OM

By Sri Subbu Venkatakrishnan

On a previous occasion, we had explored the topic of the ‘real’ purpose of life and concluded that
Self Realization is the goal and birthright of human existence. When I explore what is meant by Self Realization, I understand that knowing myself as SatChitAnanda is Self realization - which is also Godrealization, since God is SatChitAnanda. Also, since there is only one reality, which is SatChitAnanda,there are no differences. Thus going beyond all differences also means Self realization. Once Irecognize that there is only one reality, and I no longer see any differences, compassion towards all becomes a natural outcome. Surrender to God is the same as recognizing that everything is God and that all acts are performed in God, for God. Thus, surrender is natural. Everything is divine, within and without. Knowing this is recognizing divinity, within and without. Some of us might say, “But how do I believe that this is the truth about me? Is this what the scriptures are pointing to? How do I know that this is all true?”

These are not unreasonable questions. But if I am asking a question without a desire to get an answer, then there is no one who can answer this question for me. Some of us get too attached to our questions and go on telling everyone about how no one has been able to answer it. If that is how we hold on to our questions, then we shall receive no answers whatsoever.

However, if a question is asked with utmost sincerity, then the scriptures themselves show the path to recognize the Highest Truth and ultimately abide in it. In this regard, one main attribute required of a true seeker is Faith in the words of the scriptures and of the master.

In the famous text, “Vivekachoodamani”, the great sage, Adi Shankaracharya says,

Shastrasya Guru Vakyasya Satyabuddhi Avadharana
Saa Shraddha Katitha Satbhih Yaya Vastu Upalabhyate

The last quarter of this statement, “Yaya Vastu Upalabhyate”, means, that “By this, the thing/Absolute (Vastu) is obtained.” Naturally the question is “by what?” And the answer is: by Shraddha or Faith. So, through one sweeping statement the great teacher says, “If you have faith, you will get the desired thing.” Here there is only one desired thing, which is the Absolute Truth. And who says this? Katitha Satibhih----this is said by the knowers of Truth.

The first half of this statement goes on to define what is meant by faith. “Shastrasya Guru Vakyasya Satyabuddhi Avadharana”, i.e. the understanding that what is being revealed by the scripture through the words of the teacher is indeed true. Another way to look at this is that the scripture or a master does not have any hidden agenda when they reveal the truth and they are most concerned about my welfare alone. So, I submit myself to the teaching, make myself fully available and take the necessary steps to fulfill the ultimate goal of this human existence.

Whenever I have the opportunity to think about faith, this particular story always comes in front of me. There happened to be a story teller, a bard, whose job it was to relate stories from the great Purana or epic called the Srimad Bhagavatam. One of the main chapters in this epic is dedicated to the childhood days of Lord Shri Krishna. Once the bard was describing how mother Yashoda would decorate baby Krishna with the most beautiful jewels----the golden anklets, the jewel studded bracelets, the diamond crown, ruby earrings, many different kinds of necklaces, and so on.

So enthralling and engrossing was the bard’s description of this passage, that many people were moved to tears. Now, just as the story was being narrated, a professional thief happened to pass by. As he heard about the various jewels, his interest naturally perked up. And when he heard all the details, he was extremely excited and formulated a plan. As soon as the discourse was over, he went to the bard and under the threat of bodily harm, asked him for the baby’s address. The bard tried to shake him off and told him that it was only a story and not to take it seriously. The thief, however, did not take no for an answer and warned the bard of dire consequences if he did not reveal the address of the child.

So, out of fear and with a desire to get rid of the thief, the bard told him that the boy lived in the middle of the dense forest adjacent to a village which was hundreds of miles from this town. The thief thanked him and set off for this forest. And he went only with one goal, which was to find this boy. He did not take any rest, went without food or water for days, and ultimately found his way to the middle of the said forest. He was very exhausted and started calling out to Krishna. Finally out of sheer exhaustion, he fell down. It was sometime later when he regained his senses that he realized that he was lying in someone’s lap. As he opened his eyes, wonder of wonders, the same boy who was described by the bard was standing in front of him. And he was adorned with all the jewels, exactly as the bard had described.

The sight of Lord Krishna as a baby was so enchanting that the thief kept staring at Him and was at a complete loss of words. The Lord fed him, gave him water to drink, and played with him for some time. And when the time to bid good bye came, the Lord took out off the jewels and handed them to the thief. The thief, by now had no desires left in him. The vision of the Lord had completely wiped out his entire past karmas. His single pointed devotion and faith brought him face to face with the Lord. He refused to take the jewels, but the Lord insisted that he should offer them as guru dakshina to the bard.

Now, this was an idea that appealed to the thief. Since it was the bard who initiated him and directed his search for the Lord, it was only proper that he offer guru dakshina to his teacher. With this intention he returned to the village. It was late in the night and he knocked on his guru’s door. When the bard realized that the thief had returned, he was afraid for his life. He prayed frantically to the Lord to save him. However, the thief immediately prostrated to the bard and offered the jewels to him.

The bard was even more scared now. He thought that this thief had mercilessly waylaid some innocent child and robbed the jewels. But the thief insisted that nothing like this happened and told him the whole story. When the bard looked at the jewels, indeed they were just like how he had described while telling the story. Now, it was the bard’s turn to fall at the feet of the thief and seek his guidance on the Lord’s whereabouts. For all his life, the bard was simply telling a story. But the thief’s faith in the story being true, brought him fulfillment.

Most people when hearing of the word 'faith', get an allergic reaction. Each one of us has already
concluded that there is something wrong about this 'faith business' because we have equated it to some kind of blind belief. In the guise of being 'rational' human beings, we think that having faith will somehow make us irrational. However, I submit that we all actually operate in this world with a lot of faith.

First, let us take our worldly experiences. From the time I wake up to the time I go to bed, I depend on faith for my existence.

1)When I hear about the traffic report on TV, I do not second guess the reporter, and avoid the log jams. Please note that I have not personally verified for myself that there is indeed a traffic jam, but believe the reporter's story to be true.

2)When I get into my car to get to work, I believe that I will make it safely to work.

3)When I cross a traffic signal on 'Green', I expect that the cross-road has a 'Red' traffic signal
and although I cannot personally see it, I believe the system is working fine and drive through.
Additionally, I also believe that the other car driver is capable of interpreting the signals correctly.

4)When I get into a plane, I believe that the pilot knows how to fly a plane and will get me safely to my destination.

5)When I go to bed, I lie down with the belief that I will wake up tomorrow.

Thus, we see that we cannot escape coming face to face with faith in each and every action of ours. However, there is one aspect about all our experiences in the worldly sense that reinforces the idea of faith, which is that most of what we believe in can be verified. In other words, when I hear about a traffic accident, I have the capacity to verify its validity and therefore, I take it at face value and continue with my life. Otherwise, if I go about doubting each and every aspect of worldly experiences, I will become a total wreck and cannot live a normal life. So, I have no problem having faith in facts that are verifiable by me either directly or indirectly, either now or later.

Now, let us take the scriptural perspective. When I talk about scriptures, I am primarily referring to the body of knowledge called the Vedas. The subject matter of the Vedas consists of those things to which my sense perception and other means of knowledge like inference, presumption etc have no access. In Sanskrit, we say, “Atindriya Vishaye Vedaha Pramanam”, which means for topics that are not available to my sense perceptions, Vedas are the means of knowledge. Naturally therefore, there will be several truths revealed by the scriptures that are non-verifiable and several that are verifiable. We have to be very clear on which of these are non-verifiable and which of these are verifiable. Most of the disagreements that you will often find between various religions revolve around insistence on non-verifiable beliefs.

Let me elaborate a little on the belief structure. Let us take the example of homeopathy, a system of medicine. In homeopathy there is actually no medicine in the pill that is given as a remedy. According to homeopathy, every disease is due to a gross substance, and the subtle aspect of the same substance will relieve you of the disease. After the diagnosis, the doctor will choose an appropriate remedy and introduce a drop of it in a large bucket of water and stir it for hours. Then he takes one drop of this diluted substance, puts it in another bucket of clean water, and again stirs it. This process is called potentizing the remedy. A substance is considered highly potentized if it has gone through the process ten times. Finally, a tiny pill is made of a drop of the final substance mixed with sugar water. Although homeopathy may not be understood scientifically, the system often works; it is verifiable. If you say, “I don't believe in it,” you can try it for yourself. You can be certain that if your symptoms worsen the next day, the doctor will be very happy because it means that the medicine is correct. The homeopathic principle is that the cure will, at first, aggravate your malady. At any rate, this system of medicine is available for your verification.

But, how are you going to verify a belief that there is a heaven? If you say, “After death we can verify that there is a heaven,” then I will have to accompany you there; it is not verifiable from here. So, we see the problem here. In fact, this is how a belief system works----on the authority of someone or a scripture. However, just because the existence of heaven is based on a non-verifiable belief, it does not mean that heaven does not exist. The non-existence of heaven also requires proof in order to be verified. How can you verify that heaven does not exist? To be verifiable, it must be within the scope of our logic and perception. Since you cannot prove heaven's non-existence, much less prove its existence, we can give the benefit of doubt to the scriptures and accept that there is a heaven.

The Vedas also tell us that heavens exist, but hasten to add that heaven is not our goal. Heaven is only temporary because it is within the fold of time. You go there and you come back. According to the Vedas, since heaven is not a final destination, the very effort to get there is meaningless. So, although the Vedas provide the methods for going to heaven etc, they also point out its limitations and ask you to consider why you want to go there.

You may say you want to go to heaven because you want to be free from suffering. Yet you won't be free, because even there you will have a boss; Indra, the ruler of heaven. You may even have a mother- in-law there. You may say that as a denizen of heaven, you will have a better standard of living than you have now. But there too, other denizens will have even more than you. So, there again comparisons will take place, and the problems associated with it. Thus, the Vedas do not present heaven as the ultimate end.

You may say, “I want to go to heaven because as I am now, I am not okay, and I don't think I will ever be okay.” So, you have made two conclusions; I am not okay, I will never be okay. What is the basis of your conclusion? “I am over forty years old now.” What does it mean to be over forty? You come to realize that your attempts to make happiness last have not worked. You still feel incomplete. If you are an Indian, perhaps you came to America as a student. Then you got the green card, thinking that once you obtained the green card, everything would work out, but even after getting it, you haven't changed much. Then you thought that if you got married you would be okay. But even marriage did not make you feel totally okay. You thought that if you had a child, you would be okay. After having the child, also you don't feel okay. Then you say, “Now that I have a child, I don't want to be here, I want to go to India.” Well, all right, go to India. “I can't go to India yet, I think I should have some more money before I go.” Year after year you postpone the move. By now, your child is a teenager and now you have another set of problems.

By now, the two-fold conclusion that I am not okay, and I can never be okay, has become acceptable to you and you somehow live with it. The scripture challenges this belief and asks whether you have really inquired into yourself before arriving at this conclusion. The Vedas completely negate your notion about yourself. And here is the most important fact --- what the scripture says about you is verifiable. The words of the scripture handled by the guru point out that what you think about yourself is not true, and that you are, in fact, the whole. It shows how, in your pursuit of all pleasurable things, you are really seeking only yourself.

A statement in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad reads, “Atmanastu Kamaya Sarvam Priyam Bhavati,” meaning, “Everything is desirable only for the sake of the self.” These words are attributed to a great sage, Yajnavalkya, who has a dialogue with his wife, Maitreyi, in which he tells her of his plan to go to the forest and become a sannyasi so that he can gain liberation or freedom. Renouncing his vast wealth, he explained to her that he would leave it all to her. Maitreyi noted that the things he was leaving behind were obviously no longer valuable to him in his pursuit of freedom and asked him whether that same freedom would come to her if she held onto the things he was leaving behind. He said it would not. Why, then, she asked, should she hold onto those things that were of no use in the pursuit of freedom? Instead, she also wanted to pursue that knowledge which leads to liberation. She asked Yajnavalkya to teach her. It was then that he told her, “Atmanastu Kamaya Sarvam Priyam Bhavati.”

The sage Yajnavalkya then says, “Atma Va, are, Drahstavyah, Shrotavyah, Mantavyah,
Nidhidyasitavyah.”: The Self, my dear, is to be seen, to be heard about, to be reflected upon, to be meditated upon. This entire statement is so loaded that we will have to reserve a future time to go through its implications.

But the bottom line is you do not stumble upon the truth---you must hear it from a guru who knows. And you must verify it for yourself. Since the words of the teacher are the means of knowledge, you just need to employ the means of knowledge. This is the true meaning of the word 'Faith'. In fact, the masters have already defined it for us, so that we don't interpret it in our own way. They say, “Shastrasya GuruVakyasya Satya Buddhi Avadharana”, “the total commitment to the words of the scripture and the teacher, that what they are teaching is the truth”----is what is meant by Faith.