Friday, March 30, 2007

Sanatana Dharma and the Buddha

Buddhism is understood, interpreted and practised in different ways by its practitioners, preachers, scholars and thinkers ever since the Mahaparinirvana of the Lord Buddha and it continues to inspire the present and future generations of scholars to study it further to discover its relevance to their respective times. Siddhartha Gautama, who lived and interacted with the great scholars, yogic practitioners and the lay people alike some two thousand and five hundred years ago, is still revered and adored as a Great Master. Satisfying the modern parameters of history writing, Siddhartha stands as one of the earliest historically known spiritual personalities and the most illustrious path finders from among many great saints and masters who traversed the land of Bharat, i.e. India, and beyond from times immemorial.

The Buddha showed to the world an alternate path to Salvation with his own pursuance and realization. He set aside the reigning notion that an intense study of the Vedas followed by severe practices and elaborate rituals were essential prerequisites to attain Liberation, the ultimate goal of human life. Further, he did not appreciate the mediation of a god or a guru on the path of Liberation, i.e. freedom from sorrow. He maintained that one could rely on oneself to get enlightened. He declined to comment on the concepts like soul, Supreme Soul, as he found the discussion irrelevant for a real seeker of Truth. He maintained that the consciousness of 'being' wholly rests on one's desires and the efforts for their fulfillment. The state of desirelessness amounts to the cessation of that conscious existence, i.e., Mahaparinirvana, an unqualified state in the Upanishadic sense.

Fulfillment of desire is inbuilt in the nature of this Universe. Therefore, one has to live or take another birth if warranted for the realisation of his sankalpa or fulfilment of his desire. Paradoxically, even the state of desirelessness can be achieved only by having a strong and unswerving desire for it. For that matter any thing can be achieved including an honorable acquittal from this world, whatever name one might give it: enlightenment or final deliverance, nirvana or moksha by having a strong desire for it. Our ancient knowledge identified three major factors for the fulfillment of one's desires, namely, a strong will or desire for it, technical know-how to go about it and action-oriented pursuance. The Buddha gave a rational explanation to the very existence of this Phenomenon applying the principle of causation.

He found the world full of sorrow, for even the apparent joy and happiness of an individual is temporary soon paving way for disillusionment and sorrow. Painstaking efforts and a long wait laden with anxiety and worries precede the fulfillment of a desire. Even the course of enjoyment is wrought with the fear of losing it at any time. Of course the end of this phase leads one to sorrow. Thus, it becomes clear that desire causes sorrow, to end which one should practice restraint through dharmic living. Leading an honest and simple life, practicing truth and non-violence in thought, word and deed, and with uno animo approach, one can attain the Enlightenment, which is the final goal of human life. The right knowledge of Dharma develops in one the right attitude to life i.e. 'jnana' as described by the ancient scriptures.

True to his name, Siddhartha was already a contented man in his worldly life. He did not leave his princely life to add something more to it, nor did he have any complaint against it. He set out on the great mission of inquiry to find the root cause of sorrow that engulfed all the living beings. Immortality is attained only through such sacrifice. Siddhartha renounced his worldly life for a universal cause, as if to prove the Vedic dictum that it is neither the sacrifice of one's family nor wealth nor ritualistic practices that would ensure one immortality but it is sacrifice alone. After that he never looked back. That was Mahabhinishkramana. Such disentanglement with the world i.e.,vairagya is identified as the penultimate stage on the path of Jnana by our ancients. To pursue a strong desire, kama, to fruition with great perseverance needs enough courage known as kshatram. Siddhartha was a noble kshatriya by quality. By then he had already achieved the dharma, artha and kama, the three purusharthas prescribed for attaining moksha, the finale, as described in the general parlance of the tradition. But, Siddhartha, instead of seeking moksha for himself, had laid a path for others to tread with ease. His path was a via media between the severe austerities and living in ease and comfort following a ritualistic religion. No formal education or training was necessary for taking his path. The only qualification needed was to have a strong resolve to take refuge in the Teachings of the Buddha, in the Order of the Monks, the Sangha and follow the prescribed Code of Conduct, the Dhamma. Thus the aspirants of jnana were freed from the burden of scriptural studies, ritualistic practices such as yajna and severe austerities, which marginalized the common man. The Buddha had once again brought both the piety and the laity under his umbrella, the chatra. His path was, thus, inclusive of all classes of people. It was not marked by any exclusivity. His personality was such that he was loved by all and despised by none interested in spiritual progress and the general well being of the society.

The Buddha addressed all sections of population irrespective of class, creed, gender, occupation or age. He welcomed all of them to his fold irrespective of their socio-economic, intellectual, ethical and moral background. His main contention was that everyone whether born high or low, rich or poor has a birthright to attain Enlightenment and so, the real seeker should not be prevented on any plea. Those who follow his Eight-fold Path in their normal worldly life would gradually develop the right attitude to the world and eventually renounce the world and attain nirvana. Those who could renounce the world straight away joined the Sangha and dedicated their remaining life to the service of the fellow beings. The principles of life He taught are pragmatic, neither rigid nor flexible. He struck a balance between the two extremes. Therefore, He was acceptable to all.

The principles like non-violence and truth; qualities like compassion, honesty, charity and humility and attitudes like selflessness, non-attachment and courage have been the part and parcel of the Indian philosophy since our remotest past, which have been reiterated time and again by great sages and men. The Buddha added His flavor to them and demonstrated them through His personal life. The most venerable Buddhist spiritual leader Dalailama rightly says: " The Hindus and the Buddhists, we are two sons of the same mother."

The very sight of the Buddha's noble personality disarmed even His fiercest opponents and critics in no time. The kings, the queens, the rich, the mendicants, great scholars, and the serious practitioners of Brahmincal rituals, cruel robbers, women of easy virtue – all fell at His feet and sought His Grace. He did not preach any religion. 'He taught us how to live and to leave in simple words', says Sathguru Sivananda Murty (Guruji) to whom I owe my understanding of the Buddha - his life and teachings. He opines, if there is any philosophy that could be acceptable to all the existing religions in the world without any grudge or prejudice, it is the Buddha Dhamma.

The sixth century before Christ was intellectually a vibrant period through out the civilized world. Confucius and Lao Tse in China, Socrates in Greece, and the Mahavira and the Buddha in India led radical social movements. Buddhist and Jain philosophies had not only addressed social issues but also suggested paths to reach the Ultimate. Of these two, Buddha's liberal approach had a greater appeal to all sections of people cutting across all political and geographical barriers. That is why the Dhamma could spread far and wide across the civilized world much before Christ was born. The Dhamma depicting the finer human values also appealed to the rational mind. Therefore, the Dhamma has universal applicability and relevance to all times and more so, the modern times of stress, strain and strife due to degradation of human element in man.

The original teachings of any great Master are always simple and straight. But with succeeding generations, many developments take place by way of commentaries through intellectual discourses and exercises. In a fond attempt to make the original teachings simpler to understand and to bring out its significance, the commentators make the philosophy more complicated and difficult. Therefore, Guruji advises that one should read the original works before one looks into the commentaries. These intellectual exercises result in proposing diverse approaches from the same platform. These new branches in course of time grow into full-fledged religions like a plant grows into a tree spreading around its branches also forming new stems. This does not mean that the branches are different from the original plant. They are the extensions of the same tree. This out look would promote democratic spirit and tolerance to pursue the goal unconcerned with the diversity in their approaches. Guruji aptly says that the Sanathana Dharma is the basis of all religions that sprang up in India. The Buddha's teachings are no exception.

Y. Sudershan Rao

12 Mar 2007

Formerly Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Professor of History, Kakatiya University, Warangal, A.P. Former Member, Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi (2000-2002). UGC National Fellow (1992-94). ysudershanrao@ yahoo.com

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A Human Birth.....

The birth of a human being is a miracle. It signifies the beginning of a story. A story of love, strength, flaws, wars, agony, joy and so many more things. It is also a sign that the soul inside the body of the new born had done something in it's past life to merit a chance to redeem itself of the vicious circle of birth and death. It is an opportunity to right the wrongs of all its previous births, for only a human has the ability to think for himself and hence has the power of choice, the power of decision. In this Kali-Yuga, the human is expected to lead a spiritual life in order to redeem himself and hence find salvation. For, the ultimate aim of every living being is to attain enlightenment and therefore realize the Parama-Sathya or Ultimate Truth - there is no body, only soul and that soul (Param- Atma) is one and the same as God, the Ultimate Being – Param – Atma. The day he realizes this, he will find liberation from all worldly problems and find himself at peace with, and one with the universe.

A spiritual life does not necessarily mean the life of an ascetic. Unlike in the previous yugas, as explained in the prelude to the Bhagawad Gita by Saint Narada, in the Kali Yuga, man need only be devoted to GOD to redeem himself. Devotion is more than enough to attain salvation and the highest form of devotion is chanting the name of the Almighty. The simplest and yet the highest form of devotion is indeed - JAPA. Chanting the name of the lord continuously with the deepest of concentration that one can muster is the best and easiest way to absolve oneself of all one’s sins and attain enlightenment.

There will, as always, be hurdles in the path that will lead one to the ultimate goal. But these goals are not to deter one rather to toughen oneself. The hurdles must be looked upon as learning experiences and strength must be drawn from the experiences that one obtains through ones travails. This and only this will serve to make one worthy of enlightenment. Clarity of thought, Serenity and Concentration alone can take one to the heights of self realization. For, without self realization there is no redemption.

A few thougts about Spirituality.....

Spirituality is not the effect and result of faith, belief and perseverance rather it is something that every human being is born with. Each human being is born into this world with a clean slate. He does not know any thing good or bad. And it is the environment in which the child grows that determines what kind of personality he begets. No child is born evil, neither is it born good.

It is man’s misconception that a baby is born good just because it is not evil. The child assimilates its surroundings and that translates into the child’s conceptions of good and bad. Here begins the child’s journey of morality and hence spirituality. But it is next to impossible that the child will not come across what every human being comes across in his life. And that may include good and bad experiences.

It is the values that have been instilled in him and the strength and conviction with which he holds and practices those values which will decide the road he will travel. If those values are strong enough he will learn from his mistakes and also learn not to make those mistakes again, also he will learn from his experiences and take them positively and use his experience to his benefit. If otherwise then he will turn into a man who has lost all morality and ability to see light in life.

Spirituality is the lamp that lights our way back to our father in heaven. Spirituality is the light at the end of the tunnel, the long tunnel that we all must walk through in order for us to get to our real destination. And those who tire of keeping to the straight narrow path that will lead us to it will stray away and end up in places that they didn’t necessarily want to end up in, places that aren’t our real destination.

Spirituality is like a locker, an electronic safe if you will. Just as a locker holds inside it something precious, which will be revealed only if you open it, so too spirituality holds inside it a very great treasure. And just like the locker is very tough to open so too spirituality does not open easily. It will take a lot of hard work to obtain the treasure that spirituality has to offer. And the treasure is nothing but the deliverance of our souls from this monotonous cycle of birth and death.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

A Life Stopped Short!

Today a group of so called beings of a higher consciousness ended the tale of a seeming dangerous being of a not so great intelligence. The Reason being a perceived threat and a probable trespassing of “borders of personal space”!

 

The fact that humans are scared of beings of the animal world especially those that do not belong to the domesticated kind is something highly inexplicable!! For some reason, the only solution to this fear is either the imprisonment or death of the being in question. It is understandable that killing is necessary where one’s own life is faced with the danger of death. But why in other times?

 

My fundamental reason for thought on this matter is as follows. Man was either created or had evolved from a more primeval animal. Lets take the first case now. Here Man was created but only after the creation of animals. In which case it is we who are trespassing on land they once freely roamed!! They did not have a problem with it but soon enough we did!! We created fences, walls and borders!! And today we not only kill those beings who accepted us with open arms but our own neighbours too!!

 

In the second case we have the theory that man evolved a more primeval being!! Whatever that may be, we still have evolved from a being that previously existed and we came into existence only after so many hundred other animals had evolved, which again leads us to the same explanation I used in the first case!! Either way we are doing wrong!!

 

How is it possible for mankind to believe that killing is the only solution to the fear?? If that was true then we would end up killing everybody but ourselves!! Fear is an integral part of being human!! It’s what keeps us alive!! But taking that fear to a state of paranoia is what is wrong!! Just because there is no law against killing animals, does it mean that we as supposed beings of a higher conscience have the power to decide who lives and who doesn’t? It is not like the presence of a law against killing humans has stopped us from killing them!!

 

So then what is the point of calling ourselves Human Beings? The term “Human Beings” is very akin to and is probably derived from the term “Humane Beings” meaning beings of a more calm and peaceful nature! It is common knowledge that beings of a higher collective knowledge are supposed to be peaceful and harmony oriented!! Not Piece Full and Harm Only Oriented!! Why cant man co-exist with nature? Why must he fight it when nature is where he comes from? He is after all Her child!!

 

I guess this behaviour of man kind can be compared to a human life as such!! First as babies we are dependent on our mother and then as we grow into adolescents we find everything that our mother says wrong!! And then we rebel!! I guess Mankind is in its adolescent stage!! And by the time when it reaches adulthood, most probably it would be too late to change the past and too far down the lane to shape the future!!

 

Lets jus pray that mankind realizes where it is heading and that the direction it is running is one in which there is a train coming at it at full speed. Lets pray that man will try to become more mature about his attitude toward the world and mother nature!! And last but never the least let us this time stop praying and start doing!! It is high time we stood up and took the reigns of this chariot and turned it around to the direction of world peace and harmony… the direction of a new War-Free, Educated, Healthy world, both with respect to Us and with respect to Mother Nature!!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Bench….. The death knell…

4 months ago I was a fresher…. Just out of college, a job at one the most prestigious firms in the country in hand, head held high and feeling like I could conquer the world at whim…. Today, 4 months later I am still on BENCH.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term BENCH, it is defined as a situation in a firm where in an employee is paid his salary for no work done, as in the employee is not assigned a project or any sort of work but he makes the same money that any working member of the firm does.

Now this situation is fun for sometime…. Anybody would love to make money sitting on their ass for sometime. But sooner or later any self valuing human being with even an ounce of conscience and self worth will start feeling the pinch and sting of the situation….. It starts eating u from inside….. Your conscience just will not let u sleep peacefully…… Every morsel of food you eat is of, in one way, dishonest means. Every luxury you afford yourself is, in one way, of wrong earnings.

Slowly depression takes you over and then everything around you starts jeering at your situation and slowly madness replaces depression….. The BENCH is the death sentence that the court did not rule and the president cannot pardon…