The Philosophy Divine

The Almighty, Sadguru Sri Sri Arjun said, is none other than the unitary self -consciousness pervading every where at all times equally and uniformly without any discrimination. The only one indivisible consciousness, i.e. the Self manifests as many assuming different names and forms. In other words, the entire universe is but His manifestation. This process of manifestation is always based on certain principles. The way the self-consciousness manifests itself spontaneously without any external support is termed as the Law of Eternity. For birth, for death, for happiness, for sufferings, for bondage, for freedom, for digestion and for respiration, there is an operative Law, which is independent of any thing else. The Law works and the water is formed. The Law works and that is why the air has come into existence. The Law works and that is why the earth has come into existence. The Law works and that is why the Sun burns bright. The Law works and that is why the moon dazzles in the sky. The Law works and that is why modifications to every thing come into effect. For example, water becomes vapour only when a certain degree of temperature is reached or gained. It is converted to ice when a certain degree of temperature is lost. Water is formed only when the molecules of oxygen and hydrogen mix in a definite proportion. The Law is at work behind all sorts of evolutions in this universe. The Law is nothing but the Divine Will. Human being is one of the interim products in that continuous process of generation, operation and destruction. That the Consciousness is capable of manifesting itself without the help of any external agency unmistakably indicates that it has got immense potency to become so. In other words, it is full of energy. It is energetic or all-powerful. Conversely, the energy is full of consciousness.

Because the consciousness is energetic, it is capable of unfolding itself as innumerable names and forms apparently undergoing modifications through innumerable stages in a very systematic way and in a non-stop manner, i.e. in accordance with the Law of Eternity. In the process, innumerable products are created for undergoing further changes. Whatever products we come across in this creation are only passing phases and hence rightly called ephemeral. But the consciousness itself does not change. It is unchangeable or immutable. It is the cause of all changes. In the process, it neither gains nor loses. The total energy of the system is constant whether it assumes a visible form or remains invisible. The total energy is inexhaustible and unbreakable. Forms come and go. Names come and go. But energy remains and eternally it remains to deceptively appear and reappear as sound energy, mechanical energy, heat energy, light energy, electrical energy, magnetic energy and so many objects of different shapes and colours. But all these various channels of energy branch out from the main source of energy, which is not without consciousness. Of course, consciousness has so far not been recognized by the scientists as a form of energy although it is capable of doing every thing including cognizing and manipulating various other recognized forms of energies, visible and invisible.

Conscious energy can be rightly termed as God who is capable of creating, operating and destroying. Destruction does not mean complete absence of some thing but it means transformation, modification or creation of something else afresh from a previous state. His Law called the Law of Eternity operates by itself. It is self-propelled. It works unopposed and unhindered. It is spontaneous. There is no parallel to it.

It rains not because of any personal endeavour but because of the Law. This Law governs the whole cyclic process of rain. The Sun emits heat and light. The moon splatters its beam through out. The roots of the tree go deep into the soil in quest of useful substances. Photosynthesis takes place in the plants. The earth revolves round the Sun in the vast space bringing all of us the experiences of different seasons. These are all-time truths applicable every where. Sadguru Arjun says, "Knowing the Law of Eternity is true knowledge (jnana) and observing the same is Dharma. Ultimately, the Dharma shall make us evolve to perfection, i.e. exactly from where we had started our journey. Due to ignorance about the great Law, life becomes a tragedy of errors. We commit blunders and therefore we suffer. Our movement becomes topsy-turvy. We lose sight of our destination. By acquiring true knowledge, our evolution will be faster and we can get peace, happiness and bliss.

A bird lays eggs. The egg contains in itself all ingredients by which it can evolve into a full-fledged bird. Similarly human being also contains within itself all the qualities to advance further just as he has so far evolved from mineral state to human state. This continuing evolution is due to the Law of Eternity. For coming up to this stage, no special effort is made by man. He is just swayed away by the Law as per His design. Man is just an instrument who is being moulded and manipulated by the Law. In the Bhagavad Gita (18.61), Lord Krishna said to Arjun, "The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings revolving them all by His mysterious Power called Maya, as if they were objects mounted on a machine." Therefore there is no option for the man to follow or not to follow the Law of Eternity. He has no option or choice whether to breathe air or not. He has no option to change the pattern of respiratory system or digestive system. He has to be regulated by the system. Then what is the concept of Dharma which man has to observe.

According to the Adwait philosophy, there is only one real entity that is God who is none other that the infinite consciousness or self-consciousness. He chose to become many. He chose to evolve Himself to multiplicity but without himself undergoing any change. Multiplicity again merges into Unity. That means, this is the only Dharma that is at work in this universe. This cycle is regulated by the Law of Eternity.

Man is said to be His best creation. He is endowed with intelligence and conscience. He has power to think where he has come from, where he is going to and for what he has been created and why the life cycle is on. With the operation of the Law of Eternity, he has evolved up to this stage without making any special efforts. Similarly he is bound to get drifted away in the stream to an unknown destination. But unless man knows the Law, he is bound to act in diverse ways as a result of which his movement towards his goal will not be smooth, direct and shortcut. He may have to move in a zigzag way or with many ups and downs. Unless he is sure about his destination, he may catch a train that moves in an opposite direction. Like the game of Ludo, which is full of snakes and ladders, he may fall into the mouths of the snakes instead of climbing up with the help of ladders. Therefore it is a crossroad for him where a conscious and well-discriminated choice is pertinent. He has in him both demoniac instincts and divine traits. He has to consciously develop the divine traits in him so as to elevate himself and thus move faster towards his goal. This is his Dharma, which is in consonance with the Law of Eternity. It is said that Dharma (punya) takes us forward. Conversely, vices take us backward. We are not intended for practising demoniac traits and commit vices, which will reverse our journey. It is the design of the Law of Eternity that every imperfect thing should evolve to perfection. This is possible only if man arouses in him the divine qualities, which are already there. In other words, arousing the divine qualities is Dharma that will lead him beyond death and towards immortality.

In the language of science, Dharma is called property. We talk of properties of various matters. We talk of properties of hydrogen. We talk of properties of oxygen. Dharma is the property of every being. The burning power of the fire is its property or Dharma. Without it, it is no fire. Sugar tastes sweet. The salt tastes salty. Sweetness and salineness are the properties of sugar and salt respectively. Ice will lose its existence without its iciness. Without their properties, both sugar and salt will lose their identity and value.

Similarly without Dharma, man will be reduced to animal state. Man must possess at least human qualities. He must endeavour to move forward in the process of evolution till he realises his True Self by inculcating divine virtues. All our actions every moment are connected with either virtues or vices. In other words, knowingly or unknowingly, we are bound to either acquire virtues or commit vices. If we are aware of this and if we do things consciously, every second, we can add to virtues and reduce our involvement with vices. While vices will be minimized, virtues will increase both in magnitude and dimension. There will be double gain as the vices will be replaced by virtues. Suppose we cause harm to some one. We have in the process earned a negative point. Alternatively, if we pray for some body�s good or extend our help to some one, not only we shall be saved from a vice but also we shall earn a positive point. In our thinking process also, we keep on earning either negative or positive points.

Our five sense organs and five organs of action led by our mind always distract us outward for their enjoyments. The result is that in the illusion of temporary pleasures, we plunge ourselves into the cauldrons of sufferings. We do actions by our whims and caprices without looking before we leap. This aimless wandering of the senses and capricious obsession of our mind never allow us to think deep and inward. Never we review or introspect what we have been doing. We remain away from our destination. In a system with a common cause and common process our ultimate destination is also same. It cannot be different for different persons. We must therefore be aware of our destination and accordingly we should plan our journey and consciously guide ourselves to do good actions, which shall earn us positive points or virtues.

Eventually, virtues will accumulate which will act as our driving force. Therefore, inculcating and developing divine virtues are the Dharma of man. Those divine virtues are, namely, renunciation, restraint, spiritual efforts, service, truth, love and forgiveness. By observing Dharma, he can proceed fast towards his goal of self-realisation. That is the Law of Eternity. The divine qualities stated above are the weapons of God by which he creates, administers, and re-creates. The Law of Eternity is based on the divine qualities. By a close scrutiny, it can be observed that these divine qualities are also present in the natural kingdom. The minerals undergo modifications in the process of evolution. The plant kingdom draws its sustenance from mineral kingdom. Both the mineral kingdom and the plant kingdom support the animal kingdom. The Sun indiscriminately gives us heat and light. Our mother earth expresses its respect and gratitude to the Sun by bowing down and moving round the Sun. The natural law is such that they complement each other and serve each other directly or indirectly in a very coordinated and cohesive manner. That is why, we see that the creation is fully an integrated process constantly undergoing modifications mechanically, driven by the Law of Eternity which is designed to lead all of them to perfection through a continuous process of evolution. The conscious being remains veiled and due to ignorance we are not able to get a glimpse of Him. Our sense organs keep us hypnotized. They always drag our mind and intellect outward. We get obsessed with mundane matters while the essence inside remains far away.

In the natural phenomenon, we observe that every thing serves some purpose or other. They complement each other and serve each other. They behave in manners they are designed to behave according to their placements, positions and of course inherent qualities (strength) and physical limitations. It is seen that every thing is contributing its might from birth to death in this grand process in a grand laboratory. The Law of Eternity operates by the divine qualities or the gunas.

Every one craves for good. Every one wants to remain well, do well. Every one wants that his neighbour should be good. The members of his family should be good. His office boss should be good. His work environment should be good. Why such a universal craving for goodness? Because, that is our origin. That is the place for our rest. He is God. God is good. Good is God. God resides as our Self. Craving for goodness actually means an instinctive quest for the self who is within and without. Temporary goodness means temporary equilibrium. Attainment of self means permanent resting-place, a state of bliss and a state of permanent equilibrium.

What do we gain from divine qualities?

In order to attain Him, we are to concentrate more on God rather than mundane things. That is one type of renunciation. Our mind is habitually many-pointed and of roving nature. It has to be made single pointed. Our senses often mislead us. By our spiritual habits they can be controlled. We must practise to withdraw our mind from sense pleasures. We must have longing for freedom. Driven by desires, we must not long for fruits of actions here or hereafter. We must know and identify our actual need. We must learn to discriminate between permanent and transitory things and seek for that which is permanent. In the life�s journey, we come across some good things and some bad things, some favourable things and some unfavourable things. We must train our mind to treat them equally as they are also passing phases like anything else. We must have respect towards Guru�s words and scriptural teachings.

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Divine qualities:

The divine qualities are the divine vehicle to divinity. True knowledge energizes the vehicle that leads us to the Supreme. Those are the divine powers of the creator. Those seven qualities are renunciation, restraint, spiritual efforts, service, truth, love and forgiveness. The first three namely renunciation, restraint and spiritual practice form the karma yoga. Service represents Bhakti. Truth, love and forgiveness correspond to jnana yoga. All are inter-related. A seeker can do service properly if he possesses the first three qualities such as renunciation, restraint and spiritual practice. Service leads him to truth, truth to love, love to forgiveness. The creator sustains this creation by virtue of these divine qualities.

Going step by step involves renunciation. Any movement involves renunciation. Any change involves renunciation. Any renunciation involves a process of rejection on one side and a phase of acceptance on the other side. The Jiva after leaving his Supreme state has been born as jiva. Again by renouncing only he will get back his true self that is the Supreme state. In other words, by renunciation only he will be able to attain liberation. He has to renounce every thing other than his true self. He has to go beyond his body, senses, mind, and intellect. He has to renounce the samsar in order to attain the Reality. He has to renounce the non-self to realize the self. Any thing other than the self is non-self. (In fact there is nothing other than the self. Every thing is self only). Renunciation does not mean giving up or running away from the samsar. It means remaining as it is with a different understanding, with a different vision. When Self is realized every thing becomes the self. The seeker becomes the self; so become all others simultaneously. Every thing vanishes but the Self.

Isa-basya Upanishad says-"The Almighty pervades every where. Every thing belongs to Him. Whatever is available to us are all for our use. But we are not the owners. Only the Almighty is the owner. We can be dispossessed of every thing whenever he chooses to do so. Hence it should always be remembered that all the possessions I ignorantly claim to be mine are actually not mine. Everything belongs to Him."

Once the seeker realizes this truth it is said that he has truly renounced every thing.

This feeling is renunciation. In other words, it is a state of knowledge. It is not necessarily physically forsaking anything. We breathe in because we also breathe out. We are able to walk only when we leave one step from the ground first. Then only we are able to put our next step on the ground. A child leaves his mother�s lap and then only he goes to school for education. He leaves home .He leaves his play and other sources of entertainment. Then only he sees the outer world, learns more and more and makes progress in his life�s journey. We have left our child- hood .We entered into youth. We have to leave our youth and become old whether we like it or lump it. This is the law of nature. Renunciation is the law of nature. This law is also applicable to the vegetable kingdom as well as mineral kingdom. The fruit leaves the mother tree to develop into another tree. The electrons keep on moving and join with others to form new substances. The root works day and night not just for itself but to nourish the whole tree. Every part of the plant is engaged in a pre-determined manner helping each other for sustenance.

Renunciation does not mean rejection only. It also means acceptance. It means abandoning some thing to accept some other. We, as the human beings, are bestowed with inquisitiveness. We must keep on reviewing our existing knowledge. We should give up our obsolete knowledge to learn newer and newer. Lower truths must be abandoned for the sake of higher truths. Lower goals must be relinquished for the sake of the highest goal. That can only lead us to real evolution. Low-value items must be given up for high-value items. Our mindset must change. Our vision must change. We must analyse which is permanent and which is impermanent. We must hold unto the permanent and relinquish the transitory things we come across on our way.

Restraint or the quality of self -discipline is always observed in nature. There is self-control in nature. The various ingredients of atmosphere always maintain their limitations and proportions. The oceans confine themselves to their boundaries. The fire remains sheathed every where until a particular situation is created to make it appear as a devouring flame. Every matter acts and reacts in a given manner consistent with its latent properties, which are pre-designed. Slowly but systematically, a seed evolves into a plant. The earth and all other planets move in a predetermined way in their orbits.

Service is a very important attribute in this complex creation. Nothing is a separate entity. Every thing works in tandem with some thing or other. Every thing is integrated with other. One serves the other. One depends upon another. The vegetable kingdom draws its sustenance from the mineral kingdom. The animal kingdom cannot survive without the vegetable kingdom. Multifarious natural ingredients constitute the mineral kingdom. They are at the service of the natural flora and fauna which in turn are engaged for the service of the animal world.

The herbal shrubs are a great boon to us. Even earth, water, light, air etc are always available to render their services. In our own bodies various limbs work in a mutually supportive manner to serve a common interest. The parents, however big they may be, serve their children. Even the ferocious tigress feeds her cubs and protects them. Nature provides the life saving milk in the mother�s breast even before a child is born. Sun gives us light, heat, life and energy. Moon sprinkles the soft and soothing beam and lights the whole earth. The plants consume the carbon di-oxide and release the oxygen for our use. From all these examples, it is quite evident that service is the underlying essential principle in this creation. Through service, one will be in a position to get oneself acquainted with higher and higher truths.

This creation is a manifestation of truth. When we see or perceive some thing, be it water or ice, we recognize it because of its form as well as its quality. That means some truths are ingrained in it basing on which we identify certain thing, be it movable or immovable, be it living or non-living. These ingrained truths are nothing but expressions of certain pre-existing principles or laws involved, generally called as properties. After cognizing the truths latent, we describe the same in our own language. That means knowledge is involved in every thing. In other words, it is knowledge, which manifests as an object. Knowledge is required to cognize, identify, understand and also to explain things. Dibya Darshan says, "Knowing the truth is knowledge."

Water is a truth. Its constituents namely hydrogen and oxygen are also truths. The proportion or the pattern in which they combine is also a truth. Water becomes ice at zero degree temperature. Water has also a boiling point measured by man in different units of temperature. These are all truths based on which the natural laws work. These laws existed before the man came into being. These laws shall prevail even after man perishes. These laws operate independently whether man discovers the same or not.

Oil is extracted from til. It is a truth. Oil is not extracted from sand is also a truth. Every thing we come across is a truth, be it �is� or �is not�. There are definite laws governing both positive and negative occurrences in this creation.

The eternal truth manifests as the eternal law. The eternal law manifests as natural laws. The eternal law operates in the causal world. It manifests in the subtle world. The same laws, operative in the subtle world also manifest in the gross objects. In other words, the Law of Eternity manifests in the subtle and gross worlds. The eternal law regulates every thing, be it gross or subtle. When man cognizes the operative law in the gross objects it is called scientific invention. The eternal law is god-made. God is eternal. He manifests Himself as many. The manner in which His manifestation takes place is known as the Law of Eternity.

The creation is a manifestation of truths otherwise known as the Law of Eternity. The creation is a manifestation of knowledge. The creation is a manifestation of consciousness just as matter is a transformed state of energy. Consciousness and knowledge are one and the same although their usages differ. The operative Law or truth when cognized and understood is termed as knowledge. The basis of every thing is of course consciousness which plays the dual or multiple roles of the maker and the made, the truth and the perceiver, the governor and the governed, the knower and the objects of knowledge and so on. The Almighty who is said to be the Pure Consciousness is therefore called Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. His creation with all its happenings is therefore not an accidental outcome but a conscious, perfectly regulated and perfectly integrated design encompassing the past, present and future. The same Pure Consciousness is present in every one as the Self. Hence knowing the Self is the ultimate of goal of every one.

God is Pure Consciousness or the Supreme Truth. Every thing is a manifestation of His Consciousness. His Consciousness manifests as truths. One truth comes out of another truth and it goes on according to the Law of Eternity. Every truth has got a link with some other truth. All truths are linked with the Supreme Truth. All the relative truths emanate from the one and only one Absolute Truth. The creation is a product of this divine process. In other words, the same truth manifests as mother and father. The same truth manifests as our friends and associates. The same truth manifests as our Guru. We are ourselves the manifestations of the same truth. We are the products of the same divine process. Our root is the Supreme Truth. We are the waves of that ocean. We are not different from the ocean. We are the ocean itself.

Love is a great divine virtue. Knowledge of truth leads to love towards every one and also love towards God. This leads to unconditional self-surrender to God resulting in unity and perfect identity with Him. There is love for the Self, love for all. Due to ignorance this divine love is not comprehended properly. It is viewed from a narrow and consequently distorted angle. That is why, there is more selfishness than sacrifice, more infatuation than true love.

Love is there because Atman is there. A man loves his child, actually not for the sake of the child but for Atman who is there inside. A man loves his wife not for the sake his wife but for the Atman who is the abiding, supporting and sustaining force. Once the divine quality of love takes possession of a seeker, there is no need for any spiritual practice or knowledge. The seeker realizes that love rules supreme every where. He becomes one with the Being who is Love-Absolute.

Forgiveness comes as a natural offshoot. He cannot find any deficiency anywhere. Therefore there is nothing, which he cannot tolerate. Every thing turns out to be divine. Forgiveness is not a result of any practice. All spiritual practices end there. Only Supreme Bliss eternally reigns every where.

To recapitulate, a spiritual mendicant has to cultivate the divine virtues such as renunciation, restraint, spiritual efforts, service, truth, love and forgiveness. Unless one is ready to renounce, one cannot practise self-restraint. By practising self-restraint one musters up power. An unrestrained person is generally weak and hence incapable of achieving any thing substantial. A restrained person on the other hand is a strong person. A restrained person only can fix his mind on God. His mind becomes powerful when it is fixed on the omnipotent Existence. With skilful action and determination to attain the goal he can move ahead braving all odds. Only a strong person can serve others. He wins the good will and blessings of others. In the process of service, he gains knowledge as he comes across more and more truths. Consequently he comes to possess the quality of love. Where love rules, forgiveness comes spontaneously. He loves all as his own self. Every thing becomes his self.

Law of Eternity:

The Law of Eternity is divine and it works on the principles of divine qualities. The seven divine qualities are very much present in all creatures whether they know them or not. The seven divine virtues form the underlying basis for this creation which is unfolded layer after layer from the causal to the subtle and from the subtle to the gross by the Law of Eternity which is none other than the Sanatan Dharma. This Law of Eternity emanating from the causal state manifests itself as the seven divine qualities in the subtle creation and thereafter in the gross creation of names and forms. The Law of Eternity manifests itself as the various lower truths in the physical world cognizance of which comes under the ambit of physical science or scientific truths. Whether it is the law of gravitation, or properties of space, air, fire, water and minerals or the systemic patterns of the living beings in whom the digestive system, respiratory system, blood circulation system etc are embedded, all are pre-existing. That means those are not man-made. Man must try to comprehend that behind the lower truths operative in the physical planes, there are also higher truths, which govern the lower truths. Those higher truths are the prerogatives of the Almighty. In other words, those are God�s Will or the manifestation of His Absolute Consciousness. The Absolute Truth manifests as the relative truths in the subtle and gross creation. God alone is the only Reality.

It appears as though every particle in this universe is designed and engaged to serve some purpose or other. While it itself evolves, it also contributes to the process of evolution of the entire creation in a natural way for an unknown goal. Matter is transformed into energy. Energy is transformed into matter. This process goes on perennially to project a renewed creation every moment. In other words, every body consciously or unconsciously undertakes some efforts and every body is inextricably linked to some pre-set goal.

There is some law governing birth. There is some law governing death. These laws prevail every where at all times irrespective of caste creed and culture, irrespective of whether it is South Pole or North Pole. There is a law behind sufferings. There is a law behind happiness. There is a law behind bondage and there is a law behind liberation. This law is timeless and is of universal application. This law is the truth. Knowing this truth is knowledge. Not knowing this truth is ignorance. Ignorance creates illusory effects i.e. Maya. It veils the truth and projects it in different ways. The perceivers, because of gradations of knowledge understand things in different ways.

Man being the most developed creature is endowed with a higher mind or intellect as a result of which he is in a position to cognize the under-lying essence of every thing although he is also steeped in ignorance. He has therefore to acquire the light of knowledge as a result of which the darkness of ignorance can be dispelled. He has to necessarily nurture the seven divine virtues in him, which will help him evolve higher and higher i.e. to his goal. The goal is to return to where he has begun from. He is in the process of an unknown journey. He is way-laid. The light-house of knowledge can show him the right direction to reach his heavenly abode where eternal peace and bliss reign. Any deviation has to cause restlessness and discontentment arising from out of disequilibrium. Hence Dibya Darshan at the cost of repetition says, "To know the Law of Eternity is knowledge and to observe the same is Dharma. Dharma culminates in liberation or total freedom."

As discussed earlier, knowing the truth is knowledge. Likewise, not knowing the truth is ignorance. He who does not know the truth gets deluded. Due to his lesser understanding, he mistakes one for the other or super- imposes some thing on another. With lesser knowledge, he more often than not, gets a distorted understanding of things and therefore he suffers. Clinging on to the existing state amounts to stagnation.

We must grow. We must blossom. We must be awake. We must attain our true self. This role-play is impermanent. We must keep on seeking. Then only true knowledge will be revealed to us. There comes the role of a spiritual master who has realized the truth. Ignorance has veiled our knowledge. Our true Self is veiled because of that. We consider our unreal role as the true role. We habitually see the superimposed things as the real things. For that matter, our senses have only kept us hypnotized.

We have created some imaginary relations with the imaginary things, which is the cause of our bondage. Our imaginations are based on ignorance, which keeps us away from truth. That means the real answer is unknown to us. To refrain from such habit and to turn towards truth is the real spiritual practice that can lead us to the right answer. Guru knows the right answer. He is the right and ultimate answer. Without applying right formulae, we cannot reach the right answer. All our workings will be wrong. We will be creating quintals of rough sheets only. That formula is nothing but the Law of Eternity, which can be had from the spiritual master. Knowing this Law is knowledge. Observance of the same is Dharma. Observance of Dharma cuts all bondages and leads the seeker to liberation.

Man is always deluded by ignorance. He thinks that he knows every thing or he has got sufficient knowledge required for his living. He is not conscious of the fact that he has to learn a lot of things more and what he knows is insignificant only. He develops self-complacency. What ever he knows he mistakes it to be final and becomes very rigid with his level of knowledge. He is unaware that he has forgotten his true self. He does not know who really he is. He identifies himself with some names, positions and qualifications, which he has acquired afterwards. He forgets that he is living only by knowledge and therefore further knowledge is so essential for him. When the scope for entertainment or sensual enjoyment comes he becomes ultra-active whereas when the question of learning some higher knowledge comes he resists or ridicules. Because of his low level of knowledge his power of understanding is also low. He cannot grasp the knowledge of higher levels. Low cannot scale the high. Short cannot measure the long. A student belonging to a lower class cannot understand and appreciate the syllabi of degree level or university level. He remains indifferent so far as knowledge is concerned.

Man seeks happiness but gets sufferings. It is, because he does not know how to get happiness. He shuns the knowledge that is required to earn happiness. Hence suffering is the logical conclusion. He does not have a set goal. He wanders aimlessly indulging himself in various pursuits without any accomplishment worth the name. At times he lays unduly more importance and does a lot of things for earning a few rupees whereas for acquiring knowledge he pays little heed. He is rather addicted to ignorance. He never bothers to know the reasons of his sufferings. As a result of this, he cannot take any remedial steps. He is unaware that ignorance is a malady he suffers from and the only panacea is knowledge. He does not know what nectar is and what poison is. He behaves as if he is destined to suffer although he himself is Knowledge Absolute or Bliss Absolute. Due to excess indulgence in gross matters, he remains away from subtle things and is therefore taken possession of by materialism. Consciousness thus gets eclipsed. It is knowledge only that provides insight into subtler things.

These are all symptoms of ignorance. An ignorant man has to suffer. Dibya Darshan reiterates, "Ignorance is the cause of sufferings." Presence of sufferings indicates presence of ignorance. No one welcomes sufferings. It is a natural offshoot of ignorance. Ignorance causes doubts and confusions. An ignorant man becomes narrow and egocentric. Due to ignorance he commits sins. Sins beget sufferings. Thus he is caught in a vicious circle. When in misfortunes, he worships many personal godheads and goes on begging. Possessing demoniac or devilish qualities, he makes various offerings to God to tide over his sufferings. God approves and accepts only divine qualities and not the devilish designs. The offerings made by such persons are not of any avail. God rather creates obstacles for the demons as they belong to conflicting categories.

Religious institutions are growing. Many temples, mosques and churches are being constructed. But there is no end to human miseries. Rather the same is on an increase. There are inter-religious and intra-religious discords and wranglings. This indicates that the religion is not properly understood and there remain deficiencies and defects in our mechanical way of worshipping. Superstitions still rule the roost. The results are just opposite. There is an imperative need to rationalize and reason out some of the prevailing religious practices.

Due to ignorance, religion is also misunderstood and misinterpreted. Through out his life the ignorant man goes on begging before God. Several births he has taken and all along he has been asking for some thing or other. He has never been satisfied. He is ever in want. Whatever he had got then is useless now. He wants newer and newer things with a hope that he will get happiness from out of that. But still he remains unsatisfied and lives in misery. He continues to crave for more and more. The fact that knowledge is the only source of happiness is still unknown to many. A child does not understand himself. He does not understand the world around him. The child immediately jumps for a chocolate and rejects a ten- rupee- note. Similar is the situation with the ignorant man.

A drunken person does not realize his precarious condition He fumbles and falters. He staggers and stumbles. He lives in misery. Good sense does not occur to him. He behaves as if the extent of suffering is not enough. Similar is the position of the ignorant man. He remains away from knowledge that is required to get happiness. He is not aware of his power within. He tries to make his body clean but never tries to make the heart and mind clean. Hence God remains far away from Him. He, at times, mechanically performs some rituals by making some offerings to God and remains satisfied. He never evinces interest to know Him. Dibya Darshan asks, "How shall you get some thing if you do not know it? What shall you ask for? Even if you happen to get, how shall you keep it? Bhasmasur, a mythological demon, had also been endowed with some boon from Lord Shiva. What was the result? He destroyed himself by that boon. You never asked for knowledge that is so essential to earn peace and happiness. Your conscience has been veiled as a result of which you are not in a position to discriminate between good and bad, right and wrong, permanent and transitory. Your indulgence in material objects cannot bring peace and happiness. The material objects cannot bring you liberation. You are mistaking your role as real and forgetting the Reality. You are engrossed in samsaric life being oblivious of your creator. Your creator is only your liberator. Hence it is essential to know Him first. To know Him, you must enquire who you are. In other words, you must acquire self-knowledge. If you forget God, you are bound to suffer. You are not inclined towards God because of your ignorance. You do not know His Greatness. You only know that the mundane matters will give you peace and happiness. Once you know how important God is, then only you will start contemplating on Him. You take interest in gold because you know that gold is valuable. Once you know that diamond is more valuable than gold, you start taking interest in diamond. Similarly when you come to know that God is most valuable, then only you will be attracted towards God. This is the way mind acts and reacts. But you are simply swayed away by your mind and senses who always keep you hypnotized.

As discussed earlier, the low cannot scale the high. Mind cannot scale the intellect. Intellect cannot scale the conscience. Jiva cannot know the personal God-head. The personal God-head does not know the Brahman. This inertia of ignorance continues unless it is dispelled by the light of knowledge from the spiritual master. The thickest of darkness vanishes the moment a candle is enkindled. In other words, darkness is transformed into light when there is light. Light cannot find darkness. Light does not know darkness. Darkness is a derivative of light.

The Sun always signs. When we turn our back towards the Sun, then only we see shadow. If we keep our doors and windows closed, we feel the absence of light. We experience darkness. In other words, when the path of light is obstructed, darkness appears. In fact darkness is created by light. Darkness owes its origin to light. Darkness again is relative. Although ultra-violet and infra-red rays are present in the so called darkness we humans are unable to see things because of our limited vision where as some other creatures are able to see properly through the so-called darkness. That means darkness is a state of light. They are not opposite to each other. They only differ in degree and not in kind. The light of the eye determines whether there is light or darkness. Still higher than the light of eye is the light of knowledge or consciousness. We are unable to see that light which enables us to see. We are unable to see that conscious energy which keeps us conscious and which provides us all energies that we possess. Because of the rays of the Sun we are able to see both the Sun and the Earth. But we have never seen the rays. We can only see some objects on which rays fall.

Just as darkness is a state of not seeing, similarly ignorance is a state of not knowing. It is knowledge that signs out every where and always. In fact we are the products of that knowledge power. When we are not one with knowledge, ignorance casts its spell. The path of knowledge gets obstructed by our inborn varieties such as body, senses, mind and intellect. Separatist walls are raised. Knowledge path gets cut-off. The light of the Self appears diffused because of the lenses we wear. Differentiations and variations are created. A single object or subject is perceived from various angles. Effects become many and varied due to different perceptions. Different coverings work as different lenses as a result one is viewed as many. We are ourselves compositions of multiplicities. The undivided knowledge appears divided, circumscribed and fragmented. Ignorance starts its reign. Ignorance is a natural or logical phenomenon that cannot be explained. Ignorance is as old as knowledge. Ignorance is as beginning-less as knowledge. But ignorance has end just as darkness has end. Knowledge does not know of any ignorance. Ignorance is a potency of knowledge. It is a state of knowledge conditioned by self generated imagination or apparent fragmentation.

To transcend ignorance one has to be one with the undivided pure knowledge, i.e. the Self which is pure consciousness. Any departure from this highest state shall create the shadow of ignorance and therefore generate multiplicities .The Self-Sun is the light that always signs. For the knower of the Self there is no ignorance. For the ignorant there is ignorance although he may not be aware of. Ignorance is the perceiver and the same ignorance is the object of perception. In a higher sense, knowledge is the perceiver and the same knowledge is the object of perception. The jiva (ignorant) experiences the Jagat. The realizer experiences the Self within and without. In other words, it is knowledge that appears as ignorance for the ignorant and it is ignorance that appears as knowledge.

Knowledge:

Due to ignorance jiva is not able to realize the truth. This is called Maya. Maya means, not knowing the truth. Brahman exists. He alone exists. All other names, forms, adjectives and epithets are mere super-impositions on the one and only real substance that is Brahman. Reality is permanent while the unreal are impermanent or transitory. Once this knowledge dawns upon the aspirant by the grace of guru, the illusory effects will be over. There is a rope. The rope was there. The rope will remain. But due to absence of light or proper vision, a non-existent snake appears. The rope is covered. Snake appears. This covering is due to the veiling power of Maya. The rope appears like a snake due to the projection power of Maya.

We are not conscious of the fact that every thing belongs to God. Out of grace, he has provided us with various objects of enjoyment. We must not claim ownership over all those. God is the only owner. He can any time denude us of all our belongings. Nothing is ours. We can hold nothing permanently. We enjoy the space, air, fire, water and earth. But we are not the owners of the same. If he deprives us of all these, we cannot exist even. Our physical bodies are made of the five gross elements named above. These gross elements do not belong to us. Similarly even the senses, organs of action, mind and intellect are graciously given to us for our use. They must be properly and carefully used. Misuse may lead to dispossession. Therefore we should not boast of any thing. Without His grace we are no-where. We must not forget to express our gratitude to Him.

It is the realized soul who can impart true knowledge to the aspirants and show the right path. He can only revive the power of discrimination in the aspirant. Only He can clear the cataract of ignorance. The aspirant can see things from proper perspectives. In other words, his angles of vision will change. He will be able to perceive the truth by acquiring higher knowledge. Thus he will one day know the Supreme Truth also. The Supreme Truth is Bliss Absolute. The more he comes to know Him, the more he will love Him and the more peace and bliss he will get."

He, who knows the mystery of Maya, will be able to get rid of Maya. He who knows that he is ignorant; he will try to get rid of ignorance. He who knows what liberation is, he will try to attain liberation. He who does not have any inquisitiveness, he is more or less like an animal.

As the level of knowledge changes, the standpoint also changes. As the standpoint changes the angle of vision also changes and thus man�s perception towards every thing also changes. He understands the futility of his earlier efforts. He resets his priorities and pursuits accordingly. He can well understand his lacunae and loopholes. He realizes his inadequacies and sets his goal for completeness. The whole concept of life undergoes a sea change. So far, he has been mistaking something as life, which is out of the blue, overpowered by death. Now he wants to live a life, which is free from death. Life must live. Death must die. He ultimately realizes that he is unborn and immortal.

Energy and Matter:

Energy is invisible and indescribable. Energy manifests as matter. Matter is a form of energy. Here the energy is my body and all its constituents. There the energy takes the forms of mountains, oceans and different objects of the phenomenal world. The invisible energy becomes the matters after several stages of modifications. Matters are also transformed into energy. Thus matter and energy are one and the same. In other words, there is a unity or homogeneity in heterogeneity. There is nothing other than energy. Total energy is constant, neither increasing nor decreasing. Changes like deaths and births are merely intermediary phases. Through changes only new products are created and the creation wears new look every day with new colours and new glamours.

Dibya Darshan explains this by its "Theory of Change" according to which there exists an unchangeable conscious entity that governs all changes. It is not the matter which has got the power to transform itself into invisible and indescribable energy. It is not the energy that has got any power to transform itself into meaningful and significant world of matters. A conscious force is definitely at the background of every thing i.e. creation, operation and destruction. A systematic Law is undoubtedly at work to maintain the consistency, regularity and universality.

Man is himself a product of this grand cyclic process of change. Changes do occur within and without every moment every where. The objects change. The subjects change Therefore the mutual relationships also undergo change calling for adjustment or resetting always. Changes are multi dimensional. Changes take place in the gross as well as the subtle worlds simultaneously resulting in equations getting changed and so also the application of formulae. We who are composed of varieties and variables live in a world of varieties and variables, inter-act with them to create momentary equilibriums and dis-equilibriums until a state of permanent equilibrium is reached which is a perfect state of Bliss or the heavenly abode.

Divine goal:

All varieties or heterogeneities are apparent. Unity or homogeneity is real. Divinity is the true self of every body. If any thing is to be craved for then it is only divinity, which is the True Self. Any other pursuit retards or diverts the journey. A journey without a set goal is a wasteful fiasco. Therefore all actions relating to our survival, maintenance of our bodies, living in a society with happiness must be linked with that divine goal. In other words, delinked to this divine goal, every action becomes meaningless. For attaining divinity, an individual must, while living in a society, make his environment clean and trouble-free failing which his spiritual practice may get disturbed. Hence the need for inculcating divine qualities. A congenial and mutually supportive society contributes to the development of the individual towards his goal. Therefore, the individual, society and God are the three phases of a divine life. Once Godhood is attained, the totality is attained. To the realizer the individual, society and all environments get transformed into one Reality, which is the ultimate homogeneous essence, encompassing every thing. All becomings merge with the Being who is the Infinity, Eternity and the Indivisible Whole.