Dharma Kshetra

Gandhiji once said “what I want to achieve, what I have been striving and pinning to achieve these thirty years - is self-realization, to see God face to face, to attain liberation. I consider no sacrifice too great for the sake of seeking Him. The whole of my activity whether it may be called social, political, humanitarian or ethical is directed to that end.”

We are given four goals or purushardhas - dharma, ardha, kama and moksha to achieve life's purpose. But even if the goals are clearly described why is it so difficult for us to attain them?

Sages explain that this creation is God's Maya (divine illusion). Through His Maya, God creates the universe out of himself. As God is Omni pervasive, there is no place whereupon God stands aside as a Creator. He is the Creator and also the Creation.

All things and beings in the universe are called illusion, because they are ever-changing, impermanent and unreal whereas Truth alone is real. For instance, in a cinema, the white screen is real and the images projected on it are unreal. In the darkness we mistake a rope to be a snake. When we see it in light, we see that snake does not exist and there is only a rope. Same is the case with maya.

Ekam Sat, vipra bahuda vadanti i.e the Truth or Brahman is One and scholars call It by different names. Like all the rains that fall from the sky finally reach the ocean, in whatever form a devotee worships the God, they all reach Kesava (the Brahman).

The Brahman possesses three qualities i.e Sat (Eternal existence), Chit (Super Consciousness), and Ananda (Bliss). “Sat Tri Kala Abhasitam” means "The Truth (or Reality) shines across all three divisions of time (past, present and future)."

In our illustration to describe Truth as Atman and Brahman we have used two dimensional format because of limitations in conveying our understanding of Truth. But this Truth cannot be really described as circle or globe or any other format. It can only be perceived through direct experience.

The world is illusion but we perceive it because of space (desa) and time (kala). Of all the five elements space is the most subtle. Out of this space grosser forms such as air, fire, water and earth are formed. Thus celestial bodies and also our physical bodies come into existence. But these bodies are not permanent and they transform from one element to another.

Time is eternal but we experience it relatively. For instance we consider earth's rotation on its axis as a day of 24 hours and further subdivide it into hours, minutes and seconds. Earth's revolution around the Sun causes seasons and we count it as a year of 365 days. From moon's movement we infer the passage of time as fortnights and months. If the earth is moving in a straight line instead of in cycles, our perception of time would be different. The time measurements on a different celestial body can be quite different. Thus our perception of time is relative.

Space (desa or form) is also not absolute because it changes with passage of time. Human bodies, continents, celestial bodies and so on are born, undergo changes and perish. But Brahman exists as the foundation for existence beyond limitations of space and time.

We all know that nature has so many evidences to make man understand the nature of maya. We all come into this world with empty hands and again depart with empty hands. So, all the earthly things are not really ours. Even if a worker earns money as much as thousand workers can earn, still he can eat only one man's proportion of food. Any more food than that causes ill health and kills him.

Much philosophical debates were conducted to answer how to deal with maya if it is not real. One day while a sage was walking an elephant was coming in the opposite direction. The sage climbed up a nearby tree and advised his disciple to do the same to escape from the elephant.

The disciple asked, "why should we run away, is this elephant not an illusion?"

The sage replied "gajam midhya, palayanam midhya (the elephant is an illusion and so also the fleeing away from it'"). He got down from the tree after the elephant went away.

Recognizing that this world is only illusion doesn't mean that we deny and walk away from matter and physical phenomenon. It only means that they are just means to arrive at the end, the Real. All our relationships with people and objects are because of our 'karma'. As soon the debt of karma ends, our relationship with them also ends.

Lotus is born out of muddy water but still stays detached from the mud but contains fragrance and beauty. Similarly we live in the world but stay detached from its impurities and entanglements.

Sometimes we may wonder 'why there is so much variation in the creation?' As explained in the chapter on 'Subconscious mind', universe consists of energy and matter, which can be transformed from one into other. Every thought-energy (mind) and matter is a combination of below three gunas (qualities). No single English word can translate these three words precisely but the below description gives an idea.

• Sattva (goodness, purity, light, harmony or balance). In terms of evolution it is on the highest level.
• Rajas (activity, passion which can be both good and bad). It is ambitious and provides motivation, the will to act, but may also express itself in anger, hatred or greed.
• Tamas (darkness, ignorance, dullness and inactivity). It is the lowest state in terms of evolution where nothing much happens either for good or bad.

The gunas can also be illustrated by comparison with the three states of matter - solid, liquid and gas.

• Just like a block of ice, tamas is frozen energy (inactivity). It has a good amount of energy in the chemical bonds that hold in together, but the energy is locked in and rigid.
• When the ice melts, some of the energy is released as the water flows; rajas (activity) is like a flooded river, full of uncontrolled power.
• Sattva (harmony) can be compared with steam when its power is controlled and made useful in running locomotives and engines.

Gunas are the very fabric of universe, the veil that hides unity in a covering of diversity. Tamas is the maya's power of concealment, the darkness or ignorance that hides unitive reality. Rajas distracts and scatters awareness, turning it away from reality toward the diversity of the outside world. Thus the gunas are essentially born of the mind. When the mind's activity is stilled, we see life as it is.

We can also think of gunas as below different levels of consciousness.

• In tamas there is no choice or awareness; this is complete ignorance of the unity of life and ignorance of any other thing than one's own basic urges.
• Rajas is what we ordinarily mean by mind, the incessant stream of thoughts desiring, worrying, resenting, scheming, competing, and getting frustrated. Rajas is power released, but uncontrolled and ego centric.
• Sattva is the higher mind - calm, self-controlled and stable.

The rajasic person is full of energy; the tamasic person is dull, indifferent, insensitive; the sattvic person, calm, resourceful, compassionate and selfless. Yet all three gunas are always present with differing proportions: their interplay is the dynamics of our personality.

We all have times when we are bustling with thoughtful energy, times when we are peaceful and times when we feel dullness or inertia to do anything. We are the same person; we are simply experiencing the play of the gunas. As long we identify with mind and body, we are at the mercy of this play.

But our real Self is not involved in the gunas' interaction; it is witness rather than participant. To realize our true Self, we need to rise from Tamas to Rajas and from there to Sattva and finally transcend beyond Sattva guna.

It is the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas - that bind the immortal soul to the body (The Bhagavad Gita 14:5).

Sattva, even though pure and luminous, binds us with attachment to wisdom and happiness. We might become arrogant of our knowledge (The Bhagavad Gita 14:6)

Rajas is passionate and binds us in selfish desires and pleasures (The Bhagavad Gita 14:7).

Tamas, born out of ignorance binds us through laziness, sleep and inaction (The Bhagavad Gita 14:8).

Those who rely on this wisdom will be united with Bramhan. For them there is neither rebirth nor fear of death (The Bhagavad Gita 14:2).

By serving Bramhan (all beings in the universe) with steadfast love, a person goes beyond the gunas. Such a one is fit for union with Brahman (The Bhagavad Gita 14:26).

Being pure, Sattvic nature enables spiritual advancement. But even in this state a problem may arise when a person finds pleasure in sacred knowledge and becomes arrogant of it. It is called Sattvic ego. Any pleasure, even good ones, creates attachments. They are like gold ropes, binding the soul to the pain and suffering of the material world.

In Rajasic person, desire goads him into action and creates a sense of doership in the mind. It spawns a thirst for acquiring and clinging to worldly things - to people and pleasures that attract senses. This attachment, when opposed, causes anger. Anger makes a person lose control over his emotions, does not let him think properly, and clouds his judgement of what is right and what is wrong. He soon follows his doom.

All things in nature are just combinations of three attributes - even the mind, senses, and objects that attract the senses. The person who transcends beyond these three attributes is in essence transcending nature itself. Such person unites with God and gets liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Maya can be both delightful and treacherous. To transcend beyond Maya of three gunas and achieve liberation Sanatana Dharma prescribes simultaneous practice of all four paths - Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga.

The above four paths are not mutually exclusive and contradictory but suit differently based on an individual's temperament and level of maturity. Jnana yoga is better suited for people who are intellectual in nature. Bhakti yoga is better suited for people who are emotional in nature. Raja yoga is better suited for people who are contemplative. Karma yoga is better suited for people who are very active.

Though we may choose one main path, we need to practice other paths too. This is because jnana Yoga is the solution for tamasic ignorance and teaches us to live in accordance with dharma and law of karma. Karma Yoga is the solution for inaction caused by sattvic calmness and happiness. Raja Yoga and Bhakti Yoga are the solutions for agitations and selfishness caused by Rajasic desires and activities.

Truly God is present everywhere. Just as sunlight reflects well in clean water, and not in water covered with dirt, God can be found to a greater degree in a pure person. Individual water drops share the majesty of mighty Ocean. So, spiritual pursuit is a process of purifying ourselves and also loving God present in others. Thus service to mankind is service to God.

Most people know about dharma, karma, what is right and what is wrong. They want to do the right thing, yet they end up doing the wrong thing. They are exactly in the position of Arjuna, who asked the same question that we might also ask: What is this hidden force or power which compels a person to do wrong, even when he resolves to do right (The Bhagavad Gita 3-36)?

To answer this question several belief systems came up with ideas such as 'devil', 'saitan', and so on and explained that this is the work of an evil person with devilish appearance residing outside of human beings.

Because God is present everywhere, there is no place where devil can really exist. Krishna explains that the real culprit for evil is Rajasic nature. He cautions Arjuna to be aware of the dangers of rajasic nature inherent in human mind. Rajasic nature compels a person to move in the direction of the myriad objects of senses. Rajas has below two aspects.

• Kama-passion-lust, the force that causes attraction and love and the many kinds of likes
• Krodha-anger-hate, the force of repulsion that produces the many kinds of dislikes.

It is selfish desire and anger, arising from the guna of rajas, that are the appetites that cannot be satisfied. (The Bhagavad Gita 3-37).

Just as fire is covered by smoke and mirror is obscured by dust and embryo rests deep within the womb, knowledge is covered by selfish desire. (The Bhagavad Gita 3-38).

Selfish desires never end. The moment one is satisfied, another one springs. When a selfish desire is unfulfilled, it causes anger. Anger destroys discrimination in a man about what is right and what is wrong. He resorts to evil thoughts and actions.

Then we may wonder 'how to overcome rajasic nature?

Selfish desire is found in the senses, mind and intellect, misleading them and burying the understanding in delusion. (The Bhagavad Gita 3-40).

Fight with all your strength, Arjuna. Controlling your senses, conquer your enemy, the destroyer of knowledge and realization. (The Bhagavad Gita 3-41).

The senses are higher than the sense objects, the mind is higher than the senses, the intellect is higher than the mind and Atman is higher than the intellect. (The Bhagavad Gita 3-42).

Thus knowing that which is supreme, let the Atman (higher self) rule the ego (lower self). Use your mighty arms to slay the fierce enemy that is selfish desire. (The Bhagavad Gita 3-43).

Just as fire in a glass lamp is covered by smoke, wisdom is hidden by selfish desires. The soul in man is fire and it can get surrounded by smoke of selfish desires. If the quantity of smoke in a glass lamp increases, the fire goes out. Similarly, if selfish desires and passions are powerful in any person, he falls spiritually.

So it is essential that we do not allow the quantity of smoke, our personal likes and dislikes, to increase and envelop our soul-fire. We need to have desires in our control and do not get carried away by them.

Life is a combination of downward pull of animal instincts of our evolutionary past and upward pull where we are destined to reach our divine origin.

To reach the invisible Brahman by using the visible world as a vehicle, the sages have prescribed the below four stages.

• Brahmacharya: A pupil has to learn about scriptures and also about knowledge that help him secure a livelihood.
• Grahastha: In this stage a man has to earn livelihood, support his family. It is his obligation to support those who are in Brahmacharya and Sanyasa ashramas.
• Vanaprastha: This is the transitory phase between Grahastha and Sanyasa ashramas. In this phase a person gradually transfers his possessions and knowledge to the next generation.
• Sanyasa: In this phase a person detaches from a small family and progresses to accept the society and world as his larger family. Sanyasa doesn't mean wearing saffron robes and living in a forest secluded from people. A true sanyasi lives in the world and for the world without getting attached to or entangled by it.

To progress in the above four phases there are below two paths:

• Vihanga marga (bird's path). In this path a spiritual aspirant progresses from Brahmacharya to Sanyasa speedily without having to go through grahastha and Vanaprastha ashramas. Great men such as Adi Sankaracharya and Swami Vivekenanda used this path because of their highly evolved nature through several births.
• Pipeelika marga (ant's path). Sages prescribe this path for the majority of men where an aspirant progresses gradually through each ashram, one after another.

When one is awed at the power of maya it seems as though God creates man with a rebellious ego and attraction towards the worldly things and then punishes him for indulging in it. But one has to think deeper. Man is capable of turning either ways - outwards to the material world or inwards to the Self or God within.

A mother plays hide and seek game with her child but all along makes it easier for the child to find her. The twinkle in the eyes of child after finding mother again is priceless. Similarly God as the Inner Guide always makes it easy for a person to find Him, who is in fact never separate but always within. In that sense the life a great cosmic hide and seek game.