Life (is a) pilgrimage

On this pilgrimage (yatra) through life (ayur):

VICARA: ASK.

VIVEKA: LEARN/DISCRIMINATE.

VIRAGYA: RENOUNCE AND PRACTICE TO ACHIEVE A CENTERED STATE OF DISPASSION.

Renounce what? LOBHA (greed), GRODA (anger), KAMA (lust), MADA (pride), MOHAN (delusion) and ABHIMANA (arrogance).

Practice what? The Hindu lifestyle*:

KARMA YOGA (ETHICS) CHARIYA ~ YAMA

BHAKTI YOGA (DEVOTION) KRIYA ~ NIYAMA

HATHA YOGA (WORSHIP POSTURES) ~ ASANA

RAJA YOGA (MEDITATION) YOGAM ~ pranayama; pratyahara; dharana; dhyana

JNANA YOGA (ENLIGHTENMENT) JNANAM ~ SAMADHI

* The early (H)indu seers, succinctly described the practical Hindu lifestlye as Karma Kanda (root), Upasana Kanda (which comprised Bhakti, Hatha and Raja Yoga) and Jnana Kanda. The Sanskrit word Yajna (sacrifice; i.e. sacred doing) can also be used in place of Yoga to accurately describe the Hindu lifestyle. Pranams to the clear wisdom of these Hindu Rishis!

Like anything else, just keep practicing (also see below from Patanjali**):

DOSHA DRISHTYA MUHUR-MUHUH.

[the] Defective sense objects perceive again and again.

SWA-LAKSHYE NIYATAVASTHA.

[until] One permanently controlled remains.

MANASAH SAMA UCYATE.

[then the] Mind calm is called.

According to the Hindu lifestyle, this sama/santo or peace is the first indication of wealth:

SANTO (PEACE)

DANTA (CONTROL)

UPARATAS (INTROSPECTION)

TITIKSHUH (ENDURANCE)

SAMAHITAH (CONCENTRATION)

SRADDHAVITTO (FAITHFUL)

With full (purvaka) faith (sraddha) and a warriors zeal (virya), keen intellect and memory (smrti), the Hindu renunciant strives for full perception. Sraddhaviryasmrti Samadhiprajnapurvaka itaresam. Y.S. I.20. In Chandogya Upanisad, Guru SanatKumara (who is thought to be Murugan) teaches the youthful renunciant Narada the way to a keen memory:

AHARA-SUDDHAU SATTWA-SUDDHI

(When the senses are pure; the mind is pure)

SATTWA-SUDDHAU DHRUVA SMRITIHH

(When the mind is pure; firm is the memory)

SMRITI-LAMBHE SARVA-GRANTHINAM

(When memory is gained; all knots are loosened)

VIPRAMOKSHA.

(One attains liberation)

Though of course not all Hindus follow the celibate path of the Yogis and Swamis (though this happens in later life to the devout Grihasta [Hindu family life]), one can understand what it means to:

TAGI TAGI*; BHUNJITAH (Tena Tyaktena Bhunjitah)

(Renounce; Enjoy)

KRIYA YOGA SANATAN DHARMA

[By] (practicing Hindu Dharma)

* Chant tagi, tagi and you will discover the song of the Divine. Renounce the fruits; not the action. Let go of unrighteousness and hold on to ethical religion.

Four walls, do not a prison make. It is your mind that puts you in that state. So, practice restraint and moksha/liberation will be your fate.

As the famous Isha Upanishad begins, you will know the meaning of fullness and of the Divine flowing through all things:

PURNAM-ADAH; PURNAM IDAM

(Th unconditioned is full; the conditioned is full)

PURNAT PURNAM-UDACYATE

(From the unconditioned fullness come the conditioned fullness)

PRUNASYA PURNAM-ADAYA

(Though this fullness comes from that fullness)

PURNAM-EVAVASISHYATE

(Fullness alone remains)

ISA VASYAM IDAM SARVAM

(The Divine Enters All)

TENA TYAKTENA BHUNJITAH

(Renounce and Enjoy)

In the modern vernacular, it's all good! But, to reach a true understanding of this fullness, one must set limits and follow the rules of the game. So proceed boldly, oh, Yatri (pilgrim)! If you want the expanded consciousness of the Enlightened state, paradoxically, you must go through a narrow gate. You must accept a specific religious path, stay on it and ascend. The principled body of religion will take you beyond the body to the incorporeal Spirit and back again. Abhya--Varada. Everything is OK--if, we do the right thing. Life is a pil, or Life is a pilgrimage.

In the ongoing practice of action and renunciation, it is part of being a Hindu to take yearly pilgrimages to Hindu holy sites. The more intense the discipline and courage involved in such Yatras, the faster is the evolution. From the Absolute-to pure thought-to breath-to AUM is the creation to live and back again. The Mundaka Upanishad is associated with Mother Kali as she cuts off the head/ego of the demon Munda. Literally "cutting through the crap" and typical of Kali, this Hindu scripture reminds us of the progressive nature of the Dharma. Speaking of the Aum/Om:

First:

DHANUR-GRIHITWAUPANISHADAM MAHASTRAM.

(The Hindu scriptures are the great bow.)

SARAM HY'UPASANISITAM SANDHAYITA.

(Fix to it worshipful meditation.)

Second:

PRANAVO DHANUS-SARO HY-ATMAN.

(Now, the bow of the AUM is the breath; the Atman is the arrow.)

BRAHMAN TAL'LAKSHYAM-UCYATE.

(Brahman is the target to be perceived.)

The above defines Yoga; i.e., "union of Atman with Brahman."

APRAMATTENA VEDDHAVYAM

(Carefully this knowledge hit)

SARA-VAT TANMAYO BHAVET

(Arrow-like; in the Absolute be established)

Also from Mundaka, one is reminded that only the strong achieve the logical (naya) wisdom of Atma Darsana/Self-Realization:

NAYAM-ATMA; BALA-HINENA LABHYAH

(Atma Darsana; Strength-devoid comes not)

Commenting on the Bhagavad Gita, Sankara speaks of the wisdom of action and renunciation:

DWIDIVHO HI VEDO'KTO DHARMAH.

(The Vedas declare that Dharma is two-fold.)

PRAVRITTI-LAKSHANO NIVRITTI-LAKSHANAS CA.

(It is perceived as action and renunciation.)

JAGATAS STHITI-KARANAM.

(This process brings [individual and] world stability.)

** From the Yoga Sutras (I.14), Patanjali comments on practicing Hindu Dharma (religious law) also known as Rita(m); i.e., rule, order, right:

In Sutra I:48: Ritambhara tatra prajna. (When one is full of Ritam/Hindu Dharma, there is Spiritual Perception.) In progressive order, the second Pada begins with Kriya Yoga or the practice of Yoga: Tapa, Svadhyaya, Isvara Pranidhana Kriya Yoga (Religious practices, Study [to contact a Hindu MahaDeva] and devotion to Siva are the succinct practices of Yoga. To further confirm this wisdom, from the Aghamarshana-Sukta: Ritam ca Satyam Tapaso'dhyajayata (Righteousness and Truth are born from Tapas.)

To understand this religious-to-spiritual principle, simply look at the freedom attained by an expert in any field. Genuine artistic freedom is gained through being confined to an intense discipline coupled with lengthy practice. In the religious/spiritual realm, this wisdom is difficult to attain. The fundamentalist has the discipline but lacks the ultimate experience and therefore sees "others" as a threat. The new-age universalist (which comprises 99% of modern "yoga teachers") follows the other extreme with a lack of religious discipline and a self-projected enlightened or "spiritual" state. The latter reflects the materialistic get-it-quick illusion. While the extreme of fundamentalism is to be avoided, the other extreme of the inability to commit (which will manifest in other areas of one's life; i.e., divorce, etc.) to a specific religion demonstrates a lack of internal power. Patanjali, for example, clearly defines the power that comes from the true practice of Yoga: Desa bandahscittasya dharana. (Limiting the mind field results in concentration [which precedes deep meditation].) Y.S.III.1.

Regarding practice Patanjali sates in I:14: SATUDIRGHAKALANAIRANTARYA SATKARASEVITO'DRDHABHUMIH

(One is established/grounded in Truth through true practice, over a long time and without a break.)

What does it mean to practice a long time?
True teachers of the various aspects of Hinduism/Yoga are of course Hindus by birth or conversion and then undergo years of training. The married Pundits and Pujaris go through extensive training in Sanskrit rituals. Yogis and Swamis, the celibate clergy of Hinduism, begin with a minimum of twelve years of Brahmachariya/student-ship (which is in addition to any secular education) followed by an indeterminate number of years as a reclusive Yogi. Some Yogis remain reclusive and generally do not extensively teach. Some Yogis, however, become Swamis and then begin an active teaching mission.

To further get an idea of what it is to truly practice Hindu/Yogic Dharma, one could look to the famous Chandogya Upanishad. Chandogya epitomizes the wisdom of being established in the Hindu religion or Dharma and its inseparable practice of Yoga/Yajna. The three Hindu youth involved in Chandogya studied and practiced for decades. Satyakama learned from nature and the creatures; Shvetaketu learned from his father Guru and Narada learned from a Guru (outside any family connection). These three modes of study and experience show the breadth of Hindu Dharma. Each student learned the same Dharma/Yoga (Dharma, Karma, Bhakti, Raja and Jnana) under different circumstances.

The last section of Chandogya is entitled "The City of Brahman" and strongly reminds one of the practice and the goal of Hindu/Yogic Dharma:

OM ATHA YAD-IDAM ASMIN BRAHMA-PURE

(Now regarding the body; we have forgot the Absolute)

DAHARAM PUNDARIKAM VESMA

(It is a mansion shaped like a lotus)

DAHARO'SMINN-ANTAR-AKASAS

(Within that is a small inner chamber we must remember)

TASMIN-YAD-ANTAS

(We must be established in the remembrance of this inner space)

TAD-ANVESHTAVYAM

(We must be established in this by searching for it)

TAD-VAVA VIJIJNASITAVYAM

(Be established beginning every morning in the victory of this desired knowledge)

As the Sanskrit saying goes:

YAS TU NDRABHATE KARMA

(Who does not begin work)

KSHIPRAM BHAVATI

(soon/quickly, sir)

NIRDRAVYAH

(becomes poor)

To further impress the serious nature of learning and becoming a true teacher, this Upanishad ends with an (exaggerated) account of Virochana and Indra. The latter studied for 101 years. Even Virochana who misunderstood the teachings and focused on the body studied for 32 years! Just think of all the so-called "certified yoga teachers" who take a short course and consider their self an authority. Such individuals have not even fulfilled the most basic requirement of being a Hindu much less seriously traveled the Hindu/Yogic path. Either in denial or conscious deception, such individuals and groups are suffering from the self-important, age-old human condition of Pramada or egoism. Over a thousand years ago Yogi Goraknath said: Samyag etat na janati sa yogi nama dharakah. (One is not a real Yogi but only a Yogi by name.)

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