|| Shri Hari ||
Spiritual Student
Swami Ramsukhdas
|| Shri Hari ||
Spiritual Student
tvameva mata cha pita tvameva
tvameva bandhuscha sakha tvameva |
tvameva vidyaa dravinam tvameva
tvameva sarvam mama devadeva ||
Swami Ramsukhdas
|| Shri Hari ||
Spiritual Student
The aims of a mundane student and a spiritual student are different but their methods of achieving their aims are almost the same. The only difference is that a spiritual student works more speedily because every activity for him is a spiritual practice.
For a ‘sadhak’ (spiritual student, aspirant) unfavorable circumstances are more useful because in unfavorable circumstances old sins are wiped out and new enthusiasm is born, while in favorable circumstances the reward of old virtues is destroyed and there is possibility of the birth of evils such as heedlessness, indolence and attachment to pleasures etc. Therefore, for a spiritual student, unfavorable circumstances come in the form of austerity which is very helpful in spiritual discipline. If we take a look at the lives of saints and great souls such as Dhruva, Prahlada and Meerabai etc., we come to know that they faced unfavorable circumstances which enhanced their faith in God. Thus unfavorable circumstances instead of proving to be obstructive are helpful for striver or an ascetic (Yogi) while they are obstacles for a voluptuary (Bhogi). It means that unfavorable circumstances are conducive to renunciation of the world.
Question: What should be the daily routine of a spiritual student ?
Answer: The significant fact for a spiritual student is that he should firmly hold the belief that he has only to realize God. So he performs every activity in order to attain that aim. First after rising early in the morning he bows to God with reverence and offers the prayer to Him ‘O Lord ! I wish to continue my activities according to Your ordinance. You have revealed Yourself in different forms for my salvation. Your only aim is to liberate me from the bondage. If I am a listener, You become an orator; while if I become an orator, You as a curious listener putting forth questions to me in order to impart knowledge (wisdom) to me. At that time, if I hold the opinion that I am removing the doubt of the audience and satisfying their curiosity, it is a blunder on my part. The fact is that You become the inquirer and feign ignorance in order to impart knowledge to me and as a listener, in order to encourage me to march forward, You declare that your doubt has been removed and You are satisfied with the explanation.
‘You reveal Yourself to me according to the need of the hour even as food and as water in case of hunger and thirst. You also manifest Yourself as honour and fame if I hanker after them. It means that You carry on Your different forms of pastime in the form of sentient or insentient, moving or unmoving beings in order to conduce me to God realization. When I forget this fact, you wipe out my ignorance through the medium of the scriptures, saints, preceptors, elders, verses of the Gita and intuitive inspiration.’
‘I perform all activities such as ablution, bathing, walking, moving, recitation of the Gita and the Ramayana and daily ceremonial routine etc., according to You ordinance and in order to please You only. In fact, I should perform all actions in order to please You and I also try to do so. But sometimes I forget to do so by accepting existence of the world and by attaching importance to it. Again You give me warning.’
A striver should perform every important or unimportant action whether scriptural or mundane or practical or physical only in order to please God. His daily routine throughout his life should aim only at pleasing God. He should not perform any activity at all against God’s ordinance. He should always feel ‘I am only God’s; I live in His house only. I eat the food only offered to Him; while talking (speaking) I sing His glory and the only aim of my adoration and meditation etc., is to please Him.’ In the Bhagavata it is mentioned -
‘Whatever a man does with his body, speech, mind, senses, intellect, egoism or innate nature, he should offer it to the Primeval Being, Lord Narayan holding the opinion that it is only for Him’ (Srimad Bhagavata 11/2/36)
He should hold the opinion that he himself does not offer it but God Himself with the power and intellect offered by Him makes him offer it to Him. So he should feel pleased by thinking of His grace. Therefore for himself he has to do nothing. There is neither any action nor object nor condition nor circumstance for him. All the actions are being performed by the power given by Him. Even the food eaten by him and such other activities are performed only by His power.
Thus perfection is attained when all actions change into occurrences and occurrences change into God. In that state there remains neither ‘I’ nor ‘Mine’. This state in the Gita has been said ‘Fixation of mind and intellect on Me (Gita 8/7, 12/14). In that state there remains only the abode of bliss or supreme blessedness where mind and intellect have no access.
Students study, teachers teach, warriors fight while farmers are engaged in farming. Thus men or women perform different actions according to the place, time conditions and circumstance and those actions go on changing. But their aim is only one which is God-realization and it never changes.
Question: How does a spiritual student (sadhak) behave?
Answer: Outwardly there does not appear to be any difference between the conduct (behavior) of an ordinary gentleman and a ‘sadhak’, as both behave well and have divine traits. But their aims are different.
An ordinary gentleman has the mundane aim of attaining honor, prestige, trust etc., and so he has fair dealings with others. But a sadhak's (spiritual aspirant's) aim is equanimity in success and failure, honor and dishonor, praise and blame etc. The more equanimity he attains, the more well grounded his spiritual discipline is; and the more well grounded his spiritual discipline is, the more even-minded (free from modifications) he becomes.
There are three characteristics of an aspirant's flaws (modifications).
1) They are less in number
2) They are less forceful
3) They are brief
These flaws go on decreasing continuously. Sometimes the aspirant feels that the number of flaws is increasing. But the aspirant need not be perturbed. The reason he should not be troubled is that even the microscopic flaws (blemish) appear as enormous ones, because he is almost free from all flaws. He need not feel penitent, nor should he change his spiritual discipline. But he should promptly go on practicing the same spiritual discipline on his own.
One more point needs attention. The human life has been bestowed only for God-realization. So mundane desires may or may not be fulfilled, but spiritual perfection can be certainly attained. There is no room for disappointment in the spiritual path.
In Gita it is said -
muktasango'nahmvaadi dhrtyutsaahasamanvitah
siddhyasidhyornirvikaarah kartaa saattvika uchyate.
(Gita 18/26)
"A doer (karta), who is free from attachment, is non-egoistic, is endowed with firmness and zeal and who is unaffected by success and failure, is called sattvika" (Gita 18/26).
In this verse, there are six qualities mentioned - attachment, egoism, firmness, zeal, success, and failure. A doer (karta) who is sattvik (mode of goodness or purity), is free from attachment and egoism (first two). He is endowed with the middle two (firmness and zeal) and he is unaffected by the last two - success and failure.
Thus remaining free from all worries (unaffected), an aspirant should remain engaged in his spiritual discipline, which leads to higher disciplines and he is further guided by his discrimination. Such incidents occur in his experience (anubhav) which make him alert and committed to his aim.
Question - What is the behavior and conduct of a student who follows ‘Karmayog’ (discipline of action)?
Answer - In his behavior there is predominance of renunciation of his selfish motive and welfare of others. So he specially serves the world. The sentiment of servitude remains in him, but there is no pride of being of service. In other words, while rendering service to others, he is not proud of serving. When his spiritual practice attains a higher stage, he holds the opinion that the objects such as the body etc., with which he renders service to others, belongs to them only. In this manner, the objects and actions are offered to others to render service to them. i.e. the feeling of ‘mine-ness’ ceases to exist for those objects. Ultimately, his individuality (egoism) too melts away and he in the form of service, is identified with Him who is worthy of being served. Similarly when the individuality is destroyed in a Jnanayogi (one following the discipline of Knowledge), and he by becoming knowledge (jnana) becomes an embodiment of Knowledge itself. And a Bhaktiyogi (one following the discipline of devotion), by becoming devotion, gets identified with God.
Question - What is the behavior and conduct of a student of Jnanayog (discipline of knowledge)?
Answer - He is detached, neutral, impartial and Divinity without form or attributes has significance to him. He has a natural inclination to lead a secluded life. If he does not get an opportunity to live in seclusion, he experiences boredom, but gradually that boredom and restlessness decreases and at last it is destroyed. The reason for his boredom, is his assumed affinity for the body that when solitude is not available to him, he feels boredom, while his main aim is to renounce his affinity for the body.
His treatment with his own body is the same as it is with the bodies of others. So he is not affected by any kind of treatment with his body on the analogy of other bodies. He realizes that the supreme self neither acts nor is tainted ‘na karoti na lipyate’ (Gita 13/31), and thus he naturally becomes free from the notion of doership and his intellect is not tainted. (Gita 18/17) - "yasya naahankrto bhaavo budhiryasya na lipyate" (Gita 18/17)
Question - What is the conduct of a student of Bhaktiyog (Discipline of Devotion)?
Answer - In his conduct there is predominance of humility, submissiveness. He deeply feels the presence of God in everything in the world. i.e. the world for him is nothing but a Divine play. Beholding God’s grace in every circumstance, he remains extremely joyful and carefree (free of worries). His sight is always on God's grace. Even though unfavorable things happen to his body, senses, mind, etc., they do not have much affect on him, and gradually he is not affected at all. Kaakbhushundiji is an example. When a curse was placed on him to be born as a crow, he felt neither fear nor destitute, rather he regarded it as God's grace. Thus a devotee specially realizes God’s grace in unfavorable circumstances and by depending on God’s grace, he remains free from fear, worry, doubt, sorrow and regrets.
Question - Does a student following the paths of Action, Knowledge and Devotion need a preceptor (spiritual guide) ?
Answer - Everyone needs a preceptor. But a student should feel neither disappointed nor discouraged for God-realization if a preceptor to one’s own satisfaction is not available because this human body has been bestowed upon only to realize God. If a preceptor (spiritual guide) to one’s own satisfaction is not available, one depending upon God, by considering Lord Krishna the preceptor, should be engaged in spiritual practice because Lord Krishna is the preceptor of the whole world. So he is everyone’s preceptor as no one is separate from the world.
Infact there is need of a preceptor in all the three yogas (paths). But it does not mean that a preceptor is not available. A preceptor is available because God is ever present. The guidance which can’t be received from a preceptor is available from God through one’s own heart’s inspirations or through the scriptures or through any other incident. God imparts this guidance by several methods. Sometimes the conversations between two persons solves his problems. Sometimes the solution to the problem comes by the sudden study of a book. God adopts different methods to guide a striver because “he is the disinterested friend of all beings’ (Gita 5/29)
This is an uncommon characteristic of God’s nature that unlike human beings, He does not want anyone to feel obliged to Him for the good He does to him. As the sun does not feel proud of itself by providing light to the world, so does God never feel proud of Himself because he does good to all; good is automatically and naturally done by Him and light is also provided by Him. He, who has an inclination to God, specially, receives that light. Therefore, a striver should never get discouraged and disappointed if a preceptor is not available to him.
God has provided everyone with a preceptor in the form of discrimination to distinguish the real from the unreal, righteousness from unrighteousness, what ought to be done from what ought to be refrained from, and what should be owned from what should be disowned. If a man honours that discrimination, that discrimination is enhanced and at last that discrimination changes into knowledge-divine.
Question: Can the same preceptor impart training (knowledge) of Karmayog (Discipline of Action), Jnanayog (Discipline of Knowledge) and Bhaktiyog (Discipline of Devotion) ?
Answer: Yes, he can. But he is more expert and experienced in the same discipline which he himself followed. So he can very easily impart knowledge of that discipline, though he can also guide in other disciplines. Though great souls have different inclinations as some of them are indifferent and some are benevolent, yet they can undoubtedly impart knowledge to the inquisitive strivers according to their inquisitiveness. As there is secretion of milk in the teat of a cow when he calf comes to her, so is knowledge automatically revealed in the great soul when an inquisitive striver approaches him. Though the liberated souls have nothing to do for their own sake, yet they live only for the aspirant with a genuine quest to know, in the same way as a mother lives for her offspring.
Question: Can a student of yoga, take up the study of all the three yogas?
Answer: Yes! He can; however, his faith (devotion, aim, firm position) in anyone of the three disciplines, is beneficial, and most excellent (shreshth). On having the firm position of one path, talks of other paths will also become useful in his spiritual practice.
If an aspirant only maintains predominance of one particular spiritual discipline, the other spiritual disciplines will follow suit. He cannot remain completely devoid of them; just as when he practices Karmayog, then he cannot remain devoid of jnanayog and bhaktiyog or vice-versa. As such, , that yoga is essentially the same. In sharing the explanation, definition "paribhaasha" of Yoga, the Lord has said -
"Tam vidhyaddukhsanyogaviyogam yogasangnitam" (Gita 6/23)
‘The state which is free from the contact of sorrow is called ‘Yoga’ (Gita 6/23).
In other words the separation from the assumed union with pain (travails of worldly life) is called Yoga. The point is, to assume union with the world, to establish a relationship with it is itself sorrow, and the moment there is separation from the assumed union (disconnection from union), one experiences the immediate union with Paramatma (God).
Question: What type of spiritual practice (the discipline of Karmayog, Jnanayog and Bhaktiyog respectively) is suited for a student?
Answer: He who is attached to the world but wants to attain salvation (Liberation, Benediction) deserves and should practice Karmayog (Discipline of Action / Discipline of Selfless Service) He who is naturally dispassionate (free from attachment to the world) is deserving of and should practice Jnanayog (Discipline of Knowledge) and he who is neither too dispassionate nor too attached is deserving of Bhaktiyog (Discipline of Devotion).
Question: Which scripture (Holy book) should be specially studied by the student who follows the Yogas (Disciplines-Karma-Jnana-Bhakti) ?
Answer: They should specially study the Gita, because this small book contains all the requisite material (guidance) for the three Yogas. Though Lord Krishna has explained them in brief, yet there is full description of the three Yogas. So the Gita is sufficient for a spiritual aspirant.
Whatever discipline (path) a striver may follow, if he studies the Gita by taking shelter of the holy feet of the Lord, he will certainly find all the requisite material in the Gita. It is good if he also studies other sacred books such as the Ramayan and Srimad Bhagavata etc., however in fact nothing remains to be known on studying the Gita itself.
Narayana ! Narayana ! Narayana !
From "Be Good" in English by Swami Ramuskhdasji
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