“Do something for your Atma. All these things will stay here, only your Karma will go with you. Do something for Dharma” I was coming out of a temple and one of the elderly ladies (quite known in the religious circle) was telling this. I have heard the same stuff number of times and more it is said, more superficial and meaningless it sounds.
It is Paryushan now and everywhere there are talks about Dharma. Suddenly everybody has become Dharmic. I hear people talking about Tapasya and their way of talking reflects that it is something really great. People are fasting (ranging from half day to a month) and everybody is supposed to believe that they are doing something great. After all, they are ‘not eating’. It is so difficult to be hungry, because you may die out of hunger. And, your senses are not so strong enough to let you remain hungry. It is a victory over senses.
Then they talk about remembering by heart all the processes and verses. I have realized that measurement of how much spiritual a child is, lies in his ability to mug up the Chinese-Japanese sounding words without understanding them and his parents’ ability to persuade him to do that.
There are people taking long trips to Teerth. Many of them are ‘known’ to have taken those trips every year (or even every month). And there are people who do everyday Pooja or go to temple everyday. Then there is elite class, which can boast of donating. Their names can be seen on every nook and corner of the temples and dharmashalas.. These look like the mini version of corporate hoardings on the cricket ground or in a musical concert.
And I only end up feeling surprised and confused and sometimes averse. Initially when people spoke to me about these so called ‘Dharmic’ activities, it was ‘so what’ at first and now it is ‘bullshit’. I might sound too harsh on this, but the way things are, you can’t help feeling frustrated. It may be bad not to follow Dharma. But it is foolish and disastrous to follow something for the sake of and in the illusion of Dharma. And this may be fine if we do it only to show others. The real danger is when we also start believing that this is spirituality. We deceive ourselves, lie to ourselves and then we say we are Dharmic. What a paradox!!
Another day, we friends were discussing and agreed that recent times has seen rise in religious activities. It was quite surprising, because you do not find any symptom of spirituality around. The pace at which mistrust, hatred, impatience and violence at all levels are increasing and taking newer shapes every day, people cannot be said to have become more spiritual. But everywhere you find people performing activities related to ‘God and Dharma’. Now the question arises - why these activities are not leading to Dharma or spirituality; why these do not generate good (if not great) human beings? Is performing these rituals giving people, what they really want? Is there any flaw in people’s thinking and beliefs? What is the parameter to see if things are going in the right direction?
Let us start from the beginning. Why at all there should be any drama of religion and god like this? What difference does it make if there is no religious activity? What if people never knew that there is any god or dharma. How the world would have been different?
I believe that it would have made a huge difference. Human beings (I am not sure about other living beings) can live and act at their ‘ego’ level or at ‘self’ level. Generally they keep swinging between the two and mostly inclined towards the first. In extreme situations they act totally at ego level. It is Dharma only, which is keeping the ‘self’ alive. Dharma, left in whatever form, is the only reason for things not going totally chaotic. Once this remaining Dharma is lost, the world will collapse. As we move away from ‘self’, all complications like ego, hatred and violence arise. If one is based in self, peace and harmony will automatically start showering.
Now what is the relation between living at ‘self’ level and Dharma. Dharma is defined as the basic nature of any person or object. To know and to reach the basic nature, that is, to reach the self is Dharma. Everybody can have a unique way to reach there and we all should strive to find that way. We are all different, so paths are also different.
It may happen that somebody else’s path appeals to us. We find that the other has gained something when he walked on a particular path and it feels like we can also gain something. So we decide to give it a try and when we gain from it, we feel overjoyed. We feel so thankful to the person that he seems like everything to us. We want to thank him, honour him, worship him. We give him flowers, we touch his feet and just try to thank him for what he did to us unintentionally.
It is surprising that today people are doing all this without feeling thankful and overjoyed. And how can they be thankful or overjoyed if they have not gained anything. And if they have not got anything, why are they doing all this drama? Have we not skipped a very important step before doing all the religious activities – to follow a path somebody walked? Only then worshipping has some meaning.
Even if we feel that something will come to us later and so we feel thankful today, are we sure that the path used by Mahaveer or by Jesus or by Buddha is the one for us? Just because we are born into a particular family or society or country, can we take it for granted, without using our own understanding? Ok, let us assume that you are a Jain and Mahaveer’s path is best for you. Then what are you doing here in temple praising him? He will be best honoured if you follow the path he showed. All the great souls will even be more honoured if you search for your own path. This is what they did.
Mahaveer created his own path. He wanted to go in search of truth, but his mother said no. He stayed back. That was his path of non-violence, by not hurting others even by saying no. When everybody agreed, he left home and moved to forests. At one point, he did not feel the need of clothes, so he did not bother to have any. He roamed in jungles and did not feel like eating much, so he did not eat.
He used hunger as a means and saw the effect of hunger on his body. How it reacts? How it craves for food? He remained neutral looking at the bodily activities impartially, while the old karmas kept rising in the form of emotions, pain, irritation, uneasiness and so on. He kept watching. He gradually started realizing the whole pattern. He could see the clouds disappearing gradually and light coming. As the karmas kept dissolving, he progressed to reach to the real self.
He found that when he is hungry, the karma comes out easily and more visibly and thus can be dissolved more effectively. He realized that as he dissolved karma, he became more clear about the truth. He knew himself better and could understand the life around more clearly. He was not burdened with unnecessary thoughts and preconceived notions. He was free from thoughts. He was in the moment. He could really enjoy that moment. There was no karma element, driving him into sad situations, by coming out in the form of emotions like anger, jealousy or fear.
He realized that fear is possible only if we cling to something. It is not the fear of losing something, but the exaggerated reaction of ours which is the problem. It is good to have sound health, but an addiction to talk on health and worrying about it can drive you and others crazy. It is good to know that snake can bite you and so be careful while it is around. But it is hysterical to run away from a rope, imagining it to be snake. It is the fear, the preconceived notions, karma elements, which generate that imagination.
When fear arises, it is better to be afraid than to suppress it by trying to prove that I am not afraid. The best way is to watch the fear. It gradually dissolves and what remains is only the fact. Ok this is snake, so what should I do? Should I run away or kill it or pray before it or put some other food items for it. You can think rightly only if you are free of karma. When there are no clouds of karma on you, then only the ‘self’ can think, act and say correctly. So the whole essence is to free the ‘self’ from karma and that is called Dharma.
How should one go about doing it? One of the most widely used techniques is to watch the Karmas and dissolve them. However, it is not so easy. Even those who know about it, get deluded. So there are many techniques given by evolved people. Most of these are meant to prepare us so that we become able to witness karmas.
Somebody said, surrender yourself to God. Now, what does it mean? If you surrender yourself to god, then there is nothing of yours – no property, relationships or even your thoughts and emotions. A true surrender will free yourself from holding and clinging to anything - thoughts, worries, body diseases. At this point, you just watch. You don’t do anything, but just become a spectator. And in those watching moments, you can see karmas dissolving and you getting nearer to the ‘self’.
Somebody says, do fasting. When you decide not to take food for a particular period or take only specific food, something magical happens immediately. You had been obeying demands for food from body and mind all these days. They were masters and you were a servant. Suddenly by deciding, by taking a resolution, you become the master. It immediately gives you a transformation. It immediately revives you. It immediately makes you strong and slaves become slaves.
Then at some point, you feel hungry. This means karmas are coming out and this is the time to watch them. In normal routine, these karmas do not come out. They are lying deep. Only in extreme situation these will come out and at that time, you will overreact on the situation (leading to more karmas). So, here is the time. Watch them and dissolve them. Whenever you are not happy or feel sad or hurt, that is the best time to watch for karma. When you feel joy you cannot make yourself to watch karmas and they will not easily come out at that time. So watch for these moments. Fasting is nothing, but a means to create that situation.
Somebody says, repeat verses or some special words or chant some bhajans, etc. What happens when you do this? As you go on repeating, after sometime, you will keep repeating it, but your mind will be in the market or fighting with some friend or seeing some beautiful girl or playing some game. This is what happens most of the times and you feel happy that you chanted Ram Naam thousand times.
The intention here is like this. When you chant and repeat the verses, watch the chanting and the words. When you keep repeating, the efforts are not required in remembering. After sometime, it becomes automatic and effortless. Then comes the important step. If you are not conscious, then you will slip into day dreaming. But if you keep yourself alert, you will start witnessing the chanting and the words. Then you will realize that you are not doing it, it is happening. Then you see that you are watching and it is happening. And suddenly you are detached from the activity. Suddenly you go beyond your illusory self. Suddenly you know yourself as a distinct entity. And then everything becomes clear. From here the journey to realize the self starts. Bhajans, shlokas, names, whatever you chant or repeat, all have same effect.
There is no Dharma out there to protect you from accidents or death or to give you profit in business or to clear your exams or to give you a good wife or husband or to get your daughter married or to win you a lottery. Dharma can just let you meet yourself and to help you become free from slavery of emotional, mental and bodily demands and pressures, which exist in you in the form of karmic elements. Yes that’s it. Those who really know, understand that it is ‘everything’.
