Lessons from the world

-Swamini Shraddhanandji

A lesson from the mountains and the trees:

                                           Avadhuta says that he also learnt a lesson from the mountains and the trees. These two are not enumerated  in the list of Gurus but we look upon both these as a part of the earth. From them he learnt the lesson of selflessness and generosity. The mountains give birth the streams and rivers, hence alone rivers are called girijaa(गिरिजा) or adrajaa(अद्रजा). The mountains however do not keep them for their personal benefit but allow them to flow down to the plains for the benefit of the world. The mountains also bless the human beings with trees and lend shelter and protection to the wild animals in the forests which grow on them. Thus all the functions of the mountains are for the benefit of the humanity and others. While majority of the people take care of selfish interests alone, the very birth of the mountains is meant for the benefit of others. Therefore a discriminate person should learn the lesson of generosity and selflessness(परोपकारः) from the mountains(भूभृतः). Similarly one must also become a disciple of the tree(नगशिष्यः). The trees also teach us the lesson of living for the benefit of others(परात्मतां). This lesson of selflessness is popularly known as karmayoga wherein one does not claim the right of the results of one's actions only for one's own benefit. It is like planting a number of fruit trees in ones orchard and allowing everyone to benefit from both their shade and their fruits, instead of restricting the entry into the orchard and enjoying everything by oneself. The tree cross the limits of altruism in that they take all the heat to themselves and give cool shade and delicious fruits to the others. They give away their fruits even to those who stone them and the trees are compared to saintly people(सप्तुषाः). There is a very interesting verse extolling the selflessness of the trees.  

छायां अन्यस्य कुर्वन्ति तिष्ठन्ति स्वयं आतपे

फ़लान्यपि परार्थाय वृक्षाः सत्पुरुषा इव

'Taking all the heat to themselves and offering shade and fruits to the others the tree or like the saintly people'.

Such saintly people who know the truth or the reality do live in this world. They are like the spring season. The spring season brings life to the vegetation without expecting any return. Before the spring, in the winter all trees stand bare having shed all the leaves in the autumn as though they are dead. When the spring comes, everything comes back to life. The trees get their leaves back and the earth becomes green and colorful with flowers everywhere. So the spring season brings about a colorful change and relieves people from chill of winter. In the same manner there are people living in this world who do what is good for the people without expecting any appreciation from them. They help people naturally without expecting any name, power or any other benefit. Since the trees have this quality of selflessness there is a universal demand for more and more trees. On the contrary there is an equal strong appeal to reduce the population of people. The addition of every tree is a blessing while thee human beings are a burden to the earth because of their selfishness. Moreover we take more from the earth than we give whereas the trees take less and give more so are a blessing to the whole world.

                                                      Let us all take a pledge to thoroughly learn the lessons of forbearance and selflessness from the earth, the mountains and the trees.

                                                      

                                           (To be continued…)

Lessons from the world

- Swamini Shraddhanandji

Avadhuta's First Guru: The Earth

                               In two verses the Avadhuta introduces his first Guru, viz. the earth. From the earth the Avadhuta learnt a very important discipline i.e. the virtue of the forbearance or forgiveness called Kshamaa(क्षमा). The earth as if has taken a vow to accommodate all types of living beings; even those who violate the laws of dharma(The ethical codes of conduct), those who exploit the earth and pollute the atmosphere. Kshamaa is a very important quality of inner toughness, the mental resistance to withstand all situations without losing one's temper or retaliating in vengeance. Such a vow of  forbearance or forgiveness is called kshamaavratam(क्षमाव्रतम). Whoever has taken such a vow is a man of fortitude and will not give up the path of dharma even if attacked by things and beings of the world. Even when jolted by situation the wise still continue their spiritual journey. Their mental toughness is born of an important understanding of the principles of the shastra. When they meet the problems in the life they do not resort to blaming the others, criticizing the stars or cursing the Lord. According to the teaching nothing can affect me either positively or negatively because all experiences in the life are governed by the individuals own past karmas. Every experience one undergoes, be it pleasent or painful is the result of the karma done by the person in the past. As a performer of the action  called a kartaa(कर्ता ) who has done an action in the past one pays the price as the enjoyer called bhoktaa(भोक्ता). In this process the world only serves as a medium which carries one's own karmaphalam. No object gives the person pleasure or pain of its own accord. it is only one's own karma that brings both joys and sorrows for which the members of the world serve only as a medium to carry the results of one's punyam and paapam. Hence, every object is called daivavashaanugaha (दैवावाशानुगः)- an object which is controlled by one's own past action. with this important understanding let us not blame any external factor for our problems. learn to withstand even the most unbearable situations in the spirit of titikshaa. 

सहनं सर्वदुःखानां अप्रतीकारपूर्वकम् 

चिन्ताविलापरहितं सा तितिक्षा निगध्यते 

            Titikshaa is a quality of being objective to all pains without any anxiety, complaint or any attempt of revenge. Duhkha is physical or emotional pain which may be caused by certain external situations. Sahana means being objective to the situations which generally cause pains and which you are unable to change, which you have got to put up with and for which you have  no choice. What cannot be cured must be endured cheerfully. Thus sahana is the capacity to put up with the unpleasant and the inevitable situations without chintaa and vilaapa. Chintaa means concern, anxiety and vilaapa means complaining about the difficult situations all the time. This does not mean that you should not talk to anybody about your difficulties. If it is going to help you without complicating the issue it is better to talk. But vilaapa is complaining about one thing or the other all the time. 

                        So daivam means one's own previous karma. One who has such an understanding that one's own previous karma gives sukham and duhkham will not blame any one. A blaming mind disturbs other's and one's own self and cannot do anything constructive. Thus the lesson to be learnt is 'put an end to complaining and start living cheerfully'.  

Lessons From the World

- Swamini Shraddhanandji

The many gurus of the Avadhuta:

                                

                                 The Avadhuta said to the Yaadava king that he had learnt several important lessons from the world and that the whole world was his guru. Saying so he introduces 24 such teachers. This is the famous portion of Uddhava Gita popularly called as avadhutopaakhyaana. There is however a mistaken corollary derived from this portion that since one can learn from the world one does not require the teachings of the shaastra or living with a guru and so one can avoid the systematic study of the shaastras from a guru. There are people who even go to the extent of saying that there are invisible masters wandering in this world and even they can teach many lessons. So where is the need of shaastric study or for surrendering to a live guru? Dattaatraya avadhuta handles this misconception by saying that these gurus from the world owe their capacity to teach to the learner's capacity to learn. The world's capacity to be a guru depends upon the learner's maturity to interpret properly and learn the right lesson from the right guru. An event can teach you a lesson only if the event is interpreted correctly. An alcoholic was admitted into a rehabilitation center and was given a demonstration of how the worms put into a glass of alcohol died in a few minutes. The demonstration was meant to withdraw the alcoholic from his craving for alcohol. But the alcoholic ended up interpreting that if alcohol is put into one's stomach it will kill the bacteria and save the person from getting a disease. The intellect is very tricky. Unless the intellect is refined properly it cannot learn an appropriate lesson.  The intellect however can be refined only by a regular and a systematic study of the shaastras. For the world to be a guru one has to be well versed in the shaastras. In fact the study of shaastra alone helps one to interpret the worldly situations correctly. The worldly elements are all inert in nature. They cannot teach a person verbally nor can they correct a person when there are misinterpretations. It must be clearly understood that the lessons from the world are not a replacement of the shaastric study. They can become useful only when aided by a systematic study of the shaastra from a competent guru. The avadhuta was a gyani who had interpreted the lessons well and had gathered wisdom to become a liberated one moving freely in the world.

(To be continued for the next post...)    

Lessons From the World

- Swamini Shraddhanand Saraswati

      The avadhuta begins his teachings in response to the request of Yadu Maharaja. Hear the Lord clearly indicates that the king received the teachings of avadhuta because he possessed the essential qualifications of a seeker. The first and foremost qualifications of a seeker. The first and foremost qualification of the king was that he was a brahamanya (ब्रह्मण्यः), i.e. one who had respect for Brahma. The word Brahma in this context has two meanings. One is a brahmana and the second meaning is the Veda. Brahmanya is thus one who has reverence for both the Vedic teachings and for the Vedic teachers. In the olden days the Brahamanas were one who taught the Vedic scriptures. The king had reverence for both the teachings and the teachers. It was because of his श्रद्धा and भक्ति that he deserved to be taught indicating that श्रद्धा (faith or trust in the शास्त्र and the words of the teacher) and भक्ति (devotion to the Lord) are important qualifications of a seeker. Another prerequisite is indicated by the term सुमेधसा  i.e. by him who had the necessary intellectual caliber to receive the teaching. Since the reality is not easily recognized, it being the innermost, invisible essence in one and all. Hence one must first prepare the mind which is the instrument by which one comes to recognize the reality. Thee mind for this purpose has to be both pure (i.e. free from impurities like राग, द्वेश, etc.) and sharp, capable of grasping the innermost essence. Thus honored by the king, The avadhuta gave the Vedic teachings to the who had offered prostrations filled with humility, faith and devotion. Infact seeking the teachings itself is an honor because a ज्ञानी is raised to a level of a teacher only when asked for the teachings. 

(To be continued....)     

LESSONS FROM THE WORLD

Swamini Shraddhanand  Saraswati

      The king next talks of the avadhuta's merits by which he was capable of accomplishing several laurels in life. First and formost he was physically in a fit condition. He was also learned and skillful. He was blessed with a very attractive and majestic personality and above all a sweet tongue and great communication skills. The king expresses his surprise that inspite of possessing such rare qualities this young sanyaasi was not encashing any of them to achieve things in life. The avadhuta did not seem to desire anything at all and this is impossible without an extreme sense of fulfillment. From the worldly angle it would seem that the person is dull and unintelligent because one is considered to be successful only when one commercially taps one's abilities. In the world people are seen to be happy only because of some external factors like wealth, children or possessions. Here was a person who was happy for no reason and such a reasonless enjoyment is attributed to either children or mad people. Since gyanis enjoy such reasonless happiness they are often compared to mad people. Another comparison for gyani is the semblance with ghosts and spirits who appear anywhere at anytime without pre-set plan. A parivraajaka avdhuta also appears and disappears without any prior plan or without any agenda.

                                    Next the king uses a very apt analogy to differentiate the avadhutas who are unlike the common, worldly people. Just as the forest fire spreads violently and uncontrollably so also the common people also are burnt by the intense fire of ever growing desires and greed. Desire are never satisfied by fulfillment but are only fanned by by their fulfillment and assume the ugly form of greed burning the minds of people and so people are seen running helter - skelter desperate to put out the forest fire of desires. The avadhuta is however free from these inner forest fire of desires and is therefore cool, calm and peaceful. Just as an elephant standing in the cool waters of the Ganga is saved from the harsh heat of Sun, so also the avadhuta is cool and satisfied by the rejuvenating waters of wisdom.

( The next part will be continued for the next post.)  

Lessons from the world

LESSONS FROM THE WORLD

     

                                               -Swamini Shraddhanand Saraswati

A Dialogue with an Avadhuta-

     The Bhaagavat Puraana gives a description of the avadhuta met by the Yaadava King. He is a Dvija i.e. a vaidika who respects the Vedic tradition and who has transcended the tradition only after following the tradition. “Dvija” literally means one who is twice-born, once when the person is born from the mother’s womb and next when the person undergoes transformation from an unrefined person to a refined person by following the rules and regulations prescribed by the Vedas. The Avadhuta is a “Parivraajaka Saanyasi” who does not have a fixed residence and so is called Carantam. Since he is a Parivraajaka he has no permanent disciples or no bank balance and yet he is free from worry, anxiety or insecurity. One of the fundamental features of samsaara is fear but Avadhuta is totally fearless and totally secure because he has discovered security in his own Self. Even the devatas do not enjoy the type of security the gyanis enjoy. Since insecurity rises from within, it must be handled from within alone by attainment of Self knowledge, by becoming a gyani called here Kavim. The Avadhuta met by Yadu Maharaja was a young gyani sanyaasi and so is described as “Tarunnam”.

     Yadu maharaja addresses the Avadhuta as “O Brahman”. Here the word Brahman means a gyani, one who has attained Brahmagyanam. The king has discerned from the very personality that the Avadhuta has got knowledge which is clear and free from the two-fold impurities of doubt and ignorance-born old habits and so ask him, “From where and whom did u acquire this wonderful knowledge which allows you to move freely in the world without any possessions”. Possessions alone tie down a person heavily. It is these which make a householder to turn to a household. The free movement of the Avadhuta implies freedom from all possessions. This is possible only when a person is secure internally because possessions are meant for security. Another beautiful expression used to describe the Avadhuta is his child-like innocence which reflects purity and the absence of Raaga-Dvesha. Seeing the Avadhuta thus the king is curious to know how the Avadhuta has acquired this knowledge so effortlessly more so the Avadhuta appeared to be quite calm and inactive.

     The king continues to express his wonder because the Avadhuta’s life style was evoking both wonderment and surprise in his mind. While most of the human beings are busy running after worldly pursuits meant for mundane things like a long-life, name and fame and prosperity how come the Avadhuta was not interested in any of these. And that to if the Avadhuta was old it is understandable because generally people are seen to withdraw from worldly pursuits more out of their inability to enjoy rather than from the sense of discrimination or dispassion. But here was an Avadhuta who was young and so his detachment was not born of his incapacity to enjoy.

         

(The story will be continued for the next post.)

                               LESSONS FROM THE WORLD                                                                      

                                               -Swamini Shraddhanand Saraswati

In the Bhagavat Purana we come across the narration of a popular story of a dialogue between a Yaadava King and an Avadhuta, a Sannyasi of the highest grade. Once the king came across such an avadhuta, whose name is not mentioned in the story but is thought to be none other than the great Dattatreya Avadhuta, who was the son of Rishi Atri.


Who is an Avadhuta?

The Vedic scriptures prescribe an ingenious life style for the fulfillment of life’s goals. The Vedic scheme of life is known as the varna-aashrama-vyavastha (the varnaashrama scheme). This scheme consists of two separate sections, one is the varna-scheme and the other is the aashrama-scheme. Of these two the varna-scheme is meant for the maintenance of social order and social progress. No individual is born isolated. Since every individual is a part of the society none can ignore social harmony and live happily. The varna-scheme takes care of the maintenance of social harmony. It is based on the classification of the society into various groups and each group is called a Varna. Thus we have four varnas called Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra.

Besides the maintenance of social harmony through the Varna scheme, wherein each group does its assigned duties we also have a scheme to take care of personal harmony and personal progress as an individual. This is the Aashrama-scheme. Every individual’s life-style should be balanced so as to take care of both, the social harmony as well as individual progress. If this balance is lost sight of there can be no peace in life. The Vedic scheme is an ingenious scheme which takes care of a person as an individual and as a member of the society in which social harmony is taken care of by the aashrama-scheme. The scriptures talk about four stages of life, which everybody has to necessarily go through viz. the Brahmacharya, Ghruhastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa stages.

An Avadhuta is a sannyasi who has transcended all the Vedic injunctions prescribed by the Varnaashrama scheme. He is a gyani who is no longer bound by any of the rules and regulations laid down by the scheme. The Veda has released the Avadhuta from all disciplines because the Veda knows that the freedom given to him will not be harmful to the society because a gyani is incapable of doing any unrighteous act. Generally a gyani sannyasi who has given up all the Varnaashrama dharmas and is living outside the society is called an Avadhuta. In short the one who has made use of the Varnaashrama scheme to grow and has then grown out of the scheme through wisdom is called an Avadhuta.


(The rest of the story will be continued in the next post)