Faith Should Be Your Breath

All over the world people are giving undue importance to physical appearances and external details. This is an indication of ignorance. This is in fact leading to diversity and difference. You may go to a marketplace, a cinema theatre, or while traveling – there are no distinctions of race, caste or creed. Yet in certain aspects, we come across these distinctions. A few people are magnifying differences for their selfish interests. But truth is one. The reality of man is the same all over. Religion, caste, and other differences are non-existent for the inner core of human beings. The self has no separate identity like brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra, rich, poor, and so on. Also, there is no special truth that pertains to a rich man or a poor man or pertaining to a particular country. Truth is one and the same. Truth is the form of God. People are imparting status in the external context; but there lies the inner core of truth in which all humans are alike. Man must strive to contemplate on the inner truth that is covered by the external body; and must realize the unity therein. This is his fundamental duty. You may consider from a secular, spiritual, or any other angle. You will find that birth and death are the same for all beings. Man cannot escape from this truth.

Similarly, hunger and thirst are also the same for all human beings. There are no distinctions of religion, caste, race, rich or poor in this regard too. Mind and life are common to all. But, the way in which these two are channelized determines the evolution of humans. When the mind moves away from the traits of anger, jealousy, lust, etc. and dwells in sacred thoughts, that person is considered as pious. Such a person may even attain the status of madhava (God). Man can become madhava. On the other hand, one may use his mind in evil traits and degrade himself to the state of an animal or even a demon.

Awake And Arise

The body is like a glass bottle. It may fall and break at any time. Therefore, it is necessary to realize the inner truth before this body gets destroyed. Until this truth is realized, this fragile body has to be looked after with due care. The upanishat exhorts people saying, ‘uttishtha, jagrata’. It means, ‘Oh man, wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Take proper care of your future (to realize one’s own truth).’ Life must be lived in the light of knowledge.

‘Na-ra’ in Sanskrit means man. Ra denotes destruction. ‘Na’ means ‘No.’ Therefore, man is basically indestructible. All the five basic elements – Space, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth have emanated from nara. By nara, we should not construe man as a weakling, or as a being entangled in the shackles of deeds or karmas. The external body may perish. But, there is no destruction for the atma. Our body is like a pot. The aspect of the mind is like water in this pot. As long as this water is in an agitated condition, by the effect of senses and desires, the principle of atma appears to be unsteady. In fact, atma remains ever steady and permanent. Even after the pot (body) breaks, atma remains without any change whatsoever. There is no change or destruction for the atma. No birth or death for it. No migration is involved as far as atma is concerned. These attributions and differences are for the body only, and not for the Soul (atma). But, the body should not be neglected, as it is the most important tool for attaining liberation. Dharma (virtuous deeds) has to be practiced by the body in order to free the self from its bondage. ‘sharira madyam khalu dharma sadhanam — This body is meant for practicing dharma.’ But unfortunately, this body is being used as an incessant loading and unloading machine. You must know the meaning of dharma in its proper perspective. ‘ashtadasa puraneshu vyasasya vachana dvayam – the two most significant phrases of all the ashtadasa puranas are, “paropakara punyaya, papaya parapedanam — Helping others is Merit; hurting is Sin.’ Therefore, Help ever, hurt never.

Karma is of three kinds – Physical, Mental, and Oral. By deeds, we don’t mean physical deeds alone. The words we speak and the thoughts we contemplate on all come under the purview of deeds. We must strive to engage ourselves in pure and sacred deeds pertaining to these three channels. Our words should never hurt any heart. We get gradual transformation through persistent devotion and care. Karma, bhakti, and jnana are like flowers, raw fruits, and ripe fruits. They are like different forms and stages of the same fruit.

The child grows into a girl, becomes a woman, and then becomes a grandmother too. Stages of life are different but the principle of the individual self is the same. And this self is the same in all beings. Therefore, it should be realized that unity and oneness are the essence of nature. Divinity is meant to be enjoyed with appreciation, but not to discriminate and differentiate between people or things. We get a variety of forms, thoughts, and events depending on the deeds of previous births. Otherwise, all are the same. Food, sleep, fear, and desire are the same in all beings. But, man is capable of evolving, in his lifetime, to a higher level through persistent efforts of controlling senses, devotion to God, and contemplation and discrimination between good and bad; and between permanent and transient aspects. As soon as some evil thoughts occur, you must immediately resort to discriminative thinking, asking yourself whether you are really a human or an animal. When you say ‘I am man’, it is a sort of half-truth. But when you join them, it becomes the wholesome truth. The state of youth is dashing in nature. At this stage of life, youngsters are prone to vacillation. Therefore, it is necessary to subject oneself to certain rigorous controls so as to reach greater levels of humanism. Physical, mental, sensual, and spiritual powers can be fostered and harnessed through a regulated way of life and by associating oneself with positive aspects.

In the ramayana, among the two brothers, Vali was in fact more powerful than Sugriva. He had thrown Sugriva out of the capital city. Vali’s prowess was great indeed. One day he was engaged in his daily ritual of sandhya vandanam. At that time mighty Ravana challenged him to a fight. Vali had held Ravana under his armpit and continued with his ritual. So great was his strength. Sugriva was afraid of his powerful brother and took shelter in Rushyamooka mountain range, along with four of his ministers.

One day he saw two princes coming towards the mountain. He noticed their brilliance. He suspected them as Vali’s men. So he sent Hanuman to ascertain their intentions. Hanuman, though a monkey by birth, was having extraordinary intelligence, power, and character. He approached Rama and Lakshmana with humility, and recognized their reality. He carried both of them on his shoulders and brought them to Rushyamooka. Friendship was established between Rama and Sugriva. Rama promised to kill Vali and Sugriva promised to help in the search for Sita. But, Sugriva was somewhat skeptical of

Truth Is Your Eternal Companion
Rama’s capabilities vis-a-vis Vali’s power. So, he took Rama to a place where there was a row of seven palm trees. Showing them to Rama, he said, “I will be convinced of your strength if only you succeed in cutting off these trees with a single arrow.” Rama accomplished the task in a playful manner. Sugriva was convinced that Rama was a divine persona and he totally surrendered himself to Rama. In order to conquer maya (Illusive power of nature) one has to seek the help of God, because, maya is under the total control of God. It is difficult for anyone to conquer maya in spite of one’s strength, intelligence, and education. Therefore, it is necessary to seek God’s help and grace to achieve anything.

It is necessary for youth to curb desires. One crow happened to pick up a small fish from a pond. Seeing this, a group of crows started chasing this crow for the sake of the fish. Chased incessantly by this group, the crow got tired and was exhausted. The crow then realized that the reason for her trouble was the fish. So, the crow let go of the fish from its beak. The group of crows stopped chasing and harassing the crow. From this parable, it is clear that desires are the root cause of our troubles. So they must be curbed at their roots.

The easiest way to deal with desires is to offer all our desires to God. God’s compassion is like an ocean. All the stream of desires must flow towards the ocean of God. Therefore, you must relieve yourself by surrendering to God. Man is incessantly troubled by three kinds of botherations. These three kinds pertain to wealth, wife, and children. People are subjecting themselves to various troubles for the sake of the above three. But like raja Harischandra, we must be prepared to face any kind of hardships for the sake of truth, even if it involves great sacrifices. Relatives and friends honor you only as long as you are hale, healthy, and wealthy. At best they will accompany you up to the burial or cremation ground. Truth is your eternal companion. Truth is God. God is our real friend. Other friends are like frogs in a tank. When the water in the tank dries up, all frogs will leave the tank. Therefore, it is not proper to have deep commitments with friends. Of course, you must be ready to help anyone who is in need. But you must live for God, near to God, and within God. Also, you must see God in everybody. Education is necessary so that you live in full freedom (sva tantram). Tantram means heart, whereas yantram is the body and mantram is the breath. Therefore, independence means a life filled in God. Also svechcha (another name for freedom) is sva ichcha which means Desire for atma. Atmic Knowledge, self-restraint, and atmic bliss is svechcha (freedom). You must develop such sacred thoughts, so that in the future your children will also grow in such an atmosphere of freedom. Wherever you go, you will find unrest and fear. You must drive away fear through firm faith in God. You can achieve anything with faith.

Gita teaches how to swim well in this ocean of the mundane world. Family is like an ocean. Human life is a stream. Gita is very helpful, to float in this stream of life. But you must keep in mind that gita, Bible, Quran, and other texts are in fact the practical tools. They are not mere theoretical philosophies. When you want to reach Anantapur, you will have to travel on a particular road. Otherwise, you cannot reach the destination. The first step is to find the proper road. Then, you must start traveling on the road. Therefore, when you wish to reach God, it is not enough if you keep gita in your hand and keep on uttering the word gita or God. It is necessary to follow the injunctions of gita. Remember what Arjuna had said to Krishna- “karishye vachanam tava — I shall obey your command.” Only then Krishna took full responsibility and enabled Arjuna to win the war. Krishna is known as partha sarathi. A sibling of the earth is known as partha. Therefore, every man is a partha. You must have full faith in the fact that God is the charioteer of the chariot of your body. Dhritarashtra asked Sanjaya, “Oh, Sanjaya, at kurukshetra (which is known as a land of dharma) what are my sons and the Pandavas doing?”

When people go to the battlefield they will naturally be engaged in fighting. But, the question is who will achieve victory? Therefore, Sanjaya after narrating the entire war, said finally,

"Yatra Yogeshwara Krishna
Yatra Partho dhanurdharah
Tatra Shrirvijayo bhutir
Dhruva neetir matir mama"

Wherever Krishna and Arjuna stand together, certainly there will be victory. The one holding a bow is a dhanurdhara. It really means holding onto faith. Arjuna is one who had a pure heart. So, it is clear that God stays with one who has a pure heart and firm faith. When God is with you, success will surely follow. Therefore, consider faith as your breath. May you all achieve success in life.