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2. THE SOUL,
THE WORLD, BRAHMAN AND SELF REALISATION
The consciousness of
one's own being, of the world, and of its supporting primal
force are experienced all at once. Awareness of one's own
being does not mean here the physical consciousness of
oneself as an individual, but implies the mystery of
existence. Prior to this, in the ignorance of one's own
being, there is no experience of Brahman as being there. But
the moment one is aware of being, he is directly aware of
the world and Brahman, too.
At the stage prior to this cosmic awareness, the self
and its experiences are limited to the worldly life. This
worldly life starts with birth and ends in death. To become
aware of ourself, the world and God all of a sudden is a
great mystery indeed. It is an unexpected gain; it is an
absorbing and a mysterious event, extremely significant and
great, but it brings with it the responsibility of
Self-preservation, sustenance and Self development as well,
and no one can avoid it.
One who leads his life without ever wondering about
who or what he is accepts the traditional genealogical
history as his own and follows the customary religious and
other activities according to tradition. He leads his life
with the firm conviction that the world was there prior to
his existence, and that it is real; because of this
conviction he behaves as he does, gathering possessions and
treasures for himself, even knowing that at the time of
death he will never see them again. Knowing that none of
this will even be remembered after death, still his greed
and avarice operate unabated until death.
When we concentrate our attention on the origin of
thought, the thought process itself comes to an end; there
is a hiatus, which is pleasant, and again the process
starts. Turning from the external world and enjoying the
objectless bliss, the mind feels that the world of objects
is not for it. Prior to this experience the unsatiating
sense enjoyments constantly challenged the mind to satisfy
them, but from the inward turn onwards its interest in them
begins to fade. Once the internal bliss is enjoyed, the
external happiness loses its charm. One who has tasted the
inward bliss is naturally loving and free from envy,
contented and happy with others' prosperity, friendly and
innocent and free from deceit. He is full of the mystery and
wonder of the bliss. One who has realised the Self can never
inflict pain on other.
3. LIFE
DIVINE AND THE SUPREME SELF
With heartfelt
love and devotion, the devotee propitiates God; and when he
is blessed with His vision and grace, he feels ever happy in
His presence. The constant presence establishes a virtual
identity between the two. While seeking the presence of the
Supreme Soul, the Bhakta renounces all associations in his
life, from the meanest to the best, and having purged his
being of all associations, he automatically wins the
association with the Supreme Self. One who has attained to
the position of unstinted emancipation can never be disliked
by others, for the people themselves are the very
Self-luminous soul, though ignorant of the fact.
In this world of immense variety, different beings are
suffering from different kinds of ailments, and yet they are
not prepared to give up the physical frame, even when
wailing under physical and mental pain. If this be so, then
men will not be so shortsighted as to avoid their saviour,
the enlightened soul.
That overflowing reservoir of bliss, the beatific
soul, does confer only bliss on the people by his loving
light. Even the atmosphere around him heartens the suffering
souls. He is like the waters of a lake that gives
nourishment to the plants and trees around the brink and the
grass and fields nearby. The Saint gives joy and sustaining
energy to the people around him.
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4. THE
ASPIRANT AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT
Spiritual
thought is of the Highest. This seeking of the Highest is
called the 'first half' by the Saints. A proper
understanding of this results in the vision of God, and
eventually matures into the certainty of the true nature of
the Self in the 'latter half'.
One who takes to the path of the spirit starts with
contemplation and propitiation. It is here, for the first
time, that he finds some joy in prayer and worship. At this
preliminary stage he gets the company of co-aspirants.
Reading of the lives and works of past incarnations of God,
of Rishis, of Saints and Sages, singing the glories of the
Name, visiting temples, and a constant meditation on these
result in the photic and phonic experiences of the mystic
life; his desires are satisfied to an extent now. Thinking
that he has had the vision of God, he intensifies his
efforts of fondly remembering the name of God and His
worship. In this state of the mind, the Bhakta quite
frequently has a glimpse of his cherished deity, which he
takes to be the divine vision and is satisfied with it. At
this juncture, he is sure to come into contact with a
Saint.
The Saint, and now his preceptor, makes it plain to
him that what he has had is not the real vision, which is
beyond the said experiences, and is only to be had through
Self Realisation. At this point, the aspirant reaches the
stage of the meditator. In the beginning, the Sadhaka is
instructed into the secrets of his own person, and of the
indwelling spirit; the meaning and nature of Prana, the
various plexuses, and the nature and arousal of the
Kundalini, and the nature of the Self. Later on, he comes to
know of the origin of the five elements, their activity,
radiation, and merits and defects. Meanwhile his mind
undergoes the process of purification and acquires
composure, and this the Sadhaka experiences through the
deep-laid subtle center of the Indweller; he also knows how
and why it is there, only that the deiform element is
kindled. This knowledge transforms him into the pure,
eternal, and spiritual form of a Sadguru who is now in a
position to initiate others into the secrets of the spirit.
The stage of Sadhakahood ends here.
As the great Saint Tukarama said, the aspirant must
put in ceaseless efforts in the pursuit of spiritual life.
Thoughts must be utilised for Self-knowledge. He must be
alert and watchful in ascertaining the nature of this 'I'
that is involved in the affairs of pleasure and pain arising
out of sense experience.
We must know the nature of the active principle lest
its activities be led astray. We should not waste our
energies in useless pursuits, but should use those energies
in the pursuit of the Self and achieve identity with God.
Spiritual life is so great, so deep, so immense, that energy
pales into insignificance before it, yet this energy tries
to understand it again and again. Those who try to
understand it with the help of the intellect are lost to it.
Rare is the one who, having concentrated on the source atom
of the cosmic energy, enjoys the bliss of spiritual
contemplation. But there are scores of those who take
themselves to be spiritually inspired and perfect beings.
They expect the common herd to honour and respect their
every word. The ignorant people rush towards them for
spiritual succour and do their bidding. In fact, the
pseudo-Saints are caught in a snare of greed, hence what the
people get in return is not the blessings of satisfaction,
but ashes.
The self-styled man of God, speaking ad nauseum about
spiritual matters, thinks himself to be perfect, but others
are not so sure. As regards a Saint, on the other hand, men
are on the lookout for ways to serve him more and more, but
as the ever contented soul, steeped in beatitude, desires
nothing, they are left to serve in their own way, which they
do with enthusiasm, and they never feel the pressure.
Greatness is always humble, loving, silent and
satisfied. Happiness, tolerance, forbearance, composure and
other allied qualities must be known by everyone; just as
one experiences bodily states such as hunger, thirst, etc.,
one. must, with equal ease, experience in oneself the
characteristics connoted by the word 'Saint'. As we know for
certain that we need no more sleep, no more food, at a given
moment, so too we can be sure of the above characteristics
from direct experience. One can then recognise their
presence in others with the same ease. This is the test and
experience of a tried spiritual leader.
5. THE
MYSTIC
The blissful
mystic clearly sees the difference between his
characteristics before and after realisation. All that is
transient has an origin in time and is subject to change and
destruction, while he is free from change and can never
perish. The unchanging one views the ever changing world as
a game.
All the characteristics of the Saint naturally spring
from his experience. As there are no desires left in him,
nothing in the world of sense can ever tempt him, he lives
in the fearless majesty of Self-realisation. He is moved to
pity by the unsuccessful struggle of those tied down to
bodily identity and their striving for the satisfaction of
their petty interests. Even the great events of the world
are just surface lines to him; the number of these lines
that appear and disappear is infinite.
Individuals are only
the faint streaks of these lines, and only as such lines are
they recognised. When the streaks vanish there remains
nothing to recognise as individuals. The interval between
the moment of emergence and the disappearance of a line is
what is called life. The wiped out line can never be seen
again.
The Saint who has
direct experience of all this is always happy and free from
desire. He is convinced that the greatest of the sense
experiences is only a momentary affair, impermanence is the
very essence of these experiences; hence pain and sorrow,
greed and temptation, fear and anxiety can never touch
him.
6. THE LILA
OF GOD
Sport or play is
natural to God, our experiences are known as the Lila
[play] of God. Without any prior intimation, we
suddenly have a taste of our own being; excepting this one
instance of the taste, we have no knowledge of the nature of
the Self. But then, even this bit of experience is hidden
away from us. We are forced into a series of activities and
experiences: that I am a homosapien, I am a body, my name is
such and such, this is my religion, my duty, etc. One action
follows another, and there is no rest from them, no escape,
we have to see them through. This goes on inevitably, until
perchance, it loses all its charm, and we seek the spiritual
treasure.
If the purpose of
all this be inquired into, we get different accounts from
different people. Some claim it is because of the actions of
millions of previous lives, but nobody has the direct
experience of these past lives; it is obvious that this is
fiction.
Dazzled by the
ingenious inventions and discoveries of the scientists, some
base their interpretation on empirical facts and offer them
as explanations, but the suddenly experienced taste of our
own being cannot be interpreted in this way. When the world
is called by the word Maya or illusion, it is condemned to
be mean; when the same thing is called by the words 'play of
God', it becomes great! In reality the facts are what they
are. Who is the recipient of the high designation, who
confirms the uselessness for the condemnation, who is He,
what name should we give Him after first-hand
experience?
That we have
experiences is a fact; others tell us about their
experiences, we receive information concerning relations,
and instruction in the performance of activities, and we
organise our behaviour accordingly. Someone from these
guides initiates us into what is said to be the core of the
indwelling Spirit, but that too turns out to be a transient
affair. For the acquaintance secured thus does not possess
the experiential core of the taste, and the initiator
himself proves to be part and parcel of that bit; thus both
he and his knowledge are lost to us. Now we are free to go
our own way, but for want of the necessary taste, this
self-help is equally helpless. We are where we were.
What is it that we
call the Lila of God? How are we related to this sporting
God whom we saw, talked to, had friendship with, and intense
love for. In spite of all this closeness and fondness, what
is our relation to Him? All the previous experiences with
their peculiarities have vanished. The Lila of God
disappears along with the pseudo experience with the advent
of the present experience.
7. THE SPIRITUAL
ASPIRANT, THE FIRST MOMENT OF BLISS
AND ITS CONTINUOUS GROWTH
The ever-awaited first
moment was the moment when I was convinced that I was not an
individual at all. The idea of my individuality had set me
burning so far. The scalding pain was beyond my capacity to
endure; but there is not even a trace of it now, I am no
more an individual. There is nothing to limit my being now.
The ever present anxiety and the gloom have vanished and now
I am all beatitude, pure knowledge, pure consciousness.
The tumours of
innumerable desires and passion were simply unbearable, but
fortunately for me, I got hold of the hymn 'Hail,
Preceptor', and on its constant recitation, all the tumours
of passions withered away as with a magic spell!
I am ever free now.
I am all bliss, sans spite, sans fear. This beatific
conscious form of mine now knows no bounds. I belong to all
and everyone is mine. The 'all' are but my own
individuations, and these together go to make up my beatific
being. There is nothing like good or bad, profit or loss,
high or low, mine or not mine for me. Nobody opposes me and
I oppose none for there is none other than myself. Bliss
reclines on the bed of bliss. The repose itself has turned
into bliss.
There is nothing
that I ought or ought not to do, but my activity goes on
everywhere, every minute. Love and anger are divided equally
among all, as are work and recreation. My characteristics of
immensity and majesty, my pure energy, and my all, having
attained to the golden core, repose in bliss as the atom of
atoms. My pure consciousness shines forth in majestic
splendour.
Why and how the consciousness became self-conscious is
obvious now. The experience of the world is no more of the
world as such, but is the blossoming forth of the selfsame
conscious principle, God, and what is it? It is pure, primal
knowledge, conscious form, the primordial 'I' consciousness
that is capable of assuming any form it desires. It is
designated as God. The world as the divine expression is not
for any profit or loss; it is the pure, simple, natural flow
of beatific consciousness. There are no distinctions of God
and devotee, nor Brahman and Maya. He that meditated on the
bliss and peace is himself the ocean of peace and bliss.
Glory to the eternal truth, Sad-Guru, the Supreme Self.
8. DEVOTEE AND THE
BLESSINGS OF GOD
The Bhakta pours
out his devotion, moulds his behaviour in every respect in
accordance with the will of God. In turn, he finds that God
is pleased with him, and this, his conviction, takes him
nearer to God and his love and friendship with Him grow
richer and richer. The process of surrendering to the will
of God in every respect results in His blessings.
One who is blessed
by God is a blissful soul. Being at peace with himself, he
looks at the objects of enjoyment with perfect indifference.
He is content with whatever he has and is glad to see others
happy. If a person believes that he is blessed by God and is
still unhappy, it is better if he give up this delusion and
strive for the coveted Grace with sincerity and honesty.
Divine plenitude and
favour is not judged by the objects of sense, but by the
internal contentment. This verily is the blessing of
God.
9. THE
UNITIVE LIFE
Him have I seen
now whom I so earnestly desired to see, I met myself. The
meeting requires an extremely difficult and elaborate
preparation.
I pined to see the
most beloved one. It was impossible to do without it, I was
sure to die if I were not to do it. Even with the innermost
sincerity of my whole being I was not able to get at it, and
the situation was unbearable. Yet with love and
determination, eagerness and courage, I started on my
journey. I had to get through different stages and places in
the undertaking.
Being quite deft, it
would not allow me cognition, at first. But lo, I saw it
today, I was sure, but the very next moment I felt perhaps
it was not it. Whenever I saw it I was intent on observing
it keenly, but not knowing its nature with certitude, could
not decide either way. I could not be sure that it was my
Beloved, the center of my being. Being an adept in the art
of make-up, it dodged me with a quick change of form ere I
could arrive at a conclusion. These were the visions of
various Incarnations of Rishis and Saints, internal visions
in the process of Dhyana and Dharana, and external ones of
the waking state eventual to the siddhis, such as the power
of prophecy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and the power to
cure normally incurable diseases, etc. Some were eager to
serve me, to have faith in me and to honour me, and this led
me to believe that I had seen it for certain; it is here its
skill in make-up lies. It is so deft in the art of changing
the form, quality and knowledge, that the intellect does not
know where it stands, let alone the penetration through its
nature. But, what is this miracle? Wonder of wonders! The
flash, curiously glistening, majestic splendour! But where
is it? It disappeared in a flicker before I could apprehend
it. No, nothing could be known about what happened to me or
to the lightning. I could not say whether the extremely
swift flash and the means of my reconnaissance were one and
the same or different. In the glow of the flashing miracle
the whole of the cosmic array is experienced directly. The
contact is immensely interesting. The flash experience makes
one feel it should be as spicy forever; this is the
characteristic feeling of the cosmic experience. But in the
very attempt to arrest the glowing flash for a basic
understanding, one loses it.
It is extremely
difficult to get at the root of the cosmic energy, that
perfect adept in assuming an infinite variety of forms. The
consciousness to be apprehended and the power of
concentration are one and the same. Being polymorphous by
nature, it cannot be pinned down to any definite form or
name or place, as for instance, the internal experiences of
the Dhyana yogin. In the first instance, the attention of
the meditator is silence in excelsis, this is transformed
into light, the light assumes the form of space, the space
in turn changes into movement. This is transmitted into air,
and the air into fire, the fire changes into water, and the
water into earth. Lastly, the earth evolves into the world
of organic and inorganic things. The water from the rain
takes the form of the juices in the grains and vegetables,
which essences supply nourishment and energy. This energy
takes the form of knowledge, courage, valour, cunning, etc.
The limbless process goes on. Neither form, name, nor
quality is enduring. Nothing is permanent or
determinate.
The felt experience
of the spiritually enlightened is difficult to negotiate
with. This may mean either that it is beyond our capacity to
get at, or it is beyond reach; yet one must go on with
concentration. The identity of the 'I' as the miracle in the
process of the dazzling glitter, and the 'ego' of the
empirical consciousness prior to the experience, must be
firmly established in Dhyana Yoga [meditation]. Is
the spiritually saturated soul the same as the experience or
is it even beyond that? There is no duality to the
experience one has in the process of Dhyana Yoga. At the
enlightened stage even the sense organs are involved in the
meditation of the spiritual adept, for the sense organs and
the five elements are one and the same at the core. The
material elements, subtle matter and consciousness, the
three qualities, Satva, Rajas and Tamas, and the three
sources of knowledge, perception, inference and testimony
were seen, are being seen, and lo! They are not there.
The characteristics
of origination, sustenance and destruction come under Dhyana
Yoga itself. The activity of Prakriti in all its forms,
manifest and unmanifest, and the consciousness of Purusha
are also included in it. In the Dhyana Yoga process the
eight chakras are activated simultaneously and are
experienced as such. All these, in a single, unitive
experience, I constitute the contemplation. Meditation,
consciousness, experience, are all but a single unity.
Dhyana Yoga is the
supreme activity of life. Concentration is the central thing
in experience.
The transformation
of Dhyana Yoga into Mama [sic] Yoga is a difficult
process. In the consummation of this process alone is the
Atman cognised with certitude. As long as Dhyana Yoga is not
completely transformed into Jnana Yoga, so long there is no
Self knowledge. The test of Dhyana is knowledge, then
follows the duality of knowledge and the Atman. In the
experiential knowledge, there is a race between knowledge as
Self and Self as Self. But in deep samadhi there is an
understanding between contemplation and the Self. This
results in the realisation of bliss. The bliss is
transformed into supreme beatitude and the self is absorbed
in the supreme Spirit. Knowledge to itself, contemplation
into itself, the primal Maya, God, the Absolute state and
the original throb are all a single whole of
Self-experience. The ever cherished and desired Being is
realised here.
Prior to this, in
the process of the attainment of the siddhis incidental to
Dhyana Yoga, there ooze forth experiences in the form of
arts, love, and memories of past lives in different regions
such as Patala, Swarga and Kailas. In some cases one has a
taste of different siddhis and Avatars and of a series of
meetings with others in different regions. There are
experiences of being the Brahma of Satya region, Shiva of
Kailas, and Vishnu of Vaikunth from time immemorial. Again,
there are different phases of the yogin's feelings, the best
and the worst, and the endless panoramas, not pleasant nor
enduring; and the inevitable adjuncts of Dhyana Yoga must go
on until it is transformed into Jnana Yoga; i.e., the
transition from the Samprajuata [silent mind in
meditation] to the Asamprajuata [altered state of
consciousness, silent and alert mind] state of samadhi.
Until then there is no Self-realisation. But, on the other
hand, if in the process of this transition the nature of
this phase of Dhyana Yoga be known, Self-realisation is
automatic.
All the experiences
and visions arising out of Dhyana Yoga are transitory. In
the contemplation, there is an infinite variety of phases
and forms, and none of them is lasting. Whatever is taken to
be helpful and great and determinate vanishes in an instant
and a new form takes its place to yield place to the next.
That knowledge from which all the varieties issue forth in
experiences, such as earth, water, fire, air, ether, and
their various specifications, is itself unstable. Starting
from meditation, the contemplating soul, having experienced
a taste of previous lives, is further transformed into the
primal Maya, primordial energy, and Godhead, and even into
the characteristics of the supreme Self by the power of
meditation, and all this for a trice, and it disappears. It
is here that it is called Kala, the final liquidation of
individuality. It is here that the separation from itself is
compensated for, and finds itself with spiritual certitude,
never to be lost again. The imperishable, indissoluble,
eternal Paramatman shines forth with perfection beyond the
reach of empirical experience.
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10. KNOW WHAT
?
The continuous
process of getting to know the environment goes on from the
birth of the 'I' consciousness. Though the 'I' consciousness
is automatic, hence effortless, one has to learn to do
various things; one also must learn about one's own person
and its care. Some things are mastered of necessity, and of
one's liking; others which are not essential must also be
learnt.
In the process of
conscious learning, over and above the world of things, we
are told we must also learn of the things beyond the world;
but before trying to know the things beyond, we must know
the controller and support of the universe called God, so
that other things may be known with His help.
Who is God and how
is He to be propitiated? We are told that this is to be
achieved by forming friendship with saintly persons and by
regularly and devoutly carrying out their instructions; but
then, we are told, it is a matter of rare good fortune that
one comes across such a saintly soul, and when one comes
across such a person, by rare good fortune, the saintly soul
tells us, "You yourself are God. Think of Him alone,
meditate on His being. Do not engage yourself in thinking of
anybody else."
For a while I used
to deal with various matters and perform activities such as
knowing and learning with the idea that I was a human being,
born of the 'I' consciousness; next I started meditating on
myself as God in order to know myself. Now I know that I am
the knower of whatever I remember, perceive, or feel; hence,
ignoring all that is remembered, perceived, or felt, I
contemplate on the nature of the knower.
I am sitting in a
secluded place where none can see me, with my eyes half
closed. Whatever I remember, perceive, feel or experience
comes into being from within myself. My meditation is my
torch and what I see is its light, all that I see and
remember is just the light of my meditation.
Now I do not feel
the necessity to meditate anymore, for the nature of
meditation is such that it is spontaneous. In its process,
it gives rise to innumerable forms and names and
qualities.... and what have I got to do with it all?
Now I am convinced
beyond doubt that this meditation of mine is born of God;
and the world of things is the product of my meditation
only. The cyclic process of origination, sustenance and
destruction is the very core of the world's being. However
more I may try to know, the same process must repeat. My
inquisitiveness has come to an end.
11. SPIRITUAL
BLISS
The spiritual
aspirant is absorbed in his spiritual experiments and
experiences, and the journey continues. One already has the
experience of the world through his senses, hence he tries,
as far as possible, to depend only on himself, he tries to
gauge the extent to which he can go with the minimum of help
from others and eschews the use of many things in the world.
In due course, the aspirant is sure to win peace; nothing is
wanting, he has enough and to spare. He is satisfied and his
behaviour reveals it. He expects nothing from those with
whom he deals. Is expecting material returns from others any
different from begging? If it is true that he has attained
to happiness beyond the reach of ordinary mortals, why
should he expect a beggarly share from material gains? If he
has in his possession the blissful spring of eternal life,
why should he ask a price from his dealings with others? It
is impossible that one who has realised his Self should rely
on others; on the contrary, he feeds others on spiritual
food with absolute ease.
As the happiness of
the people increases, they begin to love him with greater
sincerity, they know his importance in their lives. Just as
they acquire and store food, so too they take care of one
who has attained the position of eternal peace, identity
with the universal spirit, perfection. Yet some people get
to know some occult processes from great Saints and practice
them, enabling them to acquire certain occult powers and
they are misled into thinking they have what they have been
striving for, and style themselves as Raja yogins, and
engage in the avid pursuit of material pleasures; but one
who has tasted the pure bliss of eternal life in Brahman is
forever satisfied, the perfect soul does not desire worldly
honours.
It is impossible
that the spiritually perfect soul should ever desire to be
called the preceptor or to make others bow down before him
or to expect all to honour his word in every respect. One
who gets the highest kind of happiness from his life source
has no interest in material happiness. That is spiritual
happiness which makes everyone happy. These are the external
qualities characterising the enlightened satyagrahin
[seeker of truth].
12. THE
TENDER HEART OF THE SAINT
The heart of a
mother is full of tenderness, but it is limited to her child
only; but the heart of the Saint is all inclusive, it knows
the how and whence of the origin of each one and the
vicissitudes they have to go through.
The Saint is full of
spiritual knowledge and pacific repose, there is nothing
wanting. He practices his sadhana in such a way as not to be
discovered by others; he has no use for the external marks
of saintliness, he dresses in keeping with the time and
climate.
Being in touch with
the atom, the first cause of the universe, he knows its
nature quite well. Blossoming forth is the very nature of
the core of this atom, hence changes and differentiation are
bound to be there. Knowing this well, the Saint is neither
elated by pleasing events nor depressed by the opposite
ones.
He has gauged the
depth of the knowledge of the common man. He knows its
nature from beginning to end. He knows the how and the why
of the mentality, also the worthlessness of its achievements
and failures. The needs of the body prompt the creature to
acquire means of sustenance, but the greed for these makes
the creature pursue them to the point of uselessness, and
all of this without the least idea of what awaits the life
in future. What the creature deems essential and strives to
acquire, the Saint knows to be sheer trash.
The Saint is never a
victim of passions. Life is a mixture of passions and
emotions; Atman, the origin of passions and emotions, is the
very core of the Saint's vision, the nature of which he is
thoroughly acquainted. He knows its activities and varieties
of manifestation, as well as their consequences. The life
principle is the principle of feelings, passions, emotions.
Desires and passions engendered in this principle are just
emotive experiences, they have nothing of substance in them;
yet the poor creature thinks them to be of great
significance in his life, embraces the basically worthless
desires, indulges in sense enjoyment, and runs after them
helplessly.
The mother, with
sincerity but in ignorance, feeds the roots of misery, while
the Saint, with the same intensity, weeds them out. The
Saint knows what the welfare of the people lies in much
better than does the mother of her child. That is why the
heart of the Saint is said to be kind.
13. DEVOTION
TO BALAKRISHNA AND HIS CARE
During the
process of Bhakta, Bhajan, and renunciation, the experience
of the immensity of God is on the increase, but as the
vision becomes more frequent, it gets narrower day by day.
Here vision and knowledge are identical. In whatever name
and form God is propitiated, that name and form he presents
himself in. The various forms and names are woven into
prayers and hymns and are sung by the common man.
The devotee by his
firm determination, and God by his fascination for devotion,
are attracted to each other and the moment they come face to
face they merge; the devotee loses his phenomenal
consciousness automatically, and when it returns he finds
that he has lost his identity, lost into that of God and can
never be separated again; God everywhere and no separate
identity.
The creator,
enjoyer, and destroyer of all names and forms, the
controller of all powers, is revealed now; this is God, the
Self, Self-luminous, Self-inspired, and Self-conscient. Here
is where the primal gunas originate. Though atomic in
character, he has in him the absolute power to do what he
wills, in accordance with the emotive character of the
gunas, and to take any form. This is the atomic center,
atomic energy, the first and final cause of the
universe.
The God of Gods, the
soul of the movable and immovable, the all-pervasive,
qualified Brahman, the beloved of the Bhaktas, the ocean of
love and devotion is born here. This is Adinarayana,
residing in the hearts of the devotees; the Saints call him
Balakrishna [Baby Krishna], for in the beginning he
is seen to be the atom of atoms. By nature, he is innocence
incarnate. He is easily moved by emotions and becomes many
[immense], in accordance with the direction taken by
the emotions. The nature of the expansion is determined by
the excess of one or another of the three gunas. He
manifests himself through each of the three gunas at
different times in a non-partisan spirit. As the Saints are
closely acquainted with him, they know what guna he would
induce at any given moment and what the consequences would
be, and hence they dissuade him from the excess of his
nature. Excess of growth in any guna is dangerous. Satva
guna is absolutely good, yet even that is harmful when
hypertrophied; Rajas is restless and overbearing, while
Tamas is blind and arrogant. Knowing this well, the wise man
keeps his soul away from the effects of the gunas, hence the
energy of the soul remains undiminished and develops in the
right direction.
Satisfying various
desires increases the taste for them, and the thirst for
enjoyment slowly decreases the power of the soul in
imperceptible degrees, but when, setting aside the
temptation of the gunas, the devotee finds his pure soul, he
fondly takes to its rearing with love and sincerity; only
when the devotion is successful is the Atman realised. He is
seen as a child at the dawn of victory, hence he is called
the child of victory.
The Bhakta is alert
not to allow it to be polluted by the craving for sensuous
pleasures; the firmer it is in its nature, the greater
becomes the power and strength of the soul, hence the Saints
do not allow it to lose its steadiness. The crux of rearing
it lies in keeping it firm, undeflected by the presence of
the gunas. If the spiritual gain of the soul be eclipsed by
sensuous desires, it is shaken to its very roots. It is
difficult to keep the gunas at rest, that is why the Saints
advise stabilising in Self-knowledge.
Those who have
realised and stabilised in Self-knowledge are those whose
glory is sung from time immemorial; it is their names that
form the basis of divine meditation. Sri Krishna, Sri
Vishnu, and Sri Rama are some of the innumerable names given
to God; originally, these were the names given to the human
form, but they became Self-realised and came to know the
root cause of all experience. Those who came to possess this
knowledge of the Self and kept it pure and secure are known
to be Gods and Saints, while those who utilised it for the
sake of sense enjoyment are called devils and Ravanas. The
highest and rarest gain is difficult of achievement, but, if
achieved, it is superlatively beneficent, and if not
properly cared for, is equally harmful. One who does not get
excited by the possession of spiritual knowledge of the root
cause can, with love and devotion, cultivate and brighten
it. Devotion and prayer and renunciation are firmly
established in him, he is always free from desires, and
wherever he is the aura of peace and happiness is about him;
the aureole shown about the heads of great Saints is a
pictorial representation of this fact. Whoever approaches
him gets an unsolicited touch of the divine bliss. The Saint
never acts as an individual, all his actions are the
expression of the divine Lila.
14. SPIRITUAL
KNOWLEDGE AND THE PACIFICATION
OF THE
DESIRE TO KNOW
This universe
came into being through the activity of the primal atomic
[atmic] consciousness. There was nothing, not even a
trace of appearance before self-consciousness, and in this
state there came into being the consciousness of one's own
existence, the awareness of one's own being. In fact, there
was no time, nor space, nor cause. The awareness has no
cause for it, hence it is futile to name one. There was no
time, hence it cannot be dated. There was no space, hence
its location is meaningless; yet the atomic consciousness
was felt as such and nothing more, why so? For there was
nothing over and above it to be aware of! The awareness only
of being was there. How long this state lasted, there are no
means to ascertain; but the great miracle is that the
self-consciousness was there; with it was the cosmic will,
followed by its realisation. The atomic consciousness, on
account of its will and its instant realisation, became many
and pervasive. Although apparently many, it is all one in
essence.
When the atomic
consciousness became many and pervasive on account of its
will and its instantaneous realisation, the energy of the
single atom diversified itself into many centers, each with
its own peculiarity and will; hence the conflict. At any
given moment, the innumerable centers express their will in
a variety of ways; generally, the willing atom does not know
the 'whither' and 'what' of its will, but the effect is
bound to be there. The tangible result of the wills of the
willing atoms is to be witnessed at the moment of cosmic
destruction, when the whole universe is reduced to ashes.
The loving wills are not cancelled altogether; the great
moments of happiness in the world are the result of these
wills. The characteristic of the individual energy to will
is always operative. It is its essence and it owes it to the
primordial energy.
The primal energy
that scintillated first is one and homogenous, but appears
to be heterogenous due to ignorance.
The quivering atomic
energy is designated as the Great Principle by the Vedantas:
the essential characteristic of the Principle is
consciousness. The felt awareness expands itself into ether,
the expanse of the ether is the space. With a single quality
this Great Principle became time, space and cause. Next came
the three gunas and the five elements. The speed was simply
immeasurable.
The original
scintillation moved in space and that was the air, the air
gathered momentum and fire came into existence. The
throbbing of the fire increased and became cold and that was
water; the water cooled even more and that was earth. All
the characteristics of the previous forms are crystallised
in the earth and vibrate there; in virtue of this
peculiarity there came into being innumerable varieties of
living beings and vegetation, and the original quiver
pulsates in and through their vital sap. The original will
pervades the whole range of moving and immovable things and
is constantly active there.
The scintillating
characteristic prior to ether is filling every electron and
proton and is constantly increasing in strength. As long as
the quiver in the atoms is operative, so long the
constituents must be in motion. The original will pervades
the whole range of moving and immovable beings and is
constantly active there.
The original
consciousness sees nothing except itself. It has no organs,
yet it is in action with innumerable Spiritual Knowledge and
the Pacification of the Desire to Know 131 organs. It is
never polluted. The various conscious centers hedged by the
limiting adjuncts only think they are different from the
original source, but there is only one being, one spirit,
one quality; formless, timeless, non-spatial, the one, pure
consciousness. There is no scope for difference or
distinction. The creature, deluded by the narrow interests
of 'I' and 'mine', suffers pain for nothing, it is limited
only to itself. Everything takes place at the proper moment,
in accordance with the law that binds all, and everything
materialises at the proper moment. When Ravana becomes
unbearable Rama is there to give relief. When Kamsa rules
supreme, Krishna is there as an antidote. This is how the
rhythm of ups and downs is maintained.
The controlling
force of all these events is the same, it never changes. It
cannot be that there is one God in one age and another in
another age.
Just a single
quality gives birth to the glow of the expanded universe; in
the absence of that one quality, all is pure silence. When
this one single quality is known and befriended, the heart
mingles with the Heart; there is that supreme sense of
inalienable mutuality of oneness of quality in all, and all
as belonging to the One. The supreme unity is realised;
hence it is called the Supreme Self.
All time, all space
and all cause have become one for eternity, the One alone is
all-active. It has no gain nor loss nor death. It is unborn,
eternal, and yet is born every moment and manifests itself
in every epoch. All spiritual and intellectual knowledge
comes to rest here.
15. THE
GAYATRI HYMN
"The Hymn of
hymns, oh Uddhava, is the Gayatri hymn. I shall explain it
to thee from the beginning to end; pray hear."
[Ekanathi
Bhagawata XXI].
The Lord says, "Oh
Uddhava, Gayatri hymn is the bedrock of all hymns." All
means many. That in virtue of which this number comes to be
experienced is Gayatri. The tri-syllabic A+U+M means Omkar,
The Logos. The next step starts with two numbers. The first
one is the consciousness of one's own being. It is the
natural characteristic, the unuttered word. It is the
unknowingly spoken word given out everywhere and every
moment and no one knows about it. This word, uttered
unawares, is the Gayatri hymn, the basis of all hymns.
Innumerable words are spoken subsequently; and all the
universes spring from them, but the prime source of all is
the Gayatri Chhandas, the unspoken word, the unuttered
sound. Everyone has the same experience, and what is the
experience born of this unspoken word? One's own being.
There are
innumerable varieties of being from the ant to the gods, but
what is the original being? It is Gayatri. The experience of
this being is one's own being. This Gayatri Chhandas comes
first, the rest only follows. The characteristic of that
being is explained by the Lord as follows: "What is the
nature of that hymn? Even though there be the power to
create innumerable universes, it cannot be left hold of."
The original sound of the unasked for, unspoken, unthought
of and unuttered word was born in the form of Chakrapani and
it is unique to him; but not recognising it, the Perfect has
come to be a deplorable creature through graded degeneration
in the course of the temporal process.
The pursuit of the
Chhandas is fascinating. For everyone, it is the same
awareness of being, the unspoken word, yet spoken. In spite
of the efforts of the four Vedas, six Shastras and eighteen
Puranas, its interpretation remains incomplete ? Still there
is the uninterrupted fascination for the Gayatri
Chhandas.
What does Gayatri
Chhandas mean? It is the awareness of your own being, it is
whatever you understand without speech. Wherever there is
life, there is the hymn to support it. It vibrates in us,
and in spite of years of miserable drudgery, we do not feel
like parting with it. In virtue of this Gayatri hymn Sri
Rama and Sri Vishnu came to this earth as incarnations, but
they mastered it. This unwitting consciousness of your own
being is the same in us and in them, but they did it
consciously and experienced it as such. Other beings get
only to the surface of the meaning, which is only a
perversion thereof; the yawning of the creatures lets out
the syllables A+U+M.
Meditate on the
meaning as you have understood above. You are Chakrapani,
the being with a thousand hands and heads, the unuttered
sound. The word and its resounding sense are the first
Person, and are experienced as such. The sign of the
experience is complete satisfaction of the mind. Gayatri
hymn is the substratum of the satisfaction of all and it
bursts forth spontaneously, for the sound is ever glorious.
The name that resounds in you without being uttered is your
own indwelling spirit.
It is enough if you
silently listen to the ten sounds, five resoundings, dual
reverberation and the single voice, and the symphony of them
all. This basic Gayatri hymn is with you only.
Three groups of
eight syllables make one series of twenty-four sounds.
Gayatri Mantra consists of twenty-four syllables as follows:
Oam, Bhooh, Oam, Bhuvah, Oam, Swaha, Oam, Mahah, Oam, Janah,
Oam, Tapah, Oam, Satyam, Tat, Savituih, Varenyam, Bhargah,
Devasya, Dhimahi, Dhiyo, Yo, Nah, Prachodayaat. Great Rishis
and Saints acquire immense power by reciting this hymn of
twenty-four syllables. Innumerable worlds are created and
destroyed by its power, but consider the power of the
bisyllabic word Rama that easily cancels all this power and
rests in perfection.
VEDAS AS BASIC: They
were basic to the subsequent interpretation, hence they are
called basic, but the primal root, first cause of everything
is this hymn.
THE BEATITUDE OF
BRAHMAN: The experience of one's own being, of the vision of
one's own Self and the eventual peace that is unparalleled
is called Brahmananda. The experience of one's own nature
without the help of others is later on interpreted as the
Great Beatitude, [Paramananda].
SPIRITUAL LIFE: Just
as there is the luster of luster, so also is Gayatri
Chhandas the very life of spirit. The Lord says, "I am
hidden and it is my treasure, but that which hides me also
reveals me. How do I appear when seen? Surely as non-dual,
non-different. He who listens to the vibrating hymn is
hidden. With the devout recitation of this hymn everything
will be distinctly clear, for it is already there; but if
one wishes to realise my vision without it, he will have it,
and it will be Advaita, non-dual." [The reference is to
Nama yoga as an easy alternative to Dhyana or Raja
Yoga.] What do the syllables of this immovable one
signify? Absolute bliss of the Self, it is Sat
[being], Chit [consciousness], and Ananda
[beatitude]. This is the essence of the Gayatri
hymn. Its contemplation confers absolute bliss.
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