by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 44
October. 2004

THE DEBATE- FORM OR FORMLESS?

Part 1

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

Having It indeed greatly helps the mind. The mind, because of its association with the sense objects and brought-forward impressions of past lives, (sanskAras), remains clouded and disarranged, until it is purified. At the initial stages, when it is called upon to focus on a formless entity, it is an extremely tall and impossible order. All along in my conscious state (and even in my dreams) I have lived in a world defined by forms, shapes and grossness, which, I can touch and feel. If told that all these are wrong, it is like explaining college level topics to a student of nursery.

The problem is serious for all forms of Yoga. In Jnana Yoga, until one reaches a higher level of understanding, the mind searches for an object first, to explore the presence of the attributes of consciousness. If the sweetness of honey has to be learnt about, the mind will need to have honey first to taste. In Karma Yoga, the mind searches for an object of reverence to whom one must surrender the works, or karma. In Bhakti Yoga, where a relation of love predominates, the problem is more serious. There can not be love without a ‘beloved’ which the mind of the ‘lover’ can hold on to.

The wise seers of our past, understood well this predicament of the mind, of the un-enlightened mind. The concept of a personal God with definite form, on which the mind can focus and worship, was the most logical solution at this level of understanding. When the mind graduates later into purer and purer state, it will eventually discard this concept as a child discards the primary books of knowledge as it grows up and acquires higher knowledge. But at this stage there cannot be a better solution for keeping the mind on track.

So much so that weaving an elaborate web of puranas, itihasas and other literatures, which serve as primaries for the juvenile mind, the process of conditioning of the mind is made most effective.

It is indeed a practical step to this difficult task of sadhanA.

(A small but significant point to note here is the aspect why as part of our education the children are made to read the stories from our puranas and itihasas compulsorily. At least in Indian family custom, that used to be the case till not so long ago. It is the process of conditioning and training the young minds so that at later years it can comprehend the intricacies of Upanishads and Brahmasutras. Unfortunately some foolish thinking has succeeded in eliminating this element from our educational system and as result, creating warped intellectuals out of our children. But that is another issue altogether)

So form of a personal God, becomes an essential requirement of our spiritual training. Since the objective of the form is to attract the mind and make the mind happy and comfortable with, one can understand why most of our Gods are so nearer to life and most importantly, why most are so beautiful to behold. We have this attractive form of Krishna. Aakarsati sah Krishna- Krishna attracts. Rama ramate- Rama delights everyone. He is ramaniya i.e pleasing to eye. Shiva as the name indicates is the benevolent god of all. The Devis are beauty glorified, apurvasundari. Not only the physical but the attractive sentiments like love, compassion, power to remove obstacles, etc. are inherent qualities of these concepts. The power in them is such that once attached, the mind can not detach itself from them.

So, before we understand anything about formlessness, we begin our study with forms. Take an example from life itself. When we were little children, the books we were given to read were profusely illustrated. Our untrained minds related better to forms and illustrations. As our knowledge grew and we went deeper into subjects, the need for illustrations and pictures assumed less and less importance. And finally when knowledge reached maturity a mere indication – a sutra, was good enough to drive home the point.

Something similar takes place also in our spiritual education. The divine Brahman has manifested itself in myriad forms in the creation of His in the minds of jivas (individual souls), all within the scheme of things so that the ascent of the jiva to final state of knowledge becomes possible. The layers of ignorance lift gradually and progressively. All these are like part of a master curriculum.

Starting from these initial concepts, as the mind improves in understanding through yoga, more intricate facets are taken in by the mind. The mind starts attaching more importance to the esoteric subtle contents of Godhood which may appear even grotesque to the juvenile mind. Even a KAli or Rudra attracts the devotee. As the mind goes higher and higher the forms become limitless. In the description of Omnipresent, universal image of Viswaroopa of Bhagavad Gita, we see the Lord assuming every conceivable form, from vicious to pleasing, from gigantic to minutest, from benevolent to fearful and what not. That ofcourse is not in the realm of an impure base mind but higher enlightened mind, tellingly symbolized by Krishna’s gift of divine eyes (divya cakhsu) to Arjuna to be able to behold his universal form. Divya cakhsu is extra enlightenment. When seen through higher and enlightened mind, all forms are God’s forms.

It is true that for the vast majority of people, who are still under influence of material world of BI, a formal personal God and unflinching devotion to that personal God gives enough peace of mind. But that stage as our seers having personal experience have told us, is not the ultimate aim of Yoga. It is not the final goal of our divine existence. It is far from the absolute perfection that we aim to achieve. It is way below the absolute consciousness of the pure knowledge- the chaitanyaghana. It is by no means satchidAnanda- the truth, its realization and the ensuing bliss.

So the seeker must seek further. So far there might have been gains no doubt. The concepts of forms have been great supports for the continuation of the journey. But to rest there, and remain satisfied with imperfect truth, would be a great loss of all that has been gained. The quest must go on