The subject of today’s discourse is “Existential Flow and Its Culminating Point”.

There is mind, there is microcosm, in each and every existence of this universe. In inanimate objects the mind is in its stagnant point, in cimmerian slumber; but amongst animated beings the mind plays a very important role; and amongst those animated beings or animated creatures, in humans the mind plays the most dominant role. [It is] the most dominant factor amongst humans. We may say that human beings are more psychic beings than physical ones.

[One] characteristic of the mind is that it moves – it cannot remain stationary, it must move. Even when [quiet], it goes on moving;⁽¹⁾ movement is a must. In order to maintain its existence, the mind must maintain its dynamicity.

Now, for the Macrocosm, the movement is in a particular line, in a particular flow, in a particular direction, following a particular route. And in each and every object of this universe, the movement is in a particular way, unless and until diverted or redirected to some other way by a stronger mental faculty. But in the case of microcosms, and especially of human beings, it is something different – it has a certain speciality of its own. A river moves from the mountain towards the sea, and never from the sea towards the mountain; but in the case of human minds, or human microcosms, the movement may be from the mountain towards the sea or from the sea towards the mountain. This is the speciality of the human mind.

[It is a fact of life also] that we as a people sometimes leave a particular country and go to another country, and people do this less because of physical requirement and more because of psychic urge. This is a fact of life also.

Now, the objectivated [human] mind may move from subtle towards crude or from crude towards subtle, unlike the movements of other entities of this universe. If the movement towards crude is encouraged, the mind – and at the same time the entire existence of the human being – will be converted into crude matter. That is, it will [take] the path of negative pratisaiṋcara.⁽²⁾ And if the movement towards subtle is encouraged, then one’s entire existence will be converted into either Cosmic Mind or Cosmic Cognitive Faculty. This is the speciality of mind, and that is why it is said:

Mano karoti karmáńi mana lipyate pátakaeh;
Manashca tanmaná bhútvá na puńyaeh na ca pátakaeh.

Mana eva manuśyánáḿ kárańaḿ bandhamokśayoh;
Bandhastu viśayásaungi mukto nirviśayaḿ tathá.

[It is the mind that performs good actions and it is the mind that sins. For the mind that is immersed in the thought of God, there is no virtue, no vice.]

[The mind of a person in bondage is attached to his or her objects of enjoyment, whereas the mind of a person who has attained liberation has no mental object.]

“The mind is the cause of bondage, and this mind, this very mind, is the cause of liberation, is the cause of emancipation.” If the movement towards subtle is encouraged, and there is movement with proper acceleration, then what will happen? There will take place one of two different things: either one’s existence will be converted into the Cosmic Mind – that metamorphosis of unit mind into Cosmic Mind is known as the qualified stance – saguńásthiti – or, if the very “I” feeling is surrendered at the altar of Supreme Existence, then the alternative will be that the entire existential factor will become one with the Supreme Cognitive Faculty, with the Cognitive Principle – one will become omniscient, an all-knowing entity.

Thus one will attain saguńásthiti or nirguńásthiti (the non-attributional or non-qualified stance).

Now, movement or mobility is a must for psychic existence, for any existence. Otherwise nothing will exist in this universe.⁽³⁾ And this movement is called [vrtti]. In English you may say “propensity”, but “propensity” is not the proper term. Vrtti. And when this vrtti, this psychic urge, or this psychic mobility, is towards the crude, it is called pravrtti; and when it is towards the subtle it is called nivrtti. The sages used to say: Pravrttireśá bhútánáḿ sthúlá nivrttistu maháphalá [“The pravrtti of human beings is a crude thing, but nivrtti is something that yields good results”]. Now if this urge towards matter, this material longing, is properly directed – that is, if the movement towards matter is redirected towards something subtle, towards the Cognitive Faculty, or towards the Cosmic Mind – then what will happen? This urge, this pravrtti, will be converted into nivrtti. Your longing for money, your longing for name or fame, may be converted into a longing for Parama Puruśa, who is the goal of your life.

So extroversial movement, if properly directed, may be converted into nivrtti, that is, introversial movement, at any moment. So do not think that you are beyond the pale of humanity. Just convert your physical urge into an urge for spirituality. The surging waves of pravrtti today will tomorrow be converted into subtle blissful vibrations. Thus one should not be concerned at all in this regard. Pravrttireśá bhútánáḿ sthúlá nivrttistu maháphalá.⁽⁴⁾

And the culminating point, the desideratum, is Parama Puruśa – love, eternal love, universal love, personified. What is Parama Puruśa? Universal love, when personified, is Parama Puruśa. Your march, your movement, is towards Him. That is, your mind moves from crude to subtle, from matter to Parama Puruśa; in this march, in this universal march,⁽⁵⁾ everybody has the right to do it; everybody has the birthright to move along this path of righteousness. Just show people the path – just tell them: “O human beings, the path is ready for you, you just come!” Whoever is endowed with a human mind and a human body is entitled to follow this path, and at the end of the journey, one day, one is destined to attain Parama Puruśa. When Parama Puruśa, the Cosmic Cognition, is your goal, success is a must, success will be with you.

But during this march, the approach is two-fold. One [approach is], Parama Puruśa is your goal, Parama Puruśa, love personified, is your goal, and you must get Him. When you have accepted Him as your object of adoration,⁽⁶⁾ you must get Him. And the other approach is, while moving towards Him, in that movement, you are fighting against all your internal and external bondages.

While moving towards the Cosmic goal, while moving towards the Cosmic Cognitive Faculty, one will go on fighting against one’s internal and external bondages. These external bondages, that is, imposed bondages, imposed from outside, are known as pásha:

Ghrńá shauṋká bhayaḿ lajjá jugupsá ceti paiṋcamii;
Kulaḿ shiilaiṋca mánaiṋca aśt́ao pásháh prakiirttitáh.

[Hatred, doubt, fear, shyness, dissemblance, vanity of lineage, cultural superiority complex and egotism – these are the eight fetters.]

These are the eight external bondages, or imposed bondages. One must fight against these imposed bondages, one must wage war against these bondages. And then there are the six ripu. Ripu means “internal enemies” – not imposed saḿskáras, imposed bondage, but inborn bondage.

So one should wage war against these eight⁽⁷⁾ external bondages and six internal bondages. This fight is with the left hand, and with the right hand what is one to do? One is to serve the entire universe without any restriction of caste, creed or nationality, and with the sentiment of, with the feeling of, with the knowledge of, Neohumanism: “The universe is mine; all living beings are mine. I am to serve them, I am to help them. If I don’t serve them, if I don’t help them, who else is to help them?” If, in this way, you are fighting those inner and outer bondages with one hand, and serving the universe with the other hand, what will happen? Your existence will be blissful in each and every field of your movement. So one’s very existence will be joyful, one’s very existence will be blissful.

Human existence is a psychic flow, and to attain proximity with Parama Puruśa, to become one with the Cognitive Principle, is the goal of human life, is the desideratum of all human existential flows. We should remember this, and our movement should always be with never-ending acceleration. We are to move on, and our only march, our only desideratum, is that Supreme Cognitive Principle. And there cannot be more than one desideratum for human existence.

Footnotes

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(2) In the Cosmic Cycle, pratisaiṋcara is the step-by-step introversion and subtilization of consciousness from the state of solid matter to Nucleus Consciousness. –Eds.

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