I've read books and articles by, or about, quite a few spiritual leaders. Most gurus have directed that the one single goal of life is moksha. All this is inline with advaita philosophy advocated by Adi Shankaracharya. Apart from this, even dvaita followers are of the same opinion, although they have a different definition for moksha.
Recently, I've been hearing Swami Ramdevji's discourses over his pranayama/ yoga classes (on Aastha TV channel). It all depends on the audience and the topic thats ongoing, but I was really surprised when he said that moksha is something that shouldn't be the goal. In fact, he went on with something like "Moksha paakar kya faayda jab aap na haat hilaa paaoge na pair, na kuch kar paaoge? (what use is liberation if you're unable to move your hands or feet or do anything of the sort)". This kind of talk gels pretty well with the modern audience, I guess. What moksha has to offer is something that will always be strange, it will always be of the sort that one can't imagine, explain or perhaps, even feel. We're bound to describe things in known/ understood words that fall short by immeasurable amounts to express what moksha would be! Generations -- nay, yuga-s -- have passed with many a leaders spending their lifetimes to express what moksha is for the benefit of us mortals; still we understand hardly anything about it! But then again, when you're doing pranayama, the body is the most useful tool!
The closest example of such (spiritual) advise is what Ramakrishna paramhamsa gave: we/everyone wants to taste the (sugar) syrup... who wants to be the syrup? Thats how I prefer to understand Sw. Ramdevji's words.
om tat sat
4 comments:
Hello Praveen,
Just an observation. The quote attributed to Sri Ramakrishna in my knowledge, comes from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
i also remember to have read Sri Ramakrishna following up on the above quote and saying "It's only when you are not the sugar syrup can you claim that its not bliss being the sugar syrup" or something on those lines implying that the advaitic experience is indeed pure Bliss.
Thank you,
Sharan Sharma
Thanks for leaving a comment, Sharan. I read this quote in Kathamrita aka Gospel of Ramakrishna. He says it often to his disciples, so its difficult to miss.
This was the phase, perhaps, when Ramakrishna used to like being in savikalpa instead of nirvikalpa. And so he used to say that tasting the bliss is more *fun* than being it :)
Drop by more often.
yes...right...i now remember...thing is i am right now in the US, away from my library...and age is not giving me memory's benefit :)
Also saw your comment on my blog - have not been able to work much on it due to my teaching and study pressures - but your blog is a good inspiration for me to resume!
Thanks,
Sharan
I don't know if my age is lesser than yours, but my memory's failed too many times, leaving me no choice but to accept that :)
Teaching and studying seems to be a jolly good combination; I hope you enjoy it. That last one gives me way too much credit than I deserve, but in any case, I'm more than glad if it does help.
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