Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Friday, 14 February 2014
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Saturday, 8 February 2014
FROM OBJECTS...TO..BRAIN and from brain to HEART...IS REAL BREATH
Because every kind of sadhana except that of atma
vichara]]}TOWARDS THE SOURCE}} presupposes the retention of the mind }IN PICTURE JIVAS JAGAT} as the
instrument for carrying on the sadhana, and without
the mind it cannot be practised. The ego may take
different and subtler forms at the different stages of
one’s practice, but is itself never destroyed.
vichara]]}TOWARDS THE SOURCE}} presupposes the retention of the mind }IN PICTURE JIVAS JAGAT} as the
instrument for carrying on the sadhana, and without
the mind it cannot be practised. The ego may take
different and subtler forms at the different stages of
one’s practice, but is itself never destroyed.
Why should Self-enquiry alone be considered the direct means to jnana (KEN)?
Because every kind of sadhana except that of atma
vichara presupposes the retention of the mind as the
instrument for carrying on the sadhana, and without
the mind it cannot be practised. The ego may take
different and subtler forms at the different stages of
one’s practice, but is itself never destroyed.
vichara presupposes the retention of the mind as the
instrument for carrying on the sadhana, and without
the mind it cannot be practised. The ego may take
different and subtler forms at the different stages of
one’s practice, but is itself never destroyed.
A Puranic story of Sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha, is particularly instructive in this context.
Although Ribhu taught his disciple the supreme Truth of
the One Brahman without a second, Nidagha, in
spite of his erudition and understanding, did not
get sufficient conviction to adopt and follow the
path of jnana, but settled down in
his native town to lead a life devoted to the
observance of ceremonial religion.
But the Sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter
venerated his Master. In spite of his age, Ribhu would
himself go to his disciple in the town, just to see
how far the latter had outgrown his ritualism. At times the Sage went in disguise, so that he might
observe how Nidagha would act when he did not
know that he was being observed by his Master.
On one such occasion Ribhu, who had put on the
disguise of a village rustic, found Nidagha intently
watching a royal procession. Unrecognised by the
town dweller Nidagha, the village rustic enquired
what the bustle was all about, and was told that the
king was going in procession.
“Oh! It is the king. He goes in procession! But where
is he?” asked the rustic.
“There, on the elephant”, said Nidagha.
“You say the king is on the elephant. Yes, I see the
two”, said the rustic, “But which is the king and
which is the elephant?”
“What!” exclaimed Nidagha, “You see the two, but
do not know that the man above is the king and the
animal below is the elephant? Where is the use of
talking to a man like you?”
“Pray, be not impatient with an ignorant man like
me”, begged the rustic. “But you said ‘above’ and
‘below’, what do they mean?”
Nidagha could stand it no more. “You see the king
and the elephant, the one above and the other below.
Yet you want to know what is meant by ‘above’ and
‘below’?” burst out Nidagha. “If things seen and
words spoken can convey so little to you, action alone can teach you. Bend forward, and you will
know it all too well”.
The rustic did as he was told. Nidagha got on his
shoulders and said “Know it now. I am above as the
king, you are below as the elephant. Is that clear enough?”
“No, not yet”, was the rustic’s quiet reply. “You say
you are above like the king, and I am below like the
elephant. The ‘king’, the ‘elephant’, ‘above’ and
‘below’, so far it is clear. But pray, tell me what you
mean by ‘I’ and ‘you’?”
When Nidagha was thus confronted all of a sudden
with the mighty problem of defining the ‘you’ apart
from the ‘I’, light dawned on his mind. At once he
jumped down and fell at his Master’s feet saying,
“Who else but my venerable Master, Ribhu, could
have thus drawn my mind from the superficialities
of physical existence to the true Being of the Self?
Oh, benign Master, I crave thy blessings”.
Therefore, while your aim is to transcend here and now
these superficialities of physical existence through atma
vichara, where is the scope for making the distinctions
of ‘you’ and ‘I’, which pertain only to the body? When
you turn the mind within, seeking the source of thought,
where is the ‘you’ and where is the ‘I’?
You should seek and be the Self that includes all.
the One Brahman without a second, Nidagha, in
spite of his erudition and understanding, did not
get sufficient conviction to adopt and follow the
path of jnana, but settled down in
his native town to lead a life devoted to the
observance of ceremonial religion.
But the Sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter
venerated his Master. In spite of his age, Ribhu would
himself go to his disciple in the town, just to see
how far the latter had outgrown his ritualism. At times the Sage went in disguise, so that he might
observe how Nidagha would act when he did not
know that he was being observed by his Master.
On one such occasion Ribhu, who had put on the
disguise of a village rustic, found Nidagha intently
watching a royal procession. Unrecognised by the
town dweller Nidagha, the village rustic enquired
what the bustle was all about, and was told that the
king was going in procession.
“Oh! It is the king. He goes in procession! But where
is he?” asked the rustic.
“There, on the elephant”, said Nidagha.
“You say the king is on the elephant. Yes, I see the
two”, said the rustic, “But which is the king and
which is the elephant?”
“What!” exclaimed Nidagha, “You see the two, but
do not know that the man above is the king and the
animal below is the elephant? Where is the use of
talking to a man like you?”
“Pray, be not impatient with an ignorant man like
me”, begged the rustic. “But you said ‘above’ and
‘below’, what do they mean?”
Nidagha could stand it no more. “You see the king
and the elephant, the one above and the other below.
Yet you want to know what is meant by ‘above’ and
‘below’?” burst out Nidagha. “If things seen and
words spoken can convey so little to you, action alone can teach you. Bend forward, and you will
know it all too well”.
The rustic did as he was told. Nidagha got on his
shoulders and said “Know it now. I am above as the
king, you are below as the elephant. Is that clear enough?”
“No, not yet”, was the rustic’s quiet reply. “You say
you are above like the king, and I am below like the
elephant. The ‘king’, the ‘elephant’, ‘above’ and
‘below’, so far it is clear. But pray, tell me what you
mean by ‘I’ and ‘you’?”
When Nidagha was thus confronted all of a sudden
with the mighty problem of defining the ‘you’ apart
from the ‘I’, light dawned on his mind. At once he
jumped down and fell at his Master’s feet saying,
“Who else but my venerable Master, Ribhu, could
have thus drawn my mind from the superficialities
of physical existence to the true Being of the Self?
Oh, benign Master, I crave thy blessings”.
Therefore, while your aim is to transcend here and now
these superficialities of physical existence through atma
vichara, where is the scope for making the distinctions
of ‘you’ and ‘I’, which pertain only to the body? When
you turn the mind within, seeking the source of thought,
where is the ‘you’ and where is the ‘I’?
You should seek and be the Self that includes all.
D: Is it not to obtain the Guru’s Grace that presents are offered to Him? So, the visitors offer presents to Bhagavan.
Why do they bring presents? Do I want them? Even
if I refuse, they thrust the presents on me! What for?
Is it not like giving a bait to catch the fish? Is the
angler anxious to feed them? No, he is anxious to
feed on the fish!
if I refuse, they thrust the presents on me! What for?
Is it not like giving a bait to catch the fish? Is the
angler anxious to feed them? No, he is anxious to
feed on the fish!
D: Is not the literate man better qualified for Enlightenment in the sense that he stands in no need of guru kripa?
Even a learned man must bow before the illiterate
sage. Illiteracy is ignorance and education is learned
ignorance. Both are ignorant of the true aim. The
Sage is ignorant in a different line. He is ignorant
because there is no ‘other’ for Him.
sage. Illiteracy is ignorance and education is learned
ignorance. Both are ignorant of the true aim. The
Sage is ignorant in a different line. He is ignorant
because there is no ‘other’ for Him.
D: What is the significance of prostration to the Guru or God?
Prostration signifies the subsidence of the ego, and
it means merging into the Source. God or Guru
cannot be deceived by outward genuflexions, bowing
and prostrations. He sees whether the ego is there
or not.
it means merging into the Source. God or Guru
cannot be deceived by outward genuflexions, bowing
and prostrations. He sees whether the ego is there
or not.
The Master
The Master is both ‘within’ and
‘without’, so He creates conditions to drive you
inward and at the same time prepares the ‘interior’
to drag you to the Centre. Thus He gives a push
from ‘without’ and exerts a pull from ‘within’, so
that you may be fixed at the Centre.
You think that the world can be conquered by your own
efforts. When you are frustrated externally and are
driven inwards, you feel ‘Oh! there is a Power higher
than man!’
The ego is like a very powerful elephant which cannot be
brought under control by any less powerful than a
lion, which, in this instance, is no other than the
Guru, whose very look makes the elephant-like ego
tremble and die.
You will know in due course that your glory lies where
you cease to exist. In order to gain that state, you
should surrender yourself. Then the Master sees that
you are in a fit state to receive guidance, and He
guides you.
‘without’, so He creates conditions to drive you
inward and at the same time prepares the ‘interior’
to drag you to the Centre. Thus He gives a push
from ‘without’ and exerts a pull from ‘within’, so
that you may be fixed at the Centre.
You think that the world can be conquered by your own
efforts. When you are frustrated externally and are
driven inwards, you feel ‘Oh! there is a Power higher
than man!’
The ego is like a very powerful elephant which cannot be
brought under control by any less powerful than a
lion, which, in this instance, is no other than the
Guru, whose very look makes the elephant-like ego
tremble and die.
You will know in due course that your glory lies where
you cease to exist. In order to gain that state, you
should surrender yourself. Then the Master sees that
you are in a fit state to receive guidance, and He
guides you.
D: Is it not our duty to be patriots?
M: Your duty is to be and not, to be this or that. ‘I AM
THAT I AM’ sums up the whole truth; the method
is summarised in ‘be still’.
And what does stillness mean? It means ‘destroy yourself ’;
because, every name and form is the cause of trouble.
‘I-I’ is the Self. ‘I am this’ is the ego. When the ‘I’ is
kept up as the ‘I’ only, it is the Self. When it flies off
at a tangent and says ‘I am this or that, I am such
and such’, it is the ego.
THAT I AM’ sums up the whole truth; the method
is summarised in ‘be still’.
And what does stillness mean? It means ‘destroy yourself ’;
because, every name and form is the cause of trouble.
‘I-I’ is the Self. ‘I am this’ is the ego. When the ‘I’ is
kept up as the ‘I’ only, it is the Self. When it flies off
at a tangent and says ‘I am this or that, I am such
and such’, it is the ego.
D: Does my Realization help others?
M: Yes, and it is the best help that you can possibly render
to others. Those who have discovered great truths have
done so in the still depths of the Self. But really there
are no ‘others’ to be helped. For, the Realised Being
sees only the Self, just as the goldsmith sees only the
gold while valuing it in various jewels made of gold.
When you identify yourself with the body, name and
form are there. But when you transcend the body
consciousness, the ‘others’ also disappear. The Realised
one does not see the world as different from Himself.
Maharshi’s Gospel
Getting: The Self is always there. You have only to remove
the veil obstructing the revelation of the Self.
Retaining: Once you realise the Self, it becomes your direct
and immediate experience. It is never lost.Extending: There is no extending of the Self, for it is as
ever, without contraction or expansion.
Retirement: Abiding in the Self is solitude. Because there
is nothing alien to the Self. Retirement must be
from some one place or state to another. There is
neither the one nor the other apart from the Self. All
being the Self, retirement is impossible and
inconceivable.
Abhyasa is only the prevention of disturbance to the
inherent peace. You are always in your natural State
whether you do abhyasa or not.... To remain as you
are, without question or doubt, is your natural State.
the veil obstructing the revelation of the Self.
Retaining: Once you realise the Self, it becomes your direct
and immediate experience. It is never lost.Extending: There is no extending of the Self, for it is as
ever, without contraction or expansion.
Retirement: Abiding in the Self is solitude. Because there
is nothing alien to the Self. Retirement must be
from some one place or state to another. There is
neither the one nor the other apart from the Self. All
being the Self, retirement is impossible and
inconceivable.
Abhyasa is only the prevention of disturbance to the
inherent peace. You are always in your natural State
whether you do abhyasa or not.... To remain as you
are, without question or doubt, is your natural State.
Friday, 7 February 2014
YOU ARE IN PEACE
Peace is your natural state. It is the mind that
obstructs the natural state. Your vichara has been
made only in the mind. Investigate what the mind
is, and it will disappear. There is no such thing as
mind apart from thought. Nevertheless, because of
the emergence of thought, you surmise something
from which it starts and term that the mind. When
you probe to see what it is, you find there is really
no such thing as mind. When the mind has thus
vanished, you realise eternal peace.
Monday, 3 February 2014
10 TH DWAR VISION.......
“Day and night, I am in communion with the
Lord, with my mind fully convinced. The temple
of my body has thus been beautified. The five
Sounds of the limitless Music — the Word — are
resounding. O, the Lord has entered my body.”
— Suhi Mnaam or word
The Holy Naam, or Word, can be practiced by
all alike without the agency of tongue or palate.
It does not require adherence to the outward
observances of the social religions. This Word
may be defined as the spirit-current which emanates
from the One Being. It forms all the spiritual
and material planes as It comes down from
plane to plane, reverberating in and out of all of
them.
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