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GOD
Source:http://kirtimukha.com/chinnamma/God.htm
Ishaavaasyam idam sarvam - God Omnipresent
"Ishaavaasyam idam sarvam yat kim ca jagatyam jagat
tena tyaktena bhunjithaah maa gridhah kasyasvid dhanam"
first mantra of the Ishavasya Upanishad:
The entire universe is indwelt, enveloped, covered by the Supreme Being;
Live a happy life in this world. Enjoy your existence; do not suffer.
When through Jnaana (knowledge), abhyaasa (practice) and vairaagya (detachment) we succeed in developing this perception of the world: namely, that God envelops all things and He is indwelling everything; it follows that we will be veritably in the presence of God always and therefore, ever blissful and joyous. This is an affirmation by the Rishis, the realized saints, who traveled the path and experienced the all-pervading spirit.
Commentary by Swami Krishnananda, The Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh:
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/sadh/sadh_08a.html
The entire universe is indwelt, enveloped, covered by the Supreme Being, whatever this world be, -- moving or non-moving, living or otherwise. The second part of this mantra is a conclusion drawn from this vision: Live a happy life in this world. Enjoy your existence; do not suffer. Life is not intended to be a misery. We cannot expect God to have created a hell for us. Compassionate is He. It should be lived, and not merely got on as a drudgery.
Tena tyaktena bhunjitaah: by renunciation effected in the light of the consciousness of the indwelling presence of God, enjoy this world. By a renunciation effected in the light of the all-pervading nature of God, you can live a life of happiness in this world.
________________________________________
In an interview published in INDIA New England News – Chinmaya Mission, Boston (June 1, 2003) (page 6 of the pdf document (this link does not connect now): (http://media.collegepublisher.com/me...s/60e6n63f.pdf ) Swami Chinmayananda explained the meaning lucidly thus:
This positive state of harmony and peace, which can be invoked by an intelligent person of will and courage, is called God.
He is present everywhere --
as the raga in the music, or
the canvas in a painting.
He is the warp and woof of the entire tapestry of life,
as the thread in a piece of cotton.
We must have
the ears to listen to the raga,
the understanding to see the canvas, and
the knowledge to recognize the thread in the cloth.
The hurried existence of busy experiences
diverts our attention, and we consequently
fail to see, hear, or know Him. ……….
We can do no better than sing in chorus with Hans Denk:
'Oh my God,
how does it happen in this poor old world that
Thou art so great and yet nobody finds Thee,
Thou callest so loudly and nobody hears Thee,
Thou art so near and yet nobody feels Thee,
Thou givest Thyself to everybody
and yet nobody even knows Thy name?
Men flee from Thee
and say they cannot find Thee;
Men turn their backs
and say they cannot see Thee;
Men cover their ears
and say they cannot hear Thee.'
________________________________________
HiranyaKashipu, blinded by his Ego, challenged his son Prahlada to show
his God Vishnu in the stone pillar near him. Affirming His devotee Prahlada's declaration,
God came out of the pillar as NaraSimha to validate the eternal truth:
Ishaavaasyam idam sarvam - God's omnipresence
there is nowhere that He is not there.
________________________________________
The Tamil Saint Tirumoolar explained in his Tirumanthiram how our individual perceptions hide Reality/Truth
with this example of a child playing with an elephant-figure carved out of wood:
maraththai maRaiththadhu maamadha yaanai
(wood (was) hidden (by) wild elephant
maraththil maRaindhadhu maamadha yaanai
in the wood got hidden wild elephant
Paraththai maRaiththadhu paarmudhal bhootam
paramaatma was hidden (by) the five elements
paraththil maRaindhadhu paarmudhal bhootam
in paramaatma has merged the five elements The child played ecstatic with his elephant proud,
He cared not it was made of wood,
Man with his worldly knowledge beholds only the wood,
But misses the Lord in all creation;
Even so, the Elements hide the Real from our sight,
But the Mystic's eye of perception
pierces through the Elements and experiences God.
paar-mudhal-bhootham = earth etc. the (five) elements = prithvi, aapah, tejas, vaayu, akaasha = earth, water, fire, air and space.
A wild elephant carved out of wood might look very real. A closer scrutiny reveals that though it resembles an elephant in shape, it is made of wood only and is life-less. Similarly, study of the scriptures and cogitation in the mind will reveal to us that this world which appears to be made of the five elements is really made of the timber called the Paramatman; we must learn to look upon all this as the Supreme God-head.
Thirumoolar says in this poem that because of our being accustomed to seeing the five elements (pancha bhootas) all the time, we must not forget to see the Paramatman that is hidden in them. We must recognize that it is indeed He who pervades them, learn to see Ishwara in everything and develop the Upanishadic perception: Isavasyam idam sarvam .
________________________________________
The Upanishad thus perceived Bliss as pervading the entire world;
the Buddha, however, perceived suffering as all pervading in our experiential world
and stated this as his 'First Noble Truth' :
"The suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death is unavoidable".
We may try to block out sadness, pain, loss and grief by indulging in pleasures, thinking that it will bring happiness; but actually we end up disguising our real feelings, making us feel even worse when the temporary happiness runs out. Buddha taught people to recognize and accept that suffering is part of life and that it cannot be avoided. He taught his followers not to be distracted by momentary pleasures, but to look at the bigger picture of their life experiences. He taught that happiness and pleasures are temporary and therefore, that people should learn more about what he taught as the True way to end suffering. He taught these lessons in his next Three Noble Truths.
________________________________________
One may term the Upanishad's perception as positive in that the fundamental Truth about Life was asserted at the very beginning in positive terms:
"Life is full of Bliss" in contrast to Buddha's "There is inevitable suffering in life" and the Bible's "we are born in Sin".
Realizing this truth, we have to train ourselves to move into this state of bliss from our present state of misery and pain
created by our incorrect perceptions and our addiction to the pleasure-principle..
Shraddha (faith), Bhakti (love of the all-pervading God) and Karma Yoga (action) practiced with detachment (vairagya)
will help us to progress on the path to Bliss.
________________________________________
To be Continued
Source:http://kirtimukha.com/chinnamma/God.htm
Ishaavaasyam idam sarvam - God Omnipresent
"Ishaavaasyam idam sarvam yat kim ca jagatyam jagat
tena tyaktena bhunjithaah maa gridhah kasyasvid dhanam"
first mantra of the Ishavasya Upanishad:
The entire universe is indwelt, enveloped, covered by the Supreme Being;
Live a happy life in this world. Enjoy your existence; do not suffer.
When through Jnaana (knowledge), abhyaasa (practice) and vairaagya (detachment) we succeed in developing this perception of the world: namely, that God envelops all things and He is indwelling everything; it follows that we will be veritably in the presence of God always and therefore, ever blissful and joyous. This is an affirmation by the Rishis, the realized saints, who traveled the path and experienced the all-pervading spirit.
Commentary by Swami Krishnananda, The Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh:
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/sadh/sadh_08a.html
The entire universe is indwelt, enveloped, covered by the Supreme Being, whatever this world be, -- moving or non-moving, living or otherwise. The second part of this mantra is a conclusion drawn from this vision: Live a happy life in this world. Enjoy your existence; do not suffer. Life is not intended to be a misery. We cannot expect God to have created a hell for us. Compassionate is He. It should be lived, and not merely got on as a drudgery.
Tena tyaktena bhunjitaah: by renunciation effected in the light of the consciousness of the indwelling presence of God, enjoy this world. By a renunciation effected in the light of the all-pervading nature of God, you can live a life of happiness in this world.
________________________________________
In an interview published in INDIA New England News – Chinmaya Mission, Boston (June 1, 2003) (page 6 of the pdf document (this link does not connect now): (http://media.collegepublisher.com/me...s/60e6n63f.pdf ) Swami Chinmayananda explained the meaning lucidly thus:
This positive state of harmony and peace, which can be invoked by an intelligent person of will and courage, is called God.
He is present everywhere --
as the raga in the music, or
the canvas in a painting.
He is the warp and woof of the entire tapestry of life,
as the thread in a piece of cotton.
We must have
the ears to listen to the raga,
the understanding to see the canvas, and
the knowledge to recognize the thread in the cloth.
The hurried existence of busy experiences
diverts our attention, and we consequently
fail to see, hear, or know Him. ……….
We can do no better than sing in chorus with Hans Denk:
'Oh my God,
how does it happen in this poor old world that
Thou art so great and yet nobody finds Thee,
Thou callest so loudly and nobody hears Thee,
Thou art so near and yet nobody feels Thee,
Thou givest Thyself to everybody
and yet nobody even knows Thy name?
Men flee from Thee
and say they cannot find Thee;
Men turn their backs
and say they cannot see Thee;
Men cover their ears
and say they cannot hear Thee.'
________________________________________
HiranyaKashipu, blinded by his Ego, challenged his son Prahlada to show
his God Vishnu in the stone pillar near him. Affirming His devotee Prahlada's declaration,
God came out of the pillar as NaraSimha to validate the eternal truth:
Ishaavaasyam idam sarvam - God's omnipresence
there is nowhere that He is not there.
________________________________________
The Tamil Saint Tirumoolar explained in his Tirumanthiram how our individual perceptions hide Reality/Truth
with this example of a child playing with an elephant-figure carved out of wood:
maraththai maRaiththadhu maamadha yaanai
(wood (was) hidden (by) wild elephant
maraththil maRaindhadhu maamadha yaanai
in the wood got hidden wild elephant
Paraththai maRaiththadhu paarmudhal bhootam
paramaatma was hidden (by) the five elements
paraththil maRaindhadhu paarmudhal bhootam
in paramaatma has merged the five elements The child played ecstatic with his elephant proud,
He cared not it was made of wood,
Man with his worldly knowledge beholds only the wood,
But misses the Lord in all creation;
Even so, the Elements hide the Real from our sight,
But the Mystic's eye of perception
pierces through the Elements and experiences God.
paar-mudhal-bhootham = earth etc. the (five) elements = prithvi, aapah, tejas, vaayu, akaasha = earth, water, fire, air and space.
A wild elephant carved out of wood might look very real. A closer scrutiny reveals that though it resembles an elephant in shape, it is made of wood only and is life-less. Similarly, study of the scriptures and cogitation in the mind will reveal to us that this world which appears to be made of the five elements is really made of the timber called the Paramatman; we must learn to look upon all this as the Supreme God-head.
Thirumoolar says in this poem that because of our being accustomed to seeing the five elements (pancha bhootas) all the time, we must not forget to see the Paramatman that is hidden in them. We must recognize that it is indeed He who pervades them, learn to see Ishwara in everything and develop the Upanishadic perception: Isavasyam idam sarvam .
________________________________________
The Upanishad thus perceived Bliss as pervading the entire world;
the Buddha, however, perceived suffering as all pervading in our experiential world
and stated this as his 'First Noble Truth' :
"The suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death is unavoidable".
We may try to block out sadness, pain, loss and grief by indulging in pleasures, thinking that it will bring happiness; but actually we end up disguising our real feelings, making us feel even worse when the temporary happiness runs out. Buddha taught people to recognize and accept that suffering is part of life and that it cannot be avoided. He taught his followers not to be distracted by momentary pleasures, but to look at the bigger picture of their life experiences. He taught that happiness and pleasures are temporary and therefore, that people should learn more about what he taught as the True way to end suffering. He taught these lessons in his next Three Noble Truths.
________________________________________
One may term the Upanishad's perception as positive in that the fundamental Truth about Life was asserted at the very beginning in positive terms:
"Life is full of Bliss" in contrast to Buddha's "There is inevitable suffering in life" and the Bible's "we are born in Sin".
Realizing this truth, we have to train ourselves to move into this state of bliss from our present state of misery and pain
created by our incorrect perceptions and our addiction to the pleasure-principle..
Shraddha (faith), Bhakti (love of the all-pervading God) and Karma Yoga (action) practiced with detachment (vairagya)
will help us to progress on the path to Bliss.
________________________________________
To be Continued