Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 95, February 7
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha
asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrityor ma amrtam gamaya
Om Santissantissantihi
Please lead me from untruth to Truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. May there be peace.
Yoga Vasishtha Dhyana Slokas:
yatassarvāṇi bhūtāni pratibhānti sthitāni ca
yatraivōpaśamaṁ yānti tasmai satyātmanē namaḥ || 1
jñātā jñānaṁ tathā jñēyaṁ draṣṭādarśana dr̥śyabhūḥ
kartā hētuḥ kriyā yasmāt tasmai jñaptyātmanē namaḥ || 2
sphuranti sīkarā yasmāt ānanandasyāṁbarē vanau
sarvēṣām jīvanam tasmai brahmānandātmanē namaḥ || 3
Om santissantissantihi
Yesterday, the Vaktru Prichchaka Lakshana – the attributes of a speaker and the questioner – were discussed in the Mumukshu Vyavahara Prakarana.
Vasishtha expressed his happiness at the attitude of renunciation felt by Sri Rama. Rama’s mind was now totally calm and at peace.
Sarvasyaivahi ..
God’s nature is to bless everyone without any exception. He does not differentiate in any manner. He wishes to fulfill the desires of all and wishes to grant liberation to all. In the minds of those who lack discretion, God develops discretion in their minds and then grants them renunciation. It is a blessing to be able to renounce. When does one qualify to merge in God? Only when all other things are let go. One must ponder over this and understand the greatness of dispassion.
Even to those who are very learned, dispassion occurs only because of some troubling incident that occurs. Jnana and Vairagya are slightly different. Jnana is knowing. Vairagya is experiencing personally the knowledge that has been learned. It is Vijnana. In their past lives those who have done great penance, qualify to quickly acquire dispassion. Having knowledge is easy. To bring it into personal experience is very hard. But that is what is most important.
Whether they are ascetics or ordinary people, to develop dispassion, some untoward occurrence is required. It is rare to find such people who develop dispassion merely by observing others and their surroundings. Most people have to experience pain themselves. Yudhishthira laments this fact that people fail to learn from observation. There is nothing wrong in such an attitude. But the dispassion that occurs due to some unfortunate incident is referred to as Rajasa Vairagya. Unless we learn our lessons in vairagya – dispassion, our lives are wasted. One can learn by looking at the mistakes committed by others. We see so many things but we do not learn. Such ones are Tamasic.
Rajasa Vairagya is very good to have. Even ascetics have the desire to do penance without hurting anyone. By looking around at the world, one develops dispassion. It happened in the case of Gautama the Buddha. He saw the funeral procession from the balcony of his royal mansion and had a change of attitude. His entire outlook got transformed.
idam..
Rama, your sense of dispassion is indeed rare and commendable. You are young, you are a prince, you are the future king and yet, you are ready to renounce everything. You are not in any danger of losing your position as the Crown Prince. You are not under any attack by enemies. Yet, your thoughts have take a turn towards dispassion. Your health is good. You are not falsely accused of any crime. You have not suffered the bereavement of any near and dear ones. When everything is fine and you are in a comfortable position, you still have attained this knowledge that has led to this pure dispassion in you. This is ‘animitta vairagya’ – dispassion caused without any apparent reason. You are deliberately pushing aside all luxuries and comforts and are seeking to merge in God. This dispassion has arisen as a result of your close examination of this creation and of yourself.
Despite such dispassion, Sri Rama obtained Guru’s instruction, married Sita, left His kingdom, returned from exile and ruled the kingdom for 11,000 years. It is wrong to think that when one has dispassion, one is unable to achieve anything. In truth, dispassion develops concentration and one is empowered to achieve great things effortlessly.
This is Satvika vairagya. Sri Rama, you gave the world some deep thought and incisive analysis. You have discovered the truth about this world. You now know what is real and what is unreal.
bheebhatsam …
Now more clearly the same truth is stated.
When people see on the news channel some bomb blast images or a scene of a battle with dead bodies strewn all over, it troubles and horrifies our minds, such as the stream of blood flowing in the devastated area, the pieces of flesh scattered all over, it is extremely painful and horrifying to look at it. Such scenes create dispassion in one’s mind. But even such a dispassion does not always last long. Some people develop it by pondering over such scenes and events. Some people deny their occurrence, and look the other way. Some pay little attention to it. Heart patients may lose their lives by getting too upset and are advised not to watch alarming scenes.
Those with Satvika Vairagya realize that this worldly happiness is but a drop in the Almighty’s immeasurable ocean of bliss. Great souls may see peace and prosperity all around them and yet, they develop dispassion. They are not enamored of what they see in the world. They know that the source of this peace and happiness is God. They realize that this one drop of bliss grants the happiness that is enjoyed by everyone on earth, in heaven and all other worlds. That should give us an idea of the limitless bliss that is the nature of the Almighty.
We all seek happiness. No one searches for unhappiness. Only the insane will torture themselves and will invite pain upon themselves. It is because their mind is spoiled. They are mentally ill. A good intellect always seeks joy.
Vairagya does not incapacitate and make one useless and helpless. Great scientists forget themselves and their families and they achieve great discoveries. They are dispassionate about all else, except their work. Such focus is required.
verse
Who are great souls? Those who develop dispassion without getting triggered by any misfortune, but by observation and pondering to realize the nature of this world, such as great souls, Mahatmas.
There is no need for degrees and certificates to gain this type of knowledge. Book learning and scholarship are not needed for this. It is pure common sense. We have to practice looking at things the right way to know what is real and what is unreal. Such observation and analysis will remove the thorn that pains our minds. Some unknown uneasiness is caused by the thorn of misunderstanding. When there is a thorn in the foot, you cannot walk with easy. It has to be removed, for regaining comfort. Earwax, when it is removed, clarity of hearing is restored and enjoyed. We feel great relief. One should not leave such thorns to remain in the mind. It may cause an infection to the mind and cause the disease called pain and suffering. There are many strategies to purify the mind. Penance is the best method. It includes bhajan singing, ritual worship, japa, continuous chanting of prayers, meditation, and other activities. That is why Swamiji is encouraging us all to now chant the Hanuman Chalisa. His goal is to reach a target of 133 crore repetitions of Hanuman Chalisa worldwide for mind cleansing and world peace.
Svaviveka ..
Sri Rama, your understanding has come from within yourself. Knowledge is a treasure that can never be stolen. You have not acquired it from any external sources. God is Jnana – spiritual knowledge. Your own deep thoughts and feelings, your own contemplation has granted you this great realization.
This reminds us of the shloka printed in Bhakti Mala magazine. If you wish for the bride called liberation to woo you, then wear the garland called devotion, to attract her. Vairagya or dispassion is similarly a garland that grants great beauty and radiance to a person. Rama is adorned with such a garland of dispassion which gives Him radiance.
verse
Sri Rama is the best amongst men. The one who thrashes out the truth about this world, and understands clearly how it was created, what the meaning is, of the continually rotating wheel of life, the nature of this creation, is the best amongst all. Why is this cyclical life happening? What is purpose of this? What is the benefit for us for remaining in it?
Many people boast about serving society and striving to make this a better world. But it is not true. When you serve society, you are actually serving yourself. One has to be selfish in spirituality. The good things we do, help us, more than they help others.
Sri Rama was selfish about understanding Himself first. He was not concerned about relieving the burden of the kingdom from His father. No one comes along on this journey towards Truth. One has to travel alone. Purushottama refers to any creature; it does not refer to male or female, and does not even restrict to the human species. Bharatha Maharshi attained Vairagya only when he was born as a deer.
svaviveka.
The Datta Stavam describes this concept ‘Svaroopananda dayakam’ – it means that knowing oneself grants the greatest bliss. Nothing else in the world matters or helps in giving happiness.
Giving up delusion is very important. Duryodhana was totally deluded when he entered Maya Sabha. Where a mirror was seen, there was no mirror. Where water was seen, there was no water. Where it appeared dry, water was present.
In Garga Samhita, Krishna gives the advice to be natural as if you are in your own home. It was not easy for the Kauravas to follow. Vidura alone was able to remain composed by following that advice, by remaining dispassionate. One should not be excited or moved by magical events. Magicians used to do tricks as if they actually sever the body from the head and re-attach it later, to mesmerize the audience.
God has created this world in such a wondrous manner that we fall into delusion and fail to recognize Him. We forget to acknowledge the unreality of this world. We simply applaud seeing the wonder, totally taken by it. But one who analyzes the secret behind it, will become a magician himself. He will learn how to do such tricks himself. One, who can remain aloof from the lures of the world can travel towards Godhead.
The world is both within and without. The passions that occur within should be conquered. It should be recognized that all that we see and experience is a trap that we have to avoid. Just as a bird avoids falling into a hunter’s net by exerting caution, we must avoid getting trapped in this world by being very alert.
A magician’s trick appears very real but it is not real. No other scriptural work uses the word ‘Indrajala’ to explain this concept easily to us. Only in Yoga Vasishtha you see this word used to describe this world. This world is nothing but a magic show, it says. It is all only an illusion.
verse
Once again we are reminded of the scene of a dreadful battlefield. Many are familiar with a cremation ground. Many people think that using the words corpse, and cremation ground are inauspicious. It is wrong to think so. It is the destination for every one of us. Even the biggest criminal feels dispassion when a beloved person is carried away to the burial spot or cremation ground. There are those in this world who hurt others without any cause. They are terrorists who are worse than demons. Even such people have loved ones and feel bad when they die. Vasishtha says, even the worst folks will momentarily experience Vairagya. But it may only be temporary.
Rama never experienced any such bad situations. Even the great Sage Viswamitra was there now in his presence. Still, he is experiencing dispassion.
Many people are of the opinion that temples are places to visit only when troubles or diseases come. When you are ill, there is no need to go to a temple. You might even spread your virus or infection to others. Many think that one can think of God when faced with misfortune. It is very wrong. When things are going well, when you are happy, you must visit temples. Make it a daily habit to at least visit a local temple. That you develop strength of mind and resilience to withstand the troubles when they strike.
Our science of liberation must be preserved to help humanity throughout. After writing all the highly philosophical spiritual commentaries, Adi Shankara composed many prayers. Why? It is only with devotion that Dharma will be preserved. Annamacharya’s compositions were all preserved in a completely closed cellar in a temple on copper plates. It is recorded in the history of Tirumala. When they discovered this treasure, it was all amidst debris and smelling of bats. Devotion promotes a life of Dharma. From a Dharmic life spirituality will develop. That is why ritual worship has certainly a place in one’s spiritual development. Some scientific minded people have the wrong notion that pujas are not important.
Now with our modern technical expertise we are preserving our knowledge in computers. If the computer crashes, we lose all our knowledge. We see it happening. That is why the ancestors preserved knowledge on rock etchings and more permanent materials. During his travels after all the highly subtle commentaries were written, Adi Shankara composed the Kanakadhara Stotram, and Bhaja Govinda stotram to teach Dharma to people and instill devotion in the heart. Swamiji also has composed many bhajans.
Swamiji is encouraging the wearing of the forehead mark, and has even released the liquid to draw the dot on the forehead. After it is just a bottle available in a store. This custom is not for show? Why? The mark will remind us to behave properly and to be careful in doing our duties.
verse
Sri Rama, your dispassion is free from anything unnatural. It is most natural. Your dispassion is complete and not lacking in anything. Therefore, you are fully qualified to receive from me the knowledge about your soul. We are unable to know ourselves. We can understand everyone but ourselves. That is the essence of the Science of Spirituality.
He, who has the genuine interest and a keen focus is the qualified candidate. Only such earth that has been cleansed of weeds and rocks and is made moist is eligible to receive seeds. Such a place will yield a proper harvest when the soil is mixed in right proportions and fertilizer is added. The mind also has to be properly cultivated. Unless and until the mind is well prepared and cultivated, it will fail to grasp the subtle science of spirituality, the knowledge about the Soul.
Unless our minds are ready, Guru will not give us knowledge. If the mind is hard as a rock, or is not moist and clean, but is full of rocks and stones, planting a seed there will be futile. It will yield no benefit. Only if the mind is purified, calm, and composed, it will absorb the knowledge given by Guru. The mind has to be ploughed, cleaned, and fertilized before the seed called Truth is sown by Sadguru.
Here the qualifications and qualities of a Guru and a disciple are clearly described and defined.
We will continue tomorrow.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta