The third cliché…
“sankalpams lead to scholarship, sankalpam-less meditation leads to realization”
The major thrust of the first two clichés were (a) Scholarship is innate in a scholar (b) the former therefore has no independent identity (c) one’s fascination for scholarship merely perpetuates the Brahmn/ His creation duality (d) so the need for scholarship to be rid to be able to merge in “oneness”.
The third cliché goes to the next step: the genesis of this “scholarship”, and how to go beyond.
In our annual “upaakarmaa” day after a brief “vedaarambham” we express our intent with a “now therefore I will”
(a) Go in quest for understanding my duties and then on to
(b) Quest for self-realization of my true identity.
(Atthaatho dharma jignyaasaa, Atthhaatho Brahma Jignyaasaa, scholarship thence to become a scholar as it were)
The first part relates to the study of the Vedas, acquiring scholarship/ titles like vaja peyee, ganapadi, etc, following prescribed SOPs , earning, procreating, and generally desiring a life of fulfillment. These were times of a bygone era. Today, Vedas have been replaced by Science & technology. One acquires scholarship, earns Doctorates, moolah, recognition, marries, begets progeny, et al, and yearns for a glorious life.
Both of these are in the realm of the created Gross material world, where “duality” appears very real.
Every one of the Vedas prescribed action was preceded by an affirmative intent /statement of a purpose or simply, an expression of desire; this is termed as “sankalpam”. In today’s world also a similar “Statement of purpose” is an essential part of any enterprise. In other words it is apparent, that statement of purpose/desire etc, from vedic times, was/ is an accepted norm for matters relating to the secular world.
But life’s only purpose being “to know oneself” and to realize that there really is no “duality”, the sankalpam was confined to seeking the Lord’s kindness to exhaust the cause/effect nature of one’s birth soonest. From there one went on to the second part namely “brahma Jignyaasaa”. This relates to one’s transcending to the stage of understanding that this “duality” is merely assumed, and one must finally get to “realize” and experience that stage of “oneness with HIM”. This second part is dealt with by Upanishads or Vedantha, the concluding part of Vedas.
This sankalpam however, over the ages, has become more & more desire oriented, and the seeking His kindness part reduced to a kind of a formality. The result is the gradual entrapment into the web of the secular world; ask for & get it. In the S&T world of today, similarly the desire for newer discoveries and the desire to enjoy simply overrule any inner quest for a merger with Him. In other words, scholarship stakes are simply too overwhelming for anyone who would even occasionally entertain a preference to be a scholar.
So for a faithful what is the major hurdle coming in the way to get to the second part, preventing honest attempts to escape this seducing attractiveness of this secular world?
The answer simply is “desire”. How does this spring forth? It can be traced to the “thought process”, as the root. Even as you think , there is this attachment, and when you are attached to something, the desire springs forth, thence comes the “sankalpam filled action, followed by an endless fascination for scholarship, recognition, re-birth, etc in perpetuity.
What is the remedy to overcome desire? The first step is to develop a sense of detachment from (a) every object of desire, and (b) fruits of all that duty bound (veda prescribed) actions. Over time, one will evolve to the stage of being able to stop looking-without and start looking within, delving inside, with thoughts only on Him, seeking only His kindness sans every kind of a sankalpam, to be in that yogaroodah stage, to finally merge in that “oneness”, in “realization”. The vedantha/ Upanishads proclaim that this is a stage of bliss which is beyond comprehension of both mind and words.
Rishis of yore like Bharadwaj, Dhurvasa received such calls from Providence, and in today’s world of S&T also, I dare say that there will be Scientists, Technologists, as also countless Seers, who have probably received and/or receiving such inner calls. They will all be in meditation to find out their true identities, realizing the futility of endless discoveries starting from the debates about whether the earth is round or flat, etc., every one of which has little relevance when one is in the path of self discovery.
The cliché captures these stages of evolution; First Samkalpa –of- desires-driven action leading to scholarship etc., then a detached and desire-less mindset with a prayer kind of samkalpa beseeching His kind dispensation to exhaust all cause-effect paradigm even while doing duty bound actions, and then on to final renunciation of all kinds of samkalpa and meditation leading to “realization”.
Terms like Sankalpam, yogaroodah etc are found in Verse 4, chapter 6 of Gita, - which are dealt in detail in the blog (title gita –select translations) as also verse 19 chapter 4 (page 90 of the book) and it’s comforting for me to notice that what I am saying now is in sync. A peep into these blog material was a spiritually enriching experience.
To be contd….. Love Vichu
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