Daily Offerings from Alokda

It is a paradox of our times that we are flooded with information from every side but there is so little time for wisdom and true knowledge. We are busy with quantity and numbers, – whether on the cricket field or in our bank accounts, but we pay little time to reflect upon the quality of our life or to turn the money in our wallet and the success written on our visiting cards into ‘real’ values. Now, we are not suggesting, for one moment that money, success and informational knowledge are not important. But what we are trying to reflect upon and understand is ‘how’ to turn these things into ‘real’ value. For what we mean by this term is the real and lasting worth of our life.
There are things that are of temporary and moment value, there are things that are of lasting and abiding value and, there are things of eternal value. Very often we are unable to distinguish between these three leading to much confusion and avoidable suffering. And then we wonder why the very same thing that was means or supposed to give us happiness is causing so much suffering to us. But before we try to understand, let us see what these three levels of value are.

Let’s take an example, – the example of a rich and successful man. He has money in his pocket and a tag of high position on his visiting card. Because of these he is respected by people in his work place and by friends who seek to take advantage of his high position. Soon enough the man begins to mistake these things as an end in itself. Without even realizing he begins to seek ‘a high’ from these things as an addict from a drug. Greed and ambition begin to take the better of him until one day he lands up in the Coronary Care Unit or Cancer ward at a relatively young age. Or he finds himself alienated from his wife and children and true friends.

So what went wrong? If he carefully and sincerely looks within himself, he will discover to his discomfort, that in running the rat race to achieve things of momentary value, he did not pay attention to things of a more lasting value. He forgot to pay attention to his family, he forgot to pay attention to his health, he forgot to pay attention to many other small and sweet gifts of nature that make our life beautiful and happy, – such as, the simple joy of gazing at a flower in bloom, hearing a coil’s voice in summer, taking a quiet walk by a river-side or a pool, spending some time in nature with his family, giving time and attention to his children to educate them to become better citizens.

The result is what we see. We have money and comfort but no happiness and peace. We have insurance policies to ensure expensive medical care but no natural health and poor body resistance. We are surrounded by those who flatter us but not those who love us since we have slowly alienated them by our behavior. We begin to weigh everything in terms of its immediate utility and instant gratification and start seeking momentary thrills of the flesh and the palate. But soon there is satiety and we crave for more and more. Ever dissatisfied we move down a spiral of gloom and despair, disease and doubt, anxiety and fear.

But we could have taken another route, – the route of balance and moderation, giving at least as much importance to family and friends and other pursuits that help us progress and remain healthy as we did to money and ambition. Perhaps we thought, ignorantly like the murderous Ratnakar who later became Valmiki, the seer, that these things will bring happiness to my family and I can also buy health for them. We forgot that love and health cannot be brought. There is no price tag for these things and to acquire them we need to put in as much effort as we do now to satisfy our greed for money and position.

But there is more to our story of life. There is something else of an even greater value than health, happiness, family. It is something that is there with us before birth and will be with us after death. It accompanies us like a faithful friend and chases us like our own shadow. This thing of eternal value that we always carry with us is called in Indian thought as ‘Dharma’. Unfortunately dharma is poorly translated into English as Religion. But the word does not refer to any cult or sect or a particular religion, nor does it mean rituals etc. Dharma is the central Idea, the core Value, the very reason and principle value of our existence. Dharma is the great and solid foundation on which we build our life. That is why, the seers and sages of this great land, Bharata Varsha, chose to call it Sanatana Dharma, the eternal Law of Truth that none can escape from. It is Dharma that sets the wheel of creation moving and not our fanciful wishes, imaginations, hopes and planning. It applies equally to the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, the king and the subject. It is the law of our own inner progress and evolution that carries us from life to life on the great sea of years. Dharma is the ship and if we do not care to build our ship well, we may well sink half way and feel defeated in the midst of our victory.

The ship of Dharma is built by our own hands. Our deeds, our thoughts, our feelings, our attitudes and motives, our will goes into the making of this ship. Therefore, the seers of Truth reveal to us what is the way to build a strong ship by showing us the path of Dharma; that is, the ideal way to live. They tell us that the core values of life are truth, honesty, courage, sincerity, nobility of temperament, generosity, kindness, compassion, charity, self-control, simplicity, beauty, wisdom, love. These things are of eternal value and if we have them or can acquire them, then the ship of our life will sail safely through every storm and we will emerge stronger and wiser with every trial.

But if we have neglected this side of our life, this spiritual and divine element then lasting peace and abiding happiness will always elude us. Therefore, it is worth the trouble to sit quietly for a few moments everyday and reflect whether, in the process of running blindly to win a coveted prize we are not neglecting and loosing upon this most important part of our living. If we are sincere and look at ourselves in a transparent mirror then we will have the answer and make the right choices. But if we fail to look into our souls then life and circumstances will compel us to look inside one day, hopefully, before it is too late.

To summarise, we may say that if money is lost, we can once again make it with our effort or cut down our desires to fit into our means. Besides, if we have given love and care to our family and friends they will be there to support us in a crisis. But if our relationships and our health suffers then money cannot buy it. Then it is only dharma, the strength of our inner being, our attitudes that can once again rebuild everything from scratch. That is why it is said that if money is lost then nothing is lost, if health and relationships are lost, then much is lost and, if dharma is lost then everything is lost.

Alok Pandey

The gods are great but greater than the gods is the human soul. In the human soul is seated all the glories and powers and greatness of the gods. The soul passes at first, in the early beginnings of its journey, through the Titanic worlds and the Titanic states; in the middle it tastes the glory and the splendour of the gods, the nectar of bliss that is also the nectar of Immortality, the Soma wine of the Vedas; but in the end, it rises beyond both evil and good, vice and virtue, sinfulness and righteousness, indeed beyond all dualities and opposites into the utter Unspeakable Truth from which all else is born. This is beautifully revealed in an interesting story, the legend of Sati Anasuya.

Sati, as the word signifies would mean one who is wedded to Truth. In later years as many words with a deep psychological and spiritual significance, such as yajna, āditya, varna, dharma etc got distorted, this profound word also came to assume a rather limited and fixed meaning. During periods of decline it first assumed the meaning of a total commitment and fidelity to the husband irrespective of what he did or how he treated the woman. An extreme result of this change was that a woman was supposed to die along with her husband if he were to die first. She was supposed to burn herself alive along with his dead body in the pyre. Those who could do so were declared as ‘Sati’ and worshipped or revered. Those who could not do so were looked down upon and had to remain largely indoors. They were regarded as inauspicious. The fallout of all this was that women started wishing to die before their husbands, even considering it as something sacred and blessed if she were to die before the man she loved and lived with. Whatever be the sentimental side of this last romantic wish, the actual custom of Sati was no doubt a grotesque and cruel thing which Vibhutis like Raja Rammohan Roy rightly fought to change. It is also possible that later the custom got enforced by social pressures arising from the invasions that India suffered through the Hindukush. Whatever be the reasons, the ancients did not mean this when they used the word Sati as a sign of reverence before a woman’s name. The steadfastness to Truth was the one thing, the absolute fidelity to the husband in thought, word and act was a secondary element quite naturally flowing out of the first. The story of Shakuntala is itself an indicator that Truth was greater than anything else and it is that to which both man and woman had to be faithful to.

And Truth is powerful, as we find in the story of Sati Anasuya who could humble even the gods by the power of Truth within her.

Like Lopamudra, Arundhati, Gargi, Anasuya [without jealousy] is a realized being. She is wife to another great rishi, Atri.

It so happens that one day Narada calls upon the three great goddesses, consorts of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, that is Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati and praises Anasuya’s steadfastness to Truth. The praise is in such terms that even the goddesses feel a touch of jealousy, – ‘How can a mere mortal be greater in consciousness and conduct than the gods?’ Though time and again the gods have been humbled when they let pride creep inside them, yet the lesson of humility is forgotten. They forget in their pride that however high and great these celestial beings may be, man has in him ‘something’ that can make him even greater than the gods. That is because unlike gods who are typal beings fixed to the role and function, man is an evolutionary being. Man carries in himself a spark or seed of the Divine Himself and if this seed is nurtured by vigilance and watered by spirituality, it will blossom and make him greater than the gods. But he has lent his heart and brain to the untruths of the Titans.

But Anasuya is different. She has grown in her inner stature greater than the gods. So they decide to test her. The three great gods, the trinity, visit her house in a Brahmin’s appearance and ask for food. Now Brahmins, in ancient India were meant to gather the deeper and higher knowledge. This required tremendous askesis, time and concentration. They could not afford to spend their energies in livelihood and the elaborate framework of life. Therefore the arrangement in the old social order was this that the Brahmins shared their knowledge and wisdom thus gathered with the society while, the society in turn took care of their earthly requirements. This was a neat arrangement, each giving his best for the good of all; the Shudra, his craftsmanship and service, the Vaishya his wealth and opulence, the Kshatriya his courage and strength to protect and the Brahmin the very highest gift, the gift of Knowledge. He looked after the most important of all needs, the spiritual needs of the society. In turn the society expressed its gratitude by looking after the material needs of such men of great learning and wisdom. That the whole thing degenerated later like many other things is another matter. But this was before the decline.

The gods concealed as Brahmins asked for food and Anasuya responded with a ‘yes’ asking them to come in and take their seats till she prepared to lay some food for them.

When the preparations were made and the food was ready to be served the Brahmins suddenly made a strange request: ‘You have promised to offer food to us and we are extremely pleased. We have a request to make. You have to serve us food by making us sit in your lap undressed’.

Pausing to note her reaction they added: ‘You may go back on your word and not feed us. We will go away quietly. But if you would still keep your promise and honour your word then this is our condition’.

Now Anasuya was a Sati. She was wedded to Truth, – Truth in speech, Truth in feelings, Truth in thoughts and Truth in actions. The gods knew that such a person would not go back upon her word. At the same time, to concede to this strange demand may be for her a deviation from another dimension of Truth, – a total fidelity to her aim and also to the sage to whom she had completely committed herself.

As was the way with these yogis and rishis, she invoked the very power of Truth with which she had lived to come to her rescue. This power, the power of Truth gave her the capacity to see behind appearances. Ansooya clearly saw who these beings were in reality and what their purpose was. She also saw in the Light of this Truth within her heart as to what should be her response. Turning to the gods in disguise, she said with a smile: ‘Yes, I would certainly keep to my word and your condition. By the law of Truth that has built this world and keeps in order a mother can feed her child on her lap without a piece of cloth to cover either’. Thus saying and invoking the Truth that she had practised all her life, she commanded: ‘May you become like babies so I may feed you as you wish’.

No sooner did she utter these words that the gods came as if under a spell. They became like children and started behaving like little babies since their consciousness was reduced to that of a human babe. It is said that one who always speaks the Truth, his words and thoughts carry such a power that they come true because they embody the vibration of Truth in the person.
No sooner did the gods become a babe, Anasuya fed them making them sit in her lap. Then she caressed them as one does to a child affectionately and put them to sleep.

Meanwhile the three goddesses, the consorts of the Trinity started to wonder as to why so much time has elapsed since their departure to earth. As they descended from their immortal seats to the mortal sphere, they could feel the agony and pain that the mortals bear. That itself is a humbling experience. But they were in for more and they had asked for it surely. When no trace of their divine counterparts could be felt or sensed they approached Sati Anasuya to find out if they came and what had happened. The great and luminous being of Anasuya replied: ‘Yes they are there, sleeping inside as little babes. You may go inside and carry them back after recognizing them.’

The goddesses were surprised and stunned. Their consorts could not be recognized as they had become just like babies. Ashamed at their deed they approached Anasuya with humility, requesting her to release the gods from her divine spell. She smiled compassionately and had to simply utter ‘So be it’ and the gods returned back to their original form. They too bowed before the power of Truth in the woman’s heart and knew that man will one day surpass the gods. For they could sense in the being of Anasuya the future type of humanity, free inwardly and governed by truth. She is the prototype and the forerunner of a greater being who would one day arise out of a man and surpass even the greatest of gods.

Indian thought has always tried to synthesise the diverse strands of human nature, its aspirations and seekings, its higher sublime flights and its more mundane strivings. This is reflected everywhere including its religious side.

On the one side Indian thought is not just polytheistic but pantheistic. It sees the Godhead in everything; behind what we consider as natural elements as also behind what we consider as supernatural elements. Nature and Supernature is only a hierarchical arrangement of One Reality that surpasses both and yet, and – here comes the beautiful synthesis, – expresses through both. What we consider as Nature is only a diminished figure of a concealed Supernature waiting for our discovery. Thus, on the other side, Indian thought is deeply monotheistic.

These two sides of One Reality are best expressed in the ancient formulas of the Upanishads:
– ekam satyam vipra bahudha vadanti: The Truth is but One, the wise call it by different names
– ekamevadviteeyam: The One without a second
– ekobahunām: The One who has many names
– ekambeejam bahudha yat karoshi: The One seed that became the many and, finally, a most powerful one,
– sarvakhalvidambrahman: Know all this that is here as the Brahman (the sole Reality behind all things).

The gods are therefore powers and aspects of the One who alone is self-luminous, Pure and unstained, Shadowless Light, All-Love, All-Power, All-Wisdom, All-Bliss.

They are many and arranged hierarchically corresponding to the many planes of cosmic existence. Thus, when the great seer Yajnavalkya is asked by Gargi as to how many gods are there.
Yajnavalkya replies that there are indeed thirty-three million gods or three million or even three thousand or three or one and a half or just one, if you please.

The sense is clear the gods are emanations of the One Divine like countless rays emerging from the Sun. The first three emanations are the aspects and Powers that are engaged in the Creation, Preservation and the Dissolution of the universe. As they move further, they multiply in multiples of three and work in the smallest of elements of the universe.

And who are the Titans if there is only the One? They are the shadows of the gods as it falls upon creation. The principle is very simple. A god is one aspect of the Infinite and by its very nature, we may say that a god takes birth when the Divine withholds all else within and puts forth only one or two aspects in the front. It is this frontal consciousness that later lapses into its very opposite by forgetting the Oneness from which it emerged. It feels itself separate and enters into a state of division. Thus, while the gods create forms in harmony with Oneness and the Divine law in Creation, the titans create forms that are not in tune with the cosmos and the Divine law. The result is an increase in disorder. Again, while the gods preserve what needs still to be preserved for the right balance of creation, the titans preserve those elements that need to pass out and whose hour is over by the Divine dispensation and decree. So too with destruction. The gods destroy what needs to be destroyed for the good of the totality, to assist the creation’s forward march. The titans destroy all that comes in their way, in the way of their personal, separate goal and not in harmony with the greater Divine Law. The gods carry creation forward in the evolutionary journey, the titans hold it back and even try to slide it back. Thus, the gods and the titans are forever in struggle in the cosmos, and in every human heart.

Yet, the two may be seen as representing two stages of the evolutionary growth. Our journey starts as a darkness, in the womb of division, ignorance, obscurity, under the tutelage of the dark mother, Diti, the mother of division and ignorance. She too is a mother and holds her children dearly. In the legends She is shown as coaxing her children, the daityas, sons of darkness and ignorance with ambition and desire. She even goads them to win the crown of the gods that ever remains beyond their reach. Yet through these means She stimulates them, brings out their force, though not the wisdom. Restless, they strive for personal egoistic aims and that is good for them lest they completely lapse into tamas, obscurity and darkness, in a state of torpor, clouding and utter confusion as if drugged and drunk. The dark mother pulls them out of this torpor and as they grow in power, shows them the crown and the kingdom of the gods to covet and enjoy.

They strive, sometimes momentarily succeed as in certain stories, dethroning Indra. Yet they are unable to touch Indra’s consort Sachi. For Sachi is Truth-conscious, even though her origins are from the world of the Titans yet she has ascended to the throne of Indra, not by brute violent force of Titans but by the power and the Light of Truth. She and the gods then turn to their own origin, their Source of Light and Might, the Mother of the gods, the luminous mother Aditi, who dwells forever in the undivided Consciousness. Then Aditi works out a way to bring back the cosmic order.
Diti and Aditi, the dark and the luminous Mothers are the two steps of evolution. When our souls chastened and strengthened through conflict, opposition, struggle and suffering is ready then mother Diti delivers it out of her dark womb and we are then carried by mother Aditi in Her Vast and Strong and Luminous embrace to heights of freedom, to pinnacles of joy, to the splendours of a higher Supernature.

At Her highest, She stands one with the Supreme, the Shakti, the Parameshwari, the Power and Knowledge of the Supreme: 

Om Anandmayi, Chaitanyamayee, Satyamayee Parame

Alok Pandey