Upanayanam
Today is Shankara Jayanti, the day commemorating the advent of Shankaracharya, who came to restore dharma. It is also the day on which Brahmopadesham (instruction about Brahman) was given here for the boys sitting on this dais, who have come from Bengal, Bombay, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. The Shankara Jayanti Day was chosen by Me for their initiation into the higher aadhyaatmika (spiritual) life, for Shankaracharya is an inspiration even today for millions of spiritual aspirants all over the world, who seek to know the Reality of the universe and its fundamental unity. They had this lucky chance of getting initiated here in My presence by Me, as a result of their own good fortune.
The ceremony of Brahmopadesham is called Upanayanam, which means “taking near,” taking the young aspirant near Brahman, that is to say, introducing him to Brahma-jijnaasa (desire to know Brahman)—the path of Brahman. It is one of the samskaaras (purificatory acts), rites which reconstruct the personality, reform the mind, purify it and re-build it. It makes the person receiving it a dvija (a twice-born)! The boy is born first into the world; now, he is born into the saadhaka world. He becomes a brahmachaari —a person who walks towards Brahman. So, it is a very significant day in the lives of these people; the day must be long remembered with joy and thankfulness. It is the day when their hearts were turned towards God, and they should try not to run away from God hereafter; that is a great responsibility.
Gayatri Mantra Is Universal Prayer
The initiation was done by the upadesham (instruction) of the Gayatri mantra. The mantra (sacred formula) is a universal prayer that can be used by men of all climes and creeds, for it calls upon the glorious power that pervades the sun and the three worlds to arouse, awaken, and strengthen the intelligence, so that it may lead to intense sadhana and sadhana may lead to success.
Every little moment or incident results in sound; only, you may not be able to hear, because the range of your ear is limited. The falling of an eyelid over the eye makes a sound, the dropping of dew on a petal makes a sound. Any little agitation disturbing the calm is bound to produce sound. The sound caused by the primal movement that resulted in the enveloping of Brahman by self-evolved illusion is the pranava-shabdha or Om. The Gayatri is the elaboration of that Pranava, and so, it is now held so venerable that initiation into spiritual life is achieved by its contemplation.
The sound of a mantra is as valuable as its meaning. Even a poisonous cobra is quietened by music; naadam (sound), has that allaying property. The child in the cradle stops wailing as soon as the lullaby is sung; it may not carry any meaning; it may be a nonsensical rhyme or just a jingle, but it quietens, soothes the nerves, and induces sleep. In the case of the Gayatri, the meaning too is easy and profound. It does not ask for mercy or pardon; it asks for a clear intellect, so that the truth may be reflected therein correctly, without any disfigurement.
Requisites Of Spiritual Discipline
The brahmachaari has vowed himself into a life of spiritual discipline. Now what are the requisites for the discipline? First, faith, that can stand the ridicule of the ignorant, the cavilling by the worldly, the laughter of the low-minded. When someone ridicules, you should argue like this within yourself: Is he ridiculing my body? Well, he is doing what I myself would wish to do, for I too want to escape out of this attachment of this body. Is he ridiculing the Atma? Well, he is doing the impossible, for the Atma is beyond the reach of words or thought; it is unaffected by praise or blame. Say to yourself, “My Atma-tattvam (principle of the Self) is nischala (immovable), it is nirmala (pure),” and carry on.
Second, do not worry about ups and downs, loss or gain, joy or grief. You are yourself the maker of the ups and downs. If you but care, it can all be one smooth level. You label something as loss and something else as gain. You crave for a thing and when you get it, you call it joy; when you don’t, you call it grief. Cut the craving off, and there will be no more swinging from joy to grief.
Third, reason out and get convinced of the truth, sarvam Brahma-mayam (All is Brahman). You know there are five elements or bhutas, which constitute, by their permutations and combinations, the world called prapancham, the “Five-constituted.” Prithvi or the earth-element has five qualities, the maximum, and so, it is the grossest. It has its own special characteristic of gandha (smell), as well as the characteristic of the other four, namely, sparsha, rasa, roopa, and shabdha (touch, taste, form, and sound). The next one Jala, the water-element has only four, its own special one—taste and touch, form. So, it is subtler than the Earth-element. Agni is subtler still, because apart from its special characteristic of form, it has only two others, sound and touch. Vayu, the air-element has touch as its special and one more quality, sound. Finally, the lightest and subtlest of all the five, akasa, the sky-element, has only one characteristic, its own, namely, shabdha. Now, God is subtler than even akasa and so He is all-pervading, even more than ether or anything more pervasive than that. His nature is beyond all human vocabulary, beyond all human mathematics. Have this conviction well stabilised in your intellect.
Establishment Of Dharma By Adi Shankaracharya
Fourth: Be steady in spiritual practice, and never hesitate once you have decided on it. When the bus is moving on, the dust will be floating behind as a cloud: it is only when it stops with a jerk that the dust will envelop the faces of the passengers. So, keep steadily engaged in the practice. Then, the cloudy dust of the objective world will not cover your face.
Shankaracharya came to this world for the work of Dharma-staapana (establishment of righteousness), but he did not wage a war against the narrow sectarians or the wild theologians who opposed him or the critics who condemned him as a pseudo-buddhist. He won them over by argument, persuasion, and preaching. He spoke softly, but with conviction. He gave his opponents fair chances to present their cases to the best of their ability, and sometimes he even helped them to clarify their own points of view. Through bodha (knowledge) alone can dharma be saved in the modern Kali-age. That is why I am engaged in bodha (imparting knowledge), in this task of re-constructing through Upadesham (instruction).
When you scatter seeds on the surface of the soil, they do not germinate. You have to keep them inside the soil. So too, bodha, if it is scattered on the surface, it will not germinate, grow into the tree of knowledge, and yield the fruit of wisdom. Plant it in the heart, water the plant with divine love, manure it with faith and courage, keep off pests with insecticides of bhajan (group singing of holy names) and satsang (company of the holy), so that you can benefit in the end. You have not yet got started in sadhana; still, you demand shanti; you demand grace. How is it ever possible? Start! Then, everything will be added unto you.
Ask For The Right Things
God gives you whatever you pray for; so, take care. Ask for the right things. There was a man who had four wives; he happened to go to Bombay on some work connected with his business. From there, he wrote to all of them that he was prepared to bring home whatever each of them wanted. So, they all wrote to him giving a list of things they wanted. The first wife asked for some nice tonics for her health, and rugs and woolen clothing, to be of service whenever she fell ill. The second wife wanted some saris of the latest style, choli pieces, jewelry of the Bombay type, and such other sundry decorative stuff. The third asked him to select for her some religious books, the Jnanaeshvari, Abhangs, Bhakti-vijaya, etc., available in Bombay bookshops, as well as pictures of Pandarinath, Bhavani, Sai Baba, etc. The fourth wife had no list at all; she simply wrote, “If you return soon and safe, that is enough for me.” She got nothing but his love. The others got big packets containing whatever they had written for. So think well, discriminate clearly before you ask, before you pray.
I know how systematic you all are in eating and drinking. You take pretty good care of the body. I do not condemn it; I only want that you should take equally good care of the needs of the spirit also. Take a dose of Dhyanam (meditation) and Japam (silent repetition of holy names) as the morning breakfast; puja and archana (ritual worship) as lunch at noon; some sat-sang (holy company) or sat-chintana (thinking holy thoughts) or sat-grantha paraayana (reading of holy books) or naama-likhita (writing of holy names) as afternoon tea and snacks; an hour of bhajan (devotional singing) as dinner; and a small ten-minute manana (reflection) as the cup of milk before going to bed. That dietary is enough to keep your inner being happy and healthy. That is My advice to you today.
Prasanthi Nilayam, 16-5-1964