The major difference between the development of human beings and that of animals is that the latter is fully action-oriented. Animals are not guided by knowledge, intellect, nor conscience, but by the sanction of experience and the allurement of crude enjoyment. Humans, however, are both action and knowledge-oriented. In addition to experience they are guided by the sanction of intellect, the inspiration of conscience and the spirit of benevolence. On the basis of this difference in the process of development, one should distinguish humans from animals. An animal cannot transcend its animal characteristics, but a human being, when freed from all petty sentiments and endowed with an ardent desire to attain the supreme, can reach the pinnacle of human glory.

Whatever the humans do, whether guided by crude instincts or the desire for eternal peace, is motivated by the desire for enjoyment. This desire may focus on petty or vast objects, or may be crude or sublime according to the nature of one’s innate saḿskáras. When the desire for enjoyment concerns petty material objects, the expressions will be purely action-oriented, and the mentality will be animal-like. However, when the desire for enjoyment concerns the vast and the sublime, the expressions will be action and knowledge-oriented and one’s outlook will be truly human. The innate characteristic of an animal is to derive crude pleasure from physical objects, and that animals mistakenly think crude pleasure to be happiness. But those humans who shine with spiritual radiance and observe the world with an all-embracing vision, can never satisfy their unquenchable thirst with finite material objects. They are the real humans. They realize that happiness does not lie in finite objects but in infinity.

Nálpe sukhamasti bhumaeva sukham.

In the flow of Pratisaiṋcara the cosmic cycle of creation all animate entities – the plants, trees, worms, insects, reptiles, birds, mammals and human beings – are advancing from crudity to subtlety. Even those who say, “I won’t move, I will sit by the wayside,” cannot escape this relentless movement. Everyone must move. Some will move with the flow of creation under the direct guidance of the Cosmic Will; others, whose consciousness is slightly more developed, may move against the flow, that is, towards animality or physicality, by means of their will-power; and others, by virtue of their developed consciousness will accelerate their progress along the Cosmic flow. This psycho-spiritual progress is not possible by mere actional faculty, and hence, it is beyond the capacity of animals.

Through knowledge, one should ascertain the best path and the proper direction to take, and then advance along it with ceaseless efforts. This path of movement is the path towards the Supreme attainment (Paramaŕtha). By knowing and understanding the path as well as the goal of life, and acting accordingly, one will unify oneself with the Supreme Desideratum in the end. Total merger with the Cosmic Desideratum becomes a reality through absolute sincerity. Hence, the rśi says that to attain the Supreme, knowledge and action are not enough, the real success is absolutely dependent on devotion. Those who possess actional faculty and knowledge will advance no doubt, but they will fail to attain the highest goal. This highest attainment depends entirely on one’s kevalá bhakti (the highest category of devotion).

By perfecting knowledge, action and devotion, should one strive to attain Puruśa (Consciousness)? Or Prakrti (Operative Principle)? Or a composite of Puruśa and Prakrti? Although Puruśa and Prakrti are inseparable, one should only try to attain Puruśa, not Prakrti. In the attempt to merge with the all-pervasive Consciousness (Puruśa), Prakrti, the Operative Principle, may sometimes be expressed, or may sometimes lie dormant in Puruśa.

Puruśa is the culminating point, not Prakrti. Though Prakrti has the predominant role in creation, Puruśa is the fundamental stuff of which the creation has been made. Prakrti is merely creating innumerable transient forms out of that fundamental stuff. Hence, although Prakrti creates the universe, She does not and cannot create the original stuff or ingredients of creation. When Prakrti’s influence over Puruśa reaches its peak, crude objects are created in the physical universe. The more the influence of Prakrti on Puruśa, the greater the degree of crudity and solidity of objects. What we call energy (shakti) in the relative world is not synonymous with Prakrti. Shakti is created at an earlier stage (in Saiṋcara) due to the influence of the Operative Principle (Prakrti) on the Cognitive Principle (Puruśa). The greater the degree of static bondage of Prakrti, the greater and quicker the transformation of energy into crude objects. Whatever is expressed as crude, subtle or causal factors is nothing but a metamorphosed form of energy. Even the psychic world is but a subtler stage of energy. And this is why we observe that energy and mental force appear to be the same thing. Mental force very often performs the same functions as physical force.

The practice of Sádhaná aims at converting the crude physical energy into subtle psychic energy, and the psychic energy into spiritual energy or cognitive faculty, and in the final stage enables the practitioner to become one with the Supreme Entity. Thus, in successive stages, sádhaná converts matter into energy, energy into idea, idea into consciousness, and at the highest stage, ensconces one within Supreme Consciousness.

So the goal of sádhaná is to establish one’s self in the cognitive Principle (Puruśa). Puruśa is everywhere in everything. In fact every manifestation is a form of Puruśa bound by the principles of Prakrti. Your goal is not the Puruśa who is bound by Prakrti; your goal is that Puruśa in whom Prakrti lies dormant, the Puruśa who is free from all bondage. You will have to realize through real knowledge that He is absolutely unblemished all-knowing and unbiased. While performing actions you must remember that the manifested world of both individual and collective forms is His manifestation, and through devotion you should realize that He is the life of your life, the Lord of your inner heart. You should not try to look for any other Entity.

Eko haḿso bhuvanasyásya madhya sa evágnih salile sanniviśtah
Tvameva viditváti mrtyumeti nányah panthá vidyateyanáya.

A follower of the cult of knowledge knows that in the universe Puruśa (or Haḿsa) is One. When the unit mind is bound by limitations, only pluralities and multiplicities can be seen. But in that Entity which is beyond the periphery of mind, there is no scope for pluralities. In fact, with regard to Brahma, no numerals such as two, three or four can be used, because numerals come within the scope of psychic knowledge only.

Only the word “One” can be used regarding Brahma, not because He is one in number, but because we cannot logically divide Him into any parts or segments. He is beyond the limitation of space, time, and individuality. In Him svajátiiya, (differences within the same species), vijatiiya (differences between species) and svagata (differences within the same unit being) are absent. There cannot be two Infinite and Endless Entities; if there were one would have to become finite.

It is impossible to describe the inner essence of Puruśa to the microcosm, for He is beyond the scope of human mind.

Shivaḿ cidánandarúpaḿadbhútam.

Fire and water are apparently two contradictory things. Yet in water He lies in a subtle way as fire-energy. This may sound very strange: that the fire, which turns water into vapour, the fire which appears as something so contradictory to water; lies latent in every molecule and atom of water. Oxygen, which burns objects, is one of the basic components of water – a compound object.

Just as the force of fire is bound with, though seemingly unrelated to, the very existence of water, similarly He is in the mind, beyond the scope of the mind. Sádhakas should realize that He is the only goal, the only Entity for whom one should yearn.

To attain Him, the flow of the microcosmic mind should be directed towards Him alone. Those for whom Puruśa is the only object of constant ideation, the be-all and end-all of life, unfold their cognitive faculty by degrees, thus acquiring the strength to overpower the static bondages and become established in the spiritual stance. This Supreme Entity is beyond all limitations. To grasp the real nature of this Entity, one must develop an integral outlook by transcending all the bondages of narrow sentiments and isms. Where there are no bondages of limitations, where there is no domineering influence of Prakrti, there cannot be the four so-called noble truths as propounded by Buddha: sorrow, the causes of sorrow, the cessation of sorrow and the means for the cessation of sorrow. It is absolutely meaningless to attempt to attain immortality or absolute bliss in any way other than by ideating on the Eternal one (the state of Vajrasiddha by the Buddhists) who is totally unassailed by vicious cycle of birth, decay and death.

Where mental development is knowledge-oriented, the latent cognitive faculty of the sádhaka will unfold. Thus, sádhaná is the expansion of one’s self, the gradual assimilation and subjectivisation of the universe. Sádhaná is not the path of self contraction; it is the path of self-expansion. Some so-called philosophies want to dismiss the world as illusory, but are in fact telling lies, consciously and unconsciously. These blood-sucking parasites knowingly indulge in lies of this sort under the inspiration of the political, economic and other social exploiters, out of greed for their financial gains. These parasites are fully aware of the fact that as long as people remain confused due to the unhealthy effect of defective philosophies, the actional faculty will remain unexpressed, and they can easily be utilized as tools.

Remember, the path of sádhaná is not the path of escapism, but the path of the brave… the path of vigour. O sádhakas, advance undaunted, courageously fighting against Avidyá (the force of negativity). Make your spiritual life fruitful with the warmth of your heart, the strength of your muscles, the vigorous activity of your nerves, and the rapid flow of blood in your veins. Yours is not the path of retreat, nor the path of unholy compromise as wretched slaves to the rapacious businessman or as pawns in the hands of power-hungry politicians. Yours is the path of ceaseless advancement towards union with the all-benevolent Supreme Entity by connecting the flow of action and devotion with the flow of knowledge. Never surrender meekly like a slave allowing your inherent power and vigour to be sapped. Remember, the fullest manifestation of your vigour is immortality.

Those who dismiss the world as illusory, do injustice to their individual prowess, and become very cynical. This negative approach leads the human society astray, partially or fully. Seeing how deeply you love your children a máyávádin (a proponent of the doctrine of illusion) will say, “Be careful, you are about to fall in the snare of attachment. Remember this relative world is just an illusory prison”. To such a negative statement a genuine Ánanda Margii will say with robust optimism: “Of course I will love my children with all my heart, and through sádhaná, expand this love to its greatest or unlimited extent. Let this love which was confined to one child be extended to all children. By taking the hearts of all parents within one’s own heart one realizes that every child is worthy of this love.” This sort of awareness is possible only through real knowledge – the knowledge of truth. Those who deny the importance of knowledge in sádhaná want to throw humanity into the abysmal darkness of staticity.

But is the theoretical knowledge enough? Is it sufficient to know, only in theory, or through logic, that all children of all parents are equal? No, through theoretical knowledge one can only understand what one should or should not do in sádhaná and nothing more. To turn this academic love into universal love one must colour the molecules and atoms of this dusty earth with one’s love. This is not possible for an ordinary follower of the cult of knowledge. Such people can be very pedantic, but unless certain effective ways are adopted to become one with the Supreme Entity, this knowledge will become barren. Sádhakas know that to become one with Him they will have to remain absorbed in constant ideation on Him, and then only will He appear in their hearts in His most attractive form.

Sa visvakrd vishvaviditmayonih kálakáro guńii sarvavid yah.
Pradhánakśetrajiṋaptirguńeshah saḿsára mokśasthitibandhahetuh.

He is the Father of this universe: everything has been created out of His imagination. When the followers of the cult of knowledge realize that this universe is the combination of the infinite emanations of the vast Cosmic Citta, they stand awestruck by the greatness of that Entity. Through the process of thought it is impossible to measure His immensity. The depth of His depths cannot be fathomed. Ordinary microcosms can best be compared to tiny bubbles in the endless Cosmic Ocean.

The rśi observes that all the thoughts and activities of the microcosm lie within the scope of the limitless intuition of the Macrocosm. That is why the Macrocosm knows everything inside and outside the microcosmic mind. Nothing can be done secretly. If a sinner pretends to be virtuous by wearing bead-necklaces or holy marks on the forehead simple people may be fooled, but Parama Puruśa knows the truth. He knows more about the sinner than He knows about himself.

He knows everything that you know, and everything you do not know. Obviously there is no other way than total surrender to Him. When the followers of the cult of knowledge realizes this truth they surrender to Him without reservation. Those who do not do that either lack knowledge or suffer from a false sense of prestige, a type of psychic ailment.

Wise people understand the simple truth that all human endeavour is dependent on relative factors. Intellect, name, fame and wealth are all dependent on the relative factor of time. They exist during one period of time and disappear later. But Parama Puruśa, the Father of the universe, does not have to wait for any period of time to do His work. Time comes into existence when the microcosms are created from the eternal Ocean of Cognition by the binding influence of Prakrti. Hence, He is the Father of time.⁽¹⁾ Being beyond the bondage of time, He is established as absolute truth and intellect, wisdom, and everything else which can or cannot be thought of by the unit mind, remains unassailed by the time factor; He is eternal.

There are some ignorant people who wrongly believe that God physically resembles an ordinary human being who gets angry, wants to be worshipped, and enjoys being propitiated with food and other offerings. They claim He has various likes and dislikes; that He wants to be invoked at certain times, and immersed at other times. But genuine sádhakas, by virtue of knowledge, realize that their dear Lord is not affected by religious paraphernalia and pretentious shows of devotion.

Followers of the cult of knowledge understand that only Parama Brahma deserves the epithet guńii. How can a finite being be called a guńii? A guńii is one who possesses a binding rope. A finite being does not hold the binding rope but is bound by it, and thus is called guńadhiina (bound by guńas). Every microcosm is under the bondages of these binding principles.

A realized person intuitively knows that only the Supreme Entity is all-knowing (Sarvavid). Only that Supreme Entity has the requisite psychic expansion to know all that is thinkable and unthinkable. He is Pradhána (the greatest). The word Pradhána also means Prakrti, but in the above shloka it is not used in that sense. It would not be correct to call any other entity of this mundane world Pradhána because all entities are assailed by some imperfection. Though apparently head of the school, the headmaster is answerable to the school board of directors. The Secretary General of the United Nations, or the Commander-in-Chief of an army are answerable to the representatives of the people. No one in the mundane world has absolute authority. All fathers have their fathers. But there is no one above Parama Puruśa. Only He has the absolute authority.

He knows the movements of all created beings, the ways of every microcosm. He sees the vain attempts of humans to look honest while concealing their mental meanness, to deceive others by delivering eloquent speeches, and to pretend to be apostles of peace while secretly manufacturing lethal weapons. He sees this and laughs in His vast mind. The foolish, the conceited, the learned fools, and the money-crazed humans deny His authority to escape the consequences of their gross misdeeds, or to console their own minds. But for Him this is all immaterial, because His existence does not depend on the recognition or authority of others. He knows that He exists as the Lord of all, as the Controller of all. All the three principles – sentient, mutative, and static – are under Him. With all these guńas, He is dancing merrily, vibrating rhythmically. With the help of these three principles He is creating the universe, keeping it under His hypnotic spell, and arousing the existential awareness in created beings.

By imparting the practical lessons of sádhańa; by disseminating the science of Brahma, He is removing the bondages of the guńas and paving the way for the salvation of the wise people. Those who are bound by the sentient principle think that they exist; those who are bound by the mutative principle think that they are doing (they think they are billionaires, or learned, or intelligent.); and those who are bound by the static principle degenerate to the level of crude matter. When microcosms acquire a fair degree of mental development through the pursuit of knowledge, they realize these truths.

Sa tanmayo hyamrta iishasaḿstho jiṋáh sarvago bhuvanasyáya goptá
Ya iishe asya jagato nityameva nányo heturvidyate iishanáya.

Does the omni-telepathic Entity, whose immanent power is the cause of this world of salvation, preservation, and bondage, undergo any metamorphosis? No, He remains absorbed in His original stance (Tanmaya). To others it appears as if He is performing magic tricks, but for Him the magic show is no miracle, it is the display of His artful techniques. He watches the magic show, but He watches only to be sure of His showmanship.

He is Amrta (immortal) because He is not bound by the waves of the principles of Prakrti. He is Puruśottama, the Controller of all controllers, the shelter of all beings. Nothing can be done secretly, for He is connected to all in His individual and collective associations. He permeates each pore of the universal body with the authority of universal witness-ship. He is Sarvaga. He maintains everything.

Wise people realize these truths in the pursuit of real knowledge. However much an ignorant person may try, he or she can never understand His greatness by mere philosophical argumentation.

Yo Brahmáńaḿ Vidhadháti púrvaḿ yo vae Vedaḿshca prahińoti tasmae
Taḿha devátmabuddhiprakáshaḿ mumukśurvae sharańamahaḿ prapadye.

Before He started this Creation, He had to assume the role of Brahmá. Brahmá is the stage of manifestation of Brahma where Prakrti is predominant over Puruśa. The flow of creation, preservation and destruction is continuing with the three acoustic sounds “a”, “u”, “ma”. Brahmá is the stance centred around the acoustic sound “a” (Brahma+a = Brahmá). The rśi says that this Brahmábháva is accepted as the apparent cause of this creation. Brahmá bháva is also one of His numerous ideational expressions.

Who is the propounder of intuitional science? Is he a particular sage (rśi) or intellectual? No, Brahma is the Propounder who expresses His ideas through the vocal cords of different sages. No individual human being deserves the credit for human excellence. It is due to His grace alone that the intuitional science was revealed.

The closer one’s psychic propensities move towards Him during sádhaná, the more one’s intuition increases, and the more one’s apexed intellect (agryabuddhi) unfolds. The person who realizes the greatness of the Macrocosm by virtue of intuitional knowledge says, “ My only desire is to merge myself in Him, to attain salvation.” To seek Him is not to seek for any mundane object of pleasure. No petty greed, no enemy (ripu) exists in Him. To seek salvation means to surrender totally unto Him. The act of seeking Him is free from the least taint of selfishness (niśkalus’). Hence the rśi Shvetáshvatara says that every individual should seek salvation. To attain Brahma the cultivation of knowledge alone will not suffice; one will also have to perform actions. By merely learning the techniques of making sweet from a confectioner one will no get any idea about how the sweets taste. When sádhakas realize that they should seek salvation, then they will have to undertake a special endeavour to attain that cherished goal; they will have to advance towards Him according to the laws of material science and psychology. That is their action (karma sádhańa). The more they proceed towards Brahma through karma sádhańa, the more the divine excellence of Brahma will manifest itself in them in the ever-new ways. That which was not possible through the pursuit of the cultivation of knowledge will be possible through karma sádhańa.

Niśkalaḿ niśkriyam shántaḿ niravadyaḿ niraiṋjanam
Amrtasya paraḿ Setuḿ dagdhendhanamivánalam

He is spotless, actionless, without distortion, calm and tranquil, unaffected by external stimuli, unblemished. He is the bridge connecting the microcosm to immortality. Through constant ideation on Him, the seeds of one’s accumulated saḿskáras become burnt.

Yadá carmavadákáshaḿ veśt́ayiśyanti mánaváh
Tadá devamijiṋáya duhkhasyánto bhaviśyati

Human misery originates from one’s imperfect thoughts. By ideating on the Great one can be relieved of misery forever. Those who believe that the pursuit of crude matter is the path leading to the cessation of misery, and thus remain oblivious of Him, are entirely mistaken. Just as the sky cannot be wrapped around one’s body, similarly without Him the cessation of misery is impossible.

Tapoprabháváddevaprasádácca brahma ha shvetáshvetaro’tha vidván
Atyáshrambhiyah paramaḿ pavitraḿ prováca samyag rśisauńghajuśt́am.

After proper karma sádhaná Shvetáshvatara realized Brahma. Here proper karma sádhaná means the strict observance of yama and niyama. The meaning of tapah is to bring comfort to others even by enduring hardship. The duty of the ácáryas and táttvikas is to propagate noble ideas and promote the welfare of others even by embracing hardship themselves, individually or collectively. Their duty comes within the scope of tapah. Some consider dharma to be the propagation of the greatness of a propounder of a particular doctrine or scripture. This is a totally misconceived idea. Dharma is the cultivation of benevolent intellect for the all-round welfare of all the created beings in the universe. Lord Buddha said,

Bahujana hitáya bahujana sukháya
Lokánukampáya attháya hitáya sukháya.
Deva manussánaḿ ádi kalyáńaḿ majjhe kalyáńaḿ
Pariosan kalyáńaḿ satthaḿ sabyainajanaḿ
Kevalam paripunnaḿ parisudhvaḿ
Brahmacariyaḿ pakasetha.

Is the realization of Brahma possible through human endeavour alone? Human beings are unable to transcend knowledge, action and devotion, and thus Parama Puruśa showers His grace upon them. The result is a divine union of Parama Puruśa and His devotees.

Rśi Svetashvatara taught the science of Brahma (Brahmavidyá) for the welfare of people. Those who keep themselves shackled with various restrictions and impositions can never understand the proper spirit of Brahmavidyá. Even if they learn the initial lessons of Brahma sádhaná, they soon give up because it requires immense strength of mind. The one with a timid mind who mechanically follows the rest will not advance far.

In the propagation of dharma the spirit of welfare is the beginning, the middle and the end. What is He? He is welfare personified. So the ancient people used the term Kalyáńasundaram to describe Him. In Him there is total perfection. The rśi says, “To attain Him, devotion must be complemented by knowledge and action”. You may have made sweets according to the techniques taught to you, but unless you taste them you will never know how good they are. This act of tasting is devotion. Devotion arises from love of the Lord. Sá kasmae parama premarupá.

There are two broad categories of love or devotion: prema and parábhakti. Prema (love for the Supreme) occurs when there is a strong attraction for the Supreme Entity. (as opposed to Káma which is love for relative objects). Even though the I-feeling greatly expands as one strives to seek shelter in Parama Puruśa, the existential I-feeling does not altogether disappear. So through prema one can attain liberation (mukti). But to attain salvation (mokśa), Parábhakti, exclusive devotion to Parama Puruśa is required. Parábhakti liberates spiritual aspirants from the bondage of I-feeling permanently. One should bear in mind that Parábhakti is not a state of inaction; rather a tremendous vital faculty lies behind Parábhakti.

Yasya deve parábhaktiryathá deve tathá gurao
Tasyaete kathitá hyartháh prakáshante mahátmnah.

However much people might pursue the cult of knowledge and action, the science of Brahma should be taught only to those who possess Parábhakti. This Parábhakti should be directed towards both Brahma and the Guru. One should remember that there is only one Guru. The actual Guru is not the physical body of a Guru but the Entity who works through the physical body. Hence, Paramátmá alone is the Guru. Through Parábhakti, one can easily transcend one’s I-feeling and attain the non-attributional stance. Those who possess parábhakti or kevalá bhakti are free from mahimá jiṋána (the notion that God is too perfect to be attained by a mere mortal). Hence, the attainment of emancipation is possible only through parábhakti. Spiritual aspirants with developed parábhakti can proclaim that the universe is all Brahma; Brahma alone is the Supreme desideratum of all microcosms. Only they can say;

Brahmárpańaḿ Brahmahavirbrahmágnao Brahmańáhútam
Brahmaeva tena gantavyaḿ Brahmakarmasamádhiná.

Footnotes

(1) Parama Puruśa is [[alternatively]] described by some as the death of time, but I have some objection to this interpretation because, if that were so then philosophically He could not be said to be above the time factor.