MOHA(DELUSION)

By B.E.Sampath Kumar, Sri Ramachandrji Seva Trust, Kadapa.

Moha(Delusion) is a  state of mind which does not permit scope for discrimination. It is ignorant of the true facts and is the origin of egoism. It is one of the six bad vices and prevents one from knowing the truth and makes one addict to the gratification of sensual pleasures and makes us run after the material enjoyment. This can cause any misery in one’s life and binds the soul to the process of birth and death.  The main obstacle for one’s spiritual heritage causing him to lose knowledge of his true being is Moha(Delusion).

This internal enemy drags the humans form all the sides away from the soul and makes life miserable.

Lord Srikrishna, in Bhagavath Githa in Chapter.16 verse 16,  cautions us about the effect of Moha ( Delusion).

 “Aneka – chitta – vibhrantah  moha-jala

 samavritah prasanth kama – bhogeshu

 patani matale shuchau”.

Possessed and led astray by such imaginings enveloped in Moha( Delusion), and addicted to the gratification of sensuous pleasures, they(people) descend to the gloomy/dark Hell.

Find herein a story from Srimad Bhagavath Purana that a King called Jada Bharatha,  due to his undue attachment(Moha) with a deer, reverted to the life of an Animal.

Bharatha was the eldest son of king Rishaba. He was a righteous ruler and a great devotee of Lord Hari( Vishnu). After ruling the kingdom for many years, he entrusted it to his sons, gave up all family attachments, and retired to a forest for penance. As usual, 

one day he went to the river Gandaki, which is near to his Hermitage to worship Sun through Gayatri Mantra. After his prayer,  he saw a fully pregnant deer came to drink water from the river. Then having heard the roaring of a lion, from the other side of the river,  the deer frightened and took a quick and sudden jump to get out of the river. The result was it gave birth to a fawn, which fell into the river and about to drown. The mother deer ran away.  

Seeing this Bharath rescued the fawn from drowning, took it to his Hermitage, nursed it, and looked after it as though it was his own child. The baby deer also responded with love and Bharatha developed a deep bond of affection for it. He became deeply attached to it and his time was taken up by attending to its needs like feeding, fondling, and keeping it away from its predators. Gradually his devotional practices came down and almost stopped after a while.  His heart was now fixed on the deer instead of God,  whom he worshipped with strong devotion for so long, giving up attachment to his kingdom, wife, and children. 

In due course of time, Bharath became old and was on the verge of his death. The deer sat mournfully by his side watching him. Bharath’s mind was full of anxious thoughts about the deer and he passed away(died) in that condition of mind. Due to that, Bharatha was reborn as a deer, but due to his strong past samskaras, he did not forget about his previous birth.  He regretted the fact that he wasted his precious life, forgetting God and getting attached to an animal. Then the deer Bharatha left the place of birth and moved to an area where sages lived, spent its life lonely in that holy atmosphere, and again the deer was born as a brahmin in its next birth.

Lord Krishna in Bhagavate Gitna, in Chapter 7 verse 28 taught us how one can be freed from Moha(Delusion).

“Yesham tvanta – gatam papam jananam   punnya -karmanam

te dvandva – Moha – nirmuktha bhajante   mam  dridha – vratah”.

But persons, whose sins have been destroyed by engaging in pious activities, become free from the illusions of dualities, such persons worship me with determination.

Those whose aspiration for God’s realization has been awakened,  welcome pain as an opportunity for self-sacrifice and spiritual growth. They are also cautious about pleasures that may cloud their soul. Thus they neither feel happy for pleasures nor have an aversion for pains.  Such souls who have freed their minds from these dualities of desire and hatred can worship God with unshakeable determination.

Now the question is how we can get rid of this evil from our day-to-day life?  

We can never be free from the entanglements of Moha(delusion) unless we cultivate non-attachment. We came with empty hands into this world and leave this world with empty hands only. No properties we acquire in our life,   or wife/husband, children, our friends, and relatives never follow us at the time when we leave this world.

Sri Ramchandraji, founder of Sahaja Marg says that: 

A household life in which possession of things and worldly ties are indispensable is no impediment in the way of renunciation and consequently of realization, only if one is not unduly attached to the objects he is connected with.

When you come back from the office your children rejoice to see you after so many hours. You too enjoy their merriments and it is but natural. What you are to do then is to think that your Master(God) within you is Himself enjoying with them and not you. So

If we treat them as children of God, who are entrusted to our care and whom we have to provide for and look after as if duty bound, we are then serving His children and thereby God Himself. We shall thereby get rid of Moha( undue attachment) and shall thus remove one of the greatest obstacles from our path.

Suppose if you see an attractive dance on the way, your eyes are caught by the charming appearance of the dancer and your thoughts seem to be diverted for a while. Then also think that your Master(God) and not you are seeing the dance. Then you will at once lose the curiosity for it because your Master’s power will begin to flow to relieve you of the temptation.

Similarly, we can adjust ourselves in all our routine works without being caught by Moha ( Delusion/ attachment) in our lives.

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