ब्रह्म सत्यं जगत् मिथ्या-Brahman (the Absolute Reality) is True, the World (Jagat) is Illusory/Mithya

    This line or the verse has been said to us many a time  and we have difficulty in understanding it. The complete line is 'The individual soul is nothing but BRAHMAN'

But our experience does not go with this. We live in this world and we experience all the things around us like trees and mountains and rivers, fruits and many things in nature . We also experience the man made things like clothes and buildings and we have family and we have job and so on. So how can be the BRAHMAN can be the ONLY TRUE? This apparent paradox can be explained by definition of what 'REAL' or TRUE or REALITY.

    We call something real, when it does not change or one which is CHANGELESS. When I look at the table or chair , yes it is there and it is real in the usual sense -it is not figment of out imagination. But when we talk about real or not real , we use some other criteria . The table is there for now and it will appear unchanged for tomorrow. But would be unchanged in next 1 or 2 years ? Certainly not . It will change ,it will get warped if made of wood and get rusted if made of iron. So it CHANGES and then disappears . So everything that we see and experience CHANGES with TIME . The BRAHMAN is the only thing that does not change with time. So that is why we call the BRAHMAN as the only reality. 

   The other explanation which is rather difficult to digest or accept , is that the entire universe is nothing but a dream and we are players in the dream. If I have  dream - my entire dream is made by ME and the events that are happening are all CREATED by me. And when I wake up, everything that I see in my dream, is gone. The character in my dream are not aware of my existence  and MY world like my job, my home , my relatives etc. There is no way the dream characters have any idea or concept of the dreamer's so called real world. The same thing can be applied to US as character in the BIG DREAM.

     So if we are the characters in CREATER'S dream then we are not real. I understand this explanation but have hard time accepting it and I feel that when we talk or reality, we are taking about 'UNCHANGING' and limitless - No limits of DESH- KAAL - VASTU, means Location-Time -Identity. We all have these limits and only BRAHMAN has no such limits. The chair that I am sitting on is HERE and not THERE , that is limitation of location. It is here now and may not be there tomorrow -this is limitation of Time  and it is Chair and not table or computer -is the limitation of Identity. 

    So these are the some of the explanations of the statement that the Brahman is only REAL 

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते THE MEANING

                                         ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते

                                     पूर्णश्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
                                         ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्त

This is the MANTRA in the ISHAVASHY UPANISHADA. The meaning of this is done by many and it differs and it causes the confusion . The meaning is THAT IS COMPLETE (OR INFINITE)ANDTHIS IS COMPLETE AND THIS COMPLETE COMES FROM THAT COMPLETE  AND THAT COMPLETE CONTINUES TO BE COMPLETE

      The confusion or question is , what is THAT and what is THIS . and everyone has their opinion And then how can complete remain complete when you take out complete. The answer is the way we consider origin of universe

   I think THAT is BRAHMAN and THIS is the UNIVERSE which includes living and nonliving things, Known and UNKNOWN things The BRHAMAN is infinite and complete is very well known. It is described as STYAM , DNYANAM, ANANTAM . The meaning of ANATAM is - one which does not have end or one which is INFINITE.As we have talked everything that we SEE has 3 limitations, namely DESH-KAAL -VASTU ,meaning PLACE - TIME AND IDENTITY. But the BRAHAMN does not have this limitation and is limitless in space and time. So this Mantra states that THAT which is complete THIS world which is complete comes out .But THAT complete REMAINS COMPLETE. 

    The entire univers - seen and unseen comes out of the BRAHMAN. One can state this in many different ways . One can give example of DREAM WORLD . The dream world -may contain people , at different places and and may have animals , plants and nonliving things - but all COME OUT OF THE DREAMER and the dreamer is not reduced and has no loss .The dreamer continues to be COMPLTE as he was before he had dream. The same way the BRAHMAN continues to be COMPLETE or INFINITE even after THIS UNIVERSE comes out of it.   

WHAT IS SOUL?

      The other day  I was checking my messages on a group chat, I and there was a news of someone passing away. This was followed by RIP-RIP-RIP by many. Then someone texted me asking me as to what is the concept of soul in Vedic religion and what happens to soul after death - death of physical body. Then we had exchange of texts and I thought of doing this blog. What I thought was what I told him and that is what I am writing here.

      The soul is a reflection of the CONSCIOUSNESS. So then the question comes as to where is this reflection and what happens to it after the death. How can it be carried from one life to other life. The reflection is not ORIGINAL THING , but still has the properties of the original thing. Let us take example of the Sun. When the Sun is reflected in a mirror, the reflection has the qualities of the Sun ,it has heat and also light .If we use lens to concentrate the image of the sun, then we can burn a paper.. But it is not real SUN. If we have a mirror, we will have a reflection of anything including the sun. The same thing can be applied to the human body. As one may recollect, we have 3 bodies namely physical body ,astral body  and causal body - STHUL SHARIR-SUKSHMA SHARIR AND KARAN SHARIR . The physical body dies at the time of so called death. But the 2 other bodies - Astral and Causal bodies are carried from one life to other. The IMPRESSIONS of our lives and KARMA are stored in CAUSAL BODY. And that is why we have rebirth. The Reflection of the Consciousness is in the CAUSAL BODY and the Astral body . As long as we have the MIRROR of these bodies , we have existence. This is THE SOUL-THE REFLECTION OF THE CONSCILUSNESS . This is the light - energy or the cause why we can think -act have intellect etc Without the fuel of this CONSCIOUSNESS , ONE WILL NOT HAVE ANY VALUE TO THE 2 BODIES. This can be compared to electricity. The computer works - the AC unit works -the Heater works and so does the light bulb. None of them can function without electricity . But the electricity ITSELF does not heat or cool or give light etc. The same is true of the reflected consciousness. IT ITSELF DOES NOT DO ANYTHING . But for mind to think , we need the consciousness. ASLONG AS THE MIRRORS OF ASTRAL AND CAUSAL BODIES ARE THERE there will be reflection and the SOUL IS THERE as an separate  entity - separate but still dependent. The only way we can have MUKTI or FREEDOM is when we have broken the CAUSAL BODY MIRROR. The astral body exists due to causal body  and causal body is there as we continue to accumulate KARMIC IMPRESSIONS. So now you know ,how to achieve NIRVANA and what is the SOUL. 

THE OBSTACLE TO FREE WILL

         We often talk of  Free Will and say that we have free will and we should use it . All our legal system and ethical thought process is based on Free Will .I have free will to drive within speed limit . I have a free will to not steal . I have free will to not beat someone. If I don't us it then I am liable for my Actions and then the punishment that follows . This is legal. The same hold true of ethical issues. I am suppose to tell truth . I am suppose to not cheat and so on . The Law of Karma , is based on free will and every action has reaction. So in spite of that , we see people that do not act in right directions. So what is the reason behind it - why do people do  not DO RIGHT THING ?

     We often see diabetic person , who eats too many sweets and then gets elevated blood sugar . or person with hypertension eating too much salt . The obese person not doing exercise of diet control. My answer is that we all are guided by our PREVIOUS KARAMAS and the impression that they have created . I have often used term 'the circle of mind'. When we do an action , that leaves impression and that impression leads to a desire and that desire leads to new action. I see a pizza and i eat it - the action. My action leads to impression, I like it or I hate it . This impression leads to desire - I either want to eat it -if I like it or I want to avoid eating it if I hate it . This desire will lead to an action or either eating it or avoiding it . If I eat it , I have again impression and that leads to desire and so on. This is circle of mind. The problem is that these impressions are not only from present life , but are from many previous lives and actions that we have done in past lives. So these guide us in our present life. In spite of KNOWING right action and having a Free Will to do the right action, my previous impressions lead to my new action being NOT RIGHT. This is the main opposing force. So we have free will and we can and should act in right way , but our karmic impressions tell us to other way and do wrong things - eating sweets or not exercising or eating too much or drinking alcohol etc. Not all of us have enough FREE WILL to counteract these forces . If we all did , then we all will be slim and trim and follow the laws.

     

THOUGHTS AND KARMA

   The origin of thought is  s deep question. I wrote  a blog on PATANJALISUTRAYOGA.BLOGSPOT.COM .In this blog I want to expand on that thought. We have thousands of thoughts and what is the origin of thought . In my other blog I talked about PARAA-PASHYANTI -MADHYAMA AND VAIKHARI as 4 languages in Vedic religion. But I think ALL our thoughts are  related to our KARMA. Without a karma and impression that it causes we will have no thoughts. Say I see a cake and I have desire to eat it. The Karma in this particular thought is 2 folds . One is me SEEING THE CAKE . The Karma could be done by any of the organs of actions - KARMENDRIYE .In past I had tasted the cake - the Action or Karma of putting the cake in my mouth and then tasting it . I either liked it or hated it and so that lead to my DESIRE to eat the cake or not eat it. My previous experience from my previous Action leads to having a thought .If one has diabetes , than even though there is Desire or thought of eating and enjoying it , he will not eat it . So the thought or origin of the thought to eat comes from experience of the taste of cake  and the thought of NOT EATING it also comes from experience of having raised blood sugar with eating. So our desires come from our Karma - Actions. If we had never tasted the cake there would not be thought to eat it and if we had not had experience of elevated blood sugar -no thought to avoid eating it would have come. 

   Our thoughts also come from our previous experiences even when we have not had any direct experience. If I see a red stove - I know that the hot stove coil will be red and so I will avoid it . But here my mind compares the redness that I see with my previous experience of having had burns with hor stove or someone telling that red stove is hot and so avoid it. The thought to avoid comes from my previous Karma. 

If I see a tiger my previous experience direct or indirect from reading about tiger - will lead to thought of running away as quickly as possible . But a child of 2 years age who has never seen a tiger or had education about tiger will not have thought of running away. In fact it may think of tiger as LARGE CAT that he has seen and his thought would be to pat it . Again previous karma leads to the thought. 

   So all thoughts come from our own Karma. 

WHY WE DO NOT REMEMBER PAST LIVES EXPERIENCES?

      In Vedic religion, we have concept of reincarnation. We believe that our present life is shaped by our past lives experiences , but we do not remember the experiences . So why is is it that we do ot remember last life  and how can we learn from our mistakes or bad behavior if we do not KNPW or remember why we did in last lives. If we remember  previous lives , it will add the confusion to our present life. Our relationships may be different in present life than  last life. But we do have IMPRESSIONS of our past lives . 

   The answer is that the impressions of our Karmas and our actions and our experiences are stores not as EXACT MEMORY like in our present life. If I see a person , or a dog , I will remember him or it as a person with certain name , certain look and certain voice and behaviors . The same with dog . This is stored in our physical brain  and so we do have PHYSICAL MEMORY and we can recall in THIS life. But when we die , our physical body is destroyed  and this PHYSICAL memory is gone . But our ASTRAL body and CAUSAL body are still there , and the effects of our karma - experiences - progress -is all stored in that body, especially causal body. Say a person likes donuts or cakes ,in present like , If he is hungry, he may want to eat sweet , he will like to eat cake or donuts . But that liking for cake or donuts will be stored in astral body - causal body unit after the death of physical body.in a ABSTRACT FORM . Love for sweets and not as a specific sweet thing . So in next life , if he is born in America , he will love cakes and candy and ice cream. But if he is born as Indian in India then he may love Indian sweets like SHREEKHAND - JALEBI OR LADDU ETC. If he is born in some other cultures , he would like that culture's sweet things . 

  So we do have memory of previous life , but in an abstract form - like love for music - love for dog or animals, or scriptures - art - acting - music etc - BUT ALL IN ABSTRACT FORM.

CAN ANY ONE EXTEND LIFE BY JUST BLESSING ?

      We often say that out life expectancy is PRE DETERMINED . When we are born, it is determined as to when we are going to die. The term that we use is 'IT WAS TIME'. But then we have also heard when a Sage or highly evolved Yogi blesses someone and they have extension of life. We have heard that Jesus Crist has brought back to life a dead person . The same thing we have heard about many others in India like Sai Baba or Yukteshvar or some other Yogi. So if the life is limited and we are to die when it was predetermined at the time of birth, how can ANYONE EXTEND THE LIFE . 

    The life duration is based on the collection of Karma that are going to come to fruition with which we are born with. We have millions of Karmas that we have collected over period of thousands of life. Not all of them come to fruition in this life. But based on our Intense desires -attachments - VASANA or emotions - relations we are born certain environment- family- society. So when they are FULFILLED or exhausted, then the life ends. Once we understand this principle or accept it , then it is easy to understand my explanation.

    The highly evolved souls or the so called SAGES or Yogis, have power to borrow the fruits of Karmas that were not included in this present life and bring them to PRESENT LIFE for fruition. Once we have the fruits that can come alive in THIS LIFE , this life is extended. In short theses Yogis can BORROWES from FUTURE LIFVES. It is almost like we going to casino and we run out of money and then we go out and get MORE MONEY from bank . The bank is our STORED KARMAS- so called SANCHIT KARMA.