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

Manasá kalpitá múrti nrńáḿcenmokśasádhanii;
Svapnalabdhena rájyena rájánománavastathá.

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

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

Shiva replied, “Yes, it is.”

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

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

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

Uttamo Brahmasadbhávo madhyamá dhyánadhárańá;
Japastutih syádhadhamá múrtipújádhamádhamá.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shiva said, “There are seven points.”

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

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

–Shiva Saḿhitá

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So the fourth is samatábháva.⁽⁸⁾

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

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

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

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

Footnotes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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