Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 143, June 8
Sri Sadgurubhyo namaha.
Om Santissantissantihi.
Note translator: beginning missing in recorded video posted
Anuvidya is scientific. It is not atheistic. It is not the total Truth. How can any substance not be created or destroyed? It is not possible. The ultimate truth goes beyond even the subtlest atom. One has to transcend that. We use the word atom or bindu to make one understand. Anor aneeyaan, Mahato maheeyaan, the Narayana Upanishat says.
Smaller than the smallest atom, and larger than the largest. It is only a pointer towards the concept of what is beyond the smallest and the largest imaginable entity. Narayana is beyond the atom, beyond any substance. Brahma is the subtlest point.
Nara + ayana is one who can only be obtained through knowledge. Any other argument is foolish. Sadguru’s form you see. It is auspicious. But you must understand the Sadguru principle. Only then you get Jnana.
If you get stuck in pujas and austerities, you will not progress. You respect the book and preserve it. If the pages get torn, you will not be able to gain knowledge from it. But the physical book is not knowledge. Begin with the form of God and worship. This is the first step. Then you go to the next step.
Maya principle also must be properly understood. That which keeps illusion in its control must be understood.
The Rishis separated. Patanjali spoke about Yoga Sadhana to develop concentration. Any student at any level requires concentration at different degrees. What to know should be understood with discretion. The rishis went step by step. Poorva Meemamsa is karma kanda, rituals, yajnas, yagas, and so on. Then Uttara Meemamsa comes, which gives complete knowledge. Are these all different? We cannot say. They show the different steps towards spiritual progress.
The science or logic of Paramanu is not the end. By the time you reach that, you have gained a certain level. You brush off even the smallest particle. Then what is left is Suddha Chaitanyam, Pure Consciousness.
At the end of the Kalpa, this entire creation dissolves into Truth, the way all dreams dissolve into deep sleep. What is left afterwards?
Even the awareness of ‘I’ is lost in deep sleep. But bliss remains. That, we experience daily. We run to the doctor if we suffer from lack of sleep. Sleeping pills and alcohol are bad for health. Even eating Maggi noodles is harmful to health. Do Pranayama for a few minutes. It will control the blood pressures. It will relax you. The dosage of pills must be gradually reduced even by those who consume them.
I do not mean that one should always remain in deep sleep, because I said that sleep is blissful. Sleep represents ignorance.
Vedanta tells us this. After the dream melts, what remains? Do not be thinking about this, sacrificing your sleep. Ponder over it while you are awake. Saptashati praises the Goddess of Sleep. Where you have come from, I do not know. I offer you obeisance.
The individual is constructed in such a way that out of his own ignorance, answers come to him.
After the dream dissolves, think about what remains.
Collectively, when everything withdraws, what is left? All these questions first arise. For each question, the answer is given here in Yoga Vasishtha, by Sadguru’s grace.
verse
Sat – being, existence – that alone remains, of Sat Chit Ananda. Realizing that the Sanmatra remains, is itself Realization.
Observe a sleeping child. A small infant sleeping. The innocent smile makes the child a heap of bliss. We are in that state of bliss. To make you understand, that, is the Sat principle.
Even after the body is assumed, that Sat exists.
tatasthimita ..
This entire Creation merges into Sat. Sat remains steady and solemn. No action takes place. No movement. How is it possible? Only if the One alone remains, pervading everywhere, it is possible.
Suppose we are packed tightly in a box, without even a hair breadth of space to move. You cannot move. But Sat is not bound. It is free. But it does not move. It is immeasurable and unfathomable. Ganapati has the descriptive name Gambheera, unfathomable. In the raga Gambheera Nata, Swamiji has composed a bhajan.
Is it radiant? No. There is no radiance. In our comprehension, we identify radiance with light. We think consciousness is visible light. It is an illusion. What is radiance? Only when there is a form you see radiance. Agni. Fire has form as radiance. If a substance is applied to it, it becomes a dot or a line. Is it darkness? No. It is not even darkness because it is always lit. It sounds contradictory.
Consciousness is its nature. It is therefore, not even darkness. It is all-pervasive. We do not accept Shoonyavada, the logic of nothingness, as the Buddhists do.
I wish for a jewel. Just manifest it out of nothing. Does it happen? Buddha’s disciples wrote down his teaching up to the stage of Shoonya Vada. He was not done with this teaching yet. He meant that this world is transient. It is like a bubble. The disciples hastily concluded that this was the last lesson, while it was not. They began meditating on nothingness, prematurely.
How can there be nothingness? It is absolutely wrong logic. After falling asleep, this world went into nothingness. But what remained? The Black Hole they speak about, it is not the truth.
It is neither darkness nor light, as we imagine them to be. It has no name. It is not perceptible. When only That remains, it cannot be perceived. There is no one to perceive. What is it like? It is the subtlest of the subtle. But that description is not correct. It is largest than the largest, it is said. But even that is not correct.
Read Gajendra Moksham in the Bhagavatam. Now, after listening to this, read and understand the symbolism of the crocodile, the Chakra, Vishnu, Heaven, the distance traveled, and so forth.
He appears as if He is very far away. How long did it take for Vishnu to come to the rescue of Gajendra? Can our voice be heard by Him who is so far away? He is closer than your own heart. If you think in your mind, He will know. Our Sadguru also tells us that. You pose your questions in your own mind. The answers will come. Why did it take Him a thousand years to come? If you read, you will understand.
Many questions arise. Only if you say that there is something, or something is left, only then, you will understand.
All the rivers combined to form the ocean, some say. But even without the rivers, the ocean exists.
That Jnana, Consciousness, remains at the end of the Kalpa. Yesterday we spoke about the impossibility of packing everything into a matchbox.
NSF did research and found that daily man thinks 70-80K thoughts. Out of these 80% are thoughts previously thought about. The rest 10K are new thoughts. It means that all our cumulative thoughts have the capacity to fit inside our minds. That is why they all come in our dreams. All that we think or imagine about, are kept inside the mind. But the mind is inert. Go further deeper. The individual works the mind. Where did he come from? From Pure Consciousness. How did this process occur? It is inexplicable. Are there many individuals? No. We earlier mentioned that only one remains and has imagined himself to be many.
To console one in bereavement, this philosophy is explained, that no one goes anywhere.
The Pure Consciousness is given a name.
Rtamatma ..
Mahatma is a name. Not a great individual, but the Supreme Soul, the Great Soul. This Sanmatra is called Rtam, Atma, Param, and Brahma. How did these names come? They are not meaningless. There is much meaning in them. Simply uttering the words gives great benefit to individuals. Have children chant the sloka: Gurur Brahma .. It is highly beneficial for them.
Rtam means Truth. At night, before taking a meal, one does Prokshanam and prays that this meal should increase the level of Truth within and give mental and physical strength. What is the use of simply gaining physical strength? Unless there is good intellect, it is useless. Anjaneya grants us that. That is the first attribute mentioned, Buddhi. Prana Sakti comes to us if we pray before we eat. That is why Swamiji said we must chant the Datta Stavam before meals.
Verification is required for any statement. A flashlight shows us clearly an object in the dark. Sadguru’s word gives authentication.
Rtam.
Atma. Vyasa gave it this name. It appears as if it gives, possesses, and contains everything. Who experiences it all? Not the body, but the soul. all the things it receives. It is eternal. Even after Creation subsides, it remains.
An earthquake occurred. Everyone perished, we think. No one went anywhere. Atma remains forever.
Parambrahma. What does Param mean? Satyam or Truth is its boundary. But it is without any boundary. There is nothing larger than that. This world appears like a huge balloon fully blown up.
What is Truth? What the great Yogis, Rishis, Sadguru, Jnanis, and scholars have experienced and validated, this is Truth. Vishnu, Siva, Maheswara, all refer to this Atma Chaitanya, Soul Consciousness. The names are made up. They are not real. After birth, a name is given, according to the star, a whim, or one is named after a respected relative.
The names given to us are all made up. All names are great and powerful. What is there in a name? Is there a treasure in it? It is a common expression to ask that. Your signature carries great weight. A bank will not accept a cheque without a signature. Names may be shortened or substitutes with nick names. For worldly interactions, the individual is given a name. He has given it to himself. The name actually belongs to God. All names are symbols for God.
Tomorrow we will continue this teaching. Thinking about these concepts will produce understanding, by Sadguru’s grace. His compassion will help us to comprehend if we make a sincere attempt. To know oneself should be easier than learning about worldly things. One should be able to see one’s own face in the mirror, although one does not see the faces of others. Make an attempt with devotion and earnestness. There is nothing more selfish than having the wish to know oneself. The world is filled with selfishness. But this pursuit, while it is selfish, is the most unselfish science of all. It prevents one from doing any harm to anyone else.
Yasya prasaadaat .. in the Guru Gita, it is said: It is only by Guru’s grace that this principle comes to our personal experience. It will come. I also pray on behalf of all of you, that you should be granted this ultimate experience.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi