“The king went and received blessings and then paid so much honor and respect after that. When he saw Rama, he experienced a happiness one hundred times that of Brahman realization.” (Janaki Mangala, Chand 5.2)

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नृप गहे पाय असीस पाई मान आदर अति किएँ
अवलोकि रामहि अनुभवत मनु ब्रह्मसुख सौगुन किएँ

nr̥pa gahe pāya asīsa pā’ī māna ādara ati ki’em̐
avaloki rāmahi anubhavata manu brahmasukha sauguna ki’em̐

1. Why are you still running?

“Bro, I think the race is over. You won it, actually. Great job on your part. All that training paid off. I can barely walk to the end of the street in order to check the mailbox. I am out of breath by the time I reach back home.

“You, on the other hand, can run for miles and miles. For some reason, you are still running. I think it is safe to stop now. No one is behind you. They could not catch up. You are victorious. Mad props, but I think you are taking this a little too seriously.”

2. Why are you still in class?

“Bro, what are you doing sitting here? Can’t you see that the classroom is empty? Oh, you are waiting for the teacher to arrive? You took a seat in the front row in order to beat the crowd?

“I hate to break it to you, but the semester is over. In fact, we are done with our university experience. Do you not remember walking in the ceremony? The cap and gown? Your name being read on the loudspeaker? Any of this ring a bell? Oh, I think I get it. Yeah, we all partied a little hard, after the fact. Maybe you went a little overboard.”

3. Why are you still at the office?

“Bro, what are you doing here? How did you even get inside? I am pretty sure they deactivated all of our badges once the project ended. Do you not remember the successful launch? We did it. People will remember you for ages. They will write books about this amazing innovation that was your idea initially.

“But yeah, I think it is time to move on. I will look back on this time fondly, as well, but that doesn’t mean we keep coming to the office. On to bigger and better things. I know letting go is hard, but you can do it.”

4. Why are you still fasting?

“Bro, you have to eat something. The vrata is over. We successfully completed it. I think the devas are satisfied with the sacrifice. It was a memorable occasion, I must say. Almost makes you want to try this on a regular basis. Not to mention the many health benefits to fasting.

“But yeah, it is time to eat something. I think everything went well. Saphala, you will receive the fruit of your sacrifice. The period has ended, so now it is time to break the fast. You can eat anything. A banana. An apple. An entire pizza pie. Ooh, that sounds like a good idea. Let’s order pizza!”

5. Why are you still in dharma?

To those who know the true meaning, this question never has to be asked. This is because when dharma is taken in its all-encompassing definition, it is eternal in nature. As it has no beginning and no end, it is sanatana.

This is the way to define real religion. Sanatana-dharma is not based on conditions. It is not a religion exclusive to a region, to a period of time, to a certain ethnic group, or to a particular language. As dharma is the essential characteristic of something, when applied to the living beings, who are spirit soul in identity, it is always sanatana.

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतो ऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20)

The meaning is that for as long as I exist, I continue to have an essential characteristic. As my existence is without being and without end, due to my nature as spirit, that essential characteristic is fixed. Therefore, dharma as a means of living is sanatana, as that style of life, which may be identified as religion when I am in the unenlightened state, has no documented period of inception and no potential for loss of relevancy.

If we are following sanatana-dharma, there is never a question of it ending. In the manner of the sun rising on a predictable schedule, in the seasons arriving at around the same time every year, in the human being waking up in the morning to carry out work or to take up formal training in an institution of education, so the living being can continue to follow dharma without boundaries.

The living being is eternal in its existence. This is one of the distinctions between spirit and matter. The human condition is the best opportunity to reawaken to the fact, to realize the sanatana nature of the individual.

Typically, we consider an achievement to be an end. It is the last state of a proposed roadmap. It is an accomplishment. We have reached the finish line. We have completed the goal. If we want to embark on another journey, we again have to set a particular objective. We then proceed on a path towards completion.

With sanatana-dharma, even the achievement of enlightenment is not the end. We have the historical example of King Janaka. He was well-known as Videha, both in terms of the place he lived and the manner in which he carried himself.

Janaka was Videha in the sense that the body did not negatively affect him. He was self-realized. He ruled over the kingdom of Videha, and he once had the opportunity to receive the brothers Rama and Lakshmana as guests.

The self-realized Janaka experienced tremendous bliss in that direct interaction. In essence, the dharma continued. He was seeing the Absolute Truth, the Almighty, Parabrahman, in human form in Shri Rama. It is described by Goswami Tulsidas that Janaka experienced a bliss that was many times greater than Brahman realization.

We can think of Brahman realization as a kind of achievement in spiritual life. It is realizing the essence of life itself. It is seeing that everything living is actually Brahman. I am a spark of that Brahman, as are you. The same extends to life outside of the human species. We can also consider Brahman to be the sum collective representing those individual sparks of life.

A Brahman-realized soul like Janaka did not stop activity. He continued in dharma. He experienced highs and lows, but remained steady throughout. He went further in the experience by seeing Shri Rama. Janaka met Rama directly, and this was significant because Rama is actually Parabrahman. Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

After meeting Rama and Lakshmana we see that Janaka continued in his existence. This is the meaning to sanatana when associated with dharma. This is why sanatana-dharma is the proper definition for what we otherwise refer to as religion. Sanatana-dharma is the eternal way of living aligned with our properties. It is activity in a continuous flow, even after achieving self-realization. It is experiencing repeated bliss in direct association with the Supreme Lord.

In Closing:

Passing the tests taken,
Now institution forsaken.

When the finish line to achieve,
Another future goal to conceive.

But with dharma a different way,
In that path forever can stay.

Even for an enlightened being profound,
Bliss when Rama and Lakshmana found.

Categories: the five

Tags: brahman, hare krishna, hinduism, janaka, poem, poems, poetry, religion