I was watching a TV
program recently where a 'Guru' was explaining about how he attained
'enlightenment'. According to him, he had sat upon a hill one day and suddenly had a
very strange indescribable feeling. This he explained was attaining
'enlightenment'. He explained how this enlightenment had transformed him
from being a hip-hop western minded individual into a 'Guru'.
What he mentioned
sounded like some special powers descended upon him on that day, and then on
wards, he became eternally wise and worthy of preaching ignorant people and
guiding them out of their miseries.
What was more
interesting was the sheer number of people who surrounded him. They listened to
his words intently with awe and attention. There were probably thousands of
them, all of them with folded hands and utmost reverence.
This brought about a
question, Why were there so many people around him? What were they seeking?
What really attracted them to this man?
The simple answer to
this question should be 'Happiness' - right?; Every human being on the earth is
on an eternal search - of happiness.
If we look at it
carefully, the main reason for human suffering and human grief is
Self-ignorance. The only solution to be Happy is to understand more about one's
own self and to gain Self-knowledge. Where exactly is this happiness? Is
happiness inwards i.e in our own nature ? or is it something that can be
dervied from external circumstances?
And how does one
obtain Self knowledge? Can deep contemplation on questions such as Who am I?
why do I exist? help get us this knowledge. May be.
Here is a simpler
suggestion. There are very good spiritual scriptures already available. Taking
some time and doing a systematic study of these scriptures helps. I'm not
proposing one religious scripture over another. I believe all religious
scriptures fundamentally preach the same thing - to find peace within yourself.
Let me give you an
example, this quote is from the Gita, (chapter 6, verse 5)
uddharedaatmanaatmaanam
naatmaanamavasaadayeth |
aatmaiva hyaatmano bandhuraatmaiva ripuraatmanah ||
This means, Let a man
raise himself by his own efforts. Let him not degrade himself.
Because a person’s best friend or his worst enemy
is none other than his own self.
This verse talks about how one should never entertain self -
diffidence, never be too self-critical, never to be pessimistic. As man has
freewill, freewill will contribute to actions, and the actions determine
happiness. The body-mind-intellect complex of a human being is the ultimate
toolkit of man. The kato-upanishad talks about how the mind is the steering of
the vehicle, the intellect is the driver and the wheels of the vehicle are our
sense organs. To be healthy, all these need to be well coordinated. Parents,
teachers, well-wishers and God even can help only those people who help themselves.
Once we realise that we are in full control of our state of mind and our own
happiness, there will be eternal happiness, eternal peace with oneself.
Most of these scriptures are very obscure. These writings
have a literal meaning and an esoteric, inner deep meaning. A person who can
help you understand these scriptures is whom I call a "Guru". Self
knowledge comes from reading scriptures (Shravanam), understanding them rightly
(Mananam) and assimilating the knowledge internally (Nididhyasanam). And
finally putting the assimilated knowledge into practice in the daily walk of
life.
There is no short cut to gaining Self-knowledge. Enlightenment or
awakening does not descend from the sky, it happens after a systematic and
rigorous Shravanam-Mananam and Nidhidhyasanam. Other forms of sadhanas
such as chanting, prayers or even meditation only aid the process, these cannot
produce knowledge. Meditation for example helps assimilating knowledge, however
knowledge itself needs to be acquired first. There is no other way to attaining happiness
in the world - other than to realize that you are yourself the true
blissful happiness!
