The young Rama asks the sage, if everything is established in Brahman – and there is only Brahman – what then of the teachings about the admissible and the inadmissible contained in the scriptures? An excursus of the different forms of human beings and their goals of life are related.
Glossary:
Ishwara San. M. ‘the supreme master’ – the cosmic lord; the Almighty, God in time and space, Brahman in manifestation, all controlling, all powerful and by nature eternally pure, awakened and free – epithet of either Vishnu (V. 36, 74) or Shiva, but the term usually refers to Shiva. ‘When Reality was reflected in maya, it resulted in ishwara.’ ) ‘Wherever you find the three activities (shakti) of creation, preservation and dissolution, there you can recognise God (ishwara).’
Ishwara-roop: divine beings; humans are the form of divinity itself;
jiva: an individual, person, spark of the Divine Atma
avidya San. f. ignorance, especially in a spiritual sense arising from the illusion of maya, the veil of separateness. The darkness of ignorance veils our perception, so that we see a snake in a rope and are deluded by our senses into believing the world is real; we are unaware of the true Reality that underlies and sustains it.
vidya learning, study; education; science; knowledge, especially of the vedas; wisdom, understanding. Vidya is moksha, avidya is samsara. ‘The end of education is character.’
atmaroop: the form of Atma; that which is seen is only the glamour of Atma; it is atma in and of itself.
vasana: tendencies or desires
atmananda: bliss of the soul
tyag Hin. tyaga San. m. (from tyaj – to abandon, let go) renunciation; relinquishing, giving up, surrender. Renunciation of attachment to the world is the key to liberation; to renounce the fruit of action is tyaga.
samadhi: Samadhi is a state of profound and utterly absorptive contemplation of the Absolute that is undisturbed by desire, anger, or any other ego-generated thought or emotion. It is a state of joyful calm, or even of rapture and beatitude, in which one maintains one’s full mental alertness and acuity.
nivritti: Hin., San. f. ‘turning back’ – withdrawal (from the world of the senses), the inward path; repose, abstention, cessation, stopping the ramifications of the mind and actions.
Question 273: Sir, since the existence of only Brahman is established in all respects, what are the teachings about the admissible and the inadmissible contained in the scriptures?
Answer: Ramji, it has been duly established that there is nothing but Atma, and that the universe is the glamour of Atma. The primeval ideation arising in Atma that I am one, let me be many, has given rise to space, time and matter, and the scriptures, too, are the product of the primeval ideation. The primeval ideation has assumed two forms—knowledge and ignorance (vidya and avidya). Those having the nature of vidya are called divine beings (Ishwara-roop) and those of the nature of ignorance (avidya) are called jivas. Though innumerable forms and names have been manifested due to the ideation, yet they are Atmaroop. Because of the primeval ideation, various names such as God (Ishwara), jiva, knowledge and ignorance have been assumed. A jiva whose conviction the he/she is a gross body is weak, attains to the Atmic state soon, and a jiva whose conviction he/she is a gross body is strong, does not attain to the Atmic state; hence he/she suffers immensely.
Ramji, knowledge (vidya) is of two kinds -— the knowledge of Atma and the knowledge of the universe. Those having the knowledge of Atma are of two types. One type includes those who have renounced all desires (vasana) and have realised God (Ishwara). The other includes those who believe in God (Ishwara) but whose tendencies (vasana) are directed towards the world. They attain to the Atmic state after prolonged practice. Those having the knowledge of the world, are of two types. The first category includes those who accept that there must be God (Ishwara). Maintaining continuous faith in God, they attain to the Atmic state with the help of scriptures and guru. In the other category are the atheists who do not believe in God; they are deprived of the Atmic state for a long time. The admissible and the inadmissible have reference to such persons and it has been ordained for them: Do particular virtuous acts and abandon particular vicious actions.
By gradually abandoning vices and indulging in virtuous deeds, these persons achieve purification of the mind and attain atmananda (bliss of the Atma). O Ramji, in the context of the true state, no one needs any sermons, but there has been imagination of sermons for obtaining relief from the imaginary illusions. Ramji, when you achieve total renunciation (sarva-tyag), your consciousness will become extinct, or when you render your chitta as achitta, i.e. ideations stop arising in the chitta, then your total renunciation will be effective and you will attain quiescence.
To be established in Atma is called introvision. When you have achieved introvision, you will not cognise the manifest universe despite your interaction with the objects of the world and you will always act with an even spirit. Ramji, whatever you see or hear, you should cognise that as Atmaswaroop; do not cognise anything except Atma. Do not permit arousal of any ideation, and always maintain an attitude of non-duality (oneness). In your faith, be ever in samadhi; overtly, you may carry on the functions of the senses. Though all actions may be visible in you, yet you must be non-ideational as if in deep sleep (sushupti) vis-a-vis all these actions, and be fully absorbed in the samadhi of your Atmaswaroop.
Although dharma reveals the notion of oneness to one and all, yet in practice it varies in different countries, with different individuals, and in different epochs. If mind concerns itself with worldliness, then it is separated from the light of the Atma and this separation causes mental perturbance. In order to have a vision of God you have to purify the inner instruments and conduct a virtuous life. We should keep our intelligence disengaged from the worldly issues. Intelligence should not be made a tool to satiate physical and mental obsessions.
On the other hand, it should be used for the revelation of Atma. It should only be a witness and remain unaffected by the surroundings. Then it is in a state of nivritti. In this context, sacrifice of work cannot be something which relates to nivritti. Sacrifice of one’s desires alone can be associated with nivritti. People sometimes refer to the karma phala tyaga (renunciation of the fruits of action) and say that one has to sacrifice the result of whatever work one does. If this is so, they argue that no work need be done at all and they assert that this is what Bhagavad Gita teaches us. Nothing can be farther from truth. No one can sacrifice all work and yet live. The body has been created for doing work. Therefore everyone must perform work. But in doing such work, if your thoughts are sacred, you will do good work without seeking the fruit thereof.
(Summer Showers in Brindavan, 1993, Everyone Must Work Without Seeking The Fruit Thereof)
Hamsa Gayatri
Om Hamsaaya Vidmahe
Paramahamsaya Dheemahi
Tanno Hamsa Prachodayat
“May we realise Hamsa that is our own Self as the Swan. Let us meditate on that Paramahamsa, the Supreme Self. May Hamsa illumine us.”
HAMSA GAYATRI:
Students, the entire universe is encased in you. Never give room to the thoughts that you are the body. You are neither the body nor the mind. The body is transitory like a bubble and the mind is crazy like a mad monkey. Hence, never set faith on the mind and the body, but pin your faith on the conscience within you. The human body, though decked with the finest of ornaments and dressed elegantly, carries no value, once the breath of life ceases. For man, faith is his life breath. ‘Vishwasa‘ (Faith) is his Swasa‘ (breath). All the attainments achieved by the body carry no value if he lacks faith. The key is the life of the lock, similarly the self is the key of our life. It is the Atmic Consciousness which promotes the functions of the body. The Atmic Consciousness manifests as “Soham” in man. ‘Soham’ means “I am God”, ‘So’ is ‘That’ (God) and ‘Ham’ means ‘I’. ‘Soham’ is known as ‘Hamsa Gayatri’. ‘Hamsa’ signifies the power of discrimination which enables man to be established in the faith that he is different from the body.
The word ‘Gayatri’ signifies the mastery over the senses. The second name of ‘Gayatri’ Is ‘Savitri’. ‘Savitri’ signifies mastery over life. The third name of ‘Gayatri’ is ‘Saraswathi’. ‘Saraswathi’ signifies mastery over speech. Hence chanting of Hamsa Gayatri enables man to acquire the mastery over senses, life and speech.
Gayatri speaks of the world of ‘Bhur’, Bhuva’ and ‘Svuha’. Bhur signifies body, ‘Bhuva’ life and ‘Svuha’ stands for Prajna (constant integrated awareness). These three also stand for materialisation, vibration and radiation respectively. The three worlds of Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka and Svuharloka are in fact combined in man himself. Man is the embodiment of the three worlds and also the three times. Man is the embodiment of Cosmic Divine.
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