16 Aug 2015
Shri Ajay asked: What is the significance of Brahma Vidya or Brahma Jnanam?
Shri Swami replied: Brahma Vidya or Brahma Jnanam means the knowledge of God. Generally, we say “Is it so difficult to understand like Brahma Vidya?” This means that Brahma Vidya is very complicated concept to understand clearly. God is unimaginable. This is a clear concept since it means that God is beyond mind, intelligence and logic. The result is that God is beyond even imagination. This is the fundamental concept of spiritual knowledge as projected by the three sacred books called as 'Prasthana Traya' (the Veda, the Gita and the Brahma Sutras). Therefore, God cannot be seen since you cannot even imagine God. At the same time you can see God (Kaschit Dheerah... Veda). The Veda says that God is unknown so far (Yasyaamatam...). Similarly in the Gita, the Lord says that this Son of Vasudeva is the God (Vaasudevah Sarvamiti...). In the same Gita, we see the Lord telling that nobody knows Him (Maam tu Veda na...). The Gita also says that the unimaginable God is not modified into imaginable medium (Avyaktam Vyaktimaapannam...). All these are mutual contradictions. Brahma Vidya is such deep knowledge by which we can solve these contradictions carefully.
God created this world for His entertainment as said in the Veda. This entire world is just His imagination only. Any one is bored in the absence of entertainment. But, entertainment with one's own imaginary world is not complete. Such incomplete entertainment is somewhat better than the state of boring without any entertainment. In the absence of any entertainment, little entertainment is better. But, complete entertainment is far better than the little entertainment. Anybody will have little entertainment in his imaginary world. But the same person will get full entertainment when he enters the real world. God is absolute reality (Sat). World is relative reality (Asat). Regarding this concept of reality also, you can find contradictions in the Veda and the Gita: 1) Veda: 'Truth existed in the beginning' (Sadeva...). 'That which is not true existed in the beginning' (Asadvaa...). 'God exists' (Asthi Brahmeti...). 'God is not true' (Asat Brahmeti...). 'God entered the world and became existent and non-existent' (Sat Cha Tyat Cha...). 2) Gita: 'God is neither existent nor non-existent' (Nasattat...). 'God is both existent and non-existent' (Sadasat Chaham...).
All these mutual contradictions are found in the context of entry of God into the world (Tadanu Pravishya... Veda), which is the context of God entering a human being (Manusheem Tanum... Gita). God did not get complete entertainment by observing His imaginary world (Saakshi Chetaa... Veda). The reason is that the relative reality, which is the imaginary world, is non-existent before the absolute reality or God. The complete satisfaction in the entertainment comes only when the relatively real imaginary world becomes absolutely real. The human being is a part and parcel of the relative real world and hence for a relatively real human being, the rest [of the] relatively real world becomes absolutely real. This can be experienced when a person entertained by his imaginary world in the awaken state sleeps and enters the dream. In the dream, which is relatively real, the sleeping person enters an imaginary human being exactly like him and gets identified with it to become relatively real so that for him the relatively real dream becomes absolutely real. In the awaken state, the person is absolutely real and his imaginary world is relatively real. Hence, for full entertainment, God tries to forget Himself by entering a human being and by identifying Himself with It. In the simile, the person entering the dream loses his identity completely and gets fully identified with an imaginary form so that the dreaming person cannot have any control over the dream. But, in the case of God, He retains His identity side by side as said in the Veda (Sat Cha Tyat Cha). This means God remains in His original unimaginable form and also simultaneously becomes the imaginable human being for all practical purposes. This contradiction brings complication in Brahma Vidya or knowledge of God. This means X remains as X and simultaneously becomes Y also. This can be understood by a simile. Electricity is a stream of electrons, which is its original form. A metallic wire is just a chain of metallic crystals. When the electricity enters the metallic chain (wire), the wire shows the property of electricity by giving shock everywhere on touch. Here, both unity and diversity are simultaneously maintained between electricity and wire. The electrons are not modified into metallic crystals, which means that the electricity is not modified into the metallic wire. Electricity and wire are separate entities in all the times. This is the concept of diversity. At the same time the concept of unity can be established since the metallic wire shows the property (shock) of the electricity throughout its core and for all the practical purposes, the metallic wire can be treated as electricity without any trace of doubt. The simultaneous maintenance of unity and diversity has a double purpose. For the devotees, who worship the human incarnation as the absolute God, unity is required. Only by unity, they can be liberated and can enjoy the presence of God by seeing and talking with Him. At the same time, the diversity is meant for the human being component of the human incarnation, which should not think that it is God. In both cases, only the human beings are benefited and there is no necessity of any benefit for the God component present in the human incarnation.
Like this, we can solve all the above mentioned contradictions. God remains in His original unimaginable form (Sat) always and is never modified into the form of medium. At the same time, the form of medium (Asat) can be treated as the unimaginable form of God for all the practical purposes. You should not confine God only to Sat or Asat (Na Sattat...). God exists in both the forms simultaneously (Sadasat Chaham...). One form (Sat) is not modified into the other (Asat) as said in the Gita (Avyaktam...). You can see God as the Son of Vasudeva like you see the electricity as metallic wire when it is electrified (Vaasudevah sarvam...). At the same time, you do not see the stream of electrons or the original unimaginable form of God by seeing the metallic wire or Son of Vasudeva (Avyaktam...). The contradiction is maintained and at the same time the contradiction is simultaneously solved. This is the most wonderful complication of Brahma Vidya, which can be also called as Brahma Jnanam. You have to maintain the light and darkness simultaneously, which contradict each other and at the same time the light is for one human being and the darkness is for another human being. The light or actual fact is the diversity of God and human being in the human incarnation and it is for the human being component present in the human incarnation so that it does not get itself spoiled by getting ego. The darkness or the unity taken as granted for all practical purposes between God and human being component in the human incarnation is for the sake of devotees, who get the satisfaction in seeing and talking with God for their spiritual development through the clarifications coming from God directly to have right direction. If the devotee analyses the human incarnation and takes the concept of diversity, the devotee is lost forever in this world as well as in the upper world. The devotee is easily attracted to diversity because the jealousy coming from the repulsion between common media provokes the devotee to get satisfaction. By this, the devotee loses the human incarnation here. After death, when the devotee goes to the upper world in energetic body, the devotee does the same analysis in energetic incarnation also and loses it there also. Thus, forever, the devotee is lost. At the same time, the diversity does good to the devotee in whom God exists as human incarnation in avoiding the ego. Parashurama, a human incarnation is an example for this. The human being component in Parashurama, got ego by believing in the unity and was insulted by Shri Rama, who never was trapped by the unity. Even though sages tried to trap Him in the unity by praising Him that He is God, Rama replied that He is unaware of all that and that He knows only Himself as the son of king Dasaratha called as Rama. Such stand of Rama made Him to stand as permanent human incarnation throughout His life (Purna Avatara).
Some scholars tried to solve the above mentioned contradictions in another way, which is: God is neither relative truth (Nasattat...) nor the non-absolute truth (Naasat...). Here, the word 'Sat' is taken as relative truth in the first statement and in the second statement the same word 'Sat' is taken as absolute truth. Hence, the constant meaning for the word 'Sat' does not have uniform standard in both the statements. The above explanation fixing the word 'Sat' for absolute reality and fixing the word 'Asat' for relative reality everywhere is a better way.
Shri Ajay asked: “What is the most powerful hindrance in the service of human incarnation?”
Shri Swami Replied: The most powerful hindrance is wealth (Dhaneshana) and children (Putreshana). In fact both these can be blended as one bond. In these two bonds if the bond with children is not there, the bond with wealth becomes weak or nil. The bond with husband or wife is simply based on the biological emotions only, which subside in the old age. But, in any age, the bond with children remains very strong. Anahata (not conquered by anybody) chakram is for the bond with children placed in the heart. God also is said to be present in the same heart. The competition between God and children is exactly the subject in the heart. Krishna stole butter from the houses of Gopikas, even though in His house, plenty of butter is present. The butter was meant for the children of Gopikas which was stolen by God. Most of Gopikas complained to Yashoda, the mother of God, in this issue of children and wealth (butter). This shows that many sages were defeated in this bond. If you see the bond with husband or wife, many Gopikas (sages) ran to Krishna in the midnight for a dance (Rasaleela) because the issue of butter was not involved in it. Majority of Gopikas or sages got reversed in the bond of wealth and issues, whereas the same majority of Gopikas or sages were favourable for a dance with the Lord. This clearly proves that the blended bond of wealth and issues is very powerful compared to the bond between wife and husband. Wealth stands as the basis for the practical sacrifice, which is the practical devotion for which alone the divine fruit is seen. Knowledge is related to intelligence and words (preaching). Devotion is related to mind and words (prayers and devotional songs). Both knowledge and devotion are theoretical, which are also required as the source for the practical devotion. Knowledge (Jnana) is like water and devotion (Bhakthi) is like manure. The practical devotion or service (Karma) is like the mango plant for which alone the mango fruit is seen. Knowledge is propagated by Shankara, devotion is propagated by Ramanuja and practical service involving practical sacrifice is propagated by Madhva. These three are subsequent steps in the same path. Hence, all should worship all these three divine preachers. The old generations worshipped these three preachers in any ritual irrespective of the sub-sects like Vaishnava, Shaiva etc., under the name 'Mata traya Tambula' by reciting the Vedic hymn 'Trini Trini vai Devaah'.
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