Truth Of Life: [1.1] Ishwara - 01 - Does Ishwara Exist?

The Art & Science Of Living

Chapter 1. 

Ishwara: Friendliness

01

Does Ishwara Exist?

[In order to develop ourselves, we have to develop the five basic ideals, namely, Knowledge, Faith, Conduct, Penance and Power. Meditating on specified parts of the body develops these ideals.]

The goal of medical science has been to evolve medicines, which will fight old age, disease and death. There has been some success. Scientists have discovered a gene, through which old age can be prolonged but not avoided altogether. Still there is a perpetual search for immortality; so we have the cherished goal to somehow attain unhindered happiness and perpetual youth, sans old age or death.

Happiness should be uninterrupted. It should not vacillate between bliss and sorrow. This means infinite and unobstructed happiness. Infinite knowledge and infinite power finally form our ideal, which is known as the ultimate reality. That reality will be infinitely knowledgeable, infinitely powerful, unobstructedly happy, ever young and immortal. It you have formed an image of that ideal, then it is very fine; if not, then you must construct this image. If you have, it is well, otherwise we have to construct the concept of such a God (Ishwara). We have to strive to attain that stage where all these aforesaid ideals crystallise. In our world, unfortunately all these things do not exist together. Here the auspicious and inauspicious co-exist concurrently. There are innumerable hurdles and anarchies. In the presence of these hurdles, the image of good becomes impure. Man is restful also; but restlessness is so intense that restfulness gets terminated. Man does have good health, but unknowingly a disease crops up in the body and he becomes sick. In our world we do witness old age.

Knowledge is infinite but it exists in a limited quantum. We do have power, but not unlimited power. We have to choose decisively, consciously and practise certain doctrines in our life, if we are to get infinite knowledge and power.

Our basic ideals are infinite bliss, infinite power and infinite knowledge which manifest in the form of Ishwara. In order to ascend to the level of Ishwara, the following five ideals have to be developed.

• knowledge
• faith
• conduct
• penance
• power

Knowledge is extremely important because an ignorant person cannot identify between right and wrong. He does not know his duties, therefore he remains entangled and indecisive. Sheer knowledge is also not workable unless it is finked with faith. Faith needs to be generated. Thereafter character and conduct can be structured on the premises of knowledge and faith. Practice is of foremost importance because mere knowledge and faith are purposeless without practice. The fourth ideal is penance. As a matter of fact, human life is full of struggles and dualities like success and failure, love and hate, marriage and divorce, happiness and sorrow, birth and death, health and disease, etc. Penance does not only mean just fasting, it actually grooms a person to face the odds and inevitables more courageously and audaciously. The fifth ideal is power, courage and effort, which forms the foundation of the other four ideals. Without intrinsically developing inspiration for even an attempt at boldness, penance, conduct and faith can never be nurtured.

People practising meditation move in the ideal direction to realise Ishwara or strive to become Ishwara themselves. They have to sincerely contemplate these five ideals in theory and practice. These ideal conducts can be developed through the practice of Prekshadhyana, which means merely perceiving the breath without any physical or mental activity. Can one become detached simply by perceiving breath? Can perceiving movements of breath without self-study, chanting or and fasting result in moving towards Ishwara} In fact we are not visiting a saint, an ascetic or a mystic because our breath is not a saint, a devotee or a worthy being, then how will it pave the way for growth? In fact, we purify our consciousness by watching the breath, which ultimately elevates us to the level of Ishwara and makes us Ishwara. No one can attain the level of Ishwara without achieving purification of his consciousness. Only those who have practised purification of consciousness and groomed their consciousness to become as innocent, pure and holistic as that of a child can ascend to the level of Ishwara. Once Jesus Christ preached that those possessing a clean, untainted, naive and innocent heart, like a child, shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Mahavira was once asked, "What is Dharma? Where does Dharma reside?" He replied that Dharma resides in a pious soul and in one who is simple and innocent. He who cheats and is secretive is unholy, and Dharma does not reside in him. Only the simple and pious develop Dharma. Fickleness has to be given up for the sake of the purification of our consciousness. Observing the breath is the only means to stabilise our consciousness, which removes the fickleness of our consciousness. Once our consciousness is stabilised then the purging of our consciousness begins automatically.

For those who have stabilised and calmed their consciousness, the door opens to a higher plane as the basic hurdle for cleaning their consciousness has been cleared. The door remains closed for the fickle-minded. In order to learn these five basic conducts, Prekshadhyana proposes the activation of five centres.

Table Correlating Conduct, Body Centres and their Locations

Knowledge

If you want to attain the power of knowledge then you will have to practise and evolve your centre of knowledge. The top of the head is the centre of knowledge. Our centre power of knowledge is the power of the intellect. Knowledge cannot be attained without developing the centre of knowledge. Those who can wholeheartedly devote and dedicate themselves to activating this centre of knowledge can achieve immeasurable knowledge power.

Faith

The evolution of the power of faith requires meditation at the centre of intuition. The centre of faith is situated exactly at the middle between our eyebrows. The more sacrosanct and active the centre of intuition is, the more our view will be innate, subtle, manifesting inner powers. That will further structure a perfect and realisable belief, which will not be a sheer accepted belief but a fully realistic and realised belief on the foundation of self-experiences. This is a field of self-realisation. Mere hearsay can be disproved but the facts and beliefs, which one has lived, breathed and realised, remain ever irrefutable, imperishable and indivisible.

Conduct

For conduct one has to develop his centre of bliss which is located near the heart, below the lungs. Those who meditate and activate this centre, always experience bliss. Character and bliss merge to become one. One who does not experience bliss, has a perverted character. A pervert seeks bliss in external objects and intoxicants like smoking and drinking, etc. When one does not get bliss within oneself, one resorts to other materials for bliss. Human psychology is to seek bliss somehow. But those who are blessed with their inner bliss don't resort to external appeasement, as these become irrelevant to them. This conduct is the fruit of realisation of our bliss. This can be developed through our centre of bliss.

Penance

Penance can be practised at the centre of the navel. Man achieves the power of endurance, and boldness by meditating upon the centre of his navel. If this centre is not developed, then one becomes a coward and weak. It is necessary to awaken the centre of the navel because one who has no inner strength can do nothing.

Power

The centre of power and health falls within the purview of the Meditation of power. Those who do not realise the relevance °f the health and energy centres, which is the place of reproductive organs, will never be able to become powerful. Their whole life goes waste, as they will not be able to do anything constructive or creative. There is a lot of research work being undertaken to somehow avoid ageing and remaining young eternally. After a lot of hard work, scientists conclude that persons with a weak reproductive system remain weak forever.

Many old people resort to implanting reproductive organs of monkeys in order to regain fresh vitality. Owing to intense lewdness or lustfulness, this sensitive organ weakens, thereby weakening the brain and the nervous system, and thus they become bereft of knowledge, intuition, bliss, and penance. The tree whose roots have dried up can never remain green. Irrigating its branches cannot help, it will finally fall down. Our root lies below our navel; if that becomes weak, then our nerves also become weak; and we are rendered incapable of doing anything constructive and creative. This is a reversal of a natural process as generally things flow from the upper part to the lower part, from a height to a slope; that is why rivers are full and mountains remain empty.

Seersashana and Sarvangasana[2] are practised in an inverted posture but they only circulate blood to the brain. So if you want to empower the head then you have to stand on your head instead of your feet for a while. Those who have not grasped the conduct of power in its true sense and do not meditate upon their centres of power and health properly, can never gain full powers. In the absence of power, one cannot attain knowledge, intuition, conduct and penance.

The mind is the source of intellect. The centre between the eyebrows is the place of intuition and spiritual transformation. The centre of bliss nourishes conduct. The center of thenavel is the centre of morale and vitality. The centres of power and health are the centres of our constructive strength.

To religiously follow the above said rive conducts it is necessary to meditate on the aforesaid five centres. As mentioned earlier, the top of the head represents the centre of knowledge. The centre of faith is represented by the centre between the eyebrows. The centre of character represents the centre of bliss. The centre of penance, courage and morale is represented by the centre of the navel. The centre of constructive power represents the centre of health. In fact, Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, profoundly grasped this reality that our power of lust and construction are blended together and are not dual. Dissolution of lust-power becomes constructive power because it is lust-power, which transforms into creative and constructive power. The centre of health represents lust power. Meditating upon the centre of health results in an accumulation of creative and constructive power.

The moment of practising meditation is the most fruitful time.

Arthavasu was a devotee of Buddha. He had unlimited wealth but he was a miser. His son and daughter-in-law used to complain that their father neither gave them good clothes nor sufficient food. Even people used to make fun of him, but Arthavasu bore everything and indomitably continued spending only what he considered legitimate.

One day Arthavasu planned a scheme for the Nalanda university. He dedicated his total wealth, worth crores, for the development of Nalanda Sangh Vihar.When the message reached Buddha, he was surprised and asked how he decided to donate his wealth of crores when it was difficult to extract eyen a paisa from him.

How did he get this transformation? Arthavasu narrated that he had actually waited so long for the right moment for the best deed. He viewed other acts as inferior and conceived this act of his as the best of all and donated his whole wealth.

Sadhakas[3] have unlimited wealth of spirituality and have the best moment available to them. They should organise this spiritual wealth so that many hidden and latent potentialities can be awakened. This will eventually help them to realise the experience of Ishwara.

References: