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49:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etwXFtweMkA&list=PLNcKRMLMcyzbWfDWiwZRpCUzjnw9X4tap&index=1
Effortless and choiceless awareness is attained only after deliberate meditation.
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Imp Q/A
D.: How is restlessness removed from the mind?
M.: External contacts - contacts with objects,
other than itself -
make the mind restless.
Loss of interest in non-Self, (vairagya) is the first step.
Then, the habits of introspection and concentration follow.
They are characterised by control of external senses,
internal faculties, etc. (sama, dama, etc.)
ending in samadhi (undistracted mind).
Talk 27.
D.: How are they practised?
M.: An examination of the ephemeral nature of external phenomena leads to vairagya.
Hence enquiry (vichara) is the first and foremost step to be taken. When vichara continues automatically, it results in a contempt for wealth, fame, ease, pleasure, etc.
The ‘I’ thought becomes clearer for inspection.
The source of ‘I’ is the Heart - the final goal.
If, however, the aspirant is not temperamentally suited to Vichara Marga (to the introspective analytical method), he must develop bhakti
to an ideal - may be God, Guru,
humanity in general, ethical laws, or even the idea of beauty.
When one of these takes possession of the individual, other attachments grow weaker,
i.e. vairagya develops.
Attachment for the ideal simultaneously grows and finally holds the field. Thus ekagrata grows simultaneously and imperceptibly - with or without visions and direct aids.
In the absence of enquiry and devotion, the natural sedative pranayama may be tried. This is known as Yoga Marga.
If life is imperilled the whole interest centres round the one point, the saving of life.
If the breath is held, the mind cannot afford to (and does not) jump at its pets - external objects.
Thus there is rest for the mind so long as the breath is held.
All attention being turned on breath or its regulation, other interests are lost.
Again, passions are attended with irregular breathing, whereas calm and happiness are attended with slow and regular breathing. Paroxysm of joy is in fact as painful as one of pain, and both are accompanied by ruffled breaths. Real peace is happiness. Pleasures do not form happiness.
The mind improves by practice and becomes finer just as the razor’s edge is sharpened by stropping.
The mind is then better able to tackle internal or external problems.
If an aspirant be unsuited temperamentally for the first two methods and circumstantially (on account of age) for the third method, he must try the Karma Marga (doing good deeds, for example, social service).
His nobler instincts become more evident and he derives impersonal pleasure. His smaller self is less assertive and has a chance of expanding its good side. The man becomes duly equipped for one of the three aforesaid paths. His intuition may also develop directly by this single method.
D.: Can a line of thought or a series of questions induce self hypnotism? Should it not be reduced to a single point analysing the in-analysable, elementary and vaguely perceived and elusive ‘I’?
M.: Yes. It is really like gazing into vacancy or a dazzling crystal or light.
D.: Can the mind be fixed to that point? How?
M.: If the mind is distracted, ask the question promptly, “To whom do these distracting thoughts arise?” That takes you back to the ‘I’ point promptly
D.: How long can the mind stay or be kept in the Heart?
M.: The period extends by practice.
D.: What happens at the end of the period?
M.: The mind returns to the present normal state. Unity in the Heart is replaced by variety of phenomena perceived. This is called the outgoing mind. The heart-going mind is called the resting mind.
D.: Is all this process merely intellectual or does it exhibit feeling predominantly?
M.: The latter.
D.: How do all thoughts cease when the mind is in the Heart?
M.: By force of will, with strong faith in the truth of the Master’s teaching to that effect.
D.: What is the good of this process?
M..: (a) Conquest of the will - development of concentration.
(b) Conquest of passions - development of dispassion.
(c) Increased practice of virtue - (samatva) equality to all.
D.: Distractions result from inherited tendencies. Can they be cast off too?
M.: Yes. Many have done so. Believe it! They did so because they believed they could. Vasanas (predispositions) can be obliterated.
It is done by concentration on that which is free from vasanas and yet is their core.
D.: How long is the practice to continue?
M.: Till success is achieved and until yoga-liberation becomes permanent.
Success begets success. If one distraction is conquered the next is conquered and so on, until all are finally conquered. The process is like reducing an enemy’s fort by slaying its man-power - one by one, as each issues out
D.: What is the goal of this process?
M.: Realising the Real.
D.: What is the nature of the Reality?
M.: (a) Existence without beginning or end - eternal.
(b) Existence everywhere, endless, infinite.
(c) Existence underlying all forms, all changes, all forces, all matter and all spirit. The many change and pass away (phenomena), whereas the One always endures (noumenon).
(d) The one displacing the triads, i.e., the knower, the knowledge and the known. The triads are only appearances in time and space, whereas the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a mirage over the Reality. They are the result of delusion.
D.: If ‘I’ also be an illusion, who then casts off the illusion?
M.: The ‘I’ casts off the illusion of ‘I’ and yet remains as ‘I’. Such is the paradox of Self-Realisation.
The realised do not see any contradiction in it.
Take the case of bhakti - I approach Iswara and pray to be absorbed in Him.
I then surrender myself in faith and by concentration. What remains afterwards? In place of the original ‘I’, perfect self-surrender leaves a residuum of God in which the ‘I’ is lost.
This is the highest form of devotion (parabhakti), prapatti, surrender or the height of vairagya.
You give up this and that of ‘my’ possessions. If you give up ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ instead, all are given up at a stroke.
The very seed of possession is lost. Thus the evil is nipped in the bud or crushed in the germ itself.
Dispassion (vairagya) must be very strong to do this.
Eagerness to do it must be equal to that of a man kept under water trying to rise up to the surface for his life.
D.: Cannot this trouble and difficulty be lessened with the aid of a Master or an Ishta Devata (God chosen for worship)? Cannot they give the power to see our Self as it is - to change us into themselves - to take us into Self-Realisation?
M.: Ishta Devata and Guru are aids - very powerful aids on this path. But an aid to be effective requires your effort also.
Your effort is a sine qua non. (absolutely necessary)
It is you who should see the sun. Can spectacles and the sun see for you?
You yourself have to see your true nature.
Not much aid is required for doing it!
D.: What is the relation between my free-will and the overwhelming might of the Omnipotent?
(a) Is omniscience of God consistent with ego’s freewill?
(b) Is omnipotence of God consistent with ego’s freewill?
(c) Are the natural laws consistent with God’s free-will?
M.: Yes. Free-will is the present appearing to a limited faculty of sight and will. The same ego sees its past activity as falling into a course of ‘law’ or rules - its own free-will being one of the links in that course of law.
Omnipotence and omniscience of God are then seen by the ego to have acted through the appearance of his own free-will. So he comes to the conclusion that the ego must go by appearances. Natural laws are manifestations of God’s will and they have been laid down
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If the mind is restless on account of a sense of the imperfect and unsatisfactory character of what befalls us or what is committed or omitted by us, then it is wise to drop the sense of responsibility and free-will by regarding ourselves as the ordained instruments of the All-wise and All-powerful, to do and suffer as He pleases. He carries all burdens and gives us peace.
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44/704
“Divine Grace is essential for Realisation.
It leads one to God-realisation.
But such Grace is vouchsafed only to him who is a true devotee or a yogin, who has striven hard and ceaselessly on the path towards freedom.”
D.: It is said that Divine Grace is necessary to attain successful undistracted mind (samadhi). Is that so?
M.: We are God (Iswara). Iswara Drishti (i.e., seeing ourselves as God) is itself Divine Grace. So we need Divine Grace to get God’s Grace. Maharshi smiles and all devotees laugh together.
D.: Should one realise it then by the scriptural text such as “There are no differences here”.
M.: Why even that?
D.: If we think “I am the real,” will it do?
M.: All thoughts are inconsistent with realisation.
The correct state is to exclude thoughts of ourselves and all other thoughts.
Thought is one thing and realisation is quite another.
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The essential aim of the Veda is to teach us the nature of the imperishable Atman and show us that we are That.
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47/704
M.: Why do you say that you are a sinner? Your trust in God is sufficient to save you from rebirths. Cast all burden on Him.
In the Tiruvachakam it is said:
“Though I am worse than a dog, you have graciously undertaken to protect me.
This delusion of birth and death is maintained by you. Moreover, am I the person to sift and judge? Am I the Lord here? Oh Maheswara! It is for you to roll me through bodies (by births and deaths) or to keep me fixed at your own feet.”
Therefore have faith and that will save you.
D.: Sir, I have faith - and still I encounter difficulties. Weakness and giddiness afflict me after I practise concentration.
M.: Breath-control (pranayama) properly performed should increase one’s strength.
D.: I am doing idol worship.
M.: Go on with it. It leads to concentration of mind. Get one-pointed. All will come out right.
People think that freedom (moksha) is somewhere yonder and should be sought out. They are wrong.
Freedom, Moksha is only knowing the Self within yourself. Concentrate and you will get it. Your mind is the cycle of births and deaths (samsara).
D.: My mind is very unsteady. What should I do?
M.: Fix your attention on any single thing and try to hold on to it. All will be right.
D.: I find concentration difficult.
M.: Go on practising. Your concentration will be as easy as breathing. That will be the crown of your achievements.
49/704
D.: Is the Universal Soul (Paramatma) always different from us?
M.: That is the common belief, but it is wrong. Think of Him as not different from you, and then you achieve identity of Self with God.
D.: Is it not the Advaita doctrine to become one with God?
M.: Where is becoming?
The thinker is all the while the Real.
He ultimately realises the fact.
Sometimes we forget our identities, as in sleep and dreams. But God is perpetual consciousness.
D.: Is there a difference between prapatti (self-surrender) and the Path of Yoga of the Seers?
M.: Jnana Marga and Bhakti Marga (prapatti) are one and the same.
Self-surrender leads to realisation just as enquiry does.
Complete self-surrender means that you have no further thought of ‘I’.
Then all your predispositions (samskaras) are washed off and you are free.
You should not continue as a separate entity at the end of either course.
Talk 32.
A visitor: The saints Sri Chaitanya and Sri Ramakrishna wept before God and achieved success. Is that not the path to follow?
M.: Yes. There was a powerful force (sakti) drawing them on through all those experiences. Trust in that huge power to take you on to your goal. Tears are often considered a sign of weakness. These great persons were certainly not weak. These manifestations are only passing signs of the great current carrying them on. We must look to the end achieved.
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Yogi Ramaiah's account of his experiences:
Talk 34.
Sitting in Maharshi’s presence brings peace of mind.
I used to sit in samadhi for three or four hours together.
Then I felt my mind took a form and came out from within.
By constant practice and meditation it entered the Heart and was merged into it.
I conclude that the Heart is the resting place of mind.
The result is peace.
When the mind is absorbed in the Heart, the Self is realised.
This could be felt even at the stage of concentration (dharana).
I asked Maharshi about contemplation. He taught me as follows:-
When a man dies the funeral pyre is prepared and the body is laid flat on the pyre. The pyre is lit. The skin is burnt, then the flesh and then the bones until the whole body falls to ashes. What remains thereafter?
The mind. The question arises, ‘How many are there in this body - one or two?’ If two, why do people say ‘I’ and not ‘we’? There is therefore only one. Whence is it born? What is its nature (swaroopa)? Enquiring thus the mind also disappears.
Then what remains over is seen to be ‘I’.
The next question is ‘Who am I?’
The Self alone. This is contemplation. It is how I did it.
By this process attachment to the body (dehavasana) is destroyed.
The ego vanishes.
The Self alone shines.
One method of getting mind-dissolution (manolaya) is association with great ones - the yoga adepts,
Yoga-arudhas.
They are perfect adepts in samadhi. Self-Realisation has been easy, natural, and perpetual to them.
Those moving with them closely and in sympathetic contact gradually absorb the samadhi habit from them.
Talk 35.
An educated visitor asked Bhagavan about dvaita and advaita.
M.: Identification with the body is dvaita. Non-identification is advaita.
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