Guru Poornima ki Hardik Shubhkamnaye (24-07-2021)

|| Hari OM ||

Namaste,

There is a popular saying in Hindi that ‘Guru bin Gyan Nahi, Gyan Bina Mukti Nahi’ meaning ‘Without (the grace of Guru), one cannot achieve Self Realisation and with Self Realisation one cannot attain moksha’. So the question is, How to find a Guru? And, Until I find a Guru, how to progress spiritually? There are people who would go on a search for a guru. They would get associated with Ashrams of popular Gurus and then they try to understand the Guru’s teachings. In process, they interact more with volunteers and also with the people involved in administration of the ashram and who are in contact with the Guru. They listen and attend to the discourses of the Guru. They try to analyze the Guru and gauge him as per their own barometers. If the guru fails in their definition of a ‘Guru’ they move on to find another Guru.

Though we cannot say this approach is incorrect, we in order to understand the teachings of shastras, we have to take guidance of a Guru. However, from spiritual stand point, this approach is not correct. It is the guru which finds the disciple and not the other way around. But then the question is what to do until then? Well, we must keep listening to discourses of the Guru or a Swami ji which we like, but at the same time, we all must keep praying to Ishvara to guide us in our spiritual progress. We must pray to Ishvara to teach us japa, to teach us the true meaning of shastras and pray to Ishvara that we would not be able to progress until we receive Ishvara’s grace and blessings. Until our Guru actually finds us, our Ista devata is our Guru too. We must constantly talk to our Ishvara and share our thoughts, like we do to with a person or a friend. We must not hesitate to share our doubts, ask for answers, pray for guidance on any topic, be it spiritual or non-spiritual. Treat Ishvara as a live human being and not as an idol. This will help us connect with Ishvara and emotionally bond with our Ishvara. The strength of our prayer and the response of Ishvara lies in the faith we have in him and how strong our urge is to actually walk on spiritual path and accept his guidance. In other words, fulfillment of prayers depends upon the intensity of devotion and willingness to dedicate our life to him.

We must also continue to read shastras ourselves in order to gain some knowledge and know the basics. There are many shastras and at times it is overwhelming and confusing as to where to start. For beginners, a discourse in video format is the best option. If video is not available, try the audio. If the audio is not available, the we will have to read the books written by a Swami. There are saints who study shastras for many years and meditate as per their Guru’s instructions. After many years of study, contemplation and meditation, they gain clarity on the position of shastras and what they teach us. If such a Saint gives discourse or writes a commentary on Gita or any of the prakaran Granthas of Adi Shankaracharya, then the saint will cover all the essence of the Upanishads, connect the teachings of Prakaran Granths with the teachings of Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Gita. This reduces a lots of our work. So listening to a discourse on Gita will cover the Upanishads too and so there would not be a need to specially study them.

If one decides to read shastras, as some may like to read book instead of listening to audio or video, then there are basic texts which one must begin with. The author is connected with Advaita and so the books and authors recommended may have a tilting towards Advaita, but will try to give references to books by Acharyas of other sampradayas.

In order to understand the teachings of Upanishads, we must first be aware of basic terminology and basic concepts. Books teaching basics are known as ‘Prakaran Granth’. They are composed by Sri Adi Shankaracharya ji. Granths such as Tatva Bodh explain the basic terminology like What is mind, what is buddhi, what is Brahman, etc. It is the first book that the author generally recommends. Another granth is Vivek Chudamani. Though it is a Prakaran Granth, it is very long consisting of 580 slokas. Vivek Chudamani is very important for those following advaita way of life. Then there are other Prakaran Granths like Atma Bodh, Aprokshanubhuti, Panchikaranam Prakriya, etc that are helpful too.  

Next comes the study of Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita or simply Gita is the most commented shastra. Therea re hundreds of commentaries and different types of explanations available today. There are two main types of categories of Gita. Gita with Translation and Gita with Commentaries. First, the translation of the mula sloka meaning the author has translated the original Sanskrit sloka without further explaining the meaning. Second is the Commentary on the mula sloka. Commentary is further divided into three types. Many acharyas like Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Abhinavgupta, et al have written detailed commentary on the slokas of Gita in Sanskrit. These commentaries are then translated into English or Hindi or any other regional language. Second type of commentary is the explanation given by the author who is closely following the teachings and so the commentary of any Prominent Acharya like Adi Shankara. The commentary by Swami Sivananda of Divine Life Society is one such Translation and commentary. Almost all authors who give commentary also translate the mula sloka.  

A list of publications and authors is given here

http://www.sanatan-dharma.in/basic-texts-hindu-dharma#TOC-21.7.-Publications-and-authors-recommended-for-reading-shAstra-s

Reading the Puranas

Puranas are very popular amongst masses as they teach us in the form of stories. Several purANa-s list pancha lakshana ( pañcalakṣaṇa) or ‘five characteristics’ or ‘five signs’ that purANa must contain. They are:

1.       sarga:  First or primary creation. Major creation followed by maintenance and destruction of all worlds, lower and higher spiritual worlds. Cosmogeny. How universe was created.

2.       pratisarga: secondary, subsequent creation and maintenance followed by partial destruction of lower worlds. Cosmic cycles.

3.       vamśa: Vamsha means family dynasty or clan or kula or lineage. Lineage of deva-s, rishi-s and mahArAja-s (kings). Genealogy.

4.       manvantara: Period or age of manu. One cosmic cycle.

5.       vamśānucharitam: Legendary stories of popular kings and their lineages.  Genealogical list of popular clans.

In the beginning, some may find it difficult to read such a big book. So we omit the parts which we are not interested into like the list of kings of a particular clan or on the theories of creation or cosmology. We can first begin with reading the stories or rather the life of important characters. For example, In Srimad Bhagavat Purana, there are many great stories like Druv Charitra (Character of Druv), Prahlad Charitra, Gajendra Moksha to name a few. One can refer to the index and can filter out such sections. Later we can go and read other parts of Purana. Also reading all 18 Puranas is practically not possible for a layman and one need not read them all. The important Puranas are Srimad Bhagavad Purana, Vishnu Purana and Shiva Purana. Other Puranas like Ganesh Up-Purana, Devi Bhagavat, Markendeya Purana and Garuda Purana can be taken up for study as per liking and availability of time. Linga Purana and sections from the very large Skanda Purana are taken up for study by the enthusiasts.

There are books or booklets published by many ashrams and mathas which are collections of such inspirational stories from Puranas. To begin with one can read them as well.

 Ramayana and Mahabharata

These two epics are known as itihasa meaning history. Unlike Puranas which may have an element of imagination, both epics enjoy a higher authority over Puranas. Mahabharata has 1,00,000 slokas. It may take upto a year to read them. Honestly, many people skip these epics. There are many versions of Ramayana. Two popular one are Valmiki Ramayana, the main original poetic work and Tulidas ji’s Ramayana. All versions of Ramayana are inspired by Valmiki Ramayana.

There is a mis conception amongst few that one should not keep Mahabharata in the house as it may result into quarrels in home. This is completely wrong. Infact it is said that, ‘What is found elsewhere is definitely found in Mahabharata, but what is found in Mahabharata may not be found elsewhere’.  Mahabharata has everything that can happen in life and teaches many things covering many fields from Governance to war to spirituality. It teaches consequences of betrayals, consequences of not following one’s dharma, it talks on death (ref Sanata Sujatiya) and much more.

As said earlier, since these epics are lengthy and many of us rely and remain contended with the knowledge gained by TV serials, most people do not read this epics. Only Sunderkand from Tulisdas ji’s Ramayana is popular.

Stotras and Stutis

Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata has many stotras and stutis of devi-devatas. There are also very popular heart touching independent compositions. One can read listen to them too.

In this way, one can begin with Prakaran Granthas, then read Gita or listen to discourses on Gita. We may also read various popular stories that inspire us to progress spiritually like Druv and Prahlad Charitra from the puranas. There are stotras and stutis, various Sahasranama stotras including the famous Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra and Shiva Sahasranama Stotra. If time permits, one can read puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata.

An Important point note is that it is best when shastras are read or listened in our mother tongue and the book along with translation has the original Sanskrit sloka too.

Wishing you all a very Happy Guru Poornima.

May the grace of Guru and Ishvara by upon us all.

May we all progress spiritually.

|| OM Tam Namami Gurum Sharanam||

|| Gyanadev tu Kaivalyam ||

|| Hari OM ||