The Philosophy of the Bhagavadgita : 10.5 - Swami Krishnananda.
Chinmaya Mission
Advaita Awakening Youth Retreat, organized by the Chinmaya International Foundation, took place from 14th to 25th June 2023. This ten-day residential programme, conducted by the Acharya Shankar Sanskritik Ekta Nyas and the Department of Culture, Government of Madhya Pradesh, saw the participation of 47 youth from various parts of India. The retreat aimed to provide an immersive experience for the participants, focusing on the teachings of Sri Adi Sankaracharya's text, Atmabodha, through discourses by Swami Advayananda.
The retreat schedule included sessions of solitary reflection, group discussions mentored by CIF Sevaks, presentations, and doubt clarification. Swami Advayananda's profound discourses on Atmabodha delved into the depths of Vedantic concepts, bringing clarity to the participants. Alongside the enlightening discourses, the retreat featured activities such as yoga, chanting, games, bhajans, and satsangs.
On 24th July, the campers enjoyed a special excursion to Vadakkumnatha Temple in Kalady, followed by a relaxing boat ride in the backwaters of Kumarakom. The retreat concluded with a memorable valedictory ceremony, including Gurupaduka puja, heartfelt sharing of camp impressions, and an inspiring oath to continue the journey of self-enquiry through dedicated study, reflection, and service to the nation.
========================================================================
Friday, 07 Jul, 2023. 06:50.
Chapter 10: Forms of Sacrifice and Concentration-5.
=========================================================================
All this is very inspiring, no doubt, but when we actually take to the practice, we will find that the senses are not yielding so easily. They are like turbulent horses which drag the vehicle, or the chariot, in any way they like, and to maintain a control over these horses which pull the vehicle of this body, the personality, is a hard job, indeed. The whole process of the practice of Yoga is a gradual one, not a sudden impulsive movement. We do not jump into action when we enter into Yoga. We take one step at a time, even as the mason keeps only one brick at a time when he raises a wall for a building; he does not place a thousand bricks in a heap.
There is a gradual raising of the building by the architect or the workman, there is a steadiness and fixity maintained right from the bottom or the foundation, and a lot of time is to be taken in seeing that the foundation is strong, that every brick is laid properly in position, and firmly, with the requisite cement. Otherwise, there is a chance of the crumbling of the edifice. There should be no break or haste in any successful action, whether it is in raising a building structure, printing a book, writing a text, listening to a lecture or contemplating on God. Everything has to be done with great caution, passivity, leisure, and composure inwardly, and we will not be losers if we take time in this, because it is wiser to take time to understand each step, than to rush up and lose everything that was gained.
Therefore, in this connection, the Sixth Chapter, which is known as ‘The Yoga of Meditation', tells us that nobody can be a Yogi who has not renounced the personal will or the mood of taking initiative for the satisfaction or the well-being of one's own lower self. When the senses have no desire for any objects and they have no impulsion whatsoever towards any personalistic action, and one has inwardly renounced all motives of every kind, then it is that one is established in Yoga.
Yoga is a step that we take in the direction of establishment in impersonality, whatever be the degree of it. And every personalistic will or desire or action is a rootedness in personality. Impersonality is Yoga, which is attained by the stages mentioned in the Yoga scriptures. It is, again, mentioned that Yoga is the concentration which the lower self practises on the immediately superior, higher Self. There are various degrees of self, and so we may say that the whole universe consists of only Self, and nothing but that. There are no objects; there are only selves, by which what is intended is that unless an element of selfhood is present even in the so-called objects of sense, there cannot be love for the objects. Love is only the recognition of the presence of the self in that which we love. If the self is not there, love is unthinkable. All love is self-love in various connotations of the meaning of self. It is not without meaning that the metaphysicians of the Upanishads tell us that the whole universe is the Self, the Atman is all things.
But one has to be careful, again, in understanding what the Upanishads mean, or the Bhagavadgita intends, or anyone connotes when they say that the Self and the universe are identical. It is easy to misunderstand the statement and it is hard to make out the significance thereof. The self is that which we regard as our own psychophysical individuality, the Mr. or Mrs., the “I” that we regard ourselves to be, this is the self for our practical purposes today. But if we analyse the motives behind the moods and activities of the so-called self of ours, we will realise that its intentions are selfish—‘selfish' in a particular interpretation of the meaning of the self. The urge of the senses towards the objects is the action of the self.
It is the self that is propelling the senses towards the objects through the instrumentality of the reason and the mind, to come in union with the objects, under the impression that union with objects is the satisfaction of the self. So it is the satisfaction of the self that is the intention behind the coming in contact with the objects of the senses, and it is not the love for the objects that is the prime motivation. There is no love for objects, absolutely. There is love only for the satisfaction of one's self, which is impossible, we feel, in a sort of illusion, unless we come in contact with the objects. Various reasons are given as to why this situation supervenes, or takes place. How is it that we make this mistake?
Comments
Post a Comment