Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
August 1, 2017
Note compiler: no video of beginning
When observed closely, it appears as if the needle has two tiny eyes. Only the eyes are seen. Whether there is light or not, the eyes appear like sparks. The demon looked at herself in her new body and felt confused and miserable. It was a form that she asked for, from Brahma.
We say, the fox imitated the tiger and branded herself with stripes. People just want what others have. One must know what is want and what is need.
The demon remained silent not knowing why she made such a mistake.
It was a very bright shape that was seen, of the demon. Like the thin thread of life within creatures, she appeared. She rose like the Kundalini Shakti. Kundallni Shakti, which cannot be shown in MRI or CT Scan, the demon rises. Kundallni Shakti can only be experienced. It cannot be shown to another. If one gains wisdom, it is a personal experience. The three coils of the serpent represent the three Gunas which are transcended when it rises. The breaking of each knot as it rises to the Crown Chakra as one gets enlightened, cannot be shown to another. The individual who experiences it, knows that he is enlightened. No one else can witness or endorse the experience.
The Jeeva Soochika is the invisible, living needle, which is like a cruel mind, since it belongs to the demon. It separates at wish, and joins at wish with the other visible needle. It is sharp, fragrant and subtle. It penetrates bodies to torment and kill. The demon relishes this activity of cruelly, troubling others. She appears very soft and subtle like mist. Bearing both the forms of metal, and the invisible needle, it goes into the Pleeha flesh region to the left of the heart and troubles people. Those who are impure inside and out, those who never do noble deeds or austerities are most vulnerable to her attack.
People’s bodies become gross or subtle, by their own intention. By determination, one can become fat or skinny with diet and exercise. One who does rigorous exercise remains physically strong.
The demon, by her own deliberate wish changed her form. Sankalpa, a strong resolve makes the impossible possible.
Those who have wretched minds think wretched thoughts. Like a foolish man approaching a king to ask for one meal, this demon, foolishly downgraded herself after performing a great penance. She asked for a foolish boon from Brahma. Her level of intelligence was low.
Tapasaarjitam – what can penance earn for you? It purifies the individual of all sins. When gold is purified, only the pure gold is left, when all the contaminants are separated and removed. With penance, bad thoughts vanish. Now, this demon had performed great penance. Then, why did she still retain the mindset to cruelly hurt others? Why did she choose to turn into a sharp needle? Why did her mind not become pure?
Even among those who perform penance, by their race or species, by their high or low birth, some retain certain tendencies. Perhaps this demon did not do enough penance to cleanse her mind of her cruel nature. One must be very careful while doing penance. Our invisible files go with us through different lifetimes. One should be very careful. Otherwise, the bad traits go with you.
Karkati obtains the form of a needle, only to cruelly torment others.
A yogi rescues a scorpion. It stings him. He drops it. It falls into water and is rescued again by him. It stings him again and again, until the poison gets exhausted. It is the yogi’s nature to rescue. It is the scorpion’s nature to sting.
The demon was stationary as a mountain. She could not move. Now as a needle, she is constantly moving. Like a hyperactive child, she is moving. Her old body blew away like a wisp of cloud in a breeze. Her strong resolve created both her bodies, the big, and the subtle.
The demon chooses to reside in extremely thin people. Bodies need nourishment. Bhagavad Gita says, one must eat moderate amounts. Starving oneself or overeating are both bad. Some go on a horrible water diet. It is wrong. The body requires nutrition. Too much sleep and not enough sleep are both bad. There are some who are just skin and bones. It is not good. Unless there is enough flesh in the body, the body cannot withstand cold weather. Some people are overweight. Perhaps due to genetic disorder. Some by negligence become obese.
This demon tortures people who are either too thin or too fat.
Now TVs are slim and people are fat. Earlier, TVs were huge, and people were slim.
Earlier, first the Siva Linga was consecrated, and then a temple was built around it. Some people are so fat, a house has to be built around them.
Mantras protect people from evil demons. The atmosphere of a temple or a worship altar protect people. The leaves used to decorate doorways are meant to repel insects and germs. Artificial plastic leaves used as substitutes only make the foreign traders rich. Our ancient seers knew about the diseases and the preventive measures. It is important to maintain traditions. To reject them is foolish. These days fresh mango leaves are not even available in large cities. It is pitiable. It is better to prevent diseases rather than to discover medicines.
Where people are lazy or unwilling to use their intelligence, the demon attacks. People who are wicked are vulnerable to attack by this demon in the shape of disease. This demon also tries to get inside good people and turn them into bad people and then troubles them. Brahma gave protection from her to true devotees and pious people.
Guru sometimes gives certain gemstones and crystals which repel evil spirits. Lakshmi Narasimha Swami receives abhishekam. The nature of the water before and after the abhishekam is very different.
In Japan, an experiment was done with good words and bad words spoken in the presence of water. The water responds. They froze the water and took photographs of the water crystals. The shapes are very different. The good words produced beautiful crystals. The bad words produced horrible shaped crystals.
We invoke all gods into the water of a Kalasha. Then the water is used for abhishekam. You can see the difference. There are labs where they have equipment and where such research is done.
But to keep indiscriminately, too many gemstones and crystals all over the house are harmful. It is difficult to even walk freely in the house; the stones have sharp edges where they are hung from the ceiling. People must bend down and walk. I had visited one such house.
The demon roamed everywhere.
Two ladies got some terrible fever recently. Meera aunty reported this case. One of them wore a raksha given by Swamiji. She was protected and was out of danger and discharged from the hospital. The other lady went into a coma. The raksha gave great protection. Mantra, austerity, and noble deeds certainly protect. If their bad karma is too powerful, sometimes even good people get sick.
The demon gets into the dust, and into the crevices in the fingers as bacterial. Handshake transfers germs. We do Namaskaram, joining hands. It is a safe and decent way to greet. Germs spread through handshake. It was published recently that ex-President of USA, Mr. Obama appreciated our culture of joining hands to greet others. It is very decent. It is a bad practice to touch strangers, especially people of the opposite gender.
In the light rays and in fire, and in threads of fabrics, the demon hides and penetrates creatures.
She goes into the Nadis inside the body, in lecherous persons with illicit affairs, like HIV, she infects. She occupies the genital organs of immoral persons. She goes into people with dirty ideas. She infects people who do not move their hands and legs due to laziness.
Hereafter, television will be projected on walls, it seems.
Earlier, people always washed their feet before entering the home. The people at home would hand a water pot to guests and family members to wash feet. Footwear must be left outside.
The demon occupies fallen hair strands. That is why people were told not to shave inside the house. Do not just keep hair that is fallen or cut. Throw it out. Hair in food or at the altar is very bad and harbors disease germs.
Rotten grass, and dirty clothes harbor germs. These days it is a fashion to wear jeans without washing. The fabric gets so dirty and nasty. To wear unwashed clothes again and again is an invitation to illness.
Eating without brushing teeth, taking a bath only before going to bed, are all bad habits. Flies and insects, and stagnant water spread germs. People with bad thoughts and feelings are vulnerable to diseases. One must be careful while visiting sick persons. The exhalation of sick people carries disease. Some poisonous trees (Parthenium is one such) aggravate diseases. Swamiji once came down himself to weed out those plants in the ashrama, which spread everywhere and created wheezing problems.
Where good trees are felled, the demon appears, to spread diseases. Mango and Bilva trees are auspicious trees. Where they are cut down, disease spreads. Where saintly and noble souls are absent, the demon goes. Where wicked activities take place, the demon goes. Some places where there is stink and where crows reside, where cut tree branches are piled up to rot, where there is excessive cold weather, the demon wanders.
Those who have disfigured bodies, those who bleed from cracks in feet and hands, Jeeva Soochika, the demon resides. Where icicles are ready to drop, where there are too many footprints in muddy areas, in deserts, and dense forests, the disease-demon is rampant. Where pythons, and tigers are roaming, and in pilgrim centers where multitudes of people gather and cleanliness is lacking, diseases spread.
People leave used clothes in rivers and contaminate the waters. The dyes are chemicals. They collect moss and harm the creatures which live in water. In Shabarimalai, the rivers are filled with clothes left by people.
If we make mistakes like this, we should correct ourselves.
We once went to Jaabaali Teertham. It is used as a tank to wash dirty clothes. On top of the hill, the holy water which is meant for drinking, is misused.
Where there are head lice, where ponds stink from soggy leaves and mosquitoes, and gutters and dirty canals, demon resides. There are people who eat dirty stuff, or spit dirty stuff, the demon spreads diseases there. There is a huge list of places where the demon roams and spreads diseases.
The demon has the body of a needle. How does it satisfy hunger? We will learn tomorrow.
Tomorrow 400 blind children are coming to visit the ashram. Please participate in the charitable activity associated with the visit.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Shantisshantisshantihi