Hari OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
We saw how having an image of the Beloved can aid focus. It might be asked, though, is there an appreciation of that remembrance when life is full of happenings which haunt the mind, be they past, current or anticipated? What is to be done with a mind which is so preoccupied with worries?
Maa _aImRNdmnae ivicNTy bhuxa yamIiír< yatna>
namI n> à_aviNt papirpv> SvamI nnu ïIxr>,
AalSy< VypnIy _ai´sul_a< XyaySv naray[<
laekSy vysnapnaednkrae dasSy ik< n ]m<.11.
Maa bhiir-manda-mano vichintya bahudhaa yaamiischiram yaatanaaH
Naamii naH prabhavanti paapa-ripavaH svaamii nanu shriidharaH,
Aalasyam vyapaniiya bhakti-sulabham dhyaayasva naaraayanam
Lokasya vyasanaapanodanakaro daasasya kim na kshamaH ||11||
Do not be afraid, oh dull-witted mind, thinking about how long the suffering will be in hell.
The enemies called sins will not affect us - is not there the Lord, the consort of wealth (for us)?
Get rid of laziness and remember Lord Naaraayana; for devotion is simple.
He who can remove the sorrows of everyone in the world is He not capable of (doing so) for His own servant?.
For the third Century theologian, Origen, hell was to be regarded as a spiritual state where ‘each sinner kindles his own fire… and our own vices from its fuel’. Rather than hell being a physical place of torment, it refers to ‘interior anguish’. Our own Gurudev often said, 'hell is not a place, it is a state of mind.'
We understand the meaning of hell to be a place where we are helpless and are constantly bombarded with unpleasantness. No one wishes to be there. One of the 'hells' we create for ourselves is to cling to the past, and particularly in the manner of grudge or grievance. Constantly reworking scenes or events in our memory trying to make them less painful than they were is a pointless activity. What is done is done. If there is no action which can be taken now to remedy that past event, then it has to be released. One of the ways to bring the mind out of that pain is to focus on the here and now and on something worth spending our time on; in this case, let it be the image of the Lord which we choose. If we can do this, those past actions, the 'sins', can no longer affect us.
Be clear, when remembering and holding such things we are permitting the ego to take control. Any action, good or bad, has a 'doer' and doership belongs to ego - the small self. By focusing on the Lord, who forgives all things once we do that, we cut the ego, and nothing then is lost. If you prefer that in purely philosophical terms, focusing on the Higher Essence of being-ness and know that the 'little you' was helpless at the time, but is no longer.
You are here learning about Vedanta; it is expected if you are applying it well, that you are developing your viveka, vairaagya, shamaadhi-shatka sampatti. These all help to quell the ego and help it towards the Higher. Additional to these daily practices, one can add in the reading or listening to scriptures and holy chants. Persistence is a required element. There are so many temptations to 'drop the ball'! The devotional part of practice is, if you like, the 'playground' for the spirit. To be able to express the love physically for a greater good and improved self, to drop all the negatives and embrace positives. The beauty of the path of the bhakta is that no great scholarship is required and it is no barrier to rising high, spiritually.
The king-guru here uses the term 'daasasya', pertaining to the servant. However, this is not the servant you may think, where orders are received and acted upon accordingly. While that does apply to some degree, for the sevaka does follow the guru's instructions, there is no waiting to always be told. A servant is not to do without guidance. A sevaka, if he or she is to prove themselves worthy of spiritual progression, sees and does without prompt.
Scholars must test out the theories, or they remain forever that. The Vedantin must apply the basics of puja, prayer, worship, devotion as it nourishes the parts the mind does not necessarily complete. Even study ought to bring to us a taste of the Bliss.
