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Color Me - Goddess Saraswati
Color Me #5- Saraswati
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Sai Satcharita Chapter 1 (3)
Sai Satcharita Chapter 1
Around the year 1910, Shirdi was plagued by the epidemic of Cholera. The people of Shirdi asked Baba for help, claiming that they did not know what to do to help their loved ones. After hearing many such requests, Baba awoke one morning, washed his hands and face, and started to grind wheat using a hand mill. The villagers were confused as to how this practice would help their sick families, but still helped Baba with His task. Finally, when all the wheat was ground into flour, Baba told the villagers to take scatter the flour around the village borders. When the villagers asked why, Baba smiled knowingly and told them that the Cholera would subside. Baba’s devotees believed that it was not wheat, but the disease, that had been ground and thrown away from the village. Shirdi was no longer plagued by Cholera within a few months, and the villagers lived well.
[Source]
The Spirit of Education
The Spirit of Education by Swami Krishnananda
Created on Thursday 21 November 2013 18:13
Education is the process of manifesting the inner divine potentialities of man. The present system of education is introduced into India by alien rulers. They introduced this system to enable the unsuspecting Indian to qualify himself to be able to serve the rulers. It thus became a travesty on the real purpose of this sacred process, education, a process that has for its purpose the drawing out of the best, sublimest and noblest, of the latent faculties in man. Now the time has come to recognise the defect in this present system and to bring about the necessary changes in its outlook. The genuine and sincere aim of the administrators of India should be to educate the coming generation in such a way as to gradually make it grow into a perfect order of specimens of the glories of our most precious culture. To achieve this, the educational system should be one that does not merely consist in the filling of miscellaneous facts and figures into the young mind but should be a living process of touching and awakening in young India’s heart of all the dormant idealism of our ancient tradition that is now slumbering, neglected in its heart.
Right education is the process of the discovery of truth. This truth is unravelled by degrees. Education ranges from the training of the self in the physical plane into the realisation of the highest and of disciplining life in general. The ultimate purpose of education is the knowledge of the Divinity that shines in all beings. The process involves a burning up of the obscuring dross in the fire of self-discipline and purification. The impediments have to be removed from within. This removal of obstructions to the manifestation of the latent wisdom is education. Education means the subdual of the propensities which are antagonistic to pure understanding and awareness. Education is not merely an intellectual discipline; its integral part is moral achievement. Righteousness and virtue go hand in hand with true education. There is no value in education if it is destitute of the spirit of spiritual expansion or a progressive attainment of divinity. Though this sense of the highest perfection need not be explicit in the beginning stages of education, in no stage can it be entirely forgotten. Even as several zeros have no value without a number preceding them, nothing in this world, no achievement whatsoever, can have any real meaning if it is entirely devoid of at least the implied presence of the spiritual sense.
Schools and colleges should impart this kind of education. It does not mean, of course, that it is possible to make all students grasp the full significance of the higher life at once. But it is imperative that even small children should be brought up in such a way that they will grow perfectly virtuous and moral, good-natured and God-fearing. Everyone should be brought into the light of that ancient culture, the culture and refinement that belong to the nature of the manifestations of the Divine Being. The test of education is the revelation of inner light.
The spirit of real education is to be found in the meaning of the hoary Gurukulavasa and study under a perfected person. Whatever the degree of intelligence of the student be, the art of educating one lies in the method of an introversion of the faculty of knowledge. Introversion need not necessarily mean any mystic contemplation. It means, in general, an inner way of approach, the regulation of life in conformity with the perception of the ultimate unity of all things. It is the investigation of the powers of the inner man, the knowledge of the capacities and the potentialities which are responsible even for the objective investigation of the scientist. The method of material science can ultimately be only a failure if it tries to know anything without gauging the depths of the knower. It is futile to attempt at anything unless the presuppositions of all attempts and undertakings, viz., the implications of the experiences and the faculties of the active knowing subject, are known. The modern methods of education cannot be satisfactory, since the most important factor in education, viz., inner culture, is not paid heed to. What does one see nowadays? Young men finish their courses of study after several years and come from colleges, grown in age, and yet know not the fundamentals of life or its meaning. Question any student – even the so-called educated youth – he betrays his ignorance of the central facts governing life. Not only this; students show a lack of real goodness and virtue. There is in them a want of moral strength, inner toughness born of a well-regulated and disciplined life. The ancient Sishyas under their Gurus were kept under rigid discipline. They were to observe such rules as would subdue their sense-desires and increase their mental energy and intelligence. The ancient Brahmacharins had tremendous power, Ojas-Sakti. They were Agnimanavakas, fire-lads, glowing with Brahmavarchas, as the result of self-mastery. The implicit surrender of the disciple to the Guru meant a check upon the natural propensities that might be intruding in the midst of the disciple’s higher aspirations. The very purpose of life under a teacher is to transcend the instinctive nature and live in the light of the inner hidden resources of the vaster life of the intelligent and spiritual nature.
Secular education cannot make a true man. Physical health, mental purity, intellectual acuteness, moral power and a spiritual outlook of life with right effort pointing to its aim should go together if perfection is to be achieved. Students should be thoroughgoing Brahmacharins, adherents to Satya and Dharma, to continence absolute, physical and mental, as well as a righteous mode of living. It is indeed not happy that the students of the present day take too much interest in what lies outside the educational career, in politics, and social movements. Though these are all valuable activities, they mar the spirit and stultify the very meaning of real education. A student, as long as he is a student, should not concern himself with such things as would detract his attention and spoil his life of studentship. Moreover, the goal of education is not merely material comfort, but inner growth and culture which seems to have been forgotten by our students. A student should be an embodiment of humility, self-control, obedience, self-surrender and stern intelligence. He should be the very form of exemplary conduct, of spotless character. A student is a growing citizen, not merely of a country, but of the world, of the whole universe. This he can be only when he is unselfish and self-sacrificing, moral and pure.
It is not right to think that the spiritual sense has no relation to education in schools and colleges. Education is a barren husk if it is dead to the calls of the inner Spirit. It is imperative that at least one lesson in a week, if not every day, should be taught on morality and spirituality. Long courses of study without the spiritual note in them are like palaces built on quicksand. The Supreme Spirit is present in all, and so everyone should be alive to its existence and its demands. Let teachers, professors, parents and students, alike, hear this call of cultural renaissance, human uplift and universal brotherhood, and strive to attain the goal of true education, viz., cultural integration by spiritual perfection.
[Extracted from Swami Krishnananda Maharaj’s discourses Divine Life Society]
Sai Satcharita Chapter 16-20
Sai Satcharita Chapter 16-20
Shri Sai Satcharitra for Kids
Chapters 16 & 17:
Shri Sai Baba was known for being full of Sat-Chit-Anand, which translates to existence, knowledge, and bliss. He accepted even small offerings as long as they were offered with love and devotion, but rejected offerings that were given out of pride. There was once a very rich man who had everything he could wish for. When he heard of Baba, he went to Shirdi to ask Baba was Brahma-Jnana, the knowledge of God. When he saw Baba, he fell at his feet, and asked for Brahma-Jnana, saying that his journey had been very difficult and knowledge of God would have made his life journey worth it. Baba replied that He would happily show him Brahman because people rarely came to Him for spiritual matters. He ushered a boy in the mosque and told him to get a loan of Rs. 5 from the local merchant. When the boy returned empty-handed, Baba asked him to search for other people in the town from which he could get the loan of Rs. 5. The boy came back without the money, though Baba knew that he would not bring the money. The wealthy man that had come to see Baba was sitting in front of Him with a lot of money in his pocket, and did not offer to give Him the loan of such a small amount. The man repeated his prayer to Baba, asking him to show him Brahman, when Baba replied that He already had. Any man that truly loved Baba would have offered the money without hesitating, whereas this man had sat in front of Baba for a long time and watched Him go through this ordeal for the Rs. 5, and not done anything to help. Baba explained that in order to see Brahman, one had to be able to surrender one’s vital forces, one’s five senses, one’s mind, intellect, and ego. The man, although wealthy, was not ready to surrender these things to God. Where there is greed, there is no room for thought or meditation of God.
Chapters 18 & 19:
Mr. Sathe, a man who worked for the Governor of Bombay, had suffered many losses in his business. He was a very sad man, and thought about leaving his home and family due to his troubles. His friends told him to go to Shirdi, where he could get some peace of mind after getting Baba’s darshan. After seeing Baba, he was happy, and felt that his good karma from his previous births had brought him to Baba’s Holy Feet. Mr. Sathe worked hard, studying the Guru-charitra, and after seven days of study, Baba blessed him with a dream in which He explained everything in the Guru-charitra to Mr. Sathe. The man was very pleased, and asked one of the men closest to Baba whether he should continue his study for another seven days or stop at this point. Baba sent a message through the man that Mr. Sathe should continue study for another seven days, at which point God would bless him and free him from his mundane existence.
Hemadpant, Baba’s devotee, was in Shirdi during this time, and heard the news of what Mr. Sathe achieved from his seven days’ study. He felt sad because he had been studying the Guru-charitra for forty years, and had not received anything close to what Mr. Sathe had gotten. Baba noticed Hemadpant’s thoughts, and read his mind. He did not want to His devotees to have any evil thoughts, so He sent Hemadpant to another devotee, Shama’s, house to ask for some dakshina. Hemadpant went to Shama’s house and noticed that he book he had been reading each day, the Nath-Bagwat, was left open to the section he had left incomplete. He was surprised, and finished the section as he wanted to Shama to return home. Hemadpant told Shama that Baba had sent him to collect dakshina from him. Shama replied saying that he had no money to give, but he would replace the number of rupees with namaskaras (bows). Shama then started to tell a story of when Mr. Sathe was visiting, when Hemadpant started to feel inner peace. He realized that Baba had sent him to Shama’s house for that reason. He felt grateful and listened as Shama recounted a story of Baba’s grace.
Radhabai was an old woman who had come to Shirdi to obtain Baba’s darshan. She began to love Baba and was devoted to him. She decided that she would fast, not eating food or drinking water, until Baba took her as his disciple. The villagers were unsettled by this, and asked Baba to have mercy in the old woman. Baba finally relented and called her to His mosque. He explained to the woman that He had once had a Guru whom He had been very faithful to and loved very much. He had been with His Guru for many years, and he did not give Him any special mantras or teachings. He told the woman to make Him the sole object in her thoughts and actions, and that would make her life worthwhile. The lady took Baba’s advice, seeing the love in His statements, and gave up her fast.
Hemadpant returned to Baba after hearing this story, and bowed before Baba. Baba asked him if he had understood the significance of the story, to which Hemadpant replied that he did. He loved Baba and stayed in Shirdi where he could serve Him.
Chapter 20:
Das Ganu, one of Baba’s devotees, once started writing a commentary on a part of the spiritual work, the Upanishads. The part of the work that Das Ganu had started working on was considered the smallest part, but contained a lot of meaning and insight into spirituality. It was very hard to decipher and had many hidden meanings. Upon reading the difficult text, Das Ganu went to Baba for help in understanding the work. Baba blessed Das Ganu, told him not to be anxious, and that his doubts would soon be cleared by the maid of Kakasaheb Dixit on his way home that day. The people mosque laughed at this statement, asking Baba how an illiterate mad could decipher the difficult text. Das Ganu was also confused, but believed that Baba was God, and believed that what He said would come true. On his way home, Das Ganu stayed with Kakasahed Dixit, hoping to get answers for his questions. While Das Ganu was at the home, he heard a girl singing beautiful songs, and soon realized that it was the sister of Kakasaheb’s maid who was singing. She was doing chores, wearing a torn rag, while singing a song about a beautiful sari. He was pleased that her spirits were so high even when her conditions were so poor. The next day, he acquired a sari for her, and saw that she was extremely happy when she wore it. The next day, she put the sari back in the box that it came in, and wore her torn rags. Das Ganu admired her attitude, seeing that she was as happy wearing her rags as she was in the saree. He realized that feelings of pain and pleasure were all dependent on the attitude of the person. Das Ganu was now able to understand what the religious text was trying to convey, and the lesson that Baba had wanted him to learn: man should enjoy whatever God has given him, and be content with what he has in life.
[Source]
Sai Satcharita Chapter 13-15
Sai Satcharita Chapter 13-16
Shri Sai Satcharitra for Kids
Chapter 13:
Baba’s always spoke in short phrases, but his messages were filled with meaning. He once spoke about the power of maya, magical power, and the power it had on the people on the world as well as Himself. He told people that if one always chanted His name, saying “Sai, Sai,” He would help them in their time of need. Baba would always be present where there was devotion. This section describes some of the maya that Baba has bestowed upon His devotees.
Bhimaji Patil, a man from Narayanagaon in Poona, had very poor health, and suffered due to his illnesses. Although he had tried many medicines and treatments, nothing seemed to lessen his pain, until he finally thought to call on God for help. Bhimaji took a trip to Shirdi, and bowed before Baba’s feet, who said that his illness was due to his bad karma, or wrongdoings in his past life, and did not want to help him at first. When Bhimaji cried out in pain and asked Baba for mercy, His heart melted, and He told Bhimaji to stay in His mosque with Him. Baba cured Bhimaji, for which he was incredibly grateful, and started conducting a new puja, Sai Satya Vrata Puja, in his home every month.
Baba cured many other devotees of their diseases with strange recipes, which could be attributed to clearing their karma. Bala Ganapat Shimpi, who suffered from Malaria, was told by Baba to give rice and curd to a black dog in front of the Laxmi temple, which cured him of his horrible disease. Bapusaheb Booty, who suffered from dysentery, and vomited profusely due to the illness. Unable to treat his disease, he went before Baba in Shirdi, and Baba told him that “the vomiting must stop.” His disease immediately stopped showing symptoms, and he felt better. A swami from Alandi once had severe pain in his ear, which would not go away even when operated on by doctors. The man came to see Baba in his mosque, who told the man that God would help him. A week later, the man wrote a letter to Baba saying that his pain had disappeared due to Baba’s words. In another instance of Baba’s words healing the sick was the time that Kaka Mahajani had severe diarrhea, and could not complete his work at Baba’s masjid. Baba gave Kaka some peanuts that He also shared with him, and said that everything would be okay. As always, Baba’s words were true! These are just a few of the people and sicknesses that Baba was able to ameliorate with His words, touch and blessings.
Chapter 14:
Ruttonji Shapurji Wadia, a trader who lived in Nanded, was a very rich man who was also very charitable, but was not happy because he did not have any children. After speaking with his friend, Dasganu, who was also Baba’s devotee, Ruttonji decided to go to Shirdi to seek Baba’s blessings and ask for a son. When he was able to obtain Baba’s darshan, he was very happy and respectfully gave Him a garland of flowers and a basket of fruits. He explained his problem to Baba, who told him that his problems would soon go away. Ruttonji was very happy, and asked Him what he could give as a dakshina, or gift. Baba told him that He only wanted the Rs. 5 that was remaining from the Rs. 3140 that he had already given Him. Ruttonji was surprised to hear this, since he had never been to Shirdi before, and he had not given any other dakshina to Baba. He gave the Rs. 5 to Baba, received His blessings, and soon returned home. When Ruttonji came home, it dawned on him that he had once received a Muslim saint in his house, and arranged for his stay, which cost exactly Rs.3410. With this incident, Ruttonji realized that Baba knew all that was going on, and was not a “normal” human being. He was soon blessed with a son, followed by three more. This story brings about the importance of dakshina, a gift or offering made in front of God at the time of a visit or a temple, mosque, or any religious place. Baba believed that the offering of dakshina made people humble, and gave them a lesson in charity. By giving away a small amount of money, Baba taught His devotees lessons of Renunciation and Purification to better their souls and their karma.
Chapter 15:
Baba’s fame grew mostly by word of mouth from His devotees, but the tales of his leelas and mayas were spread by Dasganu’s kirtans, which were stories set to the tune of a song. Dasganu traveled far and wide, singing the praises of Baba.
It was one of Dasganu’s kirtanas that brought a man, Mr. Cholkar from Thana, to Baba. The man was very poor, and worked in the Civil Courts in Thana. After hearing Dasganu’s kirtana, Mr. Cholkar prayed in his mind to Baba, promising to go to Shirdi to see Him if he passed his civil exams. As the time passed, Mr. Cholkar passed his exams, but being a poor man, he couldn’t afford to make the trip to Shirdi. In order to save money for his trip, Mr. Cholkar stopped putting sugar in his food and tea. After some time, he was able to save enough money to make the trip to Shirdi, prostrate before Baba, and distribute sweets in His name. Before he left the mosque, Baba told one of His devotees to give Mr. Cholkar some tea with lots of sugar. Mr. Cholkar was very happy hearing this, realized that Baba knew of the sacrifices he had made to reach Shirdi and to see Him. Baba instilled devotion in Mr. Cholkar this way.
There is another story in which Baba instilled devotion in people. One day, when Baba was sitting in the Masjid with a devotee, a lizard made a noise. The devotee asked Baba whether this was a good or bad omen, to which Baba replied that the lizard was happy because its sister was coming to visit from out of town. The devotee was confused, but sat silently when a man from out of town appeared on horseback. When the man got down from his horse to feed it, a lizard came out of his bag and climbed on the wall. The two lizards sat together on the wall and were overjoyed. Baba glanced at the lizards, and the devotee was sure of his all-knowing presence.
[Source]
Sanatana Dharma (2)
Sanatana Dharma
Sanatana means eternal, never beginning nor ending. Dharma is from dhri, meaning to hold together, to sustain. Sanatana Dharma eternally holds All together. Sanatana Dharma is experience based rather than belief based.
‘Satyam vada, Dharmam chara’ Literally means, Speak the Truth and Practice Dharma. Ancient Hindu scriptures emphasize the importance of ‘Satya’ and ‘Dharma’. Satya is the eternal, absolute and unchanging truth. Dharma is often translated as righteousness, Law or Natural Law. In the Rigveda, the word appears as an n-stem, dhárman-, meaning “something established or firm”
The Upanishads saw dharma as the universal principle of law, order, harmony, all in all truth, that sprang first from Brahman. In the Brihadaranyaka’s own words: Verily, that which is Dharma is truth. In the Mahabharata (12.110.11), Lord Krishna defines dharma as, “Dhaaranaad dharma ity aahur dharmena vidhrtaah prajaah, Yat syaad dhaarana sanyuktam sa dharma iti nishchayah,” meaning, Dharma upholds both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs.
The prayer, “तमसोमाज्योतिर्गमय” Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya, in the tradition of Sanatana Dharma means “Lead me from darkness to light”. Darkness symbolizes ajnana or ignorance; while light symbolizes jnana or knowledge.
The Guru alone is capable of guiding one from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. It is due to this fact that utmost importance is given to the Guru in Sanatana Dharma.
[Source]
The Structure of Life
The Structure of Life by Swami Krishnananda
Created on Thursday 13 June 2013 20:06
It is an indisputable fact that what we value the most is life itself. It is not many among us that have a correct understanding of the nature of life, though we all know that life is what is the most valuable. We cannot conceive of anything more desirable than life, and this notion we cherish even without having a correct grasp of the true nature of life. On a careful investigation of what we mean by life, we understand that life includes everything that is comprehended by the fact of our being aware. The principle of consciousness includes the totality of our life.
Concept of Self
Life is attended with a kind of knowledge, consciousness, understanding, intelligence, awareness. When I say that I live, I mean that I have self-consciousness, whether it is implicit or explicit. It is implicit in the vegetable kingdom. It is explicit in the human kingdom. It is in a stage of transition in the animal kingdom. Life can be defined as the process of the development of consciousness, whatever be the degree of its manifestation in any particular individual. Taking into consideration the phenomenon of human life, we find that life is based essentially on experience. And what do we mean by experience? If you ask an ordinary man what he means by life’s experience, he will not be able to give you a correct logical definition of it. But from the explanation of it which he will try to give, you will draw the conclusion that he means by ‘experience of life’ the series of the processes of the reception of sensations from outside, the ordering of the sensations into perceptions and the converting of the perceptions into concepts, and then the passing of a judgment on whatever was originally experienced sensuously.
Empirical Life
The five senses of knowledge form the basis of ordinary life. It is this that we refer to as temporal life, mundane life, empirical life, or earthly life, because it is based on the consciousness of the world presented to us by the senses. To put it concisely, experience is brought about in us by the senses. So we call this the sense-world, the world that is known or experienced by the senses. The man who relies upon the values of this material world is said to live in a world of the senses. He is confined to the functions of the senses, and his intellectual or rational judgments are based on what he experiences through the senses.
Just reflect for a while as to what ideas you have in your minds. You will find that you cannot think of anything which you have not seen or heard. You can stretch your imagination to the farthest limit, but you will notice that no thought of anything is possible, which neither the eyes have seen, nor the ears have heard. Now, what does this mean? It means that our life is based on sense-experience. Even our idea of God is tinged by the ideas of the objects of the senses. Our logical scrutiny, our intellectual judgment, is based on what we know through the senses. We need not pride ourselves over our intellectuality, for an intelligent student of philosophy or science will detect that our judgments, even if they are rational, are ultimately based on sense-experience. We are better than animals in the sense that we are able to order sense-perceptions into intellectual concepts, and exercise a determined will over them, whereas the animals are not able to do so. That is why we say that a human being is rational, while the animal is only instinctive. Great thinkers have held that even our rational activity can be resolved into instinctive roots. The sages of yore, men of wisdom, the Rishis, have declared that human experience is not all, that the intellect is limited, because it is not capable of comprehending things as they are really in themselves. The life of reason is that of ordered instinct.
Yet there is one special feature which we have to notice in human experience which distinguishes it from instinctive life. Human life is centred in self-consciousness, i.e., all experiences in man are referred to a unit of the self, the ‘I’. When the ‘I’ is recognised in an object, it becomes a ‘he,’ a ‘she’, or an ‘it’. All these are comprehended by what we mean by the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is an individual unit to which all sense-experiences are referred. You may call it my self or your self, as you please. This particular unit called the self is the point of reference in all experience. ‘I see’, ‘I hear’, ‘I taste’, ‘I feel’, ‘I touch’, ‘I am happy’, and ‘I am sorry’: all these experiences are tagged on to the fundamental unit of the ‘I’. There is no such thing as ‘you’ or ‘he’, in truth, for these also are only the ‘I’ objectified. These are the ‘I’ as observed in objects outside the centre of perception. If life is experience, if experience is given to us through the senses, and if all experiences refer to the self, what is life? Life is an interpretation of the self. This may be done through the senses, through the intellect, or a faculty higher than the intellect; but all reference has ultimately to be made to the self. Suppose the self or the ‘I’ is completely abolished from life, experience would be impossible. Without the ‘I’ there is no experience, no life. There cannot be the process of seeing without an individual seeing. There cannot be an experience without a basic substratum of experience. There is thus a self – you may call it my self, your self, or any kind of self. The self is an experiencing unit which is endowed with the faculties of conception, perception and sensation. The whole life of man in centred in the idea of the self. Minus the self, the world is not. There is then no experience whatsoever – nothing is possible without the existence of this basic entity of the self.
Spatio-Temporal Personality
Now, what is this self? We began the analysis with immediate experience through the senses. Then we rose up to the conception of the self. Now, we have to understand and interpret the self. “What is self?” Put this question to anyone. “You say: ‘your self’, ‘my self’, etc. What do you mean by ‘you’, ‘I’, ‘he’ or ‘it’?” By this unitary self one ordinarily means the constitution of the individuality, the body as an immediate presentation. What again is meant by this individual unit called ‘body’? This object situated in space and time, exhibiting intelligence, the spatio-temporal personality conditioned by causation, is, then, this ‘I’.
The material form, the bodily self, is the self known by the common man. When I say, “I feel heat” or “I feel cold”, I refer to this material or bodily self. But I do not always live in this material body alone. When I say that I am hungry or thirsty, I refer to a stratum of self which is higher than the material one. You may call it the ‘vital self’. It is the vital energy animating my body that is responsible for my feeling of hunger and thirst. That is why Yogins do not feel hunger and thirst when they control the vital self through Pranayama. The physical body is the gross form of another order of self animating it from within, as force or energy, the vital self. And when I refer to myself as being happy or sorry, I do not refer either to the bodily self or the vital self, but to the mental self. It is the mind that is happy or sorry, not the body or the Prana. When I say, ‘I understand’, or ‘I do not understand’, ‘I am wise’, or ‘I am ignorant’, I refer to the intellectual self, and not to the bodily self, the vital self, or even the mental self.
We are, ordinarily, not aware of any other form of the self than these. We live either in the body or in the Prana or in the mind or in the intellect. The highest living faculty manifest in this material universe is the intellect. The human being is not endowed with any power superior to the intellect or reason. Therefore, man calls himself a rational being. Now, viewing our analysis with a retrospective effect, we find that life is experience, experience ordinarily is sensuous, and experience is referred to a self. And the self is manifest in various layers of personality – the material, the vital, the mental and the intellectual. Even here we do not exhaust the function of the self.
Objectification of Self
Consider your position in society. You are not satisfied with referring all experiences merely to your personal or individual self. You have a consciousness of something wider than your own personality. If you are the head of a family, you will find that your consciousness of the self is extended to the family. You are not confined merely to your body, to your mind, or to your intellect, but your self expands into the family. “If the family is happy, I am happy. If the family is sorry, I am sorry. If the family is dead, I feel as though I am dead.” Here the individual has transferred the characteristics of the self to the family, and the characteristics of the family are superimposed on the self. Herein is disclosed one of the striking features of human life.
Life, though it is confined to the idea or the notion of the self, is not always confined to the individual or the bodily self. It expands itself into the group-life or the family-life. This is the meaning behind the usual attachment of self to the family. The self is transferred, as it were, to the totality of bodies constituting the family. From the outside this appears to be a wider form of self. A person who sacrifices his life for his family is supposed to be more altruistic, in the ordinary sense of the term, than the one who lives for his own bodily comfort. When a person lives merely for his own body, you call him selfish, and if he does so for the sake of the family, you say that he is more unselfish.
Extension of Self
The extension of the self does not come to an end with the family. It extends itself, sometimes, to the society or the community to which one belongs. A person is capable of identifying his self with the community, a vast society consisting of many members, many families or many villages. Here, as one commonly thinks, altruism is increased further. A person who confines himself merely to his family is considered to be more selfish than a person who identifies himself with a vast society or a group of human beings. We may call this form of the self the community-self.
Further on, the self may expand itself to the nation. A patriotic person may sacrifice his life for the sake of the country. He feels that his self is spread over the country, not restricted to his family or community. Here the self has moved itself externally to such an extent that it goes beyond the ordinary notion of self which people usually are familiar with. There are people who have died for the sake of their country, because they never felt that the self is the body or the individual personality, that the self is the family or a small group of their own, but that the self has the whole country or the nation for its sphere of operation. We say the patriot is the most unselfish man, because he works for a wider form of the self, a country-self, or a national self. But there are others who live for the whole world, whose self gets itself identified with the entire humanity, not merely with a particular country or a nation. These are patriots of a still higher order. They lead the life of the consciousness of the world itself. Here the self has expanded itself to the being of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Superimposition
Are there, then, many selves – an individual self, a family-self, a community-self, a national self, a world-self? Is there a multiplicity of selves in the world? This question can be answered only if we know what the self can be, ought to be, or is. Let us bring back to our minds the result of our analysis. We began with the analysis of sense experience. We referred it to the unit of the self. Then we began to take notice of the different forms taken by the self in this world of space and time. Now we are in a position to answer the question: “What is life?”
Life is a function of the self, whatever be the extent of its manifestation in the space-time world. We may say that life, as we know it, is, as a whole, empirical. By the word ‘empirical’ we mean ‘connected with or known in sense-experience’. Though the life of the individual self is apparently transcended in the self which gets identified with the family or the society or the country, you will find that it has not really expanded itself in its wanderings in these external fields, but has merely transferred its own personal characteristics to its external environment. The meaning of this transference can be clear only if we understand what the head of a family does by identifying himself with his family. Nothing more happens when he identifies himself with the family than the superimposition of the characteristics of the individual self to the different members of the family taken as a single unit of reference.
Fundamental Urges
What are the fundamental urges of the individual? Hunger, libido and fame. Hunger is the foremost among the instincts which limit the individual to a circumscribed field. “I must feed my body – I must feed every member of my family” is an instinctive feeling. Here an individual need has been recognised in other individuals with whom a particular individual has identified himself. There is also the desire for fame, power, respect and honour. No one wishes to be censured or degraded.
Everybody wishes to retain self-respect, self-esteem. This individual characteristic is transferred to the family. No one wishes that one’s family should be censured or be inferior. “As I am honoured, my family, too, should be honoured and exalted.” These individual characteristics are, again, transferred to the community. “My community should not be censured, my community should be fed well.” The same feeling is transferred to the nation. “Everybody in my nation should be fed, nobody in my nation should starve. My country should not be censured or lowered in any way.” The fundamental instincts which drag the individual to earthly life are the desire for wealth, power and sex-fulfilment. These fundamental gross urges are transferred in various degrees, gradually, from the individual to the environment, through family, country, nation, etc., which are but names of groups of individuals enjoying common characteristics.
Essential Self
But are these the essential properties of the self? Is the self merely an aggregate of divided bodies? As we have noted before, the self is a centre of experience. Experience is nothing if it is not attended with awareness or consciousness. Now, can this consciousness of the self be expanded, in the way stated before, to the external environment in space and time? Is there any such thing as a family-self, a community-self or a country-self? Though people identify their selves with such external forms and suffer or rejoice, those who had the intuitional experience of the Truth have declared that the self cannot be divided in such a way.
We cannot have a multiplicity of selves, because the moment a second self is posited, it becomes not a self, but a ‘not-self,’ Anatman. It is something external to the self. That which is posited as something external to the self can be experienced only through the senses. Now let us come back to our previous analysis. Nothing that is not known through the senses is known to man. So, if there is a second self, it ought to be a body known through the senses, as everything in this world is an object of the senses. We know the world merely as made up of particles or bodies of matter. Our own bodies are the configurations of matter.
So the external sensible forms of the self ought to be material expressions. They are not conscious entities. We cannot see consciousness or hear consciousness. We cannot sense it in any way. There is no such thing as sensuous experience of consciousness. This leads us to the conclusion that there is no sense-experience of the Atman. The moment you objectify the self, it becomes a material body, and not a centre of consciousness. If I know you are intelligent, it is not because I directly perceive your intelligence, but because I perceive in you certain effects of intelligence which I perceive in myself.
So there is no such thing as objective perception of the self. There is only inference of the characteristics of the presence of the intelligent self in others. It is on account of this inference that I deduce that there is a self in you all. This inference is drawn from my own experience. The fundamental experience is of the self, not of the ‘not-self’, not of the family, society or country, not of anything outside me. The entirety of life, therefore, is based on the fact of self-consciousness.
Aberration from Truth
We have seen how the self gets transferred to external conditions in various degrees. The self is a centre of consciousness, and it cannot be divided. It is Akhanda-Satchidananda – indivisible existence-consciousness-bliss. This is the essential Atman. It is this that erroneously gets identified with external spatio-temporal conditions. It is this life of self-othering that is called samsara. Samsara is aberration from Truth, running away from the centre of Self (Atman). It is the moving away of the Self, as it were, from Itself, in search of external conditions of Itself. The whole life of samsara is thus explained by the search of the Self for Itself in conditions outside Itself. This is the very essence of samsara or mundane becoming. It is the attempt of the Self to look at Itself through the senses as the objects external to Itself and then enjoy Itself.
If I try to possess myself, how can I do it? I cannot possess myself as an object, for I am what I am. There is no question of desiring myself; but the world is ruled by desires, by ambitions, cravings, longings, urges and instincts. Why? Because the Self has been falsely projected to external spatio-temporal appearances. To withdraw the consciousness of the Self from materialisation into the existence of external things and conditions is the essence of spiritual Sadhana; and the essence of worldly life is to believe in the reality of the presence of these external spatio-temporal phenomena. This is the distinction between the life worldly and the life spiritual.
Even the attempt at a withdrawal of the sense-consciousness from outward conditions and the endeavour to centre it in the Self is a great step taken forward along the path of spiritual Sadhana. But if we allow the senses to run amuck among what they consider to be real or true, they will be bound by what they consider to be true. The essence of evil and sin is belief in things that perish. The moment we pin our faith in fleeting things, we begin to bind ourselves with chains created by ourselves, and throw ourselves into the prison-house which we ourselves have built.
We suffer on account of a lack of knowledge of the true nature of things. If the Self should ultimately be a centre of consciousness, and if this consciousness cannot be more than one, then, there can be only one Self in the universe. There can be no such thing as a multiplicity of selves. It is very hard for us, bound souls, to grasp this point, because we are so much wedded to sense-experience. We have so much identified ourselves with the senses that we cannot conceive of anything other than what is perceived by us through them. We are all living in a sense-world. We are all sensual beings, knowing and feeling in terms of the senses. Such beings the Upanishads refer to as Asuras, devilish, demoniac, who do not know their own essential divine nature. To be a Sura or a divine entity one has to turn one’s attention from sense-experience to spiritual realisation.
Aims of Human Existence
The wise seers have conceived of four values, or ends of human existence – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. They have summed up the entire life of the human being in the concept of these four values. There is nothing on earth which is not comprehended by these great aims. Dharma is the ethical value of life, Artha the material value, Kama the vital value, and Moksha the infinite value. It is this last which comprehends all the other lower values.
Life is based on Dharma. It is Dharma that forms the basis of the attainment of even Moksha, not to speak of Artha and Kama. Bereft of Dharma, there is no scope of even the justness of Artha and Kama. The scriptures declare that there is no such thing as eternal enjoyment of any object of this world. We cannot possess Artha or material objects eternally with Kama or desire for them. Why? Because such desire is based on the fundamental error of the objectification of the Self or the separation of the Self into something other than Itself. But a person who has the consciousness of the unity of the Self lives a happy life in this world. The ideal of the Karma Yogi sums up this goal of a happy life of Pravritti.
The life of the householder, or the Grihastha, is said to be a well-ordered and regularised attempt to lead the life of Pravritti for the acquisition of Artha and Kama with the ideal of Moksha as their determining factor. The fulfilment of desires and the possession of wealth are to be based on Dharma which is an empirical expression of the nature of Moksha itself. No one can lead a life of Adharma and be happy, because happiness is the nature of the Self, and Dharma, too, is an expression of the law of Self. Dharma is not a law imposed upon us by another external being, not even by any God outside us. It is called Sanatana, the eternal.
Eternal Law
The Dharma of the Eternal is inseparable from the Dharma of our own Self. This Dharma is conceived of in the Rig-Veda as Rita. There are two significant words, ‘Rita’ and ‘Satya’. Rita is the order of nature, the regularity which is visible in the universe. Satya is the Reality behind Rita. We may say that there is no regularity here, there is only chaos. No. There is no real chaos. There is system, method, order, regularity, everywhere in the universe, because this universe is ultimately governed by the Self. It is the body of the universal Self. It is the external appearance of the Virat Purusha.
There is one God. He is the Absolute; He is everything. As the different limbs of the body are held together and comprehended in the consciousness of a single personality, so the different individuals here are held together and comprehended in the one consciousness of the Universal Self. Hence there is no such thing as a multiplicity of selves. My right hand is not different from the left, as far as ‘mine-ness’ in regard to them is concerned. If either of these hands is hurt, I say, “I am hurt.” If the foot is hurt, I say, “I am hurt”. The whole body is “I”. In the same way the whole universe is “I”.
There can be no existence of the individual self without the Universal Self. We are expressions of that Self. As the different cells of the body are integrated into a single personal consciousness, so this Virat Consciousness, the Ishwara-Chaitanya, integrates the different individuals of the universe into one whole Being. To be aware of this fact is the fundamental duty of one’s life.
Fundamental Duty
All Yogas aim at the maintenance of this consciousness. One cannot be happy in the world, unless one conforms to the law of this universal Self in some way or the other. One has to conform to the law of the Self to the best of one’s ability. This is Yoga. This is Dharma. This is Rita. Dharma does not belong to any particular religion. It is an expression of the law of the Supreme Reality Itself. Dharma is the manner or the way in which the law of the Supreme Self works in the world of space and time. Adharma is that which goes contrary to the nature of this fundamental Self.
The Self is one; It is the Root, the Reality Itself. It has no religion, no philosophy. It is what It is. It is Being Itself. Every religion is an attempt to recognise Its presence in life, in the best possible way. Our allegiance to that Self is expressed in our practice of religion. Our understanding of the nature of the Self is the central function of philosophy. Religion is practical philosophy. Philosophy is theoretical religion. The two go together.
As life springs from the Self, it has to be based on Dharma. Life in the family should be based on Dharma, and so also social life and national life. In every way we have to adhere to the eternal law. It is obvious therefore that Dharma is the basis of Artha and Kama. The four Purusharthas form an integrated whole. Dharma is common to all levels and grades of life. Artha and Kama are predominantly the conditions of the life of a householder, and Moksha is the ideal of everyone, as Dharma is the law for all. The nature of the manner in which Artha and Kama are to be aspired for is determined by Dharma. And Dharma is the law of Moksha. In order to understand Dharma, we have, therefore, to understand Moksha.
Moksha is nothing but the condition of the Absolute, the Eternal Self. It is the state of unconditioned freedom, untouched by the existence of external entities. It is not freedom conditioned by anything outside. It does not come to an end. That is why it is called Kevalata or singleness of Being, not in the sense of a single individuality, but as one existence without limitations from anything outside. To be conscious of this Universal Life and then to act on the basis of that consciousness as an individual forming a member of the family, society, country or the world, is Karma Yoga. It is to do one’s duty with the consciousness of the Atman.
Means to Realisation
What is duty? Duty again, may take many forms. It expresses itself in various degrees of intensity and extensiveness. But at every step it exhibits itself as part and parcel of our advance towards the realisation of God. Duty is the fulfilment of Rita and Satya in the temporal realm. It is abiding by the law of the Self in every stage and state of life.
There is no duty, in the strictest sense of the term, which is not concerned with our march towards Self-realisation. All duties in life are accessories to this supreme duty of Self-realisation. The ideal of such realisation is not merely the ideal of the Sannyasin, or the recluse; it is the ideal of every human being. It is the goal of every individual in this world.
There is no such thing as a genuine individual happiness, individual pleasure or individual good. The individual good is a part of the universal good. Every action of ours should be directed to the universal good. This is the ideal of the Karma Yogi – to act not for personal pleasure, but for duty’s sake.
Duty for the sake of duty, not for the acquisition of anything outside itself, is the rule of the good and the wise life. The moment one utters the word ‘duty,’ one has said everything. One need not add any adjective to it. The recognition in life of the Universal Self is the principle that ought to govern every action in our life, and it is this goal that is aimed at by the practice of the different Yogas – Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga etc.
Truth is the Law of Life
Meditation on the Supreme Being is our highest ideal, our greatest good. One cannot completely forget this aim and yet be happy in this world. Every action in life should be converted into a form of Yoga. We do not know at which moment of life we may cast off this body, and the dominant thought of our present life determines the nature of our next life. We must be continuously practising Yoga, because that is the way in which we can conform to the law of Truth. Our mainstay should always be Truth.
Truth, Rita, is the law of life. Anything that goes contrary to it is Anrita, falsehood. Rita is the cosmic unitary law of nature, and Anrita is its opposite. Anrita should be abolished from life. Rita is the glory of God. To lead this life of Rita we have to adopt various methods of conduct and practice. Yoga is the main clue. Yoga is not difficult to practise, if only it is properly understood. It is living in tune with God; it is abiding by the principle of Truth, and avoiding the path of untruth. Personal interest should never govern one’s action.
A Karma Yogi sees God in action. A Bhakti Yogi sees God in every form, and loves every form as God Himself. A Raja Yogi ever concentrates his mind on the concept of God or Self, either by inhibition of the mind’s functions or by positive concentration of it on Reality. The Jnana Yogi realises the Eternal Presence, inside and outside, and the whole of his life’s activity becomes a spontaneous expression of Divine Life. His life is inundated by a ceaseless consciousness of the Supreme Being. Meditation on this Reality, this Self, is one’s supreme duty in life.
Meditation
We may practise meditation in any way that is in fitness to our capacity, aptitude or temperament. It should not be confined merely to a particular part of the day. It ought to be a continuous awareness of the Divine Presence. Though in the beginning we may start by meditating for a few minutes every morning, later on meditation should extend to a few hours at least, and afterwards it should completely occupy a part of our mind throughout day and night.
The ordinary life of the individual is one of Kamachitta or the mind filled with desires, which is related to the Rupachitta or the mind associated with forms. Without forms there is no Kama. Kama is always associated with Rupa. Desire is an urge for any external entity, some phenomenon known to the senses. The first purpose of Yoga is to withdraw the Kamachitta from its natural operations in conjunction with Rupa and to centre it in the essence behind the Rupa or form, i.e., in the form unassociated with the Kamachitta.
From Kamachitta we rise to Rupachitta, the mind contemplating the subtle essence. In all this, we should have a positive aspiration, a yearning to withdraw ourselves from the world of Kamachitta. Without that aspiration or Mumukshuttwa, there is no possibility of practising any kind of Yoga. Yoga does not drop from the heavens. It has to be practised with a deliberate, intensified consciousness. It is the systematised attempt to become aware of Truth as It is.
Process of Sublation
From Kamachitta it is very difficult to go to Rupachitta. The processes that have to be undergone by the Sadhaka in transcending the sense-world and entering the world of concepts are fourfold. First, there is concentration on a chosen visible form. It is very difficult to teach Yoga to an ordinary man, because he is so much attached to the notion of the reality of visible objects. If you tell him, “Withdraw your mind from the object which you see before you,” he will not be able to do that. He will say: “I see the hard reality before me; I cannot feel that it is unreal; therefore I cannot concentrate on the unreality of the object of the senses.” Such persons are asked first to concentrate their minds on a form.
Together with this practice the inhibition of the bodily and mental functions should be attempted. The body is to be seated in one posture, Siddhasana, Padmasana, Svastikasana or Sukhasana. The mind usually is concentrated on different objects. It then flits from one object to another, because of distraction. In this stage of Yoga the mind is made to centre itself on one particular physical object alone.
From the notion of the reality of the physical form of the object, the aspirant is asked to go to the notion of the reality of the abstract concept behind that object. In other words, it is what the philosopher Plato referred to as the eternal idea underlying an object. In Hindu philosophy we call it the subtle body, Sukshma Sareera. From the physical form, we have to go to the subtle. First, many objects are presented to us in the world. Then we come to the consciousness of a single object. Then again we come to the subtler aspect of it. The fourth stage is where we divest even that subtler aspect of all individuality and rest the consciousness on its pure existence alone. This is the last stage of meditation, first began on form, to be practised for transcending the Kamachitta and entering the world of the Rupachitta.
Impediments
It is hard to realise this Rupa-consciousness. The greatest obstacle, the immediate impediment which presents itself to the aspirant is stupor or torpidity. This stupor has to be overcome by the exercise of reason and other means such as dietetic discipline, etc. Reason should be used every moment of one’s life. The Tamasic nature is overcome by Vitarka (reason).
Then we have to overcome doubt. Various forms of doubt will enter the mind. “Am I right in practising this form of meditation? Perhaps not. Am I right in choosing this Guru, or not? Has my Guru attained Self-realisation, or not? Is it necessary to practise meditation, or not? Many are happy even without practising meditation. Why should I meditate?” Then the persistent notion of the reality of the world will be there. “The world is real. Who says that it is unreal? I am feeling it as hard as I can feel a rock. Perhaps the spiritual teachings are false. They do not conform to truth.”
Thus the mind will turn away from Sadhana again and again. Various types of doubt will begin to crop up. These doubts have to be rent asunder by discrimination, study, holy company, self-analysis and deep meditation. Many other obstacles will follow. There may be Dvesha or hatred for the objects of the world. The worldly man hates God. The spiritual man may start hating the world. One should be very careful here. There should be no hatred of any kind. This element of hatred or aversion should be conquered generating the pure emotions of love and compassion and right knowledge.
Then there will be Vikshepa, distraction or the flitting of the mind from one object to another, attended with worry. Concentrate the mind on one idea, it will run to another idea or form. This is unsteadiness, a great impediment in Sadhana. This Vikshepa should be overcome by persistent endeavour. Yet another obstacle to be overcome is Kama or desire-desire for pleasurable objects or conditions of life. This has to be overcome by strict self-discipline, by disassociation with distracting objects (it is essential in the beginning), by practice of dispassion and one-pointedness of mind.
Graduated Abstraction
As a famous verse of a minor Upanishad puts it: Andhavat pasya rupaani sabdam badhiravat srunu – “Like a blind man, look at objects; like a deaf man, hear sounds.” This means to say that sense-experience should not be allowed to penetrate within. The mind gets fattened on account of its being fed by sense-objects. The senses have to be restrained first by the process of Pratyahara, abstraction. Then the mind becomes transparent, filled with purity or Sattva. Thus one has to go from the realm of Kamachitta to that of Rupachitta, and then to the world of Arupachitta, the purified mind, which we call Hiranyagarbha. After this stage of realisation comes the last stage of what the Buddhists call Lokottarachitta or the transcendental mind, which is freed from all desires, absolutely.
The process of graduated abstraction begins with meditation on a concrete object. Take the form of an Ishta-Devata – Rama, Krishna, Siva or Devi or any form which is the best suited to one’s mind. In the initial stages an aspirant should take the aid of a Murti or an image, or at least a picture. Take, for example, the form of Siva. How to meditate on Siva? You have first to keep an image of Siva before you. It does not mean that Siva is like the image. You have to concentrate the mind on the form not because Siva is like that form, but because the form is necessary to take you to the real Siva. You transfer all the qualities of Siva to that form.
Open your eyes; look at the picture. When you look at the picture, you should have no other idea in the mind. Only one idea of the form should be there; none else. Go on looking at the picture. This is the first stage. Then shut your eyes and think of the picture in the mind. When you cannot think of the picture properly, open your eyes and look again at the picture. Continue the practice as long as you cannot dispense with the concrete picture. Then concentrate the mind on the abstract form of the Deity. This is the second stage.
One in the Many
Then the third stage is that in which one tries to visualise this abstract form in every object of this universe. The Supreme Siva is not confined to one personality alone. All the objects of this world are manifestations of Siva. The infinite forms of the Lord have to be visualised in this third form of meditation, not as separate entities but as one consciousness revealed through many objects. By this time the Tamoguna of the mind is completely overcome. In this third stage the mind will be lifted up by its own impetus of meditation.
The mind, ordinarily, lives on diverse foods. It never likes to be fed with only one thing continuously. It wants variety. One would have noted that if one goes on doing Japa for a long time, sleep is induced. But when one sees a cinema show, one does not fall asleep. Why? Because there is a variety of objects in it. There is sense-communication and diversity. But in Japa and meditation there is no pleasure, because there is no variety, nothing to attract the mind. Sleep is the trick played by the mind to cease from the act of concentration. It does not want to concentrate itself on any one object alone. It wants to jump from one thing to another. Variety sustains the mind in this world.
All forms of the world are manifestations of the one Absolute. The mind should be made to understand that the Substance out of which all things are made is One. Then the mind will not be distracted or restless. It runs from one object to another, because it thinks that there is some value in that object which is different from the object of meditation. The mind should be educated and made to understand that it need not flit from one object to another for obtaining happiness. If Truth is one, It is in every form at every time. The mind should be aware of this substance present in multiple forms and thus will not be distracted by their diversity.
In the fourth stage, the multiplicity of the substance in objects gives rise to a single universal form of the Divine Being. Then all forms vanish altogether, and there is an experience of the oneness of the meditator’s consciousness with the object of meditation itself. This stage is that of self-absorption or Samadhi.
Our Ideal
Meditation on the Supreme Self has therefore to be practised in every possible way, externally as well as internally. Our whole life should be one of meditation. We should live according to Dharma, which is the law of the Self. This can be possible only if we maintain a continuous consciousness of the Self, the Eternal.
The highest Dharma is the recognition of our intimate relation to the Absolute Self, and every other form of Dharma is a partial manifestation of this ultimate Dharma. The lower Dharma is a movement towards the affirmation of this Supreme Dharma. Our activities in life should be processes of our evolution towards the Infinite. Our life amidst the things of this world should be converted, transformed and transfigured into divine life.
Our life should be centred in the Self, and not in objects. Life ought to reflect God-Being. Our duty in life is to adhere to this law, this Dharma of the Divine Being, the Self. The universe is essentially a unitary whole. It is One Being, a single individual experience. Therefore, our attitude to the universe should be the same as the attitude which we have towards ourselves. This is the meaning of the saying “Love your neighbour as yourself.” The universe is an expression of ourself, but only we should understand what we actually mean by ‘Self’.
We have noticed that there are various forms of the expression of the Self. All these expressions should be considered as appearances of the one Self alone. Our ultimate happiness is in the Knowledge of the true Self, not in its empirical expressions as the family, community or nation, though their relative bearing in our life is acknowledged. Yo vai bhuma tat sukham – “the Infinite alone is bliss.” The pleasure that we derive from the objects of this world is only a drop of that Supreme Bliss. But for the existence of That, we would not have experienced any joy in life. We live, because the Supreme Self Is. We understand, because the Self is Intelligence. We enjoy, because the Self is Bliss. Satchidananda is the nature of the Self. It is this one Self that goes by different names – God, Brahman, the Absolute.
“To love all as one loves oneself” is the succinct statement of Dharma. Universal love is a mark of saintliness. It cannot come to all. Universal love is the consequence of Self-realisation. Only saints and sages can have it. It is to see the Self in every being and to work in this world as an instrument in the hands of the Supreme Being. The fruits of actions will not then cling to the individual, because then it is not the individual that acts, it is God that acts in this world. The actor, the action, the goal of action – all these are but a combined process in the one Reality. The agent is not separate from the result of the action, nor is the process of the action of the agent different. There is but one universal process, of which we are just bits, parts or aspects.
Pre-Conditions of Realisation
In the spiritual path a Guru’s help is necessary. Mere study of books and ratiocination cannot help us much, because these are mere intellectual processes. The Guru’s initiation opens the portals of realisation. Satsanga is absolutely necessary in the attainment of spiritual knowledge and the practice of meditation. One must be well-equipped for the reception of this knowledge. There should be correct understanding, perfect detachment and a yearning for Moksha, or Mumukshuttwa. Genuine aspiration is the pre-condition of success in leading a spiritual life.
Spiritual life is not some queer form of life distinct from the ordinary way of life. It is the life, the only true life. One should give the transforming touch of spirituality to every form of life that one lives in this world. Life is essentially spiritual, whether we recognise it or not. When one recognises it, one becomes a saint. When we do not do that, we live as ordinary mortals and go through the rounds of birth and death. Desires can be completely uprooted only by a sincere love for God, an aspiration for Self-realisation, which we ought to have every moment of our life. This is the background of the fourfold means prescribed by the ancient seers – Sadhana-Chatushtaya.
The four means to Self-realisation are correct understanding and discrimination; dispassion or Vairagya; the sixfold virtue – tranquillity of mind, control of the senses, etc. – and intense yearning for the Ideal. Unless we have an intense desire for Self-realisation, we will not progress much in the spiritual path; and this yearning comes from Viveka and Vairagya, accelerated by Gurukripa. Gurukripa and Ishvarakripa (God’s grace) are necessary for leading the spiritual life. The goal of life is the realisation of God or the Self. This Self or God is not some otherworldly entity, something beyond us, but It is here and now; It is identical with us. We are That. To recognise and realise That is the purpose of life.
[Extracted from Swami Krishnananda Maharaj’s discourses Divine Life Society]
Regarding Sannyasa
Regarding Sannyasa by Swami Krishnananda
Created on Wednesday 12 June 2013 21:40
The Basic Proposition is that the Universe is an All-Comprehensive Integrated Organism in Which Everything is Contained Everywhere in Every Form in the Same Way as the Organism of the Human Body Operates as a Living Total Entity.
- Sannyasa is a consummating process in the development of life through the preceding stages of Brahmacharya, Grihastha and Vanaprastha, these stages being the maturity of the content of consciousness until it reaches a universal gamut in the stage of Sannyasa. Hence all these four stages are necessary even as all the stages in the process of education are necessary.
- A Sannyasin can live anywhere except in his own house or even in the vicinity of his house. The more distant the place of living, the better.
- Nowhere is it suggested that a Sannyasin should lead a life of indulgent comfort, but he should be provided with the necessities required for helping others spiritually and to maintain his creature comforts. Grihasthas do not give donation foolishly, because they know the value of the donation which will benefit them also. Else, who will give donation? Necessary facility is different from unnecessary comfort.
- The benefit which the householder donor receives by taking care of a Sannyasin cannot be regarded as a barter system. No Grishtha is under compulsion to give a donation because donations are made out of voluntary freewill. Unnecessary donations are unthinkable. Every householder knows what is good for him and he has intelligence enough to understand what he does. No Sannyasi is expected to demand donation from anyone, because it should come from the donor voluntarily and of his own accord. Even if the donation does not come, the Sannyasin will not be perturbed because the Power of God on which a Sannyasin rests will take care of him in every way. Punya which the donor earns is not a business benefit but a spiritual protection that he receives spontaneously from the Above.
- No Sannyasin requires a bungalow to live for himself. The buildings erected for facilitating the spread of knowledge by way of lectures, teachings and publications of spiritual messages cannot be considered as irreverent attachments of an easy and cozy life of anyone. There is a psychological difference between facilities provided for the performance of public good even by a Sannyasin and irrelevant excesses in the way of living. It does not mean however that every Sannyasin is above the pressure of personal attachment and excessive comfort, though there are Sannyasins who are indeed great persons whose very thought will vibrate in the world of peace and solidarity.
- Karma and Bhakti can be fused together in the same way as love and action can mean one and the same thing. There is no question here of superiority and inferiority. The Sannyasin can also be a Karmayogin or Bhaktiyogin in the state of inner communion with God Almighty.
- You are right that Sannyasins cannot live if there are no Grihasthas, but no Sannyasin is expected to exploit a Grihastha. The Grihastha is supposed to feed the Sannyasin out of the facilities he has which he can easily share without diminishing his own needs. Where the donor is not fit enough to give a donation, he need not give a donation.
- Any Administrative System, social or political, requires a blend of spirituality and Trishul, as you have put it. The universe is both trancendental and empirical. The empirical side takes care of phenomenal existence and spiritual meditations take one to the transcendent Absolute. A true Sannyasin performs his greatest duty not only to one’s own country but to the whole world in his widespread comprehensive outlook of all life taken together. The Sannyasin truly is not a human individual but an embodiment of the power of the cosmos in some degree. You are right that even the Sannyasin should look to the duty of maintaining physical peace in the world together with the tasks he undertakes to spread mental peace and spiritual enlightenment among human beings. The earth and the heaven should go together. The Sannyasin treads the earth but keeps his head in the heavens.
- A Sannyasin may abandon connection with company of people and live a life of seclusion and deep meditation utterly independent and accepting nothing from anyone. God will take care of that person. The all-seeing Universal Eye of God can work miracles beyond ordinary human comprehension.
[Extracted from Swami Krishnananda Maharaj’s discourses Divine Life Society]
The Individual Nature
The Individual Nature by Swami Krishnananda
Created on Tuesday 11 June 2013 19:53
The location of the individual in the scheme of things makes it inadequate in every way. Its reactions cannot eliminate some amount of error. All individual experience is a form of error in some degree, though all error becomes an element of perfection in the Absolute. The aim of life of the individual is to overcome the urge for organic reactions in relation to external perceptible objects and to transcend itself in the all-comprehensive Absolute, which is the essential reality of all individuals. These reactions among individual natures are either unconscious or conscious. The unconscious urges are termed instincts and the conscious ones are those which constitute the rational processes in the individuals. Beyond these reactions of a twofold nature, there is the supreme integrating principle, viz., intuition and direct realisation of the highest essence of experience.
These instinctive urges are powerful, and being ingrained in the very constitution of the individual, refuse to be easily subdued. The most powerful of these involuntary unconscious urges are those of self-preservation and self-reproduction. The instinct of self-preservation is sometimes wrongly called ‘food-seeking’ instinct. Food is not the end that is sought by the individual; food is only a means to the fulfilment of the will-to-live or the love of life which is inherent in everyone, and which is the end. One does not desire to eat food as an end in itself; the purpose of food and drink is living as an individual personality, possessed of a body. This urge is not within the control of the rational intellect, and it overcomes the other urges by its intensity of expression. It manifests itself in various forms, and has several ramifications, primarily connected with, as well as secondarily related to it. It tethers the individual to bodily life and thwarts all ordinary attempts at turning a deaf ear to it. This instinct, this craving for life, this love of individual personality can be overcome only in a higher understanding and feeling relating to a wider experience transcending gross physicality and distorted psychic personality. But any unwise meddling with this urge, without properly understanding its deeper meaning, may make it run riot and ruin the individual attempting to control it. Intimately connected with the self-preservative urge is the self-reproductive urge, the nature of which has to be analysed before any method of overcoming instincts may be discovered.
The self-reproductive instinct is misnamed ‘sex-instinct’. This urge has, really, little to do with the sexual personality, as such; the sexual personality is only a means to the propagation of the species, and it is this urge for the production of a new individual of the species that makes use of sex as a cat’s paw. What becomes the object of craving is not sex, but the pleasure caused by the release of the tension brought about by the urge for being instrumental in bringing forth a new individual. Homosexual intercourse and fixation on objects which do not help actual reproduction are only cases of perversion or regression of this original urge, due either to a defect in the formation of the sex glands, or to frustration and non-fulfilment. The aim of the urge for reproduction is not to bring pleasure to the individual; its purpose is the continuation of the species.
Those characteristics of the sexual personality which become the source of attraction for the opposite sex are merely the external indications of the development of the gonadal hormones which, through these indications, make known their maturity and readiness for the act of the production of a new individual. This attraction is not concerned with the pleasure of anyone, but is merely the process of the externalisation of cellular and nervous vibration seeking intercourse with the counterpart of the constitution of the attracted individual. It is not the external feature or the form of the opposite sex that is the source of attraction, but it is the meaning which is read in it by the individual that gives value to it and forces the individual to conform itself to that value. It is the suggestiveness and the expressiveness of the form that evokes the stimulation and vibration of the entire constitution in its counterpart. The more does something mean to one, the more is the value that one attaches to it, and the more is one concerned with it. The reading of meaning in the opposite sex is not a rational act of the individual, but it is the ‘general’ urge of the species that materialises itself in a specific individual as an involuntary instinct for physical action.
All stimuli set the organism in vibration, and this disturbs its equilibrium. In this process there is release of nervous energy, affecting, not merely the body, but, to a great extent, even the mind. The pleasure that is experienced at the time of being stimulated by an ‘intended’ external agency is really the warmth and affection felt in yielding to an inner command of the physical nature, when motor reactions take place in the organism, on account of the magnetic properties called forth in it. What ravishes the personality and makes it leap up in ecstasy at the time of a desirable objective reaction in the physical world is the total disintegration of the parts of this organism and the peace that follows as a consequence of the cessation of this disturbance, on the fulfilment of the purpose of this reaction. All instinctive pleasure is ultimately the recognition of harmony and equilibrium and joy in consciousness on account of the banishing of disturbance in it by the fulfilment of the meaning of the instinct through the possession and utilisation of the object which plays the role of an agent in loosening and removing the nervous and psychic tension created by the expression of the instinct.
Even the urge for self-reproduction may be explained in terms of the urge for self-preservation. It is really the will-to-live of the individual of the species to be manifested in the physical universe that asserts in what is termed the self-reproductive urge. The parent becomes the medium of the self-manifestation of a new individual, which is the intention of the physical nature. The lower nature of any ‘specific’ individual has no control over this instinct, because it is the intention of the ‘general’ nature or the species which exceeds the natural powers of the former. The will-to-reproduce is only the will-to-live of the would-be member of this physical universe. The fulfilment of this will-to-live is not really the good or the delight of any individual, but is only an execution of the orders of the lower diversified nature, the fulfilment of the purpose of the species as a whole, which is wider than any individual in comprehensiveness. The will of the race or the species supersedes all individual wills and subjects these latter to its own purposive rule. Sexual love or beauty has thus a reference to a need extending beyond the individual and so it is stronger than any other form of love known on earth. If anyone, however, is to know that the meaning of the self-reproductive urge is not the pleasure or the good of oneself, but is only a service done to a more powerful nature which makes use of everyone as its drudge, no one would indulge in the fulfilment of this urge. Hence nature covers the consciousness of the individual and steeps it in the delusion that the purpose of the urge is the pleasure of the individual, by preventing the discriminative understanding from functioning in it. This illusion is called the ‘instinct for sex’, and this is the pleasure derived thereby!
These self-expressing energies in individuals have a common source, an original form and their sum is constant at all times; it never decreases or increases; only it sometimes gets distributed in unequal proportions due to disturbance of equilibrium in consciousness. This sum-total of objectified energy is the matrix of all irrational and rational urges. These externalising urges or tendencies to organic reactions are not cut off even by the death of the physical body, for they are rooted in the very principle of the psychic individuality. They cease to exist only when they are absorbed into the Universal Consciousness, by the process of meditation on the essential Self-hood of all individuals in it.
There are certain minor instincts which are less powerful than those of self-preservation and self-reproduction, but which, nevertheless, exert a great influence on the personality and subject it to involuntary actions. The self-assertive instinct is one among these. This instinct is meant either to compensate for one’s sense of inferiority, or to preserve one’s thwarted power, importance and distinction (many times merely imagined), or to expand one’s ego by adding to it qualifications from outside (though this addition is purely artificial). It is the inherent tendency to preserve the complex of one’s psycho-physical organism. The gregarious instinct is another, which manifests itself in love of company of the group to which one ‘belongs’. This is the instinct of identification of the group with one’s self. Metaphysically, this appears to be an unconscious expression of one’s love for one’s larger social self or organism which comprises the individuals within it. But this love ceases to be a virtue when one is unconscious of the existence of such a larger self, and is merely goaded to love society independently of one’s understanding and will. The protective or the parental instinct expresses itself in the biological attraction of the physical organism (influencing the mind, of course) to its own ‘other self’. This attraction ceases when its purpose, viz., protection of the offspring, is fulfilled. Parental love is one of the manifestations of the biological nature of the individual affiliated to the purpose of the propagation of the individuals of the species.
All urges, it is suggested, are ultimately a symptom of spirit calling spirit, under the cloak of outward bondage to forms, objects, notions and actions.
The desire to understand, or to know is a rational urge. There are various forms of this urge, working through different channels, but aiming at the fulfilment of the desire to know. Sometimes, it is merely curiosity, and at other times, it is a necessity felt on account of problems that have arisen in life, that rouses in the individual the desire to know. At first, the knowledge that is desired is only a means to vaster and higher acquisitions, and later on, it becomes an end in itself. Except the desire for higher knowledge which is self-existent, and the instinct of self-preservation (the latter when not carried beyond the limit of real necessity), all these urges are outlets for the externalisation of energy towards objects other than what is indispensable to the individual for its self-evolution. Desire for knowledge, however, should be called a supernatural urge, though it becomes really supernatural only in the end, and involves some amount of effort and spending of energy in the beginning stages. The highest self-existent knowledge is not really an urge, but is the end of lower knowledge, and only this latter can be included among urges.
One special feature to be noted, however, in the functioning of the urge for knowledge is that it can be valid only on a dualistic basis, and so it involves, to some extent, a directing of energy to something which is external to consciousness. On account of this reason, it can be included among the several urges in the individual, though the higher knowledge which is not a means to any other end, but is an end in itself, cannot be called an individual urge, for this latter is not directed to anything external, but is itself self-existence. What is meant by the rational urge is, therefore, not the self-existent independent absolute knowledge, but the aspiration to know, the desire to understand, the tendency to outgrow limited knowledge.
Except the longing for knowledge, all urges or instincts are to be subdued and transformed into the integrating energy of the higher consciousness, for these natural urges of the physical nature are inconsistent with the higher aspiration for the unity of consciousness in the Universal Being. The art of overcoming these instincts which are antagonistic to spiritual seeking consists, ultimately, in certain processes which are related to the essential nature of Consciousness itself. The end being the realisation of supreme oneness, the means to it has to bear an intimate relation to it.
The transmutation of the individual constitution is necessary for the experience of the Absolute, and this can be achieved by recognising the true nature of the relation existing between the individual and the Absolute, as detailed in the foregoing pages. All forms of the externalisation of energy, which are called urges, instincts, etc., are ultimately movements of consciousness in the direction of the not-self. There can be no individual urge when consciousness ceases to function in this way. The way of self-control, therefore, is that of the recession of the modes of the objectified consciousness to their wider and deeper source, which finally converge and merge in the Absolute. Only a conscious endeavour on the part of the individual to outgrow itself, to rise above particularity, can bring about this great achievement and realisation. For this, clear understanding, dispassionate feeling, longing for freedom and perseverance are necessary.
Study, reflection and meditation are the processes of the method of self-transcendence. A careful analysis and study of the nature of experience, under the guidance of an able spiritual teacher, is indispensable for meditation on the spiritual Reality. The defects involved in relative experience, and the fact of its being finally centred in and reducible to the reality of the Absolute, are to be discovered in order that attachment to external forms of experience may be withdrawn, and all energy be focussed on the supreme Self-consciousness. The nature of instinctive reactions and blind urges have to be clearly understood before any attempt to control them may be made. No practice can be of any lasting value, if it is not preceded by a correct knowledge of the inner anatomy and constitution of the meaning and method of that practice. One must act only after knowing how to act, why to act and what the act really is. Action must be based on a knowledge thereof. This knowledge, on which all spiritual practices are based, is the forerunner of dispassion for all externalisation towards things. True renunciation is not the abandonment of any ‘thing’, but the relinquishment of the thingness in things, the objectness in objects, the externality in experience, the projectedness in consciousness. This renunciation is the condition of the supreme fulfilment in the Absolute. There can be no hope of this ultimate realisation without the total surrender of personality and all its concomitants to this one goal. The moment this surrender is done, attachments cease, the mind becomes calm, the senses are abstracted from forms, passions subside, consciousness gets concentrated, joy ensues, and an immense strength is felt within. All these are the results of an attunement of the individual to Reality, the coalescence of all forces with it, the dissolution in it of all distinction and objectivity. By this act the individual draws sustenance from and becomes the Universal Centre. The actual experience is possible through intense meditation on it.
Every act of one’s life should become an expression of conscious contemplation on the Absolute. Unless all acts are based on this consciousness, there cannot be any ultimate value in these acts. The Absolute is the life-principle of all things, acts and thoughts, and so, without it, everything becomes lifeless and devoid of meaning. Spirituality is a state of consciousness; it is not merely certain forms of action. When consciousness is properly trained to exist in this harmony, all acts become universal processes, and cease to be individual efforts directed towards a phenomenal end. It is the duty of everyone in all one’s conscious states to attempt to unite oneself with the Absolute, and perform one’s duties with the consciousness of this unity. Such an individual is a sage, the supremely blessed one. The very presence of this hallowed being exerts a magnetic spiritual influence on the entire environment. “This universe is his; and, indeed, he is the universe,” says the Upanishad. This is the glorious consummation of life.
[Extracted from Swami Krishnananda Maharaj’s discourses Divine Life Society]
The Difficulties of a Spiritual Seeker
The Difficulties of a Spiritual Seeker by Swami Krishnananda
Created on Monday 10 June 2013 21:48
The spiritual way of life is perhaps the most intriguing and enigmatic of all arts and sciences. The reason behind this difficulty in understanding and living the life spiritual is that this arduous adventure on the part of an individual is connected with so many subtle factors and calls for such dextrous adjustments from moment to moment that the entire process or effort is practically beyond the reach of the common man who is used to what we may call a happy-go-lucky attitude of total abandon to instincts, prejudices, routines and movements along beaten tracks of stereotyped conduct and behaviour in his personal and social life. It is by a rare good fortune, we should say, that a person gets fired up with the spiritual ideal, sometimes by causes which are immediately visible and at other times for reasons not clearly intelligible even to one’s own self. Broadly speaking, a spiritual aspiration may be stirred up in the heart of a person by frequent association with spiritual Adepts or Masters, continued study of spiritual literature for a long time, or even a sudden awakening to facts brought about by the perception of blatant contradictions, sufferings and sorrows in life, as well as an unexpected shot of an insight arisen into the transiency and ultimate vanity of everything earthly and phenomenal. These may be regarded as some of the visible causes of the rise of a spurt of spiritual aspiration in the mind of a person, though these visible features have deeper unseen causes extending outside the ken of the powers of the conscious human level. But the fructification of intense virtuous deeds performed in the previous lives and the right efforts put forth in such earlier incarnations of the soul may act as invisible causes of the manifestation of profounder spiritual urges even in an early age in one’s present life.
The pressure of a spiritual sense of values can take one by surprise and lead one to such personal and social attitudes which may startle people around and force them into a conviction that ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark’. This may lead to a kind of social tension between oneself and others, though only for a short period of time, initially, and drive one to an adoption of such a gospel of life as may set oneself in a sort of disharmony with the atmosphere prevailing outside, if not entirely put upside down the accepted etiquette and ethics of the society into which one is born and in which one has been brought up. The spur of the spirit from within can for a time face the strongest forces of the world and blow like a whirlwind uprooting trees which stood firmly on the ground so long and casting out roofs of houses and temples which have been held so dear and sacred. It may even break the walls and ramparts of affection towards those who cannot but be regarded as indispensable relations of oneself, near and dear as one’s own skin. In this sense, the upsurge of the spirit from within is a sort of revolutionary violence sprung upon everything around which is normally regarded as morally good, socially necessary and traditionally inviolable. This force of the spirit rising from within may even look like a terror to the sacredness of earthly formalities, a fire of doom that has come upon all the loveable values of life. When such a spirit takes possession of the individual, there can arise a feeling that nothing in the world is worth anything and the only thing worth the while is the realisation and the experience of the Supreme Being. It is under such conditions that a person hurries forward to places of seclusion, to temples, churches, monasteries, nunneries, Ashramas or convents, with the hope that here, perhaps, are chances available for obtaining facilities in leading a contemplative spiritual life. And we have, thus, the spiritual seeker in a holy cloister.
The Mahabharata and the Bhagavadgita are the grand epic illustrations of the problems of a spiritual seeker and of the ways of confronting them and solving them once and for all. The Adi-Parva of the Mahabharata represents the condition of the seed in which form the spiritual tendencies and powers lie latent and having sprung up from the seed, remain like tender children requiring great protection, care and nurturing. The children grow up in a nebulous atmosphere of hope and insecurity mixed up in a confused proportion and they are not quite confident of the nature of their surroundings and the precise character of their future. In the Sabha-Parva the aspect of hope seems to be in a condition of jubilant fulfilment, and everything looks secure, fine and grand. This is exactly the stage of the spiritual seeker and the condition of tremendous enthusiasm and positivity, when he enters the sylvan surroundings of holy seclusion or the rigorous atmosphere of a monastery in which he expects to live the sublime life of contemplation on God. But there is a sting attached to the end of the Sabha-Parva which turns all the glory of initial enthusiasm into an anti-climax of utter suffering, and we find the Pandava brothers getting into the clutches of a deceptive dice game and being banished into the woods to find their fate in a wretchedness which would beggar description. And here we are in the Aranya-Parva. Such is the sorry state of affairs now that even at the end of the period of exile there is a need to live incognito for a time, lest the unfriendly forces should wreak vengeance upon the audacious goodness of a noble aspiration which is so offensive to the philistine world of social hypocrisy. So goes the Virata-Parva. But truth triumphs, goodness ultimately succeeds, and the power of virtue commands the admiration and attracts the attention of even the gods. There is a turn of events suddenly, and in the midst of the worst of sufferings promises come from mighty potentialities of the divine government, that things are not so bad as they have appeared up to this time. Great energies get gathered up, and sympathy and support come from all sides. Not only such celestials as Indra but invincible heroes like Sri Krishna offer to join the forces of virtue and aspiration in their battle against the opposing elements of egoism, greed, lust and wrath, the powers earthly and the instincts undivine. The Udyoga-Parva describes the assembly of powerful and undaunted friends of the Pandavas deliberating over the courses of future action. This is the most complex among the eighteen Sections of the Mahabharata, wherein we have a portrayal of colourful dramatic scenes that are enacted prior to the commencement of the sanguinary war with the forces of Nature which, in the vehemence of their asserting the beauty and joy of a real diversity of values and the meaningfulness seen in sensory contact and the physical possession of earthly goods, attempt to destroy the diviner powers that are struggling to tend towards an ultimate unity of life. It is here that there is the picture of a beautiful blend of human effort and divine grace, and the rising of a confidence that success is perhaps a possibility. God himself takes the responsibility of seeing that the needful is done in the matter of the protection of the forces of divine aspiration and virtue, and we have in the Udyoga-Parva a description of the majestic event of such a superhuman character as Sri Krishna himself undertaking the task of going on a peace mission to the assembly of the Kauravas. Not only that; the dread power of God is visibly demonstrated as being there behind the powers of goodness, virtue and aspiration, when the occasion arose for Sri Krishna to exhibit his cosmic form. The actual battle, however, commences in the Bhishma-Parva, where, at the very beginning of the battle that was to ensue, there is a surprising description of an astonishing attitude which Arjuna reveals, quite contrary to the heroic preparations made earlier for the fierce battle that was regarded as unavoidable.
This condition is precisely the initial stage of actual spiritual practice,-a sudden dampening of fervour, a mixing up of emotions and a totally unexpected persistence of the seeker in misconstruing all values and putting the cart before the horse, thus attempting to turn upside down all the logic and ethics of that earlier occasion when it was thought with great wisdom that there was an inescapable significance and meaning in embarking upon the adventure of a war. What follows is the gospel of the Bhagavadgita pronounced in eighteen Chapters representing the stages of the ascent of the soul in its spiral movement towards the Absolute. In the war of the spirit it is not merely the forces of obvious evil, such as Duryodhana and his henchmen that are to be faced and overcome, but also traditional law and ethics embodied in Bhishma, though the oldest and the most venerable for everyone equally; efficiency and learning going hand in hand with unscrupulousness adumbrated in the personality of Drona, though extremely powerful and helpful; and misdirected friendship and fraternal feeling as pictured in the figure of Karna, though immensely cooperative and a dependable source of awful strength. All these good things, dear things, valuable things and sacred things have to be sacrificed at the flaming altar of soul’s allegiance with and surrender to the cause of the ultimate Goal of life. And in this awe-inspiring, heart-rending and terrific war of the Spirit waged for the establishment of Truth and Righteousness, the silent helping hand of God is seen to be vigorously active right till the end, when the war is finally won, all which are some of the beautiful scenes painted through the Chapters of the Mahabharata.
The seeker’s entering a monastery or a place of holy seclusion is really the beginning of his troubles. The austerities personally volunteered and the disciplines externally imposed by the surroundings or the atmosphere of this life try to dig up the gold and the treasure that is hidden in the mine of the seeker’s inner substance. But the digging also raises a lot of dust which can even blind one’s eyes and hard stones and pricking thorns may not infrequently be found side by side with the treasure that is buried in the deeps. The spiritual urge can suddenly wane, being beclouded by the dust and dirt which may be kicked up by the forces insisting on an attachment to diversity, which may for a time eclipse even the brilliance of the sun of the Supreme Spirit planted in the heart of man as his very Self and beckoning him from outside as the illimitable Infinite. A lethargic condition, one of torpidity, callousness, hunger and sleep may be the stage immediately following the upsurge of religious enthusiasm and longing for spiritual liberation, with which the seeker may enter a monastery or find a place in the vicinity of a Master. A falling back upon the principle of least resistance and least action can be the outcome of this state of mind. The spiritual urge gets pressed down at once by the cumulative effect of a dark and cloudy reaction set up by the powers of desire, otherwise normal to a human individual, which have been relegated to the limbo all the while when the spiritual urge was predominant, though for a short period. The sense and the ego are like the devil and the deep sea, between which the seeking individual is likely to get caught, and whichever of the two ways one moves, one’s fate is sure to be destruction.
After a lull of inertia and sleep for a few years, there can arise an irresistible desire for sense-enjoyment, the very thing which looked undesirable years ago when a fit of renunciation drove the seeker to the hermitage or the monastery. The usual form of desire is actively sensory and herein it is that one may become prone to yield to the pressure of the subhuman side of passions that insist on having their fill. These are the impetuous instincts of the animal world, the savage nature, which have no regard for the good of the individual concerned, because their objective is only physical satisfaction. This is the immoral nature, so much condemned in the science of ethics, since it has no concern with the welfare of others. The seeker may become neurotic and eccentric when the outlets for his feelings and urges are blocked by the regulated atmosphere outside. The greatest enemies of the spiritual aspirant are wealth, sex, fame and anger. A craving for silly satisfaction through even the pettiest objects of sense, of play and diversion, may rise to the surface and press for fulfilment. There is always an interplay of inertia (Tamas) and craving (Rajas) in the mind of the seeker who is still on the path of struggle and is groping in darkness. The achievement, if at all there has been any, up to this stage, is a suppression of desire simultaneously consequent upon the burning of the fire of renunciation and love for God, which showed its head in an earlier stage. It is something like an ocean sweeping over dustbins and locations of drainage and sewage, flooding them with its overwhelming rush and force and submerging them for a while, but not actually transmuting them into purer substances. The initial spiritual urge of the jubilant enthusiast, our youthful hero on the path, is of this nature. The dust and dirt and rubbish are all there when the oceanic waves recede and when the daylight of sense activity falls upon them, reverting them to their original form of rot and stink. Spiritual seekers, beware! It is not all rose-bed or milk and honey that is the path you are treading. A razor’s edge, verily, it is!
Any healthy advice not conducive to the fulfilment of desire may be looked upon with resentment. And any over-exerted pressure of the cloister may force the seeker back to the condition of sleep, an unsocial behaviour (rarely it can even be anti-social), a sense of hopelessness, a melancholy mood and an air of dispiritedness. Then there can come rising up the hissing snake of ire against all spiritual effort, even against the very faith in the existence of God, and a longing to listen to the call of a return to worldly life, the very condition from where the soul once struggled to soar above in a flaming aspiration. How mysterious is the way spiritual! Many students of Yoga who once demanded nothing short of the realisation of God in this very life were forced later on to go back to the old routines of the work-a-day world of sense and ego. There is a very strange reaction produced by the desires suppressed for long, and that is the vehemence and ferocity with which they can strike back on centres of indulgence with redoubled force, making the moral condition of a person much worse than what it would have been even under an accepted normal state of worldly life. Prolonged celibacy of a repressed character may urge one to an impulse towards leading the life of a householder or even of seeking physical satisfactions at lower levels by a psychological regression into earlier instinctive stages of what modern psychoanalysts call the ‘libido’. Disturbing dreams and erratic thoughts of self-fulfilment in a variety of ways may become a common feature. There can even be a return to such gross levels as business and shop-keeping as the result of a kick received from those desires which were not allowed a free hand by the action of an overwhelming influence exerted by that spiritual enthusiasm which once had risen up to the surface long ago. An itching for frequent outings, trips and journeys can become one of the innocuous avenues for the escape of energy which was kept bottled up but not harnessed by sublimation. A thoroughgoing repulsion to circumstances requiring one to live alone and a panicky love for company of others at any cost, even if it be in a street or market place, can become an easy solution the horrors pictured before the senses and the ego by the relentless hands of the call spiritual. Grammar and literature, art and music may assume the role of not only harmless accessories to living the ideal of one’s life but even forms of spiritual practice by themselves. And so our hero does go his way, undaunted by what the world may say from outside or what the conscience may speak from within.
The almost incurable trait of finding fault with others, whether by way of philosophical doctrine, technique of practice or personal attainment, may become a source of negative satisfaction when one does not possess anything that is positive. To cavil at great men and noble souls is perhaps the easiest way of becoming great oneself. Sisupala suddenly became important due to his cheek in casting aspersions on the Lord Sri Krishna. To many this is the chief source of acquiring social status and gaining certificates and encomiums from the unwary public, to exploit whole ignorance through these deceptive means of vainglorious complacency is a covetable ideal to get on comfortably in life. But Nature’s wrath and the nemesis of divine law is something which cannot be foreseen by the eyes of this astounding stupidity discoverable in human behaviour. The finding of fault with others runs, of course, hand in hand with the habit of self-justification and self – assertion which loudly proclaims that its viewpoints and the ways of its working are infallible.
There are Gurus or Masters whom it would not always be easy for a spiritual aspirant to befriend or serve. We have a classic instance of the story of the spiritual quest of Tibet’s Yogi Milarepa who underwent an intolerably severe training under his Preceptor Marpa. The hardship of living with a Guru is a thing our modern curiosity-ridden students cannot understand, far less appreciate or be able to endure. But spiritual attainment exacts such a price from anyone who is really sincere in this glorious pursuit; nay, all the priceless goods of this earth cannot be regarded as equal to the value of the fruits which such a strict personal discipline and such knowledge would yield in the end. Doubts and fears unmistakably hover round even the sincere seeker like vampires ready to suck one’s blood. One may doubt the worth of one’s own Guru. Can this be the last stroke that Satan attempts to deal at the root of all spiritual aspiration? Perhaps not. Because, there can be something worse, and that is a disbelief in the very existence of God and a conviction about the nonsensical character of spiritual salvation which the seeker on the path is supposed to be striving for. But a type like that of Milarepa or the noble example of Nachiketas recounted to us by the Katha Upanishad is made of a different stuff, persistence in one’s pursuit and tenacity in one’s practice are the hallmarks of such heroes who are not only the salt of the earth but a dazzling credit to the immortal glory of mankind’s essential function which tops the list of all its duties.
Physical disease, extreme talkativeness, loss of memory, gluttony, dullness of aspiration, doubts of different kinds, remission in the continuity of practice, laziness, a subtle desire to have sense-enjoyment, mistaking illusive perceptions for reality, inability to find the point of concentration, and instability in the practice of meditation are some of the major obstacles on the path of the seeker. A desire to mix too much with society, to raise large institutions and expand the circle of one’s disciples can act as a fatal weapon to deal a death-blow at the hunger of the soul for God. History is here our best teacher. The life of Rishyasringa as we have it recorded in the Mahabharata, the life of Visvamitra given to us by Valmiki in the Ramayana, the life of Buddha told in the poem by Edwin Arnold, the ‘Paradise Regained’ of Milton, the life of Yogi Milarepa recorded by Evans-Wentz, the lives of the Alvars and Nayanars of Southern India, the life of St. Augustine, the writings of Thomas a Kempis, and such great examples as Rishabhadeva, Jadabharata, or Dattatreya of ancient times, the life of Sri Krishna-Chaitanya-Deva, and the like would provide a stimulating and most helpful study to every student on the path of Yoga.
[Extracted from Swami Krishnananda Maharaj’s discourses Divine Life Society]