Advaita Bhakti thro. Contemplative Practice of Narayaniyam (ABCPN - 8)

[V. Krishnamurthy]

This entire series is a reposting of postings done on the advaitin list

ABCPN - 8
Note: Please read the Introduction
(ABCPN – 0) if you have not already read it.

Namaste.

Sloka No. 22 (Ref. nArAyaNIyaM : 91 - 2):

bhUman kAyena vAcA muhurapi manasA tvad-bala-preritAtmA
yadyat kurve samastaM tadiha paratare tvay-yasA-varpayAmi /
jAtyApIha shvapAkas-tvayi nihita-manaH-karma-vAg-indriyArtha-
prANo vishvaM punIte na tu vimukha-manAs-tvat-padAd-vipravaryaH //

Tr. Oh All-Pervading Being! Whatever I do with the body, speech and mind
prompted by thy Power (expressing as tendencies from within), all that I
offer at the feet of Thee, the Supreme Spirit. Even if a person be of low
birth, if he has resigned his mind, power of action, speech, senses and
vital energies at Thy feet, he sanctifies the worlds. But not so even if
he is  a Brahmana by  birth,  if his mind is turned away from Thee.

Comment. Now comes what exactly should be done by a seeker of the
Ultimate. To start on this path one has to remember Gita IX – 27
constantly:
yat-karoShi yad-ashnAsi yajjuhoShi dadAsi yat /
yat-tapasyasi kaunteya tat-kuruShva mad-arpaNaM //, meaning,
‘Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice,
whatever you give, whatever you practise as an austerity, Oh Arjuna, do it
as an offering unto Me’.

Sloka No. 23 (Ref. nArAyaNIyaM : 91 - 6):

bhUtAny-etAni bhUtAtmakam-api sakalAn pakshi-matsyAn mR^igAdIn
martyAn mitrANi shatrUn-api yamita-matis-tvan-mayAny-AnamAni  /
tvat-sevAyAM hi siddhyen-mama tava kR^ipayA bhakti-dArDyaM virAgas-
tvat-tattvasy-Avabodho’pi ca bhuvanapate yatna-bhedaM vinaiva //

Tr. Having disciplined my mind to see Thy presence in everything, I shall
salute all beings – the five elements and all the products of their
combinations as also these living beings like birds, fish, animals and
men, including friends and enemies. Thus following the path of devotion, I
shall, through They Grace, attain to deep-rooted God-love, dispassion and
knowledge of They truth-nature simultaneously.

Comment.  All religious and spiritual observances finally are tantamount
to the development of the attitude whereby one sees the Lord in
everything. ‘He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, never
becomes separated from Me nor do I become separated from him’ (Gita VI –
30). ‘He sees, who sees the supreme Lord existing equally in all beings,
the unperishing within the perishing’ (Gita XIII – 27). ‘Because he, who
sees the same Lord equally dwelling everywhere, does not destroy the self
by the self, he goes to the highest goal’ (Gita XIII – 28).’He who sees
all beings in the Self and the Self in all beings, hates none. To the
illumined Soul, who sees everything as a manifestation of his own Self,
how can there be delusion or grief since he sees only oneness?’
(Isopanishad, Verses 6 and 7).This sloka therefore, may be used for
continuous  meditation and  fixed contemplation by dwelling
(nidhidhyAsana) on the meaning.

Sloka No. 24 (Ref. nArAyaNIyaM : 96 - 8):

nirviNNaH karma-mArge khalu viShama-tame tvat-kathAdau ca gADhaM
jAta-shraddho’pi kAmAn-ayi bhuvana-pate naiva shaknomi hAtuM /
tad-bhUyo nishcayena tvayi nihita-manA doSha-buddhyA bhajans-tAn
puShNIyAM bhaktimeva tvayi hR^idaya-gate manGkShu nanGkShyanti sangAH //

Tr.  Oh Lord of all the worlds! Even after developing revulsion to the
extremely difficult life of adherence to Vedic ritualism and cultivating
deep faith in the discipline of listening to Thy deeds and excellences, I
am not able to abandon all the desires of my heart. I shall therefore try
to overcome these by resorting to them with a discriminative mind that is
fully aware of the harmfulness and is firmly fixed on Thee. I shall
strengthen my devotion to Thee; for when You reside in the heart, worldly
attachments perish in no time.

Comment. The significant words here are: ‘kAmAn naiva shaknomi hAtuM’ that
is, ‘I am not able to cull out my desires’. The is the million dollar
problem of every one. And the only remedy is as stated here:
Discriminative mind; awareness of the harmfulness of the non-spiritual
path; and strengthening of one’s devotion to the Lord. This is the royal
road to spirituality. Has not the Lord said, ‘Even if the worst sinner
worships me, with devotion to nothing else, he too should indeed be
regarded as righteous, for he has rightly resolved’? cf. Gita Ch.IX – 30 :
api cet sudurAcAro bhajate mAm-ananyabhAk /
sAdhurevea sa mantavyaH samyag-vyvasito hi saH //
‘He has taken the first step’, says the Lord. And Sathya Sai Baba used to
say: ‘If he takes one step towards me, I will take ten steps towards him!’.
So when temptations are there for the mind to stray away from its
spiritual moorings, the only monitor for the discriminative mind is the
Lord within. Even Sankara, for the benefit of us ordinary mortals, gives
us strong forceful prayers, like the following one, that one can imbibe
and make it come from one’s innermost heart. This one is Sloka No.20 of
Sivananda-lahari:
sadA mohATavyAm carati yuvatInAM kuca-girau
naTaty-AshA-shAkhAsu aTati jhaTiti svairam-abhitaH /
kapAlin bikSho me hr^idaya-kapim-atyanta-capalaM
dR^iDhaM bhaktyA baddhvA shiva bhavad-adhInaM kuru vibho //
meaning, Oh Lord Shiva, (The mind) constantly dwells on the sensualities
of the woman’s form, and dances on the hopes and desires generated by such
thoughts. Oh Lord with the skull as the begging bowl, please deign to bind
my extremely fickle monkey-mind, tightly with (the rope of) devotion and
make it  totally subservient to You!

 (To be continued)

praNAms to all seekers of spirituality
profvk