What spirituality meant to me.

AN OBJECTIVE RENDITION OF SPIRITUALITY : By Dr. Bibhash Chakravorty. Spiritual understandings and experiences or revelations and realisations are highly subjective. Here I will try to draw a line and semblance of objectivity to it in order to summarise and explain SPIRITUALITY in a nutshell ! Wishing all my friends interesting reading ! I would like to start by writing a poem written in RIK VEDAS on CREATION at the outset. ORIGINAL CREATION : ( MANU, BY SACRIFICE ) Non being then existed not nor being ! There was no air nor heaven which is beyond it ! What motion was there ? Where ? By whom directed ? Was water there and fathomless abysses ? Death then existed not nor life immortal ! Of neither night nor day was any semblance ! The One breathed calm and windless by self impulse ! There was not any other being beyond it ! Darkness at first was covered up with darkness ! This universe was indistinct and fluid ! The empty space that by the void was hidden ! That one by the force of heat was engendered ! DESIRE then at the first arouse within it ! DESIRE which was the earliest seed of spirit ! The fond of being in non-being sages ! Discovered searching in their hearts with wisdom ! Whence was it born ? Who knows it truly ? Who can here declare it ? Whence issued this creation ? And did the Gods appear with the production ? But then who knows from whence it has arisen ? This world creation, whence it has arisen or whether it has been produced or has not ? HE who surveys it in the highest heavens ------ HE only knows or even HE does not know it !!! -------------------- O --------------------- True spirituality is to know and be enlightened by the truth of your own identity. This knowledge or Brahmmagyan is so pure, pristine and divine that even the soul of a person committing the heinous most blasphemy or sins would be redeemed by it ! Anything that inhibits your thought process is a sin and a disinhibited soul is always pure irrespective of the burden of so called sins that he or she might carry ! One basic tenet of the Vedantas or Upanishads is, SARBANG KHALWIDAM BRAHMMA meaning God is everywhere. However in order to usher in a sense of belonging or self realization ( this is extremely important ) it is better not to have an abstracted idea of God except in our knowledge or intellect. This is because the manifestation of the Supreme in our consciousness is very strong ! This is mentioned in the Vedantas as, PRAGGYANONG BRAHMMA, meaning GOD is deep and dense Knowledge or Wisdom and vice versa. When a person attains this knowledge or insight of the 3rd eye he knows that GOD is not separate from him !!! The main object of spirituality is to attain this knowledge by hook or by crook and certainly not to achieve Siddhai or magical or supernatural powers. The latter is but an illusion to deviate the brahmmachari or seeker of the truth from the true goal . Like Arjuna's archery in Mahabharata the aim should be restricted only towards the bird's eye that is only the pure knowledge and all other so called preconditions like celibacy, renunciation and rigourous penance and performance of holy deeds ( Punya karma ) or non-performance of unholy deeds ( Pap karma ) made secondary. Just as a serpent sheds its skin all forms of bondages will come off once the sacred wisdom is achieved. And this wisdom can be gained by renunciating both holiness and unholiness ! In my humble opinion blasphemy actually means to think of God as separate from you ! In the Gita when Lord Sri Krishna says I am the Supreme and only I can give you Moksha he is actually urging you to think like HIM and if you are a devotee he is urging you to think of your deity like HIM. Otherwise followers of other faiths would perish which seems absolutely and utterly ridiculous ! This is the juncture point between the GITA and the VEDANTAS !!! The knowledge of your true identity is direct ( Aporaksho anubhuti as written in Gita ) and cannot be attained indirectly ( Paroksho anubhuti ) from religious scriptures or by religious practise of celibacy or meditation or any other ritualistic conventional or unconventional practices mentioned in relevant literature ! It is said that at the outset it is futile to go through the religious scriptures because of a lack of proper understanding. Once the scriptures reveal itself to you, you can compare and verify your own spiritual revealations with it. It is also said that when you acquire Brahmmagyan there remains a witness ! ATMANA BINDATE BIRJANG BIDDAYA BINDATE AMRITANG. This sloke written in the Upanishads means, only celibacy will not help you gain self knowledge rather it is the self knowledge which makes you a true celibate or a Brahhmmagyani ! Nobody knows how to achieve this AXIOM but it is surely the igniting spark of passion an unquenching thirst to know oneself which enables you to cross this razor sharp daunting path riddled with impassable obstacles towards acquisition of this chaste knowledge when you make great many sacrifices in becoming one with the CONSUMMATE ! This thirst for divine knowledge is known as the foundation of Truth or Satya Pratistha in your conscience ( Bisuddha chakra ), a form of blessing without which further progress is impossible ! It is said that unless the almighty ( Paramatma ) embraces your soul ( Jibatma ) it is impossible to know the truth. And YOGA is all about this divine connection or embrace !! However even an atheist or an agnostic can become a Brahhmmagyani if he or she has that passion to know his or her self. ( This passion is referred to in the Upanishads as NACHIKETAGNI in the story of Nachiketa and Yama ) This path of knowledge as mentioned earlier is very tough and not at all recommended for the faint hearted. KHURASYA DHARA NISHITO DURATTAYA ( Vedantas) meaning razor sharp path etc ( please see above) Apart from this NACHIKETAGNI or flame of passion to know the truth, God or yourself there is no other known methods to become an ATMAGYANI or be blessed by the embrace of THE SUPREME OR PARAMATMA !!! So you do not have to believe in God in order to know HIM ! SELF BELIEF amounts to the same thing. Infact it is better to have self belief and confidence than having no self knowledge and blind false faith in God !!! Atmagyan is irrespective of whether you are a celibate or a common family person engaging in conjugal life with your spouse. It is also irrespective of cast, creed, colour and religion, a truly secular concept ! As a thousand years of darkness is instantly dissipated on opening a locked room in daylight, similarly the brahmmatej or power of the soul will be evident once the darkness of ignorance is dissipated. This is the reason why it is called Atmagyan or Self knowledge, whether you know your self or do not, the SELF was always there and an ATMAGYANI is not knowing something which was not his own ! Our Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Ma Sarada spent their lives in order to inculcate this spirit of enlightenment among householders. It is said that Lord Sri Krishna once went to the Himalayas to appease Lord Shiva and MA Parvati. After many years of penance Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati appeared before him and granted Lord Sri Krishna as many boons as he wanted. Lord Sri Krishna prayed for many materialistic boons among which was included the prowess to sexually satisfy all his wives ( more than 1600 ). This is called, SAMBHOG SHAKTI ! Actually if you think deeply you will see that the PRIMAL desire is linked to the PRIMAL SEXUAL INSTINCT which has more followers than any religion and faith and without which NATURE would cease to exist !!! And TANTRA deals with the power of this instinct hidden in Muladhar chakra of energy as the sleeping serpent power metaphorically referred to as the power of the divine mother or kulakundalini and harnessing this power to achieve spiritual enlightenment !!! The infinite fire from the Muladhar reaches the sentient eye within at Agna to make you aware that brahmmasakti can exist only in the 3rd eye, the seat of pure consciousness ! The 3rd eye and it's strength are inseparable and One. The Ardhanariswar, Shivsakti ! Therefore if you have to choose between celibacy and CEREBRATION ( thinking power ) in order to achieve self enlightenment, always go for the latter ! The ancient MUNIS used to do MANAN or CEREBRATION from which the word MUNI has arrived ! This is the only sacred knowledge that there is to know in order to attain a supreme state of chastity, and divinity ! You cannot be diviner enough than this ! The radiance of this special knowledge or Praggya is like a billion suns ( Suryakoti Samaprava as in Gita ). You become enlivened by the sacred nectar, amritamoy or a jivanmukta, unshackled, unleashed, free from all bonds, free as the wind, free from the vicious cycle of life and death, moksh, nirvana, Shivahom atmaram state !!! So you can be sentient to the fact that the real spiritual power we are talking about here is what is mentioned above. This awsome power of the soul also makes you worthy to receive the Atmagyan or Self knowledge if you have a burning passion for it. It also makes you worthy to be bestowed upon by GOD like qualities like omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence !!! Often a truth seeker is lured by magical powers and deviates from his true goal. This fact cannot be stressed enough ! These are called Siddhai and has nothing to do with real spirituality and should be looked down upon !!! It will not be appropriate not to mention three other basic tenets of cognition of the Vedantas ! 1. Asada ma sadgamaya : From falsity to honesty or truth ! 2. Tamasa ma jyotirgamaya : From the darkness of ignorance to the light of enlightenment ! 3: Mrityur ma amritang gamaya : From repeated births and deaths to the eternal and immortal life ! A man does not become a Brahmman merely by birth, caste or any ritualistic procedure like upanayana. But it is by merit ! Even a shudra ( by caste ) can become a Brahmman by attaining Brahhmmagyan ! Attempts may be made by other methods of Yoga like karma ( Action without desire of the fruit or result ), Bhakti ( Devotion ), Hathayoga ( Performance of Asanas ) and Kriyayoga ( performance of Pranayams ) etc. to achieve self realisation but in each case it is equally difficult to succeed and the paths followed are somewhat indirect than the path of knowledge or Gyan Yoga ! It should also be remembered that every path followed has its own loopholes. However once you become successful in attaining the final knowledge it becomes very easy to cross over to the other forms of Yoga than your own ! The supreme knowledge and the divine joy and lucidity of mind ( Brahhmmananda ) may not necessarily come in packages. However a state of tranquility and peace often accompany it. Suffice it to say that the full contentment of the soul is not possible where there is a presence of arrogant ego. Contentment occurs when ego is minimal or absent. Remember a cup that is already filled cannot be refilled without emptying it first !!! Superego fulfillment or Divine ego or Self Pride occurs after contentment. A supremely fulfilled emptiness !!! If you really want to describe your self in terms of pure consciousness and power you will see that this two attributes are inseparable, like fire and it's burning strength. And you will also realise that every adjective fails miserably to describe it. SILENCE would be the best description !! There is a tremendous velocity and at the same time stillness in the Self or Soul ------ We have to use oxymorons to describe it and it defies BAIKHARI or description ! At this point you realise that you have just started to know yourself and it would indeed become a timeless, incredible and eternal revealation of beauty in the eyes of the beholder !!! My humble message to the younger generation would be, knock, knock and knock and the door will be opened ! Remember, Jesus said, Father You and I are One ! You can easily appreciate that this is the juncture point of the Vedantas and the Bible !!! It is for my friends and readers to judge how far I have succeeded to objectify spirituality amidst a realm of subjectivity, however I have tried my level best. Hinduism being a Sanatan ( Timeless ) religion, there is absolutely nothing new to add to it and neither any avatars or wise men nor any saints or sages or anybody else whomsoever has any single-handed, unaided, solitary contribution ! Remember, this dharma or religion does not have any prophet ! Hinduism is a God gifted united effort which has come down to us like the Ganges from times immemorial in order to purify our body and mind, heart and soul !!! It is the perspective which provides us with a new dimension of sentient contemplation and introspection about the spirituality of Hinduism !!! Hinduism does not belittle other faiths and religions, it believes in universal tolerance ! It believes in THE ONE AND SUPREME, same for every faith ----- AN UNITY IN DIVERSITY !!! TRULY MAGNANIMOUS !!! In the name of the most ancient enlightened sages I am dedicating this write-up to LORD SHIVA AND MA PARVATI as a humble token of worship !!! AND I AM VERY PROUD TO BE A HINDU !!! Ultimately knowledge, devotion, karma , kriya, everything leads to the ocean of divine Love and romance. ( PREM ) !!! YOUR SOUL BECOMES PERMANENTLY EMBRACED TO THE SUPREME BLISSFUL CONSCIOUSNESS OR SATCHIDANANDA OR PARAMATMA !!! I would like to conclude this article by writing a few lines from a poem written by my departed wife's late uncle ( বড় পীস মহাশয়) who was a spiritual person. ( ভক্তযোগী ) ‌‌‌ ব্রহ্মনন্দ।নন্দঘন পূর্ণ পরিণাম । আপনি আপনা পূর্ণ আমি আত্মারাম । আমাতে সকলি লয়, আমি লিলাতীত, অখণ্ড নিগুঢ় সত্তা চির আচ্ছাদিত । নিত্য লীলা মহা ইচ্ছা, আমার অধীন । আমাতে প্রকাশি পুনঃ আমাতে বিলীন । পরাতপরতর ব্রহ্ম নিত্য নিরাকার । প্রেমিকে সন্ধান দিতে আমার আকার । পূর্ণব্রহ্মে নিত্যলীলা, চালক বিহীন, আমার কায়।য় এ যে মহা ইচ্ছাধীন ! In this article I did not mention the fact that a true knower of the Self is very hard to come by, probably two or three in a billion. This suppression of fact was intentional as I did not want to disappoint my readers. However it took me a while to understand that it would be like a suppression of a confession or the truth if I did not mention it. However it should also be remembered that even a tiny portion of this knowledge is very comforting for the soul and provides a quantum of solace ! Those who have at least tried would certainly benefit from it. Most of the brahmmagyanis are self actualisers according to the Maslow's ( American Psychologist ) laws of hierarchical needs ( please refer to my previous posts on Maslow's laws ) and are useful to the society at large. They have their moments of ecstacy when they feel one with the universe ! They are one of a kind actually, almost mind freaks but not in a very derogatory sense. Their thought process is somewhat peculiar and does not follow the norm. However given a chance most of them would try to help out others. 24th February 2017; 8.30 PM. In this article I didn't mention anything about the need for a spiritual GURU for self realisation. There is a saying in Bengali, Manush guru mantra day kane, jagat guru mantra day prane ! This means, so called gurus only tell you a mantra whereas the LORD or the Almighty inspires your spirit ! Exceptions prove the rule. However if you really want to know yourself you have to have that burning passion called Nachiketagni which can be acquired by spending time with self realised persons or saints or sages or those who are spiritually minded. Once MA PARVATI'S father the mountain king Himavan asked her, Daughter please tell me the path to achieve Atmagyan ! Ma PARVATI answered, Father please spend time with the saints, hermits and Atmagyanis, this is the only way ! Only Lord Shiva has the right to be the GURU of every soul because HE is your inner SELF ! So if you take diksha from any Guru remember to treat him or her like LORD SHIVA, matguru Sri Jagatguru ! ( My mortal guru is non other than LORD SHIVA and Ma PARVATI, the universal Guru, Shiv Shakti ! ) By the way today is Shivratri ! I meant Lord Shiva Shakti or power ( inseparable ) is the entire ocean in a drop !!! A WORLD FREE OF RELIGIONS : A HAPPIER PLACE. AN UTOPIAN CONCEPT ! The more and more I come to think about religion, I tend to come to the conclusion that I should Not belong to any religion at all Except The Religion of Mother and Father Nature or that of Humanity or Universalism ! Why in the name of God are there so many religions in this world ? Those who made it had done nothing more than to instigate hatred and infight and rivalry, fanaticism and even terrorism in between the religions with each one thinking their's to be the superior than the other and also not to mention about the brainwashed conversion to other religions almost as if to form a religious army with more followers than any faith which in Bengali we satirically say, GORUR GOAL ( A shed full of cows )) !!! A sigh of relief, forcefull conversion is a legacy of the past or is it still in vogue ? However I have to admit that this bigotry in the name of religion might not have been the primary intentions of the prophets or a sect ! Nevertheless it points towards an utter lack of foresightedness on their part ! If someone had said that the prophets followed the commandments of God, may I remind him, Man created God and not the other way round, both rationally and in the Anthropic sense and in common sense !!! It is infact very hard to conceptualise God except in our own minds ! The living flora and fauna of Earth do not belong to any religion except that of the Mother Nature but they are so blessed and free as the wind !!! By now I should be free from the Burden of religion and convert to the SPIRITUALITY of NATURE !!! I am feeling like yelling very loudly and in a joyous voice, I Am Free, I Am Free ----- I have finally become devoid of religion !!! I am feeling ecstatic, ONE with the COSMOS ! Do YOU really want to feel the same and be at peace and feel happy ? It is almost like the so called higher caste touching the untouchables of the lower caste and losing his apparently higher caste or like someone eating forbidden meat and losing his religion, but in the former case losing religion is not referred to in a derogatory sense like in the latter one. Infact unleashing the bondage of religion is highly desired ! By the way, what religion do the Australian Aborigines follow despite them being human beings and in all probability having faith in some God or Gods ? And what could be the religion of Alien beings in other parts of the COSMOS trillions of light years away ? Can you be absolutely sure that animals like dogs, dolphins, Chimpanzees, Whales, Apes, lions, elephants, bees, birds or likewise do not or cannot perceive spirituality ? I earnestly hope that this article brings about a sense of universal toleration in the minds of people of different faiths lest they should venture to go through it, in these days of religious fundamentalism and terrorism ! As Swami Vivekananda put it in his Chicago lecture, ( 11th September 1893 ) let this message toll the death knell of every form of religious fanaticism and terrorism ! Let peace dominate over global anarchy !!! -- Dr. B. Chakravorty.