Those who are born experience karma, sufferings of one kind or another, and wonder, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Why is there suffering and evil in the world? This is a question that many – in all religious disciplines – raise. The mystery of suffering and evil, impurity in a world created by the Source of All That Is, and how is it that there is suffering? The youthful Rama – yet to undergo 14 years of wandering in the forest – asks, “How is it that the world is filled with sorrows”?
Question 161-162: Are Ignorance and Impurity in Atma?
The young Ramachandra asks about non-existent ignorance of this very strange world. How can there be ignorance if everything is Atma? How can there be impurity in our world if the Atma itself is purity?
Question 160: How is a Universe created in Atma?
If everything is an aspect of the unmanifest Atma, how then does a Universe arise in Atma? This is the question posed to the sage by the young Rama, sitting worshipfully at the feet of Vasishtha .
Question 159: What is Mind?
The young Rama has questions about the nature of the mind and asks for an explanation in detail. The sage calmly replies about those who view the world as real and the suffering this brings about. No one is born tabula rasa – with a blank slate. We are all born with impressions and illusions. Keep in mind that the mind accompanies the soul to the new body.
Mahavakyas
The Mahavakyas are the Great Sentences of Advaita Vedanta and Jnana Yoga, and are contained in the Upanishads. Maha is Great, and Vakyas are sentences, or utterances for contemplation. The contemplations on the Mahavakyas also blend well with the practices of yoga meditation, prayer, and mantra… To truly understand the meaning of the mahavakyas it is necessary to practice contemplation and meditation in your own inner laboratory of stillness and silence.
Question 155: The Three Types of Ego
The young Rama has questions about the ego and the Atma. The sage explains there are three types of ego, the first is the most deleterious to the spiritual seeker. The common belief of individuals is that as soon as they are born they are led to believe that the world around them is ‘real’. The influence of habits and desires is strong and is overcome with devotion.
Question 154: Narrating past lives
The young Rama has heard the story of Dam, Vyal and Kat. They are taken by Lord Yama, the god of death. He asks the sage, “How is it that they will hear the narratives of their past lives?” The sage replies and reiterates the necessity of pursuing the purushartha.
Question 151: Self and self-awareness
The young Rama tells the sage, you have advised me to be like Bhim, Bhas and Dridh and not like Dam, Vyal and Kat. Sage Vasishtha tells the story of Dam, Vyal and Kat, and so doing, exposes sankalpa (will), ego, and awareness of the body and the desires that arise from that. It is an interesting – and thoughtful – narrative.
Question 150: Managing the Mind
The young Rama asks about bringing the mind under control quickly: how is this done? Respect is a key issue, in the guidance of the Sage.