Acharya Mahapragya Blog
The following post is based on Acharya shree’s book nirvichaar ki or
Three kinds of lifestyles (jeevanshaili) exist:
1. Padarthpeksh jeevanshaili- matter bound lifestyle
2. Atmapeksh jeevanshaili - soul bound life
3. Ubhyapeksh jeevanshailiThe first kind entails a person to regard the world of matter as everything. People living such lifestyles believe that the essence of life is things, living or non-living. Eat, enjoy and collect things- this is the mantra of such a life. A life revolving around things. The second kind of lifestyle is based only on the search for the truth. Such people are focused only on their inner selves. The third kind of life entails focussing on things and consciousness, both.
A person meditating, should at least develop a life of the third kind. The second kind of life is not easy for everyone. Forget regular people, even munis do not reach there. In terms of behaviour, we can also term them as unbehavioural. Such a person is of no use to society and therefore, let us leave him. Today’s man is living a life of either the first kind or the third kind. Meditation changes a life bound to matter. One begins to think about one’s consciousness. One begins to wonder what is the truth? Is the material world, the truth? When we don’t think deeply, only matters belonging to this material existence matter to us and we live a life of the first kind. When we begin to think, the illusionary nature of material things becomes clear before us.
The Nature of Matter
Shankaracharya said- ”Brahm or the universal consciousness is the truth while the world is an illusion. Basically it is a sutra of spirituality. Matter (ie material things) is an illusion in the sense that today what exists may not exist tomorrow. Something which satisfies us today will dissatisfy us after a few days.
Yesterday, I happened to be standing in the hall when a stream of water was falling down a pipe. Looking at the flowing water, I thought to myself, does this water hold some value? Maybe not. Just a moment later, I realised I had just had some water, a few minutes ago. If I had seen this water flowing after a five day water fast, the same water would have been very valuable to me.
Therefore, a thing by itself has no value. Its value is only realised at a moment of desire or unfulfillement. But the uniqueness of matter is that it never lets one feel fulfilled. One feels fulfilled only for a moment. We have some water. For one hour, we may not want to have it again but after sometime the desire for water is born again. A natural question arises- people have been enjoying different kinds of sense-objects for such a long time but have they achieved fulfilment? If they have become fulfilled after eating, then why are they repeating the same sequence? The truth is that degree of dissatisfaction has only increased with an increase in consumption of the sense-world. That is why, despite lack of hunger, one feels unfulfilled after a certain point in time and consumes food without being hungry. The nature of sense objects is to give a sense of satisfaction for a moment and create an impression of dissatisfaction, a moment later.
The Severity of the Sun
The dearest queen of the king, once, due to some reason went out in the sun. Her body burnt down due to the severity of the sun. Burnt and hurt, she went to the King and complained “everyone says you are a perfect King but I think you are weak. In your kingdom, everyone does what they like. This sun has troubled me badly. Unless you do not throw him out of the kingdom, I will not speak to you. ”
The queen’s demand was weird but in anger, everyone does what they like. The King was smart. He ordered his commander-in chief to throw as many missiles as required, so as to make the sun invisible. This order was put to action. Aiming at the sun, missiles were thrown. The clouds of smoke made the sun invisible. The queen was content that her desire was fulfilled.
The Story of Current Lifestyle
Attachments of likes and dislikes enrapture people’s minds so intensely that the truth is considered false. The feeling of unfulfilment created by sense objects creates such an impression that a man is led to believe that only sense objects constitute life and nothing is beyond them. This kind of a mind set creates a lot of delusions. Many diseases such as cancer, heart-attack, peptic ulcers, hypertension, insomnia etc. have been a result of this kind of thought process and its consequent lifestyle. This blind race towards sense objects needs to be abandoned and the lifestyle of the third kind which has place for both, the material and the spiritual, needs to be adopted. In the language of percentage, if 50% place is given to one’s consciousness/spiritual growth and 50% place is given to the material world, a big change can take place. Such a life can witness a positive transformation of emotions. Upon transformation of emotions, thoughts will change automatically.
A Depth to Thoughts
One result of the search for truth is change of emotions which leads to change of thoughts, which further, leads to a change of lifestyle. This is the sequence of development. Meditation is not just spending time with eyes shut. It is a life philosophy. I believe that essential dimensions of a society such as politics, economics etc. are all incomplete without the subtle touch of meditation. Politics, society, economics - are all run by thoughts. Just as a ship cannot travel in shallow waters, thoughts cannot be developed at a shallow level. Thoughts must be given the depth of truth. Then only our thoughts can become so deep that anything can be made to float on it and any problem can thus, be solved.