Immortality

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।

मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Lead me from the untruth to the Truth.
Lead me from darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality
Om Peace Peace Peace.

That which I truly am is Truth, but what I take myself to be is an illusion.

Unlimited Being and Awareness alone is real. What I think about myself, what I see, and what I feel belong to the realm of maya — not because they do not appear, but because they do not exist independently.

Realization arises through discrimination between the real and the unreal. The unreal does not vanish, just as a mirage does not disappear, but the error is resolved. The mind clearly recognizes its own illusory projections, and the locus of “I” shifts—from the world of duality to the witnessing awareness.

That which is Immortal. Paradise Sighted. Mission Complete. Jai Sri Krishna

At the Universe’s End

 

Finally, all that remains is Silence. Not an emptiness, but a fullness so complete it needs no sound.

A Silence that could have screamed, laughed, whispered—  yet chooses none of these.

What remains is Silence.  The remnant of the Universe that was there once. A Universe that thrived.  A Universe that passed away. 

Oh! For Sure, there is the unbounded joy that it happened.  That without any rhyme or reason that it sprang into existence. A big bang that no one expected. And it thrived, and how.  No one noticed, but slowly the ever-expanding universe, stopped. Sighed. And began to contract.  The big crunch that inevitably follows the big bang.

This impermanence is not a flaw; it is the law of appearance.

The crunch evoked resistance. Tears. But who or what is to deny Duality the promised pound.

Universe after all is the just the snake that appeared momentarily.  Looked glorious in the twilight of ignorance. But at the end it had to disappear, for it was never really there.

So all that remains is silence.  Complete in itself.   Another Universe will arise again. Inevitably.

Within the One that only watches.

Bg. 2.27

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।

तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥ २७ ॥

One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.

Jai Sri Krishna

Sri Krishna Saranam Mamah

The Three Steps of Lord Vamana: The Experience of Enlightenment

 Jnanis, the Knowledgeable Ones, would immediately assume a look of indulgence if they were to read the title of this post.  Patiently they would tell me, Enlightenment is not an experience. On the contrary, to the Enlightened, all experience is appearance in Self.   

But the story that I tell today is not the wisdom of someone who is already enlightened. Instead, I tell story of an Individual, a Jiva and his valiant journey to enlightenment.  Of lived experience. Of the amazing layers the story hides.

The Story of Vamana Mahabali is well known in India and essentially goes thus:

Bali was a virtuous and generous asura King, grandson of Prahlada Maharaj, famed for his righteousness, devotion, and unmatched charity.  Valiant, Dharmic and disciplined, he had conquered the three worlds, including Lord Indra’s Swarga Lok. He ruled his domain with generosity and fairness. 

In keeping with His Kingly Duties, Bali decided to perform an Aswamedha Yagna, in order to establish his sovereignty and authority as an Emperor. A formalization of his Chakravartin status.  Indra, understandably, grew apprehensive and frightened of Bali’s glory. He prayed for Lord Vishnu’s help in this matter.

Opportunity presented itself during the Yagna process, in the course of which it is a normal practice for the King to grant alms to visiting wise men.  Vishnu, who is Lord Almighty Himself, assumed the form of Vamana, a dwarf Brahmachari.  Approaching King Bali, Vamana asked for three steps of land.  Śukrācārya, Bali’s guru, warned him that the dwarf was none other than Vishnu in disguise and would test him. Yet Bali, the great devotee and righteous King that he was, kept his word and granted the boon. On receiving it, Vamana grew into Trivikrama, covering earth and heavens in two strides. With nowhere left, Bali offered his head, upon which Vamana placed the third step.  

The third step transports Bali into a different dimension, the Patala, where he is crowned the ruler.  Touched by Bali’s righteousness, Lord Almighty promises to be ever present with him.

Additionally, Bali is granted immortality, eternal fame, and the boon to return once a year to visit his people (celebrated as Onam in Kerala).  And as an honour to his greatness, we know him today as Mahabai or the Bali the Great.

This is the basic outline of the legend, described in much more detail is Bhagavad Purana and other Vaishnava scriptures.   Amazing though the story is, growing up, I always used to have the feeling that there was more to the story than what is immediately understood on the first reading. 

So, what do the three steps really signify? Let’s unpack the story together.

Saranagati and the Experience of Bliss

The legend of Mahabali is first and foremost an account of intense devotion and surrender. A recognition that to the true devotee, everything, including one’s possessions, achievements and station in life, entirely and wholly belong to the Lord Himself.  Offering all that back to Lord is akin to standing on the waters of the holy river Ganga and offering the water in prayer to Ma Ganga.  What is offered already belonged to the Lord.  The only reason to have scoped up a little in the palm of the hand is to offer it back.  Thus, in the Vamana Mahabali legend, first two steps represent the surrender of the external trappings of Samsara to the Lord.  Bali literally is surrendering Earth and Heavens to the Lord. 

The third step however is the critical one because it deals with the most subtle of our possessions, which is the ego.  One of the main functions of ego is appropriation and attributing it to oneself -- I did this, that is mine, I caused this to happen.  Ego is tied to our sense of person.   When Bali offered his head to Vamana, what that actually indicates is that he surrendered his ego to the Lord.  The ultimate surrender or Saranagati.  That’s what the third step represents.

It is this surrender, this Saranagati, that grants Bali the eternal companionship of the Lord.  Transcendence and Bliss.   

However, Saranagati of this level is impossible for most of us to even imagine, controlled by ego that we are.  Of course, many of us take shelter under Lord’s protection, but in most cases the protection we seek is for our tiny selves and all the chains that bind us.  What Bali Maharaj did was to sacrifice that ego itself. 

But if not Bali, who else could do something this great?  Was he not brave -- the conqueror of the three worlds?  Was his not from the Lineage of the great Prahlad Maharaj, the foremost among devotee himself?  Was his not a devotee of the first order himself?

It is his valour, devotion and control of emotions that made him worthy of this sacrifice.  As the legend shows, even for him the final offering was not easy.  Śukrācārya’s warning is indicative of an ego that wants to hang on to the illusory world. Bali is Great because he had the determination to resist ego and go beyond it.  

As Swami Vivekananda had remarked – The Love of God can’t be reached by the weak.  King Mahabali is a great example of that truth.

Srila Prabhupada held this sacrifice of ego Bali in high esteem.  According to Srila Prabhupada, the Vamana Avatar story teaches us that true spiritual wealth is gained through surrender and devotion to the Lord, and that even powerful kings can achieve eternal glory by sacrificing their material possessions and ego. 

What we see in the Mahabali legend, is essentially the highest achievement of a devotee, of a Bhakta – the surrender of the ego to gain the eternal companionship of almighty.  

The scriptures say he went to Patala. But if the Lord Himself promised to be with him always, is that not the same as residing in Goloka, the eternal abode, the highest destination of the devotee?  In that sense, Mahabali did not lose anything at all — he attained the highest victory. And what Lord Vishnu offered him was not a punishment, but that most precious prize.

Can there be a deeper understanding of the story?  Perhaps we can indeed go deeper, but let’s leave that for Part-2 of this exploration.

For now, let’s pray to Lord Almighty that he blesses us with devotion and Saranagati as well.  There’s no better guide in our spiritual progress than the Bhagavad Gita.

Jai Sri Krishna

Happy Onam.

Saranagati - The Journey of the Sadhaka

 The Journey

Our story starts with a wave in the ocean.   He is the hero of our story. Let’s name him Greg.     

Greg was born in the mid-ocean as a small ripple.  Imperceptible initially but holding immense potential.  As a small wave, Greg has other wave friends and spends time frolicking around the vast ocean. Greg loves his friends.  As time goes on, our little Greg gathers more water and grows.  And in the process of noticing his own growth, Greg also discovers conceit and envy.  There are some waves that are bigger than him, he is envious of them.  There are some which are smaller, he feels superior to them and treats them a little condescendingly.

In general, our Greg is a nice, good-natured wave.  Happy go lucky sort of chap who means well, has faith and devotion to Ocean - the Lord of All waves and is generally liked by fellow waves.

There are pleasant days and there are stormy days, through all this Greg grows and travels in and through the ocean, joyful, intoxicated, unconcerned. 

One day he gets up and at a far distance on the horizon notices something new and different. A long unmoving black ribbon with a thin white patch towards the bottom that stretched as far as eyes could see.  Coming toward him.

***

He called out to his buddy -- “Hey, Warren”

“Yo, Greg”, Warren replied cheerily.

“I spy that big black ribbon, yonder.  What be that?”, Greg asked.

“That be the shores of the Holy Puri Dham, Greg ol’ buddy.  We all be headed there.”

“Why be that?”, Greg was confused.

“That’d be the end our journey old fella. We shall fall at the feet of Lord Jagannath on the holy shores.  I will cease to be Warren, and you will cease to be Greg.   Our beautiful journey would thus come to an end.   We are lucky that it concludes in such as amazing place.”

Greg looked with horror at the ribbon inching towards him.  It was already a bit closer than a few minutes earlier. And even though the shore was still quite some distance away, Greg could see wave after wave, in front of him hit the sandy shores and disappeared into nothingness.

 "Help, Ocean Lord! I’m going to die!" Greg screamed, froth bubbling from his crest in sheer panic.

He trashed around a bit and tried to change his direction to go back to the ocean, but much as he tried the shore kept getting closer.

Seeing his turmoil, Warren spoke to him calmly.

“Greg, ol’ buddy, Relax.”

“What do you mean Relax.  We are all going to die.  Asking me to Relax is such a heartless thing to say.   If you know how I can escape this impending death on the shores of Puri, tell me Warren. Greg whispered, defeated. “Is there no escape?”

“Maybe I should gather some more size, then when I hit the shore, I will not die.  Yes, that’s what I will do.”  He suddenly said in a resolute manner, more to himself than Warren.

But even as he made the comment, Greg noticed that waves that were way greater than he could ever be, were crashing and disappearing.  

It was hopeless.

Greg started to cry.  Would Lord Ocean not help him in this time of his need?

***

“You won’t die. Relax”, Warren repeated.

Greg was startled to hear Warren’s voice behind him.

“What do you mean?”, Greg asked.

“There’s a secret. If you know that, it will remove the sorrow that you feel right now and turn your life into a never-ending bliss.  What’s more, it gives you instant immortality.”

“Quickly, tell me what it is.”  Greg asked with sudden hope and interest.

“Hmmm, tell me who are you”, Warren asked.

“What sort of question is that?  You know I am your friend Greg.”

“No, who are you really”

Greg thought a bit and said, “I know what you mean.  Ok, I am a wave”

“Ok.  Go deeper”

“I am a wave in Indian Ocean.  My height is 1.5 meters, and Ocean Lord has given a crazy friend called Warren who asks me silly questions”, Grey managed a short laugh even in his state of fear.

“Interesting. Who is this your Ocean Lord of yours?”

“Ocean Lord is our Lord God.  The creator of all waves, including you, Dear Warren. Everything belongs to Him. He is the ultimate owner of all.  He is infinite and we are infinitesimal.  It is by His grace that we exist and by His laws that we live. Hail Ocean Lord! Please save me.”

“Good.  But go on please. How is Ocean Lord connected to you”, Warren prodded further.

Greg Paused an instant and continued, “I have always looked at Ocean as something different, but in my last minutes, I am starting to see I was never apart from Ocean. Ocean was never far from me.  Ocean is the whole and I am the part.  Even as I say this, a strange peace envelops me.  Though I know my end is near, it doesn’t feel like that much like an end. I am part of the Ocean and the Ocean never ends.  Hail Ocean Lord!”

“But you can go deeper still Greg, ol’ fellow.  You are still looking at the surface level, at appearances.  Close your eyes and look inside, look deeper”, Warren’s voice was calm, peaceful.

“Inside?!  Wait a minute …” Greg closed his eyes.

“You and the Ocean. Both are appearances in water. The Water in the only reality, Greg, That water Thou Art. Tat Tvam Asi.”  Warren continued calmly.

On hearing that Greg fell into a deep meditation.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was just a few moments, Greg opened his eyes, calm and contained.  Warren happily noticed that his friend had achieved enlightenment.

Greg spoke again, but this time quietly, with the wisdom of the Ocean manifesting through him.  “I see now Warren; I see it all.   The water was always the only reality, Greg, Warren, and all the other waves are just appearances that come and go.  The water remains water.  Why the Ocean Lord itself is an appearance in this water, a special appearance of course, but the underlying reality of the ocean and the waves is just the same water,”

Point to himself, Greg continued, “This small wave Greg, is just a name and form that appeared transiently. Its only role is to play the part that Ocean has given it.  But in reality, the wave is just a localized expression of me, the water.  I, the water, have no shape, no form, I am without beginning, without end.  Waves can come and go, it doesn’t matter. But I the water am eternal, I am forever”.

As Greg finished speaking, he and Warren realized that they had reached the shores of Puri Dham. 

With the calmness and surrender to divine will, that can only come to the enlightened, both the friends prostrated themselves to the Lord.

 “Jai Baba Jagannath”, they shouted in unison with happiness and bliss. 

And with that they stopped being the physical waves named Greg and Warren.

***

The Philosophy

This is my expansion of an example Swami Sarvapriyananda often cites in his lectures.  As examples go, it explains the underlying concept of Vedanta nicely.  

The Wave Greg is the Jiva.  The Ocean is Ishwara.  The Water is Brahman.  The journey of Greg is the journey of Sadhana. Warren is the enlightened teacher, who can come in any form, here he came as Greg’s friend. 

Greg’s journey, if you discern carefully, has four distinct phases.

• At the beginning he is agnostic.  He knows Ishwara is there, but he is more concerned with the world and his role here.
• The second stage, he becomes aware of his utter dependence on Ishwara, he realizes the ocean is his Lord.  This is philosophy of Dvaita Vedanta.
• The third stage is where he realizes that he is part of the Ishwara. Ishwara is the whole of which he is an infinitesimal part.  This is the Philosophy of Visista-advaita Vedanta
• The final stage is when he realizes that in reality, he is Brahman, the One witness consciousness that is the only reality and in which the entire cosmos appears due to the magic of Maya.  Greg realizes --  "There was never a separate I.  Only Brahman Is".  

This realization bestows unto Greg, the best fruit of Sadhana – Saranagati – Surrender.   The common destination of both the Bhakta and Jnani. 

And Finally, there's the word of God...  

Sri Krishna speaks these Glorious words in Bhagavad Gita

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śharaṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyāmi mā śhuchaḥ

BG 18.66: Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.

Jai Sri Krishna

-----

The image that I have used here belongs to the owner.  It showed up in my facebook feed and triggered this thought process that started first as a Whatsapp discussion and finally ended up as a blogpost.

Meditations on Mahashivaratri

 

Why is our benevolent Shiva is called the Destroyer?   -  This is a question that always vexed me.

My analysis is the following.  

The path of Lord Shiva, the Meditation, is one of Self Enquiry. The culmination of that is the point where the illusion of Duality is removed. One realizes that the empirical cosmos that enamor us so, it is just an appearance, its reality is therefore destroyed.    Along with that is destroyed the illusion of reality of the one that started on this journey. 

All that remains is Brahman, who is Shiva. 

Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam.

What do you think? Please do share your thoughts in comments below.

Om Namah Shivaya.

And the Truth will set You Free

Jiva is who you are. Right at this moment.  Yes, You! The one who is reading this.  But, guess what? This is just the apparent reality.  

You are way more amazing !!!  

The Truth, Vedanta, tells us is that this very Jiva is the One Reality, the all-pervading Brahman.

The mind immediately rebels.  How sacrilegious!! 

How can this little me, the one beset with problems and doubts, the one held captive by small desires and fears, be Brahman?    What monster sized sin am I incurring by equating myself with Lord God, the Alpha and the Omega? 

Along comes Vedanta, calms us down, and says – Know Thyself.  Know the Truth.  The Truth will set You free.

So what is Vedanta really trying to tell us?  Let us unpack this.

Rupert Spira, in his meditations, often calls the Individual (the Jiva) a wilful localization of the Infinite (the Brahman) to a Finite existence, an apparent act of self-limitation.  

The Infinite One appears as Many through infinite number of such localizations.  And as these Many, experiences Itself in the infinite variety of appearances.  

Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam
Puurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate 

The inherent ability which allows the Brahman to appear as Many is call Maya. 

Maya enables Brahman to project itself as an infinite number of what I would call “conceptual entities”.  These “conceptual entities” in conjunction with Brahman becomes something which appears or manifests.   These manifestations can be Jiva or Jada, depending on the characteristics of the “conceptual entity”.   In Vedantic Terms these conceptual entities are called "Nama-Rupa" which literally translates Name and Form and is the mechanism for the One to appear as Many.  

Closely tied with the concept of Nama-Rupa is the process of “Upadhi” that governs how the conjunction/association of the “conceptual entity” with Brahman actually occurs and results in the appearance of a manifested entity.   Upadhi is the processes through which an item appears to transfer its own characteristics to another.  

Recently, Swami Sarvapriyananda ji demonstrated this process by placing objects of different colours behind a clear glass of water and showing how the water appears to have taken on the colour of the object placed behind without actually changing.  When a orange flower is placed behind that glass of water, from the perspective of someone seeing the glass from the other side, the water will appear orange.

Similarly, the association of the "conceptual-entity", the Nama-Rupa, with the Brahman, results in an entity appearing in the Cosmos.   It is important to understand that both the Cosmos and the manifested entities are Mithya, dependent realities that appear on the substratum of the One Reality Brahaman,   

Some of the "conceptual entities" in conjunction with Brahman, manifest as inert material, such as a stone or AI, called Jada, they manifest the Existence aspect of the Infinite.  Some manifest both Existence and Consciousness, and those are us, the Jivas. 

So, as Jiva we are essentially Brahman with the Upadhi of the individual “Conceptual Entity” that we think we are. 

Each of us. 

The same.

Brahman has been described as Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam.   Existence, Consciousness, Infiniteness.     

As Jiva we are Really non different from Brahman.  Jivo brahmaiva naparah.

That is the Truth.

But how will this set us free?

 The moment we realize that we not the “conceptual entity”, but we in truth are that One Brahman, we are instantly freed of the “conceptual entity” that we thought we were and all associated problem.   What’s more, we realize that this Cosmos is but a Cosmic Play, our Real role is that of a detached observer.  Just like the screen, upon which a movie is appearing. 

Of course in this empirical reality that we call our Cosmos or Jagat, the Jiva that we manifest still has a role to play. 

As Sri Krishna, instructs us in Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge of Truth allows us to play this role to the best of our ability but with detachment. 

We work for the outcome as required by the Dharma of the situation we find ourselves in, but not for the result that accrues to the “conceptual entity”.    It’s all funny money anyway. 

This concept is not unique to Vedantic thought process alone and finds echo in other cultures as well. Lord Jesus knew the Truth and I think this is what he tried explaining to his audience: 

"I and the Father are one."   - John 10.30

"You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” - John 8.20

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  - John 8.31-32.  

These statements about knowing the Truth and the Truth setting one free resonate deeply with Vedanta’s core message of liberation through self-knowledge.

In India, of course, this Truth has always been known and understood.  My brother and I have grown up hearing our mother repeat the following saying quite often 

Dharma pothe Mati rekhe Karma Kore Jao.

Keeping Mind Focused on the tenets of Dharma, perform your duties as a Karma Yogi.   

In this endeavour there is no greater friend that our own Sri Krishna and no bigger support than our devotion to Him.

That’s the secret of eternal happiness and cessation of all sorrow.

So How do you get there? 

By Sadhana.

The process of Sadhana involves prising apart the limiting Nama-Rupa from Brahman. Not physically, but spiritually.  Until Brahman alone shines forth in all its glory.

This, essentially, is the Subject Matter of Bhagavad Gita where Sri Krishna, explains masterfully, the mechanics to knowing your identity.  Do it through Devotion, through Mediation, through Service or through the path of Contemplation and Knowledge. Or through a combination of those.  

Let Sri Krishna, Lord God Himself, be your guide.  It is His Grace, His Grace alone, that allows us to reach the Truth. 

Sri Krishna Saraman Mamah.

NOW

Focus on NOW.   Whatever you understand by the term is fine.  Just focus on what the term refers to. Cut out the distractions.  And slowly … 

Dive in.

As you immerse yourself into the Now, you start to realize Now encompasses everything you know.  Every experience, every activity, every memory, every anticipation, every thought appears in NOW alone.  

Not just these. All that is known, all that is knowable, the One that knows, are all present in the present moment only.  

Go a little deeper.

Try to step out of Now.  Can you move, ever so slightly, to a point out of now?  

No.

You can perhaps think of something that happened in the past?  But look closely. The only current reality in that activity is not the event that you are remembering but the thought of remembrance that happens now.   Same goes for any anticipation of future.  Or an imaginary situation.  All these are just thoughts which appear in mind, NOW.  

Mind you, these Appearances can entrap and hide the underlying reality of NOW where all this things are playing out.  That is what Maya does.

Meditating thus, you realize that Now is beyond time.  In fact, NOW encompasses all eternity.  It is timeless.

Everything appears in NOW.  

Go Deeper Still.

See if for a moment you can imagine a YOU that is not NOW.   This is a delicate step. Takes time. But soon you realize that that YOU and NOW are actually inseparable.   This NOW you realize is not a slice of time, it is not an instant in the temporal stream.  Rather what this NOW is the substratum of all appearances, it is the timeless awareness, that we call Brahman.  It is YOU.

As you focus on NOW, you find Yourself.

Stay there.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

*********

Note:  This passage was written to induce an experiential understanding of  The One Truth  (Brahman).

Update:  13-Sep-2025

I saw this picture containing a saying by Spira that I think adds more context to this reflection.  So I am including this here.