Kathopanishad conversation between Lord Yama and Nachiketa
Q: What are the laws that govern the world?
A: Science presents all the external laws expressed in the world, like the laws of gravity, physical, biological, chemical, etc. All are functioning meticulously, as if fearful of an authority. Eg: When there is a strict law by the Government of a country, the society fears and functions orderly. When the law is not stringent, there is no fear amongst the subjects.
There are internal laws that govern the individual:
- Law of attachment – As you think so you become, attach you lose detach your gain.
- Law of action – Action is insignia of life, inaction is death.
- Law of causation, law of karma and law of destiny.
- Law of deserving vis-à-vis desiring.
- Law of happiness – Nothing external can give you true happiness
- Laws that govern your birth and death…
Both external and internal laws are meticulously functioning because they are obeying a supreme commander, Brahman. Eg: If sun does not set on a day or the gravitational force does not work for a few minutes, then there will be chaos in this universe.
Humanity is paying the price because of ignorance of laws that governs life. If you want to learn how to live life, it is to operate based on laws that govern life. Today, Humanity has lost peace and happiness, because we are ignorant of the laws that govern life. (Refer Q. no. 95, page 211 of Wisdom Conversations by the author).
General Questions:
Q: How does ignorance manifest in your day-to-day activities, which you should address?
A: Spiritual ignorance has severe manifestations in our lives, and you must take care of it. One must be specific to the areas of ignorance, just as to address ill-health, we need to address those areas of ill-health.
Some of the manifestations of ignorance are:
- Despondency arising out of anxiety for the fruit of action, non-acceptance of the consequence of actions.
- Finding fault with others instead of focusing on oneself. Being extroverted.
- Attachment instead of having pure love, which causes sorrow and suffering due to selfishness. Unconditional love is not being attached.
- Overly dependent on people or external factors for your peace and comfort instead of being self-sufficient.
If you become conscious and plug in those areas, you will find how Wisdom will reveal itself as ignorance gets annihilated.
Q: Wealth being given away when things are going well and not when there is calamity, is it unselfish or detachment?
A: Unselfishness and detachment are two different concepts. Smashana vairagyam is a false sense of detachment arising due to a tragedy or calamity. It is not out of the maturity of being established at a higher level. When things are going fine, and you part, it is a sign of detachment. When a person is giving out of despondency, it is not dispassion. Detachment cannot be practiced; unselfishness can be practiced. Detachment is an effect of unselfishness. When you practice unselfishness on a day-to-day basis, you reach a state of detachment. The attitude of a person who parts with his wealth when things are going smoothly indicates his love and compassion towards the family and larger cause, with a backdrop of spirituality. On the other hand, selflessness is personified as the attainment of Godhood.
In the shastras, the characteristics of a spiritual man are compared to:
- Like a child, Balavat:
- A child is loved because of their innocence. There is no malice. It is pure by nature.
- A child has no worries of future and no anxieties about the past. When you become spiritual, you exhibit this quality of being in the present. Past and future do not burden him mentally.
- The child is full of energy and is not tired or bored. A spiritual person is also full of energy. He is not tired, nor is there fatigue.
- A child is mischievous and full of fun. A spiritual person is attending to many duties but with ease, fun, and light-heartedness. A child exhibits naturally, but as you spiritually evolve, you also exhibit them naturally.
- Like a mad person, unmatavat:
- A mad person is amongst you but he goes to a realm where you do not have access. A spiritual man is amidst you, but you do not have access to his experience of the Self, which he is constantly reveling in.
- A madman has no ego. A spiritual person does not have any arrogance.
- We do not understand the actions of a mad person. Similarly, we do not understand a spiritual person’s actions or intentions in doing an action.
- Like a ghost, pishachavat:
- The thought of a ghost instils fear. We also fear a spiritual person because he upholds the conscience. They are living at the highest level of being truthful. Since we are not true to our conscience, we are fearful of a spiritual person.
These comparisons are powerful means of communicating an unknown through known examples. This concept is called upamana. Only certain aspects are compared and not in their entirety.
