Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 22, August 6
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha
Yesterday in the 14th sarga we heard Rama’s Upadesa called Jeevita Garhana. Rama was pointing out all the flaws in life. Rama is not blaming life itself. Atheists claim that we are born only once and we must enjoy it to the best. The first part is good. We must wish that we should not be reborn. One lifetime is sufficient. But the second part is not correct. We must recognize the negative aspects of life and not waste it on chasing after pleasures.
Dr. Swarna Prasad and I were discussing that when we scold children, we are not angry with the children. What is being scolded or found fault with are their mistakes.
Many people ask: What is the meaning of lIfe? Education, marriage, job, family, property, why all these? It is very difficult to find answers. We do not remember what happened during our first few years. We do not remember our past lives at all. Without my giving you the advice to do so, you do all these things of pursuing education, marriage, job, children, and so on.
Adam and Eve were not told to be a couple. It happened naturally. A hungry person will eat. It is natural. Even if you tell someone that it is Ekadasi, he will still eat.
Those who make an attempt to learn how to avoid being reborn, and try to earn eternal bliss, their lives are fulfilled. Their lives are of a high standard. It is very important to follow Dharma and make life worthwhile.
Like trees, animals and birds, we also should not simply take birth and die. Many times trees appear to be more beneficial to the world than us. All the parts of the tree are useful in countless ways. Roots are medicinal. Leaves make compost. Wood is good for fuel and other purposes. For our education trees provide paper, pencils and so on. We are like a few species of trees that are perhaps not so useful. We waste our lives.
We must learn to be beneficial like rivers, mountains, and even donkeys or mules. The animals teach us to be tirelessly working, like Karma Yogis. We learn the wrong things from everything.
We must live without inconveniencing others. We must help ourselves and others and live a life of virtue.
Those who jump in wells and oceans are not leading proper lives.
Many people are born but most of them do not actually count.
One person sent his son to the court to go win the case. He went and found that he had to wait for 3 hours before his turn would come. He whiled away time drinking tea, eating snacks, and reading the newspaper. There was still plenty of time. Finally he went to the cinema. But it was the climax scene and he could not leave when he was supposed to leave and return to the courthouse. He waited till the cinema was over and then he then ran to the court. It was too late. The judge had gone home. The father asked the son what happened. When they asked me to return to court at 2 PM I went at 3 PM and it was too late.
The boy did so many things but not what he was supposed to do. That is how most people live their lives. They do so many things frantically keeping themselves busy, but fail to do what it is that they took this birth for.
Those who seek a Sadguru and earn spiritual wisdom are alone making a proper use of their lives, but not those who while away their lives in chasing after pleasures.
A farmer takes good care of his animal (an ox or a donkey) which is too old and not useful. It cannot even raise its body to build an appetite so that it can eat. It lacks the energy to even receive care. It is a pitiful state. But some animals that do not lose interest in work will work in the field till they drop dead. The farmer will entice the animal to eat, offering it its favorite food. It refuses to eat if it loses interest in work. The farmer tries his best and after a few days gives up his effort.
We lose interest in Dharma and we also live like the aged oxen or senile donkeys. It has nothing to do with age. It is a matter of disinterest, be it for people or for animals. It is best to live in health and activity till the end of life instead of becoming a burden to others.
Many are averse to singing bhajans, going on a pilgrimage, or doing an austerity. For everything they show disinterest. They consider every such good activity as undesirable and difficult. Their interest is only in enjoying sensual enjoyments of the world.
When the mind is upset, many people overeat. That is why one should pray before eating. If you consider food as Brahman/God, food will not be abused like that.
Body is an instrument for attaining Self-Realization. It is not in our control to just give up the body. The purpose of this body is to cross the ocean of worldliness by using it like a raft. After death also, the body needs to be shown due respect. Proper cremation and rites have to be performed.
In some countries, there is not enough space these days for burial of dead bodies. Hence, the old buried bodies are excavated and burned now. How will the relatives feel? That is why our culture has prescribed different appropriate means.
Now we have rockets that fly. Our ancestors flew without need for rockets. We have no faith in our past heritage. We are ignorant. We have no time to study and learn. We look down upon our culture and applaud foreign cultures.
We are piling up so many heavy weights on the body. How will the train with too many bogies pull them all? Those with knowledge of Truth will have no personal desires. They have the power to help many others. They are free from such burdens.
We sit down to study and are pestered with questions and doubts. The subject that will eventually help us will appear to us as a burden.
A doctor gives pills. But the patient finds it a burden and a chore to swallow the pills. How will he get well?
This Yoga Vasishtha is one book. But it is very big. You want something simple. Om is very simple. Just one syllable mantra. Chant it. Oh, it is too much. You cannot be helped.
Ayurveda gives small capsules now. If even a small tablet appears too big and you avoid even making an attempt to swallow it, you will not gain any benefit. Ignorant and foolish persons have no interest in learning and they have wandering minds. Knowledge appears heavy. Learning becomes a burden. Mind is the cause for everything. Joy and sorrow are both caused by the mind. One who is restless cannot utilize his life. One who is calm can put his mind to good use. Those who have no knowledge of Self go into depression and commit suicide. You must love yourself.
Your body is a great gift from God. Use it well.
In the jungle there is a big river. You have no choice but to cross it. You have to find some logs and tie them with some strong creepers. Using that raft that you have built, you cross the river. After crossing it, you leave it there. Some kings in the olden days used to burn the boat after they crossed the river to prevent enemies from following them. It is not a good practice.
For a wise person, life is not a burden. He happily lives enjoying the possession of his knowledge.
Why is knowledge heavy? Rama explains. Evil-minded persons are those who do bad deeds in the worldly sense. But those who do not make an attempt to know the Truth about life are bad persons as per Vedanta. Even the intellect is given up after its use is over in attaining spiritual knowledge.
Such people’s physical beauty is not useful. Their long lifespan, mind, and intellect, and even their obsessive determination are of no use. Their desires are not beneficial. It is important to have the desire for Truth. Many dismiss Vedanta as a waste. For such, everything they have is a burden. Such is their story. If too much weight is piled on the back, it will break. One needs to straighten one’s vision. 6 topics represent the six senses and the six evils in man. They should not become burdensome.
Dasakantha is Ravana representing Ego and arrogance which lead to his ruin.
Dasaratha is wise, the father of Rama. He uses the ten features of the body as ten chariots and goes towards victory.
They were both contemporaries. Rama as Atma Svaroopa destroyed ignorance.
Rama’s three brothers are the Three Gunas. Rama transcends them all.
In dream, a gift from God, we see many things. By the time you wake up the king is still king and the pauper is still a pauper, regardless of their opposite status in the dream. In deep sleep you enjoy bliss. But it does not mean that you should spend the entire life sleeping.
Keep the mind on the right track. Then the Ahankara (Ego), and Eehita (desires) and everything else in life will yield only happiness.
The restless persons lack peace. A 10 minute nap gives us rest. Or deep breathing with focus on the breath gives immense energy. It is infinite like an ocean.
We must keep our desires under control. We expend the entire lifetime gathering and acquiring things. Before you can enjoy them life is over. You clutter up your 10X10 room so much, where will you live? We hoard and preserve useless trash. We do not give away old clothes and blankets even. You have not space to sleep. You sleep outside in the open and become sick.
You cannot put the waters of an ocean in a pot unless you are Sage Agastya. You do not have such power. Sadguru has the power to give us knowledge.
Wholeness must be attained. What is the use of being fragmented? If you are of bits and pieces, then problems will come. You have built the room. Keep it tidy and enjoy it. You must teach all the children this science. Do not acquire too much. You will become a nest for the birds called diseases. What is the secret of the healthy people? Their minds are calm. Their habits are healthy.
When diseases occupy the body, the body becomes a burden. There is no facility to gain spiritual wisdom. The body becomes old and life is wasted.
Ponder over each of these topics. So many remedies are being prescribed by Sri Rama for body, mind, and soul. You must meditate upon these and experience the benefits. I pray for Sadguru’s blessings for everyone to absorb these pieces of advice.
10, 100, 1000, 10,000 the numbers keep growing as you keep adding each zero.
Disease comes. Yoga is the science that teaches us to purify our minds. Like the story we heard before, the basket became clean. But it is important to fill the vessel with water.
In olden days, in our childhood days, we had no cell phones or computers. How easy life was then. Yes, these are useful. But how are we utilizing this technology? Appaji enthusiastically learns and teaches others and puts it to good use. Instead of chanting God’s name, a person keeps checking the phone for messages.
If we are not at home, mice occupy the house. In a temple also mice and rats run around, even cutting through the concrete. Finally they will eat through us also. We should not allow it.
We trust that God will take care of us. Then we lose faith and cry.
Aasheevisha … means serpents in the form of objects of the world. They destroy us.
Chintaasoka prasamanam aayurvardhanamuttamam …in Aditya Hridayam.
There are two ways to interpret the meaning:
(If you chant it,) it removes grief and sorrow and increases the lifespan.
Those who remove grief and sorrow will have an increased lifespan, is another interpretation.
Sri Guru Datta