Renounce Wealth to Enjoy

The Ishavasyua Upasana says your ego will disappear if you cease to call anything yours. "Everything in the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord Accept only those things that are necessary...."

Don't entertain a desire for anybody's wealth. Why? When nothing can be mine, then neither can anything be yours. Be aware, because the sutra, "Don't covet; don't desire another's riches," has been greatly misinterpreted.

Most commentators have explained it thus: "It is a sin to desire another's wealth, so don't entertain such a desire." But the first part of the sutra says that wealth belongs to nobody; it is existences. "When it is not mine, how can it be yours?"

Its true meaning is this - do not wish for another's wealth because the wealth which is not mine is also not yours. So desire has no grounds on which to stand.

No expert of ethics can get at the real meaning of this sutra. It is subtle and deep. The moralist is anxious to see that no one steals another's property; no one should consider as his own what belongs to another: But his emphasis on another's property is must the converse side of his emphasis on what is his own. Remember, the person who says, "This is mine," because these two are different sides of the same coin. As long as the feeling persists, "The building is mine," Its counterpart, "The building is yours," Will continue.

So don't wish for another's property, because it belongs to no one. I don't mean simply that is sinful to seize another's property with a view to making it your own. It is a sin in the first place to consider, It either his or yours. It is a sin to look upon it as anybody's or to pretend ownership is anyone's but existences. If you can comprehend this interpretation, then and only then will you be able to grasp the deep and subtle meaning of the Ishavasya.

Otherwise the apparent meaning of these sutras is that each should securely possess his own property and, to protect his own interests, should propagate on all sides that no one should wish for another's property.

So stealing and extorting is useless, meaningless and irrelevant. There is no skill or art in it. It is as good as labor lost. It is trying to draw a line on water.

Enjoy wealth by renouncing it. It is said that if you renounce a thing, you can enjoy it. The statement is very antithetical to our belief. They alone become real masters who refuse to be masters. Everything falls into the hands of those who have no desire to hold onto things.

People have misinterpreted these sutras. "Enjoy through renunciation" has come to mean that if you give in charity, you will be rewarded with heaven. But pay attention; the sutra says, "He who renounces, receives." it does not say, "He who gives up with a view to getting, will receive." In fact, he who gives up with a view to getting does not give up, because he is just working out how to get the reward.

This sutra makes a straight, simple statement that he who renounces, enjoys. It does not say. "Give up if you desire to enjoy." It announces that if you can give up, then you can enjoy; but if you are nursing the idea of enjoyment, you can never renounce.

Reason and Logic

Restrain in the mind until it dissolves in the consciousness. This is wisdom, this is meditation. The rest is all logic and verbal extensions

Amritabindu Upanishad

Be happy for no reason from no cause, at all times

Swami Bed Bharati

There will have to be rigid and iron discipline before we achieve anything great and enduring, and that discipline will not come by mere academic argument and appeal to reason and logic

M.K. Gandhi

God is a philosophical blank hole - the point where reason breaks down

Kedar Joshi

Logic and cold reason are poor weapons to fight fear and distrust. Only faith and generosity can overcome them

Jawaharlal Nehru

A man who sees action in inaction and inaction in action has understanding amont men and discipline in all actions he performs.

Bhagavad Gita 2.4

Vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of overweening pride - these belong to the one who is born with Divine treasures

Bhagavad Gita 16.6

Maitreyi: you want to offer me all your wealth I have a question: Can I become immortal through wealth? Yajnavalkya: Far from it: You will be a well-to-do person like any other in the world, but there is no hope of immortality through wealth.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

He who gives liberally goes straight to the gods; on the high ridge of heaven he stands exalted.

Rig Veda 1.125.5

Every Sacrifice is a boat to heaven

Satapatha Brahmana

Reaching for the Stars

Have you seen some people look at others from the perspective of their opinions, likes and dislikes? Learn to free yourself from this trap and just look purely from innocence.

If you accept limitation, then the limitation is yours, but if you accept limitlessness, then limitlessness is yours. Why does a person want more and more of everything? The 'more' is ultimately seeking limitlessness. Limitation is like dust in your eyes. As long as it exists, your effort is to eliminate it, because it is a foreign particle.

Infinite is not other than finite. If it were so, then infinite becomes finite, for it is other than finite. Infinite is in spite of finite. It includes finite and is not limited by finite. In the same way, limitlessness includes limitation and is not other than limitation.

Very often a father gets stuck in his opinion of his son. Even if his son is changing, he cannot see it. His identity of himself and his son limits the quality of his perception. So also, the son is stuck in his opinion of his father and sees the sky through his own window........ thereby assuming, that the sky is limited to the shape of his window.

There is a law of gravitation and a law of grace. In occultism, the law of gravitation is that which pulls us to the earth, our attachments, likes and dislikes... When one is pure, one experiences a sense of lightness and also towards heaven. Heaven is not a place; it is a state of being where one experiences a sense of relaxation and lightness.

To rise to the level of the stars is the law of grace. This is opposed to the law of gravitation that drags us down to the earth. Why do you want to be limited to the earth, when you can fly up to the sky? Why be a dwarf when you can be a giant?

Why do you cling to your ignorance, your impurity that keeps you low? This makes you ugly. You can grow to the heights of purity, kindness, forgiveness and bliss. Allow that to happen by dropping your likes, dislikes, anger, jealousy.......

What constitutes the soul of the law of grace is inner freedom. Free yourself from all limitations of the mind, its likes and dislikes.

Have you observed that whenever you are angry or sad, you feel very heavy and burdened? This is the law of gravitation. Have you also observed that whenever you are loving, kind, inwardly free, you feel you are floating and flying? This is the law of grace.

Of Diffusing and Drift

Diffusion is the law of nature. It takes place when there is inequality and non-uniformity. Since our world has plenty of the above traits, diffusion is bound to happen. However, it is not free from obstruction; it has to overcome barriers that oppose diffusion.

Consider the diffusion of knowledge. Knowledge developed at one place must diffuse to places devoid of it. This helps its spread and contributes to its growth. Similarly, wealth created at one place must also diffuse to Librium is maintained, which contributes to stability of the system.

Society that jealously guards its wealth and knowledge, without making these available to others is bound to disintegrate. Strong isolated places of affluence do not serve the interest of humankind. Diffusion is a spontaneous progress.

In the Bhagavad Gita the cosmic form visualized by Arjuna of the Supreme Being seems infinite. It is the diffusion of an infinite energy. It is undiminished everywhere and all the time, hence is omnipresent and omnipotent because of its infinite power. Before assuming Vishwarupa, Krishna says. “The entire universe is pervaded by me in imperceptibly subtle manifestation”. Thus, in the realm of spirituality, one could interpret the omnipresence of the Supreme Energy as being due to diffusion.

In real life, however, we experience limited diffusion, the spread of a flower’s fragrance in the air and the dissolution of ink in water are examples of diffusion in gaseous and liquid states of matter. Diffusion takes place in gases and liquids due to their flexible nature. Diffusion does take place even in a solid matter, in spite of its rigidity. Diffusion does take place even in a solid matter, in spite of its rigidity. Diffusion takes place in the material world irrespective of its nature, however, the degree varies.

Unlike diffusion drift is a driven process. There are both positive and negative drifts. If a person is swayed away by bad company or habits, it is a negative drift. If influenced by something good, it is a positive drift. It does well to both the doer and its recipient.

What is the signature of drift in inanimate matter? Electric current in a metallic wire is driven by a power source and is a drifted motion of conduction electrons, negatively charged subatomic principles, bound in an atom but free in a metal. There’s a philosophical angle. The electron which conducts in a metal does not do so in an isolated atom. Stretching it to life one would conclude that society makes one dynamic, whereas isolation does the opposite.

Diffusion and drift sometimes oppose each other. It is not bad. Together they create a balance in life. In matter, drift and diffusion together do wonders. Solid state electronics results from this joint action. In which are much heavier, diffuse. Hence no barrier is strong enough to stop spontaneity.

Life is a queer mixture of drift and diffusion. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Roger Moore said “Teach love, generosity good manners and some of that will drift from the classroom teach home and who knows, the children will be educating the parents”.

Mythology, Culture and Faith

What is the physical trigger for belief?

When you have epileptic seizures originating in the temporal lobes of the brain, people become more prone to religious belief; seizures are conductive to religious beliefs, but that doesn't invalidate religion in any way. After all, religious sentiment originates in the brain....... we think it comes from the temporal lobes. This doesn't detract from the spiritual dimensions of human life in any way.

If God- realization a physical rather than mental experience?

Ultimately it has to be physical because it is in the brain and the brain is made of physical matter; this is where religious feelings arise. But even matter these days has become so insubstantial; people talk about string theory, quantum mechanics - the notion of cause and effect breaks down and we're talking about quantum coupling and so on. I'm not a physical but what it suggests is that what we think is real (like a table, for instance) may not be so....... we may make a distinction between the parallel realm of spirituality and the world of physical matter, but these boundaries are dissolving.

Is there place for a personal God?

Yes, in people's lives and also in terms of culture. Religion is largely a cultural phenomenon. Mythology teaches you values and enriches your life in so many ways. This is where I disagree with many western atheistic movements. A culture without mythology is not really a civilization. Many countries have myths in a derogatory manner. Greek mythology is popular but who names their child after Apollo? They don't worship Apollo. On the other hand, Rama and Bharata are common given names in Nepal. Nepal treasures her mythology; our brains are enriched by it and it gives you a certain romantic favor that is sadly lacking in many young people today. Most youngsters look upon Ramayana and Mahabharata as fairy tales and nothing more.

Did you grow up listening to these stories?

I've been raised on a diet of Ramayana and Mahabharata. My mother was religious; she was knowledgeable about mythology and scriptures; she could tell the metaphysical nuances and make the story come to life with their deeper significance. The current generation is missing out on this.

There are two problems here. NRIs wax eloquent about Vishwamitra and Rama. It's called the NRI syndrome and I am sure I would be accused of that! But I am genuinely moved by our epics....

Ask, how are we different from the great apes? We have culture, we have civilization, and we have language to be celebrated as part of being human. And that's what mythology does, so there is that aspect to consider. On the other hand, there's the alignment with extreme right political forces who misuse religious fervor for wrong ends. Rama exists everywhere - he does not belong to a specific place. So why get obsessed with the exact place of his birth?

My views as an individual ought not to be confused with my views as a scientist - the minute you try to mingle God and science, you get into trouble. Metaphysics has its place, and science has its place, don't mix the two.