ROPE MISTAKEN FOR A SNAKE April 13, 2008

In our lives we can experience fear and worries a lot of times for various reasons. What is the reason for this?

Here is a beautiful explanation in Shankara’s  “Vivekachudamani”

“110. Maya can be destroyed by the realization of the pure Brahman, the one without a second, just as the mistaken idea of a snake is removed by the discrimination of the rope. She has her Gunas as Rajas, Tamas and Sattva, named after their respective functions.

138. One who is overpowered by ignorance mistakes a thing for what it is not; It is the absence of discrimination that causes one to mistake a snake for a rope, and great dangers overtake him when he seizes it through that wrong notion. Hence, listen, my friend, it is the mistaking of transitory things as real that constitutes bondage.”

As you can see the Maya( Illusion, Fear ) is coming to us because of lack of discrimination and  clarity.

Here is a gorgeous extract from Sri Guru Granth Sahib:

“In the darkness of Maya, I mistook the rope for the snake, but that is over, and now I dwell in the Eternal Home of the Lord (sggs 332). Like the story of the rope mistaken for a snake, the mystery has now been explained to me. Like the many bracelets, which I mistakenly thought were gold; now, I do not say what I said then (sggs 658).”

It is very easy to remove the darkness of Maya within us. We need to bring the Light in ourselves by awakening of Kundalini.

“Antari giyan na aayio mirtak hai sansaar: Those within whom the Knowledge is not awakened are like dead bodies in the world (sggs 88).”

Aatam cheenai su tatt beechaarae: One who understands his own Soul, contemplates the essence of Reality (sggs 224).

Chet suchet chit hoyi rahu tayu lai pargaas ujaaraa: When you are conscious in your Consciousness, you will be enlightened and illuminated (sggs 339).

Iyu kahe Nanak man tu jot saroop hai apnaa mool pashaan: Thus says Nanak: O my mind, you are That — the true image of the Divine Light — know your Reality (sggs 441).

Tad Niskala by Adi Shankaracharya-I am Shiva March 9, 2008

Tad Niskala, A very powerful prayer for meditation.- Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Om. I am neither the mind, Intelligence, ego nor ‘chitta’ Neither the ears, nor the tongue, Nor the senses of smell and sight, Neither ether, nor air,I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness. I am Shiva!  I am Shiva!

I am neither the ‘prana’, Nor the five vital breaths, Neither the seven elements of hte body, Nor its five sheaths, Nor the hands, nor the feet, nor tongue, Nor other organs of action. I am Eternal Bliss and awareness. I am Shiva!  I am Shiva!

Neither fear, greed, nor delusion, Loathing, nor liking have I, Nothing of pride, of ego, Of ‘dharma’ or Liberation, Neither desire of the mind, Nor the object for its desiring. I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness. I am Shiva!  I am Shiva!

Nothing of pleasure and pain, Of virtue and vice, do I know, Of mantra, of sacred place, Of Vedas or Sacrifice, Neither I am the eater, The food or the act of eating. I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness. I am Shiva!  I am Shiva!

Death or fear, I have none, Nor any distinction of ‘caste’, Neither father, nor Mother, Nor even a birth, haveI, Neither friend, nor comrade, Neither disciple, nor Guru. I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness. I am Shiva!  I am Shiva!

I have no form or fancy, The All-pervading am I, Everywhere I exist, And yet I am beyond the senses, Neither salvation am I, Nor anything to be known. I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness. I am Shiva!  I am Shiva!

“That’s what you are. You are Eternal Bliss and Awareness. Consciousness. The pure Consciousness. I think it must be. Everyone must remember it by heart and must say it in all the ashrams. That’s a very good way of remembering what you are!” -           Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

THE CREST-JEWEL OF WISDOM March 8, 2008

Shri Adi Shankara ( 788 – 820 CE) also known as Sankara Bhagavatpādācārya (”the teacher at the feet of God”) was the first philosopher to consolidate the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta. His teachings are based on the unity of the soul and, in which Brahman is viewed as without attributes. In the Smārta tradition, Adi Shankara is regarded as an incarnation of Shiva.

Shri Adi Shankara toured India with the purpose of propagating his teachings through discourses and debates with other philosophers. He founded four mathas (”monasteries”) which played a key role in the historical development, revival and spread of post-Buddhist Hinduism and Advaita Vedanta

His works in Sanskrit, all of which are extant today, concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of Advaita (Sanskrit: “Non-dualism“). Adi Shankara quotes extensively from the Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures in forming his teachings. He also includes arguments against opposing schools of thought like Samkhya and Buddhism in his works.

Fresh and glowing as it was in the days of the Great Sage, Śankarâchârya, The Crest-Jewel bears the ancient glory that is Wisdom into our own time. In its precise and beautiful language, and in that of the other writings of the Sage, which are included in this volume, is presented his brilliant synthesis of all that is best in the Upanishads–the reality of Spirit.

Please enjoy the words of Shri Adi Shankara:

2. For all beings a human birth is difficult to obtain, more so is a male body; rarer than that is Brahmanahood; rarer still is the attachment to the path of Vedic religion; higher than this is erudition in the scriptures; discrimination between the Self and not-Self, Realisation, and continuing in a state of identity with Brahman – these come next in order. (This kind of) Mukti (Liberation) is not to be attained except through the well-earned merits of a hundred crore of births.

3. These are three things which are rare indeed and are due to the grace of God – namely, a human birth, the longing for Liberation, and the protecting care of a perfected sage.

4. The man who, having by some means obtained a human birth, with a male body and mastery of the Vedas to boot, is foolish enough not to exert himself for self-liberation, verily commits suicide, for he kills himself by clinging to things unreal.

5. What greater fool is there than the man who having obtained a rare human body, and a masculine body too, neglects to achieve the real end of this life ?

6. Let people quote the Scriptures and sacrifice to the gods, let them perform rituals and worship the deities, but there is no Liberation without the Realization of one’s identity with the Atman, no, not even in the lifetime of a hundred Brahmas put together.