Q    Why are we born / reborn? 

            Thoughts!

          Many persons have sought the answer to this question. The solution they found was ‘Atradhu patrenil utradhu veedu’. When you become aware that the world is transient, you will seek the Only Eternal Being, God. And then you will attain salvation (Moksha). What is Moksha?  Atma liberating itself from the fetters of the physical form. Soul is real. The container, (i.e. the physical form) may vary.

          You might have come to Samratchana by a bus or a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler. It is you who have come, choosing to travel by a particular vehicle. Similarly the physical form is a vehicle for the soul. You are mistaking the vehicle to be the traveller and so are confused. The traveller has not changed; he chooses a different vehicle everytime. When someone mentions ‘lamp’ (vilakku), your mind immediately visualizes a brass object, with oil, wick and flame. But ‘Vilakku’ implies ‘revelation’, dispelling the darkness with its light. So, Vilakku functionally corresponds to the flame of a lamp.

          The Atma is in the form of a Jothi within us. But we imagine that the soul is that within and the physical form contains it. Only Jothi is real. And there is no disparity where ‘Jothi’ is concerned. This Light is the same across flies, ants, reptiles, birds, animals and human beings. The Light is One. There is no second. Just as the flame is the same, whether burning in an earthern lamp or a silver lamp or a golden one, the Light or Jothi is the same across all forms; content is the same; only the containers vary.

          Once a person realizes this, he will not seek anything outside. A Mahaan conquers his self. Who is Mahavira? It is a name given to someone who has conquered his senses. Anjaneya is addressed as Mahaveer. The founder of Jainism is Mahavira. Why were they called Mahavira? They fought the most demanding of battles i.e. the battle with their sense organs, and emerged victorious. ‘Adakkam Amararun uikkum’ : the test of a strong man is his ability to rise above his self. This ability is not easy to achieve.

            What you perceive with your sense organs is classified as external sight. Someone mowed his lawn; in a few days’ time, the grass grows again. Only then does he understand that he cut the grass visible, he did not destroy it from its roots. So too, you can blindfold your eyes, gag your mouth, bind your hands and legs and tie yourself up in a room. Even then your mind will easily travel to any part of the world.

          So, external sense organs are limited in scope. The root is deep within us. When you resolve to never see anything wrong, your eyes will just not turn in that direction. How many persons waste time in temples seeing everything around them, instead of concentrating on their prayers. Such a waste of time! Why does this happen? Lack of mind-control. As long as your inner self has not matured, you will continue to have these disturbances of the mind.

          You are thrashing about in the river. If your aim is to reach ashore, then all it requires is a log to keep you afloat. There is nothing magical about that log. It is the strength gained by your mind, your resolution to reach a shore.

          You are climbing a mountain. You lose your balance and trip. If you get hold of a grass-vine or twig hanging somewhere, you will hold on to it and try to climb up again. There is nothing special about that twig. It is just your resolution to climb somehow.

          Mahaans like Siva Shankar Baba have conquered themselves, they are Mahavirs, who have gained control of their senses. If you decide to observe fasting, then no feast will tempt you. But you must take a decision. Then, nothing can tempt you. By God’s Grace, I have absolute control over my senses. True fasting (Vratam) is having everything you want and yet abstaining from it. If you don’t have access to food and therefore do not eat, it is starving. To have and not wanting to make use of it is Vratam.

                                                                                           God is taking care of me. And I have no wants. I have realized the Light within, and know that that is the Only Truth, so I am not concerned about anything else. Only the desires swaying the physical form keep the Light captive.

          He who transcends physical needs and reaches a desireless state, attains Bliss, like Arunagirinathar states, ‘Aasanigalum thugalaainapin Pesa Anubhuthi pirandhadhuve’.  When desires are overcome, a state of silence is achieved and one attains Bliss.        It is normal for a human being to be swayed by desires. Desires are the root cause of all miseries, and it is these that land a human being in the cycle of births and deaths. The world is engulfed in the flame of desires that influence human beings.

          Desires, good or bad, propel one into the vicious cycle of births and deaths. If you are a good person in this birth and nurture a desire to be in the Lord’s service, this will lead you to another birth that will find you chanting the Lord’s name or rendering some service to the Lord — a virtuous circle.

          Do not accumulate any desires, including the desire for the very Lord Himself. What must you do to attain this state? ‘Aasai arumin, aasai arumin, Eesanodaiyinum Aasai arumin’. Discard your desires one by one, and finally shed your desire for the Lord too. Even your desire for God will bring about another birth for you.

          And till such time you conquer your desire for God, you will not attain salvation.  I saw a movie called ‘Bible’. They have handled the script in a novel way. When Jesus is crucified, someone in the crowd asks Judas who exposed Jesus in his greed for 30 silvers, ‘Oh! Why did you expose Jesus? See the agony he is undergoing on the Cross. See how blood gushes out of his wounds!’, to which Judas replies, ‘I thought that this will lead to a social revolution, that will end the tyrannical rule, and that all of us can escape. I am dumbfounded at the turn of events; people don’t seem to have any concern!’ I liked the unique handling of the subject. Observe the situation. Jesus asks for water and the soldiers turn a deaf ear to him. Jesus, in frustration asks God, ‘Father, why did you forsake me?’ Only after that Jesus leaves his mortal body. Till then, he nurtured a desire for God and so the soul could not depart.

          There is another scene in the movie, where Satan tries to tempt Jesus, forewarning him of the incidents that are to happen in his life, saying that everything will go waste after his crucifixion. When Jesus questions how that can go waste, and Satan shows how people kill one another and there will be crusades in the name of Jesus. Satan also shows how the priests swindle money from commoners, in the name of Jesus, and say, ‘They are going to make big business out of your name, Jesus’. And Satan tempts Jesus to tell God, ‘I don’t want the cross. I want the crown’, persuading Jesus to ask for material riches, so that he can feed the poor and keep the people healthy and happy.

          Jesus is depicted as being confused for a while. It really seems as if Satan’s intention is good. But, he takes hold of himself and tells Satan, ‘If you and I know that this is the best way to do good for the world, God will know much more because He cares for His creations. What He has decided for me will be obviously for my good only. If He wants me to accept the cross, I will not go against His decision’. The movie handles the subject very well.

          Jesus is portrayed as a very normal human being, with child-like qualities. The first time before he turns water into wine, his mother Mary tells him, ‘The angel Gabriel declared that you are no ordinary child. So please turn this water into wine; you will be pleasing the people with your act.‘ Just as Anjaneya did not know his prowess until Jambavan reveals it to him, so too, Jesus, in this movie, is depicted as a normal person.

          Until such time Jesus questions God, ‘Father, why did you forsake me?’, his spirit does not depart from his body.

          The life of Jesus impresses upon you that salvation can be attained only when you rise above your desire for God too. Until then salvation eludes you. The soul gets liberated only when all your desires vanish.

          How can a ship sail if it is anchored? Lift up the anchor, and then the ship starts sailing. Cast away the anchor called desire that fastens you to this life.  And you will set sail for your destination, God.

          So, desires lead to re-births and deaths, as also to the miseries associated with life. Once you have conquered your desires, you will get liberated.

          Siddhartha set out to find the reasons behind old age, disease and death. He realized that desires are the root-cause of misery; that the world is an illusion. Nammazhwar declared that if we rise above the desires that bind us to this world, we will attain the Eternal Abode. So many Mahaans have clarified this, but instead of letting go of desires, people have let go of the lead given by these Mahaans!

continues next week...