There is an ailment, and there is a medicine for that ailment and many people are talking about it. But it is intriguing to see that most of those who are talking about this ailment and its medicine are themselves suffering from the same ailment but not swallowing the medicine. Generally when we know that we have a disease, we go to the doctor and take the prescribed medicine and follow his instructions strictly regarding diet and other conditions. Then without any doubt, the disease shall be cured.
Becoming is an ailment, that many are talking about. They are talking of a sure medicine and how it should be administered. But unfortunately almost all of those who are propagating the remedy are themselves suffering from the same infliction but reluctant to use their own prescription. Merely talking about the medicine or having the medicine in hand and knowing how to administer it does not cure a disease. Many people today are exhibiting extraordinary zeal in propagating the remedy without curing themselves of the same ailment. Others are utterly confused on seeing this. However If only we follow the prescriptions of those who have cured themselves of this grave disease, it certainly works for us.
We are in grief. This is because of birth. It is important to recognize the grief. Once you are born, you become infant, you become child, you become youth, you become adult, you become old and you become dead. In between birth and death you become a host of others donning a variety of roles related to other people and things for example offspring, sibling, spouse, parent, servant, master, pupil, teacher, guide, speaker, listener, custodian, owner, beneficiary/loser, stupid/fool/ clever/wise, ignorant/learned, happy/unhappy, courageous/frightful, charitable/ greedy, tolerant/jealous, pleased/painful, shameful/respectful, dirty/clean, deceitful/trustworthy, dishonest/ honest, etc. After death, you do not know what you would become. Most likely you would be born again as some creature among 8.4 million species of life. You are seeing that most species of life are in utter grief, suffering from hunger, fright, pain etc. Grief is certainly there. Without recognizing it, many say, they are happy, and the disease becomes chronic and gets out of hand for treatment. The great ancient seers have prescribed true knowledge with conditional application as sure remedy to becoming. But no one is coming forward to use the necessary treatment. Moreover people assert that they have no grief at all, whereas all their life they toil hard making tremendous efforts unsuccessfully only to overcome grief but in their own ways. The reason for this peculiar situation may be ascribed to one or more of the following. 1) Inadequate knowledge regarding grief and suffering. 2) Lack of faith in the words of successful seers. 3) Lack of necessary fear and necessary attachment. 4) Lack of systematic education from childhood stage from parents, teachers and others regarding grief. Due to this man is unable to recognize the ultimate goal for human life.
Man is ignorant that he has fallen from eternal bliss into samsara, a virulent flow of birth and death cycles and in the process may live as different species such as man, animal, rodent, bird, pest and insect over and over and that he must undergo tremendous pain and suffering, in each of such lives. He is ignorant that every time before taking birth he must struggle and bear with pathetic conditions in the womb of mother, that he must suffer excruciating pain while coming out of mother's womb (taking birth), that from the moment of birth to the moment of death he is exposed to countless instances of suffering pain, disturbance, anxiety, fear etc., that he must suffer tremendous pain of death finally. He is ignorant too that in order to escape from all this grief and sorrow of seemingly endless lives, he must try and escape from samsara once and for all. He does not seem to realize that such a possibility for escape is not available during all those other lives among 8.4 million species, that this human life is the only opportunity which if he misses to utilize for escape from samsara he must wait again for millions of lives more to get the next chance, that he must utilize this rare opportunity of human life to regain his eternal state of bliss, that he must use his intellectual wisdom to explore the escape route, and make good of the escape, that indeed the very purpose of human life itself must be used as opportunity to escape birth again. But unfortunately man misuses his intellectual capability either for accumulating wealth beyond his needs or for exercising hegemony over other inferior people and species, or for persecuting others, or for momentary pleasures etc and developing negative feelings such as hatred, greed, jealousy, selfishness, harshness, ego, pride, arrogance, passion, infatuation etc which impede his own chances of escaping from samsara.
Venerable great seers of ancient India having long foresight and compassion handed down for the benefit of future generations, customs and practices for initiating education of indestructible knowledge. If only we take proper leads and imbibe the original customs and practices handed down over centuries, people would develop divine qualities for rapid emancipation and fulfillment of human life's sacred purpose.
But unfortunately today in the name of such indestructible knowledge, what actually we are giving to the young children is mere alphabets and thoughts and practices of perishable things. There is absolutely no education to initiate thought processes for gaining eternal knowledge and to understand purpose of life etc. With the result the thoughts, words and actions of people are always used for comforts and welfare of the perishable bodies, for the people related to these bodies, for earning and safeguarding properties, name, fame etc. all of which are left behind at the time of death for taking new life and new body unrelated to the present one. However the assumption of proprietorship for activities and aspirations as well as the bias and tendencies developed during the life time shall continue to accompany the people after death. In fact these are the things responsible for acquisition of a new body and life after death. Hence these things bind people to samsara according to Srimad Bhagavad Gita as given below.
Rajo raagaathmakam viddi thrushnaa sanga samudbhavam ! Thannibadhnaathi kountheya karmasangena dehinam ! Ch.14/7
Due to nescience the embodied assumes himself to be the body and thereby develops bias to people, things and events. These bias acquire strength due to over indulgence by the embodied and give birth to passion nature which motivates and binds the embodied in actions. (the proprietorship of actions and unfulfilled desires cause samsara).
Naasatho vidyathe bhaavo naabhaavo vidyathe sathah ! ubhayorapi drushtonthah tvanayosthattva darshibhih ! Ch.2/16
The seeker of truth must bear in mind two things clearly. 1) The non existing shall never really exist. 2) The existing shall never cease to exist.
The revealed scriptures declare unequivocally that the embodied self is the only reality and the rest all being impermanent is unreal. When you want to get rid of the grief, you must learn of the truth and always be realistic. As long as you try to cling to changing (impermanent) things assuming them to be real, creating gods and propetiating them to fulfill your desires and working hard for such fulfillment, grief shall accompany you closely. Then you cannot separate grief from you. On the other hand if you want to learn of the truth, you do not need extraordinary intelligence for that. Even children can easily understand the truth clearly.
This world is full of people who believe and assert by thoughts, words and actions that this impermanent body is real. All their efforts are meant only for bodily comforts and such pleasures. All of them follow one another and compete in surpassing one another in exhibiting personal egos and affection for bodily related kith and kin. All their efforts are always directed for fulfillment of body related desires. They feel elated when they see positive results and their egos are momentarily boosted. When they get adverse results, they get unhappy and frustrated. They often tend to embrace negative feelings such as anger, jealousy, greed, desire and infatuation which seriously impair their capability for recognition and realization of truth. Hence they cannot overcome infatuation and continue to fully indulge in sense pleasures yielding to intense desires and passion. They struggle restlessly for fulfillment of desires assuming proprietorship for all activities of their body, senses and mind and thereby trap themselves to suffer again and again in cycles of birth and death. Since all their desires and efforts are for sense pleasures, they invariably obtain such lives as animals, birds etc. for sheer fulfillment of sense pleasures and hence must also suffer hunger, pain, fear etc.
When you coolly consider all these things, you would understand that this body is impermanent and all that is apparent shall change and perish and the real cause for suffering is ignorance. You would know then how worthy are these things, events and circumstances which we must leave off at the time of death and what kind of our attention and efforts they deserve. Then you would discard your interest in all these worldly things and shall limit your involvement only to the extent necessary. You must concentrate your efforts in getting rid of grief. You must recognize yourself as different from all this changing and perishing things including the body, senses and mind and must constantly retain awareness of your eternal self. Your mind must be devoted to the eternal self even while the body and senses are engaged in their respective necessary activities. You must remain a mute witness without indulgence or interest. That alone is good for you.
Recognizing your eternal self is the true knowledge. True knowledge is the remedy for becoming.
Being always realistic (retaining awareness of eternal self) is the treatment condition for cure.
May all be comfortable ! May all be happy and peaceful ! May all be bountiful ! May all be propitious !
Sparkling bits and pieces spilled out from immortal streams of enlightening discourses by the boundlessly compassionate, the divinely equipped, the personification of knowledge, the mystical Master, the authoritative Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, the most capable Sadguru, Sri Sri Sri Bhavaghni Guruji are assimilated here by one among the lowest order of his disciples, for his own comprehension. Others, who by chance examine this article, are expected to note that while the truthful revelations found in this are from divine Guruji's immortal talks, the rest are concocted for harmony with the writer's level of understanding.