23 Apr 2006
[The following is the discourse given by Swami in reply to the criticism of a saint (monk), from Varanasi. The saint is a well known scholar, well versed in the Advaita school of Vedanta, other darshanas and six Vedangas. He was told about Shri Datta Swami and His teachings by Swami’s devotees. He severely criticized Swami on several points and was concerned that the devotees of Swami are not on the right path. Swami gave the following brilliant discourse in which He has refuted all the criticisms of the saint and has given a teaching for the upliftment of the saint.]
Shankara’s Commentary
There are two items. One is the memorization of knowledge called as vyutpatti. The second is Pratibha, which means the assimilation of the real interpretation by sharp analysis. A debate will be meaningful if the opponent has Pratibha. There is no meaning in arguing with a person who only has Vyutpatti. He will repeat the same text again and again for any of your arguments. He may have memorized the commentary of Shankara very well. But insight is needed for any development. Vyutpatti only leads to rigid recitation of same text again and again. A school boy is the best example. In fact Shankara was an excellent professor. Unfortunately He was posted in a small school as an Acharya. Naturally, He will think of uplifting the school students only by preaching the school syllabus. If He is a mere scholar, he will expose the depth of his knowledge and the children will weep and run away. Shankara came on earth when India was full of Buddhists and Purva Mimamsakas, who were atheists. Bringing them to the spiritual path was His great task. An atheist is always in the climax of jealousy and egoism. He abuses God for His greatness and abuses the exploitations of society in the name of God. He never takes the positive aspect of the concept of God. His view is only social and political but not spiritual. Such an atheist was brought to the spiritual path by Shankara and the degree awarded to him is that of an Advaita scholar. Well, if you are in that state, we have no objection to your entire course of Advaita.
We have got the commentary of Shankara only in condensed form due to absence of recording and printing technology. We have not heard Shankara directly. We are only hearing His commentary with others’ interpretations. Moreover, there is always the fear of additions and deletions of the original text. Therefore, we have to analyze it with logic and commonsense. The Veda does not have such pollutions, since it was preserved by recitation. Still even the Veda should be discussed to draw out the correct conclusion as said by Shankara (Shrutimatah Tarkonu Sandhiyatam). If you simply quote the commentary of Shankara, it is not sufficient. You must also analyze the situation at the time of Shankara. You have to understand His concepts with reference to His situation. If you are in a similar situation, of course, you can apply His theory directly to your case.
Tradition Is Not Beyond Criticism
If you say that tradition should not be criticized, then why did the human incarnations like Jesus, Shankara, Swami Dayananda [Arya Samaj] etc., criticize tradition? Why did Prahlada reject the tradition of his family? It is said that one drinks even the salt water from the well saying that his father dug that well (Tatasya kupoyamiti…). It is also said “A scholar neither accepts the entire past nor rejects the entire present. He examines both and arrives at the truth by analysis. A fool blindly follows either past or present” (Puranamityeva…). If tradition were to be blindly followed, then there would not have been any necessity of the appearance of human incarnations for preaching again and again. The original text is always misinterpreted by the followers to suit their limitations and therefore there is a necessity of human incarnations to come again and again to remove the wrong interpretations and establish the correct interpretation. The correct interpretation causes inconvenience to some selfish and egoistic people, who go to the extent of rejecting the human incarnation. Krishna had several enemies and only a very few devotees in His lifetime. Shankara had several opponents. Buddha faced a similar situation. Kapila was criticized as an atheist. Jesus and Dayananda were even killed directly.
When the human incarnation passes away, His original preaching will again be misinterpreted or even polluted by selfish people. Then, they praise the past human incarnation because they use Him to support their interpretations and activities. Why did Prahlada not follow his tradition? Sometimes pseudo human incarnations misinterpret the truth and for this reason, Mohammad and Dayananda rejected even the concept of human incarnation. But again the context of their situation at that time should be understood and it should not be extended to every time. When the children are suffering with cold, the mother does not allow the children to eat ice cream in that situation. The mother will give ice cream again when the children get rid of the cold.
Declaration of Being the Human Incarnation
[The saint raised severe objection to Swami’s declaring Himself as a human incarnation of God.] From My side, I never declared that I am the human incarnation. I gave the spiritual knowledge. The devotees started saying that this knowledge is very special and has never been heard or written in any book. They started calling Me as Datta. Some of the devotees were pressing Me to show the miracles which were spontaneously expressed. Therefore, I stated that Datta possessed Me and gave this knowledge and also showed miracles. What is wrong in My statement? In fact, this is the concept of any human incarnation. The Gita says that God possesses a human body for His divine mission. I did not believe or declare simply based on the words of devotees unless I had My own proof since I am basically a scientist. Science never denies practical proof and it gives a logical explanation of any truth. Such logical explanation coincides with scriptures and therefore the truth is constitutionally valid. When the devotees raised some points believing Me as human incarnation, I answered those points assuming that I am a human incarnation, because such points relate to any human incarnation in general. The answers are valid whether I am the human incarnation or not. Devotees have repeatedly stated that My knowledge is special and wonderful. This statement of devotees is the basis on which I developed the subsequent analysis. The special and wonderful knowledge can be given only by God as per the Veda and the Gita. This means that God entered Me and is speaking. When God enters a human body, it is called as human incarnation as stated by the Gita and Bible (Manusheem Tanum…, God in flesh). This does not mean that God has become the human body. God is in the human body. The concept of a human incarnation is only this much. Such God given through a human body to the devotees is called as Datta. This concept of double personality pacifies the jealousy of even higher devotees. They accept this and their jealousy is pacified. Even such higher devotees cannot tolerate if I say that I am God. Even though Krishna told Arjuna that He is God, He also told in the Gita that the God entered human body (Manusheem Tanumaasritam) and also clearly stated that God has not become the human body (Avyaktam Vyakti…). This means that the God present in the body of Krishna spoke “I am God” and this statement is not uttered by Krishna. Arjuna was a very high devotee but not highest devotee. The Gopikas were the highest devotees, who believed that Krishna was God Himself, who had come down directly to the earth. Krishna made their belief become true because for them God pervaded all over the three bodies including the external gross body. God superimposed (Adhyasa of Shankara) Himself on the gross body as a human being superimposes his self on the gross body. In the case of God, the superimposition is done with knowledge due to the necessity. In the case of a human being, the superimposition is due to ignorance. For the Gopikas, there is no need of any clarification and hence no need of the Gita. But if that concept is revealed to Arjuna, Arjuna will totally reject it because he was a higher devotee but not the highest devotee. The highest devotee is only one in millions. Other high devotees are many like Arjuna. Therefore, the Gita is universal and is not necessary for the Gopikas. When Uddhava tried to preach the concept of this dual personality (God as the Possessor and the human being as possessed), Gopikas rejected him totally.
Even this clarification [of dual personality] does not pacify the jealousy of some people because they cannot tolerate even the presence of God only in a particular human body. They want the presence of God in their bodies also. This is the highest degree of jealousy. Since such highest jealousy is a point common to every human being, the Advaitin revolts against the human incarnation by generalizing that God is in every human body and gets the support of the majority. This is the revolution and the formation of a union of people, who feel that they were suppressed. This is communism revolting against capitalism. This is the politics in philosophy. This is a special situation because philosophy enters every subject. The degree of Doctor of philosophy (PhD) can be taken in any subject. Therefore, you have philosophy in politics, which is general and normal.
Even though I also felt that this knowledge is wonderful, I never said it because it will be misunderstood by ignorant people as self-praise. Therefore, if the devotees stated this and if their statement is correct, there is no doubt that I am the human incarnation at least based on the analysis of the concept of this dual personality related to high level devotees. The same analysis can be extended even to the highest devotees, which prevents them from falling down to a lower level from their highest level. This concept of dual personality will at least fix the devotee to the high level preventing them from further fall. People, who fall down from this high level, believe in God but not in the human incarnation. They either say that no human being is God or that every human being is God. Either the concept is totally rejected or it is extended to everybody. Let nobody be rich or let everybody be rich. There should not be one richest person. They hate the richest person and gradually they hate any person richer than them. They want equality of every human being. This is good in economics or sociology (Pravritti). But the subject of spirituality (Nivritti) is completely opposite to the subjects of the world (Durmeti Viparite Vishuchi—Veda).
Shankara had to act like a communist even in spirituality because in that time the country was filled with atheists of the communist-psychology in Pravritti and for them Nivritti was totally absent. Hanuman is also an incarnation of Shiva like Shankara, but he followed the extreme capitalism in spirituality, which is quite the opposite as said in the Veda. The spiritual knowledge was given by Krishna to Arjuna, when Arjuna fell at the feet of Krishna in complete surrender as a servant. Krishna said that one should become a servant of the Guru before receiving spiritual knowledge (Tat Viddhi Pranipadena…). Hanuman represents the path of spirituality for every devotee. The task of Shankara was different, which was to convert the atheist at least into a believer in the existence of God. In that time, devotion was very far off. Such people will be very much excited if I say that the prime minister visited My house (body) and is staying with Me. This does not mean that My self or My house is the prime minister. If the possibility of their becoming prime minister is ruled out, they at least want that the prime minister should be in their houses too.
If you devotees withdraw the statement that My knowledge is wonderful, I will certainly withdraw this analysis and say that I am only an ordinary human being or just a scholar-Guru, if you permit. If you give value to this knowledge, it is immaterial whether I am a Guru or the human incarnation. If I am not the human incarnation, you must search for the human incarnation present in our generation, since the concept of a present human incarnation is the main essence of this knowledge. You should also allow Me to join you in this search.
My analysis is never wrong. Only your statement is either right or wrong. This point is totally left to your statement. Before uttering the statement, you should analyze completely. If you come to the conclusion about the level of this knowledge, further analysis will depend on it. If this knowledge is ordinary, I am an ordinary human being. If this knowledge is good and special, I am a scholar and can be called as Guru. If this knowledge is exceptionally and extremely special and the best, then I am the goal. If your faith is that I am God, then yes, I am God. If your faith is a little weaker, then God is in Me and speaks this knowledge and I do not speak (Ye Yathamam –Gita).
Arjuna was in the highest state of devotion when the Gita was preached. Therefore, Krishna told Him “I am God”. But Krishna knew that Arjuna would slip from that state. In the highest state there is every chance to slip easily. Therefore, the Lord is always kept in the safe side by two slokas in the Gita, which say that God entered the human body (Manusheem tanu asritam) and that God did not become the human body (Avyaktam Vyaktimapannam). This is like keeping some petrol in reserve. Tomorrow Arjuna may come down and announce to the public that Krishna declared Himself as God. The ignorant public will not tolerate that. When that situation comes Krishna will say that God entered Him and spoke the Gita and therefore it was the statement of God and not of Krishna. Krishna will quote the above two verses tomorrow as proof already given. This is a safety measure. Moreover, it also serves as an advanced prevention of jealousy coming in future when Arjuna falls down. People say to the human incarnation that He is really God. But the human incarnation knows the strength of the faith and its tenure. Therefore, the human incarnation may respond by accepting the statement of the devotee on that day. But the Lord in human form will immediately speak about the concept of dual personality in the human incarnation and does not cross that safety limit, because the devotees may censor their statement and only present the statement of Krishna saying that Krishna declared Himself as the Lord. Devotees like Gopikas are very rare. They were sages for several births and for them the Lord need not preach anything because they have started with that decision and not arrived at decision.
The devotee expects the position of the Lord at least in the future. If such a chance exists, he will stick to the Lord. Alternatively he may also stick to the Lord if he can expect some chance of benefit or solution to his problems. For that he will enquire about miracles. If the superpower exists, he will try to tap it for his benefit and for this purpose he will act as an excellent devotee. If all these possibilities do not exist, he will leave the human incarnation and will join the Adviata Union, where he will have the chance of becoming the prime minister at least along with others in general quota. The Advaita Union gives the highest fruit at once by saying that you are already the prime minister and you have to just remove ignorance! When Jesus told that He and His Father are one and the same, He was dragged to the court for that statement and was crucified. Just imagine the irritation created by jealousy and egoism!
The human incarnation comes in every generation but you do not come in every generation. The rebirth as a human being is almost impossible and completely impossible as per Christianity. In such a case you have only one chance to come in contact with the human incarnation present in your generation. If you miss this chance, you will never have this luck again. The next meeting with God is direct where He acts as the judge [after death]. Therefore, there is no second coming of Jesus for you and you will meet God only in the end. In this way the second coming of Jesus at the end [like Kalki Avatara] can be understood. But you might say that if you cannot meet the human incarnation in your present generation, then you do not have the opportunity even once. In such a case, why is only a particular generation, in which God came in human form such as Jesus, blessed? They had this extra fortune and it means that God is partial to that generation. [This is absurd since God is impartial. Therefore we must accept that.] Every person in every generation will have the equal chance of coming in contact with the human incarnation once in his or her life on earth and the final contact with God in an energetic form as the Judge [after death]. Therefore, the impartial God comes again and again for every generation (Yada Yada hi—Gita) but you do not have the chance to meet the human incarnation again since you have no human rebirth. One may get human rebirth in the extreme exceptional situation and you should not depend on that because it involves high risk.
The human birth, the urge for salvation and coming in contact with the human incarnation are the three real fortunes and the importance increases from left to right in the order. Therefore, simply having human birth and having the urge for salvation by taking orange robe, are not sufficient. Unless you come in contact with the Lord in human form, and get the right knowledge for correct implementation, everything is a waste (Durlabham…Manushyatvam Mumukshatvam, Mahapurasha Samshrayah— Shankara). There is no quarrel if you say that the second coming of Jesus is only at the end because everyone has an equal chance. But if you say that I have to worship only the past human incarnation even in the present generation, then, the equal opportunity is not given to Me when I am compared to the human being present in the generation in which Jesus came directly and clarified all the doubts face to face. I must have such equal privilege and here the quarrel comes with you since you deny the equal opportunity. The second coming is final with respect to every human being but not with respect to God[1] because in such a case several human generations miss the chance of direct contact with God in human form except that one particular human generation.
Even if you say that Jesus told that His second coming is only in the end, it is true with respect to every human being and not with respect to Him. You have misinterpreted this statement by extending it with reference to Jesus also because you want to exploit the people in the name of Jesus [who lived in the past] and get personal fame and other facilities from the devotees. You are in no way different from the Jewish priests who were present in that time of Jesus. Both of you do not admit the human form of the Lord. Both of you keep the past, which is invisible (invisible Jehova or invisible Jesus) before the devotees and earn money and fame. The only difference between you both is that the priests got Jesus killed and you cannot do that in the present time. The repulsion towards the human form of God who is present before your eyes is common to both the priests and the devotees. But in the case of the priests there is an extra factor that they may lose fame and offerings from the devotees because they usually get benefited by standing at the background of the invisible form of God or the inert form of God [The priests collect money or offerings from devotees in the name of God who is invisible or in the name of God in the form of a statue. If they accept the present human incarnation incarnation, then no one will follow them and they will lose money and fame that they get from devotees]. In the case of devotees, this extra factor does not exist because they are prepared to sacrifice for God and they are not losing since they do not receive money or fame. Any Guru or priest immediately resists human form of God based on these two factors since he fears that the human form of God may get the fame and devotees’ offerings. Thus, there is political, economical and social issue of psychology in the spiritual line. Attraction to fame and money associated with jealously and egoism is the main background and Lord Datta brings out the truth that is buried up to any depth. The Omniscient God knows all the details of the truth. The Veda says that the knowledge of God is always based on truth (Satyam Jnamam…).
God Is Above Society
The Lord should be greater than any soul in the society. Jesus says that one should leave even the closest souls like family members for the sake of the Lord. Leaving the close worldly bonds is salvation but it should be for the sake of God. Jesus said that you should hate the family bonds for the sake of Jesus. Krishna went one step above and asked Arjuna to kill his family members for the sake of His work (Establishment of justice on the earth). The family is greater than the society and the Lord is greater than the family. How can you give more importance to society than the Lord? When a lady was washing Jesus’ feet with a perfume, a disciple, out of jealousy said that beggars could have been served with the cost of the perfume. Jesus told him that beggars will always be there but serving Him is very rare. Beggars are under the punishment of God for their sins. If you simply help them, it is interference with the judicial administration of God. Of course, you can serve them by converting them into devotees of God. In such a case God will excuse and bless them. Then alone can they get the permanent solution.
Shankara discarded the social service in comparison to the service of the Lord (Loka sevaka mata nirasah). Hanuman never did any social service but only served the human incarnation. The service that He did was also personal. It is real test for you to see how much value you give to the Lord. Hanuman never did japa, dhyana, bhajan, tapas, yoga, social service, service to beggars etc., as per the Valmaki Ramayanam. The Gopikas also never did these things as per the Bhagavatam. Their full concentration was only on the human incarnation. Without the instruction from Rama, Hanuman did not even protect Sugriva from Vali. Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said that one should take the responsibility of uplifting humanity only on the command and under the direction of the Lord. Hanuman did everything that He could do only under the guidance of Rama.
Miracles Are Not Proof for the Human Incarnation
[The saint said that Swami couldn’t be a human incarnation of God because He has not performed fantastic miracles like lifting a mountain, as Lord Krishna had done]. Miracles are done even by demons and black magicians, and therefore cannot be the identifying marks of God. Miracles alone are not sufficient to identify the Lord. Krishna is identified not by miracles but by the excellent knowledge of the Gita. Krishna lifted a mountain but Ravana also lifted the Kailasa Mountain[2].
[The saint then said that the power of creation, maintenance and destruction of creation is present only with God. So if Swami is an incarnation, He should kill him (the saint himself) and bring him back to life as Lord Krishna had done for His Guru’s son.]
You should not test God by demanding miracles and this was told by Jesus to Satan, when Satan asked Him to convert the stone into bread. The saint asks Me to kill him and give him life again as a proof. In the history of human incarnations nobody asked such a thing and no human incarnation did anything like this. If such challenge is thrown, a demon will certainly come forward with a miracle. Lord Krishna killed several evil people but never gave life back to them. Even Abhimanyu was killed only due to His plan. When Subhadra asked Him to give life back to him, He refused. But He gave life to Parikshit[3] and brought back the dead son of His Guru Sandeepani[4]. He did miracles in the case of exceptionally deserving devotees only, but not to win a challenge. Whenever the devotee really deserves and the Lord by Himself wishes, any miracle can take place spontaneously. Shukracharya [the preceptor of the asuras] knew how to give life to a dead person but he was not God. Vatapi and Ilala were demons. Ilala used to kill Vatapi and serve him as food to the guest. Then Ilala would call Vatapi. Vatapi would then become alive and come out by tearing the stomach of the guest. Does this means that they are God?
The saint said that Krishna only created, maintained and dissolved the universe, which is an exceptional miracle. But Krishna did not dissolve this entire universe and create it again keeping you separately as a spectator. He only showed the cosmic form [Vishwarupa] as a vision to Arjuna. In the vision, He created the universe, maintained it and finally dissolved it. During this vision, the universe was not affected. Even Duryadhana saw it and discarded it as a hypnotic illusion. Arjuna believed the vision for sometime. Sage Udanka appreciated the vision forever. Of course, this vision proves that Krishna is God. The Veda and the Brahma Sutra also gives this as the superior-most miracle, which can be used for identification of human incarnation, since this miracle is not possible for anybody except God.
On one Guru Purnima day I was giving a divine discourse and suddenly I stood for five minutes silently in a highly excited state. Then I sat again in the chair. I asked two devotees in the crowd to tell others what they had seen simultaneously. Both of them told everyone that they had the vision of the cosmic form (Vishwarupam). Of course, the God in Me gave that vision and I have nothing to do with it. If God is not in Me, how was that vision given? How did I identify only those two devotees, out of the crowd who were having that vision? How did I know that both of them were having the same vision simultaneously? If one person gets a vision, it may be an illusion. How was the same illusion created for both the devotees simultaneously? This analysis made even Me believe that God (Parabrahman) is present in Me. When God is given to the devotees through a human body, He is called as Datta. The Veda also says that the special divine knowledge comes only from God (Satyam Jananam…, Prajnanam…). The Gita also says the same (Jnanitvatmaiva…). I gave importance to these aspects in analyzing that God is in Me to give this special knowledge and that special vision. Of course, Duroyodhana discarded even that as hypnotism. The Brahma Sutras also declare these two aspects as the identifying marks of God (Janmadyasya…, Shastrayonitvat).
Doing Rituals and Avoiding Garlic
The saint criticized My devotee for not doing the rituals prescribed by tradition and also for eating garlic. Neither in the Veda nor in the Gita is garlic forbidden. The Gita says that food which has been kept for a long time and which is contaminated with impurity should not be eaten since it is tamasa (Yata yamam...). Garlic is not mentioned in this verse. The food, which is stored for a long time is spoilt by bacteria according to science and is not good for health. But today a refrigerator removes this defect. According to medical science, garlic is good for controlling cholesterol. Food should be taken according to individual health problems of a person, and cannot be generalized.
I never opposed the rituals. I have revised and re-oriented them to bring out the real sense. For example Gayatri does not mean the hymn, which is recited without singing. Gayatri means singing bhajans. Bhajan gives a temporary solution for forgetting one’s tensions. It does not give a permanent solution. I have given the detailed method of performing a Yajna and also performing the Shraddha. Let all the rituals be done but in the right spirit and in the right direction of jnana yoga (jnatva kurvita—Gita). Then the right results will come. The sage Yaska, who wrote the grammar of the Vedas says that Veda means knowledge and Vedic rituals mean the action based on knowledge. He says that if one does these rituals blindly without jnana yoga they go waste and no fruit can be obtained. For this he gives a simile that a blind fellow doing the Vedic rituals is like a fool cooking food without a fire (Anagnauviva…). He also says that such a blind fellow is like a porter carrying the bag of gold for a small wage without knowing what is present in the bag. Shankara was also criticized and called an atheist by traditional people since He rejected rituals.
Greatness of Phani
[The saint criticized Swami when he came to know that Swami is married. He was under the impression that only a saint (monk) can be a human incarnation of God. He also said that even God prostrates before a saint.] Is not Phani greater than Mandana Mishra? He is a young charming person, well qualified and he is employed well. He has had long debates with Swami. He became the disciple of Swami by rejecting married life and a very good job for the sake of the work for the propagation of divine knowledge. Mandana Mishra gave up his family after leading family life for sometime. Certainly I consider Phani to be greater than Mandana Mishra. In discussions Phani uses very sharp logic and he is perfectly scientific. He is a scholar of science in English. Mandana Mishra was a scholar of science (Shastra) in Sanskrit. Mandana Mishra was in the dress suitable to that time and Phani is in the dress suitable to this time. People appreciate a lesser personality of the past but discard even a greater personality of the present. This disease is present even in angels as said in the Veda (Paroksha priyah…). You must appreciate the point of any person irrespective of the external orange robe or the dress of a house holder. If a gravel stone is wrapped by an orange cloth and is kept in a traditional math [monastery], will it become a diamond? Shankara fell at the feet of even a cobbler for his excellent knowledge. Only a real scholar can appreciate real knowledge. If some other traditional saint were present in the place of Shankara, he would say that the cobbler should be kicked out!
Why Can’t Saints Go Abroad?
[The saint criticized other saints and holy people who go abroad and have a large following of devotees. He was upset that many such holy people are regarded as incarnations of God.] Why is he criticizing the saints who go to the foreign countries for spreading the divine knowledge? If he also gets the same chance he will not criticize them. I guess this because he says that Swami is an Avatara provided he is also accepted as Avatara! [According to the Advaita philosophy, each person is Brahman or Awareness.] Those saints are doing good service because by correlating other religions, they are helping the concept of Universal Spirituality grow. Are they compelling the foreigners to pay money? The foreigners give money with real appreciation as Guru Dakshina. Indians should learn this detachment from wealth (karmaphala tyaga) from foreigners. Indian saints should also appreciate those saints, who are trying for some sort of universality in the path of spiritual knowledge. They are not earning money by doing any business, which is only a way of cheating others. The Manu Smriti says that business is a mixture of truth and light (Sayanrutamtuvanijyam…). They are also not collecting money like terrorists.
Prajnanam Brahma
[The saint refused to accept Prajnanam as an identifying mark of God saying that there is nothing such as a special knowledge of a human incarnation of God. He said that Jnanam or knowledge is the inherent property of Brahman or Awareness, which is common to all humans and even animals.] The saint says that Prajnanam is not the mark of God but he is totally contradicting the Veda (Prajnanam Brahma). The word Prajnanam means the special knowledge and not mere awareness. The word jnanam stands for knowledge (Yoga Rudha). The word chit stands for mere awareness. He says [based on his above assertions] that Krishna is not Brahman but He is only a Guru because the Gita is not Prajnanam. Is he not full mad for saying that Krishna is not Brahman? You have taken the word jnanam to stand for awareness just by Yoga. Yoga Rudha is powerful than Yoga as per the rules of vyakarana shastra. The saint says that the word Prajnanam is only awareness and every living being is Brahman. How funny is this contradiction! When everybody is Brahman, Krishna also becomes Brahman through the general rule itself. Even basic commonsense is absent in this argument. This shows that vyutpatti is not necessarily associated with pratibha. A student on memorizing for a long time does not use his commonsense even to think about a simple point.
Every Being is Brahman
The saint says that every living being is Brahman due to the presence of awareness. He says that everybody cannot be Bhagavan without having the special six qualities. He says that Bhagavan or Ishwara can control any human being but not Brahman. Again how childish is this statement! When you say everybody is Brahman and only one becomes Bhagavan or Ishwara, it means that Ishwara is greater than Brahman. Again you say that Ishwara cannot do anything to Brahman!
You have taken the following concept given by Me in My discourses. Water is Brahman. The ocean is Ishwara and the water drop is Jeeva. The ocean can control the water drop but cannot control the water. There is no ocean without water and there is no drop without water. The ocean is water and the drop is also water. When you say that the ocean can control the drop, it means that water controls water! If you say that the ocean and the drop are different from water, they do not exist at all without water and therefore the concept of control itself is lost. When you are defeated by another stronger man will you accept your defeat or not? Or will you say that since both of you were men and since the stronger man cannot hurt the man, as a man you are not defeated! How childish is this logic!
By qualitative similarity you are not equal to the stronger man. A peon and the king are men. Does this mean that the peon is the king by qualitative similarity because both are men! Is this acceptable logic even to an ordinary man with a little commonsense? There are only two people. One is a king and the other is a peon. You should say that both are equal or both are not equal. You should either conclude equality or difference. You say that they are different as king and peon but are same as human beings. When difference comes, equality disappears. Equality means the absence of any difference.
You can say that even Ishwara and Jeeva are equal in the sense of control. A king controls the people of entire kingdom. You control your family members. Both are controllers in their relative sphere. Does this bring equality? One single point brings the difference and that is the king also controls you. The word Atman means that which pervades. Brahman pervades all over the creation as the basic substratum. The soul also pervades all over the human body. This single quality cannot bring equality. Equality should be in all the points—in totality. The word Nareshwara means the king who is the Lord of a kingdom. The word Jagadishwara means the Lord of Universe. The word Ishwara is common in both. Does this mean that the king and God are one and the same?
Krishna Declared Himself as God
The saint says that Avatara never declares that He is God. It shows his absolute ignorance of the Gita. Lord Krishna, an Avatar, clearly stated again and again thoughout the Gita that He is God. Of course, the mad saint says that Krishna is not Brahman and also not an Avatar and that He is only a Guru. Is this not demonism and devilism? Only demons and devils utter such statements. Let him say who is an Avatar, if Krishna is not an Avatar? Perhaps he [the saint] is the only Avatar!
Who Can Recognize an Avatara?
The saint says that a sage, who has done penance can only recognize the human incarnation. This is again wrong. Why did sage Udanka who was in constant penance not recognize Krishna as a human incarnation and was even prepared to curse Krishna? If you require a sage who has done penance to recognize the human incarnation, then Swami Sivananda Maharaj recognized Datta Swami (Swami) and announced in presence of huge crowds that Datta Swami is the Lord Datta Himself. Swami Sivaananda has done a lot of penance in forests and has roamed about as an Avadhuta. People say that he has been seen by people for about four past generations! He has all the superpowers. However, I do not consider such identifications as genuine. The human incarnation does not require any certificate from anybody. Several demons also performed penance for a long time and yet accepted Ravana or Hiranyakashipu as God. Therefore, according to your prescribed qualifications and norms such demons are also God. According to the Veda only Prajnanam (the special divine knowledge) is the identity mark of human incarnation.
‘I’ In The Gita
The saint says that the word ‘I’ in Gita used by Krishna indicates the soul in every human being. Then according to the version of the saint, the verse, “Manmana Bhava…”, means that you should serve yourself and bow to yourself alone. In this verse “Mam namaskuru” means that you should prostrate to Me. According to the saint, everybody should prostrate to himself alone. It is also impossible to do this.
Krishna clearly stated that He was born as an incarnation to destroy evil people and to uplift the good people. If everybody is God, then God is coming as an incarnation to destroy God and to uplift God! Krishna clearly defined that Vaasudeva, the son of Vasudeva, is the God (Vaasudevah sarvamiti...). In such a case since every human being is God, every person must be the son of Vasudeva. If God is the soul, then since God is the son of Vasudeva, the soul should be the son of Vasudeva. Devaki did not deliver the soul. God pervaded the soul, subtle body and also the gross body of Krishna. Now you can say that God is the son of Vasudeva, with respect to the gross body. You can also say that God is in that gross body, which is the son of Vasudeva. It gives the address of God. God is residing in the gross body of Krishna delivered by Devaki and fathered by Vasudeva. It means that God is not present in any other gross body delivered by other parents.
Why Other Saints Have Not Followed Swami
You cannot fix the program of the human incarnation. God enters the world in human form mainly for His own entertainment. The original aim of creation was only that. Sometimes preaching is associated with it. [In some incarnations he preaches to humanity]. Krishna preached the Gita accidentally and His main purpose was destroying evil people and the primary aim was to entertain the Gopikas who were sages in the past several births. Sometimes the main program itself may be preaching as in the case of Shankara. Sometimes only entertainment may be the program as in the case of Rama. The word Rama indicates entertainment. The word Krishna indicates the attraction of devotees. The word Shankara indicates giving welfare to devotees. God is absolutely the sole authority of His program and nobody can suggest any modification in His program by asking questions like “Why did He not do this? Why such a person did not follow Him? etc.,”. The Lord corrects somebody and uses someone else for propagation according to the situation. In olden days India was full of scholars and Sanskrit was the mother tongue. Therefore a Sanskrit scholar [Mandana Mishra] was required for propagation. But today people do not speak in Sanskrit and say that this language is a Mrita Bhasha which means a dead language. Today people respect English, which is the international language. Today science is respected and not the Shastra. In those days, for Shankara, India was the field of work but today the entire world is the field. Today Mandana Mishra cannot be used for propagation. Ninety nine percent of people cannot understand Sanskrit or the shastra, which has the terminology of Sanskrit words. How can propagation take place in that language? Nikhil is the correct person for the propagation in the present circumstances.
The Sanskrit scholar, who gave a certificate to Swami, was more than 80 years old, when he came in contact with Swami, who was 16 years. The scholar was not capable of roaming all over the country like Mandana Mishra. Surprisingly Mandana Mishra was his ancestor. Moreover, when each soul is totally different from any other soul like a fingerprint (according to Madhva) how can you compare the behavior of any soul to another soul? Mandana Mishra fell at the feet of Shankara and followed Him as a disciple because his total concept was changed. Mandana Mishra was an atheist and became a theist, which means the change of a total concept. Shankara also fell at the feet of cobbler and this case was different. Shankara was simply corrected in a concept. Shankara did not follow the cobbler as a disciple like Manadana Mishra. The Pithathipati of the Advaita Matha and the Sanskrit scholar who gave the certificate, were not atheists. They were simply corrected in some concepts. Shankara appreciated the cobbler but followed His routine path. Shankara declared Himself as a disciple of only Govinda Bhagavadpada and not as a disciple of the cobbler. Correction means diverting to the correct path and not a complete change from the opposite direction. When Mandana Mishra was changed, the direction was totally diverted to the opposite side. Shankara changed the complete direction of atheists and only corrected the paths in the case of theists. Becoming a disciple and carrying on the propagation of divine knowledge, requires the ripening of the internal samskara and not the external factors like being a Sanskrit scholar or a Pithathipati. God selects only a deserving person, based on the internal samskara that suits the circumstances of that time. The Pithathipati or the Sanskrit scholar were around 80 years and were also physically unfit. They were unfit also from the point the rare knowledge of shastra and their language was not suitable to the present time of propagation. It was also not suitable in view of the international field. The internal samskara of broad-mindedness of the old generation also changed much if you compare the present generation especially with reference to saints and scholars. The ancient saints were not as much affected by egoism and jealousy as the present saints. The effect of surroundings is responsible for this. Therefore there are several parameters to be considered before comparing the situations as the time changes.
Swami corrected several saints and scholars but did not wish them to be used for propagation, since they were not fit for the present time. The correction was only for their self-upliftment. That is sufficient for Swami even if they do not express their appreciation due to their egoism and jealousy or due to the fear of the reduction of their fame in society. Swami chose modern persons, who are suitable to the modern time and who also have ripened internal samskaras by which they do not have the fear of the reduction of their greatness or fame in the world. In fact, they will become more famous and they will be blessed by God here as well as in the upper world.
Sadguru Is Datta
The saint says that the human incarnation cannot be the Sadguru. Krishna and Shankara were called as Jagat Guru. The saint says that Datta is only a sage. This is the climax of the madness of the saint. Datta is considered to be the Guru of Gurus. The energetic body of Datta represents the highest state of God. The three faces indicate creation, ruling and dissolution of the world. The Veda declares this point as the identity mark of Brahman. Since the real nature of God (Swarupa Lakshanam) is not known, even this is only an associated property (Tatastha Lakshanam). A constructed house gives only the nature of the power of engineer but not his real form. The second Brahma Sutra reveals this point. Even Prajnanam is a constantly associated property like the above property. Due to the constant association you can take this as almost the property of the real form. From this point, Datta stands for the real and complete identity of God. The cobbler who corrected Shankara was none other than Datta. Even Krishna was the human incarnation of Datta as indicated by the three central faces of His vision of the cosmic form. There can be no better representation than Datta for the absolute God. This saint resembles the sage Udanka who misunderstood Krishna to be an ordinary human being and started scolding Krishna. Let the saint remember that Shankara composed “Datta Sahasra Nama Stotram”.
When God resides in a human body in which the soul is filtered from all activities (All the waves which are Antahkaranams and qualities disappear and Jeeva is dissolved in static soul) and is converted into inert energy as in the state of deep sleep, such a human incarnation is called as Avadhuta Datta. If God does not enter the human body of an Avadhuta, such a human body is just like an inert statue in which only the living mechanisms function as in the case of a plant or as in the case of a person in deep sleep or a coma. No vasana (worldy issues) can attack the person who is in this state, which resembles a rock.
If God enters into a human body in which the soul has become static by removing all the qualities and antahkaranams, but the soul is not converted into inert energy, such a state is called as a state of Yogi Raja or Yogishwara. This state resembles the state of perfect meditation in which the nervous system functions but the awareness is not active except that it is aware of itself (Atma Bodha). In the case of human incarnation, there is no difference between the Avadhuta and Yogi Raja because the static awareness cannot be disturbed by any vasana due to the presence of God. But in the case of a human being, this state of Yogi Raja is attained by perfect meditation but there is always a chance of disturbance.
If God is present in a human body in which the soul and the Jeeva exist, (the waves of awareness which are Antahkaranams consisting of the three qualities), the human incarnation appears with three faces representing Trimukha Datta. The same human incarnation becomes the Vishwarupam with several faces when the Jeeva consists of several qualities (which are only the various combinations of three qualities). The various faces in Vishwarupam are the various qualities formed by the interaction of the three qualities, which are represented by the three central faces. These latter two states represent that Datta is associated with all qualities to entertain Himself in the divine play. The former two stages (Avadhuta and Yogi Raja) are for the sages who do sadhana to get rid of the qualities for achieving the self. The latter two states (Trimukha Datta and Vishwarupam) represent God who is playing in the world for full entertainment and is available for the devotees for doing the service. Adavita is related to the two former states where as Visishtaadvaita and Dvaita are related to the latter two states. Thus, Datta means the human incarnation only with reference to this earth and His form represents all the steps of sadhana.
Swami Is Jnana Mohini
The saint says that Swami has Vak Siddhi [power of words] and is hypnotising people through it. One cannot hypnotise any person only by words for a long time. Swami has Jnana Siddhi. In fact Swami declared Himself as Jnana Mohini [Knowledge-Enchantress], who will hypnotise the entire world by the beauty of the Jnana. Swami stated that He could hypnotise Lord Shiva by His physical beauty, which is not a great thing [Swami, who is Lord Maha Vishnu, assumed the female form of Mohini and enchanted Lord Shiva]. Physical beauty is temporary but beauty of knowledge is eternal. The saint again may shout at Me, so let Me clear his misunderstanding that Swami does not mean this external human form. Swami means the God who lives in this human body. Let his egoism and jealousy be pacified. The saint says that I have Vak Siddhi. The word ‘vak’ means ‘word’, which must have some meaning and the meaning is ‘Jnana’. Therefore, Vak Siddhi means Jnana Siddhi. ‘Vak’ is not sound, like the songs played by Krishna on the flute. Vak means the words of the Gita, which are associated with knowledge. Krishna did not hypnotise Arjuna with words, which have no meaning. If He had done so then in that case ‘vak’ means sound. Krishna hypnotised Arjuna by the meaning of words, which is Jnana.
Physical Presence of Guru
The saint says that one should be near the Guru physically and should not be in a foreign country. This is correct with respect to ancient times when computers, phones and photography were not available. It is essential to talk with the Guru directly and for such direct talk, technology was not present in that time. If this purpose is served, it is better to be far from the Guru. The reason is that if you live near, you will develop negligence by observing the external activities of the human body of the Guru, which are similar to any human being. Such observation constantly diverts your concentration from the internal divine nature of Guru. I told the story of Rukmini and Radha in this context. In fact, Radha in Vrindavanam and Krishna in Dwaraka were separated by the ocean and thus Radha was a foreign devotee of Krishna. There cannot be a higher devotee of God than Radha and she was made the queen of Goloka, which is above the Brahma Loka.
When Does Sadhana Begin
The saint says that sadhana starts only after attaining and hearing Sadguru. This is not correct when the Sadguru is God Himself. A lot of sadhana has to be done to identify and catch the Sadguru. In fact, He is the guide and also the ultimate goal simultaneously. The left half of Datta is Bhagavan [God] and the right half is Guru. Datta is the human form of the Lord given to the devotees for guidance as well as the attainment of God. Your above statement may be true if the Guru is an ordinary scholar or saint. But a lot of effort has to be taken to get admission into the IIT [India’s topmost technology institute]. You may get admission in a substandard institution without any effort and in that case all your effort is only in studying your course.
In the case when the Guru is a human incarnation of God, it is like asking God about the path to reach God. Imagine that you are asking the address of a person to the very person whose address you are asking! Yoga means the attainment of God in human form in this world itself. People are under the illusion that it is attainment of God after death. Unless you, who are present in this human body, attain God who too is present in a human body here, you cannot attain God present in an energetic body even after death when you too acquire an energetic body (Ihachet avedit…, Aparokshat Brahma—Veda). You miss God here as well as there due to the principle of negligence towards God present in a common medium [the human body is the medium that is common between you and God, here on earth and similarly, in the case of the energetic body in the upper world].
The word Yoga is used not simply in the sense of attainment but it is used in the sense of fortunate attainment. The word Dhana Yoga is an example. Therefore, attainment of God here itself is a great fortune because generally everybody is affected by repulsion towards the common medium. The Gita says that only a rare fortunate fellow can recognize the son of Vasudeva as God here itself (Samahatma Sudurlabhah…). If one eradicates jealousy and egoism by sadhana, then one will certainly reach God (Mamevaishyasyasamsayah—Gita). Here reaching means identification because in Sanskrit grammar the verb for reaching can also mean knowing (Gatyarthanam Dhatunam Jnanarthakatvat—commentary of Shankara). Therefore, Yoga means the recognition of the human incarnation here itself. Such a fortunate fellow is called as a Yogi, means the person who has attained God. Such a person is greater than a Jnani (Jnanibhyopi Matodhika—Gita), who has attained the self by Jnana, which is called self-realization (Jnanitvatmaiva—Gita). By self-attainment, you get happiness but when you attain Guru, the happiness will be more because you will be guided in the proper direction. Sometimes even the Guru may be wrong because he is just another soul. If the Guru happens to be God, the direction will never go wrong and you will attain the highest happiness (bliss). This is told “Atmabuddhih Sukhamachaiva, Gurubuddhih Visheshatah, Parabuddhih Vinashaya…”. If the Guru is just another soul (Para), he may lead you to destruction. The real Guru is only God (Guruh Sakshat…). Thus, the attainment of the real Guru (Sadguru) is a very rare fortune. Once you reach Sadguru, you will never slip because He will take your total responsibility. Therefore, all your sadhana ends if you can identify the human form of God and please Him by your service. In fact, the service to Sadguru without any aspiration for the self is the sadhana and the highest fruit will be given by Him. Hanuman served Rama like this and never aspired for anything for Himself and He was made God. Thus, attainment of the Super Self [God] is the end of sadhana. Unless you attain the self and get rid of all your desires, you cannot be fit to serve God. Therefore, attainment of the self is a pre-requisite for the service of God. The attainment of the self was stressed by Shankara and the devotion of Super Self was stressed by Ramanuja and finally service, which is the proof of real devotion was stressed by Madhva. Shankara gave the training to get a seat in the IIT. Ramanuja gave the degree from IIT. Madhva gave the job corresponding to the degree. Thus, each of the three Acharyas is equally important to a person in the corresponding level. In fact, Lord Datta who is Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma came in the form of the three Acharyas respectively.
Everything Is Not God
The saint says that everybody and everything is God. He quotes the Vedic statement “Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma”. In that case what is the necessity of the sadhana? God cannot have ignorance like the sun cannot have darkness. Even if God deliberately imposes ignorance for the sake of entertainment, there is no need for any effort to remove the imposed ignorance. Therefore, in this statement the word Brahma does not mean God. The word ‘idam’ denotes the world. The word Brahma means ‘the greatest’. This entire world consisting of space, matter, various forms of energy like light, sound etc., and mechanical works of energy and special work of energy called as awareness, are various forms of the inert energy alone. Thus, with reference to energy, this entire world is simply one homogeneous entity called energy. This truth is proved by science. This is the meaning of “Ekameva Advitiyam Brahma”. Since the energy is in single phase [there is nothing other than energy], energy is the Brahman.
The Veda also says that Brahman is the material cause for generation, maintenance and dissolution of the world. Even in this light, energy is Brahman. Energy is the material cause like mud is to a pot (Upadanam). When God grants the property of awareness to this energy, it becomes Chit (Nimittam), which is a designer of the world like the pot-maker. Thus, there exists an infinite ocean of energy, which has the property of awareness and is the material cause as well as the designer of this world. Before the association of the awareness with this ocean of energy, a little drop of this energy-ocean is modified into the world, which is inert. Now the property of awareness i.e., already associated with this ocean of energy has entered into the inert world into some discontinuous items of the world like birds, animals, human beings etc. The plants have life but not awareness (awareness is negligible and can be treated as almost absent). Therefore the Veda says that from plants the awareness (Purusha) came. Plants can be included under the item of living beings but not under the item of awareness (soul). Now the world has both inert items like hills, rivers etc., and also living items like plants along with special living items like birds, animals and human beings etc. The cinema is now complete with the inert decorated stage with the actors.
When the property of awareness entered the world, the Advaitins think that God entered the world because God is awareness. Awareness, understanding, thinking and imagining are work forms of energy and thus are energy itself. How can imagination, which is energy, touch God when God is beyond energy? The actors have entered the stage and the producer is a just a spectator. The construction of the stage, the story of the drama and direction etc., are done by the ocean of Chit which is like a PA [personal assistant] to God. Thus, the Mula Maya or Maha Maya is the direct cause. But the entire work is done only by the will and power of God. If God enters this ocean of Chit, it is called as Brahman. After creation of this world, this Brahman becomes a spectator and is called Ishwara.
After some time, to have full entertainment, God enters the drama as an actor, which is the human incarnation. The entry of other actors is not the entry of the producer. God is the producer and director indirectly, and is not directly involved or affected in any way. Whenever the word Brahman or Atman is used, you should not make the mistake of thinking that it always means God. In a village people may say that the ruler is coming. The ruler is the head of the village. People in the parliament may also say that the ruler is coming. Here the word ruler indicates the president of the country. Since the word ruler is common, you cannot say that the head of the village and the president of the country are one and the same. The head of the village is also controlled by the president. Similarly, Atman may rule certain activities of the body and certain items in the world. But God rules all the items of the world including the self [Atman]. The Advaitins do not believe in the unimaginable God and therefore they do not believe in the entry of God into a human form. They take the entry of awareness itself as the entry of God. The entry of awareness is already explained in the order of creation by stating “Plants from earth, food from plants and soul (awareness) form food” (Pruthivya Oshadhayah—Veda). The entry of God is explained in a different statement (Tadevanu Pravisat—Veda). If both are the same, God would be constantly entering and exiting through human beings. In such a case how can Lord Krishna say “Whenever the injustice grows….I take birth” (Sambhavami… Gita). The verse tells us that He is not born constantly in the form of human beings. Of course, for that great saint, Krishna is not God!
The saint says that the verse “Manusheem Tanumastritam” means that the soul is present in the human body. But My dear saint has forgotten that the verse says that the Lord is insulted whenever He enters the human body. This means that everybody is insulting his own self present in his own human body and this is not found in experience. In fact, everybody is praising himself.
Propagation of Knowledge
The respectable saint says that there is no necessity to propagate the knowledge because it spreads by itself. This is against experience. Knowledge does not propagate like scent. It only propagates by discourses, debates, books, emails etc. Of course, it means that there is no need of forcing anybody to propagate the knowledge, if the knowledge has merit. To show this point as a representation, Swami used to emit fragrance of lotus flowers during the discourses and this was experienced by several devotees. But this miracle only has the significance of representing the concept that the knowledge is spread by its own merit like the scent. The Lord does not need anybody for His work. It is only by the grace of the Lord, that one gets the fortune to serve in the Lord’s mission. Rama did not require the help of monkeys but He gave them the chance only to bless them. The Lord knows the talents of a person required for propagation. In the time of Shankara almost all were Sanskrit scholars. He needed Sanskrit scholars in the Shastra like Mandana Mishra for propagation of the knowledge. Shankara was never involved in propagation in any other regional language.
But when Ramanuja came, regional languages had come up. Therefore, Ramanuja was involved not only in propagation in Sanskrit but also in Tamil language. He would give the authority of the Tamil scriptures too. Today Sanskrit has almost disappeared. The area of propagation was only India for Shankara and Ramanuja. But today for Swami, the area of propagation is the entire world and English is the international language. Today scholars in the Shastra are also very rare, but everybody is in touch with science. Therefore, Swami needs scholars in English, who have good touch with science, for the propagation. The word science here means the analysis of worldly objects. Therefore, since the Lord did not wish, those Sanskrit scholars who came in touch with Swami were not instigated for propagation. Without wish of the Lord nobody can enter His service. The Lord will not select candidates, who are not qualified to work in the present situation.
(To be Continued...)
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