Abstract Meditation/Bhakthi
I would like start this blog with a vichiism.
“A disappointment a day keeps attraction away”
I would imagine that for our family members fed on a heavy diet of advaithic doctrine, this aphorism needs no great bhashyam. But to understand the process which resulted in this, to my mind makes for an interesting reading (well at least to my mind!!!) and so, sorry folks, I am here, once again, busy blogging away to glory, quite unmindful of your keenness to know. I am however deriving comfort from the fact that unlike a live one-to-one kind of dialogue where it would be rude to not listen-in, you all can just “delete” the mail which comes, and later not open the blog at all if you choose to. Here I go:
It is just a couple of days back. I am in a dream. I am passing thru a temple where someone is singing. The voice is good so I pause to listen. The singer is essaying a raga thru a Sanskrit sloka, and I am enjoying the contours till he reaches the end of the sloka and completes the rendering of the raga. I am simultaneously following every nuance and when I realize the raga’s name -which is “mohanam”- I am just overwhelmed by the beauty of the raga and involuntarily say “aaha”. The singer repeats the word “naaraayanaa” twice for the audience to follow these, it strikes me that this is a part of a “bhajan” and just a few days back in a blog I had patronizingly criticized this form of devotion. Remember I am still in the dream, and I wake up just at this moment ……
In the afternoon I just happen to pick up a book on “naraayaneeyam” published by Ramakrishna Math. The random page selected gives an account of different means of contemplating on that absolute Brahmn from ages starting from Kruta to this age of kali. The gist goes somewhat like this; in the former when men were more evolved, meditating on the abstract brahmn was not difficult, but in this age when this is found very difficult for the majority, chanting of His name either individually or loudly in a congregation helped in graduating to that stage.
The narration then goes on explains bhakthi. Imagine a thorn which has gone into one’s skin. To argue that the thorn, the person everything is just a manifestation of that “brahmn” is not only illogical but harsh. The thorn, the pain, everything is real, and cannot be wished away. The only way to remove the thorn is to use another thorn. The thorn which has embedded itself is nothing but an obstacle in your path as designed by the will of the superpower. The other one which is chosen to remove this obstacle is Bhakthi.
These led to mulling over events over the past few years; the unrelentingly periodic appearances of “thorns” in the form of one disappointment or the other, either losing material riches, or the absence of perceived grace in any endeavor, are perhaps messages from the Providence. The severity of these perceived disappointments are directly proportional to our attachments, and to be able to get over them or get to the stage of total detachment, we need Grace. For both, the path -especially in this age- is solely “bhakthi”
In this process of mulling over, there is this predominant thought; that ability to develop a strong sense of “this is another test and will just pass by thru His will” kind of detachment is not impossible. A mere thought process in this direction surprisingly gives a great amount of relief from tension. But alas before I can sustain this thought, there comes this realization that any physical “thorn” like say a body pain/a sickness is not so easily by-pass-able, without abundant Grace and extra-ordinary Bhakthi. Is there a regret?
The starting vichiism is therefore understandable. I would like to end this also with another vichiism.
“Bhakthi is initially a process towards reaching that final beatitude of just “Be”, but is the only choice after realization if you want to savor that bliss and yet be”.
Hopefully you will find something in this to relate to. In this second janma of Jignyaasaa after the book, I see merit in just penning down my thoughts as they come without re-iterations. To that extent they may appear to be random thoughts. But that seems to me as beautiful. You may not agree but indulge me regardless.
Love
Vichu
Chittappa,
ReplyDeleteI quite liked and agree with the vichiism. If there are no disappointments and we get whatever we want, detachment is difficult. Disappointments can either lead to bitterness, or to a burning desire to get what one wanted, or to a mature realization that this is how it was meant to be, and hence generate a sense of detachment. (The materialists call the last fatalism, at times they may be right..)
On the topic of Bhakti, Bhakti is not to be spoken off lightly at all.. You should see how the yatris converge on Pandharpur and fling themselves at the deity's feet to try and fathom what bhakti is...
The last point namely the"realization that this is how it was meant to be" etc. I go a step further, even if it was not what was meant to be, I still take these as they come kind of surrender to Him/His ways.- like hurdles created when one does tapas etc as we have heard from epics,- is the ultimate form of detachment methinks. I don't think this is fatalism, for want of an appropriate word I prefer to call it transcendental wisdom.
ReplyDeleteBTW this bhakthi /detachment need not necessarily be or gaged by such demonstrable acts which to me appear in majority of the cases not to be of the sincerest variety. I see a large number of them in the neighborhood Thursday Bhajan gang. I dare say that I have come across only one such person who fits my discription of total detachment to material world in my life time. He happens to be the father of that lady named Jaya who lived in Sringeri and who passed away in very tragic circumstances, as also the father of Balu, who was Secretary/Driver man Friday kind of to our previous Acharyal.
And my firm belief about this man got bolstered with his being not very popular with the traditional "bhaktha Kotis" in general, who laughed him off as "eccentric".
Love
Vichu
Dear Vichu,
ReplyDeleteYour resumption of your postings on the blog with the piece on meditation/bhakthi was such a relief ,after that riotous piece likening GDP to moksha etc.As an excellent player of tennis, you are entitled to send your services beyond the court with flourish and the spectators might join your mood knowing the player that you are . But the spectators would wait for the next service and you may reward them with your characteristic ace.But you may do well by the audience and by yourself to desist from your not so infrequent urge to serve your aces out of the court or into the net and say that that is how you would play the game.
I envy the Grace you are receiving so often by way of cogent meaningful dreams which dreams for me continue to be hopelessly incoherent and completely meaningless even in parts.
May you be blessed with more Grace and continuing urge to share that Grace with all of us.
Love
Gulpa