men in this world are unhappy 'why should others be happy'? They themselves do nothing and expect that they should get all the happiness, comforts, money wealth and achievements in the martial world. Such ignorant people who keep building castles in the air create a hell like life for themselves and simultaneously create an anarchic atmosphere in the society. Such distorted thinking only blunts their knowledge. Only their difficulties are visible to them and they always keep on crying. They neither have the time nor the knowledge to understand the sorrow of the millions of people living in want.

When the proper knowledge of the reality enlightens the mind, then accordingly, man decides the actions to be taken. For this harmony, he requires constant practice. To cultivate this habit is at first difficult, even impossible, but gradually by practive it is achieved. The Hindi saying is, 'karat karat abhyaas ke jdmut hote sujaan' i.e. by constant practice even dull persons become knowledgeable. A person, who does not know swimming, becomes mortally afraid when taken into the water, but within the next few days he is able to swim like fish. Similarly, by constant practice the entire life can be made full of knowledge.

A knowledgeable person has a quiet and balanced attitude. He considers all his achievements as a favor from God and remains satisfied. He does not have any emotion of jealousy or malice. He does not have ill-feelings on seeing others' happiness, comforts and progress. Never does he cry or get irritated or angry. He knows the sanctity of deeds and with a broad outlook keeps a compassionate attitude for all animals. With the attitude that all animals possess a soul just like his own, he is not satisfied merely with personal progress, but understands that in the progress of all lies his own progress.

This is the identity of a man with character.

Ekpaadrbhooyo dwipado vi chakrame

dwipaatripaadamabhyeti pashchaat.

chatushpaadeti dwipadaambhisware,

sampashyanpaktirupatishthamaanah .. (Rigved 10/117/8)

Keeping Good Company

As we go through the biographies of great souls, we find that whenever the supremely benevolent have incarnated on earth, slanderers have left no stone unturned in maligning them.

The intellect becomes mean with the association of slanderers but remains stable in the association of equals and become superior with the association of those who are superior to us. You reap fruits according to the kind of company you keep. Therefore you should always be careful in selecting the company you keep.

Long ago, there lived a man named Chajju Bhakta in Lahore. One day he was down the lane shouted, "Acche san…..tare, acche san… tare… (Buy good oranges)". Chajju Bhakta asked his companions. "Do you hear what that man is saying?" They said: "He is selling santaras (oranges) Bhaktaji"!

Bhaktaji said, "You did not understand. Listen carefully, he is saying. "Acche sang…tare (good company redeems)". He is saying that those who associate themselves with good people are redeemed, while those who fall into bad company meet with destruction."

Bhaktaji told a story to illustrate this: A crow and swan had become friends. One day the crow took the swan to its house and made him sit on   dry and wilted Babool tree. Two places stank of dung, flesh and bones that were scattered all around.

The swan said, "Brother! I cannot stay in such a dirty place, even for a moment. If you know of any pious place, you take me there."

The crow then took him to the secret grooved of the king and made him sit on the tree, and then sat near him. Beneath the tree he was resting. As the swan looked down, he saw the king sitting under the tree with his head exposed to the sun.

A swan is kind by nature, and out of compassion it spread out its wings to provide shade to the king who felt some relief from the sun.

A crow, however, is uncaring by nature. So it dropped its excreta on the king's head. The king shot an arrow upwards which brought the swan does, while the crow flew! I am not the crow that dropped the excreta. I am the swan that lives in pure water, but due to the company of the mean crow, my life has been ruined."

In the Sundara Kandam, section 45.4 of the Sri Ramacharitamanasa, Ram says to Vibhishana, "may providence keep us from the company of the wicked! It would be better; O respected one, to live in hell." (Because the company of the evil leads to the cycle of birth and death and repeated relegation to hells.)

Evil company destroys good virtues and is feared by those who recognize this truth. All scriptures and great souls have taught the jiva with great emphasis on the importance of staying clear of bad company. Bad company leads one to degeneration very quickly.

For example, one has to make great efforts to climb a tree, but there is no effort required in falling down. Similarly, one has to make great effort to attain spiritual power and earn the wealth of sadhana; but all our efforts carried out for over a long period of time will come to naught in a moment by keeping the company slanderers.

Live With Effortless Grace

It was 9:30 in the morning. From my balcony on the eighth floor, I could see below a stream of shining cars crawling on the roads. The traffic seemed chaotic, vehicles trying to get past the other, so much like situations we face in our chaotic lives, driven by competition.

A peaceful life is essentially a simple one and hence effortless. The sheer simplicity of peaceful life is a magnet that attracts, for deep within we identify with it. To be simple is not something external; we have to become simple and natural from within, be open to our own 'internal self' and perform actions knowing where they are leading to. One has to consciously bring bout this change, as Paramhansa Swami Niranjananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of yoga, Munger says, "To change externally is just a cosmetic change, it is feeding the intellect, the real change is internal". Being open to our internal selves connects us to the fantastic inner world wherein in each one of us a 'sage' dwells. Once connected to this sage our decisions are taken from deep within and we no longer need approval of others. We stand tall and empowered, yet simple, natural and in harmony with self and others.

However, being t peace does not guarantee freedom. We all have responsibilities that bind us in many ways, creating a web around us in which we feel enmeshed. So how do we experience freedom? Though it may seem contradictory on the face of it but one who is disciplined is the one who experiences real freedom. Freedom, like peace, is an internal concept; we can experience freedom only when we feel freedom within us. A disciplined man is able to organize his life and take care of his responsibilities with aplomb, and thus he is set free. A disciplined man is able to achieve balance in life.

By virtue of our existence we live in a world of relationships with others. The only constant in life is change and that is true of relationships as well. Only relationship that does not change with time is the one between mother and child, where normally affection is unconditional. If we honestly view our relationships we will find that we are constantly 'performing' with others. We unleash words and thoughts often couched in terms of 'love' while the intent to have control over others. The moment we are able to stop performing, relationship grow within, infuse discipline in our lives and stop enacting dramas in our relationships we are at peace and free. Once at peace and free, happiness happens. Life becomes an expression of divine calmness and flows with effortless grace. One becomes a 'farmer' instead of a 'warrior'. As paramhansa Swami Niranjananda Saraswati says, "in life becomes a farmer instead of a warrior: Learn to nurture and take care and begin the process with yourself with your personality and mind. The victory of a warrior is accompanied by destruction while the victory of a farmer is accompanied by creations".

Sindhu in might surpasses all the rivers that flow… The roar of the river is lifted up to heaven above the earth; it puts forth endless vigor with a flash of light …. Even as cows with milk rush to their calves, so other rivers roar into the Sindhu. As a warrior king leads other warriors, so does Sindhu lead other rivers …….

The shrill note of a motorcar's horn from the street below brought me back from my reverie. I saw a 'warrior' in a huge shining red car weaving his way aggressively through the traffic before I turned and went inside the apartment.