Friday, September 29, 2017

Datta Dharma Sutram: Chapter-2

Ethical Scripture of God
1) Three authorities and the importance of logic
त्रिधा प्रमाकरणं तर्क्यते हि।१।
tridhā pramākaraṇaṁ tarkyate hi|1|
The authority is in three ways, logical analysis is sufficient.
[The authority of these spiritual points is given by scripture, logical analysis and experience as found in the narrated ancient stories like the Ramayanam, the Bharatam, etc. Shruti (the Veda) and Smruti (secondary books) form scripture. Yukti is the logical analysis. Anubhava is the experience of the truth of these points as found in the historical incidents explained in the Puranas like the Ramayanam, the Bharatam, etc. Some may discard the validity of these stories doubting these to be imaginary creations of poets. But, the logic explained in these points will certainly satisfy them also to practice provided they believe in God, hell and heaven.]

2) Responsibility of the doer in knowledge, devotion and practice
ज्ञानभक्तिकर्मसु कर्तैव बाध्यः।२।
jñānabhaktikarmasu kartaiva bādhyaḥ|2|
In the chain of knowledge, devotion and practice, the doer alone is responsible.
[The true knowledge decided by logical analysis, with the help of debates if necessary, alone can give the right direction in the spiritual path. The wrong knowledge will mislead anyone to wrong fruit. Knowledge is the mother of devotion and transformation of knowledge into practice with the help of devotion generated by knowledge is the real path. Practice alone yields the practical fruit. There is no use if one confines to knowledge and devotion only. Hence, such person is to be criticised and not the knowledge and devotion. Dharma or ethical behaviour is purely regarding practice.]

3) Selfish preachers are responsible for misleading the public
स्वार्थ गुरवोऽपि बाध्याः।३।
svārtha guravo'pi bādhyāḥ|3|
The selfish preachers are also responsible.
[For the misleading wrong knowledge, preachers are also responsible. For selfish benefits, they preach wrong knowledge, which pleases the people so that they can get some benefits from the pleased people. For example: the fascination to family bonds is responsible for the sin of corruption and the preacher shall preach the true knowledge that decreases this fascination. The preacher fears that by such bitter truth, he may lose the benefits from displeased people and hence, preaches wrong knowledge that promotes the materialistic welfare of the family, which strengthens the sins further.]

4) The bond with wealth is based on the bonds with child, spouse and oneself
धनाधारयोरन्यो देहश्चतुर्थः।४।
dhanādhārayoranyo dehaścaturthaḥ|4|
The two strong bonds are the basis for money and the fourth body is foremost.
[There are three strong worldly bonds: life partner, issues and wealth or money. The bond with money is based on the happiness of life partner and issues. Apart from life partner and issues, the happiness of one's own body is foremost, which is not separately mentioned because it is naturally understood since body is responsible for the other two bonds also.]

5) Lust, violence and greed for the sake of wife and child are all related to the bond with oneself
पापत्रय विकारौ देहेनच।५।
pāpatraya vikārau dehenaca|5|
The three sins along with other two forms are also related to the bond with body alone.
[The two strong bonds for life partner and issues including the own body form the basis for sin committed in wealth or artha, which is the corruption as seen in present politicians and some employees. The Gita says that this sin called as greediness (lobha) is one of the three main gates of hell. The other two main gates are violence (krodha) and illegal sex (kama). Violence and illegal sex also participate in the sin of illegal earning related to artha. In other sins like killing of living beings for food (krodha) and illegal sex (kama), the attachment to body is exclusively responsible.]

6) Preventing misery in worldly life through reduction of fascination is better than cure
प्रवृत्तौ मोह शक्ति नियम निरोधो वर उपशमात्।६।
pravṛttau moha śakti niyama nirodho vara upaśamāt|6|
In Pravrutti, controlling the force of fascination is prevention, which is better than cure.
[The strong fascination to the worldly bonds like body, life partner, issues and money is responsible for the sins committed in pravrutti, which alone are the source of all these miseries and tensions. The reduction of the force of these worldly bonds alone is the path to escape from all these miseries and tensions. In pravrutti, these bonds need not be eliminated totally, but, trials to reduce the force of fascination of these bonds can alone control sins and their resulting miseries. This is the path of prevention, which is better than cure. This means that in Pravrutti, control of fascination to worldly bonds is sufficient and total elimination of it is not necessary. Partial fascination is also needed for ethical earnings for the sake of own body and family.]

7) The fascination for bonds drops on its own in the spiritual path
निवृत्तौ स्वयमपगतो व्रणपट्टिकेव।७।
nivṛttau svayamapagato vraṇapaṭṭikeva|7|
In Nivrutti, it is dropped by itself like the medicinal strip from a healed wound.
[The total elimination of fascination of these bonds exists in Nivrutti or path of devotion to God. But, very important point in Nivrutti is that this fascination is not eliminated by any force as a pre-requisite. This elimination is only a natural consequence that appears after the climax reached in the path of devotion. It is just like a medicinal strip applied on a wound, which drops away by itself when the wound is completely healed.]

8) No forcible effort is required anywhere in the greatest spiritual path
न बल यत्नः कुत्रापि परे।८।
na bala yatnaḥ kutrāpi pare|8|
In the greatest path of Nivrutti, nowhere forcible effort is required.
[Before starting the devotion to God or even before the reach of climax in Nivrutti, no forced effort is required to eliminate this fascination. If it is done against this instruction, the spiritual effort becomes perverted in more serious damage. The medicinal strip should not be removed by force in the beginning stage of wound or at anytime before the wound heals completely. Therefore, no forcible effort is required at any time in Nivrutti.]

9. The root cause of detachment is devotion; never the opposite
मूलं भक्तिर्नविरक्तिः न हेतुः क्वचिदपि।९।
mūlaṁ bhaktirnaviraktiḥ na hetuḥ kvacidapi|9|
The root reason of elimination of fascination is devotion and not reverse anywhere since nowhere elimination is cause.
[The real reason for the total elimination of fascination is the devotion or attraction to God, which is the real pre-requisite. It is not vice versa, in which the elimination of fascination is the pre-requisite. Hence, one should not and need not try for elimination of fascination to worldly bonds before or at any stage of Nivrutti. By such elimination, Nivrutti can't be achieved at all. Due to the taste of drunk divine nectar, the taste for coffee is spontaneously dropped out. By succeeding in controlling the taste for coffee and by leaving it, none can attain the divine nectar. Hence, all the effort in Nivrutti is only to develop devotion to God and not to detach from worldly bonds.]

10) The mind attracted to anything other than God is useless due to the absence of God’s blessings
नान्याकर्षणं भगवतो नानुग्रहात् योगार्थात् च।१०।
nānyākarṣaṇaṁ bhagavato nānugrahāt yogārthāt ca|10|
Attraction of mind to any point other than God can't be useful due to the absence of blessings from God.
[Today, Yoga is projected as the attraction of the mind to other points like respiration as in Pyramid meditation, etc., so that the diverted mind will not suffer the misery during that time. This is only a temporary measure of relief. If the concentrated point is God, since the omnipotent God is pleased to give blessings, such concentration on God can also give permanent relief. Yoga means attainment of concentration on God and not attainment of concentration on any other worldly item.]

11) Even partial devotion reduces the fascination to bonds in the worldly path
अन्यत्रापगमायापि पाक्षिक भक्तिरेवालम्।११।
anyatrāpagamāyāpi pākṣika bhaktirevālam|11|
To control excessive fascination to worldly bonds in Pravrutti also, partial devotion to God alone is sufficient.
[Partial devotion to God is possible to any theist and hence, partial control of the force of fascination to worldly bonds is possible to theistic human beings. Since devotion does not require any strenuous pre-requisite like elimination of fascination, it is sufficient if you start your effort to develop the devotion to God, which in partial state itself controls the fascination that is sufficient to control the act of sin in the beginning itself. Nivrutti, itself, is a solution of pravrutti.]

12) Theists can also sin when their devotion is low, but they are better than atheists
आस्तिकेश्वपि पाक्षिक बलाभावात् वरानास्तिकात्।१२।
āstikeśvapi pākṣika balābhāvāt varānāstikāt|12|
Even in theists, sins in Pravrutti are seen since this partial devotion is also less, but such theists are also better than an atheist.
[We see that even theists having partial devotion are doing sins in Pravrutti. This means that even this partial devotion is weak, which provokes them to do sins. But, these theists are somewhat better than an atheist in doing sins since there is at least a psychological control in doing sins due to fear for hell and devotion to God.]

13) With devotion to God as the ultimate aim, the intermediate worldly goal is achieved easily
मार्ग मध्य प्रवृत्तिः सुलभा निवृत्ति गम्ये।१३।
mārga madhya pravṛttiḥ sulabhā nivṛtti gamye|13|
If Nivrutti is the ultimate goal, reaching the intermediate goal of Pravrutti in the path is very easy.
[Hence, if one starts the spiritual effort fixing Nivrutti as the ultimate goal, the aspirant shall certainly achieve the intermediate pravrutti-goal in very easy manner because it is easy to achieve the higher goal in the journey of the effort towards highest goal. Hence, the fundamental aspect of Nivrutti is to have faith in the existence of unimaginable God and further effort is to improve the devotion to God. By these two, Pravrutti can be easily achieved.]

14) The atheist fails in the very first step
मूल नष्टो नास्तिकः।१४।
mūla naṣṭo nāstikaḥ|14|
The atheist is lost in the fundamental step itself.
[By this logic, one can easily understand that attaining success in Pravrutti is unimaginable for an atheist since the fundamental itself is lost, which is the faith in the existence of the unimaginable God.]

15) The misleading argument of atheists results in sin
तद्वादो भ्रामकः पापायैव।१५।
tadvādo bhrāmakaḥ pāpāyaiva|15|
Their argument is misleading, which results in performing sin only.
[The argument of atheists that ethics in the society can be followed even without believing the existence of unimaginable and omnipotent God is false that misleads anyone to commit sins by taking care of the controlling agencies of Government like courts, etc., on this earth.]

16) Righteousness is doing good to the good and bad to the wicked; sin is the opposite
श्रेष्ठः परः तदन्वयव्यतिरेकौ परत्र चाग्निः सर्गे।१६।
śreṣṭhaḥ paraḥ tadanvayavyatirekau paratra cāgniḥ sarge|16|
The word 'para' means a good person and need not be taken as any other person and hence, application with contradiction is done. In other religions also, the liquid fire of hell is mentioned and hell and this earth are in His creation only.
[The scripture says that helping others is good and harming others is bad (paropakaarah punyaaya, paapaaya parapidanam). Here, the meaning of the word 'para' is taken as any other human being. This is wrong interpretation. The correct interpretation for the word 'para' is a good person. Hence, the concept in application is:- doing good to good people and doing bad to bad people is good. The concept in contradiction is:- doing bad to good people and good to bad people is bad. Some religions criticise Hinduism saying that all the souls, whether good or bad must be helped. This is not correct criticism because the scriptures of their own religions say that bad people are punished in liquid fire of hell. This means that their religions are also agreeing to do bad to bad people. Whether the place is this earth or external hell, it is one and the same since both places are in His creation only. You can't say that one is not beaten in Bangalore even though that person is beaten in Mumbai!]

17) See defects in oneself and merits in others to grow
स्वदोश परगुणदृक् वृद्ध्यै।१७।
svadośa paraguṇadṛk vṛddhyai|17|
Seeing own defects and merits in others is the path of self-construction.
[One should always see the defects in himself/herself and in his/her religion and merits in others and other religions so that one can rectify the self and own religion. By this, one will be in the correct path of construction. Today, everybody sees his/her merits only and always defects in others, which is the path of self-destruction comprising ego to self and jealousy to others.]

18) My religion is universal; I criticize defects and appreciate merits impartially
विश्वमतं मे विपरीतात् च।१८।
viśvamataṁ me viparītāt ca|18|
My religion is universal religion and hence, I criticised Hinduism also and praised other religions in certain points.
[You should not misunderstand Me that I am criticising other religions because I am Hindu. I don't belong to any specific religion. I belong to universal religion, which comprises only merits of all religions. I have criticised Hinduism in several points and praised other religions in those points. For example:- I criticised blind recitation of scripture without explaining the meaning in rituals whereas in other religions I appreciate the scripture being read from book and explained by the priests.]

19) The judge must be an impartial third party; so Arjuna withdrew from the war
तृतियोनिर्णेता दैव राजन्याय स्थानवत् पार्थो रणे तथा।१९।
tṛtiyonirṇetā daiva rājanyāya sthānavat pārtho raṇe tathā|19|
The third party shall be the judge like God, King, court, etc. and hence, Arjuna withdrew himself from war.
[When you are one of the two opposing parties, you should not become the judge to decide the justice and punish the opposite party since you will be always affected by prejudice being the party. Hence, you should control yourself in giving spontaneous reaction for every action taken on you. Especially in giving punishment of death, you should be very careful since killing is highest injustice. Arjuna withdrew from war doubting the justice in killing innocent soldiers and good elders for the sake of bad Kauravas and even was prepared for losing the self benefit of justified wealth. He left the decision of justice to God Krishna. You should not take law in your hands becoming the judge of your case and third impartial party like God, King, court, etc., shall decide.]

20) Analysis reveals the corresponding fruits of the merits and faults of the Pandavas
अर्जुन धर्म द्रौपद्यादिशु गुण दोष फलानि विभक्तानि।२०।
arjuna dharma draupadyādiśu guṇa doṣa phalāni vibhaktāni|20|
You can understand the fruits of merits and faults enjoyed by Arjuna, Dharma Raja, Draupadi, etc. separately.
[Arjuna went to hell because of his haste vow taken to kill Karna, but, his grandson was made the King of entire kingdom for taking backstep in the war. The son of Dharma Raja was killed apart suffering in forest since he played the forbidden sin of gambling. He went to heaven for his efforts to avoid killing Kauravas through Krishna's preaching. All the sons from the womb of Darupadi were killed for no reason since she was always revengeful. The grandson of Subhadra, (son of Uttara) was made ultimate King since both were not revengeful. Only by patient analysis one can find merits and faults of both parties in a case and the results are separately enjoyed without any mutual cancellation by any soul.]

21) Souls are prejudiced; not God. Krishna allowed the killing of enemy soldiers ready to die for salary
जीवः पक्षपाति सिद्ध कृतज्ञ सैनिक वधोनुमतः।२१।
jīvaḥ pakṣapāti  siddha kṛtajña sainika vadhonumataḥ|21|
Except the Lord, every soul is prejudiced in giving judgement in his own case. Lord permitted to kill soldiers since they were prepared based on gratitude.
[You need not argue that peace shown against violence leads to growth of indiscipline in the society. We are not telling that the sin shall not be punished. We are only telling that the affected party should never be the judge since conclusion will be biased. In the end, God Krishna killed His own son called as Samba for the sin committed by him in insulting the sages. If you see Dhrutharasthra, he supported his sinful sons. Hence, Gandhari is not justified to give curse to Krishna, who is the mother of Kauravas. Except God, no other human being can be impartial and hence Krishna gave the judgement to kill all supporters of injustice. Even the soldiers were prepared for death based on their gratefulness to their King for receiving salaries. Those, who did not support injustice of Kauravas, went to heaven.]

22) God compensates your loss; revenge does not
नष्ट पुरणं दैवात् न प्रतिक्रियायाः।२२।
naṣṭa puraṇaṁ daivāt na pratikriyāyāḥ|22|
Your loss is compensated by God and not at all by revenge.
[When somebody harmed you, you shouldn’t think of the punishment to such enemy because the punishment of the opposite side will not compensate your loss in anyway. The effected party always tries to harm the enemy by giving equal and opposite reaction to the sinful harming action received from the enemy and in this there is no wisdom at all except emotional revenge. If you leave the process of enquiry, its judgement and its punishment to God, you are compensated for your loss by the omnipotent God. Hence, revenge is foolishness whereas patience to leave the case to God regarding revenge is the wisest way.]

23) Delay in God’s punishment enables reformation; vengefulness is punished
विलम्बे शुद्धि नष्टं न प्रतिफलात् दण्डश्च।२३।
vilambe śuddhi naṣṭaṁ na pratiphalāt daṇḍaśca|23|
In the delay of His enquiry, you need not doubt about the escape of punishment since it doesn’t compensate your loss. If you are patient, your loss is compensated by God. Otherwise, you will get extra punishment for your emotion of revenge.
[Delay takes place in the judgement of God since He gives sometime for His criminal child to reform permanently by spiritual knowledge. You are worried that if your enemy is reformed, he is escaping the punishment and you feel that you are in loss. This is not correct because the punishment of your enemy will not compensate your loss in anyway. If you think about revenge with emotion, you are losing the compensation from God and also punished for the revenge-sin. Draupadi was punished for her emotion of revenge by losing all her sons.]

24) Human third-party judges can err; the omniscient Father of all souls never errs
नृणामपि च्युतिस्तवतु न सर्वज्ञपितुः।२४।
nṛṇāmapi cyutistavatu na sarvajñapituḥ|24|
Due to human error third party may go wrong and not to speak if victim becomes third party. Such error and prejudice are not possible in the case of omniscient God, the creator of all souls.
[The king or court has long process of enquiry and even then justice may not be detected since they depend on witness, which can be false also. But, God is omniscient and there is no enquiry at all since truth is already known to Him. The delay is not due to enquiry, but, due to time given to the sinner to reform. The enquiry done even by a third party like king or court or elders has chance to go in wrong direction due to human error. In such case, if the victim himself becomes the third party to enquire his own case, certainly the victim will go wrong due to prejudice of selfishness. The omniscient God is the creator or Father of all souls and hence there is no trace of chance to go wrong in detecting the truth since it is already known without enquiry. Hence, leaving your case to God is the best way of a wise man.]

25) The non-vengeance of a Brahmin prevents a chain of sins in society
ब्राह्मणे गुणः शृङ्खला लोक क्षोभाय।२५।
brāhmaṇe guṇaḥ śṛṅkhalā loka kṣobhāya|25|
Non-revenge is the quality of a Braahmin. Otherwise, chain of sins results in chaos of this world.
[Braahmana means the sage or the best human being since he leads the society towards God (Brahma nayati iti) and doesn’t refer anybody simply by birth since God told that caste is by qualities and deeds and not by birth (Gunakarma vibhaagashah— Gita). The quality of such a Brahmin is told by scripture as lack of revenge to even his bitter enemy (Ghaatam na ghaatayet viprah). Such attitude is logically wise and not foolish or the result of incapability to revenge. This revenge initiates chain of sins resulting in chaos of this society.]

26) God’s perfect divine justice seen in the Mahabharatam builds confidence
भारतं गणनानुसारि प्रत्ययः कार्यः।२६।
bhārataṁ gaṇanānusāri pratyayaḥ kāryaḥ|26|
The perfect divine calculation can be observed in the characters of the epic called Mahabharatam and hence, confidence in God is essential.
[All these concepts can be seen in the characters of the epic ‘Mahabharatam’. Draupadi lost all her sons due to constant attitude of revenge. Draupadi was the first person to fall in the last journey (Mahaaprasthaanam) since she was the root cause of this whole episode by insulting comments on Duryodhana when he slipped in Mayasabha (palace). A guest shouldn’t be insulted. Duryodhana became revengeful, of course, his revenge to insult Draupadi was many fold due to his demonic nature. Uttara gave birth to Parikshit, who became the king. The womb of Uttara was protected by God from loss and this shows that God can protect and compensate the loss in view of deservingness of Arjuna and Uttara. Dharmaraja suffered in forest for gambling. His brothers also suffered in forest for not opposing his gambling. Dharmaraja didn’t go to hell and went to heaven since he tried for the reformation of enemy and also didn’t take any vow at the end of gambling to kill any enemy. His four brothers went to hell since both these were absent in their case. The son of Dharma Raja didn’t become the king since his mother was Draupadi. The grandson of Arjuna alone became the king since Arjuna dropped from the war becoming against to punishment of death. God allowed killing of innocent soldiers since they supported injustice directly or indirectly and were ready to kill the opposite innocent soldiers based on which they can’t be excused! Everything is absolutely perfect in the divine administration of God in which nothing slips from the divine calculations. Hence, the souls must be always patient having unshakable faith in God.]

27) Draupadi’s sons, were killed for their sin of hunting; the innocent are never punished
मृगया पापत् न निरघस्य दण्डः।२७।
mṛgayā pāpat na niraghasya daṇḍaḥ|27|
The sons of Draupadi were killed due to sin in hunting. Innocent is never punished.
[You need not argue that the innocent sons of Draupadi were unnecessary killed for the fault of her mother and this is a mistake in the divine judgement. Even though they did not commit any sin with respect to the main story, their sin committed elsewhere is punished, which is killing soft natured animals in hunting. There is a saying that a sinner may escape punishment, but, an innocent shall not be punished. This may happen in human administration, which has limitations like deciding truth on witness, misleading due to very clever advocates, bribing the judge etc. But, in the divine administration such possibilities can’t be even dreamt.]

28) God punished the angelic Pandavas and demons; He is perfectly impartial
देव पण्डवा अपि परे दैत्या एव निश्पक्षः सः।२८।
deva paṇḍavā api pare daityā eva niśpakṣaḥ saḥ|28|
Even Pandavaas, the incarnations of angels were punished and not to speak of the opposite demons. God is not partial even to angels.
[I am explaining the punishments given to Pandavaas not to support Kauravas, which is also done by evil minds. Kauravas were bad from top to bottom being the incarnations of demons and hence were bitterly punished by God as they couldn’t be reformed by his preaching. Even Pandavaas, incarnations of angels were punished for their sins showing that sin is not tolerated in any case. Even Pandavaas erred due to their human nature and were not spared for their sins and this shows that God is not partial even to angels as blamed by demons.]

29) Ethics derived from the stories outweighs historicity; evidence is also available
धर्मो मुख्यः न कल्पना दृष्यन्ते हि।२९।
dharmo mukhyaḥ na kalpanā dṛṣyante hi|29|
The ethics derived from these stories stand as main and not the truth of happening of these. Proofs are also seen.
[Some people sidetrack the main issue by saying that these stories were not true. The point of truth of story is not at all to be considered. The main point is the ethical conclusion of such stories that is useful for the human behaviour. Sages were the authors of these epics and they will never write imaginary stories like the present authors of novels! The bridge of stones on the sea and archaeological findings in Kurukshetra stand as proofs just like in the case of other histories.]

30) Attachment to spouse and child increase sins related to money, which is stressed in the Vedas and Gita
श्रुतगीत धन कारणं द्विमोहः।३०।
śrutagīta dhana kāraṇaṁ dvimohaḥ|30|
Money is stressed in Veda and Gita. Fascination to the life partner and issues is responsible for the sin of money.
[There are three strong worldly bonds: life partner, issues and money. The fascination to life partner and issues is responsible for the most important sin of money, which is stealing others’ money by corruption as observed in politicians and some employees. Money is told as the root of this world (Dhanamulamidam jagat) and hence sin of money is most serious. The Veda also says that you should not steal others’ money (Maagrudhah...) and also says that sacrifice of money alone is the ultimate path to God (Dhanenaikena...). The Gita also says the same two points (stenaeva sah..., phalam tyaktvaa...).]

31) Share of total, not amount, is important in the sacrifice of money
अंशो न परिमाणं धनस्य।३१
aṁśo na parimāṇaṁ dhanasya|31|
The share of sacrifice in the total is important and not its magnitude for money.
[One should not misunderstand that money is given importance in spiritual path. Since money is important, sacrifice of it becomes important! But, one shall understand that the share of the money sacrificed in the total possessed is important and not the magnitude of the sacrificed money. If the magnitude is given importance, it is cheating only as in a case of telling that salvation shall be granted if one lakh is paid! The share decides the attitude, which is very important. One rupee sacrificed by a beggar is far far greater than one lakh sacrificed by rich man! Hence, criticism of money in false twisted direction is to be avoided.]

32) Money is matter and is greater than energy; hence do not steal
द्रव्यं शक्तेः परतरं तन्न चौर्यं लोभः।३२।
dravyaṁ śakteḥ parataraṁ tanna cauryaṁ lobhaḥ|32|
Matter is greater than energy and hence don’t steal the matter or money of others, which is the greediness..
[The practical philosophy (Karma Yoga) is sacrifice of work and its fruit or money for God. Both shall be done by the house-holders and former is to be done by saints. Matter or money is condensed energy and work or energy is lesser than matter. Exchange of energy for matter is employment and hence employee respects employer. Exchange of matter for matter is business and hence consumer doesn’t respect a shopkeeper. This proves the importance of money and hence illegal earning of money is the most serious sin, which should be strongly understood by politician and employee and even any human being for that matter. This relates to one of the three main gates of hell (lobha or greediness).]

33) The bond with the body is responsible for violence and lust
अनुक्त देह बन्धः क्रोध कामयोः।३३।
anukta deha bandhaḥ krodha kāmayoḥ|33|
The bond with body being the basis of the three strong bonds is not specifically mentioned, which is responsible for violence in killing and illegal sex.
[Eating non-vegetarian food by killing or getting other living beings killed and illegal sex with others other than life partner are the two sins related to the fourth strong worldly bond called as Deha-Eshanaa or the bond with the happiness of one’s own body. This bond is the basis of all the other three strong bonds and hence is not specifically mentioned. This violence in killing and illegal sex are related to the other two main gates of hell (krodha and kaama).]

34) Narada’s lesson to the hunter reveals the soul’s foolishness
व्याधनारद सम्भाषणात् जीवो विमूढः।३४।
vyādhanārada sambhāṣaṇāt jīvo vimūḍhaḥ|34|
From the conversation of Narada and hunter, the soul is proved as the biggest fool.
[The conversation of Valmiki as hunter and Narada as preacher is to be remembered here. Valmiki was robbing the money of passengers in a forest for the sake of the happiness of his family. Sage Narada preached him that family members are only going to enjoy the illegal money brought by him and will not share the sin committed for earning it. The family members and even these gross-bodies shall leave the soul in this world for the happiness of which sins were committed and these will not follow the soul to hell to share the punishments. The soul is the biggest fool, which undergoes all the punishments here as well as in the hell and the sins were committed for the happiness of others! Truth is always bitter but inevitable since it alone can save the soul.]

35) The fruits of the three sins performed secretly are also delivered secretly
गीत पापत्रयं रहसि फले च।३५।
gīta pāpatrayaṁ rahasi phale ca|35|
The three main sins told by Gita are done secretly and hence the enjoyment of their punishments is also given secretly.
[Hence, stealing others’ money by cheating or violence, illegal sex with others other than life partner and killing or torturing other living beings by violence for food or any other reason constitute the three main sins, which are told as the three main gates of the hell in the Gita. The fruits of these three main sins come to you in the form of suffering. Mostly sins are done secretly and hence the enjoyment of punishments by a soul also happens secretly. People do sins and do not like the notice of others in doing so. Their false dignity is maintained by God in their enjoyment of punishment also!]

36) Nature of the sin inferred from the punishment, which shows God’s kindness
अनुमेयं फलं करुणैव तस्य।३६।
anumeyaṁ phalaṁ karuṇaiva tasya|36|
The nature of the punishment brings the memory of the sin done and punishment indicates only the kindness of God.
[The sins can be easily understood by any soul from the nature of the punishments and hence none should think that punishment is given without reason. Sita always remembered the sin committed by her in scolding Lakshmana from the common nature of sin and punishment. The common nature was rubbing false allegations on others about sexual character. It is better to concentrate on the release from the misery of these punishments by following the only way, which is non-repetition of sin by realization and repentance. One shall not think that punishment is sadism of God. The punishment is also aimed at the same result of realization of the sin done, repentance due to misery and resulting non-repetition of sin. Through knowledge, this result is obtained permanently and through punishment the same result is obtained temporarily. Something is better than nothing and punishment shows only the kindness of the creator to lift the souls from misery at least for some time. The punishment given by Rama to Sita shows His unparallel love to her that Sita shall not come to the upper world with balance of sin. Association with human body is responsible for such error even though Sita is a divine soul and this concept was demonstrated by Sita.]

37) No other way but the true knowledge from the Divine Preacher.
नान्यः पन्थाः सत्य ज्ञनात् सत्गुरोः।३७।
nānyaḥ panthāḥ satya jñanāt satguroḥ|37|
There is no way other than the true knowledge attained from divine preacher.
[Therefore, the soul shall not waste the time to escape the worldly misery by external measures like practicing Yoga, worships of God with the help of selfish priests etc., since there is only one way to get permanent relief from the worldly miseries as said above, one should try to get true knowledge from the divine preacher, which alone gives the permanent relief as said above. Knowledge alone is the way and truth of knowledge is its power to bring implementation since truth alone does the constant and very powerful drilling of the mind. Hence, the Veda gives truth as the first adjective to knowledge (Satyam jnanam...)].

(Second Chapter is completed.)

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Datta Dharma Sutram: Chapter-1

1) Exposition of the principles of ethics
दत्त धर्म सूत्रं व्याख्यास्यामः।१।
datta dharma sūtraṁ vyākhyāsyāmaḥ|1|
We shall explain the points of ethics as formulated by God Datta.

2) Datta is God ‘given’ to all souls universally
दानामात्रात् सर्वेषाम्।२।
dānāmātrāt sarveṣām|2|
Donation only and hence all are applicable.
[Datta means the unimaginable God donated or given to the souls through a medium and hence, Datta has no reference to any specific religion. All these points are therefore applicable to all human beings of all religions on this earth.]

3) Spiritual knowledge consists of worldly justice, spiritual path and theistic philosophy
प्रवृत्ति निवृत्ति तत्त्व भागत्रयम्।३।
pravṛtti nivṛtti tattva bhāgatrayam|3|
Pravrutti, Nivrutti and Philosophy are three parts.
[Pravrutti means the behaviour of any soul towards other souls in this society. Nivrutti means the behaviour of any soul to God. Philosophy means the details of various aspects of God. These three are the parts of spiritual knowledge.]

4) Theism is the basis for both worldly justice and the spiritual path
अस्तित्वादि द्वयोरपि।४।
astitvādi dvayorapi|4|
The existence of unimaginable God and other aspects of God are important fundamentals for both Pravrutti and Nivrutti.
[The third part related to God called as philosophy is the basis for both Pravrutti and Nivrutti. Hence, the knowledge of God should be known in the very first basic stage.]

5) Atheism causes fearless immorality
अन्यथा नास्तिक निर्भय विरोधः।५।
anyathā nāstika nirbhaya virodhaḥ|5|
Otherwise, contradiction between atheism and fearlessness results.
[If the existence of unimaginable God is not established at the outset, atheism comes up, which says that there is no God at all. In such case, there is no aspect of unimaginable nature. The beginning and end of everything is only imaginable domain. Atheists claim that even in the absence of God, one can follow ethics in the society. This is only hypocrisy of an atheist to cheat society. If one can escape the punishment here by cheating law of court, what is the harm if ethics are violated? This million dollar question comes up to the mind of any human being, which is genuine. This statement of atheist is useful for cheating the society by atheists. If unimaginable God, unimaginable hell and unimaginable procedure of punishment from God are absent, there is no fear at all to do any sin provided one can escape punishment by cheating courts here.]

6) Even theists struggle to control sin
अस्तित्वेऽपि पापान्यास्तिकेषु।६।
astitve'pi pāpānyāstikeṣu|6|
Sins are seen even in theists having faith in existence of God.
[Theists have full faith in God and hell. In spite of this faith, even theists are unable to control doing sins. In such case, you need not speak of the control of sins in case this faith also disappears. Hence, atheism results in climax of chaos.]

7) God incarnates in creation mainly to establish justice
स्थापकस्य द्रुतिर्गीयते तदर्थमिति।७।
sthāpakasya drutirgīyate tadarthamiti|7|
Establisher runs to rectify Pravrutti as sung in the Gita.
[The establisher of an industry runs to the industry if any serious disturbance in the administration is heard by him. Similarly, God runs in to this creation from His isolated state to rectify the chaos disturbing the peace, balance and justice called as Pravrutti in this world. Hence, the Gita says that God incarnates on this earth to establish Justice (Dharmasamsthaapanaarthaaya). Except this one purpose, no other purpose is mentioned in the Gita.]

8) Satisfying ardent devotees is a secondary purpose
भक्तार्थमानुषङ्गिकम्।८।
bhaktārthamānuṣaṅgikam|8|
Coming for Nivrutti-devotees is associated programme only.
[God comes in to this creation either as energetic incarnation in the superior worlds or as human incarnation on this earth for the sake of climax Nivrutti devotees, who are very anxious to see and talk with God for clarifying their doubts in the spiritual path. But, this purpose is not mentioned in the Gita. Only establishment of justice in Pravrutti is mentioned, which is the main purpose. This does not mean that other associated purposes like satisfying the desire of Nivrutti devotees, direct entertainment in the creation etc., should not be there. Hence, the statement of the Gita gives stress on the main purpose, which does not mean that it contradicts other associated purposes.]

9) Suffering is the fruit of sin
दुःखं पाप फलमेव।९।
duḥkhaṁ pāpa phalameva|9|
Suffering is the fruit of sin only.
[Removal of suffering due to difficulties is the main practical aspect of majority of souls in this world. This aspect is more important than attainment of happiness. Control of loss is more important than gain of benefit. The root reason for such misery of almost all the souls is the punishment given to the soul for its sin done previously.]

10) The root cause of suffering is sinful action; not the punishment
कारणं कर्म न फलम्।१०।
kāraṇaṁ karma na phalam|10|
The reason is the sinful action only and not its fruit.
[If the suffering is to be removed: the reason of suffering is the fruit of the sin, the reason for this fruit is the sinful action and the misery can be removed only if the sinful action is removed, which generates its fruit as punishment. We can’t separate the fruit from action. If putting the finger in fire is action, burning of finger is its spontaneous fruit. The burning generates the misery. To remove this misery, its root cause, which is the action of putting the finger in fire, shall be stopped. In between the misery of burning and the action of putting finger in fire lies the fruit or punishment, which alone can’t be stopped. It is not like the punishment given by a king that can be stopped by his revised order. The fruit of the sin and the misery of the fruit are spontaneously linked, which can’t be controlled after the action of sin.]

11) God protects justice by postponement of suffering or bearing it Himself
क्षेप भोगाभ्यामुचित रक्षणम्।११।
kṣepa bhogābhyāmucita rakṣaṇam|11|
By postponement and self-suffering proper doing is protected.
[One should not think that the fruit of the sin can be stopped by the omnipotent God even in the middle stage. Due to omniscience of God, it is possible, but, God never does any improper action misusing His power. If you force Him by your devotion, He will postpone the punishment with added interest to future. This is misunderstood by us as cancellation of punishment by the omnipotent God! Even in the case of a climax-Nivrutti devotee, He Himself suffers becoming victim of such punishment for the sake of His climax-devotee. By this, He protects the Law as a good rule maker or administrator.]

12) Enjoyment of fruits is inevitable, irrespective of worship prescribed by priests
भोक्तव्यमेव पूजार्थ परा अमि।१२।
bhoktavyameva pūjārtha parā ami|12|
One shall enjoy the fruit, priests twist this for earning through worship.
[The priests interested in earning by false way propagate that worship of God will remove the sin and its misery. By worship, they can earn their livelihood. This is wrong since the scripture says that the fruit of deed must be enjoyed by a soul even after very very long time (Avashyamanubhoktavyam). These priests will be rewarded more by God if they preach true knowledge and develop true devotion.]

13) Realization, repentance and non-repetition cancels punishment of all past sins
दण्डोद्दिष्टा पुनः क्रिया ज्ञानतापात् भूतमपि दहति।१३।
daṇḍoddiṣṭā punaḥ kriyā jñānatāpāt bhūtamapi dahati|13|
Since the aim of punishment is only non-repetition of sin in future, this, achieved by realization and repentance can burn even all past sins before enjoyment.
[There is only one way to cancel the punishment and avoid the misery of the sins done in the past without enjoyment of their fruits. Through true spiritual knowledge, realization, followed by repentance, results in non-repetition of sin in future, which can alone cancel the past sins also. The reason is that punishment is given only to bring this stage of non-repetition. If this aim is achieved by realization and repentance through knowledge, there is no need of the punishment to be given for the past sins.]

14) This world for action; upper worlds for enjoyment of all but intense deeds
तीव्रं विना कर्म भोग लोकौ।१४।
tīvraṁ vinā karma bhoga lokau|14|
Except the case of serious sin, the worlds for enjoyment of fruit and doing deeds freely are separate.
[The soul in energetic body after death undergoes punishments of all sins done here in the hell. The punishment can only suppress the attitude of sin and hence, when the soul is reborn here, it contains a trace of the same attitude after re-birth, by which the soul commits sins here and undergoes punishments if such sins are serious. The punishments of serious sins done here due to trace of previous sinful attitude existing in subconscious state are generating misery here. This means that this materialized world is not for the enjoyment of fruits of deeds, but, it is a place of doing deeds freely. The cause of such present deeds is only the remaining trace of sinful attitude of the soul coming from hell, which grows in the present life. Serious deeds of such present deeds alone give punishments here itself resulting in the present misery. Hell is a place of enjoyment of fruits or Bhogaloka whereas this earth is a place of doing deeds freely or Karmaloka without interference of enjoyment of past fruits. Exception is a serious sin that gives fruit immediately here itself.]

15) The Veda and Gita support the cancellation of sins after permanent reformation
फलोद्देश तर्कादेकः श्रूयते गीयतेच।१५।
phaloddeśa tarkādekaḥ śrūyate gīyateca|15|
Since the total aim of punishment is not repetition of sin in future, this path alone is the true path to escape all sins without their punishments as said in the Veda and the Gita.
[Such path of totally cancelling all the past sins without enjoying their fruits is logically correct since the fruit of a sin is aimed at non-repetition of sin only in the future. It is mentioned in the Veda - (Apahata paapmaa) and in the Gita (Jnaanaagnih..., Sarvamjnaanaplavenaiva... etc.).]

16) Contemporary yoga only relieves symptoms temporarily
योगादि ज्वरोपशमनवत्।१६।
yogādi jvaropaśamanavat|16|
The path of yoga propagated for removing tensions of misery is only external and temporary measure as in the case of fever.
[Yoga is interpreted as controlling the mind from misery by concentrating on a different point. By this, you can control the misery superficially for a small period of time. It is like putting wet cloth on the forehead to pacify the fever. The actual cause is the sin or the bacteria causing infection, which can be removed by the above said path of non-repetition of sin or use of antibiotics respectively.]

17) Cancellation of sins upon reformation is seen in other religions too
अन्यत्रच क्रिया मुख्या।१७।
anyatraca kriyā mukhyā|17|
This path is seen in other religions also, but, practical non-repetition is main.
[This path is also seen in other religions like Christianity in which confession cancels all sins. The word confession is not mere theoretical by mind and words. It means only practical non-repetition of the sin in future.]

18) Present punishment is for serious deeds done here due to tendencies from past birth
रामकृष्णयोरपि संस्कार शेष जन्यक्रिया फलमेव।१८।
rāmakṛṣṇayorapi saṁskāra śeṣa janyakriyā phalameva|18|
In the case of Rama and Krishna also, the fruit of the present deed generated by the trace of attitude of previous births is only enjoyed.
[We have told that the punishments of sins are to be enjoyed in hell whereas the action of a soul in free atmosphere is on this earth. This means that the fruit of the past sin done in the previous birth is not enjoyed in the next birth. You may argue that such concept is wrong because Krishna enjoyed in the present birth the fruit of the sin done in the previous birth, which is death by shot arrow in this birth for the sin done in the previous birth by killing Vaali by hiding Himself. If you analyse carefully, such cheating in the previous birth appeared in this birth also as remainder of cheating attitude that made Krishna to cheat and steal butter and cheat the enemies in killing in the war and the fruit enjoyed by Him can be considered as the fruit of present deeds only generated from the remaining trace of attitude of previous birth. You can tell this as the enjoyment of the fruit of the deed done in previous birth and such statement is an approximate and indirect way only. The precise statement is that the soul enjoyed the fruit of present serious deed that got generated by the trace of attitude of previous birth existing in subconscious state.]

19) Rama and Krishna accepted punishment to discourage expoitation.
सामान्य जीवोपदेशात् तथा दृष्टम्।१९।
sāmānya jīvopadeśāt tathā dṛṣṭam|19|
To preach ordinary human beings, human behaviour is adopted in such way.
[In the above case, Rama and Krishna are human incarnations of God and can’t be bound by the theory of deeds and fruits. Even then, the theory applied to ordinary human beings only is extended to the case of human incarnations also because through this action, God is preaching ethics to human beings. God may do a sin to support justice in the end and this proves that ends justify means. Based on this, we can explain the cheating of Vaali and Kauravas as justified since Vaali and Kauravaas are sinners. But, human beings may imitate this and may kill even a good person from back side projecting him as bad due to their hidden enmity. Hence, God proved that means justify ends for the sake of controlling the clever exploitations. In view of this only, the above case is explained treating Rama and Krishna as an ordinary soul existing in two normal human bodies. This should not be misunderstood to treat Rama and Krishna as an ordinary soul in two subsequent births.]

20) All contributors to a deed bear the fruit; Draupadi punished for her vengeance
चत्वारो भोक्तारः कृष्णादण्डः सन्धिविरोधात्।२०।
catvāro bhoktāraḥ kṛṣṇādaṇḍaḥ sandhivirodhāt|20|
All the four equally enjoy the fruit, Draupadi is punished for opposing the chance of transformation of Kauravaas.
[The direct doer, indirect doer, initiator and supporter of any sinful deed enjoy the fruit of the sin equally as told in the scripture (Kartaa kaarayitaa chaiva Prerakashchaanumodakah). Draupadi was punished for provoking Pandavaas to kill Kauravaas and the punishment was that she lost her five sons. Even though Kauravaas are bad, Draupadi wanted to punish them with personal vengeance. The punishment is not for pacification of any personal vengeance. It is aimed only for suppressing the attitude of repetition of sin in future. Draupadi tried to discourage Krishna attempting to transform Kauravas by giving a message. Draupadi wanted the punishment of Kauravas without giving a chance of transformation through knowledge. Such misunderstanding of punishment by Draupadi resulted in the sin and she got the punishment of sin for such angle of ignorance. She became the initiator and supporter of sin of killing a criminal without giving the chance of realization through knowledge.]

21) Krishna differs from Draupadi since He tried to reform sinners
कृष्णो भिद्यते ज्ञानावकाश यत्नात्।२१।
kṛṣṇo bhidyate jñānāvakāśa yatnāt|21|
Krishna differs from Draupadi since He wanted to punish the criminal after the failure of trail for reformation through knowledge.
[Krishna was also initiator and promoter of killing Kauravaas even through cunning methods. But, He tried to transform Kauravaas thorough several messages given by several sages during His visit. His aim is to give the punishment only after trying for transformation and never had any intention of vengeance. This is the difference between Krishna and Draupadi.]

22) Krishna getting cursed is only incidental and is meant to control exploitation
आनुषङ्गिक शापादन्यथा च।२२।
ānuṣaṅgika śāpādanyathā ca|22|
Curse given to Krishna is just associated point, which is for control of exploitation also.
[You may argue that even Krishna was punished in the same way by the curse of Gandhaari, the mother of Kauravaas. It is not so as in the case of Draupadi. The sons of Draupadi were killed without any reason whereas the family of Krishna got destroyed for violating the prohibition orders of Krishna to drink wine and for the sin of insult done by His son to the sages. Krishna allowed the curse of Gandhaari to associate with a genuine sin just to satisfy her mind. Moreover, proceeding to punishment requires a careful prior step of sincere trial for transformation of soul before punishment. Without doing such trials sincerely, the souls may proceed to the punishment in haste. To control such exploitation, Krishna has taken the curse of Gandhiri on Him also just as in the case of Draupadi. This is also another angle of explanation.]

23) Physical punishments for sinful deeds; mental punishments for thoughts
क्रियया दण्डो भावस्य भवमात्रः।२३।
kriyayā daṇḍo bhāvasya bhavamātraḥ[A2] |23|
Practical punishment is for practical sin only, which if limited to theory only, gets theoretical punishment.
[You shall not argue that the sin of Draupadi is only theoretical due to thoughts of mind being expressed in words and that she is not involved in the action directly. For theoretical sin, the punishment shall be theoretical only and hence, she should not be given practical punishment. This is not correct because her theoretical sin in provoking Pandavaas to do the sin practically, which makes her as the share holder of practical sin. If the sin is limited to theory only without resulting in practice, theoretical punishment like harsh warning by the Lord of hell is given, which is sufficient for theoretical sin that doesn’t result in practice or provoke others to do the practical sin.]

24) Sita’s severe punishment was due to the exceptionality of Lakshmana
सीतायामन्यथा योग्यता शीलाभ्याम्।२४
sītāyāmanyathā yogyatā śīlābhyām|24
In the case of Sita, the punishment is otherwise due to the special deservingness and character of Lakshmana.
[Sita abused Lakshmana for having an idea of illegal sex when Rama left to catch the golden deer. Sita was scolded by Rama after the war, which is a theoretical punishment for theoretical sin. Afterwards, Sita was given practical punishment of leaving her in the forest that resulted finally in her death also. This shows severe practical punishment for theoretical sin also. The reasons for this are 1) the deservingness of Lakshmana is in climax, he being the incarnation of Adisesha, the highest devotee and 2) if you observe the attitude of Lakshmana towards her, it is amazing since he never saw her above her feet by recognizing her anklets only. In view of the pain of mind of such exceptional devotee, even the theoretical sin is given practical punishment.]

25) The nature of the sin can be inferred from the nature of punishment
फलानुमेयं कर्म द्वयोरपि।२५।
phalānumeyaṁ karma dvayorapi|25|
In the case of Sita and Kauravaas, the nature of the sin is inferred by the nature of punishment.
[The sin can be easily imagined by the nature of punishment. Sita abused Lakshmana falsely regarding his illegal sexual character. If you see the nature of punishment, it is also about illegal character attributed on her by force. After war, Rama scolded her in horrible way by advising her to go and marry Vibhishana to become the queen of Lanka! Even the washer-man attributed false illegal character on her during her long stay in Lanka. The punishments received by her clearly indicate her sin through similar nature. Similarly, Kauravaas were killed in war through cheating and this nature of punishment reveals the nature of their sin done in cheating Dharma Raja in the play of chess. You must catch the sin from its punishment by analysing the common nature. Without doing this, if you scold Rama for leaving Sita, it becomes blind foolishness.]

26) Punishment is as per the sin; fear of hell and devotion to God control sin
छलेन बलेनवा भयेन भक्त्यावा द्विधाच।२६।
chalena balenavā bhayena bhaktyāvā dvidhāca|26|
Either by cheating or force, either by fear or devotion and by both also.
[There are two ways in doing a sin: 1) by cheating and 2) by force. The punishment also comes in the same way in which one has done the sin. If the sin involves both the ways, the punishment also involves both the ways. The control of sin is also in two ways: 1) by fear to hell and 2) by devotion to God being the author of the ethical constitution. The followers of Pravrutti are controlled by the first way and the followers of Nivrutti are controlled by the second way. Majority of human beings is in between Pravrutti and Nivrutti and hence, both act as the controlling factors of sins in majority.]

27) Liberation from worldly misery comes fron non-repetition of violence, greed and lust
गीत त्रिवर्गात् प्रवृत्ति मोक्षः।२७।
gīta  trivargāt pravṛtti mokṣaḥ|27|
The three categories related to the three sins mentioned in the Gita result in liberation from misery in Pravrutti.
[The Gita says that there are three main gates for the hell: illegal sex, greediness and corruption for wealth and violence by anger are mentioned. There are four categories (purushaartha) in practical philosophy: justice (dharma), wealth (artha), sex (kaama) and salvation (moksha). The three main gates of hell mentioned by the Gita exactly coincide with the first three categories. Greediness is related to wealth and illegal sex is related sex. The violence is related to justice since non-violence is the climax of justice. The sins done in the first three categories cause misery and non-repetition of all these sins in future gives the salvation form misery permanently. Salvation means liberation and in Pravrutti the liberation from misery is attained by non-repetition of these three sins.]

28) Overcoming the bonds with child, spouse and wealth is salvation in the spiritual path
एषण त्रय मोक्षश्च निवृत्तौ।२८।
eṣaṇa traya mokṣaśca nivṛttau|28|
Liberation from the three strong correlated bonds is salvation in nivrutti.
[In Nivrutti also, control of fascination to the three strong bonds with issues, life partner and wealth results in liberation from attraction to world, which is an indirect measure of the attraction to God. These three strong bonds are also related to the three categories. Bond with wealth and bond with life partner are related to Artha and Kamaa respectively. Bond with issues is related to justice because the justified aim of marriage is only issues (dharma). Liberation from these three bonds spontaneously as the consequence of attraction to God is called as moksha since it is indirect measure of devotion to God. The liberation from these three strong bonds is a spontaneous consequence of devotion only and not a forcible pre-requisite.]

29) The four vices related to worldly justice and two related to the spiritual path
प्रवृत्ति चतुष्टय निवृत्ति द्वयम्।२९।
pravṛtti catuṣṭaya nivṛtti dvayam|29|
The first four vices belong to Pravrutti and the last two belong to Nivrutti.
[The six vices are: illegal sex (kaama), violence by anger (krodha), greediness for wealth (lobha), fascination to worldly bonds (moha), ego (mada) and jealousy (matsara). The first four are related to Pravrutti and last two are related to Nivrutti. The first three are said to be the three main gates of hell in the Gita. The fourth (moha) is reason for the first three sins. All these four are in Pravrutti. The last two are ego and jealousy towards co-human beings by which the human incarnation of God is slipped by the souls.]

30) Fascination pertains to both the worldy and spiritual paths
चतुर्थस्तु द्वयोः।३०।
caturthastu dvayoḥ|30|
The fourth fascination is common to both Pravrutti and Nivrutti
[The fourth is the fascination towards strong worldly bonds, which is common to failure in both pravrutti and nivrutti.]

31) These general rules apply everywhere and in all times unless Preacher Datta intervenes
सर्वत्र सर्वदा सामान्यं नचेत् दत्त गुरोर्विशेषः।३१।
sarvatra sarvadā sāmānyaṁ nacet datta gurorviśeṣaḥ|31|
Everywhere and at every time, the above general rules are followed unless the preacher Datta interferes in a special case.
[The hell and heaven exist in space as energetic worlds unseen by human beings. The same hell and heaven exist on this earth also, which are meant for awarding emergent fruits to bad deeds and good deeds respectively. Actually, which fruit should be given in which place and in which time is decided by the ultimate God only, whose ultimate aim is only transformation of soul. The rules said above are only general norms, which may change as per the direction given by God based on the proper time for such fruit. God Datta is called as the preacher (Guru) constantly trying for the transformation of the souls or students. The enjoyment of fruits of deeds is generally done in the external worlds so that the actions to be done with freedom on this earth are not to be disturbed by the enjoyment of fruits. Enjoyment of fruits of emergent deeds is an exception to this general rule. The Lords of heaven and hell follow the general rules unless God interferes in a special case. We have to understand that the punishments given by God for the sins done are not due to vengeance, but, are due to His graceful attitude for the transformation of souls.]

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

On addiction of Younger generation to adult films

Shri Karthik asked: Swami, I seek Your divine guidance on a sensitive topic that pertains mainly to people of the younger generation.

[My question is to do with watching pornography or films with explicitly sexual content. In today's society, we are constantly exposed to sexually arousing imagery through films, TV and the internet. For someone who lives in a modern city, it is nearly impossible to totally avoid this kind of content. Modern society in many aspects has become hyper sexualized.
Some are affected more easily by such sexually inciteful content than others depending upon their samskaras and external circumstances. You have many times told us that suppressing one's bad qualities is not the right way. Instead, one needs to divert these qualities to God. How is it possible for an ordinary soul to divert his/her lustful nature towards God and effectively prevent the loss of energy spent in lustful thoughts and actions?]

Swami replied: Anything diverted to God becomes good and anything diverted towards the world becomes bad. The good and bad lie in the direction and the goal. The same key in the same lock turned to one direction locks the doors and turned to opposite direction unlocks the doors. All things thought as bad by you become good if the direction is towards God. All things thought as good by you become bad if the direction is towards the world. Pure sandal paste submitted to the drainage becomes impure mud only. Impure material submitted to fire becomes sacred ash.

Sex is a noble and divine sacrifice done to extend this humanity (prajaatamtum... Veda). Eating food and drinking water are also noble sacrifices done to give energy to this body to do service to God. Hunger, thirst and sex are biological needs of the body, which should not be treated as bad or sinful. The Gita says that legally permitted sex is divine since it generates human beings of future generation to continue the entertainment of God (Dharmaaviruddhah kaamosmi). As you eat food while hungry or drink water while thirsty, a human being is entitled to have sex when such desire arises. As soon as youth starts after the childhood, marriage was done in the ancient times. Youth is the starting time for such desire. Marriage has nothing to do with the settlement of materialistic life. As soon as any soul is born on this earth by the will of God, the basic needs are already provided by God. Even the sinner is maintained by God. Even the atheist is maintained by God. A criminal jailed for anti-government activity is also given food and shelter in the jail by the government. If this faith exists, marriage has no link with settlement of materialistic life. Even after settlement of materialistic life, if marriage is done and issues are not born, how do you justify the link between marriage and materialistic life? The materialistic life becomes happy even if the basic needs are served. This concept is not maintained now. Now, the settlement of materialistic life means the fulfillment of endless desires. Hence, the marriage is delayed. In the childhood, education must be over and as soon as youth enters, married life shall start (shaishavebhyastavidyaanaam, yauvane vishayaishinaam). Now, the education is over when the youth is over and marriage is done in the beginning of old age! Justified earnings must serve the purpose of pacifying hunger, thirst, etc. Similarly, justified marriage must serve the need of pacification of sex. Since education continues in youth, the mind is neither absorbed in learning nor involved in the legal sex. All this is mainly due to the fundamental mistake of the very foundation-system of the society. The desire for sex in the body is the bell-ring for performing the marriage. One cannot concentrate on God while suffering with hunger and thirst. Similarly, one cannot concentrate on God while suffering with the desire of sex. Sex is very natural symptom like hunger and thirst of a biological system and these symptoms are parts of the plan of divine creation itself. Once these symptoms are pacified by the legal arrangements (like eating food, drinking water and marriage respectively), concentration on God is quite possible in any age of the body. Rama got married in the age of 12 years and Sita was in the age of 6 years. Of course, the conditions of health in that time of Treta age were quite different compared to the same of this time of Kali age. The basic point that is to be observed is that the marriage was performed as soon as the youth started. The desire for sex is the divine signal light given by God for performing the marriage. When legal arrangement is done in proper time, there is no need of desire for illegal arrangements. Even in the case of human incarnation, these biological needs continue because the human being-component is an ordinary biological system only like any other human being. Of course, if the God-component wishes, any biological need can be fully controlled. Such control becomes possible only on the wish of God-component and not by even the hectic effort of the human being-component! Resisted legal sex in the proper time only leads to all such disturbing factors. Either the need shall be controlled by God or shall be legally pacified by the human being in the need of the hour. Except these two ways, there is no third path to control these basic biological needs created by God Himself! This is the precise pin-point answer to your frank question.

At lotus feet of Swmai
-Prasad

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Naaticharaami - explained

Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami!

Is polygamy a sin? Kindly please analyze 2 cases: 1) Draupadi married to 5 pandavas and 2) Holy Mohammad married to several women (13 wives).

Swami replied: This issue is related to pravrutti or justice and injustice involved in worldly life. Following justice and avoiding injustice are also the commandments of God and hence the background basis of pravrutti is nivrutti only. The justice is made clear by certain positive rules (Vidhi Dharma) and the injustice is negated by certain negative rules (Nishedha Dharma). To speak truth is positive and not to speak a lie is negative rule. Apart from these two types, there is a third type of justice, which is called as dharmasukhshma (application of rule on analysis). If a rule is applied in emergency to save your life, it is called as exception in emergency (apatdharma). In this way, the rule varies within the marginal boundaries of justice from place to place, from time to time and from occasion to occasion. To speak a lie to protect the life of a good person is justice and in such occasion if speaking truth results in the killing of a good person, speaking truth is injustice and a sin.

Following justice (dharma) in earnings (artha) and in sex (kama) gives salvation (moksha) to any soul (apyarthakamou…dharmaayaiva). Your question is related to the justice in the sex. As already told, justice varies from time to time, place to place and situation to situation provided the change is within the marginal boundaries of the zone of justice. The change should not enter the zone of injustice. The bus can change its route within margins of a road depending on the direction of opposite vehicle, but, should not cross the margins and run into houses!

The Veda says that in doing sacrifice called Atiratra, the performer shall see the planet called Shodashi. The same Veda says in another statement that the performer need not see such planet (atiraatre shodashinam…, naatiraatre…). This means variation of the rule by moving to exact opposite side is prescribed by the same scripture. Justice (dharma) is activity (karma) and hence can vary. God (Bramha) is an entity and will never vary as said by scripture (kriyaayaam vikalpah natuvastuni). Here, variation to the extent of exact opposite side is allowed since seeing the planet is not very important since by it no injustice is done resulting in the pain and violence of a living being.
In the case of the function of marriage between a male and a female, justified points are to be observed:-
i) The couple is swearing in the name of God, that none shall deviate from the other in the sexual activity (Naaticharaami).
ii)  There shall be no mental agony for anyone of the couple due to such deviation because violence is the highest injustice.
iii) The main aim of the marriage is to extend humanity (prajaayai gruhamedhinaam, prajaatantum maa...).

iv) This shall not mean that re-marriage is allowed if no issues are born. It depends on the level of the mind of the couple. If the couple is totally devoted to God (nivrutti), it is never worried about the issues because the Veda clearly says that one cannot reach God by issues (na prajayaa). If the level of the mind of the couple is of the level of lower pravrutti only, re-marriage was allowed in the ancient time provided both come to understanding without any pain. In the present time, artificial insemination, incubation etc., are available in the place of re-marriage for the sake of issues. Based on some other circumstances also re-marriage was allowed provided both consult mutually without a trace of pain and there is total lack of cheating and violence.

v) This again does not mean that having sex with others (wife or husband) is justified provided the other partner is ignorant of this illegal activity because due to ignorance pain is always absent. This becomes a sin because the person has broken the swearing done in marriage before God and God is pained for breaking the promise done before Him as witness.

vi) Re-marriage in certain special situations is allowed provided the other partner has full consent without any force. In the present law also, re-marriage is allowed if the first wife gives in writing that she is constantly ill and somebody is needed for her service, mental illness of the life partner, change of religion etc. The scriptures say that one shall re-marry if the issues are not found for ten years (aprajaam dashame varshe). The scripture also says that the re-marriage for a lady is allowed in five situations (death, sainthood, neutrality of gender, missed and never found and becoming immoral – panchasvaapatsu…patiranyovidheeyate). Such a re-marriage for man or woman is allowed provided the mental state is in need of desire for sex or issues. Sex is a biological need like hunger, thirst, sleep etc. Instead of remaining unmarried for external hypocrisy, it is better to re-marry and keep limitation.
vii) Polygamy or a polyandry is justified based on the special factors involved in a specific situation. Consent of the other life partner without any pain is the most important point since such point alone gives the birth of a sin. However, illegal sex in secrecy is also a sin, since it gives pain to God, who happened to be the witness of the marriage. Hence, re-marriage in public (open atmosphere) without any secrecy is justified provided such re-marriage has the support of the first life partner and logically acceptable factors agreed by God. Such an open re-marriage without hurting the life partner supported by specific conditions of the situation is also agreeable to God and can’t be treated as a sin. Draupadi did not have illegal and secret sex with the other brothers after marrying Dharmaraja. Mohammed also married again openly and did not have illegal sex secretly with others. He must have definitely taken the consent of already married wives and other acceptable supporting factors. The author of the constitution of such a great religion can’t do injustice.

viii) The scripture allows re-marriages in the case of a king in view of the inter-continental peace through relationship that avoids wars between kingdoms (raajaanobahuvallabhaah). Non-violence of the entire society than an individual is the highest justice in this concept.

ix) Even illegal sex without marriage was allowed to be justified provided such activity is with the consent of all scholarly elders. Sage Vyasa had illegal sex with the widows called as Ambika and Ambalika to extend the race of the dynasty of king Kuru. The mother-in-law of the widows and the mother of sage Vyasa requested sage Vyasa for this on the advice of scholars of ethics. This is not the usual secret sex with widows.

x) Lord Krishna has secret sex with married Gopikas in the midnights in Brundavanam forest for two years. This cannot be justified on the single point that the husbands of Gopikas were ignorant of this due to deep sleep in midnights. This single point cannot make this secret affair justified because it is against the commandment of God, who is Krishna Himself! Krishna killed Shishupala and the last allegation against Shishupala was that Shishupala had illegal sex with the wife of king Babhru. After leaving Brundavanam in His 18th year (infact blooming youth starts from 18th year), He never had such illegal sex with any other girl or lady. As a king and based on special circumstances, He had sex with girls married by Him only throughout His life. Some devotees desired married life with God in the previous births and God fulfilled their desire by these marriages. If He had sex with Gopikas based on lust due to youth, He should have continued such activity in the later part of His life also (especially in the blooming youth after 18th year) and should not have killed Shishupala on such allegation. This total background is totally different from pravrutti. All these Gopikas were sages doing penance for God in their previous millions of births. Their attachment to God is judged by the detachment from worldly bonds appeared subsequently and spontaneously. The three strongest worldly bonds (eshanas) are money, issues and life partner. Donating butter allotted for their children to Krishna speaks about the detachment from money and issues. Attachment to God through dance neglecting their life partners speaks about the detachment of bond with life partners. Hence, this is only a test conducted by God before giving the certificate of degree, which is greater than even the highest degree in the spiritual path. The highest degree is becoming one with God (equality with God) by becoming Human Incarnation. But, Gopikas became the masters of God placed in Goloka above His abode or Brahmaloka. This has no influence of external physical factors because Gopikas were black and were also not beautiful. This shall be understood as pure nivrutti and there is no trace of pravrutti in this topic. Understanding the Bhagavatam in right sense is the test for spiritual scholars (vidyavataam bhaagavate parikshaa). Rama is the perfect example for pravrutti, who confined to Sita alone throughout His life. Sita is a similar character confining to Rama throughout her life. Krishna stands as the perfect example for Nivrutti also, Who is beyond justice and injustice (pravrutti) indicating the spiritual path of single and total attachment to God (sarvadharmaan… Gita). Leaving this one special situation of Gopikas, Krishna behaved exactly like Rama only in the rest of entire life. Hence, Krishna supported pravrutti like Rama as the general rule for any soul (voting for justice against injustice) after showing the most rarest example of nivrutti in the case of Gopikas (voting for God against even justice).

At lotus feet of Swami
-Prasad