The areas in which most people seek success are academics, sports, career, love, relations, business, and research, etc.  All of these are in the scope of the body that we are living in.  This body which is ultimately decomposed into the five root elements of nature is different from the soul (the true self).  One must address the needs of the body whilst not deviating from his goal.  After all, the body is given for the purpose of reaching one’s goal.

What is ‘my’ goal?

Vedas say that the natural state of each of us is jnana and ananda, a state of clear knowledge and eternal joy.  God, the super soul is all knowledgeable and all-powerful.  He is not bound to the nature-made body as we are.  So, His knowledge is spotless.  Knowing Him is the ultimate knowledge and attaining Him is eternal joy.  Our goal is therefore to know our relationship with Him and respond accordingly.

Are there any guidelines to attain this state?

In every area, a focused student follows certain proven guidelines to attain his/her goal.  Such guidelines are not manifested on their own. They come from the experience of successful people in those respective areas. They are not difficult, as they are natural.  All one needs is a strong desire driven by love for his goal.

Whose guidance can I take?

5000 years ago from Thiruppavai (thiru = beautiful or pure, pavai = girl or garland), a beautiful girl’s (named Goda) intense devotion to Lord resulted in an outpouring of 30 songs.  Deep within these songs have the eternal truths about nature and goal of soul, the ultimate eternal thatthva Narayana, as well as the means to attain Him.

These songs are revered by the entire Vedic fraternity as the seed of Vedas.  They are sung as part of every prayer in every temple, including Sri Rangam and Tirumala.  Goda Devi successfully attained her goal, union with Lord, and remained eternally happy.  Her guidance has been explained and elaborated by acharyas in a lineage for thousands of years.

There are 10 songs out of the 30 that depict a progressive path to attain a state of mind for leading a happy and productive life here in this world while laying a path for being eternally happy after this life.

In each of these 10 songs, Goda Devi calls out a Gopika, a cowherd girl asking her to wake up and join her and the rest to go and seek Krishna (krish= boundless na = joy).  Each cowherd girl represents a yo:gyatha (an essential quality) within a true seeker.

Seek the company and blessings of such qualified gopikas and they will guide you through everything.

What essential instructions can the ten gopikas teach us?

1. Listen 

Begin with paying attention to what is happening in places of worship. Devotees could be singing the glory of God. Priests could be chanting the compositions of great alwars and acharyas. You may not understand yet, but let your heart accept listening to them.
Seek the company of one who listens about God.

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2. Understand

Now that you have spent time listening to the great anecdotes and eulogies of the Lord, you will have placed yourself in an environment that adds sense to what you have been listening to overtime.
Seek the company of one who understands about God.

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3. Meditate

Think, analyze, and use situations around to confirm your understanding, Repeat until it stabilizes. Your goal is to attain Krishna, you have been so far used to things that are not Krishna. Hence, you might get distracted and get carried towards different means.
Seek the company of one who meditates upon what he understood about God.

What can I do about the “distractions and attractions”?
Shield yourself from them with prajna = good knowledge that is sthithamu = firm and stable.

A beautiful rose flower is on a stem of thorns. You cannot deny the existence of thorns.

Similarly, do not run away from the distractions or attractions as they all are part of this existence. You must learn how to conduct activities with them so that they do not distract you. This knowledge is sthitha prajna.

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4. Start being like a ‘tortoise’

Pull your ten senses (five jnana indriyas and five karma indiryas) away from any object/thing/person/place that you feel is detracting from reaching your goal. Let all the ten senses maintain distance from these distractions just like a tortoise pulls back its legs and hands as soon as it foresees danger. It stays inside its hard and thick shell until it feels safe and resumes the journey when there is no danger. 

Your habits from the past can sometimes make it difficult to stay away from these distractions. It will be hard in the beginning, but it gets easier as you stay determined. Remind yourself of your goal, Sri Krishna. Use what you heard, understood, and meditated on to keep you strong.
Seek the company of one who knows how to stay away from distractions and stay focused, moving forward.

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5. Become physically Stable

When you have been a ‘tortoise’ for some time and begin to feel okay being exposed to things that you felt were distracting you earlier, you will now not engage in any distracting activities with your senses.  Your heart, however, still remembers the attachment with them as it is accustomed to experiences from such objects, places, and people.
Seek the company of one who is stable at the physical level and trying to move forward.

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6. Become appropriately attached

As you develop an attachment with your goal, your mental attachment with any other distractions will begin to fade away. Now, you are much closer to goal. You have a sense of understanding about the goal and are now able to engage your time and effort in every way with that goal.
Seek the company of one who is not mentally attached to anything other than God.

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7. Become fully Stable, sama:dhi

You are now immersed in your goal.  It does not matter what you are surrounded with, your mind has no impact from anything.
You are thoroughly and deeply involved in meditating on your goal.
You have attained sama:dhi (sam= properly, aa= completely, dhi = filled), meaning your heart is fully and completely filled with only what you desired for.

This level of focus is analogous to a glass of water that does not spill when moved (nischala) or is not affected by anything entering it (achala) because it is now in a frozen state.  Until it was frozen, it was under influence of many factors (in steps four, five and six).
Seek the company of one who is completely stable and firm with knowledge of God.

sthitha prajnatha, sthitha = stable pra = good jna = knowledge
good knowledge is now firm and stable!

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8. Realize He is all-around

Knowledge of Krishna now outpours in the form of songs eulogizing His qualities.  In this stage, one’s knowledge matures enough to see Krishna supporting the entire existence as an unseen string holding various coloured flowers together.  He/she also becomes protective of Lord because of the intense love for Him.  This clarity in knowledge is depicted symbolically by beautiful eyes (podari kanninaay).  Such knowledge makes one devoid of unwanted qualities like egoistic nature or false pride, etc.
Seek the company of one whose heart is outpouring the glories of Lord and who sees His presence in everyone.

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9. Know that He is within

This great devotee blissfully experiences the same supreme thatthva, Lakshmi Narayana, directly in his own hrudaya (heart).  This hrudaya is made of 101 naadis, nerve endings.  In it, he enjoys the glory of Lakshmi Narayana in a beautiful divine space called dahar aakasam.  He holds the lock to open the hearts of everyone who seeks guidance and worships the same thatthva in everyone.

Seek the company of one who realised God as Lakshmi Narayana thatthva in Himself with full clarity.  How do we identify such people?  They can be identified via their conduct.  They have vaak suddhi (knows exactly how to talk to people around), aahara suddhi (knows exactly what to, how to, where to eat), and know exactly what and how to conduct in the world.

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10. Have Endurance

This great devotee has exceptional trust in God. Their purpose to live aligns completely with the purpose of God’s will. This comes with endurance through whatever life gives you. Despite being all qualified, such endurance is not easy to attain. It takes a course of time to reach this state.

Even Sitha Devi argued and disobeyed Rama and Lakshmana when they initially rejected her wish for the magical deer. This caused her pain of separation from Rama. But she realized her mistake and accepted it to be her fault. Bharatha accepted a mistake that he did not even commit. He felt that it was his mistake somewhere in his heart that he wished to be the king, which he did not. Later they both accepted the state and lived through it. Having endurance through the situation and continuing to conduct oneself properly/righteously is the highest of the virtues/qualities in a true seeker.

This endurance requires satvika shakthi. It lets you tolerate any ‘blame/ill response’ from your well-wishers, yet empowers you to take your stand where and when it is required. Sri Rama Chandra is the epitome of such quality!

Time for self-assessment!

You can self-assess and check who you are associated with. Have you sought the company and blessings of such great people yet? As Krishna said in Bhagavad Githa, it is only the company and blessings of great devoted souls, the jnanis who can help us know Him.

thadviddhi pranipa:the:na
pariprasne:na se:vaya: |
upade:kshyanthi the: jna:nam
jna:ninas thaththvadarsinaha || (4.34)

Remember that the effort and the result of everything you do is a consequence of God’s will to protect you. Realize that you are already and always blessed. God Himself is driving you from within as you expressed a desire to know Him. Understand this and your journey will be joyful, not tiring.

– From the discourse of HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
– Dhanurmasam 2020, Vijaya Kiladri