Editor Prof.T.Shivaji Rao,
Director,Centre for Environmental studies,
Gitam University,visakhapatnam.India.
http://profshivajirao.googlepages.com/spiritualhealth1
http://profshivajirao.googlepages.com/lifeanddeath2
http://profshivajirao.googlepages.com/spiritualhealth2
I.KATHOPANISHAD
To know the truth man must learn that good is one thing, while the pleasant is another. Wise men choose the good and attain happiness while fools are attracted by the pleasant (pleasures) and perish due to ignorance and get into the cycle of births.
The obstacle to attain Higher Life is the identification of self of a person with his body. Man has to find this soul within. He must realize divinity of eternal spirit within. By concentrating the mind on inner Spirit, man finds Divine character of his own Soul and its inherent freedom. Due to attachments to worldly objects man cannot see the Spirit within. Realisation comes to a person whose Self yearns for Self Realization that leads to detachments and it does not come from books. Realisation comes due to grace of the Supreme Spirit that dwells within man. The Soul is divine in origin. The Atman resides in the hearts of living beings. Whoever is detached experiences the Spirit within him. The journey of life may be compare and as follows:
1.Body = Chariot
2.Senses= Horses
3.Mind=Reins
4.Driver= understanding (Individual,intellect)
5.Soul ,Self = Rider (owner)
6.Road = Worldly objects
Jivatman is the individual Soul enmeshed in the body-mind complex. A disciplined mind control senses and attains goal of the life, that is abode of Vishnu (liberation). A man of impure mind and uncontrolled senses will get into samsara or cycle of births.
If individual looks back towards the Rider, he merges with Soul. If he is attracted by worldly objects he will be drowned in ignorance and gets into cycle of rebirths. So if man is wise he controls his outer mind with the inner mind and gets realisation. People with understanding (true knowledge)turn their minds inwards and realize the Self within. People with steady mind, realizing what is truly lasting do not turn their thoughts to transient pleasures.
Soul is in the body like fire in the wood. Fire is the same in a lamp or forest fire and like wise soul is same (Being)in all and an enlightened mind sees the transcendent Oneness of all. Illusion is more due to attachments and detachment leads to enlightenment. Personal discipline and meditation that help Soul to detach from worldly things is known as Yoga.
Antaratma is lodged in our hearts, sheathed like the reed plant under its blades. Man should abstract it with understanding, with detachment. The Spirit inside is pure and immortal and is thumb size within the heart. With understanding separate the spirit from the sheaths of the body and know that the self is deathless. Atman or Self is also called Purusha (Divine Being)and is realised by a man of refined and subtle mind through concentration and spiritual teachers guidance, pratyagatman is the self within and a good person turns the gaze of a senses and mind inwards and realises him The residence of the Soul in the body makes the body full of life and consciousness. Antaratma (inner Self) not only appears in different forms but also simultaneously exists in his own,, outside them. Like the Sun who shines on both pure and impure waters and remains untainted, Brahman also remains untainted forever. Brahman is also called prana and sustains the whole creation and to know him practice Aadhyatma with the guidance of a competent guru. For realisation a man must know the art of separating the Self from the body and this can be attained by a direct experience of the inner Self.
II.EESAVASYOPANISHAD
The whole world is permeated by Isa , The God and hence it belongs to God and not to the people who may enjoy it with detachment and hence people are prohibited to develop greed for other’s wealth and properties. People may live for 100 years with detached attitude and outlook So that their actions or karmas will not be tainted and thereby lead to suffering. If people trespass, they will suffer by a hell.
Atman is the inner and the true Self of all. A person who realises Atman sees the same Universal Spirit in all and loves all by ignoring duality. Atman at the Universal level is all pervading, effulgent absolutely pure and is Supreme ruler.
By what experiences or instruments can man understand the Supreme Spirit? By whom? Senses or reasoning cannot grasp Brahman because the subject, object and means are identical. It is Brahman by which the understanding itself functions. Supreme Spirit is that by which the mind thinks. It is that which enables eye to see, ear to hear and breath to move. These functions depend on Brahman and Soul. The senses or mind are unable to comprehend Brahman. Body is not Soul, life is not a sum of all the functions of the body but is a function of the Highest Spirit. One can get vision of Supreme Spirit not by reasoning but only by an awakening. What sleep is to wakening, Soul is life to realisation. Self discipline gives strength of Spirit and to a person thus strengthened, Knowledge gives immortality. During a dream a person may experience fever but on waking up he realizes healthy life and so does Jnana gives immortality to man. All Beings are like electrical bulbs which glow by the power from the Supreme Being who is unknown to them. Tapas dama (Self control) and Karma are the means of attaining Brahman.
IV. SWETASWATAROPANISHAD:
The Soul in man loses consciousness of Lordship and gets chained to the body and enjoy through senses. If man realizes the divinity of his soul he becomes liberated.
The direct teaching by a Guru or Father is essential and bookish knowledge is not enough. More important is the prerequisite of good character and restraint of mind and senses for realisation of the highest Truth. Otherwise, knowledge leads to harm and not to the good. Without purity of character restraint and humility and the guidance of Guru, the utterance of I am God would lead to arrogance, atheism.
V. MUNDAKOPANISHAD
Lower knowledge refers to Vedas and other subjects while higher knowledge is that by which the Ever-existing (Brahman) is realized. Rituals do not give knowledge of self. Soul is like the spark that is thrown out and reabsorbed by the glazing fire and it is of the same nature of the fire and does not exist apart from it. All life, qualities, functions and activities are forms of that single Energy (Brahman). Everything that breath or twinkles moves and lives in Him. All ideas known and unknown issue out of his presence. To perceive this Absolute Foundation of all existence, mind must be concentrated on it. Your self, the arrow must be merged by concentration in the target, the Brahman. The indwelling Supreme Spirit and the Individual Soul are like two birds on a tree clung to each other. One eats the fruits of the tree and the other looks on happily. One is attached to works and the other is free. If a man sees the Universal Ruler in himself is freed from passions and becomes one with the Universal. When the heart is cleansed Brahman is revealed and He is seen shining like burning light within One self. Truth is only pathway to God. The Spirit that yearns for self realisation realizes itself. Yoga that is detachment and self discipline purifies the mind and enables to perceive the Truth. Persons whose understanding is enlightened and purify become one with the Universal Spirit. They join the Supreme Being and lose themselves in Him just like all the Rivers join and lose themselves in the
VI. CHANDOGYOPANISHAD
It deals with the root cause of life. Out of Nothing, nothing could come. Non-Being cannot produce Being and consciousness cannot come out of nothing. So we must believe that there was a first cause, that is Sat, that is Being with consciousness. Sat willed that it may expand and multiply and thus light (Tejas) was produced. The Spirit in Tejas again willed for expansion and multiplication and thus water was produced. Again the spirit in water willed to expand and multiply and it produced all living things in the world. Like the seed which contains the tree Sat which you are contains the Universe. Just like a lump of salt dissolves in water and disappear so is Sat lost from the view but is still imminent in everything in nature. A man who gives up his desires that blind his vision finds his way to the Sat and thereafter waits for his natural death.
V. TAITIRYOPANISHAD
This deals with the moral and cultural values of life like speaking the truth doing ones duties and study of Vendantas. Respecting parents and teacher giving gifts with faith. In case of doubt about right or wrong follow the example of local pious elders. The food and air are sacred forms of Brahman.
All this material has to be studied and digested to make it part of oneself to know the Truth and there are people who had experienced the Absolute.Among those was the famous philosopher,Jiddu Krishna Murthy who propounded revolutionary concepts and it is desirable to know them to improve our own understanding of the relationships.We have to study different philosophies to understand how each evolved person has experienced bliss by following a particular path,remembering the saying that all natural flowing streams and rivers ultimately join the vast ocean.Dr.Annie Beasant chose Jiddu krishna Murthy after sensing that he has the talent to become the world teacher and got him trained in England at Oxford.In 1922,Jiddu Krishna Murthy{J.K.} had a Mystical experience which in his own words is;"I was supremely happy for I had seen....Nothing would be the same again. I have drunk of the clear and pure waters at the source of the foundation of life and my thirst was appeased.Never more could I be thirsty.I have stood at the mountain top and seen the Light"In August 1929,he said,"Truth is a pathless land and you cannot approach it by any faith whatever,by any religion or any sect.I do not want to belong to any organisation"
Jk said"Every individual shall discover Truth for oneself without feeling committed to acceptance of any Religion or Sect of any godman, of any Guru" It was really shocking .Why? "To follow another is evil because it breeds authority,fear and imitativeness"and this essage is under the topic"Are spiritual leaders necessary?"This is shocking. But Jk says"Everyman is a Guru to one self.Look inward,not superstitiously but with a clar and pure mind and you will find all the guidance you want" In Today's world of many self-proclaimed godmen and sects and religions of dubious values,one must ponder over this philosophicl approach to restore peace and harmonise the attitudes and outlooks of people by discussing these basic tenets to get redemption.
I feel that in order to get the basic concepts under the grip,one has to study,discuss and debate the salient features of any philosophy and have the guidance of a Guru and when you attain a certain stage of awareness,then you may find that your personal experiences prove to you that "To Know is To Be" and" Being leads to Becoming"and "To think is great but To be Thoughless is far Greater" when you enjoy Bliss as your individual Soul merges into the Divine.
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