Raja Yoga, Message 2
Who is a Yogi?
Yoga students are classified into three degrees or classes, the first (yogarudha), the second (yunjana) and the third (arurukshu). Yogarudha is one who has climbed the highest summit of the hill of yoga, who has finished all the preliminary practices, i.e. yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyahara, in his previous births. He at once takes to meditation in this birth. He is established in the highest asamprajnata samadhi. He belongs to the first class. Sadasiva Brahman of Nerur (South India) and Jnana Dev of Alandi near Poona belonged to this class of yogins. Yunjana is one who has become deeply engaged in the practice of yoga. He belongs to the second class. Arurukshu is one who is attempting to climb the steps of yoga. He belongs to the third class.
To the three types of aspirants raja yoga prescribes three kinds of sadhana. To the first-class aspirant raja yoga prescribes practice and dispassion. He practises meditation on the Self; he practises chitta-vritti-nirodhah, and soon enters into samadhi.
To the middling aspirant raja yoga prescribes austerity (tapas), study (svadhyaya) and surrender to God (Ishvarapranidhana). Tapas is of various kinds: standing in the ice-cold water throughout the night in winter; standing on the burning sands throughout the day in summer — these and many other practices form austerity. Svadhyaya is study of spiritual literature and also japa of your mantra. Ishvarapranidhana is self-surrender to the Lord and doing all actions as an offering to God. These three form the sadhanas of the middle type of aspirant who enters into deep meditation very soon and attains liberation.
To the lowest kind of aspirant raja yoga prescribes the eight-fold practice of ethics, moral disciplines, asana, pranayama, sense-control, concentration, meditation and samadhi.
Do not imagine that you are a first-class aspirant and that you have only to sit in meditation and enter into samadhi. You will have a terrible downfall; even after years of practice you will find you have not progressed an inch forward because there are, deep within you, lurking desires and cravings, evil vrittis which are far beyond your reach. Be humble, make searching analysis of your heart and mind. Even if you are really a first-class aspirant, think you are an aspirant of the lowest class and practise the eight-fold practice prescribed by raja yoga. The more time you spend in the first two steps of yama and niyama the less will be needed to attain perfection in meditation. It is the preparation that takes very long. But do not wait for perfection in yama and niyama before taking up the higher practices of asana, pranayama and meditation. Try to get established in yama and niyama, and at the same time practise asana, pranayama and meditation as much as you can. The two must go hand in hand. Then success will be rapid. You will soon enter into nirvikalpa samadhi and attain liberation. What that supreme state is no one has expressed, and no words can describe.
Karma, Bhakti and Jnana in Raja Yoga
All the yogas are interblended, just as there is a blend in tea-leaves. There is no such thing as a separate karma yoga in Madras, bhakti yoga in Almora and raja yoga in Bombay. In raja yoga itself you get austerity, self study and surrender to God. Austerity belongs to karma yoga, self-study to jnana yoga and surrender to God to bhakti yoga. In vedanta you get four kinds of spiritual effort which are nothing but ethics, moral disciplines and sense control of raja yoga. Sama (contentment) and dama (sense control) of vedanta are found in raja yoga also. The raja yogi's concentration (dharana) is called samadhana by the vedantin.
Man is a triune being. He has a hand, a heart and a head. Therefore, he must at one and the same time practise karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga; then only will there be integral development. Otherwise there will be lop-sided development. The yoga of synthesis is therefore very necessary. You must be able to work in the dynamic field of karma yoga; you must be able to sing the Lord's names and glories; you must be able to meditate deeply; and at the same time you must strive to realise the vedantic truths. Some vedantins feel that karma yoga and bhakti yoga are inferior. This is a sad mistake. Service is as important as vedanta. When you understand that there is only one Self in all beings, can you remain without serving all? You will understand that the whole world is your body.
Sankara, Jesus and Buddha were all 'integral' yogis. They are our ideals. Sankara the great advaita vedantin was a bhakta; he sang several hymns. He was a yogi, too; he was able to separate himself from his body. He was a dynamic karma yogi; within the short span of 32 years that he lived here he established four maths in different parts of India, when there was no aeroplane or motor-car. He was a great jnani at the same time. He practised the yoga of synthesis.
In yoga there are two paths through which to realise the Self — the ant path and the bird path. Just as the ant slowly marches, so also the aspirant slowly marches in the spiritual path. He practises karma yoga to purify his heart and then takes up worship to steady his mind. Finally, he treads the path of jnana yoga and eventually reaches the goal of life. This is the ant path. Just as the bird flies at once, so also the aspirant of the first-class type at once practises jnana yoga and attains knowledge of the Self. This is the bird path. The student of yoga first concentrates on muladhara chakra, then on svadhisthana, then on manipura and finally on ajna chakra. He moves step by step. This is the ant path. Another student at once concentrates on ajna chakra or sahasrara. This is the bird path.
A student of bhakti yoga should possess great power of imagination and abundant pure emotion. A student of jnana yoga should be endowed with the power of reflection, ratiocination and enquiry, and should possess abundant serenity, calmness and tranquillity.
Jnana (wisdom) attained through books without yoga (direct intuitive perception) is useless. Yoga (mere knowledge of asanas, mudras and cleansing techniques) without jnana (wisdom gained from personal spiritual experience) is not perfect. Jnana and yoga are the two wings of the hamsa bird (Brahman). Jnana arises through yoga (union with Brahman). Jnana is the fruit of bhakti.
According to peculiarities of spiritual temperaments, some prefer the path of jnana yoga with its threefold attributes of hearing, reflection and meditation; others prefer the path of bhakti yoga with its three steps of singing Lord's name (kirtan), adoration (bhajan) and utter submission (saranagati); while still others prefer the path of raja yoga with its three stages of concentration, meditation and samadhi.
There is a gold ring set with a precious diamond which is very small and fine. Gold is not so valuable as the diamond though it constitutes the body of the ring. The diamond of the ring is like the crest-jewel of the crown. It occupies a small space in the body of the ring, but it is very precious. Even so, the scriptures speak of karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga and jnana yoga — which are like the gold in the ring — but the actual spiritual experience or Self-realisation is like the subtle precious diamond fixed on the gold ring.
You should have knowledge of God. Then only you can love Him. You should approach saints and mahatmas and hear stories of God. Saints declare that there is an all-merciful, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. You should study Bhagavatam, Ramayana and other religious books. Through hearing of scriptures and satsang come admiration, attraction, attachment and supreme love for the Lord. You cannot know Him without loving Him. There is love when you perform actions. You serve your brother, father, mother, teacher and friend with love. Without concentration (yoga) you cannot turn out good work. Without concentration you cannot love God. Without concentration you cannot know God. Therefore karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga are interblended. You cannot separate them. All these paths lead to the same goal.
This world is the play of the two small lenses of the eyes. When you close your eyes it dwindles into airy nothing. It is like the water in the mirage. Why do you bother much, then, in worldly affairs? Why do you entangle, then, in vain selfish activities?
Instead of weeping, do ploughing. There will be abundant rains on one day and you will have a rich harvest. Even so, be up and doing in yoga sadhana (practices) and you will attain supreme peace and eternal bliss one day.
SADHANA
The 'Sermon on the Mount' forms the kernel of the teachings of Lord Jesus. Live in the spirit of the teachings. The whole spiritual sadhana and the gist of the Vedas is there. Put it into practice in daily life. Every individual should cultivate that manner of life which will best lead him towards the attainment of his aspiration, viz., Self-realisation. Start in right earnest now, do not delay even a second. If you have youth, energy, dispassion and a pure heart you will doubtless succeed in your attempt.
It is not true that only one attained moksha or liberation and none else can. History bears evidence of many a Sankara having come into this world. If the past could produce Sankaras, why not the future also? What one has achieved can be achieved by others also. This is the immutable law of nature.
Renunciation of objects gives pain at the outset. If you struggle hard to tread the path, if you once make a strong determination and firm resolve it becomes very easy. You get interest and new joy. Your heart expands. You will have a broad outlook on life, a new wide vision. You will feel the help from the invisible hands of the indweller of your heart. Your doubts are cleared by themselves by getting answers from within. You can hear the shrill, sweet voice of God. There is indescribable thrill of divine ecstasy from within. There is deep, abiding, everlasting, undiminishing, undecaying, spiritual bliss. This gives new strength. The foot-hold on the path becomes firmer and firmer. Perfected masters and yogis lend a helping hand to the struggling aspirants. The aspirants actually feel this. The feeling of loneliness and of being neglected and forsaken vanishes.
A man who has not seen a certain famous swami hears all about the personality and the attributes of that swami from a man who actually has seen him and who knows him full well. He then tries to visualise a mental picture of him. Even so the aspirant should hear all about the invisible, hidden Brahman from the sages who have attained Self-realisation, and then meditate on the Atman or the Self.
Some experience glimpses of the transcendental wonders of Atman. Some are on the border-land of the vast domain of Atman. Some like Dattatreya, Jada Bharat, Nam Dev and Sadasiva Brahman have plunged deep in the ocean of bliss. The more the thinning of desires, egoism and false identification with the body, the greater the bliss of the Self. The more the practice, the more the experience of joy of the Soul.
The arduous practice of yoga demands an abundance of energy and nerve-power on the part of the yoga student. If one conserves the seminal energy he can have an abundance of energy and nerve-power.
The physical body is the holy shrine of God. It is the temple of the Lord. Keep it strong and healthy. Then only will you meet Him. Do not be carried away by false understanding. Take care of the body but have no attachment for it. Be prepared to give it up in a noble cause. This body is an instrument for attaining Self-realisation. You cannot meditate if you have a weak sickly body.
Do you want a spiritual pill or a talisman to get Self-realisation? Do you want spiritual powers to drop from heaven? Give up all these foolish ideas. You will have to do all the practice yourself. Don't weep like a widow, but stand up like a lion and do solid practice. Do not depend upon others. I will give you precious spiritual jewels. Wear them round your neck. Remember them. Put them in practice. Don't prattle like a child.
I believe in solid spiritual practice. I believe in thorough overhauling of worldly nature — worldliness of various sorts. We should become absolutely fearless. That is the sign of life in Atman. No more words, no more talk, no more argument, heated debates or discussions, no more study, no more wandering. Live in one place. Live in OM, live in truth. There is peace, silence and seclusion. Enter the silence and enjoy the blissful state of samadhi.
You should have regular and systematic meditation, japa, study of Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Viveka Chudamani. Do not think: "I will study when I am alone without work in Uttarkashi (Himalayas)." That is wrong. That is foolishness. You must have the daily habit of meditation and study along with selfless service. That 'tomorrow' will never come. Make hay while the sun shines. Winnow the corn when the wind blows. It will be too late to gather honey in the winter. Apply yourself diligently now. Live unattached in the world. Seclusion, silence and silent meditation are necessary for spiritual growth. Prepare yourself gradually.
Shut yourself in a room for a month. Give up reading of newspapers. Reading of newspapers revives the impressions of the universe, agitates the mind, makes you emotional and sentimental and augments the restlessness of the mind. It makes you forget God.
Have two rooms, one for study and meditation and the other for bath and food. Never come out of the rooms. Spend the time in study and meditation. Do not write any letters. Cut off all connections. Now see whether the world exists or not. At least it will not exert such a deep impression as it did before. If you continue your meditation, and rest in the Self, this world will entirely disappear. It will be like a dream for you. It will not allure you.
Shake the bonds of karma through discrimination, dispassion and non-attachment. Know the secret of true bliss through concentration and meditation. Root out passion, embrace peace, enjoy the glory of self-bliss. Delight in the Self within.
Serve the-sick, console the distressed. Live in God. Preach the gospel of love. Lead a life of self-sacrifice and service. Be pious and pure. This will lead you to the attainment of God-consciousness.
Keep company with evolved souls who tread the path of Truth. Always mark carefully what is going on in the inner factory. Give up all sorts of mean actions. Become a noble, magnanimous soul. Nobility is God. Magnanimity is Truth. If people mock at you, keep quiet. Never retort. Excuse them. Give a vedantic smile. Stand adamantine as yonder rock.
Even if the whole world opposes you, fear not. Never move a fraction of an inch from your firm resolve and determination. Stand up and proclaim the Truth. Even if the whole world leaves you, fear not. The Inner Ruler stands by your side in your heart. He is ever ready to help you. Open your heart to Him like a child. Speak to Him.
He is the bestower of everything, of all bounties.
Purify yourself first. Then you can really purify the world. Reform your self first. Then you can really reform the world. You have got all the materials within you for transmuting yourself into a sage. A little application and rigorous meditation will ignite the spiritual dynamo within. Exert. Struggle. Plod. Ignite. Realise.
Four Letters from Lord Yama (THE LORD OF DEATH)
Beware of being deluded by the delights of the world. Wake up now. Lord Yama, in his mercy and compassion, sends four letters. Do you know what they are? The first letter is the appearance of grey hairs. Lord Yama warns: "Oh man, you have wasted your life. Old age is approaching you. Your life will soon come to an end. Wake up now and apply yourself to spiritual practices." But man ignores it and goes to the chemist and gets a pigment to colour the hairs black. He goes on as before. He wants to show that he is superior to Lord Yama. The second letter arrives.
His eye-sight grows dim. There is yet chance for him to wake up and apply himself to yoga practices; but he does not. He goes to the eye specialist and puts on beautiful spectacles. Even after that he continues to lead the same sensual life. In the spectacles he feels he appears even more presentable than otherwise! (Even some youngsters wear spectacles nowadays; they think it is a fashionable thing to do and that they look more beautiful with them.
Don't entertain such foolish ideas. You will only spoil your eyes.) And then the third letter comes. Teeth begin to fall. This is a very serious warning from Yama. But the deluded man does not care even now. He goes to the dentist and has a beautiful set of artificial teeth made for him. Now he is even more happy: "My natural teeth were not so good as these," he says. He does not care to take the warning of Yama. Then the fourth letter arrives. Limbs lose their vigour. He has a tottering gait. He cannot sit erect or walk unaided. But foolish man does not realise that his life is nearing its end. He goes to the shop, purchases a beautiful walking stick and puts a silver cap on it — he looks even smarter with it than without! Alas, all the four warnings of the Lord go unheeded. Finally, he is snatched away by death.
Such is the miserable condition of the ignorant man. Be not like him. Wake up now. There is still time for you. Do sadhana. Realise the goal here and now.
Be Regular
Every effort in the spiritual path, any sort of spiritual practice, never goes in vain. The fruit of sadhana cannot come immediately. The Supreme has to be attained gradually. You will have to wait for a long time patiently. Spiritual evolution is gradual. Do not become impatient. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says: "He who is perfected in yoga finds it in the Self in due season." (IV-38). Mark the words 'in due season'.
You will have to ascend the ladder of yoga step by step. If there are mangoes on the top of a big tree you do not jump all at once to pluck them. It is impossible. You gradually climb up the tree by getting hold of different branches and then reach the top of the tree. Even so, you cannot jump all at once to the summit of the spiritual ladder. You will have to practise yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana and dhyana. Then only you will reach the highest rung of the ladder of yoga — samadhi.
If you remain even for a minute without doing spiritual practice it is the highest sin. Have iron determination to stick to the spiritual path and realise the Truth in this very birth. Method and discipline are necessary in work. Then only will you have efficient turn-out. Nothing will come out of chaos. O aspirants! Be very serious and earnest in your devotional practices. Run now to the feet of God.
Just as the physical body needs food for its growth, so also the astral or subtle body requires spiritual food in the shape of prayers, japa, kirtan, meditation, etc. for its growth or evolution. Just as you are agitated when you do not get your food in time, so also you will be agitated when you do not pray in the morning and in the evening, at the proper time, if you keep up the practice of prayer and japa for some time. The subtle body also wants its food at the proper time. The food for the subtle body is more essential than the food for the body. Therefore do your prayers, japa and meditation regularly. If you are not regular the subtle body will become weak and your power of resisting evil thoughts, desires and tendencies will be less.
Some sadhaks do constant sadhana in a mild manner; some do intense sadhana for two hours in the morning and two hours in the night. If you want to attain Self-realisation quickly, you must do intense and constant sadhana for a protracted period. Doing by fits and starts is useless.
If you study one chapter of the Bhagavad Gita daily, if you do two malas of japa daily, if you observe two fasts in a month, if you meditate for half an hour daily, you have done much in one year. The spiritual impressions (samskaras) are there in the sub-conscious mind. They are indestructible. They will coalesce and form a spiritual bridge — the bridge of Brahman — through which you can cross to the other shore of fearlessness and immortality in a short time.
If there is slackness and irregularity in the practices, a fit of passion or worldliness may blow away the little good result which the yoga student has achieved and it will be very difficult for him to rise again to the original heights he has climbed. That is the reason why one has to do arduous practice of yoga till he is established in the highest samadhi. That yogi who has controlled his mind through the arduous practice of yoga for several years will be able to cognise the immutable Reality that is behind this empirical existence or the world of names and forms.
That is the reason why Patanjali Maharishi also says:
"Practice becomes fixed, steady, when practised for a long time, without any break and with perfect devotion." (I-14)
O impatient aspirants! Be patient. You will get everything when the time comes. Do your practice and austerity (tapas) systematically and regularly. Just as the gardener who waters the trees daily gets the fruits only when the time comes, so also you will enjoy the fruits of your sadhana when the time comes. Purify and steady the mind now.
Purify the nerves also. In the Bhagavad Gita the Lord says: "Little by little let him gain tranquillity, by steady and regular practice." (VI-25)
Difficulties in Sadhana
This world is full of difficulties and troubles. No one, save a yogi or a bhakta or a jnani, is free from worldly troubles and miseries. Go wherever you like. It is all the same. Kashmir is a lovely place; but fleas bite at night. Man does not get any sleep. Uttarkashi in the Himalayas is a good place for meditation. It has good spiritual vibrations; but peculiar fleas bite. They cause severe itching, bleeding and inflammation. Deva Prayag in the Himalayas is a very good place; but there are horrible scorpions. There is sunstroke at Benares. You get pneumonia and dysentery in Badrinath. Develop the power of endurance. Lead a life of renunciation and dispassion. Then only can you be happy in any part of the world.
How can you please the world? There are so many tongues, so many talks, so many opinions, so many remarks. This world is a strange mixture of sattva, rajas and tamas. Tamasic people are in abundance. Their nature is to find fault always and pass unnecessary criticism. Therefore, follow the dictates of your own conscience and the prompting of your own soul. If you are satisfied, the whole world must be satisfied.
In the spiritual path you must be prepared to meet with hundreds of failures, innumerable difficulties and obstacles. In the beginning it may appear to be very hard, thorny, precipitous and slippery. It is the razor path. To walk on this path is like walking on the edge of a sharp razor. You will fall down several times but if you are sincere and earnest in your practice you will rise up quickly and walk again with more zeal, boldness and cheerfulness. Every stumbling block will become a stepping stone to success or ascent on the hill of spiritual knowledge. Every fall will give you additional strength to rise up to a greater height on the ladder of yoga. Do not lose sight of the goal. Do not miss the ideal. Do not be discouraged. You will soon get spiritual strength from within. The indweller will guide you and push you up.
Trials are for strengthening the aspirants and for their rapid spiritual growth. One will grow quickly if one can adapt himself to any kind of environment and circumstance. If God gives trials, side by side He also gives new strength, patience and fortitude to bear the trials. There is no room for lamentation then. Say once more: "Thy will be done." All saints and sages, all prophets and seers, had to pass through tremendous struggles and severe ordeals before they reached the goal. March boldly and reach the goal.
Your spiritual growth is gauged by the extent of your victory over external circumstances and environments, troubles and difficulties, adverse conditions and antagonistic influences. A yogi or a sage always keeps a balanced mind in all conditions of life and at every moment. He is adamantine because he stands on a firm basis — the eternal, unchanging, immortal Soul — and so he is called steadfast. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna: "The man whom these torment not, O chief of men, balanced in pain and pleasure, steadfast, he is fit for immortality." (Bhagavad Gita (II-15).
Do not go to extremes such as mauna, fasting, etc. Keep up the golden medium. Lord Buddha did rigorous austerities in the beginning. This affected his body much. Later on he learnt to keep up the golden medium. Do not spoil your health. Rigorous asceticism is not required for the attainment of the 'final beatitude' of life. It is simply a foolish torture of the human body. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: ''The men who perform severe austerities unenjoined by the scriptures, wedded to vanity and egoism, impelled by the force of their desires and passions, unintelligent, tormenting the aggregated elements forming the body, and Me also, seated in the inner body, know these to be demonical in their resolves." (XVII-5, 6)
Who is a Yogi?
Yoga students are classified into three degrees or classes, the first (yogarudha), the second (yunjana) and the third (arurukshu). Yogarudha is one who has climbed the highest summit of the hill of yoga, who has finished all the preliminary practices, i.e. yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyahara, in his previous births. He at once takes to meditation in this birth. He is established in the highest asamprajnata samadhi. He belongs to the first class. Sadasiva Brahman of Nerur (South India) and Jnana Dev of Alandi near Poona belonged to this class of yogins. Yunjana is one who has become deeply engaged in the practice of yoga. He belongs to the second class. Arurukshu is one who is attempting to climb the steps of yoga. He belongs to the third class.
To the three types of aspirants raja yoga prescribes three kinds of sadhana. To the first-class aspirant raja yoga prescribes practice and dispassion. He practises meditation on the Self; he practises chitta-vritti-nirodhah, and soon enters into samadhi.
To the middling aspirant raja yoga prescribes austerity (tapas), study (svadhyaya) and surrender to God (Ishvarapranidhana). Tapas is of various kinds: standing in the ice-cold water throughout the night in winter; standing on the burning sands throughout the day in summer — these and many other practices form austerity. Svadhyaya is study of spiritual literature and also japa of your mantra. Ishvarapranidhana is self-surrender to the Lord and doing all actions as an offering to God. These three form the sadhanas of the middle type of aspirant who enters into deep meditation very soon and attains liberation.
To the lowest kind of aspirant raja yoga prescribes the eight-fold practice of ethics, moral disciplines, asana, pranayama, sense-control, concentration, meditation and samadhi.
Do not imagine that you are a first-class aspirant and that you have only to sit in meditation and enter into samadhi. You will have a terrible downfall; even after years of practice you will find you have not progressed an inch forward because there are, deep within you, lurking desires and cravings, evil vrittis which are far beyond your reach. Be humble, make searching analysis of your heart and mind. Even if you are really a first-class aspirant, think you are an aspirant of the lowest class and practise the eight-fold practice prescribed by raja yoga. The more time you spend in the first two steps of yama and niyama the less will be needed to attain perfection in meditation. It is the preparation that takes very long. But do not wait for perfection in yama and niyama before taking up the higher practices of asana, pranayama and meditation. Try to get established in yama and niyama, and at the same time practise asana, pranayama and meditation as much as you can. The two must go hand in hand. Then success will be rapid. You will soon enter into nirvikalpa samadhi and attain liberation. What that supreme state is no one has expressed, and no words can describe.
Karma, Bhakti and Jnana in Raja Yoga
All the yogas are interblended, just as there is a blend in tea-leaves. There is no such thing as a separate karma yoga in Madras, bhakti yoga in Almora and raja yoga in Bombay. In raja yoga itself you get austerity, self study and surrender to God. Austerity belongs to karma yoga, self-study to jnana yoga and surrender to God to bhakti yoga. In vedanta you get four kinds of spiritual effort which are nothing but ethics, moral disciplines and sense control of raja yoga. Sama (contentment) and dama (sense control) of vedanta are found in raja yoga also. The raja yogi's concentration (dharana) is called samadhana by the vedantin.
Man is a triune being. He has a hand, a heart and a head. Therefore, he must at one and the same time practise karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga; then only will there be integral development. Otherwise there will be lop-sided development. The yoga of synthesis is therefore very necessary. You must be able to work in the dynamic field of karma yoga; you must be able to sing the Lord's names and glories; you must be able to meditate deeply; and at the same time you must strive to realise the vedantic truths. Some vedantins feel that karma yoga and bhakti yoga are inferior. This is a sad mistake. Service is as important as vedanta. When you understand that there is only one Self in all beings, can you remain without serving all? You will understand that the whole world is your body.
Sankara, Jesus and Buddha were all 'integral' yogis. They are our ideals. Sankara the great advaita vedantin was a bhakta; he sang several hymns. He was a yogi, too; he was able to separate himself from his body. He was a dynamic karma yogi; within the short span of 32 years that he lived here he established four maths in different parts of India, when there was no aeroplane or motor-car. He was a great jnani at the same time. He practised the yoga of synthesis.
In yoga there are two paths through which to realise the Self — the ant path and the bird path. Just as the ant slowly marches, so also the aspirant slowly marches in the spiritual path. He practises karma yoga to purify his heart and then takes up worship to steady his mind. Finally, he treads the path of jnana yoga and eventually reaches the goal of life. This is the ant path. Just as the bird flies at once, so also the aspirant of the first-class type at once practises jnana yoga and attains knowledge of the Self. This is the bird path. The student of yoga first concentrates on muladhara chakra, then on svadhisthana, then on manipura and finally on ajna chakra. He moves step by step. This is the ant path. Another student at once concentrates on ajna chakra or sahasrara. This is the bird path.
A student of bhakti yoga should possess great power of imagination and abundant pure emotion. A student of jnana yoga should be endowed with the power of reflection, ratiocination and enquiry, and should possess abundant serenity, calmness and tranquillity.
Jnana (wisdom) attained through books without yoga (direct intuitive perception) is useless. Yoga (mere knowledge of asanas, mudras and cleansing techniques) without jnana (wisdom gained from personal spiritual experience) is not perfect. Jnana and yoga are the two wings of the hamsa bird (Brahman). Jnana arises through yoga (union with Brahman). Jnana is the fruit of bhakti.
According to peculiarities of spiritual temperaments, some prefer the path of jnana yoga with its threefold attributes of hearing, reflection and meditation; others prefer the path of bhakti yoga with its three steps of singing Lord's name (kirtan), adoration (bhajan) and utter submission (saranagati); while still others prefer the path of raja yoga with its three stages of concentration, meditation and samadhi.
There is a gold ring set with a precious diamond which is very small and fine. Gold is not so valuable as the diamond though it constitutes the body of the ring. The diamond of the ring is like the crest-jewel of the crown. It occupies a small space in the body of the ring, but it is very precious. Even so, the scriptures speak of karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga and jnana yoga — which are like the gold in the ring — but the actual spiritual experience or Self-realisation is like the subtle precious diamond fixed on the gold ring.
You should have knowledge of God. Then only you can love Him. You should approach saints and mahatmas and hear stories of God. Saints declare that there is an all-merciful, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. You should study Bhagavatam, Ramayana and other religious books. Through hearing of scriptures and satsang come admiration, attraction, attachment and supreme love for the Lord. You cannot know Him without loving Him. There is love when you perform actions. You serve your brother, father, mother, teacher and friend with love. Without concentration (yoga) you cannot turn out good work. Without concentration you cannot love God. Without concentration you cannot know God. Therefore karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga are interblended. You cannot separate them. All these paths lead to the same goal.
This world is the play of the two small lenses of the eyes. When you close your eyes it dwindles into airy nothing. It is like the water in the mirage. Why do you bother much, then, in worldly affairs? Why do you entangle, then, in vain selfish activities?
Instead of weeping, do ploughing. There will be abundant rains on one day and you will have a rich harvest. Even so, be up and doing in yoga sadhana (practices) and you will attain supreme peace and eternal bliss one day.
SADHANA
The 'Sermon on the Mount' forms the kernel of the teachings of Lord Jesus. Live in the spirit of the teachings. The whole spiritual sadhana and the gist of the Vedas is there. Put it into practice in daily life. Every individual should cultivate that manner of life which will best lead him towards the attainment of his aspiration, viz., Self-realisation. Start in right earnest now, do not delay even a second. If you have youth, energy, dispassion and a pure heart you will doubtless succeed in your attempt.
It is not true that only one attained moksha or liberation and none else can. History bears evidence of many a Sankara having come into this world. If the past could produce Sankaras, why not the future also? What one has achieved can be achieved by others also. This is the immutable law of nature.
Renunciation of objects gives pain at the outset. If you struggle hard to tread the path, if you once make a strong determination and firm resolve it becomes very easy. You get interest and new joy. Your heart expands. You will have a broad outlook on life, a new wide vision. You will feel the help from the invisible hands of the indweller of your heart. Your doubts are cleared by themselves by getting answers from within. You can hear the shrill, sweet voice of God. There is indescribable thrill of divine ecstasy from within. There is deep, abiding, everlasting, undiminishing, undecaying, spiritual bliss. This gives new strength. The foot-hold on the path becomes firmer and firmer. Perfected masters and yogis lend a helping hand to the struggling aspirants. The aspirants actually feel this. The feeling of loneliness and of being neglected and forsaken vanishes.
A man who has not seen a certain famous swami hears all about the personality and the attributes of that swami from a man who actually has seen him and who knows him full well. He then tries to visualise a mental picture of him. Even so the aspirant should hear all about the invisible, hidden Brahman from the sages who have attained Self-realisation, and then meditate on the Atman or the Self.
Some experience glimpses of the transcendental wonders of Atman. Some are on the border-land of the vast domain of Atman. Some like Dattatreya, Jada Bharat, Nam Dev and Sadasiva Brahman have plunged deep in the ocean of bliss. The more the thinning of desires, egoism and false identification with the body, the greater the bliss of the Self. The more the practice, the more the experience of joy of the Soul.
The arduous practice of yoga demands an abundance of energy and nerve-power on the part of the yoga student. If one conserves the seminal energy he can have an abundance of energy and nerve-power.
The physical body is the holy shrine of God. It is the temple of the Lord. Keep it strong and healthy. Then only will you meet Him. Do not be carried away by false understanding. Take care of the body but have no attachment for it. Be prepared to give it up in a noble cause. This body is an instrument for attaining Self-realisation. You cannot meditate if you have a weak sickly body.
Do you want a spiritual pill or a talisman to get Self-realisation? Do you want spiritual powers to drop from heaven? Give up all these foolish ideas. You will have to do all the practice yourself. Don't weep like a widow, but stand up like a lion and do solid practice. Do not depend upon others. I will give you precious spiritual jewels. Wear them round your neck. Remember them. Put them in practice. Don't prattle like a child.
I believe in solid spiritual practice. I believe in thorough overhauling of worldly nature — worldliness of various sorts. We should become absolutely fearless. That is the sign of life in Atman. No more words, no more talk, no more argument, heated debates or discussions, no more study, no more wandering. Live in one place. Live in OM, live in truth. There is peace, silence and seclusion. Enter the silence and enjoy the blissful state of samadhi.
You should have regular and systematic meditation, japa, study of Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Viveka Chudamani. Do not think: "I will study when I am alone without work in Uttarkashi (Himalayas)." That is wrong. That is foolishness. You must have the daily habit of meditation and study along with selfless service. That 'tomorrow' will never come. Make hay while the sun shines. Winnow the corn when the wind blows. It will be too late to gather honey in the winter. Apply yourself diligently now. Live unattached in the world. Seclusion, silence and silent meditation are necessary for spiritual growth. Prepare yourself gradually.
Shut yourself in a room for a month. Give up reading of newspapers. Reading of newspapers revives the impressions of the universe, agitates the mind, makes you emotional and sentimental and augments the restlessness of the mind. It makes you forget God.
Have two rooms, one for study and meditation and the other for bath and food. Never come out of the rooms. Spend the time in study and meditation. Do not write any letters. Cut off all connections. Now see whether the world exists or not. At least it will not exert such a deep impression as it did before. If you continue your meditation, and rest in the Self, this world will entirely disappear. It will be like a dream for you. It will not allure you.
Shake the bonds of karma through discrimination, dispassion and non-attachment. Know the secret of true bliss through concentration and meditation. Root out passion, embrace peace, enjoy the glory of self-bliss. Delight in the Self within.
Serve the-sick, console the distressed. Live in God. Preach the gospel of love. Lead a life of self-sacrifice and service. Be pious and pure. This will lead you to the attainment of God-consciousness.
Keep company with evolved souls who tread the path of Truth. Always mark carefully what is going on in the inner factory. Give up all sorts of mean actions. Become a noble, magnanimous soul. Nobility is God. Magnanimity is Truth. If people mock at you, keep quiet. Never retort. Excuse them. Give a vedantic smile. Stand adamantine as yonder rock.
Even if the whole world opposes you, fear not. Never move a fraction of an inch from your firm resolve and determination. Stand up and proclaim the Truth. Even if the whole world leaves you, fear not. The Inner Ruler stands by your side in your heart. He is ever ready to help you. Open your heart to Him like a child. Speak to Him.
He is the bestower of everything, of all bounties.
Purify yourself first. Then you can really purify the world. Reform your self first. Then you can really reform the world. You have got all the materials within you for transmuting yourself into a sage. A little application and rigorous meditation will ignite the spiritual dynamo within. Exert. Struggle. Plod. Ignite. Realise.
Four Letters from Lord Yama (THE LORD OF DEATH)
Beware of being deluded by the delights of the world. Wake up now. Lord Yama, in his mercy and compassion, sends four letters. Do you know what they are? The first letter is the appearance of grey hairs. Lord Yama warns: "Oh man, you have wasted your life. Old age is approaching you. Your life will soon come to an end. Wake up now and apply yourself to spiritual practices." But man ignores it and goes to the chemist and gets a pigment to colour the hairs black. He goes on as before. He wants to show that he is superior to Lord Yama. The second letter arrives.
His eye-sight grows dim. There is yet chance for him to wake up and apply himself to yoga practices; but he does not. He goes to the eye specialist and puts on beautiful spectacles. Even after that he continues to lead the same sensual life. In the spectacles he feels he appears even more presentable than otherwise! (Even some youngsters wear spectacles nowadays; they think it is a fashionable thing to do and that they look more beautiful with them.
Don't entertain such foolish ideas. You will only spoil your eyes.) And then the third letter comes. Teeth begin to fall. This is a very serious warning from Yama. But the deluded man does not care even now. He goes to the dentist and has a beautiful set of artificial teeth made for him. Now he is even more happy: "My natural teeth were not so good as these," he says. He does not care to take the warning of Yama. Then the fourth letter arrives. Limbs lose their vigour. He has a tottering gait. He cannot sit erect or walk unaided. But foolish man does not realise that his life is nearing its end. He goes to the shop, purchases a beautiful walking stick and puts a silver cap on it — he looks even smarter with it than without! Alas, all the four warnings of the Lord go unheeded. Finally, he is snatched away by death.
Such is the miserable condition of the ignorant man. Be not like him. Wake up now. There is still time for you. Do sadhana. Realise the goal here and now.
Be Regular
Every effort in the spiritual path, any sort of spiritual practice, never goes in vain. The fruit of sadhana cannot come immediately. The Supreme has to be attained gradually. You will have to wait for a long time patiently. Spiritual evolution is gradual. Do not become impatient. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says: "He who is perfected in yoga finds it in the Self in due season." (IV-38). Mark the words 'in due season'.
You will have to ascend the ladder of yoga step by step. If there are mangoes on the top of a big tree you do not jump all at once to pluck them. It is impossible. You gradually climb up the tree by getting hold of different branches and then reach the top of the tree. Even so, you cannot jump all at once to the summit of the spiritual ladder. You will have to practise yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana and dhyana. Then only you will reach the highest rung of the ladder of yoga — samadhi.
If you remain even for a minute without doing spiritual practice it is the highest sin. Have iron determination to stick to the spiritual path and realise the Truth in this very birth. Method and discipline are necessary in work. Then only will you have efficient turn-out. Nothing will come out of chaos. O aspirants! Be very serious and earnest in your devotional practices. Run now to the feet of God.
Just as the physical body needs food for its growth, so also the astral or subtle body requires spiritual food in the shape of prayers, japa, kirtan, meditation, etc. for its growth or evolution. Just as you are agitated when you do not get your food in time, so also you will be agitated when you do not pray in the morning and in the evening, at the proper time, if you keep up the practice of prayer and japa for some time. The subtle body also wants its food at the proper time. The food for the subtle body is more essential than the food for the body. Therefore do your prayers, japa and meditation regularly. If you are not regular the subtle body will become weak and your power of resisting evil thoughts, desires and tendencies will be less.
Some sadhaks do constant sadhana in a mild manner; some do intense sadhana for two hours in the morning and two hours in the night. If you want to attain Self-realisation quickly, you must do intense and constant sadhana for a protracted period. Doing by fits and starts is useless.
If you study one chapter of the Bhagavad Gita daily, if you do two malas of japa daily, if you observe two fasts in a month, if you meditate for half an hour daily, you have done much in one year. The spiritual impressions (samskaras) are there in the sub-conscious mind. They are indestructible. They will coalesce and form a spiritual bridge — the bridge of Brahman — through which you can cross to the other shore of fearlessness and immortality in a short time.
If there is slackness and irregularity in the practices, a fit of passion or worldliness may blow away the little good result which the yoga student has achieved and it will be very difficult for him to rise again to the original heights he has climbed. That is the reason why one has to do arduous practice of yoga till he is established in the highest samadhi. That yogi who has controlled his mind through the arduous practice of yoga for several years will be able to cognise the immutable Reality that is behind this empirical existence or the world of names and forms.
That is the reason why Patanjali Maharishi also says:
"Practice becomes fixed, steady, when practised for a long time, without any break and with perfect devotion." (I-14)
O impatient aspirants! Be patient. You will get everything when the time comes. Do your practice and austerity (tapas) systematically and regularly. Just as the gardener who waters the trees daily gets the fruits only when the time comes, so also you will enjoy the fruits of your sadhana when the time comes. Purify and steady the mind now.
Purify the nerves also. In the Bhagavad Gita the Lord says: "Little by little let him gain tranquillity, by steady and regular practice." (VI-25)
Difficulties in Sadhana
This world is full of difficulties and troubles. No one, save a yogi or a bhakta or a jnani, is free from worldly troubles and miseries. Go wherever you like. It is all the same. Kashmir is a lovely place; but fleas bite at night. Man does not get any sleep. Uttarkashi in the Himalayas is a good place for meditation. It has good spiritual vibrations; but peculiar fleas bite. They cause severe itching, bleeding and inflammation. Deva Prayag in the Himalayas is a very good place; but there are horrible scorpions. There is sunstroke at Benares. You get pneumonia and dysentery in Badrinath. Develop the power of endurance. Lead a life of renunciation and dispassion. Then only can you be happy in any part of the world.
How can you please the world? There are so many tongues, so many talks, so many opinions, so many remarks. This world is a strange mixture of sattva, rajas and tamas. Tamasic people are in abundance. Their nature is to find fault always and pass unnecessary criticism. Therefore, follow the dictates of your own conscience and the prompting of your own soul. If you are satisfied, the whole world must be satisfied.
In the spiritual path you must be prepared to meet with hundreds of failures, innumerable difficulties and obstacles. In the beginning it may appear to be very hard, thorny, precipitous and slippery. It is the razor path. To walk on this path is like walking on the edge of a sharp razor. You will fall down several times but if you are sincere and earnest in your practice you will rise up quickly and walk again with more zeal, boldness and cheerfulness. Every stumbling block will become a stepping stone to success or ascent on the hill of spiritual knowledge. Every fall will give you additional strength to rise up to a greater height on the ladder of yoga. Do not lose sight of the goal. Do not miss the ideal. Do not be discouraged. You will soon get spiritual strength from within. The indweller will guide you and push you up.
Trials are for strengthening the aspirants and for their rapid spiritual growth. One will grow quickly if one can adapt himself to any kind of environment and circumstance. If God gives trials, side by side He also gives new strength, patience and fortitude to bear the trials. There is no room for lamentation then. Say once more: "Thy will be done." All saints and sages, all prophets and seers, had to pass through tremendous struggles and severe ordeals before they reached the goal. March boldly and reach the goal.
Your spiritual growth is gauged by the extent of your victory over external circumstances and environments, troubles and difficulties, adverse conditions and antagonistic influences. A yogi or a sage always keeps a balanced mind in all conditions of life and at every moment. He is adamantine because he stands on a firm basis — the eternal, unchanging, immortal Soul — and so he is called steadfast. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna: "The man whom these torment not, O chief of men, balanced in pain and pleasure, steadfast, he is fit for immortality." (Bhagavad Gita (II-15).
Do not go to extremes such as mauna, fasting, etc. Keep up the golden medium. Lord Buddha did rigorous austerities in the beginning. This affected his body much. Later on he learnt to keep up the golden medium. Do not spoil your health. Rigorous asceticism is not required for the attainment of the 'final beatitude' of life. It is simply a foolish torture of the human body. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: ''The men who perform severe austerities unenjoined by the scriptures, wedded to vanity and egoism, impelled by the force of their desires and passions, unintelligent, tormenting the aggregated elements forming the body, and Me also, seated in the inner body, know these to be demonical in their resolves." (XVII-5, 6)
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