Kailash-5

Ratnagiri, that’s where I am now as I am writing this post. Gem of a mountain or Jewel among mountains, call it whatever you like.

We have embarked on a journey in July to the Best of Gems among mountains, the Himalayas and the veritable centre of the Earth which is Kailash. The pinnacle of our journey, on the physical plane, is the “kailash giri parikrama”, i.e. the perambulation of the mountain. It is said that if a human being performs just one parikrama of Kailash he or she will be rid of all their sins in this lifetime. One other noted mountain, whose “giri parikrama” is considered auspicious, is Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. There is also a temple of the Lord there and he is called Arunachaleshwara. It is here that the Ashram of Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi is located. He was a revered, learned and selfless saint of India. His teachings centered on one unique question which every person ought to ask himself; “Who am I”?

This question seems so simple to answer; I’m Mr X, son of Y & Z, boss in M/s ABC, student of P school, teacher in R college, brother to Q, husband of S, secretary of T Club etc etc. How quickly we can identify ourselves with various positions, relations, situations in life; remarkable isn’t it? But all of these are ephemeral, constantly changing, never constant. They are all a function of time. Today I am the son of my parents, but when they are no more, the relationship changes to “they were my parents”. Today I am husband of my wife, but when we are divorced, “we were husband and wife”. Today I am boss of ABC, but when I resign and join M/s EFG as its boss, “I am the boss of EFG”, likewise with all these various relational or situational relationships. They constantly change. Therefore my identity with them itself changes from time to time.

Strangely our own identity with the name and form is changing. Scientifically, it takes about 20 to 24 weeks for a foetus in the womb to develop life. Probably that is why abortion is considered illegal after this period. Of course in Vedanta, the moment life germinates in the mother’s womb, life is said to have evolved. Ever since this germination, we grow in our mother’s womb, in the apparent comfort of her protection and care. The moment we are released into this world through our “delivery” we cry, in apparent confusion with the new environment; our identity is now changed. Then at our naming ceremony, our father whispers our name into our ears. Peculiarly the name that our parents decide to call us, is different from the name with which we are christened; thus Vikram becomes Vicky, Prakash becomes Pakku, Albert becomes Albie and so on. The form that our body gains, is also different; some are born or grow to be handsome but some are not. But our own identity with this name and form is always very dear to us. We feel “I am the most important person in this world” although we may not say so; because our intellect tells us there are more important people in this world!! Every time anything happens to our surroundings that challenge our identity with this name, form, relation or situation that we have cultivated for ourselves, we become restless, revolting, aggressive, submissive or display some emotion that conveys our discomfort with this new challenge. Thus our strife, sweat and toil throughout our life is directed to meeting these challenges that we have created upon ourselves.

But real knowledge lies in understanding this “I” in us which is identity free, unhappiness free, disappointment free, sorrow free……total bliss; total happiness. The effort in life must be to realize this “I” in us; not by withdrawing from our day-to-day transactions in life, but through these day-to-day transactions, because the knowledge that frees us from this false identification is the one that removes our ignorance about our true Self, which is the Godhood in us.