RENAISSANCE
OF HINDUISM
PART III
FOUR
TYPES OF PEOPLE
4
TYPES OF YOGAS
There is a Utopian
fallacy in people’s minds that all
people are born equal and must be looked at as equals till they are alive.
The actuality in
creation is - All people are not born equal. Each individual is Unique and is
incomparable to anyone else. This is the beauty of creation. If two people are
equal – one becomes redundant. That is not the intention of creation.
Even our finger
prints are extremely Unique. No one on earth can show finger prints of anyone
else – which exactly looks like mine. Why is it so and why finger prints should
not be the same for all, who can explain? That is the feature of creation. We
must accept it whole heartedly. There is no other option for us.
Almost all other
features are also unique, though human eyes fail to see the distinctiveness
between one and another sometimes. I am not the same as any of you. Neither is
any of you the same as anybody else.
Sameness is non-existent
but broad similarities do exist.
Human beings vary
in colour from pure white to pure dark. All colours of the universe are seen in
human skin colour across the world – except perhaps the colour of pure water –
which is said to be colourless, but, we may say, that colourlessness of pure
water also is a colour. I have not seen people with the color of water – but
all other colours can be seen in the skin colours of people all over the world.
People of each
region are generally of one colour – but of different shades of that colour. If
the skin shades vary too much, skin related complexes, superiority or
inferiority, are seen among people. Fairness creams are therefore a big
business. There are no creams which erase the complexes.
Many of our
characteristics differ and differentiate people into various categories. Some
people are more thoughtful, more reasoning and more analytical. Some people are
more emotional. Some people are more workaholics. Some people use their inner
energies much more and are more self centred.
We are not talking
of selfish, arrogant, power-hungry, violent type of people in this
classification but we are talking about people who want to be good, humane,
peaceful, non-violent, compassionate, joyful and so on.
These types of
people find the purpose of their life through different means. Lord Krishna
gave four different ways, which are life-fulfilling for these four different of
noble people.
Lord Krishna used
these 4 different human traits commonly observable among human beings and prescribed
4 different methods for the 4 different types of persons - for experiencing the
ultimate possibility in himself/herself – which fulfills their life immensely.
The 4 methods are
(1) Jnana Yoga (2) Dhyana Yoga (3)
Bhakti Yoga and (4) Karma Yoga.
Jnana Yoga
is suitable for people who are willing to seek the ultimate truths about (i) the
Universe and (ii) about the Self – always unbiasedly, absolutely logically,
with great, flawless reasoning and discarding illogical, superstitious beliefs,
while accepting supra-logical, rational explanations of great cosmic and
individual phenomena.
They are willing to
listen to and learn from evolved or enlightened Jnanis or Gurus. Or they study
and tread the path prescribed in the Bhagavad Geeta and the Upanishads for
Jnana Yoga.
Jnana Yoga needs the
ability to discern and accept certain higher logic in respect of the unseen and un-understood phenomena of the
Universe and the self
People who blindly
discord higher logic in respect of universal phenomena are unsuitable for Jnana
Yoga. People who accept blind superstitious beliefs are also absolutely
unsuitable for Jnana Yoga.
These phenomena are
not by any means ILLOGICAL phenomena but are SUPRA-LOGICAL phenomena, which
need to be experienced by certain higher means. These are within the competence
of Jnana Yogis.
Jnana Yogis search
for the ultimate truths concerning the Universe and the self through the
processes of Sravanam, Mananam and Nidhidhyasanam.
They are willing to
go to a Great master, sit with him as his disciple, listen to him and seek
clarifications - which process is called Sravanam.
Then, they recall,
recite and imbibe all that they have heard and understood - and this is called Mananam. During Mananam,
they try to ensure that they are able to
understand all that the Guru has told (or what they have read in the Gita, the
Upanishads and so on).
Then, they go into
some sort of Meditation on what they have understood. This is called
Nidhidhyasanam, in which, they search for the deeper meanings and hidden truths
about the Universe and the self.
Here, they use a higher
Logic (or supra-logic) which is beyond the means of ordinary logic which comes
into play at some point in Nidhidhyasanam. This logic is beyond the reach of the five
senses and the ordinary logic of the mind. Universe itself is pleased with the
sincere seeker at some point of time and it reveals to him the deeper truths on
its own initiative.
A Great Guru can hasten
this process. Various scriptures like Upanishads and the Geeta also can hasten this process.
An ordinary
scientist uses LOGIC with precision. But, sometimes, even he is aided by
supra-logic and nature reveals to him also, its higher truths to the extent he
is seeking.
The difference
between him and the Jnana Yogi is that the Jnana Yogi is a seeker of the
Ultimate or the Highest truths concerning the self and the Universe. He is not
bothered about the individual physical objects, big or small. The latter are
the subject matter for the scientist.
Karma Yoga -
is suitable for most honest people and is practiced and preached in many world cultures/religions
of today, with some variations. The basic tenet of Karma yoga is - Do your duty
selflessly, towards – (i) yourself, (ii) the rest of humanity and (iii) the world.
When you do this, at some point of time, you will realize some of the ultimate
truths of the Universe, in course of your selfless work itself.
Karma Yoga is
different from ordinary Karma. Karma means action. Karma Yoga means selfless
action. This important distinction must be clearly understood.
Karma involves you
into various bondages, due to the various attachments that you develop while
doing the Karma. Karma Yoga releases you from all such attachments and bondages.
Karma, which binds
you, can be of 3 types : (i) positive or Good karma (called Punyam), (ii) Nagative
or Bad Karma (called Paapam) and (iii) Neutral Karma, which is neither good nor
bad.
All three types of
Karma result in Karmaphalam or consequences/Results of karma.
Punyam and Paapam
(Good and Bad Karma) are motivated by a desire to do good or bad to others.
Such Karma results in 2 types of consequences.
One is
Drishtaphalam which you experience directly or evidently as your Karma’s direct
consequence. Another is Adrishtaphalam which is the result chosen for you by a
Universal Power which is usually called the Karma Phala Daatha.
While you as
Individual can choose the Karma that you perform, the consequences of Good and
Bad Karma and their timing, especially the Adrishtaphalam, cannot be chosen by
you. These are chosen for you by certain invisible Natural laws, that is, by
the superior Universal phenomenon called Karma Phala Daatha.
For example, you
steal another person’s money. It is Bad karma. Assume, you are not detected and
punished by People or Police. So, Drishta phalam is that – you get away with
the stolen money.
But, Adrishtaphalam
catches up with you in ways and times unknown to you. Someday, you may be badly
beaten up by somebody, or suffer an accident or some such negative happening.
You cannot directly
relate this to your earlier Bad Karma of stealing. Nobody tells you that this bad
accident is due to that bad karma. But, it is.
Likewise, for past
good karma, you will get some positive benefit which also cannot be related to a
specific, earlier good karma. Life goes on with such unrelatable results, which
are actually, your adrishtaphalams for earlier good and bad karmas.
Neutral karmas are like
– eating food, dressing up, walking, running etc, which are neither good nor
bad karmas. They too have consequences. But, they generally have only direct
consequences. There are again – (i)
individual Karma (ii) group karma (iii) national karma and so on. An Individual
in a group suffers/ enjoys his group karma’s results – unless, he clearly
dissociates from the group karma and sometimes, even if he dissociates. Karma
theory and karma yoga are a little complex to understand but are highly
scientific in nature.
Bhakti yoga
- involves total surrender to an unknown universal power (call it God or by any
name). This is prevalent in most world religions, but in different ways.
Bhakti yoga is
suitable to you only if you are willing to surrender yourself totally and
unconditionally to the divine or even to a Guru or to a superior person.
Highly logical and
reasoning persons can never surrender their EGOs and are not fit for Bhakti
Yoga. They find Bhakti as some sort of Madness or weakness. For them, it is.
For those who can unconditionally
surrender their EGOs to a Higher self, Bhakti, though an emotion, is extremely
logical. Surrender can be to a divine being, or to a Guru or to a benefactor or
even a spouse. The logic in Bhakti yoga is visible only to the Devotee but
other onlookers may find no logic in their Bhakti or devotion.
Religions try to
enforce Bhakti and prayer on all people including those whose minds cannot
surrender to an unseen God. It doesn’t work at all. Questioning minds find
surrender a foolish superstition. Likewise, minds pursuing money, power, sex
etc cannot involve in Bhakti and prayer
but will pretend, when forced by religion.
Mass prayers look
impressive for onlookers but they don’t work on the reasoning minds or on the
unseen God. It is easier for them to go for war with people who don’t agree
with your brand of Bhakti or God – than to really involve in selfless surrender
and prayer. Killing others (so called non believers) proves their Bhakti to
their God, because, real Bhakti to their God is otherwise unprovable.
Leaving this
exhibitionist Bhakti aside – real Bhakti
is between the Devotee and the divine and they don’t care about who wants
proof. For them, their divine exists and loves them and they want to be with
their divine. Many Bhakts desert food, sleep etc and may look suicidal in their
Bhakti – but that is how Bhakti really is.
Love is akin to
Bhakti. For many mothers, their innocent child looks like the very God and
their love towards their child is a sort of Bhakti. Many mothers do what are
normally impossible things for their child. That is why, we say – God sits in
the mother. Actually, God sits in the innocent child, and is prompting the
mother. A Great Bhakt almost always becomes like such an ideal mother towards
his God. Such Bhakti may look like madness, but is extremely life-fulfilling. A
Great Jnani is no greater than a great mother or a great Bhakt. Life is more
fulfilling to the latter than to the former – simply because selfless, positive
emotion is always more fulfilling than the best of logic. There is of course a
catch. When the cosmic truths are actually experienced within and not merely
understood logically by the Jnani, the Jnani also becomes like a Bhakt.
Dhyana Yoga
- is in essence, internal exploration for ultimate truths. All truths are
within you. You can find them there, if you know how to explore there. Here
also, a Guru can guide you to a certain extent.
Beyond that, you
must go deeper and deeper inside and find the truths yourself. Patanjali’s Yoga
sutras or Ashtanga Yoga is a great way for Dhyana Yoga or “Yoga”. You can find
it in detail my book - “Comprehensive Treatise on Patanjali Yoga Sutras”, the
electronic version of which is available on www.Amazon.in.
Let us see some
slokas from the Bhagavad Gita propounded by Lord Krishna :
Dhyana Yoga Sl.30 :
Yo maam pasyathi
sarvathra sarvam cha mayi pasyathi |
Tasyaaham na
pranasyaami sa cha me na pranasyami ||
Meaning :
He who experiences
me in all and all in me, he never loses me nor will I ever lose him.
Sanyasa Yoga.Sl.18
:
Vidyaa vinaya
sampanne brahmane gavi hastini |
Suni chaiva swapake
cha panditaah samadarsinah ||
Meaning :
Wise man endowed
with Humility treats absolutely equally – a Brahmana, a Cow, an Elephant, a
Dog, an Outcaste and a great learned man.
At this level,
Dhyana Yoga, JnanaYoga, Dhyana Yoga and Karma Yoga all become the same. The
paths are different. But, destination is same.
As we can see,
these words have come straight from Lord Krishna himself. His life epitomizes
these principles perfectly. Born a Kshatriya and brought up in Yadava
household, he treated Kubja, Kuchela, Vidura and Sanjaya with great compassion
and affection.
And Lord Krishna
says emphatically that these truths he is revealing in the Gita are nothing new
but have always been coming to us, from great sages, from the very beginning.
Many great sages
have retold them to us at different times. Not one or two, but, hundreds of
them or even thousands of them. The
Indian timeline is full of such great sages.
*
* * will continue
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