Academia 2 & 3 Vedanta.docx

Understanding Vedanta - Becoming good & better towards the best – Insights from Vedanta
2. Traditional '4-fold introduction' for studying Vedanta
'Anubandh chatushtaya'
Anu means following, bandh means binding and chatushtaya means four-fold. The meaning is that understanding these four aspects, will tie us to the study of Vedanta Shastra:
- 'That which protects us from great danger' is the literal meaning of Shastra -

Traditionally, Shastras first explain: Vishaya, the topic; Prayojan, the utility of knowing the topic; Sambandh, my connection with the topic; and the Adhikar, the needed competencies to benefit from the study. Let us now briefly study these:

1. Vishay (Topic of discussion): There are three basic entities in our experience:
a) Jagat (nature, world, universe, cosmos, all that is inert matter)
b) Jivatma (all living beings that have life, consciousness, including plants and animals) and
c) Brahman (The unknown, the invisible cause, or God, the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent)

Though in our day-to-day interactions and transactions, we know and feel that these are three separate entities, the Vedas, tell us that though they look different, both Jagat and Jivatma are not at all different from Brahman, but are one with it! What is my-roopa, i.e. Swaroopa? It is a profound word! It refers to that unchanging, basic substance or form without which that objects cannot exist, and which remains with it at all times. For example, 'gold' is the swaroopa of all gold ornaments, irrespective of their individual names or forms, which may keep changing. Similarly, swaroopa of jivas, living beings, is Brahman! We are one with it, Uni+verse!

I am an integral part of Jagat! An important point to be noted here is that when we discuss about 'Jagat' we deal with everything, but somehow exclude ourselves from it! Science and we haven't bothered to know ourselves while we have been very busy in trying to know the Jagat and Brahman. When we strive to explore our own nature, we shall come to know 'who I am'!

2. Prayojan - What do I gain from this study? Fulfillment, satisfaction, contentment, a realization that everything is obtained and there is nothing more to be known or gained; and, we remain perpetually happy, blissful, fulfilled, and peaceful. This is our inherent, deep inner desire for being fully free, independent and blissful, which is referred to as 'moksha'. This feeling of freedom from all grief, of poorna-ananda, which is not dependent on any external factors, which is really our own inherent nature, our swaroopa, is what we are all really seeking in life, in and through all our activities. Study of Vedanta shows us that our basic inherent nature being ananda-swaroopa, divine, we can never be really happy, fulfilled or peaceful till we ourselves experience this divine ananda and, oneness with all. And, this realization results in empathy, compassion, spontaneous feelings of love, care and concern for all, etc.

The prayojan (purpose) of studying Vedanta is therefore 'moksha'. Moksha may not be my immediate goal and we may not be interested in it at all at this stage. Nevertheless, this is the ultimate desire and goal of all life. Therefore as intelligent and educated people, and also as we are the leaders of society, it becomes our duty and responsibility to know about it, at least as an ideal to be kept in view, gradually get conviction in it and then individually and collectively work towards it.

Once we know the nature of anything, we can make use of it. For example, science and technology study the laws of nature and use it to live a little better and in a more comfortable manner. When we examine ourselves, we realize that while we may be very actively pursuing various things, at the end of the day we just want to be free from all tensions and just relax, be in a state of happiness - 'I just want to be what I am'; and only when we are free from all burdens, are we at peace, we sleep, and wake up fresh and rejuvenated. We should reflect on this simple but profound reality of what actually refreshes us in sleep.

3. Sambandha: The sambandha, connection, between the topic, the utility, and me (seeker) is that the study of Vedanta will convince me that only if I study and I myself realize this oneness, can I ever be really fulfilled. I and I alone am responsible for all my experiences. It is not a matter of faith, believing in something or someone, following or belonging to this or that sect or religion. This has to be actually realized and experienced by me, and till I do so, I will never be really fulfilled.

Not knowing my own swaroopa is my ignorance which I have to get rid of through the study of Vedanta and acquiring the competencies. The more I start understanding my swaroopa the less can situations, events and others disturb me, and I remain happy and helpful in all conditions in all my interactions with aspects of jagat and other jivas.

4. Adhikar: Who are competent to understand Vedanta? What qualifications or competencies do I require? Do I have to be a Hindu? Do I have to give up my religion? Do I need to be a Pundit, a scholar, study the 3R's or Sanskrit and the Vedas, etc.? Do I have to become a monk? Renounce pleasures? No. No. There are just four minimum qualities to be acquired by each of us, irrespective of who and what we are, to understand and realize the fruit of the study. These four competencies or attributes, the Sadhna Chatushtaya Sampatti, are:
Viveka: Power of discrimination, discernment, long-term vision, clear-sightedness
Vairagya: Focus on the higher and the essentials, while withdrawing from the lower
Six virtues and Disciplines: e.g. growing ability to manage our mind and sense-organs, and directing them towards the highest ideal of perfection, forbearance, sraddha, and balance/evenness of mind. These are to be cultivated thru practice, prayers, rituals, etc.
Burning and Intense desire to seek everlasting peace and bliss (mumukshutwam). All actions are motivated by desire, and desire alone. Therefore, if we sincerely desire to become good and better towards the best, all other competencies are easily acquired; so, cultivate good habits!
Srestha: Anyone who acquires these attributes will enjoy its benefits. Aside from these there are no other requirements or restrictions and no academic qualifications, degrees, intellectual abilities or religious beliefs are necessary! Unless we realize this divine oneness of man-nature-God, there is no way of experiencing fulfillment which I am really seeking in and through all my goals and actions. We have the freedom of choice to strive to go towards 'North'; those who struggle to do so, are in Rtm, harmony, 'sur' and are the srestha, the mentors, role models, guides of samaaja!
General Remarks:
1. The Vedas clearly indicate and identify our oneness with Brahman through what is known as the four 'Mahaavaakya' or profound sentences, such as: Tattvamasi: YOU ARE 'THAT'; Aham Brahmasmi: I AM THAT; Ayam Atman Brahman: THIS 'SELF' IS THAT; Pragyanam Brahman: CONSCIOUSNESS IS THAT. And also: Sarvam Khalu idam Brahman: All this is verily That; Vasudaiva sarvam iti: Everything is Vasudeva. "That is 'Poorna'. This is Poorna. From Poorna, if you take away Poorna, Poorna alone remains" – infinity defined!

'That' refers to Brahman, the ultimate Changeless Truth, the One, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Ananda-swaroopa, Infinite God, Divinity, spirit, which is called Brahman in the Vedas, coming from the root 'Br', meaning 'great', signifying infinity, it being greater than or beyond whatever we can visualize. This same Brahman or divinity or Paramatman or the One-God, is called Atman associated with living beings, 'Jivatman', a 'body-mind-spirit' complex. Vedanta asks and answers the questions: Why do we want happiness? Why do we want to live? Why do I want to know more and more? Vedanta goes on to show that these three represent our very basic and inherent nature; Sad (existence) - chid (awareness, consciousness, life not matter) – ananda (bliss).

1.1 Empathy: We all admire the good people with character and wisdom. They have all evolved through righteous conduct, kartavya-palan, out of good actions only. We talk of and accept that it is good to be good; have empathy, be compassionate, have spontaneous love, care and concern for each other, work for good of society, be unselfish, love thy neighbor as thyself, and so on. Why? Why should we have conviction in power of goodness? Why should we be ready to help all who are trying to be and to do good? Why should we consciously embrace compassion, empathy, patience, forgiveness? Why do all stories and movies move us when we see righteousness triumphing over wickedness, hero overcoming villain? Only because in our swaroopa, we are one with each other! Therefore, not just charity, but worship the God in living beings by serving them!

1.2 What can be the origin of the world? The world we see around us is highly complex and full of variety and of baffling complexities. The probability of this multitude of highly organized solar systems and living beings evolving accidentally thru' matter and thru' big bang, as scientists say, is as good as being ZERO; there has to be some form of super intelligence behind all this we see; scientists also now call it 'intelligent universe'.

Moreover, there is a gut feeling in all of us that there must be something, some stuff behind all this, which must be the common cause, which ought to be intelligent. Therefore, even science has been trying to seek that one cause, which can explain this complex world. Molecules, atoms, the unified field of energy and the latest statement of 'intelligent universe' and so on are all attempts to understand the creative energy and the basic stuff of this world of ours. We need to investigate and wonder: Why do we have this gut feeling in us of striving to seek a unity, behind the changing jagat?

2. Harmony: Though our immediate needs are 'Consistent success, peace, happiness, enjoyment, fulfilment, prosperity, etc. etc.' and we are all seeking all these in the external world, Vedanta shows us that being ananda-swaroopa, source of ananda is actually within us already! It enables us appreciate that the higher dimensions of education, work and life is to learn and strive to grow towards oneness with more and more, till we can experience our divine bliss and oneness with all creation. This clarity will then inspire us to continuously struggle to harmonize and direct all our work, relationships, thoughts, choices, motives and activities towards 'perfection'.

3. Our responsibility as elders: We should remember that whatever values and ideals that we follow, will be willy-nilly followed by our children and society, so it becomes our duty to take at least some interest in knowing all that can take us towards this highest aim and purpose of human life, perpetual bliss. When we try for the highest, all lower goals are also included. But, when we try only for the lower goals, we can be on the wrong road. So, it is common sense to first know and determine the whole (like in Jigsaw puzzle), then gradually strive to harmonize all actions towards it!

4. Swadharma, Vocation leads to Fulfilment! Earlier Vedanta was actually not given to all and sundry; people were focused on kartavya-palan, while working in their respective vocation. Fulfillment of swadharma, our duties is really the pre-requisite, the passport, for acquiring the competence for realizing the fruit of Vedanta! The word vocation is pregnant with a profound concept – when people engage in occupation that is based on their inherent calling, aptitude, talent, inclination, bent, urge, ability (synonyms of vocation) then that calling is life itself, not just a 'job', and so it leads to purity of mind. Today we do 'jobs' out of necessity, not out of passion; artistes who excel in music, singing, dance, are nearer to Vedanta! This may be the idea behind our jati and varna-ashram concepts, when work, our swadharma, itself leads towards perfection.

5. Vedanta planted in West! It is only Vivekananda who, against tradition, scattered broadcast this highest idea in the Western 'asuric' world where we see the striving for excellence and perfection in work, in sports, in arts, etc., for which he was soundly criticized by even his closest. And, now we see its relevance and need when vocation has become a drudgery of disinterested job.

6. Modern Challenges: Science has replaced religions in its quest for the highest truth; religions are no longer expanding towards love and care for all but have become narrow, divisive, and are leading to terrorism, communal disharmony; and, democracies are dividing people in the name of religions, for votes! In this scenario understanding of Vedanta can act like a balm to create religious harmony; not mere tolerance but acceptance of all religions, and all people as divine beings so that we may love our profession, and work in a spirit of service, for societal wellbeing! And, therefore the ideal of Vedanta was sowed in the heart of the Western world, from where it is now spreading.

7. Vedanta is akin to the science of religions since it is not philosophizing or personality based, but on 'darshan' direct, personal experience and realization of a multitude of seekers and sages; not faith and belief, but questioning, seeking highest truth with sraddha. All Religions show us our 'goal' & 'how to get there' thru' bhakti, devotion, prayers, rituals, etc. In this era of logic and reasoning, when all knowledge is available on the internet, intelligent people have become cynical too, and want an intellectual conviction, instead of mere faith and belief.
Vedanta tries to present an intellectual framework to show us our common 'North'. We need sraddha and sincerity to examine the ideas and question with an open mind. And, once we absorb the idea of our divinity, it will only be a beginning, which can fructify thru' continuous reflection. Only thereafter can and will come the actions of empathy, of spontaneous expressions of love, care, concern for each other, arising from the idea that though we look separate we are in fact one and the same; if we hurt someone, remember we ourselves are that someone!
"Doing work is not religion, but work done rightly leads to freedom"
Religion is realization; not talks, not doctrine not theories, however beautiful they may be. It is being and becoming, not hearing or acknowledging; it is the whole soul becoming changed into what it believes.
'The Kingdom of God is within you. Seek you first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness & everything else will be added unto you. Be you perfect'; 'Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, external & internal'; 'That Thou Art'; 'Jiva+atma' wants to be 'Swastha'
Understanding Vedanta - Becoming good & better towards the best
3. Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampatti: Striving to acquire 'four-competencies' to walk-the-talk
Rishis have realized that if we want perpetual happiness, which we all want, the only way is to identify with the cause of the universe, which is Brahman; not just with some parts! And this is 'ananda' we seek. More we practice, more we acquire the sampatti, more we feel one with this primordial cause of Jagat, develop empathy, imbibe all virtues & get poorna-ananda!

1. Adhikar (Contd. from previous): To walk towards the higher (spiritual) goal, to realize our ultimate goal, 'moksha', certain Adhikar, i.e. competencies are to be acquired through Sadhna, i.e. Self-development effort. Just as the Sampatti, wealth (of virtues) of a runner is speed and stamina; of a wrestler is physical strength; of a scholar is IQ, the sampatti of a seeker is a sound character. While the ideal of Vedanta is simple, unless we first strive for excellence in our daily work and relationships, fulfill our duties, and acquire certain competencies, mere study of Vedanta texts cannot give us our ultimate goal. Literacy and intellect is not at all sufficient; what is required is simplicity, straightforwardness, certain basic virtues, a sound character, conviction in power of goodness. Education in reading, writing, arithmetic (3 R's, science, arts, etc.) can give us jobs, status, riches, degrees but cannot give us the sampatti of wisdom.

Without commitment to kartavya-palan, self-discipline, self-control, which lead to purity of mind, it is impossible to grasp and understand subtle truths. The only necessary, essential, as well as totally sufficient qualities needed for understanding and realizing the spirit of Vedanta are Saadhana Chatustaya Sampatti, four-fold disciplines now being discussed and elaborated.

1.2 Remember acquiring this 'sampatti', wealth of virtues, is not easy at all, and is perhaps far more difficult than even the most difficult secular subject or Vedic karma or philosophical enquiry into the subject. The greater the ignorance, the harder we have to work to overcome it. Learning perfection in sports, music, science, engineering, business, etc. are also not easy and they take years and years of hard study and struggle. Acquiring Sadhna Sampatti is even more difficult since it involves changing our worldview, our mindset, our past tendencies, etc.

Our biggest ignorance is that we do not know who we are! Mistakenly we think that we are this body and so, we have to work very hard to get out of this basic ignorance. Only a very few people are really interested in moksha because we think that the happiness we are seeking can come only through interactions with Jagat. In fact people are afraid of the word 'moksha' because they do not find its place anywhere in this Jagat. Getting rid of ignorance is also not our main problem; the much bigger problem is to acquire the competencies, adhikar.

Merely by listening to Vedanta, we will not understand it; and even if we understand, we cannot live by what it tells us and we will not therefore experience the fulfillment, the fruit of Vedanta. It takes a long time and continuous struggle to acquire this Sadhana Sampatti. Do we then have to undertake Vedic rituals and karmas, which appear so difficult and we have no knowledge or training for it? No. However, when we struggle to know ourselves, we have to use all our faculties, physical, mental, intellectual, and strive with sraddha. Swadhyaya, self-study, continuous practice, discipline, training and development are necessary, and above all a burning desire to strive to be good and better towards the best. No crookedness or 'chalaaki' of any kind will do! If we have a little devotion towards God, it is easier to learn Vedanta.

Our first duty is to sincerely accept this idea after due diligence, only then will we strive!

2. Dharma, Righteous conduct alone is the cause of Happiness: Living in this world and seeing ourselves as separate from everything else, we do all kinds of actions, karmas, in this world. The fruits or consequences of all our interactions and actions result in our experiencing 'paapa-punya', 'sukha-dukh, profit-loss, fame-insult and many such dualities. And this is what this 'samsar', this world of ours, is. During all these interactions, left to them-selves without guidance, all human beings pursue only Artha and Kaama! Education is meant to create the wise men, the srestha, who are inspired to continuously strive and struggle to earn and enjoy through Dharma, so as to remain directed towards Moksha, the major aim and purpose in life.

Dharma is that which when followed guarantees sukha; its application in life is what is meant by character. And, this Dharma is related to both the 'vyasthi' (individual level) and 'samasthi' (collective level). Dharma is there to govern the actions of individuals as well as his relationship with other jivas, Jagat and Brahman. All actions for fulfilling Kaama and acquiring the resources to fulfill our needs and legitimate desires have to be governed by Dharma.

2.1 The desire for 'sukha' (happiness) and simultaneous desire to get rid of 'dukha' (sorrowfulness) is referred to as 'kaama'. The necessary resources to fulfill desires are 'artha'. It will be noted here that every person has his own concept of 'sukha' and this concept also keeps on changing. Moreover, in all these experiences of 'sukha', there will always be a mixture of 'dukha'. At least there will be the fear that after some time this 'sukha' will end. We have to remember that this 'sukha' is very temporary and different for different people, and will always be alternating with 'dukha'.

2.2 Therefore, either in this life or in the after-life, people are always striving to reach a state where they will have only 'sukha' without a trace of 'dukha'; this is the common goal of everyone. For ensuring that all our interactions, all our thoughts, words, deeds, can guarantee 'sukha' without 'dukha', we have to be guided by Dharma, righteous conduct, human values.

2.3 The importance of dharma can be understood by realizing that the same object does not give permanent happiness. Therefore, commonsense tells us that there must be some other cause of 'sukha' and this cause is Dharma.

2.4 So far we have discussed the concept of 'sukha' in relation to things. However, there is eternal happiness also which is free from all traces of 'dukha' and which does not involve any other thing for happiness. This eternal happiness, which is independent of anything other than 'I, Aham' is 'ananda', it is my own inherent swaroopa, unchanging nature, and this is 'moksha'.

3. Our worldview of 'separateness' is root cause of grief: It may be noted that grief comes only in relationship with the world. It is not our real nature. It is only because I am identifying myself with the world, of which our body-mind complex is an integral part that I have become a separate part of this world. As long as I identify myself with the body, I will only be a part of the universe. It is commonsense that whenever there are two different parts, there are bound to be friction, clashes and conflicts. For example:
We eat a fruit. This fruit now comes out as a foul smelling digestive waste of the body! There was a clash between the fruit and the body – two parts of nature – and this was the result. In science also we say that there are two forces working, one maintains order and the other helps in decaying, as for example, the whole cosmos is maintaining a perfect order; and the bodies of all living beings are subject to decay from the day they are born. Shareer literally implies that which decays!

Another example can be taken. Ice-cube is in conflict with water only as long as it is identified with the cube shape. It starts thinking that 'I am losing my basic nature'. However, if the ice-cube understands that its basic nature is of water, and whether it remains as ice-cube or becomes water, its water-ness does not disappear, then the ice-cube remains unperturbed by dissolving its identity as a cube. Similarly, there will be conflict between water and steam also. However, once the knowledge comes that water is also not the swaroopa or permanent stuff of water or ice or steam, but the real stuff of all the three is hydrogen and oxygen, then there are no conflicts because the basic stuff remains Hydrogen and oxygen in all the three states. The names and forms are changing but the stuff remains unchanged all the time. Now there will be no conflict.
3.1 As long as I think I am the body, clashes, conflicts and grief will be my constant companions. However, if I learn that I am not the body and I am only wrongly identifying myself with it, and I also learn that I am of the same stuff as of Jagat and Brahman, then there will be no cause for conflict between parts and therefore there will be freedom from grief.

3.2 Therefore, when I learn, reflect, understand and through continuous practice, my mind gets convinced of my identification or oneness with the ultimate nature of the universe, which is Brahman, then there will be no more conflicts or causes for grief because the nature of Brahman is what I am really seeking in life, infinite existence, knowledge and bliss or 'ananda'.

4. The Indian tradition describes two types of education, 'Aparaa-vidya', which relates to education to fulfill our desires, and this is contained in the 'Karma-kaanda' and 'Upasana-kaanda' of the Vedas. Aparaa-vidya literally means 'Not the supreme knowledge' and therefore is said to be 'the lower knowledge'. For striving towards the highest and best, Moksha, we have to learn Paraa-vidya, which means 'Supreme knowledge' or wisdom, which is dealt with in the Knowledge-part, Gyaana-kaanda of the Vedas, the Upanishads, and is the topic of Vedanta.

A man with an ideal can make thousands of mistakes, but a man without ideals is likely to make hundreds of thousands mistakes, so we should have an ideal, and Vedanta gives the highest universal ideal for all human beings, for all times. It is our duty as educated Indians, the role models of modern India, to know how our fathers, grandfathers, and our forefathers have thought on these most fundamental questions of human life. We can then practice together to attain poorna-ananda

Conclusion: We are forming, polluting or refining, our mindset each moment by the thoughts we choose to dwell upon, which manifest as desires, words, goals and actions, so it is very important to learn to choose wisely at an early date. We will deal with Vivek and the Sadhna-sampatti in greater detail.

General Remarks
Viveka is the ability to differentiate between the nitya and anitya

Man has been made in the image of God, who represents our ideal of ananda, of fulfilment, of perfection. And, therefore we keep seeking for more and more happiness, eternal life and unlimited knowledge. In order to accelerate our growth towards the goal of happiness, Vedanta constantly prods us to explore the source of ananda and says that: through 'dharma' earn; through 'dharma' fulfill your legitimate desires and you will then remain on the critical path to moksha, considered as the goal of life; a state of infinite knowledge and bliss.
Dharma is a word pregnant with meaning; it literally means that which supports our inherent nature of 'ananda' and so it is that, by following which, we are assured of perpetual 'ananda'! Dharma implies righteous conduct, fulfillment of our duties, excellence in work, work as worship, virtues. Sadhna and education must awaken our Viveka to enable us choose rightly.
'We do not need to believe a certain doctrine or dogma, but we have to struggle and attempt to realize – not in believing, but in being and becoming' is the purpose of our work and life. 'The whole object is by constant struggle to become perfect, to become divine, and this becoming perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect, is the purpose of life. And what becomes of man when he attains perfection? He lives a life of infinite bliss.
Being and becoming is illustrated by the example of a seed, which is in the process of becoming a plant; a seed by being a seed is destined to becoming a plant. In the same way, man is in the process of becoming 'perfect', and this perfection is conceptualized by the word 'divine', 'God', 'perfect', 'ananda', and so, each being is potentially divine.
Rishis, Saints, Prophets, God-men, are the realized souls who manifest much more of their divinity and people follow their lives and teachings spontaneously. To the extent we strive and are able to experience and manifest our divine potential to that extent we feel 'apanapan' with more and more; achieve excellence; are good and noble; exhibit virtues of care and concern, of empathy, of fulfillment of duties; etc. And the Srestha amongst us are those who are more fully manifesting their potential, whether they are rich or poor, literate or illiterate, occupying the highest or lowest status in society. Those who so strive become role models of society.
They alone are real teachers and leaders and can inspire and guide us towards the higher dimensions of life – Modern society has yet to learn how to make/identify them, and give only them, authority over us!

"The difference between God and the devil is in nothing except in unselfishness and selfishness".
"It is a privilege to serve mankind, for this is the worship of God; God is here, in all these human souls. He is the soul of man"

"We, of all nations of the world, have never been a conquering race, and that blessing is on our head, and therefore, we live". "Let the Persian or the Greek, the Roman, the Arab, or the Englishman march his battalions, conquer the world, and link the different nations together, and the philosophy and spirituality of India is every ready to flow along the new-made channels into the veins of the nations of the world.
The Hindu's calm brain must pour out its own quota to give to the sum total of human progress. India's gift to the world is the light spiritual. Whenever such a state has been brought about (binding India with the other races), the result has been the flooding of the world with Indian spiritual ideas"
"All glory, power and purity are in the Self already…All admit the power is there - potential or manifest, it is there – and the sooner you believe that, the better for you"
It is not for the sake of the husband that the wife loves the husband, but for the sake of the Self, Atman, that she loves the husband, because she loves the Self. None loves the wife for the sake of the wife, but it is because he loves the Self that he loves his wife… None loves wealth on account of the wealth; but because one loves the Self, therefore one loves wealth.
None loves a thing for that thing's sake; but it is for the Self that one loves it.
This Self, therefore, is to be heard, reasoned about, and meditated upon (sravan, manna, nidhidhyaasan)