Awareness And Asset Of Human Life

Central Chronicle

Awareness And Asset Of Human Life

Perception is the internal phenomena of consciousness of external objects. It is a technique of seeing one's inner self...

Questions like, "Is knowledge Ishwara?" cannot be replied decidedly. The question whether knowledge is Ishwara can only be answered only on the basis of discrimination. Knowledge may be Ishwara or may not be Ishwara.

Knowledge may take us near Ishwara and may take us away from Ishwara. A businessman was in front of the Deity of Death who asked him where he wished to go - to heaven or to hell. The businessman replied, "I don't bother about heaven or hell, but please send me anywhere where I can earn some money." This is the state of deep attachment to money.

Kalsokarik was a renowned butcher of his time. He used to kill five hundred buffaloes every day. Once he was put inside a dark cell by the king. There too, he fulfilled his deep-rooted attachment to killing buffaloes by making and killing imaginary clay buffaloes. This is also a sort of attachment.

When Kalsokarik died, his son Sulas was to be declared head of his dynasty by performing a ritual of sacrificing a buffalo. His whole clan was gathered and Sulas was ordered to kill the buffalo. He said, "I cannot kill a buffalo." The wisdom possessed by Sulas was free from cruelty and he was awakened to his knowledge. Kalsokarik couldn't exist without killing buffaloes, and Sulas couldn't kill buffaloes. The difference in their tendencies was the subtle difference in their knowledge. So the knowledge associated with delusion takes to the evils. The knowledge detached from delusion flows like a free knowledge stream and such knowledge itself is Ishwara.

Prekshadhyana is a process of awakening one's own reasoning mind and thereby controlling one's passions and emotions. It is based on the principle of engaging your mind by concentration on perception rather than on thought.

Perception is the internal phenomena of consciousness of external objects. It is a technique of seeing one's inner self. We cannot practise plain awareness or plain perceiving. Only a rare person can perceive plain awareness. One who can perceive plain awareness is the Ishwara. We identify men by positions, degrees and adjectives, such as he is Vinod, he is beloved, he is unloved, he is dishonest, he is a minister etc. We are not aware that he is consciousness, he is a soul. We know him by his external appearances and recognise him by epithets. This knowledge is not pious or sacrosanct.

To know a being without relating him to any adjectives and epithets is real sacrosanct knowledge. As long as your awareness is associated with attachment and hatred, it will remain simply knowledge and when the awareness is free from attachment and hatred then it becomes meditation and sadhana. Detachment is not an accidental and abrupt happening, it flourishes gradually. It is almost impossible to lead a totally detached life; also it is untrue that we cannot remain detached for some moments. We can certainly exist in the state of detachment for some moments, this is the only inclination towards meditation.

There was a Korean saint named Richhai. A young man came to him and said, "I want to do 'sadhana'. Tell me the method by which I can attain perfection." The saint said, "You will have to invest a minimum of thirty years in sadhana." He was stunned at this answer, and exclaimed, "Thirty years!" The saint then said, "No it is sixty years now, and not thirty years. "The sadhaka said, "What is this? How have you doubled the period of sadhana" The saint said, "The scepticism existing in your mind has increased the duration from thirty to sixty years." The sadhaka went home and kept thinking. Then concluded that even if his whole lifespan was dedicated to achieving perfection it was worthwhile. He had acted stupidly. He went back to the saint and sought apology for his ignorance and agreed to devote whatever time was required to attain perfection. He further pleaded to be taught the methodology of meditation {sadhana).

He started sadhana and got perfection within three years. He bowed at the holy feet of the saint and said, "You had said that I would get perfection in sixty years and I got it within three years." The saint said, "I was correct, because as long as you are restless, fickle minded and lacking in faith, the time of perfection will go on increasing. Since you managed to give up atheism, you accomplished perfection within three years."

One can feel detachment within three years provided one has the determination to give up scepticism altogether. There exist only two paths - one is the path of attachment and the other is the path of detachment. You have to choose one of the paths. If you choose the path of detachment and are eager to pursue this path, then do not hurry up at all. Do not be fickle minded, but have full faith and advance step by step. You will surely reach your coveted goal. You will realise real knowledge and intuition. You will be the possessor of this invaluable awareness and asset of human life. This knowledge is Ishwara.