Question and Answers between a Master and Disciple

Nov 27^th 2014

D: You say that we have to realize the self. So we should ideally move from idol worship, mantra japa, contemplation of deity and then contemplation without deity. So here if I’m chanting then I will start the process of controlling my mind and over a period of time mantra japa will make to us have considerable control over mind. So if I have control of my mind then does it lead to easier contemplation of deity?

M : The purpose of a mantra is to protect the mind. How it protects? When you mentally recite the mantra, your mind will become inactive, as it is already occupied with the recitation of the mantra. When you recite a mantra mentally, it produces subtle vibrations int the entire body, trying to sync your body with your mind. This is the first step. Then you begin to contemplate the concerned deity and whey you begin to do this, mantra will fade away giving rise to the form of deity you are contemplating. Now second step is over.

D : So what is the need of contemplating on the form as this form is created by our concentration/imagination. Is it that I’m giving form/life to the self within me with an image or form?

M : Yes, God has no form. He is formless. But in the initial stages if you go with formless Brahman, your concentration will not be good and will begin to wander. That is why you are trying to give a form to the self within you.

D : If yes, then does self in this form, guide us through our sadhana/life?

M : That form will guide you through your consciousness, not verbally or physically. It will work on your mind, intellect and ego and will finally help you in purifying your consciousness. The purest form of consciousness is God.

D : Again when we contemplate on a form (deity), the deity represents the self within us to which are talking/interacting with?

M : Yes. Read the point above

D : Then instead of contemplating on complex form deity why shouldn’t I concentrate on a form which is easier to create in my mind?

M : Yes, you are absolutely right. You have to go with the form of deity with which you are comfortable, Dhyana verses do not matter. You create your own deity with a particular form. Use only one mantra and connect this mantra with that deity. You are almost done.

D : Further if I’m contemplating on the form of a deity and giving it life, does it not lead to confusion in the mind, as our mind may throw up unwanted suggestions through this form? This is especially will be true for a person who is little weak minded.

M : Deity is not going to speak to you or guide you to give suggestions. It is your purer form of your mind that is going to give you suggestion, may be very close to autosuggestion

D : Is it that we should have high level of control over our mind with restraint on thoughts, actions in our daily life, by which the contemplated form will be free of such influences of our mind and will be purer form?

M : Yes, now you are very close to understanding the reality. But always bear in mind that spiritual life is always within the sphere of materiel world. How can mind be outside body? Same is the concept here too. You need not totally control the mind, but never make it addictive.

D : Moreover suppose no form is fixed then what is way we are realizing the self here? Meaning when there is no form assigned to self then what is the object of contemplation at that time. What am I meditating at this stage?

M : This is answered in the all points you have raised above

Dec 7^th 2014

D: It is sad that GOD is present in all and on this we should have absolute trust. GOD created everything hence he resides in everything. But if GOD creates another self sustaining being and then that self sustaining being creates another, then how do you say that it is GOD that is residing the subsequent being. Here the only thing that is the link between GOD and subsequent beings is that the first subsequent being was created by GOD but not others. So here realizing self here becomes subjective as the individual beings energy source is the self sustaining being of the previous generation

M : You will get an answer if you read this series

https://www.manblunder.com/articles/shiva-in-conversation-with-shakti

D: When the book talks about dispassion, it is said that we should give up desire of everything and even GOD. If we give up the desire of even GOD then how do we realize Self. Because we have to realize SELF (GOD) within us but if have no desire realizing the GOD, then does it not lead to stagnation?

M : Desire is a relative term which longs for something that is gross. God is subtle and omnipresent. If we continue to have desires to the material world, we cannot enter into spiritual world. Desire and ambitions and goals are all necessary as we live in material world. If you miss out opportunities in the material world, you are going to the loser. Survival of the fittest, Darwin's theory always holds good.  Therefore, understanding spirituality be on logical and realistic basis and cannot be understood from a single line.

D : Or does it mean that we should always try to realize self but should not expect whether it happens or not?

M : Yes. All you have to do is to love the Self within and the same Self prevails everywhere. It leads to compassion.

D : But in spirituality setting of goal is important, and setting of goal leads to achieving the same, this leads to desire on achieving the same. Then how do you escape from this?

M : What is there in spirituality to set a goal. Self is already there and all we need to realize

D : You say that no remedial rituals work and it is better to stop wasting money on these rituals. My question is that our puranas are filled with many remedial measures for various problems. One of the best example is lord Rama installed Linga in Rameshwaram to absolve himself from brahmahatya dosha. Therefore this is nothing but dosha pacified through a ritual.

M : Purnas are stories. Vedas and Upanishads are realities. No remedial measures will work. They are only psychological in nature. One has to experience one's karma. Law of karma is known as Law of the Lord.

D : Also we can see that many people, saints etc go to kumb mela for on solving their sin. But the karma cannot be burnt in these ways. So what is the lesson that we are supposed to learn from Rameshwaram/kumb mela etc.

M : They are all nothing but festivals. They are meant for those who are not pursuing true spiritual path. Don't ask me why all saints are going there. If they are true saints, they will not go there.

D : Secondly is there a need to go to these places then as there is no point in doing all these things as we have to find the self within us.

M : Yes, no point in going there.

D : Thirdly on the flip side we see many people saying that their problems were resolved by performing certain remedial rituals. How were the problems of these people got resolved? Is it that their karma that each person has to undergo was completed exactly at the time of performing pujas, or is it that their karmic account was in such a way that they were destined to resolve the issue through these rituals.

M : Even without performing these remedial measures, their problems would have been resolved. It is the affirmation and faith of the mind. Mind is the most powerful of all we have. We have to use our breath to control our mind and use our mind to purify your consciousness. Performing pujas and other rituals lead to your spiritual path. We cannot think of graduating without schooling.

D : With regard to holy places there are many people who have regarded some of the places as sacred and have advocated people to visit these places. For example Ramana Maharishi says that if one is near Tiruvannamalai his mind get purified, acharya Shankaracharya installed Sri Chakra in many temples through out India to attract devotees (Tirupati, Kodangallur etc). My question is that if we have to find Self within us and resolve problems by experiencing our Karma, why have these saint performed these actions. I'm bit confused here. Is there any message that they are trying to convey?

M : They are messengers of Brahman. They are incarnations embedded with knowledge. They have two types of audience. Those who follow Upanishads and those who follow dharma shastras. Thus they have dual roles.They performed certain actions, for the sake of those who follow dharma shastras. Ramana never initiated anyone into mantras. Nobody can reach higher levels of spiritual life without trying to know ritualistic path. It is known as spiritual evolution and consolidation.

D : A true Saint knows that these are not necessary but at the same time they have advocated these actions. This leads to confusion.

M : The answer is given in the previous paragraph.

D : Then when it comes to rituals even performing Homam is a ritual, but great importance attached to this ritual, is there any specific reason for this. Because we have so vedic homas that are performed at house and it ha been told to me that these vedic homam are very important to be performed for well being.

M : No. They are not important for a realized person. But they are important for a normal being. Why? This is related to their mind set and enables him to develop faith in the Self. It is evolution of knowledge.

D : On the other side of the argument when we think logically be it visiting holy places or performing homam is unnecessary, we should concentrate on controlling our mind and thought process, so that we slowing start understand our thought process, root cause of these thoughts, gaining control over these causes in order to have better control over mind and body so that we can slowly realize the true potential of our Self. Hence i think this will lead to understanding of the divinity within us?

M : You are right. But you cannot share this to everyone. But this is the reality. I we say this aloud, people will call you atheist. Ultimately this is the knowledge we have to have. This leads to realization of the Self within and finally makes us to merge with Brahman. It is like river water conglomerating with ocean. Ocean is the reality.

Teaching through Silence

Teaching through Silence

In spiritual to learn and realize the ultimate truth we have to acquire the spiritual knowledge and without acquiring the spiritual knowledge progressing forward in this path is difficult as following some meditation or rituals would be mostly mechanical in nature and you would not know what’s next. Hence acquiring knowledge becomes important.

Here it does not mean that we should no practice but we have to have an understanding of what we are doing and know what is it that we are trying to achieve without which the practice becomes incomplete. In-fact a person needs to follow all the paths together to proceed successfully in spiritual life.

Meaning he has to acquire and understand spiritual knowledge (jnana yoga), second he should have the love towards the divine, practice Karma yoga (giving up the desire of outcome of an activity) and practice Raja yoga (meditation and associated techniques). When a person practices all these things together he will have the realization of the divine. People may say that each path can be independently followed for realization, but in practical life it is very difficult to do this. A homogeneous amalgamation of all the paths will always help the aspirant to move quicker.

So we will discuss about Jnana yoga. He the prime importance is given to acquire knowledge about the absolute and practice the same in our day to day life. What is the knowledge that we have to acquire here is question that comes to us first?

The teachings of the Upanishads are very clear and it says that “all is one”, meaning the entire existence and non-existence is nothing but Brahman and this is in the form is in the form of Absolute existence, absolute consciousness and absolute bliss. Further it says that the apparent universe is false and there is but only one reality that is Brahman and you the atman within is none other than Brahman.

To understand this, a person starts his spiritual journey to acquire the spiritual knowledge but learning from the books has its own disadvantages as everything is not clear and there is all possible chance of misunderstanding the scripture which is more dangerous than ignorance.

Hence next what a person does is that he goes and approaches a Guru to impart him with the knowledge of the self, based on the spiritual level of the student a self-realized Guru imparts the knowledge of the self by advising him to read and understand Vendantic scriptures and Upanishads. He explains the knowledge to the student and advice's him to contemplate on the teachings and come back for any questions.

If the student is of a higher caliber then the Guru advises the student to directly follow meditation and helps him to achieve the stillness required for realization. At this stage the Guru and Student communication at mental plane or to put it simply, the intention of the Guru is understood by the student without much verbal communication.

Again if the student is highest caliber the mere Silence of the Guru is enough for the student to understand that nature of the self is revealed is only in Silence and this silence is nothing but Brahman. 

The Silence of the Guru will always tell the student to still himself and understand that all these things that are happening around is nothing but Maya, i.e., the projection of the Self. The silence emphasizes that all that is happening around, the apparent world and the teachings of the Vedanta are Maya itself and the Silence beyond this is the absolute, i.e. Brahman. The best way to represent God is through silence as only when there is stillness there is realization.

When a Guru is uses his silence to teach it would mean that he expects the student to be still , all these actions around happens out of this silence and hence he says us to find that silence which is the Brahman and source of all.

Hence it is for this reason teaching through silence is regarded as the best way of the all.

How to navigate life? – A Buddhist approach

How to navigate life? – A Buddhist approach

This is a common question that comes up in each and every person as we struggle to make sense of the world around. We are regularly bothering on what to do, how to behave and search for happiness everywhere. Moreover we are one confused lot about what truly makes us happy. If you go around people and ask what makes you happy he would say that being with friends makes him/her happy, some other person will say that being with family makes him happy and so on.

Now if we ask the same question to the same people after few days/years his or her answer will change as he would have experienced troubles from the people whom he loved and at that time he may say that a different thing as the source of his happiness. Finally with lots of ups and downs in his life he will come to a gradual conclusion that life is filled with dyads (pleasure and pain etc) and hence there is no point in expecting happiness from others as they are bound to change and it is a cycle of ups and down which is never ending till we die.

The point what I’m trying to make is that people invest their emotion on people and objects as the source of happiness and convince themselves that they cannot live without them and they keep changing their mind the source of their happiness and jump from one thing to another to be happy. This is a vicious cycle which starts with happiness ends with sadness and that leads to happiness and to sadness, so on, this is the nature of life that we are now experiencing.

So this problem of life is put up in Buddhism very clearly by dividing the life problems and its solutions in four basic steps, these are called as 4 noble truths, they are as below

1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha)
2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudāya)
3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)
4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)

 Basically what the above four points convey is a very simple and profound meaning as below in line with 4 points above

1. There is suffering in life
2. The cause of suffering is desire
3. This desire needs and can be destroyed
4. By following the 8 fold path (Explained below)

The eight fold path are briefly explained below

a)     Right understanding: Understand that 4 noble truths are true and valid.

b)     Right thought: Have determination and resolve to follow the doctrines of Buddhism/knowledge prescribed in the faith.

c)     Right speech: Avoiding slander, gossip, lying, and all forms of untrue and abusive speech.

d)     Right conduct: Following Ahimsa (non-violence) and refraining from any form of stealing or sexual misconduct, it is basically moral living.

e)     Right means of making a living: Earn you living ethically.

f)      Right mental attitude or effort: Avoiding negative thoughts and emotions, such as anger, hatred and jealousy etc.

g)     Right mindfulness: Having a clear sense of one’s mental state and bodily health and feelings. Mindful is nothing but being aware of what is happening within you, to you and around you, so that you will become an observer. It’s like this when we eat something we do it mechanically, but when you are mindful you will observe the color of the food, the taste and how you feel about it as an observer. This method helps us to respond to a situation than react.

h)     Right concentration: Using meditation to reach the highest level of enlightenment. In Buddhist philosophy the highest state is call Sunya (Nothingness).

I’m not well versed in Buddhism this is more of collection of teachings from various teachers of this philosophy