CONVERSATIONS WITH SAI Satyopanishad
Satyopanishad – Part seventeen
Direct Directions from the Divine
Chapter 5: Concepts
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! One cannot escape from the effects of fate or destiny. Things are preordained, and accordingly events happen in our life. This being inevitable, we suffer and face difficulties. Would you please tell us the way out of this?
Bhagavan: Everything in life is nothing but a reflection of your own thought and deed of your earlier life or lives. You pretend happily to think that none can notice you. But God within you knows fully well all your thoughts, feelings and deeds. God is everywhere. You cannot hide anything from Him. One day or other you must face the consequences of your actions. This is the supreme truth.
You think and blame someone else, holding him responsible for your troubles. You are thoroughly mistaken here.
Your actions are responsible for both the good and the bad you experience in this life. God is an eternal witness of all human activities. He created this world and gave it to man for his enjoyment, but on one condition that he must face the consequences of his own actions.
God is like a postman. He is least bothered about the contents of the letters that He hands over to people. It is all a matter of the relationship that exists between you and the one who writes you a letter. God is not concerned in any other way about the matter. Well, you receive a wedding card, you don’t pay complements to the postman, do you? If you receive a threatening letter from someone, you don’t blame the postman either. The postman is merely an instrument in the process of delivering letters.
But prayer does help you to withstand tensions and problems with courage. Intense prayer, deep devotion, strong faith, sincere repentance, constant yearning and supreme love for God can alter the sequence of events in life. They can make even God reverse His own will.
Take for example, the life of Markandeya. Fate granted him only sixteen years of life. But his devotion to Lord Siva was so intense that He made him immortal. God had to review and revise His own master plan in response to the prayers of Markandeya.
Take another example. There is a prisoner punished according to the laws of the penal code. During the period of imprisonment, if the character and conduct of the prisoner are found to be good and if he follows all the rules, regulations, and code of discipline imposed by the jail authorities, there is scope for the reduction of his jail term. There is another point you should note. Suppose the appeal of a person in a criminal case is lost in all the courts from the district level to the High Court and even the Supreme Court, and when punishment like a death sentence or life imprisonment becomes imminent and inevitable, the President of India can still order his release from jail on grounds of mercy and for special reasons.
Similarly, though you are bound to suffer and destined to face difficulties as a result of your past actions, God in response to your sincere prayer and repentance will change the course of your life and save you from your suffering. God confers special grace on you being pleased with your single-minded devotion to Him.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! The Bhagavad Gita wants us to give up the fruits of our actions, karmaphalaparityaga, both good and bad. Since we do good rarely, there is very little or none to offer you as the fruits of our good actions. We feel that it is not proper to offer evil or bad to You. What is to be done?
Bhagavan: You have to surrender both good and bad to God. Never get yourself attached to the results of your actions, be they good or bad. God is beyond these two opposites as He is non-dual. Any water, pure or impure, when mixed with Ganga, you will notice, does not affect the sanctity of Ganga. The sanctity never diminishes. Similarly, whatever you put into the fire gets burnt. The fire is in no way affected or polluted by those things that are put into it. Hence, if you offer both good and bad to God, ultimately you will be benefited.
A small example: Suppose you have a five hundred rupee currency note in your pocket, and you need to go out on some business and return later. You will be very careful to see that you do not lose it. You keep your hand on the pocket if you go to a cafeteria for a cup of coffee so that no one will pick your pocket. Even in a theatre, you will be vigilant. But on the other hand, if you deposit that money in the bank, it will be credited to your account and it will be safe.
Then, you don’t need to bother about it further. So also, if you surrender all the good you have done to God without attaching any value to the results, what happens is that you will be humble and simple. Here you do not take the credit. You thank God.
Then, how about the evil or bad to be offered to God? You may feel that it is not proper to do so. Yet, you will notice that it will help you finally. Here’s a small example for you in this matter. Suppose you have with you a spoiled, dirty and half torn five hundred rupee note. You don’t throw it away as it is a valuable currency note. But you have not been able to use it; no one will accept that note. You are not in a position to buy anything. So, you can neither throw it away nor use it. But, if you deposit the very same currency note in the Reserve Bank, they accept it and give you a brand new note. One thing is very necessary. The number on the currency note should be very clear for them to accept and give you a good note.
Similarly, the currency note of your deeds and consequences of your bad action, if offered to God, He will see the ‘number’ of ‘devotion’ on the note and give you in turn the good note or transform you. God is the Reserve Bank. Only God can receive your evil tendencies and misdeeds and transform them into good ones and give them back to you. Hence, both good and bad must be offered to God for your own ultimate benefit.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! All the experiences, which are dual, are obtained due to our mind. Swami says ‘Mind is a mad monkey.’ Pleasure and pain are both due to our mind. How are we to annihilate the mind (manonasanam)?
Bhagavan: The mind never makes you suffer; it all depends upon the way you use it. It is everywhere. It takes the form of that into which it gets. It is deathless. So, it is said that the mind is the world, manomulamidam jagat. Therefore, annihilation of the mind, manonasanam is not correct. What you should desire is the merger of the mind with the divine, manolaya.
Just as the river merges in the mighty ocean, the mind should also merge in the Self. The mind surrendered to God becomes Ramadas, servant of Rama. But the mind full of desires is a slave to the organs, kamadas.
The mind should not be allowed to be lured by what we call in Telugu balimi, strength, kalimi, wealth and chelimi, friendship. It should be filled with divine thoughts so that it may become one with God.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! Are there any who attained tadatmya (union) with God? We hear that total identification with God is the highest step in spirituality.
Bhagavan: Yes. There are many who experienced that state of total identification with God. In fact, a devotee should aim at it. There was a Westerner by name, Hen, who was very intelligent. The famous scientist, Darwin, was his guru. He started seeing his guru by contemplating on him continuously. Darwin concentrated his vision on a star and experienced certain vibrations. His student also reached that state.
You also must have heard of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. At one time, while worshipping Lord Sri Rama, he considered himself Hanuman. It is reported that he developed a short tail during that time.
You also find another illustration in the great epic Ramayana. Bharata wanted Rama to come back to Ayodhya and rule the kingdom. He pleaded with him repeatedly. But, Rama refused to return, since he had decided and vowed to follow the command of his father and follow dharma in totality. Bharata left the palace, after Rama promised that he would return immediately after the period of exile.
The period was almost over and Bharata was expecting Rama to return at the appointed hour. Unable to bear the anguish at seeing no sign of Rama’s arrival, Bharata got ready a funeral pyre and was prepared to jump into it, ready for self-immolation.
As Hanuman was just landing, he noticed the scene there. Bharata was circumambulating the pyre into which he was about to jump and burn himself. Hanuman thought, “How is it that Rama is here? Why is Rama circumambulating the pyre?” Evidently, it means that Bharata looked exactly like Rama due to his constant meditation on him. This left even Hanuman confused. This is the meaning of what the Veda says, Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati – ‘Constant awareness of Brahman makes you Brahman’.
Towards the end of the Ramayana, after he had killed Ravana, Rama was returning to Ayodhya along with his consort Sita and Lakshmana in a chariot. Bharata himself was driving the chariot. As the chariot was approaching the outskirts of Ayodhya, the inhabitants were eager to receive Rama, Sita and Lakshmana with garlands. Here again, the people were confused since Bharata, holding the reins of the chariot, looked exactly like Rama. When the people were about to garland Bharata mistaking him for Lord Rama, Bharata had to silently and softly point out to Rama with his folded hands as to who should be garlanded. This is again an instance of total identification, tadatmya.
Here is another example. You must have heard of Swami Samartha Ramadas, the preceptor of emperor Sivaji. Like Bharata, Swami Samartha Ramadas also looked for some time exactly like Lord Rama in his form as well as in his manner of walking with the bow and arrow on his shoulders.
People, watching this, were amazed, and one of them asked him, “Swami! If you are really Lord Rama, can you shoot the bird sitting over there on a branch located on the top of that distant tree?” Ramadas killed the bird with an arrow. It fell on the ground. Someone said then, “Swami! You have killed the bird for no reason. It did no harm to you. Rama, known for compassion, never kills anyone without a valid reason. Can you revive it now?” Then, the Swami collected the dead bird with both his hands and lifted it. He prayed for its life.
Lo and behold! The wings started to flutter. The bird moved slowly and finally flew away. All present there joined in a chorus shouting in praise of the Swami, “Jai! Samartha Ramadas Ki Jai,” (Our praises to Swami Samartha Ramadas!) This is an instance of total identification with God.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! You are referring to anubhava gyanam, practical knowledge. We think we know many things. Is this not wisdom?
Bhagavan: Certainly not! The pity is that you do not realise that you do not know. You know very little and what you know is at best negligible. But you think you know everything. What you study is very little and it is a big mistake if you think that you know everything. It is foolish too. There is a lot to be known. What you know is but a fragment, and it is not total knowledge.
Now, look! What is this? This, as you see, is a handkerchief. (At this point, Swami kept the handkerchief in his grip and held it in such a way that only a bit could be seen outside his fist.) Now, what is this? This is only a piece of cloth. It is not the whole kerchief. (Then Swami spread the kerchief and held it in His hands). Now, what is this? You will say, ‘It is a kerchief’. Seeing only a bit, you cannot call it a handkerchief. So also, acquiring a little knowledge, you can hardly claim to have attained total knowledge. This is a mistake the educated commit in this modern age. They know a little and claim to know everything.
Complete or total knowledge is awareness, and not knowledge of a bit or a fragment. This you should remember. Go for the whole. Be aware!
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! When does a devotee get total experience?
Bhagavan: Bhakti finds its fulfilment in mukti. Till then, we can’t say that a devotee has got total experience. Total experience is purna anubhavam, advaitanandam, a state of nondual bliss, brahmanandam, supreme bliss, and nityanandam, eternal bliss. A simple example: A river flows incessantly. There may be a number of obstacles in its way. Yet, the river flows on taking different turns. It overcomes the obstacles and proceeds forward. How long and how far? It must reach the ocean and merge in it. The ocean does not permit the merger so easily. It drives away the river or pushes it out. Still the river does not give up its attempt. Finally, as the ocean tides rise, the river merges. When layam, sayujyam, merger of the two takes place, there the river finds vis’ranti and pras’anti, rest and peace.
Similar is the relationship between a devotee and God. The flow of devotion leading to merging in God is sadhana. The river merging in the ocean is the merger of the individual jiva with brahman, which is known as jiva brahmaikyata; a state of perfect merging or unison of jivatma and paramatma or the individual and the Ultimate Lord.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! What is wisdom?
Bhagavan: Wisdom is not textual information. Wisdom is not scholarship. Wisdom is not preaching. Wisdom is not verbal or vocal. Wisdom is not an academic Master’s degree or Doctorate. Wisdom is practical experience. Wisdom cannot be stuffed into the head.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! What are the main principles of life?
Bhagavan: A newborn baby cries, but a grownup man should part from this world smiling. Do you know why the baby cries? It cries because of the misfortune that lies ahead of it – a long, troublesome and problematic life.
In the words of Adi Sankara, punarapi jananam punarapi maranam, punarapi janani jathare s’ayanam. Everyone is born again and again, life after life. So, the infant cries. But at its birth, its parents, its relatives and elders celebrate, smile and distribute sweets, don’t they? Life begins with a question, ‘Koham’, (who am I?) But, it should find an answer ‘Soham’, (I am He, I am God), before it ends. We get the answer, through sadhana, spiritual practice or exercise. There is no point in going through the question paper again and again without finding the answer.
We can in one way divide life into three phases: morning, midday and night. Morning is the stage of an infant, the four-legged one crawling on the ground on both hands and both legs. Midday is the stage of a youth, the two-legged, walking with two legs. Night is the stage of an old man, the three legged with a walking stick as an aid to the two weakened legs.
Brahmacarya, celibacy is the foundation over which a three storied building, with the first floor, the stage of a householder; the second floor that of a recluse; and the top floor that of a renunciant is built. Thus, for the mansion, celibacy is the foundation.
By the time a person becomes fifty years old, he should have full control over his five organs of action, karmendriyas.
By the time he is sixty he should have conquered all the six weaknesses, kama, desire, krodha, anger, lobha, greed, moha, infatuation mada, pride, and matsarya, jealousy.
At the age of seventy, after overcoming the weaknesses, he is revered as one of the seven sages, saptaris; like the seven notes of music, saptasvaras; and the seven seas, saptasamudra.
At the age of eighty, having followed the eight paths of astanga yoga, he shines like the eight lords of the directions as tadikpalakas.
At the age of ninety, life shines like nine precious gems, navaratnas having followed the nine paths of devotion.
At the age of hundred, he is master of the five organs of perception, and the five organs of action, and is divine having experienced divinity in depth, brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati.
Satyopanishad – Part Eighteen
Direct Directions from the Divine
Chapter 6: Parallels and Polarities
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! We hear two terms very often used by pandits: prakruti and purusha. Please explain these two terms?
Bhagavan: Prakruti and purusha are matter and energy. You can also take them as the positive and the negative. Even if there is bulb, you don’t get light unless there is power supply. Likewise, the power supply remains useless, if there is no bulb either. Therefore, both power and light bulb are required. Similarly, this entire creation is a combination of prakruti and purusha. These two are interdependent and interrelated
Prakruti is viewed as feminine. God is the only male.
In a College for Women, girls play all the different roles in a drama. So also, at the level of the body, there are differences. But, the indweller, atma, is one and the same. The body is a bundle of bones. It is like a water bubble, it is ephemeral. It is afflicted by many diseases. After all, it is full of urine, blood, muscles, bones and faecal matter.
It emits only bad odour and not the fragrance of flowers and perfumes. The body is prakruti and undergoes change periodically. But, the eternal, changeless, immortal truth is purusha or God. It is only the purusa that is valued. Prakruti is accepted and cherished so long as purusa is there.
Sugar mixed with cream of wheat makes a sweet by name ravva laddu. Sugar in combination with dal makes a laddu. The same sugar can be mixed with any type of flour. Similarly, purusa functions through prakruti assuming different forms and names. But, purusha remains a witness, who is transcendental, beyond time and space; non-dual, eternal, blissful and is a personification of wisdom.
It is purusha, who created prakruti, the universe. Purusha is the object
while prakruti is his reflection. Therefore, these twin terms are used by Sanskrit scholars to indicate purusha and prakruti: Loka-lokeswara, viswa-visweswara, jagat-jagadiswara, sarvam-sarveswara, prapancha-parameswara, etc.
Let’s suppose there are containers made of gold, silver, copper and clay and they are filled with water. Although the containers differ in metal and value, the reflection of the Sun in all these containers is one and the same. So, the Sun is purusha while the containers represent prakruti. Matter + Energy = God.
Men are more valuable than all the wealth of the world. Having been born as human beings, you should strive to attain liberation, moksha. Science and
technology can provide you many comforts and conveniences.
They can’t confer on you peace and bliss.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! Some worship Vishnu, while some others worship Siva. They don’t see eye to eye with one another. There seems to be constant rivalry between these two groups, the Vaishnavites and the Saivites. Kindly tell us how these two groups of devotees of God can be united.
Bhagavan: This is utter ignorance and foolishness. The scripture says, ekamevadvitiyam Brahma which means “God is one without a second’. It also says, advaitadarshanam jnanam that is, true wisdom is non-dual. Every seeker of truth or a spiritual aspirant, should know the essential unity in diversity. You should experience unity in divinity. The worshippers of Lord Vishnu address the Lord of the seven hills of Tirupati as Venkataramana while the worshippers of Shiva call him Venkateswara. But, you know both are the same.
Once a king convened a conference of scholars of both these groups to deliberate, discuss and finally decide as to who was the greater of the two, Vishnu or Siva. Both the contending groups presented their viewpoints convincingly. The king, therefore, wanted his Chief Minister to consider all the points of the scholars and then give his verdict on the issue. The latter got up and said, “Oh King! I do not think if either of these two groups has ever experienced reality.
Those who argued in favour of Vaishnavism saying that Vishnu is greater than Siva knew little of Vishnu. Had they been genuinely devoted to Him, they would have seen Siva in Vishnu also. Similarly, those who held that Siva was superior to Vishnu would see Vishnu in Siva also”.
There is another episode to illustrate this fact. One day Lord Sri Rama was passing by and on the way He saw a stone. Hanuman observed it and wanted to pick it up and throw it away. He used all his strength, but could not lift it. That very stone was the Sivalinga installed by Sri Rama in Ramesvaram, a pilgrim centre in Tamilnadu. Rama, being Vishnu Himself, proved that He and Siva are basically one and the same by installing a Sivalinga. Isn’t it so? Know that all names are His and all forms are His. He is the only one who responds to our prayers.
Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! You repeatedly mention ‘love’ in Your discourses. Why? Don’t we have prema, love, within us? If not, how are we to develop it? What is the difference between prema, love and moha, attachment?
Bhagavan: You think you have prema, love. It is a mistake. You only have abhimana, or attachment. There is a lot of difference between the two. You have misdirected love and allowed it to flow in different ways and ultimately got it steeped in attachment. You have forgotten real prema.
The love you have towards your children is vatsalya, affection. Your love towards your wife is anuraga, attachment and your love towards worldly objects is mamakara, possessiveness. Your love towards your equals is maitri, friendship. Like this, love flows in many different directions. All this is not love in the true sense of the term. This is all physical, worldly, ever changing and temporary. This may give you prapanchika ananda, worldly pleasure, bhautik ananda, mundane pleasure, indriyananda, sensual pleasure, and manasika ananda, desire-oriented love. They give you only pleasure.
Today you may be happy with one thing and tomorrow you may not be with the same thing. In winter, you are happy wearing a woolen coat but in summer, you will be unhappy if you wear the same woolen coat. Therefore, time, position, space and states of mind bind happiness. This is the type of happiness you get out of abhimana, attachment. Dasaratha, the king of Ayodhya in the Ramayana, died of his attachment to Rama as he couldn’t bear separation from him. It is again, the attachment of Kaikeyi that led to the attempt to crown Bharata and the exile of Rama.
You observe the contrast between Rama and Dasaratha. The father, Dasaratha, due to his attachment to Kaikeyi, had to be separated from Rama by granting her the boon she had promised. But, his son, Rama, left his consort Sita to her fate in a forest, when a washerman spoke ill of her as she had spent eight long months in Lanka under the control of Ravana. What supreme detachment! He had no attachment to the kingdom either. So, he simply obeyed his father’s command and left for the forest.
In the Mahabharata, you know how king Dhritarashtra remained silent due to attachment when his sons were committing atrocities against their cousins, the Pandavas, which ultimately led to the death of all his progeny. Isn’t it so?
Don’t you know that Yasoda couldn’t fully comprehend the divinity of Krishna because she considered him always only her son and never as God, due to her vatsalya, attachment? Had Buddha been attached to his wife, Yasodhara and his son, Rahul, would it have been possible for him to leave them? Krishna, once he left Repalle, a place where he had spent his boyhood, never stepped in there again.
Love is changeless. Love is steady and unshakeable. Love is non-dual. Love is not carried away by praise nor does it vanish with blame. Love is selfless and unconditional. Love is spiritual and essentially divine: it was the love of Jesus for humanity that made him pray for those who had persecuted him while he was on the cross. Isn’t that the pinnacle of love?
Attachment is confined to getting and forgetting, while love always gives and forgives. Love is God. God is love. Live in love. Attachment is bondage leading to misery. Attachment is narrow and utterly selfish.
A child is full of love and bliss. As he grows up, he starts loving toys; thereafter he loves to play and slowly starts loving friends. On becoming a youth, he loves a life partner, then his family, and gradually he develops love for possessions, position and properties. Thus, love is allowed to flow in different directions, and as such, it becomes diluted and finally reduced to attachment.
Your love for God is devotion, and helps you to cultivate virtues like humility and obedience and makes your life blissful. It helps you to attain mukti, liberation. What you need today is the expansion of love.
First of all, you start with loving your family, extend your love to your relations and slowly to your community and your country as a whole, and ultimately to the entire universe. You can realise and experience God only by and through Love, as God is the embodiment of Love. You may find people in want of one thing or other. But, you find none lacking in love. You have to channelise it. Love is the natural quality which is God’s gift to man.
