Just look at an ant! She picks up food, bigger than her size, lays eggs and takes care of her family. This earth belongs equally to her as much as it does to us. That Ishvara who is giving her strength is also giving us strength. That Ishvara who is taking care of her eggs and protecting them is taking care of us, our kids and our families as well. Ant might look at us as a huge infinite being unable to understand the capacity of our mind. She might have no clue as to what all this human mind can do. Similarly, a human has no idea of Ishvara’s potential. The one who has created this cosmos and is protecting, sustaining, ruling and responsible of all our actions is infinite. We ignorantly consider us as doers but in reality, we are just puppets. Every thought, action and desire that we have is given by Ishvara. Our free-will is how we accept and respond to it. But we use this free will towards choosing people and objects. Desires never stop and body gets destroyed till we get another body. Desires rule us and keep rotating us in this circle of births and deaths. Kaama is a word for desires, but not an exact translation. We should rather see kaama as intense desires, affinity and lust.
After the war of Mahabharata, link Yudhishtira asked Lord Krishna as what should be done next as ruling over a kingdom which was gained after lakhs of deaths wasn’t easy. Yudhishtira was confused and Lord Krishna helped him by explaining “Kaama”.
(Kaama Geeta is a dialogue between Sri Krishna and Yudhishtira from Ashvamedhika parva of Mahabharata).
Lord Krishna says: Oh Bhaarata! One doesn’t gain Siddhi-moksha by renouncing kingdom or external/materialistic possessions. By renouncing body dravyas- earth, water etc. also one may gain moksha; or maybe not.
One who is busy in pleasures due to detachment with body comforts – whatever dharma and happiness he gains, may that be gained by the ones who hate him as well.
“Mama-mine” this two letter word is for death and “Na-mama-not mine” this three letter word gives you one-ness with “Sanatana-Brahman”. Attachment is death and renunciation of attachment is eternal nectar.
Oh king! This way death and eternal nectar are both stationed in self alone. These two stay invisible and make humans fight- which means considering someone as yours and other one as “not-yours”, this alone is the reason for fight/war.
Oh son of Bharata! Even if it is decided that this world will never come to end- no one will meet death, even then human will gain result of non-violence by killing animals.
A person who doesn’t have attachment with anything despite of gaining this entire world (with all sentient beings) what will he get by gaining it?
But, Oh son of Kunti! A person who has attachment in worldly pleasures despite of living in a jungle and consuming wild fruits and flowers, is actually in the mouth of death.
Oh Bhaarata! Understand the nature of external and internal enemies. May you understand to be illusion due to maayaa. The one who doesn’t see objects of maayaa with attachment gets rid of extreme fear in him.
A person who is engaged in worldly pleasures doesn’t gain appreciation by other people of world. Worldly actions cannot be done without desires and desires are an outcome of mind. Wise people renounce (worldly) desires by understanding them to be the reason behind sorrow.
A yogi, after gaining experience from a number of lives (he gains birth and death, a number of times) determines the path of moksha, destroys worldly desires. The one who understands this fact, doesn’t do karmas like seva/charity, study of Vedas, austerities, Vedic karmas, fast, yajna, niyama and meditation-yoga etc. with any worldly desires, because it is not dharma. In reality, control of desires is dharma and is the base of gaining moksha.
Yudhishtira! Now I will tell you an ancient story as said by wise people, called Kaama-Geeta.
Kaama says “a person cannot kill me without gaining the real solution, which is detachment (with world) and practicing yoga (sameness, oneness with Brahman).
A person who tries to destroy me with his power, I come back to him as “Ego” of his power, and stay there.
A person who tries to kill me by performing yajnas and giving huge charity, I return back to him like a dharma-atman (pioneer in performing dharma) in sentient beings.
If one tries to remove me by studying Veda, Vedanta or other scriptures, I sit in his heart like atman appears in sentient beings.
If a person tries to destroy me with his patience then I get mixed with his emotions and he is not able to recognize me.
If a person tries to destroy me through penance and austerities then I start appearing in his austerities itself.
A wise person who tries to destroy me under the influence of seeking liberation, he gets bonded with that attachment of “seeking moksha”. Seeing that, I laugh and start laughing with happiness. I am the only one who is indestructible and immortal for all human beings.
Therefore Oh King! You too should have your desires towards dharma through yajna, and they will fulfill your desires.
By doing different yajnas like Ashwamedha etc. and remembering your dead cousins and relatives, you will gain peace, because anyways you will never see them again.
Therefore, you should do yajnas and give charity to gain name and fame in the three worlds.
Therefore, desires of this world will not leave you though any actions that you do and keep charming you one after the other. The only way to come out of these desires is to gain self-knowledge first. Then by completely understanding that objects and relations will never give you happiness, rather they give three kinds of sorrow. Samnskaara duhkham- sorrow before you gain them, pain, desperation, insecurity etc. Taapa duhkham- after gaining them, the feeling of jealousy, compatibility, compromise etc. and last Parinaama duhkham- at the end, either that person/object, you or the relationship dies, because anything/anyone who has got birth will definitely die.
Only Ishvara is eternal and relation with him can give you feeling of fullness, security and bliss.
Raadhaa Acharya.
