Darkness of Ignorance

R ecently, someone asked me a question regarding darkness. "When there is a power outage at night, I can light up a candle and distance the darkness. But, what is wrong with the darkness in the mind? Why is it so difficult to remove that darkness? Why can't I just "light a candle" to distance it? I thought about it for a while, and the ensuing response from those thoughts is the text of this post. Assuming that each one of us has a good side and an evil side, the Darkness of mind can be twofold: One - Evil side (dark side) of us, and Two - Darkness of ignorance. I further assume that the reference here is to the darkness of ignorance and not the evil side.  There is a phrase in Sanskrit - Agnyanaandhakaram - meaning the Darkness of Ignorance. In Bhagavat Gita, this darkness is termed as darker than the darkest substance in the universe.  The darkness of mind (that of ignorance), is the hardest kind of darkness to remove. Why? The only thing that can remove the darkness of ignorance is the Light of Knowledge. Light of Knowledge, again, is twofold. One, the knowledge itself, and second is the wisdom coming from the deeper understanding of such knowledge. "When intelligence matures, and lodges securely in mind, it becomes wisdom" (C. Rajagopalacharya).  Why is it so difficult to bring the Light of Knowledge into the mind? What is the knowledge we are talking about? To bring the light of knowledge takes work - a lot of work. Knowledge, here, is the knowledge of the physical self (I, me, etc., and Jeevatma in spiritual terms), and the knowledge of Self (the Supreme Soul or Paramatma in spiritual terms). To bring in the true knowledge of self (me, I), it takes knowing about ourselves, questioning ourselves, knowing the good side and bad side of ourselves, admitting to ourselves our strengths, and more importantly, our weaknesses and shortcomings. Beyond that, it also entails making a conscious effort to expand our strengths and good side, and marginalizing our weaknesses and bad side. We all know (and strongly advocate) our good sides. But then, we all know and advocate only half (at most) of ourselves. If everyone has good and bad in them, then what about the bad side? While most of us admit that everyone has good and bad in them, as a natural human tendency, we first see only the bad side in others and only the good side in ourselves. Seeing (and admitting to ourselves) the bad side in us and making concrete effort to change the bad side in us takes real (moral) character and tremendous inner strength. Once we posses that strength and gain the knowledge of ourselves, we get half way across in bringing the light of knowledge. If you are not spiritual at all (and don't much care about the Supreme Self), then you are all the way there. If you are spiritual, then the remaining half is to gain the knowledge and understanding of the Supreme Self.  Even if you are spiritual, not gaining the knowledge of the Supreme Self is not the end of the world (and does not mean you are any less of a human being). If you just attempt to gain that part of the knowledge, you are better than most of us. As is said in the Bhagavat Gita (and adapted to the current world population numbers), "For every few million people, somewhere in some corner, one person attempts to know the Supreme Self. Among those who attempt to know the Supreme Self, only a hand full are distained to learn the truth about the Supreme Self and gain complete knowledge". Therefore, the fact that you even attempted to know puts you in a different plane (making you one in a few million). Even if you gain a tiny little bit of such knowledge, you are better off than most of us. If you gained full knowledge, then there would be a shrine built for you and you would be named Buddha (or someone similar).  In any situation, when things go wrong, we are quick to look around us to find reasons for failure. How often do we (even have the courage to) look within us for the reasons for failure? And when we actually muster that courage to look within us, how often do we actually find any reasons within us? And finally, when we do find a measly reason or two, how often do we really admit the validity of those reasons without offering justifications? The first step in identifying the weaker side of us is to offer no justification during introspection. When you are tempted to say "Yes, this was my mistake. But, I had no choice because...", STOP! You always have a choice. Consciously, sub-consciously, or un-consciously, you chose to act in a particular way! Admit it! The realization that we have a choice at every juncture is the first step in acquiring knowledge of ourselves. Then, we dissect every point of failure and identify our weaknesses (or the "wrong" choices we made). Then, we use that knowledge as a shield when faced with similar situations to not repeat the same mistakes. It takes a long time for each of us to gain the knowledge of all our weaknesses and shortcomings. It also takes a lot of dissection of ourselves and asking really hard questions without offering any defense. That... as a natural human tendency, is almost impossible (well, almost... not impossible). Hope that explains why it is difficult to handle the darkness of mind. Simple answer is, it is not easy to bring the light of knowledge that distances/removes the darkness of mind.

cabaõ ૐ õbabd

Also blogged on http://gollakotainc.com/GeneralTopics.aspx  (External Website - Open in new window/tab) Sanatan Dharma Temple and Culture Center Website: http://www.sdtccwa.org/  (External Website - Open in new window)

Upcoming Event: Sri Rama Navami And Sita Rama Kalyanam

Wish you all a blessed Sri Rama Navami. Today, March 24, 2010, is Sri Rama Navami. The Sanatana Dhama Temple and Cultural Center in Maple Valley, WA is celebrating Sri Rama Navami along with Sita Rama Kalyanam on April 3, 2010. On this auspicious occasion, I thought I would write a little note about the significance of both (why celebrate?).

 

Sri Rama Navami is Sri Rama’s Birthday – plain and simple.

 

Quoting Bhagavat Gita, whenever Dharma (or righteousness) faces a grave threat and Adharma is rampant, the Supreme God (Sri Maha Vishnu) himself will come down to earth to punish the wrong doers and save the righteous. Hindu Puranas give a list of 10 such instances when the God Himself incarnated as one of the worldly creatures and saved the mankind from the personification of evil. Rama (pronounced raama) is considered one such incarnations of the God Himself (Seventh incarnation to be exact).

 

Ramayana, the story of Rama, portrays a story of idealism – ideal man, woman, relationships, evil, and ideal ending to the evil. Rama is known as “Aadarsha Purusha”, the model man (or the “Ideal Role Model”). Rama plays many roles in his life time, including a Son, a Son-in-Law, a Brother, a Husband, a King, a Master, and even an Enemy. In each of these roles, Rama shows how anyone must play that role in an ideal situation. He gives us a benchmark or a baseline; a goal we all must aspire to reach (thus, making Rama the ideal role model). As a normal human being, Rama struggles with each of these roles and the conflicts of interest (Role of King vs. Husband, Son vs. Brother, Enemy vs. Savior etc.) and each time, he comes through with the right decision, outlining which role takes precedence over the other (and more importantly, why). A thorough reasoning from Dharma perspective is given for every decision Rama makes throughout the Ramayana.

 

It is, therefore, a divine blessing to celebrate the birth and life of such a wonderful man and commit ourselves to strive towards the higher goals of life and be a model human being.

 

As outlined in Ramayana, Rama was born on Chaitra Maasa Shukla Paksha Navami.

 

According to the Hindu Lunar Calendar, each month is divided into two halves of 15 days. The first half ends with a full moon (or Purnima/Paurnami) on the 15^th day and is known as Shukla Paksha (the white moon half). The second half ends with a new moon (or Amaavas/Amaavasya) on the 15^th day and is known as Krishna Paksha (the black moon half). Chaitra Maasa is the first month of the lunar calendar. The days in each half are numbered in Sanskrit from one (Padhyami) through fourteen (Chaturdhasi) and the fifteenth day is either a Purnima or an Amaavas. Navami is the ninth day.

 

There… that’s a more complicated and real reason for celebrating Sri Rama Navami – the birth of the Supreme Lord in the form the ideal man!

 

Why celebrate Kalyaanotsavam?

The term Kalyaanotsavam is a union of two Sanskrit words – KalyaNa and Utsavam. Kalyaana ( कल्याण ) in Sanskrit has several meanings including prosperous, good fortune, happiness, and auspiciousness. In regular usage while referring to a marriage, it is used to denote a prosperous/happy/auspicious union of two bodies and souls (marriage). Utsavam also has several meanings including festival, celebration, ceremony, beginning etc. Kalyaanotsavam, therefore, means an auspicious festive and celebrating ceremony of unifying two bodies and souls into one (marriage ceremony).

 

Marriages in India are celebrated with much pomp, typically to tell the world how well-to-do the family is. Traditionally (100s of years ago), marriages were celebrated in Southern India by chanting Vedas and mantras for Seven days performing various rituals on each day. These rituals and Vedas were aimed at cleansing the environment, body, mind and soul, and bring internal joy and prosperity to all the attendees. Due to growing cost of living over the years and the busy schedule of people, the number of days was reduced to five, then to three, then to one and now to half a day. Although the rituals and Veda mantras are shortened, the spirit and idea of cleansing and bringing internal joy and prosperity still remains.

 

Why Sita Rama Kalyaanam?

 

कर्येशुदासि, करिणेशुमंत्रि।

रूपेशु लक्षमि, क्षमया धरित्रि।

भोज्येशु मत, शयनेशु वेश्य।

सत्कर्म नरि, कुल धर्म पत्नि

 

Such is the description of an ideal wife according to Hindu Puranas. For an ideal husband, an ideal wife takes several forms including that of a slave when it comes to working, minister while advising, Goddess Lakshmi in appearance, Mother Earth in patience, the mother of the husband while feeding him, a vashya in intimate companionship, a woman with true good actions/duties – such is a “Dharma Patni” (or wife).

 

Rama being the ideal husband, Sita was known to be every bit of an ideal wife as described above. Never before has there been such a heavenly union of souls, nor will there ever again be (“na bhuto na bhavishyati”). One must be really fortunate to celebrate the union of such ideal couple and learn/strive to be as such. Sita is considered a better wife for Rama than Rama was as a husband to Sita. It is also said that Sita’s love for Rama was more than Rama’s love for Sita.

 

Sita Rama Kalyanam, the ceremony that united this ideal couple, is more popularly known as Sita Kalyanam (and never is it called Rama Kalyanam). Hindu Puranas say that Rama without Sita is like a body without life (cannot exist).  Further, the story of Sita and Rama well-articulates and proves that a husband’s existence is dependent on the righteous wife (saha dharma patni) and hence, the right way of taking the names of a couple is to spell the wife’s name first and then the husband’s name (Mrs., and Mr. Shastri, or Smt., and Sri. Yogeshwara Sharma). Such a model couple is Sita and Rama, who have been guiding marital unions for 1000s of years and generations.

 

In the modern day’n’age, with disintegrating families and high divorce rate, it is all-the-more important to celebrate the union of Sita and Rama, learn from their marriage life, and strive to strengthen marital and family bonds.

 

The actual Sita Kalyanam is said to have taken place on Margashirsha masa Shukla paksha Panchami, the fifth day of the Margashirsha masa (November/December), and is celebrated by Hindus worldwide on that day. However, performing, witnessing, or attending Sita Rama Kalyanam on any auspicious day at any temple or an auspicious location is considered immensely fortunate. The location where such a wedding is performed or celebrated is blessed by the gods and received not only by the location and the performers, but also the attendees. The aura of the auspiciousness fills the hearts, minds and souls of the attendees.

 

May the gods bless everyone. Sarvam Sri Sita Rama Arpanam!

 

cabaõૐõbabd

Also blogged on http://gollakotainc.com/GeneralTopics.aspx  (External Website - Open in new window/tab) Temple Website: http://www.sdtccwa.org/  (External Website - Open in new window/)