Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
April 22 2016
Jaya Guru Datta
Om santissantissantihi
Yesterday we mentioned …Jaladhilanghi gaye acharajanaahi… may be you thought about that. I left it to you to dig deeper into the inner meaning.
Prabhu mudrika was held by Hanuman….Prabhu is Sri Ramachandra. He is our Lord and we are His servants. This is a very important facet in the path of devotion. It is called Daasya Bhakti, the devotion of a servant. Rama is the one who protects us, in the Vishnu aspect. A king is one who gives happiness to the mind. Rama gave his signet ring to Hanuman to give to Sita when Hanuman meets her, so that she would believe and trust him. If someone gives something we need to carefully guard it and protect it. In this instance Hanuman did not wrap it in a piece of cloth but held the ring by his teeth and crossed the ocean. This is not surprising, the prayer says. What is Mudra (stamp, hand gesture, or imprint)? It is what gives happiness, like in Dasamudraa Samaaraadhya (one who is worshipped with ten mudras – Mother Goddess). Hanuman did not have the opportunity to demonstrate various hand gestures as part of worship. He only received a Mudrika, only a ring with an imprint of Rama’s name, because he had to cross the ocean. What is mudra? We use signature, or the name of a person. So the name here is being referred to as Mudrika. That is how we have to think of it here. So Prabhu mudrika here means the chanting the name of the Lord. So Prabhu mudrika meli mukhumahi means chanting happily the name of the Lord (Rama). Jaladhi laanghi gaye acharaja naahi – meaning, by chanting the name of Sri Rama Hanuman accomplished easily, the scary task of crossing the ocean, like goshpadee krita vaaraasim, meaning, as easily as crossing the water puddle collected in a hoof mark of a cow. The chanting will give us the energy to easily cross the ocean. Jaladhi means the reservoir for all the water. It is intended to mean that by chanting God’s name, the task of crossing the ocean called worldly life, is easily accomplished. There are several meanings to this saying, but this is the inner meaning. Have you heard the expression about doing something with “gritting the teeth”? It means making a firm resolve to not stop until the task is accomplished, come what may. The way one tightens the belt before attempting any tough task.
Hanuman was determined to not stop until he sees Sita. Sundara Kanda also suggests this meaning. If you think along these lines, it is good. It is with this thinking that we recite the Hanuman Chalisa. This is not the context, however, here.
In the current context in the Yoga Vasishtha, Mother Goddess was explaining to Leeladevi that at the start of Creation, meaning, not when the pot was created, but before even mud was created, that is, even before the Jeeva (soul) was created, Chit or consciousness or Jnana (knowledge) was the only one in existence. For that matter, this was, is, and forever will be, the only one existing, because it is beyond the 3 Kaalas – beyond Time. Only, we have not realized it. At some point, some perturbation or vibration occurred. We have talked about this before. Do not ask me what caused the perturbation or disturbance. We will come to know this later, as this is what the treatise is all about. This came as an answer after Mother Saraswati was asked by Leeladevi as to the need for this perturbation.
From ‘Chit’ (Consciousness) came “Chittam” (Mind). We know that the mind is there everywhere; there is no place without the mind, that the mind goes before to a place even before we physically reach there, that it exists always, and that the mind recollects things, leading us to believe that the mind is something very great. In fact, it is the mind that is the culprit which is responsible for our misery and unhappiness. If we investigate what the reason for this misery is, we will understand that it is the mind. The word “Chit” ends with a ‘t’ and it is the effulgence or the Absolute Knowledge of Consciousness. When it turns to “Chitta”, the addition of t and a. This is an expression evolving out of Chit. When it remains as Chit, it is infinite. What evolves out of it as Chitta, obviously is inferior to Chit, because it comes out of it. When it became chitbhavam (the feeling which comes out of chit), it lost its infinite quality. It became something limited. It depends upon what the individual soul feels. The more it identifies with the infinite, the better the Chittam becomes. It is limited by one’s feeling or experience. If the feeling of Chittam is that the vast source is oneself, it becomes the source itself (Chit).
The moment the Chittam emerged from Chit, it started having its own thoughts. It started by thinking that it should have a physical body. So the five Tanmatras, the subtle elements emerged, and out of those came the physical body comprising of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space). Everything merged and the body was formed and the mind entered it.
But without the chittam (mind), the body made up of the five elements has no value. What is Sivam (life force) becomes Savam (corpse). Of prime importance is the Jeeva (soul). Once the soul made the determination, whether the five elements engulfed the soul to form the body, or whether the soul entered the body is immaterial. This acquisition of the body occurs in an orderly manner. We can think along the lines of one becoming two, the two becoming a couple, then the soul entering the womb and so on. In summary, the result is, the infinite has become limited and small. So what we achieved is, from the limitless state we have come to the limited state. Now we have to try to ascend from this bounded small state to the infinite state. We have come to the netherworlds and looked up to see the higher worlds and not knowing how to ascend to those, we asked those ascending, how to get there. We cried out to those who are at those levels as Sadgurus, who descended to our level to pick us up. With the help of those elevated ones we are ascending from the lower limited levels to the higher levels. This ascent is what we call life. This is the purpose of our life. Is the limited one confined within boundaries bigger than the one with limitless vastness? Decidedly, the one that is all encompassing is bigger. Because we have forgotten the limitless state, and confined ourselves to the limited circumstance, the attempt to return to that limitless state is life. That is why we are born. That realization is a blessing.
We are in a forest without knowing the direction to take. There are several stories about this topic and in the Upanishads this is a story about one such prince. Once, a minister comes to the forest, recognizes the prince by some marks upon him, and asks him his identity. The prince says he is the son of a tribal chief. The minister corrects him and informs him that he is a prince who has been brought and left here in the forest by enemies. The prince trusts the minister, tries to get his kingdom back, and becomes the king. Just as the prince, instead of continuing to think that he is a forest dweller and instead of remaining there as a tribal chief or just a tribal person, makes an effort, and becomes the king of the kingdom. In a similar fashion, we, who have come to this small bounded state, believe that this is big. Then our Sadguru came into our lives and told us that we should get into the vast boundless state from this finite limited state. This travel is Guru’s Upadesam (spiritual instruction). We follow our Guru.
Leeladevi asked,
Verse
What is the state that is not bound (like with a compound wall) by time and space? If time and space cannot bind this state, what else can? There is nothing beyond space, but this state is beyond space. It is beyond any number of yugas or kalpas.
Maheswara mahakalpa mahatandava saakshinee …
She, Mother Goddess, would be witnessing the cosmic dance forever, yuga after yuga, and kalpa after kalpa. The repetition of 3 times of the word “Maha” in this context is to tell us that there is nothing greater than Mother Goddess. She is forever.
Leeladevi asked, what is the reason for the Kalpana (illusory creation)? What was the need or necessity for it? It is this fantasizing, or imagination, which has brought about all this confusion and misery. What was the reason for engaging in creating that illusion? The infinite state could have simply remained as itself.
The state described as Suddha Para Tattvam, Chit Svarupam, Jnanaprakasam, could have been left as it were. They say that it cannot be touched by anything, even time and space. In fact, they said there is nothing like time and space. The supreme soul could have existed in that state. Why create this mess? What is the need for it? All the problems started with this Kalpana.
This is a very important question asked in Advaita Vedanta, the non-dual philosophy.
In Dvaita, the philosophy of duality, they easily answer this by saying, it is God’s leela (play). How did God decide on the play? If he decided on it because he likes it, then the question that follows is, does God have likes and dislikes?
Eventually, of course it is God’s play, but what we are talking about is beyond that Ishvaratvam. There are three stages. You might wonder about the introduction of the 3 stages all of a sudden. It is the state of humans, celestials, and the Supreme Soul, which cannot really be called a stage.
When we go beyond Ishwaratvam (Lordship), there is no Kriya (doing of any action). She is described as nishkriya and nishparigraha… where we ascribe no doership. There should be no thoughts or ideas even, or decisions because engaging in those is also tantamount to doing something.
Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita, that one cannot be without doing anything even for a fraction of a second. Even if you are not actively involved in doing something and are idle, it would be still considered karma (doing) because of the very thought of your thinking that you are doing nothing and sitting idle. Unless even such a thought does not exist in you, you are still engaged in doing something. Such a state of not doing anything is not possible until the state of Samadhi is achieved. Since it is not possible, it is better to do virtuous deeds. If it becomes difficult to find good things to do such as puja and such, then do good deeds at a reduced level. Start to do a little dhyanam (meditation). One thinks “I have given up completely all activities such as puja, idol worship, and burned away the holy books and trying to meditate, sitting in a cave. But I am not able to focus on meditation, no matter how hard I try. Some power is obstructing my attempts to meditate. My Guru told me to meditate. Upon His word I sat to meditate. In spite of it there is a powerful force opposing my effort. He begins to realize that there is a powerful force (a Devata Shakti or Ganapathy) that is prevailing upon my efforts to meditate. Why is Ganapathy interposing obstacles? To strengthen the mind and centralize the focus and concentration. One needs to focus on Him, Lambodara (Ganapati) because he is stationed at the doorway, to remove the obstacles and firm up the mind to develop concentration. By focusing on Him, through Him, one should cross the gate (obstacle) and achieve concentration. When we perform puja, we say Lambodaraya namaha. He is at the door and we bow to him (Dwara Devatabhyo Namah). That is how we go past Him in Sri Vidya.
Vedanta does not ask us to give up rituals. It is because of such obstacles. Rather, it is suggesting that we increase the performance of more good deeds. With that, the concentration to meditate is acquired.
The question is where is the necessity for Mother Goddess to make a perturbation (sankalpam) like this? With attributes such as nitya trupta (ever contented), nirvikara (formless), nishprapancha (not associated with the world), and nirasraya (independent), where is the necessity for Mother Goddess to create this situation?
Saraswati Mata said before, during her teaching that all this is made up stuff. At the same time she also stated that Pure Consciousness or Supreme Self (Paramatma) is only one. The two don’t go together. If He is the only one, He should have made this all up (concocted). There is no second entity.
Why did this come up? Is He Himself deluded, in ignorance and bound by attachment? Who should they be ascribed to? This question comes up in Advaita Vedanta. It is very common. Because there is no concordance between the two, this question comes up. If there is only one, then where is the question of concoction?
In the analysis it says, what was milk before, has now become curds. We talked about it yesterday that there is no curds without milk. If there is no concoction, there is no need for even the word concoction. When He is the only one, where is even the need for the word? Then why did even the illusion occur?
This comes out of “Parinama vaadam”, the concept of transformation. Ours is not this, but “Vivarta vaadam”, the concept of misconception; remember this well.
It looks as though it has changed, but in fact it has not changed, but seemed like it has changed.
This is Parinama Vadam when milk converts to curds, it has changed and even the weight of it they say changes slightly (in milligrams). Because it gains density when milk converts to curds, the weight also changes. This we are observing. What the milk is used for is quite different from what the curds is used for. Does anyone make coffee with curds? One can only make buttermilk with curds. Milk and yogurt do different functions. Because there are several such differences, this would come under parinaama vaadam.
Gold changing into an ornament is vivarta vaadam. Mud becoming a pot is vivarta vaadam. Why? Because there is nothing but soil (mud) in the pot. In the gold ornament there is nothing but gold. Why would we call it a gold ornament if it were not made of gold? Of course, these days there are no gold ornaments, because the gold content is much reduced but that is a different topic.
If we call it a gold ornament, there should be gold in that. This is Vivarta Vaadam. The shape we are seeing is distorting our vision of the substance. It is Vivarta Vaadam. We see the ornament, instead of gold. You should remember this difference well. How did this Creation come out of God? You should remember it is due to Vivarta Vaadam.
Parinaama Vaadam would say there is milk, and there is curds. If there is one, there is not the other. There is a problem here. If this is not resolved, then we won’t get that peace or liberation. So it is Vivarta Vaadam. But the question posed is based on Parinama Vaadam. The question is asked with Parinaama Vaadam in mind. This needs to be answered.
Mother Goddess is answering this questions as follows:
Slokam
Katakam means bracelet. Just like how there is nothing but gold in the gold ornament, how gold is hidden in the ornament, how waves are in the water, just like when we wake up we realize that dreams and the cities we built in dreams are not real, in the same way just to understand, we said that there is concoction and perturbation in Consciousness, but in reality there is absolutely NO perturbation or imagination in Consciousness. You understand this well. It is emphasized that the two are not in the consciousness at all. This imagination and perturbation are not a part of Brahman at all.
The realization that I am the Prabrahman is Absolute Knowledge. Experiencing that, is Absolute Knowledge. Otherwise, ignorance will never leave anybody. This is the answer given by Mother Goddess.
Slokam –
This is the answer of Mother Goddess to the question posed. It explains the principle of Brahman.
O Leelavati, you have asked a good question. When there is no irregularity or distortion whatsoever, your question becomes irrelevant.
Those who are in the spiritual field would have heard this statement.
Mud alone is Truth. Pot is just a name. Because of the name, misunderstanding occurs. The mud shape being called a pot is only a name. So the irregularity started because of the name given. The irregularity is only due to the name and is limited to that only. So there is no distortion at all. If you are experiencing a disturbance, the answer is that you should get rid of it. I would agree with you, if there is in fact some discrepancy. Delusion is caused by ignorance. But since there is no contradiction, your argument will not hold weight. Just as gold does not exist only as an ornament, water is not truly just waves, cities you have seen in dreams are not true cities, and likewise, imagination is also not truth. Truth has to be constant. Water is not always in the form of waves. Gold is not just ornaments. The pure and pristine Brahman is not subject to any distortion or change.
This can only be realized by personal experience. You heard my words, you feel like you understand, but you have not really understood. It has to be experienced, to be thoroughly understood. How do you get that experience? By reflecting or pondering over it continuously.
Just as there is no dust in space, there are no attributes to the Parabrahman at the beginning of Creation. The dust that seems to be in space is in reality in the air and is visible to us. The dust is not attached to space nor is it a part of space. If it were so, it should always be visible in space. It is not there.
If we go to Delhi, we say that everything is dusty, and the sky is polluted. In reality the sky is not dusty. Now that they started an even/odd system, the pollution is reduced. So the sky in Delhi is now clearly visible. What happened to the dust? The dust was not a part of the sky to begin with, but there is the appearance of dust. The sky is untouched by dust. In other words, dust is not a characteristic of space. It has the characteristic of sound but not dust. Just like that, in the beginning of Creation, Parabrahmam had no appearance or shape. How it happened to come later, is something we will address ahead.
That Brahman is peace, non-dual, devoid of birth and death, and wholesome. Also it does not have any disease and irregularities. This is the reason why when one contemplates on Vedanta, he would not have any diseases. But it requires intense contemplation. It is because such contemplation brings happiness and peace. Just like a gemstone shows several reflections, the reflections of the Parabrahman are seen as several. One item when reflected in a crystal or gemstone will show several reflections. If we go to a glass enclosure where there are multiple mirrors, we see our reflection in every one of them. Are we as many as the reflections shown in each mirror? No, it is the mirrors which make it appear like that. Similarly, all what we see are the reflections of the Paramatma, but He is only one.
Verse
Then Mother, I have another question.
Who has put us in this illusion or imagination? No one desires to imagine and invite difficulties. Somebody must be the source for it. We think that someone else is responsible for our Janma (birth). This is a gross mistake. We are responsible for our own births. To think that He is responsible for this life is a mistake. To ascribe responsibility to Him for our life and all the difficulties associated with it, is considered a beastly nature. Our ignorance is responsible for our unhappiness and difficulties. If we get rid of ignorance, we will be happy. Sat-Chit-Ananda, means, once we know the Truth, it gives existence, knowledge and happiness. The word Sat-Chit-Ananda has several meanings. It is our good fortune that our Sadguru’s ashrama is named after that. It should be meditated upon. It will relieve us of our difficulties.
Mother, if we believe your words, then who has led us into this belief in duality (dvaita) and the ignorance concerning non-duality (advaita)? In some circumstance we believe in duality and yet in others we see non-duality, and there are also instances when we don’t know whether it is duality or non-duality. How did the two opposing beliefs originate in us? Please tell me, who led us into this vacillation that is responsible for our ignorance?
This was the question of Leeladevi.
Who is the cause of my taking birth?
There is a slokam Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam, Govindam Bhaja Moodhamate.
Bhaja means one must necessarily remember, must meditate upon Him and serve Him. This is a reminder about the “must do” because we have forgotten what must be done. We are told to do, because we have forgotten to do. The word “moodhamate” is used to indicate we have forgotten. How does loss of memory occur? Who is responsible for our memory lapse? We are.
We may say that in some instances memory is lost also because of curses. You are cursed “You forget, and be born as a pig “. It means that after this life he will be born as a pig. But he forgets that he is a human and begins to behave like a pig even now. The curse, “Become a rakshasa (demon)” does not mean he would have the physical attributes such as protruding fangs, etc. but that he would have a demonic attitude.
So now, with the curse I am forgetful. He was responsible for the curse. He was responsible for my forgetfulness. So we think we are not responsible for our forgetfulness. That is not so. It is due to our karma (past deeds), our misbehavior, that we have been cursed, which resulted in our forgetfulness. Because of our bad behavior, he cursed us so we are responsible for the curse. So it follows that for anything that happens to us, our karma is responsible and nobody else. It may appear like some else is responsible but it is not true.
So the question that Leelavathi asked Mother Goddess as to who is responsible for this imagination is still to be answered.
Slokam –
See how beautifully Mother Goddess explains!!
Oh, Leelavathi! You have a mind that is unsteady. Listen to me with a steady mind. This question will not even arise in you if you listen with a steady mind. The reason for this, is your lack of enquiry (vicharana). People often say “are you even thinking?” The natural tendency (what is born of inborn nature) is not to enquire. Those who realize that their nature is not to enquire, and make an effort from then on to enquire, will be rid of that tendency. So deep enquiry will eliminate ignorance. Brahman will be attained with continuous and endless enquiry.
That is why we mentioned yesterday, Samam, vicharam, santosham and the fourth, sadhusangama- these four are the means to attain the highest state of Brahman.
Samam is control of the senses, vicharam is enquiry, if we don’t know, to ask and find out and enquire over what we found out,
Santoshaha – Being happy
Sadhu sangama – being in the company of good people and being in the company of Sadguru
These are the four attributes that will result in liberation. It is said that even if one of the above is adhered to, it will lead to salvation.
Enquiry leads to attainment of Brahma. Lack of it will lead to unhappiness and imagination.
That is why if something sorrowful happens, if you mentally fast forward by 20 years and think how you would feel about it then, you might not think it is significant. This is how Yogis react. It was something so small but I felt so sorry and cried so much when it happened.
If we go back and think of how challenging it was when we went through the examinations at the first grade, it was like bearing a mountain on the top of the head. Now, when we think back, it appears insignificant. We tell the kids now that it is very easy, but for the child it is very difficult. This is due to the intellect maturity. This is exactly what the yogi does. The yogi goes even beyond. If he is severely ill he will think where will I be once I leave this body? If it were a minor ailment, we can go on but if it were a major ill health, what seems like a major issue, after several years, it appears like an insignificant event that a lot of fuss was made over. If we don’t have that enquiry, even after twenty years we will still be crying over it. Should we be crying over it even after twenty years? The doctor says it is difficult to treat, due to the dreadful nature of the disease. The yogi will then think as to what will happen after he leaves the body. If he has been in continuous enquiry about it, he gets the answer. If he is truly devoted to his Guru, he will understand that he will go merge in his guru. Or if he is devoted to God, he will think that he will be reborn as a devotee of God. What is it I lose? Or, if his enquiry into Vedanta is good, he will think that he has no death at all, or since he has no death, that there is no reason to be unhappy. By that kind of thinking, will he be happy or sad? Definitely happy.
In this manner, it becomes much easier to get over the difficulties. It is a good way of getting over the difficulties very easily. In this way, enquiry leads to elimination of imagination and sadness. It is to be learnt from the Guru. It is like going to an enquiry counter (Information Center). We go to the airport and look at the gate information and sit comfortably. If that information were not there readily available, can you imagine how uncomfortable we will be? We experience this in the railway station or a bus stand. At the bus stand, the bus has not arrived on time. We don’t know if the bus has arrived yet, or whether it has arrived and already left. What do we do? We then enquire with some random person and if we get an answer we feel comfortable. If the person brushes off by saying he does not know, how uncomfortable we feel? The problem remains the same. We don’t know if we should wait for the bus or should we take another bus? What do we do? We should enquire with a person who knows. A person is sitting at the enquiry counter with a clear sign announcing his authority. Instead, we roam around the bus stand making enquiries. Just like that, we should enquire with our Sadguru for an appropriate answer instead of going around in circles. At the airport, if we are aware of the time and feel it is running out, we decide to go to the gate in order not to miss the flight. So the value of time also will be known with enquiry, as also the proper information. Who should you enquire with? It should be with the Sadguru. It should be with someone who knows. That will be proper enquiry. Do not forget the information resulting from the enquiry. You have seen on the monitor what the flight time is. Knowing it, just don’t go to sleep. You will miss the flight. Why did you miss the flight in spite of having done the enquiry? Because you have forgotten the information coming out of the enquiry. This is the way one should rationalize between spiritual and worldly life. If there is loss in the worldly matters, we can recover from that relatively easily. In spiritual matters, such losses are very difficult to get over. Spiritual losses are very drastic. We should be very careful not to give room for such losses in spiritual matters. The gains we make in spiritual progress are called “Atma labham” (gain of Self), not “Dhana labham” (profit of money), “Vidya labham” (profit of knowledge), or “Prana labham” profit of life). What is Atma labham? It is Adhyatmika labham or spiritual profit. By associating with Guru, one acquires Atma labham. That is, we get true profit. Let us all aspire for Atma labham with the grace of our Sadguru.
Today is Hanumath Jayanthi and Purnima is continuing today until 10:30 AM. Have darshan of Hanuman and do Hanuman Chalisa and offer Purna phalam seeking knowledge and health, even if you do not have any other desires. Also witness Abhishekam of Venkateshwara Swamy. Let us all pray that the grace of Hanuman be with all of us. Tomorrow is Padyami (Prathama, first day in the lunar phase). It is stipulated that we should not have Vedanta discourse on Padyami day and so we will resume the day after tomorrow.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi
Sri Guru Datta