The Story Of Ganga's Journey - Pujya Swami Dayananda

Human destiny is only in knowing the source of one's existence. That alone satisfies a person. What one wants to become is that person in whom there will be no more attempts to 'become'.

Like even a river once it has started its journey, it has to reach the ocean, the source form which it is born originally. It dose not rest content. Take the river Ganges. She is a becoming river. Wanting to reach somewhere she rushes downwards, covering distances, circling mountains, going round boulders and filling up valleys. Her going further does not stop! Where does she want to go? She wants to go to that place where there is no further going. Then she can relax and stop flowing.

Even though you may build dams and stop her flow, she is not going to stop thinking. "Now a dam is built across. What can I do? Now let me sit quiet." No. She goes on banging the walls of the dam because she knows, "It is after all made by a PWD contractor. It will give way sooner or later." So she bangs the walls all the time. She is not going to take it low. She must find her level with the ocean. Once she sights the ocean, it is a sight to see!

When you go to Calcutta, visit Gangasagar. There you do not know whether the Ganges reaches the ocean or the ocean comes and receives the Ganges. Half way the ocean comes. That is why five miles away from the ocean the water of the Ganges is salty. The ocean also seems to be very loving and with open hands embraces and gets into her. It seems the very sight of the ocean is enough for the Ganges or any river to give up all atempts to reach. The job is over now. The river has made it. It rests for ever.

So too the human heart being what it is, it is conscious of itself as a person and in that inner person one sees a lack and want. One cannot accept that limitation. One cannot accept a self- dependence upon anything for one's security, joy and fullness. Necessarily one is going to work for one thing or another all the time till one dies. In harness one dies. Nobody dies saying I have made it. Unless one has made it. That is because the love to be full and free is the beginning of the very journey of all. In fact that was the very cause of the journey. Once one is born, one has this self-dissatisfaction and self non-acceptance. It is due to self ignorance.

So the process of becoming full and complete begins the journey. "I" is a becoming "I". So this becoming "I" becomes one who does not need to become anymore. The becoming 'I' is insecure, wanting. In anyway you look at a person, he is wanting.

He is wanting in terms of time because he is a mortal. The mortal "I" wants to be free from mortality. The ignorant 'I' wants to be knowledgeable. How knowledgeable? Without being ignorant anymore. The unhappy "I" wants to be the happy "I". The incomplete "I" wants to be the whole "I". Like this, there is a struggle going on now to "become", like the Ganges rushing towards its source. The struggle ends when the Ganges discovers its identity with the totality, its source.

Here every one has to discern that by the process of "becoming" I am not going to become that person I want to be. It is by knowing that I am never away from the total and I am identical with the total. In this knowledge the journey of seeking ends.

 
 

Can You Judge By Conduct - Pujya Swami Dayananda

If a person has self-knowledge, how can his conduct be questionable? It is only an argument. It is a supposition. Suppose there is such a person. If he is committed to the pursuit of or has understood Ishvara properly as non-separate from ¡tm¡, then who can evaluate his conduct? His ego, ahankara, is not there but because of some prior habits picked up from his grandfather, etc., he may continue to do certain things which are looked upon as questionable. A
story is told in the Mahabharata that illusrates this.

A brahmana was sitting under a tree invoking the Lord through tapasin the form of prayers and meditation. In the process he developed some powers which he himself did not know about. One day, when he was sitting under a tree, a crane on top of the tree dropped some droppings on him. He looked at it with angry eyes and the crane was burnt to ashes. Then he knew he had this power.

He used to go for bhiksha daily
to the same village. Previously he was humble like a sadhu, but once he got the power, he became very proud. He went and asked for bhiksha and
the woman made him wait for one hour before serving him. He was very angry and asked her how she could make him wait like that. She said that she was doing her duties which was more important.

He said, "Do you know who you are talking to?"

She said, "Yes I know, but I am no crane."

He asked, "How do you know about the crane?"

She told him, "Go to the butcher and ask him."

He went to the butcher's place. The butcher was busy serving his old and ailing father and so the br¡hma¸ahad to wait again. He was furious and asked the butcher why he had made him wait.

Then the butcher said, "Did that woman send you here?"

The lesson is, "do not judge people by what they do." One was a house-wife and the other a butcher, but they were both doing their jobs and were definitely better than the brahmin with all his prayers and meditations.

He is to be considered a sadhu because when he has properly understood, and is pursuing knowledge, his improper conduct is not going to continue. How can it? If you analyze all wrong conduct, it is either a habit or a real crime. Habit will naturally drop off in time. Crimes are always centered on the person who is insecure, the limited 'I'. Because he is so highly insecure, his behaviour becomes aggressive. If he has devotion to Ishvara, in the very acceptance of Ishvara his ego gets diluted. And in the pursuit of knowledge of Ishvara, it gets even further diluted. Thereby all the tendencies based upon fear, tendencies to cheat, to deceive, to hurt, naturally drop off.

To give an example. When a cotton cluster is thinned out so that it becomes fluffy cotton fibres, all the particles sticking to the cotton drop off. You cannot easily remove them one by one but once the cotton fibres are separated, you find all the particles drop down because there is nothing for them to stick to. The ego too, once diluted, cannot hold on to these tendencies. They all drop off because fear and selfishness which are at the centre of all crimes, are due to ego. If that ego is diluted, where is the question of these things sticking there?

Nidhidhyasanam -Pujya Swami Dayananda

Matsthani sarvabhutani ......................... Is there any distance in existence of two different objects ? Existence in the sense of being there. Space is, time is, sun is, moon is, earth is. On the earth - mountain is, valley is, the tree is, the cow is, the woman is, the child is, man is. Is there any difference in the isness ? ........ In the appreciation of asti - is, there is no visesam. This undifferentiated astitvam, isness , is sat ......... So too, the body is. Each cell in the body is, a perception is, perceived object is, the thought is, the thought is .... Knower of the thought is .... the content of the knower, the meaning of the word "I" is what is that ? The conscious knowner enjoys his being in New York. The knower changes, as knower of this, as seer, as hearer, what is it, that is undifferenciated in the knower ? That means seer is ...... hearer is .... doer is .... experiencer is ..... The undifferentiated ,being, the meaning of I is,what is.

 The conscious knower has its content in consciousness which is the satta samanyam, the basic existence is. Cit samanyam ....... consciousness.Knower, hearer, seer, doer is. A thought cognitive or collative, a thought is but consciousness. The object of thought is consciousness. Space is consciousness, time is consciousness, sun is consciousness, sun consciousness is, space consciousness is, time consciousness is. Is consciousness qualified by sun, by time, by mountain, by valley, by cow, by child, by a woman, by this body, by a man, by ears, by eyes, by a sense of smell, sense of taste, sense of touch, by thought, by knower ? Unqualified is consiousness, qualified as knower, acknowledged as known ....... Is there anything outside is consciousness ? Saccidatma, masthani sarva bhutani ...... suksma bhutani ......... sthula bhutani ...... suksma bhautikani, sthula bhautikani, sarva bhutani.

 There is nothing besides sat and cit. Sat is cit. Nothing beyond saccit. There is nothing besides saccit. There is nothing more then saccit ! .......Matsthani sarva bhutani ............... This "Is" consciousness na ca matsthani. All that is, is me. Is consciousness, undivided, non - dual whole ananda - saccidanandarupoham .......... saccidanandarupoham .......... ahamevahamvyayah ............ Bhagavan says - masthani sarva bhutani ! When we recognise the meaning of the sentence, you say - masthani sarva bhutani ! ...........The knower is born of the saccit as the pot is born of the clay, the knower is born of saccit. The knower resolves in you. The knower, the hearer is born of me saccit. Satcit varenyam. Resolves unto you saccit ! No gain, no loss. A pot is born of me, saccit, sustained by me, saccit,resolves unto me. An object of thought is born of saccit, sustained by me saccit, unto you resolves ....... From whom the pot is born, the knower is born, the known is born , is you ,saccit. By whom the born is sustained, is you ......... saccit .......Unto whom what is born, what has being, goes back, that is you saccit ........ You are ........... There is nothing outside ..........saccidanandarupoham .......... saccidanandarupoham ...... ahamevahamavyayah ......... ahamevahamavyayah .......... ahamevahamavyayah ........... OM .......... OM ............ OM ................. OM ...........

  
 

OM Santih Santih Santih

 
 

Meditation - Pujya Swami Dayananda

OM ................. OM ................... In dream the world created and experienced is yourself. As an individual you are the creator. You have the knowledge of what is created and are a material cause .The creator, you ,pervade the whole jagat. As the creator, your knowledge is manifest in the form of jagat. There is nothing outside your knowledge. The whole jagat is manifestation of your knowledge. The whole jagat is you, the knowledgeable you ........ When we think of the jagat, the waking, isvara comes into the picture. His knowledge, all knowledge, manifests in the form of jagat. (Like you are isvara for the person you see in the dream.) His all knowledge manifests in the form of space. Space is isvara, time is isvara, the galaxies are isvara, the sun is isvara, and everything that is here - all forces, laws are nothing but isvara. Physical laws, biological laws, physiological order, knowing, not knowing. Knowing properly, knowing improperly, remembering, not remembering, all these laws and faculties, body, life, death - everything is knowledge manifest. But the knowledge which manifests is clear to me, when there is appreciation of order on my part. The tree is always the tree ...... A leaf is a leaf ,order and that is knowledge.

 The whole jagat is isvara ,you have to appreciate this fact. As soon as a situation we are in, we appreciate isvara who is creation, projection, manifestation of knowledge. My body, your body, my mind, senses, your mind, senses, all included. One step further if we go, the knowledge that is isvara is but caitanya, jnanam as such, being not separate from consciousness. Limited knowledge or all knowledge, knowledge is not separate form consciousness - mithya.The manifest knowledge is equally mithya. Where there is mithya,there is a question of caitanya ! The consciousness which is, which gives existence to knowledge and manifest form of knowledge, that sat is present in knowledge before the creation and after the projection, that sat continues to be. The space - space is,is time, is sun, is moon, is earth, is this body, is this mind, is this memory, is ignorance, is pervades, is you, is consciousness, is consciousness pervades, is consciousness is isvara, is consciousness is you and the Lord says - matsthani sarva bhutani I also say matsthani sarva bhutani - saccidanandarupoham .... soham ..... Spacially limitless, timewise limitless, objectwise limitless. It is present in every object. You are anandah. Isvara is anandah ...... saccidanandarupoham ...... soham ..... saccidanandarupoham ...... soham ..... saccidanandarupoham ........ OM .......... OM ..........OM .......... OM ............ OM .............. OM ............ OM .............

 
 

  OM Santih Santih Santih

 
 

The Spiritual Quest

What are we searching for? Purnata - permanent security, fullness, wholeness, peace, happiness, not being affected by the situations, sukha prapti, dukha nivritti (stories …

Let us understand this clearly. When do we want this purnata?

For 1/2 an hour daily, only when I am praying, only when I am with my children, only … No we want peace and happiness 100% of the time, in 100% situations or places, with everybody. We can't seem to settle for less.

 
 

Where are we looking? Job, Spouse, Children, Health, Wealth, Possessions, Friends, Relatives, Titles and position (stories … make-up one… this guy as a child studies hard, thought he would be better by getting a job, got a good one, then found in polluted area, so changed job, then felt I will feel better if I get good wife, got married, two years were wonderful … then she wanted him to change, he wanted her to change … they would fight, thought we will be better if we have children, got two good children… busy with them… now they are growing, thought we will be better with our own house … do got a house… made it comfortable… a home, now got children settled … now bored…. He opened a shop… still the feeling did not go. He started doing seva … but he did not get the appreciation he wanted and so he left it. Now Little scared of disease, took to yoga and exercise, still the wanting feeling inside did not go… none of this works he thought… all give satisfaction only for some time…

 
 

One day he was feeling very restless, discontented and insecure. He thought to himself, even when I was a young man I felt like this. Now after so many years, I have achieved, so much, I have learned so much, I have done so much … but still this feeling inside me has not changed … I still feel restless, I still feel discontented, I still feel insecure. The feelings goes away for a little while, when I get what I want, but then I am back to square one. Where am I going to find a permanent solution? How will I get permanent happiness? How will this feelings of insecurity go away?"

 
 

This man has come to a very important juncture in his life. So he is searching for SECURITY and COMPLETENESS thru different activities of pravritti and nivritti - acquiring and giving up. So the important point here is that behind his activities is the conclusion that 'I AM INSECURE', 'I AM INCOMPLETE'. When will you search for something? Only when you conclude that you don't have it. Because he finds himself incomplete… meaning centered on himself is this sense of incompleteness … so he seeks a solution … he wants to see himself complete and he seeks a solution OUTSIDE … in everything outside himself …. He seeks through power, wealth, family, friends, possessions, relatives, titles and position, adventure and travelling … the list is endless. He is very creative, in creating for himself, situation in which to escape his basic sense of incompleteness and insecurity.

 
 

So this man found that ACQUIRING or GIVING UP ACTIVTIES, OBJECTS and SITUATION DOES NOT SOLVE HIS PROBLEM of seeing himself as INSECURE and INCOMPLETE. So he is face to face with the fundamental problem of humanity … the problem of the incomplete self.

 
 

Let us pause and understand an important point.

 
 

Really speaking what I want is not the different objects and activities … what I want is to find myself SECURE and COMPLETE.

 
 

Can we find it there? No matter how much and how long we search for happiness, security, purnata through different activities, objects, situations we will find that they offer only a TEMPORARY SOLUTION.

 
 

Why? Because everything that we know, or can know is SUBJECT TO TIME - someday or the other the situation will change. Your house can be destroyed in a natural calamity. Your family can ignore you. Your friends can leave you. Somebody else can occupy your position of power at work. Your spouse can get sick. Or worse still your mood can change. I love gulab jamun. Today I am happy I have got Gulab jamun. I am waiting to put it in mouth … the phone rings and I am informed my best friend just dies in an accident. Will I able able to eat the gulab jamun?

 
 

So this is first step … the discovery that no matter what activities I do, no matter how many great relationships I have, no matter how much power and wealth I wield … still the feeling of incompleteness and insecurity cannot go.

 
 

Why? Because I cannot hide from my knowledge, that everything is being devoured by the jaws of time.

 
 

So what to do? Where should we look? Upanishad says make an inquiry … parikshya lokaan … Gita says make an inquiry … this way has not worked … what is left? Only two categories 'I and This … so far our attention directed to 'this' … this has not worked… so one has only one thing to turn to and that is "I".

 
 

A Story The Happiest Man (Sadhana Mantra)

 
 

Once Upon a time, an emperor was going out in the evening. At the same time an old man was also going out. It was getting dark. The emperor was not able to see the old man, nor was the old man able to see the emperor.

 
 

Upon knocking into the old man, the emperor asked in anger, "Who is it?'

 
 

The old man said, "An emperor".

 
 

The emperor got upset. Because he was the only emperor, so how did this other emperor land up here. So he turned back and questioned, "You are emperor of which state? Who do you reign over?

 
 

The old man replied, 'Over myself'.

 
 

The emperor was wonder-struck!

 
 

Is it not true? The one who rules over himself, one who is his own emperor, one who has come to know himself - there is no emperor like him, there is nobody else who is as content as him. The one who has discovered his happiness in his God, the one who has drowned himself in the love of God, whose desires have all died, who has understood that nobody is going to stay here forever - everybody has to go and so why get attached to one's possessions … that person is the happiest person.

 
 

The unhappiest person is the one who looks at others and does not get happy, one who is not able to digest the praise of somebody else, the who stabs another behind the back, the one who betrays the other's trust, the one who praises in front and criticizes behind the back, the one who burns in the fire of jealousy … such a person can never be happy.

 
 

So the Gita also says the same thing … you have to turn to yourself.

 
 

GITA CAN SOLVE THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM

 
 

Two type of problems: one in which solution lies outside the problem. The other is the problem for which solution is within the problem.

 
 

The problems of food, clothing, shelter are problems whose solution lies outside. If you are hungry, you have to get food and satisfy your hunger. If you need shelter, you have to find a place outside. If you are thirsty, you have to get water. In these kind of problems you have to seek a solution in the external through planning and effort.

 
 

Supposing somebody gives you four pieces of jigsaw puzzle - and you have to form the letter S. You try really hard. You are not able to get it. Then you think maybe one piece is missing. But you told none is missing. There is no need of a 5th or 6th piece. So this the kind of problem where solution is within the problem itself. This kind of problem requires a person who knows the solution - who has it in his head. So it is this kind of a problem that Gita solves.

 
 

Gita does not solve topical problems. It solves the fundamental problem of human apurnata.

 
 

A Morning Nidhidhyasana

Dedicated To My Gurus – Pujya Swami Dayananda, Pujya Swami Viditatmananda, Pujya Swami Avdheshananda

Nirvishesham -  simple changless consciousness that is ever-present and infinite – boundaryless – free of all visheshas – all roles – which are illumined in whose ever-presence eating, drinking, sleeping, any action, any thought, any feeling, any function takes place (as though)  by sva-shakti alone – that is the divinity – infinite knowledge, infinite power, all pervading and free – totally free. … free of punya – free of paapa.

What shines as "I" is ever-present, self-existent, self-revealing, changeless consciousness, in whose ever-presence roles of disciple, teacher, daughter, mother, friend, sadhaka, sanyasi, citizen are illumined …. in whose presence the thoughts, feelings, actions pertaining to these roles takes place effortlessly by the Divine Grace, from whom the roles and their counter-parts and indeed the rest of the universe has no independent existence whatsoever. Om Harih Om Tat Sat

 All roles are visheshas – they pertain to the identification with the body. One is disciple in relationship to the body. One is teacher in relationship to the body. One is daughter in relationship to the body. One is whatever one projects in relatinship to the body.

These roles have their being and shine only in the presence of the ever-present, self-revealing, infinite, changless  all knowing, all powerful, all-pervading consciousness that is the only changless truth of myself. The counterpart of these roles like Guru, mother, child etc have their being and shine in the ever=presence of the changless, all-knowing, all-powerful, all pervading infinite consciousness that is the very truth of myself – that alone shines as 'I', that alone shines are the changless truth of the counterpart. Om Harih Om Tat Sat

The ever-present infinite all-knowing, all-powerful, all-pervading consciousness that alone shines as the changeless "I", certainly has the saamarthya to reduce to ashes the kashaya of old notions and samskaras. Om Harih Om Tat Sat

 Simply be … in simply 'being' without identification with any upadhi being taken to be real,  one is ever-present, self-revealing, self-existing infinite changless, all-illuminating consciousness … effortlessly all-knowing, all-powerful and all-peravading . Om Harih Om Tat Sat. All that is illumined has no separate being, no independent existence. Om Harih Om Tat Sat

 

 

Biggest Sadhana

Now that we know that the nature of truth of ourselves is Brahman in reality, or Bhagavan is the truth about ourself and of others what can be our biggest sadhana?

Namaskara…the attitude of samatva buddhi – the graceful acceptance of all that we face, pleasant and unpleasant knowing that:-

• Over-reaction is a waste of our time and energy – because the verily the truth of ourself is Bhagavan's svarupa - uneffected caitanyam
  
• There is DIVINE JUSTICE because Bhagavan is the IMPARTIAL karma-phala-daata… so everything is as it should be. I simply accept the situation as it is knowing that Bhagavan is behind it. Even when I have been a victim in severe cases of abuse of free will … the truth is the other will have to pay … DIVINE JUSTICE is very much there. So let me leave that to Bhagavan and let me take Lord's name at all times.
  

  
   

Mahatmas will always say "See the God in each person. You must accept everyone and see in them the Lord"

"The best form is to worship God in every form"

 

"All is God's Will, but Maya prevents you from knowing it's all God's Will. "

 

So KEEP GOD IN YOUR HEART LIKE YOU KEEP MONEY IN A SAFE.

Maya’s shakti

Self-evident, self-revealing consciousness simply IS … I AM …and everything else is dependent on this I…. to exist and reveal itself…. ATMA SATYAM – ANYAT SARVAM MITHYA …. like water is satyam and all the waves are mithya … so too the DRG is satyam …. changless and limitless …. and everything else is mithya …. having no existence apart from the DRG.

There is a whole theraphy of non-resistance which can be based on this understanding….. even when there is sadness, don't resist the sadness … you will feel it somewhere in your body … it is simply energy … allow yourself to feel it, don't resist it or try to get away from it knowing that it is revealed in the presence of I, who is ever-shanta, unchanged and unaffected by it …. even as the sun is unaffected by what is revealed in its presence.

Simply namah to pain, namah to discomfort which one cannot do anything about. In that vast, stillness, and peace of the self … it arises and subsides in that silence, in that stillness. Where the pain is, there is Ishvara's niyati and there the stillness and silence of atma is … changeless, self-revealing atma is satyam and the pain is mithya. Where the love is, there the stillness and silence that is atma IS …. where the happiness is, there the stillness and silence that is atma IS. Where any vritti is … there the peace, stillness and silence that is atma IS. Simply don't resist … and let your attention go to atma in whose presence the mind's modifications, the body's modifications, the world's modifications are revealed….. as ever non-separate being ISNESS and BEING all the way.

This is the vision of the Shastra …. and it is the truth. To make us understand this changless truth … Shastra goes through great lengths to make us understand. Without undergoing any change, consciousness appears as all the changes. How? Because of the inexplicable Maya Shakti ….. Om Aim Hrim Klim Chaamundayai Vicche …. so we pray to all-powerful Devi … who is Saraswati … all-knowledge, who is Mahalakshmi, all-wealth, who is Mahakaali, the slayer of anger and passion and the giver of happiness… May You, Great Goddess cut away the knots of ignorance … and reveal my true nature of sat-cit-ananda

Maya shakti…. Maha Maya … She is eternally united with her Lord …. and without Her, He simply is ISNESS, BEING, LIMITLESS, CHANGELESS AWARENESS …. PURNA and SHANTA … and She being united with HIM always – KRISHNA and RADHA are one alone – SHIVA_SHAKTYAIKA NAMAH, …. Being eternally united with HIM, is endowed with two formidable shaktis – vikshepa shakti and aavarna shakti. Her Vikshepa shakti is endless exquisite creativity …. making HIM ALONE apppear as the whole universe, the whole BRAHMANDA of change …. all that is drshya, is changing all the time, is anitya … is HIM ALONE …. and yet she fools each being with her AVARNA SHAKTI …. ….. making each one imagine that he or she is different from the other, separate from HIM.

Maha Maya … she is responsible for creating the distinction of drg and drshya … as well as for veiling it. And at the level of the cosmos, she is responsible for creating the distinction between Brahman and the Jagat … as well as for hiding the distinction. Brahman, the all-pervasive, pure consciousness principle is SELF-EXISTENT … totally independent of the creation of endless names and forms. Brahman is changless …. and the creation is changing and totally dependent on Brahman being ISNESS alone.

Yet that truth is covered as it were because of the AVARNA shakti … because of the AVARNA, the basis, the adhistana is not recognized.

Not knowing a rope as a rope in dim light ….. it is mistaken for a snake. A crystal is colourless. When placed near a blue cloth it appears blue … the problem will go only when the true nature of the basis or the adhistana takes place.

Brahman is changless and totally free of the names and forms, even as water is totally free of the wave … there being nothing else other than water. Yet the names and forms are taken as satyam … when in reality they are mithya. Brahman is permanent … the jagat is not …. and yet the permanence of Brahman is given (in ignorance) to the jagat and one sees the creation as permanent when it is not.

This is how Maya Maya becomes the cause of samsara …. through her avarna shakti.

Being The Changeless Self - Vichara

If I want to simply recognize the truth of being sat-cit-ananda, the changeless, without any projections - then I must examine the notions constituting 'who am I' - and see what is totally untrue, what is true with reference to the changing and what is true with reference to the changeless and recognize that the changeless is what is I that is ever-free.

 
 

So let us symbolize that each false notion is a brick which constitutes the wall of avaranam which is the ego. We want to knock down this avaranam wall which as though hides our truth, our freedom.

 
 

The rule we use to decide what is a false notion is 'whatever is objectifiable or objectified is not -I, because what is I is the one who objectifies who is different from what is objectified or known'.

 
 

Whatever is considered as 'mine' or 'my' is objectifiable - known, experienced and hence is not I. My house, my car, my dog, my friends, my job, my employer, my clothes, my family, …. All these are bricks that constitute the false wall of the ahankara… that hides my truth, my freedom. Knock them off with hammer of discrimination.

 
 

How to knock them off? By not giving all these undue importance… don't let them be such a huge reality to you that, the state of affairs with reference to any of these interfere with your peace of mind. With reference to each one of them, we need to have an attitude born of recognition, that they are all God-given …. Meaning they all part of the all intelligent order that pervades this jagat. Within that Order, I have power to change some things and I do what I can and I leave the rest to that very same Order. Within that Order, there are also certain things I cannot change … with reference to what I cannot change, my namah … my surrender to the Will of the Lord who pervades in the form all intelligent Order.

 
 

The feeling of helplessness, fear, anxiety, tension, stress, anger, hurt arise when these things that I consider as 'mine' become more real to me than the God who pervades all of them … in the form of the all-intelligent Order. The attitude to these things that I consider as 'mine' … is 'this is how they are…. I do what I can…. And I leave the rest to God in acceptance'. This attitude is surrender.

 

Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shankara

 
 

Now let's come home. What are the immediate notions that constitute the wall of ahankara. They are the 'I am this or that' notions, and 'I have this or that' notions. Each of these notions is objectifiable or knowable or known … so they cannot be I who is one who knows these thoughts … different from these.

 
 

'I am the body' ( and the conditions of the body…. Like pain, disease, health)

' I am the prana' ( physiological functions like respiration, circulation,

'I am feelings' (anger, hurt, guilt, fear, anxious, helpless, isolated, needy, love, compassion, pride, likes, dislikes, prestige, needy child…. Etc.)

'I am decision, thoughts, ignorance...'

 
 

'I have brains, feelings, memories, ignorance' etc.

 
 

Knock of each of these notions of being "I". How? Spend time on each of these … understand well, intimately, how they cannot be the 'I' in whose presence these are known or knowable. Contemplate on

1. How each of these have no independent presence … they can exist and do exist only because of the presence of the changeless light of consciousness who is their very truth - even as water is the truth of the wave
   
2. How each of these is changing all the time … and these changes are possible and ever revealed only in the presence of the ever-present changeless light of consciousness that is satyam.
   

    
    

   Contemplate on how the body is changing all the time … it is dying and being reborn all the time … there is constant change in the body governed by the all intelligent Order … and these changes are illumined in the presence of the changeless light of consciousness that is verily the truth of I. The body itself is possible only because of the presence of that unchanging light of consciousness… God.
   

    
    

   What about prana? All-pervading Prana is changing all the time. Changes in the prana are being revealed in ever-present changless formless light of consciousness that is the truth of 'I'. The changes in the prana are also governed by the all Intelligent Order. As an individual, I can learn to tap that Order and gain control over prana … yet the changes in prana are possible only because of the that ever present Light of Consciousness.
   

    
    

   We all have deep-rooted feelings of 'I am helpless', I am frightened, I am anxious, I am hurt, I am guilty, I am alone. For many of us these are deep samskaras that constitute one's core sense of identity.
   

   Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shambho Shiva Shankara
   

    
    

   We need to see the truth here … these feelings arose in the past … in childhood, when I took myself to be the body only. When the body is in danger, and there is deep identification of taking oneself to be the body only, there will be fear, there will be anxiety, there will be the feeling of helplessness and hurt. It is natural.
   

    
    

   Yet there is no rule, that it is the truth of oneself. Changes to the body, changes in the body, factors affecting the body-mind-sense complex …. Are possible because of the presence of the changless light of consciousness… and they are revealed only because of the presence of a changeless truth … sat-cit-ananda …. The light of consciousness.
   

    
    

   Without the presence of the changeless light of consciousness, none of the changes affecting the body-mind-sense complex would be revealed or even possible. The ever- presence of the changeless light of consciousness is the only truth about oneself that does not change - ever. This is the truth of 'I' … the Great Secret … one must be alive to this fact … by knocking off the notions that one is the body-mind-sense complex.
   

    
    

   Not knowing that this Changeless God, the light of Consciousness exists as the ever-presence in whose changeless presence alone, the existence of the body-mind-sense complex is possible, and in whose presence alone the existence of the body-mind-sense complex is illumined, who is the very truth of myself, I take the body-mind-sense complex to be the truth …. And then suffer when there are unpleasant changes affecting the body-mind-sense complex.
   

    
    

   Then there is helplessness, anxiety, fear, hurt, anger, isolation. Let us knock of these false notions. I am that changeless light of consciousness in whose ever-presence, this body exists as non-separate …. I am free of the body …. Whereas body is not independent of Me. All that is objectified is non-separate from sat … the ever-presence that is I. 'I am sat-cit-ananda' is knowledge… not 'I am helpless'. 'I am helpless' is a false notion revealed in the presence of I, sat-cit-ananda.
   

    
    

   If the thought that "I am body" is too real for me, then 'I am helpless' feeling will also be too real for me… then let there be the sadhana of recognizing that the ever-present Light of consciousness in the form of Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Lord is ever with me … as my suhrd, as Divine Father, Divine Mother …. As the one in whose presence I surrender in acceptance of the unpleasant changes that affect this body-mind-sense complex that I consider as 'I'. We cannot by-pass that surrender to that All Intelligent Order and recognize our freedom. Let us be ready to surrender … let there be non-resistence to that Order.
   

    
    

   This is where upasana has so much meaning. Upasana … meditate on that ever-present changeless Light of Consciousness in the form of Ishta devata in the heart … as Divine Father and Mother who is Suhrd and Divine Protector … who is in the form of the Divine, All Intelligent Order … and slowly allow oneself to let go of one's resistance and accept what is unpleasant and one cannot change as the Divine Will. In that acceptance … there is freedom … freedom to recognize that truth about oneself that is never affected by change.
   

    
    

   This changeless Truth exists … it is the only Truth that is ever-present and ever-free … it our birth-right to recognize this truth … let recognize this Truth and Be free.
   

    
    

   Om Tat Sat
   

God in This World - An Appointment With Ones 'Self' – Pearl Richards

One sees fragrant flowers emerge under sunlit spring skys,
First baby's smile bringing sweet gentle mother's tears of love.
Who can deny serenity of a molten sunrise
Or the mind's rest when day passes into dusk's quietude ?
Humanity steps into roles and accepts its applause
For peaceful and frightful dramas played out in this jagat.
Who has written varied scripts for casted countless actors ?
How can these, seen, be refuted as Isvara's Order ?
When thoughtfully withdrawn from life's panarama of dreams,
When the mind is stilled by the hush of nature's lullabye,
One steps into Bhagavan's expanse of pure Consciousness.
This simple moment can be an appointment with ones 'Self'.
Here, in the sanctum of the mind, is Siva's mangalam.

Prapancham Engum – Song by Mata Amritanandamayi

O Maya filling the entire Universe, O Radiance, won't Thou dawn in my mind and stay there shedding Thy Light forever?

I will surfeit myself drinking Thy love and motherly affection. Coming near Thee and sinking in Thy Divine Effulgence, all my mental distress will flee.

Since how many days I am wandering in search of Thee who art the underlying Core of everything.

O my Mother, won't Thou come before me and grant me the ananda of the Self, O won't Thou come?

Paurnami Raavil – Song by Mata Amritanandamayi

Aren't Thou the splendor of the moonlight that shines forth in the sky on a full moon night?

Aren't Thou the spring night that arrives in a lovely, fragrant, flowery palanquin?

O Mother, aren't Thou the beautiful sound that awakens in the gentle strings of the tambura?

Aren't Thou the lyrical poems in which the imagination of the poet is sporting (swinging)?

Aren't Thou that One in which the seven colours and the seven notes have merged? Aren't Thou the fragrance of the flower, the beuty of the rainbow and the colours of the breeze?

Parinaamam Iyalaata – Song by Mata Amritanandamayi

O unchanging Supreme Goddess, bless me, ridding me of misery.

Is not Shiva, who burned down the three cities (Tripura) Thy Husband? Deign to remove the darkness.

Won't the night be visited by the full moon?

Know Thou not about the darkness of my heart?

The days are going by like the dropping of the petals of a flower, yet Thou come not.

O Mother, is not a huge tree the support of small creeper?

Aren't Thou what a small child really longs for?

O Mother, this one knows not what is to be done, so help this forlorn one to merge in Thee.

O Mother, I am pulling on exhausted in this desert unable even to crawl to Thee. O Goddess of All, see my fate and turning towards me, grant me refuge at Thy Feet.

INI ORU JANMAM – Song by Mata Amrtanandamayi

O Krishna, give me not another birth lest I fall into the deep quagmire of delusion.

If Thou givest, then bestow the boon of taking birth as the servant of Thy servants forever.

 

O Krishna, Thou should fill my mind with Thy Holy Name and reveal Thy Lotus feet bright and clear therein. Keeping my mind ever equiposed, all should be felt to be Thy Manifestation.

 

O Krishna ….. Treasure of Compassion…. I salute Thee with joined palms…. I humbly salute Thee…

 

If I should get another birth, let it be beneficial to the world by giving Imperishable Joy to others as well. If Thou allowest me that, then please give me any number of births as a human being. O Krishna…. Treasure of Compassion ….. I salute Thee with joined palms…. I humbly salute Thee.

Aajivanaantam – Song by Mata Amritanandamayi

I will worship till the end of my life but rid me of my sorrow today.

O Goddess, Primal Supreme Power, bless me, remove my grief.

 

O Mother, who grants all desires,

O universal Maya who fulfills all desires,

thy form is Energy, the Support of all,

Parvathi, the eternal embodiment of Truth.

 

How many sufferings I am bearing.

Why art Thou delaying to cast Thy gracious glance?

O Mother, drown me not in Thy Maya.

I bow to Thy Feet always.

I Meditate in Valli Kava

Om Sarvadevatabhyo namah

Om Sarvasadgurubhyo namah

Om Parabrahmane namah

 

I meditate on the Lord, who is Shiva, ever-auspicious, ever-present, the Light of Consciousness, immediate, direct, who is my very truth, my very Self, in whose presence all this is illumined, who is indestructible and changless, ever unaffected – even as the Sun is ever unaffceted by all that is illumined in its presence.

I meditate on the Lord, the Light of Consciousness, who is changeless, who is my very self, sat-cit-ananda, formless, limitless and all-pervading, in whom this whole Universe comes into being, is sustained and goes back – even as wave arises in water, is sustained by water and goes back to water – in truth the wave has no independent existence – it is water.

I meditate on the Lord, the Light of Consciousness, who is my changless Self, ever endowed as though with indescribable Power- boundless, all- knowledge, infinite all-intelligent energy that manifests as the oceans, the all-pervading space, the blue blue sky, the birds, the tress, the grass, the ants, the fishing nets, the fish, the fishing boats, the men in the fishing boats, the gorgeous black sands, the glorious colours of the rising and setting sun, the ocean waves smashing against rocks, the tender coconuts in the coconut trees.

I meditate on that changless truth of myself, the Light of Consciousness, more brilliant than a thousand suns, whose inscrutable Power is manifest as the extraordinary, wondrous, all-intelligent, all- pervading Order that pervades the subtle and gross worlds.

 

Unto that formless, ever-Pure, Light of Consciousness, my very self, who manifests as this physical body – my salutations – namah – my surrender.

Unto that formless, ever-Pure, Light of Consciousness, that is my very Self, who is ever changless, direct, immediate, manifest as this mind with its capacities to feel, to doubts, to emote – namah.

Unto that formless, ever-Pure, Light of Consciousness, whose inscrutable Power manifests as all memory – unconscious, sub-conscious, conscious – namah.

Unto that Light of Consciousness, who is ever my Truth, Changless and Pure, direct and immeidate, whose inscrutable all-intelligent Power is manifest as this ahankara and primordial ignorance – namah.

Unto that Light of Consciousness, who is ever my Truth, Changless and Pure, of the very nature of ananda, being awake to whom I resolve in fulfilment – namah.

Unto that Light of Consciousness, who is the changless Truth of myself, in whose presence all changes in this body, mind as well as the world is illumined – namah.

Unto that Light of Consciousness, who is Tattva – changless, pure and ever auspicious, whole and complete, who by His Own Inscrutable Power is manifest as the very intelligent Power that pervades this body and jagat, gross and subtle – namah.

Unto that Light of Consciousness who is the very Self, changless, Pure, ever Auspicious, whole, complete – manifest as the all love of Amma – namah – my surrender.

Om Tat Sat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Truth about Oneself

The purpose of Shastra study is to discover oneself as whole, as secure. Dhanyoham, Shantoham, Asangoham, Purnoham, Triptoham, Shuddhoham

Dhanyoham – I am blessed

Shantoham – I am peace. I am silence.

Asangoham – I am unaffected – I am unattached – I am free

Purnoham – I am whole, I am secure, I am love, I am complete

Triptoham – I am fulfilled

Shuddhoham – I am pure

Acaloham – I am motionless

 

If this indeed is the nature of oneself, then only one can discover these facts. Shruti says this is the nature of yourself. Wise people who have discovered these facts say this is so.

 

So to help us to discover these facts about oneself – there is a whole methodology of teaching. The teaching takes into account that there is an individual living in the world, who wants to discover himself or herself as whole, secure and complete. This individual, thinks that to be whole and secure, he must make changes to the world around him or her.

The individual does not understand at first, that no matter what changes he brings about in the world around him, it cannot make him whole and secure … because a wholeness or completeness that is dependent on any external factor, is subject to change at any time.

Discovery of wholness, completeness and security has to centered upon oneself alone – a self who is not subject to time, place and object. If the self is subject to time, place or any condition whatsoever – then it is not possible to discover oneself as secure or complete … because there will be change at some point or the other.

So now the question is does such a self exist … a self that is not subject to time, place or any condition. Here is where Shastra comes in and teaches … YES … such a self exists … that self is whom we call GOD …. not subject to change.

You can say that I do not know of anything which does not change….

Hey the very fact that you know changes … points to the changless. Change cannot be known, unless there is a changless reference. The teaching of Vedanta points out that, there is a changless truth … and that changless reference is free of all attributes, is free of form and that is your self …. a self that is ever-present, ever-existent and in whose presence everything that is known or knowable is illumined. Not only is this changless self independent of everything… (now Shatra reveals a rahasyam ) this changeless prakashaka is also the very adhistana or basis or content of everything…

In Chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gita – there is a beautiful exposition of Isvara's svarupa. There Isvara is pointed out as para prakriti plus apara prakriti. The apara prakriti is the changing manifestation of Ishvara … and the para prakriti is the changless, formless nature of Isvara. There are four difference between these two :-

Para Prakriti	Apara Prakriti
is the consciousness principle – cetana tattva	Acentana tattva - inert principle
Attributless - nirguntva	With attributes - sagunatva
Does not undergo any change Nirvirkara tattva – modification less, free of time, space – unconditional, unaffected by time	Subject to modificaton, subject to change – savikara tattva
Satya Tattva – absolute reality – independent reality	MITHYA tattva – depends on para prakriti for its existence – has no independent existence – like wave has no independent existenec from water.

 

This Isvara alone was there before creation … sadeva soumya idam agra aasiit …

So this changless tattva is the illuminator ( of all changes) as well as the adhistana … the very basis or content of everything that is illumined….. totally free of all that is illumined.

Such a self is there … and this self is an already existing fact … this fact has to be discovered by each individual.

Vedanta is pointing out an existing fact … Vedanta is not a mere concept … There is an existing truth about yourself. Use Vedanta as a means of knowledge … for knowing the ever-existing truth about yourself that can never be negated.

The bottom line for that fact is that there is a fundamental truth about you the individual that does not change. So you must ascertain, what changes … and what does not change.

What changes is apara prakriti.

Let is ascertain what changes – the world around you changes

• the body changes
  
• the mind changes
  
• the ego changes
  
• the waker changes
  
• the dreamer changes
  
• the deep sleeper changes
  
• the waking world changes
  
• the dream world changes
  
• the deep sleep absence of world changes
  

 

What does not change?

The light of consciousness, in whose presence these changes are illumined. This light of consciousness is the truth about you that can never be destroyed… it never changes … it is never born – it ever-is … it never dies. It is totally independent of all that is illumined in its presence, even though all that is illumined is totally dependent on it.

This light of consciousness in itself is totally free of all attributes. Yet it has the capacity to appear as all that is changing.

So Shastra wants you recognize this existing fact … this existing reality about yourself – without which you will not be able to have experience whatsoever.

In the light of that discovery, one meditates, one contemplates…..

I meditate on the Lord, the ever-auspicious, ever-present light of consciousness, the changeless core of peace and silence that is my self, that is ever unaffected.

Shantoham, Asangoham, Purnoham, Triptoham, Shuddhoham

Dhanyoham – I am blessed – the Lord the ever-auspicious, ever-present light of consciousness, the changeless core of peace and silence is verily my self. I am verily that light of consciousness.

Shantoham – I am peace. I am silence. I am changeless. I am indestructible.

Asangoham – I am unaffected – I am unattached – I am free – I am indeed satyam

Purnoham – I am whole – there is no dent in me – there are no parts in me.

I am secure – I am indestructible

I am the love, the ananda that everybody is searching for

I am complete

Triptoham – I am fulfilled

Shuddhoham – I am pure – I am totally free of raha-dvesha, I am totally free of ignorance

Acaloham – I am motionless

 

As individuals living in this world, we have total identification with the body. Even wise man has identification with the body – without body identification it is not possible to do anything. However the difference is that the wise man, recognizes, and acknowledges that he is indeed the indestructible truth – he recognizes the changless truth about himself …. and identifies with the changless. His "I" sense is no longer with the body-mind-sense complex only.

Since this truth is an existing fact… and recognition of this truth about oneself liberates one from endless suffering,shastra says you must make the effort to recognize this truth. First you must come to know about it using Shastra as a means of knowledge – let there be sravanam. This sravanam will not have effect unless there is anatahkarna shuddhi … so work for anatah karana shuddhi … let your life be transformed … live your life as a bhakta … a bhakta of truth … the truth that is God. The truth that is God pervades your daily life …. recognize the truth of God in your daily life…. be a devotee. Let your life be transformed with new attitudes … and the result is peace of mind and antahkarana shuddhi.

Now when you do sravana, it will begin to make sense. Still you have doubts … so let there be manana. …. to remove all your doubts. After that still the dehatma-buddhi is strong … so do nidhidhyasana .. contemplate … In a quiet frame of mind … recognize yourself to be the prakashaka…. the the one in whose presence all thoughts are illumined. Again and again may you contemplate, in different ways…. with "I"/ sakshi as locus and Brahman or Isvara as locus. … drshya anuviddha samadhi, sabda anuviddha samadhi…. and may this kind of constant contemplation lead to total uprooting of the dehatma-buddhi and being establised in Brahma buddhi.

Om Tat Sat

Meditation – Adapted from Swami Dayananda

OM...... OM...... OM........OM ......... OM .........

Unless you choose , there is no disturbance. The external world , consisting of these sounds from birds would disturb you , if you choose. The choice is relatively silent situation.

The birds would not disturb you if you let go your choice and be yourself. The external world simply becomes a fact. If it consists of words like these or chants or the noise from the birds, they are all the facts. It has no capacity to disturb you. The external world can disturb, can hurt the physical body… not the simple conscious being that you are.

As a person, the external world has no capacity to disturb you when you recognize yourself to be the ever-present simple conscious being always. In this meditation let go your choice and simply be. Become familiar with what it is to be oneself, without being the one who has to choose always. If you are familiar with yourself as you are, free of roles, free of choice, you never choose to get disturbed. This is a very basic fact.

One has to be familiar with oneself, free from choice.

You are a conscious person. Without choice you hear these words. What choice did you have, when you hear the external sounds? You have no choice. That is how the fact is. If you can hear, you hear OM ....... OM ...... OM ...... OM ....... Let whatever happens in your mind. When you are accepting it, you are accepting yourself. You are non-judgemental. In other words, you are kind to yourself. Kindness to another person is to be non-judgemental. Understand, it's the same thing with reference to yourself, as being non-judgemental. Let the mind be as it is.

 

OM .......... OM .......... OM ...... Sri.. Rama ... Sri .....

Rama ..... OM ..... OM ..... OM ....... Sri Rama ... OM .......

Santih ........ Santih ........ Santih ....... OM ........

‘Creation’ in Hinduism – Swami Dayananda

 

Hinduism is the tradition based on very ancient Scriptures called the Vedas. Like other religions, Hinduism has its own theological concepts about God and heaven. But what makes it special is that it says that 'You are the Whole' - meaning it talks about your basic identity with God. That is Vedanta, which is the essence of the Vedas and the very foundation of Hinduism. Everything that helps you discover the truth of yourself - attitudes, values, emotional growth, spiritual practices - is a part of Vedanta.

A spiritual pursuit is that which is to be accomplished here and now, by gaining the vision that you are the whole. So a Vedic religious life culminates in Vedanta, in the discovery that you are the whole. Everything else in the Vedas, is a preparation for that discovery. Your entire life is a part of that preparation. That is the Vedic vision.

Again the Vedic vision of creation is meant to help one discover the truth of one's identity with God. In the Vedic vision, creation does not mean that there is somebody sitting somewhere who has created this world. In the Vedic vision, this universe is looked upon as a manifestation, an intelligent, unfolding of the Lord's Omniscience. The Lord is looked upon both as the efficient cause and the material cause of the Universe.

This vision is what will be unfolded in the rest of this article in the words of my Guru H.H Sri Swami Dayananda Sarswati.

 

Understanding the Lord as the Maker and the Material of the Universe

 

The Lord is the cause for whatever is here, known or unknown.

When I look at the world, i find a scheme of things enjoying a certain order. Whenever there
is an assembly, made up of a number of components put together intelligently, serving a certain purpose, we call that assembly a creation. When things are not put together chaotically - like one's throwing things in a garbage can - but put together in a meaningful way, such that all things become total, that single total entity is called a creation. The chair on which you are sitting is a creation. A chair is an assembly, consisting of a number of components put together meaningfully and serving a certain purpose and therefore it is a creation. Similarly, a car is an intelligent assembly; it consists of a number of components such as engine, radiator, tires, gears and so on. A heap of these components would not make a car. When they are intelligently assembled such that the engine is where it should be and the wheels are where they should be, what should be moving moves and what should be stationery is so, there you have an assembly to serve the purpose is designed for. Thus a car is a creation. A clock is a creation. Your shirt is a creation. A nucleus is a creation. A solar system is a creation. All the laws o nature are creation.

This physical body is a creation, a marvelous creation. You look at any part of the body and you will be convinced of this fact. These arms have the right number of joints, otherwise they would not be able to perform the functions they are performing now. Eyes, ears, heart, legs - these are not ordinary designs. Look at the function of the heart. It is a simple pump that continuously performs its function for a number of years. It takes a great deal of engineering and a great deal of money to make an artificial heart.

Thus the more we think the more we see the meaningful order in the creation. I find that everything is a marvel when I look into it. Every cell is a marvel. Even the man-made things such as rockets, computers etc. are marvels and I have been given an intellect to discover and enjoy the marvels.

 

The Creator Must be Omniscient and Omnipotent

 

Thus, this world is an intelligent assembly, serving a definite purpose and therefore it is a creation. It is an intelligent creation, which implies knowledge. the maker of a given thing must have the knowledge of the thing. Whether it is a pot or a cloth or a bread, you must know all about it before you can make it. Whether it turns out to be the way you wanted it depends upon your experience, skill, resources etc., but you must necessarily know about it before you start making it.

The logic is that the creator of a given thing has the knowledge of that thing. The creator of a pot has the knowledge of the pot. When we extend this logic to the creation of the universe, it can be said; that the creator of everything must have knowledge of everything. He must be Omniscient.

Over an above the knowledge; the creator must also have the skill and energy to create. so, the creator of the universe must have all the power and skill to create everything. In other words, the creator must be Omnipotent.

Once we accept that there is a creator for this universe, then it follows that the creator must be omniscient and omnipotent. And the knowledge and skill always rest in a conscious being and so the creator of the universe must be a conscious being who must be omniscient and omnipotent.

 

Where is God?

 

Now a question naturally arises with respect to the creator. Where is this creator? It is quite clear that the creator is not here nor anywhere around and therefore we assign him a place that is beyond our reach, beyond the reach of our eyes, ears and thoughts. We call that place the heaven, where our sense perception, our inference, our pesumption have no access. Some people call it Vaikuntha, some call it kailasaa. Let us call it heaven. And where is it? Up there. That is why people look up, throw their arms up when they pray to God. No one ever looks down while addressing God.

Now a question arises, if God in heaven created this world, who created Heaven? we have to say God. Since heaven is also a part of creation, it could not have been thre before creation, so the next question is: Where was God before the creation of heaven?

The question remains unanswered and that is part of one's problem gtoo because one is as good as one's understanding. If one is not at home with one's understanding, how is one going to be at home with oneself, how is one going to accept oneself?

 

The Maker and the Material are One.

 

The question as to where God is, does not get answered unless we look at the whole thing as the Vedas do. When we inquire into the creation and its cause, we should not confine ourselves to a part, but should look at the whole. We cannot get the right answers if we ask the wrong questions, because the answer is always in keeping with the question and so, if we ask the right question, there will be a right answer.

When we inquire into the nature of the cause for creation, we find there must be two causes for any creation: the maker and the material. the maker, the one who is responsible for creation, is called the efficient cause or nimmita-karana. And there also must be some material out which any given thing can be created. For creation of a pot for example, such as clay or copper or brass, out of which the pot is made. For baking bread, there must be a baker and also the flour out of which the bread can be baked. With reference to the creation of the universe if the Lord, God is the maker, the efficient cause, the question is : What is the material out of which God created this world? When we are inquiring into the nature of the cause of the creation, we must take into account the material also.

Where did the Lord find the material? Here, we must also bear in mind that both space and time are part of the creation and so, before creation, there is nothing outside the creation because 'outside' is a concept in space which is not yet created. Therefore, there is nothing outside the Lord before creation and so the material should also be within the Lord. That is why he is called the Lord. Therefore not only is the Lord the maker, but He is the material too.

tasmaad vaa etasmat akasha sambhutah (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1.1) - from the Lord that is this self, akasa the space was born. From the space was born air, from air was born fire; from fire, water; from water, earth was born. Vedas give us this model of the five elements for the creation of the world. The world is nothing but these five elements and their combinations.

While explaining how the maker and the material o this universe are one, the Vedas give us the illustration of a spider. yathornanaabhih srhate grnhate ca (Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.7) just as a spider creates a (web) and withdraws it too. The spider is the efficient cause of the web because it has the intelligence and the skill to create the web. It chooses the right place for the web where it would not be swept away by the lady of the house and where it can get its prey. This shows the spider has intelligence. And the material for the web is the secretion of a gland which it finds within itself. So too,, the Lord projects this creation and withdraws it unto Himself at the time of dissolution.

It is like your own dream. In the dream, you are the maker of the dream world, and you are also the material cause for the dream manifestation. Therefore we only use 'creation' in the sense of the knowledge that is involved, the vision that is involved. In that sense we can say the universe is a creation. But from the stand-point of the material cause, the universe which consists of both known and unknown, is a manifestation of the Lord.

In the dream you are the maker of the dream world. You are a knowledgeable person endowed with the capacity (sakti) to make that dream world. And being not separate from the material that is necessary for the dream world, you pervade the entire dream world. The dream space is you, because the effect is always sustained by the material. Your shirt, for instance, is sustained by the fabric; it cannot be independent of the fabric. You cannot even imagine a shirt minus some fabric. That is an astounding fact. This is true with reference to any one thing. You can't think of a building without thinking of the materials that have gone into it. When you see this kind of a situation, one thing becomes clear - no object can be independent of the material of which it is made. Even though the object is named differently from the material - shirt and cotton - spelled differently, and understood differently, at the same time, the two objects referred to by two different words really refer to one substance alone. that is cotton. We can go further and say that cotton is but fibers, the fibers are molecules, molecules are atoms, atoms are particles and so on. Everything is sustained by something else. At the particle level it becomes a concept.

Therefore we see that an effect is not separate from its material cause. In understanding the Lord we use the dream example to assimilate that fact that the Lord is not separate from all there is. In the dream, the world is sustained by me; I am the cause for the dream world, dream space, dream time, and so on. I pervade every one of them. It is only because I am the material cause that I pervade the dream world, otherwise I'll be like the pot-maker who is elsewhere. When you buy a pot and bring it home the pot-maker does not come home with you, because he has not made the pot out of himself. the material is separate from him. When you bring the pot you can't leave the material, whereas you can leave the maker behind. Between the maker and the material three is a separation.

 

When we are talking of the total, however, there is no separation. The material cause being yourself in the dream, you pervade the whole world there. Space, time, stars etc have come out of you. If that is understood, the Lord can be understood as the one who is manifest here in the form of space, time and everything that is empirically experienced by you. This empirical reality means 'this is a chair', 'this is a microphone' etc for all of us. This entire universe which is empirically real, is a manifestation of the Lord who is Bhagavaan.

 

Lord is to be understood, not believed

 

The lord is not a matter for belief. He is a matter for understanding. This world is not a matter for belief because you perceive it. Therefore Lord is also not something to be believed, it is a challenge to understand him. If the Lord in heaven, not within the range of your perception or inference, then He becomes a matter of belief. In that case you simply accept what you are told without asking questions. But the Lord of the Hindus is not a matter for belief. Hindus do not simply believe in God, they understand God. that is the reason why Hindus even worship space. There are temples in India that worship the five elements.

You don't require a particular altar to invoke the Lord. You can invoke Him anywhere because what is it that is not the Lord? the whole Order is the Lord, all the laws are the Lord. We are objective when we are alive to the reality. We are talking about what is and so there is no question of belief. We can see that gold is different from copper and that is different from lead because each metal has its own atomic weight, its own physical and other properties. But a physicist knows that all of them are nothing but energy, quanta of energy. That is not a belief. If someone says, 'I don't see that', then that person may have to believe, but that is not a belief that one has to live with and die with. What we have here is belief pending discovery. There is something to be understood. we understand the difference and at the same time, understand the non-difference, something more than meets the eye. that is the vision of the Veda that this whole universe is non-separate from the Lord because He is the efficient cause as well as the material cause.

 

Since the Lord is everything, he is all the names, all the forms and therefore we can invoke Him in any name, any form. This is the mature way of looking at the worship of God. We can pray to Him in any language because He is Omniscient and therefore should know all languages. In fact He should respond even before we call Him. This is not tolerance or anything, this is only understanding. They say that Hindus are tolerant of various forms of worship. We are tolerant no doubt, but in this particular case, we are not just tolerant. We have total acceptance as far as worship is concerned, prayer is concerned. That is why very often we find many devatas, deities in a typical room of worship. Every aspect of the Lord is represented there. We look upon the Sun as God, so we have Surya devataa. We look upon air as God, so we have Vayudevataa; we look upon earth as God: so we have Prthividevataa and so on. We worship the efficient cause, the intelligent cause and the material becomes the symbol for that. We worship the omniscient, omnipotent Lord through the symbol of the material. The sun, the moon, air etc become the symbol through which we worship the Lord. We have a variety of devatas (deities) through which we worship one God.

 

The Only God

 

We don't even say, 'one God'. We say 'only God'. When you say there is one God, that means you are different from Him and He is situated somewhere else. If God is different from you, He does not include you, which means His power does not include your power. If He is different from you, then He is different from me and different from all the living beings. That means God's power does not include the power that you have, I have, that other gods and demi-gods have, that the mosquitoes and the bugs have. Then He can only be mighty but not Almighty. the He is like my uncle who is also a very powerful man. But even a might person is subject to limitations. Even the president of the U.S.A, a mighty person, is subject to mosquito bites and attacks from viruses! Similarly, the mighty God will also be subject to such limitations.

So, understand, it is not there is one God. There is only God and so if someone invokes Him as Allah, that is fine; if someone invokes Him as Jesus, that is also fine. We have no problem at all. If someone cannot accept the fact of people invoking God in different names and forms, it is his/her problem. We have no problem because we do not have many gods, we do not even have one God, we have only God.

 

Om Tat Sat

Meditation – Swami Dayananda

Om..... Watching your breathing is an important step in meditation. It is also in keeping with teaching. Anything we do should be in keeping with teaching. To be a sakshi, to be a witness of your breathing will help you. Also watching your mind is to be a saksi to whatever happens in you. This watching your breathing is a great help. It takes certain practice . During the day. Whenever there is time, you must practice this. Just watching your own breathing. More you practise, easier it would be. The watching takes place as the air is inhaled and exhaled at the nostrils. You don't require to watch air inhaled into lungs. All the way you do not watch. You watch only as the air is inhaled at nostrils. As it is exhaled again at the place. The mind has an occupation , just watching, which does not involve thinking. In the process, the body gets more relaxed. If you watch your breathing, you have pulled you away from your physical body, the annamaya. Doer along with the pranamaya is interior to the body. Therefore body is relaxed, more relaxed. OM....... OM........ OM........ OM........ .

Now, You are yourself, OM...... OM......OM...... OM .......

As you hear these chanted words you recognise this fact. The fact is, there is an external world reported to you by the ears. These words are formed by the external world. The ears hear these words without your will. Hearing takes place, Let the hearing take place. You don't interfere it with your will. You don't know what is going to be the next sentence. What type of sound or words you are going to hear. You don't know nor you want to know. At this moment, this is what you hear. Again at this moment you hear these words. Now you hear Om.... Om.... Om...

What do you hear , does not alter you. You remain the same person. Suppose your mind has a process of thinking, there again you don't interfere. You don't judge yourself on the basis of your mind. If you are not judgemental with reference to yourself, you can appreciate what it takes to be kind to yourself and others.

Sri ..... Rama ....... Jayaram ....... Jaya .... Jaya .... Rama ..... OM ........ OM ...... OM .......

Om Santih Santih Santih.

Meditation – Introductory– Swami Brahmavidyananda

Meditation is not a technique but for meditation we may use certain preparatory techniques

I, the meditator have to be available as the meditator,

I, the meditator, am a simple conscious being, one who is aware of, to whom everything is known or becomes known and the one who is self-aware – I the meditator am an awareful conscious being.

To start, I sit in a steady and comfortable posture- one can sit in padmasana, if one is familiar with that – or one can sit in sukhasana – legs corssed in a simple way of sitting – or ardha-padmasana. If I can't sit on the floor, I can sit on a firm chair ( a rocking chair or easy chair will not do ). I sit with my back head and neck in a straight line – I don't sit in a tilted posture. I am relaxed – steady, straight, and in a comfortable sitting posture – and my hands rest on my lap – clasped lightly- fingers touching each other– or one can keep hands on the knees – I sit in a steady, comfortable posture – this is called asanam – just a sitting posture for meditation.

I sit in a clean, quiet place, which has a good environment, and a time like the morning time, in which I am available for meditation. If I cannot sit on the floor, I sit on the chair. If I need some back rest it is possible I can lean the bottom of my back on some support if it is there – while meditation if I need to make small adjustments so that I can be comformtable, I can make – and if I can sit in this comfortable sitting posture for a length of time – say half an hour or 45 minutes – that is very helpful for meditation. This comes by practice – asanam.

Om ….. Om….

Having been seated, having taken a few rounds of deep breathing – juts simple deep breathing – say 10 rounds or 15 rounds…..one can do nadi shuddhi or pranayama if one is familiar with that….

When I take deep breahing – my breathing cycle becomes steady – breathing becomes normal. As my breathing becomes steady … I relax … my body relaxes .. my breathing becomes steady. There is a technique called pranavikshanam – observing mentally ones own normal breathing … this is a useful technique for relaxation … people do this for hours and hours… we do not do this for too much of time … but for a few minutes it helps. Whenever you have time to relax, you may sit and do this prana vikshanam – observing ones own normal breathing … it is a useful technique. This is not meditation – but as a technique useful. Prana vikshanam……

One can take to these techniques whenever one needs, whenever one want to … observing ones own breathing… and deep breathing – these are useful techniques –these help me see my self as being relaxed … I see myself as being relaxed and I see tht I am relaxed… I am quiet… I am relaxed… and I am awake and relaxed

Shri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya raam

I am relaxed... I am awake but relaxed. I, the meditator am role-free .. for the time being… I drop, I suspend all the roles… for the time being I have no roles – neither an man or woman – I suspend all my roles deliberatly for the time being. Roles and with their attendant requirements … all my worries I suspend … I decide to take care of them later… all deliberate decisions too … I keep all external things external…. My ambitions.. my desires…. All of them I suspend for the time being…. It is possble for me to suspend these roles… baahyan sparsaan krtvaa bahi – keeping external things extrenal … I tell myself I will take approprate care, appropriate actions later in an appropriate time …now I suspend them all… even that I am a man, I am a woman, I don't bring in…. I am young, old, I do not bring in all these now…. I suspend…. even though I play a lot of roles… I take on lot of roles….

With them I cannot be the meditator…. I cannot meditate…. As a role… this is important … as a role I cannot meditate effectively and it is possible for me to suspend… this we have been doing so many times each day… when the lady looks at the husband… the wife role… when the lady looks at child… the wife roles gets suspended… the mother role come in… this suspending the role we keep doing day in and day out… it is not something which is not known or not possible. I, the role- free person… relaxed person… the sef-awareful person… the awareful person… I am the meditator…. I meditate on Ishvara…. I meditate on Ishvara…

Shri Raam Jaya Raam … Rama Raama Raama Raama Raama Raama

When we conclude the meditation session – we can chant the Om Shanti 3 times and if one wants to continue for a little while one can contine and others can quietly leave

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti