EASY PATH TO GOD-REALISATION
BY SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
Chapter I, 6-10

Swami Versus Maharaja
"O Venerable Swami! I am a Ruling Chief in the Punjab. I spend somemonths every year in the Alpine regions and continental Springs. Ialways go about in a magnificent car. I eat dainties. I move withEarls and Barons. The Senior and the Junior Maharanis serve me.Certainly I am more happy than you." "O Rajan! But can you smile likeme? You are full of worries, anxieties and cares. There is no realfreedom for you."

"Yes, Swamiji, I cannot smile like you, though Ipossess everything. I am tormented within in one way or the other.

This is true." "Then, O Chief, what is the earthly use of your money,continental trips, Maharanis, cars and retinue?" "Revered Sir, makeme smile like you. What is the secret?" "Renounce egoism and desires.Realise Atman. You can always smile like me."

The fear that you get in dreams by seeing a tiger or a cobradisappears only when you are awake. Even so, the pain, misery,sorrow, grief, etc., of this mundane life will only vanish when youget Brahma Jnana.

Are you not ashamed to repeat day by day the same process of eating,drinking, talking and sleeping? You are proud of your titles. Haveyou improved your life even a bit? What lessons have you learnt fromthe Bihar and Quetta earthquakes? Are you attempting to reach thatimperishable seat wherein all desires and Trishnas are completelyeradicated? Are you endeavouring to attain that highest end of life—Atmic realisation—which gives immortality, eternal bliss and infinitepeace? You are not crawling now. You have learnt to stand up andwalk. You can think, reason out, judge, infer and ratiocinate. Willyou utilise this precious life in meditation on Atman and in Selfrealisation? Will you give me a definite word of promise to thiseffect? Brother, speak the truth, climb up the ladder of Yoga anddrink the nectar of immortality. Will you?

Sages' Words
Sages compare a worldly minded man to a street dog, or a pig thateats filth, or a worm that revels in filth. The comparison is veryapt indeed!
Just as a nail cannot enter into a stone, however hard you may try todrive it in with a hammer, so also religious ideas, talks of God,cannot enter the minds of the worldly minded, however lucidly you mayexplain them with stories, analogies, similes and parables. They havesin hardened hearts which are very difficult to be pierced through.But lustful thoughts can flow through their minds like the current ofKali river.

The worldly objects, cannot give you peace of mind. Renounce theworldly joys and sorrows, its pleasures and temptations. Seek forsomething higher and nobler than the objects of senses—the eternalbliss of the Self—while remaining in the world.

Whatever a sage may say is medicine to the worldly minded persons whoneed medication for their impiety and worldliness. Therefore, O man,hear his instructions with rapt attention and put them in dailypractice.

Seers of truth, sages and Rishis declare boldly on account of theirSelf realisation: "Do not run after objects. Get Viveka, Vairagya.Renounce the worldly objects. They are sources of misery. RealiseAtman. You will get eternal, infinite Bliss and Immortality."

Lead a life of austerity and meditation. This world is nothing. Allobjects of this world are worthless, because they are transient,ephemeral and perishable. Understand the nature of the soul and itsrelationship to God.

The thinking faculty is present only in human beings. Man only canreason, reflect and form judgements. It is man only who can compareand contrast, who can think of pros and cons and who can drawinferences and conclusions. That is the reason why he alone is ableto attain God consciousness. That man who simply eats and drinks andwho does not exercise his mental faculty in Self realisation is abrute only. Fie on such a miserable wretch who is clinging toillusory things of the universe and who is a slayer of Atman. Heverily commits suicide.

O worldly minded persons! Wake up from the sleep of Ajnana. Open youreyes. Stand up to acquire knowledge of Atman. Approach the BrahmaNishta Guru. Get sleepless sleep (Samadhi). Drown yourself in Atman.

A worldly minded man has two standards of living viz., stomach andpocket. He tries to fill his pocket with money by hook or crook andfills his stomach daily with all sorts of things. This is his goal.An aspirant also has two standards of living viz., renunciation and meditation. He keeps a few things only for the bare maintenance of his body and gives the rest to others. He spends his time in meditation. The former lives in vain and wastes his life while the latter leads a glorious life of divinity and enjoys the eternal bliss of Soul.

A worldly man kills himself by clinging to things unreal. That manwho does not struggle for attaining Self realisation although hepossesses knowledge of the scriptures, human body, youth, energy andother conveniences, verily commits suicide. His lot is verymiserable. What greater fool is there than this man who neglects toreach the goal of life? That man who does not care to make enquiryof "Who am I? What is the goal? How to attain the goal" is really afool although he is endowed with high secular knowledge.

Imagine for a moment that your skin and flesh are inverted andexposed. Then you will have to stand always with a strong mountainstick to drive off vultures, crows and jackals. Why do you have Moha(infatuated love) for this dirty body? Why do you apply scents? Areyou not a big fool? Get Jnana. You are Atman, ever pure and effulgent.

You will find in the Bible: "Man shall not live by bread alone but bythe Spirit." Life in matter is utter darkness. Life in the Spirit isglorious sunshine. Think not of the body. Think little of bread. Thenyou can think more of the spirit. Then you can have a rich, expanded,undecaying life.

Way to Liberation
It is bondage when you are attached to your wife, son, property, orbody, when you take this body as the pure Self. It is liberation whenyou are not attached to any object of this world, when you identifyyourself with the pure, immortal Atman.

To do the work of a beast, even though you are born as a man, issimply ridiculous and disgraceful.

You think of your body, food, wife, son, friend, etc., but you do notturn your mind inward to find out what lies within yourself. Youthink that your body—this bundle of flesh and bones—is real and onthis basis you build the whole citadel of life's ambition andactivity. You have mistaken the shadow for the substance. You arecontented with superficial things.

Though you are endowed with thepower of thought, yet you do not wish to utilise this power in thequest of immortal Self. You have abandoned the precious jewel ofAtman and caught hold of a broken glass piece. Is this not a foolishact? You will weep in your old age.

This body is the first Mayaic knot or tie. Wife is the second knotround the neck. Son is the third knot round the waist. Daughter isthe fourth knot round the knee. Grandson is the fifth knot round theankle. He who has cut asunder these knots or ties and who has no Mohais really a strong and powerful man (Dheera)—and not one who canallow a motor car to pass on his chest or who has first classmagisterial powers or who has a double barelled gun or who is amember of the Council or Assembly or Parliament.

O Nectar's Son! Enough of this mundane life. Enough of this life ofpassion on this earth plane. You have spent your whole life, energyand time in obtaining material wealth and power, name and fame. Allyour efforts have gone in vain. All your wealth is a broken shellonly, when compared to the inexhaustible supreme wealth of Atman.Obtain this priceless spiritual wealth. Give up this vain selfishstruggle. Too long you have walked: with passionate eyes in thisuniverse. Give up the lustful look.

Meditate. Look within now. Beholdthe marvellous Self and be free.
O man! Develop dispassion and discrimination. Cultivate virtues. Movein the company of illumined sages. Get spiritual instructions fromthem. Serve them. Meditate on Atman and attain Self realisation. Thenalone you can become a spiritual Bahadur of Bahadurs; a leadingspiritual citizen of the world, an Emperor of emperors.

If you are very rich you can have a steamer, a train, an airship, ofyour own for your own selfish enjoyment. But you cannot have an Atmanof your own. Atman is common to all. It is not an individual's soleregistered property. Even a peasant, a barber, an outcaste or Dalithas Atman.

A man drinks wine and falls into the gutter. If you ask him thefollowing morning, "Why did you drink so much last evening? You fellin the gutter," he will reply, "I was under intoxication of liquor. Idid not know anything." Even so, when a man is intoxicated with thepride of wealth or the wine of worldliness he does not know what heis exactly doing. He is like the drunkard who fell in the gutter. Thebest remedy, which can remove this intoxication caused byworldliness, is Satsanga or association with the wise.

Man is the slave of wealth, but wealth is not one's slave. If youwant to attain the supreme, inexhaustible spiritual wealth of Atman,do not become a slave of wealth. Relinquish it and become a master.If you earn money by the sweat of your brow, you can never grow rich.Wealth cannot be acquired without committing sin. It will not be ofany use to you after your death. Artha (wealth) is Anartha (evil). Toearn money is painful. To preserve it is painful. To lose it ispainful. If it decreases, it is also painful. Wealth is the sourcefor all sorts of pains.

Insure your life with God. Depend upon Him alone. All other Insurancecompanies will fail but this Divine Company will never fail. You neednot pay premium to this divine company. You will have to love Godonly. You will have to give Him your heart only.

Why do you depend upon these false nerves and senses, which breakdown at any moment for your happiness? Seek deep abiding joy, eternalhappiness, and uninterrupted bliss, in your own Self within, throughconstant and unbroken meditation. Rise up. Stand up. Wake up. Exert.Reach the goal right now.

If ignorance, poverty and disease are not found here, this world is averitable heaven.

Nobody has been benefited in this world by this Maya. People weep inthe end. Ask any grown up householder whether he has got an iota ofhappiness in this world.

This world is full of contradictions. That, which brings on shame tothe good, gives pleasure to the wicked.

The worldly minded persons never come to their proper senses althoughthey get severe knocks, kicks and blows from different corners. Thestrolling street dog stops visiting the houses, even though peltedwith stones daily.

Kali (Adharma or unrighteousness) resides in places of gambling,drink, prostitution, butchery, in gold, in markets, and battlefieldsand in places where four people sit together and engage themselves inidle talks and scandal mongering.

Sudden disappointments, and successes in life are not a result ofblind chance. Everything runs in the world on well established laws.The law of cause and effect operates everywhere.

Different people meet with different sorts of difficulties. If one issuffering from headache, the other is crying on account of severepain in his ear. If one is worried because of the untimely death ofhis son, the other is dejected on account of heavy loss in business.

The world is a great teacher. The five elements are your Gurus. Bylearning many bitter lessons you will grow stronger and wiser.
Delusion and grief will affect the ignorant, worldly minded men butnot he who has Jnana, who sees oneness everywhere. The whole tree ofSamsara with its seed is totally up rooted when one gets BrahmaJnana, knowledge of the Self.

To the Viveki the whole world appears as a ball of fire though thereare the so called charming scenery of Mayaic illusion. To the Vivekithe whole world appears as a huge furnace wherein all livingcreatures are being roasted.

Those people who are not serious and earnest about their devotionalpractices have lost this world at this end and God at the other end.They are hanging in the air with heads downwards like Trisanku.Miserable specimens! Pitiable indeed is their lot!

Why do you weep, my friend? Thou art Rama. Thou art Krishna. Thou artSiva. Thou art Atman. Thou art Brahman. Thou art Truth: "Tat TvamAsi". Thou art that, my dear friend!

The Pinnacle of Glory
Verily there is a realm, O Ram! Where there is neither sorrow norgrief, neither solid nor liquid, neither matter nor energy, neithersleep nor waking, neither eating nor drinking, neither resting norworking, neither seeing nor hearing. This is the abode of Nirvanicbliss or eternal peace. Reach this abode by purifying the mind andremoving the veil of ignorance through constant meditation on theSelf.

I live to serve you all. I live to make you all happy and wise. Ilive to help you in tearing the veil of ignorance. I live to makeyour path easier and smoother.

Instead of weeping over the famine, the ploughman should ever beploughing. All on a sudden rain will come, he will have an abundantharvest or a bumper crop. Even so, you must ever be up and doing. Alldifficulties and unfavourable circumstances will pass away like arent autumnal cloud. You will have a rich spiritual harvest ofeternal peace and perennial joy.

Roar OM OM OM—Ram Ram Ram and come out of the cage of flesh, my dearSushil!

The search for the highest truth, a little meditation on the Self inthe early morning hours, a well regulated life, a remembrance of theimmortal nature of the soul and an attempt to feel that you are theall pervading Self in your private and public life will give abalance and rhythm to your life and inner spiritual strength andcourage.

The strong raft of knowledge of the Self will take you safely overthe stormy waves of this great ocean of Samsara. You will not beaffected by even the worst kind of adversities and sorrows. Thereforestruggle hard to attain this knowledge. Disseminate this wisdom ofthe Rishis and bear witness to it in daily life.

"Remove selfishness and egoism. Calm the passions. Purify the heart.Analyse your thoughts. Scrutinise your motives. Cleanse the dross ofimpurity. Realise God." This has been the one burden of the preachingof all prophets, seers and sages of all times. Read the teachings ofBuddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Confucius, Shinto, Chaitanya, Sankara or anyother prophet. This, the essence of Self purification, is your chiefduty. That is the way to God.

Just as fruit is hidden in the seed, butter in milk, virility inboyhood, so also various Saktis remain latent in man. If you purifyyour mind and practise concentration, and meditation, all thesepowers will shine forth.
Constantly hammer the mind with this idea: "I am diseaseless, allhealth, Immortal Atman—OM OM OM." Meditate on the above formula for10 minutes morning and evening. This is the best in this world forall ailments. This will form your meditation also.

This great self luminous, immortal, fearless, unborn, undecaying selfis Brahman. Search Him. Try to understand Him. Practise wisdom.Realise and be free.

The nectar of Immortality is gushing. Purify. Concentrate. Dive deepinto the chambers of your heart and drink it to your heart's content.It will quench the fire of Samsara. It will make you immortal.

Karma produces your future births. Karma is the root of all yourmiseries. Karma is supreme. Karma rules your destiny. But there aremeans by which Karma may be made inefficacious. The fruit bearingpotencies of Karma can be burnt by getting knowledge of the Selfthrough destruction of desires and annihilation of this little `I'and the mind.

All creatures have come out of God. They go back to Him alone duringdissolution. The whole world is the body of the Lord. How can youhurt or dislike another man or any creature on the surface of theearth when you have taken God as the object of adoration and love?How can you be selfish? Can you eat all mangoes of your gardenyourself alone?
You do not consider others' pains as your own. Therefore you have nocompassion or mercy. You have no complacence (Mudita). Therefore youdo not rejoice at another's virtue. You have no contentment. There isburning in your heart. You do not consider other's happiness as yourown. Therefore you are uneasy. You have no indifference to thevicious actions of wicked people. Therefore you are troubled. Thereis nothing but your own Self in this universe. All bodies are yours.

All hands are yours. This whole world is your body. All names andforms are yours. Do not separate yourself from the world. Unite.Expand. Mix. Feel oneness and unity. You will enjoy boundless joy andlimitless bliss.
Exert. Shake off lethargy and faint heartedness. Show manlyfortitude. Yield not to impotence. Be lion hearted. You will getsuccess in every attempt. You will prosper gloriously in the physicaland spiritual planes.

The present state of affairs is not favourable for business. Thepride of things has risen very high but this is the best time fordoing better business with God. You can do more prayer, meditation,Japa and study of Gita and Upanishads, as you have more leisure now.This is very profitable as spiritual wealth is imperishable andinexhaustible, so there is no loss. On the contrary, there is immensegain. God's ways are mysterious.

Aspire ceaselessly to live in the Divine. Strive ceaselessly torealise the truth. Practise regular meditation in the Brahmamuhurta.Work untiringly for the good of others. Think constantly of theimmortal, all blissful Self. You will reach the goal quickly andassuredly.

Why have you taken this body? What is the goal of your life? Enquire.Fulfil your mission. Unfold the Divinity that is lurking in thechambers of your heart.

If you think, "I will take a bath when all the waves of the seasubside" this is not possible. The waves will never subside and youwill never take a bath. Even so if you think, "I will start spiritualSadhana or meditation when all my cares, worries and anxieties cease,when all my sons are fixed up in life, when I have ample leisureafter retirement." This is not possible.

You will not be able to siteven for half an hour when you become old. You will have no strengthto do any rigorous Tapas when you are in advanced senility. You muststart vigorous spiritual practices when you are young, whatever yourconditions, circumstances and environments may be. Then only you willreap a rich spiritual harvest when you become old. You will enjoy theeverlasting peace of the Eternal.

Should we not try therefore to attain something more satisfying andeternally lasting? Or should we be content to lead a life of slaveryand bondage obeying the impulses of our physical nature? Thisquestion will ultimately rise in everybody's heart. No one can evadeit. Every one must answer this question. It is the starting point ofall religions.

Man soon gets tired of sensual objects on account of theirtransitory, illusory and perishable nature. He finds monotony inthem. He finds that they are hollow and mixed with pain, fear andsin. He retraces his footsteps to his original sweet home, theimmortal abode of Brahman. He no longer wanders about hither andthither. He sits quiet in a solitary place and shuts the doors orgateways of the senses, practises Pratyahara (abstraction of thesenses). He disconnects the mind from the senses and the objects. Hestops the waves of the mind through the practice of Raja Yoga. Hecontrols the movement of the breath, through the practice ofPranayama. He kills egoism, Vasanas, thoughts likes and dislikes.

He reflects and meditates on the true nature of the supreme Self andeventually reaches the Param Dhama or the Self effulgent Brahmicseat. Now only he enjoys supreme peace and eternal bliss, unalloyedfelicity and perennial joy. He attains immortality. He never comesback to this world of death, sorrow, pain and pairs of opposites.

The final aim of the spirit is complete eradication of the threekinds of pain. This is according to the Sankhya philosophy. TheVedantins hold that emancipation consists in the merging of theindividual soul into the Supreme Soul. The Vaiseshikas hold thatliberation consists in the entire cessation of pain. PatanjaliMaharshi holds that Kaivalya or perfect independence consists in therecession to their origin of the Gunas, void of the motive to act forthe Purusha or the abidance of the soul in its own essence.

That man who does not strive to attain Self realisation but whostruggles selfishly for the attainment of perishable objects is adead man even while living. Pitiable is his lot. Your present life isdetermined by your actions in the past life. The future will bedetermined by your action in the present life.

There at the summit of the hill of eternal bliss you can see now theJivanmukta or full blown Yogi. He has climbed the stupendous heightsthrough intense and constant struggle. He did severe, rigorousspiritual Sadhana. He did profound Nididhyasana (meditation). Hespent sleepless nights. He kept long vigils on several days. Hegradually ascended the steps one by one. He took rest in the severalhalting stages. He persevered with patience and diligence. Hesurmounted many obstacles. He conquered despair, gloom, depression.

He is a beacon light to the world now. Remember that he was alsorotting in those days in the quagmire of Samsara like yourself. Youcan also ascend to that summit if you will.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Self realisation is a questionof supply and demand. Do you really want God? If there is a demandfor god, the supply will come. You have wasted the day. Will youwaste the night also? The world is a fair for two days. The life is aplay for two minutes.

Not Curiosity But Aspiration Is Needed

Some people have curiosity for the spiritual life. They have no realthirsting for liberation. They think that they will get certainpowers or Siddhis if they do some Yogic practices. When they do notattain the powers, they lose patience and give up the practices,abandon the spiritual path and pooh poohs the Yogis and Yoga. Merecuriosity will not help you to attain any spiritual progress.

Curiosity mongering is more abominable than mischief mongering.Introspect. Analyse your thoughts and find out whether you have realspiritual hunger or mere curiosity mongering. Transmute curiositymongering into real thirsting for salvation by constant Satsanga,study of good religious books, prayer, Japa and meditation.

Lord Buddha had Viveka (discrimination) from his very boyhood. Buddhawas one who had been profoundly impressed from his early youth by thetransient and impermanent nature of all conditions of worldlyexistence and by the sufferings and wretchedness in which he saw allbeings immersed.

You have learnt many lessons in the mysterious world. Now you willhave to live wisely. You have gained more wisdom now.

Renouncingattachment, living like the lotus leaf on water, abandoning Vasanasand egoism, you will have to act your part well in this world drama.That stage of life in which dispassion and discrimination have dawnedis the best part of life. Utilise this stage of life well. Be bold.Be cheerful. Be happy. No room for lamentation or despair. Never getdisgusted with life. Get disgusted with worldliness. Live wisely andhappily. Stand as a witness of this grand show kept up by Maya andrejoice in the Self within.

Brother, courage is thy birthright and not fear. Peace is thy divineheritage but not restlessness. Immortality is thy birthright, notmortality. Strength but not weakness, health but not disease, blissbut not sorrow, knowledge but not ignorance.

O dear Ram! Remember you are only a pilgrim here. This world is apublic inn only. Your permanent abode is Atman or the Self. Finishyour pilgrimage quickly by doing rigorous Tapas and meditation andreach your original abode of immortality, everlasting bliss andpeace, in this very birth.

O weary pilgrim in this terrible forest of dire Samsara! Take refugein Ram. Ram is thy sole refuge and support. There is no real friendof thine in this world. Do not be deluded by the false, glitteringsensual objects. They are worthless. They are perishable. Wake upfrom thy deep slumber of ignorance. Start upon thy journey. Makehaste. Be quick. Days and nights, months and years are passing away.

O weary pilgrim along the great road of life! Be cautious andvigilant. Do not faint and fall in the dust owing to the feverishexcitement of mundane life and intoxication of wealth and power. Donot pass by the crooked lanes and reach some illusive goal. Marchboldly in the straight path of truth and righteousness. Take restunder the cool and refreshing shade of contentment, dispassion,discrimination and eternal wisdom and reach the city of deathlessnessor domain of eternal life.

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