Plants: Borderline beings in Indian traditions

Jun 13, 2009, 08.00am IST
Ellison Banks Findly.

Classical admonitions to "do no harm" lead us to early Jain renunciates who must refuse foods that contain living seeds, sprouts, or mildews.

They also lead us to Buddhist monks who must refrain from walking in the rainy season so as not harm living beings in the soil underfoot. And they lead us, finally, to Hindu requests for forgiveness from trees about to be cut, hoping that the injury may be minimal...

In a world view shared by all three traditions, plants are seen as full participants in the ongoing flux of life, of enlivened energy and matter that includes animals and humans. This world view is uniform across traditions, and posits five elements for including plants in the living matrix of the cosmos.

Plants are "living" because they grow, because they are involved in the cosmic cycle of moving water, and because they breathe. Plants are "sentient", having only the one sense of touch the base for all other senses and the sense that does not die with the physical body but continues unbroken with karmic consciousness through rebirth.

Plants are "stable", enduring an anchored, rooted life unlike their mobile sentient colleagues. Plants feel "pleasure and pain" just as humans do, and show their experience of pleasure by turning towards the sun and flourishing, and their experience of pain by withering when cut and eventually dying.

Finally, plants are "karmic", enmeshed in the process of rebirth and conditioned therefore by the three gunas. Being one-sensed and the lowest of living beings, plants are classified as tamasic, indicated by laziness, inertia, inattention, dullness and delusion. Although tamasic at one extreme, plants also appear as "borderline beings" at the other extreme. As models for ascetic behaviour, plants are guides for the highest realm of sattvic life. Ascetics are admonished to be stable in body and mind; full of equanimity and tranquillity; flexible like trees in the wind; undistracted by annoying pests; and ready with compassionate service for humans, providing shade, lodging and food.

Jainism was the earliest to focus on ahimsa, and has the fullest application of non-violence to daily life... Renunciates, for example, cannot accept food that might still be living, and contemporary lay Jains are precluded from eating vegetables taken from the earth like potatoes, onion and carrots, that may have vegetation hidden in the folds of flowering tops like broccoli and cauliflower, or that may contain living beings (like honey).

In Hinduism, the practice of plant ahimsa extends into public spaces, with instruction on treating plant diseases, directions for planting trees and injunctions for rituals to ensure both the internal and external flourishing of plants...

In Buddhism, an interesting conundrum occurs. Early on, lay donors wanted to give only to ascetics of the very highest behaviour, that is, to those who practised full non-violence to animals, humans and plants. In time, when Buddhist donors themselves wanted to practise non-violence, they were stymied because, as lay people, they needed to cut plants for housing, transportation and eating purposes. In order to alleviate this dilemma, plants were determined to be non-living, thus allowing lay people to follow ahimsa.

The fullness of plant life puts plants in reciprocal relationship with humans. According to Hindu folklore, humans and plants can converse and marry. These possibilities bestow on humans the unique responsibility for nurturing and protecting plants; a responsibility that ensures that plant life remains a diverse, healthy and flourishing component of the world's harmonious balance.

Extracted from the writer's Plant Lives: Borderline Beings in Indian Traditions.

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Witness to beginnings & endings

Jun 29, 2009, 12.00am IST
Karan Singh.


The Bhagavad Gita's approach to death is cool and unsentimental. In the second chapter Krishna tells Arjuna: ''For one who is born, death is assured; for one who dies, rebirth is assured; therefore, for what is inevitable, you should not grieve.'' However, human relations are not as simple as this advice may sound.


In life we go through so many different experiences that involve relationships of varying degrees of intimacy. The husband and wife relationship is the closest physically, emotionally and spiritually, in a way symbolising the union of male and female as in the unique figure of Shiva depicted as Ardhanarishwara, half-male, half-female.


Recently my wife passed away in the sixtieth year of our marriage. Having married when we were teenagers, we virtually grew up together, becoming an integral part of each other's lives. As i watched my elder son light the funeral pyre, it struck me that fire had defined our relationship when it began and now after 60 years, when it ended. We were married when we circumambulated the sacred fire seven times, it being witness to the union. When it was time to say goodbye, again, it was fire that bore witness to our separation with her departure.

In Vedic tradition, fire has always been held to be sacred. Aurobindo calls his translation of the Vedic verses 'Hymns to the Sacred Fire'. Several Vedic hymns are on Agni, the interlocutor between the human and the divine, and which, through Yagna, conveyed human aspirations to the higher power. In several western cultures also fire has a special place. The brave Prometheus brought down fire from the heavens to humanity, for which the jealous Gods punished him with eternal torment. The Zoroastrians have their fire temples. The discovery of fire by early humans marked a major milestone in human evolution.

With its dual quality of having potential to remain benign as well as to be destructive, fire has been cherished down the ages. A Rig Vedic hymn to Agnideva says: "Virtuous Agni, we set thee, a sage, around us as a fort, thee triumphant in thy colour, day by day, destroyer of the treacherous foe. Through Agni man finds prosperity, nourishment from day to day, glory and greatest pride in heroes. To thee, Agni, dispeller of night, we come with prayer day by day, offering thee our obeisance.''

Shiva as Nataraja carries fire in one of his hands and is often depicted dancing within a fiery nimbus. The Isha Upanishad closes with the verse: ''O Agni, lead us by the fair path that we may reap the good we have sown. Thou knowest all our deeds. Lord, destroy all sin in us. We salute Thee with our words again and again.''

The outer fire is but a symbol of the spiritual flame that burns in our hearts. Fanning the spiritual spark into the blazing fire of divine realisation is the true, deeper purpose of our existence. However, there are lower dimensions of fire also, as in the insatiable desire for worldly possessions, or negative aspects such as emotionally disturbing manifestations of anger and revenge. Robert Frost's poem titled Fire & Ice says it all: "Some say the world will end in fire/ some say in ice./ From what I've tasted of desire/ I hold with those who favour fire./ Though if it had to perish twice/ I think I know enough of hate/ to say that for destruction ice/ is also great and would suffice.

The contours of our inner life will depend on which dimension of fire we choose to embrace.

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Overcome stress as children of bliss

Jun 19, 2009, 12.00am IST
DISCOURSE: SWAMI VISHVAS.


The mind is compared to a monkey drunk with the wine of desire, stung by the scorpion of jealousy and possessed with the demon of pride. Lust, greed, jealousy, anger, ego, tensions, reactions, grudges, depression, stress and strain are the symptoms and not the disease.


When we are afflicted with a disease like malaria, we dont treat each symptom like fever, pain and shivering, one by one. We just treat the disease and the symptoms automatically vanish. So deal directly with the mind and the symptoms of stress and strain will disappear. Vishvas meditation is mind management. There is no attempt, however, to control the mind; the idea is to go beyond it.


The common misconception is that meditation is concentration of mind and techniques are taught to achieve this. Meditation has got no technique. There are techniques for concentration. Concentration is a mental exercise between the mind and the object of attention. But meditation is neither a mental exercise nor a practice. Meditation is a direct and natural process beyond mind itself. Meditation is not concentration; it is the mother of concentration.


Remember, concentration is where one tries to control the thoughts. Meditation is where thoughts get dissolved naturally, enhancing your concentration power, memory power, will power, right thinking and fitness power automatically.


When thought current is interrupted which means that all the thoughts are fixed on one object, it is concentration. But when the flow is uninterrupted which means that the thought is not fixed on any one object, rather we just remain a non-doer and directly watch the thoughts as a neutral energy, without any judgment, analyses, participation, visualisation, imagination, contemplation, suppression, repression, condemnation or concentration. That is meditation. Meditation is a non-doing entity where you are simply a seer, witness, an observer of the minds happenings. To watch is our true nature. It is a natural, non-doing state. No effort is required to watch. We all have full potential to look within directly as we all are blessed with the Third Eye.


Meditation is mind-management. It is not forcing the mind to be quiet. It is to find the quiet that is there already. We are children of bliss. We suffer from stress and strain because we gave all the powers to the mind and made it our master. Not only that, we consider ourselves nothing but the mind.


Mind is matter. It has no power of its own. It is useful in the external world but in the spiritual, internal world, it has to be left far behind. Otherwise we will be the victim of mental and heart diseases. Meditation is seeing the mind as a witness, a neutral energy. It is not interfering with the intricacies and doings of mind. Let the mind go into the dead past or uncertain future in meditation. Just be a seer, be a witness. We just stay in our own source, in our true nature: All-bliss.
We are happy when the mind is cheerful. We are depressed when mind is gloomy. We are at the mercy of the mind that waxes and wanes. We consider ourselves nothing but mind. It is very unfortunate and a great blasphemy to consider ourselves as the victims of some unforeseen incident when the un-ending BLISS is flowing within all of us. Meditation is mind-management. Meditation is a homecoming.

(Courtesy: Vishvas Foundation. Website: www.vishvas.org.)

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Brahmamuhurta: The best time for meditation

Jun 16, 2009, 12.00am IST
DISCOURSE: SWAMI SIVANANDA.


Brahmamuhurta is the morning period between 3.30 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. It is suitable for meditation. After a good night's sleep, the mind is refreshed, calm and serene. There is the preponderance of sattva or purity in the mind at this time, as well as in the atmosphere.


The mind is like a blank sheet of paper, free from worldly samskaras or impressions. Raga-dvesha currents have not yet deeply entered the mind. The mind can be moulded easily. You can infuse it with divine thoughts.
Yogis, Paramahamsas, Sannyasins, aspirants and Rishis start their meditation during the Brahma muhurta; sending their vibrations throughout the world, benefiting all. Meditation will come by itself without any effort.


In the winter it is not necessary that you should take a cold bath. A mental bath will suffice. Imagine and feel, "I am taking a bath now in the sacred Triveni at Prayag or Manikarnika at Benares." Remember the pure Atman. Repeat the formula, "I am the ever pure Soul." This is the most powerful wisdom-bath in Jnana-Ganga. This is highly purifying. It burns all sins. Answer the calls of nature quickly. Clean your teeth. Do not waste much time in morning ablutions. The Brahma muhurta will pass away quickly. You must utilise this precious time in Japa and meditation. Sit in Siddha, Padma or Sukha Asana. Try to climb the supreme height of Brahmn, the peak of divine glory and splendour.


If you are not in the habit of getting up early, use an alarm timepiece. Once the habit is established, there will be no difficulty. The subconscious mind will become your willing and obedient servant to wake you up at the particular time.


Cultivate the habit of answering the calls of nature as soon as you get up from bed. If you suffer from constipation do meditation as soon as you get up. You can answer the calls of nature after finishing your morning meditation with the help of a cup of hot milk.


As soon as you get up from bed, do Japa and meditation. This is important. After finishing your Japa and meditation you can take to the practice of Asana, Pranayama and study of Gita and other religious books.


Every Sandhya time, or dusk, is also favourable for meditation. During Brahma muhurta and dusk, the Sushumna Nadi flows readily. You will enter into deep meditation and Samadhi without much effort when Sushumna Nadi flows. That is the reason why rishis, yogis and scriptures speak very highly of these two periods of time. When the breath flows through both nostrils, know that the Sushumna is working. Whenever the Sushumna functions, sit for meditation and enjoy the inner peace of Atman or soul.


Repeat some divine stotras, hymns or guru stotras or chant OM 12 times, or do kirtan for five minutes before you start your Japa and meditation. This will quickly elevate you mind and drive off laziness and sleepiness. Do sirshasana or Sarvangasana or any other asana for five minutes. Do pranayama for five minutes. This also will make you quite fit for the practice of meditation and remove laziness and sleepy condition.


It is Brahma muhurta now! Do not snore. Do not roll in the bed. Throw away the blanket. Get up, start your meditation vigorously, and enjoy the eternal bliss of the Inner Self.

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The evolutionary journey of a wayfarer

Jun 21, 2009, 08.00am IST
R K Gupta.

Sufis believe in evolution of the individual into a complete person through experience and understanding. Their spirituality is reflected in their conduct and behaviour; it is not something external, but is part and parcel of their being. The individual is God's highest creation, having knowledge and bliss, yet he is not perfect. Sufis make a conscious effort to evolve as perfect beings.



The essence of Sufism lies in keeping to the right path and achieving perfection. Conforming to the outer form of religion is important only to the extent that it does not inhibit spiritual progress the real objective being to grow beyond religion, to understand the real meaning of religion and to realise the Truth by experience.
Sufis consider spiritual training as a journey and the seeker as a wayfarer, passing through various stages and experiences. Although different Sufi Orders or Tariqats state them differently, most of them agree on the basic tenets. The first step for the wayfarer to prepare himself for higher stages of spirituality is Tauba, to repent for his past sins and resolving not to repeat those mistakes. This is awakening from a state of unconsciousness. The wayfarer becomes alert and keeps an eye on his actions. However, if he is not committed to repenting for past sins and resolving to take care not to repeat them in the future, then he is not a true repentant.
The next step after Tauba is renunciation of worldly possessions i.e. living in poverty. The real meaning of poverty is lack of desire for worldly possessions. The sense of possession is to be given up. Everything originates from God and He alone is the real owner of whatever exists. If he possesses something, he thinks himself to be the caretaker of that thing which is to be used for the benefit of all. In reality living a life of simplicity and contentment is living a life of poverty.
After renunciation comes abstinence i.e. to control one's mind and to restrain it from indulging in sensuous pleasures against the dictates of scriptures. To do so people often adopt practices like observing fast, silence and solitude. Sufis, however, lay stress on the evolution of the inner-self and consider it more important than physical restraints. True repentance, Satsang, company of one's Master or other realised souls and receiving grace of the Master or Tavajjoh are considered more helpful. In the company of the Master, the seeker starts feeling that the knots of sensual pleasure hitherto tying his mind are loosening and their place is being taken over by the love for the Master or God.

After this the wayfarer reaches the state of Tawakkul, the state of complete trust in God, and then to Raza, to live as God desires. Trust in God means complete dependence on God. As the Sufi saint Rabia has said it does not befit a devotee to look towards anyone else except God. One should have firm faith in Him. All that happens, happens according to His desire.


With this firm faith, the seeker now learns to be thankful to the Almighty in whatever condition He keeps him. He learns to live according to the desire of the Almighty. Both sorrows and joys are considered to be His blessings. Reactions become dull and one starts accepting things as they are. Fully content the seeker now sees His grace in everything. The ego vanishes and the seeker now moves to the state of 'fana' or annihilation, which is considered to be the end of the journey.

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Vedic perspective on environment

Jun 30, 2009, 08.00am IST
K N SHARMA.

The World Environment Day theme this year exhorts people to help combat climate change for our collective survival.


It is interesting to know that the ancient Vedas have several references in them on environmental protection, ecological balance, weather cycles, rainfall phenomena, hydrologic cycle, and related subjects that directly indicate the high level of awareness of the seers and people of that time.


Ancient treasures of vast knowledge reveal a full cognizance of the undesirable effects of environmental degradation, whether caused by natural factors or human activities. The protection of the environment was understood to be closely related to the protection of the dyaus or heavens and prithvi or earth. Between these two lies the atmosphere and the environment that we refer to as the paryavaran . Many of the Rig Vedic hymns therefore vividly describe the Dyava Prithvi that is, they describe Heaven and Earth together.


The Rig Veda venerates deities like Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Maruts and Aditya , that are responsible for maintaining the requisite balance in the functioning of all entities of Nature whether the mountains, lakes, heaven and earth, the forests or the waters. Seers recognised that changes caused due to indiscreet human activities could result in imbalances in seasons, rainfall patterns, crops and atmosphere and degrade the quality of water, air, and earth resources.
There are many hymns seeking the blessings of the five basic gross elements or the pancha mahabhoota of Nature: akashor firmament, vayu or air, agni, tejas or fire, apah or water, and prithvi or earth. People were careful to refrain from activities that could cause harm to Nature's bounties. It was understood that the well-being of Mother Earth depended on the preservation and sustenance of the environment.


For any inadvertent action leading to earth's excessive exploitation the seers prayed for forgiveness, "Whatever I dig from thee, O Earth, may that have quick recovery again. O purifier, may we not injure thy vitals or thy heart". The seers of Rig Veda speak on behalf of earth for its principle of replenishment "You give me and I give you". They look at every entity of Nature with the eyes of a friend and sympathiser: "Mitrasyaaham chakshushaa sarvaani bhootaani sameekshe."


The Rig Veda makes a clear reference to the presence of a protective layer ‘which we know now to be the ozone layer’ that filters the harmful rays of the sun and protects the earth and praises the radiation that enters the atmosphere that is responsible for the health of the environment. In a hymn of the Rig Veda the seer prays to the Ashvins for their indulgence for protection against any excessive solar flares that also affect earth's temperature.


All four major Vedas ‘the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas’ recognise the importance of maintenance of the seasons' cycles that are likely to get altered due to the climate change owing to inappropriate human actions. It is remarkable that the people in Vedic times regarded Nature and the environment in a holistic manner and revered each of its constituents and entities by carefully preserving them. "Do not harm the environment; do not harm the water and the flora; earth is my mother, I am her son; may the waters remain fresh, do not harm the waters... Tranquillity be to the atmosphere, to the earth, to the waters, to the crops and vegetation." This Vedic prayer invokes divine intervention to bless and protect the environment.

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My grandma's prayer

Jun 3, 2009, 12.00am IST
BINDU CHOWDARY.


My grandma lived in a village all her life. She was absolutely hale and hearty.


She claimed to have completed one hundred years, though according to our calculations she was probably in her mid-nineties. She was a strong woman, a leader in her own way. She was the lady- panch member of the village panchayat an adviser, a negotiator and a storyteller. She had a decisive mind of her own and she was both revered and feared by her family and others in the village. She lived on her own and lived quite independently, cooking her own meals without help. We saw that she was generous. We also found that she was frugal. As children we were a little confused by her personality. We were also in awe of her.


I had never seen grandma perform any sacred rituals seated in front of deities. She was never seen reading or reciting scriptures. Anyway, she could not read. Grandma lived her life in a very matter-of-fact manner. She did things the way she liked and the way she felt was right and she had strong justifications for all she did. She was a woman of principles and no one could make her swerve from her path.


What made her so strong and confident? As far as we knew, she lived in total gratitude. For all she did in the day, she would just fold her hands, close her eyes for a split second, and say: " Shukriya Tera " which means, "Thank You." She would say she was rich because God had given her a lot and so she always thanked God for everything that she had and that came into her life. As a child, I thought that she was materialistic, that she thanked God whenever she got something. Sometimes I even doubted the genuineness of her thanksgiving, because she said it so loudly as if it was for everyone to hear.


Her daily one-line prayer intrigued me as a child. Is that a real prayer? How could someone pray like that, the same way, and did she really mean it? The concept of prayer was differently etched in my mind. It meant to read from the scriptures, in a language that none of us understood. Prayer meant lighting a lamp and burning incense sticks. Prayer meant to sit with folded hands and sing the praise of the Lord. It meant going to the temple regularly...


Another prayer that grandma said twice daily was: " Hey Prabhu, Meri Aankhen Aur Ghutne Salamat Rakhna " O God, please protect my eyes and knees. And God did grant her the boon of good eyesight and strong knees till she breathed her last. The human body needs to be in good health so that we can carry out all our activities in life in the most pleasant and efficient manner. Grandma had realised that and so she prayed for good health. Was it the power of prayer that got translated into power of thought that in turn somehow manifested in her as good health? Or did she enjoy stable health because of her physical and mental routine and the selflessness with which she expressed her gratitude to God every day in the form of a thanksgiving prayer? We don't know.


Today, when I remember her, I am forced to admire her wisdom and feel the need for such a prayer to be healthy. It was the simplicity and humility and her prayer of thanksgiving that blessed her with a long, happy and content life.
The writer is initiator, Council for Essential Learning and Research, Mumbai.

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Yajnya: First aspect of the fivefold path

Jun 23, 2009, 08.00am IST


The essence of the Vedas could be explained in the form of the fivefold path: yajnya , daan, tapa, karma and swadhyaya . This could be described as the royal path of liberation. The five principles of happy and peaceful living are:


1. Performance of agnihotra or yajnya for purification of the atmosphere.


2. Practice of dana for cultivating non-attachment.


3. Practice of tapa for fruition of your aspirations.


4. Practice of karma for self purification.


5. Practice of swadhayaya for liberation.


These are the fundamental principles of satyadharma found in the Vedas.


Yajnya : Along with creation the Supreme Father ordained the practice of agnihotra or yajnya to mankind. He said that yajnya is Kamadhenu , the infinite giver. Practice yajnya with utter devotion using your body, speech and mind.
Yajnya is for your happiness and welfare. Your life is dependent on the five elements of nature. By the practice of yajnya the cycle of nature is balanced. Thus, even your life will be happy. If nature bestows abundance upon you, you must repay it with a feeling of gratitude in the form of yajnya . One who does not perform yajnya is selfish.
Yajnya is first principle of fivefold path. It is the process of purification of atmosphere with the agency of the fire element. Yajnya involves offering of specific organic substances into the fire accompanied by chanting of mantra vibrations and nurturing the feeling of total surrender to the will of the Almighty. This is the secret of practice of yajnya , based on the various rhythms of nature, of two types: Nitya or daily and Naimittika or coinciding with special occasion.
Some yajnya s are performed on full moon and no moon days or on the advent or rise of various stars -- Nakshatra Ishti -- or the advent of specific seasons such as summer. During some yajnya s the juice of the medicinal herb Soma is offered to the fire, which has tremendous purifying and healing effect on the atmosphere. Agnihotra is to be performed daily and hence it is Nitya Yajnya . It is performed at sunrise and sunset times which are the two most important circadian biorhythms of nature. Agnihotra is ordained to be performed to coincide exactly with these vitally important transitional movements.


The performance of Agnihotra creates pure, clean and medicinal atmosphere. It cleanses the negative effects of pollution on Prana . It relaxes the mind and unburdens it of all stress and strain. Regular practice of Agnihotra activates a healing cycle, making plants and animals happy and peaceful in it. Agnihotra is the simplest and easily practicable discipline for nurturing total surrender or Ishwar Pranidhan , which is regarded as an alternative to the practice of yoga and all other disciplines aimed at liberation. This is stated by the great seer Patanjali .

The performance of Agnihotra involves actually little time and expenditure. Exactly at local sunrise and sunset timings a small fire is prepared out of dried cow dung cakes in a semi-pyramid shaped copper or clay pot. Two offerings of raw rice smeared with a few drops of cow`s ghee are offered into the fire with the chanting of following mantras.


At Sunrise:

1. Sooryaya Swaha, Sooryaya Idam Na Mama : First offering.
2. Prajapatayae Svaha, Prajapataye Idam Na Mama : Second offering.


At Sunset:
1. Agnaye Svaha, Agnaye Idam Na Mama : First offering.
2. Prajapatayae Svaha, Prajapataye Idam Na Mama : Second offering.

Discourse: Gajanan Maharaj

The Institute For Studies in Vedic Sciences, Shivpuri Akkalkot. www.shivpuri.org, www.agnihotraindia.com. Tel: 02181-220708

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