Reflections

ॐ : A Magical Experience This article is about the Divine Word,  ॐ , and my small experiences with it, alongwith a small introductory background based in our Vedant Shastra. This is a road I am trying to walk, and what follows is a true chronicle of my path, in the hope that I can encourage other students like myself to walk on this wondrous path. It starts from my first actual exposure to the Symbol, this Word, and goes on to detail my experiences in full truthful words, culminating in my first small / tiny personal experience of the immense calm, quietitude and impact this one Word has on the human mind. THE FIRST EXPOSURE As befits this Word’s importance and primacy,  my first real exposure to this, beyond the daily hymns we used to sing at home and in temples, was through my Guru, my Management Professor, Dr Hemant Indurkar from Indore.  {May God Bless his Soul}! What could be more fitting – this letter being revealed to me by my teacher? Earlier, t...

What is the purpose of the Soul, our aatmaa, our Jeevatma? What is Moksh? What is Liberation? Nirvaan? What follows is a first article in a series examining Moksh, from the POV of a Mumukshu,   a soul who has just started walking this path of Advait religiously. There is some thought process among people which regards that seeking liberation is the purpose of the soul – which conflicts with my Vedic ./ Upanishadic self-study ; this article is a small examination of this premise, with the following submission from my side: Purpose of Soul : None. A Soul just exists; just is. Independent, Immutable, Niraakaar, Nirgun. The Purpose is of Life, not the soul; until the difference between these two is realized, there is no liberty. My entire submission is based on Shruti, their commentaries; the word Shruti refers to Ved Vaakya, and the Upanishads. This is basis English, Hindi and Marathi commentaries of the principal 13 Upanishads, and several translations by various comme...

A FEW THOUGHTS ON KARMYOG The KarmYog, or, as it is called at its culmination point – Nishkaam Karmyog, is a path towards God wherein a person acts as per the situation, without any self-interest, dedicated towards God, and without any expectation of return. As per the Krushnaarjun Samvaad {also known as the Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta}, it is a state where one is purely content in the self and at total peace. At its highest point, Nishkaam Karmyog, there is no need for a person to act THE VARIOUS PATHS TOWARDS MOKSH The KarmYog path is one that can take you to liberation despite being in Gruhasthaashram, or in other words, while being in society, marriage and friends; another path for the Gruhasth is SanyasYog, wherein one practices detachment while remaining in the sansaar -   different from Sanyaas Aashram when one renounces the world. A third path is BhaktiYog – wherein one is so devoted to God, that one literally forgets oneself. PRARABDH A full un...

The question Who Am I has a standard response, one of self identity. We identify ourselves by a specific name, religion, nationality. We have a specific identity. This identity, this sense of self, this uniqueness about I-Me-Myself, and the resultant deep entwined involvement with it is what makes us humans; most of us, indeed nearly all, cannot even dream of a situation where this does not exist, this identification. Even when we merge   in groups, families, organisations, activities we keep this sense of self, this identity, this uniqueness, this Ego. This is what makes humans tick. Image by John Hain, Pixabay THE SKIN DEEP IDENTIFIERS This identification is skin-deep, quite literally. It is entwined with our physical appearance, outward associations we have of family & society & status, our material possessions and so on. The question Who Am I gets a name, an appearance, a status, a family, a home and possessions, as a first level response. A thinker, an i...

EXPLAINING REBIRTH Do we have a multiplicity of lifetimes? Is there anything called rebirth? If so, what is its nature? What is the scriptural take as per Vedant on this matter? This is what I would like examine in the light of such scriptures as the Upanishads and The Krushnaarjun Sanvaad {SBG}, in an attempt both to deepen my understanding, as well as to enable the reader to engage with these thoughts. References will be provided in the Bibliography Section.    A QUESTION OF SMRUTI It has been taught to us that we have many lives; this is a a misinterpretation of the reality. If the Aatma, the soul, is not born neither dies - where is the question of rebirth? The Krushnaarjun Sanvaad {better known as Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta} makes it clear that the soul is eternal. If the soul   does not die, the question of rebirth does not arise! Further, during one individual sensory cycle {which we western influenced people call Lifetime}, all the senses, buddhi, ...

It is said that everything happens for a reason; of late I too have begun to subscribe to this viewpoint. As another confirmation, an event occurred which I can only state as yet another proof of the above – that things happen for a reason. It is also proof, for me at least, that once you start walking the spiritual path, you will automatically meet people who are of the same bent of mind, and are on the same path. This has happened before as well, though not on this scale, as spiritually inclined people came into my life repeatedly over the past 2 years. THE SUGGESTION However, yesterday was on an entirely different scale altogether, as I received a suggestion to attend Gurudev Rakesh Jhaveri’s sermons from an acquaintance. It was also an invite to meet Guruji personally for a short darshan. The clincher was that Guruji was a disciple of Shri Rajchandra, whose life-play Yugpurush was earlier reviewed by me. This was not an opportunity to be missed – and I grabbed it wi...