Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 44, September 2
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.
Guru Dhyanam: Gurur Brahmaa, Sri Bhooyuta.. , Ajnana .. Akhanda, Dehe …, Akhandam ..
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
Brahmanandam, Sri Vasishtham Namami, Ramaya, Aapadaamapahartaaram, Om Purnamadah,
Om Santissantissantihi
Yesterday we discussed the 22nd sarga in which Sri Rama spoke about the negative aspects of old age.
Jaraa …
The youth feel that they will forever remain young. It is good to be optimistic but regardless of your preparation and caution, old age does not spare anyone. But those who care for the aged will be spared from the troubles of old age. Those who abuse the aged will certainly suffer from the curses of old age.
My body goes through different phases at different stages in life. Realizing this, I believe that one must focus on God. Why did we reject our original state? We have applied a needless application upon ourselves of all this worldliness and the identification with the body. Now, if we discard it, we can avoid being reborn. The purpose of life is to keep searching for enduring happiness, not just physical pleasures. We must set aside physical pleasures, and seek eternal happiness.
One man saved 13 crores of rupees, it is said. Those who are obsessed with wealth reject family and friends. If we eat what we cannot digest, we suffer from illness.
By chasing after only bodily pleasures, we neglect feeding the inner soul. Only if the inner self is fed, peace of mind will increase. The mind does not grow; only the body grows if the inner self is neglected. We are only trying to increase outer pleasure. To make us understand this concept, Rama is instilling the truth in us that there are disadvantages to the body at all the different stages in life.
The ash gourd/white pumpkin appears as if it is smeared with ash the way a body in old age gets wrapped in grey or white hair and wrinkles. Only such a gourd is offered in sacrifice to the Deities. When the ash covered pumpkin is found, it is taken away to be offered in sacrifice. Similarly, an old body is taken away by death, to be sacrificed.
Only the sweet yellow pumpkin should be given in charity to other people of Guru; not the ash gourd/white pumpkin.
Elders are despised by some people. But old people, wise people, and experienced people are required in any assembly. Their richness of knowledge is highly valuable to society. Those who have done deep penance/Tapo vriddhas are highly revered. We must always be in the company of such persons. Jnana, vayo, and tapo vriddhas are the three types of elderly whose value to society is immeasurable. Jnana vriddhas are the ones who are rich in knowledge. They have grown old acquiring immense knowledge throughout their lives. They are pure and are a great benefit to society. Vayo vriddhas/people grown old with rich experience have much to offer society. Their experience is irreplaceable.
We must always be in the company of Ganga, which is like the aged wise ones like Bhishma. Bhishma is the son of Ganga. He is a great soul. We need the company of such pious souls.
After the worms have eaten up the body, the relatives feel very bad. The Vedas predict the future troubles and give advice to us on how to avoid and prevent troubles. We trust science and deny spirituality. But spirituality is superior to science. We must follow the teachings of science.
This is a very good verse. It is starting on a positive note. Rama is comparing old age to the River Ganga.
In the rainy season, when the river is in spate due to heavy rains, as we have seen in the north, homes get washed away. Similarly, old age sweeps away life. Like a cat, old age eats up youth as if it were a mouse. Like a fox in a forest which makes scary and jarring sounds, old age sounds are jarring, sounds produced by the aged persons, like cough, blowing the nose, farting, and so on.
A damp piece of wood makes a strange sound as if it is hissing when it is set on fire. The smoke that emanates from the damp wood that is trying to burn, is like the sorrow of old age. Old age comes only to burn up the body.
One has to exercise, do mantra japa, pranayama and follow all the instructions of Guru to avoid the bad effects of old age.
Old age is like a huge tree that is overgrown and bent down low due to an overload of fruits. It loses its radiance and attractive appearance.. The creepers, fruits, and flowers add to the burden of the tree and make it get uprooted.
Those who follow the path of knowledge journey towards liberation.
Youngsters should get in the habit of walking and strengthening their muscles. Otherwise, in old age, there will be problems. All the six inner enemies such as greed, jealousy, anger, along with old age, will burn up the body.
A banana tree appears as if it is smeared with ash, like old age. This body is compared to a banana tree that is mercilessly uprooted by an elephant. Before that happens, we must take care to achieve the purpose of our lives.
Dasaratha, the king is seated there. Rama is speaking: A flag is hoisted before a king. In the form of old age and disease the flag goes up before the king called death. None can conquer old age. A king can hide in a cave to escape from the enemy. But he cannot escape from death. A king who escaped from the enemy was at once stung by a snake and was dead. Our inner enemies are the snake that stings us.
The sense organs are weak like children. A man in a coma cannot even drink water to satisfy his thirst. He becomes helpless like that in old age.
Old age is called jara, vriddhaapya, and vaardhakya.
A third leg is acquired in old age. It is the cane or walking stick that is held by the aged for support and balance. Such old age is viewed as if it is a maiden, who dances clumsily, always falling and getting up. The percussion beat for her dance of old age is the persistent cough. The other drum beat that accompanies the dance of old age is farts.
A man is born is with four legs because in childhood he crawls like an animal that has four legs; then he walks on two legs in his youth; then in old age he will walk on three legs. Finally he should look for eight legs, where the dead body is carried away by four walking men, it says in a Kannada Tatva/philosophical bhajan.
Worldly life is the royal dressing room. For decoration there are fancy handheld-fans/chamaras in the room. The hair becomes grey. The body becomes pale. This white hair resembles the chamara fans. When the moon called old age rises, grey hairs grow profusely like a lily that blooms at night. We must become alert and hasten our efforts at seeking God before old age strikes. Old age is the paint applied on the walls of the royal inner chambers called the body; difficulty, sorrow, pains and diseases are the different colors of paint applied to old age. These troubles are like the women residing in the inner chambers of a royal palace. We must not forget this basic nature of the body that deteriorates quickly.
There are many bad things about the body. Therefore, effort must be made to avoid rebirth. One should develop love and devotion towards God and Guru and not towards the perishable body.
The body is there today but gone tomorrow. An old body is the best example for it. Do not develop any attachment towards such an old body. I, who have spent much time analyzing all this, I myself am feeling like that, says Sri Rama. Only the wise are free from this kind of an attachment to the body. The knowledge that the body is impermanent must always be remembered. Only God is permanent and hence, our effort must be directed toward attaining God.
This body that is susceptible to old age gives a bad life experience. In this world there is nothing that gives total happiness or contentment. Old age is a stage when that is absolutely true.
Jara is a demon. This demon slices a baby in half and attaches the two pieces together again and again. We should slit and separate the bodies in reverse direction. Only then, the body does not get reborn. Our perception will then change and rebirth is avoided.
One travels in light. One travels in darkness. Traveling in the light is Sukla Paksha. All Datta devotees must travel in that path. We will be traveling alone on that path. We merge in the rays of the Sun and will travel towards the Sun to remain as light itself. There in the Sun also Vedanta will be pondered about. Again Yoga Vasishtha will be studied. There, in that world of light, there is no body made up of the five elements.
Contentment is most important in human life. All of our philosophy is condensed into the one sloka/verse: Om Purnamadah ….Everything is complete and whole. That is why we offer to God the filled desserts/Purnam boorelu. The Britishers could never understand how the filling entered the shell of that dessert. Only when our lives become whole, our lives are fulfilled. Old age prevents us from achieving such wholeness and total contentment. Before becoming old, life’s goal must be attained.
Body is filled with faults. But the real ‘I’ is Sat, Chit, Ananda.
Biology teaches us about the body that exists in this world, the physical body. But spirituality is about the body that exists as light after this gross body is left.
We must grow step by step and must transcend this worldly life. We must put a full stop to this worldly knowledge. We must rise to a higher level of knowledge.
Kaala apavaadaha/blaming Time is a wonderful sarga. Paramatma swallows up Time which swallows everything else.
Krishna says, I am Kala and I destroy the world. Time swallows us. Once you go beyond the Sun, there is no more time calculation as we know it. There are so many time perceptions in the universe. Only the Supreme Soul is the eternal Truth, transcending Time.
Rama has spoken about ‘ihaamutra phala bhoga viraaga’.
Here and in the hereafter I have given up desire. One needs to know the difference clearly as to what is permanent and what is impermanent. From our body’s perspective, some other creatures live longer, like turtles, and so on.
The earth lives longer than them. The atoms that form the earth live even longer than the earth. The Almighty God lives longer than the atoms. He is eternal, and is without destruction. All else is transient. Even what endures for a million years and then vanishes is also only temporary.
The next verse is highly poetic.
Why do we obtain so much sorrow? It is because we differentiate between I and other, mine and not mine. The wise maintain a perception of equality. There is no ego in them. Ego is the burden that weighs us down. We treat others as friends or enemies. This makes our minds burdened with ego and ignorance and leads to our ruin.
The feeling that I, me, mine, only these should be good is vikalpa.
God sees Himself in everything and everyone. It is Sankalpa.
Analpa is excessive feelings and imaginations. Speaking and thinking too much burdens our lives. A stone drowns in water. Wood floats. We must be light weight and must float like wood. It is not like that because our mind has become heavy as a rock. It throws us into the deep well called the cycle of repeated births.
The tendencies we carry from past lifetimes throw us into this deep abyss. For pious souls, there is no fear of Time. They never wait for time. Chanaky said: Time never waits for us. Why should we wait for time?
Rama was asked to wait till the next day to go to the forest. But Rama did not wait till the next day. He left at once. Time cannot be trusted. The wise do not place their trust in Time.
The ignorant children, monkeys, or birds look in the mirror and imagine that there is a real fruit there or that there are real creatures. They are filled with either desire to get the fruit or are filled with fear to see another creature in the mirror. Our false perceptions which create such desires and fears in us must be given up.
Death is our constant companion ever since we enter the mother’s womb. Only the wise escape death. They transcend death by not identifying with the physical body. It is only the body that dies. The soul is imperishable. The light of the divine assumes any form that it chooses. That is how incarnations occur. Light is the form of the divine.
Whoever desires for enjoyments, find Time to be like a mouse. The mouse snaps the spider’s web in an instant. The spider laboriously builds its web. We have woven a web called the world, using Time. The mouse is like Time. It bites the web and snaps it in a moment.
Why do we then weave this web called the world? We forget the truth about ourselves and out of ignorance we weave this web around ourselves to bind ourselves.
Is there anything in creation that can escape being swallowed up by Time? Everything that we perceive with any of our senses is fleeting and perishable. Even in a dream do not believe that anything of this world will last.
In worldly interaction alone, we have to treat it as real and carry out our actions. God alone is real and eternal. What appears like a pearl is fake. What we think is silver is only an oyster shell. Whatever is seen is bound to be destroyed. We must have this firm realization.
The ocean waves rise so high but they fall. Badabaagni is a fire that exists in the bottom of the ocean. It creates these rising waves. God has created that fire. Time is like that fire that destroys all creation that crashes like a wave.
Kaala apavaada is a great topic. It is the 23rd sarga. In our perception of Time, we believe that time is permanent, while it is not. So much of time calculation takes place in our scientific studies, but Time itself is temporary. The way we eat pickle with curd rice, The Almighty eats up Time as a sauce that simply adds taste to the main meal.
Now Swamiji will perform the Sri Chakra Puja to the accompaniment of a flute concert. Everyone please have darshan.
Om Santissantissantihi.
Sri Guru Datta