Upadesa Sarah of Ramana Maharshi – Sloka 4
Kaaya Vaang manah kaaryam uttamam
Poojanam japah chittanam kramaath
Word meaning
Kaaya vaang manah karyam – Action done through the body, words and mind which are
Poojanam, japah, chintanam – pooja or offering, japah or chanting and meditation respectively
Kramaath uttamam – are superior respectively with the previous action.
Sloka meaning
Action can be done with the body, words and mind. The action done with body is pooja, the action done with words is chanting and action done with the mind is meditation. The action done with words is superior to action done with the body. The action done with the mind is superior to action done with the words.
In other words, action done with the mind is superior to action done with body and words.
Explanation:
Upanishads proclaim that action are done with the three instruments that a man has got. The three instruments through which action are continuously performed are the body, words and mind.
These are respectively termed in Sanskrit as Kaaya, Vaak and Manah – Karma.
The aim of any action is removal of the ignorance veil of the mind so that one gets the eternal bliss and peace inherent in the Self. The Self can be realized only when the mind is pure and turned inward. Thus, the very aim of all action is removal of the thoughts in the mind. The path of action accomplishes through destroying the Ego which causes all thoughts to arise.
This action can be either done through the body, words or the mind.
Action done with the body – Pooja
The action done with the body is called Pooja. A person goes to the temple and he circumbulates the temple. This is action done through the body. This action either becomes a bondage in the form of “my God should be circumbulated and not other Gods” or becomes the remover of other bondages if it is done with the proper attitude.
Putting it in Swami Chinmayananda’s words, each human being is working continuously at the body and mind level. The action done through the body becomes a source of bondage when it is done with the attitude of doership and with expectation of the fruits. Therefore in order to remove these obstacles of Ego and expectation of fruits, one has to continuously do pooja or offerings to the Lord with the body. This is what Maharshi implies by action done through the body. People can not live without doing actions with the body. We can see people who sit idle but biting their nails and doing other such things. Thus, human beings can not live without doing bodily action. Therefore it is essential that a person first tries to purify the actions done with the body. This can happen only when action is done with the right attitude.
When a person does each body action as a pooja to the Almighty, the actions cease to be actions but become offering or pooja to the Almighty. Such action removes all the obstacles to liberation and each moment becomes a joyous moment. The person becomes a mere witness to the activities happening around him. Slowly, thus, he realizes that whatever is seen is a long dream alone & therefore always rejoices in the eternal bliss of the Self.
Adi Sankaracharya beautifully explains how to do this pooja in Shiva Manasa Pooja
“Atma Tvam girija matih sahacharaah praana sareeram graham
Pooja te vishayopabhoga rachana nidra samaadhisthithih
Sanchaara padayoh pradakshina vidhih stotraani sarva girah
Yad yad karma karothi tad tad akhilam shambho tava aaraadhanam”
O Lord Shambhu, you are my Self, your consort Gouri is my intellect, your ganaas are my prana, my body is your house. The offerings are my enjoyment of sensual pleasures, my sleep is Samadhi (absorption in you), all my movements are circumbulation to you, all my words are stotras or hymns in your name – whatever actions I do, that all are your praises and done for you.
Thus, all the bodily actions become a pooja to the almighty. The action of walking becomes a pradakshina of the Lord who is present everywhere & from whom this illusory world has come. The action of sleep becomes a Samadhi where the seemingly individual Self merges into the Supreme Being or the Almighty. Each moment of the hands are pranaams or salutations to the Lord. Each moment of the body is a celebration and dancing for the Almighty.
When a person thus performs all the actions for the Almighty, his mind becomes pure. He neither craves for things, nor does he gets distressed with things. He always remains equipoised in the pooja for the Almighty.
Each and every moment of his body becomes an offering to the Almighty. Thereby, the bodily actions are purified & the person remains unaffected by the bodily actions.
The next level of purification is the purification of the words.
Words are very powerful if used rightly. Each one of us know that it is words which causes most of the problems between people. Two people fight amongst themselves because of a person calling another person an IDIOT!!!!
Most of the problems or sufferings in the empirical world happen due to words alone. Therefore a person has to control his words. This control can be made through Japa or chanting. Words are very powerful indeed that it can give highly desirous outputs.
When a person keeps on chanting a mantra for lakhs of times, that mantra gets tremendous effect. Any moment the man feels depressed or dejected & he utters the mantra, he feels rejuvenated and all sorrows vanish. This can be experienced by any one. Any person can try chanting any mantra – AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA or AUM NAMO NARAYANAYA – for some days and they can feel the vibrations and effects of the mantra.
Another type of chanting is chanting of hymns in praise of Lord. The most famous and common chants include the Lalitha Sahasranaama and the Vishnu Sahasranaama. These chants are in Sanskrit & they praise the Lord and his various actions. Therefore these praises purify the words (unknowingly) and also these make the person remember the Almighty at all times. Therefore the Ego is never given a chance to rise & due to the effect of this, purification of words happen.
A person who follows any of these chantings will never utter any bad word. Each word from his mouth will be good alone & be beneficial for the society (as a whole).
Patanjali tells in his yoga Sutras the importance of Satya or Truth (speaking Truth) and gives the effect of speaking truth as
“Satya prathisthayaam kriya phala aasrayatvam”
One who is always established in speaking truth – whatever words he utters, they will become true.
Such is the effect or importance of words. Unless a person gets the words and body under control & purification of both of these occur – the mind of the person will not be purified. The words are uttered because of thoughts in the mind alone. When the words are not pure, even if the mind wants to be pure, it will not be pure. Therefore, purity at both these levels are important and the ways to this are doing pooja or offerings with the body & chanting about God’s praises with words.
The most superior and important of purification is of the mind
Purification of mind can be completely accomplished only when bodily and with words, purification has been accomplished & all actions done through the body and mind are done with the right attitude.
Maharshi here mentions one of the important means of purification of the mind, meditation. Meditation is one-pointedness. Let’s say a person closes his eyes and tries to concentrate on Lord Vishnu. Now, initially other distractions or thoughts come into his mind. But slowly by practice, all other thoughts subdue & only the thought of Lord Vishnu is present. This state where only One object or thought is present is called Meditation.
As mentioned earlier, thoughts are the main cause of problems and sufferings. These thoughts obstruct a person to enjoy the inherent bliss. But when a person removes all thoughts and concentrates on just one thought – the mind gets purified, there is no other thought for comparisions, likes and dislikes. Therefore the inherent bliss of the Self is experienced at such times. Even though, the real bliss of the Self is not completely enjoyed even in that state of one-thought, but still that bliss or happiness experienced at that moment can be used to hint at the real bliss of the Self (because the bliss of the Self can never be expressed because the Self is beyond words and thoughts & only things which are limited by time and space can be talked about or thought about).
As Maharshi mentioned in the previous sloka that actions which are done as an offering to the Almighty & without expectation of the fruits leads to purity of mind & thereby to realization, in this sloka Maharshi gives the list of main actions that can be performed.
Summarizing this sloka, Action is performed at the three levels of body, words and mind. The action performed at each of this level needs to be done with the right attitude. The action performed by the body should be done as a pooja or offering to the Almighty, the words should be chanting or praising about the Lord and his leelas and the mind should be made to meditate upon the Lord.
Maharshi explains meditation and its details while dealing with Raja Yoga or path of control of mind.
Just to mention how deep the bodily and word actions can be performed with the right attitude, Sankara’s final sloka in his Soundarya Lahari is worth quoting (Sankaracharya was a saint who had no equal in his time, he defeated lots of opponents and there was none in India at his time whom he hadn’t defeated in argument and debate).
“O Mother of words!!!! Like showing dipa or lantern to the Sun, like taking its own water and offering abhisheka to the ocean, like offering the chandrakantha stone to the moon (this stone is got through the rays from the moon) – similarly I have used your own words and praised you with it.
Let us all try to have the right attitude and perform the various actions with the three instruments of body, words and mind thereby moving ahead to realizing one’s own real nature & rejoicing in the eternal bliss of the Self.
Poojanam japah chittanam kramaath
Word meaning
Kaaya vaang manah karyam – Action done through the body, words and mind which are
Poojanam, japah, chintanam – pooja or offering, japah or chanting and meditation respectively
Kramaath uttamam – are superior respectively with the previous action.
Sloka meaning
Action can be done with the body, words and mind. The action done with body is pooja, the action done with words is chanting and action done with the mind is meditation. The action done with words is superior to action done with the body. The action done with the mind is superior to action done with the words.
In other words, action done with the mind is superior to action done with body and words.
Explanation:
Upanishads proclaim that action are done with the three instruments that a man has got. The three instruments through which action are continuously performed are the body, words and mind.
These are respectively termed in Sanskrit as Kaaya, Vaak and Manah – Karma.
The aim of any action is removal of the ignorance veil of the mind so that one gets the eternal bliss and peace inherent in the Self. The Self can be realized only when the mind is pure and turned inward. Thus, the very aim of all action is removal of the thoughts in the mind. The path of action accomplishes through destroying the Ego which causes all thoughts to arise.
This action can be either done through the body, words or the mind.
Action done with the body – Pooja
The action done with the body is called Pooja. A person goes to the temple and he circumbulates the temple. This is action done through the body. This action either becomes a bondage in the form of “my God should be circumbulated and not other Gods” or becomes the remover of other bondages if it is done with the proper attitude.
Putting it in Swami Chinmayananda’s words, each human being is working continuously at the body and mind level. The action done through the body becomes a source of bondage when it is done with the attitude of doership and with expectation of the fruits. Therefore in order to remove these obstacles of Ego and expectation of fruits, one has to continuously do pooja or offerings to the Lord with the body. This is what Maharshi implies by action done through the body. People can not live without doing actions with the body. We can see people who sit idle but biting their nails and doing other such things. Thus, human beings can not live without doing bodily action. Therefore it is essential that a person first tries to purify the actions done with the body. This can happen only when action is done with the right attitude.
When a person does each body action as a pooja to the Almighty, the actions cease to be actions but become offering or pooja to the Almighty. Such action removes all the obstacles to liberation and each moment becomes a joyous moment. The person becomes a mere witness to the activities happening around him. Slowly, thus, he realizes that whatever is seen is a long dream alone & therefore always rejoices in the eternal bliss of the Self.
Adi Sankaracharya beautifully explains how to do this pooja in Shiva Manasa Pooja
“Atma Tvam girija matih sahacharaah praana sareeram graham
Pooja te vishayopabhoga rachana nidra samaadhisthithih
Sanchaara padayoh pradakshina vidhih stotraani sarva girah
Yad yad karma karothi tad tad akhilam shambho tava aaraadhanam”
O Lord Shambhu, you are my Self, your consort Gouri is my intellect, your ganaas are my prana, my body is your house. The offerings are my enjoyment of sensual pleasures, my sleep is Samadhi (absorption in you), all my movements are circumbulation to you, all my words are stotras or hymns in your name – whatever actions I do, that all are your praises and done for you.
Thus, all the bodily actions become a pooja to the almighty. The action of walking becomes a pradakshina of the Lord who is present everywhere & from whom this illusory world has come. The action of sleep becomes a Samadhi where the seemingly individual Self merges into the Supreme Being or the Almighty. Each moment of the hands are pranaams or salutations to the Lord. Each moment of the body is a celebration and dancing for the Almighty.
When a person thus performs all the actions for the Almighty, his mind becomes pure. He neither craves for things, nor does he gets distressed with things. He always remains equipoised in the pooja for the Almighty.
Each and every moment of his body becomes an offering to the Almighty. Thereby, the bodily actions are purified & the person remains unaffected by the bodily actions.
The next level of purification is the purification of the words.
Words are very powerful if used rightly. Each one of us know that it is words which causes most of the problems between people. Two people fight amongst themselves because of a person calling another person an IDIOT!!!!
Most of the problems or sufferings in the empirical world happen due to words alone. Therefore a person has to control his words. This control can be made through Japa or chanting. Words are very powerful indeed that it can give highly desirous outputs.
When a person keeps on chanting a mantra for lakhs of times, that mantra gets tremendous effect. Any moment the man feels depressed or dejected & he utters the mantra, he feels rejuvenated and all sorrows vanish. This can be experienced by any one. Any person can try chanting any mantra – AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA or AUM NAMO NARAYANAYA – for some days and they can feel the vibrations and effects of the mantra.
Another type of chanting is chanting of hymns in praise of Lord. The most famous and common chants include the Lalitha Sahasranaama and the Vishnu Sahasranaama. These chants are in Sanskrit & they praise the Lord and his various actions. Therefore these praises purify the words (unknowingly) and also these make the person remember the Almighty at all times. Therefore the Ego is never given a chance to rise & due to the effect of this, purification of words happen.
A person who follows any of these chantings will never utter any bad word. Each word from his mouth will be good alone & be beneficial for the society (as a whole).
Patanjali tells in his yoga Sutras the importance of Satya or Truth (speaking Truth) and gives the effect of speaking truth as
“Satya prathisthayaam kriya phala aasrayatvam”
One who is always established in speaking truth – whatever words he utters, they will become true.
Such is the effect or importance of words. Unless a person gets the words and body under control & purification of both of these occur – the mind of the person will not be purified. The words are uttered because of thoughts in the mind alone. When the words are not pure, even if the mind wants to be pure, it will not be pure. Therefore, purity at both these levels are important and the ways to this are doing pooja or offerings with the body & chanting about God’s praises with words.
The most superior and important of purification is of the mind
Purification of mind can be completely accomplished only when bodily and with words, purification has been accomplished & all actions done through the body and mind are done with the right attitude.
Maharshi here mentions one of the important means of purification of the mind, meditation. Meditation is one-pointedness. Let’s say a person closes his eyes and tries to concentrate on Lord Vishnu. Now, initially other distractions or thoughts come into his mind. But slowly by practice, all other thoughts subdue & only the thought of Lord Vishnu is present. This state where only One object or thought is present is called Meditation.
As mentioned earlier, thoughts are the main cause of problems and sufferings. These thoughts obstruct a person to enjoy the inherent bliss. But when a person removes all thoughts and concentrates on just one thought – the mind gets purified, there is no other thought for comparisions, likes and dislikes. Therefore the inherent bliss of the Self is experienced at such times. Even though, the real bliss of the Self is not completely enjoyed even in that state of one-thought, but still that bliss or happiness experienced at that moment can be used to hint at the real bliss of the Self (because the bliss of the Self can never be expressed because the Self is beyond words and thoughts & only things which are limited by time and space can be talked about or thought about).
As Maharshi mentioned in the previous sloka that actions which are done as an offering to the Almighty & without expectation of the fruits leads to purity of mind & thereby to realization, in this sloka Maharshi gives the list of main actions that can be performed.
Summarizing this sloka, Action is performed at the three levels of body, words and mind. The action performed at each of this level needs to be done with the right attitude. The action performed by the body should be done as a pooja or offering to the Almighty, the words should be chanting or praising about the Lord and his leelas and the mind should be made to meditate upon the Lord.
Maharshi explains meditation and its details while dealing with Raja Yoga or path of control of mind.
Just to mention how deep the bodily and word actions can be performed with the right attitude, Sankara’s final sloka in his Soundarya Lahari is worth quoting (Sankaracharya was a saint who had no equal in his time, he defeated lots of opponents and there was none in India at his time whom he hadn’t defeated in argument and debate).
“O Mother of words!!!! Like showing dipa or lantern to the Sun, like taking its own water and offering abhisheka to the ocean, like offering the chandrakantha stone to the moon (this stone is got through the rays from the moon) – similarly I have used your own words and praised you with it.
Let us all try to have the right attitude and perform the various actions with the three instruments of body, words and mind thereby moving ahead to realizing one’s own real nature & rejoicing in the eternal bliss of the Self.
posted by vedanta at 7:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home