BG 2.55: The Supreme Lord said: O Parth, when one discards all selfish desires and cravings of the senses that torment the mind, and becomes satisfied in the realization of the self, such a person is said to be transcendentally situated.
########################
Bhaja Govindam
By Sri Adi Sankaracharya (and his disciples)
The Acharya is believed to have composed the Bhajagovindam during his famous pilgrimage to Kashi (Benares). The fourteen disciples are said to have accompanied him. The story goes that when he was walking along the streets of Kashi, he was pained to observe an elderly man trying hard to learn Sanskrit grammar. At his advanced age, the remaining valuable little time of his life should have been used for worshipping the God, instead of wasting on learning a language. This prompted Sri Sankara to burst out this composition, a sort of rebuke to foolish way of living. The Acharya urges the man to turn towards God and sing His glory instead of trying to learn a language. A censure is implied when the Acharya calls the man a fool (Moodhamathe). It may be added here that the tone of Bhajagovindam is not at all soft, but somewhat striking, in spite of its exotic poetic beauty and perfection of composition. This is no wonder, because such a treatment is required to wake up man from his slumber. A milder approach would delay the matter. The matter is urgent, as the Acharya explains in the next verse, for, when the hour of death approaches without any forewarning, the hard-learned verses of grammar are not going to save the poor soul. Hence the song rightly starts without any preamble:
bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM
govindaM bhajamuuDhamate .
saMpraapte sannihite kaale
nahi nahi rakshati DukRiJNkaraNe .. (1)
Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death.
mUDha jahiihi dhanaagamatRishhNaaM
kuru sadbuddhiM manasi vitRishhNaam.
yallabhase nijakarmopaattaM
vittaM tena vinodaya chittam. .. (2)
Oh fool ! Give up your thirst to amass wealth, devote your mind to thoughts to the Real. Be content with what comes through actions already performed in the past.
Do not get drowned in delusion by going wild with passions and lust by seeing a woman's navel and chest. These are nothing but a modification of flesh. Do not fail to remember this again and again in your mind.
So long as a man is fit and able to support his family, see the affection all those around him show. But no one at home cares to even have a word with him when his body totters due to old age.
When one is alive, his family members enquire kindly about his welfare. But when the soul departs from the body, even his wife runs away in fear of the corpse.
baalastaavatkriiDaasaktaH
taruNastaavattaruNiisaktaH .
vRiddhastaavachchintaasaktaH
pare brahmaNi ko.api na saktaH .. (7)
The childhood is lost by attachment to playfulness. Youth is lost by attachment to woman. Old age passes away by thinking over many past things. But there is hardly anyone who wants to be lost in parabrahmam.
From Satsangh comes non-attachment, from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, which leads to self-settledness. From self-settledness comes Jeevan Mukti.
What good is lust when youth has fled ? What use is a lake which has no water ? Where are the relatives when wealth is gone ? Where is samsara when the Truth is known ?
maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvaM
harati nimeshhaatkaalaH sarvam.h .
maayaamayamidamakhilaM hitvaa
brahmapadaM tvaM pravisha viditvaa .. (11)
Do not boast of wealth, friends, and youth. Each one of these are destroyed within a minute. Free yourself from the illusion of the world of Maya and attain the timeless Truth.
Oh mad man ! Why this engrossment in thoughts of wealth ? Is there no one to guide you ? There is only one thing in three worlds that can save you from the ocean from samsara. Get into that boat of satsangha quickly. Stanza attributed to Padmapada.
There are many who go with matted locks, many who have clean shaven heads, many whose hairs have been plucked out; some are clothed in saffron, yet others in various colors --- all just for a livelihood. Seeing truth revealed before them, still the foolish ones see it not. Stanza attributed to Totakacharya.
Strength has left the old man's body; his head has become bald, his gums toothless and leaning on crutches. Even then the attachment is strong and he clings firmly to fruitless desires. Stanza attributed to Hastamalaka.
Behold there lies the man who sits warming up his body with the fire in front and the sun at the back; at night he curls up the body to keep out of the cold; he eats his beggar's food from the bowl of his hand and sleeps beneath the tree. Still in his heart, he is a wretched puppet at the hands of passions. Stanza attributed to Subodha.
One may go to gangasagar(ganes), observe fasts, and give away riches in charity ! Yet, devoid of jnana, nothing can give mukthi even at the end of a hundred births. Stanza attributed to Sureshwaracharya.
Take your residence in a temple or below a tree, wear the deerskin for the dress, and sleep with mother earth as your bed. Give up all attachments and renounce all comforts. Blessed with such vairagya, could any fail to be content ? Stanza attributed to Nityananda.
One may take delight in yoga or bhoga, may have attachment or detachment. But only he whose mind steadily delights in Brahman enjoys bliss, no one else. Stanza attributed to Anandagiri.
Let a man read but a little from Gitaa, drink just a drop of water from the ganges, worship murari (govinda) just once. He then will have no altercation with Yama. Stanza attributed to dR^iDhabhakta.
Born again, death again, birth again to stay in the mother's womb ! It is indeed hard to cross this boundless ocean of samsara. Oh Murari ! Redeem me through Thy mercy. Stanza attributed to Nityanatha.
There is no shortage of clothing for a monk so long as there are rags cast off the road. Freed from vice and virtue, onward he wanders. One who lives in communion with God enjoys bliss, pure and uncontaminated, like a child and as someone intoxicated. Stanza attributed to Nityanatha.
kastvaM ko.ahaM kuta aayaataH
kaa me jananii ko me taataH .
iti paribhaavaya sarvamasaaram.h
vishvaM tyaktvaa svapna vichaaram.h .. (23)
Who are you ? Who am I ? From where do I come ? Who is my mother, who is my father ? Ponder thus, look at everything as essenceless and give up the world as an idle dream. Stanza attributed to surendra.
In me, in you and in everything, none but the same Vishnu dwells. Your anger and impatience is meaningless. If you wish to attain the status of Vishnu soon, have samabhava always. Stanza attributed to medhaatithira.
shatrau mitre putre bandhau
maa kuru yatnaM vigrahasandhau .
sarvasminnapi pashyaatmaanaM
sarvatrotsRija bhedaaGYaanam.h .. (25)
Do not waste your efforts to win the love of or to fight against friend and foe, children and relatives. See yourself in everyone and give up all feelings of duality completely. Stanza attributed to medhaatithira.
Give up lust, anger, infatuation, and greed. Ponder over your real nature. Fools are they who are blind to the Self. Cast into hell they suffer there endlessly. Stanza attributed to bharativamsha.
Regularly recite from the Gita, meditate on Vishnu [thro' Vishnu sahasranama] in your heart, and chant His thousand glories. Take delight to be with the noble and the holy. Distribute your wealth in charity to the poor and the needy. Stanza attributed to sumatira.
Wealth is not welfare, truly there is no joy in it. Reflect thus at all times. A rich man fears even his own son. This is the way of wealth everywhere.
Regulate the pranas, remain unaffected by external influences and discriminate between the real and the fleeting. Chant the holy name of God and silence the turbulent mind. Perform these with care, with extreme care.
Oh devotee of the lotus feet of the Guru ! May thou be soon free from Samsara. Through disciplined senses and controlled mind, thou shalt come to experience the Indwelling Lord of your heart !
And dont worry about me..I forgive you as you must be a very unhappy person to lash out on others like this
#################
It can be active in the sense of the action of the social/
political agents, but also active in the sense of the quietude or stillness of the Greek
contemplative sages. We shall prove that yogis combine such action and quietness.
################
Meditation
Remember that the longer you practise meditation with intensity, the nearer you will be to joyous contact with the silent God. Intensity consists in making every today's meditation deeper than yesterday's and every tomorrow's meditation deeper than today's.
The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some super-human accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is simply your natural state of felt oneness with Being.
- Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now, p. 10
The only consciousness enlightenment requires is the one we have right now.
We don’t occupy two floors.
There isn’t a golden realm above and a guy with a ladder trying to reach it.
Enlightenment is the realization of no-self and the disassociation of consciousness from forms.
This is a more technical definition.
It means there is always profound peace, no matter what’s happening on the level of form.
Until we realize this, we confuse inherent peace with the momentary relief we feel when things “go well.”
When we realize inherent peace has nothing to do with external situations, we’re free.
Absolutely not, permanent peace of mind is rare but it is not a myth.
Mind is noise, chaos and commotion. Mind means restlessness, but there is something opposite of mind that is called no-mind - where utter silence persists, a place where pin-drop silence prevails regardless of what situation you are in.
But you have to earn it.
How to attain no-mind?
Meditation is the key to attain no-mind.
What is meditation?
The only thing beyond mind we know is Meditation.
Witnessing is the meditation.
How does it work?
Having said that witnessing is meditation. Now you can witness your breathing, your thoughts or your emotions. When you witness your thoughts, there will be gaps between the thoughts and when you keep meditating for years these gaps become larger and larger and one fine day one of the gaps will become permanent and you will enter state of no-mind. Where the mind doesn't remain master, where the mind becomes utilitarian.
The word Sankalpa is rather a difficult word to
translate. Originally it is the Divine Will in
manifestation and in man in his present stage
becomes the will-thought pertaining to his
Antahkarana or the lower mind. It is through the
Sankalpa of our Manas that the universe appears to
be and it is this Sankalpa that is asked to be given
up by one who wishes to soar to the one Reality
beyond this universe.
We don't need to go as far as Spirituality to understand the vanity of sensual pleasures.
There is nothing wrong in sensual pleasures but doesn't it seem quite juvenile ?
Seeking pleasure and avoiding pain is the nature of all life forms, which is OK.
But, Have you ever thought…
Why does the soldier choose pain as a career ?
Why do parents choose so much suffering for the future of their child ?
Why do great leaders of nations choose to give up their lives for the welfare and freedom of their people ?
Ah…if only sensual pleasures could be the goal of life!
I trust there are much higher pleasures as we evolve. For instance-
The emotional pleasure of serving your beloved!
The heroic pleasure of sacrificing for your people!
The intellectual pleasure of learning, solving, inventing, and discovering in various fields.
The pleasure of contentment in distributing your wealth to the needy.
For any wise and mature person, the goal is a conviction on what to give to life, not what to get from life. That’s is for the juveniles.
Spirituality is not even in the league while discussing sensual pleasures :)
See how our Dearest Swami Vivekananda settles the topic in style and Grace-
See how the pig eats. It is unconscious of the universe while it is eating; its whole soul is bound up in the food. It may be killed but it does not care when it has food. Think of the intense enjoyment that the pig has! No man has that. Where is it gone? Man has changed it into intellectual enjoyment. The pig cannot enjoy religious lectures. That is one step higher and keener yet than intellectual pleasures, and that is the spiritual plane, spiritual enjoyment of things divine, soaring beyond reason and intellect. To procure that we shall have to lose all these sense-enjoyments. This is the highest utility. Utility is what I enjoy, and what everyone enjoys, and we run for that.
We find that man enjoys his intellect much more than an animal enjoys his senses, and we see that man enjoys his spiritual nature even more than his rational nature. So the highest wisdom must be this spiritual knowledge. With this knowledge will come bliss. All these things of this world are but the shadows, the manifestations in the third or fourth degree of the real Knowledge and Bliss.
Things she has asked recently: does it hurt to die? (no because we have lots of medicines for that) what is it like to die? (I don't know but I think like falling asleep).
####################
nINAL iAYAT QT
#####################
###################
#####################
I repose in myself. And that part of myself, that deepest and richest part in which I repose, is what I call ‘God.’” —Etty Hillesum
1.nirvana 2. sukhavati 3. a mortal realm and then a list of "less desirable" options.
Sukhavati is the name of Amitabha's pure land. It's not the only pure land. It's just, sort of, the most popular one, far as I can tell.
All 6 realms of birth - human, god, demon, ghost, animal, hell - are possible if one does not attain liberation or pure land birth in the bardo.
How does one achieve the mortal incarnation from another option? How does a brute incarnate as a human?
I am not sure what another option means. I'm not sure what a brute is. Any being achieves its state of birth - as a result of its past karma.
When humans have multiple incarnations in the human realm Does that mean they are able to get to the bardo of becoming only and that is where they have leveled off?
I don't know what it means to level off. Bardo of becoming happens when a samsaric being dies, after death leading up to their next birth.
Or are human incarnations scattered in with all other incarnations at once?
Conventionally speaking, one's own mindstream is what undergoes the bardo and is reborn according to one's own karma.
I don't know what you mean by human incarnations, or to be scattered in with. Some of the vocabulary you're using is somewhat unfamiliar.
What I mean is are human incarnations sequential or random per the "individual" or is it better to see ourselves as a path to Nirvana...eventually?
They're not random. They are according to your karma. I don't think you would see yourself as the path... i'm not sure what that would mean. Yöu see yourself as practicing the path.
Do we have free will independent of Karma?
What do you think karma is? It's actions and their consequences. We have the free will to choose our actions, and to experience the consequences.
It seems like the "out card" is if Nirvana blows you in a direction
This is an incoherent statement. Nirvana isn't going to "blow" you anywhere. I recommend reading the suttas on Nibbana and getting a better basic understanding of what this is.
accesstoinsight and dhammatalks.org have good stuff. /u/potentpalipotables can probably remember which suttas explain what nibbana is, I fail to remember them off hand
I don't understand the difference between Karma and God or even how Nirvanah is different from an atheist death.
I actually don't understand how you could conflate them. Karma is cause and effect of your actions. Karma is not a bearded man on a cloud who killed everybody in a flood because he didn't like how he designed them to be.
I also don't understand how you can conflate nirvana with atheist death. Atheist death can't understand the premise of rebirth, of mind extending beyond a physical body. Nirvana happens in the premise of the mind extending beyond the physical body.
Study is necessary to understand these things. I started by reading the suttas. I especially think the study guides there are worth reading.
Since you mentioned the bardo, you might like this book
What is the difference between Nirvana and Samsara?
Samsara is the process of mental confusion by which we create suffering.
Nirvana is the end of that process by the purification of mental confusion.
SRI KEDARNATH JI
########################
##########################
The one who as shraddha in Omkar, believes in Re-Birth, respects Cow, follows a sampradaya started by a humble saint of Indian Origin is known as a Hindu.
##################
############################
t is pronounced AUM. You will notice vibrations in your abdomen when you 'A', vibration in your chest when you say 'U' and in your head/brain when you say the 'M'.
######################
########################
The Supreme of chants or maha mantra or great chant of deliverance from fear and birth and death is.. hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
By always chanting these Nectarean names of the Lord Sri Krsna Paramatma who dwells in the heart of all living entities all fear dissappears. There will be no fear in the heart or mind of one who chants this mantra either on mala or in the mind
For being non different than the Lord himself his Holy names Defeat all fear
###########################
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. Shall deliver you from all sinful reactions DO NOT FEAR... Bhagavad Gita 18.66
###########################
ky Kriya Yoga Master, Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath once said: “Mind is the Malady of Humanity and God is its Remedy. When you practice Kundalini Kriya Yoga, your will and imagination transmute the oxygen of breath into life energy and blend it into the spiritual currents of the spine. This science of life-breath control is called the lightning path to Self-realization. Yogiraj says: “I am breathing you in every breath.” Which means that at a Satsang one can experience the Divine Grace of a true Master through Pranapat, when he breathes through your breath and infuses it with his pranic life energy. He gives a beautiful description of the purpose and goal of Kriya Yoga: “Kriya Yoga is an inner ascent through ever more refined and ever more expanded spheres of mind, to get to the Divine Consciousness which lies at the very core of your own being. Kriya Yoga is very scientific and it depends upon the offering of two pranic currents, one into the other. The upward pranic current and the downward apanic current are offered one into the other. This is called the sacred fire rite of the yogi. As the consciousness moves up and down the spine along with these currents, you burn your negative karma and evolve your consciousness. When you keep practicing Kriya Yoga, the Grace of the Divine Lord will descend upon you and you will ultimately get to the state of Self realization. When the Kundalini energy is awakened, she burns your karma, which is surrounding your soul. The Kundalini at the base of the spine is the Mother, the soul is the Son, and the Chit at the crown chakra is the Father. Symbolically speaking it means: The Mother raises up the Son to the Father.”
####################
a We are simply experiences of Brahman.
It is also saying 'We are that Brahman'.
Enjoy the cosmic play/drama of enjoying the gradual expansion of consciousness from finite speck to infiniteness.
An analogy would be, don't we enjoy human written plays/dramas. For a time we identify with the roles being played as real characters (when in reality they are just actors).
Aren't we into the role of our self (lower-case 's') right now and can't we enjoy expansion of that self in love and being free?
######################
a Much of this confusion is due to promiscuous usage of language. Once you use clear language, much of the confusion vanishes.
In AV, it's important in bear in mind that there are two levels of reality - the absolute and the phenomenal (there's a third but that one involves experiences that can be proven illusory even in the phenomenal standpoint. The Absolute is Brahman - Existence, Awareness and Bliss (calm). It is attributeless and unchanging. Nothing can be predicated of it. The Phenomenal is the World - diverse and changing. That's the reality in which you, I and everything else exists. They don't have independent existence but rather their existence is superimposed on Brahman due to avidya. This avidya can't be described as real or unreal - it's something else.
The dream analogy or the simulation analogy can't be taken literally but only in a limited extent. In our dream state, the objects are unreal but the experience is real i.e. the fear or joy is real. We have some limited memory of our dreams, especially the more vivid ones, which shows that the experience in the dream left a real impression on the mind. If you apply this to Brahman as dreamer or Brahman as some game-player, then Brahman would have to experience the world, and since the world involves change, then the experience would change with it which implies Brahman changes which is explicitly denied in AV. A better analogy for AV is the classic snake-rope analogy where an non-existent snake is superimposed on a real rope and forms the basis of fear etc.
Now back to the nihilism issue. From the Absolute standpoint, it does sound nihilistic. In fact, that's the main charge of the critics who accuse Advaitins of being Sunyavada Buddhists in Vedic garb. As Ramanuja states "no sensible person exerts himself under the influence of the idea that after he himself has perished there will remain some entity called pure light"
However, this is only from an Absolute stand-point. Till we attain moksha which is the same as realizing that we are eternally Brahman, the normal rules of morality, human ends, meaning etc all apply.
To give an example, we all know that the world is made of fundamental particles of various kinds. However, no-one, even physicists, experiences the world like that. Knowing, understanding and realizing are very different concepts.
If we're defining nihilism as an intrinsic lack of meaning then you may be onto something, however not all things need meaning or purpose to be wonderful.
Take music, does music have a goal or a purpose, not really. Think about it, when you play a song do you play the song to complete the song, no, you play it for enjoyment.
Does dancing have a purpose, not really. We dance for the sake of dancing itself. Does the salsa have a purpose, no, but that doesn't make it ugly or depressive, the opposite is true.
Similarly the world can be seen like this in Advaita, the world isn't real, only an appearance but that's not a bad thing. It doesn't have a purpose or meaning and that's ok, just enjoy it for the dance it is. You can also add meaning to the dance if you'd like which would make Advaita not nihilistic anymore. To use your example of dreams, dreams are not real in the fact that the whole dream landscape is nothing but the dreamer, but this does not make dreams any less wonderful, valuable or enriching. So life is the dream of Brahman, or a play or dance or movie or a video game however you want to approach it.
Also, you and I are real, but only as Brahman, the body and mind are not 'real' in the sense that it's just another expression of Brahman. But the real self not being the body or mind is hinduism 101 and found in many other schools of hinduism, I don't see what the issue is with that.
In my own personal hinduism (I'm non-dual but not strict Advaita) I see the world as a dream and in my experience it makes life wonderful. The beauty and suffering in this world is magestic for me and the reason why I can appreciate the negative is because of seeing the world as a dream. It allows me to take the world less seriously which helps reduce the suffering of attachment to worldy things but at the same time it doesn't make me numb or apathetic to the sufferings of the world. I also was an atheistic nihilist/absurdist when I was younger and I can't see any nihilist tendencies in Advaita. I have never had a desire and purpose as strong as my desire to attain spirtual growth, this is the main driving force of my life.
In regards to there not being any reason to do anything, I'd strongly disagree. Imagine the world as a movie with Bhraman as the director, we all have our part to play and that is our Dharma and by following Dharma we can find freedom, peace and happiness, so there is a significant push to follow ones duties in Advaita. If we were not to follow Dharma and try to excel in our lifes then the opposite would happen. You may be confusing Advaita with Neo-Advatia which has some extremely lazy tendencies.
Some other things.
If you see nihilism as a naturally depressive philosophy then it is the direct opposite of Advaita, in Advaita we discover that our true self is in constant bliss and that we can be in this unchanging ever new bliss for all of eternity. Surely that the opposite of terrifying?
PSA: I'm not an expert on Advaita, if you want some more accurate info check this Swami out https://youtu.be/CoF0pOcKOCc
The English translation of the Yoga-vasistha: a Hindu philosophical and spiritual text written by sage Valmiki from an Advaita-vedanta perspective. The book contains epic narratives similar to puranas and chronologically precedes the Ramayana. The Yoga-vasistha is believed by some Hindus to answer all the questions that arise in the human mind, an...
1. [Sanskrit available] Now fate being no other than the result of our actions of the former state of our existence, it is possible to leave it at a distance, and to extricate one's self (from its fetters) by betaking himself to good company and study of moral Sastras.
2. [Sanskrit available] Whatever one attempts to do, he readily meets with its reward: this being the effect of exertion. Fate is no other but the same thing.
3. [Sanskrit available] Men laboring hard, are heard to exclaim "O how painful it is": so men suffering under fate cry out "O hard is fate!"(so the one is as bad as the other).
4. [Sanskrit available] Thus then fate being no other than a name for our past actions, it is as easily overcome (by present acts) as a boy (is subdued) by an adult youth.
5. [Sanskrit available] As some bad conduct of yesterday is corrected by proper behaviour of the present day, so the anterior fate is removed by (posterior) acts.
6. [Sanskrit available] Those carnal minded libertines who do not try the means (of reforming their fate), but depend upon the favor of fortune, are perverted in their nature and marked for misery.
7. [Sanskrit available] Thus if the acts of manliness are capable of forefending one's misfortunes, it must be acknowledged that manliness which destroys the other, is the mightier of the two.
8. [Sanskrit available] As of two fruits growing on the same fore-stalk, the one is found to be empty within and the other full of juice, so the fruit of fate is rendered abortive by that of manliness.
9. [Sanskrit available] Seeing the decay of the best things in the world, we must own the predominant power of the cause of this decay.
10. [Sanskrit available] Like two rams our fate and exertions are fighting with one another, wherein the victory is always on the side of the stronger.
11. [Sanskrit available] In the case of the royal elephant's taking up a beggar boy for being made the ruler (of a country), its cause is to be attributed more to the vote of the country-men and citizens (than to chance or fortune).
12. [Sanskrit available] As a man takes his food and grinds it under his teeth, so is one (depending on fate) crushed by the stronger party relying on his exertions.
13. [Sanskrit available] Inferior servants are thus employed like clods of earth by their more active masters in any work they like.
14. [Sanskrit available] Silly and impotent men seeing the strong thriving by their exertions whether apparent or unseen, are apt to attribute it to their good fortune (instead of their diligence).
15. [Sanskrit available] The strong efforts of men truly constitute their presiding fortune, and these two are viewed alike by the wise.
16. [Sanskrit available] In the case of the (aforesaid) beggar boy's installation to the ruling and protection of the people of a realm, the unanimous concurrence of the law and ministers, of the elephant and citizens (is to be taken as the chief cause).
17. [Sanskrit available] Should the beggar boy be ever elected for a ruler by the royal elephant itself (without the assent of men), in that case it is to be attributed to the boy's good fortune only (because there was no sensible exertion on his side).
18. [Sanskrit available] Present acts destroy those of the past life and so also the vice versa comes to pass; but the exertions of a man are undoubtedly successful (at all times).
19. [Sanskrit available] Of these two powers that of the present state is manifestly superior to the other; hence it is as possible to overcome the past by the present, as to lick a boy by an adult.
20. [Sanskrit available] As a hail shower lays waste the cultivation of a whole year, so also doth the predominant fate sometimes overpower the attempts of this life.
21. [Sanskrit available] However it does not behoove us to be sorry at the loss of our long earned treasure (as of the harvest), for what avails our sorrow at what is beyond our control.
22. [Sanskrit available] If I should sorrow for what I have not the power to prevent, I must then weep all the days of my life because I am not to be spared by death.
23. [Sanskrit available] All our acts are subject to their proper time and place, and to the modes of their operation and combination according to the course of nature; hence it is that the more diligent are the most successful (everywhere).
24. [Sanskrit available] We ought therefore to rely in our exertions and clearness of understanding by the help of Sastras and association with the wise, for fording over the ocean of this world.
25. [Sanskrit available] Actions of the past and present lives are the two fruit trees growing in the garden of humanity; of which the one that is cultivated best, thrives and fructifies the most.
26. [Sanskrit available] He who is unable to overcome his false fate by his best exertions (in this life), is no better than an ignorant beast that has no power over its pain or pleasure.
27. [Sanskrit available] He who thinks of going to heaven or hell by the will of the Maker, is also a slave to destiny and no better than a beast.
28. [Sanskrit available] The man of a noble mind and one employed in acts of goodness, breaks off from the errors of the world as a lion from its cage.
29. [Sanskrit available] Those who vainly imagine themselves to be led about by some (supernatural power), and so slight their necessary duties, are to be shunned at a distance as the mean and base.
30. [Sanskrit available] There are thousands of acts that are attended with gain or loss to their doers; but it is the duty of man to do what is right whether they are pleasant or painful.
31. [Sanskrit available] He who does not transgress the bounds of law, nor forsake the duties (of his race), is attended by every blessing abundant as the pearls in the sea.
32. [Sanskrit available] Devoted diligence in acts leading to one's object, is termed to be his manliness by the wise; and that being guided by the Sastra leads to his success.
33. [Sanskrit available] An act accompanied by exertion, is of itself the accomplisher of one's object, and the company of the wise and study of good books serve to raise a man by brightening his understanding.
34. [Sanskrit available] The infinite happiness or a tranquil spirit is known as the Summum bonum by the wise; and those good works are fit for study which lead to that state.
35. [Sanskrit available] The acts of our former lives constitute what we call our destiny, and they return to us from the region of the gods, for our good in both worlds.
36. [Sanskrit available] We blame the fate which is a creation of the fancy of the ignorant, who by their adoration of the same come to meet their destruction.
37. [Sanskrit available] One benefits himself always by his activity in both worlds, as his good acts of to-day gives a grace to those of yesterday.
38. [Sanskrit available] Whoso therefore applies himself with diligence to his acts, reaps their fruits like that of an Amalakiin his palm, which though it is within his grasp, yet it could not be obtained without the cost of some labour:
39. [Sanskrit available] It is the ignorant only that depart from the beaten path, and fall into the error of fatalism. Therefore give up that false faith in an unreal fate, which is a mere creation of the imagination and devoid of any cause or effect; and apply to your manly exertions.
40. [Sanskrit available] The fruit of following the Sastras and observing the good customs and local usages, is long known (to be wholesome), as exciting the heart and the exertion of the limbs to action. This it is what they called "manly activity."
41. [Sanskrit available] All wise men after discussion of the subject of fate and acts, have applied themselves to activity by utter rejection of fatality, and accomplished their ends by attendance on the good and wise.
42. [Sanskrit available] Knowing the efficacy of activity, every one should betake himself to his personal exertions, and attain to his highest perfection by attending to good Sastras and the wise counsels of learned men.
43. [Sanskrit available] And knowing the bondage of our births to be full of pain, let people strive for the exercise of their activities, and obtain the true and sweet blessing of tranquility by their attendance on the wise.
##########################
##########################
Further, yes you aren't supposed to endeavour while impelled by the 3 Gunas (sattva,rajas, tamas). That will always be a barrier to moksha.
Same time you cannot avoid action because even to maintain body you have to act.
Hence the only way is to practice Karma Yoga. Vashishta Muni succinctly describes is as -
“O Ram, externally engage in actions diligently, but internally practice to see yourself as the non-doer and God as the prime mover of all your activities.”
############################
##########################
JK
########################
Knowing that this is maya or imagined reality through anubhava is only one half of awakening. The other half is the remembrance of who you are.
#######################
It's a beautiful question, the questioner's mind has popped out of the closed box mindset, it lets me guess. Because if the question was asking for parallels between Buddhism(shoonyavad) and nihilism it would just be an ordinary philosophy class question. But the fact that the two, Advaita Vedanta and Nihilism might have some parallel, even such confusion is an insight. And I would like to consider them one by one, so to start with Advaita Vedanta, I would like to quote a phrase from Adi Shankaracharya, "Brahman Satya Jagat Mithya, Jeevo Brahmaiv Na Parah." This translates to Brahman alone is real, the universe(or world) is unreal, and the individual self is no other than Brahman itself(the supreme self). For nihilism, I would like to define it as the following "extreme scepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence." So the common thing between them is the negative value ascribed to the existence. But nihilism only ends there and has no other conclusion to draw from this fact. While Advaita Vedanta, though says the world is unreal, but it has a conclusion, or an assertion to make regarding the reality of the individual. So there are not same. The individual inhabiting the universe has a real existence, be the universe unreal. And the fact that the individual is Brahman itself, is a clue to make you consider something being peculiar about the self.
The name Śiva has two derivatives in Sanskrit - it can mean the “Lord of Sleep” or it can mean “the auspicious one”.
Rudra means the “Lord of tears” or “the one who makes us weep”.
These terms are used repeatedly in the Vedas. These are epithets of a Universal Phenomena - the force of destruction and transformation personified in the form of Rudra in the Vedas. Later on the more peaceful aspect was preferred so the focus shifted from the negative appellation Rudra to the more peaceful name of Shiva.
Bless us with happiness our Lord, With that arrow of thine, which is holy, with that bow of thine, which is begetter of good, With that quiver of thine, which is sweet.
############################
VAIRAGYA PRAKARANA OF LAGHU VASISTHA YOGA
At which Vasistha remarks
that the Vairagya (indifference) of the Prince is not
akin to that produced by such momentary
accidents as the loss of some dearly beloved
relative or wealth but is one which is the
premonitory symptom of a spiritual development
in him after which development all his duties will
be regularly per formed by him. On Rama s arrival
at the regal assembly, he is asked by one of the
Rishis as to the cause of his present sorrow. At
which Rama makes a long tirade against wealth,
life, Ahankara, Manas (mind), desires, body and
other material things and at last winds up by
saying that he will rather expose himself to the
torments of hell-fire than undergo the excruciating
mental tortures, consuming him little by little
through the abovementioned causes. This
concludes the chapter called Vairagya Prakarana or
the section on in difference to worldly things.
Because advaita vedanta is taught at different levels for different people who are at different spiritual levels. All this everything is me etc is just a vessel to carry you to the truth and the vessel has to be abandoned one day, too. Like a boat, incredibly useful - to the other side of the river, then you abandon it and walk.
We use a thorn analogy, we use a thorn (advaita vedanta) to remove another thorn (human suffering) and then we discard both.
All this I am consciousness and everyone is me, etc etc will be refined and transformed. There is no I, consciousness is not an I. The I is the ego it's ahaṃkara and consciousness is something completely different. The fact you can see the object of I-ness is proof it is not pure consciousness.
Reality is nondual, it's not perceivable unless you're using a mind to have transactions but the mind will limit you to a perspective of reality that is from the point of view of the mind. Ultimate reality is inconceivable, its infinite and thoughts are finite. We just can't reduce the infinite nondual reality to a thought, it's not possible.
This isn't nothingness though, nor is it something. Not something but also not nothing. This disqualifies it's classification of being nihilistic. Since nihilism has a "no point" sort of feel, and in Vedanta we believe existence is the point. Vedanta adds meaning to life, it doesn't remove it.
#####################
#######################
a In the technical
phraseology of this work, the ideation reflected in
the Lila-Sankalpa of Brahman is the origin of the
world; its manifestation, the preservation of the
world; and its disappearance, the destruction of the
world.
![Yoga Vasistha [English], Volume 1-4 - book cover](https://www.wisdomlib.org/uploads/a/Yoga-Vasistha.jpg)
