Eternal India Encyclopedia

PERCEPTIONS

Eternal India

encyclopedia

BRAHMA VIDYA

- SPIRITUAL EDUCATION

Science of Spirituality

Brahma Vidya

or "Science of Spiritual-

ity" is commonly understood to mean be-

coming a

Saadhu

and retiring to the wilder-

ness abandoning all worldly responsibility.

But it is not so. Self-realisation is the

culmination of a life lived intelligently and

made progressively more and more free

from the chains of slavery imposed by na-

ture on man due to his imperfections and the

consequent discontentment and unhappi-

ness. The entire scheme of

Brahma Vidya

is to make a person happier and contented in

his daily life so that the spiritual unfoldment

will take place within the individual auto-

matically. Self-realisation is not the sud-

den acquisition of special knowledge, it is

the culmination of the evolutionary process

in man.

All the activities that an individual un-

dertakes in this world are done with the

hope to obtain a greater amount of happi-

ness and to achieve freedom from unhappi-

ness (called

'Dukkha Nivritthi

and

Sukha

Praapthi').

This is known in common par-

"The purpose of Spiritual Education or Brahma

"Vidya is to enable man to have a Vision of the

Divine in Society. When man combines this Vision

-•

with Tapas, he merges with God. The Vision of

Divinity and merging, with Divinity, are like the two

poles; one positive and the other negative. The

positive and negative will join together and take you

m to a position where you will become Divine ".

- Baba

lance as 'A higher standard of living' and A

higher standard of life' or popularly known

as 'Success in Life' and 'Happiness in life'.

In spite of the best planning by politicians,

governments,

scientists,

economists

etc,

man's life remains full of imperfections and

unhappiness. This has led to wars and

revolutions. The reason for this is man's

excessive preoccupation with the body and

the senses. All the human effort and inge-

nuity is spent in creating more and more

avenues for sense enjoyments and then

wasting all the energies by indulging in

those sense pleasures. Consequently even

materially prosperous people are found to

lead a life of unhappiness, sorrow, anxiety

and tension. The joy, happiness and con-

tentment in one's life and the ability to

spread the same to others through love,

kindness and other noble qualities form the

basis for a higher standard of life. Hence it

can be seen that a higher standard of living

does not lead to a higher standard of life. It

is the noble qualities of the head and the

heart that go to make a happy life for any

individual. Happiness is the capacity to

generate within oneself the noble qualities

of love, kindness, cheerfulness, optimism

and integration and also the large-heart-

edness to share one's material prosperity

with others around oneself. Thus we find

that success and happiness in life will ulti-

mately depend upon the condition and qual-

ity of the mind and intellectual equipment of

the individual.

The remedy suggested by the spiritual

masters to free a person from the slavery of

the senses is through the process of

"Brahma Vidya".

—K.V.K. Thampuran

NINE CIRCLES OF

BHAKTI Nava Ratna (Navavidha Bhakti)

There are nine steps in the pilgrimage

of man towards God along the path of dedi-

cation and surrender.

Shravanam

: Developing a desire to lis-

ten to the glory and grandeur of the handi-

work of God and His awe-inspiring mani-

festation. This is the starting point. It is by

hearing about the Lord again and again that

we can transform ourselves into Divinity.

Keertanam

: Singing about the Lord,

His manifold exploits and magnificence.

3. Smaranam

: Dwelling on the Lord in the

mind and revelling in the contemplation of

His beauty, majesty and compassion.

Paadasevanam

: Entering upon the

worship of the Lord, by concentrating on

honouring the feet or footprints.

Archanam

: This develops into a total

propitiation of the Lord and systematic ritu-

alistic worship, in which the aspirant gets

inner satisfaction and inspiration.

Vandanam

: The aspirant begins to see

his favourite form of God wherever he turns,

in all beings and all objects. So, he develops

an attitude of

Vandana

or reverence to-

wards all life and nature.

Dasyam

: Established in his bent of

mind, he becomes the devoted servant of all

sakha

in fact, as Arjuna had become.

Aatma Nivedanam

: This is the prel-

ude to the final step of total surrender or

Aatma Nivedanam.

The seeker through his

purified intuition knows and yields, fully to

the will of the Lord.”

—

Baba

without

feeling

inferior

seeking

superiority. This is a vital step, the stage of

service which every person calling himself a

social worker or volunteer has to reach. It is

more fruitful than reciting the name and

counting beads, or sitting for hours in

meditation. The Lord is pleased only when

you do things the Lord desires. How else

can you win His grace? How else than by

nursing, nourishing and saving His children?

How else, than helping them to realise Him

as their Lord and guardian and cultivating

faith in Him, through your own straight and

sincere living?

Sakhayam

: This takes the seeker so

near the Lord that he feels himself compan-

ion and the sharer of God’s power and pity,

and His triumphs and achievements. His

Nine aspects of piety

The following are the nine aspects of piety

enjoined upon all persons to become virtous.

'Satsanga'

or association with the

virtuous

'Harikatha'

or recitation of sacred

hymns and songs.

'Ishwar Bhakti'

or love of God.

Theertha Yaatra'

or a pilgrimage to

shrines and holy places.

'Guru Pooja'

or worship of the pre-

ceptors.

'Dhyaana'

or meditation.

'Bhakta Seva'

or service of devotees

of God.

'Loka Kalyaana'

or welfare of all the

creative beings of the world.

'Japa'

or constant recitation of the

Lord's name.