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Early Morning Talk on 12
November 2003 OM OM OM Om Namah Shivaya Narayana, Narayana, Narayana, Narayana. Worshipful homage unto Thee, Thou supreme all-transcending, supra-cosmic, Divine Being. Thou who are the source, the support, and the substratum of all things that exist, all the millions and billions and trillions of universes. Ananda koti brahmananda. They arise in You, they subsist in You, they subside in You. To Thee, O Thou imponderable Being, worshipful homage. This servant of your servant humbly supplicates that You will make Yourself felt in the hearts of all the seekers, sadhaks, assembled together here in this hall at this moment. Loving adorations and prostrations to beloved and worshipful Holy Master Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj. Who, among other things – like righteousness, virtuous living, kindness, compassionate … compassion, purity, truthfulness – taught us also the kinds of wisdom. He taught us both ideal vyavahara: “Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize, Be Good, Do Good, Be Kind, Be Compassionate, enquire Who Am I, Know Thyself and Be Free.” Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize, Be Good, Do Good, Be Kind, Be Compassionate, enquire Who Am I, Know Thyself and Be Free. He taught all these. What He taught was what Bhagavad Gita teaches. In the Indian Hindu religious
tradition, there are what is known as three most important scriptures.
They are called prasthanatreya. And they are: Upanishads; Brahma-Vidya,
Brahma Sutra, which – Vyasa Maharshi, Badarayana wrote it; and then,
Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Treya means three – treya. prasthanatreya
– Upanishads, Brahma-Sutras, Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Upanishads: Vedanta
for you, in your individual capacity. It is for your personal evolution,
nothing to do with the world outside of you. It is for your subjective,
spiritual unfoldment and progress and attainment; vyaktitika Vedanta.
Upanishads. And Brahma Sutras is vijnana vedanta; it is for your intellect only. It is capsuled wisdom. Capsuled wisdom. The very quintessence of the Upanishads is put into the Brahma Sutras. It is a book, a little bigger than this. Little bigger than this. And it has no thickness at all. Mainly, it is … you add one more tissue to this; that will be the thickness of the book. A few pages, you can put it in the pocket. It was small … A few pages of that size. You can get it in the Gita Press Book stores. Now you don’t have to cross Ram Jhula and go by the boat; you don’t have to go to the other bank of the Ganga. Gita Press has now … Gita Bhavan has now opened a shop right here in Muni-ki-Reti, on this side. When you go back, the shop comes to the left side; when you start from Guru Niwas to come here, the shop comes to the right side. Very recently opened. There you will be able to get it. Brahma Sutras. It is for the intellect – capsuled wisdom; vijnana vedanta. Upanishads – vyaktitika vedanta. Gita – vyavahara vedanta. Supposing there is a straight, clean, maybe level path, to reach a place. Supposing there is another very dirty, up-and-down, crooked path to reach the same place. Naturally, which path would one take? Would one take the crooked, not so very clean, and up-and-down path; or would one take the clean, straight, level path? You answer the question. A wise person will take the smooth, clean, level, straight path; wise person. The unwise person will not even stop to make a distinction and a difference between the two – due to avichara, and due to not having clean eyesight. And they go away in the wrong direction, and get into the not-so-clean, not-so-straight, not-so-smooth path. It is a question of choice: and the choice is decided as a result of wisdom or un-wisdom. Wisdom or un-wisdom. In daily life also, we have got a choice between that which is auspicious, that which is not inauspicious … that which is not auspicious … inauspicious. That which is negative; that which is positive. The chooser of the positive will proceed smoothly; the chooser of the negative will come into clash and conflict. The chooser of the positive will make harmony to prevail; the chooser of the negative will make discord to prevail. Vyavahara Vedanta of Srimad Bhagavad Gita is divided into eighteen chapters … [long pause] … The vyavahara vedanta of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita is expounded in eighteen chapters. One and eight; athara adhyaya. In the 8th Chapter, what Krishna speaks to Arjuna, about the auspicious path and the inauspicious path, in verses from twenty-three to twenty-seven – 23, 24, 25, 26, 27; and verse 27 is the end of the chapter. At the end of the chapter. And it ends: ‘Iti Srimad Bhagavad Gita su’ – it ends in the vyavahara vedanta; ‘upanishad su’ – it is vyaktitika vedanta; ‘brahma vidyaya’ which is expounded in the Brahma Sutras, vijnana vedanta, Brahma Vidya. Brahma Sutras expounds the kinds of aphorisms in a capsule form. iti srimad bhagavad gita su, upanishad su, brahma vidyaya, sri krishna adhurasamaye, akshara para brahma, iti atamodhyaya. Thus, in the Bhagavad Gita; it is Vedanta in daily life. In the Upanishads; it is your individual and personal Vedanta; in the science of Brahman – ‘vidya’ means science – in the science of Brahman, it is the theoretical, intellectual Vedanta, theoretical. All these three are imparted by the Purna Avatar, the great teacher, Bhagavan Sri Krishna. Who Krishna is, He reveals Himself, in Chapter 11: “Behold! Now see who I am.” He reveals Himself, in a truly awesome, staggering way. And just before showing to Arjuna who He is in reality – one chapter previous to it, he tells Arjuna how He is present in this human world. “In all categories of things that exist upon the surface of the earth, planet earth, how you can recognise Me; how I exist. I exist as a supreme river, I exist as a supreme mountain, I exist as a supreme tree, I exist as a supreme bird, I exist as a supreme wife, I exist as a supreme animal. I exist as a great poet; I exist as a royal personality among men; ordinary men I am extraordinary personality, as a king, emperor, Chrakravarthy, Radha ke raja. I exist in this way, in this way, in this way … So you can recognise Me; at least you can know Me.” “O Arjuna – why should I go on elaborating? I exist as so many things on all the ten directions of the compass. Wherever you see Me, wherever you turn, you will encounter Me in one form or other, as one being or other. But why go on elaborating? Having pervaded this entire world of men in these multi, multi-forms, by only a small part of My great being, maybe by one-tenth of My being; nine-tenths I am still above. Don’t think having made Myself present here in all these forms, I am finished! – Hundred percent I am divided, and I am finished! No, no, no! Only a fraction of My being I am appearing like this in this world. But the greater part of My being, no one can know. It is far above … it transcends all these things, which I have become only by a fraction of My being.” It is then only Arjuna asks: “You have told me You exist everywhere, so many things. Can You please show me? Can You please actually make me see You in this form, everything, everywhere, as everything?” Now we have digressed; we have gone off at a tangent. We will come back to the point. And coming back to the point: In the 8th Chapter – namely, Yoga of the Supreme Brahman, Imperishable Brahman, Akshara Brahma Yoga – He describes for us, He outlines for us what is auspicious, what is not auspicious. And, within human experience, we regard bright daylight as auspicious; and the dark time of the night as not as auspicious as the bright daylight. It may not be positively, actively inauspicious, but at least it is not auspicious. This much we have to admit. It similarly restricts our movement, our ability to recognise and explore, discover, add to our knowledge expanding limits. Whereas, during the daytime, you can go anywhere you want in any direction; recognise it, search, discover, add to our knowledge; and add in a positive manner to the life around us, enhance it, augment it, make it the richer for our being in it. This is what we do in daytime. So, in the concluding five verses – 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 of the 8th Chapter, Bhagavan says: “Smoke, nighttime, the dark lunar fortnight of the month, the winter solstice” – that is, when the sun goes away on the southern journey, away from the north; north becomes cold and chilly – these are all the inauspicious factors. Fire, daylight, the bright lunar fortnight of the month, the six months of the summer solstice, the northern journey of the sun – these are all the auspicious period. And: “A Yogi, when he has attained Brahman, if he goes during the winter solstice, the southern journey of the sun; or in the dark fortnight, from the day after the full moon until the new moon day, or new moon day – dark fortnight; or at nighttime ... even if he has attained Brahman, he comes back once more, he does not go directly. I will tell you, Arjuna, the secret. Even if a Yogi has attained Me – avrati, na-avrati – but Yogi who has attained Brahman, if he goes during the southern journey of the sun … the northern journey of the sun, when it is all summer. When he goes in the six months of the northern journey of the sun, and in the bright fortnight, and in the daytime, in the light, maybe in front of a blazing fire – where there is no smoke – if he goes up, he does not return again. He does not come back again.” Now, times have advanced, science has advanced, and the Roman calendar has come to us. And we have also advanced in casting the almanac twelve months ahead. When the new year starts, Indian religious calendar here, the people who cast almanacs already put the almanac of the whole year, twelve months ahead. Panchangam, they call it. So we know all the auspicious times, inauspicious times, rahu ka alam, see. And we avoid inauspicious times, and make all the beginnings and any good commencement at the most auspicious period. But a Yogi who is meditating in a forest cave, he does not keep calendar and almanac and all that. So he doesn’t even know, sometimes, day and night, deeply meditating; so he does not take a chance. He does not take a chance: “I may not know which is the northern journey of the sun, which is the southern journey of the sun – I am immersed in my own Sadhana. So: I shall not take any chance! I shall be steadfast in yoga all the twelve months! all the twelve months!” The wise Yogi becomes rooted in steadfast yoga. The purpose of my putting this before you is: Always choose the auspicious path, the path of good, path of harmony, the path of light, the path of worship, the path that elevates, the path that spreads peace, love, friendship, goodness. That is the contribution you will be able to make in whatever situation, set-up, your prarabdha karma has placed you. In whatever set-up the prarabdha karma has placed you, let that set-up benefit for your being in it. Let that set-up be elevated for your being in it. Let that set-up become brighter and more beautiful for your being in it. Be a pillar of brightness, be a pillar of beauty, be a pillar of inspiration. Make yourself as a shining ideal, a light unto thyself, and a lamp unto the path of others. Live for the welfare of the many. Live for the good of the many, then the whole world will bless you. You will bless yourself. You will spread all round blessedness. Thus is the sharing, by the grace of the Supreme and by the benedictions
and blessings of Holy Master Swami Sivananda. To take the negative is
very easy; to go down is very easy. To ascend, to take the positive, requires
special inner spiritual skills; inner spiritual strength. Be earnest to
idealism. Be earnest to idealism – the way to Satchidananda. The
way to Satchidananda. May God and Guru endow you, all of you, with this.
Sriman Narayana Narayana Narayana See, we can stretch out our hand, pat someone on the cheek, “How are you, dear friend?” Or if someone is trying to … a child is trying to ascend too high a step and cannot make it safely: “Eh, come baby. … Mmm! Now you’re up.” Or, you can clench your fist, tell someone: “No, no, no! I’ll break your teeth!” Both you can do. Do it! God has given you feet. You can run up, you can ascend steps, you can walk; you can run up a staircase, old staircase; you can climb a tree, cut a fruit, give it to someone; you can stand on your toes, pluck some flowers, and bring it to the temple for worship; for archana. Gurudev when he was doing sadhana in Swargashram, he would go into Badrinath, into a place – roads were not there, and vehicular traffic to Badrinath was not there. So He had to cross Lakshman Jhula and start walking. There was a footpath right up from Lakshman Jhula to Badrinath. On the other bank. Sometimes it came to this bank also, crossing the river, on a stream, then again onto the other bank. Old Badrinath. And halting places were there, with all amenities, they were called chetty. At a distance of six miles, seven miles, sometimes eleven or twelve miles. But good footpath, very good footpath, shaded footpath, peace, having, sometimes, see, little seat. And when they came to Rishikesh, before proceeding, saints were asked, they stayed in Baba Kalikamla Dharmashala. Baba … who are worth seeing! Who are in this area. Who are the saints, yogis, sages, sants, mahatmas, yogis, tapasvis, in this area. And they would be told, these are the … They would come and bow and take their darshan: “Baba, I am going to Badrinath, please bless me – my journey will be safe and successful; I may return after darshan.” So, the saints and sages would bless them, and they could place some offering at their feet. They all occupied these various little, little kutirs. They always inevitably came to Gurudev, because those who told him who are the … “Oh! He is a great tapasvi, a great austere yogi. And also, he is highly learned, highly-educated, English-knowing! And, he was a doctor previously. He was a doctor, he has come from abroad. He has come from abroad – Doctor Sivananda.” So, they would make it a point of never missing the darshan of Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj. And Sivanandaji Maharaj would make it a point never to allow them to go without giving some useful medicine for on the way. Cold … medicine for cough and cold, medicine for stomach pain, medicine for diarrhea and dysentery, medicine for headache, medicine to apply when the knee begins to ache – all these things. Once, he gave all these things to a pilgrim. But after the pilgrim had left, taking everything, he suddenly remembered he has forgotten to give him a cure-all called amrutdhara; amrutdhara. Taken in different things, anupa, as they say, different vehicles, it has different effects; positive effects, curative effects upon the body. (And the pharmacy that manufactures this amrutdhara is in Dehra Dun. Amrutdhara Pharmacy in Dehra Dun, on the Raipur road. Just when you leave the busy, crowded area in Dehra Dun, go past the Ashley Hall – that Amrutdhara Pharmacy comes.) He forgot. “Oho!” And immediately he took a bottle of amrutdhara and started walking fast to overcome the pilgrim. Then he went to Lakshman Jhula and asked: “Have you seen … a pilgrim came just now, he was dressed like this?” “Oh, yes, yes, he came about fifteen, twenty minutes back. He is already gone.” Gurudev had chronic lumbago. And yet, taking the bottle of amrutdhara he started at a jog; jog trot. And went to the next chetty. He asked the chetty man: “Have you seen the pilgrim?” So: “He went; he was here ten minutes back, spent some fifteen minutes, had a cup of tea in my shop, but he is already gone.” So, Gurudev started running after him. With his lumbago, with His back pain, He started running after him. So he caught him up, caught up with him beyond Garuda Chetty. And then he stopped. And he said: “Look here, my friend. I forgot to give you this amrutdhara. It is a cure all, very good medicine. “ And he gave him the instructions, and the literature was wrapped around it, it gave more instruction. “Take it.” Then only he was satisfied he had done his karma yoga completely, hundred percent. Pilgrim went on his way. Swami … Dr. Sivananda retraced his steps back to his kutir – some number is there – back to his kutir. Now, he made use of his legs to run after the pilgrim and do his good Samaritan act to the pilgrim. If you are a goonda, if you are a ruffian, you can make use of your legs to kick someone. Ooh-hooh! [Everyone laughs.] See? You can kick a person very arrogantly. As well. So, the same legs you and I got … So, positive and negative use of whatever God has endowed us with, is in our hands. God has given – its utilisation is in your hands. Utilise it well. Utilise it in a auspicious manner, see? As the wise use it. Wait for Uttarayan; bright fortnight; daytime; in front of a fire of the havan, maybe. Akshara Para-Brahma Yoga, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, vyavahara Vedanta, ashamodhyaya; 23rd verse to 27th verse – which will guide you. God Bless you all! Sriman Narayana Narayana NarayanaOm Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namo Narayanaya |
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