Chapter 1	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

You know something about aesthetic science. There are subjects that are not expressed in normal language; subtler feelings are expressed through the most subtle modes of expression. Suppose I saw some particular thing for a certain length of time and enjoyed it. The feeling behind such enjoyment, i.e., the bháva or idea – the reason why I liked it – all these when expressed through sweet, subtle language are what is called aesthetic science. Flowers can be put in a haphazard way on the floor of a house. However, if you instead pick up the flowers and arrange them meticulously in a decorative style, it will come within the purview of aesthetic science. Tables and chairs are not sparse in your house; rather they are at sixes and sevens. The sight is not pleasing. If you regroup them fashionably, it will come under the category of aesthetic science. Suppose you want to convey to others the intrinsic beauty of all things that gives delight to every one. You may arrange those things artistically, or you may not only arrange them, but also convey them to others in a very sweet and lucid language; yet finally you need not even achieve this objective through exquisite language; the message can also be driven home with the help of brush or pen. This is what is known as aesthetic science.

The feeling that is at work behind aesthetic science is nothing but pleasure. But what is behind this pleasure? I like this flower. I take delight in a particular arrangement. I feel amused with a special style of speaking. This is how dramas came into being and how human beings invented recitation. When this pleasure fills my mind, ́I’ becomes the subject or possessive case, and that which enthralls me becomes the objective case. When such a state of affairs continues, a stage is reached when that Entity feels that ́I’ am dear to him. Thus the reverse occurs. If this stage continues over a considerable length of time, one loses oneself. As long as I enjoy, my unit existence persists. As I exist, I can enjoy, and when I lose myself, when ́I’ becomes dear to that Entity, when ́I’ becomes the source of joy to that Entity, a stage is finally reached when my unit existence is completely lost in that Entity. The losing of oneself, the state of being lost or as a matter of fact, the beginning of the process of losing oneself to the very source of joy, is known as mohanavijiṋána, or the science of supra-aesthetics. And the Entity to whom we lose ourselves is Mohana, or the embodiment of enchantment. Parama Puruśa is Mohana as He enchants one and all. Had not Parama Puruśa enchanted the world, no one would have wanted to live here.

Can you imagine the gravity of the countless problems in the world? Exasperated at the acute problems, human beings would have bidden goodbye to the world and fled. But one fails to do this because one has come under the overwhelming influence of Mohana, i.e., Parama Puruśa and thus has become unable to flee from this world. Even if one does not like this world, one somehow remains here due to love for Parama Puruśa. And when one falls in love with Parama Puruśa, and when one is dear to Parama Puruśa, where will one go? For this very reason it has been said that human beings invented Dharma as a result of their love for Mohana, or due to falling into His charming clutches.In this way, Dharma or spirituality first appeared in human life.

Chapter 2	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

Yesterday I told you something about nerve fibres, nerve cells, and the positions of various cakras; about the relation of the cakras to the propensities and how people establish control over these propensities. The highest point in the human body is the controlling point of the sahasrára cakra and is called Shiva, Puruśottama or “Krśńa”.

It will be better if I say something more about Krśńatattva [the inner meaning of Krśńa]. I have told you that in Vaeśńava Tantra the last bone of the vertebral column is called kula. [Here resides the serpentine coil.] In Tantra it is called kulakuńd́alinii, while in Vaeśńava Tantra it is called “Rádhá”, and Paramashiva [Puruśottama] is called “Krśńa”. Through sádhaná we raise the kulakuńd́alinii upwards, and in the end the union of Rádhá and Krśńa takes place. There is a secret technique to raise this serpentine coil. Previously this technique was not clearly given. At that time some people thought it proper to keep it secret. If something harmful to individual or collective life is not given, that is good; but the useful things have to be given. People will be more attracted to do sádhaná.

The first thing is that this kulakuńd́alinii rises slowly from the múládhára cakra to the sahasrára cakra in eight steps, it passes through eight cakras, and the sahasrára cakra is the ninth. Just below the sahasrára cakra is the guru cakra. When one meditates at the guru cakra, the kuńd́alinii takes one jump upwards, and the mind goes to the other side of the cakra [i.e., to the sahasrára.] This is the technique of sádhaná, but it has previously neither been explained nor written in books.

The kulakuńd́alinii rises upward in eight jumps or phases, so with two syllables in a siddha mantra,⁽¹⁾ the kuńd́alinii will jump four times. But a general, or publicly-given, siddha mantra will make the kulakuńd́alinii jump eight times or in eight phases. That is why such a siddha mantra has eight syllables. So you should understand that a proper kiirtana must have eight syllables, never seven or nine syllables.

The jiivabháva [microcosmic bearing] moves towards Krśńa, Paramashiva, the pineal gland in the sahasrára cakra, as a result of sádhaná, and the mind also becomes introverted in gradual steps. When the kuńd́alinii reaches the navel cakra, or mańipura cakra, that is called vraja bháva in Vaeśńava Tantra. And when it moves from the navel cakra to the trikut́i, or ájiṋá cakra, that is known as gopii bháva. And when it rises past the ájiṋá cakra, that is known as advaya bháva or Rádhá bháva. Thus there are these three stages.

During this process, one will hear the eternal sound of prańava [the oṋm sound] in the vast mahákásha [void] in different ways, according to the different levels which the mind has reached. Sometimes one first hears the sound of rumbling clouds, sometimes ankle bells, sometimes the roar of the sea. When after hearing different sounds in this way the mind reaches the trikut́i, one hears the sweet and harmonious sound of the flute. These are various expressions of the prańava sound. The prańava sound is heard as the trikut́i or ájiṋá cakra is crossed, but then when the mind merges with Krśńa or Paramashiva there is no sound, the silence itself is the sound. There is no expression. These are some of the secrets of sádhaná. The spiritual aspirant hears the various sounds of oṋḿkára or prańava at various stages, during deep sádhaná, during sweet sádhaná. The sound is called Krśńa’s muraliidhvani. The sádhaka becomes mad because of this sound and goes deeper and attains Rádhá bháva more and more, and rushes headlong forward.

Chot́e ye jan bánshiir t́áne
Se ki tákáy pather páne?

[Can a person who rushes headlong at the sound of the flute ever think about the path he or she is treading?]

At that time one does not think at all about what people will say. One knows only that “I and my Iśt́a exist.”

The kulakuńd́alinii resides in the kula, that is, in the last bone of the vertebral column. In Sanskrit kuńd́alinii means “coiled”, “serpentine loop”, “serpentine coil”. Jilipii [a fried sweet] is also called kuńd́alinii in Sanskrit because it is coiled. The poet Vidyápati has said: Hari gelá Madhupurá háma kulabálá [“The Lord is in Madhupur, that is, in the sahasrára cakra; I am kulabálá”].

Where is Hari [the Lord]? He is in Madhupur. “Madhupur” means the sahasrára cakra. In Vaeśńava Tantra, the sahasrára is “Madhupur”. From “Madhupur”, “Madhura” and “Mathura” have been derived. So Mathura is not only the town in Uttar Pradesh, it is also the sahasrára cakra. Háma kulabálá – “I am kulabálá,” that is, “I am the jiivashakti [divinity of the individual] sleeping in the last vertebra.” Kulabálá does not here mean “the daughter of a family”.

Vidyápati has said:

Nayanak nind gel gayának hás
Sukh gel piyásauṋga dukh morá pásh.

“Hari lives very far above, Parama Puruśa or Paramashiva is so far above, and the jiivabháva is so far below, at the lowermost point. For that reason it has no sleep, no happiness. It has only suffering, pain and suffering.” When will this suffering come to an end? When the jiivabháva merges in the Shivabháva. This is the ultimate end of sádhaná, the sweetest end. The separate existence of the individual is no more.

The reality of things has to be understood. The above kind of suffering is known philosophically as spiritual suffering. The jiiva experiences three types of suffering – ádhibhaotika, ádhidaevika, and ádhyátmika. Ádhibhaotika suffering is mundane, that is, it derives from shortages of food, clothing, medicine, education, shelter, etc. If we change the structure of society this misery will be ended. So we must do this, we should do this. Regarding ádhidaevika suffering – if we prepare our minds through sádhaná, all the mental cares and worries that result from a defective mental structure will come to an end. And the ádhyátmika, or spiritual, suffering is that Hari or Krśńa, who is my own and my dearest, is far off, far away from me. He is in the sahasrára cakra, the pineal gland. And the sleeping jiivashakti is in the lowest cakra, the múládhára cakra. This feeling of separation is ádhyátmika suffering. This can be eliminated by spiritual sádhaná, that is, by dhyána, dhárańá, práńáyáma, pratyáhára, etc.

In Vaishnavite philosophy the controlling point of the sahasrára cakra is known as “Krśńa”. This Krśńa is not only the nucleus of the universe, He is the nucleus of each and every unit, so all Krśńas are one and the same. However we try to explain Him, we will arrive at the same point. 3500 years ago in Dvápara Yuga there was another Krśńa. You may say, “Puruśottama, Parama Puruśa, Shiva and Krśńa – on the spiritual level, all Krśńas are one and the same. Is the historical Krśńa different from these?” No, He is not.

I raise this topic because I want to emphasize that human society moves ahead through clash and cohesion. It moves ahead through ideological unity and disunity, through ideological clash. It has moved ahead, it is moving ahead, and it will move ahead. To stop this movement means destruction, a great destruction – hence we have to advance with great speed. When the speed of this advancement gets slowed down, people will face trouble at every step. (Human beings do not want any such undesirable action, for which they may later have to repent, to be taken individually or collectively.)

But if the time does come when the advancement becomes too slow, someone will be needed who can give society a hard hammering. Whether people like this person or not, love him or not – whether they feel love, devotion, respect or fear – under his fast-tempoed hammering the society will move ahead. People basically want to feel the blow that will move them ahead. The blow will be painful, people fear it, but in their minds they want it, because only under this hammering will they decide to move forward. It is a strange condition – “I feel afraid, yet at the same time this is what I want. Or, no, I don’t want to move ahead – I’ll go a little later” – but then one is forcibly pulled ahead. The feet do not want to move ahead, they tremble, but the minds want to move ahead. The need for this kind of treatment arises when people collectively are not able to advance towards the goal under their own internal power.

Everything is created by Parama Puruśa. The root bhú plus the suffix ktin equals bhúti – “existence” or “entity”. The Sanskrit word for “entity” or “being” comes from the root bhú. And the root bhú plus the suffix kta equals bhúta. Bhúta means that which is created. But when for the benefit of human society, for human welfare, something has to be done which is not so easy to do, which is rarely done, which will deliver the necessary blow to the human race – when the right entity or being is needed to do this work – what will Parama Puruśa do? He will create a body for Himself with the help of the five fundamental factors, and He will come. He will say, “I will awaken the práńa [vital energy] of these dying people with a timely slap, I will stir up their práńa.” He will create vibrations in their práńa. He will not tolerate idleness. He will not allow us to waste this valuable human life.

When He comes, after creating His own body with the help of the five fundamental factors – solid, liquid, luminous, aerial and ethereal – to create an ideological tidal wave, that stage is called Mahásambhúti. Mahá means “great”, “having a form which is supra-natural”. And bhú plus ktin equals bhúti. Hence Mahásambhúti means “The Great Creation”, “The Great Appearance”. Whenever in the past Parama Puruśa thought it necessary, He came in the form of Mahásambhúti. In that way came Sadáshiva, in that way came Krśńa. To push human society forward, to resuscitate the half-dead human race, to awaken society, they came. They came to create a wave in the field of ideology, in the social field and in the field of humanity; they came to create a tidal wave in every dimension and on every level. They delivered hammer blows to the various human social structures of the world. For this they received both the highest praise and the most scathing condemnation.

Because Parama Puruśa is Puruśottama, the nucleus of the universe, the nucleus of all living entities, His Mahásambhúti is also Parama Puruśa.

And that Mahásambhúti is also Krśńa. All the Krśńas – historical, biological, social, scriptural – come together at one point. That is why it is said that Tulaná vá upamá Krśńasya násti – “Krśńa cannot be compared with any other object on earth.” Or, “You can be compared only with Yourself.”

Because He cannot be compared with any other being, because He is incomparable, perfect in theory and also perfect in practice, the rśis of that time spoke of Him as ananyapáy [unparalleled]. They said of Him, Krśńastu Bhagaván svayaḿ [“Krśńa is Parama Puruśa Himself”].

Footnotes

(1) A mantra “perfected” by the guru. See “Mantra Caetanya” in Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell Part 11 or Discourses on Tantra Vol. 1. –Trans.

Chapter 3	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

Yesterday we had occasion to discuss different meanings and interpretations of the term “Krśńa”. Let us now come back to our main subject. Yá Bhagavatá giitá sá Giitá – “The Giitá is that which has been said by Bhagaván” – this is what we explained [on previous days]. Now we will establish by logical reasoning that Krśńa Himself is that Bhagaván. Thus “that which has been said by Bhagaván” means “that which has been said by Krśńa”.

Parama Puruśa, Puruśottama, Krśńa – He is the controller of all. But whose duty is it to guide human beings along the right path? Brahmaeva gururekah náparah – “Brahma Himself is the guru.” As guru, it is among His duties to provide that guidance. Unless He gives the necessary guidance to living beings, and shows them the path of spiritual progress – only showing the path will not do, He will have to provide the necessary provisions for the journey and the necessary strength to their feet to march forward – nothing will be able to move. These things also come within His duties; and He has always faithfully executed His duties, and is still doing so, and will go on doing so.

Now, a human being is a small creature. In the context of the universe, a human being is but a very ordinary microcosm. How small even is the human mind! Enclosed within a small cranium, how much can it do? At times it may imagine itself to be very powerful, but in reality how insignificant that power is! Let someone not take food for two or three days, and his or her capacity to think will disappear. After continuous fasting for three days the thinking capacity will disappear. Or if a person happens to do a little hard work, that person will then say: “I am feeling dizzy, I can’t think; please don’t disturb me now.” Such is the capacity of a human being. However big and powerful one may think oneself to be, one is not in reality that big at all; at least not in one’s individual capacity.

Katat́uku bal dhare e mánava,
Kata bal dhare vidhátá tár!

[How little power do humans possess; and how great a power is possessed by the Controller of their destiny!]

People realize this truth when they undertake a self-analysis – how big am I really, what are my capacities, how much can I achieve? You have read so many books, but do you stop to think how much you have retained? Not even one per cent do you remember, a very trifling amount. Such is the capacity of humans! Yet they go on with their tall talk. You may wonder, when people know full well how limited they are, how can they go on with their tall talk? That is for their self-satisfaction. They try to cover up their weaknesses in this way. This is the fact. Tall talk is a mechanism to cover up their weakness. The zamindary system is gone, but its honorific title “Roychowdhury” still gives people a little pleasure, thinking that others will realize that having such a surname, they must once have been big landlords. Such is the nature of human beings.

People have to move ahead. Parama Puruśa is their guru. Why is Parama Puruśa their guru? In the first place, let us consider the meaning of the word guru. Gu means darkness; ru means “that which dispels, drives away”. Hence guru means “one who dispels darkness”. How does he do that? The darkness in people is dispelled only when they attain parama jiṋána, knowledge of the Supreme Entity, knowledge of Parama Brahma. Who knows the supreme secrets of the Supreme? Only the Supreme Entity Itself knows that. So whatever secret or private information the Supreme possesses – in a lighter vein we may say Its “trade secrets” – It alone knows. So It alone is the guru. Ánanda Sútram⁽¹⁾ has this to say: Brahmaeva gururekah náparah [“Only Brahma is the guru, no one else”].

Gurur Brahmá Gurur Viśńu Gurur Devo Maheshvarah;
Gurureva Parama Brahma tasmae Shrii Gurave namah.

“That which appears in the role of the creator of the world is the Guru Himself. That which sustains the world, and remains with living beings in their pains and pleasures, and leads them ahead; and then withdraws them from the world at the proper time and places them on His lap; is that same Entity. And that which we have taken as the highest goal in life is that same Entity – Parama Brahma. To that Entity we do prańáma.” The prefix pra, the root verb nam and the suffix ghaiṋ make up prańáma, which implies lowering oneself to the earth so as to make complete surrender of the whole being. “With simplicity I prostrate before you. Even if, while dealing with other beings and things, there remains in me temporarily a certain amount of crookedness, and I manoeuvre in different ways, and engage lawyers and attorneys and twist and change the facts – before You, O Parama Brahma, I am straight and simple.”

Such is the nature of human beings, who, as I have already told you, are so weak, so small! That indeed is true. A human being is like a drop in the vast ocean. But only so long as the drop thinks “I am merely a drop” is it really small. When it thinks “I am the great ocean,” it is no longer small but vast and great. Similarly, so long as living beings keep themselves separate from Brahma, so long as there is a feeling of differentiation and a sense of worldliness, they are small creatures no doubt. When, on the other hand, they assert, “Since my fervent prayer culminates in the Absolute Brahma, I am not small, nor can I be small. All these days I had made a mistake in thinking myself small. That mistake is no more now,” [then such realization actually comes.] When does such realization come? When this attachment for the small is removed. And to remove that attachment is the work of Parama Brahma. How does Brahma do it? Shrii Krśńa himself said:

Daevii hyeśá guńamayii mama Máyá duratyayá;
Mámeva ye prapadyante Máyámetáḿ taranti te.⁽²⁾

[This Máyá of Mine is of the nature of three principles, and is almost insurmountable. Only those who take refuge in Me can overcome this Máyá.]

This illusion, this spell of infatuation, is created by Máyá. Máyá is very powerful while living beings are extremely weak. No individual being with its own energy is able to fight against this Máyá. One runs the risk of slipping at every step; one may break one’s knee and fall down; the goal before one may become obscure; the cloud of worldly allurements may overcast one’s sight – such is the power of Máyá. But this remember also, that this Máyá, aghat́ana ghat́ana pat́iiyasii Máyá [“the dexterous hand of Máyá that can even create things impossible to create”], is the Máyá of Parama Brahma – Shaktih sá Shivasya shaktih [“Shakti (the Operative Principle) is the shakti (force) of Shiva”].

Whose, after all, is this Máyá? It is mama Máyá, “my Máyá”. Even this Máyá, this “insurmountable” aghat́ana ghat́ana pat́iiyasii Máyá, humans can overcome. When and how can they overcome it? Only when they realize that “all my prayers, desires, love and aspirations centre round Parama Puruśa; and Máyá is nothing but the maidservant of Parama Puruśa.” If anyone loves Parama Puruśa, Parama Puruśa’s maidservant will pay sálám [obeisance] to that person. She will no longer try to deceive that person, nor to entrap that person in a web of illusion. So mámeva ye prapadyante – “whoever has taken shelter in me” – Máyámetáḿ taranti te – “can easily go beyond this Máyá.” Thus Parama Puruśa is not only a guru, but helps in all ways. Because this Máyá can be overcome with His help. So He is doing His duty.

He has explained in the Giitá the different stages of struggle through which people will have to progress. And that same Shrii Krśńa has instilled hope in all, has given confidence and faith to all. “O human beings, do not fear. While moving on the path you may get dusty. You may stumble; your clothing may get smeared with mud. Nevertheless your journey should not come to a halt. No break, no discontinuity, even temporary, should be allowed; you will have to move on, brushing off the dust as you move.” So if a person thinks, “I am a sinner, my past is dark. Is it really possible for me to be a great person, an honest person? And to come close to Parama Brahma?” the reply has come from Shrii Krśńa Himself: “No such doubts should ever enter the human mind, because humankind is Mine. You are Mine. You may be a sinner, but you are Mine. So you must not develop any inferiority complex in your mind.” He has said:

Api cet sudurácáro bhajate mámananyabhák;
So’pi pápavinirmuktah mucyate bhavabandhanát.

[If even the most wicked people worship Me with a concentrated mind, I will liberate them from the three bondages (physical, psychic and spiritual).]

A person of evil deeds is called a durácárii in Sanskrit; and one whom other durácáriis condemn as a durácárii is called a sudurácárii. Shrii Krśńa has said: “If even any sudurácárii – a great sinner, a mahápátakii – worships me with single-minded devotion, that person may move ahead without fear or doubt.” Because so’pi pápavinirmuktah mucyate bhavabandhanát – “I will liberate that person from sin; I will liberate that person from all worldly bondages.” That person will attain the supreme stance, will reach Parama Puruśa, will attain the supreme shelter of Puruśottama. O human beings, rest assured, rest assured.

Footnotes

(1) Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, Ánanda Sútram, 1962. –Trans.

(2) Bhagavad Giitá. –Trans.

Chapter 4	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

Dhrtaráśt́ra uváca, that is, Dhritarastra is asking:

Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre samavetá yuyutsavah;
Mámakáh Páńd́aváshcaeva kimakurvata Saiṋjaya.

[“O Sanjaya, now that my children and the children of Pandu have gathered on the battlefield of Dharmakśetra, of Kurukśetra, eager to fight, what is taking place?”]

Here dharmakśetra means the physical body of the human being, and kurukśetra means the saḿsára [world] around us. Mámakáh is “the men of my party”. Who is the speaker here? It is Dhritarastra. Who then is Dhritarastra? It is the blind mind. To whom does he speak? It is Sanjaya, the viveka [conscience], whom he is addressing. “My party and the party of Pandu were samavetáh, that is, ekatritáh, ekatribhútáh [‘assembled together’].” But why were they assembled together? Yuyutsavah. The root verb yudh plus san (“desirous of”) plus the u suffix gives us the word yuyutsu. Someone who is willing to fight, ready for battle, is called yuyutsu in Sanskrit. The verb yudh plus san in the sense of “willingness and readiness for a battle or war” gives us yuyutsa, and when the feminine t́á is added [to form a complete word], we get yuyutsá, which means “desire to fight”; while the term yuyutsu means “one who is willing to fight”. [And yuyutsavah is the plural form of this.] “The men on my side, and the men on Pandu’s side, ready to fight a battle, have assembled together.” But where have they assembled? On the dharmakśetra of the physical human body and the kurukśetra of the saḿsára. “And who did what, which side did what? Tell me, O Sanjaya, O viveka, please tell me.”

The Mind Has Ten Agents

Now we come to the next part of the shloka: mámakáh Páńd́aváshcaeva. Here mámakáh means “men on my side”. But who really are they on the side of Dhritarastra, that is, the mind? They are in fact the ten indriyas [organs]: the five motor organs and five sensory organs. The organs of speech, the hands, the feet, the anus and the genitals – these are the five motor organs. While the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue and the skin are the five sensory organs. Now, the mind is the master of all these ten organs. As the scriptures say, Indriyáńáḿ mano náthah manonáthástu márutah – “The mind is the master of the sense organs, and air is the master of the mind.” The master, the controller and presiding lord of all the organs is the mind; and the one who controls this mind is the sádhaka, the intelligent one. The sádhaka controls the mind by controlling maruta [air], which means by controlling the váyus [ten vital-energy currents in the human body], which means by práńáyáma [controlling vital energy by controlling the breath]. The expressions of the indriyas are práńa. Práńa is energy; and vital energy is called práńáh. You must have read about this in my book Idea and Ideology. When one wants to have control over práńa – the expression of the indriyas – one has to control the váyus first. Á – yam + ghaiṋ = áyáma, “that which is being controlled”. And that by which such control over práńa – the expression of the indriyas – is being effected is práńáyáma. Hence, práńa + áyáma = práńáyáma. Práńán yamayatyeśa práńáyámah - “That which gives control over the expressions of the indriyas is práńáyáma.” It is not that the indriyas alone are controlled by práńáyáma; the master of the indriyas – the mind – also comes under control through práńáyáma. Thus the mind, although the master of the indriyas, is obviously reduced to the same status as the indriyas. That is why the mind is said to be the eleventh indriya. There are many scholars who are not inclined to accept the mind as a separate entity at all. There are others, however, according to whom the mind too is an indriya. Though the mind is not exactly an indriya, because it has two roles to perform. It has a specific role like an indriya, and also has another role as the controller of the remaining ten indriyas.

So what is implied by mámákah? The ten indriyas stand for the ten assistants of the mind. With their help, the mind works, even rules over them and controls them. If the indriyas were not under control, the mind would lose its value, would be useless; and its existence would be reduced to complete nothingness. The eye sees because the mind wants it to see; the ear hears because the mind wants it to hear; and the nose smells because the mind wants it to smell.

If a mind does not want, nothing else can work. Imagine yourself walking on the street in Calcutta with your mind roaming over to Dhaka. Suppose further that one of your old acquaintances happens to pass by you. You will not notice the person, simply because your mind is in Dhaka. You could not direct your mind to him. When, afterwards, you meet the same person, he or she will say: “I met you the other day, but you didn’t look at me or speak to me.” Then you will say: “I was thinking about something else” - which means your mind was engaged elsewhere. So you see that without the active support of the mind, neither can the eye see, nor can the ear hear. This is the real truth. Suppose you are deeply engrossed in thinking about some object. Someone tells you something, repeats it two or three times. But there being no reply from you, he says: “You are not listening.” Then you say: “Yes, yes, I was thinking of something else.” Such things happen.

Whatever importance, whatever mastery, the mind possesses, flows from its being the director of the ten sense organs. In addition to that, I say that I do not admit mind as a separate indriya, even though some people assert it to be so. This is because of the fact that the manana kriyá [cogitative function] of the mind has a certain speciality. What then is this manana kriyá? It is because of this manana kriyá that we say mana [“mind”]. The meaning of the root verb man is “to reflect”, “to think”.

According to the principles of general psychology, the mind has two functions – to think and to preserve in memory. Peoples’ memory has its specialities, and people’s thinking has its specialities. You should be aware of those specialities.

The objects with which people frequently come in contact are the objects that occupy their thinking. Even if they try to think of any other object, their minds go back and again to those objects. Manana [thinking] is a natural function of the mind and it is determined to a very great extent by certain conditions.⁽¹⁾ A farmer who is engaged in cultivating his land might be thinking of so many things, but frequently will revert to the thought: “Will it rain today?” The flow of his thinking is being obstructed by thoughts of paddy and rain, because it is with paddy and rain that he must keep busy.

And regarding preserving in memory, one interesting point to note is that it is the events to which we give importance that we will retain longer in our minds, longer in our smarańa [memories]. If, on the other hand, an event does not have as much impact on the mind and fails to evoke any interest, the mind will forget that the next moment. We forget by night-time what we ate in the morning, simply because we give it little importance. We might enjoy the food while eating, but immediately afterwards it becomes unimportant. Hence it is said that in order to improve your memory, nothing in the world should be slighted. Everything should be given equal value. Sama pluśińá sama mashakena sama nágena sama ebhistribhirlokaeh – “You should give the same importance to a white ant” (pluśina means “white ant” – in Hindi it is diimak, in Bihar it is danya, diinya) “and” – sama mashakena – “to a mosquito. And you should give that same importance” – sama nágena – “to an elephant and” – sama ebhistribhirlokaeh – “to the three worlds of heaven, earth and hell.” Then and only then will your power of memory awaken. Otherwise, if you go on making small differentiations, you will not be able to keep your balance of mind. As a result, your memory will not improve. Yogis tell us that if you want to improve your memory, the easiest method is to meditate upon a person whose memory is very sharp. This is the shortest route. Anyway, I have now presented before you all the functions of the mind.

Now, the functions of the mind are smarańa rákhá [preserving in memory] and manana [thinking, cogitation]. How does manana operate? Manana means that the mind will rush towards objects which are in agreement with your acquired samskáras [mental reactive momenta], that is, towards your samskáraja samiti. This rushing towards, this positive movement, is positive manana. When, on the other hand, you see an object that is not in agreement with your mind, that is, that is not to your liking, your mind rushes away from that object. This is negative manana. Think of a gentleman whom you like. You will not see his faults, simply because you like him very much; and whenever you happen to meet him, your mind immediately runs towards him. Such things do happen, as I have seen. This is my own experience. Notwithstanding his vices and demerits, which I am aware of, I do not hesitate to welcome him: “How are you? Sit down. I haven’t seen you for a long time!” I say all this, because there is an affinity between our propensities. You have the same experience, I presume. Now take the case of another person who is free from any faults, but is not in tune with your propensities. You will look down upon him as an unwanted nuisance. You are adversely disposed towards the man. This is negative manana. Such things do happen in everyone’s life. Yes, this is thinking in the negative. This is how manana goes on.

Once you realize the truth, you may be on your guard so as not to overdo your expressions of liking or love for someone; and not to be antagonistic to a person not to your liking. In this way you can maintain your mental balance. If somebody speaks the slightest ill of a person you do not like, your natural inclination will be to seize upon the idea and exaggerate that out of proportion. On the other hand, you will be at pains to amplify, in hyperbolic terms, even some little praise of a person you like and love; and will hasten to add: “Well, this is not his only virtue, you know. He has so many other remarkable qualities, such as this one and this one.” Such is human nature. Now, the functions of the mind – the two I have just mentioned, namely, manana and smarańa – are carried out with the help of the ten indriyas – the five motor organs and the five sensory organs.

Now, something in brief about the motor organs. It may happen that the poor fellow you dislike is saying something good. Yet those good words will not be appreciated by you. What is the nature of your hand? It is a motor organ. You may give someone a big slap. Your hand will easily rise and glide towards the face of someone whom you dislike. When, on the other hand, a man you like happens to talk nonsense, you will simply bear with that, with infinite patience.

Very often we speak of someone as having great patience. What a tolerant man he is! we say. How does that come about? Simply because the man is neutral by nature. So he does not focus on differences among different people’s conduct. Therefore his mind remains cool. Actually, the fact that his mind remains cool does not mean that he is a good man. The reason for his calmness is this psychological reason. So those of you who are a little short-tempered or a little fussy about things – do not think that these are special faults of yours. I have explained to you the cause behind these things. If you want to rectify these things, then remember what I have told you. Then you will be able to do the right thing at the right time. Sometimes in practical life you have to display a little bit of anger, otherwise the equilibrium of the world will be disturbed. To a little boy you may have to say “I’m going to spank you” to get the results. But to an adult you will say “Listen, this is not good” – that will be enough. Doing this sort of thing is sometimes necessary in this world, and it does not mean that you do so because your mind is enslaved by your indriyas. Rather, some such things are necessary for the sake of an adjustment with the practical world.

So today I have told you only this much – that the mind rules over its kingdom with the help of its ten indriyas. The mind has ten agents.

Footnotes

(1) But thinking can also be controlled to some extent, whereas the functioning of the sensory indriyas is determined entirely by external conditions. –Trans.

Chapter 5	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

Blind Dhritarastra said: “Having assembled to fight a battle on the field of Dharmakśetra (the physical body of human beings), Kurukśetra (the material world around us), what did my men and the men of Pandu do? Tell me, O Sanjaya.” What does the word saiṋjaya mean here? It is the viveka [conscience]. The mind itself is blind. It has to take the help of the viveka to know what happened, what is happening, and what is to happen. Dhritarastra said, Samavetáh yuyutsavah, where yuyutsavah refers to the two belligerent parties; and samavetáh means “assembled together”.

You should know that the nature of the world is such that nowhere in it is there any permanence or freedom from struggle. There is always unrest and conflict. If anyone thinks that there should be peaceful coexistence, and that that is the greatest human treasure, they will be making a mistake. It is not the greatest human treasure, because it goes against jaeva dharma [the nature of living beings].

Hiḿsáy yadi guńa aparádh, kápuruśa tumi, sákśya tár
Devatá-daetye nitya virodh jiṋáti haye, kivá anye chár;
Hiḿsá jiiver sahaja dharma, hiḿsá-anne puśt́a práń,
Dhvaḿse ye biija káler kámya, vaḿshe táhái múrtimán.

[If you consider hiḿsá (violence) a crime, then you are a coward. Don’t you see the constant struggle going on between gods and demons, and even between blood relations? Hiḿsá is the instinctive nature of living beings; even their nourishment comes from food acquired through hiḿsá. In the process of time, new life comes forth out of the ashes.]

Hence, non-struggle – the absence of struggle – is but another name for death. It has been my constant endeavour to arouse this spirit of struggle in you; I have never encouraged aversion towards struggle. Whenever two entities of opposite nature come face to face, both entities prepare themselves for a fight. And so that the other party will not get any hint of their inner preparedness, each party will preach the sweet words of peace. Both parties will declare: “I want peace.” Once a famous English parliamentarian said: “Preach the gospels of peace, but keep your powder dry.”

Vidyá and Avidyá⁽¹⁾ do not exist side by side. They fight. Fortune and misfortune do not exist together either. Even the different aspects of auspicious power are in conflict with one another. The Puranic goddess Lakśmii [goddess of wealth] and the goddess Sarasvatii [goddess of learning] are at daggers drawn. Lakśmii cannot remain where learning predominates; where, on the other hand, wealth predominates, learning runs away. Such is the fact. Kárttika is a lover of beauty; hence his [mount] is the peacock; the mouse of Gańesha will not go near him. The mouse will live inside the big granaries of businessmen and feed on rice particles. Such is the law of the world. The owl of the goddess Lakśmii lives by sucking the bones of other beings. This owl of Lakśmii is a consummate meat-eater, you know, while in appearance so white! The meeting of two contradictory entities will always turn out like this – both go on preparing, while outwardly they preach sweet words of peace.

But dharma is a straightforward affair. Dharmasya súkśmá gatih kálasya kut́ilá gatih – “The path of dharma is subtle, while the path of time is devious.” What happens and how things happen is beyond people’s comprehension. One may be at the height of one’s glory today. But how and when they will be a fallen angel, sunk in the depths of total oblivion, nobody can guess. That is why it is said that kálasya kut́ilá gatih [“the movement of time is devious”]. But regarding dharma it is said: Dharmasya súkśmá gatih – “Dharma walks a straight and simple path, but a very subtle one.”

Yuddhárthaḿ samavetáh mámakáh Páńd́aváshcaeva – “Dhritarastra’s men and the men of Pandu are preparing for a war.” The preparation, however, goes on clandestinely. People will come to know of it only when it explodes, bursts out in public. It is like the dormant volcano in the lithosphere inside the earth, preparing itself for millions of years for its final explosion. People are not aware of it. Suddenly there is a tremor; a great continent turns into an ocean, and a great ocean becomes a desert as a sunken land rises from beneath the earth. So instead of taking recourse to hypocrisy and duplicity, it is always wise to frankly accept the highest truth. Therein lies the greatness of humanity.

What is the meaning of “accept the highest truth”? It means that I will follow the path of virtue and will not tolerate injustice. If the situation so demands, I will fight against injustice. This is sádhutá [honesty]. Secretly preparing for war, while preaching the gospels of peace in public, whatever else we may call this, has not the least trace of sádhutá and saralatá [honesty and simplicity] in it. It is hypocrisy.

The other day I told you that the mind has ten indriyas as its assistants; and they are the ten blind forces running simultaneously in ten directions. Suppose you are driven by the greed instinct. Your conscience does not work then, nor is it bothered about what others may be thinking of you. You might have sometimes seen a dinner guest eating eighty or even a hundred lucis,⁽²⁾ along with a lot of sandeshas and rasagollás.⁽³⁾ He never cares what others might be thinking of such a glutton. In fact he has lost his common sense. Similarly, whenever people act under the influence of any vrtti [propensity], they lose their common sense. They then run around like mindless lunatics. These hundred blind propensities rushing in a hundred directions are but the agents of Dhritarastra. Mámakáh means “my party”. The hundred blind forces of Dhritarastra’s party are also called Dhritarastra’s hundred sons. In this body, on this kurukśetra of the saḿsára [world] and dharmakśetra of the physical body, there have assembled for a fight the hundred sons of Dhritarastra’s party – of mámakáh, “my party” – that is, Duryodhana, Duhshasana, etc. Dur [difficult] – yudh [fight against] + lyut́ = duryodhana – “one whom even a good man wants to subdue, but cannot.” That which we want to subdue, but fail to subdue – such propensities are called duryodhana. And if I want to control myself – “No, I will not be greedy any more – yet I lose control over my greed, I cannot control it” – this vrtti is represented by Duhshasan, “that which I cannot bring under shásana [control]”. Such are the hundred vrttis – which are the hundred agents of the mind.

Again, you see that the words páńd́ava, páńd́u, pańd́á are all derived from the root verb pańd́. The verb pańd́ means “[to attain] vedojjvalá buddhi [intelligence based on right knowledge]”, which is an acquired intelligence. Vedojjvalá buddhi means that intelligence which is based on samyak jiṋána [right knowledge]. In the scriptures right knowledge is called vijiṋána. These days vijiṋána is used synonymously with “science”; in old Sanskrit vijiṋána meant knowledge of the bhútas [fundamental factors]; but the literal meaning of vijiṋána is “special knowledge”, that is to say, “spiritual knowledge”. Vedojjvalá buddhi – buddhi [intelligence] based on vijiṋána, on right knowledge, on spiritual knowledge – is pańd́á. Some of you might know that in Orissa, there is a surname Pańd́á. Pańd́á means vedojjvalá jiṋána. Ahaḿ Brahmásmiiti buddhih – “That intelligence that teaches people, inspires people to feel, that they are one with Brahma” is pańd́á; and one who has such pańd́á is called a pańd́ita.

Ahaḿ Brahmásmiiti buddhih támitah práptah pańd́itah [“One who has the sense, or intelligence, of knowing that ‘I am Brahma’ is a pańd́ita”]. Simply writing Pańd́ita before one’s name does not make one a pańd́ita. It is only the one who possesses pańd́á who is really a pańd́ita. And a person who is desirous of acquiring pańd́á is called páńd́eya (adding the suffix śneya to pańd́á). Both “Páńd́eya” and “Pánd́ejii” are derived from pańd́á; these days, however, they have become mere surnames.

In the past it was a convention to add “Páńd́eya” only to the name of a person who had reached the highest spiritual knowledge. One who had memorized two of the Vedas was known as “Dvivedii”, which has been shortened today to “Dube” (while “Páńd́eya” has become “Pánd́e”). One who was an authority on three Vedas was “Trivedii”, today “Teoyárii”. And one who had memorized all four Vedas was “Caturvedii”, in modern language “Caobe” – only a surname.

Pańd́á means vedojjvalá buddhi, the knowledge that “I am Brahma.” And pańd́ plus uń becomes páńd́u. That is, that path along which a person becomes established in pańd́á – absolute knowledge – and permanently established in the sahasrára cakra; and along which one who gains the ability to raise oneself from the supreme negativity [to] the supreme positivity, the shambhúliuṋga; is páńd́u.

Footnotes

(1) Vidyá is the centripetal, or introversial, force; the aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the crude to the subtle. Avidyá is the centrifugal, or extroversial, force; the aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the subtle to the crude. –Trans.

(2) In Hindi, puri – unleavened bread puffed by deep frying. –Trans.

(3) Sweets. –Trans.

Chapter 6	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

The men of the mind’s party, and the men of the Pandava party, have assembled to fight a battle. Who are the men of the mind’s party? And what mind do we mean? We mean the blind mind, the mind without judgement, without conscience. On the other side are the men of Pandu’s party. The mind is drawing human beings towards crudeness, staticity. The hundred agents of the mind assist the mind in doing this – they are the hundred sons of Dhritarastra. And in the opposite camp, as I have already mentioned, moving ahead with the aspiration of attaining self-knowledge, are the men of Pandu’s party: páńd́u means “endeavouring to attain self-knowledge”. Avidyá is the force that pulls people down; on that side are the hundred sons of Dhritarastra, the blind one. On the other side is the Vidyá force that arouses the kulakuńd́alinii shakti, the sleeping jiiva shakti [microcosmic force] in humans, and pushes it upwards to the seat of Parama Puruśa in the sahasrára⁽¹⁾ – the abode of Krśńa, the Supreme Controller of all. Thus two ideas have met and synthesized within this human body, this dharmakśetra, this kurukśetra – this dharmakśetra of the body and kurukśetra of the world.

The kulakuńd́alinii is the sleeping microcosmic force, which I have called the fundamental negativity; and the original source, Parama Puruśa, out of which this microcosmic force springs is the fundamental positivity. Hence when this force wants to ascend, it has to move upwards along the path from the crude to the subtle. In just the same fashion, Avidyá, which moves along the path of the hundred agents of the mind – Dhritarastra’s hundred sons – draws people from the subtle to the crude, and ultimately tries to reduce people to staticity, crudeness. Thus the two forces are born enemies; born enemies means those who cannot exist together. For instance, humans and tigers, or snakes and mongooses, are born enemies. Hence the aspiration to ascend, the thinking that I will go up, will be united with Parama Puruśa and become completely lost in Him, forgetting my personal identity – this ambition to rise high can never be reconciled or balanced with the inclination to become crude.

Jánhá káma tánhá nahiin Ráma, jánhá Ráma tánhá nahiin káma;
Dono ekatra nahiin miile ravi-rajanii ek t́hama.

[When there is attachment to the mundane, Parama Puruśa is not there; where there is Parama Puruśa there cannot be attachment – these two things cannot go together, just as the sun and the night cannot go together in the same sky.]

Never can we have the sun and the night at the same time. At the sight of the sun approaching, the face of the night becomes pale, and we know that it is dawn. Similarly, when the night descends, the sun disappears. The two cannot exist together. Dono ekatra nahiin miile [“these two things cannot go together”] – in the same way, the psychic inclination based on Vidyá and the ideal of the highest good can never coexist with the psychic inclination based on Avidyá and crudeness and directed towards sense-pleasures. This is because of the basic difference between matter and consciousness. Persons whose vision is not clear enough to grasp the real perspective of things, speak of peaceful coexistence simply to win cheap applause. They are living in a fool’s hell. I won’t say a “fool’s paradise”, even though that is the familiar expression. They are living in a fool’s hell, because no such coexistence is possible. Darkness cannot coexist with the moon. Is talking about the impossible not a bid for cheap popularity? It is a form of hypocrisy.

Now, this fundamental negativity, the kulakuńd́alinii, the sleeping microcosmic force, must move from crude to subtle, from matter to consciousness. In the process of movement from crude to subtle, it will have to seek out first the solid factor, then the liquid factor, then the luminous factor, then the aerial factor, then the ethereal factor. After these comes the mind, which itself has several stages. Passing gradually through all these stages, it finally reaches the átman and Paramátman [unit soul and Supreme Soul]. When the mind merges in Paramátman, we call that state nirvikalpa samádhi [indeterminate absorption]. When, however, the mind reaches Paramátman, but instead of merging in it merges in the Mind of Paramátman, we call that state savikalpa samádhi [determinate absorption]. Now, while rising upwards, the first step is the solid factor, where it rests. When, just after diikśá [initiation], the kulakuńd́alinii begins to move, it rises to the kśititattva. [We can then say] Devena saha; where deva means one’s abode, the ádi kśititattva [primordial solid factor]. So [changing the order of the words] the name “Sahádeva” [youngest of the Pandava brothers] means the solid factor. The kulakuńd́alinii continues to move upwards. What is above the solid factor? Apatattva. In which cakra? The svádhiśt́hána. What does apa mean? Liquid, kúlaḿ násti yasya – “that which has no kúla [limit]”. The universe exists within the vast liquid factor. That which has no limit is “Nakúla” [the liquid factor and name of the next-youngest Pandava brother]. What is above the nakúla? Tejastattva. Tejastattva means “universal energy”. The kulakuńd́alinii rise there. “Arjuna” [the middle Pandava brother] means “energy, power”. What is above this? The váyaviitattva [aerial factor], the anáhata cakra,⁽²⁾ also called pavana. What was Bhima [the next-oldest of the Pandava brothers]? Pavananandana [the child of pavana]. The pavanatattva, the váyutattva. The kulakuńd́alinii rises still higher. Where does it go? To the ákáshatattva, the ethereal factor. This represents a state midway between matter and consciousness, between mind and body, between abstract and matter. It is the [lowest] point in the abstract-matter scale, and the [highest] point in the matter-abstract scale. A little higher is the region of the mind, and a little lower the region of váyutattva, which comes under the category of matter.

When a person performs an action, crude or subtle, and moves towards crudeness or subtlety, where is that clash focused? In the ethereal factor. A little above is the realm of the mind, and a little below, the realm of matter. The battle is most pronounced in the ethereal factor because it occupies the middle point between mind above, and matter below.

That person alone can go upwards who keeps this point undisturbed; otherwise the person cannot go upwards. If there is the slightest disturbance the person may fall down. Hence yudhi + sthira (yudhi means “in war”). One who keeps oneself sthira [unaffected, unassailed] at the time of battle, who keeps one’s balance in battle, who is perfectly poised for upward motion during spiritual practice, and never loses one’s balance at the peak of the fighting, is yudhi + sthira = “Yudhiśt́hira” [the eldest Pandava brother].

These are [Pandu’s] five sons. Understood as the five fundamental factors, they are the five “sons” of páńd́u where páńd́u means “spiritual path” – that is, they are [stages in attaining] pańd́á – Ahaḿ Brahmásmiiti buddhih, [“The realization ‘I am Brahma’”]. “I am the átmá, I am Parama Puruśa” – to be established in this supreme realization. Through these five factors there advance on one side the Vidyá sádhakas, those of Pandu’s party, the men of the five Pandavas; while on the other side, in Dhritarastra’s party, are the hundred sons of blind Dhritarastra – Duryodhana, etc. This war has been going on since beginningless time. When in this struggle Pandu’s party is victorious, that should be understood as an indication that the sádhaka has been able to reach the ultimate goal of his or her individual self; and the one who has not yet attained that ideal, has still to fight the battle; and the Kaoravas are the winners many times every day, bringing victory to Dhritarastra. How did this supreme spiritual battle, corresponding to an individual’s life itself, which has gone on since eternity, is still going on, and will go on in human beings, progress through its various stages? The blind mind is asking Sanjaya, wisdom, the viveka [conscience], this question. Bho Saiṋjaya vada⁽³⁾ [“O Sanjaya, tell me”] Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre [“on the field of dharma, on the field of the universe”] yuddhárthaḿ [“for war”] samavetáh [“gathered”] mámakáh [“my people”] mamapakśiiyáh [“my party”] tathá Pańd́upakśiiyáh [“and the Pandava party”] kim akurvata [“what are they doing?”]. “You tell me, I will listen.” This is the first shloka of the Giitá.

Footnotes

(1) The uppermost psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus, in the body, located at the crown of the head. –Trans.

(2) Fourth psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus, in the body, located at the mid-point of the chest. –Trans.

(3) Having quoted this shloka as it appears in the Bhagavad Giitá in previous discourses (for example, “Spiritual Lessons of the Giitá – 3”), the author now proceeds to give a prose Sanskrit paraphrase. –Trans.

Chapter 7	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

Now we come to the fourth of our various interpretations of “Krśńa”.⁽¹⁾ We come to another type of interpretation – the Rája Yaogik interpretation.

This human body is controlled by nerve fibres, which in turn are controlled by nerve cells. The human body generally moves as it is directed to by the mind. But when the body functions under the impact of certain inborn instincts, it does not require direction by the mind. Such actions are absolutely physical or mundane. Then there are some functions which, though physical, are also related to the mind, such as hunger, thirst, sleep and drowsiness. The latter functions are regulated by the ten váyus [vital-energy flows] – práńa, apáńa, samána, udána, vyána (the five [internal] váyus), and nága, kúrma, krkara, devadatta and dhanaiṋjaya (the five [external] váyus). Through these external váyus all kinds of natural functions are performed. The mind does not play any particular role in these cases.

All other functions, however, are controlled by the mind. The mind will send instructions to the body according to how it (the mind) is controlled or regulated by physico-psycho-spiritual practices; and in order to control the mind the ten váyus have to be brought under control. The systematic and scientific process to regulate the váyus in order to control the mind is called práńáyáma. Práńán yamayatyeśah práńáyámah – “The process of controlling the váyus is known as práńáyáma.” (The word práńáyáma is derived as: [práń + á – yam + ghaiṋ].)

There is a unique causal relationship between the functioning of the váyus and the functioning of the mind. If someone keeps running at a certain pace by drawing rapidly on accumulated vital energy, the person’s respiration becomes faster, and if the respiration becomes fast, one loses the capacity for deep thinking or deep contemplation. That is, one loses the capacity to think, or to assimilate or internalize any idea through the organs, in a calm and systematic way. [[If the mind is restless, the body will also be restless, and if the body is restless, the mind will also be restless.]] That is why during spiritual practice, the body should be kept motionless. One must practise seated in a certain posture, because if the body becomes calm and motionless the mind also tends to become calm and concentrated. If someone is constantly thinking that he or she will have to sit down at a certain time, stand up at a certain time, catch hold of one’s nose or ears at a certain time, the mind will automatically tend to become restless. Such is the intimate relation between the body and the mind.

Indriyáńám manonáthah manonáthastu márutah – “The indriyas⁽²⁾ – both sensory indriyas and motor indriyas – are controlled by [the mind and the mind is controlled by] the váyus.”⁽³⁾

This sort of functioning of the mind is discharged in and through the body with the help of the nerve cells and nerve fibres. Its principle controlling centre is situated in the sahasrára cakra – the pineal gland – but its substations are located in various parts of the body. The substations are located in sites of the body from which particular kinds of thought-waves control the adjacent areas of the body in their own respective ways. These substations are called cakra or padma or kamala – plexus in Latin – thus we have the various cakras – múládhára, svádhiśt́hána, mańipura, anáhata, vishuddha, ájiṋá, etc. The mind, instead of exerting its control directly from the sahasrára cakra, exerts its control through the other cakras, the other plexi. Hence in order to advance spiritually, one has first to establish control over these lower cakras, then finally over the sahasrára cakra. If one, conversely, tries to control the sahasrára first while the other cakras remain uncontrolled, spiritual practice on the sahasrára may be hampered. Not only that; even if the sahasrára cakra can be brought under control, the final result will not be good if the subsidiary cakras are not brought under control. It is not enough that the driver of a car be efficient, the car as well must be free from any defect.

The various cakras are controlled by particular biija mantras, particular acoustic roots, and also emanate sound vibrations; and every sound vibration coming from each such plexus – each such network of nád́iis [psychic-energy channels] – is in scripture given the name of a particular devatá [deity], a particular vibrational existence. When you think in a particular way, your mind is vibrated in the corresponding way, and your nerve cells and nerve fibres are vibrated in the corresponding way. When someone gets angry, the mind also becomes heated and red, and there is a corresponding reaction in the nerves. The body becomes reddish and starts trembling. Now these devatás or vibrational existences – each the repository of a particular kind of thinking and each representing one point in a given cakra – are controlled by the nuclei of their respective plexi, and all those nuclei are controlled by the human mind, which is the collective expression of fifty main propensities.

Those fifty main propensities function both internally and externally. One may donate something to someone both internally and externally. Likewise, one can steal both mentally and physically. Hence every propensity is functioning in two ways, and fifty times two equals one hundred. Furthermore, each propensity functions in ten directions [north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, up and down]. One hundred times ten equals one thousand. Hence there are one thousand functioning propensities. These one thousand vrttis are controlled by the mind from the pineal gland, which is why [its corresponding cakra] is called sahasrára [sahasra means “thousand”]. So the nucleus of the sahasrára controls the sahasrára itself, every subsidiary plexus below the pineal gland, and the vrtti-controlling points of all those cakras. (Each of these points is a vibrational existence, a devatá.) All the devatás of a given plexus are controlled by the controlling point of that plexus, and the supreme controlling point is the controlling point of the pineal gland. This supreme controlling point is called Paramashiva in yoga philosophy – Paramashivah Puruśottamah vishvasya kendram [“Supreme Consciousness at the nucleus of the universe is known as Paramashiva or Puruśottama”]. The same entity which is called Paramashiva or Puruśottama in Rája Yoga is known as “Krśńa” in Vaeśńava Tantra. This is one aspect [of the Krśńa concept in philosophy]. This is a very important point which should be well understood.

When a spiritual aspirant can concentrate all his or her psycho-physical existence or individual “I” feeling on Paramashiva or Puruśottama in the sahasrára cakra, the jiiva becomes Shiva. A jiiva is manifested out of Paramashiva as a jiiva in a human body – or rather, simultaneously in the Cosmic Body and in a human body. Each and every microcosmic structure is like a universe. Hence the yoga scriptures say, Traelokye yáni bhútáni táni dehatah – “Whatever exists in the universe exists in your small structure as well.” Just as the universe, starting from Paramashiva, Puruśottama, flows on and on along the path of saiṋcara and attains the form of the crudest matter (if it undergoes further crudification it will explode), and thereafter starts moving on the path of subtlety, similarly in the human frame the last vertebra is the crudest manifestation. The last vertebra in the human body is termed kula in Sanskrit. So kula literally means “that which bears the load of the entire body”.⁽⁴⁾

[[The jiivabháva [unit identity] sleeps [coiled around] that kula; spiritually it is asleep. “Asleep” means that it lies as if sleeping [around] that last bone with its own tail, that is, its own existence, clamped in its mouth. It sleeps like a snake. That sleeping devabháva [divinity], sleeping jiivabháva, that lies [around] the last point of the kula bone is called the kulakuńd́alinii.]]

When human beings do sádhaná, the kulakuńd́alinii, an ideative entity, rises upward through the spine. It pierces through cakras one after the other, and simultaneously the thoughts or propensities controlled by their respective cakras are brought under control. As soon as the kulakuńd́alinii pierces the múládhára, svádhiśt́hána and mańipura cakras, it brings under control all the propensities up to and including those of the mańipura cakra. The mańipura is the controlling cakra of ten propensities – shyness, sadistic tendency, envy, staticity, melancholia, peevishness, yearning for acquisition, infatuation, hatred, fear. When after rising and rising the kulakuńd́alinii reaches the sahasrára, it becomes one with Paramashiva. This is the state of liberation.

You know very well that in medieval India, Tantra branched out into numerous schools: Saora Tantra, Shákta Tantra, Shaeva Tantra, Gáńapatya Tantra, Vaeśńava Tantra, etc.⁽⁵⁾ So according to yoga scripture, the kuńd́alinii resides in the múládhára and Paramashiva in the sahasrára. And according to Vaeśńava Tantra, the kulakuńd́alinii is called “Rádhá” and Paramashiva is called “Krśńa”. This is the essence of the concept of Rádhá and Krśńa. Unfortunately, the actual underlying spirit of the Vaishnavite Cult is forgotten or ignored by many.

Quite often at the end of a [Vaishnavite] kiirtana you will hear that Rádhá and Krśńa have become united. The participants express this with a sentence that includes the words, Haribol, Haribol. The fact is that the sádhaná has elevated the jiivabháva [microcosmic bearing], and, it having become one with Paramashiva at the sahasrára cakra, the microcosm has gone beyond the periphery of all bondages, and has attained the bliss of emancipation. This is the inner secret.

Here the seven cakras, from múládhára to sahasrára, which the kulakuńd́alinii has to pierce, are the fetters or ropes which a spiritual aspirant has to snap. Páshabaddho bhavejjiivah, páshamukto bhavecchiva – “Those who are in bondage are called jiivas, and those who have been freed are Shiva.”

This is the last of our interpretations of the term “Krśńa”. In the sahasrára cakra, Paramashiva is the controlling point. Paramashiva is the same as “Krśńa”.

Footnotes

(1) The author had given various interpretations of the word “Krśńa” in his discourses of the two preceding days (in January 1980). Those two discourses appear in this book as the first chapter and the seventh chapter (p. 34). –Trans.

(2) An indriya is a sensory or motor organ, together with its respective nerves, nerve fluid, and site in the brain. –Trans.

(3) Etymology of márut (a synomym of váyu) omitted here. –Trans.

(4) A page of linguistic discussion omitted here. –Trans.

(5) For these five schools of Tantra, see “All Bask in the Glory of Shiva – 3”. –Trans.

Chapter 8	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

We shall discuss one of the shlokas [couplets] of the Giitá today. This particular shloka may be taken as the guiding or controlling shloka of the Giitá. We will deal with the subject rather elaborately. Here is the shloka – Dhrtaráśt́ra uváca [“Dhritarastra said”]:

Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre samavetá yuyutsavah;
Mámakáh Páńd́avashcaeva kimakurvata Saiṋjaya.

[“O Sanjaya, now that my children and the children of Pandu have gathered on the battlefield of Dharmakśetra, of Kurukśetra, eager to fight, what is taking place?”]

This is the first shloka of the Giitá, about which I have spoken to you before. Today I will give you only an introduction.

The name of the book is the Giitá. The root verb gae means “to sing”. Hence Giitá means “that which has been sung”. It is in the passive voice. But the passive voice always carries a sense of something remaining inarticulate in the statement. So it becomes necessary to make that implicit idea explicit. Something has been sung. Who then has sung it? Yá Bhagavatá giitá, sá Giitá [“That which has been sung by Bhagaván, the Lord, is the Giitá”]. In this case, since that which has been sung by Shrii Krśńa is the Giitá, Bhagavatá means Krśńena, “by Krśńa”. Who then is Krśńa? That also should be explained in this introduction.

Three Interpretations

The word krśńa has three different interpretations. The word can be derived from the root verb, one of the meanings of which is “to attract”, “to draw everything to one’s self”. The root verb krś plus na gives us “Krśńa”; that is to say, the being which attracts everything of the universe towards its own self, calling out: “Come, come… come to me… you have nothing to worry about… come to me. I am your shelter. I will save you from all dangers. There is nothing to be afraid of, nothing to fear; I am here.” The speaker of these words, who is attracting everybody towards Himself, is indeed Krśńa. Our mind does not want to go to Him, but even then it runs towards Him.

A Vaishnavite poet had this to say:

Ucát́ana mana ná máne várańa,
Shudhu tári páne chut́e yáy.

[The restless mind defies restrictions, and runs only after Him.]

I do not have a mind to go to or to look at Krśńa, but even then, it is as if something keeps pulling me. Thus the word “Krśńa” means “the supreme attractive faculty”.

Again, krśńa has the meaning “black”. The colour black has the greatest attraction for human mind. Among all colours, our attention is drawn first by black. This is the reason why the colour black is called krśńa. It should be remembered, however, that the complexion of the historical Krśńa who lived in Dvápara Yuga⁽¹⁾ was not black.

There is also a third meaning of “Krśńa” – krśi bhúh or krśibhúh. The root verb krś means the feeling “I am”. Don’t you all have a feeling such as this, “I exist”? In fact every individual has the feeling “I am”, myáy hun, ahaḿ asmi. Whenever that “I” feeling is struck a blow, people get irritated, worried, angry or frightened. Now this feeling “I am” [is represented by] the root verb krś, and the meaning of the root verb bhú is “to be”. Hence the meaning of the word “Krśńa” is “I am because He is.” In other words, it is only because of Krśńa that the world exists and living beings exist. If Krśńa had not been there, living beings and the world would not have been there either.

Krśńa is Parama Puruśa. In the absence of Parama Puruśa, neither living beings nor the universe would have existed at all. The world is, only because He is. That is why He is called “Krśńa”. My individual existence is dependent on His existence. For instance, because Bengal is there, Calcutta is there. The existence of Calcutta as an entity is dependent on the existence of Bengal. Hence it may well be said that Bengal is the Krśńa of Calcutta. Similarly, because India is there, Bengal is there. Thus India is Krśńa to Bengal. Or, because Asia is there, India is there. Thus Asia is Krśńa to India. And because the world is there, Asia is there. So the world is Krśńa to Asia. Then there is the solar system with the sun, the planets and the satellites – because it is there, our little world is there. Thus the solar system is Krśńa to the world. And because Parama Puruśa is there, this solar system, the planets and satellites, stars and nebulae, and the milky way – all of these entities are there. Hence Parama Puruśa is Krśńa to the entire universe. This is the third meaning of “Krśńa”. Krśibhúh – the existence of the root verb bhúh dependent on the existence of the root verb krś; that is, one existence dependent on another existence.

About 3500 years ago, in Dvápara Yuga, a great personality was born in Mathura. His father’s name was Vasudeva. Because He was a son of Vasudeva, one of his names was Vásudeva. One of his uncles was Nanda, whose profession was cattle-rearing, and his father Vasudeva was a superintendent of jails in Mathura. One elder brother of his father was Maharshi Garga. When the child was born, Maharshi Garga noticed in him a number of extraordinary qualities, and after much thinking and cogitation, christened him “Krśńa”. The Krśńa whom we will discuss, that is, the Krśńa of the Giitá, is this Krśńa of Dvápara Yuga.

I will continue with an analysis of Krśńa’s three roles simultaneously, in order to demonstrate that ultimately they all coincide at a certain point and that the three Krśńas are one and the same. As you know, Narottama Das Thakur composed Aśt́ottar Shatanám [“The One Hundred Eight Names”] of Krśńa. In one place he says:

Ananta rákhila nám anta ná páiyá;
Krśńa nám rákhen Garga dhyánete jániyá.

[Failing to find any limit, Garga named the baby “Ananta” (“Limitless”); and, enlightened by his meditation, gave Him the name “Krśńa”.]

Footnotes

(1) In mythology, the four ages occur in the order Satya Yuga (Golden Age), Tretá Yuga (Silver Age), Dvápara Yuga (Copper Age), and Kali Yuga (Iron Age), and correspond step by step to a decline of morality and spirituality. –Trans.

Chapter 9	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

We have been discussing the Giitá. In order to delve into the essential import of the Giitá, it was necessary [in previous discourses] to start with an introduction. About the Giitá it has been said, Yá Bhagavatá giitá sá Giitá [“That which has been sung by Bhagaván, the Lord, is the Giitá”]. Here the question of “Krśńa” arises. We have already examined some of the meanings of “Krśńa”. Moreover, it has also been shown that all those different meanings of the term converge at one point.

However, the word has other [than etymological] meanings also. For example, the terms bhagaván and “Krśńa” are identical in meaning: they are equivalent terms. What then is the meaning of bhagaván?

Bha + Ga + Suffix

In Sanskrit there are certain words which we use in a short form but which have profound meanings. The word bhagaván has two primary meanings. One of them is bha, which means bheti bhásyate sarván lokán [“that which illumines all the strata”].

What does loka mean here? In Bengali, lok means a man, a person; when we say Ekjan lok yácche, it means “A mánuśa [person] is going.” (In Marathi also the word mánuśa occurs, while in Assamese it is mánuh.) But in Sanskrit, loka has a different connotation; it stands for “layer” or “stratum”. So the sapta [seven] loka means seven layers of manifestation. These seven layers cover the entire continuum from Brahmá to the crudest matter – Ábrahmastamba.

(Here the term “Brahma” does not stand for Brahma the Absolute, the Supreme Being. It is Brahmá which the term “Brahma” denotes here. “Brahmá” means “the Creator”. In the case of indeclinable words and adjectives the á is omitted, giving place to simple a. For example, we don’t call a tree having many [bahu] branches [shákhá] a bahushákhá, but bahushákha. The á is dropped. Thus here the word “Brahma” is not Brahma the Absolute but Brahmá. We say Ábrahmastamba – “From Brahmá the Creator to a blade of grass,” everything is permeated by Brahma.)

Now, this Brahmá the Creator is not a separate entity. Brahma + a = “Brahmá”. A means “creator”. You are making a doll out of a lump of clay, you are creating something – the acoustic root of this very act of creation is a. When Brahma is engaged in the act of creation, the a is added to Brahma and we get “Brahmá”. In other words, when the Supreme Entity Brahma is creating anything, He is Brahmá. (Take for instance Rambabu. He is a school teacher. Rambabu and the teacher are not two different beings. When Rambabu is in school with a cane in his hand, people call him a teacher. The two are not separate beings.)

Every entity in creation, from the subtlest stage to the crudest stage, is alive. Everything is vibrant with life. But why is everything alive, what fills everything with life? It is the sheer joy of living. If there were no joy, no delight, in living, no one would have lived. They would have left this world, by one means or other. Why then are they here? Because they get joy in living here. Else they would not have stayed on. Bhásyate sarváń lokániti – “The seven lokas shine with His light,” reflect the brilliance of His effulgent being; and His glory makes everything sparkle with joy. Delighted with that luminosity, the hearts of all are dancing in joy. They want to live, to dance, to work, to see, to achieve, and to reach Parama Brahma in order to merge in Him with joy. To live like this – this very way of living – is ánanda [bliss]. The world has its being only because of this ánanda. And if this ánanda had not been there, the world also would not have existed at all.

Na vá are patyuh kámáya patih priyo bhavati;
Átmanastu kámáya patih priyo bhavati.
Na vá are puttrasya kámáya puttrah priyo bhavati;
Átmanastu kámáy puttrah priyo bhavati.
Na vá are sarvasya kámáya sarvaḿ priyaḿ bhavati;
Átmanastu kámáya sarvaḿ priyaḿ bhavati.

“Why is my husband so dear? Because of the pleasure that he gives me. My husband is dear to me not because he is my husband as such. Why do I love my son? Because I get pleasure in loving him. My son is dear to me not because he is my son as such. And regarding the world, nothing in the world is loved for its own sake, but for the pleasure I derive from loving it.” Similarly, why do people want to live? Because they find pleasure in living, not because of any inherent attraction of the world. When they no longer find any joy in the world, then they no longer want to live. They want to leave the world. People often think, “I’d like to leave all this” – meaning that they are no longer finding in the world any joy in living. This is the psychology of human beings.

Thus the meaning of bha is bheti bhásyate lokán – “that which has infused the joy of living throughout the seven lokas, as a result of which everybody’s heart and mind has become illuminated”.

And ga means Gacchati yasmin, ágacchati yasmát [“One who comes also goes”]. Hence ga is used to denote that from which everything in the world comes, and into which everything in the world ultimately dissolves.

By conjoining bha and ga we get the word bhaga. Bhaga + the suffix matup in the first person singular form gives bhagaván.

Bhaga

Bhaga stands for six different attributes collected together – a synthesis of six attributes. One of these attributes is aeshvarya, which means “occult power”. (In Latin, if we wish to say “originating from cult”, the letter “o” is placed before “cult” as a prefix; and according to the rules of English grammar, “o” being a light vowel, the consonant coming immediately after gets doubled. In the word “requisition” we find “req”, but in the word “acquisition” we find that a “c” has been added after the “a”. In the same way, what a person gets in return for “cult”, the wealth he gets in return for cult and as a result of his devotion to ideals, is called “occult power”, which in Sanskrit is expressed by the term aeshvarya.) The presence of all the different kinds of aeshvarya in a person is indeed one of the attributes of bhaga.

The second attribute is pratápa (administration), that is, the person has shásana [capacity to rule]. Everyone obeys the person, either out of fear or out of love.

The scriptures say that everything in the universe obeys the Supreme Entity. But why do they obey? Well, there is no other way but to do so. It is out of fear of Him that the wind is blowing. If there were no such fear, the wind might think of taking a little rest. In Sanskrit, one of the names for the wind is anil. Nil means “fixed”, “static” – that which is stuck in a particular position without movement – and anil means just the opposite. The Supreme Entity has pratápa. Bhiiśáhasmád váyuh pavate – “Out of fear of Him does the wind blow” – with the feeling that its movements are constantly watched from behind by a pair of eyes. Bhiisodeti súryah – “Out of fear of Him does the sun rise on time.” Not even a slight deviation is allowed. There is no scope for thinking “Today is Sunday, let me get up a little late.” It must rise at the right time. Bhiisáhasmádagniscandrashca – “Out of fear of Him, Agni [fire-god], Indra [king of gods], Candra [moon-god], Varuńa [water-god], all are going on with their allotted duties.”

The fire-god is performing its duty of burning; else the Supreme Entity will be displeased.

The word indra has different meanings, one of which is “big”, “superior”. Another meaning is “the shál tree”. That is a kind of very tall tree. In Sanskrit the shál tree is also called indra. It grows in plenty in the district of Bankura, and there is a particular place named Indrapur or Indpur, which means “the land of big shál trees”. Similarly, big kúpas [wells] are called indrakúpa. In Prákrta, it is indra-u-a; and in old Bengali it is indar-u-a, which in modern Bengali has come to be indárá. The same word in the rural dialect of Bihar has taken the form of inárá. All these variations have come out of the orginal indrakúpa. Another meaning of indra is “energy” – light energy, sound energy, electrical energy, etc. If we know the nature of these energies, we can put them to work. Even these energies follow a course of regularity in their duties. In fact, such regularity is obligatory or binding on them. They cannot do otherwise, because of fear of the Supreme Entity. Even death cannot go against the law. Mrtyur dhávati paiṋcamah – it must appear before one at the scheduled time. Each and everyone has to face death, as directed by the Supreme Entity Itself. That is why the Supreme Entity is called bhiisańa – “the terrible”.

Thus the first attribute of bhaga is aeshvarya, occult power, and the second is pratápa, commanding authority (in pure Bengali it is dápat and in Sanskrit pratápa).

Now we come to the third attribute – yasha. When the good qualities of a person are publicly acclaimed, that is yasha. (When those qualities are praised in rhythm, that is yashokiirtana, which should be sung not in a short and subdued way, but in a long and protracted tone, so that others may hear. Kiirtana is not something to be sung mentally.) Yasha, again, is of two types – positive and negative. If you are loud in speaking ill of others, that also is yasha, a negative yasha. So the third attribute of bhaga is this yasha, which, as we have seen, can be either positive or negative. It has been seen that whenever the Divine Entity has descended on the earth, one group of human beings has stood in its favour, while an opposite group has opposed it. Kansa was against Krśńa; Ravana was against Rama. (It is rather strange – either philosophically or politically – that the initial letter of each party is the same as the initial letter of the opposite party.)

There is a story in the Rámáyańa. Once Hanuman had managed to sneak into the private room of Ravana in the guise of a Brahman. His plan was to steal Ravana’s death-dealing weapon, the mrtyuváńa. Seeing him, the ladies of Ravana’s family said, “O revered one, please tell us, who will win the battle being fought between Rama and Ravana?” In reply, Hanuman, while jumping to escape, said: “Well, the winner’s name starts with the syllable rá.” The ladies took that to mean Ravana. But the name of his opponent also began with rá. Similarly, yasha can mean either positive yasha or negative yasha. Whenever the world is at the threshold of a great ideal, such situations will occur. The entire intellectuality, the entire world opinion, will be polarized. When polarization does not take place, and all movements are centred round the equator, that should be looked at as something very common, not at all as anything of importance, but a mere cosmetic make-up. That is not gold, nor is it silver. It is simply a piece of tinsel coated with gold or silver. But when you see that polarization has become complete, you should know that something big is going to happen.

The fourth attribute is shrii. The word shrii is a combination of sha, ra and ii. Sha is the acoustic root of rajoguńa [the mutative principle]. Sha helps to make a person active, and helps the person’s energy, intelligence and learning to become manifested. Whatever one does, one does with the help of sha, through the expression of rajoguńa. In the absence of rajoguńa, one cannot perform any action despite the potentiality one might be possessing. One will simply be an idiot of idiots – a burden on society. There are people who have intelligence, learning and energy, but who are like decrepit bulls, good for nothing. Again, there are people you will come across who are so lethargic and dilatory that they cannot accomplish even in days a piece of work that could normally be done in a few hours. They are practically worthless. They lack sha.

Next is ra, which is the acoustic root of energy. We have spoken earlier about energy. In Sanskrit, indra means energy – for example, light, sound, electricity. Where sha, that is, the rajoguńii vrtti [propensity], and ra, that is, energy, are both present, success is assured. Many may have a mind to do something, but do not have the requisite capability to do so. The desire is there, but no effective skill. Obviously, ra is absent here. Where both sha and ra are present we get shra, and adding the feminine uniiśa gives shrii. It is the legacy of India to prefix shrii to one’s name, because everybody wants it. Shrii means “charm” or “fascination”. You must have seen objects that instantly draw your attention. That means the particular object has an attractive force within it. There are some people who are not particularly learned or intelligent; nor are they adept at public speaking; but they are very good conversationalists. People gather round them eagerly to enjoy their pleasantries. That too is a kind of shrii. There are people who are not conversant with the intricacies of music, but they sing so melodiously that others rush to listen to them. That is the person’s musical shrii. Hence that singer may be honoured with the title giitáshrii. One who possesses this quality of shrii, this charm, this fascinating faculty, is said to have the fourth quality of bhaga.

The fifth attribute is jiṋána. What is jiṋána? You read a book and retain in memory what is there in the book. That is not jiṋána. The real meaning of jiṋána is the subjectivization of objectivity. Today you read and tomorrow you forget. Those among you who have passed the MA examination, if asked to undergo the same examination right now, will not be successful, simply because you have forgotten everything, like food that has been digested without a trace. That indicates that that was not the real jiṋána. Real jiṋána – genuine knowledge – implies what has been learned in the past is retained even today and, when needed, can be reproduced as it was. But if there is distortion, if what was learned is not retained, that is not jiṋána. What remains permanently is the real jiṋána. Bookish knowledge, or knowledge obtained through hearsay, has no sound basis; it is constantly changing. That is not knowledge. But those elements of the information which are beneficial, and were acquired for the permanent welfare of people, are called vijiṋána [science]. Knowledge about the Supreme Entity is also called science, because that also is conducive to human well-being. That is why our scriptures have this to say about real knowledge:

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánaḿ jiṋánányanyáni yánitu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni sárasyanaeva 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.]

To know one’s own self, or self-knowledge, alone is true knowledge. Self-realization, that is, where the subjectivity and the objectivity coincide – there we say it is knowledge. There we have reached the pinnacle of knowledge. This is jiṋána.

The sixth attribute is vaerágya [renunciation]. Vi – rańj + ghaiṋ = virága. Rańj means “to colour”. Adding lyut́ to the root rańj we get raiṋjana [dyeing], and adding the suffix śak to rańj we get rajaka, that is, one who colours clothes with raiṋjak (rańj + ńak [dye]). Hence a rajak is one who dyes clothes. The root verb vi-rańj, on the other hand, means “to remove colour”. Thus virága is that which removes colour. And vaerágya is the abstract-noun form of virága.

Whatever things the people of this world are running after, whatever they think of or see, they focus on the colours. They see them, think of them. But what they perceive is the outer colouring of the objects. Say there is a black fruit hanging high up in the tree. Its very colour tells you it is a jám.⁽¹⁾ When we see the colour, we get attracted. But a being who lives in the world but is not attracted by anything of the world – whose mind is unaffected by the colours of the world – is a vaerágii; and that mental bháva [stance] is vaerágya.

Now, these six attributes combined are what is known as bhaga. And one who has this bhaga is bhagaván. Bhaga + matup = bhagaván. [This bhaga is the second of] the two meanings of bhaga, as I have explained to you.

Footnotes

(1) Eugenia jambolana Lam, “blackberry”. –Trans.

Chapter 10	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

Dhritarastra is asking Sanjaya, the viveka [conscience]: Asmin Dharmakśetre tathá asmin Kurukśetre⁽¹⁾ [“On this field of dharma, on this field of the universe”] yuddhártham [“for war”] samavetáh [“gathered”] mámakáh [“my people”] arthát mámapakśiiyáh [“that is, my party”] Páńd́aváh arthát Pańd́upakśiiyáh [“the Pandavas, that is, the Pandava party”] te yuddhártham [“for war”] samavetáh [“gathered”] kim akurvata [“what are they doing?”], bho viveka kathaya [“O Sanjaya, tell me”].

What is meant here by Dharmakśetra? As has already been stated, dharmakśetra means this physical body. Dharma sádhaná [spiritual practice as expression of one’s dharma] is not possible without a physical body. People may have performed good deeds in this life and their souls may have reached a higher level, but if they happen to die before attaining liberation, their progress is thwarted, is stopped, until they receive a new life. Because, as has been mentioned, sádhaná is possible only when one has a physical body. That is why the physical body is called dharmakśetra. This point was thoroughly explained to you the other day.

I also said a few words about phonetics. The Rgvedic pronunciation of kśa is k + śa; while the Yajurvedic is k + kha. Bengali, Assamese and some other languages are guided by Yajurvedic rules. So they pronounce it ka + kha. But k + śa and k + kha (both represented in Bengali by ক্ষ) are equally correct: according to the rules of Bengali pronunciation, k + śa is incorrect, while k + kha is correct – but in Sanskrit both are recognized as correct.

The battle is going on, however, not only within the dharmakśetra, the physical body. After all, where is this dharmakśetra, this physical body? What is its location? It is located in the kurukśetra. And what exactly is the kurukśetra?

Nothing in this world is static; everything is in motion, is dynamic. Not to be in motion, not to move, is an impossibility. Even if something wants to stop moving, it will not be able to. Because motion is the sign of existence. Absence of motion implies the fallacy of non-existence. A question, however, may be raised: “Why must everything be in motion?” The answer is simply this: This universe is the Macropsychic conation of Parama Puruśa. Hence every cittáńu [ectoplasmic particle] moves exactly according to the vibration of the flow of His thought. Now, this flow of His thought moves in a rhythmic pattern of expansion and contraction through the pattern of uha and avoha. Out of this vibration does the world of matter take its shape and undergo transformation. Hence nothing in the world of flux can remain motionless, or still. Some kind or other of transformation it has to undergo. It had to move on in the past, and will have to do so in the future also. Hence, nothing is fixed in this world. Thus this world of creation is in a continuous process of forward march. The basic idea of this world of creation thus is “move on.”

If anybody in this universe wants to remain in a fixed position, that person’s desire will never be fulfilled. Because here movement is dharma, is práńa dharma.⁽²⁾ In order to ascertain if a person is alive, we first feel the person’s pulse. The beat of the pulse is the sign of life.

In the ancient Vedic age there was a great scholar, Rohit by name. Having learned a lot, he began to think: “What is the sense in my working? It makes no difference whether I live or die; everything will reach a state of total inertness in the end.” Thinking in this way, he stopped doing any work – but, we can presume, did not stop eating.

Anyone having an elementary knowledge of grammar knows that “to eat” is a verb; even “to sleep” is a verb. While Rohit was sitting like a mass of inert matter, his father (who was not known to be a man of letters) told his son: “Listen, Rohit, the fulfilment of existence lies in moving on. When people are in motion, when they labour and move ahead – to move ahead is also work – drops of sweat trickle down their cheeks. The sublime beauty that brightens their faces at that moment is indescribably unique. Even Indra the king of the gods wants to make friends with such a person, and to have that person as his companion. He thinks that he will be fortunate if he can do so. So always bear in mind that your greatness, your magnanimity, lies in your actions, in your urge to act, on your path of progress. So Caraeveti, caraeveti – ‘Move ahead, move ahead.’”

When a person is asleep, overcome with lassitude, that person’s fortune lies sleeping as well. But the fortune of someone who has awakened, awakens with him. The fortune of someone who has stood up, stands up with him. And the fortune of someone who has started to move, also moves ahead. So move ahead, move ahead.

Kalih shayáno bhavati saiṋjihánastu Dvápara;
Uttiśt́han Tretá bhavati Krtaḿ sampadyate carań.

“A person overcome with lassitude, 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.” Krta [in the shloka (couplet)] means Satya Yuga. “So move ahead, O Rohit, move ahead.”

So work you must. Those who want to abstain from work, justifying their inactivity through abtruse logical arguments, not only become overcome by materiality themselves, but do harm to society as well. Society becomes paralysed. So it is not that such people harm only themselves, they harm the entire human race as well.

So work has got to be done here in this saḿsára [world]. What is the world incessantly saying? Kuru, kuru, kuru – “Do something, do something, do something.” In Sanskrit the root verb kr, plus hi for the imperative mood, second person, and singular number, becomes kuru. Translated into Bengali it will be karo, and the corresponding imperative word in English is “Do”.

Now, the dharmakśetra, the human body, within which you have your being – where does that dharmakśetra exist? In this saḿsára. The real name of this world is kurukśetra, because it is always telling you Kuru, kuru, kuru – “Go on working and working and working. Don’t sit idle. Don’t let your existence fall under a curse due to your indolence. Move towards success through your works.” So the real name of that kśetra [field] which constant advises you in this way is kurukśetra. Kurukśetra thus stands for the manifested world around us, the saḿsára, where you exist in your physical body (which is your dharmakśetra). Now, Dhritarastra, the blind one, is asking the wise Sanjaya, the conscience: “On this kurukśetra of the world, in this dharmakśetra of the physical body, now that my party (the Dhritarastra party) and the Pandava party have assembled for battle, what will the outcome be? O all-seeing Sanjaya, O all-seeing viveka, O discriminating reason – blind am I, I cannot see. But you, O viveka, you can see. So tell me Sanjaya, once they assembled for battle, what did they do? Tell me, O Sanjaya.”

Footnotes

(1) Having quoted this shloka as it appears in the Bhagavad Giitá two days earlier (see p. 90), the author now proceeds to give a prose Sanskrit paraphrase. –Trans.

(2) See “Práńa Dharma” in A Few Problems Solved Part 6 or Prout in a Nutshell Part 6 or Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 4. –Trans.

Chapter 11	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

Yesterday I told you that dhrtaráśtra means “the mind”. The mind is born blind. It does not have the capacity to see anything in proper perspective without the help of the viveka [conscience]. Hence for a clear vision of anything, to grasp its meaning, to comprehend its deeper significance, the guidance of the conscience is a must. The word saiṋjaya stands precisely for that – the conscience. So the blind mind here is seeking the help of the conscience.

There is a perennial conflict going on everywhere on earth between good and evil, light and darkness, virtue and vice. Human society progresses through this conflict. Pure good without an element of evil in it, or pure evil without an element of good in it, is a chimera, not to be found in this world. Wherever evil is found to be dominating over good, we call that state a state of imperfection. The aim of human life is to progress from imperfection to perfection. The movement of human society, the movement of both individual and collective life, from imperfection towards perfection, is human progress. This forward movement indeed is progress. This evil force, this blind force, that puts human beings into the dark slumber of utter ignorance, has to be firmly dealt with by people. The same struggle went on in the past, is going on in the present, and will go on in the future as well.

Once I said that if any sadvipra [spiritual revolutionary] imagines that a society of sadvipras has already been established, and that now we will be in a position to enjoy a tension-free, relaxed existence, that person will be making a great mistake. Never will sadvipras have scope for peaceful sleep. They will have to keep constantly awake, like vigilant soldiers. They will have to keep watch on the slightest possible dark corner through which evil forces might enter in.

To the viveka, that is, Sanjaya, Dhritarastra is asking:

Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre samavetá yuyutsavah;
Mámakáh pándavashcaeva kimakurvata Saiṋjaya.

[“O Sanjaya, now that my children and the children of Pandu have gathered on the battlefield of Dharmakśetra, of Kurukśetra, eager to fight, what is taking place?”]

Dharmakśetra – the Human Body

Now, what is this Dharmakśetra? The word dharma is derived from the root verb dhr plus man. Hence dharma means “that which supports” or “what is supported”. It is a primary quality, a basic attribute. It is the noumenal quality, meaning “the quality that controls all other qualities”. “Noumenal” is an old German term which means “that fundamental unique entity out of which the manifold comes into being”; and the manifold that comes into being is called the “phenomenal”. For example, one falsehood is the noumenal cause of the phenomenal crimes. That is to say, one falsehood is the source of all related evils. If the falsehood were not there, there would be no other evils either. Once a thief has turned truthful, he will no longer be a thief.

Every object has certain basic qualities which are its identifying marks and by virtue of which it can be recognized. These are called its dharma. Oxygen, for example, has its own dharma; carbon also has its own dharma. The especial dharma of water is to drench things, the especial dharma of air is to dry things, the especial dharma of fire is to burn things. Fire has many other dharmas, but that particular quality which controls all the other qualities, that is, its noumenal quality or noumenal cause, is what we call its dharma.

The world of plants and vegetables also has certain basic dharmas by which all the plants and vegetables can be recognized. Depending on these basic dharmas there are certain secondary dharmas. The world of animals also has some, in fact, quite a number of basic dharmas, with secondary dharmas dependent on them. Human beings also have their own basic dharma, and depending on that dharma there are secondary dharmas. To write poems, to compose literary works, oratory, dancing, etc. – so many things – farming, business – all are secondary dharmas.

The basic dharma of humans, on the other hand, is mánava dharma, Bhágavata dharma. This essential or basic dharma expresses the essential distinguishing character of a human. But no place is given to this basic dharma; only the secondary dharmas are being cultivated. Poems are being composed, business is going on, politics is going on, speeches are being delivered; but human beings are totally denied their basic mánava dharma. But what exactly is the state of affairs where Bhágavata dharma is absent? Well, it is something like watering an uprooted tree. Devoid of the quality of humanity, what can one do with the secondary qualities alone? To expect fruit from an uprooted tree is nothing but sheer foolishness. Similarly, if people are lacking in their basic mánava dharma, they are no longer human beings. Nothing can be expected of them. They are finished, they are worthless.

Krśńa bhajibár tare saḿsáre áinu,
Miche Máyáy baddha haye vrkśasama hainu.

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

In this condition, a human being is no longer a human being. The basic dharma of humans is Bhágavata dharma, which has four supporting legs – vistára [the principle of expansion], rasa [the principle of total surrender to Parama Puruśa], sevá [selfless service to Parama Puruśa and His creation], and tadsthiti [the final ensconcement in Parama Puruśa]. Bhágavata dharma stands on these four legs. That is why the scriptures say, Sah dharma catuspádah – “Dharma is a four-legged being.” If it loses any of its legs, it becomes lame and is no longer dharma. It is lame, it is invalid. It will not be in a position to support any secondary human dharma.

The inner urge for this four-legged dharma arose in human beings out of an urge for happiness. People want happiness, want composure, and want peace. In the course of their efforts to get happiness, people realized that happiness could not be found in finite objects, but only in that which is infinite and limitless – Nálpe sukhamasti, bhúmaeva sukham. A little happiness is no happiness, and ends quickly. No sooner do you put a delicious but small item in your mouth than it dissolves. Only a craving for the item persists, and you agonize with an unfulfilled desire. It follows that if you want to enjoy real happiness, then you have to find something that will never come to an end, and will give you complete satisfaction that will never come to an end. The source of this infinite happiness, however, is no one but Parama Puruśa Himself, Puruśottama. The mental structure necessary for realizing Him, and the delight that comes out of this feeling, is indeed dharma.

Sukhaḿ váinchati sarvo hi tacca dharma samudbhútah;
Tasmáddharma sadákárya sarvavarńae prayatnatah.

“Everybody wants happiness. The inspiration for dharma originates out of the desire, the craving, for happiness. Each and every person in the universe – whether a vipra or a kśatriya,⁽¹⁾ a businessman or a farmer, an intellectual or a manual labourer – all should cultivate dharma under all circumstances.” That indeed is dharma.

All living creatures have their own dharmas, no doubt. But Bhágavata dharma is found only in human beings. That is why humans are superior to other beings – because their fundamental quality is Bhágavata dharma – not true of any other being. A day may come when other beings will develop this Bhágavata dharma as their basic dharma, but today that is not the case. Cultivation of this dharma necessitates, presupposes, a [special] quinquelemental physical structure, nerve cells and nerve fibres. Without a quinquelemental body assembled in this way, dharma sádhaná is not possible.

In order to have perfect control over the mind, the cooperation of the brain is a must; each and every nerve cell has to be developed, and, with the help of a special technique, the physical body must be brought under control. Then and only then will progress be possible. When the physical body no longer remains, that is, when one passes into a bodiless state of existence, then the mind remains just as a seed, modified into the form of saḿskáras. There being no brain or nerve cell attached to it, it cannot perform any function. It commits no sin, nor can it acquire any virtue. It is completely good for nothing, a worthless entity. The cultivation of rationality is as much beyond its capacity as is mental work. Its existence thus is meaningless. Its only destiny is to carry the burden of saḿskáras over and over again. There is nothing else for it to do; it is a completely helpless being. It is only when it is privileged to have a physical structure that it is in a position to cultivate dharma; that is not possible under any other condition whatsoever. Even the feeling that “I cannot do dharma sádhaná” is absent there. Because mental functions are not possible without nerve cells. When there is a physical body, there is scope for the mind to think of higher things, and dharma sádhaná is possible for human beings.

This basic dharma of human beings can develop and spread only under these conditions. Under no other conditions is it possible. So the kśetra [field] for dharma sádhaná is this very human body, the dharmakśetra. (The kśa is the combination of k and śa. The Rgvedic pronunciation is something like kśa, while the Yajurvedic is something like kkha. Both are correct. In Bengali, which follows Yajurvedic rules, dharmakśetra is pronounced dharmakkhetra.

So the dharmakśetra is the human body. Within this dharmakśetra there are both sin and virtue. Sin and virtue have met within the body, on this dharmakśetra, in order to fight. Both are sharpening their weapons. Neither is ready to admit defeat to the other. It is an agonizing situation, a situation full of frightful consequences. Confused and agitated in this grim situation, the blind mind is asking the conscience: “What will be the outcome of this battle?”

Footnotes

(1) A vipra is a person who controls others by his wits, a member of the intellectual social class; a kśatriya is a person whose mentality is to dominate over matter. –Trans.

Chapter 12	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [unpublished in English]

For the last five days, I have been interpreting the meaning of “Krśńa”, as a way of introducing the Giitá. I have said that Parama Puruśa is the only Guru; and since He is the only Guru, He has assumed the responsibility not only of guiding us to the path of spiritual progress, but of supplying the necessary provisions and inspiration for the purpose also. Else human beings would be living in the dark and would cry out in their slumber: “I am well and happy.” A frog living in a well takes the well to be the limit of the world; that there can be anything outside the well is beyond its comprehension.

Dharma gives inspiration to people in every sphere of their lives. Human life is all-comprehensive. It is not a single flower, but a bouquet. There are various flowers having different colours, shapes, sizes and fragrances; different kinds of sweetness as well. They spread their sweetness, their fragrance, their colour, in all directions. And therein lies their fulfilment, and the meaning of their existence.

If a person is dharmic, that person will leave a trace of his or her dharmic nature at every step. In his or her personal life he or she will never perpetrate injustice against anyone, nor tolerate anyone’s perpetrating injustice; and in their collective life they will not allow any social group to perpetrate injustice, nor allow that social group to tolerate its being perpetrated. They will see that everyone is on the right path in their crude-physical, subtle and causal existences; and that arrangements are made for everyone’s food, clothing, education and medical care. Moreover, they will give special attention to see that social life is well-knit. Because if there are defects in social life, and if those social and economic defects lead anyone to thievery, then the society will bear a hundred times more responsibility than the thief himself. Because it will be the society that instilled the theft propensity in that person.

When Shrii Krśńa appeared, India was fragmented into a number of small social groups and states. They were engaged in constant warfare among themselves. There were no ideological principles involved; it was all motivated by personal ambition and imperialistic lust. There was no philosophy behind it, nor was there any moral ideal or goodwill for mankind. Personal greed, gain and the imperialistic aggression of the rulers were the only driving forces that led one state to attack another. The lack of moral scruples in the rulers was responsible for such evil deeds. The land was divided into small pieces. In those days, this land stretched from the Pamir Plateau to South Asia and Southeast Asia. That is to say, it was a vast stretch of land from China and Siberia on the north to the Indian ocean on the south; and from the Mediterranean Sea on the west to Japan on the east.

Shrii Krśńa realized that no small separate state could ever be strong enough to defend itself. And those who cannot defend themselves cannot be expected to do any good to others either. So He decided that He would bring all together under one dharma rájya [rule of morality]; that He would unify India, otherwise divided into so many small fragments, so that this united social group, this united, righteous and strong India, might act as the model guiding light for humanity as a whole; might make humankind realize afresh that they as human beings must all move ahead together, and work together for the welfare of all. To bring this fragmented India together and build a Mahábhárata [Great India], He urged upon all the righteous rulers – not the rulers alone, but rather all righteous-minded people, common people, and even the unknown and unnoticed man of the crowds – to come forward and help him establish a dharma rájya. Vidura, for instance, was not even an average person, but rather a very obscure person. Krśńa sought to give concrete form to His dream of establishing a dharma rájya that would unite the land.

At that time, the country was fragmented into a number of smaller kingdoms. Such small states cannot defend themselves. It was about eight or ten years back that I told you in a Renaissance Club speech: “This age is not the age of big animals or weak countries.” Long ago did Krśńa realize this truth; and made arrangements accordingly. At that time the small states were Anga, Banga, Kalinga, Saorastra, Magadha, etc. The aim of Krśńa was to bring all these states under one banner and to establish one unified dharma rájya – a Mahábhárata.

It has already been mentioned that polarization was complete by that time. Whenever a novel ideology catches the imagination of a society, the society gets polarized. This was exactly what happened when Krśńa appeared on the scene. One section of society became supportive of and loyal to Krśńa, while another section was strongly antagonistic. The entire intellectuality became polarized. Krśńa was successful in creating a great unified India. The battle of Kurukśetra was the prelude to that great task. Because a dharma guru does not only teach spiritual philosophy. He is not merely to lead you by the hand; he is a source of inspiration to you; and his philosophy the guiding light of your life. How that philosophy can be implemented in practical life, even that He will explain to humankind in a way that will touch the innermost part of people’s hearts. Not only touch, but deeply move, profoundly agitate. This is exactly what Krśńa did; and the result of all this was the composition of the Giitá.

Directing Energy towards the Sahasrára Cakra

Arjuna represents tejastattva [luminous factor], the acoustic root of which is raḿ. The human navel is the seat of this raḿ. This very mańipura cakra is the centralized point of all the energy of the body, and its controlling acoustic root is raḿ. The word “Arjuna” stands for tejastattva. When this principle, this energy, this power – the dormant power hidden within – is properly utilized for a good purpose, a human being attains godhood. That is possible by arousing and pushing the latent power upwards. When, on the other hand, it is directed downwards, a human becomes a demon.

Krśńa provided inspiration to Arjuna; metaphorically, He inspired human energy, the human tejastattva, to progress towards the sahasrára cakra, passing through the anáhata, vishuddha and ájiṋá cakras, so that humans might progress in mental and spiritual realms and consequently feel their proximity, their oneness, with Parama Caetanya [Absolute Consciousness]. The shlokas, the songs, of the Giitá are an introduction to and inspiration towards that ideal.

Dhrtaráśt́ra uváca – “Dhritarastra said.” But what is the meaning of dhrtaráśt́ra? The root verb dhr + kta = dhrta. Dhrta means “that which has been held”. And what has been held? The ráśt́ra has been held. And what is a ráśt́ra? A structure, a framework. And what is it that holds one’s physical structure, one’s bodily framework?⁽¹⁾

You are a human being, what is it that provides support to you, to your physical structure, your human frame? Ráśt́raḿ dhrtaḿ yena sah dhrtaráśt́rah [“Dhrtaráśt́ra is that which holds a structure”]. Why is the structure intact? Who is providing support to it? When a person is dead, his bones and flesh disintegrate; while he is alive, on the other hand, they are interrelated in a unified system. He who is holding this very human structure, consisting of hands, legs, head, etc. – this ráśt́ra – is Dhritarastra. Ráśt́ram dhrtam yena [“that which holds a structure”]. But why? What is it that keeps the structure standing? Whose presence is it that prevents the structure from falling to pieces? And whose absence causes the structure to crumble down? Who is that entity? The mind is that entity. The “I” feeling in the mind is responsible for the stability of the structure. If this “I” feeling, or the mind in general, were not there, the human form could not exist either. This mind then is dhrtaráśt́ra. Hence, Dhrtaráśt́ra uváca means “The mind said,” “the mind asked.”

And why did the mind ask? Because it does not have inner vision or insight. The mind is influenced by the senses. It is incessantly running in all the ten directions. It is in search of its sustenance from all corners. It is not guided by intelligence and reason. The mind in fact is blind, and Dhritarastra was born blind.

Whom did Dhritarastra address? Sanjaya. Who then is Sanjaya? Sam – ji + al = saiṋjaya. When the resultant force arising out of this war, this conflict between vice and virtue, is directed towards human well-being – this very resultant force is then called viveka (conscience, the power of discrimination). The power to discriminate, to judge, between good and bad is the conscience. The conscience is that whose function is to identify good and bad and, selecting the good, to direct the mental energy towards that. So viveka means “conscience” or “power of discrimination”.

Being blind, the mind cannot see anything, nor does it understand anything. Hence, it turns to the viveka (vi – vic + ghaiṋ), because conscience has the power to discriminate between good and bad. Viveka, saiṋjaya, is nothing but the good force that comes out of the conflict between the good and the bad. That verily is what saiṋjaya stands for – samyak jaya [complete victory]; the total victory that comes out of the conflict. Dhrtaráśt́ra uváca – “The blind mind said.” To whom did he say? To Sanjaya. He said: “Sanjaya, tell me, how are the two warring parties doing in the battle?”

Since the mind could not see, it asked:

Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre samavetá yuyutsavah; Mámakáh Páńd́aváshcaeva kimakurvata saiṋjaya. Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre⁽²⁾ [“On the field of dharma, on the field of this universe”] yuddhártham [“for war”] samavetáh [“gathered”] mamapakśiiyáh [“my party”] tathá Páńd́upakśiiyáh [“and the Pandava party”] te kim akurvata [“what are they doing?”], bho Sainyaya, vada [“O Sanjaya, tell me”] – “Gathered on Dharmakśetra, on Kurukśetra, to fight a battle, what are my men and the men of Pandu’s party doing? What are the men on the side of virtue and dharma, and the men on the side of sin and adharma, doing? O wise Sanjaya, O one with deep insight, O viveka – tell me. I am Dhritarastra, the blind mind, the mind that cannot see. So you tell me, I am listening.”

Footnotes

(1) I.e., “What is the dhrta?” – not using the literal sense of dhrta, but using a derived sense. –Trans.

(2) After quoting the shloka as it appears in the Bhagavad Giitá, above, the author now proceeds to give a prose Sanskrit paraphrase. –Trans.