16 Dec 2013
Today is the festival of Lord Dattatreya in the name ‘Datta Jayanthi’. Every festival is mainly characterized by preparing extra food items, by following processions in the streets, by arranging heavy music, etc. The actual idea of any festival is to increase your realization of spiritual knowledge. The right knowledge is with high power. You should assimilate it by thinking it again and again. The first receiving of the knowledge is called ‘Shravana’ (hearing) and thinking it again and again subsequently is called as ‘Manana’ (memorizing). The third stage is complete assimilation, which is practically implemented. The first stage in which knowledge is heard is called ‘Jnana Yoga’. In the middle stage of memorizing, power to implement in the form of inspiration or devotion (Bhakthi Yoga) is developed. The third stage is the stage of practical implementation and is called as ‘Karma Yoga’ (Nididhyasa). If the knowledge is true, given by Satguru or Human Form of God, it already has tremendous power and much time is not required for the middle stage i.e., to develop inspiration. If the knowledge is defective as given by human scholars called Gurus, long time is taken to develop the inspiration and often the inspiration is not full and hence, practical implementation does not take place. Truth brings highest power in the knowledge. Once the true knowledge is given by the Preacher, no time is required for the subsequent development of inspiration and subsequent practical implementation. Only practical implementation (Karma Yoga) brings the divine fruits. Of course, we should not neglect the Jnana Yoga and Bhakthi Yoga because both are important to generate Karma Yoga. In the absence of Jnana Yoga, there is neither Bhakthi Yoga nor Karma Yoga. Shankara told that once Jnana Yoga is received, the subsequent inspiration and practice take place without any effort and therefore, the Divine Fruit is achieved. Of course, here Jnana Yoga means the true knowledge preached by God.
Lord Dattatreya gives always the true spiritual knowledge. He never modifies the true knowledge keeping your case in His view. Therefore, this festival should be spent mainly in discussions and debates in the spiritual knowledge. Basically He is the Preacher and hence, always addressed as Guru Datta. Let us celebrate the festival by discussing an important concept ‘Yoga’. Datta is also called as ‘Yogi Raja’, which means the Master of Yoga.
Yoga means union. It also indicates a rare fortunate union. Nothing is more fortunate than union with God. Union does not mean your merging in God physically. Union means to associate with God always but God is unimaginable. When God comes in human form, the main program is preaching the spiritual knowledge. While preaching the knowledge, God sits in the medium directly as per the Veda and the Gita. The Veda says that the only identity mark to catch God is the true spiritual knowledge (Satyam Jnanam…, Prajnanam Brahma). The Gita says that the possessor of the spiritual knowledge is only God (Jnaneetvatmaiva). Miraculous powers are not the identity mark of God since we find these powers in demons also. No demon has preached the spiritual knowledge. God transmits His power to other media also but on the occasion of preaching the spiritual knowledge, God directly sits in the medium. For this reason only, the Veda said that the identity mark of God is the true spiritual knowledge. Preaching of the knowledge can be done by human form only. Hence, God becomes the human incarnation to preach the spiritual knowledge. For this reason only, you cannot treat inert statues and photos as God, which are unable to do preaching. They can be treated only as the representative models helpful in developing theoretical devotion. The Veda says the same (Na tasya Pratima Asthi). The statue is only to train the devotion in the beginners as said by Shastra (Pratimaahyalpabuddhinaam). The unimaginable God enters the human form like the electricity entering the wire. The electrified wire can be treated as the electricity for all practical purposes. The human incarnation can be treated as the unimaginable God for all the practical purposes by the devotees. We must understand first the meaning of the word ‘Datta’. Datta means the unimaginable God given to humanity in the human form for giving right direction through preaching of true spiritual knowledge. Unless we understand the word ‘Datta’, the celebration of Datta Jayanthi has no meaning.
The word Yoga means reaching or joining Datta, the contemporary human incarnation of the unimaginable God. Karma Yoga means the work done by you in the association of God Datta. It involves not only your service to Datta, but also your participation in the program of Datta without aspiring for any fruit from Him. The real proof of your detachment from the fruit shall be known only when you surrender the fruit to the Lord. This is the highest level of Karma Yoga often represented by the word Yoga. Therefore, Yoga means the involvement in the work of God without aspiration for any fruit and surrendering totally the fruit of all your work to God. This is the highest level of Karma Yoga. Hanuman sitting on the flag of the chariot of Arjuna stands for this highest level. He involved Himself in searching and attaining Sita, the fruit of all His work. He never aspired for Sita even in dream and surrendered her to Rama, the human incarnation. Below this level on the ground, we can find Arjuna and Duryodhana in the chariots. Both these are fighting for the kingdom, the fruit to be enjoyed by them. But, Arjuna refused this fruit stating that he cannot kill the elder relatives. This shows that he is not attached to the fruit. Such a person is eligible for the Divine Knowledge given by the Lord. If you see the case of Duryodhana, he was very much attached to the fruit. The detachment to the fruit helped Arjuna not to have any mental tension during the work (war) and this led to his success. Duryodhana became weak due to the mental tension and finally ended in the failure.
The Karma Yoga in the highest level means not only detachment from the fruit, but also complete surrender of the fruit to the Lord. This can be seen in our elders, who surrender the fruit of their long worship by saying ‘let the fruit of this be surrendered to God’ (Etatphalam Sarvam Eeswaraarpanamastu). They leave water in the plate by saying this at the end of the long worship. In the lower level of Karma Yoga, only detachment from the fruit is followed during the work but the fruit is enjoyed by them at the end. This detachment to fruit gives reduction in the mental tension and hence, becomes the former stage for surrendering the fruit to Lord. Arjuna is an example for this, who showed the detachment to the fruit (kingdom) in the beginning itself. He was prepared to surrender the fruit also but not to the Lord. He surrendered the fruit to Kauravaas, who were undeserving. Then, the Lord explained that the war is His program to support justice (Pandavaas) and to destroy injustice (Kauravaas). Thus, the work and fruit belong to the Lord and not to Arjuna. Arjuna should enjoy the kingdom not as a fruit of his work, but as decided by the Lord being the fruit of Lord’s work. In this angle, fight of Arjuna and enjoyment of kingdom by Arjuna are not personal of Arjuna, but both are impersonal being personal of the Lord. This new angle relieves Arjuna from his problem of killing his elders. Duryodhana is a case of attachment to the fruit from the beginning to the end and surrender of fruit to Lord does not arise at all.
Shri Ajay: mentioned that a great saint enjoyed a specific food item. But, immediately he realized that the sacrifice is affected and hence, fasted for three days applying cow dung to the tongue.
Shri Swami: When the saint enjoyed the specific food item, he was not in the Yoga, which means that he did not enjoy in God. In such case, he should have enjoyed the specific food item as creation of God and should have expressed gratefulness to God. If he enjoyed in God continuously (Nirvikalpa Samadhi), he will never enjoy the specific food item. This means that he was in God discontinuously (Savikalpa Samadhi). The Gita says that sacrifice of personal worldly enjoyment results in grief only when there is no involvement of the devotee in the Lord or Lord’s work (Sansyaasastu Mahabaho…). Yoga is enjoyment in God or involvement in God’s work. Between these two options, the later is better since the former is theoretical service and the latter is practical service. This is the reason why the Gita always stood in the second option saying that Yoga means Karma Yoga only (Karma Yogena Yoginaam). Of course, when there is no possibility for the second option due to unavailability of human incarnation, the first option is good. Moreover, the first option is the generator of the second option. The first option is Jnana Yoga and the second option is Karma Yoga. The person following the first option is called Sankhya and the person following the second option is called Yogi (Jnana Yogena Saankhyaanaam Karma Yogena Yoginaam- Gita). Mere sacrifice of world is foolish. If you are involved and absorbed in Lord by meditation or in His personal work, the sacrifice of world is spontaneous without any effort. Effort in sacrifice is a proof for its false nature. When you are not absorbed in God or His work, it is better to enjoy the world thinking that the world is creation of God. If you treat the world as His creation and enjoy it with gratefulness to God, God is pleased. If you enjoy the poem of a poet, the poet is pleased. Absorption in God will result in spontaneous sacrifice of the world without any effort. When you are interested to drink a precious drink, the lower drinks are spontaneously neglected by you without any effort. Instead of separating the enjoyment of the world from spiritual field, the same can be treated as a part of spiritual field by enjoying the world as the creation of God. If this is done, even the savikalpa Samadhi becomes nirvikalpa Samadhi because there is no place to leave God.
Shri Rama Krishna Paramahamsa went in to unconscious mood by seeing a line of Swans in the blue sky. He enjoyed that worldly scene as creation of God and in His appreciation the unconscious mood or Samadhi was attained. Thus, He was continuously in God while worshipping God in the temple as well as outside while enjoying the world. Such a state is Nirvikalpa Samadhi in which there is no difference between inside and outside. Shankara told the same that whether one is in bhoga/sanga or yoga/asanga, if he is connected to God, he is in continuous Samadhi (Yogaratovaa…). That is the reason why Lord Dattatreya appears sometimes as ‘Yogi’ and sometimes as ‘Bhogi’ maintaining His divinity continuously. Datta maintains His divinity continuously whereas the follower maintains his connection to divinity continuously in this concept.
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