Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
The text under study is BHAJA GOVINDAM, song of despair of time-wasting, by Sri Adi Shankaraachaarya.
The
verse last week pointed out that austerities are useful to the one who is
dedicated and focused. There is a glorious condition which can be reached and
whilst that verse suggested that one revelling in such a state would happily
life the life of apparent vagrancy, this next verse points out that it is not a
compulsory condition;
Yaegrtae
va _aaegrtae va
s¼rtae
va s¼ivhIn>,
ySy
äüi[ rmte icÅa<
nNdit
nNdti nNdTyev.19.
Yogarato
vaa bhogarato vaa
Sangarato
vaa sangavihiinaH,
Yasya
brahmani ramate chittam
Nandati
nandati nandatyeva ||19||
Let one revel in yoga or let one revel in bhoga (life
pleasures),
Let one seek enjoyment in company or revel in solitude
away from the crowd;
He whose mind revels in Brahman,
He enjoys - yes verily he alone enjoys.
It
is immaterial where we are when we are awakened to the Great Truth - be we
alone or amongst the thronging crowds, that Knowledge brings the greatest joy
and it can never be disturbed.
Mind
at rest is the temple of joy. If we permit it the freedom of desires, passions
and attachments it becomes ruffled, like the sea's surface, and because we do
not dive beneath that surface, into the very depths of being, we feel tossed,
turned, torn. Knowledge of the Truth of Self, the absolute depth (or height) of
existence, brings with it a stillness, an ecstasy, which is beyond all which
can be experienced through worldly existence. It is a condition few can
achieve, but for those who do, nothing more is real to them other than Brahman.
Being still in the body, there are actions still to be carried out to burn out
the remaining karma. This may be in the practice of yoga or other spiritual
disciplines… or it may even be in business and on parade in life. All that
doesn't matter anymore, for the mind is settled and pure and clear.
There
are many texts where it is said that even the Vedas themselves cannot set rules
for the Realised One and how they ought to behave. In India, there are many who
wander and can appear 'mad' by any definition… but that is only from our
limited point of view. On the whole, though, the Realised ones are truly few
and - generally - do not go about declaring themselves. They simply revel in
The Silence internally and carry on their lives as per their understanding
before that revelation.
That
does mean, sometimes, that behaviours are not necessarily socially desirable
according to the 'norms'. However, it is not for us to judge one who has
Realised and the simple fact is, even if we seek to exert control or punishment
for misdeeds by one such as this, they themselves will have no care and be not
affected by it. Their actions are purely prarabdha being burnt out - yet in
turn will have their place in the karma of those affected by the actions.
Nothing, in the Great Fabric of Existence, is without purpose.
Nothing
can stop the enjoyment of Self Knowledge to the one who has become The One.
