Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
The text under study is BHAJA GOVINDAM, song of despair of time-wasting, by Sri Adi Shankaraachaarya.
Last
week we were advised to avoid the lure of wealth in an unhealthy, needful and
greedful sense. Being grateful for there is without the lust for more, and
remembering at all times to continue the search for what is Real, was the basis
of that stanza. In the next verse, the Guru points out the pitfalls of the
flesh.
narIStn_arna_aIdez<
†€a
ma ga maehavezm!,
@tNma<svsaidivkar<
Manis
ivicNty var< varm!.3.
Naari-stana-bhara-naabhi-desham
dRshtvaa
maa gaa mohaavesham,
Etan-maasa-vasaa-divikaaram
Manasi
vicintaya vaaram vaaram ||3||
Seeing the full bosom of the young maidens and their
navel, do not fall prey to maddening delusion. This is but a modification of
the flesh and fat. Think well thus in your mind again and again.
It
should be noted here that whilst this is clearly addressed to a young man, the
same can apply equally to young women who giggle and wiggle due to seeing
attractive blokes! Continuing in the same direct manner as the song begun, the
Guru warns that flesh and fat of each individual is of exactly the same stuff,
modified to give an appearance of difference - but flesh and fat it remains.
All
life on earth is programmed with a need to propagate another batch of itself.
Biology is a case of matter being worked upon by chemistry and physics. Part of
biological makeup in animal life is the nervous system. This drives the urge to
find a mate and procreate. There is nothing beyond basic thinking involved.
In
the human animal, though, an intellect developed and this alone is what
separates us from all other animals. We can make choices based upon assessment,
argument, consideration, experience and so on. This gives scope for discipline,
setting up values, establishing rules of engagement. The glory of Man is that
he can, by this rationality, curb and control the base urges and instincts,
rediverting them and using the energy for something nobler, subtler, more
divine. This is a learned process and it requires much training. Parents and
teachers in our formative years are hugely important as the role models for
higher-level living. Nature is strong and it takes much nurture to over-ride
it! In Sanskrit, the technique of directing our instincts in a more noble way
is called as pratipaksha bhaavanaa, having the devotion to self-improvement.
One
way of being clear about what is real and what is not is given in the very
direct statement of the Guru in this verse that, when we look beneath the
pretty clothes, the coiled hair, the long lashes and pleasant smile, the
objects of our desire are nothing but biological matter. To help overcome our
lust, we must think on this basic fact, again and again.
The
objects of the world play their illusion before us over and over - but do we
ever see them as they are? We are so adept at veiling the Truth from ourselves.
Not just the flesh, but everything ought to be assessed and reassessed as to
its connection with the Real.
Money
and boyfriends/girlfriends in themselves are not a threat, but in our false
imaginations we give them both a ridiculously inflated value and, subsequently,
lay waste our true power.
