Sairam. Suprabat. 🙏😌🌺

Sun Jul 19, 2020

Hold your breath. It's a long haul. Sunday edition. 🤔

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Corona is wreaking havoc. Like a cricketer in his form, it's breaking it's own earlier record of destruction everyday. 

Alongside death and devastation, another unintended byproduct of Corona, on the positive side though, is Introspection. Talk to any veggie vendor or a milk maid. All seem to be slipping into some stupor introspectively. Mouthing philosophical lines. Cool. 

It could be a conceptual counter attack on Corona, instinctively delivered, to neutralise the fear induced by it. 

Good to revisit our inside and find pearls of wisdom lying untouched. Like Trivandrum temple vaults with treasure hidden . _Apna hi andhar ki_ 

stuff unknown to us. 

Whichever way we look at this Covid induced introspection, it sounds like the oft beaten cliche -'The Idea whose time has come'. 

So, it's introspection. Whose time has at last come. To get clarity on all confounded concepts pickled inside us. Resolution of them could come as logical next. 

Start from top down, to figure out the most confusing one that cries for clarity.

Feed the parameters. Most Confusing. Complex. Paradoxical. Difficult to stomach. etc etc

Now shake well and leave. And see what comes up. 

OMG it's "God". Yes. 'God' is the most intriguing misunderstood phenomenon that remain beyond our grasp. And our knowledge deficit on G causes utmost confusion. Atleast if that's resolved, _baite baite_ during lockdown, thanks to Corona, _aur kya chahiye_. 

So, it's 'God'. Ok.

There is a rigid dichotomy between Science and Spirituality. While praying internally to unknown God, most externally vote for Science, that doesn't accept Him openly. This unresolved द्वैता is at the root of all confusions. We want scientifically proven God with empirical evidence. Which is a theoretical impossibility. And that accounts for the perennial confusion. 

Added to that, our mind questions God, post every tragedy. All those who visibly pray, are not saved in every crisis. Almost in every vehicle in a major accident, some God's pic is dangling inside. Has God failed in His duty to protect it from accident ? Then leave na! But the next min same questioning bandha again at His feet. So two conflicting views co-exist. Paradoxical. Need one time settlement, as they say in courts. 

For any majorly different outcome, we need to radically change. With same mindset we will get same or similar output only. So, let us attempt to radically alter by challenging ourselves within us. What stands this scrutiny only should be allowed to stay. 

Yes. We have vague, apparently conflicting concepts about God. While mouthing freely, as though it is our discovery, that 'All Gods are same, Sarva dharma sama bhavana' etc. _Teek hai,_ if coming out of own experience fine. But for us even all Balajis and all Ganpathis are not same. If so, why do we leave our nearest Balaji temple ( say, in Nerul) and go to Tirupathi, struggle in line to get darshan of same Balaji 1000s of kms away. Same with Ganpathi and other deities. Why leave neighbourhood Ganpathi and go all the way to Titwala Ganpathi. And so on. When we can't see same Balaji or Ganpathi between two temples though they carry same deity's name, how can we profess to outside world that all Gods are same.

We learnt to live compromisingly  with paradoxes. And at the wrong time they show up robustly and water down our faith, putting up contra arguments. 

Look at this Corona panic. The educated city folks struggle with faith n fear, not reconciling. Whereas the village folks go about their routine leaving it to their _ishta devta_ to take care. Mauli. Mauli. That's how as shown in the viralling video,  a Varkari not allowed by police due to lockdown, looks at the policeman with hands on his hip, perceived him as Vittal Himself, did Namaskar and returned. Can we, the angrezi afflicted cityfolks even imagine that _bhavna_? 

Yes. All our major internal conflicts originate from the confused God concepts. In lower standards we never ventured to know Algebra, despite our elder siblings loudly discussing it with struggling Moms. We only knew it's very homework unfriendly and stayed away, telling ourselves that we would take it up when we are ready for it in later standards. 

Same with God. Another Algebra. Not easy to explain. But our ego won't let go and mishandles it with own misinterpretations. Ask any one the name of their own ward councillor who governs him daily as the nearest government agent. Most have no clue. "I don't know" comes out easily. Ask anyone the name of Governor of nearest state. Most have no issues saying "I don't know" again. Ego doesn't hurt. Cool. But ask about 'God'. Everyone jumps on it and pass judgements - Who is God and who is not God etc. Ego game. Even so called seers succumb to this. One of the current Shankaracharyas suddenly woke up and controversially ran down Shirdi Sai as unGodly. 

For deciding Who is God and who is not, everyone and his uncle turns a self appointed single bench judge and pass judgements left right and centre. 

God also has a problem. Those days rarely some one like Hiranya kashipu popped up in a corner, defying God causing damage to His reputation. And He could emerge breaking a pillar and settle scores with him. He did it so immaculately that even today, Narasimha avatar is reverentially remembered with associated shlokas by animated Aiyengars. Cool. 

But now, the damage caused to God concept, is by innumerable sameside goalers. No need for non believers like Hiranya kashipus. Confused faith kills faster than non-faith. In non- faith atleast there is clarity. No God. 

That explains why in this Corona crisis, many believers are not able to pray with total faith. _Ganpathi Agar nahi bachaya tho.. let there be a back up with Hanuman_. Endless _Paagalpan_ . There are many 'benched' Gods for poor performance of not saving, waiting for another chance. 

But God has a major logistical issue. For damagers of His reputation now, He can't break the Pillars and appear again.  Multiple targets. B2C. If God repeats doing Narasimha again, all roofs will fall Pillarless. 

It's not to trivialise God. But laughing at the ignorant kids' handling Algebra, passing own judgements on what a certain equation means, when not yet ready. 

What's wrong in accepting that we don't know about God. Like we said about our ward councillor or Governor of Gujarat. "I don't know" is the right answer. 

"I-dont-know" coming from one's heart is the first wisdom byte after self realisation attempt starts. 

When we decide to speak from experience only, most items in our agenda to speak will drop. And 'God' will be the first one to go. 

Start elsewhere. Elementary. Doable. Little sums. Using little fingers. Within grasp of mind. Then scale up and reach God in logical progression. Unless you are a born child prodigy having finished all these home work in previous births. And just arrived to live out the results. 

Start with 'Discipline'. And 'Commitment' to whatever tasks undertaken. They are God-neutral. Irrespective of  whether you believe in God or not, they reward. And that partly explains the success of even underworld ventures. Evil. Disgusting. But well lubricated network with dedicated workforce function well in underground. No paper work. Stamped Receipt etc. But they carry out hawala with near zero default. Likewise many other crimes. It's not to glorify or justify criminals. Wish all of them could be liquidated in one go and society sanitised once for all. 

But those are blokes who learnt the truth about what works for efficient results. Neatly executed crimes prove that they remain ultra disciplined ( LTTE), do the homework meticulously with dedication ( Dry run on another VIP preceded Rajiv assassination), utter obedience to the Master (Every gangster enjoys it) , never default on commitments (Hawala). And so on. 

Then no surprise, why Crime World subsists for eons without getting eradicated totally. Certain misapplied Values, practiced diligently even in evil world, works. 

There are lessons to be learnt even from evil. Like Lord Ram asked Laxmana to go to Ravana grounded on the other side  lying in death bed and learn from him certain life lessons. 

Now look at the opposite side of evil. _Bhagwan ke bandhe_. Take a spiritually oriented NGO. Look at the casualness when they are in bhajan. See how most are non participative. Hardly clapping, as the bhajan is on. Where is the dedication. Commitment to God. Watered down. They come to bhajans and temples when there is nothing else to do. Then why God should not pay back in same token when they cry for help " I will respond the same way. If nothing else to do , I will attend to you."

Clearly, there we lose the plot. 

When any technology product arrives, crime world gets it first and gets trained. Cell phones landed in cells first in the hands of VIP prisoners. Every criminal is tech savvy today. And we in the virtuous world, struggle to know all buttons in the phone even after years of use. 

We are not serious about our pursuit of God. So very little known about Him. Or Her. But we form misconeption pools around that and wallow in it endlessly. Pain. Anguish follow when God doesn't respond. 

Ok. The take aways are - 

Till we 'realise' God no point discussing Him with others. 

Learn from enemies too. And the evil kingdom. Like Lord Rama said. See how they remain disciplined, efficient and committed to their Masters. All to destroy. 

If so, how more disciplined, more efficient and more committed we should be for doing good work. And still more  if it's God's work. 

Start with discipline and commitment. In every chosen noble task. Don't bring in God in scene one. And mess up. He will happen later on its own. 

Get a robust character built up. 

Start with simple doable steps towards Godhead. Like..At a pre fixed time, sit with certain discipline. And... haan.. 

*Pray. Chant. Meditate* 

Yes. At Commitment time. In a disciplined manner. 

Slowly all other virtues will tag along, uninvited. And snowball into reaching critical mass. 

Then sudden burst of Light! In that, only Godliness pervades. Every thought and action in that state will be saffused with G.

Now  Say 'Dasoham.. Dasoham' and become miniscule. Micro. 

And pass thru all. 

Then say 

'Shivoham.. Shivoham'.. and become huge. Macro. 

And encompass all. 

Realize that you are both. The microcasm and the macrocasm at once. 

Now, speak only from this authentic experience. 

No need to explain God. 

Become His demo version. 

The world will celebrate you as _Bhagwan ke bandha_. 

Cool na. 

Sairam 🙏😊🌺

#R. Chandrashekar