Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 18, August 1
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha
Sreebhooyuta ..
Yatassarvani bhootaani ..
Brahmanandam paramasukhadam ..
Ramaya ramabhadraya ..
Apadamapahartaram ..
Om Purnamadah..
Om Santissantissantihi
Today is Naga Chaturthi, a very special day. A very special day in Yoga Vasishtha also.
Dasaratha, Viswamitra, and Vasishtha asked Rama to explain the reason for his apathy and despair. Viswamitra thundered at Rama to speak up.
Yesterday Rama showed his willingness to reveal his pain and his doubts. He began to disclose his problems. Today we will learn the questions that he posed. Rama knows that some elusive Truth is there that he is not able to grasp.
Asthiraaha ..
Rama has seen much of the world. He has had many experiences. He has acquired everything and everything is within his reach. Why is such a person speaking like this?
All the greatest of luxuries also are fleeting, Rama says.
We get solace that at least for a short time the joys last. We are satisfied with this.
Why do I see the world differently from the way others see it? I have seen so much during my pilgrimage. There is something elusive, which is the unchanging Truth. All else is transient, except what is Truth. So much of effort is put in throughout life and yet the result is not anything worthwhile. We are earning sin in the process of earning temporary pleasures. We may feel that while it lasts why can we not enjoy? That line of thinking is not right. You wish to obtain what is permanent. When you build a house you do not think about its collapse, although you know that everything must perish. You consult with engineers and constructors to build a sturdy structure. You wish to bequeath it to your future generations. We acquire sins by hankering after impermanent things. These temptations make us climb the ladder of sins. Sins are the root cause of this birth. The first step that we take leads us to sin.
Everything is scattered all around. All these things are appearing like pieces of iron that we have collected and made a useless lump or a hill out of them. They are not connected to one another. This entire world appears as if it is going to give comfort. The mind is responsible for our thinking so. It is all a fabrication of the mind and nothing else. But the mind itself that is supposed to help us enjoy it, and which creates all this, does not seem to have a real existence. How do we stop running after things that are illusory?
I am not able to determine where happiness can be found. I feel like a thirsty baby deer which is running helplessly to find water to survive. Summertime is terrible in the forests. The animals do not find sufficient food or water there. Earlier the kings used to make provisions for them. Not anymore. Now that is why the animals invade cities and villages. The thirsty deer goes after mirages and loses its life. The deer drinks only a little water. Without even that, it perishes.
Please offer food and drink to animals and birds. That is why earlier, people used to build a small container of water in front of their homes for animals to drink from. A mirage does not offer any life-giving water.
My situation is that of a deer running after mirages.
The older deer try to teach the young ones to use their sense of instinct to know the real location of water.
We are running in fear of death.
A person (Koyavadu in Telugu), comes wearing a strange attire, appearing frightening, he wears all forest products, tiger nails, and animal skins. He asks for money. If we do not give, he shakes the sheet he carries with him. Snakes and scorpions fall out of it. Scared of it, people give money. After he leaves all the venomous creatures vanish. How he does this magic no one knows. The moment he leaves, we remember the caution our neighbors had given us of this man’s approach and his deception. We still fall for this trick out of fear. Shambara is the name of this person who has mastered this skill of creating a frightening illusion. He has no address. He is a magician. Like a Shambara this world covers us in delusion. I am yearning to know the cause of this occurrence, and a way to overcome this. Is such a fear necessary? What needs to be done to get out of this delusion? We have bound ourselves in this trickery. We have fallen into this chasm just as animals sometimes fall into a ravine.
Why do I need this kingdom? Who am I? Why have I come here? Why is this wheel of creation rotating like this?
The same sentiment is expressed by Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. As a result, some people think that this work came after the Bhagavad Gita. That idea is not correct. This happened in the Treta Yuga. To prevent such misunderstanding the stories of Bharadwaja, Valmiki, and others are given in the preliminary 6 sargas/chapters.
Rama is expressing his pain.
Some people fear that if we accept that all this is illusory, we will not be able to survive or breathe even. We may not be able to do anything. People worry that something terrible will happen to us if we discard this illusion.
Why should I care about what others say?
We keep searching and searching. We run after mirages. Sadguru assures us, I will show you a source of water, an oasis. Follow my guidance. Follow the path that I show you.
A traveler in a desert burning with thirst was desperately searching for water. If someone gave a false hope also he ran for water. When one is so exhausted, if a short break is taken and proper thinking is resumed, water will be found. But in such a situation, he is not willing to do that. But if he does rest for a moment surely someone will come along on a camel and offer him water.
The Paramatman/Supreme Soul Himself will come as Sadguru to dispel the illusion that overwhelms us. This science is not difficult to grasp if complete faith is there. If we entertain doubts and distractions, we will lose the grip.
Vimarsa and Prakasa are the two aspects of Mother Goddess. By deep contemplation, enlightenment occurs. A very intense study and analysis are required. Rama says he had thoroughly investigated the subject. He now has lost interest in all types of enjoyments.
I give up now. I am now ready to receive your explanation and your answers to my questions. I pray to you to enlighten me.
The following five verses are most important. The questions of Rama are presented. Unless you pray to Guru, Please tell me, Sadguru is not going to reveal the secret to you.
That is why all the Trustees come to Guru and pray for a visit and some discourses to enlighten the devotees. Such an earnest request is required.
I am going to present my questions. Please bless me with the answers, pleads Rama, from the Gurus.
What is it that gets destroyed? What is it that is born? It is very small when it is born. It grows big. It then deteriorates.
Like a balloon, it is very small to start with. It fills up with air and becomes big. You prick it with a pin and it gets flat.
Rama sees old age and death as flaws in the body.
A doctor sees an injury. He sees the bleeding. He finds a way to stop the bleeding. A sepsis occurs. He finds a remedy.
The injury is birth. The sepsis is old age. Sadguru is the doctor.
During old age you become dependent on others, be they children or others. They have to clean up our excretions. You feel guilty for requiring and accepting such services.
We hence pray for a life without degradation. We pray for a painless death.
Birth is ours. The aging process is ours. Death is ours. We are responsible. We have to find our own solutions.
People argue that there is also pleasure in life. Why not enjoy it? Rama addresses this argument also. What is the novelty in it?
Along with enjoying the pleasures, we must utilize life to seek God. Otherwise life is wasted. In the process of growing, the body is deteriorating. A mild breeze is good. We require it. But if a tornado comes, it uproots homes and trees. We should not get destroyed by such a breeze.
Keechaka venavaha … We have the ten active members in the body, the vital airs and perceptions. Rama sees them as the bamboo shrubs making a frightful sound as the wind passes through them. That sound is unbearable to hear. There are insects also that make a screeching and jarring noise in the forest.
What is your problem? Rama is asked. So what if insects make sound?
Jaradrumaha ..
The dried up trees in the forest, if they catch fire, what is their fate? Even good trees get burned along with them.
Please put out the fire that is raging within me. The heat of the penance is burning me. The yearning to realize the Truth is scorching me. Out of compassion, please, rescue me. Please save me. I feel like crying in anguish. But I control myself. I pretend to be cheerful. I do not wish to give pain to father, mothers and others. No one is able to understand my pain. Only discretion and knowledge can dispel my unbearable anguish. Please give me solace. The reason I avoid company is that I cannot tolerate the poverty of ignorance. Please bless me with the wealth of knowledge. This problem will not be resolved with money. Those who judge the happiness of others by outward appearances do not know the inner agony that the person may be suffering. Many people see the outward wealth of others and say what does he have to complain about? What do they know about his personal problems?
Jnana is never locked up. It should be available to those who are qualified and eligible. It should not be forced upon those who are not ready for it or those who are disinterested.
We have to earn the eligibility, and then we will receive the knowledge. Rama is at the ripe stage now to receive this knowledge. Some people hesitate to express their doubts to other for fear of criticism.
Rama cannot speak like this after his marriage to Sita. He cannot speak like this after he becomes the king. This is the correct time for him to get his doubts cleared. People should do things at the appropriate times. When it is time to study one should study. When it is time to work one should work.
Rama ruled the kingdom for 11,000 years. After this dejection, and after clearing his doubts, and after attaining enlightenment, Rama led a good, perfectly dharmic life.
O Sadguru, I pray to you to give me your initiation and upadesa.
Are you free now to receive the teaching from Sadguru? Will you be ready tomorrow? If you tell Sadguru that you are not ready, then you have lost your chance. Rama pleaded with Sadguru to give him knowledge. At the end of the 6th sarga there are some very interesting concepts expressed in a very nice way.
By being bashful, if I do not express now my prayer to you for knowledge, I will never again get a chance to obtain this priceless treasure.
The snake is tamed by the snake charmer after it loses all its strength and is absolutely helpless. He then fully controls it makes it dance to his tunes. Similarly, a disciple has to fully surrender and acknowledge that he does not have the answers. He must plead with the Sadguru to enlighten him. Only then Guru will disclose the secret.