Actions and their results (Karma and Karmaphala)

* The author uses "Brahma", the nominative case of "Brahman", throughout his writings.

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti - Mághii Púrńimá 1955 DMC, Bhagalpur

The creation of the Universe is sustained by actions or Karma. Where there is expression, there is invariably vibration and behind the vibration there is action. Where the active capacity is dormant, motionless or quiescent, there are no waves, and there is no expanding evolution of life and spirit. Under these circumstances the Cosmic consciousness is lying in blessedness as if it were a tranquil, serene and boundless ocean. When the surface of this ocean is agitated by a gust of wind, surging waves are created. Hence, when the unmanifested Cosmic Consciousness is tossed by Prakrti, the refulgence of expression begins. This Universe, full of fleeting shows and wonders, is the crude manifestation of Cosmic Consciousness. This crudeness results from the domination of Prakrti over Puruśa.

In situations where Cosmic Consciousness is less intense, the influence of Prakrti is proportionately more pronounced. The bondage of Prakrti on finite objects is much greater than the bondage of Prakrti is in the limitless field of activities of Universal Puruśa, otherwise called Saguńa Brahma. What, after all, is a piece of stone? It is a finite manifestation of Puruśa where tamoguńa is extremely dominant and as a result of this, the Consciousness in the shape of Puruśa appears crude. Prudent people will consider Puruśa dominated by tamah as crude or Jad́a.

Names are assigned to different objects according to the variation in the degree of crudeness of consciousness. Every object in this perceptible world is pervaded by tamoguńa for the simple reason that nothing is free from the bondage of Prakrti. Why are human beings said to be the highest creature? It is because the Consciousness of human beings is very highly developed. Humanas desire to attain happiness from within the subtle entity rather than from the crude objects. This insatiable hunger leads human beings towards divine happiness. In those unit beings where the consciousness is moderately developed, that is to say, where the entire consciousness has not been overpowered by crudeness, there is the endeavour for self-evolution and for achieving happiness. The strong display of rajoguńa in Prakrti is an outcome of this effort.

For the sake of self-preservation, one cannot remain in the state of inaction, because inaction is indicative of death, not of life. Now, the question may arise that since every entity is composed of the three guńas does not the dead body also contain them? All the signs of what is called crudeness exist in the dead body; tamoguńa predominates while sattva and rajah are only indistinctly expressed. Therefore, there is no propensity for action and far less the capability for action. Thus we arrive at the conclusion that everything existent is pervaded by the three guńas, but in accordance with the variation of their proportion, Prakrti is dynamic in certain situations and inert in others.

According to both Science and Philosophy, every action has a reaction which is co-existent with the original action, whether the action be a physical one or only a psychic vibration. For example, suppose you have stolen something with your own hands. In this instance there is no doubt that you have committed an act of theft. But supposing that for fear of public scandal or state punishment, you only conceived of the theft but did not carry it out. Alternatively you arranged for the theft to be committed by another person. Are you not still committing this theft from behind the scene? If you think that you will not reap the consequences for a theft committed mentally, you are wrong.

This potentiality of reaction or Saḿskára that you get through physical or mental action, has to be endured by some other act inevitably. But when you perform one act which is reaping the consequence of a previous act, you are not acting independently. In such a case you act mechanically, propelled by the reaction of the previous act, and you may be obliged to do some undesirable acts that bring to you disgrace, accusation and affliction. You upbraid yourself and regret at leisure for it. It is as if your hands and feet are fettered and you are unable to avoid such actions.

So long as you consider your identity separate from Supreme Brahma and so long as you are engrossed with the individual “I”, you will have to continue to perform actions and inevitably earn their reactions, which in potential form are known as Saḿskáras. In order that these seeds of reaction can germinate, you will have to select a new physical form. In other words, you will have to subject yourself to the cycle of birth and death in this revolution of Karma, like the oil-mill bullocks. Both Mokśa and Mukti (emancipation and liberation) will remain remote from you, beyond your access. If you make your mean ego the object of your Átman, your actions will be a source of your enjoyment but not of your salvation.

Ásana máre kyá huyá, yo gayii na mankii ásh;
Jyon' teliká boyelko, gharhii kosh pacásh

Does not the oil-mill bullock move on? It keeps going around in circles all the day. But though it may walk more than fifty miles, it does not advance in the least, since it is tied to the pillar of the oil-expressor. Likewise, those working with the Unit “I” as their object are similar to the bullock of the oil-expelling machine.

Yávanna kśiiyate karma shubhaḿcáshubhameva ca
távanna jáyate mokśo nrńáḿ kalpashataerapi
Yathá laohamayaeh páshaeh páshaeh svarńanmayaerapi
tathá baddho bhavejjiivo karmábhishcáshubhaeshubhaeh
–Tantra

In other words, until the actions, whether good or bad are annihilated, human beings cannot attain salvation or Mokśa. Can the gold chain be looser and less torturing than the iron chain to someone in bondage? Similarly, the bondage of bad actions is exactly as tight as the bondage of good actions.

Nábhuktaḿ kśiiyate karma kalpakot́ishataerapi
Avashyameva bhoktavyaḿ krtaḿ karma shubháshubham

Therefore, for salvation or emancipation, it is necessary to be liberated from the bondage of Saḿskáras. The question is, how to attain salvation? When it is essential to act for maintaining one’s existence, how is it possible to avoid the cycle of action and reaction?

It is known from philosophic propositions that the attainment of Mukti (liberation) or Mokśa (salvation) is possible only through spiritual practices or sádhaná. It therefore follows that there is certainly some means to attain liberation from saḿskáras.

There are three processes for attaining freedom from the bondage of action: (1) relinquishing any desire for the fruits of action, or Phalákáḿkśá Tyága, (2) Abandoning the vanity of performing an act, or Kartrtvábhimána Tyága, and (3) surrendering all actions unto Brahma. All of these have to be followed in the individual life, but it must be kept in mind that they all have to be strictly observed. To be more explicit, these rules are the different aspects of one and the same process.

Relinquishing the Desire for the Fruits of Actions

Phalákáḿkśá Tyága: – A man performs each act with a particular objective or other in mind. No act can be accomplished without an objective. For example, someone is studying for an MA then their aim is to graduate? But if he or she only broods over the aim and does not strive to attain it, can they be successful? What is the significance of reflecting over or striving to achieve an aim? For instance, suppose a piece of iron is tossed upwards. The higher it will go, the more it will gain the force of coming down, and as soon as its force for going up is exhausted, it will come down with the same force as it went up. This is natural, an invariable law of Prakrti. Similarly, with every thought or deed the reactions in potentiality will inevitably have to be accumulated. As soon as any act is accomplished, the growth of the potentiality of reactions is stopped and this potential energy is invariably transformed into the reactions of the actions performed. Therefore, it has been said in the Giitá –

Karmańyevádhikáraste má phaleśu kadácana.

Human beings can only control their deeds but not the fruits thereof. When we have no command over the results of our actions, it is vain to brood over the attainment of certain objectives. There is no use in brooding. Is it not reasonable to keep on working only for the accomplishment of an act? To continue to work in this way is to relinquish the desire for the fruits of action or Phalákáḿkśa tyága.

Abandoning the Vanity of Performing an Act

Kartrtvábhimána Tyága: Ordinarily people perform actions with certain objective in view, but still there are many who perform actions not with a view to the result, but only for the sake of self-satisfaction or to feel elevated with vanity because they have done their duty. Suppose a particular person has donated one million rupees to a certain institution. However their mind is not at peace until they find the news of the donation published in the newspapers the following morning. All through the night he or she restlessly waits for the morning and then feels gratified to find the news of the donation in the newspapers.

Mere renunciation of the fruits of actions will not do. The vanity of having performed an act, for example the desire to see the news of gift published in the newspapers, all contributes to the formation of mental vibrations. Saḿskáras will continue to multiply as before.

Karmakleshavipákáshaeraparámrśt́ah Puruśa visheśo
iishvarah.

The term “Iishvara” means Puruśa uninfluenced by actions, afflictions, results or objectives.

For this reason one has to be actions-free in order to merge into “Iishvara”. But we have seen above that so long as Prakrti’s dominance prevails, it is not possible to be actions-free. By merely relinquishing the desire or pursuit of the fruits of action it is hard to get rid of the vanity of a doer, of the idea that “I do”, in so far as we cannot extricate ourselves from the objects of our actions or from the contemplation of accomplishment. To avoid these, one has to always contemplate that one is a machine and Brahma alone is the machine operator who gets the work done through this machine. But even this is not sufficient to eradicate the vanity of a doer. The reason is that one may believe that although a machine, yet he or she is he is superior to others having been selected by the machine operator for that particular action being performed at that point of time.

To avoid such thoughts, the belief has to be developed that Brahma is only served or chosen by Brahma. That is, Brahma inspires us to donate and again receives the same through others. It is simply by the grace of Brahma that we act and have the favourable opportunity of performing this act. It is possible to avoid the doer’s vanity or kartrtvábhimána tyága by developing this belief.

Surrendering all actions unto Brahma

However all is not over by renouncing the desire or abandoning the doer’s vanity. So long as Prakrti is active, rajoguńa is there, causing actions. Doing any act means being caught by the cycle of action and reaction. What is the way out? The only way is to surrender all actions to Brahma and to ideate that every action is performed by Brahma. Such actions will not be called our own. The actions have been performed by Brahma alone and their consequences, whether good or bad, will be borne by Brahma alone. In that case we have no separate identity.

Many people do not do anything out of fear of reactions, and they become indolent. But can they really become devoid of actions? Though they do not act externally, their heart and other organs continue to function. Moreover, inactivity or apparent inaction can never be commended. Those who have surrendered all actions unto Brahma have no reason to fear to act. It also keeps the mind completely engrossed in Brahma. Sannyása means surrendering the mind to the Supreme Object or Brahma. Those who have surrendered their mind to Brahma are the real Sannyásins.

In this connection, there is a befitting illustration in the Mahábhárata.

Draopadii inquired from Yudhisthira why he was undergoing the privations of exile in spite of his virtuous actions, while according to ordinary laws of nature he ought to be rolling in happiness. To this, Yudhisthira replied –

“Karmakari yeijan phalákáḿkśii hay;
Bańiker mata sei váńijya karay.
Phal lobhe karma kare, lubdha bali táre;
Lobhe punah punah paŕe narak dustare.
Ámi yáhá karma kari, phalákáḿkśii nai;
Samarpańa kari sarva Iishvarer t́háin' (1)

[“Those who solicit the fruits of their actions are no better than merchants. He or she who acts for a gain is called a greedy person and acting under the influence of greed they are carried to the dark hell. I do not act for any fruit, rather I surrender all my actions unto Brahma.”]

It is invariably true that the separate identity of the soul is completely dissolved by totally submitting the mind to Brahma. As a consequence of this, human beings qualify for the attainment of liberation (Mukti) or salvation (Mokśa).

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti - Mághii Púrńimá 1955 DMC, Bhagalpur
* The author uses "Brahma" (the nominative case of "Brahman") throughout his writings.
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Footnotes:
(1) Kashiramdas, Mahábhárata. –Trans.

Published in:
Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell Part 1 [a compilation]
Ananda Marga Karma Yoga in a Nutshell [a compilation]
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 1

Seven secrets of success

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti - 21 May 1979 evening, Timmern (West Germany).
Audio mp3

«You've heard so much regarding Shiva and Pa'rvatii. Pa'rvatii was the spouse of Shiva. What is Tantra? In Tantra there are two portions, A'gama and Nigama, just like the two wings of a bird. Nigama is the philosophical questions and A'gama is the practical cult. The cult side is A'gama and the philosophical side is Nigama. These are just like the two wings of a bird, and the bird is Tantra.

A'gatam' Shiva vaktebhyam'
Gatam' ca girija' shrutam
Matam' ca va'sudesvaya
Tasma'd a'gama ucyate.

Pa'rvatii asked and Shiva gave the reply. One question of Pa'rvatii was, "O Lord, what are the secrets of success? Many people do many a thing, but not all are successful in their lives. What's the secret of success?"

Shiva said, "There are seven secrets":

Phalis'yatiiti vishva'sa siddherprathama laks'an'am
Dvitiiyam' shraddhaya' yuktam'
Trtiiyam' Gurupu'janam
Caturtho samata'bha'vo
Paincamendriya nigraha
S'as't'hainca pramita'ha'rah
Saptamam' naeva vidyate.

"I must be successful in my mission" this firm determination is the first factor. This firm determination is the first requisite factor out of these seven factors. And what is this firm determination?

Nindantu niitinipun'ah yad va' stavantu
Laks'mii sama'vishatu graham' gacchatu va' yathes't'ham
Adyaeva maran'amastu yuga'ntare va'
Nya'ya't pathi pravicalanti na dhiirah
Pra'rabhyate na khalu vighna bhayena niicaeh
Vighnavihita' viramante madhyo
Vighnaer muhur muhur api pratihanyama'na'h
Pra'rabhya uttamagun'o na parityajanti.

What am I going to do regarding the mission of life? If logicians and philosophers condemn me, saying, "That is a very bad man," let them say like this. Or if, due to my mission, due to my movement towards my goal, a certain portion of society appreciates my action, let them appreciate it - it won't affect me. I won't be assailed by such appreciations.
And due to my action if Laks'mii (Laks'mii is the mythological goddess of riches) comes and resides in my house, it is good. If Laks'mii says, "No, I will quit you forever, I won't remain with you." that is, you will have to suffer from poverty, let Laks'mii quit my house. And due to my course of action, due to my ideology, if Pluto, that is, the god of death, comes and says, "I'll take you" let Pluto do it! I don't care a pig for it! Or, due to my course of action, due to my ideology if I am forced to live here for an indefinite period, I am ready to live here. You know life becomes boring if one lives for a long period, but I am ready to undergo that boredom, that monotony, for the sake of my ideology.

I know that among human beings there are three categories. The third category won't undertake any responsibility for fear of being defeated. And in the second category, they undertake the duties and responsibilities, but when they face the reactions, when inimical forces come forward and harass them, they drop the work. They are the second category of people. And in the first category, that is, the best category, they say, "Once I have undertaken the duty, I will do it. I will get the work fully complied with. Before that I won't take any rest."

So this is firm determination. It is the first requisite factor, as Lord Shiva said. "Phalis'yatiiti vishva'sa siddherprathama laks'an'am dvitiiyam' shraddhaya' yuktam." A man must have Shraddha' for his ideology. What is Shraddha'? Shraddha is a very old Vedic term. Shrad means recognized status of veracity, and Dha means movement towards.
That is, when the ideological goal has been accepted, all my might, all my propensities, should move unto that goal. This is Shraddha.

Trtiiyam' Gurupu'janam. I must have reverence for the Guru. What is the Guru? Gu means darkness, that is, darkness in the psycho-spiritual sphere. And Ru means dispelling agent. That is, he who dispels darkness from my psychic and spiritual body is the Guru. Gu means darkness, Ru means dispeller. Trtiiyam' Gurupu'janam.' That is, you must have respect for the Guru.

Caturtho samata'bha'vo. And the fourth requisite factor is that you must maintain a mental equilibrium, rather, a mental equipoise; you must not suffer from any sort of inferiority complex, or superiority complex, or defeatist complex, or complex of hopelessness or despair. That is, your mind should always be in a balanced condition. Caturtho samata'bha'vo. This is the fourth factor, fourth requisite factor - you must not suffer from an inferiority complex nor from a superiority complex.

Paincamendriya nigraha. You must have self-restraint. Without self-restraint, nothing concrete can be done.

You should remember these factors.

S'as't'hainca pramita'ha'ra, that is, balanced diet, balanced food. You must not take this much [stretches arms far apart], you should take this much [holds hands closer together]. But the food should be substantial. And not only that, it should be good for your body, mind and spirit. Meat and other animal products may be good for the body, but not good for the mind and spirit. So yours should be a careful selection of food. It is called Pramita'ha'ra - Pramita means balanced, A'ha'ra means food.

And the seventh Lord Shiva said - He said there are seven factors, now He says, Saptamam' naeva vidyate - there is no seventh factor.

You should remember these seven factors. These are the secrets of success.

[To a devotee] - What is the seventh factor?

[Devotee] - Ba'ba', there is no seventh factor.

[Ba'ba'] - No seventh factor [laughs heartily, all laugh].

You should always remember these seven secrets of success.»

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Official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 12 - cross-references: Ba'ba' in Timmern (as "Seven Secrets of Success")

Conversion of Energy - Demonstration by Baba

This demonstration was given by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti on 1969 in Ranchi and it is pubblished in the book Ánanda Vacanámrtam (part 33)
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One day Bábá was talking about the dilemma of the sense organ. Bábá said incidentally that there are certain aquatic animals unknown even to biologists, from whose bodies some kind of light emits. With the reflection of their light, they can see other creatures and objects around them. There are also, in less deep seas, some animals that generate electric lights to catch hold of their prey.

In this context, Bábá asked one sádhaka (spiritual practitioner) whether the human body can generate electric current or not. The sádhaka having failed to give a correct reply, Bábá explained that it was quite possible. He explained that in sádhaná human vital energy is converted into spiritual energy.

In our daily life we exhaust our vital energy and compensate the same by taking food, drink, light, air, etc. While working, vital energy is transformed into mechanical energy. The same vital energy can be transformed into electric energy also, but in that case, the body will be electrocuted and the person will die. Human vital energy can be converted into magnetic energy as well.

[The process of conversion can involve many possible effects.] In the case of conversion of vital energy into spiritual force, it does not affect the body and mind. But in the case of conversion of vital energy into magnetic energy, it does affect body, mind, etc.

Demonstration
Bábá told one sádhaka to take off his garments and sit on his woollen cloth without touching the ground (woollen cloth is a non-conductor). Then Bábá touched his right and left ribs and navel and told him to concentrate his mind.

After a few minutes, his palm was trembling. Then Bábá asked another sádhaka to [touch the left rib of the first sádhaka.]

The second sádhaka did so and felt an electric shock. Then three sádhakas more touched the first sádhaka’s body and felt the same kind of shock. Next Bábá took the sádhaka on his lap and rubbed his sweet hand on his body, hand, etc. Next Bábá touched him on the trikut́i (between the eyebrows) and helped him to go into a trance. This time his vital energy was reconverted into spiritual energy.

1969, Ranchi

Published in: Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 33

The meaning of the word “Krśńa”

This speech was given by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti on the 12th January 1980, in Calcutta. It is pubblished in the book Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá [a compilation]. This book is designed to compliment Discourses on the Mahábhárata and Namámi Krsnasundaram – the author’s two existing books on Krśńa, The Giitá and The Mahábhárata.

«We shall discuss one of the shlokas [couplets] of the Giitá today. This particular shloka may be taken as the guiding or controlling shloka of the Giitá. We will deal with the subject rather elaborately. Here is the shloka – Dhrtaráśt́ra uváca [“Dhritarastra said”]:

Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre samavetá yuyutsavah;
Mámakáh Páńd́avashcaeva kimakurvata Sainjaya.

[“O Sanjaya, now that my children and the children of Pandu have gathered on the battlefield of Dharmakśetra, of Kurukśetra, eager to fight, what is taking place?”]

This is the first shloka of the Giitá, about which I have spoken to you before. Today I will give you only an introduction.

The name of the book is the Giitá. The root verb gae means “to sing”. Hence Giitá means “that which has been sung”. It is in the passive voice. But the passive voice always carries a sense of something remaining inarticulate in the statement. So it becomes necessary to make that implicit idea explicit. Something has been sung. Who then has sung it? Yá Bhagavatá giitá, sá Giitá [“That which has been sung by Bhagaván, the Lord, is the Giitá”]. In this case, since that which has been sung by Shrii Krśńa is the Giitá, Bhagavatá means Krśńena, “by Krśńa”. Who then is Krśńa? That also should be explained in this introduction.

Three Interpretations

The word krśńa has three different interpretations. The word can be derived from the root verb, one of the meanings of which is “to attract”, “to draw everything to one’s self”. The root verb krś plus na gives us “Krśńa”; that is to say, the being which attracts everything of the universe towards its own self, calling out: “Come, come… come to me… you have nothing to worry about… come to me. I am your shelter. I will save you from all dangers. There is nothing to be afraid of, nothing to fear; I am here.” The speaker of these words, who is attracting everybody towards Himself, is indeed Krśńa. Our mind does not want to go to Him, but even then it runs towards Him.

A Vaishnavite poet had this to say: Ucát́ana mana ná máne várańa, Shudhu tári páne chut́e yáy. [The restless mind defies restrictions, and runs only after Him.]

I do not have a mind to go to or to look at Krśńa, but even then, it is as if something keeps pulling me. Thus the word “Krśńa” means “the supreme attractive faculty”.

Again, krśńa has the meaning “black”. The colour black has the greatest attraction for human mind. Among all colours, our attention is drawn first by black. This is the reason why the colour black is called krśńa. It should be remembered, however, that the complexion of the historical Krśńa who lived in Dvápara Yuga(1) was not black.

There is also a third meaning of “Krśńa” krśi bhúh or krśibhúh–. The root verb krś means the feeling “I am”. Don’t you all have a feeling such as this, “I exist”? In fact every individual has the feeling “I am”, myáy hun, ahaḿ asmi. Whenever that “I” feeling is struck a blow, people get irritated, worried, angry or frightened. Now this feeling “I am” [is represented by] the root verb krś, and the meaning of the root verb bhú is “to be”. Hence the meaning of the word “Krśńa” is “I am because He is.” In other words, it is only because of Krśńa that the world exists and living beings exist. If Krśńa had not been there, living beings and the world would not have been there either.

Krśńa is Parama Puruśa (Supreme Counsciousness). In the absence of Parama Puruśa, neither living beings nor the universe would have existed at all. The world is, only because He is. That is why He is called “Krśńa”. My individual existence is dependent on His existence. For instance, because Bengal is there, Calcutta is there. The existence of Calcutta as an entity is dependent on the existence of Bengal. Hence it may well be said that Bengal is the Krśńa of Calcutta. Similarly, because India is there, Bengal is there. Thus India is Krśńa to Bengal. Or, because Asia is there, India is there. Thus Asia is Krśńa to India. And because the world is there, Asia is there. So the world is Krśńa to Asia. Then there is the solar system with the sun, the planets and the satellites – because it is there, our little world is there. Thus the solar system is Krśńa to the world. And because Parama Puruśa is there, this solar system, the planets and satellites, stars and nebulae, and the milky way – all of these entities are there. Hence Parama Puruśa is Krśńa to the entire universe. This is the third meaning of “Krśńa”. Krśibhúh – the existence of the root verb bhúh dependent on the existence of the root verb krś; that is, one existence dependent on another existence.

About 3500 years ago, in Dvápara Yuga, a great personality was born in Mathura. His father’s name was Vasudeva. Because He was a son of Vasudeva, one of his names was Vásudeva. One of his uncles was Nanda, whose profession was cattle-rearing, and his father Vasudeva was a superintendent of jails in Mathura. One elder brother of his father was Maharshi Garga. When the child was born, Maharshi Garga noticed in him a number of extraordinary qualities, and after much thinking and cogitation, christened him “Krśńa”. The Krśńa whom we will discuss, that is, the Krśńa of the Giitá, is this Krśńa of Dvápara Yuga.

Soon I will continue with an analysis of Krśńa’s three roles simultaneously, in order to demonstrate that ultimately they all coincide at a certain point and that the three Krśńas are one and the same. As you know, Narottama Das Thakur composed Aśt́ottar Shatanám [“The One Hundred Eight Names”] of Krśńa. In one place he says:

Ananta rákhila nám anta ná páiyá;
Krśńa nám rákhen Garga dhyánete jániyá.

[Failing to find any limit, Garga named the baby “Ananta” (“Limitless”); and, enlightened by his meditation, gave Him the name “Krśńa”.]»

12 January 1980, Calcutta
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Footnotes:
(1) In mythology, the four ages occur in the order Satya Yuga (Golden Age), Tretá Yuga (Silver Age), Dvápara Yuga (Copper Age), and Kali Yuga (Iron Age), and correspond step by step to a decline of morality and spirituality.

Published in:
Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 17 [in Bengali, unpublished in English] and
Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá [a compilation]

(^__^)

The Intuitional Science of the Vedas – 2

This discourse was given by Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji on Bhádra Púrńimá 1955, during DMC.

« The Vedas are the unique manifestation of human intellect. The etymological meaning of the word “Veda” is knowledge. This knowledge is of two types. One type is subject to time, space, and person, and the other is the realization of the self, independent of all subjections. The former is called Relative Knowledge or Aparájińána, because it is related to objects, and the latter, Spiritual Knowledge or parájinána. Here the word, Veda, is of course used in the sense of spiritual knowledge.

Last Shrávańii Púrńimá I told you some thing from the Shukla-Yajurveda. Today I will tell you something from the Atharva Veda. Learned persons say that there is nothing important in the Atharva Veda. It is only a collection of mantras or incantations about ghosts and spirits, composed by people in prehistoric times. It is up to you to judge the veracity of the opinion.

One day, Vaedarbhi, the son of Bhrgu, asked the learned sage Pippaláda, “My Lord what is Intuitional Science (Brahmavijinána)? What is the relation between Brahma and the world? Please tell me something about them.” The sage replied:

“Aráiva rathanábhao práńe sarvaḿ pratiśt́itam
Rco yajúḿsi sámáni yajinahkśatraḿ Brahma ca.”

Just as the spokes are attracted to the hub of a wheel, similarly every object in this universe is Brahma-centric and thus has kept up its individual existence. The nucleus of the Cosmic System is the source of all entities from the highest of created being down to the lowest insect. Rk. (Incantations), Yaju (invocations), Sáma (songs) or the individuals engaged in Viprocita or Ksátrocita service (i.e. service befitting a Brahmin or a Kśatriya) – all are dependent on Brahma, the source of their existence.

Prajápatishcarasi garbhe tvameva pratijáyase
Tubhyaḿ Práńa prajástiimá baliḿ haranti yah práńaeh pratitiśt́hasi.

The word, Prajá, means evolved objects. Brahma is of course Prajápati or the Lord of evolved objects for He is the controller of all of them. Prajápati-Brahmá moves about in the womb as the embryo and when it is born, the event, in fact, should actually be called the reflex birth of Brahma instead of His birth, because all created entities are merely manifestations of Brahma Himself. For instance, there is only one moon, but its reflection falling in the countless footprints of cows (Gośpada) appears as countless moons. No new moons are created. The same moon is being reflected in several receptacles. Similarly one Brahma is manifesting Himself over an infinite number of units in countless mental receptacles. Brahma is Absolute Bliss. That is why the units or microcosms are always racing with the help of their sensory and motor organs towards their inner selves, i.e. towards the attainment of happiness. So it is said that knowingly or unknowingly the units are moving towards Him to attain Him, filled with inspiration from Him. (Several times in the Atharva Veda the word, “Práńa”, has been used to mean Puruśa and the word, “Rayi” to mean Prakrti).

Devánámasi bahńitamah pitrńaḿ prathama svadha
Rśiińáincaritaḿ satyamatharváungirasámasi.

Here the word, Deva, means the carrier of sensations, i.e., organs and nerves. Through the organs and nerves the body expresses a sensation or feeling and that is why they are called Devas or gods of the microcosmic body. But these organs and nervous systems are completely dependent on the spine for their existence and functions. Sensation is transmitted along the spine and that is why without a spine the unit would be a motionless, inert, fleshy mass. The above Shloka declares that, what spine is to the unit, Brahma is to the universe. Without Brahma the universe would be utterly destroyed, the seed of the imagination would be completely obliterated. According to an ancient custom, the death rites in honor of the deceased used to be performed by using Svadhá mantra (i.e., an invocation chanted while offering a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead). That is why, it is said that Brahma, as the first and foremost point in order of succession, is as important to all mundane objects as the first recipient of obsequial oblations is to the subsequent ones. To the sages He is as sacred as the vow of truthfulness. By Rśis or sages I mean those who have hastened the advancement of human civilization by inventing or discovering things through their Sádhaná or spiritual practices. Such sages make the base of their lives on truth; without truthfulness intellectual expansion towards the Supreme is not possible. Let us here discuss the meaning of the word, Truth. People generally use four words, Satya, Tothya, Samyak and Rta synonymously or in an identical sense. But in reality there is a great difference in their meanings. The English equivalents of Tathya, Samyak and Rta are “Fact”, “Correct”, and “Truth” respectively. But in other languages “Satya” (Truth) has no equivalent. The Philosophical meaning of the word “Satya”, is unchangeable, i.e., that which has no distortion, that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person. Human life progresses through different stages – from childhood to adolescence, from adolescence to youth, youth to old age and old age to senility. It is through these changes that people progress. That is why human life or its receptacle, the body, is not Satyá or Truth. There is yet another philosophical meaning of the word, “Satya”, which is Citsvarúpa (the Supreme consciousness) or Puruśa. In the field of Sádhaná or intuitional practice the meaning of “Satya” is “Parahit́arthaḿ váunmanaso yathárthatvaḿ satyam” i.e., Satya is the benevolent use of words and the mind for the welfare of others. No matter what meaning of “Satya” we accept, a benevolent sage has got to be truthful. The creation of one who has not learnt to regard the blissful, unchangeable Entity as the ultimate goal is no creation – is a veritable negation of creation.

The great sage, Maharśi Atharvá, who lived in ancient times, while he was practicing Brahma-Sádhaná, was the first to gain intuitional knowledge by the grace of Brahma. He taught that knowledge to Maharśi Aungirá, who taught it to Satyaváha. Satyávaha in turn taught Áungirasa. So the sage says, Brahma, the source of all existing entities, is as important to them as Atharvá, the expounder of intuitional science, is to Aungirasa and his other students.

Indrastvaḿ práńa tejasá rudro’si parirakśitá;
Tvamantariikśe carasi súryastvaḿ jyotiśámpatih.

The word Indra means great or a king. Brahma is the controller of the vital force which keeps the organisms alive; we call Him Indra, when He controls our lives and our energies through His expressions. We call Him Rudra or the God of thunder, when He, as our friend, saves us from the jaws of calamities through His affectionate and tender touch. He exists everywhere; He is present about us sometimes as a sound, sometimes as a thought or emotion and sometimes as a crude individual entity. There is not a place in the universe where He is not manifest.

What we take for a void is also full of Him. He is even in places where the intellect cannot reach, from where the imagination bounds back thwarted and baffled.

Jale hari sthale hari anale anile hari,
Graha-tárá-súrye hari harimaya e trisámsár.

[He is in water and in land and fire and the ether He is in the sun and the stars and planets. He is in all the three worlds.]

In the planetary world it is His glory that shines as the sun. Take for instance, the backbone of the nervous system, the Svadhá of departed ancestors, the satya of the sages or Indra, Rudra, the sun – are all these separate entities? No, all is He, all is He, all is He. The person whose apparent name is Dhruvajyotih, whom a son calls “father” for he sees in him a father-like manifestation, a father calls “Dheva”, for he sees in him a son-like manifestation, a school boy, “Sir”, for he sees in him a teacher-like manifestation, and a tongawalla, “Hey, Topee”, for he sees the Topee (cap) as the all-important thing, in reality, are these addresses such as “father”, “sir” or “hey topee”, so many different persons? Actually, they are the result of looking at one Dhruvajyotih from different angles of vision.

Yadátvamabhivarasasyathemá práńa te prajáh
Ánandarúpastiśt́hanti kámayannaḿ bhavisydiiti.

There is nothing inanimate or insentient in this world; everything is animate and sentient. In some places consciousness is condensed and in other places it is uncondensed. Where consciousness is condensed, we say “animate” or “sentient”, and where it is uncondensed, i.e., where the influence of Prakrti is more predominant, we say, “inanimate” or “insentient”. The difference between this so-called sentience and insentience is that the so-called sentient, due to its consciousness being condensed, is capable of controlling itself, but due to the uncondensed state of consciousness the so-called inert or insentient is entirely dependent on the wishes of Prakrti, i.e., it is compelled to behave according to the thought-process of the Macrocosmic Mind. This may stimulate a question in our minds. If the so-called inert object is subject to the wishes of the Cosmic Mind, then the Cosmic Grace must necessarily have to be on it only. If the sentient is capable of thought by itself, why should Brahma think for it at all? There is hardly any ground for Brahmic mercy to be showered upon it. The world is crude, and that is why He has kindly regulated its course of movements, so that it may not be smashed to smithereens by the impact of a comet. But to a sentient person He has allowed discretion to take poison or nectar. Is this consciousness then a curse to the living? No. To Him “animate” and “inanimate” make no difference. He has no partiality for one or the other. The insentient do not work by themselves, and so they are not vulnerable to punishment or eligible for reward for vices or virtues, but the sentient attain the good or bad consequences of their acts… they experience pleasure and pain. Let one suffer or enjoy according to one’s deed. He stands by His duties, why shouldn’t He? With the birth of a child He provides milk in the mother’s breasts, affection from the father and love from friends. Aren’t these His mercies? After the scorching summer of the month of Vaeshájha come the showers of the rainy season. These merciful showers are also His. From such changes rocks, iron or gold do not perceive pain or pleasure. It is living beings who endure or enjoy them. It is through these showers for their enjoyment that various things grow, and through them they all feel and enjoy the self-same Bliss Absolute, which Parama Puruśa Himself. And so He has not only forgotten you, rather He gives you compassion and mercy for no compulsive reason – much more mercy perhaps than you even deserve.

Brátyastvaḿ Práńaeka rśiratta vishvasya satpatih
Vayamádyasya dátárah pitátvaḿ mátarishvanah.

The word, “Brátya,” means “fallen”. According to the social code if a Brahmin does not follow the principles worthy of a Brahmin, he/she will fall into the category of the Brátya. Similarly if a Kśatriya or a Vaeshya does not act according to his Varńa (color), he will be categorized as Brátya. The question of being Brátya or fallen does not arise in the case of a shúdra, for all apostates are known as Shudras. Brátya Brahmin, Brátya Kśatriya and Brátya Vaeshya, due to their acts being inconsistent with their respective Varńas, are regarded as meaner than the Shúdras who belong to the Varńáshrama (Institution of social order). Here Brahma has been called Brátya, for He is above all the Saḿskáras or prejudices of this social system, Varńáshrama. No Saḿskára can bind Him. All Saḿskára-bound powers bow to His Glory. The Ajinána Bodhinii Tantra also says, –

Varńáshramábhimánena shruti dásye bhavennarah;
Varńáshramavihiinashca vartate shruti múrdhańi.

So long as there are Varńa prejudices (caste-disparity, financial disparity, regional disparity, educational or other disparities) in human beings they can never realize or feel the non-distinctive, incessant flow of the Cosmic Essence, the integral Brahma – never, never can they do so. As long as they keep this caste-vanity as the trademarks, they will keep themselves enslaved to scriptural injunctions, because they regard one or the other Varńa as the chief prop or mainstay of their mind. When a person through this spiritual and mental development or through their merger in the Supreme Being, identifies himself with Brahma who is above the Varńas, they attain a position above scriptural injunctions whereupon to be bereft of Varńa or color is the real Sádhaná.

There is a reference in the Vedas to a sacred fire called “Ekarśi.” This fire used to be preserved with meticulous care. That is why the people in general held this Ekarśi fire in great esteem and paid greater respects to it than they did to any other fire. Now imagine, on one hand the Supreme Entity has been called Brátya or fallen, and on the other He has been revered as Ekarśi. Being beyond the confines of all Saḿskáras or prejudices or consequential momenta, He remains unconfinable to or by any attribute, and the purity or Ekarśi, being considered the highest at the top of society, also remains immeasurable.

This Brahma is also the devourer or destroyer of all objects of the universe, for this universe is being conceived and lost in His mind-stuff. That is to say, just as He is continually creating His mentally conceived world in His Brahmábháva (or creative mood) on the one hand, similarly He is continually devouring it mercilessly as the Saḿhartá or Destroyer on the other. All objects, all entities of the world are His pabulum, His food and some day they all have got to offer their respective structures as oblations to Him. That is why it is said that the units are the givers of His food. What are they giving Him? They are giving away to Him their sense of ego – their pain-laden identities of petty selfishness.

This very Supreme Being is the Father of Váyu or air. These Váyus, according to their internal and external distinctions, are preserving the existence of the unit through their tenfold transformations. So these Váyus or práńáh, are the foundations of all the senses of the units, and Brahma is the Director or Father of these Váyus or práńáh. Váyu is the life of the unit, and Brahma is the Life of life.

Yá te tanúrváci pratiśt́háta ya shortre yá ca caksuśi.
Yáca manasi santatá shiváḿ tán kuru mortkramiih.

What I speak is only a manifestation of Thy form. What I hear – that also is the sonic manifestation of Thy form. Whatever and whenever I see with the help of my eyes is but Thy form-manifestation. Whatever I think within myself, judge or decide about evil or virtue are all only Thee, Nothing exists outside Thee I, whatever my sensory organs perceive, comes from the world permeated by Thee, and whatever my motor organs activate or shun are but Thy different expressions. O Merciful Brahma! Let Thy inspiration guide my movements towards the virtuous path – towards Supreme Consciousness. Let whatever I say, hear or see be charged with Thy thought and transformed into sublimity. Let me not see nor hear any mean entity nor give it a verbal form. Let me realize and understand every moment that thou art all that is seeable, hearable or utterable by me. O Great One, Be not miserly towards me. Lead me to the auspicious path – to the path of good. Control my moments properly.

Práńasyedaḿ vashe sarvaḿ tridive yat pratiśt́hitam
Máteva puttráń rakśasva shriishca prajináinca videhi nah.

All created objects that exist in this universe are under the sway of the Supreme Being. He is controlling every thing of this world, whether crude, subtle or casual. The world has dedicated itself to His Glory. O Soul Supreme! Teach us the intuitional science and lead us to the path of well-being. We are entirely under Thy shelter. Just as a mother protects her son, protect us from baseness, poverty and pettiness. Establish us in prosperity and wisdom.

Pippaláda had told Sukeshá, the son of Bharadvája, –

Aráiva rathanábhao kalá yasmin pratiśt́hitáh;
Taḿ vedyaḿ purúśaḿ veda yathá ma vo mrtyuh parivyatháh.

Just as the hub of a wheel controls the spokes, similarly the Supreme Brahma is controlling the sixteen basic factors of this universe, i.e., the ten organs (sensory and motor), five vital principles or práńáh (i.e., Práńa, Apána, Samána, Udána and Vyána), and ego. All these sixteen factors (Kalás) are completely sheltered in Him and are the causes of life and death or fluctuations in lifespan. Try to know Him. Know Him through the Spiritual Knowledge or Parájinána. If you are able to do so, you will be able to overcome death and all kinds of degeneration easily. You shall conquer death. The Supreme One is the only remedy for this. The preventor of death is that ambrosial Cosmic flow. That is why the Vedic sages prayed to that Ocean of Nectar and Deathlessness Brahma.

Asato má sadgamayo tamasomá jyotirgamayo
Mrtyurmá amrtorgamayo ávirávih mayaedhi.

O Supreme Brahma! Lead us to the world of deathlessness from this mortal world.

Avih sannihitaḿ guhácarannáma mahat padamatraetat samarpitaḿ
Ejat práńannimiśacca yadetajjánatha sadasadvareńyaḿ
Paraḿ vijinánád yadvariśt́haḿ prajánám.

Elsewhere in the Atharva Veda much has been said about the Supreme Soul. He is Self-effulgent – Autophanous, i.e., His effulgence is not derived from any other source. He is inherent in everything good (There is nothing bad in the world. What we think to be “bad”, is only the transformed condition of “good” under the influence of Máyá, the Creative Principle). In other words all “good” objects are He. Hence my ego is not devoid of Him.

He is the Life of my life, the Ego of my ego, the Soul of my soul. There is nothing so close to me as He. He is the Guhácara or Heart-dweller. Here the word Guhácara does not mean mountain cave-dweller. Here Guhá means heart. Hence the one, who is Guhácara is the heart-dweller – the controlling Lord of the heart.

An individual always seeks out a safe refuge, but no refuge can give lasting shelter. Only He is the Supreme Refuge. Nothing is greater or more noble than Him. He is dynamic. Here a question may arise: whence does movement come for One Who is all-pervading? But really He is moving. His motivity lies in the thought-process of His psychic body. This world is His fanciful imagery, born out of His psychic body. This world would not have come into being if He really had no imagination or if the thought-wave of imagination had not awakened in His Psychic Body. The five Váyus (Práńa, Apána, Samána, Udána and Vyána) that feature in a living body according to their respective distinctive functions, as the result of which the units are kept alive – those vital forces or Váyus, also are only He. The twinklings of the eye-lids that have kept alive the power of inferential apprehensibility of human being every moment are also He. Really speaking, behind all these vital forces or twinklings it is His existence alone that revibrates in the unit-mind as the latent absolute Truth. It is through the inspirations of His existence that the veins and nerves are being sensitized and vibrated. All that we think good or bad in this world is but His different circumstantial distinctions. Brahmabháva or divine bearing is not limited to the Puruśa entity alone, it is the basis of whatever is virtuous and good. The great Prakrti, who is seemingly transforming the Puruśa entity into transitory objects, is also He. Brahma is the composite name of Puruśa and Prakrti.

Tvamekodvitvaḿpanno Shivashakti vibhágashah.

Brahma is the greatest of all. Nothing is greater than Him. “Yadanye nádhirohati”. Brahma is not attainable through common knowledge, nor can pedantry or erudition touch or hold Him. He is metempiric, transcendental beyond the scope of knowledge or cognition, whereas human knowledge is only a partial knowledge. He is venerable to all. He abides in His own Glory above all creations. He is the One Who is the Knower even of your sense of ego. Try to know Him.

Yadarcimad yadańubho’ńu ca yasmin loká nihitá lokinashca.
Tadetadakśaraḿ brahma sa práńastadu váunmanah
Tadetat satyaḿ tadamrtaḿ tadveddhavyaḿ somya viddri.

He is luminous. He is the molecule of molecules, the atom of atoms. He is so subtle that mind cannot apprehend that subtlety. Yet from another angle, He is so vast that the entire universe lies within Him. He is indestructible, He is unfallen, He is the Life, the Truth, the Nectar, O Saomya (Tranquil)! O Sádhaka! He is your speech. He is your mind. Pierce through Him by dint of your meditative concentration – by dint of your own spiritual force.

Dhanurgrhiitavaopaniśadaḿ mahástraḿ sharaḿ hyupásánishitaḿ sandhayiita;
Áyamaya taddhávagatena cetasá lakśyam tadevákśaraḿ somyaviddhi.

“O Tranquil Sádhaka! Sádhaná is your great bow”. (Here Upaniśad means the austere method of Sádhaná, for that which attains the proximity of Brahma is called Upaniśad). Set your worship-sharpened mind-like arrow on this bow. Now inclining your mind towards Him, pluck and twang the string of the bow and pierce through your target – that indestructible Supreme Soul. (This is the state of Savikalpa Samádhi or determinate absorption).

Prańavo dhanuh sharohyámá brahma tallakśyamucyate
Apramattena veddhavyaḿ sharavat tanmayo bhavet.

O Sedate One, Onḿkára is the image of your bow. Here the twanging or plucking of the bow means the act of Práńáyáma ( a yogic method of breath-control), i.e., stirring up the vital or spiritual force. If you use your soul as an arrow and shoot it aiming at the Brahma-like target with a deeply concentrated (absolutely unwavering) mind, then your soul will certainly merge in the Supreme Soul just as an ordinary arrow sticks in its target.

Yasmin dyaoh prthivii cántariikśamotaḿ manah saha práńaeshca sarveh
Tamevaekam jánatha átmaramanyáváco vimuincathámrtasyaeśa setuh.

Try, O Sádhaka, to know only Him, in Whom are held the sky, the world and the void, in whom are ensconced the mind, the five vital forces and the sensory and motor organs. Shun all other pointless considerations except your efforts to know Him. You are mortal, subject to death. Your desire of establishing yourself in deathlessness has been with you from eternity. And that very Brahma is the bridge leading to that state of deathlessness. So you will reap the real good, if you can only know Him.

Aráiva rathanábhao saḿhará yatra nád́yh sa eśo’ntashcarate bahudhá jáyamánah
Onmityevaḿ dhyáyatha átmánaḿ svasti vah paráya tamasah parastát.

Just as the spokes of a chariot are embedded in the hub of the wheel, so all the nerves, veins and arteries are sheltered in Him. The soul that is situated in the Sahasrára (the uppermost plexus of the human structure) of the unit-body is their refuge. In other words all the spokes of this world – this Cosmic System, are situated in that (that eternal sonic expression) – that Cosmic Nucleus, the Puruśottama. Carrying emotions and ideas is what the word “nerve” stands for. The nucleus of all emotions and ideas is He – that Supreme Soul, the Soul of souls. Concentrate on that Onḿ, His characteristic Self. You have come into the field of Sádhaná in order to enter the kingdom of light beyond the shores of darkness. May your journey to the empyreal region be glorious and triumphant. Bon voyage to you.

Yah sarvajinah sarvid yasyaesa mohimá bhuvi
Divye brahmapure hyeśa vomnyátma pratiśt́hitah;
Manomaya kámashariitanetá pratiśthitenne hrdayaḿ sannidháya
Yadvijinánena paripashyanti dhiirá ánandarúpamamrtaḿ yadvibháti.

That Supreme Puruśa, who is Omniscient, all-knowing – Whose Glory is all-aglow in all the worlds, is resplendent in His different characteristic forms in the land of Bliss. The unit shall realize that Entity in the firmament of his soul through his sádhaná (spiritual meditation). He is the Life of the unit. He is the Leader of the crude and the subtle worlds etc. Right in the heart of the unit – in his existential feeling, i.e., along with his sense of ego – He is ensconced as its knower. The serene and tranquil individual, the Sádhaka, gets His real darshana, His visual perception through a special type of intuition or cognition. He is Bliss Absolute, effulgent in His characteristic deathlessness.

Bhidyate hrdayagranthischidyante sarvasaḿshayáh
Kśiiyante cásya karmáńi tasmin drśt́e para vare.

He is parávara (He is paramount as the Effect and not so as the causal). He is Consciousness. When one realizes Him, all the accumulated Saḿskáras or the reactive momenta of one’s heart thin away into nothing. All the doubts of one’s mind disappear. All the auspicious and inauspicious deeds of the Sádhaka get destroyed.

Hirańmaye pare kośe virajaḿ Brahma niśkalam
Tacchubhraḿ jyotiśáḿ jyotistad yadátmavidoviduh.

Hirańyamaya kośa or the astral mind is the subtlest of the five sheaths or shells of the human structure. Just above it resides the integral, imperishable Brahma. He is integral, for He is intransmutable, flawless, devoid of the decaying quinquecellular or Paincakośatmaka manifestation. His luminosity is white. He is the radiance of all radiant objects. All radiances pale before His radiance.

Na tatra súryo bháti ná candratárakaḿ
Nemá vidyuto bháti kuto’yamagnih
Tameva bhántamanubháti sarvaḿ
Tasya bhásá sarvamidaḿ vibháti.

Not even the Sun looks bright in His presence; it too pales before Him. It is the same with the moon and the stars. The flash of lightning is unable to express itself, what to speak of fire. All entities are radiant, because He is radiance itself. It is due to His radiance that all objects are radiant.

Brahmavaedamamrtaḿ purastád brahma pashcát
Brahma dakśińatashcottareńa
Adhashcordhvainca prastraḿ brahmavedaḿ
Vishvamidaḿ bariśt́ham.

The deathless Brahma is Omnipresent. Front or back, north or south, top or bottom. He pervades everywhere. The three worlds are His greatest manifestation. That is to say, it is He, who is manifest as the Greatest Entity in the three worlds.

Dvá suparńá sayujá sakháyá saḿanaḿ brkśaḿ pariśasvajate
Tayorańyah pippalaḿ svádvattyanashnannanye Bhicákashiiti.

What is the relationship between the unit soul and the Supreme Soul? It is as though on a tree there are two birds with beautiful wings perched together intimately, one is eating the tasty fruit of the tree and the other is only witnessing it as the knower and not eating. Here the fruit-eating bird is the jiivátman or the unit soul, for the unit-soul is taking the exact impression of whatever auspicious or inauspicious (good or bad) fruits that grow in the mind-like tree, or is getting smitten by them, and the Supreme Soul, as the Knower of all mundane entities, is also perched on the same psychic tree, but He is not eating its fruit. He is just continuously witnessing as the Omniscient Entity. He is the Original Manifestation, and the jiivátman is His psychic reflection.

Samáne brkśe puruśo nimagno’niishayá shocati muhyamánah
Juśt́aḿ yadá pashyatyanyaniihamasya mahimánamiti viitashokah.

The jiivátman or the unit consciousness of this very tree is being assailed by troubles and sorrows due to its limitations. But when it receives the blessings of the Supreme consciousness; when it is benefited by Him i.e., when it is given an opportunity to learn the secret processes of intuitional practice), it becomes free from pain, being enlightened in His glory, as it realizes His majestic Lordliness, i.e., His Limitlessness.

Yadá pashyah pashyate rukmavańaḿ kartáramiiyaḿ puruśaḿ brahmayonim
Tadá vidván púnyápápe vidhuya nirainjanah paramaḿ sámyamupaeti.

A Sádhaka gradually realizes the Self-effulgent Puruśa as the result of his/her progress on the path of Sádhaná or intuitional practice. This Puruśa, as the Immutable Entity is the Supreme Lord or controller of all mutable entities. Brahma is the composite of both “mutalable” and “immutalable” – kśara and akśara.

One who remains as the original cause of this Cosmic System, as the Nucleus of kśara and akśara Brahma, is the “Brahmayoni” or the “Cosmic Womb”. This Nucleus (Puruśottama) can be explained briefly thus; Suppose you are thinking of Monghyr internally. Now a part of your consciousness is changed into mind-stuff, and this mind-stuff takes the form of Monghyr. The remaining part of your mind-stuff remains as the witness of your mentally created Monghyr. Now the part of your consciousness which plays neither the role of a witness nor of being witnessed and yet remains as the knower of your observation, that subtle part or bearing, if taken in the Brahmic or theistic context, will be regarded as Puruśottama. If this effulgent entity of Brahma be realized, the imperishable Brahma or nuclear sonic expression can also be known. The person of calm and sedate intellect becomes Nirainjana or flowlessness itself after gradually giving up both virtue and vice. At that time there comes in him the proper equilibrium – there remains no frivolity of any sentiment nor the high waves of any manifestation. All the clashes merge in the ultimate tranquillity of the fathomless Ocean of Brahma.

Práńo hyeśa yah sarvbhútaervibháti vijánan vidvan bhavate nátivádii
Átmakriid́a átmaratih kriyáváneśa brahḿavidám bariśt́hah.

The Brahma is manifest in all units. The person of wisdom, who has known this Self-radiant, Autophanous Entity, ceases to be charismatic and loquacious. Such a person does not want to waste his/her time and breath unnecessarily over frivolous and pointless arguments. (Shrii Rámakrśńa used to say: To the one who has known Him all the things of the world will appear as Aluni or saltless). Such a one then plays with his/her soul, transported and lost in spiritual ecstasy. And so all his/her thought-waves or emotions that manifest themselves as mundane activities are benevolent and beneficent. Such acts of benevolence, which are commensurate with spiritual practice, attain a high place of honour in the society of persons conversant with intuitional knowledge.

Satyena labhyastapasá hyeśa átmá samyagjinánena brahmacaryena nityam
Antahshariire jyotirmayo hi shubhro yaḿ pashyanti yatayah kśiińadośáh.

This Brahma is attainable only through truth, penance, valid knowledge and regular intuitional practice. Those who take to such Sádhaná or spiritual austerity, observe the white effulgence of Brahma within themselves. The Yati or austere Sádhaka (one who follows the principles of Yama and Niyama rigidly and strictly), who has His darshana (view) thus, becomes pure and free from sin.

Satyameva jayate nánrtaḿ satyena panthá bitato devayánah
Yenákramantyrśayo hyáptakámá yatra tat satyasya paramaḿ nidhánam.

It is Satya that ultimately wins. I shall call only that Satya, behind which there is a sentiment of benevolence for others. Falsehood or untruth never triumphs. It never can. It may succeed for a time but that success is only prognostic of dire defeat. Satya widens and smooths the most difficult and thorny path of salvation. It is through such a path that a desireless sage attains proximity to that most sublime treasure of Satya – the Supreme Spirit.

Brhacca taddivyamacintyarupaḿ súkśmácca tat súkśmataraḿ vibháti
Dúrát sudúre tadihántike ca pashyatsvihaeva nihitaḿ guháyám.

What is this most sublime Treasure or Fountain-head of Truth like? The sage says that this abode of Truth, Brahma, is so vast that He is unthinkable. He is an eternal Empyrean Splendour. Then again He is smaller than the small, smaller than a molecule or an atom or even an electron, so very small that mind cannot comprehend Him. But He is luminous even in His small bearing. He is far, far away from the one who thinks Him to be remote, and He is nearer than the near to the one who thinks Him to be close. The one who has eyes to see who has known Him even a wee bit, knows that He abides in his or her very sense of existence – in his or her very heart’s desire as the Supreme Radiance. To seek Him – to attain Him – it is not at all necessary to run from one place to another. “He is not elsewhere but right within.”

Na cakśusá grhyate nápi vácá nányaerdevaestapasá karmańá vá
Jinánaprasádena vishuddhasattvastatastu taḿ pashyate niskalaḿ dhyáyamánah.

Neither can eyes see Him, nor words explain Him. The senses cannot perceive Him either through asceticism or deeds. When a Sádhaka establishes him or herself in the valid knowledge through the kindness and blessings of a true and well-conversant Preceptor, i.e., the Sadguru, when he or she does His Sádhaná with a devotionally saturated heart, such a subtle-minded Sádhaka alone can realize that formless Absolute Entity.

Eśo’ńurátmá cetasá veditavyo yasmin práńáh paincadhá saḿvivesha
Práńaeshcittaḿ sarvamotaḿ prajánám yasmin vishuddhe vibhavatyeśa átmá.

This soul is smaller than the mole. It can be known only through consciousness. This absolute consciousness manifests itself only in the innermost recess of a Sádhaka. A Sádhaka gets opportunity for Sádhaná for the realization of Brahma as long as the five vayus like Práńa, Apána etc., are active in his or her physical body. But generally such an opportunity only rarely comes to the lot of human beings, for the minds of most people, being extrovertive, run after external objects due to the propulsion of the senses. So when a human being’s mind gets purified through Sádhaná, he or she becomes free from their sensual influences, and then alone do they realize within themselves the super-effulgence of the Supreme Being. The self-realizer is one who sees the Supreme Soul in his or her soul.

Yaḿyaḿlokaḿ manasá saḿvibháti vishudhasattvah kámayte yaḿshca kámán
Taḿ taḿ lokaḿ jayate táḿshca kámáḿstasmádátmajinaḿ hyarcayedbhútikamah.

The knower of the Soul or the Self-realized person gets whatever he or she sets his or her mind on. The object takes exactly the same form in accordance with his or her desire. Hence he or she does not have to run unnecessarily about the external world in search of any object. He or she is all-satisfied and fully contented. That is why every ambitious person desirous of all-round progress and development, adores the one who has realized his or her Self. »

Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji - Bhádra Púrńimá 1955 DMC
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Published in:
Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell Part 2 [a compilation]
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 2

(^__^)

The Intuitional Science of the Vedas – 1

This discourse was given by Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji on Shrávańii Púrńimá, during Dharma Maha Cakra in Monghyr (1955).

« In ancient times when the desire to worship awakened in the minds of the primitive people for the first time, at that initial stage they took men of great wisdom and strength as the objects of their adoration. Before this they had been Nature-worshippers or physiolaters. When their mental hunger was no longer satisfied by the worship of mountains and rivers, trees and creepers, forests and seas, dawn and dusk, or thunder and lightning they took their first step towards the contemplation of God through the medium of hero-worship. As a result, a kind of incarnation doctrine came into being, ascribing full Brahma-hood to an aspect of manifestation. This practice was adopted in the name of religion, and was popular in society for many generations after. But the urges of the human heart are limitless. The desire to know their inner nature led human beings to the philosophical path, and as a result of philosophical dissertation and discussion their way of thinking gradually changed. They began to think how it was possible to attain the beginningless, indivisible, super-exultant self through such unit-worship – through the worship of the finite. When the realization dawned in their minds, they felt a great agitation – a mighty inner stirring in their hungry hearts, a longing to know the beginningless, endless, unmanifest, all-pervading Entity. How and what is that which the mind will apprehend with its entire being?

The first hint of Brahmabhávaná or intuitional science was mentioned in the ancient writing of the Rgveda. That first seed grew into a huge tree in the Yajurveda with numerous branches and twigs. At that auspicious moment, human intellect saw through the radiance of its supra-mundane knowledge, through its clairvoyance, that whatever it wanted in the material world emanates from and belongs to the Supreme Absolute Bliss – all are but the unit-manifestations of the Supreme Entity. None of these are its whole self. But it cannot neglect these units, for they, too, are not outside it. They too, are an inseparable part of the Supreme Entity.

The common people could not grasp the deep Brahmatattva or Intuitional Theory, and so they tried to hold on to the superficial, extroversial trappings of religion such as sacrifices, rites and rituals, making them the medium for their religious expression. But wise and educated people realized that as a result of this worship of the crude, people with a developed intellect and consciousness would gradually revert towards crudeness and gradually be transformed into crudeness. We must however admit that it is not possible to give up the effort to attain the crude in the form of physical necessities. Nevertheless, having food and clothing and other physical needs cannot completely satisfy the hunger of the human heart. At different times human beings have gone without clothes or anything for years or voluntarily renounced the world when it proved antagonistic to the deepest urges of their heart. So it will not do for human beings to think only of providing themselves with the crude necessities. If anybody leads this type of life, they will never experience bliss – they will always feel inside them the aching void of the desert.

So human beings concluded after due cogitation: since it was not possible to give up the units and since they would have to go in for the “whole” after all, they would just as well forestall heir attachment for the finite by always keeping awakened in their minds, even while making use of the units, a sense of their being the image of that very Supreme Spirit. The pleasure-ward trend of the attachment would then be diverted towards the Bliss-ward course itself. By ascribing divinity to everything and thereby eliminating the limitedness of its littleness, humans would realize and enjoy the Supreme Bliss. In the Vájasaneyii Samhitá (Code) of the Yajurveda it is said –

Ishá vásysamidaḿ sarvaḿ yat kiinca jagatyáḿ jagat
Tena tyaktena bhuinjiithámá grdhah kasyasviddhanam.

This world is changing, moving. The word jagat (world) is derived from the root, gam-kvip, which means moving. This universe is the psychic manifestation of Brahma. All thought processes are moving and restive, and that is why this world, the psychic manifestation of Brahma. All thought processes are moving and restive and that is why this world, the psychic manifestation of Saguńa Brahma (the Subjectivated Transcendentality), is moving and restive. A thing that appears beautiful today is not necessarily so tomorrow. A sandesh (sweetmeat) that is delicious today will not be fit for consumption after a few days. Indeed one cannot even vouch for its shape still being intact. Every unit is in a state of change, and that is why the pleasure derived from unit objects cannot last permanently. So what should a Sádhaka (spiritual aspirant) do? He or she must ascribe divinity to every unit object. Everything is the manifestation of God. Whether it is land, home, river, mountain, respect, insult, day or night – everything is He and His manifestation as a unit. Make proper use of all objects thinking that they are His gifts to us. To enjoy or endure anything is to enjoy or endure Him. Avoid the attraction of the unit and make contact with the integral whole. When you are able to live this way, the desire to steal the property of others will completely disappear. In Ananda Marga there is a special process through which one can dedicate everything to God. The ascription of divinity to objects means the pursuit of the Infinite, leaving the finite behind. Are you feeding your son? No, no, you are feeding the son-like manifestation of Brahma. Are you tilling the field? No, no you are serving the finite manifestation of Brahma with your plough. Really speaking, the ascription of divinity to objects precludes their material enjoyment, as the objects then merge in the non-material Supreme Brahma. Thus the mind of one, who has established him or herself in real Vaerágya (the renunciation of all sensual pleasures) can never become attached to finite objects. Even in their midst he or she remains beyond the reach of their attraction and gains eternal peace after death.

No truck with water while I bathe
With hairs flowing free
Nor woes nor griefs shall ever scathe
Unwet I dip in sea.
Dedicated to God, night and day
Awake, asleep or dreaming be
No lures of world or desires gay
Dare ever come between He and me.

Do your work, but do not be caught up with it. A great man said, –

Grind spices or be a cook
Touch not the pan you ever
Dance a frog ’fore serpent’s hook
But let it not devour,
In the sea of nectar shall you bathe
Unwet shall remain your hair
Tie the elephant to a spider’s web
Love awaits you there.

Here the spider represents the little unit, the Sádhaka. A Sádhaka will realize what divine love is like only when he or she prepares the cobweb of devotion and ties the elephant, the Supreme Entity to it.

Life is intimately bound up with work If people do their work ascribing divinity to each object they are involved with, then, because of their non-attachment to material pleasure, they cannot be bound by the reactions of their actions. Life also cannot be the cause of such bondage, nor for that matter can the reactions of one’s actions be the cause of future lives. Otherwise a person who lives a long life will perform many actions, thus creating many reactions of greater sorrow to be experienced, and one will be a victim of the actional cycle life after life.

Kurvanneveha karmáni jijiivisecchataḿ samáh
Evaḿ tvayi nányatheto’sti na karma lipyate nare.

Always ideate on Brahma and nurture the desire to live for a hundred years. You will thus not get caught up in the reactions to your actions. This is the only way, by which you can save yourselves from the bondage of your reactions.

The ascription of Brahmahood to all activities is only possible for a Sádhaka – it is only possible through spiritual practices or the Sádhaná of the átman (soul). To establish oneself in Brahma is not possible through the Sádhaná of the mind, racing up and down at the beck and call of the senses. The person who busies himself with the Sádhaná of the mind instead of that of the Átmań is, in fact running after darkness or an uncertain future.

Asúryyá náma te loká andhena tamasávrtáh;
Táḿste pretyábhigacchanti ye ke cátmahano janáh.

Those who are sensually and materialistically inclined destroy themselves because through their actions they deny their own souls. Whether they profess to recognize the existence of the soul or not, their actions are certainly detrimental to their self-development. In this material world you may have come across many people who acknowledge the existence of Brahma, who say that they recognize the existence of soul, argue over it and are not afraid even to shed blood for the preservation of their religion, yet in their individual lives they are always chasing after sensual pleasures. They are of the above type. They gradually drift away from light towards darkness, regressing from a developed human life towards animal life. Although they have attained a human body, they have not shown any interest in behaving in a way that is worthy of a human being. The foremost duty of a human being is Brahma-sádhaná or the worship of God.

Essentially the soul and the Supreme Soul are the same. It is the objects of the mind that are different. A person whose mind has accepted the Infinite as its object has indeed identified himself with the Supreme Soul. Now the question may arise; when the Supreme Soul is infinite in nature, how does the distorted idea of individuality come about, and what relation is there between the unit-soul and this observable world? The Dharma or characteristic of an individual is to advance from the finite towards the infinite, from a part to the whole. This characteristic emanates from the desire to attain happiness – for self-preservation. As long as the goal is not limitless, one cannot gain the eternal happiness of all the imaginable and unimaginable entities. The Supreme Soul alone is beginningless and endless, and that is why limitless happiness is only possible through the Supreme Soul. The pain of losing unit objects is far greater than the pleasure they give us. The suffering that one sees in the world is merely the pain caused by that loss. But a persons of wisdom are never affected by the pain of loss for they know that the cause of all suffering is one’s own Saḿskáras. These Saḿskáras are the reactions resulting from one’s actions, past and present.

The Saḿskára born of pleasure and pain or the consequential momentum that creates the state of microcosmic subjectivity in the Macrocosmic Consciousness and stamps the Integral Body with the seal of limited unit-hood, has got its rudimental cause in the Saḿskáras acquired by the Supreme Being in the state of bondage. Actually, it would be more accurate to call it the mental reflection of action and reaction instead of calling it the distortion of the Supreme Soul.

The individuality of the unit is not complete in itself. So until one merges in the Whole Entity, one’s suffering cannot be alleviated. I have already said that the Sádhaka’s sufferings are caused by the Saḿskáras which one created oneself. One should therefore not be afraid of experiencing these reactions or accuse Brahma of injustice on this account. Humans very often complain, “God, so you had this in store for me. Is this my reward for so much worship and so much charity?” Such complaints are foolish, even sinful. At the time of suffering a Sádhaka should reproach himself for his past misdeeds and refrain from evil actions in order to avoid more suffering in the future. Everyone should bear in mind that as long as the fire of woes is not extinguished – so long as the Saḿskáras are not burned one has got to suffer. That is why I say you must not find fault with others because of your Saḿskáras; they are merely the reactions caused by your own mistakes and misbehaviour. Do you not see in the reflection the same wreath that you put around the neck of a shadow? Poet Vidyápati said:

Countless miles and ages lie
Life to life, between me and Him.
Dogged by Fate and here am I!
The fault not His, but mine and grim,

Don’t get upset over your suffering and difficulties. Learn from your painful experiences and acts, and behave wisely in your next life. Accept the beginningless and endless entity as the object of your ideation and behave accordingly.

Anejadekaḿ manaso javiiyo naenaddevá ápnuvan púrvamarśat;
Taddhávato’nyánatyeti tiśt́hat tasminnápo mátarishvá dadháti.

He is the only entity which does not move. Where there is no difference of places, there is no movement. How can the all-pervading entity in whom everything exists, have movement? He is faster than the mind, as the motive force that exists in His psychic body, i.e. the motive force of His thought process, dictates the movements of all the entities of the world; it is from this that they get the impetus to move. The senses are not capable of understanding. This is because the movement of the senses is towards objects, and so-called motionless objects are merely external forms of His mental expressions, His efferent thought-waves. His Blissful Entity is resplendent in its original state beyond the sphere of the mind. It is because of the cognitive Entity that life and energy exist in the world and that all processes of creation are continuing in a planned way.

Tadejati tannaejati tad dúre tadvantike;
Tadantarasya sarvasya tadu sarvasyásya báhyatah.

He is moving. No, no, He is not. He is motionless like the stump of a tree. He is far away. No, no, He is not. He is very close. He is the life of my life. He is within you and me. He is inside and outside everything everywhere. When a Sádhaka becomes well-acquainted with His Blissful Entity, we say that he or she is established in Brahma. At that stage there is both internal and external unity. The mind remains indifferent to worldly attractions and one makes real acquaintance with the Supreme Being. Although the body remains in the mortal world, the soul is merged in the Supreme Soul. The mind then becomes unrecognizable. Whose mind is it after all? Poet Cand́idása has written, –

What pangs reside in Radha’s heart,
Unlistening she sits alone in solitude.
Even in reverie, her eyes fixed, skyward rest
Like a saffroned recluse, averse to food.
Unleashing strands, she watches the braid
Of her hair rich and flower-bedecked
With smiling gaze at the clouds staid
She whispers something with hands outstretched.
Like a pavonine couple, with eyes unmoved,
Exchanging thoughts with passioned glance,
Wooing Kaliya as though renewed,
Candidasa says, a novel stance.

This manifestation of this observable world is called Saincara or Extroversion during its movement from the subtle to the crude, and the movement of the created units and the world from the crude to the subtle is called Pratisaincara or Introversion.















Thus goes the cycle of evolution from the subtle to the crude and from the crude to the subtle. The movement of the unit is from the crude to the subtle. The path comprised of the extroversial movement away from and the introversial movement towards Brahma, is called the Brahmic or Cosmic System, which is revolving under the forces of Saiṋcara and Pratisaiṋcara.

Under the influence of Vidyámáyá (Introversive Force or Force of Macrocosmic attraction) the unit activates the centripetal or introversive momentum of His thought-process through his Sádhaná, and by worshipping Avidyámáyá (Extroversive Force or Force of microcosmic distraction) he extends the centrifugal or extroversive action of His thought-process and prolongs its duration. In Vidyá cognition predominates, whereas in Avidyá there predominates action (Vidyá is a Cognitive force, and Avidyá is an activating force devoid of cognition). Cognition and action should be balanced in the life of a Sádhaka, or else it will be difficult to move towards Brahma.

Andhaḿ tamah pravishanti ye’vidya mupásate
Tato bhuyáiva te tamo ya u vidyáyáḿratáh.

The person who worships Avidyá drifts towards darkness and the person who worships Vidyá goes even deeper into the darkness.

Anyadeváhurvidayányadáhuravidyayá
Iti shushruma dhiiráńaḿ ye nastadvicacakśire.

Vidyá and Avidyá have contrary concomitants. Neither of them has equilibrated movements. People with calm and collected intellect, Sádhakas with developed intuition, who could very well understand such things due to their judgment, have made the above declaration with regard to Vidyá and Avidyá i.e. salvation is not possible through the cultivation of only one of these two principles. For the attainment of salvation, there must be balance between Vidyá and Avidyá to move forward. Although the movement towards Brahma must be introvertive (Vidyá), one should not give up Avidyá completely in relation to the practical world. This also has got to be made compatible with one’s own spiritual way of life by ascribing normal and divine bearing to it. Here the balance between Vidyá and Avidyá refers to the equitable conduct and behaviour during the period of material enjoyment.

Vidyá incávidyá inca yastadvedobhayaḿ saha
Avidyá mrtyaḿ tiirtvá vidyayá mrtamashnuvte.

It is those Sadhakas who are well-versed in intuitional knowledge, who are able to properly grasp this extroversive and Introversive Science. They do not deny any of the principles of creation, preservation and destruction. Forestall death through proper Karma-Sadhaná, a pursuit of action without denying it, and attain immortality through valid knowledge.

Yastu sarváńi bhútá ni átmanyevá nupashyati
Sarvá bhúteśu cátḿánam tato na bijugupsate.

A person who sees himself in everything and everything in himself can never hate anybody or anything. The capacity to overcome hatred is the main characteristic of Brahamajinána or one versed in intuitional science. Because of their pervasive egalitarian vision, there is not the slightest chance of their committing any sin in secret.

Yasmin sarváni bhútániátmaevábhúdvijánatah
Tatra ko mohah kah shoka ekatvamanupashyatah.

When the sense of persuasiveness of one’s soul in all living and non-living objects awakens in one’s mind, one neither hankers after anything nor is one afraid of losing anything. One feels a sense of oneness with all objects and attachment and grief fade away.

Sa paryagácchukramakáyamavraḿamasúviraḿ shuddhampápaviddham
Kavirmaniiśii paribhúh svayambhúryáthá tatyato’rthán vyadadháccháshvatiibhayah samábhyah.

The characteristic of that Supreme Being is its all-pervasiveness. The Sádhaka or the practitioner of intuitional science gets installed in Him, and with His bearing the sádhaka eventually identifies himself with Him. In that bearing of His abides the splendour of all-fulfilment – the seed of all-knowingness. “Tatra niratishavam sarvajinavijam.” The Supreme Being has no crude body. He is absolutely faultless, pure, sinless, all-mighty, all-observing, all-knowing, self-controlled and Svayambhú or self-creating. He is not comparable to anything or anyone – “Na tasya pratimá asti,”, i.e., He has no image. In Him there is unlimited forgiveness. From the very beginning He has been giving everything to the units and will continue to do so. Such, is the attitude of that Great Being. One who is dazzled by the superficial splendour of His creation and gets entangled in it through one’s extroversial tendencies forgets the great, noble Creator behind this creation. Is it not foolish to forget the Lord of the creation for the created? Mother is cooking. The son suddenly cries for his mother. Mother gives him a toy, and the son is so fascinated by the toy that he forgets all about his mother. But when a son does not forget his mother and stop crying in spite of the toy in his hand, then the mother is compelled to embrace him and take him on her lap.

The son, too, holds his mother with one hand, the toy with the other. God is compelled to surrender Himself to the wise Sádhaka, who does not forget Him for the love of this toy-like creation – who does not relax his efforts to attain God.

Andham tamah previshanti ye’ sambhútimupásate
Tato bhúya iva te tamo ya u sambhútyaḿ ratáh.

Those who run after Sambhúti or the glamour of creation and those who are obsessed by the fear of Asambhúti or the possibility of is destruction are both racing towards the world of darkness. A Sádhaka should look upon both Sambhúti and Asambhúti, i.e. creation and destruction, equitably and with equanimity. Scientists who are wholly and solely dedicated to the worship of Sambhúti and hermits who live in constant fear of destruction are both on the wrong path: they are not on the path of salvation. Only the person who uses judgement and accepts both of them attains immortality.

Sambhutiinca vináshainca yastadvedobhayaḿ saha
Vináshena mrtyuḿ tiirtvá sambhútyámrtamashnute.

One who knows the truth about creation and destruction gets established beyond the reach of death. The observable world is subject to creation and destruction. The movement from creation to destruction at first glance appears to be absolute, but the person who has understood the secret of creation and destruction and has thoroughly understood the world system, is alone able to establish him or herself beyond the range of this system.

The last hurdle on the path to the attainment of deathlessness and the realization of Brahma is the Hirańyamaya Kośa of the unit. As long as the Hirańyamaya Kośa exists, the Sádhaka cannot realize the Absolute Truth. The glamour of creation and the fear of destruction always upset a Sádhaka. The Supreme Being in His infinite glory is situated above the causal mind (Hirańyamaya Kośa).

Hirańmayena pátreńa satyasyá pihitaḿ mukham
Tattvaḿ púśannapávrńu satyadharamáya drśtaye.

O God! Remove the shining veil of Hirańyamaya Kośa, so that we may establish ourselves in Satyaloka (the region of Truth) Thy abode, so that our minds may not be attracted to the brilliance of the Hirańyamaya Kośa. This was all that was said about Brahma in the Ishopanisad.

When a person progresses from the crude to the subtle as a result of his Sádhaná, all the bondages gradually start disappearing by themselves, and when a strong desire awakens in the mind to attain that pure consciousness within, the Hirańyamaya Kośa also gets destroyed. In each of the five different stages of mind i.e. (1) Kámamaya Kośa (Crude or Conscious mind), (2) Manomaya Kośa (Subtle or Sub-conscious mind, (3) Atimánas Kośa (Supra-mental mind), (4) Vijinánamaya Kośa (Subliminal mind), (5) Hirańyamaya Kośa (Subtle-Cosmic Mind) – (the last three are collectively called causal or astral or unconscious mind) some sort of finite object directly or indirectly remains, and this object becomes the cause of bondage.

“Mana eva mauśya nám kárańam bandha mokśayo”. In other words the unit attains salvation only when she/he empties her/his mind of all objects. Just as an iron sword can perform acts of cruelty or merely cut the rope tethering and animal, similarly, according to its objective tendencies, the mind can also be the cause of both bondage and liberation.

All unit objects are external. Love for such unit objects can never be lasting, for the mind always keeps hopping from one object to another. That is why I say, withdraw your love from the unit and merge yourself in the whole. Don’t mistake the unit for the soul or God. The attainment of one’s inner self is only possible through love for the Infinite. Dońt pretend to be inferior and as a result become lazy. Fill your heart with love of the Infinite, and your soul will be transformed into the Supreme Soul. No worldly happiness is limitless. Dedicate yourself completely to the blissful ocean of the Supreme Soul. Then alone will you realize what happiness really is. This path to attain happiness, this Sádhaná of self-surrender I call absolute devotion. Carry on performing your worldly duties with sincerity, and at the same time think about the pure self within you. Then alone will your Sádhaná be justified. The constant thought of your pure inner Self will certainly one day establish you in your original source, and this is the ultimate aim of Sádhaná. The Soul is by nature characteristically pure. The mind gets tied to Saḿskáras (potential reactions) due to its actions, and that is why the unit becomes the slave of life and death. When all the Saḿskáras are destroyed through spiritual Sádhaná and mental purification, one goes beyond life and death to the eternal region of immortality, where there is no difference between the soul and His Supreme Soul.

Be all of you blessed with the greatest glory. Amen! »
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Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji on Shrávańii Púrńimá 1955 DMC, Monghyr

Published in:
Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell Part 2 [a compilation]
Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 2
(^__^)