Sunday 26 April 2009

24 Gurus - Ocean


The mind of the spiritualist is compared to a great ocean. As the ocean is deep, the contemplations and thoughts of one on the spiritual path are also deep. As the ocean is clear, the spiritualist also has great clarity in his daily decisions and judgments. As the ocean is continually being filled by rivers but never overflows, similarly, the mind is constantly bombarded with various material desires but the spiritualist remains unaffected. This is quite amazing.

The rich man is not he who has the most, but he who needs the least. We may have an abundance of possessions, good reputation amongst our social circle, nice relationships with those around us, but if our desires are endless we will never feel satisfied. In the world we live in enough is never enough. We fill the internal void by trying to accumulate and arrange externally.

Socrates was once in Athens when he passed a shop window. He stood there gazing intently at all the different items on display. This went on for a few hours. One man who had passed by a few times finally questioned the great philosopher. "Is there something you need - something I can get you? Maybe the shoes or those clothes?" Socrates replied to him - "No, No, I am simply amazed by seeing how many things there are here that I don't need!" So next time one of those desires pop up in the mind, we may want to consider whether to take it seriously or not.

Friday 24 April 2009

Head and Heart

Krishna's statements in the Bhagavad-gita give you an interesting insight into his character and approach. At the conclusion of the text, He plainly states to Arjuna "Now I have imparted this knowledge to you, deliberate on it fully, and then do as you wish to do". That really stood out. Far from being the fanatical God that many envisage in their mind, Krishna encourages everyone to make their own informed choice about life. He presents a philosophy and lifestyle that can bring one to another level of consciousness... but He also knows that it can't be forced upon anyone. You won't find Krishna using any fear or intimidation tactics here.

The Bhagavad-gita is rich in philosophy, and presents the Vedic worldview in an extremely logical and rational way. As one deliberates on this presentation one may well feel intellectually convinced and satisfied. However, spirituality is also an affair of the heart. It’s about developing a deep connection with the Supreme Person so that one actually experiences what they read about. Thus, in the Vedic literatures there is also a strong call to action. Krishna implores Arjuna “do as you wish to do”. ‘Do’ being the imperative word - apply and practice the great wisdom in day-to-day life.

The head and the heart are both important factors in spiritual life. Mental gymnastics and theoretical philosophizing devoid of spiritual practice cannot not nourish and enliven us. On the other hand, ritual and practice without proper understanding and rationale can descend into sentimentalism or mechanical religion. For ultimate success, the aspiring spiritualist requires a cool head and a soft heart.

Saturday 18 April 2009

Back to the future

Ancient sages flying through space... giant bird carriers that talk... monkeys jumping from one country to another... a vast ocean of milk and honey... it all sounds like something from the Wizard of Oz. However, these are some of the accounts you find in the ancient Vedic literature. Many respond to these sections by calling them mythology, and rather appeal to the moral and philosophical lessons behind these ancient stories. However, the authorised teachers who commentate upon the Vedic scriptures explain that these are all real entities, real objects and real events. But can we really believe that?

To define reality simply upon what we can directly perceive is extremely irrational. Have we personally been to Mars? Have we even been to Ecuador? Have we ever seen a blue whale? If the answer is no, is the next logical step to call these things mythology and reject their existence outright? Human beings have direct contact with an extremely minute portion of the creation, and of that we can only perceive a fraction. How accurate can our judgements on the expansive universe really be?

One hundred years ago, if you told someone about blue tooth, Concorde and modern-day hospital technology, it would have probably sounded like fantasy and fairytale. Each generation have their own limited grasp of reality. The Vedas explain that people of the previous ages were of a different calibre - they had advanced spiritual technology, access to subtle sciences and phenomenal bodily abilities. Their activities and inventions may sound quite extraordinary to us... but it doesn't make them any less real.

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Blind faith... Blind doubt...

In our modern world, we have many different terms which act as subtle put-downs for practitioners of religion or spirituality. Recently someone referred to me as a 'man of faith'. I thought that was quite interesting. Factually speaking, everyone in this world has faith in something - without it you couldn't function as a progressive being. If we refuse to place our faith in a spiritual tradition, we simply repose it elsewhere.

In a recent conversation with the same person I expressed that there have been numerous archaeological findings over the last century that are challenging our understanding of the history of humankind. His response? He didn't ask what the research was, who conducted it, when it was published, how reliable it is and how he could find out more. Rather, he categorically denied the claim, making sweeping statements that such evidence couldn't possibly exist. People are very cautious not to blindly believe in anything, but isn't such a demonstration of blind doubt just as dangerous?

The fact is, blind anything is bad. To accept or reject something are both acts that should be performed with due intelligence and discrimination. In today’s world certain theories and worldviews are accepted as irrefutable, undisputed scientific fact, whereas anything which smells of spirituality is treated with incredible suspicion and doubt from the very onset. We may be very careful not to blindly believe, but we may neglect invaluable wisdom, knowledge and insight into the world due to the tendency towards blind doubt.

Friday 10 April 2009

Looking for the right thing in the wrong place



I met a young professional working in the city a few days ago. As I explained my journey into the monastic order an intense expression began to manifest on his face. It was almost as if he was psychoanalysing me! He eventually asked me: "You had such great opportunities - why did you take to the life of a monk? Was it frustration, a bad experience in the world or some lacking in your relationships? What was missing?" He was very tactful of course, carefully avoiding any condescending tone, but his genuine puzzlement was clear.

The word he used was interesting - frustration. Frustration arises when you don’t achieve what you want, but there is enough of a glimpse to keep you going. The Vedic scriptures often use this word to describe the world we live in. In our attempts for real, lasting, deep happiness we are often frustrated.

To categorically claim there is no pleasure in this world would be far-fetched and unreasonable. A holiday to the sunny, peaceful, exotic island we always dreamed of, the job promotion we worked so hard for, recognition for our achievements and appreciation from others; all such things undoubtedly bring pleasure to our lives. At the same time, however, the inevitable suffering and pain of this world is undeniable. Whether it’s a health crisis, financial crisis, relationship crisis or career crisis, something always disturbs our emotional equilibrium.

How should we react to the duality of this world; the happiness and distress that seem to go hand in hand? Most people simply accept the rough with the smooth. Yes, there is suffering in this world, and there's not much we can do about it. Just knuckle down, work hard and have enough free time in your life to do the things you really like. Take out life insurance, build up a healthy savings account, and just hope that too many bad things don't come your way.

Others, however, refuse to accept suffering as an inevitable reality. "My nature is to be happy, but distress is forced upon me" the person thinks. "Why is that? Why should I face suffering even though I don't want it? Is there some problem with my fundamental principles of life? Is it possible to exist free of this pain?" These are the people who pursue the spiritual path. They question whether the root of suffering is something more than simply nature's arrangement. So I guess I did take to spirituality because I was frustrated. Frustrated with accepting unnatural conditions of life, and determined to at least explore if there is a practical path to a more wholesome and happy life.

Imagine a man who drops his keys in a dark street. He walks 100 metres down the road and under the bright street lamp frantically starts looking for them. An onlooker observes the scene and questions the man as to why he is looking here and not down the road where he actually dropped the keys. "There is no light over there" the man replies. Quite illogical! Similarly in our frantic search for happiness and pleasure, we often default to the path which seems to bring instant enjoyment, the path that everyone else seems to be taking, the path which is most accessible. But maybe deep satisfaction is to be found somewhere else, somewhere different from the well illuminated path of material prosperity.

Materialism, according to the Bhagavad-gita does not simply mean the greedy desire for more money, more possessions, more fame and so on. It is a path based on the conception that if we adjust things external to us, then we will find happiness. Maybe we are looking for the right thing, but in the wrong place. Maybe true happiness lies within - a simple statement with an extremely profound purport.

Wednesday 8 April 2009

24 Gurus - The Tree

In the ancient classic Srimad-Bhagavatam, we find a captivating narration between a king and a wandering holy man. Upon seeing the saintly person the king could immediately recognise his spiritual advancement and inquired as to who his teacher (guru) was. The holy man explained that his great fortune in life was to have the instruction of 24 different gurus. His gurus, however, were quite unconventional - they consisted of objects and entities that we find in the world around us.

The first guru the holy man talks of is the tree. Trees are exploited and maltreated in so many ways. Animals relieve themselves around trees, humans forge their signatures in trees and then cut them down for various purposes, while numerous insects take their residence in the tree and feed off them for their sustenance. Despite all such inconvenience, the tree still indiscriminately provides cooling shelter to all, life giving fruits, fragrant flowers and essential medicinal extracts.

In this way we see the great qualities of tolerance, selflessness and unmotivated service to others. Ultimately, we earn our living by what we receive, but we earn a life by what we give to others. The tolerant tree yields a wonderful example to us of how to always serve despite all obstacles and seeming lack of appreciation from others. It is this selfless service that will bring us deep satisfaction and fulfilment, and such an approach will certainly bring about a spiritual transformation in the lives of those we come in contact with.

Thursday 2 April 2009

In my opinion

I recently had an email exchange with someone that went on for some time. After a few letters the person, seeming quite frustrated, demanded "tell me what YOUR views are - all your emails simply quote scriptures and teachers - don't you have any opinions of your own?"

For every subject in which we are inexperienced we seek help from a teacher. Using our discrimination and good judgement we seek out someone who is competent and knowledgeable and then faithfully study under them. Thereafter we continue with our exploration of the subject often quoting our teachers and referring back to the lessons they taught us.

The same applies for life. We can generously overrate our own experience and knowledge about life - even the insights of someone who has been in this world for 70 or 80 years may not be as comprehensive and profound as we may think. We take help from the wisdom scriptures and the saintly persons who have assimilated such knowledge, and use that as a basis for our judgement. That doesn't mean we lose our personality, discrimination or personal opinion. We have a solid worldview based on the ancient conclusions, and within that framework use our intelligence to understand how to apply such principles and relate them to a modern day context. Far from being limiting such wisdom allows us to break free of common opinion, and blindly following the trends of modern society and the masses.

Whether we cite our sources or not, everybody is forming opinions and ideas based on different influences; from pop-stars to politicians, and from the media to our mothers. As spiritual aspirants, we follow an ancient Sanskrit principle entitled sastra caksus - seeing life through the eyes of the scriptures. We form our opinions around that.

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