Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
April 25 2016
Om santissantissantihi
Some are listening to these discourses here. About 1000 viewers are following on Yogasangeeta. About 300 of them write back that they are understanding the topic. About 200 of them are not able to follow, although it sometimes appears to be clear and other times their mind gets heated up. 500 of them follow but soon forget.
In Advaita Vedanta it is natural for the brain to get heated up. Kesari is lion. Vedanta is the lion. When it roars, the elephants inside us existing in the form of desire and anger are driven away. Sadguru is the Sun.
Vedanta is likened to the Sun. Sadguru dries up the mud accumulated in several lifetimes as sins.
After the floods recede, mud is left. Extreme heat is required to dry up the mud. When the Sun’s heat increases, it is summer time. Then from the heat generated, the mud dries up. The sun absorbs the water and that is why the land appears cracked.
The mud dries up with the hot sun. Vedanta dries up the mud which is contamination in the mind. Vedanta cleanses the mind. The tree must shed all its leaves before it can sprout new leaves again. Those who feel that their head is heating up must realize that their minds are getting cleansed. Continuous churning occurs in the mind. This is a Sastra. It takes time to grasp the Soul Science. It takes effort to grasp. This is the ultimate Science. Soul Mathematics or it is a study of the Soul. Slowly it will be grasped. It takes time.
Yesterday I saw the feedback. I gave it a thought this morning. I prayed to Mother Goddess. A sloka came to my mind. By Mother’s grace words are expressed by me. To grasp and understand, some listeners, and also to develop insights based on what is heard, some are fortunate. But it is not enough. I pray to you O Mother, that those who listen should have their sorrows dispelled, and should earn Self-realization.
Because things are close to our heart, we like certain things. People like money or physical pleasure, because of their personal liking for those things.
I offered prayers to Mother Goddess, the presiding deity of words, Vaachaam adheeshwari, for this that the listeners should benefit in both ways. I pray that Mother should bless them.
200 persons are distressed that they are not able to grasp the meaning of the discourses. For their sake I offer prayers.
Leela Devi asked Mother Saraswati.
What has caused this delusion in me? Who is responsible for this? Please explain to me.
Saraswati answered:
Avichaara
This delusion occurs because of not pondering deeply over the question. By not making an inquiry, one remains ignorant. In the railway station, or bus stand, you find a time table or a schedule, to give you peace of mind. If one does not know if the train has come or not, or has already left, one is in anxiety. One must ask and find out the status from someone in authority.
Because you have not thought about it, or have not enquired about it, or pondered over it, you are feeling anxious and your mind is wavering. What has been learned, must be remembered. It is very important in spirituality. Vichara here does not mean sorrow. It means to probe into the matter to learn the facts.
Ego also emerges out of this wavering mind and confusion. Arrogance prevents one from approaching Sadguru. Such arrogance should be avoided. Where did this nature come to me? By nature, you have not meditated on the subject. Some do not know things on their own. They are unwilling to ask others. How to get rid of this mindset? How to handle this deficiency in nature? One must develop the habit of asking and finding information.
Vichaara is one of the gatekeepers at the doorway to Liberation.
Shama, is patience and self-restraint. Mind and body must be controlled. If allowed to run amok, the mind will always be restless and unrestrained.
Vichaara, is serious contemplation.
Santoshaha is remaining happy at heart. Smiling outwardly is not enough by itself.
One must remain happy.
A woman was constantly crying. A man told a joke. Many people laughed. He repeated the joke. Some people laughed. He said the same joke again. Only a few people laughed. As he kept repeating the joke, the number of people laughing kept reducing. The joke became old after a few times and no one laughed. If a joke gets old and does not bring laughter, how can sorrow keep giving sadness? There is no point in dwelling on grief and weeping all the time. It is pointless to keep searching for reasons to weep. It is wrong to keep crying all the time. It spoils physical and spiritual health. It makes one lose faith in God and Guru. There are many things in life and in the world, to be happy about.
While doing Dhyana (meditation) or Pranayama, one must keep a pleasant face. A pleasant expression should be maintained. One should not keep a wry or sad face.
We begin worship with prayers to Ganapati. He presides over humor. He is the creator of humor. Celestials do not blink or laugh. Some people pretend to be great and refuse to laugh, no matter what, thinking that they will appear cheap if they laugh.
Ganapati felt sorry for the celestials who never laughed. Although Indra and other gods were powerful, they never laughed. When Ganapati danced with his big belly, with that funny sight he made the gods laugh. They realized for the first time that laughter is very pleasing. Always begin any effort with happiness at heart. Do not begin with grief or anxiety. It should not be done. It is a secret inherent in Ganapati Puja. A work begun grumpily will not succeed.
With deep contemplation and enquiry, grief can be destroyed.
Verse
A great principle Mother Goddess is conveying here. In one minute grief disperses. But the preparation for that one minute of realization is long duration of contemplation. In surgery, the surgeon takes just a short time to remove the tumor. But the preparatory procedure takes a long time. After continuous contemplation, in a second, grief will vanish.
Ignorance also occurred only because of Parabrahman. Because He exists, we have the tendency to see Him not as He is, but as if He were something else. That is why God is praised as both good and bad. But we should not follow the bad path because of this statement.
Nothing is separate from Parabrahma. In actuality, ignorance does not even exist, as per Paramaartha, Absolute Knowledge. In worldly life, differences do exist. In highest philosophy, Truth transcends both knowledge and ignorance, good and bad, virtue and vice. But while living in the world, you have to show reverence to the great persons and not say that all are equal. You have to offer a proper seat to the honored guest.
The realized elders do not scold youngsters for their ignorance. They know that in due course they will learn. Therefore, they keep quiet. But we cannot follow that all the time. We do need teachers to teach the ignorant.
Paaramaarthika drishti – the highest level of perception does now allow the existence of ignorance.
Verse
O Leela, in reality, there is no ignorance, bondage, or liberation. This is the highest level of understanding. When there is absolutely no bondage, where is the question of release from bondage? Only Visuddha Brahman (Pure Consciousness) exists. This we must contemplate upon. One must not lament that one is not liberated. This is a positive approach. When there is no sorrow at all, how can I be unhappy? In the ultimate level, there is also no happiness. There is only neutrality. There is no duality as happiness and sorrow. This way of thinking is very helpful in our sadhana.
One must ponder over this during dhyana: One must give up gender, titles, position, status, level of education, degrees, caste, family and friends, address, possessions, etc. These things exist when your eyes are open. When you close your eyes in meditation, you must give up all these and identify yourself with Brahman, who has absolutely no attributes as listed above. Otherwise, doing Dhyana is worthless. It will not yield any benefit. With eyes closed, identify yourself with Brahman who is free from all attributes.
All three types of peace will be experienced by you. In all three worlds, in all three bodies, you will be at peace. The knowledge of all three Vedas will accrue to you. You will earn the grace of the Trinity. When you contemplate as suggested above, you will attain perfect peace. This is what Mother Goddess has taught.
We have wrongly applied a mistaken notion upon the Almighty as being the Universe. A simple large log appears as a monster from a distance because of your imagination.
You do not see Brahman as He is. We are having a wrong perception. What mother freshly prepares, which is healthy and nutritious food, we do not appreciate. We go after an attractive package sold at the store, containing some stale, processed food with no nutritional value and perhaps full of harmful bacteria. People are fooled by outward looks, the packaging. We are not seeing the actual content.
Okay, you reject mother’s cooking and eat outside. But you criticize the traditional recipes. The youngsters these days eat for fashion. It is okay to dress for show. Food is not for show. You must eat that which grants good health. The man speaks ill of good food and goes after what is harmful. The old fashioned recipes are very nutritious. The modern attitude is that even foods have to be fashionable. They do not like to eat traditional items prepared at home. They prefer store food, attracted by looks of the package and abuse good home food.
Verse
This ignorance has come to you because you never gave it a thought to learn the truth. It is wrong to blame others. You have to think on your own and destroy your own ignorance. This is entirely your own fault. Yet, you are blaming others, Saraswati says to Leela Devi.
Samprajnata Samadhi or samprabuddha Samadhi is a common term used in Advaita philosophy. It is a state of Samadhi that is maintained at all times.
Some who are in an eternal Samadhi State are in that state whether they have their eyes open or closed.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa explained.
A coconut was old. The water inside has disappeared. Nobody pulled out the liquid with the tube. The coconut inside dried up on its own and freed itself from the husk. When you shake it, it moves about loosely, and makes noise.
When you succeed in spiritual pursuits then you also will be freed from ignorance gradually. Like that freed coconut, you will also become free. You must deeply contemplate if you wish to get rid of delusion.
Verse
Mother now gives assurance to Leela Devi. I bless you now to become free. We say that we know that the coconut is free. The coconut does not know that it has become free. Now this is instruction given to the coconut itself. As of this day, your understanding has blossomed and you are free from ignorance by having heard my Upadesha, spiritual teaching.
You have now gained liberation while still residing in the body. It is the same level of liberation that others get after leaving the body. God has given us this body so that we make the effort to experience that transcendental bliss while still in this body. You are now liberated, Leela Devi. Your inherent tendencies and your perception of duality have now left you.
Verse
In your Chittam, your mind, the worldly life will not exist furthermore. With experience, things are attained easily. Hanuman told Rama, I am just a small monkey. By the power of your name, I was able to effortlessly cross the ocean.
Hanuman’s story is narrated in Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana. Hanuman was just a monkey till he met Rama. After he met Rama, he became the king of monkeys. It is Rama’s greatness and blessing. It is not Hanuman’s greatness. One must always show reverence to Sadguru and elders. When Guru is ready to give you grace, you must not lose the opportunity by rejecting his command or guidance.
We must do our spiritual pursuits diligently and humbly.
Hereafter, Leela, you will never again suffer from Vasana. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, where there are no deliberate thought processes, you will remain. You will have your soul merged in the Supreme entity. The threesomes of seer, seeing, and the scene will disappear. In the heart, the seed will sprout that destroys ignorance which is the cause of all worldly experiences and the inner enemies of desire, anger, etc.
Verse
When this experience comes to you, the black stain of worldly life will vanish. You will become liberation and bliss. I give you this blessing, assures Mother Saraswati to Leela Devi.
Leela Devi asks some further questions and more answers are given to her. These we will discuss later.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi