Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

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

The Ánanda Vacanámrtam series was begun in 1978 with the GD discourses given by the author at that time; it then kept pace with the GD discourses that the author gave over the subsequent six years. The present, twenty-third, part of the series includes for the first time a number of GD speeches given before 1978.

Some of the discourses included here, judging from their length and style, may well have been DMC discourses. We would appreciate any information that readers can provide in this regard. Any discourses that can be identified as DMC’s will in future be transferred to the Subháśita Saḿgraha series.

Within each part of Ánanda Vacanámrtam, the chronological order of the discourses has been maintained.

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

In the cases of some of the discourses published here, no written record was found of the language in which the discourse was given; but if the language could be clearly inferred from the location and other circumstances of the discourse, we have cited that language.

In all cases where a tape was in existence for a discourse given in English, we have re-edited the published discourse with reference to that tape.

Wherever it is noted below that there was more than one existing translation of the same discourse, all the existing translations have been consulted in preparing the discourse for this edition. In the case of only one translated discourse in this book was the original language still available. That discourse was retranslated (“retr.”) taking all possible material from the existing translation.

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

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

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

“Srśt́icakra and the Dhyeya of the Microcosm” [[(retitled, after the current edition of Ánanda Vacanámrtam 23, “What Is the Primary Cause of the Universe and Who Is the Only Object of Ideation?”)]]. First published in English in Cosmic Society, Jan. 1966. Original language, date and place not identified in the magazine. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Devotion: The Only Way to Salvation”. Discourse in English. Originally published in English as “Devotion: The Only Way of Salvation” in Education and Culture, Aug.-Sept. 1966.

“Rádhiká Shakti”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in Prajiṋá Bháratii, Vol. 14, No. 9, July-Aug. 1993. Re-edited.

“How to Concentrate”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in Prajiṋá Bháratii, Vol. 14, No. 9, July-Aug. 1993. Re-edited.

“The Dialogues of Shiva and Párvatii – 1”, “– 2”, “– 3”, and “– 4”. Discourses in Hindi. First published in English as “Hara-Párvatii Saḿváda” in Bodhi Kalpa: Parts 2 and 3 in Jan.-Mar. 1968,

Parts 1 and 4 in April-June 1968. (A different translation of a portion of Part 1 was published earlier, as “Concept of Music, Dance in Tantric Cult”, in Cosmic Society, Vol. 3 No. 10, October 1967.) English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Accomplish Your Work with This Body Only”. Discourse in English. Source: “Bábá’s Discourse” Philippines cyclostyle.

“I Am Yours”. Discourse in English. Source: “Bábá’s Discourse” Philippines cyclostyle.

“Utilize All Your Potentialities”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Stages of Samádhi”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in Discourses on Tantra Vol. 1, 1993. Re-edited.

“Kaola and Mahákaola”. Discourse in English. Tape.

“Movement towards Perfection Is Dharma”. Discourse in English. Source: “Bábá’s Darshan” Philippines booklet.

“The Lord’s Play”. Discourse in English. Source: “Bábá’s Darshan” Philippines booklet.

“Consciousness”. Discourse in English. Source: “Bábá’s Darshan” Philippines booklet.

“Mysticism and Spirituality”. First published in English as “Mysticism and Spiritualism” in Divine Flame, 1970. Original language, date and place not identified in the magazine.

“Safeguards against the Defects of Jiṋána and Karma”. First published in English as “Safeguards against the Demerits of Jiṋána and Karma” in Education and Culture, Nov.-Dec. 1970. Original language, date and place not identified in the magazine.

“Oṋḿkára and Iśt́a Mantra”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English as “Oṋḿkára” in a magazine. Re-edited.

“Your Personal Relationship with God”. Discourse in English. Source: Shrii Mauṋgal Bihari discourse notes.

“The Bliss of the Devotee”. Discourse in English. Source: Shrii Mauṋgal Bihari discourse notes.

“Properly Utilize Yourself to Reach God”. Discourse in English. Source: Shrii Mauṋgal Bihari discourse notes.

“God Is with You”. Discourse in English. Source: Shrii Mauṋgal Bihari discourse notes.

“Dharma Is Your Real Friend”. Discourse in Hindi. First published in English as “Advent of the Lord” in Prout, Nov. 27, 1971. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“The Real and the Unreal Knowledge”. First published in English in Education and Culture, June 1972. Original language, date and place not identified in the magazine. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Silent Action”. Discourse in Hindi. Tape. Originally published in English in Prajiṋá Bháratii, April 1982. Retr. by ÁVA, ÁPaA and ÁAA. Re-edited.

“Mobility and Cognitive Stance”. Discourse in English. Originally published in English in Prajiṋá Bháratii, Aug. 1983.

“The Ultimate Aim of All”. Discourse in Hindi. First published in English in a magazine. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Dharma Samiikśa”. Discourse in English. Originally published in English in Supreme Guide, Vol. 3, No. 12, Aug.-Sept. 1981.

The active help and cooperation of Ácárya Prańavátmakánanda Avadhúta and Avadhútiká Ánanda Rucirá Acáryá deserves special mention. The former went to much trouble to collect Márga Guru’s GD discourses from old magazines and newspapers, and from the notebooks of different sádhakas; while the latter took pains to research and set up the necessary software, and to assist in the layout.

Key:
ÁVA = Ác. Vijayánanda Avt.
ÁPaA = Ác. Pareshánanda Avt.
ÁAA = Ác. Acyutánanda Avt.

Chapter 1	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

What is the primary cause of this creation and what is it that humans should worship? In reference to this, scripture says that no relative factor can be the primary cause of creation:

Kálah svabhávo niyatiryadrcchá bhútáni yonih puruśa iti cintyá;
Saḿyoga eśáḿ na tvátmabhávád átmápyaniishah sukhaduhkhahetoh.

[It is debatable whether time, nature, fate, accident; or the five fundamental factors of matter; or unit consciousness – any of these separately – is the ultimate cause of creation. Even collectively they are not the cause of creation, although the átman, unit consciousness, is the catalytic agent. The unit consciousness is not the cause of creation, because it can be affected by virtue or vice.]

Kála. Does this universe, comprising all these animate and inanimate objects, owe its existence to kála [time]? Is this universe inherent in the womb of time? No, time is no independent factor. Time is the psychic measurement of the motivity of action. For there to be time, there has to be a “place”, for without a place no action can be performed. Over and above time and place, a “person” is also necessary, for that person will take the measure of the motivity of action. And thus where there is kála [time], there have to be place and person as well. So time is a relative factor, not an eternal or absolute factor.

Space, or place, is that in which all the solar systems of the universe exist. Round the nucleus of one solar system, that is, the sun, the earth revolves. When the earth completes one such circumambulation, we say that a year has gone by [i.e., we have defined time in terms of place].

But the mere existence of the sun does not give us the idea of a year, nor even does the existence of the earth and the sun together give us the measure of time. For this a person, endowed with the power of judgement, becomes indispensable. So we see that in the absence of a person also, time does not exist; so time is entirely a relative factor. Some people say that “Mahákála”, or “Eternity”, knows whatever took place in the past, whatever is taking place in the present, and whatever will take place in the future. But as a matter of fact there exists no such absolute or supreme entity as “Mahákála”, for time is measured on the basis of relativity, that is, of place and person. Hence time cannot be the noumenal cause of this phenomenal universe.

Svabháva. Then is svabháva the primary cause of this creation? The English equivalent of svabháva is “nature”. Nature is a blind force. Everything mundane is dependent on nature. But if we leave everything to nature, all sorts of confusion will arise. An infant has neither any intelligence nor any judgement; but when it puts its hand into a fire, its hand gets burnt. Wise people would not punish the little child in this way; but nature admits of no judgement. So this discriminating world can never be evolved by undiscriminating nature. Thus svabháva, or nature, is not the rudimental cause of the creation of the universe either.⁽¹⁾

Niyati. The word niyati is derived ni [-] yam + ktin, [and its synonym is adrśt́a.] [Adrśt́a means] “what is not seen with the eyes”.⁽²⁾ That which seems to be invisibly controlling us is called niyati. Niyati in English is “fate”. But is the advent of humans in this world only a play of fate? Humans experience various kinds of pleasure and pain in their lives. But are they due to fate?

To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Original actions are of two kinds – psychic and psycho-physical. A person steals mentally; then he or she repeats the performance physically, but at the behest of his or her mind. So [in either case] the responsibility for the act lies with the mind. Therefore it is in the body of the mind that reaction will get awakened. If we think uncharitably of others, we have to endure the reaction or requital thereof in our mind. Reaction must follow mental action, whatever it may be. Reaction takes place in accordance with the nature of the original action. So we have got to be ever alert about our actions, not about their fruits. In reference to this the Giitá says:

Karmańyevádhikáraste má phaleśu kadácana;
Má karmaphalaheturbhúmá te sauṋgo’stvakarmańi.

[You have the right to action but not the right to the fruits of the action. You must not do actions that will bind you, but you must not be averse to action, either.]

When an action has taken place but the karmaphala-bhoga [reaction] has not, the reaction to the action remains in seed [form], which is called saḿskára, or reaction in its potentiality. When the reaction immediately follows the performance of some action, a person says that he or she is undergoing or experiencing the fruits of such-and-such action. But when the body undergoes a change due to physical weakness or infirmity (that is, when death takes place), then in the next birth the person has to serve the accrued requitals, that is, the unserved reactions of the previous birth – and at that time persons will not be able to understand which of their actions have brought upon them the reaction that they are now serving. It is just because [the cause] cannot be seen or understood that it is called adrśt́a, or unseen, requitals, or fate. Niyati, or fate, is merely the accrued reactions of the original actions. Niyati is no guiding factor. Wise persons do not waste time musing on reactions. Humans can mould their own fate in accordance with their actions. They must not become slaves to their fate.

Yadrcchá. The English equivalent of yadrcchá is “accident”. I must say at the very outset that accident can never be the primary cause of evolution or of the Cycle of Creation. Kárańábhávát káryábhávah; that is, “Without a cause there can be no effect.” When we come across an effect and along with it we get acquainted with its causal factor, we then call that effect an “incident”. But when, due to ignorance, we cannot know the cause of the effect, or when the causal factor gets transformed suddenly into the effect factor, we call that effect an “accident”. But in the universe there is no such thing as an accident. It is only to cover up one’s ignorance of the real cause that one talks about an “accident”.

Bhúta. Bhúta is translated “matter” in English. There are many materialists, such as Charvaka, who say that this universe is begotten of matter alone. According to Charvaka what is non-perceptible is non-existent. We cannot see the mind, or air, but do they not exist? Through our judgement we know that matter is an inert object, and hence without intelligence. Intellect, and conscious beings, cannot be begotten of a non-intelligent inert object, that is, matter.

Prakrti. Now the question is, whether Prakrti [Cosmic Operative Principle] is the primary cause of this manifest universe. No, it certainly is not. Pra karoti iti Prakrti [“The entity that gives form to different objects is called Prakrti”]. A light bulb is lit by electrical energy. A fan, too, moves electrically. But this electrical energy is controlled and harnessed by humans; there is a switch for it, also. If people do not want any electric light, they just switch it off, and there is no light. The manifestation or unmanifestation of electrical energy depends on the human will. The shakti [energy, power] of Prakrti is that of Puruśa – Shaktih Sá Shivasya Shaktih. So without the permission of the Supreme Puruśa, the universe could not have been evolved. Prakrti is the secondary [efficient cause], Puruśa is the chief [efficient cause].

Jiivátmá [synonymous with puruśa in the shloka]. Is the jiivátmá [unit átman, unit consciousness] then the causal factor of this Srśt́icakra [Cycle of Creation]? Sáḿkhya philosophy says that in the universe there are many jiivátmás and one Prakrti. But we know that a jiivátmá has no independent entity of its own. It is upahata [affected] by, and vulnerable to, pleasure and pain, though it does not take part in action. A mirror has no colour, but it becomes red if a red flower is placed before it. That is why the átmá of a pápii [sinner] is called pápopahatátmá [átman affected by sin] and that of a puńyaván [virtuous person], puńyopahatátmá [átman affected by virtue]. Both pápátmá [sinful átman] and puńyátmá [virtuous átman] are wrong terms. When a football match is being played in some field, keen competition exists between the two groups. The spectators too betray their mental agitation regarding the defeat or victory of a particular side. Similarly with the jiivátmá. The átman which is involved with the mind⁽³⁾ [is] an entity vulnerable to vice and virtue, and can never be the causal factor of the universe.

[Saḿyoga, “combination”.] Two imperfect entities together cannot create an infinite entity, either. So [no combination of] time, nature, fate, accident[, and jiivátmá] collectively can create a Supreme Entity. None of these entities is the subtlest entity.

The citta [ectoplasm, mind-stuff] is responsive to material waves. When the movement of the [citta is pro-noumenal, the citta merges in the spiritual sphere. When the movement is pro-phenomenal], the sense of the material waves wakes up in the citta. We then call it bodha [perception]. But when the psychic pro-[noumenal] wave is reflected on the átmá, it is jiṋána.

The reflecting plate is more important than the reflected one. So among all these factors, the subtlest and final plate [within the unit] is the átmá [unit cognition]. But though it is very subtle, it is shelterless, so it always needs a vast shelter. The unit cognitive force is in search of that vast shelter, which is the Supreme Cognition. This Supreme Cognition is the noumenal cause or the Causal Matrix. The Vedas say,

Yato vá imáni bhútáni jáyante yena játáni jiivanti;
Yat prayantyabhisaḿvishanti tad vijijiṋásasva tad Brahma.

[All created beings emerge from, are maintained in, and finally dissolve in, the Supreme Entity. You should desire to know that supreme stance as Brahma.]

So this Supreme Cognition, and no second entity, is your dhyeya [object of meditation].

A question arises: “Have all the above – time, nature, etc. – no value at all?” But the answer is, yes, they certainly have.

The Supreme Cognition is called Parashiva in the scriptures. The movement towards Parashiva is called parágati, or introversive movement. For this movement all the aforesaid relative factors – time, nature, fate, accident, and matter – are certainly needed.

Time, as has already been said, is purely a relative factor. But time should not be neglected, as neglect of the time factor produces many undesirable consequences. A child of five, for instance, thinks that he or she will start sádhaná at the age of twenty-four. When he or she becomes a young person of twenty-four, the person thinks that he or she will start sádhaná at the age of forty-five. And at the age of forty-five the person decides to start it ten years later. Thus time is wasted, and at the end of the person’s life the person realizes his or her mistake.

The study of nature is no less important, when you come to serve the world. When you attend on a patient, if you are aware of the svabháva, or nature, of the disease, treatment becomes easy. If you know the nature of your friend and foe, you will know better how to deal with them individually.

And fate serves as an eye-opener. When a person does an act, the person forgets that one day he or she will have to serve the reaction to that action. So when people suffer, they should understand that they are being punished for their past misdeeds. This will help the person to be serene [about the punishment] and alert about the consequences of any [future] evil act.

“Accident” is a misnomer. No effect can take place without a cause. When a person receives an opportunity to do sádhaná, it is to be understood that the person is being allowed today to do sádhaná due to the good and virtuous deeds he or she performed in various past lives. The opportunity is the effect of the factors that lie behind it. So the present should be properly utilized for the future.

And finally, our bodies have come from this material world, so we must not neglect matter. Since matter too is a manifestation of God, we should behave properly with it; otherwise living will be impossible, and so will sádhaná.

So we see that humans are benefited by these things, but this does not mean that they are the only aim of human beings. The summum bonum of human life is to attain Parashiva. To attain that Supreme Entity you will have to adjust with these ingredients.

Shakti helps in such adjustments. You cannot [ignore] Prakrti. A sádhaka of Shivatva or Cosmic Consciousness does not disregard Shakti. One who is a Shaeva in the world of thought is indeed a Shákta on the path of sádhaná. (And, since Viśńu means “All-Pervading Entity”, one who sees the All-Pervading Entity in every object of this practical world is indeed a Vaeśńava.)⁽⁴⁾ There is no question of quarrelling among Shaivite, Shákta and Vaishnavite.

Shakti is not the dhyeya. Shakti is earned through the thought of Shiva, but Shiva is not attainable through the thought of Shakti. Shaktih Sá Shivasya Shaktih – “Shakti abides in Shiva.” Shakti is always being converted into Shiva. In reference to the ways of Shiva and Shakti, the Vedas say, Sa nityanivrttá [“She is ever-waning”]. After a limitless time [according to the Vedas] all the shaktis will be transformed into Shiva, and then alone will the universe come to its end.

There is [only a philosophical] difference between Shiva and Shakti. Let no one say that they could not worship Shiva for want of Shakti.

People may think, “Will Shiva be kind to us? Will He not be angry since our past is full of ills and depravities?” To Him there is no difference between sinners and the virtuous. On the contrary, a virtuous person may harbour vanity. The person may think, “I have never done anything wrong.” But a sinner is a helpless person. He or she has nothing to his credit. He or she is absolutely shelterless. So Shiva extends His arms first to the sinners. Giving help and shelter to the helpless and shelterless is indeed the mark of real greatness, of the really great. If Shiva failed to give shelter to the sinners, we might infer that hatred abided even in Paramátman, and that He distinguished between a sinner and a virtuous person.

What does a mother do? If one of her two sons is strong and the other weak, she takes more care of the weak child. Similarly Shiva showers His blessings more upon the helpless.

There is no need of flowers, etc., in the sádhaná of Shiva. To progress towards Paramashiva, love is necessary. Verbal enthusiasm alone will be of no use.

Go forward. Forget all about your past. Advancement and progress must come your way. Victory shall be yours.

Footnotes

(1) A sentence that may have been mistranslated in the original magazine publication of this discourse omitted here. –Eds.

(2) A sentence that may have been mistranslated in the original magazine publication of this discourse omitted here. –Eds.

(3) The átman which is involved with the mind is the jiivátman. –Eds.

(4) The major three of the traditional five schools of Tantra are Shaevácára, Sháktácára, and Vaeśńavácára. –Eds.

Chapter 2	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

It is by psychic metamorphosis that a microcosm can attain the stance of salvation, and this metamorphosis can be effected only when the microcosm accepts one All-Pervading Entity as its only psychic pabulum. It is the characteristic of the microcosm that it becomes one with the inferences of its pabulum and acquires all its qualities. That is why it has been 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).]

Who is a sudurácár[a]? Durácárii means “sinner of the worst category”, and sudurácára means “sinner who is hated even by durácáriis for his or her sins”.

And what is bhajana? You know, in the process of ideation there are several varieties. One of those varieties is bhajana. When the sádhaka employs all his or her sensory and motor organs in serving his or her object of ideation, that is called bhajana. Devotees sing the name of their Lord, and their ears hear that kiirtana, that bhajana; that is, all their indriyas, all their sensory and motor organs, are engaged in serving the Lord. That particular type of ideation is called bhajana. Here the Supreme Self says that if even a sudurácára does bhajana – “ideates on Me” – ananyabháva [or ananyabhák – “with single-minded devotion”] – then what will happen? So’pi pápavinirmuktah – that is, “even that sinner, that sudurácára, will be freed from all the bondages of sin.” That is, “I free him from all the bondages of pápa [sin],” and mucyate bhava bandhanát.

Mucyate Bhava Bandhanát

What is pápa? What is the bandhana of pápa? You know, there are two main varieties of pápa. One is pápa itself, and the other is pratyaváya. In the code of morality, there are several dos and don’ts. “Do this” – these are dos. “Don’t do this” – these are don’ts. Dos are called vidhi in Sanskrit, and don’ts are called niśedha in Sanskrit. If one does not adhere to the code of dos, one commits pratyaváya, and if one does not adhere to the code of don’ts, one commits pápa. “Don’t steal” is a don’t, so if one steals, one commits pápa.

Now within this pápa there are three varieties. One is pátaka. The sudurácára is a mahápátakii; the sinner of the worst category is a mahápátakii. But pátaka means simply disobeying the code of morality. Suppose one forcibly takes ten rupees from a particular man. The one who takes it commits pápa. But if that person pays back that amount, and that particular man from whom the ten rupees were stolen excuses the thief, then that pápa committed by the thief is neutralized.

But atipátaka cannot be neutralized; there is no atonement for that kind of pátaka. Suppose a man cuts off the hand of an innocent person: he cannot give back that particular hand; that is, in such a case the pápa is unatonable. Here you say that he has committed [atipátaka]. And mahápátaka – mahápátaka is a kind of atipátaka, but its result is of recurring nature. Suppose a bad man, a corrupt businessman, discovers a particular method of adulteration. For example, he discovers the method of using papaya seeds in the [black pepper]. Here he starts a particular pátaka, and this pátaka will be of recurring nature, because other businessmen will learn it from him; so its effect will be of recurring nature. This particular nature of pátaka is called mahápátaka.

So pátaka is atonable, but atipátaka is not atonable; and mahápátaka, you know, is the worst type of [ati]pátaka. If one wants to atone for mahápátaka, one will have to sacrifice one’s life for the cause of the entire universe.

But here the Lord says, “If that sudurácára” – that is, that mahápátakii – “ideates on Me, then I will help that person, I will free that person from the bondages of pápa.” And mucyate bhava bandhanát – that is, “that person becomes free from bhava.” What is bhava? Bhava means “reactive momentum”, as the factor [of unserved saḿskáras] causing rebirth. “The sudurácára even becomes freed from bhava” – that is, he or she attains the supreme state. “He or she becomes one with Me.”

You are all sádhakas. You should remember this, you must not forget this. Jiṋána, karma, bhakti⁽¹⁾ – these trifarious expressions of human sentiment are necessary for the development of the spirit, for spiritual progress. But to attain the supreme state, devotion is extremely necessary. Without devotion one cannot come into contact with the Supreme Self. Mokśakárańa samagryáḿ bhaktireva gariiyasii – “Amongst all the [ways] to attain salvation, bhakti is the best.”

Footnotes

(1) Forms of spiritual practice emphasizing, respectively, discrimination, selfless action, and devotion. –Eds.

Chapter 3	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Mind, unit mind, is a creation of matter, and matter is a creation of Cosmic Mind. When the Cosmic Entity within Its mind creates this pillow within It as an external material entity, we think it is actually a pillow, but for the [Macrocosm] it is His mental creation. You can create something in your mind; in your mind you can create an elephant; for you that elephant is a mental entity. But if in your mind you create a mahout for that elephant, then for your mental mahout, your mental elephant is not something mental. It is something concrete, something physical. So the elephants we see in this world are for Him mental entities, but for us, external physical entities. Do you follow?

So this is His process of conation. Now, from this quinquelemental world come the microcosms, and after their creation, these microcosms are to live within the Macrocosm, within the mind of the Supreme Self. They cannot function, they cannot remain, without the mind of the Macrocosm, so they will have to remain within it, and they will have to move within it.

It has been said in the Vedas,

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe brhante;
Tasmin haḿso bráhmyate Brahmacakre.

[All unit entities, all unit structures, revolve around the Nucleus Consciousness in the Cosmic Cycle of creation.]

This microcosm, or these microcosms, are moving within the scope of the Macrocosm and around the nucleus of this Macrocosm. The mind of this Macrocosm is so vast, but there is a controlling point within His mind, and that point is the hub of His mind, is the nave of His mind, is the nucleus of His mind. This Cosmological nucleus, the nucleus of this Cosmological order, is called Puruśottama in Sanskrit, and these created microcosms are moving around this Puruśottama with their own peculiar radii. Each and every microcosm has its own radius. And that is why no two microcosms are the same. The microcosm of Mr. X and the microcosm of Mr. Y are not the same, because both of them are moving around this Cosmological Hub, but they have got their own radius. And because of the difference in their radii, they are different.

Now you know, wherever there is any existence, there is a particular system in it. Everybody, every entity, will have to obey a particular system, and this system is its property, is its dharma, is its wont. And we can feel or understand a particular entity according to its dharma, or property, according to its peculiar radius. Why does water have its drenching property? Because of its peculiar radius. Why does fire have its burning property? Because of its peculiar radius.

Now, there is system everywhere, in each and every entity. And if by artificial process, if by scientific process, we can change the radius, we can change the curvature, then a particular element will be converted into another element. By such artificial process we can change gold into mercury, we can transform platinum into radium; everything is possible by changing the radius and by changing the wavelength. And wherever there is any such system, that is, an entity moving around a nucleus, you know two forces are functioning there – one is centripetal and the other is centrifugal. Even in the smallest atomic system, around that nucleus electrons are moving. And when the electrons are moving, certainly these two forces are functioning there, the centripetal force and the centrifugal force: the centre-seeking force – the concentric force – and the eccentric force. And you know in our ethereal system also, this earth is the nucleus, and the moon is moving around this earth. There also these two forces are functioning. In a bigger system, in our solar system, the sun is the nucleus, and so many planets are moving around the sun. There also these two forces are functioning; and each and every planet has its own radius.

Now, the biggest system is our Cosmological system, the Cosmological order. The campus of this Cosmological order is the expressed universe, or Saguńa Brahma, and the nucleus of this Cosmological order is Puruśottama. So each and every microcosm is moving around this Puruśottama with its own radius.

Now here also, in the case of the Cosmological Hub and microcosms moving around this Cosmological Hub, these two forces are functioning, kendrátigá and kendránugá, eccentric and concentric. In the case of this Cosmological order, the centripetal force is called vidyá shakti, and the other force is called avidyá shakti.

What is vidyá and what is avidyá? There is a fight between sentient and static; and when as a result of this fight between sentient and static, the resultant goes in favour of the sentient, we say it is the resultant sentient principle, we say it is vidyá shakti. And when as a result of this fight the resultant goes in favour of the static principle, we say it is avidyá shakti.

Now you know, these two shaktis, that is vidyá shakti and avidyá shakti, have their own effect on the human mind, on the microcosm, and when a microcosm is influenced by avidyá shakti, it always tries to go away from the Hub, and tries to keep itself covert so that the Cosmological Hub may not be able to see it. Puruśottama is seeing everything, witnessing everything; but when a person is propelled by the force of avidyá, that microcosm tries to go away from the Hub, that is, increase its radius, and tries to keep itself covert, concealed, hidden from the Cosmological Hub. It thinks, “When I am doing this thing, perhaps the Cosmological Hub, Puruśottama, is not seeing me, is not able to see me.” This sort of idea is guided by this sort of thinking. Now, the first idea, that is, to fly away, to move away, from the Hub, is called vikśepa shakti. And to try to hide oneself from that Supreme “I” [perhaps meaning also “Supreme Eye”] is called ávarańii shakti. Avarańa means “to cover”.

And similarly, when the human mind is influenced by vidyá shakti, what happens? All of a sudden it feels that “I should do something. I have a human structure. I am a human being. I should do something. I should act like a human being. I should try to goad myself to the realm of divinity, it is my dharma. I should follow dharma, I should strictly adhere to the code of dharma.” This idea is a gift of vidyá shakti, and this particular expression of vidyá shakti is called saḿvit shakti. Conscience, when it is roused all of a sudden, is called saḿvit. “I should do something, I should do something.” As soon as it comes in contact with saḿvit shakti, in the next moment you feel, “I should do something practical. Theory won’t help me; I should do something concrete, I should do something practical.” And when this desire to do something practical is created in the mind, this created force is called hládinii shakti or Rádhiká shakti. With the help of this Rádhiká shakti one can move towards that Cosmological Nave.

The Cosmological Nave is called Krśńa, because He attracts everything. Krśńa means “the supreme charmer”, “the supreme attracter”, who attracts everybody towards Him with the help of His – what? His supreme flute. That supreme flute is Krśńa. He creates universal acoustic waves, and those waves bring people towards Him; that is why He is called Krśńa. And microcosms come in contact with Krśńa with the help of that particular expression of sentient vidyá shakti which is known as Rádhiká shakti. And when with the help of Rádhiká shakti the microcosm comes in contact with the nave Krśńa Puruśottama, then we say it is the union of Krśńa and Rádhá. (Krśńa is not a male being of Vrindavan, and Rádhá is not a lady. You should understand it properly.) Now, this Rádhiká shakti is the cogitative faculty, the subject matter of today’s discourse; it is the cogitative faculty, and it is the divine force, and it is the devotional principle, it is devotion.

Now, one may say, “I understand everything, and I feel that devotion is something heavenly, is a heavenly entity – but how can I get it?” Now, human expressions, human entities (and not only human entities, all entities) are moving from imperfection towards perfection. This never-ending endeavour to move from imperfection towards perfection, from limitation towards the Unlimited Entity, this supreme mysticity, is life. It is a never-ending process, a never-ending march. And that is why it has been said, a life is a constant effort to restore an unstable equilibrium.

Now in this march of life – and particularly in human life – there are three kinds of expression; and those three expressions, or those three factors, are jiṋána, karma and bhakti. Bhakti is the supreme one. And how to acquire bhakti, how to get bhakti? The simple formula is, karma minus jiṋána is equal to bhakti. Suppose there is a Mr. X. Mr. X has no jiṋána, he is illiterate; but he has rendered two hundred degrees of service, selfless service, to society. So in his stock of karma there is two hundred; and jiṋána is zero, nil; two hundred minus zero is equal to two hundred – he acquires two hundred degrees of bhakti. And suppose that Mr. P.K. Nair is a learned man, MA in ten subjects; and he has five hundred degrees of jiṋána. In order for him to acquire two hundred degrees of bhakti, he will have to acquire – five hundred plus two hundred – seven hundred degrees of karma. He will have to render so much selfless karma, selfless service, to the society.

An illiterate fellow acquires two hundred degrees of bhakti by rendering two hundred degrees of karma. But that learned man has to render seven hundred degrees of karma in order to acquire two hundred degrees of bhakti. So in his case, jiṋána is nothing but a liability. A liability! And that is why you will sometimes see people who are illiterate, [completely] illiterate, but who have developed bhakti easily.

So the formula is, karma minus jiṋána is equal to bhakti. You must remember it. Now, this bhakti is Rádhiká shakti, this bhakti is the cogitative faculty. In the Vedas it has been said, Náyamátmá pravacanena labhyah – “You cannot get that Supreme Entity by tall talk.” Na medhayá – “Not by your intellect.” Na bahuná shrutena – “Nor by reading or going through so many books or lectures.”

Yamevaeśa vrńute tena labhya,
Stasyaeśa átmá vivrńute tanúḿ svám.

[The Supreme Entity is attainable only if that Entity, by Its grace, reveals Itself to the aspiring soul.]

Your progress in the realm of spirituality, in the realm of intuitionality, depends on His divine grace – just say His special divine grace. The Vedas say that it depends on divine grace, Guru krpá.

What is krpá? You know, Ramakrishna Paramahansa was not a learned man in the mundane sense. Once upon a time a very learned man said, “Oh, Ramakrishna, people say everything depends on His krpá.” (What is the local pronunciation? Krpá? Krpá? Krpá? [pronounced in three ways]) “So, what is the meaning of krpá?”

Ramakrishna said, “You know, I am an illiterate fellow, but according to my view, krpá is made of two syllables, kr and pá. Kr means Karo, karo, karo – ‘Do, do, do – Do your sádhaná, do your sádhaná, do your sádhaná.’ And pá means Páo – ‘Get’. ‘Get it, get it, get it, get it.’ That is, ‘Get it by doing sádhana’ – Kr-pá.”

And I say, that divine bliss, that divine krpá, that divine compassion, is always being showered upon you, on each and every living being, on each and every animate and inanimate object – but you do not feel it, you are not being drenched by that divine water, you are not being drenched by that divine shower, because you are holding the umbrella of vanity upon your head. If you want to be drenched by that divine shower of krpá, you have to remove the umbrella of vanity from your head; just remove it and be drenched. And what is sádhaná? Sádhaná is just the action of removing this umbrella from upon my head.

The Supreme Self, the Hub, is very near; He is within yourself, because the microcosmic hub and the Macrocosmic Hub are the same. Sútre mańigańá iva [“Like jewels strung together”] – so many hubs of so many flowers touch the same thread in a garland. Have you seen it? The hubs of so many flowers are touched by the same thread. And this supreme thread is called the vaejayantiimálá of Lord Krśńa. Sútre mańigańá iva. He is near you, but you cannot feel Him, because you are holding that umbrella of vanity. And if you remove that umbrella of vanity, what will be your experience? You will feel that He is with you, just like

Tileśu taelaḿ dadhiniiva sarpi,
Rápah srotahsvarańiiśu cágnih;
Evamátmátmani grhyate’sao,
Satyenaenaḿ tapasá yo’nupashyati.

[He lies hidden in everything, like oil in sesame seeds, like butter in milk, like water in dry streambeds, like fire in flint. Only those who adhere strictly to truth, and perform spiritual practices, can churn the mind and realize the Supreme Entity out of it.]

There is oil in til [sesame], but in order to get the oil, what will you have to do? You will have to press the til. And in that case, what will happen? The oil and the impurities will be separated. Because He is hidden, He lies covert, within your mind. Just press it by sádhaná. Then He, that is, Puruśottama, and your mental impurities, will be separated.

Dadhiniiva sarpi – “he is just like ghee hidden in the curd.” If you want to get the ghee, the sarpi, to the surface, what will you have to do? You will have to churn the [curd]. And after churning, what will happen? The butter and the impurities will be separated. The impurities of the [curd] are called takra in Sanskrit. In a shloka it has been said,

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

[When the Vedas and all the scriptures are churned, the essence of all knowledge is assimilated by the yogis, and the non-essential portion is eaten by the pandits.]

“So many scriptures, so many shástras, are just like oceans of milk, or oceans of curd. And after churning this ocean, what will happen? The átmá, that is, the butter, and the impurities, will be separated. And those who are yogis, those who are practical sádhakas, will enjoy that butter, and the pańd́its, mahámopádhyaya, smrititiirtha, kávyatiirtha [inflated titles of Sanskrit scholars], will quarrel with those impurities! But the sádhakas will enjoy [the butter].” This ocean of your mind is that [curd]. After churning the mind you will get that butter, and when you will get that butter, you will feel that unknowingly that butter has been taken away by Krśńa. That Mákhancora⁽¹⁾ has taken away that butter from you without your knowledge. That is why He is the supreme Mákhancora. He takes away the butter from you without your knowledge.

Dadhiniiva sarpi rápah srotaśu [“like butter in milk, like water in dry streams”]. In winter or in summer you will see that in the case of seasonal rivers – not ice-fed rivers but seasonal rivers – there is nothing but sand. The river is just like a desert. But there is water, there is a subterranean flow of water, within it. If you want to get water in winter from a small rivulet, what are you to do? You are to remove the sand. And if you remove the sand, you will see that there is a subterranean flow of water, clear and filtered water.

Footnotes

(1) Krśńa is sometimes called Mákhancora, Butter Thief, in allusion to a mythological story that as a small child he stole butter. The author here explains the allegory of that story. –Eds.

Chapter 4	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Today a spiritual aspirant asked me regarding the process of mental concentration. His question was, how to concentrate on that Supreme Tangential Point? The reply should be known to all intuitional aspirants.

According to the standard of intellect, microcosms come within three broad categories. They are brute mind, human mind, and divine mind. Intuitional practice is a practice of transmutation of brute mind into human mind and human mind into divine mind.

In our human society we find microcosms of all these three varieties; that is, in our society there are brute microcosms in human structure – animals in human structure, animals in human framework; there is man in human framework; and there is God in human framework. And in our social life, all the problems are created by brutes in human structure; and those problems are experienced by men in human structure; and those problems are solved by gods in human structure. So a spiritual aspirant is to solve the problems of the society, he is not to create fresh problems.

Now, sádhaná is for all, intuitional practice is for all. You know, there are brutes in human structure, and there are brutes in animal structure; but the fundamental difference between these two brutes is that a brute in animal structure does not know that it is a brute in animal structure, but a brute in human structure does know that he or she is a brute in human structure. He or she should do something noble.

And the process of concentration is in the first phase physico-psychic, and in the second phase psycho-spiritual. A person has a physical body, a mind, and a spirit; so in the first phase the intuitional practice should be physico-psychic, starting from the arena of physicality and culminating in the common point of physicality and mentality. That is, the approach is physico-psychic. And in the next phase the approach will be psycho-spiritual, starting from the psychic realm and ending in the realm of spirituality.

The human mind is moving towards so many propensities; there are so many propensities in the human mind; and according to the complexity in the mind, the physical body also becomes more and more complex. The physical structure of an animal is less complex than that of a human being, because the human mind is also more complex than that of the animal. The number of glands in a human body is more than that in an animal structure, in an animal body. Now the first phase of the process is physico-psychic – that is, withdrawing the mind from different physical objects and bringing it to a particular point, and directing that point towards the realm of mind. And next is a phase of withdrawing the mind from different mental objects, from different mental pabula, and directing it towards the Supreme Subjectivity. Now this process of movement is the process of concentration.

Concentration is a major sádhaná, is a major intuitional sádhaná. But there are certain helping sádhanás. Ásana and práńáyáma, for example, are helping items. They are not sádhaná, they are called sádhanáuṋga. Now if, during this process of movement, this phase of movement, the mind becomes heavy, it will not be able to move forward. Suppose you are crossing a river. If the boat becomes heavy due to water percolation, what will happen? You will not be able to cross the river. You will have to arrange to pump the water out.

So what is this process of pumping out the water in the case of the human mind? It means freeing the mind from mundane impurities. And how to free the mind from mundane impurities? By rendering selfless service to society without any restriction of caste, creed, nationality, or sex. Similarly on the mental level, the pure mental level, we have to free the mind from propensive ideas. That is, in the first phase there should be physico-psychic karma, and in the second phase there should be psycho-spiritual karma. One will have to render social service if one wants salvation.

Now, to establish oneself in this realm of karma, what are the essential factors for success? Lord Shiva, when asked by Párvatii, said, “You know, Devii, there are seven essential factors for success in physico-psychic karma or in psycho-spiritual karma, whatever it may be. But there are seven essential factors, you must remember those seven factors.” What are those factors?

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

–Shiva Saḿhitá

The first essential factor is, “I must be successful in my mission.” This firm determination is the first essential factor.

Secondly, dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ – “the sádhaka, the spiritual aspirant, the intuitional aspirant, must develop shraddhá for his goal.” And what is shraddhá? You know, there is no corresponding word for shraddhá in English or Latin. Shraddhá means Shrat Satyaḿ tasmin dhiiyate iti shraddhá – “My objective – ” What is the objective? The Supreme Subjectivity here becomes the objective.

The Supreme Self, the Transcendental Entity, is the subjectivity of all subjectivities, hence it is the Supreme Subjectivity; but here, in the case of psycho-spiritual practice, that Supreme Subjectivity becomes the object. So one should develop shraddhá for this Supreme Subjectivity, that is, for one object. And what is shraddhá? Shrat Satyaḿ – accepting that goal as Absolute Truth. (Shrat means Satyaḿ.) Tasmin dhiiyate – that is, “Withdrawing the mind from all other objects, and guiding that mind unto that object which has been accepted as the Absolute Truth, is shraddhá.” It has no corresponding term in English or Latin, or in any other language. The Sanskrit is the term. Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ – “one must develop shraddhá for the object.”

Thirdly, trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam – “one must develop shraddhá for one’s preceptor, one’s teacher.”

Next, Caturtho samatábhávo – “One should develop mental equipoise.” “He is a Brahman – he should be respected. He is an Ezhava – he is inferior to me.” This idea is dangerous. If one encourages this idea, one will not be able to attain that supreme beatitude. So, caturtho samatábhávo – “one must develop psychic equipoise.”

And fifth, paiṋcamendriyanigrahah – “one must have restraint over one’s sensory and motor organs.” “I must not see that object, that may pollute my mind. I must not hear that sound, that may pollute my mind.” These are all restraints over sensory and motor organs. Lord Buddha said, Cakkhuná saḿvaro sádhu – “O sádhu, O spiritual aspirant, you should have proper restraint over your eyes.”

Cakkhuná saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu sotena saḿvaro;
Ghánena saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu jihbáya saḿvaro;
Káyena saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu vácáya saḿvaro;
Manasá saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu sabbattha saḿvaro.

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

(It is in the Pali language.) “There must be all-round restraint over your motor and sensory organs.” Paiṋcamendriyanigrahah.

Sixth, śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro – “You should have proper restraint over your food.” That is, your food should be nutritious, but you must not be voracious. “Voracious” means “eating too much”. Śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro.

Seventh, saptamaḿ naeva vidyate – that is, “O Devii, I said there are seven factors, but now I say the seventh factor is nil. That is, there are six fundamental factors helping a sádhaka to establish himself or herself in the realm of karma in order to attain the Cosmic beatitude.”

I think you have followed this, and you should remember it.

Chapter 5	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

You know that Tantra is a spiritual cult. It is a cult because Tantra clearly explains how to do a sádhaná of a particular type and stage, and what the achievement will be from each such sádhaná. All possible details have been worked out. It is a systematic practical science. It is vaevahárika [practical] – not bookish. Tantra is dharma, and – since Ácárańát dharmah [“Dharma is the assemblage of all your conduct”] – one has to do Tantra practically in one’s individual life. But the practical side of Tantra is very abstract and subtle. One has to be very careful indeed in practising it. So that sádhakas might know and understand the practical side clearly, Párvatii posed questions to Lord Shiva and Lord Shiva answered them.

The questions of Párvatii were for the sake of lokashikśá [education of the people]. Those questions which are only for the sake of questioning or for the sake of measuring the knowledge of the other person have no value on the sádhaná márga [path of spiritual practice]. They are a sheer waste of time. When the questions asked are intended for the purpose of knowing and then doing, the questions are termed pariprashnas.

What to do; how to do; why to do – these are pariprashnas. Such pariprashnas make up the nigama shástra. Such pariprashnas constitute the philosophical, theoretical, side. And the practical side, constituted by the answers of Sadáshiva, is the ágama shástra. In other words, the pariprashnas of Párvatii go to make up the nigama shástra, and the practical answers of Sadáshiva make up the ágama shástra. Nigama and ágama together make up the Tantra shástra.

One of the questions posed by Párvatii was, “What is to be done to get self-realization?” She had posed this question for the sake of lokashikśá – so that sádhakas might be highly benefited. Actually, the intellect in those days had not developed to the point that there were people who could pose such subtle questions about sádhaná. But as the subtle truths of the path of sádhaná had to be handed over to people, Hara [Shiva] and Párvatii had decided to enter into a dialogue of the type compiled in the nigamas and ágamas. Párvatii posed questions, and Shiva answered them.⁽¹⁾ So the question of Párvatii was, “What is to be done for self-realization? People are seen to undergo fasting, to perform strenuous rituals, to travel to obscure holy places, to take all sorts of pains, to know the self. What is the right path?” So Shiva replied,

Na muktirtapanádhomádupavásashataerapi;
Brahmaeváhamiti jiṋátvá mukto bhavati dehabhrt.

[Liberation is not attainable by penance, sacrificial rituals, or hundreds of fasts. Living beings attain liberation when they realize, “I am Brahma.”]

The idea that one can get mukti [liberation] through tapah, that is, by torturing the body, is not correct. God is internal; what has He to do with anything external? Standing in water for days, standing on one foot for months, raising one hand or both hands heavenwards and standing like that for a long time, burying oneself in the earth for days – all these things are simply meaningless. They no doubt call for great physical power and a great capacity of endurance – but many people undertake heavy physical labour; don’t even animals work very hard? Will all such people and animals get mukti? It is not correct.

One cannot get to God through physical tapah. Neither can one get to Him through homa and havana [sacrificial rituals]. Were this possible, it would be very easy for the rich to find God! And the poor could never get near to Him! These things are all meaningless, and represent a very backward stage of humanity.

Upavása in the sense of fasting is also useless. Were it effective, the poor and the unfed would need to make little effort to reach God!

But if one does real upavása, that can do a lot. The scriptural meaning of upavása is – by derivation – upa, which means “near”, and vása, which means “to stay”. Upavása therefore means “to make the mind stay near Paramátmá”. In other words, it means to withdraw the mind from thoughts of physicalities and keep it near Paramátmá. The Sanskrit word for fasting as such is anashana.

One may do tapah, homa, upavása, a hundred thousand times, but mukti will never be obtained. So then what should one do?

After giving the negative side, after dismissing the system of worship then prevalent, Shiva went on to explain the positive side. If these things are not to be done, what then is to be done? Shiva said, Brahmaeváhamiti jiṋátvá mukto bhavati dehabhrt – that is, “When one is established in the knowledge that ‘I am Brahma,’ mukti is obtained.” But a theoretical knowledge that “I am Brahma” will not do – one has to be truly established in this ideation.

Anubhútiḿ viná múd́ha vrthá Brahmańi modate;
Pratibimbitashákhágraphalásvádanamodavat.

–Maetreyii Shruti

[Without God-realization, a person will try in vain to get spiritual bliss. Seeing the reflection in water of a sweet fruit hanging from the branch of a tree does not give one the taste of the fruit.]

One has to taste the fruit. If one sees its reflection in the water and pretends to have tasted and enjoyed it – how much reality and value there is in that you know very well.

Having heard this, Párvatii said, “Very well, I have understood. But please tell me where to search Brahma.” Lord Shiva then said, Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyám – “The tattva of dharma is nihita in the guhá.”

The tattva of dharma – that is, the “essence” of dharma – is He, the Lord. He is nihita. Nihita means “hidden”. He is all around but He is hidden in the guhá. So though He is all around, one has not to search for Him all over, one has to search for Him in one’s guhá. Guhá has a couple of meanings – “cave”, and the “I”. Here the second meaning applies. One has to search for Him in one’s “I”. The one who is inside your “I” is you yourself. Search for your self – you will find Him. As long as the [real] you is there, the Lord is also there.

You are a sádhaka. He is the sádhya [object of adoration]. And the link is sádhaná. As long as these three tattvas exist, you are not He. When all three have become one, one may say “I am Paramátmá” – never prior to this. Until this stage is reached, one has to do sádhaná most diligently, with greatest niśt́ha [sincerity]. (Having established oneself solidly in the state of Brahma-hood, one may or may not do sádhaná – one may do it to set an example for the world; that is, one may do it for lokashikśá.)

One must do sádhaná most regularly. As long as one has a body, one must go on doing sádhaná. You must have noticed that a shiny new lot́á [small metal vessel] will no longer retain its lustre and newness after a year’s use. One has to clean it quite regularly with tamarind in order to maintain its shininess. The mind is like that – one has to do regular sádhaná to keep it neat and clean.

For those who are searching the Lord without and not within, Sadáshiva says,

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

[Here is one place of pilgrimage, there is another place. People of static nature wander from the one place to the other place. But without finding the real place of pilgrimage within themselves, how can they attain salvation?]

They are all persons dominated by the static principle, whose wandering from one holy place to another is simply of no use. All this wandering results in a waste of money and energy.

Lord Shiva gives another illustration concerning such persons:

Átmasthitaḿ Shivaḿ tyaktvá
Vahisthaḿ yah samarcayet;
Hastasthaḿ pińd́amutsrjya
Bhramate jiivitáshayá.

[One who looks for Shiva in the external world, ignoring the Shiva of the internal world, is like one who throws away the rice that is in one’s hand and wanders from door to door in search of one’s livelihood.]

The Lord is within you and with you. Search Him in your innermost existence.

Footnotes

(1) Párvatii knew the answers, but since there was no sádhaka of high enough calibre to ask subtle questions, Párvatii posed as the questioner. –Eds.

Chapter 6	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Once Párvatii posed a question to Shiva: “Who is competent for mokśa [non-qualified liberation]? Who can attain mokśa?” Shiva answered,

Átmajiṋánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaekasádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

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

The Formulation of Ágama and Nigama

Questions related to spiritual practice and spiritual progress – questions not simply for inquiry’s sake but for the sake of understanding and for the sake of following the instructions given – are known as pariprashnas (for example, questions put by disciples to their gurus as to how to sit, how to bid prańáma [respectful salutations], and how to repeat mantra). Prańipátena pariprashnena seváyá [“By surrender, spiritual questioning, and servicefulness”]. Questions put only for logic’s sake are not pariprashnas; with such questions the time of the questioner and that of the answerer is wasted. And sometimes questions are put not in order to know but in order to test the scholarship of the guru – such questions are not pariprashnas either.

If pariprashnas are put and answered, and then recorded, or if people somehow get acquainted with such questions and answers, people will be benefited. But during the time of Sadáshiva nobody was there to put such questions. Párvatii learned sádhaná from Shiva (as did their son Bhaerava). Párvatii and Shiva decided that the former would pose the questions, and the latter would reply, and thus people would get acquainted with the questions and answers and be benefited.

They decided to formulate these questions and answers for the all-round development of human society. They decided to cover all branches of knowledge – art, architecture, literature, medical science, spiritual science, etc. For example, you know that in ancient times there was [a simple form of] giita [song]. There was also [vádya, basic instrumental music]. And people were performing some mudrás unconsciously with their hands and feet. So Lord Shiva and Párvatii decided to coordinate and systematize giita, [vádya] and mudrá. Párvatii began to pose questions, and Shiva began to answer; and the saḿgiita shástra [science of music] was produced. (The combined name of nrtya [dance], giita and vádya is saḿgiita.)

Dance was known in quite a primitive age. This kind of dance was rhythmic. Even now the dances of soldiers are mainly rhythmic. There is no important role of mudrá in their dance. The rule is that rhythmic dance requires strength; only males can do it; because it is tiring. But Párvatii gave lalita nrtya, in which mudrá has an important role. Indian dances and other Oriental dances are mudrápradhána [dominated by mudrá]. And Occidental dances are chandapradhána [rhythmic].

They decided to categorize mudrá. So Párvatii questioned and Shiva answered. Párvatii would ask, “What is the meaning of such and such mudrá?” and Shiva would reply. In this way mudrá shástra came about, saḿgiita shástra came about. Shiva invented a rhythmic dance and Párvatii created a dance dominated by mudrá. In Shiva’s rhythmic dance one has to jump. In Sanskrit tańd́ú means “to jump”.⁽¹⁾ So the dance dominated by jumping is known as táńd́ava. The dance of Shiva is táńd́ava – “dominated by jumping”.

Mudrá directly touches the mind. For instance, if one calls to a person, as soon as the sound vibrations of “Come” touch the person’s ears, they directly reach the mind. But the person can be made to understand through mudrás [gestures of the fingers] also. Similar are the cases of expressing that one feels hot and sweaty, that one feels thirsty, etc., without speaking, through different physical gestures. Hence, mudrá has shánta bháva [it is peaceful, calm]. It is just the opposite of táńd́ava, and that is why it is known as lalita [graceful].

The posture of sitting which creates madhura bháva in the body is known as lalita mudrá or lalitásana. You will see different idols from ancient times of devadeviis [gods and goddesses] sitting on lotus flowers in lalita mudrá.

In ancient times those who were superior to the mass were known as devatás.

Sarve ca pashavah santi talavad bhútale naráh;
Teśáḿ jiṋána prakásháya viirabhávah prakáshitah.
Viirabhávaḿ sadá prápya krameńa devatá bhavet.

–Rudrayámala Tantra

[In the beginning everyone is a pashu, an animal. But when spiritual thirst develops, these people become viira, heroic. And when they are firmly established in viirabháva, they become devatás.]

When people were being taught táńd́ava and lalita, they found difficulty with both. With táńd́ava they found difficulty in jumping, and with lalita they felt troubled in expressing the correct bháva [ideation] through mudrá. Therefore they requested Lord Shiva and Párvatii to bring about a balance between the two. Párvatii posed some questions, Shiva replied, and a balance was brought about for the good of the people. The new [beat or rhythmic expression] thus produced was called tála – tá from táńd́ava and la from lalita.

In spiritual practice only a few get the chance to listen to spiritual discourses, and only a few among those few understand. And fewer yet are there who follow the path. And among those who follow the path, only a counted few reach the goal. Therefore, that Párvatii got the opportunity to ask spiritual questions and to listen to the answers, and that Shiva could make her understand, was a very rare thing. The questions of Párvatii, together with Shiva’s practical answers, can be called “philosophico-spiritual cult”. This means the combination of all philosophy, pariprashna, and spiritual practice, along with Shiva’s practical answers. The questions of Párvatii are known as nigama shástra, and the answers of Shiva are known as ágama shástra. The combined name of ágama and nigama is Tantra.

Ágataḿ Shivavaktrebhyoh gataiṋca Girijáshrutao;
Mataiṋca Vásudevasya tasmádágama ucyate.

Ágataḿ Shivavaktrebhyoh refers to “Shiva’s answers”. The first letter of ágatam is á, and the first letter of gataiṋca Girijáshrutao⁽²⁾ is ga. And the first letter of mataiṋca Vásudevasya – “this is the Lord’s thought” – is ma. Tasmat ágama ucyate – “therefore it is known as á-ga-ma, that is, ágama.”

Mokśa

So Párvatii’s question was, “Who is competent to attain mokśa?” Shiva replied,

Átmajiṋánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaeka sádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

Mokśa is átmajiṋána. What is átmajiṋána? Átmajiṋána means “self-realization” – not “self-knowledge” [in the ordinary sense]. Suppose you know of a flower. Here there are three – the knower, you; the known, the flower; and the knowledge, the link between you and the flower. But in the case of self-realization, the knower, the known, and the knowledge are all one.

If you know your self [in the sense of átmajiṋána], knower and known are one. The link between knower and known is knowledge – and there is no question of even a link there. If the two banks of a river become one, what space is there between them?

Self-realization is mokśa. What happens there is oneness. Oneness means seeing Brahma in all objects. And who is competent to get mokśa? Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát – “When one attains human form through good actions, one becomes adhikarii (competent) to attain mokśa.” What is the meaning of sukrti? In laokik [comparatively recent] Sanskrit, su means “good” and krta means “that which is done”. But in Vedic Sanskrit, su means sva [own, self] – that is, when the jiiva attains humanity due to its own actions, it becomes fit to attain mokśa.

What is the stage of mánava (humanity)? I remember having told you at Allahabad Dharma Mahácakra⁽³⁾ that humanity is obtained after reaching a particular standard of intellectuality. Animals and inanimate objects are at a lower standard. At this lower standard, the spirit is personal [or individual] and the medium impersonal [or Cosmic]. Animals and inanimate objects progress due to an impersonal medium. Therefore they can only progress – they cannot have a downfall. But if a human, with a particular intellectual standard, makes good use of that intellect, he or she will have progress, whereas if he or she abuses that intellect, he or she will have a downfall. So a human has intellect, but the intellect is double-edged. Therefore one must be very careful in making use of one’s intellect.

Footnotes

(1) As rice jumps in the process of being separated from the husk (implying that the nature of rice is to jump), in Sanskrit it is called tańd́ula. Tańd́ula means “uncooked rice” – cooked rice is odana.

(2) “Girijá” means Párvatii, shruti means “ears” – so, “that which has gone into the ears of Párvatii”.

(3) Ananda Marga Dharma Mahácakra was a special spiritual gathering addressed by the guru. See “Mantra Caetanya” in Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 10 or Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell, Part 11 (1990) for this discourse. –Eds.

Chapter 7	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Nigama is the collection of all the possible questions of unit minds [regarding spirituality], and ágama is the collection of the answers to those questions, those pariprashnas. Once Párvatii posed a question to Shiva. (Actually she asked it not for herself, but just to make people understand the desideratum of human life.) The question asked was, “What should be the object of worship for those who are doing sádhaná?” Humans create the objects of their worship according to their own intellectual standards. Primitive humans worshipped plants, trees, earth, rivers, etc. It is not logical to think that one can acquire puńya [virtue] by immersing oneself in the Ganges, but cannot acquire it by immersing oneself in the Thames. If puńya can be acquired by immersion, it can be by immersion either in the Ganges or in the Thames. And can there be no puńya from taking a dip in the Yamuna, which originates, like the Ganges, in the Himalayas, and runs side by side with the Ganges? There are some who worship stone: they make idols out of stone, according to their imaginations, and they worship them. How can an idol give you salvation – an idol made by you? You have shaped the idol with different chisels and hammers; you are its father, its creator; so how can it give you salvation? It is all unscientific.

Manasá kalpitá múrti nrńáḿcenmokśasádhanii;
Svapnalabdhena rájyena rájánománavastathá.

[If an idol produced out of the human imagination can bring about salvation, then can a person, by creating a kingdom in his dreams, become a king in the real sense?]

The reply of Shiva to Párvatii’s question was as follows: “One cannot obtain the unlimited from the limited. Secondly, idol worship is more harmful than the worship of flora and fauna; because the flora and fauna have been created and shaped by the Operative Principle, and not by human beings. Plants and trees are in a process of growth. But the idol has been created and shaped by you, by your chisel and hammer – how can it give you salvation?” Párvatii then said, “[Is] idol worship, too, sádhaná?”

Shiva replied, “Yes, it is.”

Whatever there is in the world, it is all the manifestation of Paramátmá. Nothing is hateful – neither cap nor shoes. Each has its respective use. But if you place your shoes on your head and your cap on your feet, people will laugh and take it to be your madness. True, both cap and shoes are Paramátmá, but each of them has its proper use. The proper use of Paramátmá in the form of shoes is on the feet.⁽¹⁾

The earth is also the manifestation of Paramátmá. You address it as “Mother Earth”. But you set your feet on it. Meaning thereby that you should adopt the proper behaviour with the proper object. You must have reverence for the Ganges, as the land in north India has been made fertile by its waters. But there cannot be any puńya produced from its water – salvation cannot be obtained from it.

“Humans create the objects of their worship according to their own intellectual standards” – so said Shiva. In that [process there are] mátrábheda [difference in degree] and starabheda [difference in gradation]. So Lord Shiva’s answer to Párvatii’s question was,

Uttamo Brahmasadbhávo madhyamá dhyánadhárańá;
Japastutih syádhadhamá múrtipújádhamádhamá.

[Ideation on Brahma is the best, dhyána and dhárańá are second best, repetitious incantation and eulogistic prayer are the worst, and idol worship is the worst of the worst.]

[An acceptable alternative version of the shloka reads] Uttamá sahajávasthá.⁽²⁾

Idol worship is also a form of sádhaná, but it is the lowest form. Everything has some effect, so an idol also has some effect. Your mind will become confined to the limitations of the idol. But a human being should perform sádhaná in order to expand his or her mind to infinity.

Japastuti [mantra repetition and flattery] is adhamá sádhaná. There is no real love for Paramátmá; it is simply flattery. Worshippers address Paramátmá and say, “O Paramátmá, give us food to eat and clothes to wear.” You will find such things said in some places. This is flattery. Stuti means “flattery”. Paramátmá is the Supreme Father; will you flatter the Supreme Father?

Suppose a student is studying for his MA, and during the holidays he has come home. Suppose he stands before his father and starts out by saying, “O Father, you are so merciful! Every month you send money. You are having me do my MA studies.”

If he utters such things, the father will say that the son has gone vagabond, and will catch hold of him and give him a good beating. Just think for yourself how unnatural this would be. Flatter you may your boss, but not your father! Hence japastuti is adhamá sádhaná.

Japa [mantra repetition] here really means nirbiija japa. Sabiija japa is a different thing; it comes within the scope of dhyána [meditation]. This I will explain later. (It is connected with sádhaná, so it is not proper to discuss it openly.) If you repeat “Krśńa, Krśńa” – a parrot can also do that! Can that bring about any spiritual progress? Never – because there is no ideation on the meaning. It is mantra devoid of caetanya.⁽³⁾ So one has to ideate. It is through ideation that spiritual elevation is possible.

Ideation may be either reverent or irreverent – Shraddhayá helayá vá. “Paramátmá is my Father, hence I am repeating His name” – here elevation is bound to occur. “Paramátmá is displeased with me, and though I am His child, He does not look at me. Paramátmá is very cruel, I will fight against Him.” – here you still repeat Paramátmá, but irreverently.

Approached either reverently or irreverently, the desideratum must be Paramátmá. Dhruva and Prahlad were votaries of Paramátmá. And so was Ravana. Ravana repeated Paramátmá’s name irreverently. But irreverence cannot last forever.

Suppose one goes on repeating “Krśńa”, but the idea is also there that one has to go to Meerut tomorrow, that one has to file a case against So-and-so; then finally one again repeats “Krśńa”. Then, “The day after tomorrow there is DMC. I have to attend it in Delhi.” Finally the person again repeats “Krśńa, Krśńa”. What is this? Is this a show?⁽⁴⁾

Next comes dhyánadhárańá. It is madhyamá [second best]. Dhyána is taeladhárávat [like a flow of oil]. When the mind moves towards Paramátmá, that is dhyána. Dhyána is madhyamá because there is duality between the sádhaka and the object of his or her worship. And the supreme state, the uttamávasthá, is that where the sádhaka and the object of worship are one – where the worshipper, the worshipped and the worship unify themselves into one. Therefore, sahajávasthá is supreme – it is uttamá. This is the saying of Shiva. Kabir has also said, Sádhu sahaja samádhi bhalii [“The seeker attained sahaja samádhi”]. Sahaja is derived from the prefix saha plus the root jan plus the suffix d́a. Ja means “that which is born”. With what is it born?

Jiivátmá [unit consciousness] and Paramátmá [Supreme Consciousness] are born together. They are together, but jiivas simply do not look to Him. People think that Paramátmá is without, so they are not able to attain Him. When they look within, there is oneness. This alone is sahajávasthá.

Sahajávasthá [also] means “[that which] is easily to be attained”. (Sahaja means “easy”.) Bear in mind that the process of dhyánadhárańá [may lend some of its elements to] Iishvara prańidhána, in which there are so many mental processes. Hence sahajávasthá is uttamá.

Now regarding this sahajávasthá, there is nothing to be had from without – everything can be had from within. Diikśá [spiritual initiation] means “an inward march”. This eternal march has to be learned. This alone is diikśá. Those who roam about looking for Paramátmá outside themselves, and make [ritual] offerings of water to Him – all of these people are roaming outside instead of looking inside. It is as if there is plenty of food at home and one is going out to beg. All of you are very rich; you have much wealth within. So why will you roam outside?

So Lord Shiva told Párvatii, “O Devii, just see – ”

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

“‘Here is a place of pilgrimage; if one takes a dip in this particular kuńd́a⁽⁵⁾ or in this particular river, one will acquire this much puńya’ – all this is false.” If one can acquire puńya by taking a bath in the kuńd́a, then all the creatures in the water of the kuńd́a will also get to heaven. And all the kuńd́as which you see nowadays at different places of pilgrimage are full of stinking water! Those who take a bath with such ideas are people dominated by the static principle. Their condition is (as Lord Shiva told Párvatii, to make her understand) well described

Átmasthitaḿ Shivaḿ tyaktvá vahisthaḿ yah samarcayet;
Hastasthaḿ pińd́amutsrjya bhramate jiivitáshayá.

Those who are performing external pújá, worshipping the Shiva of stone that is found in the temples, while their internal Shiva is left unworshipped, are hastasthaḿ pińd́amutsrjya bhramate jiivitáshayá [“like one who throws away the rice that is in one’s hand and wanders from door to door in search of one’s livelihood”]. Pińd́a means “food”.⁽⁶⁾ Lord Shiva said that those persons are truly fools who throw away the food that is in their hand and wander to different doors to beg.

Then Párvatii said, “Now that is clear. But please tell me what the qualifications are which a sádhaka should possess.”

Shiva said, “There are seven points.”

Párvatii asked, “What are those seven points? Everyone should try to acquire those seven points if they want to be successful.”

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

–Shiva Saḿhitá

Phaliśyatiiti vishvásah siddherprathama lakśańam – “‘I must be successful in my mission.’ This firm determination is the first requisite factor.”

Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ. “[Secondly,] there must be shraddhá for the object towards which one is moving.” Then Párvatii asked, “What is shraddhá?” Shiva replied, Shrat Satyaḿ tasmin dhiiyate iti shraddhá. Shrat means Sat [or Satya], “Absolute Reality”, Parama Tattva. And dha means “to march towards That”. “When humans make Absolute Reality their desideratum and move towards It, caring little either for praise or for condemnation, that sort of movement is shraddhá.”

The third qualification is gurupújanam – that is, shraddhá for the personality from whom sádhaná has been obtained.

The fourth is samatábháva [seeing others as yourself]. Say you have performed sádhaná and you have obtained some occult powers; you feel that you are a bit above X, Y, and Z, and that you are not an ordinary person. If this feeling creeps into the mind, samatábháva is lost, because then one begins feeling that there is a group of people far inferior to oneself. Such a pattern is to be observed in the case of people who have come to the city from the village. They say that they don’t feel like returning to the village, as the villagers are illiterate and under-developed. This feeling is very dangerous. And if such feelings creep into the mind as a result of having acquired a little intellectual knowledge, the chances of developing this complex are much greater in the realm of spirituality, when a sádhaka begins feeling somewhat elevated with the development of some occult powers and the feeling of a little bliss. In the second stage of spiritual practice every sádhaka faces this test. One must be very, very cautious, so that vanity may not develop. What vanity will do to a sádhaka is,

Abhimánaḿ surápánaḿ
Gaoravaḿ raoravaḿ dhruvam;
Pratiśt́há shúkariiviśt́há
Trayaḿ tyaktvá Hariḿ bhajet.

[Abhimána is like surápána, gaorava leads to raorava, and pratiśt́há is like shúkariiviśt́há: an inflated ego is like drinking wine, self-aggrandizement leads one into the deepest hell, and social status is like the excrement of a pig. Give up all three of these and only sing the glories of the Lord.]

Abhimána is no better than drinking wine. Gaorava is truly like raorava hell. (The highest loka is Satyaloka and the lowest loka is raorava. One who suffers from a superiority complex is converted into stone – he or she will be crudified to this extent.⁽⁷⁾ This is the result of the feeling of a superiority complex.) And pratiśt́há is like shúkariiviśt́há. “I will be at the pinnacle of society and people will respect me” – this sense is like [a desire for] shúkariiviśt́há. So give up these three mental ailments – abhimána, gaorava and pratiśt́há – and then engage yourself in contemplation on Hari.

So the fourth is samatábháva.⁽⁸⁾

Paiṋcamendriyanigrahah. The fifth qualification is indri- yanigraha, self-restraint.

Śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro. Pramitáhára – there is a difference between pramitáhára and parimitáhára. Parimitáhára means “[limited] diet”, and pramitáhára means “balanced diet”. The body should have a balanced diet. [Limitation] alone will not do. Just to [limit] the quantity of food will not do – one will have to take a balanced diet, to make the body and mind strong. Food should be substantial, though moderate in quantity. This is pramitáhára.

After having explained this sixth factor, Shiva kept quiet. Then Párvatii asked, “What’s the seventh factor?”

Shiva replied, Saptamaḿ naeva vidyate – “There is no seventh factor. If these six factors can all be remembered, there will definitely be progress.”

Footnotes

(1) And a statue may have a proper aesthetic use, but it should not be used in an attempt to win salvation. –Eds.

(2) The author has explained elsewhere that “Sahajávasthá, the ”tranquil state“ of the Buddhists, is no different from the ideation on Brahma of the Hindus.” –Eds.

(3) See “Mantra Caetanya” in Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 10 or Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell, Part 11 (1990). –Eds.

(4) If one’s mind is concentrated on Paramátmá, even if that concentration is irreverent, one will progress spiritually. Irreverent concentration will eventually become reverent concentration. But even reverent ideation, if constantly broken by thoughts of one’s personal concerns, will be ineffective. –Eds.

(5) A spring (sometimes a hot spring) restricted to use in religous ritual. –Eds.

(6) That which is known as anna (ad + kta) in the Sanskrit language is called pińa in the Vedic language. I remember having mentioned before that in ancient times, when the Aryans from Russia came to India, they started cultivation. The border country of Bhárata [India] was called Saptanada Desha [Land of Seven Rivers], which later on came to be known as the Punjab. (Those seven rivers were the Jhelam, the Chenub, the Satluj, the Ravi, the Beas, the Kabul and the Sindhu.) The people of that place used to sit together at noon to have their meal – that is, in the Vedic language, to have their pińd́a. So a place where the farmers would have their meal was called pińiika. That pińd́iika in Paeshácii Prákrta became pińd́ii-a, and this in old Punjabi became changed to pińae, or pińd́ii. In the Punjabi language, pindi means “village” – for instance, “Rawalpindi”, “the habitation of the Rawals”.

(7) Mental crudification is the actual phenomenon of which raorava hell is the mythological representation. –Eds.

(8) Sanskrit that was unclear in the original magazine publication of this discourse omitted here. –Eds.

Chapter 8	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Párvatii once asked the Lord, “How will my children be able to get you?” Shiva replied, “That I have already explained to you a number of times and in a number of ways.” But Párvatii insisted on a repetition. Shiva replied in short, “They should do sádhaná properly and regularly and in the course of time they will come to achieve their goal.”

But the mother pleaded for her children. “This you have of course said before. But all my children are not made of the same stuff. Some are good, some wicked, some even more wicked. Some are good and pious sádhakas, but there are many who are never calm and collected. They will never be able to do difficult sádhaná that regularly. So will they never get mukti? These children are ours also. You must say something that will help everyone, including this group.”

Lord Shiva insisted that everyone should do sádhaná according to the proper system He had taught; that would bring them to their goal. But Mother Párvatii still insisted on some easier way to mukti. Finally the Lord yielded and said, “Those who surrender completely to the Lord may or may not do sádhaná. All their burdens and duties will be borne by the Lord Himself. The Lord will perform their sádhaná for them. So ask your naughty children to surrender to Him.”

Chapter 9	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Vásáḿsi jiirńani yathá viháya naváni grhńáti naro’paráńi;
Tathá shariiráni viháya jiirńányáni saḿyáti naváni dehii.⁽¹⁾

“When the clothes become old and tattered, they are replaced with newer ones. This is the law. Nobody wants to wear old, tattered, and dirty clothes. Similarly, when the body becomes old and worthless, it is changed for a newer one.”

The body grows old due to work, activity. One has to march every fraction of a second in one’s life. Marching ahead alone can establish one in dharma. Those who cannot move, cannot walk, are like corpses; their place is not in society, but in the cremation ground. They are pápiis [sinners], antisocial.

There is movement in all three spheres of life – physical, mental and spiritual.

Movement in the physical realm means the construction of the sadvipra society. [Sadvipra: a spiritual revolutionary.] The society is filled with pitchers of pápa today. Break these pitchers to pieces with a stroke of your feet. [This is your destiny.] Pápa will oppose you, but you will have to face the challenge. One who annihilates physical pápa is a sadvipra. This is your dharma in the mundane world. You are human beings, because you are fighting against the immoralists.

In the psychic realm you have to establish righteousness by removing the germs of crude mentality. Everywhere in the world today the crude intellect dominates. It is your duty to replace it with your righteous intellect.

Once I was travelling by car in Bihar. The driver had to stop the car several times to remove the dogs from the street. When a sádhaka who was sitting beside me asked why the dogs did not heed the horn of the car, I replied that the dogs could not hear, for this was the kingdom of the dogs, the rule of the dogs.

This is the condition that prevails throughout the world today. Crude animal intellect is reigning supreme throughout the world. You have to remove it. It is natural that it would not hear your call, it would not like to move from its position. Under these circumstances, you will have to remove the predominance of animal intellect even by the use of force. I do not want [animals] in the form of human beings to remain on this earth even for a second. This is a world of humans, and not of animals. Therefore, do not relax even for a fraction of a second.

In the spiritual realm, your task is to establish Cosmic ideation. Marching ahead is life. Those who malinger and shirk the responsibility of moving ahead should be thrown in the cremation ground. If the body becomes old by moving, let it be changed. It is not proper to wear old and dirty clothes. If the body decays in the process of moving ahead, change it for another one, and go on performing good actions.

I want you to work with this body only, and then leave it permanently. This is not impossible for you. Increase the speed of your activities thousands of times or even countless times more than what it is now, and accomplish your work with this body only.

There are three spheres – physical, mental, and spiritual. They are the trilokas, and one who controls them is “Trilokanáth”. It is your dharma to show the right path to society in those three spheres – it depends on your speed also.

Work with the infinite power of Paramátman and with infinite speed. Victory is surely yours.

Footnotes

(1) Bhagavad Giitá. –Trans.

Chapter 10	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Now I am leaving this country, and I am leaving you physically. I am always with you; I will always be with you. Physically I am leaving you, my sons and daughters, but I cannot forget you, and mentally I will always be with you. I want that all of you should be ideal human beings. All of you, let your existence be successful. I have got nothing more to say. Peace be with you.

My sons and my daughters, I have one more thing to say. I do not belong to heaven. What I am – I am to express this truth in a single sentence: I am yours.

Chapter 11	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

This universe of ours is a Macropsychic conation. This entire Cosmological order is a Macropsychic conation. The people [of] the entire universe [are] the progeny and the Supreme Consciousness is the progenitor.

The microcosm cannot create anything original. The microcosm can create physical, [mental] and spiritual compounds. But nothing original can be created by him or her. A microcosm should [make] maximum use of the world’s physical potentialities, mental and intellectual potentialities, and spiritual potentialities.

Suppose that a man has got a tractor and there is a big block of uncultivated land.⁽¹⁾

Similarly each and every living being, each and every microcosm, has physical capacity, physical potentiality; mental and intellectual potentiality; and also spiritual potentiality. But you know, in the realm of physicality there are certain limitations; in physical [structure] a human cannot be stronger than an elephant or stronger than a rhinoceros. But in the realm of intellectuality, there is no such limitation; a human can acquire as much intellectual strength as [he or she desires]. The scope for development of intellectual potentialities, although not infinite, is immeasurable. That is, a human can acquire immeasurable mental strength by dint of his or her intellectual culture.

But in the realm of spirituality there is no [limit at all]. The spiritual strength that a person can acquire is not only immeasurable, but also infinite.

This special chance has been guaranteed only to human beings by the Supreme Progenitor. So each and every person, each and every individual, should make maximum utilization of this world. That is, one must not waste a single second in developing his or her intellectual capacity, intellectual potentiality and spiritual potentiality.

Footnotes

(1) The remaining two sentences of this illustration are inaudible. –Eds.

Chapter 12	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Virtue and vice are temporal entities. These things have nothing to do so far as a person’s relationship with the Supreme Father is concerned.

Suppose several boys are moving along a particular road and one particular boy falls into the drain. His dress, his body, become dirty; other people, passers-by, will laugh at him, but when the boy’s father sees his boy in that condition, what is he to do? Will he laugh at his own son? No, no, no. What will he do? He himself will go there, into the drain, and take his boy in his own lap, and clean his dress, clean his clothes, clean his body; and after that he will say, “My boy, you should walk carefully.”

Sinning persons are just like those boys in the drain. Now, high or low, upgraded or degraded, all are equal, all are equal for Him, because heaven is His creation, and hell is His creation. If we say that He is only in heaven, it will not be a correct utterance, because He is in hell also. His sons, His daughters, are never alone. He is with you even in hell.

What are you to do? You are always to remember that you are the child of a Great Father. You must not think that you are a sinner, you are a degraded person. If you think that you are a sinner, it means you are meditating on sin! And when sin has become your object of meditation, actually you will become a sinner, because a person becomes just like his or her object of ideation, object of meditation. If you always meditate on sin, “I am a sinner, I am a sinner,” actually you will become a sinner. The psychological approach is, you should forget it – even if you are actually a sinner, you should think, “I am the son of a Great Father, I am the son of a Great Father, I am the son of a Great Father.” And thus you are meditating on the Great Father, and a day is sure to come when you will become one with your Great Father. But to think, “I am a sinner, I am a sinner, oh Father, save me, oh Father, save me,” is a defective approach! You should say, “I am your son, I am your daughter, oh Father, take me on your lap, I am your son, I am your daughter.” This will be the approach. You should forget what you do not want.

Now in the phase of creation, the first point of creation is called Shambhúliuṋga. Liuṋga means “the point, the supreme point, the terminus of all expressions, all movements”. And that terminus is a singular entity. In the phase of extrovert, it is the starting-point, and in the phase of introvert, it is the culminating point. It is the Supreme Desideratum.

At this starting-point, wherefrom the first expression takes place in the first phase of creation, what happens? In that triangle of forces, triangle of principles, sentient, mutative and static, what happens due to their intertransmutation? All of a sudden the triangle becomes unbalanced, and the released resultant force comes out from one of the vertices of the triangle. There are three vertices, and it comes out from one of the vertices. And the point from which this extroversial force comes out is called Shambhú. In the phase of extrovert, in the phase of creation, it is Shambhú; and in the phase of introvert also it is Shambhú. In the phase of creation it is the starting point, it is the fundamental positivity. It is the fundamental positivity because in it lies the seed of all creation. And in the phase of introvert, it is the Supreme Desideratum, because here in this point all the aspirations, all the hopes, all the desires, of all living beings terminate.

Similarly, in the unit structure, in each and every unit structure, there is a starting-point, a microscopic expression of Shambhú in the entire Macrocosm. That is, in the entire Cosmological order there is a Shambhú point, the starting-point, and similarly, in the unit expression, in the microcosm, there is Shambhú in miniature form, in microcosmic form, controlling the microcosm. And it is this point [crown of the head], the controlling point of the pineal gland. It is the site of Parama Puruśa, Paramashiva. And in the phase of creation, while Shambhú is the starting-point, the last point of creation, the crudest point, is called Svayambhú.

Shambhú and Svayambhú. In Sanskrit, sham means “to control”, and bhú means [“created”]. So shambhú means “the controller, self-created controller”. And Svayambhú – svayam means “self”, [so svayambhú means] “self-created”. But it is not the controller, because it is the crudest point. It is the last point, the crudest point.

Now, wherever there is any expression or wherever there is no expression, the Witnessing Entity is there, just like the light of a stage, a theatrical stage. When there is an actor, the light is there, witnessing the activities of the actor. The actor says something, recites something, and the light of the stage witnesses the activities of that particular actor. And when a singer comes, that light witnesses the activities of the singer. A dancer comes, and that very light witnesses the activities of the dancer. And when nobody is present – no actor, no dancer, no singer – the light, that very light, witnesses that “Nobody is present here now.” It expresses the fact before the audience, before the spectators, that there is nobody on the stage. Similarly, where there is expression, that Cosmic Light, that Cosmic Father, is there. And where there is no expression, the Father is there to say that nobody is present now – just like that light of the theatrical stage.

Now in the case of Shambhúliuṋga, the fundamental positivity from where the creation starts, the Supreme Entity is there. And where the creation terminates, the last point, the crudest point, the Svayambhúliuṋga – the Witnessing Entity is there also, the Supreme Father is there also. Now in [Shambhúliuṋga], the human entity, the entity of a living being, is in subtlest form, is in purest form, is in unadulterated form. And in Svayambhúliuṋga, in the lowest point, in the lowest bone, of your body, the created being, the living being, is in crudest form. Because of that crudest expression, the living being will also be in crudest form. That is, all one’s divinity, one’s divinity in its entirety, is sleeping there, is in latent form there, in the last bone of the body. That sleeping divinity – actually it is divinity, but it is sleeping – is called kulakuńd́alinii in Sanskrit, “coiled serpentine” in English. “Coiled serpentine”. It is just like a serpentine loop.

Now, by dint of sádhaná – what is sádhaná? Whenever a sádhaka gets his or her own peculiar incantation from his ácárya, his or her own mantra to be practised, that sleeping divinity, kulakuńd́alinii, is aroused by the vibration of that mantra. And by dint of the person’s constant practice, regular practice, what happens? It moves that serpentine loop upward. Its original residence is in the múládhára cakra, the lowermost cakra. Now when the sádhaka by dint of his or her sádhaná, intuitional practice, exalts that kulakuńd́alinii, and when the kulakuńd́alinii crosses the svádhiśt́hána cakra, the next higher cakra, the sádhaka’s feeling, his or her expression, his or her status, is known as sálokya. It is the first stage of samádhi. A sádhaka by constant practice is sure to attain that status. But you know, the yogis say that a sádhaka cannot attain that status without the special favour of the spiritual guru. This is what they say. That stage is called sálokya.

Sálokya means that the sádhaka feels that in the stratum, or sphere, where he or she is, where that person’s exalted mind is, he or she is not alone; the Supreme Father is also there. This samádhi, where the feeling is that in the stratum, or status, where the person is, that person’s Supreme Father is also there, gives the person very much pleasure. This first pleasure is called sálokya samádhi.

Then when this coiled serpentine, sleeping divinity, crosses the mańipura cakra, just near the hub, the controlling point, of the pancreas, the person enjoys another sort of pleasure, and that pleasure is called sámiipya samádhi. Sámiipya is a Sanskrit word. It means “proximity”. That is, the sádhaka feels his or her proximity to the Supreme Father.

In the first stage, the sádhaka felt that the Supreme Father was there in the same status. He is not in the sky, he is everywhere, He is with you. If you are here and He is in the sky, then you are alone here, and He is also alone there. No, no, no, no. In the first phase the feeling was that “Where I am, He is also with me.” And in the second phase, “I have come very close, very near, that Supreme Father; I am in close proximity to the Supreme Progenitor. By dint of my sádhaná, the gap between my Father and myself is being bridged.” It is the second phase, known as sámiipya. Sámiipya means “proximity”.

Then when that sleeping divinity, that kulakuńd́alinii, crosses the anáhata cakra, this plexus, this “solar plexus” (in Latin), the sádhaka’s feelings are known as sáyujya. Sáyujya means “in close contact”. In Sanskrit sáyujya means “close contact, just side by side, just touching”. In sálokya He is with you. In sámiipya you feel the proximity, the nearness. And here in sáyujya what do you feel? A tactual experience. You get a tactual experience.

Then when by dint of your sádhaná the divinity, the sleeping divinity, the kulakuńd́alinii, crosses this point [the throat], one will experience another sort of sádhaná, a subtler sádhaná, subtler samádhi. And that one is called sárúpya. In sárúpya the feeling is “I am one with Him.” “I am one with Him” – not close contact, but oneness. “I am one with the Supreme Progenitor, I am one with the Supreme Cognition.” This is sárupya.

Then by still more sádhaná, when the sleeping divinity crosses this point [between the eyebrows], the controlling point of the pituitary gland, the ájiṋá cakra, the sádhaka’s feelings, or experiences – another sort of sádhaná, still more high – are known as sárśt́hi in Sanskrit. At that point, the feeling is that “I am He;” that is, “I” and “He”, these two entities, have become one. “I am;” but “He” and “I” have coincided.

“I” – “He”. There is one gap. “I am the Supreme Entity, I am the Supreme Entity.” There is still the connecting link “am”. But when “I” and “Supreme Entity” coincide, the gap “am” disappears. “I”, “Supreme Entity”, and the connecting link “am”. When this will coincide with this, the connecting “am” will disappear, because there is no gap. “I” becomes one with “He”. Clear? Or “He” becomes one with “I”. This stage is called sárśt́hi.

And the last stage is when that kulakuńd́alinii comes here [crown of the head]. I said that in the unit structure, Shambhúliuṋga, Parama Puruśa, is here, at the controlling point of the pineal gland. The divinity, the sleeping divinity, is to be exalted to that point, to the controlling point of the pineal gland. And there is the final stage of samádhi. That final stage of samádhi is called nirvikalpa samádhi in yoga, and kaevalya in Tantra. In Sanskrit kaevalya means “only”. Kevala means “only”, and the noun of kevala is kaevalya.

That is, only one entity exists. That entity may be I, that entity may be He. But the differentiation between “I” and “He” disappears. So “I exist” and “He exists” – these two ideas disappear: “exists”. That is, it is the stage of non-attributional consciousness. It is the supreme stage of yogic sádhaná. It is the supreme stance for a yogi.

Now by dint of sádhaná, one is to arouse and exalt that sleeping divinity. That Svayambhúliuṋga becomes one with Shambhúliuṋga.

But for this one requires divine help. And I know one is sure to get divine help. And I know further that one is getting divine help. And I know still further that in future, for infinite time and infinite space, one will be getting this divine favour. And you are all sádhakas. You will certainly attain that supreme stance and enjoy that divine blessedness. You are sure to enjoy it, my sons and my daughters.

Chapter 13	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

[Seven thousand] years ago there was a great yogi; His name was Sadáshiva – Shiva. You know, in Tantra there are two cadres, two stages, or two varieties, amongst yogis. One of the stages is known as kaola, and the other Mahákaola. Kaola means the spiritual aspirant who has raised the coiled serpentine, known as kulakuńd́alinii in Sanskrit, and brought it to the controlling point of the pineal gland. (To establish the union of the fundamental negativity with the fundamental positivity; of the starting point with the culminating point.) Such aspirants are called kaola because they have raised the kulakuńd́alinii; the adjective of kula is kaola. Kula⁽¹⁾ is the noun, kaola the adjective. All sádhakas, each and every sádhaka, can become a kaola through sádhaná.

Mahákaolas are rare personalities. For a devotee, the Mahákaola is called Táraka Brahma.

What is Táraka Brahma? The movement of this world, or the movement of each and every entity, is of a particular nature. There is in the centre [of an atom] the nucleus, and electrons are moving around the nucleus. In each and every system there is a nucleus, and other objects are moving around the nucleus. If there is any change in the comparative applied force of the centripetal and the centrifugal forces, then the cyclic order will undergo metamorphosis. This is the expression, and in that case it will take a parabolic form, a parabolic movement. The point where the parabolic and the elliptical figures touch each other – that tangential point – is Táraka Brahma so far as the Cosmological order is concerned.

That Táraka Brahma takes shape, physical shape, to help the general people in their progress in the realm of Tantra and yoga. Such people are Mahákaolas.

Shiva was a Mahákaola. He came here about 7000 years ago. After Him, about 3500 years ago, there came another Mahákaola. He was called Krśńa. The difference between kaola and Mahákaola is, the kaola raises his or her coiled serpentine, kulakuńd́alinii, through his or her sádhaná, and establishes the union [of] the fundamental negativity and the fundamental positivity; where in the case of the Mahákaola, the Mahákaola has the power to raise the kulakuńd́alinii of others also. A kaola can never raise the kulakuńd́alinii of others; he or she can raise his or her own kulakuńd́alinii. A Mahákaola can, if He so desires, raise the kulakuńd́alinii of others also. So Shiva, or Sadáshiva, was a Mahákaola. And He brought all the expressions and activities, all the secrets, of Tantra, within the framework of a system. That is, He systematized all Tantric and yogic pursuits, or actions.

Shiva’s spouse was Gaorii. She was also known as Párvatii. In Sanskrit parvat means “mountain”. Gaorii was a mountain girl, Himalayan girl; that’s why she is commonly known as “Párvatii”. She was also a great yogi. Now, Shiva and Párvatii are treated as ideal. They are looked upon as the ideals of each and every yogi, whether family person or ascetic.

For a family man, a yogi who is a family man, Shiva is the ideal. For a lady who is a yogi and a family [person], Párvatii is the ideal. For an ascetic, male or female – for a male, Shiva is the ideal, and for an avadhútiká [an avadhútiká is a female ascetic], Gaorii is the ideal, Párvatii is the ideal.

Now I think you have understood the story? It is not a story, it is a fact, and most of the books on yoga are nothing but conversations, dialogues, between Shiva and Párvatii. Shiva is treated as the ideal man, and Párvatii as the ideal lady.

Footnotes

(1) The lowest vertebra of the spine, where the kuńd́alinii is located. –Eds.

Chapter 14	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

In this world nothing is non-causal. Everything has a cause. The fact that you have been born as a human being has also a cause and a purpose. You may not know it, but the Supreme Being knows it.

Life is movement from imperfection to perfection. When inanimate objects become animate there is progress. There is further progress when animate beings become multicellular, metazoic organisms, more and more complicated structures. The imperfection of a crab is not seen in a serpent. The human being is the highest being, the most perfect in structure. The human is thus a perfected animal. But this is only the beginning of progress for the human. The human still has to achieve further physical, intellectual and spiritual perfections.

Movement towards perfection, that is, God, is dharma; while movement towards imperfection is adharma. The former is life, the latter is death. A human being’s movement towards animalism is, therefore, death.

No movement is free from friction. Even when you walk, the force of gravity obstructs you. Movement towards perfection is obstructed by all the forces of imperfection. The sinful, the crude, the narrow, obstruct all movement for the expansion of a human being’s mind. But, perfection being a God-ward movement, one should not be afraid. Move on; obstacles will go down the drain to which they belong; you will progress.

The human being’s mission in life is movement towards perfection – towards God. This is one’s dharma, or duty. In this struggle, the forces of evil are bound to be defeated. That has been the case all along, and that will repeat itself.

You will have no right to rest until you have fulfilled your mission of being perfect, divine. Establish yourself in perfection. Resting is a sin, as it puts a stop to the movement. Do not rest till you have reached the goal.

Chapter 15	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

There is a single entity, or personality, in this universe. Apparently you are many, but fundamentally you are one. The one is manifested in the many.

The word khila in Sanskrit means a “latch”. Akhila therefore means “that which cannot be contained or closed”, that is, this universe. The creation of this universe – the substance of this universe is one, though the creation is manifold. Why this creation of one into many? The reply is only with the Creator, the Supreme Lord. Philosophers try to answer this question but fail; how far can a microcosmic brain with its small nerve fibres go? Even if an individual utilizes all his or her mental powers, that individual will not succeed in answering. The devotee’s approach to this question is, however, different. The devotee enters God’s mind, mingles his or her mind with that of the Supreme Being, and knows some of the secrets of God’s mind from within.

The devotees say God is Supreme. They sing His glory and defend all His actions. That is why God says, “My devotees are greater than Myself.” A common person says, “Oh, God, we are tired of your liilá. What is the need of it? We are all suffering and you call it a play.” The devotee, however, defends God with this: “My Lord was utterly alone before the creation. A person becomes mad if he or she is alone in a big vacant house. God was restless before the creation. He could neither love, nor feel angry with, anyone. So creation was a compulsion. He has created all these forms by multiplying Himself. When God was alone, He had the power to see, but there were no objects to be seen. Now that He has started the creation, He sees whatever He thinks. If we are His own forms and feel a little restlessness in His creation, we are blessed, for we are saving our Lord from the restlessness of utter loneliness.”

This is the way a devotee looks at the secret of creation. We are all part of that Supreme Being – He is playing with Himself in all our forms. This is a divine play. He is playing hide-and-seek with Himself. Search Him in your little “I” feeling and you will find the King of kings there. In fact, the name of this search is sádhaná.

If you do not go within, do you want to go out? But where will you go, since He is everywhere in this universe and surrounds this universe? You cannot go outside of Him. He is there within and without – in your small “I” as well as in this big universe. He alone is a Single Entity pervading all forms.

By thinking of Him one becomes free from all kinds of bondages such as fear, etc.; and one who is free from bondages is He Himself. Knowing Him is being Him. This is the way of establishing oneself with Him, of becoming the Single Entity – by transcending the many forms.

Doing sádhaná, becoming one with this Single Entity, is your birthright, which no one can snatch from you. Kick all obstacles from your path of becoming one with Him. Do not feel afraid of anybody. The Lord is with you. He will guide you forward. Victory is yours.

Chapter 16	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

There are four main forms of consciousness – the waking state, the dream state, the deep sleep state, and turiiya [state of absorption of the self into Pure Consciousness]. Actually, in the turiiya form of consciousness, the Supreme Being exists in His own form or own nature, like milk remaining milk and not becoming curd or butter. Hence this is the controlling form of the other three forms. This is why God is called the master of the three lokas – the three lokas being the three forms of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. These three expressions of consciousness have the following chief distinguishing features –

Waking: In this expression, the conscious mind is strongest. One is prone to believe more in the truth of those things directly experienced by one’s indriyas⁽¹⁾ than in things produced by the mind – thoughts, etc.

Dreaming: In this state, one believes only in the workings of the mind as the truth. The senses do not work directly.

Deep sleep: In this state, neither the sense [organs] nor the conscious mind are working directly, nor does one know about the workings of the mind. Both are working indirectly, and the Supreme Being maintains their minimum essential working.

In all these forms of consciousness, the unit is helpless to do anything on its own if the Supreme Being does not support its working by being the witnessing and controlling entity for all the forms. For instance, in an awakened state you may have eyes, ears, and other indriyas working, but your power to see, hear, etc., comes from one Supreme Being. Parama Puruśa can snatch away these powers of your indriyas. He can snatch these powers away from you at any stage of operation. For instance, when He snatches away your power of speech, you will have a tongue, but you will have no power to speak. Without His support you are nothing, you can perform nothing. He can stop you just at the stage when you are about to assert a particular power of yours.

Your expressions are therefore like those in a puppet show, where beautiful dance and drama go on, but only as long as the hand that controls the strings allows it to happen.

The activities of the mind which are dominant in dreams are similarly under the control of the Witnessing Entity. He can snatch away your power of imagination even before a sentence in your mind regarding doubt about His existence is complete.

In deep sleep, also, it is Parama Puruśa who regulates the essential functioning of the being when direct expressions are absent. If this were not so, sleep might become an eternal sleep from which there would be no awakening.

Turiiya: The wise, therefore, surrender the workings of all the above expressions unto the turiiya form of the Supreme Being. They act as His instruments. This gives them a great advantage. They have no ego, and hence no chance of the loss of prestige. Being the instrument of the Supreme is a happy and efficient state.

People say that a bull, when he is in the fullness of his strength, cries Ham, meaning “I am great.” After he dies, the [cotton-spinner] makes a bow with strings from his intestines, and it produces the sound Tuṋ, Tuṋ, meaning “You are great.”⁽²⁾ Thus will fall the ego ultimately. Therefore the wise will take the “You are great” stance from the very beginning.

But for God’s consent, none of the forms of consciousness will express themselves. He is the Supreme Witnessing Entity of all individual and collective expressions. He and they are diametrically opposite. He is absolute; the other three forms of consciousness are relative. This wonderful Supreme Being is the ultimate truth – is Sadáshiva [Eternal Consciousness].

Whatever you do, God sees everything. For Him, no part of your body is closed or shut. He is the innermost part of your being. “Today I am very busy and have to attend a party. So I shall do sádhaná for three or four minutes only.” He knows that you are placing a party above sádhaná. He hears both your spoken words and your unspoken words. In fact He hears your words before you do, before they become mental. He, therefore, has the full knowledge of all that goes on within, without, and beneath the mind. Try to hide something from Him and you will not succeed.

Your aim should be to harmonize your inner mind and your outer expressions. Make your mind within and without one and uniform. There are two personalities in everyone, the inner one and the outer one. The inner one is less complicated, but the outer one appears to be better (it is hypocritically better). The aim of sádhaná is to bring these two personalities closer together and make them one.

Take an example. When a person is approached by someone, the outer person will say, “Come here, sir, welcome, how pleased to see you;” but the inner person may say, “Here comes another nuisance and disturbance.” A sádhaka will be the same within and without.

When you are one and the same, within and without, when all the expressions of your consciousness are in harmony with the Supreme Being, the duality of your being will vanish, and you will be established in permanent peace and greatness.

For our own protection we seek the support of a policeman. That policeman needs protection from his superiors. The superior, however, must depend for his security on Him.

Therefore for permanent freedom from fear and from all obstacles and limitations, and to achieve the highest purity and peace, surrender yourself to the Supreme Being. This alone is the path of bliss.

Footnotes

(1) An indriya is a sensory or motor organ – in this case a sensory organ. –Eds.

(2) In Hindi, ham means “I” and tuṋ means “you”. Cotton-spinners in India carry a bow-like instrument as they move through the streets. It is their tool of spinning, but secondarily they play on it to announce their services.

Chapter 17	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Those who have established themselves in their spiritual being through the practice of spiritual cult are the real human beings. Others, who do not move on the subtler and sublime path of spirituality, and behave like animals, are humans only in name. Human beings alone have the privilege to do sádhaná. Animals, because of their intellectual deficiencies, are unable to adhere to the spiritual cult.

Animals are guided by instincts. They do not know the why and the how of things. Human beings, on the other hand, are led by the mind.

Animals cannot go beyond their instincts. In case of [great] intellectual clash, however, the animal mind, like the human, gets subtilized. This is generally found to occur with those animals who remain in contact with humans. But the development that is discernible in this case is not spiritual, it is simply intellectual. Dogs and monkeys who are trained, for instance, can be made a bit [more intelligent] than other ones.

Human beings, on the other hand, have the capacity to develop even in the spiritual realm. Those who do not pay heed to this special gift are animals, nay, even worse than animals. Animals are unable to make efforts for their spiritual development, whereas humans do have this ability. You cannot call a beggar a miser, for the beggar has no money to donate. If a moneyed person, on the other hand, hesitates to donate, that person is presumably a miser.

The human is sometimes described as a rational animal. Such a view does not seem consistent. A human cannot be an animal. In the Cosmological order, at one particular stage of development a unit is called an animal; at another particular point it is inanimate; and at another particular point it is a plant. Therefore, it does not behove to call a human a rational animal, for in that case the human can also be called a rational stone. When in the process of psycho-physical development the physical structure becomes complicated, and the psychic structure also develops to the extent that it starts controlling the physical body, you call that particular phase human.

In the creation of the universe, the consciousness that is existing as the nucleus of the triangular Basic Principle is the Supreme Father, the Basic Cognition. The avidyá shakti that is working with the Basic Cognition as the Operative Principle, but is not yet manifested, is called the Basic Principle. There is no expression in the Basic Principle, neither physical nor psychic. She is active but there is no effect of operative nature. The expression does not occur so long as there is proper equilibrium between the Basic Principle and the Basic Cognition. When they lose their balance, a theoretical expression takes place as a sequel. In this stage it is called the Primordial Principle. The Primordial Principle is something theoretically manifest. It does not fall within the periphery of experience, due to the equilibrium of Shiva and Shakti [Basic Cognition and Basic Principle], but it is theoretically well established.

It does not seem proper to attribute… to such a state, yet the situation is akin to…⁽¹⁾ There is actional vibration in the Basic Principle, but due to the absence of any measuring psychic entity it cannot be said to be temporal, though it is related to the time factor. There does not exist any second entity brought about due to curvatures in the Primordial Principle. That is why we do not find another, time-measuring, factor there. This curve is its special characteristic.

In the third phase of manifestation, due to internal clash and cohesion, curvatures come into existence. The difference between the vibrational principle and the Witnessing Counterpart becomes explicit. The vibrational principle is called in Sanskrit Bhavánii shakti. The temporal factor is established in the development of kála. What is kála, or time? Time is nothing but the psychic measurement of the relative motivity.

Sádhaná

If the vibrational expression is towards the crude, the unit will face retardation. The final, or culminating, point of retardation [contains within it] the history of the full expression. In the crudest point of the human mind, therefore, lies the history of its innumerable lives. Even a timorous stroke will rip open the burden a person is carrying and make one able to see oneself. The development [upwards] from the nadir of Supreme Cognition is progress. So long as the fundamental negativity does not receive a stroke, there does not occur any progress, any development. A seed sprouts forth if struck by light, water, and soil. Similarly, when the fundamental negativity of a unit – that is, the kulakuńd́alinii – receives the stroke of the mantra, it awakens. But so long as the desire to move towards Paramátmá is not aroused, this phenomenon does not take place.

This does not happen with an animal because of its intellectual deficiency. Matter, due to external and internal clash, is converted into ectoplasm – the crude stuff is metamorphosed into cittáńu [“mind-atoms”, ectoplasmic particles]. The intensity of this clash and cohesion depends upon the intensity of internal and external clashes. [After] the animal mind, the mind that succeeds due to immense physical and intellectual or even intuitional clashes is the human mind, and the body that is associated with it is the human body. Sádhaná, the spiritual cult, is a progress from the crudeness of matter to the subtlest entity, that is, a march, a movement, from the last point of the vibrational principle to the nucleus of the Basic Principle, the controlling point of the fundamental triangle of forces. Sádhaná is, therefore, a march to the place from where one has come.

Those who want to make themselves the attraction or the ideal of the world add a Shrii before their names. The term connotes the charming entity, Máyá, Prakrti. Supreme Cognition is the shelter of Shrii, and that is why He is also called Shriinivása in Sanskrit. The movement towards the entity that has sheltered the universe is sádhaná.

Since humans [are] weak, they need the aid of some other entity for this movement. From where will they get the stamina, the strength, for this movement? Assuredly it can be had only from the Entity that is the source of this stamina, this strength. Whatever stamina, physical, mental, or spiritual, exists within you, is not your creation. Can you create anything? No, you cannot. You convert the external energy derived from food, light, water and soil into vital energy. You cannot create any energy, you can simply convert it into other forms. You convert sound energy, magnetic energy, etc., into vital energy. You then reconvert that vital energy into other forms of energy. While working, you convert your vital energy into mechanical energy. While speaking, you convert your vital energy into sound energy. The moment this vital energy is gone, the living unit turns into a corpse. You derive your vital energy from the external world, a gift of Parama Puruśa. Similarly, the strength to move towards the Supreme Father can also be obtained from Him. But the tragedy is that you do not ask for spiritual force from Him. Your sole concentration is on earning name, fame, money, promotion, prestige, and other such worldly gains. You remain so busy with your worldly desires that you hardly manage to get any time in your daily life to ask for spiritual strength.

In ancient times, when the desire to move on the path of spirituality was aroused, human beings felt the need of a guide to show the path. It is this desire that is manifested in the Vedas. When the desire to move on the path is aroused, He is compelled to come as a guide to the seeker. He cannot just ignore the seeker. Ask the way and you will get it.

But it is not enough to get the way, for one also needs to walk on that way, on that path. The strength to move forward lies within you – the only impediment being the encumbrance of sins that is on your head due to your past actions. Remove that burden, be light, and march on. Bhagaván [Lord] Buddha said the same thing when he asked his disciples to jettison the burden that is in the boat. Desire is, therefore, not enough. One needs to perform some tangible action. That action is called intuitional practice – spiritual cult. This cult is also called Tantra. It is not enough to read books, scriptures – one will have to be practical, will have to do something in practical life. You need to move from the fundamental negativity to the fundamental positivity. Thus, through sádhaná, a person makes himself or herself light and at the same time gets the attraction of Him. Furthermore, one needs to surrender oneself completely. Until and unless there is cent percent surrender, it is naive to think in terms of accomplishing the task.

Surrender

The story goes [in the Mahábhárata] that so long as Draopadi kept even a grain of dependence on her own strength, she remained constantly under the threat of being exposed before the congregation. The moment she found herself completely helpless and reposed all faith in the Lord, Náráyańa, she got the divine help. So one who feels this attraction and surrenders oneself completely to Him is bound to get His help. One, on the other hand, who keeps even one paisa with oneself, fails to get that help.

A natural question comes up here. Since human life is evolved through animal stages, the impression of the animal life is bound to work within the framework of human psychology. In this situation, it is not unlikely for human beings to commit mistakes, to commit sin. How is it possible to move forward with this encumbrance acquired during the animal stages?

The answer has been provided by the Lord Himself. If even the most degraded person remembers Him single-mindedly, He will relieve that person from his burden of sin.

There is, however, a difference between the English term “sin” and the Sanskrit word pápa. In “sin” there are involved religious, doctrinal and biblical connotations. The Sanskrit term pápa is more explicit. Paropakárah puńyáya pápáya parapiid́anam – “Those actions that help to develop the physical, intellectual, and spiritual strata of human beings are puńya, and those that obstruct this are pápa.” The biggest pápii is called durácárii in Sanskrit, and one whom even the durácáriis call pápii is a sudurácára.

There is a common term in Sanskrit, pátaka [sin]. There are two forms of pátaka, pápa and pratyaváya. Going against the don’ts is pápa; pratyaváya means not to do what one should do. In Sanskrit dos are called vidhi and don’ts niśedh. The whole social structure revolves around vidhi and niśedh.

Those who shirk duties and responsibilities do commit a great harm to society. It is this lack of dutifulness in our country [India] today that has caused great retardation in different spheres of life. It has also caused spiritual degeneration. One should perform good actions regularly, should do sádhaná properly – these are the dos which everyone is expected to perform. Those who do not pay heed to these responsibilities do indulge in pratyaváya. Pátaka is the collective name of pápa and pratyaváya.

Pátakas are of three kinds. First, the ordinary kind. These are undesirable acts after which the person [may repent]. For instance, someone takes the money of others. That person’s act will be called pátaka, for he or she can pay back the money and repent of the act.

There is no atonement, however, for atipátaka. If, for example, one chops off the [arms] of an innocent person, one cannot pay those limbs back in the same capacity. According to the shástras [scriptures], persons indulging in these atipátaka acts can make atonement only if they renounce their worldly life and fully offer themselves to the cause of humanity in the service of mankind.

The third kind of pátaka is mahápátaka. There is no penance that will atone for mahápátaka, either.

Furthermore, the result of mahápátaka is of recurring nature. If a businessman, for instance, discovers a new method of adulteration, he commits mahápátaka. Mixing papaya seeds with the black pepper is bound to deceive purchasers. The discoverer of this new method shows the world a new path in the sphere of adulteration. The effect of this act is bound to be of recurring nature. The atonement for mahápátaka is like atipátaka, that is, this person also should renounce his or her worldly life and should offer himself or herself in the service of mankind. There is, however, a difference. Since this person’s act is more serious, this person will have to invent something that will have a recurring good effect on society. The invention of penicillin would be a case in point. There is no other way out for the mahápátakii.

There is an interesting story about this. When the defeat of Ravana became almost certain, he sat in prayer, imploring Lord Shiva to save him from the oncoming disaster. But Lord Shiva remained quiescent and did not pay heed to his prayers. Párvatii was also there. What happens is that the heart of the mother is more soft than that of the father. Seeing the miserable condition of Ravana, a devout of Lord Shiva, she started pleading with Lord Shiva on his behalf. The latter, however, refused to listen to even Párvatii’s implorings. He had to see to his duties and not to hear Párvatii’s lecture. When Párvatii finally pressured Him very much, Lord Shiva revealed the situation. He said that Ravana was a great pápii, so He could not do anything for him. Párvatii continued in her obstinacy. Pleading on behalf of Ravana, she said that at most he might be an atipátakii. The Lord thereupon said that he was a mahápátakii. Though it would have been atipátaka to kidnap a lady, Ravana’s act was mahápátaka, for he carried out his act in the garb of a sádhu. If he had done it as Ravana, he would have been an atipátakii. His act would not have had a lasting effect. But since thenceforward no housewife would believe a sádhu, the effect of his act was of recurring nature.

There is, however, a way out even for the mahápátakii. If the mahápátakii dwells on the Lord in his or her thought single-mindedly, and offers himself in the service of humanity, he or she will also be able to lead a respectable life, he or she will also get liberation.

Parama Puruśa, the Father of all fathers, the multiple of all multiplicities, the nucleus of all nuclei, knows everything. He is omniscient. He knows sarva – the Cosmic Father knows everything. He is omniscient, prescient and post-scient. The earth is [created] in Him. What has happened in the past comes within the vibrational principle. What is going to happen in the future also comes within the vibrational principle. (The present has no independent existence. It is nothing but an adjustment between the past and the future. That is why the present varies in accordance with personal differences.) The omniscient Puruśa, Pratyagátma, is the Lord of both heaven and hell. He is the Father of both developed sádhakas and of sudurácáras or mahápátakiis. There is, therefore, no question of His hating the sudurácáras and loving the good sádhakas. All are one to Him. He cannot ostracize the former and embrace the latter. There is no place outside Him where He can throw off the sudurácáras. He cannot disown them either, for in that case He would not remain Patitpavan [Saviour of the Degraded].

It is, therefore, naive to lose heart. Even if one is a sudurácára, he or she should not get discouraged. He or she should, on the contrary, do sádhaná and undergo the prescribed penance. There is no reason to fear. This world is not for cowards. Only the brave can enjoy the world. If love for Him is awakened, there is no reason to fear.

Your Longing Should Be Non-Attributional

Your longing for Him, however, should not be attributional. On the contrary, it should be non-attributional. Your attraction to the Supreme is called devotion [bhakti], whereas attraction to any finite objectivity is called ásakti. Attraction to friends is ásakti, attraction to God is bhakti. In the case of ásakti the object is limited, in the case of bhakti it is unlimited.

Mysticism is a never-ending endeavour to find a link between finite and infinite. It is the first phase of non-attributional devotion. Attributional devotion is no devotion.

There are two types of non-attributional devotion. The first is psycho-spiritual devotion, whereas the second is pure spiritual devotion. The reactive momenta remain mixed into this type of psycho-spiritual devotion of internal projection of the subliminal human mind, and these reactive momenta of the subliminal human mind disturb mental equipoise. As a result, the mind eventually comes back again to the lower status. A person rises during the period of sádhaná and comes back to the original stage when in normal life. Here, love for God does not become of permanent nature. (While quarrelling unnecessarily, one does not remember the untoward nature of one’s act. Later on one repents. But when the remembrance of the nature of the act becomes of permanent nature, it is called dhruvásmrti.⁽²⁾) In the non-attributional devotion of pure spiritual type, the reactive momenta cannot function within the scope of the subliminal stratum.

Even where the sádhaka does not long for name, fame and wealth but worships Him in order to experience inexplicable bliss, the devotion is attributional – it is attributional psycho-spiritual devotion.⁽³⁾

But where the devotee worships Him only in order to please Him, there the devotion is of purely spiritual nature. Here there does not exist the feeling of duality. Such a devotee is called a gopii [or gopa]. The term connotes one who worships God only to please Him – Gopáyate yah sah gopah.

One who has made it a mission to attain Paramátmá will assuredly attain Him. You are sádhakas, and you should always remember this. Your love for God, your devotion for God, should be of non-attributional, or spiritual, nature.

Footnotes

(1) The ellipses, indicating missing words, occurred in the original magazine publication of this discourse. The missing words may have expressed that at this stage of manifestation it does not seem proper to attribute a practical differentiation to the relationship between Shiva and Shakti. In Idea and Ideology (1959), the author has described the difference between Shiva and Shakti at this stage as “tending from the theoretical to the practical aspect”. –Eds.

(2) And when love for God becomes of permanent nature, it is also called dhruvásmrti. –Eds.

(3) Though the author has above called it the first type of non-attributional devotion, it is attributional in that the selfish desire for bliss is still contained within it. –Eds.

Chapter 18	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Jiṋána, karma and bhakti⁽¹⁾ are essential for the attainment of Parama Puruśa – the cherished goal of life. It is through jiṋána and karma that bhakti is aroused, and it is bhakti that leads human beings to that supernal bliss.

While bhakti is free from any defect, jiṋána and karma may create certain shortcomings. The acquisition of jiṋána often results in making a person alasa [lazy] and ahaḿkárii [proud]; while karma has the possibility of making a person proud. Unless a spiritual aspirant is able to get rid of these defects, the aspirant cannot be established in kevalá bhakti [non-attributional devotion], which is absolutely essential for the attainment of Parama Puruśa. The wise will, therefore, adopt such a conduct as to save themselves from the evil effects of jiṋána and karma.

In order for sádhakas to save themselves from the evil effects of jiṋána, they must learn how to get rid of those effects, and thus preclude the possibility of allowing their jiṋána to be converted into bandhyá jiṋána [sterile knowledge], which is so much in evidence among the intellectuals of today. This bandhyá jiṋána, instead of being a source of inspiration to march on the path of progress, leads humans or society to utter destruction and decay.

It has been observed that those engaged in the acquisition of jiṋána lose touch with practicality. Their constant preoccupation with books makes them lazy and lethargic, and they become shy of work; and this eventually leads to their downfall. The golden rule for getting rid of one’s defects is that one should first create opposite feelings and ideas in the mind, and then bring them into execution. In order to avoid laziness, therefore, one will have to work hard. Work is the manifestation of the Supreme Entity, so everyone will have to work, and work in greater and greater measure. Karma Brahmeti karma bahu kurviita [“Work is Brahma, therefore work more and more.”]

Work here does not mean just any engagement [of the faculties] which yields no result. Work is work only when it is directed towards collective welfare. It is of utmost importance that everyone engage himself or herself in materializing the plan for collective welfare. That alone will save him or her from the evil of laziness and lethargy.

Ahaḿkára

The ahaḿkára [pride] that creeps into a person due to the acquisition of jiṋána has very serious repercussions in human life. It can lead to the complete downfall of the individual. Ahaḿkára falls into three basic types, and each of the types brings disastrous results:

Abhimánaḿ surápánaḿ
Gaoravaḿ raoravaḿ dhruvam;
Pratiśt́há shúkariiviśt́há
Trayaḿ tyaktvá Hariḿ bhajet.

[Abhimána is like surápána, gaorava leads to raorava, and pratiśt́há is like shúkariiviśt́há: an inflated ego is like drinking wine, self-aggrandizement leads one into the deepest hell, and social status is like the excrement of a pig. Give up all three of these and only sing the glories of the Lord.]

The first type of ahaḿkára is called abhimánam, which means that a person thinks that he or she deserves more than what he or she is getting; and consequently develops an overbearing attitude towards everyone. Abhimána has been compared with drinking: anyone who indulges in it loses his or her discriminating judgment, just as a drunkard does. (A human is different from an animal only because he or she possesses viveka [faculty of discrimination] and buddhi [intellect]. And just as a drunkard gradually loses these priceless faculties, an abhimánii also becomes bereft of them.) Since the loss of the rational faculty goes against cardinal human virtues, drinking is a pápa [sin]. Similarly, abhimána is a pápa, and leads to the downfall of the individual.

Gaorava is the second type of ahaḿkára. It means “self-aggrandizement”. Puffed up with vanity, a person will want to project his or her image in an exaggerated manner. Often we hear somebody say, for example, that they have a rose the size of a balloon in their garden – whereas actually the rose may be the size of a ping-pong ball. Constant indulgence in this type of activity converts the mind into matter.

We have seen bulls moving about in the streets with an air of arrogance. Such a bull creates a sound expressing the idea that it is big – Ham baŕá. But when the bull dies and táṋt [vina string] is made out of its intestines and musicians start playing on it, the sound which is then emitted expresses the idea Tuṋ baŕá – meaning thereby that the bull realizes that others are big, and realizes that he has arrived at this condition because of his arrogance.⁽²⁾

In fact the inculcation of gaorava leads one to the worst hell. Just as there are six layers, or lokas, of the Cosmic Mind above the crude world, so are there six types of hell, six narakas, below the physical world. The names of these hells are tala, atala, talátala, pátála, atipátála and rasátala. Another term for rasátala is raorava naraka – and a person indulging in gaorava will certainly go to raorava.

(It must, however, be remembered that all these hells or narakas are not actually to be found below this earth. These various narakas denote the mental and physical states of human beings. A person whose mind has been converted into matter like that of a stone is really not worthy to be called a human being, because he or she has lost the mental qualities of a human being. A person of this type is said to be living in naraka. This point has been clarified in Ananda Sútram [by the author, 1962]: Na svargo na rasátalah [“There is no heaven and no hell”].)

The third type of ahaḿkára is [the desire for] pratiśt́há – the desire to make oneself known. A person influenced by [the desire for] pratiśt́há expects respect from everyone, and hankers after name and fame. This mental state can be easily compared with the mental condition of a beggar. The beggar asks money from others, while the person craving for prestige begs others to give him or her respect. [The person desires something that] is really meaningless and possesses no value, something that has been fitly compared to the excrement of a pig.

Curing These Defects

After having analysed the various types of ahaḿkára and their evil effects, we need to examine the ways and means of getting rid of these defects. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has offered a psychological method to save oneself from the malady of ahaḿkára. Ahaḿkára is really a mental ailment, and a person suffering from this disease requires psychological treatment. The following shloka summarizes the line of treatment suggested by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:

Trńádapi suniicena taroriva sahiśńuna;
Amániináḿ mánadeyaḿ kiirttaniya sadá Harih.

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

In order to get rid of abhimána, one will have to cultivate the habit of being polite and humble. Just as a [blade of grass] may lie on the ground [underfoot], but does not, through its remaining humble, lose its importance, so a person will never become insignificant by being humble. Humility such as that of the [blade of grass] can alone save a person from abhimána. Forbearance and tolerance like that of a tree which, even while being cut, continues to give its cool shade, are also necessary in order to keep away from abhimána.

A person who is always engaged in the thought of his or her pratiśt́há must learn how to care about the respect and prestige of others. Such a person must never forget that respect begets respect, and that he or she should always honour those who are not honoured by anyone. A constant practice of this type will remove the evil effects of the desire for pratiśt́há. One easy way to do this is that you always do namaskára first and do not create a situation in which you may have to do prati-namaskára.

And finally, a person who moves about puffed up with vanity and arrogance, and is always engaged in gaorava, self-aggrandizement, will be able to improve only by utilizing his or her time in kiirtana. If a person keeps himself or herself engaged in kiirtana, that person will not have time to criticize and slander anyone in order to project his or her own image by comparison and contrast. So it is a must for such a person to do a lot of kiirtana, so that the person does not get time to indulge in the despicable activity of paranindá [slandering].

Therefore spiritual aspirants who have set their eyes on Parama Puruśa as their goal must always strive to get rid of álasya [lethargy] and ahaḿkára, and gain the full benefits of jiṋána and karma, so as to arouse and enliven bhakti, which is the only road to the journey’s end. The person will have to engage himself or herself in work for the collective welfare, will have to cultivate the qualities of humility, forbearance and tolerance, will have to learn to honour those who are honoured by none, and will have to participate in and organize kiirtanas.

Footnotes

(1) Forms of spiritual practice emphasizing, respectively, discrimination, selfless action, and devotion. –Eds.

(2) The two Hindi expressions approximate the bellow of a bull and the sound of a vina string, respectively, and mean “I am big” and “You are big.” –Eds.

Chapter 19	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Now let there be a short discourse on “Oṋḿkára and Iśt́a Mantra”.

You know, knowingly or unknowingly, each and every created being wants to be loved by the Supreme; and loves the Supreme. And from the very dawn of human creation – I won’t say human civilization; human creation – all the longings of human beings have been knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, goaded towards that Supreme.

What is oṋḿkára? In the vedas [all books of spiritual knowledge] it has been said regarding oṋḿkára,

Sarve vedá yat padamámananti
Tapáḿsi sarváńi ca yat vadanti;
Yaddicchanto Brahmacaryaḿ caranti
Tatte padaḿ saḿgraheńa vraviimyoṋmityetat.

–Kát́haka Shruti

[The supreme spiritual state which all the scriptures have sought, and for which spiritual aspirants have undergone hardship and vowed perpetual Cosmic ideation, can be described in brief by the word oṋm.]

Sarve vedá yat padamámananti. Sarve vedá – “All the vedas”. You know, in old Sanskrit the root verb vid means “to know”. So veda means “knowledge”, the faculty of knowing. So in the process of all faculties, or on the functional side, the actional side, of all faculties, the goal was then the Supreme Puruśa; and even now the goal is the Supreme Puruśa; and in future, in all that is to come, the goal will be the Supreme Puruśa. Sarve vedá yat padamámananti – “All the vedas are in search of”.

Tapáḿsi sarváńi ca yad vadanti. Tapah means to undergo trouble, difficulty, just to give relief to others; and in the spiritual arena, tapah means to undergo trouble only to satisfy one’s dearest Supreme Being: that is tapah. So tapáḿsi sarváńi ca yat vadanti – “aspirants, spiritual aspirants, are undergoing tapah just to give pleasure to the Supreme.”

And, yaddicchanto Brahmacaryaḿ caranti – “the Brahmacárii adheres to the code of Brahmacarya just to get Him, just to keep in contact with Him.”

Do you know what the meaning of Brahmacárii is? Human life is for spiritual sádhaná only. There is not, there cannot be, any other motive; there cannot be any other intention; there cannot be any other desideratum. But your physical body is within the scope of this physical world, and to maintain this physical body you require food, dress, a house, and so many things. So a certain portion of your thoughts will certainly be occupied by those physical entities, by those physical objects. So what are you to do? You are to ascribe Brahma-hood, you are to ascribe Náráyańa-hood, to all physical objects, all physical entities, when you come in contact with those entities, physically or mentally. When you do this – when you ascribe Náráyańa-hood to each and every physical object, when you ascribe Brahma-hood to each and every physical object – then you are following the code of Brahmacarya.

Yaddicchanto Brahmacaryaḿ caranti
Tatte padaḿ saḿgraheńa vraviimyoṋmityetat.

Yama [the god of death, the speaker in this scripture] said, “Just to get oneself elevated to that supreme rank, just to get oneself to that status, I utter the word oṋm.”

Now you know, in this universe of ours, nothing is fixed, nothing is stationary, everything moves. Everything moves within the scope of the three fundamental relative factors – spatial, temporal and personal. The entire universe in its collective body also moves, because there is movement in the thought process, the thought projection, of the Supreme. Wherever there is movement, there is vibration, and there is expression of energy. And you know, energies are inter-transmutable. Light energy may be converted into sound energy; and the vital energy of human beings may be converted into spiritual energy, into electrical energy, into light energy, or into sound energy. When you speak, you convert your vital energy into sound energy.

Now, this conversion goes on from anádi [the beginningless] to ananta [the endless]. And within this vast scope, the span between anádi and ananta is this universe of ours, is the phenomenal world, the creation of a single Noumenal Entity. Now, because of this movement, sound energy is produced. By dint of one’s sádhaná one gets one’s ears suitably trained to catch that sound. Everyone can catch that sound with his or her physical ears, after those ears are properly trained by sádhaná. And that sound is known as oṋḿkára. It is the collective sound of all sounds of the universe, of all physical and psychic sounds within and without. It is oṋḿkára, and because all waves, all vibrational expressions, emanate from the singular Nave, by the process of negative approach you move towards that Nave.

I should say, if the movement from the Supreme Nave towards crude entities is treated as a positive movement, then your approach should be treated as a negative movement – because your movement is physico-psychic in the first phase; then pure psychic in the second phase; then psycho-spiritual in the third phase; and in the final phase, purely spiritual. We call these four phases in Sanskrit káma, artha, dharma and mokśa. These phases are known as the caturvarga – “four phases”, “four classifications”.

So the starting point of oṋḿkára is in close contact with the Macropsychic Entity. And it has its micropsychic counterpart also. And that’s why oṋḿkára is also known as prańava: prá prefixed to the root verb nu, plus the suffix al. Prańava means “the entity that guides you unto the supreme status, unto the supreme rank”.

Now I think you understand that prańava is to be heard, and not to be pronounced. Your tongue can’t pronounce it properly. It is a never-ending sound. That is why it is also known as Shabda Brahma. And regarding one’s Iśt́a mantra – first, what’s the meaning of iśt́a? Iśt́a means “loving”, “favourite”, “dear”, “attractive”, “goal”, “terminus”, “desideratum”. There are so many imports of that single term iśt́a. And mantra? There is no proper English word for the Sanskrit word mantra. We use the word “incantation” for mantra, but it is not a proper word for the Sanskrit term. In Sanskrit, the spirit of the term mantra is Mananát tárayet yastu sa mantrah parikiirtitah [“A mantra is that collection of sounds which, when meditated upon, leads to liberation”].

Manana means “inner suggestion”, “repetition within”. And tárayet yastu – “after this manana, when that entity liberates you from all metaphysical, all psychic and suprapsychic, and also from all spiritual, bondages”, then it is known as mantra. Mananát tárayet yastu sa mantrah parikiirtitah.

For a spiritual aspirant, for a sádhaka, his or her Iśt́a mantra is prańava, because it goads the person towards the Supreme Entity; it guides the person towards the Supreme Entity; it helps the person in coming in contact with, or rather becoming one with, or ensconcing oneself in, that Entity. So for a sádhaka, oṋḿkára is not prańava; his or her Iśt́a mantra is prańava. And that’s why so much importance is attached to one’s own Iśt́a mantra. And one must also remember that for each and every sádhaka the most important of all words is his or her Iśt́a mantra. For a particular sádhaka, the only meaningful word, and the most precious word, is that person’s own personal Iśt́a mantra. For the sádhaka, the Iśt́a mantras of others have no value. For you the most meaningful, most valuable, mantra is your personal Iśt́a mantra; and others’ personal Iśt́a mantras have no value for you. They are meaningless words. Do you follow?

You know the old story of Hanuman, a great devotee. In mythology it has been stated that once upon a time Hanuman was asked by certain other devotees, “Hanuman, you know that there is no difference between Ráma and Náráyańa. They are the same thing, no difference.”

Ráma means Rámante yoginah yasmin – “the most precious, the dearest, object of yogis”. Who is the dearest object of yogis? Parama Puruśa. So [Ráma] means Parama Puruśa. And what’s the meaning of Náráyańa? Nára means Prakrti; nára means bhakti; and nára means “water”.

In Sanskrit, the word nára has three meanings. One meaning of nára is niira, that is, “water” – niiram, jalam, pániiyam, toyam, udakam, [kambalam].

And another meaning of náram is bhakti, devotion. You know there was a great muni [seer] named Nárada. Da means “donor”. His duty was to move throughout India and Tibet and Southeast Asia singing the kiirtana of the Lord – that is, distributing nára, distributing bhakti, amongst the general public; and that’s why he was popularly known as “Nárada” – “Náradeneoyálá” [“Distributor of Devotion”].

Regarding nára’s first meaning, you know, even in railway stations there are certain persons who serve passengers water; they are also nárada. [laughter] Pániipáŕe, pániipáŕe.⁽¹⁾ And the second meaning of nárada is “[one] distributing devotion”.

And the third meaning of Nára is Paramá Prakrti – Mahámáyá, Mahálakśmii – the Creator of this universe, the Creating Faculty, the Binding Faculty, the Attributional Faculty. That is Nára; and ayana means “shelter”. For ink, the ink-pot is the shelter. Similarly for Nára, in the sense of Prakrti, Náráyańa is the shelter, Parama Puruśa is the shelter.

So there is no philosophical difference between Náráyána and Ráma. The meaning of Ráma is Parama Puruśa; the meaning of Náráyańa is also Parama Puruśa. “Oh, Hanuman, when you are a devotee, you are an elevated soul, then why do you use the word Ráma only and not Náráyańa?” But you know, his Iśt́a mantra was Ráma. The reply given by Hanuman is very important. You should remember it. He said,

Shriináthe Jánakiináthe cábheda Paramátmani;
Tathápi mama sarvasvah Rámah kamalalocanah.

“Oh, my brothers, you see, I know that philosophically, fundamentally, or spiritually, there exists no difference between Shriinátha and Jánakiinátha.”

(Shriinátha means Náráyańa. Shrii means Lakśmii – Shrii means Paramá Prakrti – and nátha means “lord”: “Lord of Prakrti”, that is, Parama Puruśa, that is, Náráyańa. Shriinátha means Shriinivása, Náráyańa – the same meaning. Shriinátha, Shriinivása, Shriipati – all the same meaning.)

So, “I know there is no difference between Shriinátha, that is, Náráyańa, and Jánakiinátha.” Jánakiinátha means Rama, the husband of Janaki. “I know there is no difference, but, my dear gentlemen, for me the word Ráma is the only word that has some meaning, and for me the word Shriinátha, or Náráyańa, has no meaning. I do not recognize that word.”

You sádhakas, you boys, you girls, should remember that the most valuable, the most important, word in this universe for you is your personal Iśt́a mantra; and for you, all other words bear no significance, no meaning, no importance.

Footnotes

(1) Water servers. –Eds.

Chapter 20	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

In the morning I said that it is the utilization of energy which matters and not the possession of an unutilized capacity. Many people have inferiority complexes of different kinds. They think they are not learned. How will they achieve the goal of their life?

It is wrong to presume that by reading voluminous books or by delivering beautiful lectures, one can attain Parama Puruśa. No scholarship nor even literacy is required to meet God. The future of those who are uneducated is also bright.

God’s relation with human beings is a family relation. When parents feed the children, they do not give four chapatis to the son who is a Master of Arts and only one to the next son who is only a matriculate. For parents, all their children are equal. Similarly, for God all persons are equal for the spiritual food He will give them. Really, the love of parents is dependent not upon the education of the children but upon the children’s attachment for the parents.

Scholars or intellectuals have one drawback. They read different theories and philosophies, and these things create a clash in their minds. They are unable to decide whether this philosophy is correct, or that one is correct. The uneducated, on the other hand, are better off, as they walk on the spiritual path with steadiness, undisturbed by warring ideas. The intellect is incapable of comprehending Parama Puruśa. After all, the intellect is only a creation of the [pratisaiṋcara]⁽¹⁾ process, in which Pure Consciousness reconverts itself into [the mind] out of the five fundamental factors into which it converted itself earlier. Being a created thing, intellect cannot comprehend its Creator, the Supreme Being. The puppets can perform any play the master wants them to perform, but they cannot control the master who plays them.

What is knowledge? It is the subjectivization of the object. God, being the ultimate subjectivity, cannot be caught by the thought process, which can only catch external objects and not a superior stage of subjectivity.

Nor is God attained merely by listening to a lot of [spiritual discourses]. Some persons are fond of attending spiritual congregations. But what they hear with one ear goes out the other at a 180º angle, and does not lead to salvation. With kiirtana and the remembrance of God, however, it is otherwise. Whether you do these things with faith and devotion, or with enmity, the results are encouraging.

The word shraddhá [translated “faith and devotion”] really has no equivalent in the English language. Whatever you consider as the summum bonum of life is sat. And when you direct all your faculties and sentiments towards the attainment of this goal, this is called shrat. And the feeling associated with this is called shraddhá.

Even when you think of God as an enemy, you are involved in Him. Really, our mind is more activated [to think about somebody] by anger and hatred [than by positive propensities]. When we have a quarrel with somebody, we keep on thinking that the next time we meet that person, we will say this or that. Therefore, God will be attained whether you love Him or hate Him. Ravana was constantly thinking of Rama as his enemy and therefore he also attained salvation through His hands. But merely listening to scriptures or talks is not going to bring about the desired results.

Another fact must be remembered: that God is realized only by those whom He graces with compassion. You should not have the feeling in mind, “Now I have done so much; God should shower His grace on me.” Rather you should feel, “It is for You, O Lord, to grace me or not. This body of mine will work like a machine until You grace me with love.” If you are proud of your meritorious actions, this pride will remain in the end and not the grace of God. For Him, all are equal. For society, the differences matter, but not for God. His grace is raining on all, but if you are carrying an umbrella of ego on your head, how will you get drenched by His Grace? Everyone has a right to enter Brahmaloka [the subtlest layer of the Macrocosmic Mind]; this is the birthright of all. He is kind to all, every moment of one’s life. One has only to receive this kindness by removing the ego.

However great a sinner one may be, the moment one surrenders to the Lord, one becomes a devotee – his or her salvation is guaranteed.

The Entity whom you are trying to attain – Parama Puruśa – is your own innermost self. Your relation with Him is not external, to be defined by courts, laws, or society. It is a family relationship. The desire in your mind to meet God is only born when He is inclined towards you. It is the result of His desire to meet you. Your meeting with God is not a unilateral affair, it is a mutual thing. You walk one step towards Him and He will come twenty towards you.

When an infant starts walking, the parent first asks it and goads it to walk a little. It tries to walk, but falls. Then the parent advances and lifts it up onto his or her lap. God does the same. Make the slightest effort, and He will pick you up and place you on His lap.

Your relation with God is personal. No one can sever this relationship. It is part of your being, your birthright.

Chapter 21	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

In the Sanskrit language, the word nára has many meanings. One meaning is “water”. Another meaning is Paramá Prakrti – the Causal Matrix or Supreme Operative Cosmic Principle. The third meaning is “devotion”.

The main and inevitable aim of every sádhaka is not to enjoy the nectar of devotion by himself or herself, but to distribute it all around. Sádhakas are eager to share with others the bliss which they enjoy.

In ancient times there was one such devotee who used to go from place to place distributing the bliss of devotion. His name was Narada. Once he said to Parama Puruśa: “O Lord, all the scholars and philosophers say that You are omniscient, but people do not feel Your presence everywhere. Where, therefore, is the place where Your presence can most be felt? Or which place do You consider as dearest to You?”

The Lord replied, “It is true that I am everywhere; there is no action, no thought, no feeling, in which I am not present. All actions take place before My eyes, within My mind. Nothing [should] be done or thought which is meant to be hidden from Me. Still, I do not live in the seventh heaven as people think. Minds which are free from narrowness, limitations, and isms are the places dear to me.

“The true meaning of the word yoga is ‘to unify’. But those who do ásanas, práńáyáma, etc., without devotion are cultivating the desert. Without the water of devotion, their effort will not succeed. I am not in the hearts of such dry yogis.”

The meaning of the word bhakti is “attraction to the Supreme”. When the attraction is to something limited, it is called ásakti, and when the attraction is to the Supreme, it is devotion, bhakti. There is no compromise, no meeting point, between ásakti and bhakti, between attraction to the Supreme and attraction to the objects of the world. In ásakti, the feeling is that I get the object. In bhakti, the feeling is that I merge myself in Him. Where there is no desire, there the Lord lives. The Lord and the desire for the world, like the sun and the night, cannot coexist.

For devotees, all other enjoyments are insipid. They are like saltless food. Hence the Lord says, “Where My devotees sing My praise, do kiirtana, there I go – I cannot help going there.”

One person is scholarly, another is rich; but they may or may not be devotees. The only thing that the devotee needs is love for the Lord. When all feelings, all attachments, are directed towards Him, then it is devotion. The only qualification is a sincere heart. If your heart is pure, you need nothing else.

Nothing is gained by becoming a jiṋánii. [Jiṋána] has use only so far as devotion has not been born. When you eat tasty food, the paper on which you place this food is jiṋána. The food itself is karma, and the taste of the food is bhakti.⁽¹⁾ If you have absorbed the food and got its taste, the dirty paper of jiṋána has to be thrown in the dustbin. This alone is wisdom. Be wise!

Chapter 22	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

There is a famous verse from the Upanishads which says that you cannot reach Parama Puruśa unless you are strong and full of energy. The word bala means that spiritual force which functions in a jiiva [living being] base. In ordinary parlance, however, bala means “capacity”. It depends upon the extent to which one makes use of one’s physical, psychic and spiritual energy. A person may have immense capacity, but to the extent that he or she does not utilize it, it does not become helpful in God-realization. Bala, therefore, depends on the extent of the use of one’s capacity.

When the divine bridge was constructed by Rama to cross the ocean, Hanuman brought mountains, but the squirrel brought only small pebbles. Both were strong and full of energy, as each was working to his full capacity.

Thus even a comparatively weak person can become balaván [strong] by utilizing the small energy he or she has. Whatever power, energy, you have, utilize it for sádhaná and service, and you are balaván, fit to reach Parama Puruśa. None of you need, therefore, despair. Each has the requisite wherewithal to reach the Almighty.

The utilization of energy should be in the proper direction. If you have to move to the east and you start moving towards the west, your action will be considered full of prámáda, or madness. Ananda Marga has the correct way, through subjective approach and objective adjustement. While followers of Ananda Marga keep their eyes steady on the absolute, they do not ignore this relative world. They work for self-realization and social upliftment, and hence the utilization of their energy is never in vain. When the effort is correct and the utilization right, you will certainly reach the goal.

I do not want you to wait life after life to reach your goal. You should realize the goal in this very life. Why will you waste even one precious moment of this life? Therefore fear not, success is yours for the asking. Go on making the correct effort.

Chapter 23	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

You all know that Parama Puruśa is very close to you. He is so near that nothing can be nearer. As Parama Puruśa is everywhere, He is also at the farthest point from you. If you feel that He is far from you, He becomes so distant that you cannot measure the distance.

If you [think] that Parama Puruśa is great and vast, He appears so huge and enormous that you will be bewildered. He will appear so resplendent that your eyes will close at His sight. He is the Creator of this expressed universe. But He is also in the smallest atom of this universe. If He were not also so small, so subtle, how could He enter such a small thing as an atom?

He appears to you as per your feelings towards Him. If you are subtle, He is nearest to you; if you are crude, He is farthest from you. Do you feel that Parama Puruśa is in Ranchi or is in America? He is so near as to be in your [“I”] feeling, and so far as a distant country. When you think He is here, He is nearer than here. He is so near that it is difficult to measure the distance. You search Him in the caves of the Himalayas and wander here and there and He is nowhere. But when you attain awareness of Him, you know that He was along with you in your search and that He was seated in your heart.

He shares your joys and pains, as He is with you through thick and thin. He never leaves you even when all others have abandoned you.

Every jiiva, every living being, is the child of Immortality. You have been born in eternity and you are moving towards immortality. Therefore there is no need to be afraid, despondent, or sorry in any condition.

Never think that your life has become useless. It is in your hands to make your life useful or to waste it. If you are aware that Parama Puruśa is always with you, in you, and that He is the greatest of the entities and there is no other entity who loves you so dearly, you will have no cause to feel that your life has become useless.

Chapter 24	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

In an ideal society, every soul ought to get complete scope for development without any impediment. But in a transitional period, when one era is about to end and the next one is yet to dawn, a critical situation arises in social life.

How the Giitá Addresses a Critical Situation

Yá Bhagavatá giitá sá Giitá – “The Giitá is that which is sung by the Lord Himself.” Bhagaván is another name for the Lord. What is Bhagaván? Bhagaván is [He who possesses] the totality of aeshvarya; and in addition yasha, shrii, jiṋána, etc.

Aeshvarya is the sum total of all [occult] powers – ańimá, mahimá, [laghimá], etc. The Lord ought to have powers. His mission is going to be accomplished [by] the use of His powers. Clumsiness is not going to help.

Another attribute of the Lord is yasha. His greatness is recognized and sung[, but] not by all people. Particularly in a transitional period, there is a sharp polarization. People get divided into two blocs. Some pray to the Lord, and some discredit Him.

The Lord has yet another characteristic, that is, shrii. Shrii denotes “attraction”. Shrii Krśńa is one who attracts. Within the word shrii, sha denotes the mutative principle and ra is [the] acoustic root of energy. “Shrii Krśńa”, with this shrii, is “the Lord who attracts everybody”. ([Krśńa] has another meaning, [krśibhúh] – that is, Krśńa is “He because of whom we all are”, that is, Krśńa is Parama Puruśa. We all owe our existence to Parama Puruśa, just as a fish owes its existence to water.)

Two more attributes of the Lord are jiṋána and vaerágya.

Jiṋána, or knowledge, is the subjectivization of an objectivity. And regarding vaerágya, vaerágya is not renouncing the world and going to the Himalayas. Vaerágya is derived vi – rańj [+ ghaiṋ + vyain]. If in spite of remaining amidst objectivities, a person does not get attached to them, then it is called vaerágya. Lead life fully, but keep the mind unaffected by it. Sádhaná is for the living, not for the dead.

The [propensities] are to be controlled by the mind, and not the mind by base propensities. The Lord said in the Giitá:

Yadá yadá hi dharmasya glánirbhavati Bhárata;
Cábhyutthánamadharmasya tadátmánaḿ srjámyaham.
Paritráńáya sádhúnáḿ vinásháya ca duśkrtám;
Dharmasaḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge.

[At a time when dharma is distorted and adharma is ascendant, I create myself out of my own fundamental factors. I incarnate Myself in this world from age to age for the protection of the virtuous, the destruction of the wicked, and the restoration of dharma.]

That is, whenever there is gláni, or downfall, of dharma, God appears on the scene.

Dharma

Dhr means “to [uphold]” or “to support”. Dharma is that which supports life and its properties. Dharma alone stands forward, come what may. The dictates of dharma ought to be heeded. Everything else – wealth, logic, intellect – is secondary.

Those who abide by the dictates of dharma are called sádhus. In the traditional sense, a sádhu means a devotee wearing white clothes, with the word dása suffixed to his name, and after whose death the ceremony of shráddha and bháńd́árá is performed.

(A sannyásii, on the other hand, uses saffron clothes. Sannyásiis have the word ánanda appended to their names. No shráddha ceremony is performed after their deaths.)

But this is only a traditional meaning of sádhu. Sádhu really means “one who abides by dharma”. Lord Krśńa says [in effect]: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” That is, whatever is required by me may also be required by others. This consideration for others is dharma, and one who acts like this is a sádhu.

Dharma is your real friend. So, strengthen dharma when dharma itself starts deteriorating, when life becomes unnatural and [threatens] our destruction; because everything in life has to have its proper place. [When] dharma [is moved from] its place, that is called the gláni of dharma; when dharma gets displaced from its proper position in life, then there is dharma[sya] glánih.

In our shloka [couplet], bhárata means “king”. That is, one who does bharańa. Bhr means “to feed”. One who feeds life, in the physical, mental and spiritual strata, is a bhárata, a king.

Abhyutthána means abhi – utthána, that is, the “ascendancy” of adharma. In such a situation the Lord says, tadátmánaḿ srjámyaham – that is, “I create myself.”

Tráńa is just “relief”, as one is to give in floods, cyclones, earthquakes, etc., where the tragedy will recur. But paritráńa means “permanent protection or relief”. The Lord appears in order to give permanent protection to sádhus. [To build a perennial and just social order is the job of the sadvipras, spiritual revolutionaries.] But when the sadvipras are not able to do their job by their own power, the Lord [creates Himself] and applies His power to that job.

Vinásha is to be differentiated from pranásha and násha. Násha means “destruction”; pranásha means “transformation of an entity [back to its] original [source]”; but vinásha means “special destruction”.⁽¹⁾

The word saḿsthápana is important. Sthápana means “placement”. Saḿsthápana means “replacement to the proper position from which a thing has been displaced”.

[Sambhavámi means] samyak rupeńa bhavámi [“I incarnate Myself in a proper way”]. Bhavámi means “to come into existence [by employing all the material factors] which He Himself has created” in order to protect the sádhus and to cause the [special or] total destruction of the wicked.

The Lord says, “I create myself in a special way;” that is, Parama Puruśa promises that in a period of transition, He will incarnate Himself with His special powers to destroy the wicked and to give dharma a proper place in society.

Footnotes

(1) “Something is apparently destroyed, but actually it metamorphosed into something better.” (Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, “Párthasárathi Krśńa and Vishiśt́ádvaetaváda”, in Namámi Krśńasundaram, 1981) –Trans.

Chapter 25	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

What is jiṋána [knowledge]? It is subjectivization of the external objectivity. It leads a person from crudity to subtlety; that is, wherever this tendency is found, that can be termed jiṋána, and where the tendency is not present, [there is no] jiṋána. And what is the base of jiṋána? Where jiṋána is completely physical, its base is the mind; where it is entirely spiritual, its base is the soul. Jiṋána unifies the mind with the átman; this itself is the greatest quality of jiṋána. That jiṋána which does not unify the mind with the átman, is not jiṋána but the confusion of jiṋána. Because of this so-called jiṋána, vanity creeps into a person. If you see a person with vanity, you must understand that that person has no knowledge, but the confusion of knowledge.

In the fifteenth century in India, and especially in Bengal, this confusion of knowledge developed excessively. The people of Bengal would keep arguing about minor things. For hours together they would talk about subjects such as sound, shape, etc. They thought themselves to be great in doing so, and the person having victory considered himself to be a great pandit. But these persons were neither pandits nor jiṋániis. They were not pańd́its because they were not established in pańd́a bháva [the feeling that one is Brahma], nor were they jiṋániis, as their knowledge had not been subjectivized. They were arguing about pátrádhára taela or taeládhára pátra [“whether the pot is the container of the oil or the oil is contained in the pot”].

There was once an argument between two great pandits as to whether the sound of a falling palm-fruit is produced first, or the palm-fruit falls first. The discussion continued for a good number of months, but with no decision. They then decided to see practically, sitting under a tree one night, whether the palm-fruit falls first or the sound is produced first. The next morning it was found that both of them had been killed by palm-fruits falling on their heads. Hence this so-called knowledge is not a knowledge at all, but the confusion of knowledge, which you surely do not want to possess.

In the first stage, the mind itself is the base of knowledge. What is the mind? The structure of human beings is metazoic. In that structure there are innumerable protozoa, protozoic minds, and protozoic microcosms. The resultant of all these protozoic microcosms is in the human mind. And in this metazoic structure there are metazoic minds, and with them are metazoic microcosms. Actually, each metazoic mind is a collection of [a number of] protozoic minds. For a human with a complex physical structure, there is also a unit mind. So the mind of a human has three compartments: the first is the collective protozoic [mind], the second is the collective metazoic mind, and the third is his or her own separate mind. Taking all three together, we get a human’s unit mind.

The protozoic minds are guided by instinct only. The protozoic mind is citta only, with no development of ahaḿ[tattva] or mahattattva. Ingesting food, supporting offspring – this is all done instinctively, according to their svabháva [spontaneously], the reasons being quite unknown to those creatures. The earthworm does not know that it is an earthworm. It moves instinctively, spontaneously, according to its undeveloped mind. The protozoic minds and the protozoic microcosm can be said to be the physical mind. A protozoic creature has only physical mind. The collection of protozoic minds in the human can be said to be the physical mind of the human, known as the [kámamaya kośa]. It is guided by instinct, there is no discrimination.

But the metazoic mind moves with some intellect, or discrimination, as there has been some development of intellect in it. Hence the metazoic mind has control over the protozoic mind. The more the metazoic mind is developed in a creature, the more developed the creature is; that is, a metazoic structure will be more complicated. And where this complication has increased considerably, that physical structure is the human physical structure.

The individual mind in a human is a metazoic mind. Some one million years ago, the first parents of humanity were australopithecines. The metazoic minds of the then people were very, very simple as compared to those of present-day people. Hence in the intellectual realm, the then people were quite underdeveloped. In the course of this one million years, the metazoic structure and physical structure of humans became very complicated. This resulted in the complication of their metazoic minds, too. Different propensities, a number of propensities, were added to their minds. The number of propensities in the human mind is far more than in animals’ minds. The reason is that the metazoic structure, the physical structure, of a human is very complicated, hence the human’s metazoic mind is very developed.

The whole of a person comprises the person’s own mind, the person’s physical mind, and the metazoic minds. But in the protozoic minds there is a dominance of instinct. An animal does not understand discrimination, but the stick. You know that a person within whom there is a dominance of animality does not agree with logic, but [understands discipline].

You know that at the time of the fight between the Kaoravas and the Páńd́avas, the latter [tried] very reasonably to make the former understand, but in vain. Yudhiśt́hira even prayed to God for a change in them. There was the grace of Paramátman also, but they were too crude to understand this. But they could very easily understand when they heard the thundering sound of Gáńd́iiva [the bow of Arjuna]. Hence the protozoic mind succumbs to physical [discipline], and nothing else.

All the protozoic minds in a human try to influence the human mind. The metazoic minds try to do likewise. Where the personal mind of a human is not vigilant, it becomes influenced by the protozoic minds and the metazoic minds. The person is led towards animality. But when the personal mind is vigilant, it has full control over the protozoic and metazoic minds. To maintain control is an internal fight. This fight is [the] first stage of sádhaná. This fight is quite essential for sádhaná. On the one side there is dharma buddhi [good thought], and on the other, the forces of instincts.

Protozoic minds move instinctively, whereas metazoic minds move with abhijiṋátá [acquaintance, experience]. Hence undeveloped and underdeveloped metazoic structures work with both acquaintance and experience. Sub-human animals such as dogs and monkeys learn through this acquaintance [and experience]. The mind of an Alsatian dog becomes developed a lot when it comes in contact with a trainer; that is, it learns through training, for it has a metazoic mind. The jiṋána of a protozoic mind, that is, instinct only, is known as “physical knowledge”. The knowledge that a human acquires in touch with physicality is in its first stage physico-psychic. And when this physico-psychic knowledge becomes established in the mind, it is known as “psychic knowledge”. And psychic knowledge, when it is translated into the physical world, is psycho-physical knowledge.

Worldly knowledge, the confusion of knowledge, is in its first stage physico-psychic, and then psychic. That itself is translated into the physical world, hence it is psycho-physical. And what is the source of this physico-psychic knowledge? – let us see how far it is authentic. You derive jiṋána from books. You will read “Lahore is the capital of the Punjab” in a book twenty-seven years old. But this does not stand correct today. This is because the source of physical knowledge is bound up by time, space, and person. With the change of time, space, and person, physical knowledge will change. Hence it is not a permanent knowledge. It is based on falsehood.

There can be still one more flaw in the source of physical knowledge, and that is a printing mistake. Because of it you read “Lahore” as “Labore”. Next, there can be something wrong with your eyes, also, which causes you to read “Lanore”. These things provoke laughter in the audience.

Hence because of defects in the different media, this knowledge will be wrong knowledge. If with this very knowledge a person is full of vanity, is that person not a first-class fool?

This physico-psychic knowledge has value to some small extent in the physical world. But its value is always changing. The theory which is appreciated today changes tomorrow. Hence every knowledge in the world – every physico-psychic knowledge – is defective. To be proud of this kind of knowledge is not at all the job of the wise. It is better to say, “I do not know anything.”

So what is true knowledge? True knowledge is the knowledge of that object which never undergoes any metamorphosis due to changes in time, space, and person. Everything in the world is causal; that is, the effect is followed by the cause, and the cause by the effect. It goes on like this. The effect of one phase becomes the cause of the next. This is known as sadrsha parińáma in Tantra. As long as we are under temporal, spatial and personal factors, the cause-and-effect factor will work. Where the cause-and-effect factor works, there only imperfection exists. One cannot be proud [of] the knowledge springing out of that source.

It is said in the Vedas, “I don’t speak [about what] I don’t know, nor do I speak [about what] I do know. Because the Transcendental Entity is known only by the person who knows that Paramátman is beyond knowing and not knowing.” This is because knowing is a particular psychic projection coming within the scope of time, space, and person. And not knowing is another psychic projection coming within the scope of time, space, and person.

The Supreme Entity is beyond time, space, and person. It being non-changing, if a person makes an effort to acquire spirituo-psychic knowledge instead of physico-psychic, in order that the source of his or her knowledge be not the external physicality but rather internal spirituality, in that case that knowledge will be a perfect one.

What happens in the case of spirituo-psychic knowledge is that though its source is absolute, its subject is relative, as the mind works within the scope of relativity. The source of spirituo-psychic knowledge is absolute, the only absolute. When humans start acquiring knowledge, they should not endeavour for physico-psychic knowledge, on the contrary they should endeavour for spirituo-psychic knowledge. In spirituo-psychic knowledge, in the first phase there is more of psychic than spiritual. But later on, when mental concentration is gained in and there is advancement in sádhaná, the spiritual increases and the psychic decreases. And when gradually the proximity to spirituality increases, the psychic is completely eliminated, and only the spiritual exists. The final, terminating, point of this spirituo-psychic knowledge is spiritual knowledge, and that alone is knowledge. That is the real knowledge which does not change.

All physical, physico-psychic, psychic, and psycho-physical knowledge is not knowledge, but the confusion of knowledge. When humans realize that that so-called knowledge is of no value to them, then alone do they surrender to Parama Puruśa [Cosmic Cognition]. As long as people have the desire to acquire all relative knowledge, and try to do so, those people think themselves to be persons of letters, and refuse to surrender at the feet of Cosmic Cognition. When people’s vanity becomes powdered down by different blows, they realize that their approach to knowledge was a defective one. Then they surrender, and their egos are dashed to pieces. The greatest knowledge in the realm of physicality and mentality is that all the knowledge acquired by one so far is false. This physical knowledge is like the leaf of a shala tree [a tall evergreen with large leaves] on which people take meals. As long as you have not eaten, there is a value in the leaf, but the moment you have finished your meal, the leaf goes into the dust bin to be licked by the street dogs. When you come to realize that this physical knowledge of yours is only worth licking by a dog, then devotion will arise in you. Then you will acquire true knowledge.

What is the nature of the psycho-spiritual approach through which one acquires spirituo-psychic knowledge? When the physical mind reaches the zenith of subtlety, that is known as physico-psychic knowledge. There the value of physico-psychic knowledge starts. When one is established in psychic knowledge, then there is the expression of the psycho-physical in it. Likewise, when psychic knowledge reaches the zenith of subtlety, it comes in contact with spirituality, and the point where spiritual knowledge or spirituo-psychic knowledge functions in the mental scope, is alone said to be spirituo-psychic knowledge. As matter is made to be the end of life in acquiring physical knowledge (fit to be thrown into the dust bin), so for acquiring spiritual knowledge, Paramátman should be made the end. Then alone will people get real knowledge.⁽¹⁾

How is it possible to make Paramátman the end of your life? Paramátman is the subject for the whole of the Cosmos, and the latter is His object. He is the Supreme Subjectivity, you are His object. It is not possible to make Him your object, as you are His object. Then what to do? You have to take the ideation that He is always witnessing you. The wise do not take Paramátman as their object exactly, but rather think that they are being witnessed by Him. “Paramátman is not my object; I am the object of Paramátman.” When this feeling is constantly there, always there, in a person, the name of this stage is dhruvasmrti. That you are the object of Paramátman is known to you, but you do not remember this all the time. When through sádhaná a person never forgets that Paramátman is always witnessing him or her, this is named dhruvasmrti. This alone is spiritual knowledge. In this stage alone does a person get true knowledge.

This spiritual knowledge can be translated into the mental sphere as well as into the physical sphere. If a person is willing to translate it, he or she should do so, for that will bring a lot of good to the world. This alone is real knowledge. With this alone, progress is possible. The most learned person is one who understands that he or she is not at all learned.

You are spiritual aspirants. You must always remember that physico-psychic knowledge is needed only in the physical world. But when [spiritual knowledge] is acquired in the individual life, then it is no longer required.

This very spiritual knowledge is alone devotion; that is, knowledge finally transforms itself into devotion after constant efforts; that is, when knowledge realizes that nothing is to be effected by it, then alone does it surrender to devotion. When knowledge surrenders to devotion, that is spiritual knowledge.

Hence remember that once you have got devotion, you have got everything. If Paramátman asked you your demand, you should demand nothing, and if at all God is pleased to give you something, you should ask for parábhakti [absolute devotion].

Chapter 26	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Regarding the Sixteen Points, it was said that ácárya/ás or senior persons would see if you were observing them properly or not. Similarly, I gave a directive to all that they should keep watch on one another. No one will exempt anyone else regarding the Sixteen Points.

Here I have to say a special thing. If the conduct of senior persons, or táttvikas or ácárya/ás or avadhút/ikás, goes against the Sixteen Points, then you should take silent action. What is silent action? Suppose there is an ácárya/á who delivers sermons about the dos and don’ts, and issues different decrees. But suppose he or she does something which merits criticism by society – suppose, for example, that he or she secretly investigates the caste of the potential marriage partner for his/her son or daughter. If this happens, it will be the duty of the Acárya or Avadhúta or Táttvika Board to take suitable action. However, it will take time to initiate the action, because facts, evidence and many other things are needed. Until an action based on facts and evidence is taken, you can take silent action against the party.

What is silent action? Suppose there is a complaint against an ácárya/á and you know for sure that it is valid. The Acárya Board may take two months, four months, or a year to make a decision about this ácárya/á. But why should you wait that long for the decision? Under such circumstances you should take silent action – that is, do not accept the person’s ácárya-ship. It is a question of human rights, because Acárańát pát́hayati yah sah ácáryah – “One who teaches through one’s conduct is an ácárya.” If you cannot learn anything from the conduct and behaviour of a certain person, why should you accept that person as an ácárya/á?

Let the Boards do their duty. The Boards have their functions, and the Acárya Board will certainly take the proper action at the proper time. Meanwhile, you take silent action against the offending ácárya/á. And what will be the nature of this silent action? You will disavow the person as an ácárya/á; you will not accept the person as an ácárya/á. I [[vest]] this authority in you. I will never seek any explanation from you as to why you have disavowed the person. Human beings will win honour if they exhibit exemplary conduct.

Although this is not written down as part of any code of conduct, my considered opinion is that if a person fails to marry, or fails to arrange the marriages of his or her brothers, sisters, sons or daughters, according to the revolutionary-marriage system,⁽¹⁾ we will not allow the person to become an ácárya/á. In this way the door will be closed on their becoming, and enjoying the rights of, ácárya/ás. In other words, those who have married according to the revolutionary-marriage system, and those who joined Ananda Marga after their marriages, should arrange the revolutionary marriages of their brothers and sisters. And if their brothers and sisters are already married, then at least they should arrange the revolutionary marriages of their sons and daughters. I think this is a really logical step. There is no place for hypocrites in our organization.

Do not indulge in unnecessary criticism of offenders, but immediately take suitable steps, under a certain system, against them. This system should henceforth be called “silent action”,⁽²⁾ do you agree? Although it is silent action, it will force strict adherence to our principles, and it will put those against whom it is directed to shame. It will always take some time for the Board to pronounce its verdict in a case, because it is not easy to arrive at a verdict.

Sincerity is reflected in actions, not in words only. One who displays sincerity in words but not in actions is a hypocrite. You should not tolerate hypocrites, not at all. But do not indulge in criticism. If you criticize too much, that will create internal weaknesses. So carefully abstain from criticism. Instead of criticizing, simply do not accept such persons in practical life. Why? That I have already explained in the definition of ácárya, Acárańát páthayati yah sah ácáryah – “One who teaches through one’s conduct is an ácárya.” If one’s conduct is not exemplary, he or she is not an ácárya/á. The verdict of the Board in this regard is not your concern.

Footnotes

(1) I.e., the Ananda Marga marriage system. –Eds.

(2) Throughout the discourse the Hindi nirava vyavasthá has been used for “silent action”. But here the author used both the Hindi term and the English term. –Eds.

Chapter 27	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

You know, wherever there is any manifestation within or without the scope of the microcosm, there must be mobility. Existence is recognized only by its mobility. Even in the case of inanimate objects, there is mobility. Though their mobility is not effected by individual enterprise, in the Collective Body, that is, in the Cosmic flow of the Macrocosm, there is mobility. On this level of quinquelementality, physical movement is carried out with the help of material projections of the Macrocosmic flow, and internal movement is carried out through individual efforts by the direct stamina of the microcosms.

Now in our realm of physicality, progress which is brought about with the help of the vital energy, fighting against the inertia of the earth, we call physical progress. But if we are to think of it in terms of a march, for there to be a march there must be some starting point and there must be some culminating point. In this march in the arena of physicalities, we find no starting point and no culminating point. In the physical sphere we try to solve so many knotty problems, but again more knotty problems appear and disturb us. So in the physical sphere, there cannot be any progress. In this realm of physicality, progress is an absurdity. There is movement but there is no progress.

In the psychic sphere, we solve many mental problems, we march ahead with the help of our microcosmic stamina. But so many socio-economic problems are solved, and again so many socio-economic problems are newly created. That is why I have had no alternative but to accept, in the Fifth [Fundamental Principle] of Prout, changes due to change in time, space, and person. Changes should be according to the change in time, space, and person.

In the psychic sphere we are moving, no doubt, but from where to where? What is the goal? What is the plane of psychic salvation? There cannot be any plane or any psychic salvation. There is no psychic salvation. Problems will come, just as problems will be solved. Just as in the realm of physicality, so in the realm of the mind, there cannot be any permanent solution – movement is the order of the day – a goal-less movement.

But in the sphere of spirituality, the Cognitive Faculty is the goal, and an aspirant moves towards that Cognitive Goal, and while moving, he or she tries to have adjustment with his or her physical and psychic world; and that is why I say that ours is a subjective approach through objective adjustment. Through this objective adjustment, that is, by making proper use and non-use of association [with physical objects], we are to march towards our subjective Desideratum. In the case of spiritual movement, the goal is there, and what is that goal? The suspension of all physical energies into the microcosmic stamina, and suspension of all microcosmic strength into the spiritual stance – that is the goal.

Yachhed váunmanasi prájiṋah
Tad yachhed jiṋána átmani;
Jiṋánamátmani mahati niyachhet
Tad yachhecchánta átmani.

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

Yachhed váunmanasi prájiṋah. Manasi means “in[to] the psychic world”. Tad yachhed jiṋána átmani – “and there the microcosmic flow – ”

In the case of microcosmic flows, there are two externities – one externity connects the mind with inferences, and another externity connects the mind with the Cognitive Faculty. Now both these externities, that is, outer externities, should be withdrawn and should coincide with the inner externity, and this is described jiṋánamátmani mahati niyacchet, that is, “all mental movements or mobilities should merge into the pure ‘I’ feeling.” Tad yachhecchánta átmani – “and the subtlest form of mind is to merge into the Cognitive Faculty and enjoy the cognitive stance.”

So I must say that there is movement in the physical sphere but there is no progress in the physical sphere; there is movement in the psychic sphere, but there cannot be any progress in the psychic sphere; but progress and movement both exist in the realm of spirituality – that is, spiritual progress is the progress, and other kinds of progress [do not represent any real gain].

Chapter 28	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe brhante
Tasmin haḿso bhrámyate Brahmacakre;
Prthagátmánaḿ preritáraiṋca matvá
Juśt́astataste namrtatvameti.

–Yajurveda

[All unit entities, all unit structures, revolve around the Nucleus Consciousness in the Cosmic Cycle of creation. This rotation of theirs will continue as long as they think that they are separate from their Creator. When they become one with the Nucleus, they will attain immortality.]

All living beings in the universe – animals, birds and humans, all living entities – have different saḿskáras [mental reactive momenta]. Therefore, no two things are of the same type. Neither will two [plants] be of the same category, nor two birds or animals, nor two humans. Both the physical body and the mental body will be different. No two persons have identical faces. Actions are not the same either. Even saḿskáras are not the same.

Humans are divided into groups on a psychological or an anthropological basis. We say, “These people belong to this group” or “to that group.” Among these people some are Austric, some Dravidian, some Negroid, and some Caucasian. But if we observe, there are sub-branches and offshoots of these groups of humans. There are so many branches and sub-branches, that finally we have to accept that each human being belongs to a special group. In each group there can only be one person. Thus there are so many groups. It is not possible to say that so many persons belong to this group or that. (This will be the conclusion from a position of subtler thinking. We can divide humans [into groups] only from a position of crude thinking.)

Not only that, the ájiiva, or occupation, of every person is different. These occupations are also of two types, crude and subtle – that is, physical and mental. For example, a person may be a doctor or a lawyer. This is the person’s crude occupation. Like crude occupations, mental occupations are different. Mental occupations, mental ájiivas, are known in the shástras [scriptures] as ábhogas.

Suppose fifty persons are travelling together. They are travelling together, but the ábhoga of all of them is not the same. One person is thinking that he has to reach his shop as early as possible. Another person is thinking that she has to reach the court early. In her mind the thought is that of the court. Another person wants to reach a sweet shop to buy rasagollá. In that person’s mind the thought is that of rasagollá. Thus everyone has a different ábhoga and a different ájiiva. No two persons can be found having the same ájiiva. In other words, crude bodies are different, and similarly the mind and mental feelings. If there is a cowardly man in a village, you cannot say that all the people in the village are cowards. Or if there is a person who is brave, you cannot say that all the people in the village are brave. Everybody has his or her saḿskáras, is moving with these saḿskáras. With their saḿskáras humans will reach the Parágati [Supreme Desideratum, “where the journey of finite entities ends”].

These different persons also have different structures. Each will get a structure suitable to his or her occupation. Therefore, no two persons have the same structure. Why? Because each needs a different structure for the expression of his or her saḿskáras. If some being has to fly, it will get wings. If some being has to run, it will get legs. Its structure will be like [its saḿskáras]. One who has to do a lot of reading and writing will get a cranium suitable to his or her requirement. That is why it has been said, Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe [“all unit entities, all unit structures”].

If somebody wants to bring all under one pattern on the basis of some arithmetic or some social rules, or if all are stamped in the same way, the result will not be good. If we say that the rules for Ram, Shyam, Sohan, and others are all the same, it will not be proper. Why? Because each has a different ájiiva and a different structure. How can we bring them all into one class?

What will then be our duty? We will have to make the kind of arrangement that they need or that should be provided to them. From the point of structure the living beings need a classification which will be given. But from the point of the special ájiiva and the special characteristic of the structure, they will have to be given a special status. This is our social dharma.

Every human being, every animal, every plant, moves on with its different ájiiva and different structure. Moves towards what? Towards the ultimate aim, towards the central point, towards the Vishva Nábhi, the Cakra Nábhi, the Supreme Nucleus. So they are marching from electronic imperfection towards nuclear perfection. No one can avoid this movement. That is why it is called Parágati. They are moving towards the centre, consciously or unconsciously. And who is in the centre? Parama Puruśa. You cannot live without Him. Some may be angry with Him, unhappy with Him, but no one can live without Him. Why? There is no one who is your own except Him. Parama Puruśa is more dear to you than you are to yourself. Parama Puruśa belongs to you more than your hands and legs belong to you. Why? Because you will leave your hands and legs one day, but you cannot leave Parama Puruśa and go anywhere. Why? Because in this universe there is nothing beyond Him. Where can you go? You will remain within His circle.

Assume for a moment that a cow is tied to a stake with a thong or a strip. The thong may be short or long. If it is long, the cow will move relatively far away from the stake; whereas if it is short, she will not be able to go far away as she circles the stake. But in either case she has to go around the stake, considering it as a centre.

Similarly, a person (who is sometimes called haḿso⁽¹⁾) is moving around [in] Brahma Cakra [the Cosmic Cycle]. The radius of Brahma Cakra is very big, though it is not infinite. People are moving around without knowing who is at the centre. They go around without knowing that they are tethered to a stake. They think that they are everything, that they know so much. They think so much. Each person thinks that he or she is not an ordinary person. This creates pride in a person. One does not know that he or she can be pulled towards the stake.

Thus a person moves around the stake. While moving, a question suddenly comes into his or her mind. The person asks where he or she is going. When this saḿvid, this realization, comes into the mind, then the person realizes that he or she is moving around a stake. The person asks where he or she is going, from which point to which point. Is the line simple and straight, or is it [vrttá, a circle]? What is this line? From where comes the inspiration to move around? When this question arises in the mind, the radius starts to be reduced. The person begins to realize that he or she has to go towards the centre, the nucleus, towards the práńakendra. The day this realization comes, the person becomes a sádhaka, a spiritual aspirant. The person now knows that the more he or she moves, the more the radius will be reduced. When the radius becomes nil, when there is no vrttá, then the person will merge in Parama Puruśa.

The person will continue moving around the stake as long as the person thinks that he or she, and Parama Puruśa at the centre, are two different entities. The person will have to go around as long as that person has the feeling that he or she, and the Entity which has sent him/her, are different. When the person realizes suddenly, upon nearly reaching the stake, that he or she, and the Entity which has sent him or her, are not different, the distance between the two will disappear and the two will become one.

But what must happen first before this union takes place? There His grace, His krpá, is needed. When it is available, the oneness will be achieved. People may reduce the radius by constantly moving around, but they will not be able to achieve oneness if His krpá is not available. When it is available, a person will merge in Amrta Puruśa. This is the ultimate aim of all animals, plants, or anything which has a life. Thus a person is unknowingly moving, and will have to move till he or she becomes one with Him. This is the truth. Therefore, the person who comes onto the path of sádhaná early is a wise person and also lucky.

Footnotes

(1) The word haḿso has been used in the shloka quoted above to mean a jiiva – a person or unit being. It has sometimes been use this way in Sanskrit, Hindi, etc., especially in poetry. –Eds.

Chapter 29	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

Every action that is performed produces an equal and opposite reaction, provided the three-fold factors of time, space, and person remain unassailed, unchanged. An incident may take place at 10:00 a.m., but its reaction may not come forthwith, it may come sometime after; and obviously the reaction to the action becomes slightly more than equal. Human beings perform various types of actions – big or small, good or bad – and consequently, they are to face the reactions.

As far as we know, human history covers about fifteen thousand years, though its earliest stage was very crude. Human beings have done so many things [during this period] and thereby taken on various saḿskáras. Lord Shiva, Lord Krśńa, or, we can say, Parama Puruśa, has come meanwhile, and helped and blessed suffering humanity. With such blessings, with such Cosmic grace, human beings can go beyond the periphery of karma and attain salvation.

One cannot, by dint of one’s individual efforts, get rid of the heavy load of accumulated reactions to past sins which in Sanskrit is called prárabdha – for that one needs the grace of the Guru, the grace of Parama Puruśa. The scriptures say, of course, that one has to do sádhaná, because by dint of sádhaná, one trains one’s mind, one can discipline one’s mind. The human mind is just like a lion of the circus. A lion is given adequate training before it is asked to put on its various skilful performances. The human mind can also produce excellent results when it is properly trained and disciplined.

Now I have already said that one must undergo the unsatisfied sámskáras, the unquenched saḿskáras. In order to attain salvation, one must burn up one’s past saḿskáras. A seed when soaked in water germinates, but if it is burnt up it can never germinate. Every human being must be a dagdhabiija [burnt seed], that is, one whose saḿskáras are totally burnt up. For this, one absolutely needs the grace of the Guru, the grace of Parama Puruśa. The scriptures say, “Just an iota of the Cosmic grace is enough to ensure salvation for unit beings.” The main purpose of Dharma Samiikśa is to make the jiivas [unit beings] dagdhabiijas.

During the entire period of fifteen thousand years of human history, there has been no Dharma Samiikśá such as this. There is no mention of any such event in Sanskrit literature.

We say that a child is invariably apápaviddha, that is, “unassailed by pápa, or sin”. But however good people may be, they commit some omissional and/or commissional mistakes – some do it knowingly, some unknowingly, but once they commit pápa, or sin, they cannot retract those mistakes, they have to suffer, they cannot escape the consequences.

Those who have assembled here are surely good people. Some of you have come all the way from five thousand or [ten thousand] miles away. Some have come from the vicinity. There is certainly some subtle reason behind your assembling here. You are all good people – certainly better-than-average people. That is why you have come. Though there are many, many others who live nearby, they do not come. In my opinion, Parama Puruśa should do something for these good people. How long can unit beings bear the heavy load of unburnt saḿskáras? So if Parama Puruśa should take away some of the sins from the unit beings, they will feel relieved of the heavy load and feel lightened. These people, free from the bondages of pápa and saḿskáras, can do many big things. By dint of their collective efforts they will bring heaven down onto this terrestrial earth; they will perform many noble and heroic deeds with courage and valour. Hence Dharma Samiikśa is the most epoch-making event of the last fifteen thousand years.

	Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23

ABHIMÁNA. Inflated ego.
ADHARMA. That which goes against DHARMA.
AHAḾKÁRA. Pride.
AHAḾTATTVA. Doer “I”, ego, second mental subjectivity.
ANANDA MARGA. Path of divine bliss; Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha (Ananda Marga organization).
AVADHÚTA or AVADHÚTIKÁ. A monk or nun of an order close to the tradition of Shaeva Tantra. Literally, “one who is thoroughly cleansed mentally and spiritually”.
AVIDYÁ SHAKTI. Centrifugal, or extroversial, force; force of repulsion from the Nucleus Consciousness; aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the subtle to the crude. See also VIDYÁ SHAKTI.
ÁCÁRYA or ÁCÁRYÁ. Spiritual teacher qualified to teach all lessons of meditation.
ÁGAMA AND NIGAMA. Nigama means questions on spiritual topics; or the theoretical side of TANTRA. Ágama means answers to the questions; or the practical, applied, side of TANTRA.
ÁSANA. The third limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga. Ásanas: postures for curing physical problems, especially those that interfere with SÁDHANÁ.
ÁTMÁ, ÁTMAN. Soul, consciousness, PURUŚA, pure cognition. The átman of the Cosmos is PARAMÁTMAN, and that of the unit is the JIIVÁTMAN.

BHAGAVÁN. Lord.
BHAKTI. Devotion.
BHAKTI YOGA. Devotional form of spiritual practice.

CAETANYA. See MANTRA CAETANYA.
CAKRA. Cycle or circle; psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus. The cakras in the human body are all located along the suśumná canal which passes through the length of the spinal column and extends up to the crown of the head. Some cakras, however, are associated with external concentration points. The concentration points for the cakras: (1) for the múládhára cakra, the base of the spine, above the perineum; (2) for the svádhiśt́hána, the base of the genital organ; (3) for the mańipura, the navel; (4) for the anáhata, the mid-point of the chest; (5) for the vishuddha, the throat; (6) for the ájiṋá, between the eyebrows; and (7) for the sahasrára, the crown of the head.
CITTA. Done “I”, objective “I”, objective mind, mind-stuff.

DHÁRAŃÁ. The sixth limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga. Restricting the flow of mind to particular points in the body; conception. (Tattva Dhárańá means restricting the flow of mind to, or conception of, the fundamental factors.)
DHARMA. Characteristic property; spirituality; the path of righteousness in social affairs.
DHYÁNA. Meditation in which the psyche is directed towards Consciousness; seventh limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga.
DHYEYA. Object of meditation.
DURÁCÁRII. Sinner.

GAORAVA. Self-aggrandizement.

HLÁDINII SHAKTI. See RÁDHIKÁ SHAKTI.

INDRIYA. One of the ten sensory and motor organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin; and hands, feet, vocal cord, genital organ and excretory organ). The eye indriya (for example) comprises the eye itself, the optical nerve, the fluid in the nerve, and the location in the brain at which the visual stimulus is transmitted to the ectoplasm, or mind-stuff.

JAPA. Repetition of mantra, incantation.
JIIVA. An individual being.
JIIVÁTMÁ, JIIVÁTMAN. See ÁTMÁ.
JIṊÁNA. Knowledge; understanding.
JIṊÁNA YOGA. A form of spiritual practice which aims at Self-realization through the path of knowledge.
JIṊÁNII. A SÁDHAKA who follows the path of knowledge or discrimination.

KAOLA. One who practises kula sádhaná and is adept at raising one’s own KUŃD́ALINII.
KARMA. Action; sometimes, positive or negative action which produces SAḾSKÁRAs.
KARMA YOGA. A form of spiritual practice which aims at Self-realization through the path of selfless action.
KIIRTANA. Collective singing of the name of the Lord, sometimes combined with a dance that expresses the spirit of surrender.
KRPÁ. Cosmic grace.
KUŃD́ALINII, KULAKUŃD́ALINII. Literally, “coiled serpentine”; sleeping divinity; the force dormant in the kula (lowest vertebra) of the body, which, when awakened, rises up the spinal column to develop all one’s spiritual potentialities.

MAHÁKAOLA. A Tantric guru who can raise not only His own KUŃD́ALINII, but those of others also.
MAHÁPÁTAKII. See SUDURÁCÁRA.
MAHATTATTVA. “I” (“I am,” “I exist”) feeling, existential “I”.
MANTRA. A sound or collection of sounds which, when meditated upon, will lead to spiritual liberation. A mantra is incantative, pulsative, and ideative.
MANTRA CAETANYA. The awakening of a mantra; conceptual understanding of and psychic association with a mantra.
MARGI. A member of ANANDA MARGA.
MÁYÁ. Creative Principle, i.e., PRAKRTI in Her phase of creation. One aspect of Máyá is the power to cause the illusion that the finite created objects are the ultimate truth.
MOKŚA. Spiritual emancipation, non-qualified liberation.
MUDRÁ. Meaningful gesture (an inseparable part of Oriental classical dance).
MUKTI. Spiritual liberation.

NÁRÁYAŃA. The Supreme Entity; literally, “the Lord of Nára (PRAKRTI)”.
NIGAMA. See ÁGAMA and NIGAMA.

OṊM, OṊḾKÁRA. The sound of the first vibration of creation; the biija mantra (acoustic root) of the expressed universe. Oṋḿkára literally means “the sound oṋm”.

PARAMA PURUŚA. Supreme Consciousness.
PARAMASHIVA. See PURUŚOTTAMA.
PARAMÁ PRAKRTI. Supreme Operative Principle.
PARAMÁTMÁ, PARAMÁTMAN. Supreme Consciousness in the role of witness of His own macropsychic conation. Paramátman comprises: (1) PURUŚOTTAMA, the Macrocosmic Nucleus; (2) Puruśottama’s association with all creation in His extroversive movement (prota yoga); and (3) Puruśottama’s association with each unit creation individually (ota yoga) and (4) with all collectively (prota yoga) in His introversive movement.
PARÁGATI. Supreme Desideratum, “where the journey of finite entities ends”.
PARIPRASHNA. A question on a spiritual topic.
PÁPA. Sin.
PÁPII. Sinner.
PÁTAKA. Sin that involves simply disobeying the code of morality.
PRAKRTI. Cosmic Operative Principle.
PRATISAIṊCARA. In the Cosmic Cycle, the step-by-step introversion and subtilization of consciousness from the state of solid matter to the Nucleus Consciousness. (Prati means “counter” and saiṋcara means “movement”.)
PRATIŚTHÁ. Social status.
PRATYAGÁTMÁ. PARAMA PURUŚA in the sense “That which takes a stance opposite to the JIIVÁTMÁ and witnesses the JIIVÁTMÁ”.
PRÁŃÁYÁMA. The fourth limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga: process of controlling vital energy by controlling the
breath.
PUŃYA. Virtue.
PURUŚA. Consciousness.
PURUŚOTTAMA or PARAMASHIVA. The Nucleus Consciousness, the witness of saiṋcara and PRATISAIṊCARA.

QUINQUELEMENTAL. Composed of the ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid, and solid factors, or elements.

RÁDHIKÁ SHAKTI, HLÁDINII SHAKTI. A positive expressional aspect of VIDYÁ SHAKTI which a person experiences as a desire to do something practical towards spiritual realization.

SADÁSHIVA. SHIVA (literally, “Eternal Shiva”).
SAḾSKÁRA. Mental reactive momentum, potential mental reaction.
SANNYÁSII or SANNYÁSINII. A renunciant; literally, “one who has surrendered one’s everything to the Cosmic will” or “one who ensconces oneself in SAT, the Unchangeable Entity”.
SAT, SATYA, SATYAM. “That which undergoes no change”; Absolute Reality.
SÁDHAKA. Spiritual practitioner.
SÁDHANÁ. Literally, “sustained effort”; spiritual practice; meditation.
SÁDHU. Virtuous person, spiritual aspirant. See also SÁDHAKA.
SHAKTI. PRAKRTI; energy; a deification of PRAKRTI.
SHAMBHÚLIUṊGA. Fundamental positivity.
SHÁSTRA. Scripture.
SHIVA. A great Tantric guru of 5000 B.C. who guided society while His mind was absorbed in Consciousness; hence, Infinite Consciousness, PURUŚA.
SHLOKA. A Sanskrit couplet expressing one idea.
SUDURÁCÁRA. “Sinner hated even by other sinners for his or her sins”. A synonym of sudurácára is mahápátakii.
SVABHÁVA. Characteristics, one’s own nature; nature.
SVAYAMBHÚLIUṊGA. Ultimate point of negativity, or crudity, in the human body.

TÁŃD́AVA. A vigorous dance for male spiritual aspirants, originally formulated by SHIVA. It develops the glands in a way that enhances courage and fearlessness. When Shiva Himself does this dance (Shiva Nát́arája), the dance becomes a metaphor in which Supreme Consciousness sends vibrations throughout the universe and causes all objects of the universe in turn to radiate vibrations.
TANTRA. A spiritual tradition which originated in India in prehistoric times and was first systematized by SHIVA. It emphasizes the development of human vigour, both through meditation and through confrontation of difficult external situations, to overcome all fears and weaknesses. Also, a scripture expounding that tradition.
TAPAH. One of the points of Yama and Niyama, the moral code: undergoing trouble or accepting physical discomforts in order to serve others or to reach one’s spiritual goal.
TÁRAKA BRAHMA. Supreme Entity in Its liberating aspect.
TÁTTVIKA. A teacher of ANANDA MARGA elementary philosophy; literally, “one who knows the essence of philosophy”.

VIDYÁ SHAKTI. Centripetal, or introversial, force; force of attraction to the Nucleus Consciousness; aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the crude to the subtle. See also AVIDYÁ SHAKTI.