16 Jan 2021
[Makara Saṃkrānti Message. January 14, 2021]
The word saṅkrānti means moving from one place to another for better progress. The word ‘sam’ means better progress. The word krānti means movement from one place to another. The movement from one place to another for better progress can also be done when the two places are located at the same level. A person leaves one place and goes to another place, which is located at the same level on earth for better progress. But one can also move from the lower level to the higher level for better progress. In a house, one can move from the first floor to the second floor for gaining more prosperity. Hence, the movement can be at the same level (horizontal movement) or it can be from the lower level to the higher level (vertical movement). The sun moves from the south to the north on this Makara Saṅkrānti (the sun’s transit into Capricorn) and vice-versa on Kaṭaka Saṅkrānti (the sun’s transit into Cancer). This movement is at the same level.
You might wonder how progress can happen by moving from one point to another at the same level. Usually, we understand progress to be a movement from a lower level to a higher level. We will see how progress is possible even when moving to another place at the same level. Makara Saṅkrānti is considered to be very auspicious because, the sun moves from the inauspicious south to the auspicious north. The south is considered to be inauspicious because, the god of death (Yama) rules the south. The north is considered to be auspicious because, God Śiva, who is famous for granting spiritual life and the angel Kubera, famous for granting materialistic prosperity rule the north. The inauspiciousness of the south increases even more due to the presence of the hot Agni as well as the demon Nirṛti in the south. In the north, the presence of angel Vāyu also increases the auspiciousness because Vāyu is the father of God Hanumān. Therefore, the period when the sun moves from the south to the north, which is from the zodiac signs, Capricorn (Makara) to Gemini (Mithuna), indicates positive progress. Conversely, the period when the sun moves from the north to the south from the signs, Cancer (Karkāṭaka) to Sagitarius (Dhanu), indicates an increase in inauspiciousness (negativity).
Now the basic question is how can there be betterment or degradation when one moves from one place to another at the same level? Both betterment and degradation can exist at the same level. Let us take the case of a common man doing traditional rituals and leading the life of an ordinary householder on the path of pravṛtti (worldly life). This soul performs traditional rituals. If the rituals are done without the knowledge of their background, simply following the age-old tradition of one’s ancestors, such a state represents the south, in which the departed ancestors live. Such blind performance of rituals yields negative results. This way of doing rituals is the path of Pūrva Mīmāṃsā. According to the philosophy of Pūrva Mīmāṃsā, the mere utterance of the sounds of the Vedic hymns, even without knowing the meaning of the hymns, is treated to be the highest. It is a blind path of the ignorance of the knowledge of the Veda. The followers are simply fascinated by the practices followed by their ancestors. This blind path is represented by the dakṣiṇāyanam, which is the transit of the sun towards the south from Cancer (Karkāṭaka) to Sagitarius (Dhanu). Such blind practice without knowledge is called abhyāsa in the Gītā and also as the kṛṣṇa-gati (dark path) (Śukla kṛṣṇa gatī hyete...). The opposite northward path is called śukla-gati or uttarāyaṇam and it means the path of knowledge, which is progress towards the north where angels live. This northward transition is auspicious because it is the transition from the state of blind practice to the state of practice with knowledge. The Gītā clearly says that you should not practice anything without knowing it thoroughly (Jñātvā kurvīta karmāṇi). The Gītā also says that the transition from abhyāsa (blind practice) to jñāna (knowledge) is always the best (Śreyo hi jñānamabhyāsāt).
Progress in a same-level transition
The southward transit of the sun represents pravṛtti or worldly life. The northward transit of the sun represents nivṛtti or spiritual life. The Veda clearly says that both these paths of pravṛtti and nivṛtti are diagonally opposite (Dūramete viparīte viṣūcī). In the first case, the level of the soul remains one and the same, but the person moves from the state of following a traditional practice blindly to following it with knowledge. The person, remaining at the same basic level, makes some progress. Let us take the example of a person who is a normal householder doing traditional rituals. The traditional practice is that when some close relative dies, the person is supposed to take a bath over the head and not participate in the worship of God for some days. A person following the blind path of abhyāsa follows this practice blindly merely because his ancestors followed it. Here, ancestors only mean the immediate few generations of the person’s ancestors, which is only since the present Kali Age started. This idea of blind abhyāsa entered the brains of people only from the beginning of the Kali Age. Before that, the very ancient ancestors were great sages, who always performed all the practices only after thoroughly analyzing them with sharp logic. The background of this practice is that when a close relative dies, your mind is in a state of shock and grief. Hence, an overhead bath with cold water is advised, so that the mind becomes cool. For some days, worship is prohibited because the mind of the person is filled with grief due to the memories of the departed soul. Under such circumstances, the person cannot properly concentrate his mind on God. Hence, this practice is fully meaningful in the case of ordinary souls losing their dear relatives. But if the departed soul had a bad character and was not liked by his or her relatives, the relatives become happy on hearing the death of that bad relative! In that case, the cold-water bath and avoiding the worship of God for some days is not at all necessary. This is the difference between the abhyāsa of the southward path and the jñāna of the northward path.
Progress in a higher-level transition
The other case is that of the significant progress made upon moving from a lower level to a higher level. Here, there is a rise in the spiritual level of the person. This can be explained by taking another aspect of performing a traditional ritual. Traditional rituals are usually accompanied by donation or charity to deserving receivers. The ritual gives a positive fruit only if the receiver of your charity is perfectly deserving. If the receiver is not deserving, the charity becomes sin and one receives punishment, which is the fruit of the sin. Ordinary people are misled because they do charity without assessing the deservingness of the receiver.
This point of the receiver’s deservingness is stressed by the Veda. It is said that one should perform the ritual using sharp knowledge called samvit (Samvidā deyam), in order to discriminate between the deserving receiver and the undeserving receiver of your charity. Ordinary people following the blind path of abhyāsa perform charity disregarding this important point. Instead, they concentrate on the place and time of performing the ritual. The Veda says that the charity done as part of the ritual must be done to a person who not only has perfect spiritual knowledge, but who also does not have any aspiration for receiving the donation from the donor (Śrotriyasya ca akāmahatasya). Such a deserving receiver can be the Sadguru, the Guru or a devotee. The Sadguru is the Human Incarnation of God, whereas, the Guru and the devotee are souls, but they too have perfect spiritual knowledge, which they have received from the Sadguru. Here, the person has moved from the state of donating irrespective of the receiver’s deservingness, to the state of donating to the Human Incarnation of God and His devotees. He has moved from pravṛtti (worldly life) to nivṛtti (spiritual life). This case of progress represents a vertical rise in the spiritual level of the person.
This generation is very fortunate to get this excellent spiritual knowledge from God Datta. Especially, this family of God Datta is more fortunate to get this excellent spiritual knowledge (prajñānam) from God Datta. Sometime back, one devotee asked why such knowledge was not given by the previous Human Incarnations of God Datta. I replied that the past Human Incarnations of God Datta also knew this knowledge, but they could not give it to people then because the scientific IQ of people was not well-developed in those days as it is developed today. Hence, the reason lies in the maturity of the receivers of the knowledge and not in the capability of the previous Human Incarnations of God Datta. These spiritual discussions (satsaṅgas) are very good and have been strongly recommended by Śaṅkara as the first step on the right spiritual path (Satsaṅgatve nissaṅgatvam…).
Datta Swāmi is giving the knowledge as a single person and He is great. Datta Swāmi stands for knowledge, which is jñānam or jñāna yoga. Devi and Padmaram are singing devotional songs very well and both of them stand for devotional songs, which is gānam or bhakti yoga. They are greater than Datta Swāmi. Two are stronger than one and hence, both of them together are stronger than Datta Swāmi. Also, gānam or bhakti comes only after jñānam. Hence, gānam, which is the fruit, is better than jñānam, which is the effort to attain the fruit. All the other devotees stand for sacrifice, which is dānam or karma yoga. It is the sacrifice or offering of service (work) and the sacrifice of the fruit of one’s work. All of you other devotees, except the three of us (Myself, Devi and Padmaram) are doing this third step of dānam. You all are sacrificing work (service) and the fruit of your work (donation). Hence, all of you are the greatest. Thus, jñānam, gānam and dānam are great, greater and the greatest, respectively. In olden days, when kings used to perform yajña or sacrifice, the entire fruit of that sacrifice would go to the king alone. This is because he was the one who would sacrifice His wealth (fruit of work) to conduct that yajña by paying the priests and the servants involved in the work. This dānam or karma yoga is done by all the devotees except the three persons mentioned above. Hence, dānam is far far greater than jñānam or gānam or even both put together.
Jñānam and gānam are only theoretical. They are not practical work. Due to this, jñānam and gānam do not come under the category of practical sacrifice of work. God only gives theoretical fruits for theoretical work done and practical fruits for practical work done, as said in the Gītā (Ye yathā māṃ…). The reason is that dānam, which is practical devotion, is far far greater than jñānam or gānam or both put together. Many (all of you) are always greater than one (Datta Swāmi) and also greater than two (Devi and Padmaram). Theory certainly inspires and leads the soul to practice. But theory without practice is like a tree that does not yield any fruit. At the same time, without the tree, no fruit can appear. Hence, both theoretical and practical devotion are important. Together, they represent all the members of our spiritual association called satsaṅga.
It may superficially appear that all the other devotees are great, Devi and Padmaram are greater and Datta Swāmi is the greatest. But it is only a superficial illusion. When all of us go to God the scene gets reversed by which the first becomes the last and the last becomes the first! In a movie, the actor playing in the role of Lord Veṅkaṭeśvara is only a guest artist while His devotee is the main hero. But as far as the movie is concerned, God is the greatest and the devotee is submissive to God. However, when both the actors leave their roles and come to the office of the producer, the scene is reversed. The guest artist playing the role of Lord Veṅkaṭeśvara is just paid five lakh rupees while the actor playing the role of the devotee is paid one crore rupees! The sequence of great, greater and the greatest is in one direction in the movie of this world. But that sequence gets completely reversed in the office of the Producer-God. Jñānam (jñāna yoga) stands for the fourteenth great world called Brahma Loka. Gānam (bhakti yoga) stands for the greater fifteenth world called Goloka. Dānam (karma yoga) stands for the greatest sixteenth world called Datta Sevaka Loka. However, we must not forget that the great God in Brahma Loka alone created the upper greater and greatest worlds! We must remember that the two words ‘greater’ and ‘greatest’ have come only from the basic word ‘great’!
Keywords:
| Shri Datta Swami | Knowledge, Devotion And Sacrifice - Great, Greater And The Greatest | karmani kurvita Jnatva Gita shukla uttarayanam gati krishna Shukla krishna abhyasa daksinayanam Mimansa Purva pravritti Karkataka Hanuman Nirriti Vayu Shiva Kataka Venkateshvara satsanga Ye yatha mam jnanam ganam jnanam Satsangatve nissangatvam satsangas prajnanam Shrotriyasya cha akamahatasya Samvida deyam Duramete viparite vishuchi nivrutti pravrutti Shreyo hi jnanamabhyasat jnana abhyasa
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