things to learn from earth and wind

SB 11.7.37: A sober person, even when harassed by other living beings, should understand that his aggressors are acting helplessly under the control of God, and thus he should never be distracted from progress on his own path. This rule I have learned from the earth.

SB 11.7.38: A saintly person should learn from the mountain to devote all his efforts to the service of others and to make the welfare of others the sole reason for his existence. Similarly, as the disciple of the tree, he should learn to dedicate himself to others.

SB 11.7.39: A learned sage should take his satisfaction in the simple maintenance of his existence and should not seek satisfaction through gratifying the material senses. In other words, one should care for the material body in such a way that one's higher knowledge is not destroyed and so that one's speech and mind are not deviated from self-realization.

SB 11.7.40: Even a transcendentalist is surrounded by innumerable material objects, which possess good and bad qualities. However, one who has transcended material good and evil should not become entangled even when in contact with the material objects; rather, he should act like the wind.

SB 11.7.41: Although a self-realized soul may live in various material bodies while in this world, experiencing their various qualities and functions, he is never entangled, just as the wind which carries various aromas does not actually mix with them.

SB 11.7.42: A thoughtful sage, even while living within a material body, should understand himself to be pure spirit soul. Similarly, one should see that the spirit soul enters within all forms of life, both moving and nonmoving, and that the individual souls are thus all-pervading. The sage should further observe that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the Supersoul, is simultaneously present within all things. Both the individual soul and the Supersoul can be understood by comparing them to the nature of the sky: although the sky extends everywhere and everything rests within the sky, the sky does not mix with anything, nor can it be divided by anything.

SB 11.7.43: Although the mighty wind blows clouds and storms across the sky, the sky is never implicated or affected by these activities. Similarly, the spirit soul is not actually changed or affected by contact with the material nature. Although the living entity enters within a body made of earth, water and fire, and although he is impelled by the three modes of nature created by eternal time, his eternal spiritual nature is never actually affected.

traits of saint and wicked

bharata asks from lord rama, "o protector of suppliant, tell me clearly and severally the distinguishing traits of good and wicked. " lord rama said, "hear brother, the characteristics of saints which as told in the vedas and puranas are innumerable. the conduct of saints and wicked is analogous to that of sandalwood and the axe. mark brother: the axe cuts down a sandal tree, while the latter in its turn perfumes the axe by imparting its virtue ( frarnance ) to it. "for this reason sandalwood ( in the form of paste ) finds its way to the head of images of gods and is loved by the world so much; which axe has its steel edge heated in the fire and beaten with a hammer.

saints as a rule has no hankering for the pleasures of sense and are very mines of amiability and other virtues. they grieve to see others in distress and rejoice at sight of other's joy. they are even minded and look upon none as their enemy. free from vanity and passion, they are conquerors of greed, anger, joy and fear. tender of heart and compassionate to the distressed, they cherish guileless devotion to me in thought, word, and deed; and giving honor to all, they are modest themselves. such souls bharata are dear to me as life. having no interested motive of their own they are devoted to my name and are abodes of tranquility , dispassion, humility and good humor.

again, know him for all time, dear brother, a genuine saint whose heart is a home of such noble qualities as placidity, guilelessness, friendliness, and devotion to the feet of brahmanas, which is the foundation of all virtues. they never swerve from the control of their mind and senses, religious observances and correct behavior and never utter a harsh word. 

now hear the characteristics of impious association with whom should be scrupulously avoided; for their company even brings woe, even as wicked cow ruins her company of a cow of noble breed. the heart of the wicked suffers terrible agony; for they even burn at the sight of others prosperity. wherever they hear others reviled, they feel delighted as though they stumbled upon a treasure lying on the road. devoted to sensuality, anger, arrogance and greed, they are merciless, deceitful, crooked and impure.

they bear enmity towards all without rhyme or reason: nay, they behave enmicaly even with those who are actively kind to them. they are false in their dealings; falsehood is their dinner, falsehood is their breakfast. they speak honeyed words just like peacock, that has stony heart and devours the most venomous snake.malevolent by nature they enjoy others wives and others wealth and take delight by slandering others. such vile and sinful men are demons in human garb. 

lord rama speaks about maya and bhakti

Once upon a time, as the Lord was sitting at ease, Lakshma addressed Him in guileless words: “ O Lord of gods, human beings, sages and all animate and inanimate creation! I ask of You as of my own master. Instruct me, my lord, how I may be able to adore the dust of Your feet to the exclusion of everything else. Discourse to me on spiritual wisdom and dispassion as well as on mayaŒ (Illusion); and also speak to me about Bhakti (devotion), which You make an occasion for showering Your grace.” “Also explain to me all the difference between God and the individual soul, so that I may be devoted to Your feet and my sorrow, infatuation and delusion may disappear.”

“I will explain everything in a nutshell; listen, dear brother, with your mind, intellect and reason fully absorbed. The feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and ‘you’ and ‘yours’ is maya (Illusion), which holds sway over all created beings. Whatever is perceived by the senses and that which lies within the reach of the mind, know it all to be MŒyŒ. And hear of its divisions too: they are two, viz., knowledge and ignorance. The one (ignorance) is vile and extremely painful, and has cast the ego into the sink of worldly existence. The other (knowledge), which brings forth the creation and which holds sway over the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) is directed by the Lord and has no strength of its own.

Spiritual wisdom is that which is free from all blemishes in the shape of pride etc., and which sees the Supreme Spirit equally in all. He alone, dear brother, should be called a man of supreme dispassion, who has spurned all supernatural powers as well as the three Gunas (of which the universe is composed) as if of no more account than a blade of grass.”

“That alone deserves to be called a Jiva (individual soul), which knows not MŒyŒ nor God nor one’s own self. And Ýiva (God) is He who awards bondage and liberation (according to one’s deserts), transcends all and is the controller of MŒyŒ.” “Dispassion results from the practice of virtue, while spiritual wisdom comes of the practice of Yoga (concentration of mind); and wisdom is the bestower of liberation: so declare the Vedas. 

And that which melts My heart quickly, dear brother, is Devotion, which is the delight of My devotees. It stands by itself and requires no other prop; whereas gyana (knowledge of God in His absolute formless aspect) and Vigyana (knowledge of the qualified aspect of God, both with and without form) depend on it. Devotion, dear brother, is incomparable and the very root of bliss; it can be acquired only by the favour of saint. 

I now proceed to tell you at some length the means of acquiring Devotion, an easy path by which men find Me. In the first place a man should cultivate excessive devotion to the feet of the BrŒhmanas and secondly he should remain engaged in his own duty according to the lines laid down by the Vedas. This induces an aversion to the pleasures of sense and dispassion in its turn engenders a love for My Cult (the Cult of Devotion). This will bring steadfastness in the nine forms of Devotion and the mind will develop an excessive fondness for My sports. 

Again, one should be extremely devoted to the lotus feet of saints and should be persistent in the practice of adoration through mind, speech and action. He should recognize Me as his preceptor, father, mother, kinsman, lord, deity and all and should be steadfast in My service. A thrill runs through his body as he sings My praises; his voice gets choked and his eyes flow with tears; he is free from lust and other vices, pride and hypocrisy. I am ever at the beck and call of such a devotee. “ Nay, I ever repose in the lotus heart of those who depend on Me in thought, word and deed and who worship Me in a disinterested way.” 

Lakshmana was greatly delighted to hear the above discourse on the discipline of Bhakti (Devotion) and bowed his head at the feet of the Lord.

from aranya kanda, ramcharitmanasa 

vedas from my eyes:

there are two states of god one is aatma , another is purush. 
aatma is nirgun ( having no characteristics ). niraakaar ( no shape ), nirvikaar ( no deformations ), sachidananda ( always in state of delight ), nitya ( eternal ), shudh ( pure ). it is aatma which always exists in same form as always. from aatma emerges prakriti, the causal form of universe. prakriti consists of three characteristics , gunas. those are satva, raj, tam. aatma being consciousness, imparts consciousness in prakriti (which is itself unconscious ). this is also ardhnaarishwar form. aatma can also be called shiv, and prakriti , shaivi. 

thus, this combined form is entire universe and is purusha. purusha is everything which we know or we don't know. this can also be called vishnu. entire universe is visible form of purush and is a universal set. different characteristics or parts or limbs of purusha are devtas. devtas are so called because they are giver of gifts. 

man is best model of that purusha. it is same as purusha. it can be also called mini universe. as different parts of this man also has origin in different stars. and powers of universe which are devtas can be realized in this body. thus instead of finding god outside one should look inside. body as temple, and aatma in shahastraara chakra. one should seek to attain that state of delight and wish to be immortal by that. aatma considers the body as it's own and limitation arose by making ahankaar in body. when one shifts this ahankaar to that, it merges with it. this is to be felt by "aham brahmasmi", or "so aham". 

vedas also talk about "pashu" very frequently. "pashu" is term for the powers by which purusha sees ( pash ). means it feels by these powers. the characteristics of pashus as given in vedas do not match with physical animals, thus we can't consider it to be those. 
like kathopnishad calls senses as "ashva", horses. the entire nervous system is responsible for sensing the world by purusha. thus it can be assumed that nervous system can be called ashva. nervous system is in duality, like twins in our body. it also clears picture of ashvins who are twins and ride on horses. thus ashvins can be considered nervous power of body. 

it is also said that do not harm those ashva which are beneficial for us, but harm those who are dangerous for us. it again may refer to our those sense powers which take our mind to vishaya, vaasna, and drive our body away from delight. these forest ashwas on which we have no control are meant to be killed. agni is asked to do that. shri aurobindo calls agni as illuminated will. it can also be power or energy inside the purusha from which all powers arose. thus it is said for agni, "devo devebhir aagamat", dev come with other devas. 

cows or gau in same way means that which goes. it gives impression of radiance which goes. indra is said as giver of "gaus" after he drink soma. which means after he gets delight, the strength of purusha which is also called as vrishabh, bull in hymns of vedas, is giver of radiance by which one is able to see the inner world and sense the powers. indra is said as milker of gau. that means it derives radiance from it, power for visualization. here also some radiance can be harmful. as energy flows in our kundalini, if it moves in wrong direction in uncontrolled way it may cause harm to the body. thus agni is again asked to curb those forest radiance which could possibly move to wrong direction. 



- yash vardhan

yog darshan - 1

चित वृत्तियों का सर्वथा रुक जाना अथवा नियंत्रित हो जाना योग है 

दृष्टा का उस समय अपने स्वरुप में स्थिति हो जाती है. 

दूसरी अवस्था में दृष्टा वृत्तियों के सामान रूप वाला प्रतीत होता है. 

वृत्तियाँ पांच तरह की हैं क्लिष्ट और अक्लिष्ट ( दुःख की उत्पादक और दुःख का विनाश करने वाली )

प्रमाण, विपर्यय , विकल्प निद्रा और स्मृति 

प्रत्यक्ष अनुमान और आगम , प्रमाण हैं 

जो इस पदार्थ के रूप में प्रतिष्ठित   है,इस प्रकार का झूठा ज्ञान विपर्यय है 

जो शब्द ज्ञान के अनुसार  उभरती है, ऐसी  चित वृत्ति जो विषयगत वस्तु  से शुन्य हो  विकल्प कहलाती है. 

जो वृति अभाव  के ज्ञान का अवलंबन करने वाली है वह निद्रा कहलाती है. 

पहले अनुभव किए  विषय का छिपा न रहना स्मृति कहलाती है. 

उनका निरोध अभ्यास और वैराग्य से होता है. 

चित की स्थिरता के लिए जो प्रयास किया जाता है उसे अभ्यास कहते हैं 

किन्तु वह अभ्यास लम्बे समय तक निरंतर और सत्कारपूर्वक अंग उपांग से सेवित होने पर दृढ स्थिति वाला होता है 

देखे हुए अथवा सुने हुए  विषयों में जो पूर्णरूपेन तृष्णा रहित है , ऐसे चित की वशीकार संज्ञा ( अवस्था ) को वैराग्य कहते हैं 

पुरुष के ज्ञान से  प्रकृति के गुणों में तृष्णा का पूरी तरह अभाव हो जाना परम वैराग्य  है 

वितर्क  विचार आनंद एवं  अस्मिता इनके अनुगम सहयोग अथवा  सम्बन्ध से सम्प्रज्ञात समाधि  स्थिति आती  है 
जिसकी पूर्व अवस्था विराम प्रत्यय का अभ्यास है तथा जिसमें  चित की स्थिति मात्र  संस्कार  स्वरुप ही     शेष बचती है उसे असम्प्रज्ञात समाधि कहते  हैं 
 भव प्रत्यय नाम वाली ( असम्प्रज्ञात समाधि ) विदेह और प्रकृतिलय  वाले योगियों की होती है 
 श्रद्धा , स्मृति ,  वीर्य , समाधि और प्रज्ञापूर्वक क्रम से अन्य  साधकों को असम्प्रज्ञात समाधि की प्राप्ति होती है 

छान्दोग्य उपनिषद 3.15

1. वह कोष जिसका उदार अंतरिक्ष है, जिसका मूल पृथ्वी है, जो कभी जीर्ण नहीं होता। दिशायें इसके कोण के रूप में है, आकाश इसका ऊपर का छिद्र है। वह कोष वसुधान है उसी में सम्पूर्ण विश्व अवस्थित है। 

3. मैं परिवार सहित अक्षय कोष के आश्रय में जाता हूँ, प्राणमय कोष के आश्रय में जाता हूँ , भू ः  अर्थात मनोमय कोष के आश्रय में जाता हूँ, भुवः अर्थात विज्ञानमय कोष के आश्रय में जाता हूँ , स्वः अर्थात आनंदमय कोष के आश्रय में जाता हूँ। 

4. जब हमने कहा की हम प्राण के आश्रय में हैं, तो इसका आशय यह है की ये सम्पूर्ण भूत ( तत्व ) प्राण ही हैं, हम उसी के आश्रय में हैं। 

5. जब हमने कहा की हम भू ः के आश्रय में हैं तो इसका आशय है की हम पृथ्वी का आश्रय में हैं, अंतरिक्ष के आश्रय में हैं, धुलोक  के आश्रय में हैं। 

6. जब हमने कहा की हम भुवः के आश्रय में हैं, तो इसका आशय है की हम अग्नि के आश्रय में हैं, वायु के आश्रय में हैं, वायु के आश्रय में हैं, आदित्य के आश्रय में हैं। 

7. जब हमने कहा की हम स्वः के आश्रय में हैं, तो इसका आश्रय यह है की हम ऋग्वेद के आश्रय में हैं, यजुर्वेद के आश्रय में हैं, सामवेद के आश्रय में हैं। 

taittiriya upnishad chapter -5

bhur, bhuvar, svar , these are the three worlds of his naming. verily the rishi mahachamasya made known a fourth to these, which is mahas. it is brahman, it is the self, and the other devtas are his members.

bhur it is this world, bhuvar, it is the antariksh, svar it is the other world: but mahas is aaditya, by aaditya all these worlds increase and prosper. 

bhur it is agni; bhuvar, it is vaayu, svar, it is aaditya: but mahas is chandrama. by the chandrama, all these shining fires increase and prosper. 

bhur, it is the hymns of the rigveda; bhuvar, it is hymns of the sama, svar, it is the hymns of the yajur: but mahas is the eternal. by the eternal all these vedas increase and prosper. 

bhur it is the main praan; bhuvar it is the lower praan; svar it is the vyaan ,breath pervasor: but mahas is ann. by ann all breaths increase and prosper. 

these are the four and they are fourfold;- four words of his naming and each is four again. he who know these, know the eternal, and to him all devtas carry offering.