Guest guest Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Loving Sai Rams, An enlightened individual having relinquished the attachment to transitory external joys and contended with the bliss of Atman,shines alone inwardly like a light placed in a jar.We seek pleasures in the sense objects because our mind is extrovert. The Kathopanishad says, " The Self-existent lord created the sense organs(including the mind) with the defect of an outgoing disposition( Paranchi khani vyatrunat); therefore man looks at things outwardly but not the inward Self(Tasmat parak pasyati na antaratman). A wise man(Dheerah), desirous of immortality(Amritatvam ichan) ,turned his senses including the mind inward (avritta chakshuh) and realized the inner Self " (Pratagatmanam Aikshat). Turning the mind inwards refers to a state of giving a right about turn to the inner energies of one who wants to pierce to the depth of the mystery of man. The Sruti says man`s sense-bound limitations lead him to finitude and death on the one-side and to an unfettered state yielding the fruits of infinitude and immortality on the other . Knowledge at the level of sense-organs is knowledge of the external world, of a world which is in the grip of the'outsretched snares of death' (vitatasya pasam). It is not possible for one and the same person to be absorbed in the thought of external sense objects and also realize the inner Self. No religion forbids us from enjoying sense objects. Religion only forbids uncontollable mental yearning for enjoyments. The world is nothing but the blissful Brahman and we are her to enjoy it. It is only when our eys are purified by renunciation that the world appearto us in true form as consisting of waves and waves of the bliss of Brahman. This is the true joy of life. The wise people do not allow themselves to be swayed by by the passions for the world of objects, by maintaining control over them. That control is achieved by Vairagya(detachment). The extent of our detachment from the world is commensurate with our attachment with the Atma. Detachment from the world is directly proportional to the attachment to the Atma. (to be continued) G.Balasubramanian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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