Chapter 1	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

Last night I said something regarding mantra and incantation. I tried to explain to you that mantra and incantation are not the same thing. A mantra must have an acoustic root, and at the same time, in the mundane plane, its ordinary significance must be the same as and not just similar to the significance of the acoustic root. And I also said that to become a mantra, even where there is the acoustic root and the proper significance, it must get recognition from Mahásambhúti or Mahákaola.

Now, there is movement everywhere in the universe. There is movement on the microcosmic plane and also and also in the realm of physicality. Wherever there is an idea, or an inference, there must be movement. Nothing is fixed, nothing is stationary in this universe. We should remember that the acoustic root of the mantra in the realm of the microcosm must maintain a symmetry with the significance of mantra on the physical plane. And it is the duty of the Mahásambhúti or Mahákaola to maintain the symmetry between the inferential expressions in the psychic world and the physical manifestations on the mundane level. Where this symmetry is wanting, neither the inference nor the physical movement can get recognition as a mantra or even as an incantation.

The movement in the realm of the microcosm is a movement either from the microcosmic extremities to the supreme – to the starting point of spirituality or from the starting point of spirituality to the culminating point of microcosmic manifestation. And in the field of physicality it starts as an inference either from the touching point of the microcosm and the physical plane or from the subtlest point of the physical plane to the level of microcosm. These inferences must have a coordination as well as symmetry between them and you must remember that the symmetry is the guiding factor. There are many words in the world but not all words can be mantras, can be incantations, because in mantra there should be the spirit of mobility. Hence the word should be formed either with the mobility of the physical plane or with the mobility of the inferential plane.

Take the case of the word “Ráma”. As you know, the root meaning, the rudimental significance of the word “Ráma” is “the attractive faculty”. “Rám” root verb + “ghaiṋ” suffix. Now here the root verb is to raise the spirit of mobility. And this mobility should be on both planes, physical and inferential. On the physical plane the body moves towards the Supreme Goal by being attracted by the Supreme Nucleus, and on the inferential plane the mind moves towards the Supreme Entity, towards the Nucleus of the Cosmic order. This movement of the mind towards the Cosmic Nucleus, and the movement of the body towards the Supreme Goal, must maintain not only parallelism but also symmetry. The symmetry is called “pramá” in Saḿskrta. Now on both these planes there is the spirit of mobility, and in the inferential sphere what happens? The movement finally encourages aspirants to ensconce themselves in the vast ocean of the cosmos. Hence the word “Ráma”, has the value of a mantra. But it requires the support of a Mahákaola or Mahásambhúti to be treated as a siddha mantra.

Another meaning of “Ráma” is “Ráti Mahiidhara Ráma”. The first letter of “ráti” is “rá”, and the first letter of “mahiidhara” is “ma” – “Ráma”. The spirit of the term is that Ráma is the most glittering entity in the entire universe. All the glittering entities, so many stars, planets, meteors and galaxies, get their light from the Supreme Entity, and so the supreme light-supplying entity, the supreme effulgent figure in the entire universe, is Ráma.

Now this light is light both on the plane of physicality and also in the field of inference. The symmetry is maintained. Thus the word “Ráma” can be treated as a mantra if it is supported by a Mahákaola. What is the duty of the Mahákaola in this respect? It is to inject the spirit of movement from the lowermost point of expression to the subtlest point of culmination.

Similarly, another meaning of “Ráma” is “Rávańasya marańam Ráma”. What is Rávańa? The first letter of “Rávańa” is “Ra”, and the first letter of “marańam” is “ma”. Hence “Rá-ma”. What is “Rávańasya marańam”? “Rávana” is the ten-faced demon functioning in each and every entity. It is the demoralizing, depraving and degenerating agency. And “marańa” means “death”. When aspirants ensconce themselves in the Supreme Entity, what happens? Rávańa – the ten-faced demon – ceases to exist. And what is Rávańa? What is the ten-faced demon? The depraving mind, the evil propensities of human beings which goad the human mind or microcosm in ten directions. These ten directions are represented by ten faces. Actually Rávańa means ten-faced depraving propensities. Now when one ensconces oneself in, when one becomes one with the Supreme Entity mentally in the realm of inference, one is free from the fetters of these depraving agencies, from this avidya. Hence, here also, the same purpose is served.

So in each interpretation of “Ráma” all the significances come to a single point. Hence the word “Ráma” is a mantra, if it is supported by a Mahákaola.

But finally one must remember, “Mantramúlaḿ Gururvákyam”. It is the Shivokti, said by Lord Sadáshiva, that is the rudimental faculty functioning behind each and every Mantra – it is Guru Vákyam.

Who is Guru? As you know, “gu” means “darkness” and “ru” means “dispelling agency or faculty”. The entity that dispels all sorts of darkness from the mind is “Guru”. Who is “Guru”? Guru is He who knows the secrets of one’s spiritual salvation. Who can know the secrets of spiritual salvation? Parama Puruśa Himself can know. Others cannot know His secrets and that is why in Ánanda Sútram it has been said, “Brahmaeva Gururekah Náparah.” Only Brahma is the Guru. “Gurureva Parama Brahma”. So Guru Vákyam means Brahmavákyam. So, “Mantramúlaḿ Gururvákyam”, and “Mantramúlaḿ Brahma vákyam”.

Now we should remember two things here. Whatever you see, whatever you do, whatever you perceive or conceive in this world, both in the world of inferences and also in the arena of quinquelementality, comes from the Nucleus; everything comes from Parama Puruśa. But some of those physical entities and inferential values we receive through certain media, and some we receive directly. What we receive through some medium is known as “prápta vastu” and what we receive directly from the Nucleus of the universe, what we receive from the Parama Puruśa is called “ápta vastu”. Now in this realm of spirituality, whatever we receive, we receive directly from Him, and not through any medium, and that is why the secrets of his spirituality are known as “ápta vákyam” and not “prápta vákyam”. Prápta vákyas come through different media, through different physical media, and that is why they may vary, or undergo metamorphosis. After their metamorphosis, they may come within the scope of relativity and undergo distortion. That is why these prápta vákyas or prápta vastus are not infinite, and therefore can never be, must never be the desiderata of human beings. The only thing that an aspirant wants from Him is ápta vákya and this ápta vákya is guru vákya, and this guru vákya is the mantramúlaḿ. It is the rudimental faculty behind all mantras.

Chapter 2	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

In the realms of both manifestation and of non-manifestation, there are certain characteristics borne by each and every object. In the realm of non-manifestation, those characteristics remain coverted within the object itself and are not known to any other entity. But in the stratum of manifestation, objects are known to other entities by their wonts or characteristics. These wonts may be in the form of prognosis or diagnosis or premonition or after-effects. But they must be present, because their presence denotes the existence of that entity. Such entities may be physical entities may be physical objectivities, may be psychic entities, or may be psychic pabula. Dharma is also such an entity. Dharma is the highest and greatest and sweetest psychic pabulum. So dharma should also have certain characteristics of its own.

What are these wonts? Are they prognosis or diagnosis or premonition or after-effects? The reply is that dharma’s manifestations, dharma’s wonts, exist in each and every stratum. A dhármika may be treated as a prognosis of something coming, a diagnosis of something already come, a premonition of something evil, or an after-effect of something good. Regarding the lakśana, the wonts of dharma, it has been said:

Dhrti kśamá damo’steyaḿ shaocamindriyanigrahah;
Dhiirvidyá satyamakrodhah dashaka dharmalakśańam.

What is the first lakśańa of dharma? It is dhrti which has several meanings in Saḿskrta, the most important one being “patience”. A dhármika should have patience. Dharma and patience are inseparable. Suppose an evil force says, “I, the lord of a certain country, will destroy Ananda Marga from the very root.” A dhármika should maintain patience, should be patient. Because the day is soon to come when that evil force is going to be destroyed. Its weapon will serve as a boomerang for its own death. And this happened in the near past, as you all know.

The second lakśańa, is kśamá, that is, forgiveness or pardon. Kśamá should be properly explained to spiritual aspirants. In your personal life you have the right to forgive anybody and everybody but in your collective life you have not got such a right. You have to consult the collective body before you forgive an enemy of the collective body. And in your individual life, although you have the right to excuse somebody, you should remember that pardon should not be extended to persons who have not rectified their conduct or their habits. If you pardon such persons it means you are encouraging their bad habits. You should not do that, it is against the principles of dharma.

The third is dama. “Dama” means “control” – to bring control. In Saḿskrta, there are two similar terms, “shamanam” and “damanam”. “Shamanam” means bringing the external enemies under control, and “damanam” means bringing the internal enemies under control. In the mythological story, Pluto was the God of Death, known as Yamarája in Saḿskrta. He is also known as Shamana, because he controls others. And a sádhu or dhármika to control him or herself is to do damanam. One should have full control over the internal enemies, which are the demons residing in your mind. This is dharma.

In the Vedas there is a story that once upon a time a big luminous body appeared on the horizon. Many people went near that luminous body, but no one could approach it directly. Then to some of the people who came near it, that luminous body uttered the sound “da” and nothing more. Some people interpreted that sound “da”, as “dánaḿ kuru”, and were regarded by society as Asuras or Dánavas. A second batch interpreted the sound “da” as “dayáḿ kuru” and they were treated as Mánavas; and a third batch interpreted “da” as “damanaḿ kuru”, and they were known as Devatas. The story says that in this way the differentiation was created among Asura, Mánava and Devatá.

“Damanam” is the highest order. “Damanam” means killing internal enemies. And one who has controlled the external enemies is known as “shánta”. In Saḿskrta “sham” + “ta” = “shánta”. The person who has defeated his or her internal enemies is dánta (“dam” + “ta”).

“Asteya” means “non-stealing” – not stealing physically or mentally; not cheating physically or mentally.

“Shaoca” means keeping both the physical body and the mental body neat and clean. It is easy to keep the physical body neat and clean and it is very difficult to keep the mind neat and clean. For this purpose, the mind must be initiated in Tántrikii diikśá and not in Vaedikii diikśá. Vaedikii diikśá teaches the mind how to pray for higher life and Tántrikii diikśá teaches one how to move forward.

“Indriyanigraha”. One must have complete control over one’s sensory and motor organs. Lord Buddha said,

Cakśuna saḿvaro sádhu sádhu sotena saḿvaro
Gháńena saḿvaro sádhu sádhu jibbháya saḿvaro,
Káyena saḿvaro sádhu sádhu vácáya saḿvaro
Manasá saḿvaro sádhu sádhu sabbat́t́ha saḿvaro.

Let there be complete self-restraint. A person who has established him or herself in this kind of self-restraint is known as a “Sádhu”.

“Dhii” – “Dhii” means “intellect”. You may say, “What about people who are illiterate attaining dharma? Are they not dhármika? Each and every person cannot have an intellect.” Yes, each and every person has an intellect. The dhármika interpretation of intellect is intellect free from all baseness, all impurities and all degenerative propensities. This is the intellect a dhármika will possess.

“Vidyá” means “true knowledge”. Vidyá is divided into two sections: vidyá and avidyá. Avidyá is mundane knowledge and includes material science. Vidyá means spiritual science. One must know this spiritual science. You may say how can an illiterate person, a less educated person, acquire vidyá? Here vidyá does not mean the self-realization that you get through books, “vidyá” means the movement of the mind towards Parama Puruśa.

“Satyam”. What is Satyam? The movement towards Sat is satyam. What is sat? “Sat” means “that which undergoes metamorphosis.” What is the object that undergoes no metamorphosis? The Cosmic Cognitive Principle undergoes no metamorphosis; hence it is the Sat entity. That entity is also known as “Sat Cit Ánandam”; and the mental movement towards that Sat entity is “Satyam”.

“Akrodha” means “free from anger”. It is an art of fighting. Suppose A and B are two belligerent parties, and A has got control over krodha and B has no control. What will happen? B’s body will tremble, and in that fight B will have no control over his or her nerves, and A, who is fully established in akrodha, will just give a push and B will be defeated. So this is an art of fighting. For a dhármika this art of fighting should always be remembered. A dhármika should always remember that by following akrodha he or she will always be victorious.

These ten items are the wonts of dharma. So although each and every entity has its own dharma, dharma has these ten entities as its own dharma.

Chapter 3	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

In a short discourse, I shall try to say something regarding diikśá and initiation.

As you know, for want of sufficient vocabulary in certain tongues, we are to use some words having close proximity to the required term. [Here, for instance, we have to use the English word “initiation” for the Sanskrit diikśá. But] the word “initiation” cannot represent the spirit of diikśá. The rudimental meaning of “initiation” is “to resort to a new avenue of progress”. Certainly diikśá is a new avenue of progress, but diikśá is also something more.

The first thing to be known and remembered is that, as per the science of yoga, diikśá is divided into two important phases. The first phase is known as Vaedikii diikśá, and the second phase is known as Tántrikii diikśá. In Vaedikii diikśá, the aspirant requests the Supreme Entity, Parama Puruśa, to show him or her the path. It is not a cult; it is just requesting the Supreme Father to let him or her know the secrets of success in the stratum of spirituality. The Gáyattrii Mantra (it is commonly known as the Gáyattrii Mantra, but its actual name is the “Savitr Rk”) is Vaedikii diikśá. Here the request is, “O Lord, show me the path. O Lord, guide our intellect towards the supreme path, so that I may be one with the Supreme Entity.”

Oṋḿ bhúr bhuvah svah oṋḿ tat saviturvareńyaḿ;
Bhargo devasya dhiimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayát.

This is the “Savitr Rk”, or “Gáyattrii Mantra”. Here the aspirant says, Bhúr bhuvah svah maha janah tapah satya asya saptalokasya savitur devasya, savitur pitur devasya, savitur devasya, tatpitur devasya, vareńyam bhargo dhiimahi, vareńyam pújaniiyam, bhargo jyoti, dhiimahi bayaḿ dhyánam kurmah, kena kárańena bayaḿ dhyánaḿ kurmah. Dhiyo yo nah pracodayát. Dhii buddhih medhá yah nah asmákaḿ sah asmakaḿ dhii pracodayát saḿvidhámaḿ karotu satpathi paricálanaḿ karotu anena kárańena bayaḿ tad vareńyaḿ bhargo dhiimahi dhyánam kurmah.⁽¹⁾

The exact English translation will be “The Supreme Father who did create the seven strata of manifestation – we meditate on His divine effulgence. And why do we meditate on His divine effulgence? So that He may guide our intellect unto the path of bliss, unto the path of supreme blessedness.” So here the prayer is to guide the brain unto the proper path. It is Vaedikii diikśá – tan no dhiyo pracodayát – “so that He may guide our intellect towards the path of blessedness”… sah no buddhyá shubhayá saḿyunaktu – “so that He may connect our intellect with blessedness.”

So these things are Vaedikii diikśá. There is no scope for such an interpretation or such a phase in “initiation”.

Now, the second phase is Tántrikii diikśá. Actually this Tántrikii diikśá is a cult. In the term “initiation” this cult is not properly clarified, or rather, nothing has been clearly said regarding this cult. As you know regarding the word tantra: tan means “to expand”, and tra means “liberator”; so the science that frees the aspirant from the fetters of bondages by expansion – by expanding the mind, by expanding the existence – is Tantra.

Another meaning: ta is dullness, and tra means liberator. So the science that liberates the aspirant from dullness and expands his or her entire existence is Tantra – Taḿ jádyát tárayet yastu sah tantrah parikiirttitah.

Now this Tántrikii diikśá has three phases, rather you may say three sub-phases: and they are diipanii, mantrágháta and mantra caetanya. And the derivation of the word diikśá is also from diipanii:

Diipajiṋánam yato dadyát kuryát pápakśayaḿ tatah;
Tasmátdiikśeti sá proktá sarvatantrasya sammatá.

[The process which produces the capacity to realize the inner import of mantra and which expedites the requital of the saḿskáras, or reactive momenta, is called diikśá.]

Diipajiṋánam. What is the first letter? Dii. Then, kuryát pápakśayaḿ tatah. Kśayam – what is the first letter? Kśa. So the word becomes diikśa, and the feminine term will be diikśá.

Now what is diipanii? Everything lies coverted within the self. The Supreme Entity is also within your “I” feeling. [He] is with you, but you do not know Him. That is, the Supreme Entity is with you, but You cannot see Him. You cannot realize Him. Why? Because you are covered by, you are surrounded by, Máyá, the cimmerian darkness of Máyá. This diikśá, Tantrikii diikśá, is just like a torch. And by focusing the torch, you see your route through the darkness. That is why the first sub-phase is diipanii – diipanii means “showing the torchlight”. But no such thing is there in the term “initiation”.

Diikśá gives the aspirant the route, the way, or rather the path, of bliss. It shows the path of bliss. And to show the path of bliss, light is required; and that light is also supplied by diikśá. This light is diipanii.

Then, pápakśayam. You know what pápa is: pápa is negative reactive momenta. Whatever you do, the reaction is there, and when the reaction is not satisfied, not quenched, it remains in dormant form. The momentum is there, but not expressed. And there is also the case of positive work, that is, when you do something for the advancement of living beings – that is something positive, it is a positive action. In samája shástra [social scriptures] this positive action is called puńya, and when you do something against the public interest, this negative action is known as pápa. Now this negative action in reactive form, that is, this negative reactive momentum, is called pápa; and pápakśayam is brought about by diikśá. And how is that kśayam⁽²⁾ to be effected? Through actions – through reactive actions.⁽³⁾ These reactive actions may be on the physical plane, or may be on the psychic plane. But diikśá teaches us how these reactive momenta are to be satisfied on the psychic plane, thus freeing the person from the bondages of pápa.

Now this process of freeing a person from the fetters of pápa is divided into two sub-phases: mantrágháta and mantra caetanya. Mantrágháta means, as I have already told you, that each and every mantra has the support of an acoustic root: and when that acoustic root strikes at the root of the coiled serpentine, it is aroused. This is called mantrágháta. After that this roused coiled serpentine moves with the force, or the stamina, it gets from the mantra. It moves towards the supreme positivity, and this movement is called mantra caetanya. With the help of this mantrágháta and mantra caetanya, a spiritual aspirant is freed from all the mundane bondages, bondages both on the physical and on the psychic plane.

So whereas in the case of “initiation” we see that it is just a resort to an avenue of progress and nothing more than that, nothing amplified, diikśá is divided into two phases, one primordial and the other final, and that final phase is further divided into three parts, or phases: diipanii, mantrágháta and mantra caetanya. But as we have no proper word for diikśá in English or any other language, we have no alternative but to use the word “initiation” for diikśá. The actual Sanskrit word for the English term “initiation” is abhiśeka, not diikśá.

Footnotes

(1) Here the author comments, in Sanskrit, on the rk. His English translation and commentary then follow. –Eds.

(2) “Waning”. Pápakśayam is “waning of the saḿskáras (the mental reactive momenta)”; literally, “waning of the sins”. –Eds.

(3) Regarding reactive actions, see “Sádhaná”. –Eds.

Chapter 4	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

It is a recognized fact that the way to salvation is three-fold; jiṋána, karma and bhakti. All three of these roles are recognized routes, and I have nothing to say against any of them. But you know, those who are experienced in this life of spirituality say, after realization, that the path of bhakti is the best. Even the intellectual giant Shaḿkarácárya had to admit that “mokśa kárańasamagryaḿ bhaktireva gariyasii” – bhakti is the best way to mokśa or salvation, the approach of bhakti is the best.

Why is the approach of bhakti the best? The approach of jiṋána is through analysis and synthesis, passing along the systaltic route of movement, and there is pause and speed. During the phase of pause there is every chance of degeneration. And what happens in the approach of karma? Wherever one gets diverted from the goal of life, from the culminating point of one’s march, one becomes degenerated. Vanity may develop both in the case of jiṋána and in the case of karma. But the path of bhakti is harmless. During the approach through jiṋána, one is to keep the goal a bit away from oneself and try to analyse it. In the case of karma, it is the same, although the position may be a bit closer, maintaining a bit more proximity. But in the case of Bhakti, what happens? The aspirant comes in the closest proximity to his or her goal, to his or her Lord, to his or her Parama Puruśa.

To the jiṋánii, the goal is something impersonal; god is something impersonal, something theoretical. To the karmii, god is neither personal nor impersonal, but maintains a link between the two. So in the life of a karmii the frustration is less than in that of a jiṋánii. But in the life of a bhakta, god is a personal one, his or her own Father, the Soul of one’s own soul. So one is linked with one’s own goal and this link with one’s personal god is maintained forever and never gets distorted. That is why everybody will have to admit the fact that “Mokśa kárańasamagryaḿ bhaktireva gariyasii.” Bhakti is the best approach, the devotional approach is the best approach. It requires no intellectual strength and no karmika stamina.

Human life, you know, is a measured one. Human beings come here for a very short span. If during this short span one tries to go through all the scriptures it will take more than one thousand years? And one is only here for approximately one hundred years. So, going along the path of jiṋána is a mere waste of existence. And karma is infinite and the human structure is a finite one, with limited stamina and limited capacity. So the path of bhakti is not only harmless, but the wisest one and is the approach of the most cunning people. So my advice to you all is to move along the path of bhakti. It is the best route.

In a short discourse in Bombay recently, I said in response to a question that actually so-called jiṋániis misuse their existence, they misuse their valuable time; and karmiis also misuse those things if they keep themselves detached from the goal.

So far as intelligence is concerned, the so-called intellectuals have “C” grade intellects, the so-called karmiis have “B” grade intellects and the bhaktas who are the most intelligent people have “A” grade intellects. So I hope you boys and girls try to be of “A” grade intelligence and move along the harmless path of Bhakti.

In a previous discourse I said that Parama Tattva is just like a big mango grove. Now three people, three aspirants, a jiṋánii, a karmii and a bhakta, go to that mango grove. Now what will the jiṋánii do? He or she will count how many leaves there are in those mango tress. While he or she is counting the leaves, the karmiis will climb those trees and come in contact with the leaves, flowers and mangoes. And what will the bhaktas do? The bhaktas will enjoy the taste of those mangoes. And in the evening what will happen? The bhaktas will finish eating all the mangoes, and the jiṋániis and karmiis will quarrel among themselves.

There are so many scriptures, Vedas and Puráńas, there are so many books, recognized and not recognized, and the jiṋániis will quarrel among themselves regarding the grammar and hasanta and visarga of the slokas. And what will the karmiis do? They won’t quarrel but they will work just like the bullocks of an oil-pressing machine. Have you seen bullocks working in the oil-pressing machine? They move more than one hundred miles a day, but there is no progress. All their movements are restricted to that room. Karmiis are like that.

But what will bhaktas do? Those scriptures are like the ocean. And what will the bhaktas do? They will churn the ocean. After churning what will they get? Butter and buttermilk. And then bhaktas will eat up the butter, and in the evening the jiṋániis and karmiis will quarrel among themselves regarding the ownership of the buttermilk. So be intelligent. My advice to you is to be intelligent and don’t try to be a “C” grade intellectual.

Chapter 5	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

Today is ekádashii, I think. These fastings are called “upavása” in Saḿskrta.

“Upa” is a Saḿskrta prefix. In Saḿskrta there are twenty recognized prefixes, and one of these prefixes is “upa”. “Upa” means “proximity”. And “Vása” means “to live”, “to reside”. The word “upavása” means then, “to live near the Lord”.

“Upavása” – on these days of fasting, what are all spiritual aspirants to do? Mentally they should live near their Lord. On all other days they are to remain balanced between objective adjustment and subjective approach. On these days of fasting, however, on these days of upavása, one remains in closer proximity to the Lord than to one’s mundane duties. That is why these days are known as “upavása”. The word “fasting” does not represent the proper sense or proper spirit. The Saḿskrta term for going without food is “anashana” – “ana” means not, “ashana” means eating – not “upavása”. But these ekádashii, amavasya and púrńimá days are days of upavása.

Chapter 6	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

Last night during Mahá Cakra I said that the object of adoration for a devotee is something personal. And where the unit is treated as a vibrational manifestation, the Supreme Entity is the controller of all those vibrations. In the Vedas, it has been said regarding that Cosmic Puruśa:

Tvamiishvaráńam paramaḿ Maheshvaram
Tvam devatánám paramam ca daevatam;
Pati patiinám paramam parastád
Viddma Devá bhuvaneshamiid́yam.

“Thou are Lord of all lords” – “Tvam Iishvaráńam Paramaḿ Maheshvaram.” In different spheres of life there are different lords, different owners and different controllers. In Saḿskrta the root verb “iisha” means “to control”. “Iishvara” means “controller”. In different spheres of our phenomenal life, there are controllers of different stages, or rather different orders. The controller of a particular factory, the controller of a particular warehouse, the controller of a particular directorate and so many others. But the movements of all these controllers are controlled by the Cosmic Puruśa. Hence that Cosmic Puruśa is Maheshvara. Others are iishvara, and the Cosmic Puruśa is Maheshvara.

Tvamiishvaránáḿ paramaḿ Maheshvaram,
Tvam devatáńám paramaḿ ca Daevatam.

Last night I said that “deva” means “vibrational manifestation”. Regarding Deva, Maharśi, Yájiṋa Valkya said;

Dyotate kriid́ate yasmádudyate dyotate divi;
Tasmát deva iti proktah stúyate sarvadevataeh.

The entity that vibrates the entire cosmos, that creates different expressions through different pulsations is a deva. Wherever there is movement there is creation. Wherever there is movement there are light waves, sound waves, and so many waves of inferences. And those expressions of inferences are devas, and Parama Puruśa is the controller of all those vibrations, all those manifestations, all those devas. Hence He is Mahádeva.

“Pati patiináḿ paraḿ parastád.” “Pati” means lord. In life, in different spheres of life, there are so many owners, so many lords; the owners of a particular piece of land, the owner of a kingdom, and so many more. But all these owners depend upon the mercy of Parama Puruśa. Their ownership depends on His mercy. So He is the Owner of all owners. He is the Lord of all lords. He is the Pati of all patis. “Pati patiinám paraḿ parastád.”

In the field of knowledge, there are two parts, two compartments, one the knowing compartment and the other the known compartment: one the subjective compartment and the other the objective compartment. Now wherever there is any functional side of knowledge, the knowing entity is known as “para” and the known entity is known as “apara”. Suppose one entity is the knower and another is the known; the knower entity will be known as “para”, and the other as “aparabrahma”. The subjective world, the subjective Supreme Entity of this world which comes within the scope of inferences is aparabrahma. He is know as Paresha, the Lord of Para. He is also known as Aparesha – the Lord of Apara.

“Parama parastád”. Where this external world is apara, who is the knower? The knower is your sense organs. In the second phase, your senses are apara and your mind is para because your mind is the knower of your sense organs. The mind knows. Then in the next, subtle, phase, the mind becomes apara, that is the known, and the átmá becomes the knower, the para. Then, in the final stage, you’re átmá becomes apara, the known, and the Cosmic Entity, Parama Puruśa, becomes the para. He is the Supreme Para. He is the Supreme Subjectivity.

So whenever you think that you are knowing some thing, in that very moment you should also remember that you are known by Him. That is, whatever you are seeing, He knows. Nothing remains secret or coverted for Him. What you have done, He knows. What you have thought, He knows, and what you will think, He knows. “Paramaḿ parastád vidám devam bhuvaneshamiid́yam.”

So, if you are to know anything, you should know Him. Know one, know all. He knows all. So if you are in love with Him, by His grace, you will also know all.

Now the thing is, when He is the Supreme Subjectivity, everything else in this universe is His object. All the iishvaras, all the paras, all the aparas and all the devatas are His objects, and He is the Supreme Subjectivity. He is the subject and everything else is the object. Then how, during your meditation can you accept Him as your object? He is the Supreme Subject, and when you are meditating on Him, He becomes your object? How can He become your object when He is the Supreme Subjectivity? During meditation, what should be your mode of approach? During meditation you should think that the entity on whom you are meditating is looking at you as His object. He is not your object. He sees whatever you are doing. This should be the psychology. He can never be your object. During meditation you should remember that the Supreme Entity looks on you, sees you as His object. He is not your object, you are His object. Do you follow? “Vidáma Devaḿ bhuvaneshamiid́yam” – that Deva, that Supreme Subjectivity, is to be adored by all, is to be loved by all, is to be accepted by all as the final culminating point of the different approaches of human life.

Chapter 7	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

I invented kaośikii on September 6th [1978]. This dance is both an exercise, and a medicine for twenty-two diseases. It is a sort of panacea for almost all female diseases, and for many male diseases in younger boys. It is a medicine for most liver diseases. It assures safe deliveries for women, and also checks the advent of old age. It is a medicine.

Táńd́ava – which was not invented by me, but by Sadáshiva some seven thousand years ago – is an all-corporal exercise, an exercise for the entire body, including the brain. (There are intellectual exercises for the brain, but hardly any physical exercise. In fact, táńd́ava is the only physical exercise for the brain.) And among all dances it is the best. But it is not for women.

In Sanskrit, tańd́u means “of jumping habit”. You see, when rice is prepared from paddy [in the traditional rural way] the paddy and rice jump. Because of this, rice is called tańd́ulam in Sanskrit. Tańd́u plus the suffix sna makes táńd́ava, the dance where jumping is the main thing. Now this dance was invented by Sadáshiva to maintain the physical and psychic purity of sádhakas. That may help them in their spiritual progress. And Párvatii, the spouse of Shiva, invented lalita mármika, which means “voice of the inner spirit”. The dance used for kiirtana is lalita mármika. It represents the inner voice of the spiritual aspirant. The main thing in lalita mármika is the expression through mudrá. In táńd́ava there is no mudrá.

Among the disciples, among the devotees, there was an altercation as to which dance should be accepted. It was decided that both should be equally accepted and equally respected. And as a result of this adjustment between táńd́ava and lalita, Indian music was started – it is known as “Indo-Aryan” music. Indian music is divided into two schools, the Áryávarta School and the Dákśinátya School. The common name for the Áryávarta School is Hindustani Sangeet, and that for the Dákśinátya School is Karnataka Sangeet. As a result of this adjustment, Indian music was started. It was started by Sadáshiva, and that is why He is called Nat́arája: Nádatanunát́eshaḿ [“The One whose very body is made out of the náda – the primordial sound – is the Lord of the Dance.”]. This adjustment first created the Indian tála. The first letter of táńd́ava is ta, and the first letter of lalita is la – tála was created in Indian music.

Lalita is to be used during kiirtana. It is the only dance which is universally accepted as the best dance for kiirtana. Táńd́ava is a heroic dance, showing the fight between life and death. The knife represents life, represents your vital stamina, and the skull represents the death that wants to destroy you. You are fighting against death with your weapon, be it a knife or a trishula (trident). And as per the rule, during the day, if one so desires, one may use a live snake in place of the skull; and at night one may use a fire mashála [torch] or a d́amvaru [small drum].⁽¹⁾ This is the rule. So táńd́ava represents the eternal fight, the fight for survival, the fight to maintain existence, the fight to establish oneself as a man in this world.

Now during Mahácakra⁽²⁾ and several other discourses, there has been a vijaya for devotees. You know, in Sanskrit there are two similar words, jaya and vijaya. Jaya means “victory”, victory over the inimical force, but victory of temporary nature. When the enemy is defeated, you become a jayii; but in the next phase or in the next moment the enemy may again rise up, become victorious – you may be defeated. And what is vijaya? Vijaya means “victory of a permanent nature when the enemy is completely destroyed”. I think during the past few discourses there has been a vijaya for devotees.

In the course of spiritual achievement, spiritual progress, the jiṋánii is alone in the field, as indeed is the karmii. But the devotee⁽³⁾ is always sitting on the lap of the Cosmic Father and is never alone. In the shástras it has been said that the devotees know that the Cosmic Father maintains His relationship with His children always through ota yoga and prota yoga.

What is ota yoga? The Cosmic Father has a direct relationship with each and every entity of this world, animate or inanimate. Not a single grain of sand nor a single blade of grass is neglected by Him. All are his affectionate children. This is His ota yoga.⁽⁴⁾ Each and every entity, animate or inanimate, has a direct link with Him, and thus nobody can ever be alone in the world. It is His duty to look after His children. So a devotee can never develop the psychology of melancholia.

You know, “melancholia” means to feel hopeless, helpless – “There is no one to love me.” Devotees never feel this type of melancholia, because they know that they are always with their Supreme Father. But jiṋániis suffer from such diseases. You will find psychic diseases, insanity mostly, among jiṋániis, among so-called learned and intellectual people. Bhaktas, however, never suffer from these diseases. They are free from all psychic diseases. And the devotee’s march is a march to serve the Supreme Entity in a better way, not to attain any emancipation or salvation.

The devotees know that whatever their Supreme Father will do for them is best for them. They never ask for anything, mundane, supramundane or psychic, because they know their actual needs, their actual necessities, are better known to their Father. A child of two months does not know what it requires; its mother knows. It is solely dependent upon its mother. Similarly, devotees are solely dependent on the Cosmic Father, and for that reason the Cosmic Father has a special responsibility for the devotees.

I have already said that devotees never develop any psychological ailment or psychological depression, even if they are sinners. You know, while moving along the road, your body or your clothes may come in contact with dust and dirt – this is what is called “sin” in society. And if your body or your clothes become filthy due to any sort of dirt or dust, others may laugh at you, others may ridicule you, others may hate you, but your father cannot ridicule you, cannot hate you, cannot laugh at you. What is his duty? Then and there he will come and put you on his lap and clean you. He will wash your clothes and say, “Oh, my child, while moving along the road, be a bit careful.” This is the relationship of the Cosmic Father with pápiis [sinners]. And the devotees know this.

But the jiṋániis and karmiis say that each and every action has an equal and opposite reaction, provided that the three fundamental relative factors remain unchanged. Very dangerous, very dangerous! And that is why they suffer from so many psychic diseases; they are afraid of the sins they have committed in the past. But the devotees know, “My Father is there; He may punish me, but He will free me from all those bondages, all those fetters.” So devotees are always carefree. And as I told you, devotees are cunning people. Not only are they intelligent, they are also cunning. That is why I said that devotees are A-grade intellectuals.

You see, the path of dharma is kut́ila for those jiṋániis and karmiis, but for devotees it is straight. Dharmasya kut́ila gatih [“The path of dharma is kut́ila, tortuous”].

It is kut́ila for whom? For jiṋániis and karmiis?

Kśurasya dhárá nishitá duratyayá durgaḿ pathastad kavayo vadanti.

[The edge of a razor is very sharp and difficult to walk on. Similarly, the path to the Absolute is difficult to follow. This is what realized persons say.]

Those jiṋániis will say, “It is a dangerous path!” – durgaḿ pathastad kavayo vadanti. In Vedic Sanskrit, kavi means “learned man”, “scholar”, not “poet”. (In laokika [comparatively recent] Sanskrit, kavi means “poet”.) Those scholars, those jiṋániis, say it is a durgam path. What does durgam mean? “Not easy to move”. But what is it for a devotee? Sukhamanantamánandam [“Spiritual bliss is equal to infinite pleasure”]. It is a straight path, it is a movement that ends in union with the Supreme Father. So there is nothing durgam in it; rather it is very easy, it is very natural. So my advice to you all is, feel His existence within your “I” feeling.

Shrutayo vibhinnáh smrtayo vibhinnáh
Naekamuniryasya mataḿ nábhinnam;
Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyáḿ
Mahájano yena gatah sa pantháh.

[The scriptures differ, the social codes differ; each sage has a different opinion. The essence of dharma lies deep in the mind; the path followed by realized persons is the true path.]

So many scriptures say so many things. What is an ordinary person to do? Which scripture is to be followed and which is not to be followed? What is what and which is which? A person may be in a dilemma to decide what to do, and what not to do. Shrutayo vibhinnáh – “The scriptures vary from one another.” Smrtayo vibhinnáh (smrti means “social code”) – “social codes also vary from one another.” In the past there was Nárada Saḿhitá, Parásara Saḿhitá, Manu Smrti; and now all the smrtis have been replaced by the Hindu Code Bill. There are so many social codes. What is an ordinary person to do?

The pandits, the propounders of those social codes, vary from one another. One says, “Do this.” Another says, “No, no, no, do this.” Somebody will say that while doing your upásaná [prayers] you should face east; some will say, “No, no, no, face west.” What are ordinary persons to do? They are at a loss to know what to do.

Shrutayo vibhinnáh smrtayo vibhinnáh
Naekamuniryasya mataḿ nábhinnam;
Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyáḿ
Mahájano yena gatah sa pantháh.

“There is not a single muni who does not differ from other munis.” Muni means “intellectual”. Muni means maniiśi – “intellectual”. However, Tantra says, “No, no, no, those intellectuals are not munis.” According to Tantra, muni means, Na munih dugdhabálakah munih saḿliina mánasah – “Those so-called intellectuals, so-called scholars, are not actually munis, or actually intellectuals.” Munih saḿliina mánasah – “Those whose minds have become one with the Supreme Entity, whose mánasa has become saḿliina with Parama Puruśa, are munis.” Naekamunir yasya mataḿ na bhinnam.

Now what is one to do then? How to solve this knotty problem? Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyám – “The inner spirit of dharma, the inner secret of dharma, lies coverted within your very ‘I’ feeling.” In each and every person there is this “I” feeling. “I am” – Aham asmi. This “I” feeling, this feeling of “I exist”, is called guhá. The spirit of dharma, the spirit of Parama Puruśa, lies hidden within your “I” feeling. So in order to get Him, in order to discover Him, search within your “I” feeling, and not hither and thither – not on this tiirtham [site of pilgrimage] or that tiirtham.

Idaḿ tiirtham idaḿ tiirthaḿ bhramanti támasáh janáh;
Átmatiirthaḿ na jánanti kathaḿ mokśa varánane.

Párvatii asks Shiva, “What is the best tiirtha?” Shiva says, támasáh janáh – “Those who are guided by the static principle, those who are guided by támasika propensities, move from one place to another in search of tiirtham.” In Sanskrit, tiirtham means “the point that touches this world, that connects this world with that world”. That connecting point, that common point, is called tiirtha. Tiirasthaḿ ityarthe tiirtham. Tiirasthaḿ means “the point where the water of a river touches the bank”.

Such people move from one place to another in search of tiirtham. Átmatiirthaḿ na jánanti – “they do not know that the actual tiirtham lies within the átman”… kathaḿ mokśa varáńane – “They can never attain salvation.” This was the reply of Shiva.

Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyám;
Mahájano yena gatah sah panthá.

Mahájana means mahat jana. Mahat jana means “devotee”. So a sádhaka, a spiritual aspirant, is to follow a devotee, not a jiṋánii, because the devotee knows the secret of how to satisfy Him. And when one comes in contact with Him, one will know all the secrets of the universe. Because all the secrets of the universe are known only to Parama Puruśa, and to nobody else, not to any jiṋániis or any [karmiis].

Footnotes

(1) I.e., one may use a torch or a d́ambaru in the right hand. See "Táńd́ava Dance – What and Why?" in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 10. –Trans.

(2) Ananda Marga Dharma Mahácakra was a special spiritual gathering addressed by the guru. –Eds.

(3) Jiṋána, karma and bhakti are forms of spiritual practice which emphasize, respectively, discrimination, selfless action, and devotion. –Eds.

(4) Just as ota yoga means the Cosmic Father’s relationship with each entity individually, prota yoga means His relationship with all collectively. –Eds.

Chapter 8	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

A few months back a very knotty question was placed before me. The question was knotty, no doubt, but the reply was not at all knotty. The reply was very simple. The question concerned the fact that almost all the scriptures of the past said that women are not eligible for salvation. Almost all the scriptures of almost all the so-called faiths said that before the attainment of salvation, women will have to come back in male framework. And those other faiths where there is no scope for rebirth, said that women will have to wait for the final day of judgment, that is, doomsday, before they can get or expect any salvation.

Certainly it was a knotty problem, rather, a knotty question. But according to Ananda Marga, women have equal rights in each and every sphere, so why shouldn’t they also have the right to attain salvation? You see, boys and girls are just like the two hands of the father. The father loves the little girl as much as he loves the little boy. And would the father want his boy to attain supreme bliss and his girl to burn in the fire of hell? Certainly not. If one says this, one is not doing justice to the Supreme Father. To say this is bad, extremely bad.

Párvatii asked Lord Shiva, “O Lord, what is the minimum qualification for becoming a spiritual aspirant?” You know, for each and every job in the newspaper advertisement column, it will say, “The minimum qualification is this or that.” So Párvatii’s question was, “What is the minimum qualification for becoming a spiritual aspirant?” Párvatii’s question was a healthy one, no doubt, a very healthy question. And the following reply was given by Shiva, I think about seven thousand years ago when He was here in India (but the question was not placed before Shiva in English):

Átmajiṋánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaeka sádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

[Self-knowledge is the greatest means to attain salvation. People are born as human beings due to their past good saḿskáras, but to attain non-qualified liberation they will have to attain self-knowledge.]

To attain salvation one is to know oneself; that is, knowledge, the projection of the knowing faculty, should not be outside, it should be inside. Inwardly-projected actional expression is átmajiṋánam, and outwardly-projected actional expression is aparajiṋánam. One should acquire átmajiṋánam, that is, one should have inwardly-projected actional manifestations. And this is the route, this is the way, this is the path of salvation.

And who is to acquire this átmajiṋánam and finally attain salvation? Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát. By passing through so many frameworks of so many animals and so many other beings, one acquires the human framework, one gets the human structure. And when one gets the human structure, one becomes eligible for self-knowledge, átmajiṋánam. And by dint of acquiring that átmajiṋánam, one attains salvation. So Shiva’s reply is that the minimum qualification for getting salvation, for doing sádhaná, is just a human structure. He never said that it should be a male structure, that it should be the body of a male. He said it should be the body of a human being. The question was raised by an honourable woman, Párvatii, and Shiva’s reply satisfied her very much. About seven thousand years ago this was said by Shiva. So as per Tantra, women have an equal right to attain salvation, and there has been no differentiation made by Shiva in this respect.

And you see, Krśńa also said,

Paritráńáya sádhúnám vinásháya ca duśkrtám;
Dharmasaḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge.

[I incarnate Myself in this world from age to age for the protection of the virtuous, the destruction of the wicked, and the restoration of dharma.]

“Just to save the right-thinking people” – Paritráńáya sádhunám – “just to save the, for the paritráńa of the, sádhus”.

What is the meaning of paritráńa and what is the meaning of sádhu? Sádhu means:

Pránáh yathátmano’bhiiśt́ah bhútánám api te tathá;
Átmaopamyena bhutánáḿ dayáḿ kurvanti sádhavah.

[Just as one’s own life is precious to oneself, the lives of other created beings are precious to those beings; so those who are really virtuous treat other beings as they would themselves.]

For each and every living being, one’s personal life is very dear, very costly. Each living being has love for their own life. A man who, knowing this fact, realizing this fact, loves others as he loves himself, is called a sádhu. A man should not be carnivorous, like cats, dogs and tigers. A man must not eat meat but must love each and every living being as he loves himself. Such a man is called sádhu. Such a man – here “man” is in the common gender, not the male gender – may be a male, or may be a female. You know, “man” is not only masculine gender, “man” is common gender also. “Man is mortal” – here “man” means both male and female.

Now, Paritráńáya sádhúnám. Krśńa said, “Just to save these sádhus” (sádhu means one who loves others as he/she loves himself/herself⁽¹⁾) – “for their paritráńa – ”

(Tráńa means “to save”. Tráńa means “relief work”, which as you know is called tráńa kárya in Sanskrit. What’s the difference between tráńa and paritráńa? Here Krśńa says, Paritráńáya sádhúńám. Paritráńa means “saving permanently”. Suppose you have saved a person from some danger: if that saving is of a temporary nature, it is tráńa. During flood and famines you do tráńa work. You do not help people permanently, but give them temporary relief, so it is tráńa. But when permanent relief is given, when people are saved from the attacks of demons permanently, then it is called paritráńa. When one is freed from all the worldly fetters, it is permanent relief. And this permanent relief is for sádhus. Sádhu includes both males and females. Thus Krśńa supports Shiva.)

Paritráńáya sádhúńám vinásháya ca duśkrtám. “For the annihilation of, for the destruction of, duśkrtám” (duśkrtám means “antisocial elements”)… dharmasaḿsthápanártháya. Krśńa does as He does for what, what is the purpose? For the saḿsthápana of dharma. Sthápana means placing an entity in its right position. Suppose dharma is in its right position. Due to many factors, it may become degraded. This degradation is called gláni. If it is placed back in its right position, where it was and where it should be, this is called sthápana. But here Krśńa says, saḿsthápana, that is, “placing it in its proper position and making proper arrangement to keep it in its proper position”. Dharma saḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge – “I come here again and again.”

Here Lord Krśńa never says that women have no right to attain salvation. So on behalf of the philosophy of Ananda Marga, and also on behalf of the cult of Tantra, I hereby announce that males and females, who are the boys and girls of Parama Puruśa, the sons and daughters of Parama Puruśa, have an equal birthright to attain salvation. Those who say that women are not entitled to the same are antisocial elements. They represent vested interests.

Footnotes

(1) The author’s spoken words here were, “he oblique she loves himself oblique herself”. –Eds.

Chapter 9	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

There is a short story. Once Maharśi Vishvamitra (Maharśi means “great sage”) was crossing the River Ganges with Ráma and Lakśmańa on his way to Mithilá. You all know that Saḿskrta literature is divided into four categories: kávya (poetic verse), puráńa (fictive tales), itikathá (history) and itihása (benevolent history).

Kávya: Kávya is defined as “vákyaḿrasátmakaḿ kávyam.” When a story is explained in a lucid way, in a very systematic way, it is called kávya. It may or may not be factual, it may or may not be educative, but it must be narrated in a very lucid way.

Puráńa or fictive tales: What is puráńa? It is that branch of literature in which all compositions are fictive and have an important educative value. The sage Vyása Deva composed eighteen puráńas for the sole purpose of mass education. He depicts various stories about different gods and goddesses. But as the stories are not true he felt some remorse in his mind after writing them. Deeply saddened, he apologized to Parama Puruśa;

Rupaḿ rúpavivarjj itasya bhavato’yaddhyánena kalpitaḿ
Stutyá’nirvacaniiyatá’khiloguro dúriikrtá yanmayá,
Vyápitvaḿcr nirákrtaḿ bhagavato yattiirtha yátrádiná,
Kśantavyaḿ jagadiisho tadvikalatá dośatrayaḿ matkrtam.

“Oh, Parama Puruśa, you have no form and yet I have depicted the various goddesses in various forms. I have described ten-armed gods, four-armed gods and so on. My sole intention was to educate the common people but in that endeavour, oh formless Lord, I have tried to limit You to the bondage of form. This is my first mistake. My second mistake is that even though You are beyond all qualities indeed, all qualities are under your control – I have composed many eulogies and hymns extolling Your various qualities, but that has only belittled Your greatness. My third mistake is that even though You are omnipresent, I have said that God acted in a certain way during a certain pilgrimage. I have confined You to a specific place. This is an error on my part as the whole universe is Your place of pilgrimage. You exist everywhere, yet I have wrongly tried to limit You to a few places of pilgrimage. So, oh Lord, I beg Your forgiveness. Please pardon me for having made these three mistakes in a moment of mental weakness.”

This is a puráńa. Even though it is not factually true, it has great educative value. The Rámáyańa is one such puráńa. Its story is not factually correct, but is very educative.

Itikathá: Itikathá is a chronological record of events. That is, events are recorded in a sequential order and propagated for public knowledge. In Saḿskrta, itikathá is also called “purákathá”; “itivrtta” and “purávrtta”. In English it is called “history”.

Itihása: Itihása is that part of itikathá whose study leads to human welfare. It has immense educative value. A study of the entire history may not be beneficial for the reader, but that little portion of history which we call itihása is definitely beneficial for human welfare. Itihása has no English synonym. The “History of India” is wrongly translated as “Bhárat barśer itihása”. It should be translated as “Bhárat barśer itikathá.” So the fourth type of literature is itihása which is of great educative value. It has been said;

Dharmárthakámamokśáthaḿ niitivákya
Samanvitaḿ Purávritta kathájuktamitihás apracakśate.

“Itihása is that portion of itikathá which assists people to attain the four vargas – kama (psycho-physical wealth), artha (psychic wealth), dharma (psycho-spiritual wealth) and mokśa (spiritual emancipation) – and which contains the moral code of conduct.”

The Mahábhárata is a good example of itihása. That which is taught in schools in the name of itihása, however, is mainly itikathá or history. What do people attain from the study of itihasa? They attain the moral code of conduct and an inner understanding of the four vargas.

The first varga is káma, the fulfilment of physical necessities. In order to survive, human beings need food, clothes, shelter, medicine, education etc. If these basic necessities are not provided, life becomes unbearable. This first varga, this fulfilment of physical necessities, is káma. How does one learn about it. By studying itihása. And how can those minimum necessities be provided to all? Through the implementation of a social ideology: through itihása. In order that these basic necessities might be provided to all, I was forced to formulate the theory of PROUT under pressure of circumstances. Before everything else, one must first provide physical food to a hungry person. Once the physical needs have been satisfied one may impart spiritual knowledge and instruct him or her to sit in meditation. Yes, we will certainly not provide food to antisocial people who jump from tree to tree like monkeys; we will certainly make them sit in meditation. But before that we’ll have to make provisions for their food, winter clothes, shelter, medical treatment etc. Without fulfilling these basic necessities it will be impossible to promote the collective welfare of the human race.

It has been said,

Varttamáneśu vartteta.

No one should try to move ahead ignoring the present.

This was the clear instruction of Shiva. In Ananda Marga also we have not ignored this advice and thus I have formulated PROUT philosophy. No one can deny the importance of PROUT. If they do, they are denying their very existence. So káma is the first of the four vargas.

The second varga is artha. Artha is the fulfilment of needs in the physico-psychic sphere. Through artha the physico-psychic needs are relieved temporarily. That which brings permanent relief from these needs is called paramártha. Artha is temporary, paramártha is permanent. Here artha does not mean money. Of course, money is also loosely called artha because it brings temporary relief in the physical sphere. That’s why money is called “artha” in Saḿskrta. Furthermore, whenever people don’t understand the meaning of a word – the word “kadali”, for example – there is a certain want in the mind. And as soon as one learns that “kadali” means “banana”, that psychic want is removed. Hence, the meaning of a word is also called “artha” in Saḿskrta because when one comes to know what a particular word means, the want is removed from the mind. So “artha” means “money”, “meaning” and that varga through which physico-psychic needs are fulfilled.

The third varga is dharma which fulfils the psycho-spiritual necessities. Not only do human beings have physical needs; they have more subtle ones as well. Those who have no desire for any of the physical necessities sometimes leave their homes and embrace the life of a monk. Why should they make such a choice? Why would a prince become a renunciate? What sort of desire prompted Mahaprabhu Caetanya to accept the life of a sannyasi? What prompted Buddha to relinquish his beautiful kingdom? They all had no further physical desires. There was no further need for káma and artha in their lives. But why did they choose to completely give up their worldly lives? The reason is that there was a very deep desire in the back of their minds. When people reach a subtle level of existence, they realize that they are hopelessly ignorant. Having just entered that higher stratum, they are unable to understand the subtler expressions of life. This leads to a longing for the spiritual. This is the third varga, dharma, which leads to the fulfilment of the psycho-spiritual necessities.

The fourth varga is mokśa. When human beings attain the fullest expression, they feel that it is a liability and become eager to return the gift to Him from whom it came.

Tava dravyaḿ, Gobinda tubhyameva samarpaye,
Nivedayámicátmanaḿ tvaḿ gatih parameshvara.

[Your objects, O Lord, I offer unto You. I surrender myself up to You, as You are the Supreme Terminus, O Lord.]

This is the last stage. It is called mokśa or salvation. Itihása is that literature which prepares the mind for the fulfilment of all four vargas. Itihása in the true sense of the term is not taught in schools and colleges. Remember that the Ramayana is a puráńa, it is educative fiction.

To return to the original story. Vishvamitra was going to Mithila with Ráma and Lakśmańa. Remember that I have already told you that the Rámáyańa (from which the story has been taken) is pure fiction and thus one should not expect it to be consistent with reality. It is educative, no doubt, but nor factually true. When they reached the other bank of the river they saw to their amazement that, at the touch of the holy feet of Ráma, their boat had been transformed into gold. The astonished boatman exclaimed, “Good heavens, what an amazing thing. He must be an extraordinary person.” He ran home and narrated the astonishing incident to his wife who immediately grabbed as many things as she could carry – kitchen utensils and the like – and rushed to where Ráma was standing. She placed all the objects at his feet to convert them into gold. To carry all the wooden furniture to the boat, get it converted into gold and then carry it all back again was a Herculean task. Things become a lot heavier when they are converted into gold! So, the boatman’s wife had aches all over her body and pains in her back and hands, and soon the poor wife was no longer able to carry the load. But under the spell of greed she wanted to acquire more and more gold. People do their utmost to bind themselves with the worldly bondages and often fall prey to this greed instinct. So even though her back was badly aching she was unwilling to stop carrying the wooden furniture to get it converted into gold. This is just like the condition of gluttons at a feast who, even after eating so much that they are completely full, still manage to stuff one or two more pieces of rasagolla (Indian sweet) into their mouths. If ever such people get a chance to eat at others expense, they are ready to eat for days together. The boatman’s wife was suffering from a similar psychic ailment. Even though she was no longer able to carry the load, she was helplessly goaded on by greed.

The poet Rabindranath Tagore has said:

Jaráye áche bádha, cháráye jete cái
Cháráte gele byathá báje
Mukti cáhibáre tomár káche jái
Cáhite gele mari lage

[I am tied to so many bondages.
I want to get rid of them.
When I try to do so, those bondages affect me.
When I approach You with the prayer of liberation from those bondages,
I feel extremely ashamed.]

This can be said about all ordinary human beings. Then the boatman said to his wife, “Stop this folly! How much longer will you be able to carry the load! You’ll get deeper and deeper into difficulty. Your greed for gold will never end and you’ll probably die under its weight. You’ll never be able to satisfy your greed so stop this folly, stupid woman!” “Yes, may be I am stupid,” she replied, “but now I am helpless. There’s nothing I can do about it.” The boatman advised, “Instead of carrying all the loads of wood and gold, why don’t you simply carry those two feet which have such extraordinary qualities and at the touch of which everything gets converted into gold?” So she went up to Ráma and said, “Well, you’ll just have to come along with me.” At first, Ráma was unwilling to go, but due to her insistence, he finally agreed and sat down in the boat. Then, strangely enough, the boatman’s wife forgot her desire to get everything converted into gold and became totally absorbed in the thought of those two feet. Having attained the ultimate thing, why should she bother about the gold? Now she could get anything converted into gold whenever she wished.

The boatman’s wife said, “Ráma, please leave something with me as proof of your visit to my house.” So Rama gave her four delicious fruits. She asked what they were, where they were grown, what they signified, and what their names were. Lakśmańa told her the names of those four fruits. They were kama, artha, dharma and mokśa. Lakśmańa further said, “After attaining these two feet, one needn’t look for the four vargas, they will come to the recipient automatically. One need not worry about them.”

One who is a genuine devotee should not worry about all these things about the attainment of these Vargas. I have formulated PROUT to resolve the defects and discrepancies which exist in the mundane world. There was no necessity to think about the attainment of the Vargas in the past, nor is there in the present, nor will there be in the future. To prevent the possibility of future problems and inconsistencies arising I have formulated PROUT.

Then everyone said to Lakśmańa, “Your elder brother has given fruits, so you should give us at least one.” Lakśmańa replied, “What can a poor man like myself offer you? I only have one fruit which I will be happy to give you.” “What’s that fruit called?” they asked. Lakśmańa told them. “Unless and until you hold this fruit in your hand, you will never be able to attain the other four.” “Please tell us what it’s called,” they said impatiently. “Please give it to us so that we may attain the four others.” Lakśmańa said, “You know I’m a very poor man. The name of my fruit is devotion.”

Chapter 10	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

Human life has three strata, in other words, it functions in three spheres. The first one is the spiritual sphere, the second one is the psychic sphere and the third one is the crude physical sphere. While talking to someone this morning, I said that human beings remove the afflictions in the spiritual sphere by dint of their personal efforts; combined with that, there is also the blessing of great personalities and the grace of the Almighty Lord – Mahat krpayaeva Bhagavatkrpáleshádvá [“By the blessings of realized personalities and a wee bit of the divine grace”]. Human beings must make a sincere endeavour. Endeavour is a must; then the blessings or grace of the realized personalities, and only a wee bit of the omniscient grace, will be enough. Just a small bit of the Cosmic grace will suffice. A huge quantity is not at all required.

This is regarding the spiritual sphere. Human beings need not worry about it. They need not worry because the very existence of Parama Puruśa is meant for promoting the well-being of the jiivas [microcosms, living beings]. Had the question of the microcosmic well-being not existed, Parama Puruśa would have remained as a nirguńa [transcendental] entity. He would not have come down to the level of Saguńa Brahma or Táraka Brahma. That is to say, His main purpose is public welfare – the welfare of human beings. That is why He has declared:

Paritráńáya sádhúnáḿ vinásháya ca duśkrtám;
Dharmasaḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge.

[I incarnate Myself in this world from age to age for the protection of the virtuous, the destruction of the wicked, and the restoration of dharma.]

Now the question is: what is the necessity of the advent of Parama Puruśa onto this earth again and again? The answer is: He wants to bring about the welfare of human beings. “Human welfare” here means, primarily, welfare in the spiritual sphere, and secondarily, in the mental and physical spheres, as Parama Puruśa is a veritable embodiment of the supreme welfare of humanity. All created beings are His progeny. It is not possible that He would bring welfare only in the spiritual sphere and not in the psychic and physical spheres. In fact He will promote welfare in all three spheres of life.

Regarding the spiritual sphere it has been said: Mahat krpayaeva Bhagavatkrpáleshádvá. How much can human beings accomplish by their own efforts? Aghat́ana ghat́ana pat́iiyasii Máyá [“the dexterous hand of Máyá that can even create things impossible to create”] – how much can human beings by dint of their individual efforts fight against this all-powerful Máyá? That is why it is said that the blessings of realized personalities and just a wee bit of Cosmic grace are indispensable.

Mahat means a great personality, a highly-evolved personality. The blessings of such a person are immensely helpful, and together with this a small bit of the Cosmic grace is required. Not much is required, only a wee bit will be enough. In fact, this is what ensured the spiritual progress of individual human beings in the past, is also doing so at present, and will do so in the future, also.

And what about the psychic sphere? The reaping of consequences of original actions performed by a human being occurs mainly in the psychic sphere. And if a person attains the blessings of evolved beings and the Cosmic grace in that same psychic sphere, the problem is solved. Pain and misery is bound to come. Depending upon one’s inborn saḿskáras and the actions performed, tortures and afflictions are bound to be undergone – the expression of one’s own reactive momenta. Tortures and afflictions will not be as severely painful as before; with the blessing and grace, the psychic afflictions will be removed. Well, when there is pain and the pain is not felt as such, should it then be called pain? In this case, in the psychic sphere, one will remain in a state of bliss. Let the afflictions come. When the affliction and pain are not felt as such, one should not worry about it.

Then what about the physical sphere? It is true that in the physical sphere there is the utmost necessity of food, clothing, education, shelter, medical treatment, etc. Now what has Parama Puruśa done for jiivas? He has already scattered wealth in the world for human consumption. Enormous wealth has been distributed everywhere. He has also given human beings intellect for them to utilize, so that they can live collectively on this wealth. For mental peace, He has given people instructions to practise the science of spirituality. This will bring them spiritual emancipation and will remove their psychic afflictions. In fact, this is the Cosmic grace, the divine grace, that He has already showered on humanity. He has already proclaimed that He will bestow His grace on all human beings. That is why He has unequivocally declared: sambhavámi yuge yuge [“I incarnate myself in every age”]. So no one need be worried on this account.

Now the problem remains in the crude physical sphere. Regarding this sphere, people were instructed during the days of Lord Shiva and again during the days of Lord Krśńa to live and enjoy the [world’s] property collectively – Devábhágaḿ yathápúrve saḿjánáná upásate [“let us share our wealth without differentiation, like sages of the past, so that all may enjoy the universe”]. But unfortunately people have not done this, and as they have not done this, they have had to suffer various physical hardships, and are still suffering.

Now, in order to remove people’s sufferings in the physical sphere, common sense dictates that the wealth of the entire universe should be considered as common patrimony. The wealth is meant for all, so that all can live collectively. It is not proper that one person will snatch away the morsels of food from the mouths of others. So there has been a need to introduce a system where all human beings would distribute the entire wealth among the collective body in a collective way. Unfortunately, no great person ever did this in the past, nor did even Táraka Brahma do it. It was not done, therefore the problems and difficulties in collective life have continued. Because of these shortcomings, human life is full of pain and misery.

Now the time has come when this has got to stop. How can we allow such a thing to continue? When human beings are predominantly intellectual beings, why will such a major lacuna be allowed to perpetuate itself for days and months on end, for years and centuries together? Such a thing must not be allowed to continue. Yet the strange thing is that this lacuna in the physical sphere, and the consequent disparity, is the noumenal cause of all phenomenal troubles. Due to this noumenal cause, peace in the psychic sphere is being disturbed again and again.

With this end in view, with the sole purpose of removing physical misery and affliction, and keeping in view the higher goals of human life, the Prout⁽¹⁾ philosophy has been formulated. There was no alternative but to propagate the Prout philosophy. Had it not been done, maybe human sorrows and sufferings would have been perpetrated for centuries together. Mean opportunists would have continued their exploitation, taking advantage of the simplicity or intellectual deficiency of the innocent and credulous masses. This exploitation has been perpetrated mainly in three ways: oppression, suppression and exploitation. I have not mentioned repression, because repression is inseparably associated with exploitation.

Now, the point is that the entire population of the world has got to be saved from oppression, suppression and exploitation – by any means, fair or foul. What will then be the result? Human suffering in the physical sphere will be overcome. Of course there has never been lack of adjustment in the spiritual sphere, nor will there ever be. Human beings can rest content in this regard. Only in the psychic sphere will they have to acquire power. And for what? People will have to acquire psychic power in order to overcome the psychic affliction which is the result of past reactive momenta. That is to say, with the establishment of Prout, the problems in the physical sphere and in the spiritual sphere will have been solved. And what about the psychic sphere? Of course the requital of unserved saḿskáras will surely affect the mind, but it is also a fact that human beings will acquire enough strength to overcome the psychic afflictions.

Bearing this in mind, you should build a new human society at the earliest possible moment. Regarding those who are likely to create obstacles in your path – let them do so. You should remember that those who are the actual pioneers, the real vanguard of the society, are always a microscopic minority, but it is they who are destined to be victorious. Those who once opposed, or are now opposing or will oppose in the future, will in the future admit: “Yes, we are now driving our vehicle safely and comfortably along the very path which that vanguard once opened by clearing the jungle.” This means that those who cleared the obstacles in the beginning will later be recognized as pioneers. The funny thing is this, that people do not give recognition at the time it is due. This is the natural law. And at the same time you should also remember this simple truth: that in a jungle the number of tigers and lions is always few; the jackals far outnumber them. Yet in the jungle the tigers and lions reign supreme, not the jackals. The jackals are sure to howl, that is their nature; but the tigers and lions will not be frightened.

Footnotes

(1) Progressive Utilization Theory. See Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Idea and Ideology, 1959. –Trans.

The Five Fundamental Principles of Prout:

(1) No individual should be allowed to accumulate any physical wealth without the clear permission or approval of the collective body.
(2) There should be maximum utilization and rational distribution of all mundane, supramundane and spiritual potentialities of the universe.
(3) There should be maximum utilization of physical, metaphysical and spiritual potentialities of unit and collective bodies of human society.
(4) There should be a proper adjustment amongst these physical, metaphysical, mundane, supramundane and spiritual utilizations.
(5) The method of utilization should vary in accordance with changes in time, space and person, and the utilization should be of progressive nature.

–Eds.

Chapter 11	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

What is jiṋána? There are two types of jiṋána: mundane knowledge or Apará-jiṋána and spiritual knowledge or Pará-jiṋána. Mundane knowledge may be defined as the internal projection of the external physicality. And Pará-jiṋána or spiritual knowledge is the internal projection of the internal or cosmic spirituality. This is all jiṋána.

In a discussion about jiṋána we must also say something about “Smrti”⁽¹⁾ or memory.

It has been said “Anubhuta vishayá sampromoshah smrti”. Smrti is the capacity to recreate an image in the mind of something which has already been perceived.

Now what is the meaning of “Anubhava”? In Saḿskrta if the word “Ańu” is written with guttural “ńa” it means “tiny or molecule” and if it is written with dental “na”, it means “following” or “after” – such as “Anugata” which means “follower” – that is, “who is following”. So “Anubhava” (Bhu + Al = Bhava which means “to become” and “Anu” which means following) means “to become the same afterwards”.

Imagine you have just seen an elephant. The feeling in your mind will become “elephant-like”. This is your perception. You have experienced what an elephant is like. After seeing the elephant your mind becomes “elephant-like”. This “becoming” is “Bhava” - from which the word “Anubhava” comes. So by “anubhava” one’s mind becomes the same object which one has earlier seen. The mind may recreate or become that which was once heard. For example, suppose someone is singing the tune based on “Ashá vari” “Rága”. On hearing that rága, your mind will start dancing accordingly and you will feel the tune being sung in your mind.

Similarly imagine you eat some food and say “it’s too spicy”. What happens then? Your mind also become “very spicy”. We often say “I feel bitter about the way he behaved”. Good heavens, how can the mind be bitter? There are many bitter fruits and vegetables which can be eaten as food. But when such food is tasted the mind also becomes bitterish, and only then do you realize that such and such an item is “bitter” – you identify ucche – you identify karala. All these kitchen vegetables taste bitter.

So only observing is not perception or an experience. Any sensible object, when it is perceived in the mind, gets the same feeling as that of the object. In other words the mind becomes similar and identical to that object. Hence once the mind has become an object it can revive that same perception later by applying will-force, this is “Smrti” or memory. “Anubhuto Vishayá sampromoshah smrti”.

Now one whose mental power is weak, whose nerve-cells are feeble, who has little will-power, who cannot make his or her mind singularly pointed or concentrate sharply, has a short memory. He or she is unable to remember what has been seen or though after a lapse of time.

On the other hand some people can remember the pin-drop sound which they heard fifty years ago. They have kept that sound alive in their memory. But there is a difference between this memory and apara-jiṋána. Apará-jiṋána is the internal projection of external physicality – that is, the outside world gets projected in the mind. Now there is a basic difference between this Apará-jiṋána and memory. In memory we have only the feeling of the bitter taste. For example a man has heard the singing of a “Dhrupada” song and he at once perceived and built that Rága and the song of Dhrupada in his mind. This is called perception. But afterwards when he recreated an image of Dhrupada in his mind that became his memory. But that does not mean or prove that he “knew” or “understood” what a Dhrupada song is. Jiṋána is the knowledge or understanding of what Dhrupada actually is. So memory and jiṋána are not one and the same.

Now what is knowledge? This knowledge can be the internal projection of external physicality or the internal projection of internal (cosmic) spirituality. These are the two types of jiṋána. Now this projection can only be had when the sense of the object’s existence is still vividly alive in the mind. In other words when one has the full knowledge about a song, when and how is it sung, etc., that is called jiṋána. Once one has understood it one may recreate that Dhrupada song in the mind anytime at will, one has simply memorized it, it cannot be said that one has the full knowledge about the song Dhrupada.

So the difference between the two is vast, but dialectically speaking there is little difference. Now those who can easily recollect any perception they had in the past may be called “recollector of their memory” or Dhruvásmrti. For example every human should mentally ideate “Japakriya” 24 hours a day. Yet nobody does it, they always forget. This what normally happens. Imagine while cooking one says, “I’ll have to add salt to the curry” but no sooner has one uttered the words, “to add salt” one forgets to do so. So people are always forgetful. But those who have developed a memory capable of retaining information do not forget anything any more. That is, they always mentally remember God. Then what happens in that condition? They get their memory firmly implanted – firmly based in a solid foundation – and they never forget. And that condition of never forgetting anything, is called Dhruvásmrti. And memory then stands firm and sure. Then you have full control over your memory according to your wish. Such people are called Dhruvásmrti – they can always remember God and thus feel a special kind of Ánanda or bliss in their minds. That Ánanda is called Dharmameghánanda. In the sphere of jiṋána when people make their minds singularly pointed – when they reach the pinnacle of intellect then they can, at will, place and establish the mind on any particular point or vindu. What happens then? This outer world – the external physicality, the material existence comes under the purview of their memory. That is, whenever they wish they can recollect or evoke anything in their mind. So in that state of affairs the fun is that the whole world then becomes their special point or vindu for concentration and recollection by becoming one and the same with the singular minded individual. So if that individual wished to know some thing he or she will not need to go through any books and scriptures. By simply closing his or her eyes, he or she will be able to perceive what is written in what particular page of a book and in what library. People will think – “Oh God! What a learned person he or she is. Just see how much he or she has studied.” But actually he or she did not know anything, he or she did not learn anything. He or she only perceived the whole world in his or her mind and has kept the recollection of the universe alive in his or her memory, and he or she started recollecting things such as “this is that” or “that is that”. And the people will be wondering how clever that person is. No credit or bravado is there – the entire physical world. This is only possible when one can make an internal projection of internal spirituality. That is, when one attains God, one becomes omniscient. Brahmavid sarvavid átmavid brahmavid. So how can one acquire true knowledge? If you want to know all – know one. Then only everything will be known to you. People wish to know everything but the human cranium is small, and the brain even smaller. So how much can one know? Also whatever one learns today one forgets tomorrow. Yes, one who was a Mahámohapádháya, a pandit, would no longer be able to remember the “sabdarupa” of “Nara” if after leaving his or her original occupation he or she became engaged in agricultural work. This is the situation that usually happens. So the main thing is “know all – know one”. What is the use of reading and forgetting so many books? If one reads more books one will forget more things and make more mistakes. So what is the use? No permanent benefit is derived from being a book-worm. I encourage the general education – laokika education – so that people can understand the shallowness of laokika knowledge. So it has been said in the scripture.

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánaḿ jiṋánányanyáni yánitu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni sárasyanaeva bodhanát.

The word “knowledge” in old Latin is “Keno”. From the old Saḿskrta language the word has become “know” in modern English. Although the letter “k” is not pronounced in “know”, “knowledge”, etc. it is still kept because the root word was “keno”.

Excepting self-realization or Átma-jiṋána – all other knowledge is of no value. Every object has two types of shadow: the umbra and penumbra. Shadows are unsubstantiated knowledge – they are not real jiṋána. They are only the shadows of the things. By observing the shadows you cannot identify or recognize the original object. You cannot distinguish between a Bakul tree or a Lichu tree by observing its shadow. To identify two trees you will have to observe and examine their leaves, and not their shadows. Similarly all mundane knowledge is only a shadow it will not help you recognize the real thing.

Hence the more quickly people understand the real truth the better. And until they realize that real truth they should be content for the time being with apará jiṋána or mundane knowledge.

Footnotes

(1) In the Bengali language it is pronounced as “Srti”. Why is “Smrti” pronounced as “Srti” in Bengali? So “Smrti” ought to be pronounced as “Srti”. There is a rule in Bengali language that when “ma”, “ba”, or “ya” is suffixed to any other consonant then the latter’s pronunciation will be doubled – “ma”, “ba”, “ya” won’t be pronounced. That is if “Ma” is added to the letter “Da”, then it should be pronounced as “Dda” and not “Dma”. For example, “Padma” would be pronounced as “Padda” and not as “Padma”. The system in Bengali pronunciation is like this. So it should be “Srti” and not “Smrti”.

Chapter 12	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

Those following the path of sádhaná márga are familiar with two words: “Nityánanda” and “Liilánanda”. When Parama Puruśa remains engrossed in Himself – the ánanda or bliss that He feels is called “Nityananda”. “Nitya” means “eternal”. For Him external bliss is meaningless, as everything is lying within Himself. When He plays with His created beings: plays the game of joy and sorrow, that is called His Liilánanda. What else can the game be called? It is like a drama. In a drama some of the characters weep, some laugh and some are impassive. Who is the witnessing entity of all these actions? The spotlight which lights up the players on the stage is the witnessing entity. Parama Puruśa is also like that. He is just like the spotlight casting light on the stage. He is witnessing everything. After the performance, the stage empties and the actors and actresses, the male or female singers, can no longer be seen on the stage. What does the light witness then? It observes that there is no-one on the stage. The light always acts as a witness and in this case witnesses that there is no-one on the stage. Seeing nobody on the stage is also an observation.

Before Parama Puruśa created this universe – what did He see and observe? He saw no-one – He found nobody. And after the creation of the universe what did He do with His created beings? He started playing the game of joy and sorrow with them just as in a drama. To Him it is nothing but a drama of joy and sorrow. And if the actors in that drama think: “I am merely playing a part,” “I am only acting” they will never be disturbed by undue pain or pleasure. Those who play the role of Sah jahan shout, jump or try to escape from prison. But the persons playing the part of Sájáhán know very well that they are only acting in a drama. They know that after having played their role they will go home and eat rice and curry. But on this universal stage, however, those people, those jiivas, who act in the drama, forget that they are mere actors, that their real home is elsewhere, that this universe is only a stage – a platform and that they will go home and eat rice and curry. While taking part in the drama they think that they are actually the characters of the drama – the real Sájáhán. And as a result they either suffer from too much pain or enjoy too much pleasure. Sometimes out of too much joy they lose their equilibrium – their common sense. In Bengali parlance it is said that when people are puffed up with pride they spurn the world. But why does this happen? It happens because the jiivas forget they are playing a role, acting in a drama. In a drama some play a tragic role – others a joyful role. If those who are sádhakas are constantly aware that they are merely playing a role as an actor, they will never be overcome by sorrow or overwhelmed with joy.

Before the creation of this universe, Parama Puruśa was in His Nityánanda stance – He was enjoying Himself. He was overwhelmed with His own ánanda. After the creation of the universe, He had His Nityánanda and also His Liilánanda. To play with lesser jiivas is His Liilánanda. Now the jiṋániis and the karmiis will declare – “Oh, what a terrible game, what a terrible liilánanda our Parama Puruśa is playing with us: He enjoys His liilánanda but we can hardly tolerate it any more. We have to earn a living and buy a house – there are so many problems to face in life. Yet He is playing His game of joy and sorrow with us.”

But the bhaktas (devotees) do not entertain such sentiments. They declare that Parama Puruśa is playing the game with the parts of His own body. He enjoys playing with His own limbs, with His hands and legs. What else is to be said about that? Nobody has any ground to pass any opinion. The jiivas are not entities which roam outside His domain but are a part and parcel of Parama Puruśa Himself. The jiivas are His fingers, His hands and His legs. Hence nobody has any right to criticize. And you poor people, if while acting this drama you take it for real, should the dramatist be held responsible? No, the fault is yours. These are the comments of the bhaktas in this regard.

I have already told that the bhaktas realize that Parama Puruśa did not create this universe just to torture or inflict pain upon any body. He has been playing with Himself. Previously in the beginning, when He was alone, He was not amused. Who likes to stay alone in this creation? So He divided Himself into many tiny parts and started playing His liila with those parts. So nobody has anything to say in this regard.

Savá eśa tadá draśtá na pashydrśtmekarát.
Me ne santanivátmánám suptashakti rasuptadrk.

“My Parama Puruśa had the power of observation. He had the hearing capacity and the power to speak. But there was no jiiva to observe, no one’s reports to listen to, and nobody to whom the effect and cause could be explained. There was no need to ascertain the fundamentals of truth because there was no second entity, there was nobody except Him. There was nobody to converse with”.

Na kartrttvam na karmáni lokashya sryate prabhu,
Na karmaphalah saḿyoga svabhávastvát prjáyate.

There was nobody so what was the use of saying “Why have you done this? Don’t you deserve punishment my boy; you must be punished”. It was pointless to say such things because there was no-one to listen.

I have already said that Parama Puruśa wanted to talk to people but there was no one present with whom to establish a relationship there. The bhaktas say that to be alone is a very harrowing experience. So in order to save Himself from the boredom of being alone, Parama Puruśa divided His one self into many selves and then started enjoying His Liilánanda. One who comes from Parama Puruśa stays in Him and returns back to Him. The Vedas said:

Anandaddhyeva khalvimáni bhutáni jáyante
Ánandena játáni jiivanti,
Ánandam prayantabhisam vishanti vá.

[“Out of Anandam or Supreme Bliss, this universe of created beings has emerged. They are living the midst of Anandam. And finally they will merge again in Supreme Bliss.”]

Therefore the source of every existence is Ánanda or bliss. Everything originates from nityánanda, remains in liilánanda and eventually returns back to nityánanda. The jiivas say, the bhaktas say, “I exist, my God exists”. The liilá that God plays with us gives us supreme bliss. But the monists say, “No, Brahma is true and this universe is false. Parama Puruśa is the only truth and everything else is false. The jiivas and the entire universe are false”. My goodness. If everything is false who is identifying and establishing the fact that only Parama Puruśa is truth? For to know the truth another true entity should be present who can declare “Yes, I know my Parama Puruśa exists.” So the learned monists will never attain peace of mind in their lives because philosophically their argument has not been substantiated. How will the monist enjoy joy or Ánanda? The bhakta says “No, no, monism does not stand on logic because in that doctrine there is no trace of Ánanda – no feeling of bliss can be perceived. There is no sustaining effort to acquire Ánanda.” So the theory of monism is nothing but [[an intellectual extravaganza of the jiṋániis]].

Vák vaekhari sabdájhari shástravyákhyána kaoshalam,
Vaeduśyám vidusám tadvat bhuktaye na tu muktaye.

“By giving pedantic lectures the learned people (jiṋániis) derive a kind of strange pleasure but salvation cannot be achieved in that way.”

Such theorizing is hollow. Besides, this Vedantic monism only accepts the existence of Parama Puruśa and nobody else, not even Paramá Prakrti or “Máya”. So if that is true then who is that entity who tells us that “There is no other being”. For a second entity must exist to make such a declaration. Is it not true? That is, there must be someone else there to declare “Parama Puruśa exists”. So from the logical point of view the conclusion and argument of the monists is unacceptable.

And those who are real bhaktas desire that at the end they will merge with Parama Puruśa and become one with Him. These bhaktas also know that while moving towards Him they enjoy the bliss after attaining Him – that Ánanda which he or she is enjoying that feeling of Ánanda is also His Liilánanda. By attaining God what ánanda one feels – it is also Liilánanda. Some people often say:

Cini hate cái ná re man,
Cini khete bhálobási.

[I want not to be the sugar
For sugar I love only to taste.]

“If I become sugar myself, if I merge with Brahma then I would never have the pleasure of tasting sugar any more. So I do not want to be one with Him. I want to stay separate”. This type of idea is also undesirable. Because so long as one is merging with Brahma, one remains in the Causal (I stance) or (I exist) stance. Parama Puruśa is there and from Him one derives both joy and sorrow, because jiiva comes from Ánanda and stays also in Ánanda. The poet has said:

Sab devatár árádhya dhan
Nityakáler tui purátan
Tui prabháter álor sama bayashi.
Tui asiimer utsya hate
Esechis Ánandasrote
Nutan haye ámár buke bilsi.

“Esechis Ánandasrote” [“One has merged out of the flow of Ánanda”]. So one who gets merged as one with Parama Puruśa can there be then any paucity of Ánanda for oneself? So long as one remained separated from God, one also enjoyed Liilánanda. But as soon as the sádhaka merged with Brahma he or she also shares His Nityánanda stance with Him. So there is no chance of any loss from any direction for the sádhakas.

Hence it should be kept in mind that this Liilánanda, which perhaps God first thought of and created for His own enjoyment, is also being shared by the jiiva. The jiiva is a partner in the enjoyment of that Ánanda. God does not deprive the jiiva from enjoying that Ánanda. Krśńadás Kavirá has said: -

Gogi darashane Krśńer ye ánanda hai,
Tadápeksá kotiguńa Gopi ásváday.

That is, when the jiivas come nearer to Parama Puruśa it of course causes immense bliss to Him – which is called Liilánanda. But the volume of bliss of the jiiva is a billion times greater than what Parama Puruśa enjoys out of that Liilánanda. That is why people should devote themselves to sádhaná. As long as one remains a sádhaka one enjoys and stays in Liilánanda. And when he or she has become successful and merges with God, he or she stays in Nityánanda. So one always gains never loses.

The closer one moves towards Parama Puruśa the more one is freed of one’s sins and thus the purer one becomes. The nearer one moves towards God, the more sins get burnt. Those who think they are “sinners” have doubts about their attaining Parama Puruśa. But such thoughts are totally meaningless, unnecessary and foolish and should never be entertained. Once I told you that no one should be worried about sin or committing sinful deeds. I have also told you that I never consider “mental sins” as “sin”, although it is a fact that mind’s sinful thoughts may ultimately take shape as sinful deeds. But so long as the sinful thought is not expressed externally it is neither condemnable nor punishable and should not be called a sin as the person concerned did not cause any harm to the world or any or its people. Only that action which harms others is wrong and should be punished. Here I want to tell you all very clearly that if under any circumstances any such sinful thoughts every enter your mental sphere and have not yet transformed themselves into physical action you should immediately start singing kiirtana at the top of your voice.

I have made a rhyme:

Bábá nám kevalam yata páp hare
Pápiider sádhya nei tata páp kare.

[The repetition of Bábá nám kevalam even once kills so many sins that the worst sinners could not accumulate them.]

Chapter 13	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

Wherever there is any effort to achieve anything in the physical, psychic or spiritual spheres, one does not succeed easily. That is to say the path of fulfilment, the path of forward movement, is not always a smooth one. In this respect three basic points should be remembered very carefully. The first one is the qualification, that is, the minimum qualification that a sádhaka should possess. According to the definition given by Lord Shiva a sádhaka must possess a human structure, that is he or she must be a human being. This is the minimum qualification of a sádhaka.

The second point is that to succeed in the path of sádhaná márga seven secret codes must be learnt and mastered. What are these seven codes of success? This question was asked by Shiva’s wife Parvati. Shiva replied:

Phaliśyatiiti vishvása siddherprathama lakśańam,
Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktam trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam.
Caturtho samatábhávo paiṋcamendriya nigrahah
Saśthaiṋca pramitáháro saptamam naeva vidyate.

At Patna, I discussed this matter in detail. You may go through my discourse.

Now what is the effective way to perform an action (karma)? You all know that even if one has fixed one’s goal, even if one’s goal has been predetermined, one may fail to attain it if one does not follow the correct procedure. It has been said that this procedure, this method should be based on “Prańipátena, pariprashnena and sevaya”. That is to say, in order to succeed in the field of karma, one should be fully conversant with prańipátena, pariprashnena and sevayá.

What is the meaning of “prańipáta?” The word “prańipáta”; is derived from the Saḿskrta prefix “Pra” + “ni” + “pat” + “ghaiṋ” prań – ni – pat + ghaiṋ. Prańipáta means “total surrender”. But where should one surrender? At the altar of one’s goal. The Sádhaka should surrender totally and selflessly at the base of that altar. And to whom should one surrender? One is to surrender to the supreme goal of one’s life, to the highest point of one’s supreme stance.

The second factor is “pariprashnena”. People generally ask questions to improve one’s intellectual knowledge. Sometimes questions are asked simply to test someone’s depth of learning. Again having ascertained something, sometimes questions are being asked in order to perform the karma rightly and properly. Here the meaning of “Pariprasna” means those questions whose answers one will execute in one’s daily life. Questions are asked to obtain correct guidance so that one may march ahead and act accordingly.

The third point is “sevayá”. “Seva” means rendering selfless service. To whom is this “Seva” to be offered? It is to be offered to the oppressed classes ascribing the idea of Náráyańa or Brahma on them. “By rendering this sevá or service, I am doing nothing extraordinary. Rather I feel grateful to the needy person for having given me the opportunity to serve.” This is how one should feel while serving. Hence everyone should be conscious of the actional side of life in order to be successful. This actional side is nothing but to serve according to the direction of the main rules of “service” inherent in “Prańipát, Pariprashna and Sevá.”

Chapter 14	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

One of the names of Parama Puruśa is “Jagata-bandhu”. Why is He called Jagatabandhu? In the Saḿskrta language the word “jagata” has been derived from the root word “gam”. “Gam” means to go, to move. “Jagata” means that which is moving or going, that is, “jagata” has motion inherent in its nature. “To go” or “to move” is the main [[aspect]] of the matter. Everything in this universe is in motion. Nothing is stationary. Even the Pole Star (Dhruvatárá) is not static. Everything is circling around, and that is why the universe is known as “jagata”. And Parama Puruśa is the bandhu (friend) of this jagata.

What is the meaning of “bandhu”? In Saḿskrta, the meaning of the word “bandhu” is “to bind”. Bandhu indicates that person or entity who cannot stand separation. Parama Puruśa or Saguńa Brahma is closely and intimately connected with this expressed world, or jagata. He is pervasively connected with every individual entity, be it a living being or a crude object. He is also linked through and through with the universe as a whole. In other words, He is indissolubly and inextricably involved (ota prota) with everything. Therefore, He is the only bandhu of this universe. The rest of your bandhus in the physical world are not your eternal friends. Though they are with you now, a day will soon come when they will go away; they will be separated from you. When you depart from this world, these friends will accompany or carry your dead body. But how far will they accompany you? They will accompany your body up to the cremation ground or the burning ghat. Having gone so far, at the most they will return to their own dwelling places. So they are not your real bandhu. There is a shloka in Saḿskrta:

Atyágasahano bandhu sadaevánumatah suhrd;
Eka kryaḿ bhavenmitraḿ samapráńáh sakhásmrtah.

He who loves [[so much that]] he can never sustain the grief of separation, is known as “bandhu”. In this sense, nobody can have any bandhu in this world. Only that Jagatabandhu – that Parama Puruśa – can be your bandhu. No one else is your bandhu. Only He is your real friend.

“Sadaevánumatah suhrd.” The meaning of this is that where there is no difference of opinion – where there is no conflict of ideas and ideals with a particular person – that person is called “suhrd”. In this world you also cannot have any suhrd, for differences of opinion will always arise, even within the family among brother and sister, among father and mother, and among husband and wife. So neither in the family nor in society will you find a suhrd.

“Eka kryaḿ bhavenmitram.” One who is engaged in the same line or profession with others, such a person is known in Saḿskrta as “mitram”; the English synonym is “colleague”. In this world you will find so many colleagues. Two physicians are mitram, that is, they are colleagues; so are two lawyers. But these colleagues will remain associated with you only as long as you are physically alive and exist in the world. When you die – discard your body – when your psychic entity and your body separate – then all those colleagues will no longer be with you to give you company. Only as long as your mind remains within your body structure will they remain with you. So, while you may have some colleagues or mitram in this world, they are not your eternal friends.

In Saḿskrta, when the word “mitram” is used in neuter gender the meaning of the word is “colleague”, and where it is used in the masculine sense the meaning is “the sun”.

“Samapráńáh sakhá smrtah”. Where love and devotion are so overwhelming that it appears as if there is only one entity in two bodies, such a pair of persons is known as “sakhá”. The bhakta, the devotee, is the sakhá of Parama Puruśa, because the bhakta can never think of him or herself as a separate entity from Him. Here he or she altogether forgets that he or she is separated from God. That is why Parama Puruśa is also a sakhá to His bhaktas and the bhakta is the sakhá of Parama Puruśa. For that reason Arjuna addressed Krśńa as his sakhá in the Giitá, and Lord Krśńa, too, addressed Arjuna as His sakhá.

You should also know – you should remember this truth – that the only well-wisher that you have in this universe, the only mitram, the only sakhá, is Parama Puruśa, or that Infinite Entity. So it is your duty to strengthen the hand of your only bandhu in every sphere of your life.

Chapter 15	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

From very ancient times, human beings slowly started to realize that behind whatever they know and whatever they obtain behind every action – there is a very powerful force working as the cause. From then on human beings started to nurse a desire to reach or master that great force. Through this craving, this longing to know and to obtain – out of this hankering – the dharmabuddhi (intellect of dharma) of human beings has grown and developed in their minds. It can be said that form that very day that this dharmabuddhi arose in their minds, human beings became truly human. Before that the condition of humans was the same as that of other animals and birds. In those days the human intellect was not as widely developed as it is today. Rather than striving to attain the Supreme Goal, humans directed their thought and endeavour towards winning and realizing various objectives from that Supreme Being: “Give me this”, “Destroy my enemies”, etc.

“Make me handsome, give me victory, shower me with honours, give me this, give me that, kill my enemy” – these were people’s dharmacakra (practice of dharma) from prehistoric times. Thereafter humans came to understand and asked the question: “Whatever I am longing for – is that my real necessity? Do I fully understand what I really need? Do I know more than that entity who is a thousand times more intelligent than me – and is my dearest bandhu?”

What is the capacity of the human brain? And how much of that capacity has been within human grasp? And humanity’s Iśt́a – not only their Iśt́a, but the One who is also the source of everything, from whom humans have emerged and to whom they will one day return – is not His shakti. His intellect is more powerful than humanity’s? Parama Puruśa is witnessing everything; He keeps a sharp watch and will keep everything under His observation constantly. “What more could I ask from Him? What I actually need He knows better than me.”

A two- or three-month-old boy does not know what his actual needs are. His mother knows best, knows everything. The child only cries and reminds his mother to do her duty. What is the duty of his mother? The child does not know. But he wants his mother to attend to her duties. The child only feels discomfiture – discontent. He feels something is required by him. Then his mother comes rushing to him and examines him. She observes that her child has caught a chill. Quickly the mother wraps him up in a quilt and the child stops crying. Or she observes that the child is hungry and needs milk. And he is given milk. For all of these, the child need only remind the mother by crying once; that is all.

Parama Puruśa is the Father of this universe. He understands perfectly the needs of all. Even when one does not cry to Him, He will attend to His job. It is only for the satisfaction of one’s own mind that one reminds him by crying a bit, there is nothing else in the matter. Humans have come with their limited capacity to stay in this world. If due to their ego and pride, they think that they have enough intellect, that they are powerful, then they will certainly commit a blunder, for in that case Parama Puruśa may think, “If you are such a capable person, if you have that much intellect, then why not attend to your own affairs and manage them by yourself?”

A man gave his word to somebody: “Yes, you may come tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. I am a man of my word. Please do come at 8 o’clock.” But then he expired at seven o’clock; so eight o’clock never came in his life again. So a clever person should say, “God willing, if Parama Puruśa so wishes, then I will meet you at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.” If one says it in this way, then at least he or she stays true to his or her word. And if a person finds it difficult to utter such things then one may utter those words silently in one’s mind. “Yes come tomorrow at eight o’clock if God so wishes.” Have you not heard of “soliloquy” – as in the theatre and in drama? So the capacity of human beings is too small, too meagre. And Parama Puruśa is:

Sahasrashiirśá Puruśah sahasrákśah sahasrapát;
Sa bhúmiḿ vishvato vrtvá’tyatiśt́haddasháuṋgulam.

Puruśa evedaḿ sarvaḿ yadbhútaḿ yacca bhavyam;
Utámrtatvasyesháno yadannenátirohati.⁽¹⁾

What is the nature of Parama Puruśa? You should know that in laokika Saḿskrta the word “sahasra” means a thousand. “Házára” is a Persian word but in vaedika Saḿskrta “sahasra” means endless, innumerable, that which cannot be counted. In the early age human beings were not proficient in counting figures above a thousand. They understood “sahasra” to mean too many, countless or innumerable. For example, to some of the original tribes, the figure 20 was the highest digit. Why? Because people used to show one finger to count “one”, then used two fingers to indicate “two”, a hand for showing five denoted the digit “five”, which is pánjá or paiṋca; in the Persian language “páiṋjá” means five. And what did they do when the figure was ten? They would show both hands. To denote fifteen, two hands and a foot were shown. And twenty means both hands and both feet, that is, the whole body. In the Austric language, the word “kud” means the whole of a human being; thus, “kuri” means the entire body of a person also. The Bengali word “vish” is derived from the Saḿskrta word “Viḿsah”. The word “kuri” is from a non-Aryan dialect – a pure Bengali wording. Even now among some lesser-developed groups of people traders will count “one kuri, two kuri” when buying and selling. Similarly, in the old age people used to take the meaning of “sahasra” as countless or innumerable. So, what does “Sahasra shriśáh puruśa” mean? It means that Parama Puruśa has innumerable brains, not one or two or a few. He has innumerable brains. On the other hand, humans have only one small brain in a small cranium. Yet people boast, “I am this. I am that, I am such a vastly learned fellow – a pandit.” The clever ones never boast; they think themselves so only in their minds. But those who are a bit foolish, they boast out loud; they declare that they are pandits.

“Saharsa shrśáh puruśah.” That means, “Pure sheteyah sah puruśah” or, “Purashi shete yah puruśah”. That is, Parama Puruśa is lying in front of you. Here “lying down” means He is doing something. What is He doing? He is watching what you are engaged in. What your are doing He is only witnessing – He Himself is not engaged in anything. When the time comes He will say His piece. So this is “Sahasra shrśáh puruśah.” He possesses innumerable brains. What can you achieve with your one brain? The time is running out; you should say to Him, “You have so many brains. O Lord; so please think of me. What can I do with my single brain?” It is as if one is reminding Him by shedding tears.

“Saharsa shrsá puruśah sahasrákśa sahasrapád”. Parama Puruśa has countless eyes. What can a person see with one pair of eyes? Such a person cannot see far enough. But Parama Puruśa has innumerable eyes: He is sahasrákśa. He is witnessing everything. There is no scope to conceal anything from Him. Why? Because He is watching everything. This jagata has been emerging from His thought-wave. Therefore all the created beings – all the created objects – are floating in His thought or moving out from Him in his thought-flow. His orbit is surrounded by so many waves of so many lengths, so many vibrations and vibrational expressions. So there remains nothing to conceal. Concealing is not at all possible. If Parama Puruśa desires not to witness or hear anything, He will be unable to do it. If people do not want to see anything through their crude eyes they can simply shut their eyes. But the images in the mental eyes will remain in the mind and flutter. So to try not to see anything will do no good in this case for the mental eyes have no eyelids that you can shut as you wish.

“Sahasrapáda”. Countless legs. Suppose I have to go to Patna. I have to think and plan the trip – how shall I go? When shall I start from home? When shall I reach there? And so on. And there is so much paraphernalia. From Dhaka comes the news that no, nothing can be arranged; so, other arrangements for passport, visa, train or plane fare, etc., may have to be made. All this because you have legs at Calcutta only. If you want to reach Tejgaon (in Bangladesh) you shall have to cover a certain distance in between – a considerable distance between two points. But for those who have one of their legs at Dumdum and the other at Tejgaon there is no separate need for them to go to Dhaka from Calcutta; the inhabitants of Dhaka will declare that they are in Dhaka because they have one leg in Dhaka, while the people in Calcutta will say they are in Calcutta. “Sahasrapáda” means countless legs. Hence, for Him there is no question of travelling from one place to another.

Apánipádo yavano grahitá pashyatyacakśuh sa shrnotyakarńah,
Sá vetti vedyaḿ na ca tasyásti vettá tamáhuragryaḿ puruśa mahántam.

“Páńi” means that front side of the hand called the palm in English. The pronunciation for [[“ńa”]] of “viińápáńi” is [[cerebral]]. In Bengali it is being wrongly pronounced. Apánipáda means no hands – no palms. If one offers something to you in reverence you accept by stretching your hand. But that Entity who does not possess any hand or palm or leg, yet is always roaming everywhere, stretches out no hand – yet He accepts. He is the receiver of everything. “Pashatyacakśuh” means what is known as laokika cakśu – laokik eyes, the crude eyes. He does not possess that kind of eyes. Yet He is watching everything. He witnesses everything through His mental eyes. His inner eyes. He can do so because all dwell in His mind. He does not have any need for laokik eyes.

Similarly, He hears through His inner ears all that people have been thinking and contemplating in their minds. What is the mental thought-wave? When people think, what is that “thinking”? “Cintá” or thinking is nothing but conversing mentally. Just think and see, you will observe that you are mentally talking to yourself. “I will go to the house of my maternal uncle”; “I will tell something to my cousin”. When you are thinking such things you will observe that you are talking mentally to yourself. And the One who is sitting in the inner core of your mind has heard all these mental conversations of yours.

“Sa shrnotya karńah”. With the help of one’s crude ears one cannot hear anything; at best only nearby sounds can be heard. “Sa vetti vedyaḿ na ca tasyásti vettá.” He knows everything but there is no second entity to know Him because He is not in your mind – you are in His mind. So how will you know Him? He is called Agra Puruśa or Parama Puruśa. “Sahasrapáda” means He is everywhere. Everything is sheltered in His mind. Suppose you are thinking about Tarakeshvara. You will find that the temple of Tarakeshvara and the Tarakeshvara railway station are both in your mind. Neither is outside. Similarly nothing is outside of His mind. Hence, He is everywhere.

Sa bhúmiḿ vishvato vrtvá’tyatiśt́haddasháuṋgulam.

He is everywhere; He is present in every object. But is that enough? Does it close the chapter? Is He not more? Yes, He is more than that. For this crude, this created world, is also sheltered in Him because He is the causal entity of this created world. This created world was not manifested in a day. It has a cause behind it; it has its causal form. And He knows that causal form.

Suppose you want to make an earthen toy – a doll. Before molding you will arrange for clay, you will obtain dyes and colours. You will have to secure all that is necessary in order to make a doll. So that idea, that conception of the earthen doll first blossomed in you. The doll was also there in the form of clay – in those materials from which the doll took its shape and form. In other words, there is a causal factor for everything, and that causal factor is the effect factor of the previous causal form. Everything we observe in the practical world, in this crude world, is a “cause/effect” factor. The “actional” factor is the effect and the causal entity is the form which acts behind the effect. That is due to that cause, an action is being performed – like the seed, the tree and its fruit. Therefore, if we trace back by the cause and effect formula we will find the causal factor at every end. And if we go further back we discover that causal factor again. If we try to find the causal factor behind “A”, we find its parent, “B”. Behind “B” we will find “C” as “B’s” parent. That is, if we proceed toward the cause, we discover that the cause is an “action” too, having a “cause” behind it. So what is the causal factor of this created universe? If we trace back, we find a causal factor behind every action. The causal factor of luci (puffed, paper-thin bread) is flour. And the causal factor of flour is wheat. Wheat has its plant as its causal factor and the causal factor of the plant is the soil. Similarly, if we retrace our steps we will find that whatever is there, Parama Puruśa is the causal factor. That is, under no circumstances can you escape from His presence. Wherever you go you find you are caught. That day I told you that the poet Rabindranath in one of his songs said:

Vishvajoŕá pháṋd petecha, kemane di-i pháṋki
Ádhek dhará paŕechi go, ádhek áche báki.

[You have set a world-wide trap, how can I evade it?
Half of me is already trapped, half still remains.]

I would say, no, you have not been half-[[trapped]]. You have been trapped fully and squarely.

“Sa bhúmirvishvato vrttvá atyatiśt́hadasháuṋgulam.” Beyond the reach of the causal factor, there is also a world of ideas – a causal world – all of which is also sheltered in Him. That is why He has been described, “Atyatiśt́ha dasháungulam.” The ájiṋá cakra or pituitary gland controls the mind – the conscious and sub-conscious mind directly and the unconscious mind indirectly; it is the seat of the mind, the place where the mind dwells. But above that factor there is a causal factor. From where has the mind emerged? It emerged from átma tattva. Here also He is present and that form of Parama Puruśa is called “atyatiśt́ha dasháungulam”. In other words, He is present just ten fingers above the psychic world. That means He is present in the átmika jagata too.

What is the sahasrára cakra? Sahasrára cakra is the place or point where Átma and Paramátma both reside. It is situated ten fingers above the pineal gland. That is why it has been called “atyatiśt́ha dasháungulam”. In other words, ten fingers above the pineal gland He is present – He has His abode. That is, in both paramatattva and átmika jagata, He is present. Nobody remains outside of Him.

From the hoary past, humans have been moving forward step by step to attain Him, and in so doing they have reached this advanced age of today. For most of that time people pursued the path of jiṋána and the path of karma. Finally, when the advancement of intellect and wisdom reached their supreme height, humans saw that jiṋána is nothing but a product of the brain and karma originates from the hands and feet. How much shakti can a person have to pursue such a path? If people exert their brain with too much thinking they become bewildered. At the time of examinations many students’ heads spin. So this is the capacity of humans. And if by chance one comes out successful in the examination, he or she wants and earns a rest – and relaxes or goes to a cinema show. And to, what has been learned, is forgotten within a day or two. What students have laboured for three months to master is altogether forgotten within two days after the examination is over. Such things are natural. So how far can jiṋána and karma take one? But what does the bhakta say? He or she declares, “No, I have no worry. For I am moving towards You. You pull me up and I shall run.”

Chot́e ye jan báṋshiir t́áne,
Se ki tákáy pather páne?

[Those who run after the flute, do they watch the path?]

They run after the sweet music of the flute. They do not suffer from any individual ego. They have their devotion as the best course to follow. They pursue the path of bhakti. The greatest man of wisdom and jiṋána who ever took birth in India that great Shankaracharya who was acclaimed and worshipped as Bhagaván – also admitted in clear-cut language about 1300 years ago:

Mokśakárańa samagryám bhaktireva gariyasaii.

Of all the avenues there are to attain salvation, the path of bhakti is the best. And people reaching the highest peaks of intellect and wisdom have discovered this ultimate truth. Prior to that they failed to do so. That is why I said in a general darshan in Bombay that the jiṋána márgiis of this world are class three people in their intelligence and wisdom. And the karma márgiis are the second class people. And those who are bhakti márgiis – they are the superior type of people with respect to intelligence and wisdom, because they are the very people who are utilizing their short lifespan fully and properly.

Footnotes

(1) Rgveda Puruśasúktam. –Trans.

Chapter 16	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

Some time ago I said something about memory, cerebral memory and non-cerebral memory in Ranchi.

Human beings can remember many things in their lives, but they also forget many things. They study and learn, and what they learn today they forget tomorrow. Many people, however, remember things from their past lives. They can remember a few particular episodes – not of this life but of their past life. They see them like dreams, though they are unaware that these episodes are known to them. But they remember them.

Such memories are called non-cerebral memories. Once I demonstrated in Ranchi what a man observes when his mind is taken back fifty, one hundred or five hundred years.

Actually, what is this non-cerebral memory? In general terms, memory can be explained in this way. What you store in your brain through the medium of the nerve cells is your cerebral memory. But in the case of non-cerebral memory your nerve cells will not come forward to assist you. They cannot help you because no memory of your past episodes remains stored in your present nerve cells to enable you to remember them. Along with the rest of your previous bodies, those nerve cells got burnt to ashes when the bodies died. What people learn or observe in their present life remains stored in the present nerve cells of their brain as memory. That is, the episodes of their previous lives are not stored in their present nerve cells because the nerve cells of their previous bodies got burnt to ashes along with the bodies of their previous lives. So how will one remember them? How can the memories be recollected by the mind?

When people expire, the saḿskáras or reactive momenta of their previous life accompany their spirit, soul or átmá. What are these reactive momenta? They are nothing but the unfulfilled consequences of one’s karma or actions performed in the previous life. That is, actions were performed but they did not bear any fruit. The unfulfilled potential of the past actions lay resting along with the mind in the form of a seed of possibilities. That seed of possibilities (that is, the unrealized consequences of the actions which were performed but bore no fruit) takes a shelter or base in the next life which is most suitable for materializing these possibilities. The saḿskáras seek out and get the kind of body and nerve cells which best serves their expression.

In those instances in the previous life where actions were performed but the results were not achieved – where actions were performed but they did not bear any fruit – saḿskáras or reactive momenta remain with which the individual is personally involved. That is, in the previous life both the person and their mind were deeply involved with these actions. The unexpressed tendency of those particular episodes in which the mind was deeply involved will remain restive in them. Having this tendency by birth, those episodes are still remembered in their mind, but in some cases the tendency remains stored in an indistinct and unclear form.

For example, when one is sitting alone, suddenly a strange imagination may start playing in the mind. One may feel, “I was the owner of that plot of land. I used to cultivate it.” How does this occur? It is because the saḿskáras of the previous life were involved, which is why one can suddenly remember the episode. However, in this case one does not realize that one has remembered an episode of one’s previous birth. Such things occur in the lives of everybody. But in some people, a true picture of exactly what had happened in their previous birth remains vividly clear in the mind. Such things only happen in three types of cases: first, in those who have a very well-developed personality; secondly, in those who have commanded their own death or who have died with full consciousness; and thirdly, in those who died through accidents. In these three cases, the episodes of the previous life remain visible and clear in the mind.

Generally, such a memory does not last long. A part of it remains vividly clear up to the age of twelve or thirteen years, but after that age it gradually recedes into oblivion. This is because, if one remembers it all the time, one will develop a dual personality. Suppose in this birth a boy has the name Ramkumar and in his previous life he was known as Harihara, the same person will have two personalities. This is the situation.

Those who do remember their past lives up to the age of twelve or thirteen years are called játismara in Sanskrit. If one can concentrate the mind and transform it into a point, then one can recollect everything. One can remember every word of one’s previous birth in one’s next life provided that one’s reactive momenta remain unfulfilled. But I will never advise any sádhaka or spiritual aspirant to try to become a játismara. What is the use of recollecting the history of your past life? Try to learn only about the future.

What is this future? What should be the future? You should become one with Parama Puruśa by merging into Him. Then everything will be known and revealed to you. Unite with Him and enjoy the bliss of spiritual ambrosia. The meaning of unification with Parama Puruśa is to enjoy Parama Puruśa. What is the use of knowing the history of your previous births? Such knowledge will never help your spiritual advancement.

Chapter 17	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

“Knowing” is a particular psychic projection. Not knowing is also a psychic projection, though of another form. One is positive and the other is negative. But both are psychic projections of the same type. That is why it has been said in the Vedas:

Náham manye suvedeti no na vedeti veda ca,
Yo nastatveda tatveda no na dedeti.

The Vaedika rśi has said: “I do not think that I know nor do I think that I don’t know.” “Because whether I know or I do not know, both of them are my mental projections only.” That which we know as Paramatattva is beyond the periphery of mánasatattva. Therefore it is not possible to transform Paramatattva or give it a particular shape or form by thinking or exercising mental power. The Vaedika rśi has justly said, “I do not know whether I know or I do not know,” for whatever comes under the purview of knowledge or jiṋána will have to be given a positive or negative form. Yet what remains beyond the reach of the mental sphere - what remains above the feeling of the psychic world – can be given neither a positive nor a negative mental shape. For example, what is non-existence? It can be given a shape only by mental debilitation or by psychic impairment. In mánasa tattva, positive and negative valuation are nothing but mental actions. And the one who stays beyond mánasa satta cannot be brought under the jurisdiction of such mental actions. That is why it has been said:

Yasyámataḿ tasyamataḿ mataḿ yasya no veda sah
Avijiṋánataḿ vijánataḿ vijiṋátam vijánatam.

Suppose some one says, “I know this thing very well. I shall show you it is so, if such and such a book is available.” But what does he show? He takes a book of geography published in 1912 which lists Calcutta as the capital of India. No doubt the book is correct, for in 1912 the capital of India was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi. Hence all the previous books state truly that Calcutta is the capital of India. Now this person is putting forth based on that book published in 1912 and shows that book in support. But the book itself is now incorrect, for indeed all books published after 1912 will list Delhi as the capital. Of course, Delhi is not the capital now. New Delhi is now India’s capital. So those who deem themselves greatly learned and proudly state that they know, do not really know. On the other hand, those persons who think that they do not know anything, may be the ones who actually know. So if we want to know who is knowledgeable and who is ignorant, it will be very difficult to arrive at a correct judgment. Off hand we cannot make any comment. Out of the blue (phat), we cannot say anything. Before deciding we shall have to ponder very deeply.

I shall conclude the subject with a few remarks on a particular word I just used – phat, which means instantly. In the Tantrika system of old there were three vijas – phat, bashat and bausat. Before performing different sorts of kriya, a particular one of these vijas would be used as a pledge. In the kriya, the viija has quickly transformed into action. That is to say, the though process was made to act very quickly. All of a sudden if one wanted to go to Cuttack and he or she set out then and there – he or she gave his or her wish an immediate actional form. So in the system of Tantra, if one wanted to transform his or her kriya or thought into quick action, then the phat mantra or incantation was uttered before performing the action. We can say that such and such person is doing “phat phat” – that he or she has a lot of “phat phat”. Thus that particular biija is called phat in the sense of performing an action very quickly – instantly. As I have told you, one cannot tell “phatly” or instantly whether a particular person is a learned person or a fool. One has to think a great deal before commenting on such a thing. Here it is better not to apply the Tántrika biija “phat” mantra.

Chapter 18	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 6

1300 years ago, India gave birth to a great jiṋána márgii by the name of Shankarácárya. He said that amongst all the avenues for salvation, devotion or bhakti is the best course. Now what is bhakti?

Bhaktirbhagavatosevá bhaktih premasvarúpinii,
Bhaktiránandarúpá ca bhaktih bhaktasya jiivanam.

It has been said that “Bhaktirbhagavatosevá”. The root verb “bhaj” plus the suffix-ktin make up the word bhakti. That means not giving any importance to worldly or physical things; all the thought-processes of one’s mind should be directed towards Parama Puruśa. Withdrawing the mind from the material world, those withdrawn mental propensities should be goaded towards Parama Puruśa. This is what is known as bhakti.

Now what is “bhagavatosevá”? How should people serve Parama Puruśa? Maharśi Nárada has said, “Bhaktibhagavatoseva”. Now how can one serve Parama Puruśa? Parama Puruśa does not want any sevá or service. But Parama Puruśa has many children in this universe, and you should serve them all. That service to His children is service or sevá to Him. It does not matter that He does not want any service. It is of no use to try to serve Parama Puruśa directly, for what can you offer to please him, to satisfy Him? There is nothing that you can offer to Him, for He has everything – He has no want. This world is full of precious stones and jewels. He owns them all. So what can you offer Him? What have you got with you to offer? Moreover, Parama Prakrti is His spouse. If even Parama Puruśa should ask for anything, Paramá Prakrti would provide it instantly. You do not have that capacity. What can Parama Puruśa ask from human beings? Suppose Parama Puruśa wanted a cup of coffee. It would take you a minute and a half to prepare it, whereas Paramá Prakrti would produce it in the twinkle of an eye. You could never match that performance. So what should you offer to Him.

“Deyaḿ kimapi bhavate Puruśottamaya”. “O Parama Puruśa, O my Lord Puruśottama, what can I offer to you? I can offer you nothing because I have nothing to offer. And whatever I would offer, such as flowers, garlands, sandal paste, whatever I want to offer you – all of those things have been created by you. That is why I am able to offer them to you. So the actual ownership is yours. The only difference is that they are being offered through my hands”.

“But I am accustomed to people telling me, O Parama Puruśa, that I am a third class devotee. I have also heard that those who are first class devotees, prominent bhaktas, famous bhaktas, have satisfied and pleased you so greatly with their action that they have managed to snatch away your mind from you. You have surrendered your mind, for the top bhaktas of yours have taken it away from you. So, if they have taken your mind, then you must have some vacuum – some want in you. But O Parama Puruśa, you don’t have to worry. I offer my mind to you – please accept it.”

One can please Parama Puruśa in this way.