#174 The six, confused spiritual seekers and moksha
Once upon a time there were a group of six spiritual seekers. Off they would go to a retreat, a workshop and share what they learnt, with each other. Then one day, they heard that a strange animal called the elephant of moksha had come into town. People whispered and murmured that very few had gained moksha and it was the pinnacle of spirituality. None of these spiritual seekers were aware of its shape and form.
One of them declared ” After all experience is the best teacher. We must inspect and know it by touch.’ Yes. Indeed.
So, they sought it out, they groped it.
The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, “This being is like a thick snake”. See I knew it! Moksha is about arousing the Kundalini shakti, where kundalini is a like a coiled snake at the bottom of my spine. I will have super powers then. Moksha is about having siddhis.
The second one reached its ears that were flapping, moksha seemed like a kind of fan. Moksha is about having peace of mind that comes from fanning the intensity of emotions. Now emotions will never be a problem for me. Moksha is managing my emotions such that there is peace of mind.
The third person ‘s hand rested upon the elephant’s leg, and said, the elephant of moksha is a pillar like a tree-trunk. Moksha is about going to svarga. Here on earth, we aspire for a better lifestyle by relocating to a country with better education, healthcare, roads. After death, I will go to svarga and be free from all the hard work of doing dharmika acts. There will finally be freedom from this body.
The fourth person who felt its tail, described it as a rope. Just like Ganapati has a pasha in one hand to draw his devotees close to him, moksha is about drawing people close to me and having fulfilling relationships. He concluded Moksha is relationship management.
The fifth person placed his hand upon its side and kept moving it across up and down. It felt like a wall and he remembered the great wall of China. Yes..Moksha is travelling to different parts of the world with its mountains and valleys. Moksha is made up of the best memories of life.
The last felt its tusk which resembled a sharp spear, stating that moksha is about cutting off ties with the world.
The six blind men started arguing amongst themselves. Each insisted that their perspective was the right one. They almost came to blows when the elephant mahout who, sitting by the side was quietly listening to them said None of you are correct.
What? We have explored a lot in the vast undulating landscape of spirituality.
One of them said – ok ok..maybe none of us win. But surely a little bit of everything will give us moksha – a little bit of kundalini shakti sadhana, emotional management, harmonious relationships, going to svarga, having the best travel experiences or maybe even cutting off ties with everyone.
The elephant mahout said – Just like Adi Shankaracharya said in Chandogya Upanishad,
etaddhasti darshana iva jatyandhah
That is like people blind by birth in/when viewing an elephant.
The elephant is not the snake nor the fan nor the pillar nor the wall nor the rope nor the spear.
Neither is the elephant the sum of all of this put together.
पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत्स्वयम्भूस्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।
कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्षदावृत्तचक्शुरमृतत्वमिच्छन् ॥ १ ॥
parāñci khāni vyatṛṇatsvayambhūstasmātparāṅpaśyati nāntarātman |
kaściddhīraḥ pratyagātmānamaikṣadāvṛttacakśuramṛtatvamicchan || 1 ||
The Atma that is self-existent created the senses out-going: therefore, one is inclined to look outwards for everything and not see the atman within, that pervades everything. Some wise person, desirous of immortality, with his senses turned away from their object, sees the atman within.
The six people were puzzled.
The mahout continued, Moksha is both a goal and a pursuit.
Moksha is freedom from a sense of bondage.
The bondage is not real and just a sense.
If it was real you could never be free.
Since it is a sense it can be negated.
Moksha is a discovery of the limitless being that you are and have always been.
All your perspectives about what moksha is, are not moksha but are in the realm of Dharma – Artha-Kaama –
Firstly, working with Kundalini shakti is a great sadhana and it can helps one clear emotional blocks and be one with Devi. One can get a glimpse of the experience of oneness, but like all experiences, the experience will start and end. But moksha, your true nature is shashvatah, eternal, not subject to coming and going.
Secondly, management of emotions resulting in peace of mind is aligning the ways of the mind to the Dharma of the mind. Consider the last conflict you had. It is likely that either you or the other person did not uphold the universal framework of fairness, kindness, contribution. Instead, if we were to try align our pursuits of wealth and pleasure to Dharma, we would not need to manage the mind too much. Also, if management of emotions is a goal in and of itself, it is a moving goalpost. At best, you can be proud of some self-mastery. But existential sorrow of the fact that one was born and will die, screams out the sense of insignificance that one feels. Still peace of mind and hence punya, can be considered within the realm of Dharma and can help in the moksha pursuit.
Thirdly, going to svarga is not moksha. Yes, there is much enjoyment and pleasure in music, dance, fine food, stimulating discussions and all that. Our Vedas declare that svarga and its many realms are planes of experience and one goes there on the strength of the punya that has fructified. It is not an eternal heaven. Much like the travel visa to a country expires so too the time in svarga can end after the punya is exhausted and as the Gita says – kshine punye martya lokam vishanti, the person will return to the mortal lands for some more karma.
Fourthly, harmonious relationships are not moksha. Working for better understanding and harmony amongst each other is a part of Dharma. Again any relationship however great is fraught with dependence and hence sorrow when you part from the person. Further the same relationship changes with time and one may well outgrow the relationship. Yes, there can be a glimpse of experiential oneness when you feel closely connected with someone. Moksha is discovering the reality of the person that is playing all the roles.
Fifth, travel experiences to however exotic the place, its culture, the food, its people, are within the realm of the Dharma Kama pursuit. Yes, you may feel free and enjoy and broaden your perspective but you, the experiencer is never satisfied. There are many more mountains to climb and miles to go before you sleep. After all the travel, one is still going to go six feet under or set to flames. Travel is not moksha.
Sixth, Cutting off ties with someone in the name of being spiritual, is isolating yourself. As it is, we struggle with feeling lonely and alienated. There is no need to further isolate oneself. Moksha is seeing that all that is here is you. Every form is pervaded by the limitless being that is you.
All six of you relied on perception and inference to conclude what the elephant was. For our pursuits of Artha and Kama, wealth and pleasure what we experience and infer, is fine. Further if your spiritual goal is kundalini shakti or harmonious relationships or going to svarga, then even if you come to Vedanta, you will take a buffet approach. Just as we can pick and choose from the wide spread of cuisines, we too will pick and choose from the teachings to validate oneself. But validation of oneself and seeking the truth are different things.
For Dharma and Moksha, the pramana, means of knowledge is the Veda. There is no way you will figure this out on your own.
And so if there is one thing that you want to do, is articulate your spiritual goal and see whether it really is the pursuit of moksha or the pursuit of Dharma. Then, how one spends time, effort and energy will change. There is honesty and sincerity in the pursuit and that makes all the difference. The six, confused spiritual seekers were no longer confused.
