TattvaTales - Part III

Raja Janaka ruled over the country of Videha. He was once reclining on a sofa. It was the middle of the day in the hot month of June. He had a short nap for a few seconds. He dreamt that a rival king with a large army had invaded his country and slew his soldiers and ministers. He was driven out of his palace barefooted and without any clothes covering him.

Janaka found himself roaming about in a jungle. He was thirsty and hungry. He reached a small town where he begged for food. No one paid any attention to his entreaties. He reached a place where some people were distributing food to the beggars. Each beggar had an earthen bowl to receive rice water. Janaka had no bowl and so they turned him out to bring a bowl. He went in search of a vessel. He requested other beggars to lend him a bowl, but none would part with his bowl. At last Janaka found a broken piece of a bowl. Now he ran to the spot where rice water was distributed. All the foodstuff had been already distributed.

Raja Janaka was very much tired on account of long travelling, hunger and thirst and heat of the summer. He stretched himself near a fireplace where foodstuff was cooked. Here some one took pity over Janaka. He gave him some rice water which was found at the bottom of a vessel. Janaka took it with intense joy and just as he put it to his lips, two large bulls tumbled fighting over him.

The bowl was broken to pieces. The Raja woke up with great fear. Janaka was trembling violently. He was in a great dilemma as to which of his two states was real. All the time he was in dream, he never thought that it was an illusion and that the misery of hunger and thirst and his other troubles were unreal.

The queen asked Janaka, “O Lord! What is the matter with you?” The only words which

Janaka spoke were, “Which is real, this or that?” From that time he left all his work and became silent. He uttered nothing but the above words.

The ministers thought that Janaka was suffering from some disease. It was announced by them that anyone who cured the Raja will be richly rewarded and those who fail to cure the Raja will be made life prisoners. Great physicians and specialists began to pour in and tried their luck, but no one could answer the query of the Raja. Hundreds of Brahmins well versed in the science of curing diseases were put in the state prison.

Among the prisoners was also the father of the great sage Ashtavakra. When Ashtavakra was a boy of only ten years of age, he was told by his mother that his father was a state prisoner because he failed to cure Raja Janaka. He at once started to see Janaka. He asked the Raja if he desired to hear the solution of his questions in a brief and few words as the question itself is put or full details of his dream experience may be recited. Janaka did not like to have his humiliating dream repeated in presence of a big gathering. He consented to receive a brief answer.

Ashtavakra then whispered into the ear of Janaka, “Neither this nor that is real.” Raja Janaka at once became joyful. His confusion was removed.

Raja Janaka then asked Ashtavakra, “What is real?” There upon there was a long dialogue between him and the sage. This is recorded in the well-known book, “Ashtavakra Gita,” which is highly useful for all seekers after Truth.

Cobb: You create the world of the dream, you bring the subject into that dream, and they fill it with their subconscious.

Ariadne: How could I ever acquire enough detail to make them think that its reality?

Cobb: Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question, you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on.

Ariadne: I guess, yeah.

Cobb: So how did we end up here?

Ariadne: Well we just came from the a...

Cobb: Think about it Ariadne, how did you get here? Where are you right now?

Ariadne: We're dreaming?

Among Sigmund Freud’s conclusions in the famous ‘Interpretation of Dreams’, he says nearly all dreams are 'wish-fulfilments', that is, they reveal a deep motivation or desire which wants to be fulfilled, often a wish going back to earliest childhood - dreams are the arena in which the unconscious mind could express itself, and they are primarily concocted to represent the fulfillment of a wish.

One of Freud's key points is that dreams are always self-centered. "The wishes fulfilled in them", he writes, "are invariably this self's wishes". When other people appear in a dream, often they are merely symbols of ourselves or symbolized what another person means to us. Freud believed that whenever a strange figure entered his dreamscape, the personage undoubtedly represented some aspect of himself that could not be expressed in waking consciousness. 

Certain Karmas are worked out in dreams also. A King experienced a dream in which he acts the part of a beggar and suffers the pangs of starvation. Certain evil Karmas of the King are purged out in this experience.

If a man is not able to become a king on account of evil influence of some planets, he plays the part of a king in his dream. His strong desire materialises in the dream state.

One derives more pleasure in dream than in the waking state when he experiences pleasant dreams because the mind works more freely in dream.

The strong thoughts of the waking state find expression at once in the dreaming state.

When a strong desire is not gratified in the waking state, you obtain its gratification in dream. The mind has more freedom in the dreaming state. The mind is then like a furious elephant let loose.

Bhrigu approached his father, Varuna, as a spiritual preceptor and asked to be taught about Brahman.  In response, his father declared, "Brahman is That from which the world has proceeded, That by which the world is sustained, and That into which the world dissolves.  So practice austerity and reflect, my son, and discover what Brahman is.

Following his father's instruction, Bhrigu practiced reflection for a year on what he had studied in the scriptures as well as his own experience. Bhrigu concentrated on the idea of anna or food that nourishes and sustains all beings. Then he returned to his father with his conclusion as the physicality of food to be the first principle, which pervades all matter and nourishes it. Varuna quietly replied, "Continue practicing austerity and reflect; delve deeper into the origin of food"

Bhrigu continued the practice of manana (reflection), and after another year of practice he returned to his father with the conclusion that prana is Brahman.  Matter in itself is blind and inert, but a subtle energy, or vital force (prana), moves and sustains every atom and electron in the vast universe of matter.  Again Varuna, with a twinkle in his eye, told his son to continue practicing austerity.

Upon further reflection, Bhrigu realized that there must be mind behind prana.  The world is not in a state of disarray or chaos.  There is a tremendous design behind everything.  Bhrigu therefore announced to his father that mind is Brahman.  Unsatisfied with his son's level of realization still, Varuna sent Bhirgu back to continue the practice of manana.

Upon deeper reflection, Bhrigu realized that intellect or vijnana was higher than the mind, which ever fluctuates due to sensory input, thoughts and desires.  It is intellect, vijnana that has the ability to organize and direct the thoughts in a particular way.  "Intellect is Brahman" claimed Bhrigu, but again, Varuna instructs his son to continue reflecting.

As his practice deepened, Bhrigu was led to inquire what exists beyond the intellect.  He realized that a deeper part of his being, the unconscious, continues to exist even during deep sleep.  Further, the bliss of Brahman diffuses through the veil of the unconscious since the ego is temporarily absent in deep sleep and one is closer to God.

Going beyond the unconscious plane of ignorance through the experience of samadhi or super consciousness, Bhrigu had a direct experience of the bliss of Brahman--the true nature of Brahman. When he relayed to his father that ananda, or bliss, is Brahman, his father became extremely happy, and told Bhrigu that it was no longer necessary to practice austerity.  By negating each previous level of understanding, his reflection had finally led him to the highest experience of Brahman. The atman, the Self, is manifested in five different sheaths, five different energy levels, each as essential and central to the knowledge of Brahman as the other. The understanding of the five koshas leads one back to the Self.

Know only that which makes the unknown known,

Before the sands of fleeting life are blown

What you think you’ve grasped is but a void

The bird in hand is that one which has flown

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

What is real? How do you define 'real'? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

Infinite consciousness is the screen on which the hero & heroine are dancing. The white screen is immaculate, unmoving, on which alone the moving shadows can give the story. Without the screen – no movie! What is without which, nothing can exist? That substratum that supports is consciousness. Movement or change can be perceived only against a motionless background. But you are not aware of that. Your attention is on the movie… But, when the film breaks… Ah! The screen is seen.

Between every 2 bogies of a train there is a gap. So also, between 2 thoughts there is always the underlying consciousness.

The above Part III covers the three states of waking, dreaming & deep sleep as well as the five sheaths. It closes with an introduction to 'Atman' or the true 'Self' which is different from the three bodies, the witness of the three states and is beyond the five sheaths.

TattvaTales - Part II

Emperor Akbar once asked his wise Minister Birbal, “Well, Birbal, you often repeat God is everywhere”  Birbal rejoined, “Yes, Badshah! God is everywhere. There is absolutely no doubt in this.” Akbar pulled the diamond ring off his finger and asked Birbal, “Is your God in this ring, too?” Birbal replied, “Yes, Badshah! He is certainly in the ring. Then can you make me see Him?” asked the Emperor. Birbal had no answer to this. He asked for time; the Emperor allowed him 6 months in which to find an answer or to find out a way to show Akbar God in the ring.

Birbal went home; he was puzzled. He knew there was a solution to the problem; but he knew not that solution. He dared not face the Emperor again without an answer to his question. He grew pale and anxious.

Shortly after this encounter with the Emperor, a little boy-mendicant came to Birbal’s house for alms. He asked Birbal, “What ails you, Sir? Why do you look so sordid and miserable? You are a wise man, and wise men should have no reason for misery! Joy and tranquility are the marked characteristics of a wise man”. “True!” replied Birbal “The heart is convinced, but the intellect cannot frame words for it.” Birbal then narrated all that transpired between him and the Emperor. “Is this what you are worrying about?” exclaimed the boy in amazement. “I can give you the answer in a moment; but will you allow me to talk to the Emperor personally?” Birbal replied in affirmative and took the boy to the imperial court.

Akbar inwardly appreciated the pluck and boldness of the boy and was curious to hear him. He asked the boy, “If God is all-pervading, son, can you show me your God in the ring?” “O King!” replied the boy, “I can do so in a second; but I am thirsty; I can answer the question after I have taken a glass of curd.” The Emperor at once had a glassful of curd given to him. The boy began to stir the curd and said, “O Emperor, I am used to drinking good curd which has butter in it. I do not like this stuff which your bearer has brought and which does not yield butter at all.” “Certainly, this curd is the best available,” replied the Emperor. “Remember, little one, you are partaking of the product of the Emperor’s personal diary.” The boy said, “Very well! If your Majesty is so sure that this cup of curd contains butter in it, please show me the butter.” The Emperor laughed aloud and said, “I thought so! O ignorant child! You do not know that butter can be got out of curd only after churning it; and yet you have the audacity to come here and show me God!”

“I am not a fool, Badshah Sahib,” replied the boy quickly: “I only gave you the answer to your own question!” The Emperor was puzzled. The boy said to him, “Your Majesty! In exactly the same manner, the Lord is residing within everything. He is the indwelling Presence, the Self of all, the Light of all lights, the Power that maintains the universe. Yet one cannot see Him with one’s physical eyes. A vision is only a projection of one’s own mind before the eye of the mind. One can realise God intuitively and see Him with the eye of wisdom; but before that one has to churn the five sheaths, and the objects, and separate the butter, the Reality, from the, curd, the names and forms.” The young boy had thus answered Akbar’s question and the Emperor was greatly impressed.

This lovely anecdote gives us a flavour of 'Enquiry into the Truth' being more than what's visible to the naked eye. The discrimination and determination of what is Real (Self) and what is Unreal constitutes this 'Enquiry into the Truth'.

The three bodies, three states of consciousness & the five sheaths are conditionings of the ‘Self’. ‘I’ the knower of the conditionings am different from the conditionings.

Let’s explore the three bodies – Gross, Subtle & Causal in Part II.

GROSS BODY

A devotee was preparing the injection for Swami Chinmayanandaji’s daily injection of insulin. He took the syringe & alcohol-saturated cotton and dabbed his thigh with it, ready to give himself an injection. She found it painful to watch and turned her head away, looking out of the window.

“Why are you looking away?” inquired Swamiji

“Swamiji, its painful for me to watch” replied the devotee. “Doesn’t it hurt you when you do it day after day?”

Swamiji’s reply was simple and direct “When I say ‘I am not the body,’ I am not the body”.

SUBTLE BODY:

In 1989, Dr. David Spiegel of Stanford University conducted a study on 86 women with late stage breast cancer. Half of those women received standard medical care while the other half were given weekly support sessions in addition to the standard medical care. During the sessions the women shared their feelings, talked with other patients, and generally had a positive outlet where they could cope with their illness. At the end of the study, the women in the support group lived twice as long as those not in the group. In 1999, a similar study found that cancer patients who have feelings of helplessness and hopelessness have a lower chance of survival.

In recent years, David Seidler, claimed to have eliminated his cancer through meditation and imagination. After battling bladder cancer for years and only 2 weeks away from surgery, Seidler decided to see if he could get rid of the cancer through his imagination. So, he spent the 2 weeks leading up to his surgery envisioning a clean, cream-colored, healthy bladder. When Seidler went in for his pre-surgery biopsy, the doctor was stunned to find a distinct lack of cancer – he even sent the biopsy to 4 different labs for testing. While Seidler believes his visualization were behind the cancer’s disappearance, his doctor labeled it a “spontaneous remission.”

Recent medical reports show that anticipation of relief from a placebo can lead to an actual easing of aches, when the brain makes more of its own pain-dousing opiates. Brain scans of Parkinson’s patients show increases in a chemical messenger called dopamine, which leads to an improvement in symptoms when patients think — mistakenly — that they are receiving real therapy.

And studies in depressed patients have found that almost as many are helped by placebo treatments as by actual medications. In fact, as it turns out, a person’s response to placebo treatment may offer clues as to whether “real” treatments with antidepressants are likely to work.

Researchers are just starting to appreciate the power that the mind can have over the body, says Tor Wager, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University.

“An emerging idea right now is that belief in a placebo taps into processes in your brain that produce physical results that really shape how your body responds to things,” he says. “The brain has much more control over the body than we can voluntarily exert.”

CAUSAL BODY:

Kubera, the god of wealth, was very proud of his boundless fortune, organized a sumptuous dinner; among other famous guests, the divine couple, Shiva and Pârvatî, with their son Ganesh, were present. Ganesha who was still a child, started to eat insatiably. Soon, the other guests found plates and dishes empty. Not satisfied with all the available food, Ganesh started to devour plates and dishes, the furniture and all the content of Alakapuri, the main city of Kubera.

As Ganesha threatened to swallow Kubera himself, frightened, the guardian of wealth (Kubera) rushed forward to Shiva’s feet to implore his help, since Ganesha’s voracious appetite seemed to be unlimited. The remedy was simple but spectacular: Lord Shiva gave Kubera a small bowl of cooked rice... and asked him to take this to Ganesha. When Ganesha partook of this cooked rice, his appetite immediately got satisfied, and he took leave of Kubera after thanking him for the feast and blessing him.

Kubera's palace and belongings here represent the material world and its riches. The story shows that, a person just cannot be satisfied with all the material things, wealth and riches that are on offer. If a person tries to satisfy his physical senses, he will be forever stuck in that, and even all the riches in this world would not suffice to satisfy this craving. As he attains some of these riches, his craving for them will just keep on increasing, and he will need to attain more.

Cooked rice represents the destruction of vasanas (desires). It represents spiritual growth, which can be attained only by the gradual overpowering and controlling of sensual desires. When this happens, and people mature spiritually....they are no longer dependent on appeasement of sensual desires for their happiness. They experience a state of Ananda...ultimate happiness all the time. They are a part of this world, and enjoy the material comforts... but they are not dependent on them. Removing the comforts will make no difference to their mental and spiritual state....They are in a state of bliss....of 'Sat Chid Ananda'. This is the state which we all need to make an effort to reach. This is represented by Ganesha's hunger immediately getting satisfied on eating a bowl of cooked rice, prepared by His parents (Shiva and Parvati) who represent the concept of 'Sat' (Pure, Serene, Divine) and Chidananda (Ultimate Happiness in the heart, soul and spirit)'.

The branch exists only to bear the fruit

The knowledge of which resides in the root

Would a gardener plant & tend the vine

Without the promise of the grape & wine?

Before this truth let all your reason pause

What you thought was effect, is but the cause.

TattvaTales - Part I

Prologue:

Tattva-Bodhah, meaning 'Knowledge of Truth' has been written by Sri Adi Sankaracharya, one of the greatest missionaries of India. This small but encompassing text introduces one to the total vision of Vedanta in a lucid, conversational style.

TattvaTales is an attempt to simplify the concepts introduced in this text via anecdotes, quotes and practical tips that would appeal to one & all, especially the youth.

This compilation has been planned as a publication under the 'Tattva-Bodhah for Youth' series of the Chinmaya Mission - publishing it here in part posts for the benefit of those interested until it gets released in printed format.

Part 1: The 4-fold qualifications of one fit for the knowledge of truth

Once Buddha went to the house of a rich Brahmin with a bowl in his hand. The Brahmin became very angry and said, "O Bhikshu, why do you lead an idle life of wandering and begging? Is this not disgraceful? You have a well-built body. You can work. I plough and sow. I work in the fields and I earn my bread at the sweat of my brow. I lead a laborious life. It would be better if you also plough and sow and then you will have plenty of food to eat". Buddha replied, "O Brahmin! I also plough and sow, and having ploughed and sown, I eat". The Brahmin said, "You say you are an agriculturist. I do not see any sign of it. Where are your plough, bullocks and seeds?". Then Buddha replied, "O Brahmin! Just hear my words with attention. I sow the seed of faith. The good actions that I perform are the rain that waters the seeds. Viveka and Vairagya are parts of my plough. Righteousness is the handle. Meditation is the goad. Sama and Dama - tranquillity of the mind and restraint of the Indriyas (senses) - are the bullocks. Thus I plough the soil of the mind and remove the weeds of doubt, delusion, fear, birth and death. The harvest that comes in is the immortal fruit of Nirvana. All sorrows terminate by this sort of ploughing and harvesting". The rich arrogant Brahmin came to his senses. His eyes were opened. He prostrated at the feet of Buddha and became his lay adherent.

1.    Viveka (Discrimination)

Lord Ganesha's trunk is a symbol of his discrimination (viveka), a most important quality necessary for spiritual progress. The elephant uses its trunk to push down a massive tree, carry huge logs to the river and for other heavy tasks. The same huge trunk is used to pick up a few blades of grass, to break a small coconut, remove the hard nut and eat the soft kernel inside. The biggest and minutest of tasks are within the range of this trunk which is symbolic of Ganesha's intellect and hiss powers of discrimination. As such, all tasks are begun with ‘Ganesh Pooja’ so that we may rightly put to use this power of discrimination in all our day-to-day activities.

2. Vairagya (Dispassion)

"In wealth is the fear of poverty, in knowledge the fear of ignorance, in beauty the fear of age, in fame the fear of backbiters, in success the fear of jealousy; even in body is the fear of death. Everything in this earth is fraught with fear. He alone is fearless who has given up everything" ~ Swami Vivekananda

The story of Mohajith is a good example of this highest type of vairagya. Mohajith, the Prince, went to a sage in the forest and sought guidance in the spiritual path. The sage asked him whether he had conquered moha as his name indicated. The Prince said that not only he, but also every one in his kingdom had! So the sage started to test the truth of this claim. He took the Prince’s robes, soaked them in blood and hastened to the palace gate with the gruesome story of the murder of the Prince by some ruffians in the jungle. The maid whom he met refused to hurry with the news to the Royal apartments because she said. “He was born, he died; what is the special urgency of this news that I should interrupt my regular routine and run to the King and Queen?” When at last he got an audience and was able to communicate the sad news to the father, he sat unruffled, whispering to himself: “The bird flew off the tree on which it had alighted to take rest.” The Rani too was unmoved.

She told the sage that this earth is a caravanserai, where men come and stay for the night and when dawn breaks, one by one, they tramp their different ways. Kith and kin are the words we use for the attachment to the travelers cultivated in the caravanserai during the short term of acquaintance. The wife of the “dead” Prince was also unaffected; she said, “Husband and wife are like two pieces of wood drifting down a flooded river; they float near each other for some time and when some current comes between, they part; each must move on to the sea at its own rate and its own time. There is no need to grieve over the parting of the two; it is in the very nature of Nature that it should be so.” The sage was overjoyed to see this steady and sincere vairagya in the rulers and the ruled. He came back to the forest and told the Prince that while he was away, a hostile army had invaded his kingdom and enslaved his subject. He took the news calmly and said, “All this is a bubble, impermanent, flimsy. Let it go the way of the bubble. Guide me to reach this Infinite, the Imperishable”
_________________________________________________________________________

Narendra Singh Bahadur, the Raja of Indrapur, had a servant named Hira Singh. Hira Singh resolved to break open the treasury of the Raja and steal away the ornaments and gold. Accordingly one day at the dead of night, he entered the bed-room of Narendra Singh on his way to the treasury, when he overheard a conversation between the Raja Sahib and the Rani. Lalitakumari, the Rani, asked the king: “When are you going to get our daughter Suratkumari married? She is quite a grown-up girl now. We cannot postpone the marriage any longer.” The king replied : “I am trying my level best during the last two years, but I am not able to get a suitable match.” The Rani would not accept such an answer, but again and again pressed the Raja to yield to her wish.

At last the Raja said : “Lalita, I shall offer Surat in marriage to the first Yogi I would come across in the neighbouring forest along with half of my estate tomorrow morning.” Hira Singh who was all the while keenly over-hearing this conversation thought within himself: “Why this hazardous attempt then? Let me go to the forest and sit like a Yogi. I will get the girl and half the estate also quite easily.” Immediately he dressed himself as a Yogi, went to the forest and sat in Samadhi on Padmasana with closed eyes. The Raja went to the forest the next morning and at last came to the place where this Yogi was sitting. He waited for a long time. The Yogi did not open his eyes. He gave one the impression that he was immersed in Samadhi. After full one hour he opened his eyes. The Raja fell prostrate at his feet and sincerely begged him to visit palace. The Yogi finally condescended to do so. The Raja took the Yogi to the Durbar hall, seated him on the gaddi, and washed his feet. Then the Raja with folded hands addressed the Yogi thus : “O mighty Yogi blessed Soul, we have a beautiful girl. Kindly accept her in marriage together with half of my estate.”

Now real discrimination dawned upon the Yogi. Hira Singh who was wearing the false garb of a saint began to think very seriously and feelingly: “I am now honoured by this Raja and Rani simply because I am wearing the garb of a Yogi. If I were a Yogi and saint with divine virtues and God-Consciousness, how much more should I be held in esteem and honour by not merely this one petty chief but by countless kings, emperors and queens, and how many such princesses and kingdoms should I acquire?”

At once he left the gaddi and the palace with a changed heart. God’s grace descended upon him now. His heart was burning with intense Vairagya born of discrimination.

Doctors have a wide field for developing Vairagya. Every day they come across patients with incurable disease. On a daily basis, they see dead bodies in the mortuary. Thus they have innumerable chances of seeing Maya in all her naked state. They can be convinced beyond a ray of doubt of the impermanence of life here in this world of man.

The superintendent of jail and all the officers there also have wonderful chances of developing Vairagya, if they are lovers of Truth and Emancipation. The sight of hanging a condemned prisoner will open their eyes.

3.1 Sama (Mastery of mind)

Guru Vasisht once said to his discipile Ramchandra, 

“If I were told that someone had lifted the Himalayas, I may, for a moment, assume that there is such a person in the world. If someone were to say he has swallowed the sea, incredible though it may seem, I may, for an instant believe him too. If someone were to assert that he has tamed the winds of the world, he is not to be taken seriously, but, for a split second, I may agree with him. However, if someone were to boast that he has controlled the mind, I would never believe him.”

The mighty force of the mind is not easily controlled.

There was a guru who had several followers and disciples, many of whom were poor Arabs, but very devoted to their master. One of them came in the early morning to pay homage to his master. The master asked, "How are you, my dear boy?"

"Master, I am living in hell."

"What is the trouble with you?"

"I have one room only, which is a small area where I have my family, my wife and two children. There inside I cook my food. I have a camel which brays continuously, and there is a dog barking all night. We cannot sleep. You can imagine our condition. Don't you think, Master, that this is veritable hell?"

The master said, "There is no problem; I can solve this difficulty."

The guru told the disciple, "Tonight you tie the dog inside your house when you go to bed." The man could not understand what kind of solution this was, but obedience is obedience.

The dog made matters worse. It went on barking inside the room and howled throughout the night. Nobody slept even for a minute. The disciple went to the guru the next morning. The guru said, "Hello, how are you?"

The man said, "I cannot say anything. It is worse than hell. The dog did not allow us to sleep."

"There is a solution for it. You have got a camel? Tie it inside."

He thought, "What is this? Am I going to be alive?" But the guru is guru, and he did not say a word against him. He tied the camel inside the room. There was no space to sit. The camel occupied the entire area, making kicks and jumps, and the dog was barking also, the fireplace was giving sparks, the children were crying, the wife was standing only, and he was also sitting.

The next morning he went to the guru and said, "I cannot speak, Master. I am dying today. I think it is the last day for me. I thought it was hell; this is worse than hell."

"I will find a solution for it, the guru said. Tie the camel out; put the dog also out."

He slept very well that night, no noise, no disturbance of any kind. The next morning he went to the guru. The guru asked, "How are you?"

"Heaven, heaven!" he said.

"Heaven? Hey! You came to me in the beginning, saying it is hell. Now how has it become heaven?" he asked. "Do not complain. Simply control the mind"

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Buddha described the human mind as being filled with drunken monkeys, jumping around, screeching, chattering & carrying on endlessly. We all have monkey minds, Buddha said, with dozens of monkeys all clamoring for attention. Fear is an especially loud monkey, sounding the alarm incessantly, pointing out all the things we should be wary of and everything that could go wrong.

Buddha showed his students how to meditate in order to tame the drunken monkeys in their minds. It's useless to fight with the monkeys or to try to banish them from your mind because, as we all know, that which you resist, persists. Instead, Buddha said, if you will spend some time each day in quiet meditation - simply calm your mind by focusing on your breathing or a simple mantra - you can, over time, tame the monkeys. They will grow more peaceful if you lovingly bring them into submission with a consistent practice of meditation.

3.2 Dama (Control of senses)

Lakshmana was pure in thought, word and deed. He led the life of an ideal Brahmachari with total control over his senses during the 14 years of exile. His eyes were ever directed towards Sita’s lotus-like feet only. When Sugriva brought Sita’s cloak and jewels— which, while she was being carried away, she had allowed to fall on the earth, seeing the monkeys on the mountain—Rama showed them to Lakshmana and asked whether he recognized them. Lakshmana said: “I do not recognise the bracelets or ear-rings; I know only the anklets, for I worshipped her feet alone.” Lakshmana revered Sita as mother or Goddess. Meghanada, the son of Ravana, had conquered even Indra, the lord of gods. By virtue of this victory, Meghanada also came to be known as Indrajit and had a boon of being invincible to all except to one who could abstain from all sorts of sensual enjoyments at least for a full fourteen years. He was unconquerable. But Lakshmana destroyed him by the power of his purity, by the power of his control over his senses.

There is a story narrated by Sage Yajnavalkya in Brihadaranyakopanishad. The threefold offspring of Prajapati—Gods, Men and Demons—lived as students of sacred knowledge with their father. When their learning was completed they all asked him for practical instruction. "Tell us, Gurudeva, our duty." Prajapati said to each of them, "Da, Da, Da." Then he asked the Gods, Men and Demons their understanding of "Da." The Gods understood "Da" to mean Damyatta, control of oneself. Men understood "Da" to mean Datta, "to give." For Demons the word implied Dayadhvam or compassion. In other words, "Da, Da, Da" means the practice of self-control, charity and compassion.

4. Mumukshatva (Desire for Liberation)

“Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God? So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties. But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother. Then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the hearth, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms” ~Sri Ramakrishna

The master said, "My child, if you desire after God, God shall come to you." The disciple did not understand his master fully. One day both went to bathe in a river, and the master said, "Plunge in", and the boy did so. In a moment the master was upon him, holding him down. He would not let the boy come up. When the boy struggled and was exhausted, he let him go. "Yes, my child, how did you feel there;" "Oh, the desire for a breath of air!" "Do you have that kind of desire for God?" "No, sir." "Have that kind of desire for God and you shall have God."