Nirvana Shatakam - Verse 3



न मे द्वेष रागौ न मे लोभ मोहौ मदो नैव मे नैव मात्सर्यभा- व:
न धर्मो न चार्थो न कामो ना मोक्ष: चिदानन्द रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम्

Literal Translation:

Neither have I desire (raago) or hatred (dvesha) for anything
Neither greed (lobha) nor delusion (moha)
Nor pride (mada) nor feelings of jealousy (matsarya)
Neither am i bound by the path of righteousness (dharma)
Nor am i attracted to the pursuit of material wellness (artha),
Neither am I drawn to desire fulfilment (kamo) nor liberation from birth & death  (moksha)
I am Consciousness, Knowledge and Bliss.

In Hindu philosophy there are six passions (Arishadvargas)  or enemies (Shad Ripus) of the mind , they are called the :
  • kama
  • krodha
  • lobha
  • moha
  • mada
  • matsarya
After describing how the Atman can not be restricted to a gross or a subtle body, Adi Shankracharya goes on to explain the feelings, passions, and goals of a Jiva and how the Divine does not identify with any of those. The six passions are often seen as obstacles to a spiritual life - and however much we try as human beings, we will have these inside of us. However the Higher Being is free from these and hence realized or enlightened and detached from these lower emotions and ways of life. 

A teacher had once told me to look at the above six emotions in a chain starting with kama and ending with matsarya. He said to me, kama (desire but often also looked upon as lust) is the primary thought preoccupying us. when kama is not fulfilled, it is followed by anger or krodha, however when it is fulfilled it is followed by the want and greed, lobha for more. Greed and anger combined give rise to delusions, moha. Both anger and greed lead to different types of intoxication and pride, mada. And this pride leads to envy, matsarya, because the person is unable to tolerate any one else's success. 

Thus in this way, the six passions lead to the degradation of the jiva-atmān. These six, keep the jiva imprisoned in the cycle of life and death and often lead to a life of sin - thus furthering the cycle of dukkha, suffering.

Next we come to the four stages of life that define how we are to lead our lives and hence define our actions at different points in our life, these are - dharma (righteousness and moral values), artha (prosperity & economic pursuits), kaama (pleasure, love, psychological values) and moksha (liberation, spiritual values). In Hindu Philosophy these are called Purushartha - the object of human pursuit. The pursuit of these goals helps one lead a fulfilled life, and satisfies the purpose of being born Human. If one is living in the world or Samsara, one is bound by these stages.

Dharma means to conduct yourself with the Yamas and Niyamas of yoga: asteya (non-stealing), ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness) etc - performing all duties towards the society, one's family. Artha literally means wealth - however, one is instructed or encouraged to achieve this wealth and prosperity in a yogic, honest way and always being detached and having an attitude of non-possessiveness towards it. Kaama is desires that we have - these three stages together instruct us to live our current lives, with the ultimate goal always being liberation, moksha from the cycle of life and death. One needs to complete all the three stages first, and eventually involve themselves with meditation and prayer to finally attain moksha. There are no shortcuts.

These rules and stages, passions all relate to a jiva-atman, someone who is bound by worldly rules and values and living in samsara. A realised soul or Atman will be above all these, he/she will find solace in the steadiness and non-passion of the Atman - they are required to perform any of the purusharthas. because they have already gone through that and attained the highest level of enlightenment.

And the last line of course, is I am Supreme Consciousness, Knowledge and Bliss - I am Shiva, I am Shiva.





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