Chapter 1	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

The universe is born out of Macrocosmic imagination. Every entity of this universe, manifest or unmanifest, is maintained in the vast Cosmic Mind. So the Cosmic Consciousness is the primary cause of everything. And not only is He the primary cause. He is also is the witnessing entity.

I exist because He exists and wants me to exist. No other entity except the Supreme One should be contemplated upon. He is the Supreme Destination of every finite entity.

When due to ignorance, microcosms think that there is something more besides Paramártha it is called the non-integral outlook. Conversely, when they feel in the core of their hearts that there is nothing within or without except Paramártha, and that whatever exists is nothing but His imagination, that is called the integral outlook.

To attain savikalpa, nirvikalpa, and samprajiṋáta samádhis the development of an integral outlook is essential. Whenever there is a decline in spiritual culture in the world the cause is a lack of spiritual aspirants and qualified preceptors. In this modern world developed and effective spiritual science is freely available, but there is certainly a lack of inquisitive spiritual seekers and qualified teachers.

Qualified spiritual teachers are those with a developed integral outlook and a capacity to impart it to their students. Unfortunately so many so-called spiritual teachers are inculcating defective and narrow ideas in the name of spirituality to serve their own self-interests. Some of them even enter meaningless controversies such as whether God has a form or not, or is black or white, etc. Some even try to teach their disciples that there are as many as 300 million different gods and goddess! Others cite mythological stories to explain that certain gods bestow their powers on the faithful disciples, but other gods mercilessly punish the detractors. They jump at every opportunity to take advantage of the sentimental weaknesses of their credulous disciples, and in the name of spiritual training create obstacles on the path of spiritual progress by relating all kinds of cock and bull stories about heaven and hell. These “religious merchants” with their non-integral outlook, want to divide humanity into different groups (Indians, Germans, Russians, etc.) or into communities (Hindus, Muslims, Arya Samajis, etc.) Obviously blind religious supporters cannot form an integral view of the world. Rather they say, “Well in spite of having distributed so much food and water to the poor, and having undergone such severe penance, we still haven’t been blessed with God-realization.” This is an utterance of one with a non-integral outlook. Parama Puruśa cannot be attained by such people.

Parama Puruśa looks deep into the inner thoughts and feelings of human beings. He is omniscient, forever watching throughout the creation those who are meditating upon Him with undivided attention, and those who have been patiently waiting with an unwavering mind to realize Him. These are expressions of those with an integral outlook. Only such people, irrespective of caste, colour, creed, community, national or geographical barrier, etc. can look upon each and every human being as their own kith and kin. They are free of all discrimination. They even treat the animals and plants as being intimately related to themselves.

To attain any object of this mundane world human beings usually depend on the mind, intellect and sense organs. The capacity of the sense organ is extremely limited. How can these organs, which are incapable of perceiving the subtle ethereal factor, perceive Parama Puruśa, who is so many times more subtle than the five fundamental factors. In fact He is beyond the power of human comprehension.

Yato váco nivartante aprápya mamasá saha
Ánandam bráhmana vidván má vibheti kutashcana.

“Brahma is not attainable either by mind or words. He is only attainable through blissful cognitive bearing.”

Brhacca taddivyam acintyarupaḿ súkśmáccatat súkśmataraḿvivhati
Dúrát sudúre tadihántike ca pashyatsvihaeva nihitaḿ guháyám.

He is Brhat or immeasurable, beyond the capacity of the sense organs, beyond perception and intellect, He is Mahadeva, for each and every vibration and sensation (deva) of this universe emanates from Him. Sarva dystanátmakah akhańd́a cidaekarasah. That is, He is the nucleus of all vibrations and sensations. He is the embodiment of an unbroken flow of cognition. Because He is the Supreme Source of all emanations, He is called Mahadeva. He is the subtler than the subtlest; He is too subtle to be grasp by unit beings. He is so far that the human mind cannot conceive the great distance; yet He is so near that the human mind cannot conceive the proximity.

The most secret place of the human being is within the existential feeling (mahattattva) or “I” feeling. Parama Puruśa is the witnessing entity of this “I” feeling also. That’s why elevated people try to realize the Supreme Entity in the innermost cavity of their hearts with an integral outlook.

Tanurdarshamgúŕajmanupraviśt́aḿguháhitaḿ gavahvareśt́hampuranam
Ádyátmayogádhigamema devaḿmátvádhiiro harśshokao jaháti.

The Supreme entity is durdasha. In the case of Parama Brahma human beings cannot see Him as easily as they can see the external objects with help of their eyes because He is “Ańorańiiyán mahatomahiiyán.” That is, He is smaller than the smallest, yet greater than the great. To see subtle molecules and atoms one requires the help of scientific instruments. Just as one requires an intellectual and scientific vision to conceive of atoms, one needs a spiritual vision to know the Supreme Entity. To attain Him human beings have to take recourse to shravana (constant hearing), manana (constant ideation) and nididyásana (constant meditation). The Supreme Entity is Gurha, that is, He is lying hidden in the innermost recess of the human entity. To attain Him one must penetrate deep within oneself, and for that the development of an introversial outlook is essential an extroversial outlook will be no assistance. What we call inanimate matter with our extroversial vision is actually a conscious entity if analysed with an integral outlook.

He lies in the innermost core of all objects in His original stance. If one could visualise the original form of the Supreme Entity all the apparent external differences would vanish into nothingness. In fact, the fundamental spirit of intuitional practice is to realize the Supreme Unity in the midst of diversity.

He is Guháhita for He remain hidden in the most secret regions of the human mind, where He observes one’s hidden thoughts and feelings. He is the most Ancient One, existing beyond the scope of time, space and person. Such an Absolute Entity cannot be realized by a person with a crude, mundane outlook. To realize Him one must direct all one’s sentiments and propensities – in fact the entire psychic flow with its integral outlook – towards one’s inner existence. Only on this path of supreme synthesis can human beings attain the Supreme Entity and transcend the bondages of pain and pleasure, old age, death, etc.

The sages of the Upanishads say,

Náyamátmá balahiinema labhyah na medhyah na bahumah shruteme.

The Átman cannot be attained by the immoralist or the materialist. And the one who listens to learned discourses or reads the scriptures in the hope of realizing the Átmán with the help of keen intellect will surely be disappointed.

How can one know the Átmá? The answer is, by performing spiritual practice (sádhaná) with devotion and sincerity. For human beings spiritual practice in individual life is mandatory. Without sádhaná one cannot expect to make any progress. If one learns the secrets of spiritual practice from a learned preceptor and practices regularly one will realize intuitively the existence of the Supreme Cognitive Faculty guiding the entire creation; that the vast play of creation and destruction is being enacted at His bequest. One’s narrow vision will be lost. One who does not have a deep knowledge of geography may argue that the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are different oceans. But one who is well-versed in geography will say that they are two different local names of the same Indian ocean.

The cognitive faculty is the only integral entity. It is due to the static influence of the Operative Principle (Prakrti) in Consciousness (Puruśa) that different emanations have occurred. Yet the original stuff behind this plethora of emanations is the same. The apparent diversities of the universe are similar to gold bangles, gold necklaces and other items of jewelry made of gold. People treat their items of jewelry in different ways, they love relating the history of each one, and wear them in various ways. But to a goldsmith, all the ornaments are nothing but gold – he is not concerned with their different names and forms, he is only concerned with the actual value of the gold.

In the case of energy, we see that the same energy is manifested in different ways – light, heat, sound etc. The diverse manifestation of the same energy may surprise an uneducated person, but to an experienced scientist, energy is one material energy expressed in various ways in different situations. Just as material energy works in various ways and forms, similarly the Átman, who is the material cause of all created objects, and the witnessing entity of all, is installed in various entities. When the knower, the knowable and knowledge are fused into one, He still exists as the non-attributional entity.

Agnir yathaeka bhuvane praviśt́o
Rúpaḿ rúpaḿ pratirúpo jagám
Ekastathásarvabhútántarátmá
Rúpaḿ Rúpaḿpratirúpo vahishca.

Although human beings are the progeny of Parama Puruśa, the human mind can move in two directions – towards the finite or towards the infinite; towards shreya (permanent bliss) or towards preya (illusory happiness).

As human beings have passed through so many animal lives in the process of pratisaiṋcara to attain the human life, the material objects of enjoyment easily drag their minds towards preya. But preya only brings temporary relief to human afflictions before it throws them into the dark pit of misery. Human beings are by nature short-sighted and remain engrossed in the temporary pleasures of the present, for which they unnecessarily waste their valuable time and energy. For a patient of beriberi, the use of salt is prohibited, but in the pursuit of temporary satisfaction he or she may use salt, even while knowing that it is harmful. The result is a more serious attack of the disease. Human beings read in books since their childhood that to tell lies is a sin, yet they do not hesitate to lie for their own petty self interest. Dishonest government employees know in their heart of hearts that it is illegal to take bribes, yet for small gain, they take money from others out of greed. In consequence they have to suffer tremendously. Whatever is done with a narrow outlook is bound to meet with afflictions in the future.

Intelligent people seek the permanent cessation of misery. This attainable only on the path of shreya, not preya. Thus before accepting any object, they analyse calmly and dispassionately if it is shreya or preya. By verifying the characteristics and symptoms of objects they will be able to discern shreya from preya, and follow the path of shreya even though it may bring temporary sorrow to them.

The story goes that the tyrannical king Hirańyakashipu wanted to murder his own son due to devotion to Krśńa. First he tried to impale him on a sharp trident, but that didn’t work. Then he throw him into a tub burning oil, but even after that he was alive. So in a last desperate attempt he threw him off a mountain top, but to no avail. The devotee was unaffected by these tortures and was ultimate victorious. When Maharśi Yájiṋavalkya wanted to offer abundant wealth to Maetreyii, his wife, she refused to accept it saying, Ná haḿ namirtá syam tená haḿ kiḿ kunyáḿ. “What shall I do with that which will not establish me in immortality?”

Whatever is finite is limited by nature. The attraction for finite entities is káma, and the attraction for the Limitless Entity (Brahma) is prema. Those who are preoccupied with preya are guided by the small “I” – their mental expansion remains a far cry. Many so-called scholars are obsessed with their petty prestige, but one day that sense of prestige will crumble into dust. But shreya is infinite. It has no beginning and no end, it is an unbroken flow of pure and serene bliss stretching from beginninglessness to endlessness. This is the Bramha of the sádhaka. People who are under the illusory spell of avidyamáyá leave the benevolent path of shreya and rush headlong towards the deceptively alluring preya. But preya, after giving them only temporary happiness, like a flash of light, will throw them into the darkness of despondency, and they will stand like the scorched shell of a tree struck by lightening in the desert lamenting the endless drought.

Yáṋhá kám táṋhá nehi Rám;
Yáṋhá Rám táṋhá nehi kám.

Where there is a longing for physicality there is no absolute Consciousness, and where there is Consciousness there is no longing for physicality. Hence enlightened people will choose the benevolent path of shreya for the highest fulfilment of human life.

Krśńanám bhaja jiiva ár sab miche;
Paláite path nái yam áche piche.

Krśńanám harinám baŕai madhur
Yei jan Krśńa bhaje se baŕa catur.

[O human beings, take the name of Lord Krśńa. All other entities are unreal. If you forget the Lord where will you go? The God of death is waiting just behind you. The name of the Supreme Entity is the sweetest. Wise are they who take His name.]

Chapter 2	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

Once, when asked about his identity, Shankarácárya said:

“Manobuddhyahaḿkáro cittáni náham.
Na ca shrotra jihve na ca ghráń netre
Na vyoma bhúmirńa tejo na váyuh.
Cidánanda rúpo shivo’haḿ shivo’haḿ.”

[“I am neither mind, nor buddhitattva (‘I am’ feeling), nor ahamtattva (‘I do’ feeling), nor citta (done ‘I’). Similarly, I am neither eyes, nor ears, nor nose, nor tongue, nor skin; neither ether, nor air, nor fire, nor liquid, nor solid. Then what am I or who am I? I am Shiva-Consciousness bliss personified.”]

“Yatra jiivah tatra shivah”. The science to convert the microcosmic stance into the Macrocosmic stance is spiritual practice. Spiritual science “yoga” has been defined as – “Saḿyogo yogo ityukto jiivátmá paramátmanah”. To unify Jiivátmá (unit consciousness) with Paramátmá (Supreme Consciousness) is what is known as yoga.

Are the unit consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness two separate entities? No, they are not. But as long as the unit consciousness is under bondages, it moves around in the cosmic cycle of creation due to the play of life and death of the microcosms. When the objective mind, through constant sádhaná, exhausts all its acquired reactive momenta, it becomes one with the Supreme Consciousness. In fact the only factors separating the jiivátma from Paramátma are it saḿskáras (reactive momenta) and upádhi (extra qualification). Paramátma is the only unchangeable entity. “Sat” (that which exists) and satya ( truth or veracity) are synonymous. Satya is that which undergoes no metamorphosis with the change in time, space and person. Each and every finite object is continually changing, but Brahma or Satya is infinite, continuous and eternal. He is above all spatial, temporal and personal differences. Human beings, through sádhaná, will have to rise above these differences and establish themselves in the realm of Supreme Veracity. When they cease to take finite entities as their mental object, and direct their entire psychic potentialities towards Parama Brahma, then they attain such an exalted mental state, by His Grace, that they are unable to hear or feel anything. They attain the Supreme Stance. To attain this stance abhedajiṋána (non-discriminatory knowledge) is indispensable, and then only with His Cosmic Grace.

Any action, whether for self-preservation or spiritual practice, is not possible without the grace of the Supreme. But His grace does not come automatically – to merit it human beings must perform virtuous deeds. Only simple, beautiful and unblemished actions can please Him, and cause Him to shower His blissful Grace on the spiritual aspirants. In our daily lives we notice that a mother often gives some toys or food to her child before she attends to her household duties. After playing with its toys for a while the child suddenly remembers its mother and cries out loud to attract her attention. She may still be very busy, but when she hears her child crying she stop whatever she’s doing and finds out what’s wrong. To stop her child crying she may give some more sweets or toys. But if it continues to demand the mother’s presence she is compelled to keep it on her lap and gently caress it. Similarly, a sádhaka ardently calls Parama Puruśa, His attention is bound to be drawn; and by His grace He will allow the sádhaka to attain liberation.

Parama Puruśa is non-discriminating – He makes no distinction between the virtuous and the sinful. It’s only the society which discriminates between the two. Both the virtuous and the sinful are His progeny, so both are equally dear to Him.

The concepts of virtue and vice originate in the human mind. Due to the influence of certain propensities, the notion of vice occurs in the mind, causing people to commit acts of sin in the external world. As soon as the influence of those negative propensities is removed from the mind many pious thoughts – the honest desire to do good to others arise in the mind. When the so-called sinners earnestly call the Supreme One and surrender themselves at His altar out of devotion, they no longer remain sinners. By the grace of merciful Parama Puruśa they rise much higher than ordinary people. The lives of the bandit Ratnakar and Aungulimál are clear testimonies of this fact. Within a short one and a half hour span what a great change took place in the heart of a bandit who had mercilessly killed over one thousand people without the least prick of conscience. The rogue Ratnakar was transformed into the illustrious poet Valmiki. Does anyone have the audacity to call Valmiki a bandit? Hence the wicked and the virtuous are equally entitled to attain salvation. The merciful Lord has given clear assurance that His shelter is also for the so-called sinners by saying,

Apicet sudurácáro bhajate mámananyabhák
So’pi tu vinirmuktah mucyate bhavabandhanát

[Even if the sinner of the sinners meditates on Me with undivided attention I will also liberate him.]

Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Cognitive Faculty, is consciousness personified. He is not bound by the bondages of relativity. Invariably microcosms are in triple bondages. In some minds the bondage of the relative factors is so great, and the mental outlook so narrow, that if a person happens to be a native of Bihar he will think that West Bengal is a foreign country. For narrow minded people even a place 20 miles away from their home is treated as a foreign land. But a person who is free from the triple bondages and has thus become one with the Macrocosmic Mind has attained the non-discriminatory knowledge (abhedajiṋána).

This knowledge functions both internally and externally. When the unit mind becomes as expansive as the universe, it becomes one with the Cosmic Mind. And when the unit mind becomes one with the unit consciousness (jiivátmá), attaining the state of mindlessness, the unit consciousness and Supreme Consciousness ( Paramátmá) become one. The microcosm which is established in the Supreme Stance (Brahma bháva), becomes Brahma Himself. “Brahmavid brahmaeva bhavati”.

While describing this state the mystic poet Ramprasada said,

Prasád bale, “Yá chili bhái, tái habi re nidenkále,
(Yeman) jaler bimba jale uday, jal haye se misháy jale.”

[Prasád says, “You will be, O brother, what you are, just like water bubbles, which, on rising to the surface of the water, become water again.”]

Spiritually-realized people are respected as mahapuruśas by the society and placed on the high pedestal of honour and reverence in the society. In philosophical terms, these people, having traversed the path of saiṋcara and pratisaiṋcara have ultimately reached their cherished desideratum. That’s why they are the venerable members of society. It’s a matter of deep regret that some mean-minded people, due to acute ignorance, are inclined to criticize or censor these honourable and adorable personalities. To do that is as good as criticizing the Supreme Entity Himself, and is thus highly reproachable. All the great personalities of the world have attained the highest spiritual stance through intense spiritual meditation.

Those who impatiently preach to their followers, “Our God is the only God – others are false”, encourage communal differences directly and indirectly. Such defective teachings, such baneful exhortations, have caused many bloody battles in the name of religion. Even today we find a reoccurrence of this distressing situation. The self motivated and wicked intellect of a handful of religious leaders is at the root of these abominable incidents. One should always remember that all the great personalities of the different religious communities deserve equal respect. They are the collective glory of the human society. We may have built new path of movement for the progress of the society according to the needs of a particular age – a path which may be somewhat different from the one on which the great personalities trod – but that does not mean that we will not extend our respect to those venerable personalities.

Now the question is, how can people acquire this non-discriminatory knowledge? The answer is, through the practice of Iishvara prańidhana and abhidhyána. There are several interpretations of the word “Iishvara”. According to some, “Iishte yah sah Iishvarah”. That is, the one who controls everything is Iishvara. According to Maharsi Pataiṋjali, “Klesha karma vipákáshayaeraparámrśth Puruśa visheśa Iishvarah”. That is, the entity which is not assailed by klesha (afflictions), karma (reactions), vipáka (serving of reactions), and áshaya (bundle of unserved reactions) is called Iishvara. Whatever these definitions of Iishvara may be, here, by Iishvara, we mean the Supreme Controller of the universe, the Supreme Object of ideation for all living beings. Hence Iishvara prańidhána means to let the entire psychic energy flow towards Iishvara as the object of Supreme ideation. And dhyána means anudhyána. When sádhakas feel that the object of meditation – which is their life and soul – is trying to escape, they immediately run after Him and try to catch Him. This is called anudhyána.

Prańidhána and anudhyána together are called abhidhyána.

Tasyábhidhyánád yojanát tattvabhávád bhúyashcánte Vishvamáyámivittih

Through abhidhyána the unit mind remains continuously absorbed in the ideation of the Supreme Entity and finally merges in Him and consequently overcomes the influence of Vishvamáyá the creator of numerous differentiations. At this point the sadhakas finally attain non-discrimatory knowledge. To attain this stage worldly knowledge, social position, and skin colour are of no importance whatsoever. Even the different systems of worship, sacrifice, incantation, ostentatious devotion are insignificant. In psycho-spiritual practice the mind plays a vital role – the external rituals have no place. Just because a person has a holy dip in the Ganges and then puts on a sacred garment does not necessarily mean that he or she has attained that non-discriminatory knowledge. The water may cleanse the body, it is true, but how can it purify the mind and the soul? Fishes are having a holy dip in the Ganges every day. Does that help them to attain non-discriminatory knowledge? Hence the external observances, the ostentatious display of holy beads and coloured foreheads are not the means to attain divine knowledge.

Although all the great personalities are equally venerable yet different individuals have love for different personalities. The great devotee Hanuman was well aware of the fact that Náráyańa, the husband of Laxmi, and Rámachandra, the husband of Siita, were the same entity. Even then he was more attracted towards Rámachandra because, as he said,

Shriináthe Jánakiináthe cábhedo Paramátmani;
Tathápi mama sarvasvah Rámah kamalalocanah.

“I know Náráyańa and Ramachandra are basically one, yet to me the lotus-eyed Ramachandra is dearer.”

The state of non-discriminatory knowledge is called samprajiṋáta samádhi.

First let us analyse the difference between samprajiṋáta and savikalpa samádhi. Samprajiṋátá is derived as sampra – jiṋá + kta. The derivate meaning of the word is “proper and excellent knowledge.” And savikalpa is derived s+vi-kalp+al. During the state of savikalpa samádhi the sádhaka has a feeling that there is a second entity besides Paramátma. Hence this samádhi is called savikalpa samádhi.

The human mind, performs primarily two kinds of actions – saḿkalpátmaka and vikalpátmaka. When one decides, to do something it is called the saḿkalpátmaka state of mind, and when the samkalpa or resolution is materialized in the practical field, it is called vikalpátmaka action. During the state of samprajiṋáta samádhi, the unit citta is converted into Cognitive Faculty and thus the vikalpátmaka action of mind is suspended, although the samkalpátmaka state of mind is still quite active. But during the state of savikalpa samádhi, the samkalpátmaka state of mind remains only nominally active. And during the state of nirvikalpa samádhi both the samkalpátmaka and vikalpátmaka states of the mind are completely suspended. In that state of complete mindlessness, the sádhaka’s mind cannot function in any way, either in the individual sphere or collective sphere; and as one loses psychic vitality the nerve cells, nerve fibres and sense organs also stop functioning.

(On 14th May, 1970, at Ranchi jagrti, a certain sádhaka experienced this type of nirvikalpa samádhi in the presence of about twenty-five other sádhakas. That concerning sádhaka first sat in siddhásana with the spinal chord erect, and then began to practice dhyána on all the cakras – múládhar, svadhistána, mańipur, anáhata, vishudha. During that period he had a unique experience. He felt within that his dear object of meditation was dancing with two skulls. Thereafter, he raised his mind to ájiṋa cakra and began to practice dhyána in the prescribed dhyána mudra. Next, when he concentrated his mind on lalaná cakra, the function of the ten sense organs of his body was suspended. The sádhaka lost his mind in the Cosmic Mind and became one with the Cosmic Mind. He looked peaceful and serene.)

It was noted in the aforesaid instance that his indriyas and unit mind totally lost their power of functioning. And in the total absence of the mind-entity the unit mind can have no notion of duality. “Tasya sthitih amánasikeśu”. This is why this samádhi is called nirvikalpa samadhi. “Átmani mahadahaḿ cittánáḿ prańáshe nirgunásthitih nirvikalpa samádhi vá” (Ánanda Sútram).

Some sádhakas’ minds, the moment they reach the pituitary gland, stop functioning. The minds of some sádhakas cross all the cakras, rising in gradual ascendancy from the lowest cakra, and ultimately reach the sahasrára cakra. This is the highest state of realization in the spiritual sphere. When the unit mind goes beyond the jurisdiction of the indriyas, and the seeds of reactive momenta have been completely destroyed, it becomes altogether non-existent. In that state of complete mindlessness the jiiva gets completely merged in Shiva. The mind, after reaching the sahasrára (pineal plexus) does not return. And due to the obliteration of spatial differences the sádhaka dies a physical death.

Páshabaddho bhavejjiivo páshmukto bhavecchivo.

But the minds of those whose saḿskáras are not yet completely burnt up, descend again after remaining in a trance for a certain period. Some sádhakas’ minds, after reaching the stage of kalá, stop functioning. Under natural circumstances these sádhakas remain without any external body-consciousness for about five or six hours. If the mind rises still higher, they can remain unconscious for 24 hours.

Nature of the post-trance state: After the samádhi or trance is broken, two completely different pictures of the different worlds present themselves before the sádhaka. In the inner life he or she experiences an unbroken flow of bliss – an endless ocean of bliss, with external tranquillity and indescribable sweetness. On the other hand, the outer world appears to be dry, desolate and unsubstantial. In the inner life, he feels the most intimate contact and sweetest touch of the loving Father, but in the outer world, he or she feels detached from the original abode – the abode of eternal bliss. So this world of inferences appears to be dry and dreary. One feels difficulty in adjusting with the external world. The pangs of separation from the Lord affect one’s mind. As a result, sometimes one bursts into laughter, sometimes one breaks into sobs. To normal people his or her behaviour appears to be abnormal, but actually it reflects a very high stage of spiritual attainment. Soon afterwards, he or she attains the non-attributional stance – the highest state of spiritual attainment. Attaining this highest stage, by the Macrocosmic Grace, the sádhaka establishes himself in the original stance of the Supreme Entity – Parama Brahma.

Chapter 3	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

Ya eko Jálavániishata iishaniibhih
Sarvánloká niishate iishaniibhih
Ya Evaeka udbhave sambhave
Ya etadviduramtáste bhavanti

Behind the creation of this universe is a great magician who is creating and controlling this universe. In fact, whatever has been created, and whatever will be created, is due Him alone. One who realizes this truth attains immortality.

Eko hi Rudrah na dvitiiyáya – Only the one Parama Brahma, the Singular Entity is exists. There is no second entity. The plethora of objectivities surrounding us is only the creation of the psychic conation of that Supreme magician. Before creation He was the Singular Entity. When he wished to be many the extroversive (Saiṋcara) and introversive (Pratisaiṋcara) flow of creation started under the crudifying influence of Prakrti – the emanent principle of Parama Puruśa.

“Eko’haḿ bahu syám” Now I am one but I shall be many. The variegated expressions of the universe are nothing but the diversified manifestation of that Supreme One. The inanimate world; the animate world of plants, animals, and human beings; the mind, vitality, and intellect are all expressions of the same Supreme Entity. In the philosophical treatise of Ananda Marga, “Idea and Ideology,” it has been said that the singular Self is the rudimental cause of all diversities; that is, the essence of all physical and metaphysical diversities is the Supreme One – the noumenal cause of this phenomenal world. One fundamental entity has been creating and controlling the crude, subtle and causal worlds. In due course all created entities finally dissolve in Him. He is the material cause and He is the efficient cause, and at the same time He is the witnessing force of every object. Human beings should completely merge themselves in that Supreme Singular Self.

Parama Puruśa is the original fundament of this universe. The entire universe originated from Him, is maintained in Him, and finally will dissolve unto Him. The crude, subtle and the causal universe is only the projection of the Macro-psychic imagination. Due to the influence of Prakrti, which was manifested by the will of Parama Puruśa, the five fundamental factors – ether, air, fire, liquid and solid – emerged in the flow of Macrocosmic imagination. This entire colourful universe is a condensed form of countless inferential waves. Prána or life occurred as a result of internal clash and cohesion within the material structure. Subsequently, at different stages of evolution various unicellular living beings emerged, and finally human beings with a developed brain evolved. In the process of evolution from an unknown point the vast creation of nebulae, the solar world, stars, planets and satellites; creepers, shrubs, trees, flowers and foliage; rivers, clouds, oceans, hills, forests and meadows; and towns and cities took shape. But the original cause is the One infinite, omnipresent, omniscient entity – Parama Puruśa. People sometimes wrongly think that time, nature, destiny, accident, the fundamental factors or unit consciousness are the fundamental cause of creation. But on deep analysis one can only conclude that none of them can be recognized as an original cause of creation, because each is limited. Materialists accept this perceivable creation as the absolute reality, and deny everything beyond the scope of the senses.

This betrays their deep ignorance. They do not want to understand that matter is absolutely dependent on time, space, and person for its existence. Matter comes out of energy and energy comes out of Idea. And Parama Puruśa is the metempirical entity. They do not want to recognize the Supreme Causal Factor from whom countless vibrations are emanating and in whom all entities finally dissolve. In reality whatever we normally accept as a fundamental material cause of this colourful creation – whether the molecule, atom, electron or etheron – is only the expression of energy. Moreover, energy itself is not an original entity, but a particular manifestation of the static influence of Prakrti the emanent principle of Parama Puruśa. So, to know the fundamental factor of an object, one will have to know Brahma, the composite of Shiva and Shakti. And one who has known Parama Puruśa the nucleus of all vibrations, has merged into Parama Puruśa. Brahmavid Brahmaeva Bhavati. Microcosmic bondages will be removed, doubts and confusion will vanish and an unending stream of pure bliss will flow in one’s mind and heart. Each and every dust particle, and every molecule and atom will appear to be as sweet as honey to such a realized person.

Idam mánuśasya Sarvesáḿ bhútánám
Ayamátmá Sarveśám bhútánáḿ
Madhvasya Átmánah Sarváni bhútáni madhu.

To a person who visualises that blissful Supreme Entity in every microcosm, everything in this creation appears to be blissful. As this entire universe is the manifestation of the Supreme Entity, everything is equal to such a person. Just as everything is sweet as honey to the Átman, to a self-realized person everything of this world is blissful. Nothing should be ignored or neglected. In the external world there are apparent diversities, but internally there is one singular self. The Supreme Entity is One, but He manifests Himself in various forms. Apparently there is a vast assemblage of numerous multiplicities in the outer world, but in the inner world there is only one Supreme self. In the outer world there is a continuous flow of analysis, while in the inner world there reigns a final synthesis. While working in the external world one must not forget this.

Seeing the diversities of the expressed universe empiricists conclude that whatever is visible is real. Thus they deny the existence of the Transcendental Entity. If they refuse to accept an unchangeable entity as the prime cause of the causes of different objects in this relative world of mobility, their conclusions will prove to be self-contradictory. That’s why the followers of spirituality affirm:

Sa Brahmá Sa Shiva Sendrah so’kśarah Paramah Svarát́;
Sa eva Viśńuh Sah práńah sa kálágnih sa candramá.

He is Brahma, the creator and the One who permeates each and every molecule and atom of His creation. He witnesses everything. He is Shiva or Consciousness. He is Indra, the Supreme Lord of this universe. He is Aksara for He undergoes no metamorphosis. He is Avaya, the undecayed One. He is Svavat, the self-effulgent One. He is Viśńu, for He lies covert in every entity. He is the life force of everything. He exists and hence other entities have their entitative existence. At the same time He is the destroyer of all entities and hence the epithet “Kalagni”. And as He remains enthroned in the human heart in the form of Buddhitattva, he is also called Candramá.

Saeva Sarvaḿ Yadbhútaḿ Yacca bhavyaḿ Sanátamaḿ
Ji matvá taḿ mrtyatyet hanyah pantháh vimuktaye.

Whatever exists in this universe is His manifestation. Whatever has been, whatever is and whatever will be is His manifestation. Whatever people can or cannot think of inside or outside the creation is all within Him. The seed of all tanmátras, the sprout and this vast fruit tree in the form of the universe are all His manifestations.

Hence realized people are never confused at the sight of the endless diversities of nature. Rather, the unity behind this diversity is more discernible to their divine vision. What appears to be many in the outer world is internally one. This is the divine sport of Parama Puruśa. Intelligent people understand the self-contained eternal stance of Parama Puruśa behind the changing forms and fully establish themselves spiritually. The wise through sádhaná, ardent devotion and sincerity will move along the path of supreme synthesis and merge in the original stance of Parama Puruśa. They will realize that they are neither the mind nor the indriyas, nor the tanmátras, but an unending flow of consciousness and bliss.

Sacedánandarupo Shivo’haḿ Shivo’haḿ.

Chapter 4	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

This creation is apparently composed of many entities, but fundamentally, there is one entity the one and the same Supreme Entity pervades all the created objects of this universe.

Eko’haḿ bahu syám. The cosmic will of Parama Puruśa was materialized by Prakrti resulting in the creation of multidimensional and quinquelemental universe.

This manifested world of inferences is composed of five fundamental factors – ether, air, fire, liquid and solid. Not only inanimate matter, even human beings are made of the same fundamental factors which are themselves created due to the influence of prakrti. Prakrti is the immanent principle of Puruśa.

“Shaktih sáh shivasya shaktih.” Ultimately we discover the Single Entity which is beginningless, endless, omnipresent, colourful, placid and tranquil. All the innumerable finite entities, with their individual names and forms, have originated from that one Supreme source. The fire, water, sky and earth; the birds and animals; the worms and insects; the body and mind; the sense organs; knowledge and intellect; in fact all visible and invisible, crude and subtle, manifested and unmanifested objects emanates from Parama Puruśa alone.

Why are those so many differences amongst the animals, or amongst the human beings, why are there so many struggles. The answer is that these differences and struggles are all due to the influence of Máyá. Máyá’s influence has all caused thee and the undifferentiated Puruśa to be metamorphosed into many. Maya is the cause for the differences between one and another, one age and another, and one person and another. The moment the veil of Máyá is removed, truth manifests itself in all its radiance, and all the external differences merge into internal unity.

The same saḿskáras cannot live in two separate entities – they want to be fused in one. So if one’s individual saḿskáras could be withdrawn and then infused into two separate structures, they will certainly become one. Ráma and Shyáma are two different entities because each has a different set of saḿskáras. Shyáma doesn’t act or think like Ráma, and Rama doesn’t look like Shyáma. If their separate saḿskáras are removed there will ultimately exist one soul and one mind.

Suppose there is pot of water in the pond. If the pot is broken, there remains only one entity – water. Likewise, if the individual saḿskáras are removed the internal entities will be fused into one. This may sound a little strange, but it is a fact.

(On 12th May 1969, at Ranchi jagrti, the following incident took place. While two sádhakas were meditating their individual saḿskáras were removed and the same set of spiritual saḿskáras were infused in them. Immediately they rushed to each other and embraced so tightly that it was impossible to separate them. They lay unconscious, locked in one anothers grasp. They felt a deep bond of love for each other – they had no sense of discrimination – and their bodies begun to shiver. As they have the same saḿskáras they wanted to become one. Since both of them had the same feeling, the same life, the same of mind and the same soul, why should they want to remain in the separate bodies? In the physical sphere, spatial gap between two separate entities cannot be removed altogether. Thus externally it still appeared as if there were two bodies, but internally they are one. Had nothing been done they would have remained in each other’s embrace until the very last moment due to their identical saḿskáras. But separate samskaras were infused in them – in one the vrtti of anger was infused in one of them, and in the other the vrtti of shame – and they immediately continued with their meditation as before).

Different people have different saḿskáras – some carry the vrttis of anger, shame or hatred, while others are the victims of fear and attachments. Due to the variations in saḿskáras there are differences in the nature of human beings. Some people are calm and peace-loving by nature, some are honest and some dishonest. Some people are artistically creative and dream of imitating the great poets Rabindranath Tagore or Milton, whereas others dream of sailing the seven seas to discover new lands like Columbus or Vasco da Gama.

The differences in people’s thoughts, ideas, manners, customs, dress and food habits are all due to the varying saḿskáras. The moment the individual saḿskáras are removed, the mind loses its existence and only the soul remains. It too, becomes one with the universal soul, like a drop of water merging into the vast ocean.

Thus the fundamental entity is one. Outwardly he appears to be many. Ekaḿ sad vipráh bahudahá badanti. The Supreme entity is the only one unchangeable entity. The intellectuals or vipras have given Him various names. The saḿskáras of all individuals could be withdrawn in one moment if Parama Puruśa so desired. But He does not because it would stop His entire creative flow and lead to the dissolution of this world.

The diversities and variations of the universe are due to the veil of Máyá. Remove it and you will see this diversity vanish in a second like camphor, leaving the One Supreme Entity. Neither this material universe nor any living beings will remain. Saguńa Brahma, the creator, and Puruśottama, the Witnessing Entity, will both be non-existent. The process of Saiṋcara and Pratisaiṋcara will be suspended and the variegated expression will cease forever. In a word the entire creation will be dissolved.

To continue the flow of His divine play, it is not desirable that all entities of the vast universe should attain the Supreme stance at one time; neither is it the natural process. Thus human beings must strive to attain individual salvation. If Parama Puruśa is pleased, they will surely succeed in their efforts.

Chapter 5	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

Parama Puruśa is the only goal of human life. Sádhakas who realize this truth and channelize all their thoughts and longings towards Parama Brahma are bound to be blessed with devotional sentiment, and will finally reach the high stage of devotion. According to the degree of devotion aroused due to practice of Iishvara prańidhána or dhyána sádhakas attain different kinds of samádhi. Some devotees believe the highest goal of spiritual life is to become one with Parama Puruśa, because they think that as long as they have their physical existence, they will have to save their individual minds and sensory organs. At this stage if the unit mind runs towards the crude pleasures of life, misguided by the extroversial indriyas, then the unit being will surely degenerate. But there are many sádhakas who prefer to remain close to Parama Puruśa and experience cosmic bliss (Brahmánanda) instead of merging with Him. They say, [[“Ciinii hate cái ná re man, Ciini khete bhálo bási” – “I do not wish to be sugar, I wish to taste sugar.”]]

In Vaeśńava philosophy, this bháva is called gopiibháva or vrajabháva. The attraction out of special love is called rágánugábhakti. Unlike jiṋánamishrá bhakti, rágánúgá bhakti is devotion of vanity, of occult power and knowledge, and unlike vaedhiki bhakti, this kind of devotion has no ostentatious display. The type of samádhi which the sádhakas of rágánugá bhakti attain in the process of ideation on their goal is known as rágánugá samádhi.

During the state of rágánugá samádhi sádhakas usually sit silently in meditation. They take deep breaths and during each breath make a violent “hunkar” sound. In rágánugá samádhi the unit mind retains its existence and feels blissful owing to the close proximity of Parama Puruśa.

(On May 10th, 1969, at Ranchi Jágrti, a certain sádhaka had the unique experience of rágánugá samádhi. First the sádhaka concentrated his mind on the different cakras in the different parts of the body, and in the process of dhyána on ájiṋá cakra (pituitary plexus), he went into samádhi. During samádhi the above mentioned symptoms were visible).

Rágánuga bhakti leads to rágátmika bhakti in the next stage. “Rágátmikámanusrt́a yásá Rágánugácayate”. Many sádhakas does not want to stop at vrajabháva or gopibháva. They argue that to stop at gopibháva and to decide not to merge in Brahma means to show proper regard for the extroversive and introversive flow of the Cosmic imagination (Saiṋcara and Pratisaiṋcara).

Brahma in His flow of Saiṋcara and Pratisaiṋcara has been leading the entire creation on the path of evolution. Each and every molecule and atom will have to merge itself in Brahma one day. The attainment of salvation of molecule – which is an expression of Saguńa Brahma – means that a certain portion of His infinite saḿskáras (however meagre that portion might be) is exhausted. So is it not proper to make the fullest utilization of the opportunity which Saguńa Brahma, out of His grace, presents to human beings to be established in Parama Brahma? When sádhakas have a strong desire to be established in Parama Brahma and direct all their psychic thoughts and feelings toward Him, there arises a devotion called rágátmika bhakti. When the sádhakas enter into samádhi while ideating on their goal with that devotional sentiment, it is called rágátmiká samádhi.

(On May 10, 1969, at Ranchi jagriti, a sádhaka attained rágátmika samádhi. He sat in dhyánásana and with his mind concentrated on each cakra, and began to do dhyána on the supreme object of ideation. He realized that each of his cakras is being controlled by his Iśt́a. Not only that he felt also that his Iśt́a is perceptibly present in his blood, nerves, indriyas, etc. He began to take deep breaths. After remaining in that state, he started to roll on the ground. In this samádhi there is less physical calmness than in rágánugá).

Each and every object of the universe, whether animate or inanimate, is emanating countless vibrations. The Macrocosmic Mind is the controller of these vibrations. In the case of living beings, the Cosmic Mind controls everything directly, and in the case of non-living entities, the individual manifestations of the Macrocosm control everything. The wind blows, the water flows, the stone rolls, and the leaves flutter – each of these inanimate objects has a unit mind, but a dormant one. They cannot create vibrations by themselves; the Cosmic Mind creates vibrations for them. In the case of living beings, although the controller is the unit mind, the unit mind is actually the limited expression of the Cosmic Mind, and thus they are bound to follow the dictates of the Cosmic Mind.

The purpose of the spiritual practice of a sádhaka is to transform the unit mind into Cosmic Mind. The mind of a non-sádhaka is guided by extroversial propensities. As the sádhaka’s goal is Parama Puruśa he or she will have to invariably direct the mind towards Parama Puruśa. When the unit mind merges its limited identity into the vast cosmic entity, we call it “self surrender”.

As a result of surrender the smaller “I” of the unit mind is guided by the bigger “I”. The feelings of mundane pleasure which are produced in the nerve cells and fibres are controlled by the small “I”. But the spiritual vibrations produced in the human body are created and controlled by the Cosmic Mind. The small “I” is concerned with mundane pleasure whereas the big “I” is concerned with spiritual bliss. The small “I” differs from individual to individual but the big “I” is the same in all. The purpose of sádhaná is to convert the small “I” into the big “I”. Metaphorically speaking, the bigger-I is the moon⁽¹⁾ in the sky which is related to everyone through every generation. Physical vibration is crude whereas mental vibration is very subtle. The difference between mental happiness in connection with physical vibration and spiritual happiness in connection with psychic vibration is clear. The pleasure derived by eating a sweet is physical – to attain it one must go to a sweet shop. But for spiritual happiness, a constant endeavour is required. The mind must be concentrated on the object of meditation – all the psychic thoughts and feelings should be directed to Parama Puruśa. A relationship of deep love must be established with Him so that there remains only one thought in the mind: that there is no other entity other than Parama Puruśa. The type of samádhi that a sádhaka attains with such a devotional sentiment is called bháva samádhi. Sitting in dhyánásana he began to practice dhyána on múládhára cakra. As soon as he connected his mind with the Cosmic Mind he felt the sweet waves of cosmic bliss. Then he took his mind to deeper realms, practicing dhyána in svadhistána and mańipura cakras. At this stage he directed all his psychic energies to Parama Puruśa. Now only one thought was dominant in his mind: “Only Parama Puruśa exists and no other entity.” Then while doing dhyána on anáhata cakra he had a feeling that Parama Puruśa was his own. At this stage the sádhaka remained absorbed in limitless bliss. Waves of bliss constantly flowed through the glands, nerve cell and fibres causing him to remain totally oblivious of the external world).

During samádhi the vibrations created in different parts of a sádhaka’s body are not controlled by the unit mind but by the Cosmic Mind. There is a feeling of indescribable bliss throughout the body which causes the sádhaka to shiver continuously. Bháva samádhi can be experienced in any of the four lower cakras. But as soon as the mind rises above the anáhata cakra a higher samádhi is experienced.

Footnotes

(1) In Indian lullabies the moon is referred to as the maternal uncle of everyone in every generation. –Trans.

Chapter 6	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

Each and every object of this universe, whether animate or inanimate, is emanating countless vibrations. The Macrocosmic Mind is the controller of these vibrations. In the case of living beings, the mind controls everything directly, and in the case of non-living entities, the Macrocosm controls everything. The wind blows, the water flows, the stone rolls, the leaves flutter – each of these inanimate objects has a unit mind, but only a dormant one. They cannot create vibrations by themselves; the Cosmic Mind creates vibrations for them, but in the case of living beings, although the controller is the unit mind, the unit mind is also the limited expression of the Cosmic Mind, and thus they are bound to follow the dictates of the Cosmic Mind.

The purpose of the spiritual practice of a sádhaka is to transform the unit mind into Cosmic Mind. The mind of a non-sádhaka is guided by extroversial propensities. But a sádhaka’s goal is Parama Puruśa so a sádhaka will have to direct the mind towards Parama Puruśa. When the unit mind merges its limited identity into the vast cosmic entity, we call it “self-surrender”.

As a result of surrender the smaller “I” of the unit mind is guided is guided by the bigger “I”. In the case of mundane desire for pleasure, name, fame etc. the feelings that are produced in the nerve cells and fibres are controlled by the small “I”. But the spiritual vibrations produced in the human body are created and controlled by the Cosmic Mind. That is, the small “I” is concerned with the mundane pleasures whereas the big “I” is concerned with spiritual bliss. The small “I” differs from individual to individual but the bigger “I” is the same in all. The purpose of sádhana is to convert the small “I” into the bigger “I”. Metaphorically speaking, the bigger “I” is the moon ⁽¹⁾ in the sky which is related to everyone through every generation. Physical vibration is crude whereas mental vibration is very subtle. The difference between mental happiness in connection with physical vibration and spiritual happiness in connection with psychic vibration is clear. The pleasure derived by eating sweets is physical – to attain it one must go to a sweet shop. But for spiritual happiness a constant endeavour is required. The mind must be concentrated on the object of meditation, all the psychic thoughts and feelings should be directed to Parama Puruśa. A relationship of deep love must be established with Him so that there remains only one propensity in the mind the intense desire for Parama Puruśa. The type of samádhi that a sádhaka attains with such a devotional sentiment is called bháva samádhi.

(On May 10th, 1969, at Ranchi jágrti, a sádhaka experienced bháva samádhi. Sitting in dhyánásana he began to practice dhyána on Muládhára cakra. As soon as he connected his mind with the Cosmic Mind he felt the sweet waves of cosmic bliss. Then he took his mind to deeper realms, practicing dhyána in svadhistána and mańipura cakras. At this time he directed all his psychic energies to Parama Puruśa. Only one thought was dominant in his mind – only Parama Puruśa exists and no other entity. Then while doing dhyána on anaháta cakra he had a feeling that Parama Puruśa was his own. At this stage the sádhaka remained absorbed in limitless bliss. Waves of bliss constantly flowed through the glands, nerve cells and fibres causing him to remain totally oblivious of the external world).

During samádhi the vibration created in different parts of a sádhaka’s body are not controlled by the unit mind but by the Cosmic Mind. There is a feeling of indescribable bliss throughout the body which causes the sádhaka to shiver continuously. Bháva samádhi can be experienced in any of the four lower cakras. But as soon as the mind rises above the anáhata cakra a higher samádhi is experienced.

Footnotes

(1) In Bengali lullabies, the moon is likened to a benign entity which is related to everyone generation to generation. –Trans.

Chapter 7	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

The human heart is the abode of higher psychic propensities. The feeling of pain, pleasure, devotion and bliss have a deep impact on the heart. When human beings remained engrossed in crude sensual pleasure they are deprived of spiritual bliss, but the moment they start imbibing cosmic ideation, the cosmic sentiment grows stronger in their hearts. Thereafter, the more they ideate on Iśt́a and superimpose cosmic ideation on every action and thought, the more the devotional sentiment is strengthened. At this stage the sádhakas feel the existence of Parama Puruśa deep in their hearts and pervading throughout the entire world. In consequence a deep dharmamegha is created around the anáhata cakra, bringing intense bliss to the sadhaka’s mind

The type of samádhi sádhakas experience with that sweet bliss within is called dharmamegha samádhi. Usually in this samádhi sádhakas cannot remain still in meditation but fall on the ground.

Chapter 8	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Faculty of Knowledge”. In the mechanical sphere, knowing, or the functional side of knowledge, occurs with the perception of special types of reflections and refractions, but in the psychic sphere, it occurs as a result of the subjectivization of objectivity or objectivities.

For example, if a particular type of vibration hits an object or plate it meets some resistance and may get reflected or refracted, as in the case of an echo; or a certain portion of the vibration may pass through the plate. In the mechanical stratum, knowledge, or the faculty of knowledge, is thus attained. But in the psychic stratum, knowledge involves the subjectivization of any external objectivity or objectivities. We take an external object inside ourselves, be it an elephant, a horse, a vocalized word, a touch, or anything else with which we come in contact in the outer world, and assimilate it in our psychic existential “I” feeling. This is the process of knowing – it is something related to the psychic sphere. So, knowledge has two aspects – first, the aspect of reflections and refractions, and secondly, the psychic aspect; that is, the process of attaining knowledge in the psychic sphere.

The word jiṋána (knowledge) is derived from the Sanskrit root verb jiṋá (to know). In very ancient Sanskrit, which is otherwise known as the Vedic language, this root verb jiṋá was not very popular. Perhaps you know – especially those of you who study philology, or deal with the science of phonetics and vocabulary – that a language in its infancy starts with a very limited vocabulary. Later, the more the community using this limited word-stock advances in different spheres of practical life, the more enriched the vocabulary becomes, but if that community lacks the will to advance, their vocabulary will not grow. The ancient Vedic language, which was originally spoken in central Russia by the Aryans, gradually developed as the Aryans moved from country to country, undergoing innumerable experiences and realizations as they went. The natural outcome was the enormous development of their vocabulary. In that ancient dialect, the root verb jiṋá was not in common use; another verb, vid, was used.

I have just said that as a community passes through various phases in different spheres of life, its collection of words simultaneously increases. The language of monkeys will serve as an example. It is a fact that monkeys have their own language. Among the different species of monkeys there are those who remain in the jungles and forests. As they hardly ever come in contact with human beings, they have little knowledge and few words in their stock, perhaps thirty to forty words. They do not need to create compound words; they manage well enough by uttering certain significant expressions using sounds such as kiun, kun, kin, kain. There is no necessity for them to formulate compound words by joining kiun and kun, for example, otherwise they would have done so, thus creating the compound word kiun-kun to give a new meaning. But there are a large number of words in the languages of those monkeys which live close to human habitation. They come in frequent contact with humans and are required to fight battles of wits (to escape death, for instance). Certain varieties of monkeys have, in fact, as many as seven hundred to eight hundred or even nine hundred words in their dialect. Of course, they do not have a codified dictionary. They acquired as many words as they needed to move in different domains. In the case of humans, very undeveloped communities such as the Zulus, the Pygmies and the Maoris have a very limited stock of words. On the other hand, there are certain languages which have enormous vocabularies of over 500,000 words, such as the Sanskrit, French, English and German languages. In Bengali there are about 125,000 words, and in Gujarati nearly 100,000. Other languages have less than 100,000 words in their vocabularies.

A community which develops in a particular environment creates an increasing number of words relating to that domain. For example, in Bengal, which is close to the sea, there is a particular type of sea-creature called timi (whale). In North India, where there is no sea nearby, the English word “whale” is more popular than the Bengali word timi. Again, another sea-creature, the lobster, has numerous synonyms such as galdá, bágdá, kuco, kádá, mocá, etc.; as so many varieties of lobster are available only in Bengal and not in North India, in North India the words are not in currency either. In the case of sharks, there are two words used in Bengali, háunar and kámat́. The one that inhabits rivers is called kámat́. In North India there is no salt water, and there is neither háunar nor kámat́. A shark that lives in the sea is called háunar, while the one living in a lake, [not] in a salt-water area, is known as kámat́. In English there is only one word to describe both, “shark”.

When the Aryans began to spread out in all directions from their original homeland, their vocabulary also began to develop and their language began to flourish. In ancient Sanskrit, even in Rgvedic Sanskrit, the vocabulary was very limited. The root verb vid became inadequate as it was discovered that there were various other ways of knowing. For example, one can gain knowledge by reading books, by listening to others, or by undergoing some kind of training, etc. Thus, knowing can be done in several ways. Long ago, when Bengal was a sovereign country, the military personnel who used to impart training to their recruits were nicknamed jáná. Even today there is a Bengali title jáná for those people whose forefathers were military officers. The verb vid, no doubt, meant knowing, but that did not carry the full import of what the speaker wanted to convey. To cite another example: previously, people would use the verb vid to describe both the farmer’s knowing when the harvest should be reaped, and the scholar’s discovery, after much research in his psychic laboratory, of a very intricate theory. The problem was, however, how to differentiate between these two types of knowledge. Hence, the root verb jiṋá was evolved in those ancient days, which meant subjectivization of objectivity in a mechanical way through reflections and refractions. The verb jiṋá invented by the ancient Aryans, was changed into keno in Old Latin language. In Sanskrit the pronunciation is jiṋá, in Bengali jiṋa, in the Rgvedic language jiṋa, in Old Latin keno, and in Modern English “know”. (As the original spelling of the word was “kenow”, we still spell the word with a “k” at the beginning without actually pronouncing it.) Those who learned the science of Tantra Yoga and Rája Yoga from Lord Shiva, cultivated the physical and psychic aspects of knowledge – the expressions and waves of vibrations. Consequently, the Shaivites became followers of the cult of knowledge (jiṋána márga) whereas the non-Shaivites became the followers of the cult of devotion (prapatti márga). You should know the difference between the two.

The first question that the jiṋána márgiis pose whenever they see an object, whether psychic or spiritual, is invariably, “What is this?” Their next question is, “What is its source or origin?” Then they proceed further along that line to another source of knowledge where both reflection and refraction end. That is, the mind of the inquirer reaches a point where it fails to comprehend that plate on which the processes of reflection and refraction operate. The point where the mind loses its capacity to analyse or compare further is the Supreme Point; and this is the Shaeva cult of knowledge. Judged in this light, Ananda Marga philosophy also supports the Shaeva cult as it strives for the further enrichment and advancement of the cult of knowledge. It encourages the development of intellect and wisdom, and thus motivates people to acquire more and more knowledge. This is a great boon for humanity, as the highest treasure of human beings, which distinguishes them from the other creatures, is their intellectual superiority. Had there been no intellect in humans to distinguish them from other creatures, there would be hardly any difference between humans and animals. Therefore, this philosophical consciousness, which can also be called “Ananda Marga consciousness”, will lead humanity to greater intellectuality. And the constant pursuit of intellectuality leads one to its furthest point, the place where intuition begins. Hence in the realm of spiritual practice, it is immensely helpful. The path of sádhaná is not devoid of intellect or intuition; rather it is based on intuition. It gives no scope for superstition or blind faith. Instead it facilitates the maximum all-round progress of humanity and the manifestation of the highest human excellence.

The other cult, the non-Shaeva cult, which I prefer to call prapatti márga, is said to have a serious defect: it hampers, at the very outset, the development of humanity. It states that whatever is happening in this universe is due to the Cosmic will, without which not even a single blade of grass can move. This doctrine is called prapattiváda. A jiṋána márgii says in refutation, “Well, it is a hundred percent true that nothing in this universe, not even a blade of grass, can move without His will. This is exactly what we wish to discover in jiṋána márga: that He desired it, and then the blade of grass moved. What is the harm if we want to find out how His desire causes everything to happen?” And here lies the difference between the two cults, and the superiority of the Shaeva cult over the non-Shaeva cult.

Chapter 9	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

Now a question arises: Is ordinary knowledge confined to the material level or to the abstract level, or is it partly material and partly abstract? At the same time yet another question may arise: If this ordinary knowledge is partly material and partly abstract, is there any extraordinary (superconscious) knowledge which is totally unrelated to the material body and exclusively associated with the abstract level? We shall try to answer these questions, one after the other.

The way in which one withdraws oneself from all worldly factors determines how the action of knowing takes place.

Yacchedváuṋmanasii prájiṋastadyacchejjiṋána átmani;
Jiṋánamátmani mahati niyacchettadyacchecchánta átmani.

[Wise persons first merge their indriyas into their citta, then their citta into aham, then aham into mahat, then mahat into jiivátmá, and finally their jiivátmá into Supreme Consciousness.]

A particular kind of vibration, be it of sound, touch, form, taste or smell, emitted from any material object, is carried to one of the indriyas or gateways of the organs. Suppose you have eaten tamarind, or some plums, or even a certain variety of pumpkin. All three are sour. Different parts of the tongue are sensitive to different types of taste. You feel that all three are sour, but the degree of sourness is not the same in all cases; there is a perceptible difference.

When you eat something sour, a vibration is created in the portion of the tongue which experiences taste. That vibration is then carried through the nervous system to the brain, where it leaves a kind of impression. Up to this point, the whole process is related to the material level, but in a very subtle way. The impression in the brain corresponds to a particular degree of sourness. You ate plums, tamarind and pumpkin and experienced three different types of impressions. Different impressions create different vibrations in the mind. The impression of the plum produces a particular kind of vibration, the tamarind another kind, and the pumpkin yet another. Suppose you ate a second plum, and again there was an impression in the brain – again there was a vibration in the mind. And then you remembered that you had experienced a similar vibration when you ate tamarind. The vibrations that were produced then, which are capable of being recreated later, and the impressions that were formulated in the brain, are collectively known as “memory”. After eating the second plum you also have a similar experience, and you remember eating plums, tamarind, pumpkin or hogplums. Now you experience two vibrations, two similar impressions, but yet they are not exactly alike. A distinction is made: the first plum you ate was more sour than the second one. In this way you form an idea about plums, their different varieties and varying degrees of sourness. Sometimes people recreate that vibration in their minds, drawing it from their memory, and enjoy its pleasurable effect. Greedy people recollect the tasty dishes they once relished and derive pleasure from that. Other people delight in feeding others. They offer rasagollás or sweets, and at the time of giving, imagine that their guest is enjoying the same delightful taste, the same sweet vibration from the rasagollás which they once relished when they ate them. A host feels mental satisfaction by imagining that the guest’s mind is full of those pleasing vibrations. The host wants the guest to enjoy more and more of those delightful vibrations, and therefore asks the guest to accept the offer of more rasagollás. So, one enjoys pleasure in two ways: first, by eating the delicious things; and secondly, by recollecting the pleasing vibrations enjoyed in the past while eating those very same delicacies.

The human mind has two contradictory inherent tendencies: one of acquisition, the other of sacrifice. The more one advances along the path of evolution, the more the second tendency, the spirit of sacrifice, becomes prominent. One wishes to share one’s mental pleasure with others. This is a very interesting aspect of human psychology.

Now, there are also gradations amongst sweets; all varieties of sweets are not equally sweet. There are variations in the degree of sweetness which is exactly what people relish most. While eating different sweets, people experience delightful variations from one sweet to another, and they perceive that the vibrations are somewhat similar but not identical. The sweet-maker understands this particular trait of human psychology and invents new varieties of sweets accordingly. The vibrations created in the mind are abstract, and the other vibrations are material.

The action of knowing occurs through the medium of sound, touch, taste, smell and form. Suppose one listens to something, say a sound representing ásoyárii rága. It is imprinted in the mind. Later that person listens to the same sound and is reminded of the similar vibrations previously experienced. Comparing the one rága (musical notes) with the other, one concludes that the latter is indeed ásoyárii rága. He or she may not know anything about music, but the mind already danced to that musical wave. The musical vibrations of the notes reached the ear’s membrane, hit it, passed through the auricular nerves and, on reaching the brain, left their imprint. So far the knowing process is confined to the material level, but when that same vibration creates a ripple in the mind, it comes within the scope of mental vibrations.

There are certain notations, both in instrumental music and in vocal music, which are very rhythmic. When these sounds strike the ear’s membrane they produce similar vibrations; concordant rhythmic vibrations are experienced. You may have noticed that whenever the members of an audience listen to rhythmic notes, whether from vocal or instrumental music, they move their legs. They do this unknowingly. The cause is that the rhythmic vibration produced in the mind strikes the [efferent] nerves. The vibration that made the mind dance is thus transmitted down to the nerves of the legs. Consequently, the mind is unconsciously causing the legs to move. This happens with everyone; some do it consciously, others unconsciously. Those who do it unconsciously stop the movement of their legs the moment they are aware that others are watching them. In the case of excessive joy or enthusiasm, the mind loses its control over the nerves. For example, suppose two football teams are playing a friendly match, and one of them enjoys your special support. Let us imagine that your favourite team is about to score a goal. At that moment of tense excitement, you will also move your legs, unconsciously of course. You may have noticed that sometimes in their dreams football fans cry out, “Goal! Goal!” jerking their legs and kicking those who are sleeping beside them.

By now you should have understood that a major part of the knowing process is material, and only a small part of it is abstract.

Basically, the mind performs two functions: thinking and memorizing. What is the process of memorizing? Suppose you heard a sound: that very sound leaves an imprint on your mind, and vibrates it. Now, if at a later date you can recreate a similar vibration, a replica of the original one, that is your memory.

Anubhútaviśayásampramośah smrtih [“The re-creation of things already perceived by the mind is called memory”].

The exact mental reproduction of what has been previously perceived is called smrti or memory. For instance, you once perceived an elephant by observing a real elephant and seeing its huge body, legs, eyes, ears, nose and trunk. The physical form of the elephant struck the retina of your eyes creating a vibration in your optical fluid, and was ultimately imprinted in your mind as the image of the elephant. Now some time later when you see an animal with the same type of limbs as those of your previously-perceived elephant, you immediately conclude that this animal must also be an elephant. Your conclusion is based on your previous perception. This is memory. When the memory becomes established, unfailing and spontaneous, it is called dhruvásmrti, or constant memory. Dhruvásmrti, or constant memory, is an essential prerequisite for spiritual samádhi or bliss.

Chapter 10	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

The subject of my discourse is “The Faculty of Knowledge”. The other day I said that knowledge is certainly an action which is exclusively confined neither to the material world nor to the abstract world. Rather, it is a happy blending of the physical and mental strata. The faculty of knowledge stems from anubhava or perception and reaches its highest point in the state of realization.

You can acquire knowledge about an elephant in various ways: either through ocular vision, or by hearing its trumpeting, or even by hearing its footsteps. In all cases, the result is the formation of a mental image of an elephant. In the next stage almost all of your psychic body is metamorphosed into that same mental elephant; only a microscopic portion of the mind remains as the witnessing entity.

Now, how does this happen? Whenever an action of knowing takes place within the arena of the mind, a portion of it plays the subjective role and another portion the objective role. The mind is divided into two chambers: the objective chamber which is formed from almost all the ectoplasmic stuff, and the subjective chamber formed from that portion which is the knowing self.

Suppose you visualize an elephant. In such a situation, a major portion of the mental body is transformed into a mental elephant. In the wakeful state, when your conscious mind remains active, you understand that you are visualizing a mental elephant, but are not aware that your mental body has been converted into that very same elephant.

In dreams one takes the mental elephant to be a real one, because the real world is non-existent. Naturally, in dreams one fabricates a world previously experienced in the wakeful state and accordingly thinks that the things dreamt are real. But if the mind is disturbed as a result of some serious accident or disaster, the dream world is shattered. This mental disturbance may take place in the wakeful state as well as in sleep. For instance, in a dream you may visualize that you are flying high in the sky in a puśpaka rath (a mythological flying chariot). Suddenly the horse of the chariot stops flying and the chariot starts falling like lightning. Now if in a wakeful state your vehicle happened to fall in such a dangerous way, you would be frightened out of your wits. In a dream that same fear makes you jump, and as a result of the jumping, the dream chariot no longer remains intact and you wake up.

The mind takes less time to dream an action than the body does to perform it. That is, it will take you four to five days to go to Delhi, enact a scene and then return; but in a dream it can be completed in a few seconds. This is only because the mind’s speed is greater than that of the body. Perhaps you hardly dreamt for one or two minutes and yet, on completing the dream, you felt as if you had been dreaming for a long time. In fact, you dreamt for only two to three minutes.

Another thing: when a dream-object, an object of imagination, seems to be absolutely real, in such cases there is also a marked change in the personality also. Being obsessed with ghosts is a case in point. People who are obsessed with ghosts think that they have become the ghost. Being possessed by spirits is yet another case of this type: the affected persons think of themselves as a deity. Now, in order to free their minds from the thought of ghosts, one will have to induce a traumatic jolt in their bodies; one will have to create some sort of frightful circumstance that will startle them. Various methods may be used for this purpose, after which they will realize their error: that they wrongly identified themselves with their mental objects.

Sometimes it also happens that when the thought of an object from the natural world comes within the objective chamber of the mind, one’s ectoplasmic stuff becomes so concentrated that it can be utilized in various ways. There are some people who, employing certain methods, misuse their ectoplasmic strength. For instance, they might, with their ectoplasmic strength, cause bones or sticks to fall to the ground, while sitting in a corner some distance away. Common people wrongly take these actions to be those of a ghost. The fact is quite different. If you can locate the persons who are doing this, you should give them a good shaking to completely destroy their ectoplasmic strength. Then they will be forced to stop their roguery. This science of the application of ectoplasmic strength through the objective mind upon external events or objects is known as rákśasii vidyá in Sanskrit.

There is a story in the Rámáyańa to illustrate this point. Once Angada, the son of Bali, went to King Ravana’s court to present his credentials to him. Seated there at the time were King Ravana, his son Meghanatha (otherwise called Indrajit), and his nineteen ministers. When Angada appeared in court, Ravana was there in his usual form, but those nineteen ministers, in order to misguide Angada, began to ideate mentally that they were also Ravana. Angada was very confused since those ministers appeared to him as the exact replicas of Ravana, even though they were actually in their own forms. They were merely ideating inwardly that they looked like Ravana. The impact of such ideating and their collective ectoplasmic strength had its effect on Angada’s mind. Angada started seeing as many as twenty Ravanas sitting in the court. How many Ravanas were there, he wondered in great confusion. (Meghanatha did not think in the same way as the ministers, and hence his form remained unaffected. For how could he think himself to be a replica of Ravana, his own father? So he appeared to be sitting as usual). In this case the nineteen ministers were fully utilizing the ectoplasmic strength of the objective chambers of their respective minds. Their physical bodies were still motionless, just as in spiritual practice when one is required to direct one’s mind towards Parama Puruśa, one is not expected to move, walk, practise sit-ups or push-ups, etc. Angada contrived a plan to create some disturbance in the minds of those assumed personalities, otherwise, how could he distinguish the actual Ravana from the others, and to whom should he submit his credentials? So he decided to anger the ministers in order to make them lose their mental concentration and thus remove their assumed personalities. Addressing Indrajit, Angada said: “Indrajit, my dear friend. I see twenty Ravanas! Is every one of them your father?” This angered all the ministers, and immediately the concentration of the objective chambers of their minds was disturbed and they resumed their original forms.

Something more must be said about the objective mind. The faculty of knowledge, as we know, is the subjectivization of external objectivity. Now, the subjectivization of anything external is the first step towards the supreme subjectivization. When the objective mind first subjectivizes an external elephant, the first phase is the objectivization of mind, and to know that external fact is objective knowledge. Now, is there any other aspect to the faculty of knowledge? Yes, indeed there is.

Various psychic diseases may arise if there is any defect in the process of the objectivization of mind. Remember that psychic disease and brain disease are not the same thing; they are quite different. Brain disease occurs due to some disorder in a part of the brain, or due to a congenital defect, or perhaps due to hereditary causes which hamper the proper formation of the brain. Mental disease is different. It arises due to a disorder in the objectivated mind, in the first stage in the process of subjectivization. Many people who, while creating thoughts in their objectivated minds, repeatedly form the same image out of weakness or fear, suffer from a mental disease called phobia.

Kansa, one week before his death, repeatedly thought of nothing but Krśńa. Whether he liked it or not, his objectivated mind created the image of Krśńa, and he thought that Krśńa would kill him. In whichever direction he looked, be it towards water, land or sky, his objectivated mind created forms of Krśńa, and in this his objectivated mind became stronger than his subjective mind. This meant his mental death, and mental death leads to physical death.

Another case in point is hydrophobia. Suppose a dog has bitten a person and the person has become terribly frightened. His or her objectivated mind sees only the images of dogs, dogs on all sides. This is called hydrophobia.⁽¹⁾ Therefore, humans should have full control over their objectivated minds to avert serious psychic problems.

It often happens that, not due to fear, but because of weakness, the same image repeatedly arises in the mind. This is called mania. Among women in certain countries one such mania occurs: touch-mania. They tell the so-called low caste people, or even their own people, not to touch them, to keep away. While walking they take particular care not to touch or be touched by things considered unholy according to their prejudiced judgement. In these cases, their objectivated minds are full of so-called contaminated objects. As their minds constantly entertain those unclean things, externally they condemn them. They judge people in terms of casteism and thus their minds become dens of impure and mean thoughts. Once I saw a so-called low-caste woman come to show her grandchild to another woman. The latter woman, who was a chronic victim of touch-mania, would not touch the child, but rather bestowed her affection on it keeping a safe distance, and thus maintaining her so-called purity. This is a case of mania.

There was another person I knew who was quite healthy and carried out his daily activities with ease, and yet he was under the impression, for no particular reason, that there was some trouble in his stomach. Actually there was no disease; he was in good health. Yet occasionally he used to come to me and complain that there was some disorder in his stomach. This was his mania.

Moreover, because of problems in the objectivated mind, people suffer from various psychic complexes. For example, there are those who are inclined to think that no one, neither their friends and relatives nor even their domestic animals, cares to think of them. They unnecessarily think that everyone deliberately avoids them, dislikes them, or ignores them, and therefore they become disappointed, dejected, and dispirited. Life loses all its charm and attraction for them, and they may even commit suicide. This type of mania is called melancholia.

A defect in the objectivated mind may also cause inferiority complex or superiority complex. When the objectivated mind becomes large enough to pamper one’s ego, one develops a superiority complex. One starts considering oneself to be superior to others in points of knowledge, the capacity to act, organizational calibre and other qualities of leadership, and unnecessarily slights others. Such a person expects preferential treatment, VIP status, and unquestioning obedience. If by accident their ego is hurt even slightly, they become violently angry. This is another kind of mania.

Conversely, there are those who exert too much control over their objectivated minds, which results in the mind’s constriction. In such a state their minds fail to grasp noble ideas, and such people start considering themselves to be inferior to others in all respects – education, social position, etc. Normally such people become unnecessarily nervous and begin to falter or fumble before their elders and seniors: they lack self-confidence and faith in themselves. This is inferiority complex. The best way to cure such people is to generate self-confidence in them by frequently advising them not to feel inferior to anyone. Slowly, gradually, they will free themselves from their inferiority complex and the feeling of superiority will increase. But one must be careful that, after a certain stage, a superiority complex is not allowed to develop.

Most psychic diseases, if not all, grow out of the defective control over the objectivated mind. If one is alert, any trouble can be avoided. Those who regularly practise Iishvara prańidhána or dhyána (meditation) can remain free from these diseases, as their minds will remain in a balanced state. One of the numerous benefits of sádhaná is that it keeps the mind free from psychic disease and encourages the natural growth of the mind. This is of tremendous importance since such problems may arise not only in individual life, but in collective life as well. Individual human beings as well as large communities often suffer from some sort of psychic disease. A subjugated people suffer from an inferiority complex towards the sovereign elite, the ruling class. When India was a dependent colony, many Indians used to describe the members of the ruling community as God’s children, obviously due to their deep-rooted inferiority complex. Most of them wondered: “Will India ever see the light of freedom? When will we ever win the struggle against the ruling class?” This shows that the entire indigenous community was a victim of inferiority complex, the removal of which would require a group of leaders endowed with enormous mental strength and noble character – a group of mighty personalities. India at that time was not fortunate enough to have such great people, and that is why the struggle for Indian freedom had to be prolonged. Otherwise, India could have gained freedom in a much shorter time.

I say all this because psychic diseases, as I have just pointed out, affect not only individuals but collective bodies as well. You must remain vigilant so that in your individual life you do not become the victim of a psychic disease, and so that if there is any such psychic disease in collective life, you see that it is eliminated.

Footnotes

(1) Hydro means “water”. Patients see the objects of their fears especially if they happen to look in water. –Eds.

Chapter 11	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

For some time we have been discussing the topic “The Faculty of Knowledge.”

A great deal has been said about the objectivated mind. Many things may be created in both the objectivated and subjectivated minds which do not belong to the external world; they are exclusively confined to the internal domain. They are created within the mind, and there they remain as mental objects. They become objectivated in the mind independent of any external influence. Imagine we see an elephant in the external world. When it is created in the mind, that elephant becomes an object of the objectivated mind. The subjective counterpart of the mind visualizes it, and compares it with the elephant which it had previously seen in the external world, until the mind is satisfied that it is indeed the same elephant. We are convinced that the elephant we observed ten days ago and the one we see today are the same in appearance. While comparing the two elephants in our mind we conclude that the elephant which has just now been formed in our objectivated mind is the exact replica of the one formed in our objectivated mind on a previous occasion; thus we conclude that we are visualizing the same elephant.

It may also happen that an elephant is recreated in the mind without its even being visible in the external world. From where is the image created? From an external source, of course. The elephant previously perceived can be recreated in the mind. We use various words for this action – such as “conception”. We can use anubhava for this kind of thing, but in Sanskrit we usually say anubhúti. Anu means “after” and bhúti means “becoming”. If anu is spelt as ańu it means “molecule”. The root verb sr means “to go”, or “to move”, and therefore the meaning of anusarańa is “going after”, or “following”. The place where we walk, along which we move, is called saraka, which many people misspell as saŕaka. Sarańii means a narrow road. When it is broad it is known as saraka. In Sanskrit the prefix upa means “near”. So upasaraka means “that way which is nearly the same size as a road.” Similarly, there are the words nagarii (city), upanagarii (small town), devatá (god), and upadevatá (demigod). The last word, upadevatá, does not exactly mean “god”. We only say it does, through fear. The actual meaning of the word is “ghost” or “spirit”. Similarly we say upakańt́há. Kańt́há means “throat”, and upakańt́há means “a point or place near the throat.” Upasarańii means “lane” which in Persian is called gali. In Bengali the word gali is widely used. Suppose someone is walking along, and you are following him. This may be described as anusarańa.

In the present case, when you see an elephant, its umbra is reflected in your objectivated mind, and you visualize that image. Later, maybe after ten or twenty days or one year, or even after twenty years, you recreate a similar image of the elephant in your mind. This means that you had an anubhava of the elephant. Anu means “afterwards”, and bhava means “becoming”. Anubhútaviśayásampramośah smrtih – “Memory is the reproduction of things already perceived,” the re-creation of the same mental formation that was once created in the objectivated mind. Imagine that you listened to a particular rága. That same rága can be sung in various styles, just as a ráginii can be sung in different styles. The same rága or ráginii may be sung in various styles in different towns and localities. That particular style of music prevalent in a particular place is called a particular gharáńá or school of music.

Suppose you have listened to a particular melody, a rága. When the notes are systematized, they become a rága. Different tunes derived from special rágas are called ráginiis. Because of the differences in rágas and ráginiis, Indian music has been classified into two schools: Hindustani and Karnataka. But this is not our topic of discussion here.

Take the case of kiirtana. Kiirtana was popular in Bengal even before the birth of Mahaprabhu. People in certain areas of Bengal are used to doing kiirtana in a distinct local style. In one style, the first portion of the kiirtana may be pleasing to the ear, and the latter portion somewhat monotonous. In another style, the beginning may be ordinary, the middle excellent, and the end similar to the beginning. In yet another style, the concluding portion may be exceedingly charming; its melody, even after the music is over, continues to ring in the listeners’ ears. What does this ringing signify? That is part of the faculty of knowledge.

In Bengal, there are different schools of kiirtana such as Manoharshahii Gharáńá, Reneti Gharáńá, Garanaháta Gharáńá, and Mandárań Gharáńá. Bengali kiirtana has been classified into four schools. According to some, Manoharshahii Gharáńá belongs to Birbhum; according to others, it belong to Orissa. Haráńhátá is a locality of Calcutta. Reneti is a distortion of “Ranihati”, a developed village of Howrah District. Kiirtana was very popular there. Mandárań refers to the place known as Garhmandárań situated in Arambag Subdivision of Hooghly District. This place is mentioned in Bankim Chandra’s novel, Durgesh Naninii.

Suppose you are listening to someone doing kiirtana according to the Mandárań style. The vibration of that particular kiirtana creates a sympathetic vibration in your ears, and a sensation is produced in your auricular nerves. Those vibrations are carried to the brain where they produce a corresponding vibration, which is also finally reproduced in the mind. You then ask someone: “What is this school of kiirtana?” He or she replies, “This is the Mandárań school”, and you associate that kiirtana with the Mandárań school in your mind. You decide inwardly that whenever this type of vibration is produced, it will be Mandárań Gharáńá. And perhaps some time later, when that very same style of kiirtana is sung, the brain and mind vibrate with that very same vibration, and you say to yourself, “Well, it seems to be Mandárań Gharáńá. Someone told me this when I listened to this style of kiirtana some time ago.” So many things happened in quick succession in such a short span of time that you were not even aware of yourself having analysed and compared things in order to reach such a conclusion.

How does this happen? On the first hearing, the mind becomes transformed into the kiirtana, the mind itself becomes the kiirtana. At the second hearing, the mind again takes the form of the Mandárań Gharáńá style of kiirtana. When your mind can associate the second transformed state with the first, it is called “memory”. If someone asks you to sing a kiirtana in the style of Mandárań Gharáńá you will transform your mind into the Mandárań Gharáńá kiirtana in the same way as before, and accordingly you will sing the kiirtana. Those who are not well-versed in music would not be able, at the time of the second rendering of the Mandárań Gharáńá, to express it themselves because that mode of expression is either unknown to them, or simply beyond their capacity.

A similar thing happens when you taste or smell something. Suppose you have just eaten a mango. Afterwards you will say, “To which variety of mango does this one belong? Lyáḿŕá, Bombay, kiśáńbhog, kapát́bháḿgá or Bhutu Bombay? Ah yes, I’ve tasted mangoes of this variety before. And its name… It’s in my mind but I can’t say now.” And so, you cannot continue the conversation properly. Almost all of us have had this experience before. “I have seen this man before… I have even heard his name… It is in my mind, but unfortunately I’m having trouble finding it and expressing it.” In this situation you would like your mind, your brain, to vibrate so that you can recapture the vibration you originally experienced. You cannot shake your brain with your own hands. It is humanly impossible. While attempting to cause a vibration in your brain, you vigorously shake your head – this is the reason why you do so. I will explain it in more detail at some later time.

When you reconvert your mind into sound, touch, form, taste or smell, it is called smrti or memory. Whenever you smell kanakcánpa, your mind is transformed into that very same smell. And so, when you encounter kanakcánpa for the second time, your mind again takes its form; the smell also returns. You compare the two vibrations and conclude that this is indeed kanakcánpa. This is memory.

Mental creations are those objects evoked by the subjective mind and retained within the objectivated mind.

Suppose you listen to a poem: your mind is transformed into the idea of the poem – the mind flows along with both the idea and the rhythm of the poem. Now, in the second phase, the mind, while flowing along with the idea and the rhythm, will be transformed into that very same idea and rhythm, and it will be easier to hold the poem in the mind. Another example is a student who is reading during the examination period: his eyes are locating the words and becoming the words. Suppose the boy is reading the sentence: “I once met a lame man close to my farm.” If he understands the meaning then the pictures of an old man, a farm, etc., will occur in his mind. So, he is experiencing the second phase. Then again, if that boy reads aloud, he hears the sound with his own ears. The sympathetic vibration reaches the brain through the ears and then through the acoustic nerves. The mind is then converted into that sound once again. It gets converted twice, once through the eyes, and once through the ears. The result will be more effective memorization. So it is better for examination candidates to read aloud so that they can hear the sound of their own reading; but novels and fiction can be read silently.

As I have already mentioned, when anyone says something, the eyes are engaged in seeing, the ears in hearing; and the mind dances in rhythm. In the absence of rhythm it is difficult to memorize. That is why since ancient times, for fifteen thousand years, the common practice has been to bring every valuable branch of knowledge within the scope of rhythm. Human beings do not easily forget rhythm. One may forget the contents of knowledge, but not the rhythm. That is why all Vedic rks were composed in 7 metres: Gáyattrii, Uśńik, Triśt́up, Anuśt́up, Brhati, Jagati and Paunkti. All literary compositions were brought within the gamut of these seven Vedic metres. And different figures of speech, particularly alliteration and punctuation, are all highly important, because they are valuable for the memory. If we say, “He shall be punished,” it is easy to remember for there is assonance of the “s”. “On Saturday, a goldsmith saw a snake near Satyasarai, and on Sunday a shoemaker severely assaulted a saintly person with a shoe.” There is assonance on the sound, or wave, “s”. “I came to Patna junction, and I came to the conclusion that the matriculation examination is a botheration.” There is consonance and assonance of the sound “tion”. Consider the Bengali poem:

Áji utarol uttar báye
Utalá hayeche tat́inii
Sonár álok paŕiyáche jale
Pulaki uchali d́heu chalachale
Lakśa máńik jhalasi áncale
Nece cale yena nat́inii.⁽¹⁾

Such poems are easy to remember for they quickly become imprinted in our memory. The science of figures of speech was invented in the past mainly for this purpose, not only to make the words sweet-sounding, but also to help us grasp them quickly.

Footnotes

(1) This is a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore in rhythmic resonance. –Eds.

Chapter 12	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

The third chamber or factor of knowledge is the subjective mind (the second being the objective mind). But the fundamental entity behind this faculty of knowledge is the Supreme Subject. This entity is the noumenal factor behind each and every action, but it does nothing by itself. Everything takes place because of His presence. His presence is an obligatory prerequisite for everything. It can be compared to the catalyst in a scientific experiment. Though the catalytic agent itself has no direct role, its presence makes the whole process work very smoothly, and thus it is a great help. While preparing makaradhvaja (a special Indian áyurvaedik medicine) gold is added. Gold is not mixed directly with the makaradhvaja, but its presence in the process is essential. Similarly, behind the faculty of knowledge, behind the action of knowing, behind the function of the objective mind and the subjective mind, there is invariably the presence of the Supreme Subjectivity which makes all things work smoothly, and without which nothing can happen. This Entity can neither be called the subjectivated mind, nor the objectivated mind; He is only a presence, a distinguishing presence. He may be likened, as it were, to the head of a family celebrating marriage. He does not do anything specific, he neither cooks, nor distributes the food, nor busies himself in any particular work, and yet he is still the central figure, the supreme guide of the whole celebration, overseeing, supervising and directing everyone and everything everywhere, sitting silently on a chair in one corner of the house. Apparently he is inactive, but it is his commanding presence alone which keeps all the participants in the celebration alert. Those people who are allotted specific duties carry them out properly to the satisfaction of the head of the house. Likewise, the Supreme Entity is also the Supreme Subject.

The subjectivated mind is the witnessing counterpart of the objectivated mind, and may take its object both from the external physical world and the internal psychic world. It may create an object within itself; it can convert its own subject into an object. For example, you see an elephant in the outside world; your objective mind takes its form, and your subjective mind witnesses it. This is one aspect. Later, though there is no elephant in the external world, you may engage a portion of your mind in taking the form of an elephant. You can visualize that imaginary elephant of your mind and argue within yourself: “Well, the trunk is all right but one of the tusks seems to be a little small, I’ll make them the same length.” And so you make the smaller one a little larger. All this is done within the mind.

“The other day Rambabu said so many unpleasant things to me. I should have spoken back, but instead I kept silent, swallowing the insults. In future, if I meet him again, and the same unpleasant thing happens, I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” Here, one becomes as one perceives.

Suppose you went to visit your aunt, and at the time of departure she did not request you to visit her again. In your mind you utter the following words to the mental image of your aunt: “I shall not visit you any more.” If she asks why, I shall say, “Oh no, I shall not go to your place.” These words are said mentally to the aunt of your mental creation. But the real aunt remains far away, completely ignorant of what you are thinking.

Now the question is: can the unit subjective mind ever know or think of the Supreme Subjectivity? In the world of humans we notice that those people participating in a celebration, or in-charges having specific duties, never sit idly looking towards the Supreme, the Supreme Subjectivity. If those to whom special roles have been allotted do not act properly, the Supreme Head will be displeased. He will be all the more displeased if you sit idly, looking towards Him with a vacant expression. Moreover, if you tell Him, flatteringly, “How kind you are, how merciful! How fine you look in your gorgeous apparels and ornaments!” He will say in reply, “What audacity! Stop this silly nonsense.” It is most improper to treat the Supreme Subjectivity in this way.

Now, let us discuss this from the psychological point of view. The subjective mind is the objective mind’s subjective counterpart; that is to say, the objective mind is the “known” and the subjective mind the “knower”. Similarly, in the case of the relationship between the unit subjectivity and the Supreme Subjectivity, the former is the known and the latter the knower. The snake looks at the frog. The snake is the subject, and the frog the object. The frog watches the mosquito. The frog is the subject, the mosquito the object. The mosquito looks at the dew-drop. The mosquito is the subject, the dew-drop the object. But the snake itself is not aware that it is being watched by the peacock; and the peacock is not aware that it is being watched by the fowler. The fowler is the subject, the peacock the object. Nobody looks at the subject. This is the usual practice in the world. Had people chosen to look at the subject, everything would be in proper order.

It has been said earlier that everything takes place within the mental arena of the Supreme Subjectivity. The objective counterpart, too, is within the Cosmic Mind. In other words, all the objectivities of the world together are the object of the Supreme Subjectivity.

A boy is studying. While doing so the thought may pass through his mind that if he does not pass his examination he will have to face much criticism, and he will have to repeat the same class, along with boys younger in age who may then no longer respect him for his seniority as they did in the past. These mental thoughts may help his concentration of mind; that is, such thoughts keep the objective and subjective minds engaged, no doubt, but they create a bifurcation in the mind. One mental flow is engaged in memorizing the subjects being studied, while another mental flow entertains various other thoughts such as: “What will my parents and seniors say if I fail in the examination? The juniors in my locality will cease to respect me, they will say all kinds of unpleasant things…” and so on. Obviously that boy’s mental power has become bifurcated. What should a wise person do in such circumstances? He should think nothing else except: “I will memorize whatever I’m reading now, without bothering about my gains if I succeed or my losses if I fail in the task. I will not allow any portion of my mind to flow in an undesirable direction, and thus I will keep my mind exclusively engrossed in the task of learning.”

In the case of unit beings, what should the subjective mind do when it sees something in the external world? It should see it, and know it perfectly. When you convert a portion of your subjective mind into an object, it can be done perfectly. So, at the time of learning something, you should empty your mind of all other thoughts, giving full importance to what is being learned. Then, in the future, when you attempt to convert your subjective mind into objective mind, you will do it well because, when you received the objectivities of the external world, you were fully concentrated. As a result, you will develop your thinking capacity.

Now, along with thinking comes the question of retention. For example, after reading 200 pages of a book you will surely forget 199 of them. You cannot remember even one complete page, not even one full sentence. You are likely to confuse this word with that. What is the cause? The cause is that you did not pay full attention. Then how can you become more attentive? Usually you acquire academic knowledge by studying with the help of the eyes. To aid the process of memorization, however, you may also use your tongue. That is, while reading loudly, two sense organs are used, the eyes and the tongue, and thus you will derive a double benefit. Moreover, if you read aloud, your ears will also hear those sounds, and thus this method of reading is more beneficial for students. In the case of fiction and plays, however, it is better to read silently. And moreover, there is a special advantage with silent reading: the parents are unaware of what their children are reading.

As I said before, retention is facilitated by reading aloud: one can have great control over the objective mind, the objectivated subjective mind, and all that the objective mind receives as its object from the objective or objectivated subjective world. Often part of the incoming message is lost due to a defective vibration of the nerve cells. This is purely a physical defect of the human body, and to rectify it, one will have to adopt physical means to make the brain function properly; and for this there are certain physical processes. If you are interested in those, I can help you.

Moreover, when psychic vibrations are carried through different nerves – optical, auricular, the nerves of the tongue, etc. – they often need proper adjustment. For example, some people may be able to see things distinctly and read with ease and yet not be able to hear very well. In such a case, the vibrational wave that comes through the ears has trouble adjusting with the optical nerves. A particular man may have a bit of a stammer: he does not pronounce words as distinctly as he sees them with his eyes. There is a maladjustment which can be rectified if a psychic approach is adopted. Here the physical approach would not be appropriate. Physical waves cannot bring a mutual adjustment amongst themselves; for that psychic pressure is required. By exerting this psychic pressure the maladjustment can be rectified. For this there are two approaches: (1) pure psychic approach and (2) psycho-spiritual approach.

[The following section was also printed separately as “Saḿgiita – Excerpt B” in Saḿgiita: Song, Dance and Instrumental Music. This is the Saḿgiita: Song, Dance and Instrumental Music, 1st edition, version.]

What is the pure psychic approach? When you receive an object or an idea through either the ocular or auricular nerves you should bring it into a certain rhythm: your object of vision or ideation should dance rhythmically. Such a rhythmic vibration can rectify the defects in the eyes, ears and tongue. For this very purpose the rágas and rágińiis were created: whatever the mind receives through rhythm and melody brings about this proper adjustment. There is no scope for any deviation this way or that. On this basis, Sadáshiva developed the science of musical notes, svara shástra or svarodaya, or shabda shástra. Due to the strict rules as outlined in svara shástra, there is no room for any deviation at the time of singing. If any deviation is attempted, one will have to break the established rules.

While attempting to go beyond the set rules, kheyál was invented and in adjustment with tál (metre), gazal was composed. Indo-Aryan music is based on a system, a rhythm; there is no room for any mistake, no scope for deviation.

When kiirtana first began to develop, it did not have any hard and fast rules, just as folk songs do not conform to hard and fast rules. [[Kiirtana adopted hard and fast rules later on.]] Just as the different schools (gharáńá) of rága and ráginii evolved out of various rhythmic expressions, similarly, as soon as kiirtana was brought within the framework of fixed rules, it came to be elevated from folk music to classical music.

[end of section that was printed separately as “Saḿgiita – Excerpt B”]

Another aspect of the psychic approach is that when you want to memorize something, you should subdivide the matter into meaningful parts or components. Suppose a boy wants to memorize the spelling of the word “assassination”. He may have some difficulty because the word is lengthy and difficult to remember; there is a good chance of omitting one of the letters. Therefore, the word can be split into four parts: ass-ass-i-nation. Now, as the boy already knows the meaning of all four words, he will easily memorize its spelling. This is another aspect of the pure psychic approach.

Next is the psycho-spiritual approach which strengthens the memory, and makes the intellect omniscient. A good way to stabilize the memory is to meditate on someone you have seen or heard about who possesses a unique photographic memory. This will increase your own memory.

Now the question arises: how can we know the Supreme Subjectivity? If we simply look towards that Subject who remains the witnessing entity and goads us all into action, He will be displeased. He will say: “Go and do some work.” It is enough if we only think that the Subject is watching each action we are doing. By ideating that the Supreme Subjectivity is watching everything, we are thinking of Him as well, and this idea itself becomes objectivated. The Supreme Subject does not become objectivated, but the thought of the Supreme Subjectivity does. Ultimately, the best way to meditate on Parama Puruśa, or remember Him, is to bear in mind that, in actions big or small, significant or insignificant, in wakeful state or in sleep, in dream or in reality, the Supreme Subjectivity is maintaining a constant and close watch on me. Thereby the subjectivity as such does not come within your objectivated mind, but the ideation of the Supreme Subjectivity becomes objectivated. When this ideation becomes clear, stable and permanent, then one fine morning you will see that you have become one with the Supreme Subjectivity. And this is the final stage of the faculty of knowledge.

Chapter 13	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

It is said that the path of human progress is chiefly divided into four stages: yatamána, vyatireka, ekendriya and vashiikára (the four stages in the development of a spiritual personality). These stages are applicable to the three strata of human life: the material, psychic and spiritual worlds.

“Yatamána” is derived from the Saḿskrta root verb “yata” + suffix “shánac” and means “one who is endeavouring” (the effort is still continuing). In a previous Dharma Maha Cakra (a spiritual congregation) I spoke at length about yatamána. Now is yatamána only a mental effort, or only a physical effort, or does it emanate from a realm higher than the mind? When people perform actions consciously, those actions must have the sanction of the mind. But even if an action is sanctified by the mind, it does not necessarily mean that it has also been sanctioned by the self. Moreover, if the mind performs an action according to the guidelines of a noble philosophy, even then it does not necessarily mean that the psychic sanction is supported by the Self (Átman).

There are many philosophies which tend to crudify the human mind, and make people violent and inconsiderate. They make people believe that they are God’s favourite children, whereas the rest of humanity are cursed. Although these views have philosophical sanction, they do not enjoy the sanction of the Átman.

There is only one case when Parama Puruśa sanctions mental thought. What is that? It is when the human mind is dedicated to the welfare of the entire humanity without any discrimination, when the sole intention is to promote universal well-being. When the human mind, motivated by such sentiments, engages itself in action through the body, only that action can be treated as real yatamána. Other endeavours should not be defined as such.

Sometimes it also happens that the body acts without the prior approval of the mind: a person frightened by a robber, for example. People do not always act voluntarily, but sometimes out of fear, just like the slaves in olden days. A slave would labour hard at the command of his or her master. Such actions are purely limited to the physical sphere. They are actions no doubt, but they do not enjoy the support of the mind, and naturally do not have the support of Átman or Parama Puruśa. Such deeds do not bring any welfare to the slave, and thus cannot be categorized as yatamána. So according to true spirituality, human beings should not be reduced to slavery.

One may say that slavery has been totally abolished from today’s world. It may be true in theory, but a handful of people who deserve no better name than “intellectual satans” have been enslaving people by propagating defective philosophies. In a way, these exploited people are no better than slaves for they have lost their intellect. Even when one tries to enlighten them with logical arguments, they refuse to listen. Are they any better than slaves? Intellectually they are certainly slaves, and hence in the material world also they are slaves. Thus, any action on their part will not be included in the category of yatamána because it will never lead to well-being. The first stage of human progress yatamána is not promoted by their activities.

What should be done to bring about progress in the yatamána stage? One should learn the proper philosophy from a competent person. In order to judge what is a proper philosophy and what is a pseudo-philosophy, one should see how far the philosophy goes in treating the entire humanity as a singular entity and promoting its unity. Only that philosophy which inculcates universal sentiments is acceptable to human beings, for it alone reflects the spirit of yatamána. Other philosophies will spoil the human treasures resulting in humans, even though they are endowed with eyes, feet, hands, etc., degenerating to the level of animality, or even below that. Animals quarrel among themselves or with others to procure food, but these crude people, even though they do not need to procure food for their survival, misuse their authority to destroy or subjugate innocent humans being.

The people of today must understand this basic fact and remain vigilant against the detrimental actions of the intellectual satans and blood-sucking exploiters. The people of today must move ahead while fighting against the two enemies – the bloodsuckers who exploit in the economic sphere, and the intellectual satans who not only exploit human beings but bring them down to the level of animality. I request the present human race to continue their endless fight on these two fronts. They should remember that on both these fronts they are fighting against enemies who, being guided by dogma, have no logic in their method of exploitation. Though they are exploiting people in the socio-economic, socio-intellectual and spiritual spheres, once their conscience is aroused against dogma, their exploitation will automatically cease. The gigantic demons of exploitation will vanish in a flash.

Chapter 14	Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 5 [a compilation]

While explaining yatamána [the first stage of sádhaná], I said that it is one of the four stages of human progress. I further explained that the different stages of human progress are concerned with the three strata of life: physical, psychic and spiritual. I also said that unless human intellect is liberated, human beings cannot attain substantial progress in the material sphere.

The physical bondages which keep people confined to gross physicality and deny the fullest expression of human genius are called ádhibhaotik. The endeavour to liberate oneself from these physical bondages becomes meaningless if freedom from psychic bondages [ádhidaevik] is not attained. There are three types of bondages – physical, psychic and spiritual. [The means of obtaining] permanent liberation from these three bondages is called paramártha; and [the means of obtaining] temporary liberation from them is called artha. Bondages such as hunger, thirst, the need for clothes, accommodation, medical treatment, etc. are related to this quinquelemental world and are physical in nature. That which brings temporary relief from these bondages is called artha. Suppose a man is hungry – if he has money he can go and buy some food. In this case money is the medium whereby he attains temporary relief from the bondage of hunger. Hence money is called artha in Sanskrit because it brings temporary freedom from bondage. Human beings must continue their efforts to attain artha if they have not yet attained paramártha. Those who teach human beings that everything in this world is false obviously do not see themselves as unreal. They propagate such misleading teachings to exploit the masses to further their own selfish interests. Of course, I do not say that everyone is doing that, but I must point out that some religious and intellectual leaders have badly cheated their fellow human beings. I repeat again that what I say does not apply to all. I declare in unambiguous terms that people will have to continue their mundane efforts to attain artha, and will try in the future to do just that.

Yatamána should be applied in the attainment of paramártha, but at present it is being utilized for gaining artha. If you go one step below this you will find that it is not even being used for attaining artha because the intellect which lies at the root of yatamána cannot function independently. We sometimes say in colloquial Bengali, “He has even taken out a mortgage on his pigtail”. Thus, even the intellect is in bondage and one has lost the power and capacity to think independently. Such an intellect can be likened to a bird used to soaring high in the open sky but which is suddenly confined to a tiny cage. If one opens the door of the cage the bird will think, “I am quite comfortable here. Why should I risk flying in the vast blue sky? After all, I get all the water and bird seed I want inside my little cage”.

In the physical and psychic spheres people have been wrongly taught to avoid the attainment of paramártha. Even in the mundane sphere, they do not get sufficient opportunity to stand on their own legs. It is constantly drummed into their minds in such a negative way that they are unable to utilize any opportunity which comes their way.

In the social sphere (which comes under the scope of ádhibhaotik) the same thing is happening. For ages together simple innocent people have been taught that they belong to a low caste. If one asks them to sit on a chair they will reply, “No, I am fine here on the floor”. Even if the mind gets an opportunity to become independent, it cannot function freely. Just as that little bird kept confined to a cage develops rheumatism in its wings, the human mind, due to constant negative thoughts, gets paralysed. It is not the so-called upper castes only who are to blame – the so-called lower castes have passively accepted this sad plight like the caged bird, and have even sometimes encouraged it. This is a shame, a matter of immense regret.

Bráhmańo’sya mukhamásiit váhurájanyo’bhavat
Madhya tadasya yadvaeshya padbhyám shúdra ajáyata.

[Brahmans came out of the mouth, Kśatriyas were born out of the arms, Vaeshyas came out of the trunk of the body, and Shúdras were born out of the feet.]

Even the Supreme Entity, that formless omnipresent Parama Brahma who equally belongs to all, who is the light of all light, the dearest and nearest One, is also denied. It has been said in the above shloka that the Vipras [Brahmans, intellectuals] have been born out of the mouth of Brahmá [the Creator]; the valorous Kśatriyas [warriors] have emerged out of His hands; the Vaeshyas [capitalists] out of His thighs; and the Shúdras [labourers] out of His feet.

If this were true, I would say that the Shúdras are the greatest because everyone longs to touch the feet of Parama Puruśa. As the Shúdras are born out of His holy, divine feet, they must certainly be the most adorable. So if the caste system has to be accepted, then the Shúdras should be respected as the highest caste. And if you are reluctant to accept that, everyone should belong to the highest caste, then all will be equal. Due to the totally absurd dogma of the caste system, people have been paralysed mentally.

It should be understood that if people want temporary or permanent relief in the socio-economic sphere, and paramártha [permanent relief] in the psycho-economic sphere, they should first liberate the intellect. If one attains socio-economic freedom, one may or may not attain psycho-economic freedom. Socio-economic freedom means that all members of the society are equal in the social and economic spheres. It is as if one is providing a cow with a full belly of fodder on the one hand, and on the other hand one is extracting maximum labour from the cow. This analogy illustrates that the cow has been granted socio-economic liberty. Simply guaranteeing freedom in the socio-economic sphere does not necessarily mean that there will be liberty in the psycho-economic sphere. That is, one has not gained full freedom of thought. In a word, one is guaranteed ample supplies of food but denied intellectual liberty.

When psycho-economic freedom is granted, people enjoy material wealth as well as freedom of thought. But in order to attain true freedom in the psycho-economic sphere, one must attain the liberation of intellect, which is subtler than psycho-economic freedom. Without intellectual liberation, yatamána will become meaningless in the intellectual sphere, just as it will be ineffective in the physical sphere, and one will be unable to do the noble tasks which are usually performed with the help of intellect. The fundamental necessity of the intellectual world is intellectual freedom, which you are lacking.

Those who exploit human beings to serve their own self-interests do not want socio-economic freedom to be granted to people. That is why they continue their psycho-economic exploitation in such a way that people do not clamour for socio-economic freedom. They do not directly exploit the people in the social or economic sphere, but in the psycho-economic sphere, and they do it so intelligently that people are totally unaware of it, and hence are unable to develop their yatamána outlook properly. Moreover, the exploited masses are also unable to develop economically because the exploiters control the economy in a subtle way.

However, a day comes when some intelligent people emerge from the exploited masses having detected the exploiters’ techniques to dupe the people, even though the media is controlled. At this stage the exploiters become active intellectually to prevent the germination of the seed of liberation. They take control of the education system, the printing presses and the propaganda agencies in a last and desperate attempt to raise high embankments to contain the surging tide of public discontent. But soon after comes the day of change when the vikśubdha shúdras [disgruntled masses] rise up in revolt and the high sand embankments get washed away by the floods of revolution. After this the masses make an independent appraisal of the type of socio-psycho-economic exploitation they were subjected to. Before the revolution they may have discussed social injustice in private amongst themselves, but if they had tried to propagate their discontent publicly their tongues would have been cut.

To control the masses in the psychic sphere a fear complex was forcibly injected into their minds. Religious leaders openly preached: Binu bhay hoi ná piirit [“Devotion cannot be aroused without an element of fear”]. That is, if you want to love Parama Puruśa, you will have to fear Him also. This does not sound logical, of course. Logic says that you may fear Parama Puruśa and you may also love Him, but that does not mean that in order to love Parama Puruśa you must fear Him. Fear and love are two different things. One must fear Parama Puruśa and at the same time love Him as well. But it can never be said that there can be no love without fear. Parama Puruśa is a great administrator and so it is natural for one to fear Him. At the same time Parama Puruśa is your nearest and dearest One, so obviously you should have profound love for Him. The opportunists of the past injected this type of dogma into the human mind to perpetrate socio-economic and psycho-economic exploitation. Of course, it was an unsuccessful attempt on their part because human beings will definitely advance. No one can check their progress.

Hundreds of dogma were imposed on people: “Do not do this, it is prohibited. If you do it you will go to hell.” The effect of such a statement was to inject a fear complex into people’s minds. According to mythology, the so-called upper castes were born from the mouth of god. It was stated that the so-called low caste people were not entitled to wear shoes on their feet or carry umbrellas over their heads in upper caste neighbourhoods. The common people believed these things. They were further told that the kings are incarnations of Lord Viśńu so their every command should be obeyed. Thus the kings also mercilessly perpetrated harsh exploitation and brutal dictatorial rule. This is how things continued in the past.

Women were subjected to countless impositions and restrictions, innumerable dos and don’ts. Men were free to eat and drink anything, but not women, for that would be considered an act of sin on their part. Strangely, women calmly accepted these injustices. Women were not allowed to be educated so that they could not protest against these illogical impositions. Mr. Drinkwater Bethun’s attempts to spread education among the women of Bengal met with violent protests from a group of selfish people. They argued that if women were taught western education, they would degenerate and end up in hell. And if they went to hell, who would do the housekeeping? A zealous poet wrote:

Ágekár sab meyegulo chila bhála dharmakarma karta sabe;
Eká Bethun esei sheś kareche ár ki táder teman pábe?
A-B-C shikhe bibi seje biliti bol kabei kabe.

[Women of the past were good since they followed religious observances. But Mr. Bethun alone has harmed them immensely. Their ways are changed now: they have learnt the ABC, dressed themselves in European clothes, and started speaking English too!]

If someone speaks English, what is the harm? Moreover the effect of education on women has been good – 100% good – and yet the attempt to educate them was opposed. Why? The reason was that the intellectual exploitation of women was perpetrated without any opposition. Obviously, if women remained illiterate, they could easily be exploited in the socio- and psycho-economic spheres of life. In the absence of education, women would remain ineffective, immobile pieces of living baggage, exploited by their male counterparts according to their sweet will. A man was permitted to marry as many as two hundred wives but a woman, even after the death of her husband, was not even permitted to remarry. Rather, the notion was injected into their minds that remarriage was a sin for a woman! Women were told that to remain devoted to their husbands in their present and subsequent lives was the greatest virtue. Even if a wicked husband were to go to hell after death to graze as a cow-ghost in a field, his educated, devoted and virtuous wife would have to go with him and graze beside the cow-ghost of her wicked husband. All this had to be accepted as mandatory. These are all mischievous attempts to inject a fear complex, to spread dogma, not into the body, but into the mind to paralyse it – an attempt which is cent percent anti-human.

Even in petty matters they resorted to dogma. For example, Amuker sinni kheye ye nákhay pani, Galáy galagańd́a hay cakśe paŕe cháni [“Those who do not drink water after eating the sweet of a certain deity will surely develop goitre in the throat and cataracts in the eyes”]. These exploiters created a good number of deities, and around each deity emerged a powerful priestocracy. Through fear they instilled devotion in people, thus providing ample scope to perpetrate their exploitation.

If you analyse human history in all its aspects in a new way, in a new light, you will find that attempts were made to exploit others by injecting a fear complex in their minds. Parama Puruśa the life of your life, and obviously you will love Him, you will do sádhaná to attain Him. Why should you be terribly afraid of Him? What a nasty psychology it was to inject the fear complex in people’s mind in the name of God! And here lies the difference between religion and dharma. You will find that everywhere in religion, the fear complex has been created in human minds. For women so many rigid rules and regulations were framed so that they would respect men and stand before them in awe with folded hands. But for men, there are no such rules and regulations. For example, women were forbidden to take the names of their husbands, and the husband’s elder brothers. For what reason? To make women exceedingly reverential towards their men-folk. How can it be justified that a virtuous lady, with the border of her sari wrapped around her neck, should have to lie in prostration before her immoral husband? This is absurd, meaningless!

Shvashur bhásuŕer nám karle adhahpáte yáy
Mámá shvashurer nám karle álajib khase yáy
[[Soyámiir nám karle dudhe bháte kháy.]]

[A woman who takes the name of her father-in-law or her husband’s elder brother will degenerate. If she takes the name of her husband’s maternal uncle, she will lose her value. [[But if she takes the name of her husband, she will get to eat nice food.]]]

All these are examples of the injection of dogma to paralyse women’s minds. Thus yatamána becomes meaningless not only in the physical sphere, but in the psychic sphere too, due to religious bondage. It is very difficult for a woman suffering from an inferiority complex, which is a psychic ailment, to approach Parama Puruśa. She is bound to think, “I am low-born. I am a woman. I have no rights. How can I go close to Parama Puruśa? At the most, I can stand in one corner of the verandah.” The opportunists announce that women are not entitled to salvation, and if they want to attain it, they will have to be reborn as men. A few years ago I declared publicly that this notion is unsocial, and totally ultravires to humanism; and that those who utter such statements, being exploiters of women, seek to check the collective growth of humanity. You are to be vocal against these exploiters.

Do not tolerate injustice. This will not only harm women or a neglected and downtrodden segment of humanity, but will cause a serious carbuncle to grow on the vast body of society. That carbuncle will be so poisonous and infectious that it will infect the entire society. Do not allow such a thing to happen under any circumstances. Now that your eyes are opened, keep following the practical path.