WHO IS OUR BIGGEST ENEMY ?

[Guest guest]

Thanks you respected tat twam asi!

 

Yes, avidya or ignorance is the root cause of all "vrittis"

(obstacles ) which are the stumbling blocks in any spiritual path .

(sadhana) !

 

You state meaningfully,

 

"o longer have anyone to get > angry at; if we know we have the

whole "world" at our fingertips, we > have nothing to be jealous

about, and if we know that we are "love" > itself, we have nothing to

resent; if we know that everything is in > perfect harmoney, exactly

the way it needs to be, then there is no > place for anger or

resentment towards anyone.

 

True- one hundred percent. In fact, this is EXPRESSED beautifully in

the following upanishads ...

 

Where there is duality, there one sees another, one smells another,

one tastes another, one speaks to another, one hears another, one

knows another. But where everything has become one's own Self, with

what should one see whom, with what should one smell whom, with what

should one taste whom, with what should one speak to whom, with what

should one hear whom, with what should one think of whom, with what

should one touch whom, with what should one know whom? How can He be

known by whom all this is made known?

Shukla Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.5.19

 

Than whom there is naught else higher, than whom there is naught

smaller, naught greater, the One stands like a tree established in

heaven. By Him, the Person, is this whole universe filled.

Krishna Yajur Veda, Svetaswatara Upanishad 3.9

 

But, in spite of this knowledge , why is there so much ignorance ?

this is because we see everything through our eyes ! these eyes can

have "tunnel" vision or they can have "cosmic" vision. when our

vision is "limited" we cannot see beyond our nose. This is like a

frog in the "well" type of feeling. The frog which lives in the well

only knows the "well" not the outside world.

 

As Shri Ramana maharishi says .".A jnani does not find anything

different or separate from the Self. All are in the Self. It is wrong

to imagine that there is the world, that there is a body in it and

that you dwell in the body. If the Truth is known, the universe and

what is beyond it will be found to be only in the Self. The outlook

differs according to the sight of the person. The sight is from the

eye. The eye must be located somewhere. If you are seeing with the

gross eyes you find others gross. If with subtle eyes (i.e., the

mind) others appear subtle. If the eye becomes the Self, the Self

being infinite, the eye is infinite. There is nothing else to see

different from the Self."

 

AND SOMETIMES, EVEN JNANIS ARE TESTED . here i would like to narrate

a story from adi shankaracharya's life in Kashi.

 

Here, one is reminded of an incident that took place in adi

shankara's life when he was in Kasi...

Once, in Kasi, when Sri Sankara was going to the Vishwanath Temple,

his path was blocked by an "untouchable" who was accompanied by his

wife and 4 dogs. The disciples of Sri Sankara shouted at him to make

way, and to keep a distance. The untouchable smiled and

said, ""According to your principle of Advaita, which you practice,

all the Jivatma are same as God. How do you ask me to go? How am I

different from your Paramacharya? What you say is unreasonable. How

can I go away from myself?"

 

Sri Sankara realised that it was not an ordinary person and

understood that it was Lord Shiva himself who had come along with His

escort and the four Vedas. He prostrated before the Lord and sang

five slokas called "Manisha Panchakam". Lord Shiva presented himself

along with Visalakshi and blessed Sri Sankara.

 

Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa realized this truth early on in his

sadhana. Once a "prostitute" was brought before him to "seduce" him.

Our beloved Thakore immediately fell down on the ground and bowed at

the feet of the prostitute. This is the true lakshana ( sign) of an

upasaka. Tantriks know and believe firmly that all women are

manifestation of the devi, the great goddess. (durgrha saptashati)

Psychology and philosophy differs in many respects. our hindu

philosophy teaches us to regard everyone as "devamsham" (divine

essence) but in reality , we all are guilty of not practicing this!

why? because our mind acts differently ! we are dominated by "body"

consciousness. this is where "projection" comes into play. If i am

jealous and insecure , i will think the other person is jealous and

insecure . why is this so? i am simply "projecting" my views on to

him/her.

 

Tattwamasi concludes ...

 

All sadhana, no matter what the path, is geared towards removing

> this ignorance. This simple change in paradigm removes the only

> enemy we ever have. In fact its rather simple. So simple that we

> can't stand to accept it as it is; instead we complicate it with

> words and explanations, and then produce explanations of

> explanations! It's actually amusing when we think of it ... isn't

it?

 

Tatwamasi , yes ! sometimes in Life, what is so simple is the hardest

to understand.

 

it was Gaileo who said "all truths are easy to understand once they

are discovered. the point is to discover them ."

 

and that is the whole point .... that is why "realization " is

differeNT from "knowledge" and book learning.

 

once one is "realized" , there are no more questions.

at that point, there is nothing to be known, no knowing and the

knower!

 

Finally, one point. THe snake has "poison" in its body ! but the

poison does not affect the snake one bit ! the snake's poison only

affects those bitten by the snake. the state of a "brahma jnani" is

like that - nothing affects him !

 

Namashkar!