Slokam 10

On hearing the request for enlightenment from Brahma, the Paramathma grants him the knowledge, and assures him that no attachments will ensue.

Note this important assurance to Brahma by the Paramathma. Attachment is formed either to people or to objects, as we go through this life.  Attachment is a motivator of actions.  Unfortunately, in order to attain Moksham and obtain release, there can be no attachment. We develop attachments at various points in this passage of life, that we have to necessarily give up. This is one of the most difficult aspects of the requirements to attain moksham.  Once we are bonded with attachment, we would have to go through many births and deaths to develop the capability to live without attachment.

Duality causes conflict.  When conflict is created in our minds, it makes us take sides. We like one of the aspects and therefore obtain an attachment to it.  We also develop a dislike to the other aspect. So we develop an attachment to the aspect that we like, and we reject the other aspect.

In Srimad Bhagavatham, the Paramathma says there are two ways to reach Him. One through love and devotion, and the other, surprisingly, through intense dislike.  This is because the one that develops an intense dislike, is also thinking of the Paramathma 24/7, 365 days a year, although in a destructive way.  The Paramathma grants moksham to both paths because for Him there is no conflict between the two. It is only important, that consciousness, which is His endowment on us, should be oriented towards Him, whether in a good or bad way, does not matter to Him.  This is how Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu and Shishupalan obtained Moksham.

Sri Bhattadri points out that after endowing Brahma with the knowledge and the capability to go about his assigned mission of creating and supporting life, the Paramathma Himself entered Brahma’s internal self to inspire and guide him in his creative function.

This is an important observation.  All of our inner self is in the control of the Paramathma.  He will willingly guide us to our destination, which is Himself easily and smoothly, as long as we give Him full control and do not resist and fight and create conflict every step of the way.  The conflict is caused by our Ahamkara which is steeped in the ignorance, referred to in common parlance as the Ego.  The Ego takes credit for all things that go right and when things go wrong, it points fingers at others. 

The most negative aspect about the Ego is that it stands in the way of knowing our own inner self, which is the Paramathma.  The Ego makes the mind think that it is the center of this universe and everything revolves around it.  The Ego also has very very limited knowledge or capability and is great at coming up with excuses for its failures.  So effectively, no progress takes place.

The Ego is also fed substantially by the other arch enemies of evolutionary progress, viz., desire, seeking pleasure, comfort, success and riches. So there is no focus whatsoever on our inner self and the attainment of Moksham, which is the ultimate purpose of this life.

Getting rid of the ego is one of the major challenges of this life. It is one of the major stumbling blocks to moksham. 

The acceptance that it is the Paramathma and only the Paramathma that is guiding all our bodily functions, our actions, its results and our entire standing in life.  It is He that creates situations and places us in its midst to see how we handle it.  He offers His personal help and also gives us the choice of choosing the resources at His command. If, like Duryodhana, in the Bhagavath Gita, we choose, the resources at His command and ignore His personal offer of help, we are setting up ourselves for failure. However, if, like Arjuna we surrender control of the chariot to the Paramathma, we are assured of success. 

When we recognize Him as the supreme power within us, He aligns the obstacles and empowers us to overcome them. The recognition that it is only the Paramathma within us that is holding the controls, we not only rid ourselves out of fear and inertia, but we also take a very important step towards moksham because we drop all attachments other than that with the Paramathma.

May we pray for resolve and conviction to pursue the path of harnessing everything that we have and placing it at the feet of the Paramathma.