Shaucham - purity
Arjavam - straightforwardness
Brahmacharyam - celibacy
Cha Ahimsa - and non-injury
Shariram Tap Uchyate - is called as the austerity of body
[Contd.]
In the last part, we have seen " Deva-dvij-guru-prajna-pujanam".
Shaucha- Shaucha means purity. One has to burn the dullness of mind in the fire of selfless service. How can it be burnt? The fire has to be supplied with fuel. Good conduct is like the fuel. The fire of action should be kept alive by putting the fuel of good conduct into it. Jadya means the dullness of mind or inertia. Dullness of body should be removed as well because body is the support for knowledge. Body should be ready so that the purity of mind can be attained easily.
A person cannot think beyond body. Thinking that ‘I am the body’ is also a kind of inertia or dullness. When he starts to think ‘I am the Self’, he attains the purity of mind.
Purity of mind depends on the purity of body. Purity of body is important, but that is not the ultimate one. Perfect purity cannot be attained as long as mind is occupied with ego. Perfect purity includes knowledge as well as unselfish action.
Arjavam- Arjavam means straightforwardness. Dnyaneshwar Maharaj says that breath is taken easily and naturally. It is useful and essential for life. Breath is so gentle that a person is not aware of it while inhaling and exhaling. In the same way Arjav means love and respect that come naturally. Arjav includes love, humbleness and kindness for others. One should respect and help others knowing that the same consciousness exists in all the beings.
Brahmacharya- The word Brahmacharya (celibacy) has duel meaning. Physical celibacy means remaining desire-free. Many of the commentators have described celibacy as a proper behavior for getting established in Brahman or being always in the thought of Brahman. One may raise a doubt whether such a state is possible only for knowledgeable person. But a spiritual seeker is also called as Brahmachari. If a person is on the way to Kashi and somebody asks his whereabouts, his relatives say that he has gone to Kashi, even though he has not yet reached. Likewise a person who is trying to attain divinity will surely attain Him one or the other day.
Knowledgeable person and spiritual seeker both are called as Brahmachari. The first one has reached the destination and the other one is on the way. A spiritual seeker should practice sincerely if he wants to be known as Brahmachari. In the true state of celibacy, mind starts liking healthy things and remains away from unhealthy ones. In the famous sentence ‘Atha Yoganushasanam’, Anushasan means the rules and restrictions made by a person for himself.
Ahimsa- In the 13th chapter of Bhagawad Gita, Dnyaneshwar Maharaj gives an example of people who follow religious rites and rituals. They kill living beings and call it as non-violence because it is a ritual. Harming others in the name of religion is called as violence. Troubling body by observing a strict fast is a kind of violence and troubling body by eating too much is also a kind of violence. Total non-violence can be achieved only when true knowledge arises in mind.
You should be fast but not in a hurry, while performing any action. Puja should be performed with calmness and softness. You should think that everything belongs to God and I am offering Him the best among the same. You should walk carefully without causing harm to the living beings on the way. Dnyaneshwar Maharaj says, that you should talk carefully and lovingly so that the others should feel what you mean even before they could listen to the words. Your words should be kind and true, limited, simple and charming. Your words should be sweet like the fountain of nectar.
Any physical action performed by considering the principle of non-injury, automatically becomes soft and gentle. Mind leads sense-organs towards good conduct as if a skilled teacher holds the hand of a student and teaches him to write beautiful letters. Swami Chinmayananda says, “If the true motivation behind an action is of non-violence, so called harmful actions also become harmless. A doctor causes pain to a person in order to cure him.” One should not cause harm to the others even at intellectual or emotional level.
There is an incident in this regard. A person called Devji was in the service of elder Madhavrao Peshave. He was appointed as a guard of the inner part of the mansion, where the house ladies were living. One day he purposefully touched Ramabai (Peshva’s wife) when she was coming after taking bath. He got scared to see Ramabai’s anger. Ramabai told Madhavarao that the person is brave and courageous and should be appointed in the army at the forefront. Madhavarao did like that. Later on when a war took place, Devaji saved Madhavarao’s life by taking risk himself. After returning from the war Madhavarao told Ramabai the incident and asked how she realized that Devji is brave and courageous. Ramabai first asked for a promise that Madhavrao will not punish anybody. Madhavarao agreed and she told the previous incident. She said that the person who dared to touch Peshva’s wife must be brave and courageous. Madhavarao got angry and wanted to announce death sentence for Devji. But Ramabai made him remember the promise.
Great people are always like that. They possess feelings and emotions, but engage them for good purpose and do not allow them to cause harm.
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