Here is my understanding, it is possible to be spiritual without being religious. Having said that, this is a very deep and personal choice.
My underlying assumption is that self realization is the purpose of this life. If that is true then there are many paths leading to Yoga.
However the Yogic life has its basis on change in the attitude of the person and whether this attitude is maintained 24x7.
Even fundamental query is that does this person has the quest to realize his true self. Whether his heart beats & yearns for self realization?
Moksha doesn't mean no more births. It means that the person, "Purusha" doesn't take births, he takes different bodies.
When a person transcends the layers of Physical kosha, pranayamaya kosha, manonmaya kosha, Vignanamaya kosha during his present birth. Then he reaches the fifth stage- atmic plane. This Atmic plane has 3 sub divisions- Purusha, parama purusha, purushottama.
If any person in his/her birth is able to transcend the first 4 stages and gets established in 5th stage he gets a touch of Atma. This person is certain to go until 7 stage. However until he goes to the 7th stage or plane of consciousness he keeps getting bodies, nature provides him bodies according to its demand and he does the work of helping the rest of his brethren. In this divine work such a person doesn't attract any karma like us. His acts are selfless and he is awake to the fact that he is verily the Atma and not the other bodies. His work is only through Divine inspiration. Now this stage can either be reached in the same birth, these people are called Jeevanmuktas or it can be reached post death of physical body if the person has advanced to such levels.
Among this category are the people whom we worship as Jagatgurus. There are several such people carrying the work of lord silently. No religion binds them, essentially they do not identify any karma at any plane hence do not do karma kanda or religious practices.
They do not identify themselves with any body, they see reflection of themselves in every being living or non living.
If the Divine will is that they need to teach people the religious practices then they do that. Example :Ramakrishna paramahamsa.
If the divine will is that they need to teach people who are more evolved and have a tendency to meditate alone then they do it.
Example: Gautam Buddha.
For self realisation to happen there needs a change in the internal core. We have 3 different shells that need to be broken:
Individuality
Personality
Soul consciousness
Let us try to understand this through an analogy: if we take 2 different types of sugar cubes, to the external world of name and form we can accept that they are 2 different sugar cubes. Let us colour these two different sugar cubes with 2 different colours. Now our eyes recognise these two sugar cubes as different with respect to shape and colour, if we further induce a typical smell to these cubes then they also smell differently, if we polish one cube then touch is also different. By adding some additives even the taste can change. Finally we name cube one as Ram and cube two as Shyam and started calling them by those names. Entire process explained is done for vyavaraha. This is all fine there is no issue here as far as spirituality is concerned.
Now suppose someone applies a reversing process and distillation process and mixes these sugar cubes into water and then they lose their identity. Further if they are made to crystallise then 2 different sugar cubes re-appear once more. However we cannot call these 2 new cubes to be the same. Since their earlier existence was lost in the sugar solution and now we got new cubes from the solution.
Similar process happens to our selves, when we are able to transcend ourselves until atmic plane then separate existence ceases, we continue to exist as one in the whole. This is Yoga.
For the above to happen there are various paths. Some of these paths have been followed by a majority and hence the name of religion came into existence. However even before the name of religion was born the path existed.
World as I know has 4 types of people.
1) Fully realized masters- who have taken birth.
2) Earners seekers- who are treading the path. Who are willing to accept a guru, guide or who are letting go of their ego before a higher power
3) The ignorant- who do not know that even such a path needs to be pursued and it is the ultimate reason for our existence.
4) The confused lot of pretenders.
Problem is to distinguish between #1 and #4. We don't have issues with 2 & 3.
Actually we shouldn't be having issues with any of the 4 :) truly speaking. However just for the sake of understanding.
The great Greek philosopher said that one should try to get rid of at least 1 fool in this life and that fool is his own self. Post that he can help many fools around him.
So it is best to leave the deluded lot to fend for themselves until we have helped ourselves with self realisation then we undertake the work of lord. Until such time the only course of action we have is to just love the other person with our heart and try to see the same lord within him as well as us. Remember there is no God vacuum. Everyone in this world is required for our evolution.
We can learn what to do by observing someone and we can learn what not to do by observing someone else.
The above is entirely my understanding and original. I know that I do not know every thing. However I also know that I do not aspire to know all. My aspiration is to know just the real me with the knowledge that this real me is within every one.
Thankfully recently my master was kind enough to open my mind to the higher truth that in reality, it is not that my Atma is the same a your Atma and everyone's Atma. It is that Atma alone exists in the entire creation and that we are living within that Atma.
This can be more easily comprehended if we take the following example.
We all have houses, this we call it our own property. We can rent our property or lease it or live in it. We pass on this property to our progeny.
Spirituality doesn't have any issues with this practicality. Since this practicality is also required for there to be a law and order within humanity.
Although this practicality is also self imposed. Nature has actually asked us to live and in order to protect ourselves from heat, cold, rains we needed a shelter and thus the need to construct a house came as a thought to ancient mind.
In order that people do not quarrel they have accepted some laws themselves that give them a right to their property. Again all this has nothing to do with spirituality.
What we call our house also has rooms and we define an activity within each room. The moment this comes then we come to the concept of how big the room is. This is dependent on space of plot, house and then the room. Essentially the space.
Now the higher reality, is the space within the room or does room exists within the space? If we think deep then space existed even before the room was created. Even after the house is demolished the space continues to exists. Space is untouched by the activity done in the room. Example take the instance of your kitchen, it has the peculiar smell of food however if the house is brought down then in that space you won't get the smell. Space is untouched.
Within the space everything exists and within every thing the space exists. So space has 2 layers like the universal later where this entire universe exists in space and then there is a space within each one of us.
This concept is the same as that of Atma. If I called it space then it appeared scientific and devoid of religion however the moment I called it Atma then you associate with Hindu thought. So reality is beyond the words too. Since these words are also man made to communicate to one another.
A spiritual person see this as he exists within this space hence his mind is no different from the mind that exists in the space. Since if there was no space mind then there was no possibility of individual mind. He transcends from individuality to personality and finally raises to this group consciousness to be able to be live in this world and serve the humankind.
No comments:
Post a Comment