(Oct 31,2013 ) Spiritual Message for the Day – Householders and Satsanga

Householders and Satsanga

Divine Life Society Publication: Satsanga and Svadhyaya by Swami Sivananda

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The Meaning of Satsanga

The word ‘Satsanga’ is the combination of the two words ‘Sat’ and ‘Sanga.’ ‘Sat’ means existence absolute, which is Brahman. ‘Sat’ is the essential nature of Brahman which is permanent in things that change, which is the only reality that upholds the world of appearance.

The same ‘Sat,’ with the accidental attributes of omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence is called Isvara or Paramatman. In brief, ‘Sat’ refers to Isvara as well as Brahman, both ultimately being the one and the same reality.

‘Sanga’ literally means company or union. To be always in the company of the Lord, or to be established in Brahman, is the literal meaning of the word ‘Satsanga.’ But, as long as ignorance or Avidya remains, the direct realization of Brahman is impossible. When ignorance is destroyed by wisdom, the real nature reveals itself. This is the highest Satsanga.

Householders and Satsanga

This world appears to be very beautiful, charming and attractive. Delicious drinks, luscious fruits, fragrant flowers, sweets and toffees, tea and coffee, beautiful women and magnificent gardens,—and the mind is attracted to them. The man who has no discrimination and dispassion is attracted. He lives in Maya, thinks always of Maya, dwells constantly upon sensual objects, and is filled with Asubha Vasanas. He leads an Asuric life in this world.

But, reflect for a moment on the true nature of this world. With all these beautiful things, there is a constant undercurrent of Janma, Mrityu, Jara and Vyadhi—birth, death, old age and disease. Loss of property, death of near relatives and dear friends, dishonour and defeat, these are the things that you experience daily, even though you run after the beautiful objects thinking they will give you unalloyed happiness. You are immersed in sorrow. You are sorely disappointed. You have misunderstood the nature of the world. This is a world of pain, sorrow and death. You cannot get real peace, happiness or bliss in this world, from these sense-objects. Where can you get them?

Realize Your Real Nature Through Sadhana and Satsanga and Attain Immortal Bliss

Behind these names and forms, behind these fleeting sense-objects, behind these perishable phenomena, there is the Satchidananda Para Brahman, full of bliss, full of eternal peace and wisdom, illumination and enlightenment. Attain this Atman through study of sacred scriptures, meditation, Japa, Kirtan and Satsanga. You will be freed from the trammels of the flesh, from slavery to the mind, from the shackles of transmigration.

Avidya, Kama and Karma bind you to this wheel of birth and death. You have forgotten your real essential nature. You are ignorant of your Satchidananda Svarupa. Therefore you feel that happiness lies in the external objects of the senses. And, desire arises in you for them. Then you exert to obtain them, and Karma results. Karma brings about birth and death.

Therefore, if you want to free yourself from birth and death, free yourself from desires, from attachment, from Asubha Vasanas, and ultimately, from this primordial ignorance, develop discrimination, dispassion, serenity of mind. Practice the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali Maharshi, Bhakti Yoga of Devarshi Narada, Jnana Yoga of Sankaracharya, Karma Yoga of Bhagavan Krishna or the Yoga of Synthesis which is most suitable to this modern age. You will be freed from birth and death. You will enjoy eternal bliss. This is the goal. This is your Dharma. You have taken birth here as a human being in order to reach this goal here and now, in this very birth. If you do not strive to reach the goal, you are wasting your life and neglecting this precious gift of human birth.

Satsanga Guards You Against the Unreal Glitter of Worldly Objects

Forget not the goal. In order not to forget the goal, Satsanga is most essential. Satsanga keeps the fire of aspiration alive in your head. It is a shield to protect you from lapsing into lethargy, from gliding back into the old grooves of sense-cravings, from forgetting your goal. Satsanga is your best friend, your spiritual nourishment. Satsanga is greater than your parents; your parents gave the body, but Satsanga gives you spiritual illumination. Satsanga is one of the fundamental means for attaining God-realization. Where there is Satsanga, Mahatmas and great saints assemble. They remind you of the Reality; they guard you against the unreal glitter of worldly objects; they save you from the formidable ocean of Samsara. Their glorious example inspires you; their soul-elevating Upadesa is your guide. From Satsanga you get practical lessons in control of mind, concentration and meditation.

Satsanga is, therefore, indispensable for householders who have to engage themselves in their worldly duties, important for spiritual aspirants who are treading the path of renunciation, and highly beneficial even for advanced Yogis and students of Vedanta. It spiritually awakens the householders, inspires the spiritual aspirants, and sustains the spirit of the advanced Yogis. To the great saints and Mahatmas, Satsanga is a pleasure, delight, joy and Loka-sangraha Seva. Mahatmas wish to share their spiritual experiences with struggling souls and rescue those who are caught in the snare of Samsara. They are the soul of Satsanga. The very purpose of convening Satsanga is to enjoy the company of these Holy Ones.

The Real Satsanga Bhavan is in Your Own Heart

The Satsanga Bhavan, the place where Satsanga is held, is Vaikuntha, Kailasa or Param-dham, in reality. The real Satsanga Bhavan is in your own heart. There dwells the Sat, the Supreme Reality, that Existence Absolute or Brahman. Control the mind by the practice of Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama. Make the mind one-pointed by the practice of Pratyahara and Dharana. Then meditate on the Self, the Atman dwelling in your heart. You can enter into your own Satsanga Bhavan daily through self-analysis, introspection, enquiry into the nature of the Self. This will lead to Self-realization, when you will forever be one with that Sat, the infinite eternal Existence.

This is your goal. Forget not, Maya is very powerful. With all your good intentions, you will forget this foremost duty. Therefore, come to the Satsanga Bhavan and associate with saints and Yogis who will instruct you how to control the mind, how to practise Pranayama and Brahma-vichara, how to wean the mind from sensual objects, how to fill the mind with Sattva.

Identification with the body and the mind is the cause for all sufferings. In reality, you are Satchidananda-svarupa; identification with this real Svarupa is the key to perennial peace and supreme bliss. Ajo Nityah Sasvatoyam Purano: this Atman is unborn, eternal and ancient. Be regular in your meditation, Japa, Kirtan, prayer. People do Kirtan for some time, attend Satsanga for some time; and then they leave off. This is a sad error. Regularity is of paramount importance in Sadhana. Whatever you do, do regularly. Increase the period of meditation gradually. Do not be attracted by the tantalizing tinsels of this world. Nobody has been benefited by material possessions. You may have crores of rupees in the bank, you may have a hundred motor-cars and a dozen bungalows: but, peace of mind you cannot have from these. You can have peace of mind only if you are regular in Japa, meditation, Kirtan and Satsanga. Only when you realize the Self will you enjoy perennial peace. Construct the Satsanga Bhavan in your own heart through regular and systematic spiritual practice and realize Him, not in the unknown future, but right now this very second. Forget not the goal.

Let me remind you of the last word of the Upanishads. Tat Tvam Asi: thou art that supreme, infinite, immortal Satchidananda Brahman. Have constant Nama-smaran; even when you are working, mentally repeat Sri Ram, Sri Ram. Sri Ram is not only the Avatara of Lord Vishnu, consort of Sita, but He is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Para Brahman. Constantly meditate on Sri Ram. Be good. Do good. Be noble. Be gentle. Be generous. Attain Self-realization through Satsanga, Svadhyaya, Japa, Kirtan and meditation. May Lord bless you all!

Excerpts from:

Householders and Satsanga - Satsanga and Svadhyaya by Swami Sivananda
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(Oct 30,2013 ) Spiritual (An Illuminating Story) Message for the Day – Let go!

Let go!

Divine Life Society Publication: Satsanga and Svadhyaya by Swami Sivananda

 

There is a story of a person, a Kathavachak, doing Katha in a Durbar all the year round. The king got interested in getting himself freed from Samsara. He said, “He must be able to free me from this Samsara, I have got no peace of mind. Perhaps he will give me knowledge.”

On the next day he said to the man, the Kathavachak, “I want knowledge. Give me the secret of getting out of this Samsaric bondage.” The Kathavachak trembled in fear. He was in a dilemma. He did not know what to do. The king said, “If you do not free me from Samsara, your job will go and your head also along with it.”

The Kathavachak went to his house, dejected. He had a wise daughter, who was perhaps a Yogabhrashta. She asked him, “Why are you so gloomy?” He replied, “My child, my last days have come. The king is asking me to do the impossible. The king asks me to give him that knowledge which will free him from Samsara. What do I know? I do not have that knowledge myself. I am doing Katha only, and that too to run this household. The king will take my head if I do not give him the knowledge tomorrow.” The girl said, “Do not worry. You go and tell the king that the answer will be given.” He said, “All right”, for a dying man catches any straw in order to save his life. The girl aged eight or ten years said, “Take me to the palace tomorrow, when you go.”

The father went to the palace with the girl the next day. She asked him to start the Katha as usual. But hardly had he proceeded with his Katha for fifteen minutes, when the silence of the Durbar was broken by a loud wailing noise. All people were wondering who was crying. The girl was crying at the top of her voice, “Please release me, please release me.” She was fastening herself tightly to a pillar. All people tried to disentangle her from the pillar, but could not; she was holding the pillar tightly and crying, “Release me, release me.”

The king got angry and he asked, “What a silly girl you are! What do you mean? You are yourself catching hold of the pillar and you are asking us to remove you.” Immediately the girl burst into laughter.

The king asked, “Why are you laughing?” The girl replied, “I am laughing, because that is exactly what you are asking my father to do. You are catching hold of the palace, you are attached to the palace, to your property, your status, and you want him to release you from something which you yourself are clinging to.”

The king was satisfied with the answer of the girl. He learned a lesson. A man does not get released by another. He has to release himself.

You have to let go what you are clinging to. So it depends upon the aspirant himself to let go his clinging, which belongs to his lower self, which belongs to the old unregenerate nature. If he lets go that clinging, then immediately Satsanga becomes fruitful, Guru-bhakti springs from that heart.

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Let Go! - Satsanga and Svadhyaya by Swami Sivananda
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(Oct 29,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – The Individual Nature by Swami Krishnananda

The Individual Nature

Divine Life Society Publication: Chapter 8 Light on the Internal Self- The Philosophy of the Panchadasi

In luminosity the Chidabhasa resembles the Atman, and it is for this reason that the Jivas mistake themselves for reality and mistake the objects of the world also for similar realities. The difference, however, is that the Atman is never attached, because it is universal, while the Chidabhasa is not. The Atman never undergoes transformation, because it is absolute, while the Chidabhasa does. The former is different from the latter because of its material nature and is distinguished from the latter which has the characteristic of luminosity.

In the Aitareya Upanishad, it is stated that it is the Atman that enters into the various individuals and gives them the character of a Jiva. The Jiva, thus has a twofold nature, that which limits, namely, the Antahkarana, and that which shines, namely, the Atman. The Upanishad says that the Atman enters into the variety of creation and the latter become the Jivas, on account of their partaking of the Consciousness and Existence aspects of the Atman. Hence, the formation of the Buddhi and the Antahkarana is a subsequent act in creation, not originally connected with the Atman. But how the Absolute, All pervading One manages it is wonderful, indeed. This wonder is similar to the wonder of the whole of creation. Creation, being relative to the Jivas, cannot be regarded as an ultimate truth, and the entry of Brahman into the Jivas, being a part of the process of creation, remains, then, a mystery.

Sage Yajnavalkya mentions, as we have it in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, that the Jiva rises by being connected with the various limiting agents, such as the elements, body, mind, etc., and ceases to be when these limiting agents cease to be. The sage says that there is no consciousness after the destruction of individuality, meaning thereby that there cannot be externalized consciousness in the state of salvation of the soul in Brahman, where there is no duality in order that one may perceive another. The Atman is declared as indestructible and is equated with the Kutastha-Atman. While the Atman is supposed to operate in the Jiva by an apparent contact with the elements, the Jivahood is destroyed in Moksha, or final liberation, but not the essence of the Jiva, which is the Atman. It is the Jiva that undergoes transmigration in different worlds; the Atman is unaffected.

How does one know that one is Brahman when Jivahood is destroyed? It is quite obvious, because, knowledge is not the prerogative of the Jiva, and as a matter of fact, it is only a semblance of knowledge. It shines, in fact, in borrowed feathers, and has no consciousness of its own. The identity of the Jiva with Brahman is established by a method known as Samana-Adhikaranya, which means the identity of one thing with another that can be known only when the obstructing characters of the things identified are removed. In the present case it means the union of the Jiva with Brahman, not literally in its present form, but essentially after the Jiva is divested of its limiting features such as the three bodies; but the identity of the Kutasha-Atman with Brahman is direct and primary, and, hence, it is called Mukhya-Samanadhikaranya, or primary identity, like the identity of space within a vessel with the all-pervading space. Just as one may mistake in the dusk a standing post for a human being, but after going near it and carefully observing it one generally knows that it is a post alone and not a man, so, in the darkness of our ignorance we have mistaken Brahman for the Jiva, but by a careful investigation into the subject, and observing the situation correctly, we will realize that the Jiva is only an appearance and it is really Brahman, after all. When this realization takes place, there is an immediate destruction of the false notion of doership, enjoyership, etc., which are attributed to the Jiva. The identity of the world with Brahman, or of the Jiva with the Kutastha-Atman, is to be understood in the sense of the Badhasamanadhikaranya, or sublative identity, mentioned above. When the names and forms are separated from the essence, the essence is known to be Brahman.

There is the question of the identity of the Jiva with Brahman by negating certain attributes, only if we regard the Jiva from the point of view of its essence, as Consciousness. If we define Jiva as a limited individual with a reflected consciousness, etc., then naturally, in that state, it cannot be identified with Brahman, and to effect identification there should be the abandoning of its limiting characters. If it is regarded as Consciousness in its innermost being, then there is this direct identity of substratum. When the Jiva is investigated into and its true nature is researched, then it will be known that it is the same as what we call Kutastha, and in this condition it is immediately one with Brahman.

Kutastha and Brahman mean one and the same thing. That is called Kutastha which is Consciousness acting as the substratum of the appearance of the Jiva with the appendages as body, mind, senses etc. Brahman is the same Consciousness existing as the substratum of the whole cosmos. When the entire cosmos is something super-imposed on Brahman, what to speak of this Chidabhasa, which is only a part of creation? We make a distinction between Isvara (God) and Jiva (individual) by introducing a difference between the whole and the part, namely, the universe and the body. The one Brahman in relation to the universe is called Isvara, and it alone in relation to the body is called Jiva. The substance is one, Consciousness is one, appearances are two. Jivahood, therefore, is ultimately to be sublated, it being an appearance, because it is a false constitution made up of the erroneous notions of doership, enjoyership, etc., and belongs to the world and the semblance of consciousness borrowed from the Atman.

Excerpts from:

Chapter 8 The Individual Nature - The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda

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(Oct 28,2013 ) Spiritual Message for the Day – Three kinds of Adhyasa or Superimposition

Three kinds of Adhyasa or Superimposition

Divine Life Society Publication: Commentary on the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda

Afflictions like hunger and thirst will continue as long as there is this body, in spite of the fact that one has acquired a kind of knowledge of the difference between the Atman and the body. The associations are of three kinds, and these associations are known in Sanskrit as adhyasa. The first one is known as bhramaja adhyasa – superimposition caused by sheer ignorance. The second one is sahaja adhyasa – superimposition which is natural to existing conditions. The third is karmaja adhyasa – superimposition that is the outcome of the existence of the body itself.

The first one, known as bhramaja adhyasa – superimposition brought about by sheer ignorance – is the transference of values between the intellect and the Atman, pure and simple. The universality of the Atman, which is eternity in its essential nature, is wrongly transferred to the individual principle known as the intellect, and then there is a false feeling that the individual is longstanding – eternity itself.

We do not feel that we are going to die tomorrow. That feeling never enters our mind because of the transference of the perpetual or eternal character of the Atman to the individuality principle that is our intellect. If this transference of values were not to be there, every moment we would be in fear of death and there would be no incentive to work; even for a moment we would not lift even a finger.

On the other hand, there is the transference of the qualities of the individuality principle (intellect) upon the Atman, pure and simple, on account of which we begin to feel that we are limited in location. We are in one place only; we are not in different places. We are ignorant; we are not omniscient. We are very helpless, not omnipotent, and we are located in one place only. That is finitude.

Finitude in space, finitude in knowledge, and finitude in power – all these three kinds of finitude are imposed upon us by the transference of the individuality character of the intellect onto the Atman. Because of the Atman's character getting reflected or transferred to the individuality principle, we feel that we are going to live for endless years. There is a sense of permanency to our existence on account of this other kind of transference, the transference of the Atman's character upon the intellect. This kind of mutual transference of values from Atman to intellect and intellect to Atman is called bhramaja adhyasa – superimposition of characters caused by sheer ignorance, bereft of proper understanding.

The second one is called sahaja adhyasa, or the natural superimposition taking place between the consciousness reflected through the intellect and the ego principle. When the Atman consciousness gets reflected through the intellect, it assumes the awareness of individuality. We feel “I am” in our personal character, and the consciousness of personality, or I am-ness, is simultaneous with the consciousness of egoism – intense attachment to the personality itself. The consciousness of personality is identical with attachment to personality. This is natural superimposition, or sahaja adhyasa.

Karmaja is the third superimposition, the transference of the characters of finitude upon the physical body, and the transference of characters such hunger-thirst, heat-cold, etc., which are felt by the body, upon the intellect.

Now in the case of the jivanmukta, or the person who has realized the Self, the first adhyasa is checked off. He will not feel that this personality is transferrable to the Atman or the Atman is transferrable to the individuality principle. On account of this severance of the original adhyasa, which is based on ignorance, he will not take rebirth. But he will continue to be in this world with this personal body as long as the other two karmas persist. The reflection of consciousness of the Atman through the intellect will continue in the case of the jivanmukta purusha also – that is, he will know that he is existing as a person. And he will also feel the pinches of hunger and thirst, heat and cold, as long as the prarabdha karma continues – that is, the third kind of adhyasa – karmaja, persists.

This is with reference to this particular verse which says hunger and thirst, etc., will be seen to be present even in the case of those who are enlightened; but this feeling of hunger and thirst, etc., is to be attributed to the ego consciousness rather than to the original Atman itself.

 Excerpts from:

Three Kinds of Adhyasa or Superimposition - Commentary on the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda

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(Oct 27,2013 ) Spiritual Message for the Day – The Story of a Sadhu who had Controlled Anger

The Story of a Sadhu who had Controlled Anger

Divine Life Society Publication: Conquest of Anger by Swami Sivananda

 

This is the Kutir of the famous Santananda. See the colorful board proclaims: THIS IS THE ABODE OF SANTANANDA WHO HAS ACQUIRED COMPLETE MASTERY OVER ANGER. “Come, let us have the Darshan of such a Mahatma,” said a pious man to his friend.

“Oh, no, it is not so easy to control anger. Don’t be deceived. What will you gain by the Darshan of this proud man who advertises his angerlessness? If you wish, you can go in and have the Darshan of the great soul! But, please stay there till the evening; and then tell me if you would still admire the divine soul. I am off.” And he went away.

When the pious soul entered the Kutir, little did he know that his friend had set out to collect Instigators of Irritation.

“Maharaj,” said the pious man prostrating himself to the Mahatma, “what a great and divine soul you are to have acquired mastery over this formidable foe of man, Anger. There is no one in the three worlds equal to you.”

“Even so it is, my friend. The man who has conquered anger is greater than Brahma, Rudra and Indra; for even they were often overpowered by anger.”

“Maharaj, will you kindly tell me the way to control anger?”

“O yes, gladly. Kindly remain with me and serve me. Even by such service of Mahatmas, you will get over anger.”

And, the pious man became the Mahatma’s disciple.

Another young man entered: “Maharaj, you are the Mahatma who has controlled anger?”

“O yes, did you not see the board outside?”

“Yes, yes, please tell me how you managed to do that.”

“By my strong will-power. There is nothing that a man of strong will-power will not be able to do.

“Wonderful. Thank you.” The young man leaves the cottage.

Almost instantly another young man enters. “Maharaj, have you controlled anger?”

“O yes, did you not see the board outside?”

“Yes, yes, please tell me how you managed to do that.”

“By meditation on the all-pervading Immortal Santa Atman that dwells in all beings. When one Self alone pervades all, how can one be angered against another, how can one abuse another, and how can one harm or injure another? Through protracted meditation on this great truth I have got over this anger which destroys the peace of man.”

“Wonderful. Thank you.” The young man leaves the cottage.

Instantly another young man appears.

“Maharaj, have you completely annihilated anger?”

“O yes, did you not see the board outside?”

“Yes, yes, Maharaj. But how did you manage to do that?”

“Come, sit down. I will tell you. You see passion and anger are the twin children of Rajo Guna. Now if you persistently and diligently cultivate Sattva in you, you can completely eradicate these Rajasic qualities! I ate Sattvic food. I always entertained Sattvic thoughts. I uttered Sattvic words, full of love, truth, solicitude and kindness. I practised Sattvic Tapas. I performed Sattvic charity. I always studied scriptural texts which increased the Sattva in the mind. I live and move constantly in Sattvic atmosphere. Through Pranayama also I have increased the Sattvic content of my mind. Friend, it is a long and hard struggle. But at last I have achieved the goal. I have attained success in my Sadhana. I am an embodiment of Sattva now. I am full of love; anger has vanished.”

“Wonderful, Thank you.” The young man leaves the cottage.

At once another man enters.

“Maharaj, have you controlled anger?”

“O yes, did you not see the board outside?”

“Yes, yes, but I want to know how you achieved it.”

“I wish to go out to answer calls of nature. But never mind, my duty towards you, my own Self, is more important. I will tell you the secret. You see; anger has various forms. You are fully aware of the grossest form. The blood boils; the eyes are blood shot! There is great heat in the body; limbs tremble; lips quiver; fists are clenched; and the man stammers and fumbles for words in great fury.

The subtler form of irritability you know about. In a milder form all the symptoms I have just described exist here also. Still subtler is displeasure. It is pride mixed with anger. With a sharp word or a grunt, you dismiss the ‘nuisance’. These are all forms of anger. In extremely subtle forms, anger becomes righteous indignation and pity. The man who thinks that he is always in the right, gives vent to what he calls righteous indignation in order to protect Dharma. If he does not, he, in the lordly style pities the person who has offended him. “Now I have got over and beyond all these forms of anger. Even the Sattvic righteous indignation and pity do not trouble me now. I first controlled the gross forms of anger. The anger arose in mind and it subsided there itself. Then by meditation I controlled these subtle ripples of irritability. By the diligent cultivation of a feeling of oneness I got over the displeasure—form of anger. I cultivated indifference towards wicked people and thereby got over the out-bursts of righteous indignation and pity. Now I shine as Santananda radiating peace and happiness to all.”

“Thank you, Maharaj, wonderful.” The young man leaves, crossing the next at the threshold.

Santanandaji rose from his seat and once more attempted to leave the hall when the next young man accosted him. “Maharaj, just a minute. Have you controlled anger?”

In a slightly raised voice Santanandaji said: “Yes, why do you ask that question? Have you not seen the board outside?”

“Yes, Maharaj. But I want to know how I can do that.”

“I will tell you. Drink a glass of cold water when you find your temper rising. Or count from one to twenty. Or, leave the place at once.”

And Santanandaji tried to leave the hall along with the young man when the next one rushed in.

“Maharaj, have you controlled anger, and how?”

Visibly affected by this annoyance. “Only to avoid this constant repetition of the truth, I have announced it on the board outside. I have told the methods also to a number of people.”

“But I want to hear from your holy lips.”

“All right. Observe Mouna: You will be able to control anger."

“Thank you, Maharaj.”

“Look here,” said Santanandaji addressing the pious man who came first and who had been watching all these proceedings, “see that no one enters the Kutir for some time till I answer calls of nature, bathe and have my food and rest.”

“Maharaj, if I begin to prevent them, they will quarrel with me and I will lose my temper. I won’t do that. I want to be your true disciple.”

At once another young man rushed inside, “Maharaj, you have completely eradicated anger: And how?”

Santanandaji, addressing the first disciple; “Please ask him to go away. I have to answer calls of nature urgently.”

“But won’t you share your secrets with me, Maharaj?” pleaded the latest arrival.

“I won’t drive him out. Why should I lose my temper?” said the first disciple.

“I will kick both of you out of my house,” roared Santananda. “Good-for-nothing young man troubling me the whole day, without letting me have a few moments respite. What do you think I am? A gramophone-box or a radio-receiving set? I have told you once and more than once that I have got over anger. And these people come again and again to trouble me. Get out all of you and see me no more. If you stay here for a minute more I will murder you. Here take this and get out if you don’t believe that I have the strength to handle you.” He slaps the two young men, drives them out and locks the door.

Outside, the pious man’s friend was waiting. “Have you had the Darshan of the great Mahatma who has controlled anger? Are you satisfied?" said he to the pious man who went in to have the Mahatma’s Darshan.

“It is not so easy to control anger. It can be controlled only through God’s Grace. Continuous practice of humility is necessary. Ego must be crushed. Cosmic love must be cultivated. Selfless service must be ceaselessly and untiringly practiced. Even then the seed of anger will be there hidden in the bosom. You don’t know where it hides itself. By Japa, meditation and ceaseless Sadhana with Isvarapranidhana or self-surrender to the Lord; by constant prayer ”O Lord! I am nothing; Thy Will be done" and “Lord, grant me freedom from all vice,” you will be able to invite His Grace. Then, when the all-pervading Self is realized and Jnana is obtained, then and then alone will this greatest enemy of man, anger, be totally annihilated.

Well, well; in any case this Santananda had a little bit of success in his Sadhana. He had also given us valuable hints on how to control anger. We are all benefited. He had failed only because while he had controlled anger to a certain extent, he had allowed vanity to grow in him to the same extent. Anger only had taken the form of vanity in him. Ego assumes various forms. All these forms are different in name only. He who finds out the hiding places of this formidable ego and through ruthless enquiry into the nature of the Ego and the nature of the Self, which is the Reality behind this false ego, he and he alone can be said to have controlled anger. He will not only have annihilated anger, but he would have destroyed all vices. He will be humble, simple, and divine, an embodiment of love and compassion. Come, we shall continue our search for such a divine personality. His Darshan will purify us. His service will elevate us to divine heights."

 Excerpts from:

The Story of a Sadhu who had Controlled Anger - Conquest of Anger by Swami Sivananda
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(Oct 26,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Never Despair by Swami Chidananda

Never Despair

Divine Life Society Publication: Daily Svadhyaya By Swami Chidananda

The Supreme Being is of the very nature of grace. And Its all-pervading presence means the presence of grace at all times. We live, move and have our being in Divine grace. Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji was a manifestation of this grace. All the saints and sages are verily proof of God’s grace. They come into human world as light in darkness, as pointers to the path of divine perfection and Liberation. They constitute an assurance of ever-present availability of God’s grace to man if only man will turn towards God. God’s grace works through these great messengers.

Holy Master frequently used to write as well as say: "Nil desperandum! - Never despair!" Never despair because grace is at hand. God will never abandon you. Even when you think that you are finished, your spiritual life is ruined, you have lost everything, all your efforts to overcome yourself have been to no purpose, you are defeated, beaten, routed, even when you are in such a condition, God’s grace comes and saves the situation and raises you up from defeat to victory.

This fact is brought out in the manifestation of God in the form of Lord Kartikeya. Even when Lord Siva appears to be completely absorbed in deep meditation on His own blissful Divinity, He is not oblivious of the welfare of this projected phenomenal appearance, and comes out from the deepest meditation. The emergence of Kartikeya is one outstanding example of this fact. He responds to the supplication of the defeated Gods.

Kartikeya is supreme grace from the absolute, the transcendental Universal Spirit. He is also all-pervading, indwelling and ever-present. His grace manifests within your own heart as right enquiry and right discrimination. When you are in great extremity, suddenly an idea flashes in your heart: "This is what I must do at this moment." This is grace actively working within you. Grace is ever at hand. Hence the expression of the Holy Master: Never despair!" Struggle on! Never give up!

I came across a poem "Don’t Quit!" It says, when you think that you are about to fail, it is only then that help is nearest at hand in a trice. The so-called defeat will immediately become victory. You will come out successful, for grace is always at hand. Therefore, don’t quit. Arise, awake and attain Illumination, become liberated. That is why you are here. Fulfill your divine destiny! Grace is ever at hand.

Excerpts from:

Never Despair- Daily Svadhyaya By Swami Chidananda
Don't Quit - Inspiring Thoughts

 

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(Oct 25,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – The Nature of Perception by Swami Krishnananda

The Nature of Perception

Divine Life Society Publication: Chapter 8 Light on the Internal Self- The Philosophy of the Panchadasi

The perception of an object is due to the activity of the mind, or the intellect, in regard to it, together with the Chidabhasa attending on it. It is these that become responsible for an active perception of the object. It is not the General Consciousness of Brahman but the reflected consciousness, Chidabhasa, that particularizes knowledge. As Brahman is present always, it cannot be said that it is manifesting itself only during the perception of an object. It is the Chidabhasa that rises and falls, but Brahma-Chaitanya is always there, and has no beginning or end.

There is a verse quoted from Suresvaracharya (a pupil of Sri Sankara) to the effect that Consciousness which manifests itself as an illuminating factor in all external perceptions is really the ultimate object to be known. Here, while Suresvara regards Consciousness as the ultimate end of endeavor, what he means is that the ultimate Consciousness, for all perception, being Brahman itself, it is the Goal of all aspirations, but he does not mean that this Consciousness is the Chidabhasa, because, the latter is absolutely dependent upon the Kutastha. This has been mentioned also by Sankara in his Upadesasahasri.

When there is a manifestation of the Chidabhasa there is external perception, but the Chidabhasa is itself illumined by another Consciousness as even the absence of any particular object is known by it. The mental modifications, the Chidabhasa and the object, all these three, are simultaneously illumined by the General Consciousness, but the Chidabhasa can illumine only the object. Thus, the distinction between the two is clear.

In the perception of an object, there is a twofold consciousness, one particular and another general. Some schools of thought regard the General Consciousness as Knowledge of knowledge or Knowledge of perception, calling it Anuvyavasaya. The knowledge, “This is an object” is due to the activity of Chidabhasa, and the knowledge, “I know the object” or “the object is known by me,” is due to the existence of Brahman. This distinction between the particular and the General Consciousness made, thus, in external perception, is also to be made in internal perceptions.

The Chidabhasa lights up the modifications of the psychological instruments in the form of the ‘I’, as well as its ramifications such as desire, anger, and so on, as fire can heat up an iron ball. Just as a red hot iron ball can illumine itself, but does not illuminate other objects, so do the psychoses within (Vrittis) illumine themselves, being enlightened by the Chidabhasa, but do not directly illumine other objects. These psychoses within come in a series as bits of a process, with intervals between the different links of the process, and do not flow continuously. Also, they get dissolved in sleep, swoon and Samadhi (Super-Consciousness).

The intervals between the various processes of thought as well as the absence of thought itself are illumined by an Unchangeable Consciousness, which is the Kutastha, as in the perception of an external object; the object is known distinctly and the General Consciousness is not so known. The psychoses as thoughts and feelings etc. are known more clearly than the General Consciousness of the Kutastha which is continuously present, whether thoughts come or go. In the case of the psychoses of the Antahkarana (internal organ) there is no question of known-ness and unknown-ness, because they are self-luminous and, hence, there is no chance of their either knowing themselves as objects or not knowing themselves at all. This happens also in the case of inert objects where Consciousness is absolutely absent and in which case there cannot be any such thing as known-ness. The subject does not become an object where either Consciousness is totally absent or where there is self-luminosity.

 In the two types of awareness mentioned, the particular one which gets itself connected to objects has a beginning and an end, and because of its changeful nature, it is different from the General Consciousness behind it, which is immutable and is, therefore, called Kutastha. There has to be posited a witness of the modifications of the mind; otherwise they cannot be known even to exist, and as it is in the case of the reflection of a face in a mirror, where the mirror is the medium and the face is the original with its reflection, in the case of the Self, too, the Anthahkarana is the medium, the reflection is the Chidabhasa, and the Atma, or Kutastha, is the original.

It is not that the Atman by its being at the back of even the process of transmigration undergoes any change. The limitation referred to here as the Chidabhasa is not merely like the limitation of the vast space by the walls of a jar for example, because the Atman does not become a Jiva, or the individual, merely by an enclosure. We cannot say that the Atman has become the Jiva, just because we have raised some walls around with material substance. The difference is that in the case of the Jiva, the Buddhi is transparent, but mere transparency is not the sole conditioning factor, because there may not be any difference in certain cases even when there is transparency such as in a glass measure, which, after all, can contain only as much quantity of grain as wooden measure. What makes the essential difference is not merely the limitation but the reduction of quality by quantity by reflection, and it is here that we notice a difference between the original and the reflection. We call that a reflection which appears to be like original, but does not have really the characteristics of the original.

Excerpts from:

Chapter 8 The Nature of Perception- The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda

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(Oct 24,2013 ) Spiritual Message for the Day – Cosmology – The Creation of the Universe

Cosmology – The Creation of the Universe

Divine Life Society Publication: The Song of God Almighty by Swami Krishnananda

XIV. 3, 4

The objective in creation
Is matrix of the world of things,
The Subject-All alienates
Itself as all this universe.

How does the One become the two,
The subjective and objective?
When All-in-All has no objects,
How come this 'other' than the All?

This itself is a proof that worlds
Which are created, as if were,
Are sheer 'externality',
With no substance in them at all.

This also shows that God is All
In spite of vast creation's sight;
Creation has no legs to stand
Except as God's Self-beholding.

What's 'external' to Consciousness
Is Prakriti, that's matter's core;
On this Consciousness broods and sees
Itself reflected mirror-wise.

In early dawn of creation
The One enjoys itself as all;
But later comes the division
Of One alone as threefold strand.

Thus come the seer of the seen
And in between their link unseen,
Adhyatma, Adhibhuta called
And Adhidaiva transcendent.

Hardly one knows this mystery,
How perception deceives us all
And forces all to see 'there out'
What is within the All-in-All.

The world persists as binding chain
When perceiver perceived becomes,
And charges on the perceiver
In vicious circle's grasping clutch.

The seed of every being here
Is sown by That immortal seed,
The seed that has no source beyond,
The causeless cause, Brahman supreme.

XV. 16-20

Mankind and God, seer and seen,
Mind and its objectivity,
Consciousness and its contents vast,
Are called Akshara and Kshara.

But beyond this duality,
Above the realms of perception,
Transcendent Truth indwelling all
Is Supreme Person, Purusha, Great.

Knowing this one knows everything,
Doing this one has done all things,
Attaining this one does attain
That undying felicity.

 Excerpts from:

Cosmology: The Creation of the Universe - The Song of God Almighty by Swami Krishnananda
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(Oct 23,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Isavasyopanishad by Swami Krishnananda

Isavasyopanishad

Divine Life Society Publication: Essays on the Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda

Knowledge pertains to the essential nature of the Self. Knowledge neither creates nor modifies nor obtains nor purifies the Self, because the relationship between knowledge and the Self is not one of doer and doing. The mantras of the Isavasyopanishad assert that the true Self is secondless, non-doer, non-enjoyer, pure and ever untainted by sin. 

The universe in essence is the truth of God Himself. There is nothing in this universe which can have any value or being without the existence of God. Divinity should be felt as the pratyagatman or the Inner Self of oneself. One should assert that the whole existence is, in its objective form, unreal and that oneself in fact is the essential Atman existing as the basis and the truth of everything.

Even as a scented stick begins to give out its fragrance when the external fungus growing over it is rubbed out, the light of the Self reveals itself when the external crust of the sense of doership and enjoyership which is falsely imagined is completely erased out. The multiplicity and the duality of the universe should be denied in the light of the fact that the Lord, the one Self, alone exists. This omnipresent Self cannot be associated with individual functions, like doership and enjoyership. Name, form and action which characterize the world cannot be the natures of God, because these are objective perceptions and not eternal values. The universe, thus, gets renounced, because God is the only Truth.

Tena tyaktena means “by such renunciation” consequent upon the knowledge of the only existence which is God. Renunciation is the result of the knowledge of Truth. Anything that is abandoned as unconnected with the Self does not become useful to the Self in any way. Everyone in the world is dependent on the not-Self. But when the not-Self is denied one cannot be dependent on it. The denial of the not-Self or the renunciation of the universe means that the Self is not helped by any external agency and it has to save itself through itself. It also means that previous to knowledge, i.e., when the Self appeared to be entangled in the not-self, it was in bondage, as it were, but now because of disentanglement it saves itself and protects itself and is dependent on itself. Because the Self is permanent its independence also is permanent.

Human knowledge is an action alone, because it is produced by the motion of the mind and the senses. The knowledge propounded in the Advaita Vedanta is objectless knowledge, and it is never produced but realised. It is not the knowledge of something but the knowledge of the knower himself. It is atma-sakshatkara that Shankara means by knowledge when he says that action is the antithesis of knowledge.

Freedom from action does not simply mean freedom from bodily movement, but freedom from objective thinking, feeling and willing. The knowledge of the Self is absolutely necessary in order to transcend the recurring pains of birth, life and death. Pleasure and pain, confusion and mistake, are all the results of ignorance and desire which are possible only in the case of an individual. The Absolute Being can have no such individual experiences. The cause of misery, together with all its effects, is completely rooted out in the state of the Absolute. The Atman transcends and includes every created being. All values, except existence, are the effects of the relations that the subject develops with the objects. Relations being private and unreal, all values, too, are unreal. Pure existence, which is independent of all individualistic values, alone is real.  A combination of karma and upasana is beneficial; it leads to krama-mukti; but when they are performed separately, they lead to their respective specified limited results, and make one take birth as an individual.

Realize that every function of the universe is carried on properly, merely through the very existence of the Absolute, even if it does not perform any act. The Atman is intense knowledge, without internal or external restrictions.

The Isavasyopanishad advises the combination of action with objective knowledge and not with Absolute knowledge. The Absolute is always opposed to objectiveness. Action and Absolute knowledge differ from one another in their causes, natures and results. Action is caused by the sense of imperfection. Its nature is distraction and its result is perishable. Knowledge is caused by perfection. Its nature is peace and its result is eternal. Hence action and knowledge are different from one another. It is not possible to say that action can be combined with knowledge in the beginning, though not in the end, because the moment there is the dawn of knowledge there is the cessation of action. It is not possible for fire to be hot and cold at the same time. Knowledge cannot co-exist with its opposite, viz., action that is characterized by motion. Knowledge is motionless. When the cause of action, viz., ignorance, is removed, all its effects also are removed.

Absolute knowledge gives rise to immediate realization or Sadyo-mukti. The combination of action is only with relative knowledge, for, in Absolute knowledge there is no motion, whatever. Absoluteness means existence merely, and not changing or moving.

 Excerpts from:

Isavasyopanishad - Essays on the Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda

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