Food for thought : 12.12.2021
"Remove Ignorance to see the Truth;
Remove ahankara to see the Self;
Remove wants to feel the Athma;
Remove attachments to
feel the Divine".
According to the law of the Universe, creation is the existence of duality.There are 4 realms in this creation called man kind.
We often tend to confuse ourselves with these aspects, resulting in emptiness and frustration.
So let us first understand the different realms of the Self and then let us decode the statements.
The outermost realm is the Physical realm.This includes the surrounding and the body of the self. The self experiences duality due to the surrounding for eg. - day /night; hot/cold; etc.
The second realm is the Intellectual realm - This includes the mind and the intellect. This also experiences duality like true/false; known/unknown; etc
The third realm is the emotional realm which includes the senses and the breath - happy/sad; pain/relief etc
Spiritual realm - This is the innermost realm which is governed by the athma and the paramatma. Here the duality is agitation/ peace; harmony/disharmony etc.
The life’s activity in a person is governed by these 4 realms or levels. During our lifetime and stages of life, each level takes prominence and our nature is shaped accordingly. Now having known and understood these realms let us try and understand the statements.
Remove Ignorance to see the truth
What is ignorance here? Ignorance is not being illiterate. Ignorance is, not understanding the duality before you, ie vidya and Avidya.according to Isha upanishad Avidya is referred to as karma.Avidya or karma will yield fruits which have a beginning and an end. Fruits of karma is samsara, so until one realises this he/she cannot come out of the birth cycle, understanding of avidya, helps us realise vidya (knowledge) which is the Real Truth.Until one realises that fruits of karma is samsara, real truth cannot be seen,hence the statement remove ignorance to see the truth.
How do we remove ignorance (avidya/Karma)?
To realise and understand what we are going through in life, good,bad, bitter sweet is all because of karma.
Understanding the real truth that, as ignorance melts away, vidya walks in with grace
Avoid unwanted desires, thoughts and actions.
2. Remove ahankara to see the Self
This is the second level of understanding. It is the source of all evils. It is illusory. It deludes people. Though it is nothing,it is everything for a common man.Its parents are avidya and maya, it is groomed by desires to fight the real truth. Ahankara is the identity given by the body to itself. Until or unless this identity is removed one cannot comprehend the fact that the self is not in control, it is just following the law of karma or creation. So if one has to see the self, then the “I” factor has to be removed.
How do you remove this ahankara?
Ahankara within can be converted by practicing seva sangalpam towards Ambal, which is “I am the sevak of Ambal, I will do anything for her”
Practicing that which the “I” feels inferior. For eg. being the first one to talk to after a fight with family members; doing service at the temple, hospital etc.
Never taking credit for what you haven’t done and being humble about what you have achieved.
3. Remove wants to feel the athma
Wants are another important thing which should be removed to realise the athma inside us.why do I say this? Desires are cravings of the senses.The senses trigger the mind. The mind gets to work and triggers the intellect to find reasons to satisfy the cravings. The intellect triggers the self to prompt action. The self triggers the body and the body promptly performs the actions and this creates a karmic cycle. One karmic cycle leads into the other and this leads to samsara cycle of births and deaths.Hence it should be nibbed at the bud stage.
How to remove wants or desires.
If you want to withdraw from a desire, you should shut down three compartments in your body. A. senses. B.mind. C. ahankara. For eg. say your friend has visited dubai and talks about her wonderful stay in dubai.
Now you are tempted to visit the place. Your senses sends you the signal for good tasty food, scenic beauty, wonderful malls etc; secondly the mind starts planning to achieve this, thinks about finances, booking tickets,dreaming about the place etc; thirdly the “I” factor walks in and suggests “ Don’t I deserve a nice holiday for all the work I have done?
This desire has pushed you to fulfill it by any means or else it pushes you towards being unhappy, isn’t it?. So you need to shut down your desire.
So by shutting down you remove your desire you realise the real self or your athma, its purpose, its goal and its dissolution into the paramatman.
4. Remove attachments to feel the divine :
When the desires, ahankara and ignorance is removed the Self sets the athma free to dissolve into the divine.
The Process of detachment is when the body detaches itself from wants and desires; the self detaches itself from the ahankara; then the self sets the athma free by detaching it from the karmic cycle. When it does, the athma dissolves into the divine.
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