Namaskar Mahatmas!
This story is called ‘anda pangu nyaayaa’.
Once there was a lame man. He wanted to go to Badrinath. He started his journey dragging himself all the way. But he was unable to go fast. He prayed to Lord, “If only I had legs, Lord! I would have come for your darshan faster”. When he was thinking about the Lord, somebody kicked him strongly from behind. The lame man got hurt and became angry. He shouted at that man, “Are you blind or what?” The other man said “yes sir”.
The blind man said, “Now, what we have to do? Should we have to fight or should we have to unite? By being separate neither of us can reach anywhere. If we decide to unite, what is the way we can get united?” Accordingly, the blind man suggested, “You don’t have legs; I don’t have eyes. I will take you on my back. You become my eyes and I will become your legs and together we will reach our aim of reaching Badrinath”.
Thus they reached their goal; their destination.
Our organs of action (Hands, Feet, Mouth, Genital organs and Anus) by themselves do not have any knowledge or wisdom. Likewise, our organs of knowledge (Ears, Nose, Eyes, Skin and Tongue) do not have any power to do anything. When the food is lifted by hand, the hand doesn’t enjoy. When it lands on the tongue, the food is enjoyed by us. Therefore through Jnanendriyas alone the enjoyment is possible.
Our life is a combination of the two powers: 1.The power to act using Karmendriyas (Kriya shakthi) and 2.The power to know using Jnanendriyas (Jnana shakthi). We, with all our experience can understand that both powers are required for mutual functioning. As we understand from the story of ‘anda pangu nyayaa’, only if both the powers are combined and directed towards the goal (the Lord), the spiritual journey becomes successful and enjoyable.
The sloka 2 explained that one has to perform Karma till the end of life without Raga (likes) and Dwesha (dislikes). That is the only way one will attain the purity of mind and that leads one to Liberation. From sloka 9 to 18, further light is shown on the path of Karma.
SLOKA 9:
ANDHAM TAMAH PRAVISHANTI YE’VIDYAAM UPASATE
TATO BHOOYA IVA TE TAMO YA U VIDYAAYAAM RATAAH (9)
Ye – those who; avidyaam – avidyaa, ignorance, rites; upaasate – worship; te – they; andham – blinding; tamah – darkness; pravishanti – plunge; ye – those who; u – but; vidyaayaam – in vidya, meditation; rataah – delight; te – they; tatah – than that; bhooyah – greater; tamah – darkness; iva – as it were; pravishanti – fall into.
THOSE WHO ARE DEVOTED TO AVIDYA (IGNORANCE OR PURE RITUAL) ENTER INTO BLINDING DARKNESS. INTO DARKNESS GREATER THAN THAT, AS IT WERE, DO THOSE ENTER, WHO DELIGHT IN VIDYA (KNOWLEDGE OF RITUALISTIC PHILOSOPHY) ALONE.
This sloka talks about two sets of people who are into darkness – who are into cycles of birth and death, falling back again and again into this whirlpool of samsara.
- Those who are into ritualistic observances (who finds enjoyment in Karma and results – for attaining world) without real knowledge of the ritual described in scriptures.
Every ritual has a meaning behind it which is explained in the scriptures. Ritualistic observances are necessary to some extent in our life to discipline ourselves. The physical actions should lead us to a contemplative stage. Then we are into the path of light. Through these actions one should grow further in the spiritual path leaving the worldly desires and holding the vision of Lord alone in our life. Actions should cleanse our mind out of impurities.
Those who don’t know why they perform those rituals but perform physically, get into darkness. Even though some people perform pujas and other sacrifices for very long years, they, as a person remain as it is. There is no change in their worldly pursuits, level of anger, jealousy, etc. They take pride in saying people around them that ‘I am doing this puja / chanting this mantra / giving charity to this organization / attending satsang for 25 years’
As explained in the 3rd chapter of Gita, the motive behind an action decides whether the action is selfish or divine and not the action by itself. By performing elaborate, grand pujas expecting appreciation and as a status symbol doesn’t take one anywhere other than the darkness of ignorance. Rituals bind a person when it is done with the expectation of result. Bondage is the darkness which leads to rebirth.
In the 2nd chapter of Gita, the Lord mentions these people as ‘people with countless ends’. Their eyes are on the Bhoga and the Aishwarya and they justify having those desires by quoting the Vedas. They are into darkness who thinks that by just performing ritualistic actions (Agnihotra, Sandhya vandanam, pujas, bhajans etc), one can attain the Lord.
Rituals, when done only with body make one rigid in life with ego strengthened and never make them humble. They will be chanting slokas which mean “When our mind is at the feet of Lord Narayana, then the strength of the Sun, Moon and stars combine and the make the day most auspicious” but will be debating with the Pujari about the Raagu kaalam and which is the East in the house. The performance of Puja is to give one, peace of mind and the one who is ritualistic loses all that even if one thing goes out of rules.
Any action done with love for the Lord doesn’t lead to tiredness and frustration. We need to think how many times in a day we become tired and say ‘I am sick of this life’ – after doing our prayers in the morning. How many of us are involved into the action of brushing or bathing fully? Hands will be doing the work because of many years of practice and mind will be dwelling elsewhere.
When Shankaracharya asked the Pundit why he was immersed in the complicated rules of grammar, the Pundit replied, “If I am designated as a Pundit, I can go to the home of some big Zamindars and it will fetch me few pieces of silver”. Shankaracharya’s intention of writing Bhaja Govindam is to make us understand that following grammar is of no use and it is only waste of time. When death does knock at our door, rules of grammar cannot save us. He advises us to chant ‘Bhaja Govindam! Bhaja Govindam!’ which means understand and practice here and now.
So here in this sloka it says that those who worship Lord as a ritual, with the mind not united in the Lord but into the world of desires enter into blinding darkness. They are Rajasik in nature as their actions strengthen their ego.
- Those who worship Vidya (who finds enjoyment through the pride of learning – for attaining worldly fame) enter into darkness greater than the one who worship Avidya.
Here in this sloka Vidya refers to Knowledge of Vedas and Scriptures; it refers to bookish knowledge. Knowledge should become our own experience by practice. Otherwise as Narad ji says ‘we are donkeys loaded with books’
Without applying themselves to austerities, tapas, renunciation, and spiritual practices these people delude themselves and harm others as well. Therefore, it is said that those who pride themselves under the influence of knowledge actually are pushed more and more into the darkness of ignorance. For, just by reading, hearing, or reasoning about the Truth, they think and are convinced that they have realized souls! Under this false sense of achievement they go on teaching and telling others, and also start behaving as if they have realized the Truth.
All impurities remaining in the bottom, they act as if they are in great sense – control.
Once there was a young man who was riding a cycle on a dark night along the crowded road; the policeman who was on duty stopped him as he had no lamp on his cycle. This fellow shouted, “Policeman! Keep away. I have no lamp and I have no brake either”
That is the pathetic situation of the people who have only bookish knowledge. They have no lamp of wisdom or the brake of sense control. Then how can one travel on the road to the Supreme Truth, without causing injury to oneself or others? A man should have both wisdom and self-control. The wisdom comes through reading scriptures and self-control comes by practicing Karma without likes and dislikes and in total dedication to the Lord. Otherwise one ruins this chance of human birth which is very rare to get and fail to save oneself from the cycles of birth and death.
Such people with mere bookish knowledge think that there is no more action to perform and take up false sannyaasam. If no actions are done, it is a state of inertness which is the quality of Tamas. Tamas is far away from the truth. Hence it is described that these people enter into more darkness.
Where these two sets of people are lead to is explained in the 10th sloka which we will be doing in the next week. HARI OM!
