by Sri Bmal Mohanty
VOL No. 28
May . 2003

ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE BRAMHAN - Part 2

"Based on lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

  QUESTIONS FROM THE READERS

QUESTION 1 from Sri Ram Prakash Delhi

My friends tell me that while meditating in front of a relic or an idol of their reverence they get sensations/vibrations in their body. I have often tried this but I never get any such senssations. How can I experience such feelings?

Ans :In the first place, you will be well advised not to expect a duplication of your friends experience within you. This is a very common expectation with sadhaks at the very preliminary stages. Someone says he sees flashes of light and every one wants such flashes to appear before him. Some one says he sees a white clad figure in his dreams and everyone wants identical dreams. These are all childishness coming to the surface.

Physical, mental and spiritual experiences through out the process of sadhana is unique to every individual. No two persons experience the same thing. This is because until we have reached the final stage of purification and perfection the complexities of our existence derived from our individual sanskaras or impressions from our past actions are different with each person. Therefore their interplay with our body, mind and psyche is also unique to each one.

Their may be agreement on some broad aspects such as feelings or happiness, physical and mental well being of general nature etc. But expression of such feelings (either gross or subtle) are very personal and very unique.

Take for example, the mother's love for her child. Whenever any mother picks up her baby to her bosom there is feelings of intense love. But the manifestation of that love, and even the inside feeling in the heart of the mother will be different from mother No1 to mother No 2. The complexities of relationship in each case are dependent on thousands of small things which all exert their influence.

The relationship between the sadhak and the Lord during the process of sadhana is also similar. It is a one to one relationship of Love, comparable to none other. Sanskaras of thousands of past lives, the effect of the thoughts and actions of the present life, the circumstances and above all the level of consciousness to which each of us has risen, the intensity of shraddha or faith within us, and millions of such things have gone into to make us what we are. What chance have two persons to be spiritually identical ?

The relationship between a sadhak and his Lord is indeed unique to each. Therefore the interplay of emotions are unique too. The sadhana of one is not the sadhana of another. It is intensely personal. It becomes more so as we progress. In the way of Bhakti, this personal aspect is indeed the greatest binding force.

QUESTION 2 from Sri PT. R N WATTS, New Mexico USA

Q. Is " DHARMA " not different from its translated and commonly used in English term RELIGION? Because a common man usually understands that observing and performing certains rituals in day to day practice fulfills his requirements of his religion ,without knowing the very purpose behind, or necessity of those rituals and traditions. Some of the people call it as their duty,without the knowledge of the reality . Is it not that because of not understanding the difference between DHARMA and RELIGION, various Sects , Subsects, Beliefs and disbeliefs ,Matta and Mattantaras , Panths have come into existence and all the great religions have divided and their divisions have sprung up creating chaos & confusion about the TRUTH & DHARMA?

ANSWER : Your question itself has touched upon the vital limbs of this problem. All right thinking persons in the world must be equally concerned. As every one knows well, Dharma in Sanatan philosophy in its simplest explanation means 'that which holds together'. It holds or protects the individual from disintegrating from its exalted state - the state which he has reached with the grace from the Divine. The state which is the springboard or his base from where his next step upwards can be made possible. Dharma supports this base. The english word religion is not a good translation of this sanskrt word.

It is the support not only at the superficial physical level but at three levels of human existence. Firstly the physical body level, where it protects bodily functions, our interactions with family, society, community the world and the universe. The entire gamut of our relations not only with our own kind but with all the creatures and objects in this creation are governed by Dharma.  

Secondly the mental level, that governs our actions which separates humans from animals and lower creatures. It is this level where lies the basis of our urge and longing to overcome ignorance and seek the truth, realise it and dwell in the bliss that comes through this realisation. Dharma is the blue print of action worked out at our mental level for our upward evolution.

Thirdly the spiritual level where the seed of our eternal consciousness resides. It is here that we get the first glimpse of our final goal which is our true nature. The glimpse of ananda or bliss. Dharma facilitates and speeds up the process of our journey to this end.

Life without Dharma is a purposeless and wasted life.

You are absolutely right when you say that the true role of dharma has to be properly understood. Only then we can derive the required benefit. Mere ritualistic activities without understanding and intelligent pursuit, takes you no where.

However, everything about multiplicity of faiths, opinions and paths etc. can not be discarded as useless. If the purpose is genuine, then the path followed sooner or later meets the right path. The conflicts between religions should be looked at from the following view point.

Every true religion has invariably three aspects to it. Firstly , The Vichara or the core philosophical thought. Here all true religions have maximum commonality between them. Secondly the Acara or the 'do's and 'don't's or the ritualistic practices to translate the Vicara or the philosophy into actions in life. Every religion needs to have some ritualistic pattern to sustain itself. This is the practical side of Dharma. And thirdly we have Vyavicara or the aberrations which invariably creep into all religions over a period of time. This is because there are always powerful and evil people in this world who recognise the power the religion can have over gullibles and exploit them with fear for their personal benefit. No religion is free from these aberrations or vyavicara. When vyavicara becomes excessive or beyond tolerance, you invariably have advent of great reformers or even an incarnation to clean up and reestablish the religion.

QUESTION 3 from Sri S K Roy

Q. How can we control our desires?

ANSWER : Dear Sri S K Roy- Thank you for your interest in AHWAN and your question about desires. I assume that you are a regular reader of The Spiritual Approach to Life in the website AHWAN, because this question has been taken up in different context in some of the topics covered earlier. While in future also we shall deal with it, let me give you a short answer, which we may elaborate in future articles.

Essentially, all desires are the urges to satisfy our sense organs of our physical body and also (this is important) to meet the aspirations of our psyche or our inner self. When it is related to the physical, it brings only a momentary appeasement but the desire comes back with renewed vengence. The result is utter unhappiness. But its purpose is to precisely teach this very lesson that one would never get happiness from sense dictated cravings. Once this truth is understood, the desires weaken and eventually die.

On the otherhand, when the desire relates to the aspirations of our inner self, it is sublime and divine. Our 'self' being essentially pure and one with the divine, its aspirations - however latent or pronounced that may be- are also essentially towards purity and perfection. The Self craves constantly to achieve that highest level of conscious perfection from which it has descended. That is Satchidananada - the absolute truth consciousness, its realisation and the resulting bliss that comes from the realisation. Such aspirations or desires of mind are not negative and are to be kept burning in the heart of the sadhaka.

The control of negative desires is indeed the heart of Yoga. Two main approaches are suggested. Firstly, seeking happiness from something which is incapable of giving happiness is nothing but ignorance. Remaining in Yoga, practicing the basic requirements of sadhana (Please read the four articles on Preparations for Sadhana Part 1,2 3&4 in June, to October 02 issues of AHWAN), one acquires understanding and knowledge that will dispel the ignorance. It takes time but it works

Secondly all desires have their seat in the mind. The mind by nature, can dwell only on one thought at a time. It can never think two things at the same time. When the mind is indulging in sense gratification, it is dragging you, towards worldly pleasures, unhappiness, more desires and more unhappiness. However if by effort, mind switches over to the Self and its aspirations, it will drop the worldly thoughts and get fixed in the Divine Satchidananda. It is difficult but possible. Remaining in Yoga practices, the effort should be to remain more and more on the positive side and less and less in the negative side. Eventually the positive wins over negative. The worldly desires weaken and die. Yoga is the key. .