The Pancha Kleshas (The Five Miseries Afflicting Man)

4 October 2000, Dasara, Prasanthi Nilayam, AP

Published English.

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In this world, our path is not illumined by either lamps or torches. It is only , which illumines our path. ’s word is verily the Truth.

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In this world, we don’t come across anyone who is not subjected to misery and suffering. Whether he be a king, a farmer, a millionaire or a pauper, everyone has to face five types of (miseries). The first of these is i.e., the misery of ignorance. Attachment to the body is the root cause for this ignorance. Today man attaches great importance to his body and makes lots of efforts to nourish it. In his struggle for existence, he loses self-control and hence suffers. Education imparted today is not true education (). All that you learn is for your physical upkeep. Such an education cannot be called . In order to sustain the body, man aspires for so many things. If he fails to get them, he gets frustrated which in turn leads to depression and misery. This is why I have been cautioning you and emphasizing not to have too much body attachment. This body is responsible for both happiness and misery of man. First, develop attachment to the or the spirit and then think of the body. When you are not aware of the , your attachment to the body makes you miserable. Attachment to the body is responsible for all desires and diseases of man.

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The second one is or the misery that is caused because of the mind. Mind runs after everything in the world. That is why it is said “.” This mind has many anxieties. From birth to death, man is suffering from many problems arising out of the mind. Mind aspires for so many things. When man fails to satisfy all these desires of the mind, he gets frustrated. In fact, without this body-consciousness and troubles of the mind, man is free from all worries. Man has to find out a way to get rid of these worries. He has to give up his delusion that the body alone is the basis of his life. He has to transcend body consciousness and frailties of the mind.

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The third Klesha is the . This is due to the limitless desires of man combined with his body attachment and the fickleness of the mind. Today, man is not able to understand what sort of desires he should entertain. He is not able to investigate and discriminate good from bad, truth from falsehood, eternal from ephemeral and desirable from undesirable. He desires to possess whatever he sees and is dictated by sensual cravings.

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In order to keep the body under control and tame the mind, ancient people pursued certain practices such as , and so on. If body and mind are not kept under control, they behave as they like and ruin you. The best way to keep them under check is to chant the glory of God incessantly.

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You all know a horse. It stands for instability. It keeps on moving some part or the other of its body all the time. Then, how is the rider able to control such a horse? He puts a blinker for its eyes and a bridle (a piece of iron) in its mouth held by the reins. Even a strong and powerful horse will come under control thereby. Similarly, when man is able to keep his tongue under his control, half of his problems will get eliminated. That is the reason, why the ancients practiced Silence (). They never indulged in meaningless practices. Every activity or task of theirs had an inner significance. Silence helps you to control the mind, which in turn leads to conquer desires and finally confers happiness.

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The fourth one is . Avidya, Abhinava and join and give rise to . refers to excessive attachment to and craving for wealth and properties. Because of Raga, man desires everything that is there in the world. This Raga (desire) is responsible for all (diseases) of man. A weak person who does not have the capacity to satisfy his desires approaches affluent and influential people. If they do not fulfill his desires, he develops hatred towards them. This gives rise to the Fifth Klesha, The , i.e., misery due to hatred.

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When man is bound by all these five , how can he be happy? The root cause for all these is attachment to the body and mind. Ancient , in order to get rid of this body attachment, left their homes and led a sacred life in the forest. In forests, there is minimal scope for the mind to wander. As there will be no worldly attractions, it is possible to keep the mind under control. However, living in the forest is not the only way to control the body and the mind. Even while living a family life, you can control body and mind. Observance of silence is helpful for this. Ancient sages gave utmost importance to (Silence). Limited talk helped them to keep their desires under control. When you talk less, there is also less chance of telling lies.

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All actions done by ancients had a purpose and meaning. They led by example. Man today is not able to recognize this. There was a queen by the name , who used to laugh at the king’s attempts to name the newborn children. When the king enquired the reason for her derision, she replied, “Can you ever give a name to the Eternal ? Even if you do so, there is no guarantee that the child will conduct in conformity with its name. So, no name will ever be completely appropriate. Hence, do not attempt to name the child. Life in this world is a long sleep. All our experiences are merely dreams. Therefore, she would put the children in the cradle and sing lullabies of wisdom like “You are the ever pure, the ever wise and the ever blissful one, but the illusion of the world has transformed you into an ignorant one. The worldly life is like a sleep with deluding dreams. Once born, you are subject to the trials and tribulations of the world. Having taken birth in a mother’s womb once, don’t be born again.” She sang to them “In the cradle of , on the bedspread of wisdom with Awareness as pillow, Oh dear Child! Enter the sleep of communion with your true Self.” Thus, molded her children as embodiments of wisdom. stands as an ideal to all mothers. She discharged her unattached to the world. In fact, she sent her children to the forest telling them, “Children! You are deluded in thinking that comfort and happiness are only in palaces. But it is in the forests that you have true happiness and solitude.”

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In these days mothers fill their children with worldly desires by which the children develop a weak physique. Ponder over this lullaby sung by a mother today. The mother says, “Near the tank bed, your uncle is sowing green gram. Go and ask for a share, O Child !” When does so and demands a share, the uncle replies, “You were not there when I had sown the seeds or harvested the crop. Why should I give you a share in the yield?” argues, “Isn’t my mother your sister? Come, let us settle the matter in the court.” and his uncle go to the court where elders decide that the uncle should not only give a share in his property but also his daughter to in marriage. As seen in this episode, the children today are brought up in bondage.

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Boys today have girlfriends. This only projects how unsacred is their conduct, how wicked and unjust. Is this what the boys should aspire for? You can always marry if you want to at a suitable age, when you are capable of living independently. Nobody will stop you from that. But how sinful it is to indulge yourself in ‘love’ with a girl who is going to be someone else’s wife. Later, she may even come as your sister-in-law. Parents today are overjoyed and support such sinful activities. They think that thereby their son’s marriage can be performed without spending even a single . But are they considering the decline in the values arising therefrom? How can a man sustain a good character in such an atmosphere?

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It is the duty of the parents to control their children. This control should be exercised in accordance with the child’s age. Children should be molded in such a manner that they bring name and fame to their parents. exemplified this aspect. From the very birth, she guided her children in the right path. It is said “Start Early, Drive Slowly, Reach Safely.” To the growing snake gourd is tied a stone so that it grows straight. Similarly, parents should attach the weight of discipline to their children. Leaving them freely without any restrictions would only, in course of time, bring them a bad name. It may even affect the honor and reputation of the family. Freedom should be given wherever necessary, but not in matters which can bring down the prestige of your family. As our ancestors guarded family reputation, today has such name and fame.

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The great king was the very embodiment of Truth. He was ready to give up his life to uphold Truth. His wife too followed him. Harischandra had to sell his wife and son to keep up his word. supported him saying, “Lord! We may live or die, but let us never swerve from our pledge. Let us never sully our reputation.” They reached the city of thus and there too the creditors troubled them. Helpless, offered himself in auction. In this way, he even gave up his entire life for the sake of Truth. Ancient , thus, lived up to their word. They dedicated their lives to keep up their honor.

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However, people of today do not realize the value of life. They take it to be merely earning and enjoying licentious lives. But in reality, life is a challenge and one has to meet it. We will have to confront many problems in life. We have to overcome them and uphold our family name. We have to emulate the glorious example set by our ancestors. There should be mothers like . We should consider her as an ideal and derive inspiration from her example. Nobody can ever match in the way in which she molded her children.

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Body should never be our focus. Man’s goal is to realize the . Only when you attain this ‘Self’, who is the master of all, your life finds fulfillment.

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It is of no use if our students speak about devotion or the lives of and in their talks. Students should speak what is relevant to the present day world and suggest solutions to the agitations and miseries of the world. Is it practical to do when one is engulfed by sorrow and misery? Alleviate the suffering first and foremost, Bhajan will automatically follow. The concept of itself is being distorted.

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Giving long lectures on the lives of noble men is of no use. You should project the right ideal at the right time. Once the child has been named, does it conduct itself in accordance with its name? You may name a child ‘’, but his conduct could well be to the contrary. People today choose names from novels and cinemas to name their children. The name is appropriate only when the conduct of the child matches it. Parents are the cause for degeneration in the conduct of the children of today. The parents should conduct themselves ideally for providing a better world.

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People today hanker after freedom and wealth in foreign countries. But these are mere illusions. They brush aside the homemade delicacies seeking rotten stuff outside. There was a medical shop and a hotel situated adjacent to each other. The owner of the medical shop comes to the hotel saying “I have a headache, would you give me a cup of hot coffee?” On the other hand, the hotel owner says, “I have got a headache too, could I have a pill?” Both are cures for the same headache, but each is not satisfied with what he has. This is the plight of today’s students. They desire the colorful clothes that other children wear, discarding what their parents give them. In fact, these colorful clothes frighten cattle too! White dress symbolizes purity, steadfastness and love. Dirt is easily spotted on them and we can wash it off immediately. Colorful dresses hide the dirt on them. Students do not hesitate to wear such dresses continuously for any number of days at a stretch. Even if dirt does not show up, we have to cleanse the clothes. Only then can our mind be at peace.

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You may relate incidents from and in your talks, which project ideals to the people. But at the same time do pay attention to the present day situation, the agitations and turbulences of the world. You become an ideal student by setting right the society in which you live.

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There is nothing in the world that is not related to . Our conduct, our writing, our reading, eating-everything is spiritual. God is latent in all. Actions, which make you forget the latent divinity and focus outward, are not devotional. You should have the conviction that God is with you, in you, around you, above you and below you. You should be at peace even when you are alone. Before undertaking any action, question yourself whether it is right or wrong. Correct your mistakes before someone points them out to you. Stick to the right path even if someone criticizes you. For that, cultivate goodness and distance yourself from evil. When you lead such a life, you will be an ideal human being.

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You do not have any idea of the situation outside. The conduct of the people there is very disgusting. Whatever others may think, you should lead a good life. Get a good name for yourselves. That will make happy. People should look up to you as a student, who follows ’s teachings and attends . You should cultivate the qualities befitting a student. Do not fear for anything.