Pithily written book ‘Dharma, Yoga aur Aadhyatm’ by Supreme Court Advocate Shri Radha Krishna Kumar is indeed like food for thought for each and every one; regardless of his/her being a deeply religious, non-religious or even an atheist. One is amazed to find the gems of knowledge in the book. It is not merely a painstaking collecA book on spiritualism worthy to be chewed and digestedtion of axioms by a researcher, but it reflects the uncanny understanding, nay the subtle practices of dharma and yoga in life by the writer. The book contains four independent chapters. The first one deals with different religions of the world, and the rise of faiths. The crux of all major religions has been given in the most succinct manner and astonishing style. The description of the Buddhist theory of Pratityasamutpad (cause and effect), Astaang Marg (eightfold path), Panchasheel(five codes of conduct) and four Arya Satya (noble truths) are like eye-openers for the human being steeped in ignorance.
It may be noted here that births and rebirths have been the foundation of almost all religions except Islam. While Buddhism says that there is sorrow in the world, and there is a reason for it. The sorrow can certainly be overcome because there is a way to it. Jainism tells us that as long as Kashayas (passions) are not eschewed, it is difficult to get Kaivalya (liberation). Those passions are Avidya(ignorance) Krodh(anger) Ahankar (ego or false pride), Maya (illusion) and Lobha (Greed). More or less, the same canon has been said or propounded by all indigenous religions.
The second chapter is centred on Yoga and its different forms like Bhakti Yoga, Gyan Yoga and Karma Yoga as preached by Lord Krishna, enunciated by rishis like Patanjali and Kapil. There is no dichotomy between Gyan Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Goswami Tulsidas was of the view that human being was a mere puppet. So, he/she must make total surrender to God, but it is not so easy. Lord Krishna says: Chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi balvaddridham. Tasyaham nigraham manye vayoriv sududskaram i.e. mind is very fickle but determined and strong. Therefore, to control the mind is as difficult as controlling the air. Sant Kabir says: ‘Man ke mate na chaliye, man ke mate anek. Jo man par aswar hai, soi sadhu koi ek’. (Do not go by the dictates of mind because it is very capricious, and only rarest of the rare can keep the mind under control’).
The third chapter is on the Aadhyatm or spiritualism. It has navigated us through the Saguna and Nirgun form of God, which exists in every scintilla of the creation. Sant Kabir has rightly said: ‘jaise til men tel hai, jyon chakmak men aag, tera sai Tujh men hai, jaan sake to jaan’ (As oil is found in seeds, stone has fire in itself, similarly God is within you, so He needs to be realised). A person performs his Karmas(deeds) in three ways namely;mun, vachan and sharir (mind, words and body). While good deeds change the fortune of the person for good, bad karma spoils his/her fate. The writer has explained the etymological meaning of the word ‘GURU’. ‘Gu’ stands for darkness and ‘Ru’ means remover. Thus, one who removes the darkness and enlightens the life is a real Guru.
The fourth chapter contains 18 spiritual stories. The very first story and the best among all (in my consideration) narrates the reality of life. The gist of the story is that a person while going to the town had to pass through difficult terrain and dense forests. On his way, at some distance, he found a mound of bones. He thought that any violent animal must have killed all those travellers who passed through the intractable path. To his surprise, he found that a lion was chasing a man. The man jumped on a banyan tree. The lion also climbed on the tree. Then he saw that a rope was suspended with the tree towards the deep lake, and the man caught hold of the rope. There were two crocodiles in the lake waiting for the man to fall to devour him because the rope was being nibbled by two rats. In the meantime, he started enjoying the drops of sweat and delicious honey falling in his mouth.
Then a person in the crowd quipped how foolish he was. Upon it, Lord Buddha smiled and said it was none but you and explained that mounds of bones exemplify the mortality of human beings. Lion denotes Yamraj (the God of death). Two crocodiles were like two enemies- lust and anger. Two rats were day and night busy in shortening their life. Drops of honey were like momentary pleasure. Therefore, the human being must come out of ignorance to realise the realities.
The absorbing book has been written in a very lucid style. However, there are some printing and spelling mistakes causing eyesores.