Jiṋána, karma and bhakti⁽¹⁾ are essential for the attainment of Parama Puruśa – the cherished goal of life. It is through jiṋána and karma that bhakti is aroused, and it is bhakti that leads human beings to that supernal bliss.

While bhakti is free from any defect, jiṋána and karma may create certain shortcomings. The acquisition of jiṋána often results in making a person alasa [lazy] and ahaḿkárii [proud]; while karma has the possibility of making a person proud. Unless a spiritual aspirant is able to get rid of these defects, the aspirant cannot be established in kevalá bhakti [non-attributional devotion], which is absolutely essential for the attainment of Parama Puruśa. The wise will, therefore, adopt such a conduct as to save themselves from the evil effects of jiṋána and karma.

In order for sádhakas to save themselves from the evil effects of jiṋána, they must learn how to get rid of those effects, and thus preclude the possibility of allowing their jiṋána to be converted into bandhyá jiṋána [sterile knowledge], which is so much in evidence among the intellectuals of today. This bandhyá jiṋána, instead of being a source of inspiration to march on the path of progress, leads humans or society to utter destruction and decay.

It has been observed that those engaged in the acquisition of jiṋána lose touch with practicality. Their constant preoccupation with books makes them lazy and lethargic, and they become shy of work; and this eventually leads to their downfall. The golden rule for getting rid of one’s defects is that one should first create opposite feelings and ideas in the mind, and then bring them into execution. In order to avoid laziness, therefore, one will have to work hard. Work is the manifestation of the Supreme Entity, so everyone will have to work, and work in greater and greater measure. Karma Brahmeti karma bahu kurviita [“Work is Brahma, therefore work more and more.”]

Work here does not mean just any engagement [of the faculties] which yields no result. Work is work only when it is directed towards collective welfare. It is of utmost importance that everyone engage himself or herself in materializing the plan for collective welfare. That alone will save him or her from the evil of laziness and lethargy.

Ahaḿkára

The ahaḿkára [pride] that creeps into a person due to the acquisition of jiṋána has very serious repercussions in human life. It can lead to the complete downfall of the individual. Ahaḿkára falls into three basic types, and each of the types brings disastrous results:

Abhimánaḿ surápánaḿ
Gaoravaḿ raoravaḿ dhruvam;
Pratiśt́há shúkariiviśt́há
Trayaḿ tyaktvá Hariḿ bhajet.

[Abhimána is like surápána, gaorava leads to raorava, and pratiśt́há is like shúkariiviśt́há: an inflated ego is like drinking wine, self-aggrandizement leads one into the deepest hell, and social status is like the excrement of a pig. Give up all three of these and only sing the glories of the Lord.]

The first type of ahaḿkára is called abhimánam, which means that a person thinks that he or she deserves more than what he or she is getting; and consequently develops an overbearing attitude towards everyone. Abhimána has been compared with drinking: anyone who indulges in it loses his or her discriminating judgment, just as a drunkard does. (A human is different from an animal only because he or she possesses viveka [faculty of discrimination] and buddhi [intellect]. And just as a drunkard gradually loses these priceless faculties, an abhimánii also becomes bereft of them.) Since the loss of the rational faculty goes against cardinal human virtues, drinking is a pápa [sin]. Similarly, abhimána is a pápa, and leads to the downfall of the individual.

Gaorava is the second type of ahaḿkára. It means “self-aggrandizement”. Puffed up with vanity, a person will want to project his or her image in an exaggerated manner. Often we hear somebody say, for example, that they have a rose the size of a balloon in their garden – whereas actually the rose may be the size of a ping-pong ball. Constant indulgence in this type of activity converts the mind into matter.

We have seen bulls moving about in the streets with an air of arrogance. Such a bull creates a sound expressing the idea that it is big – Ham baŕá. But when the bull dies and táṋt [vina string] is made out of its intestines and musicians start playing on it, the sound which is then emitted expresses the idea Tuṋ baŕá – meaning thereby that the bull realizes that others are big, and realizes that he has arrived at this condition because of his arrogance.⁽²⁾

In fact the inculcation of gaorava leads one to the worst hell. Just as there are six layers, or lokas, of the Cosmic Mind above the crude world, so are there six types of hell, six narakas, below the physical world. The names of these hells are tala, atala, talátala, pátála, atipátála and rasátala. Another term for rasátala is raorava naraka – and a person indulging in gaorava will certainly go to raorava.

(It must, however, be remembered that all these hells or narakas are not actually to be found below this earth. These various narakas denote the mental and physical states of human beings. A person whose mind has been converted into matter like that of a stone is really not worthy to be called a human being, because he or she has lost the mental qualities of a human being. A person of this type is said to be living in naraka. This point has been clarified in Ananda Sútram [by the author, 1962]: Na svargo na rasátalah [“There is no heaven and no hell”].)

The third type of ahaḿkára is [the desire for] pratiśt́há – the desire to make oneself known. A person influenced by [the desire for] pratiśt́há expects respect from everyone, and hankers after name and fame. This mental state can be easily compared with the mental condition of a beggar. The beggar asks money from others, while the person craving for prestige begs others to give him or her respect. [The person desires something that] is really meaningless and possesses no value, something that has been fitly compared to the excrement of a pig.

Curing These Defects

After having analysed the various types of ahaḿkára and their evil effects, we need to examine the ways and means of getting rid of these defects. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has offered a psychological method to save oneself from the malady of ahaḿkára. Ahaḿkára is really a mental ailment, and a person suffering from this disease requires psychological treatment. The following shloka summarizes the line of treatment suggested by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:

Trńádapi suniicena taroriva sahiśńuna;
Amániináḿ mánadeyaḿ kiirttaniya sadá Harih.

[You must be more humble than the grass and more tolerant than the trees. You must give respect to those whom no one respects, and always do kiirtana to the Lord.]

In order to get rid of abhimána, one will have to cultivate the habit of being polite and humble. Just as a [blade of grass] may lie on the ground [underfoot], but does not, through its remaining humble, lose its importance, so a person will never become insignificant by being humble. Humility such as that of the [blade of grass] can alone save a person from abhimána. Forbearance and tolerance like that of a tree which, even while being cut, continues to give its cool shade, are also necessary in order to keep away from abhimána.

A person who is always engaged in the thought of his or her pratiśt́há must learn how to care about the respect and prestige of others. Such a person must never forget that respect begets respect, and that he or she should always honour those who are not honoured by anyone. A constant practice of this type will remove the evil effects of the desire for pratiśt́há. One easy way to do this is that you always do namaskára first and do not create a situation in which you may have to do prati-namaskára.

And finally, a person who moves about puffed up with vanity and arrogance, and is always engaged in gaorava, self-aggrandizement, will be able to improve only by utilizing his or her time in kiirtana. If a person keeps himself or herself engaged in kiirtana, that person will not have time to criticize and slander anyone in order to project his or her own image by comparison and contrast. So it is a must for such a person to do a lot of kiirtana, so that the person does not get time to indulge in the despicable activity of paranindá [slandering].

Therefore spiritual aspirants who have set their eyes on Parama Puruśa as their goal must always strive to get rid of álasya [lethargy] and ahaḿkára, and gain the full benefits of jiṋána and karma, so as to arouse and enliven bhakti, which is the only road to the journey’s end. The person will have to engage himself or herself in work for the collective welfare, will have to cultivate the qualities of humility, forbearance and tolerance, will have to learn to honour those who are honoured by none, and will have to participate in and organize kiirtanas.

Footnotes

(1) Forms of spiritual practice emphasizing, respectively, discrimination, selfless action, and devotion. –Eds.

(2) The two Hindi expressions approximate the bellow of a bull and the sound of a vina string, respectively, and mean “I am big” and “You are big.” –Eds.