Miscellaneous - Religion   

Truth, a way of life

CHENNAI: Out of the immense diversity of life forms, birth as a human being is difficult to get, and hence scriptures emphasise that it should be utilised judiciously for what it is intended — attaining liberation from bondage. The bonded soul undergoes repeated transmigration till it attains liberation when it realises its spiritual nature and each birth is determined by the Karma that has accumulated and remains to be worked out.

Every action, good or bad, that an individual does gives rise to a result, which is unseen (Adhrishta), in the form of an impression in the mind. After death the merit (Punya) acquired by the performance of various rituals and sacrifices is enjoyed by the soul as heavenly pleasures, and unrighteous action results in sorrow. Even heavenly bliss lasts only till the Punya is exhausted, after which the soul has to be born again in this world, and prodded by the latent tendencies in the mind does the same actions again thereby subjecting itself to repeated births.

In his discourse, Sri Goda Venketeswara Sastri said only one who was thoroughly disillusioned with both worldly and heavenly joys and wished to be released from transmigration developed interest in acquiring spiritual knowledge. The Mundaka Upanishad describes how a spiritual seeker gets conviction: “There is nothing (here) that is not the result of Karma; so what is the need for (performing) Karma?” and also what he should do next, “For knowing that Reality he should go, with sacrificial faggots in hand, to a teacher, versed in the Vedas and absorbed in Brahman.” This underscores that a preceptor (Guru) is one who is not only well-versed in the scriptures but also a man of wisdom; to him the spiritual truth is a way of life to be lived and not a philosophical view to be imparted and deliberated in classroom fashion.

When such a spiritual aspirant with conviction approaches a Guru, scriptures reiterate that it is incumbent on him to accept him as his disciple and teach him until he realises the truth. From a disciple a Guru expects only faith in the teaching of the scriptures, which he is going to impart, and the perseverance to strive till realising the truth, and not any other return from him.

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