NAMASMARAN SKEPTICISM CYNICISM AND SARCASM:
DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR

There are broadly four stages of our development; which takes us to perfection, self realization, objective existence, eternal truth, sacchidananda, ishwar, paramatma or parmaeshwar.

Traditionally these stages are identified as baddha, mumukshu, sadhak and Siddha.

Baddha means completely oblivious to one�s true self and totally lost in one�s subjective or petty self. One can say, totally individualistic.

Mumukshu means one who gets; vague haunting �wake up� calls or promptings from within; and produce restlessness. The search of the �self� though, without direction or clarity begins. There are doubts, distractions, disturbances and overall frantic activity like that of a person who has just begun to learn swimming.

Sadhak stage begins when the mumukshu gets the guidance and direction for the search. The efforts get rectified and refined. The pace, the swiftness and the momentum increase. The progress however is full of subtle, conflicting, confusing, harrowing, dreadful spells of ordeals in physical, instinctual, emotional and intellectual realms of an individual. These are often destabilizing, uprooting and violent in nature. These ordeals destroy all kind of subjective frameworks of an individual and bring him closer to the true self i.e. objective state of existence.

Siddha is a stage; marked by the final and extremely subtle processes of dissolution of subjective or individual self into cosmic self; often not identifiable outwardly. The struggles in this stage are often beyond the comprehension through language of digits and letters. These stages are beyond the comprehension of individual consciousness and the three dimensions.

When we are in the first 3 stages of development we are tender and delicate within. We are amenable, accessible, vulnerable and susceptible to damaging and harmful influences and inflictions coming from within us; and from outside; i.e. from the people trapped in various phases of the stage of baddha.

Baddhas manifest in many ways. But; possibly the most dangerous manifestations are the powerful inflictions such as the skepticism, cynicism and sarcasm!

Skepticism, cynicism and sarcasm are denigrating, disorienting, distracting, distorting, disorganizing and devastating. They cause our downfall from being gracefully oriented to our true self; to the pitiable state of dementia or VISMARANA of our true self; and thus; suck us in the ghastly hell of VINASHA!

Hence it is said that; to prevent VINASHA; avoid those, who forget, deny or denounce God i.e. true self and/or malign their motherland, guru, mother and father! Such avoidance (physical, mental or intellectual); is possible; through the unshakable steadfastness and persistence in the practice of NAMASMARAN.