by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 51
May . 2005

 


  Atma
 Knowledge
 Creation
 God
 Spiritualism
 Sanatan

 Questions
 e-mail

UNDERSTANDING DEATHLESSNESS OR AMRITATTVA Part4 - (The role of Niskama karma)

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

QUESTION 1 FROM SRI SANJAYKUMAR VERMA (take separately from other querries)

Is pain of death the reason why we avoid death?

ANSWER: Not really. I have no idea how painful my last death or previous deaths were. No one has. Nor any one knows if death is at all painful. Like the cycle of movements between waking state, dream state and deep sleep state, life and death cycles also go on. (Punarapi janamam punarapi maranam punarapi janani jathare sayanam). These are mere changes of states – necessary for our evolutionary process. Why should they be painful? The so called pain is nothing but a mental hallucination born out of our attachment (moha) with the worldly pleasures and possessions which we perceive to lose once this body is taken away..

Once the jiva understands the futility of remaining attached to the world after its utility is done with, and understands the goal of his journey, the jiva will not hesitate to move on, knowing well the treasure lying ahead of him.

The level of fear of death is dependent on the level of consciousness of the ‘truth’ the jiva has been able to be conscious of.

As we discussed in the articles about death and deathlessness, this however does not mean that preservation of life loses its significance. Successive lives, packaged in specific bodies are successive opportunities gifted to us by the Lord for our spiritual liberation. Till that level of understanding has been acquired by the jiva, the nature works on us, and the undying resistance to destruction of the body is part of the nature of every creature. This instinct in every life form so that, because of lack of our appreciating this opportunity, this precious gift is not squandered away.

But once the utility of a particular life along with the associated body, is exhausted and no more conducive to the progressive movement, it is time for another more conducive opportunity, another life, another environment, and thus the cycle moves on. (Recommended reading - UNDERSTANDING OUR OWN POSITION, in AHWAN July 2000 issue, A QUESTION OF CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT – Aug/Sept 2000 issue, and THE CONCEPT OF MANY BIRTHS – Oct Nov 2000 issue)

As you have also rightly mentioned ‘for a realized jeev (the one who has aquired all the jnyan-true-knowledge) death is not a painful process’. So between ‘total fear’ and ‘total freedom from fear’ lies the cause, which is jnana, “The Knowledge”. We all fall some where within this spectrum, depending upon the knowledge that we have acquired so far.

The entire journey has to be understood and experienced by all of us progressing towards our final destination. No knowledge, whether vidya or avidya is without its purpose. That is the purport of the sloka from Isavasya that was mentioned in the article.

QUESTION 2 FROM MS SANCHITA MOHANTY

I am not a very spiritual person. (may be too young for that) But when I see many of such websites, I see many people engaged in sheer abuses referring to religions and Gurus other than their own. Is this healthy?

ANSWER: ‘You may be young my dear, but you have a wisened mind. Advent of wisdom is not dependent upon number of springs that one has passed in this mortal life form.

What you have observed is not only unhealthy, but indeed amusing to say the least. Violent reactions or even derogatory comments about any faith or any person, is the last thing sanatan philosophy will ever stoop down to teach. These outbursts are nothing but expressions of one’s own shortcomings in understanding and more importantly one’s own mental fear.

When people are insecure of their own faith and lack clarity in understanding, they try to hide their complexes by taking an aggressive posture towards others. When people themselves do not practice their own dharma with a pure heart and make a mockery of religiousity and spirituality for their ulterior motives, they try to belittle others lest their own inferiority may get revealed in comparision.

The golden rule is, if the water in my own well is pure and sweet, others will never fail to draw water from it.

Wisdom means picking out the goodness from everything and simply keep away from all else that does not appeal to reasoning, without losing one’s composure.

There have been so many conflicts between different groups vouching different faiths. As history will prove, has any one really gained anything out of it? The animal law of survival of conqueror does not apply in matters of faith. Satyam satye pratisthitam. Truth establishes itself by its own right. Sanatan philosophy was there, is there, and will always be there. Its presence is noticed in every other faith of substance. That is because the same truth is spoken by all. One should constantly try to imbibe that truth. Leave the children to quarrel until they grow up..

QUESTION 3 FROM MS SUE WILLIAMSON

How not to hate some one who has done so much harm to you?

ANSWER: Please pardon me if I have not got your name correct.

It is truly a very difficult task. It is so difficult that when you are really able to eliminate hate completely, you are indeed in the state of enlightenment (tanmay yogi – the yogi lost in Him), the man of steady wisdom (sthitaprajnya).

But what the sanatan philosophy prescribes for common people, is not to get worked up if you have not succeeded in completely eliminating hatred from your heart. Knowing that hatred towards another being is a great load on your back that hinders your spiritual progress, it simply says, try and try again and again. Our internal tool (antahkarana) of mind, intellect, and ego-self, is so programmed that if we keep on trying, then under the constant guidance of the inner voice it eventually sees the light. The effect is soon experienced. One notices that, if earlier the hatred used to swell up even in small trivial occasions too often, now one is able let pass quite a few. That is progress. Soon ten becomes seven and seven becomes five and so on. With this progress a feeling of happiness and achievement grows within. The mind does not fail to sense this, and now becomes a positive ally of ours and will not let us slip again.

When you have an ache in any part of your limb, the advice given is to shift attention from the limb and concentrate on the nature of ache. The healing process starts from there. When a harm has been perpetuated, wise persons do not rush to react towards the person causing the harm. They concentrate on the nature of the harm. Soon they realizes that invariably they are also responsible for what has happened. Nothing happens to us until some way we have invited it to happen by our own actions of the past.

All happenings, always carry a message for us to learn. The person inflicting the injury is merely the agent helping to bring home the message. Once that is understood, the person becomes unimportant. Hatred finds no place to stick to. But through that message we learn to better ourselves. The hand of God works that way.