EE7.5 - Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

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Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 10

Notes:

this version: is the printed Ánanda Vacanámrtam Parts 9 & 10, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

Originally published in Bengali
© 1980 by Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha (Central)

Registered office: Anandanagar
                           P.O. Baglata, Dist. Purulia, W.B.
                           India
Camp office:         527 VIP Nagar
                           Kolkata 700100
                           India

All rights reserved by the publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Translated from the original Bengali by
Deváshiiśa and Prof. Áditya Mohanty

Publisher's Note

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 10

Notes:

The Ánanda Vacanámrtam (“Blissful Discourses”) series assembles all the known General Darshana discourses given by Márga Guru Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti. General Darshana (GD) pravacanas, or discourses, were those given to Ananda Marga members, often as a part of daily routine, in whatever locality Márga Guru happened to be staying in at the time. Normally briefer and lighter in tone (though no less profound in their fundamental meanings) than the discourses given on the formal occasions of Dharma Mahácakra (DMC), these pravacanas were sometimes delivered in a very intimate way to relatively small groups of Márgiis.

The Ánanda Vacanámrtam series was first begun in 1978 when the author resumed, after a gap of some years, his practice of giving regular discourses to his followers – an audience that by then included spiritual aspirants from many countries of the world as well as from India. The series began with the GD discourses given by the author at that very time; it then for several years kept pace with, and maintained the sequence of, the GD discourses that the author gave over those subsequent years. Hence the series up through Part 22, which part contained pravacanas from the year 1984, was published by 1985. Each part was published at least in the original language of the majority of its pravacanas. And as regards English translations of those parts published originally in Bengali or Hindi, such translations up through Part 8 lagged only a little behind the originals; the English Part 8 was published in 1987.

Subsequently, from the year 1994 through the year 2000, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Parts 23-34 came out, containing mostly GD discourses of the author from before 1978. And of those twelve books, Part 23, Part 30, Part 31, Part 33 and Part 34 came out published originally in English. But between 2000 and the present there was no publication in English of any of the Ánanda Vacanámrtam series; hence the translations of Parts 9-22, 24-29 and 32 were much overdue. There has been a long-standing demand from our esteemed readers for these parts, and the present book, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Parts 9 & 10, is a step towards the fulfilment of that demand.

Ánanda Vacanámrtam Parts 9 & 10 contains the author’s GD discourses given between February and April 1979, in Kolkata and at different places in India where the author stayed in connection with an extensive tour. These discourses are on varied topics such as spiritual philosophy, spiritual practice, history and culture; and truly contain the author’s valuable and practical guidance for all.

Ánanda Vacanámrtam Parts 1-3 and 5 came out originally in English. While reprinting those parts in 1986 and 1987, and while printing for the first time the translations of Parts 4 and 6-8, a decision was made to standardize the size of each part. The result of this was that a few of the discourses at the end of the Bengali Part 4 came out in the reprinted English Part 5; and this in turn affected subsequent parts. So now three discourses that appeared in the first Bengali edition of Part 8 appear here in the English Part 9. They are: “Always Do the Kiirtana of the Lord”, “Wherever My Devotees Sing” and “Take Refuge in Parama Puruśa with Unswerving Attention”. These three discourses should henceforward be considered as belonging to Part 9.

Weighing the feedback of our readers and all other considerations, we have now decided to print two parts of Ánanda Vacanámrtam to a volume and to use a bigger and more conventional book size than had been used previously for the Ánanda Vacanámrtam series. Henceforward, the various parts of the series will all be published in this manner.

Of the twenty-six discourses herein, fifteen were originally given by the author in Bengali and eleven originally in Hindi. The discourses “History of Bengal – 1” and “History of Ráŕhbhúm” had been translated into English in 1988 and had appeared in A Few Problems Solved Part 3, and “́Take Refuge in Parama Puruśa with Unswerving Attention’” had appeared in Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá, 1999. (“́Take Refuge in Parama Puruśa with Unswerving Attention’” had appeared in Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá as “́Bhajate Mámanyabhák’”. In the next printing of that book the title “́Take Refuge in Parama Puruśa with Unswerving Attention’” will be used.). Minor English re-editing of these three discourses has now been done by our staff. The rest of the discourses have been newly translated (in all cases from their Bengali versions) for the present book.

Within the present book, as within each part of Ánanda Vacanámrtam, the chronological order of the discourses has been maintained.

To assist researchers, it is our policy to indicate in the Publisher’s Note – in addition to the original language of each discourse, the date and place, by whom it was translated, and where, if other than in this book, it was originally published – whether or not a tape of the speech is in existence. At the time of this printing, however, not all the cataloguing of tapes has been finished. Further information as to tapes will be given in future printings.

Footnotes by the translators have all been signed “–Trans.” Unsigned footnotes are those of the author.

Many readers are concerned that the author’s discourses, as published, should adhere as closely as possible to the precise wording the author used in speaking. For this reason, in the case of discourses given originally in English, the editors do not alter pronouns and other terms which the author in his life time considered “common-gender” words. As the author once said, “You know, ‘man’ is not only masculine gender, ‘man’ is common gender also. ‘Man is mortal’ – here ‘man’ means both male and female.”

The author was a natural advocate of women’s rights and on at least one occasion indicated that “lopsided justice” in language should be eliminated at some future date. In keeping with his guideline and with present-day trends, it is our policy in the case of translated discourses (where the published wording will necessarily be that of the translators) to use gender-neutral language.

Square brackets [ ] in the text are used to indicate translations by the editors or other editorial insertions. Round brackets ( ) indicate a word or words originally given by the author.

The author used a certain shorthand for explaining the etymologies of words. Under this system, a minus sign (–) follows a prefix, and a plus sign (+) precedes a suffix. Thus ava – tr + ghaiṋ = avatára can be read, “the root tr prefixed by ava and suffixed by ghaiṋ becomes avatára.”

This book is the result of the assistance and the support lent by many persons in various ways. Their sincere efforts are helping us develop an ever more professional system of work, so that the immense contribution of Shrii P.R. Sarkar can be presented in the best possible manner. Some esteemed readers, or better to say, lovers, of Shrii P.R. Sarkar’s books have come forward to make arrangement for the continuous publication of his books over the coming years; thanks to them, progress is being made in building up a committed and dependable sales network. Any interested person can come forward to participate in this effort.

Ideally every new book translation undergoes initially a draft by the main translator, then “first editing”, then “second editing”, then final verification. Other important functions include coordination of the different steps, and the development and management of a sales network. Some of those who have contributed to these efforts: Deváshiiśa translated (from the original Bengali) all sixteen of the discourses taken from Ánanda Vacanámrtam Parts 8 and 9. Deváshiiśa also did the semi-final verification of the eight discourses from Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 10 that had not previously been published in English. Prof. Áditya Mohanty translated all of the eight discourses from Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 10 that had not previously been published in English. Gáyattrii Ghista and Táraka Ghista did the second editing of those same eight discourses. Gáyattrii Ghista and Shiva Mazzola re-edited the two discourses of Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 10 which had previously been published in A Few Problems Solved Part 3. Mádhava Basak did typing, DTP work and office work. Vasanthan Parameswara proofread the entire book after its second editing. Kirit Dave took on sales management and coordination work.

We are also indebted to many others who gave constant encouragement and necessary inputs. Final verification and parts of other tasks were done by the staff of Ananda Marga Publications.

If any defects be found, readers may be sure that they do not derive from the illustrious author, nor are they the responsibility of those who contributed to the work; rather they are the responsibility of the Publications staff alone.

“Always Do the Kiirtana of the Lord”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Hindi as “Kiirttaniiyah Sadá Harih” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, 1980. First Bengali publication in Bhaktirasa o Kiirtana Mahimá, 1996. Tr. from the Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Wherever My Devotees Sing”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Hindi as “Madbhaktáh Yatra Gáyanti Tatra Tiśt́hámi Nárada” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, 1980. First Bengali publication in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, 1998. Tr. from the Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Take Refuge in Parama Puruśa with Unswerving Attention”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Hindi as “Bhajate Mámananyabhák” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, 1980. First Bengali publication in Krśńatattva o Giitásár, 1994. First English publication in Discourses on Krśńa and the Giita, 2000, tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. (Retd.) Anil Banerjee, Ácárya Vijayánanda Avadhúta and Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta. Partially retranslated from the Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“The Significance of the Word ‘Yuga’”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Yuger Tátparya” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Parama Puruśa is One – Countless are His Names”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Parama Puruśa Ek – Ajasra Tár Nám” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“The Meaning of a Few Names – 1”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Námer Artha – 1” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“The Meaning of a Few Names – 2”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Námer Artha – 2” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Discrimination in Rights”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Adhikár Bhed” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“The Primary Causes of Success”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Sáphalya Lábher Múliibhúta Kárań” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Parama Puruśa – The Source of All Momentum”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as “Parama Puruśa – Yávatiiya Saḿveger Utsa” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Vasu and Vásudeva”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as “Vasu o Vásudeva” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“The Source of Internal Stamina”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as “Ántarik Shaktir Utsa” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Man is Only an Actor in the Great Drama”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as “Mánuś Mátrei Mahánát́yer Abhinetá” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Parama Puruśa is Everywhere”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as “ ‘Apáńipádo Javano Grahiitá’ ” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“The Means to Save Oneself from Sorrow”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as “Duhkha Theke Báṋcár Upáya” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“Parama Puruśa Knows Everything”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as “ ́Puruśa Evedaḿ Sarvaḿ’ ” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 9, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Deváshiiśa.

“On the Savitr Rk”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Savitr Rk” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“The Supreme Entity Transcends all Colours”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Varńa O Varńátiita” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“Parama Puruśa – The Primordial Cause”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “ ́Eko Avarńo Bahudhá Shakti Yogád’ ” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“Yatamána – The Stage of Perseverance”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Yatamána” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“The History of Bengal – 1”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Báḿlár Itihás” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. First English publication in A Few Problems Solved 3, tr. from the original Bengali by Ácárya Vijayánanda Avadhúta and Avadhútiká Ánanda Mitrá Ácáryá.

“The History of Ráŕhbhúm”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Ráŕhbhúm” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. First English publication in A Few Problems Solved 3, tr. from the original Bengali by Ácárya Vijayánanda Avadhúta and Avadhútiká Ánanda Mitrá Ácáryá.

“Vyatireka – The Stage of Control”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Vyatireka” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“Táńd́ava Dance – What and Why”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Táńd́ava” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. First English Publication as “Táńd́ava Dance – What and Why” in Saḿgiita: Song, Dance and Instrumental Music, 2007, tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“The Supreme Entity – The Non-Doer”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “ ́Puruśa Akartá’ ” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“The Witness-Ship of Parama Puruśa is of Supreme Importance”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “ ‘Phalasákśiibhútah’ ” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 10, 1980. Tr. from the original Bengali by Prof. Áditya Mohanty.

“Always Do the Kiirtana of the Lord”

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

There are three kinds of people – inferior, middling and superior. Inferior people are those who think one thing, say another and do something else. There is no harmony among their thoughts, speech and actions; rather they are opposed to one another. They are hypocrites. The middling class of person is one who keeps their thoughts secret and neither speaks nor acts accordingly. And what is the best class of human being? One who acts in accordance with their thoughts is the best class of human being. Such type of people we call honest people, good people.

What will a good person do? Trńádapi suniicena [humble like a blade of grass]. They will stay away from ego because ego is the root cause of downfall. If ego is present then downfall is inevitable. How is ego manifested in individual life? It expresses itself through superiority complex. I am great and everyone else is small, degraded, lowly. “I am superior” – this feeling or thought is called “superiority complex” in English and mahámanyatá in Sanskrit. Due to this sense of ego one behaves poorly with others. For this reason it is said in the scriptures: trińádapi suniicena. For example, a blade of grass remains underneath everyone. It has no ego, yet it possesses more qualities than anyone. Human beings should keep themselves aloof in every way from superiority complex and pride. Good people will stay away from ego. Why will they do so? Good people know what are the causes behind the rise of ego. One person has knowledge, another has money. A good person knows that this money and this knowledge is not theirs; it belongs to Parama Puruśa. Today it has come to me and again it will leave me. I had none of these when I was born and at the time of death they won’t remain with me. For this reason good people will stay away from ego.

Trńádapi suniicena taroriva sahiśńuná. Have the power to endure like a tree. See, a person reacts immediately to some action. Perhaps someone has a harsh word or two for you. You also give that person a stern reply right away. This is very easy. It does not test at all your power to endure and as a result you do not get an opportunity to develop your self-confidence. But when you endure it, you test just how much capacity to endure you have in your life. This capacity to endure strengthens your nervous system. And then what happens? Your cakras, your brain, your intellect – all become fortified. If your intellect becomes strong then many difficult tasks will become easy. In this way you will easily be victorious.

Amánináḿ mánadeyaḿ [“You must give respect to those whom no one respects”]. Everything in this universe is the manifestation of Parama Puruśa. Big or small, every entity is the expression of the Supreme Father. But what happens in this world? Due to various social defects many flaws persist in the social structure. Due to this unworthy people are given respect while worthy people are disdained. There is one cause behind this – social defects. One can find a lot of people who show respect to those not worthy of receiving it – sarve guńáh káiṋcanaḿ áshrayanti [“Those who have wealth have all qualities”] – but it is not right if worthy people are disrespected. Thus one should bear this thought in mind that I will show respect to those who are given no respect. Those in society who are downtrodden, fallen, ignorant or so-called little people, I will show them respect. We may or may not be respectful in front of the so-called superior people, but the so-called lower-class people deserve respect because they are the expression of Parama Puruśa, they are also the children of the Supreme Father. Why will I show respect? Well, if I show respect my respect will not decrease but rather increase. Amánináḿ mánadeyaḿ. These are all qualities of good people.

Who is a good person? Previously it has been said: kiirtaniiyah sadá harih. One should always do the kiirtana of the Lord. What does kiirtana mean? To sing in a loud voice the qualities of the Lord – not mentally. If it is done mentally then we call it japa. And when it is vocalized then we call it kiirtana. Why does kiirtana have to be vocalized? The science behind it is that when you do kiirtana loudly your mind remains engaged. It cannot do anything else. At that time it is not possible to abuse someone or to have a worldly conversation. The mind is busy vocalizing, rather I will say that it is given over to the vocalization. The vocal cords are busy in that, the mind is employed in that thought, and the ears are hearing it, they don’t have any chance to go here and there. For this reason the rule of vocalizing kiirtana loudly makes it both heard and sung. Kiirtan is not done softly.

Now whose kiirtana should be done? Hari’s. Who is Hari? In Bhopal I said: Harati pápaḿ ityarthe harih—He steals sins. He who steals sins is Hari. Harań kará means “to steal.” This goes against the instruction in Yama-Niyama [moral principles] to follow asteya. Asteya means non-stealing. But Parama Puruśa steals. This is very bad. Parama Puruśa has Himself said that it is not proper to steal, that one should be established in Yama-Niyama, but He Himself steals. This is quite bad.

Yes, He steals and He must steal, He is compelled to do so. Now what does He steal? Harati pápaḿ ityarthe harih. Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Father, loves His affectionate sons and daughters very much. He also loves to scold and discipline His created beings for their own welfare.

You will notice how much sin a person commits in one lifetime. So how much sin has that person committed over the course of lifetimes! It is well nigh impossible to find someone who has not committed any sin. Everyone has committed one sin or another. One person’s sins are as vast as a mountain and another’s are perhaps very small. One person is a diamond thief and another steals cucumbers. Hence the matter becomes very complex. In this case what should be done? Parama Puruśa knows that if his sons and daughters have to carry the burden of all their sins then what to speak of one lifetime, they won’t exhaust their sins even over thousands of lifetimes. Think, for how many lifetimes will they have to bear the burden of their sins? Parama Puruśa does not want his affectionate children have to bear the burden of their sins life after life, for thousands of lifetimes. In this case what will his children do? Well, let them give the burden of their sins to Parama Puruśa. Parama Puruśa wants to bear their burden but the devotees say, “No, no, no. O Parama Puruśa, we will feed you, we will entertain you, we will arrange singing and dancing in your honour, but we will never give you our sins. We won’t. We simply won’t.” This is a terrible situation. Parama Puruśa loves his sons and daughters so much. So what will he do? When He sees that His devotees are not ready to give their accumulated sins to Him then He steals those sins without His devotee’s knowledge. Thus His other name is Hari, or thief.

If you do not do the kiirtana for this Hari who loves his devotees so deeply, then whose kiirtana will you do? For this reason it has been said: kiirtaniiyah sadá harih. Always do the kiirtana of Hari. Here Hari means Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Father. This is the goal of good people. Good people will do this alone.

“Wherever My Devotees Sing”

Published in:
Saḿgiita: Song, Dance and Instrumental Music [a compilation]
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

You all know that the meaning of the Sanskrit word tańd́u is “jumping” or “leaping”, and tańd́ula means “rice”. Rice is called tańd́ula because the rice kernels jump when they are separated from the husk. Thus táńd́ava also means “jumping”. While jumping, when the knee comes up to the navel or above it then it is called brahmatáńd́ava, and when the knee goes above the anáhata cakra then it is called viśńutáńd́ava , and when the knee crosses the vishuddha cakra it is called rudratáńd́ava. All of you should remember this.

Today at noon I talked about the fundamental principles of devotion. The subject of discourse was “Kiirtaniiyah Sadá Harih”. In it I discussed what should be the cardinal principles of a gentleman, what their nature should be. What is kiirtana, what is Hari? I also talked about that. Did you all understand it properly?

Kiirtaniiyah sadá Harih. The devotee will do the kiirtana of Hari. At that time what will Hari do? That is one question. The devotee is very dear to Hari and Hari is also very dear to the devotee. And Hari steals the devotee’s sins. All this takes place. But when the devotee does the kiirtana of Hari, what will Hari do then? You know, if, when the devotee does kiirtana, the mantra is a siddha mantra (kiirtana has siddha mantras), an aśt́ákśarii siddha mantra, that is, having eight syllables and also being siddha [consecrated and infused with tremendous power], then as a result a certain environment is created, a special wave is created. Why is this wave produced? Each spiritual aspirant while doing kiirtana feels that a special wave is produced. How does it happen? Where does this wave come from? When the devotees do kiirtana they themselves create a certain environment. That wave emanates from the nucleus of this environment. The way that the devotees create this environment is called hariparimańd́ala in the scriptures. Parimańd́ala means “environment”. This wave emanates from the hariparimańd́ala. At that time where does Hari remain? There is a shloka prevalent in the scriptures –

Náhaḿ tiśt́hámi vaekuńt́he yogináḿ hrdaye na ca;
Madbhaktáh yatra gáyanti tatra tiśt́hámi nárada.

Nárada asks the question: “It is true that you are all-pervading, but while you are everywhere you still control everything while remaining in one specific place. You control everything from one particular nucleus – this is also true. But where is this nucleus? Where is your actual residence?” Nárada asks Náráyańa this.

What does the word nárada mean? The word nára has three meanings in Sanskrit. One meaning of the word nára is niira, that is, “water”. The second meaning is Paramá Prakrti, the Supreme Operative Principle. Nára means prakrti and ayańa means “shelter”. Thus the one in whom nára or prakrti is sheltered, prakrti’s shelter, is Náráyańa. Nára means prakrti and ayańa means “shelter”. The ayańa of nára is Náráyańa. And the third meaning of the word nára is “devotion”. Nára + da = nárada. In Sanskrit da means “one who gives”. Hence nárada means “one who gives nára, or devotion, one who distributes devotion”. Nárada was a great devotee. That Nárada’s question was: “Lord, where do you stay? Where is your true dwelling? Where is your nucleus really located? You are everywhere but where is your nucleus?”

Náhaḿ tiśt́hámi vaekuńt́he. Some people say that Náráyańa remains in vaekuńt́ha [heaven]. Vaekuńt́ha does not mean a far-away land. Kuńt́há means “contraction.” For example, people are contracted in the cold; they are contracted out of fear or shame. So vaekuńt́ha is used in the sense of contraction having passed, that is, where the mind does not undergo any kind of contraction, where it is liberated, free, absorbed in the love of the Paramátmá. Where there is no kuńt́há it is vaekuńt́ha. Vaekuńt́ha does not mean a distant place. When there is no contraction in your mind then there is the dawn of vaekuńt́ha in your mind. This is vaekuńt́ha. But here Náráyańa says, “I do not remain in vaekuńt́ha”– náhaḿ tiśt́hámi vaekuńt́he. Why does he not remain there? It is true that where there is no contraction the devotees get the Lord, because the mind is not contracted. However, here there is no emanation of the wave of kiirtana. Only one person will feel it, will attain bliss. It will not be possible for that person to distribute bliss to everyone. Thus He says, náhaḿ tiśt́hámi vaekuńt́he.

Again He says: yogináḿ hrdaye na ca. What does yogii mean? The word yogii has several meanings. One meaning is: sarvacintáparityágonishcinto yoga ucyate. Or yogashcittavrttinirodhah. Another meaning is: saḿyogo yoga ityuktah jiivátmá paramátmanah. In this way there are many explanations. But what does a yogi do? The yogi brings the cittavrtti, that is, the mental propensities to cessation, suspends and stops them. In that state all the mental propensities cease, that is, all their mental propensities are suspended, remain in a suspended state; there cannot be expression of any of [[one’s]] feelings. If Náráyańa remains there [[the yogi]] will not have any expression. The yogi feels the presence of the Paramátmá in their heart but in this state there cannot be any outward emanation of that wave, as happens in kiirtana. Although Paramátmá is present in a yogi’s heart, it is a kind of dry desert. It is not sweet.

But kiirtana has raso vae sah. He is full of rasa i.e. sweetness, full of bliss. People derive bliss from it. They get bliss from kiirtana. So if Náráyańa were to reside in a yogi’s heart then no one would enjoy bliss; only that yogi would enjoy bliss. So what does Náráyańa say? Madbhaktáh yatra gáyanti tatra tiśt́hámi nárada. He says: “O Nárada, I reside where my devotees do my kiirtana.” In other words, “I go where my devotees are doing kiirtana, where they are creating the Hariparimańd́ala.” This is why people get bliss from kiirtana.

I have said that doing kiirtana is the definite duty of every spiritual aspirant. In kiirtana the mind becomes very elevated. One gets bliss. One gets the wave of Hari, and if a person sits for meditation immediately thereafter then they will also experience great bliss in their meditation. Thus doing kiirtana is definitely a necessity for every spiritual aspirant.

“Take Refuge in Parama Puruśa with Unswerving Attention”

Published in:
Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá [a compilation]
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Published in Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá as “ ‘Bhajate Mámananyabhák’ ”.

Karma means “change of position of objects”. When there is no change of position of an object, there is no karma either. There are two main types of karma⁽¹⁾ – nitya karma [action of regular nature] and naemittika karma [action of occasional nature]. Nitya karma is neutral by nature. It does not bring any benefit to anyone, nor cause any harm to anyone. Various discriminations, on the other hand, enter in regarding naemittika karma. Naemittika karmas that follow proper standards are puńya karmas [virtuous actions], while naemittika karmas that do not follow such standards are pápa karmas [sinful actions].

Virtuous actions, again, are of two types – direct and indirect. What are direct virtuous actions? Suppose someone is hungry and thirsty, and you offer the person food and drink. This is a direct virtuous action, by which you acquire virtue. Virtuous actions do good to others and also elevate the doer. “Elevation”, or “progress”, is used here to convey the idea that personally you are coming nearer and nearer to Paramátmá [the Supreme Soul]; and the person whom you have helped has also benefited.

Indirect virtuous actions have the same effect – they bring good to others and elevation or progress to one’s self. The difference here is that the good that is wrought comes about after some delay. Nevertheless, that good does result, and it is long-lasting – it can be felt for thousands of years. For example, suppose someone plants the seedling of a large shade tree today. We cannot expect to enjoy the shade with immediate effect; but it will start to provide shade thirty or thirty-five years later, and will continue for thousands of years. This is an indirect virtuous action. All these actions bring about good. Someone digs a big canal somewhere; someone else plants a tree; these are different kinds of good work. Indirect virtuous actions are also of two types.

Suppose someone builds a hospital for the treatment of the sick. That will be a direct virtuous action. But suppose the person donates some money for the development of society; that may be either a direct or an indirect virtuous action. If people benefit immediately from such a donation, it will be a [direct] virtuous action, and if the benefits are delayed, it will be an indirect virtuous action. But the advantage of an indirect virtuous action is that while the results may be delayed, they will continue for a very long time.

Sin⁽²⁾ is also of two types. An action of yours that brings harm to others and brings about your own downfall is called pápa [sin]. In this kind of karma, harm to others goes hand in hand with your own degradation. Humans become far removed from Parama Puruśa by such actions. I said before that pápa is also of two types – pátaka and pratyaváya. An action that should not be done but that is nevertheless done, is called pátaka. And an action that should be done but is not done, is called pratyaváya. For instance, one should not steal; so if anybody steals, that will be pátaka. And if one knows full well that nursing a patient is good, but refrains from doing so, that will be pratyaváya. People say that pratyaváya is worse than pátaka.

Now, pátaka [sin of commission] is divided into three categories – pátaka, atipátaka [major sin of commission], and mahápátaka [great sin of commission]. Someone might have committed a pátaka, but after that wrong action feels repentance, and compensates for the harm his or her action caused. After such repentance and compensation, the action is no longer a sin. Suppose someone has stolen a thousand rupees from someone else. If after this theft the thief feels compunction and returns the money – better, however, with the inclusion of interest thereon – and begs forgiveness, that will mean that the person’s sin has been washed away. The person should no longer be called a sinner.

What is atipátaka? Suppose someone chops off the fingers of someone else. In that case there is no scope for atonement of the crime, because to make good the severed fingers is not possible. If the person sincerely desires to atone, that person must give up everything else in life and devote himself or herself exclusively to worshipping Paramátmá, Parameshvara. That will be the only atonement. From the social viewpoint there is no scope for atonement. But from the spiritual viewpoint alone, there can be this kind of atonement – one will have to forsake all mundane duties and dedicate oneself to the worship of Paramátmá.

What is mahápátaka? Mahápátaka is like atipátaka. But what happens in the case of mahápátaka is that others are likely to see such sinful acts, take them as examples, and indulge in them themselves. For example, someone may adulterate foodstuffs; he or she may mix papaya seeds [[in with]] the black pepper. Following this example, other business people are prompted to adulterate. In other words, the sin gets perpetuated recurrently. This is mahápátaka.

From the social point of view there is no scope to atone for such mahápátaka. How can one atone from the spiritual point of view? Abandoning all of one’s personal enjoyments and comforts, one should devote oneself completely to spiritual sadhana and social service. This is the only means of atoning for mahápátaka from the spiritual point of view.

Pátakiis can, if they wish, atone instantly for what they have done. But for atipátakiis and mahápátakiis, such instant atonement is impossible. Atonement for atipátakiis is spiritual atonement. And that spiritual atonement will continue as long as mercy from Paramátmá is not forthcoming. Atonement on the social level can be effected through social service, but society cannot grant the forgiveness involved in spiritual atonement; Paramátmá, however, can.

So what is the way? There are many people in the world who were once atipátakiis, maybe three or four births ago, but are no longer so. Similar is the case of mahápátakiis.

Here example of Rávańa can be taken up. In the epic story, the Rámáyańa, Rávańa was losing his battle with Ráma. In the last stage of the battle Rávańa cried out to Shiva, “Save me, save me.” He was a devotee of Shiva and had become immensely powerful after receiving a boon from Shiva. Rávańa cried out but Shiva did nothing.

Then Párvatii said to Shiva: “Rávańa is a great devotee of yours but you are not saving him. What is this?”

“Rávańa is a mahápátakii [greatest sinner],” Shiva replied. “How can I save him?”

“How can you save him?” Shiva replied. “You cannot save him either because he is a mahápátakii.”

“But he is not a mahápátakii, he is only an atipátakii [middle level sinner],” Párvatii said. “He has abducted another’s wife, so he is an atipátakii.”

“Had he gone as a thief and abducted another’s wife,” Shiva explained, “then he would have been considered an atipátakii. But instead he kidnapped Siitá disguised as a sádhu. And with what result? In the future others may kidnap someone else’s wife in the guise of a sádhu. With Rávańa’s example others will learn this evil deed. And furthermore, in the future, no respectable woman will ever trust a sádhu. She will think that the man may be another Rávańa disguised as a sádhu, in reality a thief. Thus Rávańa’s actions are those of a mahápátakii. They will have a recurring influence. So it is not possible to save the life of that mahápátakii. Untill a mahápátakii leaves everything for the sake of spiritual ideology and dedicates himself to the service of humanity, there can be no spiritual or social atonement for him. So what can I do?”

There are atipátakiis and mahápátakiis in the world even today. But they are also children of the Supreme Father. The Supreme Father is not merely a judge or lawyer. Honest or dishonest, sinner or virtuous – whatever people may be – with each and everyone He has a personal relationship. He is the Father of the world – not merely a judge. So He says: “No, my children should not have to carry the burden of their sins forever” – that He does not want. In the scriptures the normal word for pátaka is dośa; so a pátakii is called a duśt́a, an atipátakii is called a dúrácárii, and a mahápátakii is a sudúrácárii. All these three types of people should be avoided; one should stay away from them. But Bhagaván Shrii Krśńa has said that even for such people there is no reason to worry:

Api cet sudúrácáro bhajate Mámananyabhák;
So’pi pápavinirmuktah mucyate bhavabandhanát.

“If a sudúrácárii devotes himself or herself single-mindedly to My worship, forgetting everything else, and” – Mámananyabhák – “takes refuge in Me with unswerving attention,” “then he or she too is liberated from all sins and earthly bondages.” Hence no one has any reason to worry. Once anyone has taken refuge in Parama Puruśa, their future is secure.

(1) Usually translated “action”. Sometimes the connotation is positive or negative action which produces saḿskáras (mental reactive momenta). –Trans.

The Significance of The Word “Yuga”

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Kalih shayáno bhavati saiṋjihánastu dváparah;
Uttiśt́han tretá bhavati krataḿ sampadyate carań.

[A person who abstains from work and is unwilling to move, is living in Kali Yuga; one who has just awakened from slumber is in Dvápara Yuga; one who has stood up is in Tretá Yuga; and when one has started moving, then Satya Yuga has come in that person’s life.]

When human beings remain steeped in ignorance, when they remain asleep in the darkness of ignorance, then that is the age of kali in their lives. Satya, Tretá, Dvápara and Kali yugas [ages] have no significance apart from [such psychological significances]. When human beings neglect their duties, when they cannot discriminate between right and wrong, when they tolerate injustice and humiliation as a natural law, it means that they are under the sway of kali yuga.

The Sanskrit root yuj and yunj have similar meanings. Yuj means “to add”, as does yunj. For example, two plus two equals four. There is, however, a certain difference between the two. When the word “yoga” is derived from the root verb yuj it means “addition”, no doubt, but here the added components retain their original identity, just as when sand and sugar are added together the individual grains can still be identified. The root verb yunj, however, refers to a type of addition where the original components lose their respective identities, as in the case of a mixture of sugar and water which creates a syrup in which the sugar can no longer be separately identified. Similarly, when a unit being (jiiva) merges into Parama Puruśa, it loses its microcosmic identity and only one entity remains, the Supreme Entity.

The word yuga is derived from this verb yunj. What is a yuga? When a particular period of time ends, when a particular epoch ends, when a particular flow of life ends and another begins or emerges, it is called yuga. The past may be divided into various yugas or ages: the shudra yuga or worker age; the kśatriya yuga or warrior age; the vipra yuga or intellectual age; and the vaeshya yuga or capitalist age. In the future also these ages will come and go. People will reject the old social order and embrace a new one. The transitional phase between the two social orders is called yuga sandhi.

When people are so inert that they turn a blind eye to what happens around them, when they ignore the future of others, of society, even of themselves, when they remain blissfully unaware that they too have a significant role to play in checking the degeneration of society, then it is called kali yuga. They are asleep.

Saiṋjihánastu dváparah. There are some people who also continue to lie down, but who have awakened, who have become conscious. They feel the need to act but fail to do so. This also happens in collective life. Suppose something is going on for a long time. We see it happening, even understand what is happening, yet we fail to do anything about it. “This is what should be done,” “This is what should have been done,” “This should have been done a long time ago” – people make such comments but due to the lack of dynamic leadership they fail to take action. Who is to bell the cat? This is the general feeling of the dvápar yuga. Saiṋjihánastu dváparah. People have awakened from sleep, become conscious but they have not yet taken any action.

Uttiśt́han tretá bhavati. When people no longer pass idle comments from the comfort of their beds – “Oh, I think this should be done or that should be done, I am to start action”– but rather, able to discriminate between right and wrong, leap up, ready for action, it is called tretá yuga in both individual and collective life. Uttiśt́han tretá bhavati. “Now it is time to act. We must act right now.” People meet together in groups of five or ten or twenty, and so on, to make concrete plans for immediate and effective action. Awareness exists but it is yet to be translated into action.

Krtaḿ sampadyate carań. Suppose one makes comprehensive plans and programs, but these plans still remain at a theoretical level. It is a paper tiger. No work is accomplished. It doesn’t make for progress in individual life. What then needs to be done? They have to be translated into action. When people undertake concrete work with sincerity, then success becomes inevitable in their lives. This is the krta yuga [age of practical action] or satya yuga [age of truth]. It is the way human beings have advanced in the past, how they are advancing now, and how they will advance in the future.

Earlier I mentioned that just as a yuga sandhi occurs in individual life – one particular stage ends and another stage begins, and the in-between phase is called yuga sandhi – the exact same thing happens in collective life. Suppose there is a particular community. It may consist of a few thousand or a few hundred thousand or a few million. They were asleep for a long time during which they endured countless indignities, humiliation and complete subservience to their master. No one paid them any heed or respect. But when their kali yuga gave way to dvápara yuga and consciousness awakened among them, then others started to fear them. “Uh oh, they are waking up!” In individual life as well the same thing happens. Human beings pass their days as if they were dogs or cats or goats. They come to the earth, eat, sleep, die and move on. It is meaningless. There must be consciousness and to be established in this consciousness people have to stand up. They have to move ahead. It is the same whether it is individual or collective. According to our philosophy, when consciousness arises in individual life then a person begins to move in accordance with certain instructions, certain guidance. In collective life as well, when this stage comes, those who are well advanced, who understand better, who are more courageous, more firmly established in morality, who are truly righteous, they have to take the lead, to assume the mantle of leadership. In such times those who worry about what others will say or think, or worry about being criticized, and due to this fear hide behind closed doors thinking that if they take action their good name will be tarnished, such people are not true human beings. They are beggars, begging for reputation. They have no manliness; they have lost the courage to move ahead. At that time those who come forward and say – “Let’s go. I’m with you. If trouble comes, let it come. I’ll take it on my shoulders” – such people I have given the name sadvipra.

This is the way it has been and the way it will always be. However, in collective life at the critical juncture between one great age and another, in this transitional stage of great change, when it becomes impossible for the common man or even ordinary sadvipras to take up the leadership, then Parama Puruśa through his special grace arranges that leadership. At this time on the earth humanity is witnessing such a yuga sandhi. On one side there is the rubbish heap of the past and people are clinging to that rubbish heap because they have not yet been shown the way out. And on the other side, there is the call of the new. Under such conditions what will that Mahásambhúti do who gave guidance to the human race in the past? With courage he will call to human beings and declare: “Give up the rubbish of the past. It can only harm you and lead you to your death. Move ahead. Answer the call of the new. I am with you. There is no reason to be afraid.”

Parama Puruśa Is One – Countless Are His Names

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

There exists in this world an endless variety of things which people call by different names, for example, mango. In Sanskrit it is called ámra, rasála, or sahakára. In other languages it is mango, mángá, ámba, ám, áṋb, ámbaj, ámbá, and so forth. One object has so many names. Similarly, Parama Puruśa is called by different names. Due to ignorance human beings fight over the names. When real knowledge arises they see the meaningless and unnecessary nature of such quarrels. As long as this knowledge is not present, people fight amongst each other and shed one another’s blood. Thus they should make efforts to acquire such authentic knowledge.

What is real knowledge? It is self-knowledge, to know oneself. The more that people progress towards this self-knowledge, the more the external clashes diminish.

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánaḿ jiṋanányanyáni jáni tu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni sárasya naeva bodhanát.

[Self-knowledge is the real knowledge – all other knowledge is a mere shadow of knowledge; and will not lead to realization of the truth.]

“Self-knowledge is the real knowledge; other kinds of knowledge are not knowledge at all,” and if self-knowledge is obtained then the rest are known. Brahmavid brahmaeva bhavati. One need not read thousands of books. One who has known Brahma, becomes Brahma. He knows everything; nothing remains unknown to him. He moves even where the sun’s rays cannot penetrate. He enters the innermost recesses of the mind and knows its hidden secrets, for He is omnipresent, omniscient and all-pervading.

The lack of knowledge or a failure to understand the underlying meaning of things, creates misunderstandings. Take, for instance, the following. Ráma is a prevalent name. The word Ráma has come from the Sanskrit root verb ram plus the suffix ghaiṋ. What does the word Ráma mean? The word is used for Parama Puruśa or God. Ráma means ramante yoginah yasmin — the one through whose ideation or proximity the yogiis get bliss.

Who can we call a yogi? Saḿyogo yoga ituktyah jiivátmá paramátmanah. One who merges his or her individual entity into the Supreme Entity, little “I” into the big “I”, unit consciousness into supreme consciousness, is a yogi. Such yogis do not get bliss from anything else, other than Parama Puruśa, because to such a person nálpe sukhamasti bhúmaeva sukham – He or she is not satisfied with a little, a bit; he or she wants more, more and more. Where does this wanting more end? When one attains the infinite, and not before.

Due to His endlessness the Lord is dear to one, because one wants to attain Him in such a way that this attainment has no end. Finite objects have a beginning and an end, hence after their end there is pain. One who loves to eat rasogollá experiences pleasure as long as the rasogollá remains in his mouth, not once it has disappeared down his throat. So one gets his pleasure from something which has no end, something which is beginningless and endless; for this reason the yogiis find their happiness in Parama Puruśa. So the word “Ráma” means Parama Puruśa.

Ráma – rá plus ma. What do intellectuals say about the meaning of this word rá? Ráti mahiidharah Rámah. Of all entities in this universe “Ráma” is the most luminous. Smaller entities are illuminated by larger ones. Planets and satellites are illuminated by sun. The sun receives its energy from various nebulae and from cosmic light and heat. The entity with whose help the various objects are manifested and illuminated is “Ráma”. The first letter of the word ráti [luminous] is rá, and the initial letter of the word mahiidharah [universe] is ma. Rá and ma makes Rámah — ráti mahiidharah Rámah.

What is the most luminous? The small atomic structure that we see in this universe is of fundamental importance. Electrons revolve around its nucleus, so the heart of the atomic structure is its nucleus. Similarly, as with our planetary system, all the planetary systems of the universe have, as their nucleus, a particular star and the respective planets revolve around it. In the same way, the heart of this universe is the Parama Puruśa, the Puruśottama. Animate or inanimate, all revolve around him, thus he is the source of all inspiration, the source of all light; he is the most luminous entity. Ráti mahiidharah Rámah. Hence the meaning of ráti mahiidharah or the word Ráma is Parama Puruśa. Different explanations bring us back to the same entity.

Then there is Rávańasya marańaḿ Rámah. The first letter of the word Rávańasya [of Rávańa] is rá and the first letter of the word marańaḿ [death] is ma. By combining them we get the word Ráma. What is Rávańa? Rao + ań = Rávańa. That mental flow which degrades a human being, which brings one to one’s lowest point, which crudifies one’s existence, is Rávańa, that is, depraved mental propensities, those which diminish one’s humanity, which destroy a human being’s existence.

It is said that Rávańa is a demon. Certainly he is a demon because the force which degrades a person in this way is certainly not insignificant; it is a veritable demon, a rákśasa. Who is this Rávańa for human beings? It is the depraved propensities of one’s mind. They are the reason for a person’s degradation. How do these depraved propensities of human beings function? They do so simultaneously in ten directions. North, south, east, west, up and down — these six are called pradish; and southeast, northeast, northwest, southwest, these four corners, are called anudish. Six plus four equals ten. The depraved propensities of human beings function in these ten directions. So it is said that this tenfold depraved propensities, Rávańa, has ten heads — dashánana. His depraved propensities function in ten directions. And what is necessary in order to destroy these depraved propensities, to annihilate them? Parama Puruśa’s special grace is needed. A human being’s own power is not sufficient. No matter how much they cry out, it won’t do. As long as they do not take shelter in Parama Puruśa they cannot gain deliverance from the clutches of that Rávańa.

This Rávańa functions within the human mind, within the state, within family, within society, everywhere. Human beings have to wage a ceaseless struggle against this Rávańa. There is no other way out. With the progress of civilization these Rávańas have been evolving more and more sophisticated ways to do great harm to human beings. In English I call them “polished satans”. It is easy to detect Rávańa in the form of Rávańa but it is difficult to recognize such polished satans as Rávańa. So human beings must be even more firmly prepared to fight against these kinds of demons.

Náginiirá cáridike pheliteche viśákta nishvás
Shántir lalit váńii shunáibe vyartha parihás.
Vidáy nevár áge tái d́ák diye yái,
Dánaver sáthe saḿgrámer tare
Prastut hateche yárá ghare ghare.

“Serpents are spreading venom everywhere. Now at this critical juncture should I go on preaching the sweetly-worded gospels of peace? Certainly not. So before my final departure from this world I give my last call, the clarion call for those who are making necessary preparation for all-out fight against those demons.”

In order to appear in battle against this evil, this malevolent force, human beings will have to take the shelter of Parama Puruśa. Otherwise on their own human beings are helpless. They want to do great things but they are incapable of it. So they will have to resort to the shelter of Parama Puruśa. In order to kill this Rávańa the one whose shelter must be taken is Parama Puruśa – Rávańasya marańaḿ Rámah. The first letter of the word marańam is ma. Combining the two we get Ráma, that is, whichever meaning we accept as the meaning of Ráma, it means Parama Puruśa.

Now let us take Náráyańa. In Sanskrit the word nára has three meanings. One meaning is niiram — niram, udakam, pániiyam, jalam, kambalam, ka. There are various names for water, among them nára is one. Another is niira and yet another is ka. Ka also means “water”. The land which is surrounded by water is called kaccha [in Gujarat state of India]. Ka is surrounded, thus kaccha. The leafy green vegetable (shák) that lies extended (lambii) on the surface of ka or water is ka-lambii or kalamii shák.

Nára does not only mean “water;” another meaning is “devotion”. For example, he who distributes devotion, who gives devotion, is nárada. Da means “one who gives”.

Nára also means Paramá Prakrti, the Cosmic Operative Principle. Now Paramá Prakrti does not remain in a void. Everything in this universe requires a support or container (ádhára). Right now I am in a particular place. And where is this place? It is in Bengal. Where is Bengal? It’s in India. India is its support or container. The container of India is Asia and for Asia it is the earth. This earth’s container is the solar system. Everyone requires some container. Paramá Prakrti also requires some container. No one can be without shelter. Only Parama Puruśa is without shelter. He requires no shelter since He is the shelter of all. I have just mentioned that one name of Paramá Prakrti is nára. In Sanskrit ayana means “shelter” or “holder”. He who gives shelter to nára or Paramá Prakrti is Náráyańa. Who is Paramá Prakrti’s shelter? Parama Puruśa. Hence Náráyańa means Parama Puruśa. In every case we are getting Parama Puruśa and again Náráyańa also means Parama Puruśa.

A few days ago in a certain place I gave a talk about Hari. Hari means harati pápan ityarthe harih. In Sanskrit harańa means “theft”. The thing is, in society we condemn someone who steals. In Ananda Marga it is considered to be in violation of asteya [non-stealing]. Even mentally it is not condoned. However, one who steals we call Hari. It is not a good thing. It is against the sixteen points, but the word Hari means “one who steals”. What does He steal? He steals the sins of the devotee. The point is that his sons and daughters, his children, are very dear to Parama Puruśa. Children are dear to their father; it is quite natural. But not all of these children are equally well behaved. Human beings are characterized by their errors – “To err is human.” Now Parama Puruśa is not simply a judge. There is a domestic relationship as well. It would not be proper if He only acted as an administrator. There is a relationship of love and affection with Him.

Now, his sons and daughters, today they are conscious and refrain from committing any sins, but in the past they committed many. How will they cope with this burden of sins? For some people this burden [of sins] is so heavy that they will have to take birth five hundred times more in order to lessen it. So, will Parama Puruśa desire that His children carry this burden for five hundred more lives? Certainly not. Rather He will want them to be free, to have their burden lightened. So what should be done? What will he tell his children? He will tell them: “Do one thing. From now on follow the right path. Give me the sins you have accumulated up until now. I will carry that burden.”

Now the interesting thing is that the devotees also have a certain common sense. They have a sense of responsibility. They say: “How can I give you my sins? We will give you delicacies to eat, we will worship you, we will sing your kiirtana, we will try to make you happy. But how can we give you our sins? What a terrible idea! We cannot, we will not give you our sins.” But if they do not give Him their sins, then they will have to carry that burden for thousands of lives. He does not want His children to undergo so much suffering. Despite his son being a thief or dacoit, a father sees a lawyer in an effort to save him. It’s the same situation. So what does He do? Since they will not give them openly, He steals the sins of His sons and daughters without their knowledge.

You all know well, you have read in the second volume of Varńa Paricaya⁽¹⁾, that taking other’s things without their permission is theft. So He is also stealing. Of course, He is stealing for their good, but it is still theft. Since He is committing harańa, or stealing, one of His names is Hari. So whatever meaning of Ráma we accept, whatever meaning of Náráyańa or Hari we accept, it refers to the one and the same Parama Puruśa. It is out of ignorance that human beings fight.

Now the thing is that every human being will have to stick to one name [of Parama Puruśa], not innumerable names. Even though each name ends up being the same, they will have to take on one name only, not many, because they will have to become established in that name. For this reason human beings should never accept two names, only one – internally one name, externally one name, everywhere one name. In prosperity one name, in adversity one name, never two.

In the Rámáyańa, once Hanuman was asked: “Look Hanuman, Náráyańa has the same meaning as Ráma. Still you are mad for repeating the name Ráma; the word Náráyańa never comes out of your mouth, not even by mistake. Why is this so?” Hanuman replied:

Shriináthe jánakiináthe cábhede paramátmani;
Tathápi mama sarvasvah Rámah kamalalocanah.

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

I know that shriináth means Náráyańa and jánakiináth means Ráma and that there is no difference between the two, that they are, in fact, one entity. Cábhede paramátmani — paramátmani ca abhedah. They are one entity, not separate. Still I accept one and not many. I am not sahasrabuddhi or shatabuddhi; I am ekbuddhi. You all know the story that in a certain pond there were once three fish by the name of Shatabuddhi, Sahasrabuddhi and Ekbuddhi⁽²⁾. One day some fisherman arrived and decided that the next day they would catch all the fish. Sahasrabuddhi told his wife: “I will fight against these fishermen with a thousand tricks; they won’t catch me.” Shatabuddhi said: “I will fight with a hundred tricks.” And Ekbuddhi told his wife: “Look, it’s best we go to another pond during the night. My ekbuddhi is telling me this.” So they left, and the next day, when the fishermen had caught all the fish, Ekbuddhi told his wife:

“Shatabuddhih shirasyastyayam lambate ca sahasradhiih;
Ekbuddhirahaḿ bhadre kriiŕámi vimale jale.”

“ ‘See, O good lady, Sahasrabuddhi is in the fisherman’s basket and Shatabuddhi is dangling from the fisherman’s hand, but I, Ekbuddhi, am playing in pure water.’ ”

One should be Ekbuddhi. Hanuman said: I am one-minded, not many-minded. Although there is no difference between Náráyańa and Ráma, I don’t know anyone but Ráma. I don’t know any Náráyańa.

So you should always keep in mind that one should proceed ahead with one name, not many. Therein lies success, prosperity, everything.

(2) Buddhi means intellect or talent. Sahasra means 1000; Shata means 100. Eka means one. –Trans.

The Meaning of a Few Names – 1

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Yesterday some people became avadhúta.⁽¹⁾ Today I will explain the meaning of the names they were given.

Manomayánanda: Manomaya + ánanda. Where does the word manomaya come from? The word manomaya is derived by adding the suffix mayat́ to the root of the word manah. The suffix mayat́ is attached to indicate “that from which something is formed.” It is not a verbal affix (primary suffix) but rather a nominal affix (secondary suffix), that is, it is affixed to nominal root, not the root verb. Manah is a word. For example, dayá +mayat́ = dayámaya, which means “that which is formed of compassion”. Krpámaya means “that which is formed of grace”. Svarńamaya means “that which is formed of gold”. Mrńmaya means “that which is formed of earth”. Cinmaya means “that which is formed of consciousness”. So manomaya means “that which is formed of mind”.

Now a man has a body made of the five material factors. It has not been formed of mind, but that material body is operated by its mind. Mind is the director. So the body is not manomaya; it is material – páiṋcabhútamaya. But what is the case with Parama Puruśa? Parama Puruśa is not páiṋcabhútamaya but rather manomaya. He has a mind and that mind is operated by átmá [consciousness]. Nothing takes place at all through any material body. If He ever came in a material body then that material body would have to remain within His mind. It cannot go outside Him, that is to say, in this case also He is manomaya, not páiṋcabhútamaya. He has created that material body within His mind, so He is manomaya.

Now, whatever we see in this universe we call quinquelemental. Whatever we see in this material world is real to us in its quinquelemental form but to Parama Puruśa it is not. He thinks in this way. He thinks the palm tree, He thinks the mountain. To us these are all quinquelemental but to Him they are psychic, completely psychic. Hence Parama Puruśa is manomaya.

This manomaya entity is called manomaya for yet another reason; this being that Parama Puruśa is present in every cavity of the human mind. In other words, there is no way I can hide anything from Him because He is all-pervading. He is present within everything. Everything has been created by his thought process. Your material body has also been created by His thought process, and He is within your mind. And this individual mind of yours, which is within your body as a result of clash and cohesion and also functions outside the body, has also been created by His mind. He is present within it and within your átmá as well. Hence He is manomaya both within your mind and outside it as well. There is no way for you to hide anything from him. “Today I couldn’t do this work, it should have been done last night. Today I won’t go in front of Bábá because who knows what will happen. If He says something in front of the others, I’ll be cut to the quick. I won’t go today; I’ll go tomorrow.” You have thought all these in your mind, but He who is manomaya, He hears everything. It is better not to think in this way. Such thoughts are not proper. Rather one should say: “You know everything. Today I’m a little scared, so I’m not going.”

This is manomaya. The bliss that one derives by ideating on that manomaya Parama Puruśa cannot be gotten anyplace else. The name of that bliss is manomayánanda.

Jagadbhásakánanda: In Sanskrit the word jagat is derived by adding the suffix kvip to the root verb gam. How does the suffix kvip function? For example, mayat́, meaning “that from which something is formed,” is affixed to the verbal root, not the nominal root. With the word jagat, the suffix kvip is attached to the verbal root gam. Kvip is attached to the verbal root, the root verb, not the nominal root. What does the root verb gam mean? Here the suffix was used in the sense of “nature”, that is, “to show the nature of”. For example, adding the suffix kvip to the root verb śad prefixed by upa and ni yields upaniśad. Upa means “near”; ni means “deeply”. That which brings a human being profoundly near to Parama Puruśa is upaniśad. The suffix kvip has been used and meaning of it, is – “To bring near is its nature.” The root verb gam and the suffix kvip form the word jagat. Gam means “to move” and that whose nature is to move we call jagat. Therefore the suffix kvip has been used.

Everything on this earth is moving. Movement is its nature, it is a sign of advancement. There is no way, no scope, for anyone to stop. It cannot happen. A dead body also cannot stop, because it is on this earth. The earth revolves, it moves continuously. Whatever has been created in this universe, whatever is begotten by the imagination of manomaya, is moving. It is jagat.

The word bhásaka comes by adding the suffix śak or the suffix ńak to the root verb bhás. Let me say something about the suffixes śak and ńak. In order to accomplish some work, there is often the need of two entities. One is a person and the other the object this person uses in order to do the work. Imagine that someone is making an earthen jar. Who is the maker of the jar? The person, of course, and the earth as well. The suffix ńak is attached to the root of the earth. The suffix śak is attached to the root of the man who is making it, and the suffix ńak is added to the root of the object or the element with whose help something is made.

Let us say, for example, that something is being dyed. For example, some cloth is being stained with a dye. Here there are two things. There is the person who is applying the dye, and there is the dye which has been bought in the market. The pigment is raiṋjak – raiṋjak sáván [dying soap] – formed by adding the suffix ńak to the root verb rańj, and the man who is applying the dye we call rajaka, by adding the suffix śak to the root verb rańj. In Bengali the word rajaka is used to mean dhopá [washerman] because in the olden days the washermen used to dye clothes. The actual meaning of the word rajaka is “a person who applies dye”.

Now the meaning of the root verb bhás is “to illuminate”, “to make radiant”. He who has coloured the entire world – since it is coloured we are able to see it – he is bhásaka. So jagadbhásaka means we are able to see the universe. Why? Because He has made it shine, has made it radiant. Everything shines with His light, so He is jagadbhása. Jagadbhásaka and jagadbhása – both work – by adding the suffix al. One who knows this is a spiritual aspirant. He is that Parama Puruśa who is manomaya. So one will ideate on Him, will meditate on Him, will repeat His japa [repetition of mantra], will come close to Him, will heed His instructions. And what is that bliss that one gets by being absorbed in the thought of Him? It is jagadbhásakánanda.

A prefix, nand root verb + al suffix = ánanda. This ánanda gives a human being unlimited pleasure. No object gives a human being endless pleasure. For example, a sandesh [a type of milk sweet] gives pleasure as long as it is on the tongue, but once it is has been swallowed the sandesh comes to an end. But the type of pleasure we get from something that gives us endless pleasure is called ánanda. The ánanda or bliss that we get by ideating on jagadbhásaka, that pleasure which has no end, is jagadbhásakánanda.

Krśńapremánanda: In Sanskrit the root verb krś means “to culture”, “to cultivate”, “to till the land”. This root verb has another meaning as well: “to pull” or “to attract”. Á – krś + anat́ = ákarśańa [attraction]. Another meaning of the root verb krś is the thought of “I exist.” Everyone thinks “I exist”. “I am coming from New Barrackpore.” “I am going to the jágrti.” It is only after the thought of “I exist” that a person thinks of anything else. This sense of “I exist” is within everyone. Thinking of this “I exist”, this action, we call krś. We don’t think, “I don’t exist;” we think “I exist”.

Now the word Krśńa is derived by adding the suffix na to the root verb krś. The word Krśńa means “he who attracts everyone, whether we know it or not”. Knowingly or unknowingly, everything is being attracted, is being drawn towards him. That attraction is irresistible. It is no use saying that we won’t be moved by that attraction. We will have to rush towards him because Krśńa draws the mind and draws the legs also. If the feet say they won’t go, the mind will say that it has to go. And if the mind says that it won’t go, the feet will drag it in his direction, even if it does not want to come. Another meaning of the word Krśńa is “nucleus of the universe”. Sitting at the very center he attracts or draws everything.

The second meaning of the word Krśńa is “the colour black.” Of all colours in this world, people’s sight is first drawn to the colour black. In this sense the colour black is called Krśńa, that is, it attracts.

Every human being thinks “I exist, I exist,” but they can only think “I exist” when Parama Puruśa gives them the mental force to think it. If He would not give them that mental force then the thought “I exist” would not be thought. Bricks, stones and wood do not think, are not able to think, “I exist”. But living beings think this, especially human beings. The name of the one who supplies the force behind this thought of “I exist,” that is, I exist because He exists, is Krśńa.

Now the topic is Krśńaprema. Attraction is the law of nature, not repulsion. We may say that repulsion is negative attraction, but attraction is not negative repulsion. So attraction is the chief characteristic.

Say, for instance, a person is attracted to sandesh. Sandesh is something limited, so we cannot call this attraction prema . That attraction is a kind of mental weakness. However, when that attraction rushes towards the unlimited, that is, rushes in the direction of Krśńa, then we call it prema. It means mental and physical propulsion for that universal nucleus. When we feel attracted towards that nucleus, that Krśńa, whether it be mentally or physically, to the extent that we cannot resist, even if we wanted to, then it is called Krśńaprema. I cannot resist drinking liquor so I rush towards the liquor store – this is a limited thing. We call it ásakti [attachment, addiction]. Pánásakti, madyásakti [intemperance] – these are all ásakti, not prema. The bliss that lies behind this willingly or unwillingly rushing towards the Supreme is called Krśńaprema.

(1) Avadhúta – Avdhúta (male) or Avadhútiká (female) literally means, “one who is thoroughly cleansed mentally and spiritually”; a monk or nun of an order close to the tradition of Shaeva Tantra. –Trans.

The Meaning of a Few Names–2

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Sumantránanda: Su is an upasarga. In English upasarga means “prefix”. Sanskrit has twenty prefixes.

[Pra, pará, apa, sam, anu, ava, nir, dur, abhi, vi, adhi, su, ut, ati, ni, prati, pari, api, upa, á – these are the twenty Sanskrit upasargas.]

One of these is Su which means bhála [good] – this word comes from the Sanskrit word bhadra. When bhála refers to “physically good” then the Sanskrit word for this is accha. Su + accha = svaccha – svaccha jal [pure water]. From accha comes the modern Hindi ácchá – ácchá-acchii-acche. Acchá means “physically good”, good in the sense of when it is a qualification. Where su refers to “physically good” the word ácchá is used. Ácchá means sundarákrti — physically good. Sundaram here means “good”; the prefix su is used in this sense.

Now, how does the word “mantra” come about? Mananát tárayet yastu sah mantrah parikiirtitah. Mantra is that by which, when it is ideated upon, one obtains the path of liberation. Manana kará means “to think”. The mind has two functions – to think and to remember. Mana + trae + d́a. Adding the suffix d́a to the root verb trae gives tra. The root verb trae means “to liberate”, and tra means “that which liberates”, “liberator.” Gae + trae + d́a plus the feminine iṋiiś makes gáyatrii, that is, that which, by singing, the human being attains the path of liberation. Mantra means “that by which, when it is thought about or remembered or ideated upon, one attains the path of liberation.” Mananát tárayet yastu sah mantrah parikiirtitah.

Sumantra means “a good mantra”, that is, the best mantra. What is the best mantra? The brahmabiija [acoustic root of Supreme Consciousness]. The brahmabiija is the best acoustic root because the universe is produced from it. Of all the sounds that exist, of all the acoustic roots, the most powerful acoustic root, the most powerful mantra is the brahmabiija. Thus sumantra means brahmamantra, brahmabiija. The bliss that one derives with the help of this sumantra or brahmabiija is called sumantrananda.

Sucetánanda: I have just talked about the meaning of su. The meaning of the word ceta is “consciousness” or “cognitive faculty”. The bliss that one gets from this cognitive faculty or sundaram ceta or citishakti, paráshakti or Parama Puruśa or suceta, that is, the bliss that one gets by coming into close proximity with Brahma, is called sucetánanda.

Ártapremánanda: In Sanskrit rta means “influenced by”. The word árta comes from the word rta – árta or átura. That person who has been affected by any kind of pleasure or pain, by any disease or illness or anxiety, is árta, for example, duhkhárta, mohárta or shokárta, that is, one who is overcome or afflicted by grief. If someone close to us or dear to us dies, then shoka [grief] + árta = shokárta [grief-stricken]. The original word is rta. When a person is overcome by something – be it anxiety or disease, physical or mental illness – that distressed person, neglected person, troubled person, looks to others for sympathy. When you are in a normal state then it is fine if no one is close by, but if you are distressed or overcome by grief then you will want at least one or two persons to be with you. In times of happiness – say, for example, you receive some good news – what will your mind like to do? “Let me tell him; let me tell her. Let me call him; let me call her.” Don’t you do this? Of course, you do. Similarly, if you eat something tasty, it feels good afterwards. Then you feel like telling everyone how good it was. The norm is that when a person feels some happiness they want to tell others about it, because at that moment they are overcome by that happiness, they are sukhárta. In the same way, when someone is in distress they cry and moan and say: “O, look what happened to me.” They want to call others and tell them about it. This is the norm.

When some misfortune occurs they lament: “This is what you had in mind for me, Lord? This is what you do to me after all that’s happened?” At other times they don’t bother about the Lord, whether he has eaten or not, or slept or not. But when misfortune strikes they wail and moan: “This is what you had in store for me, Lord? This is your judgment?” For an afflicted person there is only one ally and that is the Lord. When everyone else has rejected or abandoned them, when they have no one else to turn to, they call on Parama Puruśa. They know that there is someone who has love (prema) for the afflicted. He is ártaprema [having love for the afflicted], and the bliss of this ártaprema, that is, ártapremánanda, the bliss which comes from proximity to Parama Puruśa, the bliss that comes from imposing the ideation of the Lord in times of distress, is ártapremánanda.

Discrimination in Rights

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Often a question arises in the minds of human beings as to whether there exists any discrimination in the right to liberation or salvation. It is an old question and a complex one. There are some few – why a few – there are many people of great influence and esteem spread all around the earth who put forth various reasons and fallacious arguments to try and prove why only certain people can get liberation or salvation and the rest cannot. For example, the so-called low caste people cannot get liberation or salvation, or women cannot get liberation or salvation. Such are their ideas.

These ideas are groundless. Behind them there is that age-old psycho-economic exploitation. They first exploit people in the psychic sphere, then in the socio-economic and other spheres of life. Many books have been written in abstruse language putting forth such fallacious arguments. Some are written in Hebrew, some in Sanskrit, and the common people are unable to understand them. Quoting these books, they claim that low caste people or women have no right to liberation or salvation but there is no clear proof that this is true. The thing is, I fail to understand what they mean by “low caste people”. If everyone in this world belongs to Parama Puruśa, if all are children of the Supreme Father, then where does the question of high caste or low-caste arise? Those who acknowledge the Supreme Father cannot make caste discriminations among his children. One father has five children; they cannot have five different castes. Hence one who acknowledges the Supreme Father does not acknowledge caste distinction, and one who acknowledges caste distinction does not acknowledge the Supreme Father, the Lord. Since one who accepts caste distinction does not accept the Lord, all this trickery is nothing but an artifice for deceiving and exploiting the people. There is nothing else behind it.

Women’s rights have also been taken away in this way. “This cannot be done. That cannot be done.” If women do this they will be disgraced, but if men do the same thing they won’t be. What kind of nonsense is this? The same rule applies to everyone. If men are the sons of Parama Puruśa then women are his daughters and they have equal rights, otherwise it is injustice. A father takes his little daughter onto his lap and caresses her in the same way that he does his little son. He does not harbor any thought in his mind that he won’t caress her because she is a girl. Hence those who say that women do not have a right to liberation or salvation are opportunists. They are exploiters of society. They are wicked people, evildoers.

In the Tantras, Párvatii asks if there is any discrimination in the right to liberation or salvation. It is true that among the various paths of sadhana, among the various paths accepted by Tantra, some are easy and some are difficult. Among these are the dakśińácára [right-hand path], vámácára [left-hand path], madhyamácára [middle path], viirácára [path of the brave], and divyácára [path of the godly]. These are not for everyone. For the well educated there may be one practice and for the very courageous another. One way is prescribed for the gentle-minded and another for the courageous. Some practices are common to all, for example kiirtana. In the process of sadhana, there may be some greater or lesser differences. However, as regards the attainment of liberation or salvation no discrimination or differentiation can be made. Everyone can attain liberation or salvation. Thus Shiva has said to Párvatii:

Átmajiṋánamidaḿ devi paraḿ mokśaekasádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

[Self-knowledge, Párvatii, 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.]

In actuality, whatever the type of sadhana, when a person achieves self-knowledge then they realize that their path to salvation lies in their sadhana. When a unit being obtains a human body as a result of efforts from life to life, they become fit for attaining liberation with the help of this kind of self-knowledge. Hence herein lies the proof that one who has obtained a human body is suitable for attaining liberation or salvation. Here the question of discrimination of rights does not arise, nor does the question of caste. The question of any difference in intellect or learning does not come into play. One will have to have a human body and one will have to put it to work. One who has obtained a human body but who does not put it to work, who is not committed to spiritual practices, is inferior to an animal. That person is inferior to an animal for the reason that an animal does not know how sadhana is to be done, how one is to move towards Parama Puruśa. For this reason it does not do sadhana. But if a human knowingly does not do sadhana then he or she sins consciously. He or she is inferior to an animal.

Krśńa bhajivára tare saḿsáre áinu
Miche máyáy bandha haye vrkśa sama hainu.

[I came to the world to worship Lord Krśńa, but I have become bound by illusion and become like a tree.]

I will not say vrkśa sama hainu [shall become like a tree] but rather vrkśádhama hainu [shall become inferior to a tree].

Now what is this self-knowledge through which a human being can attain liberation or salvation? What is knowledge (jiṋána)? The word jiṋána is a late Vedic word, not an Old Vedic word. In Old Vedic the root verb vid was used to mean “knowledge”, from which comes the word Veda. Veda means “knowledge”. In later times the Vedic word was jiṋánam. The Old Vedic root verb jiṋá became the root verb keno in Old Latin and from the Old Latin word keno comes the modern English word “know.” Although the “k” is now silent, it is written since it comes from the original keno. What is the meaning of the root verb jiṋá, of the verb “to know”? Subjectivization of external objectivity or external physicality. What is this subjectivization? The knower is the subject and the known is the object, and when this object is transmuted into the subject, i.e., when the object becomes one with the subject, then we may say, that is the process of knowing or knowledge. Now the object is reflected in the psychic sphere. Whether this subjectivization be internal projection or external projection, the process of mentally conceiving an external object in the psychic sphere and making it one’s own is the act of knowing; the act of knowledge has taken place. But the átmá is not an external object, so how can the question of subjectivising it arises? I am not getting it from outside, so what is this self-knowledge? There are overblown discussions about self-knowledge in many places in many scriptures, but none of them have taken the time to explain clearly what it actually is.

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánaḿ jiṋánanyanyáni yáni tu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni sárasya naeva bodhanát.

[Self-knowledge is the real knowledge – all other knowledge is a mere shadow of knowledge; and will not lead to realization of the truth.]

It is said that the knowledge of any object other than átma [consciousness, soul] is not knowledge but rather the semblance of knowledge. For example, a shadow has two parts, the umbra and penumbra. Similarly, apart from the knowledge of Brahma, the knowledge of anything else is the umbra and penumbra of knowledge, because that reflection, assimilation or subjectivization takes place in the mental sphere, not in the átmik sphere. Hence self-knowledge is that knowledge which is contained within oneself, which does not come from outside. The awareness of that sense of existence which is contained within oneself, is self-knowledge. And that special kind of awareness of this internal sense of existence is as much true for the collective as it is for the individual or the unit. It is as much true for the pratyagátmá⁽¹⁾ as it is for the unit self (jiivátmá), and in the case of the Cognitive Faculty as well. This self-knowledge is knowledge. The rest is not knowledge; it is the refuge of knowledge, because no other knowledge is complete or perfect.

Say, for instance, a certain gentleman resides in Midnapore. If he says that he is an authority in geography or that he knows geography very well, and I ask him, “Okay sir, then please tell me how many anthills there are in Midnapore,” he won’t be able to answer me. If I ask him how many bricks there are in the city of Midnapore he won’t be able to answer me either, because this kind of knowledge is not complete under any circumstances. Shiva has said: átmajiṋánamidaḿ devi paraḿ mokśaekasá-dhanam.

Where there is no scope for a second entity then it is self-knowledge. This self-knowledge paves the path to salvation. So what is necessary in order to cultivate or pursue or attain this self-knowledge for the attainment of salvation? Nothing more than a human body. And the attainment of salvation has nothing to do with whatever caste has been branded on that human body, nor with whether it is male or female. Nor does it have anything to do with whether one is learned or unlearned.

Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát . Sukrtaeah: Whereas in Laokik Sanskrit the word sva is used to mean “self”, in Vedic Sanskrit the word su is used in the same sense. Rtaḿ pivantao sukrtasya loke. Here sukrtasya means svakrtasya [self created]. Sukrtaermánavo bhútva – when a living being attains a human body by dint of their actions, actional faculty, efforts and the proper completion of their actions, then they are able to acquire self-knowledge. For the acquisition of this self-knowledge, the guru will give instructions how to proceed. The guru will teach them and provide the philosophy necessary to guide them in their forward movements. And that has been provided. If a human being is to walk this path, then this philosophy must make provisions for how to maintain adjustment with the society, and that has been provided. If only a spiritual philosophy is given and not a socio-economic philosophy, then the human being will have to suffer innumerable afflictions in the social and economic spheres. One will have to move ahead while facing countless oppressions and under the pressure of such circumstances, they may fall from the spiritual path. Thus, just as there is the need of a spiritual philosophy in order to create a strong society and a strong and well-knit community of spiritual aspirants, there is even more need for strong socio-economic philosophy. Without it, equilibrium cannot be maintained. You won’t be able to maintain your socio-economico-psychic equilibrium or equipoise. You require it. It is a must for living beings.

Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát . In this way one who acquires knowledge attains liberation or salvation. Now many may think that knowledge is something for the pandits. This is absolutely not so. The knowledge of the pandits is a confusing mess; it is hardly worth anything.

Mathitvá catváro vedán sarvashástráń caeva hi;
Sárantu yogibhih piitaḿ takraḿ pivanti pańd́itáh.

[Churning all the four Vedas and other scriptures, the cream is consumed by the yogis. What remains is eaten by the jiṋániis (philosophers).]

The word pańd́ita comes from pańd́a meaning “realization resplendent with knowledge”. Ahaḿ brahmásmiiti sá buddhi pańd́á iti ucyate [the realization of “I am Brahma” is known as pańd́á]. In Bengali there is also a surname Pańd́á. People mistakenly say Páńd́á, but it is not Páńd́á but rather Pańd́á. One who is established in the knowledge of that realization of “I am Brahma” is pańd́ita. One who desires to attain that knowledge is páńd́eya.

It is said that there are how many hundreds of scriptures and that these scriptures are like the ocean. When these many scriptures are churned, what is obtained? For example, when milk is churned, butter is obtained and the buttermilk remains on the bottom. Similarly, when the ocean of scriptures is churned then the essence, the butter or knowledge, floats to the top. And those who are devotees, who are spiritual aspirants, who want Parama Puruśa and nothing else, they eat this butter, while the pandits die arguing. When they finally come around to eating, they find that the devotees have eaten all the butter and left only the buttermilk. Then they argue and debate about the buttermilk for a few days and when they go to drink it they find that it is spoiled. That is the defect of the pandits. This “there is nothing that I don’t know” attitude, this know-it-all psychology, is the greatest disease of the pandits. As long as this disease is present it is impossible to attain self-knowledge, because as long as mental equilibrium is not present, self-knowledge is not and cannot be obtained.

How can an ordinary person attain this self-knowledge? What is the path to its attainment? The mind should be apexed. The mind should be pinnacled and directed towards the one. Then one does not take notice of any obstacles in the path; one must not. That one-pointed ideation rushes towards one’s iśt́a, towards one’s beloved. Chot́e je jan báṋshiir t́áne se ki tákáy pather páne? [Does he who is rushing after the (Kriśńa’s) flute bother to look at the path?] He rushes ahead like a madman. He will reach his goal, will reach the beloved.

For this the mind will have to be made one-pointed through sadhana, and the best means for achieving one-pointedness is kiirtana. Kiirtaniiyá sadá harih. Human beings should always do the kiirtana of the Lord. When one does kiirtana the mind becomes one-pointed within a short time. Then one sits for sadhana and while sitting there is progress, the mind becomes spotless, everything is gained. The human being will have to rush towards Parama Puruśa. Nobody can become a jiṋánii by reading books. A person earns real knowledge by rushing towards Parama Puruśa and coming into his close proximity, and one who earns this real knowledge attains liberation or salvation. For this, one who does not know their abc’s will make it, and one who has an MA in 700 languages will not make it. This is a different world, a different matter altogether. An intelligent person, therefore, will move forward single-mindedly on the path of sadhana, and in order to prepare his mind for sadhana that person will certainly do a little kiirtana. I have said this before in several places and I am saying it again: kiirtaniiyah sadá harih, that is, one must do the kiirtana of the Lord, the kiirtana of Parama Puruśa. And why must one do the kiirtana of Parama Puruśa? Because one of his names is Hari. Hari means: harati pápaḿ ityarthe harih, that is, he who steals the sins of the unit being is Hari.

Now you may say that non-stealing (asteya) is one of our moral precepts. Asteya means “non-stealing”. So Parama Puruśa steals? What a thing! Fie, fie, fie, this is not good at all. It is against Yama-Niyama, against the Sixteen Points. This is very bad. Actually it is bad, but the Lord faces some inconvenience and it behooves all of you to properly consider that inconvenience and then say whether or not he is following Yama-Niyama or the Sixteen Points. What happens is that every living being is extremely dear to the Lord because everyone is His progeny, progeny of the Supreme Father, of Parama Puruśa. Whether they are saint or sinner, both are His progeny. The sinner who is up to their ears in the mire of hell is also His progeny. He is also not insignificant to Him. If He will tell him “get out of my sight,” then that sinner will tell Him: “I will get out of Your sight then, but tell me where should I go since there is nothing outside You. Everything is within You. So if You tell me to go outside You, then it means there is some place outside You where You are telling me to go. If such a place exists then You are not endless. You are not the Lord. So change Your name. But if you let me stay then it is okay, there is no need to change Your name. So it is Your duty to uplift me, to show me the path to liberation and salvation. I am Your child, so this is my right.” Every human being can claim this right from him.

Now Parama Puruśa wants every human being to attain liberation or salvation. Why would He want any daughter or son of Him to carry forever the burden of their sins. He certainly does not want that. There are many on this earth for whom one life would not be enough to discharge their sins. Fifteen or twenty lives would be required to put an end to them. However Hari or Náráyańa is Parama Puruśa, so He will certainly not want His dear sons and daughter to carry the burden of their sins life after life. So what will He do? He will say: “Do one thing, give me all your sins. Give me the burden of your sins. Lighten your load and move ahead. I will carry the burden of your sins.” But the devotee will say: “What is this, Lord! Why should you carry the burden of my sins? Have I nothing else to give that I will give you my sins? Why should I give them? I will cook delicious food for you, I will sing for you, I will dance kiirtana for you, I will make you happy. Instead of all that I should give you my sins? This cannot be. It simply cannot be.” But Parama Puruśa wants his sons and daughters to be liberated from the burden of their sins. Still they won’t give them to him. So what does He do, He steals their sins secretly, thus He is a thief, He is Hari. He has no other means but to take them secretly. But to take someone else’s belongings without saying is stealing. So this is stealing. For this reason, harati pápaḿ yah sah harih.

Bear in mind that this Hari, this Parama Puruśa, loves you so much that if you do His kiirtana with full concentration, with single-mindedness, then the mind becomes one-pointed. If in that state you do sadhana properly, then you will surely progress. Thus Shiva told Párvatii: Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

(1) Parama Puruśa in the sense “that which takes a stance opposite to the jiivátmá and witnesses the jiivátmá”. –Trans.

The Primary Causes of Success

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Whatever is practical, whatever you do and gain, the result is Tantra. Human beings face different sorts of problems in different spheres of life, and the solution to those problems is gotten through Tantra. In Tantra these questions are presented through Párvatii.

One of Párvatii’s questions was the following: People engage in different works, but sometimes they do not succeed at all or only meet with partial success. And then sometimes they succeed one hundred per cent. Why is this, and what are the secrets of success?

I have discussed this before and I am discussing it again because in practical life it is extremely necessary. At present Ananda Marga is passing through a phase of great speed. At this time the answer to this question carries great value for each person, for each spiritual aspirant, and so I am discussing it again.

Párvatii asked: what are the primary causes of success? In reply Sadáshiva said:

Phaliśyatiiti vishvásah siddherprathamalakśańam;
Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam;
Caturtho samatábhávo paiṋcamendriyanigrahah;
Śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro saptamaḿ naeva vidyate.

[There are seven requirements for success in any mission. The first is firm determination: “I must succeed.” The second is reverence. The third is guru pújá, or constant remembrance of one’s spiritual master. The fourth is equanimity of mind. The fifth is control of the senses. The sixth is a balanced diet. The seventh – there is no seventh requirement.]

In order to be successful in whatever task a person puts their mind to, that person needs firm determination. “I must be successful in my mission” – such a firm resolve is necessary.

Nindantu niitinipuńáh yadi vá stuvantu
Lakśmii samávishatu grhaḿ gacchatu vá yatheśt́am;
Adyaeva marańamastu yugántare vá
Nyáyát pathi pravicalanti padaḿ na dhiiráh.

[Let those well-versed in ethics criticize me or praise me, as they so desire; let Lakśmii, the goddess of wealth, either be gracious enough (because of my activities) to reside in my house, or, if she prefers, go elsewhere; let death visit me today or decades later. It makes little difference to me. Wise people will never withdraw from the path of ideology, the path which they accept as their ideal.]

“If I set out to do some work, believing it to be just and proper, and if the pandits or the moral crusaders abuse me, then let them. I won’t let it sway me.” I don’t depend on the pandits, because in most cases, though not all, the pandits are lazy, indolent fellows. They cannot work, they lack courage and practical intellect; indeed, they are mostly parasites. Pańd́itáh-vanitáh-latáh , that is, pandits, women and creepers need some support with which to grow. I do not want such a thing, so I do not depend on the pandits. As regards vanitá, or women, our girls are committed to standing on their own feet, and I hope that they will very quickly do so. The conception exists that women are dependent on others. It is my firm conviction that they will disprove this contention.

The pandits – I have just said that they are lazy, indolent fellows – let them abuse me; it won’t sway me. Rather I won’t even bother to listen to them. I do not have the time. I won’t listen to their abuse for even a moment. And if they praise me I do not have the time to listen to that either. I have work to do. I have a goal to reach. And if, as a result of my work, Lakśmii, the goddess of wealth, comes and remains in my house, then well and good. But if she does not then it does not matter. My Prout philosophy does not support capitalism, so we do not go begging for the grace of Lakśmii. Moreover, the people of today have come to understand what the people of yesteryear did not, that Lakśmii is bound to reside in the houses of sinners. Can anyone get rich without resorting to some sort of thievery? Not at all, which means that you’ll find sin wherever you find Lakśmii. If Lakśmii wants to remain in my house then she is welcome; it makes no difference. If she wants to go, then she can go. I have no objection.

Now there is that story of the king. Once there was a very righteous (dhármika) king. He said, “let me establish a market,” but since there was not much buying and selling in that area, hardly anyone used to come to sell their wares. There were no customers. Then the king said: “Okay, whatever goods are not purchased by sunset, I will purchase them myself.” Then the vendors began to come. One day someone brought an image of the goddess of misfortune. Now who would buy the goddess of misfortune, who would keep her in their house? So no one bought it. Then the fellow went to the king and reminded him that he had promised to buy whatever was not sold, so kindly buy this.

The king replied “certainly,” and he bought it. That night, when the king lay down to sleep, he heard a sound as if someone was weeping, some lady. The king got up to search. He asked who was there and found a woman weeping.

“You let the goddess of misfortune into this house. I can no longer stay here. How can I, the goddess of fortune, remain in the same place with the goddess of misfortune?”

The king said: “Look, I gave my word that I would buy whatever was not sold. I am bound to the honour of my word, so I bought it. If that is to your liking then good, but if it is not then that is fine as well. As you wish.”

Lakśmii left. A short while later the king heard another sound, the clacking of shoes. The king went to check and saw a regal personage leaving.

“Okay,” said the king. “Do whatever you think right. Dharma is with me. I gave my word that I would buy it and I bought it.”

Finally at the end the god Dharma was leaving. The king asked, “Who are you?”

“No, that won’t do,” said the king. “I underwent so much just to preserve dharma and now you will also leave? What is this! This has all been done for your sake, so you cannot leave.”

Dharma stayed and afterwards the other gods and goddesses began to return one by one. The king had the gates locked but some were able to get through the gates, others through the ventilation shaft and still others through the skylight. They all said: “I also want to come back, I also want to come back.”

“If you wish to come, then come,” said the king, “and if you do not, then do not. I do not care.”

Finally Náráyańa also returned. “Ah, Náráyańa, what do you want?” said the king.

Then the king noticed a woman coming, her face covered by a veil. The king understood that she was Lakśmii. In order not to embarrass her, the king did not ask who she was, but Lakśmii crept back into the house, her face covered with shame.

That is the story. A dhármik person does not care for what others say; he or she is not afraid of anyone. Whether Lakśmii stays or goes wherever she likes, it does not matter at all. Dharma is with the dhármik. Dharmaḿ rakśati rakśitah. One who protects dharma is also protected by dharma. One who is on the true path does not bother about any other direction; he or she does not even think about it. And they will not leave the path that they have chosen as their life’s ideology for anything. If they have to die today as a result of taking that path, or if they have to die after endless time, let it be. It does not matter. Death will come one day – játasya hi dhruvormrtyuh. One who is born must surely die, today, tomorrow or the next day, one day or another. To curl up and lie down out of fear that death will come is the epitome of foolishness. Such a person cannot accomplish any great work. One should always remain ready for death. Human beings should always remain ready.

Thákbo ná bhái, thákbe ná keu
Thákbe ná bhái kichu,
Ei ánande yáo re cale
Káler pichu pichu.
Adhik din to vaite hoy ná
Shudhu ekt́i práń,
Ananta kál eki kavi
Gáibe eki gán?
Málá vat́e shukiye mare
Ye jan málá pare,
Seo to nay amar
Tave duhkho kiser tare?
Thákbe ná bhái thákbená keu
Thákbená bhái kichu,
Ei ánande yáo re cale
Káler pichu pichu.

[I will not remain, brother. No one and nothing remains. So move along in this bliss, at the heels of time. One life alone does not flow for many days. Will only one poet sing only one song for endless time? The garland withers and dies, and the one who wears it is also not immortal. So why this sorrow? I will not remain, brother. No one and nothing remains. So move along in this bliss, at the heels of time.]

This is quite correct. Thus, phaliśyatiiti vishvásah siddherprathamalakśańam – I will certainly be successful in the path that I have chosen – this firm determination, this strong faith, is the first factor. So it must be present and then a person will be victorious.

Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ. I must have shraddhá for the goal in whose direction I am moving. In the Vedic language shrat means “ultimate truth, supreme truth, eternal truth”. In other words, that truth which I recognize as supreme, above which there can be nothing higher, is called shrat, and the movement towards that shrat is shraddhá. Shrat + dhá + d́a + striyám ṋáp. Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ – I will have to have shraddhá for my goal, for the supreme beatitude, for that in which I am striving to be established. This is the second factor.

Trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam. What is the third one? Gurupújanam. What does guru mean? In the mundane world, in the psychic world, one cannot accomplish anything as long as the darkness of ignorance remains. In ancient Tantra that darkness of ignorance was called gu, and removing that gu, getting rid of it, defeating it, forcefully removing it, was called guru. One who removes the darkness is guru. One will have to maintain devotion for guru who removes this darkness because guru shows the way. If one does not move according to guru’s word then one can fall into danger at any moment.

Trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam. There are also different types of gurus. Among these there are three main categories. The first explains things: “Do this, do not do that.” He explains all these things but afterwards he does not endeavor to find out if one is doing it or not. He gives his teachings, takes some dakśińá [ritual offering] as well, accepts prańám [salutation] and some beaten rice, and it ends there. This is the third class guru. I would prefer not to use the word “guru” for this third class guru.

The second class guru is one who gives his teachings, explains things and tries to see if they are following them correctly, if they are walking the proper path. This is the second class guru. They are recognized as guru.

The first class guru is one who gives the teachings, certainly, and keeps track of his disciples as well, but who also lets them know that he will punish them to set them right. This is the first class guru. How is it? Nigrahánugrahe shakto gururityabhidhiiyate. One who loves very much, who loves with all their heart, but who meets out strict punishment when he sees impropriety or mindless action, is the true guru. Here the shloka is talking about this best class of guru, not the middling or lowest class of guru.

Caturtho samatábhávo. This is the fourth factor, to look on all with equal vision, that is, you will not harbour any inferiority or superiority complex. You are neither lesser nor greater than anyone else. When everyone is the progeny of the Supreme Father then no one can be inferior or superior. No one can be low caste or high caste. Not only that – the pandits and the fools are brothers; the rich and the poor are brothers. All are children of the Supreme Father. The person who thinks himself to be superior suffers from a mental disease. And the person who thinks himself to be inferior also suffers from a mental disease. As long as this mental disease exists nothing can be accomplished. Inferiority complex is bad; superiority complex is also bad. Defeatist complex is bad, and escapist complex is also bad. Many people think that if they run away from everything then they can perhaps save themselves. That will not do. One has to take strict care of one’s responsibilities. The meaning of this shloka is that one must not harbour any kind of complex. No kind of mental disease should be permitted. People speak high-sounding words but do not put them into action. In the field of action they accept untouchability and caste distinction. They are dangerous people. They are not only dangerous for the society but for themselves as well. They have their feet in two different boats. They can drown at any moment. A person has to remain in one boat. A few days ago in Siliguri I said that a person should be ekabuddhi [single-minded], not anekabuddhi [many-minded].

There is that well-known story. In a pond there lived many fish. One day the fishermen decided to catch all the fish the following morning. Among the fish there was one who was a great intellectual. His name was Shatabuddhi [hundred-minded]. He told his wife: “Let the fishermen come, I have a hundred ways to swim away and save myself from them.” There was another fish whose name was Sahasrabuddhi [thousand-minded]. Sahasrabuddhi said: “I have a thousand ways to swim away and save myself.” There was another fish whose name was Ekabuddhi. He told his wife: “Look, I have only one mind and that mind is telling me that if the fishermen throw their nets then I won’t survive. So let us go to another pond during the night.” They left, and the next morning the fishermen came, threw their nets and caught all the fish in the pond. Then the fish Ekabuddhi told his wife:

“Shatabuddhih shirasyastyayaḿ lambate ca sahasradhii; Ekabuddhirahaḿ bhadre kriid́ámi vimale jale.”

“ ‘Look at that. The fish called Shatabuddhi is jumping in the fisherman’s net, and the fish called Sahasrabuddhi is dangling from the fisherman’s hand, while I, Ekabuddhi, am playing in pure water.’ ”

So one will have to be Ekabuddhi; one must act with a single mind. This single mind teaches the following, that when all are children of the Supreme Father, then there can be no difference of higher or lower. A certain person may be more learned, society may show him or her more respect, but as a human being society cannot consider that person superior to another. All are children of Parama Puruśa, so one who accepts caste distinctions displeases Parama Puruśa. Parama Puruśa is dissatisfied with their behaviour. They will not get his grace. One who thinks another to be stupid, who hates others, suffers from a mental disease. That person hates a child of the Supreme Father, so they can never get his grace. Similarly, one who is wealthy and thinks others to be less than animals, can also never get his grace. His grace remains far away because that person has not yet proven him or herself to be a human being.

Paiṋcamendriyanigrahah. Indriyanigraha, that is, a human being must maintain control over each and every organ. If that is not maintained, then control over the mind cannot be maintained. If there is no control over the mind, then there will be no spiritual progress. Thus the Buddha has said:

Cakkhuná saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu shotena saḿvaro
Ghánena saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu jihváya saḿvaro
Káyena saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu vácáya saḿvaro
Manasá saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu savvattha saḿvaro
Savvattha saḿvaro bhikśu, savvadukkha pamuccati.

[Control your eyes, O sádhu; sádhu, control your ears; control the sense of smell, O sádhu; sádhu, control the sense of taste; control your body, O sádhu; sádhu, control your speech; control your mind, O sádhu; sádhu, have overall control.]

This all-round restraint is indeed necessary. It will not do to simply eat what you get or do what you desire. When you eat you must consider if it is sentient, mutative or static. While eating you must think carefully as to what influence it will have over your body and your mind. You are not a goat or a camel that you will eat whatever you get. You have to think when you act.

Śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro. There is a Bengali saying: uno bháte duno val, bhará pet́e rasátal. If one eats less, then one’s strength increases and one does not fall sick, but if someone overeats, then they fall sick. Here it has been said: pramitáhára. Pramitáhára and parimitáhára are not the same. Parimitáhára means that I have not eaten a lot, nor have I eaten a little. That is called parimitáhár. And pramitáhár means that I have eaten little but I have eaten nourishing food. That is pramitáhára. You have the custom of eating sentient food. If you follow that then you meet the objective of pramitáhára.

Saptamaḿ naeva vidyate. After saying all this, Shiva concludes that these six are the causes of success and there is no seventh cause. Shiva has said that there is no seventh cause, it is true, and while I accept this I am adding one more thing. When you get a little time, do a little kiirtana so that the mind will be purified, which will result in greater spiritual progress.

Parama Puruśa – the Source of All Momentum

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

The word sarva contains three letters: sa, ra, and va. Sa means sattvaguńa [sentient force], ra means “energy”, and va means “nature” or characteristics. The world is composed of these three and they exist in Parama Puruśa. For this reason the final container of everything is Parama Puruśa. For instance, I create an elephant in my thoughts; certainly I know it as well. In the same way, Parama Puruśa is the knower of the entire universe. Parama Puruśa, however, is not the knower of the universe in the same sense that we knowingly perceive external objects. Ordinarily the easy knowledge that a person acquires about external objects comes through the medium of his or her sense organs. One gets that knowledge by coming in contact with a certain object. However, for Parama Puruśa there is no external object. Everything is internal. So the term “knowledge” as it applies to human beings does not apply to Parama Puruśa.

Parama Puruśa is the lord of both heaven and hell. For this reason it is said that everything is held within Him; nothing is outside Him. There is, in fact, no separate region such as heaven or hell. A spiritual aspirant is established in heaven or eternity by performing spiritual sadhana. This means that vidyámáyá [cosmic centripetal force] has two forces, samvit and hládinii. Through samvit a human being earns knowledge, moving away from the darkness of ignorance; through samvit humans move towards the life. Áhláda means “bliss”. Since Parama Puruśa is the blissful entity, as a result of samvit the experience of bliss appears within the human being. Gradually he or she reaches satyaloka and beyond that the human merges and becomes one with the ultimate blissful entity situated one of far shore of satyaloka [the causal world of macrocosm].⁽¹⁾ In one words, a person who performs spiritual sadhana advances towards Parama Puruśa, and that peaceful heavenly abode where Parama Puruśa resides is obtained.

What is degradation? The divine effulgence earned through the performance of spiritual sadhana dispels the darkness of the spiritual aspirant’s mind. And the moment we turn away from sadhana that darkness comes back to our mind to stay and our mind gradually advances towards deeper darkness. Thus in our gurupújá mantra the guru is the one who banishes that darkness of ignorance which befools our eyes and which arises as a result of our mind’s movement towards darkness. So, the guru is not a spatial entity. One who moves towards Parama Puruśa moves towards the world of knowledge.

Just as vidyámáyá has two forces, avidyámáyá [cosmic centrifugal force] also has two forces, vikśepa and ávarańii. The more a living being moves towards darkness, the more they gradually forget their true nature, their actual source. They think themselves to be separate from the Supreme Being and gradually they move towards deeper and deeper darkness. This is referred to as the living being’s movement towards darkness. However Parama Puruśa is everywhere. We have heard this in the Mahabharata. Since this is entirely the divine drama of one Parama Puruśa, wherever one goes, be it heaven or hell, their momentum comes from Parama Puruśa.

(1) This creation is divided into seven strata called lokas; the highest is satyaloka, the causal world of the Macrocosm. –Trans.

Vasu and Vásudeva

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Land means vasu. Vasu means “where one resides”; for example, a planet, a satellite, or any one of a number of such places where one can reside. There are eight of these, hence the word aśt́avasu [eight vasus]. Our earth is also a vasu. The one in whose vibration this vasu vibrates is called vásudeva. Vasudeva + ań = vásudeva. One name of Krśńa is Vásudeva because name of Krśńa’s father was Vásudeva. So vasu means “a place suitable for residing.” In one shloka it is said:

Bhú-bhúmi-dhará-dharitrii-sarvaḿsahá-vasumatii;
Gotrá-ku-prthivii-prthvii-kśamávanii-medinii-mahii.

This is vasu. These vasus or lands are vibrated by the vibration of Parama Puruśa. Not only that, there is something else as well. The English synonym for vasu is “abode”. The Farsi word is ábád. Allahabad means “abode of Allah”. The word ábád has been added to the names of many cities, for example, Allahabad or Elahabad, Jahanabad, Farukhabad, Saedabad, Hyderabad, and so forth.

This Parama Puruśa is not only in vasu or ábád but outside it as well. For example, he is in a place measured by ten fingers. Here the literal meaning of the words “ten fingers” will not do, because it is not correct to always take the philological meaning of something; its inner meaning should be accepted. For example, a certain gentleman is walking along a path. Say his name is Paiṋcánan Jhá. We call him saying: “Mr. Paiṋcanan, come over here, please.” Does Paiṋcánan here mean a man with five faces? No, of course not. Paiṋcánan is the name of that man. Here one must not take the literal meaning but rather the inner meaning.

Similarly, beyond the vasu where Parama Puruśa is present, He is also there in a land measured by ten fingers. In a shloka we find: sah bhúmiḿ vishvato vrttvá atyatiśt́haddasháuṋgulam . This shloka has three different versions. In the Rgveda it reads: sah bhúmiḿ vishvato vrttvá atyatiśt́haddasháuṋgulam . In the Yajurveda it reads: sah bhúmirvishvato sprśt́vá atyatiśt́haddasháuṋgulam . And in the Atharvaveda it reads: : sah bhúmiḿ sarvato vrttvá atyatiśt́haddasháuṋgulam . However, since it is a rk of the Rgveda, here the Rgvedic usage must be accepted.

We have seen that vasu means a habitable place. I want to say one thing in this regard. In ancient India there was a king by the name of Dasharathi Vasu. He used to make living arrangements in his kingdom for destitute people, to give them a place to live, so he was called Dasharathi Vasu by the public. Today also Vasu is one surname.

In this respect, planets and satellites are also vasus because they reverberate with the vibration of Parama Puruśa. Here the vibrational expression of Parama Puruśa is not limited to the eight vasus; outside them as well its actional flow remains unimpeded. Beyond them exists the vast quinquelemental universe and the five sensory organs and five motor organs as well as various psychic planes, such as the conscious, subconscious and causal. The vibrational flow of Parama Puruśa is active everywhere. In the flow of Pratisaiṋcara the kárańa mana or causal mind is referred to as the sámánya mana or microcosmic causal mind because in the path of Pratisaiṋcara, the macrocosmic causal mind cannot remain since the microcosmic causal mind is the final stage of this path of Pratisaiṋcara while the macrocosmic causal mind is the first stage in the path of Saiṋcara. Causal mind means mind in seed form, subconscious mind [subtle mind] means mind in sprout form, and conscious mind [crude mind] means mind in fully expressed form. In causal mind also there are possibilities of vibration. Causal mind is a part of mind but turiiya [a stage of purely spiritual realization] is not a part of mind.

The combined name of these three states of cosmic mind – causal, subconscious and causal – is triloka. But for expression or the possibility of expression to exist, if a relation between turiiya and triloka is not established then that expression is not possible; in spite of some vibration existing it will be extremely limited, partial. Uninterrupted expression is not possible. For example, if you remove one potful of water, then two, then three from a pitcher of water, will any water remain in the pitcher at the end? Certainly not. However, if on the one hand, you keep taking out potfuls of water but at the same time an uninterrupted stream of water is pouring into the neck of the pitcher, then will the pitcher ever become empty? Of course not! Hence turiiya is a state of limitless potential.

In the Shaevatantra, dharma is compared to a four-legged ox. It is said: eśa dharma catuśpádah [this dharma has four legs] – conscious, subconscious, causal and turiiya. You may have noticed that an ox can remain standing still for a long time. The reason is that there is a certain nerve in the bodies of living beings called kúrma nád́ii. If one can gain control over this kúrma nád́ii then the body can remain motionless. You will see that apart from two particular animals, this is generally not the case. One of them is the ox. You can see oxen remaining as motionless as a stone in the road. At that time they keep their minds fixed in the kúrma nád́ii. Human beings can also do this. Another is the lizard. One has to maintain control over this kúrma nád́ii, the nerve that controls the thyroid gland.

Eśa dharma catuśpádah. That is, dharma is a four-legged entity (vistára, i.e., expansion, rasa, i.e., flow, sevá, i.e., service and mokśa or turiiya). We are familiar with three of these but not with the fourth. The effort to become familiar with that fourth leg is called dharma. Dharma is an all-round effort to become familiar with the state of turiiya.

Traelokye yáni bhútáni táni sarváńi dehatah. That is, whatever is present in the macrocosm is also present in the microcosm. If an entire ocean is filled with milk, then a drop of that ocean will also be milk. In the same way these eight vasus or eight places are also concealed within the human being and are vibrated with one or another vibration of Parama Puruśa. Just as there are various crude and subtle expressions within the cosmic mind, there are also different crude and subtle expressions within the human mind, and all these expressions are manifested through the medium of different vrttis. There are six cakras from múládhára to ájiṋá. These six cakras are controlled from different places in the body. Each cakra is vibrated in a certain way with the vibration of energy from the cosmic mind. In the same way, the seventh cakra or gurucakra is also vibrated by a special energy of Parama Puruśa.

Now this gurucakra or guru entity or form of guru is also him, that is, that Supreme Entity, and he is attracting everything in this universe towards himself with unparalleled affection from one controlling point. The space measured by ten fingers lying between ájiṋá and sahasrára cakras also belongs to him. This ten-fingered space is the abode of Niśkala Brahma or pure Brahma. So the spiritual aspirant will have to gradually rise up from the bottom to the top, through múládhára, svádhiśt́hána, mańipura, anáhata, vishuddha, ájiṋá, and there, after bathing in the confluence of three rivers [in ájiṋá cakra] and being vibrated by the grace of Parama Puruśa, they will gradually rise upwards to the highest point of the ten-fingered abode of Parama Puruśa⁽¹⁾ and arriving there they merge into and become one with Him, this being the highest stage of sadhana. This is nirguńa nirvikalpa samádhi [non-attributional supreme spiritual stance].

(1) He is ten finger-widths above the trikut́i located at the midpoint between the eyebrows (i.e., His seat is the sahasrára cakra located at the crown of the head). –Trans.

The Source of Internal Stamina

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Now the question is: how is mental strength increased? Trńádapi suniicena. It is often seen that when someone says something an immediate reaction arises in a person’s mind. This is quite natural; it is not a sin. To stand in the way of sin, to retaliate or fight against it, this is natural. However, this does not prove how much internal stamina or force a person has. Thus it is said: trńádapi suniicena. Mahaprabhu [Shrii Caetanya Deva] gave this instruction to his devoted disciples:

Trńádapi suniicena taroriva sahiśńuná;
Amániná mánadena kiirtaniiyá sadá harih.

[You must be more humble than the grass and as tolerant as the tree. You must give respect to those whom no one respects, and always do kiirtana of Lord.]

In order for someone to awaken or gradually increase their internal stamina one will have to engage in proper work as follows:

Trńádapi suniicena. A person should be more humble than a blade of grass. Grass is such an ordinary thing. People walk on grass and the grass endures it. However, that grass contains tremendous life force. Rather, grass has even more life force than human beings. How much strength do animals like cows and elephants get by eating grass! Yet this grass bears the neglect of human beings without showing any reaction. But here it does not say “as tolerant as grass”, but rather that human beings will have to acquire more tolerance than grass.

Let us suppose someone attacks you. What will you do? Will you grab your rifle and run after them? No. First see how much tolerance you have. Endure it to the extent that you are able. Afterwards, if the matter goes beyond your capacity to bear, then that is another matter.

Now, when you have proven that you have within you enough capacity to endure, then what will happen? Your courage will increase. You will have faith that a certain amount of strength is stored within you. Then if you tell someone, “leave your sinful ways, take to the path of spirituality, take initiation, do sadhana,” you will find that your work is accomplished. This will be the case nearly ninety percent of the time. And if your work is not accomplished then other path will open up.

Trńa haite niicu haiyá save nik nám
Ápani nirabhimánii anye dive mán.

“With more tolerance than a blade of grass sing the name of Parama Puruśa. Give up your egotism; then others will sing your praises.”

Taroriva sahiśńuná. A very large tree which does not bear fruit is called vanaspati in Sanskrit, and a tree which is large in size but which also bears fruit is called vrkśa or taru, while those trees which are very beautiful to look at are only called taru. If they are not beautiful to look at then they are called vrkśa. In Sanskrit all plants are called mahiiruha, that is, that which parts the earth and rises up. A small sapling can be called mahiiruha even though it is small in size, although in this case it can be called shishu-mahiiruha [baby mahiiruha].

To be tolerant like a taru means that a human being must be as enduring as a vrkśa or taru, which tolerates so many blows and counterblows. However, this does not mean that if a wicked person comes to strike you or kill you that you will bear it without protest. It means that you should test how much strength to endure you have within you, so that a deep belief in yourself will awaken through knowing to what extent you can endure.

Now it is seen that you do not put your capacity to endure to the test. If something happens you react right away. I will say that instead of doing that, from time to time test how much capacity to endure you have inside you so that your self-confidence will become steadier. Be like a tree, which does not protest even if it is cut or ask water from human beings in the scorching heat of summer, but rather gives flowers to the priests and fruits and shade to travelers without asking those priests or travelers for water.

Kát́ileha taru yeman kichu ná bolay
Shukáiyá maile káre páni ná máuṋgay.

[When the tree is felled, it does not object;
And when it withers, it does not ask for water.]

Bear in mind that you have a duty towards others, but that no one has any duty towards you. Everyone’s individual duty is fixed. Only one who move forward with this as his or her only thought can do proper service. Otherwise the thought may remain in the mind of the one doing service that I have done such and such work for that person, so that person ought to do such and such for me. The thought must remain in the mind of the one doing service that I have a duty towards others but no one has any duty towards me.

Just as a tree serves and benefits everyone by giving shade, fruit, flowers and firewood without asking anything in return, a spiritual aspirant should lead their life with the same kind of noble sense of ethics. But it is interesting to see that there are many people in the society who can be heard saying that they have been doing service to society for many years. Their secret wish is that they might be given a pension or a medal. They hope for a recommendation from the government saying that since I played an important role in the struggle for independence then an independent India should give me a government pension. This kind of secret wish remains hidden in their mind. These kinds of people hope for some government title or government grant in exchange for their service to society, just as a shopkeeper exchanges salt for money. Actually such service is not service at all.

Amániná mánadena. Ápani nirabhimánii anye dive mána. People commonly show respect to those people who have achieved an honorable position in society, but here Mahaprabhu’s statement is: show respect to those neglected people who have no position in society, who are not held in esteem, to whom no one shows respect, those whom no one asks how they are doing. Inquire about how they are doing and help them to become established in society.

You must have often noticed that when a well-dressed gentleman talks, people address them with terms of respect such as ápani [respectful “you”] or ájiṋe [yes, sir]. But when talking with an ordinary labourer, you address them as tumi or tui [familiar and very familiar “You”]. When the stamp of poverty is visible on the face or in the dress then people use the familiar forms of address like tumi or tui, but when the stamp of affluence is on the face or the dress then people spontaneously speak to that person with respect. In Ananda Marga I address everyone with the familiar form, tumi, as in the English “you” [in the intimate sense].

Kiirtaniiyáh sadá Harih. What is kiirtana? When someone vocally sings the praises of God so that others can hear, it is called kiirtana. When it stays on the lips but is barely audible, then it is called mánasokti. And when it is confined to the lips and does not come out at all, then we call it upáḿshu. When it passes the lips and enters into another’s ear then we call it vácanika. When it is not a whisper but can be heard by distant ears, then that loud utterance is kiirtana. If this song of praise does not reach the ears of others, then we cannot classify it as kiirtana or give it the same respect. Now, when one does kiirtana, that person benefits and the person who hears kiirtana also benefits. People also sing bhajans [devotional songs] in a loud voice, but for their own satisfaction rather than for the satisfaction of others.

Bhajana is also vácanika but it is not kiirtana. Kiirtana and bhajana are not the same. Kiirtana’s greatness exceeds that of bhajana; it is incomparable. The difference between the two is firstly that bhajana is not heard at as great a distance as kiirtana, and secondly that people sing bhajans so that they can experience happiness, not so much to give happiness to others. Conversely, the ideation behind kiirtana is that others might also enjoy the same happiness listening to the praises of God that I get by singing the praises of God. This is the fundamental difference between bhajana and kiirtana. For this reason, Mahaprabhu has said kiirttaniyah sadá harih, rather than bhajaniiyah sadá harih. The benefit of kiirtana is that one whose mind is dirty becomes purified and one whose mind is already pure becomes even purer. One whose mind is holy becomes even holier. One whose mind was soiled but is no longer so is vimala, and one where it is not known if there was dirt in his or her mind or not, but at present there is not, is called nirmala.

Now kiirtana helps everyone. Whose kiirtana? Kiirttaniiyah sadá harih, that is, always do the kiirtana of the Lord. In ancient times people used to do the kiirtana of the kings and emperors. During the Mogul era, at the time of Akbar, singing the praises of the emperor became a traditional practice. Dilliishvarah jagadiishvaro vá [sing the praise of emperor of Delhi as well as of God in the same tone]. But what is gained by doing the kiirtana of this mortal man? Mahaprabhu gave the instruction to do the kiirtana of the Lord, not of the emperor.

Now the meaning of the word Hari is “one who steals, one who robs”. That is, he who, without their knowing, steals the sins or saḿskáras that a person has accumulated over lifetimes. Sins increase the burden of a person’s life; it makes a person’s life unbearable. So by whatever means a person’s burden must be lightened. Buddha used to say:

Sinca bhiikkhu imaḿ návaḿ sittá te lahu messati
Munca pure munca paccheta majjhe munca bhavassa páragu.

Buddha says: “O mendicant, look and see. Water is entering the boat that you have boarded in the hopes of crossing to the other side of the river. So get rid of that water right away.” Sinca bhikkhu imaḿ návaḿ. If you get rid of the water your boat’s load will be lightened. Sittá te lahu messyati. A human being’s burden grows along with the past, the present and the future. For example, perhaps you are thinking: once you were eating rich, delicious and costly foods such as háluyápuri, murg-mashallam, namkiin poláo – this is all the burden of the past. Similarly, today you will eat this and that, you will wear such and such, afterwards you will go to your friend’s house and they will ask you about what you are wearing – this is the burden of the present. In the same way, you will earn money in the future by doing business, become rich and gain esteem in the society – this is the burden of the future. Buddha warned his mendicants who were thirsty for liberation: O mendicants, lighten the burden that lies before you.

Yassa pure ca pacche ca majjhe ca natthi kincanam
Akincanaḿ anádánaḿ tamahaḿ vrumi bráhmańam.

“That person who does not carry any burden from the past, who has shaken off the burden of the present and who does not create any new burden for the future, who does not want anything from anyone or gives anything to anyone, is a true bráhmańa.”

Today, however, we see its opposite. The priests of today openly hanker after dakśińá [an offering in the form of money or property] even after receiving sidhá [an offering in the form of materials such as rice, vegetables.] So whatever form this burden may take, it has to be shaken off. If a person is to reach the other shore of life, then he has to lessen his life’s burden. But human beings are very weak, so they cling to their burden and do not want to give it up. Even if they know that all these things constitute their life’s burden and there is the fear of their life’s boat sinking due to this burden, even then they do not want to give them up. Even if they know that their son is very wicked, they do not want to disown him. So what will happen then? Who will bear their burden? If Parama Puruśa comes to them and says: O human being, give me your burden, I will bear it for you – even then they are not ready to do so.

There is a story from Japan in this regard. In Japanese their country is called “Nippon”, in English, “Japan”. Once there was an immense load of wood with an old lady. She was at death’s door. She was saying: “I have to carry this load of wood every day. If I die now it will be a good thing. How much of a load can I carry everyday in this way! I can no longer take it”. At that very moment the god of death came to her and said: “Old woman, come along with me. You won’t have to carry this heavy load any longer”. That burden had been on the hands of old lady for so long. She thought, how best to carry it? The old lady said: “Lord of death, it is good that you have come. Please lend me a hand. Please pick up my load and place it on my head.”

There is a word in Sanskrit, pratyabhijiṋá, for those old experiences or past saḿskáras that influence people in the present. Due to these pratyabhijiṋá human beings are bound by various bondages and they do not want to be liberated from these bondages so quickly. There is a song of Rabindranath:

Jaŕáye ache bádhá, cháŕáye yete cái
Cháŕáte gele vyathá váje,
Mukti cáhiváre, tomár káche yái
Cáhite gele mari láje.

[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.]

Due to the bonds of obstacles people cannot move ahead. Even if they make efforts to free themselves from these bondages they still do not succeed. The mind does not want to distance itself from those bondages because it gets temporary pleasure from them. A dog cuts its lips chewing on a bone in the cremation ground. Blood flows from them and a little of that blood is swallowed. The dog thinks that this is juice coming from the bone. Much later, when a burning sensation starts coming, then it stops chewing on the bone. The same happens with people. They are not getting juice from the bone but rather blood from their own lips.

Now, without their permission and without their knowledge, Parama Puruśa steals the burden of people’s accumulated saḿskáras, thus one of his names is Hari. If he does not steal them, then these weak and obstinate human beings will never be able to cross over to the other side of life’s river. So Hari’s duty is to lighten the load of human beings. Hence it is only fitting that people do the kiirtana of Hari, their greatest friend, and not of anyone else.

Man Is Only an Actor in the Great Drama

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

The world of living beings has been created within the imagination of Parama Puruśa. It is the resolution of Taraka Brahma to emancipate living beings, but only those who want liberation get liberation. When a human wants or longs for liberation, they attain the sadguru. Muktyákáuṋkśayá sadgurupráptih. However some want liberation and some do not. One person wants liberation but does not get it, while another gets liberation even though they do not want it. What kind of a thing is this? Some people say, máuṋganá marań samán hái, mat koi máuṋgo bhikh [to beg like death, so do not beg]. Then some other say biná máuṋge motii miile, máuṋge miile ná rákh [You can get the boon of emerald without asking, but not even ashes if you beg for them]. It is a strange thing, a mysterious thing, and this mystery is the drama of Parama Puruśa. Living beings are only characters in that drama. Human beings have come to this earth with a fixed role to play, and that role must be properly observed. One should always bear in mind that one is a character in this divine drama. And who is the author or composer of this drama? Táraka Brahma.

This reminds of an old story from the Mahábhárata. After the battle, the battleground of Kurukśetra became a cremation ground. At the end of the war some people came there from the Kaoravas’ side, among them were women and a few elderly gentlemen. The mother of the Kaoravas, Gandhari, was also there. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, and Krśńa, the Pandava’s friend, were present as well, along with the blind Dhritarastra. Everyone was standing in that cremation ground and weeping. The Kaoravas were also weeping, even Gandhari, for she had lost her beloved hundred sons in the war.

Krśńa approached Gandhari and said: “Mother, why are you weeping? Death is a natural law of the world. Játasya hi dhruvormrtyuh. One who is born will die. So what is there to cry about?”

Gandhari replied: “Yes Krśńa, I have also told the distressed suffering the bereavement of death the same thing that you are telling me today. I have consoled them with those very same words. You know this and I know this, so what is the need of telling me this?” She continued: “Krśńa, you have come here today to console me in my grief, but I ask you, behind this great event whose mind was at work? Who was the author of this great plan? Was it not you?”

Krśńa replied: “Those who have committed injustice and sinned have been punished. What can I do about that?”

Gandhari again said: “Everything you have said up until now is quite correct. From the worldly point of view, everything that has happened up until now is as it should be, because every action must have its reaction. But my point is this: You yourself are Táraka Brahma; your duty is to liberate the living beings. You can give liberation to whomever you please. In form of Táraka Brahma you can create as you wish and destroy as you wish. In this drama of yours you have created many characters who are very honest people, ideological people. If one does virtuous deeds then one gets liberation. In order to teach the people this you create these kinds of characters. And you also create sinful characters in order to teach the people how much a person degenerates as a result of their sinful behavior. In this drama of the great war which has taken place in field of Kurukśetra, you could have had my hundred sons play roles of righteousness and the Pandavas play roles of unrighteousness, if you had wished it. In that case my hundred sons would have gotten salvation and the Pandavas would have gone to hell. You are Táraka Brahma, the author of everything, and now, after having made me cry, you come to console me!”

What Gandhari said was correct. Táraka Brahma formulates his plan in order to produce itihás [history with educative value], to teach the people. If one does honest works then one moves towards the eternal truth, and if one performs dishonest works then one moves towards untruth. He wanted to fix this great teaching in the minds of human beings.

Thereafter comes the other part of the story. Gandhari said: “Krśńa, give me permission to curse you.”

Then Gandhari cursed him by saying: “Just as my entire lineage has been destroyed before my very eyes, may your Yádava lineage be destroyed before your very eyes as well.”

Human beings should always remember that living beings are only actors in the vast universal drama composed by Táraka Brahma. This is not their real identity. Someone may play the role of a king in a drama but they might not even have two handfuls of rice in their house. Someone plays the role of a poor subject in the drama, but in real life they may be a very rich man. One should remember: We are only playing specific roles in a great drama. I will act properly according to the role I have been given in this drama. This is a person’s duty. It is meaningless for a person to think about anything more than this – about what is beyond one’s power.

Parama Puruśa Is Everywhere

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 9

Notes:

Apáńipádo javano grahiitá pashyatyacakśúh sa shrńotyakarńah;
Sah vetti vedyaḿ na ca tasyásti vettá tamahuragryaḿ puruśaḿ mahántam.

This shloka is from the Yajurveda. The Yajurveda is mainly concerned with rites. The composition of the Vedas began roughly 15,000 years ago. In those ancient times written script was not yet known. Written script was invented much later. During that era the rśis, seers of truth, who composed the Vedas taught their pupils the rks [hymns] they made, and by listening to them those pupils committed them to memory. Since written script did not exist in that era, there was no opportunity to write books; so rather than reading books, knowledge and teachings had to be committed to memory while listening to them. In Sanskrit shruti means “ear”. The word shruti is derived by adding the suffix ktin to the verbal root shru. For this reason, another name for the Vedas is Shruti. Veda means “knowledge” and shruti means “that knowledge which is acquired by listening.” This was the system in those olden days.

The first script was invented almost five and a half thousand years ago. The name of that ancient script was Saendhavii. It was first invented in Mahenjodaro. Many ancient scripts have still not yet been deciphered. The next two scripts that we know of are the Bráhmii and Kharośt́ii scripts. Bráhmii script was written from right to left, like Urdu, while Kharośt́ii was written from left to right, like modern Indian scripts. However, during the reign of the emperor Ashok, the use of Bráhmii script was prevalent in all of north India. Kharośt́ii was little used by comparison. For this reason Ashok used Bráhmii script on his stone inscriptions. In Laoria and other areas one sees the exclusive use of Bráhmii script.

After the invention of written script, people began to think about the fact that up until then the Vedas had not been written down. How much can really be committed to memory by listening? In this way, it was discovered that a large portion of the Vedas had disappeared. How much can human beings commit to memory? Sixty percent of the Vedas remained and forty percent was lost and will never be recovered. So everyone realized that the Vedas had to be written down, and while doing so it remained to be seen which portion of the Vedas was the oldest, which portion was from the middle period and which portion was the most recent. In this way, they were classified and collected according to the antiquity of their composition, and divided into the ancient, middle and recent portions. The most ancient portion is called the Rgveda, because each shloka is called a rk in this Veda. The name of the middle-period portion is the Yajurveda, and that of the most recent portion, the Atharvaveda. Atharva was the name of one Rśi. Since the inspiration and enthusiasm for the composition of this portion came from him, it was given the name Atharvaveda. In Sanskrit atharva means “aged, very old”.

The Yajurveda is concerned mostly with rites. The word yajuh means “that in which rites are predominant.” The pandits accomplished in the Yajurveda were called ardhvayyu, in the Rgveda, rtvika, and in the Atharvaveda, brahmań. Now each of the three Vedas contain songs. In old Sanskrit songs were called sáma. These song portions were separated from the three Vedas and collected together into a fourth Veda, which was given the name Sámveda. The Sámveda was not originally a Veda; it is only a collection of the songs from the other three Vedas. The pandits well-versed in Sámveda used to be called Udgátá, and of the four kinds of pandits, those who used to preserve the link amongst the four were called Hotá. In certain areas of India one can still find people with the surname “Hotá”.

We were discussing the Atharvaveda. The Atharvaveda is also quite ancient. There is a shloka in this Veda [Yajurveda] about Parama Puruśa.

Apáńipádo javano grahiitá pashyatacakśúh sa shrńotyakarńah;
Sah vetti vedyaḿ na ca tasyásti vettá tamahuragryaḿ puruśaḿ mahántam.

Apáńipádo javano grahiitá. A denotes negation; páńi means “palm of the hand,” for example, a viińá [musical instrument resembling the violin] in the hand or páńi is viińápáńi. Similarly, one who does not have páńi or páda, that is, hands or feet, is apáńipáda. Javano grahiitá – “although He wanders about [without feet], He accepts whatever anyone offers [without hands].” This seems a little strange to hear. Parama Puruśa has no hands. Still, if someone offers him something out of love then He accepts it. Let us suppose someone in Patna offers something to Parama Puruśa. Wherever He might be, He accepts it, yet He is apáńi. Similarly, He is apáda, “He has no feet”, nevertheless He moves easily from one place to another within the blink of an eye. He is acakśu, He has no eyes, yet He looks all around Him like a lion and sees everything in the universe. He is akarńa, He has no ears, yet He hears whatever is audible in this universe and whatever is inaudible.

This creation is limited. It is only the expression of Parama Pursuśa. At the time of performing any kind of action, a relationship is established between the person and the object. For example, if something is accepted then a relationship is established with that object. If I move down a path then a relationship is established with that path. Let us say a person arrives in Chiriatand from Patna. Here a relationship has been established between the mind and Chiriatand. If, in the next moment, one wants to go mentally from Chiriatand to Patliputra Colony, then one does not require any feet. Similarly, everything in this world is within the mind of Parama Puruśa.

For human beings there are two worlds, the internal world and the external world. In the internal world, the psychic world, a person gets whatever they want in that very moment, because in that case everything can be done with only the mind, without the need of the motor and sensory organs. In the external world this is not so. There the different organs, such as the eyes, feet, hands, etc., are necessary. But for Parama Puruśa there is only one world, the internal world. There is no external world. Say, for example, someone thinks that they cannot understand Parama Puruśa through logic. But my internal self says, “he is with me,” and that very same moment Parama Puruśa hears what you say. Parama Puruśa needs no auditory organ in order to hear what anyone is thinking. Similarly, he does not need hands in order to accept something. He does not need eyes in order to see something, because everything is within his mind. Everything is born out of his psychic imagination. Let us say someone, while doing gurupújá, says tava dravyaḿ jagatguro tubhyameva samarpaye [and offers something mentally]. Here Parama Pursuśa does not need any worldly hands in order to accept whatever is offered.

Sah vetti vedyaḿ. He knows everything knowable in this universe, but no one is able to know him. Here the word vedya has been used for “knowable”. The act of knowing means the subjectivization of external objectivities. Generally we get a rough conception of an external object by seeing it, however this sensory perception is not knowledge. Here vedya means “knowable”, “capable of being known”. Vedya is not the same for Parama Puruśa and the living being, because in the case of the living being, knowing takes place both in the mental world and in the external world, while for Parama Puruśa there is no external world. For this reason he sees everything with his mental eyes. He knows what is written on any page of any book. So he is the knower of all.

Na ca tasyásti vettá. No one is his knower, because Parama Puruśa is the subject of all and everything is his object. Normally the subject knows the object but the object cannot know the subject. Thus it is correctly said: na ca tasyásti vettá. But there is one thing to be pointed out – when a spiritual aspirant meditates on Parama Puruśa, Parama Puruśa becomes the sole subject of the spiritual aspirant’s mind. So, it is only through sadhana that the living being can know Parama Puruśa. Generally, when a person sits in meditation they make one mistake. They think: “I am seeing Parama Puruśa in front of me.” Rather than think this they should think: “I am sitting in front of Parama Puruśa doing meditation and Parama Puruśa is seeing this or knowing this, that is, He knows everything of mine, nothing can be hidden from Him.” Thus the living being is a finite entity and Parama Pursuśa is an infinite, endless entity. Through efforts a human being can know one … two … three … four, even many things, but he cannot know the infinite.

Tamahuragryaḿ puruśaḿ mahántam. That is, this puruśa is called the mahána or greatest pursuśa, the original puruśa, the representative puruśa. The word mahána comes from the word mahat. There is a slight difference between the words mahat and brhat.

Often in Sanskrit the words brhat and vishála are thought to be identical in meaning, however there is a difference between them. Vishála means something which is very large but which can still be measured, for example, the Himalayan mountains. They are several thousand miles long but human beings can still measure them, so this huge mountain range is depicted in the maps of the Earth. But what is brhat is so huge that it cannot be measured. There is only one such entity and that entity is brahma – brhatvád brahma brḿhańattvád brahma [brahma is that which is great and which makes others great].

Mahat does not signify “great” from the standpoint of geographical area. It is a matter of the psychic world. Brhat is a matter of the external world, so what is great in the psychic world is called mahat. For example, I will call a person mahat who is short in stature but who has achieved great recognition in the world of knowledge, not brhat. So, here Parama Puruśa is described as mahána agryapuruśa.

The Means to Save Oneself from Sorrow

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Notes:

From the beginning every created being is situated in bliss. The very moment a newborn infant opens his eyes upon the world, he feels a type of bliss. The earth’s light and air infuses a wondrous feeling of bliss in his mind. Not only a human child, every newborn being feels this certain type of bliss from the start.

Paramátmá has created this world in order to impart bliss to Himself, and He has not thrown those whom He has created (this world of living beings is born out of His vast body) into trouble, because they are also born out of this bliss. But human beings themselves create certain diseases in their minds, and, seized by these diseases, they undergo suffering. Actually, Parama Puruśa is playing with his created world, and at the end of the play, when the living beings become tired, Parama Puruśa takes them into his lap, that is, the living beings reach their goal. Paramátmá takes them into his lap, He withdraws them – this is liberation. He plays for the sake of bliss, and the meaning of giving a place on his lap is the liberation of the living being.

There is no intricate philosophy behind this. It is the simple and straightforward answer to a simple and straightforward question. If a human being can always remember this then he or she will never be overcome by sorrow. This is the secret gáyattrii [famous Vedic hymn or prayer] that delivers one from sorrow.

Parama Puruśa Knows Everything

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Notes:

Puruśa evedaḿ sarvaḿ yadbhútaḿ yacca bhavyam;
Utámrtasyesháno yadanye nátirohati.

The meaning is: “Parama Puruśa knows everything.” Evedaḿ sarvaḿ jánáti sarvaḿ eva – “He knows everything;” yadbhútaḿ – “whatever has been”; yacca bhavyam – “whatever will be”; utámrtasyesháno – “He is the master of both heaven and hell;” yadanye nátirohati – “no one is His master.” This is the literal meaning of the shloka.

This shloka is a rk from the Rgveda’s tenth mańd́ala, puruśa súkta. This reminds me of something. If a shloka is from the Rgveda then it is called a rk rather than a shloka. This is a convention of the Rgveda. The singular is rk and the plural is rcá. Some mistakenly pluralize rcá and say rcáyeṋ [in Hindi], but rcá is already a word with a plural ending. For example, many people pluralize the word santa and say santoṋ [in Hindi]. This is incorrect because the word santa is itself plural. Santoṋ means “honest individuals”.

In the shloka it is said that Parama Puruśa knows everything. Parama Puruśa knows what has happened in the past, what is happening in the present and what will happen in the future. What does Puruśa mean? Pure shete yah, or purasi shete yah sah Puruśa, that is, he who is lying in the pura [city] of the body and observing everything is Puruśa. He is seeing everything but doing nothing. The second meaning is “he who is lying in front”, for example, purasi hitaḿ karoti yah sah purohitah.

Yadbhútaḿ yacca bhavyam. The meaning of puruśa knowing everything is that whatever has been or will be is inside of him, not outside. Nothing exists outside him. Momentum comes from him. In the rk there is no mention whatsoever of the present. Now the question may arise: Does Parama Puruśa only know the past and the future, and not the present? Here nothing is said about the present because actually there is no such thing as the present. For example, no one hears the words I am saying at this moment; they hear them slightly afterwards. When someone hears my words they are present for that person but for me they are in the past. We call something present when we are not aware of it being past or future, that is, we combine the two into one. What do we do then? We take a little chunk of the past and a little chunk of the future, join them together, and make the present. In actual fact this is not the present. There is no such thing as the present. For this reason there is no mention of the present in this rk. Yadbhútaḿ yacca bhavyam.

Utámrtasyesháno. Uta means “hell”. Tala, atala, talátala, pátála, atipátála, rasátala – these are the different levels of hell. Rasátala is the lowest of them all. When a person has become completely degenerate then people say about them that they have gone to rasátala. Just as there are seven levels in the downward direction, there are also seven levels in the upward direction – bhúh, bhuvah, svah, mahah, janah, tapah, and satya. Among these seven worlds, svah is heaven. And down below, the pátála, the imaginary pátála, is called hell. Parama Puruśa is the master of heaven and He is also the master of hell. People want to be saved from hell. He who is the master of the mortal world is also present in hell. This is a complex question. In the same way, the immortal world is also arranged in seven levels – bhúh, bhuvah, svah, mahah, janah, tapah, and satya (vyáhrti: vi – á – hr + ktin). Parama Puruśa is the master of both heaven and hell. Now the thing is that these seven lower levels are not spatial entities. In the Vedas all these levels have been described: Asúryáh náma te lokáh andhena tamasávrtáh – “Hell is the asúrya world, that is, where the light of súrya [sun] cannot enter, that which remains always covered in profound darkness.” It is where the darkness is so dense, so deep, that a person cannot even see himself. That kind of darkness is called andhatamisrá. And when a person cannot see someone else, then it is called andhakár. What is hell like? It is where there is no sun, that which is covered in andhatamisrá. That person who does not do spiritual practices moves in the direction of this world of darkness. This is the correct meaning of this shloka.

Uta means “hell”, that is, the world of darkness. This world of darkness is arranged in six layers – tamah, tamasá, tamisrá, andhatamah, andhatamisrá, and andhatamasá. In the Upaniśad it is said: táḿste pretyábhigacchanti yeke cátmahano janáh [to which all will go who deny their own souls]. That world of darkness is called the asúrya world. It is depicted as if from within that deep darkness even more darkness is vomited up. If one looks towards that deep darkness then it seems, as if, even a deeper darkness is tearing the heart of that darkness and coming out.

Now the question arises: whose movement is towards that darkness? It is the movement of that person or those persons who do not perform spiritual practices. Táḿste pretyábhigacchanti. Now Parama Puruśa is present even in this world shrouded in profound darkness. Here the purport of the shloka is that since Parama Puruśa is the master of both heaven and hell, He also has to go to hell from time to time to supervise or look after things.

Tamáhuragryaḿ puruśaḿ mahántam. So this Parama Puruśa is all-pervading, moving everywhere. He is present in the so-called heaven and in the world of darkness where the sun does not shine. How will you know Him? You do not even know why you have come to this earth. How will you know where He is hiding and what He is doing? But He knows what you are doing or thinking in secret. When we meditate on Parama Puruśa we must think that Parama Puruśa is taking me as the object of His cosmic mind; He is seeing me. One should have this kind of thought in one’s mind.

For this reason it is said: sa vetti vedyaḿ na ca tasyásti vettá tamáhuragryaḿ puruśaḿ mahántam. That Puruśa, that is, Parama Puruśa, is called agryapuruśa or mahán. Agrya means “he who remains in the front or the forefront of everything”. Agryapuruśa means “representative Puruśa, best Puruśa, first Puruśa”. What does mahán mean? The first person singular of the word mahat is mahán. In the Sanskrit language two very important words are brhat⁽¹⁾ and mahat. What is the fundamental difference between them? Similarly, two very similar words are vishála and brhat. That which is very big but which can be measured is vishála, for example, the Himalayas. They are nearly fifteen hundred miles in length but in spite of being extremely big they can be measured. We depict the Himalayas in our maps. And that which is so big that it cannot be measured, we call mahat. There is only one such entity that is so big that it cannot be measured, and what is that entity? Brahma. It is said: brhattvád brahma brḿhańatvád brahma.

So brhat means “so big that it cannot be measured”. And what does mahat mean? That which is not big in the physical sense but which is big or very big in the psychic sense is mahat. In other words, something which is brhat belongs to the external world, the world of the sense organs which we can see with our eyes, and that which belongs to the mental world, which cannot be perceived in the external world but which exerts a great influence over other things in the psychic sense, we call mahat. Take, for example, a renunciant who is small in stature but who possesses tremendous intellect and understanding. We will not call him or her brhat. Seen externally, he or she is a person of small size. Actually he or she is mahán. For this reason, Parama Puruśa is called agryapuruśa or mahán puruśa in the Vedas.

(1) The ba of brhat is vargiiya ba. Do you know the difference between vargiiya va and antastha va? Vargiiya ba is used in words derived from bálá, bodha, brhada and bandhana. For example, bálá, bálak, báliká, etc.; bodha, budha, budhi, baoddha, baoddhika, etc.; brhat, brahma, bráhma, bráhmii, bráhmańa, bráhmańii, etc.; bandhana, bandhu, bándhaba, bándhabii, etc.

Glossary

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Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 10

Notes:

Words in this glossary have been alphabetized according to the English alphabet, not the Bengali. Accented letters have been treated the same as unaccented (e.g., Á the same as A).

ÁJIṊÁ CAKRA. Sixth, or lunar, psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus; the “yogic wisdom eye”. See also CAKRA.
ANÁHATA CAKRA. Fourth psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus; the “yogic heart”. See also CAKRA.
ÁNANDA. Divine bliss.
ANANDA MARGA. Path of divine bliss; Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha (Ananda Marga organization).
ASTEYA. Not to take possession what belongs to others, non-stealing.
ATHARVAVEDA. The last Veda, composed approximately 3000 years ago, older than the Jain scriptures.
ÁTMÁ, Átman. Soul, consciousness, Puruśa, pure cognition. The átman of the Cosmos is Paramátman, and that of the unit is the jiivátman.
ÁYURVEDA. The Vedic system of medicine.

BARENDRA. The portion of Bengal to the north of the River Padma, comprising of all North Bengal districts.
BHAJANA. Devotional song or songs.
BHAKTA. Devotee, spiritual aspirant who has devotion.
BHAKTI. Devotion.
BRAHMA. Supreme Entity, comprising both Puruśa, or SHIVA, and Prakrti, or Shakti.
BRÁHMII SCRIPT. An Indian script invented at least seven thousand years ago, now obsolete. It was written from right to left.
BUDDHA. One who has attained bodhi, intuition. Lord Buddha, the propounder of Buddhism, appeared approximately 2500 years ago.

CAKRA. Cycle or circle; psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus. The cakras in the human body are all located along the suśumná canal which passes through the length of the spinal column and extends up to the crown of the head. Some cakras, however, are associated with external concentration points. The concentration points: (1) for the múládhára cakra, the base of the spine, above the perineum; (2) for the svádhiśt́hána, the genital organ; (3) for the mańipura, the navel; (4) for the anáhata, the midpoint of the chest; (5) for the vishuddha, the throat; (6) for the ájiṋá, between the eyebrows; and (7) for the sahasrára, the crown of the head. There are two other cakras which are needed in certain spiritual practices, so the cakras are nine in number.
CITISHAKTI. Cognitive Principle, Puruśa, Pure Consciousness.

D́ABÁK. Literally “Oft-Flooded Land”; its other name was Vauṋga. A part of ancient Bengal composed of modern day Mymensingh District; Dhaka District; Faridpur District excepting Goalanda and Gopalganj; and the major portion of Bakharganj District.
DÁYABHÁGA. A system of inheritance in which the heirs’ right of inheritance is subject to the discretion of the father, who has the right to disinherit any of the heirs. Another feature of this system is the right of inheritance for women.
DHARMA. Characteristic property; spirituality; the path of righteousness in social affairs.
DHRITARASTRA. Literally, “the entity that holds the structure of human beings”; “the blind mind”. In the Mahábhárata, the blind king of the Kaoravas. He had one hundred sons.

GANDHARI. Pious and righteous mother of the hundred Kaoravas.
GAUṊGÁSÁGAR. The place where the River Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal.
GAUṊGOTTARII. The place where the River Ganges originates.
GAŃESHA. In mythology, the son of Shiva; the god of commerce; half man, half elephant.
GAOŔIIYA. Related to Bengal.
GONDWANA, GONDWANALAND. An ancient continent, now, due to geophysical changes, no longer intact.
GUŃA. Binding factor or principle; attribute; quality. Prakrti, the Cosmic Operative Principle, is composed of: sattvaguńa, the sentient principle; rajoguńa, the mutative principle; and tamoguńa, the static principle.
GURU. Gu means “darkness”, ru means “dispeller”; hence “dispeller of darkness”; spiritual master.
GURU CAKRA. The inner side of the SAHASRÁRA CAKRA, or pineal
plexus; occult plexus. See also CAKRA.
GURU MANTRA. “Important” mantra, learned as a lesson of Ananda Marga sadhana.
GURU PÚJÁ. The offering of mental colours to the Guru.

HARA. Literally, “the entity which is instrumental for the withdrawal of everything” (the word is derived from ha and ra – ha is the acoustic root of the ethereal factor and ra is the acoustic root of energy) or “one who undergoes no change under the influence of others”; other names of Lord Shiva.
HARI. Literally, “that which steals”; one who steals others’ sins to lighten their burden and pave the way for their liberation; another name of Parama Puruśa – the entity responsible for the preservation of unit beings.

JIṊÁNA. Spiritual knowledge, self-realization, understanding.
JIIVÁTMÁ. See ÁTMÁ.

KAORAVAS. Hundred sons of King Dhritarastra, the adhármik forces in the Mahábhárata war.
KHAROŚT́II. An Indian script invented approximately seven thousand years ago, now obsolete. It was written from left to right.
KIIRTANA. Collective singing of the name of the Lord, combined with instrumental music and with a dance that expresses the spirit of surrender.
KÚRMA NÁD́II. Energy channel related to vocal cord.
KURUKŚETRA. Literally, a field always saying “kuru, kuru,” “do something, do something;” hence the world, the entire universe; the place where the Mahábhárata war was fought; a town near Delhi.

MAHÁBHÁRATA. “Great India”; the name of a military campaign guided by Lord Krśńa around 1500 BCE to unify India; the epic poem written by Maharshi Vyasa about this campaign.
MAHAPRABHU. Literally, “a great master”; Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who propounded the Gaoŕiiya Vaeśńava religion five hundred years ago.
MAHÁSAMBHÚTI. When TÁRAKA BRAHMA utilizes the five fundamental factors to express Himself through a body, this is known as His Mahásambhúti.
MAŃIPURA CAKRA. The third psychio-spiritual centre, or plexus; the controlling point of the pancreas. See also CAKRA.
MANTRA. A sound or collection of sounds which, when meditated upon, will lead to spiritual liberation. A mantra is incantative, pulsative and ideative.
MANU SAḿHITÁ. An authoritative collection of social rules, customs, and etiquette for Hindus compiled by Manu, who lived about two thousand years ago in the post-Buddhist era.
MITÁKŚARÁ. Mitákśará entails the heirs’ equal rights of inheritance, not subject to the father’s discretion; mostly prevalent in Northern India.
MOKŚA. Spiritual emancipation, non-qualified liberation.
MÚLÁDHÁRA CAKRA. Lowest, or basal (or terranean), psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus, located just above the base of the spine. See also CAKRA.

NANDANA VIJIṊÁNA. Aesthetic science.
NÁRÁYAŃA. The Supreme Entity; literally, “the Lord of Nára (Prakrti)”.

PAIṊCA BHÚTA. Five rudimental factors – ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid and solid.
PANDAVAS. The five sons of King Pandu, representing the dhármika forces in the Mahábhárata war.
PANINI. The world’s first grammarian; he wrote the first Sanskrit grammar.
PARAMÁ PRAKRTI. Supreme Operative Principle.
PARAMA PURUŚA. Supreme Consciousness.
PARAMÁTMÁ, PARAMÁTMAN. Supreme Consciousness as the witness of His own Macropsychic conation.
PARAMESHVARA. Supreme Controller of the universe.
PARÁSHAKTI. Introversive pervasive force.
PARASMAEPADII. Terminologies of conjugation in Sanskrit grammar.
PÁRVATII. Colloquial version of “Parvata Kanyá” – “Daughter of the Mountains”; one of the three wives of SADÁSHIVA.
PRÁKRTA. The seven spoken languages that developed from Sanskrit; prákrta also means prákrta jana, that is, “common people”.

RÁMÁYAŃA. An epic poem of India. It is the story of King Rama, or Ramchandra.
RÁŔH. The territory, mostly in modern-day Bengal and Jharkhand, stretching from the West Bank of the Bhagirathi river to the
Parasnath hills.
RGVEDA. The oldest Veda, composed over the period between fifteen thousand years ago and ten thousand years ago.

SADHANA. Literally, “ sustained effort”; spiritual practice; meditation.
SADGURU. Spiritual master.
SÁDHU. Virtuous person, spiritual aspirant.
SADÁSHIVA. SHIVA (literally, “eternal Shiva”).
SADVIPRA. Spiritual revolutionary.
SAHASRÁRA CAKRA. Highest, or pineal, psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus, located at the crown of the head. See also CAKRA.
SAIṊCARA. In the Cosmic Cycle, the step-by-step extroversion and crudification of consciousness from the Nucleus Consciousness to the state of solid matter. (Saiṋcara literally means “movement”.)
SÁMAVEDA. Sáma means “song”; the song portions of three Vedas collectively made up the Sámaveda. So the Sámaveda is not a separate Veda.
SAḾSKÁRA. Mental reactive momentum, potential mental reaction.
SAḾSKRTA, Sanskrit. The classical language of India. It first emerged during the Post-Shiva period, and as a spoken language it began to be supplanted by Prákrta prior to the Krśńa period. Although not a spoken language today except in very limited circumstances, it is still important for its vast literature especially spiritual literature. Sanskrit and English are the languages of the world that have the richest vocabularies. Sanskrit pronunciation was perfected by non-Aryan Tantrics in such a way that each of the fifty letters of the Sanskrit alphabet constitutes one acoustic root of Tantra.
SHIVA. A great Tantric guru of 5000 BCE who guided society while His mind was absorbed in Consciousness; hence, Infinite Consciousness, Puruśa. First advent of tÁraka Brahma.
SHAEVA TANTRA. Shiva Tantra. The applied, or practical, side of spirituality as taught by Shiva.
SHRII KRŚŃA, KRŚŃA. Literally, “the entity which attracts everything of the universe towards its own self”, Parama Puruśa. A great Tantric guru, the historical Krśńa of about 1500 BC; second Táraka Brahma or Mahásambhúti.
SHLOKA. A Sanskrit couplet expressing one idea.
SITA. Wife of Rama.
SIXTEEN POINTS. The central pillar of Ananda Marga conduct rules: sixteen rules of hygiene and conduct amid which are reiterated all other conduct rules.
SVÁDHIŚT́HÁNA CAKRA. Second, or fluidal, psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus. See also CAKRA.

TANTRA. A spiritual tradition which originated in India in prehistoric times and was first systematized by Shiva. It emphasizes the development of human vigour, both through meditation and through confrontation of difficult external situations, to overcome all fears and weakness. Also, a scripture expounding that tradition.
TÁRAKA BRAHMA. Supreme Consciousness in Its liberating aspect.

UPANIŚAD, UPANISHAD. Literally, “that which brings one near”; certain philosophical sections of the Vedas.

VEDA. Literally, “knowledge”; hence, a composition imparting spiritual knowledge. Also, a religious or philosophical school which originated among the Aryans and was brought by them to India. It is based on the Vedas and emphasizes the use of ritual to gain the intervention of the gods.
VISHUDDHA CAKRA. Fifth psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus, related to the vocal cord and to the thyroid and parathyroid glands; controls sixteen propensities. See also CAKRA.
VRTTI. Mental propensity.

YAJURVEDA. A Veda composed over a period between ten thousand years ago and seven thousand years ago. There was no script at that time.
YAMA AND NIYAMA. Ten principles of moral conduct.
YOGA. Spiritual practice leading to unification of the unit átman with Paramátman.
YOGI. A practitioner of yoga.