Our religion Hinduism
is called Vaidika karma or Sanatana dharma as it is based on Vedic scriptures
or Vedas. And all those people who follow Vaidika dharma or Hinduism are called
Vaidikaah and now we popularly call ourselves Hindus. A real Hindu or Vaidikaah
is one who wants to take the guidance of Hinduism (Vedic scriptures) to lead
his life. Like other religions Hinduism is also based on the theme of God or
Ishwarah Himself. Not only is the religion centred on God, it also instructs a
person to lead a God centric life. This God centred life of a Hindu is broadly
divided into two stages: The first stage is called Ishwara Aradhanam. Aradhanam means worship and so Ishwara Aradhanam
is worship of God. The first stage of human life must be in the form of God
worship. The second stage of God centred life is called Ishwara Jnanam (knowing Ishwara). So the first stage is worshipping
god and the second stage is knowing god. Our religion considers that both these
stages as very very important for everyone to make the life meaningful and
successful. Both these stages are important and must be followed in this
particular order also. They are neither simultaneous nor in the reverse order;
the sequence has to be Ishwara Aradhanam and then Ishwara Jnanam. Without
Ishwara Aradhanam Ishwara Jnanam is impossible and without Ishwara Jnanam
Ishwara Aradhanam is incomplete. Therefore everyone must go through both.
When we go through this order we come to know an
important thing. Ishwara Aradhanam is the first stage and in this phase the
aspirant will not have Ishwara Jnanam. Now the question is if Ishwara jnanam is
not there then what is the basis for Ishwara Aradhanam? How can I worship when
I don’t know much about Ishwara? For that the answer is the first stage of
Ishwara Aradhanam is not based on knowledge but it is based on FAITH in god. It
is based on Ishwara Shraddha that “I have faith in the existence of God” and
this is possible in Hinduism for the faculty of faith is there for every human
being. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says “sraddha-mayo 'yam purusho yo
yac-chraddhah sa eva sah”. Therefore everyone is an embodiment of faith.
Everyone is faithful. Even the so called rationalist who is mocking at the faithfuls
is himself faithful. The only difference is that he has placed his faith on
reason (we should not take rationalist as one who has faith in ration card!).
Therefore he is also a faithful person. We the Hindus are not intimidated by
these rationalists because we know that reason has got several limitations.
That is why we cannot lead a life purely based on reason alone. According to us
it is irrational to place total faith in reason for it has many shortcomings
that the scriptures clearly point out. In Brahma sutras there is a special
topic “na tarka aprattishtanam” that talks about the limitations of reason.
Therefore according to us all the rationalists are irrational and we are not
intimidated by them. We have follow Hinduism by having faith in Ishwara
Aradhanam. And to practice Ishwara Aradhanam we require only two things: faith
is Ishwara and faith in aradhanam or worship. And we require basic information
to implement this aradhanam. At this stage we don’t require jnanam as much as
faith and basic information for conducting aradhanam. And our scriptures give
general information regarding God which is shriti-shruthi-laya kartha – the
creator, sustainer and resolver of the entire universe. This much information
is more than enough for Ishwara Aradhanam.
Then the next instruction our scriptures give is that
Ishwara can be invoked in several forms for the sake of aradhanam. We have male
forms like Shiva, Krishna. Rama etc and we have female forms like Durga,
Lakshmi, Saraswathi and we have got mixed form like ardha nareeshwara, we have
got animal form like matsya, kurma, varaha, we have human-animals mixed form
like Narasimha form. Like that we have so many forms and so many options are
there in which we can invoke Ishwara for Ishwara aradhanam at home. In addition
to all these forms we have symbols also in which we can invoke the Lord like
Shiva linga or saligram or omkara. Therefore God can be invoked in any form and
Ishwara aradhanam is the first stage of the Hindu way of life. And we can do
this aradhanam in a formal way (we learn from somebody how to worship God in a
formal way) and if we do not know that then even a simple informal aradhanam we
can practice. We have kayika puja or physical worship in which we offer a few
flowers and have a simple arathi and for naivedayam we have raisins or candy.
Do this daily aradhanam and get the blessings of the Lord. If we are not ready
for kayika puja then we have vachika puja where we can do some parayanam like
shiva manasa puja and so many slokas are there in so many languages. We are
supposed to spend some time exclusively on Ishwara Aradhanam and there are no
excuses allowed if we want to remain a Hindu worth the name. So be it either
kayika aradhanam or vachika aradhanam or manasa aradhanam (in shiva-manasa puja
I mentally offer worship). Even five minutes worship daily makes us a follower
of Vedic scriptures. And this daily Ishwara Aradhanam has got an extension
which is considered extremely important. What is it? At the end of the puja I
have to de-invoke the Lord. In ritualistic term it is called “yatha sthanam
prattistapayame” where the Lord is asked to go back to HIS original abode. Then
the question would arise: what is the original residence of Bhagavan? Some say
Vaikasa lokam, some say Kailasha lokam and others Brahma lokam, Hare Krishna
people will say Brindavanam; but the scriptures point
out that the original residence of the Lord is our own heart. So at the
end of the puja we have to install Bhagavan in our own hearts. And this will be
extremely useful the rest of the day because we are doing everything by keeping
Bhagavan inside our hearts. And the scriptures give a beautiful meaning for the
word Bhagawan.
Bhagavan means ONE who has infinite resources and these
are divided into six: aishwaryam (power), veeryam
(courage), yashas (fame), sri (wealth), jnanam (knowledge), vairagyam
(detachment). All these six fold resources in infinite measures is
Bhagahah. And Bhagawan means the Lord of infinite power and resources.
Therefore we can say Bhagavan is UPS like the UPS we use in our homes. It means
“uninterrupted power supply”. They can fail in our homes but Bhagavan is the
greatest and uninterrupted power supply and when I install that Bhagavan in my
heart then I have got uninterrupted power supply. And when I have got faith in
God and when that God is installed in me then I will also become a source of
UPS. Bhagavan is maha UPS and when HE is installed in me, therefore I have
infinite limitless power in me. Therefore faith in the
Lord will be converted into faith into myself. And how much power I have
will be proportional to how much faith I have in God. As tradition says: how
much benefit you get from all these things is directly proportional to your
faith in them? And what are they? Mantrey (how much benefit you get from
mantras will depend upon how much faith you have in them), thirthey (a holy
place), vijai (in a Brahmana pujari), devey (in Gods), deivagney (astrologer),
bheshajai (in medicine or doctor). Never
go to a doctor who you consider useless, sit in meditation and develop faith on
the doctor and only then visit him/her. With faith even placebo will work and
finally gurey (teacher). So when I install God in me and therefore I have faith
in my power and my resources and therefore I work with self-confidence. And
throughout the day I have Bhagawan in my heart and our scriptures say that “May
you offer all your karmas as an offering to the Lord” as we chanted Yadyatkarma karomi
tattadakhilam Shambho tavaaraadhanam and then even daily food
becomes an aradhanam to the Lord. Now not only the daily puja becomes an
aradhanam but our everyday activities become an aradhama. Therefore convert
your life itself into an Ishwara Aradhanam. And once you offer your karmas to
the Lord then whatever consequences come, I am ready to face them. At the time
of performing the karma I tell the Lord, “I am offering this karma to YOU. I
want and prefer success. But O Lord, I am ready for any type of result that YOU
give me as per the laws of karma.” I prefer success but I am ready for any
failure also as I don’t call failure as failure. And I have a new name for
failure which is Ishwara Prasadah. So every action in the day is Ishwara
Arpanam and every experience is Ishwara Prasadah. So the day starts with
aradhanam and then extends also to aradhanam. And this aradhanam is compulsory
for every Hindu. The scale of aradhanam can be small or big but we cannot avoid
this first stage which is based on faith in god and faith in the efficacy of
the aradhanam. The scriptures extend aradhanam for some people who are
interested in Ishwara Dharshanam; having the darshanam of the Lord in the form
they have invoked. A Rama Bhakta may be interested in Rama Darshanam, Krishna
bhakti in Krishna darshanam. The scriptures say that if a bhakta practices
aradhanam and mantra japa of that form of the Lord then he/she can have the
darshanam of that form also. Shankaracharya says in his brahma sutram,” The
Lord will give darshanam to the bhakta but he should do extra sadhanam”.
Thyagaraja is supposed to have had Rama darshanam and he chanted Rama nama 96
crore times. And here we are who say Rama nama 10 times and we expect Rama
darshanam! The point is Ishwara aradhanam will make our lives wonderful because
of our extra power and extra self-confidence. Life can become beautiful, life
can become joyful and life can become generally successful and life can become
peaceful also even in the midst of some adversities and failures extra. So the
first stage of Hinduism is Ishwara aradhanam is faith based and not based on
knowledge. This faith based Ishwara aradhanam will prepare an aspirant gradually
them for the second stage, which is Ishwara jnanam.
For entering the second stage three factors are required.
The first factor is a sincere desire to know what is God or who is God. … a
sincere deep desire to know which Krishna calls as jignasa bhakti. The previous
stage is artha, arthathee bhakti while jignasa bhakti is the sincere desire to
know as “different people worship different forms of God and which is the real
form of God?”. Is Rama god, Krishna god or Shiva or do we have many gods? And
if there are many gods what is the hierarchy? If you ask a Vaishava he will say
“ega perumal” and under HIM will come other gods including Shiva. And if you
ask a Shaiva bhakta, today is Shivaratri also, and he will say “my Shiva is
great”. So which one is god? Where is god located? Are there many gods? What is
the nature of God? All these questions a person deeply wants to know. This is a
deep desire and not a casual desire which is jignasa.
The second factor is I need a spiritual guide to help me.
I need a guide to educate me as to the real nature of the Lord. And the third
factor is a matured mind and a subtle intellect to understand the nature of God
because when we want to know the real nature we enter an abstract and subtle
subject. Therefore the mind must also be matured, the intellect must also be
subtle. The Ishwara aradhanam will give us all the three factors: sincere
desire, spiritual guide and also a matured mind.
Once we enter the second stage what is the teaching that
we come to know. I will briefly deal with them. A spiritual guide makes use of
our Vedic scriptures to teach us who or what God is. The Upanishads are primary
sources of this knowledge and secondary scriptures like Bhagavad Gita also. How
do the Upanishads present Ishwara?
In the first stage of Ishwara Aradhanam we defined
Ishwara as shrithi-shruthi-laya kartha. We use the word jagat kartha but in the
second stage, Ishwara jnanam, the language is slightly changed. Instead of the word “kartha” we use the word “karanam”.
Now we define God as the cause of the universe, the source of the universe, and
origin of the universe. Even modern scientists accept that the universe
originated at a particular time which they study in cosmology where they talk
about Big Bang etc. We need not go deeper but what I am saying is even the
scientists talk about origination or evolution of the universe. Which means
from non-origin state the origin state must come for from non-existent thing
nothing can come. There is a fundamental cause that exists and this karanam is
called Ishwara. And the entire universe is a product evolving or originating
from that karanam. That is why Bhagavan is called karaneeshwara which is a
famous temple.
Once you understand Ishwara as karanam (cause) and the
world is the effect then we can analyse the nature of both Ishwara and the
world. The scriptures help us understand that through many examples. Like gold
as the karanam and ornaments as the karyam, as clay as the karanam and pots as
the karyam, or iron as the karanam and various kinds of hardware as the karyam.
Based on these examples given in the Upanishad we have to understand Ishwara. Studying
the examples we can know the features of karanam and the important features of
karyam. On this auspicious Shivaratri day I will recount four important
features of both karanam and karyam that you are all aware as upanishadic
students.
Gold the cause is ekam (one) and from that lump we have
several ornaments. Therefore karanam ekam and karyam anakam. So how many Gods
are there? God can only be ONE but HE can be invoked in several forms.
The second feature is Gold is the karanam and ornaments
karyam. The ornaments cannot exist without gold as gold alone is the content of
all the ornaments. Therefore we can conclude karanam is the CONTENT (saaram)
for the entire universe which is the karyam. Now tell me where is God? In
kailasam or Vaikuntam or etc. Since god is the very saaram, god has to be
behind everything. God cannot have a particular location as God is behind all
the products which are like different ornaments in different names and forms. So
god is saaram and world is asaaram (which is pit less and hollow).
The third important feature is “gold existed before the
arrival of ornaments, during the existence of ornaments and after the melting
of ornaments. Gold exists in the past, in the present, and the future but the
ornaments have got a beginning. And anything with a beginning will also have an
ending.” Therefore karanam in nityam and karyam is anityam. God is nityah and
the world is fleeting.
The fourth feature is “gold, the karanam, by itself
exists INDEPENDENTLY. It does not depend on the ornaments for its existence.
Therefore swantantra tattvam whereas the ornaments, the products, does not
exist independently and they all have borrowed existence. They do not have real
existence. Whatever has independent existence is called Satyam and whatever is
seemingly existent with borrowed existence, they are called asatyam. Ishwara
ekah satyah while jagat is asatyah.
When we get Ishwara jnanam we understand these four
features: ekah, saarah, nityam and satyam. God is one, hold or fit, eternal,
and the only real one. And the world is nekah, asaarah, anityam and asatyam. By
analysing further we discover another important practical message. The
ornaments are very useful for beautifying our body. Ornaments are used for
hands, legs, neck, tongue and even eye-brows (new and new fashions). Ornaments
have got beauty, ornaments have got variety, ornaments have got novelty. But
when you want financial security, security does it depend on ornaments or gold?
When ornament is brought or sold people only look at the gold. The karyam gives
beauty but what gives security? The karanam alone can
give security. The world is beautiful, wonderful, it has variety. But
whenever you want security, you have to hold on to only God. So if you want
security, if you want peace you never depend upon anything in the world
(whether they are things, beings, or positions, or possessions for nothing is
reliable). You have to hold on to Ishwara and Ishwara only. Initially Ishwara
aradhanam and later Ishwara alambanam. If a sanyasi can renounce everything,
from where does he get that courage? He does not want to depend on anything he
is renouncing. Even after renouncing he has got self-confidence because he
feels that his security is not the share market that is crashing every other
day, not the bank money whose interest is coming down, not the people around
me. I only depend on Ishwara as my alambanam. For me God is the truth beyond
all forms and HE is the truth behind everything. The rationalist say God is no
where while we Hindus say that the God is NOW HERE. God is there is the speck
and also in the pillar. And if Ishwara is everywhere is
ekah, saarah, nityam and satyam then that Ishwara must be in me also. This
is the first stage of self-enquiry and then we come to the next higher state. It
is very subtle and very abstract. And who is the ekah, saara, nitya, satyam
Bhagavan residing in me? There are two things that are constantly there in
every living being – chaitanyam (consciousness) and achatanam (matter). The
body is continuously changing, the thoughts are continuously changing and what
is the constant changeless factor? I am aware of all these changes and this
chaitanyam is the nature of Bhagavan. The second factor is when I introduce
myself as a body, male or young or old. I am old, I am young, I am handsome, I
am a man etc. In all of them what is the constant factor? I AM. This is
existence or satyam principle. Sat chit ananda is the Karanam Ishwara principle
who is everywhere and who is in me also. And when I learn to identify with that
core then I can say: aham brahma asmi. This makes my life purnam.
We start from Ishwara aradhanam and go to Ishwara jnanam and
understand that Ishwara is in everything and understand that Ishwara is in me and
then come to the conclusion that Ishwara is me. This is the journey of a Hindu and
it is possible to achieve this purnatvam in one life itself. This teaching has
been given in the Vedas and Vedas have been given by the Lord Parameshwara and
hence we are always indebted to Bhagavan. Sadasiva samarambham, shankaracharya
madhyamam, asmad acharya paryantam vande Guru paramparam. On this auspicious
Shivaratri day we do the aradhanam of Ishwara and we receive the knowledge of
Ishwara and we have to discover this purnatvam which is the journey for all of
us.
