The Cleansing Process
Cleansing the mind of dirt,
Grow in it pure and holy thoughts:
Then you can view the world
With Wisdom Vision, as Right and Light.
No fruit can grow on tree sans flower;
It cannot ripen into sweetness
Without emerging Grace.
Disciplined work alone can grow
Into devotion; and that alone
Can transform into Wisdom deep.
At the core of this Universe, about which we speak and which we describe, is Paramaatma (Supreme Self), about which we cannot speak and which is beyond all description. Both the cognisable and non-cognisable have emanated from the same One Indivisible Consciousness. Each is full and complete in itself. The individual consciousness is the manifestation of the Cosmic Consciousness. When the material sheath falls off, it merges in its source. The Vedas declare, “That is full; this is full. From the full, emerges the full. When the full is taken from the full, the full remains full.” So, the Cosmos, the world, the individual—all are embodiments of the Full. Nothing can be fractional or incomplete.
The symbol of the full is Om, the Pranava. The Vedas announce; “The One indestructible sound Om is Brahman, the Universal Absolute.” The moving and unmoving, everywhere are only paraphrasing Om, elaborating its nature, illustrating its potentialities. The past that has gone, the present that is here and the approaching future are all also Om. The Pranava is the Name, (Nama), and Paramaatma is the Named, (Nami). The two are not separate. “Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahma;” All this is indeed Brahman (Paramaatma). But, this awareness of the immanence of the Universal can come to man only when the I-consciousness is forgotten; when the ‘I’ disappears, man becomes fit to know the non-’I’.
The Four Steps In Saadhana
In order to delve deep into the principle represented by the Pranava (Om), four steps have been demarcated in saadhana. One may doubt how the eternal unique integral Om can be understood in stages! The steps, however, are designed to help the identification of the principle itself.
Wakefulness, dream, deep sleep and the “fourth” are the steps. They are known as jaagrata, svapna, sushupti and turiya in the Shaastra. Jaagrata means “being awake”, “exterior alertness”, or “outward vision.” The consciousness in gross, while in this stage and in dreams the impressions that impinge on the consciousness are reflections and images of the Truth. In the sushupti or deep stage, the individual is not conscious at all; he is just a witness, who acknowledges later, (after awakening) that he slept well. The consciousness is not aware of itself. It is pure unaffected prajna or awareness. It has no contact with the objective world or the senses, outer and inner. It is pure _Brahman_-Consciousness (Prajnaanam Brahma). The last stage is turiya. It is the stage when the consciousness is fully aware of itself. It cannot be identified as such by any means! We can try to delineate it a little, by saying that it is the silence that prevails after one Om and before another Om follows it.
These four stages of Pranava are associated with the deities Vishnu, Brahma, Rudra and the Paramaatma. Vishnu means that which is omnipresent. The visible Universe is suffused with beauty and beauty is God. Since the Universe is the Body of God, the Supreme Person, Vishnu, is also described in the scriptures as “He who delights in decoration” (Alankara Priyo Vishnu), The material Universe is saturated in harmony, law and symmetry and is therefore charming and fascinating. Through this attraction, the external world, the Universe, draws man into various paths and exertions. The five elements, the five senses, the five vital airs and other phenomena teach man various lessons to mould his nature. So the objective world can be taken as his Guru.
Experience In Dream And Deep-Sleep Stages
Vishnu is the deity who fosters and feeds, who moulds and masters. Moreover, He is the guardian of the Cosmos, the Jagadrakshaka. The scriptures teach man to sanctify the waking hours—Jaagrata stage—for they belong to Vishnu, and are charged with the Vishnu Principle. They exhort man to avoid wicked deeds, polluting thoughts, all types of errors and failings.
During the dream stage, we can experience holiness and bliss, only when we engage ourselves, while awake, in steady unselfish activities. In dreams, we see diverse objects and persons, strange worlds, of skyscrapers and castles. From where did these emerge? Through whom were they presented? Prajnanam Brahma, the Supreme Consciousness, is the basis for the creation of this variety of dream appearances. Brahma is the deity that creates. So, the dream state is the Brahma-phase of consciousness.
Then, the deep sleep stage. Here, the experiences gained during the waking hours or gone through in dreams do not impinge on man. They have all been extinguished. Rudra, the deity into whom the Cosmos ultimately merges, is therefore associated with the sushupti phase.
Next, we have the turiya or the fourth stage, the stage of _Atma_-Consciousness. When the salt doll is dropped in the sea, it reaches the bottom and is dissolved. The same happens to the seeker of the Atma. He is dissolved. He becomes one with that which he sought to know. He cannot return and describe the experience.
“The A of Om is the Vishwa; the U is Taijasa; the M is _Prajna_” - there is another interpretation in the scriptures. Vishwa is the Waking, Taijasa the Dream, Prajna, the Deep sleep stage. The Pranava saadhana (the spiritual exercise of meditation on Om) is therefore very important for seekers. The Vedas prescribe the repetition of the Pranava while studying holy text, reciting the Name of the Divine, carrying out daily duties and offering gifts.
Nine Essences And Sustainers Of Human Life
The Pranava is the essence of all sustenance, the embodiment of Rasa. Of all creation, moving and unmoving, the Earth is the Rasa; of the Earth, Water is the Rasa; of the Water, physic (Oshadhi) is the Rasa; of the physic the Human Person is the Rasa; of the Human Person, the word is the Rasa; of the word, the Rk scriptural hymn is the Rasa; of the Rk, Saama is the Rasa; of the Saama (Veda) Om is the Rasa. These eight Rasas, the earth, water, physic, person, word, Rk, Saama and Om lead to the ninth, Ananda (Bliss). These are the Navarasas, the Nine Essences, the Nine Sustainers. Ananda (Bliss) is the goal which man is seeking, the aim of human life.
Man struggles variously to attain Ananda. Ananda is the height of happiness, the embodiment of joy. It is sought in three different ways, according to the innate quality of the seeker – the Saatvika, the Raajasika and the Taamasika. The Saatvika path is poison in the early stages and nectar while coming to fruition. It involves firm control and regulation of the senses, of cognition and action. This will be very hard to accomplish. But as one progresses in practice, the joy increases and bliss is attained. How can such a goal be secured without undergoing hardship? The scriptures say, “Happiness cannot be won through happiness”; Na sukhat labhyate Sukham. Happiness can be won only through misery. Pleasure is but an interval between two pains. To achieve the Saatvika happiness that is positive and permanent, man must perforce take on trials and tribulations, loss and pain.
The Raajasika And Taamasika Path
Now about the second type—the Raajasika. In the early stages, this path is nectarous but later, it slides into misery, for the happiness is derived through the sense from objects of the external world. The pleasure soon reveals itself as unreal, false and exhausting. Once the process starts, it drags on with no facility for rest. Man becomes too weak to pursue the goals of Dharma (righteousness) Artha (prosperity) Kama (wish-fulfillment) and Moksha (liberation) which are laid down for him. His intellect, imaginative skill, intuitive faculty—all are rendered lame. Man can even lose his humanness. The blind pursuit of objective sensual pleasure has today resulted in this very calamity. Man has forgotten his true Divinity and surrendered his life to unholy activities.
Lastly, we have the Taamasika path. People who prefer this way of life are unconcerned with the problems of the world; they sleep away their lives, deriving joy in sloth and darkness.
Of these three paths towards the goal of Ananda, man must accept the Saatvika road, whatever the hardship, the loss, the misery, the anxiety and the labour. He must attain the awareness of Divinity, the experience of Godhead (Bhagawan) and be established in the Ananda.
Nine Lamps That Can Illumine The Mind
What is the inner meaning of the expression, Bhagawan? The Vedas say, “Brahmeti, Param-aatmaiti, Bhagavat iti shabdyate.” (The Bhagawan principle is the same as Brahman, Paramaatma). Bhagawan is the Ultimate, the Full. Bha means having full auspiciousness and prosperity. Ga means deserving praise and adoration. In the Ramayana, Bhagawan is described in clear terms. He sustains the Universe using His creative power as the means. He creates and fosters what is created. So, He is Sambhartha or Bhartha, He who raises, He who rules and saves. Bha also means light and splendor. Bhagawan is He who sheds and spreads Light. Bhagawan is Jyoti-svarupa, embodied Light, the Effulgence. Since He can and does illumine all things and beings everywhere at all times, He is Bha-ga-wan.
When do we need Light? Not during the day, but when night prevails. Then we need a lamp, a flame, the Moon. So too, until wisdom enlightens us, we need saadhanas; until we experience the One Unified Divine, we have to accept and practice discipline, regulations and saadhanas.
Ignorance is the Night. Knowledge is the Light. There are nine lamps that can illumine the mind and free it from darkness – shravanam (listening), keertanam (adulation), smaranam (remembering), paadasevanam (showing respect by touching the feet), archanam (ceremonial worship), vandanam (paying obeisance), daasyam (doing service), sakhyam (friendliness), and atma-nivedanam (self surrender).
We must shape ourselves into fit instruments for the spiritual pilgrimage. There are four classes of persons; those who pay attention to their own faults and the excellences of others (the best); those who highlight their own excellences as well as the excellences of others (the middlings); those who pay attention only to their own excellence and only to the faults of others (the worse type) and those who present their own faults as excellences and the excellences of others as faults (the worst). Each one can discover for himself the group to which he belongs. Remember this; when one is yearning to become aware of the Full, the Sacred, the Prema, the Atma, the Bhagawan, he has to prepare himself for the first and the best group—discovering his own faults and observing only excellences in others. This is the most desirable saadhana.
Uphold The True Glory Of Man
Man is suffering today because he is engrossed in the external world, with no saadhana or steady practice to correct his vision. What can ten baths a day do to cleanse a person, when his mind is fouled by evil thoughts? What can the shaven head and the ochre clothes do to foster spirituality when his mind is riddled by desires and wants? You may rotate a ball of sweet outside the mouth but unless it is put into it and eaten, hunger will not be abated. So, develop sincere longings, cleanse the mind, purify the thoughts, and put the precepts into practice. In Vedanta, this process is mentioned as, karma-marga, the path of activity.
There is no fruit without a flower and there can be no devotion with karma. The fruit ripens and becomes sweet; bhakti ripens into jnaana (wisdom). So, we must first take up holy activity with clean intentions. One saadhana that is cultivated on a large scale today is dhyaana (meditation). But, the dhyaana that is done is not in consonance with the principle of Bhaarateeya Culture. In the absence of a purified mind, dhyaana can never achieve the mergence. How can a house be built without brick and mortar?
By Saadhana You Can Correct Your Faults
It is said that one can succeed in dhyaana by indulging in it whenever a little time is available and that one can be engaged in this saadhana, whatever the habits one is prone to, whatever feelings and thoughts reside in you and whatever path you follow. But this advice is not correct. If one has to remain quiet for sometime without being distracted or disturbed by fear or anxiety, one could indulge in drink or consume opium. Dhyaana must have far higher aims and far stricter credentials. Or else, the culture of Bharat will suffer great damage. Therefore, fine virtues have to be cultivated first, good thoughts have also to be entertained. One should uphold the true glory of man.
Many people come to me distraught and pray, “Swami! I have no peace. Give me peace”. But peace cannot be got from the outer world; it has to be sought in the heart. Wicked desires breed misery; beneficial desires result in joy. The removal of desire ensures peace (shaanti). When desire after desire multiply in the mind, how can peace be gained? After bhajan and dhyaana, you repeat shaanti thrice, praying for physical, mental, and spiritual peace. But the awareness of the atma, being the reality of all, can only confer shaanti.
A single mango seed is planted; the tree yields thousands of fruits and in every fruit, you find the seed! The same atma is in every Being! The Lord is the seed that is manifested as thousands of seeds. “Ekoham (I am single) Bahu**sayaam (shall become many)”, said the Lord. When we posit difference and distinctions due to ignorance of this fact, we are afflicted by fear and shaanti disappears. When man doubts and disbelieves brother man, how can shaanti prevail?
Now, the mind of man is tending towards evil. The mati (mind) has become durmati (bad mind). The year that begins today, Sunday, is “_Durmati_” and people apprehend that evil may increase. The year begins on the day of Sun who is, according to ancient astrological texts, the King for the next twelve months. The Sun is also the Lord of the Peoples, the Lord of Rain Clouds, and the Lord of Curative Herbs. Moreover, the Moon is His Mantri or Minister. Since the Moon has no independent source of light and energy, the King and the Minister will move amicably and so, the year will be a happy and prosperous one.
But, whatever astrology may indicate, you can direct your mind (the Moon) and your intellect (the Sun) into propitious channels of peace and prosperity. By saadhana, you can correct your faults and mould your excellences and ensure shaanti for yourselves, your society and your country. Pray everyday for the welfare of all the world: “_Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu_”. This is My message for the new year.
Prasanthi Nilayam, 5-4-1981