2007 January SIDDHI and SIDDHA
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SRI RAMANA JYOTHI JANUARY TO DECEMBER - 2007 January SIDDHI AND SIDDHA : The power to subvert natural law through tapa is known as siddhi. When a tapasvin acquires siddhi , he comes to be known as siddha. Any human being can become a siddha if he can overpower the urge to respond to sensory stimuli. Once a siddha, a human being can do whatever he wills. According to Tantra , only men have the biology to ignite tapa and acquire siddhi. Only human male has control over his reproductive organs. Plants, animals and women shed their seed during pollution, heat and menstruation whether they want to or not. Hence they cannot retain rasa. Unfettered by the cycle of nature, a man can restrain his sexual urges, retain rasa , ignite tapa and acquire siddhi. – Devdutt Pattanaik SUBLIMATE DESIRES : Forced subjugation of desires can prove dangerous. In subduing desires, we allow them to make our subconscious mind home to unfulfilled desires. This, in turn, leads to mental distractions. The Lord says in the Gita , “Abstinence from food can keep sensual objects at bay, but not the desire or attachment to them.” The Ashwagosha says: “Your celibacy is of no avail if you are adulterous in mind”… Lure of senses increases with every additional consumption of sense-objects. Desire is like an internal chain reaction, which keeps repeating without a break. Fulfillment of one desire leads to many others. In fact, we do not consume objects of pleasure; rather it is the sense-objects that consume us… The solution to the problem is neither subjugation of desires nor free low of desires… It is normal human tendency to forego an inferior object when given a superior object. God denotes eternal bliss. How can then any pleasure of the world compete with it? Desires and attachment to sense objects can be turned God- ward by perception of Supreme within through Self-knowledge. – Ashutosh Maharaj INSECURITY IN LIFE: Insecurity is the very basis of life. We like to believe that everything about life is assured and that life is in our hands; but it is not so. We try to seek security in many ways – in the form of money, power, relationships and many more…Most of the time our energy is wasted in thinking of our wife, husband, parents, friends and relations who give us security. But the truth is that no one can guarantee anyone security because the basis of everyone’s life is insecurity. When we deeply contemplate on this truth, real security which is God-awareness happens in us and we begin to enjoy deep and secure state within ourselves. – Nithyananda Parmahamsa 1 GREATER UNDERSTANDING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF NEGATION: Those who love solving crossword puzzles know that the solution is found by the process of repeated negations. This process has its uses in almost all areas of research and understanding. God has laid out a supreme puzzle for us, challenging us to decipher His nature, while giving us many clues and hints through masters, books of revelation and most of all, through His own manifestations. Understanding through negation is the basis for the doctrine of neti neti – not this, not this – that sage Yajnavalkya uses in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad to describe Brahmn, the Absolute. – Jamuna Rangachari HAPPINESS: The definition of happiness varies from person to person. It varies from one stage of life to another. Is it possible to arrive at a formula that conforms to everyone’s definition of happiness? Mahatma Gandhi found an answer to this question in the first verse of Isha Upanishad that says: “ Renounce and enjoy. ” This was his reply to a western journalist who challenged him to reveal the secret of his happiness in just three words… The concept of renunciation is not the gloominess of self-denial but the extinguishing of the candle because dawn has arrived. It is an evolved mind that understands that it is better to need less than to want and have more…Genuine happiness is a state of contentment that comes with peace of mind. You will find happiness when you stop comparing your life and possessions with those of others. – K.S. Iyer SURRENDER TO THE FACT THAT LIFE ISN’T FAIR: Life isn’t fair. It’s ever moving forward with numerous jerks, jolts and disappointments. Recognizing this sobering fact can be a very liberating insight. One of the mistakes many of us make is that we feel sorry for ourselves, or for others, thinking that life should have been more fair. When we make this mistake we tend to spend a lot of time wallowing and /or complaining about what’s wrong with life. We sympathize with others discussing the injustices of life. One of the nice things about surrendering to the fact that life isn’t fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have… The fact that life isn’t fair doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do everything in our power to improve our own lives or the world as a whole. When we do recognize that life isn’t fair we feel compassion for others and for ourselves. And compassion is a heartfelt emotion that delivers loving-kindness to everyone it touches. – Richard Carlson NATARAJA: Siva communicates the truth of life through dance. Dance is the symbol of life. It is impermanent, lasting as long as the dancer dances. It flows through space and time, unfettered by any dimension or moment. The wheel around the dancing Siva is the merry-go-round of worldly events. The ego is swept away by the wheel. Siva crushes the ego and dances on its back, offering an alternative. He balances himself on his right foot, indicative of the still Purusha , and swings his left leg, indicative of the ever- 2 changing Prakriti . His right hand comforts his devotees while his left hand points to the interaction of the left and right feet. The fire he holds in one hand is tapa , ignited by refusing to submit to worldly stimuli. The rattle-drum in the other is created with the downward-pointing triangle of matter separated from the upward-pointing triangle of the spirit. – Devdutt Pattanaik FREE WILL AND FATE: Fate is the sum total of the effect of past actions which influence our present life. Exercise of free will in the past becomes our fate in the present… Fate or destiny is conventionally described thus: Whatever has to happen will happen and one can do nothing to change the course of events which are predestined. This is irrational. Once we accept that everything in life is dictated by fate, we will remain passive, adopting the path of least resistance. We need to look at obstacles as opportunities and overcome them rather than accepting them as our fate… Sri Aurobindo said that we are our fate through our actions. By relying on self-effort in the present, we can decide our fate. The Gita tells us to stand up and fight; this means not submitting to fate. Sage Vashishta told Sri Rama that fate or the effects of our past deeds is like a child and self-effort in the present is like a youth… In the Mahabharata, Bhishma says that exertion is greater than destiny…Life would become boring for a person if he knew his future. He would be left with no imagination, no will power and an unused intellect…Can the effect of bad karmas be reduced or obliterated? When a person surrenders to God, renounces the fruit of his actions and offers them to God, then, no fate operates for him. – R. K.Langar ORIGIN OF NAMES ‘APARNA’ AND ‘UMA’ FOR GODDESS PARVATI Sati, wife of Lord Siva and daughter of King Daksha, gave up her life as she was insulted by her father during the yajna performed by him. She was subsequently born to Himavan and Menaka as Parvati. She wanted only Siva as her husband, and to achieve that purpose she set out for doing tapas. Parvati’s delicate frame was little fit for austerities; yet she renounced all comforts of life and got so absorbed in penance that she lost consciousness of her body. For months on end, she lived on roots and fruits alone. For some days her only sustenance was water and air. She also maintained herself on withered leaves for a long period of time. Finally, when she gave up even dry leaves, she came to be known as ‘Aparna’ – one who lives without leaves. Seeing Parvati’s body emaciated through severe tapas , her mother 3 while trying to prevent her from continuing the austerities, shouted: “U (no), Ma (give up).” That is how she got the name Uma. (Excerpted from: Ramacharitamansa by Tulsidas and Spiritual Stories as told by Ramana Maharshi.) CHANGE DIRECTION TO CHAGE LIFE: Change of direction does not mean escaping from life. It only means reforming one’s attitude. We are very much inclined to hold on to the reflection ( maya) instead of reality. Our body, matter and all impermanent objects are the reflections of our non-dual existence, which is the truth. Whatever is viewed in a mirror is a reflection, not reality. Treating the reflection or shadow as real is the root cause of distress and agonies of life. A bird pecking at its image in the mirror is distressed and anxious. In fact, it was hitting upon the image of the other bird in order to harm that bird. It was using its full strength. Unfortunately, it was not able to understand that it was hitting its own reflection in the mirror.