by Srimad Jagadguru Ramanujacharya & Swami Sri Purushottamacharya Ji Maharaj

There is an account of how much time we spend taking the name of the lord in our lives. We may live 100 or 200 years, but the important fact remains how much time we devote to Him and how much time we spend taking the name of the lord. That is our true wealth. Eating, drinking, progeny, and everything else exist in all the 84 lakh forms of life too. The shastras say:

Aahaara, nidra, bhaya maithuna cha.

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Aahaara (food), nidra (sleep), bhaya (fear), and maithuna (sex) exist even in the worms that live in the gutters across the street. Man gives birth to children in 2 or 3 years, but dogs and cats give birth to around 6 or 12 every year. Are they in any way better than us? These actions are performed by all animals, from cats and dogs to lions and elephants. But, if we as human beings also perform only the worldly duties like these animals, the entire purpose of birth in the human form of life is wasted. If we only involve ourselves in worldly duties, we are no better than other animals.

“Khanda Peenda aur Mar Janda.”

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Eats, drinks, and dies.

What is the point of attaining this precious human life and dying like this? We have to go through the cycle of several lives and deaths. We have received this form of human life as a means to attain the supernatural, and this form has been gifted to us by the benevolent lord. Every other birth created by the lord is immersed in this materialistic world, and it is only the human form of life that ordains the path of karma or action. Only man can do karma or satkarma. Other forms of life take birth only to eat and drink.

The time one spends taking the name of the lord is accounted for against his name. When the jeeva (soul) inclines towards the name of the lord, that very moment is considered an auspicious beginning. The time we spend taking the name of the lord is extremely important. Those who take the name of lord Narayana, their previous three generations, and one future generation receive deliverance from this world. This is very much true and also finds a place in the Bhagavad Puranas.

Srimad Jagadguru Shankaracharya also prayed to lord Narayana to grant moksha to his mother at the end of her life. He also requested all his students to sing the praise of Sri Govinda, lord Narayana.

“Janani jane to bhaktajana yaa daataa yaa shoor.”

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She is a mother who gives birth to a devotee of the lord, or one who is benevolent, or a warrior. If a mother cannot give birth to such personalities, it is not necessary for her to spend that much energy on it. Sons are also responsible for making their mother proud. Those who take the name of the lord, they and their families gain from it. While taking the name of the lord or being a part of a satsang (devout crowd that discusses the lord), one receives nectar or amrit which is absorbed through the ears. Various types of drinks, including amrit or nectar, are drunk through the mouth, but Bhagavad Bhakti (devotion to the lord) is such that it needs to be absorbed through the ears.

In today’s Kaliyuga, our shastras are slowly disappearing into oblivion. Many tend to ignore the teachings of the Guru or a teacher. This is kalikaala (the time of Kali Yuga), and no matter what one does, the truth remains the absolute truth. Man is the source of limitless power. God has given us the power of intellect, rationale, and wealth. Without that power, we are nothing but useless. The lord has made us invaluable and powerful. Without that shakti (power), even Brahma, Vishnu, or Mahesh would not be able to sustain this creation.

We need to make proper use of the power that has been gifted to us. God has given us this power, and we need to make proper use of it. We are aware that a machine too cannot function if it is not operated and comes to a standstill if there is no oil or water. In our Ramanuja Sampradaya, we hold Sridevi ji (Lakshmiji) on our foreheads. She is present on our foreheads while in our sleep or in the state of awakening. Several great teachers or Gurus and those mumukshoo (seekers of liberation) have worshipped shakti. The forms of worship may be entirely different, but the purpose is the same: make the best use of the power or shakti.

With the change of time, many have spoiled the method of worship or prayer. They have started using meat, wine, and other base materials during the worship of shakti. This is all wrong. The use of meat, wine, and other base materials during worship is something that is followed by demons. The karma of the human form does not permit adopting the practices of demons.

The honeybee sits on the lotus flower and is so immersed in inhaling the fragrance of the flower that it is oblivious to the fact that it closes its petals at sunset. Sometimes, it also gets locked in the flower. When it starts losing its breath, it realizes that the day is over and it’s night now. Dreaming of a bright morning, it is totally unaware of a wild elephant that stamps over the flower during its play. While stamping the flower, it also stamps the honeybee locked up in the flower. Dreaming of a wonderful morning, the honeybee loses its life. Man also wishes for several things and aspires for many things. He collects a lot of things but never cares to even think about whether he would be alive to enjoy the benefits of what he has collected. Though he is aware that there is no guarantee of his life, he still makes several plans for his life.

Please be very clear about this fact and take it as a warning from me that from the year 2000 to 2010, the materialistic aspects of the world will be very aggressive and every human being will be affected by it. Man will have to face injustice and excessive sorrow during this period. Man must seek sharanagati (complete surrender to the lord) at the feet of the lord and save himself from this calamity. Please understand that one cannot achieve this human form of birth even with hard work, one cannot achieve it even with loads of benevolence, and one doesn’t even attain it by singing in praise of the lord. If it were so, every human being would always take birth as a human being. There is also no specific key by which one could avail this beautiful birth of a human being. If it were so, Raja Bharath would not have been born as a deer despite all the Bhagavad Bhakti he had done all his life. There is no mention anywhere that man needs to work for attaining the human form of birth the next time too.

There is no specific principle written or mentioned anywhere about birth in human form. After death, if man attains the human form of birth once again, then the concept of “Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam” in the various 84 lakh forms of life would be regarded as a mere waste. It is said that the jeeva is born many times and dies several times and he takes birth in various forms of lives. This principle clearly states that rebirth of a jeeva changes the form of life every time it comes into this world. Hence, it is clear that he cannot attain the human form of life even through his karma in the present life. There is no doubt that benevolence, conducting yagna, and tapasya (meditation) can only bestow a better life in any of the forms of life that it adopts, but there is no guarantee that he would attain the human form of life.

In the Satyanaraayana katha (a story read during the Satyanarayana Puja), it is mentioned that the jeeva is tired of taking birth in various forms of life on this earth. He is tired of committing sin in all the various forms of births. The jeeva is totally tired, and the lord who loves all forms of life sees his pitiable condition and gifts him the human form of life for doing good karma. This is an opportunity for him to do good karma, serve all forms of life, and sing in praise of the lord. There is no selfish motive of the lord in this case. When he sees a particular form of life in a bad situation, he gifts it the human form of life because the human form of life is known to be the best among all forms of life. Mother and father also have some selfishness while rearing their children. On the other hand, the lord is known to be totally unselfish in his endeavor to provide human form of life to anyone.

Whether you take his name or not, the popularity of his name does not subside. Whether you make offerings to him or not, he is not going to remain hungry. It is foolish to think that the lord is hungry and waiting for our offering. He is the father of all forms of life in this world and the sole protector of all. After having received the gift of human form of life, we are able to stand with pride today, and this is so because He has been kind and benevolent. What is it that you can offer Him, as we have nothing to offer Him? We can take His name and sing bhajans (songs of devotion to the lord) in His praise. We could take His name and lure Him toward us. We can thank Him for this unique gift of the most beautiful and useful human form of life that we have been bestowed. We can make promises to Him that we will follow the path ordained by Him. Oh! Lord, you are our father, and this is something we can never forget. We can always pray to Him and seek His protection.

Now we know that the lord has given us this special human body and with this, he has also given us a more special acumen – knowledge and the power of reasoning. He has gifted knowledge to all living beings, but they have not been gifted with the power of reasoning or intellect. This special trait has been given to only the human form of life. He has also bestowed man with the ability to perform action using the power of reasoning and intellect. The other forms of life are bestowed to enjoy the world. It is so sad that in spite of having attained this special form of life, we still indulge in everything the worms and insects, birds and animals of the world indulge in. There can be nothing more foolish than using a paaras stone (a stone used for gold) for grinding chutney (a side dish). But, if we object to anyone using his human body for wrong purposes, then the person would retort with arrogance saying that it is my gift and I shall do exactly as I want to do. It is true that he can do what he wants with it. But, this person has been doing the same for ages and will continue to do so. The will of God is also such that it is left to the judgment of the person who holds the body. It is my duty to convey the message of the lord, teach you, and enlighten you with the reasons thereof. You may agree or disagree, I would like to tell you that paaras is a stone that converts iron into gold. That stone must not be used to grind chutney in the kitchen. If you happen to visit Brindavan (a holy place), do visit the Srirang temple (a temple of Lord Vishnu), and then seek darshan in the various other temples, only then will the person benefit from his visit to Brindavan. If one has to see a movie even when he visits Brindavan, then the money and time invested in visiting the place is just a waste. This is also an excellent example of the wrong usage of this wonderful body gifted to us:

Lord Sri Krishna tells Arjuna:

Arjuna! Don’t be arrogant. You are a part of me. Why do you have to think of yourself as Arjuna? Do not stray away as you are a part of me. You are a part of my form. Don’t worry, get up and fight the war, I am there for you.

While trying to convince Arjuna about various things, the Lord also had a message for the entire humanity. He said, “Do not worry, you are a part of me.” Indulge only in satkarma and leave the rest to me. Despite this, we all seem to be losing out on the humane aspects of our form of life.

Everyone is aware that human beings need sufficient money to sustain life, and one does need to have children and a wife to have a family. None can question this aspect of the materialistic world. But, do you think it is just for this that the Lord has given us the gift of this human form of life? It is for us to decide whether we are born to conduct only the worldly karma or are the worldly karma instituted for us. If all these things are for man, then why is man running after them? There will be a day when all this will be his.

I have a question for you, and I hope you will ponder over it. If one is hungry, he cannot eat money. He needs that money to buy grain and eat food. So what is all this noise about money, why doesn’t man make noise about grains? If you need anna (rice) to satisfy your hunger, and if your destiny is right, the Lord will certainly give it to you. Man is not born for the sake of grain, but grains are produced for the sake of all humanity. On the contrary, we have developed a totally different thought where we tend to think that we are born for anna or rice. The truth is that man is born to translate the qualities of the Lord. We are born to attain moksha and have taken the form of human life. Moksha actually means deliverance from the cycle of birth and death. The Lord has given us this life so that we attain moksha. The Lord is very kind and is the Sacchidananda Swaroopa or, in other words, the Supreme Spirit of the world. He is the infinite sea of kindness and sympathy.

His benevolence and kindness have been the very basis on which we have attained this form of human life. So we need to make the best use of this body, and in turn, perform good karma, indulge in Bhagavad Bhakti, and acquire sufficient knowledge, and indulge in good deeds so that we can achieve deliverance from the cycle of birth and death. We need to ensure that we never return to this mrityuloka or the perishable world in the form of a new life. But, this actually never happens because we never testify ourselves against this truth. In fact, we have put a question mark on the very thought of the Lord itself. We are turning out to be the spoilt children of the Lord, and we are doing just the opposite of what he told us to do.

Just think, that when we are tired from work and return home to our bed, our relatives at home give us hot milk, heat oil, and massage us so that we are relieved of pain. At that point in time, we do not want the massage and just love to be left alone. We sleep all through the night and wake up to feel fresh in the morning. It is so because while in sleep, we tend to forget the ups and downs of the materialistic world. We totally forget the good karma and the bad karma, and when we forget all this, we are relieved of its pressure. After having relieved ourselves of these pressures, we sense the feeling of freshness in us and are elevated from the pressures of the materialistic world. When we totally surrender and unite ourselves with the Lord, we are free from all worries in life. The moment the pressures leave us, we tend to feel younger and firmly resort to performing our duties with vigor and strength. If in the meanwhile, we are able to spend around 10 to 15 minutes of our time singing in praise of the Lord, we will certainly forget everything and focus our mind on the Lord. When you do this, you will realize that the speed with which we perform our worldly duties too would relatively increase. The act of forgetfulness too would disappear. The laws of each country will certainly be different. There will be certain standard laws, but with the Lord, there is no written or recorded law, and none are forced to follow unwritten laws. If one cheats you, there is blame on that person, and the Lord alone knows the punishment that can be given to him. No sort of bribe can exist there.

If we wrongly use the body gifted to us, where is the humane quality in us? What is the purpose of our existence? It is just like how rightful the fire is as long as it burns. When it turns off, only the ashes remain. If the humane quality in us seems farther away, we tend to imbibe the qualities of a demon. But, once we turn into a demon, the purpose of our life is lost, no matter how benevolent we are. The number of yagnas and the good karma too will have very little relevance in our lives then.

The Lord is very attached to the human being i.e. man is very dear to the Lord. But on the contrary, if we cheat the Lord himself, the Lord is pained very badly. Ravana, born into a family of Rishis, was a great scholar and known to have acquired all knowledge pertaining to humanity. He was a great astrologer and a powerful king. All these qualities vanished the moment he turned into a demon, and the Lord had to come down to see his end.

This makes it very clear that though the Lord has abundant love for man, he destroys the devil or the demon. There are no demons that are born separately. Those who act against the essence of humane qualities are known to be the daitya or the demons. Demons are just like the daadas in our cities today. We must always remember that no one is happy with a demon-like nature in him. On the other hand, by imbibing humane qualities, one can even fight richness, poverty, difficult challenges, and trying situations. The great saints will shower their blessings on you, and you will never be attracted by evil.

When humane qualities are absent in you, your attention shifts to arrogant behavior, and you tend to indulge in wrong actions. Your family status, society, nation, and the Lord will just disappear into oblivion. Just think whether these kinds of base activities of man have any meaning to his existence? Has the lord gifted us this beautiful form of human life for these purposes?

There are many reasons behind the destruction of these humane qualities in man. Among the most prominent is being jealous of one’s neighbor as he has the means to eat and drink more than us. Why is it that we don’t have? Today, man is ever immersed in such evil thoughts. Why is it that you are worried about someone else? Why don’t you think that he has it today, maybe you will achieve it tomorrow? Let us enjoy what we have. Whatever you have, think that it is the will of God, and conduct good deeds. Whether anyone comes or doesn’t come, your lord and your Guru will certainly come when you make the offering. The Lord and saints are lured only by bhaava (sincere devotion). They don’t need to see your wealth but just would like to see the bhakti bhaava in you. These two can give you moksha. Why are you wasting your life on things that are totally irrelevant? You seem to be aware that you are wasting your life. The satoguna (the quality of goodness), rajoguna (quality of vice), and tamasika guna (the quality of arrogance) are the kinds of characteristics of the food that we eat. The food of man is known to be saathvika (that which produces goodness). Foods like meat have been assigned to the demons, and the kings are known to eat food that is ostentatious. They eat only to taste the food. I would like to inform you that urad dhal (white gram) has ten times the protein present in a piece of meat and moong dhal has ten times the calories of an egg. The lord has gifted us so many kinds of dhals, vegetables, and minerals which have thousands and thousands of proteins and calories when compared to that of meat. A pinch of gold ash is known to have the calories of a thousand eggs, and these all are available to us because the lord is extremely kind to us. Today, meat foods seem to be more prevalent in human life. Meat is the food of the demons, and not human beings, because this is not saathvik (one that inspires goodness). Our body holds a 36-inch-long intestine, whereas a meat-eater holds a 3-feet-long intestine in his body. This is a fact of science. Our jaws are very straight, and vegetarians tend to drink water by sipping the cup whereas non-vegetarians swallow water. Man sips water; cows too sip water, whereas animals like tigers and dogs swallow water.

Please do remember that our food and eating habits too make a lot of difference to the lord as there are numbers assigned. Our life is determined and evaluated by these numbers. When God gifted you a life with vegetarianism, why is it that we use our lives for wrong purposes? Is man trying to impose himself and direct the world according to his pleasure?

Why is it that you are transforming yourself into a rakshasha or a demon? Some people drink so much alcohol that they fall into the gutters. Dogs urinate on them. What kind of humane quality is this? He has lost his consciousness and has turned into an animal. Haven’t you lost that humane quality in you and cheated the lord? This cheating has created an atmosphere of unhappiness and misery around us. Man is turning out to be a house of mental and physical illnesses. Despite the fact that science has seen great developments, newer illnesses seem to take form almost every other day, and some of these diseases cannot be treated. Why do you think that this is happening? This is because we are moving farther away from the humane qualities instilled in us by the lord. It is quite obvious that even the lord will not come down to protect us, and why would he? When have we ever accepted what He has said? We have always done something totally against what He has said. Man in today’s world considers himself to be God. Have we ever thought for a moment as to why we are destroying this wonderful creation of God? We have spoilt the balance in nature. In the wild race of the modern world, we have lost our humane qualities that have been gifted by the Lord. We have never cared to nurture the creation of God. We have never attempted to understand His kindness and sympathy, and so how can we expect Him to protect us? If we aspire for his blessings, then we must adopt the humane way of life without which it is impossible to lead a human life.

So, become a human being with humane qualities. After adopting the humane qualities in the human form of life, you will see an improvement in your life. You will receive good results of your good karma. Some people say that after having taken birth in the human form of life, there have been innumerable difficulties. Let us find out what exactly it is. These are the resultant factors of your previous births, and it certainly shows the difference in each person’s perspective. There is a glass of water kept on the table. Some say that the glass is half full; others say it is half empty. It is just the way one sees it. The glass has nothing to do with each person’s perspective. So, do think that if you weren’t born a human being, you would certainly be born as some other jeeva. You may not have anyone with you; you would not have a society around you, not have the opportunity to seek sharanagati of a saint nor be able to take the name of the Lord. Can you imagine how your life would be?

Summary:

The article emphasizes the unique spiritual opportunity presented by human life. Unlike animals, humans have the capacity for karma (action) and satkarma (righteous action) which can lead to spiritual growth and moksha (salvation). It highlights the importance of dedicating time to taking the name of the Lord, as this spiritual practice benefits not only the individual but also their ancestors and descendants. The author warns against indulgence in worldly pleasures and materialism, advocating for a life of devotion and righteous action. The article also critiques the consumption of meat and alcohol, associating these behaviors with a loss of humane qualities and a decline into demonic behavior. It underscores the significance of maintaining sattvic (pure) lifestyle choices to align with divine principles and attain spiritual liberation.

Important Points:

• Human Life’s Unique Opportunity: Human life is special due to its potential for karma and satkarma, which can lead to moksha.
• Spiritual Practice: Taking the name of the Lord and engaging in devotion (bhakti) is crucial for spiritual growth.
• Accountability of Time: The time spent in spiritual practice is considered true wealth.
• Comparison with Animals: Humans must transcend basic survival instincts shared with animals to fulfill their higher spiritual purpose.
• Impact on Generations: Spiritual practice benefits not only the individual but also their ancestors and descendants.
• Critique of Materialism: Overindulgence in worldly pleasures leads to a loss of humane qualities and spiritual degradation.
• Diet and Lifestyle: Maintaining a sattvic diet and avoiding alcohol are important for spiritual purity.
• Role of Shakti: Proper use of the divine power (shakti) gifted by the Lord is essential for spiritual growth.
• Importance of Bhava: Sincere devotion and the right emotional attitude (bhava) are crucial in worship.
• Consequences of Demonic Behavior: Actions against humane qualities lead to demonic behavior and spiritual downfall.
• Perspective on Challenges: Difficulties in life are seen as results of past actions and should be met with a positive perspective.