The highest state of evolution of human existence

Devotion to the Divine is the expression of the highest evolution of the human embodiment.

Experiences on a recent visit to Fairfield, Iowa

There isn't a mouth large enough to drink the infinite oceans of nectar that the Lord bestows. Only the inner path can allow the embrace and mergence with that Bliss!

There is a positive concentration of energy here that makes access to the Divine energy easy.

Update on Jan 16th: see Shiva PurANa Story of Upamanyu

From Relativism and Rootlessness to Conviction and Connectedness

Over the last few weeks I have had some conversations that inspire this post, the topic of which is relativism as a worldview and perspective, specifically applying to faith, spirituality and religion, and its relation to a rootlessness which I see so widely prevalent in the world today. This rootlessness has its source in spiritual rootlessness and cuts across generations,  including not only my own (comprising of people at middle age in the age range of 30-60 years), but to a lesser extent in the previous generation of our parents, and it will unfortunately be more prevalent in the coming generation of our children.

The purpose of this essay is to explain that rootlessness and relativism are both simultaneously the cause and effect of the other, and to point out the remedy to these twin problems which when properly applied leads to conviction and connectedness. These insights come from my direct experience which is validated by Hindu scriptural texts. This essay will be of special interest to readers who are of the Hindu faith, or who are interested in the same, although it is broadly applicable to all faiths. In other words, it speaks to a universal condition.

The positive outcome that I envision from writing this essay is that the reader will be able to take steps available in his or her own spiritual and religious tradition and discover the necessary wisdom to lead a way of life that is firmly rooted in faith and conviction born of direct experience, which will then allow them to be a lighthouse and anchor to everyone around them. Then rootlessness is replaced by connectedness at the most fundamental level. Such people can inspire their children to be rooted in their family spiritual tradition and yet follow a tolerant and all-embracing way of life that is full of love, understanding, compassion and humility; these being the hallmarks of true spiritual wisdom.

Recent conversations with family and friends both in India and the US alerted me to this interesting finding that many Indians of my generation, and even in my extended family, suffer from a relativist outlook which reflects a lack of conviction or faith. Now what do I mean by relativism. Relativism is a lack of conviction in the spiritual and religious tradition that one was raised in, stemming from a lack of true understanding of one’s spiritual and religious heritage. Relativism is actually the milder symptom of the disease that stems from a lack of true understanding of one’s spiritual and religious heritage. Its far more dangerous cousin is fundamentalism, which leads to a blind belief in the superiority of one's religion that is unaccommodating of any other viewpoint. Disavowing fundamentalism from the outset, we are still confronted by this worldwide phenomenon that the vast majority of ‘educated’ persons in my generation are fundamentally ambivalent about their faith and religion, and are unconvinced, and therefore ignorant, of how to practice and follow their faith. In this way, relativism leads to rootlessness and a disconnection from the spiritual and religious traditions of one’s birth family. This spiritual relativism leads in turn to moral and ethical relativism, and an inability to take a stand on modern-day social issues, or to articulate it effectively to others, most importantly to one’s own children. Intuitively many parents know what is right and they know that sometimes what their children are doing is wrong. However, they do not seem to have the moral authority to articulate it, nor do they seem to know the procedures for standing by those moral positions in such a way as to inspire their children to follow the desired path. In the event that their children fall from dharma, or right action, the parents lack the mental strength born of moral conviction to disavow their behavior and association until such time as better wisdom prevails. Decline of family tradition leads to decline of communities and society as a whole, so this is a matter of vital importance.

I am most aware of this relativism and ambivalence towards one’s faith in the Hindu context but there are indications that other faiths suffer from this as well. It is almost as if a modern education with a scientific and rational basis—what I will refer to as a modern liberal Western education—has effectively severed our generation’s genuine connection with spirituality and religion. (This is not a necessary outcome because it is possible to reconcile a scientific and rational worldview with Vedic thought, the two not being contrary to, or contradictory of, each other.) Essentially we have a whole generation of Hindus who cannot articulate what it means to be a Hindu, who have poor knowledge of the Hindu faith and a less-than-passing acquaintance with its principles, who do not know their spiritual and religious traditions and practices or their scriptural basis, and are therefore unable to pass any of this on to their children. They hold on to some religious observances or practices from memories of their childhood and these they improvise as best as they are able in their current lives in different countries far from their land of birth. Prior to having children they may actually have even been proud of their ignorance of their faith and neglect of its practices, but now that they feel a need to transmit something to their children but they do not know what to transmit and how to do it. As a consequence, they feel rootless and so do their children.

This rootlessness in turn feeds on relativism, which roughly translates to “I don’t really know. All paths are really fine. Everything is after all subjective. All perspectives are after all relative. Any path is fine since all paths should eventually lead to the same truth. Surely any person is free to follow any spiritual or religious path of their choosing and so should my children.” Thus deluding themselves with seemingly broad-minded and liberal words, there are many who take an easy way out, forgetting that a truly emancipated and liberal attitude requires years of personal discipline and hard sAdhanA. Also there seems to be a deep fear that being rooted in one’s faith and religious tradition will somehow make one appear to be intolerant or narrow-minded. The observant Hindu today is easily misidentified as traditional and conservative and then judged to be ignorant and narrow-minded.

This relativist attitude is furthered by the perhaps well-intentioned words of several popular swAmis and so-called gurus whose easy-to-swallow placebo mantra is “Be as you are.” This is surely a deceptively attractive so-called “spiritual” way of living that the ego is so easily drawn to. Seduced by this kind of thinking, the ego argues “All I have to do is just continue being the way I am. My true nature is perfect after all.” Such flowery words are easy to dispense and accept when the hard toil of sAdhanA has not even begun, but they do not lead anywhere close to the Truth. Such statements are certainly true in the highest sense but that state is only reached after tremendous spiritual effort. There is much New Age nonsense about living effortlessly. Then surely it would follow that the likes of BhagavAn SrI RamaNa were ignorant fools and sinners to perform such great tapasyA to attain the Truth! No, rather the contrary is true. The Vedas, the scriptural texts of the shad-darshaNas and the PurANas are full of stories of great spiritual effort and toil, and only a fool in Kali Yuga will believe that true spiritual gain is obtained effortlessly. Even a dunce in the material world recognizes that gain in the material world is preceded by effort, what to say of gains in the spiritual world!

To those who have read this far and recognize the malaise of rootlessness and relativism, I will now offer my insight into its remedy. This spiritual relativism stems from a lack of sAdhanA and weakness of the Guru principle. It leads to rootlessness, most starkly manifesting as a spiritual and religious rootlessness, which in turn leads to a moral and ethical ambivalence. In its most extreme manifestation it leads to people adopting religious/spiritual traditions and beliefs that are different from the ones of the birth family in which they were raised. The specific examples that prompted my observation relate to Indians raised in a Hindu brAhmin family in the Vedic tradition, but this malaise is worldwide and cuts across all religions. It leads to a rootlessness in people that is sometimes even coupled with a genuine spiritual seeking which is unfortunately uninformed of the great treasures lying right in their own tradition, and leads them to seek this truth in other traditions. In its mild form it leads to flirtation with other spiritual and religious practices, and in extreme cases to temporary or permanent religious conversion. I find that in some rare cases of conversion to the Hindu faith (all cases of which I know are voluntary) this yields successful results with true spiritual growth, but not always. I have not yet seen a case of conversion from the Hindu faith to another which has resulted in genuine spiritual growth that was not possible had the aspirant stayed within the Hindu faith.

All my life, and more so recently, I have been convinced that although the Eternal Truth is the same and has been most certainly seen by many great Seers in traditions other than the Vedic and Hindu tradition, there is something superior to the Vedic insight. I know I am treading dangerous ground here and many of my so-called friends may disown me for saying this, but I must aver this to be true because it stems from my direct experience following spiritual practice. In the following I will try to explain why I am convinced of the superiority of the Vedic tradition and the insight it affords. Those who are patient and willing to read further may see the truth in my argument, which stems from direct experience and is not a mere parroting or regurgitation of book knowledge. 

The Truth being unvarying and accessed in samAdhi is necessarily the same, whether it is apprehended by one of the three great Gurus, namely, SrI Adi ShankarAcArya, BhagavAn SrI RamaNa MahaRShi, or SrI RAmakRShNa, or by Jesus or Rumi or the Buddha, or by oneself. Even so, the direct experience of this Truth is accessible to only very few. The Bhagavad GItA estimates that it is about one in a million human beings who actually has this experience, and that was in the dvApara Yuga. In the seventh adhyAya verse 3 of the Bhagavad GItA, SrI KRShNa tells Arjuna manushyANAm sahasreshu kascid yatati siddhaye, yatatam api siddhAnAm kascin mAm vetti tattvatah—“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” One can safely assume that this fraction is certainly no more than one in a million, and very likely less, in Kali Yuga. Given this situation, the vast majority of people in the world need a specific set of guidelines and rules to live by. In the Vedic tradition this is called dharma. Dharma has a three-fold aspect: svadharma, Vedic dharma and vyavahArika dharma. Svadharma is the duty of each conscious being to strive to know one’s true nature through meditation and self-study. Svadharma and Vedic dharma pertain the Eternal and from those are derived vyavahArika dharma which is changeable, being subject as it is to time, place and circumstance (desh, kAla and paristhiti). The closer the three are in alignment (and the first two are always in alignment), the more aligned is the individual and society with the Eternal and Universal dharma or Rta.

The principal difficulty with spiritual and religious traditions other than the Vedic tradition—the nAstika schools—is that their Seers did not produce a systematic and graded manual for spiritual evolution that is widely applicable to all human beings. This is the single greatest gift of the Vedic tradition. The reason for this is that the Rshis, being great psychologists and sociologists, realized that dharma has both Eternal and adaptable aspects, and the explanation of the adaptable or vyavahArika aspect requires  the interpretation by a contemporary Seer. Only a genuine Seer can comment on how the ethical and moral questions of the day must be answered in such a way that is harmonious and relevant in today’s world and yet in accord with the Eternal dharma. So a living faith tradition or spiritual path requires both a system that allows this re-interpretation of the Eternal dharma, and contemporary genuine Seers qualified to undertake this re-interpretation. Although we have so-called religious heads for the various major religions of the world, in Kali Yuga their actions do not indicate that they are genuine Seers of the Truth and hence they lose the qualification and authority to interpret dharma. Various other so-called visionaries have also cropped up who try to re-interpret dharma and they may serve some purpose no doubt, but still the vast populace remains rootless. 

The reason why Islam is now perceived as so horrendous when its original Seer the Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon Him, did indeed have a genuine vision of the Truth, is that it does not have an built-in system like the Vedic tradition which allows for an adaptable set of laws (vyavahArika dharma), that can be reconciled with an eternally applicable set of laws (like the Vedic dharma). Blindly following the laws specific to a particular time, place and circumstance in another situation leads to disharmony and violence. Nor in recent times have we seen a genuine contemporary Seer in that tradition who was capable of interpreting the original insights. The same can be said for Judaism and Christianity. This is not to say that the current Pope is not wise in articulating the eternal values and truths—the Ten Commandments are indeed eternal and hold for all time—but it is plain that the Vatican has had such a difficult time in coming up with a compassionate and sensible interpretation of the moral and ethical issues of our day: including abortion, contraception, homosexuality, divorce, etc. Even if their stand on these issues is correct, they have difficulty articulating it in a way that is convincing. On this score the present-day Hindu religious establishment has not fared any better, but probably worse, for it does not even seem to acknowledge modern social issues, let alone respond to them. So each Hindu has to take personal responsibility. Interestingly, the Rev. Martin Luther King’s message was rooted in the belief that man-made laws cannot contradict eternal laws or social justice and peace would not reign on earth.

So returning to the main point of this essay, the cure to rootlessness and relativism is for each Hindu to adopt a personal, daily spiritual practice. First of all I feel it is important to be aware that if you are born a Hindu you are greatly blessed and the path to Bliss is easily accessible to you, but you must put your faith into practice. One does not need to reinvent any new practice for this. Our scriptures clearly state that the first nityakarma, or daily activity, that is required of the three upper castes (which I will interpret shortly) is the sandhyAvandanam. In other words, if you consider yourself a Hindu and you are not solely wedded to the pursuit of sense pleasure (which is the definition of a shUdra, and this is not decided by birth but by one’s behavior), then the simple daily practice of sandhyAvandanam will lead to all the other practices and spiritual knowledge and insight that is necessary for conviction, born of direct experience, in the Vedic way of life. This conviction sets an end to rootlessness and yields the correct insight into all three aspects of dharma. For the Christian the appropriate practice would be the Lord’s daily prayer and for the Muslim, the namaz.

The other practices for a Hindu are the discharge of the three-fold debt to the pitRs, devas and Rshis. Honor your ancestors on the tithi and amAvAsya days with pitR tarpaNam and remember the spiritual heritage they have blessed you with. Do not be careless with the kAryas for the devas as instructed in the taittirIya Upanishad (devapitRkAryAbhyAm na pramaditavyam). Study the Vedas and Upanishads to discharge the debt to the RShis. The Vedic and Hindu spiritual path is decidedly an experiential approach, not armchair philosophy. One must engage in it and practice it with full devotion uninterruptedly for an extended period of time to truly understand its power and benefit. Cf. Yoga Sutra- sa tu dIrgha kale nairAntarya satkAra asevitAh dRDha bhUmih.

Ultimately, realization of the ultimate Truth (sarvam khalvidam brahmA) will necessarily have to reveal the cause of your manifestation as a Hindu and guide you in how to conduct the remainder of that bodily manifestation. No religion or spiritual tradition other than Hinduism can lead you to that revelation. Only a mother (in this case the Vedas) knows the true nature and identity of the child, and only she can reveal that to the child. And again, the very purpose of Vedic inquiry is to understand one’s identity with the body, with the mind, name and form and to transcend these to understand who the real I is. On this quest it is surely foolish to now adopt new identities as a convert to another religion! One must first understand one’s identity taken on in this birth in order to transcend it; not go around acquiring new ones! There is nothing about the Truth which is not in the Vedas that is there in any other religion or spiritual practice. Truly I say, the Vedic insight is the mother of all spiritual insights.

Nevertheless, the purpose of this essay is not to dissuade those who want to convert from Hinduism—that is merely their past karma and none, not even Shiva, can cure them of that aparAdham (which in the sense of tripurA rahasya is want of faith in the scripture and teachings of vedAnta and the Guru)—but the intent here is merely to strengthen the faith of those who may be seeking that. Indeed relativism and restlessness are nothing but aparAdham: the first impediment to Self-Realization as described in the tripurA rahasya. At the same time the wise Hindu does not seek to convert anyone to his faith either. The proper spiritual evolution of each jIva is to continue in their faith tradition for that birth. This has always been the Hindu way: to respect and allow all faiths their practices, for SrI KRShNa says in the Bhagavad GitA ninth adhyAya, ye’py anya-devata-bhakta yajante sraddhayanvitah, te’pi mam eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-purvakam “Even those who pray to other gods with faith, in truth they worship Me alone although in ways not prescribed.” This catholicism of outlook I have not seen in any other faith or religion. Converting to Christianity or Islam will leave you having to confront your identity at birth as a heathen or infidel! There are very rare instances where a jIva born in another religion or faith converts to Hinduism due to rapid spiritual progress in this janma itself. I have had the benefit of knowing two individuals in whom I could say this was mostly successful and inspiring, but even in these cases there are some residual challenges and obstacles of various sorts that persist and lead to occasional misunderstanding of the true import of the Vedas. In the vast majority of conversions to the Hindu faith there is great danger of misinterpretation of the Vedas by the newly converted and great confusion and infamy can be brought to the Vedas and the Hindu faith itself due to these misinterpretations. For this reason our AcAryas never welcomed conversion into the faith. The esoteric practices in the Vedas require great shraddhA and devotion and are not accessible to one and all. The goal here is not to exclude the sincere seeker but it was born of wisdom that gave insight into the past karmas and samskAras of these initially enthusiastic converts.

May all gain conviction in the faith and spiritual traditions of their birth family, and through connectedness to that identity, eventually transcend it and feel eternally connected to their true nature.

Sarve janAh sukhino bhavantu.

Om shAntih shAntih shAntih.

Prayer to Yama: Reflections on Illness and Death

O Yama, Great Restrainer of yore, I will recognize you when you come to me to remind me that the time for embodiment is over. You are the Restrainer of the Macrocosm, and only by restraining the mind in the microcosm can you be known. Although you are depicted as fearsome, you are not so at all. You are merely the First Restrainer. Long ago, when I was wise, I was you. So I/You was appointed as the Great Restrainer. But owing to ignorance of the mind I fell from your high seat and incarnated again and again in so many forms, until I reached this one. Only if I keep trying to use my mind to access the world through the outgoing senses am I going to be out of harmony with your Law. But if I have practised restraint of the senses regularly, and seen the poison of the world (that terrible kalAhala poison), and also seen the nectar of Bliss that comes in samAdhi, then what fear can be there on your arrival? You are merely a timely reminder, that the time is up in this body. Indeed, why else are you known as KAla!

However, sometimes your precursor is illness and pain. Both these are surely ignorance in another form, owing to imperfect restraint of the senses, past actions and ignorance of body attachment arising from them. Certainly the mind is a slave of memory. Hence, the YS says smRti parishuddhau having cleansed the memory. One must cleanse the memory of the false world and replace it with the true memory of God. This is verily, smRti. This is the one memory that one should not lose (as in BG) krodhAt bhavati sammohah sammohAt smRti vibhramah [from anger arises delusion and from delusion loss of memory]. And the root of anger is nothing but desire.

So if at the time of your arrival there are still latent desires, then the mind wants to continue clinging to the body. This too, is a kliShTa vRtti of the mind. Another tainted turning or mode of the mind called abhiniveshah. It is a clinging to life that is present even in the wise (vidusho'api  tathA'rUDhah). So I must guard against this scrupulously. And illness is the great practice for this. Every time one feels ill, the mind is not able to access the world in a pleasurable way through the body. But if one slows down the prANa, then the pain decreases. The mind becomes steady. One sees illness for what it is - an impediment to pleasurable world experience through the senses. By systematically training the mind at the time of illness, even the obstacle of vyAdhi to yoga can be overcome. This does not mean the body will not appear ill, but the mind will not be swayed as much and it will rapidly turn towards God. Indeed caturvidhA bhajante mAm, Arti etc (in BG).

At the time of concluding the embodiment, I will greet you old friend Yama, with the greatest  respect. Teach me your great self-restraint. Let me see all desires, fulfilled and unfulfilled, as productive of pain alone: dukham eva sarvam vivekinah (YS). Then lead me happily to the realm of the ancestors: to pitR loka. But I do not want to tarry there; for there are the unfulfilled desires waiting to be reborn in various forms. Grant me wisdom to travel beyond, to the realm of the Gods, deva loka. Don't tempt me with celestial damsels, apsaras, and the like, or with great wealth and dominion. Although I was never as wise as Naciketa, who as a boy rejected your tempting offers, nor was I ever wise as my Guru SrI Adi ShankarAcArya, who also at the tender age of eight, saw through the falsity of the world, grant me wisdom at least at that stage that I may bow to Indra and take his leave. O mind, never forget this! Traveling beyond deva loka, carried by the grace of Uma, Devi, Shakti, let us approach the glorious realm of maha loka. Here the great siddhas and accomplished ones pass their time happily, knowing eternally that all the objects of perception are nothing but the three guNas. Here let us pay our respects to them and move on, knowing them too to be past incarnations of my own self in happier times of greater self-restraint. Then we will reach jana loka where the perfected adepts and siddhas are eternally aware that all the means of perception of objects are also composed of only the three guNas. Paying our respects to them there, let us move onward to tapa loka. Here the glorious RShis of yore are meditating. Most excellent VasiShTha, who never fails to observe the appropriate performances, whom I aspired to but fell so far short of, so often; gracious VishwAmitra, my previous incarnation when I had the power of tapas to restrain the mind for thousands of years. When through latent desire and concupiscence I was tempted by Menaka and then Rambha. Graciously VishwAmitra bestowed the sAvitri gAyatri mantra on mankind. Let us pay our respects and move on.

Now we reach satya loka, the abode of Brahma- O chief mischief maker! It is only on account of your rajas that the whole world came into being! Know therefore, that we revere you but the wise never worship you on bhUloka. Come let us pass on to VaikunTha. Here lies ViShNu, ever protecting creation when He is awake through his sattva. Let us pay our respects and pass on, for now the desire to see the moon-crested Shiva has grown unbearably strong in this mind! O Shiva, how this heart longs for your divine presence! Only through your grace was Manmatha turned to ashes, only you can save the aspiring yogis, being as you are the Original Yogi. O AdinAtha! O greatest of Yogis! grant Thy Grace. Have mercy and cleanse this mind. It has followed the hallowed path of Devi who as ParvatI and aparNA prayed to you. In your presence, in your sannidhi is the greatest Bliss. You are the great Restrainer yourself, for you have power over tamas and all the guNas. From time immemorial we know you are more powerful than Yama; did not MArkaNDeya pray to you and get deliverance from mortality?

Let this mind delight long in the saguNa brahman of Shiva sannidhi, and by His ever-present Grace obtain the non-returning state of nirguNa brahman.

Remembering this at all times, but especially at illness and time of departure from embodiment, there is none who will not be saved. Om ShAntih, ShAntih, ShAntih.

Is it a wonder that on the holy period of Sharad navrAtrI the mind is drawn to such thoughts? May they become permanent through the Grace of Guru.

Hooked by the fish!

Read a cartoon recently that connected to this idea of never letting go of Om. 

In the cartoon, a bunch of guys are fishing and leaning over the bow of a fishing boat and calling out to one of their friends who has been pulled over the bow by a particularly large and energetic fish that he has hooked. The friends are calling out to him to not let go of the fishing rod so they can get their deposit back!

It struck me that as the mind is yanked all over by the power of Shakti through the ups and downs and twists and turns of the world, one should hold on that that fishing rod of Om with utmost tenacity for that is the only way to Bliss (and getting your deposit back!).

Why should one hold the mind fast to Om?

Why should one hold the mind fast to Om? Else the pot of Bliss will be taken away!

It's really that incredibly simple!

Indescribable Bliss. paramAnanda!

Indescribable Bliss. paramAnanda! Yes, even one afflicted by the worst physical and mental pains can taste this Ocean of Bliss. There there is no pain because there is no ignorance. Why would one leave that Elysium of samAdhi for even one instant? As RamaNa says, why leave the cool shade of Brahman for the scorching heat of the world? Because past memories persist that are being purified through each experience of samAdhi. Never forget this smRti- Eternal Bliss exists, the Vedas are the truth, the Guru's word never fails.

If anyone wants to attain samAdhi, today is the day. The short shukla bhAdrapada tRtIyA tithi ends leading to Ganesh caturthI. Rtu of sharad is sAttvic. The door to heaven and beyond is wide open! Make haste O traveller of this path of fire and light!

Hang on to the praNava for dear life! As shakti takes you through the twists and turns of worldly experience, never lose sight of bindu. Always keep the mind on Om. Great Bliss results. 

Today you can see for yourself the sUrya koti samaprabhA

The radiance of a million suns!

Yes, it is possible. 

May this mind have the Grace to rest in this Bliss always. 

Ignorance is frankly speaking too painful.