Satsang Bhavan Lectures of Swami Sivananda
CHAPTER 1: THE SUPREME TRUTH
1. The Nature of Brahman / 2. Nature of God or Brahman / 3. Existentialism
1. NATURE OF BRAHMAN
God is saupadhika, with upadhi. His upadhi is maya. This is his karana sareera. 'Upadhi' is that which limits. It is a limiting adjunct. The upadhi of jiva is the body and mind. The upadhi of pot-ether is pot. When the pot is broken, the pot-ether becomes one with the universal ether.
Parabrahman is nirupadhika. No upadhi is there. He projects himself as Ishwara for pious meditation of devotees.
Brahman is nitya, nirupadhika, niratisayananda. There is no bliss as Brahman. So it is called niratisayananda.
There are various kinds of happiness in this world, but the highest happiness, niratisayananda, belongs to Parabrahman. It is its nature.
The body of God is aprakritika. It is not made of prakriti. It is chinmaya. Knowledge itself is his body. Bliss itself is his body. Peace itself is his body.
God does not work with any instruments. A potter needs instruments—a potter's wheel—and clay. But in the case of God, he simply wills, the world comes into being. His will is omnipotent.
Brahman is akarta, abhokta, asanga, sakshi. He is not affected by the good and evil of the jivas. Though he is the indweller, the indwelling presence in all beings, he is not affected. So he is asakta, abhokta, asanga, sakshi.
There are two birds in the tree of the body. One eats the fruits and is bound. One fruit, almond, is bitter. One almond is sweet. But Ishwar or the Lord does not eat the fruits, so He is ever blissful, happy, not bound by karmas. But jiva is bound by karmas, because he expects fruits.
God is paripoorna, all full. The world is apoorna, not full. So there is misery, there is sorrow, there is pain, there is death. In a paripoorna being there is neither birth, nor death, nor sorrow, nor pain. That is the reason why we have to strive for attaining the paripoorna being. There only all diseases, pain and sorrow melt. There is perpetual happiness, eternal bliss, immortal joy.
Brahman is akasavat sarvagata nitya. In this world the thing that can be compared to Brahman is akasa, not because akasa is conscious, existence, knowledge, but because akasa is subtle, sukshma. So it is compared to Brahman, Brahman is ati-sukshma, most subtle. Water is subtler than earth. Fire is subtler than water. Air is subtler than fire. Akasa is subtler than air. More subtle is prana. Still more subtle is mind. And still subtler is Parabrahman.
Anoraniyan mahato maheevan—smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest is Brahman.
Bahirantascha bhutanam acharam charameva cha, sukshmatvat tadavijneyam, doorastham cha antike cha tat.
He is within and without.
He is chara and achara. Because of his highest subtlety, we are not able to realise him. He is very near. He is the indweller. He is far also. He is far for those who have no discrimination, no dispassion, who are not endowed with the four means, but it is near to those who are endowed with the divine qualities, abhayam, sattvasamsuddhih. straight-forwardness, humility, cosmic love, devotion to guru. He is desa-kala-vivarjita, niralamba, gaganasadrisha. He is compared to ether. There is no support for ether. Even so he rests on his own glory. He is all-pervading like ether. He is atisukshma. He is eternal, homogeneous, without beginning, without end, infinite, eternal. That is the reason why you have to attain the Infinite Being wherein only you will find eternal happiness.
An infinite vastu, can be an all-pervading substance, all permeating, interpenetrating like warp and woof.
So let us attain this most subtle vastu, nearer to us, than the Jugular vein, nearer than the breath, all pervading innermost self. He is hidden by the veil of ignorance, which assumes various forms, of lust, greed, hatred. So let us remove this veil of ignorance through sravan, manan, nidhidhyasan (enquiry, reflection, meditation) and rest on our own satchidananda swaroopa. That is the goal. That is the summum bonum.
2. NATURE OF GOD OR BRAHMAN
God is swayam bhu, self-existent. He does not depend upon others for His existence. He is swayam-prakas or swayam-jyoti, self-luminous. He does not want any light to revel him. He reveals himself by his own light. God is swata-siddha, self-proved. He does not want any proof, because he is the basis for the act or process of proving. God is paripoorna, self-contained. He contains everything in himself. The entire universe is in him. God is swasamvedya.
He knows by himself.
God is so subtle that we cannot see him with our physical eyes. That does not mean that he is not existent. In the daylight-light you cannot see the stars. That does not mean the stars do not exist. At night you do not see the sun. That does not mean the sun does not exist, for in the early morning it rises again.
When there is ash, you cannot see the fire. That does not mean the fire does not exist. Remove the ash, the fire again blazes forth. Remove the veil of ignorance, remove the egoism, Brahman shines forth, reveals Itself.
You do not see the butter in milk. That does not mean that there is no butter in milk. Covert it into curd, churn, you get the butter. Even so, through the churning of meditation, you can behold the self.
You cannot see prana. That does not mean that prana does not exist.
Prana only functions, all the bodily functions are made possible only by the vibrations of prana. But you do not see prana. You cannot see the mind. That does not mean that the mind does not exist. It is through mind that you think, decide, feel, will and remember. You cannot see vapour. But vapour exists.
Beat a man and ask him, "Show me the pain." He cannot show you his pain. But he experiences the pain. Even so, God cannot be shown, but has to be experienced by every one.
3. EXISTENTIALISM
Dr. Boss of Zurich University, Switzerland, who is in India as visiting psychiatrist, and Dr. Norell, psychiatrist at the Psychiatric Centre, Lucknow, arrived at the ashram yesterday on a short visit. At tonight's satsang Dr. Boss spoke on psycho-therapy and also about his belief in existentialism. Dr. Norell also spoke about psycho-therapy and the development of the Psychiatric Centre at Lucknow. Soon after Dr. Boss concluded his speech, Swamiji said:
We are very thankful to our great doctor for his illuminating discourses on psycho-therapy and psycho-analysis. We should drive off the neurosis of dullness, tamo guna, by developing rajas. First we should develop rajas and then satwa. That is one lesson we have learned. The second lesson is to give up these worldly drives and take a drive direct to the heart of Parabrahman. Take a direct drive to Parabrahman, to the ultimate reality, wherein all drives stop, all names and forms vanish, and then you rest in your satchidananda swaroopa, existence-knowledge-bliss. That is anamaya, diseaseless. That is his second teaching. The third teaching is to find out what is the significance of 'is'. The chair is, the light is, the harmonium is. The 'is' has a significance. It is existence. Vedanta puts it as: kevala asti. So existentialism agrees with vedanta. Everything has existence. You burn a timber. Then the ash exists. Your real nature is existence. Brahman is existence-consciousness. A stone exists, but there is no consciousness. But the absolute reality not only exists, but there is consciousness, and where there are existence and consciousness, there is eternal bliss. Vedanta calls it as satchidananda. You are not the body and mind, but existence, knowledge and bliss absolute.
At the conclusion of Dr. Norell's speech, Swamiji said, "The world is in need of more psychiatric centres and more doctors like Boss and Norell. You come across in Yoga Vasishta: adhi-vyadhi. All diseases take their origin in the mind. There is no disease that takes its origin from the body. Every disease first originates in the mind, and then it is transferred to the body, because body is the mould prepared by the mind. Body is only an extension of the mind and senses are also extensions of the mind. If the adhi is treated, the vyadhi will automatically be treated. If the mind is in a perfect condition, you will have absolutely good health. So thanks to psychiatric doctors who are doing good to the world. Nowadays every hospital has got a psychiatric department. They have found out that drugs will not do good to the mind, and therefore they are now curing diseases with psycho-therapy.
We are thankful to Dr. Boss and Dr. Norell. May they live long. May Lord bless them with health, long life, peace, bliss and prosperity."
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CHAPTER 1: THE SUPREME TRUTH
1. The Nature of Brahman / 2. Nature of God or Brahman / 3. Existentialism
1. NATURE OF BRAHMAN
God is saupadhika, with upadhi. His upadhi is maya. This is his karana sareera. 'Upadhi' is that which limits. It is a limiting adjunct. The upadhi of jiva is the body and mind. The upadhi of pot-ether is pot. When the pot is broken, the pot-ether becomes one with the universal ether.
Parabrahman is nirupadhika. No upadhi is there. He projects himself as Ishwara for pious meditation of devotees.
Brahman is nitya, nirupadhika, niratisayananda. There is no bliss as Brahman. So it is called niratisayananda.
There are various kinds of happiness in this world, but the highest happiness, niratisayananda, belongs to Parabrahman. It is its nature.
The body of God is aprakritika. It is not made of prakriti. It is chinmaya. Knowledge itself is his body. Bliss itself is his body. Peace itself is his body.
God does not work with any instruments. A potter needs instruments—a potter's wheel—and clay. But in the case of God, he simply wills, the world comes into being. His will is omnipotent.
Brahman is akarta, abhokta, asanga, sakshi. He is not affected by the good and evil of the jivas. Though he is the indweller, the indwelling presence in all beings, he is not affected. So he is asakta, abhokta, asanga, sakshi.
There are two birds in the tree of the body. One eats the fruits and is bound. One fruit, almond, is bitter. One almond is sweet. But Ishwar or the Lord does not eat the fruits, so He is ever blissful, happy, not bound by karmas. But jiva is bound by karmas, because he expects fruits.
God is paripoorna, all full. The world is apoorna, not full. So there is misery, there is sorrow, there is pain, there is death. In a paripoorna being there is neither birth, nor death, nor sorrow, nor pain. That is the reason why we have to strive for attaining the paripoorna being. There only all diseases, pain and sorrow melt. There is perpetual happiness, eternal bliss, immortal joy.
Brahman is akasavat sarvagata nitya. In this world the thing that can be compared to Brahman is akasa, not because akasa is conscious, existence, knowledge, but because akasa is subtle, sukshma. So it is compared to Brahman, Brahman is ati-sukshma, most subtle. Water is subtler than earth. Fire is subtler than water. Air is subtler than fire. Akasa is subtler than air. More subtle is prana. Still more subtle is mind. And still subtler is Parabrahman.
Anoraniyan mahato maheevan—smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest is Brahman.
Bahirantascha bhutanam acharam charameva cha, sukshmatvat tadavijneyam, doorastham cha antike cha tat.
He is within and without.
He is chara and achara. Because of his highest subtlety, we are not able to realise him. He is very near. He is the indweller. He is far also. He is far for those who have no discrimination, no dispassion, who are not endowed with the four means, but it is near to those who are endowed with the divine qualities, abhayam, sattvasamsuddhih. straight-forwardness, humility, cosmic love, devotion to guru. He is desa-kala-vivarjita, niralamba, gaganasadrisha. He is compared to ether. There is no support for ether. Even so he rests on his own glory. He is all-pervading like ether. He is atisukshma. He is eternal, homogeneous, without beginning, without end, infinite, eternal. That is the reason why you have to attain the Infinite Being wherein only you will find eternal happiness.
An infinite vastu, can be an all-pervading substance, all permeating, interpenetrating like warp and woof.
So let us attain this most subtle vastu, nearer to us, than the Jugular vein, nearer than the breath, all pervading innermost self. He is hidden by the veil of ignorance, which assumes various forms, of lust, greed, hatred. So let us remove this veil of ignorance through sravan, manan, nidhidhyasan (enquiry, reflection, meditation) and rest on our own satchidananda swaroopa. That is the goal. That is the summum bonum.
2. NATURE OF GOD OR BRAHMAN
God is swayam bhu, self-existent. He does not depend upon others for His existence. He is swayam-prakas or swayam-jyoti, self-luminous. He does not want any light to revel him. He reveals himself by his own light. God is swata-siddha, self-proved. He does not want any proof, because he is the basis for the act or process of proving. God is paripoorna, self-contained. He contains everything in himself. The entire universe is in him. God is swasamvedya.
He knows by himself.
God is so subtle that we cannot see him with our physical eyes. That does not mean that he is not existent. In the daylight-light you cannot see the stars. That does not mean the stars do not exist. At night you do not see the sun. That does not mean the sun does not exist, for in the early morning it rises again.
When there is ash, you cannot see the fire. That does not mean the fire does not exist. Remove the ash, the fire again blazes forth. Remove the veil of ignorance, remove the egoism, Brahman shines forth, reveals Itself.
You do not see the butter in milk. That does not mean that there is no butter in milk. Covert it into curd, churn, you get the butter. Even so, through the churning of meditation, you can behold the self.
You cannot see prana. That does not mean that prana does not exist.
Prana only functions, all the bodily functions are made possible only by the vibrations of prana. But you do not see prana. You cannot see the mind. That does not mean that the mind does not exist. It is through mind that you think, decide, feel, will and remember. You cannot see vapour. But vapour exists.
Beat a man and ask him, "Show me the pain." He cannot show you his pain. But he experiences the pain. Even so, God cannot be shown, but has to be experienced by every one.
3. EXISTENTIALISM
Dr. Boss of Zurich University, Switzerland, who is in India as visiting psychiatrist, and Dr. Norell, psychiatrist at the Psychiatric Centre, Lucknow, arrived at the ashram yesterday on a short visit. At tonight's satsang Dr. Boss spoke on psycho-therapy and also about his belief in existentialism. Dr. Norell also spoke about psycho-therapy and the development of the Psychiatric Centre at Lucknow. Soon after Dr. Boss concluded his speech, Swamiji said:
We are very thankful to our great doctor for his illuminating discourses on psycho-therapy and psycho-analysis. We should drive off the neurosis of dullness, tamo guna, by developing rajas. First we should develop rajas and then satwa. That is one lesson we have learned. The second lesson is to give up these worldly drives and take a drive direct to the heart of Parabrahman. Take a direct drive to Parabrahman, to the ultimate reality, wherein all drives stop, all names and forms vanish, and then you rest in your satchidananda swaroopa, existence-knowledge-bliss. That is anamaya, diseaseless. That is his second teaching. The third teaching is to find out what is the significance of 'is'. The chair is, the light is, the harmonium is. The 'is' has a significance. It is existence. Vedanta puts it as: kevala asti. So existentialism agrees with vedanta. Everything has existence. You burn a timber. Then the ash exists. Your real nature is existence. Brahman is existence-consciousness. A stone exists, but there is no consciousness. But the absolute reality not only exists, but there is consciousness, and where there are existence and consciousness, there is eternal bliss. Vedanta calls it as satchidananda. You are not the body and mind, but existence, knowledge and bliss absolute.
At the conclusion of Dr. Norell's speech, Swamiji said, "The world is in need of more psychiatric centres and more doctors like Boss and Norell. You come across in Yoga Vasishta: adhi-vyadhi. All diseases take their origin in the mind. There is no disease that takes its origin from the body. Every disease first originates in the mind, and then it is transferred to the body, because body is the mould prepared by the mind. Body is only an extension of the mind and senses are also extensions of the mind. If the adhi is treated, the vyadhi will automatically be treated. If the mind is in a perfect condition, you will have absolutely good health. So thanks to psychiatric doctors who are doing good to the world. Nowadays every hospital has got a psychiatric department. They have found out that drugs will not do good to the mind, and therefore they are now curing diseases with psycho-therapy.
We are thankful to Dr. Boss and Dr. Norell. May they live long. May Lord bless them with health, long life, peace, bliss and prosperity."
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