Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
July 15, 2018
A scientific explanation is given. The sky appears blue because of the limitation of our eye sight. In ignorance we believe that the sky is blue, when it is not. See the sky as Paramatma. Vasishtha teaches how to dispel ignorance.
Vengamamba, an ordinary woman wrote 6000 Telugu poems explaining the teaching of Yoga Vasishtha. Her work is called Jnana Vasishtham. She is a devotee of Lord Sri Venkateshwara. Her diction is simple and vivid. We ought to be grateful for her contribution. The blueness of the sky is not real.
How did Creation come into being? Why do we get deluded into thinking that this Creation is real? These are profound topics to be discussed later.
If we engage in worldly affairs with an enlightened mind, our actions will find fulfillment. When we act with ignorance, we face problems.
Ignorance is as non-existent as a lotus pond in the sky. It exists as long as the light of knowledge is absent.
Keep the mind free from desires. Surrender all desires to God. It is initially difficult to block thoughts from emerging. Vasishtha claims that stilling the mind is easy. Those who have reached the other shore find the journey easy. When you have a Sadguru to guide you, it becomes easy to overcome delusion. Sri Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita, whoever takes refuge in me, will be taken across this ocean of Maya easily by me. Therefore, cling to Sadguru and follow his guidance to make this ignorance vanish. A child riding on his father’s shoulder feels no strain. Make an attempt. You will reach the goal. Guru’s quality is to encourage disciples to proceed with confidence. Vasishtha encourages Rama.
Sri Rama is addressed as a Sadhu. Sadhu is one who abstains from causing harm to any living being, verbally, mentally, and physically. Rama, completely forget the existence of this world.
We must do puja, forgetting our surroundings. Such an experience gives bliss. Retain that feeling of bliss all day. Your concentration during worship will help you throughout the day. The level of concentration employed during worship will determine how long during the day you can sustain that peace and bliss within yourself. Completely forget the world and get absorbed in the thought of Paramatma. Don’t indulge in painful thoughts. Keep only thinking of Parabrahma. That is the best way, says Vasishtha. If you lack focus during worship, the peaceful state of mind will not endure.
Science about Mind is now explained. I am destroyed. My life is spoiled. I have no happiness, now or in the future. Such negative thoughts create bad dreams. Even in dreams one will suffer. One thinks one is dead. Once awake, man is happy he is still alive and is awake. Such positive thoughts enhance one’s happiness. If you keep thinking bad thoughts about hurting others, you will suffer. Our thoughts determine our success or failure.
Others who are sinning and yet are happy now, are enjoying now because of past merit earned by them. You begin now, earning merit. Don’t compare with others and be miserable. If you ponder about God, you proceed in the direction of merging in God. It is like changing channels on television to choose what you wish to watch. Mind is also like that. You choose what thoughts you wish to engage in. How you turn the direction of your thoughts and tune your mind is up to you. You need the intellect to control your mind. When you employ that technique, you will merge in God. Like a river flows towards the ocean and becomes one with the ocean, you also become one with Brahman.
By telling yourself that you are ignorant, you automatically become ignorant. Don’t call yourself that. Only Truth exists. Say that you are proceeding towards attaining Truth. Since you are on that journey, it is implied that you are now ignorant. But don’t verbalize it. Don’t give room for ignorance to enter into you. When you do not grow a nice harvest, weeds will take over and become rampant. If you leave the land unattended, weeds are sure to take over. Don’t boast that you are a Jnani, a wise man, when you are not. At the same time, don’t call yourself an idiot and weep. Yearn for Truth. Do Sadhana.
Root out ignorance by not thinking about ignorance and the things it causes. Then it will quickly go away. You come all the way to the ashrama. You are speaking with Guru. But you belittle yourself, thinking you are unworthy and do not deserve his grace. Why do you do that? Not necessary. Sadguru has no such feelings. You listen to others and their negative estimation about you. You are Brahman. Keep telling yourself that. Although ignorance has no beginning, it is not endless. Creation has no beginning. Scientists may give an age to the planet earth. But no one can determine when Creation began. It is impossible.
Some people try to know their past lives to know what merit or sin they have incurred. Nadi Shastra tells people the details. Ask for atonement. Then it is useful, if you follow the guidance. Simply trying to know how many lifetimes you have gone through, is worthless.
No one remains ignorant. Begin your study now. You will become knowledgeable. Ignorance can be removed. Man is always free. He does not realize it. There is a veil of ignorance covering the light. It must be removed, that is all. Then man realizes that he is ever free. Parabrahma is never bound. Incarnations may be temporary. But Paramatma who incarnates is ever free and eternal. Upanishads give examples.
A prince was taken away into the forest as a child. He was ignorant that he was a prince. He lived like a tribal. When he was informed later, he traveled to his kingdom. The queen recognized him. He was crowned and became king. Guru reminds us that we are Brahman. Therefore, the state of ever being free is never disturbed. Liberation does not come and go. It is the realization that I am free. That is Liberation. One does not travel to a different world to attain liberation. Light is always there. A thick curtain or a translucent curtain separates one from the light, based on past culture.
Ignorance is the source of all objects appearing before us. The wheel of ignorance spins very fast and we get dizzy with delusion. Only when Self-realization occurs, ignorance vanishes. Make an attempt to know yourself.
The way the ministers follow the directives given by the king, all the sense organs follow the commands given by the mind. Control of the mind will control the sense organs. One king has many ministers. In a second, the king’s message reaches the entire kingdom. Control and concentrate the mind. Then the sense organs will obey you. Once the reins are in your hands, the horses will obey you. You should not follow the sense organs. They should follow you. Don’t have ego. It is spicy hot. It gives acidity. I am Brahman is not ego. Hold on to that thought and belief. It costs nothing. It requires no one’s permission. No one can take it away. No one can steal it. No time or resources are required to have this belief. It is a boon that we cannot read the minds of others. Then enemies and friends may change places. Life will become difficult.
Do not think of outside things if you wish peace of mind. Do not put off spirituality until after you retire or become old. Sow the seed in childhood. Then it will bear fruit. Don’t entertain such a thought that it is reserved for old age. That is why Swamiji wants children to learn the Bhagavad Gita, even though they do not understand the meaning. Naasato vidyate bhaavaha has volumes of commentary. Not easy to grasp the meaning. We fail in our duty toward the kids if we do not introduce them to spirituality in childhood. There are some who are spiritual in childhood and become atheists as adults, due to their past bad karma. Children who are raised with spirituality will be Satvic and become assets to the community. But keeping this knowledge from children is a mistake.
In America, an experiment was made, where some children were raised in a cave sheltered from the world entirely. They became troubled and spoiled when they were finally exposed to the world as adults. Spirituality must be taught in childhood.
Don’t be afraid of ignorance. It cannot harm you. Spirituality gives you immense peace. You have forgotten Brahman who exists. You fear the non-existent ignorance. You have imagined a snake in your home. You are making yourself afraid. Don’t do it. The world never existed. You have imagined its presence. It never existed before Creation. It does not exist now.
Then, what is this world that we see? You are seeing God in the form of this Creation. All living beings are forms of God. You will realize that all are one and identified with you. Then you enjoy peace. Whatever appears is God, including yourself. Even what is invisible and not yet imagined, or already imagined, is all God. Great souls experience God. We are on the path to gaining that experience.
Idol worship is mentioned in the Vedas. This is not the ultimate. It has benefits. But there is something greater than ritual worship. It is mental contemplation and deep meditation. That is the step that is reached after ritual worship. Worshiping images is not wrong. To think that, is a mistake. Spirituality rejects nothing. Worship gives great benefits. In ritual worship, there is no cruelty. No one is hurt. How can you blame it? How can you speak ill of it, and call your spiritual? Great souls always perform worship. The Shastras ordain it. Worship, when conducted wholeheartedly, purifies the mind. If done mechanically, it takes longer to purify the mind. Mind benefits by regular worship. Do not believe that rejecting Puja is a sign of spirituality. Meditative state comes on its own, when the mind becomes ripe. Do you quit eating because you are spiritual? Some religions do not include image worship. They have taken the last words of the Vedanta and have applied it as a general rule for everyone to follow. It is not possible. Meditation is the final step. Worship is the way that leads to it. Self-realization is the last step, which requires many preliminary stages. Scriptures endorse image worship for seekers who are at the beginning levels of spirituality. It cannot and should not be shunned. Deep contemplation is the last step.
Gradually one must attain that stage. Some in our religion are also getting spoiled, listening to false teaching.
Some claim that images are not required; chanting the name of God is sufficient. Is name not a symbol for God? Form helps in maintaining focus while the eyes are open.
No argument can win against the teaching of our Upanishads. The debaters must be open-minded and willing to admit defeat. Those who destroy temples and idols are ignorant. Some look in a certain direction and offer prayers. Is that direction not a symbol of God? Is not the Cross a symbol? It is a symbol of sacrifice. Even to criticize, one must have the eligibility. Our ancestors have given us teachings after careful and profound thought. Good deeds and Dharma must never be renounced. With half-knowledge, do not reject rituals like homa, vrata, puja, yajna, and so on. Self-realization comes on its own, when the mind is ready. To make it ready, one must engage in rituals.
Vidyaavinaya sampanne … BG – The wise treat all as equal.
What is seeing all as the same? There is a path to tread to attain liberation. One cannot behave without restraint. Dharma, Artha, kama, and moksha are the pillars on which Truth is based. One Mahatma can create one lakh devotees.
The wrong way should not be followed. Other religions misunderstand and misrepresent Vedas and Vedanta and lead people the wrong way. What the Vedas and Vedanta teach is Truth. No one can deny it. It is our good fortune that it originated in India and Indians have grasped it. We must protest against conversion that is done out of ignorance.
This entire creation should be viewed as Brahman. That view should be cultivated. Live by that.
Other than Brahman, nothing exists. It is stated categorically. Only this path takes you to the destination. Nothing else is. Be merged in that Brahman. Brahman is oneself. Nothing else exists. That is why great souls share the sorrow and happiness of others, even if they are in no way related.
When people make insensitive comments about bad news that they read in the news, it shows that they do not identify themselves with others. They are disappointed if only one person died in an accident, and show concern if many died.
Sage Bharadwaja took many lifetimes as a boon he earned, to learn the Vedas comprehensively. It is impossible to know everything there is to know. One should learn instead, about Brahman. Some great souls, in every lifetime, dedicate themselves to gain deeper and deeper knowledge of Truth, sacrificing even food and sleep.
Great scientists like Einstein have dedicated their lives to knowledge. Our sages have done greater penance. We must capture the gems of knowledge given to us by Sadguru. We must follow the instructions and continue our efforts wholeheartedly to grasp Truth.
Many desires, old age, death, suffering, and problems of the world are all rooted in ignorance. Swamiji is traveling at age 76 tirelessly. His heart is in serving the devotees. He gave word to some devotees, so he travels to fulfill his word. If one’s heart is in it, one can achieve anything. Otherwise, me, and mine feelings keep generating desires and ambitions. They need to be destroyed.
Breeze creates waves in water. Ego is the serpent that moves the body and creates trouble. Get rid of the ego.
Vasishtha has now addressed Rama as Tattvajna, enlightened one. Only Soul is Truth. Ignorance is untruth.
I am praying to Guru that everyone should attain Self-realization. You also pray for Guru’s grace. It is not easy. Once attained, it appears very easy.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Shantissantissantihi