33.

Let Your Buddhi Shine

Sukham aathyanthikam Buddhi graahyam atheendhriyam. The Gita declares that everlasting
bliss can be secured by the Buddhi (intellect) by transcending the senses. Sukham (happiness)
cannot be derived through the senses. Sensory pleasures are deceptive and transient. True
happiness is permanent and real. Man can realise this only through the Buddhi. The intellect is
characterised by earnestness and steadiness.
All the pleasures enjoyed by man in ordinary life are related to the senses. Vishayasukham
(sensuous pleasure) is verily visha (poisonous) and not Amrithasukham (eternal). These pleasures
result in bondage for man and do not elevate him. All the pleasures man enjoys are based on the
senses and have no relation to the intellect.
Man should seek the bliss that is real and lasting and this can be got through the Buddhi. The
Thaitthireeya Upanishad has expounded the nature of the Buddhi in detail. Comparing Buddhi to
a bird, the Upanishad has described its head as Sraddha (earnestness). The two wings of the bird
are Sathya and Ritha. Yoga is its tail. The body is Mahath-Thathwa. The five constituents--
Sraddha, Sathya, Ritha, Yoga and Mahath Thathwa--are parts of Buddhi.
Among these Sraddha comes first. Man cannot accomplish any undertaking without Sraddha
(earnest endeavour). All daily actions like eating and walking are prompted by Sraddha.
"Shraddhaavaan labhathe Jnaanam," says the Gita (The higher wisdom is obtained by the
earnest seeker). Nor is that all. The Gita has declared that Sraddha as well as Buddhi are forms
of the Lord. Buddhi, therefore, should not be regarded as an ordinary appendage of man. It is
associated with Sraddha, Sathyam (Truth), Ritham (the Cosmic order), Yoga and Mahath (the
Supreme Principle). To treat an attribute that is related to these five significant entities as an
ordinary quality in man is the result of viewing it from a mundane perspective.

Supremacy of Buddhi over mental cleverness

Buddhi should not be equated with Medhaa Shakthi (mental agility or cleverness). The
superiority of Buddhi over Medhaa Shakthi was proclaimed by King Vikramaditya at an
assembly of scholars whom he had gathered for discussing this issue. Without Buddhi, with its
five important associates, all mental faculties are useless like a fruit without juice, a tree without
fruit, a temple without a lamp, or a counterfeit coin. Most intellectuals today, not realising the
supremacy of the Buddhi and relying only on their intelligence, are ignoring their inherent
divinity. Buddhi is the divine element in man, which is shining effulgently always. The Gita
declares: The Buddhi transcends the senses (Atheendriyam). It is related to the Divine. What
passes for the intellect today is divorced from the Divine and is not Buddhi in its real sense. This
intellect is limited in its capacity and is motivated by Self-interest. Hence the Buddhi's power of
discrimination is used by man for selfish purposes. All actions are based on swartha (self-
interest) and not on Paraartha (higher values). Actions which are free from self-interest lead to
Thaarakam (liberation). Actions based on self-interest lead to Maarakam (mortality). The
difference between these two should be properly understood. All actions based on the Aatma-
bhaava (the Aatmic feeling) lead to liberation. All worldly actions are Maaraka (self-destroying).

The object of reciting manthras

In olden days, many persons who were observing transitional practices, used to recite some
manthras before taking food. "Annam Brahma" (The food is Brahman). "Rasam Vishnu" (The
sweet drink is Vishnu). "Bhoktho Devo Maheswarah" (The partaker is the Lord Maheswara).
Reciting these manthras, they would start eating. The object of this prayer was: "May the food
that we consume be converted to the vital fluid that circulates in every part of the body and
endows the body with all powers. Confer on our mind the capacity to make right use of these
powers. Purify our speech in conformity with the nature of the mind."
The physical part of the food that we consume serves the needs of the gross body. The subtle
element in it goes to the mind. The subtler element enters into Vaak (speech). The Buddhi is thus
related to the functioning of the body, the organs and the mind. These three are represented by
Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara. The Praana (life-principle) is related to Brahma. The mind is
related to Vishnu and vaak (speech) is related to Shiva. These three faculties should not be
wasted. They should be utilised properly. The power of speech should be used for speaking the
truth. The mind should be directed towards sacred paths. The body given to man should be used
for achieving righteousness. Sareeram-aadyam khalu dharmasaadhanam. (The body is the
primary requisite for realising Dharma). Thus, the mind, speech and body are manifestations of
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Sathya and Ritha are vital in a man's life

If people today indulge in meaningless and impure activities, it means that they are wasting their
Divine gifts. Before undertaking any action, one should utter the prayer: "May my actions be
holy. May my speech be helpful to others and not cause any pain to them. May all my thoughts
be sacred, godly and purposeful." The rulers and people in ancient days used to sanctify their
lives by such prayerful actions.
Two things are vital in a man's life: Sathya (Truth) and Ritha (Unity in thought, word and deed).
In most people today, this triple unity is absent. One reason for this is that people have allowed
their intellect to be polluted, as in the case of a lamp in which the chimney is covered by soot
from the flame inside and dust from outside. The light from the lamp will be effulgent if the soot
inside and the dust outside are removed. In the case of the Buddhi (intellect), the soot comes
from Ahamkaara (ego) and the dust from Mamakaara (mine-ness). These two reduce the
effulgence of the intellect. They have to be removed to make the Buddhi shed its light fully.

The role of Ahamkaara and Mamakaara

To explain how Ahamkaara (egoism) and Mamakaara (Mine-ness) affect even those who claim
to be renunciants, there is an episode from the life of Aadhi Sankaracharya in which
Ubhayabhaarathi, the wife of the great scholar, Mandana Mishra, acted as a judge in the debate
between Sankaracharya and Mishra. In the first debate Ubhayabhaarathi declared Sankaracharya
to be the winner and Mandana Mishra took Sanyasa (renunciant stage). Thereupon,
Ubhayabhaarathi challenged Sankaracharya to vanquish her in a debate as she was one half of
her husband. She also took to Sanyasa after losing in the debate.
One day Ubhayabhaarathi saw a Sadhu (mendicant) using his drinking vessel as a pillow while
resting on the ground and meditating. She remarked to her disciples: "Look at this Sadhu! He
claims he has renounced everything, but in his attachment for his drinking vessel he is taking
care of it by keeping it under his head lest someone should take it. Is this renunciation?" On
heating her words, the Sadhu threw away the vessel. While Ubhayabhaarathi and her disciples
were returning from the Ganges, Ubhayabhaarathi noticed what the Sadhu had done and
remarked: "I thought the sanyasi had only one defect--attachment. I find he has another: Anger
arising out of ego, Ahamkaara. He threw away the vessel enraged by my words. Both attachment
and anger are enemies of thapas." On hearing these words, the Sadhu fell at her feet and declared
that she was her preceptor.
The purpose of worshipping Devi
Every man who aspires for experiencing the Divine, should strive to remove the blemishes
affecting the Buddhi by getting rid of egoism and attachment. When the ego goes, attachment
also can be given up easily.
The ego affects in various ways. It induces people in various professions to resort to pomp and
ostentation for impressing their clients. Egoism is a demonic quality. Devi has been described as
a destroyer of demons. Worshipping of Devi is for the purpose of destroying the demonic
qualities in each person.
During the Mahabharatha war, Arjuna got dispirited on the ninth day when he saw Krishna
bleeding all over, as he shielded Arjuna from the rain of arrows showered by Bhishma. Krishna
jumped down from the chariot and advanced towards Bhishma, declaring that He would himself
slay Bhishma. Bhishma was so much charmed by the beauty of the Lord that he declared: "If Sri
Krishna is coming to kill me, let the same Krishna be my saviour." Devotees nowadays would
act differently. If they lost their faith in one deity, they would seek favours from another. But, in
fact, there is only one God. Irrespective of names and forms, God is one only.
Dhurga represents Prakruthi-maatha (Mother Nature). To overcome the demonic qualities
arising out of the influence of Nature, the power of Nature has to be invoked. This is the meaning
of the worship of Dhurga. Nature is the protector as well as the chastiser. Lakshmi represents the
protecting aspect of Nature. When Dhurga has destroyed the demonic qualities, Lakshmi purifies
the mind. Then there is purity in speech, represented by Saraswathi. The worship of Dhurga,
Lakshmi and Saraswathi is thus undertaken to get rid of the impurities in the mind and purify
one's thoughts, words and deeds.
Prakruthi (Nature) is the embodiment of the Divine. Man perceives Nature and experiences
Nature, but is unable to recognise the Divinity in Nature. To see the external manifestations of
the Divine and yet fail to recognise the Divine is a sign of stupidity.
Man sees Nature in the form of the Universe, which is Virata-Swaroopa (Cosmic form of
Vishnu). Has the Lord any particular form or abode? No. He is everywhere. He is you and you
are He. The day you recognise this, you will comprehend God. If you want to see the Divine in
you, you have to use your Buddhi, just as you need a mirror to see your own eyes, which are able
to see everything else in the world. It is folly to seek the Divine elsewhere. God is nearer to you
than your own mother. With purity of heart, you can experience the Divine within through your
intellect. Love is the means to have this experience, for Love is God.
Prashanthi Mandir, 5 Oct 1992