Being An Enlightened Selfish

                                                                                                *Saumitra Mohan

            One of the many questions asked by Yaksha to Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, during a mythical conversation, was, ‘What is the greatest wonder’? Yudhisthira answered the same saying, “Day after day, countless creatures are dying, yet those remaining behind believe themselves to be immortal. What could be more wonderful than this?” This attitude of most of the mortals is, indeed, surprising as they assume the immortality of the corporeal form. But Hinduism and many other religionists believe ‘death’ to be just a brief pause in the continuous play of Cosmic Drama.

            Death is a truth only for the body, but definitely not for the soul. Hindus have long believed the ‘soul’ to be immortal which through millions of lives partakes in the Divine Drama. Incarnating as a living being for learning its predetermined lessons, the soul changes its physical form at regular intervals to continue its upward spiritual progression. The physical body has been compared with garments, discarded after the same become worn out, only to get embodied anew through a new birth. The death is a reality only for the physical form, not for the soul.

            So when death is ‘certain’ and promises a newer life, why do we fear it so much? Being a preordained route to newer life and body, death of an individual after a fulfilling life should actually be an occasion for celebration. Why do we feel sad when a loved one dies after a meaningful and satisfying life? Shouldn’t we rather be happy and celebrate the occasion as the departed soul moves to the next round of spiritual progression. As per most of the Hindu scriptures, our drawn-out grieving for the departed soul hinders its transmigration. The soul often finds it difficult to move on due to prolonged expression of pain and sorrow. Transmigration of a soul becomes easier if it sees its near and dear ones happy and cheerful. Many cultures across the world including India celebrate ‘death’ after a full life.

            Since all our pain is because of the corporeal form, so death immediately relieves the soul of all the suffering and anguish related to the body. As such, the soul feels extremely blissful and light when out of body unless it sees a reason for its attachment to this mortal world. And one of such reasons is said to be its body which should be immediately disposed after confirmed death. Many souls, due to their attachment to the material world, keep hovering around their mortal remains in the hope of re-entry into the same. That is why, many Hindu scriptures prescribe immediate disposal of the body. Cremation is said to be the best form of disposal as it eliminates a soul’s last hope for return to its previous frame which ceases to be worthy of carrying a life.

            But shouldn’t the untimely death of our loved ones sadden us more? As suggested above, death is nothing but a pause in the incessant play of cosmic drama. So, the untimely death of an individual is either because of its own Karma, or because of the brief role play as preordained in the overall scheme of things for settling its ‘Give and Take’ account. It could also be because of the Karma of the near and dear ones who need to derive right lessons from the premature death of an individual. The cosmic design may want the remaining relatives to go through bigger ordeals through such mishaps for preparing them for bigger role play in life or for learning a higher lesson.

            After all, higher positions, larger responsibilities and bigger success require us to go through greater ordeals and sacrifices. All beautiful creations have to go through one or the other form of agony before shaping up as something gratifying and delightful. Sometime, it could merely be a divine desire for an elevated or different role play for the soul departing early. Sooner or later, the soul moves to a newer body for a new innings. But our excessive grieving holds it up and keeps it tied to the earth. Hence, we should not continue mourning for the departed soul way beyond the last rites.

            In the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna warns us against any attachment to the fruits of our actions as the same not only gives rise to despondency and disappointment, but also precludes our spiritual advancement. Krishna advises us to practise ‘Nishkama Karma’ (read selfless action) by deeming all our deeds as offerings to the God without any expectations for favourable outcomes. This world supposedly being a ‘School’ for learning our metaphysical lessons, life’s unexpected shocks and challenges are nothing but God’s way of testing our mettle.

            How we react to such occurrences and pick up the thread to move ahead in life is what signifies the level of our spiritual growth. Whether the same is in its infancy, childhood, youth, adolescence or reached the stage of maturity is determined by our conduct through good or bad times. We ought to learn right lessons from such apparently wrong turn of events in our life rather than cursing the Destiny for our miserable condition.

            Putatively, the soul moves through three phases after death and before the next birth. First, the soul goes into deep rest after the tiring role-play as a living being. Thereafter, it spends considerable time reviewing all its actions of the preceding life. Then, it spends time preparing for next rebirth depending on its preconceived requirements. It has been suggested that mostly, it is the soul which decides the destination of its next rebirth. The same depends on the level of its spiritual growth, though the subtle divine forces may, directly or indirectly, influence the process.

Hindu rituals like Pinddaan or the practice of setting aside food for the ancestors while eating are said to be performed with an aim to help our ancestors take a physical form as it is food which turns into body. This way, the descendants help their ancestors take a physical form early. In Hinduism, Pitra Paksha or ‘Ancestor Fortnight’ is observed annually by performing Shraaddh (read Homage) for the departed souls with a view to express our gratitude to the departed souls who brought grace, wisdom, protection and love into our lives. Doing this, we seek their blessings and pray for their salvation.

The Pitra Paksha, inter alia, is prescribed in Hindu scriptures such as the Yajur Veda, the Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagwad Gita. It is also referred as ‘Shraaddh’ and ‘Tarpana’. According to the Vedic scriptures, an individual is born with three debts. The debt to God is called ‘Dev-Rin’. The debt to the sages and saints is termed ‘Rishi-Rin’. The third debt to one’s parents and ancestors is called ‘Pitra-Rin’. These three debts are not like liabilities, but are the three mortgages on one’s life. By making such an arrangement, the Hindu sages have actually attempted to create an awareness of one’s duties towards our immediate and extended family i.e. the larger society.

            Our ancestors, as our guardian angels, are said to help us in all our endeavours. So, next time you felt that some impossible work got done or something miraculous happened, your ancestors may have a role therein. However, these ancestors expect us to perform acts of kindness in their names during their ‘assumed’ annual visits to our homes in their subtle bodies during the Pitra Paksha. The most important part of the Shraadhh ceremony is feeding the ‘Brahmin’ on each day of the dark half of the Hindu month of Aashwin.

In the olden days, the Brahmins, being mostly preoccupied with acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, did not have means to make their ends meet. Hence, the need to provide for them through such rituals. However, the same no longer holds true. Today, we can feed anyone needy and poor. Christians call it ‘Charity’, Muslims know it as ‘Sadaquah’ and Buddhists know it as ‘Bhiksha’. Doing good in the name of one’s ancestors is just another way of thanking and honouring them after they are gone.

            We may ask how the graces emanating from feeding the ‘Brahmin’ reach our ancestors wherever they maybe. If human ingenuity can ensure so many scientific marvels, a superhuman agency can definitely accomplish the same for transferring the blessings. We should not forget that the subtle body (Soul, Mind and Intellect as eternal consciousness) exists even when the physical body does not. This subtle body of our ancestors receives God’s graces because of our acts of kindness (ordained as rituals) performed in their name.

            The ancestral rituals, inter alia, entail performing Puja and offering favourite dishes to the departed souls while setting aside five bites – one each for a Brahmin (read the ‘needy and impoverished’), cow, dog, crow and ants. The ‘Brahmin’ represents the departed soul. By feeding him, we satiate our ancestor. By offering food to the cow, we feed all the celestial beings and seek their blessings. Dog was the form Indra, the Hindu Lord of Heaven, took while accompanying Yudhisthira on his last journey.

            Food is offered to ants and the crow which represents all the birds. Both, because of their dark colour, are said to absorb all negative energies. The rituals are intended for all ancestors, irrespective of when they died, benefitting even those without offspring. The rituals also serve as a psychiatric treatment to relieve us of the fear and guilt resulting from our misdemeanours against our elders, removing any preconceived ideas we may have about them. Such an institutionalised arrangement of kindness and charity, if anything, also ensure that we remain empathetic and compassionate to our fellow human and other living beings. Community congregation and ritual feast on such occasions not only reinforce the social consciousness, but also consolidate the societal bonding.

            Legend has it that when the soul of Karna, a mythical warrior in Mahabharata, transcended to heaven, he was offered gold and jewels as food. When he asked Indra for real food, he was told that there was none for him as he donated only gold all his life and never offered food to his ancestors in Shraadhha. Since Karna was unaware of his ancestors, he was allowed to return to earth for a 16-day period to make amends to perform the necessary rituals, donating food and water in their memory.

            The intervening period between death and rebirth may vary, depending on the circumstances including the time taken for clustering of all the souls with whom an individual soul needs to settle its ‘Give and Take’ account. The souls are believed to wait before rebirth till all the souls connected by mutual Karmic debt are clustered together. Early or delayed birth of a soul depends on the role being taken according to the debts and desired lessons to be learnt. More often than not, the souls, due to ignorance, end up creating more account than settling the earlier ones, thereby keeping them trapped in the unending Cosmic Drama.

            If the souls so decide, they could continue living in the ethereal world, though the same significantly slows down their spiritual progress. The disembodied souls knowing everything about the relevant rules and laws of the spiritual world, their entire conduct becomes very mechanical. However, the souls forget all about their past lives in a physical form. When embodied, they make faster spiritual progress according to the dominant impressions carved in their consciousness.

            Stuck in ‘Maya’ (read Cosmic Drama), we keep chasing a mirage. Our endless desires for false values keep us tied to the mortal world. All our works, positions, achievements and acquisitions remain meaningless if the same are not utilised as means to our upward spiritual development. All physical forms being nothing but energy in motion, we are actually incarnated ‘energy’ chasing other forms of ‘energy’. Everything around us is an evanescent myth, afforded to us by the Lord for facilitating our spiritual progression.

            This definitely does not mean that we should renounce this world. That is not the purpose of Creation. As the souls move up the spiritual stepladder only through the mediating physical forms, they are valuable. But in our bid to push ahead in life, we must not push and shove others as that spoils our ‘Karmas’. The lessons we learn through our myriad experiences and interactions in the material world help enrichment and evolution of our eternal consciousness.

            We should not be cursing the God for unpleasant experiences in our lives as the same are God’s ways to help us with our spiritual growth. The difficulties and difficult people in our lives are actually our teachers. As enlightened selfish, we should not abhor these circumstances or people as by unwittingly harming their own Karmas, they help improve ours. How we see ourselves through the same determines whether we use the opportunity for our spiritual growth or not. Ungrateful, we often curse the Almighty for our woes, forgetting to count our blessings which far outnumber our privations.

            Being blessed with God’s innumerable benedictions and being among His chosen few, we ought to give back to the underprivileged millions over whom God favoured us. We should continue doing good despite being cursed and criticised. After all, stones are thrown at the trees laden with fruits. We should not feel bad that our near and dear ones remember us only in need. Aren’t candles lighted only in darkness or an umbrella opened only in rain or sun? Deeming ourselves to be a candle or an umbrella, we should continue helping others as that is our divine duty. Being an enlightened selfish, we know that all our altruistic works add to our positive Karmas which eventually rid us from the eternal cycle of birth and death.

            We should not judge our success by our acquisitions or positions as the same are easily forgotten after our demise. How larger circle of goodness we create by dint of our superior Karmas determines our success on earth. How bigger positive impact we create on earth and how many lives we touch positively while on earth should determine our success. Lately, many in Japan, in keeping with the tenets of Zen Buddhism, are renouncing and reducing their material acquisitions to the barest minimum with a view to enhance the happiness quotient in their lives.

            We may not remember the names of Nobel laureates, Oscar winners or other super achievers, but we definitely remember the names of our loved ones. It is the latter who matter the most and add quality and meaning to our lives. So, while looking to make a living, we should look forward to make our lives meaningful and enriching without being bothered about the fripperies. Life is way much more beautiful to be squandered over meaningless trinkets and trivia. It’s a beautiful opportunity afforded by God to bask in His glory while simultaneously making spiritual progression.