Scriptures describe a brahmana as one who is endowed with the quality of wisdom and humility. He is not the one who was born in the lineage. The four caste systems, brahmana, kshatriya, vyshya, and shudra, are classified based on gunas – sattva, rajas, and tamas. A brahmana is one who is able to uphold Brahma vidya. So, the tapas or sadhana for Brahma vidya is to do swadhyaya / manana at the brahma muhurtam, 4 am to 6 am. It is not just knowing the truth but becoming the embodiment of truth. The only way it makes you an adhikari to uphold this knowledge is to do the sadhana at Brahma muhurtam because sattva guna manifests only at that hour of the day. The intellect should be churned to convert this knowledge into wisdom. No other activity will give you Brahma Vidya. It is like churning the curd to get butter before sunrise.
One should have the shraddha and fire to do the sadhana.
Shraddha to brahma vidya is directly proportional to the sattva in you, clubbed with intellect, which will enable you to do the sadhana.
Rajas is to give an excuse for not doing the sadhana.
When you have no excuse and don’t do the sadhana, it is tamas.
In ancient times, a Brahmana was respected. If you disrespect, then the consequences will be destruction of all your future desires, punya which you derive from noble discourses, the sacred sacrifices, services you render – digging wells, constructing temples etc., punya accrued from all the charitable works. So, a person endowed with Brahma vidya is more important than these qualities.
Titiksha is the capacity to go through discomfort with pleasure. Eg: You may put yourself in discomfort to accommodate the guest. It is not perceived as pain but pleasure in serving the guest.
The Lord of Death is profusely apologizing to Nachiketa for having made him wait for 3 days. He bows down in modesty. The rich culture is portrayed here. Finding Nachiketa waiting without eating, Lord Yama gives 3 boons as an act of atonement. Lord Yama, a man of wisdom with humility, prostrates for forgiveness to a brahmana for making him wait. Nachiketa, also being wise, does not show his ego. If you are disrespected, you hold on to the insult, grudge, and never forgive the other person. A man of wisdom would not nourish an insult nor hold on to a grudge,e but let go of the insult quickly.
First out of the 3 boons, Nachiketa chooses that Gautama, his father, will pacify, be kind, be free from anger, and will receive him. He encashes his first boon in favour of his father. In one boon, he intelligently clubs many boons. Father should be peaceful and joyful when Nachiketa goes back. He should not be worried or angry at him. He should recognise and greet him. Subtly, the scripture is highlighting the obligation of how dutiful Nachiketa was as a son.
Detachment – Performing One’s Duties
Spirituality is not abandoning but embracing one’s dharma – duty. You must identify your duties and perform with complete detachment. While performing the karma, you should have an attitude that you are a mere instrument and you have nothing to do with the action. Detachment is not physical separation from your action.
An example of detachment is portrayed as Lord Shiva and Parvati with two children, Ganesha and Subramanya, attending to their family duties. The picture of a God / Goddess when seated, one leg is on the ground, and one leg folded, representing one aspect is in the world and yet detached, which is sattva. Two feet on the ground is complete involvement, which is rajas. When you take both feet off the ground, it is escapism, tamas.
Another famous example often quoted in the shastras is like a Lotus leaf in water. The lotus leaf is born, survives, and dies in the water, but it is never affected by the water. Similarly, one has to be in the marketplace, yet remain unaffected by it. This is true detachment.
One has to identify what are the obligatory duties. They can be classified into two types. Your daily regular routine duties nitya karma and occasional duties, naimittika karma. This occasional duty takes precedence over your regular duties.
Q: How would you be able to identify those special occasional duties and give precedence over your regular duties?
A: There is a sense of value you give to any action. There is a difference between a sense of value vis-à-vis sense of proportion. The quality of intellect is measured by your ability to measure the proportion of value and time you give to a particular person or situation. The real intellect is to have that sense of proportion to that value. You may identify your duties and responsibilities, but are you able to proportion that action. At times, you may be doing the right action at the wrong place and wrong time. Then you lack that proportion. So, when special occasion comes you must have the proportion to be able to shelve your regular duty and take occasional duty as your primary dharma and perform it.
E.g. Medicine vis-à-vis proportion. If medicine is not proportioned according to your requirement, the same medicine can become poisonous.
Are you able to proportionate or calibrate that particular action, even if it means withdrawal or intensifying the action? This sense of proportion is required to be able to give occasional duties precedence over your regular duties. Many a time, we don’t identify the duty at all. Identify your list of regular duties, and special duties may come suddenly. You could also anticipate as well. When they come, you must honour it. Once you have identified, you must try to perform them as a mere instrument, without any motive, attachment, or axe to grind. Contrary to it, you get into an emotional excitement. In the process, you get carried away with your duties and responsibilities. You perform actions with expectations and attachments, and thereby get disappointed. All these spoil your performance of action.Q: What is the essential quality that will help you to be detached in action?
A: One activity that will help in detachment is withdrawal from the activity itself. You must practise physical withdrawal from the activity for some time each day. When you withdraw, you create a mental space and you inject it with knowledge. When you gain the knowledge, you will be able to apply in your actions. You will be able to reinstall these ideas and reinforce them in your action. Thus, withdrawal and knowledge are two pedals to detachment. More withdrawal will make you stronger.
Eg: When you are admitted in a hospital, the patient is first isolated from everybody and kept in a protected environment. He is given the right medication to get back to his strength. Once he gains strength, he is pushed out of the ICU to the normal ward and then, soon after, sent back to the world.
Similarly, the only way you bounce back in spiritually is to withdraw. If you don’t withdraw, you keep running into the world. It is like quicksand and keeps dragging you deeper and deeper.
Nachiketa was dutiful to his father and asked the Lord to appease his father.
Lord Yama is blessing Nachiketa by fulfilling all his demands.
