Life Defragmentation

Hello Shawn,

Trust you have been keeping well. Good to hear of your efforts at Brahmacharya. Coming to the reply,

When we get to the root of anything 'aiding us' or 'working against us' as regards to the attainment of an objective, we finally realize that both these opposite pair of dualities spring from nowhere else but from within our own system. If we are able to effortlessly excel in a given activity, it is because we have developed the ability to focus and concentrate our Prâna (life energy) into the accomplishment of that particular activity (through our efforts in this birth or previous births). If we are unable to excel in a particular activity inspite of our repeated efforts, it is again because the required amount of life energy is not reaching the target objective. In other words, we may be in a state where we are yet to cultivate and master the art of focussing of Prâna to the required extent as regards to the particular objective on hand or there is a deficiency of the required amount of Prâna. If both these don't apply, there is something hindering the free flow of life energy into the target resulting in our inability at success. Man's success or failure as regards to the attainment of an objective depends largely on this simple and basic principle.

The practice of Brahmacharya towards attaining enlightenment is exactly similar and hinges on the same principle. The plays of Mâya we experience in the quest for Brahmacharya are a result of our own past indulgence in negative karma. These tendencies and impressions lodged in the Kârana sharira (causal body) surface every now and then and try to unsettle our progress. The only way to win freedom from their onslaught is to persevere relentlessly till each and every past impression of Mâya within us is rooted/weeded out.

The very purpose of a life of Yoga is to root out these past impressions and reclaim the lordship of the soul. All saints like Jesus, Buddha and many more had to face the tests of these onslaughts. They became a Jesus and Buddha because they had the will, determination, zest and perseverance to never give up until they reached their objective. All their efforts and aims were based on the timeless fact - " Yes the onslaughts of Mâya are strong, tricky and unpredictable. But I am the soul who is greater and more powerful than the strongest illusion of Mâya. I am bliss infinite and knowledge manifest. I am the soul who has no form, shape or color to get influenced by anthing with a form, shape or color. Where is the question of the concept of sex for the soul who is bliss himself in manifestation? I have not yet realized this great truth but I will shortly realize this truth on realizing my own self by the grace of God. I shall never give in or give up till my final destination is reached. If Mâya is strong, I will make my efforts stronger. I want nothing more in life than the accomplishment of this aim. This is life and everything else for me is death."

Our (the soul's) basic, default nature is purity, virtue, divinity and knowledge manifest. We (the soul) are forever in a state of infinite, permanent and unhindered state of knowledge and bliss. Then why does sorrow, desire for external objects and craving for enjoyment exist all around us? Why do we see people doing all sorts of things to attain happiness/pleasure and suffering from all sorts of pain and sorrow as an aftermath? One naturally gets the question - Why do we run after anything that hints at a promise of pleasure if we are the Âtman (soul) - who is bliss manifest and knowledge manifest?...

The answer is that the Âtman (soul) has been cocooned by layers of Avidyâ (ignorance) that is preventing the unhindered flow of this bliss, knowledge, joy and perfection from reaching outward. Like a light bulb that has layers of dust and dirt surrounding it thereby making it dim and dull, the layers of ignorance that have wound around the soul due to one's past karma make one forget his eternal state of bliss and joy and make him seek pleasure and excitement outward. Like a man who complains of there not being enough light in a room lit by the dust and dirt covered bulb and hence seeks additional illumination from say a torch, the embodied soul complains of its lacklusture, mundane existence and seeks excitement and pleasure from external objects through sense gratification, ultimately ending in sorrow.

What then is the solution to this problem? A sensual man addicted to sex and liquor will say :- ' I run after women and liquor as they are the only means for me to experience pleasure and excitement beyond normal limits. They are the means through which I experience pleasure at a high level in contrast to the pains and sorrows of life...This is like the man in the room seeking the aid of a torch to brighten the room lit by the dull/dust covered bulb. It is not seeking additional illumination that is wrong; what is wrong is wasting one's time and energy in finding an electric torch whose batteries will run out shortly when the brightest source of light is right above his head. All he needs to do is clean the bulb of the dust and dirt covering it and the room immidiately gets flooded with bright light in totality. In the same way the sensual man's desire for bliss and joy is in no way wrong. What is wrong is his approach at finding this bliss and joy. Like the man in the room found very bright light by cleaning and polishing the light bulb, the sensual man can win bliss and joy incomparable by giving up his life attached to the senses and concentrating on a life that leads to 'cleansing' the dust/dirt covered around the light bulb called the soul. He cannot win the entirety of this bliss in a few months or years, it might take many decades or even lifetimes. But it is an effort well worth the hardship. Unlike his earlier means of enjoyment through sex and liquor, the bliss and joy which one reclaims and rediscovers further to the full cleansing of the layers of dirt around the soul are permanent and infinite in time and magnitude. A man can lead a life of wanton sex and heavy alcoholism for a few decades at the most. But he has to pay a very, very heavy price at the end of this period in the form of degeneration of his physical, mental, karmic and financial health leading to extreme pain and sorrow through disease, degeneration, weakness & debility. Instead, if this same man were to set aside the same time, energy and will spent on lusting after women and wine at leading a life of unwinding the layers of ignorance around his soul, he would have been much more closer to the permanent and infinite bliss radiating from within his own self - The Âtman (soul); something that comes free of cost and is everlasting.

As the great saint Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi said -"Every man's craving for happiness and pleasure is his unconscious quest for self-realization". Each and every man we see running after sensual enjoyments through women, wine or wealth is a soul trying to reclaim its original state of bliss. What the man doesn't know is that the road he has taken does not lead to his objective of eternal pleasure. After taking a long, sensual journey on this road and after having suffered very deeply at the hands of women, wine and quest for immense wealth, the tired and weakened man finally relizes that he has taken the wrong road. The embodied soul then having realized it has journeyed on the wrong road in its quest for eternal pleasure accepts that there must be some other road that leads to its destination of eternal happiness. It then has to travel back all the way to where it started from in order to annul the performed karma and start afresh its quest for self-realization. There is no other way and this is the final and absolute truth. This is true for each and every living being born on earth whether we like it or not. Hence the question is not whether one wants self-realization. The question is 'How soon' one wants self-realization. The sensual man wastes his time and energy on the wrong road and after immense pain and suffering lasting many births comes back to the 'right road'. The Yogi chooses the right road and accomplishes his objective in a much shorter time.

The soul's real, default nature is infinite bliss and joy. But since this bliss has been covered by one's past karma the soul embodied within this fleshy body has forgotten its original state. Like a fish which always craves to swim in water and becomes unhappy if taken out of water, the embodied soul always craves for its original, default state of bliss and having forgotten this state runs after anything and everything which promises some amount of happiness (women, wine, wealth etc..) But women, wine and wealth give a very brief and temporary flash of pleasure, come at a very heavy price, are temporary sources of pleasure and leave man wanting for more. Finally even the most indulged man has to face great pain, sorrow and suffering at the hands of these three thereby getting back to square one and with more added negative karma. So they really don't solve man's problem of wanting infinite and supreme pleasure that is ever lasting. If man wants this everlasting and infinite pleasure, there is only one place where he can find it and that is within himself. As soon as man succeeds in realizing his self (Âtman) as an extension of the almighty Lord, he gets freed forever from the bounds of pain and sorrow and reclaims his lordship of the soul. But this is an endeavor that is easier said than done. It is a project that requires constant effort and perseverance, sometimes lasting many lifetimes from the point of onset. But it would be a journey well worth the hardships, discipline and perseverance required.

God bless and have a nice day :-)
Dhananjay