Janma Rahitya

Lesson 20 JANMA RAHITYA

What is ‘janma rahitya’ freedom from birth? How do one attain that state? Any relationship between janma and karma? Janma rahitya is not to have rebirth. In this cycle of birth and death we need to stop death. Once dead they come back in some form of life. No control at that point. Since we are already born we need to become immortal when we are in this body only. So to attain janma rahitya we need to attain marana rahitya, freedom from death.

Normally we notice people praying wanting to be free from rebirth. If we ask who is it that wants the janma rahitya. The answer is me. The ‘I’ is not there after janma rahitya. Like the wave taking forms and rolling in the sea wanting to be free. There is no more wave once it dissolves into the ocean.
The jiva is formed out of Brahman, once the upadhi or the carrier is gone becomes Brahman. Brahman alone remainis. Chitta is the cause of the upadhi to be born. According to Muktikopanishat, Life and death is generated out of chitta.

This tree of samsara that is chitta has 2 seeds. If one is destroyed the other one is gone. The movements in the prana vayu makes the mind flow outward. The outward flowing prana with the help of senses forms the seeing, listening world, and vasanas are created. ‘kriyanashacchintanasho chintanashat vasana kshya:, vasanapi kshyao moksha: sjivanmuktiryuchyate’ if the mind stays within itself the feeling of the visible world reduces, along with it vasanas also reduce. That is called moksha.

The only way to make the mind go inward is take control over the prana vayu, only possible for yogis. ‘yogenatarmukhi buddhi stato nashayate tama:’Katopanishat Sri Adi shankaracharya bashyam Sruti says Paramatma in the form of bird enters into every being. Brihadaranyakopanishat 4-5-18 says just like the wings of a bird the prana and apana create the respiratory moments.

To stop the bird flying we need to tie its wings. In the same way to stop this jiva from flyiing from this body to another we need to captivate this bird with the help of prana and apana. That is pranayama. Then jiva merges into pramatma without dying. So freed from death, we become free from futher births. ‘apana pranayoraikyam chidatmanam samashryaha’ Annapurnopanishat 5-4 According to Subalopanishat 32 ’satyasya prana utkramanti atriva samavaliyante’ yogi captivates the prana in the center of eyebrows merges with it getting liberated without dying.

Relationship between janma and karma: if we take birth we have to karma. If we perform karma we have to reap the fruit of the actions. Rebirth is inevitable to experience the karma phala. ‘prasanno jnayate jnanam jnanannirvana mrucchati’ Kurmapurana states that one should annihilate the cage without a residue, there by attaining jnana. That jnana releases one out of the birth and death cycle, that is nirvana, janma rahityam.

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