Thursday 6 August 2020

NO END TO LEARNING

The readers following the blog from the very first post will understand how we evolved together from being a devotee of the pantheon of gods and goddesses who were introduced by our parents and our ancestors in Sariyai to the path of the Siddhas by a calling through their Nadi. The Siddhas then spoke about karma and sent us out on pilgrimages of specific temples whose deities were capable of changing one's fate. They brought us to do charity so that we shall build compassion in us. With karma out of the way and compassion mellowing in our hearts they brought us to do rituals learning from gurus whom they sent along. Then they brought us out of this stage of Kriya to learn Yogam telling us that Yogam shall eventually lead us to Gnanam.

The full path is thence covered, with initially God as a heavenly body residing in the temples and we as servants doing chores and serving him, and praying for health and wealth and worshipping for favors in Sariyai; he then takes us his children by coming in the role of a Guru in Kriyai, laying a bridge between these two worlds of theirs and ours, making us realize the soul within, teaching all that needs to be known, and praying for the wellbeing of all instead of the individual self and blood relatives. God then comes as a companion in Yogam, giving us practices and techniques to realize him, now within the body and as the self. We can safely let go of our bonds with the temple now as he begins to reside in the temple that we have created for him within this body. We can safely let go of our bonds with the rituals as the ritual takes on a new face as we go within. We then start a new journey, an inner journey grabbing on to Yogam that constitutes the 8 limbs as delivered by Patanjali. Yama and Niyama that was reinforced in the earlier two stages of Sariyai and Kriyai is now imprinted in the self and have become a character of ours. We learn Yoga Asanas and Pranayama, the 3rd and 4th limb of Yoga, bringing discipline both to the body and the breath. The next 4 limbs Pratyahara, Dharaṇa, Dhyana, and finally Samadhi shall come into being with some effort on our part and by the grace of God and Guru. The full path has been laid out in front of us.

Rather than placing our sight on the fruits or results that are all too tempting, or become disillusion seeing the distance that one has to travel to reach the destination, the masters had broken the journey into tiny parts so that we can tend to each matter on hand and after attaining total satisfaction at having made some ground at each stage, only then step into the next portion of the journey. This is where we put in our efforts giving the best and move on following further instructions and directives. The future than takes care of itself for we have tackled the present to our best ability. This brings us to the understanding that the only true and real moment is the present where we are required to pay attention, complete the tasks, fulfill all obligations, leave no stone unturned and never look back after stepping onto the next stone on the journey.

The present moment is where we live out our past karma and also determine our future and our destiny by the very actions we take this very moment. Only in extreme cases does our karma still persist and sets out to influence and determine the moment as fated, bringing to fruition all that is fated to happen too. It is then so strong that it veils our free choice and thinking, leading us to fulfill the particular karma. Otherwise with our efforts and God's grace we can change our fate and bring on a destiny as desired by us. Better still is to surrender and live out the divine will and have the divine chart our destiny.

By hosting this blog my understanding of things has changed over time and with experience and more learning.  There might be some discrepancies between my earliest posts and the latest, not that I have made a mistake or it was some typographical error but that it was based on whatever little information that trickles in, that is made known or revealed, learned or obtained. Please bear with me as I too am traveling on this journey. I am only sharing my experiences with fellow seekers like you, not as teaching but rather as information that was severely lacking in the early days of my venture on this path.