SS1-2.SS
II. PRAKRTI TATTVA AND ONM'KA'RA TATTVA
"Pra karoti iti Prakrti", that is, Prakrti means the
force creating kinds. It is on account of Prakrti alone that
the existence of man and animal, of plants and matter is
appreciated within the Eternal, Infinite and Perfect Brahma.
In other words, the Cosmic Force responsible for the
creation of this world abounding in varieties and kinds is
called Prakrti. Purus'a is only Consciousness and in absence
of the creative force, it can have no manifestation. It is,
therefore, that the presence of this Cosmic Force or Prakrti
is indispensable everywhere within the bounds of the
Creation, i. e., for creation, sustenance and destruction.
the word Prakrti is not equivalent to the word `Nature' of
the English language. As a matter of fact, Nature is the
property (Dharma) of Prakrti. whatever Prakrti does is
commonly known as Nature. Purus'a is only Consciousness. He
is the all-knowing entity and the entity that witnesses
whatever Prakrti does. Prakrti is unmanifested where
Consciousness or Purus'a is dominant - the creative force in
that state remains suspended within the scope of
Consciousness. Prakrti comprises of three attributes. It is
important to remember here that She has not been termed an
aggregate of the three attributes, that is to say, Prakrti
is the term meant to connote all the three attributes
together or a state combining them together. These three
attributes are termed Sattva (Sentient), Rajah (Mutative)
and Tamah (Static) according to the manifestations. Now, the
question arises as to what does the word attribute signify?
Does attribute (gun'a) connote the word `Quality'? No, it is
not so. The plain philosophic meaning of `gun'a' is a
`binding string' - a string used to bind some objects. Here,
`gun'a' connotes the Cosmic force whereby the Universal
Consciousness is bound to various shapes or ideas. In
English the word tendency may also be used to express the
spirit of gun'a. Where Prakrti is dormant there is no
knowledge of the `I' feeling as the object of Consciousness,
neither there is any mental vibration there. Where the
Consciousness is influenced or bound by Prakrti's
Sattvagun'a, the sense of `I' feeling or `I am' is created.
The property (Dharma) or Sattvagun'a the Universal Cosmic
Consciousness becomes circumscribed or shared into the
knowledge of existence or the `I" feeling. When the
Consciousness becomes bound by name and shape
(Philosophically termed Mahattattva) it naturally appears to
be different from its original standard. Ordinarily, none of
the gun'a of the active Prakrti occurs singly. Wherever
Sattvagun'a occurs, the possibility of the occurrence of
Rajah and Tamah cannot be excluded. this is further
clarified hereafter. The ultimate resultant state or the
static state is the characteristic of Tamogun'a. The
performance of an act must precede its result. This
performance of an act or activity is the property of
Rajogun'a. hence. Rajogun'a must inevitably exist wherever
there is Tamogun'a. For the performance of the act the 373
sense of `I' feeling (feeling of existence) must exist. Who
will perform the act in absence of the `I'? For this, it has
been said above that the characteristic of Sattvagun'a is to
impart the knowledge of existence. Similarly, wherever
Rajogun'a exists, Sattvagun'a also must be there. It has,
therefore, to be noted here that just because Sattvagun'a
exists, the possibility of coexistence of Rajogun'a or
Tamogun'a is there whether they do manifest themselves or
not. But wherever Tamogun'a exists, Sattvagun'a and
Rajogun'a also must invariably co-exist there and wherever
there is Rajogun'a, Sattvagun'a must also be there. The
characteristics of Sattvagun'a are - knowledge of existence,
imparting happiness and sense of relief. Rajogun'a is
characterized by action - to keep the `I' busy with some
act, and the characteristic of Tamogun'a is to get the
result or to enjoy the resultant shape. It is important to
remember here particularly that Sattvagun'a does not denote
inactivity - inactivity is the result of Tamogun'a.
Inactivity comprises the tranquility of Death, not the
sobriety of Knowledge. In every matter of the world, there
is incessant struggle going on between Rajogun'a and
Tamogun'a. So long as Rajogun'a prevails, there is the
graceful luster of Sattvagun'a. Look at a bud. So long as it
is blossoming, you will find that it is gradually *blooming
and the victory of Rajogun'a in the struggle with Tamogun'a
is manifested in the graceful luster of Sattvagun'a. But
when the force of Rajogun'a is spent up, the Tamogun'a
predominates every moment. The flower gradually withers and
fades, the glow of Sattva wanes and eventually, the
all-devouring hunger of Tamogun'a transforms it into a state
of crudeness that is to say, it dies. In transformation from
a sprout to a blade and from a blade to a leaf and then to
autumn defoliation, from infancy into youth and from youth
declining to old age - the struggle between Rajogun'a and
Tamogun'a is queerly manifested. This is the struggle of the
creator and the destroyer - Hari and Hara. Mind is formed by
the influence of Prakrti over Purus'a. The characteristic of
the mind is to think. When mind goes from subtleness to
crudeness and gets engrossed in material objects, the
process is termed mental detraction or "Saincara Kriya'" and
when it passes from the material objects to subtleness, it
merges into the Cosmic `I' feeling and the process is termed
mental attraction or Pratisaincara. Saincara is principally
guided by Tamogun'a and Pratisaincara by Sattvagun'a.
Saincara tends to create static feeling while Pratisaincara
promotes cosmic feelings. But the cosmic consciousness
unaffected by the detraction and attraction (Saincara and
Pratisaincara) processes from the nucleus of the cycle of
thought-waves is the knower `I" (A'tman). This cycle of
thought-waves is His object, in other words, it is He alone
who is thinking. This world of varieties or Paincabhu'ta is
the expression of the stage of maximum detraction of the
cosmic mind formed by the influence of Prakrti over Cosmic
Consciousness, Purus'a Nirgun'a where the attraction and
detraction processes do not go on making Purus'a as the
nucleus. Those who call Prakrti delusion or illusion are
mistaken. If Prakrti is an illusion, how do perceptions
occur? The imagined object may be 3m3 unreal but the fact
that imagination has been made is there.
Ya eko ja'lava'niishata iishaniibhih
Sarva'niloka'niishta iishaniibhih Ya evaeka udbhave sambhave
ca Ya etadviduramrta'ste bhavanti
Behind this world's creation, there is cosmic magician
who has created the Universe and who controls it. In fact,
whatever has been or shall be created is He and He alone.
Those who have realized this truth attain Blessedness.
Eko hi rudro na dvitiiya'ya tasthurya
ima'nlloka'niishata iishaniibhih Pratyam' Jana'm'stist'hate
sam'cukupa'ntaka'le Sam'sriijya Vishva' bhuvana' nii gopa'h
`There is only the Supreme Brahma, and no other
entity. He controls this perceptible world through His
Prakrti. At the time of Universal annihilation, the entire
creation merges in Him. He is concealing Himself in His own
created Universe.' The All-knowing entity is called
imperishable Consciousness (Aks'ara-Purus'a) because He has
not been degraded from His original (He is undecaying and
infallible). During the detraction and attraction processes
that part of Purus'a which is transformed as the object of
the knowing entity (Jina'ta' Purus'a) of the mind is known
as Ks'ar Purus'a or the perishable entity. If we call the
unit consciousness as imperishable and the unit mind as
perishable then Sagun'a Brahma will have to called
collectively perishable as well as collectively
imperishable. It is only the creation of the rollicksome
Prakrti behind transformation of the collective mind into
unit and behind the unit consciousness as the knowing entity
of the unit in its totality.
Sarvaru'pamayii devii Sarvam' devii mayam' jagat
Tato'ham vishvaru'pa'm' ta'm' nama'mi Parameshvariim
(Ma'rkan'deya Pura'n'a)
"This Universe is the form of Devii (Prakrti) alone
whatever is visible in the Universe is composed of Devii. I
bow down to the Devii assuming the image of the Universe,
the mother of the Universe." The question may arise, how was
this Prakrti created. Prakrti is the creator of the mind,
that is to say, mind has been formed by the influence of
Prakrti over Purus'a. Mind has the property to have the
knowledge of Time. There can be no comprehension of Time
without mind. The mind which measures and creates Time has
been created by Prakrti alone. For the very reason, Prakrti
is beyond the ambit of Time - She is beyond and above the
ambit of Time. She is eternal and unborn.
Aja'meka'm' lohitashukla Krs'na'm' bahviih praja'h
srjama'n'a'm svaru'pa'm 33 Ajohyeko jus'ama'nonushete
Jaha'tyen'a'n'bhuktabhoga'majo'nya (Shruti)
Prakrti Herself is unborn. Prakrti, the All-creative
and constructive Force has no progenitor. she is of red,
white and black colors; in other words, she is composed of
three colors. Sattvagun'a is white. Rajogun'a is red while
Tamogun'a is black. In the human body these colors come into
play according to different varieties of tendencies. The
color of a person is according to his tendency. It should be
remembered that the color pertains to the mind and not to
the physical body. This natural classification has no manner
of concern with the caste system founded in times of yore by
those interested in their vantage on grounds associated with
the births in particular families. It has already been said
before that the attraction towards Brahman (Pratisaincara)
is chiefly predominated by Sattvagun'a and the detraction
from Brahma (Saincara) by Tamogun'a. The attraction process
leads a living being to the realization of its Self and
ultimately merges the Mahattattva of the mind into the
Mahattattva of the Universal mind. It is for this reason
that when persons endowed with introverted sight advance
unobstructed towards the realization of Self, take shelter
of Sattvagun'a in the initial phase and then they find that
their mental horizon becomes increasingly radiant with
dispassion and resplendent flood of light. This internal
purity becomes apparent in their external activities also.
Hence a person of Sa'ttvika propensity cannot conceal
himself with any among of effort. In like manner, persons of
Ra'jasika and Ta'masika propensities also fail to conceal
themselves from the common people. When a person of
Ra'jasika propensity inclines towards Tamah, the former's
characteristic blood red color deepens and becomes dark, and
similarly a person of Ra'jasika tendency inclines towards
Sattva, the same redness expands into refulgent white. But
in Nirgun'a Brahma which is the sublimest attainment of
Sa'dhana', Prakrti becomes dormant. hence Nirgun'a Brahma is
without characteristics and the aspirants for Nirgun'a
Brahma also aspire to be extricated of all characteristics.
when the Supreme goal, Nirgun'a Brahma is free from all
attributes, the aspirants in that direction should also from
the very outset discard all attributes, externally and
internally. It is for this reason that the followers of
A'nanda Ma'rga have no caste. They do not acknowledge the
baneful and delutory man-made classifications. This
classification shall, directly or indirectly, contribute to
the propagation of the Tamogun'ii attribute, spreading
unhampered in the innermost recesses of the heart.
Varn'a'shrama'bhima'nena Shrutida'sye bhavennarah
Varn'a'shram vihiinashca vartate shruti mu'rdhan'i
Caste-vanity makes the human beings slaves of the
scriptures and they are dominated by the three gun'as. The
renouncers of caste alone attain the sublimest position
above the scope of the scriptures. O children of A'nanda
Ma'rga! you have to rise above the caste differentiations
and to attain a state beyond the 33 attributes. You must not
aspire to be the white-colored `Vipra', the blood red
colored `Ks'atriya', blood and black-colored (yellow
colored) Vaeshya or the dark colored Shu'dra. You all have
to rise above all these. To attain the state beyond the
attributes, you have to meditate of Purus'a - You have to
reflect on your universality and to know your original form.
Of course, you have to become the white-colored Vipra in the
beginning, and then shall have to shake off the Vipra
feeling and also finally to merge into the cosmic
consciousness which is free from all colors.
Daevihyes'a' gun'amayii mama ma'ya' du'ratyaya'
Ma'meva ye prapadyante ma'ya'meta'm' tarantite (Giita)
My Divine Maya, the Supreme Maya or the Cosmic Force
is comprised of three attributes. Ordinarily it is very
difficult to transgress it but only those who merge
themselves in Me or take refuge in Me can transcend Prakrti.
It is evident that when He draws the Universe by His act of
attraction towards Himself (Pratisaincara), Brahma causes
the emancipation of the living beings, with the aid of
Sattvagun'a of Prakrti. hence, the fact that Prakrti
contributes to emancipation is an admitted truth. But the
living beings have to devote themselves to Purus'a rather
than to Prakrti, in as much as they have to establish
themselves in Cosmic Consciousness throughout Eternity and
to acquire the Nirgun'a state. Their ultimate goal is the
blissful Cosmic Consciousness, which is above the influence
of Prakrti, imperishable and irreducible. the living being
under the bondage of Prakrti cannot attain that state. For
this reason, the Tantra Sa'dhaka implores.
Tvam' Vaes'n'avii Shaktiranantaviirya' Vishvasya
biijam Parama'sima'ya Sammohitam' devii samastametad
tvam'vae Prasanna' bhu'vi mukti hetuh
O' Prakrti, thou art never ending Vishnu-maya, thou
art the seed of the Universe, thou art the cause of the
Universe, thou art the Supreme Maya and the Supreme Cosmic
Force, thou hast hypnotized the creation and kept it under
the clutches of the Pa'shas and Ripu's. The gate of
emancipation opens forth only when thou art merciful. That
is why it has been said in the foregoing that the aspiration
is to be directed to the Cosmic Consciousness rather than to
Prakrti. The aspiration towards Prakrti inclines one towards
crudeness. The efforts of selfishness in pursuit of the mean
~i"-ness will go on tightening the Pa'shas imperceptibly.
There is no balance of forces in manifested Prakrti. The
incessant struggle between creation and destruction is
leading to the creation of generative forces - the skeleton
of destruction is being perfused by the vibrations of new
lives. It would not be proper to call Prakrti as the enemy
of mankind. Man, by properly employing the three attributes
can betake himself towards virtue, subtle truth and
perfection. He can elevate himself in his mental 33 horizon
with the aid of Sattvagun'a of Prakrti, operating in the
attraction process of Brahma. Is then Prakrti not
benevolent? To find fault with Prakrti without resorting to
spiritual practices betrays inactivity and this should not
be supported. Are Prakrti and Purus'a two independent
entities? No, certainly not. Of course, in philosophical
discourse, to make it intelligible to the common man these
tow terms are employed separately, out of great necessity
aforesaid, but verily they are not only inseparably related
but are interdependent just like milk and its whiteness, and
like fire and its consuming power. In the course of
Sa'dhana', when the aspirant finds Prakrti receding into
Purus'a then he comes to himself. So long as he entertains
distinction between Purus'a and Prakrti and consequently
between Brahma and self, he tries in vain to attain the
Bliss and goes on entangling himself more and more in the
web of Sam'ska'ras.
Satyaloke Nira'ka'ra' maha'jyotisvaru'pin'ii
Ma'ya'ccha'dita'tma'nam' canaka'ka'raru'pin'ii Ma'ya'
balkalam' sam'tyajya dvidha' bhinna'yadonmukhii Shivashakti
vibha'gena ja'yate srstikalpna' (Tantra)
So long as the gram does not germinate the two
internal components appear as one whole, but as soon as the
creative germ sprouts, the two pieces get separated. In the
same way, in this diverse Universe, the mystery of Purus'a
and Prakrti is evident. The more you go ahead in your
sa'dhana' of Purus'a, the more you will observe that the
Cosmic Force gets merged in you in a surrendered state. In
the state of `kaevalya' (onliness), the two entities are not
distinctly or separately available.
Tvameko dvitvama'panno Shivashaktivibha'gashah
In fact thou art one and only one. Thou art being
manifest in these two objects. This crude and subtle
Universe has originated from the thought-waves of the
universal mind created by the Prakrti of the Universal
Purus'a. But as it has been said above the nucleus of these
thought-waves is the universal undecaying Consciousness, the
central source of all enlightenment and it has, no doubt,
taken His thought-waves as the object of His mind, but
because there is nothing outside His infinite and limitless
Form, Prakrti cannot endow him with any organs (Indriyas)
nor can it set any limit of Time, Space and Person. For the
one beyond whom there is nothing, the question of receiving
or generating Tanma'tras (waves) does not arise at all.
Apa'n'ipa'do javano grahiita' Pashyatyacaks'uh
Sashrn'otyakarn'ah Sa vetti vedyam' na ca tasya'sti vetta'
tama'huragryam' purus'am' maha'ntam' (Shruti)
Shrotrasya shrotram' manaso mano yadva'ca' 3H3 hiva'co
sa u pra'nasya pra'nah caks'us'ashcaks'uratimucya dhiira'h
pretya'sma'lloka'damrtah bhavanti (Shruti)
Yanmanasa' na manute yena' hurmano matam' Tadeva
Brahma tvam' viddhinedam' yadidamupa'sate. (Shruti)
Yaccaks'us'a'na pshyati yena caks'u'm'si pashyati
Tadeva Brahma tvam' viddhinedam' yadidamupa'sate (Shruti)
With the help of Prakrti's Sattvagun'a, when the
aspirant gains access into the universal imperishable
Consciousness when his mind settles in the Universal mind,
the state is called `Savikalpa Sama'dhi'. According to
natural principles, when the aspirant takes something
limited ad perishable as the object of his attainment and
adopts it as the prop of his life, he unconsciously proceeds
towards Tamogun'a - towards crudeness, and eventually
towards animality. Tamogun'a alone is crudeness. And in this
respect Rajogun'a can be called `Inertia' and Sattvagun'a
the harmonious enlightenment. It has been said above that
ordinarily all the three attributes operate together in
everything, of course, in varying proportions. Those
predominating in Sattvagun'a are called `Sa'ttvika', those
in Rajogun'a are called `Ra'jasika' and those in Tamogun'a
are called `Ta'masika'. May whatever attribute predominate
in a particular object, the different living beings take the
same object in different lights according to the differences
in place and time, as for instance, the same aspect of the
world in the same circumstances is pleasing to some,
displeasing to some and indifferent to the rest. If a man
endowed with Sattvagun'a is a state employee and of judicial
temperament, he is a Sa'ttvika and loved by peaceloving
citizens, and for persons of wicked nature he is undesirable
and therefore unpopular and the same employee is Rajogun'i
for the people outside his jurisdiction and he is therefore
looked upon with indifference. A beautiful woman is the
beloved for her husband, indifferent for others and
undesirable for a co-wife. A Sattvagun'i always finds
Sattvagun'a in everything he aspects, so does Rajogun'ii
Rajah and Tamogun'ii Tamah. On visiting Ka'shi the righteous
persons shall associate with the sages and saints on the
bank of the Ganges and will find Ka'shi as the most sacred
place. A tourist will go round the city and find it a city
like all others, while a cheat will find this city a proper
place for his operations. The same city is visualized in
three different ways by three persons according to their
respective temperament. You shall have always to bear in
mind that you have to advance internally. You have to fight
against the Tamogun'ii crudeness with the aid of
Sattvagun'a. You have always to advance, keeping yourself
aloof from the forces and mental detraction, because that
(the detraction-force) shall throw you out toward the tumult
of crudeness. 3~3 A'tmasthitam' Shivam' tyaktva' bahistham'
yah samarcayet Hastastham' pin'dam'utsrjya bhramate
jiivita'shaya' (Shiva Sam'hita')
Idam' tiirtham'idam' tiirtham' bhramanti ta'masa'
jana'h A'tmatiirtham na ja'nanti katham' moks'o vara'n'ane
(Tantra)
Hence do not be extroverted, do not go ahead towards
your own destruction since having once fallen in the grip of
crudeness the coming out would be well-nigh impossible. The
abyss shall devour you up and you shall miss the pole star
of your life. The idolaters inadvertently adore Tamogun'a.
Brahma is Omnipresent and shines forth in the interior and
exterior of the living beings. They forget Him and mistake a
small external image as the adored object of their life and
because their mind catches the shape of that image and hears
the hallucinatory voices arising therefrom according to
their sam'ska'ras they mistake to have attained their goal.
The devotees of idols gradually deteriorate both mentally
and physically to Tamah. They become incapable of tolerating
any progressive ideal. The active propensity of Rajogun'a
and that of pure knowledge of Sattvagun'a are both
intolerable to them. They want to set back the hands of the
clock. The love for tradition is but a sign of their
crudeness. Vya'sadeva, the author of Pura'n'a, has written:
Ru'pam' ru'pavivarjitasya bhavato yaddhya'nena
kalpitam' Stutya'nirvacaniiyata'khiloguro du'riikrta
yanmaya' Vya'piitvam'ca nira'krtam' bhagavato yattiirtha
ya'tradina' ks'antavyam' jagadiisho tadvikalata' dosatrayam'
matkrtam'
Thou has no form. I have attempted to reduce thee by
giving Thee a form. By propagating the importance of holy
lands, I have tried to limit Thy all pervasiveness. I have
through prayers tried to limit to words Thy
incomprehensiveness. Oh lord, may ye pardon these three
lapses of mine caused by mental disquietude. Prakrti infuses
gun'a in Purus'a and gives it a conceivable shape. Does this
act of infusion of gun'a not cause any vibration in the body
of Purus'a? Sure it does, since wherever there is an action
there is vibration. Hence, under the influence of Prakrti,
the body of Purus'a or the Changeable Self of Sagun'a Self
experience constant vibrations. It is an external,
unprecedented, Supra-Universal and stupefying vibration.
Everyone knows that the differences of the wave lengths in
the vibrations alone generate the relative Tanma'tras
(perception-waves) sound, touch, vision, taste and smell.
The sense organs (jina'nendriyas) of the living beings
perceive them from the external worlds (Cosmic mind) and the
mind gives expression of them with the help of the motor
organs (karmendriyas). This variation in vibration is alone
responsible for the generation of white color by
Sattvagun'a, red color by Rajogun'a and dark color by
Tamogun'a. The greater the magnitude of crudeness, the
lesser is the force of vibrations there. It is for this
reason alone that Tamogun'a is colored 33 black. Black is no
color. In fact, the perception of black color is due to the
absence of all color. Likewise is the position with white
color. White is the combination of all colors. For this
reason alone, where there is perfect enlightenment, there
alone, is the white color of Sattvagun'a in the fullest
play. Exactly in the same way the subtlest Tanma'tra which
is created by vibration is the sound Tanma'tra. Onm'ka'ra is
nothing but the sound Tanma'tra created by the Universal
Cosmic mind. In the center of this Onm'ka'ra the seed of all
the sounds in the Universe is concealed. This sound
originates from the universal, undecaying self and merges
also in that Self. For this reason the great sages have said
in most unambiguous terms that by concentrating their
energies on this Onm'ka'ra, surely the aspirant will attain
the nucleus of this Universe, the Supreme Cosmic
Consciousness. Pran'ava is another name for Onm'ka'ra. The
word Pran'ava signifies Zealous devotion (Pra - Nu + Al - Nu
means to worship).
Pran'avodhanuh Sharohya'tma' Brahmatallaks'yamucyate.
Apramattena veddhavyam' Sharavattanmayo bhavet.
This Onm'ka'ra is the seed of all the alphabets, this
alone is the proclaimant and identifier of Brahma. For this
reason, this is also called Shabda-Brahma. The Shruti
says:
Sarve veda' yadpadama'mananti tapa'm'si sarva'n'i ca'
yadvadanti Yadicchantobrahmacaram' caranti tattepadam'
sam'grahena braviimyomityetat (Yajuh)
Etaddhyeva'ks'aram' Brahma etadeva'ks'aram param'
Etadeva'ks'aram' jina'tva' yo yadicchati tasyatat.
Etada'lambanam' shres't'hametada'lambanam' param'
Etada'lambanam' jina'tva' Brahmaloke mahiiyate.
Oh man! Proceed ahead on the path of Onm'ka'ra towards
subtleness. Do not run after the superficially pleasant
mirage, dominated by Tamogun'a. Establish yourself in
Sattvagun'a and then merge into Brahma. Reach the spot
whence onm'ka'ra has emerged. Awaken your dormant manliness
through Sa'dhana' and devotion. Realize the mental elevation
of divinity and merge this into the endless stream of Divine
Mercy. Attain that Supreme State wherefore you have been
proceeding forward suffering untold privations from time
immemorial and have got the favorable opportunity today to
introduce yourself to the world as man.
SS1-3.SS
ACTIONS AND THEIR RESULTS (KARMA AND KARMAPHALA)
The creation of Universe is sustained by actions
(Karma). Where there is expression, invariably there is
vibration and behind the vibration there is action. Where
the working capacity is dormant, motionless or quiescent,
there are no waves, nor is there any expending evolution of
life and spirit. There the Cosmic consciousness is lying in
Blessedness as if it were a tranquil, serene and boundless
ocean. When the surface of this ocean is agitated by gust of
wind, surging wavesets are created. For this reason when the
unmanifested Cosmic Consciousness is tossed by Prakrti then
there starts the concourse of the refulgence of expression.
This Universe, full of fleeting shows and wonders, is the
crude manifestation of the same Cosmic Consciousness. The
subtle entity operating behind this crudeness results from
the domination of Prakrti over Purus'a. In situations where
the Cosmic Consciousness is less intense, the influence of
Prakrti is proportionately more pronounced. The bondage of
Prakrti in this limitless field of activities of Universal
Prakrti and Universal Purus'a, called Sagun'a Brahma, is
less tight than the bondage of Prakrti on the finite
objects. What, after all, is a piece of stone? It is a
finite manifestation of Purus'a where Tamogun'a is extremely
dominant and as a result of this, the Consciousness in shape
of Purus'a appears as crude - Men of ordinary prudence take
the Purus'a dominated by Tamah as crude (Jad'a). The names
are assigned to different objects according to the variation
in the degrees of crudeness of consciousness. In fact, in
this perceptible world, every object is pervaded by
Tamogun'a for the simple reason that nothing is free from
the bondage of Prakrti. Why is man said to be the highest
creature? It is only because the Consciousness in man is
very highly developed. Man desires to attain happiness from
within the subtle entity rather than from the crude objects.
This insatiable hunger of his leads him towards Divine
happiness. In those units where the consciousness is
moderately developed, that is to say, where the entire
consciousness has not been overpowered by crudeness, there
is the endeavor for self evolution and for achieving
happiness. The strong display of Rajogun'a in Prakrti is an
outcome of this effort. For the sake of self-preservation,
one cannot remain in the state of inaction, because inaction
is indicative of death, not of life. Now, the question may
arise that when every entity is composed of the three gun'as
does the dead body not contain them? The answer is not very
far to seek. And the signs of the so-called crudeness exist
in the dead body. For this reason alone, in spite of the
fact that the three gun'as exist there, Rajogun'a
predominates due to Sattva and Rajah being only indistinctly
expressed. Therefore, there is no propensity for action and
far less the capability for it. Then we arrive at this
conclusion that every thing existent is pervaded by the
three gun'as but in accordance with the variation of their
proportion, Prakrti is dynamic in certain situations and
inert in others. According to both Science and Philosophy,
every action has reaction and is coexistent with the
original action, whether the action be a physical one or
only a psychic vibration. For example, suppose you have
committed a theft through the hands. Here, no doubt, you are
the committer of this act of theft. But supposing that for
fear of public scandal or state punishment, instead of
stealing through your own hands, you got the theft committed
by others or stole only mentally, are you not the committer
of this theft from behind the scene? Therefore, if you think
that you will not reap the consequence for the theft
committed mentally, you are wrong. The potentiality of
reaction or Sam'ska'ra that you beget through physical or
mental action, have to be endured by some other act
inevitably. Thus you see that the consequence of all actions
has to be reaped by some other actions. But when you do
another act for reaping the consequence of the previous one,
you are not an independent agent of yours. At that time you
act mechanically propelled by the reaction of previous acts
and you are obliged to do some undesirable acts that brings
to you disgrace, accusation and affliction. You upbraid
yourself and regret at leisure for it. You become incapable
to avoid it, as if your hands and feet are fettered. So long
as you consider your identity separate from the Supreme
Brahma and so long as you are engrossed with the `individual
I' you will have to continue to perform actions and
inevitably earn the reactions thereto, which when in
potential form is known as Sam'ska'ra. In order to have
these seeds of reaction grown, you will certainly have to
select anew physical form. In other words, you will have to
subject yourself to the cycle of birth and death in this
revolution of Karma, like the oil-mill bullocks. Both Moks'a
and Mukti (Emancipation and Salvation) will remain remote
from you, beyond your access. If you make your mean ego the
object of your A'tman, all actions of yours may be source of
enjoyment but not of your salvation.
A'sana ma're kya'hua', jo gayii na man kii a's Jyon
kothu' ke bael ko, ghar hi kos paca's.
Does not the oil-mill bullock move on? It keeps going
round the day. But though it may walk even fifty miles, it
does not advance even the least, being tied to the pillar of
the oilexpresser. Likewise, is it not that those working
with the `Unit `I'' as the object are similar to the bullock
of the oil-expressing machine?
Ya'vannaks'iiyate karma Shubham'ca'shubhamevaca
ta'vannaja'yate moks'o nrna'm' kalpashataerapi Yatha'
Laohamayaeh pa'shaeh svarnam ayaerapi tatha' baddho
bhavejjiivo karma'bhishca'shubhaeshubhaeh (Tantra)
In other words until the actions whether good or bad
are annihilated, man cannot attain salvation (Moks'a). Can
eh gold chain be looser and less torturing that then iron
chain to a man in bondage? Similarly, the bondage of bad
actions is exactly as tight as that of good ones. 3n3
Na'bhuktam ks'iiyate karma kalpakotishataerapi Avashyameva
bhoktavyam krtam' karma shubha'shubham
Therefore, for the salvation or emancipation, it is
incumbent to be liberated from the bondage of Sam'ska'ras.
The question is, how to attain salvation? When it is
essential to act for maintaining one's existence, how is it
possible to keep off the cycle of action? It is known from
philosophic propositions that the attainment of Mukti
(emancipation) or Moks'a (salvation) is possible only
through spiritual practices (Sa'dhana'). This ipsofacto
signifies that there is certainly some means to attain
liberation from Sam'ska'ras. There are three processes for
attaining freedom from the bondage of action (1)
Relinquishment of the desire of the fruits of action
(Phala'ka'm'ks'a' Tya'ga). (2) Abandoning the vanity of
performance of an act (Kartrtva'bhima'na Tya'ga), and (3)
Surrendering all actions unto Brahma. How to employ the
different means for the performance of the different actions
are set forth below. All of these have to be considered in
the individual life, but it must be borne in mind that the
above three rules have to be strictly observed conjointly
and not severally. To be more explicit, it may be said that
these rules are the different aspects of one and the same
process.
(1) Relinquishment of the desire of the fruits of
actions (Phala'ka'm'ks'a' Tya'ga): - A man performs all acts
with one object or the other. No act can be accomplished
without an object. For example, some one is studying in M.
A. Does he not aim to pass his M. A.? The aim will have to
be maintained. But if he only broods over the aim and does
not strive for attaining it, can he be successful in
achieving his aim? What is the significance of reflecting
over or striving for the achievement of an aim? For
instance, suppose a piece of iron is tossed upwards. The
higher it will go, the more it will gain the force of coming
down, and as soon as the its force for going up is
exhausted, it will come down with the same force as it went
up. This is natural, an invariable law of Prakrti, that is
to say, with every thought or deed the reactions in
potentiality will inevitably have to be accumulated. As soon
as any act is accomplished, the growth of the potentiality
of reactions is stopped and this potential energy is
invariably transformed into the reactions of the actions
performed. Therefore, it has been said in the Giita
Karman'yeva'dhika'raste ma' phales'u kada'cana
thus man has the control to the deeds alone, and not
to the fruits thereof. when we have no command over the
results it is vain to brood over the result or that
attainment of the objects striven for. No, there is no use
brooding over it. Is it not reasonable only to keep on
working for the accomplishment of an act? To continue to
work in this is relinquishment of the desire of the fruits
of actions (Phala'ka'm's'a Tya'ga).
(2) Abandoning the vanity of performance of an act
(Kartrtva'bhima'na Tya'ga) - Ordinarily man performs actions
with 33 certain objects in view, but still there are many a
man who perform the action not with a view to the result
thereof, but only for the sake of self-satisfaction or do
the actions as if it is their duty, and feel elevated with
vanity within themselves. Suppose, a particular person has
donated one lakh rupees to a certain institution. But his
mind is not at peace until he finds the news of his donation
published in the newspapers in the following morning. All
through the night he restlessly awaits for the morning. He
feels gratified to find at tea at dawn break the news of his
donation in the newspapers. Thus, we see that mere
renunciation of the fruits of actions won't do, since the
vanity of having performed an act or the desire of seeing
the news of gift published in the newspapers and the like all contribute to the formation of mental vibrations and the
Sam'ska'ras continue to multiply as before.
Karmakleshavipa'ka'shaerapara'mrs't'ah Purus'o
vishes'a iishvarah
That is, we would use the term "Iishvara" for the
Purus'a uninfluenced by actions, afflictions, results or
objectives. It is for this reason that one has to be
actions-free in order to merge into `Iishvara'. But we have
seen above that so long as Prakrti's dominancy prevails, it
is not possible to be actions-free. We have seen from the
above illustration that merely by relinquishing the desire
or pursuit of fruits of actions it is hard to get rid of the
vanity of a doer, of the idea that `I do', in as much as we
cannot extricate ourselves from the objects of our actions
or from the contemplation of its accomplishment. To avoid
these, one has always to contemplate that he is a machine
and Brahma alone is the Machine-Man who gets the work done
through this machine. But this also is not sufficient to
eradicate the vanity of a doer. The reason is that he may be
actuated by the belief that although he is a machine, yet he
is superior to others in that he has been selected by the
MachineMan for that particular action being performed at
that point of time. To spare ourselves from such thoughts,
the belief has to be developed that Brahma gets himself
attended to or favored through Himself, that is to say, He
inspires us to donate and again He receives the same through
others. It is simply His grace that we act and have the
favorable opportunity of performing this act. It is possible
to eschew the doer's vanity (Kartrtava'bhima'na Tya'ga) by
developing this belief.
(3) Surrendering all actions unto Brahma. - But all is
not over by renouncing the desire of results or abandoning
the doer's vanity. So long as Prakrti is active, Rajogun'a
is there, begetting actions. Doing an act assuredly means
running into the cycle of action. What, then, is the way
out? The only way to surrender all the actions to Brahma and
to take every action as performed by Brahma. Then and then
alone actions and their reactions will not be liable to be
called our own. The actions have been performed by Brahma
Himself and their consequences whether good or bad will be
born by Him alone. In that case we have no separate
identity. It is expedient to observe here that many 33
people do not do anything for the fear of bringing forth
reactions, in other words, apparently they become indolent.
But can they really become devoid of actions? Because though
not acting externally, their heart and other organs do not
cease to function. Moreover, inactivity or apparent inaction
can never be commended. Those who have surrendered all
actions unto Brahma have no reason to fear to act. Exactly
with the same emphasis it can be said that `Vikarma' which
enslave men to their nature detracts them from Brahma and
weans them away from Him. The way to escape this is to keep
the mind completely engrossed in Brahma. Sannya'sa means
surrendering the mind to the Supreme Object or Brahma. For
this reason, those who have surrendered their mind to Brahma
are the real Sannya'sins. In this connection, there is a
befitting illustration in the Maha'bha'rata Draopadi
inquired from Yudhisthira why he was undergoing the
privations of exile in spite of his virtuous actions, while
according to ordinary laws of Nature he ought to be rolling
in happiness. To this Yudhisthira replied
Karma kari jei jana phala'ka'm'ks'ii haya Banikera
mato sei va'nijya karaya Phala lobhe karma kare, lubdha boli
tare Lobhe punah punah pad'e narak dustare A'mi' ja'ha'
Karma Kari phala'ka'm'ks'ii naii Samarpana kari sarva
Iishvarer t'ha'nii (Kashii Ramdas' Maha'bha'rata)
"The man who solicits fruits for his action is no
better than a businessman. He who acts for a gain is called
a greedy person and acting under the influence of greed
carries him to the dark hell. I do not act for any fruit
rather I surrender all my actions unto Brahma." It is
invariably seen that the separate identity of the soul is
completely dissolved by completely submitting the mind to
Brahma as observed above. Consequently, man qualifies
himself for the attainment of emancipation (Mukti) or
salvation (Moks'a).
SS1-4.SS
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE AND THE COSMIC SCIENCE (Sa'dhana'
and Madhuvidya')
The object of the ordinary mind, be it external or
internal, is the outcome of the Pa'incabhaotika elements. In
order to maintain its independent existence the mind has to
stick to some object. An object surely means a region. Just
as living being, in order to maintain its physical existence
has to inhabit any physical space, the mind also for
maintaining its subtle entity, has to stick to some object
of requisite subtlety. Time and space are indispensable for
maintaining individuality. It is for this reason that the
individual mind is ever in quest of one object or the other.
The mind turns away from those objects which cannot properly
afford for the materialization of the Sam'ska'ras or from
those which are used up and exhausted, and it then moves
towards a new object. This upheaval of the mind is never
ending: The more intense the desire for materialization of
its Sam'ska'ra's, the more swiftly the mind wanders from one
object to another. This is called unsteadiness of the mind.
The question may arise, what will happen to the mind if it
is completely weaned from objects? To this, the answer is
that the mind will be dissolved - it will be obliterated.
Efforts for self protection is natural, and for this reason
the mind in an effort for self-sustenance, constantly runs
after the retreat of its objects. It has already been said
that the object of the ordinary mind is always compiled from
the world of the well-knit five, created out of the
Pa'incabhaotika elements. What is the form of the
Pa'incabhaotika world and of what property is its subjective
mind made of? From the philosophic point of view, there is
an eternal infinite consciousness all around. So long as
this entity of consciousness maintains itself in its
original state, there is no question of a subject or an
object, nor of knowledge and the knower. But when a part of
the it comes under the sway of Prakrti, then appears the
knowledge of existence of the `I'feeling. This very
`I'-feeling appears at that time as the object of Purus'a or
the Cosmic Consciousness. This pervading effect of the
`I'-feeling is called mind. It has three grades of the
`I'feeling - Mahattattva (I am), Aham'tattva (I do or I am
the master) and Citta (the resultant `I'). This mind
constitutes the initial degeneration of Purus'a and forms
its objects. It has been said that this manifested world is
the object of this mind. It proves that Purus'a does not
make any enjoyment of the pa'incabhaotika universe at all.
It is only the mind which enjoys and Purus'a only remains a
witnessing entity of the workings of the experiencing mind.
The objects of gratification of the two higher states of the
mind namely, Mahattattva and Aham'tattva are sustained,
manifested and formed in its stratum of the Citta. If a
person derives pleasure in taking palatable food, who is the
subject of this gratification? It is the two strata of the
mind, the Mahattattva and the Aham'tattva. Now, what is the
object of gratification? It is the food which is the object
of gratification. Yes, so it appears superficially, but as a
matter of fact, so long as 393 the feeling of palatability
in the shape of vibratory waves of touch and taste is not
taken up by the corresponding sense-organs and until on
reaching the Citta, it affects it in that very tone, the
mind does not experience the pleasure, notwithstanding the
fact that palatable food was taken. It is for this reason
that a person working with an indifferent mood does not
derive the due pleasure in doing any interesting work or
even in taking one's food. Its reason is this that at that
time the Citta is partially engaged otherwise and cannot
consequently give relevant form to the vibratory waves of
the object of gratification. From this we arrive at the
conclusion that the mind never enjoys the original object.
It enjoys but the reflected shadows of the objects. Catching
the shadows compiled from the pa'incabhaotika physical
world, man mistakes to think to have realized his goal. If
the mind really desires to enjoy anything, it should adopt
the opposite course. The mind shall have to be extricated
from the world of the well-knit Five which have been created
as a result of the crudest manifestation of the Cosmic
mind-stuff, and it shall have to adopt as its object the
Universal Purus'a - the original constituent of the Cosmic
mind=stuff. The object of Purus'a is the mind and if Purus'a
became the object of the mind, then in that stage, as a
result of their proximity developing into union the
subjective feeling of each shall disappear. this very union
is called Yoga. In other words, it is the union of the unit
`I' centered in the mind, with the Universal Purus'a.
Sam'yogo yogo itukto Jiiva'tma'n Prama'tmanah
But if a person desires to merge into the Purus'a
retaining his `I' feeling, then he will not be completely
free from objects. In that state, the Universal mind of the
Universal Purus'a shall constitute his object. We call this
state `Savikalpa Sama'dhi'. If there is no anxiety about the
`I' and if there be no desire for preserving the separate
entity of the `I' this state of complete freedom from
objects or thoughts is the state of salvation and is called
`Nirvikalpa Sama'dhi'.
Sarvacinta' Paritya'go niscinto yogaucyate
Purus'a is the only entity of Knowledge. He alone is
knowledge personified or Knowledge Itself. Just as the sun
is light itself - on cursory view it does not seem to glow
with borrowed light. The motion towards the knowledge
Absolute would be called the process to Knowledge and the
motion towards the shadows of Pa'incabhaotika elements
created by the thought-waves of the Cosmic mind is
diametrically opposed to it. It can be more lucidly
explained in this manner. The Omniscient Brahma alone is
Truth Absolute and this Pa'incabhaotika universe is the
result of the domination of Prakrti over Him. Could we have
enjoyed the Pa'incabhaotika world, we would assert that we
enjoy the shadow or imagination of the waves of the cosmic
mind, but in reality none of us can enjoy this
Pa'incabhaotika world. We enjoy that relative shape which
our sense-organs after receiving the reflections or
Tanma'tras, convey to the mind-stuff, in other words, we
experience but the reflections of shadows only.
A'tmajina'nam vidurjina'nam' jina'nanyanya'niya'nitu
Ta'nijina'na'vabha'sa'ni sa'rasya'naevabodhana't
But merely by seeing the reflection or shadow, can we
realize the real Purus'a? No, certainly not. From the shadow
of a tree we cannot say whether it is a mango tree or a
jackfruit-tree or a lichee tree. To know the tree it is
necessary to look at the tree, not at its shadow. To know
Brahma, it is no use keeping oneself engrossed in His
illusory reflections. All the tendencies shall have to be
applied towards His original self. Just as the egoistic mind
is the subject of the living being, so is Purus'a the
subject of mind. In special circumstances, we call this
Purus'a as the unit soul (Jiva'tma'n). Therefore, by
advancing in that direction, that is, only on attaining his
original form, man can be liberated from this illusory
world. Attaining one's original self is attaining the
Universal Purus'a. The object-free Universal soul are
perfectly one and the same entity.
A'tmajina'midam'a devii Param' moks'aekasa'dhanam'
Sukrtaerma'nnavobhutva' jina'niicenmoks'ama'pnuya't (Tantra)
This knowledge cannot be attained by reading of books
alone. It needs earnestness, it needs spiritual practice,
that is to say, one has to pursue one's path with Brahma as
the destination. If all the tendencies are inclined towards
Him, they would become subtler and subtler and will
ultimately merge in Him. when there are no tendencies there
is no mind. You will go beyond the access of the mind. You
will be released from the feeling of pain and pleasure, and
will attain the Self ultimately.
Tada'dras'tu Svaru'pevastha'nam'
One has to advance, keeping the mind scrupulously away
from the vices, with full endeavors. Never let your mind's
purity be polluted in any way. After practicing this for
sometime, you will observe that the very mind that has been
the sustainer of your vile tendencies has become you
greatest friend. All your purposes will then be served by
your mind. Let it have constant inspiration from you soul.
Enlighten your mind with the refulgence of the soul. The
Absolute Truth will reveal Itself in you automatically.
Rtambhara tatra prajina - Patainjala
Those who adopt the reverse course are really
ignorant, in that by dedicating themselves to a crude
object, they transform their mind gradually into crudeness.
By gradual degeneration, their mind-stuff reaches a stage
when they do not merit even to be called human beings. Who
can say that the fire-burnt cane has been transformed into
the plaintain-tree and the decomposed beef has been
transformed into onion through natural changes and that
their rice-water has produced gendhari (Sam'skrta tan'd'ularaka) leaves? Likewise none will be able to 33
recognize you as a human being in your degenerated
condition. Do not, therefore, dedicate yourself to crude
objects. Permit not yourself to be carried away beyond
yourself by impulses and by tendencies. The extroverted
tendency and the dedication to these crude objects are sure
impediments to the realization of self.
Uttamo Brahma sadbhavo madhyama' dhya'nadha'ran'a'
Japastutisya'dadhama' murti puja'dhama'dhama' (Tantra)
The mind is extroverted by idol worship and is
attracted towards the crude finite objects. If the mental
force is directed towards the finite and crude objects, it
culminates into conversion of oneself into crudeness, for
that, you would become as you think. In the name of
Universal All-pervading entity, idol worship is not
permissible. The idol is a finite object. Is it not
self-contradictory to call Brahma as the All-Pervasive Being
and to advocate idol worship, in the same train? If the idol
is Brahma, the seat where it is installed is certainly
outside Him! It is simply a paradox. It occurs in the
Rgveda:
"Sahasrashiirs'ah purus'ah sahasra'ks'asahsrapa't
Sabhumirvishvato vrtva' atyatis't'haddasham'gulam (Rgveda
Purus'asu'ktam)
Poet Shri Dvijendra Lal Rai has echoed the same
thoughts in his verses
"Pratima' diye ki pujibo tomare, vishva nikhila
toma'ri pratima, Mandira toma'ra ke gad'ibo ma'go mandira
ja'ha'ra ananta niilima; Pratima'toma'ra graha. ta'ra',
ravi, sa'gara, nirjhara, bhu'dhara, atavi, Nikunja bhavana,
Basanta pavana. taru'lata phalphu'la madhu'rima. Satiira
pavitra pra'nya' madhuma'shishur ha'siti jananiira cuma
Sa'dhura bhakati pranibha' sakati toma'ri madhurii toma'ri
mahima' Jei dike cai e nikhil bhu'mi saba dike mago,
vira'jicha tumi Ki griis'me kishiite, divase nishiithe,
vikashitatavavibhava garima' (Shri Dvijendra Lal Rai).
The vedic sages have also said:
Tadevagni stada'ditya stadva'yustaducandrama' Tadeva
Shukram' tadbrahma tada'pastad praja'patih
Tvam'striitvam'pumanasi tvam'kuma'ra uta va'kuma'rii Tvam'
jiirn'adand'enavanacayasi tvam' jato bhavashi vishvato
mukhah Ja'ke rup na ja'e bakha'ni.
But in the mundane life, finite objects are
indispensable. Preservation of existence cannot be possible
by pursuing 33 the path of "Shreya" (the ultimate goal)
alone, all the time. when it is settled that Shreya alone is
necessary for one's supreme spiritual progress, only Shreya
shall have to be pursued, and not Preya (the immediate and
superficial gain). It occurs in the Veda:
Anyacchreyo'nyadutaeva preyaste ubhe na'na'rthe
purus'am sinnitah Tayoh Shreya a'dada'nasya sadhu
bhavatihiiyate rtha'd ya u preyo vrn'iite Shreyasca preyasca
manusyametastao sampariitya vivina ti dhiirah. Shreyo hi
dhiiro' bhippreyaso vrn'iite preyo mando yogaks'ema'd
vrn'iite (Katho'panisada)
Then the question arises, how will the aspirant
maintain his existence during the period of spiritual
practices when he cannot be advised to pursue "Preya" of any
sort? Therefore, he will have to deal with "Preya" in such a
manner that it may not become a cause of his bondage or of
extroversion of tendencies, but it may lead him to the
introversion of tendencies and thereby to Mukti
(emancipation). This skill in known as "Madhuvidya".
Madhuvidya' teaches you that you can endeavor to attain
Mukti (emancipation) even while leading a worldly life,
provided of course, that before dealing with any object of
gratification, you take it with Cosmic feelings. while
feeding your son, you ought to contemplate that you are not
feeding your son, but are giving a proper deal to the
manifestation of Brahma in the shape of your son. When you
plough your land, you ought to contemplate that you are
giving a proper deal to the manifestation of Brahma in the
shape of your land. If you properly follow Madhuvidya' you
can keep yourself aloof from the shackles of actions even
though you perform actions. This Madhuvidya' will pervade
your exterior and interior with the ecstasy of Brahma'nanda.
This pervasion will alleviate permanently all your
affliction. Then Avidya' cannot come to you with its
ferocious jaws wide open to devour you up. the glory of One
and only One Benign Entity will shine forth to you from one
and all objects.
Idam' ma'nus'am' sarves'a'm' bhu'ta'na'm' Madhvasya
ma'nus'asya sarva'ni bhu'ta'ni' madhuh Ayama'tma' sarvesa'm'
bhu'ta'na'm' madvasya' a'tmanah sarva'ni bhu'ta'ni madhuh
SS1-5.SS
THE BASE AND THE RELATIVE TRUTH (A'dha'ra and
A'peks'hika Satya)
The beginning and end of Dha'rmika Sa'dhana' hinge on
only one point, and that is the purity and sanctity of the
base. Base alone is responsible for the privations and
afflictions of man. If the base is firm, privations are not
privations and afflictions are not afflictions. A'dha'ra
(Base) - A base is indispensable for every finite object,
since it is on account of the base that one object is
distinguishable from others. No two living beings have an
identical base. Every living being carves out for its
existence a distinct base from the Universal Cosmic Self,
according to its Sam'ska'ras. The root "Ci" with the suffix
"Ghain" makes the word "Ka'ya" which itself signifies
selection. It is from the mental body of the Supreme Brahma
that the living being carves out its base. The living being
is the ma'nas putra (mental son) of the Supreme Brahma. The
mental body of the Supreme Brahma is created as a result of
the domination of Prakrti over the Supreme Purus'a.
Therefore, the physical body of the living being is a
creation of Prakrti and it is bound to abide by the laws of
Prakrti. The infinite Being is not in necessity of a
physical body, and therefore, it has only a mental body.
That alone which is not infinite needs a bound or
limitation. Prakrti is composed of three distinct attributes
namely, Sattva, Rajah, and Tamah. It is on account of the
influence of these attributes of Prakrti that Purus'a
realizes respectively "I am", "I do" and "I am the object".
Would only one of the three attributes of Prakrti have
dominated Purus'a there could have been no change at all.
The constant changes testify that not only one but all the
three gun'as (attributes) are operating all around in the
Universe. (1) Bhu'rloka - Crudeness is dominant everywhere
in the Pa'incabhaotika world. Here, the influence of
Tamogun'a is the strongest. Be it the physical or the subtle
body, all the three gun'a (attributes) of Prakrti are
undoubtedly existing there. Brahma has only a mental body.
The Pa'incabhaotika world has been created only for the
crudest manifestation of this very mental (subtle) body. But
wherever it may be, not only one attribute but all the three
occur there, of course, varying in magnitude. The physical
world is characterized by crudeness. Hence Tamogun'a is
dominant here, Rajah is ordinary and Sattva is recessive. In
Sam'skrta it is called Bhu'rloka. This is the crudest mental
manifestation of Brahma. Of the seven strata, the greatest
crudeness exists in Bhu'rloka and lesser than it in the
Bhu'varloka, the crude or lower mental sphere. Here
Tamogun'a is dominant, Rajogun'a is negligible and
Sattvagun'a is ordinary. It is the mind which works in
conception, concentration and meditation, as well as in
distinction of high and low.
Mano Karoti Karmani Bhu'varloka: - It is that stratum
of the mind which is engaged in the working of the physical
body. All the tendencies like appetite, avarice, sleep,
indolence are relating 393 to the physical body. The
vibrations or pulsations of these potentialities as a whole
take place in the Bhu'varloka. It is from this stratum that
the crudest aspect of the unit mind is created and this is
called Ka'ma-Deha or Ka'mamaya Kos'a. For the reason that
Brahma has no physical body, there is no Ka'mamaya body,
capable for the performance of the functions of the physical
body, but from the crudest mental manifestation of His mind,
there is the creation of Bhu'varloka as the stage precedent
to the creation of the Bhu'rloka. through His Bhu'varloka He
enjoys internally His mentally created Pa'incabhaotika
world. (3) Svarloka: - It is Svarloka which is called the
Manomaya world. It is in this stratum that a man experiences
pleasure and pain. Where the mind experienced pleasure and
pains is called the Manomaya world. In Sam'skrta, heaven
(Svarga) and Svarloka are synonymous. Pleasure seeking
persons perform righteous deeds actuated with the motive of
attaining heaven and relinquishing the mortal body. The
Sam'ska'ras exist in this very Manomaya world or Manomaya
Kos'a, known as the pure mental sphere. Here Rajogun'a
exists in minor degrees. Sam'ska'ra is generated in the
Svarloka. It is the popular belief among the Christians, the
Mohammedans, the Jains, and the ritualistic Hindus that the
fruits of virtuous deeds are enjoyed in Svarloka or heaven.
(4) Maharloka: - Another name for Maharloka in Sam'skrta is
Atima'nas Loka, meaning thereby the Supramental sphere.
Here, Rajogun'a is conspicuous, Sattvagun'a is less
conspicuous and Tamogun'a is insignificant. In this very
stratum, the Sam'ska'ras pulsate first of all. The human
mind is propelled through the Sam'ska'ras to undergo the
reactions of its acts. The first vibration of the collection
of Sam'ska'ras is created in this very sphere. Suppose, a
man has to visit a cholera-stricken place. Even before going
there some on whispers in his mind that he too will fall a
victim to cholera. This is the function of the Atima'nas
Sphere. On his going there, it was noticed that he actually
got cholera. The first yearnings for Sa'dhana' also or the
initial throbbings of strong desire as well take place in
this sphere. In the very sphere, the inspiration of the soul
for the first time becomes active. For this reason it is
found that the potentials of Sa'dhana' or their
classification for different persons germinate in this
sphere. (5) Janarloka (Subliminal stratum): - This is called
Vijina'namaya Loka. true knowledge, wisdom and renunciation
dominate in this sphere. These attributes are sometimes
conspicuous even in pleasure-seeking persons, but there are
obstacles on the way on account of the dominance of Bhu'h,
Bhu'vah, etc. In this Janarloka, Sattvagun'a is most
conspicuous, Tamogun'a is less conspicuous and Rajogun'a is
insignificant. (6) Tapah Loka: This called the Hiran'yamaya
Loka. In the Hiran'yamaya Loka, Sattvagun'a is most
conspicuous, Rajogun'a is less conspicuous and Tamogun'a is
least conspicuous. Here, knowledge is in an unmanifested
state and even the ego or the `I' feeling is not clearly
manifest but it exists in latent state. There are no English
equivalents for the names of the spheres above the
Janarloka. 3p3 (7) Satya Loka: - The three gun'as
(attributes) are present here also but they are not
manifest. Here Purus'a is dominant. Purus'a alone is
manifest in this sphere. Satya loka is the state of Nirgun'a
Brahma. In the manifested Universe, there are seven regions.
Except the Satyaloka the other six spheres are refulgent on
account of the variation in the proportion of the gun'as.
Every living being needs a base. In the absence of a base,
they merge into the ocean of the Cosmos. Suppose, there is a
cup of water in a pond. So long as the cup exists the water
in the cup also exists. but if the cup is removed, the water
contained in the cup will merge with that of the pond. The
base of that water was the cup. Only on the removal or the
cup, the water therein has merged into the water of the
pond. Similarly, the soul also merges into Brahma when there
is no base to embody it. (1) Annamaya Kos'a: - Even after
the annihilation of the base from the A'tma'n, the
Sam'ska'ra does not separate from the A'tma'n (unit soul).
How does this phenomenon occur? Hiran'yamaya Loka is the
subtlest body of the human being. The living being carves
out a physical body for itself from the Bhu'rloka where
Tamogun'a is dominant. Rajogun'a is ordinary and Sattvagun'a
is negligible. Another name for this in Sam'skrta is
Annamaya Kos'a. This body is formed through food. (2)
Ka'mamaya Kos'a: - The mind works behind the body. The mind
is formed by the Ka'mamaya Kos'a known as the crude mental
body. Here Tamogun'a is dominant. Sattvagun'a is
intermediate and Rajogun'a is insignificant. (3) Manomaya
Kos'a: - The force behind the Ka'mamaya body, that is, the
pure mental body is the Svarloka, the mental sphere of the
Supreme Brahma. Above the Ka'mamaya body there is an
ordinary mind which is created by the Manomaya Kos'a. Here,
in this Manomaya Kos'a, Rajogun'a is dominant, Tamogun'a is
ordinary and Sattvagun'a is insignificant. The force behind
the mind is the Atima'nas body or shell which has been
created by the Maharloka. Here Rajogun'a is dominant,
Sattvagun'a is ordinary and Tamogun'a is insignificant. A
Kos'a (shell) means a body. The four spheres comprehend the
three shells. (4) Vijina'namaya Kos'a: - It is here that the
Sam'ska'ras exist. Here Sattvagun'a is dominant, Tamogun'a
is ordinary and Rajogun'a is insignificant. This mental body
is known as the Vijina'namaya kos'a. This sphere is the
Janarloka of Brahma. (5) Hiran'yamaya Kos'a: - This very
sphere is known as the Tapa Loka. Here, Sattva is dominant.
Rajogun'a is ordinary and Tamogun'a is insignificant. The
meaning of the word Hiran'yamaya is gold or golden.
Satyaloka is that state where nothing other than the
Allpervading Absolute Truth is available. There is no idea
of dualism that is generated by crudeness or is an outcome
of degeneration. The soul in its subtlest form of body
remains in that life-giving sphere of eternal Satya Loka.
Its position is above Hiran'yamaya Kos'a.
Hiran'yamaya pare Koshevira'jam' Brahma nisoalam'
Tacchubhram' jyotis'a'm' jyotishtad yada'tmavidoviduh. 33 On
account of the influence of Prakrti, the same Brahma appears
containing all the seven spheres, that is to say, it is only
for the manifestation of the seven fold spheres that
Mahattattva etc. have been created. It is from the
Pa'incabhaotika elements, the crudest manifestation of HIs
mental body that the Jiiva'tma'n carves out its physical
Pa'incabhaotika body or the Annamaya kos'a, in accordance
with its Sam'ska'ras. With the aid of that very Annamaya
Kos'a or the physical organs, it makes efforts to derive
pleasure by enjoying the objects of the exterior world.
Virtually, there is all around a single undivided entity.
The difference between a unit soul (Jiiva'tma'n) and the
Universal Soul (Parama'tma'n) is radically connotative.
While with the connotation universal Mahat or universal
Aham', He is the Supreme Brahma, He becomes a unit soul with
the denotation of Pa'incabhaotika body acquired in
accordance with the Sam'ska'ras.
Tayorvirodh'yam upa'dhi kalpito nava'stvah
kasheihupa'dhiresah. Iisha'dyama'ya' mahadadika'ran'am'
Jivasya ka'ryam' shrn' upancakos'am
Sa'dhana' teaches elimination of this very connotative
difference.
Eta'vupa'dhi para Jiivayostayo Samyagnirh'se na para
na jiivo.
Ra'jyam' harendrasya bhat'asya khat'akastayo raphone
na bhat'o na Ra'ja'.
The very person who is called a king by virtue of
royal insignia may be called wrestler if he holds a cudgel.
As for instance, Vishvanath will be known as a kind if he is
decorated with royal insignia, whereas he will called a
wrestler if he holds a cudgel. But Vishvanath continues to
remain the same Vishvanath on withdrawing the royal insignia
and the cudgel. Likewise, the difference between Jiiva (unit
soul) and Parama'tma'n (Universal soul) is on account of the
difference in connotation. On eliminating the connotative
distinction from the unit soul, it merges into Brahma. What
there is no connotative distinction, there is Satya and that
is the true recognition. Sa'dhana' is meant for this, that
is to say, Sa'dhana' is the establishment of Satya after
foiling the untrue. The Lokas and Kos'as are all
degenerations, not the Absolute Truth.
Difference or distinction between Truth and fiction:
Satya is immutable. If it mutates, it is not Satya in
that mutated state. Satya is that alone which does not vary.
It maintains one unaltered state in all times - past,
present and future. Because of its immutable characteristic
in all times past, present and future - it is not only
beyond the bound of time (Ka'la'tiita) but also beyond the
bound of space (Desha'tiita) and beyond the bound of forms
(Pa'tra'tiita). It is 33 thus beyond the bound of time,
space and form. It has no differences even in the different
parts of its own Being. Even one portion does not differ
from another. Brahma or Satya is an indivisible,
uninterruptible and an immutable entity. Satya knows no
difference. Then can He have any difference with the
external objects? No, there can be no difference anywhere,
within or without. Nothing can exist outside Him. If
anything would have existed outside Him, there must have
been differences. No object can exist beyond Him. That which
is indivisible is infinite. hence anything identical with
Him shall also be contained within Him. Satya knows no
difference whether of the same species (Svaja'tiiya) or of
other species (Vija'tiiya) or in different parts of the same
body (Svagato). If the mango-tree were Supreme Truth (Satya)
what about other species of trees in the world? Hence the
mango-tree is not the Supreme Truth, since it differs from
other species (Vija'tiiya Bheda) e.g. Bambaii, Kishanbhoga,
etc. It has differences in its own form as well (Svagata)
e.g. the leaves, the buds, the fruits, etc. Hence it is not
the Supreme Truth. It is relative truth or untruth. Relative
truth (A'peks'ika Satya) or untruth is dependent on time,
space and form. The moon appears like a metal plate from
distance, but as somebody advances towards it, it appears to
grow bigger and bigger. Then how big is it really? Largeness
and smallness are governed by space. Hence, it is not the
Supreme Truth, it is relative truth. The nearest route from
Bhagalpur to Monghyr would be westward but one can reach
Monghyr even if one goes eastward, round the circumference
of the earth. The distance thus solely depends on the space.
How then can it be called the Supreme Truth? A man suffering
from jaundice will find yellow color in whatever he sees,
but normal persons will see those things in there real
color. This is dependent on the person and consequently is
not the Truth. It has been observed thus that place and form
are not the Supreme Truth. Now, let us consider the time
factor. How far can a historical event be called true.
Suppose, the Maha'bha'rata was fought 3253 years ago. Now,
it is a fact that we see things through the aid of light.
The stars in the skies became visible to you only when their
rays fall on the ball of your eye. Suppose the light-waves
of the Maha'bha'rata age will take another eight hundred
years to reach a certain star. At this period if one with
the help of telescope espies the earth what will he see? He
will see that the Maha'bha'rata has not yet been fought
here. For him, it will happen after eight hundred years and
after this period he will verily see the war of the
Maha'bha'rata being waged. What is past for one is present
for another and future for the third. All these are relative
truths. Now the issue may be considered with respect to
sound as well. If someone speaks aloud a normal man will
feel that he is shouting while a deaf man will say that he
is speaking very softly. Each of the spheres, namely,
Annamaya, Manomaya, Atima'nas, Vijina'namaya or Hiran'yamaya
is respectively one beyond the other. Satya is beyond even
the last. When one establishes oneself in Satya, one alone
becomes the knower of all the past, present, and future and
ultimately of Truth itself. To him there is no disharmony
anywhere. Of course, it is difficult to establish oneself in
the Cosmic Consciousness but once having been established in
Brahma, he is extricated from all disharmony. Man can become
a knower of the past, present and future by annihilating the
mind through spiritual practices. Mind has got to be
annihilated because this is a relative truth and this
disables a man from knowing the Absolute Truth. Where there
is action, there is motion. Time (Ka'la) is the mental
measurement of the dynamism in action. where there is no
action there is no mind and for this there is no time as
well. If one remains unconscious for three hours one will
not have the idea of the lapse of those three hours. Action
and mind are relative truth and consequently so is the time.
Time is dependent on space and person and so are the space
and form on time. It is not correct to say that time has
eternity without beginning, eternity without end and without
a break or limit. Time cannot exist without space and
person. Man derives or endeavors to derive pleasure from
objects, great and small, but he cannot derive eternal Bliss
from the relative Truth. It is for this reason that sages
devote themselves to the entity free from the bondage of
time. Body and mind are not free from the bondage of time.
It is foolish to pursue them. It is, of course, proper to
take care of them but they are not to be devoted to. One has
to practice Sa'dhana' for establishing oneself in the entity
free from bondage of time.
SS1-6.SS
INVOCATION OF THE SUPREME
The Kos'a means A'dha'ra (base). Are these Saptalokas
(Seven spheres) and the Pa'incakos'a (Five shells) separate
from the A'tma'n (soul)? does the relation of sustainer and
the sustained exist between them. If it be contended "Ako
Brahma dvitiya nasti" (there is only one Brahma and no
other), then of A'dha'ra and A'dhrta, which is Brahma and
which is not? If the sustainer or the sustained be accepted
as Brahma, then is the other not Brahma? If it be argued
that Saptaloka and Pa'incakos'a are the base of Brahma, then
the existence of some other entity outside Brahma shall have
to be admitted. As for instance, suppose there is a man in a
house. Here, the house and the man have separate existence.
Here, house is the container and man the contained. Hence,
the house is separate from the man. In the Pa'incakos'a,
A'tma'n is the contained, and the kos'a is container. The
container is bigger than the contained. If it is not so, how
can it contain? There is nothing bigger than Parama'tma'n
hence it cannot have a container. Then should we take that
the Pa'incakos'a and Saptaloka do not exist? Yes, the
Saptaloka is included in Brahma. Their aggregate is Brahma.
The Jiiva is included in Pa'incakos'a. There is subtle
difference between Jiiva and Brahma. In the Jiiva, there are
two types of `I' feeling - one is its egoistic mind and th
other is the reflection of the state of knowledge, of the
Supreme Parama'tma'n, of its Jiiva'tma'n. Jiiva'tma'n is the
pure `I' feeling of Jiiva (unit soul). In the midst of this
Saptaloka, in the Satyaloka alone Brahma is unaffected,
whereas in the remaining six Lokas (spheres) it is affected
by Ma'ya'. It can also be explained in the shape that the
six Lokas are the base of the unaffected Brahma which
pervades the expressed universe as imperishable Brahma.
Brahma has no base. The remaining six Lokas are created
within Brahma in the very midst of it. Then, is the light
different from its original source? the Satlokas are its
evolution - these are his manifestation - there is not the
relationship of the sustainer and the sustained. The
difference between Jiiva'tma'n and Parama'tma'n exist only
so long as there is the `I' feeling of the Unit soul (Jiiva
bha'va). What is the relationship between Jiiva'tma'n and
Parama'tma'n? what is Jiiva (unit soul)? The base of the
physical body is Kos'a. Here the base is bigger than the
based. The Ka'mamaya kos'a is bigger than the Annamaya
kos'a. Then Manomaya Kos'a is bigger than the Ka'mamaya
kos'a. The Atima'nas kos'a is bigger than even the Manomaya
kos'a. the Vijina'namaya kos'a is larger than this. The
Hiran'yamaya kos'a is bigger than even the Vijina'namaya
kos'a and the biggest of all is the Satyaloka. All those
aspects are limited to the unit soul only. But all those are
its bases. Now, what is the relationship between the base
and the based? The relationship is that of a subject and an
object. As for instance, the physical body is the object of
enjoyment and the mind is its enjoyer, that is our body is
the object of enjoyment of our mind and the mind remains
attached to it. The body is the base of the mind hence the
mind is intimately attached to its base. Mahattattva is the
pure `I' feeling of the subtlest state of the mind. Every
Jiiva (unit soul) has the `I' feeling. Where the 393 A'tma'n
assumes a special `I' feeling it becomes a Jiiva (unit
soul). Where the A'tma'n remains as the knower `I' of Shyam
Babu, we call it Shyam Babu's A'tma'n. In every living
being, right from the Ka'mamaya to the Hiran'yamaya kos'a
are the spheres for the mind to be meditated. The knower
behind the meditative power of the mind is verily the
A'tma'n. the relation is not that of big and small. The
relation is that of a subject and an object. thus, the mind
is the thinking subject of the body and the A'tma'n is the
knowing subject of the mind. Then, are there really
innumerable souls? What is the difference? The difference is
that a soul is taken in different aspects due to the
difference in it objects. When there is a singular knowing
entity (Sagun'a Brahma) behind many a mind, then, taking the
collective and imperishable states (i. e. within or without
the influence of Prakrti) of the Jiiva. Sagun'a Brahma is
the knower and the known, perishable and the imperishable.
He who is absolutely perishable and absolutely imperishable
is Brahma, and the fragmentary or reflected perishable, or
fragmentary or reflected imperishable is Jiivabha'va.
Nirgun'a is neither perishable nor imperishable - and beyond
these - absolutely liberated. Has Sagun'a Brahma (Collective
imperishable) no influence over the unit imperishable?
Certainly, he has.
Ks'arm' pradha'namamrta'ks'ram' harah
Ks'ara'tma'na'vsiihate deva ekah Tasya'bhidhya'na'd yojana't
tattvabha'va'd bhu'yascha'nte Vishvama'ya' nivrttih
Prakrti is mutable and Purus'a immutable. Sagun'a
Brahma is overpowering it as the Controller, and here He is
called Iishvara or Purus'ottama. By being absorbed in Him,
man gets liberated from the worldly attachments. How is
liberty attained? What is the object of a Jiiva (unit soul)?
Suppose I am Rama or Shyam. Now Rama and Shyam look upon the
world with their own view points. The mind takes the shape
of its object. Hence when the mind will make Him its object,
it will be transformed into Him. By suffusing itself with
Cosmic feelings, it attains infinitude and sees the entire
universe contained in Him. For this reason alone, it has
been said in the scriptures, "Brahmavid Brahmaeva bhavati".
(The knower of Brahma becomes himself like Brahma). When the
Unit `I' is transformed into the collective or Cosmic `I'
then his A'tma'n attains oneness by fusing into the soul of
the collective `I', that is, it unifies or becomes one with
the A'tma'n of Sagun'a Brahma. In day to day life a man
keeps his existence in the most physical state. Here the
crude matter forms the object of enjoyment, the mind itself
becomes crude. Man's primary concern regarding food and
clothes is the concern of Ka'mamaya kos'a. Here mind is in
association with crude objects. In such circumstances how
can there be any suitable opportunity for self elevation?
The animals are continually associated with the crude.
A'ha'rnidra'bhaya maethunainca Sama'nyametab
Pashubhirnara'na'm Dharmohitesa'm'adhiko visheso
dharmenahiina' Pashubhih sama'nah 3n3 The mental tendencies
of appetite, sleep, fear, and sex-urge are found alike among
men and the beasts. Then wherein lies the difference between
the two? In fact, the distinction between man and beast is
the sense of Dharma, of the former Man practices Dharma but
the beast does not. The man who does not pursue the path of
Dharma in spite of his being endowed with the human form is
just like the beast. Man can advance from subtle to the
subtlest or degenerate from crude to the crudest, according
to his own propensity. There are a good many isms based
simply on the Ka'mamaya kos'a. In one the economic factor is
the only factor. The Ka'mamaya is simply one kos'a alone.
Even trees posses the Ka'mamaya kos'a and that is why they
desire their life energy from the earth water and air. Where
only the annamaya kos'a dominates, all the remaining kos'as
(shells) are dormant. The mind identifies itself with crude
objects and has, therefore, no `I' feeling. For this very
reason, the A'tma'n as well, is devoid of perception. While
the mind is sleeping in dormant or latent state, it does not
permit the Jiiva'tma'n, which is but a reflection of
Parama'tma'n, to reveal itself. Confinement to the Annamaya
kos'a alone will tend to crudify man, since, it does not
allow mental uplift. There is some scope for discussions
over philosophical controversies on account of the Manomaya
kos'a. On account of mental difference different
philosophical thoughts have sprung up e.g. Buddhism,
Jainism, Islam, Christianity and the like. But only in
spiritualism are found discussions on subjects from the
subtle to the subtlest, even up to the A'tma'n. The mind is
the object of A'tma'n. To attain A'tma'n, blend the mind
with its original subject. Unify the object with the
subject. The relationship between them is just the same as
between you and your hand. There is only one way to
self-realization and it is to fuse the mind with the knower
of the mind, that is, to eliminate the crude manifestation
of the A'tma'n. How is this possible? This is possible only
on the introversion of the tendencies, and the tendencies
are introverted only through knowledge and Sa'dhana'. It is
not possible to be introverted until each and every shell
(kos'a) is not realized. When the mind will realize that the
physical body is the vehicle of the mind, then you will
realize that there is progress in Sa'dhana', that is, it is
necessary to have perfect conception of each kos'a (shell).
For this it shall have to be conceived where one kos'a ends
and another begins. There are two minds - one immature and
the other mature; one introverted, the other extroverted.
Only the knowledge of these five can be the perfect
knowledge. As for instance, take a ripe mango. Although the
pulp and the seed of a ripe mango remain together they are,
as a matter of fact, separate. Ripeness means perfection.
This is the difference between Dharma and Sectism. Dharma
makes each kos'a perfect. Only then a man can achieve
perfection in Sa'dhana'. Only one their perfection, the
different portions can be differentiated from the original
stuff. There is philosophy behind Sa'dhana', that is, there
is logic to support it. In olden times the people were under
the impression that the world 33 comprised of alone. They
never thought of going beyond the Ka'mamaya kos'a. Had they
contemplated a little deeper, they would have realized that
they were totally mistaken. These days many modern
philosophies are only materialistic. Their propounders did
not apply their mind to the full. For this very cause they
cannot be deemed to be perfect philosophies. Only those
philosophies which carry us to the highest levels of the
soul by observing every current of the mind are the real
philosophies; the rest are only academic logics. What is
Sectism, Mazahab or religion? Some enjoin to worship the
idols, others enjoin to have dip in the Ganges. All these
are created within the mind and destroyed there. Happiness
and heaven, afflictions and hell - all are mental
conceptions in this physical world. They are all destroyed
in the Manomaya jagat. Their soul is confined only in the
Manomaya kos'a and they are "Bhuktaye na tu muktaye"
(seekers of enjoyment and not the seekers of salvation).
Some sects hold that happiness comes after death, but who
will enjoy that pleasure? The mind, of course! Where does
the mind go after the destruction of its vehicle - the
physical brain? Then who will enjoy the pleasures? The
A'tma'n pervades as an indivisible form, as an all-knowing
entity and the question of its movement does not arise.
There is no A'tma'n in the grave nor does the question of
its waking up arise. In such sectism, if fact the Manomaya
kos'a is termed the soul but there would be no fear of pain
or pleasure if soul alone is there.
Anejadekam' manaso javiiyo naennaddeva' a'pnuvan
purvamars'at Taddha'vato'nya'natyeti tist'hat tasminnas'o
ma'tarishva'dadha'ti
Ordinarily sections terminate in the Manomaya kos'a.
Idolatry can elevate a man up to the Atima'nas kos'a, not
above this. For this reason may persons aspire to achieve
happiness by devoting themselves to idolatry, but do not
aspire to get absorbed in Parama'tma'n. They want to serve
Parama'tma'n eternally, remaining close to Him. Buddhism
rises further above this. It provides also for the
annihilation of Sam'ska'ra. Annihilation of the `I' feeling
alone is called merging into the Supreme, but who will
annihilate the ego? It is the ego which will obliterate the
`I' feeling. Buddhism does not recognize the soul but speaks
of annihilation of the ego. For this very reason what will
egoism be termed as except the subtlest of the mind? The
subtlest expression of the mind is in the Hiran'yamaya kos'a
which is the first expression of mahattattva. It is the
establishment in this kos'a in a universal manner that is
termed Savikalpa Sama'dhi. Those who have attained the
Ka'mamaya kos'a will say that it is not proper to steal
since, if we steal, others also may commit theft in our
house. This is the trend of thought of the materialists. It
is ingrained with selfish views. Do not steal for the sake
of keeping the mind consecrated would be the correct
approach. The Pa'incakos'as shall have to be perfected, but
how is it possible to do so? They can be consummated only
through the 33 practice of Yama and Niyama. The Annamaya
kos'a is perfected through A'sanas (physical postures). Yama
and Niyama Sa'dhana' perfects the Ka'mamaya kos'a. The
Manomaya kos'a is perfected through Pra'n'a'ya'm. Through
Pratyaha'ra the Atima'nas kos'a is perfected. the
Vijina'namaya kos'a is perfected through Dha'rana' and the
Hiran'yamaya kos'a is perfected through Dhya'na. Dhya'na
Sama'dhi alone gives access to the soul. They alone are
pious who are earnest in their efforts to perfect the
Pa'incakos'a. The existence of man is comprised of five
kos'as and spiritual practice is eight-folded. This
spiritual practice alone is Dharma. That which does not
provide for the expiation of the Pa'incakos'a is not Dharma
but sectism. Why is As'taungayoga called Dharma? Dharma is
to attain perfect happiness and perfect happiness is the
attainment of the soul. there being only partial happiness
in the remaining every kos'a. so long as the soul is not
attained, every kos'a shall alone have to perfected. Each
kos'a has to be taken care of. One kos'a cannot be perfected
to the exclusion of the rest. Where there is perfect
happiness, there is Dharma; all the rest being sectism,
yielding partial happiness. All the rest are Preya
(superficial and immediate gains) and Dharma is Shreya
(ultimate and real gains). All the rest lead to crudeness,
while Dharma leads to the Supreme Consciousness. That alone
which upholds (sustains) the soul is Dharma. The Dharma of
fire is to burn and the Dharma of the living beings is to
attain happiness. Where there is pursuit for Preya (inferior
gains) there is Avidya'ma'ya and where the pursuit is for
Shreya, it is Vidya'ma'ya. the happiness of heaven and the
fear of hell are absolutely mental. Dharma has no fear,
since through Dharma one attains the original state. A'nanda
Ma'rga alone is Dharma, and all the rest are sectisms. All
inspirations for a man practicing Dharma is derived from
Sagun'a Brahma. For this very reason, man must be indebted
to Sagun'a Brahma, because, he gets the inspiration for
DharmaSa'dhana' through His grace. The man who does not
practice Sa'dhana' is inferior to even the tree, for, the
tree has no capacity for Sa'dhana' whereas the man has. The
wise avail of this beneficence. Those who do not do so are
ignorant. You have got divine grace and a human frame. Avail
of this grace properly. Do not let go this golden
opportunity unavailed.
Krshna na'ma Harinama barai madhu'r jei jana Krshna
bhaje se bara catura.
Dina gelo miche ka'je ra'tri gelo nidre Na'bhajinu
Ra'dha'krshna caran'a'ravinde (Narottamda's)
You possess a human frame. You are fortunate that you
did not have to live as a stone or as a tree. The entire
Universe has the grace of Brahma. But man enjoys greater
grace. For this very reason, man is endowed with the
privilege for practicing Sa'dhana'. It is the special grace
of Brahma to appear as Sadguru to teach spiritual practice
to man. Is it not His special grace when Brahma attracts a
man to Himself. When a man attracts the Hiran'yamaya kos'a
of another man, it is termed Bra'hmi-vidya'. He alone who
attracts the Hiran'yamaya kos'a of a man is the Highest
(Supreme) Guru. When the Hiran'yamaya kos'a of one man
attracts the Vijina'namaya kos'a of another, it is termed
"Daevi Vidya'". Such an influencing person is termed
Madhyama (Second Grade) Guru. When the Vijina'namaya kos'a
of one influences the Atima'nas kos'a of another, it is
called Gandharva Vidya. The attractor in this form is also
called Madhyama Guru. These persons awaken the sentiments of
Dharma in the disciples minds through sweet sounding
Kiirtana, etc. If the Atima'nas kos'a of one attracts the
Manomaya kos'a of another, it is called "Ra'ks'ashi" or
"Paesha'cika" (demonic) Vidya. When the Manomaya Kos'a of
one attracts the Ka'mamaya kos'a of another, it is termed
"Bhuta Vidya" (hypnotism). If the Ka'mamaya kos'a attracts
the Annamaya Kos'a of another, it is known as the physical
attraction force. Sagun'a Brahma graces the living beings
with Divine grace. Let it be availed of properly. You have
been blessed. Avail of it properly. How? Attain the state of
Nirgun'a Brahma by annihilating the barrier between the
subjective and the objective angles of vision. The highest
object of Sa'dhana' is to attain to the Nirgun'a state, and
that is the Supreme attainment. The aspirant says:
Nivedaya'mi ca'tma'nam tvam gatiparameshvarh".
O' Human beings! you are fortunate. The clarion call
of the Universal has reached you. Only the call has not come
but you too are hearing it. That very call is vibrating in
every cell of your body. Will you now lie in the corner of
your house as an inert being? Will you now waste your time
by clinging to your breasts the ancient skeletons and
bemoaning over them? The Supreme Being is calling you in the
roar of the ocean, in the thunder of the clouds, in the
speed of the lightning, in the meteor's flaming fires.
Nothing would come out of remaining idle. Get up and awake
the clouded chivalry of your dormant youth. May be that the
path is not strewn with flowers - the inferiority complex
may be willing to hold fast your each advancing foot step
but even then you have to proceed onward, tearing the shroud
of darkness. You will soon rend the thick darkness of
despair in the way to the attainment of the Supreme state,
and advance onwards in the fast going (light-legged) chariot
radiant with the sun's brilliance.
SS1-7.SS
BHAKTITATTVA
The word Bhakti (devotion) means worshiping. For
worshiping both the person who worships and He who is
worshiped must needs be present. For this reason, `as long
as there is difference between the devotee and God, there is
the opportunity and necessity of Bhakti-Sa'dhana'. Bhakti
signifies longing for the Supreme
Sa'para'nuraktiriishvare
Here the meaning of the word Para'nurakti should be
considered. Rakti denotes Ra'ga or attachment. Anurakti
denotes maintaining attachment with or being attracted by a
particular entity after having understood its meaning.
Anurakti is of two kinds. The Anurakti dedicated towards the
Supreme Brahma or the Infinite Cosmic consciousness is
Para'nurakti, whereas the Anurakti towards Brahma under the
sway of Prakrti or the Anurakti for the crude manifestations
is termed Apara'nurakti. God is an object for Para'nurakti.
When the aspirant makes Him his own, it is termed Bhajana'
or Bhakta. It will have to be observed that Anurakti has two
varieties only on account of the introverting or
extroverting actions of the mind. To be explicit
extroversion denotes Apara'nurakti while introversion
denotes Para'nurakti. The externalizing forces by
subordinating a person to the sense organs render him crude.
He is divested of his spiritual forces. Para'nurakti having
released him from the grips of the Indriyas, establishes him
through sublime meditations in the finer (sublimated) senses
in the infinite Blessedness, beyond the bounds of the
Universe. Now the question arises, whether Bhakti is natural
or unnatural for the living beings. Whatever conscious or
crude things we see in the manifested Universe bear
attraction for one another. This attraction alone is the
Dharma of the created Universe and as a consequence, the
continuity of the thought projections of the Cosmic mind is
maintained. Therefore, I say that attraction is natural for
everything. It is on account of the attractions for one
another amongst myriads of heavenly bodies oscillating in
the infinite space that balance is maintained in the
firmament. There is the effort for self-preservation in
every planet or sub-planet. Men run and assemble at a place
which yields good water, good fruits and fertile lands,
because it is there that they continue to find adequate
materials for self-preservation. The bee flies about and
around the flowers in quest of honey just for the sake of
preserving its existence. It is seen that every entity runs
more towards its resort which is more lasting and secure and
which can provide it greater and longer safety. Man runs
after money for the only reason that he believes that he can
maintain his life under the shelter of money, that is to
say, money alone can save him, but he does not know that the
money can provide him neither a permanent stability nor a
securely founded shelter. Even during the span of his life,
money will come and go several times. At times its glamour
would dazzle his eyes and some times it would make him cry,
having made 393 him hunger-stricken. Not to speak of money
alone, all the finite objects have this characteristic. By
using them with the intention of enjoying only one of their
portions, the residue will be reached, sooner or later. This
signifies that what is not infinite cannot remain
permanently the object of your enjoyment. Hence, it cannot
be your permanent resort, since, the existence of all these
is dependent on others - bounded by the limits of time,
place and person. In philosophical terms, the attraction for
finite objects is called A'sakti and the attraction for the
infinite is Bhakti but Ra'ga or Rakti denotes both of them.
Sa'kasmae parampremaru'pa'
That is to say, Bhakti is the symbol of love and this
love is dedicated towards Iishvara signified by the letter
`ka' (in vedic language the letter `Ka' means God). God
himself is indescribable. He is the nucleus of the Universe.
He is Supreme Love personified.
Sa Iishvara anirvacaniiya parma premsvaru'pah.
Purus'a and Prakrti: Where a change in Purus'a occurs
on account of the influence of Prakrti, there the mind comes
into being. The senses and organs are the recipients and the
vehicles of the workings of the mind. For this reason it is
seen that the mind is the worldly knower of subject of all
the worldly acts. That very mind is the object of the
untainted knowing Purus'a and Purus'a is its subject (knower
self). When the mind as an object merges into Purus'a as the
subject, the distinction between the object and the subject
ceases to exist. This is the supreme state of the aspirant.
But when the mind is guided by Avidya', that is, when it
runs after the finite objects with the object of enjoyment
then externalized energy of the mind is identified
ultimately in the crude object, whether this object be a
creation of the mind itself or is taken from the crude five
elemental world. If the terrific speed with which the
extroverted man runs after the finite object is introverted
towards the Supreme Being of his life, he can attain Brahma
- he can achieve the Supreme state. The devotee recites:
Ya'priitiravivekina'm' vis'aye s'vanapa'yinii Tva
manusmaratah sa'me hradaya'n ma'pasarpatu. (Vishnupura'n'a)
That is, O' Almighty, may the attraction which the
ignorant men impregnably bear towards the objects of their
mind become an eternal love for thee, through thy
remembrance. You do understand for certain that pure Bhakti
cannot be based over finite objects, the cause is that their
very existence is derived through extroverted feelings. But
I painfully observe that many a man confine their love and
devotion to finite objects. What is its result? They do not
attain the pervasiveness which love confers. They do not
realize that every minutest atom of this vast universe is a
creative manifestation of that very cosmic consciousness His grand expression. They would spend millions over the
installation of the idols but do not relent on seeing the
afflictions of the suffering humanity. They would not
hesitate in the least in killing in cold blood a young goat
for the so-called satiation of the goddess.
Vista'ra sarva bhu'tasya vis'n'orvishvamidam' jagat
Dras't'avyama'tmavattasma'dabhedena Vicaksanach
(Vishnupura'n'a)
The world is a changing phenomenon. Therefore, it is
unwise to be attached to any object in this ever-changing
world. The very name and form would undergo changes with the
change in time and place. The child changes into youth, the
youth into the old, and the old into the dead one. But if
wise men take every object of the world as the expression of
one and single Vishnu, then they would not be affected by
pain or pleasure on seeing the changes in the name and form
of any particular object. Vishnu to them would remain
Vishnu; they would lose nothing. During the period of
practicing Bhakti man proceeds with feeling ingrained in his
Sam'ska'ras because he derives pleasures out of them,
although such practices in accordance with the Sam'ska'ras
would not perfect an aspirant in the pure Cosmic feeling.
Bhaktiyogo vahuvidhaer margaerbha'vini bha'vyate
Svabha'va gun'ama'rgena pum'sa'm bha'vo vibhidyate
That is the methods and kinds of Bhakti yoga are
manifold. Man adopts the process of Bhakti Sa'dhana'
according to his own propensities. Ta'masika Sa'dhana Sam'ska'ras for their own implications are Tamogun'i
(Static) but it manifest according to the past acts.
Sometimes dominated by Rajah (mutative) and sometimes by
Sattva (sentient). An aspirant is called Ta'masika when
instead of being drawn to the Ra'jasika or Sa'ttvagun'i
splendors, he practices Bhakti after having immersed his
Tamogun'i existence in the static force.
Abhisandha'ya yo himsam' dombham' ma'tsaryamevava'
Sam'rambhi bhinnadrkbha'vo mayi Kurya'tt sa ta'mash.
Persons craving for finite pleasures instead of the
Supreme Bliss, under the influence of violence, arrogance or
jealousy are Ta'masika Sa'dhakas. But from amongst the
Ta'masika seekers a few are such as do not forget their
adored even after the realization of their object. It will,
therefore, be accepted that they had Ra'jasika and Sa'ttvika
tendencies in dormant states. If fact, they were not
Ta'masika Sa'dhakas. Ra'jasika Sa'dhakas: - Those carrying
on spiritual practices with the object of attaining a
particular finite object are called Ra'jasika Sa'dhakas. The
characteristic of Ra'jasika Sa'dhakas consists in their
being engrossed in realizing their selfish ends and not in
causing detriment to others.
Sis'ayanabhisandha'ya yashavaaeshvryameva
Arcadavarcayed yo ma'm'prhagbhagbha'vah sah ra'jsah
(Bhagavat)
It means, those worshiping the lord in the crude way
by flowers and the trifoliated leaves of Aegle marmelos, for
the sake of worldly objects, fame or wealth, in fact long
for those objects and not for the Lord. They are Ra'jasika
Sa'dhakas. A few out of these Ra'jasika seekers do not
forget the Supreme Brahma. They will be deemed as not
lacking Sa'ttvika feelings significantly, even though they
are Ra'jasika seekers.
Karmanirha'rmuddishya parasmin vatadarpan'am' Yajed
yas't'avyamiti va' prthagbha sah sa'ttvikash
Those who pursue their practice with the prayer " O'
Lord! may my karma be annihilated. Emancipate me from the
cycle of karmas" and those who pursue their practice as
their duty and also those who pursue it for the fear that
people may decry them if the do not do so even in the old
age, are classed as Sa'ttvika Sa'dhakas inasmuch as they do
not seek attainment of the Supreme. Even this Sa'ttvika
Sa'dhana' cannot be termed as superior degree of Sa'dhana'
or the Supreme Sa'dhana' because one of those control the
energies of the aspirants and direct them towards the
adored, the Supreme Brahma. The aim of the aspirant is
channelized in a different direction. He carries on with an
inferior object. All the three such Bhakti is: Sa'ttvika,
Ra'jasika and Ta'masika are Gaon'ii (inferior) Bhakti. Where
there is no object save and except the Supreme Brahma, it is
called Mukhya' Bhakti. There the aspirant is free from the
above three gun'as. He is absorbed in spiritual practices to
Nirgun'a Bhakti. Roughly saying, Bhakti can be classified in
many groups according to the object in view. Nirgun'a
Bhakti: - Here the aspirant has no other object: he betakes
himself towards the Supreme Brahma only by the urge of his
own spirit. If questioned as to why he loves Him and devotes
himself towards Him then in reply he says, "Oh, why do I
love, I do not know. I love Him just because I like to love
Him. Should I not love? He is the life of my life, the soul
of my soul". This type of Bhakti is Nirgun'a Bhakti. Vaedhii
Bhakti: - where there is no undivided Bhakti for the Lord
but the object is only to give a show to others. Today there
is a particular festival, the floor shall have to be smeared
with cow dung in this way, the Ganges water shall have to be
sprinkled, the idols shall be decorated in royal fashion or
in the fashion of a child, the mantras shall be chanted, the
flowers offered, the leaves of Aegle marmelos shall be
offered in this way - such devotions practiced within the
bounds of externalized usage and rituals is called Vaedhii
Bhakti.
Yatra ra'ganava' ptatvat pravrtirupaga'yate
Sha'sanenaeva Sha'strasya sa' vaedhii bhaktirucyate
Tagahiina jana bhaje sha'strer a'jina'ya vidhibhakti boli
ta're sarva sha'tre ga'e
Ta'masika, Ra'jasika and Sa'ttvika Bhaktis which are
33 affected by the three gun'as are Vaedhii Bhaktis.
Jina'namishra' Bhakti: - If the Sa'ttvika Sa'dhaka does not
forget the adored even after realization of his object then
gradually the Supreme knowledge shines forth within his
mind. This attainment is known by the name of Jina'namishra'
Bhakti. This Bhakti also may be classed as Nirgun'a
Bhakti,but on account of the dormant vanity for wealth or
knowledge, the Supreme State is not attained. This is also
called Pradha'nibhuta' Bhakti. Pradha'nibhuta' is the
highest stage of Gaon'ii (inferior) Bhakti. Kevala' Bhakti:
If the aspirant from the very outset instead of devoting
himself towards the Sagun'a Bhakti realizes the permanence
of Nirgun'a Bhakti the questions like "What have I
attained?" "Why do I wish to attain?"etc. do not arise in
his mind. This is the culmination of Bhakti. This is the
highest pitch of Bhakti. If there is undivided knowledge
with the object, then there exists one and only one entity,
and that is why it is called `kevala' bhakti'. Kevala'
Bhakti is not attained by baths, exercises or efforts. Those
who have not been blessed with the divine grace even in the
least cannot have any realization about it.
Mahat Krpayaeva Bhagavad Krpa'te sha'dva'
The position of Kevala' bhakti is by all means
superior to the Gaon'ii (inferior) Bhakti. That is why it is
called Mukhya' Bhakti. Whatever progress an aspirant may
make in Gaon'ii (inferior) Bhakti, the distinction of the
adored and the adorer, or the infinite and the finite
remains in him till the end. This aspect is known as
Mahim-Jina'na in the Sha'stras. In presence of Mahim-
Jina'na, the devotee feels shy in merging in the Supreme
Brahma. Ra'ga'tmika Bhakti: There is no Mahim-Jina'na in
Kevala' Bhakti. In this the aspirant runs for closeness to
the adored with all the zeal of his life, considering the
adored to be the life of his life and the soul of his soul.
He has no sufficient leisure for developing the distinction
between the adored and the adorer of the infinite and the
finite. There the aspirant will not take himself to be the
adorer of Ra'ma but takes himself as Ra'ma personified. They
love to love, and cannot remain without loving and that is
why they love - they entertain this feeling alone.
Iste sva'rasi kii ra'gah parama'vist'ata' bhavet
Tanjayii ya' bhavet bhakti sa'tra ra'ga'tmikodita'
The first stage of Ra'ga'tmika' Bhakti is known as
Ra'ga'nuga' Bhakti.
Ra'ga'tmika' manusrata' ya' sa' ra'ga'nugocyate
Ra'ga'nuga' Bhakti molds the aspirants mind into the
form of Ra'ga'tmika'. The dualistic aspirants who deserve
the Ra'ga'tmika' Bhakti, aspire on attaining the zenith of
Ra'ga'tmika, to be close to Brahma and feel His presence
rather 33 than to merge in Him. They assert that they do not
like to become sugar, rather they love to taste it, and that
if they get transformed into sugar, how would they realize
the taste of sugar. The dualists call this stage as
Gopibha'va or Brajbha'va.
Teii gopi mana jar bha'va'mrte ja'e Veda dharma tyaji
sei krs'n'a ke bhajaya
It has to be born in mind that her the original
meaning of the word "Gopa" i.e. a milkman is not applicable.
The word "Ga" means the sense organs. Only he who sustains
and controls the Indriyas is Gopa or Gopa'la. The word
Gopa'la also connotes `giver of bliss'. This Brajbha'va is
the proximal stage of the Kevala' Bhakti. It is different
from Jina'namishra' Bhakti. There is no vanity for knowledge
nor the show of riches. This devotion is not attainable
through Vaedhii Bhakti.
Sakala Jagate more kare vidhi bhakti Vidhibhaktya
brajbha'va paite na'hi shakti
In A'nanda Ma'rga, there is no place for Vaedhii or
Jina'namishra Bhakti. Here the aspirants themselves are the
aspirants of Ra'ga'tmika Bhakti, and therefore, they do not
desire to terminate their journey in a state of Brajbha'va,
whatever else there may be in dualistic Brajbha'va, there is
no expression of due reverence for the wish of Brahma or his
attraction phase of the creative cycle. Why do men not
realize the nice opportunity which His grace has offered
them? Why would they not merge their `I' feeling into the
immortality of the Supreme. One thing is very significant
that by enjoying the bliss of divine attainment as a
separate existence., the unit mind and with it, all the
sense-organs also shall have to be controlled. Wherever the
mind is with the Indriyas there the apprehension of
deterioration does exist. That is why the A'nanda ma'rgiis
do not accept to stay in Gopi-bha'va. Bha'va:- For the
exposition of Bhaktitattva, the use of the word bha'va is
indispensable. What does Bha'va signify?
Shuddhasattva vishes'a'dva' premasu'rya'm'shu
sa'myabha'k Ruchibhishcittama'srn'ya Krdasaobha'va ucyate.
Bha'va is that whereby the Citta (mind-stuff) becomes
purged and chiefly dominated by Sa'ttvagun'a whereby all the
ten directions become brilliant with the rays of the sun of
love and whereby taste or anurakti for the Lord gets
enlightened, thereby the citta developing oneness with Him.
As a result of this Bha'va, man directs his natural
attractive forces towards the adored, but the adored is not
outside him, the adored is the life of his life, the mind of
his mind and the life master of his entire existence. When
this feeling of devotion for the adored awakens the
introversion of his tendencies then he becomes absorbed with
this Bha'va. He attains the state of realizing the self. In
Vaeshn'ava philosophy this running into one's own self is
known as Hla'dinii Shakti, the reason is that in this path
there is a progressive refulgence of the light of melliflous
3P3 realizations. When there is fear or there is feeling of
crude propensities in the mind, there cannot be pure
Anurakti or Bhakti. The devotion generated through fear is
no Bhakti at all. That is but a lamentable state of mental
crudeness. Some for fear of hell, and some for fear of
torture and retribution in the next life pray to the Lord,
in particular hunger for emancipation therefrom. This
betrays lack of knowledge of the truth. You should not give
encouragement to this inferiority complex. Those who accept
or know the Lord as their own self have no reason to
entertain any fear of Him. This very fearless Lordward move
is termed Love.
Samyaun masrnito sva'nto mamatva'tishya'nkitah Bha'va
sa eva sa'ndra'tma'budhaeh prema'nigadyate.
Whereby the mind attains Supreme serenity and whereby
a feeling of affection is developed for all beings is
eternal peace and the sages call it Love. Love cannot be
developed for anything mean or finite.
Atmendriya priiti icha' ta're boli ka'ma Krshn'endriya
priiti icha' chare prema na'ma Ka'mera ta'tparya nija
sambhoga kevala' Krs'n'a suchava'incha' haya premete
prabala.
Love and passion are mutually antagonistic tendencies.
The attachment for a finite thing is an expression of
extroverted energy whereas the attraction for the Infinite
is an expression of the introverted energy. That is why
these two can never coexist. The aspirant will, therefore,
have skillfully to transform passion into love. Do you love
your son? No, No you do not love your son. You love Brahma
in the form of your son. By loving your son as a son, you
cannot love the Lord. Where there is the feeling of son,
there is no Lord and where there is the Lord, there is no
son. Where `you' exist He does not and where He exists you
are no more.
Jaha'nka'm taha'n nahin Ra'm jaha'n Ra'm taha'n nahin
Ka'm Dono Ekatra nahin mile ravi rajani ek tha'm
Bhakti is of eight kinds: - two kinds of Ta'masika
Bhakti, two kinds of Ra'jasika Bhakti and two kinds of
Sa'ttvika Bhakti, Jina'namishra Bhakti and Kevala' bhakti.
It has already been said that out of these eight kinds of
Bhaktis, Kevala' Bhakti is the most superior. Bhakti of any
kind is of greater value than no Bhakti at all, because by
this the flow of the human mind is regular in one direction.
Ast'a' vidha'hyesa'bhaktiryasmin miecche'pi vartate Sa
viprendromanih Shriima'n sa yatih sa ca panditah.
The devotee of any of these eight kinds of Bhakti,
even though he be thoroughly engrossed by Kusam'ska'ras, may
be taken as a high ranking Brahman'a, a sage, an ascetic
fully attained or an erudite.
Can'da'lo'pi Dvijashres'thah haribhakti para'yanah 33
Haribhakti vihiinashca Vipro'pi shvapaca'dhamaha.
Muci hoe Shuci haya yadi hari bhaje Suci hoe muci haya
yadi hari tyaje
There is no distinction as to one's eligibility for
the Bhakti-Sa'dhana'. Whosoever has been endowed with the
human frame is eligible for this Sa'dhana'.
A'nindya yonyadhikriyate
From worldly standpoint, even men of degraded castes
are entitled to do it. The great sage Na'rada says
Na'sti tes'u ja'ti vidya rupa kula kriya'di bhedah.
The highest attainment of the fruits of Bhakti is the
attainment of the Supreme, but in the mind-stuff of the
devotees of Vaedhii Bhakti a desire for pleasures derived
from objects is greater than a desire for the Supreme bliss.
Just as mother diverts a crying child by offering him a toy,
so also are the devotees of Vaedhii Bhakti as if deluded
with toys. The mother is obliged to disengage herself from
other jobs and to embrace the child who throws off the toy.
The devotees of Kevala' Bhakti are shrewd like those boys.
There are three grades of devotees according to the degrees.
1. The Superiors:
Sha'streyuktao ca nipunah sarvatha' drd'ha nishcayah
Praod'ho shraddho'dhika'rii yah sa bhakta uttamomatah
Those versed in the Sha'stras and competent in
Sa'dhana' practices and of firm mind are the devotees of the
highest degree.
2. The Intermediates:
Yo sha'stradisvunipun'ah Shraddha'va'n Satu madhyaman
Those who have reverence but have no knowledge of the
Sha'stras etc. are intermediate type of devotees.
3. The Wretched (Inferior) Devotees:
Yo bhavet kon alashraddhah sah kanis't'ho nigadyate
Those bearing neither knowledge nor earnestness are
the wretched devotees. Ra'gamishra Bhakti or Kevala' Bhakti
is attainable only by the highest grade of devotees. They
alone attain the infinite evolution of their soul. That is
why in the Sha'stra Nirgun'a Bhakti is called the "Pus't'i
Ma'rga" while other routes are termed "Marya'da Ma'rga". The
devotees of Kevala' Bhakti perceive Brahma alone. The entire
Universe to them is a naught. All activities save Brahma 33
Sa'dhana' is as if a naught to them.
Ra'ma na'ma ek anka hae sab sa'dhan hae su'n Ank binu
kaohohu ha'th nahin ank rahe das gun
Therefore, O devotees! remember the Lord's name else
all your efforts shall be reduced to cipher. Under all
circumstances and amidst all activities, firmly cling to His
name. The Dharma of your childhood is to read and to
practice Brahma Sa'dhana' and the Dharma of youth is to earn
money and to practice Brahma Sa'dhana' and of your old age
when you become incapacitated for all crude physical
activities, the practice of Brahma Sa'dhana' alone.
Prahla'da says
Kaoma'ra a'caret prajino dharma'n bhagava'niha
Durlamoham ma'nusam' janma tadapyadhruvamarthadam
The wise practice Dharma Sa'dhana' right from the very
infancy because man's life is rare and rare still is the
human life perfected through Sa'dhana'. Brahma is the
beloved of the true devotees and, therefore, every item and
everything related to Brahma is dear to them.
Jei na'ma sei krs'n'a' bhajo nist'ha kori Na'mer sahit
a'chena a'pni shrii Hari.
The true devotees love the world, the society and
everything around because they perceive each and every
manifestation of the artful Prakrti with a feeling replete
with one and single universal spirit. They love the finite
too as a portion of the Universal. They love the worldly
pleasures as divine bliss, as varied by time, place and
person. They keep their mind-stuff absorbed in the eternal
currents of the divine flow. Such devoted aspirants alone
are true enjoyers (Rasika) and their object of enjoyment is
the Supreme Brahma. The Veda says - Rasah vae sah. Only the
knower of the Supreme nectar is the enjoyer (Rasika). If the
divine bliss is viewed with a vile selfish motive, it turns
into poison and on being viewed with expanded vision, it is
attained in terms of divine bliss. Those who enjoy the
Supreme Eternal are alone the true enjoyers, the true
aspirants. Poet Candida'sa says:
Rasika rasika kahaya sakale rasika kehai naya
Bha'viya' a'gan'iya bujhiya' dkhile kotite gotika haya
Jomati diipika ujare adhik a'bhitare anal shika' Pantanga
a'siya pad'aye ghuriya' pud'iya' maraye pa'kha' Jagat
jud'iya' temati ghuriya' ka'ma'nale pud'i mare, Rasa jina je
jana se Karaye pa'na vis'a cha'd'i amrtere.
The aspirants of Bhakti would surrender their all to
their adored. Everything objective is centered inside the
mind. Hence if the mind itself is surrendered to Brahma,
everything automatically becomes surrendered.
Ratna' karastava graham grhiniica padma' 33 Deyam'
kimapi bhavate purus'ottama'aya A'bhiirava'manayana'pahrta
ma'nasa'ya Dattam' manah yadupate tvamidam' grha'n'a
The Universe is thy abode, the Supreme Prakrti herself
is Thy consort. O Lord, thou doth not stand in any want.
Then, O' Purus'ottama! What would I offer to thee? O yes,
yes, I remember one thing. They true devotees have snatched
away Thy mind. That is why Thou hast fallen in want of one
thing. Thy mind is lost, O Lord, I offer my mind to Thee. Do
grace by thy acceptance.
SS1-8.SS
THE FORM OF SA'DHANA'
Whereby the worldly afflictions are alleviated
completely is Parama'rtha, and the effort for the attainment
of this Parama'rtha is Sa'dhana'. Where A'tma'n is free from
all objects, that is to say, it is free from all types of
afflictions, it is called Parama'tma'n. Therefore as long as
the aspirant maintains dualistic feelings, it will be
convenient to say, in his terms, that Sa'dhana' is the
process whereby A'tma'n and Parama'tma'n are unified. Are
A'tma'n and Parama'tma'n two independent entities? No, it is
not so. Jiiva'tma'n as long as it is bound up by its
Sam'ska'ras, moves about in the Universal waves, being
subject to the changes of birth and death. It does not
attain the supreme bliss of its original form. But it
becomes Parama'tma'n the moment it eliminates all its
Sam'ska'ras through Sa'dhana' by the efforts of the
indwelling unit mind. Now there remains no difference
between them except the one caused by the Sam'ska'ras.
Dva' Suparn'a' Sanyuga' Sakha'ya Sama'nam' brks'am'
paris'asvaja'te Tayoranyah pippalam'
Svadvattyanashnannanyo'bhica'kashiiti
Two pretty birds of identical nature are dwelling on a
single tree. One of them tastes the delicious fruits of the
tree and the other witnesses it. How extra fine is this
vaedic allusion. Here, the bird tasting the fruits is
alluded to as the Jiiva'tma'n, and the bird which is only
witnessing is alluded to as Parama'tma'n. Its underlying
meaning is that the unit soul is the entity which enjoys all
the fruits and Parama'tma'n is the witnessing entity to all
the actions and reactions in the world. Jiiva'tma'n is under
the influence of Prakrti, it is Ma'ya'dhiina (Controlled by
Ma'ya'). Judged from the original angle, in whatever form He
may manifest Himself, Parama'tma'n is Ma'ya'dhiisha
(Controller of Ma'ya'). Parama'tma'n is the only Supreme
Entity. Virtue (Sat) and truth (Satya) are inseparable
words. Satya is that which in unconsequential. Every finite
object is transmuted by the influence of time place and
person i. e. they suffer from consequences. But Satya does
not suffer from changes with the occurrence of changes in
time, place and person. There are different kinds of customs
and rituals particular to different climes. On account of
the changes in the climes, none of these can truly be called
Satya. The thing which appears today as a reality and it
appears as if it is a true incident but on the following day
it is learnt that the matter was not correct rather it was
far from the truth. Thus it is found that what appeared to
their mind as a fact in the past is unreal in the present or
what appeared unreal in the past assumes a real aspect in
the present. For this very reason it can be said that none
of these worldly realities or unrealities are permanent
truths. A single fruit is known in a particular place as a
sweet fruit, while the same is changed into a sour fruit in
another land due to changes in the soil. The same 393
particular object appears to the general public as white but
to the jaundice patient, it appears yellow. Hence none of
the objects of the changing Universe can be a permanent
reality on account of its dependence on time, place and
person. Brahma alone is the Eternal Reality who is beyond
the influence of Prakrti, that is to say, beyond the mind.
His abode is certainly above the bounds of time, place and
person. In this manifested Universe all the things that we
treat as real at the first sight, are, in fact relative
truths. All of them bear Svaja'tiiya (homogeneous),
Viija'tiiya (heterogeneous) and Svagat (self) differentiae.
The relative objects are identifiable through these
differentiae alone. Suppose, there is a tree. The tree is
heterogeneous (Viija'tiiya) to the houses, hills, rivers,
etc. Again, amongst the trees there is homogeneous
(Svaja'tiiya) difference among the mango-tree, jack fruit
tree, palm tree, etc. or amongst the mangoes, there are
differences in varieties - Langra, Bambai, etc. and there
are self (Svagat) differences in the trunk, branches,
leaves, etc. of the mango tree. Parama'tma'n is a Universal
entity and therefore he is above these three fold
differentiae. This visible world is the mental manifestation
of Brahma. He is an unparalleled and All pervading REality.
It has been said in the Shruti:
Sarvam' Khalvidam' Brahma tajjala'n That is to say,
all is Brahma. Everything in the Universe has been created
by Him, is sustained in Him and absorbed in Him. Tantra also
confirms this:
Yato vishvam' Samudbhu'tam' Yena ja'tain ca tist'hati
Yasmin Sarvan'isiiyante Jineyam tad Brahmalaks'an'aeh
The word Brahma means Great. It is not sufficient to
term Him as Great, but Brahma is He who has the power of
rendering others also into Great. Through His grace alone,
the living being by absorbing himself with thoughts of Him,
attains Him i. e. attains Greatness.
Brhattva'd Brahma Brm'han'tva'd Brahma Yatra na'nyat
Pashyati n'anyacchrn'oti na'nyadvija'ti sa Bhu'ma'.
When man attains that stage then he cannot see
anything, or hear sounds or feel anything: he attains the
ranks of Brahma. But ordinarily men do not attain this
state. The worldly glamours keep their senses engrossed with
different objects. Hence in order to be free from the
objects, they have to undergo special processes. Where there
is an object, the feeling of Brahma is not there. Mankind as
a whole has to undergo certain disciplines in order to be
free from the objective feelings and these disciplines are
termed Sa'dhana'. Man is more conscious than all other
creatures in this world, but he is more engrossed with the
worldly attachments. Through his intellectual powers he
invents new items for the sake 3r3 of achieving pleasures
but everything manufactured is the object of intellect and
when these products of intellect present an impediment in
the realization of happiness, only then he makes effort to
realize the true knowledge. True knowledge is
unconsequential. In course of his research, he finds Brahma
in the origin of everything, and he becomes prepared to
attain Him. This, in other words, is called Sa'dhana'. It is
said in Kat'hopanisad Na'viratoto dushcari ta'nmashanto
na'sama'hitah Na'sha'ntamanaso va'pi
prajina'nenaenama'pnuya't
That is so long as man does not tranquilize his mind
by detaching himself from his desired acts, and does not
purify his inner self, till then, howsoever he may devote
himself to studies he cannot attain Brahma. There is a
reason behind whatever I say, because thoughts take their
origin in citta and the mind transforms them into action
with the help of the senses and organs, that is the senses
and organs work on the mind's initiative. When the mind does
not want to do anything, the senses and organs also are
inactive at that time. It is said in the
Sha'stra:
Mana eva Manusya'n'a'm' Ka'ran'am' bandhamoks'ayoh
(Mind alone is the cause for bondage or emancipation of
man.)
Thus, mind is behind all our activities whether we
direct the mind towards worldly objects or towards Brahma.
No action is possible without mind. Mind has infinite
potentialities and controlling these infinite potentialities
is Sa'dhana'. Though mind is very powerful it has one
serious shortcoming and it is that it cannot think of two
objects concurrently. Whenever it thinks it has one single
object. But the rapidity of its action baffles our mind.
While doing a particular work, we may even hear others. In
fact it is due to the fast acting power of the mind. On
account of this power of the mind we hold that the thought
currents of the mind are unbroken. For example, while
witnessing the pictures in the cinema we also enjoy the
dialogues. But the activities of the mind can be understood
by applying diligently the mind to it. It means that the
mind can do only one thing at a time. This is why the
worldly acts and meditation on Brahma cannot be done
simultaneously. It is impossible that on one side, man will
be bound up with passion, anger, avarice, etc. and on the
other, he will worship Brahma. The mind must needs be
sanctified for worship of Brahma. Apathy to worldly objects
through mental purification is not our goal. Living on earth
we cannot be apathetic with regard to the world. Our object
is surely to act but our actions will be such as will not
bind us unto the object. Many persons raise the question
that when both good and bad act are causative for bondage,
then, is not inactivity to be preferred? No, this is not
feasible. So long as we maintain the body, we cannot be
absolved from action. We must needs act, whether we will it
or not. We do have to carry on, till the end, the process of
respiration. No attachment to the worldly objects would be
developed by observing Yama, Niyama the cause being that
every item of 33 Yama/Niyama is part of Brahma Sa'dhana'
through worldly deeds. Hence, when you will be able to
observe perfectly this spiritual practice in Yama/Niyama,
your mind will certainly get absorbed in Brahma - the
ultimate goal of this spiritual practice. For example, a man
is extremely occupied with earning money. For him nothing
remains in the world except money. In the same way, to the
aspirant who is absorbed in Yama/Niyama Sa'dhana', dedicated
to the attainment of Brahma, there is nothing but Brahma.
The life of the persons devoted to earning money becomes
like a desert, because everything except money is alien to
him. But the aspirants of Brahma cannot call anyone alien,
since Brahma comprises of everything. According to the
beliefs of man, Sa'dhana' is not practicable in the normal
states, and that it is necessary for the Sa'dhaka to sever
connections with the home and members of the family. But
this is fallacious. How can the devote themselves to Brahma
when they cannot support even four or five members of their
family. With family a man is associated right since his
birth. Every family is beset with one problem or another. If
instead of solving these problems any person quits his home
and resides in solitude, then would his mind also relinquish
thoughts about those problems? At that time also he will
have to think of his food and clothes. It is a fact that
Sa'dhana' is possible only through this physical body, but
for that sake, it is useless to create unnatural situations
by forsaking the home. We can practice Sa'dhana' by making
ourselves restrained in that very situation in which we are
placed. the only thing necessary for practicing Sa'dhana' is
an ardent desire for it. Let us tighten ourselves, keeping
ourselves in normal situations to the extent that we become
superman. By developing superhuman powers we can awaken the
element of eternal humanity amongst ourselves. This eternal
human entity alone is Brahma. In order to attain this power,
meanness shall certainly have to be shunned, because this is
the Sa'dhana' for the Infinite. Feelings of differentiations
are a great impediment to this. The feelings that a
particular man is a Muslim, another a Hindu, yet another a
Brahman and the fourth a Vaeshya speak of mean thoughts.
When every living being is a manifestation of Brahma, how
can you know yourself without shedding these differentiating
feelings? None is high and none low. Of course, according to
one's virtues or vices one is happy, one is miserable, one
is rich some one is poor, one is a fool and another is an
erudite. But all are human beings. Differentiating feelings
are the principal obstacles in the path of Sa'dhana'. For
this reason an elevated position cannot be attained without
annihilating them. There is a story in the Maha'bha'rata:
Both Yudhisthira and Duryodhana had invited Lord Krs'n'a to
their respective houses for dinner. While on his way to
those persons, Shrii Krs'n'a entered the house of Vidura. At
that time, the great sage Vidura was not at his house.
Vidurajii's wife was of very limited means. Vidurajii's wife
became nervous on the sudden appearance of Shrii Krs'n'a.
She did not know how to accord proper reception to Lord
Krs'n'a. There was nothing in the house except bananas.
Therefore, after washing His feet, she seated the Lord and
began to skin bananas and feed Him. In the 33 meantime she
also inquired of His welfare. Meanwhile, the great sage
Vidura returned home. He saw Lord Krs'n'a sitting and his
wife, fully absorbed in feelings, feeding him the skins of
the bananas instead of the bananas. The Lord also was eating
so happily that it seemed as if he had not tasted a more
delicious food ever before. Vidurajii was greatly pained to
notice the folly of his wife. Addressing his wife, he said,
"What do you do? You are feeding banana skins to Lord
instead of bananas. Vidurajii's wife was taken aback and
started apologizing for her faults. Vidura also implored, `O
Lord, thou hast taken a good many banana-skins, do kindly
oblige this poor man by taking a few bananas. But the Lord
said, "Vidura! my stomach now is full. These banana skins
had such an exquisite flavor that all edible superior to
this would be hardly available. So long as your wife,
forgetting all differences was feeding me, `I' was there,
but now that the difference between the banana and its skin
has intervened `I' is not there". This is a small story but
is very instructive. There are no differentiations before
the Lord. Lord Shankara'cha'rya was an erudite scholar. He
had overthrown Buddhism and revived Brahmanya-Dharma. But
there was absence of full harmony between his principles and
practices. Once after having his dip in the Ganges at Kashi,
he was returning towards the road and he saw an untouchable
going with a number of dogs. For fear of his body being
touched, he attempted to by-pass them. Then, an untouchable
observing this feeling of Shankara said, "O Lord! Is this
the result of the principle, there is only Brahma and
nothing else! YOu are known by the name `Brahmajina'ni'! the
feeling of differentiation is developed even by treating the
Ca'nda'la as mean." The Supreme Brahma is contained within
the feeling `I am' or is situated amidst the concealed
intuition of the mind. Our existence is inherent in Him. He
exists in the sun's rays. Due to him the perception of the
world is enlightened. Having created our ego, and after
scattering innumerable toys around us, He has hidden Himself
among them. When we shall see them in all things created by
Him, our ego will be lost. The feeling of unit `I' shall be
merged in the Universal `I'. they say that the women and the
Shudras are not entitled to study the Vedas and to acquire
Brahma-Jina'na (knowledge of divinity). This also is a
differentiation. In India, women also were the authoresses
of the Vaedic verses. therefore, this reasoning is not
sound. The birth of Veda Vya'sa' was in a fisherman's family
and it is he who divided the Vedas into four parts: Rk,
Yajuh, Sa'ma and Atharva. Therefore, how fallacious is the
idea - women and the shudras are not entitled to read the
Vedas. It is undesirable for any differentiating feeling
abiding in the aspirants' hearts. In the Ajina'nabodhinii
Tantra, it is said
Varn'a'shramabhima'nena shrutida'syabhavennarh
Varn'a'shrama vihiinashca vartate shrutimu'rdhan'i.
Brahma is an immutable, universal entity. The mother
loves all her children. She does not entertain different
interests towards her children, whether they are good or
bad. Likewise none in the eyes of the Lord is good or bad.
He bestows equal grace to all. The feelings of weal and woe
are the creations of the mind. Although the mind is limited
yet its orbit is vast. The aspirant undertakes spiritual
practices through the mind. When they merge their mind into
Brahma through Sa'dhana', they attain Brahma. They earn an
eternal abode above all weal and woe. Can anyone, at that
time, entertain any feelings of difference? They see Brahma
in everything. Ya'jina'valkya says to Maetreyii - O
Maetreyii! The A'tma'n alone is the single place for Bliss.
It is expedient to listen to, to think of and to meditate on
it. You will get its light on deep meditation on it. After
one knows the A'tma'n, nothing remains to be known. It
occurs in the
Mandakopanishad:
Bhidyate Hrdayagranthishchidyante Sarvasa'mshay'ah
Ksiiyante c'asya Karm'a'nitasmin drste par'avare.
The knots in the hearts of the living beings are rent
away once they are united with Brahma, the cause of all
causes. All their suspicions are removed and their past acts
annihilated. The living being have the desire to attain
happiness and to avoid troubles. It is their Dharma to
attain happiness. This is the desire operating behind
whatever they do, but the worldly pleasures are born of
attachments and this does not give them permanent bliss. If
any one obtains one thousand rupees, he will desire to have
another thousand. In this way, his desire progressively
increases with the attainment of each thing desired. Nothing
enjoyable is infinite. Therefore the desire for the infinite
is not satiated through these finite objects. Parama'tma'n
alone is infinite. For this reason, infinite happiness is
attainable on attaining Him, and for this Sa'dhana' is a
necessity, otherwise there is no liberation from the worldly
bondages. Sacchida'nanda is attainable through Sa'dhana'
alone. Sa'dhana' can be practiced at home among wife and
children. For this, it is not necessary to take to the order
of Sannya'sa. The true meaning of the word "Sannya'sin" is
"devoted to truth". No one can be devoted to truth except
through Sa'dhana'. In fact the word "Sannya'sa" can be used
in this very context of Sa'dhana' and for no other import. O
followers of A'nanda Ma'rga! March along the path of Satya.
Awaken the Satya hidden in you. Develop the cosmic
consciousness latent in you, in the same manner as
Bha'giratha through his sagacious powers had summoned the
holy currents of the Gangotrii through the dark mountainous
chasms. Through those currents of Satya enliven your society
and carry it along on the path of the infinite ocean of the
unseparable souls awakening on the road to the Supreme Union
towards the holy confluence of the Sea - on attaining which,
there would be no mean wandering nor the externalized
struggles for existence. There will be one Universal `You'
who will forget his own self in the serenity of the Serene,
the exaltation of Consciousness and the holy touch of the
Supremely Blessed.
SS1-9.SS
THE BASE OF LIFE
A finite entity requires a base for its existence. The
base shall not only preserve its `I' feeling in physical
form, but it shall also nourish the same every moment with
vital energy for that entity. The subtle entity requires a
base in exactly the same manner as a physical one - the base
being only the subtle form of the physical entity. The
subtle entity with which we are always concerned ultimately
is mind. The base or vitality of the mind are held to be the
accepted, discarded and contemplated objects collectively.
These objects, in their basic states, are external and
physical, but the mind enjoys them in their internal
impression of mental forms only. The mind of a certain
individual enjoys a particular finite object for a long time
or slowly according to its Sam'ska'ras. After enjoying a
particular object just for a short time or quickly, it wants
to turn to another. The mind cannot enjoy any of the finite
objects permanently till eternity without end, because the
finite object has both a beginning and an end. In this
eternal movement what has a beginning has certainly an end
too. YOu would not be able to enjoy it for all the time. The
long hands of Death shall certainly snatch it away. Even
then, man fails to comprehend this. Man takes that thing as
pleasant which he, according to his Sam'ska'ras, retains in
his mind for long or which he enjoys slowly, and he treats
this slow speed as pleasure and calls it `happiness'. The
minds of some persons remain absorbed in thoughts of money
for a long time. Such men surrender all the fragrance of
their life at the altar of money. Some persons treat the
achievement of fame or having a son as the principal object
of their lives. They do not hesitate to lay down their life
for having a son or achieving fame. Just in this very
manner, when the mind cannot enjoy a particular object for
long or enjoys it somehow hurriedly then such an experience
is called a painful experience or pain. Can you afford to
see a decomposed corpse for a long time? No. Do you not,
after a brief talk dispose of as quickly as possible the
person who causes you pain? Therefore it was said that
whether an object is pleasant or painful, its finiteness
cannot be your object permanently. That object from you and
you from that object are bound to separate. Here the
question arises that mind is needed for one's own
preservation and for the preservation of the mind, it needs
such a safe shelter as can hold it throughout eternity. Man
always craves for a safe shelter. Is it not so? Will you
build your house on the hollow land covered by sand? No, you
will construct your house on the firm foundation of solid
earth. Man always seeks a solid base to preserve his mental
potentialities firmly till eternity and to give it vital
energy in the struggle with Time. Is there a solid base like
this in the world? What is finite cannot be the base of your
life, because it will be used up, it will get away from you
and will leave your mind unsheltered. Thrusting you in the
abyss of darkness, it will pursue its course on the
limitless path. Therefore, O man! none except Brahma, the
beginningless, endless and infinite, can be 393 the object
of your mind or the base of your life. Here the question
arises that how shall we start a Brahma based life in this
manifested Universe where there are multitudes of finite
objects? The answer is that you adopt Madhuvidya'. Instead
of taking the finite or superficial as finite and
superficial, look upon them as the finite expressions of the
Infinite or the Permanent. Then the attraction for Preya
(superficies), love for Preya and love for Shreya (the
ultimate gain) shall all fuse into one.
Vishvajaner pa'yer tale dhulimae je bhu'mi Sei to
svarga bhu'mi sava'e niye sava'r majhe Lukiye a'cho tumi sei
to a'ma'r tumi (Ravindra Na'tha)
Do you love your son? That is perfectly right. But on
the son's death you will have several-fold pain. Is it not?
The son is a Preya, a finite entity. He cannot live till
eternity. He will depart, make you weep and cry. But if you
treat your son as the expression of Brahma in the form of
your son, then there will never be the fear of losing him
because Brahma cannot be lost in any span of time. He is
present around you in all the ten directions.
Es'a he devo pradisho' nusarva'h Pu'rvvohaja'tah sau
garbhe antah Sa eva ja'tah sa janis'yama'n'ah
Pratyaun jana'm'stis't'hate sarvvatomukhah (Shruti)
O' man! In that state no finite object can give you
its own color. At that time, you will truly become beyond
all colors (Varn'a'tiita). Then you will be able to accord
proper treatment to whatever finite being may come in
contact with you. Go on according proper treatment to the
expression of Brahma in the shape of your father by serving
him and paying attention to his comforts. Go on according
proper treatment to the expression of Brahma in the shape of
the earth by cultivating it and increasing its fertility. If
you go on according such proper treatment to the different
objects, they will not be able to degrade your mind towards
crudeness. This is called True Vaera'gya. Vaera'gya does not
denote renunciation or desertion or escaping to the
Himalayas after forsaking one's wife, child and family.
A'nanda Ma'rga is a staunch protestant of such escapist
mentality. According to A'nanda Ma'rga, the practice of
Dharma on adopting Vaera'gya is a part of family life. Those
persons who harbor the sentiment of flying away leaving
behind everything are laboring under the defeatist complex
only. The thief for fear of the police, the debtor for fear
of the creditor, the afflicted for inability to put up with
the afflictions are amongst those who take recourse to the
so-called Vaera'gya. such Vaera'giis do not have the
fortitude of facing the reverses of this world. They want to
hide their cowardice under tall talks. Even on taking to the
order of the so-called Vaera'gya, the worldly attractions do
not abate in their minds. Therefore, pursuing a wrong
significance of the term, they insistently practice
`Tya'ga'. Consequently most of them become fallen from their
path. `Vaera'gya' has been derived from the word `Vira'ga'.
The word `Ra'ga' denotes attachment. The practice whereby
detachment is developed for finite objects i. e. the
discipline whereby the mind is not influenced by the
attractions of worldly objects is Vaera'gya Sa'dhana'. The
true Cosmic entity gets revealed to man with this Vaera'gya.
this Cosmic entity alone is the basic shelter of man and a
strong foundation which shall not, at anytime, forsake him
leaving him forlorn. In this very Cosmic shelter you can
establish yourself fearlessly for all time to come.
Bhoge roga bhayam' Gun'e khala bhayam' rupe torunya'
bhayam' Kule cyuti bhayam' ma'ne daenya bhayam' vitte
nrpa'la dbhayam'. Bale ripu bhayam', sha'stre vadiibhayam',
Kaye krta'nta'd bhayam' sarvam' vastu bhaya'nvitam' bhuvi
nrn'a'm' vaera'gya meva' bhayam'.
SS1-10.SS
YAJINA AND KARMAPHALA
Today's subject is Yajina and the fruit thereof. the
word Yajina is formed by the root `Yaj' and the suffix
`ina'. It means `action': whatever a man does, we can call
it a yajina. Here, the origin of actions has to be founds
out. Where is the unmanifested potentiality of action? The
doer of an act is the mind. Before doing an act, man thinks
of that and his thoughts get manifested as corresponding
vibrations or sensations in his mind. when those mental
vibrations are transformed into the actions of the external
world, that is, after thinking in the mind about doing an
act, when the hands and feet become active then the action
so done is called an act (kriya'). The existence of
vibration is in the province of the mind (Sublime level) and
that of the act is both in the sublime and crude levels,
because all vibrations are not transformed into acts. But
where there is an act the existence of a precedent thought
thereof is a certainty. That is why Karma or Yajina is
termed psycho=physical, that is, it is both mental and
physical. Man cannot exist even for a moment without doing
an act. Salvation means the eternal emancipation from this
very Karma or Yajina. In the first instance, a few words
shall be said with regard to Yajina. Ordinarily yajina is of
four kinds:(i) Bhu'ta yajina, (ii) Nr yajina, (iii) Pitr
yajina and (iv) A'dhya'tma yajina - and of these four
Yajinas, the first three name, Bhu'ta, Nr, and Pitr yajina
are psycho-physical, that is, both mental and physical, but
A'dhya'tma-yajina is out and out internal. The origin of
Bhu'ta, Nr and Pitr-yajina is in mental vibrations. They
take shape in the physical world. but the actual origin of
Karma is in the province of the mind. Suppose that I donated
ten rupees to a particular person. this shall be termed
Nr-yajina. Here in the first instance, I have given the
donation mentally. when this mental vibration took the shape
of a physical act then I practically made the donation. As
soon as the thought of having given the donation occurs in
the mind, the physical act of donating flashes, that is, the
act actually originated in the mental domain. But the matter
is different with respect to the Adhya'tma-yajina. It
originates in the domain of the soul and terminates also in
the soul. (i) Bhu'ta-Yajina:- Bhu'ta-Yajina comprises of the
services rendered to any created entity of the manifested
world, such as watering the trees, serving the cattle,
undertaking scientific explorations, and doing anything for
the sake of welfare is Bhu'ta-yajina. In Sam'skrta, Bhu'ta
means that which has been created. The word Bhu'ta does not
denote ghost or spirit of the English language. The
Sam'skrta synonym of the English words ghost and spirit is
"Preta". (ii) Nr-Yajina:- Nr-yajina is man's action designed
for human welfare. In fact, Nr-yajina is a part of
Bhu'ta-yajina, because man also is a created being. A few
words will be said with regard to Nr-yajina hereafter. (iii)
Pitr-Yajina:- Pitryajina means remembering the ancestors and
the sages. As long as a man possesses the physical body he
remains indebted to the ancestors. While a man is capable of
acting for the emancipation of his own self as well as of
his society by the help of the 393 knowledge acquired by the
sages through their austerity, he is indebted to the sages.
Sages are those who are helping and who have helped in the
past the human society in different ways by the invention of
new subjects. Are you not enjoying the fruits of the
inventor of Railway Engines? Is it not proper for you to
maintain respectful feelings for those, the fruits of whose
inventions you are enjoying? We base our subsequent
explorations on their inventions. Is it not a fact that the
present intellectual currents have originated from the
fountain of their wisdom? Many people are heard saying that
science is detrimental to civilization and an impediment for
civilization, and that the old world was, indeed, good. They
forget that science also existed in the old world. Although
it was in the most undeveloped state, yet they had adopted
the same according to the then standard of wisdom and
knowledge. We are progressing ahead on the road constructed
by them. We are going on extending the roads by cutting down
the jungles and the hills. It is their bullock carts which
have given us the incentive for our railways and motor-cars.
We have converted the yachts constructed by them into
submarines. That is why I say that there is no fault in the
development of science. Time as well is not to blame. The
fault rest with us. Science does not tell us to make use of
the nuclear energy on destructive lines. We are trying to
establish our animality with the help of that. Those who
have invented destructive weapons with the help of science
are not sages, because their Sa'dhana' is not contributory
to the welfare of mankind. But those sages who have looked
to the well-being of mankind are certainly of our revered
memory. To pay homage to them is Pitr-yajina. (iv)
Adhya'tma-yajina:- It has already been said that
Adhya'tma-yajina is out and out internal. The impetus for
Adhya'tma-yajina issues forth from the soul and this impetus
becomes operative in the mental province, that is, the mind
performs the Sa'dhana', and again, the Karma also terminates
in the province of the soul. That is, the ultimate goal of
mental Sa'dhana' lies in the province of the soul.
Adhya'tma-yajina is a liberative Sa'dhana' and the remaining
three Bhu'ta, Nr and Pitr yajina are all liberative as well
as subjugative (Nivrtti and Pravrtti). Nr-yajina is of four
kinds - (1) Shu'drocita, (2) Vaeshyocita, (3) Ks'attriyocita
and (4) Viprocita. To serve the world by the physical body,
to make others happy at one's own sacrifice or to ameliorate
the afflictions of others, for example, nursing the
patients, etc. come within the purview of Shu'drocita-seva'.
The services rendered by supplying food, water, money, etc
are termed Vaeshyocita-seva'. Protecting others even by
risking one's life is Ks'attriyocita-seva'. To give
expression of Adhya'tma-yajina is Viprocita-seva. Teach
others the spiritual knowledge you have gained. Instill in
them the earnestness for treading on the path of virtue.
Then only you will justify your existence as a social
creature. Shu'drocita-seva' is the backbone of the society.
Those underrating Shu'drocita-seva' cannot render the
Vaeshyo-cita seva. Therefore, one has got to become a Shudra
in order to be eligible for rendering Vaeshyocita-seva'.
Exactly in the same way, one has to become a Shudra, Vaeshya
and a Ks'atriya all the three in order to be eligible for
rendering Ks'attriyocita-seva'. Thus we find 3p3 that those
alone who possess these four qualities are Vipras. Although
the excellence of all the different services is equal, yet
Viprocita seva' is particularly glorious, because
Viprocitaseva' is directly related to Adhya'tma-yajina. But
the fact that the value of a particular service depends on
time, place and person and the circumstances cannot be lost
sight of. A wayfarer is in distress in a lonely place and he
is about to die. There Viprocita sermons are entirely
valueless. Shu'drocita-seva' and nursing shall have to be
rendered there. Therefore, shu'drocitaseva' is of the
highest value there. What will you do where a man is dying
of starvation? Will you nurse him or give him sermons? Food
shall have to be arranged for him. Therefore,
Vaeshyocitaseva' is of the greatest value there. Some
beastly-natured men are meting out brutal treatment to a
helpless person. There sermons are not to be lavished, no
nursing needed, nor any food to be offered. But there you
shall render Ks'attriyocita type of service. In that
situation, this very service is uppermost, all other
services are entirely meaningless. To a drunkard Shu'drocita
type of service is meaningless, and so is Vaeshyocita,
because giving money will give impetus to his addiction to
drinking and he will not give this up. By giving only a
beating he will leave the place and go elsewhere to gratify
his thirst. Therefore, he has to be administered with
Ks'attriyocita along with Viprocita sermons. He has to be
emancipated from this bad habit by good counsel. The problem
can not be solved just by inflicting punishment or by
enactment of laws to wind up the liquor shop. In that
condition this bad habit will seek an outlet in secrecy. As
a result of it, the whole society will be affected. Thus we
see that all the four types of services have got their
importance in particular circumstances. Still the effect of
Viprocita-seva' is stable whereas that of other types of
services is not so. At the time of rendering services, the
feeling of men should be such that the object of service is
Na'ra'yan'a (God) and the server is an aspirant. There will
be no room for conceit by entertaining such feelings.
Conceit is the cause of the fall of man. Therefore, for
getting rid of conceit, we shall have to regard the object
of our service as Na'ra'yan'a. When you render service to
anyone, you must mentally address with devout devotion, "O
Lord, O Na'ra'yan'a! oblige me by accepting my services.
Thou art merciful to me and for this reason thou hast
appeared before me as a living being to offer to me this
very precious opportunity of rendering services to Thee." By
maintaining such sentiments, conceit shall not crop up in
you, nor shall the reactions of your actions bind you. The
principal cause for the bondage of the fruits of action is
conceit or the yearning for fame. Suppose a certain man
donated a sum or rupees one thousand to a particular
institution. Next day he looks anxiously for his name in the
newspaper. If his name does not appear in the paper, he with
an air of conceit, brags amongst his kith and kin, "A
thousand rupees have been donated by me, but I do not desire
to earn name and therefore, have not published my name in
the paper." In this circumstance, it will be inferred that
the desire for fame exists in a concealed form in that man's
mind. Surely, he did not make the donation with the spirit
of 33 service. But when you will perform the acts by
transplanting the idea of Na'ra'yan'a on the person served
there will be no possibility of any arrogance or idea of
earning fame growing in your mind. Then you will realize
that through the grace of Na'ra'yan'a you have got the
opportunity of serving Na'ra'yan'a. Our hands and feet are
not ours, these are His and by serving Himself with those
hands and feet, He sports with Himself. Such an action alone
is an action without attachment. Through this alone man can
attain salvation from the bondage of Karma. You must feel
that the person served is Brahma. The persons served are His
finite manifestation of His. Never, even by mistake, take
the object of service as man, or a living being. A devotee
in ecstasy
says
"Jaha'n Jaha'n netra pare taba'n taken Hari sphure".
Towhatsoever my vision turns, Hari is visible. To
attain this stage is the culmination of the aspirants
efforts. By working with feelings of Brahma, you will be
able to perceive Brahma in everything gradually. Why have
feelings of Brahma or Hari to be adopted? Before realizing
this you will have to understand what Bha'va signifies.
Shuddhasattvavishes'dva' premas'urya'm'shus'amyabhak
Racibhishcittam'asr'nya krdasao bha'vaudyate (Shrii Ru'pa
Gosva'mii)
Whereby the mind is sanctified, all the ten directions
are brightened by the rays of the sun of Love, a particular
liking is developed for the Supreme Brahma and the mind
develops gentleness or tenderness is called "Bha'va". This
is the aim behind treating the objects of service with the
feeling of Brahma. The development of ideas in a man's mind
takes place in three ways:(1) Direct imposition, (2)
Indirect imposition and (3) spontaneous. Direct Imposition:Suppose you are playing the role of Shahjaha'n in a certain
drama. In that, even though your mothertongue is Sanskrit
you will knowingly speak Persian. In that situation you have
knowingly assumed the feeling `I am Sha'hjaha'n' and having
influenced the mind accordingly, you are behaving in that
manner. In that circumstance your own personality is masked
by that of Sha'hjaha'n. this is known as direct imposition
of ideas. Indirect Imposition:- You do not knowingly assume
any such idea but having been influenced and hypnotized by
other persons, you act unconsciously. Your personal
exclusiveness is drowned in the currents of his ideas. In
that circumstance, under directions of the hypnotist, you
will take sand for sugar and find it sweet as well.
Spontaneous Imposition:- In this, the ideas spring from
within and only the true ideas get expressed. Such is the
feeling while you are in Iishvara Pra'nidhana. In the
beginning of this, certainly the feeling of `I am' exists
within the aspirants mind. He feels that "I am practicing
Sa'dhana' for the realization of Brahma." 33 In the method
of Sa'dhana' prescribed by A'nanda Ma'rga this very feeling
of `I am' having been developed and expressed spontaneously
gets transformed into feeling of Brahma. This spontaneous
idea is not easily intelligible to those who do not practice
Sa'dhana'. For this very person, they are more often than
not, overtaken with false apprehensions as they do not know
the transcendental currents of happiness wherein the
Sa'dhaka has drifted himself. You do not have to take the
idea that `I am Hanuma'na', `I am Ra'dha'. Adhya'tma-yajina
is entirely performed in the mental field. For this reason,
there is no necessity her of any experiment or imposition.
But in Bhu'ta, Nr or Pitr yajina, experiment or imposition
is necessary. One has to feel the object of service is
Na'ra'yan'a. What would happened if you do not adopt this
feeling? Your very efforts will go in vain. It should be
borne in mind that the reaction of an action is interspersed
intimately with the action itself. When you perform an act,
you have got to bear its brunt. The Giita'
says:
Karman'yeva'dhika'raste ma' phales'u kada'cana.
You are free to act but you are bond to undergo its
reaction. The moment you do an act, you acquire
simultaneously the possibility of its reaction. Where the
original act is being done, the seed for its reaction is
also being sown simultaneously, and its consequence has to
be undergone. There is no escape from it. It is not within
your right to get rid of it or to escape its fruits and
consequences. You have a right only to the action. Just on
wishing you may or may not do an act. What we call
Sam'ska'ra is the reaction of Karma in its potentiality,
that is, it is the seed of the reaction of an action. The
completion of a Yajina lies in its offerings. Karma and
Yajina are the same and the accomplishment of the four
varieties of Karma lies in the offerings of dearest things,
that is, in offering one's own self Ra'ma Yajina signifies
offering oneself unto Ra'ma, surrendering oneself unto
Ra'ma, Vis'nu. Yajina has a similar significance. The world
Vishnu means all-pervasive. For this reason the
accomplishment of Vishnu-yajina lies in merging oneself into
the Supreme Entity. Those who offer clarified butter in
Yajina are really misguided. They think that by offering
ghee in the fire, it will rain. Even today they are living
in the age of blind superstition. From the scientific angle
of vision, we conclude that by offering ghee in the fire,
the ghee is burnt and the unburnt carbon particles evaporate
in the form of smoke. Everyone knows that ghee is basically
the chemical composition of hydrogen and carbon. The
water-vapor generated by burning ghee is negligible.
Therefore, what will the magnitude of cloud formed by
burning even one thousand mounds of ghee? It is an utter
misuse of ghee. To make proper use of ghee, feed it to the
weak so that they may have a good health. Perform
Bhu'ta-yajina if you want rain. Scientific research comes
within the purview of Bhu'ta-yajina. Manufacture artificial
clouds and make use of them wherever rainfall is needed. O'
Sa'dhakas! Justify Ra'ma-yajina by offering yourselves 33
unto Ra'ma or Parama'tman. Accomplish your
Maha'vishn'u-yajina by merging the arrogance of your `I'
feeling in the all-pervading Parama'tman. For this purpose,
you need not go on begging from door to door.
Adhya'tma-yajina is an internal affair. Of what avail is
money for this purpose! It is only in case of Bhu'ta Nr and
pitr yajina that crude physical things are needed, not in
the case of Adhya'tma-yajina. By this the mind gradually
obtains enlightenment. Therefore, there is no necessity to
entertain the idea of Ra'ma or Vis'nu or any such particular
idea. It is necessary to adopt a special sentiment in the
cases of Bhu'ta Nr or pitr yajina. It is only by adopting
the sentiment, that you will not be attached to Karma,
because the arrogance of your `I' feeling will not have an
opportunity to arise. By the Lord's directions, you are
serving Him, being a part and parcel of his manifestation.
By maintaining such sentiments, arrogance cannot loom up.
You know that the result of your actions will be just in
conformity with your aims. If you submit to the Lord the
subjective feeling of your actions, then the reactions
thereof also appertain to the Lord. But while taking this
sentiment, one has to see that the sentiment is born out of
love and out of fear. Fear does not generate love. There
will be no service in absence of love and your Bhu'ta, Nr
and Pitr yajina will become meaningless. The sentiment must
be surcharged with Prema (Love). What is Prema?
Samyaunmasrn'itosv'anto mamatva'tishaya'unkita Bha'va
sa eva sa'ndratma' budhaeh premanigadyate. (Shrii Ru'pa
Gosva'mii)
Love will be selfless. You rear hens. Your love is for
those hens also. You feed them with paddy. If any one takes
your hen you fall out and come to blows with him. But is
that your selfless love? Love has got to be untarnished,
free from all caprice. How will love be untarnished? While
rendering services, maintain the sentiment that you are
serving the person served for his comfort and well-being.
this will make your service selfless. Love as well be
untarnished. The service rendered with selfless motive are
not without blemishes. You seed the hens for your benefit.
There you are actuated with this sentiment that one day this
hen will lay eggs and you will earn money by selling
them."Nija sukha la'gi je kare piriiti, se ja'ni garala
kha'e"
Entertain divine sentiment by saturating love wherever
you have to perform Bhu'ta-yajina. Nr-yajina and
Pitr-yajina. It is meaningless to love out of fear. Where
there is no love, there cannot be complete surrender of self
and the Yajina also will be fruitless there.
Karma tapa yoga: jina'na, vidhibhakti japa dhya'na,
iha' hoite ma'dhurya durlabha. Keval je, ra'gama'rge, bhaje
krs'n'a annra'ge ta're krs'n'a ma'dhurya sulabha. (Caetanya
Carita'mrta) 3J3 The life of the person becomes mechanical,
if he remains overwhelmed with the sentiment that one must
do such acts, one must perform such Yajina, one must rise in
this manner and sit in this manner, and get up in this
manner and so on. Happiness disappears there. For this
reason, such ritualism cannot be called real Karma. To serve
others at one's sacrifice is called penance. In the absence
of love, the services rendered and penance undergone for
show only are fruitless. All ritualistic devotion, sham
penance, counting the beads, etc, are meant only for a
public show. True love and the Supreme goal are lost sight
of. Brahma cannot be attained through any of the show
actions, because in the ritualistic thoughts, the sweetness
of happiness is lacking. The divine bliss is easily
available only to those who base their Sa'dhana' on love.
One has to see here how the consequences of the action are
annihilated through service. Where there is arrogance of `I'
feeling, there the consequences exist with the actions,
begetting corresponding consequences. Where the `I' is the
doer there the same `I' is the receiver of the consequence.
In the detached actions, the `I' is not the doer and as such
it is not liable to reap the consequences. In an unattached
action there is no bondage of the consequences, because
whatever he does is consigned to Brahma, and, therefore, the
consequences of the actions are also consigned to Brahma; in
other words, the actions as well as the consequences both
appertain to Parama'tman. Regard yourself as an instrument
of Na'ra'yan'a and go on doing your work in a detached
manner. Here a question may crop up whether a person
suffering from pain is only reaping the consequences of his
actions, and in these circumstances is it proper to serve
him? The answer is very simple. I will not even think that
he is reaping the consequences of his actions. My purpose
will be to decide the intention with which to act. I will,
at that time, have to think that in pursuit of a particular
design, Parama'tman Himself is suffering distress and in
this way, He is affording me an opportunity to render
services. He is obliging me by accepting my services out of
His grace. Inscrutable are the designs of Na'ra'yan'a. Look
upon the distressed with divine sentiments. Just as
vibrations take the shape of actions so also counter
vibrations bear exactly opposite consequences of these
actions. The nature of consequences is shaped by the tune of
the nature of the intentions to act or vibrations. Again, in
the physical world the consequences of such an action are
created according to the status of the doer irrespective of
the magnitude of the actions and is in consonance with his
mental endurance. If there be no pain by a cut in the hand,
that is, if the mind does not feel the consequence then it
is not punitive. The question of unitary suffering of the
consequences of action does not arise in the case of those
free from a debased mind, and who are accomplished in
universality, because there the individual does not work
with unit feelings. Where action, yoga, penance or knowledge
is affected with feelings of distinctions, there arrogance
is bound to come into play and there must be individual
distinctions. When an act is dedicated Parama'tman, its
consequences also come depicted to Him. The unit in that
case is neither the doer nor the bearer of the 33
consequences. What is it to your then? Occasionally, an
affectatious vanity is seen in the aspirant, but it is not
meant for his personal end, rather it is for the sake of
Parama'tman. This is called Sattvika vanity. The vanity
associated with detached actions is not born of the mean
unit `I' feeling but of the feeling of Universal `I'. Ra'dha
says,
Bandhu toma'rai garava garavini hama ru'pasii
toma'raii ru'pe.
"I pride on thee. This that Ra'dha has belongs to
Thee. Is it Thy beauty which has imparted comeliness to
Ra'dha. Is it not that I receive from Thee the inspiration
to act? Thou art the doer and thou alone art the enjoyer."
Act exactly with this sentiment. The more man will work with
feelings of detachment, the greater will be his Godward
speed and that more the `I' feeling shall be annihilated.
The Unit `I' feeling will be completely annihilated by the
time the divine feeling is completely acquired. The detached
actions are the fight against the unit self and the
attainment of Universal `I'. The Unit `I' will go on abating
in proportion to the lessening of the arrogance and in the
very proportion the mind's sphere will get enlightened by
the refulgence of the Universal Self. That is why the
followers of A'nanda Ma'rga have got to tread the path of
action without attachment. Along with Adhya'tma-yajina, the
Bhu'ta, Nr and Pitr yajina will also have to be performed
and then only is the accomplishment of the true sacrifice of
self in the fire of Brahma. The feelings of `I' or the
feelings of self, work just like a mirror. The original
entity is Parama'tman (Cosmic Consciousness) and its
reflection in the mirror alone is the Jiiva'tman (Unit
Consciousness).
Yatha' darpanabha'va a'bha'saha'nao Mukham' vidyate
kalpana'hiinamekam. Tatha' dhii viyoge nira'bha'sako yah Tah
nitopalabdhi svarupo' yama'tma (Hasta'malak)
The question of reflection without a mirror does not
arise. Where there is no mirror of `I' feeling or
Mahattattva or Budhitattva there is no Jiiva'tman as the
reflection. The condition in which one lives, after
annihilation of ego is our initial form. He alone is the
life of lives, the soul of souls, namely, the Lord. That
very spiritual practice is worth the name which does away
with the mirror of Budhitattva for the Jiiva'tman in shape
of the reflection to get absorbed in Parama'tman - the
original entity and, for this, the inevitable requisite is
detached action. Yajina is performed for emancipation from
the consequences of action, to annihilate the Unit `I'. The
four-fold services enumerated under Nr-yajina can be easily
performed by any man. Every human being gets greater or
lesser opportunity for rendering services. If a poor man
thinks that he cannot render Vaeshyocita type of services as
he is devoid of money, he is 33 wrong. The charity of a few
paise of the poor has a value identical with that of lakhs
of a millionaire, rather the charity of these few paise out
weights. Lord Krs'n'a has attached greater importance to the
small fragments of grams of Vidura than the royal sumptuous
dishes of Duryodhana. Be that it may, let everyone render
services to the world in accordance with his capacity. Work
for the welfare of the living beings to the best of your
ability. Carry home convictions to others as best as your
intellect can. Perform Viprocita type of service through
that. Let every person perform the four kinds of actions as
far as possible. Adhya'tma yajina is an internal Yajina and
ultimately it finds its terminus in Parama'tman, the
original Self. Therefore, your Sa'dhana' should be with a
detached sentiment. But the remaining Sa'dhana', namely, all
types of services and all varieties of Yajina initially
start in an externalized manner and proceed further and
further, but again they will reverse their course towards
the inner self and will gratify you at last in your
innermost entity on the jeweled throne attained by your
birthright. Remember that no one yajina is inferior to the
other. Therefore, I say that as long as you exist, you have
got to perform Yajina. The moment you will desist from or
become incapacitated to discharge the duties, you will fall
in an abyss. You should not do this. It is your Dharma to
carry yourself from narrowness to vastness, from greatness
to divinity. To allow yourself to fall into an abyss is
against the characteristic of your existence. You long for
eternal bliss, endeavor for eternal life and you are fused
into one with that very unending life in the circulation of
your arteries and veins and in the rhythmic vibrations of
the contractions of your heart. You have been listening day
and night the voice of eternal youth. Can you ever imagine
remaining in actionless, yajinaless states like the crude
beings. In the state of Supreme attainment and Supreme
realization, you will be infused with boundless knowledge.
O' man! be you established in the radiance of godliness, in
manliness and be awakened by the splendor of virile
chivalry, because yours is a path of revolution. Yours is
not a path of extra caution and scheduled movement. YOu are
traveller of a ruffled path. You are traveller of an
impregnable path. You have to march ahead with your flag of
Ma'rga upright, with head upward and with your chest
forward. You have not a moment to stagger or to look behind.
SS1-11.SS
BRAHMA KRPA'HI KEVALAM
Nirgun'a Brahma is eternal without beginning and
Sagun'a Brahma as well is eternal without beginning or end.
In the common mind the question generally arises that when
Sagun'a Brahma is within the infinite Nirgun'a Brahma, the
former is certainly a little less than infinite, that is to
say, is finite. Man is carried away by this misconception,
because he has no conception with regard to the infinite,
nor has he even the capacity to conceive. If four is
deducted from ten, the remainder is six. Here, both four and
ten are finite. The remainder six is also finite. But if
anything finite or infinite is taken from the infinite, the
remainder is infinite, indeed. If the boundless Sagun'a
Brahma is taken from the infinite Nirgun'a Brahma, the
remainder is infinite Nirgun'a Brahma.
Pu'rn'amadah purn'amdam' Pu'rn'a'd pu'rna'mudacyate
Pu'rn'sya pu'rnmada'ya Purn'ameva'vashisyate.
That is to say, this is infinite and that also is
infinite. The perfect has given rise to the perfect and if
infinite be taken from the infinite, the remainder also is
infinite. Sagun'a Brahma is the nucleus of knowledge in the
form of Purus'ottama and His mental state is His object. Is
Purus'ottama infinite of finite? For the reasons for which
Purus'ottama is established in the Subjective feeling, for
that very reason, His knowledge aspect is not destroyed. He
is not under the bondage of Ma'ya' (Prakrti). Whatever is
beyond the bounds of Ma'ya' is beyond the bounds of time,
place and person. For this very reason the Purus'ottama's
entity is independent of time, place and form; that is to
say, is infinite. It is to be seen here whether the mind of
Purus'ottama, that is whether the Cosmic mind, is finite or
infinite. Mind signifies three aspects - Mahattattva,
Ahamtattva and Citta. On account of there being the
expression only of Sattvagun'a in Mahattattva there are no
limiting boundaries in the Cosmic `I'. Giving shape to a
thing after rendering it finite is effected by Tamogun'a.
For this very reason, the Ahamtattva, that is, where only
Sattvagun'a and Rajogun'a exist in Sagun'a Brahma, can cause
no limitations yielding crudeness or physical forms. On this
very account we find that the Mahattattva and Ahamtattva
portions of the Cosmic mind are infinite; that is to say,
the Cosmic mind is infinite. Is the Cosmic Citta, the
crudest manifestation of the Cosmic mind, finite or
infinite? When Citta has been created under the influence of
Tamogun'a doubtlessly it is bounded by the time of
limitation. just as with the idea of oneness, He acquires
the form out of the five elements from specific object, or
for the sake of sustaining the existence, accepts or
discards them, so also the entire Cosmic mind assumes a
particular shape, the boundaries of which are formed by the
unit mind. The only difference between the two is that the
component of the Unit mind is only the reflection of the
Cosmic mind. This five elemental world is the crude
manifestation of the Cosmic mind, which is the 393 creator
of the sublime forms of the unit mind. This five elemental
world is nothing by the mental stuff of the Cosmic mind and
that very Cosmic mind forms the medium of the individual for
feelings of pleasure or pain. This five elemental world,
though very large and extensive is not infinite, because it
is simply the collective evolution of the Cosmic Citta,
created by the help of Tamogun'a. Doubtlessly, it is bounded
by limits. Just as each of the planets, the stars and the
heavenly bodies possess a particular shape, so also their
sum total is not shapeless, because all these are the
results of the mind stuff of the Cosmic mind. The scientists
also will arrive at this reality and will recognize the
correctness of the sages' words. This extremely vast Cosmic
mind stuff resembling the oval shape of the solar world is
known as Brahma'n'da (anda means egg). The present visible
Universe is finite - howsoever vast it may be; but is the
potentiality of the Cosmic mind-stuff also limited? That is
to say, as a result of the evolutionary progress when the
present Cosmic mind=stuff shall merge into the state of
Nirgun'a Brahma, will then the Sagun'a Brahma also attain
Moks'a as a result of the Cosmic mind-stuff having become
gradually spent up? No, it will not be so. Even though the
manifestations of the Cosmic mind-stuff are all limited, the
mind-stuff itself is not finite. The origin of Sagun'a
Brahma is beyond the limits of time. Therefore, as a result
of whatever he has done as Praja'pati since eternity,
without beginning, he has accumulated never ending
Sam'ska'ras, the original acts of which have not been
performed by any individual's finite mind-stuff. For this,
one mind-stuff after another, rather innumerable mind-stuffs
have been formed and destroyed and to reap those
Sam'ska'ras, innumerable mind-stuffs of Brahma shall be
created and destroyed. Therefore, in his limited mind-stuff,
howsoever vast it may be all His Sam'ska'ras have neither
been expressed or pulsated nor can they ever be so. As his
Citta wanes, His unexpressed or unvibrated Sam'ska'ras go on
creating new mind-stuffs in His Cosmic mind for making Him
bear the consequences of His actions. As the present
Milky-ways would turn into stars and planets and ultimately
get merged in the Nirgun'a Brahma, the highest attainment of
Sa'dhana', in the same progression, new Milky ways, new
luminous bodies, new atoms and electrons and new electrical
bodies shall be created, as a result of the gradual
evolutionary process. For this reason I say that the present
Cosmic Citta is limited by the Cosmic mind-stuff is
infinite, and it will continue throughout eternity. Thus we
find that when the Cosmic mind is in fact the innumerable
expressions of the mind-stuffs in their totality, then there
is no error in calling it infinite. Therefore, O' man!
Remember that your personality also shall advance through
transmutations like all other entities. The total extinction
of the Cosmic mind shall never take place in any age.
Therefore, you have no cause to be afraid of or have the
fear of any final dissolution of the Universe. Those who
think that there is some big selfish end of Brahma in the
attainment of emancipation by a living being are mistaken.
What will be the diminution in the size of the Cosmic
mind-stuff by one living being attaining supreme redemption?
Again 3p3 that one living being will be created out of the
unmanifested Sam'ska'ras. He goes on imagining for the sake
of reaping His sam'ska'ras and his reaping time shall
continue throughout eternity. For this very reason, he may
be happy over the redemption of the unit living being but
what help does this afford Him in attaining salvation? It is
expedient for man to be ever-grateful to Him. It is He who,
out of his grace, has equipped the human being by the
requisites for Sa'dhana'. He constantly showers the rain of
His grace without reservation even on those persons who
degrade from the efforts for salvation and gradually degrade
themselves towards crudeness. Even though you calumniate
Brahma and deny his existence, yet He won't be displeased
with you. He will not thrust you on the path of destruction.
His imposing countenance of forgiveness will ever remain
unabated. He will ever go on directing you the ways to mend.
Who else is your genuine friend and compassionate companion
like Him?
Tvamevama'ta' ca pita' tvameva Tvameva bandhucasakha'
tvameva Tvameva vidya' dravin'am Tvameva Tvameva Sarvam'
mama deva deva.
O' Man! Do not disregard this enlivening love of your
Supreme friend. do not allow any of His gifts to go useless.
Pay heed once to His words with a steady mind. O' man! do
not forget how much he has done for you, how much he is
doing and how ready He is to do anything for you. When the
aspirant advance a little on the path of Sa'dhana' then His
grace becomes more and more refulgent in his mind. His mind
gets perfused with this feeling of love. The waves of
A'nanda start stirring up his mind. His voice is choked by
influx of emotions and in that situation, through his lips
zealous with sentiment, through his tilting body and through
his tearful eyes, one and only one soundless voice recites and the recitation relates to feeling of solitary
self-surrender to Him, to complete dependence on Him.
"Brahma Krpa'hi Kevalam"
SS2-1.SS
CHAPTER 1
THE INTUITIONAL SCIENCE OF THE VEDAS
In days of yore when the desire for worship was
awakened in the minds of the primitive people for the first
time - at that initial stage, they accepted men of great
wisdom and strength as the objects of their adoration. Prior
to this they had been Nature-worshipers or phsyiolaters.
When their mental hunger failed to be appeased through the
worship of mountains and rivers, trees and creepers, forests
and seas, dawn and vesper, or thunder and lightning, they
took the first step forward toward the contemplation of God
through the medium of hero-worship. With the result a kind
of incarnation-doctrine came into being, ascribing full
Brahma-hood to a unit and this, in the name of religion,
became the vogue in the human society from generation to
generation for a long time. but limitless is the urge of the
human heart. The desire for installing himself in his
characteristic seity or self in the shrine of knowledge
goaded man to the philosophical path and as the result of
such philosophical dissertations and discussions his trend
of thought gradually took a new turn. He began to think as
to how on earth it was possible to reach the beginningless,
indivisible, super-exultant perseity through such
unit-worship - through the worship of the finite. At that
auspicious break of dawn there heaved a great agitation - a
mighty inner stirring, in his hungry heart for the
realization of that beginningless, endless, unmanifest,
all-pervading Entity. How and what is that which the mind
will apprehend with its entire entity? The first sprout of
Brahmabhavana or intuitionalism we come across in the Rgveda
of the hoary past. That very germ or sprout grew into a huge
tree in the Yajurveda with its numerous branches and
branchlets. In the auspicious moment of that day the human
intellect saw through the radiance of his supra-mundane
knowledge - through his clairvoyance, that whatever he
wanted of the material world, all emanate from and belong
to, that Supreme Bliss Absolute - all are but the
unit-manifestations of that Supreme Entity. None of these
were His whole self. But he could not just as well afford to
neglect those units, for they, too, were not outside Him.
They, too, were His inseparable parts. The common people
could not easily grasp the deep Brahmatattva or Intuitional
Theory and so they tried to hold on to the superficial and
extrovertive paraphernalia like sacrifices, rites and
rituals, taking them for their religious pursuit. But the
wise and learned people realized that as the result of this
unitworship - this worship of the crude, people of developed
intellect and consciousness would gradually revert towards
crudeness - would gradually transform themselves into
crudeness itself. It is, of course, true that, giving up the
crude apart, for the sake of physical necessities it is not
even possible to give up the effort to attain the crude.
Nevertheless having food and clothing and meeting other
physical necessities do not mean the end of hunger of the
human heart. At times man carries on without clothing year
after year or fly the world voluntarily should they 383
prove antagonistic to the characteristic urge of his heart.
So it will not do for man to go on with the sole intention
of providing himself with the crude necessities alone.
Should anybody take to this way of life, he too, shall be
deprived of bliss for good even and anon he shall have to
carry the sighs and aching void of the desert. So man
concluded after due cogitation: Since it was not possible to
give up the units and since he would have to go in for the
`whole' after all, he would just as well forestall his
attachment for the finite by always keeping awakened in his
mind, while making use of them, a sense of their being the
image of that very Supreme Spirit: The pleasure-ward trend
of the attachment would then be diverted towards the
Bliss-ward course itself: By ascribing divinity to
everything and thereby eliminating the limitedness of its
littleness, man would realize the Supreme Exultation - enjoy
the Supreme Bliss Itself. In the Vajasaneyii Samhita (Code)
of the Yajurveda it has been said,
Iisha vasyamidam sarvam yat kiinca jagatyam jagat Tena
tryaktena bhuinjiitha ma grdhah kasyasviddhanam.
This world is changeable, moving. The word, jagat
(world) is derived from the root, gam -kvip, which means
moving. This universe is the psychic manifestation of
Brahma. All thoughtprocesses are moving and restive, and
that is why, this world, the psychic manifestation of Saguna
Brahma (the Subjectivated Transcendentality), is moving and
restive. A thing that appears beautiful today is not
necessarily so tomorrow. A Sandesh (sweet meat) that is
delectable today will not be fit for consumption after a few
days. Indeed one cannot even vouch for its shape being
intact then. To say the least, every unit object is mutable
and that is why, pleasure derived from the units cannot be
perpetual and constant. So what then should a Sadhaka
(spiritual aspirant) do? He will have to ascribe divinity to
every unit object. All are the manifestation of God. Be it
land, home, river, mountain, respect, insult, day, night every thing is He and His, manifested as a unit. Make proper
use of all objects, thinking that they are His bounties. To
enjoy or endure anything is to enjoy or endure Him. shun the
attraction of the unit and establish contact with the
integral whole, when you will be able to school yourselves
to this way of life, the desire for stealing or
misappropriating others' properties will completely
disappear. In our Ananda Marga there is a particular process
through which you can dedicate everything to God. The
ascription of divinity to objects means the pursuit of the
Infinite, leaving the finite behind. Are you feeding your
son? No, no, you are feeding the son-like manifestation of
Brahma Himself. Are you tilling the field? No, no you are
serving the finite manifestation of Brahma with your plough.
Really speaking, the ascription of divinity to objects
precludes the material enjoyment thereof, for then the
objects merge in non-material Supreme Brahma Himself. Thus
the mind of a man who has established himself in the real
Vaeragya (the renunciation of all sensual pleasures), can
never get addicted to any object. Being in the midst of many
he remains beyond their frontiers and gets eternal peace in
final beatitude after his death.
No truck with water while I bathe With hairs flowing
free Nor woes nor griefs shall ever scathe Unwet I dip in
sea. Dedicated To God, night and day Awake, asleep or
dreaming be No lures of world or desires gay Dare ever come
between He and me.
Do your work but do not get meshed up with it. A great
man had
said,
Grind spices or be a cook Touch not the pan you ever
Dance a frog fore serpent's hook But let it not devour.
In the sea of nectar shall you bathe Unwet shall
remain your hair Tie the elephant to spider's web Love
awaits you there.
Here the spider represents the little unit, the
Sadhaka. A Sadhaka will realize what divine love is like,
only when he will prepare the devotion-like cobweb and tie
the elephant-like Supreme Entity to it. Life is very
intimately bound up with work. But if man does all works,
ascribing a sentiment of divinity or Brahmic thought to each
of the objects he is concerned with, then, because of his
non-attachment to material pleasure, the actional bondage
can neither tie him to itself nor life can be the cause of
actional bondage, nor for that matter, the actional bondage
can be the cause of life hereafter. Otherwise a long life
will become the cause of a long actional bondage - of
greater sorrow and you shall be a victim of actional cycle
life after life.
Kurvanneveha karmani jijiivisecchatam samah Evam tvayi
nanyathetosti na karma lipyate nare.
Thus cultivating always the Brahmic sentiment in your
mind, cherish the desire to live for a hundred years. You
shall not get enmeshed in actional bondage. This is the only
way, whereby you can save yourselves from the bondage of
activity. The application of Brahmic sentiment in all
activities is only possible of spiritual Sadhaka - only
possible through spiritual practices or Sadhana or the Atman
(soul). Establishing oneself in the Brahmic bearing is not
possible through the Sadhana of the mind, for the mind is
always racing up and down at the beck and call of the
senses. He who keeps busy with the Sadhana of the mind
instead of that Atman verily runs after darkness the
uncertain future.
Asuryya nama te loka andhena tamasavrtah 33 Tamste
pretyabhigacchanti ye ke catmahano janah.
Those that are sensually and materialistically
inclined are indeed self-destroyers, because they deny their
own souls through their acts. Whether they recognize the
existence of the soul orally or not, their act is certainly
detrimental to their self-development. In this material
world you may have come across many such people that
recognize the existence of Brahma - that recognize the
existence of soul orally, argue over it and are not
reluctant even to shed blood for the preservation of their
religion, yet in their individual lives they are always
after sensual pleasures. They conform to the above type.
They are gradually drifting away from the light towards
darkness receding from the developed human life towards the
animal life, for, in spite of their having attained the
human body, they have not shown any keenness for acts,
worthy of man. The sole and foremost duty of man is
Brahma-Sadhana or the worship of God. Essentially the soul
and the supreme Soul are one and the same thing. Difference
lies with the objects of the mind - with the mental
objectivity. The man whose mind has accepted the Infinite as
its object, has indeed identified himself with the Supreme
soul. Now the question may arise: when the Supreme Soul is
characteristically infinite, how comes then such a
distortion like individuality and what relation there is
between the unitsoul and this observable world? The dharma
or characteristic of an individual is to lead His object
from the finite towards Infinite - from a part to the Whole.
This characteristic of his emanates form his urge for
attaining happiness - for self-preservation. So long as the
object is not limitless, eternal happiness cannot be
achieved. Amongst the imaginable and unimaginable entities
the Supreme Soul alone is beginningless and endless and that
is why, limitless happiness is not possible through anything
but the Supreme Soul. the woe of loss is far greater from
the unit objects than the attainment of weal therefrom. The
woe that man finds the world wallowed in, is nothing but
that desideratum that woe of loss. But a man of wisdom never
gets shaken by the woe of that loss, for he knows that the
root-cause of all pains is one's self-created Samskaras the consequential reactions of his past and present deeds.
The weal-woe-begotten Samskara or consequential momentum
that brings about the stance of microcosmic subjectivity in
the Macrocosmic Consciousness - that stamps the Integral
Body with the seal of limitless unit-hood, has got its
rudimental cause in the Samskara, acquired by the Supreme
Being before His attaining Moksa (Salvation). Actually, it
will be more accurate to call it the mental reflection of
action and reaction instead of calling it the distortion of
the Supreme Soul. Individuality of the unit is not complete
in itself. So long as he is not ensconced in the Whole
Entity, his misery cannot be eradicated. I have already said
that the sufferings of a Sadhaka are begotten of his
self-created Samskaras and so one should not be afraid of
experiencing these reactions nor will it be meet to have an
accusing fling at Brahma on their account. Man is very often
found complaining, "God, so THIS you had in store for me. Is
this the reward of so much worship - so much charity that I
do?" Such utterances are foolish - sinful. During the time
33 of distress a Sadhaka should reproach himself for his
past misdeeds and keep himself away from all sorts of evil
acts in order to avoid such pains in future. Every one
should bear in mind, so long as the first of woes is not
extinguished - so long as the Samskaras are not obliterated,
one has got to suffer. That is why I say, you must not find
fault with others for your Samskaras, which are but the
reflection of your own default and misbehavior. Shall you
not see in the counter-reflection the same wreath that you
put round the neck of a shadow? Poet Vidyapati
said,
Countless miles and ages lie Life to life, between me
and him. Dogged by Fate and here am I! Fault not His, mine,
and grim.
Don't get upset over your sufferings and predicaments.
Use your painful experiences to advantage in your next life,
and act and behave wisely. Accepting the beginningless and
endless entity as the object of your mind, go on behaving
accordingly.
Anejadekam manaso javiiyo neanaddeva apnuvan
purvamarsat Taddhavatonyanatyeti tisitat tasminnapo
matarishva dadhati
He is the only Entity, Who has no movement. Where
there is no distinction of places or countries, there is no
movement. How can He, Who is the all-space Entity and in
Whom all spaces abide, have movement? Then we can say this
also: He is faster than the mind, for the motive force that
exists in His psychic body, i.e., the motive force of His
though process, by which all entities of the world is moving
and from which they are getting the impetus for movements,
is not capable of being apprehended by the sense, for the
momentum of the sense is towards objects, and the so-called
inert objects are but the external forms of His mental
expressions - His efferent thought-waves. That Blissful
Entity of His is resplendent in His characteristic State
beyond the sphere of the mind. It is because of this
cognitive Entity that vital and actional forces (life and
energy) exist in the world - that all kinds of worldly
junctions are being carried out in an orderly fashion.
Tadjati tannaejati tad dure tadvantike Tadantarasya
sarvasya tadu sarvasyasya bahyatah.
He is moving. No, no. He is not. He lies motionless
like the stump of a tree. He is far away. No, no. He is not.
He is very close. He is the Life of my life. He is within
you, within me. He is within and without all and at all
places. When a Sadhaka gets adequately acquainted with His
Blissful Entity, we say, he is established in Brahma. At
that stage both in and out attain unity. Mind then remains
aloof from the attraction of trifles, and real acquaintance
is then made with the Supreme Being. While the body remains
in the mortal world, the soul is merged in the Supreme Soul.
Mind then becomes unrecognizable. Whose mind is it after
all! Poet Candidasa has written, 33 What pangs reside in
Radha's breast Unlistening she sits alone in solitude Every
in reverie, here eyes fixed, skyward rest Like saffroned
recluse, averse to food.
Unleashing strands, she watches the braid Of her hair
rich and flower-bedecked With smiling gaze at the clouds
staid She whispers something with hands stretched.
Like pavonine couple, with eyes unmoved, Exchanging
thoughts with passioned glance Wooing Kaliya as though
renewed Candidasa says, a novel stance.
The manifestation of this observable world, which has
been moving form the subtle to the crude is called Saincara
or Extroversion, and the movement of the created units and
the world from the crude to the subtle is called
Pratisaincara or Introversion. Thus goes the cycle of
evolution from the subtle to the crude and from the crude to
the subtle. The movement of the unit is form the crude to
the subtle. The path comprising extroversion from and
introversion to, Brahma, is called the Brahmic or Cosmic
System, which is revolving under the forces of Saincara and
Pratisaincara. Propelled by the influence of Vidyamaya
(Introversive Force or Force of Macrocosmic attraction)
towards Brahma, the unit activates the centripetal or
introversive momentum of His thought-process by dint of his
Sadhana and by worshiping Avidyamaya (Extroversive force of
Force of microcosmic distraction) he extends the centrifugal
of extroversive action of His thought-process and prolongs
its duration. Vidya has the predominance of cognition and
Avidya has the predominance of action (Vidya is Cognitive
and Avidya is activative, bereft of cognition). Cognition
and action should be well-balanced and equitable in the life
of a Sadhaka, or else it will be difficult to attain the
Brahmaward movement.
Andham tamah pravishanti yevidyamupasate Tato bhuva
iva te tumo ya u vidyayam ratah
He who worships Avidya only, drifts towards darkness
and He who worships Vidya only, gets into more darkness.
Anyadevahurvidyayanaydahuravidyaya Iti shushruma
dhiiranam ye nastadvicacaksire.
Both Vidya and Avidya have contrary concomitants. None
of them has equilibrated movements. Men of calm and
collected intellect - the intuitionally matured Sadhakas,
who could very well understand such things by virtue of
their judgment, have made the above declaration: for us with
regard to Vidya and Avidya i.e. salvation is not possible
through the cultivation of only one of these two principles
severally, i.e., Vidya only or Avidya only. 3K3 For the
attainment of salvation equated balancing of Vidya and
Avidya is necessary, i.e., to move forward, Brahmaward
movement has got to be introversive (Vidya) but at the same
time it will not do to give up Avidya completely in relation
to the practical world. This also has got to be made
compatible with one's own spiritual way of life by ascribing
normal and divine bearing to it. Here the equibalance of
Vidya and Avidya refers to the equitable conduct and
behavior during the period of material enjoyment.
Vidyaincavaidyainca yastedvedobhayam saha Avidyaya
mrtyum tiirtva vidyayamrtamashnute.
It is such Sadhakas, versed in the intuitional
knowledge, that rightly grasp this Extroversive and
Introversive Science. They do not deny any of the principles
of creation, preservation and destruction. They forestall
both through proper Karma-Sadhana or pursuit of action
without denying it and attain immortality through valid
knowledge.
Yastu sarvani bhutani atmanyeva upashyati Sarvabhutesu
catmanam tato na nijugupsate.
He who sees himself in everything and everything in
himself, can never have hatred in his mind for anybody or
thing. The abandonment of hatred is the greatest
characteristic of a Brahmajina or the one versed in the
intuitional science. Because of his pervasive equalitarian
vision there is not the ghost of a chance of his committing
any sin in secret.
Yasmin sarvani bhutani atmaevabhudvijanatah Tatra ko
mohah kah shoka ekatvamanupashyatah
When the sense of pervasiveness of his soul in all
living and non-living objects becomes crystal clear to a
man, he does neither hanker after anything nor is he afraid
of losing anything. With the coming of the sense of oneness
of all objects, attachment and grief do not have the
wherewithal for the preservation of their self-existence.
Sa paryagacchukramakayamavranamasnaviram
shuddhamapapaviddham Kavirmaniisii paribhuh svayambhuryatha
tathyato rthan vyaddadhacchashvatiibhyah sama bhyah.
The characteristic feature of that Supreme Being is
allpervading. The Sadhaka or the intuitional practicer gets
installed in Him and with His bearing he eventually
identifies himself with Him. In that bearing of His abides
the splendor of all-fulfillment - the seed of
all-knowingness, "-Tatra niratishayam sarvajinaviijam." The
Supreme Being has no crude body. He is absolutely faultless,
pure, sinless, all-mighty, all-observing, all-knowing,
self-controlled and Svayambhu or self-creating. He is not
comparable to any thing of person - "Na tasya pratime asti,"
i.e. He has no image. In Him there is unlimited forgiveness.
From the very beginning He has been giving everything to the
units and will continue to do so. such is the attitude of
that Great One. Observing the superficial splendor of His
creation the one who runs after these evolved objects, gets
entangled with them with one's extrovertive sentiment, -
forgets the great, noble Creator that abides behind this
creation. Is it not foolish to forget the Lord of the
creation for the created? Mother is cooking. The son
suddenly cries for his mother to have her near him. Mother
gives him a toy and the son gets so enamored to the toy that
he forgets all about his mother. But when a son does not
forget his mother or stop crying in spite of the toy in
hand, mother is compelled to embrace him and take him into
her bosom. The son, too, holds his mother with one hand,
holding the toy with the other. God is compelled to
surrender Himself to the wise Sadhaka, who does not forget
Him for the love of this creationlike toy - who does not
relax his efforts for the attainment of God.
Andham tamah pravishanti ye sambhutimupasate Tato
bhuya iva te tamo yatu sambhutyam ratah
Observing Sambhuti or glamour of the creation those
that run after it and those that are afraid of Asambhuti or
the possibility of destruction thereof and are constantly
obsessed by it - both of them, make for and race towards the
world of darkness. A Sadhaka shall look upon both Sambhuti
and Asambhuti, i.e. creation and destruction equitably and
with equanimity. The Scientists that are wholly and solely
given to the worship of Sambhuti and the anchorites that
ever remain in constant consternation of destruction - both
tread the wrong path, which is not the path of salvation. He
alone that moves judiciously, accommodating both of them,
attains immortality.
Sambhutiinea vinashainca yastadvedobhayam saha
Vinashena mrtyum tiirtva sambhutyamrtamashnute.
He who knows the truth about creation and destruction,
gets himself established beyond the purview of death. This
observable world is subject to this game of creation and
destruction, prima facie appears to our mind as stability
but the man who has understood the secret of creation and
destruction, has thoroughly understood the Worldly System
and for him alone it is possible to establish himself beyond
the orbit of this System. The last impediment or hurdle in
the way of attainment of deathlessness - the realization of
Brahma, is the Hiranyamaya Kosa of the unit. so long as this
Hiranyamaya Kosa exists, the Sadhaka cannot achieve the
Absolute Truth. The glamour of creation and the fear of
destruction do always upset a Sadhaka. The Supreme Being in
His self same glory is situated above the causal mind
(Hiranyamaya Kosa).
Hiranyamaya patrena satyasyapihitam mukham Tattvam
pusannapavrnu satyadharmaya drstaye.
`O God! Remove the flashy covering of this Hiranyamaya
Kosa, so that we may install ourselves in the Satyaloka (the
33 region of Truth) - in thy abode, so that our minds mayeth
not be attracted to the luster of the Hiranyamaya Kosa.'
Only this much has been discussed about Brahma in the
Iishopanisad. When man progresses from the crude to the
subtle by virtue of his Sadhana, all sorts of bondage
gradually start disappearing of themselves, and when a
vehement desire wakes up to attain that pure characteristic
Seity, the Hiranyamaya Kosa also gets destroyed. In each of
the five different stages of mind, viz., (1) Kamamaya Kosa
(Crude of Conscious Mind), (2) Manomaya Kosa (Subtle or
Sub-Conscious Mind), (3) Atimanas Kosa (Supramental mind),
(4) Vijinanamaya Kosa (Subtle Subliminal Mind) and (5)
Hiranyamaya Kosa (Subtle Cosmic Mind) - (the last three are
collectively called causal or astral mind or unconscious
mind), there remains directly or indirectly some sort of
finite object and this very object becomes the cause of
man's bondage, - "Mana eva manusyanam karanam bandha
moksayo." In other words the unit attains salvation only
when he makes his mind objectless. Just as by a sword of
iron a cruel deed can be perpetrated and also the tether of
an animal can be cut off, similarly according to the
objective and non-objective tendencies the mind also can be
the cause of both bondage and liberation. All unit objects
are external. Love for such unit objects can be lasting, for
mind always keeps hopping from one object to another. That
is why I say, retract your love from the unit and identify
it with the whole. Don't mistake the unit for the Soul or
God. The attainment of one's characteristic Self is only
possible through love for the Infinite. don't even pretend
to be inferior and thereby give yourself up to inertness.
Take to love of the Infinite and your soul will be
transformed into Supreme Soul. No worldly happiness is
limitless. Dedicate yourself completely to the
super-blissful sea of the Supreme Soul. Then alone you will
realize what happiness really is. This path of attaining
happiness - this Sadhana of self-surrender I call absolute
devotion. Go on doing your duties rightly in the world, and
through all these worldly functions go on thinking of your
characteristic original Self. Then alone your Sadhana will
be justified. The constant thought of your characteristic
original Self will certainly one day ensconce you in your
original Seity and this is the ultimate aim of Sadhana. The
Soul is characteristically sinless. Mind gets tied to
Samskara (reaction in its potentiality) due to its own acts
and that is why the unit has to become a slave of life and
death. When this Samskara is destroyed through spiritual
Sadhana and mental purification, he goes past the pale of
life and death - to the eternal region of immortality, where
exists no difference between the soul and the Supreme Soul.
Amen!
Monghyr - Shravanii Purnima 1955.
SS2-2.SS
CHAPTER II
THE INTUITIONAL SCIENCE OF THE VEDAS
The Vedas are the unique manifestation of human
intellect. The derivative meaning of the word, Veda, is
jinana or knowledge. This knowledge is at times subject to
spatio-temporalpersonal entities and at times it is the
soulful self-realization, independent of all subjections.
The formed is called Relative Knowledge or Aparajinanam,
because it is related to objects, and the latter Spiritual
Knowledge or parajinanam. Here the word, Veda, is of course
used in the sense of spiritual knowledge. On the last
Shravanii Purnima I had told you something from the shukla
Yajurveda. Today I will tell something from the Atharva
Veda. Even some learned men are heard to say that there is
nothing substantial or important in the Atharva Veda:
Whatever there is, is only a collection of some mantras or
incantations about ghosts and spirits composed by
Prehistoric people. It is up to you to judge the veracity of
this opinion. Vaedarbhi, the son of Bhrgu, approached the
highly learned sage, Pippalada and asked, "My Lord! What is
the Intuitional Science (Brahmavijinana)? What is the
relation between Brahma and the world? Deign to tell me
something about them." The Sage replied,
Araiva rathanabhao prane sarvam pratisthitam Rco
yajumsi samani yajinahkatram Brahma ca. Just as the spokes
are attached to the hub or nave of a wheel, similarly every
object of this universe is Brahma-centric and thus has kept
up its individual existence. The vital point or nucleus of
the Brahmic or Cosmic System is the root-source of all
entities - from the highest of the created beings down to
the lowest insect. Rk, (incantations), Yaju (invocations),
Sama (songs) or the individuals engaged in Viprocita of
Ksattryocita service (i.e. service befitting a Brahmin or a
Ksattriya) - all are dependent on the Brahma-like hub.
Prajapatishcarasi garbhe tvameva pratijayase Tubhyam
prana prajastvima balim haranti yah pranaeh pratitisthasi.
The word, Praja, means evolved objects. As such Brahma
is of course the Prajapati or the Lord of the evolved
objects, for He is the controller of every one of them. This
very PrajapatiBrahma moves about the womb as the embryo and
when it is born, the event, in fact, should better be called
the reflex birth of Brahma instead of His birth, because all
creations are but the manifestations of Brahma Himself. For
instance, there is one Moon but its reflections falling the
countless foot-prints of cows (Gospada)appear as countless
moons. No new moon is born. The same Moon is being reflected
or is having the counter-births in several receptacles.
Similarly the one and the same Brahma is being manifested as
limitless units in countless mental receptacles. 373 Brahma
is Bliss Absolute. That is why the units or microcosms are
always racing, with the help of their sensory and motor
organs, towards their respective characteristic seities,
i.e., towards the attainment of happiness. So it is said
here that knowingly or unknowingly the units are taking
themselves towards Him to attain Him, enthused with the
inspiration from Him. (At several places in the Atharva Veda
the word, `Prana', has been used in the sense of Purusa and
the word, `Rayi' in that of Prakrti.
Devanamasi bahnitamah pitrrnam prathama svadha
Rsiinaincaritam satyamatharvaugirasamasi.
Here the word, Deva, means sensation-bearer, i.e.,
organs and nerves. This fleshy body, though its organs and
nerves, appropriates or expresses a sensation or sentiment
and that is why they are called Devas or Gods of the
microcosmic body. But these sensual or nervous systems are
completely dependent on the spine for their self-existence
and functional activities. This spine is the center of
appropriation and elimination of sensations and that is why
without spine of back-bone the unit becomes a motionless,
inert, fleshy mass. The above Shloka declares that, as an
ultimate refuge what spine is to unit-gods, Brahma is to the
entire universe. Without Brahma the universe is utterly
destroyed - seed of imagination is completely obliterated.
According to ancient custom the obsequial rites in honor of
the deceased father or ancestors used to be performed by
Svadha mantra (i.e., an exclamation uttered in offering
oblations to the names or the spirits of the dead). That is
why, it is said that Brahma as the first and foremostpoint
in order of succession is as much important to all mundane
objects as the first recipient of obsequial oblations is to
the subsequent ones. To the sages He is as sacred as the vow
of truthfulness. By Rsis or Sages I mean those who have
hastened the advancement of human civilization by
excogitating or inventing (also discovering) newer and newer
things through their Sadhana or spiritual practices. Such
sages take Truth as the vow of their lives, for without
being truthful Supreme-ward intellectual expansion is not
possible. Let us here discuss the true meaning of the word,
Truth. Man in general uses four words, like Satya, Tathya,
Samyag and Rta synonymously or in one identical sense. But
in reality there is a great difference in their respective
meanings. The English equivalents of Tarthya, Samyag and Rta
are `Fact', `Correct' and `Truth' respectively. But in other
languages Satya (Truth) has no equivalent. The philosophical
meaning of the word, `Satya', is intransmutable, i.e., that
which has no distortion - that which is immune from
spatio-temporal-personal distinctions. Human life progresses
through such changes as, from childhood to adolescence,
adolescence to youth, youth to senescence and senescence to
senility. Such are the changes that take place and thus they
progress. That is why human life or its receptacle, the
body, is not Satya or Truth. There is yet another
philosophical meaning of the word, Satya, which is
Cidsvarupa (the characteristic consciousness) or Purusa. In
the field of Sadhana or intuitional practice the meaning of
Satya is `Parahitartham vaunmanaso yatharthatvam satyam'
i.e.,Satya is the proper application of words and mind 3n3
for the benefit of others. So, no matter what meaning of
`Satya' we accept, a benevolent sage has got to be
truth-abiding. The one who has not learnt to regard the
blissful, unchangeable Entity, as the ultimate refuge ill
justifies one's creation - is a veritable freak. In days of
yore it was the great sage, Maharsi Atharva, who during his
practice of Brahma-Sadhana, was the first to acquire the
intuitional knowledge by the grace of Brahma. He taught that
knowledge to Maharsi Aungira, who taught it to Satyavaha.
Satyavaha in tern taught Aungirasa. So the Sage says here,
`Brahma as the navel or central source of all existences
(Stabilities), is a much important to all mundane entities
as Atharva, as the expounder of Intuitional Science, is to
Aungirasa and others.
Indrastvam prana tejasa rudrosi pariraksita
Tvamantarikse carasi suryastvam jyotisampath.
The word, Indra, means great or king. Brahma is the
Controller of that vital force which has kept alive the
organisms. Hence we call Him Indra, when He controls our
lives and our energies through His expressions. We call Him
Rudra or the God of thunder, when He, as our friend, saves
us from the jaws of calamities by virtue of His affectionate
and tender touch. He exists everywhere, He is present about
us sometimes as sonic expression, sometimes as thought or
emotion and then again sometimes as a crude individual
entity. There is not a place in the universe, where His
Entity is not manifest.What we apparently take for a void is
also full of His Entity. He is even where human intellect
cannot reach, - wherefrom imagination bounds back thwarted
and baffled.
He's in water and in land And fire and the ether
Heavenly bodies for Him stand All He, the three worlds are.
In the planetary world it is His glory that shines as
the Sun. Take for instance, the back-bone of the nervous
system, the Svadha of the dead ancestors, the truth of the
sages, or the Indra, the Rudra, the Sun - are all these
separate entities? No, all is He, all is He, all is He. It
is as though the one whose apparent name is Dhruvajyotih,
whom a son calls `father', for he sees in him the
father-like manifestation, a father, a `Dheva', for he sees
in him the son-like manifestation, a school boy, `sir', for
he sees in him the teacher-like manifestation and a
tongawalla, `Hey Topee', for he sees the Topee (cap) as an
allimportant thing, but in reality, are these addresses like
`Father', `Sir' or `Hey Topee' so many different persons?
Actually, these are the resultants of looking at one
Dhruvajyotih from different angles of vision.
Yadatvamabhivarsasyathema prana te prajah
Anandarupastisthanti kamayannam bhavisyatiiti. 33 There is
nothing inanimate of insentient in this world. All are
animate and sentient. At places consciousness is condensed
and at places it is uncondensed. Where consciousness is
condensed, we readily say, `animate' or`sentient' and where
it is uncondensed, i.e.; where the influence of prakrti is
more predominant, we say, `inanimate' or `insentient'. The
difference between these so-called sentience and insentience
is that the so-called `sentient' due to its consciousness
being condensed, is capable of controlling itself, but due
to the uncondensed state of consciousness the so-called
`inert' or `insentient' is entirely dependent on the wishes
of Prakrti, i.e., it is compelled to behave according to the
thought-process of the Macrocosmic Mind. This may stimulate
a question in our mind. If the so-called inert object is
subject to the wishes of the Cosmic Mind, the Cosmic mercy
must necessarily have to be on it only. If the `sentient' is
capable of thought by itself, why should Brahma think for it
at all? There is hardly any ground for Brahmic mercy to be
showered upon it. The world is crude and that is why He has
kindly regulated its course of movements, so that it may not
be smashed to smithereens by the impact of a Comet. But to
the sentient man He has allowed discretion to take poison or
nectar. Is this consciousness then a curse to the living?
No. To Him `animate' and `inanimate' make no difference. He
has no partiality for one or the other. The insentient do
not work by themselves and so they are not vulnerable to
punishment or eligible for reward for evils or virtues, but
the sentient attain the good or bad consequences of their
acts - perceive pleasure and pain. Let one suffer or enjoy
according to one's deed, He stands by His duties, why
shouldn't He? With the birth of a child, He provides milk in
the mother's breasts, affection of the father, love of
friends. Aren't these His mercies? After the scorching
summer of the month of Vaeshakha come the showers of the
rainy season. These merciful showers are also His. From
these the rock or the iron or the gold does not perceive
pain or pleasure. It is the living beings that endure or
enjoy them. It is through these showers that various things
for their enjoyment grow, through the media of which they
feel and enjoy Self-same Bliss Absolute Himself severally.
And so He has not only not forgotten you, rather He has for
you compassion and mercy for no compulsive reason - so much
mercy you perhaps do not deserve.
Bratyastvam Pranaeka rsiratta vishvasya satpatih
Vayamadyasya datarah pitastvam matarishvanah.
The word, Bratya, means `fallen'. According to Social
Code if a Brahmin does not follow the principle, worthy of a
Brahmin, he will fall into the category of the fallen.
Similarly if a Ksattriya or a Vaeshya does not act according
to his Varna (color), he will be categorized as Bratya. The
question of being Bratya or fallen does not arise in the
case of a Shudra, for all apostates are known as Shudras.
Brtya Brahmin, Bratya Ksattriya, and Bratya Vaeshya, due to
their acts being not conformable to their respective Varnas,
are regarded meaner than the Shudras, belonging to the
Varnashrama (Institution of Social Order). Here Brahma has
been called Bratya, for He is above all the Samskaras 33 or
prejudices of this social system, Varnashrama. No Samskara
can bind Him. All Samskara-bound powers bow to His Glory.
Ajinana Bodhinii Tantra also says,
Varnashramabhimanena shruti dasye bhavennarah
Varnashramavihiinashca vartate shruti murdhani.
So long as there are Varna-prejudices
(caste-disparity, financial disparity, regional disparity,
educational disparity or other disparities) in man, he can
never realize or feel the nondistinctive, incessant flow of
the Cosmic Essence, the integral Brahma- never, never can he
do so. So long as he keeps this caste-vanity as his
stock-in-trade, he will keep himself enslaved to Scriptural
injunctions, because he regards one or the other Varna as
the chief prop or mainstay of his mind. When a man, through
his Sadhana and mental development or through his merger in
the Supreme Being, identifies himself with the Varna-free
Brahma, he attains a position above those Scriptural
injunctions. Those discriminating injunctions then take
their place under his feet. To be bereft of Varna or color
is the real Sadhana.' There is a reference in the Vedas
about a sacred fire, called Ekarsi. ~This fire used to be
preserved with meticulous care. That is why, the people in
general held this Ekarsi fire in great esteem and paid
greater respects to it than they did to any other fire. Now
imagine, on one hand He has been called Bratya or fallen and
on the other He has been regarded as reverable as Ekarsi.
Being beyond the confines of all Samskaras or prejudices or
consequential momenta, He remains unconfinable to and by any
attribute, and Ekarsi, being topmost in the top society, its
purity also remain immeasurable. This Brahma is also the
devourer or destroyer of all objects of the universe, for
this universe is being conceived and lost in His mind-stuff.
That is to say, just as He is going on creating His mentally
conceived world in His Brahmabhava or creative mood on one
hand, similarly He is going on devouring it mercilously as
the Samharta or Destroyer on the other. All objects, all
entities of the world are His pabulum, His food, and some
day they all have got to offer their respective entities as
oblations to Him. That is why it is said that the units are
the givers of His eatables. What are they giving Him? They
are giving away to Him their sense of ego - their pang-laden
entities of petty selfishness. This very Supreme Being is
the Father of Vayu or air. These Vayus, as per their eternal
and external distinctions, are preserving the existence of
the unit throughout their ten-fold transformations. So these
Vayus or pranah are the foundations of all the senses of the
unit and Brahma is the Director or Father of these Vayus or
pranah. Vayu is the life of the unit and Brahma is the Life
of life.
Ya te tanurvaci pratisthata ya shrotre ya ca caksusi
Ya ca manasi santata shivam tan kuru motkramiih.
What I speak, i.e., my utterance is only a
manifestation of Thy form: what I hear - that also is the
sonic manifestation 33 of Thy form: whatever and whenever I
see with the help of my sight organ is but thy
form-manifestation: whatever I think within myself, judge or
decide on evil or virtue are all only Thee. Nothing existeth
outside Thee, i.e., whatever my sensory organs perceiveth,
cometh from the world, permeated by Thee and whatever my
motor organs activateth or shunneth are but the different
expressions of Thine. O Merciful Brahma! Let Thy inspiration
guide my movements toward the virtuous path - towards
Supreme Consciousness. Let whatever I say, hear or see be
charged with Thy thought and turned into sublimity. Let me
not see nor hear any mean entity nor give it a verbal form.
Let me realize and understand every moment that Thou art all
that is seeable, hearable or utterable by me. O Great One!
Be not miserly towards me. Lead me to the auspicious path to the path of good. Control my movements properly.
Pranasyedam bashe sarvam tridive yat pratisthitam
Mateva putran raksasva shriishca prajinainca vidhehi nah.
All created objects that exist in this universe are
under the sway of the Supreme Being. He is controlling
everything of this world, whether crude, subtle of causal.
The world has dedicated itself to His Gory. O Soul Supreme!
Teach us the Intuitional Science and lead us to the path of
good. We are entirely under Thy refuge. Just as a mother
protecteth her son, protect us from baseness, poverty and
pettiness. Establish us in prosperity and wisdom. Pippalada
had told Sukesha, the son of Bharadvaja,
Araiva rathanabhao kala yasmin pratisthitah Tam vedyam
purusam veda yatha ma vo mrtyuh paribyathah
Just as the nave of a wheel controls the spokes,
similarly the Supreme Brahma is controlling the sixteen
basic factors of this universe, i.e., ten organs (sensory
and motor), five vital principles of pranah (i.e., Prana,
Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana(, and ego. All these sixteen
factors (Kalas) are completely sheltered in HIm and are the
causes of life and death or fluctuations of longevity. Try
to know Him. Know Him through the Introversive Knowledge or
Parajinana. If you are able to do so, you will be able to
eschew death and all kinds of degeneration easily. You shall
by-pass death. The Supreme One is the only panacea for doing
so. The preventive of death is that ambrosial Cosmic flow.
That was why, the Vedic sages had sung to that Nectareal Sea
(Sea of Deathlessness) Brahma,
Asado ma sadgamayo tamaso ma jyotirgamayo Mrtyurma
amrtorgamayo aviravih mayaedhi.
O Supreme Brahma! Lead us to the world of
deathlessness from this mortal world.
Avila sannihitam guhacarannama mahat padamatraetat
samarpitam ejat pranannimisacca yadetajjanatha
sadasadvarenyam param vijinanad yadvaristham prajanam.
Elsewhere in the Atharva Veda much has been said about
3K3 the Supreme Soul. He is Self-effulgent - Autophanous,
i.e., His effulgence is not indented from any other source.
He is inherent in everything good (There is nothing `bad' in
the world. What apparently we think to be bad, is only the
transformed condition of `good' under the influence of Maya,
the Creative Principle)." In other words all `good' objects
are He. Hence my egoity is not devoid of Him. He is the Life
of my life, the Ego of my ego, the Soul of soul. There is
nothing so close to me as He. He is the Guhacara or
Heart-dweller. Here the word, Guhacara, does not mean
mountain -cave-dweller. Here Guha means heart. Hence the
one, who is Guhacara is the heart-dweller - the controlling
God of the heart. An individual always seeks for a safe
refuge, but no refuge can give him lasting security. Only He
is the Supreme Refuge. Nothing is greater or nobler than
Him. He is dynamic. Here a question may arise: Whence does
movement come for One Who is all-pervading? But really He is
moving. His motivity lies in the thought-process of His
Psychic Body. This world is His fanciful imagery, begotten
of His psychic body. This world would not have come into
being, if He really had no imagination or if the
thought-wave of imagination had not awakened in HIs Psychic
Body. The five Vayus (Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana)
that feature in a living body according to their respective,
distinctive functions, as the result of which the units are
kept alive - those vital forces or Vayus, also are only He.
The twinklings of the eye-lids that have kept alive the
power of inferential apprehensibility of man every moment
are also He. Really speaking, behind all these vital forces
of twinklings it is His existence alone that reverberates in
the unit-mind as the latent absolute Truth. It is through
the inspirations of His existence that the veins and nerves
are being sensitized and vibrated. All that we think good or
bad in this world are but His different circumstantial
distinctions. Brahmabhava or divine bearing is not limited
to Purusa entity alone, that stands for whatever virtuous
and good. The great Prakrti who is seemingly transforming
the Purusa entity into transitory objects, is also He.
Brahma is the composite name of Purusa and Prakrti.
Tvamekodvitvamapanno shivashakti vibhagashah.
Brahma is the greatest of all. Nothing is greater than
Him. "Yadanyenadhirohati". Brahma is not attainable through
common knowledge nor can pedantry of erudition touch or hold
him. He is metempiric, transcendental beyond the scope of
knowledge or cognition, whereas human knowledge is only a
partial knowledge. He is venerable to all. He abides in His
own Glory above all creations. He is the One, Who is the
Knower even of your sense of ego. Try to know Him.
Yadarcimad yadanubhyonu ca yasmin loka nihita
lokinashca Tadetadaksaram brahma sa pranastadu vaunmanah
Tadetat satyam tadamrtam tadveddhavyam somyaviddhi.
He is luminous. He is the molecule of molecules, the
atom of atoms. He is so subtle that mind cannot apprehend
that subtlety. Yet from another angle, He is so vast that
the entire universe lies within Him. He is indestructible.
He is unfallen. He is the Life, the Truth, the Nectar. O
Saomya (Tranquil)! O Sadhaka! He is your speech. He is your
mind. Pierce through Him by dint of your meditative
concentration - by dint of your own spiritual force.
Dhanurgrhiitvaopanishadam mahastram sharam
hyupasanishitam sandhayiita Ayamya tadbhavagatena
cetasalaksyam tadevaksaram somyaviddhi.
`O Tranquil Sadhaka! Sadhana is your great bow'. (Here
Upanisad means the austere method of Sadhana for that which
attains the proximity of Brahma is called Upanisad). Set
your worship-sharpened mind-like arrow on this bow. Now
inclining your mind towards Him, pluck and twang the string
of the bow and pierce through your target - the
indestructible Supreme Soul (This is the state of Savikalpa
Samadhi or determinate concentration).
Pranavo dhanuh sharo hyatma brahma tallaksyamucyate
Apramattena veddhavyam sharavat tanmayo bhavet.
O Sedate! Onunkara is the image of your bow. Here the
twanging or plucking of the bow means the acts of Pranayama
(a yogic method of breath-control), i.e. stirring up the
vital or spiritual force. If you use your soul as an arrow
and shoot it aiming at Brahma-like target with a deeply
concentrated (absolutely unwavering) mind, then your soul
will certainly merge in the Supreme Soul, just as an
ordinary arrow gets stuck in its target.
Yasmin dyaoh prthivii cantariiksa motam manah saha
pranaeshca sarvaeh Tamevackam janatha atmanamanya vaco
vimuincathamrtasyaesa setuh.
Try , O Sadhaka, to know only Him, in whom are held
the sky, the world, the void, in whom are ensconced the
mind, the five vital forces and the sensory and motor
organs. Shun all other pointless considerations except your
efforts to know Him. You are mortal, except your efforts to
know Him. You are mortal, suppliant to death. Your desire of
establishing yourself in deathlessness dates from eternity.
And that very Brahma is the bridge, leading to that state of
deathlessness. So you will reap the real good, if you can
just know Him.
Araiva rathanabgao samhata yatra nadyah sa
esontashcarate bahudha jayamanah Onmityevam dhyayatha
atmanam svasti vah paraya tamasah parastat
Just as the spokes of a chariot are situated in the
nave of the wheel, so are sheltered in Him all the nerves,
veins and arteries. The soul that is situated in the
Sahasrara (the uppermost gland of human structure) of the
unit-body is their chief refuge. In other words all the
spokes of this world - this Cosmic system, are situated in
that fission (that eternal sonic expression) that Cosmic
Nucleus, the Purusottama. Carrying emotions and ideas is
what the word nerve stands for. The life-center or nucleus
of all emotions and ideas is He - that Supreme soul, the
Soul of souls. Concentrate on that Om, His characteristic
Self. You have come into the field of Sadhana in order to
enter the kingdom of Light beyond the shores of darkness.
May your journey to the Empyreal region be glorious and
triumphant. Bon voyage to you.
Yah sarvajinah sarvavid vasyaesa mahima bhuvidivye
bramapure hyesa vyomnyatma pratisthitah Manomaya
kamashariitaneta pratisthitenne hrdayam sannidhaya
Yadvijinanena paripashyanti dhiira anandarupamamrtam
yadvibhati
That Supreme Purusa, who is Omniscient, all-knowing
Whose Glory is all-aglow in all the worlds, is resplendent
in His different characteristic forms in the land of Bliss.
The unit shall realize His Entity in the firmament of his
soul through his Sadhana (spiritual meditation). He is the
Life of the unit. He is the Leader of the crude and the
subtle worlds etc. Right in the heart of the unit - in his
fundamental intellect, i.e., along with his sense of ego, He
is ensconced as its knower. the serene and tranquil
individual, the Sadhaka gets His real darshana, i.e., visual
perception through a special type of intuition or cognition.
He is Bliss Absolute, effulgent in His characteristic
deathlessness.
Bhidyate hrdayagranthishchidyante sarvasam shayah
Ksiiyante casya karmani tasmin drste paravare.
He is Paravara (i.e., He is paramount as an actional
or operative entity, no so as a causal entity). He is
Consciousness. When one realizes Him, all the accumulated
Samskaras or the reactive momenta of one's heart - the
idant, thin away into air. All the doubts of one's mind
disappear. Both his auspicious and inauspicious deeds get
destroyed.
Hiranmaye pare kose virajam brahma niskalam
Tacchubhram jyotisam jyotistad yadatmavidoviduh.
Hiranyamaya kosa or the astral mind is the subtlest of
the five sheaths or cells of the human structure. Just above
it abides the integral, imperishable Brahma. He is integral,
for He is intransmutable, flawless, devoid of the decaying
quinquecellular or Paincakosatmaka manifestation. His
luminosity is white. He is the radiance of all radiant
objects. He is radiant behind all luminous objects. All
radiances pale before His radiance.
Na tatra suryo bhati na candratarakam Nema vidyuto
bhanti kutoyamagnih Tameva bhantamanubhati sarvam Tasya
bhasa sarvamidam vibhati.
Not even the Sun looks bright in His presence, i.e.,
the sun, too, gets pale. So are the conditions of the moon
and the stars. The flash of lightning does not find its
expression, not 33 to speak of the fire. All entities are
radiant, because He is radiant itself. It is due to His
radiance that all objects are radiant.
Brahmavaedamamrtam purasad brahma pashcat Brahma
daksinatashcottarena Adhashcordhvainca prasrtam brahmavedam
Vishvamidam barisiham.
The deathless Brahma is Omnipresent. Front or back,
south or north, top or bottom, He permeates everywhere. The
three worlds are His greatest manifestations. That is to
say, it is He, Who is manifest as the Greatest Entity
throughout the three worlds.
Dva suparna sayujya sakhaya samanam brksam
parisasvajate Tayoranyah pippalani svadvattyanashnannanye
bhicakashiiti
How is the relation between the soul and the Supreme
Soul? It is as though on a single tree there are two
beautifully winged birds, perching together intimately, one
eating the tasty fruits of that tree and the other
witnessing it only as the knower without eating them.Here
the fruit-eating bird is the jiivatman or the unit-soul, for
the unit-soul is taking the exact impress of whatever
auspicious or inauspicious (good or bad) fruits growing in
the mind-like tree, or is getting smitten by them, and the
Supreme Soul, as the Knower of all mundane entities, is also
perching on the same Psychic tree but He is not taking its
fruits. He is just going on witnessing as the Omnipresent
Entity. He is the Original Manifestation and the jiivatman
is His psychic reflection.
Samane brkse puruso nimagnoniishaya shocati muhyamanah
Justam yada pashyatyanyamiishamasya mahimanamiti biitashokah
The jiivatman of the unit of the very same tree is
being smitten by woes and sorrows for his limitations due to
lack of divine qualities. But when he receives the blessings
of the Supreme Spirit - when he is benefited by Him (i.e.,
when he is given an opportunity to learn the esoteric
pass-word for meditation), he becomes free from pain, being
enlightened in His glory, as he realizes His majestic
Lordliness, i.e., His Limitlessness.
Yada pashyah pashyate rukmavarnam kartaramiiyam
purusam brahmayonim Tada vidvan punya pape vidhuya
nirainjanah paramam samyamupaeti.
A Sadhaka gradually realizes the Self-effulgent Purusa
as the result of his progress in the path of Sadhana or
intuitional practice. This Purusa, being imperishable
Himself, is the Lord or Controller of all decays and
perishabilities. Brahma is the 33 embodiment of decay and
non-decay (Ksara & Aksara), and the One who remains as the
Original Cause of this Cosmic System - as the Nucleus of
decay-cum-non-decay Brahma, is the Brhamayoni of the Cosmic
Womb. This Nucleus (Purusottama) can be explained briefly
thus: suppose, you are thinking about Monghyr within
yourself. So a part of your seity of self-entity is changed
into mind-stuff and this mind-stuff takes on the form of
Monghyr. The remaining part of your mind-stuff remains the
seer or witness of your mentally created Monghyr. Now the
part of seity, which has neither the visibility nor the
observer-ship and yet remains as the knower of your
visibility or observer-ship - that subtle part or bearing,
if taken in Brahmic or theistic context, will be regarded as
Purusottama. If this effulgent entity of Brahma be realized,
the imperishable Brahma or nuclear sonic expression can also
be known. Man of calm and sedate intellect becomes
Nirainjana or flawlessness itself after gradually giving up
both virtue and evil, for then comes in him the right sort
of equilibrium neither having the frivolity of any sentiment
nor the high waves of any manifestation. All his clashes or
discrepant impacts merge in the ultimate tranquility of the
bottomless Sea of Brahma.
Prano hyesa yah sarvabhutaervibhati vijinan vidyan
bhavate nativadii Atmakriida atmaratih kriyavanesa
bramavidam baristhah.
The Brahma is manifest in all units. The man of
wisdom, who has known this Self-radiant, Autophanous Entity,
ceases to be ismatic and loquacious. He does not waste his
time and breath unnecessarily over frivolous and pointless
arguments. (Shrii Ramakrsna used to say: To him who has
known Him all the things of the world will appear as Aluni
or saltless). He then plays with his soul, transported and
lost in spiritual ecstasy. And so all his thought-waves or
emotions that manifest themselves as mundane activities are
benevolent and beneficent. Such acts of benevolence, which
are commensurate with the spiritual practice, attain a high
place of honor in the society of men, conversant with
intuitional knowledge.
Satyena labhyastapasa hyesa atma samyagjinanena
brahmacaryena nityam Antahshariire jyotirmayo hi shubhro yam
pashyanti yatayah ksiinadosah.
This Brahma is attainable only through truth, penance,
valid knowledge and regular intuitional practices. Those who
take to such Sadhana or spiritual austerity, observe the
white effulgence of Brahma within themselves. The Yati or
austere Sadhaka (the one who follows the principles of Yama
and Niyama rigidly and strictly), who has His darshana
(view) thus, becomes pure and impeccant.
Satyameva jayate nanrtam satyena pantha bitato
devayanah Yenakramantyrsayo hyaptakama yatra tat satyasya
paramam nidhanam.
It is Satya that ultimately wins. I shall call only
that Satya, behind which there is a sentiment of benevolence
for others. Falsehood or untruth never triumphs. It never
can. It may succeed for a time but that success is only
prognostic of a dire defeat. Satya widens and smooths the
most difficult and thorny path of salvation. It is through
such a path that a desireless sage gets associated with that
sublimest treasure of Satya - the Supreme Spirit.
Brhacca taddivyamacintyarupam suksmacca tat
suksmataram vibhati Durat sudure tadihantike ca
pashyatsvihaeva nihitam guhayam.
How is this sublimest Treasure or Fountain-head of
Truth? The sage says that this abode of Truth - Brahma, is
so vast that He is unthinkable. He is an eternal Empyrean
Splendor. Then again He is smaller than the small - smaller
than a molecule or an atom or even an electron - so small
that mind cannot comprehend Him. But He is luminous even in
his small bearing. He is far far away from him, who thinks
Him to be remote, and He is nearer to him than the near, who
thinks Him to be close. The man who has eyes to see, who has
known HIm even a wee bit, knows that He abides in his very
sense of existence - in his very heart's desire as the
Supreme Radiance. To seek Him - to attain Him it is not at
all necessary to run from one place to another. `He is not
elsewhere but right within.'
Na caksusa grhyate napi vaca nanyaerdevaestapasa
karmana va Jinanaprasadena vishuddhasattvastatastu tam
pashyate niskalam dhyayamanah.
Neither eyes can see Him nor words can explain Him.
The senses cannot perceive Him either, through asceticism or
deeds. When a Sadhaka establishes himself in the valid
knowledge through the kindness and blessings of a right and
well-conversant Preceptor, i.e., Sadguru - when he does His
Sadhana with devotionally saturated heart, such a
subtle-minded Sadhaka alone can realize that formless
Absolute Entity.
Esonuratma cetasa veditavyo yasmin pranah paincadha
samvivesha Pranaeshcittani sarvamotam prajanam yasmin
vishuddhe vibhavatysa atma.
The soul is smaller than the molecule. It can be known
only through consciousness. This absolute consciousness
manifest itself only in the innermost recess of a Sadhaka. A
Sadhaka gets opportunity for Sadhana for the realization of
Brahma as long as the five vayus like Prana, Apana, etc.,
are active in his (human) body. But generally such an
opportunity only rarely comes to the lot of man, for the
minds of most men being extrovertive, they run after
external objects due to the propulsion of their senses. So
when a man's mind gets purified through Sadhana, he becomes
free from his sensual influences, and then alone he realizes
within himself the super-effulgence of the Supreme Being.
The self-realizer is he who sees the Supreme Soul in his
soul. 33 Yam yam lokam manasa samvibhati vishuddhasattvah
kamayte yamshca kaman Yam tam lokam jayate tamshca
kamamstasmadatmajinam hyarcayedbhutikamah
The knower of the Soul or the Self-realized man gets
whatever he sets his mind on. The object takes exactly the
same form in accordance with his desire. Hence he does not
have to run unnecessarily about the external world in search
of any object. He is all-satisfied and fully contented. That
is why, every ambitious man, desirous of all-round progress
and development, adores the one, who has realized one's
Self.
Bhadra Purnima, 1955.
~ In the absence of the sage generally his wife used
to take over the responsibility of preserving the fire. In
the absence of his wife, his son would do that office. The
sages themselves tried to preserve this Ekarsi Fire with
care. In common parlance the married women that used to
enjoy equal social and religious rights along with their
husbands, were called Patniis (wives). Those that enjoyed
only social rights, were called jayas (wives) and those that
did not enjoy any of the two rights but the children born
out of their wombs, used to enjoy the dignity of their
parentage, were called Bharyas (wives).
SS2-3.SS
CHAPTER III
THE INTUITIONAL SCIENCE OF THE VEDAS
The great Sage Aungira said,
Sa vedaetatparamam brahmadhama Yatra vishvam nihitam
bhati subhram Upasate purusam ye hyakamaste
Shukrametadativartanti dhiirah.
He who has known the Supreme Brahma, has really known
Him as the Refuge of this universe. The One Who is the
ultimate Refuge of each and everything, animate and
inanimate, movable and immovable, from the highest evolved
unit to the tiniest insect, is the supreme goal, the final
beatitude. The universe has been created within Him and is
indeed radiant with His radiance. That the universe is
created within Him is not the last word. It is the
transformation of His own Self. It is evolved by Him. He is
the ingredient as well as the cause of this universe. It is
the cooperative creation of sixteen-fold distortions (ten
sensory and motor organs, mind and five Tanmatras or
inferences) and eight binding factors of prakrti that are
there as the cause and effect of His qualitative
manifestations. The seeds and potentials of this universe
are also inherent in them. It is for this vastness that He
has been called Brahma, which means Great (Brhatvad
Brahma).Then again the One Who makes another great, i.e.,
the One with whose thought and bearing the small unit
establishes himself in the vastness, is also called Brahma
(Brmhanatvad Brahma). When this world is within Him, then He
must necessarily be greater than the world. Suppose, there
is a box in a room. The room must be greater than the box
and that is why there is room for the box, otherwise it
could not have been accommodated. That in which this
universe is implanted is naturally greater than the
universe. The entire universe is pivoting round its knower,
i.e., its Nucleus, in a cyclic order in the vast Body of the
vast Purusah. Revolving thus in this cycle the one who
progresses towards the knowing Entity by virtue of one's
spiritual force attains unicity with Him, i.e., becomes one
with Him. He becomes Brahma Himself and that is why He has
the quality of making one great. Brahma is effulgent in
white radiance. The Shruti says that Purusa and prakrti are
an indivisible and inseparable Entity. Where prakrti (the
operative principle) is active over Purusa, Purusa is of
white radiance. In the Gayatri mantra the word, Bharga is
used in the sense of white radiance and that is why this
Bharga and Saguna Brahma (The subjectivated
Transcendentality) are inseparable. The inseparability of
Brahma and His Radiance is fully substantiated by the real
meaning and analysis of the word, `Bharga'. The word,
`Bharga' is triliteral or the combination of three letters,
viz, `Bha', `Ra', `Ga'. `Bha' - Bhasayatiimalloankaniti,
i.e., by which the world is illuminated. `Ra' Rainjayatiimanibhutani, i.e., That which has provided
happiness for the living beings. 393 `Ga' - Gacchatyasmin
agacchatyasmad Imah prajah, i.e., That in which the entire
creation merges after emanation therefrom. The Shruti says,
Bheti bhasayate lokam Reti Rainjayati prajah Ga
ityagacchatyajasram Bharagat Bharga ucyate.
Generally speaking, the word `Bharga' is used verily
in the sense of Brahmic effulgence. Now the question arises,
whether Brahma and His radiance are two different entities.
If we say, Rama has such and such qualities or Shyama has
such and such qualities - aren't the individuals and their
qualities here are two absolutely separate entities? But
such distinctiveness is not applicable to limitless,
integral, self-same and unique Brahma. Brahma and His
radiance are not two separate entities, for He is
autophanous - Self-luminous. Citing the instance of Rahus
(Dragon's) head we have to say that He is characteristically
radiant. This creation is triple qualitative. The game of
three qualities or attributes goes on in everything and
everywhere in the world and so they have not spared the
human body also. The region below the navel is dominant of
Tamoguna (Static influence), the region from navel to
throat, of Rajoguna (Mutative influence) and the region from
throat to Trikuti (the junction of the two eye-brows, where
the main seat of the mind is), of Sattvaguna (Sentient
influence). Normally, a particular region in the body
becomes more active in accordance with the Vrtti or
epithymetic influence or inter and intra ectoplasmic
occupation or an individual. When a Sadhaka is established
in his mental seat by virtue of his hearing, thinking and
profound meditation, he, being then established in
Sattvaguna (Sentient quality), observes the Supreme Being in
His Super-white glory, as is the wont of Sentient quality.
But when he goes beyond the mental sphere, he merges in the
objectlessness of the objectless (Nirguna) Brahma in the
Brahmarandhra (An aperture in the crown of the head) and
thus reaches beyond the scope of colors. Bharga or person,
who worships this Supreme Purusa, absolves himself from the
momenta of rebirths due to his mind being objectless or
desire-free. such an individual bypasses the procreative
(Paternal) semen (Shukra means semen). In other words, his
mental force goes beyond the stars (Shukra means Venus - a
planet) due to his being established in the Supreme Entity.
Kaman yah kamayate manyamanah Sa kamabhi jayate tatra
tatra Taryaprakamasya krtatmanastu Thaeva sarve
praviliiyanti kamah.
As the human longing and desires be or as the man's
propensive pursuit be likewise shall his mind take form,
i.e., he will gradually acquire the like Samskaras or
reactive momenta. Man fist sees within himself what he
aspires after and then lets go his mind towards it.
Thereafter his external organs like hands and feet etc., set
about achieving it. And so it is generally seen that the
desires that he had been giving indulgence to throughout his
life, come hurtling over to him in a condensed form at his
last hour, i.e., his mind-stuff takes the like mental form
for the last time in order to shape itself into a fitting
medium of the like Samskaras. Even during the lifetime as
well it is seen that the mind-stuff of a drunkard, which
imbibes within it an indomitable desire or Samskara for
wine, turns into a vantage ground for undergoing the next
Samskaras or momenta of pleasure and pain. That is to say
such a person gets scent of the pub by the sheer propulsion
of his acquired mental propensity, if he happens to go to a
new and unfamiliar place. A man who has cultivated doggish
or swinish desires all his life, dies with the same doggish
or swinish frame of mind. Thereafter with the help of
Prakrti's Mutative force he acquires the Yoni or species of
a dog swine in order to undergo the dog-like or swine-like
Samskaras or idioplasmic momenta. The great ascetic, King
Bharata, had died thinking a fawn and that was why, it is
written in the Puranas (Indian Mythologies), that he had to
take the body of a deer at his next birth. But he who is
fully satiated, i.e., he whose longings and desires have
consumed themselves, obviates even the possibility of any
such thought-waves later because of the absence of any
Samskara or id. such persons are indeed all-satiated self-purified. How on earth can final satiety come unless
and until the Whole - that Supreme Spirit, is achieved?
Hence he who has attained full satiety has indeed reduced
all his Samskaras to nothingness right here in this world
and so he has gone beyond the cycle of life and death. From
the inanimate to the animate goes the process of evolution.
Take a piece of stone for instance. It has neither the power
of action nor the sensation of mind. What is the reason? It
is because hitherto there has been no manifestation of a
mind in the stone at all. Thought-wave or sensation can take
place or an action can take a form, only if there is a mind.
Take, for instance, the trees and plants that are more
animate than the stone. There are activities in them. They
grow, draw the vital in their own bodies and enjoy and
suffer pleasure and pain, when taken care of or smitten. We
see in them the manifestation of consciousness or animation,
for the path of psychogenesis or mental development we see
in man its greatest manifestation. Just as during the Cosmic
thought-Process the evolution takes place from the subtle to
the crude, similarly the unit retroverts step by step from
the crude to the subtle, towards the same Absolute
Consciousness, whence it had come. It is just like the waves
of the sea rippling back to whence they had come forward.
Now, just how much should a man strive on his return
journey! He has got to be alert, so that he may easily end
the journey in his characteristic Self, without being
distracted by the impact of his petty selfishness. Then
alone shall we call him self-purified. Then alone shall he
become saturated with Brahma, within and without. To become
self-purified one has got to make some efforts - this effort
is what is known as Sadhana. The greatest Sadhana is that
which comprises all the three, viz., devotion, action and
cognition. The middling Sadhana is that which comprises two,
i.e., devotion and action and the meanest Sadhana is that
which 33 comprises only tall talks (cognition or knowledge
cannot exist singly without action and devotion - that which
does exist is the junk of garbage of knowledge). The ability
of a Sadhaka is not assessed on the basis of his common or
worldly knowledge. It is assessed, on the basis of firmness
or steadiness of his knowledge, devotion and action (Jinana,
Bhakti and Karma). By steadiness I mean unflinching
intensity of zeal and earnestness. By just saying that
Rasagolla is sweet, one does not get the taste of a
Rasagolla (a spongy and juicy sweetmeat). One has got to
make some efforts to get it and eat it.
Nayamatma pravaeanena labhyo na medhaya na vahana
shrutena Yamevaesa vrnute tena labhya stasyaesa
atmavivrnutetanum svam.
Only a mouthful of tall talks cannot achieve Brahma.
An almanac forecasts that there will be so much or rain this
year. But more knowledge of such forecast does not save the
crops of a farmer. No amount of squeezing the almanac will
produce even a drop of water. One has got to do Sadhana to
habituate one's mind Brahmaward in order to attain Him.
Anubhuttim bina mudho vrtha brahmanimodate
Prativimbita shakhagraphalasvadanamodavat. - Maetreyii
Shruti
If a man without Anubhuti or intuitional
susceptibility, studies Scriptures a million times, or
lectures on Brahma, his Brahma will ever remain the bookish
Brahma not the clairvoyant, clairaudient and apprehensible
Brahma. Just as one, seeing in water the reflection of a
fruit dangling overhead from the branch of a tree, cannot
taste the fruit, similarly an erudite scholar, versed in the
six philosophies, will remain far away from Brahma, if he
refrains from Brahma-Sadhana. No matter how vastly learned
you become in worldly lores you can know nothing about
Brahma, for along with your knowledge of these lores, a
vanity of knowledge or learning also grows in you. With the
result you go on enhancing the volume of your burden
unnecessarily by habitually giving importance to your small
ego. This burden becomes the cause of your Bhoga (sufferings
and enjoyments), nor of your salvation. Acarya Shamkar has
said,
Vak vaekharii shabdajharii shastravyaknakhnakaohalam
Vaedusyam vidusam tadvat bhuktaye na tu muktaye
You will come across many such people who do not do
Sadhana (spiritual meditation) themselves, but will run
after great spiritual men in order to hear his sermons.
These people are totally in the wrong. Only running after
great men will be of no avail. A man has got to establish
himself in the path of realization of Brahma by doing
Sadhana himself. God does not bestow His mercy upon anybody
after seeing as to how great a speaker he is or how many
books he has read. Only the one who has devotion, extracts
His mercy. The great devotee, Maharsi Narada said,
Mahadkrpayaeva bhagavadkrpaleshadva. 33 That is,
Brahma can be realized even through having a wee bit of
grace of God or that of a great man. Take a very intelligent
boy for instance. If his teacher does not teach him how to
read and write, he will not be able to be a learned man, in
spite of his having the potentials for becoming one.
Similarly, all men have the ability or potentiality of
spiritual development or of establishing themselves in the
Brahmic bearing, but for want of a worthy guide it cannot
take a practical shape. That is why a spiritual Preceptor or
Sadguru is necessary - his grace is indispensable. His grace
is but God's grace, for God is the ocean of grace.
Nayamatma balahiinena labhyo na ca pramadattapso
vapyaliungat Etaerupayaeryatate yastu vidvam srasyaesa atma
vishate brahamadhama.
He who is weak, i.e. he who has neither spiritual nor
mental force, does not achieve intuitional knowledge. The
timid and the coward remain remote from Brahmabhava or
divine bearing. Don't you see, those that take bribes or are
liars, talk ill of Ananda Marga for fear of following the
principles of Yama and Niyama. Another great trait of a
Sadhaka is his self-confidence. "I must have fulfillment" "I must attain final beatitude" this strong conviction is
the stepping stone to success.
Phalisyattiti vishvasa siddherprathamalaksanam
Dvitiiyam shraddhaya yuktam tritiiyam gurupujanam Caturtho
samatabhavo paincamendriya nigrahah Sasthainca pramitaharo
saptamam naeva vidyate. -Shiva Samhita.
He who has made up his mind once for all that he must
attain final beatitude cannot be indifferent to Sadhana. To
be indifferent to mundane duties or to fly this world with a
stoic detachment is but a mental disease. They that want to
give themselves up to divine contemplation in the caves of
the Himalayas, leaving their hearths and homes, err. The
word, Sannyasa, means to dedicate oneself for the attainment
of good. When Brahma is everything, where is the
justification for your leaving one place for another?
Wherever you are, behave properly with everything around
you. Hence to be callous about family and society is
completely contrary to Brahma Sadhana (Divine
Contemplation). One cannot know Brahma through showy
superficial knowledge.You can only attain Brahma, when your
knowledge will be strong and powerful through austere
devotion to Truth. Only the soul of the one, whose knowledge
is identified with austerity, enters the realm of Brahma. In
fine, the united qualities like sweetness, mental and
spiritual force, firmness, devotion to Truth, knowledge and
the proper use of mundane things, certainly enable a Sadhaka
to attain unicity with Brahma.
Samprapyaenamrsayo jinanatrptah krtatmano viitaragh
prashantah Te sarvagam sarvatah prapya dhiira 33 Yuktatmanah
sarvamevavishanti.
The word, Rsi, means a Sadhaka who cultivated Brahma
within himself. So long as a Sadhaka does not attain Brahma,
there exists in him a discontent of incompleteness. Suppose
you want a thousand rupees. If you are given a thousand
rupees, will you be contented! No, you will then ask for
more. Such is the characteristic of human mind. Man has a
limitless thirst. He keeps on harping ceaselessly, "I am
hungry." The hunger for a thousand will change for a lakh
and a lakh will make room for a crore. Thus will the among
of hunger go on increasing until you get a limitless among
of money. This limitlessness is inherent in Brahma and so
your hunger can have satiation in Brahma alone. Hence when a
`Rsi' attains complete self-control (krtatman), he goes
beyond the sphere of attachment and detachment, visualizing
or realizing his characteristic Self Itself, and becomes
imperturbably tranquil, i.e., he reaches the stage, bereft
of the momentum of rebirth or regeneration. Attachment and
repulsion exist so long as the proclivities of fascination
and contempt exist. For instance, a mysophobic or puritanic
Sadhaka will consider wine as an object of disdain and even
touching it will be an act of iniquity or impiety for him. A
wine addict, however, considering it as an object of greed,
will run after it with total disregard for the environmental
convention and seemliness. But he who has become really
desireless as the result of Selfrealization, will keep
himself above these tow. He will take wine as medicine under
medical advice, otherwise he will keep it away with care
from the sight of people. He has neither attachment nor
aversion for the wine. If you go to Kanyakumarii, you will
see on one side the violent waves of the Bay of Bengal and
on the other the tranquil Arabian Sea. The Bay of Bengal is
not very deep and so there are as much waves as roars, and
the deep Arabian Sea remains calm and meditative. Similarly
he who is satiated of knowledge, and desireless, remains
calm and tranquil. Why on earth should he indulge in
self-publicity - to whom will he publicize himself? Such
acts are the antics of common, avaricious people that are
beggarly of commendation. A man who has attained Brahma will
see His Glory in everything and feel that nothing is
separate from Him. Where is the fear of any Samskara or
reactive momentum for the one who has surrendered one's self
to Brahma?
"Surrendered myself so fear-free feet Fears of foes
have all got beat".
The Sadhaka who has known Brahma loses himself- merges
himself in Him. He does not have to undergo the cycle of
births and deaths any more.
Gatah kalah pai acadasha pratistha Devashca sarve
pratidevatasu Karmani vijinanamayashca atma Parevyaye sarva
ekiibhavanti.
Human existence is concerned with sixteen factors,
(Kala's), from which there is no means of escape, so long as
3Q3 man's desires are efferent or extrovertive - so long as
he is busy seeking the ingredients of happiness from this
material world. There are ten organs, (five sensory organs,
e.g. eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin, and five motor
organs, i.e., speech, hands, feet, anus and generative
organ), five pranah or internal vital airs, viz., Prana,
Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana (Naga, Kurma, Krkara,
Devadatta, and Dhanainjaya - these five external Vayus or
airs do not belong to the sixteen Kala's for these are the
resultants of the internal airs themselves), and Ahamtattva
(ego) - sixteen in all. The onus of fifteen Kala's of a
theopathic Sadhaka gets merged in their original cause. All
these gods* or organs finally lose themselves in their
respective counter gods, i.e., controlling powers. (a) THE
ELEVEN RUDRAS: 10 organs (sensory and motor) and the mind.
`Rudra' means that which make one cry. At the time of death
when all the organs merge in their corresponding Countergods
severally, the mind gets inactive and the human body gets
still and immobile, the near and dear ones of the dead
person cry piteously. These eleven gods make man cry and
hence they are called Rudras. (b) THE EIGHT VASUS: Vasu
means the habitat of the units, that is to say, those that
are the receptacles, shelters, or objects of the organs are
called Vasus. The sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the
ether, the air, the fire and the earth are the eight Vasus.
(c) THE TWELVE ADITYAS: Aditya means Collector. Here it
means that or those which takes or take away the
consequences of deeds, and life. Every moment the duration
of life is being reduced and the unit is being compelled to
undergo the process of metempsychosis (transmigration in
order to enjoy or endure the consequences of his deeds. All
these are taking place through the passage of time. Hence
time is the Aditya, for it takes away the life and the
consequential momenta or deeds. The twelve months are the
twelve Adityas. (d) INDRA: Indra means lightning, thunder or
actional force. (e) PRAJAPATI: Prajapati means Yajina
(sacrifice) or action. Some are of opinion that the veins of
human body are uncountable. some say, a few crores, as
though they all have counted them. Many people say that the
number of veins totals thirty three crores and so the gods
are also of the same number. Really speaking it is due to
ignorance and blind belief that these controlling nerves and
veins of the human body have been converted into thirty
three crores of gods, having so many different names and
forms, Shamkara said in reference to gods,
"Sarvadyotanatmaka akhanda cidaekarasah."
Yajinavalkya said,
Dyotate kriidate yasmadudyate dyotate divi Tasmaddeva
iti proktah stuyate sardevataeh.
The gods are of two kinds. The manifestation of soul
is 33 accomplished through the organs, and so the organs are
called Daehik Devata or the physical gods and the gods
through whom the universe is manifested and controlled are
called Brahmii Devata or the Cosmic gods. Both are thirty
three each in number, for each of the Cosmic gods is the
counter-god of the respective physical gods. These physical
gods get merged in the counter-gods which again merge in
Brahma and that is why the liberated Sadhaka becomes Brahma
himself. Behind each bearing of these indescribable games of
sound, touch, form, taste and smell that are going on in
this vast universe, there is a significant expression of
some particular force. These forces we call gods. Playing
and frolicking on the body of the Macrocosm, each of these
forces is activating and controlling the human body as a
unit is concerned, in a particular way, with each and every
action and sentiment of the human limbs and parts. The
forces that activate the ten organs, through which man acts,
are called gods of the senses. After death each of the
organs of an emancipated Sadhaka gets merged in its own god.
His deeds, his soul ensconced in the Vijinanamaya and
Hiranyamaya kosas, the fifteen kala's and the counter-gods
of the gods (what we call gods in reference to unit bodies
are known as counter-gods in their pervasive sense in
reference to Macrocosmic Body) - all merge in the Supreme
Being after the demise of such a Sadhaka. In other words,
the emancipated Sadhaka attains a place beyond the pale of
life and death. he becomes one with the imperishable Brahma
in his final beatitude. The union of a Sadhaka with Brahma
has been elucidated through an excellent example. Just as a
river, abjuring its name (and identity), completely merges
in the sea and thereafter it cannot maintain its own
existence except that of the sea, similarly a Sadhaka, after
merging himself in Brahma, can no more think of himself
except Brahma.
Yathanadyah syandamanah samudre stam gacchami namarupe
vihaya Tatha vidvannamarupadvimuktah paratparam
purusamuparti divyam.
Seeing the Ganges we can tell, it is the water of the
Ganges. Similarly we can tell the water of the Yamuna or the
water of the Sarasvati but once they merge in the sea, we
cannot separate them nor can we distinguish the one from the
other. Nevertheless they are all there. They all have lost
their respective name-entities in the entity of the sea.
Similarly when a knower of Truth merges in the Supreme
Being, his petty sense of existence loses itself, and ,
attaining unicity with the Supreme Entity, he becomes
Supreme Himself. Spiritual practice is meant for the
expansion of the soul, not for the annihilation of it and
Samadhi does not mean suicide but self- oblivion.
Sa yo ha vae tat paramam brahma veda brahmaeva bhavati
Nasyabrahmavit kule bhavati Tarati shokam tarati papnanan
guhagranthibhyo vimektomrto bhavati. 33 He who has known
Supreme Brahma, becomes Brahma Himself, for the unit takes
on the very form of his object. He who has Brahma as his
object, goes to the world of Brahma after death, i.e.,
becomes Brahma Himself. In the Kula or family of such a
Brahma-knowing one is never born a non-Brahma-knowing
person. The word, Kula, is derived from the root, Ku-la-da.
`Ku' means world and `la' means to hold. That which the
world holds is called Kula. (Its third meaning being the
unit force of Jiiva-shakti. The lowest part of the vertebral
column or spine is also called Kula. The coiled force
situated at this Kula is called Kulakundalinii.) The world
holds the human family and that is why the family or lineage
is called Kula. Here the word, Kula, is used in the sense of
Brahma-sutra (Divine link), which is denotative of
hereditary Preceptor-disciple relationship and by which the
creation is held or which knowledge is thus preserved
hereditarily. The knower of Brahma goes beyond the sphere of
all pains and iniquities. When through Sadhana or spiritual
practice the Kulakundalinii-force pierces through the heart,
the Sadhaka gets emancipated and attains deathlessness goes to the region beyond the reach of death for all
eternity. Elsewhere in the Shruti it is said:
Bhidyate hrdayagranthishchidyante sarvasamshayah
Kaiiyante casya karmani tasmin drste paravare. Nasa jiivo na
ca brahma na canyadapi kiincana Na tasya varnah vidyante
nashramashca tathaeva ca. - Pashupata Brahma
In such a condition can we at all call the emancipated
Purusa unit? This great man, whose heart is pierced through
and who has merged himself in Brahma due to the absence of
Samskara or reactive momentum, has attained a position even
above Brahma, Visnu and Maheshvara.** Of the three letters
(A, U, Ma) of the Onunkara `/a' is the seed of creation, `U'
is the seed of stability or preservation and `ma' is the
seed of destruction. `A' being the creative alphabet, Brahma
is called Brahma (Brahma - a - Brahma) in reference to
creation. Suppose a man's name is Ramababu. His son will
call him `father' and his pupil will call him `sir' - these
are but the titles of Ramababu applied to his specific
occupational conditions. Actually Ramababu is one. Saguna
Brahma imbibes three chief acts, viz., creation,
preservation and destruction. These acts of creation,
preservation and destruction are taking place in the psychic
sphere of Brahma. With the termination of this thought
process all the manifestations of these three kinds of acts
will also cease. For instance, when we think of Bhagalpur, a
clear picture of Bhagalpur gets projected on our mental
plate and when we give up the thought of Bhagalpur, the
picture of Bhagalpur gets lost in that very mental plate. If
afterwards we cease to think at all, the mind also loses its
existence. So Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh are the
nomenclatures of the different psychic acts of the Brahma
Himself. When a Sadhaka, having gone beyond the mental
stratum, gets ensconced in the immutable, pure Brahmic
region, he certainly enjoys greater importance or
superiority 33 over these three gods. That state is the
characteristic state or seity of the unit - the metempiric
state of Shiva or Cosmic Transcendentality. Asked to reveal
his identity, Lord Samkaracarya said,
Manobuddhyaham karo cittani naham Na ca shrotrajihve
na ca ghrana netre Na vyoma bhumirnatejo na vayuh
Cidanandarupo shivoham shivoham That is,
Not mind nor I-feeling nor ego am I Nor ear nor tongue
nor nose nor eye Nor air nor earth nor sun nor sky The Soul
Eternal am I, am I.
Brahma is not classifiable under any Varna or color.
His thought is of course colorific. Color co-exists with the
sound that necessarily exists in the thought. These colors
and sounds are indicative of different gunas or qualities.
Varna Quality Color
Brahmana Sattva (Sentient) White Ksattriya Sattva plus
Rajah Red (Sentient plus Mutative) Vaeshya Rajah plus Tamah
Yellow (Mutative plus Static) Shudra Tamah (Static) Black
Brahma Himself is above all colors. So he is above the
four Varnas or Ashramas like Brahmin, Ksattriya, etc. The
end of Varnas (colors) and the beginning of Avarna (Absence
of color) take place in the Trikuti (the seat of the mind
between the two eye-brows) of the human body and so in the
Sadhana of the Avarna, or Non-color we have got to recognize
and accept the Trikuti directly or indirectly.
Na tasya dharmodharmashca na nisedho vidhirna ca Yada
brahmatmakam sarvam vibhati tata eva tu. -Pashupata Brahma.
To the knower of Brahma Dharma and Adharam (piety and
impiety) have no distinction. He is not even cognizant of
discrimination between Scriptural sanctions and inhibitions.
To him all have then become one. There is nothing to accept
or shun. The knower of Brahma will keep himself engaged in
the meditation of Brahma all the time, awake or asleep,
standing or sitting, eating or abstaining. Constantly will
he keep himself absorbed in Brahmic thought. All his acts,
small or big, are dedicated to Brahma and that is why, he
does not have to take the consequences of his deeds. The
body to him is but a machine, through which his Bhota
(consequential sufferings and enjoyments of past deeds) is
served but no new action or its consequence touches him any
more.
Tada duhkhad bhedoyamabh sopi na bhasate Jagat jiivadi
rupena pashyannapi paratmavid. 3/3 -Pashupata Brahma.
Pleasure and pain are but the distortion of the mind.
In Samadhi (suspension of mind) comes the full equilibrium.
At that time not a semblance of pleasure or pain remains
save and except an attitude of absolute happiness.
Incidentally a story flashes across my mind. Pandita
Ramanatha of Navadvipa was a self-oblivious man. The king of
Nadia, with a view to giving him some financial help, had
once asked him, "Are you in want of anything?" The Pandita
had then been absorbed in the world of Truth. He too the
word `want' for his want of knowledge and replied, "Yes, I
did feel the want of an explanation of a shloka but now it
is clear to me." The Maharaja then said,"No, I am talking
about want of money." Ramanatha replied, "Look, you had
better ask my wife about domestic affairs." Then the
Maharaja inquired of the wife. As husband, so his wife. She
informed the King point-blank "Look, there is rice in the
house and there is plenty of leaves in the tamarind tree. My
man relishes the stew of those leaves immensely. I don't
know of any other necessity." That is why I say, greater the
height a man, inspired by a great ideal, reaches, the lesser
shall be his sense of pleasure and pain. A magician turns a
piece of stone into a pigeon and vice versa. A wonderful
show! People get dumb-founded at it but the magician himself
does not undergo any distortion, for he knows the secret of
his skill very well. The spectators get affected and
overwhelmed with such a demonstration. The magician also
sees the magic-play but he does not get affected or
overwhelmed. He only witnesses the play. Why? He only sees
if the play is being enacted properly. This world is also a
magic-play like this. Similarly the knower of Brahma only
witnesses this game but he does not get affected. He remains
unattached in spite of his being in the midst of sufferings
and enjoyments. Mahaprabhu Caetanya had said to his dear
disciple,
Go home in peace with your head sedate To sea of
devotion men slow get Be not an apish ascetic to the eye
Proper ye enjoy `thout yearning or sigh Devotion at heart,
be social without Krsna sure shall bail you out. Krsnadasa.
Na tat pashyati cidrupam brahmavasuveva pashyati
Dharmadharmitya varta ca bhede satihi bhidyate. -Pashupata
Brahma.
The knower of Brahma is like Consciousness Itself. He
has a thorough grasp of all objects. To a man of average
intelligence water and ice are two different entities, but
he who knows a little of truth knows that ice is only a
crudified form of water. Similarly where the average man
sees a big difference between a pot and the potter or
religion and the religious, the knower of Brahma sees only
the homogeneous oneness among them. Are the world and Brahma
two different entities or are they indivisible? Is the one
true, and the other false? Is the difference that appears
between the two, the truth or the lack of it? Such questions
or ways of thinking never arise in the mind of man with
Cosmic outlook.
Bhedabhedastathabhedo bhedah saksat paratmana. Nasti
svatmatirekena svayamevasti sarvada. -Pashupata.
Whether the world and Brahma are two entities or the
one is not different from the other - such thoughts are
wrong in themselves. The knower of Brahma feels that the
world is indeed His own manifestation. He knows that all is
He. Ramababu and Shyamababu are two entities in common
parlance, but do you know how that difference looks from the
Cosmic angle? Not any more than the difference between man
and human being, between sea and ocean, between wife and
better-half. From a Sadhaka's stand-point distinction does
not exist. If I think of London in the mind, is there
actually any difference between myself and that mental
London? That is my own mental form, isn't it?
Adhisthanamanaopamyamavan namanasogocaram
Yattadadreshyamagrahyamagotram rupavarjitam. -Pashupata.
The knower of Brahma then feels that he as Brahma is
the abider of all objects - the nucleus of every thing. He
feels that he is incomparable in the universe - that there
exists no second thing comparable to him. Na tasya pratima
asti, i.e., He has no image. Comparison calls for two
objects and this means that there are two Brahmas. Hence
Brahma is incomparable. Brahma is beyond the tether of words
and mind and yet even that verbally and mentally
incomprehensible Brahma is attainable by efforts. You have
got to touch Him with the innermost heart of your heart, got
to hold him with your intuition, got to attain him by
merging your soul in the Soul. His body is not a
quinquelemental, finite entity that you can see Him with
your eyes. He is indeed subtler than the subtle vaster than
the vast, to see him you have got to use the lens or
collyrium of knowledge, moving aside the blinding
obstruction or bondage of Avidya or the forces of
microcosmic distraction. If a puppet of salt goes to fathom
a sea, it will certainly melt and become the sea itself.
Similarly if the knower of Brahma goes to fathom Brahma he
merges in the Sea of Brahma and becomes Brahma Himself,
"Brahmavid Brahmaevabhavati." Constantly absorbed in the
thought of Brahma, you too will become Brahma.Constantly
thinking of a Kancpoka (a kind of insect) a cockroach
becomes a kancpoka itself. You cannot see him with your
crude eyes, for he is super-sensual. He has no pedigree or
family line. It can be, for he is an Aseity (unborn),
beginningless and without causality. He is shapeless and
formless. He has no form, for ascription of a form means the
limit of demarcation. As soon as the limitless Brahma is
given a form and turned into a limited entity, he ceases to
be Brahma, or Great.
Acaksuhshrotramatyartham tadapanipadam tatha Nityam
vibhum sarvagatam suskanamca tadavyayam. - Pashupata. 33 He
has no crude eyes but He sees everything with His cognitive
vision. He has no ears, but he hears every thing with His
cognitive ears. Since nothing is outside Him He has no motor
and sensory organs, but He does every thing by dint of His
imagination. For example, if you imagine a tree in your
mind, its simulacrum or shadowy likeness will impress itself
on your mental plate and a sense of visualizing the tree
will be aroused in you too. Does there actually exist any
independent entity of the tree other than yourself?
Similarly Brahma is observing, hearing and doing every thing
by virtue of his thought-projection. He is an eternal,
perpetual Entity beyond the purview of past, present and
future. Being without beginning and destruction, He is
called Vibhu or Eternal. He is subtler than the subtle and
devoid of all kinds of decay.
Brahmaevedamamrtam tatpurastad brahmanandam paramam
caeva pashcat Brahmanandam paramam daksine ca brahmanandam
paramam cottaram ca. -Pashupata.
The characteristically deathless Brahma is present in
front of us, behind us, right and left of us - everywhere.
It is impossible to run away from Him. We are completely
surrounded by him.
Uma sahayam parameshvaram prabhum trilocanam niilakan
tham prashantam Dhyatva munirgacchati bhutayo im
samastasaksiim tamasah parastat. - Kaevalya.
The Supreme Purusa is with Uma. Uma. means Prakrti,
His operative principle. Brahma is the combined name of
Purusa and Prakrti. When the influence of Prakrti expresses
itself upon the Purusa, the cosmic thought process goes into
action and by virtue of this activation by Prakrti, the
sound of Onunkara starts bellowing. But when Prakrti is
inactive, i.e., when the Purusa is predominant, then and
there that Onunkara sound also stops. By a slight
transposition of A, U, Ma (the three constituent letters of
the ideogram or Om), i.e., placing `A' at the end, we get
the word, UMA. That is why Umapati (Uma-Pati, i.e., husband)
means Purusa. Brahma, in conjunction with Prakrti, is the
cause of creation. In a particular meaning, He may also be
called Iishvara, which means Controller. Brahma is the
controller of the organs and their gods directly and
indirectly. His cognitive eyes are not two but three, i.e.,
He is the seer of all the three, past, present, and future.
He is Niilakantha or blue-throated, i.e., the vast bluish
sky is in the region of His throat. His initial extroversion
or expansion from the subtle to the crude is the sky. The
sky is of blue color and the capable of imbibing and
carrying the sound, hence Niilakantha is a very apt epithet
of Brahma. This throat is not limited and demarcated like
that of the unit. The entire creation is within him. His
depth is unfathomable and hence he is calm and tranquil.
Reaching the original cause of all elements by virtue of
their meditation and thoughtfulness the MUnis, the
thoughtful and reflective man, eventually attained the very
Brahma himself. His place is above all extroversive forces.
He is all knowing all witnessing and self-effulgent.
Sa brahma sa shivah sendrah soksarah paramah svarat Sa
eva visnu sa pranah sa kalagnih sa candrama.
He is the Brahma, i.e., when He is engaged in the Act
of creation, He is known as Brahma. As Shiva or
Consciousness, He is the witnessing Entity of the mundane
affairs. He is the Indra of the universe, i.e., the greatest
of all. He is imperishable, undiminishable, i.e., devoid of
any decay. This great Brahma is effulgent in His own
effulgence - Svarupena rajate iti svarat. For His
all-pervasiveness He is known as Visnu. He is known as the
Life, for the being-hood of all entities is ingrained in His
entity. It is because of His possessing the inexhaustible
power of destruction that He is know as Kalagni or the fire
of destruction. He is called the moon, for He is hiding in
the Hrdayakasha or firmament of the heart as the great and
noble Intellect. Briefly speaking, all that you can not
think of concerning the world are within him. He is the seed
of all the Tanmatras, i.e., the generic essences of physical
elements like sound, touch, form, taste and smell. The germ
or sprout is verily His expression.
Sa eva sarvam yadbhutamyacca bhavyam sanatanam
Jinatvatam mrtyumatyeri nanya pantha vimuktaye.
He is whatever exists in this universe - whatever
exists in all the objects. Whatever will take have taken or
are taking place are all held in His existence, vibrated in
His vibration, echoed and reechoed in a thousand and one
ways in his sound. His voice is the cosmic voice that
establishes the beings of the mortal world in immortality.
His voice surges as the seed of the world, as the germ of
the world, as the fruit bearing world-like tree. St. Paul
said in the Bible, "In the beginning was the word and the
word was with God and the word was God." The vedas also sing
the many glories of this vast mystic syllable or sound,
Onunkara. The all merciful God has been teaching the
fundamentals of all learning through the medium of this
Onunkara. Man goes past death as well as all cares and woes
for all eternity by the supreme being in two ways - thought
and meditation of God at every step of his evolutional
sports.
All are false, only Krsna thrills Pray, O mortals,
Death at your heals. Post Bhadra Purnima, 1955.
* Of the countless number of veins or tubular organs
of the human body, thirty three are most important. The
controlling entities of these thirty three veins or tubes
are called thirty three gods, viz., Eleven Rudras, eight
Vasus, twelve adityas, indra and Prajapati. The Chief
manifestation of the Cosmic Force is called Indra, which
controls the human body entirely. 33 ** It is the Supreme
Brahma Who is the creator of the universe and to create is
also an act. Where there is action there is sound. The
pranava or Onunkara is indeed the sound of the creative
thought-process of the Supreme Spirit.
SS2-4.SS
CHAPTER IV
THE INTUITIONAL SCIENCE OF THE VEDAS
Manah eva manusyanam karanam bandhamoksavot Bandhasya
visayasaungim tkto tirvisayam tatha.
Matter or object is indispensable for the existence of
the mind, for mind thrives on matter. As soon as it becomes
unobjective, it dies. The unit-mind accepts the unit-objects
around it as its objective or livelihood with the help of
the organs. The unit entity cannot conceive any integral,
infinite object in his mind. Brahma alone is integral, the
rest of the evolved objects are fractional or partial and
are each of them within the mental jurisdiction. Take the
Himalaya Mountains for instance. The mind finds it difficult
indeed to apprehend it straightaway but this vast entity
also is not limitless but only a part, and so it can be
brought within the mental compass easily through the medium
of a map. But we cannot draw a map or picture of the
integral entity, Brahma. We cannot bind Him to an image from
the ten directions. That is why the Scriptures say, "Na
tasya pratima asti", i.e., He has no image. Mind cannot
apprehend this integral Brahma, for every object that is
encompassed by the mind is demarcable from the ten sides which is totally antagonistic to the concept of
limitlessness. If holding or apprehending Brahma is beyond
the capacity of the mind, how then can man attain Him? When,
through spiritual Sadhana, mind gradually starts turning
subtle from the crude - goes on advancing from the crude to
abstraction, it (the unit-mind entity) gradually goes on
surrendering itself unawares to the Hiranyagarbha or subtle
Cosmic mind. And when this self-surrender reaches the apex,
the unit-mind, i.e., the sense of Rama, Shyama, Jadu Madhu
etc. meets its Waterloo. What remains then is only the
Supreme Mind Entity of that Supreme Purusa. This state is
called Savikalpa Samadhi or determinate concentration of the
mind. So we see that the first and last word of Sadhana or
intuitional practice is total surrender of the unit-mind to
the Super-mind Entity. Similarly, when the unit mind is
dedicated to Supreme Consciousness, as the result of which
there remains only an objectless Entity the Lord or Maya, it
is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi, i.e., super-sensual or total
suspension of the mind. The first and last word of this
Sadhana also is total surrender. To the unit mind Brahma
Entity is unthinkable.
Acintyamavyaktamanantarupam shivam prashantamamrtam
brahmayonim Tathadimadhyantavihiinamekam vibhum
cidanandamarupamadbutam.
He is unimaginable, for He is beyond the sphere of
imagination. Not only that, He is also unmanifest overand
above being unimaginable. Unmanifest, because He is
inapprehensible to the organs through sound, touch, form,
taste, smell, etc. Any object, having the above five
qualities like sound, touch, etc., no matter how huge it is,
is apprehensible by the organs. He is formless, for we
cannot give a form to infinity. But then, is this
perceptible world that we see, not His form? Yes, it is, but
these countless forms of this observable world are but His
psychic manifestations. Only unit entities are evolved in
the sphere of His mind as the objects of the unit minds,
whereas countless and endless, big and small, unit entities
are being created and recreated in the imagination of
Brahma, the possessor of the infinite mind. Apparently they
are His `form' in this observable world. But none of these
forms of His psychic flow - none of these bubbles that are
originating, rising and breaking, are the ultimate entities.
they are all progressing through spatial, temporal and
personal changes with a view to merging in that Supreme
Bearing, the Nucleus of the Thought-Cycle. That is why we
can not take any form of these mundane manifestations of
Brahma to be permanent and hold on to its as such. No matter
how charming and captivating the form of His may be, it must
disappear from before us one day - must go away to some
unseeable region in response to the beckoning call of time,
leaving us behind to rue and wail or profuse tears. So none
of His unit-forms can give us any perennial peace or real,
abiding happiness. That is why a Sadhaka is taken aback at
the sight of the infinite, manifest form of the Infinite
Brahma, Shrii Radha
said,
Askest thou, Sakhi, the experience mine Describing
that Love with the love of mine Each moment bringeth a newer
theme All my life that Form have I seen Yet eyes untired,
insatiate, keen Only ears doth hark His honeyed hymn Still
indelible the touch on my ears Sweet nights passeth in
pining tears The uncanny game beyond my ken For aeons in
heart my heart have I kept Yet longing heart is ever bereft
Trekked many a talent His essence-den Could none describe
that feel divine Sayeth Vidyapati, that Love so fine Not one
in a million could ever explain.
He is the selfsame Shiva. The word, Shiva, means
Purusa. It is also used in the sense of benevolence. Here
`Shiva' is used in the latter sense, for his psychic
manifestations, the evolved objects, are all employed for
the attainment of good - are dedicated for the good alone
and so He is Shiva, He is benevolent, He is the image of
benevolence. Does He punish us to afflict us with pain and
suffering? No, there too, His benevolent wishes abide. It is
for the rectification of our character that the benevolent
penal dispensation is there. He is perfectly free from the
stigma or darkness of Avidya, etc. Hence He is perfectly in
peace - in absolute tranquility. The Avidya-like gale
creates stormy waves in the sea of the mind, destroying its
equipoise and tranquility. In the sea of Brahma shocks and
clashes of Avidya (Forces of microcosmic distraction)do not
exist and so there is no wave at all. The more the
Avidya-evolved ego, the greater the agitation of the wave; the greater the shallowness of its knowledge, if 3q3 you can
to scrutinize. You will see at Kaniyakumarii there are the
billowing waves of the non-too-deep Bay of Bengal on one
side and the calm serenity of the very deep Arabian Sea on
the other. He is deathless and free from distortion.
Distortion cannot come in a thing, unless there is an
influence of a second object or of an outside agency upon
it. If you want to distort milk into curd, you will have to
mix some thing sour into it. Nothing being outside him, He
precludes the possibility of being distorted by any outer
influence or agency. The word, Brahma means uniquely Great.
He is the greatest of all - Brhattvad Brahma. Nay, absorbed
in His thought, all become Brahma. I.e., He has the power of
making one and all Brahma - Brmhanatvad Brahma. He is the
original Cause of everything, for He has been creating the
world in His mind by virtue of His imagination. He has
neither the beginning, nor the middle nor the end, for He is
interminate and infinite. If He had a beginning, we could
not have called Him endless and infinite. The one that has
neither the first point nor the last point cannot have a
middle point nor the last point cannot have a middle point
either. If he had those three aspects, there would have
remained the possibility of some aspects, there would have
remained the possibility of something else - a second entity
beside Him, and all such things should have been either
before or after His point of origin. In such an event it
would have been possible to apprehend Him through the mind
and the organs, for in that case He would have been a mere
entity of five elements. If we call an image God, then the
seat or the pedestal below His feet and the crown on his
head must be some other entities outside God. To call such
an image or puppet beginningless and limitless is rank
madness, for we get both its first and last points and can
also apprehend it by our minds as well as by our organs. And
this is because it is made of the quinquelemental
ingredients like earth, stone, metal or wood. Everything
being within His psychic body, He is the Supreme Controller
of everything. He is Consciousness - Bliss Absolute. All
mental feelings are either pleasant or painful. When the
mind can stick to any object or thing for a long time, we
call that state happiness and when it does not want to stick
to any object or thing (which is characteristically
inimical, for long, we call such a state sorrow. When the
mind is neither concerned with the feeling of happiness nor
with that or sorrow, it ceases to exist. In such a state
remains only an objectless soul, when the soul revels in the
happiness of the soul. That is why He is the self-same
Consciousness - the Bliss Absolute - the ever-blissful
Spirit. I have already said that there cannot be any
particular form of limitlessness. And so He is formless, He
is shapeless. The countless perceivable unit-forms are all
within the formless Whole aren't they? Differentially and
severally they are so may countless forms but integrally,
they are He, Who is beyond the ambit of forms. So sang the
great Sadhaka, Ramaprasada,
Distinctions O Mother, shall I shun Thus put my mind
in order Hundreds of knowledge Truth spun Formless remains
my Mother. 33 The One Who is formless is indescribable. I
cannot call Him any thing, but the Wonder of wonders.
Sarvabhutashamatmanam sarvabhutani catmani Sampashyan
brahmaparamam yati nanyena hetuna.
He who sees his own entity in all the evolved objects
(all elements), animate or inanimate, and all such objects
within himself, has alone the capacity of realizing Brahma,
i.e., the realization of Brahma is possible of him alone. He
cannot be attained through any other means except through
such a cosmic vision. Now the question arises as to how it
is possible for a man to see all (elements) in him and him
in them.
Atmanamaranim krtva pranavai ncottararanim
Jinananimarthanabhyasat pasham dahati panditah.
Let the Pandita or the learned man free himself from
or subdue, his fetters (the eight pashas) by virtue of his
reasoning and knowledge, using his self as the Arani or
wood-flint and onunkara as the Uttarani or the striking
flint. The word, Arani, means mantra-sanctified wood used
for sacrificial fires, by the friction of which people of
olden days used to produce fire. The main wood was known as
arani and the striking wood by which the friction was to be
accomplished was called Uttarani.Arani used to grow in the
forest, the place of meditation for the Rsis of those days.
Metaphorically, one is advised to use one's soul as the
Arani or flint. But to light up the Brahmic fire it is
necessary to have Uttarani or the striking that for
friction. Here the Uttararani is the Pranava or Onunkara.
The roots, Pra plus nu plus all make the word, Pranava. the
root, `Nu' means to worship. That is to say, Pranava is one
by which worship is carried out in an excellent manner. The
Onunkara-mantra itself is the Pranava. It is after coming in
contact with this excellent medium of worship that Cosmic
sentiment is roused in the soul. Many of you know that
listening to the refrains of the Onunkara sound man gets
lost in Samadhi (The trance of absorption), - gets absorbed
in Brahmabhava or Cosmotheistic Trance. `That I permeate in
everything, that my ego or I-ness pervades the world' - such
a state of sentiment or thought, such a mental bearing is
what is called knowledge. `Stirring up this vast vista of
knowledge by reasoning, I have understood that, really from
the spiritual standpoint, all that exists are Brahma and
that I am all and everything.' It is by such constant
inculcation and practice of this sentiment alone (whose
easiest method has been taught to you at the very outset of
your Sadhana) that the empyrean fire of Brahma is lit and
realized out of the contact between the soul-like Arani
(wood-flint) and the Pranava-like Uttarani or the striker.
In other words this churning by reasonings represents the
act of friction between the Arani and the Uttarani. With the
fire of Brahma lit up in the heart, man's mind is freed from
the fetters or pashas which mean the chains of bondage.
These pashas or fetters are eight in number:- 33
Ghrnashanikabhayamlajjajugupsacetipaincamii Kulamshiilamca
manamca astao pashah prakiirtitah.
That is, (1) hatred, (2) doubt, (3) fear, (4) shame,
(5) censure, (6) attachment, (7) vanity of culture, (8)
false sense of prestige. The one who consumes these fetters
is known in the society as a Pandita, i.e., with the
realization of Brahma or the attainment of Savikalpa Samadhi
(determinate trance of absorption) the above fetters
disappear from the human mind. During the time of
determinate concentration the sentiment of `I am Brahma'
exists in the mind of the Sadhaka. In the Samskrta language
the state of `I am Brahma' is called Panda. The one who has
Panda is called Pandita.
Aham brahmasmiiti buddhitamitah praptah panditah.
If Brahma is one and without a second (Ekam eva
advitiiyam), then why is there the distortion in Him? This
question is quite natural and its answer is also very easy.
Distortion comes on account of the Prakrti, the Operative
Principle, and this distortion takes place within the Body
of Brahma, not outside It. Hence on final scrutiny His
oneness remains unassailed. The unitbeings that have been in
possession of the Cosmic Mind in part and that have been
progressing within It, are also conscious of their smallness
and this very sense of smallness is their individuality -
unit-hood. Sadhana or intuitional practice means an effort
to break through the barrier of this smallness and Siddhi or
beatitude is the state, wherein the barrier has been broken
through. Under the influence of Prakrti there can exist
three conditions or states between the smallness-conscious
unit and the unfathomably great Brahma. These three
conditions are wakefulness, dream and sleep. None of these
three are permanent for they are evolved by the influence of
Prakrti's three gunas or attributes, viz., Sattva
(Sentient), Rajah (Mutative) and Tamah (Static). In all
these three conditions macrocosm and microcosm remain
apparently separate. But the influence of Prakrti being
absent in the fourth conditions, which is known as Turiiya
(the state of non-duality) or Kaevalya (absolute identity
with the divine essence), there remains no distinction
between Brahma and the unit. Both are one consummate Whole.
Wakefulness, dream and sleep -these three conditions feature
in the game of evolution. It is to the three attributes,
viz., Sattva (Sentient), Rajah (Mutative) and Tamah (Static)
that Prakrti owes her creation. When the influence of
Sattvaguna (sentient attribute) is greater on Purusa, He is
called Ksiiravdhi or Ksiirasamadra or the Sea of Milk. the
similar condition of the unit is called the wakeful state.
People generally think that knowingness only exists in the
awakened state. It is not correct. Knowingness does also
exist during dream and sleep. I shall clarify this point for
you later. The part of Brahma, which is knowable, i.e.,
which gets objectivated under the influence of Prakrti, is
called Ksara or decaying, i.e., wherein distortion has taken
place and the part of Brahma, which without being distorted
itself but remaining as 33 the knower of that Ksara, gets
apparently involved with distortion, is called Aksara or
undecaying. This Aksara remains intermingled with Ksara. The
part of Brahma, which is neither Ksara nor Aksara and which
bodily exists as the nucleus or the central point or
sovereign point of the Cosmic System, is the Controller of
both the knowable Ksara and the knower, Aksara. He is not
directly connected with anybody's action or its consequences
Him we call Supreme Soul or the Purusottama.
Ksaram pradhanamamrtaksaram Harah ksaratmana vishate
deva ekah Tasyabhidhyanat yojanat tattvabhavat bhuyashcante
vishvamaya nivrttih.
The word, Narayana, can also be used for Purusottama.
`Nara' means Prakrti (it is also used in the sense of
devotion or water) and Ayana means refuge. So Narayana is
used for purusottama, since He is the refuge of Prakrti, the
Operative Principle or Cosmic Energy. The Purana (the Hindu
Mythology) says, Narayana is lying in the ocean of milk and
Laksmii (Goddess of wealth and prosperity) is massaging His
feet. I have already explained to you that Ksiirasamudra or
the ocean of milk means the state of wakefulness of Brahma.
Narayana means Purusottama. He is lying for He is the
cognitive force.He has nothing to do except to think only "Pure shete yah sa purusah." Laksmii massaging His feet,
i.e., the introversive Prakrti is subservient to
Purusottama. This great narayan is beyond the purview of
words and mind. To make His image is tantamount to rank
madness. When the influence of the Mutative principle
affects the Supreme Entity, He is called Garbhodaka or the
Fluid of Creation. The corresponding state of the unit is
called the state of dream. When the static Principle of
Prakrti is manifest in the Supreme Purusa, He is called
Karanarnava or the sea of Causality. The corresponding state
of the unit is called the state of sleep. Out of the Static
condition of Brahma comes the first expression of the
wakeful creation. That is why this condition is called
Karanarnava or Karana Samudra. Karana means cause and Arnava
means sea, the central point of which is the Purusottama,
round whom the waves of the Sea or Creation are rolling and
billowing with extreme alacrity - round the panoramic
pageantry of Ksara. Aksara is moving fast. Centering around
the small egos is seated amidst the crowd of Ksara and
Aksara the coolly cognitive Purusottama, the cosmic nucleus.
In the wakeful state, a unit considers himself distinct and
separate from Brahma. In the dreamful state such a sense of
distinction diminishes a little. In the `sleeping' state it
is still less. The fevers and frets of the small ego being
absent in sleep, a short of calm, tranquil happiness or
static or passive pleasure is felt. But in the dreamful
state where mind's internal suffering and enjoyment go on as
usual, the amount of happiness is not certainly there to
that extent, rather various kinds of pains are also felt.
Sa eva maya parimohitatma Shariirmasthaya karoti
sarvam 3N3 Striyannapanacivicitrabhogaeh Sa eva jagrat
partitptimeti.
Why is the unit more vulnerable to Avidya (Force of
Microcosmic Distraction) during his wakeful state? Because
in his mind there are eight fetters and six deceitful
superficialities. Every mental action of his is valuable to
both internal and external influences. As per the influences
of the internal and external influences. As per the
influences of the internal passion and fetters of his mind
he races towards objects concerning his body like women,
food, drink, etc., thinking them to the objects of
self-gratification. A Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) has got
to guard himself against the glamour of these external baits
scrupulously - has got to be self-controlled. But will
selfcontrol be possible this way, unless it is made firm
internally in the mind? It is certainly not possible through
becoming a hypocritical Sadhu, tramping about with a smear
of ashes on the body and a Kamandala (bowl) in hand. Without
going in for the external paraphernalia and formalities one
has to prepare oneself internally maintaining the balance
between the inside and the outside. One has to keep alert,
so that external condition also may be commensurate with the
purity of the mind. A high-thinking man may also see his
downfall within a short time,if he continues to be
associated with a bad company. Hence it is necessary to
maintain balance between internal and external behaviors.
Although the body-centered pleasure is perceived by the mind
in the wakeful state, yet is materials are supplied from
without. With the result the privations of the external
world stand in the way of real happiness, for sometimes the
external world may fail to supply him things in accordance
with the desires and wishes of the mind. Mind has then to
run up and down for them. It gets very much agitated and
peace becomes the casualty. The external world being absent
during his dreamful state, there remains a little more
amount of pleasure owing to the want of efferent desires of
the mind or the organs (for that matter here the desire is
not afferent either). IN the state of sleep the internal
activities of the mind being incredibly less, the amount of
happiness (Static happiness) is yet greater in degree.
Svapne sa jiivo sukhaduhkha - bhokta svamayaya
kapitajiivaloke Susptikale sakale viliine tamobhibhuto
sukharu pameti.
I have already said that the unit can perceive more
pleasure or pain during his dreamful state, for in that
state there is no possibility of a clash between efferent
desires and the external world. Normally, even during the
dreamful state also unit keeps aloof from Brahma, for there
are dual sentiments of the perceiver and the perceivable.
The difference in the dreamful state as distinguished from
the wakeful state is that during this state some of the
perceivable recipes are taken from external quinquelemental
world. Whatever perceived are all self-conceived. Ordinarily
we are acquainted with three aspects of the mind, viz.,
conscious mind, sub-conscious mind and unconscious mind,
that are generally and respectively called Cetana mana,
Avacetana 33 mana and Acetana mana, the respective proper
terms of which should be Kamamaya kosa, Manomaya kosa, and
Karana mana. All the three conditions being in right order
during the wakeful state, the imagined objects do not appear
to be true during imagination (as is the wont of the subtle
or sub-conscious mind), for the unit can very well
understand that the actions of the subconscious mind are all
simply imaginary, influenced as it is by the conscious mind,
the perceiver of the organs. But during the dreamful state
the crude or conscious mind being quiescent, the relation of
the unit with the external word gets snapped and severed and
at that time the imaginary, perceivable objects, appear to
be real. That is why it is said that during the dreamful
state the unit remains as the perceiver of his imaginary
pleasure and pain. "Is ever a dream true?" Such question
arise in the minds of many. What the unit imagines or does
during his wakeful state gets recorded in his sub-conscious
mind. Whatever be the condition, when concerned with similar
sentiments or acts or things, the unit determines the
character or shape of the subsequent things, acts or
sentiments in the light of coincidence or recurrence of his
previous acts. In the absence of the means for the
comparison of already perceived objects, or often on account
of similar handicap for tallying the long perceived objects,
the unit is unable to recognize or make out the subsequent
objects. Where there is negligible difficulty in comparing
things, such as, people think within themselves: "Yes, this
thing appears to be similar to that thing to some extent perhaps this may be the changed form of that" - thus they
come to recognize a thing. In the language of Psychology it
is called consciousness of identity. For example, suppose we
had once seen a boy of 12 or 13. He had then been merely a
lad. Thereafter we see him after twelve years. Now he is a
fully developed youth. There has come a great change in his
form and features. Still in most cases we recognize him
though with a little difficulty, and before doing so we do a
spot of thinking within ourselves that that very boy of 12
perhaps now looks like this. We call it Pratyabhijina or
consciousness of identity. but if the difference between the
two forms be very great, Pratyabhijina cuts a sorry figure.
So we see, the accumulated experiences of the sub-conscious
mind help us a great deal in our daily lives. Non-recurrence
of these enlightening vibrations would have landed us in
great difficulties in this common world as well as in the
world of imagination, had they not expressed themselves as
per necessity. In sleep if the flatulent gas move upwards on
account of stomach trouble or if there be nervous
disturbance, the brain (sub-conscious mind) gets agitated.
Our previously imagined or previously felt objects reappear
in our sub-conscious mind in a disjointed form. This we call
dream. It is obvious that such a dream is not only of no
consequence but the story formed therein is not well-knit as
well, owing to the mere reappearance of the objects,
accumulated in the different parts of the brain. There is
yet another type of dream. Man's Atimanasa kosa (supramental
mind) is the store-house of all knowledges. At times a
premonition of a would-be great happiness or sorrow, which
only the omniscient causal frame can visualize, is begotten
during deep slumber in the sub-conscious mind of an
individual, deeply concerned with that particular happiness
or sorrow. Such dreams do not take place very often.
Nevertheless such a dream does carry the prognosis of a true
event. Both the conscious and the sub-conscious mind take
rest during sleep, while only the unconscious mind (the
collective name of the causal or astral mind like Atimanasa
kosa, Vijinanamaya kosa, and the Hiranyamaya kosa)
functions. An inordinately darkness-pervaded
unconscious-mind, in spite of its being the receptacle of
all knowledges, cannot be the knower of any object due to
darkness surrounding it. Whatever be the reasons behind it,
in spite of being objectivated, is unable to maintain its
objectivated bearing (objectivity) and so it remains in a
particular stance of satiation - in a particular state of
happiness. In spite of man's heart being rent asunder by
hundreds of shocks, sorrows and insults he forgets
everything during sleep - he gets into a condition of ease
and comfort. Such comfort or happiness is Static (born out
of ignorance). Sleep is such an event as devoid of all
feelings. The man realizes only afterwards that a moment ago
his condition of void was an objectless state.
Abhavapratyayalambanavrttirnidra. - Patainjala.
A sleeping unit being enveloped by Brahmic Karanarnava
(sea of causes), his sense of unit-hood becomes dormant for
the time being. That is why the amount of his happiness is
far greater than that of his wakeful state. The difference
between sleep and death is that after death the function of
all the three minds, crude, subtle and causal, ceases and
that during sleep, the ten Vayus or airs being undisturbed
and unaffected in the body of the causal mind, the vital
force remains intact. But in death the ten Vayus being
distorted, the life leaves the body and so the causal or
unconscious mind is compelled to cease functioning. The
nerve-cells and nerves getting weak and powerless, the body
becomes stiff and inert. The difference between sleep and
unconsciousness is that during sleep the conscious and the
sub-conscious minds (Kamamaya kosa and Manomaya kosa) take
rest after fatigue, and during unconsciousness they are
compelled to stop functioning under circumstantial pressure
due to some external blow or mental shock. Sleep is a
temporary repose and that is why one feels physically better
after it and during unconsciousness activity is forcibly
stopped and so the body feels excessively weak and limp. The
difference between Savikalpa Samadhi (determinate
abstraction of the mind) and sleep is that during Savikalpa
Samadhi the unit-mind attains unicity with the Cosmic Mind
and at that time the Cosmic Mind enjoys infinite happiness
for the Cosmic Mind having no perceivable entity outside It,
Its peace stands no chance of being perturbed by any clash
or counter-clash with any external phenomenon. As in sleep
and unconsciousness, so also in Savikalpa Samadhi the vital
force remains intact and the physical bearing, like any
other crude object, remains directly under the dictates of
the Cosmic Mind. But the unserved Samskaras (i.e., the
remnants of the past reactive momenta) do not let the unit
remain in the Cosmic stance for long. The Mutative Principle
of 33 Prakrti brings him back to his unit-hood in order to
undergo and serve those Samskaras. The difference between
Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Savikalpa Samadhi is that during
Nirvikalpa Samadhi (Total suspension of the mind or Trance
of Complete Absorption) the unit-mind merges in the Supreme
Purusa and that is why, in that condition Bhoga (Pleasure
and Pain), Bhogya (That which is to be undergone or
perceived) and Bhokta (The perceiver), or Jinana
(Knowledge), Jineya (Knowable) and JInatabhava (Knowership)
do not exist. There remains only an unexpressed
Bliss-Entity, Whose perceiver remains self-lost in ecstasy,
completely oblivious of what he has got or what he is
getting. Such a condition of the unit does not last long.
The Mutative Principle of Prakrti brings him back to his
unit-hood or microcosmic state in order to undergo and serve
the unserved Samskaras. Thus returning to his unit-hood, he
feels as though some inexhaustible spring of ecstatic
exhilaration of some unknown region is inundating his mind,
his soul, his entire entity,
-Abhavottaranandapratyayalambaniivrttirtasyaprmanam. -Ananda
Sutram.
After that sense of void when the tide of happiness
floods the mind, then one can understand that that so-called
state of want or void was nothing but Nirvikalpa Samadhi
(The void, because, in the absence of the mind, there was no
matter of object). The question of breach of, or return from
Savikalpa or Nirvikalpa does not arise in the case of one
who has no remnant of Samskara to serve. Such a lasting
Savikalpa is called Mukti or liberation and such a lasting
Nirvikalpa is called Moksa or final beatitude - salvation.
You must have thoroughly understood these two through Ananda
Marga way of SAdhana.
Punshca janmantarakarmayogat sa eva jiivo svapiti
prabuddhah Puratraye kriicyati yasya jiivastatastu jatam
sakalam vicitram Adharamanaudamak handabodham yasminllayam
yati puratrayanica. -Atharva.
The cause that effects the breach of Savikalpa and
Nirvikalpa Samadhis will also be responsible for the breach
of sleep, as long as unserved Samskaras or reactive momenta
of past and present deeds exist. The seeds of reactions
remain accumulated in the unconscious mind. Just before the
end of sleep the subconscious mind (Manomaya kosa) and
almost with it the conscious mind (Kamamaya kosa) also get
awakened through the influence of Prakrti's Mutative
principle. This we call "Waking Up". At times when just on
the eve of waking up from sleep, the sub-conscious mind gets
awakened but the conscious mind does not, the unit dreams
according to his Samskaras. Such a dream, generally not
being due to any physical disturbance or disease and its
preceding state being ingrained in the unconscious mind, is
often found to come true. That is why people say, "True
comes the dream that takes place in the concluding part of
the night". The three states that are created in Purusa as
the result of His conjunction with Prakrti are called
Tripura. In the individuality of the unit these Tripuras are
the three conditions of wakefulness, dream and sleep and
beyond these three states the one that is lying quiescent as
the witness is the Soul or Purusa. This variegated world this observable world, throbs on these three-fold state and
functions right within the units. The creation of this vast
Tripura-cum-world, which is meant for the enjoyment of the
units and which is known as Ksiirasamudra, Garbhodaka (The
Fluid of Creation) and Karanarnava, lies in the imagination
of Supreme Purusa due to His Sentient, Mutative and Static
subjectivity. The receptacle of these three conditions is
what we call the Caturthapura or the fourth state. This
Caturthapura is beyond the ambit of the three gunas or
attributes. That is why, Its Entity is beyond the compass of
space, time and person - beyond the scope of the Tripura.
This fourth condition is called the State of Nirguna
(objectlessness), Kaevalya (absolute identity with the
Divine Essence) or Turiiya (the state of non-duality). So
long as the remnant of Samskaras remains in the unit, he has
to wander about the three regions of Tripura wakefulness,
dream and sleep, with a view to under going pleasure and
pain. When, as the result of Sadhana he frees himself form
the Samskaras, he merges in the Turiiyapada or the state of
nonduality or the Supreme State beyond the precincts of
Tripuras. The ideogram (om) or Pranava or Onunkara is a
quadrisyllabic mantra, viz, A, U, Ma and a sonic dot
(Nadabindu). This sonic dot is the fourth condition, which
is indicative of Nirguna or Objectless Entity. In this none
of the three binding factors, viz., Sattva (Sentient), Rajah
(Mutative) and Tamah (Static), are manifest. The letter, `A'
of the individuality of the unit is indicative of the
predominance of Sentient Principle (Sattvaguna) and of
wakefulness. The letter, `U' (oo) dream, and the letter,
`Ma' is indicative of Static Principle Tamoguna and of
sleep. In Saguna Brahma (The subjectivated
Transcendentality) the letters, A, U, Ma, are respectively
indicative of Ksiiravdhi, Garbhodaka and Karanarnava. The
dot is indicative of the fourth condition of the state of
non-duality and Nirguna Brahma, the Objectless Entity (Pure
Consciousness). A point has got a position but no magnitude.
We cannot think or say any think about Nirguna Brahma. The
dot is merely used for our own comprehension, i.e., to know
and distinguish Him. The crescent-like mark between the
Nirguna-Brahma-signifying dot (.) and Saguna
Brahma-signifying (om) is indicative of the manifest
transformation of the unmanifest Prakrti, the operative
Principle. In reference to unit the Purusa subjective of
wakefulness, is Vishva (a philosophic word, meaning causal
unit-mind) or Subjectivated Purusa. Proper enjoyment of
objects through all organs is possible only in a wakeful
condition and so the Purusa of this condition is called
Subjectivated Purusa. Similarly in reference to the
individuality of the unit the Purusa subjective of the
dreamful condition is called Taejasa or subtle unit-mind and
that of the state of sleep is called Prajina or spiritually
dormant (cognition). The Purusa subjective of Saguna
Brahma's Ksiirvditi, Garbhodaka and Karanarnava is
respectively called Virata (Causal Cosmic Mind),
Hiranyagarbha (subtle Cosmic Mind) and Iishvara (a
philosophic word, meaning Crude Cosmic Mind). hence we find
that `A' is the seed or primary cause of Vishva or 3_3
Virata `U' of Taejasa and Hiranyagarbha and `Ma' or Prajina
and Iishvara. In the Turiiya condition, i.e., in the state
of nonduality there is no distinction between individuality
and Brahma, for the I-feeling is absolutely nil and so there
is no primary cause or seed, for we regard seed as the cause
of origination. Where there is no question of origination,
non-origination, creation, preservation or destruction, the
question of seed also does not arise. The Knower, knowable
and knowledge, and contemplator, contemplable and
contemplation - all become He in the Turiiya state. Hence
the supreme position - the final beatitude, which is denoted
by the Sonic dot is called Iishvaragrasa or the final doom
of Iishvara, i.e., whereby even Iishvara or the Lord of the
universe is devoured. The three puras also merge in the
Nirguna Brahma or Objectless Consciousness. Hence it is
absolutely correct and appropriate to call it Iishvaragrasa
or the Cosmic Doom. This observable world is the
manifestation of the Supreme Purusa. The world exists so
long as the influence of the three gunas or the three
binding factors over Purusa exists. When a Sadhaka destroys
the three puras by dint of his constant spiritual practices
and critical cognitive analyses, i.e., churning the cream of
knowledge, there remains then no distinction whatsoever
between Brahma and the individuality of the unit. The
heterogeneity of objects totally resolves itself due to the
absence of gunas or attributes in the state of Turiiya or
non-duality.
Etasmad jayate prano manah sarvendriyani ca Kham vayu
jyotirapashca prthvii vishvasya dharinii.
This evolved world is indeed a Brahmic conception. The
vital energy or vital air, which is begotten of the union
and disunion of the five fundamental elements and, active in
the unit-body, is but the product of His own
thought-process. At the embryonic stage man draws the vital
energy from the vital force of the bodies of his parents and
thereafter from the residues of vital secretions and
blood-forming properties of his mother's food, comprising
the ingredients of the five elements and then again, after
birth, directly from his own food, drinks, air, light, etc.
Hence the source of the life of the unit lies in Brahma. He
is the Life of the life of the unit. (The word, Prana or
life, when used as singular, means functional energy, and
when used as plural, means vital energy). The
quinquelemental manifestation is the crudest form of
Cosmopsychic conation, i.e., the crudest expression of His
psychic action and so the unit has to draw vital energy from
the quinquelemental entities. The vital energy is generated
in the unit-body through the media of five afferent airs and
five efferent airs. Of the five afferent airs, viz, Prana,
Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana, the Prana, situated between
the navel and the throat controls the functions of lungs,
heart etc; the Apana, situated below the navel (i.e.,
between the navel and the anus) controls the excreta like
stools, urine etc.; the Samana, situated within the navel,
keeps the equilibrium of Prana and Apana; the Undana,
situated in the throat, controls the vocal chord (power of
speech) and the Vyana, permeating through the entire body,
does the office of circulation of blood, secretions etc, and
with the help of nerves brings the sensory and motor organs
into contact with action and the knowable. The vibration
that is necessary for the faculty of thinking is also
supplied by Vyana air. The five efferent airs, viz,. Naga,
Kurma, Krkara, Devadatta and Dhanainjaya, control expansion
and contraction, yawning and hiccup, hunger and thirst,
sleep and drowsiness. Hence it is clear that it is with the
help of Brahma-created airs that the individual unit gathers
his mind-stuff from the Cosmic Mind. The organs have their
expressions, when Prana comes into contact with the mind.
Sky (Kham) air, fire, water and earth are all held in the
Cosmic Mind after being created within it. That is to say,
it is these five elements, the psychic creations of Brahma,
that are preserving the existence of the universe.
Yat param brahma sarvatma vishvasyayatanam mahat
Suksmatsuksmataram nityam tattvameva tvamevatat.
The significant part of the above mantra is that for
Brahma words of neuter gender have been used instead of
masculine or feminine. Candidly speaking, a beginningless,
endless formless Entity hardly calls for a masculine of
feminine ornamentation. He is the Life of lives, the Soul of
souls, and that is why He is Paramatma or the Supreme
Spirit. All limited objects need receptacles. Only the
Infinite is in no need of one. All the unit-objects of the
world are but the unit-manifestations of this Brahma. They
are all held in Him. All of them are the imaginary products
of His Mind. Inconceivably vast as His fundamental intellect
- His existence-cum-cognitive Entity, is, It radiates as the
Knowing Entity through His mind-begotten, subtler than the
subtle, smaller than the smaller unit objects also. The One
that abides in the unit as the Knower, also abides in the
Vast Whole in the same capacity. Actually the characteristic
of His Knowingness does not undergo any change. The change
appears in the receptacles and that is because we see Him
differently, because we imagine Him as a separate Entity,
abiding in a separate receptacle. A Sadhaka, however, knows
that knowing his soul is tantamount to knowing the Supreme
Soul, for they are characteristically the same. Shrii
Ramakrsna Paramahamsa also has said that if a man can know
himself, he can also know God. The great seer of Truth, Rsi
Rabindranath, has expounded this idea very neatly in one of
his beautiful
SS2-4B.SS
"Alas, who can hold thee except the sky O sun! I only
dream of thee and sigh Alas, I cannot serve thee". Said the
dew in tears, "O sun! To bind thee the strength have I none
So my little life is only tears without thee."
"I flood the world with my mighty ray In the tiny dew
I also can stay, Can love her too, can't I, eh? So on her
bosom down came he Said laughing, "Tiny I be, engulfed in
thee And make of thy life a smiling ray."
Every unit-object is subject to causality and again
every action is the object of the mind. The cause of the
mind-entity that exists in the unit-object is embedded in
the Cosmic Mind. It is not only the creation of the Cosmic
Mind, it is Its object as well. No cause exists in respect
of the Cosmic Mind, for no active entity ever had existed
before the Cosmic Mind came into being. To look for an
answer to this question as to why and how the Cosmic Mind
came into being, will involve the fallacy of infinite
regress, for none can enjoy the witness-ship of or vouch
for, the birth of Saguna Brahma. At that time there had
existed nothing that we could call mind and so there had
been no existence of relative principles like Time, Space
and Person. To got to investigate into the time of His
origin will involve the necessity of the existence of a
thing, endowed with a mind at that time. It is because of
His origin, existence and extinction being beyond the
compass of mind as well as of time, space and person that He
is called eternal. The Intuitional Science is beyond the
ambit of causality. None exists outside Brahma and so
nothing can be His cause (primal form), for the transmuted
form of the cause is called action. Milk is the cause of
curd, for it is the primal or former state of the curd.
Nothing being outside Brahma, He cannot be the cause of any
subsequent action. The change in an object comes out of
contraction and expansion and for this contraction-expansion
the influence of another object upon some particular object
is necessary. That is why Brahma is intransmutable - the
only Truth. Causal relation is, so long as mind exists, and
man will say as
long,
"Karanabhavat Karyabhavah"
That is want of action to want of cause. That which is
apparently the transformation of Brahma, takes place
entirely within Him. All these changeable objects are
created, preserved and destroyed right within Him. That is
why the sage said, "He is you and you are He." These
transformation objects are quinquelemental, i.e., the five
fundamental factors, viz; ether, air, fire, water and earth,
must be there in some form or other and they remain in one
or the other of the three conditions, viz., wakefulness,
dream and sleep. 373 Jagrat-svapnasusuptyadi prapaincam
yadprakashate Tadbrahmahamiti jinatva sarvabandhaeh
pramucyate.
Those that are made with the cooperation of five
elements are called Prapainca. The differences in the forms
of objects take place along with the momenta of the (Cosmic)
thought-process and they proceed from the subtle to the
crude (Saincara or Extroversion) and then retrace from the
crude to the subtle (Pratisaincara or Introversion). That is
why they are perishable. Any of their forms is dependent on
the three factors like time, space and person. That is not
all, their manifestative, active and inert states are all
respectively ingrained in the unit's wakefulness, dream and
sleep. But where is the source of their different kinds of
expressions? What are their main recipes? They all originate
from that Supreme Soul, that Supreme Subjectivity, that
limitless Center of Energy of the Ego. So in spiritual
parlance all these conditions like wakefulness, dream and
sleep, etc. as well as this quinquelemental world are all I.
He who has not understood the real meaning of this I-ness,
does not take any Bondage for all bondages or is afraid of
it.
Trisudhamasu yadbhogyambhoktabhogashca yadbhavet
Tebhyovilaksanosaksiicinmatroham sa ashivah
Wakefulness, dream and sleep - these three conditions
are termed in the above-mentioned Shloka as the Tridhama or
the three abodes. The unmentioned fourth abode is, of
course, the undistorted, unchangeable `I'. Whatever objects
these abodes contain, appear as enjoyable, enjoyer and
enjoyment. The fourth Entity, with Laksanas or traits
(Vilakana is used in the contrary sense of Laksana) contrary
to those of the above three, is their witnessing
Consciousness, Sadashiva. "I am that Sadashiva." Generally
in the Tantra (the Esoteric Science) ArdhanariishvaraShiva
is addressed as Sadashiva. The word, Sadashiva, is not used
here in that sense. Shiva means Purusa, benevolent or
benign. Hence the One Who is always absorbed in Shiva-like
stance, is Sadashiva.
Mayyeva sakalam jatam mayi sarvam pratishitam Mayi
sarvam layam yati tadbrahmadvyayamasmyaham.
The one who is installed in the stance of Sadashiva
sees and knows: "As long as these creations are evolved in
my mind, their existences are diagrammatized on my mental
plate and are all destroyed in my egoity itself. I am that."
Anorantiyanahameva tadvanmahanam vishvamaham vicitram
Pruatanoham purusohamiisho Hiranmayoham shivarupamasmi.
He knows: "I have taken the form of the molecule of
the molecules and again I am greater than the great. It is I
that am manifest as this observable universe. Wonderful are
my stream of action, my stream of emotion and my stream of
thought. None of 3n3 those wonderful vibrations, none of
those indescribable radiances, whereby I am scattering
myself about limitlessly, have any similarity with one
another. Each of them is significant in its own individual
specialty. Each of them, appropriating my glory differently,
is racing in various speeds towards formlessness from the
world of forms. Oh, how wonderful I am! I am unborn. I
cannot find any cause of myself. I am beyond the scope of
causality and that is why none is more ancient that I. I am
the Cognition. No harmful or ominous thought can trespass
into me. I wish only good to all beings." When a Sadhaka
gets himself established in the aforesaid bearing, he gets
lost in himself, realizing the Infinite Form within himself,
- his external sense gets lost. This state we call Savikalpa
Samadhi. In this the Sadhaka's microcosmic ego merges in the
Cosmic Ego completely and totally. The difference between
this state and Nirvikalpa Samadhi is that in Nirvikalpa the
egoity, whether small or great, does not exist at all.
Everything gets lost in the integral Consciousness. External
sense being absent during Savikalpa Samadhi, the sense of
duality does not exist in the Sadhaka. Being established in
the introspective trance, the internally seen objects appear
undistinguished from his ego. Men outside have not idea of
such a state of his. Some have a dig at him, some call him
crazy, some, horn-mad. They do not know that to go mad like
this needs the pieties of several births - demands a
concentrated zeal for the attainment of One to the exclusion
of all. It is these `lunatics' that lead the universal mind
forward. So said the great poet Rabindranath
Say nothing to him that calls you mad Throws dust
today, takin' you for a cad Garland in hand, come sailing
alon' Tomorrow he will at the break of dawn. Let him alone
on his cozy seat Reputation mad and puffed conceit Tomorrow
sure will come he down With flowing love and humbled crown.
Such a lunatic, looking at his characteristic Self
introspectively, says "Really how wonderful I am!"
Apanipadohamarintyashaktih pashyamyacaksuh sa
shrnomyakarnah Aahm vijanami vivktarupo vacastivetta
mamcidsadaham.
When a Sadhaka realizes: My hands, feet, organs, etc.
are not actually mine. I am the Infinite Entity. Of what
good are they to me? My characteristic Self - my Citishakti
(the force of Consciousness) is unimaginable - beyond the
scope of imagination. The sensible and perceptible objects,
sense of sight, sense of hearing are all implanted in my
mental sphere. Of what use are the eyes and ears to me? I
see without my eyes. I hear without my ears. I keep myself
posted with the rise and fall of every wave every step of
the varied evolutionary processes of this manifest universe.
I am the known of all objects, whether crude, subtle or
causal. I know every one of them. I am concerned with all.
But 33 nobody is my knower and none is my objective nor am I
the object of anyone. I am the self-same Consciousness.
Hence no other mind can hold me in its thought."
Vedaeranekaerahameva vedyo vedantakrt vedavidevacaham
No punyapape mamanastinasho na janmadehendriya buddhirasti
Na bhumirapo na vahnirasti nacanilomesti nacambarainca Evam
viditva paramatmarupam guhashayam niskalamadvitiiyam. Every
knowledge has something to be known, e.g., the knowable
subjects or objects of geography are the various political
and natural features of the different countries of the
world. Mathematics has various sums and problems. Similarly,
of the various Vedas or knowledge that exist, I am the
fundamental or principal factor (essence). That is to say,
whatever unit-objects that we see in this observable world,
are nothing but the manifestations of `Mine' alone. Then
again those whom we regard as the expounders of mysticism,
and seers and Rsis - those authors of Vedanta-Shastra (the
last part of the Vedic philosophy) those Vedantists, are
none else by `Myself'. In other words it is I that teach and
impart BrahmaVidya or the Intuitional knowledge under
various names and shapes of great men. Due to my
limitlessness I have no body, organs or working intellect
(the intellect that connects the motor-organs with the
external world). Being always established in the bearing of
the Supreme, sin and virtue are a nonentity to me. There is
no birth for me and so no destruction for me either. My
existence is not dependent on earth, water, fire, air and
ether.' This is how a Sadhaka in his Samadhi feels the
characteristic Supreme Soul, caverned within his heart realizes the pure, unique, cognitive Witness, the Brahma
Himself. He is unique and pure, for He is beginningless and
endless. In the absence of anything outside Him. He is
without a second. Being above the influence of Prakrti and
without the least chance of activities like contraction and
expansion, He is the selfsame Truth. He harbors no
distinction, whether homogeneous, heterogeneous or internal.
To reach this ultimate and absolute stage of homogeneity is
the topmost attainment of a Sadhaka or the intuitional
practicer.
"Samastasakim sadasadvihiinam prayatishuddham
paramatmarupam.
During the first stage of Savikalpa Samadhi
(determinate concentration) the sense of I-feeling exists.
So does also the process of cosmic conception in its vaster
bearing. But when the Sadhaka hits the apex of this state,
he gradually enters into a domain, beyond the realms of
action and thought. At that time he regards his own
characteristic Self as the Absolute, Supreme Consciousness,
devoid of good and bad. He does not then appear to himself
as the doer, rather it seems to him that he is but a
nonexerting witness to the whole affairs of the universe.
Karttikii Purnima, 1955.
SS2-5A.SS
CHAPTER V
THE INTUITIONAL SCIENCE OF THE VEDAS
In the last Dharma Mahacakra (Spiritual Symposium or
seance) I told you something about the Cosmic System. There
I also tried to explain the Cosmic vis-a-vis Solar, Earthly
and Atomic Systems. The sun is the nucleus or Mhavyuha of
the Solar System. The different planets, like the earth
etc,. born out of the Sun, are revolving round the Sun with
the Sun as their nucle us. They are neither contacting the
body of the Sun by coming close to it nor are they darting
away from it, for their eccentric and concentric forces are
on the whole in an equipoise. In the event of loss of this
equipoise the planet or planets will either merge in the Sun
due to the intensity of its or their concentric force or
forces or recede from it by dint of its or their eccentric
force or forces. Similarly the nucleus of the Earthly System
is the earth. The moon is revolving around the earth with
the earth as its nucleus. Here, too, the eccentric and
concentric forces are functioning almost in equilibrium. The
electrons are moving round the nucleus of the Atomic System.
There, too, the same play is going on - the same condition
is prevailing. By Cosmic System we understand this vast
universe, whose nucleus or Mahsyuha is the Aksara or the
undecaying Purusa as the witness, around Whom are revolving
His psychic objects like the Sun, the stars etc., i.e., His
thought-momenta. Here, too the equipoise of the eccentric
and concentric forces is being kept intact. This equilibrium
of forces is what we call Prakrti. Of the Cosmic System the
force that is eccentric has the predominance of Static Force
(Tamoguna) and is known as Avidya (Extroversive Force or
Force of Microcosmic Distraction) and the force that is
concentric has the predominance of Sentient Force
(Sattvaguna) and is called Vidya (Introversive Force or
Force of Macrocosmic Attraction). From this you must have
understood this as well that when these objects, revolving
round the nucleus, were initially created out of the
nucleus, there must have been the predominance of eccentric
force, that is to say, the evolutionary process must have
been dominant of the Static principle. Then again when its
evolved object races towards it in a lightning speed with
absolute eagerness, defying all hostile forces, surely at
that time the equipoise of forces is not there. Just as the
meteor comes racing down on the surface of the earth,
similarly the unit-object also races towards and merges in,
that supra-mundane nucleus, ejecting itself from the orbit
of the Cosmic System. Surely in this Cosmocentric or
Brahmaward movement there must be the predominance of the
concentric force. Hence the path of liberation is the path
of Sattvaguna (Sentient principle). Why do we call it the
path of liberation? It is because that after the merger with
the nucleus its individual entity does not remain or exist.
After the earth merges in the Sun its mundanity is absorbed
in the `Solarity'.
Sarvajiive sarvasmsthe brhante 393 Tasmin hamso
bhramyate brahmacakre Prthagatmanam preritaraincamatva
Justastatastenamrtatvameti. -Yajuh.
The units have been hovering round the Cosmic Nucleus
through eternity and this hovering will continue as long as
their idea of distinctions exists, i.e., this rotation will
not cease, until their sense of aloofness from Brahma is
done away with. Hovering thus, when the intensity of their
attachment for this Nucleus will hit the climax in them when they will want to forget everything but Him, no force,
whatsoever can then disassociate them from Him. This intense
attachment is what we call devotion. This pro-Brahma
momentum becomes easy and facile, when a unit realizes that
He always wants to get him back in His bosom. This desire on
His part to get him back to Himself is simply His mercy
towards the unit. As a matter of fact this mercy He is
showering on all. His eyes being blinded through
materialistic pursuit, the unit cannot see it - cannot
understand it. The great Sage Narada said "Mahat Krpaeva
bhagavat krpaleshadva," i.e., for this His mercy is
necessary. I have already said that He has been showing His
mercy all through. One has only to concentrate on that mercy
of His with wholeheartedness and with one mind. His
thought-process is incessantly flowing. As long as you are
incapable of understanding His mercy, as long as you do not
try to move towards Him, you will have to go round and
round, like the blinded ox of an oil-mill, in the unending
process of His thought-cycle - in this endless cycle of
worldly life and death. So sang the Sadhaka-poet Ramaprasada
How long, O Mother, Thou'lt spin me round Like the
blinded ox, plodding round the mill Making me thus go round
and round Always yoked to the grinding wheel.
The nucleus of the Cosmic System is called
Purusottama. This fanciful, thought-begotten visionary world
is He. In other words, He is the sovereign authority of the
Ksare and Aksara of the Cosmic MInd. He has the knowership
as well as the doership but He Himself has not become any
action, i.e., He has not identified Himself with any action.
Candidly we cannot call Him Nirguna or Objectless, for he
has the witness-ship of the entire universe. Judging from
the attributional standpoint the difference between the
activeness of Brahma and the state of knowership of the
Purusottama is that Brahma, in His functional bearing is
Gunadhiina, i.e., subject to gunas, while Purusottama is
Gunadhiish, i.e., the controlling authority thereof.
Nevertheless He (the Purusottama) does have transactional
relations with the gunas or attributes. That is why I say
that, in spite of His being the controlling authority of the
gunas or being above them, we cannot candidly call Him
Nirguna or Objectless due to His being concerned with
objects. In the Vedas, in respect of Saguna Brahma,
Savitr-Rk has been used in the Gayatrii-meter. The first
three syllables of the Onunkara also (i.e., A, U, Ma minus
the sonic dot) have been used 3p3 in respect of Saguna
Brahma. In ancient times, however, only anustupa mantras
were used for Purusottama, the Nucleus of the Saguna Brahma.
Let it be mentioned here that of the seven meters,viz.,
Gayatrii, Usnik, Anustupa, Vrhatii, Pamkti, Tristupa and
Jagatii, Gayatrii and Anustupa commanded the greatest
importance. Gayatrii-mantra is composed in three lines of
eight letters each, totaling twenty-four letters, and
Anustupa is composed of thirty-two letters. Each of the four
lines of Anustupa, composed of eight letters in respect of
Purusottama, stands for each of the syllables of the
Onunkara.
Ugram viiram mahavisnum Jvalantam sarvatomukham
Nrsimham bhiisanam bhadram Mrtyurmrtyu namamyaham.
Ugram: In the above mantra (hymn) the traits and signs
of Nrsimha have been described. He has been called `Ugra' in
the first place. Why has He been given such an adjective?
`Ut' means `anu', i.e, anu plus graha, that is to say, He
who is merciful is Ugra. Truly speaking, whom can we call
merciful is Ugra? Ugra is He, Who upholds the world through
the media of creation, preservation and destruction, by
Whose stream of mercy the creation has been going on its
rounds, surviving the cycle of destructions, from time
immemorial. To this little world the Sun is Ugra or
merciful, for apparently he is the cause of its creation,
preservation and destruction. Similarly Purusottama is the
cause of this Cosmic System. Hence none else can be more
ugra than Him. Indeed nothing else can be. Viiram:
Purusottama is called Viira or brave. Why? Because he has
been braving every problem, every condition of this universe
by dint of His uncommon courage. With boldness He has been
making decisions and acting accordingly. He Who always
behaves properly with each and every entity, must perforce
be brave. Mahavisnu: Visnu means great - all-pervading. Whom
else shall we call Visnu but him, Who, through the medium of
his mindentity, has expanded His existence to limitlessness
beyond the bounds of all kinds of limitations. Hence to call
Him Mahavisnu is quite apt and justified. Jvalantam: The One
Who is the root-force or original force of all forces, the
central source of all effulgence, must needs be Jvalanta or
blazing. He is indeed the primal flame - the vital flame of
all supra-mundane radiances. All brilliances look pale
before His brilliance.
Na tatra surya bhati na candratamakam Nemavidytobhanti
kutoyamagni Tameva bhantamanubhati sarvam Tasya bhasa
sarvamidam vibhati.
That is, the Sun, too, does not look brilliant in His
presence. So is the case with the moon, the stars, the
lightning, not to speak of the fire. All are radiant,
because He is radiant. All are radiant because of His
radiance. Sarvatomukham: He is all-witnessing. He is all from 33 the highest to the lowest. He is the witness of all
activities of all, from the big elephant down to the
smallest insect. This allwitnessing Entity has got to be
Savatomukha or all-facing. All that had been, are or will
be, are but the unit-manifestations of His mind-entity and
so He is the super-witness of all. Have you understood
rightly? Aren't you the witness of want you think within
yourself? Well, just as you have to employ your mind's eye
to see the object of your heart, similarly to see the
creations of all the regions, the Purusottama has got to be
all-facing.
"Eso ha deva pradishonusarva Purvo ha jata
saugarbheanta Sa eva jatah sah janisyamana Pratyaun
janamstisthate sarvatomaukhah. -Yajuh.
He is all-facing, because He has eyes in all the (ten)
directions - six directions like East, West, North, South
Above and Below, and four (diagonal) sub-directions like
Iishana (North-east), Vayu (North-west), Agni (South-east)
and Naerta (south-west). Nrsimha: Nr means Nara (man), i.e.,
purusa or consciousness, and Simha means Shrestha or
supreme. The two together mean purusashrestha or
purusottama,i.e., supreme authority. Incidentally, bear in
mind that Nrsimha cannot mean a half-man and half-lion
animal - which is completely a fanciful contrivance of the
authors of the Puranas (Mythologies). The One Who is the
Supreme Authority - that Purusottama, is denotative of
Nrsimha and it is He Who has certainly been protecting and
preserving the Sadhaka, desirous of attaining Him, from all
anti-spiritual forces. At times He has to take strong
measures as per necessity, in order to save devotees like
Prahlada from the hands of anti-spiritual forces like
Hiranyakashipu (the demon). To make a fun of this Supreme
Purusottama by fancying Him as half-man and half-lion is by
no means desirable. Bhiisanam: The One Who is the Supreme
Judge of all deeds, often indeed has to take to apparently
cruel behaviors in order to keep intact the dignity of the
balance of justice, or else He will be guilty of partiality,
His stainless name will get stained and tarnished, won't it?
It is those that have kept themselves within the bounds of
petty selfishness are called the units (jiiva), for their
petty-selfishness-laden thoughts have kept them
disintegrated and finite by subjecting their mind-stuff to
time, place and person. This feeling of limitedness and
unit-hood has bred a sense of fear in them in respect of the
idea of limitlessness or Cosmic Consciousness. Such is the
nature of a unit. He fears, and holds in regard what is
beyond his own limit, i.e., what is greater than him. You
will certainly be afraid of him who is your better in
education, intelligence, wealth and power.If you do not have
a sense of oneness with him, He who has realized that
Purusottama is the Life of his life, the Soul of his soul,
i.e., in whom the sense of oneness with Him has awakened,
will not be afraid of Him, but will love Him - will become a
theophile or lover of God, and he who is always conscious of
his unit-hood, will be afraid of him - will become
God-fearing and pharisaic. So, as I was saying, He will
certainly be frightful (Bhiisanam) to certain entities.
Bhiisasmadvayupavate bhiisodetisuryah
Bhiisasmadagnishcendrashca mrty hadhavati paincamah
Tasmaducyate bhiisanamiti. -Atharva.
Out of fear of Him blows the wind, rises the sun,
burns the fire. Out of fear again Indra, i.e., the crude
force attends to its duty, and the death also presents
itself in time before the units. Who else shall I call
terrorizing except Him, of whom even the horrible Death is
afraid. So the individual entity is afraid of Him frightened of Him. There is an allegory in the Vedas about
this: Once a vast radiant Entity had appeared before the
gods. In order to know HIs identity the gods sent Fire, Air
and Indra. Coming close to Him the Fire said by way of
selfintroduction. "I am Fire - I am Jataveda. To consume
everything is my dharma (characteristic)." The Supreme Being
then said, offering him a blade of straw. "Here, burn this."
The Fire whose inherent characteristic was to burn could not
burn it howsoever it tried. The Air also fared no better in
His presence. It had said by way of self-introduction, "I Air - I am Matarishva. To blow everything away is my forte".
But the vain and conceited Air also could not blow away that
piece of straw. Only Indra was able to know the identity of
that Purusa. Thereafter the gods could very well realize
that the power they wielded was not actually theirs. They
were powerful with His power. Their unit-entities were but
His orderlies. So all the gods remain on the fringe of fear.
Bhadram: He is benevolent and benign. His thought projection
is leading the units and the world to the path of good - to
the path of prosperity. Never was never is, never will be,
anyone so benevolent as He. Hence He is Bhadra, i.e.,
benevolent and benign. Mrtyurmrtyum: Here it has a double
meaning. The first meaning being that the death is afraid of
Him, Whose fear goads it to constantly run after the units.
That is to say, death fears Him as much as a unit does it
and so He is the Death of death. The second meaning being
that in this observable world although all other objects
die, yet death does not, i.e., the unit does not die once
but dies repeatedly - takes birth after death and then dies
and takes birth again and then countless number of times.
But he who has attained a place in the purusottama, meets
with the super-death, that is to say, the worldly death is
the last one for him. In other words, with his worldly death
the death also dies. Any further death becomes impossible.
It is through His grace that a unit gets such a super-death
and so He is the Death of death. I bow to this Purusottama.
Now a question may arise: "Is this Purusottama identical
with the Turiiya?" If Purusottama and Turiiya be identical,
then how can such adjectives as Ugra, Viira, etc. be
applicable to Him? Really speaking, those words are only
used for particular conditions or states of the Sakara
Brahma. Concerned with objects (not subject to them). In
another language such a condition of conditions may be
called Kutastha or ametabolic - not subject to
metamorphosis. Such epithets in reference to His chaste
Turiiya condition or the state of non-duality are quite out
of point and undesirable. The Purusottama-hood is on the
whole discernible in the first three stages of Turiiya,
wherein remains His explicit of implicit witness-ship due to
the manifest of half-manifest influence of Prakrti. The
fourth stage of Turiiya, i.e., the unchangeable state,
wherein material or objective involvement is nil, is the
perfect state of Nirguna (objectlessness) or Turiiya
(non-duality) or Niraksara (not coming with the scope of
Ksara or Aksara). This state is also know as Iishvaragrasa
or the Final Doom, because It is the `finis' of all divine
endowments and powers. In the Cosmic System Nrsimha or
Purusottama is the original nucleus, and Air, sun, Fire,
Indra etc. are the sub-nuclei. That is why the worship of
Nrsimha is called Paincavyhatmaka or pentanuclear worship.
The Anustupa mantras are composed for this pentanuclear
Nrsimha. Incidentally, quite a number of times have I told
you about Pranava or Onunkara. Now a question may arise in
the minds of the average people as to which is the greater
of the two, Pranava or Anustupa, or if the two enjoy equal
status, then where is the necessity of their separate
existences? In reply it may be said that Anustupa has been
used only for the Purusottama but Pranava or Onunkara for
the Entire Cosmic System. Anustupa stands for the nucleus
(Purusottama) only, while Onunkara for the entire
Pentanuclear Cosmic manifestations and so I am obliged to
say that Onunkara is greater than Anustupa. anustupa too,
falls within the scope of Onunkara. Onunkara is composed of
four syllables, viz., A, U, Ma and the sonic dot, of which
the first three are indicative of Saguna and the sonic dot
stands for Nirguna.
Bhutam bhavadbhavisyaditi saryamonunkara eva
Yaccanyattrikalatiitam tadapyonunkara eva. - Nrsimha
Tapaniya Shruti.
That is, past, present and future - all consist in
Onunkara, for Onunkara is the sonic expression of the
Macrocosmic vibration. So the creation, whether of the past,
present or future, could not have been and cannot be
distinct or separate from the Onunkara. Wherever the
manifestation of creation is time, place and person must
also be there. Along with the thought-process of Saguna
Brahma, they also were, are and will be created. Such an
existence of Saguna Brahma is impossible without this
Onunkara-cum-thought-process. That is why, I have said, the
existence alone, even the existences of all the objects are
dependent on the quantum of their actions, Mind's
imagination in relation to th motivity of an action is Time,
is it not? The recipient of this motivity with the help of
the mind is Person and that which establishes the relation
between Time and Person is Place or Space. The existence of
these three is dependent on the mental activity.,i.e.,
thought-process or Onunkara. From sunrise to sunset, from
the beginning of the year to the end or it, all belong the
vast periphery of Time. Hence they are but the
manifestations of the Onunkara. From any one extreme point
to another extreme point, no matter how short or how long
the distance be, all belong to the sphere of space and hence
they are the manifestations of Onunkara. So, as I have said,
all that we can or cannot think of within the compass of
Time, all belong to Onunkara. Saguna Brahma, being subject
to Time, Place and Person is Sopadhika or qualified. He is
not the Nirupadhika or unqualified Entity like the Nirguna
Brahma. Time, place and person are also qualified and
transmutable and so they are also not the absolute truth,
but relative truth. The Scripture say,
"Pranavatmakam Brahma" Tripada Vibhuti Narayana"
-Shruti.
"Tasya Vacakah panavah". - Patainjali.
Is this creation-preservation-destruction-cum-A-U-Ma.
Pranava alone then expressive or indicative of the entire
Cosmic Entity? If that be so, then Brahma also becomes a
relative truth and there remain no distinctions among the
Samskara ridden unit (the one who is subject to
consequential momenta), Dagdhabiija (the one with the
devitalized seed), Kaevalya Siddha (the one who has attained
absolute identity with the Divine Essence) and Saguna Brahma
(the Subjectivated Transcendentality): such a condition then
hardly warrants any need of the Nirguna Entity beyond Saguna
Brahma for the purpose of meditation of salvation. That is
why I stress upon the point that Onunkara is not only
denotative of the whole Brahma Entity in the first three
syllables alone, it has also a fourth syllable. In this very
fourth syllable of half-syllable the witness-cum Purusottama
is established. From this it follows that creation,
preservation, destruction and the witness-ship. I have
already told you that, from the standpoint of dispassionate
judgment, Purusottama is not denotative of Nirguna, for He
has the witness-ship, i.e., He is involved with objects.
Hence, when a Sadhaka (the intuitional practicer) gets
himself established in the pure Nirguna Entity beyond the
scope of this involvement with objects, no residue remains
of the Onunkara. Onunkara holds in Its compass all the
three, past, present and future, as also the first three
parts of the supra-temporal Turiiya condition. As aforesaid
Onunkara is the sound of the act or process of expression the very seed of manifestation. As long as the functional
vibrations of creation, preservation and destruction
continue on the breast of the Kalatiita or Supra-temporal
Entity, Onunkara shall remain as the sees of creation,
preservation and destruction, i.e., as A, U and Ma. That is
why, I say that Onunkara is not the sound for utterance but
for hearing. Human vocal endowments cannot give proper form
to that (mystic) sound and so don't make a vain attempt to
pronounce it. Apprehending the effulgent form of this
Onunkara a Sadhaka first attains the halfsyllable and then
in the fourth syllable of the Turiiya (nonduality) he
attains the intransmutable, objectless Nirguna Brahma achieves the final beatitude in the Iishvaragrasa (Divine
doom). The Yama said to Naciketa,
Sarve veda yatpadamamananti tapamsi 33 sarvani ca yad
vadanti Yadicchanto brahmacaryaincaranti tatte paddam
samgrahena braviimvoityetat. - Kathaka Shruti.
Now you very well understand that Onunkara is
denotative of both Saguna and Nirguna. The dot (o) in the
Ideogram of Onunkara is indicative of Nirguna (of the first
three syllables). A, U and Ma are indicative of Saguna and
the sonic crescent or stroke (u) is denotative of the
distinction between Saguna and Nirguna. A dot cannot be
described properly and that is why it has been used to
represent Nirguna Brahma. A dot has a position but no
magnitude. The characteristics of Purusottama have already
been explained above. Now I shall dwell upon the
characteristics and traits of Saguna Brahma. Indeed they are
too vast to be described, yet I shall tell you whatever is
said about Him in the Vedic language. In the language of
Saguna Brahma the Kaevalya
Shruti says, Mayyeva sakalam jatam Mayi sarvam
pratisthitam Mayi sarvam layam yati Tadbrahmadvyayamasmyaham
Jagrat svapna susuptyadi Prapaincam yad prakshata
Tadbrahmahamiti jinatva Sarvabandhaeh pramucyate.
The Rk Veda says,
Yato va imani bhutani jayante Yena jatani jiivanti Yat
prayantyabhisamvishanti Tad vijijinasasva tad brahma.
Said in the Mahanirvana Tantra,
Yato vishvam samudbhutam Yena jatainca tisthati Yasmin
sarvani liiyante Jineyam tad brahmalaksanaeh.
Said in the Nrsimha Uttara Tapaniiya Shruti;
Sarvahyetad brahma ayamatma brahma tametamat manamomiti brahmanaekiikrtya brahmaentmana omityekiikrty
tadekamajaramamrsamabhayamomityanubhuya tasminnidam sarvam
trishariiram aropya sanmayam hi tadeveti samharedomiti.
Whatever you see, whatever you think or feel. Whatever
is beyond your vision, thought and perception - all are
Saguna Brahma or Onunkara. Your soul is also Brahma. There
is unicity or oneness between your existence or world and
Brahma or Onunkara. Your existence, the world and Brahma are
not separate entities. Bring your
crude-world-cum-self-existence into unicity with Brahma and
you will find yourself verily as the Onunkara, i.e., in that
condition you will become one with ONunkara also. Having
thus attained unicity with Onunkara, there will remain only
one Entity, Whose characteristic is not distortion. That
state is without any distortion, for to effect a distortion
two entities are necessary. Where He alone is the sole
Entity, where is the scope of any distortion? If there be
only milk but no sour properties of the curd, can there be
any curd-like distortion of the milk? That is to say, to
turn milk into curd, the necessity of a second entity, i.e.,
sourness of curd is unavoidable. Hence Brahma is
intransmutable due to His being the selfsame One. Exactly
for the same reason where there is only One Entity, death
cannot exist there, death is only a sort of substitution of
condition. Death is a distortion. Where there is no death,
there is no distortion. So ONunkara is established in
deathlessness. Similarly fear needs tow entities for its
expression - the one who fears and the reason for his fear.
Where there is only One Entity, the distinctiveness of
causality not being present, fear cannot exist. So that
exalted position is a fearless one, where even a unit-entity
becomes fearless when he reaches that position. Sadhaka
Ramaprasada said,
Dedicated self to fear-free feet Can dare a foe or
fear now beat?
Dedicate your three bodies (Trishariira) to this
undistorted, immortal, fear-free Onunkara. Every unit is a
sum-total of four entities, viz., wakefulness, dream, sleep
and the innate characteristic self. Here the three bodies
mean wakefulness, dream and sleep. These three bodies are
but the distortion of the fourth condition i.e., the
characteristic self. Bestow these three bodies upon Brahma,
i.e., ONunkara and be absorbed in that bearing. In that
state only this thought will be upper-most in your mind that
you are part and parcel of Onunkara, that is, you are
ONunkara Itself and that you are in your own characteristic
self - your own natural self. That is why, whenever any
crude thought takes possession of a unit, he should then
apply the Cosmic sentiment to it. In that case, he does not
have to stay apart or separate from the Onunkara. What are
these three bodies? What are their features and forms? And
who do they belong to? This is quite a natural question of
the human mind. Do these triple only belong to the unit or
to Brahma as well?
Tvam va etam trishariiramatmanam trishariiram evam
brahmatmanusandahyat -Atharva.
There are three bodies of the unit as per his
respective conditions of wakefulness, dream and in and all
these three conditions he thinks himself apart from Brahma.
This circumstantial distinction between unit and Brahma is
consequent upon their respective attributes. So these
differences in conditions like wakefulness, dream, sleep
etc. take place due to the greater or 33 smaller degrees of
Sentient, Mutative and Static influences. Concerned as the
unit-manifestation is with his petty body only, the cosmic
manifestation, however, is this vast universe itself. I have
already said that the same three attributes function in the
Cosmic manifestation also. The existence of the three
conditions of the unit is only possible if and where these
three attributes of the Cosmic manifestations are explicitly
evident. This is because the crude, subtle and causal
existences of the unit are wholly depended so the cosmic
thought-process. The Crude unit-body is made of the
quinquelemental, earthly ingredients, begotten of the Cosmic
thought-process, that is to say, it is created in His
Kamamaya kosa or Conscious Mind. It is out of this crude
Cosmic Mind that innumerable unit-bodies come into being,
for in order to preserve their individualities, the
distinctiveness or receptacle (bodies) has got to be
maintained, or else the units lose their individual freedom.
In order to keep the continuity of the Cosmic
thought-projection, the unavoidable necessity for
distinctions among objects in the sub-conscious world that
becomes self-evident, also accounts for the creation of
innumerable bodies, or else the thought-process becomes
Sthanu or static for want of material distinctions. Since
Saguna Brahma has got to take to imagination for the
nullification of His unserved Samskaras, it naturally
becomes incumbent on Him to evolve a heterogeneous world.
The experiencing of actions and reactions by the unit is
done, to be sure, through the medium of his body or
receptacle and when that unit-entity abjures his sense of
separateness or separate existence from the Cosmic Entity
his individual physical entity then resolves itself in the
absence of the cause of his undergoing the consequences of
his deeds, i.e., being freed or emancipated from the worldly
bondage, his separate physical entity ceases to exist. This
observable world, which is called Paincabhuta (the five
fundamental elements), is the Kamamaya Sharlira or the
Psychic Body of Brahma. He has no finite crude body and that
is why no wakeful, dreamful or sleeping condition, centering
round His crude body, is possible. Everything about Him is
psychic. The Wakeful State or the First Phase:
Sthulatvat sthulabhuktvacca suksmatvat
suksmabhuktvacchekya anandabhogacca soyamatma catusppa
jjagaritasthanah sthulaprajina saptamga ekonarimshatimukhah sthlabhuk ca bhuratma vishvo vaeshvanarah prathamah
padah.
This very wakeful state is the crudest state of the
soul, for in this state it subsists on apprehending
tanmatras (sensible and super-sensible inferences) from the
crude world, desiring things relating to them materializing
those desires and making them explicit or extrovertive. Its
thought wave also is crudely materialistic. Its resultant
action too is crude-centric, and so in the wakeful state it
thrives on the crude, i.e., the crude world is its pabulum
-food. In the wakeful state, it also thrives on the subtle,
for the source of its materialistic acts actually abides in
its subtle mind. Candidly its real Bhoga (the experience of
pleasure and pain) indeed takes place in the mental sphere.
If the mind be out of sorts, one cannot properly enjoy a
beautiful sight, a dainty food or a delectable drink. In
this wakeful state the Atma or soul is called catuspada or
four-phasic, i.e., in this state all its four phases remain
either explicitly or implicitly. In other words the wakeful
state explicitly evident and in that are latent dream, sleep
and the state of Turiiya. This wakeful condition is
concerned with the cognizance of the crude, i.e., its
function is to acquire the knowledge of the crude or it is
realized through crude knowledge or Wakeful stage. This
crude-cognizant wakeful state is sevenfold or septilateral the quinquelemental citta (mental plate), Mahattattva
(fundamental intellect), and the ego. It is nineteen-faced,
i.e., its manifestations are decenovial or nineteen
directional - ten (sensory and motor) organs, five airs,
mind, fundamental intellect, ego and Mula Prakrti (i.e., the
primordial Prakrti in equilibrium). In the wakeful state all
objects are its food and that is why it is called the Vishva
or Vaeshvanara. He is the first pada or phase of the soul.
Microcosmically the witnessing Purusa, subjective of His
wakeful state is called Vishva and macrocosmically He is
called Vaeshvanara or Virata.
THE DREAMFUL OR THE SECOND PHASE
Svapnasthanah suksmaprajinah saptamga
Ekonavimshatimukhah suksmabhukcaturatma Taejaso
hiranyagarbho dyitiiyah padah.
When the soul is wholly dependent on the psychic body
for its sustenance, i.e., when the objects of enjoyment and
endurance are limited to the domain of thought, such a state
is called Somnial State or the state of Dream. In this
dreamful state the organs and limbs like hands, feet, etc.
remain in proper order and so do the decennovial (nineteen)
endowments, but as such a time the soul does not accept any
subsistence from the crude world. The soul at that time is
hungry for the subtle, i.e., it accepts only the things
apprehended in the region of the mind. Their then appearance
or out-break does not depend on the sensually accepted
inferences Tanmatras of the time but on the seed of the
previously acquired Tanmatras or on the reactive momenta or
on the up-heaving waves of the Omniscient seed. This time,
too the four-phased soul remains, i.e., wakefulness, sleep
and Turiiya remain inherent in the dreamful state. The
unit-soul, subjective of its dreamful state is called
Taejasa, i.e., the subjectivated Unit-Purusa and the
similarly subjective Soul of the Supreme Spirit is called
Hiranyagarbha or Visnu or the Subtle Cosmic Mind. Here it is
important to note that the word, Hiranyagarbha, is also
comprehensively used for Saguna Brahma.
THE MORPHETIC STATE OR THE THIRD PHASE
Yatra supona kai noana kamam kamayate na kaincana
Svapnam pshyatitatsusuptam susuptasthanah ekiibhutah
Prajiina naghana eva anadamayo hyanandabhuk
Cetomukhashcaturatma prajina iishvarastrtiiyah padah.
In the morphetic or sleeping condition when neither
the crude or conscious mind nor the subtle or sub-conscious
mind acts, i.e., when none of the orective waves or waves of
desire arise in the receptacle of the soul, nor appears any
dream of any kind - such a state is called the state of
sleep. In the wakeful state both the conscious and the
sub-conscious minds act. Thought waves originates in the
sub-conscious mind and they are translated into action
through the medium of the conscious mind. In the wakeful
state the role of the conscious mind alone is preponderant
but owing to physical inertness in the dreamful condition,
the subconscious mind can not properly control the conscious
mind and so, there the sub-conscious mind alone is
preponderant. But during sleep the imaginative power, i.e.,
the sub-conscious mind, also becomes inactive along with the
physical inertness. There remains only the unconscious or
causal mind, i.e., Atimanas kosa. Vijinanamaya kosa and
Hiranyamaya kosa. Then how does dream come during sleep,
i.e., how does the stage of dream come between sleep and
wakefulness? What is dream? When certain sentiments of
impressions, apprehended by the organs, agitate the
conscious mind or when sensual or material thoughts get
vehemently awakened in the conscious mind, the nervous
system, the crude receptacle of the Kamamaya kosa and the
mind, becomes unsteady and restless leaving an impress of
the restlessness on the cells that impress remains
short-lived or lasting per degrees of its intensity.
Sometimes even a significant impress being compelled to make
room for a newer one under the impact of some other
counter-agitation or restlessness, loses its previously
acquired permanence. In the sleeping state, if ever a man's
nerve-tissues get agitated due to some physical cause,
oftener than not, either as the result of this or on account
of cerebral heat, caused by some vehement thinking, the
nerve cells also get stirred and disturbed. Such agitations
give rise, in the mental sphere to desires similar to those
impresses, accumulated in the nerve-cells. Thus the agitated
citta (the sub-conscious mind) accepts as real the stream of
thoughts, arising form one or more such impresses. The crude
organs having struck work, the identical desires, arising
from the previously acquired desires, do not then seem to be
imaginary but they appear to be quite real. Such dreams
often do not come true, for these are actually pure
imaginations or a mere stringing together of different,
disjointed thoughts, i.e., what we say colloquially a
confused or inconsistent dream. Only those whose nerve
tissues have become weak due to some ailments of the brain
or head or to some protracted illness, or those whose
digestive system have gone out of gear, generally `see' such
orectic dreams. We may call such a one a Passional or
Sensual Dream. These dreams, I have already said, are the
true reproduction of the pre-imagined objects or the
scattered expressions of previous thoughts. Excessive eating
also give rise to such a dream in a man. Those that have
purity of though and also have restraint over their diet,
are generally less susceptible to such dreams. Such dreams
never come in deep sleep.
SS2-5B.SS
There is yet another type of dream. Even when a man is
in a deep slumber, there arises in his sub-conscious mind
through his dream a prognosis of a sizable calamity or some
good news or bad news. The all-knowing causal or unconscious
mind cannot give expression to its all-knowingness due to
the fickleness of the conscious and sub-conscious minds as
well as due to its own expressional inability, but it can
just as well awaken in the calm conscious and subconscious
minds of a man in deep slumber those visions and prognoses
of past, present or things to come, with which he may get
particularly entangled or overwhelmed. The surging
vibrational flow, coming out of the fountain-head of the
unconscious mind that vibrates the sub-conscious mind, is
also a sort of dream and that dream is not devoid of
significance, for its causer is the all-knowing causal mind.
This we may call Supramental Vision. Sometimes, even in the
wakeful state, too, the cognitive flow of the unconscious
mind makes its way into the subtle mind, as the result of
which a man even in his wakeful state can grasp and guess
events concerning his near and dear ones abroad with a
little concentration. This we may call Telepathic Vision.
Through the concentrated state of this telepathic vision,
i.e., when the conscious mind is more calm and sedate, a man
can visualize events, concerning his distant beloved ones,
enacted before his eyes in the external world also or can
feel as seeing them. This we may call Telepathic
Clairvoyance. Mistaking such acts as those of the spirits
many come to believe in spiritism or spiritology. REally
speaking such incidents have no connection at all with
spirits or ghosts. Telepathic vision and telepathic
clairvoyance are intrinsically the same as the supramental
vision. Indeed they are begotten of the unconscious mind,
the knower of the universe, due to their having intuitive
feelings or inspirations from it. To believe in ghosts and
spirits is nothing but carrying the catafalque of the
cowardly mentality of the prehistoric people. But in
comparison with supramental vision the incidence of
telepathic vision is very much less in evidence, still less
the occurrence of telepathic clairvoyance due to the
activeness of Kamamaya Kosa or the conscious mind.
Nevertheless the supramental vision itself is not
appreciably noticeable more than 8 or 10 times in the life
of a man. Incidentally however it will be discreet to say
that their greater or lesser frequencies wholly depend on
one's Sadhana (intuitional practices) or Samskaras (reactive
requitals). (One, however, must bear in mind that
self-acquired telepathy or self-acquired clairvoyance is
something different.) Even in supramental vision man often
does not grasp things aright, for such cognitive waves
generally find expression through the media of his personal
samskaras. Suppose, in some country cows are unavoidable for
various indispensable jobs like cultivation, milling or
oil-seeds, or conveyances. Normally people of such countries
will have very great regard for cows. Having lived on cows'
milk since their childhood, they will accept them as
adorable as mothers and regard the healthy, strong cows of
virtuous traits as symbolic of good luck and prosperity.
These sentiments about cows are the resultant Samskaras,
born out of the day-to-day necessities. Now somebody of such
a country had 373 a dream about a cow growing leaner and
thinner by living on the dried straws of the paddy field.
Then there came another cow meeting more or less with the
same fate. Then up came yet another cow, that too fared no
better (through such a trend of thought never before had
occurred to his mind at all). From such a dream he may infer
that his next three years will be ominous. Taking the cows
and the paddy as symbols of good luck and prosperity, the
dream got the premonition of misfortune from the lean cows
and dried paddy-plants. So to have the prescience of truth
through the medium of dream it is necessary for man to have
a little more control over his conscious and sub-conscious
minds. Those that have brought both these minds under
control through spiritual practices can, with a little
effort, visualize pictures of past, present and future even
in their wakeful state. This account for the meditational
clairvoyance or intuitional foresight of the stages about
distant objects or events. Some amount of power of
visualizing past, present, future or distant events may also
be found in an average man, looking through rock-crystal
(crystal gazing), finger-nail mirror, mirror-gazing etc.
There are nothing but expansion of the cognitive field due
to the conscious and sub-conscious minds being partially
absorbed in the unconscious mind as the result of
concentration of one's earnestness in a particular bright
object. In the hypnotized condition or
planchette-concentration also the activities of the
conscious and sub-conscious minds getting stilled, the range
of a particular individual's knowledge gets a little
expanded at least for the duration of such a condition. But
then here one must very well bear in mind that one would see
in the hypnotized state or in the finger-nail-mirror or
mirror-gazing only the reflection of one's own Samskaras or
previous bias, if one has one about something. This happens
almost in cent per cent cases, that is to say the hypnotized
man goes on uttering words according to his own Samskaras
and the people look at ham aghast with folded hands, taking
his utterances as absolute truth. Those that feign
theophanic or demoniacal trances are fakes cap-a-pie - all
that they do or say are tricks and moonshine. But I am
referring to those that had invoked the spirits or gods
indeed with devotion (be it out of fear or devotion), or sat
around the Planchette - even their statements are almost
entirely the expressions of their respective Samskaras and
previously set bias. One or two per cent of their
predictions may even come true, on account of their mental
concentration to some extent. Such chance `truths' again are
not always the hints of the unconscious mind, for there is
nothing unnatural or unusual about one or two predictions,
out of many, coming true. This is also true of any ordinary
man. There is a Bengali proverb. "The crow dies of storm,
the Fakir strikes his form." The state in which conscious
and sub-conscious mind do not function, i.e., the time when
the unit does not fashion his body after any longing or
desire or does he see any dream, is, in the language of the
scriptures, known as the state of sleep. That is to say, if
there be any desire or dream, we cannot then call it sleep.
In the absence of any particular conceptual or external
expression, such a state is one of absolute cognition for
the unit. On account of this absolute cognition the unit
enjoys a 3n3 special kind of bliss. In the absence of any
crude or subtle function of the mind, he cannot understand
any happiness or sorrow, pleasure or pain. That is why, in
that state he does get a special type of joy. In a wakeful
or dreamful state visual perception continues in the crude
as well as subtle spheres and so in such a state material
distinctions do exist. But in a state of sleep, the crude
and subtle functions of the mind being absent, the cognition
of material diversities is also nil. That is to say, all the
worldly objects become one with him. The state of absence of
distinction is a special kind of felicity and so the unit
goes on enjoying it in his sleeping state. But this unicity
of the `sleep' is not actually the state of self-expansion
or absolute identity with the Divine Essence. The knowledge
of material distinctions can be dispensed with in two ways.
In a very very brilliant radiance the perception of
differentialities gets lost, for at that time all objects
appear radiant. Then again in absolute darkness as well
material disparities get lost, for then is observed only a
cimmerian darkness, wherein all objects lose their
respective outlines. The unicity of `sleep' is the same as
that of the stupefying Cimmerian one. That is to say, the
power of vision is intact, so are the objects, only
visualization is not there. Hence the joy of sleep is Static
or passive. After sleep comes in the unit dream or
wakefulness. The septilaterial and decennovial outlets of
wakeful or dreamful states do not get lost but they remain
as seeds in the state of sleep and so absolute happiness can
never be in this state also. Such a state of unit-hood is
called Prajina or the quiescent state of cognition and that
of the Supreme Spirit is called Iishvara or the Crude Cosmic
Mind. The entire world being strung together in Him, just as
the gems are strung together in a thread or Sutra, He is
called Sutreshvara. It is this thread that has kept
encircled the individuality of the unit. It is improper to
call or regard cotton-thread as Cosmic thread or
Sutreshvara. The reason for calling sleep-proud Purusa
Prajina is that in this state (sleep) remains imbedded the
seed of the power of all knowledges. Knowledge is there as
also the potentiality of expression but due to darkness
discrimination is nil - such is the state of sleep. The
seeds of wakeful and dreamful states do abide in this state
and so its happiness is not absolute happiness but a
fragmental or partial one.
Turiiya - the State of non-duality:
Esa sarveshvara esa sarvajina ssontaryamyesa yonih
sarvasya prabhavapyayao hi bhutanam trayamapyetat susuptam
svapnam mayamatram cidekaraso hyayamatma atha
caturthashcaturatma turiiyavasitatvadekaeka
syotanujinatranujina vikalpaestrayamatrapi susptam svapnam
maya matram cidekaraso hyatha yamdesho na sthulaprajinam na
sudksmaprajinam nobhayatah prajinam na prajinam naprajinam
na prajinanaghanamadrstamavyavaharyamagrahyamal a ksana
macintyamavyapadeshyamekatmaprtyatasaram prapaincopahamam
shivam shantam advaetammanyante. Sa evatma sa esa vinineya
isshvaragrasasturiiyasturiiya.
Turiiya is neither Omniscient nor the Lord of all, for
to 33 know anything the presence of different entities like
knowledge, knower and the knowable etc. is unavoidable. The
Iishvaratva or the right of control over anything is not
possible without the existence of a controller, control and
the controlled etc. So being Omniscient, that is, the state
of omniscience or all-knowingness, exists only when one's
cognitive self remains separate from the rest of all, i.e.,
from the knowable entities. The same observation holds good
for Sarveshvaratva or Omnilordship, - I am the Iishvara or
Lord of all. Here too, singularity or separateness of one's
characteristic self from all the rest is necessary. In the
Turiiya state the sense of the existence of all other
entities does not exist, i.e., there remains only one entity
and that is why, a Turiiya soul cannot be the knower of any
object nor can it be the Iishvara of anything. The soul
endowed with omniscience or lord-hood, we shall call Prajina
not Turiiya. The Prajina is the root of all, the give of all
inspiration, the cause of existential ratification of the
world. That is why, His body is known as the Causal Body. He
Himself is the Quiescent Soul or the Causal Soul. Turiiya is
the Witnessing Consciousness, and the Causal Body or Causal
Brahma is the qualified manifestation of the Cosmic
Expression. This manifestation is leading itself through the
media of endless unit-manifestations to the path of
expression in the hope of attaining the great union in the
Supreme Preference - in the Absolute Supreme Bliss. The
qualified thought-projection of the Cosmic expression, i.e.,
the initial stage of the centrifugal action (Saincara) is
called the Causal Body, and the Purusa, subjective of this
Causal Body, is the Causal Soul, for the word, cause, means
seed. His Body is the seed of the universe and that is why
He is the Causal soul. The manifestativeness of the entire
universe lies covert in this stage of His and that is why,
He is the principle seer - the Controller of the
fundamentals of all manifestations. Hence He is the
Omniscient Being and the Lord of all. The last phase of
Introversion (Prati-saincara) is somewhat like Extroversion
(Saincara), but the main difference between them being that
during the time of extroversion the Causal Soul has the
germinating potentials of the seed but the last stage of
introversion is just the reverse. In other words, it is
owing to the lack of germinating possibility that it is
returning to the Original Entity. Candidly, it will be more
correct to call the returning Causal Body the ordinary body
instead. Turiiya Brahma (Nrsimha or Purusottama) is
concerned with the Causal Body in four kinds of associations
of dissociations (additions or subtractions):
1. Ota Yoga or The state of pervasive or intimate
association.
2. Anujinata Yoga or the state of cosmotheistic
bearing. 3. Anujina Yoga or Cognitive meditational approach
to infiniteness. 4. Avikalpa Yoga or Absolute identity. Ota
Yoga: The Ota Yoga is that pervasive condition of Turiiya,
where He is omnipresent as all-aeons and as the Knower of
the Causal Body. It is just like the Sun, concerned with its
own attributional manifestation, the world, through the
medium of its own ray. Here the sun-ray is but a particular
state of the sun itself and through the medium of that state
the sun itself is united with this Yoga. This ray is very
intimately and physically united with this world as well
with other planets, - inhering in their very molecules and
atoms. Similarly Purusottama is also intimately and
physically associated with the manifest and unmanifest
unit-souls (matter or world) as their witness. This
Yoga-condition (i.e., the associational bearing) of the
Turiiya is called Ota Yoga. That which is Ota in the
ordinary sense is prota in the pervasive sense. In other
words the Yoga that constitutes the witness-ship of the unit
is called Ota and that constitutes the witness-ship of the
collective whole is called prota. Nrsimha is connected with
the Causal Body in the Ota Yoga. The Sun is connected with
the causal body (the world) in the Ota Yoga (through the
medium of its ray). Where the knowership is Purusottama, the
knowableness is the Causal Body. Where the knowership is
Aksara, the knowableness is Ksara, i.e., that which has
deviated from its characteristics. Where the knowership is
Acyuta (firm and unfallen), the knowableness is Cyuta, i.e.,
that which has degraded itself from its characteristics.
Where the knowership is `Supreme' or the Supreme Brahma, the
knowableness is microcosm or reflected Brahma.This
knowership is the Infinite Entity, the knowableness is
finite. Anujinata Yoga: Isn't that Causal Body, which
Turiiya Brahma is concerned with through the Ota Yoga, also
Brahma? Of course, that too, is Brahma. When the unit
ascribes pantheistic sentiment or Causal Body and runs after
it, he does virtually impose Turiiyabhava (i.e., oneness) on
the Causal Body Itself. The Causal Soul Itself is Brahma.
This bearing being the state, preceding to the Turiiyasthi
or establishment in the non-duality, - this Pre-Turiiya
Cosmotheistic state, is called the Anujinata Yoga. Viewing
pervasively it is tantamount to knowing the Sun, keeping in
view the fact of its inalienable
creation-preservationdestruction relation with the world.
Really speaking the Yoga, whereby the sense of the world
being intrinsically inalienable from the Sun is awakened, is
called the Anujinata Yoga. In this Anujinata Yoga the
knowership-knowable relation, though not fully manifest,
does exist in a semi-manifest state and so, like the Ota
Yoga, I cannot call this too the supreme state of Turiiya.
Anujina Yoga: When the finite qualified or distinctive
entity reaches through the Dhyana Yoga or meditation, the
state of infiniteness or non-qualifiedness or
non-distinctiveness, or makes or efforts to reach it, such a
state is called Anujina Yoga. In other words it is as though
an attempt to regard the world itself as the finite form of
the Sun understanding from the world through cognitive
Sadhana the Sun's essential and characteristic
non-differentiality with it. Avikalpa Yoga: In the Avikalpa
Yoga there is no room for any second sentiment or thought.
Here the entity is essentially one. Here the soul is purely
selfsame cognition. It is devoid of all kind of
attributional semblances of the three states like knowledge,
knowable and knower. Being in this Avikalpa state amounts to
being in the seedless state of absolute identity with the
Divine Essence - the eternal tranquility of Nirvikalpa
Samadhi or the indeterminate, super-sensual trance of
absorption. We cannot call this Turiiya Sthulaprajina, for
He is not apprehensible by any crudely objective intellect
or knowledge. We cannot call Him Suksmaprajina either, for
He is beyond the knowability or apprehensibility of the
subtlest of the subtle intelligence or subjective and
objective intellect. Then again we cannot say, He is
Ubhayaprajina, i.e., it cannot be said that He is knowable,
neither through intelligence nor through subtle intellect,
but through some mean condition between the two. It will be
also incorrect to say that He is attainable through
synthesized knowledge or intellect or He is the synthesized
state of knowledge or intellect for in that state, which is
in reality a state of absolute cognition, the seed of
all-knowingness as well as Omnilordship does inhere and so
that state, not to speak of Avikalpa or seedless state, is
not even a Turiiya state. We shall call the state of
absolute cognition the Causal Soul, which is known as
Prajina and Sreshvara as per individual and collective
distinctions respectively. Really speaking, the Entity,
which is neither a crude cognition nor an absolute
cognition, can have no truck with the mind or its activities
at all. That Entity is beyond the scope of mind. Common
knowledge or intelligence, be it crude of subtle, condensed
or uncondensed or be it any of the other adjectives of the
imaginative processes of the mind - none of these is Turiiya
Brahma, for He is beyond the tether of the mind. He is free
of all adjectives or attributes. Nor can we say that
modifications like commonness, uncommonness, density,
nondensity etc. do not abide in His knowledge or intellect,
for He is beyond the orbit of the mind. To attribute all
these to Him is to brand Him with positive or negative
adjectives. Being beyond the sway of the mental faculty, He
cannot be seen nor can He be used for worldly ends like
sundry other things. Hence He is beyond any give-and-take
transaction. Differentialities or objects are determined by
the differentiation of attributes. As mind cannot determine
His attributes, it cannot determine His distinctiveness from
any other object either. Hence He is not a material thing He is non-material something. This Turiiya Entity, being
beyond the scope of mind, is also not apprehensible through
meditation. His characteristic form cannot be described, for
how can any material language describe the immaterial? This
Turiiya Brahma exists behind the existential sense of every
object in His characteristic essence, the ultimate result of
metaphysical and philosophical analyses. He indeed is
Shiva,- the Bhumananda (Macrocosmic Bliss). If any numerical
word has to be used at all for Him, `One' is the word. In
HIs Supreme bearing no more than `one' finds a quarter.
Being free from duality He is Absolute Tranquility. Being
devoid of duality , He is without distortions, for
distortions come from the application of force by one object
upon another. His selfsame stance is the only feasible
characteristic. That is to say, the first three of the four
parts or phases are not the absolute Truth. The fourth part,
the Turiiya is the only Truth. The states of wakefulness,
dream and sleep are not the spiritual entities for they have
in them the semblance of attributes, for their existential
entities are dependent on the crude-subtle-causal knowables.
So the first three conditions, or the first three parts or
phases of the soul 3J3 are relative truths due to their
being dependent on other factors and the fourth part, the
Turiiya, being independent of others, is the spiritual
Truth, the whole Truth the Absolute Truth. Earn your
deathlessness by establishing yourself in HIm. He is the
real Soul. If any condition be really worth attaining at
all, then it is this condition - the Turiiya condition. In
such a condition there cannot be any micro-macrocosmic
distinctions. In this condition there is no room for action,
inaction or counteraction also, - no scope for extroversive
or introversive vagaries either. This bearing is the natural
characteristic of the Soul its characteristic Self. In
wakefulness the collectivity is called `Virata' (the
subjective counterpart of the Causal Cosmic Mind) and the
individuality is Vishva (the subjective counterpart of the
causal unit-mind). In the dreamful state the collectivity is
Hiranyagarbha (the subjective counterpart of the subtle
Cosmic Mind) and the individuality is Taejasa (the
subjective counterpart of the subtle unit-mind). In the
sleeping state the collectivity is Sutreshvara (the
subjective counterpart of the crude Cosmic Mind), the
individuality is Prajina (the subjective counterpart of the
crude unit-mind), the dormant cognition. But the Turiiya
condition being completely free from attributes or the
semblance thereof, the states of collectivity and
individuality cannot exist on account of the absence of all
kinds of differentialities. In this condition He is called
the One, Unique Iishvaragrasa or the Cosmic Doom, regardless
of collectivity or individuality. Only in the subtlest
Egoity - only in the Soul He is experienced. He is the
Summum Bonum of Sadhana or intuitional practice. He is not
attainable through arguments and Science. When installed in
Him, wakefulness, dream and sleep also get destroyed. In
other words wakefulness, dream and sleep are but mere
imaginations, illusions - merely the mistaken recognition of
untruth for Truth. Even the entire quinquelemental or
Paincabhutatmaka world gets lost during such Turiiyabhava,
i.e., in such supreme state all elemental bearings get into
recession. Man sees within Him the semblances of
wakefulness, dream, sleep, the unit-soul and the Supreme
Soul. Him we must know. He is the Ultimate Doom
(Iishvaragrasa). The range of the dreamful condition is
greater than that of the wakeful one. Then again the range
of the sleeping condition is a lot greater than that of the
dreamful one. This Turiiya condition eclipses the vast range
of the sleeping condition and that is why the Turiiya state
is the vastest of all- all-devouring. Even the Supreme
Purusa (Iishvara), subjective of sleep, meets His doom in
Him and that is why His name is Iishvaragrasa or the Cosmic
doom. This Turiiya or non-dual state is beyond all gunas or
attributes. No language can describe the Turiiya. Scriptures
have only tried to elucidate and explain Him but the
language for the right explanation is not within the bounds
of the Scriptures. In the state of Turiiya not only
subjectivity does not exist, but, in the fourth part of the
Turiiya i.e., in the Avikalpa, there is not even a scintilla
or semblance of witness-ship as well. No matter how
assiduously the wavering and indecisive mind exerts to reach
the Turiiya, it can never hold Him within its grasp. To
attain Him one has to do the Sadhana of self-surrender, one
has to surrender oneself wholly - the full sixteen annas.
Withholding 33 of even an anna will not do. Peace unto you,
Amen!
Agrahayana Purnima, 1956.
SS3-1A.SS
THE INTUITIONAL SCIENCE OF THE VEDAS
AVIDYA
On the 9th of January last year I told you something
about the Theory of Prakrti. Today I will tell specifically
about Avidya or the Extroversive Force. Brahma is the
composite of Purusa and Prakrti. Prakrti is His Operative
Principle and Purusa is his Consciousness or the Cognitive
Principle. He is two in one. Jiiva or the unit manifestation
of Brahma is also composed of Purusa and Prakrti i.e.,
cognitive and operative principles. The sense of ego or
`Doer I' that exists behind all that man does, says, thinks,
understands of hears is the product of Prakrti. And behind
this ego the `I know I am' that exists as the Supreme Knower
is man's cognitive force - the undistorted Purusa. Not only
man, every entity, whether animate or inanimate, movable or
immovable, consists of Purusa and Prakrti. Sentience or
insentience are only a relative condition. Really speaking,
there is no such thing as insentient or inanimate. Rather we
do them injustice by calling and believing them to be so.
Take, for instance, a piece of stone. Is it insentient? No,
no, nothing is insentient from the spiritual point of view.
Prima facie only those things appear insentient or inert, in
which the influence of Prakrti or Force over Purusa or
Consciousness is more in evidence. In other words, I would
call only that inert, in which Purusa is not manifest, or
due to the greater influence of Prakrti, Purusa could not
manifest Himself or is lying dormant. In the Sun, Prakrti is
manifest but Purusa is subdued. That is why, the Sun, in
spite of being the nucleus of the Solar System, - that Solar
system, whose inhabitant, man, possesses such a high
intellect, that Solar system, whose countless organisms are
conscious of their respective egos - does not know itself as
the Sun. But its progeny, man, very well knows it as the
Sun. Not only that, he has tried to know and understand its
ins and outs more clearly and has persevered and will
persevere to possess and unravel all the informations and
mysteries about it through philosophical researches and
mysteries about it through philosophical researches and
analytical experiments. This conquest of man over the Sun the credit of this feat, does not belong to man but to the
developed Purusa or Consciousness. I cannot, from the
spiritual standpoint, call anything inert of crude which
looks apparently so under the greater crudifying influence
of Prakrti, because the entity, which appears to be passive
or crude, is actually the crude manifestation of
Prakrtiinfluenced Consciousness, that is to say, in such a
state the Consciousness is incapable of expressing its
knowership, its expression being nipped off at the very
outset by Prakrti. That is why, I that a piece of stone,
which you think to be inanimate or inert, is not actually
so. That also imbibes the protogenetic or abiogentic
potentiality of transforming itself into a glorious man like
you one of these days. The dormant Purusa in these objects
must undoubtedly wake up someday. It is by the influence of
Prakrti that Purusa comes to be imbued with inertness, for
to make the integral body of Brahma divided and diversified,
everything has got to be demarcated and that demarcation is
not possible unless the thing is crude. So to bring about
such plurality in Purusa, inertness has got to be imposed on
Him and this imposition is accomplished by Prakrti. `Pro
karati iti Prakrti', that is, that which has the
multi-creative power of plasticity is called Prakrti. This
Prakrti has three constituent attributes (gunas) i.e., she
is the combination of three forces, viz.,Sentient (Sattva),
Mutative (Rajah) and Static (Tamah). Had there been no such
multi-creative or omniparous, triple-attributive Prakrti,
the diverse manifestations of different animals and plants
would not have come into being. In other words, the entire
universe would have remained purposeless unvaried and
unexpressed or unmanifested. Prakrti and Maya are almost
synonymous but in common usage there is a nuance or shade of
difference in the meaning. In cases where the three gunas or
attributes, Sattva (Sentient), Rajah (Mutative) and Tamah
(Static), are in equilibrium, the word, Prakrti, is
generally used. Such equilibrated `Mula Prakrti' (Primordial
Force or Operative Principle) is unmanifest, and where the
three components are not in equilibrium, such a state is
called Maya (Creative Principle). Where there is no
equipoise or equality i.e., where there is disparity, either
the Sattva or the Tamah remains predominant. The state of
disparity, wherein Sattva (Sentient Force) is greater, is
called Vidyamaya or Introversive Force and wherein Tamah
(Static Force) is greater, is called Avidyamaya or
Extroversive Force. So you see, it is only due to the
disparity in the trivalent factors of Prakrti that the world
is conceived in the Cosmic Mind. Similarly when the
unit-mind races towards Brahma, it is also due to the same
attributional disparity of Prakrti. If Prakrti had been her
own complete self i.e. had been in her equipoise no
movements would have been possible. Where Prakrti is in her
counterpoised state, she is inexplicity, primordial, and
dormant in Purusa - this state is the stationary state.
Manifested Prakrti is of course dynamic, be that momentum
introversive or extroversive as it may. By the introversive
momentum of Prakrti or under the influence of Vidyamaya,
Jiiva or the unit proceeds towards sublimity. But the stage
where it reaches, i.e., in that Sublime Uniformity, not only
Avidyamaya or extroversive force does not exist, but even
Vidyamaya's potential influence over the individuality of
the unit also disappears due to her own superexaltation. For
the progress of Sadhana (spiritual practices) a Sadhaka
(spiritual aspirant) has got to take the help of Vidya maya
or introversive force, though finally he has to forgo her
also. This Maya (creative principle) is the Mother of the
individuality of the unit, for without Maya individuality
does not come into being - absence of motivity means no
creation. Had there been no Maya, the potentiality of the
individuality would have ever remained in Shiva or Cosmic
Consciousness. Maya is the xylem of the causal matrix of the
creation of this disparate, illusory world. Everything of
this evolved world is the manifestation of her heterogeneous
forms - her playful diversions.
Sarvarupamayii devii sarvam deviimayam jagat 3p3
Taroham vishvarupam tam namami parameshvariim. - Markandeya
Purana
Maya is polymorphic and all things of the entire world
are nothing but Maya. I bow to this Cosmoform Mahamaya.
Betimes I told you that there existed a great Mayaic
obscurity in between Cosmic Consciousness and
Unit-consciousness (Cosmic Individuality and
Unit-individuality). It is due to this obscurity that there
exists between them a sense of detachment; it is due to this
obscurity that there results in the individuality of the
unit such weaknesses as sense of despair, loss of
confidence, etc., because whichever way the man turns, a
perennial, interlunar, cimmerian darkness stares him in the
face. This darkness impairs his clear vision. With the
result his eyes fail to grasp the real picture of things. He
gropes for acquaintance with them. For the attainment of
valid cognition of reality and true vision we have got to
find out means of escape from the hands of Maya. Does Maya
disperse of her own accord out of fear of man or have we to
evolve some way to get rid of her.
Daevii hyesa gunamayii mama maya duratyaya Mameva ye
prapadyante mayametam taranti te. -Shrii Krsna. The one
whose life's goal is Brahma, the guidingstar on one's path
of progress, alone is capable of surmounting Maya. That is
why, one's life should be based on Brahma - should have a
predisposition to Brahma. A sadhaka's Sadhana means struggle
with Maya (Creative principle), and salvation means the
subjugation of Maya, i.e. in that event he will become the
Lord of Maya. In common parlance it is the unit, which is
under the influence of Maya, and Brahma alone has
sovereignty over her. When a man has his supremacy over Maya
through his sadhana, the veil of darkness moves aside from
him and then there remains no difference between his own
self-effulgence and Brahmic effulgence, i.e. both get fused
into one. Sadhana is a battle - a battle with Maya for the
attainment of one's objective. The object of this fight is
somehow to thwart the force of Maya. This battle can be
fought in three ways. Suppose you are walking alone through
a vast forest with darkness all around you and you see a dim
light far away. Now, if you march on and on, tearing through
this darkness with your eyes fixed on that light, what will
you finally see? Nearer and nearer you proceed towards the
light, thinner and thinner will become the density of
darkness and when you reach very close to the light, you
will find no darkness near you at all. Similarly, with
Brahma as the goal, this going forward, rending through the
darkness of Avidya (Extroversive Force), is one of the
fights against Avidya. This is called Madhyamacara or the
Middle Course. Ananda Marga prefers this Middle Course,
because without a goal how long can you go on fighting with
the darkness? Is it safe to grope your way through darkness?
Are not time and labor wasted for want of a goal? Is it not
fraught with an impending danger? The other two methods of
the battle of Sadhana are Daksinacara and Bamacara. Now, who
will fight this fight against Maya - Iishvara 33
(Consciousness qualified by Static principle) or Prajina
(the Spiritually dormant microcosm)? When the Macrocosmic
Consciousness witnesses the Static principle as His object,
He is called Iishvara or the Lord of the Universe and when
the microcosmic or unit consciousness is the witnessing
counterpart of his Static principle, he is called Prajina.
this spiritual dormancy is the state of maximum crudeness
and negativity, which the Prajinabhava alone has to fight
against. Iishvarabhava, being the counterpart of the
integral Purusottamabhava or Nuclear Consciousness, has not
any particular need of Sadhana.
Tatha hi prajine saesavidya jagat sarvamatma
pramatmaeva svaprakashopyavisayajinanatvajjananneve hyatra
na vijinati
Being under the influence of the Static force of
Prakrti i.e., Avidya, the spiritually dormant man (Prajina)
is incapable of getting happiness out of mundane objects.
Here you must remember that the word, Prajina, is not used
in the sense of physical dormancy. The word here implies the Jiivatma or the sentient soul which is asleep or
quiescent spiritually. He is concerned with heterogeneous
entities, yet, in spite of his discerning capacity in the
fullest measure, he is unable to understand their true
perspective - their intrinsic merit due to the spell of
darkness of Avidya. Nevertheless he abides in this very
darkness with all his differential knowledge. This very
fight against these disintegrating tendencies is his
Sadhana. In other words Prajina or the spiritually dormant
man shall fight to rescue his Prajina or his intellectual
self fpom the hands of the Static principle. In this fight
*when he Prajina will come out victorious, he will identify
himself with the Supreme Consciousness, for he is then no
more in the bondage of Prakrti. I said it before and I say
it again that Sadhana means fight against Avidya. This fight
is internal, not external. External or showy fight will
achieve nothing. The entire capability t fight culminates in
the acrobatics of toilet, dressing and make-up of one's
veneer with mala (a rosary or string of beads for counting
prayers), Tilaka (a conspicuous mark between the eye-brows
with sandal-paste or vermilion, Jola (a little sack for the
rosary and counting or prayers) and chandan-chapa or the
impresses of sandal-paste on the forehead, arms and chest).
A man has to fight against his inner, base propensities, and
when he will wear the crown of victory, he will then realize
that there is absolutely no difference between him and
Brahma, i.e., he has become Brahma Himself. Now the question
arises: when man is part and parcel of the omniscient Cosmic
Consciousness, why don't we then see the manifestation of
perfect knowledge in him during his Static bondage? Had
there been perfect or complete knowledge in the units, there
would not have been any necessity for Sadhana. Actually the
jiivabhava or the individuality of the unit imbibes quite a
fund of knowledge in his Static condition. It has also got
the potentials or infinite knowledge but that knowledge is
unobjective. Suppose, you are sitting alone in darkness and
around you there is the variegated, deceptive or
discriminative world and within yourselves you have also the
power to observe 33 this discriminative world, but you
cannot see anything due to darkness. All the entities of
things have mingled and identified themselves with the
darkness. The sight of the seer is intact but the sight has
taken the form of an all-devouring darkness. So in such a
condition the knowledge of the seer is unobjective. Similar
is the condition of the individuality of the unit. It cannot
understand the real picture or form of any entity on account
of Avidya. He goes on groping and forming his own arbitrary
conclusions about things. That was why, I told you that it
was wrong to say that Prajina or the spiritually dormant man
had no capacity to know. The seed of knowledge is certainly
there with its limitless potentiality. Only the knowingness
is baffling substantiation due to darkness. Hence the
Prajina shall do Sadhana to forestall or drive away the
darkness. With the disappearance of obscurities all the
things perceived during the spell of darkness, and their
causes will merge in the Prajina himself, that is to say,
their whole existence will come to naught. So with the
merger of the Prajina-Sadhaka in Brahma this discriminative
world also merges in the homogeneous Cause. In the human
mind Avidyamaya (Extroversive Force) manifests herself in
two ways, viz., Viksepatmaka (extroversive or centrifugal)
and Avaranatmaka (obstructive). Philosophically we say
Viksepa Force and Avaranii Force respectively. Due to the
remoteness of the original object the lack of valid
knowledge that occurs, i.e., due to the remoteness of
Brahmabhava the lack of spiritual knowledge that results and
with the increase of remoteness even the semblance of
knowledge that gradually ceases to be there - are the acts
of this Viksepa or Centrifugal Force. And in spite of the
proximity the lack of valid knowledge that occurs due to the
darkness of ignorance is the act of the Avaranii or
Obstructive Force. The reason why I call this an Avaranii
force is that it words as a cover or lid over the original
object. In this heterogeneous world the sense of existence,
and acquaintance are the combined action of Viksepa and
Avaranii forces of Avidyamaya. Just as the real picture of a
thing is not discernible in the darkness - appearing as a
strange shadowy something, this heterogeneous creation also
is similarly observed on the Cosmic Body owing to the
influence of Avidyamaya. In other words, during the process
of Saincara (Extroversion) the Viksepa and Avaranii forces
dominate due to the predominance of Avidya in the
macrocosmic thought-projection, and during Pratisaincara
(Introversion) they gradually dwindle into nothingness. In
order to realize his own characteristic seity or self-hood a
Sadhaka must try to get himself established in the
introversive state (Pratisaincara) by forestalling Avidya's
darkness that created this heterogeneous world - this is his
Sadhana. When the Sadhana is introversive, it has to be
construed that the preponderance of Vidyamaya or
introversive principle is there. The two anti-Avidya forces
that exist in the Vidyamaya are Sambit or the Introspective
Force, and Hladinii or the Sublimative Force. The force that
awakens consciousness of his present condition
introspection, in a Sadhaka i.e., that I am the highest
evolved unit - a man, that I have to attain Supreme
Knowledge, that I have got to move aside the darkness of the
obstructive force of Avaranii, that I have got to worship
the proximate Entity by conquering the distance or chasm,
created by the centrifugal force of Viksepa such a Vidyaic
sense of realization that wakes up in the human mind - is
called Sambit. The meaning of Sambit, you all know, is
sudden realization of the state of things. I call it Sambit
Force, for it awakens the Sadhaka to reality. And the
propelling force, whereby a Sadhaka carries himself to the
Supreme Entity, fighting his way through the Viksepa or the
Centrifugal Force, lifting himself above all trifles and
surging in the thought-waves of the Great, is called
Hladinii. I call it Hladinii Force, for it escorts the
Sadhaka through the path of Ahlad or Ananda or Divine
ecstasy and establishes him in the Absolute Bliss. This is
the much-coveted Hladinii of Jiiva or the unit - the Shrii
Radha (The personified Love sublime - the staunch devotee of
Lord Krsna) of the Vaesnavas. Where the two forces, Vidya
and Avidya are in equilibrium, none of the satellite forces
like Viksepa, Sambit, Avaranii or Hladinii, are in evidence.
In such a balanced state the microcosm has neither
regeneration nor degeneration. Subtly thinking, such a
condition is indeed rare. Yet in common parlance I can say
that such a condition does exist in most of the Jiivas or
units. The equilibrium of forces that causes this
non-progressive non-regressive condition is called Tatastha
Shakti or the Coastal Force. A man who is not depraved and
abides by the moral laws and yet does not do Brahma-Sadhana,
is virtually within the scope of this Coastal Force. Right
from the inchoate stage of Sadhana a Sadhaka begins his
journey from the border-line of a coast towards the
all-passion-victorious Macrocosm with the aid of Sublimative
Force (Hladinii). I call it Tatastha, because Tata means
shore or the border-line, where the water of a river of lake
touches the bank. What is the state of the man who is
Tatastha or is right on the border line of the Tata or
shore? If he descends just a step, down he falls plumb in
the river and if he ascends a step, up he stands on the dry
solid ground. So the first step of Sadhana is situated on
the border-line of the shore. Now in such a condition you
may either cut adrift from your Brahmic sentiment, aided and
abetted by the extroversive force of Viksepa, and may be
swept away by the current of the river, or you may establish
yourself squarely on the firm Brahmic ground. You understand
now, why it is called Tatastha, don't you? In spite of the
cognitive potentiality in the Prajina, he is deprived of the
proper knowledge of objects owing to darkness, which alone
is sensed by him very well. For instance, in the absence of
(objective) knowledge of reality during sleep, there is in
man a sense of dream, or some other sense, which is quite
different from what he has, while awake. That sense is the
lack of the sense of reality. After waking up when he
recollects that preceding sense of vacuity, then alone he
realizes, `Oh, I was sleeping'.
Abhavapratyayalambaniivrttirnidra.
That is, sleep is the cognitive mental state or
process, consisting in the experience of vacuity. During
sleep, in spite of the potentiality in the fullest measure,
it is the sense of darkness, i.e., the sense of the want of
sense that practically exists. It is because in that state
the 3K3 cruder sheaths of the body and mind become inert due
to the influence of the Static Force. With the result it is
not only impossible for him to perceive or sense anything of
the external phenomena through the media of his sensory or
motor organs, even reactive or initiative dreaming becomes
an impossibility and this is why, although physiologically
there is a difference between sleep and unconsciousness but
psychologically there is none.
Anubhutermaya ca tamorupanubhutestadetajjadam
mohatmakamanantam tucchamidam rupamasya asya vyainjika
nityanivrttapi mudhaeratmaeva drsta. Sleep is the condition
of highest passivity. After this condition when dream comes
the sense of inertness diminishes. In this state Manomaya
Kosa or the subtle mind becomes active and only the Kamamaya
Kosa or the crude mind remains inactive. In a wakeful state
the sense of inertness is still less and so in this state
the crude mind also gets awakened. This awakened state also
is under the sway of Prakrti or Maya. The effort to reach
the spiritual or supreme state of consciousness from this
so-called awakened state, i.e., form this awakened mental
state, is what is called Sadhana. The indication of this
condition will come through the fight with Avidya. After
defeating Avidya and finally giving up Vidya too, you will
have to establish yourselves in the Supreme state. As
aforesaid, we hear of two more methods of fight against
Avidya, viz., those of Bamacara and Daksinacara. BAMACARA:
`Target or no target I shall go on fighting against the
darkness of Maya and after her defeat she will help realize
my cherished desire.' Such a Sadhaka is called Bamacarii. In
such a type of Sadhana there is tremendous possibility of
danger or downfall. In the majority of case a Bamacarii,
before realizing his cherished desire, often abuses his
power, gained through his fight with Avidya. With the result
he falls an unwary victim to more darkness - more inertness
and he gradually comes down to the level of bestiality. It
is meaningless to try to attain victory over Prakrti without
a specific goal. What progress can one expect in individual
or social life through such an aimless pursuit? DAKSINACARA:
A Daksinacarii wants to win over Prakrti through entreaties
and importunities. He begs, "Oh Prakrti! Removest thy
darkness and makest way for me."
Tvam vaesnavii shaktiranantaviirya Vishvasya biijam
paramasi maya Sammohitam devii samstametad tvam vae
Prasannabhavi mukti hetuh.
"O Maya! Thou art the Power of Lord Visnu - the
allpervading Power. Thou art the prime cause of the whole
universe. This heterogeneous world is evolved by thy Static
Force. So thou art the seed of the world. Thou art the
Supreme Force. Thou hast kept hypnotized every entity of
this created world. Be propitiated and becomest the cause of
my emancipation. (Mukti)." You all know, Sadhana for
emancipation means struggle for freedom - means the
establishment of Svaraja (own kingdom) after rescuing
ourselves from the onslaught of Avidya.
Kingdom abideth in the Soul Supreme 33 The urge of
freedom is sought within Nor pen nor sword nor brawn can
dream The bliss of freedom ever so green.
This emancipation, this freedom - can it be had
through flattery? Flattery is the antic of cowards. A mighty
one, if moved by flattery, may give the flatterer some
concession, may shower upon him perhaps a few grains of his
kindness as well, but he will certainly not grant him full
freedom or even if he does orally (with his tongue in his
cheek), the coward would demur to accept. This world is the
creation of Maya, the creative principle. Its very existence
is illusory. What significance can there be of this illusory
form or this Mayaic entity? The Vedas have said, "This
illusive entity - this relative truth is a trifling
phenomenon and so this illusory world must indeed be
insignificant. Great is that Prajina, who abides as the
observer of this illusion (Maya). Purusa is supreme. His
object is of little value. Purusa is an aseity (birthless
entity) and His objects are the rhythmic heterogeneity of
the birthless Prakrti, the plastic performer of the
inconceivable. That is why, they are not eternal but
transitory. This rhythmic extravaganza is leading him
forward every moment through the heteromorphic phenomena,
none of the forms having a lasting permanence. Today the one
who is a lad, becomes a youth after a few years and the same
person becomes old again after some years. After the death
of the illusive forms of boyhood and youth, comes the old
age. After the death of the illusive form of old age there
occurs the worldly death. That is why the form of Maya is
unimportant - so insignificant. It dies every moment. This
Mayaic manifestation is perpetually having its extinction
i.e., it is getting destroyed every moment. How would you
account for the form of a five-year-old child after it has
been transformed into that of a youth of twenty-five through
the influence of time? Does not the gap between five and
twenty-five wholly pertain to time? Between the two stands a
piece of time, which we call twenty years. Within these
twenty years at every fraction of a moment or at some sort
of a still shorter time say, a micro-second, if I may put it
- one form of this child died and another form was created
and each of those dead forms merged in the Purusa identified itself with the Supreme Knower. Suppose you are
proceeding form Patna to Arrah. On your way you are thinking
only about Arrah. i.e., your citta or mind is taking the
form of Arrah. On reaching Arrah you start thinking about
Mogal-Sarai. Again your citta takes the form of Mogal-Sarai.
Now at this stage where did the form of Arrah go, which had
been created by your mind previously? That form of course
merged in you or remained in you merged. Similarly this
illusory world is also created by the Brahmic
thought-projection, wherein the disappearance of one form is
followed by the creation of another. This thought-process is
evolved by the influence of Maya (the creative principle).
It is through the help of this Maya that we see or realize
the self-manifested form of Purusa. The two are like fire
and ghee (clarified butter) - the former being Saguna Purusa
(the subjectivated and objectivated Purusa) and the latter,
Prakrti. To see the dazzling form of fire we have to put
ghee in it. Similarly to get Purusa manifested in a form,
the presence of the active force of Maya is unavoidable.
This Maya influenced Purusa is the Saguna Purusa, or else
like the gheeless fire He is `extinguished', i.e. without
the association of Maya, Saguna Purusa perishes - there
remains only the Nirguna or the unattributed, unmanifested,
Transcendental Entity. But have you marked one thing here?
By the influence of ghee the existence of fire is realized
indeed but what is the result? To keep the fire burning the
ghee consumes itself. LIkewise in order to keep going the
evolutional pastime of this evolved world, i.e., to keep
alive the evolutionary bent of Saguna Brahma, the activeness
of Prakrti is getting destroyed - gradually she is getting
merged in the Purusa. In other words, Saguna Brahma is on
his way to Salvation by degrees. You must have thoroughly
understood now as to how Samskaras (past momenta) are being
destroyed through Karmabhoga (suffering and enjoyment). When
a Sadhaka stands before the darkness of Prakrti, he thinks,
as though Prakrti is sempiternal or constant. A boy of five
one day becomes a young man of twenty-five by undergoing a
continued process of metamorphoses every day, every month,
every year, in fact every infinitesimal fraction of time,
but those continuously changing forms of Prakrti could not
perhaps be perceived, particularly the one, who used to see
the child of five always, could neither discern her
(Prakrti's) perpetually changing forms nor understand them.
One could only understand, seeing the young man of
twenty-five, that the gradual changes must have taken place
during those twenty years. He who does not want to recognize
this perpetually changing form of Prakrti, i.e., he who
thinks her to be immobile and unchanging, is devoid of
intellect and judgment. He who is convinced of the
ever-changing character of Prakrti, ceases to be under her
domination. So long as the conception of Purusa-hood is not
roused - so long as the intuitional consciousness is not
awakened in the fullest measure, it is not possible to
properly understand Prakrti. It is for the awakening of this
intuitional consciousness that Sadhana or spiritual practice
is necessary. The experience of the Static force (Tamah) in
life is a constant affair. To remove this darkness the light
of your own soul will have to be lit, and by the splendor of
that light all the demarcations of all kinds of diversities
shall have to be wiped out. So long as it is not done, man
will surely run after the variety show of this heterogeneous
world and will enjoy or endure weal or woe from it but shall
indeed remain far away from Ananda or Bliss. he will cause
himself to be a scapegoat at the hands of Prakrti. he will
be guided by the momentum of Avidyamaya or the extroversive
principle. Acquainting himself with the true perspective of
Maya or realizing the state of Shiva Shakti or Cosmic
Potence, never will he be able to ensconce himself in his
own blissful entity.
What fault abideth the hapless mind of mine, O Shyama,
Thou, Daughter of the Magic-Mine! That but danceth to the
tune of Thine. -Ramaprasada. 33 Individuality thrives on
Avidya and of Avidya it is born. With the removal of Avidya,
the diversified world also disappears. In such an event no
difference exists between microcosm and macrocosm or
unit-consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness. Both fuse into
one - there occurs a great reunion of Jiivatva and Shivatva
or Seity and Aseity. So long as Prakrti exists, no perfect
realization is possible. All experiences get gradually
rooted in inertness under her influence. The Sadhaka feels
that his realization is tantalizingly elusive - playing the
hide and seek within himself. he finds himself in a
quandary. Asya sattvamasattvainca darshayati
siddhatvasiddhatvabhyam svatantrasvatantratvena saesa
bataviija-samanya-vadanekabatashaktirekaeva. It is due to
Prakrti that the sense of `I am'. `You are' and the
so-called hills, rivers, etc., is awakened and it is due to
her centrifugal (Viksepa) and obstructive (Avaranii) forces
that the sense of heterogeneous creations and of their
diverse distinctions is awakened. Behind the sense of ego,
`I am', `I *knowIam' that exists is what we call Purusa or
Atman (Soul); and `the one I know' i.e., the sense of `I
am', - what we call Buddhitattva or Mahattattva (the
fundamental intellect), which is the object of Purusa, -is
the trick played on Purusa by Prakrti herself. So long as
`I' exists in conjunction with the sense of ego or the
fundamental intellect, events like `I see', `I hear' etc.,
take place. As the consequence of these actions the
discriminative world also exists. But where I's sense of ego
does not exist, how can action or object have the chance to
exist? In other words, the heterogeneous world exists, so
long as the Avidya-created sense of ego is. So when the
influence of Prakrti passes away, the objective Buddhitattva
also loses its independent existence. Then it merges in the
Atman. That is why, I say, when the consciousness is
achieved, the distinction between `Sat' (undergoing no
metamorphosis) and `Asat' (undergoing metamorphoses) thins
away into air. The truth that `asat' is not an eternal
entity become crystal clear in such a condition. The
greatest difference between individuality (Jiivabhava) and
Transcendentality (Brahmabhava) is that Jiivabhava is
governed by Prakrti. So the Sadhana (spiritual practice) of
the Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) is to triumph over his
individuality, i.e., to get himself established in the
Brahmabhava by defeating Avidya. After being so established
the Sadhaka sees with his second sight that the very same
subjugated Maya is the progenitress or the causal matrix of
billions of organisms and the world - she is going on
reflecting the many on the same single Entity Purusabhava,
as though many many mirrors have been dexterously placed
before a single flower. As the mirrors are being added, the
numerical strength of the flower increases also, but the
original flower remains essentially one. Similarly behind
the plethora of mundane diversities thrives only one Eternal
Entity, all the rest are but the reflections on His mental
plate. Just as without the Maya-like mirror or its
reflecting power, one flower remains exactly single and does
not have a chance to get itself multiplied into many,
similarly, had there been no Maya, there would have remained
only on unmanifested Brahma - none of His attributive
manifestations would have been there.
SS3-1B.SS
The individuality of the unit is the reflection or
simulacrum of the Brahmic Semblance. For the preservation of
His own existence He has got to accept the predominance of
the mirrors. That is why, in the Shastras or Scriptures
Prakrti is called Pradhana or the chief operative principle.
Yet the eternal Macrocosmic Entity does not find Himself
obliged to accept His subjection to Prakrti at any stage.
Rather prakrti herself has to remain in His subjection, for
in the absence of Purusa her activities will come to a
standstill nor will they come to fruition without the
husbandship of Purusa. The objective of Sadhana is that very
flower, the main object of the mirror, i.e., to know that
Parama Purusa or Supreme Consciousness. So now you
understand that the sense of I-feeling of the unit is but
the simulacrum or the shadowy prototype of that Cosmic `I',
actually caught on the mirror of Prakrti and reflected by
her reflecting power. Just as a tiny Banian seed inheres the
potentials of huge Banian tree, whereby innumerable Banian
trees can come into being, similarly one Maya, on account of
her endless catoptric or reflective capacity, creates
innumerable lives on one self-same Purusa. In other words,
Saguna Brahma creates innumerable lives on His mental plate
(created by the influence of Prakrti) by His
thought-projection (His imaginative power, the operative
power of Prakrti). The fight against this very Maya that has
created these countless individualities - these multiform
cosmic manifestations, is what the learned men call Sadhana.
Tadyatha batabiija samanyamekamanekan Svavyatiriktan
batan svabiijanutpadya tatra tatra ca sampurnam santisthati
evamevaesa maya svavyatiriktani paripurnani kaetrani
darshayitva jiiveshavabhasena karoti maya cavidya ca
svayameva bhavati.
In spite of the countless number of Banian trees,
growing out of one Banian seed, each of them is indeed
called the name of Banian tree, for characteristically out
of the Banian seed must necessarily come a Banian tree. Just
as at the pre-seed stage there was a Banian tree and the
result of the post-seed stage is also a Banian tree,
similarly we get innumerable semblances of Purusa or
individualities from His reflections. Prakrti, with the help
of Purusa-like original cause, creates Purusa-like objects.
Now the question arises: Does the work of Prakrti end with
the creation of macrocosmic reflections i.e., microcosms?
No, certainly not. Prakrti herself with the help of her own
crudifying power does the office of demarcating both the
flower and its reflected state or she herself takes such
forms. Suppose, there is a reflection of a flower. Here the
reflecting power belongs to Prakrti, the reflecting plate is
also hers and the outline of the reflected object is also of
the crudifying Prakrti. Is this protean master-artist,
Prakrti, absolutely insignificant? An entity that takes the
colors and forms of all things or has the capacity to do so,
cannot be just filliped away as worthless. Prakrti is like a
motion-picture, which can neither be held in arms as
something tangible and existent nor can it be talked away
with a fillip as something non-existent. Prakrti is a
passing show, a moving phenomenon - a changing reality.
Although she is moving, there is enough firmness in her
plausible linear forms, and that is why, people are so much
attracted to her, just as the parents get attracted to the
transient form of their child of five, in spite of their
being aware of the changing nature of his forms and
features. and then again when that very form reaches the
twentieth year through physiognomical changes they are
equally form of that twenty-year-old form. Hence every
momentary bit of the fragmentary forms of the quick changing
Prakrti is an object or cause of the unit's great
fascination. The cimmerian Prakrti with her darkening magic
wand keeps man in darkness. This somber Prakrti has got to
be removed at any cost from before your eyes. She would not
go ultroneously. You will have to get ride of her influence
through the Sadhana of Purusa or the Cosmic Consciousness.
She will put numberless snags and hindrances and yet you
will have to fight against them - triumph over them.
Cultivating and wallowing in materialism one cannot reach
the stage of supernaturalism. Living in the midst of Bhoga
(sufferings and enjoyments) and indulging in and zealously
practicing, Bhoga Sadhana for Bhoga's sake, one cannot give
up Bhoga or materialistic bent. For the sake of one`s
profession or for any other reasons, one who has to tell
lies continually, will eventually turn a naturalized liar,
if one does not take a vow of truthfulness. Many teachers of
the old school, when they do not have canes in their hands,
vent their habit of caning by brandishing their pencils.
Grinning and grimacing in a paroxysm of rage or clenching
their fists by way of reminiscential holding of a branch of
a tree tightly out of fear - these two apish characteristics
- man has not yet been able to get rid of racially. So if
you be in Bhoga - material enjoyments or sufferings - no
harm, if you do the Sadhana of Bhoga, no harm there too, but
certainly not Bhoga for Bhoga's sake. Strange indeed is this
ever-changing Prakrti!
Saesa citra sudrdha bahvaunkura
svayam`gunabhinnaunkuresvapi gunabhinna sarvatra
brahmavisnushivarupino caetanyadiipta.
All the entities of Maya are strange and variegated.
Not two entities are alike. Each one of them has its own
specialties. There is nothing `identical' in this world. At
most we can say, `similar', for every one of them is the
magic-play of that pleomorphic Prakrti. But Purusa is one,
not multiform. Multiformity is an attributed manifestation,
such as thick, thin, long, short etc. Purusa is absolute free from any quality or attribute and so variety has no
locus standi there. If the Purusa of the unit be the
reflection of the Cosmic Consciousness, then seeing the
reflection is as good as seeing the Original Purusa. Yes,
the observation is correct but it can only be true and
correct, if the mirror be perfect, i.e., if the reflector,
Buddhitattva or Mahattattva (the fundamental I-feeling of
the unit) be perfectly clear and free from all impurities.
The persistent effort to rid Buddhitattva of impurities is
what is 3o3 called Sadhana. It is the Original Purusa that
is to be realized and to realize Him Sadhana is the only
way.
Atmajinanam Vidurjinanam jinananyanyani yani tu Tani
jinanavabhasani sarasya naeva bodhanat.
Self-knowledge, i.e., the knowledge of Purusa or
intuitional knowledge is the only real knowledge, all the
rest are but its shadows or pretensions, not knowledge
proper - the shadow of the flower, not the original one. It
is not always possible to know the essence of an object from
its shadow or reflection. Due to the imperfections of the
reflector even the reflection of a beautiful object may
appear horrible and ugly. A sadhaka must bear in mind that
his progress - his desired target does not lie in the
direction of Prakrti's mock show. all knowledge, concerning
things born of the principle of causality, is but a
pretension or semblance of knowledge. Such a knowledge is a
relative truth, not an absolute one. It is, however,
necessary for the preservation of existence. It is also true
that during the progressive period of Sadhana one has to
progress keeping pace with it, but cannot call it the
supreme path. The spiritual Sadhaka shall accept that
Eternal Entity as the sole Lord of his life. He may make use
of those semblances and reflections as per necessity only.
The investigation into these reflected things as to their
inherent characteristics and transformations as per the
principle of causality is what we call scientific research.
The Samskrta equivalent of the English word, Science, should
be Sthula Vijinana of Bhuta Vijinana (Physical Science). I
have already said that it will not do to give oneself up to
shadows and reflections, for although seeing reflections
clearly in a clean, clear mirror is tantamount to seeing the
original object, yet it does not mean the attainment of the
original object. Remember, you have no right to enjoy any of
the things of this shadowy world. No matter how assiduously
you try, you can never bring into your grasp any shadowy
object. Your hands will rebound from the hard surface of the
mirror. Nevertheless it is true that you rejoice at that
reflection. Do you know, why you get this joy of Ananda?
Because that is the reflection of that Super-exultation Brahma, - the semblance of that Cosmic Flow.
Na va are patyuh kamaya pati priyo bhavati atmanastu
kamaya pati priyo bhavati. Na va are puttrasyakamaya puttro
priyo bhavati atmanastu kamaya puttro priyo bhavati. Na va
are sarvasya kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati atmanastu kamaya
sarvam priyam bhavati.
Husband is not dear for husband's sake. Husband is
dear because the attainment of a husband thrills the heart
with an avalanche of joy. Son is not dear for son's sake.
The possession of a son tingles the heart with a joyous
exuberance (A profligate son does not find an expression of
felicity in the hearts of his parents and that is why, they
do not even hesitate to disinherit him). All things are not
dear for their sake alone. Their possession is dear and
pleasing, only when the fill the heart with a jubilant
vibration. 33 I have already said that in spite of the
Prakrti-evolved world being mutable and fickle, her
delineation of forms and figures lacks no soundness and that
is why, even a learned man falls for a particular
short-lived form. This infatuation gradually becomes
hardened and goes on waxing. The reason is that Prakrti is
omniparous. An oat sprouts but one germ, but from Prakrti
emanates a countless number of germs. By creating
thoughtwaves in one Cosmic Body Prakrti takes on countless
forms simultaneously. Apart from these she goes on evolving
gems in every unit-mind every moment. The number of units is
also countless. From this point of view also Prakrti is
multiparous. By duplicating one original Entity into
limitless number of replicas with her dexterous hands,
Prakrti ensconces It in limitlessness. That is why, the
uniparous unit-mind, after coming in contact with the
multiparous outer world, does not get an opportunity to turn
any of its germs into one whole tree singlemindedly. Every
moment sees the disintegration of its thoughtprocess.
Prakrti is the combination of three gunas or constituents
and so she remains even when she is in a causal stage.
Really speaking, in such a state the potentiality of
expression remains dormant. So long as there is no
expression, we cannot call Prakrti omniparous, for in spite
of the existence of attributes in her, the expressionless
Prakrti remains unblossomed. Because of the disparity among
the three attributes of active Prakrti, the same Purusa is
known as Brahma, Visnu and Maheshvara. It must, however, be
born in mind that in all these three conditions, the three
gunas or attributes are there - the potencies may be
dominant in one, middling in another and ordinary in the
other. Out of the Sentient Force (Sattvaguna) of the active
Prakrti emanates creation. The same Purusa, as the
subjective counterpart of this Sentient Force, comes to be
known as Brahma. The office of preservation and rearing is
carried out through the Mutative Force (Rajoguna) of
Prakrti. Here the same Purusa, as the subjective counterpart
of this Mutative Force, is known as Visnu. The third
attribute, the Static Force, (Tamoguna) of Prakrti becomes
the cause of destruction. here the same Purusa, as the
subjective counterpart of the Static Force, is called
Iishvara or Maheshvara. Now you very well understand that
Brahma Visnu and Maheshvara exist, only so long as Prakrti
is active and omniparous. Their existence is neither an
absolute truth nor a spiritual truth, because during the
unmanifested stage of Prakrti they are devoured by
`Iishvaragrasa', the Objectless (Nirguna) Brahma. It is the
Saguna Brahma, who has been carrying on the office of
creation, preservation and destruction under three
circumstantial names of Brahma, Visnu and Maheshvara
(Shiva). That is why the world is called Hari-Haratmaka,
i.e., identified with Visnu and Shiva in their combined
state. In every created object goes on the Divine game of
Hari and Hara, i.e., Visnu and Shiva. In the balanced state
no action results. Action finds expressions in the
unbalanced state, when the equipoise is lost. Similar is our
life, which is a constant effort to restore and unstable
equilibrium. That is why, in our lives the battle between
Hari and Hara goes on unabated. so long as Hari wins, the
heart is astir with excitement - all life-activities find
avenues of expression. The moment Hara starts winning, the
rhythm of life gets dimmed. With the establishment of Hara
all briskness, knowledge, intelligence, name, fame, pride of
lineage and family - all fevers and frets come to a stop frozen in the chill of death. Prakrti is spiritually
refulgent in the trinity of Brahma, Visnu and Mahesh. The
Consciousness, in which she is aglow, is indeed the prime
principle of all effulgences, - the Transcendental Purusa.
Prakrti is going on imposing the state of multitudinousness
- the bondage of demarcative distinctions. If the earth be
Purusa, the nomenclature of a pot is Prakrti, as also the
creative force by which the pot is made. The Purusaearth
remains in its own element, it does not care a hoot for the
terminological bondage. No matter what name we call it by,
it remains just what it had ever been. The forms, created by
Prakrti, are verily the housewife's gold ornaments, say,
muffchain, bangles, churis. Taken them to any goldsmith and
he will start appraising and ascertaining as to how much
gold there is. Discounting the dross or impurities he will
make sure of the quantity of the gold content in the
ornaments, weighing them in his sensitive scales, and then
fix the value thereof. He will not addle his brain about the
details of the ornaments or as to which one of them has the
sentimental touch of somebody's momento. Purusa is such a
gold, which we are putting out to market as guineas and
mohars, stamped with a seal. Rank is but guinea's stamp.
Rasmadatmana eva traevidhyam sarvatra
yonitvamapyabhimanta jiivo niyanteshvarah sarvahammani
hiranyagarbhastrirupa iishvaravat vyaktacaetanyah sarvago
hyesa iishvarah kriyajinanatma
Brahma, Visnu and Mahesh are the three manifestations
of Purusa, contrived by Prakrti. It is because of His being
the witness of these particularized, attributional
manifestations of Prakrti that Purusa is given such kinds of
epithets. When Cosmic Consciousness is the witness of her
dominant Sentient Principle (Sattva), He is known as the
Supreme Spirit, Brahma. When He is the witness of her
dominant Mutative Principle (Rajah), we call Him
Hiranyagrabha or Visnu and when He is the witness of her
Static Principle (Tamah), He is known as Iishvara or Shiva.
It must be born in mind that Brahma, Visnu and Shiva are not
three different entities. They are the three circumstantial
manifestations of the One Cosmic Entity. In all the three
circumstances there is but one witness. It is according to
the differences in objects or aspects that we have given
different epithets to the objectivated Purusa. Does the
sense of ego in Jitendra Narayana change when his son calls
him by the name of `father' or that in his son, when his
father calls him by the name of `Jitu or that in the teacher
when his student calls him by the name of `Sir'? No,
certainly not. Whatever difference is there, is due to the
angle of vision and the way of application. His unchanged
sense of ego remains only as a witness in every case. When
in Sadhana a Sadhaka is established in Cosmic Consciousness,
he feels himself to be Brahma, Visnu and Maheshvara (Shiva)
simultaneously. All the three states are immanent in the one
and the same Saguna 33 Brahma - are vibrated in the one and
the same Onunkara. Prakrti is spiritually refulgent in the
Brahmic Consciousness and Brahma, Visnu and Maheshvara only
represent particular aspects of that Consciousness. But
isn't the individuality of the unit sentient also, since it
is the reflection of Cosmic Consciousness Itself? When the
individuality is the reflection of Consciousness and if the
mirror reflects everything, whether crude, subtle or causal,
then the individuality has got to be spiritually refulgent.
In other words, the seity or individuality of the unit is
also spiritually refulgent. (In order to make common people
understand the philosophical principle easily, Buddhitattva
or the unit-intellect has at times been compared to or used
in the sense of, a reflector or mirror and at times `Purusa'
has been used as such, but this does not mean that
Buddhitattva or Purusa has any material relation with any
earthly mirror). The individuality also is not asleep or
quiescent. Now the question arises, if the individuality is
the reflection of the Cosmic Consciousness and if the former
is also as much conscious, then what is lacking in it and
why can't we find it in its Cosmic maturity -as the
full-fledge Brahma Himself? Why isn't the reflection of
omneity, evident in it in the fullest measure?
Sarvam sarvamayam sarve jiivah sarvamayah
Sarvavasthasu tathapyalpah sa va esa bhutaniindriyani
virajam devatah kosamshca srstva pravishyamudho mudha iva
vyavaharannaste mayayaeva.
Really speaking, individuality of the unit is as omni
present and all-pervading as the Cosmic Consciousness,
because if the reflection be clear, we can know the original
very well and that is because the reflection retains the
full impress of the original. The Buddhitattva-like
(Intellect-like) mirror also is capable of reflecting all
the three states, crude, subtle and causal. But then I do
not find any reason of inconsistency in the individuality of
the unit. Practically the individuality is always its own
characteristic self and characteristically free it certainly
is - `Ciaraa Sahabe Mukal' (i.e., characteristically
microcosm is an emancipated entity). But we cannot catch the
full reflection of Brahma on the unit-Mahattattva
(I-feeling). For this Cosmic Consciousness is not at fault,
the fault lies with the plate of our unit-Mahattattva. If
the reflection of just a foot of an elephant be caught in a
small mirror, instead of its full figure, it will look like
a pillar in that mirror. Now which of the two is to blame
for this wrong impression about the elephant after looking
at the mirror - the elephant or the smallness of the mirror?
So a Sadhaka has to increase the dimension of the plate of
his Mahattattva and along with it he will have to make it
scrupulously clean, so that he may reflect the entire
universe in himself. Partial reflection makes the world
appear disjointed and heterogeneous. But when you will be
able to see this heterogeneous world on your mental plate
fully, the world will not any more appear to you as world,
but only as the product of your imagination. Then again with
your being the possessor such a vast mind, you will further
realize that you are not `you' any more - your you-hood is
being absorbed in the speckless, super-white effulgence of
that Empyreal Splendor. The receptacles of the individuality
of the unit are the Paincabhaotika or quiquelemental body
and the organs. The Paincabhutas of the five fundamental
factors are wholly the products of the thought-process of
the Supreme Spirit - the Cosmic Ego. The unit-body is made
of these five ingredients and is concerned with the Universe
through its ten organs. Saguna Brahma or the Subjectivated
Transcendentality has evolved thirty-three kinds of primary
manifestations (Devata) in this universe with the help of
Prakrti and the individuality of the unit has evolved five
Kosas (sheaths or receptacles of the mind) after imposing
upon its sense of ego the quinquelemental and decaorganic
(sensory and motor) crudifications. But due to its smallness
this fivesheathed and decaorganic body (body with its ten
organs) is unable to carry the burden of Cosmic
Consciousness. Its materialistic mental plate is totally
unfit to grasp the full Cosmic Consciousness. So listen, O
Sadhakas! You shall have to magnify the area of your subtle
mind or Manomaya Kosa, so that you may appropriate the
Cosmic Consciousness in the fullest measure. Smaller the
object of commerce of your sense of existence, smaller shall
become your mental body in proportion. Greater the object of
your mind, greater and still greater shall become your
mental plate and finally you will be able to install
yourself in the Supreme Cosmic Entity. That is why, no man
of wisdom will ever take any limited crude object as the
pabulum of his mind and thus lead himself to animality.
Those who do that are fools, - want to remain in the smug
ignorance of their characteristic selves. The difference
between Aseity and Seity - Cosmism and individuality is only
cognominal (i.e., in surname only). One is the subject of
One's Great Mind and the other of one's small mind. It is
due to such cognominal difference that Dasharatha Simha and
Dasharatha Thakur are two different entities. But remove
their surnames and the two are Dasharatha. It is as much
true of a secular name as it is of a metaphysical one. In
the titleless condition both the transcendent unit and
Brahma entities are identical. If Brahma be not the
Witnessing Entity of His Great Mind and if the unit also be
not the subjective counterpart of his small mind, the two
become one due to their objectlessness. Such a state is
called Nirvikalpa Samadhi or the state of total absorption
of the unit-mind in the Supreme Spirit. So it is clear that
due to its being a reflection of Consciousness the
individuality of the unit too is omnipresent, omni-inherent
and omniscient but this individuality with its limitless
cognitive potentials is unable to comprehend the state of
Super-perfection or Omneity due to its being the limited
intellectual manifestation of the Mayaic mirror. With the
disappearance of the influence of this Mayaic mirror its
reflected existence also disappears and it is then that it
merges itself in the Original Entity - it regains its own
characteristic self - its own homogeneous status. In
Nirvikalpa Samadhi or the indeterminate contemplative
concentration, the causal mind is destroyed due to
stupefaction of Avidya or Maya and that is why, that state
is supersensible, 33 i.e., beyond the comprehension of the
senses. Following that state, i.e., after the break of that
Samadhi or total suspension, when the faculty of senses and
understanding returns, then alone it realizes that some
unknown current of exhilaration of some unknown region has
flooded its whole entity - is drifting it away to some
ultra-sensual, life-pulsative realm of celestial bliss.
Hence it is said that in a state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi
(indeterminate suspension) the Sadhaka (the spiritual
meditator) cannot understand whether he is in the Nirvikalpa
Samadhi nor can he say afterwards that he felt such and such
thing, for that state was a super-sensual ego-less one.
`Tasya sthiti amanasikesu' -Ananda Sutram.
After the break of that self-lost, ego-less
abstraction when the Sadhaka feels the return of his hazy
ego, drifting away in the current of exuberant joy, he then
realizes that his preceding state must have been a state of
the loftiest ecstasy, - which is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
This post-Samadhi condition is reminiscent of the state
following a deep slumber. In a state of slumber a man does
not feel that he is sleeping. After waking up, his Kamamaya
Kosa or the crude mind getting active, he realizes, as he
thinks of his preceding state of void or insensibility, `I
was so long asleep'. As much as a man has been able to
vindicate his manliness after nullifying the Serpent-noose
of Avidya (Extroversive Force), he is considered to have
appropriated as his own as much Anandasvarupa or Supreme
Exultation - become as much Anandasvarupa Himself - become
as much the Anandamurti or the very image of Ananda or
Bliss.
O how long my ego doth bide thy grace To merge in they
likeness without a trace? When doth thy name so glorious
divine Bid warmest tears in the eyes of mine And body and
soul with vibration reel In joyous rhythm of blissful
thrill?
Savikalpa Samadhi or the determinate suspension
comprises the fullness of Vidya Prakrti (Introversive Force)
i.e., the full establishment of the introversive momentum in
the Sadhaka or his austere spiritual life, and the absence
of Extroversive Force (Avidya), or the total cessation of
her extroversive momentum. So in such a state the ego not
only exists but it exists in its fullness and completeness,
too. This very ego in its Brahmic mood evolves the universe,
in its Visnuic mood preserves the universe and in its
omni-conflagrant mood destroys the universe. In the
trimorphic manifestations of this very ego lies the anchor
of this universe - in this short-long-slow rhythm of
creationpreservation-destruction lies the tether of
space-time-person. Who is the causal factor of
creation-preservationdestruction - Purusa or Prakrti?
Actually in the varied expressions and poises of
creation-preservation-destruction the principle of
all-knowing Consciousness remains unaffected and
undistorted. They are but the dance of Prakrti herself in
her own Receptacle, 33 the Cosmic Body - the scintillating
sports of Energy on the breast of Shiva or Purusa. Never
was, never is, never will be affected the non-mutability
(aparinamiitva) of the Purusa entity, for the word,
`immutable', (aparinamii) is beyond the purview of space,
time and person. The waves, created on the Shiva's breast by
the dance of Prakrti, have not changed or cannot change His
real characteristic Self. The flower of the mirror is coming
close to the mirror and going far from it with its red
color. Such a sight makes one think as though the mirror
itself has become red and is moving forward and backward.
But what is the actuality? The mirror remains as it ever
was, doesn't it? Satya, Sat and immutability are indeed
synonymous. He alone is the sympathetic reciprocator of all
entities. In this reciprocation alone is recognized the
relative existence of the entities. That is why, He is the
witnessing Consciousness of all the entities. Happiness or
sorrow abides in units. The reciprocator only throws the
respective reflections suitably. Hence He is beyond the
compass of Happiness and Sorrow - He is the Bliss Absolute.
So I say, the sweet, colorful, multi-attitudinal dancing
feat of the figurante - the Prakrti, on the breast of Shiva
could not influence Him at all. Shiva or Cosmic
Consciousness is immutable. He is the witnessing entity. He
is beyond the pale of pleasure and pain. Shiva is `Sat'
(unchangeable), `Cit' (Consciousness), `Ananda' (Divine
Bliss) - called in a combination, Saccidananda. Peace be
with you.
Paosa Purnima, Bhagalpur, 1956
SS3-2A.SS
VIBRATION FORM AND COLOR
Today's discussion will be based on vibration, form
and color. Vibration: When do we get vibration? Whenever an
action takes place its character is established by the
nature of its waves and these waves are but vibrations,
flowing through different channels. The relative
transposition of objects is what we call action. And this is
why, every action has vibrations due to its movement. Just
as action is of many varieties, so is vibration. Every
action has its own vibrations. Vibrations of two actions are
not identical. Had they been so, there would not have been
any difference between the two actions. Vibrations comes
just according to the sort of shock that emanates from a
cardinal point, i.e., according to the sort of action that
takes place at that basic point. Have you ever thrown a
stone into a pond and seen its result? As per velocity or
strength you apply at the time of throwing the stone or as
per the weight of that stone, its vibrations also change
accordingly in wavelength and character. Here one more thing
should be clearly understood and that is, the one, which is
the cause and controller of these vibrations, also imbibes
vibrations, i.e., it is also a vehicle of energy and not an
inert, passive entity. I will give you an excellent example
of vibration in human body. take, for instance, the time of
anger. A great impact of a shocking provocation has taken
place in your mind, as the result of which a great vibration
or agitation has seized a particular portion of your brain.
Next moment the brain-bred agitation runs along your whole
body through your nervous system in a lightning speed. It is
then we understand that a paroxysm of rage has taken
possession of your mind. As the result of this violent
vibration in your nervous system, your face gets red and hot
and your hands and feet tremble. None of your sensory or
motor organs, particularly motor organs, can function
properly, your words get jumbled. The one, who has a little
stammer in speech, becomes conspicuously more stammering.
Man's judgment and intelligence with which he keeps his mean
propensities in check, get dulled by the impact of violent
vibrations. A furious man, regardless of place, time and
person, takes to indiscriminate vituperations at will. As an
aftermath of excessive physical and cerebral excitement, his
brain becomes hot. He cannot think, right or wrong. His body
and his internal glands feel limp and depressed. His
appetite seems to forsake him. Is it not so? Since in every
action and, subtly thinking in every entity, there is
vibration, man gets Tanmatras (sensible or ultrasensible
inferences) with the help of vibrations emanating from an
act as soon as it is done or from the presence or existence
of a thing. Actually these vibrations themselves are
Tanmatras, for they carry the subtle import or
characteristic essence of an act or thing and convey it to
the sensory organs of man. Then again the vibrations and
Tanmatras of a sight or a scene, born out of motor organs,
make it acceptable to the organ of the seer. The various
vibrations that we come across in the world are divisible
into five main Tanmatras or sensible or ultrasensible 393
inferences or essences. These five Tanmatras are sound,
touch, form, taste and smell. We perceive them with the help
of our sensory organs. The perception of the differences in
Tanmatras is due to the differences in the vibrations, or
else the senses of sound, touch, etc. lose their distinctive
features. The vibrational signs and lines in a gramophone
record are made in a special way. By a particular device
when you bring into play those mute vibrational lines, there
comes into being a stir in the atmosphere, which is but the
reappearance of the original vibrations. These vibrations
are sonic vibrations or sound-waves, not those of touch,
form etc. That is why, you hear the voice of the original
reciter or the singer or the sound of the instrumentalists.
As the form-waves were not recorded in the record, you could
not see visually the forms and features of the singers or
the players during their vocal or instrumental reproduction.
There is a sweet smell in the flower but it would have
appeared `smell-less' to you, had not the smell-Tanmatras or
waves been carried to the gates of your nose by the aerial
vibrations. Then again you could not have reckoned the
existence of the air-born fragrance, had not similar
impulses or sympathetic waves been created in your afferent
nerves concerned, following their contact with the
fragrance-carrying breeze.Similarly you would not have
sensed the sweetness of a sweetmeat, in spite of its contact
with the particular region of your tongue, had not that
contact created a particular type of vibration or sensation
in your afferent nerves via your taste-organ. The
distinctiveness of vibrations or waves does not end here.
After the contacts of different types of contractions and
expansions on different portions of the palatal organ, as
the result of which their respective concomitant vibrations
or waves also are of different characters. It is because of
these vibrational differences that chili tastes pungent or
hot, sugar sweet and neem (Margosa) bitter. The amusing
feature of it is that we sometimes get confused and cannot
distinguish one from another, if their vibrational
differences be less in volume. Such-like confusion sometimes
arises between honey and treacle, among the seed of tomato,
chili and brinjal, between a genuine diamond and a fake
diamond. In individual life many of you must have noticed
that water tastes a little sweet after taking neem.
Chemically there is not very much difference between
bitterness and sweetness. By the vibrational influence of
hydrogen of the water-flow the vibrations of the bitterness
of neem (Margosa) are somewhat turned into those of
sweetness and we think that the water is sweet. All that is
comprehensible, do-able and graspable in the world is but a
vibrational play. Just as the Tanmatras of sound, touch,
form, taste and smell are creating vibrations by their
respective waves in our nerves by coming in contact with the
gates of our organs (sensory and motor), so our mental body,
being also similarly vibrated by these vibrations or waves,
goes on transmuting the citta (mental plate) into the like
forms of their respective waves. With the result we `see'
elephants and horses, `hear' Puravii and Bhaeravii (airs of
music), `touch' hot and cold, `taste' bitter and sweet and
`smell' Shiulii and Rajaniigandha (flowers). Now take, for
instance, this vast universe. What is the 3p3 characteristic
of this universe? What is this universe? The universe is the
psychic manifestation of Macrocosm. His mind stuff is the
universe. This we call visible world. How did this Brahmic
Citta come into being? Citta is the Static resultant of
mental action. The apparent static or stationary entity that
comes into being, as compared to those influenced by the
Sentient (Sattva) and Mutative (Rajah) forces, is born of
the Static Force (Tamah) or Prakrti, - which, be it original
or born of Samskara (past momentum), I cannot call anything
but citta. Of course, philosophically I can analyze it at
length indeed, but it will be irrelevant to our present
discourse on hand. The trait or characteristic of the Static
Force is to give forms, to create or evolve resultants, to
bring inertness or stasis. So citta, the resultative plate
of the mind, is vulnerable to Static Force and is simulative
of things of the external world or things, begotten of the
mind. Wherever form is, the momentary duration of its
being-hood must be there, as also its limit of demarcation.
The Cosmic Citta also is evolved similarly. Hiranyagarbha or
the Subjective Entity of the subtle Cosmic Mind is
superlatively vast. So His mental plate is also limitless,
but no matter how big its manifestation be, it does have a
shape. There exists a nimbus or halo of though-waves
revolving round the nuclear thought-process or Purusottama,
the nucleus of the Saguna Brahma, as the result of which
atoms of forces are being created. The five fundamental
factors, viz., ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid and solid,
are the sequential metamorphoses of these atoms of forces.
So we see, these quinquelemental cycle is the resultant of
Cosmic thoughtcycle. Then again the though-cycle too, is the
offshoot or resultant of the Atmic or Spiritual cycle. Every
revolution of that cycle is pleomorphic or the variegated
manifestation of Prakrti that goes on evolving the essential
differentialities sometimes in Purusa, sometimes in
thoughts, sometimes in forces and sometimes in the so-called
inanimate by creating vibrations in them. The thought-cycle,
evolved in the nucleus, Purusottama, is what is called the
elliptical universe. All matter-centric revolving objects
are controlled by both eccentric (Avidya) and concentric
(Vidya) forces. --In Ananda Marga Philosophy thought or idea
is not an independent entity. It is only the crude
manifestation of the Atman of Soul under the influence of
Prakrti. Similarly energy or force, too, is not an
independent entity either, which is only a crude
manifestation of thought itself under the greater influence
of Prakrti. Matter also is not an independent entity, for it
is the crude manifestation of energy under the greater
influence of Prakrti. Matter is bottled up energy. Prakrti
is the collective name of three gunas or principles, viz.
Sattva (Sentient), Raja (Mutative) and Tamah (Static).With
the result their totality looks somewhat elliptical. No
matter how enormous the Cosmic Circle be, it will appear to
be elliptical and that is why, it is called Brahmanda i.e.,
Brahma (Cosmos) plus anda or egg. Within the Cosmic Circle
every entity imbibes the varied vibrations of diverse small
or big circles, with amble on in a unisonous strain and
concord, keeping intact the immaculate rhythm, tempo,
measure and precision - all modulated and attuned to the
vast global 33 vibration. Their microscopic sensory waves
find their ways of self-expression and development in that
very vast ecumenic vibration. How did this elliptical
universe come into being? The Cosmic Citta is the material
cause of the world. But the mind stuff or citta finds
expression or takes shape only when it feels the touch of
mental vibrations. So we may safely say that this universe
in the manifestation of the Cosmic Citta, born out of
psychic vibrations. The entire Tanmatras of sound, touch,
form, taste and smell that are made of the different kinds
of vibrational currents, resulting form the gradually
crudifying expressions of the Cosmic Consciousness under the
influence of the Static principle are the synthetic
counterparts of those ecumenic rhythms or vibrations. This
visible world is created through the gradual crudification
of His thought-projection. The thoughtwaves, passing from
the subtle to the crude manifestations and then, on their
way back to their nuclear origin form the crude to the
subtle, taking up the mentally developed human form, are
indeed leading the thought-cycles towards the path of their
telic or purposive fulfillment. Since the world is His
thought-projection, it may well be said that this visible
world is only His act of thinking (only a psychic phenomenon
of His), - abides in His act of imagination. Due to the
vibrations of Cosmic Citta these multi-colored, variegated
forms have blossomed forth through the newer and newer
thoughts, forms and waves, following one after the other in
succession. What is imagination? Psychic action of Samvedana
is what is called imagination, isn't it? Every action or
sensation is vibrative. This universe, which is created as
the result of Samvedana of this Cosmic mind, has to move
along in accordance with the Vibrational Law of the
thought-process. The internal coruscation or expression of
the five Tanmatras takes place in the individual mind
through the vibrational flow or projection. Similarly the
Tanmatras are also created through the vibrations of the
Collective Mind or the Cosmic Mind, which the unit within it
receives or holds through its own sensory and motor
endowments and also through its Pranendriya (Five vital
airs, e.g., Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, and Vyana). Let me
state more clearly. The unit receives the different
Tanmatras from the outside world, whose respective
characteristic existences pulsate in that very Supreme Vital
Spirit. What is the nature of this visible world? Each and
every object is moving. Every object of this visible world
is mobile none is immobile. Not a single thing in this world
is stationary. all is progressing. None have even a fraction
of a time to be static. Whether the mind likes it or not or
the Soul wants it or not, yet I have to run after
things-to-come, leaving the present behind - this is
Prakrti's infallible scheme of things. No matter how dear
and endearing one may be to me, I cannot hold one back for
ever. Death with its outreaching, formidable fangs is fast
approaching to snatch my dear one away form me in its
vicious grip. No finite entity is capable of thwarting its
onslaught, for all finite entities are subject to time and
Maya. The essence of all His evolved entities - His
characteristic Self, that remains as the unexpressed witness
only, is alone Supratemporal, i.e., 33 beyond the orbit of
time. The real awakening of the entity depends on its
ability to wake It up and in such a state of awakening, the
question of station or motion, progress or regress does not
arise. I have already said that the relative transposition
of objects is action. An action imbibes motion, rhythm and
vibrations, and out of these vibrations flow the Tanmatras.
The vibrations excited in the psychic body through the
intake of Tanmatras or tendencies corresponding to one's
vrtti or particular bent or modification of the mind, will
be of different or opposite character in the case of
Tanmatras, not corresponding to a particular vrtti. Some
will be pleasant and some will be painful. In common
parlance the easier the intake of the impact of vibrations,
the pleasanter is the effect, and the more difficult the
vibrational intake, the more painful or sorrowful is the
effect. So generally speaking, the sentiment, in which the
citta wants to stay longer, we call happiness (Sukham), and
in which it does not want to stay for long, we call grief
(Duhkham). Even when the object of happiness or sorrow that
comes to us as the result of the past reactive momentum of
our previous lives, creates any great vibration, we are very
often incapable of receiving it at all, rather we fail to be
a match for it. Finding someone in some grave predicament,
we say, "the man's mind is much too hurt. He can pull
himself together, can't he?" At times as the result of a
great shock and due to hypertension of his nervous system
the man dies of heart-failure. Suppose, some one's dearest
relative has died. naturally, this news-vibration will give
his mind a great shock. If his mind possesses even a little
amount of strength to checkmate the inroad of such a
vibration, he will be able to bear it. We call one `a tough
guy', who has greater power of resistance and endurance.
Even if a man, lacking in power of endurance in any
appreciable degree, survives i.e., if his heart does not
stop, his mind will readily stop functioning. We may then
say, the man has become unconscious or is in a coma.
Hysteria in women with weak minds and nerves owes its
recurrence to this vibrational cause to some extent, but we
call it a disease, for the weakness here is a little
excessive. Similar is the impact of happiness. This shock is
also not easy to endure and absorb. If an abjectly poor man
suddenly sees the prospect of getting a lakh of rupees, the
strong vibration of the news and prospect that will arise in
his mind, will violently stir up and agitate his whole
nervous system. Such a highly vibrative news may put an end
to his life. His limited strength may not match against such
vibrational waves. Suppose, your mother is taking her dinner
and at such a time you get the news of her father's death.
She may be motherless and the only daughter of her father.
Naturally she loves her father with all the sweetness of her
heart. Suddenly hearing the news of her father's death,
there will result a great vibration in her mind. Informed of
this news suddenly, her limited strength may not stand up to
that violent vibrational force. In a case like this such a
news should be let known to her gradually and by slow
degrees. By this her mind will be able to gain sufficient
strength to withstand the vehemence of that vibration. You
may start with, "No news from grandpa for quite a long time.
Can't figure out how they are all keeping." On hearing this
an ominous, premonitive vibration will arise in one of the
corners of her 33 mind. Even this you may say after her
dinner is over. Then again after a while, you may add,
"Maybe grandpa is very ill and that is why, there's no
letter." This will further strengthen her mind. then you may
say, "Perhaps he is no more. No wonder quite aged he was,
wasn't he? - Though his life is of great value to us." At
last you break the news slowly and cautiously. The power of
enduring the different kinds of vibrations varies in the
same person as per differences in conditions. so don't you
ever break any news of great joy or great sorrow suddenly to
anyone. First prepare the ground - the right atmosphere for
the mind and then bring the right news to one's kin.
Generally the effect of it is not bad. If you can create the
right type of waves, the strength to stand the strain of
vibrations comes of itself. Similarly, you tell the
aforesaid poor man, "If you get a hundred rupees, what will
you do with the money?" Then you give him the stronger dose,
"If you get a thousand rupees in a lottery, what will you do
with it? In this way you go on creating pleasanter and yet
pleasanter vibrations or waves in his mind - go on
habituating him to more and more shocks of happiness and
then at long last you tell him that he has won a prize of a
lakh of rupees in the lottery. As a result you will then see
that he can keep his head to a great extent. The stamina to
stand vibrations differs in different people. Hence the
degrees of happiness or sorrow also are different in
different people and these differences depend on the
respective mental constitutions. The subtle causes of these
different mental constitutions are their respective acquired
Samskaras or momenta, and their crude causes are their
respective nerve cells, nerve-tissues and glandular
secretions, etc. The sudden vibrational impact on the body
and the mind makes the root causes of the mental structure
react violently, resulting in the stoppage of the cardiac
functions. This also accounts for the death of a man, stuck
by lightning. The sudden contact of the eyes with the streak
of extremely dazzling radiance often results in the total
impairment of vision. If we look at the radiant sun for a
few moments, our visual power gets temporarily stupefied and
we cannot see anything for some time. Similarly when some
very high-pitched, loud report strikes the tympanum or
ear-drum, the power of hearing may be lost. the
apprehensibility of every organ may be stupefied on coming
contact with any violent vibration. Such stupefaction as per
intensity of the vibrational force at times may even be a
permanent reality. Sometimes these hostile vibrations help
to stimulate and restore the power of the organs, stunned
for years. You must have heard of some man, who had been
turned blind or deaf and dumb in his childhood, getting
back, in his advance years, the lost power of his impaired
organs either by the stroke of lightning or by being
suddenly informed of a happy or sad news. In this visible
world you receive Tanmatras or inferential sensibilities in
accordance with your strength and ability. When the
Tanmatric vibration is more powerful than your strength or
capacity, you are unable to receive it. Similarly, when the
vibrational momentum is more flaccid or tardy than your
capacity, you cannot receive it either. If anybody whispers
in a very low tone, you cannot hear him - you are deaf
there. Then again if 3K3 there be a very loud report
somewhere near about, you cannot hear that too, your hearing
gets stunned - you are deaf again. Petty mental afflictions
your nervous system endures will enough and so you don't cry
before people. You also get dazed and bewildered with
excessive grief and still you don't cry before people. You
all have seen a child stops crying in the spell of intense
suffering. We call it, `choked in crying'. In other words
the child is unable to endure the violent sentimental
vibrations of the time. You tolerate a small pain with a
smiling face and people cannot get the scent of it. an
intense pain stuns you into unconsciousness and people do
not get the scent of it. Your pathetic ejaculations of `Ah'
and `Oh' only embellish your intermediate plight. You cannot
perceive the essences of ultra-subtle and ultra-crude
entities. To catch their vibrational waves is beyond your
mental capacity and that is why, you cannot normally feel
their existence and so you don't want to admit them. There
are many such birds and reptiles that can catch the
premonitive vibrations of an event before its actual
materialization. A frog gets the premonition of
pre-indication of rains long before many living beings do.
It catches the antehyetal vibrations beforehand and goes on
croaking the announcement of the prospective happiness to
the four winds. Normally man, however, cannot tell anything
before the rain actually starts, for the requisite subtle
mechanism for catching the pre-rain vibrations is not well
constituted in him. So for pre-hyetal information or
forecast he has to take recourse to meteorology and use a
special type of scientific instrument. A crow has a facile,
premonitive instinct for storm. An owl and, to some, extent,
a dog can sense beforehand the possible occurrence of an
earthquake of some other unforeseen natural calamity or
disturbance of high magnitude. Such power of apprehending
phenomenal vibrations exists not in ten or twenty but in
innumerable members of the avian fraternity. Such a power is
of paramount necessity indeed for survival in their
hyperstrenuous struggle for existence. Such a power did
exist, to some extent, among the prehistoric people. but
today in this age of so called civilization man, becoming
extremely ease-loving, has lost that power through misuse
and lack of necessity, just as have disappeared his tail,
his power of auricular movement, his facile power of holding
things with his feet. Now in the process of extinction are
his shagginess and the strength of his teeth and nails.
Greater the preoccupation of the beings with the struggle
for existence, necessarily greater shall have to be their
aforesaid power of premonition or prescience of impendence
or inevitability or else their existence will be effaced
from the surface of the earth - this is the Law of Nature.
Those that throb in the darkness of the deep sea are verily
blind due to darkness, and hence by Natural Law, just as
their bodies possess the radiating power of bright
vibrations, so, as weapons, some of them have sensitive
back-bones, some have glandular poison jets and some have
magnetic vocal notes. With the help of these they supplement
their lack of visual perception of form-vibrations on one
hand and preserve their own existence on the other by their
subtler acceptance or elimination of a few other Tanmatras
of vibrations. Also the capacity of an instinctively wicked
man for receiving and avoiding vibrations differs a little
from that of 33 an average man. The amount of beating that
endangers the life of an average gentleman, may be easily
born by an instinctively wicked man.Very often he remains
quite nonchalant and unconcerned about the bleeding that
pours out of his cuts and wounds, rather he feels relaxed
and relieved at some such little bleeding like this. Such
people also can understand the hints of Nature beforehand.
In other words in such matters their ways, to some extent,
correspond to those of the sub-human creatures. Yet to
attain such power even a virtuous man has to do Sadhana more
diligently. Living beings receive the vibrations of
Tanmatras according to their respective mental and physical
constitutions. Take, for instance, a very very tiny
substance, an atom or a molecule, whatever you may choose to
call it. From this also do emanate the form-Tanmatras or
vibrations, don't they? But man's eyes normally cannot catch
their vibratiuncles or tiny vibrations due to their
smallness. So man will have to bring them to the visibility
of the sight-organ with the help of a microscope or things
like spectacles or some such instruments will have to be
invented. That is to say, catching the vibrations of these
things is beyond the capacity of the lowest apprehensive
power of the human sensory organs. The remote floating notes
or inarticulate vocal notes may not be caught normally by
your ears. For these you will have to take the help of a
microphone and a loud speaker. In other words catching these
notes is beyond the range of the lowest apprehensive power
of your ear-organ. There are several tiny creatures that
have capacity for utterance. They are hovering and wandering
about you and yet you cannot catch their notes. You cannot
catch the voice of Calcutta with your crude acoustic power
but through the Radio you can catch it very easily i.e.,
your Radio Receiver has far greater power than yours to
catch the distant soundwaves. These ethereal sound-waves
your auditory power normally cannot catch but your Radio
can. You receiver form the aerial vibrations after what has
at first been received by the Wireless Apparatus and
projected or transmitted by it for the second time into the
sea of air. so it is perfectly clear that there are
distinctive differences in the vibrational apprehensions of
different instruments, and men and animals receive Tanmatras
in accordance with the respective capacities of their
different sensory mechanisms. Form: Through our proper and
studied analyses we arrive at yet another truth and that is,
you can make a diagram, by a special linear device, or every
kind of vibrations and you can tolerably and normally see
also with your eyes through and with the help of a proper
instrument. For example, you have the soundwaves recorded in
a Gramaphone record, and just because that form is not
beyond the capacity of your organ's vibrational
apprehension, you can see those lines on the record with
your crude eyes. Then again after vibrating those forms in
the air by a special device and creating the sound waves for
the second time you apprehend the sound with the help of
your ear-organ. Has what you see with your eyes, alone got a
form and not the others? No, such a conception is wrong. All
have forms. Every Tanmatra is blended with a form and this
form is the resultant of the vibrational expressions.
Looking at this vast Cosmic citta-entity, which we call
Cosmos, we exclaim in utter bewilderment, "O how vast!" 33
This, too, has a form - this, too, is the resultant of
vibrations. Because of its vastness this Citta-entity is
called formless. Its form has no limit. It is limitless not
because it has neither the beginning nor the end alone, but
its every infinitesimal fraction is sailing merrily along
through innumerable forms - through many vibrational poises,
towards that inconceivable glory of the Sea of forms. It is
a passing show - a panorama of moving Phenomena - a changing
reality. This vast vibration of the Supreme Spirit, this
unthinkable poise of the Supreme Exultation - this
thought-projection of the metempiric Entity, your ordinary
organs cannot apprehend. You have no power to apprehend this
vast form. YOur sight-organ cannot apprehend the vibrations
of this super-form nor your crude ears have any power to
catch its vast sound-waves. sound is where vibration is. The
world is His thought-projection. Imagination has vibration
and so with it there is sound also. But the amount of
self-development that is required to catch that
supra-mundane sound is generally lacking in man. So long as
he is conscious of his inferiority or of his individuality,
he cannot catch any of the vibrations of the Great in the
fullest measure, since all powers of individuals are limited
more or less. You can feel any object by touch but you
cannot say, "I am touching the Supreme Brahma." YOu do not
have that feeling capacity, for the power that is required
to touch Him is not so manifest in you. The vibration of the
vast Cosmic Citta that has been going on through eternity is
called Onunkara. This sound shall continue eternally without
a break. You have been hearing so many kinds of sound, yet
you are unable to catch that eternal sound, which is the
nucleus or seed of all sounds. To hear this sound or to
apprehend its waves a very very powerful instrument will be
necessary. The acoustic mechanism that you have in your body
at present is deplorably too weak for the purpose. Your
instrument of hearing should be immeasurably more powerful
than any Radio, catching the sound-waves from the air. Since
this weak, modern instrument is quite incapable of
apprehending that sound, you are in doubt about the
existence of such a phenomenon. But in order to receive the
vibrations of the Infinite, you shall have to identify your
citta or mind and all your organs with that Infinite. Then
alone you will be able to keep yourself merged in the
Supreme Vibrational Exultation, surging through your
theopathic trance. It is only when your ego and His attain
the unicity that you can know and hear His mind - can have
the empathic experience and apprehend His sound with every
molecule of your entity. Your unit-mind will merge in the
Cosmic MInd. In that auspicious moment when your `I' and the
Cosmic `I' will meet in the great reunion, all your
egotistic frivolities, fevers and frets will cease. An
inexhaustible stream of symphony will then be flowing afloat
in the great void. Now the question may arise whether the
different varieties of sound that are arising in and from
the universe, are the same or different form those of the
Cosmic Mind. Are your footprints, when you walk the mute
witness of your silence or are they eloquent of your
motivity? What you eat is also sonorific. Every small or big
action of your life, - every epithymetic clash or every
clash of vrttis (desires) - every venous vibration, is 33
eloquent of a language. Sapless, tranquil mountain ranges,
streams and currents of rivers, density of forests - none
are mute, none are silent. They are all absorbed in an
inexpressible, sempiternal, sonorific meditation. One who
has ears, alone hears them. None of these sounds is apart
from that Cosmic Sound - from that boundless Sonic
manifestation. All are Its inseparable flows. All sounds are
the manifestations of one and the same Onunkara. Through
circumstantial analyses of this one Onunkara we have been
receiving or treating Its different manifestations as
different types of sound. Take, for instance, a village
marketplace. What will you hear from a distance? A medley of
howls, isn't it? But you saunter close to it and you will
notice that that jargon has been analyzed into different
clearly obvious and meaningful sentences or words: `Give me
a seer of brinjals'. `Your potatoes are too small', and
such-like various sounds. The sum-total of these utterances
jargons into a howl. Just as all the sounds of the
market-place have been unified into one howlcarrying
sound-wave - just as all have blended their respective
thought-waves into one howl, similarly all the sounds of the
universe are implanted in one Onunkara. Onunkara is the
unified form of all sounds. Onunkara alone is the sperm of
all. I have already sad that every action is vibrative and
so every sensation of Cosmic Citta is vibrational. Among the
vibrational Tanmatras the first and the subtlest is the
sonic Tanmatra. That is why, this Sonic Tanmatra is the
first stage of crudification of the subtle abstractional
sphere leading to this crude world. Onunkara is the initial
manifestation or the first super-sonic expression of the
Cosmic Citta. That is why, it is called Shabda-Brahma or
Sonic Consciousness. Just as I have told you something about
the Sound in the Supreme Being, something may also be said
about different other Tanmatras. Take, for example,
Tanmatras of touch. When you touch some individual object,
you derive some particular pleasure out of it. This pleasure
is derived by your individual ego., for it contains the
power of touching that particular object. But your
individual ego never says, `I am touching Brahma'. In order
to get His touch, your power of touch has to be transported
to the realm of infinity and in such an event if the petty
`I' be made to lose itself in the Infinite `I' or the Cosmic
`I', then alone one can be conscious of that Cosmic `I'.
When you touch any object for your own pleasure (generally
you do touch an object for pleasure's sake), your ego also
gets enthralled or limited in the hope of enjoying that
particular object, whereby you deprive yourself of the
pleasure of Cosmic contact. So now you understand that so
long as you crave for your own selfish happiness, the
happiness of Cosmic touch will continue to elude you. so
take your petty `I' with all its pettiness towards the Great
- enlarge and broaden it. Be one with that Sublime Entity
and then alone you can really attain Him. When you will
attain that Cosmic Bliss, you will not get any fragmentary
pleasure of the world. In the waves of that Great when your
entire entity will be saturated through and through with the
nectar, can then your existence be a separate entity? Can
the waves of smallness or the like vibrations ever overwhelm
you? Now the question arises: will man give up all his
secular occupations after the attainment of the Brahmic
happiness? Why should he? The man, whose every trend of life
is saturated with the nectarean cordial of Cosmic Bliss,
will go on doing more neatly and more beautifully all the
secular works as the coveted assignment of Brahma Himselfas his own selfappointed tasks. He will not bother about his
own happiness or pleasure in any work. For the collective
happiness of the universe he will go on doing every work
properly, flawlessly and scrutinisingly, for the
collectiveness of the universe is the Life of his life, the
Soul of his soul - Brahma. He will use his insignificant ego
as an aid to the happiness of the Great Ego:
Milk-maids forget their weal and woe, For Krsna's joy
they reap and sow.
SS3-2B.SS
All, save Him, doth repugnant seem. Their purest love
for His happiness trim. -Caetanya Caritamrta.
And what is the result? A Sadhaka (spiritual
aspirant), forgetting his own happiness and sorrow, goes on
doing the desired works of Brahma, does not want anything
for himself - wants only to give Him happiness. But queer
are the ways of God! As the result of such platonic love the
Sadhaka himself tastes of inexhaustible happiness and feels
himself fortunate. He feels in the heart of hearts as to how
valued even his insignificant ego is as a tool of His grace.
The sight of Milk-maids, Krsna's joy Multifold more
doth they enjoy. -Krsnadasa Kaviraja.
The human mind, small as it is, cannot apprehend the
Tanmatras of the Supreme Perfection collectively. In order
to give up his `I'-ness, that is to say, he shall have to
merge his petty I-feeling in the Great I-feeling. How is
this petty `I'? It is as though a pot, full of water in a
pond. Now, if the water of the pot is to be made one or
unified with that of the pond (actually both the waters are
intrinsically one), the intervening pot between the two
waters has to be removed. After the removal of the pot,
there will remain no distinction between the water of the
pot and the water of the pond - both become one.
Water in jar and jar in water Waters both, yet
separate surge; None but wise can see through better Let jar
break and waters merge. -Kaviira
The causal factor of this apparent distinction between
Brahma and the unit is this pot or the mind of the trivial
`I'. If Brahma is sky, then the petty `I' is the jar-like
sky-let. The merger of these vast sky and sky-let is the
final realization fulfillment of all desires - the eternal
death.
Proud of ken, as vast as sky, Knoweth ye, fool, thou,
shadow of High Body thine but an earthen pot Breaketh unto
dust, its final lot. -Ramaprasada.
If a toy of salt goes to measure the sea, it will melt
into it. Neither can it measure nor will it ever return. Its
existence will merge in the vastness of the sea, absolving
itself to take the form of a sea, one will have to become
sea itself. There is no any other go. None of His qualities
knows any limit. Prima facie those that are His fragmentary
manifestations are all passing through unlimited forms, due
to His non-stop thoughtprocess. None of them is an end in
itself. So none can hold them 383 also in possession
permanently. Transformation means shunning of the old form,
willingly or unwillingly, or you will have to forget your
acquaintance with the new - both conditions are unnatural.
The long and short of the whole thing is that He is
Infinite. If you want to realize His characteristic Self,
you have got to earn limitlessness yourselves. COLOR:
Amongst vibrations, whereby this visible world is evolved,
color occupies the second important place after the
Sound-Tanmatra. All forms in this universe are colorific.
The distinction between things is indeed discernible through
colors. Color is indicative of the attributional disparity.
The triple qualitative Saguna Brahma is also colory.
Although Sentient in essence, He is the combination of the
three binding factors, viz., Sattva (Sentient), Rajah
(Mutative) and Tamah (Static). Whenever there is an excess
of Sattva in some particular conceptual entity, the eminent
vibrations will necessarily be Sentient and the thing or
idea will present itself indeed through the media of these
waves. If you see or apprehend those Sentient vibrations
with your eyes or through any means, you will find that they
have created whiteness in your mental plate (Citta), i.e.,
you see them all white before your mind's eye. Now you
understand the significance of color in reference to the
quality. The color vibration is verily indicative of
attribute - predictive of quality. Sattva is white, Rajah is
red and Tamah is black. The more the degree of purity, the
more the predominance of Sattva, - the whiter is the effect
in proportion. That is why, in India whiteness and purity
are often used synonymously. What is this white color? White
is no color, combination of all the colors is white. What is
black color? Black is no color, want of color is black. That
is why, blackness is the emblem of passivity. It is the
reflection of the Static Force. It is due to the lack of
vibrations or the inability to apprehend them that a thing
appears as black. In darkness form-Tanmatras lack
vibrational expression and so we see everything black in
darkness. Difference in forms means difference in colors.
While Tamah is the prototype of passivity - a dark ravine,
Sattva is diametrically opposite. although Saguna Brahma is
triple qualitative, Sattva is dominant in Him. That is why,
His color is superwhite in the eyes of a Sadhaka.
Hiranmaye pare kosam virajam brahma niskalam
Tacchubhram jyotisam jyotistad yadatmavidoviduh.
-Atharvaveda.
But the question arises: Is Purusa or Cosmic
Consciousness characteristically colory? No. All colors
belong to Prakrti. You do not apprehend the color of that
Purusa. He is beyond all colors.
Sa ekovarno bahudha shaktiyogat Varnananekan
nihitartho dadhati Vicaeti cante vishvamadao saevah Sa no
buddhya shubhaya samyunaktu. -Yajurveda.
He Himself is colorless. We cannot draw him in any
color. He has, however, set forth several colors with the
active help of Prakrti. Through His force of Prakrti's
Sentient, Mutative and Static forces are created white, red
and black colors respectively. That omnibenevolent Entity is
essential `Sentient' - intrinsically white. This white
consists of VIBGYOR or the seven colors, viz., violet,
indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. The universe is
the play of these colors. It is as though the Septi-colored
Rainbow of the Sun-ray, reflected in water the heliacal
Septi-colors or the `Seven Horses' of the Puranas. Human
mind is partial to appearances or form-Tanmatras and it is
color that impresses it most. Recall to your mind well, when
you get attracted to any object, doesn't its form attract
you most? Chromatics is a wonderful science. The affinity of
colors determines the affinity between object and object,
animal and animal and between man and man. Due to this
chromatic affinity we fall for an unknown man, even though
we are not conversant with his nature, and avoid him due to
lack of it. You must have noticed in your individual lives
that you like a man quite easily without any apparent reason
and you hesitate to accept or associate with a man, in spite
of extensively publicized panegyrics about him. Behind this
exists the same chromatic play, which you do feel but cannot
often explain. I have already told you that the Sentient
principle is `white'. So the man in whose mind rise the
`white' waves we call Sattvagunii (`Sentient'), popularly
known as Vipravarna (literally Brahminic Color). The
Mutative principle is `red'. So the man in whose mind often
rise `red' waves, we call Rajogunii (Mutative). Due to the
existence of greater crudeness in redness and the Mutative
force, the `Mutative' mind is more partial to crude
activities than the `Sentient' one. such `Mutative' or
Rajogunii men are popularly known as Ksattriya Varna or the
color of energy, war and valor. The Sentient principle is
cognitive. The Mutative principle is energetic and virile.
Vaeshyavarna (the color of the trading class) is concerned
with activities much cruder than those of Vipra and
Ksattriya. Here the yellowish waves dominate the mental
plate (citta), which are born of the combined influence of
Mutative and Static principles. The yellowish citta
indicates the character of Vaeshyavarna. He whose citta is
superlatively influenced by the Static principle, has
naturally more inertness than any other. He has neither the
knowledge of the `Sentient' nor the valor of the `Mutative'
nor the capacity for activating things (objectivism), worthy
of Mutato-Static principles. This `Static' inertness or
passivity is sooty or blackish. Those whose minds have
blackish preponderance are popularly known as shudras or the
Servile class. Here all the colors are dependent on the
mental waves and according to these waves man is known as
Brahmin, Ksattriya, Vaeshya or Shudra. But then any man can
achieve Vipravarna by dint of Sadhana (spiritual austerity).
In order to change the form of vibrations, it is necessary
to change the order of mental leaning or trend. From the
Puranas we know that King Vishvamitra was a Ksattriya in the
early part of his life. He attained the Brahmanic qualities
through Sadhana. Lord Krsna's father, Vasudeva was a
Ksattriya Varna. His relative Nanda of Gokul was a
Vaeshyavarna and he earned his living through dairy-farming.
Again another of his relatives, Garga Muni, was a Vipravarna
(The 33 child was christened Krsna by the last named
person). Reflection or indication of color is most glaring
in form-Tanmatras. Color is just a hue. But then it will not
be right to say that color is found only in the
form-Tanmatras. Where there is vibration there is Tanmatra.
If a proper instrument is used, color as well as a subtle
mental form in every wave or vibration must be detected, for
every vibration is diagrammatically moving along. Where a
line is, a form must necessarily be there, mustn't it?
According to the rhythm of the vibration sound must also be
there. Variation in rhythm will cause variation in sound and
color also. The radiated vibration of an object in the day
will be quite different from that of the same object in the
night due to differences in the light-waves and so the
object appear to your eyes differently. Why? Because it
changes its color. Since the mundane waves are mainly
dependent on the sun, the vibration-bearing capacity of
man's nervous system and also its waves vary as per presence
and absence of the sun in the sky. Day imposes `Mutative'
influence on the human nerves and Night, Static influence,
causing inertness of sleep in man's body and mind. The time
of sun-rise, sun-set and meridian brings about a `Sentient'
transparency in the citta (mind) - a time which we call mean
time of evening (Sandhya). Now you understand, how great is
the vibrational influence with regard to the variability of
color, sound and mood. People are naturally disposed to such
influences. Ladies are not partial to making choice of
expensive Sarees or cloths at night, for the color is not
then correctly discernible. We apprehend the phonic as well
as alphabetic differences quite accurately due to these
vibrational differences only. The differences in Svaravarnas
(vowels) and Vyainjanavarnas (consonants) are also wholly
dependent on the differences in their vibrational
characteristics and waves, which finally end in the vowel
`a' (varna) (In Samskrta language alphabets are called
varnas or colors and all the consonants end in the first
vowel `a'). So you see that Varna-Paricaya (the First Book
of Alphabets) means acquaintance with color and this color
is, of course, the color of vibration. The Giita also says
that the four Varnas are evolved from the differences of
attributes and activities. The differences in attributes
account for the differences in activities and the
differences in activities account for the differences in
colors. With the change of attribute and activity
(occupation) the color will also change. Hence the
distinction of Varna in social life is not an unchangeable
or inviolable institution. You have evolved this on the
bases of your activities and through your activities indeed
you can also change it. Paramatma or Saguna Brahma is a
beginningless, endless, continuous flow. He is also the
Super-Ocean of essences or flows. You, with your limited
capacity, cannot see or apprehend this ocean in its
entirety. You only temporarily receive one or the other of
His limited unit-manifestations, which you perceive with
your mind through the help of its concomitant, significative
sound, don't you? You know, such a unit-entity is not the
whole Brahma. He is beginningless and endless and the only
way open for you to be so is to merge your insignificant `I'
in the Great `I'. It is only in such a condition that you
will know His characteristic Self- attain clairvoyance and
clairaudience of His characteristic Self with the help of
your inner intellect, that is to say, you will recognize
your Real Entity in your own original Seity or self-hood.
Always remember, "Where `I' is, `He' is not, where `He' is,
`I' is not." Incidentally a question may arise as to why
Ananda Marga does not support iconolatry or idolatry. You
will have to realize the interminable flow of joy. You will
have to lead your own consciousness to that blissful state.
How on earth can you expect to apprehend that indeterminate
flow, that endless essential flow through the particular
influence of a limited object? In iconolatry the tendency of
the human mind being efferent or out-going, man gradually
degrades himself or recedes from the thought of the
supra-temporal Supreme Entity. His efferent mental tendency
gradually runs after the crude and as the result of his
persistent pursuit of a crude object he himself becomes
gradually inert. Discarding all vagaries of pleasure and
pain man has to progress towards immortality - towards the
Touchstone (of Absolute Bliss) from the mortal world - the
attainment of which is the attainment of everything. His
course of movement should be towards the calm tranquility of
his soul, forsaking the humdrum of the exterior. He will not
be able to attain it so long as he keeps himself engaged
with an idol, sensible through Indriya-vrttis of sensual
moods. He will proceed more and more towards inertness or
negativity, meshing himself with the worldly bondage, and
take to obliquity and retrogression, instead of reaching the
ultimate goal of introversion of the evolutionary flow. His
Cosmic ideal will get blurred in the darkness of petty
desires. Misled in the illusory sports, he will lose sight
of the Master Sportsman - he will lose his Mother behind the
toys. In the Padma Purana Visnu says to
Shiva,
Svagamaeh kalpitaestvainca janan madvimukhan kuru.
Mainca gopaya yena syad srstiresottarottara.
`Oh Shiva! you have turned the people away from me by
dint of your imaginary scriptures (Agama). By keeping me
hidden from the eyes of the people, the life of creation is
going on increasing". The worship of the crude (Idolatry)
makes the worshiper crude, whereby it is the beastly
sentiment that gets stimulated. It is as though a child`s
game going on in the name of Brahma. The Tantra says,
Balakriidanavat sarvam rupanamadikalpanam Kevalam
Brahmanistho yah samuktonatra samshayah.
Worshiping a unit-object as Paramatma is nothing short
of a child's play. Living beings can achieve Salvation only
through worshiping Brahma.
Na muktirtapanaddhomadupavasah shataerapi
Brahmaevahamiti jinatva muktobhavati dehabhrt. -Tantra
By observing such ceremonial fasts or austerities like
Ekadashii (eleventh day of the lunar month) today or Purnima
33 (full-moon) tomorrow or by religious sacrifices (Homa)
Brahma will never be realized. Physical units can achieve
salvation only through true knowledge alone. true knowledge
never recognizes such superficial rites and rituals as a
means of attaining Brahma. But of course if anybody observes
austerity or fast, to some extent, for his physical
well-being, it is not bad, but certainly not as a means of
attaining Brahma. Is not the idol, which he worships wholly
an outcome of the idolator's flighty imagination? That which
is purely human conception - that which owes its form to the
handicraft of a potter or an image-maker, is nothing but a
crude object. No matter what its subtle emotional
manifestations be, its foundation is crude. Right before
your eyes it gets distorted, rotten and destroyed. How can
this vulnerable object, born of your imagination, give you
salvation?
Manasakalpitamurirnrnam cenmoksasadhanii
Svapnalabdhena rajyena rajano manavastada. -Tantra
That is, the image is born out of your own
imagination. How can it give you salvation? In the world of
reality it has no existence at all and so it has no power of
activity. If anybody gets a kingdom in dream, does he become
a king in the real sense?
Mrcchiladhatudarvadi murtaviishvarabaddhaya
Klishyantastapasa jinanam bina moksam na yanti te. -Tantra.
Can you bind God to an image, made of clay, rocks,
metal or wood, invoking and infusing life into it by canting
mantras for show? What to speak of the image which is but a
small thing, even the temple is larger than that and Brahma
is yet larger than the temple - beginningless and endless.
The image, the temple all are within Him. How can anyone
bind Him wholly? such idolatry will lead you to sufferings.
so long as you do not grasp the Intuitional Science,
thoroughly, your troubles will not be over. So you see,
idolatry is not only not recognized in the Puranas as the
best way of worship, rather it has been opposed by them as
well. Some say that at the incipient stage they will worship
an image for the concentration of the mind and then give up
the practice gradually later on. Such a mental tendency is
not right, for you will get eventually attached to the image
and it will be very difficult to tide over the resultant
Samskara (acquired momentum) of that attachment. You must
have noticed at home how attached you get to your cats and
dogs after having kept them for sometime as your pets.
Imagine, how very difficult it will be for you to give up
that image, which you have worshiped as your accomplishable
God with all the sweetness of your heart. So from the very
start it is best not to go in for image-worship. Just as a
flood after its recession leaves behind a mark on the bank
(i.e., the border line of its occupation), the staunch
idolworshiper, too, finds it painful to get over that
impress - that mark - that Samskara, in spite of having
learnt the worship of Brahma and earned the ability for
Nirvikalpa Samadhi or indeterminate concentration. You will
find in the biography of a recent great Sadhaka, who had to
face a somewhat similar difficulty. So is it not wise to
take precaution, while there is still time. 3N3 Only
opposition to idolatry is not enough. The worship of Brahma
should be and must be performed scrupulously, or else you
will have to repent afterwards. Let none express the
futility of his life with the last drop of his tears at the
last hour. One should make one's life worthwhile through
one's own Sadhana. What or how little will or can your
secular friends and relations do for you? After your death
your near relations may perhaps ask, "what amount of money
has he left behind?" Your friends may go up to the
Crematorium, indulging in flattering, plauditory
reminiscences about you. Your wife may cry for you for about
ten or twelve days and then come back to her normal
composure. Your share will be only a heavy subdued sigh - a
record of meaningless reminiscences of your futility and
frustration. So don't while away your time, lest a wise man
like you may have to repent in tears -Fruitless, O Lord,
hath been my life That sang not, Oh, of glories Thine; Lost
in the worldly rueful strife Lost Thee, alas, Ye
Treasure-Mine. Fate's long portentous hand With compassion,
cold and daft, Strayed me out of Thy Love's strand,
Deprived, alas of a single draught.
People may ask, "We are ordinary people. If we always
keep ourselves absorbed in Brahmic thought, can we properly
attend to our mundane duties?" To this my reply is, "Of
course you can and can do them more beautifully." In the
worship of Brahma there is a method or hint as to how very
easily, simply and beautifully every bit of worldly duties
is to be performed. For Brahmic meditation a man does not
have to be a hermit of the forest. The only stipulation
being: Only go on behaving rightly and properly with every
Brahmic manifestation of this elliptical universe, remove or
rectify the mental disease of the criminals, penalize or
prescribe some other reformative remedies, cure the sick or
their sickness, attend to them and arrange for their
medicines and diet. Just remember only this that you have to
behave properly and reasonably with all - with every entity
of this world. Pay special attention to the word,
`Properly'. By `proper behavior', I mean in which there is
nether anger nor jealousy, neither attraction nor aversion.
You are in a vast, limitless sea of Rasa or essences. A
never-ending, radiant wave of manifestations is surging
within and without you and radiating through all the ten
directions about you. There are indescribable, vibrational
expressions of small, big, accented, unaccented, eternally
flowing thought-waves. Behave rightly and reasonably with
every expression, every manifestation of the Cosmic Mind.
But always bear in mind the One, Who is the basic factor of
these diverse kinds of vibrational manifestations. Train
yourselves in the ideal of the Lily, which blossoms in the
mud and has to keep itself engaged in the struggle for
existence day in and day out, parrying, bracing, and
fighting through the shocks of muddy water and forces of
storms and squalls and sundry other vicissitudes of fortune
and yet it does not forget the moon above. It keeps its love
for the Moon constantly alive. Prima facie however, it is
but a most ordinary 33 flower. There is nothing
extraordinary about it. Still this most ordinary little
flower is in a romantic tie with the great moon. It has kept
all its desires riveted to the moon. Similarly, maybe you
are an ordinary creature - maybe you have to pass your days
through the ups and downs of your worldly existence, still
don't forget that Parama Shreya - that Supreme Preference.
Keep all your desires inclined towards Him. Always keep
yourselves merged in His thought. Get deep into the mood of
that Infinite Love. By this your worldly occupation will not
be hampered in any way.
Farther from Moon, yet nearer to him Lily unquelled by
her troubles grim; So's Radha's love for her Krsna trim Her
hand to work and heart to him.
No matter what circumstances you are in, don't lose
sight of that Great anywise. Degradation is impossible for
one, who has accepted the Supreme Being as one's life's
ideal. Accepting mean ideal or indulging in mean thoughts
only begets mean vibrations in the citta, as the result of
which you will have to take rebirth in lower species in
order to suffer those mean-vibrations in your citta. A man
of King Bharata's caliber also had to take rebirth as a
deer, because at the time of his death he had been deeply
anxious about a fawn. Nevertheless I would say, no matter
what you are at present or what you may possibly be in
future, don't digress form the ideal of the Great on any
account. You cannot afford to stray even a step away from
the path of realization of the Absolute Bliss. Ananda Marga
or the path leading to eternal bliss, is the only path for
you.
No matter whether myself a man Or beast or bird or
insect be Through virtue or sin, as Thy plan. Takest my all
but mind for Thee. - Vidyapati
No matter what I become as the consequence of my
deeds, man beast or insect, let not my mind forget you.
Candidasa has said
O friend of mine, sublime and kind Words fail to
utterance find In life and death in pleasure and pain
Through every life be my Lord again.
Whatever be the consequence of past deeds, upliftment
is guaranteed, if unflagging zeal for attaining Brahma is
there. Don't look back, look forward. Don't take small
conceptual object for your worship. Go in for a lofty
concept for your contemplation. If you love Him, if your
love be genuine for Him, you shall ever remain in a Elysian
exuberance. Pain will then mean nothing to you nor will
happiness either. If movement be towards the Great, if ardor
be for the Great, I would call it Prema or Divine Love. The
attraction between one abject and another is always
chromatic, i.e., of Raga or color. The word, raga, is
derived from the root, `Ranj', which means dyeing. The
abiding constancy of the Raga is called Anuraga, which means
to dye one's mind with 33 the color of that self-same Entity
or get concolorous with It. Nothing fruitful will result
through dyeing one's clothes with the saffron color for
show. Dye within. People of some particular religious creeds
think that dyeing without, i.e., dyeing clothes or bodies in
a particular shade of color, is a part of religious Sadhana
or practice. But remember, these are all useless, unless you
have a smear within also. Can a man become a Shudra only
through wearing a dark dress or a Vipra through white
garments? You apply your own judgment and see for
yourselves. Mahatma Kaviira used to say
Saffron and red not a yogii make With mind undyed he
remains a fake.
You get your mind dyed with His color. He who has not
done so, cannot attain Him, for this very coloration is
Prema or Divine Love. The difference in color is
distinction, the reverse of it is identity. No external sign
of Sadhuta or virtue is necessary. Become Sadhu within.
Behind this external show of virtuousness exists a pharisaic
state of mind. Preserve the dignity of the word, Sadhu.
With shaven head or matted locks And body ashed a
Sadhu walks In swaggering gait of a buffalo fed With mind
all rot in worthless head.
That is why, I sat, bring about a revolutionary change
in the trend of your judgment and thought and see how your
mind gets tinged with His glorious color, after getting over
the fascination for external colors. In the Ananda Marga way
of Sadhana the method of negation of inferior concepts or
tendencies, and appropriation of color of the Great is
beautifully elucidated through Pratyahara Yoga (Retractive
Yoga) or Varnarghyadana (the offering of colors). Every man
has a particular fancy for one or the other activity, for no
sooner his mind gets attracted to an object than his fancy
or fascination naturally hinges on the color of that object.
You retract your mind from the color of that object and get
yourselves dyed in His color by offering Him the captivating
color of the object that keeps you so attracted or attached.
this is the real Pratyahara Yoga or the Retractive Yoga. The
Pratyahara means to `withdraw', i.e. withdrawing or
retracting the mind from the object. The main object of your
Spring or Color Festival (Basantotsava) is not playing with
external colors. It is meant for the offering of the colors
of different individual objects to Him, which have dyed or
stained the mind. When this practice of offering your own
colors - your own fancies, will become feasible and easy,
you will then merge in Him. Then you will have no need for
any color. You will become colorless. You will go beyond the
reach of any color. Your unit-ego will become one with the
Cosmic Ego. The two will become A Single Entity. Whichever
way you turn your eyes, you will see only Him in His
every-surging glory. There is no `I' nor `you'. By an
everlasting, mutual pact the final curtain will have fallen
against all clashes of `I' and `you'. At that stage if you
call Parama Brahma by `I', you are right in calling Him so;
if you call Him by `HE', you are equally right; if you call
Him by `you', again you are right to the same 33 extent. The
amount of your attainment of Him will be proportionate to
your self-surrender. Remember, you have to offer your own
entity - not money, rice, plantain or other crude objects or
things. The give-and-take of crude things is a business
transaction. If you want to attain Brahmic Bliss, offer your
own soul. If you want to have the Great `I', give away your
own little `I'. You have got to give full sixteen annas (the
full rupee). Giving fifteen annas and holding back one anna
will not do. Complete surrender's the word. For the
attainment of that Omneity with the help of your mental
application and strength you have got to surrender
yourselves. Remember, self-surrender does not mean suicide.
On the contrary, your soul will have its full expression.
Your seity will not get contracted, for contraction or
contractility is inert in principle. Hence in the Sadhana of
Self-Surrender the ego gets expanded, not contracted. In the
Mahabharata when Duhshasana was drawing the Saree of
Draopadii, she was tightly holding the cloth (Sari) of her
umbilical region with one hand and invoking Lord Krsna with
the other, "Come, O Lord, to my rescue." But the Lord did
not then come forward to save her from shame. When Draopadii
found no means of escape, she then gave up the grip of her
gremial cloth and appealed to the Lord most piteously with
her both hands out-stretched, "O Lord, I surrender my all to
you. Do what you think fit and proper." The Lord immediately
rescued her. That is why, I say that you will have to
dedicate yourselves to His feet wholly and unreservedly. You
will earn godliness in proportion to the extent you
surrender yourselves, and finally, after merging that
acquired godliness of yours in His Entity, you will attain
eternal Bliss. God bless you. Phalgunii Purnima , 1956
SS3-3A.SS
BLISS AND PLEASURE
The subject of my discourse today will be Brahma
Vijinana or The Intuitional Science of the Krsna Yajurveda.
There is an educative story in the Kathopanisada of Krsna
Yajurveda. I will tell you something from this story, which
discusses mainly Para and Apara (Introversive and
Extroversive Knowledge) and Shreya (bliss) and Preya
(Pleasure). Naciketa, the son of King Vajashravas, had been
to Yama, the God of Death, to learn Brahma Vijinana or
Intuitional Science. Yamaraja did not at first want to teach
it to him but afterwards being impressed by his ardent zeal
he went on slowly unfolding the theory. By way of
elucidating the difference between Introversive Knowledge
and Extroversive Knowledge as well as between Bliss and
Pleasure, Yamaraja says
Anyacchreynyadutaeva preyaste ubhe nanarthe
Purusamsiniitah Tayoshreya adadanasyasadhu bhavati
hiiyaterthad Ya u preyovrniite
Shreya and Preya are both completely contrary in
principle. But in spite of their being at variance, their
bifold influences are sometimes discernible on the human
mind at the same time. The mixed influence of these two
agitates the human mind simultaneously and the man, who ,
without having discerned the implication of this agitation,
falls for the Sadhana of Preya (pleasure), distracts himself
from his Paramartha of spiritual goal. Artha means that
which effects the cessation of pain. This cessation is of
two kinds - one is momentary or temporary and the other,
permanent. In temporary cessation the possibility of
recurrence of pain is not extinct, i.e., with the removal of
the temporary cause of the cessation the previous state of
pain comes back again. That which causes the momentary or
temporary cessation of pain is called `Artha' and that which
causes its permanence, i.e., destroys pain by the root or
consumes it with its seed, is called Paramartha. The Preya
or the extroversive tendency gives man `Artha' or temporary
pleasure and relief, but keeps him away from Paramartha from spiritual bliss and aspiration. But Shreya is
essentially benevolent, whereby pain ceases for good and
that is why, it is called Paramartha. Preya is an accessory
to mental enjoyment only, not a means of self-expression or
expansion of one`s soul. Suppose, someone is hungry. Well,
in such a case food-like preya will help appease his
hunger-like pain momentarily, but will it be appeased fully
or for good? Today after having some sweets the palatal and
digestive functions may be suspended and hunger satiated for
the time being, but tomorrow you will find that hunger is
its hungry self again. Try by giving the coveted amount of
money to a man, who is `hungry' for money. Will his greed
cease? He will only get a temporary satisfaction but he will
continue to nourish this `hunger' in his mind. so is the
case with crude medicines. A patient is cured for the time
being but not permanently. That an 363 ailment, once gone,
ever returns, is not substantiated by fact. So, you see, by
Preya we understand, that which provides the wherewithal for
apparent happiness. Even a wise man, in spite of his
knowledge that such fleeting happiness is only short-lived,
runs after it, because man in general is not far-sighted. he
is concerned only with the near future. In spite of having a
presentiment of some contingency in the distant future he
likes to keep himself somewhat humored in oblivion. He likes
to keep himself absorbed in the rage of the present and the
dream of the near future. Such is human nature in general.
He prefers to grab anything good or bad that comes his way,
leaving the consequence for his future consideration,
instead of proceeding firmly and meticulously for the
achievement of success in some long-range deal. Take a
Government servant for instance. If he, conscious of his
rights, goes on discharging his duties honestly, his
promotion is ensured. By such an act of his he will not only
do good to himself, he will benefit both the Government and
the mass as well. But for want of proper moral education and
mental strength many such servants have been found to be
failing in resisting the temptation of immoral
gratifications or bribes out of greed for the happiness at
hand. He does not want to take into account his good name
and future prospect, which he treats as something remote.
Rather he tries to harm those, who are honest and
conscientious workers, considering them to be fools or
enemies. I think, you must have understood this also that
only those, that are very much afraid of the possible woes,
are running after happiness at hand. It is the weak-minded
man that goes in for Preya Sadhana on account of his
cowardly mind. This human fear - this fear of approaching
sorrow is the root of all evils. This fear is the only
stumbling block in the way of his advancement. If you offer
neem (margosa) to a boy, suffering from ascarides (worms),
he will refuse to take it. He may be knowing that neem will
cure him of his worm troubles radically still he will not
take it, because he is reluctant to suffer the immediate
kick of it - he is afraid of its repulsive bitter taste
(Pain), whereas he will gladly want to take sugar, for it
will give him a momentary satisfaction. Sugar is his Preya.
he does not know or even if he knows, he cannot think that
this very sugar will become the cause of more trouble for
him - that this will aggravate his disease. The road to
Preya is an easy one and that is why, man runs after it
stretches out his longing hands towards it at ease. But this
Preya, which was once gained with a little or without
difficulty, will one day recoil on him with the fiery
scourge of a hundred scorpion stings. Slandering or
malicious gossip is a difficult mental malady. but do you
know why those that suffer from this malady, give indulgence
to it? Evidently they get some pleasure out of it.
Gossip-mongers are generally a lazy lot. They do not get an
opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of working, for they
themselves do not work. Hence they are out to fill the void
of their minds, to some extent, by maligning others. They
are the champions of Preya, for they fear the little
incipient difficulties that the practice of Shreya entails.
These cowards only unleash their own mental pretensions
before the public, glossing over their own subdued innate
propensities with a colorful language of slander. 3m3 The
climax of their cowardice takes place when any of them is
asked, "Did you say such and such things?" He replies
without the least hesitation, "Not I, they say, - or someone
was saying so, I don't remember who." Here too the only
reason of his falsehood is the fear of unhappiness, lest his
authorship of the slander comes to light and he is put to
some disagreeable discomfiture or he comes to grief. It is
only for fear that he wants to hide his own misdeeds behind
the screen of falsehood. A really intelligent person will
never give any indulgence to the baseness of Preya, for it,
after giving momentary happiness, will only become a source
of million-fold troubles. In Preya grief is obviated only
for the time being but not permanently. This is tantamount
to dancing attendance morning and evening on a doctor for
the amelioration of some ailment, all the year round, - to
momentarily forgetting the trials and tribulations of life
under the intoxicating influence of wine, to forgetting the
hard realities of the world in the benumbing drowsiness of
opium. A wise man will want lasting riddance from sorrow and
this lasting deliverance is the ultimate result of Shreya
Sadhana, not of Preya.
Shreyashca Preyashca manusyametastao sampariitya
vivnaktidhiirah Shreohi dhiirobhipreyaso vrniite preyomando
yogaksemad vrniite.
What will a wise man do? First he will judge within
himself with a cool head as to which is Shreya and which is
Preya. The way of a man of discrimination and judgment is to
separate the Shreya from the Preya after close scrutiny. Man
is not inanimate but a conscious being. His dominant feature
is his mind, having power of judgment and through this
judgment his intellect finds proper expression. It is not
man's way to run after things, regardless of their being
Shreya or Preya. In every human action there should be an
appreciable stamp of his intellect - an impress of his
intellectuality. The man is a mind-preponderant being that, in this regard, he is the greatest of all living
beings, is substantiated by the facts of his day-to-day
activities. In spite of kicks and blows a dog or a cat runs
after the dried bits of crumbs as soon as it sees them. But
insulting a man you will find it pretty difficult to get
round him, no matter how much delicatessen or delectable
dainties you put before him. the only reason being that
although man is a living organism, he is certainly not a
brute at that. When a foolish man fails to make proper use
of his intellectuality, he does behave like an animal to
some extent, that is to say,he runs after the readily
pleasing Preya, instead of Shreya, the real path of good and
virtue. He thinks, his wife and children, wealth and
property are his life's sole objectives the essence of life.
With the result not only he himself suffers untold miseries
from the Preya-objects, but he becomes instrumental to
others' endless miseries as well. Wives and children are not
rejectable in this materialistic world, but they alone are
not life's everything. This the Preya-Sadhaka does not want
to understand, but the Shreya-Sadhaka does realize it. The
Yama says to Naciketa, 'Naciketa, thou art truly wise, since
thou hast 33 chosen Shreya between Shreya and Preya, not
Preya. Thou dost not want to divest thy life of its worth.
The Yama says
Sa tvam priyan priyarupamshca
kamanabhidhyayannaciketotyasraksiih. Naetam
sunkamvittamayiimavapto yasyammajjanti bahavo manusyah.
Preya is of two kinds - Priyabhava or Endearing
Sentiment, and Priyarupa or Endearing Features or veneer.
What is Priyabhava or Endearing Sentiment? The paper-money
or coin of lead and zinc of today command the same affection
as it did when the money used to be of pure silver. Taken
the son, for instance. An apish or owlish son will command
the same affection and endearment as a handsome son will.
Does this attraction for money or son pertain to features?
No, this attraction is sentimental. This has no bearing on
the external features of things. Then again people at times
run after external features of things, instead of taking
into account their intrinsic bearing. Generally it is
noticed that man runs more after charming and glittering
things. Such attraction is not emotional but superficial. He
is running after their extrinsic splendor. These emotional
and superficial affections are both Preya, not Shreya, for
here the intrinsic factors are not taken into consideration.
There is no desire for lasting peace. Preyas are enjoyable
by the unit-mind and so they are also unital or fragmental.
such a Preya - this attraction for fragmental units, is what
we call Passion or Kama. The attraction, which is for the
`Whole' - for the Shreya, whose enjoyer is the Great `I', is
called Prema or Divine Love. Passion's movement is inclined
towards units and hence it is extroversive or efferent.
Love's movement is inclined towards the soul - towards
Supreme Peace and so it is afferent or introversive.
Passion is ego-centric incline Passion Divine is Love
Divine Passion's aim is self-gratification Passion for Bliss
is Love's inspiration. -Caetanya Caritamrta.
Sensual objects are naturally ugly, base and mean. The
men that have such as these as their objectives, are
naturally made ugly, base and mean, i.e., turned into
brutes, by them. From the epithymetic or propensive
standpoint if you go to judge a man, who looks a man of
refined taste, integrity, charm and position, you will find
that a rogue, a liar, a swine and an infernal vermin have
found a haven in his mind. In other words, although he looks
a man from outward appearance, he is actually a depraved
brute. In modern society you will find quite a horde of such
types. In a meeting a man delivers a lofty, heart-rending.
soul-mortifying lecture, ruminating in his mind the prospect
of becoming a minister and the scope of mercenary gain
thereof. You will come across many such people that are not
farmers or laborers themselves but they shed a flood of
crocodile tears for the woes of farmers and laborers,
carefully hiding their own mean 33 intent. These knaves who
once used to drench their breasts with tears for the woes of
these people, forget them in a trice, the moment they get a
good job or attain some power in hand. It is then that their
real colors reveal themselves. Those that are deceived and
disillusioned at the time, can clearly see - can very well
understand, as to how frightfully dangerous, how blatantly
vile is the picture of their deceivers' sadistic minds. The
Yama has said, "Many a man in this world harboreth in his
heart such a base, sensuous tendency - directeth his desire
towards such a vile, sensuous pursuit and keepeth himself
merged in it." Attraction towards different objects is what
is called Kama (Passion). Here Kama does not mean any desire
of any particular organ. Some psychologists have set forth
that sexual urge (a particular expression of Kama) is the
root-cause of all types of mundane attractions and
practices. Their statement is wrong, since attraction is the
characteristic of all units and so it is hardly tenable that
such attraction will always have to be sexual. The
psychologists that give importance to sexual lust, betray
their own vulgarly concupiscent mentality. As I have already
said, not each and every passion or attraction is born of
sexual desire. Each unit is vulnerable to attraction but the
cause of its vulnerability is not embedded in attraction. It
is the imperative urge for self-preservation. It is because
of this urge for self-preservation alone that a unit runs
after crude or subtle or causal factors. This urge also
comes because of the fact that the unit wants to live for
happiness. So it is clear that, even being every attraction
between one thing and another, which we call by the name of
Kama, there is a pure desire for attaining happiness.
Happiness alone is its desire, not lust. There is no
question of sexual or sensual passion at all. On account of
this urge for self-existence or desire for happiness one who
give indulgence to Kama, i.e. runs after the crude, subtle
or causal factors, or, in other words, becomes a
Preya-Sadhaka, is a fool, because none of the crude, subtle
or causal factors can give one abiding peace - lasting
protection, for the simple reason that they are all
piecemeal - parts. For the sake of self-existence if anybody
gives indulgence to Preya, Preya eventually will not be able
to sustain him. The passional pyre will reduce him to ashes.
The man, who wants final beatitude - who craves for
perpetual protection, will run after the spiritual aspects
of things - will run after the achievement of perfection. It
is his urge for self-existence or happiness that will find
consummation. He shall live eternally. He alone shall be
really immortal - he alone shall establish himself in
deathlessness. The rhythmic peculiarities of the crude and
the subtle causes, the recurrence of birth and death -none
of these will be of any importance to him. He will attain
final emancipation and get himself established in the
profound Entity of Supreme Shreya or Bliss. There are some
psychological causes behind the `endearing' attraction of
one object upon another, although the basic ingredient of
these causes is desire or effort for the achievement of
happiness and self-preservation. Why is there so much
attraction between the hearts of brother and sister - their
love 33 for each other? The reasons are; living together in
one environment for a long time, partly partaking of the
same kind of food, partly same type of family education,
bond of the same parental affection, the same maternal
consanguinity. a lack of any of these causes results in the
lack of hearty attraction of the children for their parents
or between brother and sister. The tenderness of a boy,
living for a long time in a hostel or in a distant country
away from his parents, diminishes or gets dimmed, to some
extent, for his parents or brother or sister, because there,
the characteristic Preya objectivity, which takes hold of
his mind for achieving happiness, for the sake of
self-preservation, is not supplied by the family
environment. That is why, wise parents generally do not like
to educate their wards, keeping them in hostels. I have
already said that Preya-ward desire does not depend on
`endearing emotion' alone, the attraction of a `pleasing
form' also confuses the general mass no less - rather a
little more. The attraction of a `pleasing form' is not so
easily eradicable through discriminating judgment as the
`affectional attraction'. It is only for this reason that
even many a knave in the garb of a Sadhu is being worshiped
in the average society. The beast-like mentality that is
hidden behind their ashes, matted locks, tiger-skin and
calabash or Kamandalu, the general mass do not discern, do
not want to discern - rather they want to remain
deliberately in complacent ignorance. They just remain
struck with awe at the sight of Sannyasii's saffron garb.
The ignorant people apart, under the dominant spell of
superficial charm, even the so-called intellectual and
accomplished people also very often get themselves involved
in base anti-social activities. It is only when the eternal
entity that is behind the two entities, viz., superficial
charm and affectionate feeling, is recognized that really
lasting attraction or divine love comes into being. In love
the affectionate feeling shall not be recognized as an
emotion but its essence shall be accepted and the
superficial charm the colorful veneer shall not be
recognized but only its essential basic color - a color
which at times gives a superficial dye to make a so-called
Yogii and at times transports man to Yogic Sadhana or
profound, abstract meditation by dyeing his mind. So you
see, Preya or Kama (Passion) remains busy with units only.
Hence the ego, whose object is unit or which is the
perceiver of units or fragments must be the small ego.
Impossible is the development of such an ego, which is
concerned with units as its objectives, and remains absorbed
in them. Even men of wisdom, men of high social status or
the so-called intellectual and accomplished scientists and
philosophers that are always busy about earning high
respects for themselves or about saving their own prestige,
run after sensuous or piecemeal objects for the adulation
and enjoyment of their egos. Perhaps quite deliberately they
do not want to know or realize that the small objectives of
their egos will implant their egoities themselves in
pettiness and as the result of which all their ego-centric
respects, prestige and status will be pulverized into dust.
A part is necessarily small-limited. It has its beginning
3I3 as well as its end. After possessing it when you go
beside yourself, you then perhaps do not realize that the
limit of the limited will soon be reached and then the past
memory of its enjoyment will heighten the pang of loss a
million-fold and thus consume your heart in the fire of that
deprival. The man who does not go in for the Shreya and try
to attain it while there is still time, gets so encircled by
the wreathing flames of the Preya-craze that redemption from
their clutches becomes almost an impossibility. The
Shreya-Object being limitless, It has neither the beginning
nor the end. From beginninglessness to endlessness the one
indivisible current of purest Bliss that has been flowing
eternally, is what is Shreya - is our Brahma, the
omni-refulgent, sole, indivisible essence of the soul. There
are many who see, yet don't see Him - who know, yet don't
want to recognize Him. Without taking pains to see and know
Him they want to remain in smug oblivion - in the darkness
of passivity.
Duramete vipariite visucii ya ca cidyeti jinata
Vidyabhiipsinannaciketasammanye na tva kama bahavololupanta.
Shreya and Preya are totally discrepant in principle
one is Vidya or Introversive principle, the other, Avidya or
Extroversive principle; one is discrimination, the other,
indiscrimination; one is light, the other, darkness.
Shreya-ward Vidya or Para-Vidya lead a man towards
perfection - towards the ultimate state of wantlessness and
Preyaward Vidya or Apara-Vidya lead him to the dense
darkness - to the thralldom of superlative negativity or
inertness. Why does man prefer Preya to Shreya? Why does he
deliberately take to worship of animality? The reason
thereof is far too easy to divine. It is due to his gradual
perambulating step forward from his animal stages that today
he has attained the category of human species. The collected
Samskaras (past momenta - the idant) of his past animal
lives are still there in him, in spite of his attaining the
human status. These past momenta or ids repeatedly
superimpose the animal-like tendencies on his mental plate.
It is on account of the vibration of these Samskaras that a
man is impelled towards animal propensities - towards Preya.
The seedling of his Samskaras appears to him as the gigantic
tree. The irresistible attraction of gratification is
leading him astray. In his human body he has been repeatedly
betraying his animality through his thoughts - through his
activities. An animal is not a thoughtful creature, for
consciousness is not clearly evident in it. Being irrational
it has no discriminating judgment about Vidya and Avidya.
Yet the experience, it has or has gathered through its
voluptuous and sensuous animal life, is that of Preya, not
of Shreya, that of Avidya, not of Vidya. man knows and
understands only Preya through the empirical knowledge of
his past animal life by Shreya remains absolutely Greek to
him. Naturally a man with an impuissant mind would like to
hold on to his familiar ways of life. he does not want to
run the risk of stepping into a path, unfamiliar to him. So
even the man who knows both Shreya and Preya, very often
fails more for Preya due to his mental aberrance. The road
to Preya appears to him very simple and 33 easily accessible
- a veritable highway, reinforced with concrete. The
wayfarer of Shreya will as a matter of course, have to fight
against his Samskara-begotten Preya or animal tendencies and
propensities. He will have to cry a halt to such sensuous
proclivities, as greed for money, craving for name and fame,
desire to keep up sanctimonious veneer, longing for eulogium
through misrepresentations and lies. That is why, the Yama
said , "O Naciketa, Thou are the real aspirant of Vidya and
thou hast not been attracted towards the sensuous world.
Thou art the reasonable deserver of Madhu Vidya (conversion
of matter into spirit) and Brahma vidya or the intuitional
knowledge.
Avidyamayamantare varttamanah svayandhiirah
panditammanyamanah Dandramyamanah pariyanti mudha andhenaeva
niiyamana yathandhah.
Select any one of the two. Vidya or Avidya, and the
other is sure to stand athwart. I will elucidate it a little
more clearly for you. Whenever a man does something, there
results a clash between two opposing forces and in this
clash when the operative or actional force wins, then alone
the action materializes. Man sits down for rest after being
tired of a long walk. What is the reason behind it? His long
fight with the anti-walking force eventually dims his
actional force. Similarly the Avidya force declares war on
one, whose desire or inclination is Vidya-ward. This gives
rise to a hostile tendency in the mind, against which he has
to fight in his mental recesses. At home the husband, the
wife or the other members of the family get dissatisfied
with him. They also create various snags. In the field of
his activities there comes the opportunities for depravity,
meanness or acceptance of bribes and he has to maintain his
self-control. The locusts of desires come sailing over to
destroy the very bud of his Sadhana. So he has to carefully
keep himself unexposed to such depredations for the sake of
his own safety. But the man whose movement - whose momentum
is really Vidya-ward, who is determined to carry himself
towards the path of Vidya in exchange of his all, shall
eventually be immune to all obstacles. No amount of banters,
taunts or diatribes shall be able to stem his lightning
speed. He shall come out triumphant and victorious,
weathering and defying all storms and squalls and eventually
stand erect verily like the Himalaya, and the storms and
squalls shall rebound back in disappointment. The bud will
certainly not remain the same bud for all time, will it?
When the Sadhaka or the spiritual aspirant will stand
untrammelled and resolute, with the courage of his
conviction, and self-confidence, all snags and dangers will
gradually wither away - will timidly disappear from his
path. Thus shall proclaim the Sadhaka thunderingly to the
obstacles and dangers, "You do your work and I, mine. I have
no road behind to retrace my foot-steps." What fear of a
loss there can be for the man, who has sacrificed his all
for the attainment of his desired objective! For whose
threatening finger will he stop short!
Dainty or coarse, salted or not Hard-earned food, a
welcome lot 33 Dedicated all to power Divine Who cares what
or which is mind.
Obstacles are the concomitants of Sadhana, which are
of course a good sign. From these obstacles a Sadhaka will
understand that his spiritual practice is on the right
track. The spiritual philosophy comes into being only when
the Sadhaka, engaged in a tussle with Avidya's hindrances,
vindicates his Vidya-ward or Brahma-ward momentum, after
nullifying the basely propensive reasonings of Avidya by his
own intellect and judgment. I have already said that without
obstacles there is no action and the conquest of the
operative energy over obstacles is the materialization of
action. These obstacles are not solely Vidya-Sadhakas' dues.
Those that do the Sadhana (practices) of depravity or Avidya
or run after Preya-ward desires, are also confronted with
obstacles, which come from Vidya with a warning to desist
from base activities. The man who takes to larceny for the
first time, finds his hands and feet trembling and sees a
lot of nightmarish visions even after the commission of
theft. Why does this happen? This is because his Vidya-ic
sentiment keeps dinning into his mind that the act, which hi
is going to do or has done, is a very mean one and that its
consequence is extremely terrible. But afterwards when the
constant cultivation of Avidya makes her force take a strong
root in his mind, he then smothers the Vidya-ic hindrance in
its very first stage. And so the confirmed thief's hands and
feet do not tremble any more. He no more sees any frightful
hallucination on account of the consequential prospect of
his acts. The mean condition between an immature thief and a
mature thief is just the counterpart of the intermediate
condition between a Sadhaka and the one who has attained his
divine goal. In this very condition, the Preya-ward people
weave a web of reasonings in their minds in support of their
activities and keeping this very mental stance or attitude
behind their tall talks, they produce their materialistic
philosophy. Just as in the constant Sadhana of Avidya is
created a force of invulnerability due to the influence of
Vidya, similarly in the constant Sadhana of Vidya man gains
immunity from the influence of Avidya also. The man, reared
in the cradle of materialistic ideologies, feels shy or
ashamed at the inchoate stage to sit in divine meditation in
the presence of others. In other words, he gets evidently
overwhelmed more or less by the influence of Avidya. He or
she thinks: People may perhaps say or think, I, being an
ultra-modern boy or girl, am emulating the prehistoric mode
of worship. There are many, who may perhaps try to conceal
their godliness or devotional intent from the eyes of the
people. Yet there are many, who will try to maintain their
position among their friends by playing the skeptic and then
mentally beg god's forgiveness. But in spite of such a shy
mental attitude he will acquire after a few days the
strength and ability to get over the influence of Avidya by
sticking to the worship of Vidya or God regularly and
devotionally, and finally throwing overboard all the
vagaries of shame and shyness he will then be able to give
vent to his soulful aspiration for and devotion to, God. 33
A question may arise in your mind that some people are found
to disregard the bogey of shame from the very incipient
stage of their Sadhana. This is evidently due to external
pressure or internal urge. Suppose, someone's son or husband
or wife or nearest relative has suddenly died or he has lost
an enormous wealth or has a providential escape quite
unexpectedly from a dangerous calamity. Such a person,
regardless of what they would say or think, throws all
considerations of shame, fear, fame or insult to the four
winds forthwith and turns into a strong-willed
Shreya-Sadhaka within a very short span of time. Then again
it has got a negative side also. Someone is confronted with
starvation. Goaded by his want he starts robbing and
stealing openly, regardless of consequences. Quite
shamelessly indeed he takes refuge in Avidya.
SS3-3B.SS
Knowingly or unknowingly, after having suddenly
committed an offense, if anybody gets abundant materials for
his enjoyment, he becomes a shameless Preya-Sadhaka of the
above type. The collective form of the thoughts and desires
of this type of shameless Preya-Sadhakas we come across in
the Carvaka or other materialistic philosophies. In order to
hide their own weaknesses they call the devoted or the godly
weak, mentally diseased and so on. Incidentally, let me tell
you that the words, godly and godfearing, do not have the
same meaning. Behind godliness thrives a soul-stirring
sentiment - a hearty ardor or eagerness for realizing one`s
real self, and the reason behind the fear of god or the
religious fear is the impotent attempt to escape from the
consequential suffering of one's misdeeds. Yet I would
rather say that the latter type is better than the atheists,
because at least for fear of divine punishment they will
refrain from sinful acts. The greatest gain of a theist is
that he has not to endure the pangs of an internal clash.
But no matter how blatantly the Skeptics indulge in tall
talks or sharpen the edge of their weapon to win in the
argument, there is always a fight going on in their minds.
Going through a couple of pages of a book or listening to
the grandiloquences of a couple of persons they try to go
against their own characteristics. With their fragmental
Apara (Extroversive) Knowledge they try to fight against the
indivisible Para-entity, and being defeated at the end, they
say,"If He does exist, why can't we find Him?" Yet their
inner selves go on wailing and bewailing within them and so
their hidden selves lament,
Knowledge denieth existence Thine Persisteth mind Thou
art Divine.
Here the curse of fragmental knowledge stands in the
way of development of their mental characteristics. In such
a condition man is constantly over-alert in order to keep
under cover the outward expression of his inconsistent mind
- his lack of reasoning. They play the Pandita in order to
hide their weaknesses behind their high-sounding
phraseologies. In our society we often hear of Panditas or
learned men, professing atheism or materialism. Modern India
also abounds in such so-called panditas. But to call them
Panditas is to abuse the word Pandita.
Aham Brahmasmiiti bhuddhirtamitah praptah panditah.
The sense of `I am Brahma' is called Panda and the one
who has Panda is called Pandita. Hence Nastika Pandita
(AtheistPandita) means `gold Stone-cup' - a misnomer. The
Vedas have said that these materialistic self-ignorant
aposates never walk the straight road. How can they?
Straightness in life comes through sincere and spirited
Sadhana, does it not? There is a clash between good sense
and bad sense going on within them day in and day out, in
which the bad sense always wins the day, for their souls do
not always replenish or supplement the good sense. In order
to satisfy their sensuous desires they have very often to
play the pious. Pointing out the faults of others they have
also to hold out for man tall consoling hopes of comfort and
good cheer, or else people will not fall into their trap.
But this 393 constant inculcation or nursing of two opposing
tendencies brings about an ugly distortion in their minds.
The incongruity in the internal and external habit of mind
turns them into voluptuous beasts in human forms. They
scramble and scuffle among themselves like mad pariahs to
grab leadership in the different spheres of life and think
as though the ability to lead people is their sole monopoly.
But those that run after them after being misled and
hoodwinked into their vociferous trap, progress from one
darkness into another for how on earth can a man, who is
blind himself, show the path to another blind person? How
can a dullard - an inert mind, awaken consciousness in
another mind?
Na samparayah pratighati balampramadyantam vittamohena
mudham Ayam loko nasti para iti
maniipunarpunarvashamapadyate me.
Every man should have proper knowledge and
understanding of what is Shreya and what is Preya - what is
Vidya and what is Avidya, for lack of this knowledge causes
man's downfall, and with its help he progresses onwards
through proper Sadhana. Behind man's desire the sweetly
benevolent inspiration and impetus that his soul gives, lead
him to consciousness, not inertness. That is why, a wise man
tries to develop his wisdom and intelligence more and more.
None wants to remain a fool. Not even a simpleton wants
himself to be called a nincompoop. To acquire real wisdom
judgment is necessary. Judgment involves discrimination. The
proper application of the resultant of the discriminating
judgment is wisdom. that is why, the discriminating man
takes Brahma, the ultimate stage of his consciousness, as
his objective. But the ignorant or foolish man, who does not
take recourse to his discriminating judgment but gets
tempted to materialistic Sadhana for the present enjoyment,
eventually becomes crude himself. The Yama said, "Allured by
the apparent paraphernalia of enjoyment these idiots
understandeth not, nor wanteth to understand, the Supreme
Entity. They cannot even imagine a subtler world and so they
totally denieth it. Those that hath the crude as their
objective, hath got to come again and again into this crude
world in crude forms to enjoy and endure the crude. Trudging
along the dark path they gradually turneth into earth, stone
etc." The Yama further said, "They cometh under my sway
again and again, that is to say, it is impossible for them
to redeem themselves from the cycle of birth and death". The
greatest drawback of the materialistic thought is that they
(the materialists) think that the present form of things,
i.e., this visible world is the ultimate reality. They
deliberately do not want to understand that their existence
is completely transient, i.e., subject to time, space and
person. They deliberately do not want to turn their eyes
towards the original causal entity of the world, on and in
whose body the rhythms of changes appear and disappear.
Matter flourishes in energy and energy flourishes in
thought, i.e., energy begets matter and though begets
energy. Recognizing the simple obvious truth, their palsied
mind does not want to face all problems with courage. That
is why, they turn into Avidya's slaves by worshiping
transience as eternity, impurity as purity, sorrow as
happiness and self-ignorance as self-consciousness. Actually
speaking, take any molecule, atom, electron, or etheron as
the basic ingredient of this world, each is but the
manifestation of energy - mere substitution or replica of
energy. That matter is nothing but bottled up energy is a
truism. Then again energy also is not an original entity. It
is but Prakrti's binding factor over consciousness. Hence
for the true comprehension of the essence of matter one has
to accept the theory of Purusa-cum-Prakrti Brahmic Entity,
whether you take Him in His all-pervasive aspect or in any
of His individual aspects. In the Macrocosmic State the same
characteristic that is manifest in His individual aspect is
also manifest in His omnigenous aspect. The Yama said, "The
materialistic Sadhaka is bound to take birth repeatedly in
order to give realistic shapes to his materialistic
Samskaras. He cannot get the supreme death or the final
death of the emancipated Sadhaka." Sadhana for the
attainment of introversive knowledge or Bliss is the path of
final beatitude and man has to proceed on this path by
keeping his manners and behaviors in tune with the
environment. With a sentiment of scorn for the world,
Sadhana is an impossibility. You may become super-human in
the eyes of the people - you may even get the reputation of
being a Sadhu by acting against this visible world that is
around you, but still your mental hunger will remain
unsatisfied - your heart will ever remain unsatiated. Why is
man afraid of Sadhana, or plainly speaking, why does he feel
hesitant to run after introversive knowledge? Let me tell
you the reason. Human life is the resultant of the
advancement or progress of animal existence. Energy finds
its expression through clashes of belligerent forces and
through these clashes alone the different so-called
inanimate entities of this quinquelemental world, such as
sand, iron, stone, etc., attains some such transformations,
wherein self-activation is evident to some extent, for
instance, plants of lower species and similar other
categories of unicellular protozoa. Indeed through clashes
that they too had got, are getting and will get strength and
power to gradually convert their passive energy into active
mental energy. The manifestation of this mental energy or
potency we come across in some particular plants and
organisms. Where life is averse to struggles, neither
progress nor regress is possible. That is why, in some of
the countries, we come across prehistoric creatures of low
intellect that are alive even today and in some other,
creatures of developed intellect have come into being out of
the dust of those very prehistoric carcasses. The intellect
of a monkey is not in the category of that of an earth-worm.
Through these clashes animal-hood has attained man-hood. It
is the residual momentum - this credit balance of the
balance-sheet of its pre-human struggles with animality,
that has made it today the possessor of a human mind. It was
with this momentum or capital investment that man had begun
his human career. That is why, the momentum of animality the experience of animality, can talk only in terms of
material enjoyments, for that momentum does not imbibe the
untasted joy of consciousness, the attainment of which is
subject to the inspiration of the subjectivated human soul,
the subject of the human mind - the inspiration, which the
animal 33 mind could not properly utilize, may well be
utilized or harnessed to better advantage by the strong
human mind. I have already said that the empirical knowledge
of previous animal life leads man to material enjoyments on
one hand, while the more developed inspiration of his soul
wants to lead him to consciousness, and this is the reason
why a constant clash goes on in the human mind between
inertness and consciousness, between Vidya and Avidya. Man
is normally afraid of struggles. So it is hardly surprising
that the materialistic-minded man will be averse to such
struggles in the beginning. To get an opportunity to learn
the esoteric hint of Sadhana and the secret strategy of the
means of struggle in Sadhana is a piece of singular luck. so
long as this opportunity does not come one's way, success in
the struggle is impossible of achievement. The Yama said,
Shravanayapi bahubhiryo na labhyo shrnvantopi
bahavoyannavidyuh Ashcaryo vakta
kushalosyalabdhashcaryojinata kushalanushistah.
Let me explain to you the purport of this shloka.
Suppose there is a virtuous discussion going on somewhere.
If you invite two hundred men to this meeting, you will see
that only sixty invitees have turned up at the most. Out of
these participants about ten or twelve men at most listen
with patience and devotion to the last. Out of these
listeners again only some may have properly understood the
subject discussed. Then again out of this small group that
has understood, a very few may keep in their minds what they
have understood. Lastly one or two per cent of this last
group may put what they have learnt and understood, into
practice in their daily lives. Such things happen only due
to the clash of Vidya and Avidya on the body of the mind and
in this clash the triumph of Avidya or extroversive force
means running away from the introversive bent of Vidya. It
is for the Samskaras or idant of animality that the
introversive sentiment is elusive to the average human mind.
The sensuous desires of Avidya keep on peeping through the
interstices of every thought-process. Such events continue
to be in evidence for a long time in a Sadhaka's life. Look
into your minds - look at the visible world. Whenever you
are doing something, or going to do something, you push
aside or you are being pushed by, some opposing force.
Through this repellence you are earning greater strength for
repelling or enduring a greater repellent force. So you see,
it through the resultant of a clash between the two opposing
forces that you are able to make your soul and mind
stronger. The Yama said, "It is not only the student that is
scarce, there is also a flagrant lack of competent
preceptors as well to teach the esoteric password for
Sadhana." Through the kindness and help of a really
competent teacher or superman a Sadhaka-like mental bearing
(meditative bent) may be awakened in man - in every man. It
is not that spiritual advancement in this world is being
checkmated due to lack of competent teachers alone, a really
genuine urge in this regard is also scarce among people.
Na narenvavarena prokta esa suvijineyo bahudha
cintyamanah Ananya Prokte
gatiratranastyaniiyanhyatarkyamanu-pramanat
How should these experienced teachers and
intuitionalists be like, who are supposed to give lead to
man and teach him the prerequisites of spiritual Sadhana?
The answer is very simple. The lead must come from the real
man, not from inferior `Naras', not from those sub-human
creatures, who have been carrying animality in their human
frames. who is a `Nara'? `Nara' means purusa. Whom shall we
call purusa? The one in whom consciousness is prominent,
i.e., in whom the manifestation of the soul is in greater
degree, is alone the Purusa. The one who has not done the
Sadhana of that purusabhava or Consciousness, is not fit to
teach a living being. Even if he does, the taught will not
be able to carry it out properly. His words will not touch
anybody's heart. How can such people teach? Right in their
minds there is a stormy clash going on. They have not the
serene calmness of the great sea. Some of them will quarrel
over the corporeality or incorporeality of God, some will
waste time in an argument whether th God is white or black,
some will present a rigmarole of crores of gods and will try
to convince you from the pages of the Puranas as to the
might and power of the different gods, the amount of the
different beneficences and rewards the worship of such and
such gods yield and the dangers and curses of not doing such
worships: some will want to shed human blood over a little
music or procession or over the type of food or over the
question of untouchability in reference to the use of food.
They will try to convince you thereby that these are the
genuine ways of God and religion. These mean sub-human
creatures, styled as men, taking advantage of human
sentiments and other weaknesses, will put obstacles in the
path of all kinds of human progress. Their utterances,
however, do not- will not touch the core of any man's heart.
For the lack of the vision of universal equality they remain
very much remote from consciousness. They are always trying
to disintegrate the one into many fragments. That is why,
they want to see man divided Statewise as the English, the
Russian, the Indian etc. or faithwise as the Hindu, the
Moslem, the Christian, the Arya Samajist. Normally the
utterances of the one, who thinks himself a staunch English,
cannot touch or move the heart of a non-English. One, who
thinks of Hindu-interests alone, does not certainly sound
sweet in Moslem ears. When a man is initiated by one, who
has realized the divine Truth, he is aroused to
universalism. He ceases to regard any entity of the universe
as separate from his own. Every entity of the world is the
limited manifestation of your cosmic sentiment. Whom will
you fight against or whom will you flee from? You are
undecaying, immortal and birthless. When you are established
in your own Likeness, none of the belligerent unit-entities
can stand against you, nor can your mind have any room for
their semblances. Such a vast foeless Brahmabhava (Cosmic
Sentiment) no sub-human individual of anti-equalitarian
views will be able to make one understand properly. That is
why, some people create disruption between man and man by
unifying religious creed with politics, some with
patriotism, some with pure metaphysical discussion. Taking
the field for the establishment of peace by propagating
religion 33 they encourage genocide of millions of innocent
people in the name of Jehad or religious crusade and under
the pretext of preserving their religion. Propagating
discrimination and discord in the name of religion,
rapacious exploitation of the ignorant men under the garb of
religion - these may keep some people blinded and confounded
for some time but cannot confound the majority of the world
for a long time. Men are beginning to realize and more will
they do yet. Ananda Marga is sounding the clarion call for
the sleepers to wake up. Those disruptionists shall be
compelled to withdraw from their hypocritical role of
religious hegemony in the quickest possible time and at the
time of their withdrawal they will have scandalization or
malicious propaganda as their sole capital to fall back
upon. YOu all know, where reasoning fails, vilification
becomes the sole stock-intrade. when you will hear abuses
from these frogs-in-the-well, you can take for granted that
the grey matters in their frenzied brains have no functional
residues left and that they have come to you only to
convince you of their helpless and fey condition. Brahma is
the inarguable entity. He is beyond all arguments. For only
the object which the mind can hold within its small compass,
can alone be the subject of argument. Your mind can
comprehend such senses like what is dark and what is fair
and so you can argue also on such points. Before whose
consciousness where your mind ceases to exist, you cannot
certainly say whether He is dark of fair. Brahma is
inarguable, because He is beyond the ambit of mind. If
somebody says that God came and told him, "Thou art my dear
Son" or "Thou art the last Prophet" - these may command
respects from the credulous but to a man of discriminating
judgment, they will not be acceptable, for the one who will
appear in person, will at once come within the scope of
argument and logic and will naturally have a shape (Sakara)
and on this point there will be no compromise with the
Nirakarabada or the doctrine of shapelessness or
incorporeality of God. Man is a conscious being. So long as
his mental apperception is within his grasp, he should not
accept anything that is paralogical and fallacious. Where
mind does not exist, what on earth will God say at all and
who is there to listen to Him? Sound can only be received by
a crude organ or it will be audible in the internal waves of
the Cosmic Mind. A thing which is formless, is not
perceivable by the organs and so His voice cannot be heard.
The Cosmic mind is devoid of duality and so there is no room
for anybody's hearing anything. That was why, Lord Buddha
did not say anything about the Nirguna or Objectless Brahma,
whether `He is' or `He is not', or `Good' or `bad'. His
disciples had, of course, asked him, if He existed. Buddha
was speechless. When they asked him, "Does He not exist
then?" Buddha remained speechless again. With the result
some took for granted that Buddha had wanted to say that He
did not exist and then again some inferred that He did
exist. But those that were real intuitionalists understood
that He was such an Entity as was beyond the scope of the
mental faculty - beyond the purview of `Is' or `Is not'.
Relative truth what mind compasseth Beyond
philosophies, He all surpasseth 3K3 Scriptures and myths are
indeed by bricks That maketh no sense, confounded tricks The
teacher and the taught, both in a mess, Beyond discourses,
to faileth express Whatever said doth mind contribute The
disciple deaf, the teacher mute `How is He', beyond verbal
domain Save deaf-dumb's mimes in symbolic strain. -Buddhist
Sadhaka Krsnacarya.
That which comes within the orbit of the mind is but a
relative truth, not an eternal truth, and so it will come
and go. Scriptures and mythologies are but stacks of bricks,
i.e., they are only arranged in layers, carrying no
significance or intrinsic value. So how can they describe or
explain that ultimate Entity, which is beyond the scope of
mental faculty? How can this Intuitional Science be
interpreted which is beyond the compass of body, words and
mind? Here both the teacher and the disciple are helpless,
because this subject, which is beyond the domain of any
academic discourse and discussion , is simply inexplicable
and inexpressible. Whatever said and discussed comes within
the ambit of the mind and so it is a relative truth - true
today, false tomorrow. That is why, the teacher becomes
mute, when he is asked to explain Brahma Vijinana or the
Intuitional Science and consequently the disciple, too, has
to become deaf. So Krishnacharya says that in order to
explain this profound mystery, there is no other alternative
than to emulate the symbolic exchange of views between a
deaf and a dumb person. This Science is so very subtle that
mind or senses cannot express it adequately.
Naesatarkena matirapaneya proktanyenaeva sujinanaya
prestha Yantvamapah satyadhrtirbatasitvadrunno
bhuyannackiketa prasta.
The Yama said, "But the mind of the man, who hath got
the opportunity to know and ingest this Supreme Science from
a knower of Truth, geteth not agitated by irrelevant
arguments," for I have already said that Brahma is above all
arguments. The man, who has realized even a bit of true
knowledge - who possesses even a semblance of the Truth, is
not taken in by the blusters of the arguer. Arguments cannot
distract him from his goal. For example, he who is convinced
that ghosts are the play of the subconscious mind, is not
afraid of them nor is he ever subject to any theophanic or
demoniacal paroxysm or trance. an ignorant man, believing in
the existence of ghosts or various kinds of gods, evolves a
similar sentimental momentum of Samskara in his mind, and be
it due to his concentration or any of his weak moments, the
activity of the crude mind gets suspended for the time being
and then that sentimental momentum, becoming manifest in his
mind's eye, he thinks as though he is really seeing so and
so spirit or god, or the said spirit or god has spoken to
him such and such words. *When the subtler Kosa or cell of
the mind gets self-hypnotized, the man thinks, as if he
himself has become so and so spirit or so and so god colloquially what we say "Bhat" (a temporary paroxysmal
demonomania or theomania). But in the mind of a man, who has
understood the thing through knowledge or has seen with his
cognitive vision that spirits and gods and 33 deities are
the visionary products of weakness, born of ignorance, such
positive Samskaras or superstitions cannot have a foot-hold,
and so he will not see spirits nor will he be possessed by
them. No matter how much he listens to the yarns of ghosts,
he will never believe in their existence. Dexterous
story-telling or the emotion-exciting language of the
storyteller may give him a little jitters or a little
horripilation for a short while and no more. Similarly,
there are many that get funked of the ghosts, seeing
extraordinary and queer things like suspension of a cot in
the air or the throwing of bones through sorcery or
necromancy. But he who knows that these are but the plays of
the Atimanasa Kosa or the astral mind, does not get upset at
all, rather he tries to single out these anti-social
criminals for the rectification of their nature. Planchette
also falls in the same category. It has no commerce with
spirits. So said the Yama, "With the attainment of true
knowledge all the extroversive factors of Avidya
disappeareth from the presence of man." He further said, "O
Naciketa! Thou art eager to establish thyself in truth. Thou
art the fittest man to learn the introversive knowledge.
Thou alone shalt be able to ensconce thyself in the Truth.
"Just as there is no difference between the sun and its
radiance, similarly there is none between Brahma and Truth.
The rank of both is immutable and imperishable. But knowest
thou, Naciketa, my rank is not imperishable or eternal. It
is transitory." Do you know what the Yama meant by the above
observation? Yama is the prototype of restraint. Naciketa is
the seeker of Truth - seeker of Brahma and so he is the
prototype of a Sadhaka or spiritual aspirant. The Yama is
the controller of this evolved world. Janamyaham
shevadhirityanityam na hyadhruvaeh prapyate hi dhruvantad
Tatomaya naciketashcitagniranityaerdravyaeh
prapravanasminityam.
Karmaphala or the consequence of an act (pleasure or
pain) is transient. No matter how much sin or virtue you
commit or earn, they cannot be eternal or interminate and so
their consequences you cannot enjoy or suffer eternally.
Unit-entity is activated only by the help of a unit and
since that activation of process of action cannot keep
itself concerned with one unit alone for a long time, no
action can be the cause of boundless pleasure or boundless
pain. Hence the Sadhana or pursuit of transitory objects
cannot give you everlasting happiness. Brahma is an eternal
Entity. It is impossible to attain Him only through
lip-allegiance to Brahma-Sadhana, while the mind is absorbed
in objective transaction. "So knowest thou, Naciketa, the
rank of Yama - the rank which I have not got through the
Sadhana of virtue - is not eternal". Although the rank of
Yama comprehends a very very vast field, although its sphere
is very pervasive, still it is not eternal. It is relative
to objects. That which is dependent on objects is a relative
truth - so not an eternal entity. Put to subtle
philosophical analysis, it cannot be accepted as truth.
Hence it is untruth - almost in the category of falsehood.
The city of Patna exists today, a few centuries ago it did
not exist 33 and it will not exist a few centuries hence
either. Hence Patna's existence is not an absolute truth.
Similar is the rank of the Yama. When can the Yama or
controller exist? When the custom of control is in force,
nay, only if a certain number of things are under control.
So if the Yama or controller has to exist, two more entities
like control and the controlled will also have to be there.
In other words, the office of the Yama is dependent on these
two entities. It is not an unrelated, fully independent
supreme post. That is why, the Yama said, "Naciketa, this
post of mine is absolutely short-lived."
Kamasyaptim jagatah pratistham kratoranantyamabhayasya
param Stomamahadurugayam pratistham drsty
dhrtyadhiironaciketotyastaksii
Man acts with some objective motive and all his
motives and desires end in Saguna Brahma. This Saguna Brahma
is the only well-established Entity of the Cosmos. LImitless
Karmas or actions and the fruits thereof are implanted and
accumulated in His mental body. He is the ultimate refuge.
He is the sole worshipable and covetable entity of every
evolved being of the universe. All the actions of all the
living beings end in Him. This great, vast Saguna Brahma or
Hiranyagarbha is omnipresent, pervasively dynamic, for He is
surging through all regions of this vast universe by dint of
His mental momentum. "But, O Naciketa, even after having
fully understood the status of the Hiranyagarbha through thy
intellect, thou hast given up thy desire to establish
thyself in it. Thou only covetest the true knowledge. Thou
art eager to merge thyself in that self-same Truth, the
Objectless (Nirguna) Entity. Naciketa! Thou art great - thou
alone art great." - Patna, Caetrapurnima, 1956.
SS3-4.SS DESIRE AND DETACHMENT
The subject of my discourse today will be :
Intuitional Science as described in the Krsna-Yajurveda. The
perceptible world is constructed with the cooperation of
five fundamental elements. Ether (Vyoma) is the subtlest of
these five elements. Due to its extreme subtleness the
Vyomatattva is able to prove its existence only through its
sound-Tanmatra. In order to understand this Vyomatattva or
its sound-waves or its sound-radiation, a special type of
Scientific instrument is necessary. Except this Vyomatattva
the remaining four elements you can easily make out with the
help of your crude organs. The Supreme Consciousness or
Purusa, however, is subtler than all the five elements. How
can the senses apprehend this Conscious Entity, when they
cannot easily catch the subtle Vyoma tattva? The
Consciousness or Purusa-Entity is beyond the scope of mental
or supramental sphere, for the object of the mental or
supramental sphere is matter - the five elements or their
semblances. That is why, you are unable to reach the Parama
Purusa or the Cosmic Consciousness with the help of your
mind. Your mind will have to come back disappointed
repeatedly, if it tries to reach Him, for He is beyond the
reach of your imaginative power. You cannot get to Him
through any common knowledge. The Yama said,
Yato vaco nivartante aprapya manasa saha Anandam
Brahmano vidvan na vibheti kutashcana.
The attainment of Brahma is not possible through mind,
nor is it feasible through words. Frustration awaits both of
them, if they are employed to attain Him. With the
establishment in the Brahmic Bliss, mind, intellect, words all get lost, for He is the self-same Happiness - the Bliss
Absolute. One has to be established in Him through the
exultant force of one's consciousness. After reaching Him,
mind being non-existent, the six passional bondages (Lust,
Anger, Avarice, Delusion, Pride and Envy) also cannot remain
there. The Sadhaka then becomes bereft of all fears.
Tandu darshaugudhamanupravistam guhahitam
gahvarestharampuranam Adhyatmayogadhigamena devam matva
dhiiro harsashokao jahati.
The Supreme Consciousness is unseeable, i.e., He is
not perceptible by the sight organ. Man cannot apprehend nor
can he understand an ultra-vast and ultra-subtle thing
through his organs. Molecules and atoms are not
apprehensible to man's organs due to their being too subtle.
In order to see them or understand them one has to take the
help of Scientific instruments. Similarly the Supreme
Consciousness is not visible (He is, however, not
invisible), that is to say, one has to take pains to `see'
Him. Just as intellectual and scientific vision is necessary
for seeing molecules and atoms, similarly spiritual vision
is necessary for seeing the Supreme Brahma, i.e., He is
attainable only through spiritual knowledge. Hence in order
to attain Him you have got to do Upavasa, which means
worship. The word, Gudha means deep. He is deep. With
superficial sentiment or thought it is impossible for you to
know Him. To know Him you have to go deep inside - you will
have to be introspective. External sight will not do. The
one that you see as an ordinary man by your external sight,
is actually a conscious entity, if you see him with your
internal sight. The one that you see to be an animal or an
inanimate object by your superficial sight, is really a
sentient entity, if you apply your internal sight. That is
why, I say, in order to see Him, one has to go deep into the
seen object. He is deep - very deep and its is due to this
intrinsicality that He abides in all the entities in an
immutable form. While going to see Him in this state of
supreme unicity, all distinctions of superficial objects
thin away into air. In reality, the first and the last word
of spiritual Sadhana is to see the synthesis of many in One
in a single form. Physics is characteristically analytical.
So the investigation or research on matter is carried out
externally. But in the sphere of investigation and intuitive
comprehension of what is characteristically unific or
synthetic, there is no other alternative than to take
recourse to introspection. This Purusa Entity is inherent
and permanent in all objects and so to `see' Him one has got
to establish oneself in the subtlest of the subtle, deepest
of the deep sphere. He abides in the innermost recess or the
fundamental intellect as its Supreme Knower. He is the vital
Entity of that cavity - that sense of ago, which is within
you and that is why, He has been called `caverned'
(Guhahita). In order to know Him you will have to proceed in
a straight and simple way into the inner realm, making your
thought subtler and yet subtler. When man attains
intuitional knowledge, all his troubles and woes disappear.
Do you know why? Mind is the perceiver of pleasure and pain,
but Brahma is even above the supramental stage. In order to
attain Him you have got to outstep the limit of your mind
and along with it you will have to leave behind all the
pleasurable and sufferable junks of your distorted mind. He
is ancient - He is hoary, for His origin is beyond the pale
of time. To Him the spatial, temporal and personal
reputations are of no value, for each of these is a
particular manifestation of the mind. You cannot possess Him
through your worldly erudition or by the stamp of your
degrees and diplomas for all worldly lores are subject to
place, time and person. Being spontaneous or self-manifest
in spiritualism, He is not dependent on any second worldly
entity. To achieve that Brahma, Who is the supreme goal or
spiritualism, one has to take recourse to spiritual
sacrifice (Sadhana). Not with the eyes of others - not with
the spectacles of others, you will `see' Him within you with
your own `eyes'. You will move inward, not on any other
vehicle but by virtue of your own inspirational propulsion.
A calm and collected individual, who is a genuine spiritual
aspirant, attains Brahma in this very manner and with the
achievement of Brahma he goes past the reach of pleasure and
pain - he does not have those mental distortions like
pleasure and pain. His then condition is what is called the
state of Bliss.
Etacchrutva samparigrhya martyah pravrhya
dharmyamanumetamapya Sa modate modaniiyam hi labdhva vivrta
sadma naciketasammanye.
What is the result of learning this Intuitional
Science from a competent preceptor? By dint of this
Intuitional Science man learns to understand thoroughly what
is temporal and what is eternal. The Scriptures call this
power of understanding the eterno-temporal discrimination
(Nityanitya Viveka). You will accept only the eternal and
shun the temporal. It is on the strength of this Intuitional
Science that man knows what is mortal and what is immortal,
i.e., who or which is liable to destruction and who or which
is established in imperishability. With the help of this
Nityanitya Viveka - this discriminating judgment about
mortality and immortality, man pursues the path of virtue.
What is the Dharma or the characteristic of the living
beings? - The endeavor to achieve happiness. why does a
living being crave for happiness? - For self-preservation.
Why do you eat and drink? To keep yourself alive - to
achieve happiness. From this you very well understand this
too, that to love whatever little is lasting within your
present entity - whatever is its essence, is your Dharma.
This Dharma or Sadhana teaches you to keep your subtlest
soul aloof from all transitory objects, as the result of
which you eternal self, the soul, gets healthy nourishments
- gets more and more developed on the path of progress. That
is why, this true Sadhana of the Soul is defined in the
Scriptures as the path of nourishment (pustimarga). He who
does not understand or recognize this true Dharma or
characteristic, verily regards the body as the sole factor.
I don't decry those mentally undeveloped creatures, who
regard their bodies as the summum bonum of their lives but
for man to entertain such a thought is nothing short of
paying the mind a left-handed compliment. The funniest part
of it is that such a man flouts the mind with the mind. A
display of such a (perverse) mentality we come across in the
Carvaka Philosophy. To them the transitory body is the
supreme entity. The materialists are reluctant to give any
importance to the mind in their philosophy, nay, they very
often even hesitate to clearly admit mind's apperception or
self-consciousness. Yet these materialists sometimes want to
publicize themselves as pragmatists or behaviorists. They
want to say that they will not tread the path of logic and
reasoning, for in that path people `make a day of night and
a nigh of day', - We are simple, toiling folk. We want to
pass our days in peace with food to eat and clothes to wear
and behind this simple demand the Supportology (!) or
Practicology (!) that exists is our philosophy." Even by
making such observation they get caught in their own net. In
the practical field the utility of things is determined by
the mind. The feasibility of the codes of procedure and
conduct is also determined by the mind. `To live in peace
with food to eat and clothes to wear' is also done for the
satisfaction of the mind. And to top all, no matter what
`logy' or `ism' is propounded, the supporting doctrine - the
Supportology (!), must depend on imaginativeness (mental
sanction). Every mental disease or every spiritual disease
is not Mayavada or illusionism. Even by keeping contact
between the earthy world and the human mind, Spiritual
Philosophy can be established. Ananda Marga is a philosophy
of this type. Some of those that are comparatively
imaginative regard Kamamaya Kosa or the crude mind as the
Ruha or soul. Some identify the astral minds like Atimanas,
Vijinanamaya and Hiranyamaya Kosas with it, but the real
preceptor, possessed of the knowledge of the divine, truth,
from whom you will learn the Brahmic or Intuitional
Knowledge, will make you understand that the soul is a lot
subtler than these Kosas or cells of the mind, each of which
is mutable and so evanescent or transitory - the soul alone
is eternal. so the happiness that you will get in the
worship of the spiritual knowledge, will be eternal
happiness, and that is why it is called Ananda or Divine
Bliss. Ananda is not to be had from things transitory. The
transitory or temporal things will come and go; sometimes
they will make you laugh and sometimes they will make you
cry. No matter how endearing the temporal things be, one day
they will surely and undoubtedly leave you in the lurch, and
abjectly beggarly. But He will not make you wail. He is an
eternal, non-evolutive, immutable Entity. The Yama said, "O
Naciketa, the grand gateway to the realm of God lieth open
before thee. He who hath acquired a thorough knowledge of
mortal objects, hath verily acquired the knowledge of the
both the perishable and the imperishable ones." With the
development of mental faculties as the man proceeds from the
piecemeal happiness to higher happiness or Ananda, he gets
more and more inclined towards his mental happiness in
preference to his physical one. For the love of country or
many such subtle happinesses, man makes no bones to lay down
his life. These are actually the signs of preponderance of
the human mind. The happiness of cats and dogs is physical.
In such receptacles as their mental happiness cannot have
the priority. Beat them and then call them to eat some
delectable food, they will come running after it. But man is
reluctant to stand any little lack of warmth or any little
blow on his mind. The one, who serves you under
circumstantial pressure and keeps your mind constantly
humored by his sycophancy, is actually at heart not very
pleased with you. He is constantly eager to fly this
thraldom. You cannot conquer human mind through
circumstantial pressure. Through Astanga Yoga, as mentioned
in the Ananda Marga, a Sadhaka, conscious of his body and
self, can gradually awaken his dormant mental power and with
the help of this developed mind he can eventually establish
himself in his seity or spiritual self. In this seity - in
this characteristic self he gets real Ananda. So, I say, get
the intuitional knowledge from a proper preceptor. You
cannot learn this through empirical knowledge. Intuitional
knowledge cannot be gained from books. For this one has to
go to a preceptor with devotion and reverence. Try to awaken
devotional bent and bias. It will come to you, if you so
wish. Once the devotion is awakened, you shall get God's
mercy without a doubt.
Mahad krpayaeva bhagavad krpaleshadva -Narada
Bhaktisutra.
With the gaining of only a wee bit of divine grace the
ego starts disappearing from the crude human body, the
Nityanitya Viveka gets awakened and this discriminating
judgment establishes 33 him in the Brahmic Consciousness.
Remember, in the path of meditation devotion is the
paramount factor. Where devotion is, God's mercy is - it has
got to be. Physical attachments are difficult to give up they die hard. Preservation of the crude body and being
addicted to the body are not one and the same thing. But
where the preservation of the body is not jeopardized or
does not stand in danger, man's subjection to the lure of
the body is surprisingly difficult to account for. At the
time of an earthquake a mother runs out of the house,
leaving her sleeping child in bed and then half way down
when the recollection of her child comes to her, she runs
back again to save her child. Quicker the mother's
remembrance of her child, the less her attraction for her
own body. A mother who is above such attraction will think
of her child first and take it away along with her. Through
proper Sadhana alone man is able to conquer such bodily and
all sorts of attachments. All bondages of sensuous
attractions of those that have been able to awaken their
subtle selves through Ananda Marga Astangika Sadhana, are
bound to be resolved.
Anyatra dharmadanyatradharmadanyatrasmat krtakrtat
Anyatra bhutacca bhavyacca yattat pashyasi tadvada.
What is Supreme or parama Brahma? How does He look
like? This you cannot know through the so-called,
ritualistic religion. Shraddhakriya or post-obit ceremonies
and rituals for the souls of the dead, Shantikriya or
ceremonious propitiation of gods and evil planets,
ceremonial fasts, sacrificial fire or oblation (Yajina) and
various other social and popular extroversive, ritualistic
functions and ceremonies with flowers, bael-leaves
(Aeglefolia), water of the Ganges etc. - none of these can
attain you Brahma, for these ceremonies are external and
showy. How can you reach the LIfe of your life, the Soul of
your soul with these showy and superficial paraphernalia?
Three entities eventually emerge, wherever these rituals
take place - Religious Ceremony, the Fruit or Reward of such
a religious ceremony and Those That Institute the religious
ceremony. For the sake of crude, external, material gains
the authors of these so-called religious ceremonies perform
these rituals. Really speaking, the word, Dharma, should not
be associated with these ceremonies. Dharma is the spiritual
meditation that a Sadhaka does for the attainment of Saguna
Brahma, the source of Infinite Bliss. And how about Nirguna
Brahma? Although I cannot but call the effort of the
attainment of Nirguna Brahma also Dharma in the popular
language, yet He is actually not conformable to Dharma? Then
is He conformable to Adharma - the negation of Dharma? NO.
He is not that, too. He does not come under any of the two
categories. Dharma and Adharma are both attributive
(subjectivated and objectivated sentiments). All attributive
sentiments fall within the scope of mind - fall in the net
of causality. Nirguna Brahma is beyond the ambit of
causality. He is above Dharma and Adharma. He is none of
whatever had ever been created, or of whatever have been or
will be created. Each of these is the objectivated
manifestation of Saguna Brahma, but in Nirguna Brahma exists
neither antecedence nor impedance, neither gain nor loss nor accumulation either 33 (there is no question of creation
of the third as the result of the union of the two).
Naciketa prays to Yama, "O Lord of Death! I want to get
established in the Nirguna Brahma, Who is beyond all
attributes - beyond to be and not to be. Deign to tell me
something about Him." The Yama replies,
Sarve veda yat padamamananti tapamsi sarvani ca
yadvadanti Yadicchanto Brahmacaryaincaranti tatte padam
samgrahena vraviimyomityetat.
"In every veda the Position which hath been the
supreme factor of contemplation, for the realization of
which ascetics taketh to meditation, for the attainment of
which the Brahmacariis (Those who are constantly in a
Brahmic mood) taketh the vow of Brahmacarya (The act of a
Brahmacarii) - in reference to that super-exalted Position,
I pronounce to thee the word Onunkara, which standeth for
it."
Tasya vacka pranavah.
Really speaking, there is no word in the language like
Onunkara, more suitable to the explanation of Brahma, for
the state of Nirguna is inexplicable. although one may try
to explain the state of Saguna, yet there is no feasible way
other than the use of Onunkara to explain His initial
expression - indeed there is no other choice. Onunkara as a
term of expression is a wonderful unifying link between
Nirguna and Saguna Brahma. In the written language only a
dot (.) is used for Nirguna Brahma. (om) is used for the
Sonic manifestation of Saguna Brahma and the phonic sign (^)
is symbolic of the expression, which is just about to take
place.
""
Etaddhyevaksaram Brahma etadevaksaramparam
Etaddhyevaksaram jinatva yoyadicchati tasya tat.
This Onunkara is the first expression of the Brahmic
Glory and that is why, it is known as the Sound-Brahma. It
occupies the topmost position, for the ultimate cause of
Creation, Preservation, and Destruction is inherent in its
three letters, viz., (a) + (u=oo) + (ma). One who has known
and heard this Onunkara, echoing in the vast sky as the
Macro-sonic phenomenon and the mental sky as the Micro-sonic
one, has indeed caught the very essence of essences right in
the palm of one's hand. Here one should bear in mind that
when Onunkara stands for sound, to know it then is to hear
or pronounce it. When Onunkara is being pronounced or
sounded in the Brahmic Mind itself, it is then meaningless
for the Sadhaka to pronounce it during his meditation of
Onunkara. The Sadhana of Onunkara means the endeavor to hear
that sound. That is why, in Ananda Marga Onunkara is not a
mantra (an incantation of invocation) for chanting but for
hearing. Hearing or surrendering to, this Onunkara, which is
the direct concomitant of the Brahmic nucleus, the
Purusottama, is to attain Him, and attaining Him means there
is nothing else to be desired. Collectively or individually
He is everything. Nothing is outside 3M3 Him. He who seeks
Him is really wise, for attaining Him means attaining all.
Incidentally there is a beautiful story in the Ramayana.
Once Rama and Laksmana were sailing in a boat towards
Mithila across the Ganges. So far as the story goes, the
boat turned into gold and with the touch of Rama's feet.
When the boat reached the other end of the bank, the wife of
the boatman came to know about this miracle. down she
brought all the woods and timbers from the house and started
turning them into gold by bringing them into contact with
Rama's feet. Marking the foolishness of his wife the boatman
counselled her, "Look here, how long are you going to toil
like this? Act wisely. Take refuge under those feet that
have such miraculous power. If you do so, you will be able
to turn any worldly object into gold at will." Taking His
refuge means merging one's egotistic vanity in Him. The
attainment of Brahma is difficult for those who want to work
out the profit and loss of "what shall I get out of this
attainment." If a man, while going to surrender his self to
Him, be conscious of his petty ego's profit and loss, then
how can he dedicate his petty ego to Him? His worm-eaten
mental flower shall not be worship-worthy. Entertaining no
desire for sensuous happiness a man has to surrender himself
to the waves of the essential flow of that inscrutable
Supreme Fountain-head, Brahma. This total dedication - this
self-surrender is the sentiment of Shrii Radha (the
personified Love Sublime) - her sole world.
Endless joy unsought-for lies When Krsna's sight fills
Gopi's eyes. The sight of Milkmaids, Krsna's joy, Multifold
more do they enjoy. -Caetanya Caritamrta
An uncovetous devotee, bathed in the purity of
devotion, wants nothing for himself. He wants only Him in
exchange of his own self. At the time of merger as he
identifies himself with Him, he tastes of the boundless
bliss. The pleasant waves of sensation take place in the
psychic body of the Supreme Entity on getting back his
devotee in HIs own state of Consciousness, are a lot more in
evidence in that of the self-immolating Sadhaka.
Etadalambanam shresthametadalambanamparam
Etadalambanam jinatva Brahmaloke mahiiyate.
The foremost pivot of a living being is this Onunkara.
This Onunkara - this super-exalted state of the microcosm,
is verily the Brahma Himself. The one who has realized or
held on to this prop, get gloriously installed in Brahmic
sphere. This Onunkara-Brahma is an Aseity. In no
circumstances can He be lost.
Na jayate mriyate va vipashcinnayam kutashcinna
vabhuva kashcit Ajo nityah shashvatoyam purano na hanyate
hanyamane shariire
This Onunkara-Brahma is not subject to birth or death.
His existence is beyond the precincts of life and death. How
is 33 birth possible of an entity, Who is supra-temporal?
When will He take birth? Aren't place and person necessary
for a life to be born? That which is the Absolute Truth, can
never be subject to time, place or person. That is why, the
soul is free from birth and death. Death occurs to relative
entities, not to consciousness. No birth is possible for the
one, which is immutable, i.e., which has no second
existence, and such an impeccable thing cannot be anything
but the soul. The natural tendencies of worldly objects are:
the death of one form begets the formation of another, the
loss of one means the gain of another. In this endless
process of building and rebuilding of the successive order
the one that remains, we call, new or the new-born. We
cannot call Brahma new, for He is not the effect of any
previous cause. Through this process of building and
rebuilding of the successive order the one that remains we
call new or new-born. We cannot call Brahma new, this
process of building and rebuilding the whimsical hand of
time has not been able to touch Him, for He is birthless,
eternal and sempiternal aeon. Through the destruction of
this fleshy body, i.e., through its metamorphosis He is
neither destroyed nor gets transformed.
Hanta cenmanyate hantum hatashcenmanyate hatam Ubhao
tao na vinajiito nayam hanti na hanyate.
When a murderer strikes to kill, he does not know or
understand that he has no power to murder anybody. The
doomed, dying man also thinks, as though he is just about to
die. But both of them are wrong. Actually no one kills any
one nor any one dies.
Anoraniiyanmahato mahiiyanatmasya jantornihito guhayam
Tamakratuh pashyati biitashoko dhatuprasadanmahimanamatmanah
This Atma or Soul, which is indestructible - which is
immortal, is smaller than the molecule or atom, smaller than
the small - ultra-microscopic. Due to its smallness you
cannot feel it with your sensory power. In the language of
science, if you take molecule as the English equivalent of
Anu, you will find a series of other things, even smaller
than the atom, like proton, neutron, electron, etc., which
are too subtle for your senses. Apprehension is possible
only through the power of imagination. If you further go to
analyze them, your imagination will stop functioning or will
be compelled to get engrossed in a deep reverie. On the last
Phalgunii Purnima (the full-moon of the month of Phalguna) I
told you that the apprehending capacity of your organs for
the small and the big things was limited. The organ
concerned can apprehend only a particular wave-length, i.e.,
from one particular point of movement to another particular
point, neither more nor less. Just as the soul is the
molecule of the molecule on one hand, similarly it is
greater than the great on the other. This being
ultrasensual, you cannot apprehend it as it is. Just as you
cannot see things properly in a dim light, similarly a
blazing light dazzles your vision and you cannot see either.
The soul abides in your mental horizon as the knower of 33
your world of imagination and as the certifying witness or
your being-hood - your sense of existence. If you direct
your sentimental entity towards Its great sentiment, then
your emotion or thought, being on the higher plane, loses
its pettiness. Your existence then is hardly distinguishable
from It. If you direct your sentimental entity towards Its
microatomic sentiment, then too your mind goes out of
action. If you cherish the sentiment of attaining Him, you
will have to be bereft of all sensuous desires by carefully
and deftly bringing under control the selfish,
individualistic frivolities of your mind. In such an event
you attraction for the piecemeals will disappear. You will
bask in the sunshine of Macrocosmic favor. Your mind will
then be installed in the super-celestial region of abiding
tranquility beyond the pale of weal and woe. Then alone you
will be free from grief - then alone you will realize that
Grand Glorious Brahma.
Asiino duram vrajati shayano yati sarvatah
Kastammadamadandevam madanyo dinatumarhati.
He is installed in your fundamental intellect. But
does He really remain at one place? In your mind you go out
to London or America in a jiffy. But who actually goes
there? Your objective mind of course - the mind, which is
His object. Along with the mental travel to and fro. His
knowership also remains, does it not? Now you understand
that, inwardly and on His own, He goes on traversing distant
and yet more distant countries. When the mind sleeps i.e.,
when the organs are inactive and all epithymetic actions
(desires) are also at a standstill, He is supposed to be
asleep also in the mind, isn't He? Well, does He have then
any movement? Yes, of course He has His movements. He is the
Omneity - the all knowing seed. Even without an object He
maintains His self-same entity. So you see, you cannot bind
him with a single strand of quality. He imbibes different
contrary attributes. Your mind, however, cannot have two
contrary qualities like the refulgence of pleasure and the
shadow of pain simultaneously. His mind, being free from any
singular bondage, He alone has been able to become the
ultimate refuge of all kinds of contradictory objects. He is
the wonderful conglomeration of pride and non-pride. The
Yama said, "None but I can attain Him". Yama means
controller. The Yama is the prototype of restraint. REally
speaking, without Yama or regulated Sadhana, it is
impossible to attain Him. Atma or Soul is not attainable by
one, devoid of control. You will certainly realize the depth
of this observation after you have pursued the path of
Sadhana for a few days. But then I have already told you
many a time and I repeat it now that restraint does not mean
running away, giving up everything. Adequate and proper use
of everything is what is called restraint. You can honor
adequately every obligation of domestic life but you must
never lose your head. When the animal instinct of hunger is
there, you must eat but you must not invite a disease by
taking more food out of greed.
Ashariiram shariiresvanavasthesvavasthitam Mahantam
vibhumatmanam matva dhiiro na shocati. 33 The Brahma, Who
has within Him the countless number of contradictory
attributes, is an incorporeal entity due to His
limitlessness. He has neither a body nor a receptacle. It
just cannot be nor there is any need for it. But how about
these countless fragmentary manifestations that do have
their bodies and yet they are His manifestations and are all
within Him? Yes, that is the reason why He is the possessor
of countless bodies, being bodiless Himself.The Spiritual
Entity is not subject to any time, place or person, but the
finite unit entities are their cooperative creations. He,
being beyond their purview, i.e., outside the scope of mind,
is absolutely free from all sorts of mental modifications of
pleasure and pain. So the man, who identifies himself with
Him after attaining Him, becomes free from all sorts of
pain. His mind gets stilled. He merges in the Macrocosmic
Consciousness.
Have seen They countless forms, O Formless One! Now
tell'st, O Lord, what's there to be seen and won.
-Anandamurti.
Now take His endless forms. Haven't they got any
utility? For the benefit and salvation of man, He has been
teaching Him through the media of limitless forms. So the
existence of every created thing in this world has its value
- has its mundane as well as spiritual utility. None is
useless - none is a burden on the world. Knowingly or
unknowingly all are working together as one beautiful team
and one mind for the collective good of all. All are beaming
in their self-surging glory. The giver knows the efficacy of
charity, since the receiver is there. The advance man is
getting opportunity to serve, since the backward man is
there. He has evolved so many forms as per necessity. In
each of these forms we see the different contours of His
love, get scope for learning many things and are getting
impetus to move towards Him. His radiance is being refracted
through the veins and veinules, molecules and atoms of every
evolved object. Treating every microcosmic tendency as His
own object for the good of the world, He has been afflicting
Himself day in and day out with the painful affliction of
their lives, - suffering for them, and His diverse,
manifested organisms are bowing down in reverence to His
glory. All the loquacity of these ignorant beings is getting
silenced before His exalted greatness. What a non-Sadhaka
regards as his or her wealth, son, husband etc., are, in the
eyes of a Sadhaka, but the waves or the brilliant, activated
expressions of the Cosmic Sea, wherein he (the Sadhaka)
feels himself consciously installed. He knows that the very
Sea, in which or on whose breast those expressions are
waking up and dozing off, is to him the Truth itself, - has
been making the beauty of his soul more charming every
moment by encompassing him form all the ten directions. In
that Sea of Love he has fearlessly laid afloat the heavy
onus of his own entity.
Nayamatma pravacanena labhyo na medhaya na bahuna
shrutena Yamevaesa vrnute tena labhyastasyaesa atma vivrnute
tanum svam. 3&3 The foremost Dharma - the paramount act, of
merging one's self in the Absolute Entity in full
realization of Its charm, will not be accomplished through
mere listening to religious dissertations. You must have
noticed, there are many people in our society that
constantly keep track of great men and run up to them
soliciting, "Give us some advice. Tell us something about
religion." Such religious discourses will cut no ice. If not
substantiated by Sadhana. It is wrong to think that God is
realizable by man through empirical knowledge or through a
study or a few dozens of philosophical books; rather, there
is a greater possibility of his receding from the Brahmic,
intuitional bent. In such a case vanity becomes the chief
characteristic of his nature. Brahma or God cannot be
attained through tall religious overtures to the human
society nor through interesting recapitulations before it as
to which and which great man said such and such things, - as
to how they walked, or through writing volumes of books. Do
not entertain such (silly) ideas that you can hit the bull's
eye so cheaply by dint of your intellect, for you shall not
achieve Him through such (shady) means. To attain Brahma you
shall have to do Sadhana or spiritual meditation. Him shall
you make the only target of your life. For this you require
integrity, devotion and singular and earnest love for Him.
He is not attainable without reverence and unflagging and
unflinching devotion. When the devotional depth will come,
love, too, will be out-brimming with high sentiments - will
be full and over-flowing. When love will reach its
completeness - its saturation point, self-immolation will
become easy and simple. In that state alone will come your
final realization of the Supreme Consciousness. Where `I'
is, `He' is not ... where `He' is, `I' is not. Remember,
devotion is the prerequisite of Sadhana. Maturity of
devotion is love and maturity of love is He.
Sa iishvara anirvacaniiya parama premasvarupa.
Only whole-hearted love can bind Him. When you will be
able to do so, you will see, what you have in bondage is the
Love Divine.
To Love sincere Lord Krsna clings Bound to love, so
Bhagavata sings Krsna realized through such a love For Love
is Krsna, Krsna, Love. -Krsnadasa Kaviraja.
Navirato dushcaritannashanto nasamahitah
Nashantamanaso vapi prajinanenaenamapnuyat.
Sensuous intellect is an inert intellect. Sensuous
movements are efferent. So the intellect of the sensuous man
is wasted over external objects. The human mind that has in
it an unbridled desire for piecemeal pleasures is never at
peace. In such a state the man will not attain Brahma. When
the mind is preoccupied with unit objects, can he get the
integrated whole? when your progress is towards the crude,
you will undoubtedly become crudified yourselves. Your mind
will leap from one crude desire to another - will run form
one object after another in a wild pursuit. Such is the way
of the materialistic, isn't it? But 3_3 a Brahmic aspirant,
being in the midst of all and making the right use of
everything, proceeds towards the supreme goal. Learn the
Intuitional Science from the competent preceptor and proceed
accordingly.
Yasya Brahma ca ksatrainca ubhe bhavata odanam
Mrtyuryasyopasecanam ka ittha veda yatra sah.
Nirguna Brahma (the objectless, unsubjectivated Pure
Consciousness) is your supreme goal. Even Saguna Brahma (the
Subjectivated Transcendentality) is devoured by Nirguna. The
Sadhaka of Brahma knows that Saguna Brahma, Who is the
cooperative principle of consciousness and energy - a
combination of conscious force and operative force, i.e.,
Introversive Consciousness and Introversive Force,
eventually turns into food for the Nirguna. That is to say,
with His death all His feelings and emotions also disappear
and so death serves as ghee (clarified butter) for the
ultimate food of the Nirguna. Just as flour alone does not
make it eatable, similarly the ghee-like death makes the
Consciousness-cum-energy-like food delectable and palatable
to the Nirguna Brahma. So I say that this death too is a
benevolent system. When the overall sentiment (the
subjectivated and objectivated state) of Saguna Brahma
merges in the Objectless Nirguna, that is to say, when a
Sadhaka (spiritual meditator) attains salvation, soleness or
absolute identity with the Divine Essence, i.e., final
liberation, all the onus of his ego lightens. Prakrti, the
ylem or the root or plastic cause of creation, can no more
throw him into the pit of pleasure and pain. So in order to
attain Him - whom you cannot attain through empirical or
worldly knowledge anyhow, - get busy and be up and doing
from this very moment and get proper guidance from a proper
preceptor. Ananda Purnima, 1956.
SS4-2B.SS
He is, as though, the chandelier of the dancing hall.
The chandelier remains as the witness of all that the
dancers perform on the stage. Not only that, it is due to
its witness-ship, i.e., it is on the strength of its light
that the spectators see, understand and acknowledge the
stage as well as the varied attitudinal poise and figures of
the dancers. Then again when the dancers do not perform
anything, the witness-ship of that stage still remains with
the chandelier and thereby the existence of the blank stage
remains intact. The vast, all-pervading radiant Entity, the
A'tman, in spite of His being the manifestor of mental or
physical loss and gain, remains aloof from and unaffected by
them. So the levelheaded man of intellect who has understood
Him and attained Him, also remains immune from all kinds of
favorable and unfavorable waves of Tanma'tras (sensible and
supersensible inferences). His seat remains above pleasure
and pain. The unstable objects (Adhruva) come and go. He is
not affected at all like Ra'jars'i Janaka, the sage-king of
Mithila', who said "Mithila'ya'm' pradagdha'ya'm' na me
nashyati kiincana" i.e., I lose nothing even if the whole
kingdom of Mithila' goes to rack and ruin through fire.
Ya imam' madhvadam' veda a'tma'nam' Jiivamantika't
Iisha'nambhu'tabhavyasya na tato vijugupsate.
The organic form lives through pleasure and pain.
Where organism does not exist, there, none of the two,
pleasure and pain, exists. The witnessing entity of both the
being-hoods of the microcosm and the acts or consequences
(Karma or Karmaphala) thereof is that vast Consciousness.
The cosmo-psychic waves, with the pervasive witness-ship of
the vast Cosmic Consciousness, have been prescribing
consequential forms of pleasure and pain, blows and
counter-blows to the microcosmic mind. If this witness-ship
of the Supreme Spirit had not been there, then time, nature,
destiny, willfulness, accident, world or any of the
activities of the Prakrti, we may apparently think of, could
not have existed at all and so the cycle of action could not
have been evolved for the expression of reaction
(Karmaphala). It is on account of the witness-ship of the
Collective Consciousness that the Collective mind, as the
action-enacting force, prescribes Bhoga'navarga (pleasure or
pain as reaction of past action) to the microcosm. Requitals
perceived by the mind alone, not body, for the subtle waves
of action and reaction, which the body cannot hold, can be
held by the mind, and because of this capability the mind
has the quality of comprehensibility and sensibility
(cognition), which the body has not, but of course the body,
too, does undergo some change due to the crudity or subtlety
of the mind. For example, the nerves of a man of criminal
bent of mind get strong and his skin gets thick and stiff,
as the result of which neither the body nor the mind can
easily comprehend the impact of shocks and blows. Similarly,
the conscious-ward man gets very mild and soft mentally and
physically. Due to his skin and body being respectively thin
and soft, the retentivity of the body and the mind or the
comprehensibility or sensibility of the mind gets
considerably enhanced. These, however, fall within the scope
of physiology and psychology. But is the mind's experience
of perception of pleasure and pain the same in all
circumstances? No. As per degrees of consciousness its
perceptions also keep changing. Mind being unmanifest in a
state of superlative inertness, the sense of pleasure and
pain is nil. Mind being unmanifest even in the state of
superlative consciousness the sense of pleasure and pain is
nil. But the object, which in conjunction with the mind,
becomes the perceiver of pleasure and pain, cannot have
cognition, if there be no manifestation of consciousness in
it. So this characteristically conscious A'tman alone is
proving the existence of the organic body, imbibing the
sense of pleasure and pain. Really speaking, whatever past
or future there may be, all A'tman-inspired - are all taking
place indeed within His psychic sphere and so they will for
all time to come. From the standpoint of subtle philosophic
judgment this very A'tman is the world's Iisha'na (Shiva) or
Controller. Being installed in this Iisha'na, not only the
sense of the body but of the mind as well comes to naught
and so to the microcosm, the doership, deeds or doings,
distinctions or differentiations, secret or non-secret - all
get lost. Here it is necessary to tell you a word or two
about body and mind. Like the Ca'rva'kists many people
think: Mind is an attribute of the body itself: it is born
with the body and it dies with the body. Men belonging to
this class think that mind and soul are one and the same
thing.
Caturbhyo khalu bhu'tebhyo caetanyamupaja'yate
Kin'va'dibhyah sametebhyah dravyebhyo madashaktivat. That is
to say, as the result of union of four elements the fifth
thing, known as consciousness, comes into being (Ca'rva'ka
does not recognize A'ka'shabhu'ta or ether, for it is not
visible to the eye. But Ca'rva'ka perhaps did not know that
A'ka'shabhu'ta could be realized in some other way). It is
as though a preparation of wine with the mixture of things
like leaven etc. Ca'rva'ka's observation is absolutely
wrong. He should know that the potentiality of the extra
entity had already been inherent in those very ingredients,
out of whose union that extra thing came into being. The
potentiality of Banyan tree is embedded right in the Banyan
seed. That potentiality expresses itself with the help of
water, earth, juice, air and light. Seeing that the chemical
combination of inedible Natron (native carbonate of soda)
and Chlorine produces Sodium Chloride (salt), a very
necessary edible for man, there is hardly any cogent reason
to call it an extra thing. The entire potentiality of sodium
chloride had been inherent in those very poisonous sodium
and chlorine. That potentiality has only found expression
under a favorable condition, that's all. Similarly, what we
call consciousness is not queer something that heaves from
nowhere and perches in juxtaposition with something else.
Consciousness exists unmanifestly in every atom of things.
Manifest is the material force or Prakrti. Under favorable
conditions that unmanifest, quiescent Purus'a gradually
wakes up in the momentum of the centripetal force of the
macrocosmic mind through the media of various clashes and
frictions. The corpse-like Shiva (Consciousness) lying under
the feet of Shakti (material force or Energy) is gradually
transformed into wakeful Shiva. This awakening of Shiva
makes the Material force more rhythmic. Wherever and to
whatever extent its rhythmic bearing has found expression
and taken an orderly form giving up its whimsicality, we
say, the psychic entity has found in it as much expression
there. We have got to see this psychic entity, segregating
it from the so-called matter but it has less influence of
the material force upon it than the matter, for it
constantly sparkles in the reflected radiance of
consciousness. The feeling of pleasure or pain takes place
on the psychic body. The sense-wave that is complimentary to
the inclinational wave is what we call happiness and that
which runs counter thereto is sorrow. This sense or
reflection is a psychic action. This action finds expression
with the help of the brain. There are many, who mistake
brain for mind. Again there are many, who think that the
mind is an attribute of the brain. Actually mind is
altogether and independent entity, which is made of subtler
stuff than even ether. Brain is indeed a crude object, which
is essentially the resultant of the combination of a few
fundamental elements like Hydrogen, Carbon, etc. Of these
fundamental elements some are solid, some liquid, some
luminous, some aerial or some etheric. Really speaking, if
we call the mind the mechanic, then we will have to call the
brain the machine. The mechanic does different jobs with the
different parts of the machine. Similarly, the mind, too,
expresses itself in different parts of the brain through
different kinds of sensific functions or thought-waves, it
is wrong to think that memory is an attribute of the brain.
Memory remains right in the mind (Citta) as the potential
reaction (Sam'ska'ra). This memory finds its recognition
only when the imaginative power works through the media of
the cerebral nerve-cells. No matter how great the power or
potentiality of the mind be, it (i.e., the unit-mind) cannot
do anything at all without the help of the brain, for
idioplasmic (Sam'ska'ras) independence, whereby the separate
existence of the microcosms are determined, cannot find its
expression without the help of the brain. That is why the
bodiless A'tman, though having the witness-ship of the
accumulated idant or reactive momenta (Sam'ska'ras), is
unable to perform any kind of crude or subtle act in the
absence of the brain. For the A'tman to come as a spirit and
accept the post-obit offerings like funeral cakes (Pin'da)
or Sesamum seeds with water (Tilodaka) is absolutely
illogical and contrary to reason. The primary feeling is
received or comprehended in the unit-mind through the media
of nerve-cells and so the recent and newer vibration
sketches or outlines of feeling necessarily remain in
particular nerve-cells. There are different kinds of
nerve-cells in the brain as per degrees of vibrations. Each
of these nerve-cells is the bearer of a particular kind of
sensibility and activity. The internal cause of the
brain-endowed units, being in no particular difficulty to
remodel the newly acquired or newly born ideas on the mental
stratum, is that the vibrations of the nerve-cells remain in
an almost undisturbed state for some 33 time. Of course
there is also an external cause. The reason for that is that
the causes, surrounding these newly born or newly acquired
ideas are found to be almost undistorted for a long time,
and help them to reappear on the canvas of memory. With the
passage of time the diagrams of the feelings of those
activating causes of events also undergo change even in the
external world. In that event the act of reawakening those
events on the canvas of memory becomes the sole care of the
mind instead of the brain. Of course the brain has got to be
an idea-bearing instrument. If you see a white cow right
now, you can easily say after five minutes that the cow was
white, because the sensation of the cow that has drawn its
lines in your nerve-cells, remains still quite clear and so
neither the mind nor the brain will have any particular
difficulty in activating the memory by reproducing the
thought-waves therefrom. But after a lapse of a few days, if
you are asked about the cow you cannot answer it so easily
because the outlines of the feelings or sensibility in your
nerve-cells have then dimmed. At such a time the mind will
have to extricate with much difficulty the idea of the cow
out of its accumulated Sam'ska'ras - an act which is
entirely dependent on the mental power. For the performance
of various mental functions like memorizing, thinking,
perceiving, application of crude Vrtti and invocation of
distant events, a worldly instrument is necessary and that
instrument is the brain, whose various parts help the mind
in various ways. It will not be meet to say, if anybody
does, that every human feeling is lastingly recorded or
outlined in one or the other part of the brain. If this were
true, the size of the brain would have to be a very large
one and newer and newer cells would have to be constructed
in order to cope with the progressive demands of feelings
and sensibilities every moment. So it has to be admitted
that the lasting abode of feelings is the mind, not the
brain. Even in the absence of the outlines in the
nerve-cells the mind can get its accumulated Sam'ska'ras
revibrated in the nerve-cells at will and as many times as
it likes, by dint of its own force and can also draw similar
outlines in them. As long as these mentally created outlines
remain undistorted, memorization continues to be easy. When
asked as to what you have eaten today, you may reply at once
but when asked as to what you took the day before yesterday,
you will take quite some time to answer. After you reply
once, if you are asked again a little later, "What did you
eat the day before yesterday?" YOu will be able to answer
very quickly. Either of the mind and brain can be diseased.
If any sort of abnormality come into the brain as the result
of a fall or injury, the mind entity, even though the mind
be healthy, cannot function rightly with the help of that
distorted instrument. There are many such victims of brain
disease that are called lunatics in the society. The vital
force having waned following a few days' illness, the brain
gets sluggish and so even an extra wise and learned man
becomes incapable of thinking deeply over any subject. Then
again the mind may have some ailments. You get overjoyed on
getting some object, which conforms to your idioplasmic cast
(Sam'ska'ra) but contrarily, some object fills your heart
with disdainful revulsion. Some particular air of music or
some particular touch or some particular color or the taste
of 33 something hot (Jhal'la) or bitter, fills your heart
with annoyance. But another man may not have such reactions,
perhaps you do not always have such affections either. The
smell of Gnappy may be intolerable to an Indian but to the
Burmese it may be a delight. It cannot be said that they
tolerate it just because their nervous systems are used to
that smell. To them Gnappy is an ingredient of enjoyment and
for this reason they have the like Sam'ska'ra in their mind,
which accounts for their love for it. So to love or not to
love actually depends upon the mind, not upon the brain. The
instinctive reaction or revulsion that we see in a Hindu at
the sight of beef or in a Moslem at the sight of ham or veal
is indeed psychological. A mad Hindu or a mad Mohammedan
will easily eat that denounced meat, for, on account of his
defective brain he may not have the advantage of summoning
that relative instinctive reaction. There are a thousand and
one kinds of instances of mental aberration or perversity
among human and animal societies. The unit-ego has not only
no brain but, from the subtle philosophical standpoint, it
has no mind either. The `I-feeling' that exists within the
scope of the mind finds its substantiation only through a
particular vibration, emanating from the nervecells. In the
absence of these nerve-cells the independent `Ifeeling'
becomes supportless and it loses its individual entity. Yet
the `I-feeling', be it personal or impersonal, is a psychic
performance - one is of the unit-mind with brain, the other
is of the Cosmic mind without brain. The supramental subtle
Macrocosmic Entity (Bhu'ma') or A'tman, however, is not in
any way dependent on the nerve cells, but is only responsive
(Pratisam'vedii) to the thought-waves (Sam'vedana) of the
mind-entity in all cases. As the result of the impact of the
thought-wave upon Him, He appears to be dyed with the color
of that thought, yet characteristically He is immune from
everything. Cognitive `responsibility' is the characteristic
of the Omniscient Psychic Ego. It is through this cognitive
responsivity that existence of the mental apperception is
substantiated. In the unexpressed state of the mental
bearing (microcosmically, in the absence of the brain or the
functionless state of the brain and macrocosmically, in the
absence of `avikalpa' - vide Subha's'ita Sam'graha, Vol. II)
the responsive action also does not take place for want of
thoughtwaves. When the cardiac function stops and the nerves
too follow suit along with it, we call it the "death of the
body". Similarly when the nerve-cells of the brain and,
naturally along with them, the cognitive activative and
sensific thought-waves of the mind stop functioning, we call
it "the death of the mind". When with the stoppage of
thought-waves, the telepathic action also stops, we call the
Jiiva'tman, Videhii A'tman or the Bodiless Soul, although
that Jiiva'tman (the Subjective counterpart of the
Microcosm) has to remain with his witnessing bearing, so
long as there is mind or Sam'ska'ra. To call any A'tman a
bodiless on is philosophically untenable, unless and until
the mind or Sam'ska'ra is totally destroyed, i.e., until
salvation is achieved. I have already said, brain is
necessary only for the microcosms, not for Macrocosm
(Bhu'ma'). Here a question may arise. How is then the
Macrocosm doing the function of the mind? Why isn't the
brain necessary for Him? Brain is necessary for 33
determining the sense of ego as well as for directing the
propensive tendencies of the sensory and motor organs. But
to meet the necessity of One, Whose Ego's sphere of
comprehension is immeasurable due to its vastness, is beyond
the capacity of any finite quinquelemental brain. Secondly
the five factors, of which the brain is made, are begotten
of the mind-stuff of this very Great I and so for
Macrocosmic Mind none of the crude quinquelemental
ingredients due to its (the brain's) absence can have the
opportunity to work as the receptacle. If this be the case,
then how comes the flow of His mind? There the Purus'a
Entity Himself is fully manifest as the mind, indeed with
the help of the Material Force (Prakrti). From
beginninglessness to endlessness - from timelessness to
timelessness the subjectivity or the mind-like form of
character that the Material Force has been imposing upon Him
is what we call His imagination (Kalpana'), wherein lies the
expressional potentiality of His volition or purpose. The
Yogi in his Determinate Trance of Absorption (Savikalpa
Sama'dhi) drifts afloat his own mind-entity on these very
psychic waves of His. This manifestation, being created in
the original Purus'a Entity through the influence of the
Primordial Prakrti (His Operative Principle), is
entitatively imperishable, in spite of its undergoing
diversities of forms or its every form being perishable
severally. There is yet another reason for the non-existence
of His brain and that is that the necessity of a brain is
called for only for the acceptance of external ideas and
ejection of the internal ones. The question of ejecting or
expelling anything from within or taking in anything from
without, does not arise for One, outside whom noting exists
(due to His endlessness). All His psychic occupations are
taking place or finding their expressions through His own
internal psychic vibrations. I have told you that the
responsive bearing of the A'tman does not function in the
absence of mental thought-waves and that is why we call
`dead' the thought-wave-shorn mind that once bore the
identity of the unit. Oftener than not it is also seen that
due to lack of proper functioning of the vital airs of the
body the nerve-fibers perhaps do not get completely
inactive. With the result the mind remains intact in its
causal state. In the presence of the causal or unconscious
mind (Ka'ran'a-mana) the telepathic bearing of the A'tman
(Soul) also remains active as before. Medical examination
sometimes declares such a man dead. Cremation of the dead
being in vogue in the Hindu society, there is no way of
knowing as to who actually died or who was alive in his
causal or unconscious mind - even such half-dead persons are
burnt as dead. But in countries where burying the dead is
the vogue, it has been found after opening the coffin from
time to time that the person had come back to life again but
eventually, having failed to keep himself alive after a hard
struggle, had to court actual death in the darkness of the
grave in sheer helplessness. That is why I say, where there
is even the slightest expression of the mind, the telepathic
A'tman has got to be there and on account of His existence
all kinds of physical and mental activities will find their
entitative substantiation. The mind is greater than the body
and the A'tman is greater than the mind. Though not directly
active, yet if the A'tman's presence alone be the
determining factor of actions, then it will not be
unreasonable at all to call Him the sole controller
(Iisha'na). The One, due to Whose presence every act of the
body and mind is performed, is the A'tman indeed. He is the
sovereign Master of this body-like house. Without exerting,
He is present as the Master of all. It is on account of His
presence that His `housewife', Prakrti (His Operative
Principle), makes arrangements for servants and gets work
out of them as per necessity. He does not have to do
anything. But without Him the whole framework breaks into
pieces and that is why He is the Iisha'na - the Controller.
Whatever the activities, whatever the events, whatever the
spatio-temporo-personal expressions - all are taking place
within Him. He is the Iisha'na of all, past, present and
future. Every thing is at His finger-tips. Really speaking,
every relative factor is being evolved, retained and
dissolved in His body of dispassionate judgment none of
these can be accepted as truth in any of its particular
conditions. Whatever words I am uttering at present cease to
be of the present, immediately following their delivery, and
pass into the womb of the past and for the man who has not
yet heard those words due to distance through the media of
aerial or ethereal waves they remain in the darkness of the
future. To the man hearing my words at a distance of ten
cubits from me they are `present', to the man twenty cubits
from me they are `future' and to me they are `past'.
Whatever are to the unit past, present and future are for
Brahma one indivisible wave,apprehended differently by the
different unit-minds. He is the Supreme Authority of all the
three, past, present, and future - the Supreme Master of
Time. The One Who has the time factor in His grasp, is
verily the Cosmic Controller - the Iisha'na - Your own soul
- He is you. You are not an ordinary, poor, miserable
fellow. Stand erect, purging away all your dirts and
squalors. Stand and straighten yourself the way the Prince,
brought up in the home of a Can'd'a'la (a low-caste Hindu),
holds his head high and expands his chest in dignity and
flings himself to the task of establishing his honor and
prestige in the kingdom of his heart, when he discovers that
he is not a Can'd'a'la. Tear away with an iron hand all your
mental distortions and weaknesses like fear, hatred,
jealousy, etc. from your mind and establish upon it your
gem-studded throne.
Manasaervedama'ptavyam' neha na'na'sti kiincana Mrtyoh
sa mrtyuungacchati yaiha na'neva pashyati.
The Yama said, "Naciketa, thou art that Iisha'na. But
merely saying that thou art the Iisha'na cutteth no ice. If
anybody calleth thee a millionaire, mere hearing that thou
dost not actually become the owner of a million rupees. So
mere uttering the word, millionaire, is not enough. The
condition must be there to get recognition as a millionaire,
mustn't its. Sheer vaunting and boasting around the cities
and villages with inflated chest that I am the `Iisha'na' or
I am the `Brahma' does not mean the attainment of the
Brahmic state. You must have heard the Scriptural story of
the Vedantist Jackal. Listening to the discourse of the
Pan'd'itas (Erudite Scholars), the Jackal too started
preaching in his own society that he was no jackal - he was
the full-fledged, living Brahma, to be remembered, adored
and revered by all. The state of those that having read a
couple of pages of the book, dream of salvation without
doing any Sa'dhana' is similar to that of the Vedantist
Jackal. Actually mere talks are of no avail. Having set the
thought well in the mind, to get oneself established in the
like cognitive bearing is what is most important. To think
oneself to be an M. A. is useless. After having put in hard
work through Sa'dhana' when you actually pass your `M. A.',
then alone the sense of being an M. A. will get well-set in
the mind and then alone the talk of having passed M.A. will
be justified. So the Yama said, `Characteristically the unit
himself is the Iisha'na.' This truth remains within the
bounds of the language only - no intrinsic significance can
be attached to it, until the unit gets fully established in
this truth or has a thorough ingestion of the sense thereof.
What must one do to get established in this truth? What is
the way? The Yama said, "One who hath earnest zeal and
devotion for this, from a capable A'ca'rya or Preceptor, so
that this paramount truth mayeth come to a Sa'dhaka (the
intuitional practicer) as the fullest attainment". A
question may be asked, "Can't it be attained through
self-efforts alone, without going to an A'ca'rya?" Suppose,
you are very thirsty. If there be a pond nearby, in that
case you may slake your thirst with a handful of water from
the pond or by digging a well with a spade. You will
certainly not take to the second method, for before you have
a well by digging you may die of your burning thirst or it
may become impossible for you to secure a land or the
requisite accessories for digging the well. Even the one
that can secure them has to take help from others - has to
beg for them. After procuring iron ores from the iron-mine,
smelting them into iron and thereafter making a spade out of
it and then again cutting a branch of a tree and making a
handle out of it, if anybody takes to digging, in that case
of course no help is taken from the others but then this
involves a good amount of risk, for after digging you may
find the water salty or brackish - unfit for drinking. So,
as I was saying, you will have to go to a capable A'ca'rya
and learn the Brahmavidya' (Intuitional Science) from him.
If you wish, you may ask him why you must do this and that
but in this matter do not try to bring into play your own
whims and caprices. Rightly and properly follow the method
of Sa'dhana'. Advancement must come your way victory shall
certainly be yours. Meditating as per instructions of the
Sage, the observer of Truth, you yourself will feel that in
this observable world there exists but One Entity. You will
see then only on, indivisible Purus'a Entity aglow before
your eyes everywhere - only One Entity, not more than one.
The narrowness of piecemeal visions will then be lost. Fools
will fight over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, but
the Geographer knows that both are but the regional names of
one Indian Ocean. The one, in whose crude, subtle and causal
bearings pass the graceful manifestations of the one and the
same Purus'a Entity day in and day out, sees only Him in
everything. He goes beyond the restlessness of the mortal
world - gets established in deathlessness. Purus'a alone is
the Indivisible Cognitive Entity. Being in the unital
bearing under the influence of Prakrti, we sometimes see in
Him a son, sometimes a wife, sometimes fame, sometimes
learning. Actually behind each of these bearing the
fundamental entity is One. It is as though the muff-chain,
the churies, the bangles of gold. You look upon each of them
from different angles of sentiments. You have modeled a
particular history or a particular tradition out of each of
them. You are also making apt use of each of them in various
ways - wearing one on the hand, the other round the neck and
so on. You go to a goldsmith shop and he will regard all of
them as gold, not as separate items. He will not think of
their names (whether churi, bangle or chain). He will fix
the value of the gold only, weighing them in the scales
minus the dross and alloys. Become a pucca goldsmith of this
type. Learn to know the actual substance minus the
distinctions of the superficial names thereof. By properly
inculcating and practicing the rules of Sa'dhana', as
enunciated and defined by the A'ca'rya, the capacity for
seeing the original substance will also be awakened in you.
Why not come to the path of Sa'dhana' and see for yourself,
doing away with your fears, shame, doubt and hesitancy. One
who looks at things with a unit-wise outlook or in their
diverse forms, i.e., to whom the stamp of names alone is
all-important, actually runs after things in a doting mood
under the influence of his sensual proclivities. For the
fulfillment of his ungratified desire, - for serving his
unserved Sam'ska'ras (accountable retribution) he has to
take birth after death again and again. The final death the death which is indeed the honeyed flow of eternal good that nectarean Super-death, baffles his destiny - does not
want to come to his lot. The death of a real Sa'dhaka (the
intuitional practicer) is the super-death and so he is not
afraid of it, - which indeed brings to his ears the tidings
of an endless life by unbolting every cleat and bolt of the
doors of his bondages and so the Sa'dhaka by his death
merges his unit-life in the Supreme Life and attains Supreme
Bliss. The Supreme Life is indeed his Brahma, which is,
microcosmically, the only sustainer of the characteristic
existence of every entity.
Agniryathaeko bhuvane pravis't'o ru'pam' ru'pam'
pratiru'po jaga'ma Ekastatha' Sarvabhu`ta'ntara'tma' ru'pam'
ru'pam' pratiru'po bahishca.
In this observable world you do notice the wonderful
performances of the forces of lightning, light, sound or
heat here and there. The peculiar plays of these forces
certainly bewilder a man, but the Scientist, aware of the
truth, knows that energy is only one. The same material
force or energy is getting itself manifested differently in
different states. This material force is not only active as
a force alone, it is also the crude state of matter. This
so-called material force comes into being as the result of
the influence of the triple attributive Prakrti over the
Purus'a. Just as energy, taking innumerable forms in this
universe, goes on functioning in them, similarly, one and
the same A'tman remains ensconced in every form as the
witness and also as one of the ingredients of the energy.
The A'tman is not only present as an ingredient and witness
in the energycreated forms alone but He is present as the
all-witnessing 33 entity outside them as well. He abides not
only in the creation but also outside it as the knower. He
is even in the Objectless Cosmic Principle where knowledge,
knowable and the knower have become one.
Va'yuryathaeko bhuvanam' pravis't'o ru'pam' ru'pam'
pratiru'po vabhu'va Ekastatha' sarvabhu'ta'ntara'tma ru'pam'
ru'pam' pratiru'po bahishca. Take air for instance. In the
blowing lies its justification. Really speaking, whatever
has the capacity of carrying or blowing anything is called
air in the pervasive sense. The vibrational force, whereby
the microcosm or unit-mind receives or ejects inferences
(Tanma'tras) is really noting but air. So we see, the
intrinsic meaning of air is Pra'n'a. The English words,
strength or vital energy, may both be energy that you hear,
taste, smell , walk or see. The same vital energy, ensconced
in the body, goes on performing different functions. It is
with help of the vital energy, - which is the collective
state of the tenfold manifestations of differently active
airs, - that the different kinds of forms of the Being,
externalized in different bearings, is keeping intact the
structures of various forms of the world, and also exists
outside these forms as their sole witness.
Su'ryo Yatha' sarvalokasya caks'urn'a lipyate
ca'ks'u'saerba'hya dos'aeh Ekastatha' sarvabhu'ta'ntara'tma'
na lipyate lokaduhkhena ba'hyah.
He is like the sun. The sun is the eye of the entire
world. How does the knowledge of external objects some?
Surely when the light-waves, emanating from those objects,
hit your eyeballs. Where is the source of these light-waves
that carry the formTanma'tras of the objects? - The sun. The
sun is the apparent cause of each of the latent and the
patent forces of this Solar System. So by whatever light you
see objects, the chief cause thereof is inherent indeed in
the sun and so the sun is the greatest eye of the Solar
System. You could not have seen or visualized anything in
spite of your eyes, had not the sun-begotten light waves (or
any other transformed force-waves thereof) been there.
Without the help of the all-seeing eye of the sun the
worldly eyes cannot function at all. But suppose if you are
unable to see an object due to any eye-disease, will you
then blame the sun for it? No, in that case your eyes are to
be blamed. The sun is innocent. The flaw in your eyes does
not jeopardize his all-seeingness. Similarly, in spite of
Supreme Brahma being the Supreme Director of all mental
bearings and the superlatively brilliant reflector of all
mental plates, if your mental plate be faulty and on this
account if His expression be not manifest beautifully in
your heart, then the fault lies with you, not with Brahma.
Just as ocular defect does not implicate the sun, similarly
mental defect also does not implicate Brahma. If you do a
mean act, meanness will come in your mind. If you look at
ignoble things, ignoble sentiment will be awakened in your
mind. The sun, however, shall have nothing to do with these
3#3 flaws. He will remain pure as ever. he is the father of
all eyes. To him all objects will remain the same.
Similarly, no fault of any individual can touch the Parama
Purus'a (the Supreme Being), the Soul of all elements, Who
has been lighting up every individual entity. If at all
anybody or thing is to blame, it is the reflecting
unit-mind. So, in spite of Brahma being very very intimately
associated with the units, He does not get involved with
their pleasure or pain in any way and yet He has been
constantly showering His boundless kindness for the benefit
of the microcosms without discrimination or reservation. He
is the Lord of limitless mercy. If the unit can but
understand even a particle of His generosity, all ignominies
of the unit-mind get eradicated in a jiffy and yet man does
not try to understand it. To understand His generosity is
indeed what is called Sa'dhana'. If you do not do Sa'dhana',
the fault is yours. Do not try to incriminate that Sea of
Kindness, the Parama Brahma, on account of your own pleasure
and pain.
Eko vashii sarvabhu'ta'ntara'tma ekam' ru'pam'
bahudha' yah karoti Tama'tmastham' ye'nupashyanti
dhiira'stes'a'm' sukham' sha'shvatam' netares'a'm.
He is the Lord or all. This creation - this universe,
is completely under His control, - is being controlled by
His sheer nod. Not a grain of lapse is to be found anywhere.
With One Who is the Authority or Controller there normally
remains two more factors. One of them is the system of
control and the other is the controlled object. The rhythmic
gracefulness of His playful creation is this crude, subtle
and causal Universe. Through this sportive flow of His, He
goes on creating at will this heteromorphic world. But, in
spite of His being the Creator of many, He Himself, however,
is One - Unique. Infinite Entity is never more than one, or,
else His Self-characteristic is jeopardized. He is Infinite,
and characteristically He abides in the A'tman (Soul). He is
the Supreme knower - the Supreme Witness of even those
Jiiva'tma's (Unit-souls) that are ensconced as the knowers
of the unit-minds. Really speaking, in spite of this
all-witness-ship of His, He is not having His all-round
fulfillment spiritually. The reason being that the
unit-minds are but the individual unitforms of His own Great
Mind, that the evolved objects are but the cruder
expressions of His own Great Mind and that these unitA'tmans
or the so-called individual souls are but His own
reflections on the countless unit mental plates. That is why
the `He' or subjectivity (Kartrbha'va), the unit mind in
objective status (Karmabha'va), the observable world and the
unit-A'tmans are, spiritually, noting but His own
manifestative distinctions. The same `He' certainly abides
in you, watching every act of yours. He is very near you,
not at all away from you. Just as the shadow remains
adhesively by the sun's ray, similarly, He keeps Himself in
closest contact with your entity - `Cha'ya'tapao brahmavido
vadanu', i.e. the knowers of Brahma say that He remains with
the units like the shadow and the sun-ray, e.d, as shadow
remains with the sun-ray. One who is carefully and
introspectively inward bound by dint of Sa'dhana'
(Intuitional Practice) certainly 3Y3 attains Him, and
attaining that Eternal Sea of Bliss, enjoys ever-lasting
happiness. Eating a Rasagolla (a spongy sweet meat) you
become happy but no matter how great a stock of Rasagollas
you have, some day it must exhaust, mustn't it? So to get
lasting happiness out of Rasagollas, you need an unlimited
number of them. But it is not possible, for nothing of this
evolved world can be of unlimited number or measure.
Unlimited is only He. So it is only by attaining Him that
unlimited happiness can be possible. No matter how much you
enjoy Him, He will never come to the last dreg - He cannot
be exhausted. Those that crave for or worship unit-objects
for happiness, can never get unlimited happiness - never.
Nityo'nitya'na'm' cetanashcetana'nameko bahu'na'm' yo
vidadha'ti ka'ma'n Tama'tmastham' ye'nupashyanti
dhiira'stes'a'm' sha'ntih sha'shvatii netares'a'm'.
The things that we know to be eternal in the world are
not factually so. `Eternal' means only that which is
established in its own characteristic bearing - which has
not to have the stigma of relativity for its
spatio-temporo-personal pervasion. Of these so called
eternal things the really eternal entity, that does exist,
is the Purus'a. In common language what we call conscious
entities are not really so, but they are only the crude
manifestations of Consciousness indeed. The unchangeable
Witnessing Consciousness that lies behind the manifested,
externalized states of consciousness or behind these
apparently conscious entities is the Purus'a Himself. REally
speaking behind these `transient' and `inanimates',
(commonly) accepted as `eternal' and `conscious'
respectively, abides one and the only really Eternal or
Conscious Entity, Who by virtue of His own will and
Consciousness, has been going on evolving these various
manifest transient and inanimate objects and providing each
of them with various necessities as per their longings and
needs constantly. Whatever living organism is born in His
Psychic Body at any time, He keeps ready beforehand the
suitable food and things necessary for that particular
organism. In the ancient world creepers, shrubs and forests
had first been created and then came their eaters, the
birds. Since babies will need milk, it is provided
beforehand in the mother's breasts. Prior to the advent of
any kind of organism, He creates suitable atmosphere and
environment for it well in advance. He does not do anything
on whims. Every act - every thought-wave of His is
meaningful. Not even and ant's life is useless in His world.
He carefully makes all the provisions necessary for the
preservation of an ant and those provisions do precede the
ant's advent. The Yama said, "Naciketa', try to know Him.
Knowest thou what He is? He is thee? The man of calm
intellect who seeth Him within himself, alone geteth eternal
bliss. To him alone belongeth Abiding Peace.
"Tadetaditi manyante'nirdeshyamparamam' sukham Katham'
nu tadvij'niiya'di kimu bha'u vibha'ti va'.
How can we know this Brahma, the repository of endless
33 happiness? Naciketa' says, "Is this Brahma a Radiant
Entity? Is He effulgent in every object? Does He express
Himself in microcosm?
Na tatra Su'ryo bha'u na candrata'rakam' nema' vidyuto
bha'nti ku'to'yamagnih Tameva bha'ntamanubha'ti sarvam'
tasya bha'sa' sarvamidham' vibha'ti.
He is very radiant. Do you know how radiant He is? His
radiance is supersensual - beyond the power of your sensual
comprehension. You cannot conceive of His radiance. A
glow-worm is a bright object but you can hardly see it in a
full moon night, for the moon dims its brightness. The moon
is very bright but during the day you cannot see her
properly, for the sun pales her brightness. The sun is the
brightest object in this Solar System, but His brightness
outshines even the sun's brightness. It gets lusterless
before His. The moon and the stars lose their individual
lusters in His. Even the dazzling brilliance of the
lightning, not to speak of fire. is absolutely dull before
His brilliance. It is not an easy task to apprehend His
bright radiance. For this Sa'dhana' is indispensable - for
this is necessary the inculcation of manly excellence.
Imagine how wonderfully bright He must be, before whom the
moon, the stars, the lightning, the fire - all get pale.
Even the sun you cannot see with your bare eyes. Imagine
what a tremendous amount of Sa'dhana' is necessary for
seeing Him. It is with His radiance that every object is
radiant. None of the objects have any radiance of their own.
The moon is bright with the sun's brightness and the sun is
bright with His. The sun is not Jyotisvaru'pa. It is He
alone Who is Jyotisvaru'pa (characteristically
Self-effulgent). In His radiance there is depth but no
severity - there is sweetness but no harshness. Observe His
calm brilliance in the firmament of your heart. Shunning all
inferiority complexes take to Sa'dhana'. The only purpose of
your being a man is to do Sa'dhana'. The life of one, who
does not do it, goes in vain like the tree, struck by
lightning.
To worship Krs'n'a to earth had I come Overcome by
Ma'ya', like tree I become.
That is why I say: Don't waste your time. Make right
use of your power, while there is yet time. Know understand your characteristic Self, lest you bewail
Fruitless, O Lord, hath been my life That sang not,
Oh, of glories Thine Lost in the worldly rueful strife Lost
Thee, alas, ye Treasure-Mine.
Fate's long portentous hand With compassion, cold and
daft Strayed me out of Thy Love's strand Deprived, alas, of
a single draught. 33 Let not your life go in vain. Make
proper use of your intelligence and intellect. Earn
godliness from manliness and offer that Sa'dhana'-earned
godliness as oblation to the eternal bearing of the Supreme
Purus'a.
SS4-3A.SS
THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT
I will speak today mainly from the Kathopanis'ad. Yet
Paincakos'as (the five cells) and Saptalokas (the seven
abodes) will occupy the major part of my discourse. Proper
knowledge about these five cells and seven lokas helps
Sa'dhana' a great deal. Man is generally acquainted with his
Ka'mamaya Kos'a (Conscious or crude mind) and Manomaya Kos'a
(Subconscious or subtle mind). The fact that Ka'ran'a Mana
(unconscious or astral mind) remains awake during sleep, and
dormant or unexpressed or seemingly unexpressed during
wakeful and dreamful states, is not sufficiently known to
man. Here even this act of knowing is not one of cognition
at all but of sense and this takes place mainly through the
subconscious mind. That is why in this state of the mind,
wherein only unconscious bearing (ka'ran'abha'va) exists, it
becomes almost impossible for man to know or understand
anything. But of course it would have been or is possible,
if he could or can throw light upon or illumine, the dark
world of his unconscious mind through the radiance of his
own A'tman (Soul). `this focusing of light is the Sa'dhana'
of the Soul, for by this the unconscious mind gradually
attains the characteristic state of the A'tman - gets
devoured by the Iishvaragra'sa or Cosmic Doom. The
unconscious bearing of the mind cannot be attained by the
cruder or more expressed bearing of the mind. The
unconscious mind (Ka'ran'a-Mana) is realizable only through
cognition, not through the sense-act of the crude or subtle
mind. The particular cognitive act whereby the unconscious
or causal mind gets adequately objectified, is nothing but
the coruscation of the soul's (A'tmic) expression - the
radiation of the A'tmic refulgence. Here the object and
objectivity remain intact, for their qualitative reflection
must perforce remain upon Jiiva'tman or the Sagun'a A'tman,
i.e., Purus'ottama, or else their entitative existences will
not be substantiated. Ka'ran'a-darshana or the seeing of the
unconscious mind is but a part of the seeable, sight and
seer-ship. Yet I am not putting it in the category of the
sense-act of the mind, for the similarities of propensities
(Vrtti-sa'ru'pya) that exist in the sense are not in it.
Herein lies the chief difference between cognitive act
(Jina'na Kriya') and sense-act (Bodha Kriya'). In the
sense-act when the Citta (Ectoplasmic sphere of the mind)
becomes identical with the objects in shape or sentiment as
the result of their commerce with the organs - we call it
Anubhu'ti, i.e., feeling (Anu means behind, i.e., behind the
organs' relations with the object the bhu'ti or bha'va that
exists, that is to say, the state of being alike that is
imposed on the Citta is called Anubhu'ti or Anubha'va').
When this relationship with the objects becomes deeper as
the result of which the Citta completely identifies itself
with them - we call it realization or Upalabdhi (Upa means
near, and labdhi means to get). When this proximity with
objects gets still closer and deeper - completely, the
expression of the individual `I-feeling' then becomes very
very meager. In that state, the sense of aloofness from
objects almost disappears - 383 the seeable and the seer
become almost one, but not completely. This state is called
labdhi or substantial attainment. All these three,
anubhu'ti, Upalabdhi and Labdhi, are the activities of the
sense-mental activities. Whatever be the sense-act, its
success depends on the Citta's acceptance of ideas, i.e., on
the ectoplasmic simulation of ideas. What we generally call
causal or unconscious mind, even that too, has the blending
of these three attributes, Sattva, Raja and Tamah, which too
are part and parcel of the Citta (ectoplasm) itself in the
pervasive sense and it is for this reason that the seeds of
the reactive momenta (Sam'ska'ras) remain ingrained in it
(Ka'ran'a-mana). But in order to fully visualize the
unconscious or causal mind, one has got to keep oneself
unaffected by the Sam'ska'ra, held in the unconscious mind,
for with the expression of the Sam'ska'ras even the crude
and the subtle minds get restless and effusive. With the
result it becomes impossible for the Sam'ska'ra-ridden unit
to reach the stage of competence, whereby he may apprehend
the characteristic tranquility of the unconscious mind. So,
as I was saying, in order to know or comprehend the
unconscious mind (of course in its characteristic state),
the comprehender has to go beyond the hardened inertness of
the microcosmic mind. At this stage, his ego (Aham'tattva)
will be compelled to merge in his fundamental intellect
(Mahattattva). In that event the unitMahattattva then shall
have no other alternative than to identify itself with the
Cosmic Mahattattva for the time being. So in order to
understand the unconscious mind fully the unit has got to
give up his unit-Citta completely. Whatever the (unit) Mahat
or brhat gets as the object of the Cosmic Mahat, - whatever
be therein - it will not get the unmanifest bearing of the
Great Citta as its own object. So, try any of the two - the
causal entity of the unit or the unexpressed Citta-entity of
the Great there is no go without the focal reflection of
cognition (Prajina') upon it. In other words they are
directly the objects of Prajina'. There is absolutely no
room for Anubhu'ti, Upalabdhi and Labdhi, or for the great
or small expression of Bodha-Kriya' (sense-act) of Citta.
How is the attainment of the cognitive force (Prajina'
Shakti) possible which is capable of apprehending the
universe and its primary cause (seed) as its object? Is this
attainment Sambodhi (superlative intuition)? No, I would not
call it Sambodhi, because Sambodhi is but the fullest
expression of intuition itself and the infallible valid
knowledge of cognition (Prajina') is beyond the realm of the
apperceptive mind-entity. Then how can that Force of
Consciousness (Citi-Shakti) be acquired through the
Sa'dhana' of the mind? Yes, it can be and that too through
the Sa'dhana' of the mind alone. This ensconcement in
(valid) cognition is the result of that total cessation of
all upsurging resultants of the mind or intellect - which is
possible through Sa'dhana' alone. The sense of oneness
between cognition and organ or sense of action will remain
indeed in the BodhiCitta (Focal Egoistic Sensorium or Plate)
of one, not doing the Sa'dhana'. Here I have deliberately
used the word Bodhi-Citta, for I could not get an equivalent
capable of explaining the ultimate manifestation of the
ectoplasmic (Caettic) potentialities. Man mixes up his petty
I-feeling with his action and knowledge in such a way that
he cannot think of any agency other than his own ego as the
doer of his acts. Seeing the organs' reception and ejection
of objectivities, he thinks that the performance of such
reception and ejection is dependent upon the inspiration of
his own ego alone. But man, confounded by his extroversive
propensities, cannot understand that without Prajina'
(cognition) let alone action (Ka'rya or effect) performance
(Karan'a or instrumentality) itself is not possible. The
responsive reflection of Prajina' is what is action, cause
and the only determinant of the characteristic of the mind.
This send phase of Avidya' (Force of the microcosmic
distraction) that creates confusion between the Witnessing
Force and the Visual Force - this ignominy, is what is known
as Asmita' (egotism).
Drk-darshanashaktyoreka'tmate va'smita' -Patainjali.
When a man sees something or perceives something
through the mind, he thinks that his sight or perception
alone determines the entitative existences of objects. This
sort of foolish presumption of man is what is known as
Asmita'. He cannot understand that not only behind his
cognitive act but also behind his sense-act there exists the
radiant reflection of a Radiant Entity and that radiant
reflection is reflected not only in the crude and the subtle
but in the causal entity also and that is the perfect
semblance of His characteristic identity. The ignorant man
cannot think of anything beyond what little light-reflection
he sees on his own cellular entity - his sense-entity
remains confined to that very limit. And that is why the
ignorant, so-called materialists do not want to recognize
anything beyond this observable world. This flagrant
disregard on their part is not arrogance but simply their
Himalayan ignorance. Of the three conditions of the mind,
viz, wakefulness, dream and sleep, during wakefulness the
cellular entity (Kaos'ikii Satta') remains more or less
manifest at every stage and so there the difference between
the witnessing and the visual forms is somewhat
understandable. During the dreamful state the conscious mind
(Ka'mamaya Kos'a) being asleep, the difference between them
becomes even less apparent and in the inertness of sleep the
two get lost as though in darkness - the object and the man
lose their identities in the darkness. The seed of
Sam'ska'ras (reactive momenta or chromosomes) that remains
in the unconscious mind as the sustainer of the ego, having
no actional expression in spite of the cognitive reflection
thereon, no measuring rod remains with the unit to determine
the difference between cognition and action (Prajina' and
Karan'a). So you see, so long as Cognition (Prajina' bha'va)
and cellularity (Kaos'ikiibha'va) maintain their duality,
their separate existence have got to be recognized; if not,
we may infer that the man has really no eyes, in spite of
his having them - has lost the cognitive flame in the
darkness of inertness. But when his entitative
individuality, by -passing the cellular attachment, gets
ensconced in the Abode of Light, then cognition alone
exists. The ectoplasmic stance (Cittabha'va) passes
completely into its immediate subjective part, the ego
(Aham'tattva) and then from ego into supreme subjectivity,
the Mahattattva. 33 That is to say, the unit-doership having
fully and completely ceased in the cognitive entity, the
doership and deed, and the trailing residue of action attain
complete and perfect peace in cognition. And so, in spite of
the existence of distinctions among the three, i.e.,
knowledge, knowership and knowable or deed, doer and done,
in the six lower Lokas, nothing is apparent or manifest in
the Satyaloka except the characteristic consciousness.
Although instrumentality and cognition abide in the lower
six Lokas separately and this separateness is the sole
indication of evolutional manifestations, yet the infatuated
unit makes confounding mess of the six Lokas, cognition and
deed by bracketing them. If this bracketing were conducive
to the establishment of cognition, i.e., if instrumentality
were gradually made to merge in cognition, one would have
nothing to say - in fact there is hardly any, for that
indeed is the Sa'dhana'. But man brackets or equates them
not this way but the opposite way, i.e. he thinks action to
be everything, disregarding the cognition. That the
evolutionary sports are but the transformations of eternity
and that the Eternal Entity behind these sports is
supra-temporally connected with them, man loses his capacity
to recognize, due to his ignorance and egotism. Greater the
influence of the sensual propensities, the greater the
importance action commands there the greater the disregard
befalls the cognition there. Just as the intellectual
development progresses by degrees in the wake of enhancement
of the prospect of pervasion due to the subtlety of the
sense-act, similarly the cognition also finds progressive
expressions and the instrumentalities also merge all their
frivolities in the peaceful Rati or happiness. Satyaloka or
the Abode of Truth is the ultimate state of this very
peaceful Rati - the supramental substantive of the
witness-ship. In the philosophical language it is called
Brahmaloka or the Abode of Brahma.
Yatha' dharshe tatha'tmani yatha' svapane tatha'
pitrloke Yatha' psu pariiva dadrshe tatha' gandharvaloke
cha'ya'tapayoriva brahmaloke.
This Supreme Being is being perpetually reflected as
the Radiance on the unit's mental plate and so, the more the
person's mental mirror is transparent and free from
impurities, the more brilliantly and fully it receives the
spiritual or Brahmic Radiance. The microcosm, purifying his
fundamental intellect (Mahat or Buddhitattva) by dint of his
spiritual or intuitional practice, enjoys the exhilarating
thrill of His touch therein. If the Buddhitattva be faulty,
His reflection is not properly received thereon. And so the
Sa'dhaka of inertness and crudity is not able to apprehend
even a particle of His Sweet essence and that is why at the
time of happiness his illusion-dulled mental waves want to
remain in smug oblivion, disregarding Him, and at the time
of sorrow he unduly finds fault with Him, failing to
understand His merciful dispensation that exists behind that
sorrow. Just as in a dirt-free or less unclean mirror you
can see an original object very well and in the event of
more dirtiness the knowledge of object becomes hazier,
exactly so is the case with self-visualization of A'tman in
the mental mirror. In wakefulness i.e., in the Ka'mamaya
Kos'a (conscious mind) reception of Self-reflection is
extremely difficult as a rule, but in a dreamful state,
i.e., in the Manomaya Kos'a (sub-conscious mind) its
comprehension is somewhat easy. So is the case with Pitrloka
or Atima'nasa Kos'a (Supramental Mind). In the Gandharvaloka
i.e. Janarloka or Vijina'namaya Kos'a (Subliminal Mind) His
reflection is indistinct and frail like the reflection in
water. Even in Devarloka i.e., in the Hiran'maya Kos'a
(Subtle causal mind) or Tapaloka (the Penultimate Sphere)
His bearing is not clearly reflected. He is properly
apprehended and realized in the Brahma loka, where He is
clearly and resplendently manifest. Just as a shadow beside
sun-ray or sun-ray beside a shadow is clearly understood,
similarly perspicuous is His clearness or manifestness in
the Brahmaloka. Greater the influence of Prakrti (the
Operative Principle) or Avidya' (Force of microcosmic
distraction), the greater the impurities. This is the reason
why the lower cells or Kos'as are comparatively less capable
of expressing His greatness than the higher ones. The
reflection of the Purus'a that surges on the unit's
entitative intellect - in the cells or sheaths of the
unit-mind, is indeed the Jiiva'tman or the subjective
counterpart of the microcosm and Purus'a Who is clearly
manifest and characteristically ensconced in the Brahmaloka
- where God and man have no distinction - where the mind has
not awakened, is the Parama'tman or the Supreme Soul. In the
transparent blue sky the moon abides in its own
characteristic bearing and is reflected on the water below.
The `water-moon', although identical with the moon above,
has no intrinsic individuality of its own. If any distortion
comes in the real moon, the moon of the water will also have
similar distortion. But initial distortion cannot come to
the latter, for it is completely a shadow entity.
Nevertheless if this shadow-entity can be seen and
understood clearly, one can have an idea of the real moon
therefrom, that's all; but the real moon cannot be attained
thereby. So one can indeed know the Parama'tman by knowing
the Jiiva'tman or Him by knowing the `I', but it does not
mean the attainment of Him or getting ensconced in Him
thereby. And so fullness of knowledge may come from the
smaller trances (Sama'dhiis) but not ensconcement in Brahma
or Consciousness. The water-moon is not properly and clearly
seen or understood due to waves or impurities in the water.
Similarly due to the existence of the wave of propensities
or the impurities of the Sam'ska'ras or Chromosomes on the
mental canvas, the reflection of the Parama'tman thereon
(i.e. Jiiva'tman) is not properly understood. That was why I
said: In the lower Kos'as or cells where the propensive
expressions or impurities of the Sam'ska'ras are greatly in
evidence, the A'tmabha'va or characteristic Spiritual Self
is as much unmanifest. However, it is the Boddha'ma'nas
concerned (the apperceptive mind) - no matter to which Kos'a
it belongs - that apprehends the reflection of the Purus'a.
This Boddha'ma'nas, being directly vulnerable to
propensities, becomes impotent to buck up and vivify its own
capabilities. Therefore a Sa'dhaka (spiritual aspirant) has
to free his mind from the impurities through Sa'dhana'
(spiritual austerity). This purgation of the mind - this
freedom of the mind from the impurities, is indeed
liberation. The Buddhitattva of a liberated 33 being is
never smitten by any assault. To convert the mind into a
real mirror every Kos'a has got to be made transparent and
crystalline. The attitude of the lower Kos'as has got to be
sublimated into the higher Kos'as and then again the higher
Kos'as have got to be made still more transparent by dint of
Sa'dhana; by dint of the penetrating projection of the
sentient force and merged in the still higher Kos'as. Thus
through the medium of Kos'a-wise Sa'dhana' the higher the
Loka a Sa'dhaka attains, the fuller will become his entire
entity with the Divine Radiance - Divine Bliss. After the
last trace of impurities being wiped out from the
Buddhitattva, the A'tman that will come to light in that
purified Buddhi or intellect is alone denotative of
Purus'ottama, Who is the Nucleus of Cosmic Subjectivity, the
Sagun'a Brahma - the Subjectivated Shiva, for in His
catoptric or reflective pure intellect, the `petty I' has no
quarter. And when he goes beyond the illusive barrier of his
Buddhitattva (fundamental intellect) and races towards the
"Real thing" without caring for the `intellectual'
reflections, his intellect-cum-whole-entity merges in and
becomes one with Purus'a, unreflected A'tman is denotative
of Pure Objectless Consciousness (Nirgun'a Brahma). This
very state is the unchallengable position in the Satyaloka the characteristic Pure Consciousness. The process of
sense-act or the conceptual process that takes place in the
wake of or because of organs' commerce with the (external)
objects is but the wave-radiation or ideational projection
of the Citta (ectoplasm). The part of the Citta where such
vibrations take place is what we call Ka'mamaya Kos'a or
conscious or crude mind. In wakefulness this Ka'mamaya Kos'a
keeps itself immensely busy. Although the sphere of the
Ka'mamaya Kos'a is appreciably large, yet it has no respite
due to the influence of the ever-restless organs (of course
it is pulsative). And so the microcosm, howsoever he may
try, can never get perfect peace or attain beatitude through
the Sa'dhana; or inculcation of only Ka'mamaya Kos'a, i.e.,
with a mind given to gratification of sensual propensities.
Can the Kos'a above it,i.e., Manomaya Kos'a (subconscious or
subtle mind) attain for man perfection? NO, it cannot, for
the memory, comprehension and imagination of the Manomaya
Kos'a - be they original or pertaining to the Sam'ska'ra
(Chromosome) - cannot but bear the stamp of petty `I-ness'.
This very pettiness of the ego stands in the way of its
attaining perfection. Now judge in this very light: None of
the higher Kos'as can hold the Citta pervasively and for
that very reason none of them is capable of imparting
Macrocosmic Bliss to the microcosm. Whatever be the waves in
the unit-citta, in reality they do indirectly agitate every
Kos'a, although directly they are under the sway of
Ka'mamaya and Manomaya Kos'as as per their circumstantial
distinctions. This agitation is not the vibration of the
Infinite; it is the fevers and frets of the unit-citta.
Spiritual Sa'dhana' is indeed the Sa'dhana' of bringing
steadiness in the unit-citta. This calmed and steadied
unit-citta, losing its own characteristics quite normally,
is compelled to merge in its immediate subjective part, the
ego and then losing the ego, in the knower-I. Every chord of
the unitcitta becomes resonant with the untasted
honey-flowing melody in 3J3 such a way that everything gets
lost as its consequence, except the refrain of the music.
That was why I told you - Sa'dhana' means the Sa'dhana' of
steadying the Citta. In this Citta-steadying Sa'dhana' the
straightforward meaning of progress and advancement is to
gradually free every kos'a from the impurities. when
steadiness comes in the Ka'mamaya Kos'a, it (citta) will
perform its duties indeed at the instance of Manomaya Kos'a
and will not be swayed by the lower propensities, i.e.,
sensual proclivities. Then again when steadiness comes to
the Manomaya Kos'a, it will not only be free from the
influence of Ka'mamaya Kos'a but it will then merge even its
own entity in the Atima'nas Kos'a (Supramental mind). In
other words it will no doubt subserve the accountable
retribution (Sam'ska'ras) but it will not indulge in
original acts without Citta-shuddhi (the purification of the
mind), for they activate and revive the lower kos'as or
cells. Thus continuing with the Sa'dhana; ceaselessly with a
view to gradually establishing harmony and equilibrium in
the kos'as one after another when even the indistinct
sensibility of the Hiran'maya Kos'a (subtle causal mind)
will be absolved of its ignominy (i.e., of having the
semblance of sense-faculty) in the dazzling Radiance of the
Satyaloka - that very moment will be, for the Sa'dhaka, the
auspicious moment of union between the A'tman and the
Parama'tman. Action is of two kinds - original and reactive
(Pratyayamu'laka and Sam'ska'ramu'laka). It is as the result
of the original actions that potential reactions
(Sam'ska'ras) accrue - which are consumed or dissipated
through retributive actions (i.e. through subserving the
requitals or consequential reactions). So the unit has
freedom in original actions but none in the retributive
ones. Original action, be it the process of an act or a
thought-wave, a man does indeed in his wakeful state. His
thought-waves in a dream are, in most cases if not all,
nothing but the close-knit expressions of his reactive
momenta (Sam'ska'ras). In the oneiric or dreamful state
Ka'mamaya Kos'a and even Manomaya Kos'a having no direct
author-ship, positive or original action is not possible.
But the reason of this dreamful state, the lower Kos'as
completely surrender themselves to the higher Kos'as. It
becomes impossible for them to indulge in original acts
extrovertively, driven by sheer sensual propensities. The
unconscious or causal mind, however, remains intact even in
the dreamful state. That is to say, in that state the normal
characteristics of the Atima'nas Kos'a (Supramental mind),
Vijina'namaya Kos'a (Subliminal Mind) and Hiran'maya Kos'a
(subtle causal mind) do not get hampered. The dream-world is
directly concerned with the supramental mind of the unit as
a rule and indeed out of this supramental mind this dreamful
state or sub-conscious mind germinates. Because of this
supramental mind being the creator of the sub-conscious
mind, it is called Pitrloka (lit. the abode of the
progenitor). We may call it in English the Supramental
Sphere. Due to the incessant expressions of Sam'ska'ras or
idant, this Pitrloka also does not remain in an
impurity-free state and for this reason the Divine
Luminosity cannot get properly reflected in this loka. The
loka just above it, i.e., the Vijina'namaya Kos'a or
Janarloka, being involved with the I-feeling also has
impurities. Although it enjoys a very 33 high position, yet
it is not free from the possibility of a downfall. In this
loka the mind does get the semblance of Bliss, but then it
may also deteriorate into inertness, driven by the
Sam'ska'ras, though both the eventualities take place
somewhat unawares. So a man, who has made even the least
acquaintance with this loka - whether he does a good or an
evil act - becomes somewhat of a self-forgetful nature. This
very loka is called Gandharvaloka in Sanskrit. The semblance
of happiness, arising out of music or other fine arts,
belongs to this loka. Let us call it in English the
Subliminal Sphere. This loka lacks in perfection due to the
influence of egotism. So a man may get a semblance or
suggestion of happiness by cultivating only the subtle fine
arts but he cannot fully establish himself in the Bliss
Divine, for which Brahma Sa'dhana' is indispensable. The
loka above this is what we call Devarloka. When a Sa'dhaka
merges his petty I-feeling - out of the bearing of the
Devarloka (where this I-feeling is not very much evident in the bearing of the Great, he establishes himself fully in
the Sagun'a Brahma (the Qualified Consciousness - the
collectivity of Parama'tman, Macrocosm and Microcosms). In
this loka if the whole of the I-feeling be merged in the
Purus'ahood, tearing through the bondage of Prakrti, such a
merger will mean total identification with the Nirgun'a
Brahma, the Unqualified or Objectless Consciousness. this
loka is the Satyaloka - this indeed is the Brahmaloka. The
one who is established in this loka is alone the Bra'hman'a
(Brahmin). Sagun'a or Nirgun'a - whatever be the covetable
target or aspiration of a Sa'dhaka between the two in the
path of Sa'dhana', he has got to turn the corner by giving a
wide berth to the piecemeal pursuits of his organs. so a
spiritual aspirant has got to properly understand and ingest
the characteristics to bring them under control. A sa'dhaka
has got to know as to how the organs and their tendencies
have been evolved and why.
Indriya'n'a'm' prthagbha'vamudaya'stamayao ca yat
Prthagutpadyama'na'na'm' matva' dhiiro na shocati.
Human body is made of five fundamental factors. These
five fundamental factors are being controlled by Pra'n'a,
the first of the five internal vital principles. The Pra'n'a
is being controlled by the mind. That is to say, the Pra'n'a
and the mind respectively are the direct and indirect
controllers of those fundamental factors. The different
seats of the mind for the indirect control of the different
corporal factors are called Cakras or circles or centers of
psychic force. On these Cakras the Pra'n'a is active. The
nucleus that exists in the center of these Cakras bears the
controllership of the mind. The operational center of the
Citta and the mind exists in the sixth Cakra, the A'jina'
Cakra (the site between the two eye-brows - the position of
the pineal gland behind the third ventricle of the brain)
and from this A'jina' Cakra the mind indirectly controls the
different elements. This very A'jina' Cakra with help of its
Haka'ra'tmaka Daks'a Dala of Spiritual Sonic Right Petal
controls the force of objectward proclivities of the human
mind. In this act it is assisted by the right artery (the
Piungala'), which controls chiefly the left portion of the
body as also, secondarily, the activities of the right
portion. 33 With the help of its Ks'aka'ra'tmaka Va'ma Dala
or Mundane Sonic Left Petal the A'jina' Cakra controls the
force of spiritual inclination of the unit. In this act it
is assisted by the left artery (Ida') which controls chiefly
the right portion of the body as also, secondarily, the
activities of the left portion. But where the Pra'n'a
directly controls the Cakras, there too the mind has to
remain with it. A part of the mind indeed remains intimately
and pervasively with and from the center of that very
Pra'n'a that controls the Mu'la'dha'ra Cakra. Thus the five
Kos'as or cells of the mind, Ka'mamaya , Manomaya,
Atima'nas, Vijina'namaya and Hiran'maya, chiefly control the
five focal ganglia (nerve centers or cakras) like the
Mu'la'dha'ra, the Sva'dhis't'ha'na, the Manipura, the
Ana'hata, and the Vishuddha Cakra respectively. No physical
factor in particular is controlled at the A'jina' Cakra (the
seat or central point of the mind). There only the
propensities themselves are controlled by dint of one's own
inherent power. The one who is engaged in bringing this seat
of knowledge under one's control is indeed the Sa'dhaka (the
spiritual or intuitional practicer). For him alone is open
the Divine Sphere. The all-round perfect Sa'dhana' is the
sustained effort to identify every Kos'a with the inner Self
completely. So you see, the more forward a Sa'dhaka goes in
his Sa'dhana', the more his Cakras and propensities (vrttis)
get gradually controlled by the higher and higher Kos'as. It
will not do for even the bearing of the A'jina' Cakra, i.e.,
the whole of his mind-entity, has to be taken to the higher
loka, i.e., taking it to the Brahmaloka he has got to merge
it in the Purus'abha'va or Consciousness. It is in the
Sahasra'ra Cakra (the seventh focal ganglion, the
thousand-petaled Lotus-seat of Brahma at the summit of the
skull) that he can get himself established in real happiness
- can go beyond the tether of pleasure and pain. That state
indeed is the ultimate goal of the unit - his own
characteristic state. That state is the characteristic state
of Brahma also. There exists neither you nor He separately the two become one. It is through the medium of Sa'dhana'
that this state is to be achieved. So you see, man's destiny
is in his own hand. You are certainly capable of controlling
yourself. Here 'yourself' means your propensities - the
pirating demons within you. Bear in mind, the controlling
point of every Kos'a or cell is situated at the A'jina'
Cakra and the seats of these Kos'as are contiguous to it.
But it is with the help of the crude nerves that these
kos'as control the different Cakras as well as the
propensities belonging to them. Even without the
nerve-fibers it is not impossible for the Kos'as to function
but in the absence of their seats, the cerebral nerve-cells,
the unit-mind, being destitute of its receptacles, is unable
to materialize its functional power (thought-waves), and so
the mind of a dead man, i.e., of the so-called bodiless
soul, separated from its nerve-cell-like receptacles, loses
its power of thinking. In such an event, for the mind to
entertain any hope or desire or to apply its force in that
regard, or to that end to get itself involved with any man
or any crude object or to frighten or help any body - none
of the above, is possible. Ghosts and Spirits are the
products of man's flighty imagination - the fantastic fancy
over the Kos'as through your Sa'dhana' the 33 more, you will
see, your organs get docile and submissive to you. Just as a
man's internal thought and knowledge go on developing,
consonant with his getting established in the higher and
higher Kos'as as the result of his control over the mind and
the organs, similarly in due proportion, he being unaffected
by any external influence, all his vanity, inertness and
SS4-3B.SS
superstitions (i.e., demonic or theophanic hysterias
or trances, casteism, idolatry, etc.) take to their heels.
The impact of external objects gives rise to perverted
mentality, while, being introspective, the impact of the
subtle, internal realities gives expression to the
synthetical, cognitive mind (Prajina'-Manas) and in its
final reckoning the Prajina'-Manas , wiping out the
mind-factor, the home of Sam'kalpa-Vikalpa-bha'va
(subjectivity and objectivity), gets established in the
characteristic Prajina' or Cognition itself. In the mind
indeed the organs are born. It is because of mind's commerce
with the external objects that the organs come into being.
The mind molds with much care the very organ with which the
object, it wants to enjoy, is concerned and eventually turns
itself into its slave. The unit that gathers its food
through sound, makes strong and powerful its acoustics or
soundbearing organ with earnest zeal and assiduity.
Similarly, as per necessity, some makes strong the organ of
touch, some, the organ of sight (form), of some, the organ
of smell. That is why we see in the body of some organism a
strange light, through whose hypnotic attraction the eatable
insects come racing towards that eater: there are some that
kill their eatable organisms first with their acrid
secretions and eat them afterwards at convenience and so on
and so forth. So you see, the organs are really the
expressions or the expressional media of the mind, and for
this reason these organs thrive wholly on Tanma'tric or
inferential acceptance or ejection and these Tanma'tras are
factors, entirely related to the five elements. The
sound-Tanma'tras on which the ear-organ is dependent are but
the waves of A'ka'shabhu'ta or ether itself. The tactual
Tanma'tras on which thrives the skin-organ are but the waves
of Marut-tattva (Air). The sight-organ is dependent on the
form-Tanma'trasand these form-Tanma'tras are but the
light-waves of Tejas-tattva (the luminous element). The
olfactory organ is dependent on TasteTanma'tras, which are
but the waves of Apatattva (water) and the organ of smell is
dependent on Earth-waves-like smell-Tanma'tras, so we see,
each organ is one the whole dependent on a particular bhu'ta
or element. But the witnessing A'tman - the cognition-like
Purus'a, is not dependent on anything. The one whose
existence is not dependent upon anything is indeed the
Absolute Truth. Had there been no sound the mind could not
have felt the necessity of the ear-organ and so the
ear-organ would not have come into being. It is entirely
dependent on the sound-Tanma'tras and Aka'sha-tattva
(ether). So the ears, why ears alone,- all the organs being
thus dependent upon one or the other for their existences they are relative truths - some times they are, sometimes
they are not, as per circumstances. Dispassionately
thinking, whatever is relative truth we may call Pada'rtha
(matter). What do we understand by `Pada'rtha'? `Pada' means
rank, `artha' means meaning or significance, and so
`Pada'rtha' means Rank bearing certain significance. So none
of the Pada'rthas are absolutely pervasive. They appear in
certain conditions and in certain conditions they disappear
and so they are not the absolute truth or supreme truth. A
Sa'dhaka shall endeavor to know that Characteristic Self 383
- that Absolute - that Supreme Bearing. He shall do the
Sa'dhana' of that Bearing alone, not the organs or the
senses. Organs are not the Svaru'pa or the Characteristic
Self, but are only the adjectives or attributes, relative to
time, place or person. An attribute, which exists today and
will disappear tomorrow, cannot be regarded as the Svaru'pa.
The thing upon which the attribute was imposed is indeed the
Svaru'pa. The sensual attributes carry the identities of the
unit in a number of ways, such as the seer, hearer etc. But
what is the position of the so-called seer or hearer, if the
knowing entity of the process of seeing - the process of
hearing - that Purus'abha'va, be absent behind the sight or
hearing. In such a pass everything appears as though blank
in spite of everything - for want of one all appear to be
lost. So you see the organs, subject to rise and fall, are
de pendent indeed on that real `I'. That Spiritual `I' that Svaru'pa (Characteristic Self), has to be realized
through Sa'dhana'. By knowing that Svaru'pa man will be
absolved from all kinds of mental distortions like pleasure
and pain, for the ensconcement in the Characteristic Self
means that introversive and extroversive tendencies
(Sam'kalpa-Vikalpa) of the mind have already disappeared.
The Sa'dhana' of the senses or organs cannot give any
satisfaction or happiness in this or the next world.
Indriyebhyah param' mano manasah sattvamuttamam
Sattva'dhadhi maha'na'tma' mahato'vyaktamuttamam.
No state, lower than the ensconcement in the
characteristic Self, is capable of imparting peace or doing
any good to the unit. Not even the sense of `I am' - which
in the philosophical language is called Vishuddha Buddhi
(pure intellect) - can be recognized as the ultimate truth.
It is an established fact that the mind is greater than the
organs, for the mind is their creator and controller. The
sentient intellect or the pure sense of ego is greater than
this subjective and objective mind, for the mind is there
because of the sentient intellect - the creation of the mind
is indeed due to the dynamic momentum of the sentient
intellect. Greater than this sentient intellect is the Great
A'tman or Hiran'yagarbha (subtle cosmic mind), for
Hiran'yagarbha's imagination is responsible for the creation
of the sentient intellect and its reflection, the
unit-consciousness. That is not all. It is through medium of
this imagination-factor, i.e., in this very imaginative
sphere of the Hiran'yagarbha, that the crude-subtle-causal
factors as well as reflex consciousness (A'bha'sa-caetanya)
are making a circuit in an orbit. So of all the expressional
bearings that abide in time, place or person, Hiran'yagarbha
commands the highest position. But the unmanifest Prakrti,
the Primordial Operative Principle, is still greater than
this Hiran'yagarbha, for on the manifest plasticity of this
unmanifest Prakrti depends the existence of the
Hiran'yagarbha. But is this unmanifest Prakrti the ultimate
truth? No, not even she.
Avyakta'ttu parah purus'o vya'pako'liunga eva ca Yam'
jina'va' mucyate janturamrtatvam' ca gacchati. 3o3 Greater
than unmanifest Prakrti is the Purus'a, the Supreme
Consciousness. In this very Parama Purus'a, where the
unmanifestness is manifest, there the combined name of
Purus'a and manifest Prakrti is given as Hiran'yagarbha. The
Purus'a, Who is the witness of the manifest Prakrti in the
Hiran'yagarbha, is also the witness of the manifest Prakrti
in the Nirgun'a (Objectless Consciousness). That is to say
in that condition (Nirgun'a) the object (the unmanifest
Prakrti- of which He is the witness, remains implicitly
absorbed in His own stand (Bha'va). There has then come
extinction of distinction (Nirvishes'a-hood) with the
Adjective (Vishesan'a) merged in the Substantive (Vishesya).
In spite of the Hiran'yagarbha being particularized
(Savishes'a) in the Ota-sense (i.e., as the micro-psychic
witnessing entity `individually') due to his
all-pervasiveness, we cannot but call Him Nirvishes'a
(Distinctionless) in the Prota-sense (i.e. as the
Macro-psychic witnessing entity `collectively'). In some of
the philosophies the words, Shu'nya or Vajra-Shu'nya, have
been used for this state of distinctionlessness. The
`shu'nya' does not mean here `nothing' (in the literal
sense), but it means that it is full and complete with
everything. But then the reason why the Nirvishesa is called
Shu'nya (nothing or blank) is that it is devoid of Prakrti's
manifestations. It is this manifestation that substantiates
the existence of matter in the (micro-)psychic sphere, by
being the support or fulcrum of the mind. Vajrashu'nya
(stark blankness) having no prop to offer, it remains beyond
the cycle of subjectivity and objectivity
(Sam'kalpa-Vikalpa) of the intellect. The sphere of
existence or non-existence can by no means touch it. Those
that have taken `shu'nya' for blankness or nothingness, have
committed a great blunder, for there exists no theory or
principle as Savishes'a or Nirvishes'a in the above sense of
Shu'nya. The `Shu'nya' that is used in the Pratiikiikaran'a
(symbolization) is also not in the negative sense, for it is
ten times more meaningful than the non-objective numericals.
Really speaking, by Shu'nya, the philosophers generally
meant indeed distinction-less-ness. So also said A'ca'rya
Sham'kara
Yatha' shu'yava'dina'm' shu'nyam' Brahma
brahmavida'm'statha'.
So, call Him Shu'nya or Purus'a as you like, He alone
is the Supreme Entity. As soon as the animals, i.e., units,
known Him, they get established in Him - in that Nectarean
Sea freeing themselves from all kinds of binding principles.
This Purus'a is Aliunga (unqualified or attributeless). The
Sagun'abha'va or the state of qualifiedness that is active
in the microcosm and Macrocosm through the agency of the
Binding Force is what we would call the Liunga Purus'a or
the Operative Purus'a and its receptacle, the Liunga-Deha or
the Operative Body. "Liungate gamyate yena talliungam",
i.e., that by which this continuity - this flow of the
imaginary world remains unbroken is what is known as Liunga.
Or "Layas'a gacchati yasmin talliungam", i.e., that in which
all objects get lost is called Liunga. In this sense the
epithet of Liunga may as well be given to Sagun'a Brahma.
Shiva means Consciousness. So the word Shiva-LIunga, means
Liunga-Purus'a. Those that propagate the worship of a
particular part of body in the name of Liunga-Pu'ja'
(Phallus worship) do not evidently want to go into the depth
and significance of Dharma. Such a vulgar interpretation is
indeed not desirable. So you see, this very Aliunga Purus'a,
- to get established in Whom one has to take back the entire
entity, created by the influence of Prakrti, to its original
cause, - this very Supreme Purus'a alone is the Absolute
Principle.
Na sam'drshe tis't'hati ru'pamasya na caks'us'a'
pashyati kashcanaenam Hrda' maniis'a' manasa'bhikirpto ya
etadviduramrta'ste bhavanti.
When you qualify or impose any qualification on an
object, you have to say that certain object is either round
or square, or white or red. These linear figures or colors
are actually nothing but the indicators of the forms and
features of the object. Such form-indicators become
absolutely necessary in order to recognize an object with
the help of the sight-organ. For every organ the respective
signs of the objects have to be taken into account as per
their relative inferential factors (Tanma'tras). But the
Purus'a has neither any form nor any Tanma'tra - none,
because each of the Tanma'tras is evolved by the Prakrti,
the Operative Principle. So, not to speak of physical or
attributional consideration, not even any significant name
can be given to Savishes'a or Nirvishes'a, for a name is
also attributive, isn't it? Yet a symbolic name has to be
ascribed to Him for the comprehension of man. This
terminological or appellative bearing has to be approached
through mental endeavor, not through Tanma'tra. Efforts have
to be made to merge the though in Him. `That He is Great'
alone is denotative of Him - that others too become great,
absorbed in His thought, is indeed His identity His
significant epithet. That is why for Him His identity - His
significative epithet. That is why for Him no other name can
be used except that of Brahma (Cosmos).
Brhattva'd brahma, brm'han'attva'd brahma.
That is, Brahma is Great. He makes others great. The
Purus'a has no length, breadth or thickness and so He is
supersensible. You cannot see Him with your eyes. He is
unsubstantial - immaterial. He has to be recognized and
understood by properly applying the intellect of your
Buddhitattva. When one is able to bring the Buddhitattva,
the fundamental intellect, which has been kept agitated by
the waves of emotionalism to composure and serenity by
applying one's internal force through one's intellect or
pointed intellect (Agrya'buddhi), then alone the radiance of
the radiant Purus'a will be reflected thereon. This
intellect is but the subtlest part of the mind itself - a
part of the Hiran'maya Kos'a (Subtle Causal Mind). It is
through this that the subjective and objective seeds get the
initial advantage of rousing their germinative potentials.
These potentialities, getting greater substantial
opportunities in the Vijina'namaya 33 Kos'a, find adequate
expression in the Supramental mind, i.e., Atima'nas Kos'a or
Pitrloka. Proper application of this intellect indeed
constitutes proper advancement in the field of Sa'dhana'.
The Sa'dhaka, who makes right use of his intellect
(Maniis'a') is called in the Scripture Maniis'ii or the man
of intellect.
Yada' painca'vatis't'hante jina'na'ni manasa' saha
Buddhishca na viches't'ati ta'ma'huh parama'm' gatim.
When all the organs establish themselves in the mind,
dissociating themselves from their respective concerns,
i.e., when the ears (the auditory organs_stop taking
Tanma'tras from the ether, the skin (the tactual organ),
from the air, the eyes (the visual organ) from the luminous,
the tongue (the gustatory organ) from the earth, in such an
event the collective bearing of the five organs gets merged
in the mind - this is the initial stage of the Pratya'ha'ra
(Retractive) Yoga. Thereafter when the mind, along with
these organs, attains oneness with the intellect, at that
stage the intellect (Buddhitattva) also, due to the absence
of Aham'tattva and Citta, stops its egotistic function. The
intellect then merges in the Jina'tr-shakti (the Cognitive
Force). At that stage the witnessing bearing attains the
characteristic objectless witness-ship - this is called
Parama'gati or Parama Yoga (Beatitude). What is Yoga? 1.
Yogashcittavrttinirodhah, i.e., a state of cessation of the
ectoplasmic occupations or mental modifications. 2.
Sarvacinta' paritya'go nishcinto yoga ucyate, i.e., when the
faculty of the mind has completely stopped functioning the
Witness remaining with His characteristic witness-ship only.
3. Sam'yogo yoga ityukto jiiva'tma' parama'tmah, i.e., the
state where the Jiiva'tman completely effacing his
unit-hood, becomes one with the Original Entity, the
Parama'tman. Just imagine, the conditions of all these three
are indeed identical. None of the three shows frivolities of
the intellect.
Ta'm' yogamiti manyante sthira'mindrity dha'ran'a'm
Apramattastada' bhavati yogo his prabhava'pyayan.
Really speaking, beatitude and Yoga are one and the
same thing. At such a stage all propensities - all entities,
get calm and immobile. The common man keeps himself madly
preoccupied with one or the other object according to his
Sam'ska'ra (Chromosome). His organs always run after one or
the other object with an earnest zeal of tranquility of the
organs and so in such a state the Sa'dhaka (the spiritual
aspirant) remains sober and tranquil (Apramatta). It is
impossible for the unit to remain tranquil and sedate,
unless in a state of communion with the Brahma. In this
Sa'dhana' of being Apramatta - in this Sa'dhana' of absolute
apathetic self-restraint after attaining Nirodha (cessation
of all mental functions) by surmounting one after the other
the four lower stages of the Citta, viz., Restlessness
(Ks'ipta), Infatuation (Mu'dha), Distraction (Viks'ipta),
and Concentration (Eka'gra). Sense of reality often gets
vitiated in the paroxysm of rage (Ks'ipta) and there comes a
sort of mental inertia. This is also a sort of Sama'dhi of
the mean variety, where all the propensities of the angry
and frenzied man get absorbed in the object of anger. A
little higher than this is the Mu'dha Sama'dhi or the Trance
of Infatuation. In this comes the mental ennui due to
excessiveness of infatuation, where a man loses his common
sense. All the propensities of the infatuated man (Mu'dha)
then get absorbed in the object of infatuation. This sort of
Sama'dhi may come even to the most ordinary man, if suddenly
tight-fettered by any such overpowering bondage. In the
Maha'bha'rata it is said the Jayadratha too was a victim of
such a Sama'dhi (stupefaction) due to excessive fear.
Viks'ipta Sama'dhi is that when the mind is engrossed in
some higher thought for a time and then the very next
moments it cuts adrift to its meaner propensities. Those
that do not follow Yama-Niyama (Codes of self-restraint and
austerity) - those that endeavor to attain God without the
Sa'dhana' of Sam'yama (Self-control), betray a plethora of
distractions. If a man without self-control indulges
excessively in hallelujahs or divine songs
(Kiirtana-bhajana), it is noticed that his mental
proclivities temporarily get inclined towards the Divine
Bearing during the time of Kiirtana-bhajana, his body too
shows evidence of pious traits, tears come into his eyes and
he attains a Trance of Subjectivity (Bha'va-Sama'dhi) as
well. But the very next moment, i.e., immediately after his
Kiirtana-bhajana, his unrestrained and incontinent mind
races towards mean propensities with a greater momentum.
That is why such types of Sa'dhakas take to very dishonest
ways of life during the rest of their daily occupations. In
other words they give themselves up to acts of depravity,
deceitfulness - to defrauding their own relatives. The
people also are a little chary of such types of
carol-singers. The man without self-control does indeed
enjoy a bit of transcendental happiness by forcing his
mental flow towards the auspicious name of God, but soon
after the stoppage of this divine panegyrics or `hymn'
(Na'ma-kiirtana), his sand-dammed mind bursts and races
towards the inauspicious names with redoubled speed, i.e.,
at that time he appears to be more inclined to
scandal-mongering and rudeness. You mark minutely how
blatantly those that are bereft of self-control among the
Bhajan-singers indulge in scurrilous languages under a
little provocation. All these are symptomatic of Citta's
sphere of distraction. The same pit (and in the same flow)
where all Cittavrttis or propensities make for is what we
call the sphere of concentration (Eka'grabhu'mi). This,
however, is not the ultimate state, though exalted. The
ultimate state is that wherein a mindless bearing has
emerged after all the Citta-vrttis (mental modifications)
have ceased in and with the object of contemplation
(Dhyeya). The different stages that one has to pass through
in order to reach that ultimate state of the Citta,
virtually conform to the particular kinds of Pratya'ha'ra or
Retractive Yoga indeed. This Pratya'ha'ra Yoga is divided
roughly into four parts as per modes of the Citta-vrttis,
viz,. Yatama'na (Diligence), Vyatireka (Absence), Ekendriya
(Mono-sensual) and Vashiika'ra (self-control). The first
stage of the Pratya'ha'ra Yoga is called Yatama'na or the
persevering state. The state where sometimes Pratya'ha'ra is
effectual and sometimes it is not - it succeeds in one case
but fails in another, is called Vyatireka. The state where
all Vrttis or desires of propensities,bereft of
objectivities, get ensconced in one sentiment is called
Ekendriya or Mono-sensual and the state wherein all mental
modifications, accepting the superiority of the
Purus'abha'va, have surrendered themselves to Him is called
Vashiika'ra-Siddhi or the attainment of self-control. Total
subjugation of the six focal ganglia (S'at'cakra) and sic
Lokas is called in the spiritual world Vashiikaran'a or
Vashiika'ra-siddhi. This is the real attainment or
fulfillment of Pratya'ha'ra Yoga. Vashiika'ra-siddhi is
possible of only such Sa'dhakas as follow the principles of
Yama-Niyama and do Brahma-Sa'dhana'. Those who do not do
that, do immeasurable harm to themselves as well as the
world on the strength of their Ks'ipta, Mu'dha and Viks'ipta
Sama'dhis, attained through having some hold over their
organs by dint of Yoga-Sa'dhana'. In the absence of the
Sa'dhana' of self-control they use their Sa'dhana' earned
mental power for their petty selfish ends. after having
practiced Yoga or Tantra Sa'dhana' for a few days these lax,
reinless individuals get involved in different kinds of
harmful acts for the sake of their own petty egoistic
aggrandizement and eventually take themselves to the murky
alley of inertness. So I enjoin on you to take to right
path. The same Yoga that is superlatively good for
individuality and collectivity, consequent upon the practice
of self-control, proves dangerous in individual or
collective life due to lack of self-control or through
taking a contrary course. So every man ought to keep a
strict, vigilant eye on the principles of Yama and Niyama.
--
Five Principles of Yama: 1. Ahimsa' (Abstention from
inflicting pain on anybody by thought, word or action), 2.
Satya (Benevolent truthfulness), 3. Asteya (Refraining from
Stealing, either physical or mental, direct or indirect), 4.
Brahmacarya (Worship of Brahma with a cosmotheistic
bearing), 5. Aparigraha (To be content with the bare
necessities of life). Five principles of Niyama: 1. Shaoca
(Internal and external cleanliness), 2. Santos'a
(Contentment), 3. Tapah (Penance of practical service to the
sick and the miserable), 4. Sva'dhaya'ya (studying, learning
and understanding the spiritual subject), 5.
Iishvara-pranidha'na (Divine meditation)
--
Naeva va'ca' na manasa' pra'ptum' shakyo na caks'us'a'
Astiiti vruvato'nyatra katham' tadupalabhyate. A man, who is
not established in self-control does not attain Brahma. His
Brahma remains confined to books and tall talks. In other
words the reinless man can never attain mental pervasiveness
to ingest spiritual knowledge. But the knower of truth knows
that this Brahma is not attainable by words, not even by
reasoning, for the mind too is a relative truth - only an
ideating entity dependent on a number of theories. When the
pointed intellect (Agrya'buddhi), earned through reasoning,
is merged in its subject, the Brahma, then alone He appears.
That is 33 to say, when there is no scope for relativity,
then alone spirituality bursts into radiance. It is futile
to apprehend this Transcendental Entity - an Entity beyond
the scope of time, space and person - with the help of the
crude organs. `Union with the Self is union with Brahma' lighting up this sentiment in the firmament of one's heart
one has to recognize Him and the one who has recognized or
known Him, announces thunderingly, "He Exists". `I am' `You are'. O Sons of the Deathless of the Divine Abode, hear
me. he exists, I have known Him, touched Him with my soul,
understood Him with the core of my heart. `Veda'hametam'
purus'am' maha'ntam' a'ditya varn'am' tamasha parasta'd' - I
have known that Absolute Entity - that Radiant Purus'a
beyond the frontier of darkness. But those that are only
running like a mad dog after crude enjoyment - those
materialists that cannot think of anything enjoyable beyond
their physical pleasure - those that are totally incapable
of going beyond the sensible or perceptible part of the
Force factor (Energy) are never in a position to understand
the transcendental source of Force or Energy as well as the
origin of its field of action and the primary seed of all
the causes of action - this witnessing principle of the
Supreme Purus'a. In order to understand Him the concord of
sympathetic contact with the large-heartedness that is
necessary is lacking in them. And so they want to cover
their incongruities by unnecessarily spreading a web of
dialectics.
Astiiyevopalbdhavyastattvabha'vena cobhayoh
Astiiyevopalabdhasya tattvabha'vah prasiidati.
A man who wants to attain Him in his heart - in the
molecules and atoms of his sense of existence, (indeed)
attains Him through the ascertainment of the Divine Truth.
Whether in matter, spirit, or space or in existence,
non-existence or transcendentality - in everything only Him
he attains, sometimes in a qualified state and sometimes in
an unqualified state. He preascertains upon whom all the
organs and their proclivities are dependent - upon whom the
mind, thought-process and views rest. He understands
beforehand as to whose merciful favor all the intellectual
feats - all the orectic expression, of the ego solely look
up to. He is assured that all these are held in His
qualified stance and when he has nothing to call his own when all his inspiration, all his aspirations are dedicated
to their source of existence, then what remains of him is
nothing but His unqualified stance. Every bearing of His
qualified and unqualified states is properly realized, after
having attained Him through the Sa'dhana' of devotion.
Yada' sarve pramucyante ka'ma' ye'sya hrdi shrita'h
Atha martyo'mrto bhavatyatra brahma samashnute.
How fares the internal entity of the Sa'dhaka (the
intuitional practicer) after his attaining that state? You
know, passion or desire is of two kinds - Sam'ska'ramu'laka
(Consequential) and Pratyayamu'laka (Original). The seat of
expressions of both these varieties is the heart. When the
mental propensities reach the stage of sterility through
Sa'dhana', all the desires of the heart, be they
consequential or original, disappear. The reactive momenta
(Sam'ska'radha'ra') or the course his reactive momenta take,
have only on passion (Rati) left in them and that is,
Brahma-rati or passion for the union with Brahma. Love alone
remains as the Praeti (the only longing). A Sa'dhaka attains
deathlessness right in this mortal world. He sees nothing
but Brahma. To the eyes of the one, in whom Brahma-Praeti
(desire for union with Brahma as a singular longing) has
awakened, this common world appears as the Brahmaloka (The
Abode of Brahma) Everything is He, everywhere is He.
Yada' sarve prabhidyante hrdayasyeha granthayah Atha
martyo'mrto bhavatyeta;vaddhyanusha'sanam.
What happens in such a state? The Jiiva-shakti of the
microcosmic force, which, in the context of Sa'dhana, is
called Kulakun'd'alini, (the Coil Serpentine, situated about
the perineal region), becomes one with Him - reaches the
Sahasra'ra-Lotus (Epiphysis cereberi or pineal gland
{Sahasra'ra Cakra, the Seventh Focal ganglion, situated at
the crown of the head, is the thousand-petaled Lotus-seat of
Shiva or the Cosmic Consciousness}), piercing through the
S'at'cakra (Six focal ganglia or circles). There are fifty
Vrttis (Orexes or propensities) in the human body, connected
with and situated in the different glands of each Cakra. As
the Kulakun'd'alinii passes through a particular gland, the
Vrttis connected with it cease functioning. So in the
absence of the vrttis or propensities after the six Circles
are pierced through, the Kulakun'd'alinii or the fundamental
negative Force of the unit-body merges in the Supreme Force
of the Shiva or Cosmic Consciousness. In that state the
Sa'dhaka merges his entire entity in the Nectarean Sea, even
as he remains in this mortal world - on this earthy earth.
This is the essence - the last word, of all Scripture and
Philosophies.
Shra'van'ii Pu'rn'ima', 1956 Madhopur, Monghyr
SS4-4.SS
KS'IIRE SARPIRIVA'RPITAM
The people of ancient times - the people of that crude
prehistoric age, used to employ their entire force for the
gratification of their gross desires and propensities
(vrttis). But eventually they noticed that even through the
meticulous and robust application of their individual and
collective forces their Vrttis were not fully fulfilled and
that some unseen force - some greater force, had been making
a fun of them every moment by foiling all their efforts.
Gradually they came to understand well enough that, no
matter how blatantly they vaunted about their individual and
collective forces, their capacity or power was as much
limited as their field of action was narrow - extremely
narrow and limited to time, space and person. Who is it
(then) to the inviolable decreed of whose hand they are
compelled to submit? What is he? How does he look like? No
matter how developed the intellect and how pervasive its
force, how difficult it is for us to explain the
characteristic form of the One, Whose vastness is
perpetually immeasurable? The man knows well enough that he
does not often get what he longs for, in spite of his fits
and frets for it, and sometimes it comes to him, whether he
wishes for it or not. He accepts all of them as his fate or
destiny. But this fate or destiny as well does not depend on
anybody's whim unreasonably, for if whim were everything,
then the seed of the unit's desire would have had its
extinction, but it just does not happen so. So the man
begins to think that it is perhaps the reaction of his
action that presents itself as his fate. Just because he
cannot see or understand the original deeds, he calls them
his Adrs'ta or unseen deserts. But in spite of his having
freedom of action from that (Supreme) Controller - from that
Dispensing Force, prescribing reactions to actions, man
remains dependent on others like the ball of wood. This
dependence is indeed wholly inspirational dependence. While
seeking for this source of Praeti - for the original cause
of this inspiration, the thoughtful men of those days had
started cultivating spiritual knowledge (Brahmatattva). The
subtlety of thought of those thoughtful, progressive
talented men had gradually given them the right of access
from objectivity into subjectivity and then again from
subjectivity into the realm of Consciousness. In the domain
of knowledge they indeed had been the first Rs'is (learned
men or sages) - the pioneers or the initial torch-bearers of
knowledge. They had eventually succeeded in merging their
Buddhi-vrtti (occupations of their intellect) in the sphere
of subjectivity and so it was as the result of the churning
or sustained application of their intellect that man got
Brahma-Vijina'na or Intuitional Science. The ordinary people
had gone to them in order to light up the dark niches of
their minds with the light, brought by them (the Rs'is).
These Vedantists would eventually make them wellversed in
the Intuitional Science by properly answering every big or
small question arising in their minds. The questions of the
common people were:
Kim' ka'ran'am' brahma kutah sma ja'ta' 383 Jiiva'ma
kena kva ca sampratish't'ha'h Adhis't'hita'h kena
sukhetares'u Varta'mahe brahmavido vyavastha'm.
"What is Brahma?" What is the First Cause of our
origin? What keeps us alive and why? What harm was there, if
we weren't alive at all? On what foundation does our
existence stand? What is our support? Why are we at all
experiencing this life only through the media of weal and
woe - pleasure and pain? O Brahmavid! What are the proper
laws about them, i.e., explain to us with just and proper
answers to these questions."
Ka'lah svabha'vo niyatiryadrccha' Bhu'ta'ni yonih
purus'a iti cintya' Sam'yoga es'a'm' na tva'tmabha'va'd
Atma'pyaniishah sukhaduhkha hetoh.
"Questions know no limit in the human mind. Are the
solutions of the above problems embedded in the Time alone?
In other words, is Time the final answer to these queries?
Is it the absolute truth? Is it the spiritual truth?
Apparently, it seems that the First Cause of the creation is
hidden indeed in the womb of time. So indeed is its ultimate
result also, isn't it? Then why must we not regard Time as
the absolute factor? Whatever had taken place, whatever are
taking place and whatever will take place - all re within
the periphery of Time's knowledge, aren't they? It is this
Time Force (Ka'la Shakti) that has been giving birth to the
universe as the Cosmic Mother (Vishvajananii). It is indeed
this Time Force that, by its (different) attitudinal
stances, has been supporting everything, keeping up the
consistency intact through its revolving movements. It is
this Time Force again that , in its frantic dance
(Ta'n'dava-Nrtya), has been chewing and pulverizing the
world with a guffaw with the help of its horribly formidable
fangs. The inscrutable play of light is nothing but a
momentary flash upon its features. Belching darkness out of
darkness, Time alone is the sole well-established entity in
its own horror. O Brahmavid! tell us, in not Time alone the
Absolute Entity?" The Brahmavid (The Knower of Brahma)
replied, "No, I cannot recognize Time as the Absolute
Entity. Time is only a relative factor, which is entirely
dependent on the mutual relationship of `Place' and
`Person'. Time is but the mind's reckoning on the motivity
of action. Where there is no motivity of action, or even if
there be any, where there is no mind to measure it, there
Time is a misnomer. That Time is beginningless and endless
is also not correct. How can I accept that in the womb of
the beginningless Time the universe was created and that in
the womb of the endless Time again the universe will
disappear also, for the `Person' mind (Pa'tra-mana), in
which reckoning existed, having been not there before the
creation, there indeed existed no measuring imagination for
the time. The `Place' or Direction (Dik) and `Person', upon
which Time depends, are also relative of these three (Time,
Place and Person) alone this evolutionary panorama revolves.
So, you see, Time, which is entirely dependent on Place and
Person, can never be the Absolute Factor. During sleep of
unconscious state the relation between Place and Person 3p3
being not properly manifest, Time does not exist during that
period. In order to understand the difference between the
time before sleep and the time after it, one has to infer
the suggestion of it from the environmental changes. We
think of Solar Year, Solar Month or Solar Day indeed on the
basis of the earth's circumambulation (Parikrama') of the
sun. Similarly the Lunar Year, Lunar Month or Lunar Day
(Tithi) we determine of the basis of the moon going round
the earth. If the earth had not gone on its beat round the
sun, or the moon round the earth, or if the stars and
planets had not maintained the increase of decrease of their
distances, there would not have been any such thing as Time.
Unlike Ra'ma-Shya'ma-Jadu-Madhu (Tom, dick and Harry) of
Citta, Aham'tattva, Mahattattva or the Purus'a, Time is not
a well-manifest factor. It is not even what we understand by
`immaterial' (Avastu) or a thing independent of matter. Even
if we call time immaterial, still we have to admit that Time
is dependent on objects. The Pratiikiikaran'a
(Symbolization) of the Time factor is impossible because of
its being Avastu (immaterial). Then again to form an idea of
time the object is also not possible. If we say, `a million
years ago', at once we indirectly think within ourselves:
`after the Sun-like object has been circled round by the
earth-like object a million times, reckoned from today
backward'. So no matter how we reckon time, backward or
forward, we have got to bring it to the count of Kalpa
(Mythologically, one day and night of Brahma - a period of
432 million solar years of the mortals) or Yuga (era) or
Years or Months and these kalpa, yuga, year and month are
solely and wholly dependent on objects. Absence of objects
would not have stirred the imagination for them at all. I
have already told you that the object upon which Time
depends, is also not the ultimate factor. Dik (Direction)
too is not the absolute factor. The moon looks like a small
salver or dish from a distance. Nearer, it looks like a
continent and so `Place' is not a stable entity. By a nearer
path Bhagalpur is to the east of Monghyr but by the longer
path, with the earth making a turn, it falls to the west of
Monghyr. So the `dik' or Direction also is not an absolute
factor. The determination of their nature depends on the
movement of the `Person'. The time-sense also being
dependent on such transient entities, is not a stable sense.
The news of the world of yesterday is `past' to us,
`present' to some planet and `future' to some other planet.
Past, present and future, upon which the expansion of Time
depends, are accepted and imagined as per difference in
`Place' and `Person'. So in reply to this natural question
of the human mind, the Rs'is or Seer of those days had said,
"Time can never be accepted as the Primary Cause of
creation." Is Nature (Svabha'va) then the primary Cause of
the universe? The Rs'i says, "No, Nature does not imbibe and
doership. It is only an offshoot of the Binding Principle
(Prakrta Shakti). It is an evolutionary pastime and so after
seeing just one stage of it we can infer its previous and
subsequent stages. Being conscious about the trends of
nature, we can determine the characteristics (Svabha'va) of
the living units, plants and inanimate objects. What are
they (individually), how do such and such things happen,
what are their potentials, what can possibly 33 be their
respective consequences - all these we may know after
studying their tendencies and behaviors. This very process
of study is what is called Science. So long as this study this investigation, is concerned with the material world, we
call it Science or Material Science. So you see, this
tendency is not the authority or doerentity. Nature is
indeed the dynamic waves of the centrifugal and centripetal
(Saincara and Pratisaincara) movements of Prakrti (the
Operative Principle). So nature can at best be the
determinant of the intrinsic characteristics of objects but
not their primary cause. Nature is a certain law, a certain
procedure but not the creating force. Nature cannot be
accepted as the supreme authority. Then who is the Primary
Cause of the World? What is the cause? Is Niyati (Destiny)
then the primary cause of the world? The Rs'i says, "No, not
even that. Niyati is derived from the root, Ni + Yam + ktin.
Niyati means that which controls the subsequent deeds, i.e.,
Krtakarma or the deeds done or the past deeds. As the Jiiva
(unit) sows, so he reaps. The quantity of reactions to be
served or gone through by the unit is equal to that of the
total acts previously done or performed. This unserved
totality of the original deeds is called Niyati or Destiny.
The reactive seed of this very Niyati is called Sam'ska'ra
(Reaction in its potentiality) in the language of
philosophy. That is why in this observable world the
Sam'ska'ra-ridden unit cannot go outside the influence of
Niyati or Destiny. Niyati keeps him in its grip so viciously
that he thinks as though this very Niyati is the controller
of his fate (Bha'gya-niyanta'), as though it has already
kept his path of progress forestalled and fixed or
checkmated. But his Niyati cannot be the absolute factor,
for if you do not exist, if you do not act, the Niyati
cannot be formed. The Niyati or Destiny which is dependent
upon your doership for its self-existence, cannot have the
all-controllership. Now the next question arise: Is this
cosmic creation accidental? The Brahmavid (The knower of
Brahma) says, "No, In fact there is no such thing as
accident. Behind every event that takes place in the
universe there is, in all cases, the principle of causality
- Ka'ran'a'bha'va't ka'rya'bha'vah, i.e., there is no effect
without a cause. Really speaking what we take for an
accident is nothing but an incident. The incident, whose
preceding cause we cannot see or understand properly or
whose cause takes effect in a trice, we call accident. So
you see, in reality the word, accident, is meaningless and
so to call this universe an accidental creation is nothing
but a wishy-washy twaddle for camouflaging one's own
ignorance." "Are the five fundamental elements then the
primary cause of this world, - have consciousness and other
things come into being out of matter?" "No, matter or the
five elements cannot be the absolute factor. None of them
have any power or capacity for self-determination, for each
one of them has to proceed through clashes and conflicts at
the behest of some unseen power. Even in very crude sphere
these five elements have to proceed at the beck of
individual or collective human power. A little probe will
make you understand that matter or the five elements do not
have nay authority or doership in any of their conditions.
They are always 33 preoccupied with activities. An entity
with functional obligations can on no account be the primary
cause or absolute controller." "Is Jiiva'tman the supreme
factor?" The Rs'i says, "No, not even that. Jiiva'tman is
only a cognitive force (Jina'trshakti), not an authority.
Cognizance is possible of a cognitive force, not creation.
The attributes of a knowing entity (Jinatr Satta') being
absent, the Creator's position can never be its due. A'tma'
is the knowing entity, not the creating force and so
Jiiva'tman also is not the absolute factor." "Is creation",
then , accomplished through the union and mutual
co-operation of two or more of the factors like time, nature
(Svabha'va), destiny, accident, elements and Jiiva'tman?"
The Rs'i says, "No. With the exception of Svabha'va or the
Operative Prakrti, none stands the chance of a direct
contact with the Purus'a. Cosmic creation is not possible as
the result of union of Nature (Svabha'va) or Prakrti or
actional force (Karma-shakti) with the Purus'a or Jiiva'tman
or cognitive force. The expression of the Karma -shakti in
the Jina'na-shakti (cognitive force) of the Jiiva'tman no
doubt give rise to the I-feeling or the manifestation of the
mind, but that petty ego, due to the smallness of its sphere
of activity, does not have the capacity of creating the
universe, nor is it able to sterilize the cosmogenic force.
The microcosmic subjectivity (Jiiva'tmabha'va) cannot accept
objectivity with stolid stoicism or complete indifference.
The contact of objectivity with it cannot be accepted as the
absolute factor. The conjunction of matter with the
Jiiva'tman only turns the objects into vehicles of enjoyment
or endurance (Bhogopada'na) and eventually, as its
consequence, takes on the form of Bhoga'pavarga, i.e.,
addiction to objects of enjoyment or endurance (In other
words pleasure and pain become the summum bonum of life).
Jiiva'tman is Aniisha or a controlled entity and so it has
to take shelter of others and this is why microcosmic
subjectivity (Jiiva'tmabha'va) gets attached to different
entities, whether part or whole. This attachment is the
greatest sign of Aniishata' or subjection. Jiiva'tman is not
Iisha but Aniisha - not "controller" but "controlled" and so
it cannot be the cause of creation. It is because of this
Aniishata' that it has to put up with pleasure-pain-like
mental distortions - has to be smitten by sin and virtue
(Pa'pa and Pun'ya) consequent upon environmental impacts and
clashes. That which is subject to blows every moment, cannot
be an absolute factor. The Rs'i says that you cannot
discover the root cause here. In order to find it, you will
have to reach the Fist Cause of the cause (A'dika'ran'a) the Supreme Cause - the causeless principle, via the
principle of causality. This causeless factor is the final
answer to all queries - the final Sama'dhi (total
absorption) of all concentrations and meditations.
Metaphysically, this principle is certainly esoteric incomprehensible to the common people, for here one has to
proceed analytically through the principle of cause and
effect. Still the Sa'dhaka has got to do it. Taking his
intellect gradually from crudity to subtlety will eventually
make it possible for him to reach the causeless factor. The
Brahmavid says,
Te dhya'nayoga'nugata' apashyan 33 Deva'tmashaktim'
svagun'aernighu'd'ha'm Yah ka'ran'ani nikhila'ni ta'ni
Ka'la'tmayukta'nyadhitis't'hatyekah.
This supreme truth the Rs'is have realized through
Dha'nayoga (Intuitional meditation). Retracting the Vrttis
to their causes and, likewise, the crudity to subtlety, they
have understood that Supreme Purus'a and His inseparable
concomitant, the Parama' Prakrti (His Operative Principle).
They have understood that the essence of all essences - the
knowledge of all knowingness is that Supreme Purus'a
Himself. After attaining Him the necessity to look for the
cause disappears. Trekking towards subtlety only on the
strength of the manifest power they have reached the Supreme
Force (Parama' Shakti) - the Supreme Operative Principle
(Parama Prakrtitattva). The Supreme Purus'a that they have
attained in their meditation and the Parama' Prakrti that
they have caught in the meditational vision are indeed
identical and inseparable. The Parama Purus'a indeed through
the medium of His Prakrti or Operative Principle is the
(First) Cause of the Creation of the world. Candidly
speaking, had it not been for His Pra'krta Shakti (Operative
Principle or Force), He might not have been able to evolve
the world. Influenced indeed by this Attributive Force
(Prakrti) this Purus'a appears in the role of Sagun'a
(Qualified Purus'a) and when this Attributive Force does not
find its way of expression, the qualifiedness (Sagun'atva)
of the Purus'a also ceases. The Force-cum-Supreme-Purus'a
alone is the Absolute Cause of this universe. Time, Nature,
Destiny or Accident - all are born in Him - sheltered in
Him. He alone is the cause of all that we call relative
truths, i.e., Time, Space and Person etc. is the Jiivama'nas
(the unit-mind) and the Cause of this Jiivama'nas is that
Prakrti-cum-Bhu'ma' Caetanya or the Qualified Consciousness
(Sagun'a Brahma).
Sarva'jiive sarvasarm'sthe brhante Tasmin ham'so
bhra'myate brahmacakre Prthara'tma'nam' prerita'rainca
matva' Jus't'astatastena'mrtatvameti.
Whatever kinds of livelihood or whatever kinds of
support, crude or subtle, the units may have (for their
self-existence) or whatever kinds of evolved entities there
may conceivable be, are all created within Him and within
Him they are destroyed. The flow of relativities goes on
unabated through the media of creation, preservation and
destruction indeed. Where there is no such flow of
relativities, the question of life and death also does not
arise. The unit, in quest of a support for the fulfillment
of his wishes and desires, is running after one or the other
of these relative truths. He is going round and round within
this vast Brahmic Circle like a mad man without recognizing
its (fundamental) nucleus. In his limitless pursuit he is
losing all his mental resources immediately after attaining
them. He is unable to know or recognize the Purus'ottama,
Who is the nucleus of Eternal Peace. Drunk with the craze of
pursuit (of external objects) he does not even try to
recognize Him. In the hypnotic spell of this pursuit he
still remains smugly oblivious of the 3J3 fact that on a
certain auspicious dawn of the past he had come into being
out of a certain source, with which still today he has a
profound consanguineous relation - that still today he has
the same heart - the same A'tman as He has. Nevertheless His
limitless mercy continues to be showered upon him
incessantly and unreservedly. By the (magnetic) attraction
of that mercy when he will run towards Him, entranced to His
sweet and benign stance, then alone he will attain real
deathlessness. Whatever the unit can or cannot imagine - all
of them, He holds in His macrocosmic mind (Bhu'ma'-ma'nas).
Udgiitametat paramam' tu brahma Tasmim'stayam'
supratis't'ha'ks'arainca Atra'taram' brahmavido viditva'
liina' Brahman'i tatpara' yonimukta'h.
The Supreme Truth that the Rs'is realized through
their contemplation could not be particularized with a
specific name. He is Great - enormously Great. His vastness
is immeasurable. It has no linear expansion either, like
length, breadth, etc. so He is just Great. It is not
possible to define Him with any other word except this, and
that is why the Rs'is have used the word, Brahma (Cosmos),
for Him. No other word can be ascribed to Him except Brahma.
Jiiva (microcosm), Jagat (world) and Iishvara (Lord) - these
three entities are established right within Him. As
microcosm (Jiivabha'va) He is being controlled, as Iishvara
He is controlling and as Jagat He is providing the link
between Jiiva and Iishvara. It is not that Jiiva, Jagat and
Iishvara alone comprise His bearing. Transcendentally, He
abides as the Aks'ara (Intransmutable) and then again this
Aks'ara in conjunction with attributes is known as the
Purus'ottama and without attributes is known as the Niraksa,
(a state of perfect placidity - perfectly objectless). The
Brahmavid knowing this Brahma, loses his identity in Brahma
- merging in Him he becomes Brahma Himself - attains eternal
emancipation from the shackles of life and death.
Sam'yuktametat ks'aramaks'arainca vyakta'vyaktam'
bharate vishvamiishah Aniishashca'tma' vadhyate
Bhoktrbha'va't jina'tva' devam' mucyate sarvapa'shaeh.
This Brahma comprises the joint bearing of Ks'ara and
Aks'ara (perishableness and imperishableness). The manifest
bearing, metamorphosed through His psychic action, is called
His Ks'arabha'va, and the bearing, without being
metamorphosed is His Aks'arabha'va. The word, Aks'ara, means
that which does not undergo any metamorphosis or
degradation. In these two bearings of Ks'ara and Aks'ara
consistency or coordination between both the subjective and
objective realities is being maintained. Brahmic or Cosmic
manifestation is the accomplishment of that coordination by
the Supreme Spirit. But where there is no manifestation,
there is no question of subjectivity or objectivity - there
He is Niraks'ara i.e. in a state of perfect placidity
perfectly objectless. Niraks'ara is identical with Avyakta
33 (unmanifest). But where there the Aks'ara, in His
witness-ship of Ks'ara, can remain in both the bearings one bearing (Ks'ara) in the unit-mind Khan'd'a-ma'nas) and
another (Aks'ara) in the Cosmic Mind (Pu'rn'a'-ma'nas). The
central point or the Nucleus of the Cosmic Mind, the
Aks'ara, which is too immense even for the endless sea, is
known as the Purus'ottama. The Purus'ottama is the Supreme
Master (Parama Bharta' - Bharta' means feeder) of this
Ks'ara'ks'ara'tmaka or changeable-cum- unchangeable
worldentity. All the manifest objects (Vyakta) look up to
Him for their expressions. The expressible potentials of the
unexpressed entities (Avyakta) also get opportunities for
their manifestations through His generosity. It is with the
cooperation of the Byaka and Avyakta - Ks'ara and Aks'ara,
that this Brahma Cakra or Cosmic System has been created. So
in this connection we may as well say - since this Brahma
Cakra is dependent on the Supreme Purus'a, therefore He is
the sole Master of all. Dispassionately thinking, the
intrinsic, unchangeable character of Aks'ara, the ametabolic
Entity, is appreciably jeopardized, being installed as the
witness of the unit-mind. The Purus'ottama, however, does
not suffer as much from that stigma or involvement with
unital attributes. When the unit-mind with a voluptuous
intent (Bhokta'bha'va) blindly runs after unit-objects, the
Witnessing Purus'a thereof also gets then smitten by the
like mental attributes. He then looks the unit himself in
bondage. But when the unit-mind shuns its susceptibility to
unitary objects and accepts that Great Supreme Purus'a alone
as its support, the microcosm then gets an opportunity to
install himself in the Whole-Mind or the Cosmic Mind, giving
up the unit-hood of his own mind. With the attainment of the
witness-ship of the Integral Mind he becomes one with the
Purus'ottama. In the absence of bondage of empirical
susceptibility (Bhokta'bha'va) he attains emancipation from
all kinds of fetters.
Jina'jinao dva'vaja'viishaniisha'vaja' hyeka'
bhoktrbhogya'rthayukta' Anantashca'tma' vishvaru'po
hyakarta' trayam' yada' vindate brahmametat.
Although both Jiivabha'va and Shivabha'va (Microcosm
and Macrocosm) are but the entitative distinctions of the
Unborn Conscious Entity, the Jiivabha'va is ignorant - it
has no knowledge of its characteristic Self, and the
Shivabha'va is all-knowing - it has the knowledge of its
characteristic Self. Jiivabha'va is but the shadow entity of
the Shivabha'va and so it is stricken with demarcation and
being a reflex or shadow entity, it is deprived of the bliss
of freedom, for power and capacity abide in the original,
not in the shadow. It is compelled only to emulate what the
original entity does. So of them one is Iisha (Controller)
and the other, Aniisha (Controlled). Both of them imbibe a
dynamic force. That Force too is unborn - that Force indeed
is the Prakrti. This very Prakrti creates in the Jiivabha'va
the bearing as Bhoktrtva (enjoyership) and Bhogyatva
(enjoyableness) and its through the grace of this Prakrti
comprising Bhoktrbha'va and Bhogyabha'va that the
Jiivabha'va preserves its petty existence. But Shivabha'va
is not subject to this Prakrti. It is a Blissful Entity,
immune to the waves of the Binding Principle
(Pra'krtabha'va). Sagun'a Brahma is the composite of these
three principles, viz., Jiivabha'va, Shivabha'va and
Pra'krtabha'va, and the Purus'ottama that abides as the
Witness of all these three, is not Himself the doer,
although this (heterogeneous) universe is evolved in Him.
Ks'aram' pradha'nam' amrta'ks'aram' harah
ks'ara'tmana'viishate deva ekah Tasya'bhidhya'na'd yojana't
tattvabha'va'd bhu'yashca'nte vishvama'ya'nivrttih.
The Ks'ara-Aks'ara distinctions are present in the
Body of this vast Brahma. Ks'ara is what is evolved by the
influence of Prakrti. Aks'ara or Harah is that which has not
been transmuted under the influence of the Prakrti but is
conjoined with the Prakrti as her Knower. Apart from these
two, Ks'ara and Hara, another Conscious Entity that is being
transmuted and controlled within the imagination is the
Purus'ottama Himself. He is continuing His thought-process
with the help of Ks'ara and the surplus part of His
Ks'ara-Body, the Aks'ara. This Ks'ara is changing its form
through His thought-process every moment. His appellative
forms are undergoing life and death but not His
Aks'arabha'va (Unchangeable intrinsicality). Though
constantly smitten by the Ks'ara, the Aks'arabha'va remains
as its witness. Purus'ottama, however, remains immune and
unassailed in His Ks'ara-cum-Aks'ara thought-process. When a
Sa'dhaka, channelizing all his propensities towards
Purus'ottama becomes united with Him and tries to understand
Him factually, he then attains greatness like Him. At that
time all the fetters of pettiness are torn asunder, all the
charm and illusion of the world (Vishvama'ya') cease for
him. He then attains emancipation.
Jina'tva devam' sarvapa'sha'paha'nih Kalin'aeh
kleshaerjanmamrtyupraha'n'ih Tasya'bhidhya'nat trtiiyam'
dehabhede vishvaeshvaryam' kevala a'ptaka'mah.
What happens when a Sa'dhaka comes to know the
Purus'ottama - gets united with Him? This union with the
Purus'ottama snaps all the fetters of the Yogii. Forgetting
the pettiness is forgetting the pettiness-creating bondages
also. With the disappearance of the unit-mind, i.e., with
the attainment of mental expansion, sufferings too gradually
wane - even the bondage of life and death is rent asunder,
for life and death belong to the small and so also their
dread. Origination and destruction do not exist in the Great
- in the Vast, and so the question of origination and
destruction does not arise in respect of the one, who,
thinking of Him, has identified with Him. Even the
pervasive, pompous development that the Sa'dhaka attains for
the first time on his way to identifying himself with Him
after understanding Him, is not the ultimate goal. Still
higher than that, surmounting even that barrier, when the
Sa'dhaka becomes free of all pompousness or excellences when even the residue of his I-ness disappears - that stage
is his ultimate state. To 33 become `He' after knowing Him this state of excellence, is call Savikalpa Sama'dhi or the
Determinate Trance of Absorption. In such a state the ego
becomes infinitely pervasive. But the next stage, which is
the superlatively absolute bearing, where his Iness is
compelled to lose itself due to His extraordinary Radiance such a state, is called Nirvikalpa Sama'dhi (Trance of Total
Absorption) or Kaevalya wherein remains only one sentiment one bearing, i.e., the pure Conscious Entity beyond
knowledge, knowable, and knower, is called Kaevalya or
Absolute identity with the Divine Essence. Absorbed in
Cosmotheistic Trance (Brahmabha'va) when the Sa'dhaka (the
intuitional practicer) loses his self in ecstasy, only then
comes the Kaevalya-sthiti (ensconcement in Oneness). So the
poet said,
Seeing His Form, eyes in a mess Who might He be, I
could not guess.
There being neither duality nor any scope of I-ness,
the three aspects, viz., the seer, the seeable and the seen
also merge in the characteristic Cognition.
Etaj jina'yam' nityameva'tmasam'stham' Natun param'
veditavyam' hi kijneit Bhokta' bhogyam' prepita'rainca matva
Sarvam' proktam' trividham' brahmametat.
--The use of the word, Brahmametat (Brahmam + etat) in
the Sloka is grammatically untenable. `Brahma etat' should
have been better. The Rs'i perhaps compounded the words for
the sake of meter. This Parama Purus'a is the only knowable
of the unit. If there be anything to be known at all, it is
only `He'. If anybody has to do Sa'dhana' at all, the object
of Sa'dhana' must be `He'. There is nothing stable except
He. There is nothing at all to know beyond Him. Knowing Him
is knowing everything. The seed of whatever manifest or
unmanifest in the universe is embedded in Him alone. He is
the infallible remedy for all diseases - the Makaradhvaja or
the Panacea for all ailments. Analyzing the Brahma Entity
philosophically you will notice in Him three bearings.
Bhoktrbha'va (Jiivabha'va or proclivities of sensuous
gratification) Bhogyabha'va (Pra'krtajadabha'va or fettered
phenomenality) and Prerayitrbha'va (Direct or Controlling
authority). The men of learning say that Brahma is the
epitome of these three bearings. Claiming its own authority
the Bhoktrbha'va or Jiivabha'va wants to enjoy the
quinquelemental objects with the help of the unitmind.
Bhogyabha'va is the Cosmo-psychic (Brahma-ma'nas) creation the quinquelemental factors, and Prerayita'bha'va is the
determinant of the relationship between the doership
(Kartrbha'va) and the activity (Karmabha'va). It is through
the inspiration of this Prerayita'-bha'va that the
Bhoktrbha'va is dissipated or dispelled. By the vehemence of
Sa'dhana' Bhoktrtva (Sensuous proclivity) races towards
Prerayita' and with its attaining the unicity with the
latter the Bhogyabha'va too disappears in the wake of the
disappearance of the Bhoktrbha'va and then again in the
absence of the Bhoktr-Bhogyatva (Enjoyer and the enjoyed)
the 3&3 Prerayitrbha'va too merges in the Nis'kala Purus'a
(Objectless Consciousness). It is necessary for man to
always bear in mind that it is in the generosity of
Prerayitrbha'va that all his bearings are held - that it is
on the strength of Prerayita''s generosity that he is
getting opportunities for Sa'dhana'. If this generosity of
His were not there, man would not have got the scent of
spirituality.
Tvameva ma'ta' ca pita' tvameva Tvameva bandhushca
sakha' tvameva Tvameva vidya'shca draviin'am' tvameva
Tvameva sarvam' mama devadeva.
Know that Prerayita', the Purus'ottama Himself - try
to attain Him alone. He has not handed over His absolute
authority His formidable power, to anyone else, for He has
to carry the burden of collectiveness of the universe - has
to bear the stamp of attributes, though intrinsically
attributeless (Nirgun'a). Recognize - know that Supreme
Father. Extort His kindness by dint of your own strength and
devotion. What is the secret hint - the `open sesame' of
receiving His kindness? - Do what pleases Him. Abiding by
His wishes rigidly, if you let adrift your life on the
actional waves of His choice, He is bound to smile on you He will be compelled to. Snatch away His kindness on the
strength of your devotion. He will put garland of victory
round your neck with His own hands, if you go on performing
your deeds like a hero.
Svadeham' aran'im' krtva' pran'avaincottara'tan'im
Dhya'nanirmathana'bhya'sa'd devam' pashyennigu'dhavat
How would you carry on with your work? You have got to
make proper use of the human body, the human mind and the
human soul that you possess through His grace. Make cent per
cent use of the resources - whatever they are (however
little they may be in your opinion) - that He has bestowed
upon you. Shrinking away from work out of fear of it, do not
let your body, mind and soul or financial capabilities or
other powers get rusty. Use your own body as the Aran'i and
the Onunka'ra as the Uttara'ran'i (wood flint). Aran'i means
firewood. Onunka'ra is the sonic wave of the Brahmabha'va.
The sonic wave finds expression in every action, i.e., the
sound that is emanating every moment from the actional waves
of the Cosmic Mind is called the Onunka'ra. Just as friction
between two pieces of wood is necessary for producing fire,
similarly, regarding your own body as a piece of wood and
the Pran'ava (Onunka'ra or ones' own Is't'a'-mantra) as
another piece of wood and rubbing them with the meditational
practice, i.e., contacting your own body with the
Onunka'ra-like Supreme Being through Dhya'nayoga, that
hidden Brahmic Radiance has to be seen. In other words this
Brahmic Radiance was and is already there deeply hidden in
both the body and Onunka'ra, which bursts into blazing
brilliance and reveals Itself through the process of
Meditation-like frictions. He is within you through and
through indissolubly and pervasively (Ota-prota) and so is
He in each and every pore of each and every entity of this
universe. With a 3]3 desire to know and understand Him,
think, reflect and meditate deeply and constantly. You shall
attain Him.
Tiles'u taelam' dadhiniiva sarpira'pah
srotahsvaran'iis'u ca'gnih Evama'tma'tmani grhyate'sao
satyenaenam' tapasa' yo'nupashyati.
Do you know how He is implanted in everything? Just as
oil remains in the sesame (Til). But if you look at the
sesame superficially, you will see only sesame; churn it and
the oil will come out. He abides in everything, but you
cannot see Him, if you look at it superficially. Do the
Sa'dhana' - meditate churn any object or entity by
meditation and He will appear. There is Ghee (Clarified
butter) in the curd. Do you see Ghee, looking at the curd?
Churn it and the principle substance of the curd, the Ghee,
will appear before your eyes. Look at the dry mountainous
river, you will see nothing but sand, but isn't there any
water in it? Take a little trouble, remove the sand, and you
will find the bosom full of sweet water. Take a look at the
wood, you can't feel any fire in it, can you? But the
fire-potentials are hidden in it. Take a little trouble, rub
two pieces of wood and the fire will be lit up. similarly,
you are unable to see that Great Purus'a within you. You
cannot understand that He permeates every secret core of
your molecules and atoms. Churn your self with Truth and
Meditation and He will blossom forth within you.
Sarvavya'pinama'tma'nam' ks'iire sarpiriva'rpitam
A'tmavidya'tapomu'lam' tad brahmopanis'at param.
He is all-pervading. Do not think that He abides in a
number of particular entities only. He exists equally in
everything. Ghee exists in the milk, but is it restricted to
anyparticular region of the milk? No, the Ghee permeates the
whole of the milk. The so-called high and low, rich and
poor, Brahmin and Can'd'a'la, man and woman, old and infant,
Russian and American He abides equally in all of them. You
cannot look down upon any of them - none is an object of
your contempt and hatred. If you despise even the smallest
or meanest entity, bear in mind that you are thereby
despising and hating the Parama Brahma Himself. What credit
belongs to man for the Sa'dhana', whereby he attains
beatitude? He is only playing the King Kobes with the
borrowed robes - he has earned the title of Sa'dhaka with
the Sa'dhana'-Shakti (strength for meditation), gifted to
him by Him, hasn't he? Investigate into all spiritual
knowledges -into the root of all intuitional practices and
you will see only Him there. It is He who makes you do the
Sa'dhana', furnishing you with intellect and strength.
Surrender yourself to His will. Off with your load of
self-conceit. Lighten the burden of your life and drift
yourself afloat on the course of His will. It is He who is
teaching you the Sa'dhana' in the guise of a Guru
(Preceptor) - making your knowledge - your faith, firm and
strong in the guise of a philosopher. You are plundering His
mercy through everything day and night. Go on working as a
machine, leaving the 33 doer-ship to Him. How little can
your poor intellect comprehend His inscrutable sport
(Liila')! How little can it be analyzed! So, instead of
analyzing His Liila', only keep the bearing of that
inscrutable juggler aglow before your eyes.
Bitest Thou with a viper's dart Exorcisest as exorcist
How sly `n' clever indeed Thou art O what a strategist! Mid
of the river Thou throwest net Drawest from land the netted
freight.
So I say, do not try to analyze that Great Spirit in
vain with the pride of your petty intellect. With the whole
ardor of your heart do the Sa'dhana' of attaining Him as
your own and all your discrepancies and incongruities will
cease. Remember, where `you' is, `He' is not. Where `He' is,
petty `you' is not. He is your ultimate goal. Don't let your
desires and propensities go astray except towards Him. Let
all your inspired desires float on the waves of His grace.
When terror dims my vital glow, Sayeth Vidya'pati,
save Thee no other go. Thou art the beginning. Thou art the
end On Thee doth liberation now depend.
All the Vedas have discussed about this Parama
Purus'a. Make Him the target of your life. He is your final
destination. He is the Supreme Authority.
Bha'dra Pu'rn'ima' 1956 Bhagalpur.
SUSA18FI.TXT
SUBHASITA SAMGRAHA Part-18
SHRII SHRII ANANDAMURTI
All rights reserved by Ananda Marga Pra'caraka Samgha
(Central) Tiljala, Calcutta-39
1st Edition - January, 1992
Published by : Acarya Krsnatmananda Avadhuta (
Publication Secretary ) Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha
Tiljala, Calcutta-39
Translated from the original Bengali by Acarya
Vijaya'nanda Avadhuta
Printed by : Acarya Piiyus'a'nanda Avadhuta6ta ANANDA
PRINTERS Tiljala', Calcutta-39
CONTENTS
Physical propulsion, psychic propensities, and
spiritual attainment... I The path unto the abode of
beatitude ... 7 Propensities and prama .... 15 Macropsychic
connation and micropsychic longings... 21 Biological
transformation associated with psychic metamorphosis and
vice versa... 30 Cult, inference and propensity ... 39 The
cult of spirituality-the cult of pinnacled order ... 49
Microcosm and macrocosm ... 59 Bhakti-Rupa' Setu ... 68 The
stance of salvation and how to attain it ... 75 The Lord and
his name ... 92 Yoga and Bhakti ... 96 Knowledge and human
progress ... 107
PHYSICAL PROPULSION, PSYCHIC PROPENSITIES AND
SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT
The subject of today's discourse is "Physical
Propulsion, Psychic Propensities and Spiritual Attainment."
Wherever there is any physical structure, be it animate or
inanimate, there is certain propulsion, or you may say
propensive propulsion. In the case of inanimate objects the
propulsion is of physical nature. In magnets there are
certain characteristics. In water there are certain
characteristics. These are all their physical propulsions or
propensive propulsions. In the case of animated structures,
in animals or in human bodies, the propulsion is based on
psychic specialities. That is, the propulsion is
psycho-physical. Every thing moves in this universe;
everywhere there is expressed dynamicity. Nothing is static
in this universe of ours. Not only in the realm of
physicality, but in the psychic stratum also there is, we
find, this movement. In the psychic stratum, rather in the
psychic arena, the movement takes place through different
propensities and with the help of certain inferences. So the
mental structure of each animate body moves sometimes with
proper acceleration, sometimes with retardation. Where there
is retardation, a day will come when the mental structure
will get crudified and become one with crude or material
objects. Those who have not got any subtle ideology or goal
are sure to become one with the crude world, one with the
physical world, one with the world of atoms and electrons.
What a dangerous situation ! They will lose their identities
and become one with the dust of the earth. So it is the duty
of each and every sane human being to see that there remains
movement in his or her mind, in his or her mental world, and
that mental world, that mental movement should be charged
with proper acceleration, because when there is no
acceleration, retardation is sure to take place. Now in the
realm of physicality, in the stratum of physicality, there
is some urge and there is some movement, rather actional
movement. This urge is psycho-physical. What is this urge ?
Phalisyatiiti vishva'sah siddherprathama laks'an'am
Dvitiiyam' shraddhaya'yuktam' trtiiyam' gurupujanam?
Caturtho samata'bha'vo paincamendriyanigrahah Sas't'ainca
pramita'ha'ro saptamam' naeva vidyate.
In this phase of physicality, the first item of the
psycho-physical urge is the firm determination that "I must
be successful in my mission." This firm determination is the
first requisite factor. The second item is that one should
have respect for one's goal. 'Shrat+ 'dha' = shraddha ....
"Shrat" means satyam, the Supreme Veracity, and "dha"' means
movement towards that. So "shraddha" means movement towards
the Supreme Veracity. Sometimes people wrongly understand
the word "shraddha". Shrot salyam' Tasmin dhiiyate ya' sa'
shraddha'.
Trtiiyam gurupujanam : one should do as per the
gospels of the preceptor. Caturtho samata'bha'vo : one must
have balanced mind, that is, one must establish Prama within
and without i.e., in the physical, psychic and spiritual
spheres. If Prama is lost, it must be restored immediately.
Paincam endriya nigrahah; one must have self-restraint, one
must not be goaded by crude propensities. How can a person
who has no control over himself or herself, exercise control
over others ? It is not possible. And "S'as't'hainca
pramit'aha'ro" : one must have a balanced diet. "Whatever I
get, that I will eat" this must not be the policy of a sane
being. This human body is a composite of protoplasmic cells,
and these protoplasmic cells are made of the food we take
in. If the food and drink is defective, then the
protoplasmic cells will also become defective, and the human
mind, which is the collective mind of so many protoplasmic
minds, will also become defective. That is why ta'masik or
static food has a negative influence on the human mind.
These are the requisite factors. And in the psychic sphere,
when the mind proceeds internally towards its Supreme
Fulfillment, there will also be three separate stages for
accelerated progress : Pran'ipa'tena ' Pariprashnena
Sevaya'. Pran'ipa'ta means surrendering oneself before one's
goal. The attitude of self-surrender is represented by
sa's't'aunga-pran'a'ma, which means to lie flat in a
straight line like a rod. The idea is, however crooked I may
be to others, to my ideology I am as simple and straight as
a rod. That is why I lie prostrate. When one surrenders
before one's ideology, one will automatically attain
self-knowledge. One need not move here and there in pursuit
of self-knowledge. Idam' tiirtham idam' tiirtham' Brahmanti
ta'masa'h jana'h." Atma'tiirtham' naja'nanti katham' moks'a
vara'nane. Here is a place of pilgrimage : if one takes a
holy dip in this holy place of pilgrimage one will acquire
one sort of merit. Over there is another place of
pilgrimage: if one pours water on the deity over there one
acquires another sort of merit. One does not acquire any
spiritual progress in this way. This is not the path of true
spirituality. One will have to move internally. So only a
person who surrenders himself before his ideology can attain
self-knowledge. This is the only way. Pariprashna means to
get the detailed answers to all the questions which will
facilitate one's individual progress as well as the
collective progress of the cosmos, and also to apply that
acquired knowledge in accelerating both individual and
collective progress, Pariprashna does not mean to become a
ship of knowledge: it means to know the answers to those
queries which will accelerate and make the path of progress
smooth. And the third one is sevaya'. Seva' means rendering
selfless service to the universe, not to a particular group
of people but to anybody and everybody, to all living
creatures-- animals, plants or human beings. Service is
unilateral, not mutual. Where it is mutual, it is not
service, it is commercial transaction. You are giving salt
to somebody and he pays you in return. This is not service.
People should carry on commercial transactions to earn their
bread and render service in order to attain their spiritual
progress. Only those are successful people who follow this
principle in life. This is the dharma of humanity. This is
the practical dharma. When people deviate from this
practical dharma, their progress is stopped, and the
prama'trikon'a in the physical stratum is also destroyed.
And in the absence of prama' trikon'a in the physical
stratum, material prosperity will become an impossibility.
Now you are to move towards the spiritual world from the
psychic stratum. When one proceeds in the psychic arena,
having attained prama' sam'vrddhi in the individual and
collective spheres, one should try to attain prama' rddhi
also, and for this one requires two things. There must be
some spirituo-psychic urge, and there must be some
psycho-spiritual action, actional progress. What is that
spirituo-psychic urge or spirituo-psychic propulsion ? It is
: I love my Lord, I love Him. My love knows no barriers, and
in the field of activity I will be ready to do anything and
everything for Him. I will recognise no obstacles, I will
not care for anyone's blame or censure. The chariot of my
victory will move undaunted, smashing all hindrance. And on
the psycho-spiritual path, one will proceed towards the
object of ideation, the Supreme Entity, the Source of all
benevolence. This movement towards the Supreme Entity is not
only intended for one's individual emancipation, but for the
emancipation of the entire universe. In the field of
actional progress, one will attain prama' in the psychic
sphere. Prama'-rddhi will be established both in the
individual life and in the universe. And in the immediate
next stage, that is, in the psychospiritual stage one will
attain a purely spiritual stance, That is, one will attain
prama' siddhi. It means that the aspirant has attained the
goal. This one attains not out of one's self-interest, but
for the promotion of the interests of all. One will be able
to bring about welfare to one and all in a better way.
In the last stage of this movement, that is, in the
spiritual sphere, one comes in contact with the kaoshikii
shakti, the primordial force of creation. And through the
loka trikon'a which was established through prama' siddhi,
which has prama' sam'vrddhi as one side, prama' rddhi as
another side and prama' siddhi as the third side --one
approaches the vertex of the guna trikon'a. This is the
particular vertex of the unbalanced triangle, from which the
kaoshikii shakti came out moving in a straight linear order,
not in a systaltic way. Now in this final stage of spiritual
practice, the kaoshikii shakti will move in a straight line
in the opposite direction, along the upward movement of kula
kun'd'alinii, and finally one will become one with the gun'a
trikon'a. This is the state of perfect consummation of human
existence; this is the glory of supreme spiritual
attainment. You are the spiritual aspirants, it is your duty
to establish a balanced triangle through prama' sam'vrddhi
in the physical sphere, prama' rddhi in the psychic sphere,
and prama' siddhi in the spiritual sphere. By this, your
coming to this earth will be successful.
(Dharma Mahacakra, Tiljala, Calcutta, Thursday,
1-1-87)
THE PATH UNTO THE ABODE OF BEATITUDE
The subject of today's discourse is, "The Path Unto
The Abode of Beatitude." As you know, the style of movement,
and the stamina applied for this movement, vary according to
the condition of the path. So here in this case, the path
unto the abode of beatitude, unto the establishment in
Supreme Consciousness, may also be divided into four
different stages, and to cross each and every stage one must
move in a particular style, with a particular kind of
inspiration and stamina. As I told you yesterday, in the
embryonic form, in the starting phase, it is the inborn
instincts that may stand in the way, that may create
hindrance in your march. One must keep these inborn
instincts under control. The reins must not be loosened; in
behaviour, in different types of psychic expression, there
must be some kind of restraint. Human beings by dint of
their own ordinary power very often cannot do this. I
already told you that human beings at the most can make
efforts, and if Parama Purus'a is pleased with their
efforts, He will help them with positive microvita; Parama
Purus'a will get the work done with the help of positive
microvita. The duty of human beings is only to continue
their efforts to please Parama Purus'a. Thus when any work
is done, the concerning sa'dhaka is not to be given any
credit; the credit should be given to Parama Purus'a. Human
beings should always try to please Him to obtain His Grace ;
that alone will serve the purpose.
So here in this first stage, you will have to go on
towards the goal, towards the termination with more and more
vitality, and this vitality you are to get from the Supreme
Lord. Here Parama Purus'a is your Lord, not only the Lord
but the Supreme Lord from whom you are to get the stamina to
move on. As I told you yesterday, in this movement one must
not go beyond or against the characteristics of vitality.
But you should have certain restraints over your physical
movement and psychic demands. So in this stage you are to
know Parama Purus'a, you are to know the Supreme Entity as
the Lord of all Lords. This is the first phase, and in this
phase also you are to try your best to bring as many
persons, as many spiritual aspirants as possible to do this
sacred duty along with you. And in the second stratum, the
second stage, as I said last night, although it does not
concern inborn instincts, it concerns human instincts or
instincts not only of human or living beings, but of both
animate and inanimate entities; that is, you cannot, you
must not neglect those inanimate entities also, because they
are also guided by certain characteristics. If you go
against their characteristics they will revolt against you
and the result may be dangerous. I told you that under such
circumstances the physical integrity or physical structure
may be in danger. There may be complete disintegration of
the physical solidarity - the solidarity of any structure.
In this phase one is to remember that each and every
particle of one's existence, each and every iota, each and
every ectoplasm of one's existence, is an indispensable part
of the Supreme Entity. In the first phase you are to ask
Parama Purus'a for the vitality to fight against your
physical frailties, your physical imperfections. In the
second phase you are to ask for vitality, psychic vitality,
ectoplasm under endoplasmic coverage from the same Entity -not to fight against your inborn instincts but against your
physical or psychic imperfections. I already told you that
human beings can make progress only up to a certain stage,
and if they want to make further progress they will have to
divert their psycho-physical longings towards a different
and better path, and keep the flow of their movement intact
; or they will have to ascribe Macrocosmic grandeur to
physical pabulum. The special type of psychic force, the
faculty of self-control which human beings require at this
stage, lies hidden in human beings -- which, in fact lies
hidden in all living beings to a certain extent but that is
not enough to accomplish the task. To do this, they will
have to make more and more efforts, and for this they
require more and more strength -- and they will get this
strength from Parama Purus'a. It has already been said that
human beings no doubt do sadhana, but merely by doing
sadhana they do not attain anything. Only due to the grace
of Parama Purus'a can they attain anything. So to overcome
their imperfection and establish themselves in the higher
stratum, they will have to seek strength from Parama
Purus'a, they will have to approach Parama Purus'a with
these words : "Parama Purus'a, I want to move towards you,
but I do not have sufficient strength to move. Please give
me strength, I want to move on." In this phase, Parama
Purus'a is not only the Supreme Lord, but He is something
more than that. He is also the Supreme Progenitor. He
creates everything, and that is why He is in a position to
help you. So you have now understood that in the first phase
the Supreme Entity is your Lord, the Lord of all Lords ; but
in the second phase of your march, He is not only the Lord
of all Lords, but He is your Supreme Progenitor as well.
When human beings reach the third stage, the speed of their
progress is accelerated. The third stage, as I said last
night, concerns the psychic pabulum. There is quick
progress, no doubt, in this stage, but there are strong
possibilities of degradation also. At every step one must
move with vigilance. In this stage the spiritual aspirants
acquire some occult powers, but these powers may be
dangerous after a certain progress. There is every chance of
misuse or abuse of those occult powers as a result of which
one degenerates. Thus in this stage there are both inner and
outer hindrances and obstacles. "Ks'ura.vya dha'ra' nishita'
duratyaya' Durg,7tn pathastat kavayo vadanti." "The
spiritual path is as sharp as the razor's edge, it is really
inaccessible" --so say the realised persons. Human beings
will have to move on, but in this stage they cannot move a
step forward unless and until they develop a high-grade
conscience. For this they depend solely, on the grace of the
Supreme.
The need for psychic power at this stage is felt much
more than before, and to obtain psychic power or psychic
strength is a difficult task. But this psychic power can be
attained easily only by those who have learned how to
surrender themselves to Parama Purus'a, who have realised
that only due to the wish of Parama Purus'a they have come
to the world, and again, because of His wish, they are
continuing their efforts to realise Him. They realise that
out of His grace, He gets the work done through their medium
with the help of positive microvita. They think, "I cannot
claim any merit for this. I will simply keep on working, and
the energy required to do the work will be supplied by
Parama Purus'a. I can say only this that with whatever
energy you have given me I am working, and in future with
whatever amount of energy you will give me, I will work
accordingly. From my side there will be no lethargy.
Whatever energy you feel necessary to give me, you will
bestow on me -- I have nothing to say in the matter." If
someone has pride inwardly that he is moving on by dint of
his own strength, he is wrong. How little strength human
beings possess ! And with that little strength, how far can
they move forward ! Human beings really do not have anything
to be proud of. If there is anything for them to be proud
of, it is Parama Purus'a. They should think, "Parama Purus'a
is mine, and I am His" -- that is the only source of pride.
Because of His grace, they will get energy or strength from
Him, and with that strength they will move forward. Without
His grace, no one can move even a single step forward.
And for this people should always remember that by
their own efforts they do not make any progress, rather it
is due to the wish of Parama Purus'a that they make any
progress at all. It is the duty of Parama Purus'a to help
them to move forward. This 100% reliance on Parama Purus'a
is called 'Prapatti' in the scriptures. Sadhakas should
always maintain the spirit of 'Prapatti' and they will never
develop any sort of pride in their minds. "Whatever takes
place in the universe and whatever qualities I possess is
all due to His grace. He is the Lord of everything ; He is
the machine-man, and I am simply a machine." In this third
stage, if there is devotion, one can easily move forward
without any difficulty; but a person who has no devotion,
whose heart is as dry as a desert, will find it impossible
to progress. In this case, the spiritual aspirant will not
only look upon the Supreme Entity as His Lord, and not only
as the Supreme Progenitor, but as the Supreme Guru, that is,
One who is capable of dispelling darkness ( 'Gu' means
darkness, and 'Ru' means dispeller ), Parama Purus'a alone
is the Supreme Guru: Brahmaeva Gururekah naparah -- "Brahma
alone is the Guru, no one else.' With the help of this Guru,
the sadhakas surmount the waves of degrading tendencies in
the third stage. The fourth stage is the phase of pinnacled
intellect, when all aims, all objectivities, all desiderata,
all longings coincide in a particular point; that is, the
mind gets pointed, apexed and pinnacled in this phase. There
is no internal trouble here, but external hindrances may
come in the form of so many degenerating forces. But we must
remember that those with pointed intellect, those with
pointed spirituality can never be defeated. They are sure to
be victorious, and Parama Purus'a is sure to help them.
In this stage, the Supreme Entity is not only the
Lord, the Lord of all Lords, and He is not only the Supreme
progenitor, in the third phase He is also the Guru, and in
this fourth phase the relationship is just like a piece of
paper; the unit consciousness of the spiritual aspirant is
one side of the paper and the Cosmic Consciousness of Parama
Purus'a is the other side of the paper; they are
inseparable, one cannot be removed from the other. By His
effulgence the unit existence, the existential faculty of
the aspirant gets lighted, gets illumined. With His
illumination the aspirant is to move forward and enjoy the
Supreme Beatitude and the Supreme Composure.
One need not ask for any thing at this stage ; one
needs only to move forward with single-pointed mind, and
Parama Purus'a will do what is necessary. One day human
beings by virtue of their sincere efforts will surely arrive
at this stage ; whoever is blessed with a human body and a
human mind, with a constant longing for union with Parama
Purus'a and a deep yearning for selfrealisation, will surely
attain this stage. They will surely be established in the
Supreme Stance, in the Supreme Entity ; it is a must. And in
this fourth stage, hindrances do not come from inside, but
from outside; some hindrances, and obstacles may come from
degrading and degenerating forces-but those forces cannot
ultimately be victorious. The fireflies may make angry faces
at the sun or the moon, but by this the moon and the sun are
not diminished -rather it is the fireflies who get burnt in
the scorching heat of the sun. Similarly all the hindrances
and obstacles vanish into nothingness. The victory of
humanity is proclaimed through the intense sadhana' of
spiritual aspirants. This Supreme Truth applies equally to
individuals as well as to the entire universe. When a person
attains an exalted state of spirituality, he or she can
bring welfare to millions of people, and they can do so due
to the grace of Parama Purus'a. So the final word is "Brahma
Krpa' Hi Kevalam : Gurukrpa' Hi Kevalam"-"The grace of
Brahma is everything, the grace of Guru and Brahma are one
and the same." In the history of the world, you will see
that against this type of spiritual aspirants who make
spiritual progress with the grace of Parama Purus'a, all the
degrading and degenerating forces will easily concede
defeat. You too should keep moving forward, and you will
also attain victory after victory -- there is no doubt about
it. Therefore continue your efforts tirelessly, do your duty
and you will surely be crowned with success.
DMC A'nanda pu'rn'ima', A'nandanagar, 31/5/87)
PROPENSITIES AND PRAMA
The subject of today's discourse is "Propensities and
Prama". As you know, propensities are of two kinds :
introversal propensities or Sam'vrtti and extroversal
propensities or Pravrtti. What is propensity (Vrtti) ? In
the case of introversal propensities, the mind moves towards
any spiritual pabulum, any psycho-spiritual pabulum, or in
certain cases, any developed psychic pabulum, and the flow
of the mind is through different channels of mind and
psycho-spiritual body. But the ultimate goal is always
spiritual although it may apparently be psycho-spiritual or
psychic. The subtler the pabulum, the greater is the
elevation of the propensities, as they move towards subtler
realms. In the case of extroversal propensities, the
movement of mind is towards crude psychic, psycho-physical,
or physical pabula. And the mind or psycho-physical body
moves through different channels of crude mind or crude
psycho-physical body. So propensities mean not only physical
or psychophysical propensities, but also psychic and
psycho-spiritual propensities. But one must remember that in
the realm of spirituality, there are no propensities. In the
case of microcosm there are both extroversal and introversal
propensities (Pravrtti and Samvrtti), but in the case of
Macrocosm, there are only introversal ones, no extroversal
propensities. The movement [*Introversal movement means
movement from psychic to psycho-spiritual to spiritual.]
of the propensities in Pravrtti is always extroversal,
and as there is nothing outside Macrocosm, there cannot be
any extroversal movement at all -- the movement is always
introversal, every movement is within the Macrocosmic arena.
So in the case of Parama Purus'a, there are only introversal
propensities. Even this expressed quinquelemental universe
is within the periphery of the Macrocosmic structure. That
is why those who are not cynical or nihilistic in their
attitude towards the world, give the philosophical
interpretation of the world as "Sam'vrtti bodhicitta"
("internally projected psychic creation, just like a flower
or fig" ). In the case of both microcosm and macrocosm,
there are many propensities, but they come mainly under
fifty groups, and all of these fifty groups have both
introversal and extroversal movements. So fifty is
multiplied by two : ( fifty introversal and fifty
extroversal propensities)=one hundred. And since these one
hundred propensities move towards the ten directions*, so
one hundred is multiplied by ten: 100 X 10 = 1000. Thus it
is said that the Vrttis or propensities (or emanations,
manifestations, or flows of propensities) are one thousand
in number, and they are all controlled by the
multi-propensive plexus of the human body. And the
controlling point of this plexus, when pinnacled, touches
Parama Purus'a . That state is the state of perfect psychic
equilibrium and equipoise- the state of Nivrtti. Nivrtti is
the silver line of demarcation between Pravrtti or
extroversal propensities, and Samvrtti, or introversal
propensities.
[ * The six directions of Pradisha (north, south,
east, west, above and below) and the four directions of
Anudisha (north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west)
.]
What is Prama' ? Prama' is psychic equilibrium -equilibrium in the arena of psychic faculty, and equipoise
in the arena of psychic mass. In the final stage of Prama',
when there is absolute equilibrium and equipoise in psychic
faculty and mass, then the triangle of forces, the triangle
of equilibrium, remains undisturbed. (Pra - ma' + d'a + t'a
suffix = Prama'). Now, as I have already said, extroversal
propensities move towards crude objects, and introversal
propensities move towards the Subtlest Entity. As a result
of these extroversal propensities, human beings and other
living beings maintain their relationship with the earth.
Without the existence of extroversal propensities, no living
entity can exist properly on earth, and without the
existence of introversal propensities, one loses one's all
mental faculties; the psychic flow cannot move upward
towards subtler levels of existence, and so the mind
gradually becomes crudified like stone or iron. All sense of
humanity, all refinement and finer sensibilities are smashed
into smithereens: the whole human existence is razed to its
crudest foundations. That is why those philosophers who
propagate materialism in fact mislead human beings towards
extroversal propensities and goad them towards crude
objects. Is such a state desirable ? Certainly not. As there
is no scope of Nivrtti, there is no equilibrium or
equipoise, human beings gradually identify themselves with
crude physicality or matter like stone, soil etc. In
philosophical terms this is called the state of
Prakrtiliina, i.e., one becomes one with nature. Thus human
beings will have to move forward towards the Supreme Entity
in the multipropensive plexus along the path of introversal
propensities ; their minds must be elevated. But extroversal
propensities will always remain in all living creatures. So
while moving along this path one will have to maintain
adjustment with Pravrtti, the extroversal propensities :
they cannot be entirely crushed. Even on the path of
introversal propensities there are various obstacles, and
those obstacles create uneasiness in the human mind. So
human beings will have to move towards the Supreme Entity
while simultaneously fighting against these obstacles which
are known as Pashas and Ripus, internal and external
enemies. As a result of their fight, human beings are
established in the supreme stance of Nivrtti ; and when they
attain that pinnacled point in the highest cakra ( Parama
Pada) in the multipropensive plexus, they reach the supreme
goal in human life. Then human beings no longer remain
humans : they become veritable gods in human frame. It is
possible for one and all to reach this supreme stance ; it
needs only effort, sincerity, and constant intuitional
practice, and also a wee bit of the grace of Parama Purus'a.
You know that divine grace does not depend on any logic ; it
depends only on the whims of Parama Purus'a. If Parama
Purus'a is satisfied with your intuitional practice, with
your sincere zeal then He may bless you so that you can
easily reach that Supreme Stance. But if He does not bless
you, then you may attain the goal in theory, but not in
practice. Thus everyone will have to seek His blessing in
order to reach the goal. We say that spiritual progress is
effected by the application of positive microvita ; but in
fact even microvitum is nothing but the grace of Parama
Purus'a. Let human beings perform virtuous deeds, practise
meditation, serve the suffering humanity, and in return they
will attain His grace. Then by His grace they will certainly
reach their goal when all the introversal propensities and
all the extroversal propensities reach the state of Nivrtti.
Not only human beings, but also animals and plants will
reach that highest stance with the help of His grace. What
is not possible with His grace ? Everything is possible.
Human beings cannot demand that Parama Purus'a grace
them ; at the most they can only entreat Him for His
blessing. It is said, Brahma Krpa' Hi Kevalam, Guru Krpa' Hi
Kevalam. "The grace of Brahma, and the grace of Guru is
all." Mahadkrpayaeva bhagavadkrpa' lesha'd va' : "The grace
of a great person and a wee bit of the grace of Parama
Purus'a is required". Not much, but only a wee bit of Cosmic
grace will suffice.
You should always remember that you do not belong to
an ordinary family, to an ordinary lineage. Those who are
the sons and daughters of Parama Purus'a certainly cannot
belong to an ordinary lineage. You have a personal
relationship with Parama Purus'a, and because of that
intimate relation you can say to Him, "Oh Parama Purus'a,
you know me very well ; so if You think it proper, You may
bestow Your grace upon me. But it depends on You". Parama
Purus'a certainly has great love and affection for His
children ; He will certainly want His sons and daughters to
reach their ultimate goal. And whatever bliss human beings
may attain by reaching that Supreme Stance, I know that in
Parama Purus'a's mind the happiness will be even more.
Victory to you all. (D.M.C Anandanagar 1.1.88)
MACROPSYCHIC CONNATION AND MICROPSYCHIC LONGINGS
The subject of today's discourse is "Macropsychic
Connation and Micropsychic Longings." The microcosm cannot
remain without thinking -- to remain at a standstill is not
its nature. Think it must. And is the Macrocosm also
compelled to think ? Partly yes, partly no. When the balance
in the triangle of binding fetters is maintained, there is
no expression of creation, and then the Macrocosm does not
think at all. But as soon as the supreme triangle is
imbalanced and its equilibrium and equipoise are lost, then
the attributional expressions of creation start from one of
the vertices of the triangle, and then the Macrocosm also
cannot remain without thinking. It is bound to think of
something ; it thinks of its created objects. A microcosm, a
unit being, may think, "I am an insignificant person, I am
not educated, I have neither intellect nor erudition nor
wealth. Does Parama Purus'a think of me also? Me, a very
small insignificant microcosm ?" They should remember that
Parama Purus'a not only does think of them, He is bound to
think of them by force of circumstances. Parama Purus'a
cannot think, "These are just very ordinary human beings
merely managing to make both ends meet -- I can't think of
them !" He cannot think like this, because by providential
decree the Macrocosm is bound to think of His created
objects -- He cannot forget them.
And does He think only of a human being, or only of a
white ant ? No, He thinks of all.
Sama plus'in'a' sama mashakena Sama nagena sama
ebhistribhih lakaeh.
He looks upon a tiny white ant with as much love and
affection as on a mosquito. Nor does He think of a large
mammoth more than other entities, for a mammoth has a mind
just as an ant has. So He thinks equally of all: He thinks
of a white ant or a mosquito with the same seriousness as of
a mammoth or an elephant, and He attaches same importance to
each individual creature as to all the three worlds. So you
understand that you are not at all insignificant: your
existential value is very great.
Just as the Macrocosm thinks of the microcosm, so the
microcosm also thinks of the Macrocosm: Macrocosm meditates
on microcosm and microcosm meditates on Macrocosm. But what
happens as a result of this mutual thinking ? The microcosms
attract the Macrocosm within themselves, and the Macrocosm
arouses supreme devotion in the microcosms, and bestows
permanent liberation upon them.
Because of this meditative emanation of the Macrocosm,
the universe moves, and because of the longings of the
microcosm for the Macrocosm, the unit moves from zero point
to the vast range of infinity. When the mental object of the
unit mind is crude, the unit mind drifts away from the
Macrocosm; but even while thinking of crude objects, if one
ideates on Consciousness even for some time one attains a
certain degree of progress and moves towards Parama Purus'a,
towards permanent liberation. This is the eternal liila' of
Parama Purus'a. When human beings bring something within the
scope of their intellect, and by perceiving and observing it
closely, can understand the cause behind it, this is called
kriida'; and when the cause is beyond the scope of their
thinking it is called liila'. Whatever the Macrocosm does is
beyond the periphery of the human intellect, and that is why
whatever He does is His liila'. In the process of thinking,
if the microcosm's full energy of thought is devoted to
Parama Purus'a, then suspension of thought will result, and
a temporary state of effortlessness or inaction of mind
which is called yoga. Sarvacinta' ta' paritya'go Niscinto
yoga ucyate Two plus two equals four: this addition is
called yoga; and the merger of the unit mind in the Cosmic
Mind is also called yoga. But the difference between these
two types of yoga is that one is the yoga of addition (
yuj+ghain ) and the other is the yoga of unification of unit
mind with Macrocosmic Mind ( yunj +ghain ). If you put sand
and sugar together, they become mixed but they do not become
one--the sand and sugar are still separate. But if sugar and
water are mixed together they become one--sugar water. Can
you separate the sugar from the water ? No, you cannot,
because they are already unified. Now, these two processes
are occurring simultaneously -micropsychic connation and
micropsychic longing: but the difference between the thought
of Macrocosm and of microcosm is that what the microcosm
thinks is an auto-internal projection; but what the
Macrocosm thinks, His auto-internal projection is the
attributional emanation of the universe. He creates
everything within; there is nothing without. Everything in
this universe, even a blade of grass, is within His vast
mind, within the mind of the Great Purus'a, the Great
Entity, the Macrocosm. The auto-internal projection of the
Macrocosm is the outer external projection for the microcosm
: it becomes an outer reality. But the auto-internal
projection of the microcosm is simply a psychic phenomenon,
which although it may be important for that microcosm, has
no value for another microcosm because that other microcosm
will not feel or realise it as a reality. This is the
fundamental difference be tween Macropsychic connation and
micropsychic longings: Macropsychic connation, what the
Macrocosm thinks, is a reality for the microcosms, whereas
micropsychic longings and desires are created on the basis
of the external experience of the microcosms projected
within their small minds, and have no real value in this
universe. Macro-psychic connation, based on Macropsychic
existence has the faculty of greatness, and micropsychic
longings created by micropsychic entities have the faculty
of desiring or wanting something from somebody else. This is
the difference: the attribution of the Cosmic Mind is
greatness, and that of the unit mind is smallness.
Eta'vupa'dhi para jiivayostayo Samyag nira'sena para najiivo
Rajyam' nar'endrasya bhat'asya kheta'ka Stayorapohena bhat'o
na raja'. Tayorvirodho'yamupa'dhih kalpito Nava'stavah
kashcidupa'dhires'ah Isha'dya ma'ya' maha.4a'dika'ran'am'
Jiivasya ka'yam' shrn'u paincakos'am The attribute of
controlling everything internally and externally is the wont
of Macrocosm, and that of being guided by the guiding
faculty of Macrocosm is the wont of microcosm. By dint of
one's own sadhana -- by taking the Supreme as its object and
ascribing Godhood to whatever it sees, feels or realises
through different inferences, the microcosm becomes one with
the Macrocosm and acquires the faculty of Macrocosm. This is
the goal of human life.
Now, those who think that this universe is not a
reality because it is a Macropsychic emanation, are not
thinking in the proper way. Yes, this Macropsychic connation
is a passing show, a moving reality--it is not a static
reality. Is there any static reality in this universe? No,
everything moves, nothing is static, for staticism is not
the wont of this universe -- mobility is the wont of the
universe. Long ago, about four and a half billion years ago,
when this planet first dissociated from the sun, it was only
a ball of burning gases. Gradually it became transmuted into
liquid, and then a layer of solid formed on that liquid
matter. You may have noticed that whenever there is a layer
of solid on a pot of boiling milk, the entire surface is not
uniformly level: it is uneven, with some portion a bit high,
some portion a bit low. In exactly the same way, on this
earth a portion of that outer solid layer on the liquid was
called Gondwanaland, and the eastern part of Gondwanaland
was known as Ra'r'h. In this area there were red metals and
non-metals in the soil, and so it was called laterite or
reddish soil-"Ra'hr" in the Austrik language. From the high
snowcapped mountains of Rar'hr flowed large rivers -- the
present Damodar, Mayura'ks'ii, Ajay, Kam'sa'vatji, and
Suvarn'arekha; and as human civilisation progressed, larger
ships used to sail on those ice-fed rivers. Still later, as
the result of tempestuous rains, those great mountains
eroded; the soil began to slip away, and the mountains lost
their height. There was no more snow on the peaks, and the
rivers were no longer fed by melted ice. They were only fed
by the rains, and thus they shrank in size. The rivers you
see in Ra'hr are all small rivers now; but if you look
carefully you will observe that their beds are very wide. If
you travel between Bhedia and Bolpur you will see that the
river bed of the Ajay river is very wide, but the water
current is now flowing only through one side of the bed. The
same applies to the Damodara and the Mayu'ra'ks'ii also.
Thus everything undergoes metamorphosis and transformation
in this way. Can we dismiss all these things as simply
unreal? No, we cannot. Besides, the very nature of
imagination is mobility: whatever the Macrocosm thinks is
also moving, and so the whole universe is always in a
continuous state of flux. The once snowcapped mountains of
Ra'hr no longer have ice on their peaks, and are now reduced
to humble hills -- in some cases, to very small hills. One
day they will become level with the earth, and there will
remain only undulating laterite soil. This sort of
metamorphosis is natural as the universe is a dynamic
reality. The microcosm will have to maintain adjustment with
this moving reality, and in harmony with its waves, flow
ever onwards towards eternity, towards salvation. The
microcosmic mind is a mere bubble, a mere spark of the
Macrocosmic Mind. Then how can the unit mind dare to deny
the Cosmic Mind ? If human beings try to trace the cause
behind this divine Liila' or sport, they will never succeed,
because the Cosmic Mind is the source of all causes, the
source of all the unit minds. Now if the unit minds want to
know the cause, they will have to go back to the Supreme
Source ; but it is impossible for them to do this. If they
ideate on the Supreme, then one day all their thoughts will
be suspended in Parama Purus'a, and they will no longer be
able to think--their minds will stop functioning. In that
state of mindlessness, there remains only the Soul or Self (
A'tman ). So if you really want to reach the source of your
life you will have to lose your mind, and when your mind is
non-existent, how can you run after that Supreme Entity? In
logic this is called the fallacy of infinite regress: your
mind cannot make any statement about an Entity whose origin
must remain forever unknown. So the microcosms must think,
"We are moving towards the Supreme Source of all -- we are
going to surrender ourselves at the feet of Parama Purus'a."
When human beings consider themselves as superior or
powerful entities, then they view themselves as the subject,
and the One to whom they are moving becomes the object. When
people's goal of life is crude wealth, power etc., then
their hidden intention is to acquire more and more
satisfaction and comfort for themselves ( khud parastii or
self-centered ). But when they want to give satisfaction to
Parama Purus'a and move towards Him, it is called
khuda'parastii or God-centered. This is the difference
between a sa'dhaka and a non-sadhaka: a non-sadhaka is
khudparastii, whereas a sa'dhaka is khuda' parastii. You
boys and you girls, do you realise why you were born ? You
were born to do something to please Parama Purus'a. Always
move towards Parama Purus'a through your actions, through
your thoughts, through your contemplation, and your goal
will be attained, your purpose in coming to this world will
be fulfilled. The only duty of human beings is to move along
the path of righteousness until they reach the Supreme
Entity, Until they touch the sweet feet of the Supreme
Entity, they cannot stop their movement. Now, how will they
move ? By maintaining a proper adjustment with the external
world, by rendering maximum service to the external world in
all possible ways. Thus the unit entity will move towards
Supreme Fulfillment while the hands and feet and mind are
fully utilised in service to the external world. You must
lift your minds above all feeling of differences; difference
among human beings like social disparities or economic
disparities ; differences between human and other living
creatures-and differences between living and non-living
creatures. You must move along the path of Neo-Humanism
towards the Supreme Goal with your mind moving like a
subterranean flow. Until that Supreme Goal is reached, you
will have to tirelessly advance, ignoring all fatigue and
exhaustion. You must reflect in your personal life the very
spirit of "caraeveti, caraeveti" -- move ever onwards, move
ever onwards. May you be victorious. ( DMC Anandanagar, May
29, 1988
SUSA18TH.TXT
BIOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH PSYCHIC
METAMORPHOSIS AND VICE VERSA
The subject of today's discourse is "Biological
Transformation Associated With Psychic Metamorphosis and
Vice Versa." This applies to the Macrocosm as much as to the
microcosms. In the phase of extroversion, one Supra-psychic
Entity is transmuted into many Prakrti-influenced physical
entities : the Entity which was psychic is transmuted into
numerous physicalities. In this connection the Vedas
observe: "Eko'ham bahu sya'ma" - "I am one but I shall
become many." This 'I feeling' is something psychic, an
ectoplasmic vibration within or without the realm of
physical structure. In this transformation of One into many
or rather in this phase of extroversion, numerous individual
physical structures emerge from a singular vibration : thus
this psychic Entity is gradually transformed into crude
matter. Each and every fractional wave of the vast Cosmic
Mind then takes the forms of individual animate or inanimate
structures. In the phase of introversion, the reverse takes
place: In this phase, individual microcosms move forward
with the ideation of the Supreme One, and their
multiplicities are transformed into the Supreme Unicity. As
long as there are physicalities, there are material
differences ; but as these individual physicalities move
towards the Supreme Goal, the final desideratum,
multiplicities rapidly decrease, and ultimately they are
converted into one Supracosmic or Macrocosmic Entity. That
is to say, the whole process of movement is from the state
of unicity in the psychic arena to the multiplicities in the
physical sphere, and vice versa. In the extroversal phase of
expression, the psychic One becomes physically many -- the
uni-psychic ; and in the introversal phase, multi-physical
is transmuted into uni-psychic. This is the eternal sport
(Liila) of Parama Purus'a. In the past many millions of
years ago, living beings came onto this earth. In those
early days in the Tertiary Age, and especially in the
Cretarian Age, there were many gigantic animals and plants (
human beings did not appear until approximately one million
years ago ). Those huge trees and animals possessed very
simple living cells without much complexity, most of the
cells were only of one type. There are some trees even now
which have the same kind of simple cells, for example ferns,
to which I have given the Sam'skrta name pura'n'ika'. These
types of plants were multicellular, but their protozoic
structure was uniform in character; the same was the case
with some other living beings also. For example, there were
gigantic animals like dinosaurs, brontosaurus, coctaceous,
etc., which possessed very simple physical structures: the
number of cells in their bodies was numerous, but the degree
of intercellular difference was almost negligible. These
creatures underwent changes according to changes in time,
space and person, according to changes in climatic
conditions - not only on this earth but also on other
planets which are inhabited by living beings. Suddenly,
between one age and the next, there occurred an abnormal
situation created by an ice Age, when the temperature fell
far below zero degree. During that Ice Age, whether long or
short, the animals went into hibernation. Many of them
became extinct and disappeared after hibernation : because
of their intellectual deficiency those gigantic creatures of
the Cretarian Age had to leave the world -- they were
vanquished in the struggle for existence. But those
creatures which did survive underwent physical change, also
psycho-physical or bio-psychic changes. The complexity of
their cells increased and their bodies gradually became
smaller, and eventually their mental power also increased.
That is, the physical body first became very big, and after
attaining a particular shape, the structure became
complicated or complex ; and from that moment, in the next
stage or phase, as they moved along the path of introversion
towards the Supreme Desideratum, their physical body went on
diminishing in size and their psychic body was strengthened
-their intellect increased. This is the adjustment or
equilibrium or equipoise between biological structures and
psychic metamorphosis. For example, huge reptiles which came
onto this earth approximately one and a half billion years
ago gradually became lizards, crocodiles, alligators and
salamanders. Another huge creature which gradually developed
into a smaller size was the mammoth which evolved into an
elephant ; but it did not become an elephant overnight there was an intermediary stage between the mammoth and the
elephant. Thus big animals became
[PAGE 33 MISSING]
In this process, psycho-physical adjustment will
create a great change in the physical body also. For
example, the skin of the ancient creatures was very thick,
for with this thick skin they used to resist the cold.
During the Ice-age only those creatures with thick skin
could survive. The early humans had less hair on their
bodies; but the more they evolved psychically, their skin
became thinner and the amount of hair increased. Buffaloes
are the same as they were in the prehistoric age -- they
have no sense of responsibility. If while pulling a cart
they happen to pass by a pond of water, they will plunge
straight into the pool dragging the cart behind. But cows,
on the other hand, have developed somewhat psychically and
are more intelligent than buffaloes. The skin of buffaloes
is very thick and the amount of hair on their bodies is
less, but the skin of cows is thin and there is more hair on
their bodies. This indicates that they are comparatively
evolved. So the change in the psychic sphere brings about a
corresponding change in the physical sphere as well. And
thus in the process of evolution at present, living beings
are more physical than psychic, but in the future they will
become more psychic than physical. Now the element of
physicality is predominant, but in the future the psychic
element will become predominant and the physical aspect will
become secondary. All the ectoplasmic and endoplasmic
potentialities of the entire creation are fast being
converted into psychic potentialities. So in this phase of
introversal movement, when crude physicality is being
transmuted into psychic, we can expect that the day is sure
to come when the whole world will move from the subtle
psychic realm and cross the threshold of the still more
subtle spiritual world. And that day will not be in the
distant future, when the entire living world will become
spiritual, dashing through a transitory phase of psychic.
The eternal game (Liila') of Parama Purus'a is in
process ( when we do not know the cause of something we call
it Liila' and when we discover the cause we call it kriid'a)
; and due to this eternal game of Parama Purus'a, matter is
converted into mind, and mind into consciousness, and
finally unit consciousness into Supreme Consciousness. That
is, first the one becomes many and then the many ultimately
become One. Parama Purus'a certainly showers His grace upon
the microcosmic beings because they have all emerged from
His Macrocosmic thought-waves. And in the final stage of His
cosmic thought-waves, He absorbs all the individual
microcosms into His vast Macrocosmic body. The microcosms
emerge from Him and finally merge back into Him,
Mayyeva sakalam'ja'tam' mayi sarvam'pratis'tlhitam
Mayi sarvam' layam'ya'ti tad Brahma'dvayamasmyaham.
"Everything emanates from Me Everything is sheltered
in Me Everything ultimately dissolves in Me I am that One
Supreme Brahma without a second
If there is only one entity, there is no bliss, Just
think, if you were alone in this universe, it would not be
possible for you to live--you would become mad. Is it not so
? When you remain together with all your friends and
relatives, how joyful you feel ! Suppose you see someone
after two months or two years, you say "How are you ? What's
the news ? I saw you three years ago at Va'sha'khii
Purn'ima' DMC !" In this way you talk among yourselves. And
do you not offer liiti (an Indian delicacy ) to each other
at that time, saying "Come, sit, let's have some liiti !"
Had you been alone how difficult it would have been !
Regarding Parama Purus'a it is said.
Sa va'es'a tada'dras'ta'na'pashyaddrlst'amekara't' Me
ne santamiva'tma'nam suptashaktirasuptadrk. Nalsada'siino
sada'siittada'niim Na'siidro'jo no vyomaparo yat.
Kima'variivah kuhakasya sharmannambhah Kima'siid gahatianl'
habhiiram. Na mrtyut-a'sil,*damriaml na tarhi na ra'trya'
Ahn' a'siit praketah. A'niidavatal?l' svadhaya' takedaml
Tasma'dda'nyanna parah kim'ca na'sa. Tama'siittaniasa'
gur'ahmagrepraketalr,' Salilani" sarvania'idanl'
Tucchyena'bhavpihitam'yada'siita.
Pasastanniah'iia'jayataekam. Ka'masiadagre samavartata'dhi
manaso Retah prathaniam'j@ada'siit. Sato bandhumasatii
niravindan hrdipratii'sya" Kavayo nianii'sa. Tirashciino
vitato rashmire'sa'madhah Svida'siidupari svidalsiit.
A'sanmahima'na a'slita Svadha' avasta't pralsatih parasta't
Ko addha'veda ka iha pravocat kula. Aja'ta'kuta
iyam'visr'stih. Arva'g deva'asya visarianena'tha' Ko veda
yata a'vabhu'va. Iyam'visrs'tiryata a'vabhu'i,a yadi ba'
Dadlie yadi va'na. Yo asya'dhyaks'ah paranie byamanta So
aunja veda yadi va'17a veda.* My Parama Purus'a was alone -just imagine what great trouble He had to undergo ! He had
the capacity to see everything but there was nothing to be
seen. One can see only if there is a second entity, but in
that phase of creation there was no second entity to be
seen. Who was there for Him to scold ?"Why is your outturn
not satisfactory ? Give your word that from now on your will
work satisfactorily !" To whom could He thus speak if there
was no second entity to talk to? So Parama Purus'a thought
within Himself, "Now I am alone, but I will become many".
Parama Purus'a wants an ever-increasing family so that He
can play with His dear children. So your future is bright -not only bright, but guaranteed. A new spiritual life free
from all sorts of dogma is sure to come in the near future.
In this phase of
*(This Shloka is taken from the Na'sadiij'a Su'kta
-the first canto of the Rg Veda - composed about 15,000
years ago by Aryan sages. It illustrates how philosophical
inquiry first arose in the minds of the ancient sages).
Introversion, in this eternal game of Parama Purus'a
in which the physical, psychic and spiritual entities are
all moving forward, one day the mental realm will be
elevated to the spiritual, and unit consciousness will
become one with Cosmic Consciousness. Parama Purus'a is also
waiting for that auspicious day. He is with you -- He will
give you proper direction so that with His gospels for the
salvation of the universal creation, you will reach your
goal without much difficulty. He will do what is necessary.
You just go on observing Him, just go on doing His work and
adhere to what He says with all your energy. Let the speed
of His introversal thinking be accelerated by your noble
action and by your spiritual pursuits. Let that golden day
come at the earliest and make your life effulgent.
( DMC, Anandanagar, 1st January 1989 )
CULT, INFERENCE AND PROPENSITY
The subject of today's discourse is "Cult, Inference
and Propensity." The path that leads or goads the aspirant
unto Parama Purus'a is "cult" in the true spirit of the
term. Where the goal is something finite, where the pabulum
is something limited, the path and the movement cannot be
treated as cult. Spiritual practice is based on cult :
adherence to the doctrine of cult is started and practised
in the primordial phase by the 'doer l' of all living
beings. The 'doer l' keeps on thinking, "I am working, I am
eating, I am seeing, I do not know anything, I know so many
things." In living beings other than humans, the 'doer I' is
not properly expressed, and that is why they cannot
establish their individual identity or do spiritual
practice. In certain animals like dogs and monkeys, the
'doer I' is a bit more expressed or developed than in other
creatures. That is why in the future they may also be in a
position to do this practice. You should also remember that
this 'doer l' performs spiritual practice with the help of
vital energy, not with the help of positive or negative
microvita. In fact, the vital energy accelerates the speed
of spiritual progress. Microvita, positive or negative, help
the aspirant in his or her movement, but the aspirant cannot
utilise the microvita. When the 'doer l' of the aspirant is
goaded towards the Supreme Entity, it uses the vital energy
acquired through different quinquelemental factors, passing
through different planes of inferences, and through
different propensities of the human mind, without
suppressing those propensities of the mind. The question of
suppression, repression and oppression does not arise in the
realm of spiritual cult. You are simply to maintain
equilibrium and equipoise -- that is, you are to move
maintaining proper parallelism with the fundamental
propensities of the human mind. So spiritual practice is
performed by the 'doer l' with the help of energy, of so
many energies which are converted into vital energy when
they pass through the different planes of inferences.
It is not proper to think that this movement, this
spiritual advancement, is something purely of individual
character. No entity in this universe exists individually.
Ours is a universal family. Each and every entity -- living
and non-living, moving and non-moving -- helps others in
maintaining not only their equilibrium, but also the
equipoise of the entire universe, not only of this small
planet Earth. We are to move together with all.
Even if an ant dies a premature death, it is bound to
jeopardize the balance of the entire universe. Even if a 110
year old widow thinks that her life has no existential value
on this planet, that she is a mere burden to society, it is
a defective idea. No, even the life of such an old widow
contributes to maintaining the balance of the universe. If
such an old person dies prematurely, it is bound to
jeopardize the balance of the universal society.
If people think that they will make steady progress in
the spiritual sphere even if the society goes to the dogs,
they are mistaken. You who are genuine spiritualists should
practise spiritual cult thinking that by doing so you will
become effective in maintaining the universal balance. You
must think, "I will personally move towards the supreme
desideratum, and at the same time I will try to assist those
who are suffering from despair, those steeped in blind
superstition and those wallowing in poverty," Our family is
universal, our abode is also universal.
Hararme pita'gaorii ma'ta' Svadesho bhuvanatrayam.
"The Universal Father, Shiva, is our father. The Universal
Mother, Gaorii, is our mother. She is the causal matrix. And
this universe is our homeland." This spiritual cult is the
only cult; others are not cult, they are mere dogma. If the
cult is proper, if it is cult in the true spirit of the
term, it creates a sort of subtlety in one's mental flow.
Under such circumstances, we receive necessary help from
positive microvita. This help that we receive by dint of our
spiritual practices is composed of eight occult powers.
These powers are acquired through cult. But while acquiring
these occult or so-called miraculous powers we cannot do
anything without the help of positive microvita. These
occult powers are an'ima', laghima', mahima', ishitva,
vashvitva, praka'mya, prapti and antarya'mitva. The entity
who is endowed with all of them is known as "Iishvara".
An'ima' means "converting one's psychic existence into
a small point and then transforming it into a minimum
entity." One may understand anything by entering into each
and every physical particle and becoming one with the
different waves of expression, and emanation, by dancing
with the wave-lengths of objects or ideas. Unless and until
one's very psychic existence is converted into a point, one
cannot move or dance according to the wavelengths of objects
or ideas. This occult power acquired through positive
microvita is called "an'ima". Laghima' makes the mind light,
free from the bondages of so many liabilities. This carefree
mind, freed from the fetters of materialistic bondages, can
understand and think properly. So by dint of this occult
power, one may understand any idea, subtle or crude, in the
abstract realm. Unless you understand how much pain and
sorrow is accumulated in others' minds, how many tears well
up in their eyes, you cannot alleviate their sorrows and
sufferings. Through laghima', you can acquire this partic
ular power to study others' minds. The third one is mahima'
or expansion of mind. With the help of positive microvita,
mind can be expanded. The radius of the mind may cover the
entire universe, and we may have ideas about different
subjects even without reading books and literature. And in
this way, too, we may feel our oneness with the varied
entities of this universe - unity in variety, unity in
diversity. By associating our benevolent thoughts with each
and every entity, we will contribute to universal progress
and prosperity. Iishitva enables the spiritual aspirant to
guide other minds who suffer from different psychic
ailments. So many people in this world are crying in pain
and agony. So many miseries and afflictions have paralysed
human beings physically and mentally. In leading this
afflicted humanity to their physical progress and psychic
wellbeing, this occult power of iishitva will help you
tremendously. It can be achieved through positive microvita
which is in turn acquired through the regular practice of
cult. By sitting idle and crying constantly one cannot
achieve this. Vashvitva helps a person to bring defective
ideas, or people goaded by defective ideas, unto the path of
supreme greatness. If people are to be guided towards their
definite progress, they will first have to be brought under
one's control. If such people work haphazardly and do not
follow the right path, they cannot be expected to reach the
state of welfare. So, if you really want to help people, you
will have to bring them under control and then direct them
along the right path to their goal. This occult power can be
achieved through positive microvita. Praka'mya or the right
mode of thinking aimed at promoting universal welfare,
brings light to the entire universe. Through this occult
power, spiritual aspirants acquire what is needed to serve
the entire world. Pra'pti means helping oneself and helping
the souls of so many people to acquire and be benefitted by
the grace of the supreme. And the eighth one is
antarya'mitva -- to be able to enter within the ectoplasmic
or endoplasmic structures of others, and thereby to know the
pains and pleasures, the hopes, aspirations and longings of
others to guide them properly. It is somewhat like the
transmigration of souls. Regarding this eighth occult power,
spiritual cult alone will not suffice -- it requires the
special grace of Parama Purus'a. There is yet another occult
power -- the power of omniscience, to be all-knowing. This
power of omniscience cannot be achieved only through the
practice of cult, nor with the help of positive microvita -one must reach the height of devotion and achieve the grace
of the Supreme. Otherwise, even if people dash their heads
against a wall, they still cannot acquire omniscience with
the help of positive microvita. And above all occult powers
is the supreme knowledge -ensconcement in Parama Purus'a.
This is not only a sort of omniscience, rather it elevates
the aspirant to be one with the supreme cognitive faculty.
Of course, those who are already endowed with devotion will
automatically acquire this power. Bhakti bhagavato seva',
bhaktipremasvaru'pin'ii Bhaktira'nandaru'pa'ca, bhakti
bhaktasya jiivanam. "Devotion means service unto Lord.
Devotion is of the nature of selfless love. Devotion is
bliss incarnate. Devotion is the very life of the devotee."
Devotion means working in the service of the Supreme
according to His satisfaction. Without devotion, one's mind
cannot rise beyond the pituitary gland . If one wants to
take the mind beyond that, one needs devotion. So the
supreme spiritual progress of microcosms is never possible
without devotion. If you have devotion, you can call Parama
Purus'a to you; He will certainly come to you, rather He
must come to you. For this, you may or may not have anything
else, but if you have devotion, you have everything. By dint
of that, one attains Parama Purus'a, one becomes identified
with Him. This is the summum bonum of human life. Regarding
Prema or selfless love, it is said Santyaung masrn'ito
sha'nto mamatva'tishaya"ullkitah Bha'va sa eva sa'ndraltma'
budhaeh Prema izigadyate.
"The attitude which makes the mind smooth and placid,
and radiant with the deepest love for the Lord, is called
"bha'va". Wise people call this "prema" or "divine love".
Prema is the attraction for Parama Purus'a overcoming
the attraction for all other finite objects. Those who are
endowed with such divine love are bound to receive the grace
of Parama Purus'a -- they need not worry about it. If they
practise the spiritual cult regularly, positive microvita
are sure to help them. Those who arouse devotion through
action and knowledge are certain to attain the grace of
Parama Purus'a. This grace need not be huge in quantity -even a wee bit of it will be enough . Mahatkrpayaeva
bhagavatkrpa' lesha'd va'. "One can attain the supreme
stance by the blessings of the exalted ones, as well as wee
bit of Macrocosmic grace." Only such people endowed with the
grace of the Supreme are in the best position to render
maximum service to this universe. While practising spiritual
cult, it should be remembered that aspirants must not
practise in order to acquire these occult powers. The goal
of spiritual practice is to realise the Supreme Entity. To
search for any other object is wrong. Occult powers are just
like the dust on the roadside. The attraction to Parama
Purus'a is the most valuable object -- all else is only the
dust of the earth. Hence the spiritual aspirant must not run
after these inconsequential occult powers, although while
practicing spiritual cult those powers may develop. You must
not forget that all your achievements must maintain
adjustment with the main propensities of mind, and in the
process of adjustment, all these eight types of occult
powers present themselves to the spiritual aspirant.
Sa'dhana' starts in the plane of physicality and moves
towards the physico-psychic plane. This first phase of
sa'dhana' is performed by the 'doer I'. Then from the the
physico-psychic plane to the pure psychic plane, and from
the pure psychic plane to the psycho-spiritual plane--this
portion of sa'dhana' is done by the 'knower I'. In the final
stage of sa'dhana', the pure spiritual phase, none of these
can help the spiritual aspirant ; even positive and negative
microvita cannot function above the psycho-spiritual level,
beyond the pituitary gland. No vibration is of any help. In
such circumstances, finally you will have to depend on the
grace of the Supreme and nothing else. One is obliged to
declare, Brahmakrpa' hi kevalam, that is, the grace of
Parama Purus'a is everything". Everything in this universe
is created, everything survives and everything ultimately
dissolves in and through Him. Regarding this Supreme Entity,
the scriptures say, Yato vishvani, sainudbhti'tam'
Yenaja'tainca tis'thati. Yasmin sarva',-Ii Iiiyante Jineyam'
tadbrama laks'anae. "Out of grace of the supreme, the
universe has emerged ; due to His grace, the universe
preserves its existence ; and because of His grace,
everything will finally dissolve in Him." So the final word
in the realm of spirituality is the Supreme grace of Parama
Purus'a. Intelligent people will understand this supreme
truth and move accordingly. It is true not only in the
physical level, nor in the physico-psychic level, nor in the
psychic level, nor in the psycho-spiritual level, but in all
levels. Finally, whatever you say or think, everything is
finally embedded in the grace of Parama Purus'a. The sooner
this fundamental truth is realised, the better it will be
for all.
( D.M.C. A'nandanagar, 4th June 1989 )
THE CULT OF SPIRITUALITY - THE CULT OF PINNACLED ORDER
You know, spiritualism and spirituality are not the
same thing. Spiritualism means something which concerns
ghosts, and spirituality is something which concerns the
Supreme Cognitive Principle. So there is a heaven-and-hell
difference between the terms 'spiritualism' and
'spirituality'. We are concerned with spirituality. Now, for
all actions, be they intellectual, intuitional, or purely
psychic, there must be a base, a standing point, a starting
point. And there must also be a goal -- a supreme
desideratum. For this cult of spirituality, the base is
morality ; without morality nothing can be done. And
morality concerns two types of waves ; one psycho-physical
emanations, and another: physico-psychic waves,
physico-psychic movement. In the case of psycho-physical
emanations, one should have proper control, proper
regulation over those emanative flows. And in the case of
physico-psychic movement, one should maintain a proper
adjustment between the external world and the internal
world, between the external physicality and the internal
subjective world. The goal is the attainment of that Supreme
Stance where there will be justice and fair play for all
inanimate and animate beings.
Pra'ii'a'h yatha'lmaiio'bhiis'l'a'h bhu'ta'na'rn' api
te tatha' Atmaopomyena bhu'ta'nalml daya'm' kurvanti
sa'dhavah. 'You love your life. Other living beings also
love their lives.' You should remember this. This sort of
remembrance is called sa'dhu dharma or Bhagavata Dharma, and
the person who practises this cult is a true sa'dhu. So
there must not be any gap between your thinking and your
actions. If there is any gap, that gap should be minimised
step by step finally, thought and action should coincide. So
in the plane of morality there are two divisions
-psychophysical emanation and physico-psychic movement. In
Sam'skrta, this psycho-physical emanation is Yama, and
physico-psychic movement is called Niyama. Preaching
disparity amongst human beings, or disparity amongst living
beings -- human beings, animals, birds, plants, etc. -- is
not morality. The Supreme Equality, the Supreme Spiritual
Stance cannot be achieved where there is any thought of
disparity. So at the very start, one must practise these two
types of morality and become one with them. Now, morality is
the base, and the Supreme Stance is the goal. Morality
propels the microcosms towards the Goal, and the Goal is
attracting them towards Himself without break or pause.
Since Parama Purus'a is attracting all entities towards
Himself, in Sam'skrta He is called Krs'n'a. One of the
meanings of the word Krs'n'a is "one who attracts." Another
meaning is "the entity on whom the existence of all other
entities depends." Thus, on the one hand Parama Purus'a is
attracting the spiritual aspirants to move ahead ; and on
the other hand, the spiritual aspirants, by dint of their
own efforts, their own moral force, are also moving towards
Him. Because of these sources of impetus, human beings
arrive at their destination. If some people feel that Parama
Purus'a is not sympathetic or gracious towards them, that He
is not attracting them, in that case I will advise them to
become more established in morality, and then they will
instantly feel the grace of Parama Purus'a, because it is
through their own moral force that they move forward. Parama
Purus'a does His duty of attracting them, and they have
their own duty to move towards the Goal. Let the sa'dhakas
do their duty, and let Parama Purus'a do His. Then, the
physical body should be sanctified by good thoughts, good
actions, and good food as well, and also by various physical
practices that affect the nerve fibres of the body ; because
through the nerve fibres, through the afferent and efferent
nerves, the first phase of realisation comes. The highest
realisation, however, does not depend upon the nerve cells
and nerve fibres, although for this, good food and
self-restraint are necessary. It is not proper for one to
eat whatever one gets. You should eat only that sort of food
which will have a beneficial influence on your body, mind
and spirit. It is not proper for human beings to eat simply
whatever is available, nor is it proper for animals either.
Animals do indeed discriminate between food items. In this
regard, Lord Shiva said, Phalis'yatiiti vishva'sah
siddherprathama laks'an'am Dvitiiyam' shraddhaya' yuktam',
trtiityam'gurupujanam. Caturtho samata'bha'vo
paincamendriyanigrahah S'as't'hainca pramita'ha'ro,
saptamam'naeva vidyate. This sanctification and purification
of the body through proper food and proper behaviour and
various practices should be complemented by certain other
practices to create a perfect adjustment in the body among
the glands, subglands, and their hormonal secretions. The
propensities of living structures are both directly and
indirectly controlled by the secretions of hormones from
different glands and subglands located near different plexii
of the corporal structure. Now, everywhere, in cent-percent
of the cases, there is wastage of human psychic
potentiality. The psychic potentialities of human beings are
immense but people do not utilise them because most of their
valuable time is wasted in undesirable thoughts, in psychic
extravaganza. Suppose, human longevity is an average of
sixty years. Twenty years of that period is spent in sleep,
and the remaining forty years are wasted in petty or useless
activities. How much time do people really get to devote to
worthwhile tasks ? This psychic extravaganza should be
checked either by physical approach, or psychic approach, or
by spirituo-psychic approach. People should have some
control over their breathing, over their respiratory system,
because the waves of respiration control the waves of
thinking. Whenever you are doing something crude, your
respiration becomes very active; and when you are thinking
of something subtle, it becomes slow, extremely slow. And
finally, when this respiration coincides, or becomes one
with one's thought-waves, that stage is known as Hat'hayoga
Samadhi. That is, the physical exertions, the physical
emanations become one with the psychic emanations. So some
degree of control over respiration is an essentiality. I
have already said that the scope of rationality and
rationalisation should be increased more and more, and for
this, from the plane of physicality, unnecessary waves
should be removed. From the psychic sphere also, unnecessary
waves are to be removed. This will remove many burdens from
the mind. "I must not bother about petty things, because
that will waste my time". People should remember this. This
removal or rather withdrawal of unnecessary and undesirable
thoughts emanated from the mind, will help you in
rationalising the major portion of your mental faculty, and
so this must also be practised. The cult of spirituality is
a cult of pinnacled order. Now, one's mental flow is
concerned with both ideation and meditation. So far as
ideation is concerned, it is connected with the healthy
condition and proper functioning of the glands and
subglands. And we should also remember that ideation will
not have any base to stand upon without a clear cut idea. So
idea must also be there. Ka'nha' se ham'sa' a'ila'
Ka'nha'ma'n sama'ilal ho ra'ma' Ka'nha'ma'n garh bana'il
ham'sa' Ka'nha' ma'n la t'a'ile ho ra'ma'
Sagun' seham'sa a'ila Nirgun' ma'n sama'ila' ho ra'ma'
Ka'ya' gar'h bana'il ham'sa' ma'ya' man lapta'il ho ra'ma',
"Whence did the swan come? Where did it go? Where did it
build its abode ? What did it associate itself with ? It
came from Sagun'a Brahma, and then it merged in Nirgun'a
Brahma. The swan made its own body its abode and associated
itself with Ma'ya'. Spiritual aspirants should always
remember this idea." What should human beings do in deep
ideation ? They should maintain the adjustment of their
glands and subglands. And at the same time, they should not
ask for any occult power, but they should take the ideation
of the Supreme. Inspired by that ideation, they should
meditate on Parama Purus'a. I will say something more
regarding ideation afterwards. Now, there is another apexed
or pinnacled order of the mind, that is, meditation.
Meditation means concentrated thinking, associated with
several subtler and important cells of the human brain. Each
and every nerve cell has got its own controlling point, and
for all nerve cells there is a supreme controlling point.
This supreme controlling point in Sam'skrta is called guru
cakra, the plexus of guru. All the glands are controlled by
this supreme controlling point. So one's meditation must be
properly connected with this guru cakra, the plexus of guru.
Shiva also says. Phalis'yatiiti vishva'sah siddher prathama
laks'an'am Dvitiiyam'shraddhaya'yuktam' tritiiyam'
gurupujanam.
that action is everything -- we achieve everything
through action. Some people think, 'I am hungry, I want to
eat litti (an Indian delicacy ).' But to eat litti we will
have to make arrangements to procure gram flour, ghee, etc.
All this is done only through action. And the resultant of
this action is that we can finally eat litti. So karma is
the source of everything. So say the followers of karmayoga.
Therefore keep on working : marte marte ka'm karo, ka'm
karte karte 'maro'. 'Die while working, and work even while
dying.' Now, those who are the advocates of devotional or
emotional faculties, say that people get propensive
propulsion from devotion or emotion. When the mind moves
along a particular discipline in a methodical way, this is
called devotion or bhakti ; but when it does not follow a
particular method, when it moves haphazardly, swept away by
whim, it is called emotion. This is the fundamental
difference between devotion and emotion. You most know this
clear cut silver line of demarcation between devotion and
emotion. Those who adhere to this cult of pinnacled order,
know there must be a happy blending amongst
intellectualcum-intuitional faculty, actional faculty and
devotionalcum-emotional faculty. None of these is
unimportant: all are of equal importance, but the finality
comes in devotion. That is, the final outcome or resultant
of intellectual-cum-intuitional faculty is devotion, not
emotion, and that is why the great sages of the past said,
Bhaktirbhagavato seva' bhaktipremasvarupin'ii
Bhaktira'nandarupa' ca, bhaktih bhaktasyajiivanam. "Devotion
is service unto the Supreme ; devotion is love personified.
Devotion is the embodiment of bliss. Devotion is the life of
a devotee." Thus we see that ideation is association with
one or the other idea-- knowledge, action or devotion, just
as meditation is associated with ideology. Thus in
meditation and ideology, the spiritual aspirant is moving
towards the singular Supreme Entity, the pinnacled Goal. If
the mind accepts two goals, two Lords, the mind becomes
bifurcated. The ideology which is associated with meditation
is more a theory than a cult, and when ideation is
associated with idea, it is more a cult than a theory. And
the highest expression of devotion is: Ananyamamata'
vis'n'ormamata' premasaungata' or Ananyamamata'
vis'n'ormamata' bha'va saungata'. Where the thought-waves or
thought-movements are goaded by a single idea, and where the
culminating point is also a singular entity, that is, where
the attraction for others, for the crude world, the psychic
world are all goaded unto the Supreme Self, towards Vis'n'u,
this is the supreme status of devotion. Vis'n'u comes from
the root-verb 'vish' which means "to permeate." The Entity
which permeates everything, which is present in each and
every expressed entity, in each and every emanation of this
universe is Vis'n'u. Vista'rah sarvabu'tes'u
vis'n'orvishvamidam jagat Dra's't'avyania'tmavat'
tasma'dabhedena vicaks'anaeh.
"That entity which is omnipresent in the universe is
Vis'n'u, and that is why all love, all human sentiments and
all devotions must be guided unto Him." So in the path of
spiritual progress, all the three -knowledge, action and
devotion, are necessary. Devotion provides the sustenance,
action provides the stamina of movement, and knowledge shows
why and how the spiritual aspirants should move. So all the
three are important. But ultimately knowledge and action are
merged in devotion, and thus devotion is not devoid of
knowledge or action. Mahars'i Na'rada was the first
propounder of this sort of devotional cult, which is not
blind devotion but an ideal blending of knowledge, action
and devotion. This blended devotion enables spiritual
aspirants to attain the pinnacled goal of their lives. It is
this devotion that the human beings have been seeking since
time immemorial. When they finally attain the guru and get
initiation, then they begin to walk on this path of
devotion. And those who have started on this path realise
that they are sure to reach their destination, that to reach
their goal is the sole reason for their birth. You should
remember why you have been born. Following the path of
devotion, you will have to ultimately reach Parama Purus'a.
This is the pinnacled point, the supreme point of human
glory. You should always remember this during your life time
and even after your death.
( D.M.C. Discourse, Anandanagar, 3rd June, 1990 )
MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM
Today's topic of discourse is "Microcosm and
Macrocosm", the unit and the Cosmic. The main difference
between microcosm and Macrocosm is that microcosm suffers
from imperfection whereas Macrocosm is perfect. In other
words, the unit is imperfect and the Cosmic is perfect. But
through sa'dhana' or persistent spiritual endeavour
microcosm attains perfection, it becomes Macrocosm.
Sa'dhana' or spiritual or intuitional practice is the
process of transmutation of the unit into the Cosmic.
Microcosm (Jiiva) and Macrocosm (Shiva) do not have a
subjective difference. Soul is one. The difference lies in
the object ; it is objective rather than subjective. For,
transmutation can never be possible if there is objective
difference. The difference being objective, only an
objective change will bring change in the subject. Microcosm
is multipurpose but its flow is unilateral. On the other
hand, Macrocosm is uni-purpose but its flow is multilateral.
There is no end to the desires of microcosm. Sometimes it
desires fame and sometimes it desires money. But it can make
itself travel at one time in one direction only. His mind
cannot be simultaneously engaged in a book and in a football
game. While reading, if he thinks of the football game his
mind is diverted from the book. Similarly, he cannot enjoy
the football game if in the football game he begins to think
about his books. Hence, the flow of the unit is unilateral.
It travels only in one direction, at one time, whereas
Macrocosm is uni-purpose but multilateral. There is only one
thought of Macrocosm and that is the well-being of all. This
is His one sole purpose. Yet Macrocosm is a multi-lateral
flow. He does many things simultaneously. He is feeding you,
creating the world, making rivers, canals and birds.
Everything is being created in His mind. Hence there is much
variety in His mind. It has been said about Macrocosm,
Sahasrashiirs'a' purus'ah sahasrla'sks'a sahasras'pad Sa
bhu'mirvishvata vrtiva atyatis't'haddasha'ungulam purus'a
evedam' sarvam' yad bhutam' yacca bhavyam Uta sesha'uo
yadanye na'dhirohati." This Purus'a is sahasrashiirsa' In
Sam'skrta 'Sahasra' means one thousand but in Vedic language
'sahasra' means 'many'. One person works with one brain. He
works according to it and his praise and criticism is also
done accordingly. But Purus'a is Sahasrashirs'a ; He works
with innumerable brains. So if the unit tries to compete
with the Cosmic, he is bound to be defeated. It is quite
natural. We work with our brain but Parama Purus'a works
with all the brains of the world. He works with this
collective brain and He is its master. The portion which has
not been converted into brain cells remains as matter, so it
also has the potentiality of a brain. That is why He is
Sahasrashiirsa. Sahasrashiirs'a purus'a sahasra'ks'a
sahasrapa't. It means one who has innumerable eyes. But now
the question arises as to how Macrocosm can have eyes. When
matter remains associated with microcosm, in the Macrocosm
there is always the witness of matter for Macrocosm is a
witnessing counterpart of matter. But what is microcosm?
Microcosm is a part of Macrocosm. For instance, one drop of
water in the sea is microcosm and the sea is like Macrocosm.
So the reflection in microcosm will naturally be inside
Macrocosm. Thus whatever microcosm knows Macrocosm also
knows. But whatever Macrocosm knows microcosm does not know.
Suppose there is a reflection of something in a drop of
water, then it is also reflected in the sea because the drop
of water is a part of the sea. If the thing is big then its
reflection is not possible in a drop of water, there is need
of innumerable drops. Hence a unit does not know everything
because complete reflection in him is not possible. So
whatever we know Parama'tma' knows, and whatever we do not
know Parama'tma' knows that too. How do we know an object ?
Our sense organ comes in contact with the object and the
sympathetic vibration which is produced reaches through the
nerves to a particular point in the brain and then we have
perception. When through the brain the vibration reaches the
mind we get the cognition, because the presence of the
object is in the mind and the vibration of the object
directly reaches the mind. That is why the limbs are not
needed. Parama Purus'a does not require the help of limbs.
For instance, if there is an elephant outside, to see it we
need physical eyes. The tanma'tras of the object are
reflected in a particular portion of the brain through the
eyes and then the picture of the elephant is formed in the
mind ; there after we see the elephant in the mind and get
cognition that there is an elephant outside. But the
elephant which we make in our mind does not need an external
eye to be seen. So everything is in the mind of Parama
Purus'a. This universe is His mental creation. This universe
is the Macropsychic connation. That is why He does not need
limbs and external eyes.
Now why innumerable legs? Time, space, person -- these
three relative factors have been born out of His
imagination. They have flows and their wavelengths always
vary. But wherever these three main factors - namely
spatial, temporal and personal -- are present, it becomes
difficult for the unit to control them because it is itself
guided by these three factors. The unit is influenced by
them and moves with their help. But He in whom these three
are contained, is not a slave to them nor is subjected to
them. For instance, if we are in Fatehgarh and want to go to
Lucknow, immediately we cannot reach there physically. If we
go by train or car it will take some hours. If we go by
rocket even then it will take one or two minutes. It will
surely take some time. It is not possible for us to totally
control the time factor. Microcosm is subjected to these
three factors. In this case he is being subjected to the
temporal factor for he cannot control it. But Macrocosm is
not bound by these factors. He is Ka'la'dhisha; He controls
the temporal factor. This why it has been said : He has
innumerable legs, meaning that He has one leg in Lucknow, so
it is not necessary for Him to go to Lucknow. But the people
of Fatehgarh will say He is in Fatehgarh too because His one
leg is there also. Similarly, the people of Lucknow will say
His leg is here and so He is in Lucknow. Hence it has been
said that He has innumerable legs, because He is beyond the
scope of the temporal factor. Sabhu'mirvishvato vrta'
atyatis'th dasha'ngulam. Land means material expression.
Land means Ka'rya Brahma. It does not only mean soil. But
what is this Karya Brahma ? What is the physical expression
? Wherever Parama Purus'a is expressed or attributed, He is
the effect. And wherever He is the witnessing counterpart
there He is the causal factor. What is this world which we
see ? We have come in the form of effect. It has been said
earlier that Macropsychic connation comes in the form of
effect and that portion of the effect which has not been
metamorphosed, is left in the form of witness. For instance
; if a person has made something by using his hands to cut
something, then the thing which he has made is the effect
and the remaining position which we see is causal. The
universal has not been created by Macrocosm's own body but
out of His mental body. This expressed universe is Ka'rya
Brahma and the remaining portion is Ka'ran'a Brahma. Ka'rya
Brahma and Ka'rana Brahma together form Saguna Brahma or
attributed Consciousness, or qualified Consciousness. The
acoustic root of Ka'rya Brahma is (ka). That is why those
who serve this world are known as kapa'lika. What is this
acoustic root? For Him the universe is a mental creation.
How is mental creation done ?
It is a collection of innumerable mental waves.
Everything has been created with particular types of mental
waves. If by a scientific process we are able to create
differences in the waves. then we will be able to convert
this into that, iron into gold. Mercury can be converted
into gold very easily by removing the difference in the
waves. There are innumerable waves. The waves of Ka'rya
Brahma and Ka'ran'a Brahma are jointly known as Saguna
Brahma. Everything has a particular type of wave behind it.
Wherever there is an action or existence there is a
vibration, and wherever there is vibration there is sound
and there is colour. The sound may or may not be audible,
the colour may or may not be visible, but it is there. So
the material expression -- the Ka'rya Brahma or the Effect
Brahma -- consists of many waves. These waves have the sound
ka' as the first consonant in the collection of ta'ntric
varn'mala. Wherever there is a wave of Ka'rya Brahma there
is a sound. The expressed universe is the Ka'rya Brahma.
Now, the waves in the expressed universe have the
sound 'ka' That is why we will call 'ka' the accoustic root
of Ka'rya Brahma, the acoustic root of 'Effect Brahma'. For
example when we walk there is sound like khat' khat'. So the
acoustic root like walking is khat' khat' khat'. When we
laugh there is a sound like hi hi ha'. So where there is
Ka'rya Brahma we call it land. The land which we think to be
mud is also Ka'rya Brahma. In Sam'skrta there are many names
for land or Karan ma The are Bhu',, Bhu'mi, Dhara',
Dharitrii Sarvam'saha', Vasumatii, Gotra ku, Prthivii',
Prthvi Ks'ama', Avanii, Medinii, Mahli.
What is inside this expressed Brahma ? In every unit
there is the presence of the Cosmic. But how is this
possible ? Take, for instance, the Bay of Bengal, the
Arabian sea and the Gulf of Cambay. They are all in the
Indian Ocean. We can call the sea at Purl an Indian Ocean
but we can not call the Indian Ocean everywhere as the Bay
of Bengal. The sea in Bombay can not be addressed as the Bay
of Bengal but we can call it Indian Ocean. Sah
Bhu"niiri,ishato Vrttva'. Atvativ' thaddasha'ngulam. Where
there is expression, there is the abode of Brahma and where
there is an absence of psycho-physical expression, there too
He is present. But how ? According to the fundamentals of
Yoga Sha'stra it is said that He is present at a distance of
ten fingers. But here it does not mean that Parama'tma' is
present only at a distance of ten fingers above the earth
and above that He is not present. It is not so. It means
something different. It means that this expression of
Parama'tma' is in the phase of extroversion. But how is this
phase possible ? What kind of phase is it ? Let us take the
story of creation. It is right to say that there is Cosmic
entity and the Cosmic consciousness which are transcendental
entities. But nothing concrete is created. The flow
continues and gradually emerge geometrical figures of
sentient, mutative and static principles. Then only it can
be felt that there will be a systolic vibration in the body.
Vibration is always wavy, always systaltic, always
pulsative. Due to this the feeling of "I exist" comes in the
creation. This 'I exist' feeling is extremely dominant. In
all of us there is an 'I' feeling and you know that 'I' by
your name, by your body and by your activity. Due to our
worldly existence we know that I am the master of so and so.
The removal of this feeling is extremely difficult. The
feeling that I am now here is most difficult for us to bring
in ourselves.
After the first phase of the saincara, namely, the
basic principle, there is a second phase known as the
primordial state or primordial principle. It is difficult to
understand the expression in the primordial principle. After
this due to clash and cohesion, waves make their appearance,
which is then known as the vibrational principle. There are
some glands in some parts of the human body which are in the
scope of vibrational principle. There are others which come
in the scope of primordial principle. What is our Sa'dhana'
? Right from the starting point of physical expression it
moves in an upward direction. We have to cross the
vibrational principle in order to reach the realm of
primordial principle, from where we have to come to the
basic principle. In the scripture they say that we have to
lift the Kulakun'dalinii from the mu'la'dha'ra to reach up
the Sahasra'ra: Kulakun'd'alinii means coiled serpentine.
'Coiled' means that the potential energy is in coiled form.
The five lower cakras - mu'ladha'ra, sva'dhis't'ha'na,
ma'n'ipura, ana'hata and vishuddha cakra are the controlling
seats of fundamental factors. Then what is above vishuddha
Cakra ? There comes the scope of mind. From a point in the
pituitary gland of the a'jina' Cakra the mind is controlled
both directly and indirectly. This is the scope of
expression. Above the primordial, in the space up to the
basic, up to the Sahasrara Cakra there is no expression, nor
does it have the realization of 'I exist' feeling ; So
Parama'tma's scope is also in A'jina' Cakra and the
fundamental factors beneath it. He is also present in the
space between the Ajina' Cakra and Sahasra'ra Cakra. His
rule is present there too. This space is ten fingers long.
Thus it is said that His rule is in this physical world as
well as ten fingers above it. ( Fategarh, D-M-C, 1st
January, '64 )
BHAKTI-RUPA SETU ( Devotion acts like a bridge )
The term Setu connotes bridge. Its function is to
connect two objects. Devotion is that bridge which connects
jiiva (unit) with Shiva ( Cosmic Consciousness ). At first
one has to know about this Setu. He has to dissect and
analyse minutely its every aspect, taking also the help of
books. This is what is called the Sa'dhana' of knowledge
i.e., Jina'na Sadhana'. The endeavour to move towards this
Setu is called the Sa'dhana' of action i.e., Karma
Sa'dhana'. in philosophical parlance Setu means the process
of subjectivising the objectivity. Some people are found
misconstruing the real significance of devotion. They
contend that since devotion is between jiiva and Shiva,
where there is devotion there is the existence of duality
also. But had it been so, devotion would not have performed
the work of a bridge. Until and unless the jiiva crosses the
bridge, there is duality; the moment the Bhava-River is
crossed duality meets its Waterloo. The term Bhava connotes
rebirth, resulting from the action of the unit mind.
Devotion is a bridge over the river of Bhava. BHAKTI IS NO
SA'DHANA' Devotion is not Sa'dhana'. The stage of devotion
is reached through the Sa'dhana' of knowledge and action.
The ecstatic experience generated by devotion leads to to a
state of trance. A happy news stimulates pleasing emotions
in one's mind and makes one laugh, sing and dance. The
moment one crosses the bridge one is lost in the state of
complete trance. When a person is established in devotion he
becomes able to understand the greatness and magnificence of
Shiva. The understanding at this moment is Anubhu'ti Siddhi
i.e., born of real experience through taste. Similarly,
sweet things, e.g., mango and sugar can be distinguished
only by taste. One cannot enjoy the flavour of mango by
seeing its reflection in water. One will have to get the
tree, pluck the mango and taste it. Similarly experience in
the spiritual realm also can be had only after climbing a
step on the tree of devotion. Only then one can understand
the brilliance and greatness of Parama Brahma - the
transcendental cosmic entity. PARAMA BRAHMA IS OMNISCIENT
Parama Brahma is an all-knowing entity. Where consciousness
is not converted into an object there Brahma is called
Parabrahma. Where it is transformed into an object there we
call it Aparabrahma. Jiivas are the manifestation of Apara
Brahma. The conversion of Apara Brahma into Para Brahma is
the subjectivisation of objectivity. Para Brahma is called
Sarvajina i.e., omniscient. The Sanskrit word Sarvajina is
made of (Sarva + root verb jina' + da and means witnessing
entity of all objectivities). He is in contact with
everything in the universe. He lives with every small or big
entity. The term Sarva stands for the three belligerent
principles of Prakrti. In Sarva, Sa stands for the sentient
principle, 'R' for the mutative and 'Va' for static
principle. Every minutest particle is within this Sarva.
There is not a single place where He is not. He is the base
of the universe, He is its A'yatana. The term A'yatana
connotes Adhiva'sa i e., the dwelling place. A sa'dhaka can
realise this only after starting his efforts to climb the
tree of devotion. WHAT IS THIS UNIVERSE? What is this
universe? Where there is predominance of Bhaeravii shakti
the universe is unmanifested. The domination of Bhava'nii
shakti means the manifestation of the universe. The term
vishva connotes expressed universe. He is in every particle
of the universe. He is also well-acquainted with the
feelings in your mind. He is Mahat i.e., great. The term
Mahat means matchless and also bereft of narrowness. Brahma
is one and the same for all persons. Both sinners and pious
persons are dependent on -- rather, the descendants of-Parama'tma Su'ks'ma't Su'ks'llataram Vibha'ti. Parama'tma is
the subtlest of all. Your organs have a limited capacity.
The subtlest is beyond their grasping power. The Sam'skrta
word Su'ks'ma ( i.e., subtle ) means the minutest object or
the sweetest sound which the organs cannot grasp. But the
subtlety is not an absolute criterion. Something which is
subtle for one may not be the same for the other. It is
therefore a relative terminology. Parama'tma' is Nitya. The
term Nitya means that which is uninfluenced by the time
factor i.e., beyond the periphery of past, present and
future. The Entity on which depends the existence of time is
called Mahakaola. OBJECT SUBJECTIVISED Meditation is also
action. For arousing devotion action is an indispensable
condition. Before crossing the bridge of devotion one feels
like 'You are that'. But while crossing the bridge one feels
'I am that'. At that time his object is subjectivised. FROM
WITNESSED TO WITNESSING in common parlance you say that
Parama'tma' is the object of your mind. But, as a matter of
fact, everything in this world is the object of Parama'tma'
who alone can be the subjective entity of the universe.
Supreme subjectivity cannot be your object. The experience
that you are always witnessed by Him is devotion. One who
realises this attains the state of trance. The moment Tat is
converted into Tvam or vice versa, one starts feeling that
He is not a witnessed entity but a witnessing one. There are
three main stages of mind : (i) Conscious, (ii)
Subconscious, (iii) Unconscious. These stages are
experienced by the reflected consciousness. When Tat and
Tvam become one in the life of a sa'dhaka he starts feeling
that it is not this reflection on these but his reflection
on Apara Brahma. At that time jiiva entity for him becomes
Apara Brahma. The identification of his unit identity with
Brahma makes him free from virtue and vice. FOUR DHAMAS The
term dha'ma connotes home. Actually speaking there are four
dha'mas : i) Conscious mind, ii) Subconscious mind, iii)
Unconscious mind, iv) Dhama'-less (house-less ) state or
Nira'lamba Avastha' or Turiiya' avastha'.
In the first three the object of thinking is not
original. No original creation is possible in these stages.
Even during dream or slumber the objects already perceived
by the conscious mind are recreated again. In the
unconscious mind the object perceived by the conscious mind
is completely identified with the perceiving entity and
naturally the imaginary figure of ghost, for instance,
becomes a reality there. But in Turiiya stage original
creation is possible. Man consumes an object mentally. In
these three stages the object of your thinking is your own
expressed counterpart. A portion of your self becomes
Bhokta' and another portion Bhogya. Bhokta is Sagun'a Para.
Bhogya is Sagun'a Apara. The neutral or Nira'lamba part is
Nirgun'a. Your own unit consciousness, mahat and ego are
bhokta' and citta is bhogya.
VILAKS'AN'A'
In collective life also some become bhokta' and some
bhogya. But those who are vilaks'an'a or vipariitgun'a i.e.,
neither bhokta' nor bhogya will feel that their real nature
is manifested in realising. "I am Sada'shiva or
consciousness personified". The term Sada'shiva means always
being in consciousness. Sada'shiva was also a historical
figure. About seven thousand years ago he had come with this
blessing of Tantra Sa'dhana'. He was Mahakaola i.e,, one who
can arouse others' sleeping divinity.
MAST SHIVA There are numerous glands in human body.
The secretion from the upper glands affects the lower ones
but not vice versa. The secretion of the pineal -the
uppermost gland affects all other glands in the human body.
But dirty or crude thinking does not allow the secretion to
come down to all the glands and thereby influence them.
Pious thinking, on the other hand, allows the pineal
secretion to affect every gland and leads one to the state
of trance or sama'dhi. The psychological implication of
Sama'dhi is the merger of of the unit with Cosmic
Consciousness and its biological interpretation is the
influence of the pineal gland over other glands in human
body. Sama'dhi was always a state of ineffable bliss due to
the influence of the hormone of the pineal gland. Naturally
some misconstrued his joyous state as if he were intoxicated
by smoking.
SHIVA - THE CANDRASHEKHARA What does the crescent moon
over the head of Shiva connote ? At that time people used to
think some portion of the moon as invisible. They had
divided the moon into sixteen Kala's. The sixteenth one was
invisible to them. They placed the pineal gland in this
invisible portion of the moon. This crescent moon is also
called Ama'kala' or Indu. Shiva acquired appellations like
Candrashekhara, Candrabhu's'an'a etc. The limited human mind
grasps external physicalities with the help of organs. But a
bigger mind, cosmic mind, for instance, need not take the
help of organs just as they are not needed for knowing your
own thoughts. He, whose mind is immanent in every particle
of the universe, does not need the external help. Identify
your mind with this and you will realise that even the
minutest of the objects are you. You are the pacific ocean.
The universe which is the manifestation of Bhava'nii Shakti
will appear as your own manifestation. The universe, which
is the Liila of Sada'shiva also gives Him infinite, ecstatic
bliss. You meditate on Him and He meditates on you. He is
the oldest of the entities - Pura'tana. 'Prarciita means old
and Pura'tana connotes oldest. Since Shiva is the oldest of
the entities, He is the father of all, but He has no father
of His own. None can say who His father was. The moment one
realises Him, one starts feeling that he is the controller
of everything, the golden, glittering entity. He feels that
he is effulgence personified. His identity is Shivo'ham
Shivo'ham i.e., 'I am Shiva'. This realisation is unlikely
without devotion. Devotion is the bridge. Proper knowledge
and action are also needed, but devotion is the prime
factor, the essence. ( Vaesha'khii Purn'ima', D.M.C, Patna
16-- 6)
THE STANCE OF SALVATION AND HOW TO ATTAIN IT
The subject of today's discourse is "The Stance Of
Salvation And How To Attain It." Salvation as you know, is
liberation of a permanent nature. The question of liberation
arises only where there is bondage. Where there is no
bondage, the question of fighting for liberation does not
arise. New let us see what are the bondages of a spiritual
aspirant. Within the realm of this Macro-psychic connation,
bondages are of three kinds : 1) physical bondage, 2)
intellectual bondage, 3) spiritual bondage. In the case of
physical bondage there are three binding factors, there are
three rudimental relative factors i.e., time, space, person
- temporal bondage, spatial bondage and personal bondage. In
physical stratum one must try to conquer these factors, and
this fight has started from the very dawn of human
civilisation, and this fight helps the human civilisation in
its progress. In the age of bullock cart the time taken for
a journey from Madras to Salem was a long period, but after
the invention or locomotive the period of time was
shortened. Man partly conquered the time factor. But in the
age of aeroplane it has been still more conquered and in the
age of rocket still more but even in case of rockets,
certainly, it will take some time in terms of microscopic
fraction of a second. So this time factor can never be fully
conquered. Similar is the case with other two factors i.e.,
the bondage of person and space. So in the sphere of
physicality liberation is not at all possible. Also the
question of liberation of permanent nature does not arise.
Now take the case of intellectual bondage. What is
intellectual bondage? Suppose there is a question in your
mind. Unless and until you get a satisfactory answer, a
satisfactory reply, you are under intellectual bondage, and
whenever you get the satisfactory reply, you are free from
this intellectual bondage and get liberation. But the next
moment another question comes. Again you are under the
intellectual bondage. Again the problem will be solved and
you will get liberation. So you see, in the intellectual
stratum liberation is possible but liberation of permanent
nature is not possible. Do you follow ? Liberation of
permanent nature is only possible in spiritual sphere. What
is spiritual bondage?
It is a fact that each and every entity of this
observable universe is a part of the Cosmic Self, of the
Supreme Cognitive Principle. It is a known fact. But even
then a Sadhaka in his personal life does not feel that
unicity with his Lord. When I am one with Him why don't I
feel this unicity with Him? -- this trouble, this pain. this
agony is his spiritual bondage ; when we should be one, and
I should feel that we are one and when I am not feeling it
in practice -- I know it in theory but I don't feel it in
practice -- this is the bondage. This is what is called
spiritual bondage. By one's sa'dhana', by one's intuitional
practice one is identified with the Supreme Controller of
the Universe. Then what happens ? He attains liberation and
that liberation is of permanent nature and so only in the
spiritual sphere one can attain liberation and that
liberation is of permanent nature. That is, liberation is
possible only in spiritual stratum. Now, what is this
feeling of separateness ? Although a devotee and his Lord
are two entities, fundamentally they are one : yet this
feeling of separateness exists. And as I already told you
this is nothing but the creation of Ma'ya'. Since it is a
creation of Ma'ya' a sa'dhaka who wants unicity with his
Lord must surmount Ma'ya' ; there is no alternative. Lord
Krs'n'a says : "Daevii hyes'a' gun'amayii mama ma'ya'
duratya'ya' Mameva ye prapadyante ma'ya'meta'm' taranti te.
This Ma'ya' is an attributional principle of Mine. She is my
attributional principle. She is my attributional force and
she is duratajya'. It is very difficult to surmount this
Ma'ya' but the one who has ensconced himself in Me only can
surmount this Maya', there is no alternative. One will have
to surrender oneself before the altar of the Almighty, there
is no other way to conquer Maya. This universe is a Ma'yaic
creation. What is Maya' ? Maya' is the Operative Principle
and practically there is no difference between Cognitive
Principle and Ma'ya'. Where there is Cognitive Principle
there is Operative Principle also. They cannot be separated
from one another. In Sam'skrta this is called
'Avina'bha'vii.
Ya'tha shivah ta'tha' shaktih Ya'tha shaktih tatha'
shivah Na'nyorantarani' vidyet Chandra candrikayor tatha'.
One cannot exist without the existence of the other. One
cannot separate the moonlight from the moon; similarly, one
cannot separate Ma'ya' from the Cognitive Principle. Now,
where the Operative Principle has created something abstract
or something concrete there that particular Operative
Principle working within the scope of something created is
called Creative Principle or Maya'. So Maya' is a particular
stance of Prakrti. In the Vedas it has been said : Ks'aram'
Pradha'nam Anirtaks'aram' harah Ks'ara'tiiiatialviishate
deva ekah Tasya'bhidhya'na't yojana'd tattvabha'va't
Bhu'yashca'nte Vishvama'ya' nivrttih
When this Maya' creates something we get this
observable world. This world, rather this worldly
transmutation of the Cognitive Principle, is called
'Ks'ara'. It appears that the Cognitive Principle has been
metamorphosed into so many entities. I said, 'it appears
that' because actually Purus'a is an intransmutable entity.
It undergoes no metamorphosis, but due to difference, due to
certain vibrational wave of the Operative Principle it
appears that so many things have been created. Actually the
diversity of this world is nothing but the results of
different functional waves emanating from a particular
stance of the Cognitive Principle. This particular stance of
the Cognitive Principle is called attributed Consciousness.
This attributed Consciousness is called Ks'ara and here in
this attributed Consciousness we see so many entities due to
the dexterity of that omniparous Maya'. So in this
observable world, Prakrti i.e., the Operative Principle,
Creative Principle, Ma'ya' and not the Cognitive Principle
is the preponderate factor and that is why in this
observable world Prakrti is also called Ma'ya', is also
called Pradha'n'a. Pradha'n'a means important. In this world
Prakrti (Ma'ya') is more important than Purus'a. It appears
to be more important than Purus'a, that is why in this
observable world, she is called Maya', she is also known as
Pradha'n'a.
Lord Krs'n'a says : Ma'meva ye Prapadyante
Ma'ya'meta'm' Taranti te. He who meditates on Me can
surmount Maya'. Now, what should be the object of
meditation? He who meditates on Me, means meditates on whom
? Meditates on Ks'ara or Aks'ara ? Ks'ara' means transmuted
universe, transmuted Lord. Certainly, Ks'ara should not be
the object of ideation because if that Ks'ara is accepted as
the object of ideation necessarily his entire identity, his
mind, his soul, his body, will be transformed into that
object of ideation. Ks'ara means this observable world of
land, money and so many worldly items and articles. If that
Ks'ara is accepted as the object of ideation, naturally mind
will also become like that. So Ks'ara should not be the
object of ideation, and one should not ensconce oneself in
Ks'ara. Cognitive Principle, when distorted appears to be
Ks'ara and when it remains undistorted i.e. it is not
affected by Maya', it is known as Aks'ara and is the
witnessing counterpart of Ks'ara. Whatever you see is Ks'ara
and the Cognitive Principle witnessing this Ks'ara is
Aks'ara. One portion of the Cognitive Principle has been
transformed into this observable world and another portion
remains attached to the Ks'ara and is called Aks'ara. Ks'ara
means distorted, demoted, transmuted, metamorphosed and
Aks'ara means non-transmuted, still holding its exalted
position, exalted rank. Ks'aram' Pradha'n'am : Ks'ara should
not be your object of ideation. Amrtaks'arani' Harah :
Aks'ara is what? Aks'ara is Amrta. But should Aks'ara be
accepted as your object of ideation ? No, although Aks'ara
has not been distorted. Aks'ara is not under the bondage of
Prakrti, still it has got transactional relationship with
this distorted Ks'ara. It has not been transformed into
Ks'ara but it has got transactional relationship with
Ks'ara. It is witnessing the functions of Ks'ara, that is
why it has got close contact with Ks'ara. Its having
transactional relationship with Ks'ara, it cannot be treated
as the Supreme non-attributed Consciousness. So this Aks'ara
also should not be accepted as the object of ideation.
Amrtaks'aram' Harah. Aks'ara is Amrta. This Aksara is also
Amrta, because It undergoes no changes. That which undergoes
metamorphosis, undergoes changes is Mrta and that which
undergoes no metamorphosis, does not pass through the orbit
of time, space and person, is amrta, is immortal. This
Aks'ara is also called Hara. What is the meaning of Hara ?
In Sam'skrta Haran'a means to steal, to take away. He who
takes away all your sins, He who takes away all your umbers
and cumbers is Hara. He is Hara, because He takes away all
your sins, all your propensities. Now, This Hara. One cannot
attain salvation without coming in contact with this Hara.
He will have to pass through the realm of Hara because Hara
is the sublimest rank of His Cognitive Self and that's why
in ancient times it was a system, rather a usage amongst the
spiritual aspirants to chant a mantra, which was a very
favourite mantra : Hara Hara Vyom Vyom. Think of that Hara,
think of that Hara, He will take away all your sins ; think
of that Hara, Meditate on that Hara. Hara Hara Vyom Vyom.
Vyom is the subtlest form of matter. Ether is called Vyoma
i.e., your mind should go from crude towards subtle. In the
realm of physicality it will think of Vyoma and in the realm
of spirituality it will, think of Hara' "Hara Hara Vyom
Vyom, Hara Hara Vyom Vyom" But this Hara shouldn't be your
object of ideation because it has got transactional
relationship with Ks'ara. Ks'ara'tmana'viishate Dei-a i
kali: Now both these Ksara and Hara -- witnessed counterpart
and witnessing counterpart-these two counterparts are within
this cosmological system. Done portion and witnessing
portion. Done I and Seer 'I' and these two portions i.e.,
the metamorphosed portion and witnessing portion are being
controlled by another entity, a third entity. Ks'ara was the
first entity -- witnessed portion, Aks'ara was the second
entity -witnessing portion, and the third entity is called,
in Tantra, Niraks'ara. Here Niraks'ara doesn't mean
illiterate. Niraks'ara is the third entity controlling these
two entities What is Niraks'ara ? Niraks'ara Brahma is that
controlling point of this universe, that is Purus'ottama,
that is Krs'n'a, that is Parama Purus'a, that is Parama
Shiva. One will have to accept that Parama Shiva, that
Parama Purus'a, that Purus'ottama as one's only object of
ideation. Ks'ara'tmana'vishate deva ekah :that is, the third
entity controlling both ks'ara and Aks'ara':
tasya'vidhya'na't jojanaal tattvabha'va't. Now, regarding
that Niraks'ara, regarding that third entity, regarding that
Purus'ottama, what is one required to do ?
Tasya'bhidhya'na't: he will have to do abhidhya'na. What is
abhidhya'na ? There are two stages in abhidhya'na. The first
stage is called Pran'idha'na and the second stage is called
Anudhya'na. What is Pran'idha'na? In human mind there are so
many propensities. As per yoga shastra there are one
thousand propensities in human mind. Fifty propensities are
controlled by fifty important glands and subglands and can
be directed towards 10 directions. These directions are
Pu'rva, Pashcima, Uttara, Daks'in'a, Urdhva, Adhah. These
directions are called Pradisha and the four sub-directions -
Ishan, Va'yu, Agni, Naert - are called Anudisha. Six
Pradisha and four Anudisha are ten directions. Each and
every propensity be directed towards ten directions, and
each and every propensity can function internally as well as
externally ; you can steal in your mind, you can steal
physically ! You can do something wrong mentally, you can do
something wrong physically. Each and every propensity can be
done internally as well as externally. So 50 x 10 x 2@ 1000.
So there are one thousand propensities. Now, the uppermost
gland directly and indirectly control these 1000
propensities ; hence this uppermost gland known as pineal
gland is called Sahasra'ra Cakra in Samskrta i.e., the
cakra, the plexus controlling propensities. Do you follow ?
Now what is Pran'idha'na ? Pran'idha'na is to bring
all those propensities to a particular point i.e., the
entire ectoplasmic structure of the microcosm is to be
apexed to a particular point and from that point the
resultant is to move forward towards the Cosmic Self. This
movement of that apexed resultant is called Pran'idha'na.
Pra-Ni-Dha' Lyut'a Pran'idha'na. Pranidha'na is a Samskrta
noun. This is the psychological interpretation of
Pran'idha'na. But the practical side of Pran'idha'na is :
there should be mental rhythm along with acoustic rhythm in
Pran'idha'na. Where there is only acoustic rhythm, it is
called Japakriya' and when that acoustic rhythm maintains
parallelism with mental rhythm it is called Pran'idha'na.
Suppose you are saying Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama. it will be
Japakriya'. As you know Japakriya' is of three kinds. Rama,
Rama, Rama -- this sound is called Va'canika Japa i.e.,
doing Japa kriya' explicitly, Then there is another kind of
Japa : Rama, Rama (whispering slowly); you are uttering the
sound and you are hearing the sound with your physical ears
but others won't be able to hear that. It is called Upam'su
Japa and the third one is doing japakriya' mentally and you
will hear that japakriya' with your mental ears, not with
your physical ears. It is called Ma'nasika japa. Ma'nasika
japa is the best japa. But in Sa'dhana' Marga, japakriya'
doesn't help a Sa'dhaka much in attaining salvation and that
is why in Tantra it has been said Uttamo Brahmasadbha'vo
Madhyama' Dhya'na-dha'ran'a Japastutih syadadha'ma'
Mu'rtipuja' dhama'dhama' The best process is Brahma
Sadbha'va. Second one is dha'rana' and dhya'na. Third one is
Japa-Stuti -- this is adhama and mu'rtipuja' i.e., idol
worship is adhama'dhama. What is the matter ? In Japakriya'
there is only acoustic rhythm as I have told you about
acoustic rhythm Rama, Ra'ma, Rama, Rama. But in Pran'idha'na
this acoustic rhythm maintains parallelism with mental
rhythm i.e., mentally you will be saying Rama, Rama, Ra'ma,
there should be acoustic rhythm Rama, Rama. Rama like this
and mentally you will be thinking of Ra'ma also i.e. ,the
parallelism is to be maintained, otherwise in Japakriya'
where there is no parallelism what does happen ; while you
are uttering the word Ra'ma, Rama as you are chanting the
word 'Ra', letter 'Ra' you are thinking of the next letter
'Ma.' Rama ! Again while uttering the letter 'Ma' you are
thinking of the letter 'Ra'. Next 'Ra'. in second stage of
Japa, 'Ra', In that case your Mantra will be 'Mara' you are
uttering the letter 'Ma' and thinking of the latter 'Ra', so
your Is't'a Mantra becomes 'Mara' and not 'Ra'ma'. So it is
useless to do that type Japakriya'. Unless and until there
is a parallelism with mental wave it is useless and where
there is parallelism between acoustic rhythm and mental
rhythm it is called Pranidha'na. In Ananda Marga your
Iishvara Pra'nidha'na is not japakriya' ; it is called
Pran'idha'na. Pran'idha'na comes within the scope of Dhya'na
and not within the scope of japa. Do you follow ? Now the
first one is Pranidha'na and the second one is Anudhya'na.
What is Anudhya'na Within the greater sphere of Dhya'na
there are two processes- Dha'ran'a' and Dhya'na; when you
try to withhold something external within your mental world
it is called Dha'ran'a'. So in Dha'ran'a', there is a static
force, Dha'ran'a' is of static origin. But when something is
moving and that movement has been accepted by you as it is,
it is called Dhya'na. So in Dhya'na there is a dynamic
force. Dhya'nakriya' is just like a thread of molasses. When
poured a thread is created ; there is force, there is
movement in that thread but it appears to be something
static. Dhya'nakriya' is like this. Do you follow ? "Taela
Dharavat." What is Anudhya'na? Both Pran'idha'na and
Anudhya'na come within the scope of Dhya'na, come within the
scope of Abhidhya'na. "Tasya'bhidhya'na't". I said
Abidhya'na. Abhidhya'na means that you have accepted that
Supreme Self as your object of ideation, but suppose your
Lord does not want you, suppose you are a sinner and your
Lord does not want that you should get Him, He will try to
dart away from you, but in that case you will have to chase
Him mentally. This chasing of yours is called Anudhya'na.
You must say, 'O my Lord, I may be a SUSA18FO.TXT
96 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
sinner but I won't spare you, I must catch you". When
this mentality functions it is Anudhya'na. So without
anudhya'na one cannot get Him. Next one is Yojana't. Yojana
means unicity with Him. The final goal of a Sa'dhaka is to
become one with Him. For this unification there are two
root-verbs in Samskrta ('yuj' and 'yunj') Yuj + ghain - yoga
'Ghain' is the noun suffix. Thus you get the word, 'yoga'
and yunj + ghain is also 'yoga'. In first case yoga means
addition, to unite and in the second case yunj + ghain =
yoga means unification. To unite and to unify are two
different verbs. Suppose, for instance, there is a handful
of sand and a handful of sugar. You can unite them, but
these two entities i.e. sand and sugar will maintain their
separate identities. But suppose there is some water and
sugar, then what will be the case ? They will become one.
This is the case of unification. So there is difference
between unity and unification. In the second case i.e. yunj
+ ghain = yoga. a sa'dhaka's yoga is that yoga, not the yoga
of sand and sugar. Sa'dhaka's yoga with Lord is the yoga of
water and sugar. So Yojana't. The spirit of Sa'dhana' is to
get oneself unified with the hub of this universal wheel,
not united but unified; and as I told you that for
unification you will have to remove this umbrella of vanity
from your head. Now this sa'dhana' which is Sa'dhana' for
complete merger, for unification, starts with fearful love.
Love must be there. Unless and until there is love, there
can not be unification. So love must be there but it starts
with fearful love and ends in fearless love : and the space
between fearful love and fearless love is the space of
Sa'dhana'. What is Sa'dhana'? Sadhana' is transformation of
fearful love into fearless love. Do you follow? What is love
? In this universe nothing can remain secluded from other
entities. Each and every object is attracting others. This
attraction is a natural phenomenon, in this universe
repulsion is unnatural, attraction is natural. So we can say
that repulsion is negative attraction but attraction is not
negative repulsion. This attraction is called A'k'ii s'an'a
in sam'skrta. When this attraction is for any non-integral
entity, or for any small entity this is called ka'ma. When
that attraction is for that integral entity, and the
integral entity is only one and that one is Parama Purus'a
-- it is called Prema. When the attraction is for the
non-integral entity, for money, for family, for land, it is
called Ka'ma ; when it is for integral entity it is called
Prema and the mental tendency during Ka'ma i.e., the mental
tendency during attraction for a non-integral entity is
called A'sakti in Sam'skrta and the mental tendency during
attraction for that Integral Entity is called Bhakti. Do you
follow? The transactional relationship during Ka'ma i.e.,
during attraction for a non-integral entity is called
Vyavasa'ya (business). Give me a sixpence I shall give you
sixpence worth of salt. Vyavasa'ya ( exchange and the
transactional relationship) during Prema i.e., during the
attraction for the Integral Entity is called 'Seva'. The
spirit of Seva' is to give everything and to take nothing at
all. Do you follow? Yojana't. I said it starts with fearful
love and ends in fearless love and the process of
transformation of fearful love into fearless love is called
Sa'dhana' (Intuitional Practice). Now it starts with fearful
love. Everything in this universe is afraid of Him. During
midday a boy, an ultra-modern young man may, says "Oh, I
have got no faith in God". And in the night in the burial
ground when alone he will say, "O God, save me, you know I
am your disciple, you know I love you, save me, I had to
maintain my prestige in my friends' society. That's why I
said this and that". So everybody is afraid of Him. That is
why in the scriptures it is said : Blziis'aiiia'd va'yu
pavate bhiis'odeti su'l-yah
B@'zii,@asina'dagnishcend)-aeshca iiii-tyuhdha'vati
Palicalliah ..Ta.@iiia'ducyate bhiis'an'ai7iiti. Out of fear
of Him the wind blows. Wind is blowing because wind is
afraid of Him. Wind cannot say, "No, I won't blow." It will
have to blow because wind is afraid of Him, out of fear of
Him : Bhiis'odeti su'ryah. The sun rises just in the
scheduled time out of His fears. So the sun cannot say, "No,
no, I will rise in the south !" No, the sun cannot say this.
The sun will have to obey orders. So he is afraid of Him and
the sun does his duty, Why ? Out of fearful love. Sa'dhana'
starts with fearful love: Bh@is'asiiia'dagiiishceildrashca.
Fire burns, why ? Out of fear. It will have to burn. It
cannot give up its burning attributes. It will have to burn,
why ? It is afraid of Him. 'Indra' means energy working
within the scope of matter. Energy always functions within
the scope of matter and that energy functioning within the
scope of matter is called Indra in Sam'skrta and energy
working out of the scope of matter is called Bala. There is
difference between Bala and Indra. When the force working
outside matter gives external pressure, it is called Bala.
The Indra. i.e., the energy the mechanical energy,
electrical energy, magnetic energy will have to do according
to a certain system, certain law. They have to do it because
they are afraid of Him. Mrtyur'dha'vati Pancamaha, and the
god of death, that horrible death is afraid of Him. And it
will have to present itself before the dying person at
proper time. Death cannot say, "No, I won't attend his
death-bed." It cannot say, it will have to go because death
is afraid of Him and that is why He is called mryturmrtyu.
He is Mrtyu of Mrtyu, death of death. Bhiis'an'amiti -because of this kind of fearfulness He is called Bhiis'an'a.
One name of God is Bhiis'an'a because everybody is afraid of
Him. Everybody starts his Sa'dhana' with fearful love but
that Sa'dhana' ends in fearless love -because unless and
until one becomes fearless one cannot become one with Him.
One will try to keep oneself away from Him out of fear. So
finally one will have to become fearless. Yojana't
Tattvabha'va't. Tattvabha'va't means: in Samskrta Tat means
that and by suffixing 'Tva' it has been converted into an
abstract noun. Tattva means Thatness, something regarding
that. That means Brahma in Samskrta. Brahma is neuter
gender. Parama Purus'a i.e., the Cognitive Principle is
masculine gender, and Parama' Prakrti, i.e., the Operative
Principle is feminine gender and Brahma is neuter gender.
Thatness means something regarding Brahma--tattva'bha'va't.
That is while attending any mundane duty you will have to
ascribe Brahmahood to that material object or while thinking
of anything you will have to ascribe Brahmahood to your
mental object. This is what is called Tattvabha'va't.
Yojana't Tattvabha'va't, i.e., you will have to do what?
Anudhya'na! What will be the result of Yojana't ? You will
become one with Him. Tasya'bhidya'na't Yojana't
Tattvabha'va't. Bhu'ya'shca'nte Vis'n'uma'ya' Nivrttih and
what will be the result? You will get yourself liberated
from Vis'n'uma'ya'. What is Vis'n'uma'ya' ? When the Lord
expands Himself with the help of Maya', when He increases
the scope of His pervasiveness with the help of the Creative
Principle that Creative Principle is called Vis'n'uma'ya'.
Vis'n'uma'ya' is all-pervading and the Lord is called
Vis'n'u. Vis'n'u means Omnipresent. Now with the help of
Vis'n'uma'ya'. He expands Himself. The second one is called
Yogama'ya'. In the last phase of this Cosmic Psychic order
when the sa'dhaka with the help of Hla'dinii shakti touches
the feet of the Supreme Lord, Krs'n'a, that conjunction is
done by Ma'ya' and in that stage, in that phase Ma'ya' is
called Yogama'ya'. Yoga means connection; Yogama'ya',
Vis'n'uma'ya', then Ma'ha'ma'ya'. The Ma'ya', with the help
of which the Lord has expressed Himself in the form of this
world, the Lord has created this world of diversities, is
called Ma'ha'ma'ya'. Externally Ma'ha'ma'ya', and internally
you also can create the reflections of this external world.
Externally you have seen something relishing, internally in
your mind you will create it. Externally you came in contact
with Rasagolla and internally you will also create the
Rasagolla and where is that Rasagolla internally ?
Externally you have seen a Ra'ja', internally you yourself
become a R'aja' and enjoy that position. Internally you do
like this. Certainly, so this internal reflection of the
Ma'ha'ma'ya' i.e., externality is done by you. Do you follow
? This internal creation of yours is a reflection of the
external world, as an external projection of this external
physicality is done by your Ma'ya' and that individual
Ma'ya' of yours is called An'uma'ya'. So you see that Ma'ya'
in a particular phase is Vis'n'uma'ya'. In another phase
Yogama'ya', in another phase Ma'ha'ma'ya' and in your
particular phase she is Anuma'ya'. And the collective name
for all these phases is Pishi'ama'ya', it is the collective
name. That is why Tattvabha'va't, that is, ascribing
Brahmahood to each and every physical and mental object, by
Yojana't, by Pran'idha'na, by An'udhya'na, what does happen
? Now, Yojanat is established and when that Yojana't is
established you get yourself liberated from Vishvama'ya'. So
the Sa'dhana' of a Sa'dhaka is to do these things.
Tattvabha'va, Pranidha'na, Anu'dhya'na, and finally,
yojana't. That is how one is to attain salvation, and
salvation is possible only in the spiritual stratum. In the
realm of physicality and intellectuality one cannot attain
salvation. In the realms of physicality and intellectuality
one can attain liberation but one cannot attain liberation
of permanent nature in those spheres. It is only possible in
the realm of spirituality. ( Salem, Madras, D.M.C. 9-12-64 )
THE LORD AND HIS NAME
The Cognitive Principle is the singular entity, but
people give Him so many names according to their respective
cogitative projections. A spiritual aspirant has nothing to
do with the quarrel or the controversy regarding the
magnanimity of these many names as the spiritual aspirant
knows that the inner spirit of all these names is the same.
Now, let us take these names one by one. The most popular
name is Na'ra'yan'a. What is the inner meaning of
Na'ra'yan'a ? The word 'Na'ra'yan'a' has been composed of
Na'ra + yana and the inner meaning of Nara'ra'yan'a is
Parama Purus'a. The word Na'ra has got three meanings in
Sam'skrta. One meaning of 'Na'ra' is devotion ( Bhakti ).
You know there was a great sage Na'rada which means the
donor of Bhakti. 'Da' means donor, so Na'rada means one who
distributes devotion. Another meaning of 'Na'ra' is water.
(niira) The third meaning is Supreme Operative Principle or
Parama' Prakrti. Then what is the meaning of Na'ra'yan'a ?
Sometimes the word 'Prakrti' is erroneously used for nature.
We say "it is a natural creation", but there is a difference
between nature and Prakrti. Nature is the functional style
of Prakrti, Prakrti is not nature. So Prakrti, the Operative
Principle gets shelter in Na'ra'yan'a, as 'Ayana' means
shelter. Then Na'ra'yan'a means the shelter of the Supreme
Operative Principle, who is the superstratum of Supreme
Operative Principle. It is Parama Purus'a the Supreme
Cognitive Principle, which is the transcendental and
all-pervading entity. So Na'ra'yan'a means Parama Purus'a.
Then another popular name is Shiva. Shiva and Shakti
are the two aspects of the same reality. Shakti is not a
separate entity : Shakti is the immanent principle and Shiva
the transcendental. 'Shakti' means Operative Principle. In
every action, two principles are required, one cognitive and
another operative. Suppose you are a machine-man, you are
operating a machine. In that case also two principles are
working. You are operating the machine according to the
dictates of your brain. So here this power of regulating the
machine acts as the cognitive principle ; the links, that is
the muscles with which you are operating the machinery,
become the operative principle. The universe is also created
by principles -- the Cognitive Principle, Parama Purus'a and
the Operative Principle -- Parama Prakrti. Though it sounds
dualistic in theory it is monistic in its spirit. The
composite name of Shiva and Shakti is Brahma. So here Shiva
means this Cognitive Principle which means the Caetanya, the
Cosmic Consciousness. Na'ra'yan'a means the Supreme
consciousness and Shiva also means the Supreme
consciousness, so there is no difference between Na'ra'yan'a
and Shiva.
Now, let us take another word -- Ma'dhava. In
Sam'skrta 'Ma' has got three meanings. One meaning of 'Ma'
is 'no', as for example, 'Ma' Gaccha, -- don't go. Another
meaning of 'Ma' is indriya -- the sensory and the motor
organs. This is why the tongue is also called 'Ma'. The
third meaning of 'Ma' is the Supreme Operative principle -Laks'mii, Parama' Prakrti. 'Dhava' means controller, 'Dhava'
means husband. That is why a lady who has lost her husband
is called Vidhava'. Another meaning of dhava is also white.
Hence 'Madhava' means the Controller of Prakrti. Who is the
Controller of Prakrti -- the Operative Principle? It is
Parama Purus'a. Hence, Na'ra'yan'a, Shiva and Ma'dhava
denote the same thing. Now, let us take another word -Rama. The meaning of 'Rama' is Ramante Yoginah Yasmin Iti
Ra'mah. The Sam'skrta root is 'Ram' which means to enjoy the
supreme beatitude. Ram + Ghain = Rama means shelter of
Supreme beatitude. It is Parama Purus'a. Hence one should
not quarrel regarding the greatness of the different names
of different deities. All have got the same import , the
same meaning. Another meaning of Rama is Rati Mahiidhara
Rama - the most dazzling, the most glittering entity. All
accept Parama Purus'a as the most glittering entity. Another
meaning of Ra'ma: Ra'van'as'ya Maran'am iti Rama. What is
Ra'van'a ? You know human mind has got both the subtle and
debasing propensities. As subtler propensities are directed
towards the Self, there is no question of their extroversal
expressions. Only the debasing propensities of human mind
are expressed in ten directions - east, west, north, south,
north-east, north-west, south-east, south-west, above and
below. The Pu'rva, Pashcima, Uttar, Daks'ina, Urdhva, and
Adhah are known as 'Pradisha' in Sanskrit and Isha'na,
Va'yu, Agni and Naert -- these four corners are known as
An'udisha. Six Pradisha and four An'udisha taken together
are the ten directions in which microcosms express debasing
propensities. As they are directed towards the mundane
objects, the microcosm goaded with debasing propensities is
called Ra'van'a. This is why in Hindu mythology Ra'van'a is
represented as having ten heads. Now, what is the duty of a
sa'dhaka for spiritual enlightenment? The sa'dhaka will have
to fight against Ra'van'a, against those debasing
propensities which are the causes of illusion and cloud the
spiritual vision of mankind. So to be established in Parama
Purus'a, one will have to crucify Ra'van'aThis is why Rama
has been said Ra'van'sya Maran'am iti Rama. When the
Ra'van'a dies the sa'dhaka comes in contact with the
universal flow of divine nectar. Then Ra'van'a dies and the
reign of Rama is established. So Rama means Parama Purus'a
Purus'ottama. This is why it is said that Ra'van'asya
Maran'am iti Rama. What is the first letter of Ra'vana 'Ra.' and what is the first letter of Maranam-- Ma. So Ra'+
Ma = Rama, because when the spiritual aspirant ideates on
Him Ra'van'a dies. Hence Narayana, Shiva, Ma'dhava, Rama all are the same. But for a sa'dhaka, the most valuable
thing is his Ista' Mantra. With the help of the Ist'a Mantra
or his personal incantation, a sa'dhaka will attain
enlightenment.
( D.M.C. Madras, 1.8.66 )
YOGA AND BHAKTI
It is said that if Parama Purus'a can be attained
through Yoga then what is the place of devotion (Bhakti) in
the life of a spiritual sa'dhaka ? Now let us see what is
Yoga? "Yogashcittavrtti Nirodhah" -- Yoga is the suspension
of the propensities (vrttis) of mind. What is Nirodha? It is
said that under five circumstances the mind becomes steady
-- Ks'ipta, Mu'rlha, Viks'ipta, Eka'ara and Nirodha. What is
Ks'ipta ? When mind becomes extremely restless because of
crude propensities, then the restless mind tends towards
only one object. While tending towards one object, it gets
itself concentrated (' Sa-???a'dhistha) all of a sudden
therein. That absorption of mind into that object is
transitory. This state is known as Ks'ipta. You might have
noticed in your personal life that if you come in clash with
a person or if you become angry with him, throughout the day
the picture of that individual repeatedly comes to your mind
and you fail to concentrate your mind on any object other
than that individual. This state of mind is Ks'ipta
Sama'dhi.
The next one is Mu'r'ha. Where there is attachment to
or fear from some object (judged minutely fear is included
in attachment ), the object even in that case repeatedly
creeps into mind. As for instance, a man of Gazipur working
in Bombay is repeatedly haunted with the idea that he should
have his office just like the one at Gazipur. Gazipur all
the time haunts his mind. It means that the object comes to
mind very easily, This state is called Mu'r'ha. The third
one is Viks'ipta. Viks'ipta is Abha'va'tmika' Sama'dhi.
Suppose the mind is absorbed in one object. The next moment
it shifts to another object, then to the next one and so on
and so forth till the mind gets exhausted and ceases to
function. This is known as Viks'ipta Sama'dhi. You know that
in a lullaby the baby is given one picture, the next moment
another picture and so on and so forth, till the child's
mind is exhausted and it takes recourse to sleep. This is
Viks'ipta Sama'dhi. The next one is Eka'gra. Because of the
ideation of a particular object, the mind is concentrated at
a particular point. This is known as Eka'gra Sama'dhi.
The fifth one is Nirodha. Nirodha means to withdraw
the vibrations (Gati or the propensities of mind) and to
direct them to the objectless ( Avis'aya ) i.e., to withdraw
the mind from the objectivities. This is Nirodha.
Thus Yoga is 'Yogashcittavrtti Nirodhah' i.e., the
Nirodha (channelisation) of all the Vrttis (propensities of
mind).
What is Vrtti ? In Sam'skrta Vrtti means livelihood,
profession. Here Vrtti means mental pabulum (a'bhoga). These
Vrttis are many in number. The chief Vrttis (Mukhya' Vrtti)
are five in number, all the other Vrttis are dependent on
these. These Vrttis are Praman'a, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Nidra'
and Smrti.
What is Prama'n'a? "Pratyaks'a'numa'na'gama'h
Prama'n'a'm. Pratyaks'a, A'gama and Anuma'na are known as
Prama'n'a. Pratyaks'a means that which you perceive directly
with your eyes. You will advocate the existence of the
object you have already seen with your eyes. Prati plus
Aks'a is Pratyaks'a. Aks'i means eye; that which is seen
with the eyes is Pratyaks'a. Suppose you have seen an
elephant with your eyes. You now do not bother about the
proof of the existence of the elephant. The next is
Anuma'na. In Anuma'na you don't see the original object but
you see something related (Anusam'gita) to or associated
with the original object. You see the smoke, not the fire,
but when you see the smoke you come to infer that there is
fire. This is Anuma'na'a Prama'n'a. The third one is A'gama:
that which you cannot see and cannot even infer but you have
heard from some authority. The city of London you have not
seen nor can you imagine London but you accept its existence
as you have read of it, you have studied about it in your
Geography. Here one will have to depend upon Agamika
Praman'a ( authoritative proof ). In the absence of any of
these three factors (Pratyaks'a, Anuma'na, A'gama) the
existence of any object is jeopardised. There was a
materialist philosopher named Mahars'i Ca'rva'ka in India.
Ca'rva'ka was of the opinion that Pratyaks'a Prama'na' is
the only Prama'n'a and no other Praman'a is to be accepted.
He advocatedPratyaks'aeka prama'n'ava'ditaya' anuma'na'de
Anaungiikaren'a prama'n'abha'va't. i. e., Pratyaks'a alone
is a Prama'n'a. Did he not accept the existence of air ? The
air remains invisible to the eyes.
The next one is Vikalpa. "Shabdagun'a' Iupa'tii
Vastushunyah Vikalpah." Suppose you are going to Varanasi.
When you come near Varanasi you say Varanasi has come, but
really Varanasi did not come - it continued existing where
it was, but you yourself came to Varanasi. Then Viparyaya.
Mithya'ji*na'namatadrupaprtis'tha'm.' You generally say that
the house of a particular gentleman is in the heart of a
town, Himalaya is at the head of India. Can there be heart
of a town of India ? Still you speak like that. The mistakes
in Vikalpa and Viparyaya are occurring all the time. The
next one is Nidra', one of the main propensities.
'Abha'vapratyaya',Iambaniivrttih Nidra'. Nidra (sleep) is a
propensity which brings vacuity in mind. In human beings the
propensity that brings forth blankness is itself Nidra'.
Suppose, you are resting on your bed. Your eyes are on the
watch, you fall sleep, but when you get up, you fail to say
at what moment actually you slept. Between sleeping and
rising things occurred of which you are ignorant. There was
vacuum, neither you were seeing anything nor hearing
anything. This state of vacuity is Nidra'.
The last one is Smrti. Smrti is
"Anu'bhutavis'aya'sampramos'ah Smrtih. The inferential
vibration (Ta'nma'trika Spandana) comes to your nerves.
Sympathetic vibrations are transmitted to the ectoplasmic
stuff which takes the shape of the object. Suppose you are
capable of creating an object in your ectoplasmic stuff :
that is known as Smrti. So these are the five main
propensities. All the other propensities are dependent on
these five propensities. And Yoga is suspension of
propensities. Mostly all the Vrttis are Klis't'a' Vrttis.
Klis't'a means that which invariably begets pain. There are
four divisions of the Vrttis - Klis't'a' Vrtti, Aklis't'a'
Vrtti, Klis't'a'Klis't'a' Vrtti, and Aklis't'a' Klis't'a'
Vrtti. Klis't'a' Vrtti is one that begets pain in following
it. Its resultant is also painful. Suppose you are going
somewhere. If the road is bad you are troubled and if the
road leads to a desert the destination is also painful. This
is Klis't'a' Vrtti. Take another example. A thief goes out
for stealing on a stormy and cold night. While going out he
undergoes suffering. Suppose he is caught by the police, the
end also is painful. The next one is Aklis't'a' Vrtti. This
Vrtti neither begets pain at the beginning nor at the end.
Take for instance the case of a Sa'dhaka with devotion.
While performing sa'dhana' he does not get pain and at the
end too he gets no pain. This is Aklis't'a' Vrtti. The third
one is Klis't'aklis't'a' Vrtti. While moving on there is
much pain but when you reach your destination there is no
pain. While moving on a stony path you feel troubled but
when you reach a beautiful park you are quite happy. In
sa'dhana' also there are kinks in which one feels trouble
but the result is quite pleasing. It is painful to do some
difficult a'sanas but when the disease is cured it gives
pleasure. The next one is Aklis't'aklis't'a'. In the
beginning it is pleasing and at the end it is painful. A
bribe-taker is quite happy at the beginning but if caught by
the anti-corruption department, it is humiliating. Whatever
the Vrttis be (Klis't'a' Vrtti, Aklis't'a' Vrtti,
Klis't'alklis't'a' Vrtti, and Aklis't'aklis't'a' Vrtti), all
depend on the nature of a person. Where the goal is
Parama'tman that Vrtti is very pleasing at the end
(Aklesa'ntika). But where the goal is matter the end will
definitely be painful (Klesa'ntika). So "Yogashcittavrtti
Nirodhah. If the main propensities are controlled, the
subsidiary ones will automatically be controlled. What is
Yoga according to Tantra ? Tantra defines Yoga as "Samyoga
Yoga Ityukto Jiiva'tma' Parama'tmanah". The unification of
Jiiva'tman with Parama'tman is termed Yoga. What is
Parama'tman and Jiiva'tman ? The moon in the sky is like
Parama'tman and its reflection in the pond is Jiiva'tman.
How to unify Jiiva'tman with Parama'tman ? When the moon in
the sky reaches the moon in the pond then there is oneness
between the two. The reflection of Parama'tman on unit mind
is Jiiva'tman. When the mind reaches Parama'tman both
Jiiva'tman and Parama'tman become one. This is the
explanation of Yoga according to Tantra. The word 'Yoga' is
derived from the root verb 'Yuj' and suffix 'Ghain'. In
Sam'skrta there are two similar root-verbs : 'Yuj' and
another: 'Yunj'. 'Yuj' means to unite, 'Yunj' means to
unify. Arithmetical addition, mixing sugar with sand is
unity, but the mixture of sugar with water is unification.
Where there is unification both the entities merge into one
and they cannot be separated. Now what is the role of
devotion in Yoga ? Yoga means 'Cittavrttinirodha' or merger
of Jiiva'tman into Parama'tman. Where propensities are
controlled the nerves are made to stop their functioning by
forced physical energy. Not only the nerve fibres but also
the nerve cells are made to stop their functioning. When the
function is stopped there is no ectoplasmic vibration. If
this is done the mind stops its functions. When the mental
actions are stopped there is temporary control of the
propensities. This forced control is known as Hat'ha Yoga.
Hat'ha means Balena - by force. Therefore that is not
actually Vrttinirodha. Really speaking, the workings of
nerve cells, nerve fibres being stopped, the working of mind
is also stopped. This is what happens when one becomes
senseless. Therefore that is not Yoga - Hat'ha Yoga is not
Yoga. In Yoga one has to do Vrtti nirodha, and for Vrtti
nirodha one has to withdraw one's mind from the crude
objects and direct it towards Parama'tman, then only
suspension of propensities is possible. There has to be a
goal without which suspension is not possible. In the
Ta'ntrik definition it is quite clear, "Sam'yoga Yogo
Ityukto Jiiva'tma'-Parama'tmanah' -- the Jiiva'tman has to
be merged into Parama'tman. The goal has been fixed here. In
the practice of yoga Sa'dhakas elevate Jaevii Shakti Kula
Kun'd'alini ( coiled serpentine ) and merge it into
Parama'tma'. As the Kula Kun'd'alinii crosses various plexii
the spiritual aspirant achieves Siddhis at the various
stages of Yoga. The kula kun'd'alini can be raised only when
the Sa'dhaka has a longing for Parama'tman. When humans will
desire to merge Jaevii Shakti (unit consciousness) with
Shiva Shakti (Cosmic Consciousness) the Kula Kun'd'alinii
will be elevated. Only when the longing to be one with
Parama'tman is intense will the Kula Kun'd'alinii rise up.
When the Kundalinii is in the crudest stage it is in the
Mu'la'dha'ra plexus. When by dint of Sa'dhana' the Kula
Kun'd'alini comes to Sva'dhis't'hana Cakra, the Sa'dhaka
feels that he himself and Parama'tman are in the same world.
"Though He is far, yet He is visible. One day I will reach
Him." This is Sa'lokya Sama'dhi. When the Kun'da'linii will
rise up in Sa'lokya Sama'dhi how can it be effected in the
absence of devotion? In the absence of devotion it is not
possible to take Jiiva'tman to Parama'tman. Even the
awakening (Nidra'tya'ga) of Kula Kun'd'alinii is not
possible in absence of devotion. Knowledge, education,
learning - all will fail if devotion is not there. Futile
will become the Yoga of a Yogi who is devoid of Bhakti. When
Bhakti is there even if one is devoid of knowledge and
learning, one will be a Maha'yogii as he will be established
in Yoga. When devotion develops still more Kula Kun'd'alini
reaches Man'ipura Cakra. This state is known as Sa'miipya
Sama'dhi. The Sa'dhaka who has attained this stage will have
a feeling that Parama'tman is near him. Where there is no
devotion there cannot be the elevation of Kulaku'n'dalinii
to this stage. They may be Ha'tha yogiis but they will not
achieve Parama'tman. When devotion will increase still more
there will be Sa'yujya Sama'dhi. Such Sa'dhakas will feel
that they are close to Paramatman. How is this possible
without devotion? Without devotion one cannot go to
Parama'tman as one does not want to go to Parama'tman. What
to speak of this, if devotion is not there, one will not go
to Parama'tman even if called for by Him i.e., without
devotion nothing is possible. If there is further increase
in devotion then that stage is known as Sa'rupya Sama'dhi.
In Sa'rupya, Sama'dhi there will be oneness of the Sa'dhaka
with Parama'tman. The Sa'dhaka will feel that he himself is
his goal -- he and Parama'tman are one. When devotion is
intense this stage is obtained. If not : A'sana mare kya'
hua'jo gait na man kii a'sh Jyon kolhu ke baele son ghara
hii kosh pacash. The ox in the country oil mill moves all
day long but does not march forward. It simply revolves
round the pillar. Such is the case with a Yoga without
devotion. When Kun'd'alini reaches A'jina Cakra with the
devotion made stronger, this stage is Sa'rst'hi Sama'dhi.
This means that the Sa'dhaka and Paramatman are not two
entities but one. Sa'rst'hi is the zenith point of devotion.
The stage where even the 'I' feeling is lost (i. e.
Bekhudii) is Kaevalya. The supreme status of Yoga is
Kaevalya, Nirgun'a'sthiti (non-qualified state). The supreme
state of devotion too is the supreme state. This proves that
a Yogi cannot move even a step further without devotion.
Yoga without devotion is as good as a goldsmith without
gold. Unfortunate is the Yogi who is bereft of devotion. You
will have to do Sa'dhana' of Jinana and Karma. By doing
simply A'sana and Pra'na'ya'ma, the Supreme Entity cannot be
attained. The most important thing is devotion. One who is
completely illiterate can attain God whereas even a triple
M.A. may not.
What is Jina'na ? The effort to feel the presence of
Parama'tman in all the objects is Jina'na Sa'dhana. People
perform spiritual practice to realise that Parama'tman
exists in all the objects. He is not only in all the
objects, rather all the objects are He. The attainment in
Jina'na Sa'dhana becomes possible when one realises that all
the objects are Parama'tman. And what is Karma Sa'dhana'? In
the physical world everybody has the potentiality to work,
but rarely a person utilises his cent-percent potentiality
for Karma. Even the greatest reformer utilises about 10 % of
his potentiality and 90% remains unutilised. Only with the
utilisation of 10% he could become so great, but if he would
have utilised all his potentialities one could not have even
imagined his greatness. Karma Sa'dhana' is work done more
for others and less for oneself. Generally people remain
engaged in their own works and for others they devote only 5
or 10 minutes. This sort of tendency is an animal tendency.
One who works only for one's own self is an animal but one
who works for others is really great. When people render no
service to themselves but do only for others they are known
as Karmasiddha. So through Jina'na and Karma, Bhakti is
aroused and for the arousal of Bhakti both jina'na and karma
are needed. Bear in mind that the Sadhana of jina'na and
karma are to be done but the sadhana of karma has to be more
than that of jina'na. When jina'na is obtained more than
karma done there is possibility of the arousal of vanity
which results in downfall. Abhitna'nam' surapa'nam'gaoravam'
raoravam' dhruvam Pratis'tlha shukariivis't'ha' trayam'
tyaktva' harim' bhajet. When karma is done more than
jina'na, then Bhakti is aroused. When Bhakti is aroused a
Yogi can move further towards Parama'tman, and not before
this. A Yogi depends on Bhakti in toto. Where there is no
Bhakti the heart of a Yogi becomes like a barren desert. The
heart of a Sadhaka is like soil, Is'ta' Mantra the seed and
Bhakti water. Where there are no cool showers of Bhakti
there is no use sowing seed in a desert. So to be an ideal
Yogi is the goal of everyone but one must remember that
Bhakti has to be aroused. Where there is no arousal of
Bhakti the human life becomes futile. One who has Bhakti at
the age of five commands the salutations from a man of
eighty without Bhakti. This is because Bhakti is the
Supreme. Even a great jina'nii like Sham'kara'carya admitted
"Moks'aka'ran'asamagryam' bhaktireva gariiyasii." Therefore
Bhakti is the best of all the means for attaining Moks'a.
Whatever a Sa'dhaka has to do is to be done for the arousal
of Bhakti. He is not the beggar of anything except Bhakti.
When one's Bhakti is once attained one is not a pauper but
an emperor. D.M.C, Anandanagar 1. -66
KNOWLEDGE AND HUMAN PROGRESS
Today's subject of discourse is, "Knowledge and Human
Progress." Knowledge is necessary for any kind of progress.
It is hence necessary to find out what knowledge is. Human
existence is trifarious - There are three elements in them
as composite beings, viz, the physical body, the mental
body, and the spiritual body. The physical body of
individuals shelters the mind and the mind is the reservoir
of all knowledge that a person possesses. Now, what is this
physical body of a human being ? The individual's physical
body is composed of many kos'as, i.e., cells. These cells
are of two kinds - the protozoic cells and the metazoic
cells. Thus all parts of human body are composed of a
combination of these two types of cells. In another sense,
the whole structure of human beings can also be regarded as
one metazoic cell. Each of these cells has a mind. But this
mind is different from the individual's human mind. The
cell-minds are dormant and underdeveloped. Furthermore
metazoic cells are a collective effect of the protozoic
cells. The human mind, too, is composed of these cells. But
the human mind is much more developed. It is the unit
microcosm plus a collection of both the protozoic and the
metazoic cells which make up the individual. Therefore the
human mind is a collective mind. The Macrocosm has a mental
relation with all its parts i e., composites. Similarly, in
the human mind there exists a system of relations between
itself and its components. Thus, the human mind has a direct
relationship with both the protozoic and the metazoic cells
in the individual. But the cells, as a composite part of the
mind, have also a collective relation with it. I had said
earlier that every unit cell has a mind. The unit protozoic
mind is instinctive. And because of the above mentioned
relation, instinct comes in human beings. These cells are
made by the food and drink that we consume. And so in the
ultimate effect, we can regulate the human mind by
regulating human diet. These two types of cells compose
different parts of human body. Or in other words, different
portions of the body are composed of different collections
of two types of cells mentioned. So in each of these
portions a collective mind is created and that portion works
through its commands, irrespective of whether or not the
whole human mind affects it. This collective mind of a
portion of the body is possible because, as said earlier,
every cell has a unit mind no matter how undeveloped, for
without this there would be no reproduction, movement, sound
or reflection in the cell. The individual human being
virtually becomes an animal when his mind comes
predominantly under the influence of the unit minds or the
collective minds of these protozoic and metazoic cells. This
is because these cell-minds are undeveloped like animals.
However, when the human collective mind dominates in an
individual he begins to act more like a devata'. Hence, you
should strive to achieve this condition. The explanation of
this is in the fact that the protozoic and metazoic mind
(i.e., your own mind) is threefold: partly psycho-physical,
partly psychic and partly psycho-spiritual. What happens
when a man dies ? Death results in the loss of any physical
relationship between the human mind and the human body (
i.e., the protozoic & metazoic cells and their minds). The
nerves are dead. Therefore, the mind, on the physical death
of the individual, does not remember anything physical. It
is for this reason that we hold the Shra'ddha ceremony to be
useless and meaningless. This also explains the English
saying: out of sight, out of mind. But the longing for the
Macrocosm is psycho-spiritual in character and therefore
your mind is engaged in it even after the death of your
physical body.
What then is knowledge ? The protozoic mind is guided
by instinct and its sole concern and relation is with the
physical body. Hence a protozoic cell does not know of its
existence but it displays reproduction, movement, sound and
reflexes. The born criminal who is guided by the collective
effort of so many protozoic cell-minds will not rise in
action, understanding, and appetite to anything higher than
physicality. Intellectual and spiritual values will not
appeal to him. That is why the effect of mere physical
culture is never good. The metazoic mind, on the other hand,
is not solely concerned with the physical. It is also
physico-psychic in nature. Human collective mind too has the
element of the physico-psychic more than the purely
physical. This is because it has more metazoic cells. But
the human mind as a whole is much more complex than even the
metazoic mind. It is a collective mind being a collection of
: (a) The mind's own collective mind (b) the protozoic minds
in various parts of the body (c) the metazoic minds in
various parts of the body. The protozoic mind, being a
physical mind, is impervious to knowledge. On the other hand
the metazoic mind is the receptacle of knowledge because it
is mostly physico-psychic and to a very little extent
psycho-spiritual. Physico-psychic knowledge is the
subjectivisation of external objectivity which may be
physical, psychic or spiritual. In other words, knowledge is
not sterile. It consists in the recognition of some
objective matter and action done accordingly. Such
knowledge, in practice is born out of a clash of instincts.
From different kinds of physico-psychic knowledge and from
psychic knowledge is born the next higher form of knowledge
- the psycho-spiritual. In practice, a developed man has all
these types of knowledge in some measure. The stage and
amount of human development corresponds to the type of
knowledge that is predominantly held by his mind. A living
being with psychic knowledge alone is a complete person.
However, his natural thirst cannot be quenched by psychic
knowledge alone because it comes from the source of
physico-psychic knowledge which is unsatisfactory. It is
limited by the relative factors of time, space, and person.
For example, if you take up a geography book printed 30
years ago you will learn from it that Lahore was the capital
of the Punjab. This knowledge will prove to be wrong today.
Similarly, limitations of space or person can be equally
grave. If psychic knowledge does not satisfy us because of
its defective source, the only way would be to acquire
knowledge from sources which are independent of the
limitations of time, space and person. What is this A'tma' ?
The individual will, therefore, try to acquire psychic
knowledge from A'tma'. In other words, the individual should
make the Cosmic his object and then subjectivise it. This
would generate psycho-spiritual knowledge which would be
more satisfactory. Following this process, a phase would
come closer. But at this stage we find an opposite position;
the individuals are trying to become the subject and He is
the object. Therefore, if you have to proceed further you
will have to set this right by always taking the bha'va that
Parama'tma' is seeing you, and not vice-versa which is
impossible. This is the correct process of Dhya'na. When
your mind will develop the knowledge that Parama'tma' is
watching us all the time, you will be in dhruva' smrti. Here
psycho-spiritual knowledge will be converted into spiritual
knowledge. At this stage, object, subject and
objectivisation will merge in one. Here there will be no
blending of relativity. Here human progress would come to
its end. What do we then conclude ? We see that physical
knowledge has negligible importance in human progress; that
the importance of the various kinds of knowledge increases
in an ascending order. Physico-psychic knowledge has more
importance than mere physical knowledge. Without psychic
knowledge man is not a complete man. Spirituo-psychic
knowledge is absolute knowledge. It is the maximum evolution
of Bhakti. This would mean that mere intellectual knowledge,
in the long run, hardly contributes to the final end of
human progress.
( D.M.C. Delhi, 18/11/66 )
SUBHASITA SAM(;RAHA Pin-19
@j I
SHRII SHRU ANANDAMURT)
All rights reserved by
Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha (Central)
Tiljala, Calcutta-39
1st Edition-January, 1992
Published by : Acarya Krsnatmananda Avadhata (
Publication Secretary ) Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha
Tiljala, Calcutta-39
Translated from the original Bengali by
Acarya Vijayananda Avadhuta
Price Rs. 15/- only
Printed by : Acarya Piiyfiiananda Avadb6t& ANANDA
PRINTERS Tiijai', caicutta-39 a
CONTENTS
Salvation and Devotion I Parama Purusha 12 Triangle of
Force and the Supreme Entity- 25 M,iyi nnd MokSSa 35
Desideratum of Human Life 40 Spiritual Cult : Progress from
Crudest Matter to Subtlest Entity- 48 Knowledge and Progress
- 60 Live Without Fear - 70 The Science of Spirituality - 72
The Path of Salvation - 80 The Supreme Aesthetic Science and
the Cult of Devotion- 89
SALVATION AND DEVOTION
The subject of today's discourse is "Salvation and
Devotion." According to the convention of the Sha'stra, in
the name of the preceeding subject, the term 'salvation'
should be kept in the latter portion. From that view point
the name of the subject should be "Devotion and Salvation."
But I have used first the term 'devotion' because,
experienced persons say that salvation loses its lustre
before devotion. The devotees know well that one who has
devotion in one's hand has salvation at one's command.
Salvation can be attained any moment, but devotion is
something precious, priceless. That is why I have put the
term 'devotion' in the latter portion. Devotion is like the
philosopher's stone and salvation can be likened with gold.
One who has got this stone in one's possession can make gold
at any moment. There is a story about it. Once Rim and
Laks'man were going across the Ganges. When they crossed the
river by boat, the boatman found his vessel converted into
gold. He conveyed this news to his wife who brought all her
wooden belongings to the bank and converted them into gold
with the magic touch of Rain's feet. Thereupon the boatman
asked his wife why she was wasting her time and energy by
carrying her belongings to the bank instead of bringing
those feet into her house. The man then did this. She
received from Ra'mji four fruits which satisfied both wife
and husband. Laks'ip-an came later and when he was asked to
give something, he gave one fruit.
2 SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRAHA
The four fruits given by Ra'm were Ka'iiia, At-tha,
L'harma and Moks'a. Fulfilment of materialistic desires is
called Ka'ma, the fulfilment of psychic desire is Arilia ;
fulfilment of pyscho-spiritual desire is Dhorlla and the
fulfilment of spiritual desire is Moks'a. Laks'man said
thereupon to the couple that the fruits given by his elder
brother could not be digested without the fruit given by
him. The fruit given by young Laks'man was 'devotion'. That
is why devotees say that 'devotion' is a precious thing ;
it's the touch stone.
What is Mukti or salvation ? In Sanskrit the word has
been derived from the root verb Much, meaning, liberation
from bondages--Bandhanam Muchyate Mukti. Where there is
bondage there comes the question of liberation. Where there
is no bondage there is no question of liberation. How many
are these bondages ?
There are numerous limitations in the physical and
psychic bodies of human beings. These limitations are
temporal, spatial and personal. The liberation from these
three bondages is called salvation. There cannot be
liberation in the sphere of physical and psychic bondages.
Permanent liberation can be had only in the spiritual realm.
When one becomes free from spiritual bondages all miseries,
and pains vanish away. What does the term Mukti Sadhana'
connote ? It is an effort to be free from spiritual
bondages, which are deeply related with the psychic
bondages. Whenever one performs any action its reaction
remains potentially with A'tma' and so long as the reactive
momenta
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
dwells with A'tma', there is no possibility of
liberation from spiritual bondages.
Actional bondages remain until one attains liberation.
Good action becomes the cause of good reaction. Both good
and bad are the cause of action and bondages. The bondage of
good action can be likened with a chain of gold, and that of
bad action with a chain of iron. But both are bondages.
Whether the cage is made of gold or iron is no difference
for a bird--both are bondages for it. One has to attain
liberation from these actional bondages. The term salvation
connotes liberation from these actional bondages.
Now how to get liberation from these bondages ? It's
possible only when the reactive momenta get exhausted, and
this is possible only through Sa'dhana'. When one walks in
the sphere of actional bondages one's movement is from
subtle to crude. The Sa'dhana' for liberation from bondages
is a movement from crude to subtle. The 'Saincara' process
is a movement from the supreme positivity to the supreme
negativity, a flow from fundmental negativity to fundamental
positivity. But, what is this movement for? This movement is
for the exhaustion of actional bondages. It is movement from
darkness to light and truth. One has to march towards truth.
Salyameva jayate na'nrtani satyenah pantha' vitato
,devaya'na. This is the Sa'dhana' of liberation and this is
not possible without 'Diks'a'. if one walks in darkness
4 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
one needs a torch otherwise one will fall down in a
ditch. Similarly one walking on the path of Sa'dhana" needs
this torch, otherwise however strong one may be, downfall
will be inevitable. The Sanskrit synonym for the word torch
is Diipaka or Diipanii. The first letterof Diipaka is 'Dii'
and the first letter of the word Ks'aya is 'Ks'a' Thus comes
the masculine word Diik-s'a. In feminine it is Diiks'a.
Diiks'a' is essential for the exhaustion of actional
momenta. This is the Sa'dhana' of liberation. To learn is
the Sa'dhana' of knowledge. To walk on the path i. e., to do
regular practices is the Sa'dhana' of action. Last but not
the least is devotion--the culminating point of Moksa
Sa'dhatia'. What is Bhakti ? The word Bhakti has been
derived from the root verb Bhaj and suffix kta. The very
Bha'va that whatever I will do I do to impart bliss to
Parania tma' is devotion. What is knowledge ? (Sa@i,at;i
jina'nanianantaiii Brahiiiah). Parama'tma' is the embodiment
of knowledge. Every particle of the universe is the
manifestation of Parama'tma'. This is the essence of
knowledge. What is the Sa'dliana' of knowledge ?' When one
starts realising that every mundane objectivity is the
manifestation of Parama'tma' one comes from the sphere of
theory to practice. The realisation that the universe is the
manifestation of Parama'tma is Siddhi or achievement in
Jina'n Sa'dhana". What does the term Karma Sadhana' i.e. the
Sa'dliana' of action connote? What is the Siddhi i. e.
attain
SUBHA'S'ITA SAMGRAHA 5
ment of Karma Sa'dhana' ?-(Karma' Brahmheti Karma Vahu
Kurviita). To serve every mundane object thinking it to be
the manifestation of Parama'tma' is Karma i. c. the
Sa'dhana' of action. What is the achievement (Siddlzi) of
Karma Sa'dhana' ? It is generally found that an average
person spends more than twelve or fourteen hours in thinking
about his or her own self. But the moment one starts
thinking about the universe, one becomes a Karma Saldhaka.
When one starts spending all one's time in thinking for the
universe, taking one self to be a bubble in the ocean of
Karma, one gets Siddhi in Kari'ia Sa'dhana'- A person is a
part of the universe, and when one starts serving the
universe, one is also automatically included among the
served. Whatever is done is done only to please Parama'tma'.
This is called devotion. One has to serve the universe with
this ideation. In the beginning due to 'Sam'skara' there is
a feeling of doership. But when gradually the accumulated
momenta i.e. 'Sam'skaras' start being exhausted, one starts
questioning the source of one's energies and capacities. Are
they really one's own possesions or creations ? Even the
strongest of wrestlers becomes frail and is unable to speak
if he or she does not eat for a couple of days. The
scholarship of a scholar vanishes in the thin air if you
keep him or her without food for a week. Meaning thereby,
all your knowledge, intellect, capacity and valour, are
dependent on Him. That is why there is nothing for a human
being to be proud of. The moment one understands this, one
is ensconsed in devotion and then alone will one be able to
realise that
6 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
one is working according to the wish of Parama'tma'
with all one's capacities. This is the sign and feeling of a
staunch devotee. How does a Jitia'nii feel '? He or she
thinks that since the universe is the manifestation of
Para'matma' one should serve it. But they themselves will
not take pains to jump into the realm of action. Sitting on
the shore, they will issue only 'phatwa.' Such logician
philosopher's, have got no connection with the actional
world Va'k Vaekharii shabdajharii Shalstravyakhyana
Kaoshalam, Vaedusliya i Vidusani, Tadvat bhuktaye na tu
muktaye, Only big and euphemistic words can't serve
humanity. This is only a word trammel in which one entangles
oneself. Such persons knowingly or unknowingly throw
themselves away from the path of salvation. On the other
hand those Karma Yogins who always, always engross
themselves with action and work only for the sake of work
enmesh themselves in the trammel of action. Such action is
really a bondage. What is the way out of bondage? It has
been said in the Upanisads: Iisha'va'shyamidain' sarvam,
Yatkincajagatyamjagat. Tena tyaktena bhunjiitha', Ma'grdhah
kasyasiddhanam. Action performed for the sake of action is
bondage. As the Jina'na of a Jina'nii is the cause of
bondage if it is not mingled with devotion, similarly,
devoid
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 7
of the celestial touch of devotion, the action of a
Karmi (one who performs action) cannot be helpful in
attaining liberation. Now let us think about devotion. As
explained earlier the ideation that whatever I do, I do only
to please Parama'tma' is called devotion--Bhaktirbhagavato
Seva'. Devotion is service to God. When devotees serve the
universe they do it with the feeling that they are serving
the manifestation of Na'ra'yon'a ONLY to please Him. One has
to serve, but not only for the sake of service. The
direction of Jina'nii is not working here, nor Karma for the
sake of Karma. The experience of a devotee is quite
independent. It is that they are serving Na'ra'yan'a and
none else. One of knowledge tries to attain Parama'tma' by
dint of knowledge, but despite being one of knowledge one
behaves like a knave. The reason is quite apparent and
palpable. The brain of such a person is quite small and he
can't be measured by such a brain and its weak stamina.
Karmiis also forget that the source of their stamina and
vitality is not their own. Thus a secret feeling of ego also
resides in the mind of a Karmii and this becomes a great
hurdle in the path of the realisation of Parama'tma'. Those
who are the greatest malpractitioners in their tender age
are not able to do anything in their senility, because their
capacities are decayed. Why do such learned people behave
like illiterate boors after becoming senile ? Does their
intellect lose stamina and lustre? Jina'nis and Karmiis lose
their prestige after reaching old age, but devotees are
never insulted. Those who really want to save their
8 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRARA
prestige should adopt devotion. Devotees always think
that everything, whatever belongings they have are
Parma'tma's and they are utilising them only to please Him.
They will serve Him with the intellect and stamina bestowed
upon them by their Beloved. When these things will be
snatched away they will serve the Lord with whatever will
remain. When nothing remains they will come to the Lord and
ask for further work. This is called devotion.
Those who beg from Parama'tma' for this or that are
not devotees, because they want service from Him. Devotees
are those who ask Parama'tma' to utilise their services at
His feet. Devotion is service to God--Bhaktir Bhagavato
Seva'.
There are numerous propensities in the human mind.
Chiefly they are fifty in number. The majority among them
are subsidiary propensities. Where the propensities tend
toward mundane longing they are called subsidiary
propensities. But where they are engaged in the service of
Parama'tma' they are called main propensities. The latter
are awakened by 'Sambit' with the grace of Parama'tma'.
Suppose people are running after the subsidiary propensities
i. e. for name, fame, prestige etc. One fine morning the
consciousness of their present condition dawns upon their
psychic horizon and they start feeling miserable about their
state. This is called 'Sambit'. Main propensities are
aroused by this 'Sambit' and one starts marching towards
Parama'tma'. All other propensities are subsidiary.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 9
You know there are different divisions in properties :
(a) Klis't'a' (b) Aklis't'a' (c) Klis't'a'klis't'a' (d)
Aklis't'a'klis't'a' The propensities that become the cause
of pain in the beginning as also in the end are called
Klis't'a'. Suppose, for instance, someone is travelling
without a ticket. There is a heavy rush in the train.
Naturally he will have to undergo suffering and
inconvenience. If the checking staff come, another misery
befalls. So here the pain is in the beginning and also in
the end. This action of his is Klis't'a' vrtti. Suppose one
sits in the first class having the ticket of the third
class. The journey is naturally comfortable. This is
Aklis't'a'. But if the checking staff comes a painful
situation emerges. The journey started with ease and ended
in pain. This is A'klis't'a'klis't'a'. A student busy in
studies has to abandon all sorts of pleasures and comforts.
But at last when the result comes out he or she finds his or
her name in the list of successful candidates Thus in the
beginning there is pain but the end comes with the shower of
happiness. This is called 'Klis't'a'klis't'a'.' Klis't'a',
Klis't'a'klis'l'a' and Aklis't'aklis'ta' are subsidiary
propensities. Aklis't'a' when the pain is neither in the
beginning nor in the end, is the main propensity or the
Mukhya vi-itti, and this is the path of devotion.
Aklis't'aklis't'a is the path of knowledge and
10 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
action and Aklis't'a' is the path of devotion. This
Aklis't'a' only is the main propensity of the gland and the
rest are of subsidiary glands. When the main propensities
are aroused by the grace of Param'atma' one becomes a
devotee. Devotion is not a sa'dhatia, butan attainment. For
a devotee : Bhakti bhagavato seva" bhaktir prema svarupini,
Bhakfirananda rupa'ca bhaktit bhaktasyajiivanani. What is
love ? That which makes mind soft and so strong and
strenuous as it may keep itself in a balanced state even in
the condition of pain, and creates perpetually a pleasant
feeling within, is called love. Devotion is identical with
love. They are invariably related with each other. The
moment devotion is aroused, love for God comes.
Devotion is bliss incarnate. What is bliss or A'nanda
? Where pleasure and pain both are in equipoise we call it
the state of A'nanda. Sukham A'nantam A'nal'dam i.e.
infinite bliss is called A'nanda. Whatever may be the
propensities--main or subsidiary--they become part and
parcel of the life of a person adhering to them. If one
doing the worship of money loses the object of worship, will
one be able to withstand the shock ? One will die out of the
pain of loss. Those who adore name and fame will also die
the moment their prestige is spoiled. They may commit
suicide. Similarly for a devotee; devotion is life. The end
of devotion is the death of the devotee. That is why the
devotee says to the Lord-Lord! I don't want anything, but if
you want to Leave
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 11 me anything, give me Paran'a
Bhaktii ( The highest kind of devotion ). I want only
devotion and nothing else. The Sa'dhakas who love God for
the attainment of bliss are also strong ones, but they are
not great ones. They may be strong devotees but not great
ones. Only those Sa'dhakas are great devotees who do not aim
simply on attaining bliss but work for giving bliss to
Para'matma. Devotees render services to the people because
they know in the heart of their hearts, that the universe is
the manifestation of Parama'tma'. Every mundane creature is
the progeny of Parama'tma'. If one will do service to the
people it will be tantamount to please Parama'tma'. A
devotee performs Sa'dhana" only because Parama'tma' wants
this. Thus a devotee performs sa'dhana' only to please
Parana'tma'. Such persons are called Gopa. Gopayate ya sah
Gopah i.e. one who imparts bliss to Parama'tma'is Gopa. [
D.,V.C. Botiibay-14-10-66
PARAMA PURUS'A
Today's subject of discourse is "Parama Purus'a." What
is Purus'a ? Purus'a means 'Pure Shete Yah Sah Purus'ah' or
'Purasi Shete Yah Sah Purus'ah'. The Sanskrit word Pura
means settlement or township (Na gara ). Therefore the
entity which lies covert in each and every microcosmic
structure is called Purus'a. It means that this quiescent
entity or Purus'a lies hidden in each and every microcosm
but doesn't perform any action. In the definition 'Purasi
Shete Yah Sah Purus'ah', Purasi means "in front of" or
"before." As in the sentence Purasi Hitaml Kat-oti Ya Sah
Purohitah' which means Purohila is one who moves in front of
you to promote your welfare. One special attribute of
Purus'a is that He always moves ahead of the microcosms.
Whatever may be the speed of the microcosms, Purus'a is
faster and so He is always ahead of them. "Purusah Akarta
Phalasa'ks'iibhu'tah Bha'vakendrasthitah Gun'ayantrakashca."
'Purus'ah Akarta'. The word 'Akarta' has been used in
connection with Parama Purus'a. Why Akarta' ? When in a
solid body a force operates in that special state the force
is termed as 'energy'. Action, or something that involves a
changing of place, is originated by energy. Action, either
physical or mental, is effected only because of the vitality
in your body. During the state of ill health you will find
that you cannot think for a long duration. It is only
because of the lack of vitality.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 13.
Doership is the Operative Principle, not Purusa's.
Therefore, 'Purus'ah Akarta". 'Phalasa'ks'iibhu'lah'. Now
let us see what is Phalava'ksii'bhu'tah. Put-us'a is
acquainted with all that is done by an entity. Whatever the
unit mind performs is known to unit consciousness at once
i.e. whatever your mind does is known to your Altma' at
once. Today's discourse however is about Parama Purus'a, not
about Jiiva'tma' or Jiivapurus'a. External activity is the
actual expression of whatever you think on your psychic
plane. So, whatever your mind is acquainted with, is done by
your mind and hence your A'tma' comes to know it. To what
extent does your A'tma' maintain its witnessing capability ?
Unit consciousness is Karmvphala bhokta', i.e. whatever
action--vice or virtue, is performed by your mind has its
impression on Jiiva'tma' and the impression of the actions
on Jiiva'tma' is at once conveyed to, Parama'tma'. Whatever
action the Cosmic Mind does, that is not really action
because everything is internal. But whatever the unit mind
performs is both internal as well as external. For instance,
if a desire for stealing is aroused in one's mind, that can
be internal when you don't translate the same into action
i.e. mental stealing can have external expression or it may
remain in the psychic plane itself. But whatever the Cosmic
Mind does is all internal, totally within His mental arena,
there is nothing external for Him--all is within Him.
Whatever He does, He does within Himself i.e. without your
knowledge. For example He steals away your mind, your
A'tma'. One
14 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
fine morning you will find that you have lost your
mind. Your mind does not exist as He has stolen it away and
just like a lunatic you begin dancing. How He has managed to
steal it away is a mystery to you. Therefore He does
everything inside Himself--everything is within, nothing
without. Suppose your boss arrives, your superior
arrives-you will welcome him and say, "Please come, take
your seat and have something to eat." You flatter him to the
extent you know, but you say inside yourself, "What a
trouble has arrived ? When will he go ?" This is not known
to your boss. Hence a couple of I's ar.within you--one
performs action in the external world and the other is
within with which you alone are well acquainted but others
are not. Saldhana', therefore, is to unify the two into
one--the internal I and the external I. Twoness in one
simultaneous personality is a disease. The more the gap
between these two Is, the more you will undergo psychic
torment. You must remember that in this second half of the
20th Century people are feeling much gap in between their
internal I and external I. Because of the trouble in
adjusting these two I's there is an increase in mental
illnesses. This is the greatest disease in the 20th century.
As regards Parama Purus'a there is no double personality.
Everything is internal. The entire world is internal for
Him. That which is external world for you is internal for
Him. Whatever you think or do in your mind is also internal
for Him. He enters your internal world, your mind and you
don't know that He has entered i.e., He will steal away your
mind and you will not know.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 1 5
A person too wants that Parama'tma' should steal away
his mind. Therefore I remember to have told you that one of
His names is Ma'khanacora (Butter thief). Generally one says
to God to come to him but actually God is already with
him--He is simply unable to see Him. A Sa'dhaka may think
with his conscious mind that when God appears before him, he
will surrender completely to Him. In the most interior
corner of his mind, however he feels that when God appears
before him, he will certainly surrender to Him, but he will
also seek God's help for relieving the asthama from which he
has been suffering badly. God, who is in the most interior
corner of his mind, even knows this. Then He will not hear
anything.
He will steal away the A'tman of a person and his mind
will not know it, Therefore, He is named Ma'khanacot'a. As
the cream is the essence of milk so is the A'tman of the
body. He steals away the A'tman, so He is Ma'khanacora. Why
Purus'a is Akart'a ? Action results when in the physical
body vital force operates. Energy will not work away from
material structure. It will always work from within. For
Java there is action, and also for Prakrti. Prakrti gets the
action done, but Parama Purus'a is actionless.
'Phalasa'ks'iibhu'tah'. Whenever a person performs some
action there is an accompanying reaction. Action means
creation of reaction also. For instance, if you throw a
stone in a haphazard way, that will certainly have a result.
Where there is action there is reaction. Both
16 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
action and reaction take place in His Cosmic Body (
Bhu'ma' Shariira ). He immediately knows about the action
performed by a person and its reaction too. But Parama
Purusa' is not the enjoyer of the reactions.
Dva' suparn'a' sayuja' sakha'ya' saiiia'nam'
vrks'an?'se parisasi-aia'teTayoraiyyah pipi7alai?i'
sva'dvattyaliashnantialyo bhiica'kashiiti.
Two birds with beautiful plumage are seated on the
same tree. One of them is tasting the sweet fruits of the
tree, whereas the other is just looking on. The bird tasting
the fruits is likened to jiiva'tman or unit consciousness.
The bird which looks on without tasting the fruits, but
which watches the other bird eating the fruits, is likened
to Pai,ama'tinaii, the Supreme Consciousness. The tree i.e.,
the body of a human being, has both jiivatinan, which is
ka;-i7iopahata or that which receives the impression of all
that the person does, and it also has Parama'tina, who is
the witnessing entity of jiit!a'lnian Through Prakrti, the
inherent energy of Purus'a, a human being performs actions
and reaps their consequences. This 'natural' set up has been
arranged by Parama Purus'a. He makes the arrangements for
actions and reactions to occur, therefore He is
Phalasa'ks'ibhu'ta. They say that wherever there is action
there is equal and opposite reaction. But there is one thing
to be borne in mind here. Where there is action, the equal
and opposite reaction takes place only when personal,
temporal and spatial factors remain unchanged. But
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 17
you know that personal, temporal and spatial factors
do not remain unchanged. Just in the next moment time-factor
is changed. If it is an inanimate object there is entitative
change therein. If there is an animate object, the person
remains unchanged but the mentality changes. Therefore, we
do not find the exactly equal and opposite reaction of the
action done. Generally the reaction is enhanced and is not
lessened because the gap in inter-ectoplasmic stuff is
increased for the reaction of an action done. For instance,
you took a loan of rupees 1,0001. When you return the amount
you will have to pay the interest also. You will pay back
Rs. 1020/- or 1030/-. Like-wise, if you have committed some
sin you will be punished a little more than the reaction of
the sin committed. Had the time, space and person remain
unchanged the reaction would also have been the same. So get
it in mind, while doing some thing immoral be prepared to
pay the interest too. It is better not to take a loan, then
alone you will not have to pay the interest. 'Bhavakendra.'
This external world, this expressed world, which you see is
full of action, full of rhythms. This actional world is both
extroversal and introversal for you. There is a world inside
your mind. That is your internal world, and the world which
you see without is the extroversal world. Hence this
internal world for you is ideational and the external world,
actional. But for Parama Purus'a there is nothing like the
extroversal world, all is introversal, and hence for Him
this world is ideational or His thought projection i. e.
this world is
18 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRARA
Samkalpita for Him. Suppose you imagine Jodhpur* in
your mind. This is ideational. But when you see outside, you
find that it is Jaipur*, not Jodhpur. Then you realise that
Jodhpur of your mind is ideational and Jaipur is actual. The
same thing occurs in dream. While you dream you think it to
be a fact because the external world does not exist there.
For Parama Purus'a there is nothing like the extroversal
world ; just as for you when the internal world, which you
take to be true in dream, is actually not there. For Him,
the world exists in His ideation i.e., nothing is
extroversal, rather all is introversal. And His imagination
is called Samkalpa. Hence this world is a Samkalpita world
for Him. There is a difference between Kalpatia and
Samkalpana. Whatever you do in Kalpana is transitory and the
Java concerned is only its enjoyer and none else. God is a
master magician who, by His magic-spell, has created all and
has hidden Himself inside His creation. If at all you want
to know the creation, the trick of the magician, that can
only be done when you join Him and His party. This world is
ideational for Him and this ideational cosmos has Him in its
centre. He is in the centre of this ideational cosmos. He
has to control it. Have you ever seen a fisherman spreading
his fishing net in a river or a tank ? The fisherman does so
and he has to manage the net also. Likewise, He has made the
ideational world which He alone has to manage and
con*Jodhpur and Jaipur are names of towns in India.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 19
trol. He controls the idea, therefore, in common
parlance, He is taken as inactive. If, however, people
steal, rob and are corrupt, will Parama'ltma' say that He is
Akarta' and hence He has got nothing to do with them ? No,
He controls them indirectly through the Gun'as. Actually He
controls the Gun'as which do the actions. Really it is
Parama'-Prakrti that operates. For instance, the commander
orders the soldiers to catch so and so. Who catches ? It is
the soldiers, the power of the soldiers. People see that the
soldier has caught the offender, but the soldier does so
only with the direction of his commander. Hence Parama
Purus'a is just like the commander and Parama Prakrti just
like the soldier. This control over Blia'va Kendra is
Samkalpita Niyantran'a, and He who controls it is named
Krs'n'a. Therefore, there is another name of Parama Purus'a
i.e. Krs'n'a. Krsna means the attractor of this ideational
world. This ideational world is made of ectoplasmic stuff or
by ectoplasmic structure. For Parama Purus'a, the
quinquelemental world is just the crudified form of His
ectoplasm. His mentalstuff is subtler than jiivas, and
therefore contains speed (Gati), light ( Dyuti ) and rhythm
(Chanda), and controls them. The mental stuff of Parama
Purus'a with which the world has been created is something
blissful ( Svarasa ). This very object is named Paramarasa.
The unit mind does all with its mental stuff. Sometimes it
creates money in the mind and seeing the mental bank balance
it feels happy. Sometimes it makes itself a Prime Minister
and feels happy, and sometimes it feels enemies are mentally
beaten and
20 SUBHA'S'ffA SAM'GRAHA
it is over-joyed. All these are done only with an aim
to satisfy its mental hunger, to quench its mental thirst.
Ultimately we see that an individual's mental stuff is
transformed into worldly objects. For the unit mind,whatever
it makes within itself is Vaesayika. It is all directed for
personal pleasure, for material pleasure. The flow of the
ectoplasmic stuff of the jiiva is called Vis'ayarasa and the
flow of Cosmic Mind is Paramarasa. When, even for once, the
unit mind happens to come in contact with Paramarasa, the
material pleasure ( vis'ayrasa ) seems dry and insipid. Just
as one eating vegetables without salt, feels they are
tasteless. But material objects are needed to maintain the
physical existence. The wise make the flow of Vis'ayarasa
parallel to the flow of Paramarasa. They convert the waves
of vis'ayarasa into the waves of Paramarasa. This alone is a
safe way. Krs'n'a is the nucleus of the Paramarasa of
Bha'vaSamudra and the unit minds are like boats in that
Maha'Samudra. As per the rise and fall of Paramarasa of
Parama Purus'a, the unit minds are to rise and fall i.e. as
boats rise and fall with the waves of the ocean. The unit
mind intentionally or unintentionally has to dance according
to the rhythms and waves created by Parama Purus'a. This
they are bound to do, there is no escape. Even if someone
says that he will not dance because he is ashamed of
dancing, really he dances, anyway ; he simply does not know
it. Everybody dances in the Paramarasa-Samudra. The
Vis'ayaraslatmaka Java has to dance. There is no way out,
they are made to dance. This very thing is the Rasa Leila of
Krs'n'a. There is
SUj3l4A'S'l A SAM'G]KAHA 21
difference between Leila' and Kriida'. Kriida' is
causal. Everything in this world of relativity is causal.
But Parama Purus'a is beyond the scope of relativity. Why is
He making the world dance ? Why has He made
Paramarasa-Samudra ? The answer to this cannot be known in
the world of causality. Why Parama'lma' has done something
has no answer because He is beyond the scope of causality.
Hence that which is non-causal, that which is beyond the
scope of causality is Leila'. Whatever Parama'tma' does is
Leila', but what Java does is Kriida'. The wise will do
Kriida' in such a way as to adjust their waves with the
waves of Leila'. They will not try to know why Liila'maya
has done an action. They will simply try to know Liila'maya
Himself. If you cannot know the cause of a trifling thing
like dancing, how can you know the cause of the action of
Liila'maya ? Java has a very small brain and a very small
cranium. It is not possible for it to know the action of
Liila'maya. Suppose someone is an M.A. in 20 subjects. If he
or she is asked suddenly to appear in the M.A. examination,
he will not pass--he will have to read again, then he will
have to appear. This proves that the Java fails even to
succeed in its own Kriida'. So how can it understand the
cause of the Leila' of Liila'maya ? It cannot. The best
approach is to love Him, is to join His party. If there is
true love the Master Magician will certainly make you
understand everything because the more the members of His
party know, the more convenient it is for Him. Hence He is
'Bhavaken drasthitah., There is a particular tune, a
particular rhythm, a
22 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRARA
particular ra'ga, a particular ra'gini, particular
laya and a particular ta'la in the Parainarasa-samudra as
per the vibration projected in the nucleus of the
Paromcrasa. One who gets one acquainted with these does not
like visayarasa, and naturally leaving the Visayarasa, one
goes into Paramarasa. Then the attachment with the ra'ga and
ra'gini of Visayarasa is lessened and one becomes like a
lunatic. People say correctly that Ra'dha, hearing the
melodious tune of the flute of Krs'n'a, started behaving
abnormally. This was due to the bifurcation of the waves of
Visayarasa and then sudden adjustment with the waves of
Parmarasa. When a rural boy comes to the town and sees
cinemas, then he does not like to see Ra'maliia'. He says
"Ra'maliia' is outdated. Cinema is far better." Is it not so
? Likewise, when one comes in contact with the waves of
Paramarasa, the charm of Visayarasa fades away. Wherever
there is wave, there is sound--there is the sound of the
ocean, of the river. The sound of Paramarasa is Krs'n'a's
Mura lidhvani. The sound of the Visayarasa is "Money, more
money, more corn, more vegetables, more bank balance." Don't
you hear this ? The sound of first class first, the sound
for extension after retirement are the sounds of Visayarasa.
The sound for the wedding of the daughter with no expenses
is essentially the sound of Visayarasa. The sound of
Paramarasa is the muralidhvani of Krs'n'a- Hearing this, one
does not appreciate the sound of Visayarasa. Paramapurus'a
is Purusotiam-He is seated in the nucleus of Paramarasa.
Paramapurus'a is 'Gunayantrakashna'. When Guna
SIJ]314A'S'IIA SAM'GP.AHA 23
acts in material body that is known as energy. Energy
is controlled by Prakrti but Prakrti, being the innate
principle of Paramapurus'a, is controlled and guided by Him.
The actions are controlled by Prakrti, but Prakrti is
controlled by Paramapurus'a. Hence Paramapurus'a should
alone be the be-all and end-all- of humans. One must bear it
in mind always that the Visayarasa of the units is encircled
by Paramarasa from all the ten directions. You are never
away from Paramapurus'a. He is always with you and in no
condition you are alone. Since your activity is within
Paramarasa, whatever you think, whatever you do with your
organs is all made known to Paramarasa samudra. Since
Paramarasa samudra knows it, it becomes the duty of
Paramapurus'a as the witrnessing entity to take you to task
as long as you are not mended. I told you, Paramapurus'a is
the creator and operator. His is not a vow to punish you,
but to mend you i.e. whatever He thinks proper for you He
will do, and it is proper for you to let Him do His will.
Parama Purus'a will take care of those who take His shelter.
He will not help those who think that they can take care of
themselves, however, as He lets them do the things on their
own. Therefore, it is told that for Bhaktas, Bhagavana has
special responsibility. It is the duty of Paramapurus'a to
save the prestige of the Bhakta, and the duty of the Bhakta
is to leave everything on Him. Whatever energy is working in
Paramarasa or visavarasa is under Him. Therefore, when once
you develop your love for Him you are not weak, not helpless
and not alone. The victory is with you. Remember
24 SUBHAS'ITA SAM'GRAHA
Him and march ahead-victory will be yours. You have
not to be afraid of the worldly forces. Those who enjoy the
highest force of Paramapurus'a are sure to succeed. Victory
will surely be theirs. Victory to you all. ( Jaipur D.M.C.
July, 1967)
TRIANGLE OF FORCES AND THE SUPREME ENTITY
The Supreme Entity means the Supreme Cognitive
principle. The Cognition is the Supreme Entity and not the
Operative Principle, because this Cognitive Principle is the
Transcendental Entity and the Operative Principle or
Creative Principle is functioning within the jurisdiction of
Consciousness. This universe is the creation of the
operative Principle within the jurisdiction, within the
campus of the Transcendental Entity, of the Cognitive
Principle. When it operates, the Operative Principle creates
something concrete i.e. the Consciousness is transmitted
into abstract and abstract is metamorphosed into the
quinquenmental entity, then that Operative Principle is
called the Creative Principle. In sanskrit we call the
Creative Principle "Maya"', and the functional attributes,
the collection of the functional attributes of this Creative
principle is nature. Though the Creative Principle is
nature, it functions within the scope of Consciousness.
Prakrti functions, Shakti functions on the chest of Shiva.
Shakti is an innate principle. She can dance, she can
function only whep she is permitted to do so by
Consciousness--Shiva, Paramashiva. So the Supreme Entity
means Paramashiva, the Supreme Cognition. The Cognitive
Principle is the invisible witnessing entity; witnessing the
entire universe--both Macrocosm and microcosm. Macrocosm is
the psychic counterpart of the Supreme Cognition and
microcosmos the direct psychic counterpart
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 26
of the unit cognition and the indirect psychic
counterpart of the Supreme Cognition. This quinquenmental
universe is a metamorphosed form of Macrocosm.
I say, this universe is the macro-psychic connotation
and the microcosm is unit mind. The unit mind of Ra'm,
Shya'ma, Yadu, Madhu is not the direct creation of
Macrocosm, i.e., it has not been Created directly by the
Macrocosmic mind. It is the creation of the quinquelemental
universe, the creation of matter, and matter is the creation
of the Supreme Mind. Matter is the creation of Macrocosmic
Mind. Unit mind is the creation of matter. As a result of
internal clash and cohesion, when the external force starts
functioning within the scope of matter, and when it gets its
centre of activity within material structure, we say the
external force has been converted into vital force. We say
life has been created within matter. When, due to internal
clash and cohesion, matter gets powdered down, it is called
mind, the basic form of mind, i.e. under-developed mind. As
the result of clash and cohesion we get metazoic structure,
we get complicated mind, and so finally in this world of
ours, we get human structure. Because of this physical
complexity, the mind has also become complex and
complicated, and due to this complexity in unit mind, we
have got several types of human forms in the physical world.
Mind is controlled by hormones secreted from different
glands and sub-glands ; those hormones control each and
every propensity of human mind. That is why I always lay
stress that in
StJ]BHA'S'iTA @AM'dRAtiA 21
intuitional science an aspirant should control the
mind or its propensities which are being controlled by the
glands and sub-glands. This is what is called Saldhana',
intuitional practice. This is a science. Now the entire
quinquelemental universe is governed by the functional
attributes of the Operative principle which is known as
nature. Hence it can not remain outside and go beyond the
campus of the Transcendental Entity. When unit mind ideates
on the Supreme Mind, it is transformed into the Supreme
Mind. When spiritual aspirants develop implicit faith and
love for that Supreme Father, they surrender themselves at
the altar of the grandeur of the Supreme and become one with
the Supreme Cognition. An aspirant wants physical oneness
with the Supreme Cognition. This is called Nirvikalpa
Sama'dhi in Sanskrit, and the aspirant's feeling of oneness.
with the Macrocosm is Savikalpa Samadhi. Now, human beings
may be intellectually developed but they function within
their physical structures. Certain points of their brains
act as nuclei, which help them to operate different
functions and nerve cells and entire nerve functions. So
they have to function under certain limits, and that is why
they are called microcosmic. The microcosms create their own
world. In your mind you can create many things, but those
things are purely psychic bodies and bear no value for
others. In your mind, you have created an elephant. That
elephant is being witnessed by you only and nobody else can
witness it. So it is purely yours and no one elses
28 SU@HA'S'ffA SAN4'GRAHA
has got anything to do with it. But because everything
remains within the scope of Macrocosm, when He is thinking
of an elephant in His mind, for you it is external. When you
create the elephant within your mind and you create another
man within your mind, that man of your mind is witnessing
the elephant of your mind, For the man of your mind that
elephant is a relative reality. Now, in psychic sphere,
microcosms can create anything according to their desire,
according to their cognition but microcosms function under
certain limitations. By nature the microcosm is multipurpose
in motive, but unilateral in action ; and the Macrocosm is
unipurpose in motive but multilateral in function. Macrocosm
is multilateral. Microcosm is multipurpose in motive. You
want to become rich, you want to become a great man, you
want to render social service, you want to do so many
things, you cherish so many longings in your mind. But while
functioning, you can do only one thing at a time, one work
at a time. Macrocosm however is unipurpose in motive. His
only motive is to create many objects and individuals and to
help His progeny in all-round development. It is His only
purpose ! So He is unipurpose in motive but multilaleral in
action. He is doing so many things for the entire universe,
for each and every entity. You are witnessing only your own
mental faculty and your mental force, but He is witnessing
everything in the microcosmic existence. He is the
witnessing faculty. His pervasive association with all the
microcosms is called
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 29
Protah Yoga and His relationship with each and every
individual unit is called 'Otah Yoga', He has got direct
relationship with each and every entity and He has got
collective relationship with this collective universe. That
is why you can say that He is multilateral in action. That
is why in the Purus'a Shu'ktam of the Rgveda it it bas been
stated :"Sahasrashiirs'a'h purus'ah sahasra'ks'a
sahasrapa'd. Sa bhu'mirvishvato vrittva' atyatis't'had
dasha'm gulam." A microcosm functions with the help of only
one brain and the capacity of the brain is not more than its
structure and nature. But He functions with the help of
innumerable brains, all the brains are His creation and the
potentiality of so many brains lies within the scope of
Macrocosm. That is why none can challange the authority of
Macrocosm. Sahasra'ksa. Whenever you see, you see with your
own eyes, with the limited sight your optical strength but,
you are within the Transcendental Entity. But He, being the
Transcendental entity, is witnessing everything without the
help of any physical organ. So it has been said "He is
Sahasra'ksa", He has many eyes. Sahasrapa'd. Wherever you
go, you go with the help of your legs, but He has
innumerable legs. Because He has got innumberable legs, one
foot is here, another foot is on another planet. For Him
there is no spatial factor. That is why He is Sahasrapad. He
is an all-pervading entity and not within the scope of
quinquelemental universe, nor with in the scope of the
30 SUBHAS'ITA SAM'GRAHA
abstract, but above that. He is "Atyatisthad
dashangulam." I have already said in other Dharma Mahacakras
that in a human body the controlling point is the pitutary
gland, the seat of consciousness which controls directly the
conscious mind, indirectly, the sub-conscious and more
indirectly the unconscious. He is witnessing not only your
physical or abstract expressions but above that your
controlling of all these are being witnessed by Him. So His
existence is not only all pervading within the realm of
physicality and mental world but your unit cognition is also
being controlled and witnessed by Him. Atyatistha'd
Dashangulam : He is above 10 fingers' measure, above the
real abode of pitutary gland i.e., pineal gland, above the
realm of abstract and physicality. The Supreme Entity, the
Supreme Purus'a (Purus'a means Pure Sete Yah Sah Purus'a )
resides within each physical structure. He is Purus'a,
because the supreme fundamental relative factors are created
by Him, the spatial, the temporal and the personal factors
and are within His campus. That is why whatever work had
been done by these three factors, whatever will be done by
these three factors, comes to Him. There is a sloka in the
Rgveda where it is stated-"Purus'aev sarvam edam yadbhu'tam
yadbhavyam." The Purus'a knows whatever was done and Purus'a
will know whatever will be done in future also. Then you may
say Purus'a does not know the present. He knows the future,
but nothing has been stated regarding the present.
SUBHA'S'rrA SAM'GRAHA 31
You know that philosophically and psychologically
there is nothing called 'present.' There is past, and there
is future. What I am sayinig, it is future for you, and when
you hear it, it is past for me. Hearing by you and saying by
me, my saying and your hearing are not being done
simultaneously ; there is a gap. That is why in whatever is
done by us, by microcosms, a portion and of the past portion
of the future co-related by the macrocosm is called present.
So philosophically and psychogically there is past and there
is future and that is why in this sloka it has been said
that Parama Purus'a knows the past and knows the future. Yad
Bhu'tam yad bhavyam, what will happen, will happen. He is
the naval point of the creation. He is Lord of the naval
point of creation. One may think that one is an educated
person, one is a learned person, or that one is animal in
human structure. All however are only human beings. Remember
that an animal is also the creation of the Supreme Father,
it is a beloved of the Supreme Father ; the Father cannot
hate His animal children. You know in Tantra when one first
does Sa'dhana, in that phase one is no better than an
animal. One's structure is that of a human but internally
one is just like an animal. When that animal does Sa'dhana',
he or she recalls the Lord, 'O Lord' I may be an animal, I
may be a Pashu, but thou art my Lord. I am Pashu but you are
my Pashupati.'
So in the first phase of Sadhana, the Supreme Entity
is addressed as Pashupati. After starting Sa'dhana', one
32 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
starts psychic fighting against the crude force, the
crude force functioning within the mind, the crude force
functioning within the society, the crude force functioning
within the family and the crude force functioning within the
country. One starts fighting, so one becomes 'viira. This
"viirata" in fighting is actual Sa'dhana. This is life. Life
is the constant fight against belligerent forces. Life is
fight. When one starts to fight one becomes a human in human
structure. So in the second phase of Sa'dhana' Pashu-pati
becomes Viireshvara. It was another name of Lord Shiva. As a
result of the fight, when this fighting tendency, this
belligerent tendency becomes one's own, in that case one
becomes Deva. Then one says 'O Lord' by your mercy, I have
become Deva (divine in human structure) and thou art my
Lord, thou art Maha'deva. So in the third stage that very
Lord becomes Maha'deva, Pashupati becomes Vireshvara, then
becomes Maha'deva, according to the stages or phases of
Sa'dhana', of the spiritual aspirant. This fight against the
centrifugal force, functioning in the world, is actually the
Sa'dhana . You know, in each and every structure there are
two forces, centripetal and centrifugal forces. In the case
of cosmological order, in the case of Brahma Cakra, the
Centripetal force, is called Vidya' and the Centrifugal
force is called Avidya'. So spiritual practice or the
intuitional practice is the fight between Vidya' and
Avidya'. Sa'dhana' is to strengthen vidya', the centripetal
force, in one's movement towards the nave of the
cosmological order.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 33
This cosmological nucleus is the nucleus of all other
nucleii of the universe. This is the abode of Supreme
Beatitude. Each and every nucleus of the universe gets
shelter in Supreme Consciousness ; that is why He is called
Na'ra'yan. 'Yan' means shelter, na'r means operative
principle. If one wants peace of permanent nature, if one
has developed a longing for the Supreme Destiny, one has to
lead all one's propensities towards this Supreme nucleus and
this movement is called Sa'dhana. While moving towards this
Supreme Nucleus one will have to fight against the
centrifugal force, Avidya' Shakti. In this fight against
Avidya' 5hakti, one must have sufficient weapons. You know
the Sa'dhak is a soldier, a soldier requires weapons.
Sa'dhana' is a fight in your internal sphere, in your mind.
There you should have 1O weapons, five Yama and five Niyama.
Similarly in the fight against evil forces, in this crude
physicality, you should have physical weapons. Those who
want disarmament and those who want to ban the atom bomb are
not friends of human society. The friends of human society
want to accelerate the speed of human society. Those
advocating disarmament want to retard the progress. Weapons,
you must have. As you should have control over your body and
mind. there must be control, not abuse of your weapons. Now
in this procress i.e. in the realm of intuitionalism you
should have 10 internal weapons, Yama and Niyama. Your
progress in Sa'dhana' depends on Jina'na, Karma and Bhakti.
Your actual progress is being affected by Jina'na and Karma.
But the final union with the Supreme, with
34 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
the Maha'deva, will be possible you when develop
Bhakti within you. In Sa'dhana' you should remember that you
have to develop Bhakti in your mind and this Bhakti and you
can get by regular Sa'dhana', and by rendering selfless
service. ( Dharma Mahacakra, 17111167 )
MAYA' AND MOKS'A
[Summary of the talk given by Shrii Shrii Anandamu'rti
at Dharma mahacakra held in Delhi on the 1st April 1968. ]
Today's subject of discourse is Maya' and Moks'a. While
speaking of Maya', Lord Krisn'a stresses the role of Maya'
as being subordinate to Him, of Maya' being subservient to
Ishvara. Only those who surrender themselves to His
protection and guidance can overcome its bounds- Just as
northbound travellers have to keep the pole star before
their eyes, the passenger on the path of liberation from
Maya' will have to keep the Lord as his or her goal. No
other physical or mental compass is potent enough to guide
one's progress on this path, the path of Dharma. That is why
it is said that there is only one Dharma-the way towards the
Absolute.
Maya' and the Creation What is Maya' ? When Parama
Purusa' (Cognitive Principle) desires to create something,
the Shaktii (force) required is known as Maya'. As such, one
of the important characteristics of Maya' is its plasticity.
It is equally clear that since Maya' is the force behind
creation, if the Cognitive Principle had not desired to
create anything, Ala'ya' would have had no manifestation.
What is it that made Him create and thus make the
manifestation of Maya' possible ? The traditionally upheld
cause and effect theory cannot answer this question, for the
theory works and holds good only in the
36 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'G
expressed world ( i.e., the universe after it has been
created ). Thus once the seed and the tree are there as a
part of the expressed world, the cause and effect theory
recognizes the seed as the cause and the tree as the effect.
But why was the seed or the tree originally created is a
problem beyond its scope. Thus the cause and effect theory
does not go beyond the expressed world. Now action which is
beyond cause and effect is Leila. To differentiate further,
action which is governed by the cause and effect theory is
known as Krd'a. All His creation is Leila. Hence the
manifestation of Ma'ya in the expressed world too is His
Leila. Maya' and Jiivas Maya' influences the Java in a
number of ways. In His creation of the world, it is not the
Citi Shakti that works. Instead, when ordered by Him, Maya'
is the force which works. Here it is known as Visn'u ma'ya'.
When human beings experience His attraction from Antahkarana
the feeling that something is to be done is generated in
them. This is also done by Maya' and here it is known as
Yogamalya'. Apart from these forms, Afaya' works in the Java
in two other forms-as Vishva maya' and as An'umaya'. The
fundamental stuff or matter used in His creation is Himself.
In this process of creation, the Cognitive Principle
crudifies Himself into this expressed world with the use of
Vis'n'uma'yal'. But the essential element, the fundamental
stuff is He. However, the Java does not have the capacity to
see Him in this
SU19HA'S'ITA SAM'G@HA 37
creation. A person sees a pot as a pot, a forest as a
forest and so on. This is the work of Vishvama'ya'. The sum
of manifested Maya' in the universe is known as
Ma'ha'ma'ya'. Now, it is observed that individuals can
create the same things in their minds which are expressed
outside and are seen in this expressed world. They can
create a whole world in their minds, according to their
fancy, and can enjoy pain or pleasure from it. Such
vicarious living is found especially in persons of advanced
age. This is the work of An'uma'ya'. It must never be
overlooked however that despite its various forms, it is His
Maya', and that He is the Ma'Ya'dhis'ha- Therefore, if the
individual starts a fight against Maya', he or she cannot
succeed. This is amply confirmed by the fact that you cannot
effectively indulge in the suppression or repression of a
certain Bha'va for long, ultimately it overpowers you,
because the more you try to suppress it the greater becomes
the force with which it rebounds. If crude ideas come into
your mind, you are not crude or bad--it is natural for them
to come. But mental or psychic suppression or repression of
these is not profitable for Sa'dhakas. lnstead the correct
and psychological approach to Maya' is to channelise it in
the direction of the Absolute. For in this expressed world,
you cannot overpower Maya' because she has a much greater
power. The central problem of reconciling the earthly duties
of human beings with their progress towards the absolute
thus crops up. The answer lies in the fact that this world
is a relative truth. Human beings should not become
38- SUIBHA'S'rrA SAM'GPAHA
slaves to it but should use it properly. However, as
mind is engaged in it while using it, one may tend to
crudify both in the mind and hence, in the body. This would
hamper movement towards the Absolute which is the subtlest
entity. The way out is to bring in the ideation of the
Absolute. In other words, you should realise that while
living in the expressed crude world, you do not work for the
worldly things but for Him and with Him, because He is the
essential element, the fundamental stuff out of which this
world has been created. Maya' and the Absolute On the other
hand, those who run away from this material world to escape
Maya' only deceive themselves. For with the help of Maya',
they will be led to Him, as tvfa'ya' has a close relation
with the Absolute. What is this relation Maya' has three
gun'as-operative principles through which it works, viz ;
Sattvagun'a ( sentient principle ), Rajogun'a ( mutative
principle ) and Tamogun'a ( static principle). They work and
lie in an ascending order on the road to the Absolute. The
sentient principle (Sattvagun'a) has the capacity to take
the sa'dhaka very near Him (Nira'ka'ra Brahma) by making the
mind more and more subtle. But there still lies a gap
between this point and Nira'ka'ra Brahma. This gap is known
as Bha'va or Bha'vasa'gar. This gap can only be negotiated
with the help of devotion. Thus we see that Maya',
channelised properly ( in its sentient operating principle )
can take the Sa'dhaka to a point very near Ishvara, from
which point the domain of devotion begins. An
inter
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GPAHA 39
esting illustration is afforded by the following
story. Three thieves, Mr. Sattvagun'a, Mr. Rajogun'a and Mr.
Tamagun'a once waylaid a man with some money in a dark
forest. Though all agreed to pocket the money, Mr. Tamogun'a
also desired to murder the man. The other two, however,
would not agree to this. Mr. Rajogun'a declared that the man
be left alone to fend for himself in the dark. Mr.
Sattvagun'a was more charitable. He led the unfortunate man
all the way to the outskirts of the city. But after a point
on the road he bade farewell and would not go into the
lighted street for fear of being caught by the police.
Therefore we arrive at the paradox that Mukti (i.e. freedom
from the bondage of Maya' ) can be achieved not by a fight
against Maya', but rather through its help. Different kinds
of Sa'dhakas inhabit this world. Some ardently desire Mukti,
while others do not. The latter base their choice on the
reasoning that by becoming one with Ivhvara, the Sa'dhaka
loses the pleasure of being next to Him and harbouring Him
as one's sole bha'va in work, service and sacrifice. Little
do they know that this very ideation of the Cosmic world
leads them to Mukti, for their minds have Him as their
object. The best and highest Sa'dhaka and Bhakta, however,
surrenders the decision on this question to Ishvara. The
ideation that he or she embraces is : "I am at your
disposal. It is up to you to plan what you like for me".
Theirs is the wisdom to forsee that complete surrender
alone, which is the essence of the highest Bhakti, will
enable them to sail the Bha'vasagar unto His feet. [ D.M.C.
Delhi, 114168
DESIDERATUM OF HUMAN LIFE
In this universe, everything is moving. Whether one
wants to or not, one is moving. Movement is the very
characteristic, the very nature of this universe. Therefore,
it is called "jagat". The root verb is "Gam" which means 'to
go'. Everyone has to move physically as well as mentally.
There is movement in the spirit also. Therefore if one knows
which way one should move, there will be no waste of energy.
Similarly, it is necessary to know how best to move. "How
and where" will give proper direction to the movement There
are four stages of life--the wakeful, the dream, the deep
sleep and the Turiiya. Out of these, the first three stages
are within the scope of expression while they are on the
move ; in the fourth, there is movement, but no expression.
Just as individual life has four stages, so also collective
life has four movements or stages. (1) There is the worldly
quinquelemental physical existence. In this stage there is
an effort to attain name and fame, to procure money, land,
property etc. This is one type of movement. (2) There is the
effort to seek psychic or mental treasures or attainments.
(3) There is the effort to convert the ectoplasm into
cognition or the psycho-spiritual movement. (4) There is the
stage of pure cognition. The first is called Ka'ma. It aims
at physical
attain
SUf3HA'S'rrA SAM'GRAI4A 4t
ment. The second is called Artha, which aims at
removal of pain. Pain is physical, mental and spiritual,
but, mainly it is in the psychic realm. When we do not
understand something, this also causes mental pain, hence
one meaning of Artha is also "meaning". The spirit behind
the word Artha is that which removes pain. As the pain of
hunger and of many other types is removed by money, so Artha
is also used in the sense of money. The scope of psychic
wealth is vast, but this also does not last. It does not
survive physical death. The psychic impressions which
remained unexpressed in the physical arena, remain with the
soul; the body is lost into oblivion. A scholar in the next
life may be a fool or an illiterate person. Even in this
life the mind does not retain its wealth. Think of a big
learned man, who has gone mad for an M.A. in philosophy, who
does the job of a clerk in a business firm. He loses his
earnings of mind. Therefore, accumulation of mental wealth
is also not a stable position. The third one is to try to
convert the psychic stuff into cognition. This effort is
called the Dharma. Dharma is of two types--primary and
secondary. The primary Dharma is expressed only in human
beings. Therefore, the establishment of pure cognition or
Bha'gvata Dharma is only possible in humans. Secondary
Dharma is that of the body, of various organisms or
creatures. When the movement of life reverts to the original
state i.e. consciousness, there is still movement there but
no expression. When "svabha'va" ( one's own nature ) is
converted into
41 SUiBRA'@'ItA SAM'ORAHA 94" svarupa" ( one's
original stance ) "gati" ( mobility) continues but there is
no expression. This is the peculiarty of this stage. Here
there is no vibration and hence no expression. As this stage
is Absolute and Eternal, it cannot be symbolised- The
movement of life, therefore, should be from physical to
psychic, from psychic to psycho-spiritual and from
psycho-spiritual to spiritual. Those who are not moving in
this direction are moving towards great catastrophy and in
the end, they will finally be converted into iron or wood.
All the potentialities and powers of human beings should be
fully utilized. From the crude to the subtle and from the
subtle to the causal, and from the causal to that which is
beyond cause and effect, is the path of progress. You will
follow this path and this will lead you to your desideratum.
In the process of Samscara the abstract is crudified, and in
the reverse processs matter is powdered down and becomes
subtler and subtler until it is fully liberated from the
crudifying effect. Therefore, one bas to avoid depraviing
propensities which lead to more physicality, and promote
elevating tendencies of mind ( vrittis). The correct way to
get rid of depraving tendencies is not to repeat to oneself
that I shall avoid this tendency or that. Suppression is not
the proper way to weaken these tendencies. Do not suppress,
but channelise- Humans are psychic beings. Reconvert the
psychic into the spiritual. Let elevating tendencies be
converted into a spiritual wave. There are 49 propensitics.
Collect them and awaken
SUDHAISIITA SAMIGRAHA 43 the 50th, the "Para" vrtti.
When this will be awakened, you will enter the realm of pure
cognition, which is called "Brahmadha'ma"' or the abode of
the Supreme. The mind has to be made one-pointed. As long as
this is not done, you will not be establised in pure
consciousness. Devotion to the Supreme Entity is withdrawal
of all other attachments and their concentration into
Vis'n'u or Param Purus'a. The foundation or the base of all
other propensities is unstable. Only the base of the 50th
propensity i. e. Para', is stable in the Supreme Entity. The
stable base is one and not many. One has to be persistent
and tenacious in this respect. You have to adopt only one
goal, one base and one name. By keeping more than one
direction, the Para will be distorted--the psycho-spiritual
wave will not be consolidated. Remember that for you there
is only one name of the Supreme Entity and not many like
Ka'li, Vis'n'u, etc. In this regard, the story of Hanuma'na
is very instructive. Someone asked him, "Hanuma'nji, you are
always repeating 'Ra'm, Ra'm' and never uttering the name of
'Na'ra'yan'a.' What is the matter ? Hanuma'n said that
although he knew that Ra'ma and Na'rayana are one and the
same, even then he accepted Ra'ma as his only Lord."
"Srinatha Janakinathe ca'bhede parama'tmani" The meanings of
the word 'Ra'ma' are many. but they lead to the same truth,
i.e., Parama Purus'a. The
it 44 SUBHAS' A SANi'dRA14A
first meaning is "Ramante yoginah yasmin't." The
entity upon which the yogis meditate is Ra'ma, i. e., Parama
Purus'a. The second meaning is : "Ra'ti "Mahiidhara". The
one who is most resplendant, the light from which all other
lights derive their power to enlighten. This also means
Parama Purus'a. The third is: "Ra'van'asya Maran'am
Ra'mah'--The one who kills the ten-faced demon Ra'vana is
called Ra'ma. The ten-faced demon is none other than the
base propensites of human mind which function in all ten
directions. Only when you go into the shelter of the Parama
Purus'a this ten-faced demon is killed. Similarly, the word
"Na'ra'ya'na"' also means Parma Purus'a. Na'ra has three
meanings : (1) water, (2) Parama' Prakrti and (3) devotion.
The word Ayana means the shelter, therefore, one who is the
abode of devotion; it also means the Parama Purus'a. Hence,
it is clear that for the sake of psycho-spiritual progress
one-mindedness is very necessary. Para'ma needs only one
idea and no confusion. There should be one aim, one way and
one name to guide a person on the way. None of these should
be two in number. When one makes progress on this path, one
will notice that there is movement in the spiritual realm,
not only movement but acceleration also. In fact, there is
no pause on this way and it is an eternal journey. The next
question is: What is the method of this movement ? Is it
necessary to determine whether one
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAI-IA 45
should sit facing east or west or north or south ? The
opinions of scholars differ. There will be difficulty since
the scholars are bound to give conflicting views. The mind
will again be in confusion--what to accept and what to
reject. The scriptures, religious books also express in
different languages and give varying directions regarding
the actual path to be followed. Moreover, if you want to
read all the scriptures, it requires 200 years while life is
not that long. "Art is long, life is short." You cannot
afford to waste any part of your precious life in these
conflicting theories. "Srutayo vibhinna'h Smritayo vibhinnah
Neka Munir Yasya matam'na Bhinnam Dharmasya tattvam Nihitam'
Guhaya'm Maha'jano Yena Gatah Sah Pantha"' In the spirit of
Dharma, the soul of spirituality is hidden in the "guna",
i.e. your I feeling, You need not go to temples or mosques
to find it. The Lord of your inner shrine is hungry and you
are offering feasts in the outer world to attain Him. You
have a jewel in your hand, you throw it away and spread your
hand in begging before others asking them to give alms. Your
Lord is there in your own "I feeling". How to find Him ?
Learn from those who are practical, those who have done
Sa'dhana'in their lives and have realised themselves, and
follow them. The scriptures or the scholars will not rescue
you. They are no support on this path. How is the Ultimate
Truth hidden in your "I" feeling? It is like:
46 SUBHAS"ITA SAM'GRAHA
"Tilesu Taelam dadhineva Sarpih". He is there in you
as the oil is in the oilseed. Crush the seed through
Sa'dhana' and you get the oil. Separate the mind from
Cognition or Consciousness; and see that His resplendence
lightens up your whole inner being. He is like butter in
curd ; churn it and He will appear from within. Churn your
mind through Sa'dhana' and Parama Purus'a will appear like
butter from curd. He is like a subterranean river in you.
Remove the sands of mind and you will find the clear and
cool waters within. Thus it will be seen that for all
creatures there is only one desideratum and it is Parama
Purus'a. Move inward and you will attain Him-- What will you
say to Parama Purus'a then ? What should be your prayer ? It
should be "O Lord, lead me on the correct path. Let not my
intellect be distracted from the path of Truth." You are all
the children of Parama Purus'a. You will certainly attain
Him. You will not deviate from the path of Truth. To attain
Him is your birthright. The meaning of Gayatrii chhanda is
this-"O Lord of this resplendent light that pervades all,
let not my mind, my intellect, deviate from truth. Show me
the way. Lead me on the correct path. I meditate on thy
Divine Effulgence so that my intellect is guided towards
You." The same is the spirit of "Lead me from the unreal to
the real, from Darkness to Light, from Death to
Immortality." "Asato ma' Sadgamaya Tamaso ma'Jyotirgamaya
Mrtyor ma' Mrtangamaya A'vira'vir ma aedhi,"
SU13HAS'ITA SAM'GRAHA 47
Where the intellect has adopted the correct path, the
internal symbolisation will not express in the physical
arena but be reconverted into spiritual wave. Forget about
your past, your past mistakes or sins. All these
symbolisations will be converted into cognition. Once this
is done one is no longer a sinner: one is pure as any one
else. The devil has become an angel. "Therefore, I say that
even if the most sinful approaches me single-mindedly, I
deliver him or her from all sins." He or she will surely
attain the Desideratum of Life. One day everyone has to come
to the Lord's shelter. The sooner it is done, the better.
[ Ananda Purnima D,M.C-24/5/71
SPIRITUAL CULT: PROGRESS FROM CRUDEST MATTER TO
SUBTLEST ENTITY
Those who have established themselves in their highest
spiritual stance through the practice of spiritual cult are
the real human beings. Others, who do not move on the subtle
and sublime path of spirituality and behave like animals,
are humans only in name. Human beings alone have got the
privilege to do Sa'dhana'. Animals, because of their
intellectual deficiencies are unable to adhere to the
spiritual cult. Man--Not an Animal Animals are guided by
instincts. They do not know the 'why and how' of things.
Human beings, on the other hand, are led by mind. Animals
can't go beyond their instincts. In the case of excessive
intellectual clash, however, the animal mind also gets
subtlimated. This is generally found with those animals who
remain in contact with human beings. But the development
that is discernible in this case is not spiritual, it is
simply intellectual. Through training, for intance, dogs and
monkeys can be made a bit more intelligent than other
animals. Human beings, on the other hand, have got the
capacity to develop even in the spiritual realm. Those who
do not pay heed to this special gift are animals, nay even
worse than the animals. The latter are unable to make
efforts for spiritual development whereas the human beings
can. You can't call a beggar a miser, for he has got no
money to donate. If a
mone
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 49
yed man, on the other hand, hesitates in donating, he
is presumably a miser. Human beings are sometimes described
as rational animals. Such a view does not seem to be
consistent. In the cosmological order, at a particular stage
of development, a unit is called an animal, at a particular
point it is inanimate, and in a particular state, a plant.
Therefore, it does not make sense to call humans rational
animals, for in that case they can also be called rational
stones. in process of psycho-physical development when the
physical structure gets complicated and psychic structure
also develops to the extent that it starts controlliing the
physical body, you call that particular phase human.
Different Phases of Manifestation In the creation of the
universe the consciousness that is existing as the nucleus
of the triangular basic principle is the Supreme Father, the
Basic Cognition. The Avidya' Shakti that is working with the
Basic Cognition as the operative principle, but is not yet
manifested, is called Basic Principle. There is no
expression in the Basic Principle--neither physical nor
psychic. She is active but there is no effect of operative
nature. The expression does not occur so long as there is
proper equlibrium between the Basic Principle and the Basic
Cognition. When they lose their balance a theoretical
expression takes place. In this stage it is called
Primordial Principle. The primordial principle is something
theoretically manifest. It does not fall within the
periphery of experience due to the equilibrium of Shiva and
Shakti, but it is theoretically well
50 SU13BA'SITA SAM'GRAHA
established. There is actional vibration in the Basic
Principle, but due to the absence of any measuring psychic
entity it can't be said to be temporal. However, it is
related to time factor. Due to the curvatures in the
Primordial Principle there does not exist any second entity.
That is why we don't find another time-measuring factor
there. This curve is its special characteristic. In the
third phase of manifestation due to internal clash and
cohesion, curvatures come into existence. The difference
between the Vibrational Principle and the Witnessing
Counterpart becomes explicit. The Vibrational principle in
Sanskrit is called Bhava'ni Shakti. The temporal factor is
established in the development of "ka'la". What is "ka'la"
or Time ? Time is nothing but the psychic measurement of the
relative motivity. If the vibrational expression will be
towards the crude, the unit will face retardation.
Sa'dhana'-Movement towards the Nucleus The final or
culminating point of retardation contains the history of the
full expression of the unit. In the crudest point of human
mind, therefore, lies the history of its innumerable lives.
Even a timorous stroke rips open the burden one is carrying
and makes one able to see oneself. The development from the
nadir point of crudity to the highest point of Supreme
Cognition is progress. So long as the fundamental negativity
does not receive a stroke, there does not occur any
progress, nor any development. A seed sprouts forth if
struck by light, water and soil. Similarly, when
SUBHA'SITA SAMGRAHA 51
the fundamental negativity of a unit--that is
kulakundalini--receives the stroke of a Mantra, it awakens.
But so long as desire to move towards Parama'tma' is not
aroused, this phenomenon does not take place. This does not
happen with an animal because of its intellectual
deficiency. Due to external and internal clash, matter is
converted into ectoplasm, the crude stuff is metamorphosed
into Citta'nu. The intensity of this clash and cohesion
depends upon the intensity of internal and external clashes.
That is why the mind that succeeds due to immense physical
and intellectual or even intuitional clashes is human mind,
and the body that is associated with it is human body.
Sa'dhana'--the spiritual cult--is progress from the
crudeness of matter to the subtlest entity, that is, a
march, a movement from the last point of the Vibrational
Principle to the nucleus of the Basic Principle, the
controlling point of the fundamental triangle of forces.
Sa'dhana' is, therefore, a march to the place from where one
has come. Those, who want to make themselves the attraction
or the ideal of the world, add a "Shrii" before their names.
The term connotes the charming entity, Maya', Prakrti.
Supreme Cognition is the shelter of "Shrii" and that is why
He is also called Shriniva'sa in Sanskrit. The movement
towards the entity, that has sheltered the universe, is
Sa'dhana'. Need of a Spiritual Guide Since human beings are
ostensibly weak, they need the aid of others for spiritual
movement. Where from will
52 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
they get the stamina, the strength for this movement?
Assuredly, it can be had only from the entity that is the
source of this stamina, this strength. Whatever
stamina-physical, mental or spiritual--exists within you is
not your creation. Can you create anything ? No, you can't.
You convert the external energy derived from food, light,
water and soil into vital energy. You can't create any
energy, you can simply convert it into other forms. You
convert sound energy, magnetic energy etc. into vital
energy. You then reconvert that vital energy into other
forms of energy. While working you convert your vital energy
into mechanical energy. While speaking, you convert your
vital energy into sound energy. The moment this vital energy
is gone, the living unit turns into a corpse. You derive
your vital energy from the external world gift of
Paramapurus'a. Similarly, the strength to move towards the
Supreme Father will also be obtained from Him. But the
tragedy is that you don't ask for spiritual force from Him.
Your sole concentration is on earning name, fame, money,
promotion, prestige and other such worldly gains. You remain
so busy with your worldly desires that you hardly manage to
get some time in your daily life to ask for spiritual
strength.
In the ancient times, when the desire to move on the
path of spirituality was aroused, the human beings felt the
need of a guide to show the path. it is this desire that is
manifested in the Vedas. When the desire to move on the path
is aroused, He
53 SU13HA'SITA SAMGRAHA]
is compelled to come as a Guide to the seeker. He just
can't ignore. Ask for the way and you will get it.
Cent Per Cent Surrender It's not enough to get the
way, for one also needs to walk on that way, on that path.
The strength to move forward lies within you--the only
impediment being the encumbrance of reactive momenta that is
on your head due to your past actions. Remove the "burden",
be light and march on. Bhagwan Buddha said the same thing
when he asked his disciples to jettison the burden that is
in the boat. Desire is, therefore, not enough. One needs to
perform some tangible action. It is called intuitional
practice, spiritual cult. This cult is also called Tantra.
It's not enough to read books, scriptures. One will have to
be practical, will have to do something in practical life.
You need to move towards the fundamental positivity. Thus
through Sa'dhana', one makes one self light and at the same
time feels His attraction. Furthermore, one needs to
surrender oneself completely. Until and unless there is cent
percent surrender, it is naive to deem in terms of
accomplishment of the task. The story goes that so long as
Draopadi had even a grain of dependence on her own strength,
she remained constantly under the threat of being exposed
before the congregation. The moment she found herself
completely helpless and reposed all faith in the Lord--the
Na'rayana, she got divine help. So one who feels this
attraction and surrenders oneself completely to Him, one is
bound to get His help. On the other hand one who keeps even
a paisa with oneself fails to get it.
54 SUBHA'SITA SAMGRAHA
A natural question comes here. Since human life is
evolved through the animal stages, the impressions of animal
life are bound to work within the frame work of human
psychology. In such a situation it is not unlikely for human
beings to commit mistakes. How is it possible to move
forward with this encumbrance acquired during animal stages
? Pulp and Punyu The answer has been provided by the Lord
himself. If even the most degraded remember Him single
mindedly, He relieves them of their burden. There is,
however, a difference between the English term, "Sin" and
the Sanskrt word "Papa" In sin are involved religious,
doctrinal and Biblical connotations. The Sanskrit term
"Papa" is more explicit. Paropaka'ra Punyaya Pa'pa'ya
parapiiranam. Those actions that help to develop the
physical, intellectual and spiritual strata of human beings
are Punya and those that obstruct this are Papa. The biggest
Pa'pii is called Dura'ca'rii in Sanskrit and one whom even
the Dura'ca'rii call Papii is Sudura'ca'ri. There is a
common term in Sanskrit, Pa'tak. There are two forms of Papa
and Pratya'vaya. Going against the dont's is Papa.
Pratya'va'ya is not to do what one should do. In Sanskrit
do's are called Vidhi and don'ts Nisedha. The whole social
structure revolves around Vidhiand Nisedha. Cause of Great
Retardation Those who shirk from duties and responsibilities
SUBA'SITA SAM'GRAHA 55
do great harm to society. It is lack of this
dutifulness in our country today that has caused great
retardation in different spheres of life. This has also
caused spiritual degeneration. One should perform good
actions regularly and should do Sa'dhana' properly-- these
are the do's which everyone is expected to perform. Those
who don't pay heed to these responsibilities indulge in
Pratya'va'ya. Pa'taka is the collective name of Papa and
Pratya'va'ya. Pa'takas are of three kinds. First, the
ordinary one which is an undesirable act for which the doer
repents and atones. Someone, for instance, takes away the
money of others. That act will be called Pa'taka, for one
can pay back the money and repay it for the act. There is no
atonement for Atipa'taka. If one, for example, chops off the
hands of an innocent person, one can't pay those limbs back
in the same capacity. According to Sha'stras the persons
indulging in these Atipa'taka acts can have atonement only
when they renounce their worldly life and fully offer
themselves for the cause of humanity, in the service of
humankind. The third one is Mahapa'taka. There is no penance
for even Maha'pa'taka. Furthermore, the result of the
Maha'pa'taka is of recurring nature. If a business man, for
instance, discovers a new method of adulteration, he commits
Maha'pa'taka. A mixture of the papaya seeds with black
pepper is bound to deceive the purchasers. The discoverer of
this new method shows a new path in the sphere of
adulteration. The effect of this act is bound
56 SUBA'SITA SAMGRAHA
to be of recurring nature. The atonement for the
Maha'pa'taka is like Atipa'taka, that is, one should also
renounce one's worldly life and should offer oneself in the
service of humankind. There is, however, a difference. Since
the latter's act is more serious they will have to invent
something that will have a recurring good effect on the
society. The invention of Penicillin, for instance, is a
case in point. There is no other way out for the
Maha'pa'tak. Way Out for Atipa'tak There is an interesting
story about this. When the defeat of Ra'vana' became almost
certain he sat in prayer imploring Lord Shiva to save him
from the oncoming disaster. But Lord Shiva remained
quiescent and did not pay heed to his prayers. Pa'rvati was
also there. As it is, the heart of the mother is more soft
than that of the father. Seeing the miserable condition of
Ra'van'a --a devotee of Lord Shiva-- she started pleading
Lord Shiva on his behalf. The latter, however, refused to
heed even Pa'rvati's implorings. He had to see to his duties
and not to hear Pa'rvatii's lecture, When Pa'rvati persuaded
Him much, Lord Shiva revealed the situation. He said that he
was a great Papii and so He could not do anything for him.
Pa'rvati continued in her obstinacy. Pleading on behalf of
Ra'vana she said that at most he might be an Atipa'taka. The
Lord thereupon said that he was a Mahapatalkii. Though it
was Atipa'tak'a to kidnap a lady, yet Ra'vana's act was
Mahapaltak for, he did this in the garb of a Sa'dhu. If he
would have done it as Ra'van'a he would have been
Atipa'taki.
SU18HA'SITA SAMGRAHA @l
His act would not have a lasting effect. From
nowonwards no housewife would believe a Sa'dhu. The effect
of his act was of recurring nature.
Greatness of Cosmic Father There is however, a way out
even for the Maha'pa'taka. If one dwell's on the thought of
the Lord single mindedly and offers oneself in the service
of humanity one will also be able to lead a respectable
life, one will also get liberation.
Paramapurus'a, the father of all fathers, the multiple
of all multiplicities, the nucleus of all nuclei, knows
everything. He is omniscient. He knows Sarva. The Cosmic
Father knows everything. He is omniscient, pre-scient and
post-scient. The earth is established in Him. What has
happened in the past is within the vibrational principle.
What is going to happen in future is also within the
vibrational principle. Present has got no independent
existence. It is nothing but an adjustment between the past
and the future. That is why the present varies in accordance
with personal differences. The omniscient purus'a, the
Pratyagatna'a', is the Lord of both heaven and hell. He is
the father of both developed Sa'dhakas and Sudura'cha'iis or
Maha'pa'takis. There is, therefore, no question of hating
the Sudura'ca'rii and loving the good Sa'dhakas: All are one
to Him. He can't ostracize the former and embrace the
latter. There is no place out side Him where He can throw
off the Sulura'ca'riis. He also can't disown them, for in
that case He does not remain "Patitapa'vana".
58 SUBHA'S'ITA SAMGRAHA
It is, therefore, naive to lose heart. Even if one is
Sudura'ca' ri one should not get discouraged. One should on
the contrary do Sa'dhana' and undergo the prescribed
penance. There is no cause to fear. This world is not for
cowards. Only brave people can enjoy the world. If love for
Him is awakened there is no cause to fear. Your longing for
Him, however, should not be attributional. It should, on the
contrary, be non-attributional. Your attraction for the
Supreme is called devotion whereas attraction for any finite
objectivity is called A'sakti. Attraction for a friend is
A'sakti, attraction for God is Bhakti (Devotion). In case
A'sakti-- the object is limited, in case of Bhakti-- it is
unlimited. Mysticism is a never ending endeavour to find out
a link between finite and infinite. It is the first phase of
non-attributional devotion. Attributional devotion is no
devotion. There are two types of non-attributional devotion.
The first is psycho-spiritual devotion whereas the second is
pure spiritual devotion. The reactive momenta remain
quibbled in this psycho-spiritual devotion of internal
projection of the subliminal human mind, and these reactive
momenta of the subliminal human mind disturb mental
equipoise. As a result the mind again comes back to the
lower status. One rises during the period of Sa'dhana' and
comes back to the pristine stage when in normal life. Here
love for God is not of permanent nature. While quarreling
unnecessarily one does not
remem
SU13HA'SITA SAMGRAHA 59
ber the untoward nature of one's act. Later on one
repents for this. When this remembrance becomes of permanent
nature it is called Dhruvalsmriti. In the non-attributional
devotion of pure spiritual type, reactive momenta cannot
function within the scope of that subliminal strata. Even
where the Sa'dhaka' does not long for name, fame and wealth
but worships Him for experiencing inexplicable bliss, the
devotion is attributional-the attributional psycho-spiritual
devotion. But where the devotee is worshipping Him for
pleasing Him there the devotion is of purely spiritual
nature. There does not exist the feeling of duality here.
Such a devotee is called Gopi. The term connotes one who
worships God to please Him ( Gopayate Yah Sah Gopah). One
who has made a mission to attain Parma'tma' will assuredly
attain Him. You are Sadhakas and you should always remember
this. Your love for God, your devotion for God should be of
non-attributional or of spiritual nature. D. M@ C, 1.1-71
KNOWLEDGE AND PROGRESS
What is knowledge (Jina'na) ? Knowledge is
subjectivisation of external objectivity. It leads a person
from crudity to subtilty i.e. wherever this tendency is
found that can be termed knowledge and where it is not there
it is not knowledge. What is the base of knowledge ? Where
knowledge is completely physical, its base is mind ; where
it is entirely spiritual its base is soul. Knowledge unifies
the mind with the soul. This itself is the greatest quality
of knowledge. That which does not unify the mind with the
soul is not knowledge but the confusion of knowledge.
Because of this so-called knowledge, vanity creeps into
mind. If you see a person with vanity you must understand
that he or she has no knowledge but the confusion of it. In
15th century India, especially in Bengal, this confusion of
knowledge developed excessively. People of Bengal went on
arguing and debating on minor things. For hours they talked
on subjects such as sound, shape etc. They thought
themselves to be great in doing so, and those attaining
victory considered themselves to be great scholars
(panditas). They were neither pandit nor jinani. They were
not panditas because they were not established in Paii'da'
Bha'va (the feeling that one is Brahma ), nor were they
jina'nii as their knowledge had not been subjectivised. They
were merely arguing about Pa'tra'dha'ra taela or Taeladha'ra
paltra i. e., the oil is in the pot or the pot in the oil.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 61
There was once an argument between two great panditas,
"Whether sound is produced first or the palm falls first."
The discussion continued for a good number of months but no
decision was arrived at. Then they decided to see
practically by sitting under a tree one night, whether the
palm falls first or sound is produced first. The next
morning it was found that both were dead from palms falling
on their heads. Hence this socalled knowledge is no
knowledge at all but the confusion of knowledge, which you
surely do not want to possess. In the first stage mind
itself is the base of knowledge. What is mind ? The
structure of human beings is metazoic. In this structure
there are innumerable protozoas-protozoic minds and
protozoic microcosms. The result of all these protozoic
microcosms is in the human mind. In this metazoic structure
there are metazoic minds and metazoic microcosms. Actually
speaking the metazoic minds are the collection of their
protozoic minds. For a human being, with a complex physical,
structure, there is also a unit mind. The human mind has
three compartments. The first is the collective protozic
mind, the second one is the collective metazoic mind and the
third one is its own separate mind. Taking all the three is
a human's mind. These protozoic minds are guided only by
instincts. This mind is only Citta with no development of
Aham and Mahat Tattva. Eating, supporting offspring, etc.,
are done instinctively, spontaneously ( Svabha'va ), the
reasons being quite unknown to the entities. The earthworm
does not know that
62 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
it is an earthworm. It moves instinctively,
spontaneously, according to its undeveloped mind. ( The
protozoic minds of protozoic microcosms can be called
physical mind. They have only physical mind. ) The
collection of protozoic minds in human beings can also be
called physical mind. It is known as Ka'mamaya Kosa. It is
guided by instinct, there is no discrimination. Metazoic
mind, however, moves with some intellect (discrimination),
as there has been some development of intellect in it. Hence
metazoic mind has control over protozoic mind. The more
developed the metazoic mind is in a creature the more
developed it is i.e., its metazoic structure will be more
complicated. Where this complication has considerably
increased, that physical structure is a human physical
structure. The individual mind in a human being is a
metazoic mind. About a million years ago the first ancestor
of human beings was Australopithecine. The metazoic mind of
those humans was very, very simple compared to present day
humans. Hence in the intellectual realm the ancient humans
were quite undeveloped. In the course of one million years
the metazoic structure and physical structure of human
beings became very complicated. This resulted in the
complication of the metazoic mind too. A number of different
propensities were added to it. The number of propensities in
human mind is far more than of those in animals. The reason
is that the metazoic structure, the physical structure of
human beings is complicated, hence their metazoic minds are
more developed.
SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRAHA 63
The complete human is its own mind, its protozoic mind
and its metazoic mind. In protozoic minds there is dominance
of instinct. An animal does not understand discrimination
but it understand The stick. You know that a person with the
dominance of animality does not agree with logic but bows to
administration. You know that at the time of fight the
between Kauravas and Pandavas, vain attempts were made to
make the former understand the consequence of their actions.
Yudhisthira even prayed to God for a change in them. There
was the grace of Parama'tma also, but they were too crude to
understand this. They could very easily understand however
when they heard the thundering sound of Gandiiva ( the bow
of Arjuna ). Hence the protozoic mind succumbs to physical
administration and nothing else. All the protozoic minds in
a person try to influence the human mind. Likewise metazoic
minds also try to do so. Where the personal mind of a human
being is not vigilant it is influenced by the protozoic
minds and the metazoic minds. This leads them towards
animality. But when the personal mind is vigilant it has
full control over protozoic and metazoic minds. To maintain
control is an internal fight. This fight is the first stage
of Sa'dhana' ( spiritual practice ). This fight is quite
essential for Sa'dhana' On the one side there is good
thought ( Dharma Buddhi ) and on the other side the forces
of instincts. Protozoic minds move on instinctively whereas
metazoic minds move with discrimination (Abhijinata').
Hence,
64 SUBHA'SITA@SAMGRAHA SAM'GRAHA
undeveloped and underdeveloped metazoic structures
work with both acquaintance and experience. Sub-human
animals however, such as dogs and monkeys, learn through
only acquaintance. The mind of an Alsatian dog develops a
lot when it comes in contact with a trainer i.e., it learns
through training for it has metazoic mind. The knowledge of
protozoic mind, i.e., instinct only, is known as physical
knowledge. The knowledge that a person acquires in touch
with physicality is, in its first stage, physico-psychic.
When this physico-psychic knowledge is established in mind
it is known as psychic knowledge. Psychic knowledge when it
is translated in the physical world is psycho-physical
knowledge. Worldly knowledge, is in its first stage
physico-physic and then psychic. When that knowledge itself
is translated in the physical world, it is psycho-physical.
What is the source of this physico-psychic knowledge ? Let
us see how far it is authentic. You derive knowledge from
books. If you read books published 20 years ago you will
know that Lahore is the capital of the Punjab. But this does
not stand correct today. It is because the source of
physical knowledge is bound by time, space and person. With
the change of time, space, and person physical knowledge
also changes. Hence that is not permanent knowledge, it is
based on falsehood. There can be another flaw in the source
of physical knowledge and that is a printing mistake.
Because of it you read Lahore as Labore. Next there can be
some defect in your eyes, which has caused you to read
Lahore which provokes laughter in the audience.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 65
Hence because of defects in different media this
knowledge may be defective knowledge. Now after possessing
such defective knowledge if a person is proud, is he not a
first class fool ?
This physico-psychic knowledge has a little value in
the physical world. But its value is changing. The theory
which is appreciated today changes tomorrow. Hence knowledge
of the world, physico-psychic knowledge, is all defective.
To be proud of this kind of knowledge is not at all proper
for the wise. It is better to say "I do not know anything."
Then what is the true knowledge ? True knowledge is
the knowledge of that object which never undergoes any
metamorphosis due to changes in time, space and person.
Everything in the world is causal,i.e., effect is followed
by cause, and cause is followed by effect. It goes on like
this. The effect of one phase becomes the cause of the
other. This is known as Sadrsha Parin'a'ma in Tantra. As
long as we are under temporal, spatial and personal factors,
the cause and effect factor will work. Where cause and
effect factor works, there only imperfection exists. One
cannot be proud of either that knowledge or the knowledge
springing out of that source. it is said in Vedas, "I don't
say that I don't know nor do I say that I do know, because
the transcendental entity is known only by that person who
knows that Parama'tman is beyond knowing and not knowing."
This is because knowing is a particular psychic projection
coming within the scope of time, space and person,
66 SUBHA'SITA@ SAM'GRAHA
and not-knowing is also another psychic projection
coming within the scope of time, space and person. The
Supreme Entity is beyond time, space and person. It being
non-changing, if a person makes effort to acquire
spirituo-psychic knowledge instead of phisicopsychic
knowledge i.e., if the source of his or her knowledge is not
the external physicality, but rather internal spirituality,
in that case that knowledge will be the perfect one. What
happens in the case of spirituo-psychic knowledge is that,
though its source is Absolute, its subject is relative, as
mind works within the scope of of relativity. The source of
spirituo-psychic knowledge is the Absolute, only the
Absolute. When people start acquiring knowledge they should
not endeavour for physico-psychic knowledge, on the contrary
they should try to acquire spirituo-psychic knowledge. In
the first phase , it is more psychic than spiritual. But
later on when mental concentration is developed and there is
advancement in Sadhana', the arena spiritual knowledge
increases and that of psychic knowledge decreases. When
slowly the proximity to spirituality increases, the psychic
knowledge is overshadowed by spiritual knowledge. The final
terminating point of this spirituo-psychic knowledge is
spiritual knowledge and that alone is knowledge. That is the
real knowledge which does not change. All physical,
physico-psychic, psychic, and psychophysical knowledge is
not real knowledge but superficial knowledge. When people
realise that the so-called
know
SUBHAS'ITA SAM'GRAHA 67
ledge is of no value to them, then and then only they
surrender to the Cosmic Cognition ( " Paramapurus'a "). As
long as one has the desire to acquire all relative
knowledge, and one tries for it, one thinks oneself to be a
person of letters and refuses to surrender at the feet of
the Cosmic Cognition. When one's vanity is powdered down by
different blows, one realizes that this approach for
knowledge was a defective one. Then one surrenders and the
ego is dashed to pieces. The greatest knowledge in the realm
of physicality and mentality is that all the knowledge
acquired in these realms is false. This physical knowledge
is like the leaf of Shala tree on which people take meals.
As long as you have not taken your meal there is value of
the leaf, but the moment you have finished your meal the
leaf goes into the dustbin to be licked by street dogs. When
you come to realise that this physical knowledge of yours is
worth licking by a dog, then devotion will arise in you.
Then only you will acquire true knowledge. What is the
nature of psycho-spiritual approach through which one
acquires spirituo-psychic knowledge ? When the physical mind
reaches the zenith point of subtlety, that is known as
physico-psychic knowledge. There the value of
physico-psychic knowledge starts. When one is established in
psychic knowledge then there is the expression of
psycho-physical in it. Likewise when psychic knowledge
reaches the zenith point of subtlety, then it comes in
contact with spirituality. The point where spiritual
knowledge ( spirituo-psychic
know
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
ledge) functions is in the mental arena. Matter is
made to be the object of life in acquiring physical
knowledge, which is fit to be thrown into the dustbin. For
acquiring spiritual knowledge, however, Parama'tman should
be the object. Then alone one will get real knowledge. How
is it possible to make Parama'tman the end of your life ?
Parama'tman is the subject for the whole of cosmos and the
cosmos is His object. He is the Supreme Subjectivity, you
are His object. It is not possible to make Him your object
as you are His object. Then what to do? You have to take the
ideation that He is always witnessing you. The wise do not
take Paramatman as their object exactly but they think that
they are being witnessed by Him. Parama'tman is not my
object but I am the object of Parama'tman. When this feeling
is there in a Sa'dhaka all the time it is a stage known as
Dhruva'smirti. That you are the object of Parama'tman is
known to you but this is not remembered by you all the time.
When by Sa'dhatia' one does not forget that Parama'tman is
always witnessing him or her this is Dhruva'smrti. This
alone is spiritual knowledge. In this stage alone a person
gets true knowledge. This spiritual knowledge can be
translated in the mental sphere as well as in the physical
sphere. If one is willing to do so, one should do so, for
therein lies a lot of good to the world. This alone is real
knowledge. With this alone progress is possible. The wisest
person is one who understands that one is not at all
learned. You are spiritual aspirants, you must always
remem
SUBHAS'ITA SAM'GRAHA 69
ber that the physico-psychic knowledge is needed only
in the physical world. But when spiritual knowledge is
acquired in individual life then other kinds of knowledge
are no more required. This spiritual knowledge alone is
devotion. When knowledge finally transforms itself into
devotion after constant efforts, i.e., when knowledge
realizes that nothing is to be effected by it, then alone it
surrenders to devotion. When knowledge surrenders to
devotion, that is spiritual knowledge. Hence, remember that
once you have got devotion you have got everything. If
Parama'tman asks you your demand, you should demand nothing,
and if at all God is pleased to give you something, you
should ask for Para'bhakti (absolute devotion). ( Patna
D.M.C 20th November, 1966 )
LIVE WITHOUT FEAR
Baba's First Discourse on 3rd August '78 after His
release from Patna jail on 2nd August. Subsequently Ba'ba'
declared it as D. M. C. ) This Universe is the creation of
Parama Purus'a. Who is this Parama Purus'a ? He is your
father. Therefore, this universe is your paternal property.
You must not forget it even for a single moment. You have
not to be afraid of any immoral or evil force of the world.
Fearfulness is not your wont, it is not your Dharma. Your
duty is to march forward. You must move forward. You have
always the support of Parama Purus'a. Regarding Parama
Purus'a it is said : Kai-iiia'dhyaks'ah
Sarvabhu'ta'dliiva'sah. The humans cannot do anything with
their own power. They have no power of their own. Those are
indeed the greatest fools who think that they work with
their own strength. Humans' existence, their actions, their
everything is verily dependent upon Parama Purus'a's grace.
Those who realise this early in their lives are wise. It is
true, humans sometimes feel weak. And when do they feel weak
? They feel weak when they isolate themselves from the
Supreme Father, drift away from Him. But the moment they
again realise Him they begin to realise that they are not
low, they are not mean, they are the sons of the Supreme
Father, they are the daughters of the Supreme Father,
instantly they receive strength. Always remember :
Karm'adhi,aks'ah.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAMGRAHA 71
You work with His power, you have no power. Hence you
must not think as to whether you will be able to do this
work, whether this work is possible for you. You will
certainly be able to do it if there is the grace of the
Suppreme Father. Why should you not be able to do it ? You
will surely be able to do it. While doing work you are
always in His sight. He is always seeing you, you are not
alone, you are never alone. In no circumstances are you
alone. Humans are never alone, but when they realise this,
there is an advantage as well as a disadvantage in it. The
disadvantage' is that the Supreme Farber's eye is ever on
me, He is constantly watching me. Should I do any wrong
action, He will see it then and there. There is no
opportunity to do anything secretly. This is the
disadvantage, a big disadvantage. And the advantage is that
in no circumstances am I alone. Since the Supreme Father is
with me, why should I be afraid of anyone ? Why should I
fear at all ? There is no reason to be fearful. I have to
move forward. Fearfulness is not my duty. Let the fear fear
me, I will not fear. I will therefore only tell you to move
forward and Parama Purus'a is certainly with you. And the
evil force, what is it ? If Parama Purus'a is the sun, evil
force is a firefly. Then what is there to be afraid of in a
firefly ? Is anybody ever afraid of the pebbles on the track
? They move ahead throwing them into the drain with the
strokes of their feet. This indeed is the fact. Move
forward, live without fear. Continue your movement forward.
What more should I say ? I have nothing more to say. ( Patna
3rd August,1978, )
THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUALITY
The quinquelmental world is made of five fundamental
elements: Ether ( Vyoma ) is the subtlest of these five
elements. Due to its extreme subtleness the Vyomatattva is
able to prove its existence only through sound tanmatra. In
order to understand this Vyomatattva or its sound waves or
its sound radiation, a special type of scientific instrument
is necessary. Except for this Vyomatattva, the remaining
four elements you can easily make out with the help of your
crude organs. The Supreme Consciousness or Parama Purus'a,
however, is subtler than all the five elements. How can the
senses apprehend this Consciousness when they cannot easily
catch the subtle Vyomotattva ? The Consciousness or Parama
Purus'a is beyond the scope of mental or supramental spheres
; for the object of the mental or supramental spheres is the
five elements or their semblances. That is why, you are
unable to reach the Parama Purus'a or the Cosmic
Consciousness with the help of your mind. Your mind will
have to come back disappointed repeatedly, if it tries to
reach Him for He is beyond the reach of your imaginative
power. You cannot get to Him through any common knowledge.
The Yama said : Yato valco nivartante aprapya inanasa' saha.
A'nandam' Brahmano Vidvan na vibheti kutashcana. Human
beings cannot attain Brahma through their own minds or
through words. They are sure
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 73
to be frustrated if they try to do so. With the
establishment in the Brahmic Bliss, mind, intellect, words,
all get lost, for He is the self-same Happiness-the Bliss
Absolute. One has to be established in Him through the
exultant force of one's consciousness. After reaching Him,
mind becomes non-existent, and so these passional bondages
Lust, Anger, Avarice, Delusion, Pride and Envy also cannot
exist. The sadhaka then becomes free of all fears. Tani'
durdarshaungu'd'hamanupravis't'am' guha'hitam'
Gahvares't'ham' pura'n'am Adh-va'tmayoga'dhigameiia devam'
matva'dhiiro hars'ashokao jaha'ti.
The Supreme Consciousness is unseeable, i.e., He is
not perceptible by the sight organ. One can not apprehend or
understand an ultra-subtle object, through one's organs.
Molecules and atoms are not apprehensible to one's organs
due to their being too subtle. In order to see them one has
to take the help of scientific instruments. Similarly, the
Supreme Consciousness is not visible. He is however, not
invisible, that is to say, one has to take pains to 'see'
Him. Just as intellectual and scientific vision is necessary
for seeing molecules and atoms, similarly spiritual vision
is necessary for seeing the Supreme Brahma i.e., He is
attainable only through spiritual knowledge. Hence in order
to attain Him you have to do Upava'sa which means worship.
When one attains intuitional knowledge, all one's troubles
and woes disappear. Do you know why ? Mind is the perceiver
of pleasure and pain, but Brahma is
74 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
even above the supra-mental stage. In order to attain
Him you have got to outstep the limit of your mind and along
with it you will have to leave behind all the pleasurable
and sufferable junks of your distorted mind. He is ancient,
He is hoary, for His origin is beyond the pale of time. To
Him the spatial, temporal and personal reputations are of no
value, for each of these is a particular manifestation of
the mind. You cannot possess Him through your worldly
erudition or by the stamp of your degrees and diplomas, for
all worldly lures are subject to time, place, and person.
Being spontaneous or self-manifest in spirituality, He is
not dependent on any second worldly entity. To achieve that
Brahma who is the supreme goal of spirituality, one has to
have recourse to spiritual practice ( Sa'dhana' ). Not with
the eyes of others, not with the spectacles of others, but
with your own 'eyes', you 'see' Him within. yourself. You
will move inward, not on any other vehicle, but by virtue of
your own inspirational propulsion. A calm and collected
individual, who is a genuine spiritual aspirant, attains
Brahma in this very manner, and with the attainment of
Brahma he or she goes beyond the reach of pleasure and pain,
does not have those mental distortions like pleasure and
pain. That condition is what is called the state of Bliss.
Etacchrutva'r saniparigrhya marlyah pravrhya
dharmya'manumentamapj,a Sa modate modaniij,am' hi labdhva'
vivriam' sadiiial naciketasam' manye. What is the result of
learning this intuitional science
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 75
from a competent preceptor ? By dint of this
Intuitional Science one learns to understand thoroughly what
is temporal and what is eternal. The scriptures call this
power of understanding the eterno-temporal discrimination (
Nitya'nitya Viveka ). You will accept only the eternal and
shun the temporal. It is on the strength of this intuitional
science that one knows what is mortal and what is immortal,
i.e., who or which is liable to destruction, and who or
which is established imperishability with the help of the
Nitya'nitya Viveka, this discriminating judgement about
mortality and immortality, one pursues the path of virtue.
What is the Dharma ( characteristic ) of the living beings ?
The endeavour to achieve happiness. Why does a living being
crave for happiness ? For self-preservation. Why do you eat
and drink ? To keep yourself in happiness. From this you
very well understand to love whatever little is lasting
within your present entity--whatever is its essence, is your
Dharma. This Dharma or Sadhana' teaches you to keep your
subtlest soul aloof from all transitory objects, as the
result of which your eternal self, the soul, gets healthy
nourishments--gets more and more developed on the path of
progress. That is why the true Sa'dhana' of the soul is
defined in the scriptures as the path of nourishment (
Pus't'ima'raa). One who does not understand or recognise
this true Dharma or characteristic, verily regards the body
as the sole factor of life. I do not decry those mentally
undeveloped creatures who regard their bodies as the summum
bonum of their lives, but for human beings to entertain such
a thought is
-76 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
nothing short of paying the mind a left-handed
compliment. The funniest part of it is that such people
flout the mind with the mind. A display of such perverse
mentality we come across in the Carva'ka philosophy. To them
the transitory body is the supreme entity. The materialists
are reluctant to give any importance to the mind in their
philosophy, nay, they very often even hesitate to clearly
admit mind's apperception or selfconsciousness. Yet these
materialists sometimes want to publicize themselves as
pragmatists or behaviorists. They want to say that they will
not tread the path of logic and reasoning, for in that path
some 'make a day of night and a night of day'. They say, we
are simple innocent, toiling folk. We want to pass our days
in peace with food to eat and clothes to wear. Behind this
demand, the Supportology or Practicology that exists is our
philosophy. Even by making such observations they get caught
in their own net. In the practical field, the utility of
things is determined by the mind. The feasibility of the
code of procedure and conduct is also determined by the
mind. "To live in peace with food to eat and clothes to
wear" is also done for the satisfaction of the mind. And to
top all, no matter what "ology" or "ism" is propounded, the
supporting doctrine--the "Supportology"--must depend on
imaginativeness ( mental sanction ). Every mental disease or
every spiritual disease is not Ma'yava'da (illusion). While
keeping contact between the earthly world and the human
mind, spiritual philosophy can be established.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 77
The word Gu'dha means deep. He is deep. With
superficial sentiment or thought it is impossible for you to
know him. To know Him you have to go deep inside; you will
have to be introspective. External sight will not do. The
one that you see as an ordinary man by your external sight,
is actually a conscious entity if you see him with your
internal sight. The one that you see to be an animal or an
inanimate object by your superficial sight, is really a
sentient entity, if you apply your internal sight. That is
why I say, in order to see Him, one has to go deep into the
object. He is deep, very deep, and it is due to this
intrinsicality that He abides in all entities in an
immutable form. While going to see Him in this state of
supreme unicity, all distinctions of superficial objects
thin away into air. In reality, the first and the last word
of spiritual Sa'dhana' is to see the synthesis of many in
one, in a single form. Physics is characteristically
analytical. So the investigation or research on matter is
carried out externally. But in the sphere of investigation
and intuitive comprehension of what is characteristically
unified or synthetic, there is no alternative but to take
recourse to introspection. This Purus'a Entity is inherent
and permanent in all objects and so to 'see' Him one has to
establish oneself in the subtlest of the subtle, the deepest
of the deep. He abides in the innermost recess or the
fundamental intellect as its Supreme Knower. Life is Vital
Entity of that cavity, that sense of ego, which is within
you and that is why, He has been called 'caverned' ( Guda'
). In order to know Him you will
THE PATH OF SALVATION
The subject of today's discourse is 'The Path
salvation.'As you all know, everything moves. Humans will
have to move. Nobody can remain stationary and life
represents that movement. There must be movement in human
life. As in all strata of life, in our physical stratum
we'll have to face, we'll have to solve so many problems,
and in the physical stratum also the goal is the Cosmic
welfare, the Supreme welfare. As this physical stratum,
however, is a creation of fundamental relative factors which
are also moving, there cannot be any permanent goal or
permanent point of stagnation in this realm. Really
speaking, there cannot be any progress in the realm of
physicality nor in the psychic arena. You are moving,
solving one problem, a few more problems will be created and
so on. But human beings cannot remain idle. They will have
to move forward. In psychic stratum also, so many psychic
knots are unknotted but so many psychic problems are again
created. If there is no proper adjustment amongst physical,
psychic and spiritual movements, the psychic side of humans
will get unbalanced and many new psychic diseases will get
created. This is the present position of the world. There
has been enough physical progress, less spiritual progress
and the psychic structures of humans have lost their
equilibrium, rather their equipoise, and that's why the
modern society is suffering from so many psychic ailments.
Really speaking there cannot be
SUBA'SITA SAM'GRAHA 81
any true progress in the psychic arena. Progress can
be only in the spiritual level, because the spiritual goal,
the spiritual desideratum of the humans is beyond the
periphery of the fundamental factors--spatial, temporal and
personal. So a person, a wise person is to move on towards
the spiritual goal. While moving along the path of beatitude
they will do their physical and psychic duty properly. This
is the true path. Now everything moves and that movement is
of systaltic nature. Wherever there is any movement there is
pulsation. Without pulsation there cannot be any movement.
And this pulsation, that is movement through speed and
pause, is an essential factor for each and every animate or
inanimate object. Wherever there is existential factor there
must be this pulsation. An entity acquires strength and
stamina, during the pause phase, and emanates vibration
during the speed period. There cannot however, be any
absolute speed or absolute pause in the created world. For a
proper or a well-knit structure, there must be one nucleus
and there must be many entities moving around that nucleus.
Whether within a very little atom or in this vast
cosmological order, the same movement is there around a
nucleus. Hence in the middle there is the nucleus and
everybody is moving around it and always the path is to some
extent elliptical. I said "to some extent" as it is not
actually elliptical. In the case of atoms, electrons are
moving. In case of our etherial order, the moon moves around
the earth. In case of our solar system so many planets are
moving
82 SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRAHA
around the sun, and in the Supreme Cosmological Order
the point of command is Parama Purus'a. He is the nucleus
and everybody is moving around Him. Now the fundamental
difference between this cosmological order having Parama
Purus'a as the nucleus and other orders, is that in all
other orders the movement is physical and the nucleus is
also physical. In the case of this Cosmological Order,
however, the nucleus is spiritual with all the
potentialities of psychic and physical expression, and the
moving entities are physical having psychic and physical
pabula. That is, when we move, we not only move physically
but we move along with our psychic structure and spiritual
structure also. When asked by his disciples, Lord Buddha
said that the proper style of movement should be according
to a definite system and in that definite system there
should be 8 fundamental factors. Another thing I should say
here, for movement around the nucleus two forces are at
work-one is centripetal and one is centrifugal. The
centripetal forces called Vidya'Shakti or centre-seeking
force. Those moving with Vidya' Shakti get inspiration to
move towards the nucleus. The other is centrifugal or
drifting away from the centre. This movement always
increases the radius, and where Vidya' is more strong the
radius is always reduced until finally the moving entity
becomes one with the nucleus. This is salvation--becoming
one with Parama Purus'a, becoming one with the Supreme
Faculty. Now, how to decrease the radius ? That is, how to
strengthen the Vidya' Shakti ? That is a spiritual secret.
Lord Buddha says, there are eight factors. Those
SUBHA'SITA SAMGRAHA
factors will help the spiritual aspirant in lessening
the length of the radius. The first is Samyak Darshan or
proper philosophy. One must know what one is and what is
one's goal. A goal-less march is meaningless, mere wastage
of time and energy. So the aspirant must know who he or she
is and what is the goal, what is his or her destination.
When moving along the road, if you don't know what is your
destination, your energy is wasted. So you should know what
is your goal and this is called Samyak Darshan in Sam'skrta.
The second important factor is Samyak Sam'kalpa. A person
must have firm determination that, "I am to reach the goal,
I must reach there." This second item is known as Samyak
Sam'kalpa--proper determination. The third one is Samyak
Va'k. All your expressions, sensory or motor movements must
be of a definite order ; they must be properly oriented.
That is, your nervefibres, your nerve-cells must always be
properly utilised. Then the fourth one is Samyak Ajiiva,
proper physical and psychic occupation. One may earn money
by stealing but it is not called a proper occupation. One
may earn money by gambling but it is also not a proper
occupation. One's occupation should be pure. It must not go
against the interest of the collective body. Human beings
are social creatures. In the universe, in the world of
living beings, there are two kinds of creatures: one is
social, the other is non-social. Human beings are social,
lions are social, and there are many other
.34 SUBHA'SITA', SAMGRAHA
animals who live, together. There are certain
creatures. who are non-social. Tigers are non-social, goats
are non-social. Human beings are social creatures. You see,
I never say that human beings are social animals. Old
logicians used to say that human are rational animalsI never
say they are rational animals. I say that human life is an
ideological flow. Why should I say humans are rational
animals ? Then should I say that animals are moving plants ?
I should not say this. So humans are social creatures and
nobody should be allowed to go against the collective
interest of the society. It is the fundamental factor for
neat and clean behaviour. So the fourth factor is Samyak
Ajiiva. That is, you must have proper occupation-your
occupation must not go against the collective interest of
the society, not only in the realm of physicality, but also
in the psychic pabulum. That is, your thought waves should
be properly directed, otherwise today's deteriorating
thought may be translated into tomorrow's deteriorating
action. One first thinks, then does accordingly. So thoughts
should be pure and properly directed. The fifth item is
Samyak Vyayam. It means proper exercise. You do so many
physical exercises, engage in so many sports and past times
for the development ofphysical health and it is a necessity,
rather a dire necessity for a living society. But most
people neglect the exercise of their mind and spirit. Human
existence has got three parts, three important and
inseparable portions: physical body, psychic body and
spiritual body. So theremust be proper exercise of not only
the physical body but
SUBHA'SITA- SAM"'GRAHA
also the psychic and spiritual bodies. Swnyak Vyayam
denotes proper physico-psycho-spiritual-exercise. Then the
sixth one is Samyak Karmanta. Whenever you start a work you
should complete the work with proper zeal and proper
sincerity ; the finish should be of perfect order. Starting
a particular work but leaving it unfinished is not good.
When you have started any work, you must finish it properly.
Let there be so many troubles, so many dangers, so many
adversities, but when yo have started it complete it neatly.
Then the seventh is Samyak Smrti. It means proper memory.
What is memory. "Anubhuta visaya sampra-' onosah smrtih".
When you felt one thing in your mind, perceived something-or conceived something, and when afterwards with your mental
force you recreate that thing in your mind, that process of
recreation is called memory. For this memory, for the
cerebral memory we require nerve fibers and nerve-cells is
the medium. Memory of this life May be carried over to the
next life but the nervecells of this life won't be carried
over to the next life, because nerve-cells will become one
with the earth. Then how is memory of one life carried over
to another life ? It is due to extra-cerebral process. In
this process one of the factors of this quinqelemental world
serves as the medium. Here Samyak Smrti means proper Smrtii,
that is, proper memory. You should remember the proper thing
which deserves remembering. And what is that ? You know you
are to do japa of your mantra always. While doing meditation
you do it while doing. Worldly duties:while attending to
mundane duties, you should also
86 SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRAHA
remember your mantra mentally. Generally you forget
it. You are so much disturbed and so much engaged in the
work that work takes the prominent role and your own
incantation becomes less important, when by dint of constant
practice you don't forget this mantra, you don't forget this
incantation, it is Samyak Smrti. This is proper memory. The
last one is Samyak Samadhi, that is, proper suspension of
mind. What does that mean ? When one sincerely meditates on
a particular object, one's mind gets attached and that
attached mind gets suspended in that object. Now when Parama
Purus'a is the object of meditation, what happens ? When the
mind gets attached you become one with Parama Purus'a. That
suspension of mind in Parama Purus'a is called salvation,
this is the eight, fold path. Now each and every living
being is moving not only with the physical body but also
with the psychic and spiritual body, they are moving around
the Supreme hub. Now, if they remember that their goal is
the Supreme Nucleus--Parama Purus'a-- what will happen ? The
length of the radius will go on decreasing and decreasing,
and when it becomes zero, the moving entity will become one
with the nucleus. It is the path of salvation. When one's
mind is not properly objectivated, i.e., when one gets
attached to only matter, one may be reduced to the status of
quinquelemental objects like earth, stone, sound, etc. When
mind is properly objecti-, vated the human entity becomes
one with the goal, one with the Supreme Entity and he or she
will attain salvation, and when it is not properly
objectivated what happens ?
SUBHA'SITA! SAM'GRAHA 87
The radius goes on increasing and increasing, but it
can never go beyond the periphery of the Supreme entity. It
is drifted away from the nucleus but it remains within His
cosmological structure. Now, it is not the path of
salvation. But how then can one be with the Supreme ? The
final word is, by the grace of the Supreme. You may say if I
do not get His grace how can I go towards Him ? The reply is
simple. His grace is for all-both for virtuous and
non-virtuous. All are His children. Nobody is unimportant,
nobody is insignificant. The thing is that somebody realises
that grace and somebody does not. Why does somebody realise
the grace and somebody not ? The reason is that while moving
along this path around the Supreme Nucleus in the
cosmological arena, if one holds the umbrella of ego over
one's head, what happens ? Suppose it rains and you are
holding an umbrella over your head, what happens ? Will you
be drenched by the rain ? No. If you want to be drenched you
will have to remove the umbrella. Similarly if you are
moving around the Supreme Father and holding up the umbrella
of ego, you won't be drenched by His grace, and if you
remove that umbrella of ego, you will be drenched by His
grace and you will feel that His grace is for you. So the
spiritual aspirant must move along these eight-fold factors
and also should remember to remove the umbrella of ego from
his or her head and be drenched by His grace. You spiritual
aspirants, you should remember that Parama Purus'a is always
with you and His grace is always with you, and you all are
His loving children. You need not develop any fear complex
.
88 SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRAHA
regarding the Supreme Father. You should remember that
He's the Supreme Father. He's always calling you and you
should always be ready to give a proper response. (DMC. 25,
9. 79 Caracas, Venezuela)
THE SUPREME AESTHETIC SCIENCE AND THE CULT OF DEVOTION
In the subject of today's discourse is "The Supreme
Aesthetic Science and the Cult of Devotion." What is
aesthetic science ? Prehistoric humans used to eat, used to
walk, used to take bath, used to do so many things. Humans
of today also do these things and so long as humans are on
this earth they will do the same. It is hoped that humans
will live on this globe for many more days to come.
Afterwards, when the environment will become uncongenial the
human race will cease to exist here. Humans will then live
on other stars, other planets. Today where there are no
humans there will be in the future, and they will disappear
from where they are to day. Collectively the human race will
not come to an end. Whatever were the daily habits of human
beings, whatever they did lively in pleasure and pain, are
the same today as they were in the past. When happy, people
eat in pleasure, and when they feel sad, they may leave food
in pain. There is a difference, however, between the
cave-dwellers and the aboriginal human beings of the
prehistoric period, and present-day human beings. Human
beings have brought more subtle beauty into the daily tasks
and habitual behaviour, which they used to do in a crude
way. Before eating, prehistoric human beings did not wash
their hands, and they used both hands to eat. Today, we wash
our hands, and use the right hand, or a spoon and fork. We
enjoy eating
90 SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRARA
in a more subtle fashion. Our sense of beauty is also
part of our enjoyment of subtlety. We wear clothes which we
feel make us look attractive, not those which we feel make
us look odd. In prehistoric times, human beings did not wear
clothes. The habit of wearing clothes came into vogue in
later times. Various styles. of decoration and make-up of
the body also have come into vogue over the different ages
of human development. Human beings of the past used to dance
and jump in joy. Today we also dance and jump, but there is
a a definite procedure in our movement ; we dance with
definite process. The common procedure of the dance of olden
days was called "folk dance." When more finesse was
incorporated into dance, it became known as "classical
dance". This very movement from crude to subtle, from
ugliness to beauty, from imperfection to perfection, is the
first stage of aesthetic science. Now, what is external
change ? It is the intro-external projection of the psychic
state. Then, is the introexternal projection of mind
all-in-all in esthetic science ? No. New likings may occur
in the human mental sphere, and new likings do occur in our
emotions, in our feelings, also. Though our internal
projections are stronger than the external ones. They are
not purely internal, they are influenced by extro-internal
projections. Human beings started to think in more subtle
ways, so their external expressions became more subtle and
more beautiful. They also started to want to see beauty, not
ugliness or bitterness, in their external surroundings, in
the mundane objects of their daily world. This search for
.SUBHA'SITA'-rrA SAMGRAHA 9t
beauty, this effort to attain perfection, gave birth
to Dharma, because when human beings did not get happiness
from crude objects, they started moving towards the Subtle
one. Human beings today are not satisfied to watch silent
movies. They want to see audiovisual films, because these
are more subtle ; they give morepleasure to the mind.
Therefore, it is the duty of every person to perform Dharma
Sa'dhana'. Human beings are marching along the path of
aesthetic science. Parama Purus'a is described as "Truth,
Consciousness and Beauty" ( Satyam' Shivam, Sundaram). Human
beings are fascinated by His grandeur, His non-attachment,
and by His beauty too. One who charms everybody, who
attracts every body, is called "Krsn'a" In the sha'stras,
the scriptures, "Krs'n'a" means one who attracts all towards
Himself. This is one explanation of the word, "Krsn'a" also
means "black" or "dark colony". When there is black amongst
other colours, the eyes are automatically attracted to the
black. So human beings are automatically attracted to the
Supreme Entity, to Krs'n'a. They cannot check this
attraction. Even if one tries not to be attracted, one will
be. It is due to the attraction of aesthetic science that we
move from imperfection to subtlety. Why do we move towards
the Subtlest Entity ? The reason is, we want to experience
joy or pleasure. The stage when we lose ourselves in
ecstatic bliss, we merge in the Supreme Entity, is called
supra-aesthetic science. (
Ati;
.
SUBHA'SITA SAMGRAHA 92
(Anandana Vijina'na). It is also known as Sammohana
Vijinana, i.e., as long as we are enjoying that ecstasy, We
feel it is very charming. The sport (Lila) of Parama Purus'a
is very beautiful. We are moving towards Him. We do not mind
the obstructions. We will go on moving. The stage of
movement is the stage of aesthetic science. The stage of
merger, when we have lost ourselves in the Supreme, when we
have no desire for anything else, is the stage of
supra-aesthetic science (Mohan Vijinalna). Now according to
the devotional scriptures (BhaktiSha'stras), the first stage
of this aesthetic science (Nandan Vijina'n) is called,
Ra'ga'nuga' Bhakti. People may ask, when was this aesthetic
science, knowingly or unknowingly, established in ancient
times ? Is the Bhakti Sha'stra as old as the cult of
devotion (Bhakti Yoga)! The answer is "Yes, certainly". Some
people say, the cult of devotion is recent. They are not
right. The word Bhakti is used in the Vedas also. "Yasya
Deva' para' Bhaktih Yathal, Deve Tatha' Gurao" is, only
those who have devotion (Bhakti) in Guru and Deva, can
attain the goal. Thus the word Bhakti is used. So the, word
Bhakti is not recent. Some people say that the Sufism of
Persia (pha'ras) took the form of Bhakti in India. It is not
correct. Bhakti Sha'stra,i.e., Sufiism was in India, it was
also in Persia, it was everywhere in the world. Where there
is human heart there is Bhakti, there was Bhakti and there
will be Bhakti. Bhakti is fully established in Tantra and
Yoga. By taking the ideation, of Parama'tma', the human
SUBHA'SITA! SAM'GRARA 9xmind becomes as vast as
Parama'tma Himself. It is the characteristic of mind to take
the object of its ideation. It is one of the characteristics
of Parama'tma' also. that whosoever takes His ideation
becomes like Him. Everything, such as water, fire, oxygen,
nitrogen, etc., has its own characteristic. So the
characteristic of Pa-rama Purus'a is that whosoever takes
His ideation, become as vast as Him by His grace.
"BrhatvadaBrahma Brm'han'atvad Brahma". The word Brahma
means very great. Is He only great ? No, He is great,
Himself and can make others great ; so, He is called Brahma.
When, by taking His ideation human mind becomes like that of
Parama Purus'a, it is called Savikalpa Sama'dhi. It becomes
one with Him, it merges in Him. Now, after it becomes great,
how is it possible to merge this mind in Parama Purus'a ? It
is only possible by leaving aside all else, then one remains
constantly in His ideation. What is love ? It is the
expressed form of devotion. Only one who has love for Parama
Purus'a can take His ideation. Love is the expressed form of
devotion. When does this expressed form occur ? When it has
its root or seed, only then it can occur. When there is
seed, only,then it will sprout. That seed is devotion. So,
only that one can make oneself great, only that one can take
the correct ideation of Parama Purus'a, who has the seed of
devotion within. Let us see it from another view point. If
one, after transforming mind into a point, without making it
vast, merges it into Parama Purus'a, surrenders it to Parama
Purus'a, then,
-94 SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRAHA
in that case, individual mind does not exist. Then
what happens ? Mind merges with Parama Purus'a ; there
remains only Parama'tma and not the mind. This is called
Savikalpa Samadhi. In Savikalpa Samadhi the mind enjoys
bliss because of its greatness. That bliss is called
'Liilananda'. When the mind is given to the Parama Purus'a,
it is surrendered unto Him, in that condition the bliss or
supra-mundane ecstasy is called Nityananda. So devotion is
essential to get Nityananda or Lillananda ( the bliss of His
Sport or Liila). How can you surrender the Self without
Bhakti or devotion ? Therefore from the ancient times
aesthetic science existed in human mind and there was the
cult of devotion. While one remains in aesthetic science,
one does not get entry into the supra-aesthetic science. One
feels, "I am serving Parama Purus'a, I like Him, because I
get pleasure in serving Him, by taking His ideation I get
joy." If you ask artists or architects as to why they are
busy with their art, they will say, 'we get pleasure from
it. This is aesthetic science. A poet composes a poem,
because he or she gets pleasure. Na va' Are Puttrasya
ka'ma'ya puttrah ; Priyo bhavati . A'tmanastu ka'ma'ya
puttrah priyo bhavati -Na va' Are Sarvasya ka'ma'ya sarvam'
priyam' 'Bhavati A'tmanastu ka'ma'ya sarvam'priyam' Bhavti.
Parents love their child very much. Do they love for the
sake of their child ? No they love their child because they
get pleasure for themselves. If their child turns into a
vagabond, if he or she becomes cruel, then he or she does
not utter even the parents names, then they
SUBHA'SITA SAM'GRAHA 9s,
do not get pleasure. A person likes everything of this
world but not for the sake of these things. One loves the
world, one lives with this world because one gets pleasure,
that is why one loves it. You see, if one gets great trouble
in this World even for a single moment one says, "Oh the
Yamarai (god of death), where are you ? 'Come on, now, I
don't want to live." After that if one gets attracted
towards this world after two or three minutes, one says, "No
Yamarai, no, you don't come now." So this is the first phase
of aesthetic science. After that what happens ? By taking
the ideation of Parama Purus'a, when the quantity of
pleasure increases, a person loses the self first. What
happens when he or she is lost? He or she feels "I take the
ideation of Parama Purus'a not for my sake, not for me. I
love Parama Purus'a so that he may get pleasure because of
my love, I wish to give Him pleasure. I may or may not get
it." When this stage is attained, this is called
Ra'ga'tmikal Bhakti. In this stage one feels, "I love Parama
Purus'a, I do not care whether He loves me or lot, He likes
me or not, but I like Him". This is Raga'tmika' Bhakti. When
this Raga'tmika' Bhakti is attained, in that stage one is
also called Gopa as described in scriptures ( shastras).
Gopa'yate yah sah gopah. Gopa here does not mean the cowherd
or the caretaker of cows. Gopa'yate means to give
pleasure--'Gopa'yate yah sah gopah.' One whose nature is to
give pleasure to Parama Purus'a or Parama'tma' is Gopa.
Nyhen Ra'galtmika Bhakti is attained, when one is
estab
96 SUBHAVffA SAM'GRAHA
lished in Raga'tmika Bhakti from Ralga'nuga' one
enters the arena of Mohana Vijina'na. At that stage one is
fascinated, one is charmed, and in that state, art,
architeture, all come to an end ; one's verbosity stops, one
becomes mute. This is Raga'tmika' Bhakti. So long as human
beings are in the sphere of Ralga'nuga' Bhakti they are in
domestic life ; they create arts, architecture, literature,
painting, etc. and get pleasure in them. They are within the
scope of aesthetic science ( Nandana Vijina'na ). And what
happens when they are established in supra-aesthetic science
( Ati' Nandan Vijina'na ) ? All their worldly music is
finished. All the Ra'gas and Ragin'iis and the art of
dancing, whatever they be, they come to an end. In that
condition, there remains only an ecstatic state, "
Bha'vibhora." The music of that state is called Kiirtana.
Therefore, it is the scriptural direction not to sing any
song after kiirtana, because other music is within the scope
of aesthetic science and the kiirtana comes within the scope
of Mohana Vijina'na. This Mohana Vijina'na is the
supra-aesthetic science. 'Bhakti tattval is supra-aesthetic.
Therefore, kiirtan is, in its essential form, with devotion,
it is in the form of 'Ota' and 'Prota'.So in the life of a
spiritual practitioner (sa'dhaka), in the life of a devotee
(Bhakta ), kiirtana is most essential. In mentioning the
subject of discourse, I said Bhakti Yoga. In English I said
'cult', because there is no word for 'yoga' in English, so I
said 'cult', but actually devotion ( Bhakti ) is not a
'cult.' Devotion is the terminating point, devotion is the
desideratum, devotion is not a
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 97
path Some people say, "Our path is the path of
spiritual practice ( sa'dhana' )". Devotion is the goal.
When devotion is established, everything is established,
there remains nothing. To get established in devotion you do
something, you do something else. Hence, devotion is not the
path, devotion is the goal. Devotion and Parama'tma' go
together. Therefore the seat of Parama'tma' is in the hearts
of those who are established in devotion, who are devotees.
When you are established in devotion, you get Parama'tma'
too. Then you will experience yourselves that Parama'tma' is
seated in your heart, you will not have to go elsewhere in
search of Him. It is the dictum of Bha'gavat Sha'stra.
Na'ham' Tislt'ha'mi Vaekun't'he yogin'am Hrdaye Na Ca
Madbhakta'h yatra Gayante Tatra Tis'tlhta'nzi Na'rada. "Oh
Marada' I do not reside in Vaekuntha, neither do I reside in
the the hearts of yogiis, Where do I reside ? Where my
devotees sing, where they perform Kiirtana, there I reside,"
These are the Lord Bhagavana's words addressed to Narada
(Nar a+Da+D'a is Na'r ada). The word "Nara" has got three
meanings. The first is "Niira", i.e. water; the second is
the shelter (A'shraya) of Prakti, the abode ( ayana ) of
Prakrti ; the abode of Nara is Na'rayan'a. Na'rasya Ayanam
is Na'ra'yan'a. One of the names of Parama Purus'a is
Na'ra'yan'a. The third meaning of the "Nara" is devotion
(Bhakti). So one who bestows Na'ra, one who distributes
Na'ra is Na'rada. Who is telling to Narada ? Bhagava'na
Himself is telling to Na'rada. What is is meaning Bhagava'na
?
98 SUBHAS'ITA SAM'GRAHA
Bhaga+Mafup+first person, singular number, is
Bhagava'na. One who posesses everything of occult power is
Bhagava'na. He rules over sound and touch. He rules over all
tanma'tras. He has got a great administrative capacity. He
has to run all the functions of the universe. How could He
do all this if He were not a good administrator ? He must be
a good administrator, He must be a strong personality. Next
is reputation, Yashah. He will have reputation--either
positive or negative. Some people will say, He is very
good--very very good, and others wil say, He is bad, very
bad. Yes, there will be completetely two opposite
groups--one group in South Pole and the other in North Pole.
One is reputation or yashah. Then comes Shrii meaning charm,
or attraction. People will be attracted towards Him. Shrii
means charm, fascination. The accoustic root (Biiia Mantra)
in Sanskrt is Talavya 'Sha' which means mutative principle,
the mutative effulgence, and "ra" means energy--light,
magnetism, electricity-all forms of energy. Actually energy
is one. So where mutative charm and energy are there it is
Yha and Ra i.e., Shra and the feminine gender is Shrii. That
is why there has been an ancient custom in India to prefix
Shrii before the name of persons. So He possesses Shrii in
complete form. Jina'na Vaera'gyam'ca s'an'na'm
Bhagaitingana'. I thus next come to Jina'na and Vaeragya.
What is Jina'na ? In Shastra, both worldly knowledge and
spiritual knowledge are called Jina'na.
SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA 99
A'tmajina'nam' Viduriina'nam' Jina'na'17yanyaniya'nitu
Ta'ni Jina'na'na'bha'sa,ni Sa'rasya Naeva bodhana'l. Only
the spiritual knowledge is Jina'na, others are not Jina'na,
because the gist of knowledge is not in them. They do not
impart knowledge of that gist. He possesses true knowledge.
You ask Him about any subject, you will get a correct
answer. He is omniscient. '6Rtambhara' Tatra Prajina"' Sixth
one is vaera'gya. Vaera'gya is derived from "Vi" +'Ranj'
Dhatu plus Ghaiq -suffix. He does not get associated with
any colour of the world. No colour can colour His mind. He
is within all and also far from all. This is Vaeralgya. The
collective form of these six qualities is called Bhaga and
the one who posses Bhaga is Bhagava'na. So, Bhagava'na says
to Na'rada, (Na'rada means that of Parama Purus'a by which
the devotion germinates in the hearts of the living beings.)
"Oh Na'rada, people say that I live in Vaeku'n'tha which is
somewhere in the sky. No I don't live there" The meaning of
the kun'tha' word Vaeku'n'tha is 'without complexes' (Vigata
Kun't'ha means contraction. So where there is no complex,
either inferiority of superiority, no fear complex, etc., it
is the stage of Vigata Kun't'ha. It is a stage without any
complexes. It is Vaekun't'ha. So when there is no complex in
the mind, no contraction in the mind, then only will one
feel Parama Purus'a or His existence in one's heart. That is
why it is called Vaekun't'ha. Now what is the dictum here ?
It is "I do not reside in Vaekun't'ha or any sky, neither do
I reside in the hearts of yogas."
100 SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA
"Yogin'a'm Hradaye Na ca". Here 'yoga' means Hitba
yoga who suspends his mental propensities forcibly. When the
propensities have been suspended, there will be no emanation
of any propensity ; there will not be any sentiment or any
ideal. So when the flow has been checked, what will the
Parama Purus'a do by sitting there ? Sitting there means He
Himself has remained in a suspended form. There will not be
any expression. Parama Purus'a wants to make the world
dance. Fverybody will be dancing with His vibrations and in
His tune. Parama Purus'a will be enjoying with all. Does He
not want this? Why should He live in the dry heart of a yoga
? He would like a sweet, loving heart--Sarasa Ifrdaya. He
will not like the desert. He would like fertile land. So,
the heart of a devotee is like the fertile land. That is