Every
believer wants to love God, in their own way. Everyone wants to profess their
love. Most display it externally and even the few who do not, internally know
about their love for God. But, this is not the complete story. Just like in a
love story, one person declaring their love for the other is incomplete without
the other person acknowledging it; one needs a validation of one’s love from
God. Very advanced spiritual seekers are only focused on having this
acknowledgement. One can find this in the lamentations borne out of deep
bhakthi, be it in the case of Meera for Krishna or Bhadrachalam
Ramadas/Thyagaraja pining for Rama or Ramakrishna Paramahamsa for Kali.
Most
religions will give a blanket statement that God loves you specially or will
bind you to accept that God’s love is given. Only in Hinduism, we get some
definite clues. Though there is no question that all of us loved and cared by
God, just like we love all our fingers, yet still give special place for our
ring on one of our fingers, there is a clear indication of God liking certain
traits which makes us more endearing in HIS eyes.
In Bhagavad
Geeta, Krishna, gives a clear insight into what qualities in a devotee or spiritual
aspirant attract HIS attention. This list must not be construed as Ishvara not
liking other people, typical to Abrahamic God’s likes and dislikes. The list
enumerated merely aligns the individual to quickly climb the rungs of the
ladder of spiritual progress. These are more like the common denominators
Krishna finds in all evolved devotees or aspirants. Hence acquiring these
traits will enable the individual to mirror the mindset of an advanced seeker.
All these character aids will enable in the easier mitigation of Vasanas (Read
more on Vasanas – A key to understand our past, present and future)
In Chapter 12 of Bhagavad Geeta, Krishna
enumerates these traits in the 7 verses 12.13-19, highlighting the
characteristics of a Man of Perfection. Swami Chinmayananda deems these 7
verses as perhaps among the best stanzas of poetic expression. Not wanting to dilute his brilliant
commentary, I have included the following snippet from his book.
“Generally hasty students of
Hinduism have learnt to repeat the accusation leveled against Hinduism by the
cheap Missionaries, that in the Vedantik concept of an Infinite, Unmanifest,
All-powerful, Non-dual Truth, there is no scope for any ethical scruples and
moral obligations. In no other religion do we find the highest moral instructions
and the noblest ethical rules so convincingly laid down and insisted upon as to
the very foundation of a seeker’s spiritual unfoldment, as in the Gita. And the
Gita is the cream of the Upanishads.
Moral
rules and ethical codes of behavior are in Hinduism not arbitrary commandments
thrust upon its followers by a Son of God, or by a Messiah. These rules of
conduct are copied from the behavior of God-men who had attained the spiritual
perfection and had actually lived among us. Seekers are those who are striving
hard to attain the spiritual experience of those Saints and Seers. A devotee
who is trying to attune himself with these Masters of Yoga should necessarily
start at least copying their external behavior and mental beauties, which
constitute the moral and ethical rules prescribed in our religion.” – Swami Chinmayananda
The
interesting element of this approach is very scientific, if one were to follow
the recipe, the outcome is guaranteed and not one on mere blind faith.
In this
series, we will take the first couple of these selected verses together, to
gain deeper perspective. Let us not make these traits as the sour grapes beyond
reach, as they are all present in a dormant state in even the worst amongst us.
Most of us have one or more already developed. Swami Sivananda has distilled the wisdom of all these
characteristics and much more in his book, How to cultivate Virtues and
eradicate Vices. I highly encourage getting this book and using it
as a roadmap to traverse the minefield of the mind.
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च ।
निर्ममो निरहंकारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥ 12-13
निर्ममो निरहंकारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥ 12-13
संतुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः ।
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः॥ 12-14
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः॥ 12-14
adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva cha
nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣhamī
santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
He
who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free
from attachment and egoism, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving,
Ever
content, steady in meditation, possessed of firm conviction, self-controlled,
with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां
– Hates no creature – The Man of Perfection is atleast predominantly Saatvic, if not risen above the pressure of the Gunas. A Saatvic person, according to Bhagavad Gita 18.20 sloka (Sarva-bhutesu
yenaikam bhavam avyayam iksate Avibhaktam vibhaktesu taj jnanam viddhi
sattvikam) has wisdom permanently seated in him to identify the omnipresent, the indivisible Almighty among all beings. Once such wisdom has dawned in the bosom of the individual, he/she perceives one as a part of a cosmic individual. Will the finger poke one's eye for pleasure? How will hating any creature be even a possibility when one perceives the Cosmos as one's conscious body extent?
करुण - Compassion – The primary characteristic
of this trait and also with the others listed is the prominent absence of
Selfishness. Compassion is fellow feeling or the sorrow of the sufferings of
another, according to Swami Sivananda. This is not the feeling evinced seeing
the plight of one’s family or merely humanity, but it extends more deeper
towards all living beings. Vallalar, a saint from South India, exclaimed வாடிய பயிரைக் கண்டபோதெல்லாம் வாடினேன்
("Vadiya payirai kanda pothellam Vadinen"). It roughly translates to his
expressing anguish whenever he saw even a wilted plant. If one sees such a
feeling strongly within a limited boundary of family, nationality, religion,
yet fails to have even a trace of it outside, then such a feeling definitely
does not quality as true compassion.
निर्ममो - Free from attachment - The twin aspects
of attachment are Raaga (Like) and Dvesha (Dislike). This aspect, just
like the others are both a preparatory step (at the beginning of this
preparatory step) as well as the end result. This attachment stems from the
following trait described egoism. They usually work as hand in glove.
Attachment paves way to strengthening of the vasanas (Read more: Vasanas – A key to understand our past, present and our future) and the increased frequency of
vrittis (mental waves) and also of increased strength. Cleaving this attachment
gives us an opportunity to break this Samskara-Vritti cycle, which is behind
Samsara. Since attachment is not easy to get rid off, this is a process not a
mere turn on or off.
निरहंकारः
- Free
from Ahamkara / Egoism - Vedanta views EGO as a
central aspect of Maya. Patanjali refers it as Asmita. Swami Sivananda calls it
as Commander in Chief (of spiritual enemy forces). Initially at lower rungs of
spiritual progress one may not even encounter this potent force. This is the
self arrogating principle in man. Swami Sivananda views egoism of three kinds,
the first two being beneficial and superior. The first is the Supreme,
undivided ego, which is eternal and pervades the world. This is also referred
in the Mahavakya, Aham Brahma Asmi – I am Brahman. This is Saatvic egoism,
liberates man from bondage. Rajasic egoism is the one found is Jivanmuktas, highly evolved spiritual
beings. This includes the knowledge of the Self. One is reminded of Janaka, of
Upanishadic lore. He acted in the world, yet was aware of the Self.
The third is
Tamasic ego, found in all humans. This causes identification of oneself as the
body. This is at the root of samsara. Unless this type of Ahamkara is quelled
with the help of the other two ahamkaras, one finds one tossed in the turbulent
seas forever. Great sages opine, this ego is also of two subtypes – gross
(sthula) and subtle (sukshma). Identification with the gross body egoism is
usually a big obstacle in spiritual path and can be overcome by destroying
pride, selfishness, desires and identification as body. The subtle egoism is
more powerful to overcome and more dangerous. This is associated with the mind.
This is the ego a rich man feels, I am a good philanthrophist. It morphs as a
feeling, I did very good meditation, I am a good Yogi. It becomes a subtle
underlying feeling that I am a good spiritual person, I am a good moral person.
If
you kill the commander of an army, you can very easily subdue the soldiers.
Even so, if you kill the commander- egoism in the adhyatmic battlefield, you
can easily subdue the soldiers, viz. lust, anger, pride, jealousy, greed,
delusion, hypocrisy, who fight for their master – egoism. – Swami Sivananda
A Karma Yogin destroys egoism by
self sacrifice. A Jnana Yogin kills egoism by self-denial, self-abnegation,
through vichara, by using techniques of neti-neti. A Bhaktha sees the
Supreme everywhere and views himself as a mere instrument in the hands of the
Lord.
A person free from egoism is
literally at the doorsteps of moksha – liberation.
समदुःखसुखः Balanced in pleasure and pain – Equanimity
– This is a very oft repeated phrase within Bhagavad Gita. We find it as a
central trait in spiritual evolution. Krishna refers in sloka 2-48 as समत्वं योग उच्यते (Samatvam yoga uchate).
The pair of opposites – pleasure-pain, heat-cold, censure-praise, success-failure,
honor-dishonor make the mind turbulent and go between extremes. Rooted in Atman at all times, one can develop
equanimity in outlook at all times.
Swami
Sivananda’s prescription – Constantly think of the “Samam
Brahman” which is seated equally in all beings. Gradually you will develop
equanimity. Eradicate desires, cravings, attachments, likes and dislikes.
Cultivate discrimination, serenity, dispassion, self-restraint, self-control,
self-denial. You will be slowly established in equanimity.
क्षमी – Forgiveness
– To err is human to forgive is divine. This is an expression of
compassion, to overlook an offence or debt. Pretense of forgiveness is the most
common type. Real forgiveness is rare and must be aspired. There is no
displeasure to the offender, offense or even a feeling of resentment. Kshama is
an antidote to anger, per great sages. This is not akin to begging pardon, be
it for interruption or behavior. Forgiveness is not an act of reconciliation to
the current (in)ability to act and show moral anger. Just as a mother forgives
her children’s mischief, not keeping score of how many times she forgave,
forgiveness becomes a mere outward attitude of deep rooted compassion.
संतुष्टः
– Contentment – One of the greatest riches a mind can possess.
Contentment is the panacea for lobha, greed.
Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial
poverty, declares Swami Sivananda. Peace of
mind is tied to not the quantum of owning objects, but rooted in contentment.
The doors of moksha are guarded by four sentinels – Santi, Santosha, Satsanga and Vichara. Getting one makes the other
three follow. Santosha is perhaps the easiest to obtain as it is involving
finetuning one’s attitude towards oneself.
Contentment quietens the tossing of the mind due to desires. The
Samskara-Vritti cycle gets altered as old samskaras do not get rejuvenated by
contentment.
सततं योगी – Steady in Meditation – As one advances
from concentration to meditation, one reaches a higher state of steadiness in
meditation. A quick check can be made by anyone. Take a steady posture. Close
your eyes and bring to your mind’s attention, your most favorite object, be it
a person, thing, idea or ishta-devata. Try to maintain focus on the thing that
consumes your mind, for the next 5 minutes. Watch how often the mind holds the
mental picture and how often it wanders. If this happens with our most beloved
object and not an abstract one like Ishvara, it merely shows the fickleness of
our untrained mind.
Steadiness in Meditation can be
understood more with Patanjali Maharishi’s Yoga Sutras. Krishna’s mention of
this trait is a good yardstick to measure the mind’s effectiveness is holding
onto the object of meditation.
यतात्मा - Self-controlled –
Self control is the ability to rise over one’s inclinations, desires, emotions,
appetite, senses and mind. The following quote succinctly and precisely sums
what self-control is.
Forgiveness,
patience, abstention from injury, impartiality, truth, sincerity, control of
the sense, cleverness, mildness, modesty, firmness, liberality, freedom from
anger, contentment, sweetness of words, benevolence, freedom from malice – all these
combined make up self-control. It also consists of respect for the preceptor
and mercy for all. The man of self-control avoids both adulation and slander.
Depravity, infamy, falsehood, lust, covetousness, pride, arrogance, fear, envy
and disrespect are all shunned by the man of self-control. – Swami Sivananda
दृढनिश्चयः – Possessed of firm
conviction – Firmness is steadiness, resoluteness, determination,
consistency. It applies to the thoughts, beliefs, action, purpose, mind and
soul. Unless there is a shield of firmness around all the imaginable good
qualities, even they are subject to loss. Firmness has to be deeply rooted in
correct knowledge, else it morphs into obstinacy. Firmness of purpose is
central to a virtuous character and accompanied by wisdom.
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धि – Mind and intellect
dedicated to Me –This is an interesting adjective that Krishna points the
above four characteristics needs to be covered with – Contentment, Steady in
meditation, Self-control and firm conviction. Contentment can also arise out of
a tamasic resignation to fate which is not true contentment. We see many
puranic asuras performing intense meditation practices, even having
self-control and firm conviction to achieve some special boons. The antahkarana (mind and intellect), inner
instrument, dedicated to the Supreme Being is slowly rid of all vasanas. This makes the antahkarana more purer and these
characteristics shine like a jewel of the mind.
We will see the remainder of
qualities loved by Krishna in the upcoming segments.
Om-Tat-Sat
References /
Recommended Reading
·
The Bhagawad Geeta – Swami
Chinamayananda
·
The
Bhagavad Geeta – Swami Sivananda
·
How
to cultivate Virtues and eradicate Vices – Swami Sivananda
