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Jai Shri Krishna,
When Bhagavan Shri Ram completes his leela and at the end decides to return to his abode (Vaikunth), he doesn’t go alone, but takes everyone in Ayodhya with him including insects, dogs and other animals. Everyone proceeds with him to the river Saryu to reach his abode when suddenly, someone realised Shri Hanumanji was not with them. The devotee said to God, “Your greatest follower, Shri Hanumanji, cannot be seen and the first person worthy of entry in your abode should be a follower like him.”
One follower turned behind and saw that Hanumanji was standing outside Ayodhya watching everyone leave and bidding farewell to Shri Ramji with tears in his eyes. Shri Ramji summoned Hanumanji who immediately presented in front of Shri Ramji. Shri Ramji said, “Hanuman, come with us. Why are you standing there all alone? I am taking everyone with me and you deserve to be in my abode first.”
Hanumanji replied, “Lord, please answer one question, will I get to hear your katha in your abode?”
Ramji smiled and said, “Oh! I will be present there myself!”
To this Hanumanji said, “Lord, you will definitely be there, but this servant is asking if your katha will be there?”
Ramji responded, “Hanuman! My katha is only available on this earth. I will be present in my abode, but my katha will not be.”
Hanumanji said, “Lord, then you proceed to your abode. Please command this servant of yours to stay here. Until your katha is present on this earth, bestow me with your blessings that I will continue to listen to it.”
To this Ramji said, “so be it!”
Hence, Shri Hanumanji did not proceed to Shri Ramji’s abode due to the longing for Ram Katha.
Prabhu charitra sunibe ko rasiya, Ram Lakhan Sita man basiya
Meaning: You are an ardent listener, always keen to listen to Shri Ram’s katha.
You dwell in the hearts of Shri Ram, Shri Lakshman and Shri Sita.
Shri Hanumanji either listens to Ram Katha or narrates it, and whoever Shri Hanumanji has narrated the Ram Katha to, has indeed attained Shri Ram. For example, Shri Hanumanji narrated Ram Katha to Sugriv and Sugriv met Shri Ram; Shri Vibhishanji acquainted Shri Ram after listening to Ram Katha from Shri Hanumanji as seen in Sunderkand in Shri Ram Charit Manas.
Shri Hanumanji narrated Ram Katha in Ashok Vatika which Maa Sita heard. Hence Maa Sita re-united with Shri Ram:
Ram Chandra goon barne laagaa, sunatahi Sita kar dukh bhaagaa
Meaning: As soon as Shri Hanumanji narrated the Ram katha, Shri Sitaji's grief disappeared.
Shri Hanumanji is such a great and thoughtful narrator. One who listens to him without doubt, gains darshan of Shri Ram. In addition, he is also a great listener. He listens to Ram Katha with complete affection. It is tradition to invite Shri Hanumanji at the beginning of every Ram Katha, as who can be a better listener than him? And Indeed, Hanumanji does arrive to listen to Ram Katha.
Come let us all celebrate this auspicious day of Shri Hanumanji’s birthday and pay our obeisance to him by singing along with Pujya Bhaishri to the divine Hanuman Chalisa.
Let us all pray to Shri Hanumanji to bless us all with his grace so that we can affectionately listen to Shri Ram Katha every day.
Jai Jai Shri Bajrangbali!
Soon after receiving a mail on Anita Moorjani's Interview in Manila on her book Dying To Be Me,was reminded of Sri Ramana Maharishi's experience of death which is posted here.
Death Experience
The turning point in Venkataraman’s life came spontaneously in mid-July 1896. One afternoon, the youth for no apparent reason was overwhelmed by a sudden, violent fear of death. Years later, he narrated this experience as follows:
It was about six weeks before I left Madura for good that a great change in my life took place . It was quite sudden. I was sitting in a room on the first floor of my uncle’s house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden, violent fear of death overtook me. There was nothing in my state of health to account for it; and I did not try to account for it or to find out whether there was any reason for the fear. I just felt, ‘I am going to die,’ and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a doctor or my elders or friends. I felt that I had to solve the problem myself, then and there.
The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: ‘Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying? This body dies.’ And I at once dramatized the occurrence of death. I lay with my limbs stretched out stiff as though rigor mortis had set in and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to the enquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly closed so that no sound could escape, so that neither the word ‘I’ or any other word could be uttered, ‘Well then,’ I said to myself, ‘this body is dead. It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and there burnt and reduced to ashes. But with the death of this body am I dead? Is the body ‘I’? It is silent and inert but I feel the full force of my personality and even the voice of the ‘I’ within me, apart from it. So I am Spirit transcending the body. The body dies but the Spirit that transcends it cannot be touched by death. This means I am the deathless Spirit.’ All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truth which I perceived directly, almost without thought-process. ‘I’ was something very real, the only real thing about my present state, and all the conscious activity connected with my body was centred on that ‘I’. From that moment onwards the ‘I’ or Self focused attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death had vanished once and for all. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time on. Other thoughts might come and go like the various notes of music, but the ‘I’ continued like the fundamental sruti note that underlies and blends with all the other notes. Whether the body was engaged in talking, reading, or anything else, I was still centred on ‘I’. Previous to that crisis I had no clear perception of my Self and was not consciously attracted to it. I felt no perceptible or direct interest in it, much less any inclination to dwell permanently in it.
The effect of the death experience brought about a complete change in Venkataraman’s interests and outlook. He became meek and submissive without complaining or retaliating against unfair treatment. He later described his condition:
One of the features of my new state was my changed attitude to the Meenakshi Temple. Formerly I used to go there occasionally with friends to look at the images and put the sacred ash and vermillion on my brow and would return home almost unmoved. But after the awakening I went there almost every evening. I used to go alone and stand motionless for a long time before an image of Siva or Meenakshi or Nataraja and the sixty-three saints, and as I stood there waves of emotion overwhelmed me.
DADA J P VASWANI leads the Sadhu Vaswani Mission from Pune. Interacting with NARAYANI GANESH in New Delhi recently on the eve of Cheti Chand, the Sindhi New Year, he points out that today’s culture of irreverence is a major obstruction to personal and societal evolution
He is all of 94 years, yet his eyes sparkle, his skin glows and there’s nary a wrinkle visible. The calm exterior comes from a tranquil interior, for Dada is humility personified, always playing down his own achievements while holding up those of others. A half smile playing on his lips, he greets me with palms joined in a namaste. I do likewise and introduce myself. “And they call me J P Vaswani,” he offers, much to my amusement. Does he need to introduce himself?
A disciple of his uncle, T L Vaswani (who is referred to as Sadhu Vaswani), Dada admits that until he came under Sadhu’s influence while in college, he was full of himself as an argumentative young man, flaring up at the slightest provocation. Why was that? “In school, I got four double promotions and passed the Matriculation exam at the age of 13,” he says, adding that he graduated when only 17. “I thought I knew everything,” he says, chuckling, “until I began interacting with my guru and that changed my life.”
Young Achiever
Dada studied physics and his Masters’ thesis on ‘The Scattering of X-Rays by Solids’ was sent by the University of Bombay (to which his college in Karachi was affiliated) to Bangalore, to Nobel laureate C V Raman, for assessment. Raman had won the Nobel for his Raman Effect on the scattering of light. “I expected to fail because my thesis was on another theory of a western scientist that was not in agreement with Raman’s theory.” After a six-month correspondence between the young Vaswani and Prof Raman, finally, the thesis was approved. “I never expected to pass the test,” confides Dada. “But this shows C V Raman had a truly scientific mind,” he says.
Reach Out To The Soul
The Sadhu Vaswani Mission is known for its work in education and its promotion of forgiveness and vegetarianism. The St Mira’s College in Pune is popular as are schools run in various cities. “Sadhu Vaswani started the Mira movement in education…in Mira, he found, on the one hand, intense bhakti for Krishna and on the other hand, she had not just humility, but was mother to the poor who came to join her in worship of Krishna,” explains Dada. Value education, according to Dada, does not take into account the fact that every human being is essentially a soul, for it only considers the physical and mental aspects and does not address the soul… “We need to go beyond value education,” he says.
So what did he think of the Sanjay Dutt case? Ought he to be forgiven? “The Sanjay Dutt case is different. It is the duty of the administrator to give dand or punishment. The law has to take its course. There have been cases where kings have punished their own sons. Without law enforcement, lawlessness could increase. We see so many women being molested. If such a thing happens in Dubai, the rapist will be sent to the gallows and so it does not happen there,” says Dada, who believes that while forgiveness is a personal decision, when it comes to implementing order in society, laws need to be enforced.
Why do people prefer to say ‘I am spiritual’ rather than say, ‘I am religious’? Dada points out that rituals, rites and ceremonies are the kindergarten of religion, whereas spirituality is that which has to do with the spirit. “Each one of us has been given human birth; the purpose is to realise that we are immortal spirits. Creeds and dogmas are specific to each religion, so they separate one religion from another…You have your own religion, I have my own religion. The separateness that we have gets completely lost when we come to spirituality — for you have the same divine spark that is in me,” he says.
Zero Is Hero
According to Dada, at the lower state, we are concerned more with words and when you reach the higher stage, words lose their meaning. In fact, if you enter samadhi and come out of it, you cannot describe it in words. “On the physical plane, we have to work for unity. On the spiritual plane, unity is already established; there is no difference between the two of us.”
Speaking of higher planes, would he explain the concept of zero in Sindhi tradition which is different than ‘nothingness’? “It is the point (not a circular symbol) where your ego has to vanish. Sadhu Vaswani used to say, ‘I am only a zero but not the English zero, because the English zero occupies some space. I am the Sindhi zero; am just a point.’ It’s what we call nukta in our Sindhi language.”
How do you arrive at nukta, and how do you vanish? Dada says it can only happen with the grace of the guru. “The guru first draws you to himself — so much so that you arrive at a point where you know you cannot do without him; you cannot live away from him. Once that point is reached, he starts his play. He becomes a butcher. He picks up the trident and strikes you (your ego). You cry, you want to run away, but the pull of the guru is such that you cannot even run away. Then, he takes you to a point where the ego vanishes,” he says. However, the guru’s grace and the disciple’s ego vanishing does not happen to all, for you have to be ready to receive that grace. “Narendra (Vivekananda) was ready, he was a prepared soul; therefore Ramakrishna could get results,” says Dada.
On God And Goodness
What would he say to young people? “We must turn back to God. We have thrown God out of our homes, schools, colleges and universities and the vacuum so created has been filled in by the devil. Children have no reverence for their parents; students have no reverence for their teachers. Reverence, I believe, is at the root of the right type of life. So many young people come to me with their problems, I tell them, don’t forget that you have this human birth only because of your parents, so please show some reverence to them. Only when irreverence changes to reverence, there will be hope for everyone.”
Even if one’s parents happen to be criminals? “Of course, reverence is the first step. I must learn from the life of my parents. Dattatreya said that he learnt a lot from criminals and prostitutes — you can learn only if you have the spirit of reverence. A person may be a criminal, but there is some element of goodness in him. The best amongst us falters somewhere. The worst among us has some good point.”
Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took hold on the rope and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens.
Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet Below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there. Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.
When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.
She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."
Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?" Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it.
Brenda told me that when she told her father the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me do, I'll carry it for You." I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy.
But, if you want Me to carry it, I will."
Jai Shri Krishna,
Maha Shivratri, the night of worship of Lord Shiv, is celebrated on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna according to the Hindu calendar.
One reason for this celebration is the incarnation of Lord Shiv in the form of Jyotirlinga from the absolute formless God.
Let us on this auspicious occasion, look at what the Shivalay (temple dedicated to Lord Shiv) symbolises. Why is there Nandi, tortoise, Ganeshji and Hanumanji in a Shiv temple?
A Shivalay depicts the eight components of Yoga:
1. Yam
2. Niyam
3. Aasan
4. Pranayam
5. Pratyahar
6. Dharana
7. Dhyan
8. Samadhi
One enters the temple of Lord Shiv by ascending five steps each of Yam and Niyam.
As soon as we enter the temple, Nandi ji is seen first. Nandi symbolises Aasan. This means, sitting in one place and posture to compose and fixate the body. Nandi also symbolises Dharma, meaning, the goal of religion should be Shiv, salvation.
After Aasan, we practice Pranayam. Hanumanji symbolises pranayam, meaning our mind is unsteady like a monkey. In order to steady the mind, we practice pranayam through Yogic breathing. Why is Hanumanji powerful? Because a controlled mind is powerful.
Once the mind is still, we need to withdraw our senses, signified by the tortoise in Shivalay. Just as a tortoise withdraws all its limbs within its shell, we must withdraw our senses from the worldly desires. This process is known as Pratyahar.
Now, we must focus on our goal. This is called Dharna signified by Ganeshji. Ganeshji means the knowledge on how to attach ourselves to Shiv, or, how to attain salvation.
On gaining knowledge, we want to keep our uninterrupted attention towards Lord Shiv (Dhyan). This is depicted by Gangaji, Parvatiji and the continuous dripping of water onto the Shiv Linga in the Shivalay.
In Dhyan, the meditator and the object of meditation are two separate entities. The continuous concentration unites the two into one. This state is known as Samadhi, depicted by the Shiv Linga. The soul becomes one with God leading to salvation.
Hence, the temple of Lord Shiv symbolises the eight stages of Yoga.
Let us all celebrate MahaShivratri by singing along with Pujya Bhaishri to the following bhajan: Kailash ke nivasi
seva mein samarpit,
Sandipani Vidyaniketan
By Jaya Row
A very long time ago, the evolved individual in the Indic region discovered the laws that govern not only the outside world but the fascinating inner realm as well. The focus shifted from conquering the physical world to gaining control over the mind. And now and then a brilliant sage would appear periodically, to revive a society sagging from lack of values.
Adi Shankara was one such outstanding master. While he wrote commentaries on the subtle upanishads and the Bhagwad Gita, he also composed original texts that re-presented the same knowledge in a modern context. The Bhaja Govindam is one such that brings to us timeless vedic wisdom in nuggets.
Shankara begins by focussing on the two main aspects of human pursuits – wealth and enjoyment. You chase wealth and once you acquire it you wish to enjoy it. The Bhaja Govindam dispels the misunderstanding that spiritual life entails shunning of wealth, family and all good things of life. Do not renounce wealth. Give up the thirsting, craving, lusting after wealth which comes in the way of acquiring wealth.
Be content with what you have. Swami Rama Tirtha said, ‘If you are not happy as you are, you will never be happy’. Be aware of all that you have been blessed with. Then you will develop the irresistible urge to share, contribute, and give. Often, the richest people are tormented by the feeling of deprivation while those who have nothing feel supremely abundant. The law is – You give, you gain. You grab and you lose.
The whole world is in frenzy, chasing after enjoyment. The more you indulge, the less you enjoy. Vedanta restores the enjoyment you have already lost. The way out is mindful, regulated contact with sense objects. So the thrill of a sense enjoyment does not diminish. Your honeymoon with life never ends!
Vedanta helps maintain wonderful, meaningful relationships. It identifies attachment as the root cause of all conflict. Attachment springs from a deep sense of insecurity. When you are not self-sufficient you need the support of spouse and children; you become dependent on them. You feel threatened by others with whom they relate; you imagine they are your enemies. You are nasty and hateful to your greatest benefactors and are tormented by toxic thoughts. You are then shunned by the very people for whom you did all this to begin with!
Attach and you suffer, you lose. Your closest relationships become conflict-ridden and finally you lose them. So attachment is not an option. The way out is ‘detachment’ or true love. Love people for what they are. Have no expectations, make no demands and do not imprison them. True love begets love. The love you give is returned in ample measure and you have amazingly satisfying relationships.
Life is as uncertain as a drop of water on a lotus leaf. Any moment death may occur. Even during your life you are consumed by disease, sorrow and arrogance. Insure yourself by investing in higher thought. Keep the company of good people, loving and uplifting thoughts. This ‘As you think so you become.’ith meditation. You will move to the state of infinite Bliss.
To be happy, some resort to extreme indulgence. Others abstain, and still others live a mechanical life. But the way is karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga. Act in a spirit of service and sacrifice; enlarge your circle of love and constantly reflect on the distinction between the permanent and impermanent aspects of life. Follow this up w
By Ashok Vohra
Death is a universal occurrence; yet it is the least understood phenomenon. According to early writings of Wittgenstein, this is because death is not an event in one’s life – we do not live to experience death. He upheld that “at death the world does not alter, but comes to an end”. However, he added, “our life has no end in just the same way in which our visual field has no limits”. After death, life becomes unmanifest.
Wittgenstein’s view is similar to that of the Bhagwad Gita’s verse 28 in the second chapter: “All beings remain unmanifest in the beginning; they become manifest in the middle. After death they certainly become unmanifest”. What is eternal, ever-existing and ever-unchanging is Atman, the soul.
The atman, like energy, can neither be created nor destroyed. It is infinite, formless, attribute-less, all-pervading, indivisible, timeless, and space-less. Atman only transmigrates. The Gita says, it cannot be cut by weapons, nor burnt by fire, moistened by water, and cannot be dried by air.
It is the soul that enlivens, galvanises, moves and directs the body, mind and senses. Every soul is a circle without circumference. The centre of the circle is body. Death means change of this centre from body to body.
Death is the separation of soul from body. Body is destructible and belongs to the indestructible atman. Swami Sivananda argues, “Death destroys the personality but it cannot annihilate individuality because individuality is separate and has distinct existence beyond body with no relation to personality”.
According to Hindu thought, life is one continuous, never-ending process, birth and death being two illusory scenes in the drama of world. The illusion is created by the jugglery of Maya. In truth, nobody comes and nobody goes. The atman leaves its former body and acquires a new body.
As proof of transmigration of soul, Swami Sivananda offers, “Man clings to this earthly life. This clinging proves that there is past experience and existence and that there is a future life. Man likes this life immensely and strongly yearns for a future life also”.
The change is illusory because as Swamiji says, all change is only change of environment and embodiment. In transmigration from its former body to the newly obtained body, the atman is accompanied by mukhya prana, the chief vital air, senses and mind. It carries within avidya, ignorance, good and evil actions, and impressions of its previous existence. Hence he says, “If you ask, does a man altogether die at death, I answer ‘No’, for what dies is what belongs to this world of form and illusion.”
The purpose of transmigration or reincarnation is not reward or punishment, but betterment and perfection. Death is only a passing and necessary phenomenon, which every soul has to go through to gain experience for its further evolution and perfection. It opens the door to a higher form of life. Death is the gateway to a fuller life. It is not possible to achieve perfection and absolute freedom without plurality of lives. So, one should face death fearlessly and joyfully.
The ideal attitude to death is best illustrated by the answer given to Buddha by his disciple Sariputta. When asked “Well, monk, does not life burden you and don’t you like to be released by death? Or, does living fascinate you, because there is a noble mission to fulfil?” Sariputta replied, “Venerable Teacher, I desire not life. I desire not death. I wait until my hour shall come, like a servant that waits for his wages.”
The author teaches philosophy at Delhi University
