By Ranbir Singh Sikh Review
A Jain monk Hans went to the court of Guru Gobind Singh seeking the ‘Hidden Light’ that illumines the mind. He was a great scholar philosopher and artist. He took a very fine painting of the sunrise as an offering to the Guru But the orders were that he should not have an audience of the Master.
After a few days the disciples who took an interest in him displayed his painting in a prominent place so as to bring it to the notice of the Guru. The Master saw it and remarked: ‘The painting is full of light but the painter’s heart is dark He is merciless and cruel.’ Saying this he passed on further indicating thereby to his disciples that he could not grant an audience to Hans.
These remarks from the Master amazed the disciples who held Hans in esteem. One day however Senapat one of the poets of the Guru’s Darbar summoned courage and pleaded for him but the Master interrupted him saying ‘Senapat please don’t mention his name to me. The dry and barren deeds are not acceptable Purification contentment austerities and other traits of discipline may all be good and commendable in themselves but there is no room in God’s Kingdom of Love for one who is hard-hearted and has little compassion for others’. .
Exchange of Views
When Hans heard about the Guru’s comment he said to Senapat; ‘In my life I have strictly followed the principles of Yama consisting of abstinence (self-restraint) integrity honesty self-denial and non-acceptance of gifts and non-violence (ahimsa) to all living beings. This is my faith and I would not hurt even a mosquito or a worm. I have been careful enough to watch out that while walking I do not even tread on an insect lest it be killed How can! Be cruel and merciless I who am an exponent of non-violence?”
This outburst led to an exchange of views on philosophical points between the two:
Senapat: It is very good that you have followed these high principles of morality. Of course we should not inflict pain on any living creature but you seem to have stretched ahimsa to an extent which is not quite practicable. For instance if a cow or one of our domestic animals is injured and the wound is infested with worms and if we do not destroy them the cow suffers and may even die. And if the worms are destroyed injury is done to them. So in either case we cannot avoid doing injury.
In Quest of Truth
Hans: There is truth in what you say. Since I myself am not fully content I feel despondent and therefore have come here in search of truth. I would have left this place also because here I find some of the affairs are such as behoves kings. But by careful observation I have discovered the following truths:
The Guru’s followers are honest. As married men and heads of the households they do not covet other women. All other woman are respected as mothers sisters and daughters.
They earn their living with the sweat of their brow and do not covet the other’s wealth.
In spite of a happy family life they do not attach undue importance to earthly possessions.
Unlike the Jains and Buddhists ahimsa or non-violence is not followed to the same extent by the Sikhs but I have seen that genuine sympathy spontaneously overflows in them for suffering humanity and they lovingly serve all those in need and distress.
To save the people from the oppression of their present rulers they do fight and violence is committed no doubt but it is not for the personal glory or greed that the Sikhs fight.
The lofty ideals of the ‘path of renunciation and self-denial’ called navirti marg and those of “Association and Self-Assertion’ called parvirti marg work hand in hand in Sikh-life. Both are well balanced and equitable such a marvelous achievement is unique.
Life of the Spirit
Senapat: The five Yamas of Ashtang Yoga which you referred may well come under the codes of morality. They are conducive to a good social life and are valuable social assets But goodness and morality are not the end or the objective. It is the life of the spirit and realization of God that is the goal.
HANS: What do you mean by the ‘life of the spirit’? When one gives up evil and upholds good he attains purification. There is no more sin. The human soul that had become rusty with evil deeds shines once again man realizes his true self and it is perfect self-realization. What more is needed?
Senapat: Something more something higher is needed.
Hans: What is that? Is it gyan (Knowledge of the Real) or yoga (unruffled state of mind)?
Senapat: Patanjali in his system of Ashtang Yoga prescribes a graded course of morality and mental concentration. When the mind becomes perfectly tranquil and is self-concentrated they say ‘kewal’ has been attained. This kewal is a kind of liberation from the state of mind involved in deeds that cause pain or pleasure They say when the rust and dirt of our deeds have been removed from the mind the Self stands revealed in its glory apart from prakriti or matter and there is liberation of the soul from the bondage of maya.
Different Schools of Thought
Kapal author of the Sankhya School of Philosophy maintains that liberation from three kinds of pains is kewal and the means to it is the sense of discrimination between good and evil which enables the man to distinguish the self or soul from prakriti-matter.
The essence of Jainism is that when partnership between at man the soul-and pudgal-the cosmic energy-is dissolved the soul acquires ‘self-realization’ and attains kewal and is liberated from all forms of bondage.
According to Buddhism desire is the cause of suffering. When atman becomes desire-less it attains nirvan and is liberated from the bondage of matter and is freed from the cycle of birth and death.
According to all these schools of philosophy salvation means the liberation of the soul from bondage to matter call it pudgal or prakriti and this may be by means of either smadhi (concentration of mind) or by gyan (knowledge) or by sanjam (austerities and moral discipline).
Obviously the soul that has been in bondage and is liberated now must have been free before it became enmeshed in the snares of cosmic energy and after release it again comes to its primal state.
Now what brought the soul into bondage? It could not be the result of any of its deeds; for the deeds could not be possible without a body Whether ignorance pudgal or prakirti or cosmic energy was the cause of the soul’s captivity can the same cause be responsible for a second spell of captivity?
Cycle of Bondage and Liberation
Hans: Yes it is quite possible. The cycle of bondage and liberation has no beginning and no end. It is eternal.
Senapat: If this cycle is to continue we shall be forced to go through it sometimes in a state of liberation and sometimes in bondage. In other words there will be no salvation perpetually and no everlasting peace.
Hans: No I am sorry 1 was wrong. When kewal is attained man does not return to the state of bondage but achieves liberation forever.
Senapat: If it is so the inference is that the soul is not pure and self-conscious in its innate state and is wanting in knowledge. How can it attain this state permanently by mere loosening of the bondages and removal of the superficialities? The moon is luminous. An eclipse and clouds darken it. But when the clouds disappear or when the eclipse is over the moon is as bright as before. If the moon did not possess luminosity it could not keep shining even after an eclipse or after the disappearance of the clouds. The clouds neither bind nor liberate it yet when they appear they darken it momentarily. When the clouds clear from the moon how can we be sure that they will not appear again?
Soul’s Individualism
HANS: But the doctrine of Advaitism popularized by Shri Shankaracharya postulated that the jiva (soul) was never an individual being but in its primal state it was All-Pervading Conscious-Self. It is maya (Illusion) and avidya (Ignorance) that isolated it in individualism. And if jiva were to acquire gyan (Knowledge of the Real) and suppressed the impressions of desires (vasna) by giving up all worldly activity then it would cease to be an individual soul or jiva and would merge in atman or All-Pervading Conscious-Self.
Senapat: It comes to the same thing whether the cause of the soul’s bondage was maya or avidya or prakinti or pudgal call it what you will. It is assumed that at one time there was no illusion or ignorance in the conscious-self. But it did fall prey to illusion and then somehow it became liberated. The inference is that there is always a possibility of its again falling prey to illusion and being entrapped.
Hans: Once bitten twice shy.
Soul’s Wisdom
Senapat: You mean to say that the soul will be wiser through experience. If once liberated it will be wise enough not to fall into a trap again. It means that the soul was ignorant in its primal state when it fell into bondage. Therefore the soul was self-conscious and pure and wise in the primal state does not hold good.
And furthermore if this cycle of liberation and bondage has no beginning as you say it has no end either. Therefore it is obvious that kewal is not perpetual salvation but only a stage in the cycle.
Now when we sty that after liberation the soul will be wiser by experience and will not fall into a trap again the inference is that the soul was wanting in knowledge in its primal state and therefore it could not have been All-Pervading-Conscious-Self.
These are the obvious deductions from the principles and postulates established by all the six Schools of Hindu Philosophy. The proponents are great scholars no doubt and each one of them offers some solution from his own point of view and we appreciate all of them but what is desired is perpetual salvation from where there can be no fall no coming back and no more bondage.
But the kewal which we have discussed so far offers only temporary liberation from the snares of karma that is to say the consequences of our deeds in the shape of pain and pleasure.
Hans: And what more do we want?
Senapat: There is something lacking in us all we feel the void the emptiness of our soul I wandered from place to place in search of this truth for a long time before I discerned it. I think it is the pursuit of the same thing that makes you wander. This emptiness of our soul-the spiritual hunger unless satisfied will never bring us happiness and peace. Intensive learning and rigid moral discipline are not competent to bring peace to the soul because despite them the emptiness persists the hunger is not appeased. There is an eternal yearning of the soul to find itself and merge in the Cosmic Soul but in the average man this yearning is suppressed by his egoistic activities.
Hans: You have used wise words. I do really feel this void. I perceive something is lacking in me and for this very reason have been wandering from place to place.
As long as pride and vanity dominated my life-the pride arising out of my own learning and attainments the conceit derived out of the praise and admiration from others-I was smug and satisfied. I did not feel the spiritual hunger. Lately ever since sobriety began to dominate my life and action I have been restless and fervently in need of something for the lack of which my life has a void.
Unless and until I seek it and find it there can be no peace of mind.
(To be continued)
Article extracted from this publication >> February 1, 1991
