The Darkness Prevails Until….

Man is mystified under the delusion of this samsara. He is not cognizant of that which does actually exist and is infatuated with that which has no real existence in all the three times (past. present and future). To consider oneself is the body that neither did exist in the past nor will exist in the future and even at present is verily moving towards non-existence and the objects as ‘my’ is avidya or ignorance. Avidya is what projects that as vidyamana, i.e. really existent, which is actually avidyamana, i.e. non-existent. This avidya alone gives rise asmita, i.e. egoism regarding the body, which in turn breeds raga and dwesha, i.e. attachment and aversion. These make the chitta impure leading to the cropping up of abhinivesha, i.e. the ‘will-to-live’. Avidya, asmita, raga, dwesha and abhinivesha –these are collectively known as ‘Panchaklesha’, i.e. the five types of afflictions. While avidya is the mother of all afflictions, the other four are verily its offshoots. The six modifications –birth, existence, growth, change, decay and death –are known as Shadvikaras and owe their apparent existence verily to avidya alone. These Shadvikaras are accompanied by the Urmis (heat, cold, hunger, thirst, attachment and greed); and tried and tormented repeatedly by them the poor jiva keeps struggling hard to find respite therefrom until finally it is overtaken by death. And this it has been doing, not just in one life, but for a number of lives in succession. Time and again it struggles and dies, struggles again and dies again… and the process is virtually endless.

One may possibly count the grains of sand lying in the river-bed of Ganga beginning from Gangotri, where it originates from, through to its mouth at Gangasagar, where it merges into the Bay of Bengal; but it is simply impossible to count the number of births the jiva has suffered only due to its ignorance or avidya. And the only way of getting rid of these sufferings is to remove this avidya with the help of vidya, i.e. Knowledge. Just as
Thirst is removed with the help of water, hunger is removed with the help of bread; darkness too is removed with the help of bread; darkness too is removed with the help of light. Swami Ramatirtha narrated a parable. There was a very long and wide ancient cave located amidst a dense forest with pythons and various wild animals as its inmates. It was pitch dark. Anyone who ventured into that cave in order to explore the darkness whether it was a ghost or a demon and also to know about its occupants, would get lost in it and fail to return. It was like a veritable maze gobbling up each of its visitors without fail. Thus, whoever went therein was finished and would turn into a ghost only to haunt therein and keep increasing their number by capturing the stray visitors.

The villagers tried many a measure to exorcise that cave. One day a number of them assembled at the cave with whatever musical instruments cymbals, tanpura, harmonica, etc. they had and started singing bhajans, while also praying to the darkness personified deity to have mercy on them and seeking refuge in her with total surrender. But the ghost did not go, nor did the darkness, which they thought was Ma Kali. As a matter of fact, Ma Kali is the Divine Mother of the world; and what did not go was the darkness of avidya.

One of them tried removing that darkness personified deity by doing japa with a mala, but without success. Once fed up with that so-called Ma Kali a few villagers took their cudgels and started thrashing the foreground of the cave, but the darkness did not go. Someone tried to please that deity by placing a dishful of palatable food over there. In this manner, they tried everything they could, but darkness personified ignorance was not to budge.

Then there came a Mahatma who enquired about the matter in detail and said, “All you have done so far is utter nonsense; I know how to remove this darkness personified deity of ignorance.”

After lighting a torch himself, he had others hold one torch each in their hands and instructed them to follow him into the cave in order to search for that darkness personified deity.

As they moved inside the cave it was revealed that there was no dark complexioned deity-Kali therein and even the creatures living there took to their heels with their tails tucked in. Similarly, when you search for avidya with the torch of Knowledge, it has no existence at all; while all other measures are simply ineffective against it.

My revered Gurudeva would often allude to this mythical story – “Once the dark night approached Lord Brahmaji and prayed, ‘O Lord! You have imparted me life, but that bully Sun is always after me always after me with a cudgel in his hand and every single day does he drive me away. I am left languishing in utter suffocation so long as he is there; and it is only after his departure that I can live once again. In a nutshell, I am extremely troubled my Lord, please help me! Brahmaji said, “Okay, I shall summon him right now.”

But she requested Brahmaji not to call him so long as she was there and prayed him to do so only after she has left. Then, as she left the place, Brahmaji summoned the Sun and asked him as to why he was pestering that poor lady – the dark night.

The sun then replied, “My Lord! I simply do not know that someone like a dark night does exist. Please call her here and I shall ask myself as to when I chased her and did wrong with her in anyway. Please call her right now my Lord!” On being told by Brahmaji that she was unable to come where he (the Sun) was present; the Sun said, “Then how can I accept the charges she has leveled against me? She must complain in my presence”. He insisted.

Lord Brahmaji said, “She exists only in your absence and whatever you are present she becomes extinct (non-existent), let alone her complaining to you in person.”

It is only when the light of Self-Knowledge is absent that the darkness of avidya or ignorance does come into existence along with its complaints in the forms of afflictions like asmita, raga, dwesha, abhinivesha, etc. Therefore, one should eliminate avidya with the help of Self-Knowledge. Those, who insist on realizing God while leading a worldly life, should devote eight hours of their day to sleeping, bating, eating, etc. and divide the rest 16 hours into two equal parts of eight hour each. Let eight hours be spent in the pursuit of earning one’s livelihood and the balance eight hours for salvation, utilizing two hours each for doing japa, meditation and study of sacred scriptures; while spending the remaining two hours in the holy company of saints and carrying our their divine works. Thereafter, as and when avidya gradually starts losing its sway over such a sadhaka, he should devote all his time in the pursuit of eliminating avidya completely.

On the other hand, those, aspiring to devote themselves completely to the pursuit of God-realization and to succeed therein at the earliest, should spend 8 hours a day in the holy company and service of saints and in carrying out their divine works. Half the avidya will be removed with just that. Then to remove the remaining half, they should engage themselves in japa, meditation study of sacred literature, etc. in the remaining 8 hours.

Listen about the Brahman, the Lord Supreme, discuss him and talk about him alone. Find some sadhaka who is superior to you in sadhana or some saint and listen to him attentively with deep faith, while sitting at his feet. Talk about the Lord while you are in the company of your equals. And when among those inferior or junior to you in sadhana, expound on the Brahman. Otherwise, when alone, try reposing in tranquility while contemplating the essential being of the supreme Lord; which the breaths.

Avidya, as such, is not something like a dark devil. That which projects the non-real as real is alone called avidya; and that which leads one to revelation of the Reality is known as Brahmavidya. You just need to develop an intense yearning for that which actually exists, the Truth personified self, and detach yourself completely from the ever changing phenomena giving no thought to it.