Waste not this Rare Human Birth -1 : Swami Sivananda

01/12/2018

1.
Salutations again and again at the Holy Feet of the great Sage, Sri Vyasa Bhagavan or Sri Krishna Dwaipayana, who edited the Vedas, composed the Brahmasutras, and wrote the Mahabharata and the eighteen Puranas including the Srimad Bhagavata; salutations to the Brahmavidya Gurus, all Saints and Sages of yore up to the present day.

Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya, who was an Avatara of Lord Siva, delved into the precious wisdom of the Upanishads and brought out the most rare gem in the form of the unparalleled Advaita philosophy or the Monistic idealism which gives you, in a nutshell, the glorious truth that you are in essence Divine beings, ever perfect, free, full and blissful. This idea is contained in his famous memorable Sloka: ‘Slokardhena pravakshyami yaduktam granthakotibhih, Brahma satyam jaganmithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah.’ This gives the very essence of all spiritual wisdom, and it is the last word in the transcendental realisation expressed in the form of this famous Sloka. Bliss is to be found in the spiritual Reality which is within you. Realise this and be free.

Now this ultimate declaration has been given-well and good. But how to attain it? Because you know that in your actual experience of worldly pleasures, your mental impressions are, unfortunately, gathered through the instruments of the mind and the senses. So, when your entire experience of pleasure gives you a perception of Asat, Achit and Duhkha, how can you find the Satchidananda Atman? Everything in this world is fleeting in character. You do not find Chit (consciousness) anywhere but only the Jada (insentient) everywhere. ‘Sarvam duhkham vivekinah’-according to this declaration there is only pain to be experienced in this world. If pain is constantly experienced by you, how can you find Ananda or Bliss? And in answer to this, seers and sages of yore have shown the way by which we have to reach our goal, step by step.

To be continued ...