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Life's Mission
THE HUMAN BEING is considered the highest among all beings. In Sankarar’s words, he says, “Only through god's grace may we obtain the three rarest gifts: human birth, the longing for liberation, and discipleship to an illumined teacher”.
The Human Birth
One needs to understand the reason for his or her birth as a human being. He needs to know the mission that he has to accomplish in this world. He needs to prepare this body so that god is received into this body. God then resides in this body, in every cell and atom, and brings changes to this body. The changes take place internally which slowly influences one’s outer appearances, thoughts, and the way one sees things.
Swami Muktananda in his book ‘WHERE ARE YOU GOING? - A GUIDE TO THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY’ says,
“For so many years, you have been living in the awareness ‘I am an individual,’ and for this reason, it is very difficult for you to immediately accept the awareness ‘I am god’. You have been filling your mind with negative thoughts and feelings about other people and about yourself, thinking that you are small, that you are weak, that you are sinful. You have spent your life trapped in limited identification. This is ego, the sense of limited individuality, which has trapped you for innumerable lifetimes.”
The Swami in ‘THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP’, quotes Poet Saint Kabir:
Kabir wrote, “As long as I was looking for you, I did not see you. I went from door to door knocking, yet none of the doors was yours. I looked for you on so many paths, yet none of them led to your court. But when I received Ramananda’s grace, when guru Ramananda erased me and I became completely pure, I saw that you were behind me like my shadow. Wherever I went, you were there before me.”
Similarly, Sankara prays:
“Forgive me Siva, my three great sins.
I came on a pilgrimage to Kashmir forgetting that you are omnipresent;
in thinking about you I forget that you are beyond thought;
in praying to you I forget that you are beyond words”.
In 'Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart - The Taoist Path Through Stress & Spirituality' by Brian Luke Seaward, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2005, Teilhard de Chardin is quoted,
“We are not humans having a spiritual experience. Instead, we are spirits having a human experience. …..earthly existence is enshrouded in many veils of illusion. It is a brave soul on a noble adventure who attempts to lift these veils. .... If you recognize that you are indeed a spirit on a human path, then every situation that you encounter will be a learning experience. This is how consciousness evolves. The drive that inspires the human journey is a desire to have this view of life - a clearer understanding of life’s mystery and role or purpose in it”.
In ‘GEMS FROM BHAGAVAN’, Bhagavan Ramana says to a devotee who was praying that she should have more frequent visions of Siva,
“Surrender to Him and abide by His Will, whether He appears or disappears; await His pleasure. If you ask Him to do as you like, it is not surrender but command to God. You cannot have Him obey you and yet think you have surrendered. He knows what is best and when and how to do it. His is the burden. You have no longer any cares. All your cares are His. Such is surrender. That is bhakti.”
The Longing For Liberation
The body is needed to realize god. There is the common belief that the soul/ atma/ jivatma unites with god or Paramatma after the death of this body. But Saint Ramalingam says otherwise; there is no union with god after death. The union has to happen right now in this body, in this very birth. The sidhas having experimented on themselves and with the blessing and guidance of god have proved that this body of ours need not drop dead at the end of its lifespan. Sidhas are believed to be living until this day. Now how did they do it?
This yearning for liberation which leads eventually to the yearning for god realization appears when one starts to consider all that is being seen, sensed, heard, touched, and felt is not permanent. One then looks for THAT which is permanent. He then discovers from one, already on the path to god realization, that what he is searching for, that which is permanent, is the bliss that is derived through devotion to god and eventually realization of god.
So can we know the very existence of god or of his nature at least?
In the ‘Reincarnation: The Soul’s Secret Journey – from ATMA – The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness’, is written:
"At the time of death, the soul is considered to enter a new body either immediately or after a lapse of time. Hindu texts mention that there are 8,400,00 species of life forms beginning with the aquatics and culminating in the human".
"All species are manifested in the early stages of cosmic creation when the living entities (souls) are impregnated within material nature. These indestructible and eternal souls gradually evolve through the different species or types of material bodies, beginning with microbes and amoebas, rising through the fish, plants, insects, reptiles, birds, and animals to the human and superhuman (demigods) species. So the evolution process is really an evolution of consciousness.”
"The different categories of material bodies (species) exist because there are millions of categories of material desires. These different life forms are nothing more than machines designed by the material energy to fulfill different material desires.”
"One has to remember and ponder over the blessedness that the human being has gained for it is the human who is offered the chance to become free from the cycle of birth and death and no other organism or living form. We should not fail to make use of this human birth or human form to find ways to break this cycle of birth and death and to achieve liberation."
"We have to appreciate this very birth and take steps to be liberated in this very birth for we might not get another chance to be born as a human for years to come. One could descend into the lower species”.
"Our entanglement in the material sphere is the result of an unending chain of actions and reactions developed in this and previous human lives. This is known in Sanskrit as karma, a law of nature analogous to the modern scientific principle of action and reaction.”
"Only the human species, however, is subject to the subtle but exact law, for only in the human form does one have advanced intelligence and freedom of choice. In lower-than-human life forms the soul is covered by much grosser forms of mind and body; therefore the living beings within such bodies are totally under the control of nature. Because beasts, microbes, insects, and plants do nothing more than automatically serve their instincts, they are not held responsible for their activities. They do not incur karmic reactions.”
"In one human life, we can create sufficient karma to keep ourselves entangled in the cycle of birth and death for thousands of lives. As human beings, we also have the rare opportunity to become spiritually enlightened with transcendental knowledge and the chance to break the endless cycle of reincarnation. The term reincarnation means that I am a spirit soul who has entered a body. But there will be suffering. These sufferings include birth, death, old age, and disease. It can take many lives, or you can do it in one lifetime.”
In the 'The Ultimate Antimaterial Particle' - from ATMA – The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, is written:
"The soul, known in Sanskrit as atma, being far more subtle than matter, endures the death experience without being harmed or injured. Nor is it subject to the laws of birth, growth, and deterioration.”
"One personal form of god is the Supersoul dwelling within the hearts of all living beings; witnessing every thought and action awarding the living beings the result of their karma, arranging for them to accept an appropriate physical body lifetime after lifetime.”
One needs to recognize the true path. The path of the sidhas is where one cares for this body so as to realize this mission of receiving god in him or her and eventually merging with god. Therefore for one who dies a mortal death, he has not accomplished this mission successfully i.e. He has failed in his mission. It is a sad day then. We should shed tears for him for not fulfilling God's wish. God wishes every one of his children to realize the truth that this body is immortal and take steps to prepare it so as to unite with him while still alive in this body. For one who has achieved this union, we can rejoice at his or her achievement.
Saint Ramalingam, a recent sidha, goes away from the normal explanation given where the soul unites with god upon death. It is usually thought that this union takes place eventually, with or without effort, the time taken depending on the amount of effort directed towards it. But Saint Ramalingam says we have to bring god into us. That means preparing this body to receive god and eventually place him permanently in the various organs. That is the only way to remain alive and overcome death. If you don’t drop death you won’t be born again. Saint Ramalingam proved it by dematerializing and merging with god.
Saint Ramalingam had achieved this feat. He had prepared himself. He had purified his thoughts and body. He had performed deeds that drove away ignorance and brought him merits. He had yearned for god with utmost passion and god had to submit to him finally. God came unto him; into his body; into every cell and atom. Then changes started to take place in his body.
Eventually, he dematerialized into LIGHT and merged with god. It is amazing to know that he made it happen right here and as recently as in 1874.
Let us recall the message of the world’s great Upanishadic sages, retold by Swami Satprakashananda in his book ‘Meditation- Its Process, Practice, and Culmination’:
'Death is not your final end.
Do not give way to despair.
You are not destined to be subject to this play of dualities forever.
There is the Supreme Being,
The very perfection of existence,
Which you can reach in this very mortal life and where you can find life beyond death and complete fulfillment of your ideal.
Therein is the culmination of your knowledge,
therein is the consummation of your love,
therein is complete rest and therein dwells unruffled peace.
There shines the light that never fails,
and there abides joy unbounded.
How can man reach that?
Through this very life,
By regulating this mortal life he can reach the immortal'.
Discipleship To An Illumined Teacher
In a biography of Yogi Ramsuratkumar from the net recently, the author writes,
"The master (Swami Ramdas) knew the Truth and the Way and knew as well that there was nothing he could say to provide a shortcut for the disciple (Yogi Ramsuratkumar). By the law of occult causation, all progress on the path must be won by the individual through personal effort. Thus one who knows the way cannot speak; understanding that the aspirant constructs the path much like the spider spins its web out of its own being. In the relationship established between Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Swami Ramdas, there was little philosophical thought or practical guidance given. The rapport between the master and the disciple was on much subtler levels involving not so much principles of truth as the use of higher forces in bringing about actual transformation."
Another paragraph in the same biography describes:
"After lifetimes of seeking out worldly experiences and understanding, a man turns him back to the phenomenal worlds and begins to search his inmost being in an effort to realize the source of spirit from whence he sprang and to which he must return. Gradually through the constant impact of dull and unadventurous lives, he becomes insensitive to the vibrations of the outer physical worlds, within which he is a functioning entity. He becomes aware of the interior spiritual vibrations and proceeds to journey inward to the kingdom of the soul. The outer world loses its desirability whereas the formless spirit nature assumes paramount importance. The individual reoriented himself to the higher mind and thus begins to touch upon greater awareness. Yet with his sensitivity still in but an embryonic state, spiritual struggle, hardships, and merciless trials of endurance assail him. The waters of purification crash down upon him and threaten to carry him deep beneath the surface of the waves. But with the advent of soul consciousness, he stabilizes himself in spiritual life wherein he is responsive to the vibration of the subtler realms and directed by the purposes of the soul."
The rapport between guru and disciple is on a much subtler level indeed, as mentioned by the author of the biography on the Yogi Ramsuratkumar, involving not so much principles of truth, but the use of higher forces in this case the workings of the sidhas, in bringing about actual transformation.
"Ramsuratkumar once explained that some days all was clear to him, and he felt as if he was standing in the highest heaven, and he knew he was a son of god. While at other times he was dragged down from pure ecstasy into the depths of abysmal gloom"
Swami Nithyananda too says,
"No communication will happen here - only a deep communion between you and me".
The saints in Nithyananda’s words:
"Speak about something which cannot be spoken about".
He adds, "Spiritual knowledge is knowledge that is neither of the mind nor of the heart, but of your Being! It is just a deep understanding beyond logic, which can neither be taught nor picked. It can simply happen out of a deep communion at the Being level."
On the subject of subtle forces, it was said that: Bhagawan Nithyananda of Ganeshpuri made a similar statement towards the end of his life. It appears that there were many signs of his impending passing but his devotees were mostly unaware of them. One woman devotee properly interpreted some of the signs and was distraught to learn of his plans to depart. He said to her, "Why are you crying? Don't cry. More is possible on the subtle than on the gross."
From the book, ‘Divine Grace Through Total Self-Surrender’ by D.C. Desai, Bhagavan Ramana read out the following quotations by Paul Brunton:
"Divine Grace is a manifestation of the cosmic free will in operation. It can alter the course of events in a mysterious manner through its own unknown laws, which are superior to all natural laws and can modify the latter by interaction. It is the most powerful force in the universe. It descends and acts only when it is invoked by total self-surrender. It acts from within because god resides in the Heart of all beings. Its whisper can be heard only in a mind purified by self-surrender and prayer. It is a descent of god into the soul’s zone of awareness. It is a visitation of force unexpected and unpredictable. It is a voice spoken out of cosmic silence - It is ‘Cosmic Will which can perform authentic miracles under its own laws".
"In truth, god and the guru are not different. Just as the prey that has fallen into the jaws of a tiger has no escape, so those who have come within the ambit of the guru’s gracious look will be saved by the guru and will not get lost; yet, each one should by his own effort pursue the path shown by god or guru and gain release. Each seeker after god should be allowed to go his own way, the way for which he alone may be built (meant). It will not do to convert him to another path by violence. The guru will go with the disciple in his own path and then gradually turn him onto the Supreme path at the ripe moment."
Swami Muktananda in ‘THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP’, says:
“You will never hear the guru criticize you. Instead, when you are in his company, you will experience your own divinity. You will never be found guilty in the guru’s eyes. You will find in them only the praise of your hidden inner god.”
Be Grateful
G.Valmikanathan in his book ‘Makers of Indian Literature-Ramalingam’, published by Sahitya Akademi (e-book at http://www.vallalar.org) traces Saint Ramalingam’s journey on the pathway to god dividing it into three portions: journey on the purgative way, journey on the illuminative way, journey on the unitive way.
He explains further,
“The purgative way is that part of the long path which, one tread towards the godhead and in which one purge oneself of all desires and attachments, of all imperfections, of all acts of commission and omission of shortcomings in renunciation, of shortcomings in the total love of god in the passion for the apprehension of the godhead”.
“The illuminative way is that part of the path, which comes after the purgative way, and in which one gains illumination, knowledge, and gnosis”.
“The unitive way is that part of the pathway in which the pilgrim marches on with buoyant and joyous steps, filled with hope and freed from doubt or misconception. The journey is characterized by a sense of urgency. The pilgrim, in this part of his journey, begins to walk fast, then breaks into a loping trot, and finally, gallops on with increasing tempo towards the beckoning smile and the outstretched arms, and is soon locked in an eternal embrace with the beloved, the eternal being, the godhead, the ground of all being. The journey on the unitive way is composed of several factors of experience. Recollection and quiet, contemplation, ecstasy and rapture, dark night of the soul, and unitive life”.
“Of these three sections of the pathway, the first is painful and dolorous, the second a strange mixture of sorrow and joy, the joy increasing in intensity as ignorance is slowly replaced by illumination, and the last section of sheer delight, of mounting bliss”.
In ‘Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart- The Taoist Path Through Stress & Spirituality’ by Brian Luke Seaward, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2005, Teilhard de Chardin says,
“The path of human experience would be mighty crowded if everyone embarked at the same time. Therefore, it stands to reason that not only are there numerous paths, but we each move at a pace that’s conducive to our own soul growth process. Brian describes what he calls ‘seasons of the soul’ as follows:”
“We begin the centering process (autumn), where we leave the known of the external world and enter the unknown depths of the mind.”
“Next comes the emptying process (winter), a time of clearing and a cleansing of thoughts and feelings that no longer serve us: this may involve some grieving.”
“As spring follows winter, so the grounding process follows the emptying process, a period in which new insights are gained to improve our quality of life.”
“The fourth season is the connecting process (summer), where we come back home to share the wisdom we have learned and to celebrate the sacred connectedness of life.”
Saint Ramalingam started worshipping Lord Murugan at the Kandasamy (Kandakottam) temple in Chennai and Tirutani, Lord Siva in Otriyore, and Lord Nadaraja in Chidambaram. Later he started the following establishments; the Sanmarga Sangam, the Sathya Dharma Salai where he fed the poor, envisioned and built the Sathya Gnana Sabai where he worshipped god in the form of LIGHT and called it Arutperunjhoti. He finally settled in Sidhi Valagam where he dematerialised.
All his songs have been compiled as the Thiru Arutpa. When one reads these songs one would realize the amount of gratitude the Saint had poured forth.
Be Grateful