What is mirage?

The last entry that was posted is a bit incomprehensible and difficult for some  people but is a  subject worth discussing and spending time on. Its concept, understanding and crystallization asks more of our attention and time. Therefore I decided to explain the idea of this baffling theme in some more detail in this post.

In Upanishadas, the rishis have often given a metaphor to explain the dilemna that humans face when they spend their lifetime here on this earth. As we are prone to get enticed and deluded by the illusion of happiness created by greed, passion and lust inside us, we fall in a trap of bondage of our own karmas. They explain that in a desert there is a mirage created by physical phenomenon. The thirsty deer sees the shiny false water and tries to quench his thirst by it. He runs for a short distance to drink water till a point the water disappears. The mirage shifts ahead. He further runs after it aimimg at the shimmering glaze which creates an illusion of water. He now runs uptil this point to again find the water vanishing. This goes on till a stage arrives where the deer falls down tired, more thirsty, parched and disappointed.

Humans face a similar situation. We run after position, status, money, people, things and so many other ephemeral things without ever understanding that our whole life can be spent chasing things which can never satisfy our lust, passion and greed. Hindus call this trishna, a desire that can never be fulfilled. Mrig means deer, hence the word used is mrig trishna which means  illusion. Bhagwan Buddha stressed that trishna or desire is the root cause of our suffering and the cause of many incarnations.

So what is mirage?

That which is not; that which does not have its own existence; that which looks real but is nonexistence; to believe such a thing to be real; to be charmed by such an unreal entity and phenomenon and most of all to run after such a false impression is mirage or illusion.

This sansara is fleeting, brief and transitory and is in constant movement. There is a continuous change occurring in prakriti, nature. When prakriti is undergoing changes it goes unnoticed by our eyes. After   the process of transformation is completed, it is visible to our eyes.

The gyani or knower discriminates and distinguishes; after that separates the two following things:-

• Perishable World or Inconstant Reality called Prakriti
• Immortal World or Constant Reality called Purush

The Perishable World consists of the tangible five elements as seen in the prakriti, nature or the physical world. We can see it, touch it, taste it, feel and smell it. We can comprehend it by the mind and intellect. However such things have a limited time span or duration. The gyani or knower knowing that this alluring worldly charm or maya and its attraction is like a shadow and not worth chasing it. He therefore wishes to acquire something that is not shortlived, does not give grief or sorrow and above everything, does not compel him to attach or bind him in a compulsive way. He goes for freedom and lasting happiness instead of bondage and suffering.

The knower has realized through his life experiences and spiritual knowledge that the external world will never remain in its original state and shall constantly transform its content, shape and form. Therefore he does not fall prey to the false glitter and charm of the physical world. Neither is the gyani sorrowful at the loss or death of the unreal things of the physical world since his mind is not captured by outside illusory attractions. He knows that whatever is born must one day perish.

The explanation of this philosophy as well as it application will be elaborated later in the following post depending on the interest and quest of the readers. Your responses are most welcome.

Immortal World – That which is immortal, never changing, everlasting, incorruptible and intangible; that which resides in us as pure light is constant and never changing. It does not die or  reborn. There is no change or transformation and that light gives us unadulterated joy, enthusiasm, energy, creativity, knowledge, tranquility and pure happiness.

Those who desire the ultimate and lasting peace of mind go after it.  And at the end of many, many reincarnations, the soul is able to discover and acquire that immutable, permanent source of hidden power, joy and calmness. The search and quest of man’s lasting happiness and peace in the outside world ends here. Understanding and realization dawns on the seeker that the source and origin of sorrow, anguish, conflict, grief and disappointment is because of wandering aimlessly in this transient world and the real source of perpetual bliss is found within oneself. Immense Joy is found is pursuing and eventually discovering that Divine Light and Divine Wisdom within and never in chasing trifle things.

Now the relevant question is-

How should one get disinterest or detached from the illusory maya or the transitory world?

By having the right view; by seeing the actual state of things as they are.

How?

By shifting the focus and mind’s attention from temporary to everlasting element.

By awareness- By being aware throughout the day. What do we think all the day? What goes on behind our current thoughts is our sansara. That is the subconscious mind, our world. Try to eleminate and exterminate those recurring thoughts by various spiritual and yogic activities and in their place gradually sow seeds of divine thoughts by reflection, introspection and contemplation on God. The old thoughts of sansara will dissolve and perish with regular practices. At the end of many lives or incarnations, our efforts bear fruit and we eventually experience God as Light, peace, knowledge and Ananda. Patience is the key word!!

The restless and wandering mind at last stops and comes to a final rest. It does not stir unnecessary and is immersed in seeking and remembrance of God. Once it is completely dissolved, the seeker loves to drink the nectar from the sweet waters of Holy Springs within!! In Bhagwat Geeta, this unrivaled joy is termed as ‘Ati Indriya Ananda’ which means joy and happiness which is derived without the use of senses. All the scriptures confirm that this state of being is our real nature. It has love, joy and indescribable peace and spans of thoughtlessness and silence.

The purpose of human life is achieved when we bring to an end our sorrows and sufferings with our own diligent efforts. If we discover God and Light of Wisdom within our selves, the fear of death, unhappiness, grief, sorrow and disease is eradicated forever. The scriptures call this state of being as ‘ Muktidham, Paramdham or Mokshadham.

 

Mirage.

On one of these Sunday nights, I viewed my photo album of the Kailash Manas yatra once again. The photos are my treasure and a source of delight. I was pleased to meet up with many of the pilgrims to reminisce about the past through the photo gallery. In retrospect, I also recalled how a specific group always indulged in frivolous activities overlooking the sanctity of the purpose of the spiritual trip that was being undertaken. It looked as though they had come to a fun resort instead.  It is important for the traveler to know beforehand how should one go on a pilgrimage as a result maximum benefits are reaped and we make a swift progress spiritually. However, let’s get back to what I was saying- no matter how many times I see the photos, I still keep discovering some which are absolutely mindboggling and they always compel me to look at them again and again with awe and admiration.

 

 The subsequent morning I had a dream in which there was a beautiful turquoise lake and that was Lake Mansarovar. From its bank, I begin to walk and I reach the deep waters. I wet my feet in it and I rejoice. So I go little further inside and immerse my legs up till only the knees. I enjoy myself very much but I decide to go back to the bank after standing in the water for a short while. From the bank, what I see is that there are some people who start going in the lake and wet their feet, then they wet their upper bodies and eventually the entire body.After this what I see is that they are completely under the water and cannot be seen by me at all. Next what I see is this…

After leaving the lake, I begin to walk on a pathway with a companion. There are many houses and I look at them with curiosity. After a short distance, I stop. There is a nice house on my left side and I look at it and I begin to wonder something. Somehow I decide not to stop here and I move on. I walk some steps more after which I see a very beautiful home with an orchard of mango trees. I look at it with fascination, stop for a while at this juncture and look at the road which connects to this house. I wonder for a while whether I should take that road and enter that house or not.  I am unable to discriminate so I move further. As I go ahead and take my first step, I meet a sadhu, an ascetic. I stop and look at him. He was wearing ochre dhoti or waist cloth and has a danda or staff in his right hand. With some gestures he advises me to go back to the house which has an orchard. He then lifts his right hand and with one finger points out and tells me to go there. After that he pronounced, “Stop, take the right turn, take the right road.” So I turn back, walk a few steps, take the right turn and enter the house with many mango trees. The foliage of the trees was dark green and the canopy was thick. I felt good in the house after arriving since it was peaceful and quiet over there. I get a lot of relief and respite and I feel I have found my place of rest.

When I woke up in the morning, I began to untangle the puzzle of my dream.  I tried to interpret the message from the Masters and was in this process for some time. I felt an unusual peace surrounding me while I went about doing the preparations for the day ahead. Took a quick shower as a formality as  I had an irresistible and overwhelming urge to go to my sacred space and meditate. With a sense of helplessness and resignation, I left everything as they were and the prevailing power was successful in pulling me to my bed. I was very relaxed and readily closed my eyes with peace. At this moment, I saw a thick beam of radiant white Light in the place of my third eye. My mind was quiet and I became absolutely still. The beam became thicker and wider. It was with certitude I realized that it was Divine Light entering inside me and I welcomed it with all my heart and soul. The beam was retained there for a while. I rejoiced while I welcomed it. From the place of the third eye, the rays of Light entered my spine and moved round and round  the vortexes till it charged all the energy centres very swiftly. Along with its current was robbed all the physical weariness of the daily grind and I could see the burnt dark energy particles dissolving and disintegrating out of me. In no time I felt lighter and renewed.

Unprecedented  profound peace began to circumambulate around me and I took a holy bath in it!! I immediately prostrated with  veneration in my heart to this divine Light and uttered this holy word with devotion, “ Ishawara”.

By now I  was truly ecstatic at this stage. Moreover this experience left me very humbled to the core because God was so very kind to me that day with his Grace by revealing thyself to me. My inner being was completely soaked in gratitude and thanksgiving towards the Almighty for this pious moment.

After this, a soft murmur originated within me ,“ You did not understand the dream. Let me explain it to you.” The message was loud and clear so I became very attentive and serious at this point ready for the message to come to me.

The dream was quickly replayed in parts in front of my eyes and this word was spoken, “Mirage”. After this I saw an image of two things- a pen and my black spiral register.

I comprehended that the following explanation has something to do with mirage or illusion and I must write the next post on mirage.

The Voice continued, “This place called the sansara is a mirage, mrig trishna. We come in this world and get attracted to its glitter and charm and fall prey to its trap because of illusion or trishna and in  return we get birth after birth and death after death. We must live in this world but involve ourselves only in limited ways and measures. If we indulge ourselves completely, we will drown in it.

During our short tenure here, there are many turning points in our life where because of lack of spiritual and divine knowledge, we take a wrong decision and a wrong turn. The wrong turn stops and fails us from reaching our abode, the Abode of our Divine Father, the Lord.

If we are fortunate, then the Voice of the Divine in our Spiritual Master directs and helps us to take the right turn and the right path to our inner abode where God resides”

 Since then these sacred words are reverberating inside me as I look around and see how true it is. I am contemplating on these words of wisdom of the Divine. Most of us are so involved in this world that we are totally drowned in it and we never ever realize that we are attracted to temporary and ephemeral elements of this Universe. If we wake up today from delusion and not get attracted blindly to the impermanent, everchanging world; we shall liberate ourselves from so much suffering and sorrow, both in this world and thereafter.

 

Who are we?

When we were roaming like wanderers in boundless Tibet, during some introverted moments, a thought would arise and float in my mind like white fluffy clouds and recede. I would talk several times to myself “Tibet is a very religious and spiritual country, very much like India who has most tolerant and enlightened body of men since centuries. Though I am here for rather quite some time, I am not able to interconnect with any mystic lama. Their blessing in the form of illuminating words should spray and intersperse my mind like the flakes of fresh snowfall that is taking place on these huge mountains.”

Well, my wish is being fulfilled now although I did not have the prospect of meeting a wise lama in a monastery or any home in Tibet during the pilgrimage. I have come across this wonderful book titled ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’ by Sogyal Rinpoche. Through the medium of his and many other enlightened minds and Masters quoted in the book, I have got acquainted with new dimension of spiritual perceptions. So far whatever little I have read is creating an impact on me in a very encouraging way.

There is surely a shift in mental attitude and it was testified recently when one afternoon I took ill unpredictably and my physical condition deteriorated. I went to my room to rest to get some relief from the discomfort and acute pain. I was pondering over the section in the beginning of the book as I consecrated myself at the altar of God. At once my thoughts shifted from the point of pain and were set on the sacrosanct thoughts. Remembering God was valuable at this stage as I could separate the pain in the body with my higher being. It was such a reprieve to disconnect my attention from the body and to unite with spiritual thoughts. As an observer I saw then, my body as a separate object lying at a low level while I arrived at a higher plane of awareness. I remained in that state till I saw that it is the mind that is suffering and not my Spirit. If I join the mind to the feeling of pain, it becomes unbearable and I suffer. Pain is a concept of mind. If I connect my mind with my spirit there is no pain, only joy. I have an option with me of connecting my mind either with the pain of the body or the joy of the Spirit. I chose the latter.

During the sickness period, there is always tremendous churning and learning for me and it is an opportunity that is never wasted. Acute body pain proves to be like precipices, a period of intense insight every time I have to go through and they are quantum leaps of forward movement and a source of illumination.

Throughout those exclusive moments while I stayed in communion with my Higher Self  gave me so much peace, so much Ananda. Absence of thoughts is Ananda, I discovered. I began to float lightly in that joy and became buoyant. Some blissful time with the source of Ananda and I was revitalized in mind and body. From the source of Ananda, blossomed these insights that physical pain, fear of losing my body is delusion. Pain is temporary while Ananda is ceaseless. Ananda and pain co-exist. If I dissolve the thoughts of body, Ananda emanates. I must attempt to stay in joy as long I can. Ananda is mine, joy is mine and that’s me. I am that.