ARANI SERIES
Spark 1
Invite Friction, Welcome Disturbing Higher Ideas
The ground reality in our daily life is that certain strong conditionings hold us in their grip. We may recognize them sometimes as likes and dislikes, and at other as fears and worries. They cause disharmony in our relationships, and bring about sorrow. To remove these from our mind, and to bless us with pure perception is what spirituality is all about.
The Upanishads employ a metaphor to convey this truth. Thoughts in us, rising from old habits, are like one of the two wooden pieces – in a pair – brought into friction with the second piece, whereby sparks of fire emerge. Uplifting ideas from scriptures are the second piece of wood. Each piece is called an “arani”. Students in a gurukula in the good old days would produce sparks of fire every morning by using two pieces of arani, brought in friction, and this fire would be used to light up the sacrificial fire at their teacher’s learning center. The Kaivalya Upanishad, for example, says –
Make yourself (your old ideas) the lower arani,
And Pranava (Om, spiritual thoughts) the upper arani.
You will burn away all your (psychological) bondage
By this friction between (false) knowledge and (right) insights. (mantra 11)
Many students of the Vedanta make the mistake of studying a little bit in the beginning and then stay idle without continued study and reflection. Some of them slip into mere repetition of the same old verses, illustrations and stories. Some others get distracted by some modern motivational literature, which is lower stuff really. A third category gets side-tracked by either mere missionary work, where the focus is organizational activities or going after some membership drive. A fourth kind could also settle for rituals, astrology, tantra etc.
Motivational literature, it was said above, is lower stuff because it endorses the division of the seeker and the sought. It is all about ‘becoming’ somebody or something. It is hunting success if not treasure hunt. The essence of the liberating teachings of the Upanishads is that you are essentially free – the seeker is the sought.
The nearest teaching here is Lord Krishna’s karma yoga, where too you do not really seek anything. You work without desiring personal gains. The spirit of karma yoga thus carries the seeds of Self-knowledge, which openly declares you do not need anything to make you complete.
Coming back to the Aranis, we must engage in discerning study, which challenges us constantly to re-examine the way we live. A student, for example, was very thoughtful when she came across the word ‘vimatsara’ in the Geeta (4.22), and started asking herself seriously, “Am I free from jealousy?” she discovered that she was uncomfortable whenever people praised a colleague of hers, who was also engaged in certain spiritual and service-oriented programs. She recognized the hunger for attention in herself, and saw that it was leading to nothing less than jealousy. This ‘matsara’ (jealousy) raised its ugly head in many ways and, at times, she found she was angry with her parents and teachers when they seemed to neglect her and give importance to her associates. When she looked at the way her mind functioned, in the light of Geeta’s pointer, there was indeed friction! The state of consciousness meant by the word vimtsara and the movement of her mind were in sharp contrast.
When we handle this friction maturely, we lovingly yield to the higher consciousness and we let go of the false ways. It is of course a special art to manage the turmoil within, following what scriptures expose. We need to look at phenomena like jealousy without justifying, condemning or substituting etc. Books do not transform us but they provide a window for us to see aspects of our mental life. The greater writer DVG says, “The knowledge you gain through books is like a jewel upon your head. The wisdom that dawns in your contemplation is like a flower in fresh bloom. You gain realization not by scholarship but by close inner examination.” (Kagga, verse 65). Please note that the jewel, however precious, is lifeless. The flower, though commonly found, is alive and vibrant. The same author speaks of how good thoughts (higher arani) act like the ‘pounding stick’ with which we separate the eatable portions of rice from its husk (verse 64).
Can we make ourselves available for this ‘friction,’ this ‘pounding,’ which alone can bring about inner change?
Swami Chidananda
From Fayetteville, North Carolina
Sunday, May 10, 2014