the cave of wisdom
TRANSCRIPT
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SegmentS
Segment 1 The seed ......................................................................................... 15
Segment 2 Semitic To Spiritual ..................................................................... 41
Segment 3 Initiation to Upanishad .............................................................87
Segment 4 In tune with Ideologies ...........................................................203
Segment 5 Inner Dialogues .........................................................................341
Segment 6 Lord of Love .............................................................................. 400
Segment 7 The Columns...............................................................................421
Segment 8 Upanishad tales .........................................................................475
Segment 9 Gist of Upanishad......................................................................547
Segment 10 Tao of truth ..................................................................................596
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Oh Divine Agni, Thou know everything I did,
Guide me, to prosperous path Disdain my sinful deeds.
Oh Divine Agni,Here is my, numerous adoration
Ishawasya Upanishad
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Prologue
‘What will be the good of studying the Vedas?’ Premananda asked.‘It will kill superstition,’ Swami Vivekananda said.
Teachings of Rishis are subtle and abstract, they are hard to
comprehend, and so reading it deeply and getting fair ideas of the
teachings is an uphill task. The intention to write a book like this came
from a desire to act as bridge between the Upanishad teachings and the
learners. Hence through this book I have tried to cover most of the core
Upanishad teachings.
The book is divided mainly into two divisions and further
subdivided into small fragments under a main heading. Among the main
division, the first section contains articles that are directly connected to
the Upanishad teaching while the second section is indirectly connected
to Upanishads. It means that the second division contains a set of articles,
which cannot be perceived as direct teachings of the Upanishad, but its
base or the undercurrent is gushed from the great sublime ocean of Vedic
ideas. If any idea contained in the book does not match with Upanishads
then the readers should disregard it instantly. The good impact got from
the book is surely theirs and the follies contained in the book are mine,
so blame only me for that.
I am not coming from a community that has English as their
mother tongue nor have I mastered the language from academies, so
the grammatical errors may have occurred. I have tried my level best to
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keep it checked but still it may arise here and there. I was not focused
on making the book completely error-free from grammars because of
my mindset. The ancient teaching which I have tried to interpret and
present in this book cannot be expressed fully in any language, so the
words however great it may be are failures. If language itself is a failure
to express the truth, then the realm of words will be narrower.
Giving more importance to words and language will be like giving
more importance to attires than the heart and intellect of the person. A
person who is well dressed does not mean his intellect is very shrewd;
similarly a person who is not well dressed cannot be regarded as poor
intellect. Nevertheless a balance of both is needed. If the dress is good
then it is soothing to eyes and gives a pleasant feeling. Words are like
those attires so I tried to make it pleasant as possible but gave emphasis
on presenting the concepts. After all it is the concept that matters than
the words added on to express it. Words are only vehicles that present
the concept, so if the vehicle is in a good condition and well maintained
then the journey will be smooth.
I am not attempting to write a bigger preface as the ideas that can
be written here is already presented throughout the articles, so if I write
them here then it will be repetition. But I have to confess that repetition
can be traced in many articles. It happened mainly due to two reasons,
one, each concept should be said from beginning to end, so it has to be
presented in a systematic way. Then the concepts have to be repeated
as to suit the context. All concepts in the Upanishad philosophy are
interlinked with each other so it will be impossible to present one without
stating the previous concept.
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Second reason is, some points should be emphasized more than
the others, because it becomes easy to comprehend when repeated.
The teachings of Upanishad philosophy are like that of a flowing river.
It is said that you cannot drink twice from the same river as the water is
flowing; similarly by each readings you will get different ideas than it was
previously read. So the concept that is repeated in the book may not be
that of the same kind but it has the same substance beneath it.
I am thankful to those who have helped me to write this book
and edit it in a better way. Anantha Krishnan KK helped me, by giving
clarity on the topics which I had doubt. Subramaniyan, Paola Mannaro
and Rekha Shenoy have helped in editing the book and Nick Varghese
gave me pictures included in the book. I thank all of them with bottom
of my heart and humbly submit the book in front of the readers in the
hope that it will be beneficial for them in their spiritual path in whichever
way they moves on. Let there be light in life.
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1 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
“Excuse my foolery in trying to express the inexpressible”
Omnipotent has been always unknown. Mind and words have failed to reach it. We can only explain a shadow of real truth. Reasoning is necessary to understand
the point intellectually but in reality, truth transcends reasoning. Thus the matter of the fact is, truth cannot be reached or preached through reasoning. Books can neither reveal the absolute truth nor seers or prophets can bestow enlightenment. Positive and negative arguments cannot establish the truth.
Similarly there is nothing new to teach, because there is nothing new. The truth is old and new and will be fresh in the future also; because truth can never be explained. Whatever explained in such a context will be an utter failure that is the reason why truth always remains fresh and unchanged in past, present and future.
The truth comes into him who knows the secret of it or has realized it. Only through experience we can comprehend this. Thus through this book I am not trying to establish anything, but to remove the idea that truth can be understood by the senses, mind and intellect. My mission is to express this message loudly and clearly.
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I do not hold any credit to any concept said in this book, because there is not even a single idea of mine. The seers and master’s whispered in my ears each word or every idea expressed in this book. What I did is, I have assimilated, interpreted and combined all these ideas according to my experience, in a particular format so as to understand it for others.
I have translated the Upanishad verses/mantras and also the 25 preceptors of Guru Dattaterya in this book as per my understanding of them. If anybody has benefited or understood anything from this book; it is due to their words and whatever the reader didn’t understand nor got benefited, those words and ideas are mine. Such blames should be credited to my account and all good things bestowed should be debited into the lineage of my master.
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5 NEAR TO PERFECT
I Am not seeking perfection in my writings because perfection is only a chimera. Our mind at one level says this is perfect. This is subject to vary in accordance with ideologies & interests of
individuals. It’s well known that, one person’s delicious food is another’s poison. Therefore indulging in debates with another person about the perfection of your creative work is an utter waste.
As far as I am concerned, when my mind whispers ‘enough’ then it’s the ideal time to refrain from rewriting & editing. If I put it another way, I try to express the thought clearly as conveyed to me, when I feel that I have transferred the output then I feel the perfectness in writing.
Apart from that, I have lots of ideas that ought to be transformed into words into an art form, so the scope of spending time in rewriting on a single theme for months is impossible. Thus I prefer my works to be perfect only to a certain extent (as per my mind satisfaction), and to then evolve the next concept as early as possible in the same format of perfection, as said above.
Creativity and imperfection are twin brothers. When a creative person feels content that he has done something perfect, then his creativity comes to a halt. This striving for perfection is the hallmark of every writer or creative person in every field.
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Creativity is a journey from imperfection to perfection, but A creative person will never see the perfect end, so this imperfection propels him to create his work more perfectly next time, which is again miles away now, or before. In short we can say that dissatisfaction is the mother of creativity.
Perfection cannot be achieved because; there is only one thing perfect in the universe, and that is eternal truth, which does not have a beginning or an end. This truth cannot be expressed nor taught. So how can you gain perfection in your writing when there is only an absolute perfection of truth? While comprehending the glimpse of this eternal truth, why should I seek perfection in my writings?
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10 INTERCONNECTION
The fundamental idea of religion is to get connected with goodness. Religions are based on concepts and these concepts are given to lead a moral life. When the followers
align their life with those concepts, then they are getting connected with goodness. Getting connected to goodness means getting near to God. Goodness connects with God because, goodness hold a prominent seat in his kingdom. Therefore the idea of religions is to setup a divine connection.
Firstly it connects followers with goodness and this familiarity with goodness automatically connects with God. If you can’t gain a connection with God through goodness then religions can be considered utter nonsense and a failure. But when you look into the matter more deeply then we can understand, that even in the above scenario it is not the religion that is A failure, but that the followers who practice the respective religions end up with failure, because the followers’ religious perceptive is not strong enough to provide the essential religious connection to God.
Religion not only connects man with God, it connects him with his fellow beings. It acts as a bridge between man and truth. Religion provides the greatest network for mortals. For example, when a stranger tells you that he is of the same religion as yours then deep in our mind it
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evokes a feeling of love. The stranger till that time was neither a friend, nor a relative nor a colleague, but still we feel that love from the inner mind. Why it is so? It is because of that powerful love that the network of religion adds. Religion connects hearts and binds mortals with the thread of love.
The goal of religion is not just to make a network of its own religious people. It should have a network with everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, money, fame, gender etc. Religion should end the differentiations among people. It should put forward the message that “Everyone is the same and we should not hate each other”. If religions are inculcating hate then it is placing it out of the ambit of religion. Religion should unite people in the thread of love. Only when you love your fellow being irrespective of religion are you qualified to brand yourself a real devotee.
Every mortal is a child of God, so why should we hate each other? There is a saying- “The word religion itself came from 2 Latin words, re and ligo which means to make connected again. Religion should become a great force which should connect man with man, mind with mind”. It should act as a catalyst for uplifting withering minds. Love is the slogan of religion and hate is the slogan of anti-religion or religious fanaticism.
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12 SPREADING NONSENSE
The one, who spends most of his time, criticizing and spreading nonsense about other religions, and glorifying his own religion, is a disgrace to his own religion. Such
hardcore devotees are eventually wasting their time in this short life. Remember the old saying, Time wasted is a life wasted. Those hardcore devotees are like a blind man who neither can see the glory of his own religion nor the glory of another religion. This scenario reminds me of a famous saying ‘the mosquito likes to drink blood, even while the milk is in abundance in the cow’s udder’. It is a sad fact that such blind people always have lots of neighbors as blind as themselves, if not more.
When asked about the religious supremacy and the followers’ conduct, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say something that is very unique: “Everyone thinks his watch is right; but as a matter of fact no watch is absolutely right”. The sad part is that apart from the religious fanatic every one comprehends this truth. The religious fanatic is not able to comprehend this truth mainly because his eyes and mind is tied in ignorance.
Each devotee, irrespective of religion should know that his business is to engage with those thought forms that enable him to conceive the truth, rather than engaging in the mudslinging game of making his own religion the number one religion in the universe. Religions are not
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Mitrasyaaham chkhshushaa sarvani,Bhutani samikshe
Mitrasya chakhshusha samikhsha mahe
Yajur Veda
Let every being perceive me with a friendly eyeLet me also perceive them in that way,
Let us all have the (broader) visionTo perceive each other as friends
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INTROSPECT
Once I (Sri Ramakrishna) said to Narendra (Swami Vivekananda), “Look here, my boy. God is the ocean of Bliss. Don’t you want to plunge into this ocean? Suppose there is a cup of syrup and you are a fly. Where will you sit to sip the syrup?” Narendra said, “I will sit on the edge of the cup and stick my head out to drink it.” “Why,” said I, “why should you sit on the edge” He replied, “If I go far into the syrup, I shall be drowned and lose my life.” Then I said to him: “But my child, there is no such fear in the Ocean of Satchidananda. It is the Ocean of Immortality. By plunging into It a man does not die; he becomes immortal. Man does not lose his consciousness by being mad about God.”
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
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DEFINING MOMENTSProm
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UNITY IN DIVERSITY
The one that became many by its own potency
Sun extract water through rays and at a later period, shower it back to earth; similarly the saint acquires objects and after a period of time leaves it back. On both occasions, they are not entangled into it. Even while reflected in many objects the sun remains undivided. By seeing the reflection, only an under developed mind reach in a conclusion, that there are numerous sun. Similarly the soul is undivided yet seems to be divided due to the reflective division in many bodies.
Origin
Dattaterya observing the life of Sun
3
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Cosmic Prana
Freed, word goddess
From the jaws of death,
When death is surpassed
Words transposed as fire,
Thus, this fire illumined
OM TAT SAT OM
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
About The Author - 7 Prologue - 12 Segment 1. The Seed 1. Acknowledgment - 16 2. Salutations - 18 3. Real Ramakrishna - 24 4. Swami Vivekananda - 26 5. Near To Perfect - 28 6. Author’s Name - 30 7. Wall Of Heart - 32 8. Motivating Mother - 35 9. Aligning Chords - 39 Segment 2. Semitic To Spiritual 10. Interconnection - 42 11. The Diversity - 44 12. Spreading Nonsense - 49 13. Fanatic Dogmas - 52 14. In Terms With Diversity - 67 15. Enhancing Horizons - 72 16. Esoteric Ideology - 77 17. Descending Wisdom - 84
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Segment 3. Initiation To Upanishad 18. Timeless Canons - 89 19. Disciplined Disciple - 100 20. Peaceful Mantras - 108 21. Guideline For Seekers - 118 22. Higher Self - 122 23. Superstitions - 131 24. Concept Of Caste - 134 25. Womanhood -137 26. Vaidika Mantras - 142 27. Inexpressible Wisdom - 146 28. Lust, Love & Bliss - 148 29. Journey To Heart - 150 30. Way Of Learning - 154 31. Remaining Close - 156 32. Elucidating Tapas - 160 33. Reaching The Self - 164 34. DesireLess - 167 35. Pondering On DesireLess - 172 36. Monkhood - 178 37. Negation - 183 38. Idea Of Now - 187 39. Reincarnation - 191 40. Jiva & Atma - 195 Swami Vivekananda Explains Om - 199 Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Explains Om - 200
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Segment 4. In Tune With Ideologies 41. Science & Upanishad - 204 42. Matter, Awareness & Vibration - 206 43. Is There God? - 214 44. Real Question - 217 45. Aught & Taught - 220 46. Four Yogas - 229 47. Way Of Self-Enquiry - 234 48. Serenity Of Detached - 239 49. Dwelling In Goodness - 251 50. Praying Heart - 266 51. Meditative Mind - 274 52. What To Give Up? - 283 53. Nuisance Of I - 285 54. Myth Of Celibacy - 289 55. Life Depends On Hope - 297 56. Is Truth Impractical? - 302 57. Truth & Majority - 313 58. Becoming Wise - 321 59. Clear Vision - 333 Segment 5. Inner Dialogues 60. The Submission - 342 61. Inner Light Of Islam - 355 62. Mastery Over Senses - 368 63. Love & Hatred - 375 64. Settling Disputes - 377 65. Blind Blame Games - 379 66. Blocking Point - 383
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67. Face Of Truth - 391 68. True Education - 394 Segment 6. Lord Of Love 69. Love That Empowers - 402 70. Celestial Love - 406 71. Embrace Of Love - 408 72. Realm Of Hatred - 411 73. Empowering Love - 413 74. Practicality Of Love - 418 Segment 7. The Columns 75. Mark Of Mortal - 422 76. Amending Commitments - 426 77. Strength Of Ignorance - 430 78. Handling Stress - 439 79. Note On Peace - 444 80. Need Of New Year - 447 81. Defining Moments - 453 82. Intellectual Slavery - 458 83. Education Of Illiterate - 464 84. Flag Of India - 469 Segment 8. Upanishad Tales 85. Satyakama Jabala - 476 86. Upakosala Kamalayana - 481 87. Pravahana Jaivali - 487 88. Ushasti Chakrayana - 492
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89. Raikva Muni - 497 90. Yaanjavalkya Maharishi - 501 91. Uddalaka Aruni - 508 92. Prajapathi & Indra - 512 93. Yama & Nachiketa - 518 94. Santhkumara & Narada - 526 95. Varuna & Bhrigu - 531 96. Battle For Supremacy - 534 97. Corruption Of Senses - 538 98. Three Instructions - 542 Segment 9. Gist Of Upanishad Upanishad Gist - 549 Segment 10. Tao Of Truth 99. Learning From Nature -597 100. Eighty Four Stories In Two Parts Part One - 601 Part Two - 653 Stories Said By: Sri Ramakrishna Parmahamsa - 611, 612, 624, 625, 626, 628, 630, 633, 634, 635, 637, 642, 643, 646, 647, 654, 655, 656, 667, 683, 685, 686, 687, 688, 700, 701, 702, 705, 708, 710.
Swami Vivekananda - 608, 613 632, 678, 684, 689, 697.
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Ramana Maharishi - 618, 620, 651, 665, 679. Dattaterya Maharishi - 603, 605, 606, 607, 640, 649, 657, 659, 661, 663, 668, 669, 670, 671, 672, 673, 674, 675, 677, 680, 681, 690, 691, 692, 695, 706. Ramayana - 610. Mahabartha - 652, 714. Ancient Indian Literature - 616, 694. Upanishad Stories - Retold 623. Zen Stories - 602, 622, 638, 639, 645, 666, 709. Tao Stories - 682, 711, 715.
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The Cave Of WisdomFinest of Esoteric & Semitic Philosophy
Rajesh Nanoo
ISBN-13: 978-1507852668 ISBN-10: 1507852665
Paperback