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Early Morning Talk on 1
November 2003 Om Sri Anjaneyaya namah Om Sri Hanumate namah Hari Om Worshipful homage unto the all-powerful supreme, all-transcending, absolute, non-dual Reality. The advitiya Brahman of the Upanishads. Thou who art beginningless, endless, eternal, infinite, all-pervading, ever-present within and without. Inter-penetrating each and every cell, the millions and billions and trillions of cells that go to make up the individual physical bodies in which we dwell during the limited tenure of our earth life upon this earth planet. Thou who thus interpenetrates within and without, Thou who art the breath of our breath, the life of our life. Thou who art the One common factor within all living beings – same, the identical, the universal common factor. It may be the e-c-m or it may be the m-c-m of the mathematicians, Thou art more universal, common, linking up all things. Gurudev used to say, “He is like the common thread that passes through all the beads in a necklace”. The beads may be of variegated sizes, variegated shapes, and variegated colours; but, the thread that holds them together as a necklace, a single unit, is identical. Therefore, this Being, who is the common link between all of us here, all of us everywhere else – in India and in the world, even Japan, China, Alaska, Antarctica and Timbuktu, too – is therefore called the sutra. Sutra. Sutra means, has been translated as “thread. The married lady’s mangala … mangalasutra – that is also a symbol of that unit, held together by a common thread, containing various things that indicate her married, marital status; indicating both that she is no more a maid, no longer a maiden, kanya, but she is a saubhagyavati nari. And also indicating that she is not a widow, that her husband is very much alive. So they call it the auspicious sutra – mangalasutra. They don’t call it the mangalyemala but a mangalyesutra. And, the sutratman is the one common consciousness linking up all living beings in a homogeneous inner spiritual unit. And to that Being, Who not only transcends all, but also indwells and enlivens all things that exist, to that Being, worshipful homage. May that Being make itself felt within the hearts of each one of you. That is my prayer before Its transcendental majesty. Loving adorations to worshipful and beloved Holy Master Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, Who taught us all this, and more. We are fortunate to be in this Ashram, which is a repository of the invaluable knowledge and wisdom teachings that He left us all as a legacy. And, we were dwelling yesterday upon the subject of how, having all this as our inheritance from Him – which He bestowed upon us – how, being enriched with such a great, invaluable, unsullied heritage, yet it depends entirely upon each one of us here whether or not, and to what extent, we are benefitted by it. Whether we are benefitted at all. For we might have received much, but the great question is there, whether we are utilising it or not. And if so, how … to what extent we are utilising it. Whether we are influenced by it or not, whether we are actively practising, applying it and practising it in our daily life or not, is something that we cannot do much about. It depends upon each one of us. It depends upon each one of us here. Whether we are benefitting also from it by being aware of it, assimilating it into our lives, and applying it in our daily lives, following it; and thus elevating our lives to a higher level, a divine level. Because all that He taught, He summed up by the term, “divine living.” Because we are in fact, in reality, divine; and not merely human. The human aspect is only the physical and mental aspect. I shall be coming back … I shall be coming back to the mental aspect. The human aspect is not only the physical, but the mental aspect. But beyond the physical and the mental is the spiritual. And that spiritual dimension, spiritual aspect of our being is divine precisely because those who have realized their higher transcendental reality, experienced that the actual part of that Supreme Being, Whom we invoke, and offer our worshipful homage each morning here. They realized their identity with the transcendental, ekameva advitiya, the One, Supreme, Absolute, all-transcending, non-dual Reality or non-dual Brahman. That Brahman is illumination. That Brahman is enlightenment. That Brahman is wisdom divine. Prajnanam Brahma. He is prajnana. This prajnana cannot be experienced, it cannot be experienced by one who has not turned away from – we have to use the time-honoured, simple domestic term, “bad” – from bad conduct. “Don’t be a bad boy. There, there, be a good girl. Be a good girl. Don’t cry. Take your books and go to school. Don’t quarrel with your brother.” We use the word “bad” to tell little children what they should avoid being. And if you have not turned away from bad behaviour, bad conduct; and if you have not calmed your mind by taking out of it all the ferment of desires, cravings, endless thought – endless thought and desire and craving makes it very, very disturbed, it has no peace – such a being cannot attain Prajnana, divine wisdom. Two streams of thought keep directing the mind-process into their channels. Sometimes one stream forcefully pulls the mind and makes it go into this channel: one is the good, and another is not good. One must keep a watch over the flow of the mind, and the direction of the flow by an alert, observing intellect. The buddhi should keep a watch over the behaviour of the mind within. If your buddhi has not been trained to thus keep a watch, observe, and perceive what direction the mind is taking. If you are not trained, if your buddhi has yielded to the mind and has become one with it, then it goes along in the direction into which the mind pulls it. You must know to stand apart, like an observer on the riverbank, or the bank of the sea, and see in what direction it is flowing, what is flowing in it. You must know this, to be a sakshi within. And when you find suddenly the mind is going in the wrong channel, you have to draw it back from the wrong channel and navigate along the channel of the good. You must have this desire, you must know that this is a very important, VERY important thing in your day-to-day life, from the moment you get up from bed in the morning, until the moment when you go once again back to bed and enter into sleep. Throughout the waking hours, throughout the waking hours, you must be ever alert to watch that, you must be an observer; and you must have a keen desire that, “I will always think in the right direction.” Because your thinking governs your action. – “What did you say?” A human individual’s thinking governs the individual’s action. Action, behaviour, conduct, character, is based upon the inner thought. The body moves along the line that it is prompted and prodded and pushed from inside. Jaisa man, waisa tan. As the mind, so the body. Body is only a yantra, yantra. But the yantri is the human mind. Because reality which is beyond body as well as mind is nirakara-nirlipta tattwa, the Atma-tattwa. The Atma-tattwa is one with the Antarayamin. There indwells within every one of us the atman. That Being is the Antarayamin, the Brahman, the Supreme Being – God. And the inner, imperishable, unborn, deathless – vide the second chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita Jnana-Upadesa, the divine teachings of Lord Krishna – That is one with the Supreme Being. And so, nothing can happen to it. But, the individual consciousness of the jivatma is all upon this field, in the level and the dimension of the (as we yesterday said) the four-fold inner instrument: manas, buddhi, chitta and ahankar. You are not any one of these. Nirvana Shatakam – Jagad Guru Sri Sankara … Sankaracharya – begins with: ‘Mano buddhi ahankara chitta ni na’aham.’ “I am not all these four. I am not the mind; I am not the intellect; I am not the ego-principle; I am not the memory-principle either.” ‘Mano buddhi ahankara chitta ni na’aham.’ Are you constantly aware of this? If you are constantly aware, you are okay; everything is all right with you. You are fortunate. Because, in your thoughts, speech and action, in your entire conduct and character you will actively express that which is beyond these four factors – mano, buddhi, ahankara, chitta. You will express your spiritual nature; you will express your divinity, and all that it connotes, and all that it constitutes; all that it denotes. Why do we have to think so much about this factor? Why? Now we come to today’s central point: Precisely because, as we have inherited this great wisdom, wisdom of the body, wisdom of the mind, wisdom of the spiritual factors within, beyond body and mind. Because He wrote about body, He wrote how to cure constipation, how to cure asthma, how to get sound sleep, care of the eyes; and health and happiness, health and long life. And so many books! If you take the catalogue of Gurudev’s work, you will find so many books pertaining to the health and welfare of your physical body. Why He gave so much importance to it? Body should be neglected! Body is unworthy of our too much adulation, admiration and attention. It diverts the mind away from Atman. He says, “No.” Whatever you have to do, you have to dwell within this and do. You cannot be comfortable and divert your mind into right things when you are living in a leaking house – tak! Tak! tak! – if you have to go on wiping your … Very annoying, very annoying. If the house is not in order, you cannot be there, nischinta, without any worrying, without any enquiry, without having to think about it. And give yourself whole-heartedly to something worthwhile. But if everywhere the house there is a sense of discomfort, then mind will be diverted there. So if you want to forget the body and concentrate on Atman, body should be healthy; body should not give trouble and divert your attention. Therefore, He wrote … He gave the importance to the body and its welfare and health and good condition, precisely because He wanted you to forget the body and think of Atman, think of your spiritual essence, unborn, deathless, immortal spiritual essence. To that end, He wrote about the body. A vehicle is important not because of itself; because it helps you to go from place to place; it takes you places. For that purpose it is important. It is a conveyance – automotive conveyance. In that same way, any instrument you use for doing something is not important for itself, but because it enables you to do something. A mixee or mixer or blender is important because it enables you to blend things. A knife is important because it enables you to cut things. But if you are careless, you may cut yourself. Now we come to the central point. We have to take care of how this mind behaves, because we have inherited not only the great wisdom teachings of Holy Master, who was born in 1887. Before 1887, no wisdom teachings of Swami Sivananda existed in this world. What to say or think of a time when Vengo Iyer and Parvati Amma for somebody also they have not borne. Not to speak of time when Vengo Iyer’s parents and Parvati Amma’s parents were not yet born. Where was Swami Sivananda teaching then? When Swami Sivananda, Kuppuswamy, was not born, when Vengo Iyer and Parvati Amma were not born, when Vengo Iyer’s parents and Parvati Amma’s parents were not born – where did Sivananda’s wisdom exist: he did not exist? But what existed? Now let me see you tell me! Who can tell me what existed? Because you see, together with the Supreme Being, there was another thing also that existed side by side with the Supreme Being. And that thing, if you guess you are clever, you are wise, you are knowledgeable, you are intelligent, you have given some thought to higher things. There existed something together with the Supreme Being; to which the Supreme Being did NOT belong; but which belonged to the Supreme Being. Because, how do I say it belonged to Him? It belonged to Him, how do I say, on what authority? Mamo maya durateya, daivi dwesha gunamai, mama maya durateya ma meva eva prapajante, maya etam prapanjate. Ma meva eva prapanjate, maya etam prapanjate. “My Maya, made up of sattwa, rajas and tamas; very hard to conquer. Because it is My Maya. I am the supreme, temperamental, eternal, infinite Divinity; therefore My Maya also is divine. The power which She wields is not an ordinary power; it is not a petty, demoniacal power. It is a divine power.” Mama maya durateya, daivi dwesha mama maya; daivi dwesha gunamai mama maya durateya ma meva eva prapanjate, maya etam prapanjate. This Maya can be transcended only by those who come, take shelter at My feet, surrender themselves to Me.” Tamasyam devo Bhagavan pade, pade, rakshe, pahimaam, trahimaam, rakshamaam. And, She is eternal. She is eternal. “If She is eternal, then what is the use of any sadhana, spiritual life, meditation, japa, swadhyaya, secular service or puja, namaskara, paropakara? What is the use, if She is eternal?” This Being, Bhagavan’s Maya-Shakti, even though She is eternal in the sense that She is always there as long as Bhagavan is there – and we have just now said Bhagavan is endless, beginningless and endless, anaadi ananta tattwa, paraat para tattwa – but She who is eternal, so far as Bhagavan is concerned, is not necessarily eternal with regard to seekers of Bhagavan, sadhaks, spiritual seekers, spiritual aspirants, yogis; yogis. To them, ah! – She is a very important, very interesting and very subtle principle. Daivi dwesha gunamai mama maya durateya. She is anaadi, but kanta. She is beginningless, but she has an end: Ka-anta. Anta means a conclusion, an end, finish. So She is not endless so far as the seeker and aspirant is concerned. She can be destroyed; She can disappear. If the seeking soul experiences Bhagavan, then the grace of Bhagavan and self-effort, both combine together. Which is more important: self-effort is more important; or faith of God is more important? Both are important. Without self-effort, purushartha, you cannot attain; and without grace of God you cannot do purushartha! So they are both inter-connected and interdependent. They are two aspects, two facets, of one thing; two facets of one thing. So, remember this. For the sincere, determined, dedicated seeker, Bhagavan’s power of Maya, delusion, illusion, is beginningless; but has an end. Anhadi; but ka-anta. Very important thing. Now the point we have to come to and recognise, and deal with, is: As we have inherited wisdom teachings, we have also inherited maya, the deluding power of God. And unless you deal with it adequately and in the right and proper manner, you are finished. You may be a triple-degree philosopher: Ph.D. in eastern philosophy; Ph.D. in western philosophy; Ph.D. in comparative philosophy. But, those who are caught in the grip of Maya they won’t know that they are caught in the grip of Maya. They think, “We are okay. We have to tell others how to get rid of Maya, how to go beyond Maya.” So they are very smug. That itself is their Maya: “I know Maya. I recognise ... – that is the greatest trap. Always be humble. Say: No. I cannot recognise Maya. How I can …? I am a mere human being. Maya is known only to God. I am not God. I am the product of Maya. All the karmas I did in the past, for which I am experiencing my present life-experiences, have been done within the framework of Bhagavan’s Maya. Therefore they are shubha. Shubha-ashubha. Madhavananda Swami, revered and worshipful Swami Madhavanandaji Maharaj, always used to be fond of saying, Avashya meva bhoktavyam kritam karma shubha-ashubha. The auspicious and inauspicious karmas which you have done or engaged in, or committed, you could say, in the past, its logical result, its ultimate truth, you have to experience; willy-nilly you have to experience, you cannot escape experiencing the fruit of the karmas which you have done. On a journey, if someone has given you a hamper, when it’s high time, six or seven hours or eight hours, your hunger has started from within; then they say that, “Halt for a little while, have a little bite to eat.” If you open the hamper, what was put inside it when it was given to you at home, that alone will be there inside. You cannot expect one menu to have been put in the hamper at home, and when you open another menu to be inside. What you have brought alone, that alone you have to consume. So the karmaphala of the karmas you have already committed – that alone has to be experienced, and you must experience it. There is no other escape from it. Avashya meva bhoktavyam. And these karmas manifest through the mind, as a kind of …; these karmas manifest through the mind. Therefore, bondage and liberation depends upon the mind. Manameva manushaanam karaanam bandha moksha yoh – he who is caught in sense-objects, attachment to sense-objects, such attachment to sense-objects leads to bondage. He who is attached to senses, sense-objects, he is caught; and one who is not attached, free from attachment to sense-objects, he is unbound. He is free. He is not caught in a net. Therefore, as we have inherited wisdom, we have inherited un-wisdom. As we have inherited enlightenment, we have also inherited darkness: Maya, moha, ahankar. Therefore the prayer: Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. As we have inherited light, we have inherited darkness. Therefore: Be cautious; be cautious; be cautious. They not only said Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, they said, Utithisthita, jagrata, praptya varanyabodh. “Arise, awake, and attain enlightenment, by approaching those wise and illumined beings.” Utithisthita, jagrata, praptya varanyabodh. Arise, awake and illumine yourself, by approaching those who have attained illumination, the wise, great ones. Do that now. And don’t forget: As you have inherited light, you have inherited darkness. As you have inherited wisdom, you have inherited also ignorance. Maya is ajnana-stotra. Maya is ajnana-stotra. Therefore, be alert; be awake. Arise with determination. Go to sources of wisdom humbly. And go beyond Maya. Become liberated. May God bless you all. Hari Om Tat Sat. Anjaneya anjaneya anjaneya pahimaam Anjaneya anjaneya anjaneya pahimaam Anjaneya anjaneya anjaneya namaha Om Vayu putra vayu putra vayu putra pahimaam Vayu putra vayu putra vayu putra namaha Om Rama dasa Rama dasa Rama dasa sharanam Om Anjaneya anjaneya anjaneya pahimaam Anjaneya anjaneya anjaneya namaha Om Om Namo Narayana |
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