Day 6 Reflection Questions

ANSWERS TO REFLECTIONS DAY6.

ANSWER 1. Conquest of DESIRES: HOW NOT:

A.SANKARA says that there are some(cheats) who take on the external appearances of a Self-Realised person. Such people may don OCHRE ROBES of different shades of the colour. They may have MATTED HAIR, SHAVEN HEAD or HAIR PULLED OUT SINGLY(painfully !!) These are just FOOLS who do it for a LIVELIHOOD.( UDARA NIMITTAM) It is NOT the EXTERNAL APPEARANCES that matter.We need to conquer our DESIRES that arise in the MIND.

B.SANKARA ALSO GOES ON TO SAY: That a man may be OLD and WEAK, GREY HAIRED, EDENTULOUS, and walking with a WALKING STICK, but still could be carrying a bag(PINDAM) full of DESIRES that he has not managed to offload yet !! His DESIRES haven’t left him yet.

C. SANKARA then says,PHYSICAL TORTURE alone is NOT ENOUGH to get rid of DESIRES. So with FIRE on all four sides and the SUN blazing from the top,( Swamiji, this reminds me of BHAGIRATHA in GANGA AVATARANAM) with NO CLOTHES ON, curling up into a “foetal position” due to COLD nights,and eating only as much food as the PALMS of ONE’S HANDS can hold, when BHIKSHA is given,(he has no begging bowl)LIVING under a TREE, SLEEPING ON MOTHER EARTH !! even then the CHAINS OF DESIRE have not left him.

HOW TO CONQUER DESIRE: Indulging in DESIRES, will only increase the number of DESIRES.
One must NOT ATTACK it DIRECTLY. Suppressing it is NO FUN either !!
We must do what RAMA did when HE STOOD BEHIND A TREE and SHOT AN ARROW at VALI

The equivalent here, would be TO FILL THE MIND WITH A HIGHER CAUSE. Fill the mind with noble thoughts through Satsang and follow the LADDER OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESS, so that the MIND has NO ROOM for DESIRES.Desires will FALL away, by the wayside !! the MIND will slowly but surely, be free of DESIRES.
This practising, needs to be started at an early age, so it becomes a habit, and then when old age comes, the practice would have made the MIND free of DESIRES.

ANSWER 2. KASYA SUKHAM, NA KAROTI VIRAGAHA.
PURIFICATION of one’s mind and DE-CLUTTERING IT from unwanted thoughts,
FREEING oneself from POSSESSIONS,
DEVELOPING DETACHMENT,
RENOUNCING BHOGA(enjoyment of sense-pleasures).
Having done all this, SANKARA SAYS: KASYA SUKHAM, NA KAROTI VIRAGAHA.
SWAMIJI, does this mean”WHEREFROM happiness, WITHOUT RENUNCIATION?” or does it mean” How can there NOT, BE HAPPINESS, when one has RENOUNCED ?” I am confused about what EXACTLY the sentence means.Please help.

ANSWER 3. NANDATI NANDATI NANDATYEVA.
This describes the person who has found the TRUTH. The person who has attained SELF-REALISATION.He has merged with BRAHMAN. He has found eternal BLISS.
“BLISSED-OUT” INDEED.
After this, the EXTERNAL attributes DON’T MATTER !! By his external attributes, he may be a YOGI, or a BHOGI, or someone WITH A SATSANG, or DEVOID OF A SATSANG !!
BUT his MIND WILL BE REVELLING IN BRAHMAN, the TRUTH, the SAT-CHIT-ANANDA !!

HARI AUM, SWAMIJI.
MY PRANAMS TO YOU,
Prema V. Iyer(Prema amma).

1. Conquest of desire :Wrong way:->External renunciation without Internal.Changing the hairstyle, colour of dress just to get food & respect from the society.->Keep on satisfying desires:Then during old age, even though there is no strength to express desires, desires remain.->Extreme Tapas:Denying essential things such as shelter, utensils & making the body suffer.->Being balanced , doing spiritual practices without knowledge:Fasting, pilgrimage, charity gives purity & focus of mind but until one gets Self knowledge , he has to keep on taking births.Right way :Satsang in company of seeker/Jnani, we see true happiness is not in the world (Pratipaksha bhavana) & Nisangathvam happens delusion goes away then we do Shravana,Manana, Nidhityasana about our nature then Nirmohatvam.2.Kasya sukham na karoti viragaha:When we desire anything,mind is tensed till we get it; then another desire arises again mind gets tensed.when we have vairagya – detachment from things there are no desires so mind is free & happy.3.Nandati Nandati NandatyevaIt refers to the state of Jnani.He is immersed in the bliss of Self.In any situation He is happy, while using body, mind or in samadhi;in the company of people or alone.