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/)

 

I Am Only Human

We typically encounter a number of kinds of people in our daily lives. Some of them are good and kind to us, some are not. When someone is kind to us, we typically respond back being kind to them. But what do we do, or how do we react, when someone is unkind to us? Revenge has been the oldest of the motivations known to mankind to commit crimes against humanity. A crime many not be a "legal crime", it could be a moral crime or a crime at a spiritual level - cursing or emotionally hurting or abusing others, fostering bad thoughts (thinking bad must come to those who did bad to us), etc. Since we directly did not influence their fate in any "Legal Terms", the human system of law and justice may not get us. However, there is a higher system of justice, known to those who believe in a higher power, that will take its course.

"Retribution comes, behold! For, if a man goes unpunished, his children shall receive. If not, his grand children will bare the blow" -Bhagvad Gita

Even the most virtuous among us have committed such crimes at least once. And the ones who are presumed to have not, have been known in our history as saints. We often justify our bad actions or thoughts against others stating "If (s)he has not done what (s)he has done to me, I would not have reacted in such a way. I am only a human being. (S)He made me act this way.". We blame someone else (or their actions) for our reaction, thereby absolving ourselves of all personal responsibility. We also sight the scientific theory of "Every action has equal and opposite reaction". We seldom accept that we, and we alone, are the masters of our (re)actions. Our reaction may have earned its motivation in someone else's actions. However, the reaction itself is ours. We could have reacted differently, but we chose to mirror the actions of others in our reaction. If someone acted unkindly to us, we chose to repay their acts of unkindness by acting unkindly to them. We could have chosen to act kindly, or ignore the actions of unkindness. But we did not! Therefore, the justification of "I am only human" is just a poor excuse of who we really are. In reality, we acted not in an opposite manner, but in the same manner as them. Further more, we tend to forget the underlying fact of "equal and opposite reaction" theory applying to our own actions as well. We also tend to overlook the resultant chain reaction to our reactions. Take the example of a couple, say Jack and Jill. Jack acts badly towards Jill à Jill responds in kind, acting badly to Jack’s bad actions à Jack is now more upset and strikes back at Jill à Jill continues the streak. This cycle continues back and forth until both destroy each other. Another manifestation is, Jack treating Jill bad à Jill cannot get back at Jack, so she chooses to treat Jim badly à Jim cannot get back at Jill decides to treat Jeff badly à Jeff cannot get back at Jim à and the chain continues spreading bad actions. The psychology behind this is - "If I were treated better in my past, I wouldn't be the way I am today". The fact is, we chose to be how we are today - not our past or someone else. Unfortunately, such spread occurs faster for bad actions and reactions than good. If someone is kind to us, we are kind to them if we can be, or we are kind to others if we can be. The ideal (and spiritual) way is to be at the end of the chain of bad reactions and at the start of the chain of good actions. At the least, we be a link in replicating the good deeds done to us as fast as we can. In conclusion, I offer the following thoughts for your consideration. Our actions, and our actions alone, define us and who we are. What someone else has done to us does not define who we are. How we reacted defines who we are. Motivations to our actions have no place here. Regardless of the motivations, how we act/react defines who we are. Therefore, to better define ourselves, we, at best, start as many chains of good deeds as possible, and watch them grow. If they don't grow, continue starting new ones. If we cannot start new chains of good, at the very least, we must strive to be the last one in the chain of bad deeds/thoughts. What that means is, if someone did something bad to me, regardless of their reason for bad actions, I shall not respond equally with another bad action, nor shall I allow myself to be "just another link" in the chain and pass on the bad to the next. Then, we can claim - "I am only human". Otherwise, we are just "trying to be human" (or perhaps not even trying) and hence cannot claim "I am only human". Som Gollakota (Woodinville, WA) Website:http://www.gollakotainc.com cabaõૐõbabd

Monkey and the Buffalo Budha

Ajanta Caves, in India, offer some spectacular Buddhist paintings with many legends behind those paintings. The one shown here is titled "Monkey and the Buddha as a Buffalo". The legend behind the picture goes something like this. The Buddha, in a previous birth, is said to have been a very peace-loving and righteous buffalo, who wandered to a forest every day grazing grass around it. A very wicked monkey in the surrounding area would trouble the buffalo Buddha by climbing on his horns and playing irritable games. The gentle buffalo bore all the monkey-tricks to practice the virtue of forbearance, saying “Inflicting grief on others to overcome one’s own discomfort is no virtue; As the results of such acts shall not bear the fruits of true happiness. The monkey would have his lesson some day. And he (the buffalo) would be saved from the guilt of inflicting pain on others”. A few days later, a savage buffalo wanders around the trees grazing grass. The monkey, mistaking the savage buffalo for the Enlightened One, tries his tricks, only to be thrown on the ground and killed by the sharp horns of the savage buffalo. The monkey got his lesson for the bad deeds in the end, and the virtuous buffalo is also saved from the guilt.

Excellent story, excellent lesson to be learnt. Be kind even to those who are unkind to you, for they will receive the fruits of their actions in the end.

Here is another lesson I would like to learn from the picture and the characters (and their characteristics) in the pictures.

1. Buffalo traditionally signifies ignorance and laziness – as ignorant as an Ox (or lazy like a buffalo)
2. Monkey signifies mischief, irresponsibility, playfulness, carefree life

 We all have laziness and ignorance in us, and our mind keeps wandering in every possible direction (usually, not in the right direction). It took a buffalo to be reborn as a Sidhartha, with enormous will power and penance, to find the truth about this world and become Bodhi Satva (or Buddha). More often than not, the buffalo in us makes us complacent and does not let us move forward. When we do try to get on the move, the wicked monkey in us gets on our shoulders and head (mind), shuts our eyes to the truth and leads us in the wrong direction. It may take a savage beast in us to slaughter the monkey – but then, from a lazy buffalo, we have just turned into a savage beast – a few steps backwards than a step forward.  

For the buffalo in our above story, it took patience and calm to move forward to Sidharth, and for Sidhartha, it took will power and penance to become Bodhi Satva (or Buddha). For our miniature existences, it takes patience to acquire the light of knowledge and wisdom to beat the monkey and get the lazy/complacent buffalo in us moving in the right direction. Quite often, we use very creative excuses to remain complacent – I don’t have time, I am very busy with work, my husband/wife/kids need me, and when everything else fails, we conclude saying – I am not at that level of spiritual maturity yet; it will take a lot of time.

This is a vicious circle of worldly life, if you ask me! “I am not spiritually mature” à “I am not that wise” à “I don’t have a lot of knowledge” à “I have a family to take care of, so I don’t have time for anything else” à “I am not spiritually mature enough to give up the world yet”. We go around in circles like this. But fortunately, we don’t have to. It is our “ajñāna andhakāraṁ” (or the darkness of ignorance) that is causing us to go around in circles like this. With knowledge and implementation of knowledge, one gains wisdom. With wisdom, one realizes that we don’t have to “give up the world” to serve and reach the lord.

In my previous article, I wrote about practicing detachment towards Karma (actions) and how Gita articulated it. In another verse (“bramhanya adhāya karmāṇi”), the Gita says “The one who performs his duties and actions without any attachments towards the actions or the results, surrendering both unto the God, he would not be touched by the sins of this world – “padma patramivāmbhasa” – like a lotus leaf in water (yet dry and untouched by water). More about this verse at a later time.

In conclusion, I offer the following for your consideration. So long as we have that lazy buffalo in us, and the wicked monkey inside our heads, we remain where we are, without any advancement – either in this mortal world or in the spiritual world. With the stick called Knowledge of the Supreme Self, we chase the wicked monkey out of our heads and shoulders, and make the buffalo get up, shake off the dirt and run toward those green pastures. That will be our run towards spiritual wisdom, salvation, eternal peace and happiness.

Please do share your thoughts and inputs. I greatly appreciate, value and look for your perspectives.

Som Gollakota (Woodinville, WA)
Website:http://gollakotainc.com/Spiritual.aspx

cabaõૐõbabd

Karmaṇyeva adhikāraste...

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेशु कदाचन मा कर्म फलगे तुर्भुः माकेसंगोत्व कर्मणि	karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleśu kadācana mā karma phalage turbhuḥ māke saṁgotva karmaṇi
Rough Translation: The rights you have are over your actions and not on the results of your actions. You should not be the reason for such results,. This does not mean that you must refrain from your actions.

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Karma is usually mentioned in numerous contexts, depending upon the speaker, to mean numerous things. When I asked many the question "What do you mean by Karma?", some associated it with things in general, some associate with only bad things, while some others even struggle to articulate what it meant. The common thing in all these three type of people is, they all associated it with what happened (or is happening) to them. This is because, one of the most common references of Karma implies - Bad Deeds (as in "It is my karma"). However, the meaning of Karma is quite simple.

Karma = Actions; Deeds. Plain and Simple! 

Karma (Sanskrit) means Actions, not the Results. Results Sanskrit are Karma Phala (or Fruits of Actions). The reference "It is my Karma", in reality means whatever happened or is happening to me is the result of my own actions (or lack of actions), and not the results of someone else's. By stating so, we are absolving everyone else from the blame and taking responsibility for the results. There are three different parts in the above verse.

1. Your right is only over the actions (or Karma)
2. You have no right over the results (or Karma Phala)
3. You must not be the reason for the results, yet must not refrain from performing actions

The first two are pretty straight forward. Since we can only control our actions before we perform them, we have every right over them - we can control and perform the right actions. However, once actions are performed, the results shall follow regardless of anything else. Therefore, we do not have any rights over the results. The third one appears a bit more complicated and self-contradicting. How can I perform actions and yet not be the reason for the results? The gīta is filled with such contradictions. The gīta is one giant 700-piece puzzle. Each verse renders a piece of the puzzle and the gīta as a whole is the solution. The essence of gīta is detachment. The third part is clarified when one delves deeper into the part with an understanding of the essence of the gīta. The following is my understanding of the third part. Since you can only control the actions before performing them, one ought to think hard and analyze possible consequences of one's actions. After careful consideration of our actions, we ought to perform the (presumably) right actions with at most detachment, devotion, and dedication to the Lord. The reason detachment is mentioned first is to stress the importance of renouncing all attachment to the actions as well as the results of the actions. This can be achieved by means of at most devotion to the Lord. The devotion will then help us dedicate all the results (or Karma Phala) to the Lord. When we achieve these three 'D's prior to our actions, and then perform actions, we would not be the reason for the results. The Lord and the Lord alone will then be the reason for the results. This will absolve our spiritual Self (or the soul) from all repercussions of our actions. We must perform our actions as per the set of guidelines provided by our chosen faith. Results, such as they are, come from our actions. Assuming that our actions are right, the results would follow. That said, it is important to draw a distinction between good actions and harmful actions. Regardless of their nature (good or harmful) the results will follow. Regardless of the dedication, the repercussions of our actions will be felt by our physical self. This is true whether we perform the actions with our knowledge and consent or without. An simple example I often sight in this regard is - touching fire will result in burnt hand and pain, regardless of touching it with or without our knowledge and/or consent. It doesn't matter if we touched fire because we wanted to burn, or someone has held our hand and forced us on to the fire, or just by an accident. It doesn't matter whether we are grown ups who understand the nature of the fire or infants who don't have such an understanding. The result will follow and be felt by our physical/mortal self. The soul (the spiritual Self) acts a transceiver of the actions performed by the host (the physical self) in which the soul resides. The intentions and thoughts, and the actions resulting from such intentions and thoughts affect not just the physical self, but also the spiritual Self. While the results of actions at the physical level are received by the physical body that performed such actions, the results at the soul level sometimes transcend the physical body. As such, the results of actions performed/transmitted by one soul during the lifetime of one body may thus be received by another body of the same soul. The unfortunate consequence in this transcended results is that the body in which the soul is now residing is unaware of the actions performed by the body in which the soul resided at the time of transmitting, and yet bares the brunt of those actions. Hence the words of God - You (as a body) do not have any right to the results. Your actions shall have repercussions, either while you are still hosting the soul, or the soul moved on to the next body. Towards the end of the gīta Discourse given to the mightiest of the warriors, Arjuna, the Lord himself is said to have clarified - "Dedicating ALL your actions and their consequent results to me, becoming free of all desires by means of the knowledge of me, dispelling your pride, and setting aside your worries and sadness, Oh Mighty Warrior, fight the war.". With that thought, I will now conclude this writing and leave any readers out there to delve on these thoughts of mine, on your own. Please do feel free to contact me with your thoughts and inputs. I do value and appreciate them.

Som Gollakota (Woodinville, WA) Website:http://www.gollakotainc.com

cabaõૐõbabd

The True Essence of Ramayana (Inner Meaning)

"RAMA" itself means "Sarveshu Ramante iti Ramah" - that which revels in everyone of us, the pure light of Consciousness, the Atman, the Self, the Atma Rama. The Spiritual essence in us, can come out only as a son of Dasaratha, One who has conquered all the ten indriyas - 5 gyanendriyas and 5 karmendriyas. It will be born in you and reborn only in Ayodhya (Yuddha means conflict, Ayodhya means where there is no conflict, meaning, where all conflict has ended). In that Ayodhya which is ruled only by the self-controlled man (the one given to self-indulgence and pleasures can have no peace and tranquility) Dasaratha's son Rama is born. This Rama, the pure self, cannot enter into any active participation in life unless wedded to the mind. Seeta (the mind) is ready, She is not born to Janaka by Wedlock. While ploughing the land, he finds Seeta. The mind appeared from the most inappropriate place ever. It is absurd to enquire deep into this. Later you find that the same Seeta disappears into Mother Earth. From mother Earth she came, to mother Earth she went back. From where the mind comes, and where it disappears during Samadhi nobody can tell. This is Maya. Wedded to the mind when Rama returns, he finds that he cannot live in Ayodhya. For, once the mind has come, you start expressing through it. You had to enter the forest of life, self-exiled as it were. So long as Seeta was looking up to Rama, living in Rama, for Rama, by Rama, she never found any difference between Ayodhya and a jungle. But how long can the mind remain constantly centered in the higher divine potential in us? It has to become extrovert, And this is just what happened the moment Seeta looked away from Rama. The golder deer was noticed, The finite, ephemeral, ever-changing objects, start pulling you towards them. The mind demands them. Once desire polluted, you fall. When Rama goes, he winks at Lakshmana, and they both understand that the poor deluded girl is suffering. Seeta is left in Lakshmana's Charge. Lakshmana represents Tapas (austerity). He had no reason to to the jungle. But he left of his own accord, and he lives in perfect brahmacharya, even without sleep. It is perfect Tapas. But then, one cannot live in tapas. The delusion of the other world will force you to give it up. The moment Seeta hears the sound of Rama's voice, she forgets Rama's glory and might and becomes anxious about his safety. She even urges Lakshmana to go to her husband's aid. Once desire enters your bosom, as an ordinary individual you cannot constantly live in tapas. But you can at least draw a line, thus far and no further. But once tapas has been given up, such lines are of no use. You readily step over them. And when you do this instead of Dasaratha, you are confronted by Dasamukha, the opposite character. The latter is an extrovert as the former is self-controlled. 5 Gyanendriyas and 5 Karmendriyas together constitute the Dasamukha. A totally extrovert man lives in the flesh. Such a man is a sensualist and a total extrovert. Materially he can become great as did Ravana who ruled over a prosperous land, Lanka. Compared to this land, Ayodhya was under-developed and village like. Seeta realised that she had fallen down and to prevent a further fall, she firmly said 'No' to Ravana and remainded in the garden under an Ashoka Tree. Soka means Dukha i.e sorrow, Ashoka therefore meand 'not dhuka' (devoid of sorrow). You & I will have sorrow, but we do not recognize it. This is the 'Ashoka' state. Under the tree of non-recognition of sorrows, when we want to remain steadfast in character, we will doubtless be tempted and put to a lot in strain. But in that Ashoka attitude, we should remain steadfast, constantly remembering Rama. The spiritual essence in man can kill and destroy Ravana, the ten-headed monstrocity of extrovertedness. It can do it with the army of monkeys. The monkey has 2 qualities - Asthiratwa and Chanchalatwa - Instability & Restlessness. The thoughts in the human mind have these two qualities. They cannot remain sthira - stable. The monkey cannot remain on one branch, it jumps from one branch to another and from one tree to tree. If it gets tired and sits on a tree, it will still be restless, and scratch all over. Thus, it cannot even keep quiet even for a minute. So too, our thoughts. They can never remain quiet, but keep jumping from topic to topic. The army of thoughts is to be controlled. But at this moment, Vali-who stands for lust - controls them. This has to be destroyed. And how? It can be only done from behind, and not from the front. It is like a person wanting to curb his desire for alcohol. He cannot do it by sitting before the bottle; for the moment he does this, not only is half the strength gone, but the pull of the bottle is three times as strong. Hence every time it is your lust that wins, and not you. So, if ever you want to conquer this lust, you have to shoot it from behind the tree. Vali has such great power, that any time an enemy approached him, half the strength of the enemy would drain away and Vali himself would become three times stronger. So, Rama had to kill him from behind. To whom should he then give the kingship of the monkey clan - the thoughts? To whom better than Sugreeva? 'Greeva' means reins, 'Sugreeva' means well-reined, i.er well-controlled. When the thoughts are under one's control, the army is then available to cross the frontiers and reach Lanka to kill the ten headed monster and bring Seeta back. Jai Shri Rama. -Swami Chinmayananda.

Why do hindus break Coconut in the Temple

There are many rituals among the hindus, which suggest the mode of transcending the personality layers and realising the Self within. One such ritual is offering Cocunut in a temple. The Coconut represents the Karma Phalas or the fruits of one's past actions, which are in the form of One's Vasanas. Offering of a fruit in a temple or to a Guru symbolises the surrendering of such Vasanas. A Coconut has a nice smooth skin covering a mass of twisted and knitted coir within. Beneath the coir is a hard shell, and in the inner portion of the shell is the white kernel containing the milk. Before a cocunut is offered to the Lord, the priest removes the skin along head of the coconut. The shell is then broken and the tuft is removed to expose the three eyes of the coconut. The milk inside is allowed to flow out at the feet of the Lord. This ritual has a deep significance. The outer skin represents the gross body which has an external show of beauty, but carries in its bosom an abominable cluster of desires and attachments which comprise the subtle body. Man has to renouce all his desires to the exception of one which is to realise the Truth. The retention of the tuft indicates this idea. When one approaches a Guru with this pointed desire and a spirit of surrender, the Guru breaks the hard shell of the intellect and exposes the pure Satwic Vasanas (the white kernel in the case of cocunut) to the Lord. The last lingering desire to realise the Truth is also transcended which is demonstrated by the plucking of the tuft away and exposing the three 'eyes' on the shell. The third eye refers to the 'Eye of Wisdom' known as 'Jnana Chakshu' which gives the intutive vision of the Self. The milk flowing out at the feet of the Lord reprensents the merging of the individual's self with the Infinite Self. Hari Om.