Prasanthi Vahini
The mind should not be permitted to wander as it fancies. It must be controlled without the least tenderness of mercy. If possible, one should aim even at its destruction, that is to say, making the mind keep away from seeking worldly objects. It is only when that is done that man can grasp his real identity. The realisation of that Reality is the state called Mukti (Self-realisation). Then all varieties of troubles and travails, doubts and dilemmas, illusions and delusions come to an end. Man, then, overcomes sorrow, fear and anxiety, and follows the spiritual discipline of practising the sacred Shanti.
First, give up all impure impulses and cultivate the pure ones. Afterwards, try step by step to give up even the pure tendencies and render the mind objectless, Nirvishaya. Shanti thus attained is effulgent, blissful and associated with Jnana (Self-knowledge); it is indeed the experience of the Godhead, God Himself.
The Sadhaka (Spiritual Seeker) who wants to attain such Shanti has to constantly practise a virtuous life, overcoming all the initial obstacles. Shanti is like a mountain of rock. It can stand up against the continuous floods of temptation from evil. Such Prashanti need not be sought anywhere outside. It emanates from the Divine Radiance of Antahkarana (Inner faculty) itself. It is the very basis of the urge towards Moksha (Liberation); it is the root of deep-grounded Dhyana (Meditation); it is the prerequisite for Nirvikalpa (Undifferentiated, changeless) Samadhi. Established in Shanti, the Reality can be known and experienced. Vasanas (Impulses) and Vrittis (modifications) of the mind must be destroyed. Atmananda or the Blissful state of the Self is proportional to the decline of Ahankara (I-ness) and the identification with the physical body.
Do not shape your conduct with an eye on the opinion of others. Instead, to develop such Shanti, take the sweet and pleasant promptings of your own Satvika Manas, your own awakened conscience, your own Inner Self and follow that true path bravely and gladly. Associate yourself with those who possess Satsampatti (richly endowed with great virtues). Spend every second of your life usefully and well. If you possibly can, render service to others. Engage yourself in nursing the sick. But, when thus engaged in service, do not worry about either the result or fruit of service, or the act of service, or the person to whom it is rendered. The service is made holy and pure if you ignore both the good and the bad, and keep on silently repeating in your heart of hearts the Mantra that appeals to you. Do not enter upon any task through momentary compulsion of some impulse. The impulse might appear very respectable, but you should not let yourself be dragged by it. You have to be always vigilant in this matter, always steadfast and strong.
A joyful outlook helps Shanti to grow. Such joyfulness should therefore be cultivated by the Sadhaka. A lovable character free from pomp and show must be developed. He should understand the secret of good character, and on that basis strengthen his will-power for betterment. He must conserve his strength and power without utilising it wastefully. If he moves in the world intelligently and with care, he can demonstrate the truth of the statement, “Man is truly of the nature of Shanti.” Not doing anything that disturbs Shanti, not wasting the valuable time in worthless talk, conversing pleasantly and to the point, etc.—such things indicate humility and simpleness which strengthens Shanti.
If everything is dedicated to the Lord, there will be no room for worry or sorrow or even joy. If you rid yourself thus of attachment, Shanti can never be disturbed. I, my, mine, my own, your, yours—when these ideas take hold of the mind, Shanti suffers a setback. Even to get the attitude of sincerely offering all to Him, Prema (Love) associated with Atma-viswasam (Self-confidence) is essential. That is what is called Bhakti. Cultivate it steadily every day and derive joy therefrom. Along with Bhakti, one should also have a mind filled with Sama-Rasa (Equanimity). Spiritual life is not a matter of meaningless talk; it is really life lived in the Atman. It is the sublime experience of pure Ananda; it is just another name for the Accomplished Life - Sampurna Jeevanam.
For a life of Shanti, you should keep your promises and never forget them; you should be courteous and well-mannered; you have to be impartial in your dealings. You should be immersed in the ocean of Bhakti, and as stable as the Himalayas. Remove from the garden of your heart the thorny bushes of miserliness and anger, jealousy and selfishness, greed and the evil breed of ‘I-ness’ and ‘My-ness’ (Ahankara and Mamakara). Uproot them even when they emerge as seedlings. All these disciplines are truly disciplines for securing Shanti.
First, be convinced that you are the all-pervading, Eternal Atma. That will make every subsequent Sadhana easy. Instead, if you fondle the illusion that you are the body, the senses, or only the Jeevi, this individual self, any Sadhana that you do is just tender rot-ridden fruit; it will never grow and become ripe. The sweet fruit of Shanti cannot be won even at the end of many lives. To experience yourself as the embodiment of Shanti, you must proceed from the faith that you are such an embodiment. Give up the theory that you are the body and the senses. This will lead to the receding of Vasanas (desires, tendencies) also. When Sasanas recede, you will be able to experience the radiance of Shanti.
Shanti can also be defined as true Prema towards the Lord, towards the Satya (Truth) and towards the Sat-Dharma (True Dharma). It is this Shanti that makes realisation of the Lord possible. So, those who aspire to experience the realisation of the Lord, must necessarily have Shanti. That is to say, have the Lord as your sole aim, hold fast to the desire to realise Him in this very birth, remain unaffected by the maladies of lust or anger, by joy and pain, by praise and abuse or any such pair of opposites. Fortitude such as this alone leads to experiencing the Realisation of the Lord.
Resolve that the purpose of human birth itself is to reach the Lord through worship. “All my performances, utterances, renderings, and actions are to know God. All that I see, eat, speak, and act, are for the sake of reaching God.” Such firm resolve should be developed. The Lord’s name and form is like a huge mountain of jaggery (unrefined sugar denoting ‘sweet’). Approach that mountain, have faith in it, taste it anywhere, and you will experience only the sweetness of Ananda. The highest class of Bhaktas are those who ever revel in that Ananda. There are others who live beside the mountain; at times, they enjoy the Bliss of the constant remembrance of the Lord, and at other times, they experience the objects of the world. Such Bhaktas are of the middle class. From the rest, some devote a quarter of their time to the Lord and three quarters to experience the objects of the world. These are of the lower class of Bhaktas. There are also others who take shelter at the foot of the mountain (the Lord’s name and form) when calamity hits them but move far away from it when the crisis is over. These are of the lowest of the lower class of Bhaktas. Of these four grades, you all, being supreme devotees, must choose the highest type, and firmly cling to that path and enjoy Bliss and sweetness throughout your lives. To persist on that path, Shanti is the best comrade; with its help, you can render your life holy and fulfil its purpose.
But, one point has to be carefully noted here. When the body suffers from fever or when the mind is otherwise distracted, you do not feel the taste of the things you eat. So too when the Lord’s name is constantly remembered or meditated upon, if the heart is tainted by Tamo-guna (Quality of sloth), or if the mind is otherwise distracted and fickle, you cannot be aware of the sweetness of the name and cannot develop taste for it.
So long as the jaggery (sweet) is on the tongue, you feel the sweetness in the taste. Similarly, so long as the heart has Bhakti, Shanti, Prema and such other virtues, you feel Ananda.
Instead, if the bitter qualities of lust, anger and envy germinate in the heart, fear, anxiety and sloth will gush out from the heart. You must have noticed the crane walking silently or standing motionless in order to catch fish. If it plunges headlong or runs about helter-skelter, can it get the fish? Similarly, the Lord in the fish-forms of Satya, Dharma, Shanti, and Prema can never be won, when the hullabaloo of lust, anger, greed, egoism and envy is rampant in the heart.
The Ananda that transcends all ananda can be achieved, if a single Sadhana, the constant remembrance of the Lord’s Name is practised and, if as a consequence, Shanti is attained. By this, the evil tendencies, such as lust and anger, can also be conquered. Know that Paramatma is the goal of Man. Direct all attention on that goal. Control the mind that wanders away from it. This is the essence of the teachings of all the Shastras. Practise this one discipline, and you have practised all the Shastras.
Note this: the Kauravas enjoyed the benefits of the Punya (meritorious deeds) that they did in previous births, but while so engaged, they revelled in evil deeds; the Pandavas, on the other hand, while suffering from the evil deeds of their past births, engaged themselves in the deeds of Punya. This is the difference between the wise and the unwise. When hardships overwhelm you, know that it is the consequence of your own past deeds, do not lay the blame on the Lord and develop a grouse against Him. Do not pay heed to those hardships or take it as such; but, engage yourself in the service of others and in deeds of Punya. Continue remembering the Name of the Lord constantly; that is the sign of the wise; that is acting Pandava-like. To strengthen this sacred attitude, Shanti is a great source of help. Basking in the happiness born of past Punya, you should not be tempted to commit deeds of evil. You should strive to perform even more Punya (meritorious deeds). Then you can make your lives holier and purer and reach the Divine Presence. Such striving is the sign of the highest character. Establishing oneself in Shanti through this type of character and attaining liberation or Moksha—this is the secret of a successful life, the duty of every individual.
For, what exactly is Moksha, liberation? It is the Samadhi attained through the Sadhana of Chitta-shuddhi, or purification of the mind—the Sadhana of negating all the impressions that one gets through seeing, hearing, reading, learning, doing, and getting things done through others. A person suffering unbearable physical agony does not like or take any interest in an entertainment, does he? Similarly, sincere seekers and devotees can have no interest in the world’s theatre of objective pleasures, petty passions, angers, hatreds, etc. These inferior desires have first to be renounced and checked. They lie at the root of all misery. Passion is the product of delusion. It dwells in the mansion of Rajas. Renunciation or Vairagya is resident in the mansion of Satvika Guna (Quality of calm, serenity). Passion is an Asuric (demonic) asset. Passion, ignorance, selfishness, all are born of delusion. Passion brings about death, while Vairagya is Wisdom; Vairagya brings about Liberation.
Stabilising oneself in Vairagya (Renunciation) is itself the highest Tapas (Austerity), the most exacting vow. One has to be ever alert in that Tapas and strive again and again. Like a child endeavouring to walk, you might toddle a few steps, falter and fall; but, like the child, you must lift yourself up with a smile and start again. Shanti is essential for such persistence. Failures are not boulders that block your way; remember, they are stepping stones to victory.
Be bound to the Antaratma (Conscience). Take rest and refuge in That. Meditate on That, without interruption. Then, all bonds will loosen themselves, for the bond with which you attach yourselves to the Lord or the Atma has the power of unbinding all other bonds.
The “unattached” has real love towards all. Their love is not only pure, but it is Divine as well. That pure and Divine Love is the embodiment of Shanti. One can attain the Lord without doubt, if one engages himself in actions devoid of all Raga (passion or attachment).
Vairagya does not mean the giving up of hearth and home, or of high estate and even kingdoms. It is the understanding of the Divinity immanent in everything, the fading away of all the distinct names and forms, the Ananda of experiencing in everything and every place the Divine which is its Reality, that is the true meaning of the Mahavakya, Vairagya. So long as one cognises the world of name and of form, one is burdened with Raga (passion or attachment). How can it be Vairagya, when the mind is immersed in thoughts, feelings and experience of the objective world? One might have given up all but yet be full of these in mind. Such cannot be said to have Vairagya. Even for the acquisition of this pure spirit of Vairagya, Shanti is very necessary.
Index
Preface
Prashanti is Maintaining the Constant Flow of Ananda Both in Adversity and in Prosperity
Jnanam Born of Shanti is the True Jewel of Man
All Virtues can be Attained and Substantiated only Through Shanti
Faith in the Shastras and Actual Practice Helps in Securing Shanti
The Sadhaka - Spiritual Seeker
For Atma-shanti, Loka-shanti is Also Essential
Inquire and Investigate the Real and the Unreal
Engaging in Karmas Without Expecting Any Rewards Gives Shanti and Ananda
Paramashanti is the Basis to Achieve Mahattattvam
The Essence of Bhakti as well as Jnana is Shanti, Prashanti, Prakanti, and Paramjyoti
Ananga-yoga (Eightfold Disciplines): Yama, Niyama, Asana
Ashtanga Yoga (Eightfold Disciplines): Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi
The Sadhaka - Spiritual Seeker
The mind should not be permitted to wander as it fancies. It must be controlled without the least tenderness of mercy. If possible, one should aim even at its destruction, that is to say, making the mind keep away from seeking worldly objects. It is only when that is done that man can grasp his real identity. The realisation of that Reality is the state called Mukti (Self-realisation). Then all varieties of troubles and travails, doubts and dilemmas, illusions and delusions come to an end. Man, then, overcomes sorrow, fear and anxiety, and follows the spiritual discipline of practising the sacred Shanti.
First, give up all impure impulses and cultivate the pure ones. Afterwards, try step by step to give up even the pure tendencies and render the mind objectless, Nirvishaya. Shanti thus attained is effulgent, blissful and associated with Jnana (Self-knowledge); it is indeed the experience of the Godhead, God Himself.
The Sadhaka (Spiritual Seeker) who wants to attain such Shanti has to constantly practise a virtuous life, overcoming all the initial obstacles. Shanti is like a mountain of rock. It can stand up against the continuous floods of temptation from evil. Such Prashanti need not be sought anywhere outside. It emanates from the Divine Radiance of Antahkarana (Inner faculty) itself. It is the very basis of the urge towards Moksha (Liberation); it is the root of deep-grounded Dhyana (Meditation); it is the prerequisite for Nirvikalpa (Undifferentiated, changeless) Samadhi. Established in Shanti, the Reality can be known and experienced. Vasanas (Impulses) and Vrittis (modifications) of the mind must be destroyed. Atmananda or the Blissful state of the Self is proportional to the decline of Ahankara (I-ness) and the identification with the physical body.
Do not shape your conduct with an eye on the opinion of others. Instead, to develop such Shanti, take the sweet and pleasant promptings of your own Satvika Manas, your own awakened conscience, your own Inner Self and follow that true path bravely and gladly. Associate yourself with those who possess Satsampatti (richly endowed with great virtues). Spend every second of your life usefully and well. If you possibly can, render service to others. Engage yourself in nursing the sick. But, when thus engaged in service, do not worry about either the result or fruit of service, or the act of service, or the person to whom it is rendered. The service is made holy and pure if you ignore both the good and the bad, and keep on silently repeating in your heart of hearts the Mantra that appeals to you. Do not enter upon any task through momentary compulsion of some impulse. The impulse might appear very respectable, but you should not let yourself be dragged by it. You have to be always vigilant in this matter, always steadfast and strong.
A joyful outlook helps Shanti to grow. Such joyfulness should therefore be cultivated by the Sadhaka. A lovable character free from pomp and show must be developed. He should understand the secret of good character, and on that basis strengthen his will-power for betterment. He must conserve his strength and power without utilising it wastefully. If he moves in the world intelligently and with care, he can demonstrate the truth of the statement, “Man is truly of the nature of Shanti.” Not doing anything that disturbs Shanti, not wasting the valuable time in worthless talk, conversing pleasantly and to the point, etc.—such things indicate humility and simpleness which strengthens Shanti.
If everything is dedicated to the Lord, there will be no room for worry or sorrow or even joy. If you rid yourself thus of attachment, Shanti can never be disturbed. I, my, mine, my own, your, yours—when these ideas take hold of the mind, Shanti suffers a setback. Even to get the attitude of sincerely offering all to Him, Prema (Love) associated with Atma-viswasam (Self-confidence) is essential. That is what is called Bhakti. Cultivate it steadily every day and derive joy therefrom. Along with Bhakti, one should also have a mind filled with Sama-Rasa (Equanimity). Spiritual life is not a matter of meaningless talk; it is really life lived in the Atman. It is the sublime experience of pure Ananda; it is just another name for the Accomplished Life - Sampurna Jeevanam.
For a life of Shanti, you should keep your promises and never forget them; you should be courteous and well-mannered; you have to be impartial in your dealings. You should be immersed in the ocean of Bhakti, and as stable as the Himalayas. Remove from the garden of your heart the thorny bushes of miserliness and anger, jealousy and selfishness, greed and the evil breed of ‘I-ness’ and ‘My-ness’ (Ahankara and Mamakara). Uproot them even when they emerge as seedlings. All these disciplines are truly disciplines for securing Shanti.
First, be convinced that you are the all-pervading, Eternal Atma. That will make every subsequent Sadhana easy. Instead, if you fondle the illusion that you are the body, the senses, or only the Jeevi, this individual self, any Sadhana that you do is just tender rot-ridden fruit; it will never grow and become ripe. The sweet fruit of Shanti cannot be won even at the end of many lives. To experience yourself as the embodiment of Shanti, you must proceed from the faith that you are such an embodiment. Give up the theory that you are the body and the senses. This will lead to the receding of Vasanas (desires, tendencies) also. When Sasanas recede, you will be able to experience the radiance of Shanti.
Shanti can also be defined as true Prema towards the Lord, towards the Satya (Truth) and towards the Sat-Dharma (True Dharma). It is this Shanti that makes realisation of the Lord possible. So, those who aspire to experience the realisation of the Lord, must necessarily have Shanti. That is to say, have the Lord as your sole aim, hold fast to the desire to realise Him in this very birth, remain unaffected by the maladies of lust or anger, by joy and pain, by praise and abuse or any such pair of opposites. Fortitude such as this alone leads to experiencing the Realisation of the Lord.
Resolve that the purpose of human birth itself is to reach the Lord through worship. “All my performances, utterances, renderings, and actions are to know God. All that I see, eat, speak, and act, are for the sake of reaching God.” Such firm resolve should be developed. The Lord’s name and form is like a huge mountain of jaggery (unrefined sugar denoting ‘sweet’). Approach that mountain, have faith in it, taste it anywhere, and you will experience only the sweetness of Ananda. The highest class of Bhaktas are those who ever revel in that Ananda. There are others who live beside the mountain; at times, they enjoy the Bliss of the constant remembrance of the Lord, and at other times, they experience the objects of the world. Such Bhaktas are of the middle class. From the rest, some devote a quarter of their time to the Lord and three quarters to experience the objects of the world. These are of the lower class of Bhaktas. There are also others who take shelter at the foot of the mountain (the Lord’s name and form) when calamity hits them but move far away from it when the crisis is over. These are of the lowest of the lower class of Bhaktas. Of these four grades, you all, being supreme devotees, must choose the highest type, and firmly cling to that path and enjoy Bliss and sweetness throughout your lives. To persist on that path, Shanti is the best comrade; with its help, you can render your life holy and fulfil its purpose.
But, one point has to be carefully noted here. When the body suffers from fever or when the mind is otherwise distracted, you do not feel the taste of the things you eat. So too when the Lord’s name is constantly remembered or meditated upon, if the heart is tainted by Tamo-guna (Quality of sloth), or if the mind is otherwise distracted and fickle, you cannot be aware of the sweetness of the name and cannot develop taste for it.
So long as the jaggery (sweet) is on the tongue, you feel the sweetness in the taste. Similarly, so long as the heart has Bhakti, Shanti, Prema and such other virtues, you feel Ananda.
Instead, if the bitter qualities of lust, anger and envy germinate in the heart, fear, anxiety and sloth will gush out from the heart. You must have noticed the crane walking silently or standing motionless in order to catch fish. If it plunges headlong or runs about helter-skelter, can it get the fish? Similarly, the Lord in the fish-forms of Satya, Dharma, Shanti, and Prema can never be won, when the hullabaloo of lust, anger, greed, egoism and envy is rampant in the heart.
The Ananda that transcends all ananda can be achieved, if a single Sadhana, the constant remembrance of the Lord’s Name is practised and, if as a consequence, Shanti is attained. By this, the evil tendencies, such as lust and anger, can also be conquered. Know that Paramatma is the goal of Man. Direct all attention on that goal. Control the mind that wanders away from it. This is the essence of the teachings of all the Shastras. Practise this one discipline, and you have practised all the Shastras.
Note this: the Kauravas enjoyed the benefits of the Punya (meritorious deeds) that they did in previous births, but while so engaged, they revelled in evil deeds; the Pandavas, on the other hand, while suffering from the evil deeds of their past births, engaged themselves in the deeds of Punya. This is the difference between the wise and the unwise. When hardships overwhelm you, know that it is the consequence of your own past deeds, do not lay the blame on the Lord and develop a grouse against Him. Do not pay heed to those hardships or take it as such; but, engage yourself in the service of others and in deeds of Punya. Continue remembering the Name of the Lord constantly; that is the sign of the wise; that is acting Pandava-like. To strengthen this sacred attitude, Shanti is a great source of help. Basking in the happiness born of past Punya, you should not be tempted to commit deeds of evil. You should strive to perform even more Punya (meritorious deeds). Then you can make your lives holier and purer and reach the Divine Presence. Such striving is the sign of the highest character. Establishing oneself in Shanti through this type of character and attaining liberation or Moksha—this is the secret of a successful life, the duty of every individual.
For, what exactly is Moksha, liberation? It is the Samadhi attained through the Sadhana of Chitta-shuddhi, or purification of the mind—the Sadhana of negating all the impressions that one gets through seeing, hearing, reading, learning, doing, and getting things done through others. A person suffering unbearable physical agony does not like or take any interest in an entertainment, does he? Similarly, sincere seekers and devotees can have no interest in the world’s theatre of objective pleasures, petty passions, angers, hatreds, etc. These inferior desires have first to be renounced and checked. They lie at the root of all misery. Passion is the product of delusion. It dwells in the mansion of Rajas. Renunciation or Vairagya is resident in the mansion of Satvika Guna (Quality of calm, serenity). Passion is an Asuric (demonic) asset. Passion, ignorance, selfishness, all are born of delusion. Passion brings about death, while Vairagya is Wisdom; Vairagya brings about Liberation.
Stabilising oneself in Vairagya (Renunciation) is itself the highest Tapas (Austerity), the most exacting vow. One has to be ever alert in that Tapas and strive again and again. Like a child endeavouring to walk, you might toddle a few steps, falter and fall; but, like the child, you must lift yourself up with a smile and start again. Shanti is essential for such persistence. Failures are not boulders that block your way; remember, they are stepping stones to victory.
Be bound to the Antaratma (Conscience). Take rest and refuge in That. Meditate on That, without interruption. Then, all bonds will loosen themselves, for the bond with which you attach yourselves to the Lord or the Atma has the power of unbinding all other bonds.
The “unattached” has real love towards all. Their love is not only pure, but it is Divine as well. That pure and Divine Love is the embodiment of Shanti. One can attain the Lord without doubt, if one engages himself in actions devoid of all Raga (passion or attachment).
Vairagya does not mean the giving up of hearth and home, or of high estate and even kingdoms. It is the understanding of the Divinity immanent in everything, the fading away of all the distinct names and forms, the Ananda of experiencing in everything and every place the Divine which is its Reality, that is the true meaning of the Mahavakya, Vairagya. So long as one cognises the world of name and of form, one is burdened with Raga (passion or attachment). How can it be Vairagya, when the mind is immersed in thoughts, feelings and experience of the objective world? One might have given up all but yet be full of these in mind. Such cannot be said to have Vairagya. Even for the acquisition of this pure spirit of Vairagya, Shanti is very necessary.