Dharma Kshetra

In this path a seeker does self-enquiry as to 'who am I'? He may find sacred texts useful for study, of which important ones are mentioned in this chapter. There are two classifications of texts - (that which is heard) and (that which is remembered).

• The Shruti refers to the body of most authoritative texts not authored by any person and hence called s. They are considered revelations received by in intense meditation. They include the four Vedas: the , the , the and the . Each Veda has been sub-classified into four major text types - the (mantras), the (text on rituals), the (commentaries on rituals), and the (philosophy and spiritual knowledge).

'Veda' means knowledge and 'Anta' means end. Because the Upanishads are the final or end part of vedas, they are called Vedanta. There was no author named for any Upanishad. There are 108 , of which the below ten are the most important.

• Isha
• Kena
• Katha
• Prashna
• Mundaka
• Mandukya
• Taitiriya
• Aitareya
• Chandogya
• Brihadaranyaka
• The Smriti are texts attributed to an author. As a derivative work they are considered less authoritative than Shruti. They include the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita the , the , shad darshanas or six philosophies (Nyaya, , , , and ) and so on.

When a man asked Gandhiji if the scriptures are infallible guides, he answered as under.

In Hinduism we have got an admirable foot-rule to measure every Shastra and every rule of conduct, and that is Truth. Whatever falls from Truth should be rejected, no matter wherever it comes from, and therefore the burden lies on the shoulders of that person who upholds a practice which is inconsistent with Truth, so that if a man wants to defend, for instance, untouchability, he has to show that it is consistent with Truth. Unless he shows that, all the authorities that he may cite in support of it are to me irrelevant."

Gandhiji said that when doubts and disappointments filled him with sorrow, he turned to the for answers. He regarded Ramarajya not as a Hindu religious state, but as the Kingdom of God or a true democracy where even the poorest and weakest citizen can receive swift and equal justice. He regarded the Upanishads as a profound source of spiritual truth, unity, and moral strength.

Practitioners of jnana Yoga use their viveka (discrimination) to distinguish themselves from body, mind, senses, and intellect until they know that they are nothing but the Self. This is called 'Neti Neti (Not this Not this)' approach which is to understand Brahman by first understanding what is not Brahman. Through a gradual process the seeker negates the mind and transcends all worldly experiences that are negated till nothing remains but the Self.

The Three Bodies (Sariras) & Five Sheaths (Koshas):

According to Taittiriya Upanishad, every one of us has five koshas or sheaths. These can be grouped into three bodies. The first two - physical body and vital force are called the sthula sarira (gross body). The next two - mental body and intellect are called sukshma sarira (subtle or astral body). The last one - bliss sheath is called the karana sarira (casual body).

• Gross Body (Sthula Sarira)
• Annamaya Kosha (food sheath): This sheath is our physical body and is the densest of all the koshas. It includes flesh, bones and also the tissues which make up our muscles and organs. Here, energy is solidified into matter and it is made of the five elements, of which the earth element is the dominant one. It is called the food layer because it is created by the food that we eat.
• Pranamaya Kosha (energy sheath): This kosha is the vital life force that moves through the body. It literally consists of the breath and the five pranas, namely: prana, apana, udana, samana and vyana. These forms of prana control various functions within the physical body, and without prana, the body would be lifeless, and unable to move or think. It is the prana that makes the blood flow, carries impulses through the nerves from our body, to the brain and back.
• Subtle Body (Suksma Sarira)
• Manomaya Kosha (mind sheath): This kosha is made up of our thoughts, feelings and emotions. It is through the prism of this dimension that we perceive the world and our likes and dislikes (raga and dvesha) via the agency of the five senses.
• Vijnanamaya Kosha (wisdom sheath): In this kosha we reach intuitive knowing and higher levels of consciousness. In this sheath the awareness of the body and mind is lost, and awareness is established as the 'higher' mind. We know, decide, judge, and discriminate from the wisdom part of ourselves, our higher consciousness. Consequently, the higher mind turns within towards the soul, seeking the Truth, and searching for the eternal center of consciousness.
• Causal Body (Karana Sarira)
• Anandamaya Kosha (bliss sheath): It is the spiritual or causal body, where, finally, you become one with the 'divine spark,' which is your soul. Anandamaya kosha is connected to the superconscious mind. It is only when the higher mind fuses with the superconscious mind, (or unconscious mind) that one awakens to the Presence with a sense of connection to all.

It is mind that makes a person believe he is body and not Atman. The gross body disintegrates at death. The subtle body disintegrates at rebirth, allowing a person to develop a new personality in his next life. The causal body reincarnates again and again, carrying the karma with it like luggage. It finally disintegrates at the time of liberation, when the Self disengages from the cycle of birth and death.

A person graduated from a class wouldn't be interested to sit in the same class again. Similarly enlightened beings know that life's purpose is not to be born again and again, but ultimate liberation.

To explain the two aspects - Brahman and the world (including individual Atman), there are below three main schools.

• Dvaita (dualism): The most famous exponent of this school is Madhva. Here, Brahman and the world (including individual Atman) are considered to be two separate entities and not related in any way. Brahman here is a purely personal God, usually worshipped in the form of Vishnu or his Avatars such as Rama and Krishna. This school appeals directly to the heart, in the desire of persons to have a God to worship and serve.
• Advaita (non-dualism): The most famous exponent of this school is Sankaracharya. He summarized the essence of his philosophy into three concise sentences. These are:

God only is real. The world is unreal. The individual is none other than God.

The analogy given for Advaita is that of the snake and the rope. In the dark, we may mistake a rope for a snake and for a time take it to be a real snake. But soon we realize that it is in fact a rope only. Once we know it to be a rope, we do not see the snake anymore. The rope had never really existed; it was purely trick played by our minds. So also, although it is only the Brahman which exists all around us, we see the world which is only a reading of Brahman by our minds. But once we attain realization and see that it was Brahman all along, we do not see the world as it is anymore.

• Vishista Advaita (qualified monism or qualified non-dualism): The most famous exponent of this philosophy is Ramanuja. In this philosophy, the world and Brahman are also considered two equally real entities, as in dualism, but here the world is not separate from Brahman but is formed out of Brahman.

The famous analogy given for the above philosophy is the sea and wave - Brahman is the sea and the objects of the world, both non-living and the living souls, are like waves upon this sea. All waves are ultimately the sea only, but as long as we see the wave we think it to be different from the sea. The wave is of name and form only. Other analogies given for this are gold and gold jewellery, clay and clay pots.

The difference between these three levels of Vedanta can be better understood through an explanation given by Hanuman as under.

“Oh Rama, when I am identified with body, I am your servant.

When I am identified with mind, I am part of you.

When I am identified with soul, I am you.”

In the above, the first one is dualism, second one is qualified dualism and third one is non-dualism. Thus all three are correct based on what level we are identifying with - body, mind or soul.

“In fact, every idea of God, and hence every religion, is true, as each is but a different stage in the journey, the aim of which is the perfect conception of the Vedas,” said Swami Vivekananda. “Hence, too, we not only tolerate, but we Hindus accept every religion, praying in the mosques of the Muslims, worshipping before the fire of the Zoroastrians, and kneeling before the cross of the Christians, knowing that all the religions, from the lowest fetishism to the highest absolutism, mean so many attempts of the human soul to grasp and realize the infinite, each determined by the conditions of its birth and association, and each of them marking a stage of progress. We gather all these flowers and bind them with the twine of love, making a wonderful bouquet of worship.”

God, Truth is essentially One and cannot be limited with forms and names. But it is difficult for an ordinary mind to focus attention on the Formless and Nameless. Hence devotees refer to God through many forms and names, just as one individual person appears as a father, teacher, officer or friend to different persons.

For instance God's creative aspect is called Brahma and the associated feminine aspect is referred to as Goddess 'Saraswati', because knowledge is essential for creation. His sustaining aspect is called Vishnu and the associated feminine aspect is referred to as Goddess 'Lakshmi', because wealth is essential for sustainment. His destructive aspect is called Shiva and the associated feminine aspect is referred to as Goddess 'Parvati', because power or energy is essential for annihilation. God's capacity to do great things was illustrated through multiple heads, hands, weapons and so on as a way of symbolism.

There are other aspects such as Agni as god of fire, Varuna as god of water, Vayu as god of air and so on. The images and idols are only means to focus on the Formless, but they are not by themselves God.

All life is perfectly and purely divine and in our innermost spiritual being we are completely one with God, Truth, Consciousness. We are all sparks of the divine fire. Each divine spark, each one of us, is on an indescribably lengthy journey through the cycle of incarnation (birth, death, and rebirth) and this cycle or journey is governed by the law of karma, which is the law of self- created destiny. Gandhiji once said “I have travelled so far, and yet all I have done is, come home”.

We cannot perceive light if there is no darkness. Our understanding of things depends on sense perception and comparison of one thing with another. Similarly there can be no day without corresponding night, no height without depth, no pleasure without pain, no good without evil and so on. Even though there is unity from Truth's aspect, there is always duality and multiplicity in nature, to cause diversity and variations in creation. But there is always 'unity in diversity'.

For a beginner spiritual aspirant it can be very difficult to stay firm in the awareness that he is Atman because there are three layers of ignorance as explained below.

• For instance when he listens to or reads (Shravanam) the great sentence (mahavakya) such as 'Tat Tvam Asi (You are That)', the first layer is removed and he 'knows'.
• When he reflects (Mananam) on the meaning (the word 'That' indicates God or Brahman and 'You' indicates the individual or Jiva) the second layer is removed and he 'understands'.
• When he meditates and applies (Nidhidhysanam) those teachings in life the third layer is removed and he 'experiences (Self-Realization)'.

Hence shravanam, shananam and nidhidhysanam are very important in the spiritual pursuit.

In ancient times there was a man named Vajasrava. He had a son named 'Nachiketa.

Once Vajasrava decided to perform a yagna (offering) called 'Viswajith'. When the chosen god is pleased with mantras and sacrifices, the yagna yields the desired wish.

The specialty of Viswajith yagna is that it gives supremacy over the universe. But the condition is very peculiar. The yagna karta must give up everything that he possesses. It means one who gives up everything alone is fit to possess everything.

In those days a person's wealth was calculated based on the cattle he possessed. Vajasrava donated away only cows that were not useful for himself, the cows that are aged, of ill health and ready to do. He kept for himself all the cows that were healthy and capable of giving milk.

Nachiketa was observing this and became very sad. He thought that his father will go to hell because the condition of yagna is not being followed in true spirit. So we went to his father and asked “father, to whom you are going to give me up to?”

Nachiketa's thinking was that 'there is no possession greater to a person than his own son'. But Vajasrava thought his son was just blabbering something without knowledge. So he did not answer son's question.

When Nachiketa asked the same question second time also, Vajasrava wouldn't answer. But when asked for the third time, he became very irritated and replied “son, I am going to give you up to Lord Yama”.

So Nachiketa reached the kingdom of Lord Yama and met him there. Lord Yama was pleased with Nachiketa's sincerity, and offered him a boon. Nachiketa wanted to know about Truth. Lord Yama enticed Nachiketa to grant all the possessions and pleasures in the world, except knowledge about Truth. But Nachiketa was not tempted by them and wanted to know only about Truth.

Lord Yama was pleased and thought about Truth to Nachiketa. He said there are two paths 'sreyo marga' and 'preyo marga' for human beings. Sreyo marga leads to Truth and liberation. Preyo marga leads to bondage.

The above narration is from Katha Upanishad. In our lives too we must choose between sreyo marga and preyo marga.

The four great sentences of Upanishads explain a man's real identity as under.

Itareya Upanishad says 'Prajnanam Brahma' meaning 'Consciousness is Brahman'. Bruhadaranyaka Upanishad says 'Aham Brahmasmi' meaning 'I am Brahman'. Chandogya Upanishad says “Tat Twam Asi' meaning 'You are that'. Mandukya Upanishad says 'Ayamatma Brahma' meaning 'This Atman is Brahman'.

“You may be born poor. You may be physically weak. But you are Brahman. You have the potential to achieve anything you want”. This is the essence of Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.