Chapter 1	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

The subject of today’s discourse is “Salvation and Devotion.” According to the convention of the Shástra, in the name of the preceeding subject, the term “salvation” should be kept in the latter portion. From that view point the name of the subject should be “Devotion and Salvation.” But I have used first the term “devotion” because, experienced persons say that salvation loses its lustre before devotion. The devotees know well that one who has devotion in one’s hand has salvation at one’s command. Salvation can be attained any moment, but devotion is something precious, priceless. That is why I have put the term “devotion” in the latter portion. Devotion is like the philosopher’s stone and salvation can be likened with gold. One who has got this stone in one’s possession can make gold at any moment. There is a story about it.

Once Rám and Lakśman were going across the Ganges. When they crossed the river by boat, the boatman found his vessel converted into gold. He conveyed this news to his wife who brought all her wooden belongings to the bank and converted them into gold with the magic touch of Rám’s feet. Thereupon the boatman asked his wife why she was wasting her time and energy by carrying her belongings to the bank instead of bringing those feet into her house. The man then did this. She received from Rámji four fruits which satisfied both wife and husband. Lakśman came later and when he was asked to give something, he gave one fruit.

The four fruits given by Rám were Káma, Artha, Dharma and Mokśa. Fulfilment of materialistic desires is called Káma, the fulfilment of psychic desire is Artha; fulfilment of psycho-spiritual desire is Dhorlla and the fulfilment of spiritual desire is Mokśa.

Lakśman said thereupon to the couple that the fruits given by his elder brother could not be digested without the fruit given by him. The fruit given by young Lakśman was “devotion”. That is why devotees say that “devotion” is a precious thing; it’s the touchstone.

What is Mukti or salvation? In Sanskrit the word has been derived from the root verb Much, meaning, liberation from bondages – Bandhanam Muchyate Mukti. Where there is bondage there comes the question of liberation. Where there is no bondage there is no question of liberation. How many are these bondages?

There are numerous limitations in the physical and psychic bodies of human beings. These limitations are temporal, spatial and personal. The liberation from these three bondages is called salvation. There cannot be liberation in the sphere of physical and psychic bondages. Permanent liberation can be had only in the spiritual realm. When one becomes free from spiritual bondages all miseries, and pains vanish away.

What does the term Mukti Sádhaná connote? It is an effort to be free from spiritual bondages, which are deeply related with the psychic bondages. Whenever one performs any action its reaction remains potentially with Átmá and so long as the reactive momenta dwells with Átmá, there is no possibility of liberation from spiritual bondages.

Actional bondages remain until one attains liberation. Good action becomes the cause of good reaction. Both good and bad are the cause of action and bondages. The bondage of good action can be likened with a chain of gold, and that of bad action with a chain of iron. But both are bondages. Whether the cage is made of gold or iron is no difference for a bird – both are bondages for it. One has to attain liberation from these actional bondages. The term salvation connotes liberation from these actional bondages.

Now how to get liberation from these bondages? It’s possible only when the reactive momenta get exhausted, and this is possible only through Sádhaná. When one walks in the sphere of actional bondages one’s movement is from subtle to crude. The Sádhaná for liberation from bondages is a movement from crude to subtle. The “Saiṋcara” process is a movement from the supreme positivity to the supreme negativity, a flow from fundamental negativity to fundamental positivity. But, what is this movement for? This movement is for the exhaustion of actional bondages. It is movement from darkness to light and truth. One has to march towards truth. Satyameva jayate nánrtam satyenah panthá vitato devayána. This is the Sádhaná of liberation and this is not possible without “Diikśá”. If one walks in darkness one needs a torch otherwise one will fall down in a ditch. Similarly one walking on the path of Sádhaná needs this torch, otherwise however strong one may be, downfall will be inevitable. The Sanskrit synonym for the word torch is Diipaka or Diipanii. The first letter of Diipaka is “Dii” and the first letter of the word Kśáya is “Kśa” Thus comes the masculine word Diikśa. In feminine it is Diikśá. Diikśá is essential for the exhaustion of actional momenta. This is the Sádhaná of liberation.

To learn is the Sádhaná of knowledge. To walk on the path, i.e., to do regular practices is the Sádhaná of action. Last but not the least is devotion – the culminating point of Mokśa Sádhaná.

What is Bhakti? The word Bhakti has been derived from the root verb Bhaj and suffix kta. The very Bháva that whatever I will do I do to impart bliss to Paramátmá is devotion. What is knowledge? (Satyam jiṋánamanantam Brahmah). Paramátmá is the embodiment of knowledge. Every particle of the universe is the manifestation of Paramátmá. This is the essence of knowledge. What is the Sádhaná of knowledge? When one starts realizing that every mundane objectivity is the manifestation of Paramátmá one comes from the sphere of theory to practice. The realization that the universe is the manifestation of Paramátmá is Siddhi or achievement in Jiṋána Sádhaná.

What does the term Karma Sádhaná, i.e., the Sádhaná of action connote? What is the Siddhi, i.e., attainment of Karma Sádhaná? – (Karma Brahmeti Karma Vahu Kurviita). To serve every mundane object thinking it to be the manifestation of Paramátmá is Karma, i.e., the Sádhaná of action. What is the achievement (Siddhi) of Karma Sádhaná? It is generally found that an average person spends more than twelve or fourteen hours in thinking about his or her own self. But the moment one starts thinking about the universe, one becomes a Karma Sádhaka. When one starts spending all one’s time in thinking for the universe, taking one self to be a bubble in the ocean of Karma, one gets Siddhi in Karma Sádhaná. A person is a part of the universe, and when one starts serving the universe, one is also automatically included among the served.

Whatever is done is done only to please Paramátmá. This is called devotion. One has to serve the universe with this ideation. In the beginning due to “Saḿskára” there is a feeling of doership. But when gradually the accumulated momenta i.e. “Saḿskáras” start being exhausted, one starts questioning the source of one’s energies and capacities. Are they really one’s own possessions or creations? Even the strongest of wrestlers becomes frail and is unable to speak if he or she does not eat for a couple of days. The scholarship of a scholar vanishes in the thin air if you keep him or her without food for a week. Meaning thereby, all your knowledge, intellect, capacity and valour, are dependent on Him. That is why there is nothing for a human being to be proud of. The moment one understands this, one is ensconced in devotion and then alone will one be able to realize that one is working according to the wish of Paramátmá with all one’s capacities. This is the sign and feeling of a staunch devotee.

How does a Jiṋánii feel? He or she thinks that since the universe is the manifestation of Parámatmá one should serve it. But they themselves will not take pains to jump into the realm of action. Sitting on the shore, they will issue only “phatwa.” Such logician philosopher’s, have got no connection with the actional world:

Vák Vaekharii shabdajharii
Shástravyakhyana Kaoshalam,
Vaedushyam Vidusam,
Tadvat bhuktaye na tu muktaye,

Only big and euphemistic words can’t serve humanity. This is only a word trammel in which one entangles oneself. Such persons knowingly or unknowingly throw themselves away from the path of salvation. On the other hand those Karma Yogins who always, always engross themselves with action and work only for the sake of work enmesh themselves in the trammel of action. Such action is really a bondage. What is the way out of bondage? It has been said in the Upanisads:

Iisháváshyamidaḿ sarvam,
Yatkinca jagatyaḿjagat.
Tena tyaktena bhunjiithá,
Mágrdhah kasyasiddhanam.

Action performed for the sake of action is bondage. As the Jiṋána of a Jiṋánii is the cause of bondage if it is not mingled with devotion, similarly, devoid of the celestial touch of devotion, the action of a Karmi (one who performs action) cannot be helpful in attaining liberation.

Now let us think about devotion. As explained earlier the ideation that whatever I do, I do only to please Paramátmá is called devotion – Bhaktirbhagavato Sevá. Devotion is service to God. When devotees serve the universe they do it with the feeling that they are serving the manifestation of Náráyańa only to please Him. One has to serve, but not only for the sake of service. The direction of Jiṋánii is not working here, nor Karma for the sake of Karma. The experience of a devotee is quite independent. It is that they are serving Náráyańa and none else. One of knowledge tries to attain Paramátmá by dint of knowledge, but despite being one of knowledge one behaves like a knave. The reason is quite apparent and palpable. The brain of such a person is quite small and he can’t be measured by such a brain and its weak stamina. Karmiis also forget that the source of their stamina and vitality is not their own. Thus a secret feeling of ego also resides in the mind of a Karmii and this becomes a great hurdle in the path of the realization of Paramátmá. Those who are the greatest malpractitioners in their tender age are not able to do anything in their senility, because their capacities are decayed. Why do such learned people behave like illiterate boors after becoming senile? Does their intellect lose stamina and lustre? Jiṋánis and Karmiis lose their prestige after reaching old age, but devotees are never insulted. Those who really want to save their prestige should adopt devotion. Devotees always think that everything, whatever belongings they have are Parmátmá’s and they are utilizing them only to please Him. They will serve Him with the intellect and stamina bestowed upon them by their Beloved. When these things will be snatched away they will serve the Lord with whatever will remain. When nothing remains they will come to the Lord and ask for further work. This is called devotion.

Those who beg from Paramátmá for this or that are not devotees, because they want service from Him. Devotees are those who ask Paramátmá to utilize their services at His feet. Devotion is service to God – Bhaktir Bhagavato Sevá.

There are numerous propensities in the human mind. Chiefly they are fifty in number. The majority among them are subsidiary propensities. Where the propensities tend toward mundane longing they are called subsidiary propensities. But where they are engaged in the service of Paramátmá they are called main propensities. The latter are awakened by “Sambit” with the grace of Paramátmá. Suppose people are running after the subsidiary propensities, i.e., for name, fame, prestige etc. One fine morning the consciousness of their present condition dawns upon their psychic horizon and they start feeling miserable about their state. This is called “Sambit”. Main propensities are aroused by this “Sambit” and one starts marching towards Paramátmá. All other propensities are subsidiary.

You know there are different divisions in propensities:

(a) Kliśt́á
(b) Akliśt́á
(c) Kliśt́ákliśt́á
(d) Akliśt́ákliśt́á

The propensities that become the cause of pain in the beginning as also in the end are called Kliśt́á. Suppose, for instance, someone is travelling without a ticket. There is a heavy rush in the train. Naturally he will have to undergo suffering and inconvenience. If the checking staff come, another misery befalls. So here the pain is in the beginning and also in the end. This action of his is Kliśt́á vrtti.

Suppose one sits in the first class having the ticket of the third class. The journey is naturally comfortable. This is Akliśt́á. But if the checking staff comes a painful situation emerges. The journey started with ease and ended in pain. This is Ákliśt́ákliśt́á.

A student busy in studies has to abandon all sorts of pleasures and comforts. But at last when the result comes out he or she finds his or her name in the list of successful candidates Thus in the beginning there is pain but the end comes with the shower of happiness. This is called “Kliśt́ákliśt́á.”

Kliśt́á, Kliśt́ákliśt́á and Akliśt́ákliśt́á are subsidiary propensities. Akliśt́á when the pain is neither in the beginning nor in the end, is the main propensity or the Mukhya vrtti, and this is the path of devotion. Akliśt́ákliśt́á is the path of knowledge and action and Akliśt́á is the path of devotion. This Akliśt́á only is the main propensity of the gland and the rest are of subsidiary glands. When the main propensities are aroused by the grace of Paramátmá one becomes a devotee. Devotion is not a sádhaná, but an attainment, for a devotee: Bhakti bhagavato sevá bhaktih prema svarúpińii; Bhaktiránanda rúpá ca bhakti bhaktasya jiivanam.

What is love?

That which makes mind soft and so strong and strenuous as it may keep itself in a balanced state even in the condition of pain, and creates perpetually a pleasant feeling within, is called love. Devotion is identical with love. They are invariably related with each other. The moment devotion is aroused, love for God comes.

Devotion is bliss incarnate. What is bliss or Ánanda? Where pleasure and pain both are in equipoise we call it the state of Ánanda. Sukham Ánantam Ánandam i.e. infinite bliss is called Ánanda. Whatever may be the propensities – main or subsidiary – they become part and parcel of the life of a person adhering to them. If one doing the worship of money loses the object of worship, will one be able to withstand the shock? One will die out of the pain of loss. Those who adore name and fame will also die the moment their prestige is spoiled. They may commit suicide. Similarly for a devotee; devotion is life. The end of devotion is the death of the devotee. That is why the devotee says to the Lord – O Lord! I don’t want anything, but if you want to give me anything, give me Parama Bhakti (The highest kind of devotion). I want only devotion and nothing else.

The Sádhakas who love God for the attainment of bliss are also strong ones, but they are not great ones. They may be strong devotees but not great ones. Only those Sádhakas are great devotees who do not aim simply on attaining bliss but work for giving bliss to Parámatmá. Devotees render services to the people because they know in the heart of their hearts, that the universe is the manifestation of Paramátmá. Every mundane creature is the progeny of Paramátmá. If one will do service to the people it will be tantamount to please Paramátmá. A devotee performs Sádhaná only because Paramátmá wants this. Thus a devotee performs sádhaná only to please Paramátmá. Such persons are called Gopa. Gopayate ya sah Gopah i.e. one who imparts bliss to Paramátmá is Gopa.

Chapter 2	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

Today’s subject of discourse is “Parama Puruśa.”

What is Puruśa? Puruśa means “Pure Shete Yah Sah Puruśah” or “Purasi Shete Yah Sah Puruśah”. The Sanskrit word Pura means settlement or township (Nagara). Therefore the entity which lies covert in each and every microcosmic structure is called Puruśa. It means that this quiescent entity or Puruśa lies hidden in each and every microcosm but doesn’t perform any action.

In the definition “Purasi Shete Yah Sah Puruśah”, Purasi means “in front of” or “before.” As in the sentence Purasi Hitaḿ Karoti Ya Sah Purohitah which means Purohita is one who moves in front of you to promote your welfare. One special attribute of Puruśa is that He always moves ahead of the microcosms. Whatever may be the speed of the microcosms, Puruśa is faster and so He is always ahead of them.

Puruśah akartá phalasákśiibhútah
Bhávakendrasthitah guńayantrakashca.

“Puruśah Akarta”. The word Akartá has been used in connection with Parama Puruśa. Why Akartá? When in a solid body a force operates in that special state the force is termed as “energy”. Action, or something that involves a changing of place, is originated by energy. Action, either physical or mental, is effected only because of the vitality in your body. During the state of ill health you will find that you cannot think for a long duration. It is only because of the lack of vitality. Doership is the Operative Principle, not Puruśa’s. Therefore, “Puruśah Akartá”.

“Phalasákśiibhútah”. Now let us see what is Phalasákśiibhútah. Puruśa is acquainted with all that is done by an entity. Whatever the unit mind performs is known to unit consciousness at once i.e. whatever your mind does is known to you’re átmá at once. Today’s discourse however is about Parama Puruśa, not about Jiivátmá or Jiivapuruśa. External activity is the actual expression of whatever you think on your psychic plane. So, whatever your mind is acquainted with, is done by your mind and hence your Átmá comes to know it. To what extent does your Átmá maintain its witnessing capability? Unit consciousness is Karmaphala bhoktá, i.e. whatever action – vice or virtue, is performed by your mind has its impression on Jiivátmá and the impression of the actions on Jiivátmá is at once conveyed to, Paramátmá.

Whatever action the Cosmic Mind does, that is not really action because everything is internal. But whatever the unit mind performs is both internal as well as external. For instance, if a desire for stealing is aroused in one’s mind, that can be internal when you don’t translate the same into action i.e. mental stealing can have external expression or it may remain in the psychic plane itself. But whatever the Cosmic Mind does is all internal, totally within His mental arena, there is nothing external for Him – all is within Him. Whatever He does, He does within Himself i.e. without your knowledge. For example He steals away your mind, your Átmá. One fine morning you will find that you have lost your mind. Your mind does not exist as He has stolen it away and just like a lunatic you begin dancing. How He has managed to steal it away is a mystery to you. Therefore He does everything inside Himself – everything is within, nothing without. Suppose your boss arrives, your superior arrives – you will welcome him and say, “Please come, take your seat and have something to eat.” You flatter him to the extent you know, but you say inside yourself, “What a trouble has arrived. When will he go?” This is not known to your boss. Hence a couple of “I’s” are within you – one performs action in the external world and the other is within with which you alone are well acquainted but others are not.

Sádhaná, therefore, is to unify the two into one – the internal “I” and the external “I”. Two-ness in one single personality is a disease. The more the gap between these two “I’s”, the more you will undergo psychic torment. You must remember that in this second half of the 20th Century people are feeling much gap in between their internal “I” and external “I”. Because of the trouble in adjusting these two “I’s” there is an increase in mental illnesses. This is the greatest disease in the 20th century. As regards Parama Puruśa there is no double personality. Everything is internal. The entire world is internal for Him. That which is external world for you is internal for Him. Whatever you think or do in your mind is also internal for Him. He enters your internal world, your mind and you don’t know that He has entered i.e., He will steal away your mind and you will not know. A person too wants that Paramátmá should steal away his mind. Therefore I remember to have told you that one of His names is Mákhanacora (Butter thief). Generally one says to God to come to him but actually God is already with him – He is simply unable to see Him. A Sádhaka may think with his conscious mind that when God appears before him, he will surrender completely to Him. In the most interior corner of his mind, however he feels that when God appears before him, he will certainly surrender to Him, but he will also seek God’s help for relieving the asthma from which he has been suffering badly. God, who is in the most interior corner of his mind, even knows this. Then He will not hear anything.

He will steal away the Átman of a person and his mind will not know it, Therefore, He is named Mákhanacora. As the cream is the essence of milk so is the Átman of the body. He steals away the Átman, so He is Mákhanacora.

Why Puruśa is Akartá? Action results when in the physical body vital force operates. Energy will not work away from material structure. It will always work from within. For Jiiva there is action, and also for Prakrti. Prakrti gets the action done, but Parama Puruśa is actionless.

“Phalasákśiibhútah”. Whenever a person performs some action there is an accompanying reaction. Action means creation of reaction also. For instance, if you throw a stone in a haphazard way, that will certainly have a result. Where there is action there is reaction. Both action and reaction take place in His Cosmic Body (Bhúmá Shariira). He immediately knows about the action performed by a person and its reaction too. But Parama Puruśa is not the enjoyer of the reactions.

Dvá suparńá sayujá sakháyá samánaḿ vrkśaḿse parisasvajáte.
Tayoranyah pippalaḿ svádvattyanashnannanyo bhiicákashiiti.

Two birds with beautiful plumage are seated on the same tree. One of them is tasting the sweet fruits of the tree, whereas the other is just looking on. The bird tasting the fruits is likened to jiivátman or unit consciousness. The bird which looks on without tasting the fruits, but which watches the other bird eating the fruits, is likened to Paramátman, the Supreme Consciousness. The tree, i.e., the body of a human being, has both jiivatman, which is karmopahata or that which receives the impression of all that the person does, and it also has Paramátma, who is the witnessing entity of jiivátman. Through Prakrti, the inherent energy of Puruśa, a human being performs actions and reaps their consequences. This “natural” set up has been arranged by Parama Puruśa. He makes the arrangements for actions and reactions to occur, therefore He is Phalasákśiibhúta.

They say that wherever there is action there is equal and opposite reaction. But there is one thing to be borne in mind here. Where there is action, the equal and opposite reaction takes place only when personal, temporal and spatial factors remain unchanged. But you know that personal, temporal and spatial factors do not remain unchanged. Just in the next moment time-factor is changed. If it is an inanimate object there is entitative change therein. If there is an animate object, the person remains unchanged but the mentality changes. Therefore, we do not find the exactly equal and opposite reaction of the action done. Generally the reaction is enhanced and is not lessened because the gap in inter-ectoplasmic stuff is increased for the reaction of an action done. For instance, you took a loan of rupees 1,000/-. When you return the amount you will have to pay the interest also. You will pay back Rs. 1020/- or 1030/-. Like-wise, if you have committed some sin you will be punished a little more than the reaction of the sin committed. Had the time, space and person remain unchanged the reaction would also have been the same. So get it in mind, while doing some thing immoral be prepared to pay the interest too. It is better not to take a loan, then alone you will not have to pay the interest.

“Bhavakendra.” This external world, this expressed world, which you see is full of action, full of rhythms. This actional world is both extroversial and introversial for you. There is a world inside your mind. That is your internal world, and the world which you see without is the extroversial world. Hence this internal world for you is ideational and the external world, actional. But for Parama Puruśa there is nothing like the extroversial world, all is introversial, and hence for Him this world is ideational or His thought projection, i.e., this world is Samkalpita for Him. Suppose you imagine Jodhpur⁽¹⁾ in your mind. This is ideational. But when you see outside, you find that it is Jaipur⁽²⁾, not Jodhpur. Then you realize that Jodhpur of your mind is ideational and Jaipur is actual. The same thing occurs in dream. While you dream you think it to be a fact because the external world does not exist there. For Parama Puruśa there is nothing like the extroversial world; just as for you when the internal world, which you take to be true in dream, is actually not there. For Him, the world exists in His ideation i.e., nothing is extroversial, rather all is introversial. And His imagination is called Samkalpa. Hence this world is a Samkalpita world for Him. There is a difference between Kalpatia and Samkalpana. Whatever you do in Kalpana is transitory and the Java concerned is only its enjoyer and none else.

God is a master magician who, by His magic spell, has created all and has hidden Himself inside His creation. If at all you want to know the creation, the trick of the magician, that can only be done when you join Him and His party.

This world is ideational for Him and this ideational cosmos has Him in its centre. He is in the centre of this ideational cosmos. He has to control it. Have you ever seen a fisherman spreading his fishing net in a river or a tank? The fisherman does so and he has to manage the net also. Likewise, He has made the ideational world which He alone has to manage and control. He controls the idea, therefore, in common parlance, He is taken as inactive. If, however, people steal, rob and are corrupt, will Paramátmá say that He is Akartá and hence He has got nothing to do with them? No, He controls them indirectly through the Guńas. Actually He controls the Guńas which do the actions. Really it is Paramá-Prakrti that operates. For instance, the commander orders the soldiers to catch so and so. Who catches? It is the soldiers, the power of the soldiers. People see that the soldier has caught the offender, but the soldier does so only with the direction of his commander. Hence Parama Puruśa is just like the commander and Parama Prakrti just like the soldier. This control over Bliáva Kendra is Samkalpita Niyantrańa, and He who controls it is named Krśńa. Therefore, there is another name of Parama Puruśa i.e. Krśńa. Krsna means the attractor of this ideational world. This ideational world is made of ectoplasmic stuff or by ectoplasmic structure. For Parama Puruśa, the quinquelemental world is just the crudified form of His ectoplasm. His mental stuff is subtler than jiivas, and therefore contains speed (Gati), light (Dyuti) and rhythm (Chanda), and controls them. The mental stuff of Parama Puruśa with which the world has been created is something blissful (Svarasa). This very object is named Paramarasa. The unit mind does all with its mental stuff. Sometimes it creates money in the mind and seeing the mental bank balance it feels happy. Sometimes it makes itself a Prime Minister and feels happy, and sometimes it feels enemies are mentally beaten and it is overjoyed. All these are done only with an aim to satisfy its mental hunger, to quench its mental thirst. Ultimately we see that an individual’s mental stuff is transformed into worldly objects. For the unit mind, whatever it makes within itself is Vaesayika. It is all directed for personal pleasure, for material pleasure. The flow of the ectoplasmic stuff of the jiiva is called Viśayarasa and the flow of Cosmic Mind is Paramarasa. When, even for once, the unit mind happens to come in contact with Paramarasa, the material pleasure ( viśayrasa) seems dry and insipid. Just as one eating vegetables without salt, feels they are tasteless. But material objects are needed to maintain the physical existence. The wise make the flow of Viśayarasa parallel to the flow of Paramarasa. They convert the waves of viśayarasa into the waves of Paramarasa. This alone is a safe way.

Krśńa is the nucleus of the Paramarasa of Bháva Samudra and the unit minds are like boats in that MaháSamudra. As per the rise and fall of Paramarasa of Parama Puruśa, the unit minds are to rise and fall i.e. as boats rise and fall with the waves of the ocean. The unit mind intentionally or unintentionally has to dance according to the rhythms and waves created by Parama Puruśa. This they are bound to do, there is no escape. Even if someone says that he will not dance because he is ashamed of dancing, really he dances, anyway; he simply does not know it. Everybody dances in the Paramarasa-Samudra. The Viśayarasatmaka Jiiva has to dance. There is no way out, they are made to dance. This very thing is the Rasa Liilá of Krśńa. There is difference between Liilá and Kriidá. Kriidá is causal. Everything in this world of relativity is causal. But Parama Puruśa is beyond the scope of relativity. Why is He making the world dance? Why has He made Paramarasa-Samudra? The answer to this cannot be known in the world of causality. Why Paramátmá has done something has no answer because He is beyond the scope of causality. Hence that which is non-causal, that which is beyond the scope of causality is Liilá. Whatever Paramátmá does is Liilá, but what Jiiva does is Kriidá. The wise will do Kriidá in such a way as to adjust their waves with the waves of Liilá. They will not try to know why Liilámaya has done an action. They will simply try to know Liilámaya Himself. If you cannot know the cause of a trifling thing like dancing, how can you know the cause of the action of Liilámaya? Jiiva has a very small brain and a very small cranium. It is not possible for it to know the action of Liilámaya. Suppose someone is an MA in 20 subjects. If he or she is asked suddenly to appear in the MA examination, he will not pass – he will have to read again, then he will have to appear. This proves that the Jiiva fails even to succeed in its own Kriidá. So how can it understand the cause of the Liilá of Liilámaya? It cannot. The best approach is to love Him, is to join His party. If there is true love the Master Magician will certainly make you understand everything because the more the members of His party know, the more convenient it is for Him. Hence He is “Bhavakendrasthitah.”

There is a particular tune, a particular rhythm, a particular rága, a particular rágini, particular laya and a particular tála in the Paramarasa-samudra as per the vibration projected in the nucleus of the Paramarasa. One who gets one acquainted with these does not like visayarasa, and naturally leaving the Visayarasa, one goes into Paramarasa. Then the attachment with the rága and rágini of Visayarasa is lessened and one becomes like a lunatic. People say correctly that Rádha, hearing the melodious tune of the flute of Krśńa, started behaving abnormally. This was due to the bifurcation of the waves of Visayarasa and then sudden adjustment with the waves of Parmarasa. When a rural boy comes to the town and sees cinemas, then he does not like to see Rámaliilá. He says “Rámaliilá is outdated. Cinema is far better.” Is it not so? Likewise, when one comes in contact with the waves of Paramarasa, the charm of Visayarasa fades away.

Wherever there is wave, there is sound – there is the sound of the ocean, of the river. The sound of Paramarasa is Krśńa’s Muralidhvani. The sound of the Visayarasa is “Money, more money, more corn, more vegetables, more bank balance.” Don’t you hear this? The sound of first class first, the sound for extension after retirement are the sounds of Visayarasa. The sound for the wedding of the daughter with no expenses is essentially the sound of Visayarasa. The sound of Paramarasa is the muralidhvani of Krśńa. Hearing this, one does not appreciate the sound of Visayarasa. Parama Puruśa is Puruśottama – He is seated in the nucleus of Paramarasa.

Parama Puruśa is “Guńayantrakashca”. When Guńa acts in material body that is known as energy. Energy is controlled by Prakrti but Prakrti, being the innate principle of Parama Puruśa, is controlled and guided by Him. The actions are controlled by Prakrti, but Prakrti is controlled by Parama Puruśa. Hence Parama Puruśa should alone be the be-all and end-all of humans. One must bear it in mind always that the Visayarasa of the units is encircled by Paramarasa from all the ten directions. You are never away from Parama Puruśa. He is always with you and in no condition you are alone. Since your activity is within Paramarasa, whatever you think, whatever you do with your organs is all made known to Paramarasa samudra. Since Paramarasa samudra knows it, it becomes the duty of Parama Puruśa as the witnessing entity to take you to task as long as you are not mended. I told you, Parama Puruśa is the creator and operator. His is not a vow to punish you, but to mend you i.e. whatever He thinks proper for you He will do, and it is proper for you to let Him do His will. Parama Puruśa will take care of those who take His shelter. He will not help those who think that they can take care of themselves, however, as He lets them do the things on their own. Therefore, it is told that for Bhaktas, Bhagaván has special responsibility. It is the duty of Parama Puruśa to save the prestige of the Bhakta, and the duty of the Bhakta is to leave everything on Him. Whatever energy is working in Paramarasa or visavarasa is under Him. Therefore, when once you develop your love for Him you are not weak, not helpless and not alone. The victory is with you. Remember Him and march ahead – victory will be yours. You have not to be afraid of the worldly forces. Those who enjoy the highest force of Parama Puruśa are sure to succeed. Victory will surely be theirs.

Victory to you all.

Footnotes

(1) Jodhpur and Jaipur are names of towns in India. –Eds.

Chapter 3	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

The Supreme Entity means the Supreme Cognitive Principle. The Cognition is the Supreme Entity and not the Operative Principle, because this Cognitive Principle is the Transcendental Entity and the Operative Principle or Creative Principle is functioning within the jurisdiction of Consciousness. This universe is the creation of the Operative Principle within the jurisdiction, within the campus of the Transcendental Entity, of the Cognitive Principle. When it operates, the Operative Principle creates something concrete i.e. the Consciousness is transmitted into abstract and abstract is metamorphosed into the quinquelemental entity, then that Operative Principle is called the Creative Principle. In sanskrit we call the Creative Principle “Máyá”, and the functional attributes, the collection of the functional attributes of this Creative principle is nature.

Though the Creative Principle is nature, it functions within the scope of Consciousness. Prakrti functions, Shakti functions on the chest of Shiva. Shakti is an innate principle. She can dance, she can function only whep she is permitted to do so by Consciousness – Shiva, Paramashiva. So the Supreme Entity means Paramashiva, the Supreme Cognition. The Cognitive Principle is the invisible witnessing entity; witnessing the entire universe – both Macrocosm and microcosm. Macrocosm is the psychic counterpart of the Supreme Cognition and microcosmos the direct psychic counterpart of the unit cognition and the indirect psychic counterpart of the Supreme Cognition. This quinquelemental universe is a metamorphosed form of Macrocosm.

I say, this universe is the macro-psychic connotation and the microcosm is unit mind. The unit mind of Rám, Shyáma, Yadu, Madhu is not the direct creation of Macrocosm, i.e., it has not been created directly by the Macrocosmic mind. It is the creation of the quinquelemental universe, the creation of matter, and matter is the creation of the Supreme Mind. Matter is the creation of Macrocosmic Mind. Unit mind is the creation of matter.

As a result of internal clash and cohesion, when the external force starts functioning within the scope of matter, and when it gets its centre of activity within material structure, we say the external force has been converted into vital force. We say life has been created within matter. When, due to internal clash and cohesion, matter gets powdered down, it is called mind, the basic form of mind, i.e. under-developed mind. As the result of clash and cohesion we get metazoic structure, we get complicated mind, and so finally in this world of ours, we get human structure. Because of this physical complexity, the mind has also become complex and complicated, and due to this complexity in unit mind, we have got several types of human forms in the physical world. Mind is controlled by hormones secreted from different glands and sub-glands; those hormones control each and every propensity of human mind. That is why I always lay stress that in intuitional science an aspirant should control the mind or its propensities which are being controlled by the glands and sub-glands. This is what is called Sádhaná, intuitional practice. This is a science.

Now the entire quinquelemental universe is governed by the functional attributes of the Operative principle which is known as nature. Hence it can not remain outside and go beyond the campus of the Transcendental Entity. When unit mind ideates on the Supreme Mind, it is transformed into the Supreme Mind. When spiritual aspirants develop implicit faith and love for that Supreme Father, they surrender themselves at the altar of the grandeur of the Supreme and become one with the Supreme Cognition.

An aspirant wants physical oneness with the Supreme Cognition. This is called Nirvikalpa Samádhi in Sanskrit, and the aspirant’s feeling of oneness with the Macrocosm is Savikalpa Samadhi.

Now, human beings may be intellectually developed but they function within their physical structures. Certain points of their brains act as nuclei, which help them to operate different functions and nerve cells and entire nerve functions. So they have to function under certain limits, and that is why they are called microcosmic. The microcosms create their own world. In your mind you can create many things, but those things are purely psychic bodies and bear no value for others. In your mind, you have created an elephant. That elephant is being witnessed by you only and nobody else can witness it. So it is purely yours and no one else has got anything to do with it. But because everything remains within the scope of Macrocosm, when He is thinking of an elephant in His mind, for you it is external. When you create the elephant within your mind and you create another man within your mind, that man of your mind is witnessing the elephant of your mind, For the man of your mind that elephant is a relative reality.

Now, in psychic sphere, microcosms can create anything according to their desire, according to their cognition but microcosms function under certain limitations. By nature the microcosm is multipurposive in motive, but unilateral in action; and the Macrocosm is unipurposive in motive but multilateral in function. Macrocosm is multilateral.

Microcosm is multipurposive in motive. You want to become rich, you want to become a great man, you want to render social service, you want to do so many things, you cherish so many longings in your mind. But while functioning, you can do only one thing at a time, one work at a time. Macrocosm however is unipurposive in motive. His only motive is to create many objects and individuals and to help His progeny in all-round development. It is His only purpose! So He is unipurposive in motive but multilateral in action. He is doing so many things for the entire universe, for each and every entity. You are witnessing only your own mental faculty and your mental force, but He is witnessing everything in the microcosmic existence. He is the witnessing faculty. His pervasive association with all the microcosms is called Protah Yoga and His relationship with each and every individual unit is called “Otah Yoga”, He has got direct relationship with each and every entity and He has got collective relationship with this collective universe. That is why you can say that He is multilateral in action. That is why in the Puruśa Shúktam of the Rgveda it has been stated:

Sahasrashiirśá Puruśah sahasrákśah sahasrapát;
Sa bhúmiḿ vishvato vrtvá’tyatiśt́haddasháuṋgulam.⁽¹⁾

A microcosm functions with the help of only one brain and the capacity of the brain is not more than its structure and nature. But He functions with the help of innumerable brains, all the brains are His creation and the potentiality of so many brains lies within the scope of Macrocosm. That is why none can challenge the authority of Macrocosm. Sahasrákśa. Whenever you see, you see with your own eyes, with the limited sight your optical strength but, you are within the Transcendental Entity. But He, being the Transcendental entity, is witnessing everything without the help of any physical organ. So it has been said “He is Sahasráksa”, He has many eyes. Sahasrapád. Wherever you go, you go with the help of your legs, but He has innumerable legs. Because He has got innumerable legs, one foot is here, another foot is on another planet. For Him there is no spatial factor. That is why He is Sahasrapad.

He is an all-pervading entity and not within the scope of quinquelemental universe, nor with in the scope of the abstract, but above that. He is “Atyatisthad dashangulam.”

I have already said in other Dharma Mahacakras that in a human body the controlling point is the pituitary gland, the seat of consciousness which controls directly the conscious mind, indirectly, the sub-conscious and more indirectly the unconscious. He is witnessing not only your physical or abstract expressions but above that your controlling of all these are being witnessed by Him.

So His existence is not only all pervading within the realm of physicality and mental world but your unit cognition is also being controlled and witnessed by Him.

Atyatisthád Dashangulam: He is above 10 fingers’ measure, above the real abode of pitutary gland i.e., pineal gland, above the realm of abstract and physicality.

The Supreme Entity, the Supreme Puruśa (Puruśa means Pure Sete Yah Sah Puruśa) resides within each physical structure. He is Puruśa, because the supreme fundamental relative factors are created by Him, the spatial, the temporal and the personal factors and are within His campus. That is why whatever work had been done by these three factors, whatever will be done by these three factors, comes to Him. There is a sloka in the Rgveda where it is stated – “Puruśaeva sarvam edam yadbhútam yadbhavyam.” The Puruśa knows whatever was done and Puruśa will know whatever will be done in future also. Then you may say Puruśa does not know the present. He knows the future, but nothing has been stated regarding the present.

You know that philosophically and psychologically there is nothing called “present.” There is past, and there is future. What I am saying, it is future for you, and when you hear it, it is past for me. Hearing by you and saying by me, my saying and your hearing are not being done simultaneously; there is a gap. That is why in whatever is done by us, by microcosms, a portion and of the past portion of the future correlated by the macrocosm is called present. So philosophically and psychologically there is past and there is future and that is why in this sloka it has been said that Parama Puruśa knows the past and knows the future. Yad Bhútam yad bhavyam, what will happen, will happen.

He is the navel point of the creation. He is Lord of the navel point of creation. One may think that one is an educated person, one is a learned person, or that one is animal in human structure. All however are only human beings. Remember that an animal is also the creation of the Supreme Father, it is a beloved of the Supreme Father; the Father cannot hate His animal children.

You know in Tantra when one first does Sádhaná, in that phase one is no better than an animal. One’s structure is that of a human but internally one is just like an animal. When that animal does Sádhaná, he or she recalls the Lord, “O Lord, I may be an animal, I may be a Pashu, but thou art my Lord. I am Pashu but you are my Pashupati.”

So in the first phase of Sadhana, the Supreme Entity is addressed as Pashupati. After starting Sádhaná, one starts psychic fighting against the crude force, the crude force functioning within the mind, the crude force functioning within the society, the crude force functioning within the family and the crude force functioning within the country. One starts fighting, so one becomes “viira”. This “viirata” in fighting is actual Sádhana. This is life. Life is the constant fight against belligerent forces. Life is fight. When one starts to fight one becomes a human in human structure.

So in the second phase of Sádhaná Pashupati becomes Viireshvara. It was another name of Lord Shiva. As a result of the fight, when this fighting tendency, this belligerent tendency becomes one’s own, in that case one becomes Deva.

Then one says “O Lord, by your mercy, I have become Deva (divine in human structure) and thou art my Lord, thou art Mahádeva.” So in the third stage that very Lord becomes Mahádeva, Pashupati becomes Vireshvara, then becomes Mahádeva, according to the stages or phases of Sádhaná, of the spiritual aspirant. This fight against the centrifugal force, functioning in the world, is actually the Sádhaná. You know, in each and every structure there are two forces, centripetal and centrifugal forces. In the case of cosmological order, in the case of Brahma Cakra, the Centripetal force, is called Vidyá and the Centrifugal force is called Avidyá. So spiritual practice or the intuitional practice is the fight between Vidyá and Avidyá. Sádhaná is to strengthen vidyá, the centripetal force, in one’s movement towards the nave of the cosmological order.

This cosmological nucleus is the nucleus of all other nuclei of the universe. This is the abode of Supreme Beatitude. Each and every nucleus of the universe gets shelter in Supreme Consciousness; that is why He is called Náráyan. “Ayan” means shelter, nár means operative principle. If one wants peace of permanent nature, if one has developed a longing for the Supreme Destiny, one has to lead all one’s propensities towards this Supreme nucleus and this movement is called Sádhana. While moving towards this Supreme Nucleus one will have to fight against the centrifugal force, Avidyá shakti. In this fight against Avidyá shakti, one must have sufficient weapons. You know the Sádhak is a soldier, a soldier requires weapons. Sádhaná is a fight in your internal sphere, in your mind. There you should have 10 weapons, five Yama and five Niyama. Similarly in the fight against evil forces, in this crude physicality, you should have physical weapons.

Those who want disarmament and those who want to ban the atom bomb are not friends of human society. The friends of human society want to accelerate the speed of human society. Those advocating disarmament want to retard the progress. Weapons, you must have. As you should have control over your body and mind. there must be control, not abuse of your weapons. Now in this process i.e. in the realm of intuitionalism you should have 10 internal weapons, Yama and Niyama. Your progress in Sádhaná depends on Jiṋána, Karma and Bhakti. Your actual progress is being affected by Jiṋána and Karma. But the final union with the Supreme, with the Mahádeva, will be possible you when develop Bhakti within you. In Sádhaná you should remember that you have to develop Bhakti in your mind and this Bhakti and you can get by regular Sádhaná, and by rendering selfless service.

Footnotes

(1) Rgveda Puruśasúktam. –Eds.

Chapter 4	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

Today’s subject of discourse is Máyá and Mokśa. While speaking of Máyá, Lord Krśńa stresses the role of Máyá as being subordinate to Him, of Máyá being subservient to Ishvara. Only those who surrender themselves to His protection and guidance can overcome its bounds. Just as northbound travellers have to keep the pole star before their eyes, the passenger on the path of liberation from Máyá will have to keep the Lord as his or her goal. No other physical or mental compass is potent enough to guide one’s progress on this path, the path of Dharma. That is why it is said that there is only one Dharma – the way towards the Absolute.

Máyá and the Creation

What is Máyá? When Parama Puruśa (Cognitive Principle) desires to create something, the Shakti (force) required is known as Máyá. As such, one of the important characteristics of Máyá is its plasticity. It is equally clear that since Máyá is the force behind creation, if the Cognitive Principle had not desired to create anything, Máyá would have had no manifestation.

What is it that made Him create and thus make the manifestation of Máyá possible? The traditionally upheld cause and effect theory cannot answer this question, for the theory works and holds good only in the expressed world (i.e., the universe after it has been created). Thus once the seed and the tree are there as a part of the expressed world, the cause and effect theory recognizes the seed as the cause and the tree as the effect. But why was the seed or the tree originally created is a problem beyond its scope. Thus the cause and effect theory does not go beyond the expressed world. Now action which is beyond cause and effect is Liilá. To differentiate further, action which is governed by the cause and effect theory is known as Krd́a. All His creation is Liilá. Hence the manifestation of Máyá in the expressed world too is His Liilá.

Máyá and Jiivas

Máyá influences the Jiiva in a number of ways. In His creation of the world, it is not the Citi Shakti that works. Instead, when ordered by Him, Máyá is the force which works. Here it is known as Visńu máyá.

When human beings experience His attraction from Antahkarana the feeling that something is to be done is generated in them. This is also done by Máyá and here it is known as Yogamáyá.

Apart from these forms, Mayá works in the Jiiva in two other forms – as Vishva máyá and as Ańumáyá. The fundamental stuff or matter used in His creation is Himself. In this process of creation, the Cognitive Principle crudifies Himself into this expressed world with the use of Viśńumáyá. But the essential element, the fundamental stuff is He. However, the Jiiva does not have the capacity to see Him in this creation. A person sees a pot as a pot, a forest as a forest and so on. This is the work of Vishvamáyá.

The sum of manifested Máyá in the universe is known as Máhámáyá. Now, it is observed that individuals can create the same things in their minds which are expressed outside and are seen in this expressed world. They can create a whole world in their minds, according to their fancy, and can enjoy pain or pleasure from it. Such vicarious living is found especially in persons of advanced age. This is the work of Ańumáyá.

It must never be overlooked however that despite its various forms, it is His Máyá, and that He is the Máyádhiśha. Therefore, if the individual starts a fight against Máyá, he or she cannot succeed. This is amply confirmed by the fact that you cannot effectively indulge in the suppression or repression of a certain Bháva for long, ultimately it overpowers you, because the more you try to suppress it the greater becomes the force with which it rebounds. If crude ideas come into your mind, you are not crude or bad – it is natural for them to come. But mental or psychic suppression or repression of these is not profitable for Sádhakas. Instead the correct and psychological approach to Máyá is to channelize it in the direction of the Absolute. For in this expressed world, you cannot overpower Máyá because she has a much greater power.

The central problem of reconciling the earthly duties of human beings with their progress towards the absolute thus crops up. The answer lies in the fact that this world is a relative truth. Human beings should not become slaves to it but should use it properly. However, as mind is engaged in it while using it, one may tend to crudify both in the mind and hence, in the body. This would hamper movement towards the Absolute which is the subtlest entity. The way out is to bring in the ideation of the Absolute. In other words, you should realize that while living in the expressed crude world, you do not work for the worldly things but for Him and with Him, because He is the essential element, the fundamental stuff out of which this world has been created.

Máyá and the Absolute

On the other hand, those who run away from this material world to escape Máyá only deceive themselves. For with the help of Máyá, they will be led to Him, as Máyá has a close relation with the Absolute. What is this relation?

Máyá has three guńas – operative principles through which it works – viz., Sattvaguńa (sentient principle), Rajoguńa (mutative principle) and Tamoguńa (static principle). They work and lie in an ascending order on the road to the Absolute. The sentient principle (Sattvaguńa) has the capacity to take the sádhaka very near Him (Nirákára Brahma) by making the mind more and more subtle. But there still lies a gap between this point and Nirákára Brahma. This gap is known as Bháva or Bhávaságar. This gap can only be negotiated with the help of devotion. Thus we see that Máyá, channelized properly (in its sentient operating principle) can take the Sádhaka to a point very near Ishvara, from which point the domain of devotion begins. An interesting illustration is afforded by the following story. Three thieves, Mr. Sattvaguńa, Mr. Rajoguńa and Mr. Tamaguńa once waylaid a man with some money in a dark forest. Though all agreed to pocket the money, Mr. Tamoguńa also desired to murder the man. The other two, however, would not agree to this. Mr. Rajoguńa declared that the man be left alone to fend for himself in the dark. Mr. Sattvaguńa was more charitable. He led the unfortunate man all the way to the outskirts of the city. But after a point on the road he bade farewell and would not go into the lighted street for fear of being caught by the police. Therefore we arrive at the paradox that Mukti (i.e. freedom from the bondage of Máyá) can be achieved not by a fight against Máyá, but rather through its help.

Different kinds of Sádhakas inhabit this world. Some ardently desire Mukti, while others do not. The latter base their choice on the reasoning that by becoming one with Iishvara, the Sádhaka loses the pleasure of being next to Him and harbouring Him as one’s sole bháva in work, service and sacrifice. Little do they know that this very ideation of the Cosmic world leads them to Mukti, for their minds have Him as their object.

The best and highest Sádhaka and Bhakta, however, surrenders the decision on this question to Ishvara. The ideation that he or she embraces is: “I am at your disposal. It is up to you to plan what you like for me”. Theirs is the wisdom to foresee that complete surrender alone, which is the essence of the highest Bhakti, will enable them to sail the Bhávasagar unto His feet.

Chapter 5	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

In this universe, everything is moving. Whether one wants to or not, one is moving. Movement is the very characteristic, the very nature of this universe. Therefore, it is called “jagat”. The root verb is “Gam” which means “to go”.

Everyone has to move physically as well as mentally. There is movement in the spirit also. Therefore if one knows which way one should move, there will be no waste of energy. Similarly, it is necessary to know how best to move. “How and where” will give proper direction to the movement

There are four stages of life – the wakeful, the dream, the deep sleep and the Turiiya. Out of these, the first three stages are within the scope of expression while they are on the move; in the fourth, there is movement, but no expression.

Just as individual life has four stages, so also collective life has four movements or stages.

(1) There is the worldly quinquelemental physical existence. In this stage there is an effort to attain name and fame, to procure money, land, property etc. This is one type of movement.

(2) There is the effort to seek psychic or mental treasures or attainments.

(3) There is the effort to convert the ectoplasm into cognition or the psycho-spiritual movement.

(4) There is the stage of pure cognition.

The first is called Káma. It aims at physical attainment. The second is called Artha, which aims at removal of pain. Pain is physical, mental and spiritual, but, mainly it is in the psychic realm. When we do not understand something, this also causes mental pain, hence one meaning of Artha is also “meaning”.

The spirit behind the word Artha is that which removes pain. As the pain of hunger and of many other types is removed by money, so Artha is also used in the sense of money.

The scope of psychic wealth is vast, but this also does not last. It does not survive physical death. The psychic impressions which remained unexpressed in the physical arena, remain with the soul; the body is lost into oblivion. A scholar in the next life may be a fool or an illiterate person. Even in this life the mind does not retain its wealth. Think of a big learned man, who has gone mad for an MA in philosophy, who does the job of a clerk in a business firm. He loses his earnings of mind. Therefore, accumulation of mental wealth is also not a stable position.

The third one is to try to convert the psychic stuff into cognition. This effort is called the dharma. Dharma is of two types – primary and secondary. The primary dharma is expressed only in human beings. Therefore, the establishment of pure cognition or Bhágavata dharma is only possible in humans. Secondary dharma is that of the body, of various organisms or creatures. When the movement of life reverts to the original state i.e. consciousness, there is still movement there but no expression. When “svabháva” (one’s own nature) is converted into “svarúpa” (one’s original stance) “gati” (mobility) continues but there is no expression. This is the peculiarity of this stage. Here there is no vibration and hence no expression. As this stage is Absolute and Eternal, it cannot be symbolized. The movement of life, therefore, should be from physical to psychic, from psychic to psycho-spiritual and from psycho-spiritual to spiritual. Those who are not moving in this direction are moving towards great catastrophe and in the end, they will finally be converted into iron or wood.

All the potentialities and powers of human beings should be fully utilized. From the crude to the subtle and from the subtle to the causal, and from the causal to that which is beyond cause and effect, is the path of progress. You will follow this path and this will lead you to your desideratum.

In the process of Saiṋcara the abstract is crudified, and in the reverse process matter is powdered down and becomes subtler and subtler until it is fully liberated from the crudifying effect. Therefore, one bas to avoid depraving propensities which lead to more physicality, and promote elevating tendencies of mind ( vrittis). The correct way to get rid of depraving tendencies is not to repeat to oneself that I shall avoid this tendency or that. Suppression is not the proper way to weaken these tendencies. Do not suppress, but channelize. Humans are psychic beings. Reconvert the psychic into the spiritual. Let elevating tendencies be converted into a spiritual wave.

There are 49 propensitics. Collect them and awaken the 50th, the “Para” vrtti. When this will be awakened, you will enter the realm of pure cognition, which is called “Brahmadhámá” or the abode of the Supreme.

The mind has to be made one-pointed. As long as this is not done, you will not be establised in pure consciousness.

Devotion to the Supreme Entity is withdrawal of all other attachments and their concentration into Viśńu or Param Puruśa. The foundation or the base of all other propensities is unstable. Only the base of the 50th propensity, i.e., Pará, is stable in the Supreme Entity. The stable base is one and not many.

One has to be persistent and tenacious in this respect. You have to adopt only one goal, one base and one name. By keeping more than one direction, the Para will be distorted – the psycho-spiritual wave will not be consolidated.

Remember that for you there is only one name of the Supreme Entity and not many like Káli, Viśńu, etc.

In this regard, the story of Hanumána is very instructive. Someone asked him, “Hanumánji, you are always repeating ‘Rám, Rám’ and never uttering the name of ‘Náráyańa.’ What is the matter?” Hanumán said that although he knew that Ráma and Náráyańa are one and the same, even then he accepted Ráma as his only Lord.

Srinatha Janakinathe cábhede paramátmani

The meanings of the word “Ráma” are many, but they lead to the same truth, i.e., Parama Puruśa. The first meaning is “Ramante yoginah yasmin” The entity upon which the yogis meditate is Ráma, i.e., Parama Puruśa.

The second meaning is: “Ráti Mahiidhara”. The one who is most resplendant, the light from which all other lights derive their power to enlighten. This also means Parama Puruśa.

The third is: “Rávańasya Marańam Rámah” – The one who kills the ten-faced demon Rávana is called Ráma. The ten-faced demon is none other than the base propensities of human mind which function in all ten directions. Only when you go into the shelter of the Parama Puruśa this ten-faced demon is killed.

Similarly, the word “Náráyáńa” also means Parma Puruśa. Nára has three meanings: (1) water, (2) Paramá Prakrti and (3) devotion. The word Ayana means the shelter, therefore, one who is the abode of devotion; it also means the Parama Puruśa.

Hence, it is clear that for the sake of psycho-spiritual progress one-mindedness is very necessary. Pará needs only one idea and no confusion. There should be one aim, one way and one name to guide a person on the way. None of these should be two in number.

When one makes progress on this path, one will notice that there is movement in the spiritual realm, not only movement but acceleration also. In fact, there is no pause on this way and it is an eternal journey.

The next question is: What is the method of this movement? Is it necessary to determine whether one should sit facing east or west or north or south? The opinions of scholars differ. There will be difficulty since the scholars are bound to give conflicting views. The mind will again be in confusion – what to accept and what to reject.

The scriptures, religious books also express in different languages and give varying directions regarding the actual path to be followed. Moreover, if you want to read all the scriptures, it requires 200 years while life is not that long. “Art is long, life is short.” You cannot afford to waste any part of your precious life in these conflicting theories.

Srutayo vibhinnáh Smritayo vibhinnáh
Neka Munir Yasya mataḿna Bhinnam
Dharmasya tattvam Nihitaḿ Guháyám
Mahájano Yena Gatah Sah Panthá

In the spirit of Dharma, the soul of spirituality is hidden in the “guha”, i.e. your I feeling, You need not go to temples or mosques to find it. The Lord of your inner shrine is hungry and you are offering feasts in the outer world to attain Him. You have a jewel in your hand, you throw it away and spread your hand in begging before others asking them to give alms. Your Lord is there in your own “I” feeling. How to find Him? Learn from those who are practical, those who have done Sádhanáin their lives and have realized themselves, and follow them. The scriptures or the scholars will not rescue you. They are no support on this path.

How is the Ultimate Truth hidden in your “I” feeling? It is like:

“Tilesu Taelam dadhineva Sarpih”.

He is there in you as the oil is in the oilseed. Crush the seed through Sádhaná and you get the oil. Separate the mind from Cognition or Consciousness; and see that His resplendence lightens up your whole inner being. He is like butter in curd; churn it and He will appear from within. Churn your mind through Sádhaná and Parama Puruśa will appear like butter from curd. He is like a subterranean river in you. Remove the sands of mind and you will find the clear and cool waters within.

Thus it will be seen that for all creatures there is only one desideratum and it is Parama Puruśa. Move inward and you will attain Him – What will you say to Parama Puruśa then? What should be your prayer? It should be “O Lord, lead me on the correct path. Let not my intellect be distracted from the path of Truth.” You are all the children of Parama Puruśa. You will certainly attain Him. You will not deviate from the path of Truth. To attain Him is your birthright. The meaning of Gáyatrii chhanda is this-“O Lord of this resplendent light that pervades all, let not my mind, my intellect, deviate from truth. Show me the way. Lead me on the correct path. I meditate on thy Divine Effulgence so that my intellect is guided towards You.”

The same is the spirit of “Lead me from the unreal to the real, from Darkness to Light, from Death to Immortality.”

Asato má Sadgamaya Tamaso má Jyotirgamaya
Mrtyor má Mrtangamaya Ávirávir ma aedhi.

Where the intellect has adopted the correct path, the internal symbolisation will not express in the physical arena but be reconverted into spiritual wave.

Forget about your past, your past mistakes or sins. All these symbolisations will be converted into cognition. Once this is done one is no longer a sinner: one is pure as anyone else. The devil has become an angel.

“Therefore, I say that even if the most sinful approaches me single-mindedly, I deliver him or her from all sins.” He or she will surely attain the Desideratum of Life. One day everyone has to come to the Lord’s shelter. The sooner it is done, the better.

Chapter 6	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sádhaná

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

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

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

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

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

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

Surrender

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your Longing Should Be Non-Attributional

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

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

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

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

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

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

Footnotes

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

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

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

Chapter 7	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 8	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

This Universe is the creation of Parama Puruśa. Who is this Parama Puruśa? He is your father. Therefore, this universe is your paternal property. You must not forget it even for a single moment. You have not to be afraid of any immoral or evil force of the world. Fearfulness is not your wont, it is not your Dharma. Your duty is to march forward. You must move forward. You have always the support of Parama Puruśa.

Regarding Parama Puruśa it is said: Karmádhyakśa sarvabhútádhivásah. The humans cannot do anything with their own power. They have no power of their own. Those are indeed the greatest fools who think that they work with their own strength. Humans’ existence, their actions, their everything is verily dependent upon Parama Puruśa’s grace. Those who realize this early in their lives are wise. It is true, humans sometimes feel weak. And when do they feel weak? They feel weak when they isolate themselves from the Supreme Father, drift away from Him. But the moment they again realize Him they begin to realize that they are not low, they are not mean, they are the sons of the Supreme Father, they are the daughters of the Supreme Father, instantly they receive strength. Always remember: Karḿadhyakśah. You work with His power, you have no power. Hence you must not think as to whether you will be able to do this work, whether this work is possible for you. You will certainly be able to do it if there is the grace of the Supreme Father. Why should you not be able to do it? You will surely be able to do it. While doing work you are always in His sight. He is always seeing you, you are not alone, you are never alone. In no circumstances are you alone.

Humans are never alone, but when they realize this, there is an advantage as well as a disadvantage in it. The disadvantage is that the Supreme Father’s eye is ever on me, He is constantly watching me. Should I do any wrong action, He will see it then and there. There is no opportunity to do anything secretly. This is the disadvantage, a big disadvantage. And the advantage is that in no circumstances am I alone. Since the Supreme Father is with me, why should I be afraid of anyone? Why should I fear at all? There is no reason to be fearful. I have to move forward. Fearfulness is not my duty. Let the fear fear me, I will not fear.

I will therefore only tell you to move forward and Parama Puruśa is certainly with you. And the evil force, what is it? If Parama Puruśa is the sun, evil force is a firefly. Then what is there to be afraid of in a firefly? Is anybody ever afraid of the pebbles on the track? They move ahead throwing them into the drain with the strokes of their feet. This indeed is the fact. Move forward, live without fear. Continue your movement forward. What more should I say? I have nothing more to say.

Chapter 9	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

The subject of my discourse today will be: Intuitional Science as described in the Krśńa-Yajurveda.

The perceptible world is constructed with the cooperation of five fundamental elements. Ether (Vyoma) is the subtlest of these five elements. Due to its extreme subtleness the Vyomatattva is able to prove its existence only through its sound-Tanmátra. In order to understand this Vyomatattva or its sound-waves or its sound-radiation, a special type of Scientific instrument is necessary. Except this Vyomatattva the remaining four elements you can easily make out with the help of your crude organs.

The Supreme Consciousness or Puruśa, however, is subtler than all the five elements. How can the senses apprehend this Conscious Entity, when they cannot easily catch the subtle Vyomatattva? The Consciousness or Puruśa-Entity is beyond the scope of mental or supramental sphere, for the object of the mental or supramental sphere is matter – the five elements or their semblances. That is why, you are unable to reach the Parama Puruśa or the Cosmic Consciousness with the help of your mind. Your mind will have to come back disappointed repeatedly, if it tries to reach Him, for He is beyond the reach of your imaginative power. You cannot get to Him through any common knowledge. Yama said,

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

The attainment of Brahma is not possible through mind, nor is it feasible through words. Frustration awaits both of them, if they are employed to attain Him. With the establishment in the Brahmic Bliss, mind, intellect, words – all get lost, for He is the self-same Happiness – the bliss absolute. One has to be established in Him through the exultant force of one’s consciousness. After reaching Him, mind being non-existent, the six enemies (lust, anger, avarice, delusion, pride and envy) also cannot remain there. The Sádhaka then becomes free from all fears.

Tandurdarshaugúd́hamanupraviśt́am guháhitaḿ gahvareśt́harampuráńam;
Ádhyátmayogádhigamena devaḿ matvá dhiiro harśashokao jaháti.

The Supreme Consciousness is unseeable, i.e., He is not perceptible by the sight-organ. One cannot apprehend nor can one understand an extremely vast and extremely subtle thing through one’s organs. Molecules and atoms are not apprehensible to man’s organs due to their being too subtle. In order to see them or understand them one has to take the help of Scientific instruments. Similarly the Supreme Consciousness is not visible (He is, however, not invisible), that is to say, one has to take pains to “see” Him. Just as intellectual and scientific vision is necessary for seeing molecules and atoms, similarly spiritual vision is necessary for seeing the Supreme Brahma, i.e., He is attainable only through spiritual knowledge. Hence in order to attain Him you have got to do upavaśa, which means worship.

The word, Gúd́ha means deep. He is deep. With superficial sentiment or thought it is impossible for you to know Him. To know Him you have to go deep inside – you will have to be introspective. External sight will not do. The one that you see as an ordinary man by your external sight, is actually a conscious entity, if you see him with your internal sight. The one that you see to be an animal or an inanimate object by your superficial sight, is really a sentient entity, if you apply your internal sight. That is why, I say, in order to see Him, one has to go deep into the seen object. He is deep – very deep and its is due to this intrinsicality that He abides in all the entities in an immutable form. While going to see Him in this state of supreme unicity, all distinctions of superficial objects thin away into air. In reality, the first and the last word of spiritual Sádhaná is to see the synthesis of many in One in a single form.

Physics is characteristically analytical. So the investigation or research on matter is carried out externally. But in the sphere of investigation and intuitive comprehension of what is characteristically unific or synthetic, there is no other alternative than to take recourse to introspection. This Puruśa Entity is inherent and permanent in all objects and so to “see” Him one has got to establish oneself in the subtlest of the subtle, deepest of the deep sphere. He abides in the innermost recess or the fundamental intellect as its Supreme Knower. He is the vital Entity of that cavity – that sense of ego, which is within you and that is why, He has been called “caverned” (Guháhita). In order to know Him you will have to proceed in a straight and simple way into the inner realm, making your thought subtler and yet subtler.

When one attains intuitional knowledge, all one’s troubles and woes disappear. Do you know why? Mind is the perceiver of pleasure and pain, but Brahma is even above the supramental stage. In order to attain Him you have got to outstep the limit of your mind and along with it you will have to leave behind all the pleasurable and sufferable junks of your distorted mind. He is ancient – He is beyond the scope of time. To Him the spatial, temporal and personal reputations are of no value, for each of these is a particular manifestation of the mind. You cannot possess Him through your worldly erudition or by the stamp of your degrees and diplomas for all worldly knowledge is subject to, time, space and person. Being spontaneous or self-manifest in spiritualism, He is not dependent on any second worldly entity. To achieve that Brahma who is the supreme goal of spirituality, one has to take recourse to spiritual sacrifice (Sádhaná). Not with the eyes of others – not with the spectacles of others, you will “see” Him within you with your own “eyes”. You will move inward, not on any other vehicle but by virtue of your own inspirational propulsion. A calm and collected individual, who is a genuine spiritual aspirant, attains Brahma in this very manner and with the attainment of Brahma one goes beyond the reach of pleasure and pain – one does not have those mental distortions like pleasure and pain. He attains a state which is called the state of supreme bliss.

Etacchrutvá samparigrhyámattyah pravrhya dharmyamańumetamapya;
Sa modate modaniiyaḿ hi labdhvá vivrta sadma naciketasammanye.

What is the result of learning this intuitional science from a competent preceptor? By dint of this intuitional science man learns to understand thoroughly what is temporal and what is eternal. The scriptures call this power of understanding the eterno-temporal discrimination (Nityanityá viveka). You will accept only the eternal and shun the temporal. It is on the strength of this intuitional science that man knows what is mortal and what is immortal, i.e., who or which is liable to destruction and who or which is established in indestructibility. With the help of this Nityánitya Viveka – this discriminating judgment about mortality and immortality, man pursues the path of virtue. What is the dharma or the characteristic of the living beings? It is the endeavour to attain happiness. Why does a living being crave for happiness? For self-preservation. Why do you eat and drink? To keep yourself alive – to attain happiness. From this you very well understand this too, that to love whatever little is lasting within your present entity – whatever is its essence, is your dharma. This dharma or sádhaná teaches you to keep your subtlest self aloof from all transitory objects, as the result of which your eternal self gets healthy nourishments - gets more and more developed on the path of progress. That is why, this true sádhaná of the self is defined in the scriptures as the path of nourishment (puśt́imárga). He who does not understand or recognize this true dharma or characteristic, verily regards the body as the sole factor. I don’t criticize those mentally undeveloped creatures, who regard their bodies as the summum bonum of their lives but for human beings to entertain such thoughts is nothing short of paying the mind a left-handed compliment. The funniest part of it is that such a person flouts the mind with the mind.

A display of such a perverse mentality we come across in the Cárváka philosophy. To them the transitory body is the supreme entity. The materialists are reluctant to give any importance to the mind in their philosophy. Not only that, they very often even hesitate to clearly admit mind’s apperception or self-consciousness. Yet these materialists sometimes want to publicize themselves as pragmatists or behaviourists. They want to say that they will not tread the path of logic and reasoning, for in that path people “make a day of night and a night of day” - “We are simple, toiling folk. We want to pass our days in peace with food to eat and clothes to wear and behind this simple demand the Supportology (!) or Practicology (!) that exists is our philosophy.” Even by making such observation they get caught in their own net.

In the practical field the utility of things is determined by the mind. The feasibility of the codes of procedure and conduct is also determined by the mind. “To live in peace with food to eat and clothes to wear” is also done for the satisfaction of mind. And above all, no matter what “logy” or “ism” is propounded, the supporting doctrine – the Supportology (!), must depend on imaginativeness (mental sanction). Every mental disease or every spiritual disease is not Máyáváda or illusionism. Even by keeping contact between the earthy world and the human mind, spiritual philosophy can be established. Ananda Marga is a philosophy of this type.

Some of those that are comparatively imaginative regard Kámamaya Kośa or the crude mind as the Rúh or soul. Some identify the astral minds like atimánasa, vijiṋánamaya and hirańyamaya kośas with it, but the real preceptor, possessed of the knowledge of the divine truth, from whom you will learn the Brahmic or intuitional knowledge, will make you understand that the soul is a lot subtler than these Kośas or shells of the mind, each of which is mutable and so evanescent or transitory - the soul alone is eternal. So the happiness that you will get in the worship of the spiritual knowledge, will be permanent happiness, and that is why it is called Ánanda or divine bliss. Ánanda is not to be had from transitory objects. The transitory or temporal objects will come and go; sometimes they will make you laugh and sometimes they will make you cry. No matter how endearing the temporal things be, one day they will surely and undoubtedly leave you in the lurch, and abjectly beggarly. But He will not make you wail He is an eternal, non-evolutive, immutable Entity. The Yama said, “O Naciketá, the broad gateway to the realm of God lies open before you. One who has acquired a thorough knowledge of mortal objects, has verily acquired the knowledge of the both the perishable and the imperishable ones.” With the development of mental faculties as one proceeds from the transient happiness to permanent happiness or Ánanda, one gets more and more inclined towards his mental happiness in preference to the physical joy. For the love of country or many such subtle happinesses, a person makes no bones to lay down his life. These are actually the signs of preponderance of the human mind. The happiness of cats and dogs is purely physical. In such receptacles as their mental happiness cannot have the priority. Beat them and then call them to eat some delectable food, they will come running after it. But human beings are reluctant to stand the least dishonour or any little blow to their mind. A person who serves you under circumstantial pressure and keeps your mind constantly humored by his sycophancy, is actually at heart not very pleased with you. He constantly tries to escape the bondage of slavery. You cannot conquer human mind through circumstantial pressure.

Through Aśt́áuṋga Yoga, as laid down in the Ananda Marga, a Sádhaka, conscious of his/her body and self, can gradually awaken the dormant mental power and with the help of this developed mind he/she can eventually establish himself/herself in spiritual self. In this seity – in this characteristic self he/she gets real Ánanda. So, I say, learn the intuitional knowledge from a proper preceptor. You cannot learn this through empirical knowledge. Intuitional knowledge cannot be gained from books. For this one has to go to a preceptor with devotion and reverence. Try to awaken your latent devotional sentiment. It will come to you, if you so wish. Once the devotion is awakened, you shall get divine mercy without doubt.

Mahad krpayaeva bhagavad krpáleshádvá.

–Nárada Bhaktisútra

With the attainment of only a wee bit of divine grace the ego starts disappearing from the crude human body, the Nityánitya Viveka gets awakened and this discriminating judgment establishes the sadhaka in the Brahmic Consciousness. Remember, in the path of meditation devotion is the paramount factor. Wherever there is devotion God’s mercy is there – it has got to be.

Physical attachments are very difficult to give up, they die hard. Preservation of the crude body and attachment to the body are not one and the same thing. But where the preservation of the body is not jeopardized, or does not stand in danger, even then people are surprisingly attached to their physical body. At the time of an earthquake a mother runs out of the house, leaving her sleeping child in bed and then half way down when the thought of her child arises in her mind, she runs back again to save her child. The quicker the mother’s remembrance of her child, the less her attraction for her own body. A mother who is above such attraction will think of her child first and take it away along with her. Through proper Sádhaná alone one is able to conquer such bodily and all sorts of attachments. All bondages of sensuous attractions of those that have been able to awaken their subtle selves through Ananda Marga Aśtáungika Sádhaná, are bound to be resolved.

Anyatra dharmádanyatrádharmadanyatrásmát krtákrtát;
Anyatra bhútácca bhavyácca yattat pashyasi tadvada.

What is Supreme or Parama Brahma? How does He look like? This you cannot know through the so-called, ritualistic religion. Shráddhakriyá or post-obit ceremonies and rituals for the souls of the dead, Shántikriyá or ceremonious propitiation of deities and evil planets, ceremonial fasts, sacrificial fire or oblation (Yajiṋa) and various other social and popular extroversive, ritualistic functions and ceremonies with flowers, Bilvapatra (Aegle folia), water of the Ganges etc. – none of these can attain you Brahma, for these ceremonies are external and showy. How can you reach the Life of your life, the Soul of your soul with these showy and superficial paraphernalia? Three entities eventually emerge, wherever these rituals take place – religious ceremony, the fruit or reward of such a religious ceremony and persons who organize the religious ceremony. For the sake of crude, external, material gains the authors of these so-called religious ceremonies; perform these rituals. Really speaking, the word, Dharma, should not be associated with these ceremonies. Dharma is the spiritual meditation that a sadhaka does for the attainment of Saguńa Brahma, the source of Infinite Bliss. And how about Nirguńa Brahma? Although I cannot but call the effort for the attainment of Nirguńa Brahma also dharma in the popular language, yet He is actually not conformable to dharma? Then is He conformable to adharma – the negation of dharma? No. He is not that, too, He does not come under any of the two categories. Dharma and adharma are both attributive (subjectivated and objectivated sentiments). All attributive sentiments fall within the scope of mind – fall in the net of causality. Nirguńa Brahma is beyond the ambit of causality. He is above Dharma and Adharma. He is none of whatever had ever been created, or of whatever have been or will be created. Each of these is the objectivated manifestation of Saguńa Brahma, but in Nirguńa Brahma exists neither antecedence nor impedence, neither gain⁽¹⁾ nor loss⁽²⁾ – nor accumulation either (there is no question of creation of the third as the result of the union of the two)⁽³⁾. Naciketá prays to Yama, “O Lord of Death! I want to get established in the Nirguńa Brahma, who is beyond all attributes – beyond to-be and not-to-be. Please tell me something about Him.” Yama replies,

Sarve vedá yat padamámananti tapáḿsi sarváńi ca yadvadanti;
Yadicchanto Brahmacaryaiṋcaranti tatte padaḿ saḿgraheńa vraviimyomityetat.

“In every veda the position which hath been the supreme factor of contemplation, for the realization of which the ascetics take to meditation, for the attainment of which the Brahmacáriis (Those who remain in constant cosmic ideation) take the vow of Brahmacarya (The act of a Brahmacárii) – in reference to that super-exalted Position, I pronounce to you the word Oṋḿkára, which stands for it.” Tasya vácaka prańavah.

Really speaking, there is no word in the language like Oṋḿkára, more suitable to the explanation of Brahma, for the state of Nirguńa is inexplicable. Although one may try to explain the state of Saguńa, yet there is no feasible way other than the use of oṋḿkára to explain His initial expression – indeed there is no other choice. Oṋḿkára as a term of expression is a wonderful unifying link between Nirguńa and Saguńa Brahma. In the written language only a dot (.) is used for Nirguńa Brahma. ওম (om) is used for the sonic manifestation of Saguńa Brahma and the phonic sign ([BENGALI CRESCENT SYMBOL]) is symbolic of the expression which is just about to take place.

 ওঁম

Etaddhyevákśaraḿ Brahma etadevákśaramparam
Etaddhyevákśaraḿ jiṋátvá yoyadicchati tasya tat.

This oṋḿkára is the first expression of the Brahmic glory and that is why, it is known as the Sound-Brahma. It occupies the topmost position, for the ultimate cause of Creation, Preservation, and Destruction is inherent in its three letters, viz., অ (a) + উ (u = oo) + ম (ma). One who has known and heard this oṋḿkára, echoing in the vast sky as the Macro-sonic phenomenon and the mental sky as the micro-sonic one, has indeed caught the very essence of essences right in the palm of one’s hand. Here one should bear in mind that when Oṋḿkára stands for sound, to know it then is to hear or pronounce it. When Oṋḿkára is pronounced or sounded in the Brahmic Mind itself, it is then meaningless for the Sádhaka to pronounce it during his meditation of Oṋḿkára. The sádhaná of Oṋḿkára means the endeavour to hear that sound.

That is why, in Ananda Marga Oṋḿkára is not a mantra (an incantation of invocation) for chanting but for hearing. Hearing or surrendering to this Oṋḿkára, which is the direct concomitant of the Brahmic nucleus, the Puruśottama, is to attain Him, and attaining Him means there is nothing else to be desired. Collectively or individually He is everything. Nothing is outside Him. He who seeks Him is really wise, for attaining Him means attaining all.

Incidentally there is a beautiful story in the Rámáyańa. Once Ráma and Lakśmańa were sailing in a boat towards Mithila across the Ganges. So far as the story goes, the boat turned into gold with touch of Rama’s feet. When the boat reached the other end of the bank, the wife of the boatman came to know about this miracle. Down she brought all the woods and timbers from the house and started turning them into gold by bringing them into contact with Ráma’s feet. Noticing the foolishness of his wife the boatman counselled her, “Look here, how long are you going to toil like this? Act wisely. Take refuge under those feet, which have such miraculous power. If you do so, you will be able to turn any worldly object into gold at will.”

Taking His refuge means merging one’s egotistic vanity in Him. The attainment of Brahma is difficult for those who want to work out the profit and loss of “what shall I get out of this attainment.” If a person, while trying to surrender him/her self to Him, is conscious of his/her petty ego’s profit and loss, then how can he/she dedicate his/her petty ego to Him? His worm-eaten mental flower shall not be worthy for worshipping the Lord. Entertaining no desire for sensuous happiness a man has to surrender oneself to the waves of the inscrutable Supreme Fountain-head, Brahma. This total dedication – this self-surrender – is the sentiment of Shrii Rádhá (the personified Love Sublime), her sole world.

“Gopiigań kare yabe krśńa-darshan;
Sukha-váiṋcá náhi sukh páy kot́ii guń.”
“Gopii darshane Krśńer ye ánanda hay;
Tadapekśá kotii guń gopii ásvádaya.”

–Caetanya Caritámrta

[Endless joy unsought-for lies
When Krśńa’s sight fills Gopi’s eyes.
The sight of milkmaids, Krśńa’s joy,
Multifold more do they enjoy.]

A selfless devotee, bathed in the purity of devotion, wants nothing for himself. He wants only Parama Puruśa in exchange of his own self. At the time of merger as he identifies himself with Him, he tastes of the boundless bliss. The pleasant waves of sensation take place in the psychic body of the Supreme Entity on getting back his devotee in His own state of Consciousness, are a lot more in evidence in that of the self-immolating Sádhaka.

Etadálambanaḿ shreśt́hametadálambanamparam
Etadálambanaḿ jiṋátvá Brahmaloke mahiiyate.

The foremost pivot of a living being is this Oṋḿkára. This Oṋḿkára – this super-exalted state of the microcosm, is verily the Brahma Himself. The one who has realized or held on to this prop, get gloriously installed in Brahmic sphere. This Oṋḿkára-Brahma is an Aseity. In no circumstances can He be lost.

Na jayate mriyate vá vipashcinnáyaḿ kutashcinna vabhúva kashcit;
Ajo nityah sháshvat́oyaḿ puráńo na hanyate hanyamáne shariire.

This Oṋḿkára-Brahma is not subject to birth or death. His existence is beyond the precincts of life and death. How is birth possible of an entity, who is supra-temporal? When will He take birth? Aren’t place and person necessary for a life to be born? That which is the Absolute Truth, can never be subject to time, space or person. That is why, the soul is free from birth and death. Death occurs to relative entities, not to consciousness. No birth is possible for the one, which is immutable, i.e., which has no second existence, and such an impeccable entity cannot be anything but the soul. The natural tendencies of worldly objects are: The death of one brings about the birth of another, the renunciation of one form begets the formation of another, the loss of one means the gain of another. In this endless process of building and re-building of the successive order the one that remains, we call, new or the new-born. We cannot call Brahma new, for He is not the effect of any previous cause. Through this process of building and re-building the whimsical hand of time has not been able to touch Him, for He is birthless, eternal and sempiternal aeon. Through the destruction of this physical body, i.e., through its metamorphosis He is neither destroyed, nor gets transformed.

Hantá cenmanyate hantuḿ hatashcenmanyate hatam
Ubhao tao vijániito náyaḿ hanti na hanyate.

When a murderer strikes to kill, he does not know or understand that he has no power to murder anybody. The doomed, dying man also thinks, as though he is just about to die. But both of them are wrong. Actually no one kills anyone nor anyone dies.

Ańorańiiyánmahato mahiiyánátmásya jantornihito guháyám;
Tamakratuh pashyati biitashoko dhátuprasádánmahimánamátmanah.

This Átmá, or Soul, which is indestructible – which is immortal – is smaller than the molecule or atom, smaller than the small ultra-microscopic. Due to its smallness you cannot feel it with your sensory power. In the language of science, if you take molecule as the English equivalent of Ańu, you will find a series of other things, even smaller than the atom, like proton, neutron, electron, etc., which are too subtle for your senses to grasp. Apprehension is possible only through the power of imagination. If you further try to analyse them, your imagination will stop functioning or will be compelled to get engrossed in a deep reverie. On the last Phálguńii Púrńimá (the full-moon of the month of Phalguna) I told you that the apprehending capacity of your organs for the small and the big things was limited. The organ concerned can apprehend only a particular wave-length, i.e., from one particular point of movement to another particular point, neither more nor less. Just as the soul is the molecule of the molecule on one hand, similarly it is greater than the great on the other. This being ultrasensual, you cannot apprehend it as it is. Just as you cannot see things properly in a dim light, similarly a blazing light dazzles your vision and you cannot see either. The soul abides in your mental horizon as the knower of your world of imagination and as the certifying witness or your existence. If you direct your sentimental entity towards Its great sentiment, then your emotion or thought, being on the higher plane, loses its pettiness. Your existence then is hardly distinguishable from It. If you direct your sentimental entity towards Its micro-atomic sentiment, then also your mind goes out of action. If you cherish the sentiment of attaining Him, you will have to be devoid of all sensuous desires by carefully and deftly bringing under control the selfish, individualistic frivolities of your mind. In such an event you attraction for the finite objects will disappear. You will bask in the sunshine of Macrocosmic favour. Your mind will then be installed in the super-celestial region of abiding tranquillity beyond the pale of weal or woe. Then alone you will be free from grief – then alone you will realize that Grand Glorious Brahma.

Ásiino dúraḿ vrajati shayáno yáti sarvatah;
Kastammadámadandevaḿ madanyo jiṋátumarhati.

He remains covert in your existential “I”-feeling. But does He really remain at one place? In your mind you go out to London or America in a jiffy. But who actually goes there? Your objective mind of course – the mind, which is His object. Along with the mental travel to and fro, His knowership also remains, does it not? Now you understand that, inwardly and on His own, He goes on traversing distant and yet more distant countries. When the mind sleeps i.e., when the organs are inactive and all epithymetic actions (desires) are also at a standstill, He is supposed to be asleep also in the mind, isn’t He? Well, does He have any movement? Yes, of course He has His movements. He is the Omneity – the all knowing seed. Even without an object He maintains His Supreme Existence. So you see, you cannot bind him with a single strand of quality. He imbibes different contrary attributes. Your mind, however, cannot have two contrary qualities like the refulgence of pleasure and the shadow of pain simultaneously. His mind being free from any singular bondage. He alone has been able to become the ultimate refuge of all kinds of contradictory objects. He is the wonderful conglomeration of pride and non-pride. The Yama said, “None but I can attain Him”. Yama means controller. The Yama is the prototype of restraint. Really speaking, without “Yama” or regulated sadhana, it is impossible to attain Him. Átma or Soul is not attainable by one devoid of control. You will certainly realize the significance of this observation after you have pursued the path of sádhaná for some time. But then I have already told you many a time and I repeat again that restraint does not mean running away, giving up everything. Adequate and proper use of everything is what is called restraint. You can honour adequately every obligation of domestic life but you must never lose your head. When the animal instinct of hunger is there, you must eat but you must not invite a disease by taking excessive food out of greed.

Ashriiraḿ shariireśvanavastheśvavasthitam;
Mahántaḿ vibhumátmánaḿ matvá dhiiro na shocati.

Brahma, Who has within Him the countless number of contradictory attributes, is an incorporeal entity due to His limitlessness. He has neither a body nor a receptacle. It just cannot be nor is there any need for it. But how about these countless fragmentary manifestations which do have their bodies and yet they are His manifestations and are all within Him? Yes, that is the reason why He is the possessor of countless bodies, being bodiless Himself. The spiritual entity is not subject to any time, place or person, but the finite unit entities are their cooperative creations. He, being beyond their purview, i.e., outside the scope of mind, is absolutely free from all sorts of mental modifications of pleasure and pain. So one who identifies oneself with Him after attaining Him, becomes free from all sorts of pain. His mind gets stilled. He merges in the Macrocosmic Consciousness.

Rúpátiita soi Prabhu lákhrúp dekháala,
Ava ham kekará heri.

–Ánandamúrti

[Have seen Thy countless forms, O Formless One! Now tell us, O Lord, what’s there to be seen and won.]

Now take His endless forms. Haven’t they got any utility? For the benefit and salvation of human beings, He has been teaching Him through the media of limitless forms. So the existence of every created thing in this world has its value – has its mundane as well as spiritual utility. None is useless – none is a burden on the world. Knowingly or unknowingly all are working together as one beautiful team and one mind for the collective good of all. All are beaming in their self-surging glory. The giver knows the efficacy of charity, since the receiver is there. The advanced person is getting an opportunity to serve, since the backward man is there. He has evolved so many forms as per necessity. In each of these forms we see the different contours of His love, get scope for learning many things and are getting impetus to move towards Him. His radiance is being refracted through the veins and venules, molecules and atoms of every evolved object. Treating every microcosmic tendency as His own object for the good of the world, He has been afflicting Himself day in and day out with the painful affliction of their lives – suffering for them, and His diverse, manifested organisms are bowing down in reverence to His glory. All the loquacity of these ignorant beings is getting silenced before His exalted greatness. What a non-sádhaka regards as his or her wealth, son, husband etc., are in the eyes of a sádhaka, but the waves or the brilliant, activated expressions of the Cosmic Sea, wherein the sádhaka feels himself/herself consciously installed. He knows that the very Sea, in which or on whose breast those expressions are waking up and dozing off, is to him the Truth itself – has been making the beauty of his soul more charming every moment by encompassing him form all the ten directions. In that Sea of Love he has fearlessly laid afloat the heavy onus of his own entity.

Náyamátmá pravacanena labhyo na medhayá na bahuná shrutena;
Yamevaeśa vrnute tena labhyastasyaeśa átmá vivrńute tanúḿ svám.

The Supreme dharma – the paramount act, of merging one’s self in the Absolute Entity in full realization of Its charm, will not be accomplished by mere listening to religious dissertations. You must have noticed, there are many people in our society that constantly keep track of great men and run up to them soliciting, “Give us some advice. Tell us something about religion.” Such religious discourses will cut no ice, if not substantiated by sádhaná. It is wrong to think that Parama Puruśa is realizable by man through empirical knowledge or through study of a few dozens of philosophical books, rather, there is a greater possibility of one’s receding from the path of spirituality. In such a case vanity becomes the chief characteristic of his nature. Brahma or the Supreme Entity cannot be attained through tall religious overtures to the human society nor through interesting recapitulations before it as to which and which great man said such and such things – as to how they walked, or through writing volumes of books. Do not entertain such silly ideas that you can hit the bull’s eye so cheaply by dint of your intellect, for you shall not achieve Him through such shady means. To attain Brahma you shall have to do Sádhaná or spiritual meditation. You should make Him the only goal of your life. For this you require integrity, devotion and singular and earnest love for Him. He is not attainable without reverence and unflagging and unflinching devotion. When the devotional depth will come, love, too, will be out-brimming with high sentiments - will be full and over-flowing. When love will reach its completeness – its saturation point, self-immolation will become easy and simple. In that state alone will come your final realization of the Supreme Consciousness. Where “I” is, “He” is not… where “He” is, “I” is not. Remember, devotion is the pre-requisite of Sádhaná. Maturity of devotion is love and maturity of love is He.

Sa iishvara anirvacaniiya parama premasvarúpa.

Only whole-hearted love can bind Him. When you will be able to do so, you will see, what you have in bondage is the Love Divine.

Paripúrńa Krśńaprápti sei prema haete;
Sei preme báṋdhá Krśńa kahe Bhágavate.

–Krśńadása Kavirája

[To Love sincere Lord Krśńa clings
Bound to love, so Bhágavata⁽⁴⁾ sings
Krśńa realized through such a love
For Love is Krśńa, Krśńa, Love.]

Návirato dushcaritánnánnáshánto násamáhitah;
Náshántamánaso vápi prajiṋánenaenamápnuyát.

Sensuous intellect is an inert intellect. Sensuous movements are efferent. So the intellect of the sensuous man is wasted over external objects. The human mind that has in it an unbridled desire for mundane pleasure is never at peace. In such a state no one can attain Brahma. When the mind preoccupied with finite objects, can one get the integrated whole? When your longing is towards the crude, you will undoubtedly become crudified yourself. Your mind will leap from one crude desire to another - will run form one object after another in a wild pursuit. Such is the way of the materialistic, isn’t it? But an aspirant, being in the midst of all and making the right use of everything, proceeds towards the supreme goal. Learn the Intuitional Science from the competent preceptor and proceed accordingly.

Yasya Brahma ca kśatraiṋca ubhe bhavata odanam;
Mrtyuryasyopasecanaḿ ka itthá veda yatra sah.

Nirguńa Brahma (or the Supreme, unsubjectivated Pure Consciousness) is your supreme goal. Even Saguńa Brahma (the Subjectivated Transcendentality) is devoured by Nirguńa. The Brahma-Sádhaka knows that Saguńa Brahma, who is a composite of cognitive faculty and operative principle – a combination of introversive consciousness and introversive force, eventually turns into food for the Nirguńa Brahma. That is to say, with His death all His feelings and emotions also disappear and so death serves as ghee (clarified butter) for the ultimate food of the Nirguńa. Just as flour alone does not make a good food by itself and it requires ghee to make eatable, similarly the ghee-like death makes the Consciousness-cum-principle like food delectable and palatable to the Nirguńa Brahma. So I say that this death too is a benevolent system. When the overall sentiment (the subjectivated and objectivated state) of Saguńa Brahma merges in the Nirguńa Brahma, that is to say, when a Sádhaka attains salvation, soleness or absolute identity with the Divine Essence, i.e., final liberation, all the onus of his ego lightens. Prakrti, the xylem or the root or plastic cause of creation, can no more throw him into the pit of pleasure and pain. So in order to attain Him – whom you cannot attain through empirical or worldly knowledge anyhow – get busy and be up and doing from this very moment and get proper guidance from a proper preceptor.

Footnotes

(1) Saiṋcaya in Saḿskrta.

(2) Apacaya in Saḿskrta.

(3) Upacaya in Saḿskrta.

(4) Scriptures of the Vaeśńava sect.

Chapter 10	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Path of Salvation.” As you all know, everything moves. Humans will have to move. Nobody can remain stationary and life represents that movement. There must be movement in human life.

As in all strata of life, in our physical stratum we’ll have to face, we’ll have to solve so many problems, and in the physical stratum also the goal is the Cosmic welfare, the Supreme welfare. As this physical stratum, however, is a creation of fundamental relative factors which are also moving, there cannot be any permanent goal or permanent point of stagnation in this realm. Really speaking, there cannot be any progress in the realm of physicality nor in the psychic arena. You are moving, solving one problem, a few more problems will be created and so on. But human beings cannot remain idle. They will have to move forward.

In psychic stratum also, so many psychic knots are unknotted but so many psychic problems are again created. If there is no proper adjustment amongst physical, psychic and spiritual movements, the psychic side of humans will get unbalanced and many new psychic diseases will get created. This is the present position of the world. There has been enough physical progress, less spiritual progress and the psychic structures of humans have lost their equilibrium, rather their equipoise, and that’s why the modern society is suffering from so many psychic ailments. Really speaking there cannot be any true progress in the psychic arena. Progress can be only in the spiritual level, because the spiritual goal, the spiritual desideratum of the humans is beyond the periphery of the fundamental factors – spatial, temporal and personal. So a person, a wise person is to move on towards the spiritual goal. While moving along the path of beatitude they will do their physical and psychic duty properly. This is the true path.

Now everything moves and that movement is of systaltic nature. Wherever there is any movement there is pulsation. Without pulsation there cannot be any movement. And this pulsation, that is movement through speed and pause, is an essential factor for each and every animate or inanimate object. Wherever there is existential factor there must be this pulsation. An entity acquires strength and stamina, during the pause phase, and emanates vibration during the speed period. There cannot however, be any absolute speed or absolute pause in the created world.

For a proper or a well-knit structure, there must be one nucleus and there must be many entities moving around that nucleus. Whether within a very little atom or in this vast cosmological order, the same movement is there around a nucleus. Hence in the middle there is the nucleus and everybody is moving around it and always the path is to some extent elliptical. I said “to some extent” as it is not actually elliptical. In the case of atoms, electrons are moving. In case of our ethereal order, the moon moves around the earth. In case of our solar system so many planets are moving around the sun, and in the Supreme Cosmological Order the point of command is Parama Puruśa. He is the nucleus and everybody is moving around Him.

Now the fundamental difference between this cosmological order having Parama Puruśa as the nucleus and other orders, is that in all other orders the movement is physical and the nucleus is also physical. In the case of this Cosmological Order, however, the nucleus is spiritual with all the potentialities of psychic and physical expression, and the moving entities are physical having psychic and physical pabula. That is, when we move, we not only move physically but we move along with our psychic structure and spiritual structure also.

When asked by his disciples, Lord Buddha said that the proper style of movement should be according to a definite system and in that definite system there should be eight fundamental factors. Another thing I should say here, for movement around the nucleus two forces are at work – one is centripetal and one is centrifugal. The centripetal forces called Vidyá Shakti or centre-seeking force. Those moving with Vidyá Shakti get inspiration to move towards the nucleus. The other is centrifugal or drifting away from the centre. This movement always increases the radius, and where Vidyá is more strong the radius is always reduced until finally the moving entity becomes one with the nucleus. This is salvation – becoming one with Parama Puruśa, becoming one with the Supreme Faculty. Now, how to decrease the radius? That is, how to strengthen the Vidyá Shakti? That is a spiritual secret. Lord Buddha says, there are eight factors. Those factors will help the spiritual aspirant in lessening the length of the radius. The first is Samyak Darshan or proper philosophy. One must know what one is and what is one’s goal. A goal-less march is meaningless, mere wastage of time and energy. So the aspirant must know who he or she is and what is the goal, what is his or her destination. When moving along the road, if you don’t know what is your destination, your energy is wasted. So you should know what is your goal and this is called Samyak Darshan in Saḿskrta.

The second important factor is Samyak Saḿkalpa. A person must have firm determination that, “I am to reach the goal, I must reach there.” This second item is known as Samyak Saḿkalpa – proper determination.

The third one is Samyak Vák. All your expressions, sensory or motor movements must be of a definite order; they must be properly oriented. That is, your nerve-fibres, your nerve-cells must always be properly utilized.

Then the fourth one is Samyak Ájiiva, proper physical and psychic occupation. One may earn money by stealing but it is not called a proper occupation. One may earn money by gambling but it is also not a proper occupation. One’s occupation should be pure. It must not go against the interest of the collective body. Human beings are social creatures. In the universe, in the world of living beings, there are two kinds of creatures: one is social, the other is non-social. Human beings are social, lions are social, and there are many other animals who live, together. There are certain creatures who are non-social. Tigers are non-social, goats are non-social. Human beings are social creatures. You see, I never say that human beings are social animals. Old logicians used to say that human are rational animals. I never say they are rational animals. I say that human life is an ideological flow. Why should I say humans are rational animals? Then should I say that animals are moving plants? I should not say this. So humans are social creatures and nobody should be allowed to go against the collective interest of the society. It is the fundamental factor for neat and clean behaviour. So the fourth factor is Samyak Ajiiva. That is, you must have proper occupation – your occupation must not go against the collective interest of the society, not only in the realm of physicality, but also in the psychic pabulum. That is, your thought waves should be properly directed, otherwise today’s deteriorating thought may be translated into tomorrow’s deteriorating action. One first thinks, then does accordingly. So thoughts should be pure and properly directed.

The fifth item is Samyak Vyáyám. It means proper exercise. You do so many physical exercises, engage in so many sports and past times for the development of physical health and it is a necessity, rather a dire necessity for a living society. But most people neglect the exercise of their mind and spirit. Human existence has got three parts, three important and inseparable portions: physical body, psychic body and spiritual body. So there must be proper exercise of not only the physical body but also the psychic and spiritual bodies. Samyak Vyáyám denotes proper physico-psycho-spiritual exercise.

Then the sixth one is Samyak Karmánta. Whenever you start a work you should complete the work with proper zeal and proper sincerity; the finish should be of perfect order. Starting a particular work but leaving it unfinished is not good. When you have started any work, you must finish it properly. Let there be so many troubles, so many dangers, so many adversities, but when yo have started it complete it neatly.

Then the seventh is Samyak Smrti. It means proper memory. What is memory? “Anubhuta visaya sampramosah smrtih”. When you felt one thing in your mind, perceived something – or conceived something, and when afterwards with your mental force you recreate that thing in your mind, that process of recreation is called memory. For this memory, for the cerebral memory we require nerve fibres and nerve-cells is the medium. Memory of this life May be carried over to the next life but the nervecells of this life won’t be carried over to the next life, because nerve-cells will become one with the earth. Then how is memory of one life carried over to another life? It is due to extra-cerebral process. In this process one of the factors of this quinquelemental world serves as the medium. Here Samyak Smrti means proper Smrti, that is, proper memory. You should remember the proper thing which deserves remembering. And what is that? You know you are to do japa of your mantra always. While doing meditation you do it while doing. Worldly duties: while attending to mundane duties, you should also remember your mantra mentally. Generally you forget it. You are so much disturbed and so much engaged in the work that work takes the prominent role and your own incantation becomes less important, when by dint of constant practice you don’t forget this mantra, you don’t forget this incantation, it is Samyak Smrti. This is proper memory.

The last one is Samyak Samádhi, that is, proper suspension of mind. What does that mean? When one sincerely meditates on a particular object, one’s mind gets attached and that attached mind gets suspended in that object. Now when Parama Puruśa is the object of meditation, what happens? When the mind gets attached you become one with Parama Puruśa. That suspension of mind in Parama Puruśa is called salvation, this is the eight, fold path. Now each and every living being is moving not only with the physical body but also with the psychic and spiritual body, they are moving around the Supreme hub. Now, if they remember that their goal is the Supreme Nucleus – Parama Puruśa, what will happen? The length of the radius will go on decreasing and decreasing, and when it becomes zero, the moving entity will become one with the nucleus. It is the path of salvation. When one’s mind is not properly objectivated, i.e., when one gets attached to only matter, one may be reduced to the status of quinquelemental objects like earth, stone, sound, etc. When mind is properly objectivated the human entity becomes one with the goal, one with the Supreme Entity and he or she will attain salvation, and when it is not properly objectivated what happens? The radius goes on increasing and increasing, but it can never go beyond the periphery of the Supreme entity. It is drifted away from the nucleus but it remains within His cosmological structure. Now, it is not the path of salvation. But how then can one be with the Supreme? The final word is, by the grace of the Supreme. You may say if I do not get His grace how can I go towards Him? The reply is simple. His grace is for all – both for virtuous and non-virtuous. All are His children. Nobody is unimportant, nobody is insignificant. The thing is that somebody realizes that grace and somebody does not. Why does somebody realize the grace and somebody not? The reason is that while moving along this path around the Supreme Nucleus in the cosmological arena, if one holds the umbrella of ego over one’s head, what happens? Suppose it rains and you are holding an umbrella over your head, what happens? Will you be drenched by the rain? No. If you want to be drenched you will have to remove the umbrella. Similarly if you are moving around the Supreme Father and holding up the umbrella of ego, you won’t be drenched by His grace, and if you remove that umbrella of ego, you will be drenched by His grace and you will feel that His grace is for you. So the spiritual aspirant must move along these eight-fold factors and also should remember to remove the umbrella of ego from his or her head and be drenched by His grace. You spiritual aspirants, you should remember that Parama Puruśa is always with you and His grace is always with you, and you all are His loving children. You need not develop any fear complex regarding the Supreme Father. You should remember that He’s the Supreme Father. He’s always calling you and you should always be ready to give a proper response.

Chapter 11	Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 19

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Supreme Aesthetic Science and the Cult of Devotion”. What is aesthetic science? Prehistoric humans used to eat, used to walk, used to take bath, used to do so many things. Humans of today also do these things and so long as humans are on this earth they will do the same. It is hoped that humans will live on this globe for many more days to come. Afterwards, when the environment will become uncongenial the human race will cease to exist here. Humans will then live on other stars, other planets. Today where there are no humans there will be in the future, and they will disappear from where they are to day. Collectively the human race will not come to an end.

Whatever were the daily habits of human beings, whatever they did routinely in pleasure and pain, are the same today as they were in the past. When happy, people eat in pleasure, and when they feel sad, they may leave food in pain. There is a difference, however, between the cave-dwellers and the aboriginal human beings of the prehistoric period, and present day human beings. Human beings have brought more subtle beauty into the daily tasks and habitual behaviour, which they used to do in a crude way. Before eating, prehistoric human beings did not wash their hands, and they used both hands to eat. Today, we wash our hands, and use the right hand, or a spoon and fork. We enjoy eating in a more subtle fashion. Our sense of beauty is also part of our enjoyment of subtlety. We wear clothes which we feel make us look attractive, not those which we feel make us look odd. In prehistoric times, human beings did not wear clothes. The habit of wearing clothes came into vogue in later times. Various styles of decoration and make-up of the body also have come into vogue over the different ages of human development. Human beings of the past used to dance and jump in joy. Today we also dance and jump, but there is a a definite procedure in our movement; we dance with definite process. The common procedure of the dance of olden days was called “folk dance.” When more finesse was incorporated into dance, it became known as “classical dance”. This very movement from crude to subtle, from ugliness to beauty, from imperfection to perfection, is the first stage of aesthetic science.

Now, what is external change? It is the intro-external projection of the psychic state. Then, is the introexternal projection of mind all-in-all in aesthetic science? No. New likings may occur in the human mental sphere, and new likings do occur in our emotions, in our feelings, also. Though our internal projections are stronger than the external ones. They are not purely internal, they are influenced by extro-internal projections. Human beings started to think in more subtle ways, so their external expressions became more subtle and more beautiful. They also started to want to see beauty, not ugliness or bitterness, in their external surroundings, in the mundane objects of their daily world. This search for beauty, this effort to attain perfection, gave birth to Dharma, because when human beings did not get happiness from crude objects, they started moving towards the Subtle one. Human beings today are not satisfied to watch silent movies. They want to see audiovisual films, because these are more subtle; they give more pleasure to the mind.

Therefore, it is the duty of every person to perform Dharma Sádhaná. Human beings are marching along the path of aesthetic science. Parama Puruśa is described as “Truth, Consciousness and Beauty” (Satyam Shivam, Sundaram). Human beings are fascinated by His grandeur, His non-attachment, and by His beauty too.

One who charms everybody, who attracts every body, is called “Krśńa” in the shástras, the scriptures. “Krśńa” means one who attracts all towards Himself. This is one explanation of the word, “Krśńa” also means “black” or “dark colour”. When there is black amongst other colours, the eyes are automatically attracted to the black. So human beings are automatically attracted to the Supreme Entity, to Krśńa. They cannot check this attraction. Even if one tries not to be attracted, one will be.

It is due to the attraction of aesthetic science that we move from imperfection to subtlety. Why do we move towards the Subtlest Entity? The reason is, we want to experience joy or pleasure. The stage when we lose ourselves in ecstatic bliss, we merge in the Supreme Entity, is called supra-aesthetic science. ( Atinandana Vijiṋána). It is also known as Sammohana Vijiṋána, i.e., as long as we are enjoying that ecstasy, We feel it is very charming. The sport (Liilá) of Parama Puruśa is very beautiful. We are moving towards Him. We do not mind the obstructions. We will go on moving. The stage of movement is the stage of aesthetic science. The stage of merger, when we have lost ourselves in the Supreme, when we have no desire for anything else, is the stage of supra-aesthetic science (Mohan Vijiṋána).

Now according to the devotional scriptures (Bhakti-Shástras), the first stage of this aesthetic science (Nandan Vijiṋán) is called, Rágánugá Bhakti. People may ask, when was this aesthetic science, knowingly or unknowingly, established in ancient times? Is the Bhakti Shástra as old as the cult of devotion (Bhakti Yoga)? The answer is “Yes, certainly”. Some people say, the cult of devotion is recent. They are not right. The word Bhakti is used in the Vedas also. “Yasya Devá pará Bhaktih Yathá Deve Tathá Gurao” is, only those who have devotion (Bhakti) in Guru and Deva, can attain the goal. Thus the word Bhakti is used. So the, word Bhakti is not recent. Some people say that the Sufism of Persia (pháras) took the form of Bhakti in India. It is not correct. Bhakti Shástra, i.e., Sufism was in India, it was also in Persia, it was everywhere in the world. Where there is human heart there is Bhakti, there was Bhakti and there will be Bhakti. Bhakti is fully established in Tantra and Yoga.

By taking the ideation, of Paramátmá, the human mind becomes as vast as Paramátmá Himself. It is the characteristic of mind to take the object of its ideation. It is one of the characteristics of Paramátmá also that whosoever takes His ideation becomes like Him. Everything, such as water, fire, oxygen, nitrogen, etc., has its own characteristic. So the characteristic of Parama Puruśa is that whosoever takes His ideation, become as vast as Him by His grace. “Brhatvadá Brahma Brḿhańatvád Brahma”. The word Brahma means very great. Is He only great? No, He is great, Himself and can make others great; so, He is called Brahma. When, by taking His ideation human mind becomes like that of Parama Puruśa, it is called Savikalpa Samádhi. It becomes one with Him, it merges in Him. Now, after it becomes great, how is it possible to merge this mind in Parama Puruśa? It is only possible by leaving aside all else, then one remains constantly in His ideation.

What is love? It is the expressed form of devotion. Only one who has love for Parama Puruśa can take His ideation. Love is the expressed form of devotion. When does this expressed form occur? When it has its root or seed, only then it can occur. When there is seed, only then it will sprout. That seed is devotion. So, only that one can make oneself great, only that one can take the correct ideation of Parama Puruśa, who has the seed of devotion within. Let us see it from another view point. If one, after transforming mind into a point, without making it vast, merges it into Parama Puruśa, surrenders it to Parama Puruśa, then, in that case, individual mind does not exist. Then what happens? Mind merges with Parama Puruśa; there remains only Paramátma and not the mind. This is called Nirvikalpa Samádhi. In Savikalpa Samádhi the mind enjoys bliss because of its greatness. That bliss is called “Liilánanda”. When the mind is given to the Parama Puruśa, it is surrendered unto Him, in that condition the bliss or supra-mundane ecstasy is called Nityánanda. So devotion is essential to get Nityánanda or Liilánanda (the bliss of His Sport or Liilá).

How can you surrender the Self without Bhakti or devotion? Therefore from the ancient times aesthetic science existed in human mind and there was the cult of devotion. While one remains in aesthetic science, one does not get entry into the supra-aesthetic science. One feels, “I am serving Parama Puruśa, I like Him, because I get pleasure in serving Him, by taking His ideation I get joy.” If you ask artists or architects as to why they are busy with their art, they will say, “we get pleasure from it.” This is aesthetic science. A poet composes a poem, because he or she gets pleasure.

Na vá Are Puttrasya kámáya puttrah;
Priyo bhavati Átmanastu kámáya puttrah priyo bhavati
Na vá Are Sarvasya kámáya sarvaḿ priyaḿ
Bhavati Átmanastu kámáya sarvaḿ priyaḿ Bhavti.

Parents love their child very much. Do they love for the sake of their child? No they love their child because they get pleasure for themselves. If their child turns into a vagabond, if he or she becomes cruel, then he or she does not utter even the parents names, then they do not get pleasure. A person likes everything of this world but not for the sake of these things. One loves the world, one lives with this world because one gets pleasure, that is why one loves it. You see, if one gets great trouble in this world even for a single moment one says, “Oh the Yamaráj (god of death), where are you? Come on, now, I don’t want to live.” After that if one gets attracted towards this world after two or three minutes, one says, “No Yamaráj, no, you don’t come now.” So this is the first phase of aesthetic science.

After that what happens? By taking the ideation of Parama Puruśa, when the quantity of pleasure increases, a person loses the self first. What happens when he or she is lost? He or she feels “I take the ideation of Parama Puruśa not for my sake, not for me. I love Parama Puruśa so that he may get pleasure because of my love, I wish to give Him pleasure. I may or may not get it.” When this stage is attained, this is called Rágátmiká Bhakti. In this stage one feels, “I love Parama Puruśa, I do not care whether He loves me or lot, He likes me or not, but I like Him”. I This is Rágátmiká Bhakti. When this Rágátmiká Bhakti is attained, in that stage one is also called Gopa as described in scriptures (shástras):

Gopáyate yah sah gopah.

Gopa here does not mean the cowherd or the caretaker of cows. Gopáyate means to give pleasure – “Gopáyate yah sah gopah.” One whose nature is to give pleasure to Parama Puruśa or Paramátmá is Gopa. When Rágátmiká Bhakti is attained, when one is established in Rágátmika Bhakti from Rágánugá one enters the arena of Mohana Vijiṋána. At that stage one is fascinated, one is charmed, and in that state, art, architecture, all come to an end; one’s verbosity stops, one becomes mute. This is Rágátmiká Bhakti. So long as human beings are in the sphere of Rágánugá Bhakti they are in domestic life; they create arts, architecture, literature, painting, etc. and get pleasure in them. They are within the scope of aesthetic science (Nandana Vijiṋána). And what happens when they are established in supra-aesthetic science (Ati Nandan Vijiṋána)? All their worldly music is finished. All the Rágas and Rágińiis and the art of dancing, whatever they be, they come to an end. In that condition, there remains only an ecstatic state, (Bhávibhora) The music of that state is called Kiirtana.

Therefore, it is the scriptural direction not to sing any song after kiirtana, because other music is within the scope of aesthetic science and the kiirtana comes within the scope of Mohana Vijiṋána. This Mohana Vijiṋána is the supra-aesthetic science. “Bhakti tattva” is supra-aesthetic. Therefore, kiirtan is, in its essential form, with devotion, it is in the form of “Ota” and “Prota”. So in the life of a spiritual practitioner (sádhaka), in the life of a devotee (Bhakta), kiirtana is most essential. In mentioning the subject of discourse, I said Bhakti Yoga. In English I said “cult”, because there is no word for “yoga” in English, so I said “cult”, but actually devotion ( Bhakti) is not a “cult.” Devotion is the terminating point, devotion is the desideratum, devotion is not a path Some people say, “Our path is the path of spiritual practice (sádhaná)”. Devotion is the goal. When devotion is established, everything is established, there remains nothing. To get established in devotion you do something, you do something else. Hence, devotion is not the path, devotion is the goal. Devotion and Paramátmá go together. Therefore the seat of Paramátmá is in the hearts of those who are established in devotion, who are devotees. When you are established in devotion, you get Paramátmá too. Then you will experience yourselves that Paramátmá is seated in your heart, you will not have to go elsewhere in search of Him. It is the dictum of Bhágavata Shástra.

Náhaḿ Tiśt́hámi Vaekuńt́he yogińam Hrdaye Na Ca
Madbhaktáh yatra Gáyante Tatra Tiśt́htámi Nárada.

“Oh Nárada, I do not reside in Vaekuntha, neither do I reside in the hearts of yogiis, where do I reside? Where my devotees sing, where they perform Kiirtana, there I reside,” These are the Lord Bhagaván’s words addressed to Narada (Nara + Da + D́a is Nárada). The word “Nara” has got three meanings. The first is “Niira”, i.e. water; the second is the shelter (Áshraya) of Prakti, the abode (ayana) of Prakrti; the abode of Nara is Náráyańa.

Nárasya Ayanam is Náráyańa. One of the names of Parama Puruśa is Náráyańa. The third meaning of the “Nara” is devotion (Bhakti). So one who bestows Nára, one who distributes Nára is Nárada. Who is telling to Narada? Bhagaván Himself is telling to Nárada. What is the meaning of Bhagaván? Bhaga + Matup + first person, singular number, is Bhagaván.

One who posesses everything of occult power is Bhagaván. He rules over sound and touch. He rules over all tanmátras. He has got a great administrative capacity. He has to run all the functions of the universe. How could He do all this if He were not a good administrator? He must be a good administrator, He must be a strong personality. Next is reputation, Yashah. He will have reputation – either positive or negative. Some people will say, He is very good – very very good, and others will say, He is bad, very bad. Yes, there will be completely two opposite groups – one group in South Pole and the other in North Pole. One is reputation or yashah. Then comes Shrii meaning charm, or attraction. People will be attracted towards Him. Shrii means charm, fascination. The acoustic root (Biija Mantra) in Sanskrt is Talavya “Sha” which means mutative principle, the mutative effulgence, and “ra” means energy – light, magnetism, electricity – all forms of energy. Actually energy is one. So where mutative charm and energy are there it is Sha and Ra i.e., Shra and the feminine gender is Shrii. That is why there has been an ancient custom in India to prefix Shrii before the name of persons. So He possesses Shrii in complete form.

Jiṋána Vaerágyaḿca śańnám Bhagaitinganá. Thus next come Jiṋána and Vaerágya. What is Jiṋána? In Shastra, both worldly knowledge and spiritual knowledge are called Jiṋána.

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánaḿ jiṋánányanyáni yánitu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni sárasyanaeva bodhanát.

“Only the spiritual knowledge is Jiṋána, others are not Jiṋána,” because the gist of knowledge is not in them. They do not impart knowledge of that gist.

He possesses true knowledge. You ask Him about any subject, you will get a correct answer. He is omniscient. “Rtambhará Tatra Prajiṋá”

Sixth one is vaerágya. Vaerágya is derived from “Vi” + “Rańj” Dhátu plus Ghaiṋ suffix. He does not get associated with any colour of the world. No colour can colour His mind. He is within all and also far from all. This is Vaerágya.

The collective form of these six qualities is called Bhaga and the one who possesses Bhaga is Bhagaván.

So, Bhagaván says to Nárada, (Nárada means that of Parama Puruśa by which the devotion germinates in the hearts of the living beings.) “Oh Nárada, people say that I live in Vaekúńtha which is somewhere in the sky. No I don’t live there.” The meaning of the kuńthá word Vaekúńtha is “without complexes” (Vigata Kuńt́ha means contraction. So where there is no complex, either inferiority of superiority, no fear complex, etc., it is the stage of Vigata Kuńt́ha. It is a stage without any complexes. It is Vaekuńt́ha. So when there is no complex in the mind, no contraction in the mind, then only will one feel Parama Puruśa or His existence in one’s heart. That is why it is called Vaekuńt́ha. Now what is the dictum here? It is “I do not reside in Vaekuńt́ha or any sky, neither do I reside in the hearts of yogiis.” – “Yogińám Hradaye Na ca”. Here “yogii” means Hat́ha yogii who suspends his mental propensities forcibly. When the propensities have been suspended, there will be no emanation of any propensity; there will not be any sentiment or any ideal. So when the flow has been checked, what will the Parama Puruśa do by sitting there? Sitting there means He Himself has remained in a suspended form. There will not be any expression. Parama Puruśa wants to make the world dance. Everybody will be dancing with His vibrations and in His tune. Parama Puruśa will be enjoying with all. Does He not want this? Why should He live in the dry heart of a yoga? He would like a sweet, loving heart – Sarasa Hrdaya. He will not like the desert. He would like fertile land. So, the heart of a devotee is like the fertile land. That is why Parama Puruśa says, “Mad Bhaktah yatra Gáyante”, i.e., wherever my devotees perform Kiirtan in full swing at once I reach there. You may say that Parama Puruśa is omnipresent. Now Parama Puruśa is omnipotent, He is also omniscient, it is a fact; but there is a hub of that omniscience, there is a hub of those premonitions and post-monitions of all expressions. A central point is there. Parama Puruśa is omnipresent but He has a nucleus (Cakranábhi). Parama Puruśa will place that nucleus wherever He likes. He will take it wherever He likes. Parama Puruśa says, “When my devotees sit single-minded for Kiirtan (Ananyor Mamáta Viśńormamatá) I at once take myself there. This is what I do.” This morning I said that the practice of Dharma (i.e. Dharma Sádhaná) is the characteristic of human beings. Now I say, “If you want to be established in Dharma Sádhaná, then in any case do not forget the importance of Kiirtana, the greatness of Kiirtana, and also the greatness of devotion. Always remember that the devotion begins with aesthetic science and its ultimate domain ends where supra-aesthetic science (Mohana Vijiṋána) begins.”

“Victory be to you all.”