Canto 21

The different nature of the people,  the different characteristics of the regions,  the changes in the social structures that happen every moment, and their impact on the self and intrinsically weaved into the web of life. The changes are born from within us,  and yet the changes in the environment, that are born from within us, also  impact our inner self,  and induces change in our views and attitudes both with and externally. 

The complex evolutionary process that occurs due to the diversity of beings is caused by the inter-relationships and interdependencies, between the inner self and the outer world and environment.

In Canto 21,  Sri Bhattadri elucidates on the different regions of the earth.  It should be noted that spiritual regions are not always the same as geographical regions.   In the spiritual world,  the regions are based on the degree of pleasantness,  the pain,  or the attributes such as physical might, valor, courage, etc.

In the slokams of canto 21 the world is split into cities for women only,  of sages, warriors, by  Laksmi, the goddess of wealth, Bhooma Devi, the pitrus, Hanuman and so on.  In each place the form of worship is different, with the Earth, water, fire, and other elements being recognized as the manifestation of the Supreme.

Where does Paramathma reside?   According to Prahlad, and the Paramathma, himself, resides everywhere .   

What are the various cities and homes listed in the slokams of this Canto? These are divided into regions and cities,as isolated attributes, so that our consciousness can focus on comprehending each aspect  without interferences from other group members. 

The different cities referenced in this slokam are the symbolic residences in the mind.  It is the mind of the  where that each of these goddeses in the cities, live.  All objects that we observe day to day,  live in our minds and consciousness alone. So our mind_consciousness complex is the home of the observed world in the diferent forms.  The chrecteristics of these locations are imbibed in the mind_consciouness complex. The information that is imbibed will depend on our outlook on life.  So each person will imbibe the implication, relevance and the attributes of observed phenomena in their own way.

When reading the ithihasas, puranas and our scriptures, it should be borne in mind that these are narratives that convey the underlying truth about ourselves in the form of events that can be recognized and understood by the five senses.

This is the basic requirement in our everyday life as well.  The events that happen, the objects that we perceive have to be interpreted, understood and assimilated so that they enable changes to occur within our inner selves. 

The residences for each function and ability that we are endowed with have to be clearly identified and appropriately placed. Some aspects of our inner selves are located at the lower level of the mind and others have to be placed at the higher level of consciousness. 

Whenever conflicts arise in our everyday lives,  these are located in the mind,  which becomes burdened and unable to function.  Consciousness provides the guidance on the correct path to be taken. If the mind follows the guidance of consciousness,  that would be a clear indicator that we are in the correct path and we are making progress.  If the mind disregards consciousness and continues to yield to temptations, that means we will be subject to very severe lessons on correcting the course of action.

The guiding principles of life, as provided by the Paramathma, through the scriptures, always resides in our consciousness. 

Consciousness is also where peace and tranquility resides. The mind exists only in a state of conflict.  Consciousness is also the medium of universal communication with the Paramathma and all his manifestations. As long as we are resident in the mind,  and allow it to dominate our daily lives, we will not make any progress. 

Intelligence and memory are resident in the mind.  Both these are driven by conflict.  If we are focused on developing our worldly abilities,  we will be drawn more and more into the whirlpool of conflict.  There will be no release from births and deaths.

The mind is also based on ahankara or the self. Consciousness is selfless.  So when we allow consciousness to be the driving force, we will transcend beyond the self

Complete surrender is resident in consciousness. 

The ‘lokams’ are the inner regions of the mind,  which, although not physical, is born out of and is influenced by the events and relationships in the physical realm.  Our consciousness and minds develop and are shaped by these events, people and relationships. 

The lokams,  yugams, perception, consequences of our actions/inactions, are all resident in  consciousness,  These are the codes that we carry from one lifetime to another, so that we don’t start from zero all over again. 

There are two levels of consciousness. These are the Jiva Atma (which is us) and the Parama-atma, which is the universal consciousness. 

The steps in evolution involve transitioning from the mind,  to the Jiva Atma and then to the Paramatma.

What determines the level at which we live depends on our commitment to developing the right inner qualities. 

The key qualities are;

·        Selflessness

·        Transcending the opposits and conflicts that torment the mind

·        Transcending the senses

·        Detachment from worldly objects, events and relationships

·        Universal love and compassion

·        Maintain the balance between the gunas

·        Complete surrender to the supreme.

There are many hurdles in developing the required qualities.  The challenges of life must be recognized as lessons that we have to learn,  in order to transcend them successfully and graduate to the next level.

Sri Krishna Paramathma tells Arjuna in the Bhagavath Gita, that if he is going backout of the battle of Kurukshetra,  how is he going to face the challenges of the next world,  the world beyond that and the many worlds after that. 

Sri Krishna Paramathma is basically saying that this life on earth is just the starting point of a long long journey.  Unless the lessons are learnt well here and the challenges of life are overcome, we will not graduate to the higher levels.

The attainment of transcending from our residence in the mind to moving to the Jiva Atma and then to merge with the Paramathma is the challenge of this life.  Merger with the Paramathma is complete quietening of the mind and surrender of the Jiva Atma. 

Residing in the mind implies that our consciousness or Jiva Atma is perpetually entrapped in the activities of the mind and the body.  Releasing the Jiva Atma from this “residence” will not happen unless an alternate residence is provided.  That residence is the Paramathma.  This is why we are repeatedly advised by the Paramathma to always be in awareness of His universal presence. 

Residing in consciousness means being selfless in every sense of the word.  Complete awareness of the  peace, tranquility and eternity with no conflicts is the requirement,

It is not easy to comprehend how we can reside in our consciousness,  where there are no objects, no time, no space and no memories. 

As mentioned earlier,  consciousness has two states, the Jiva Atma and the Paramathma.  The Jiva Atma is the stepping stone to the Paramathma. The mind is the stepping stone to the JivaAtma. 

The mind, with its feed from the senses,  splits the world into opposites. This splitting into opposites,  traps the consciousness into a conflicted state,  in which it jumps from fear to bravery,  from happiness to misery, from health to disease, from hot to cold, from big to small, etc.

This constant flux of the mind between the opposites, is the first emergence of consciousness.   From this birth, which is dependent on the play of opposites,  objects, with the by products being relationships, illusions and attachments, birth and death,  the evolution takes the path of moving to a complete state of independence and self-containment, which is liberation from the entrapment in duality, opposites and repeated cycle of birth and death.   

The experiences gained from the play of the mind are translated into knowledge by our intelligence.  This knowledge then is related to the spiritual guidance and with conviction,  becomes unshakeable principles for life and resides in consciousness.  Our minds are then subject to the control and guidance of this knowledge.  The process of evolution is then set in motion.

To try to understand pure state of consciousness without experiencing is difficult. So one path to gain understanding of the unknown is to eliminate what we have experienced and which is unpleasant and undesirable,  and think of the higher state as that which does not have these undesirable elements.

Dwelling on permanence,  tranquility,  which is the Paramathma,  will ultimately endow the qualities necessary to transition to the higher state. 

This dwelling or meditative approach will eliminate the “undesirable” aspects from our minds.

May we be always aware that the different aspects of our inner self and environment,  as well as the inter-relationships are weaved by the master craftsman, who is the Paramathma. Without the makers, guidance, we will be lost forever, in this journey of life.

May we set our consciousness to perceive the common thread of life which connects  all of the manifestations of the  Paramathma.