Search:
Bhakti List Archives

Character related to a person's Ego - Interpretations from the shrImath bhAgavathgIthA - 2

From the Bhakti List Archives

Raja Krishnasamy • September 7, 1997 


Around the world, every religion and its code of ethics catalogues a set
of sins and virtues and while the way they are expressed by their
prophets change with respect to the time period, the geography and the
ethnic mixture of people who live around them, they spin a common thread
as to these catalogued set of sins and virtues.  

Irrespective of race, religion, sect or language the various prophets
encourage the abstinence of their people from a certain set of vices or
evils, and the cultivation of a certain set of virtues.  The Holy Bible
catalogues the following as the seven deadly sins:

Greed
Gluttony
Sloth
Lust
Pride/Vanity
Envy
Anger

not in any particular order.  The shrImath bhAgavathgIthA classifies the
entire mankind under three broad groups - the Divinely Good, the
Diabolically Fallen and the Incorrigibly Indifferent.  Although the Lord
has dedicated a whole Chapter ( #16) to the Divine and Devilish States,
he does indeed refer to the virtues and evils al through his upadEsham. 
I make some of these teachings the subject of my today's posting on the
Character Traits of a Person as relating to his/her Ego.

13.8

		amAnithva madhamBhithva-mahinsA kshAnthirArjavam	|
		AchAryOpAsanam shoucham sThairyam-Athmavinigraha:	||

Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness,
service to one's AchArya, purity, steadfastness and control over one's
senses are the elements of Knowledge which include moral qualities and
ascetic practices which are conducive to spiritual awakening.  The
qualities declared here must be followed at all layer's of one's
spiritual and real life, and at all levels of a person's interaction
with his surroundings.

Notable among here is the mention of is "sThairyam" relating to control
over one's senses.  The Lord immediately follows this shlOkam with :

13.9		indriyArthEshu vairAghya-mana-ahankAra Eva cha		|
		janma mrithyu jarAvyADhi dhuhka dhOshAnu dharshanam	||

where here specificall refers to attachment and ahankAram (EGO).  He
tells us that living amongst worldly objects, one must not get shackled
by them.  If one tries to run away from them, but then to indulge in
them mentally, one is termed a hypocrite - such a man lacks vairAghyam.

If one steadfastly follows the concept of vairAghyam, and lack of
ahankAram, his/her mind is then open to the knowledge this world has to
offer - spiritually that is.  The sense of ine's individuality comes
from the fact that he or she has nor abandoned the concept of 'I'.  This
occurs when one identifies themselves with specific equipmentsor
events.  When such practice is followed, no matter what knowledge is
imparted to him, he cannot practice ahinsA or the absence of animal
anger.  Consequently such a person suffers moral insult within himself,
and falls under the influence of non-divine qualities.

To live one's real divine nature, it is a necessary pre requisite to
shed oneself of the evils of 'I', and the consequent anger that occurs
within oneself.  swAmi chinmayAnanda refers to this as the process of
weeding before planting.  This is indeed in line with another AchAryA's
discourse on the destruction of chANurA (one's ego) and kansA
(ignorance) within oneself so the soul - shrI vasudEvar and dEvaki
rejoice the presence of the Lord within their dvAraka which is this body
as described in (refer to my posting of Sept. 2, 1997):

		vasudEva sutham dEvam kansa chANUra mardhanam	|
		dEvaki paramAnandam krishNam vandE jagathgurum	||

Om shrI BhUmAdEvi samEdha shrI uppiliappan thiruvadigaLE charaNam.

adiyEn
rAja krishNasamy
raja@cyberdude.com