The following is a writeup I decided to publish. It is meant for my reference and not for the reading public. So don’t be surprised if you cannot make head of tail of what is written below. You need a background in Vedanta to be able to understand.
This writeup is about adequacy and limitlessness. Most of the material is taken from Swami Dayananda’s Introduction to Vedanta.
Swamiji says about adequacy (this is what I remember; it is not an exhaustive list):
- We humans are self conscious unlike animals. We feel ourselves to be limited and inadequate.
- In truth our true nature is that of adequacy and limitlessness.
- We all have had the experience of being adequate and limitless. Hence when we feel ourselves to be inadequate we strive for adequacy and wholeness.
- We search for adequacy and wholeness where it cannot be found – outside ourselves. It is our nature and we look for it in the external world
- So we seek. And just the fact that we are seeking takes us away from where the wholeness can be found. The seeker searches for the sought everywhere except where it is located.
- We need a pure and focused mind. We need a mind that can pay attention to the words of the teacher. So Karma yoga (for purity) and Raja yoga (for focus) is required. But these are only preparatory steps for Jnana yoga which will show us our true nature, what we already have.
- We need a teacher who is established in the Self and who is skilled in the methodology of teaching Jnana yoga. This is explained in the later chapters of the book.
- Those with discrimination (viveka) do not seek for adequacy or wholeness in kama or artha or even dharma. These are pursuits that will never give lasting satisfaction.
- At the same time abstaining from worldly pursuits will not give us satisfaction either. It may give us the time and the energy to take Jnana yoga seriously but in itself it (abstaining) has no value.
So what are the implications:
- Do your duty as per your life situation, as per the roles you have chosen for yourself and which you find yourself in.
- You have to work out the Prarabdha karma of this lifetime.
- At the same time free yourself of the brainwashing that kama or artha or dharma can lead you to your goal of lasting adequacy. So be detached and have a lightness of touch as regards these pursuits.
- Take seriously the quote of Caliph Ali: Thy lot or portion in life is seeking after thee. Therefore be at rest from seeking after it.
- Have a lightness of touch even as regards spiritual practice. I was obsessing over spirituality because of the fear of death. To the extent that I lost interest in career and family life. Lightness is justified for the following reasons:
- When and how death will come depends on prarabdha. There is nothing at all that you can do to avert or modify it. As the Bhagavad Gita and also the Stoics say – there is no point thinking about that which we can do nothing about.
- Enlightenment will come either due to the grace of God or due to prarabdha. So don’t be obsessive regarding your spiritual pursuits. Seek to enjoy God (or your spiritual practice generally speaking).
- You already are Brahman. And nothing and nobody can take that away from you.
- It is a play; a game of hide and seek; Bhagavan ki lila
- That which is so obsessed with enlightenment – the ego of Nikhil Gangoli – is not you either.