Friday 19 December 2014

Life without religion is beastly

Oh savants and bee like devotees who have assembled here yearning after the honey of the lotus feet of the Lord.

In all our books of maxims, human life has been termed as very scarce on the ground that it is after 84 lakhs of births as different creatures, we have got our present birth in human form. In the Purana it is said,
"Sthabarang Binsa tera-laksbang
Jalajang navalakshang
kurmashcha navalakshangcha
Dasha Lakshang cha Pakshinang
Tringsha Lakshang Pashunangcha
Chaturlakshang cha Vararah
Tato manushyatang Prapaya Tatoh
Karmani Sadhayet."
The meaning of the Sloka is that after taking 20 lakhs of births as terrestrial creature, 9 lakhs as tortoise etc, 10 lakhs as birds, 10 lakhs as animal and 4 lakhas as apes, we have taken our birth in this world in human form. It is only through this human body that we can lift ourselves up from animality to divinty. This is the main satisfaction and utility of human life. It is in this back-ground that in his book "Sri Ramcharit Manash" The Great Saint poet Tulsidasji has also said that human life is a rare blessing of the Lord on man and as such it should be spent on that study of "sad Granthan" (Religions and scriptural Text books like Vedas, Upanishad Gita and Brahma Sutra etc.) which are not easily available even to Gods in Heaven.

Actually it is a pity that even after getting this scarce blessing from the Lord, the jeevas (individual souls) are remaining crazy only after various material pleasures. But the tragedy of this rat race for earning money, perusing an epicurean way of life with wife children and others of the family and seeing cinema theater with them and increasing name and fame etc associated with power and money, neither the owner of the family nor his wife, children and relatives are getting any real satisfaction in their mind, Want have hundred out lets; end of a particular want means the birth of more wants. People with such mentality are always required to run after new and newer happiness. It is due to this constant demand for new and newer fancy fairs that such people, surcharged with worldly yearning and longing etc, have been enslaving themselves to the cycle of birth and death. This however, goes to prove that the type of happiness that most of the people covet is fully materialistic and as such these are quite temporal and never eternal. In such a puzzling situation the automatic question that hunts us is that if it is so, what is permanent or real happiness? In the pursuit of that eternal happiness, the ancient sage of India have advised us that if we are to get real happiness we are to know our soul. "Atmanam Biddhi". Having perceived it directly, they have proclaimed before the world that "Atman" (soul) is the substratum of real happiness and hence they clarioned. "Srinvantu Visheve Amritashya Putra."

In order to acquire this metaphysical wisdom, performing of religious activities with the help of our body is very much necessary. We can attain Moksha only after getting metaphysical wisdom through prayer and worship. This is the real religion by performing which the jeevas can get rid of the hands of birth and death and thus obtain celestial life. In fact, human life without religion is no better than an animal's life. In our ethics it is, therefore, stated that whenever we lack in religion, we make us equal to animals (Dharmena Heena, Pashuv Samana). In the ethics it is further stated,

Punargramah Punarbritang Punah Putrra Punargriham.
Punah Subhashuvang Karman Sarirang
Punah Punah
Tad Takshitang no Vogarthe Dharma Jnanarthameba hi.
Jnanena Sulabha Moksha tasmad Dharmang Samacharet

The inner meaning of the sloka is that in human life one may repeatedly get possession of inhabited places, property, wife and children, home and both good and evil works etc. but a body of flesh and blood, congenial to prayer and worship can not be obtained again and again. We, therefore, should take care of our body and maintain it properly only for performing our religious activities and not for indulging in epicurean pleasures. Actually, religious activities are done for acquiring spiritual knowledge and it is this knowledge that makes 'Moksha' (Salvation) easily obtainable to us.

In this context it may be said that our human body has got a special necessity for observing all the codes of conduct, Such a person, having been sheltered at the feet of Sri Guru and by obeying his instructions in regard to prayer and worship etc, can live in this material world with eternal happiness as like as a free bird soaring high in the sky. Finally he gets his salvation and leads a celestial life.

Oh sarvahpi Sukhinah Santu
"Sarve Santu nirmaya
Sarve Vadrani Pashyantu
Ma Kaschid -- Dukshvag Vavet"

the sloka wishes you all to be eternally happy. Let you get that happiness which is not transitory and as such be blessed with perennial peace; become immune to bodily diseases like diabetes, stomach pain and headaches etc. Actually these are no disease; these things come and go from our body in natural way. So these are sufferings and curable by using medicine. Actually real diseases are the diseases of lust, anger, greed and infatuations etc. These are curable only through medicines like memorizing and chanting of the name of Lord Krishna. So let you all be free from illness always have your eyes fixed on good things, never feel distressed.

OM SHANTI OM SHANTI
 
Swami Rash Behari Das Kathia Babaji Saint and Abbot of Nimbarka Monastery
Collected from a speech delivered in Dharmasava

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