EE7.5 - Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Intuitional Science of Tantra”. Before I come to that topic, however, let me first say something about [the word] tantra. Usually the word tantra is derived from tan plus trae plus d́a. The root verb tan means “to expand”. The process by which one attains liberation from all bondages by strengthening and expanding one’s entitative existence is called Tantra.

The word tantra can be interpreted in yet another way. Each and every entity, each and every existence has an acoustic expression of its own. For instance, ta is the acoustic root of dullness or inertness. And the process that brings liberation from this state of staticity, or ta, is called Tantra. Taḿ jád́yát tárayet yastu sah tantrah parikiirtitah [“That which redeems human beings and paves the way for their emancipation from the bondages of staticity is called Tantra.”]

The cult that Sadáshiva formulated and introduced into human society to ensure the removal of inertness in the physical, psychic and spiritual strata of life is called Tantra. Tantra is not at all theoretical; it is essentially practical, and on the basis of practice, its philosophy has evolved. The major portion of the science of intuition in the Vedas, on the other hand, is purely theoretical; only a small portion is practical. In Tantra, ninety percent of the intuitional science is practical, and only a very small portion is theoretical.

The science of intuition in the Vedas has already been discussed extensively. Tantric literature, like Vedic, offers an elaborate treatment of intuitional science. Both Veda and Tantra have proclaimed that everything of this manifested universe emanates from Brahma. As the Vedas have put it:

Ánandáddhyeva khalvimáni bhútáni jáyante;
Ánandena játáni jiivanti;
Ánandaḿ prayantyabhisaḿ vishanti.

Mayyeva sakalaḿ játaḿ Mayi sarvaḿ pratiśt́hitaḿ;
Mayi sarvaḿ layaḿ yati tad Brahmá dvayamasmyaham.

Parama Puruśa says, “Everything has emerged from me, everything is being maintained in me, and ultimately everything will dissolve in Me.”⁽¹⁾

Mayyeva sakalaḿ játam [“All created beings have evolved out of Me”]. The word játam is derived from the root jan plus the suffix kta. Here the Cognitive Entity has been recognized as the primordial cause of creation. Obviously, this is a major difference between Tantra and the Sáḿkhya school of philosophy, for in Sáḿkhya, Prakrti [the Supreme Operative Principle] has been given the dominant role. But in Tantra, Parama Puruśa has been given the dominant role. Ánanda Sútram⁽²⁾ clearly states, Shaktih Sá Shivasya Shaktih. Shakti [Prakrti], the Supreme Operative Principle, carries on Her creative flow according to the expressed desire or expressed approval of Parama Puruśa. Hence Puruśa is the prime cause of creation.

Mayyeva sakalaḿ játaḿ Mayi sarvaḿ pratiśt́hitam. Since everything in this universe is born out of Puruśa, there is nothing beyond or outside Puruśa; hence Mayi sarvaḿ pratiśt́hitam – “everything is residing in Him.” He is the base of everything; there is no way to go beyond Him. Human beings may go a little way from Puruśottama, the Supreme Nucleus of the universe; they may increase the length of their radius; but they can never go beyond the Cosmic periphery. In fact, every object emerging from Him in the phase of saiṋcara is maintained in Him, and in the phase of pratisaiṋcara⁽³⁾ is finally dissolved in Him. That is to say, the Entity who was in the beginning and the middle, is also present in the end.

Tad Brahmádvayamasmyaham – “Brahma is One.” The Supreme Operative Principle is not given any special importance. To say that Prakrti is doing everything, one will have to admit that nature is everything, but basically nature is a blind force; she cannot do anything by herself unless supported by intellect.

As mentioned earlier, in Tantra, sádhaná has been given the utmost importance. What is sádhaná? Sádhaná means practical effort. An effort to what? An endless effort to move towards Puruśottama, the Nucleus of the Cosmic Cycle.

Now this movement from imperfection to perfection, and in fact every movement in this universe, is not without obstacles. Fundamentally every movement involves opposition, and the resultant achieved during the fight against the obstacles is called progress. So the more vigorously one tries to move towards the goal, the more vehemently one will to have fight against obstacles. Those who are averse to struggle will never make any progress; what to speak of progress, without struggle one will lag behind. Hence, struggle is the essence of life. Those who abhor struggle, who consider struggle to be violence, have no place in this universe. Not only that, they are hypocrites, for although in practical life they have to resort to struggle, outwardly they hesitate to confess it. They feel that if they admit it openly they will become debased in public estimation. They fail to realize that by denying the plain truth, they are hurting themselves [by acting against their own consciences].

This cult of Tantra, as enunciated by Shiva, was the first to show human beings how to attain Brahma. The earlier methods of incantation, contemplation, eulogy, or repetition of hymns, attempted in various ways to lead human beings towards Brahma, but to no avail. The essential thing is to come in the closest proximity to Parama Puruśa, to be established in Brahma. That is why Tantra proclaims:

Uttamá sahajávasthá madhyamá dhyánadhárańá;
Japastútih syádhadhamá múrtipújá dhamádhamá.

[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.]

When spiritual aspirants start spiritual practice, they cannot understand what to accept and what to avoid. Hence in the initial stage they take to idol worship. Only afterwards do they realize its futility.

Mrcchiládhátudárvádimúrttáviishvaro buddhayo;
Klishyantastapasáh jiṋánaḿ viná mokśam ná yánti te.

[Those who think that Parama Puruśa is confined within idols made of clay, stone, metal, or wood, are simply torturing their bodies with penances – they will surely not attain salvation without self-knowledge.]

“If idols made of wood, clay, iron or any other metal are accepted as objects of meditation, then what will be the result?” It is said, Yádrshii bhávaná yasya siddhirbhavati tádrshii [“As you think, so you become”]. The aspirants’ own entitative existence will be turned into clay, metal or wood – a state which in the scriptures is called Prakrtiliina. It is a dreadful state.

Higher than idol worship is the practice of dhárańá and dhyána, through which one can make steady progress. The last stage is called nirvikalpa samádhi, or asamprajiṋáta samádhi, which is otherwise known as uttamá sahajávasthá, or, in the language of other scriptures, uttamo Brahmasadbhávah.

Many may think that since Tantra is a rigorous practice, a hard reality, then in Tantra there must not be any scope for sweet kiirtana. But certainly there is scope for kiirtana. Tantra exhorts spiritual aspirants to advance towards their goal, smashing the boulders of obstacles and impediments; it never tells people to suppress their sweet sentiments. On the contrary, it advises spiritual aspirants that the more love and devotion they develop for the Cosmic Goal, the more speedily they move towards Him. Hence Tantra recognizes all kinds of sweet sentiments. Kiirtana, song, dance, instrumental music – all are accepted in Tantra and unambiguously recognized as vehicles to ensure spiritual progress.

And what is more, Sadáshiva Himself was the original propounder of song, dance and instrumental music. Tantra is based on reality, and takes the qualities of the Supreme Entity in a practical way. In Tantra, Shiva is not an imaginary entity; rather He has been accepted as the benevolent Father. That is why even today, in the society of devotees, Shiva’s popularity remains totally unimpaired, because He is the original father of Tantra.

As said earlier, Tantra is completely realistic; so its relation with Iishvara [the Supreme Entity as Cosmic Controller] is also based on realism. It is not something fanciful. It has been said,

Bhayánáḿ bhayaḿ bhiiśańaḿ bhiiśańánáḿ;
Gatih práńináḿ pávanaḿ pávanánám.
Mahoccaeh padánáḿ niyantr tadekaḿ;
Paresháḿ paraḿ rakśakaḿ rakśakánám.

[You are the fear of fear, you are the most frightening to the dreadful, you are the very movement of all living entities. You are the purity of purity. You are the Supreme Controller of all the controllers occupying exalted posts. You are the highest authority of all high authorities. You are the protector of protectors.]

“O Saviour of saviours, You are the fear of fear – fear is afraid of You as much as living beings are afraid of fear.”

Bhiiśasmádváyuh pavate bhiiśodeti súryah
Bhiiśasmadágnishcendrashca;
Mrtyuh dhávati paiṋcamah
Tasmáducyate bhiiśańamiti.

[Out of fear of Him the wind blows, the sun rises on time. Out of fear of Him the fire-god, the moon-god, the god of energy and the god of death carry out their duties faithfully. This is why He is called Bhiiśańam, The Terrible.]

As He is feared by all, every action in this universe is being properly undertaken. Were He not apparently dreadful, He would not be able to discharge His responsibilities properly. Tantra has made such a realistic appraisal of Parama Puruśa and said: Bhiiśasmádváyuh pavate – “The wind blows on time out of fear of Him; it never completely ceases to blow under any circumstances”… bhiiśo’deti súryah – “out of fear of Him, the sun rises on time every day without the least deviation”… bhiiśasmádagnishcendrashca mrtyuh dhávati paiṋcamah tasmáducyate bhiiśańamiti – “out of fear of Him, fire burns, and Indra faithfully discharges his duty” (Indra means “energy”; due to fear of Parama Puruśa, all other energies are doing their duties according to their inherent characteristics) “and due to fear of Him, death reaches the proper person at the proper time.” Death cannot say that he will reach somebody a couple of days later. Out of fear, he will always arrive at the stipulated time.

Gatih práńinám [“You are the very movement of all living entities”]. The property of movement, of dynamism, is one of the basic characteristics of our Supreme Lord. Life also is characterized by movement. We distinguish between living and non-living entities on the basis of their movement. Those who lack in dynamism, though physically they may be alive, are virtually dead: there is no justification for their existence. Hence my exhortation to all is to become active, vigorously active. This quality of dynamism comes directly from Parama Puruśa, because He Himself is always dynamic.

Pávanaḿ pávanánám. Human beings consider certain objects to be sacred; those objects are called pávana in Sanskrit. “And those sacred objects in turn look upon Parama Puruśa as sacred.” Indeed, they themselves are considered sacred because they are related to Him, otherwise they would not be sacred.

Mahoccaeh padánáḿ niyantr tadekam. In this world various persons occupy various exalted posts, and because of their posts they enjoy social respect and position. “But however high their rank may be, they pray to the Lord, saying, ‘O Lord, I exist by Your grace – protect me, O Lord.’” So the Lord is controlling everyone, whatever may be their post. The moment one transgresses one’s jurisdiction out of vanity or ego, one is removed from that post. Whenever one misuses or abuses one’s authority, the Lord pushes the person out, and the person falls on his knees. This is the rule. The Lord is controlling everything; He does not tolerate the abuse of power or authority by anyone. In fact, one of His names is Darpahárii [Stealer of Vanity]. He does not tolerate anyone’s darpa [vanity]. We see in practical life that people may be seated today in the most exalted position in society, but if they grossly abuse their position, they will meet with such a great fall that their bones and skin will be altogether beyond recognition.

Paresháḿ param. In the absence of a witnessing entity, the existence of any entity or phenomenon cannot be substantiated. When an action takes place, there should be an entity to witness it, to appreciate it. Due to the presence of the witnessing entity, an action or an object is substantiated. The entity which witnesses is called para, and the entity or entities which are witnessed are called apara. We consider many entities as para or witnessing entities, but “above all these witnessing entities there is one Supreme Witnessing Entity, Parama Puruśa.” Hence He is rightly called Paresháḿ param [“Witness of all witnesses”].

Rakśakaḿ rakśakánám. In various spheres of life, we look upon various objects or persons as our saviours or protectors. But “those very persons whom we looked up to as our saviours or protectors, themselves look to Parama Puruśa for protection.” However cautious one might be, there can never be any absolute security for anyone without the protection of Parama Puruśa. No one can say with any certainty that a particular medicine will cure a particular disease. Even the physician who specializes in the treatment of that disease may himself die of that disease. People invent a particular weapon, thinking that it will counteract other weapons; but often it fails. And people are often over-cautious. There is an old saying in Bengali, Sábdháner mára nei, which means, “Caution circumvents trouble;” but Rabindranath Tagore once said that caution no doubt circumvents trouble, but it is also true that trouble sometimes circumvents caution! Hence Tantra teaches that the human mind should be channelized in only one direction, not in a thousand directions.

Tadekaḿ japámas tadekaḿ smarámas
Tadekaḿ jagatsákśiirúpaḿ namámah;
Tadekaḿ nidhánaḿ nirálambamiishaḿ
Bhavámbodhipotaḿ sharańaḿ vrajámah.

[I will remember You only. I will contemplate on You only. I will salute You only, the Witnessing Entity of this expressed universe. You are the supreme shelter, but you require no shelter, and no authority lords over you. We take shelter in You in the form of a ship sailing on this vast universe.]

“If anyone’s name is to be chanted in japa, it is the name of Parama Puruśa.” What is japa? A word has a particular meaning; repeating the word inwardly again and again, after having understood its meaning, is what is termed japa. As a result of the prolonged repetition of a word, whose inner meaning is clearly understood, its ideation becomes permanently imprinted on one’s mind, and consequently there occurs a radical change in one’s mental arena. The extroversial tendencies of the mind gradually become introverted. This is the benefit of japa. And if anyone’s name is to be repeated, it is the name of the Lord.

Usually worldly people remember constantly their earthly joys and comforts, or dwell on the names of their enemies. But that is all useless. Only the name of Parama Puruśa should be remembered and chanted, for ultimately one will have to reach Him, to merge in Him.

Namah Shiváya shántáya kárańatrayahetabe;
Nivedayámi cátmánaḿ tvaḿ gatih Parameshvara.

[Salutations to Shiva the tranquil, the cause of the three worlds; I surrender myself to You, the culmination of my journey, the Supreme Lord.]

Ultimately one will have to reach Him. There is no other way. Hence wise persons take only the name of the One and Supreme Lord, and never the name of any other entity.

Tadekaḿ smarámah. “If one has to take refuge in any entity, or has to contemplate any entity, one should take refuge in or think about only the Supreme One,” because whenever the mind broods on a second entity, it will become one with the latter; that is, if the mind constantly reflects on physicality, one’s whole psycho-spiritual existence will become physical. That is a terrible situation.

Tadekaḿ jagatsákśiirúpaḿ namámah. “If there is anyone to whom spiritual aspirants should surrender, if there is anyone to whom they should pay salutations, it is Parama Puruśa.” The system behind salutations is to look for the Supreme Being that is the inner essence of a person, and to pay salutations to that Parama Puruśa. The generally-accepted rule is that one should say namaskára to a human being or a god or goddess, but one should say namaste or namastubhyam only to Parama Puruśa, not to any other entity.

Tadekaḿ nidhhánam. Human beings run along many different paths, but “ultimately they will have to take the path towards the Supreme One.” Nányapanthá vidyate ayanáy – “There is no other way for them.” So if they begin in time to run towards the Supreme One, it saves them a lot of time and energy later.

Nirálambamiisham. In this world each and every object requires a support, a strong base. Nothing can maintain its existence without a dependable base. For example, the base of Calcutta is West Bengal; and the base of West Bengal is India. The continent of Asia is the base of India, and the base of Asia is our planet earth. The base of the earth is the solar system, and the base of the solar system is Parama Puruśa. But “Parama Puruśa does not depend for His existence upon any base. Rather everything is sheltered in Him – He is the base of everything.” So if human beings have to look for any shelter, it must be a self-supporting, self-sheltered entity.

Bhavámbodhipotaḿ sharańaḿ vrajámah [“seek shelter on the ship floating on this ocean of bhava”]. “Casting aside all futile arguments and time-consuming propensities of mind, we will seek shelter only in You.”

Bhavámbodhipotam [“ship floating on the ocean of bhava”]. The unrequited saḿskáras [i.e., the as-yet-unserved balance of reactions to one’s original actions] which are responsible for one’s rebirth are called bhava, and dharma is the means to cross the vast ocean of bhava. To cross this bhava is part of your sádhaná, and is also your dharma. But individually human beings are very weak; it is next to impossible for them to cross the ocean of bhava without the direct help of Parama Puruśa. Máyá⁽⁴⁾ is very powerful; human beings cannot fight against Her singlehandedly. So one must first seek the shelter of Parama Puruśa and then fight against Her. Máyá gives way to the one who is endowed with divine power from Parama Puruśa because She is, after all, the immanent power of Parama Puruśa. Shaktih Sá Shivasya Shaktih. As Krśńa said,

Daevii hyeśá guńamayii mama Máyá duratyayá;
Mámeva ye prapadyante Máyámetáḿ taranti te.⁽⁵⁾

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

“This divine Máyá is insurmountable; microcosms, by their individual efforts, cannot surmount Her. But those who have taken shelter in Me, can easily surmount Her.” Bhavámbodhipotaḿ sharańaḿ vrajámah.

Now to cross an ocean, the passengers need to board a ship. Parama Puruśa comes to human beings as a ship does to pick up passengers. What should we do? We should secure a safe shelter on that ship – sharańaḿ vrajámah. All sádhakas are rushing to that ship which will take them to their proper destination. Human beings have to take refuge in that divine ship; they will have to come rushing, without further delay. They should not and must not waste a single moment.

(1) This translation applies equally well to both shlokas, the Vedic and the Tantric. –Eds.

(3) In the Cosmic Cycle, saiṋcara is the step-by-step extroversion and crudification of consciousness from Nucleus Consciousness to the state of solid matter; and pratisaiṋcara is the reverse introversion and subtilization of consciousness. –Eds.

(4) Creative Principle, Prakrti in Her phase of creation; One aspect of Máyá is the power to cause the illusion that finite created objects are the ultimate truth. –Eds.

A Devotee's Object of Ideation

Published in:
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

this version: is the printed Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

The subject of today’s discourse is “A Devotee’s Object of Ideation”. Is it a personal entity or an impersonal entity? An impersonal entity is only a philosophical concept. A wise person comprehends or deduces with philosophical knowledge that there is such an impersonal entity. In the case of an impersonal entity, it is difficult to find out its nucleus; and in the absence of knowledge of the nucleus, people cannot decide which way to proceed and what to avoid. So the impersonal entity is more a theoretical concept than a reality in practical life.

People in general come into the world only for a short period – at the very most for one hundred or one hundred and twenty-five years. Out of this short span of life, if they spend a major portion of their time searching for the nucleus of the impersonal entity, and they are required to deliberate in this regard, where will they find so much time?

On the other hand, the scriptures say, Grhiitvaeva kesheśu mrtyurńá Dharmácaret: that is, during spiritual practice one should think that the god of death has already started pulling one’s hair – that one’s death is imminent. And accordingly one should work sincerely and vigorously; one will have to do a great many noble deeds within a short period. If the whole lifetime is spent on philosophical discussions about the impersonal entity, then how can any noble work be done?

The second question is, why should one pursue the Great? Trees and plants, birds and animals perform actions goaded by natural instinct. In human beings, too, these natural instincts are indeed present; but along with these there is yet another factor – attraction for the Great, which one usually does not feel for an impersonal entity. Human beings understand love and affection from the core of their hearts; they understand the force of attraction. They realize who is calling them, who is loving them, who is really thinking for their progress and welfare. Even the simplest people can understand this; for this one need not acquire academic knowledge. The saint Kabir did not have a great deal of schooling, nor did Rámakrśńa Paramahaḿsa. To grasp this simple truth one need not possess a high degree of knowledge and intellect; that force of love which human beings certainly feel, even some animals can feel as well.

People really cannot feel attraction for an impersonal entity. Human beings with unit minds cannot feel because the impersonal entity Nirguńa Brahma, the Impersonal Entity, does not do any action and hence He has no direct relation to human beings at all. Saguńa Brahma simply discharges His allotted duty and beyond that He does not do anything. He is a judge – He does the duty of a judge – He has no love and affection for any entity. He is just a mere machine to administer justice. Human beings may praise this style of judgement, but they will not feel attraction for Him, they will not develop love or kinship for Him.

One feels kinship to those with whom there is a relation of mutual love and affection, a relation of close intimacy. Where there is lack of intimacy, we call a person as Mr. X, Mrs. Y, etc.; but where there is a feeling of intimacy, the relationship of brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, etc. grows. Obviously where there is no close intimacy between human beings and the Impersonal Entity, no kinship can grow at all. On the other hand, although Saguńa Brahma is a personal Entity, human beings have no personal relationship with Him, because He is extremely busy in creation; He does not do anything beyond His allotted duty. Human beings want a personal God who will understand their joys and sorrows, who will have love for them, and to whom they can express love and feel kinship. They certainly do not want a God who will only impart words of knowledge or punish them and not listen to their tales of sorrow in a sympathetic manner. They want an Entity who will sympathize with them cent per cent in their prosperity and adversity alike.

The philosophical texts refer to Táraka Brahma. Through philosophical analysis, we know that the universe is a creation of the dexterous hand of Parama Prakrti, a vast endless Entity, an immensely powerful Entity. Human beings, in contrast, are only small creatures; by their individual endeavour and strength how far can they progress? They have so many imperfections in them. When the avidyá, opposing force, is so powerful, how can small individuals make significant progress? Hence, they have to take inspiration and help from some other entity.

History moves ahead in every age, and in the process of its movement arrives at a particular stage where the speed needs to be accelerated. This entire phase or part of it is called “annals” in history. Sometimes, at a particular point of history, not only on this planet but on other planets as well where intelligent creatures like human beings live, the speed of movement must be accelerated. This is not an ordinary situation. In that extraordinary event, Táraka Brahma emerges to expedite the welfare of the collective body.

Yadá yadá hi dharmasya glánirbhavati Bhárata;
Cábhyutthánam adharmasya tadátmánaḿ srjámyaham.⁽¹⁾

Whenever Dharma declines, whenever people feel helpless, at that stage it becomes imperative for Táraka Brahma to come to the world with the help of the five fundamental factors, to inspire the depressed people, to encourage them to move forward, to make them realize that they are not forlorn or helpless, that Parama Puruśa or Táraka Brahma is always with them and will continue to help them. Máyá or Avidyá may be powerful but Parama Puruśa is more powerful than Máyá. And why should those who have got power from Parama Puruśa fear Avidyá? There is no justification for fear or worry. Hence, the advent of Táraka Brahma is to instil hope and confidence in human beings. He says:

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

It is true that Máyá is extremely powerful. By individual effort, it is not possible for a person to overcome Her. But as She is the immanent power of Parama Puruśa (Shaktih Sá Shivasya shaktih), She is certainly subservient to Parama Puruśa. So why should a person who has come into the shelter of Parama Puruśa be afraid of Máyá? Hence it is said, “Those who take shelter in Me do not find it difficult to overcome Máyá.”

Human beings want a personal God whom they will accept as their object of adoration, who will hold out sublime hopes, before them as Lord Shiva did, as Lord Krśńa did… “Do not fear, do not be perturbed, Parama Puruśa is with you.”

To become involved in useless controversies regarding the Supreme Entity is meaningless. What is really important is to meditate on the personal God and move towards Him. And this personal God is the Singular Entity, the Táraka Brahma. Táraka Brahma literally means a special manifestation of Parama Puruśa which ensures emancipation to the microcosms. The word Táraka means “liberator”, one who shows the correct way, one who loves as well as punishes, on who makes the microcosms His own. In this sense, Táraka Brahma is not only the liberator, the object of adoration, but also the loving Father. He is the eternal companion of unit beings in their joys and sorrows – not a God in the distant sky but an understanding Lord in the house where they dwell.

Human beings should always remember that Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Father, is always with them and when necessary will protect them, for it is His very wont to protect His created beings. For this you need not ask Him to do this or that for you. He knows what is necessary for you more than you do, so why should you ask for anything?

A little child of one or two months does not ask its mother for anything; rather its mother knows better the child’s needs. How much intellect do you really have? You have only a small cranium in your head, and in that cranium there is a little brain. With that brain how far can you think? When you are confronted with a great and baffling problem, your brain becomes almost paralysed and fails to think. Such is the capacity of the brain. So you need not think about your personal gains too much; nor should you become unnecessarily embroiled in any philosophical labyrinth. Parama Puruśa will certainly do whatever is needed. Your duty is simply to be nearer and still nearer to Him by dint of your sádhaná and finally to sit upon His lap and be one with Him. This is your highest desideratum. Thereby you are sure to attain supreme blessedness. You will establish yourself both in this life and in the life beyond. Let Him do His duty and you keep on doing yours.

The Supreme Desideratum of the Microcosms

Published in:
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Supreme Desideratum of the Microcosms.” First of all, we should know what is jiiva or microcosm. The nucleus of the universe is known as Puruśottama: the entire universe has emanated from Him. Out of the five fundamental factors life emerged slowly and gradually. Life originates from a particular environment, a particular situation in which the five fundamental factors exist in a certain proportion on a particular planet or other celestial body; and where the balance in the proportion of the five fundamental factors is lost, life is destroyed. There are many planets, where there were once living creatures but now there is no life there. On our planet Earth there was no living being in the distant past; now there is life; and in future there will be no life again.

There is an unfounded fear in the minds of some people that in the absence of living beings there will be the dissolution of the earth. No, there is no basis for such a fear. Because of the grace of Parama Puruśa there is no lack of intellect in human beings. When this world becomes unfit for human habitation, human beings will then set out for other planets and satellites. And I have also said that the universe will never undergo thermal death. Perhaps a particular planet may undergo thermal death but by then the inhabitants of that planet will have settled on other planets. Moreover, the huge amount of energy which is released due to jadasphot́a or the material bursting of one celestial body will produce new stars and planets. This is why people should under no circumstances be concerned; the Entity who is the Destructor is also the Creator, so there is no cause for worrying. Just as the Destroyer is your Father, the Preserver is also your Father and why should the offsprings be afraid of their Father? A father may be feared by others, but why should the sons and daughters be afraid of their father?

Under special circumstances, at certain places, living microcosms emerge. Animals and birds also belong to the category of living beings. Where will they go from here? It is His special desire that they should proceed towards the nucleus in the phase of introversion (Pratisaiṋcara); there is no other way for them. Those who delay, arrive late at their destination; those who do not delay, arrive earlier. For it has been said, Parama Puruśa is the Supreme Culminating Point. A place where people leave immediately because they do not like it, is called aparágati, and the place where people enjoy the supreme blessedness, where, once reaching there they do not ever want to leave, is called parágati. One who moves towards aparágati comes under the binding influence of Prakrti.

Prakrti exercises Her influence on the human mind in fourteen ways. Some of these bondages are related to the external world, and the rest are related to the internal world, to the psychic world. There are six enemies (śad́aripu): attachment (káma), anger (krodha), avarice (lobha), infatuation (moha), vanity (mada), and jealousy (mátsarya). And the bondages related to the external world are eight in number (Aśt́apásha): hatred, doubt, fear, shyness, hypocrisy, pride of lineage, pride of culture, and inflated ego:

Ghrńá shauńká bhayam lajjá jugupsá ceti paiṋcamii
Kulaḿ shiilaiṋca mánaḿca Aśt́apásháh Prakiirttitáh.

Because of these bondages, the microcosms are called jiiva. The Entity who has no such bondages is called Shiva. One who has attained that Entity is said to have attained the culminating point of existence: Páshabaddho bhavejjiivah páshamukto bhavecchivah.

Thus human beings will have to move towards that Supreme Culminating Point, towards that Parama Puruśa because He is just like a magnet: the microcosms have no alternative but to move towards Him. It is because of His impetus that they have got their physical bodies and minds. This is why even if human beings try to go far from Him under the dominating influence of the bondages of aśt́apásha and śad́aripu, still there remains some connection between them and Parama Puruśa.

Due to their mutual relation of Father and children, even though people may remain oblivious to their close relationship with Him, He can never forget anyone. You know that to forget and to remain oblivious to something are not one and the same thing. If a near and dear member of a family dies, the other members may bitterly mourn for him or her for several days, but after that they stop weeping. That does not mean that the other members of the family have become totally oblivious to their dead relation. As long as those other members are alive they can never be oblivious to him, but they may temporarily forget him. Exactly in the same way those people whom we call sinful (pápii) may temporarily forget Parama Puruśa, but they can never remain oblivious to Him.

This is the reason why no one should hate anyone however sinful or wicked that person may be. How can we hate such a person? We have no right to hate anyone because Parama Puruśa cannot and does not hate anyone. Then how can we hate? Judged in the proper perspective, every human being is our brother or sister. When anyone is lagging behind, it is your bounden duty to help him or her and take them with you. Knowingly or unknowingly all the microcosms are moving around Puruśottama, and this very movement is their allotted duty.

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe brhante
Tasmin haḿso bhrámyate brahmacakre
Prthagátmánaḿ preritáraiṋca matvá
Juśt́astatastenámrtatvameti.

Each and every human being and each and every living microcosm is moving around the nucleus of creation: the difference between them is that human beings are moving consciously and the non-human creatures are moving unconsciously. Just as human beige have a certain advantage because of their independent minds they have a disadvantage also. The disadvantage is that if they do not move towards Parama Puruśa consciously, then their movement may be towards crude physicality, towards animality. And the advantage they enjoy because of their independent will is that if they so desire, they can move towards their Goal with greater momentum. To make the best use of this advantage is an act of wisdom on the part of human beings. Thus human beings, who have such developed minds, should properly utilize their mental potentialities and moving with accelerated speed, reach closer to Parama Puruśa.

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe brhante: Human beings, with their respective radii, are moving around Parama Puruśa. Those who move consciously gradually reduce their radius, and those who want to remain away from Him increase their radius more and more. But it must be remembered that one is moving around Parama Puruśa and thus there is no way of escape – where is there to escape? If the radius goes on increasing and thus becomes very vast, even then it remains within Him, not without. Everything is within Him, nothing is beyond or outside Him.

Thus the entire world of living beings is moving around him with their respective ájiiva. Here ájiiva means both physical occupations as well as psychic occupations. Usually physical occupation or physical pabulum is called ájiiva and psychic pabulum is called ábhoga. Hence each and every person, with his or her physical as well as psychic pabulum is revolving around Him. All the living creatures are preoccupied with their own worlds of existence, the worlds where each and every entity moves, gathers its food and drink, an discharges its mundane duties. The living beings, moving around Him, are extremely busy with all these objects and activities. Similarly they also survive with all their mental objectivities.

People according to their respective physical and psychic pabula, are provided in their next life with the requisite physical bodies. Those who want to eat and drink beyond all proportion may be provided with pigs’ bodies; in that case, they can eat as much as they like. Those who are very angry by disposition may be provided with buffaloes’ bodies, so they can be as angry as they like. And those who long for the close proximity to Parama Puruśa, will attain a developed human frame, a sentient human body.

However, depending upon one’s physical or psychic pabulum, one moves in the world. Ájiiva means occupation or means of livelihood. Hence, one’s psychic occupation should be sentient. In the Aśt́áuṋga Márga (Eightfold Path) as enunciated by Lord Buddha, there is mention of right philosophy (samyak darshana), right means of livelihood (samyak ájiiva), right speech (samyak vák), right action (samyak karmánta), etc. So it is clear here too that one’s ájiiva or physical occupation should be sentient. People’s means of livelihood should not depend on the quarrel of individuals, as in the case of lawyers. Lawyers usually set one person against another and in this way they serve their personal interests. Similarly no one should be a trader in religion, because in the name of religion, many people are exploited. Nor should one earn one’s livelihood by dealing with dead bodies because such people want more and more people to die, so that they may thereby increase their income. People should also not earn their livelihood by lending money and taking interest. Such persons want to lend more and more money to gain more and more interest, and they do not want the borrowers to refund the capital. The scriptures stipulate that people should not accept food from such people, because their occupations are despicable.

So living beings are preoccupied with their individual occupations. Those who remain away from Him may not realize it, but those who are near can see that Parama Puruśa sees everything. Those who shut their eyes think that no one in the world is seeing them. When a hunter attacks a hare, the hare covers its eyes with its ears, and thinks that as it cannot see the hunter, so too the hunter cannot see it. But people must always remember that Parama Puruśa is ever with them, and by this they derive great benefit. The only difficulty in this is that Parama Puruśa can see everything and on certain occasions He discloses their secrets. But the benefit is that under no circumstances are they ever alone, or weak, or helpless. As Parama Puruśa is always with you, you will never be in trouble, so you should never be unnecessarily worried.

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe: I told you a little while ago that human beings attain their physical bodies according to their physical and psychic pabula. One requires a physical body for the proper expression of one’s psychic desires. Suppose, if one wants to drink water through the nose, one will get an elephant’s body. As you desire, so your body will be allotted accordingly.

Wherever there is any order or system, it must be circular. Take for instance the atomic system. In an atom there is a nucleus and around the nucleus move so many electrons. If there is a slight variation in the number of electrons, the degree of attraction will also vary. Bigger than the atomic system is the global system of the earth with the moon moving around the earth. Bigger than the global system is the solar system: the sun is the nucleus and all other objects and entities are revolving around the nucleus. This action of movement will go on eternally. Each and every creature is moving and Puruśottama is the Supreme Culminating Point. You all know what Náráyańa the Lord has observed in this regard.

Náhaḿ tiśt́hámi vaekuńt́he yogináḿ hrdaye na ca
Madbhaktáh yatra gáyante tatra tiśt́hámi Nárada.

What is the meaning of Náráyańa? Nára means Prakrti, the Supreme Operative Principle, and Ayana means “shelter.” So Náráyańa means the shelter of Prakrti, i.e. Puruśottama. The meaning of Mádhava is also the same: Má means the Supreme Operative Principle, and dhava means “Lord” or “husband”. Hence Mádhava means Parama Puruśa. Náhaḿ tiśt́hámi vaekuńt́he: according to mythology, Náráyańa, that is Parama Puruśa, resides in Vaekuńt́ha or heaven. Vaekuńt́ha literally means a state where there is no psychic contraction. The human mind becomes crippled or contracted when it is assailed by a particular propensity like hatred, shyness, or any other negative propensity. So vaekuńt́ha means a place where the mind remains free from any sort of psychic concentration. Náráyańa says that such a vaekuńt́ha is also not His favourite abode.

Now the question is, if Parama Puruśa does not reside in vaekuńt́ha, then where does He reside? He says, Yogiináḿ hrdaye na ca-He does not reside in the hearts of yogiis also, because there also there is no possibility for further expansion or liberation. Hence this also is not an ideal place, a place for salvation or emancipation. At the most, one can get mukti or liberation, but certainly not mokśa or salvation, What type of place is the heart of the yogi? Yogashcittavrttinirodhah: yoga means a state of suspension of all psychic propensities. So it is, after all, a state of contraction where there is no expression of the human mind.

Then where does Náráyańa finally reside? According to Him, Madbhaktáh yatra gáyante tatra tiśt́hámi Nárada: Where my devotees sing kiirtana, there I reside. This means that Parama Puruśa as the nucleus of creation reaches the place where the devotees are singing kiirtana. Although Parama Puruśa is all-pervading, He shifts the nucleus to that particular place. This is the reason why devotees should sing bhajana (devotional songs) and kiirtana as much as possible, and the result will be that the nucleus of Puruśottama will be shifted to the place of kiirtana, producing a very powerful devotional vibration that elevates all the human minds. This is the real cosmological order: where the devotees through their intensely devotional music attract the Nucleus of the cosmological order, as they are also moving around the Nucleus.

Tasmin haḿso bhrámyate brahmacakre. And what do the rest of the people do? They think that since Parama Puruśa is so vast and so learned, whereas they themselves are foolish and illiterate – insignificant creatures. Thus they increase their radii, their distance from the nucleus. This psychology that Parama Puruśa is too vast and great for the devotees to attain Him is called mahimnabodha, that which keeps them away from Parama Puruśa. Those who consider themselves to be wicked try to go far from Parama Puruśa, thinking that if they remove themselves from Him they will in this way be spared punishment. But the point is, if someone goes some distance from Parama Puruśa, can he or she avoid punishment in this way? No. So it is better to come close to Him and draw His sympathy and love, and thus become pure and holy.

Prthagátmánaḿ preritáraḿca matvá. As long as human minds dwell on the duality that “I and my Lord are separate entities,” they keep on moving around the periphery of Parama Puruśa. Instead of this, people should think, “Parama Puruśa is my Father – He may be great and wise, but after all I am His child.” Now in the worldly sphere, if a father is learned and the son or daughter is illiterate, this does not at all undermine the sweet and loving relationship between the father and his child; rather instead of going away from Parama Puruśa, it is better to come close to Him so that the influence and wisdom of the Supreme can elevate His sons and daughters. And those who are wicked and sinful also need not be worried because they are also equally His children. Náráyańa says:

Api cet sudurácáro bhajate mámananyabhák
So’pi pápavinirmukto mucyate bhavabandhanát.

“Even if one who is more sinful than any sinner and more evil than the most wicked, meditates on Me forgetting all else, then they will also be liberated – they need not be concerned about it. I will also liberate such people from worldly bondages.” So even those diehard sinners need not go away from Puruśottama; rather they should approach near to Him. He is the Supreme Culminating Point of each and every human life.

The Essence of Spiritual Progress

Published in:
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

The subject of today’s discourse is “ The Essence of Spiritual Progress”. While speaking about progress, two things are to be carefully remembered: one thing is that progress is always systaltic, pulsative… it never moves in a straight line. And the second thing is that the velocity and acceleration vary according to the variation in physical, psychic and spiritual planes. In the case of so-called physical and intellectual progress, the variation in acceleration and also velocity takes place due to certain belligerent forces acting within and without the microcosm. In the physical plane the most important belligerent force is the inertia of the earth; and in the psychic plane, in the intellectual stratum, the main belligerent forces are the different projections of mind… the difference in reflection and refraction in different psychic pabula. That is why I say that there cannot be any actual progress in the physical and psychic planes; there can only be progress in the stratum of spirituality. And this progress occurs also in the three levels according to the psycho-spiritual standard of that particular microcosm.

By birth all human beings are just like animals. They are bound by the fetters of so many páshas and ripus, bondages and enemies of mind. In this first phase, with the blessings of the Lord, they start their struggle. And what is this struggle? It is the struggle against those fetters while moving towards the Goal. In this struggle they are emboldened by the support of the Máyá. This first phase of struggle in tantra Sadhana is called pashvácár in Saḿskrta, for here the spiritual aspirants are to some extent like animals; and so the fight against all those nooses of páshas and ripus is known as the fight of an animal – the pashvácára in Saḿskrta. Now while struggling against those binding principles they badly need the grace of the lord, and in their inner voice they address the Lord as Pashupati, the Lord of the animals: “O Lord, I am a pashu, an animal, and Thou art my Lord, Thou art Pashupati.” So in the first phase of spiritual movement Sadáshiva or the Guru is known as Pashupati.

Sarveca Pashavah santihtalvad bhútale Naráh
Tesáḿ jiṋánaprakásháya Viirabhávah prakáshitah
Viirabhávam sadá prápya krameńa devatá bhavet.

Now after this first phase is over, after the successful completion of the first struggle, the second one starts. This second struggle occurs both externally and internally, and for this the sádhakas must be sufficiently bold. This boldness comes as a result of the first fight. In this second phase the spiritual aspirants struggle like heroes, and address their Lord as Viireshvara. So in this second phase of struggle, their Lord Sadáshiva becomes Viireshvara, the Lord of Heroes. Now the spiritual aspirants are no longer animals or pashus, they are heroes or viiras.

And in the final phase they attain godhood step by step. Here the struggle is purely internal, controlling the debasing propensities of the mind one by one. Now the aspirants are called devas or divine beings, and their course of action is known as divyácárá. In the first phase there may be some physical obstacles, but these can be surmounted by the Grace of the Lord. In the second phase, too, there are mental obstacles, but they too can be overcome by the Grace of the Lord. For He clearly says:

Daevii hyeśá guńamayii mama Máyá duratyayá;
Mámeva ye prapadyante Máyámetáḿ taranti te.⁽¹⁾

“This Máyá, this depraving faculty, this avidyá shakti, is my Máyá: she is under my control” – Shakti sá shivasya shaktih. So those spiritual aspirants who have surrendered at the altar of the Supreme need not be afraid of Máyá because the Lord before whom they have surrendered controls that very Máyá. Daeviiyeśa guńamayii mama Máyá duratyayá: “This Máyá of mine is insurmountable.” But Mámeva ye prapadyante – “Those who have taken shelter in Me” – Máyámetáḿ taranti te – “will easily surmount this Máyá.” So spiritual aspirants need not be afraid of this Máyá: She can do nothing because the Lord is with them. In pashvácára and viirácára, they are helped by the Lord to fight against Máyá.

What is divyácárá? From the root div comes the word deva which means vibrational faculty, vibrational manifestation. The Supreme Cause is noumenal: from It emerges the vibrational faculty and the entire universe. All the manifestations are nothing but a mesh of so many vibrations of so many wavelengths, and thus there is variety in this world. Pra karoti iti Prakrti – prakáraḿ karoti iti Prakrti.

Now in the third phase the spiritual aspirants become one with a particular expression, and slowly they move towards the nucleus of the universe that controls all the vibrations. If a particular vibration is called a deva, the Supreme Controlling Faculty of the devas is called Mahádeva: Tvamiishvaráńaḿ paramam Maheshvaraḿ Mahádeva. Finally the spiritual aspirants become one with the nucleus, and then they control all those vibrational expressions, all those devas – then they themselves become Mahádeva.

You know I told you that devotees are “A-class” intellectuals. Actually they possess A-grade intellect, and not only that, they are cunning also. The devotee says, “O Mahádeva, I am not a philosopher – I do not know what sort of entity Thou art because I do not know philosophy. But this much I know – that Thou art my controller, Thou art my everything.”

Tava tattvaḿ na jánámi kiidrsho’si Maheshvara
Yádráosi Mahádeva tadrsháya namonamah.

“O Lord, I do not know what sort of entity Thou art, but whatever Thou art, to that Entity I prostrate myself.”

Thus there are three Tántrik phases in spiritual progress: pashvácár, viirácárá, and divyácáŕa. Now there is a knotty question: in spiritual progress, all three avenues – bhakti, jiṋána and karma – have been recognized by the sages. All these three are avenues of progress no doubt, but you should remember that in jiṋána or intellectual progress, in the final phase you will have to take shelter in and remain under the scope of karma and bhakti. Without action or karma, and finally while becoming one with the Supreme, you will have to resort to bhakti. If your progress is in the field of action, of karma, you may move ahead to some extent, but in the final phase you will have to resort to knowledge; and just before the ultimate union with the Supreme you will have to resort to bhakti. But in the case of bhakti, from the first point up to the last, the devotees depend on bhakti only: they need not take shelter in jiṋána or karma.

Now altogether it is recognized that all these three approaches are correct, human beings who have come here only for a limited span of time, cannot spare much time to go through so many scriptures or perform so many actions. They will have to complete everything within the short span of their lives. So the best choice for the spiritual aspirants is the path of bhakti. These obstacles, these fetters of Máyá are the principle opposing forces, the most important belligerent forces. By individual effort it is very difficult to surmount that ocean of Máyá. For the jiṋániis, the intellectuals, the Goal is merely theoretical and impersonal. How can they expect a theoretical and impersonal entity to help them – and how can the jiṋániis even approach Him when for them His very existence is impersonal? So the jiṋániis, although they have recognized the importance of jiṋána or knowledge, have no future. They simply waste their valuable time, which is a very short span of hardly one hundred years.

And for the karmiis or people of action, the desideratum is partly personal and partly impersonal, but the link between the impersonal and the personal undergoes some distortion. With the help of this distorted link, how can they expect to receive perennial grace for their spiritual progress from the Supreme, and how can they struggle against the all-pervading influence of Máyá? So the karmiis having no fixed desideratum and no fixed personal goal, no personal God, also have no future. The future is with the devotees and with no one else. You boys and girls, you should always remember that you have come here for a very short span of time-you must not misuse your valuable time in intellectual altercations or actional infighting. Kalyáńamastu – may you all be blessed.

The Path of Salvation

Published in:
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

The subject of today’s discourse is: What is The Path of Salvation? The longing for salvation is an innate tendency of the human mind; that is, each and every human being cherishes an inward desire for all-round emancipation. But in the absence of proper guidance, this human aspiration for emancipation remains unfulfilled. I said yesterday that in the pursuit of emancipation various actional urges and aspirations in the human mind have emerged.

Just as human beings attain freedom in social, cultural, moral and other spheres of life, they also attain freedom in the spiritual sphere as well. This spiritual freedom means to become one with Parama Puruśa in order to attain permanent salvation from physical, psychic and spiritual bondages. That is, the microcosms become one with the Macrocosm. This is the real emancipation. When spiritual aspirants undertake long and arduous spiritual practice, they always set out on their spiritual quest keeping the goal of Parama Puruśa fixed before them.

Now a question may arise: how can a spiritual aspirant place Parama Puruśa before his or her eyes, and why should one do so? And another question may also arise: what is the source of strength or capacity of a spiritual aspirant? We know from our philosophical knowledge that the Supreme Entity is always with human beings. Now what one should do is to fix one’s vision only on Him. As far as Parama Puruśa is concerned, He is always watching human beings: His vision is always on us. If there is some slight mistake in one’s ideation, all one’s endeavours in search of Parama Puruśa will become fruitless.

Human beings do karma (action) and think that thereby they will attain liberation from all actional bondages. Although it is true that through actions human beings can attain freedom from actional bondages. Whenever people perform actions they should always be aware that Parama Puruśa is always watching them, and they are performing the action not for their own personal satisfaction but for the satisfaction of Parama Puruśa. When a human being does something to please Parama Puruśa, this is called gopii bháva. The Saḿskrta word gopii means one who is in the very habit of pleasing Parama Puruśa. Now the actions of people who just perform actions without any love for Parama Puruśa in the core of their hearts, are fruitless – it is impossible to attain salvation through these types of actions devoid of cosmic ideation. The path of salvation lies elsewhere.

There are some people who perform rigorous penance: they sit in the middle of a ring of flames and in the process suffer a great deal. Others remain seated with their heads bent down and their legs upwards, thus subjecting themselves to much physical torture. They believe that this type of penance will lead to the exhaustion of their actional bondages accumulated for lives together. But this is not correct. The secret is that while performing any action, one must remember that Parama Puruśa is always watching one’s action. A genuine spiritualist will have to establish a relation of love with Parama Puruśa. Those who remain oblivious to this truth become unsuccessful in their mission, whatever might be the intensity of their penance. But when people undertake penance with cosmic ideation then Parama Puruśa will Himself guide them not to perform such rigorous but fruitless penances – as if He is telling them internally, “Just keep doing whatever I have told you to do.”

There are other people who practice yoga according to their belief that the intense practice of yoga will pave the way to salvation. While it is true that the systematic practice of yoga leads to spiritual emancipation, what is important is the type of yoga that is practiced. Yogashcittavrttinirodhah, suspension of all psychic propensities is yoga. What to call this suspension in which the mind and sense organs stop their functioning and the unit consciousness is also suspended? According to psychology, when the psychic pressure is removed, then the old suppressed propensities of that mind will again be revived and resume their original state. This type of yoga is only for display, to earn a few coins from the public to fill one’s belly. As a saint observed:

Muŕmuŕháye jat́á báŕáye mast phire jaesá bhaesá
Upar Khák lágáye man jyaesá ká taesá.

[Some people shave their heads, wear long beards, and move like big buffaloes; they smear their bodies with ashes, but internally their minds remain unchanged.]

Man ná ráuṋáiyá, ráuṋáile yogi kápŕá [“Instead of colouring your mind you simply dyed your cloth, O yogi!”]. These are useless pursuits.

Now what is the real yoga? Sarvácintáparityágoniscinta yoga ucyate. If the mind’s propensities are suspended, then all thought-processes will automatically stop. Will this lead to the Supreme Attainment? Certainly not. Theoretically when one’s psychic propensities are withdrawn, this is yoga no doubt, but is it the real spiritual yoga or unification? No. The real spiritual unification is defined as Saḿyoga yoga ityuktah jiivátamá Paramátmanah: when the unit consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness are fused into one, that is the real yoga. When does this take place? When the spiritual aspirants establish a relationship of sweet love with Parama Puruśa. In the absence of this sweet and loving relationship, human beings are bound to maintain a distance from Parama Puruśa out of fear. This is called mahimnabodha in the scriptures. “While Parama Puruśa is such a vast and exalted Entity and I am such an insignificant creature, how can I go near Him?” This sort of inferiority complex on the part of a spiritual aspirant is immensely harmful, and spiritual aspirants must be aware of this. I may be a very small creature, and indeed a drop of water is very insignificant in comparison to the vast ocean of water; but although small, that tiny drop of water is inseparably associated with the ocean itself. That drop never thinks that because it is a mere drop, how can it be associated with the great sea. In the same way, the arduous yogic practice of spiritual aspirants becomes meaningless if they fail to establish a sweet relation with Parama Puruśa.

There are still others who think that through the cultivation of knowledge they will attain Parama Puruśa: “Through knowledge I will know the true nature of Parama Puruśa and thereby my mind will attain emancipation.” This sort of thought is equally defective. How can one attain Parama Puruśa through knowledge? There is infinite knowledge, infinite strength and capacity in Parama Puruśa. From whatever angle of vision one looks at Him, one will never be able to fathom Him. The amount of knowledge or power or memory that is in Parama Puruśa is certainly lacking in any individual. Then with your small brain, with your shallow intellect, how will you understand him? So a person of knowledge is bound to become a cent per cent failure.

How can one attain Parama Puruśa through knowledge which in human beings is so limited? It is categorically impossible for human beings. Only in one way it may be possible, if a person of so-called knowledge develops love and attachment for Parama Puruśa, and by virtue of that love if he or she comes in the closest proximity of Parama Puruśa and says, sitting on His lap, “Oh Lord, kindly tell me what is Your real nature.” Now if out of love Parama Puruśa reveals His inner secret to such a person, then that person can know it, otherwise it will remain a secret forever.

There are still others who think that they can attain salvation by worshipping Parama Puruśa in a ritualistic manner by ringing bells or lighting candles, or offering flowers. No, they will also meet with equal failure because they are mere slaves of mechanical rituals. By following such rituals these people become bound within hard and fast routine activities. At a particular time they will light candles, ring bells, clean plates, offer flowers to the deity etc.; and in actuality as their whole attention is diverted to those mechanical activities, their cosmic ideation is completely forgotten. You may have seen that in the worship of certain deities some people are invited to the pandal (religious tent), and after a while they ask, “Well, the bell has already rung – is it time yet to receive the prasáda [holy food]?” They have come to such a state that their minds remain concentrated on the ringing of the bell in the expectation of the distribution of prasáda. And there are some people who surreptitiously approach the priest and whisper into his ears, “Can you please ring the bell quickly?”

As for those who chant the holy name of Krśńa but have no genuine love for Parama Puruśa, their minds are not on Him, they are simply thinking of the word “Krśńa.” And after some time their minds become diverted from the repetition of the word and become filled with undesirable thoughts – such as against whom they should file a lawsuit in the court, or whose field will be destroyed by their grazing cows, etc. This shows that unless there is genuine love for Parama Puruśa, the repetition of holy chants is useless and leads to wastage of both time and energy. Moreover, if during the repetition of holy names, Parama Puruśa is not the goal of one’s mind, then the power attained from that japa or repetition may also be misused. Suppose someone is sitting in meditation for one or two hours and thinking all sorts of undesirable thoughts – this is worse than not doing sádhaná at all because in this way the Sádhaka’s mind becomes even more degraded. There is a local proverb, “Gela bhaesá pánii me khuńt́ásamet” – when the buffalo runs into the pond, it drags its binding rope and stake with it.

Human beings meditate on Parama Puruśa and wrongly think that they are visualising. The question is, how can they visualise Parama Puruśa? The power to visualise Him comes from Him only – it is due to His Grace that the spiritual aspirants may catch a glimpse of Him. Thus the best approach is to think, “Oh Lord, please always maintain Your close vigil on me so that I may always act only according to Your desire.”

Now, who can think these types of thoughts? Only those who have deep devotion to Parama Puruśa. And those who bear no love for Him have nothing to say. If a person at the very sight of Parama Puruśa starts thinking within, “Oh, I have done so many misdeeds!” – is this the sign of one’s love for Parama Puruśa, or a sign of fear? Similarly, while meditating, if one thinks, “Oh Lord, tomorrow morning I must encounter my enemy in the battlefield. During that time do not keep your watch over me.” These are not the ideal thoughts for a genuine devotee: they do not produce any good result. On the contrary, people should always think, “Parama Puruśa is the very life of my life – I must love Him alone, and I will move according to His pleasure. He is the machine operator and I am the machine in His hands; I will work as and when He desires.”

What should be the nature of one’s love for Parama Puruśa? This entire universe is the creation of Parama Puruśa, and hence every microcosm is a child of Parama Puruśa. If I serve each and every microcosm, He will be pleased, and that will be the only way to establish a sweet relationship with Him: in no other way can it be done. Now what is the need to arouse love and affection for Him? In this way spiritual aspirants themselves will attain bliss. But those who are A-grade devotees will say, “We will establish a loving relationship with Parama Puruśa not so that we can derive pleasure from it, but rather so that He will be pleased thereby. Whether I get pleasure or not is immaterial.”

There is a story that once Lord Krśńa fell seriously ill. Various medicines were administered, but the disease could not be cured. Many physicians were consulted but no one could diagnose the disease. Finally Lord Krśńa Himself was asked, “What is the medicine for this disease?” He replied, “See here, if any of my true devotees agrees to give the dust particles of his or her feet, only that will cure my disease.” Then the sage Narada made a frantic search throughout the world to find such a true devotee, but as was expected, nowhere could such a devotee be found. Whomever Narada approached was shocked to hear such a proposal and protested, “How can we give the dust particles of our feet to the Lord? That would be the highest blasphemy, and for that we would be doomed into the lowest hell!” No such devotee as Lord Krśńa had suggested was to be found anywhere.

At long last Narada went to Vrajabhúmi, and there he explained the situation to the people. No sooner had they heard the news of Lord Krśńa’s illness than they cried out in chorus, “All right, we are ready to give our foot-dust for our Lord!” Flabbergasted, Narada asked them, “How can you say this? If your foot-dust is smeared on the forehead of the Lord, will you not incur great sin thereby?” The cowherds of Vrajabhúmi replied unhesitatingly, “Perhaps we may incur sin thereby, and we are ready to enter hell for that. But if the dust-particles of our feet can cure our beloved Lord, that would be wonderful.” This is the epitome of devotion, and to please Parama Puruśa we must develop this type of exclusive devotion.

So you should always remember one thing: that your spiritual practice, your mundane activities, your worldly ideology, your social, economic, and moral ideals in every sphere of your existence must be suffused with the ideation that you love your Lord, and you should love Him for only one reason – to please Him.

Who Is the Liberating Entity of Human Society

Published in:
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

The subject of today’s discourse is: Who is the Liberating Entity of the Human Society? Some people say that human beings attain salvation by their occult powers. This may or may not be the fact. What is occult power? It is the power that people acquire by their occult practices, by their “cult”. But they require inspiration, and that inspiration comes from a personal entity, and not from any impersonal entity or entities. Furthermore, while moving along the path of spirituality, certainly the desideratum, the culminating point is salvation. And so there must be a Lord, a controlling Entity of that culminating point. When anyone becomes one with the culminating point, one attains salvation. So the Lord of the culminating point is the liberating personality – without his Grace, without His help, no one can attain salvation.

Now who is that liberating personality? You must remember that each and every entity wants liberation. And they do not only want liberation, they want liberation of permanent nature, which is salvation – not mukti, but vimukti or mokśa. Who is that muktidátá, that giver of liberation? Some people of passive nature say that it is the time factor. “A time is sure to come when we will attain salvation.” Such a statement shows that these people have developed a psychology of lethargy: they do not want to do anything and that is why they depend upon the temporal factor. But this temporal factor, you must remember, is a relative factor: it functions within the realm of relativity, within the realm of so many animate and inanimate entities. When the temporal factor is itself under bondage, how can it be the cause for salvation?

Now what is time? Time is the mental measurement of the mobility of action. If there is mental measurement, there must be many unit minds to measure it, and there must also be movement – there must be at least three entities. So kála or kála shakti or Time cannot be the liberator. Even Mahákála will play with you but it cannot grant you liberation – it is not within its scope.

Then is fate or accident the liberator? Actually fate is a misnomer. Whatever you do, for that you will have to undergo a reaction; and when the original action is unknown to you, that reaction is called “fate”. Suppose your finger comes in contact with fire: while experiencing the reaction, while undergoing the pain, you know the cause, and in that case you will not say that it is fate. But when the original action is not known to you, you call it fate. So fate cannot be the muktidátá either.

Some other people say that mukti is accidental, but there is nothing accidental in this world – everything is an incident. Only when the cause of the incident is not known to us, or when the cause is translated into action within a short span of time, we call it an accident. So we cannot get liberation accidentally: it is a foolish idea.

Then should this universe of the quinquelemental factors be regarded as the muktidátá or liberator? No, certainly not. They are the causes of more and more bondages, more and more troubles. And if you worship these paiṋcabhútas, these five fundamental factors, your very existence will be converted into them: a glorious living being like a human being will be converted into stone or gold. (The pain of bondage is equal in the case of stone or gold). So these quinquelemental factors are not the muktidátá either.

Then is the causal matrix the liberator? No, certainly not. The causal matrix can function only with the definite permission of the Causal Consciousness, the Causal Cognition. Without His approval, the causal matrix cannot do anything. So not even the causal matrix is the cause of creation.

Then is Saguńa Brahma, the creator of the universe, the muktidátá? No, Saguńa Brahma is also not the liberator because He Himself is under the bondage of Prakrti, and in fact that is why we see this universe of varieties. So Saguńa Brahma is also not the liberator,

Then who is the liberator? The muktidátá should not be within the bondages of Prakrti, but He should maintain a close link with the expressed universe. That consciousness which maintains a close link with the expressed world is the muktidátá – who knows all the pains, all the sorrows, all the happiness, all the glories of he expressed universe. He should be one with the universe, otherwise He will not be in a position to realize the sorrows and pains of the suffering humanity. That muktidátá is known as Táraka Brahma in Saḿskrta (táraka = trae + ńak, the liberating faculty). The word táraka is prefixed only to His name and not to the name of Saguńa Brahma or Nirguńa Brahma or any other entity or entities. Lord Krśńa has said:

Paritráńáya sádhúnáḿ vinásháya ca duśkrtám
Dharmasaḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge.

Api cet sudurácáro bhajate mámananyabhák
So’pi pápavinirmukto mucyate bhavabandhanát.

Paritráńáya sádhúnám: The Lord comes for the paritráńa of sádhus. What is the meaning of paritráńa? Trae + lyut́ = tráńa. Tráńa means to grant relief, but He does not come merely for granting relief. He comes for paritráńa, that is, for tráńa of permanent nature. Paritránáya sadhúnám: who are the sádhus? Simply wearing white or saffron robe does not make a person a sádhu.

Játasyahi jagati jantavah sádhújiivitáh
Ye punarneha jáyante sheśáh jat́haragardhavá
Práńáh yathátmano’bhiiśt́áh bhútánámapite tathá
Átmaopanyena bhútánáḿ dayáḿkurvanti sádhavah.

Those who are completely pure, whose inner and outer lives are pure, are sádhus; others are, as the shloka says, simply donkeys in human bodies; gardabha means “donkey.”

Práńáha yathátmano’bhiiśt́áh bhútáńamapi te tathá: the life of each and every entity is very dear to them; all love their lives very much. Those who share this same sentiment of love for other living beings – that is, they feel that “just as my life is very dear, very beloved to me, so other lives are also very dear to me” – such people are called sádhus. So the Lord says, Paritránáya sádhúnám, for the permanent relief of these sádhus; vinásháya caduśkrtám (vi – nash + ghaiṋ = vinásha). Vinásha means viśheśa násha, “complete destruction”, after which there is no chance for life again.

Vinásháya ca duśkrtám. Duśkrtám means those who are engaged in undesirable activities. But what are the undesirable activities? Those which are not liked by Parama Puruśa are undesirable activities. Stealing may not be undesirable for a thief but it is undesirable for Parama Puruśa; hence those who are engaged in theft are duśkrtám. Dharmasaḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge. Saḿsthápana means “placing an entity in its proper place.” Merely placing an entity is sthápana, and placing it in its proper place is saḿsthápana. Dharmasaḿsthápanártháya sambhavámi yuge yuge: “To place dharma in its proper place.” Here Lord Krśńa does not say bhavámi yuge yuge; bhavámi means to come into being, to be expressed in the realm of physicality. But He does not say bhavámi. He says sambhavámi. Sambhavámi means samyak rúpeńa bhavámi. Each and every entity and particle is His expression, and so He is born daily in thousands and millions of lives – He is bhavámi each day. So he does not say bhavámi, He says sambhavámi. “I express myself in a special form with special faculties.”

And who is He? He is the Lord of the culminating point for each and every spiritual aspirant. The Lord that controls and inspires the march towards liberation, comes here in a special form. And when does He come? Yuge yuge. Yuge means at a critical juncture when the world’s problems cannot be solved by ordinary humans, not even by sadvipras. At such critical junctures, which are known as yugasandhi in Saḿskrta, He has to come. Sambhavámi yuge yuge: He says, “I come during each and every yuga.” Yuga means the time when one phase of movement of the human society comes to an end and another phase begins: that juncture is called yuga.

So one must remember that one may or may not attain salvation by dint of one’s own spiritual practices: one will have to depend on His Grace. And because He is one with each and every expressed entity through His ota and prota yoga, He is your nearest and dearest one. You may depend on Him completely, and your dependence on Him is called sharańágati. This sharańágati is the only reply to all spiritual questions. Thus He clearly says,

Api cet sudurácáro bhajate mámananyabhák
So’pi pápavinirmukto mucyate bhavabandhanát.

Daevii hyeśá guńamayii mama Máyá duratyayá;
Mámeva ye prapadyante Máyámetáḿ taranti te.⁽¹⁾

“This Máyá is a dangerous force. The dexterous hands of Máyá create so many problems, and these problems are dangerous: Aghat́ana ghatana pat́iiyasii Máyá. It is very difficult for human beings to surmount the effect of Máyá. But I am there. Those who have resorted to sharańágati, who have taken shelter in me, will easily surmount these waves of difficulties, of worries and anxieties in life. Even sinners should depend upon me – I am here to help them.”

Útámrtasyesháno: He is not only the Lord of heaven, He is the Lord of hell also. Útá means hell. So even a sinner of hell should not become mentally disturbed because the Lord of hell is with him. Api cet sudurácáro bhajate mámananyabhák. “Even if the sinner of sinners resorts to sharańágati, to complete surrender, then so’pi pápavinirmukta – they will be freed from all kinds of sins”: mucyate bhavabandhanát. “They must attain salvation, for I am the granter of salvation.”

The Hub of Universal Activities

Published in:
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

The subject of today’s discourse is: “The Hub of Universal Activities”. What is this universe? This universe is a collection of numerous waves of various lengths. Not only the five inferences (tanmátras), but each and every manifestation of this universe is completely vibrational. Everything is moving according to a particular system; nothing is linear, everything is pulsative or systaltic. The manifestation of human life is an expression of different energies; everything is emanating from a nucleus, and this nucleus is the hub of universal activities. Here activities do not mean only physical activities; they mean all sorts of activities-actional, intellectual, indeed, anything existential. All these expressions arise within the scope of action.

All the microcosms emanate from Parama Puruśa and finally return to Him. This movement of microcosms also takes place in the form of emanated waves. Nothing can go beyond this fixed law. This particular movement of the microcosms has not only a particular rhythm, it has a particular form as well; for instance, all the celestial bodies we notice in the sky have their respective forms and colours. Those bodies are neither circular nor oval: they all have a particular irregular shape. Similarly the orbit of the microcosms has a particular form. In the manifested world, from small to smallest and from big to biggest, all creatures vary in their shapes and sizes. Within an atomic structure there is a nucleus around which so many electrons are moving in a particular flow. If there is the slightest variation, the balance of the atomic structure is jeopardized, and the equipoise is lost. The fusion and fission of atomic structures releases a tremendous amount of force, and for the greater welfare of humanity, we can bring about imbalance in the atomic structure and amass a certain amount of energy thereby.

In molecular structures it is the same as the system of our planet earth in which the moon is revolving around the earth according to a fixed system. In our vast solar system, too, such a law is equally operating: the sun remains fixed, and planets and satellites are moving around it. Likewise the cosmological order has a rotational movement, and it too is neither round nor oval: it also has a particular irregular shape. It is somewhat like the solar system, but very vast in comparison.

According to some persons, this universe is infinite, but this is not true. As this universe also is a created manifestation of the Supreme Consciousness, due to the influence of the static principle of Prakrti it is bound to have a particular shape and form. And since it is under the static principle, it must be under bondage and limitations. Hence the universe is certainly finite, although it is very vast; it is not infinite or ananta. It is a vast manifested body of Parama Puruśa and this body also has a nucleus of its own. We call this nucleus Puruśottama. Like the innumerable electrons moving around the nucleus of an atomic structure, innumerable microcosms are also moving around this Puruśottama, some of them knowingly, some unknowingly. It is not possible for anyone to remain inert. Take the case of a dead body where neither the mind nor the soul is operating; but as the physical is within this universe, so it too is moving along with this revolving universe. Thus although the mind of a dead body ceases to function, its inert body lying on the earth is still moving.

No one in this universe has come to stay. Like the cosmological order itself, all the microcosms will have to move unceasingly, and not only the living world but also all objects and entities, animate and inanimate, will have to move around the nucleus of the cosmological order, for movement is the bounden duty of each and every microcosm.

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe brhante tasmin haḿso bhrámyate Brahmacakre;
Prthagátmánaḿ preritáraiṋca matvá juśt́astatastenámrtatvameti.

Whenever there is a nucleus in any structure, two belligerent forces become operative; one is the centrifugal force, and the other is the centripetal force. Similarly in the cosmological system, two mutually contradictory forces are working: one is the vidyá shakti and the other is the avidyá shakti. When the centrifugal force or avidyá shakti dominates, the microcosms move away from the nucleus, and the length of the radius increases. On the contrary, when the vidyá shakti dominates, human beings come closer to Parama Puruśa and the length of the radius decreases. But whether the length of the radius increases or decreases, the movement of the microcosms continues unceasingly, and in the process the radius is reduced until finally it becomes nil. Conversely, due to the influence of avidyá shakti, the microcosms gradually move away from the nucleus, and their radius goes on increasing. The vast expression of the entire life force – the endless actional flow, the manifestation of infinite activities is all emanating from the Supreme Nucleus, the original hub of the universe.

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe: Ájiiva or Ábhoga means occupation or pabulum. Not only the physical body but the mind also requires a pabulum; whatever object the mind confines itself to, that is its pabulum. Physical pabulum is called ájiiva in Saḿskrta, but mental pabulum is called ábhoga. The object with which the mind is preoccupied or obsessed is its psychic pabulum or ábhoga. All microcosms – birds, animals, human beings – with their respective psychic pabula, are constantly moving around the universal hub.

Now the question is, how long shall that movement continue? In this universe under the influence of various saḿskáras all are moving along their own orbits with different ideations. It is an interesting phenomenon that the thought of no two persons are alike. If you attend a gathering of five thousand people you will notice that all those five thousand people have different thoughts and ideas, and according to their internal saḿskáras some of them are developing new thoughts and ideas. Likewise, so many mental pabula, so many mental thoughts are moving along with so many physical structures-so many objects and living beings of kaleidoscopic colours and characteristics are moving on.

In the vast multitude of people, some are short, some tall, some white, some black, some fat and stocky, some lean and thin. What a staggering variation in physical structures! Just as there is immense difference in the physical structures, so also there is difference in their internal thoughts and ideas. Strange indeed! And Parama Puruśa seated in the middle of this cosmological order is merely smiling to see that His vast and mysterious universe of animate and inanimate creatures is moving around Him as the Nucleus. Here the living world does not only include human beings, it also includes birds, animals, reptiles, trees and plants. I have described this endless movement of microcosms around the nucleus as an eternal dance around the Supreme. I call it a dance because this movement of the microcosms is also proceeding in a rhythmic vibration, alternately rising and falling. Thus it is not an ordinary movement – it is a veritable dance. When the waves are gigantic, the dance becomes unnatural: in that case we can call it the tańd́ava dance.

Through these vibrational expressions in the form of crests and troughs, human beings are advancing. This unending flow of supreme cognition is called rasa or flow in the scriptures. Here Parama Puruśa is described as rasa vae sah. He is flow personified. Regarding human beings it has been said that they are rational animals; but I do not subscribe to this view. In my opinion human existence is an ideological flow – it can never be compared to the existence of an animal.

This eternal movement of the microcosms around Parama Puruśa is called rásaliilá. Human beings usually do not realize the real significance of this rásaliilá. They can never go beyond this vast cognitive flow. It may be that the distance of human beings from the nucleus may increase, but they cannot go outside of their orbits around Him, for after all what is outside or beyond Him? Take for instance the case of a so-called sinner, Parama Puruśa may scold him, but He can never say, “Get out – I don’t want to see your face!” Because as there is nothing beyond His cognitive flow, then where will that confirmed sinner go? And in that case if that sinner asks Him, “Oh Lord, kindly tell me where I can go?” then Parama Puruśa will certainly have to remain silent, because if there is any place beyond or outside of Parama Puruśa then certainly He is not infinite, He is finite.

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe brhante tasmin haḿso bhrámyate Brahmacakre;
Prthagátmánaḿ preritáraiṋca matvá juśt́astatastenámrtatvameti.

So the Brahmacakra or cosmological system is just like the solar system or the earth’s planetary system: and hence not only human beings but also trees and plants are moving around this Cosmic Nucleus. And thus in the process of movement when the radius decreases to some extent, the microcosms are elevated from the world of plants to the world of animals. And when the radius decreases still further, they are elevated to the status of human life; and when the radius decreases still further, the humans become more developed – they become mahápuruśas. And when the distance is completely obliterated, then they become one with Parama Puruśa. Brahmavid Brahmaeva bhavati: the devotee and the Lord become one.

If someone even after attaining a human form forgets Parama Puruśa and keeps moving with eyes closed in that case the radius will certainly increase. And such a person will be degraded and gradually reborn as an animal, plant, etc. Hence the task of a sádhaka or an intelligent person is to reduce his/her radius, and this systematic endeavour to reduce the gap is called sádhaná. This sádhaná is mandatory for all, irrespective of whether or not one is young or old, man or woman.

Just as there are various functions of the physical body, the mind also discharges two functions: thinking and memory. While thinking, if people remember that they have acquired this power of thinking from Parama Puruśa they will never suffer any mental degradation; rather they will be mentally elevated. Similarly, if they think that they have acquired the capacity of memory due to the grace of Parama Puruśa, then this memory power will increase until finally they will be established in dhruvá smrti or constant remembrance of Parama Puruśa.

How long will this rotation around the nucleus continue? It will continue as long as human beings think, “I and my Lord are two separate entities.” Theoretically it is aid that Parama Puruśa is the source of all actional flows; that is, He is the one who sends the microcosms onto this earth and then goads them into action. Thus as long as microcosms have this feeling of separateness from their Creator, they will keep on moving in orbit around the Nucleus. Conversely, when they start thinking that “I and my Creator are one and all my actional flows emanate from Him,” that very moment the microcosms will merge their individualities into the Supreme Singularity, thus putting an end to their eternal movement around the Nucleus. This is called the attainment of mokśa in spiritual practice.

Now the question arises, how will a microcosm become one with Him? This science of becoming one with Him will have to be learnt from Him. The problem is that the microcosms themselves cannot teach this science to other microcosms: they can only pray to the Nucleus of this cosmological order, “Oh Lord, I long to be one with you. Please reveal Your inner secret how to become one with You.” The moment such an intense desire arises in the human mind, then Parama Puruśa also cannot remain indifferent; because these microcosms who are moving around Him-whether they are intelligent human beings or undeveloped animals and plants-they are all His creations, the different limbs of His vast macrocosmic body, and hence they are His nearest and dearest ones. And for the microcosms, He is the very life of all lives, the most favourite Entity of human beings who are the crown of creation. Hence their mutual relation is one of extreme love and sweetness.

The existential “I” feeling of human beings is the small “I” and the “I” feeling of Parama Puruśa is the Great “I”. Thus in every human being there are two “I’s” – a microcosmic “I” and a Macrocosmic “I”. The conflict among human beings is all due to this small “I”, but the great “I” is one for all. So the moment the microcosmic “I” sincerely prays to know the inner secret of attaining the divine life, the macrocosmic “I” is bound to give inspiration to that prayer.

Muktyákaunkśáyá sadgurupráptih: that is, when the yearning for salvation becomes so intense then Parama Puruśa in the form of a Guru is compelled to disclose the secret to the inquiring soul. Thus in the Ánanda Sútram it is said, Brahmaeva gururekah náparah: Brahma alone can give instruction for the attainment of self-knowledge. In the adoration of the Guru it has been said,

Gurur Brahmá, Gurur Viśńu,
Gurudevo Maheshvarah
Gurureva Parama Brahma,
Tasmae Shrii Gurave namah.

In the spiritual world Parama Puruśa will have to come down to those individuals who seek salvation, in the form of a preceptor or Guru; and when human beings receive the secret hints of spiritual practice from Parama Puruśa, then they permanently establish themselves in the world of immortality. This is the blissful end of their prolonged journey towards the Nucleus of the cosmological order, and they attain a supra-mundane stance beyond the scope of pleasure and pain. This very endeavour to attain this immortal stance is called dharma sádhaná in the spiritual world, and the attainment of the supreme rank at the feet of Parama Puruśa is called mokśa or salvation.

What Is the Way?

Published in:
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

The subject of today’s discourse is “What Is the Way?” Regarding the proper way, it has been said in the Mahábhárata:

Shrutayo vibhinnáh smrtayo vibhinnáh
Naekamuniryasya mataḿ na bhinnam
Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyám
Mahájano yena gatah sa panthá.

Shrutayo vibhinnáh: The word shruti means “spiritual code.” The ancient people did not know how to write, because they were not acquainted with the scripts A, B, C, D, or A, Á, Ka, Kha, etc. The people of those days were quite scholarly, no doubt, but the alphabets were not yet invented. Teachers or preceptors used to impart lessons orally, and students would learn by heart from listening to them. There was no way to read or write books. In the absence of script, the scriptures could not be written down. As the pupils would memorize the scriptures by hearing, with their ears discourses from their preceptors, the Vedas were called shruti which in modern Saḿskrta means “ear”.

Now, there is a great deal of difference amongst these religious texts. Naturally the question arises: What will the masses do? Which one will they follow, and which one will they reject? The mutual difference amongst the extant texts is bound to pose a baffling problem to common people. Some scriptures suggest that while worshipping a deity one should sit facing the east, while others advocate sitting facing the west. Under such circumstances, what should people do? Obviously this question agitated people’s minds – which one to accept, and which to reject?

Next let us consider the social codes. The purpose of a social code is to formulate relevant laws and provide necessary guidance regarding the establishment of a society free from exploitation – for example, Manusmrti, Parásharasmrti, etc. But here again there are mutual differences amongst the various social codes. So again people face the same problem of who to accept and whom to reject.

Smrtayo vibhinnáh: Varying social codes are prevalent in different parts of India. In most of India the Mitakśará system of social inheritance as enunciated by Manu is prevalent; whereas in Meghalaya the popular system is the matrilineal order; in West Bengal the Dáyabhága system; in Kerala the Nayar system. People are confronted with a baffling choice.

Naekamuniryasya mataḿ na bhinnam: There is a marked difference of opinion amongst the munis. Muni literally means “an intellectual.” In the scriptures it has been said, na munirudugdhabálakah munih saḿliimańanasah: A muni is not a mere baby: a muni is one who has attached his or her mind to Parama Puruśa.

Just to declare any Ram, Shyam, Tom, Dick or Harry as a muni cannot be accepted; a real muni is one who keeps his or her mind fixed on Parama Puruśa. In the sloka, muni means an intellectual. It is said here that the great intellectuals also differ widely amongst themselves. Different intellectuals have given different interpretations of the scriptures, and there are different commentaries and annotations on the same scriptures. An average person invariably faces a problem to select the right text. According to some, Vyasadeva’s commentary on the Manusaḿhita is scientific, and hence more acceptable, whereas in the opinion of other pundits, Jimútabahan Bhattacharya’s commentary is more reasonable. Against the backdrop of such a massive variety of literature, the problem of choosing the right text always persists.

It is said, Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyám: that is, the inner essence of Dharma is hidden in the existential “I” feeling of the human mind. That which controls human conduct and behaviour – indeed, human beings’ entire lifestyle – is called Dharma. In Dharma lies the greatest joy, the supreme beatitude of human life, the path of realizing the Supreme Entity. Hence it is mandatory for all people – young and old, strong and infirm, wise and foolish, to follow Dharma.

Dharmasya tattvaḿ nihitaḿ guháyám. In Saḿskrta the word guhá has two meanings: one is “cave” and the other is “I” feeling. The real essence of Dharma, its inner import, is hidden, is hidden in one’s existential “I” feeling. The highest goal of Dharma is spiritual progress; the terminating point of excellence is Paramátmá, the Supreme Cognition. Where is the abode of this Paramátmá? Its abode is the human mind. It is meaningless and unnecessary to run hither and thither and to journey to so-called places of pilgrimage in quest of Parama Puruśa, because He is seated right inside the “I” feeling of the human mind. He is not an object of a distant heaven.

Brhacca taddivyamacintyarúpaḿ
Súkśmácca tat súkśmataraḿ vibháti
Dúrát sudúre tadihántike ca
Pashyaltsvihaeva nihitaḿ guháyám.

Some consider the Supreme Entity to be very vast: in fact he is so vast that it is impossible for them to see Him. Human beings with their limited visual power cannot even have a full view of the vast sky – how can they expect to have a complete view of the Supreme Entity who is immeasurably bigger than the sky? The Saḿskrta word brhat means that which is unfathomable.

Others say that Parama Puruśa is too small and subtle to be seen by anyone. Just as we cannot see a very vast entity, similarly we cannot see a very small entity either. Dúŕat sudúre: if people think that Parama Puruśa is far from them, then he is very, very far. Dúra means “far” and sudúra means “so far that the human mind cannot even imagine it”. Tadihántike ca: antike means “near”, and ihantike means “so near, so close that the human mind cannot conceive it”. Those who have the ability, see that Paramátmá is hidden in their very “I” feeling. In this situation, what should people do?

It is said, Shrutayo vibhinnáh smrtayo vibhinnáh. The scriptural codes differ from one another, the social codes also vary widely, and the intellectuals also differ amongst themselves on many subjects. But for a lay person, the Vedas are not very important, nor are the social treatises, nor even the utterance of the munis. What is truly important is genuine spiritual knowledge. Thus people should approach only those who have the proper intuitional knowledge, who have realized the Supreme Truth. It is useless for them to go to so-called intellectuals. It is not theoretical knowledge but the practical aspect of spirituality which is really important. By reading books one may know how to prepare rasagollás theoretically, but that is not enough. To get the actual taste of a rasagollá, one will have to contact a professional confectioner. Likewise, to realize Parama Puruśa, one will have to come in contact with a Sadguru, a competent spiritual preceptor; for such persons alone can impart suitable lessons regarding spiritual practice. Through the study of books, one can never attain or realize the Supreme Consciousness.

Some people say, “Keep on doing good deeds – that is sufficient.” No, that is not enough. Suppose some people perform good deeds, but they have no definite goal before them: this will not produce any good result, their effort will be futile. Suppose you want to move forward: you should also know which way to move, otherwise your entire movement will be meaningless. All your time, your hard effort, and your sincerity will go in vain. Hence it is not enough to simply say, “Keep on doing good deeds.” Even those good deeds should have a clear goal. Why should I do good deeds? I should have a clear idea in which direction to move while doing those good deeds.

What is karma? Karma means the change of position of an object. Along with the change in position of an object, there is motivity of action. So time, place and person, the three relative factors, are also involved. Naturally, the human mind which measures all the relative factors is also indispensable, otherwise how can the time factor remain without a support? Now, what is this time factor? Time is the mental measurement of the motivity of action. It is the microcosm, the human mind which measures the motivity of action. Hence on the basis of the time factor, how can one realize Parama Puruśa? Behind this mental measurement there may or may not be the support of Parama Puruśa.

You can fathom only according to the degree of your intellect. It may also be that in many cases your intellect may utterly fail you. For instance, if an object is extremely vast, it goes beyond the scope of your limited intellect. That is why it is incorrect to say that merely doing good deeds is enough: people must hold an object of ideation in their minds. And that supreme object of ideation is Parama Puruśa. Only then if some good action is performed, it will be successful. Now, if one wants to do some good deed excluding Paramátmá that may or may not be a good deed. This will be sheer selfishness on your part, and nothing good can come from it. This is why great and realized people not only perform good deeds, but they also do something more than that.

There are a group of people who are in favour of practicing extreme austerities. To practice severe penance, to court physical trouble while taking care of others is called tapah or penance in the scriptures. The ancient sádhakas used to practice such severe penance. They used to sit with their heads down and their legs raised high, lighting a fire around them, and they used to practice such rigorous penance for twelve years. But is it really worthwhile to do such practices which only subject the body to physical tortures? Through such penances, it is almost impossible to achieve spiritual progress. To undergo physical torture just for the sake of experiencing pain does not lead to spiritual elevation. After those sádhakas underwent the long rigours of penance with their heads down and legs up, with the leaping flames of fire all around them, they had no self-satisfaction that their penance had done even the slightest good to others. By undergoing hardship, one should always help others, and thereby one feels satisfied that at least some good has been done to others. Rigorous austerities do no such good: then what is the justification for undergoing such unnecessary physical tortures? This is nothing but sheer foolishness.

There are some people who recommend yogic practices. By yogic practices they mean only the practice of ásanas. Now what is the benefit of such practices if the mind is engaged in filthy thoughts? Can the mere practice of ásanas take one’s mind to Parama Puruśa? No, it is impossible.

Ásan máre kyá huá jo gayii na man kii ásh
Jo kalhu ká bayel ka ghar hii kosh pachás.

A bullock moving around and around grinding oil in a mill may trudge along for fifty miles or so, but has it really progressed in its journey? It is merely tied to an oil-pressing machine.

Regarding the definition of yoga, it is said that yogashcittavrttinirodhah – the suspension of all mental propensities is yoga. Hat́ha yoga is another name for such yoga. Suppose people suspend their mental propensities by artificial methods, by stopping the activities of their nerves. Will that help in attaining God-realization? When people fall asleep, their mental activities remain suspended – does sleep help in attaining Brahma? Hence, this is also not the correct approach. The logic that the suspension of mental propensities leads to supreme spiritual attainment is also false.

Still others say, “Sarvacintáparityágo nishcinto yoga ucyate.” Various thoughts are constantly emerging from the human mind which drive people virtually mad. In sorrow people may suddenly burst out crying; or sometimes sleeping children while watching a football game in a dream, cry out, “Goal, goal!” and may even unconsciously kick those sleeping beside them. Now if all one’s thoughts are foregone as happens during sleep can that be called yoga? When one continues to think during sleep, it is called “dream”, and when in slumber the mind is freed from all thoughts, it is called “sleep”. Can the state of sleep be called yoga? Certainly not.

There is yet another interpretation of yoga: Saḿyoga yoga ityuktah jiivátmá Paramátmanah – when the unit consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness become one, it is called yoga. Now, how to bring about this unification? Mere theoretical assertion will not help; something practical has to be done. What is that something? Some people observe that if true knowledge is aroused, the goal will be automatically realized. But how to arouse true knowledge? One may acquire various types of knowledge in art, science, literature, medical science, engineering, or agriculture. Suppose people have attained knowledge in one of these subjects, will they attain God-realization thereby?

In the scriptures knowledge is divided into two categories, vidyá and avidyá. What we learn for the proper progress in the mundane and mental levels is termed avidyá. Avidyá cannot be altogether rejected, for in order to serve humanity avidyá is also necessary. But avidyá has no end, no limit. Take for instance the case of a great scholar in Geography. Geography comes within the scope of avidyá. [The science of spirituality is called vijiṋána or “special knowledge” in Saḿskrta. What people usually call “science” is not vijiṋána, it is avidyá or mundane knowledge. Suppose a person claims to be a great scholar, an authority in Geography, and you ask him, “Well, sir, you are certainly a great scholar in Geography. Can you tell me how many ants live in such-and-such city?” – certainly he cannot reply correctly. Thus it is observe that mundane knowledge is never perfect. Had mundane knowledge been perfect, kings and emperors would never have died – their royal physicians would certainly have cured them of all diseases. It is indeed strange that a physician who is a specialist in heart diseases dies of heart trouble! The reason lies in the imperfection of mundane knowledge. In fact, human knowledge is always imperfect. Then how will human beings attain spiritual knowledge? In reply it is said,

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánaḿ jiṋánányanyáni yánitu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni sárasyanaeva bodhanát.

“Self-knowledge is the true knowledge, and all other knowledges are the mere shadows of knowledge that do not give the exact idea of reality.” Then what is the solution? There is only one way applicable to all, which is the recognized path. Those jiṋániis who follow the path of knowledge are misguided fools. Whether people have a philosophy or not, whether they have good qualities or not, they are all the children of Parama Puruśa, part and parcel of Him. How great, how vast is the ocean, but how small, how insignificant in comparison is a drop of water! Yet that drop of water is a part of the ocean: it resides in the bosom of the vast ocean. In the same way, human beings are also part of Parama Puruśa; they are His progeny. He is the Supreme Lord of all.

Now if the same humans address Parama Puruśa with appropriate humility, saying, “Oh Lord, show us the way, take us to Your feet and allow us to sit on Your loving lap” – this is devotion. If this devotion is present, everything else will automatically take care of itself. What is the value of so-called intellect? “Between me and my Lord, there cannot be any other entity” – when people proceed with this straightforward idea, this is devotion. Beyond that nothing else is important. That is why I say, “Learn the secrets of intuitional practice and move accordingly.” This alone is sufficient.

I have said that the Lord is very fond of kiirtana, so do kiirtana whenever you find time. Remember, all people in the universe want to realize Him, to take their seats on His lap. In each and every human being, this is the innate tendency. Now the question is, will those who take the ideation of Parama Puruśa think that there are thousands of other people who also want to sit on His lap as they are doing? No in this regard also there are different categories of devotees. The devotees of the lowest category think, “As Parama Puruśa belongs to all, so certainly He belongs to me as well because I am one of the multitude.” Thoughts of this type are not very congenial for one’s spiritual progress.

The second category of devotees is slightly better than this. They think, “Parama Puruśa is mine, and thus He must belong to others also.” That is, the devotees of both categories have no hesitation in sharing Parama Puruśa with others. But the devotees of the highest category think, “Parama Puruśa is mine only and He belongs to no one else.” This is the sign of an excellent sádhaka, and the spiritual progress of this category is inevitable. “He is mine and mine alone and He does not belong to anyone else” – this assertion is undoubtedly true.

Now in each and every person there is an “I” feeling, the small “I” of an individual. Similarly there is a great “I” also in every person and that great “I” is Parama Puruśa. He is not an object of a distant heaven for human beings. People are always preoccupied with their small “I’s” and thus there is no limit to their afflictions. But if they concern themselves with their great “I” they will have no problem whatsoever: they can overcome all afflictions. Therefore it is but natural that human beings will want to come in the closest contact with Parama Puruśa to sit near Him, to sit on His loving lap. But how to do it? This produces a little diffidence in the human mind. People think, “Although Parama Puruśa is mine, yet He is so great, so vast that it is well nigh impossible to measure or fathom Him. He is the very embodiment of infinite knowledge an wisdom – how can a very ordinary person like me understand or realize Him?” This is simply a form of inferiority complex.

Yes, it is true that Parama Puruśa is very vast and human beings are very small and insignificant in comparison. But it is also true that Parama Puruśa is the nearest relation of human beings. Suppose a scholar has his Master’s Degree in at least twenty subjects, but his son does not have even elementary knowledge. Will his illiterate son not approach his learned father? Certainly he will, because there is between them the sweet relationship of father and son. Thus there is no room for any inferiority complex.

Human beings love Parama Puruśa and He loves human beings: this love is always mutual, not unilateral. So what should human beings offer to Him? He lacks nothing. When He is the creator of this entire universe, then He is the proprietor of all the wealth of the universe. So what can human beings offer Him? The only way to please Him is to serve the universe, to serve the entire living world, because everything is His creation. During the act of service, lower-grade devotees have the ideation, “I am serving Parama Puruśa in order to derive great satisfaction from my service.” But the higher grade sádhakas take the ideation, “I am serving Parama Puruśa not to derive pleasure, but because Parama Puruśa Himself will be pleased thereby. I am not serving Him for my own pleasure – my only desire is to give joy to Him.” Those whose very nature is to give joy to Parama Puruśa is gopii bháva in the Vaeśńava scriptures. According to the scriptures, those who are genuine devotees do not do anything for their own pleasure: they do everything for His satisfaction, and they get much more pleasure by serving Parama Puruśa than even He gets. You should always remember, Mahájano yena gatah sah panthá. You should emulate the example of those devotees who have genuine love for Parama Puruśa who are ever ready to do everything to give joy to Him.

Oh spiritual aspirant, do not desire to be a philosopher, or an intellectual – become a devotee. Be one with Parama Puruśa, and make your existence meaningful in all respects through constant service and devotion to Him.

Supramundane Heritage and Supramundane Desideratum

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 31
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

this version: is the printed Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected).

This discourse originally appeared in Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11 as “Supramundane Heritage and Supramundane Desideratum”, and then, inadvertently, in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 31 as “The Cosmic Inheritance and the Cosmic Desiderata”. It will be omitted from Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 31 when that book is reprinted.

The subject of today’s discourse is “Supramundane Heritage and Supramundane Desideratum.” I wrote long ago that the supreme law of human unity is that human beings have come from a common source and they all will return to the same culminating point, the same destination. No one is an exception to this rule. If due to confusion arising from superiority complexes, people think otherwise, they will land in trouble because there is no alternative.

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

Here the Veda says that all the created objects have come from one source, all are established in one and the same structure, all will have to move towards one and the same destination. And that One is Brahma: He alone is to be realized.

Mayyevaḿ sakalaḿ játaḿ mayi sarvaḿ pratiśt́hitam
Mayi sarvaḿ layaḿ yáti tad Brahmádvayamasmyaham
Jágrat-svapna suśuptyádi prapaiṋcaḿ yad prakáshate
Tad Brahmáhamiti jiṋátvá sarvabandhaeh pramucyate.

Out of this Supreme One, all have emerged. Hence this Supreme One is called brhat. The word brhat literally means “One who is very vast, who is beyond the scope of all limitations, who is immeasurable and unfathomable.” The Himalayas are very large, no doubt, yet they can be measured in miles. As they come within the scope of measurement, they cannot be called brhat in philosophical terminology. We may say that the Himalayas are vishála-very large-but certainly not brhat, immeasurably vast.

From the word brhat the word Brahma has come. Brahma literally means the Entity who is Himself very vast, and whose ideation makes others vast like Him. Brhattvád Brahma Brḿhanatvád Brahma. Brḿhanatvád means making others vast. He himself is very great, and hence he is called Brahma; but this is not enough. Besides that He has the capacity to make others equally great like Him, and that is why He is Brahma. The “many” have come from the “One”, and finally merge back into the “One”.

Now the fundamental question is, why have the “many” come from the One? Why is One metamorphosed into many? This is something beyond human imagination, because the mind functions within a particular periphery and with a particular upádhi. When the internal or external projection of the mind does not find a physical base, and the mind loses its capacity to think, it may be said that there is something beyond the scope of the mind. The state where the mind cannot reach, is called the metempirical state, the anavasthádośa of mind. Where the mind is non-existent, how can it perceive or conceive anything? It cannot.

Yato váco nivartante aprápya manasá saha
Ánandaḿ Brahmańo vidván na vibheti kutnashcana.

Ánandaḿ brahmeti vyajanát, Ánandadhyeva khalvimáni bhútáni jayánte, Ánandena játáni jiivanti. Ánandaḿ prayantyabhisaḿvishanti iti te. Saeśá bhárgavii váruńii vidyá. Parame vyomni pratiśt́hitá. Sa ca evam veda pratiśt́hati. Annavánannádo bhavati. Mahán bhavati prajayá pashubhih Brahmavarcasena. Mahán kiirtyá.

Feelings of joy and sorrow lie within the mental arena. But those feelings which transcend the arena of mind are called ánandánubhuti, the feelings of bliss. Philosophers do not find any answer to the question of why the singular Brahma is metamorphosed into many. A philosopher, a jiṋáni, has no answer to this question. No one can know the answer because the original stance of Brahma is beyond the periphery of mind. All argumentations, all logic, lie within the scope of mind. Hence the jiṋániis fail to find the answer.

The karmiis or people of action also try to find the answer, but their capacity is still more limited, for karma or action is the change of position of an object. Now the question is, where can the relative change of position of objects take place? Only within the scope of the quinquelemental factors; it is difficult to go beyond that.

In the mental sphere such a change of place can indeed occur but for such a change of place, there must be a witness or a measurer as well to give an idea of time – the temporal factor. Hence karmiis cannot know on the physical level why Brahma created the manifested world. In the same way, they cannot get the answer in the mental world either because the mind cannot function outside the ectoplasmic structure. Hence karmiis are helpless in this regard. When the jiṋániis and karmiis failed to provide the answer, the poet Rabindranath wrote:

Prashna jáge mor mane
Pratham diner súrya prashna karechila.
Sattár nútan ávirbháve, ke tumi?
Meleni uttar.
Vatsar vatsar ket́e gela
Divaser sheś súrya
Sheś prashna uccárila
Pashcim ságartiire
Nistabdha sandhyáy, ke tumi?
Pela ná uttar.

[The question arose in my mind. The first morning sun put the question to the new arrival: Who are you? There was no answer. The last setting sun repeated the last question on the banks of the western sea, in the silent evening, Who are you? And again there was no answer.]

Bhaktas or devotees are simple and straightforward; they like to steer clear of complications and intricacies. In their characteristic simple way they say:

Sa vá eśa tadádraśt́á na pashyaddrśt́mekrát́
Me ne santamevátmánam suptashaktirasuptadrk.

“My Lord was alone. You know how troublesome it is to be all alone. Anyone who is forced to remain alone for five years together will either die or become mad. In the same way my Lord was all alone when there was no universe, no expression – only a state of complete vacuity. No one can imagine what a terrible situation it was! Hence, to break the monotony, to remove the dullness of loneliness, He started to create the universe to play with His own children.” There is no other reply besides this.

Thus the Supreme Cognitive entity became metamorphosed into many-the One Universal Father, the One Supreme Progenitor, continuing His divine sport with His innumerable children. To some people, this divine sport is very painful, while to others it is extremely sweet and pleasing. But this is His liilá, a great drama. In a drama, some people must play the parts of unhappy people, and some must play the roles of happy ones, otherwise the drama becomes dull and boring. Likewise this world too is a great drama. Parama Puruśa is directing a great dramatic performance, and according to His sweet will, He may call anyone and take them in His vast macrocosmic body.

During the enactment of a drama, all the characters, the dramatis personae (some are acting as great scholars, some fools, some as extremely happy and some as wretched beings) should bear in mind that they are simply playing the roles allotted to them. They should always think, “In reality, I am neither very happy nor very miserable, I am not an erudite scholar nor a fool. I am merely acting a particular role-be it Emperor Shahjáhán or Aurangzeb.” If people remember this, they will neither be afflicted with sorrow nor elated with joy. This is what is called cosmic inheritance, cosmic heritage.

All have come from one and the same Entity; no one is inferior, no one is small, mean or untouchable. No one is born high or low: all are bound by fraternal and sororal bonds. If people support casteism, it should be understood that they do not accept the Universal Father because the children of the same Father cannot have different castes. So one who believes in casteism does not believe in Parama Puruśa; and conversely, one who believes in Parama Puruśa does not believe in casteism. This is all hypocrisy. Those who were extremely cunning, balkanized human society into numerous fragments merely to promote their self-interest.

Upon emerging from Brahma, human beings began their long evolutionary journey. But where can they go? They cannot go outside of the Entity beyond whom there is nothing. If Parama Puruśa says in anger to anyone, “I don’t like you, you scoundrel-get out!” Then that person can say, “Oh Lord, you want me to get out, but kindly tell me where to go? There is nothing outside You. So wherever I go, I shall remain within You. You are infinite. If you cannot tell me where I should go, then please change Your name. If there is anything outside You, then You are not infinite.”

The poet Vidyapati also said, “Adi anándika nátha kaháyasi ab tárańa bhárańa tumhárá.” “You are the Lord of the beginning and the Lord of the end also. I am somewhere between the beginning and the end, and so You are also my Lord. Thus it is Your duty to save me, to redeem me, to protect me from danger. You are bound to do that.”

In the world of thought, two forces operate – the centrifugal and the centripetal. Similarly, regarding the immanent power of centripetal Parama Puruśa, it has been said, Shaktih sá Shivasya Shaktih. Shakti, the Supreme Creative Principle, operates in two ways-vidyá and avidyá. The force of avidyá repulses and the force of vidyá draws the entities towards Parama Puruśa. This is how Parama Puruśa is continuing His perpetual divine sport. That means that none of the entities can go beyond Him, for they are all moving around Puruśottama.

Sarvájiive sarvasaḿsthe brhante
Tasmin haḿso bhrámyate Brahmacakre
Prthagátmánaḿ preritáraiṋca matvá
Juśt́astatastenámrtatvámeti.

All the created objects are revolving around Puruśottama. Some are rotating at a greater distance with a long radius, and some are moving at a shorter distance with a short radius. The nature of the ideation and inherent saḿskáras of entities varies from one to another, and accordingly the physical structures of individual entities also vary. And all the entities with their respective mass and wonts are revolving around the nucleus. This movement continues as long as they think, “I and my Lord, I and the Universal Father are separate entities.” As soon as they think, “No, I and my Lord are not separate entities – just as the ocean and its drops of water are not separate entities. The drops of water are part of the ocean”-then they are no longer misguided. They rush towards Puruśottama and merge in Him.

This becomes possible only when people get the opportunity and proper training due to His grace. Muktyákáunkśaya sadgurupráptih. Whenever anyone develops an intense desire to merge in Him, Parama Puruśa immediately arranges to impart lessons how to move towards Him, how to merge in Him. That is, Brahmaeva Gururekah náparah. No one else except Parama Puruśa knows how to become one with Him. This is why in the form of preceptor He teaches the sádhakas seeking liberation. Besides this, there is no other way of returning to Him.

I used the term “desiderata” in plural number. But the nucleus of the cosmological order is one, not more than one. So the term “desideratum” should be used in singular number because the Supreme Goal is one, not many. In order to reach the Singular entity, the aspirant must proceed with single-minded devotion, ekabuddhi. To proceed with divergent mental flows means to invite trouble, to risk annihilation.

Now, all the microcosms originate from Him and finally return to Him. Their existence during the intervening period also comes within His scope, for He is continuing His divine sport with His microcosms. They will have to constantly remember that howsoever small they may be, they are the fragments of the Infinite One.

With a small brain in a small cranium of the human body, a human being thinks. How much capacity can the brain possess? People sometimes do acquire non-cerebral memory (the memory of past lives) in the new bodies, but under ordinary circumstances people retain their memories of the past in the brain of this body. Anubhútaviśayásamprasmośa smrtih: perception is carried out through the nerve fibres. And with only a few nerve fibres, how much capacity do human beings possess? Katat́uku bal dhare mánavár kata bal dhare vidhátá. How powerless is a human being, and how powerful is the Supreme Lord! There is no comparison.

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

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

A person has a small brain with a little intellect and a little memory. Those who got their Master’s Degrees only ten or twelve years ago will not be able to answer a single question if they are asked the same today. There “pass” certificate is their only capital, nothing else. Such is the small capacity of the poor human beings! Whereas Parama Puruśa possesses infinite knowledge and infinite wisdom. Where was the seed of intellect that found manifestation in different microcosms? It was certainly hidden in Parama Puruśa Himself. His cognitive faculty is metamorphosed into physical objects, which in turn, through clash and cohesion, evolved into microcosms which gradually develop their latent intellectuality and finally become intellectual giants. Hence, with limited human intellect, it is futile to enter into useless debate on Parama Puruśa.

Sahasrákśa: How far can human beings see with their two eyes? Not very far. But can anyone hide anything from such an Entity who can see everything of this universe, in whose mind the entire universe is vibrating-the Entity who is always hearing each and every secret word hidden in the innermost part of everyone’s mind? Hence it is better not to dare to compare Parama Puruśa with the unit living beings, the Macrocosm with the microcosms.

Sahasrapáda: If you want to go physically to Calcutta from Siliguri, it will take at least some time. But it will not take any time at all to go from the Siliguri in your mind to the Calcutta in your mind; and in this universe everything is within the Cosmic Mind. This whole universe is His mental world, and so He does not take any time at all to move from one place to another within His mind. And thus it is said that He has innumerable legs and does not have to go from one place to another, because He is present everywhere.

Sah bhúmiḿ vishvato vrtvá atyatiśt́haddashaungulum: He is lying covert in each and every particle of this universe. Not only that; He is also residing in the arena ten fingers above the pituitary gland. He is equally present in the subtle expressions, in the psychic and astral worlds lying above the quinquelemental factors. And He is also above even that. The pituitary gland is the location of the human mind; mind is controlled from that point. So Parama Puruśa is both above the physical, and above the mental world as well. And even the spiritual world is also within His grasp.

Whether He blesses someone, or grants salvation to someone, entirely depends on His grace. No one has anything to say about it, nor has anyone any justification to say anything. For the justification does not exist within the ambit of the small minds of the microcosms, and beyond their minds they can know nothing. Thus He controls everything from sahasrára cakra (related to the pineal gland); this is the location of Parama Puruśa. The distance between the pituitary and the pineal gland is ten fingers; hence it is said, atyatiśt́haddashaungulam; that is, He resides ten fingers above the pineal gland. Obviously in this universe there is nothing which is not within His control.

Puruśa evedaḿ sarvaḿ yadbhútaḿ yacca bhavyam;
Utámrtatvasyesháno yadannenátirohati.

Pure shete yá sah Puruśah: The Supreme Entity is lying covert in you. If you are awakened by dint of sadhana He will also be awakened, and then the unit being will become one with the Supreme Being. The Cosmic Consciousness knows everything; He does not need to study books to learn or understand anything. Some may question how he can be so well versed in all branches of knowledge. Human beings always read and forget; in fact they learn only to forget. But how does Parama Puruśa remember so many things? Here lies the difference between human beings and the Supreme Entity; He does not learn only to forget; in fact He does not even learn – He just knows. Everything is within His mind.

What is the knowing faculty? Knowing means subjectification of external objectivity, and as there is nothing outside of Him, so the question of subjectivisation does not arise at all. For Him everything is internal; He does not know things by turning the pages of books to see what is written therein. As everything is within His mind, He already knows everything. Tatra niratishayam sarvajiṋabiijam: rtambhará tatra prajiṋá: Whatever was and whatever will be in future is all known to the Supreme Cognitive faculty.

Utámrtatvasyeshána yadanenátisoham: Does the Supreme Consciousness reside in heaven or Vaekuńt́ha above the seven realms of existence? No. He is omnipotent: He is in Vaekuńt́ha as well as in the lowest hell. In fact, any place where Parama Puruśa is non-existent, cannot itself exist. Hence to substantiate the existence of anything, the presence of Parama Puruśa is essential. So if so-called sinners complain that Parama Puruśa does not look at them, they are mistaken. He does look at them – He is with them. The moment those sinners will say with tears in their eyes, “O Lord, please, take me in Your lap.” He will immediately lift them upon His lap and brush the dust off their bodies and say, “I am cleansing all the dirt and dross of your sins.”

Hence under no circumstances should anyone think that Parama Puruśa can remain far away from them, because He cannot remain away from His created beings at all-it is contrary to his very nature. I have already said numerous times that if anyone ever complains that Puruśa is showering His grace on such-and-such person but not on me, it is wrong to say so. Those who complain thus are in fact holding the umbrella of ego on their heads. The Supreme Entity is surely showering His grace on all, but those who hold the umbrella of ego on their heads cannot be drenched by the rains of His grace. What is sádhaná? Sádhaná is the systematic endeavour to remove this umbrella of ego from over one’s head.

The main thing is that the fundamental essence of humanity is that all have come from the same source and that is Parama Puruśa. Hence no artificial distinctions should be recognized among human beings. To recognize such distinctions means to impair the underlying unity of the human race, to act against the cosmic unity of the human race, to act against the cosmic will – to act like a demon in human form. Such demons should have no place in human society.

The existence of living beings is within the vast Macrocosmic body of Parama Puruśa, not without. So whatever Parama Puruśa has given to the human race for its collective use should be utilized by all human beings. To act contrary to this is to act against the Cosmic Will. To fatten oneself beyond all proportion by exploiting others is neither good for individuals nor for the collective body. Parama Puruśa is the Supreme Desideratum of all humanity. To help all human beings bound by these cosmic bonds of fraternity and sorority to move towards their Supreme Goal and not allow anyone to lag behind – here lies the supreme fulfilment of human life. This Parama Puruśa is the ultimate goal of existence, and only to attain Him have human beings come onto this earth. If they fail to do so, then they do not deserve to be called human beings. Hence life devoid of dharma is worse than animal life.

What Are the Noble Truths?

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Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Notes:

official source: Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11

Ánandádhyeva khalvimáni bhútáni jáyante
Ánandena játáni jiivanti ánandaḿ prayantyabhisaḿvishantiiti.

This universe has emanated from the Supreme Bliss or Ánandam; it is being maintained in Ánandam, and will finally dissolve in Ánandam. Some people say that this universe is full of sorrows; there is no joy in it, About three thousand years ago, many philosophical queries first sprouted in the human mind. Prior to this there were scriptures but no philosophical treatises. Acarya Kapila was the first philosopher. Out of great admiration people used to call him ádividván, “the first scholar.” According to some persons, truth is fourfold: caturáryasatyam. What are those four noble truths? – 1) sorrow, 2) the cause of sorrow, 3) the cessation of sorrow, 4) the means to the cessation of sorrow.

Now, what was the overall outcome of this pessimistic outlook, the viewpoint of looking upon the world as filled with sorrow? People became victims of an escapist psychology and began to renounce home and hearth. They wanted to relinquish all their allotted duties and escape – but where? There was no answer. In an attempt to escape from one’s sins and misdeeds you may retire to the Himalayas from Kanpur, but you cannot go beyond that. So the question arises, where will you escape to? Suppose you commit some wrong, and to escape the evil outcome of those misdeeds and avoid punishment you try to hide yourself in the sky or in an unknown place or at the bottom of the sea or in a mountain cave. But can you really hide yourself anywhere? In fact in this universe there is not an inch of space where one can conceal oneself to avoid sorrow. If one accepts this world as a reality, one will have to undergo sorrows and miseries; there is no escape. Wherever people go in the universe, sorrows and miseries also accompany them.

But to a sádhaka or a devotee, this world is not full of sorrows, rather it is full of joys. Sádhakas renounce their family lives not to escape from the sorrows of the world but for the attainment of Supreme Blessedness. Those monks and nuns who renounce family life do not hide themselves in mountain caves; rather they dedicate themselves to the service of all. Transcending the limits of their small families, they identify themselves with the greater happiness of a bigger family.

The scriptures say that this universe has emerged from Ánandam or Supreme Bliss. The word Ánandam has two interpretations: first, a particular state where the amount of bliss is so great that no one can possibly be deprived of it; and second, a state where there is no feeling of pain or pleasure, joy or sorrow, at all. According to our philosophy, Ánandam means infinite happiness, sukham anantam ánandam.

Where did this universe come from – what is the source of its emanation? Sorrow is not a personal entity; hence out of sorrow nothing can be created. But Ánandam or the Infinite Happiness is a personal Entity. Parama Puruśa in His eternal stance is ánandasvarúpa, the embodiment of bliss. When He descends from His eternal stance to His transitory form then whatever emanates from Him in that state certainly imparts less bliss than that which flows? His Eternal Being. The stage in which Parama Puruśa does not create and does not even desire to create anything, is His Eternal Stance. And the state of bliss in which Parama Puruśa in that condition is called nityánanda. On the other hand when Parama Puruśa creates this universe, the living world, He is said to be in His liilábháva or transitory from, and the bliss which He imparts in that state is called His liilánanda.

Now the universal question of all human beings is this: Why did Parama Puruśa come within the scope of liilabháva? What was the necessity for this? Why did He create the universe? We understand that this is all His liilá, His divine sport. He has no doubt created human beings, animals and so many finite objects, but after all these microcosms are undergoing a great deal of suffering with regard to their food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, etc. Had He not come within the scope of liilabháva, had He not created this universe, this problem would not have arisen at all. Then what was the necessity of doing all this?

Yes, the jiṋániis or philosophers may complain that it would have been better if Parama Puruśa had not created this universe but instead remained in His Eternal Stance. But those philosophers do not realize that had Parama Puruśa remained in His Eternal Stance, then they themselves would not have been born, and then how could they have disseminated their philosophical knowledge? Similarly, the karmiis or people of action should also realize that as Parama Puruśa has composed this dream of creation, there are some roles which are happy and some which are sad. And if there are no unhappy roles, whom will the karmiis serve? As long as there is sorrow there is scope to serve, otherwise there would be no scope to serve anyone.

And what is the bhakta’s view? According to them, when Parama Puruśa was in His Eternal Stance He was all alone; there was no second entity besides Him. He had the power to speak but there was no one to talk. He had the capacity to be angry, but there was no one on whom He could vent His anger. “Why was this work not done in time? You will have to complete it within such-and-such a time” – to whom could He speak thus? There was no one to hear Him. What a pitiable condition.

The devotee says to the philosopher, “Look philosopher, I do not understand your theory of action – I only know that I exist and my Lord exists. What purpose does it serve to scavenge amidst the garbage? I knew only that my Lord was alone, and to remove this monotonous loneliness He created a universe within His mind and divided His creation into numerous fragments.” These entities or fragments are not external to Him… they are the internal creations of Parama Puruśa, He is continuing His divine sport with the numerous entities of His creation. He does not continue His play with any external entity that will complain and say, “Parama Puruśa is giving me trouble”… after all He is playing with His own limbs, with His own creations. Therefore no one has anything to complain about.

If Parama Puruśa is continuing His play with His own limbs, is it to undergo sorrow? Certainly not it is to enjoy eternal bliss. Can we imagine that He can create this vast world of living beings only to become steeped in sorrows and miseries? Not at all. Rather He created this universe to play with all and remain in a state of bliss. This was His main intention. Obviously there is no sorrow behind this creation; rather there is joy, there is bliss. As I told you earlier, sorrow is not a personal entity, but ánandam is a personal entity, because it comes from the identity of Parama Puruśa Himself. And that Ánandam has been transformed into the innumerable microcosmic identities. Thus Ánandam or the Supreme Bliss is the penultimate cause of the creation of the universe.

Sá váeśa tadá draśt́á na pashyad drshyamekaŕat́;
Mene sasta nivátmánaḿ supta shakti suśaptádrk.

The infinite energy that was lying in my Parama Puruśa is manifesting itself through the creation of this universe. Parama Puruśa is creating and will continue to create: in His drama there will always be new characters every moment. Some will be rich, some poor, some intelligent, some foolish, some stout, some thin, some black, some white – but all are the dramatis personae of His drama. The one who is playing the role of a king today and the one who is playing the role of a subject are all acting according to His direction. Those who are playing the roles of unhappy characters are standing on the theatrical stage and shedding tears, and those who are playing the roles of happy people are laughing. But all these tears and laughter are within the drama. A devotee well understands this secret of His drama. He who is playing the role of a king in the drama may be a poor man in real life, and at the end of the play he goes home and chews on dry crusts of bread. But in the drama he was a king.

In fact, all the people in this universe are playing the roles allotted to them, but that does not mean that they will truly become that role – they will be as He wishes them to become. Each and every living being is the progeny of Parama Puruśa. All exist with Him, and ultimately they will all merge in Him. So no one should even belittle oneself. A drop of water and the entire quantity of water in the ocean are all the same water. The difference is only that one is very small in quantity and the other is vast. When the drop of water identifies itself with the ocean, then no one will call it a drop any longer – for it has become one with the ocean.

Now, it may be said that the microcosms are very small – how will they become vast? Páshabaddho bhavetjiiváh páshasamuktah bhavecchivah. But how to get rid of the bondages? By doing sádhaná and kiirtana one will have to move forward: one must not be caught in the snares of bondage. Human beings come onto this earth for a very short period, and they must make the fullest utilization of the short span of their lives. They should always remember that they may be tiny, seemingly insignificant portions of this universe, but after all they exist within Him and remain with Him. Usually they do not realize this because they are bound by the snares of Máyá. They do not realize that however insignificant they may seem, they are with Him; and as there cannot be anything outside of Parama Puruśa they also exist within Him, and thus He has become their personal property. Those who are wise from the worldly point of view are less devotional; they say, “As Parama Puruśa belongs to all, thus He belongs to me also.” The karmiis (people of action) say, “As Parama Puruśa is mine, He belongs to everyone else as well”. But the devotees say, “As Parama Puruśa is my personal property, He belongs to me and to me alone. I am ready to give up everything else, but not Him.”

People say that human beings are assailed by their individual sins and misdeeds. This is no doubt true, but at the same time it is equally true that human beings are the progeny of Parama Puruśa. If Parama Puruśa is púrńávatár (the complete Lord), then human beings also can be kálávatára or aḿshávatára or khánd́ávatára (partial manifestation of Lord), and can become one with Him. He is always with human beings: He is watching whatever they do, for they are all within His vast mind.

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

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

A unit entity has a small mind, but Parama Puruśa has an infinite mind; then how far can you get through debate and argument? If you starve for two days, on the third day your power of thinking will be paralysed. You possess so little power, whereas Parama Puruśa possesses a vast mind. You see with only two eyes, whereas the Supreme Entity has innumerable eyes. You take the help of your mental eyes to see the images in your mind; but to see you Parama Puruśa does not require any eyes at all, because you are within His mind.

Sahasrapáda: When you move from one place to another you require a vehicle, but Parama Puruśa’s legs are extended everywhere; He does not need to move from one place to another. If you go to another place from here you cannot think that Parama Puruśa has gone far from you, because in fact you are where you were. He has entered each and every part of your mind; whatever you are thinking, have thought or will think in the future is all know to Him. Does that mean, then, that He is terrible, or frightening? Not at all. On the contrary He is all-merciful: He is showering His compassion on all. He scolds people only out of love, out of a spirit of welfare for all.

Puruśa evedaḿ sarvaḿ yadbhútaḿ yacca bhavyam: Whatever has been, is being and will be created is all within the Macrocosmic Mind. Even time, space and person all emanate from His mind. Therefore He is already of what was created and what is going to be created. If you perform virtuous deeds and thus elevate yourselves to higher realms, Parama Puruśa will be there with you. Conversely, if you degrade yourself to hell due to your misdeeds, there also He will be with you, because human beings are all a part and parcel of Him. Hence under no circumstances should people worry about anything. If you really go to hell then there also you will do sádhaná and kiirtana and wherever you do kiirtana, there Parama Puruśa will have to come because he Himself has said, “Náhaḿ tiśt́hámi vaekuńt́he, yoginám hrdaye na ca, madbhaktáh yatra gáyanti tatra tiśt́hámi Nárada.”-“I do not reside in heaven, nor in the hearts of yogis; but wherever my devotees sing kiirtana I remain there. For me there is no difference between a literate and illiterate person between a scholar and a fool.”

So when Parama Puruśa is with you in all circumstances, and when you are not alone, then how can you say that the world is full of sorrows? Rather the world is certainly full of joy because it is from joy that the universe has emerged, in joy it is being maintained, and finally the culminating point of all movement is the Supreme Bliss. I have often told you that one of the names of Parama Puruśa is Hari. Harati pápánii ityarthe Hari: that is, the Entity who steals all the sins of the microcosms is Hari. All the microcosms are part and parcel of Parama Puruśa: all are His progeny, His dear children. Human beings out of ignorance commit sins, and supposedly for this they are sent to hell. But if some bad actions are committed, naturally their consequences also must be undergone. One who attains an animal life as a result of one’s sins will have to undergo many afflictions in that animal birth. Parama Puruśa dearly loves His children, and thus he sometimes scolds them and tries to rectify them through punishment. Certainly He cannot want His sons and daughters to undergo pains an troubles; rather He wants them progress physically, mentally, an spiritually.

And what does He do to protect you? He must lighten the burden of your sins, and thus he steals them away from you. He tells his affectionate devotees, “Surrender all your sins to me;” but the devotees’ hearts are always filled with love for Him – how can they give their sins to Him? They will rather say, “I will feed Him with dainties and delicacies, and sing sweet devotional songs to Him – how can I give my sins to Him? I cannot.” But until one’s sins are surrendered, one will have to undergo the vicious cycle of endless births and deaths. So what does Parama Puruśa do in that case? Without taking the permission of the devotees, He surreptitiously steals their sins, and thus they become liberated from the bondages of all their sins. As this burden of sins is removed, the devotees can move forward at a much faster speed and arrive sooner at their destination. For this act of stealing, one of the names of Parama Puruśa is Hari.

1	The Intuitional Science of Tantra
2	A Devotee's Object of Ideation
3	The Supreme Desideratum of the Microcosms
4	The Essence of Spiritual Progress
5	The Path of Salvation
6	Who Is the Liberating Entity of Human Society
7	The Hub of Universal Activities
8	What Is the Way?
9	Supramundane Heritage and Supramundane Desideratum
10	What Are the Noble Truths?