Spiritual Snippets

7/31/2019 Spiritual Snippets

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Spiritual Snippets

N K Srinivasan

Introduction

I am writing some of the thoughts that occur to me from time to

time relating to spiritual path and spiritual awareness. Though

I am a Hindu, I hold all religions to be valid paths for self-

realization or liberation or salvation --these being similar

terms,though may connote slightly different meanings to

followers of different faiths.

If you consider human history, you will find that religions

founded by the Great Ones---Hindu seers, Jesus Christ,

Gauthama,the Buddha, Prophet Muhamed and others---were suited to

their times with certain common themes /concepts which are true

for all ages . Oftentimes , in the practice of each religion,

one gets confused between the time-less meassages and the timely

practices and find disconsonance and much quarrel ensues.For

instance what is holy food ,what is filthy food---this varies


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from one religion to the other depending on the situation at the

beginnings of that religion.

The Paths--common denominator

The spiritual paths are essentially two: Jnana or path of

contemplation,meditation,introspection and path of self-inquiry

or Atma-vichara in Hindu parlance and so on

AND

Bhakti or the path of devotion,worship,prayers, chanting and so

on.

It is considered by many that the path of Bhakti is easier and

suited well for modern times since many do not have the time or

energy or mental quietitude for contemplative life and for

pursuing Jnana. Be that as it may, in my opinion ,both the paths

are equally difficult though a modern person may find it easier

to follow the path of Bhakti.

Jnana path is intellectual in content and difficult to

comprehend for many of us. One needs a guru or preceptor to

learn the rudiments of this path and then pursue it. But Jnana

path is quite general and is the same in almost all mystical

traditions in different religions.Thus a true Jnanai attracts

people of different faiths, as did Bhagwan Ramana ,for instance.


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Bhakti path implies two things: worship of a personal

deity,call the deity or personal god as Rama, Krishna, Shiva,

Muruga, Quan Yin or prophets like Moses, Jesus,Mahomed or others

representing God on earth.

The second thing is that the Bhakta or devotee loses his

personal identity and surrenders at some point of time to the

personal god, leaving aside his personal desires, will and plans

[samkalpa].His or her identity to the chosen God or Ishta devata

is such that he /she lives and moves in the being of the God or

Goddess.

I may add that this position of a Bhakta is akin to that of a

chaste wife,who feels that she belongs to her husband, though

she attends to the needs of her body in normal daily life.[ A

few men also feel the same way towards their beloved partners.]

We can briefly state the rewards one gets in this life for

following the Jnana path or the Bhakti path. One in Jnana path

experiences 'bliss' or mental peace and tranquility, not easily

described in words-- " a peace that passeth understanding"..

[One may also experience ecstasy , as often people associate

ecstasy with the effect of drugs used by those who wish to have

'altered state of consciousness'. But Jnana gives a lasting

experience of mental peace unlike drugs which are temporary and


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Japa is chanting a mantra or holy name or name of gods with certain

prefixes. The common mantras or nama japa used extensively are: "Hare

Rama", " Hare Krishna", "Om Namo Narayana", "Om Namasivaya" and

several others used throughout India. Repetition of these for several times

[ a few thousand times to a million times a day] is found to be very

effective....Japa controls your thoughts and mind, and purifies your mind

for introspection and enlightenment. Many in Bhakti path will vouchsafe

that " you do not need any other practice but chanting of Lord's name". I

would agree with them without any reservation. But this is important.One

who practices Japa must believe in this practice--either because he feels

so or he is told by his guru or preceptor or develops the practice based on

family traditions. In most cases,we learn Japa from family traditions.

Chanting the special mantras may be effective--as is the case

with chanting the 'Gayatri' mantra. Unfortunately chanting this

mantra ,after initiation by an elaborate ceremony, called thread

investiture ceremony, was limited to brahmin boys. Other castes

were forbidden; so also women; but such restrictions have

largely disappeared due to social movements. One finds Gayantri

mantra being played in supermarkets, as background music while

shopping! Imagine how the sacredness associated with this mantra

has been trivialised in modern times!--Obviously nobody cares in

India !One would say that the power of the mantra has been lost!


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Mantra Diksha is the initiation ceremony for chanting a mantra

given by a guru, teacher [acharya] or pontiff of a matha. The

mantra may be a common one or special one tailored to you or

chosen by their guru lineage. The question is : Are these

special mantras more effective than the common ones listed

earlier? Can we have special mantras for healing or for

bestowing special favors like prosperity?

I, for one, do not believe so. This may be contrary to what is

told in numeros mathas [monasteries] by pontiffs and

priest/preachers attached to temples and modern gurus and self-

styled yogis/acharyas who have built their followers on such

beliefs.

The common mantras are effective in cleansing your mind and that

is all you need.

[Note that Buddhists chant 'mantras' like "Om Mani Padmehum"---

derived from Hindu practices.]

I shall elaborate on this because "offering mantras" has become

a big business for fake gurus , collecting millions of dollars,

by hoodwinking gullible followers by false claims, especially

naive western followers. Often the gurus give special mantras to

presumably invoke various gods and goddesses with whom the guru

supposedly is in talking terms or has received special


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dispensation. Associated with this, the guru performs elaborate

'diksha' or initiation ceremony , either one on one or for a

group, to form a cult following or just collect money and

further their ashram interests. There is hardly any basis for

special mantras.The common mantras like "Om Namo Narayana" or

"Om Namasivaya" are hallowed by their use by great saints over

several centuries. I do not think that modern self-styled gurus

with false claims can come up with mantras any better or

anything specific. {Read the book on mantras by Swami

Vishnudevananda,( a disciple of Swami Sivananda) for whom I have

a high regard.}

Over the years I have found that many of these gurus themselves

succumb to several diseases or painful conditions and some have

had tragic deaths or even committed suicide or undergone self-

immolation.[Recent instances are the death of a Baba in Andhra

Pradesh due to serious illness at a young age and the self-

immolation of a young saintly woman , also hailing from Andhra,

by lighting petrol on herself in Thiruvannamalai.] If they

have had a grip on powerful mantras,such instances cannot be

easily understood; if they cannot take care of their own

problems, how they came forward to treat others? In most cases,

such Babas and gurus were charlatans taking gullible devotees


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along the wrong paths--especially unsuspecting, naive western

followers or they were self-delusioned mental deliquents.

Meditation or Dhyana is the second practice, often promoted by

Jnanis as the only method for self-realization. Dhyana often goes with

japa or chanting. A beginner often starts his practice of meditation

with silent chanting of his chosen mantra for a long time.Later he

would watch the breath--inhalation and exhalation for several

minutes.Then he may associate a mantra with breath--for instance,

saying "om" with inhalation and "namasivaya" with exhalation.

One powerful technique in traditional Hindu meditation practice

is "Soham" meditation. For details and other factors relating to

meditation, you can read the present author's book "Fruitful

Meditation" [Pub: Pustak Mahal, New Delhi, also available at on-

line sources.]

Meditation is often promoted by modern yogis and teachers with

much fanfare and heavy price-tag to gather money. In traditional

ashrams, meditation was taught without any fee; A modern ,high

flying Swami, with several 'franchised' meditation centers

charges about $50 for an elementary course in meditation in

India and eleswhere. It was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who

popularised meditation in the western world.The credit goes to


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him. But the modern ones learned that this franchising of

meditation courses can spin money for them.For commercial

purpose, they take trade mark rights! Needless to say, many of

them have been rejected by the Hindu public or chastised by

local community. Often these yogis lack the depth of knowledge

that goes with advanced methods of meditation.

Meditation---watching the breath, sitting cross-legged in some

asana," keeping the head,neck and spine erect "[as given in the

Gita] are well worn techniques in India, often seen in all

temple towns. Similar practices form the essential means in

Buddhism also---for instance "zazen" in Zen form.

There are two important factors to be borne in mind for success

in meditation: 1 Long periods of practice....not just 10 or 20

minutes as touted by money swindling swamis and yogis. One needs

to practice meditation for one to two hours in each

sitting,though one may begin with 30 minute sessions..This is

required because it takes that much time for thoughts to

subside and mind to quieten after its wanderings! {Sri

Ramakrishna used to state this analogy: a bird flies hither and

thither for a long time;after getting exhausted,comes back to

the ship's mast to rest.]Therefore one should cultivate the

practice of long durations of meditation ,either in the early

hours of morning [around 4 AM ] or at night [after 10 PM].


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The second factor is to cultivate the practice of silence; this

indeed is very difficult for modern man or woman as they keep

talking all the time. Practice of silence, for at least 2 to 4

hours every day, is essential to make progress in meditation. I

have seen visitors and inmates engaging in conversations for

hours in Ashrams and retreats---in corridors and in rooms.This

habit should be given up. Americans keep talking most of the

time,hardly using a few words to express themselves. Most

American visitors to Ashrams in India waste their times in

useless talk within the premises of ashrams, annoying others and

spoiling the serene atmosphere that obtains there. Most Indians

are too polite to stop this form of disturbance --not to offend

foreigners!

I have seen many swamis/yogis going to a lonely beach and

observing silence and doing meditation, gazing at the rolling

waves. This is a good practice if you live close to a beach or

stay in a sea-side resort.

Fasting is a good spiritual practice, besides bestowing health benefits.

In the first place, fasting helps to rest the stomach muscles

and also cleanse the alimentary canal if one drinks lot of

water. It reduces metabolism rate and also helps the brain to

rest more. Many elderly persons routinely practice fasting for a


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day once a month or once a fortnight.They will extol the

benefits of fasting. I observe fasting by skipping one night

meal every week.The benefits are seen in the next morning

meditation which becomes deeper. Yogis are supposed to take noly

one meal a day. But one should practise fasting based on their

body conditions and after consulting a physician.

Pitfalls of Bhakti and Jnana paths

Hinduism being an ancient religion, several undesirable or

obnoxious practices have crept in over the centuries. With

certain level of prosperity in India ,these practices have

reached bizarre levels in the past two decades in India. I shall

mentiaon a few of them as pitfalls ---to be guarded against. It

is the task of 'enlightened' swamis/yogis to put an end to such

practices...but such swamis are hard to find ;instead many

swamis profit from such practices to hoard wealth, squander

money,build their empires and untimately ruin themselves and

their mathas or sansthans[oganizations].

Let us take the Bhakti path. Devotion to a deity often leads

to elaborate rituals.Certain forms of rituals form part of

temple worship or worship at the family altar. Offering flowers

or lighting lamps and incense sticks are common.Elaborate,


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complex and costly rituals soon take root. In most temples, huge

amounts of gold ornaments are added to the deities or idols and

also elaborate "marriage rituals" ["kalyana Utsava"] are

performed in stylized forms by priests, taking huge amounts from

the devotees. The devotees believe that such practices ,done

with the help of priests, would bring credit for them or punyas

and also bestow worldy happiness and prosperity. Thes

e practices started when India was a rich and prosperous

country,sometime between 10th and 14 th centuries. This is

continued even today. It is not uncommon to find lot of food

offerings made to gods and then distributed to rich devotees as

'prasad' inside the temples while poor itenerant beggars and

sadhus go begging at the entrance to the temples. I have seen

this in so many temples, especially in South India,that when

prasad is given inside ,I take only a small morsel --a few grams

--as token prasad.

Over the centuries, many of the rituals performed for deities or

idols in temples were extended to pontiffs of rich mathas and

swamis of various religious orders or Abbots of mathas. This has

reached ridiculous proportions to day, mainly to gather money

for these ignorant charlatans . A common practice is to

celebrate the birthday of a swami [60th or 70th or 80th

birthdays] with gold coin offerings ["kanaka-abhisheka"] during


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which gold coins are showered over the body of the swami by

holding a grill on the top of his head and dropping coins over

the grill! [Later ,in one instance, the same swami was found to

fondle a woman in his private study, though he had taken a vow

of celebacy at a young age and was charged for some criminal

cases later.}

While showering gold coins may be a harmless gesture to make

money, other practices are obnoxious.In ancient India, swamis

and yogis traveled on foot, often wearing no sandals and

therefore it was a custom to receive them as guests and wash

their feet before offering food . This practice of hospitality

took a bizarre turn . The swamis are offered a seat, their feet

are washed with water, the wash water is collected on a platter

and then distributed as 'prasad' or nectar ,called "charana-

amrit "[charana-foot amrit-nectar] to devotees to drink. The

devotee is told that such 'holy' water is sacred and may cure

some diseases .It is considered an act displaying humility and

piety. It is the duty of 'enlightened ' swamis to stop such

practices; but unfortunately such practices are encouraged by

these swamis and even converted to money-making propositions --

to do such 'pada-pooja' to these ignorant swamis one should

register, pay a fee and wait in line. This practice goes on in

many ashrams and mathas I have seen. What is worse, many


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educated middle class and rich patrons of the mathas line up

with all pomp and show.

[The practice of taking wash water of idols, made of some metal

or herbal preparations, may have some medicinal value and may be

acceptable, but not washing the dirty feet of these charlatan

swamis or pontiffs.] [There was another bizarre habit of people

rolling on the leaf plates with left over food taken by brahmins

in a certain temple in Karnataka. After severe protests and

legal tussle, this practice was recently banned by local

legislature!]

Oftentimes these charlatan swamis are seated in golden rathas or

chariots like gods and taken in procession ,the cord being

pulled by devotees....Apparently the swamis seem to enjoy such

shows. One baba was so rich that his devotees could arrange for

a helicopter to shower flower petals on the ratha.

Pure devotion with singing hymns [bhajans] and performimg simple

poojas or worship can lead to prema or sublime devotion to God-

But the costly, obnoxious practices in the name of devotion to

swamis and yogis and even in temples should be curtailed...it

may be a few decades before this happens in India.


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Pitfalls in Jnana path

The most common and dangerous pitfall for a supposed Jnani is

intellectual arrogance---that he has learned scriptures,

understood Jnana and therefore intellectually above the common

lay person or a bhakta. The superior air and the intellectual

tone of such pseudo jnanis can be seen in almost all ashrams of

great Jnanis in India. Often such pride increases exponentially

when one is surrounded by a few devout seekers or sadhaks and

the proud one organises discourses or sat sanghas in nearby

halls or homes or he is invited for a 'biksha' or food offering

by a devout person. In many ashrams, a budding jnani is asked to

do menial tasks to curb this tendency..this is often

misunderstood. The Zen masters have the simple dictum: "After

meditation, chop wood". In Indian context, one can say: "After

Dhyana, sweep the floor or wash the utensils."

My father gave me a simple advice when I was a serious student

and voracious reader: after half an hour of reading,do some

manual task...yes that is good for mind and body.I have followed

this advice to this day.

The second serious pitfall of those in Jnana path is to deride

bhaktas or who follow the path of devotion,with a superior

air. They forget that the very Jnanis whom they worship also


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followed or follow certain devotional practices.They regard true

bhaktas as emotional childish persons, playing with toys .Ramana

used to visit temples and read "peria Puranam" containing the

biographies of saiva saints.Nisargadatta used to do simple pooja

for the pictures in his small room.

Then there is the third and most serious pitfall---to consider

Jnana as an intellectual exercise and study scriptures as an

academic pursuit. One goes on 'learning" from one or more

masters the standard texts of Advaita philosophy ["atmabodham",

Vivekachoodamani,Panchadasi, Yoga Vasishta, besides the

principal Upanishads with Shankara's commentaries] over several

years. All that is good, but is not the same as inner attunement

or real Jnana which is hard to achieve. Lacking inner

purification and self-discipline, mere scholars take the path

of academic pursuits. The problem often surfaces in early stages

. Many get confused with various 'technical' terms used and

spend years in discussions and disputations over the meaning of

the words as given by acharyas or commentators. Unfortunately

there are no shortage of books or commentaries on these texts,

hundreds of them written over centuries by scholar-philosophers.

Even today, new books on commentaries and interpretations keep

coming. Recent authors such as Sri Aurobindo and Swami

Chinmayananda have added some more books. What exactly Jnana


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entails is often missed. Lacking proper gurus, this could be a

problem for many sincere seekers or sadhaks. Therefore the

future Jnani takes to the easier path of learning the scriptures

and their interpretations for several years.

To quote one simple example, the concept of jivan-mukthi

[liberation while having the physcial body]is interpreted in

many ways by different sects in Hinduism that one had to spend

considerable time to learn what this could mean or accept one of

the many interpretations. One swami,who is a friend of mine,

told me that there are 15 interpretations for jivan mukthi and

advised me not to waste the time.

As I have seen over many decades now, the Jnana path is not only

difficult, but practised by many like a hobby or avocation so

that at the end they become disillusioned and turn to Bhakti

path and surrender to a Guru or God towards the end of their

lives. Hopefully the grace of the Almighty might give them

enlightenment if they are pure at heart. Otherwise they write

some more books to get some satisfaction, adding to the list of

advaitic texts.

By this writing I do not wish to discourage an aspiring Jnani

from India or elsewhere to pursue this path. But let me add

that "practice of Jnana" is important, not the scholarly


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approach of Jnana or advaita philosophy. Jnana is essentially

beyond mind and intellect. Mind and intellect are useful devices

, like tooth picks..they have to be thrown away after proper

use.Use your mind and intellect wisely.

Combining Jnana and Bhakti

This is my favorite theme about which I have written in other

articles and have told in conversations with my friends. On the

surface the two appear to be diametrically opposite. But there

comes a time when the two merges into one. This is indeed a

subtle process, understood by great masters like Bhagwan Ramana

and Sri Ramakrishna.They are not like water and oil that they

wont mix. [Even oil can be mixed with water by making droplets

of oil and suspending them in water as an emulsion!] When we are

with body consciousness with all its limitations and

proclivities, Bhakti path is helpful.When we are in purely

contemplative mood, Jnana can be useful. Does this mean that one

should flip-flop from one to the other...the answer is yes with

proper understanding.

Elaborating on this ,one may note that advaitins invented two

levels of Reality --the absolute [paramarthika] Reality and the

transactional or vivaharika ,apparent reality of mundane


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existence. We spend most of our time in the realm of apparent

reality. Hence devotional path is needed to sail through life.

I do not wish to write more on this because this would again

reduce to academic discussion.I am sure most readers are able to

understand what it means here.

The Role of a Guru

This is a vexed problem in Hinduism and also the question: "Does

one need a guru? " is a loaded one.Gurus are not mere teachers

or instructors.

Gurus mould your character, change your personality, teach you

humility and guide you and watch you for years to come till you

reach your self-realization. Therefore Guru-Chela relationship

is a life-long one--nay, it may extend to several births. Many

in the spiritual path cannot comprehend the Guru-Chela

relationship at all.

There is a dictum in Hindu faith that "When a chela [disciple]

is ready, the guru will appear." In other words, when the chela

is fit to receive the instruction, a 'suitable' guru will be

sent by God. It will be ordained.Does that mean the chela should

keep quiet? No...he should purify his mind by spiritual


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practices and seek sat-sangha or association with saintly

people. This is what St Meera, the Rajasthani princess, did

and other countless saints in India.

The chela may wander from place to place,go on pilgrimage and

read scriptures. Most important ,he should chant some mantra and

observe silence as much as possible. Soon trivial talks and

mundane cares will drop off. A sense of peace will prevail in

his mind...At the right time, the true guru will appear and take

care of the chela.

[Pilgrimage to holy shrines has been an important practice in

India for centuries. Modern yogis often make fun of this

practice. With the right frame of mind and observing silence, if

one visits various shrines in India, the effect can be

wholesome.At the same time,such travel may increase the wisdom

of the pilgrim. I have been immensely benefited by my

pilgrimages in India ,often alone and with little baggage.]

Most teachers and preachers who masquerade as gurus are merely

scholars with the gift of the gab, trying to build large ashrams

,hoard wealth and strut about and even indulge in political

power.


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The spiritual path is a long one ,fraught with dangers and

pitfalls.A guru acts like a forest guide holding a lighted

lantern in hand to lead you in the way.

Instant Awakenings

In the last few decades, several gurus have appeared from India,

professing that they could give instant

realizations or awaken at an instant and even perform mass

awakenings. They claim that they can raise the kundalini by

uttering a few mantras or by touching your forehead.

All these claims are unreliable. One cannot raise the kundalini

of a chela in mass programs or by touching the forehead without

much preparation on the part of the chela.Unfortunately ,to

gather a large following and to satisfy the craving of a chela

for instant,quick-fix realization, these charlatan gurus indulge

in these tricks. Oftentimes the atmosphere is created so that

the chela or cheli tends to believe that he or she has had

realization or awakening or raising of kundalini or whatever.

In the mass 'instant fast-food culture' in the west, the

westerners come to believe that by signing up and paying the

fees, they can get what they are "offered" with minimum of

effort on their part at discount prices.This commercialization


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of spritual awakening goes on, with the appearance of several

gurus both in the West and in India.The real facts emerge in a

short time .Many disciples get disllusioned after a year or two

and leave the organizations. Some stick on because they benefit

enormously by perpetuating the 'system' started by their gurus.

One kriya guru was found to have done lot of cheating and

indulging in sexual misconduct with female disciples..Yet

his 'disciples' went on to found more centers, obviously to make

money and lead a comfortable life.

In simple commercial terms, when the 'awakener' has found

methods to make money by offering useless programs, he becomes

truly commercial.He or she starts investing in other enterprises

to stabilise the operations.This has happened in the case of

almost all the yogis I know of, in India, to a lesser or greater

extent. Even traditional pontiffs of mathas which are more than

athousand years old have indulged in such obnoxious commercial

practices. A small part of the money may be spent for social

service projects in India or elsewhere to satisfy the urges of

chelas who want to do something for India's poor and get some

public support or media coverage.

I am writing this not because I am angry with these

charlatans....Such charlatans will always exist in the society

and have existed from the time of Vedic seers and Mahabahrata


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wars.I am writing this mainly because by these charlatans ,the

fair name of Hinduism and Hindu spiritual practices are

tarnished and defiled.

Siddhi Powers

As one progresses along the spiritual path, one obtains

various supernatural or psychic powers. These powers are not

to be sought by the sadhak or devotee. These are the by-products

of spiritual practice. Great saints like Shirdi Sai Baba used

them only to help their true devotees in times of distress. They

never exhibited them as cheap parlor tricks or like street

magicians.

Nowadays you find babas trying to 'materialize' sacred ash or

vibhuti or get some gold rings or necklaces or trinkets to

attract gullible devotees,calling these tricks as 'visiting

cards' or 'business cards'. Why a self-realized person would

ever need a 'business card'---one wonders. Why should they

attract devotees this way at all?

It is all business tricks to build a huge ashram and help their

kith and kin.The materializations are all magicians' tricks and

sleight of hands only, for hand-held objects. Swallowing a piece

of gold amalgam and then regurgitate or vomit out after the

amalgam gets hardened and becomes smaller in volume, by


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swallowing large glasses of water to float the nugget in the

throat column, is an old trick for trained magicians. The

devotees are made to believe that the master has materialised a

'golden lingam' from his stomach.

Some yogis claimed that they can levitate their devotees by

certain magical mantras [sutras taken from Patanjali's yoga

sutras]. What they could demonstrate was the hopping of devotees

like forgs, not levitation at all.[ This was mentioned by

Paramahansa Yogananda in his book : "Autobiography of a

Yogi"]Somewhere the navigation part worked wrongly. These cheap

demonstrations are repeated even today by some swamis,claiming

levitation...levitation does not take place. One wonders why the

teacher or swami himself is unable levitate and demonstrate

before common people.

Spiritual Practices for all

To sum up, the most important and effective practices are

chanting of Lord's name and meditation. Meditation can take

different forms ,but a guru's guidance is required. Both the

practices require long sessions and daily routine.There is no

short cut or quick path in this.Scriptural reading would help a

bit but could lead to waste of time beyond a certain point.

Scriptural study alone would not lead to spiritual progress.


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There are several swamis and yogis making false claims mainly to

gather money and build ashrams, at the expense of gullible

followers, especially from naive Western brothers and sisters.

'Customers beware' slogan is relevant here!

Note: I may write further articles on this subject depending on

my interest in future.

------------------------ Om Tat Sat-------------------------------------

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