Commentaries by Vee Jay Attri during the Book Study – Secrets of Karma
Welcome to the evening session for study and Great Invocation. How are you all doing today? Yes, super happy, super healthy? Yes! You are all taking good care of yourself. Say, “Yes” with a good smile. Thank you! Alright! However, quickly, I would like to address 1 or 2 questions, because before this doubt is carried for long, I would like to clear it.
“Would be very glad if you could share more about the journey where you manage to walk on your spiritual path despite your family not seeing things the same way as you. Sometimes, I feel afraid I may disappoint the elders since I no longer see things in a religious point of view.”
Very important observation. Even though I chose to be on a path very different from the rest from the members of the family, I never ever had questioned what they are doing and I had never ever tried to advise them that they should give up what they are doing and then, embrace spirituality or meditation because you see, everybody has got a few things to do in every lifetime.
The soul comes with a chosen path. It does not mean that the soul is less evolved than you. The soul could be many times more evolved than you, excepting that it is simply doing a thing that it is expected to learn in that particular lifetime.
Sometimes, I come across some housewives coming and informing us that somehow their spouse doesn’t blend with their beliefs. They are very materialistic and they do not understand the world of spirituality. So, I tell them, what you see is only one level of truth. Why? Because in certain embodiments, the soul chooses to do certain things out of necessity. What does it mean?
For example, if the soul has been extremely into spirituality in one lifetime and ignoring all responsibilities of material life, ignoring responsibilities as a family person, in another lifetime the law of balance will compel that person to gain experience pertaining to whatever that is missing on the journey of the soul.
So, it does not mean that people who are materialistic are less spiritual than us. Not necessary. They could be quite evolved beings, evolved spiritual practitioners, highly matured. It is just that in a particular lifetime, as per the demand of the balance, they have to play the role of a businessman, the role of the materialistic person, focused fully into manifesting material things.
Like a flash, I remembered a very wonderful story from the life of Adi Shankaracharya. Adi means Beginning, Shankaracharya, you can say the first Shankaracharya. All of you might be knowing about Adi Shankara. So, in the life of Adi Shankaracharya, there is a very beautiful episode. He was travelling far and wide, debating. In those days, through debates people were awakened, illumined and debate was not basically to prove one’s supremacy.
Debates were encouraged because people had to evolve. People need to have more greater clarity of a subject and therefore, some of the great teachers, they were travelling far and wide and inviting teachers in one’s city or in one’s Kingdom, for a debate. And in the process of having these kind of debates, there was greater clarity and illumination happening. So, in the life of Adi Shankaracharya, as he visited one kingdom, he was invited by a very great learned scholar for a debate.
So, Adi Shankaracharya accepted it. Then, finally he won the debate. Debate on those days are on spiritual matters, about Brahman and many other things. So, the man was defeated. As per the rule, the man should become the disciple of Adi Shankaracharya. So, the man accepted the defeat and he was readily agreeing to become the disciple but the wife of the man told Adi Shankaracharya, “Listen! I am a part of my husband.
Unless and until you defeat me, you cannot say that you have defeated my husband because I am the Ardhangini, meaning I share half the body of my husband.” Not exactly physically but at the soul level. That is exactly is the kind of bondage that was existing among couples in the ancient times. Even today it might be or it is.
So, the wife of the man said, “You have to defeat me to make my husband your disciple.” Adi Shankaracharya accepted and the lady, the woman was asking questions that Adi Shankaracharya could not answer because she was actually talking about conjugal life. Very amazing story! And Adi Shankaracharya said, “I do not have an answer to your questions now. Please give me one month and I will come back to you.” The lady said, “Okay! I will wait for you!”
Now, after leaving the Kingdom, Adi Shankaracharya was walking in the forest, he found the dead body of a King, just dead! Maybe, he must have had a heart attack. So, Adi Shankaracharya left his own body and then entered into the body of the king. This is what we call Parkaya Pravesh. Parkaya means another body, Pravesh means entering. So, some of the great masters had the ability to enter into the body of another person.
You don’t have to go too much into all this and we are not going to try all this but there are certain specific conditions where such things are permitted. It is unnatural to do this but in this case, in the case of the great saint, it was permissible.
So, having entered the body of the king, Adi Shankaracharya using the vehicle of the king, went back to his palace and the Queen greeted him and then he spent one month with the queen, understanding everything about the conjugal life.
After one month, he again, went into the forest with the pretext of hunting and then, left the body of the king and took his body and came back for the debate. Then, the lady asked him the questions and he was able to answer all the questions because he had that experience.
Now, this is only just a small example just to make you understand that, whatever is the missing part on the journey of the soul, the soul has to get it correctly. It could be possible that you did not understand Bhakti yoga. Though you are on the spiritual path in this lifetime but because you did not complete everything about bhakti yoga, in another lifetime, it could be possible that you have to enter the Bhakti, the religious rituals part of practices for a certain period of time before you once again embark on the spiritual path.
That means, the soul needs to be exposed to everything on the plane of matter 100%. Any missing part, the soul will be compelled to learn it. And therefore, looking at the people around, do not do the mistake of judging them.
Some of the people who are doing simple practices of Puja or Bhakti would be already an illumined soul, which you do not know. They are back to this because of certain requirements. So, any time you see anybody, keep this at the back of your mind.
All the time, see people as illumined, awakened people, which is the case because there is nothing that a soul has to learn. It is already a part of it.
That is why, one Great Master said, “There is nothing that anybody needs to teach you. You already know it at the soul level. Once you leave the body, nobody has to teach you that you are a soul. Nobody has to teach you that there is a physical plane, an astral plane, a mental plane, there is a higher soul, there are great ascended masters. You will know many things that are in the creation.”
So, you are already an awakened soul. Excepting that all these great understanding have to be brought in the physical plane consciously. So, the job of the teacher is to simply remind the student, not to teach the student. Get it very correctly. The job of the teacher is to remind the student what he or she already knows.
Therefore, this is a very important thing to understand. Every time you see somebody, you say Namaste. The meaning of Namaste is, “I salute the Divinity in you!”
That means, you are recognizing the person as a being made in the image of God. They are already a part of God and therefore, as part of God, they are already awakened or illumined. The vehicles have to catch up with the soul and that is exactly is the purpose of the spiritual practices.
Of course, I am just sharing a part of the total picture. It is not conclusion but the point that we need to understand is, everybody comes with a package and you have to respect the role of every individual, no questions, no judgement.
Alright, let us continue with our study from the Secrets of Karma. We were reading from “See The Whole Picture.” We are almost completing the book. We were reading about the story of the lion with a bad tooth. You still remember. I will just read the last paragraph where we left, just for a reminder.
People also have the problem of a bad tooth. What they do or say is often an expression of a deep seated agony and has nothing to do with what is currently happening. Hence, instead of reacting to their bad behavior, have mercy towards them and help them to heal this inner wound.
People carry lot of wounds. You do not know what kind of pain that you have inflicted on people. Sometimes, they come in a very close relationship. Recognize that! Your job is to heal that wound. Of course, as human beings sometimes, we are over exasperated.
We already have our own story of pain, problems, stress. It is natural that sometimes, we lose patience and react aggressively but quickly stand up once again. On the spiritual path, we are not expected to be exasperated at all. So, make an effort not to be exasperated, not to lose your temper especially at a very critical moment when somebody is needing your help.
I have seen this happening repeatedly. I can talk from my own experience, whatever mistake that I have been doing in the past, I can say I have already corrected it, almost 95% plus. Reactions are becoming almost zero. I cannot say 100%, that 1 or 2% or a maximum of 5% is left but even that, I can see, it is dissolving.
So, it is absolutely possible to accomplish everything but the only thing is, you need to understand the total picture. Once you get the big picture of the journey of the person, every other thing will become much simpler.
So, cultivating humility in every situation. Jukho Jukho Jukho! Sikho Sikho Sikho! Maro Maro Maro! Jukho jukho jukho means learn to bow, be humble. Sikho sikho sikho means keep on learning. Maro maro maro means to just kill the pride and the ego, killing one self identity.
Of course, it has got a completely different meaning which we will take up some other time. But remember these key words, Jukho Jukho Jukho! Sikho Sikho Sikho! Maro Maro Maro! Humility humility humility, Patience patience patience, Acceptance acceptance acceptance!
You have to become a great soul. That is exactly why you are here. Let’s continue!
Cultivate humility. Be willing and open to learn from anyone wiser than you.
You remember that I was talking about Dattatreya who had 24 Gurus which included pigeons, pythons and so many creatures. He was looking at them and learning from them, considering them as his gurus.
So, humility is the most important virtue that you need to imbibe. When there is humility, you are safe forever!
Further reading, Secrets of Karma, Page 150