There are three states of sleep – Jagrat (wakeful state), Swapna (dream state) and Sushupti (deep sleep state). But, the sleep is the same. It may be called conscious state, sub-conscious state, super-conscious state and unconscious state. The conscious state is related to the senses. In dream, it is the sub-conscious state. In dream also, you are present. In unconscious state, you do not know anything. This, you call super-conscious or supreme-consciousness. Super-consciousness, sub-consciousness and consciousness are only states of elevation of the mind. People get confused with these things and this leads to differences among them.
Importance of Mind Control
(At this point a student asked Swami, “Swami, even after the Atma leaves the body, there is still life in some of the cells of the body for some time”. Swami replied . . .)
There are no cells, nothing. This is not real life. For real life to continue, oxygen is required. A clock functions as long as you key it. Without the key, even the ‘seconds’ hand won’t move. Similarly, a toy doll will not dance if you do not key it. Once the key unwinds, it will stop dancing. So too, the body moves with the force of oxygen. After the soul departs, the body is no longer Shiva (auspicious). It is Shava (dead body). It is the Atma within the body that is responsible for the working and functioning of the body. As long as there is current, the bulb will glow. If current is not there, there will be no light. Similarly, it is the Divine power that makes everything work in the body.
The body can be compared to a car. The eyes are like bulbs and the mouth is the horn. Our limbs are the tyres and the stomach is the petrol tank. The mind is the steering and the intellect is the switch. The wheels will move as per the steering. So the mind moves the limbs. Without mind, there is no life. That is why it is said, "Mana Eva Manushyanaam Kaaranam Bandha Mokshayoh" (Mind alone is the cause for both bondage and liberation). Controlling and subduing of the mind is important. After the death of Ravana, Mandodari came and saw her dead husband and said, “I thought you had controlled your senses, but you only subdued them for a while. So, they arose again and brought your end.” Subduing the senses is different from controlling the senses. And controlling the senses is different from withdrawal of senses. You may lose control anytime, but the withdrawal of the mind from the senses will end the misery caused by the mind. Hence, sense-control is important. Ravana did penance and gained many boons. But it was due to lack of control of the mind and senses that he had to be killed. A bull without a yoke, a horse without a brain, a car without brakes and a man without sense-control are not just useless, but dangerous.
The Story of Shishupal
Harbouring individual enmity, reacting out of disappointment, atheists, and theistic-atheists are the four categories of people who accuse God. The story of Shishupal illustrates individual enmity. Shishupal was born with a congenital abnormality. He had two ordinary hands and two loose hands, making it a total of four hands. Shishupal’s mother was Krishna’s aunt. When Shishupal was born, his mother had a dream in which it was revealed to her that her child’s two loose hands would drop off the moment he would be lifted by the ‘right’ person. From that time, Shishupal’s mother would give the baby in the hands of others hoping that the right person would come and her son would become normal. Many people took the child in their arms, but the two extra hands did not fall off. After sometime, Krishna came to see His aunt. He said, “Aunt, where is your son?” Krishna’s aunt brought Shishupal from the cradle and the moment Krishna lifted the child its loose hands dropped off. But the mother’s joy was short-lived, since immediately she heard an ethereal declaration that the child would be killed by the very same person in whose arms its loose hands had dropped off. Krishna’s aunt pleaded to Krishna, “Oh Krishna, the ethereal voice has declared that You will be the cause of my son’s death. Please don’t punish him Krishna. Pardon the mistakes, if any, committed by him”. Krishna asked His aunt, “How many mistakes of his do you want Me to pardon?” She replied, “Please forgive a hundred mistakes of his.” Then Krishna replied, “Why hundred? I will pardon him for 106 mistakes. But that will be all. One more mistake after that and I will not pardon him.”
In the royal court at Indraprastha, Shishupal continued hurling insults at Krishna. But Krishna kept quiet since He had promised His aunt, Shishupal’s mother, that He would pardon her son’s 100 mistakes. He beheaded him the moment he crossed his limit of 100 mistakes. It was not the Sudarshana Chakra, but the very plate containing the beetle nuts and leaves that Krishna threw at Shishupal. The plate beheaded Shishupal. At that moment, Shishupal’s blood fell at Krishna’s feet. This is individual enmity on the basis of individual hatred.
Kamsa’s story also depicts individual enmity. He heard an ethereal voice declare that the eighth child born to his sister, Devaki, would be responsible for his death and so he imprisoned his sister and brother-in-law. Likewise, Dantavakra’s story depicts jealousy. When their mistakes are not pardoned and they receive punishment, people develop such reactions. God does not will anything without reason. There is no season, only reason.
The Story of the Shamantaka Gem
The story of Satyabhama illustrates the feeling of ego. The marriage of Satyabhama was a peculiar one. Satyabhama’s father, Satrajit, had the mystical Shamantaka gem, which manifested pounds and pounds of gold every day. The possession of the gem had made Satrajit extremely egoistic. One day, Krishna, in a public meeting, frivolously asked Satrajit to give the gem to Him for safe keeping. But Satrajit refused to let Krishna even see the gem. Krishna didn’t mind it and left the matter there itself. The gem also protected those who kept it with them. And so, one day, Satrajit’s brother took the gem with him while he ventured into the forest for hunting. In the jungle he saw a tiger and shot at it. The tiger, seeing the hunter, pounced upon him, and the Shamantaka gem fell off from Satrajit’s brother’s hand. Since he had lost the possession of the gem, he became vulnerable to danger, and amidst all this the tiger killed him. When Satrajit heard of his brother’s death and the missing gem he thought, “Three weeks back Krishna had asked for the gem but I did not give it to Him. Therefore, he must have killed my brother and taken the gem”. Assuming Krishna to be the cause of his brother’s death, Satrajit blamed Krishna for everything that had happened. But Krishna had not even touched the gem. Krishna wanted to prove that the allegations levelled against Him were false and so He went in search for the gem in the forest. Krishna found the dead bodies of Satrajit’s brother and the tiger but did not find the gem. Nearby, however, he saw footprints of a bear. Krishna followed the footprints which led him to a cave. When He stepped inside, He saw Jambavan and his daughter Jambavati. The gem was shining and the girl was playing with it. Krishna stepped inside the cave and asked Jambavan, “From where did you get the gem?” Jambavan responded, “I found it in the forest. I have not stolen it from anyone.” Krishna told Jambavan what had happened and asked him to return the gem so that Krishna could prove His innocence. But Jambavan did not agree. This led to a fight between Krishna and Jambavan. Finally, Jambavan realised the truth and returned the gem to Krishna. Actually, during the Rama Avatar, Rama had promised Jambavan a combat with Him. The Lord fulfilled the promise in the Krishna Avatar. Along with the gem, Jambavan gave his daughter in marriage to Krishna. Krishna took the two of them along with Him and proved His innocence to Satrajit. He arranged for a large public gathering and said, “This Satrajit has falsely accused Me of killing his brother and stealing the gem. I do not do such things. Instead, I have come to punish those who do such things”. Krishna narrated all that had happened and returned the gem to Satrajit. Satrajit asked Krishna to pardon him. He said, “As I have wrongly accused You, I give you my daughter, Satyabhama, for marriage. Along with her, I also give the Shamantaka gem”.
Buddha’s Equanimity
Praise and blame are part of the world. If someone accuses you loudly, then it goes into the air. If someone accuses you within himself, then the blemish remains in him only. One need not care for such things. Buddha also said the same thing. Once, Buddha went to a farmer’s house for begging alms. But instead of offering alms, the farmer started abusing Buddha. He said, “You are eating and growing like a buffalo. Eating thus, you have become lazy. You are not only spoiling yourself, but also the youth”. Buddha continued sitting on the slab in front of the house. The farmer got furious and shouted, “Will you go away from my house or not”? Then Buddha replied, “Sir, to whom will the alms go, if you have given it and the recipient doesn’t accept it?” The farmer replied, “This question of yours does not need any terrific brain work. Of course, if you don’t accept it then I will keep the alms with me.” Then Buddha said, “I asked you for alms and you gave me the food of accusations. But I don’t accept the food given by you. So, the accusations will go back to you only”. Hearing this, the farmer realised his mistake and fell at Buddha’s feet.
Source: Discourse 16, My Dear Students Volume 4; Divine Discourse delivered on April 1993 at Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal
No comments:
Post a Comment