Spiritual Knowledge Alone Is Eternal

By Author: Sikha Dawan
Total Articles: 7
Comment this article

When Arjuna becomes despondent in the battlefield of Kurukshetra during the Mahabharata War, he puts his bow down well before the commencement of the battle and refuses to fight. Then Lord Shri Krishna resolves his doubts and imparts Spiritual Knowledge to him, saying “Arjuna, I am going to impart the practical techniques of that Knowledge which is the sovereign knowledge, which is very easy to practise and which gives instant results. In the beginning of this creation, I imparted this Knowledge to the Sun. The Sun gave this Knowledge to Manu and Manu gave it to Ichhwaku. In this way, according to spiritual tradition, this Knowledge spread among the royal sages, then by and by, this Knowledge became obscure, like a coin sinks into mud. The coin has not vanished - rather it lies hidden.” A doubt cropped up in the mind of Arjuna. He said that Shri Krishna said an amazing thing, that in the beginning of the creation, He imparted this Knowledge to the sun. satpal maharaj
Science says that the sun existed first and foremost in the creation of the solar system. An explosion took ...
... place which split the sun. That debris was separated from the sun. After millions of years it cooled and became planets. The sun was in the beginning of the creation of our solar system. If we go into the depths of the Earth, we find burning lava there. Volcanoes are erupting from within the earth. Earlier, the earth was a mass of volcanoes. On the surface it is cold, but its internal layers are burning with red hot flames, like a burning coal which has ash on its surface and when the ash is removed, the burning coal manifests. Likewise, when the layers of ash of the earth, the layers of soil are removed, then red hot flames become visible. Mountains came into being, snow fell and rivers started flowing; thus creation went on.
Lord Shri Krishna says, “Spiritual Knowledge spread among the royal sages and in due course it became obscure.” If this Knowledge vanishes then how will beings be protected? Only that which is indestructible and eternal can protect you. Lord Krishna says that Spiritual Knowledge is indestructible and very easy to practise. The body will come to an end one day; whatever we are seeing will also come to an end in due course. All the sanskaras, the imprints in our mind, will also vanish, but Spiritual Knowledge will not be destroyed, it is eternal.
Lord Shri Krishna’s words confused Arjuna and he says, “Krishna, you were born after me but you are saying that in the beginning of the creation you gave the Knowledge to the sun.” Lord Shri Krishna replies, “Arjuna, you and I have had many births. I remember them all but you do not and this cycle went on uninterrupted.” Then Lord Krishna imparts the practical techniques of the Spiritual Knowledge and says, “I am giving this divine knowledge to you because you do not find fault in anyone.” When one has such a holy and pure heart that he does not see anyone’s faults, only then does he become entitled to receive the Spiritual Knowledge. So, it has been said-
“Bura jo dekhan main chala, bura na miliya koy.
Jo dil khoja apana, mujhasa bura na koy.”
“I set out to find an evil person but I could not find anyone like that. But when I searched within myself, I came to know that no one was worse than me.” When Lord Shri Ram arrived to purify Pampa Sarovar at the request of the sages there, he told them, “Each of you put your foot in the water so that this lake will become pure.” They did this, one by one, obeying Lord Rama’s command, but the water did not become clear and pure. Bhilni was also there in the gathering. Lord Rama told her also to put her foot in the water. Initially she hesitated and said, “Lord, I am a low caste woman. Please do not insist that I do this.”
Lord Rama said, “No, I give everyone the same opportunity. Rishies have already put their feet in the water. I also have put my foot in the water. So, Bhilni, now it’s your turn.” She hesitatingly dipped her foot in the lake and due to her purity of soul, due to the strength of her devotion, the water of the lake became clear and pure. This is the purity of the heart of a true devotee. It is very clear that one who does not find fault in anyone, becomes entitled to receive the Spiritual Knowledge. With a positive and constructive attitude a person advances on the devotional path and in this very body acquires all the four fruits. It has been written in the
Shri Ramcharitmanasa –
“Suni samujhahin jan mudit man,
majjahin ati anurag.
Lahahin chari phal achhat tanu,
sadhu samaj prayag.”
“A person should eagerly listen, then understand in the company of saints which is like Prayag, (the confluence of the three rivers) and should put it into practice with great love. By doing so he will accrue all the four fruits in this very life.” Today, people say that one should go on pilgrimage to the four sacred places - Jagannathpuri, Rameshwaram, Dwarika and Badrinarayan - but they do not realise that these four sacred places are right within them; the four achievements which we have to attain are right within us. Because he lacks Spiritual Knowledge a man is searching for those in the external world. Our condition is like that of the wandering deer about whom it is said-
“Mrig navi kundal base, mrig dhoondhe van mahin.
Aise ghat-ghat Brahma hain, duniya janat nahin.”
“The musk deer searches in the forest for the perfume which is emanating from its own navel. Similarly, God resides within everyone’s heart but nobody knows.” In other words, we are searching outside for something which is within our hearts. Within ourselves is the cosmic sound, so we have installed a bell in a temple or a church. The Divine Light, which is self-effulgent, is within us, so we have lit an ‘akhand jyoti’ (Eternal Flame) outside, which will be extinguished after some time but we have made it a symbol. In other words, we do not try to search for what is already within us. Saint Kabir sang in a devotional song-
“Tera mera manuwa kaise ek hoi re.
Main kahta hoon jagat rahiyo, tu jata hai soi re.
Main kahta hoon nirmohi rahiyo, tu jata hai mohi re.
Main kahta hoon ankho dekhi,
tu kahta hai kagaj lekhi.
Tera mera manuwa kaise ek hoi re.”
“How can your and my mind be one? I say to you to stay awake but you sleep. I tell you to remain detached but you get attached. I tell you what I have seen with my own eyes whereas you say what is written on a sheet of paper. So, how can your and my mind agree?” A spiritual person talks about his own experiences, what he has seen with his own divine eye, but people do not understand and they repeat what is written in a book. That is why we should enquire from experienced saints. Lord Shri Krishna imparted the practical techniques of The Spiritual Knowledge to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, which eradicated Arjuna’s ignorance and delusion. We should also go into the shelter of the true Spiritual Master and acquire the Spiritual Knowledge from Him. It is written in the Ramcharitmanasa–
“Bandaun gurupad kanj, kripa sindhu nar roop hari.
Maha moh tam punja, jasu vachan ravi karni kar.”
“I prostrate to the lotus feet of the Master, who is an ocean of compassion and God in human form. His words act like the sun in eradicating the darkness of ignorance and delusion.”
Once, St Tulsidas Ji wanted to see Lord Rama. He says that he used to pour water on the roots of a peepal tree. A spirit that lived in that tree said, ‘Tulsidas Ji, you have regularly given water to me, so I am very pleased with you. Ask for whatever you want’. Tulsidas Ji had one desire – he wanted the vision of Lord Shri Rama. You might think that Lord Rama lived long ago in Tretayuga, so how could he manifest in this day and age, but Tulsidas Ji had only one desire. The spirit said, ‘Brother, what you want is beyond my reach. If I were capable of showing you the Lord then why would have I been a spirit stuck in this tree? However I can tell you the way to meet the Lord.”
That spirit continued, ‘Satsang is held at Chitrakoot bathing steps. There is a leper, who comes to satsang before anyone and goes after everyone has left. He is an incarnation of Hanuman Ji, so catch hold of his feet. A devotee of God is capable of taking you to God.” It is written in the Navadha Bhakti (The Nine Steps of Devotion) in the Ramcharitmanasa-
“Pratham bhakti santan kar sanga,
doosari rati mam katha prasanga.”
The first step of devotion is the company of saints. The second step of devotion is to be fond of listening to satsang and stories about the Lord.
Lord Rama told Bhilni that the first step in devotion is to keep the company of saints. He did not tell her to keep His company. If you associate with saints you will automatically become a servant of God. So, we all should keep the company of saints and after acquiring the Spiritual Knowledge as instructed by them, we should remember the Holy Name of God and meditate as much as possible because our salvation lies in this.