Jayasanta’s Philosophy of Life
Jayasanta Sen is my childhood friend. We have studied together, played together and exchanged our views and feelings. Day after day we have discussed topics relating to the theory of divinity and philosophy. How one should look at life, whether one should lead one’s life following the path of consumption or renunciation were the topics in which we used to express our opinion. Surrounded by large brick mansions, the ordinary-looking house of Jayasanta with its tinned roof remained melancholic – a subject of pity. Jayasanta’s father died in his childhood and hence their economic status was not very sound. Due to this he bore a suppressed feeling of hurt towards God and an intense hatred towards society. The belief grew in him that it is not possible to gain social recognition without financial prowess and with this conviction Jayasanta kept himself engaged continuously in earning large sums of money. I have no hesitation in stating that Jayasanta is now successful in his mission and is well-established in material world. He has also gained many academic degrees through his diligence and perseverance. Isn’t it sufficient to have a list of degrees after one’s name, a corporate job and considerable income to be recognized as a respectable person in present-day society? Hence, he also got married to a girl who was beautiful, educated and born of wealthy parents. Consequently, happiness due to material success came to Jayasanta’s life through his wife, children and other amenities like car, house etc. If the tale of Jayasanta ended here there would be no need to write about him. But there is another aspect of his character whose specialty attracted me right from childhood and that is Jayasanta’s inclination towards subtler feelings, compassionateness, the noble intention to seek joy in nature, the inspiration to immerse in music, to seek an innocent pleasure in sports, the tendency to concentrate in the vastness of infinity even if momentarily while living in the material world and above all the strength of his character and honesty. Of course the main aspects of Jayasanta’s character that established an intimate friendly relationship between us are mostly absent at present. Abundance of wealth brings such a perverted feeling of comfort in mankind that makes them forget their true self and keeps them away from introspective thought. There was no exception in the case of Jayasanta. Naturally there has been a slight slackness in our relationship but it was not severed completely. We meet sometimes engaging ourselves in various discussions. Possessing high academic qualifications, working as a senior executive, having a beautiful house and car and leading a comfortable and happy conjugal life, the outlook and attitude of Jayasanta towards god, sages, and guru was amply expressed during these discussions. I have attempted to write about some of these in the following lines.
The large hall on the first floor of Jayasanta’s house is my favourite. The room was bright and airy. A carpet was spread on the floor. Orchid type of plants was placed in large flower pots. Ornamental chandeliers hung from the ceiling while the walls were adorned with oil paintings by famous artists. In general the room presented the sensual and artistic characteristic of Jayasanta. I was meeting Jayasanta after a long time. Jayasanta and his wife Jayashree greeted me with a warm welcome. After briefly exchanging queries regarding health and family we stepped into deeper topics. Although once upon time a critic of my mode of religion, it is quite apparent that at present both Jayasanta and Jayashree are quite respectful about the path and the philosophy of religion that I practice. From casual discussions Jayasanta suddenly went into an introspective state. The expression of this introspective state is very dear to me because introspection is after all concentration within oneself or in other words concentrating on divinity. The self-seeker draws me irresistibly like a magnet. Such a person is the life of my life breath, the soul of my soul, the heart of my heart. In a transcendental state I feel that I can give away all that I possess for such a person. Now I can well realize that the reason for my intimate and friendly relationship with him is his introspective character. Jayasanta asked with all sincerity and cordialness, ‘You people say Work is Religion (Karma is Dharma). I like that. As I am involved in work I do not feel inspired towards conventional religion. However, let me tell you that nowadays the exhaustion and depression arising from work quite disturbs me. I have got all – house, car, wealth, reputation, influence, everything but where is the satisfaction? I would like to know what you have to tell in this regard.’
I was just counting moments for such a topic to arise. I said,’ Look, Jayasanta, whatever little I have understood from Sri Gurudev that it is definitely true that the practice of properly leading a family life is the greatest religion of all. But are we, ordinary mortals, able to carry out the activities of a family man properly? When work gets elevated to the state of religion, then work for satisfaction of wants or any other type of work good, bad or evil ceases to exist. As such, the activity that is devoid of desire is nishkam karma. The question may arise that if some activity has no desire linked with it than how can it be called an activity. How can one engage in some activity without the desire for its result? The answer is that if a work is carried out as duty then the desire for its result is not attached to it. Hence, the work that is carried out under the influence of the physical self as ‘I am the doer’ always creates results and the work that creates results can never be considered as work for divine. How can the work that is not for divine be accepted as religion? In scriptures we find sermons such as ‘do your work but do not desire for results’. ‘Surrender to the almighty all the fruits of your labour’. But in practical life is it so easy not to have any desire for the results of one’s work? Just think the work that you are doing as an IAS officer is to gain reputation and earn fat salary. The plant that you have so carefully placed in the flower pot is to get a beautiful flower. We all work for result and that is natural. But the thought that if one does this type of work then there is no need for religion, shows ignorance. If work can be carried out reaching beyond the selfish motivation of the physical body, beyond the realms of the mind and the senses, it is possible to attain self-realisation and in this state all work can be executed selflessly, as a servant. The result of this kind of work is automatically offered to god. This type of work carried out as duty is religion. Attaining eligibility for this work cannot be possible without sadhana.
Both Jayasanta and Jayashree were engrossed in the discussion till now. However, now Jayasanta’s knitted his eyebrows. With a grave voice and throwing a critical glance at me he said, you people speak of sadhana and bring up the topic of god in every discussion. Tell me, if truly God exist then these people who are counting beads, singing the praise of God, studying religious literature and claiming to lead a pious life by eating vegetarian diet, why don’t I see any change in them? From their appearance it also does not transpire that they have become eligible for selfless service, or they have crossed the thresholds of grief and despair and have immersed in heavenly joy. In that case I do not understand the need of sadhana.
Although such topics were discussed earlier with Jayasanta, I had to answer the question as it had come up. “Look Jayasanta, traditionally we believe that sadhana is accomplished merely by counting beads, visiting holy places, singing the praise of god or eating vegetarian diet. This disastrous thought is due to lack of knowledge of the main objective of sadhana. The objective of sadhana is to gain knowledge of the Self, to awaken humanity. The main hindrance in the path of attaining Self-realisation is our personality which is derived from the mind and the intellect. This personality that we possess, however strong it may be, is born out of asmita. The personality which is influenced by asmita is fragmented, limited, and narrow and it is an obstacle towards gaining Self-realisation. As such, if a person enhances his personality, health, wealth, aristocracy and self-interest then he cannot become eligible for self-realisation. The goal of sadhana also gets obstructed. The sadhana that is bound by the desire for material gains is not true sadhana. The objective of sadhana is to become practised in renunciation. One must reject one by one all that makes the mind and the senses desirous of material pleasure either by receipt or by contemplation and become humble. It is said that god is kind to the humble and the pauper. Purity cannot be attained without humility. Again, the divine light does not burn within the inner core without purity. The blossoming of divine power elevates the Sadhak to an impersonal entity, making him eligible for self-realisation and adorns him with the qualities of humanity. As such, leading a smooth life without causing harm to others is not sufficient for sadhana. The objective of true sadhana is to rectify oneself through the practice of renunciation. Of course, it is extremely difficult to reject the things that are hostile to divine path. The renunciation comes by rectification through proper sadhana. As much a person’s egotist inclinations get eliminated, that much he gets elevated above selfish thoughts and realization dawns as ‘All is the work of God; I am only the means through which this is performed’. This truth must be kept always alive within one’s consciousness. One must reject the selfish thought that I am doing sadhana, I am counting beads a thousand times, and hence, I am superior to others. Instead, being grateful to the kindness of the Almighty that – He is making us meditate and contemplate on Him is the proper method of sadhana.
Jayasanta is not a person to be suppressed. He immediately came up with the question that if the objective of sadhana is rectification then what is the need for god, and also what could be the benefit of knocking at the doors of sages and guru.
……Look, Jayasanta, it is not an easy task to rectify oneself. Under the influence of maya we have forgotten our true self. Influenced by asmita we have assumed the position of ‘doer’ and, as such, the amount of interest that we show in finding the fault of others, being vocal in criticising others, the enthusiasm that we express in sermonising others about rectification, we like to remain equally indifferent regarding our own faults and ignorance. We take pleasure in supporting the perception of our egotist intellect. If we remain alert while travelling outdoors, in work or at home, we shall find that nobody criticises his own actions or ill-behaviour because each of us think ourselves an ‘expert’ under the influence of maya. When we are not aware of what we have to reject or how we can be rectified, then what else can be done but to approach those who have the knowledge. As the cloth that has been soiled cannot clean itself and a washer-man is required, similarly, to wash the Self that has been soiled due to the influence of ego we have to go to the sages and guru who has attained Self-realisation because only the sages and guru know who they are, what is maya and also knows God. Only they can lift the cover of ignorance which is in the form of maya.
My words were not at all acceptable to Jayasanta. A smile of disbelief touched his lips. Then he told with confidence that, I do not find any dearth of sages and guru in this world. If they are so powerful why is there so much degradation? Why are there so much deprivation, humiliation and grief in mankind? How can any logical person be respectful and dependent on sages and guru after witnessing all this injustice and tyranny? Taking up the lead of Jayasanta’s words Jayashree also said, ‘nowadays all that we hear about reputed sages and guru having inclination for pleasures of a baser type, cheating others etc. what do you have to say about these?’
Just a little while ago I said that we are used to looking at others faults more than our own. This is the eternal truth. Without mentioning God, if a person becomes truly interested to know one’s own self, the purpose of one’s life, the reason for all diseases, aging, pleasure, grief, fear, distress and starts exploring then he is called a true Sadhak. The first and foremost duty of a Sadhak is to analyse himself. What is the benefit of criticising others when the power of rectification is absent?
It is good to think about the problems of this world, it is also good to sympathise with the grief of mankind and it is even better to sacrifice oneself for the service of the sufferer but why blame God for the pain, poverty and helplessness faced by all beings. He is impartial. Does he have any self-interest that he will make one a king and the other a pauper? Although quite apparent, it is also true in every aspect that grief and pleasure faced by all beings is the result of their own deeds (arabdha karma phal). Arabdha karma phal is called prarabdha (pre-destined). Destiny of each individual is automatically determined by their respective deeds. It is better not to go into the discussions of those sages and guru who take the garb of an ascetic that you were talking about. Those who appear to you as an impostor may be a revered guru to another. There is no scarcity of proper holy men, who love mankind in our country. They can definitely be found if searched with all earnest. He is a Sadhu (sage), in whose company the mind gets purified and gains confidence, and whose words invoke purified thoughts. It does not matter whatever his identity may be in material life. The main thing is that as long as the mind under the influence of maya (worldly illusion) takes recourse to assertion and rejection in a materialistic manner, a person’s character depends upon the environment. Discussing divine topics, the companionship of holy men, sages and guru is definitely required for transformation of mind. The people who follow the divine path are often showered with equal doses of favourable and adverse publicity. It is advisable not to be distracted or influenced by these and come to one’s own conclusion through companionship. The person who invokes respect and the gravity of whose words touches the mind, his thought and company gradually purifies the mind. There is no alternative to the companionship of sages, guru and holy men for self-purification and self-realisation. As such, it is necessary to respect both holy companion and self-contemplation. One must strive to rectify oneself by submitting to the discipline of the conscience while following the divine path. Remaining engulfed in material thoughts, working day and night pursuing selfish objectives due to worldliness cannot achieve peace and religiousness. Hence, ‘I am doing work and when work is religion what is the necessity of pursuing religion’, this type of idea can only bring temporary consolation but cannot achieve success.
Thereafter, the relationship between me and Jayasanta continued to become more and more intimate. We remained engrossed in divine discussions hours together. Of late, both Jayasanta and his wife Jayashree experience joy in a spiritual environment or during spiritual discussions. A remarkable change can be observed in both. The tide of pleasure in luxury that had swept them is now at low ebb. The crimson of raja guna has been smeared with a touch of saffron. Not the desire for material but utilising material in an indifferent manner, not in consumption but that renunciation makes the path to real joy firm has become quite clear to them. Let Jayasanta’s philosophy of life take them towards divine realisation. Oh Gurudev, who is supremely filled with kindness, let the touch of your divine hands enlighten their inner beings and bring success to their rare human birth.