Satsang Bhavan Lectures, Message 8
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15. Integral Sadhana / 16. Three Essentials of Sadhana / 17. Guru is Indispensible
15. INTEGRAL SADHANA
Both yoga and jnana are necessary for annihilating the mind perfectly. Yoga without jnana cannot give you release or final emancipation. Jnana without yoga also cannot liberate you. Just as a bird flies with the help of two wings, you should soar high and reach the paramdhama, the vast illimitable domain of immortal bliss, with the help of yoga and jnana. We find the mention of sama and dama in Shad Sampat, which is one of the items in Sadhana Chatushtaya in vedanta. Sama is serenity of mind which is achieved through the eradication of all vrittis (thought waves) and dama is control of the senses. Sama and dama really pertain to yoga. So, yoga-cum-jnana is necessary for the attainment of freedom, perfection, independence or kaivalya moksha.
Simplicity, humility, adaptability, tolerance, generosity, veracity, equanimity, steadiness, stairyam, tenacity of purpose, spirit of service and cosmic love constitute divinity. If you develop all virtues, you become God.
This is the secret of yoga; this is the secret of renunciation; this is the secret of wisdom.
You should have a thirst for knowledge-mumukshatwa. Give up all worldly desires. Develop vairagya. Then you become Emperor of emperors. Vairagya does not mean that you should move about in a nude state.
Mental non-attachment to the things of the world is vairagya or renunciation. Do not think that the objects of the world will give you happiness. Deeply ignorant is the man who thinks that he can get happiness in the world. Develop discrimination. Discrimination is your highest bank balance and opulence. No object in the world will attract you if you have got vairagya. Nothing can upset you. Even in adverse conditions you will be happy. That wealth you must have. Try to attain it.
Do Japa. Do kirtan. Do pranayama. Close your eyes, and look within. Introspect regularly. Aspire fervently. Pray whole-heartedly. Meditate seriously.
Have a program of lie. Maintain the spiritual diary. Strive hard to attain the ideal. Even if you fall five hundred times in the spiritual path, again stand up and walk, just as a child does when it learns how to walk. If you are sincere, you will get help from the indweller.
So march on, O adhyatmic hero. Plod on. Look not back. March forward and attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth and enjoy infinite peace and eternal bliss.
16. THE THREE ESSENTIALS OF SADHANA
Many people even after studying classic works on religion and philosophy, do not know what they should do in practice in order to attain the goal of life, viz: God-realisation, and they seek enlightenment on the matter.
The three things essential for God-realisation are (1) constant remembrance of God, (2) cultivation of virtues and (3) spiritualisation of all activities.
(1) Constant remembrance of God. There may be breaks in the beginning, but by repeated practice, gradually you will have constant remembrance. Constant nama smaran—Sri Ram, Sri Ram—alone is possible for the vast majority of people. Awakening of kundalini and raising of brahmakara vritti are very far from them.
(2) Cultivation of virtues. Of all virtues, ahimsa (non-injury), satyam (truthfulness) and brahmacharya (celibacy) are the most important. If one is established in one virtue, all other virtues will cling to him. Watch the vrittis. Introspect. Develop purity in thought, word and deed. In the beginning practise at least physical purity. Then mental purity will come by itself.
(3) Spiritualisation of all activities. Feel you are instrument in the Lord's hands, and all the indriyas (senses) belong to him. Repeat the formula, 'I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy will be done'. It is a beautiful formula for self-surrender. You may forget this formula and egoism may assert itself. But introspect again and again and find out your weakness. Try to be established in the feeling, 'I am an instrument in the hands of Lord'.
Remember the Gita sloka:
yat karodhi yadasnasi yajjuhoshi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurushwa madarpanam. (IX.27)
Whatever you do, eat, offer in sacrifice, give, or practise as austerity, do it as an offering unto the Lord.
Praseeda devesa jagannivasa—'O Lord of gods, resort for the world, have mercy'. It is a formula more potent than or as potent as prachodayat. Pahi mam, palaya mam, prachodayat—these are all tremendous formulae. They are very powerful. So again and again remember them and their significance.
Sri Rama saranam mama; Sri Krishna saranam mama; Hari saranam—these are potent Saranagati mantras.
karpanyadoshopahataswobhavah,
prichchami twam dharmasammooddachetah,
yah sreyah syat nischitam broohi tanme,
sishyastheham sadhi mam twam prapannam. (Bhagavad Gita, II.7)
'My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask thee. Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am thy disciple. Instruct me who has taken refuge in thee'.
This is a Satguru-Saranagati mantra.
sarvadharman parityajya mamekam saranam vraja,
aham twa sarvapapebhyo mokshayishyami ma suchah (Bhagavad Gita, XVIII.66)
'Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins, grieve not'.
These are all Saranagati formulae. In the Eighteenth Chapter there is the sloka:
yasya nahamkrito bhavo buddhiryasya na lipyate,
hatwapi sa iman lokan na hanti na nibadhyate. (Bhagavad Gita, XVIII.17)
'He who has no egoism, whose intelligence is not tainted by good or evil, even if he kills the whole world, he neither kills nor is bound by the action'.
Therefore, remember these slokas. You will have saranagati. You will feel that the Lord is in you, and you are in the Lord.
At the time of going to bed offer whatever you do to God.
kayena vacha manasa indriyairva
buddhyatmana va prakriteswabhava
karomi yatyat sakalam parasmai
narayanayeti samarpayami.
Offer all the actions and their fruits also to God. Then you will not be bound. In this way you should spiritualise all your activities. Feel that the whole world is a manifestation of the Lord and you are serving the Lord in all names and forms, and whatever you do—your actions and the fruits—consecrate to the Lord. Then your heart will be purified and will be ready to receive the divine light and grace.
Therefore, practise the three things—constant remembrance of God, spiritualising your activities and cultivating virtues. Repeat 'Krishna, Krishna' or 'Ram, Ram' or 'Jesus', 'Vasudeva'. 'Vasudeva' means all pervading Lord, sarvavyapak, sarva-saktiman, existence, knowledge, bliss, truth, love, beauty—satyam, sivam, sundaram. Cultivate virtues. Try to love everybody. Remove ghrina (hatred).
These three things are very important. Practise them. This is the easiest method, the quickest and surest method, for attaining God-realisation. Brahma Sutras are meant only for a very few minority of people who possess subtle, sharp intellect.
esha sarveshu bhuteshu gooddatma na prakasate
drisyate twagraya buddhya suksmya suksmadarsibhih. (Katha Upanishad, I.3.12)
This Atman is hidden in all beings, but it is seen only by subtle seers through their sharp and subtle intellect. The intellect should be sharp like a blade. A very sharp, pure, subtle intellect is necessary to understand the Brahma Sutras properly. Therefore, to the vast majority, constant remembrance of the Lord, spiritualisation of all activities and cultivation of virtues—ahimsa, satyam, brahmacharya, these form the easiest sadhana. These also constitute the noble eightfold path of Lord Buddha. They also correspond to the 'Sermon on the Mount' of Lord Jesus. These are the essentials of all religions. So kindly practise these and attain God-realisation. Love all. Be good and do good. May Lord bless you all.
17. GURU IS INDISPENSABLE
Today is an auspicious, wonderful, marvellous, glorious day. We have in our midst param pujya Sri Sankaracharya and our pujya bhagwan, Swami Akhandananda. The swaroop of Bhagawan you will hear now. These suns are shining for dispelling darkness.
A guru is necessary for attaining knowledge of atma. You will find in Gita,
tatviddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya,
upadisyanti te jnanam jnaninah tatwadarsinah. (IV.34)
Serve your guru. Service of the guru quickly purifies your mind. In Svetaswatara Upanishad it is mentioned:
yasya deve paradhaktih, yatha deve tatha gurau,
tasyethe kathithahhyarthah prakasante mahatmanah. (VI.23)
He who has devotion to the Lord, and has as much devotion to the guru as he has to the Lord, to him alone the truths of vedanta are revealed. Acharyavan purusho veda. He who has got guru, to him is revealed the truth of vedanta. Guru dispels darkness, shows the way, removes pitfalls and snares, but you will have to place your feet yourself. Guru cannot meditate for you. He who is hungry has to take food himself. He who is thirsty has to drink water himself. The guru will enlighten you, inspire you. Do not expect a magic pill from him. Do not expect that the guru will sprinkle a drop of water from his kamandalu over you and you will attain nirvikalpa samadhi at once. You should do sadhana, cultivate divine virtues like Amanitwam, adambitwam, ahimsa kshanti, arjavam. All these virtues you will have to develop. Serve the guru. You will attain the goal of life. What is the goal of life? The goal of life is self-realisation. It is guru that will show you the path, remove the pitfalls. Serve him well with bhakti.
Swami Akhandanandaji is a world-famous exponent of Bhagavata. Bhagavata contains the essence of vedanta, yoga marga and bhakti narga. The essence of all these is there. The eleventh skanda will help you to attain God-realisation. Serve the guru. Purify yourself. Remove your arrogance. Remove your impudence. Be humble. Cultivate virtues. Drink the nectar of immortality from the feet of satguru. You are eager to hear the nectarine words from these great souls. They will give you whatever you want. They will give you supreme peace. Hear with rapt attention.
15. Integral Sadhana / 16. Three Essentials of Sadhana / 17. Guru is Indispensible
15. INTEGRAL SADHANA
Both yoga and jnana are necessary for annihilating the mind perfectly. Yoga without jnana cannot give you release or final emancipation. Jnana without yoga also cannot liberate you. Just as a bird flies with the help of two wings, you should soar high and reach the paramdhama, the vast illimitable domain of immortal bliss, with the help of yoga and jnana. We find the mention of sama and dama in Shad Sampat, which is one of the items in Sadhana Chatushtaya in vedanta. Sama is serenity of mind which is achieved through the eradication of all vrittis (thought waves) and dama is control of the senses. Sama and dama really pertain to yoga. So, yoga-cum-jnana is necessary for the attainment of freedom, perfection, independence or kaivalya moksha.
Simplicity, humility, adaptability, tolerance, generosity, veracity, equanimity, steadiness, stairyam, tenacity of purpose, spirit of service and cosmic love constitute divinity. If you develop all virtues, you become God.
This is the secret of yoga; this is the secret of renunciation; this is the secret of wisdom.
You should have a thirst for knowledge-mumukshatwa. Give up all worldly desires. Develop vairagya. Then you become Emperor of emperors. Vairagya does not mean that you should move about in a nude state.
Mental non-attachment to the things of the world is vairagya or renunciation. Do not think that the objects of the world will give you happiness. Deeply ignorant is the man who thinks that he can get happiness in the world. Develop discrimination. Discrimination is your highest bank balance and opulence. No object in the world will attract you if you have got vairagya. Nothing can upset you. Even in adverse conditions you will be happy. That wealth you must have. Try to attain it.
Do Japa. Do kirtan. Do pranayama. Close your eyes, and look within. Introspect regularly. Aspire fervently. Pray whole-heartedly. Meditate seriously.
Have a program of lie. Maintain the spiritual diary. Strive hard to attain the ideal. Even if you fall five hundred times in the spiritual path, again stand up and walk, just as a child does when it learns how to walk. If you are sincere, you will get help from the indweller.
So march on, O adhyatmic hero. Plod on. Look not back. March forward and attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth and enjoy infinite peace and eternal bliss.
16. THE THREE ESSENTIALS OF SADHANA
Many people even after studying classic works on religion and philosophy, do not know what they should do in practice in order to attain the goal of life, viz: God-realisation, and they seek enlightenment on the matter.
The three things essential for God-realisation are (1) constant remembrance of God, (2) cultivation of virtues and (3) spiritualisation of all activities.
(1) Constant remembrance of God. There may be breaks in the beginning, but by repeated practice, gradually you will have constant remembrance. Constant nama smaran—Sri Ram, Sri Ram—alone is possible for the vast majority of people. Awakening of kundalini and raising of brahmakara vritti are very far from them.
(2) Cultivation of virtues. Of all virtues, ahimsa (non-injury), satyam (truthfulness) and brahmacharya (celibacy) are the most important. If one is established in one virtue, all other virtues will cling to him. Watch the vrittis. Introspect. Develop purity in thought, word and deed. In the beginning practise at least physical purity. Then mental purity will come by itself.
(3) Spiritualisation of all activities. Feel you are instrument in the Lord's hands, and all the indriyas (senses) belong to him. Repeat the formula, 'I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy will be done'. It is a beautiful formula for self-surrender. You may forget this formula and egoism may assert itself. But introspect again and again and find out your weakness. Try to be established in the feeling, 'I am an instrument in the hands of Lord'.
Remember the Gita sloka:
yat karodhi yadasnasi yajjuhoshi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurushwa madarpanam. (IX.27)
Whatever you do, eat, offer in sacrifice, give, or practise as austerity, do it as an offering unto the Lord.
Praseeda devesa jagannivasa—'O Lord of gods, resort for the world, have mercy'. It is a formula more potent than or as potent as prachodayat. Pahi mam, palaya mam, prachodayat—these are all tremendous formulae. They are very powerful. So again and again remember them and their significance.
Sri Rama saranam mama; Sri Krishna saranam mama; Hari saranam—these are potent Saranagati mantras.
karpanyadoshopahataswobhavah,
prichchami twam dharmasammooddachetah,
yah sreyah syat nischitam broohi tanme,
sishyastheham sadhi mam twam prapannam. (Bhagavad Gita, II.7)
'My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask thee. Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am thy disciple. Instruct me who has taken refuge in thee'.
This is a Satguru-Saranagati mantra.
sarvadharman parityajya mamekam saranam vraja,
aham twa sarvapapebhyo mokshayishyami ma suchah (Bhagavad Gita, XVIII.66)
'Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins, grieve not'.
These are all Saranagati formulae. In the Eighteenth Chapter there is the sloka:
yasya nahamkrito bhavo buddhiryasya na lipyate,
hatwapi sa iman lokan na hanti na nibadhyate. (Bhagavad Gita, XVIII.17)
'He who has no egoism, whose intelligence is not tainted by good or evil, even if he kills the whole world, he neither kills nor is bound by the action'.
Therefore, remember these slokas. You will have saranagati. You will feel that the Lord is in you, and you are in the Lord.
At the time of going to bed offer whatever you do to God.
kayena vacha manasa indriyairva
buddhyatmana va prakriteswabhava
karomi yatyat sakalam parasmai
narayanayeti samarpayami.
Offer all the actions and their fruits also to God. Then you will not be bound. In this way you should spiritualise all your activities. Feel that the whole world is a manifestation of the Lord and you are serving the Lord in all names and forms, and whatever you do—your actions and the fruits—consecrate to the Lord. Then your heart will be purified and will be ready to receive the divine light and grace.
Therefore, practise the three things—constant remembrance of God, spiritualising your activities and cultivating virtues. Repeat 'Krishna, Krishna' or 'Ram, Ram' or 'Jesus', 'Vasudeva'. 'Vasudeva' means all pervading Lord, sarvavyapak, sarva-saktiman, existence, knowledge, bliss, truth, love, beauty—satyam, sivam, sundaram. Cultivate virtues. Try to love everybody. Remove ghrina (hatred).
These three things are very important. Practise them. This is the easiest method, the quickest and surest method, for attaining God-realisation. Brahma Sutras are meant only for a very few minority of people who possess subtle, sharp intellect.
esha sarveshu bhuteshu gooddatma na prakasate
drisyate twagraya buddhya suksmya suksmadarsibhih. (Katha Upanishad, I.3.12)
This Atman is hidden in all beings, but it is seen only by subtle seers through their sharp and subtle intellect. The intellect should be sharp like a blade. A very sharp, pure, subtle intellect is necessary to understand the Brahma Sutras properly. Therefore, to the vast majority, constant remembrance of the Lord, spiritualisation of all activities and cultivation of virtues—ahimsa, satyam, brahmacharya, these form the easiest sadhana. These also constitute the noble eightfold path of Lord Buddha. They also correspond to the 'Sermon on the Mount' of Lord Jesus. These are the essentials of all religions. So kindly practise these and attain God-realisation. Love all. Be good and do good. May Lord bless you all.
17. GURU IS INDISPENSABLE
Today is an auspicious, wonderful, marvellous, glorious day. We have in our midst param pujya Sri Sankaracharya and our pujya bhagwan, Swami Akhandananda. The swaroop of Bhagawan you will hear now. These suns are shining for dispelling darkness.
A guru is necessary for attaining knowledge of atma. You will find in Gita,
tatviddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya,
upadisyanti te jnanam jnaninah tatwadarsinah. (IV.34)
Serve your guru. Service of the guru quickly purifies your mind. In Svetaswatara Upanishad it is mentioned:
yasya deve paradhaktih, yatha deve tatha gurau,
tasyethe kathithahhyarthah prakasante mahatmanah. (VI.23)
He who has devotion to the Lord, and has as much devotion to the guru as he has to the Lord, to him alone the truths of vedanta are revealed. Acharyavan purusho veda. He who has got guru, to him is revealed the truth of vedanta. Guru dispels darkness, shows the way, removes pitfalls and snares, but you will have to place your feet yourself. Guru cannot meditate for you. He who is hungry has to take food himself. He who is thirsty has to drink water himself. The guru will enlighten you, inspire you. Do not expect a magic pill from him. Do not expect that the guru will sprinkle a drop of water from his kamandalu over you and you will attain nirvikalpa samadhi at once. You should do sadhana, cultivate divine virtues like Amanitwam, adambitwam, ahimsa kshanti, arjavam. All these virtues you will have to develop. Serve the guru. You will attain the goal of life. What is the goal of life? The goal of life is self-realisation. It is guru that will show you the path, remove the pitfalls. Serve him well with bhakti.
Swami Akhandanandaji is a world-famous exponent of Bhagavata. Bhagavata contains the essence of vedanta, yoga marga and bhakti narga. The essence of all these is there. The eleventh skanda will help you to attain God-realisation. Serve the guru. Purify yourself. Remove your arrogance. Remove your impudence. Be humble. Cultivate virtues. Drink the nectar of immortality from the feet of satguru. You are eager to hear the nectarine words from these great souls. They will give you whatever you want. They will give you supreme peace. Hear with rapt attention.
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