bitter truth

 

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yagnyavalkya explains to Maitreyi that the self or the atma alone is very dear to each one of us, though we may think we love and care for our kith and kin, etc, and our possessions. This is because the atma swaroopa is essentially blissful and each one longs to attain this bliss. The self is dearer than anything else to each one of us. All objects are valued because we think they give us happiness though in reality no object can give sorrow or happiness always. Thus we shift between likes and dislikes throughout our existence. If some objects cause sorrow, they are discarded. Though one may say one’s wife, son or others are dear to him, they are not really the object of his desire. For, he will not hesitate to assert his rights and views in case differences of opinion may arise. Suppose the son refuses to act according to the wishes of his father or the wife chooses to make independent decisions that are not to one’s liking, then the choice would be to reject them in preference to his own wishes. If suppose a man’s hand is badly infected and the doctor advises amputation, the person surely will agree rather than endanger his life. He would not mind losing his hand though it had served him well until then. The idea is that all these are dear to a person only because he thinks he derives happiness from them. Ultimately it is one’s own self that is the real objects of Love and not others. Everything is dear only for one’s own sake.

Life is full of sorrows, and sastras explain that these are of the nature of Adi Bhoutika, caused by outside forces such as natural calamities, etc, Adi devata, when we are ruled by the supernatural and the divine, and Adyatmika, the afflictions affecting the body and self of an individual. They also state that the root cause of all sorrows is adharma and the hurdles for the salvation of the jivatma are the papa karmas in each one’s account. The nature of Kali Yuga is such that dharma is weak. As a result, when sins increase, it is a sad situation that even the fear of the effects of sin is eclipsed. So, each one has to make a sincere prayer to the Supreme Lord to intervene and help.  As proclaimed in the Bhagavad Gita, when adharma gains upper hand, the Lord alone can overpower it and establish dharma. God is sarva antaryami. It is our duty to seek His help and it is His duty to help. Even the most desperate situation is under the control of the Lord’s Sankalpa. Rama is caught in deep sorrow when Sita is abducted by Ravana. But Providence provides a solution when Hanuman enters His life. The Lord has the power to control even the most vicious of people. It is His swabhava to bring the necessary changes in people and circumstances. He can remove our sins to make us pure in thought, word and deed. Bhishma asserts that the antidote to all kinds of distress is to meditate on His divine names and His auspicious qualities. These have the power to wash away the sins even as the sacred waters of the Ganga. By seeking the Lord, who is the abode of compassion, we will be rid of the tendency to commit sins and thereby abide by dharma.

The search for security, peace and happiness is inherent in all beings, but sadly it remains a futile one for many. Ignorance is the main cause for this, that surrender to the Lord is the only way to make the search fruitful,  The tendency is to search for peace and happiness in things of this world which can never offer it in full. In philosophical terms, inadequate knowledge of one’s atma that is the very essence of immortality is what leads to the mistaken notion of identifying with the body rather than the self. This truth is generally recognised but not accepted in totality by one’s inner being. But at some point of time, in the course of countless births, when through divine grace the jivatma realises the full import of this Vedantic teaching, it is fortunate to search for God. The truth then dawns with clarity. The Lord who is the source of all creation and also pervades every aspect of it, animate and inanimate, and is held to be above the gunas, is realised as also is the essence of compassion. When one surrenders to the Lord, He takes charge of the jivatma desirous of help and emancipation. In the Ramayana, the helpless and pitiable Sugriva, who is alone and abandoned by all, is shown to be graced by the Lord. Rama goes to see him and offers His help, but makes it appear as if He is in need of Sugriva’s help. It is this remarkable trait of boundless compassion that is the cause of faith in the human mind.