Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 146, June 11
Sri Sadgurubhyo namaha
Om Santissantissantihi
In the Yoga Vasishtha, yesterday, while speaking about the process of creation of this Universe, we said that this Universe exists and at the same time does not exist, just like a mirage.
What is the reason for this Illusion? Maya is the cause. It is also known by different names such as Moha, Samsrti, Avidya, and so on. Because of succumbing to this illusion, we become bound. Once, without a trace, this perceptible world is swept out of our minds, we become liberated.
As long as this illusory world occupies our minds, we cannot get liberated. It is just not possible. Thus Liberation has been defined.
At the same time, to keep saying: This is not it, this is not it, is not going to give us liberation, although the expression, Neti Neti is frequently mentioned in the Vedas. Merely listening to that term repeatedly, does not give us the knowledge or experience of Truth. We may realize what Truth is not. But it does not tell us what Truth is.
When Bhagavadpada was questioned by Govinda Bhagavatpadacharya as to who he was: Kastvam? He gave a long answer, I am not the sky, I am not air, I am not fire or water, and so on, and finally concluded with I am none other than Siva, who is Consciousness and Bliss. Unless one has the experience of the Self, mere statements of denial are worthless. The Maha Vakyas from the Vedas define Truth. But they have to be experienced personally.
Many people go on extended pilgrimages seeking liberation. They think falsely that pilgrimages and penance will give them liberation. They are averse to seeking spiritual knowledge, Jnana, and question the need for it. They think that going on a pilgrimage and sitting down for penance are easy methods. Actually doing penance is very difficult. It generates a lot of heat, where one gets scorched by the yearning for liberation. Penance is not something of an easy eyewash to satisfy others.
Liberation does not occur by going on pilgrimages or by sitting down for penance. By attaining Jnana alone, liberation is possible. Jnaanaad eva hi kaivalyam. Therefore, you must become a Jnani. Otherwise, where is the need for this science if there are other easier means for attaining liberation? That asserts the importance of this Sastra, this science called Yoga Vasishtha or Vedanta.
Why are pilgrimages and penance inadequate to grant liberation? By doing them the world does not vanish. By going on pilgrimages, this world does not disappear. It remains fully occupying your mind. You merely visit more holy places in the world that you assume exists.
Liberation is the absence of this world or the eradication of this illusory world. Everything should be swept away clean. But do not keep the broom in a visible place. The broom is required for sweeping. Pilgrimages, penance, and yoga practices serve like the broom. But even the broom has to be discarded after a stage. A broom is not a pleasing sight. It should be kept out of sight even in the normal worldly custom. A broom is sought for sweeping. But once the cleaning is done, no one likes to see the broom lying around. The elders scold you if you leave it prominently visible. Yoga practice is done by severe means by some people. But as long as there is a mirror called the mind, the reflection of the world keeps appearing in it. Even if it is as small as an atom, still the world will re-create itself from that tiny particle that is left in the mind.
Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Savikalpa Samadhi should first be understood. They do not give Liberation. They are not Liberation. Jnana does not give Liberation. Jnana itself is Liberation.
Yoga Nirasa takes place in Yoga Vasishtha. Yoga as a means to attaining Jnana is not given acceptance in the Yoga Vasishtha. The path of Yoga is denounced because Yoga practice is not Liberation. We are urged to gain Jnana by using the intellect.
You understand things by using the intellect. You attain knowledge by using the intellect. Yoga, if considered as a means for Liberation, fails to give Liberation. But if you equate Yoga with Jnana, then it is in itself Liberation/Moksha.
Yesterday we discussed about the origin of Creation. You are not here because Creation is here. You are not a part of this Creation, although that is the common mistaken thinking. You are yourself the cause of Creation. Creation exists in you. You do not exist in the middle of Creation. What gave me so much power to create so much? If I were really that powerful, I would have built myself mansions, the common man says. An insane or ignorant person talks like that.
You are the creator of this Universe. You are responsible for what you experience. You have the power to create what does not exist. A mirage is the perfect example. You see a flowing river. You ran towards it. It does not actually exist. You realize it when you approach it. If you realize it beforehand that it is unreal, you will not run towards it.
Auditor asked me a question: Unless we run towards the mirage, how will we get the experience or knowledge that it is unreal?
Even to think like that, is ignorance. No need to run towards a mirage. Sadguru is here to guide us. He is our dearest and closest friend and guide. He tells us that there is no water there. He will safely take us to the oasis where there is water. A wise person will accept the advice of the guide. There is no need for every individual to run, fall down exhausted, and experience the blows. When na automobile is available, there is no need to go by bicycle in the hot sun, sweating. It is foolish to insist that I too should suffer and gain personal experience.
It is true, no doubt, that personal experience is greater than the words of Guru.
Guru’s words are not for listening and ignoring. If Guru says you have to chant the Datta Stavam prior to every meal, you must follow. If you do, you will realize the benefit.
Some person near Bombay saw a printed sheet of paper with the Datta Stavam printed on it with some instructions. The flyer contained an announcement of Swamiji’s visit. The stranger chanted Datta Stavam as per the instruction on the flyer and experienced great benefits. Swamiji did not physically tell him. He conveyed to him the required message indirectly.
you must experience the truth of these words I speak. You must ponder deeply about the words of Sadguru. Personal experience is not absolutely necessary, if complete trust is kept in Sadguru and his instructions are fully followed. Sadguru’s position and the statements of the Vedas are most crucial, valuable, and important.
The man who runs after one mirage after another, will never find water, until he begins to heed the advice of Guru, the spiritual guide.
This is the answer to auditor’s question.
This is a non-existent existence. How did this come into being? Who created this mirage? You yourself have created the mirage. We only engage in words about the experience of the mirage. But we must bring it into our personal experience.
How did this creation come into being out of our own mind?
The reason is this:
avidyaa..
How was it possible? Avidya, samsrti, Maya, Moha, Mahat, Tamas – all these descriptive terms explain that illusion or delusion.
By your own ignorance, you have created this world. Your illusion is the cause. We are under the mistaken impression that we have been created, rather than that we have created. When a child is born, the parents of the child are born at that instant. The concept of parents did not exist for them till that moment.
When we celebrate Sadguru’s Birthday, we actually celebrate our own birthday. Progeny is oneself, one’s own soul. When you were born, you created the limited world called your life with your friends, relatives, and acquaintances. Sadguru considers the whole world as his family and hence, he is a globe trotter and travels everywhere.
You also must support those whom you have created, including your parents. It is your duty.
You have created the Creator also.
Okay. We accept this idea for the moment. What gave us this power to create all this?
Avidya/Ignorance. You can get rid of it, with Vidya/Jnana.
It takes you up and down and that is why it is called Samsrti.
You determine that you have sinned and so you decide to go to hell. You determine that you have done merit and you reward yourself with heaven.
Do not think that it is a sin when you kill in battle, Arjuna was advised by Krishna. It is an act of Dharma for you. A surgeon cuts open a patient. But it is not a sin. It is the duty of the surgeon. He is not touched by sin, although normally, it is wrong to slice open another’s body.
Samsrti – means Samsaram – what flows up and down continuously. It is bondage. It occurs because the soul gets tied down. It individual lost his freedom because he has become subservient to his own creation. It is like a man who has nurtured a pet dog and stays indoors because he is afraid of the dog. It is called Maya because it is unreal and false.
Rani Krishnamurthi Sastry, our Sastra teacher here, used to declare that ‘Yaa Maa saiva Maya’. Wealth creates ego and arrogance. Therefore Wealth itself is Maya. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity is Maya Herself. His expression was unique. Never heard it before anywhere.
Maya, Moha, are terms to describe this illusion. It is called Mahat because it is very difficult to overcome or cut through.
Mama Maya duratyayaa … My Maya is very tough to transcend, God has declared in the Bhagavad Gita.
It is a very big river. If a man who does not know swimming, if he is thrown into it, without Guru’s grace, he cannot go across in the forceful flood waters. Mahat is the name for that Maya.
Tamaha is darkness. Tamo Guna veils one’s true nature. All these names are also made up terms to describe this delusion, illusion, deception, falsehood.
These are the reasons why you make this Creation. The Sages, seers, and the Vedas have given these names based on the different contexts.
They all cause bondage.
The individual himself creates his world.
Indu nibhaanana – Sri Rama’s face is now glowing with happiness. He asked a question. Now the answers are coming. Up until now, he was simply listening with attention. Now he is thrilled to receive the proper answers. Vasishtha notices the radiance in his face.
I now explain to you the reason for bondage. Once that is understood, how to get liberated from this bondage will be revealed. The reason for bondage has been explained.
Now what is bondage?
Drashtuhu ..
The one who sees, when he sees something, if he believes that the scene has existence, then his mind gets tangled in it.
If you think Tree, the tree enters and envelops your mind. Any object that the individual gives existence to, by thinking about it, it takes over the mind. That occupies the mind and makes him forget other things. He forgets his true Self.
What if all thoughts are given up and only Sadguru is contemplated upon? Or all thoughts are concentrated on God? That is what is recommended.
Children, especially think that other children will notice them in a gathering, like in the prayer hall. Some say, we did not notice you, we were only looking at Appaji. Do they come to see us? They only come only to see Sadguru, the child does not realize.
“O, you did not notice me?” Jaganmohan Rao was asked by me. “I was there. Did you not see me?”
The reason I asked that question was because, once before, he had said, “I was there, but I did not see you,” as if he were complaining about my absence.
Thereafter, every time he came to the ashram, I would ask him, “I was there, did you see me?” One day he said to me: I come here to see Swamiji. I do not come here to see you.
If you give reality to this world, then how can you see the soul? The one who sees only the soul, will not see the world.
When you come in the queue to see Sadguru, if instead of seeing him, you see all the others standing around him, you miss out. You are the loser.
For the individual, the scene becomes more powerful than the seer. You are the one who has endowed the scene with more power. The larger magnet will draw the smaller piece of iron. A small magnet itself will move towards the large piece of iron.
The one who sees, becomes tied up or bound by what he sees.
A rope has tied him, as a pail near a well is tied to the post. The world draws you towards itself powerfully. It is because you are remaining inert and have not increased your soul power. Therefore you become imprisoned in the world. The one who sees, becomes trapped by what is seen.
Then what is liberation? Everyone seeks freedom. No one likes to be confined.
Drsya abhaava is liberation. Not to give credence to what is seen, or not to see it at all, is liberation.
To see and give credence to what is seen is bondage. To not have a scene at all to see, is liberation. This is the greatness of Yoga Vasishtha that it explains it so vividly and clearly. You do not simply set fire to everything you see, to make it go away. You just clear it out of your mind.
You build a new house. But still you cry about the old house that you have left, because it had collapsed. Why? Although the new house has been built and moved into, still the attachment to the old house remains. That is the common experience of many. It is strange.
How to forcibly remove the scene from one’s perception? Will denial of its existence help? There is a method for removing it.
jagatvam …
Tvam – aham – are the two feelings of illusion. This duality causes the appearance of the world. The pillars, structures, planets, and galaxies, are not the world. The concept of you and I as being separate, is the cause of the emergence of this world. Even in a wedding ceremony, it is said: from this moment forward, you are both one. You are no longer separate. We say let us say we and ours, Instead yours and mine. We and ours – gives comfort. Even in a worldly sense, this is more desirable.
What is drsyam? The world that is seen. It occurs when you forget Pure Consciousness. One object is there. When you break into two pieces, each object gains its own boundary and has to remain within its bounds, inside its newly created edges. By breaking it and creating compound walls around the fragments, you deprive the object of its freedom to spread and pervade.
Only if falsehood is removed, Truth will be revealed. A subtle point is mentioned here.
Nedam ..
Another secret is disclosed. Not this, not this, this is not Brahma – this worthless recitation also will not liberate. The list will be endless. There is no use in this. It is a worthless debate and discussion. To remove one scene, you are filling your mind with another scene. One constantly replaces another. What is the use? The concept that ‘I am removing this scene’ fills your mind.
Veda gives this explanation: It is not this. It is not this. Its aim is to say that none of this is Truth. But if you begin to list each object, like microphone, box, wire, camera, speaker, etc. the list will never end. You cannot possibly list each and every object in the world.
The feeling of separateness as you and I denies Paramatma.
Ego is the cause that creates this feeling of separateness. If you give up the ego, then, what is left?
Do not ignore this concept of Neti Neti. But do not get too involved in it. Realize that the separate feeling of You and I is untruth. This separateness is caused by Ego.
Even in the Datta Kakada Harati, Swamiji mentions in many places this Neti concept. He concludes that Datta alone is Pure Consciousness.
Sureswaracharya said: Na is Jeeva, the individual. Iti is Brahma. Therefore, Neti means the Unity of the individual and the Supreme Soul. This explanation is a little difficult to understand. He was more advanced in years than Sankaracharya.
What Truth is, Neti does not define.
Govindacharaya was giving darshan only of his feet while he was inside the cave. He was told, your disciple has come, when young Adi Sankara approached. He said he sought instruction. First the application has to be filled in. Who are you? Guru asked. The boy answered: I am neither the sky, nor fire, nor air, I am Paramatma Himself. I have understood this by hearing the words. I believe that it is the truth. But I need personal experience of this Truth. Then Guru asked the boy to come inside. Till then, no one had spoken such words to him.
Do not simply cling to those words, such as Neti.
verse
Mere logic and debates are worthless. Discussions and pilgrimages also will not yield liberation. Chitta Suddhi, a transformation or a purification occurs because of pilgrimages. Immense past merit may sometimes give a spark of insight, during a pilgrimage. But enlightenment does not occur because of a pilgrimage. Tormenting the body does not give liberation. As long as you have the feeling: I am doing the pilgrimage, or I am doing penance or austerities, it will not give liberation.
Disregard of the above, also will not help. One must deeply contemplate. The thorn called ignorance has to be removed by the thorn called Spiritual Knowledge.
Doing Ekadasi fasting and going to the cinema or going to sleep just to forget hunger, is useless. Instead, one should listen to spiritual discourses, chant prayers, or follow some austerities during the fasting period. Hitting a snake pit does not kill the snake. The snake will simply leave this hole and go into another hole. Ekadasi fasting will clear the mind of contaminations. It will give concentration of mind and discipline. Tormenting the body and becoming exhausted does not grant liberation.
Unless the various false impressions are removed, Truth will not dawn. We will continue tomorrow. Some of our intense practices will be reviewed and discussed.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi