Mukti vs Dharma

This article provides us the understanding of where we stand (in terms of our abilities as individuals as well as in the time scale, as a society) and what we should aspire for. I wish a very happy independence day (the day I started writing this article). Today, 16th August is also the day of the mahasamadhi of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the guru of Swami Vivekananda. The day of punyasmaran of this divine man who demonstrated through his own life's experiences the path of yoga of all kinds and the paths of all religions, leading towards that one common goal called Mukti.

In this article, I have raised questions and added notes and as an answer to the questions, I have taken the excerpts from Swami Vivekananda’s writings - “The East And The West”

 

Swamiji, Isn’t our highest goal – Mukti?

 “With us (Bharathiyas), the prominent idea is Mukti; with the Westerners, it is Dharma. What we desire is Mukti; what they want is Dharma. Here the word ‘Dharma’ is used in the sense of the Mimâmsakas. What is Dharma? Dharma is that which makes man seek for happiness in this world or the next. Dharma is established on work, Dharma is impelling man day and night to run after and work for happiness.

There was a time in India when Dharma was compatible with Mukti. There were worshippers of Dharma, such as Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Duryodhana, Bhishma, and Karna, side by side with the aspirants of Mukti, such as Vyâsa, Shuka, and Janaka. On the advent of Buddhism, Dharma was entirely neglected, and the path of Moksha alone became predominant. “

 

 

So, can I freely choose one over the other – between Dharma and Moksha?

“However, the central fact is that the fall of our country, of which we hear so much spoken, is due to the utter want of this Dharma. If the whole nation practices and follows the path of Moksha, that is well and good; but is that possible? Without enjoyment, renunciation can never come; first enjoy and then you can renounce. Otherwise, if the whole nation, all of a sudden, takes up Sannyâsa, it does not gain what it desires, but it loses what it had into the bargain—the bird in the hand is fled, nor is that in the bush caught. When, in the heyday of Buddhistic supremacy, thousands of Sannyâsins lived in every monastery, then it was that the country was just on the verge of its ruin! The Bauddhas, the Christians, the Mussulmans, and the Jains prescribe, in their folly, the same law and the same rule for all. That is a great mistake; education, habits, customs, laws, and rules should be different for different men and nations, in conformity with their difference of temperament. What will it avail, if one tries to make them all uniform by compulsion? The Bauddhas declared, `Nothing is more desirable in life than Moksha; whoever you are, come one and all to take it.’ I ask, `Is that ever possible?’ ”

 

 

 

So, what’s right - Moksha or Dharma?

 " `You are a householder, you must not concern yourself much with things of that sort: you do your Svadharma (natural duty)’—thus say the Hindu scriptures. Exactly so! He who cannot leap one foot, is going to jump across the ocean to Lankâ in one bound! Is it reason? You cannot feed your own family or dole out food to two of your fellow-men, you cannot do even an ordinary piece of work for the common good, in harmony with others—and you are running after Mukti! The Hindu scriptures say, `No doubt, Moksha is far superior to Dharma; but Dharma should be finished first of all’. The Bauddhas were confounded just there and brought about all sorts of mischief. Non-injury is right; `Resist not evil’ is a great thing—these are indeed grand principles; but the scriptures say, `Thou art a householder; if anyone smites thee on thy cheek, and thou dost not return him an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, thou wilt verily be a sinner.’ Manu says, `When one has come to kill you, there is no sin in killing him, even though he be a Brâhmin’ (Manu, VIII. 350). This is very true, and this is a thing which should not be forgotten.”

 

So, how should one discharge his duties of Dharma?

 “Heroes only enjoy the world. Show your heroism; apply, according to circumstances, the fourfold political maxims of conciliation, bribery, sowing dissensions, and open war, to win over your adversary and enjoy the world—then you will be Dhârmika (righteous). Otherwise, you live a disgraceful life if you pocket your insults when you are kicked and trodden down by anyone who takes it into his head to do so; your life is a veritable hell here, and so is the life hereafter. This is what the Shastras say. Do your Svadharma—this is truth, the truth of truths. This is my advice to you, my beloved co-religionists. “

 

So, can I do whatever I want that gives me happiness and apply the four political maxims if anyone comes in the way?

“Of course, do not do any wrong, do not injure or tyrannize over anyone, but try to do good to others as much as you can. But passively to submit to wrong done by others is a sin—with the householder. He must try to pay them back in their own coin then and there. The householder must earn money with great effort and enthusiasm, and by that must support and bring comforts to his own family and to others, and perform good works as far as possible. If you cannot do that, how do you profess to be a man? You are not a householder even—what to talk of Moksha for you!!”

 

But isn’t Moksha higher than Dharma as you said earlier ? Should I completely give it up and only keep doing worldly deeds?

"

• By constant repetition of the syllable Om and by meditating on its meaning, everything can be obtained’

• All sins are washed away by uttering the name of the Lord’

• He gets all, who resigns himself to the Will of God’

—yes, these words of the Shastras and the sages are, no doubt, true. But, do you see, thousands of us are, for our whole life, meditating on Om, are getting ecstatic in devotion in the name of the Lord, and are crying, `Thy Will be done, I am fully resigned to Thee! ‘—and what are they actually getting in return? Absolutely nothing! How do you account for this? The reason lies here, and it must be fully understood. Whose meditation is real and effective? Who can really resign himself to the Will of God? Who can utter with power irresistible, like that of a thunderbolt, the name of the Lord? It is he who has earned Chitta-shuddhi, that is, whose mind has been purified by work, or in other words, he who is the Dharmika.”

Note: Here, the Swamiji is attempting to raise the lazy, sleeping souls, to drag them back into the right track. Not only so, whether one is active or lazy, each has one's own capabilities and personalities. The lessons also should be accordingly given. The above is the lesson to most of us who are still in the class one. So the lessons too are for the class one. As we advance in our efforts in doing our work – our duties and gain enough strength and focus, then that we become eligible for the lessons for the class two. So what is that eligibility?

 

Well, how will I know if I have become established in my work, that is, I have become purified?

What will be the nature of such a man who has become well established in his work?

How do I know I have become eligible to go to the next level?

     “The nature of the Dharmika is constant performance of action with efficiency.”

Note: The history has shown us an example of this criteria already and that reference is that of Arjuna. He who had great strength, master of concentration, the one who had won over the sleep and had a great power of the mind. And yet, kind at heart too. Such condition is possible even for the ordinary like you and me. Please read my other article – “Yoga in Software Engineering” for an example - It illustrates not only the extraordinary experience of a person who had been struggling with health issues and low focus at work, etc but also explores how he overcomes the obstacles in making that extraordinary experience, a permanent trait. 

 

 

Ok, So, what kind of work needs to be done such that it helps me gain this eligibility the quickest?

 “Every individual is a centre for the manifestation of a certain force. This force has been stored upas the resultant of our previous works, and each one of us is born with this force at his back. So long as this force has not worked itself out, who can possibly remain quiet and give up work? Until then, he will have to enjoy or suffer according to the fruition of his good or bad work and will be irresistibly impelled to do work. Since enjoyment and work cannot be given up till then, is it not better to do good rather than bad works—to enjoy happiness rather than suffer misery?

    Now what is that good which is to be pursued? The good for him who desires Moksha is one, and the good for him who wants Dharma is another. This is the great truth which the Lord Shri Krishna, the revealer of the Gita, has tried therein to explain, and upon this great truth is established the Varnâshrama system and the doctrine of Svadharma etc. of the Hindu religion.”

 

Can I get a glimpse of what does the class two look like?

Note: For Arjuna, Sri Krishna’s entire Bhagavad Gita was the advice of the next level in which he explains various facets of that one common goal called Moksha. And then also explains in various verses, how he should direct and align all his work towards Him – that is, towards Moksha.

yat karoṣhi yad aśhnāsi yaj juhoṣhi dadāsi yat

yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣhva mad-arpaṇam

 Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever you bestow as a gift, and whatever austerities you perform, O son of Kunti, do them as an offering to Me. [ BG: 9.27 ]

 

Swamiji: “

santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ

mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ

 He who has no enemy, and is friendly and compassionate towards all, who is free from the feelings of 'me and mine', even-minded in pain and pleasure, and forbearing [ BG: 12.13 ]

 —these and other epithets of like nature are for him whose one goal in life is Moksha.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Of course, there are many more classes too. The article, stages-of-human-excellence attempts to puts all such classes together!

Stories from Jammu: Patriotism, a new subject in our school curriculum?

Around 12pm, the same day, I was returning to my room, after meeting the Swami at the RKM mission office that was about a furlong away. I met the same three men from the SSB who had just started their lunch. It was a cemented platform used as a play area by the RKM who often conduct sports activities for school children and youths. Though the swami had suggested them to use the dining hall, these men of action and alertness were comfortable enough to sit in the open place for having their lunch. Their lunch boxes had been delivered to their place. They cordially invited me to have lunch with them. For the kind of activity they perform, and the size of the box they get for lunch, I would have felt guilty, if I would have had even a morsel of food from their share! When one of them insisted, I just sat along with them. I shared some of my experiences of visiting the abode of Matha Vaishno Devi. Within minutes they were almost done with their lunch.
One of the jawan said, "it is another 10 years of service before being retired if this body exists till then." Ah! What a statement! this shows that our spiritual roots knowingly or unknowingly stays in our very blood. He referred to his body, not himself. Since, it is his body that perishes, not himself - the Atman!

 They get retired early - somewhere between 32-40 years of age. And that is why they are honourably referred to as the Jawans. It is not only in army. Any physically intensive and mental alertness intensive work including sports involves early retirement. One has to find alternative jobs if required for managing the financial commitments for rest of his life.

He said, he liked to spend time with children. He even narrated his story of an assignment in a school where he spent good amount of time happily, with children.

    Since there was still several years before these men retired, I put across my question as a generic one - "Since Jawans retire early... usually, how would they spend their time post retirement.?"

These are the men, our heroes, who are considered trustworthy, unbiased, disciplined, those who are above any religious/comunity narrowness and men of alertness.

One of them said, "We don't know anything other than this work - more of physical, about safeguarding... So generally we would join as security manager in some companies, physical excercise trainer in schools, etc.

Discipline, patriotism and self confidence are the three key things that lacks in our country by and large. And these are the men who are the embodiments of these qualities.

I said, "I wish every citizen of this nation serves the army at least a few years! That way, we can not only seek the real unity in diversity, but also a stronger nation in all respect. While that is not possible yet, at least you can bridge that gap!"
  The worst part of our education system is it has three components in it that are not treated the same way - curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular. Patriotism must be a mandatory subject along with sports and music. Today, Unfortunately, it doesn't even occur in extra curricular activities at the least.
The other Jawan said "Yes, I agree... But how can it be done?"

I suggested, "See, take yourself for example, you anyhow like to spend time with children. And you said, the only thing you know is this ( their job at hand ). That is your greatest strength. Once you are retired, you could certainly conduct some workshops to the children such that you enhance their adventurous skills, discipline and their confidence. Apart from that you can give some presentations, talks about armed forces, patriotism and the sacrifices your men have done to this nation. Such talks can be given at various schools, colleges and corporate offices on a regular basis. Imagine, if almost every retired jawan is involved in such activities in their surrounding areas. Also, while you talk, you can also offer to conduct the workshops/training sessions similar but scaled-down version to the one you would have done during your army training!"

I thought to myself - what if there was an institution that could help bridge this gap between our jawans and other institutions like schools, etc so that this process becomes wide spread and effortless?
    On the other hand, we should push the government to make policies such that it not only helps the Jawans to lead a respectful retired life, but also spreads and enhances patriotism among the citizens.

Stories from Jammu: Conversations with the Jawans

An old man was sitting next to me silently sipping a cup of tea, as if he was lost in his own world. I asked softly, "Are you local of Jammu?" He took his time to finish his last sip, stared into my eyes and replied, "Yes" in a deep & serious tone. I introduced myself saying am from Karnataka state. Immediately, his smiled a bit. He later shared his visit to Bengaluru long ago on duty. , From there, we spent a good time discussing from climate to traffic to pollution. From IT companies to present lifestyles to politics.
     Two days were passed, since NRC bill was approved. I enquired about the situation in Jammu, he asked back, "Did you see any issues around?". I said, "I see soldiers standing here and there, I didn't see any problem anywhere. In fact, throughout my journey from locals to soldiers, people were very helpful." He replied, "That is it! This is how it has been all throughout since Aug 2019. These opposition parties are unnecessarily creating wrong impression among the citizens." I nodded in acceptance.

    When i came to Jammu after having darshan at Vaishnodevi temple, the bus dropped me at some location which I had no clue about. We are so used to the modern internet technology, that my hand immediately snapped my mobile from the pocket to open the Google maps! Only to realise that the data n/w was disabled by the govt in whole of Jammu & Kashmir. This made me to fall back on the most reliable, time tested good old human technology of asking the people around! :-) I walked a little and came to the opposite side of a "Super Speciality Hospital". I looked around and saw two of our nation's most respected men, the soldiers, standing there. I asked them, with my broken Hindi, for the address I was looking for. One of them casually enquired about from where I had come, etc. He then explained, that the address was a bit far from here and asked me to catch a mini bus till a particular place and then to take an auto. He further went on to explain how much it will cost me and what does the mini bus conductor would shout about that place while nearing the bus stop, and even the different names with which he calls the same place, etc. Our dear jawan seemed still not convinced that I understood or I could manage as I had to cross two roads passing through a subway. He informed the other soldier and accompanied me till the bus stop. As we walked, I thanked him for helping me out, in hindi. He said "Why thanks, its my duty to serve you. I am privileged to do so." I was quite humbled by his act! We both then reached another road. He stood there and asked me to cross the road to reach the bus stop. I followed his instructions. After waiting for about 5mins, I got the bus which could take me to my destination. He signalled me from the other side of the road to get into that bus. The soldier was standing there till i got into the right bus.
     My solute to our wonderful soldiers! The ones whose very goal of life is to protect the civilians even at the cost of their own life just as the mothers do.

Next day morning, close to my room, I had a chance to meet three soldiers standing guard. They were from the SSB ( Sashastra Seema Bal ) which is one of the para military police forces along with ITBP, BSF, CRPF and CISF. Each where from different states. After we exchanged greetings and some casual talks including our home town, one of them said, they were deputed on the election duty, to Bengaluru, the capital of the state that I belong to. Naturally, the next talk was about the weather and then the IT industry. Another jawan joined the conversation and said, one of his relatives is working in an IT company there. Then the conversation was about family and how they spend their holidays.

    When a soldier is a bachelor and have just joined the services, during their visit to the home town, often they spend time with their friends like many of us do meeting the people, chatting with friends, partying, drinking, etc. As a Jawan get seasoned with discipline, he becomes capable of taking up any responsibility thrown upon him - from polishing his shoes to sweeping the floor to serving food. Saving the civilians during flood to guarding them from terrorist activities to fighting the enemies at the borders! Towards whom he owes his responsibilities now, are two fold - his smaller family in the home town and his much larger family, the nation. the way he looks at life and society has gone through a great transformation!

However, back in his home town, his friends are living the same mundane life as most of us do. Their greatest challenges in life are multi fold! On one side, their office or business or in search of a suitable job and on the other hand, their family of a handful members. Unlike their friend in the border, their fight is not only far more fierce, it also requires extreme intelligence. That's because, while they can fight, out of their own choice, they are not entitled to kill their enemies. And, these enemies appear and disappear every now and then. Sometimes, their spouse become the enemy, sometime the children, sometime parents or in-laws, or one's own self! Its not surprising that the some educated intellectual class expects the govt to provide free medical assistance, free education and free food too for all the citizens (in honour of their bravery?)

    Anyway, coming back to our three musketeers, one of them shared his thoughts, "when I get leave and go to my village, like before, my friends wants me to spend time in having drinks with them. However, I no more find it sensible enough. Moreover, my parents, wife and children will be waiting for months before I am granted a holiday. Neither the holiday is guaranteed nor the number of days I would stay in home. And if I go home having drunk, it doesn't look fine, isn't it?" I nodded in agreement and thoughtfulness. "But they do not understand the subtleness. All they would expect from me is to join them in partying!" At this time another senior called them. I saluted them and they left the place saying goodbye.

   Dear brave fellow citizens, let us raise above our comforts, let's be inspired by the discipline and services of these great men. When you meet a soldier next time, a salute to him will do far more good to you and him both, than a selfie. Try and see!

A very Happy Army Day!