॥ ॐ श्री.
मतिओळी शरणम् ॥
||श्रीराम
प्रसन्न ||
TEACHINGS OF SRI.DASABODH
OF SAMARTHA RAMADAS.
Written by :- Ravindra
Phadke. Bangalore
Specific definitions and Theorems covered in the Dashaka
1) The purpose of Human birth is to attain Liberation
2) Liberation can be attained by following the path of Worship.
3) Only the Grace of Divine Teacher enables to attain liberation.
SUMMARY
OF DASHAKA 1 :- ON PRAYERS AND PRAISE
- Note :- Some of the chapters in this Dashaka necessitate a preamble which helps in understanding the deeper thoughts. Thus the reader may find the summary some what too long.
- I have coloured these clarification in dark blue colour
- and
- the actual summary text in Black coloured letters.
Introduction :-
As per our
ancient traditions, it is customary first to pray Lord Ganesha ,
seeking His grace for the
dispersal of all the difficulties/ problems.
However
Samartha Ramadas has deviated from this tradition and has written the
first chapter of this Dashaka ( as well as the book too ) and
preface to the book itself. And after this
introduction he has prayed to Lord Ganesha, etc in the subsequent
nine chapters.
The concept of
Prayers has it's uniqueness in the assumption that the Prayer is
definitely heard by the entity to whom the prayer is offered. It is
also assumed that one is always bestowed with whatever is prayed
for. This is not so in case of a “ Request” which may get
accepted or rejected.
(My own
understanding is “ If the prayer is offered to God on any deity
then the prayer will be answered if it is suitable for the welfare
of the one who is praying.”) .
Reason for
the name of the Dashaka as “ Prayers “ :- Total nine
chapters offering prayers; and this is the reason for the name of
Dashaka as “ PRAYERS”. Prayer is some times done to
praise the entity.
Chapter
wise Summary chapters ( Samasas) is presented here.
1)
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 1 :- “ Beginning of
the book “
Samarth
Ramadas has written the whole book in the form of “ dialogue
between the teacher and the listener( disciple) “. He has assumed
the roles of a listener as well as the teacher and thus Samarth
Ramdas has addressed a number of subjects and concepts, so as to
remove various doubts, misunderstandings and questions rising in the
mind . Further he has assured the reader that God is realized by
following the path of devotion; in this very birth itself.
Note:-(The
reader may note here that the concept of worship has many facets
starting from Individual's worship of God to putting all the efforts
for the welfare of the society. This thought
further extends to Welfare of a Nation and then the whole planet in
Dasbodh. )
The book addresses the below listed aspects in details.
1)
What are Nine type of worships, 2 ) What is Pure knowledge,
3) What
is Dispassion , 4) Main aspects of performing worship/practices,
5)
Various forms of poetry, . 6) Various kinds of shrewd discernment,
7)
How Illusion comes in existence in life, .8) What are the details of
Five elements( which form this world) ,
9) Who is the real doer of
all things. 10) Essence of Devotion,
11) what is nature of pure
knowledge, 12) Meaning of remaining absorbed in the Self during
living.
13) What is nature of the Pure Teaching, 14) Meaning of
complete freedom ,
15) Attaining Complete freedom in this
very birth ,16) Nature of the reality with us,
17) Meaning of living
beyond body consciousness,
18) Meaning of remaining Non-entangled
in anything,
19) Who is The Supreme God , 20) Who is a Real
Devotee,
21) Meaning of Soul and Shiva-the universal spirit,
22)
Nature of Absolute Brahman and What different doctrines say ,
23)
Who am I ( what is my real nature)?
These are the major subjects related to spirituality .
The other subjects related to material as well as spiritual success are
1) Signs of a learned fool 2) Effect of Lazyness
The list is not comprehensive but a few have been mentioned here.
However Samartha lays more
emphasis on “ Understanding gained thorough one's own individual's personal
experience”.
He further states that
the benefit one will be get after listening / studying the Dasbodh
are as given below.
1)
Person gets transformed from the state of Ignorance and bondage to
the state of Knowledge.
2)
One discovers the path to be followed for the God realization.
3)
Person is bestowed with the gift cleverness.
4)
One understands how to attain the state of Knowledge, while
performing all the worldly duties.
5)
There is immediate transformation in the behavior of the person ,
which will stop movements to lower levels.
HE
HAS CAUTIONED THAT “ These benefits will be dependent on the
individuals outlooks and attitude alone. Therefore if one who wants
success in worldly affairs will get the same ; while one who wants
to success-ed in getting Liberation will get the same.
Samarth
Ramdas has given a list of the books he has refereed to for writing
the treatise. These include 11 types of Geetas, Bhagavatam,
Upanishads, Sri. BhagavadGeeta. And many other books.
He
has advised that one should not criticize any book unless one
has fully read the same.
therefore
the reader should read the book slowly till its end .
Preamble
FOR Summary of
Chapters 2, 3, 4 :- “ Goddess Sharada, and The Spiritual Teacher.
:-
Before
we proceed further , it is necessary to understand about what the
scriptures say about the Nature of Lord Ganesha, Goddess Sharada
and The divine Teacher mean.
I
request the readers to kindly excuse me for this rather long
preamble.
Scriptures
say that before the universe came into being; only the Parabrahman
the Supreme Reality, is present. Parabrahman is not active,
non-dual, and devoid of any attributes. In this state
there was an inspiration “ Ekoham Bahusyaam “ which can be
broadly translated as “ I am alone – let me multiply”.
This
Inspiration is called “ Adhi -Sankalpam” and is represented by
AUM ( ॐ).
Scriptures have given many other names such as “ Parameshavar,
Maha-maayaa, Moola-Mayaa( Primal Energy), Adishakti etc.
Adishakti's
worship is prevalent in all the regions of India. However SHE is
differently named in different regions. In Bengal by the name Kali,
In Northern regions by the name Ambal, by the name Bhavani in
Maharashtra, in south India as MeenakShi in Madurai, Bala in
Kanyaa-kumaarI, Akhilandeswari in Sri Rangam etc. One more name is
Goddess Saraswathi.
We
live in the world of duality; where Cause and Effect relationships
govern all the activities. Therefore ADIMAAYAA is the entity from
whom the whole universe has emerged , SHE HERSELF became the cause
and the material ( Five Elements )as well; for creating the
Universe. Thus SHE is our Divine Mother.
Within
the above described Supreme Reality; are present the Power of
Knowledge and the Power of Creation, preservation and destruction.
In principle, both are one but for the sake of convenience they are
treated as distinct.
The
whole Universe has emerged from this Supreme Reality and has two
facets . First is the facet of Knowledge ( We call this facet as
Lord Ganesha) and the other is the facet of Energy / Power .) Thus
these two are the origin and cause of the whole manifestation the
Universes.
- The aspect of Knowledge is Lord Ganesha .
- The aspect of Active power is Goddess Sharada.
- The Divine Spiritual Teacher is the Parameshvara who appears in Human form willinglyto up-lift his worthy devotees.
I
am sure that this preamble enables us to clarify the reason for
praying Lord Ganesha and why Lord Ganesha is always prayed before
starting any undertakings.
SUMMARY
OF Chapter 2 : Prayers to and Praising Lord Ganesha
At
the Beginning of the chapter Samantha has offered prayer by just
saying AUM. This prayer
to the Formless ( Unmanifested) Lord Ganesha; Who is the Universal
Consciousness The
manifested form of Ganesha is also represented by AUM , which has
four parts A,U,M are sounds while the last is soundless. The whole
Universe is represented by these four sounds, according to Mandukya
Upanishad. Since Ganesha knows everything including the types of any
obstacles one faces in any undertakings, and HE has power to remove
these obstacles and problems. Therefore One prays to Him to remove
all the obstacles. Samarth Ramdas has prayed to Him that He may
bless that the work of Dasbodha is completed without any
obstructions and hurdles.
Lord
Ganesha gives us the inspirations to perform any undertakings. Her
shines our intellect to decide the course of actions. Samarth Ramdas
has also prayed to manifested form of Lord Ganesha. He has very
poetically described the appearance of lord Ganesha in manifested
form.
He
says that when we praise Lord Ganesha then Mother Sharada is also
pleased and blesses such disciple or devotee with necessary
knowledge and intellect.
Most
Important Point :-Samartha
has told at the end of chapter that
“ One who wants to succeed in
his undertakings; should meditate on Lord Ganesha to bestow the
necessary light
to one's intellect”; to dispel all the misunderstanding and
mis-concepts.”
SUMMARY
OF Chapter 3 : Prayers to and Praising Goddess Sharda.
Sharda
caused the original inspiration ADISANKALP hence she is called
Mahamaayaa. She
creates limitless Universes and destroys them also. We can see this
play in the space through the telescopes such as Hubble Telescope.
Therefore She is the Mother of all these Universes. She creates
inspiration in the Para state of HUMAN speech. And words come out
via Vaikhari State of speech.
There
are for degrees of human speech. These are Vaikhari, Madhyama,
Pashyanti, and Para. The intention or inspiration originates in
Para The meaning to this intention or inspiration is formulated in
Pashyanti, The word for the same are harnessed by Madhyama and the
outcome of the speech in words form is thorough Vaikhari. All
communications to external beings are done via the medium of
Vaikhari.
She cuts away the bondage of ignorance as well
as the bondage of knowledge. By her grace there is capacity to know
in the human beings and She is the enjoyment of inner bliss.
She
is the most auspicious wealth of freedom. She is 17th
degree of life ( Note : Five senses, five
action organs, five vital forces, mind are 16 degree sand our soul
is the 17 degree of life) She is mine of pity, peace and
beauty. She is the governess of time. By power of words She takes
the aspirant to the other shore of ocean of this world. Sharda
resides within us and expresses out thoughts through speech. Vedas
and various scriptures , all kinds of Literature have their origin
from Sharda. Thus She is is the Mother of Vedas. Because She has
blessed Humans with the power of Imagination, we are able to
conceptualize various ideas such as Ishvara, Paramaatman, Brahman
etc.
She
helps on to come out of Bonded state and She only binds one in the
worldly affairs. She is the power of Illusion known as Maya.
Samarth says that though I am a part of her creation and therefore I
offer my salutations to salutations to her here.
SUMMARY
OF CHAPTER 4 : PRAYER AND PRAISE OF DIVINE TEACHER.
The
Divine teacher is Supreme Reality Parabrahan appearing in Human form
for uplifting the worthy
disciples and Devotees. He does this just
by his grace. Once this grace is showered on the devotee,
there is
the sunrise of Pure Knowledge of Self and the devotee attains the
state of liberation.
However
one can not describe the Divine Teacher by using any number of words
since these are
always inadequate. Samartha says that” This is
verily His description.”
Samrth
Ramadas has used a number of similes such as Sun, Wishing stone
Chintaamani, Kamdhenu
the cow who fulfills all desires, stone etc
to emphasize the above point.
The magic stone is said the turn iron into gold, but it does not make it magic-stone like itself, and iron
is not transformed by gold. However once the Guru blesses a disciple, the disciple of Guru can
give
the teaching to many people. The Sadguru cannot therefore be
described. This verily, is my description
of Sadguru ! Only those
who are devout about the inner reality will know the signs of the
inner state !
SUMMARY
OF CHAPTER 5 : IN PRAISE OF THE SAINTS
Saints
and Sages are Parabrahman in human form. Their grace is like rain.
Rain falls without any
discrimination every-where. Grace from the
Saints are like the rain. They have compassion for the
whole mankind
and thus shower their grace on all. For those seekers who have done
right and adequate
spiritual practices; the Saints appear for them
as Divine Teacher described in the previous Chapter.
Therefore
salutations are offered to saints,
through whose goodness secret knowledge of God becomes
known to the
world. By remaining in the company of saints, the very difficult too achieve the state of
Liberation is easily available. Thus the
saints give us a rare gift of God realization; which is not
available in all the three worlds. Such
is the greatness of saints that any
simile given is inadequate for
describing them.( by whose grace the
realization of Paramatman
becomes possible.) Nobody in this
world can give this
kind of gift.
SUMMARY
OF CHAPTER
6 : IN PRAISE OF LISTENERS.
After
reading the Dasbodh it becomes clear to our mind that a Saint like
Samarth Ramdas has written the book which with clarity about
1) what
to tell,
2) Why to tell ?
3)
For whom the book is to be written
4)How to tell his point of view.
We
have seen that in the very first Chapter he has clarified about these
aspects.
When
we read this Chapter , it becomes clear to us that Samarth knows that
once a book is written, the readers of all the levels from totally
ignorant to God realized ones will be reading the book. Further he
does not allow himself to assume the role of a teacher for the world.
Instead he treats each and every reader as Lord himself And this
chapter is written from this point of view by Samarth Ramadas. Let
us see what he has to say.
He
bows down
to the listeners, who are
devotees, knowledgeable saints and gentlemen.
They
are Yogis,virtuous and truthful in their speech.
He calls all listeners as
incarnations
of god and says that their capacity is limitless. In a way they
are or appear to be gods gathered together. The goddess ‘Saraswati’
resides
on their tongue. Thus whatever
one tries to
tell, they
already know it,
but
they appreciate the good qualities
Really, noble people have place in their heart for-everything.
Samarth
therefore requests
at the end of chapter
; that O' Listener , you are knowing and understanding the meaning
of what I am saying , therefore kindly pay attention to what I am
going to tell (further
in the book).
SUMMARY
OF CHAPTER 7 : PRAISE OF GREAT POETS .
Since
every human being is the reflection of God almighty,each one is
capable of realizing the goal of Total freedom I.e.liberation. When
this goal is reached ; a special power of inspiration is activated.
And unique kind of poetry is produced.
Such
poets are called Saint-poets. The faculty is continuously present in
the minds of the Saints. The poetry of the Saints is nothing but
the Gods own words This poetry enables the listeners to understand
difficult principle in the field of spirituality. Various Abhanhas,
Upanishads, Various Stotrams etc are examples of such divine
poetry.
However
there are many other poets ( who can not be categorized as Saints)
are bestowed with this faculty. In their cases the faculty is not
continuously awakened. Such poets have produced dramas, Novels ,
poems etc. These describe the God's beautiful world and give
pleasure to listeners; but seldom are able to guide one to reach
the state of Liberation.
Samarth
calls such saint-poets as
the reservoirs of spiritual book
or they are the wish- stones or
milk of the divine cow. He says that the listeners are lucky to
receive such poems.
By the grace of these poets the otherwise unapproachable Almighty God
is understood through
Self-knowledge.
It is poets who give form to the image of gods. It is poets who
describe the greatness of sages and it is poets who appreciate what
sciences can achieve. We may say that by great good fortune the
people of the world have got them. These
great poets are the supports of
the universe and to them he has offered
prostrations in great respect.
SUMMARY
OF CHAPTER 8 : PRAISE OF CONGRAGATION.
(
Meeting for Spiritual upliftment)
Samartha
has praised the congregation of liked minded participants, where the
spiritual matters
are discussed. The participants of three kinds mainly take part in
these congregations. Those ordinary listeners who want to learn
and who do not know anything in the matters of spirituality, and
those who want their doubts to be cleared, and those who want to
enhance their knowledge. Also there are participant Sages who have
attained the Liberation, different philosophers, even sansynsa .
Even
Lord Vishnu has told Sage Narada that he is always present in all
such a congregation. You may not find Him in his abode Vaikuntha.
Samartha
says that by attending such congregation, all the doubts are cleared.
Misconcepts are dispelled off. In fact when the speakers sing the
glory of Lord in such a congregation ; one experiences the presence
of Lord.
The
God had once told Narada,
"I do not stay in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of yogis in their
meditation but I am there where my devotees are singing in my
praise." There, the virtues of the Almighty God are sung; many
dialogues containing explanations of philosophical problems and
discussions on the varieties of spiritual doctrines are continuously
undertaken. In such conferences there are saints, gentlemen,
scholars, the learned who know Vedas and sciences and the leaders
of others who are enlightened, knowing all the aspects of life and
can satisfy all. There are also those, whose actions are very pure.
In such places there is opportunity for one to listen to good things
and the very group of people is having interest in spiritual
matters. Naturally there is a chance of liberation to people in such
a gathering. In various great books, many sages have reiterated that
where there is assembly of saints who are the very embodiment of
God, man ascends to the highest place.
SUMMARY
OF CHAPTER 9
:- In
praise of Spiritual Path
As
per Indian philosophy , the main purpose of Human birth is to know
oneself and attain liberation from cycle of births and deaths. There
are many approaches for attainment of this goal. These are called
Spiritual Paths. It is obvious that Samartha also endorses the
viewpoint that one should strive for attainment of this goal in this
life and therefore he has written this chapter bringing out the
importance of spiritual paths.
The
spiritual path is the fulfillment of
this life, it is the liberator in this worldly life and to the
religious persons it gives heavenly bliss. The spiritual path is the
sheet anchor for seekers and the support to those who make efforts
towards liberation. It shows the other shore of the ocean of worldly
life.
One
decides to follow this
spiritual path only after
going thorough many lives of meritorious actions and then only
Paramatman
comes
in the orbit of experience.
Therefore One
should never see the face of the fool who works hard in mundane life
without attainment of God. So, the wise should enter this path of
spirituality and make his life meaningful. By devotion to Hari,he
should liberate his forefathers in the higher worlds.
This
gives us a specific message that one never can know as When the death
will take one
away from this world. Therefore it is clear that one should not delay
his actions in following some spiritual path to one's liking.
SUMMARY
OF Chapter 10. In praise of Human Body
In
this chapter Samantha has praised the Human body for it's uniqueness.
He has also indirectly told that the listener should understand this
uniqueness and develop ability to attain whatever goal one sets for
oneself.
In
fact his teachings start from this specific chapter itself.
It
is common knowledge and everybody speaks that there is no chance of
liberation in the body of animals and only after taking birth as a
human being it is possible to reach higher worlds. There is no doubt
at all that by the virtue of the physical body, all these have
elevated themselves. It
is in human body alone that
there are philosophers, students of yoga, bachelors, followers of
nudist cult, the renouncers, and also the students of the six systems
of philosophy and the earnest seekers of God.
When
such defects are not present in the body and when body is healthy and
fit,
then the man should hasten to follow the path of spiritual
enlightenment. If at all a man is endowed with a healthy body and
forgets to take up the path of spirituality then he can be called to
be stupidly caught in the network of illusion. Human form is greater
than and superior to all other bodies and only in this human birth,
it is possible to avoid the suffering after death. Human body is
having its own will and is not totally subject to instincts but one
should make good of this opportunity by serving others and earn name
and fame for future.
Samarth compares the human body with a
house built and owned by one. He thinks that the house belongs to
him but actually there are many residents such as Rodents, and
various Insects, tigers etc who claim that it belongs to them . Thus
it is clear that the body is not ours.
Therefore if one uses the human birth
to attain Liberation, then only such a person can be called as wise.
Otherwise he is greatest fool. Those who do not use the body, waste
the unique opportunity given to one.
The characteristics of such fools
are described in the next Dashaka.
End of the summary of
first dashaka.
******
1) List and reference numbers
of important verses :-
Chapter 1:- Verse numbers 2, 3
, 4, 12, 14, 17, 21, 22, 28, 29, 33, 37,38.
Chapter 2:- Verse numbers 1,
3, 6, 26,28, 29, 30.
Chapter 3:- Verse numbers 1,
2, 10, 12, 14, 15, 25, 26.
Chapter 4: Verse numbers 1, 2,
3, 6, 9, 28, 29, 30, 31
Chapter 5:- Verse numbers 2,
3,12, 13, 21, 23,24, 25, 26.
Chapter 6:- Verse numbers 1,
3,5, 10, 11, 17,20, 21, 23.
Chapter 7:- Verse numbers 1,
2, 5, 8,19,20, 33, 34.
Chapter 8: Verse numbers 2,3,
19, 21, 26,27,28,29.
Chapter 9:- Verse numbers 2,3,
10, 12, 17, 18, 20, 24,25,29,30.
Chapter 10:- Verse numbers 1,
18, 21, 22, 24, 28, 60, 61, 62.
2) Sanskrit Terms used and their broader meaning in English
2) Sanskrit Terms used and their broader meaning in English
नाहं
वसामि वैकुन्ठे योगिनं हृदये
रवौ । मद् भक्ता यत्र गायन्ति
तत्र तिष्ठामि नारद ॥
I am not living neither in
Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of Yogis; O 'Narada I am always present
at the places ; where my disciples are singing my glories.
॥ जय जय
रघुवीर समर्थ ॥
