Who is the "Master and who is the "Seeker"

Honesty is the best policy. Honestly, I admit I have joined speakingtree.in recently and I am but a know-not-man. It is with utmost humility I write this blog. I am quite bad at writing and blogging as such and I hope you will excuse "My English". 

This website segregates the blog posts into two categories - master's blogs and seeker's blogs. Putting the blogs aside, let us focus on the words master and seeker. Who are these guys? I wonder how the creators of this wonderful website have split the "bloggers and readers" into two, just as I did it. Are there really two categories of people? To answer this, let us remind ourselves of what Krishna said in the Bhagawad Gita which has been repeated umpteen number of times - Everything is one. 

Oneness cannot be defined. Everything is one but not two. Two does not exist. Everything forms a part of illusion (that which is not true). Analysis of this statement comfortably leads to one point - whatever I have typed till this point forms a part of that illusion. It is also ironic that I have used the letter "I" countless number of times in my lifetime and have been doing it right from the second sentence of this post. That "I" which I have been using and will be using all my life is the ego, that which seperates myself with the actual self - The SELF. 

Everything is an illusion. This beautiful planet, this breathtaking cosmos, all the living things along with the non living, including the computer I am sitting in front of and all these statements, form a part of the illusion. Illusion, also called Maya, in Sanskrit, is the basis for all suffering (which is also a part of the Maya). Illusion or Maya is the Bride of this creation. Anything that has seperated from the self, or the Brahman principle - the eternal, timeless, transcendent and cosmic state of being - the Sat-Chit-Ananda, has to form a part of the illusion, which by definition does not actually exist. So as long as this creation exists, which is actually an incorrect statement for it always exists, Maya does too. This Maya in ingrained in our mind and in every atom. Mind is a bundle of thoughts that gets us into thinking and knowing that everything that we see and experience is real. Thoughts and knowledge are also illusory, it is needless to say.

Brahma emerges out of Vishnu and creates a universe and that is the point where all duality begins. Only when Brahma perishes does this duality perish. Brahma perishes along with duality. The fundamental cosmic energy remains in the timeless, spaceless ocean. It is an ocean of pure energy. Brahmas continuously emanate from this ocean like bubbles emerge out of a sea. Each bubble in the sea represents one entire universe. All the universes put together are popularly known in the science circles as the multiverse. There are infinite number of created universes in the ocean of energy (I will write more about this in another blog). To sum up, the creator together with the multiverse are, indeed, one. Even the statement "Aham Brahmasmi" which tranlates to "I am Brahman", separates both entities. We know that this divine statement has been preached by a divine soul centuries back. The statement is a mere form of communicating the essence of the Brahman principle (it is for the ease of understanding and communication, which otherwise separates the two). Brahmasmi Brahmasmi. I am I and Brahman is Brahman. This I is not referred to the negative energy, ego, but the equalization (elimination) of the positive and negative energies; that combination of manifest and unmanifest energy - the fundamental energy - Brahman himself/herself/itself/the self. Words cannot describe and mind cannot comprehend it.

Who is a Master and Who is a Seeker? Both are one. No one can be a master and no one is a seeker. It is in the dual state of mind that we use these words, whereas everyone of us is a seeker. Otherwise, the seeker would not exist for he would have BECOME (merged with) the master. Everyone is a seeker. Master is that Brahman principle. Brahman is everyone and everything. And so everyone is a master. Huh!! What is happening? Everyone is a seeker and everyone is a master - seeker becomes a master. YES !! Master descends as the seeker, the seeker is and will be the master and becomes the master. Seeker and Master are one. This is what Krishna teaches us.

It is, hence, only for the sake of convenience and ease of communication that the coders of this website have segregated the ONE principle into two, I suppose, and I hope that my assumption is true.

Underlying Significance of Ramayana Characters

"Suklambaradaram Vishnum Sashivarnam
Chathurbhujam Prasanna Vadanam Dhyayeth
Saravavignopa Shantaye"

One who wears a white dress; One who is omnipresent;
One who shines like the Moon; One who has four hands;
One who has a beautiful and shining face;
One who wards off all obstacles. I meditate on Him.

Rama is the personification of Dharma. Only when a person reaches the pinnacle of righteousness does he meet the heart of Rama. Rama is the Veda Dharma in human form. He is the essence of Sanathana Dharma.

Sanathana Dharma sounds complicated. What does it really mean? The moral code to abide by has been coming from time immemorial. No dates can be assigned to the religion of Sanathana Dharma. This came to be known as Hinduism today. The essence of all the religions put together forms Sanathana Dharma.

Rama personifies Dharma. He is the Anandaswaroopa. He is Dharmaswaroopa. He is the motivator of moral life. He dwells as the "Atma- Rama"in every being, in every atom in the cosmos. There is no place where Rama is not and there is no place that is not Rama. The imminent and eternal state of being in every being is the lord of Hanuman. The path Rama trod, the ordinance he laid, the idea he held aloft are eternal and timeless. It forms the foundation for every being to live life the right way. The rituals are unimportant. They form the empty action of a mind. Practising what Rama taught paves the way to Godhood. His life is his message. The immortal Rama descended from his divine abode "Vaikuntha", walked this divine planet to show the way to immortality.

Veda is a word derived from vidya. Veda is heard and not a concoction of someone's mind. The four divine brothers form the four Vedas. Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shatrughna signify Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas. A man who follows the ego - the "I" ness, the mind - and this materialistic world falling prey to his impulses and instincts spends his life amassing wealth, property and authority over fellow-beings and believes that holding others under his wraps is a desirable achievement. This man forgets his very nature and neglects the awareness is that he is but the spark of the divine flame.

Is that it? Has Ramayana got a deeper significance? It does. The great king and the divine father, Dasaratha whose name means that he rides on his ten chariots. These ten chariots signify the ten indriyas, the five Jnanendriyas and the five Karmendriyas. He gets attached to these ten aspects of the body and he gets entangled with the three wives, Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi representing the three gunas, Satvic, Rajas and Tamas, and he has four sons who signify the four purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha). The main purpose of his life is to realise the last one moksha (Rama). Lakshmana also represents the buddhi or the intellect, hanuman represents the monkey mind - which is always restless and forms a repository of courage if controlled and tamed by his master, Sugriva, the discrimination. With these to help him, a man (Rama) succeeds to the realize of the very nature of man, the underlying truth, Sita.

Rama (Dharma) exemplifies the needed virtues that a man should cultivate so he might play various roles in his life as a son, master, husband, brother, friend etc. This holds for all the beings in the cosmos. The other three brothers represent the three ideals that he has to hold on to. Lakshmana represents Prema, Bharatha represents Sathya and Shatrughna represents Shanti. Imbibing and applying  Dharma, Sathya, Shanti and Prema in every aspect and time of life forms the very basis for a healthy, happy and a worthwhile living with ample rewards.

That very much forms the lesson of the great epic to every being.

Peace

What is peace? Where do we get it? How do we find it? Does it already exist within us? Are we searching for peace in the external world? Where did the word peace originate? Why did it even originate? We have to find what it all means.

Thesaurus defines peace as a state of no war or disagreement. Now, when we utter the word war, the first thing that comes to mind is a war between worlds, or countries. Wars have been happening since ages, it is needless to say. According to Hindu mythology wars have been happening since millions of years. These belong to the external world. What about the internal world? There is a world in our body. Internal means - within us, the mind. There is a constant war in the mind.

One situation show up and we are stuck. We do not know what to do. But the mind does not wait. It starts thinking. It is said that there are sixty thousand thoughts that pass through a human mind everyday. Sixty thousand!!! It takes hours to count that number. But are we even aware of it? We surely are not. Not unless we want to be. So the situation is looking right into the eyes and the mind starts thinking heavily. Thoughts start to flow. Thoughts are always present, no matter a situation shows itself up or not. The main reason we get tired in the first four to five hours of our waking state is because of the thoughts. It is impossible for a human being to control thoughts, or stop them. Mind is a bundle of thoughts. The constant electrical impulse flow in our brain. We cannot control them. The mind is like an automated machine, with the only input being the act of waking up from sleep. The only thing we can possibly do is divert these thoughts. The diversion of thoughts leads to a kind of control. All the spiritualists who ask people to meditate want them, basically, to get to state of thoughtlessness from the state of thought flow. When thoughtlessness is achieved peace prevails. But, thoughtlessness cannot be achieved in the waking state, that is to say that it cannot be accomplished when we are awake. Mind cannot be controlled. Mind is a monkey. It cannot be stopped, but can only be tamed. Tamed how? By diverting the thoughts.

Peace is the ultimate form of bliss. Or formlessness of bliss. Can we be blissful? Of course yes. How? It is very simple as it is said. When we say "I want peace", we find three words attached to the statement. The word "I" is the I-self, the ego. Ego is nothing but the feeling of doership and ownership. When we say "I" we are referring to the ego. Ego tells us that I do things and I acheive and I am living in this world and it is MY life. How can the I exist when we know we cannot control the thoughts. It is impossible. People who say it is are saying it because their ego state is dominant. Thoughts cannot be controlled in the waking state. A person can become thoughtless if he can be thoughtless for Eleven seconds. It can be definitely said that even four or five seconds is impossible, in the waking state. So when we say I, we are referring to the ego. If the feeling of doership is destroyed, and if the thoughts are diverted to make the mind believe that I am not the doer, we have attained half your bliss. We do things automatically when the situation shows up. The final action originates from the inner voice. The inner voice says Do it, and only then we do it. It is not the I as we believe it to be. So the ego should be destroyed.

Next, comes the word want. Want is different from a need. Want is a desire and need is a necessity. Food clothes and shelter are necessities. Bungalows and lavish food become a part of desires. Half of the thoughts form the desires. If desire-less-ness is achieved, the goal is accomplished. Desires have no end. They are endless. People think they can be blissful if they get a lot of money or a beautiful girl to get married to or achieve fame and status in the society(and so on). And when they get all the money they want, the most beautiful girl, fame and high status, we find that they are not happy and still wanting more. So what is the point of having a desire to be rich or famous. Did it result in bliss finally? Did it produce happiness? They get to that position only to find out that they are still not happy and blissful. It sounds preposterous and it is. It is foolishness to have endless desires. But once the desires are minimized or even zeroed, bliss can be achieved. Automatically a feeling of immense happiness flows in.

So how do we control desires? Acceptance is the keyword. Accept. What we are given in our lives is not enough for us. We always want more. When we start accepting what we get we have happiness. We do not know what we want. The richest man in the world wants more money, so why in the name of god did he even want the kind of money he has when he wants more and more and he is still not happy. So ultimately it comes to a very valid point that we do not know where to find happiness, or in other words we do not know what we actually want, to achieve that happiness. The key is desire-less-ness and acceptance.

I and want are removed and what are we left with? Peace. When ego and desires are removed we are left with peace. Peace is in the haven of the heart and it is sad to see people search for it in the superficiality of this creation, the external world, the far-off places. Peace exists within us. We have to find a way to be aware of it. Awareness comes only when the ego and desires are destroyed. Peace then prevails. Bliss fills the heart although the mind works.

I Want Peace - remove I and remove want, you have Peace.