Namaskar Mahatmas!
Last week: Sloka 9 explained the nature of people who worship Avidya (into karma/rituals alone) and who worship Vidya (scriptural knowledge without practice) are in darkness.
This week we shall do slokas 10 and 11 together and also recall sloka 9 which is the base for the discussion of today’s slokas. Sloka 10 explains the result of worship of the Vidya and Avidya. Sloka 11 concludes on this theme, how one can reach the ultimate life of human birth through Vidya and Avidya.
SLOKA 10:
ANYADEVAAHUR VIDYAYAA ANYAD AAHUR AVIDYAYAA
ITI SHUSHRUMA DHEERAANAAM YE NAS TAD VICACAKSHIRE (10)
Vidyayaa – by vidya; anyat – a different (result); aahuh – they say; avidyayaa – through avidya; anyat – a different (result); eva – verily; aahuh – they say; iti – thus; dheeranaam – from the wise; sushruma – we have heard; ye – who; nah – to us; tat – that; vicacakshire – explained.
ONE RESULT, THEY SAY, IS OBTAINED BY VIDYA (KNOWLEDGE OF RITUALISTIC PHILOSOPHY), AND QUITE ANOTHER BY AVIDYA (IGNORANCE OR PURE RITUALS). THUS HAVE WE HEARD FROM THE WISE WHO EXPLAINED IT TO US.
What is obtained by being devoted to Vidya alone? What is obtained by being devoted to Avidya alone? The goal obtained by mere scriptural knowledge without practicing it in our life is the world of gods. The goal of pure rituals is the world of the manes.
These worlds of Gods or Manes or Brahma Loka or any other world, all are transient. After enjoying all the merits one has to come back to this mortal world, like a lift man, who doesn’t reach anywhere but who goes up and down. Both types are often referred as ‘recycled matter’.
SLOKA 11:
VIDYAAM CHAAVIDYAAM CA YAS TAD VEDOBHAYAM SAHA
AVIDYAYAA MRTYUM TEERTVAA VIDYAYAAMRTAM ASHNUTE (11)
Yah – who; vidyayaam ca avidyaam ca – vidya and avidya; tat – that; ubhayam – both; saha – together; veda – knows; avidyayaa – by avidya; mrtyum – death; teertvaa – having conquered; vidyayaa – by vidya; amrtam – the nature of immortals; ashnute – attains.
HE WHO UNDERSTANDS VIDYA AND AVIDYA, BOTH TOGETHER, ATTAINS TO THE NATURE OF IMMORTALS THROUGH VIDYA (KNOWLEDGE OF RITUALISTIC PHILOSOPHY), HAVING CONQUERED DEATH BY AVIDYAA (PURE RITUALS).
Lord tells us in Gita that whatever we do, it should culminate in Knowledge of Self. The rituals and scriptural knowledge should make us remove the ignorance (body) and lead us to attain the Lord. We are into darkness, if we try to attain the world through the Lord. We are into light if we use the world to reach the Lord.
Thus, one who has this clarity of both Vidya and Avidya, he achieves the aim of human birth of Moksham (immortality) – a state of no misery. The one who understands why and how action needs to be performed through the guidance of the Guru, all ignorant action in life ends. His rituals become the spiritual discipline (not prompted by desires). He starts becoming aware of his thoughts, speech and actions. Spiritual practice needs constant vigilance. Through disciplines alone one can counteract the mental and physical tendencies that obstruct the vision of the Lord. Whatever Guru tells us, we need to commit ourselves and accept the discipline as essential for our growth.
This sloka concludes that scriptural knowledge combined with the practice of spiritual disciplines leads one to the light of knowledge of Self. Avidya refers to a state of confusion, delusion and illusion. We don’t want to remain here in this state of misery and would like to cross over it. How can we do it? We cannot do it by mere wish. Attempting to rid oneself of Maya while still in it is like to trying to lift oneself by one’s own bootstraps.
Therefore the Lord tells to Arjuna, “My Maya is difficult to cross. Those who take refuge in Me alone cross over this Maya”. Here submission to the Lord implies not only devotion to the Supreme by physical prostrations or rituals, but also surrender of the ego (the key component of Avidya) in all our actions.
“When the knowledge is external, it is of mere words, sentences and their meaning and it is just word-power. It urges our mind into activity. But when this knowledge comes into our everyday experience of life, we become rishis, seers”
With the awareness that everything – I and the observed universe – is nothing but the Lord alone, detached action becomes easier and natural. Swami Rama was instructed by his Guru: “Have a desire to meet and know God. But have no selfish desire to acquire things for yourself. Give up all anger, greed, and attachment. Practice meditation regularly. Only when you have done these four things you will become perfect”.
This is the assertion of the Rishis (Iti sushruma dheeranaam) who have realized the Truth. By following the guidance of the Guru, we not only become unattached, but we actually start loving all beings around us as the manifestation of Lord. We then do our duty to protect the world, for this world too is Lord’s. Because we work for the Lord, there is no tiredness and we are ever energetic.
If we don’t follow what our Guru says, we are like this mendicant in this story: There was one mendicant. He had no pot to drink water. He had nothing. He had no place to live. So he went to a pot maker and he begged to him repeatedly, “Please give me a pot. I will use it for various purposes.” After 10 months of begging, the pot maker made him a pot and gave it to him. The mendicant took the pot, and overcome with joy, he was dancing this way and that yelling, “I got a pot! I got a pot!” He threw the pot up in the air in joy, but in his exuberance, he forgot to catch it. This body is a pot. We beg for 10 months, and then we get the pot. But then, when we get the pot we are overjoyed with this human birth and engage in sense gratification and till our life goes “Phut!” like the beggar’s pot. This cycle continues………
We all know what to do and what not to do, but it is very difficult to learn how to be. Real knowledge is found not in knowing but rather in being.
We will continue slokas 12, 13 and 14 next week which talks about people who worship Prakrithi and Hiranyagarbha. HARI OM!
