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.
Looking
at the big questions was the focus of last week's verse. Now the emphasis is on
the Unity - and a direct plea to the student.
Tviy
miy caNyÇEkae iv:[u>
VywR<
ku{yis mYysih:[u>,
_av
smicÅa> svRÇ Tv<
vaÁDSyivra*id
iv:[uTvm!.24.
Trayi
mayi chaanyatraiko VishnuH
Vyartham
kupyasi mayyasahishnuH,
Bhava
samachittaH sarvatra tvam
Vangchasyachiraadyadi
Vishnutvam ||24||
In you, in me, and in all other places too there is
but one all-pervading Reality (Vishnu);
Being impatient, you are unnecessarily getting angry
with me!
You must become equanimous of mind everywhere (at all
times/circumstances)
If you wish soon to attain the status of Vishnu.
The
teachers of this Truth, that All is One and One is All, never vary from it.
Neither do they alter their approach of teaching; there are no shortcuts to
Divine Living. Here we see that a student has become angry with the teacher for
repeating yet again the same thing. Surely, any wisdom at all, tells us that
the very best way to achieve anything is to try and try and try again.
Continued, unstinting practice of the established routines and exercises is what yields results, regardless of the discipline we have
undertaken; music, medicine, art, even cookery. There are rules as to what will
give good results and - whilst there is room for individualism - attempting to
get around those rules will mean poor results or weak foundations which will
eventually collapse.
Do
not be angry with the messenger, the bearer of the tidings! The method has been
proven time and time again. As long as the student remains unRealised, then the
teacher must necessarily repeat the lesson.
It
takes as long as it takes.
A
key component of making spiritual strides is provided in this shloka also;
equanimity of mind. Practice restraint and allow nothing to bring imbalance to
your state of being. In order to develop the mental equipoise, one must strive
to filter away all the existing vaasanas. This is accomplished through dedicated
action, devotion to the Lord, service of mankind, contemplation upon the
Highest and constant study and reflection.
Yes
one reads of those who claim to have flown to the top of the mountain by some
magical mystical momentary method. Trust it not, for it is also very often monetary! Even if they themselves have
achieved such a miracle, the likelihood of another achieving the same is so
vastly inflated a statistic as to bring it into the realms of fiction.
The
Truth of Self is no fiction, but it takes time to write the script for
yourself; to inculcate what others have discovered and are offering through
their teachings. If you apply it well and with due diligence, you cannot fail.
