AIM  OF  LIFE

(By Achalam) 

Our Nature:

You may say all of us are born to live.  Don’t we know?  But think for some time about what is LIFE.   We deal with the world outside, from where we get inputs in oral or visual forms, which are analysed inside us and we respond to the world outside.  The analysis and response will depend upon the Gunas (nature) in us at a particular time.  These are called SATWA, RAJAS, TAMAS.  Satwa Guna is noble thoughts and deeds, Rajo Guna is harsh and impulsive reactions and Tamo Guna reflects dullness, laziness and inactivity.  These different types of reactions in us are the result of the food that we intake. 

Satwik Food: Milk products, Sugar, Rice, Wheat, ripe fruits, food with less sour (hot) & minimum salt etc. Avoid fried things, excess oily food, meat and fish, egg, alcohol, onion, garlic and take minimum gas forming vegetables.   The food that we intake should kindle noble thoughts and keep us active but sober in reaction.  Our acts should not harm others but be helpful to them.  They should be capable of generating Love, Daya, Krupa, forgiveness, tolerance etc. which are called Satwik actions.

 Rajasik Food:

Jaggery (vellam), unripe fruits, food with excessive sour (hot) & salt, fried items, oily foods, meat and fish, egg, alcohol, onion, garlic, potato varieties capable of forming gas in our stomach.. These foods are capable of making us angry, lose our sense when dealing with difficult situations and will generate hatred towards others, jealousy, desire etc. which will make us react harshly and lead us to quarrel on silly happenings. and finally affect our health and mental status. 

Tamasik food:

Damaged fruits and vegetables, cold food, raw food, potato varieties, very salt & chilli-less food, alcohol,.  These foods will not give us enough nutrition and will always make us lazy, dull and tired and will not enable us to be active.  Ultimately it will lead to disease.

Aim of Life:

Food is the main ingredient to our thoughts and actions.  As the food, so the thoughts and actions.  We should eat to live whereas some are living to eat.  Eat minimum, that is required to keep your life going smoothly.  Excessive or no food will make you dull and lazy.   All will agree that we eat to live.  Have you thought about what is Life?  Where do we come from?  You may answer that we have come from the mother’s womb.  But in the womb how did you get planted?  When and how you got life?  Who gave you the life?  Even after coming into this world you are living.  Who makes you live?  You will have a ready answer that you inhale and exhale air and you are living.  But air alone cannot make you live.  The food that you intake, the air, the Sun, Water, Space etc. are all required for living.  Who gives us all these things?  First of all before you use the air, who gives you the ability to inhale and exhale?  What is the power that makes you function?  Where is that power – within us or outside of us? Your answer will be “UYIR”, means the very life principle.  What is it?  Where from it came?  What is its shape? Who generated it?  Who activates us from within us, if it is inside of us? These are the questions which, in the normal course, will not lead you to any answer.  You have to penetrate into yourself and look for these answers, which lie within you.  You have to make self enquiry. This is the method taught by Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi through the essence of his teachings “WHO AM I”?  But this should not be pursued as a r thought?  It should be a self enquiry within you.  How to do it?

Aatma Vicharam (Self Enquiry):

We are able to function due to our physical body, mental strength and intellectual vigour.  All of us know about this.  But how these three function synchronisingly?  Who is prompting them?  if you concentrate and pursue this question with perseverance, they will lead you to “I”.  Who or what is this “I”?  What is its origin?  Let us enquire. Keeping your hand on your body if you say I, you refer to the body.  Is body the “I”?  No, because when you say “I have body pain”, “my body pains”, “I had a cut in hand”, “my legs are paining” “my head is aching” etc  the I is different and the body is different.  In these answers you will clearly see that you express the idea that “I” is the possessor and body is possessed.  Therefore, “I” cannot be the body.  Isn’t it?  Now when you say “my feeling is”, “my mind is confused”, “my thoughts are failing me”, “I am mentally upset” etc you separate the “I” in the “my” from the thoughts or feelings that you have.  Thus, it is clear that you are not the Mind but you are the possessor of Mind.  Let us see at intellectual level.   “as far as my knowledge goes”, “I interpret this as”, “my intellectual faculty has failed me”, “my brain does not work”,  “I become dull” etc.  Here also you are standing apart from the action.  The knowledge, interpreting faculty, function of brain etc. are not you but they are yours or in you.  Thus, here again the “I” is standing apart from the intellectual functions.  Therefore, it is clear that I am not the Body, the Mind, the Intellect (let us call it briefly as BMI hereafter).

Is the enquiry into “I” a thought process?

If so, is this enquiry into “I” a thought process?  When we say my body, my mind, my brain, we have the I in them all and we use this I as the possessive noun. But can you interact in the world outside without referring to this I?  No, therefore, “I” is the basic thought over which all other thoughts are formed or you say all other thoughts are attributes of this basic “I” thought.  Now it is easy for us to enquire because we have to only concentrate on this first thought “I”?  So far we have done this exercise as a thought process.  Now on it is to be pursued as a process.  You have to simply look at this "I" expression, by saying no to all other thoughts that will arise one after the other as an attachment or attribute to this "I".  This is the process known as negation of thoughts.  Then you will stay on this one basic “I” thought.  After some time, you will realize it has disappeared.  This has to be explained with a known activity as an example. 

You are looking at a one year old child playing with his play things.  You simply stare at him without motion and without uttering any word.  Just fix your sight at him alone without motion.  He is looking at his toy this way and that way, some of them he hits on ground, some he throws against the wall, some he breaks into pieces etc.  After some time, he is disturbed as there is no sound  or movement around him.  He slowly looks around and finally at you, who is only staring without shouting or reprimanding.  He throws his look on to you every now and then.  After some time, he feels uneasy as you are not punishing or shouting for his action.  Slowly he crawls towards you.  You stay motionless.  He comes near you and finally sits on your lap.  He is now trying to get your attention by pricking you.  But you stay put.  After some time, the child gets mentally and physically tired and slowly sleeps on your lap.  Now, look at “I” as the child.  The same way the child settles itself to its origin that is its father, the "I" thought also subsides into its origin that is called Mind, where all these thoughts are coming and going.  This abstract thing called Mind is now pure without any thought, including the first thought "I".  When the Mind is pure, there you will experience what?  Serenity, Calmness, Peaceful existence etc.  You may but argue:  No, there is nothingness. 

Absence of thought:

Absence of thought is not nothingness, because even in that state you experience something.  What is it?  Your EXISTENCE.  Something is existing, since you have the experience.  Where there is any experience without any thought process, that is the state of EXISTENCE.  This existence is the essence of our life.  This experience has come to you by loss of all thoughts and functions at the BMI level, leading to concentration, then contemplation or meditation .  Therefore, it is proved that for existence, there is no need of the BMI.  Existence is independent, ever-present, and ever_lasting and is ever_powerful.  So, once we win over the “I” thought, the Mind subsides and we are experiencing the state of “EXISTENCE”. This existence is our real nature. This is called the pure unalloyed “CONSCIOUSNESS” , “KNOWLEDGE” “PURE LOVE”, the SUPREME, GOD, BRAHMAN etc.  In this experience, you will realize that it is a state of Eternal Peace, Bright and this is the TRUTH. This is FULLNESS and not nothingness.   

Status of Jeevan Mukhtas (Jnanis):

Those Jnanis who have attained this state remains in the state for ever. They are called ‘JEEVAN MUKHTAS’, meaning those who have crossed over the birth and death cycle.  But you may say that they are still in the Body.  How can you say they have gone beyond birth and death?  Yes, they exist, as far as we can see, with the body.  But without the feelings, without the “I” thought, without any possessive feelings, without any reaction to the worldly trials and tribulations.  All happenings are not affecting them but their BMI, which they do not own. The birth and death cycle is only to the BMI.  They live, to our eyes, till the body exists.  But, in fact they live with or without the body because we have seen existence experience requires no BMI.  They consider their body as one amongst the millions of bodies in the universe.  They do not possess anything but they have sama bhava.  They see this Universal CONSCIOUSNESS in all – living and non-living things. The body goes when the time comes as per its destiny (Karma Vinai)  They do not bother.  This EXISTENCE is ever-present, ever_lasting and ever_powerful.  You may argue that even Jeevan Mukhthas, when they talk, refer to “I”.  How is it?  When transacting in the world outside, everyone has to use a medium of language, which is of course limited.  When they say “I” they do not refer to their BMI but to their Existence level.  This “I” is not the thought I, but the very God principle.  All their expressions are without the feeling of “I”,  though they use that word. They see nothing but the same EXISTENCE principle (GOD) in everything and every where.  This stage is called Jeevan Muktha state, since relief from Life is relief from the worldly bondage, which is at the BMI level only.  Bodily death is  not giving you Jeevan Muktha status.

Conclusion:

Attaining this JEEVAN MUKTHA status is what I am referring to as Aim of Life (Vazhvin Nokkam).  As we go back home (our origin in this worldly life) when we go out on some work or visit, so also we should aim at going back to our origin in this life itself.  This is called “Secret of Living" (Jeevitha Rahasyam).  This is the REAL NATURE of all and it is necessary that we go back to this state ultimately to become free from the worldly trials and tribulations in this birth itself.. 

 :     HARI  OM      :