Paūrāṇic Ganesha (Part-IX)

Series on Ganesha the Great!

Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare

(Continued from Part-VIII)

This mini ‘one_act_play’ in english, is based on ‘11 chapters of Ganesha Geetā’ and is designed to convey the theoretical philosophical essence of ‘Ganesha Purāṇa’ aid to popularize ‘Global-awareness’ about ‘Lord Ganesha’, compiled by sage Vyāsa in the form of a dialogue between ‘Lord Gajānana’ an incarnation of Lord Ganesha and his father (in this incarnation) King Vareṇya (as his disciple).

उपदेश (दैवासुर्_सम्पत्) योग

King Vareṇya: My dear son, most people respect and work hard to earn as much richness and prosperity as possible. However, why do most rich and wealthy personalities remain unsatisfied with their possessions and keep on desiring for more and more forever?

Lord Gajānana: My dear father, there is an illusion in the mind of the common man that happiness is related with wealth. Poverty does cause physical & mental unhappiness, especially when even the minimum necessary needs (such as air, water, food, clothes & shelter) for living a healthy life are not satisfied. But when these minimum needs get satisfied, a passion for earning more, and a greed for gathering and storing too much of wealth in different forms like a) money in cash and bank balance, b) flats, houses, c) urban & agricultural lands, d) ornaments and jewellery, e) fancy gadgets etc., goes on increasing forever. Such mental attitude and behavior pattern actually increases the worries related with

 a) the protection of such wealth from theft and

 b) losses due to their wear and tear, aging etc.

Therefore, Vedic sages have advised every human personality to inculcate a habit of regular donation (दान_धर्म) of at least 25% of their earnings every year, to appropriately needy, deserving or scholarly personalities or temples or institutions engaged in educational or social welfare etc. Acts of such donation are advocated to bring the donor, some spiritual credits (पुण्य). It trains one’s mind to willfully dispossess and feel emotionally unattached with such materialistic possessions. Earning such spiritual credits (while physically living on the Earth) is also advised as a method of assuring a comfortable stay in the heaven (after one’s death), for a certain duration related with the amount of such credits. Simple statistics and rational thinking tell us that, such moral and spiritually creditworthy activities, improve the level of average social happiness, which in turn improves the chances of living happier life by all the members of that society. Such moral behavior patterns and actions and the “associated accumulation of credits” is called as a virtual divine wealth (दैवी_सम्पत्ति), which increases

 a) individual as well as social welfare and

 b) average social happiness index level.

Tendencies such as a) belief in God (आस्तिक्य), b) a mental urge for helping others, c) willingness to donate regularly to worthy and needy, d) honesty, e) truthfulness, f) regular study of worthy books of knowledge, f) braveness to face difficult situations, etc. are some examples of divine wealth. On the contrary, immoral behavior patterns and associated accumulation of sins or discredits (पाप) is called as a virtual demonic wealth (आसुरी सम्पत्ति). Tendencies such as a) telling lies, b) ego c) belief in wrong understandings, d) dishonesty, e) greed, f) hatred, etc. are some examples of demonic wealth.  Accumulation of such demonic wealth by individuals belonging to any society results in the increase in crime rates and average unhappiness level in that society, which can even lead to social turmoil and revolutionary political upheavals.

Painting by Manju Acharya, Former Public Relations Officer in an Indian Railways Public Sector Enterprise, Govt. of India

विविध_वस्तु_विवेक_योग

King Vareṇya: Please enlighten me on correct ways of performing penance.

Lord Gajānana: My dear father,

 a) always respecting elders, scholars, teachers, etc. and behave in tender humble modesty,

 b) honesty & truthfulness,

 c) understanding, remembering and timely fulfillment of all moral responsibilities, etc.

are some examples of simplest forms of penances in routine life. Additional special and harder ‘Penances’ can be divided in six categories in two major groups viz.1) सात्विक, 2) राजसिक, 3) तामसिक, 4) कायिक, 5) वाचिक, 6) मानसिक.

Spiritual (सात्विक) Penances

Good quality spiritual (सात्विक) penances are mostly mental or emotional and are effortlessly carried out with peaceful mind & happy mental willingness. Therefore, they are not physically painful exercises. Such penances are fruitful in increasing the performer’s closeness with Supreme God.

Mediocre (राजसिक) Penances

Spiritually moderate and factually good (राजसिक) penances are carried out with a combination of physical and mental efforts. Therefore, they are somewhat painful exercises. Most of them are carried out with a lot of dramatically attractive publicity stunts (selfishly motivated and undertaken for attracting simpletons who can then be fooled for monetary profits or for sexual exploitation, etc.). Such penances have very little impact on the performer’s closeness with Supreme God.

Worst (तामसिक) of Penances

Spiritually worst varieties (तामसिक) of penances are ignorantly carried out exercises. They can be physically or mentally very painful and sometimes even ‘aimless’. They have very small chances of success. Most of them may actually earn spiritual discredits (पापार्जन) and therefore increase the spiritual distance between the performer and the Supreme God.

कायिक Penances

 a) maintaining good physical cleanliness and health,

 b) respecting elders, teachers etc. and worshiping divine gods,

 c) practicing awareness of visualization of presence of divinity in everything and everywhere (realization of ‘सर्वम् खलु इदम् ब्रह्म्’ principle),

 d) strictly or religiously following laws of good moral conduct, as well as,

 e) adopting strictly nonviolent means (even under testing circumstances)

are typical examples of physical कायिक penances.

वाचिक Penances

a) consciously talking only, the truth while

 b) choosing only sweat, soft & un-hurting words (सत्यम् ब्रूयात् प्रियम् ब्रूयात्  न ब्रूयात् सत्यम् अप्रियम्),

 c) always give most appropriately beneficial advises, which are based on teachings available in Vedopaniśadic literature,

are typical examples of oral (वाचिक) penances.

मानसिक Penances

 Self-conscious efforts for

 a) maintaining calmness and peacefulness of mind,

 b) abstaining from making any loud claims or oral noise (e.g., घटम् भिन्द्यात् पटम् छिन्द्यात्   कुर्यात् रासभ रोहणम्, for attracting publicity cum popularity),

 c) having full mental self-control on (habitual or addiction type) demands of all five sense organs e.g.

     i) eating tasty items without hunger, or

     ii) drinking drinks for taste or for getting intoxicated and not due to the genuine thirst,

     iii) addiction to audio-video instruments like TV or records of musical singing or dancing etc.

are typical examples of mental (मानसिक) penances.

Further, some more spiritually beneficial (पुण्य_सम्पादन तथा पाप_प्रक्षालन प्रद) activities carried out using psycho-emotional modes such as

a) habit of constant continuous recitation of spiritually creditworthy phrases (मन्त्र_जप e.g.  १_ॐ, २_ॐ_गं, ३_ॐ ह्राम्, ह्रीम्, श्रीम्, क्रीम्, क्लीम्, चामुण्डायै विच्चै, ४_ॐ गं गणपतये नम:, ५_ॐ नम: शिवाय etc. preferably linking their repetition frequency with breathing),

b) sparing time to recite or sing divine prayers, rhymes, etc.

c) continuous repetition of recitation of divine names (e.g., Ganesha, Gajānana, Shiva, Rāma, Krishna, Vitthala, Pānduranga, Jagadamba etc.),

 d) donate regularly to deserving needy persons or institutions,

e) regularly visiting temples and walking round the sanctum (प्रदक्षिणा 1, 3, 11, 21, 108, 1008 times etc.),

f) Whenever possible, undertaking travels to pilgrimage centers such as the famous and especially divine places (e.g. Aṣṭa-Vināyaka’ or Dvādaśa Jyotirlinga, or 51 Śaktipītha’s etc.

  तीर्थ् तीर्थे निर्मलम् ब्रह्म वृन्दम् | वॄन्दे वॄन्दे तत्व चर्चानुवाद: | वादे वादे जायते अर्थबोध: | बोधे बोधे भासते चन्द्रचूड: )

Just taking (दर्शन) a glimpse of the idols at these temples, should not be the aim of these pilgrimages. The performer should try to get educated in the philosophical discussions taking place at these centers, in order to gain his/her spiritual upliftment.

 g) on completion of each and every spiritually good activity (e.g., worships, pilgrimages, vrata, yāga, yoga performances etc.); emotional donation of its entire credits, to God’s blessings, support and good wishes (तत्सत्_ब्रह्मार्पणमस्तु), and not allowing any expectations of return benefits to scratch and eat the performer’s mind,

 h) regularly practice performances advised in ‘Ashṭāngyoga_Rāja_Yoga’, especially meditation and staying in highest spiritual level of mental-intellectual-calmness or tranquility called as Samādhi (समाधि).

etc. are also some more worthy formats of penances.

King Vareṇya: Thanks for educating me on numerous varieties of performance of ‘Penances’. Now please tell me about correct ways of earning and enjoying ‘happiness’.

Lord Gajānana: My dear father, there are mainly two categories of the states of happiness. First category is regarded as ‘temporary’ (or momentary & causal) happiness and is obtainable via activities of physical organs (इन्द्रिय_सुख). e.g., eating sweets, smelling a rose flower, hearing melodious music, etc. Such states of happiness last only during the period of the duration of performance of said activity which causes the happiness. The second variety of happiness is comparatively longer lasting. It is mental, psychological or intellectual happiness (अतीन्द्रिय सुख or इन्द्रियातीत सुख). e.g. 

 a) happiness derived by selfless activities of helping others in need or

 b) feeding the hungry or

 c) teaching the ignorant (without any expectations in return),

 d) thinking and contemplating on something worthy or planning some program (विचार_मन्थन) and solving a scientific or mathematical riddle etc.

Further, several states of happiness can also be categorized in three morally, emotionally or spiritually distinct varieties (सात्विक, राजसिक & तामसिक) such as: 

1. Morally divine and spiritually creditable happiness (सात्विक_सुख) :

This variety of happiness can be seemingly painful or unattractive while earning, but practically very healthy and useful way of getting happiness. e.g.

i) periodically performing divine vrata’s and worships,

ii) reading and learning scientific, technological or divine texts or writing a worthy book or composing a worthy poem or

 iii) granting donations to temples or educational institutions, etc.

2. Morally neutral and spiritually credit-less happiness (राजसिक_सुख) :

 This variety of happiness can be mentally or emotionally very attractive but practically very painful ways of getting happiness. e.g.

i) building a house for one’s own residence or renovation of older residence,

ii) purchasing attractive costly clothes for one’s own usage or for one’s own family members   or

 iii) making publicity stunts to gain name and fame (घटम् भिन्द्यात्, पटम् छिन्द्यात् कुर्यात् रासभ रोहणम्) &

3. Immoral or morally discreditable & spiritually sinful (e.g. sarcastic) ways of earning  happiness (तामसिक_सुख) :

  Some wicked personalities enjoy troubling and teasing others even though they gain nothing for themselves e.g.

i) teasing helpless children or weaker simple persons or helpless birds and animals,

ii) planning and enjoying breakage of friendships, morals or marriages, 

iii) stealing, robbing others properties or possessions or

iv) damaging and destroying public properties (e.g., parks, gardens, beaches, theaters etc.)

v) damaging social goodwill (spreading bad news or even rumors which can insight violent reactions),

vi) damaging international relations and global welfare etc.

Even just mental or intellectual involvement in these types of bad immoral activities increases the distance between the performer and the Supreme God.

Painting by Manju Acharya, Former Public Relations Officer in an Indian Railways Public Sector Enterprise, Govt. of India

King Vareṇya: My dear son, I am most grateful and thankful to you for educating me in these spiritual and practical ways of getting nearer to (and avoiding going away from) your divine omnipresence.

Lord Gajānana: The divine spiritual knowledge compiled in this ‘Ganesha-Geetā’ text will guide all future generations of my devotees to get linked with me and gain spiritually higher levels and morally higher status, ultimately approaching vicinity with my divine omnipresence

य: पठेत् सप्तकृत्वस्तु  गीताम् एताम् प्रयत्नत: | ददामि तम् सुसन्तुष्ट:  अहम् भोगान् सुखप्रदान्  (11.50-51)

Those who will carefully study this text seven times and make sincere efforts to practice my advice’s compiled in this text will please me. They will get linked with me and will be loved by me and in reward I shall grant them divine peace and happiness.

Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare, Former Scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Paūrāṇic Ganesha (Part-VIII)

Series on Ganesha the Great!

Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare

(Continued from Part-VII)

This mini ‘one_act_play’ in english, is based on ‘11 chapters of Ganesha Geetā’ and is designed to convey the theoretical philosophical essence of ‘Ganesha Purāṇa’ aid to popularize ‘Global-awareness’ about ‘Lord Ganesha’, compiled by sage Vyāsa in the form of a dialogue between ‘Lord Gajānana’ an incarnation of Lord Ganesha and his father (in this incarnation) King Vareṇya (as his disciple).

Painting by Manju Acharya, Former Public Relations Officer in an Indian Railways Public Sector Enterprise, Govt. of India

क्षेत्र_ज्ञातॄ_ज्ञान_योग 

King Vareṇya: My dear son, evidently there are mainly two distinct paths (सगुणोपासना & निर्गुणोपासना) for getting linked with you. Viz.

 1) to worship your symbolically representative idols or pictures, images etc. (मूर्ति पूजा, सगुणोपासना). Alternatively,

 2) Purely mental, emotional or meditation-based approach (निर्गुणोपासना) which also has several alternatives. e.g.

  a) repeating prayers and recitations of sacred phrases (स्तुति_स्तोत्र गायन, मन्त्र जाप etc.) or

  b) following the eight steps of Rāja_Yoga (viz. यम, नियम्, आसन, प्राणायाम, प्रत्याहार, धारणा, ध्यान & समाधि) and keep the mind constantly engaged in meditation (निर्गुण उपासना).

Now, please tell me which method is a better alternative and is more liked by yourself.

Lord Gajānana: My dear father, both these approaches (सगुण & निर्गुण उपासना) are equally liked by me. Their choice or preference should depend on the physical and psychological mood of the performer devotee at any given instant of time. A single devotee can choose one or the other method depending on the need of the time e.g.  variations in his own a) physical health or b) mental, intellectual, emotional mood conditions etc. Most devotees in their teens or youth may perhaps be inclined to use physical worship (सगुण उपासना), whereas, same devotees in older ages (or in some sickness conditions) may prefer to use mental and emotional based alternatives (निर्गुण उपासना). Further, the physical worship (सगुण उपासना) is much easier to perform. The concept of meditation-based worship (निर्गुण उपासना) is comparatively more difficult to understand and execute.

भक्तिश्चैवादर: चात्र कारणम् परमम् मतम् | सर्वेषाम् विदुषाम् श्रेष्ठो   ह्यकिञ्चज्ज्ञोऽपि भक्तिमान्  (९.७)

The intensity of devotion & respect about me, in the heart of the devotee is of prime importance. Even a child or ignorant devotee can be superior to many highly learned scholarly experts, in respect of reaching an emotional and spiritual level nearer to me. Those who find it difficult to keep their mind constantly attached with me (Supreme God), can try to keep themselves intellectually engaged in learning more and more about myself (बुद्धि_योग). Those who find it difficult to practice such intellectual linking via study, should get engaged in any spiritually oriented activities (कर्म_योग) and offer the ‘credit’ as well as the ‘resultant benefits’ to Supreme God (कर्म_संन्यास_योग). Practicing such mental aloofness from claiming credits, of one’s creditworthy actions, relieves such devotees from the consequences of expectations and possibilities of satisfaction or disappointments, and therefore they move nearer to the spiritual level of liberation (मुक्ति or मोक्ष).

अनिष्ट् आप्तौ च न द्वेष्टी   इष्ट प्राप्तौ न  तुष्यति | क्षेत्रतज्ज्ञौ  च यो वेत्ति   स मे प्रियतमो भवेत् (९.१९)

The devotee who

   a) neither gets upset by any undesirable occurrences, circumstances or results,

   b) nor gets happily over-excited while receiving desired and satisfactory results, fulfilling one’s expectations and enjoying favorable circumstances, and

  c) who possesses the knowledge about the field of his mortal body (क्षेत्र) and his immortal soul as a resident occupying room in such house of his mortal body (क्षेत्रज्ञ), becomes dearest to my heart.

King Vareṇya: My dear son, please explain me more clearly about this concept of physical body as a field and its knowledgeable user (क्षेत्र-क्षेत्रज्ञ) as the master.

Lord Gajānana: My dear father,

पञ्चभूतानि तन्मात्रा: पञ्च  कर्मेन्द्रियाणि च | अहन्कारो मनो बुद्धि: पञ्चज्ञानेन्द्रियाणि च (९.२१)

इच्छा अव्यक्तम्  धृतिद्वेषौ   सुखदु:खे तथैव च | चेतना सहितश्च अयम् समूह: क्षेत्रम् उच्यते (९.२२)

  Any living species possesses

 a) the physical body made up out of the basic five great presences (पञ्चमहाभूता – आकाश, वायु, तेज, आप, पृथ्वी) and

 b) their five associated characteristics (पञ्चतन्मात्रा – शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस, गन्ध)

 c) the five organs useful for carrying out all desired activities (पञ्चकर्मेन्द्रियाणि – हस्त, पाद, मुख, पायु, उपस्थ),

 d) the self-ego (अहंकार) or self-awareness (‘I’ am existing) of one’s own self existence,

e) the mind (मानस),

 f) the intellect (बुद्धि) and

g) five sense organs (पञ्चज्ञानेन्द्रियाणि – कर्ण-श्रवण, नेत्र-दर्शन, नासिका-गन्ध, जिह्वा-रस, त्वचा-स्पर्श) used for collecting recognizable (/ understandable) information,

 h) the ability to make desires (इच्छा-शक्ति) and a determination or will-power to stay resolutely firm (for making efforts) to achieve these desired objectives or

 i) have a disliking or a feeling of hatred towards certain things (or personalities or situations etc.) and a will-power to stay away or avoid them consistently,

 j) the ability to feel happy or unhappy,

k) the lively super-presence (चेतना) which experiences the three states of sleep, dream and awakening, (अवस्था_त्रयी) etc.

All these items, all together is referred by the name of ‘field’ or the ‘kśetra’ (क्षेत्र) in the Indian Vedopaniśadic philosophical science. The soul or the consciousness (जीवात्मा, क्षेत्रज्ञ) fully pervades and resides inside this ‘field’ (or the ‘kśetra’), as a master or like the owner of this field, whose essential nature, is similar to that of the Supreme God (who similarly resides in this entire Universe as his body and controls its activities). Since, the consciousness of a) any living species (जीवात्मा) and b) that of this Universe (परमात्मा), are similar in their essential nature, they both enjoy the king like mastery within their respective occupied (kśetra) spaces or kingdoms. 

King Vareṇya: My dear son, many times there is confusion in my mind about

  a) correct and worthy knowledge and

  b) wrong knowledge or

  c) vague & inaccurate knowledge (elusively appearing like convincingly true and correct knowledge) and

  d) mis-interpretations of knowledge made either mischievously or by genuine mistakes.

Lord Gajānana: My dear father, there are infinite possibilities of earning varieties of useful pieces of information as pieces of useful knowledge. e.g.

 a) How to select and process seeds and how to plant them in order to get desired grasses, bushes and trees for growing agricultural, horticultural outputs 

 b) how to cook a healthy and tasty dish

c) how to recognize a specific decease or infection causing sickness in a given patient etc.

All such information’s are worthy and useful pieces of knowledges. There are hundreds of branches of Arts, Commerce, Science, Technology, Medicine etc. which are all worthy of learning and earning expertise. However, knowledge about the current state and nature of the ‘Universe’ or ‘Mother Nature’, involving both Astrophysics and Astronomy (along with their probabilistic extensions in future as fore-castings) are traditionally being respected as the most fundamental basic physical knowledge about the gross (or स्थूल) nature of Supreme God himself. Further, the knowledge about the ‘spirit’ (or soul or जीवात्मा) residing within the bodies of every living species, along with a focus on the spiritual realization of this self and its relationship and link with the spirit of the entire Universe, also called as the (सूक्ष्म ‘subtle’ nature of the) Supreme God, is recognized as the highest level (or category) of knowledge in the ancient Vedopaniśadic literature. Further,

सम दृष्टि: दृढा भक्ति:   एकान्तित्वम्  शमो दम: | एतै: यत् च युतम् ज्ञानम्   तद् ज्ञानम् विद्धि बाहुज (९.२५)

When faced with confusing alternatives, that knowledge which passes the tests of proper visionary balance and equanimity, along with attributes such as

 a) firm devotion (दृढ़ भक्ति:) to the Supreme God,

 b) restraint (शमो) and

 c) control over unnecessary excitation’s (दम:) etc.,

that knowledge should be chosen (or selected) as the most appropriate (and correct or worthy) for adoption. Being devoid of any (sense organ’s sensibility based) characteristics, the ultimate and real nature of the Supreme god is actually beyond the normal understanding capabilities of the human intellect and therefore it is referred as ‘almost un-understandable’ (दुर्ज्ञेय:). However, trying to understand this un-understandable presence, to some possible extent, is the objective of most ancient Vedopaniśadic literature.

All ‘characteristics possessing’ presences in this Universe altogether, are called as ‘Mother Nature’ (स्थूल_प्रकृति), whereas, the characteristics-less un-understandable presence (जीवात्मा or परमात्मा) is considered as it’s ‘Master’ (सूक्ष्म, परब्रह्म, पुरुष). The body of every living species is known to perform activities as per the desires of this master. 

Further, this characteristics-less ‘subtle’ presence is however found to get ‘glued-up to’ or possess and enjoy three subtle-characteristics (सत्व, रज, and तम) referred to as 

1. saintly (सात्विक) attitudes,
2. human (राजसिक) attitudes and
3. demonic (तामसिक) attitudes or tendencies.

These subtle characteristics also cannot be detected and measured by any sensing organs or even the modern scientific instruments. The ‘soul’ (जीवात्मा) of any living species (including human beings) possesses all these three subtle characteristics in a variably mixed format. Whenever one of them grows far bigger and subdues the other two, then that personality behaves like ‘possessed’ by this bigger emotion e.g. a) like a saint or b) like a human or c) like a demon.

Painting by Manju Acharya, Former Public Relations Officer in an Indian Railways Public Sector Enterprise, Govt. of India

Therefore, my dear father, you please try to encourage the growth of (सात्विक) saintly tendencies in your activities and behavior pattern. This effort will raise your spiritual status and you can get lifted to become worthy of merging with myself (Supreme God).

(to be continued…)

Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare, Former Scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru