18 Apr 2006
[Discourse given by Swami in response to question asked by Nikhil, Smt. Devi and Smt. Gayathry] Jesus preached wonderful knowledge. The ordinary fishermen were convinced and followed Him as the Lord. The priests of the church were great saints, who were unmarried and left everything for the sake of God. Those priests were certainly higher than ordinary people. The ordinary people followed Jesus because they were convinced in their minds, intelligence and consciousness. They clarified their doubts with Jesus directly and were convinced. This is called as Atma Pramanam [confirming or verifying with one’s Atma]. These ordinary people did not care whether the priests approved of Jesus. In fact, the priests opposed Jesus and crucified Him. In spite of that the ordinary people followed Jesus since they were convinced. A priest has left everything for the sake of God. No doubt, they are greater people since they have a greater urge. But the greater urge itself cannot be the qualification of a person. A student may have a greater urge for the answer but he might not have understood the answer given by the teacher. Another student might have not so much urge but he might have understood the answer. Between these two students who is greater? Janaka was a king and did not leave his kingdom. Shuka was a saint [renunciant, sanyasi] and left everything with an extreme urge for God. Yet Janaka was appointed as examiner of Shuka by Sage Vyasa. Who is greater between these two? Although Janaka was a householder and did not leave anything, he is like the student with the answer. Shuka was a saint, who had left everything and got the answer only from Janaka.
The quest is appreciable but cannot be the qualification. The capacity to understand the answer lies with the internal mental development (Samskara). The external orange robe, the quest for God, leaving everything and roaming everywhere, attaining a post of a Pithadhipati, studying scriptures by tradition etc., are certainly appreciable but are not the qualifications of greatness. A student may be in the proper school uniform. He may have a lot of urge to get the knowledge. He might have left his house and roamed from school to school. He might have become a teacher of a school. He might have studied the course with discipline. He might have memorized and got through the examination and he might have thus got the degree and became a teacher. But still his doubts in the subject were not answered. Einstein and Ramanujam did not pass school and could not get a degree. But they had perfectly understood the subject. Therefore, attainment lies in their internal samskaras and attaining the real preacher. Both the samskaras and Guru (preacher) are important for attainment and not the other points. Both the pearl shell and the rain drop are essential for the formation of a pearl [the common belief is that when a raindrop falls into the oyster shell, it becomes a pearl]. Except these two, all the other factors are ephemeral.
You should judge anything by yourself and in association with others through discussions and debates. In coming to the conclusion you can take the help of the discussions with others. But you should use your own intelligence and consciousness in final conclusion. In this way the participation of others is helpful. But to see whether or not somebody else has lifted his hand to vote is foolishness. You can discuss with him about the point. But you should lift your hand based on your final conclusion. Even a clever person may go wrong in that particular point. Your vote should not depend on his vote.
A householder might have followed Swami today after a long discussion. Is he not the same Mandana Mishra internally as well as externally? He is Mandana Mishra internally because he decided based on his personal discussion with Swami. He is also Mandana Mishra in the external dress of this time since he is a householder. He is certainly Mandana Mishra because he decided based on long debate but did not look for the vote of other persons. Before following Shankara, Mandana Mishra did not enquire whether a Pithathipati or saint debated with Shankara or not. His decision is not based on the vote of a second person. Mandana Mishra never enquired about such information before coming to the conclusion. His conclusion was based on the answers given by Shankara to his points. When Mandana Mishra was convinced on his own, he followed Shankara. But there were other scholars also who were convinced by Shankara and did not follow Shankara, whether they were saints or householders. The degree of samskaras, jealousy and egoism varies in people, whether they are saints or householders. A householder may have greater samskara and lesser egoism. When he is convinced, he can become a follower. A saint may have a lower samskara and even if he is convinced, he may not become a follower. Based on the degree of egoism the results vary. Somebody may not be convinced at all due to his mental rigidity. Someone may be convinced but only appreciates in his mind because of higher egoism. Someone may express his appreciation only to a few people. Someone may express his appreciation to several people. Someone may desire to appreciate before the entire world, and may become a follower to propagate the knowledge. All this depends upon the degree of samskaras and the degree of egoism, whether he is a saint or a householder.
A saint-Pithadhipati may only appreciate in his mind due to higher egoism. The external samnyasa [renunciation] cannot be the indication of the internal Samskara. Just because a student left his house and stays in a hostel for attaining the knowledge, you cannot say that he has become a scholar. A day-scholar coming from his house to the college everyday without leaving his house, may become a real scholar. Some householder might have appreciated in his mind and also expressed it to his circle and also given it in writing as a certificate. That is a lesser degree of egoism. Someone like Nikhil might have come forward to propagate his appreciation to the entire world, which shows the least degree of egoism.
Now in all these three cases, Swami is the common preacher. The rain-drop is the same. When it fell in the sea it has become salt water, in the river it has become drinking water and in the pearl-shell it has become a pearl. The saint was the sea, the scholar who gave the certificate is the river and Nikhil is the pearl shell. Before becoming the pearl, the pearl shell did not enquire about the fate of the rain drop in the sea and in the river. Since the rain drop did not become a pearl when it fell in the sea and river, was the pearl formation affected [discouraged] by this?
The pearl shell can refer to the other pearl shells who are the other present devotees working for the similar propagation. Ajay, Phani, Gayathry, Lakshman, Ramanath, CBK Murthy, Surya, Prasad, Sarma etc., are the pearl shells. All these pearl shells are householders because they are similar. They are not saints or Sanskrit scholars because they are not oceans or rivers, who are dissimilar. Which is greater; the pearl shell, the ocean or the river? The ocean is very large like a saint. A Sanskrit scholar is smaller like a river. The pearl shell is very small. The size is the quest, orange robe etc. The quality is the internal samskara.
The orange robe cannot indicate the internal ripening. It is only an illusion of dress. Similarly the Sanskrit language cannot indicate that he is an angel just because Sanskrit is the mother tongue of angels. Shankara also criticized the external dress and the linguistic grammar of a scholar. Logic (Tarka Shastra) only means the analysis of the creation in Sanskrit. The same subject is called science in English. Thus, the scientist is a scholar of Tarka Shastra. In fact, analysis is improving day-by-day. Science has analyzed the creation with both theory and corresponding experiments. Tarka Shastra is only theoretical mathematics. Science is more valid than Tarka Shastra.
The present facts of Swami, while Swami is alive, will be exaggerated in the future after Swami. The reason is that the repulsion towards the human incarnation decreases to a great extent in the physical absence of the human incarnation. I may only have a few devotees now, but after some generations, poets will write that I was leading large crowds. The today of Swami should be compared with the yesterday of Jesus or the day-before-yesterday of Krishna to have a true similarity. You cannot compare the today of Swami with the today of Jesus because today, the facts of Jesus are already exaggerated due to increased appreciation since He is absent today. You were not present yesterday, to find the real state of Jesus. Moreover, the majority is always discarded in the spiritual field. Krishna has told in the Gita that only one rare person knows Him. Jesus said that the large crowd always goes to hell. The Gita says that a devotee should dislike the majority (Aratir janasamsadi) because the majority is gravel stones and the minority is a few rare diamonds. The majority is school children and research scholars are in minority.
The reason for this is that jealousy and egoism are the two layers covering the two eyes of the majority. The human incarnation is the best eye-surgeon and His preaching is the successful eye-operation. Today many saints leave their houses not in the quest of God but due to various other reasons as criticized by Shankara. Several situations force them to come to this line. Today a saint may appreciate your knowledge, only if he is alone with you. If a third person is present he keeps the appreciation only in his mind, because he fears that his importance in the eyes of a third person may be reduced. This is the standard of many saints of today.
I consider Nikhil or Phani to be better than a saint because their hearts are so pure, they become frank in expressing the appreciation of Swami to everybody. Again I say that the internal ripening is important and not the external factors like red robes, caste, sex, religion, nationality, age etc. According to Madhva, each soul is typical like a finger print. This is because of the various combinations of the various quantities of qualities and no combination is repeated. Therefore, nobody can behave like Mandana Mishra. Since God is one and the same in all the human incarnations, there may be a possibility of similar behavior. For example, let us compare Nikhil with Mandana Mishra. Both are scholars in science irrespective of the language. Both had long debates with the human incarnation. Both were convinced and became followers of the Lord. Both are householders. Both are in the same external dress of a householder suiting in their times. Both were ready to leave their family to participate in the mission of Lord. Devi also resembles Ubhaya Bharathi in having so much value for spiritual knowledge. But there is one difference. Mandana Mishra, after becoming saint scolded Lord Jagannatha in Puri, when the doors were closed upon his arrival (Eisvarya madamattosi…). But Nikhil will never do this. If the human rebirth for a soul is not there (according to Christianity and Islam) Mandana Mishra will never appear again in this world to show the exact same behavior.
Even if the saint and the Sanskrit scholar expressed their appreciation for Me, the samskaras of other people should also be the same to carry on the propagation [Propagation of Swami’s mission would require that other people too accept His teaching. This is dependent on their samskaras.] Another point can be raised that those people might not have been in My contact and might not have discussed with Me to have a similar appreciation. Thus, there are several parameters and the last parameter is that the standards are falling from generation to generation. You cannot compare the standard of this generation with the standard of even the just previous generation. Apart from all this, the program of the Lord is different every time according to His will and pleasure.
Why Does God Suffer For His Devotees’ Sins?
The Veda says that everybody carries on the good and bad results along with him (Priyaa priye…). At the same time the Veda says that God removes the sins of the deserving devotee (Ubhe punya pape, Apahatapapma etc.). The Gita also says that one has to enjoy the good and bad results of the wheel of deeds (Tetvagham…tetambhuktva…). At the same time the Lord says that He protects His devotees (Yoga kshemam…). God is the judge, who has delivered these results based on His own constitution. How can He violate His own judgment even in the case of a deserving devotee? The judgment is universal but devotion is personal. This needs the link of interpretation. Krishna wanted to give all His wealth to Kuchela and transfer Kuchela’s poverty to Himself. In the incarnations of Datta this tradition [of the human incarnation’s transference of devotee’s sins on Himself] is very clearly experienced. As the judge He fines His son and as the Father He pays the fine. The constitution is not violated and at the same time the devotee is saved. Jesus is the best example of this tradition.
Does The Lord Not Possess Knowledge At All Times?
Gayathry asked why Krishna, the Lord, could not repeat the Gita when Arjuna asked Him to repeat it again. She said that a chemistry lecturer can teach chemistry at any time. This point can be correct provided God is in the inert human body as the lecturer (Jeevatma) is present in his inert human body. In the case of Krishna, God is present in the human body, which is a composite of the three bodies (causal, subtle and gross). The subtle and causal bodies together are called as Jeevatma and the gross body is the inert house. In the case of the chemistry lecturer, he is just a composite of these three bodies i.e., Jeevatma present in the inert gross body. The knowledge of chemistry is in the Jeevatma of the chemistry lecturer. In the case of Krishna, God spoke the Bhagavad Gita and Krishna spoke the Anu Gita [the repeated Gita, which is considered to be inferior to the Bhagavad Gita].
All the knowledge taught by Sandeepani [Krishna’s teacher] was present in Krishna, who told the Anu Gita. But the Bhagavad Gita came directly from God and God never requires any knowledge from any teacher. Thus, a double personality exists and therefore it is said “God in flesh”. God speaks as a speaker and He does not require any aid. But if God speaks directly [without the medium of a human body], people will get tension due to excitement by seeing His superpower. Then knowledge will not be grasped. To keep them in the ground state [unexcited], God speaks through a human body and people are able to approach Him without tension, thinking that the human body is speaking. If God enters only the inert body, it is as good as entering an inert statue. Speaking through a statue will again raise tension. When God enters the human body He needs the Jeevatman also, which possesses all the qualities for His play. God need not use His special power for a work, when it can be done by the medium itself.
Arjuna had a little egoism remaining and therefore the concept of the exhibition of such a double personality was needed. Such analysis will pacify the egoism because it becomes obvious that God and Krishna are different. For higher level devotees like the Gopikas there is no difference between Krishna and God. For them God pervades all over the three bodies and is also seen and touched through the gross body. For them God alone speaks at all times. At the same time for others, it appears as if Krishna is speaking. For such high devotees, the Jeevatma is reduced to the state of inert energy with all the qualities stored as pulses. Now for them, only God speaks and God alone exhibits His qualities. For Duryodhana there is no God and only Krishna [the human being] exists. Duryodhana will accept Krishna as God provided he [Duryodhana] is also treated as God! This is the maximum state of egoism and jealousy. The atheists at the time of Shankara were in that state and there was no alternative for Shankara but to keep them in that state. Any deviation would be rejected by them. The present Advaita scholars are the heirs of such atheists who converted into Advaita. They have the climax of ambition and they speak of removing Kama, Lobha etc! [desire, greed, etc.]
Arjuna was in a higher state than Duryodhana but was lower than the Gopikas. Therefore, Krishna showed the intermediate state, exhibiting both God and Jeevatma in close association (Dvasuparna… Veda). For the highest devotees, in the human incarnation, the Jeevatma becomes an inert part of the inert gross body because the awareness of the soul is converted into the inert energy as in deep sleep. There is no difference between the waking state and the state of deep sleep in the case of human incarnation from the point of the highest devotee. God does the work of the antakaranams and thus Jeevatma becomes inert as in deep sleep. Of course, the other part of functioning of the brain controlling the gross body takes place as usual because the preaching requires only the work of antahkaranams. In this sense the desires [manas], decisions [buddhi] and the memory [smriti] works, which are the part of jnana yoga, are done by God alone. This is the state in which the Bhagavad Gita came out. But simultaneously others will think that Krishna is doing all the activities as a Jeevatma, similar to any human being. The concept of the human incarnation is the most complicated system, changing according the level of the devotees.
When Arjuna surrendered to Krishna, he was in the highest state of devotion. Therefore, God alone existed and spoke directly. After the war, the state of Arjuna was slightly reduced and therefore, this split concept had to be exhibited. The Gita says “Ye yathamam …”, which means that the concept shifts according to the level of the devotee so that the repulsion is minimized in order to ensure good receiving by the devotee. God may pervade only the soul of the human incarnation and in such case, we can say that Atman is Brahman in the case of the human incarnation only. Ofcourse, the soul of every human being can be also called as Brahman because the soul is the greatest item of the creation, due to its specialty of knowledge. Thus, the soul with or without God can be called as Brahman. In the first sense, it is God and in the second sense it is best item of creation.
Both these senses were exploited by Shankara for the sake of converting atheists. His soul is Brahman because It is God. Every soul is Brahman because it is the best item in creation. Therefore, He called all the souls including His own soul as Brahman. The common meaning of Brahman is God. So the atheists thought that every soul is God (Brahman). Shankara did not clarify this point because on clarification the converted atheists would go back. Such a trick is not wrong because it is for the welfare of the human beings. Without knowing this point the followers of Ramanuja criticize Shankara as an atheist. They say Shankara said that there is no Brahman beyond the soul. When God pervades the non-vibrated soul, [soul that is free from vibrations or qualities; soul beyond the subtle body] it is Brahman and therefore, the qualities (vibrations) have to be filtered. If the qualities are not filtered, the soul is the vibrated awareness and is called as Jeeva. Atman is included in Jeeva and can be called as Jeevatman. When God pervades such Jeevatman, this Jeevatman is called as Ishwara. God can also pervade the gross body if required. In such case God can be seen and touched. This is the case of a human incarnation in which God pervades these three bodies on a micro-scale.
God and Awareness
God also pervades the infinite ocean of awareness (infinite soul), which is separate from the creation and is called as Brahman. Such ocean is Samashti Chit, which is not the total sum of the souls present in the creation. The aggregate of souls is discontinuous but this infinite soul is continuous. The soul (awareness) is not present in hair, teeth and nails of the body and cannot be pervading even all over the body. The soul in the human incarnation can be compared with this infinite soul. God is common in both. The awareness is a drop in the human incarnation (Vyashti Chit). The difference is only in the quantity of chit. This quantitative difference is also not real because the chit in both cases is actually beyond space since God who is beyond space is present in both. The medium (Upadhi) or chit attains the properties of God in both cases. Similarly, the vibrated ocean of chit pervaded by God can be also called as Ishwara and can be compared with the Ishwara of human incarnation as above.
For clarification, consider the following terms:
Really there is no difference in these four items. The first one is God pervading the infinite ocean of chit without any vibration before creation of the world. The third item (Samashti Ishwara) starts when the desire of the creation started. When the creation is done the third item becomes Brahma, when creation is ruled, the third item becomes Vishnu and when the creation is dissolved, the third item becomes Shiva. In these three states the third item is a spectator of the creation for entertainment. The third item is separate from creation because the third item is the subject and creation is the object. The first item without God, is Mula Maya [infinite ocean of awareness not charged by Parabrahman]. The third item without God is Maya [vibrated infinite ocean of awareness not charged by Parabrahman].
The God in this context is Parabrahman, who is beyond creation. The infinite ocean of chit [awareness] is the first creation of the God. Parabrahman is the Nirguna Brahman [attributeless Brahman] and Chit is a Guna or quality. Parabrahman beyond chit is the chief source or the chief substratum of it. Parabrahman is completely unimaginable for anybody at any time and logic along with intelligence, mind and words cannot touch Him. Parabrahman is the real greatest item and can also be called as Brahman. Brahman simply means the greatest. The first creation, Chit, is the energy, which is the material cause of the universe like mud is to a pot. This Chit is the greatest among the created items and can also be called as Brahman. Now to distinguish this Brahman (Chit) from God, God is called Parabrahman. The word Parabrahman means God beyond Brahman (Chit).
Now the desire for creation enters the Chit [which is initially still] and the Chit is vibrated. The first vibration or apparent modification of chit is the desire. What is the source of the desire (Guna)? Parabrahman or God is the source of Chit as well as the desire because God is the source of any imaginable item. Both Chit and desire are imaginable. The association of Chit and desire is also due to God. Chit is the material (dravya) and desire is the quality (Guna). Both the material and its quality are like water and its wave. When God does not enter this ocean of Chit, we say that God is beyond creation in complete sense. When God enters this ocean of Chit (Mula Maya), such Chit is called as Brahman. When the Chit is vibrated by desire, such Chit is called as Maya. God exists in such vibrated ocean of Chit (Maya) and such vibrated ocean of Chit with God, is called as Ishwara.
Never depend on the word Brahman. This word Brahman can be used to indicate any item and it is like a garland that can be put on every person to praise him as the greatest. This is the meaning of the Vedic statement “Everything is Brahman” (Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahman). Whenever you use this word Brahman, you must completely specify the item with full description. This is also the meaning of all the four great Vedic sentences (Maha Vakayas). Even a book like the Veda is called as Brahman. This freedom was used by Shankara for uplifting the atheists in that time. A poet, for getting some benefit, can call even a demon as Brahman. If I am looking for a person you should not say that he is the person who is wearing the garland. Everybody is wearing a garland. Brahman is a multi-dimensional word showing different meaning in different angles like a diamond showing different colors from different angles. The first Brahma Sutra says “Athato Brahma Jijnasa”, which means that first, the word Brahman should be clarified before starting the spiritual knowledge (Vedanta). The Gita also says that one should clarify the word Brahman with logic and decide the meaning in any context (Brahma sutrapadaih…). The search of the meaning of the word Brahman is like the worship of Ganapathi [a deity who is worshipped before begininning any new work] before beginning any work.
A very little part of infinite ocean of Chit is modified into creation. The modification is very negligible and can be assumed to be almost nil. Such modification is apparent and is called as mithya by Shankara. It is neither real (because negligible) nor unreal (strictly speaking it exists). This is called as Vivarta [apparent modification]. The followers of Shankara misunderstood this as unreal. Shankara again came as Ramanuja and corrected them by saying that the modification is real (Parinama). The modification is thus mithya and therefore the result of modification (universe) is also mithya. But, friends, please remember always that this modification or the universe is mithya only from the point of God and not from your point. Therefore, no human being has right to say that the world is mithya. In fact, you are mithya before the world, because you are just a tiny particle of this world. You should not call your mother by the same word used by your father. Even in the view of God, the world exists (even though it may be negligible) because if the world is completely unreal, the entertainment is also unreal. The main aim of the creation is the entertainment of God (Ekaki… Veda). When the world exists even in the view of Parabrahman, how dare you say that the world is unreal! This is the first clarification given by Shankara in the form of Ramanuja in the first revision class.
Ignorance and Maya
The world is just an imagination for God and the entertainment is not complete because the self-ignorance (self means God here) is very little. The soul as a Jeeva (vibrated droplet of chit) has full ignorance. But full ignorance will not give any entertainment either. Therefore, God enters the world as a Jeeva with only 99% ignorance. Here the entertainment is also 99% and this is its maximum limit. If any one crosses this limit of ignorance and enters into 100% ignorance, the entertainment becomes zero [because there is total involvement with the world and its pleasures and pains]. This is the difference between the human incarnation of God and the human being. The human incarnation gets maximum entertainment but in His case the ignorance is not hundred percent.
The universe itself is a drop of the original ocean of Chit. Assuming this drop as an infinite ocean, the soul is a drop in this universe and should be called as a droplet. This vibrated drop of Chit (universe) can be called as Maya. Then you can call the original vibrated ocean of Chit as Maha Maya, just for a quantitative distinction. Thus the universe (Prakriti) can be called as Maya (Mayamtu Prakritim—Gita). Again this word Maya is universal. Maya means wonderful. Any wonderful item can be called as Maya. The word Maya should not be used in a negative sense as ignorance [lack of knowledge]. Ignorance is Avidya, which is a completely negative item. Maya is a power of energy, which is a positive item. Again if the ignorance is wonderful, you can also use the word Maya for ignorance. Therefore, in spiritual knowledge fixing the usage of a word is very very important. If we use the word in its root sense (Yoga), any item can be called by that word when that sense is applicable. In such case the meaning of the word that you have fixed in that context (Rudha) can be understood only within the limits of that context. That fixed meaning of the word should not extend to every context. This is the very essence of Sanskrit grammar (Vyakarana Shastra). This is the main line of Maha Bhashyam written by Patanjali on this grammar.
Similarly the word Atman means ‘that which pervades’. This word can be used for anything starting from God to the soul because God can pervade any item of creation and the soul pervades all over the body through the pervading nervous system. Thus, the word Atman stands for God in the Vedic statement “Atmana Akasah”. The same word Atman stands for the soul in the Vedic statement “Atma Guhayam…”. In the first statement, space is created by Atman (God) and in the second statement, Atman (soul) is embedded in the intelligence of a human being. According to the context, you have to take the meaning of the word. Therefore, the word Atman is Yoga Rudha, which reminds us both of the application of the root sense as well as a fixed meaning of the word within the prescribed limits of that context.
God and Medium
Both Chit and desire are created by God and their association was also due to God alone. Thus, no association between the two is on its own. The sun shines. The sun is the material and shining is the quality. Any material is associated with a quality only by the order of God. If God wishes otherwise, a material will lose its inherent property. If God wishes, fire will become cold and water will become hot. God in the form of Yaksha proved this to the angels. It is clearly told in the Veda[1]. When the Chit was created by God, it was originally in its causal form (inert energy). In the deep sleep the awareness goes into its causal form which is the inert energy. The awareness (desire) is a modification of this causal form. This awareness helps the causal form to be the spectator of this universe. God watches the creation by Himself. But to make us know that He is watching it, His surrounding awareness–energy (which is the causal inert energy that developed the property of awareness) watches the creation so that we can know through that awareness-energy that God is watching. God is capable of doing anything and in fact He is the source and the root cause of everything in the universe. In order to let us know of what He does, His surrounding Upadhi (medium) does the same work by His wish so that we can identify what He does. When God speaks, the external human body called as Krishna [in whom God is present] also speaks so that we shall know that God speaks. This indirect method is adopted so that we lose unnecessary tension. In such a case we say that God speaks through Krishna.
God does everything to fulfill the desire of the devotee. Thus, the most fortunate devotee sees, speaks, touches and lives along with God. For such devotees, God pervades all over the three bodies of His incarnation. For the Gopikas even the external physical body of Krishna was God. Thus, God gives the direct experience to the most blessed devotee. The Veda says that one fortunate devotee sees God (Kaschit Dhirah…). If the devotee is in such a state, God can preach the same Bhagavad Gita any number of times. But Arjuna was not in this highest state. Only the Gopikas and Hanuman were in the highest state and they embraced God and experienced Him directly even through the touch (Sparshanam) of His physical body. This is the climax state of devotion, which is almost unimaginable. In this state jealousy and egoism do not appear even as traces. The Ahankara comes to a zero state. The devotee becomes a slave (Dasa) like Hanuman and mad like Gopikas. In the absence of Krishna, one mad Gopika stated that she was Krishna. This state is called as ‘Bhaavaadvaita’, which is very much appreciable. This state comes in the madness of devotion and beyond this state only death occurs. Radha died like this (Unmado maranam tatah).
But the Advaita, which we see today, is a completely different demonic form and is due to egoism and jealousy. There is no a trace of devotion here. They claim this Advaita as their inherited property (Prapta prapti). They call this as Kanthachamikara Nyaya. It means that they are already Brahman. They feel that it is attainment of already attained gold chain. They say that a lady got an illusion that she had lost her gold chain. But by the instruction of somebody she found the gold chain on her own neck. She had only forgotten that the gold chain was already on her neck. Such fellows [followers of misinterpreted Advaita] never accept the human incarnation. They say that this is the exploitation of other human beings by one clever human being. Then according to them, Hanuman was exploited by Lord Rama! They are wiser than Hanuman! They are better scholars than Hanuman! Such Advaita is the most powerful ghost and the worst demon. Even the ghosts and demons worship Lord Shiva. Hanuman, the incarnation of Lord Shiva does not actually kill these ghosts and demons. But if you constantly remember Hanuman, this Advaita, the most dangerous ghostly demon, is destroyed. These Advaita followers do not accept the existence of a separate Brahman, which may be treated at least as formless. There is some meaning in jealousy towards the human form of God, which is just before the eyes. But what a climax of jealousy and egoism is this! They do not even accept the existence of the invisible [totally unimaginable] Brahman!
Arjuna believed the human incarnation but a little jealousy and egoism existed within him. Krishna knew the mind of Arjuna even though Arjuna praised Him as the Lord every time. Krishna always presented the concept of the double personality of the human incarnation to Arjuna to satisfy that little jealousy. If the house owner says that the prime minister is present in his house, certainly some jealousy will be created. But if he says that he is the prime minister himself, the jealousy will go to the climax. You will understand all this if you constantly watch your thoughts and you will realize the truth in My words. Hanuman killed this ghost of jealousy and the demon of egoism completely. We do not accept even the real greatness present in a fellow human being. But see the case of Hanuman. He was several times greater than Rama. But still He became a slave to Rama. Hanuman had all the superpowers and Rama had no superpower. Can you become a slave to a fellow human being if you are much greater than him? You cannot think of this even in your dreams! Then think how much sadhana [spiritual effort] you have to do to reach the state of Hanuman and recognize the human incarnation, which often appears in a lower state! Hanuman served Rama in His personal work and not in uplifting the world. If you are in the position of Hanuman, you will immediately criticize Rama. This is a test for you; whether you give higher place to the Lord or to society. Imagine how difficult it is to recognize Krishna, who often exhibited even Rajas and Tamas (bad qualities). This state is very dangerous in recognizing God in the human form and some times devotees may even run away. Therefore, Krishna neutralized such severe test by exhibiting some miracles. Since Rama always exhibited Sattvam, there was no necessity of exhibiting any miracle.
Entry Into the Medium
The original infinite ocean of Chit without God is Mula Maya. The same ocean with God (Parabrahman) is called as Brahman and this is also called as Karana Brahman, which means Brahman, which is in the causal state through the Upadhi or medium (Chit). This Chit is the cause of the creation. This state is also called as Hiranyagarbha [literally, womb with gold] which means ocean of Chit impregnated with God. The word Hiranya (gold) indicates God because gold is the greatest metal. This is a figure of speech. When the vibration of desire is created in this ocean of Chit, the desire is the effect (Karyam). Such ocean of Chit with God, in vibrated condition, is called as Karya Brahman (Ishwara). The Parabrahman is beyond cause and effect. God is always the indirect cause of everything. He is like the present politician, who is not involved in any case [scandal] directly but has other people do it for him. Therefore, the Gita says that God does everything but God does not do anything (Kartaramapi Sarvasya…). This God in order to get maximum entertainment, enters the creation, which is a modification of a drop of the ocean of Chit. If God enters into the entire world, there would be no difference between the spectator and the object. In such a case, the entertainment is totally lost because the process of seeing anything which is other than Himself cannot happen. Therefore, God enters into a droplet of chit and becomes the human incarnation.
If God in the human form is an Avadhuta, the Jeeva does not exist because in an Avadhuta the awareness is converted into inert energy as in deep sleep. [God can enter the soul of a person who has completely lost connection with his body and mind. The Avadhuta appears totally mad, but is actually totally absorbed in God]. In such a state God does not perform any work of awareness. In such a state, even the soul has become a lump of inert energy and does not perform any activity of awareness. You could say that God is living in a totally inert house. All the three bodies are made of just inert energy or inert matter. It will be like God staying in an inert statue. In such state there is no entertainment for God because God has no work of awareness in that state. But God may express such a state to devotees in order to show how to attain a firm static state. This extreme state of Avadhuta is to show that God is beyond awareness.
Alternatively the human incarnation may be in the state of a Yogi. In this state the Jeeva disappears and Atman alone remains. This is the perfect state of meditation. Awareness exists without the activity of any antahkaranam. This is the state of self-realization or self-attainment. The awareness exists without any vibration. The state of an Avadhuta is called as Nirvikalpa Samadhi in which the waveless water is converted into solid ice. This means that the awareness is converted into perfectly inert energy. In the state of Avadhuta there is no possibility of further vibration. In the second state of Yogi, the water is at a standstill, without waves, and is called Savikalpa Samadhi. But there is a possibility of vibration if a stone falls in it. The state of Avadhuta is permanently free of tensions. The state of a Yogi avoids tensions temporarily. The state of Avadhuta is just the state of deep sleep. The state of a Yogi is the state of meditation. If you can maintain the pure awareness without the activities of antakaranams, there will be no vibrations of the soul. In the state of Yogi you have to be very careful in avoiding a stone falling in the water and disturbing it [external situations can disturb your peace]. But in the state of an Avadhuta, no stone can vibrate your soul. In the case of a Yogi external prevention is necessary and in the state of Advaita, internal protection is already done. This is called as Manolaya Yoga or Chittavritti Nirodha of Patanjali Yoga.
The word Manas stands for all the antahkaranams and it means the dissolution of the activities of awareness. The use of all this is to have perfect mental health and thereby physical health also, because physical health is linked to mental health. Such a peaceful state is essential for jnana yoga, which is the identification of the human form of the Lord and also for karma yoga, which is the service to be done to please God in that human form. Yoga is a very general word. Yoga means attainment. Therefore, attainment of good physical and mental health is yoga, which is the foundation of the spiritual path. A person without health cannot understand God and also cannot serve God. Health is the essential wealth for sadhana [spiritual effort]. [There are seven steps in the yoga given by Patanjali. They are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi]. The yogic physical exercises (Asana), breathing excercises (Pranayama), and control of the senses (Yama and Niyama) lead to the attainment of good physical health. Pratyahara is the detachment from worldly bonds through stopping the vibrations of the soul. This is the state of qualification for the spiritual journey and is the Atma Yoga explained by Shankara, which is the foundation of the spiritual effort. Certainly this is Prapta prapti [achievement of that which is already achieved] because the soul is already in you. Shankara explained this because this is the first step for an atheist or theist to start the spiritual journey. Hanuman is the best example for the excellent physical and mental health.
From this point the actual spiritual course starts, which is the worship of God. For this you have to select the form of God which is convenient to you. The attainment of the suitable form of the God is also called as Yoga, which is most important yoga. The human form of God is the most convenient and also most real since it is a direct worship of God. The direct worship reaches God and pleases Him directly. At the same time this is the most difficult line because we have to eradicate egoism and jealousy completely. The alternative way is indirect worship like imagining the form of past human incarnations like Rama, Krishna etc. But these are only imaginary forms. If your jealousy is high you may not even like an imaginary human form. Then you can imagine an energetic form of God like Datta, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. But remember that it is also a human form. Of course, only if your jealousy is limited to the human forms of this world, can the imaginations of human forms of God in the upper world (energetic forms) be helpful. But if your jealousy is still greater and you do not like any human form, you can simply imagine the awareness charged by God. You call this as formless, but actually it is imaginable and therefore it is not absolute God. When it is not God actually and when it is only an imaginable item [God entered into a medium], how does it matter whether the Upadhi [medium] is with form or without form? The Nirguna Brahman or Parabrahman is completely unimaginable.
There is one merit in all the lines. i.e., you are always considering media which have awareness. This means that there is no use of worshiping inert forms, which do not receive your worship. If you understand this point through imaginary forms, the mental worship is meaningful to some extent. If you understand this point, you have to finally go to the human form alone. If this point is not realized and practiced, your imaginary forms are as good as inert objects. There is no difference between worshiping a photograph or an imaginary form of the king unless you worship the king directly. The word Chit plays the key role in the selection of the appropriate form of God for worship. The word Chit stands for the selection of human form with Chit. Any inert form is only a representative of God. If you take the word Chit to mean just awareness, you can worship all living beings. This is the lowest state of worship. If you take the word Chit to mean knowledge, you can worship all human beings in the higher stage. If you take the word Chit to mean spiritual knowledge you can select the scholar as a Guru and worship him. The Guru also being a devotee, God is very much pleased as His devotees are served in this excellent line of worship. This is the process of gradual filtration. If your fortune is ripened, you may catch the real human incarnation for worship. His preaching is always the perfect truth and is called as Prajnanam. In doing service you should not aspire for bliss because bliss is the final fruit of the fulfillment of any desire [all wordly actions that people do, good or bad, are only done in order to get happiness. If you serve God with an aspiration to be happy, you are no better than other people]. Some devotees say that they have no desire for any fruit except bliss. It is just like saying that one has no desire for money except for the lottery.
In any line of worship, dharana is the formation of a new bond with God. Dhyana is maintaining that bond and Samadhi is the eternal fixation of the bond in God. Hanuman and Gopikas followed the path of worship of human incarnation as per the Ramayanam and the Bhagavatam. In the Mahabharatam, Arjuna also followed the same path but with little jealousy and egoism. He worshiped Lord Shiva also, who is an energetic form of God, which shows that he did not have full faith in Lord Krishna.
In any human being the droplet of chit is present as Atman. In a realized scholar, this Atman is present without vibrations and can be called as the soul or Atman in its real sense. In all the ordinary human beings the soul is in a vibrated condition and these vibrations are the activities of Antahkaranams and as well as several qualities. Such a soul is called as Jeeva. The vibrated awareness (Jeeva) contains awareness (Atman) just like the water-waves contain water. Therefore it will be right to call this soul as Jeevatman. This Atman or Jeevaatman is Vyashti Chit [individual awareness] or Pratyagatman. The original ocean of Chit is the basic inert energy. It is inert because it is under the perfect control of Parabrahman. Due to the created awareness (desire) it is Sattvam. Due to dynamism it is Rajas. Due to force it is Tamas. This original energy thus has the aspects of the three qualities (Jnanabalakriyacha—Veda). This original energy was dynamic in the beginning (Rajas). Then it became aware due to desire (Sattvam), and finally it assumes immense force (Tamas). Thus, it has the creation, maintenance and dissolution aspects of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in the seed state itself. These are expressed as action (karma), awareness (Jnanam) and Balam (matter). As per the Gita or the Sankhya Karika of Kapila, the attainment of the inert state of awareness or the state of the original inert energy itself by filtering all the qualities [self-realization], is very much praised. (Kapila says that the Purusha is inactive and since Kapila stressed only on the foundation of the spiritual journey and did not speak about further spiritural journey, He too, like Shankara, was misunderstood to be an atheist.)
Awareness, work and matter are only the modifications of this original energy. In the state of deep sleep, when the awareness is temporarily converted into inert energy, the human being becomes just a mixture of inert energy and inert matter. Since matter is treated only in terms of inert energy, this whole universe is just a continuous and homogenous ocean of inert energy and thus the human being is in the single phase of eternal energy and eternal matter. In this state, all the bonds disappear. The inert matter of the gross body has no problem. The inert energy i.e., operating various systems in the gross body also does not create any problem. This awareness, which is a special form of the inert energy, is what creates all the tensions and does not allow us to bind with God. When all the trials to control the activities of awareness fail, the process of meditation is to be followed. Such practice of meditation gives the result but the result can be disturbed at any time. For a permanent solution, understanding the state of deep sleep is important, in which the awareness is dissolved and is converted into inert energy. In meditation, the awareness stops all the activities (thoughts) except one activity, that it is aware of itself. This single activity (Ekavritti) is only about itself (Atmavritti). This is called as the attainment of its own form (Svarupa). But in deep sleep, even this single activity disappears and the awareness is completely converted into the basic form of even its original form (svasvarupa). The deep sleep can be treated as a training, in which many activities of awareness, which are thoughts or vaasanas, disappear. Next morning, only the important vaasanas remain.
Now if you go into the state of an Avadhuta, even all the important vaasanas like the bonds with family and body disappear. This is something like death, while alive. By the disappearance of awareness, actual death does not come, because all the vital systems are working. Thus, life is only an activity of the inert energy. Life is not awareness (Manomaya Kosa). Life is only a combination of Annamaya Kosa and Pranamaya Kosa. Plants have life but no awareness (awareness is almost nil). In real death the life energy also disappears. All this process is only to cut the strong vaasanas, which obstruct the bond with God. In real death, all the strong vaasanas are really cut. The sadhana [spiritual effort] is to cut these bonds without real death. After attaining the state of an Avadhuta, which is the the permanent attainment of the basic inert form of the self and which is praised as the attainment of Brahman (Brahmi Sthiti), the bond with God is formed. This is the re-birth because now the awareness is born again. The single phase of inert energy in the form of the cosmos is called as Brahman from which the universe appears, by which the universe is maintained and into which the universe gets dissolved. This is the entire essence of science or the final conclusion of the analysis of creation. Space, matter, various forms of energy like heat, light, work etc., and awareness are just the manifestations of energy alone, which is charged by the hidden God. If you add just this one single point to science, all subjects will become philosophy. That single point is that God exists as the source of this energy. In the morning the sun is not seen but sunlight appears. We should not mistake that the sunlight exists independently without the source. Science should realize this point and should not think that the electromagnetic radiations exist independently without a source. God is the hidden source (Brahma Puccham Pratishtha—Veda).
In this rebirth attained by sadhana, all the vaasanas (activities of awareness) are related only to God. This is called as re-birth and such a re-born person (Dvija) is the real Brahmana [commonly understood to be any person born in the Brahmana caste]. The word Brahmana has no significance of caste. Such a re-born person can be a Brahmana or Kshatriya [warrior caste] or Vaishya [business caste]. When all the vaasanas are related to God, the Brahma Jnana becomes real and he becomes a Brahmana. A Kshatriya is known for his dynamism and force. When all the external activities are also surrendered to God, he becomes a Kshatriya by karma samnyasa. When all the wealth fruit of his works is also surrendered to God, it is called as karma phala tyaga and he becomes Vaishya.
If a person is not re-born in this way and is immersed in the vaasanas of the world and goes to hell finally for a permanent misery, he is called as a Shudra (Shudra means the misery-affected). Thus these four castes are based on the vaasanas (Gunas) and karma (karma samnyasa and karma phala tyaga are one and the same because the work is converted into its fruit). Therefore the Gita says “Guna karma vibhagasah”. Swami Dayananda, [founder of Arya Samaj] who is also a human incarnation of God, has brought out the significance of this shloka in its real sense and saved Hinduism. But traditional people full of jealousy and egoism killed Him by poisoning Him just as the priests of Jerusalem killed Jesus. Shankara was also killed by the black magic of an ignorant traditional scholar. Krishna was cursed to death by Gandhari, since Krishna established Dharma [righteousness]. Thus, human incarnations are always affected by jealousy and egoism, which is a tradition by itself.
[1] Incident in Kena Upanishad, where the intrinsic powers of demigods Indra, Agni, Vayu are rendered useless by God in the form of an Yaksha
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