Spark 10
WHICH FALSEHOOD SHOULD GO AWAY?
Most of us know the famous mantra – asato ma sad-gamaya (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, mantra 1.3.28) – which means, “O Lord, please lead me from falsehood to truth.” If we mistake a rope for a snake, the snake would be the falsehood and the rope the truth. The snake frightens us but the rope does not. If we mistake a shining seashell (called the mother of pearl) for silver, the silver is the falsehood and the seashell the truth. Silver attracts us but the shell does not. In this pair of examples, popular in the Vedanta literature, two different false perceptions cause fear and temptation but in both the cases, ‘right perception’ removes the undesirable emotions.
This world is full of objects and persons whom we mistake in ways similar to the two examples above. Certain objects cause detestation in us and certain others arouse in us desire for them. So is the case with people too; we wish to run away from some and we long for the company of some others.
One form of falsehood is therefore obviously wrong judgment of objects, persons and situations. The error is about something outside. May the Divine Force – God – help us extricate ourselves from these errors and see everything in the right way.
A second form of falsehood assumes importance in self-inquiry. Here we mistake ourselves to be something which we are not. The error is about something inside, about our own identity. A Selfie error? The lion cub, in the well-known story of Hari the Lion, mistakes himself to be sheep. On the day of his enlightenment, the visiting lion from the forest makes him realize he is ‘not sheep’ but a lion. In another humorous and well-known story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, the king imagines he is very well dressed but is actually going around naked. All these stories have timeless relevance to human life, to how our mind works and to how we behave. We mistake ourselves to be small at times when we are actually big, with great capacity to do things or express love to people. The study of Upanishads is to help us wake up and realize our true potential. Falsehood, asat, has to go and truth, sat, has to dawn upon us.
There are plenty of cases where we mistake ourselves to be superior but are actually equal to, if not inferior to, others. Under the influence of such error, we try to throw our weight around, causing much trouble to all. Many would laugh behind our backs too. The “Who am I?” inquiry should give us a jolt and help us realize where we stand as a matter of fact.
Many kinds of falsehood have to vanish before we can gain a hold on the ultimate truth, “I am That.” As seekers, we had better remain humble and not presume some progress just because we have studied a few books and can recite a few mantras. Scholarship, oratory and other achievements are often the ‘gold lid’ that covers the face of truth (Ishavasya Upanishad, mantra 15). So let’s be careful.
Swami Chidananda
April 30, 2015