So in that principles of morality even Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that sannimitte varaṁ tyāga vināśe niyate sati. Vināśe niyate sati: "Oh, this body, this body is destined to be destroyed. You cannot protect it. It is to be destroyed." Sannimitte varaṁ tyāge vināśe. Vināśe means it is sure to be destroyed. "As sure as death." There is nothing sure as death. Therefore this body should be utilized, sannimitte, for purpose of spiritual realization. Before it is finished... In all the śāstras, this is the advice. This is the advice. The dog's body will be finished, and the man's body will be finished, but what is the difference of dog and man? The dog does not know how to utilize his body, but we are given instruction in so many books of knowledge, how to utilize this body. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that sannimitte varaṁ tyāga. You have to give up this body. Why don't you give it up for the highest cause? Highest cause. This is the highest cause, spiritual realization. Somebody's offering his body for country's cause. Somebody's offering body for the society's cause. Or somebody's offering body for theft case or some murdering case. We have, everyone has to offer his body at the end. But the man who sacrifices this body for the purpose of self-realization, he's the most intelligent man. Sannimitte varaṁ tyāga vināśe niyate sati.
Purpose of self-realization
Expressions researched:
"purpose of realization"
|"purpose of self-realization"
|"purpose of spiritual realization"
|"purpose of that self-realization"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.
The rituals and sacrifices mentioned in the karma-kāṇḍa division of the Vedic literature are meant to encourage gradual development of self-realization. And the purpose of self-realization is clearly stated in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): the purpose of studying the Vedas is to know Lord Kṛṣṇa, the primeval cause of everything. So, self-realization means understanding Kṛṣṇa and one's eternal relationship with Him. The relationship of the living entities with Kṛṣṇa is also mentioned in the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (15.7). The living entities are parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa; therefore, revival of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by the individual living entity is the highest perfectional stage of Vedic knowledge. This is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.7) as follows:
- aho bata śva-paco 'to garīyān
- yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam
- tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā
- brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te
"O my Lord, a person who is chanting Your holy name, although born of a low family like that of a caṇḍāla (dog-eater), is situated on the highest platform of self-realization. Such a person must have performed all kinds of penances and sacrifices according to Vedic rituals and studied the Vedic literatures many, many times after taking his bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage. Such a person is considered to be the best of the Āryan family.
Take, for example, all the eatables of human society. These eatables include grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, etc., for the persons in the mode of goodness, and also eatables for the nonvegetarians, like meats, none of which can be manufactured by men. Then again, take for example heat, light, water, air, etc., which are also necessities of life—none of them can be manufactured by the human society. Without the Supreme Lord, there can be no profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, breeze, etc., without which no one can live. Obviously, our life is dependent on supplies from the Lord. Even for our manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw materials like metal, sulphur, mercury, manganese, and so many essentials—all of which are supplied by the agents of the Lord, with the purpose that we should make proper use of them to keep ourselves fit and healthy for the purpose of self-realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life, namely, liberation from the material struggle for existence. This aim of life is attained by performance of yajñas. If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence, which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature. A society of thieves can never be happy, because they have no aim in life.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Both the Lord and the living entities are essentially all spiritual. Therefore both of them are eternal, and neither of them has birth and death. The difference is that the so-called births and disappearances of the Lord are unlike those of the living beings. The living beings who take birth and then again accept death are bound by the laws of material nature. But the so-called appearance and disappearance of the Lord are not actions of material nature, but are demonstrations of the internal potency of the Lord. They are described by the great sages for the purpose of self-realization. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord that His so-called birth in the material world and His activities are all transcendental. And simply by meditation on such activities one can attain realization of Brahman and thus become liberated from material bondage. In the śrutis it is said that the birthless appears to take birth. The Supreme has nothing to do, but because He is omnipotent, everything is performed by Him naturally, as if done automatically. As a matter of fact, the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His different activities are all confidential, even to the Vedic literatures. Yet they are displayed by the Lord to bestow mercy upon the conditioned souls. We should always take advantage of the narrations of the activities of the Lord, which are meditations on Brahman in the most convenient and palatable form.
There is no need to live a degraded life and subsist on the charity of those whom you tried to kill by arson and poisoning. You also insulted one of their wives and usurped their kingdom and wealth.
The system of varṇāśrama religion sets aside a part of one's life completely for the purpose of self-realization and attainment of salvation in the human form of life. That is a routine division of life, but persons like Dhṛtarāṣṭra, even at their weary ripened age, want to stay home, even in a degraded condition of accepting charity from enemies. Vidura wanted to point this out and impressed upon him that it was better to die like his sons than accept such humiliating charity. Five thousand years ago there was one Dhṛtarāṣṭra, but at the present moment there are Dhṛtarāṣṭras in every home. Politicians especially do not retire from political activities unless they are dragged by the cruel hand of death or killed by some opposing element. To stick to family life to the end of one's human life is the grossest type of degradation and there is an absolute need for the Viduras to educate such Dhṛtarāṣṭras, even at the present moment.
SB Canto 3
The greatest opportunity is to have the association of a saintly person. Devahūti was conscious that she was born as the daughter of an emperor. She was sufficiently educated and cultured, and at last she got Kardama Muni, a saintly person and a great yogī, as her husband. Still, if she did not get liberation from the entanglement of material energy, then certainly she would be cheated by the insurmountable illusory energy. Actually, the illusory, material energy is cheating everyone. People do not know what they are doing when they worship the material energy in the form of goddess Kālī or Durgā for material boons. They ask, "Mother, give me great riches, give me a good wife, give me fame, give me victory." But such devotees of the goddess Māyā, or Durgā, do not know that they are being cheated by that goddess. Material achievement is actually no achievement because as soon as one is illusioned by the material gifts, he becomes more and more entangled, and there is no question of liberation. One should be intelligent enough to know how to utilize material assets for the purpose of spiritual realization. That is called karma-yoga or jñāna-yoga. Whatever we have we should use as service to the Supreme Person. It is advised in Bhagavad-gītā sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya: (BG 18.46) one should try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one's assets. There are many forms of service to the Supreme Lord, and anyone can render service unto Him according to the best of his ability.
SB Canto 7
Consider, for example, all the eatables of human society. These eatables include grains, fruits, vegetables, milk and sugar for persons in the mode of goodness, and also eatables for the nonvegetarians, such as meats, none of which can be manufactured by men. Then again, take for example, heat, light, water and air, which are also necessities of life—none of them can be manufactured by human society. Without the Supreme Lord, there can be no profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall or breeze, without which no one can live. Obviously, our life is dependent on supplies from the Lord. Even for our manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw materials like metal, sulphur, mercury, manganese and so many essentials—all of which are supplied by the agents of the Lord, with the purpose that we should make proper use of them to keep ourselves fit and healthy for the purpose of self-realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life, namely, liberation from the material struggle for existence. This aim of life is attained by performance of yajñas. If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence, which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So guṇa-gaṇāḍhyāya, Kardama Muni, great yogi, what to speak about his qualities. Dadau tulyām, and Devahūti also equally qualified. So this kind of marriage is very happy marriage, and the result of such marriage is Kapiladeva. Because the marriage was very appealing, therefore Lord Kapiladeva, incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, He appeared in the womb of Devahūti. There are two Kapilas, original Kapila is the son of Devahūti and Kardama Muni. Therefore He is particularly known as Devahūti-putra Kapila. Sāṅkhya philosophy was enunciated by Him. He taught His mother also. You'll find all those instructions of Kapila Muni to His mother. So the system was very nice. Everything was there. There was no question of simply brahmacārīs. No. There are married couples. This Kardama Muni was a great yogi. Still, he married. There was no disturbance. Although he promised one son only to Devahūti, but I think he got another nine daughters. So very nice system, everything was there—but for the purpose of realization of the highest truth. That is the civilization. Nothing has to be stopped; everything can go on. For bodily comforts we are very much busy, that's nice. But if you increase the bodily comforts, there is no limit. That should not be the purpose of life.
So the program of sense gratification should be minimized, and that is called tapasya. Tapaḥ. Tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1). Then, "Why I shall minimize my sense gratification? If I have got opportunity, I must utilize it to the best of my capacity. That is being done not only now. Every time." No. You have to do it: divyam, for self-realization, for God-realization. You have to save your time. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā. And what is the purpose of that self-realization, or God-realization? That is yena sattvaṁ śuddhyet. Then your existence will be purified. What is the necessity of purifying my existence? Yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed yasmāt... If you purify your existence, then yasmād brahma-saukhyam (SB 5.5.1), you'll relish unlimited pleasure. You are after now temporary pleasure by sense gratification, but in this life, in this human form of life, if you control your sense gratification and utilize the time for self-realization, so as soon as you are self-realized man or Brahman realized man then your happiness is unlimited. You are after happiness. Your sense gratification means you are after happiness, but this happiness is temporary. Any material happiness, it has no continuity.
| Page Title: | Purpose of self-realization |
| Compiler: | Matea, Alakananda |
| Created: | 21 of Aug, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=4, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=3, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 9 |