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Both
the persuasion and the discrimination approaches
are contained within this life-energy The primary
approach contains the discrimination and
elimination method [sifting the unessential
from the Essential]. This is stated in order to
prove that all that has an appearance, is false In
the siddhanta or final statement, it is said, "All
is Brahman." The four basic states of consciousness
[manas, buddhi, chitta and aham], the three
states [waking, dreaming and deep sleep],
the three qualities [rajas, sattva and
tamas] and ten organs of the senses [and
the various things and the various ways in which
the things are enjoyed or experienced] all
taken together, are nothing but the chaitanya,
which is jnana or true knowledge. That same "One
knowledge" is experienced as the entire world, at
the time of "knowing". The knowledge is
experienced, and beyond this you cannot experience
or renounce it, nor can you arrange to artificially
nullify it. At the time of knowing, that experience
is possible only because of the self-existent
chaitanya. When by very keen, minute observation
there is certainty and definite conviction, this is
called siddhanta or "Final Truth". Then very
serenely, there is certainty about God. There is
the realisation that there is only One and nothing
else. However, by the insistent attachment to the
physical body, that peace and contentment is
destroyed. For this you should say, "Tell me who I
am!" The demon of doubt should be asked, "Tell me
who I am!" However, then he keeps quiet, because
how can he show anything other than Brahman?
We should not deviate from the confidence about our
real nature. The body-consciousness brings in
something else. It only increases doubt and
misgivings, and it tries to bring you down. Do not
fall. The gods and various deities are all
illusion. They are our own imagination. Don't
harbour false ideas or false doubts. The story of
King Nala of the city of Nishadha tells us that he
did not wash his feet after answering natures call
of urination. He entered his house and because of
this fault, evil or Kali, entered his body and
mind. In this story, "the feet" mean the base or
the root that should be cleansed. One must examine
what is at the root of all things. Observe it. If
you see clearly to the root and wipe out doubt,
then there is only basic purity, fundamental
clarity. That which is basically clean, is strong.
Then there is surety, certainty, and no place for
doubt. As long as the fundamental cleanliness is
not there, evil or doubt, will surely enter.
Everything is full of doubt and it is the tendency
of the mind to turn towards body-consciousness.
Therefore, it is said that the aspirants should not
deviate from the Self.
The body is having a particular shape according to
its state [childhood, youth, old age]. It
cannot hold on to its shape, of its own accord. It
has the shape because of the miraculous power of
the life-energy [chaitanya]. Consciousness,
although it is in the body, has no particular form
or shape. Consciousness has as its natural quality
to make us feel or sense something. That quality is
called "chaitanya as knowledge". That life-energy
as knowledge assumes that it is this or that body,
and functions accordingly at the time óf
identifying with some form. Without thinking of it
being the Self, the consciousness considers as true
whatever is seen or whatever appears as existing,
and functions with that confusion. Actually,
whether it wields a body or not, it is "life"
without bounds or any particular form. It is
flawless, but it assumes that it has a form or
rather, that it is itself the form of the body,
which is a foolish blunder. With the concept of
being a body held very strongly, it demands outer
property and possessions that it thinks to be
suitable for it. Thus because it becomes ignorant
of its Reality it becomes enamoured with the body
that is perishable. It gives the body extraordinary
importance and unnecessarily suffers lots of
sorrow.
The body form is not our Original Existence. It is
but a momentary unwanted state. If you very
carefully look at it, you can bum the net of
desires and longings without fire. The saints tell
you, "Do not be enticed by body-consciousness. You
do not need anything." Therefore, the aspirant
should not deviate from being the Self. You should
never allow your contentment to be disturbed. Your
Self-confidence should be that strong. What day or
time is auspicious or otherwise, for That which is
Brahman? The Self is the power that is above time.
What is a bad time for It? It is the "merit" in the
"meritorious time" itself. Anything called "bad
time" has nothing to do with it. The Self is the
God of gods, who gives the "best" to all.
Body-consciousness makes you forget the discernment
of pure reason. Therefore, you must be very alert.
Even when you sleep on your bed, you must think
that you are Brahman, God of the gods, and have
peace. Never forget the Brilliant Truth that you
are formless clean, pure and stainless. You must be
steady in that contentment which remains unmoved by
anything. Does the God Vitthala lose being Brahman
because Rukmini [this refers to the unification
of the male and female principles, the formless and
manifestation] is near him? Both of them are
pure, formless, sacred, life-energy only, through
and through. Remain as Vitthala. Keep up the
concept that you are the Self, Atman. Here the word
Atman means, "Formless consciousness". The constant
conviction that you are this Supreme Self is
liberation, is freedom. Freedom is always existing
and does not need to be cultivated. Being the Self
is being free.
You should never forget that you are the Self. I
tell you this, but this will not be imprinted on
your mind except if you keep the company of saints.
Surrender yourself to the saints. If you are
outwardly agreeing and being alert but secretly are
having doubt, what good will all your agreement
bring? Listen now to one "Great Principle". One who
has absolutely no doubt is the siddha, the master.
There is the story of Visoba Khechara who slept
with his feet on the stone Shiva-lingam. When asked
about it he said, "Is there any place where Shiva
is not? All this earth is a Shiva-lingam. My feet
are also Shiva. They are not anything else. This
entire world is Shiva." This must never be
forgotten. This determination should not
falter.
In the stage of
siddha, the one formerly named "Namya", is not
there, [who became Saint Namdev that visited
the Sage Visoba and was enlightened about the
all-pervading God]. There is no "other" there.
There is nothing like the "second" or another. The
second is not there. The "other" is not relevant
there. One who has understood this is the siddha.
One who has doubt is still a seeker, an aspirant.
There is no shortage of sin and merit in the world.
Once you identify with the body, the ocean of sin
and merit is filled. All of these things are told
in the Vedas. The Vedas teach us how
to perform actions while we think we are a physical
body. When man's intelligence surpasses the limit
of the body, the Vedas cannot give any
instructions to the one who is a bhakta, a devotee.
When one is beyond his physical body, beyond the
perceptible, what can be said about him? What are
his signs? Signs are only facets or qualities. The
Self is devoid of any shape. When we realise that
we are the Self, how can we describe "His"
qualities or lack of qualities?
One who understands himself as the Self is beyond
sin or merit, and has transcended the boundaries of
visible forms. He is victorious. That is his
Victory Day [Vijaya Dashamee]. That day is
the Golden Day. It is the glass of Immortal Nectar.
Birth and death are gone. The state of being an
individual [jiva] is gone. The Vedas
themselves have put their own boundary. When you
have crossed, then you are without doubt the Self,
and not the body. The "me" who was in the body, has
become Shiva. He is victorious. He is now the
master, with the Absolute Power of Brahman, the
Power of the Self, the Reality of Himself.
Paramatman, the Supreme Self, Rama, has resumed His
Kingdom. That attainment is the state of
Victory.
So, up to now you have had the delusion of being an
individual. As soon as the concept of being a jiva
is gone, the concept of God, Shiva, its
counterpart, is also gone. The illusion
[maya] has appeared to be very fearsome,
but it is really non-existent, it is only an
illusion. The result of Self-knowledge is complete
fearlessness. Self-knowledge means that there is no
fear of any beings. That life which has no fear of
any beings is a formless life, and it is beyond
even the transparent. It is not a material form
that is perceivable by our senses. It cannot be
destroyed by any experiments involving the five
elements. It is not even touched by the sense of
having knowledge. When the illusion is unreal, why
should we harbour any fear of what will happen or
how things will happen? In a dream, one may be
afraid, but upon awakening, the fear is gone.
Similarly, when one is awakened to one's real
nature, all fear is gone. Many ignorant people
consult an astrologer to get their dreams
interpreted. Similarly, although this world is
proved false, as soon as you worry, it shows that
you are not using proper discrimination
[viveka]. Whenever there is worry, there is
no "bliss of Self-knowledge". The only one who gets
the enjoyment of this bliss is the one who is sure
about his true nature.
One whose mind is depressed is never free of
anxiety, as he is suffering from the false notion
of being an individual. One whose mind is not
having discrimination, never asks why he should not
worry. All people are taking on the veil of anxiety
and dying of worry, but they never think about why
they should not even worry at all. You allow the
dog of worry to enter and reach the shrine room,
the inner sanctum of your own home. Worry is not
helpful for anything. The question is, "What should
the formless Self worry about?" In every living
being there is strife going on day and night. Even
the judge or the king is not free of anxiety,
because that judge does not give the proper justice
to anxiety. He does not even go to bed, without
anxiety. As soon as he puts his back to the bed,
his worrying starts. Why, I ask? At least, he
should sleep peacefully. The next day when he gets
up, there is going to be some benefit from taking a
rest from the worry, which he gets during deep
sleep. However, still this man never stops
worrying. Even if there is some benefit or profit,
that has been gained, he still continues to worry.
To awaken to the Self is itself what is truly
beneficial. So, I ask you, why should you be
anxious? Whatever you want to do, you should do
without anxiety. Because of worry, knowledge
becomes impossible to gain, and spiritual knowledge
is not grasped. What is destined to happen,
happens, so why then should there be anxiety? Even
the Lord, Sri Ramachandra, one fine morning had to
go to live in the forest, instead of sitting on His
throne. Thus, only what is destined to happen,
happens. Then why worry for anything? The "bliss of
Brahman" is very delicate, very subtle. However,
that "great bliss" is not possible because of
worry. Those who are doing spiritual practice
[sadhana] with a desire to enjoy "that
bliss" should never worry. Only then can "that
bliss" be attained. When the illusion of being a
jiva is gone, the Self is fully realised.
Why should you have any anxiety? Illusion is only
visible to the imagination. If you have no
imagination, then the illusion does not do
anything. There is a story about a moneylender who
was always worrying as to what will happen if this
or another thing, were to take place. He was a very
rich man,, with a large family, he had, a large
number of cows, buffaloes, and, horses. He had many
servants, and his house was always full of grains.
Once during the days of the Diwali Festival, after
having a rich dinner with family members and
children, he was comfortably reclining in his hall.
At that time, he remembered that some years back
there was a drought where many cattle in his town
and other villages in the vicinity had died, and
many other people were on the verge of death due to
hunger. As he sat therein his comfortable
surroundings he remembered those past events, and
he was overwhelmed with sorrow. Tears came to his
eyes as he sat there in that depressed state. After
a short time, his wife came, and saw this. She was
curious, and asked what has happened, what was
wrong. He said, "My dear, if that situation comes
again, what will happen?" and he started openly
crying. His wife got up, went to where he was
sitting, and also started crying. Seeing them
there, some other women asked her "What happened,
why are you crying?" She said, "Nothing very
serious, but if that situation comes again, what
will happen?" It is often the case with rich
sophisticated people that it often happens that
what one feels, all he others around him also feel
So, all the other people began to follow the lead
of the man and his wife, and started, crying as
well. All the servants and relatives also began to
cry. Gradually, this news spread through the town
and as he was a famous rich man, the other nearby
villages were also affected. Everybody was asking
each other what will happen if that situation
occurs again?" Then as the crying was everywhere,
wise people began to enquire as to what was the
fact behind all this fuss. Respectable people went
to the house of the rich man and asked him, "What
is really the matter after all?" He then proceeded
to tell the whole story of the drought in the past.
Listening to this, they became surprised! This is
the case with the whole world. Everything gets
distorted by imagination.
Do not think that this is only the story of that
moneylender. This is your story. If the Self
foolishly starts to worry without cause, everything
gets twisted and all the sense-organs and bodily
functions also get confused, worried and unhappy.
All beings are constantly worrying about what will
happen and how it will happen. Everywhere this
pathetic story about worry for the future is found.
Man was born crying and will go on crying until the
time of death. What is it that makes a corpse look
good? It only looks good because of the sorrow of
other people. If nobody cries, the corpse is not
honoured and does not really look so good. There is
a saying, "Is there anybody who will lament upon
your death?" And, if someone doesn't lament they
say that he has no feeling. So, you should think,
"Why to cry? Why to worry?" Its alright, be
worried, but it should be true care, true worry.
Why do you worry in vain? Be confident and certain.
Only that which is destined to happen is going to
happen. The tiger is definitely going to kill you
and eat you, no matter what name you may give it.
Then why should you not kill the anxiety that is
needlessly created by the name? Destiny is going to
play out as it will. Why worry about what will
happen in the future? In short, bliss comes near
where there is happiness, just as some culture has
to be added to milk in order to get yoghurt. In
order to attain the state of "highest bliss", you
have to enjoy without worry. If the rich man
worries more than the beggar, the rich man is worse
than the beggar. Worry is such that it does not go
away unless you drop it. Even if you are given
great prosperity, still you go on worrying. What
can God do about it? What can God do for you if you
do not let go of all worry? As you have lost the
quality of discrimination, worry is always
troubling you. The individual thinks that it is he
who does everything, and suffers accordingly. It is
said that "over-wise is otherwise". The individual
thinks in vain, "Nobody ever works properly. Only I
can do the work nicely. No good job can be done
without me." In vain, he always worries like
this.
You will not have peace if you continue to hold on
to all of this worry. So, let go of all worry. Come
what may, you must be without anxiety. The illusion
creates fear only for the one who is constantly
worrying as to what will happen and how it will
happen. Those who worry are going to die anyway. As
soon as you project an image of what will happen,
worry starts. You start worrying about a thing that
is not even existing. Why do you let yourself
become unhappy by being anxious about future
things? Because you have lost the discrimination
power, you are worried. A madman imagines about
happiness. The madman's imagination may even jump
to the God Indra, and he is happy in this
imagination, and also very courageous. You should
be happy and content with whatever humble bread you
get. One who worries even after getting the Nectar
of Immortality is surely the enemy of God. One sees
that another person is happy and become unhappy.
Why do you become unhappy by seeing someone else's
happiness? It is because you think, "l do not have
what he has." How strange and surprising is the
nature of the jiva! This is not a desirable
condition. The reason for this criticism is that
those who are indiscreet are unhappy. A beggar is
free from any worry. In a way, he kicks the
anxiety. He eats his bread and chutney with royal
majesty. Just see how he enjoys such a simple meal!
All things are possible without feeling the need to
worry. Never bother yourself unless circumstances
really demand it. Whatever may be, let it be,
undisturbed.
Only one who releases oneself from the clutches of
anxiety is fit to possess this "knowledge of
Brahman". It is only he, who can gain this
knowledge. To the one who is joyful, bliss comes of
its own accord. He enjoys bliss at all times. Grief
joins grief, and sorrow joins sorrow. One who
completely lets go of worry is the brave man who
rides the tiger. Lord Vishnu is reclining on the
body of the most venomous serpent, the Shesha, and
he is not afraid or worried about the extreme
poison. The poisonous hissing of that serpent is
not troublesome to Him. On the contrary, it gives
Him joy. The One who is Self-contented is enjoying
the "bliss of the Self". That is why He is the
spouse of goddess Laxmi, the deity of wealth and
riches. As He is in "His own inner-bliss", the
Goddess Laxmi is massaging His feet. However, there
you [the individual] are, at the feet of
the perishable thing that is worry, and she is
burning you without any reason.
Let go of anxiety and be happy. Anxiety is poison.
Why have that bitter taste in your mouth? A blind
man does not have a fly in his soup because he does
not worry. The snake does not bite small children.
Our own imagination ecornes our enemy. You imagine
that there is a ghost, and it is demanding
something from you, and then the worry becomes a
daily affair. It possesses you, and then it
controls you totally. You must let go of illusion
Never imagine about sorrow. The anxiety has snuck
into your mind. Discard it by quiet discrimination,
recognising that it is unnecessary and unessential.
Then you are surely happy.
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