REMOVE THE VEIL THAT HIDES THE SELF IN YOU
(Sri Swami Chidananda)
In the present century civilisation in which there appears to be all-round advancement in every phase of life, man leads a busy, humdrum life and is ever engaged in pursuing his avocations, and hardly finds time to give a thought to higher things in life, for example, the purpose of his existence and his final salvation. He has practically no time for lofty thinking excepting, perhaps, when during the course of his ponderings for pleasures. Nature gives a sound blow and he cries for help from God. Some of the saints like Gurudev, who have been before us seem to have realised fully the exact needs of the present day people, and given readymade packets of spiritual experience. These wise men feel that Bharatavarsha has had enough Samskara to know what is the purpose of life, to need a philosophic exposition of the nature of salvation. By virtue of his very birth, perhaps, a citizen of this land has a philosophic bent of mind. Whether a man knows anything about a cow or not, eating cream is interesting. The dinner is already spread before you, all that is required of you is to sit and eat. Eat and enjoy and feel the happiness, and if you have any surplus, give to others. This is the practical aspect of spiritual anubhava or experience. This is what the saints proclaim by beat of drums, and are never tired of hammering into our minds: ‘Practise Sadhana, meditate and feel the divine bliss. Do selfless service and feel the ecstasy of it.’ Who knows how long this body is going to last, and hence there is no time to lose. So, this brings man face to face with the practical aspect of the Upanishadic way of life,—to do Sadhana. There was once a very noble, wise young person who played with cows and cowherds. He spoke something which has become immortal. What he spoke has now become one of the greatest little books that the world has before it;—it is the Gita. It is a dynamic, practical scripture which tells us in a dynamic spiritual way, the Upanishadic mode of life. This tells us how bliss may be extracted from the Upanishads and tasted.
The Upanishads insist upon aparoksha anubhuti (direct experience) that the whole world is divine. But what is our actual experience? A little word of abuse, a little difference in the taste of the food we get, and the world which we say is a dream, becomes very real. That is the net of maya in which we are caught. Suppose there is a rich man who gives an open banquet to all, and he extends an invitation to everyone. But suppose also the man has tied a fierce dog at the entrance door. All can peep in, but no one can enter, because the terrible dog is there ready to pounce. Similar is the case with the bliss of Self-realisation. In the spiritual field, too, there is this hazard which will not allow you to taste the bliss of the Self. Some call it Satan; others call it Mara or Maya. It is there in every religion. All the bliss the Upanishads speak of is there, attracting you; but there is this hurdle which is not easy to jump over. That is why, in spite of the teachings of the Upanishads, all the scriptures, all the saints, all the Avataras and all religions, the dream-world continues to be real, and attraction to the objects is still there. It is very difficult for man to turn away from preyas (worldly pleasure) and take to the path of sreyas (spiritual good).
Herein comes the real problem for us. If we ought to experience the glory, grandeur and bliss of the Upanishadic state of Atma-jnana, what is the way? This obstacle, Maya, is there within every man. The ultimate analysis would show that it is actually one’s mind itself that is the bar on the way. It is the overcoming of the mind that is the main problem of the seeker who would enrich himself with the experience expounded in the Upanishads, enjoy the state of permanent happiness, the Atman, the Bhuma, which having been gained, nothing more is to be gained. What is the method by which we can overcome this Maya?
Maya is manifest in the human individual as mind. This aspect of individual Maya, deluding man completely, works havoc upon the external field of life, based on egoism. This egoism is mostly the form of false identification, called adhyasa (superimposition). The Vedantins refer to the nescience (Maya) in man in terms of adhyasa. Break away from the identification; then you are what you are, and you will shine in your own glory. The Raja Yogins refer to this wonderful power in its aspect as vritti (thought-wave). Vikshepa or tossing of the mind is always there, and this tendency is always the bane of spiritual life. Therefore, it is said, ‘Yogaschittavritti nirodhah’, the mind has to be completely subjugated by absolute annihilation of vrittis. The same mind, based upon ego, manifests itself through the emotional aspect of the individual in so many attachments. This clinging nature of the mind which works through the emotional aspect of man as mamata (mineness) is effectively purified, sublimated, through another Yoga called bhakti (devotion). The very same mind has also the habit of manifesting itself in other ways, in the form of pride, selfishness and the urge to acquire material wealth, and to that end man will work himself to death, a perverted dynamism completely seeking to engage itself in selfish activities. This is effectively tried to be counteracted through yet another Yoga called Karma, the path of overcoming selfishness, pride, giving up raga-dvesha, etc., with worshipful bhava or noble attitude.
Therefore, to overcome Maya was considered to be the one thing important, necessary and indispensable, if one had to make the Upanishadic truth live in one as glorious, direct experience. It is a negative process, it may not give Atma-jnana, but it is very necessary. This is the process of Sadhana that Gita gives in various beautiful ways to suit various individual attitudes.
We know that Sadhana is to be done. How is it to be done? We have got a lot of wrong Samskaras, but then how should we actually proceed! For this, the Gita has given some methods. The Srutis declare: ‘No amount of lecturing, no amount of reading, nor high intellect, can ever bring you nearer the Atman.’ These are all necessary to have a knowledge of the Reality, but will not help you to realise or experience the Atmic-bliss. It is not for the ordinary weak man; it is for the hero to attain it: ‘Na ayam atma balahinena labhyah.’ Overcoming the mind is like effacing oneself. We generally do not know that the mind is different from us, yet it is the most important thing. A new ‘myself’ has to come into being. Non-cooperation of the mind in the Vikshepa-aspect of the individual personality may start to come into operation; then you will know that the mind is other than yourself.
(To be continued)
Lust, anger and greed are the main foes of a seeker. These are the greatest obstacles to meditation. These impurities have to be eliminated from the mind. By making the life Sattvic, by filling ourselves with Sattvic, we can annihilate these enemies.
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Either you think of the things which you do not like or you think of a thing you like, to which you are attached. Therefore, attachment and repulsion are at the root of the problem. It means lack of Vairagya and dispassion.
—Swami Chidananda
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