Talks mar 30

 515

521

na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amritatvamanasuh parena nakam nihitam guhayam, vibhrajate yadyatayo visanti vedanta vijnana sunishchitarthah sanyasayogadyatayah shuddha satvah te brahmaloke tu parantakale paramritat parimuchyanti sarve dahram vipapam paravesmabhutum yat pundarikam puramadhya samstham tatrapi dahram gaganam visokastasmin yadantastadupasitavyam yo vedadau svarah prokto vedante cha pratishtitah tasya prakritilinasya yah parah sa Mahesvarah 

[Deathlessness is not obtained through action or begetting offspring or wealth. Some attain that state through renunciation. The Sages (that have conquered the senses) attain that Sat which is more supreme than Heaven and shining all alone in the Heart. The adepts who by renunciation and one-pointedness are pure in heart and have known the certainty of Truth by the special knowledge proclaimed by Vedanta, get fully released in the Brahmaloka from the causal Maya at the dissolution of the body. That alone which shines as the tiny Akasa void of sorrow, in the lotus heart, the tiny seat of the spotless Supreme in the (inner) core of the body is worthy of worship. He alone is the Supreme Lord, who is beyond the Primal Word which is the beginning and end of the Veda and in which merges the creative Cause].

523

Talk 512. 

Sri Bhagavan said: All mistake the mind-consciousness for Self Consciousness. There is no mind in deep sleep; but no one denies his being in sleep. Even a child says on waking, “I slept well,” and does not deny its existence. The ‘I’ rises up, the mind turns outward through the five senses and perceives objects, this they call direct perception. Asked if ‘I’ is not directly perceived, they get confused, because ‘I’ does not announce itself as an object in front and only the perception with the  senses can be recognised by them as knowledge: this habit is so strong with them. 

A stanza in Thevaram says: “O sages, eager to get over all misery, worry not about inferences and examples! Our Light is ever shining forth from within! With mind clear, live in God!” 

This is direct perception. Will the common people admit it? They want God to appear in front of them as a bright Being mounted on a bull. Such a vision once originated must also end. It is therefore transient. Thevaram speaks of the Eternal and Ever-experienced Being. This Thevaram takes one directly to the Reality.

Ajnana has two aspects: avarana (veiling) and vikshepa (multiplicity). Of these, avarana (veiling) denotes the veil hiding the Truth. That prevails in sleep. Multiplicity (vikshepa) is activity in different times. This gives rise to diversity and prevails in waking and dream states (jagrat and svapna). If the veil, i.e. avarana is lifted, the Truth is perceived. It is lifted for a Jnani and so his karana sarira (causal body) ceases to exist. Vikshepa alone continues for him. Even so, it is not the same for a Jnani as it is for an ajnani. The ajnani has all kinds of vasanas, i.e. kartrtva (doership) and bhoktrtva (enjoyership), whereas the Jnani has ceased to be doer (karta). Thus only one kind of vasana obtains for him. That too is very weak and does not overpower him, because he is always aware of the Sat-Chit-Ananda nature of the Self. The tenuous bhoktrtva vasana is the only remnant of the mind left in the Jnani and he therefore appears to be living in the body. This explanation when applied to the mantra amounts to this: A Jnani has his karana sarira destroyed; the sthula sarira (gross body) has no effect on him and is for all practical purposes destroyed too. The sukshma sarira (subtle body) alone remains. It is otherwise called ativahika sarira. It is this which is held by all persons after the physical body is given up. And with this they traverse to other lokas until another suitable physical body is taken. The Jnani is supposed to move in Brahmaloka with this sukshma sarira. Then that is also dissolved and he passes to final Liberation.

The whole explanation is meant only for the onlooker. The Jnani himself will never raise such questions. He knows by his experience that he is not bound by any kind of limitations.

D.: What is the ‘final emancipation’ according to the foregoing explanation? 

M.: The ativahika or the sukshma sarira corresponds to the pure light which one experiences just after sleep and before the rise of the ego. It is Cosmic Consciousness. That is only the Light reflected from the Heart. When the reflection ceases and abides as the Original Light in the Heart it is final emancipation. 

D.: But Yoga Vasishtha says that the chitta (mind) of a jivanmukta is achala (unchanging). 

M.: So it is. Achala chitta (unchanging mind) is the same as suddha manas (pure mind). The jnani’s manas is said to be suddha manas. The Yoga Vasishtha also says that Brahman is no other than the jnani’s mind. So Brahman is suddha manas only. 

D.: Will the description of Brahman as Sat-Chit-Ananda suit this suddha manas? For this too will be destroyed in the final emancipation. 

M.: If suddha manas is admitted, the Bliss (Ananda) experienced by the Jnani must also be admitted to be reflected. This reflection must finally merge into the Original. Therefore the jivanmukti state is compared to the reflection of a spotless mirror in another similar mirror. What will be found in such a reflection? Pure Akasa (Ether). Similarly, the jnani’s reflected Bliss (Ananda) represents only the true Bliss. These are all only words. It is enough that a person becomes antarmukhi (inward-bent). The sastras are not needed for an inward turned mind. They are meant for the rest.

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528

M.: The Highest Form of Grace is Silence (mowna). It is also the highest upadesa.

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D.: Vivekananda has also said that silence is the loudest form of prayer. 

M.: It is so, for the seeker’s silence Guru’s silence is the loudest upadesa. It is also Grace in its highest form. 

All other dikshas (initiations), e.g., sparsa, chakshus are derived from mowna (silence). 

They are therefore secondary. Mowna is the primary form. If the Guru is silent the seeker’s mind gets purified by itself.

Talk 519. 

M.: The mahavakyas and their interpretation lead to interminable discussions and keep the minds of the seekers engaged externally. To turn the mind inward the man must directly settle down in the ‘I’. Then there is an end of external activities and perfect Peace prevails. Later, a passage from the Yoga Vasishtha was read out before Sri Bhagavan, indicating initiation by look and initiation by touch. Sri Bhagavan observed: Dakshinamurti observed silence when the disciples approached Him. That is the highest form of initiation. It includes the other forms. There must be subject-object relationship established in the other dikshas. First the subject must emanate and then the object. Unless these two are there how is the one to look at the other or touch him? Mowna diksha is the most perfect; it comprises looking, touching and teaching. It will purify the individual in every way and establish him in the Reality

D.: But it is not easy to remain without thinking. 

M.: You need not cease thinking. Only think of the root of the thoughts; seek it and find it. The Self shines by itself. When that is found the thoughts cease of their own accord. That is freedom from bondage. 

D.: Yes. I understand it now. I have learnt it now. Is a Guru necessary? 

M.: So long as you consider yourself as an individual, a Guru is necessary to show to you that you are not bound by limitations and that your nature is to be free from limitations.

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537

D.: May I contemplate on Sri Krishna or Sri Rama alternately? 

M.: Bhavana implies khanda i.e., division.

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Talk 540. 

Once ‘A’ asked: There is more pleasure in dhyana than in sensual enjoyments. Yet the mind runs after the latter and does not seek the former. Why is it so? 

M.: Pleasure or pain are aspects of the mind only. Our essential nature is happiness. But we have forgotten the Self and imagine that the body or the mind is the Self. It is that wrong identity that gives rise to misery

What is to be done? This vasana is very ancient and has continued for innumerable past births. Hence it has grown strong. That must go before the essential nature, viz., happiness, asserts itself.

Talk 542. 

‘A’ asked: I often desire to live in solitude where I can find all I want with ease, so that I may devote all my time to meditation only. Is such a desire good or bad? 

M.: Such thoughts will bestow a janma (reincarnation) for their fulfilment. What does it matter where and how you are placed? 

The essential point is that the mind must always remain in its source. 

There is nothing external which is not also internal. 

The mind is all. If the mind is active even solitude becomes like a market place. There is no use closing your eyes. Close the mental eye and all will be right. The world is not external to you. The good persons will not care to make plans previous to their actions. Why so? For God who has sent us into the world has His own plan and that will certainly work itself out. 

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Talk 547. 

D.: What is the significance of Guru’s Grace in the attainment of liberation? 

M.: Liberation is not anywhere outside you. It is only within. 

If a man is anxious for Deliverance, the Guru within pulls him in and the Guru without pushes him into the Self. 

This is the Grace of the Guru.

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