SANNYASA AND SALVATION
The Path of Renunciation
A householder has to face many difficulties in his practice of devotion and meditation at home. He cannot keep perfect silence (Mauna) for a few days. The disturbing factors are many. A householder can hardly attain Ananya Bhakti. In the final stages he will have to renounce the world.
Nitya Sukha (Eternal Bliss), Param Santi (Supreme Peace), Nitya Tripti (Eternal Satisfaction), Infinite happiness, Akhanda Sukha (unbroken joy) can be had in God. Attain this God consciousness or Self realisation or Darshan of God through Ananya Bhakti or Vichara. This is the goal of life. This is your highest duty. All other duties are secondary.
For higher spiritual growth and evolution, you should not remain in a place where your relatives and children live. The mind will always be restless.
If the work in the office sucks up all your energy, if you have to do late hour work in the office, if you are unable to get up in the early morning for meditation, save money, retire earlier from service and become a whole timed Sadhaka. Rising even a little late in Brahmamuhurta is good. It is better than snoring at sunrise.
Meditation is more difficult than Japa and Smarana. This can be practised by those who lead a life of Nivritti Marga or renunciation in caves or forests or who can devote their whole time in spiritual pursuits alone after retirement from service.
Just as a dramatist practises rehearsal by remaining alone in a quiet place, so also the aspirant practises meditation in solitude by remaining alone. In Gita, Lord Krishna says: "Let the Yogi constantly engage himself in Yoga, remaining in a secret place by himself, with thought and self subdued, free from hope and greed." (Chap. VI 10).
A real Sannyasin is the King of kings though he is clad in rags or Kowpeen (loin cloth) only— "Kowpeena vantha khalu bhaghyavantah—that Sannyasin with a Kowpeen is the most fortunate man".
Young men who are bachelors are quite fit for embracing Sannyasa. They are full of spirit, enthusiasm and energy. They have pure, untainted minds. Their minds are quite plastic, elastic and bending. They can be moulded easily. They have power of endurance to undergo the hardship of a rigid, ascetic life in forests and solitary places.It is only for the passionate people, the Grihastha Ashram (householder's life) is prescribed, because they cannot control their lust. If one is born with sufficient spiritual Samskaras, inborn Viveka and Vairagya like Sri Sankaracharya or Sadasiva Brahman, he will not enter the Grihastha life. He will at once take to Naishtika Brahmacharya and then embrace Sannyasa. The Srutis also endorse this: "Renounce the world on the very day when you can get Vairagya."
Renounce worldly desires. Renounce the pleasures of sensual objects. Approach a Guru. Strive for liberation. Fix the mind on Truth. Beware! Father, mother, wife, son, friends, relatives, money, property are all your enemies. Beware of Maya. Trust not the Indriyas. This world is mere appearance. Sensual pleasure is pain only. This world is full of miseries, sufferings and tribulations.Behind the mind, there is the ocean of bliss, peace and knowledge. That is Atman. That is Brahman. That is Supreme Being. That is Infinite or Absolute (Brahman). Realise That. Then only you will be free.
Have strong determination and an iron will. Never think of returning back home, after taking up Nivritti Marga. Think well before you leap. Have courage, fixity of mind and definite purpose in life. Be not wavering. Are you ready to give all possessions including the body and life? Then alone take to Nivritti Marga and embrace Sannyasa. Think thrice before you come to a definite conclusion. This is not a rosy path as you imagine. It is full of thorns. It is beset with countless difficulties. Be humble, patient and persevering.
Never care for Siddhis or quick awakening of Kundalini. Have devotion to God. Have perfect trust in Him. Have the spirit of service of humanity. Then only you will be benefited by your taking to this path. I shall serve you. Be not troubled. Be not anxious. I am thy servant always. Be noble minded.
Real Renunciation
Someone asked Guru Nanak: "O Saint, why have you not shaved your head? You are a Sannyasin." Guru Nanak replied: "My dear friend, I have shaved my mind. There is no necessity for me to shave my head." In fact the mind should be clearly shaved. Shaving the mind is getting rid of all sorts of attachment, passion and egoism. That is real shaving. External shaving has no meaning when there is internal craving, Trishna.
Real renunciation is in the mind. Real Sannyasa is a mental state. One may give up his wife, wealth, children and position and yet he may not be a Sannyasi for he may be attached to them in his mind, in his heart of hearts (Aasakti).
Abandon the hypocritical externals of a life of renunciation. Be true to your own self. Wearing of matted locks will not constitute true renunciation. Renunciation is a mental state. Do not try to pose for a pious and religious man. There are intelligent people to find out your real nature. You will be caught after some time.
This physical body is the product of actions in previous births. Food, clothing, etc., are arranged by Prakriti beforehand for this body. You need not be afraid in any way.
Everyone is born with his own Samskaras. Even if you are shut up in a cave amidst wilderness, your food and clothing are bound to be in front of your cave. This is the Divine Law. Where is room for lamentation and despair, O Chandra Mohan! The whole spiritual world will back you up.
O aspirants, fly away from the company of worldly minded. Those who talk of worldly affairs will quickly pollute you. Your mind may waver and begin to wander. You will have a downfall. Run, run, run quickly to solitary places like Uttarkasi. Fly, fly, fly to the solitary places like Rishikesh. You will be safe. You will be outside the danger zone now. Remember the words of Lord Krishna: "Vivikta sevi—dwelling in solitude"—Gita, Chap. XVIII 52. "Rahasy sthita ekaki—let the Yogi constantly engage himself in Yoga remaining in a secret place". —Chap. VI 10.
O aspirants, don't beg anything except bread even if you die. A beggar cannot dream of liberation (Moksha).
Those aspirants who are well qualified and well equipped will be really benefited in the path of renunciation. Many renounce the world and take to Sannyasa in their temporary zeal. They do not make any progress in the spiritual path, because they lack the preparation and qualifications without which spiritual life is not possible.
The more you are free from worldly activities and worries, the more the world will love and respect you.
In olden days ladies led the life of celibacy, served the Rishis, meditated on Atman and obtained Brahma jnana.
No doubt it is difficult for ladies, particularly for young ladies to pull on in the path of renunciation (Nivritti Marga). They have not got the same freedom as men have. Men can sit and move about in anyway they like. It is a great pity there is no Ashram for the lady Sannyasins!
A householder asked Brahmachari Niranjan: "Brother, why have you not married?" Niranjan replied: "I have never had time to think about marriage. I am busy with my own work. All my thoughts are centred on my immortal friend, the Indweller of my heart, the Soul of all beings, an embodiment of bliss."
Necessity for Vairagya
I found a sheet of "Hindustan Times" lying on the table in a library. There was a bust of a beautiful man with crop, tie, etc. I was a bit attracted. Something was printed below the bust. I began to read. The matter was "Mr. U. Rai Bahadur, a leading citizen of such and such place." I was a little more attracted by coming across the words `Bahadur' and `leading citizen'. Then came the words "whose death occurred a few days ago under mysterious circumstances." My heart was touched. Then the paragraph ended with the words: "His dead body was discovered near the Railway Station of that place." I was deeply moved. A man may hold a good status or position in society. He may roll in wealth and yet he is snatched away by the cold hands of cruel death. Mr. U. Rai Bahadur was a leading citizen. He sat on velvetty cushions. He moved in beautiful cars. He applied scents, medicated oil to his body. He dressed his body with valuable silken clothing. He had many servants, friends and relatives and yet there was none to attend on him when his last breath left his body and his body, which he fondled very much, was found in a miserable condition near a dustbin. Such is life in this mysterious universe! Yet people cling to this mundane life and do not attempt for attaining the knowledge of the Self, which alone can free one from the round of births and deaths and confer on him immortality and eternal bliss.
This world of names and forms is constantly changing. Seas dry up and vast sandy deserts come into being in their place. Elevations become depressions and depressions become elevations. Sand becomes stone and stone becomes sand. Blocks of stones become lime and lime becomes dust. Forests become model towns and cities become deserted places.Grass becomes blood; blood becomes milk; milk again becomes blood; blood becomes flesh. A young man becomes an old man and a beautiful girl becomes an ugly woman. The fatty man becomes thin and a thin girl becomes a fatty woman. A Zamindar becomes a beggar and a beggar becomes a Zamindar. At the back of these ever changing objects there is the changeless, eternal, immortal Brahman or the Supreme Self. He who realises this Brahman attains immortality, freedom and eternal bliss.
The spring is lovely. The trees are adorned with flowers and fruits. The gentle breeze is exhilarating. But the summer is scorching and the winter is biting. Man laughs when he gets a son, when he gets married, when he gets some fortune or increase of salary, but weeps when his wife dies, when he loses money, when he is thrown out of employment, when he gets a severe scorpion sting, when he suffers from an acute disease.
What Is This World?
This is a strange world indeed. This is a very big museum or wonderful show. The flowers and the Himalayan scenery, the Niagara Falls, the sea, the sky are beautiful and charming. But the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, lightnings, thunderstorms, landslips, cyclones and epidemic of influenza and plague are awful and threatening. A beautiful wife is very charming. She is very sweet when she is young, when she smiles, when she puts on a beautiful dress, when she sings, when she plays on the piano or violin, when she dances in the ball room. But she looks horrible when she loses her temper, when she quarrels with her husband for getting silken clothes and golden necklace, when she is suffering from a chronic disease and when she becomes old.
That which is nothing in the beginning and is so also in the end, necessarily does not exist in the present. Objects are like ordinary illusions though regarded as real. Do Vichar.
This world is verily like a resting tree for birds. One evening birds meet together on a tree for a night's stay and the next morning they leave the tree and part from one another and go their way. Even so do men meet for a time as relatives, parents, sons and friends and then disperse. Birth leads to death and death to birth. Thus without rest, man wanders forever.
This mysterious world with its charming scenery is very beautiful to look at, but it is very dirty to mingle with. All are deceived by Mayaic charm. But the sage, the devotee, the Yogi and the Viveki are not affected.
This very big world is a mere drop or an atom when compared with the Infinite Brahman. Just as a straw is floating in the ocean, so also this world is floating in a corner of Brahman. The mind and the lenses of the eye are deceiving you. They reveal to you an exaggerated picture, just as the microphone exaggerates the sound of a pin drop into a mighty thunder. This is Mayaic jugglery which is understood by people who possess dispassion and discrimination, but not by the worldly people.
The Kings and Lords will pass away. This world will pass away with all its occupants. The sun, moon and stars will pass away. All joys and sorrows will pass away. Wife, children, wealth, property will pass away. The five elements will pass away. Days and nights, months and years centuries will pass away. Verily the Akshara or the Imperishable Sat chit ananda Brahman or the Eternal alone will endure for ever. Realise this Brahman, thy innermost Self, through constant and profound meditation and become Immortal.
The glory of the worldly life passes away quickly. Name and fame are vibrations in the ether. How many doctors, lawyers and judges have come and gone? No one speaks of them now.
Ah, how quickly does the glory of the world pass away! Where are the mighty potentates who once wielded their sceptres with vain pomp and glory? Where are those erudite lawyers, judges and doctors, who once passed for great men in society? Tell me now, where are all these scholars, pundits, multi millionaires, who posed themselves much for their erudition and wealth? Do people talk of them now? Name and fame is mere vibration in the ether.
O little egoistic man of vanities, you have become now very old. Your body is bent now, you walk with a stick, and yet your anger has not disappeared now. Your body is emaciated. The limbs are in wasted condition. The senses are cold and yet your egoism has not vanished. Your moustache has become grey and yet the desires have not left you!
What Is This Body?
Do not perish as a prey in the snare of your sensual appetites. Do not fall like a blind man in the hidden pits of this world. Why do you endanger your life by falling into the muddy pits of this world?This body is a false leather bag filled with air. This is a cage made up of flesh, bones and nerves. This is a mysterious pot make by the divine potter—God, out of the five elements. It will break down at any moment. Tiger (passion), bear (anger), leopard (greed), wolf (jealousy), elephant (pride) dwell in this body. These wild animals attack the Jiva and disturb his peace of mind. He who has subdued these animals can attain serenity and perfection.
Life is a lightning flash of breath. Time is but a thunderclap of death. Live in Atman. You will attain immortality. Go beyond time. You will attain eternity.
Look at this body. This is a house with two pillars. The walls are made up of rice, bread, dhall and potatoes. This will fall down without giving any notice. Jivatma dwells in this house.
Physical beauty is no beauty. He who has knowledge of the Self is the most beautiful man in the whole world. He is the really handsome man. Though Astavakra had eight kinds of deformities, he was the most handsome man. He had the Brahmic aura in his face. The eyes sparkled with the light of the soul. With this light he subdued Raja Janaka, with this light he made Raja Janaka enter into Samadhi in the twinkling of an eye.
Minus skin, minus dress, minus ornaments, woman is nothing. Just imagine for a moment that her skin is removed. You will have to stand by her side with a long stick to drive away crows and vultures. Physical beauty is superficial, illusory and fading. It is skin deep. Do not be deluded by external appearances. It is the jugglery of Maya. Go to the source Atman, the beauty of beauties, everlasting beauty.
A frog which is in the mouth of a serpent and which is about to be devoured, attempts to get hold of insects for its enjoyment. Even so, man who is in the jaws of the serpent of Time tries in vain to obtain objects of sense enjoyments like the frog and forgets thereby his goal of life and essential divine nature. How deluded and stupid he is!
The pleasure that you derive from the sense objects is temporary. This temporary pleasure is followed by a painful reaction. That is the reason why Vivekins who are endowed with discrimination between the real and the unreal do not hanker after sensual pleasures. They shun them ruthlessly through Dosha Drishti.
The pleasure that you get from sensual objects tantamounts to the size of a grain of barley, while the pain that you experience in this world is of the size of a mountain.
Abandon Sensual Pleasures
The scorpion has the venom in its tail, the cobra in the fangs, the mosquito in the saliva and the scandal monger in the tongue. The woman has poisoned arrows in her eyes. She sends message of passion to the lustful youths and pierces their hearts through the poisoned arrows that dart from her piercing glances. She cannot do any harm to a Viveki who is always on the alert and who sees the Doshas of a woman (Asat, Jada, Duhkha and impurities) and who knows the Sat chit ananda, pure nature of Atman.
Sri Sankaracharya did not marry lest he should love and then suffer the loss of dear ones. He never acquired wealth, lest his soul should be attracted towards transient, earthly possessions. He possessed the eternal spiritual wealth, the invaluable Atmic pearl. He rejoiced in his own Self. He had unending, undecaying Atmic bliss.
The ignorant man only runs after sensual objects and falls into the mortal coils spread around him. He lives in the midst of darkness. He falls again and again under the sway of Lord of death, Yama. The way to Moksha is not apparent to him. He is deluded by the sensual pleasures of this world. But the patient, thoughtful man of discrimination and dispassion does not desire the illusory pleasures of this world. He meditates on the Supreme Self and attains eternal bliss and immortality.
The musk deer does not know that the fragrance of musk is emanating from its own navel. It wanders about here and there to find out the source of this smell. Even so, the deluded, ignorant Jiva is not aware that the fountain of Bliss is within himself in the Atman. He is running after external, perishable objects to get happiness.
Those who are deluded and subdued by Vasanas do impure acts. They become egoistic, self assertive and proud. Evil resolves always revolve in their minds. They have sensual enjoyments as the only standard or goal of life. They try to get wealth by foul or unjust means for their sensual enjoyment. They are caught in the net of countless hopes and anticipations. They are apt to do anything to get money. Money is their only God. They are greedy, irritable. They are prone to hypocrisy, anger, deceitfulness and dishonesty.
This Samsara or world is generally compared to a forest on fire. The three kinds of Tapas, the five kinds of afflictions actually burn the man. He is roasted in the pan like mustard. But a worldly man thinks foolishly that he is deriving pleasure from the sensual objects. He has a gross mind, which is intoxicated with the wine of passion; so he is not able to perceive things in their true light.
A poor boy saw for the first time a rich man's son drinking a cup of milk. He did not know that it was milk. He asked the rich man's son, "Brother, what are you drinking?" He replied: "This is milk." The boy asked his mother: "Dear mamma, you have not given me up to this time any milk. Give me some milk. Let me taste it." The poor mother had no money. She took some maize flour, put it in water, added a little sugar and gave to her son. He drank it and said: "Mamma, it is very nice. Give me milk daily." The boy was taking this for a month. One day, the rich man's son gave a cup of milk to this poor boy. The poor boy enjoyed it to his heart's content. His mother gave the boy as usual, in the morning, her own preparation. The boy did not take it. He said: "Mamma, this is not milk at all. You have deceived me up to this time. I do not want this. I shall take real milk in future from the rich man's son, my classmate." Just as the boy who tasted the real milk even once did not run after artificial milk prepared by his mother, so also that wise man who has tasted once the Brahmic Bliss will never run after sensual objects.
The Path of the Wise
Tell me now, friends! What do you find really in this ¬illusory world? Happiness or pain? Joy or sorrow? Have you understood the illusory nature of the Mayaic creation? This world is a mere appearance. Mind and the senses are deceiving you at every moment. You have mistaken pain for pleasure on account of clouded understanding. There is not an iota of happiness in this sense-universe. Abandon these selfish struggles for amassing wealth. March direct to that wirepuller who is moving these toys of flesh—human bodies—who is keeping up this big show, who is behind this show. In Him only you will find lasting happiness and perennial joy. Merge in Him by practising daily meditation.
During adversities, troubles, extreme difficulties, sickness, etc., a feeling of utter helplessness and the presence of a mighty mysterious Power or hidden Governor of this universe creeps over your being, but such moments do not last for a long time. Such moments are very few also. Maya is very powerful. The illusory sensual objects invade the mind and cloud the understanding. But a man of dispassion and discrimination is always vigilant. Maya is afraid to approach him.
Prana or life breath is as impermanent as the drop of water on the lotus leaf, which is likely to be thrown by the slightest breeze. It is not certain that the man who is living today will live on the next day. Life is as evanescent as a bubble. Therefore try to attain immortality.
There is internal peace which is not disturbed by external happenings. This is the supreme peace of the soul or Atman. He who rests in this peace meets difficulties and troubles with fortitude. He is not upset by adversities, calamities and trying circumstances.
Who is your real father? Search Him. Who is your real mother? Search Her. What is death? Why are you attached to the flesh? Be attached to the imperishable Atman, the indweller, thy immortal friend and well wisher. You had countless births. You had countless fathers and mothers.
A swan splits a mixture of water and milk and rejects the water and drinks the milk alone. Even so, a Paramahamsa rejects the sensual objects which give pain, abandons this illusory world of names and forms, identifies himself with the undying Atman and drinks the nectar of immortality.
Mira Bai deserted her husband; Raja Bhartruhari his wife; Vibhishana his brother Ravana; Bali his Guru Sukracharya and Prahlada his father Hiranyakasipu. You can desert anyone who stands in the way of your God realisation. If you have intense spiritual thirst after God, and if you have a passionate wife to pull you down, what is the earthly use of having such a disastrous partner with intellectual, psychological disparity and discord? Shun her ruthlessly without any fear if she hinders your spiritual progress. Be bold. You cannot sacrifice your noble ideal for the sake of pleasing a woman who bewitches you. Can you?
Is not a kingdom valuable to be owned? Is not a summer house or a pleasant garden with sweet smelling flowers pleasant to live in? Is not the company of young Maharanis with tender waists and lotus like eyes dear as life itself, and very pleasing? Yet, wise dispassionate men like Bhartruhari, Buddha, Gopichand retired into forests kicking all these things as worthless as straw for realising the Self which alone can confer immortality, infinite bliss and eternal peace.
Maya
The life of man on earth is a life of temptations and tribulations. Those who have real, intense Vairagya and strong Viveka can hardly be tempted by worldly objects by Mara and Satan.
When your body is carried to the crematorium, your wife will follow as far as the threshold of your house. Some friends will follow you as far as the burning ground. That which follows you to the end is your actions and Sadhana only. The silken thread that is tied around your waist also will be removed for the use of your grandson. You will be gauged not by what you have read, but by what you have done, not by what you have spoken, but by how religiously you have earned name and fame and the purity of your thoughts and motives.
Man wants after all very little on this earth. Four loaves and two spoons of dhall will appease his hunger. Two small pieces of cloth will remove his nudity and protect him against cold weather.This world is a play of colours and sounds. This sense universe is a play of nerves. It is a false show kept up by the jugglery of Maya, mind and nerves. You enjoy the sensual pleasures for a period of twenty years when the senses are strong. What is this short evanescent period of twenty years in eternity? What is this despicable, jarring, monotonous sensual life compared with the eternal and peaceful life in the immortal Self within? If the nerve of taste, the glosso pharyngeal gets paralysed, you cannot enjoy the different kinds of palatable dishes. If your retina or optic nerve is paralysed, you cannot enjoy the diverse beautiful forms. If the auditory nerve is paralysed, you cannot hear the melodious music. If the olfactory nerve is paralysed, you cannot enjoy the various kinds of sweet fragrance. If your sensory nerve of the hands is paralysed, you cannot enjoy the soft things. If the nerve of erigens is paralysed, you cannot enjoy conjugal bliss. Do you not clearly see now that this world is a mere play of nerves? Do you not understand that this universe of opposites is illusory? You will have to depend upon these nerves and senses for your happiness. If these nerves go out of order, you become miserable even though you possess enormous wealth and palatial buildings. Can you call these little illusory things of sensual pleasures which depend upon the play of nerves as real lasting happiness? It is mere itching of nerves only, which tickles those deluded souls who have lost their power of discrimination and understanding.
The world is in utter chaos now. There is intense panic everywhere. There is no security. There is restlessness. Many suffer from a poverty of moral law and spiritual attributes. The world's supreme need is a new understanding and a new love. It is the message of the Gita. It is the gospel of Buddha or Christ.
The embrace of a woman in dream is false but the discharge of the vital fluid is true. From Asat Sat has come. Is this not a mystery? Maya can do this. Maya can do anything. She is the Sakti of the Lord.Maya is a very huge saw. Lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, jealousy, hatred, etc., are the teeth of this huge saw. All worldly minded persons are caught up in the teeth of this saw and are crushed. Those who are endowed with purity, humility, love, dispassion, devotion and enquiry are not hurt. They escape through the Divine Grace. They pass smoothly below the saw and reach the other side of immortality.
Maya havocs through imagination of the mind. Woman is not beautiful but the imagination is beautiful. Sugar is not sweet, but the imagination is sweet. Food is not palatable, but the imagination is palatable. Man is not weak, but the imagination is weak. Understand the nature of Maya and mind and become wise. Curb this imagination of the mind by Vichara or right thinking and rest in Brahman wherein there is neither imagination nor Sankalpa or thought.
A Word To Virochanas
O followers of the philosophy of flesh! Give up clinging to this body, wife and children. Try to know the inner immortal Lord of life who dwells in this body, who is the Inner Ruler, by whom you live, by whom the senses and intellect are illumined. Do not mistake the transient body for the immortal, changeless, self luminous Atman.
The sage who has realised the Self, who has knowledge of Atman, the Indweller, is the most beautiful man in this world. He who has a pure heart is also a very beautiful man. He who tries to pose for a beautiful man through crop, ties, bows, silken dress, face cream, ear rings, etc. is the most ugly man in this world. He is like a crow in borrowed peacock's feathers. Physical beauty is skin deep. Underneath the skin, there is stinking raw flesh.
O Man, even the broken needles will not follow you when you die. Your actions only, good and bad, will follow you. Why then do you waste your time and energy in hoarding wealth? Give up this constant selfish struggle.
Your wife will follow your corpse up to the end of the street. Your sons who sob and weep will follow you only up to the cremation ground. They make various resolves. As soon as they come to their houses, their Vairagya evaporates like ammonia.
When a woman suffers from the pangs of delivery, she also develops momentary Vairagya. As soon as the child is born, her Vairagya vanishes.
Fleeting Vairagya of the above type will not help the aspirant in reaching the goal. Strong sustained Vairagya that is born of strong discrimination (Viveka Purvaka Vairagya) will help the aspirant in attaining the summum bonum of existence.
Even if Vairagya is dull in the beginning, it does not matter. It can be intensified and strengthened by constant Satsanga with Mahatmas, by living in the company of dispassionate Sannyasins, by study of books which treat of Vairagya and by looking always unto the defects of the sensual life. Raja Bhartruhari had Karana Vairagya only in the beginning, but he strengthened it later on by Satsanga.
The world is only a temporary resting place for you. It is like a public inn. You are here to learn some lessons, which can help in your spiritual progress. Your original abode is Paramdhama or immortal Atman. Man is not body. He is in essence the eternal soul.This physical body is his temporary fleshy coat. He will have to throw this here. You will have to take great care of the soul. Anything that stands as stumbling block in the attainment of Self realisation or spiritual progress is bad for you, although it may bring physical comforts for the time being. Do not kill the soul by thinking of the body and its wants always.
Tat Tvam Asi
This world of names and forms is a mere appearance like snake in the rope or silver in the mother of pearl. The senses and the mind delude you at every moment. Trust not these senses and the mind. The body, senses and the mind are your instruments and playthings. Behind this world show, behind these physical phenomena, behind these names and forms, behind the feelings, thoughts, emotions and sentiments, there dwells the silent witness, thy immortal friend and real well wisher, the Purusha or World Teacher, the unseen Governor or Master, the unknown Yogi, the invisible Power or Consciousness or hidden Sage. He is called the Supreme Being or Atman or Brahman, the Absolute or the Infinite, the Eternal or the Self. Know this Self and be free.
While you are dreaming of pleasant things, you do not wake up, but you do wake up when you see a lion, a cobra, or any vision of a frightful nature. Even so, though all objects of the world are illusory, the thirsting aspirant wakes up from his slumber of ignorance as soon as he studies the Upanishads and hears the `Tat Tvam Asi' Mahavakya (which speaks of the identity of the individual soul with the supreme Soul), reflects, meditates and attains the goal of life, i.e. Self realisation.
Time is fleeting. Days, months and years are rolling away. Hairs have become grey. Teeth have fallen. Tell me friend, how long will you be a slave to the fleeting things of the world? How long will you repeat the same sensual enjoyments? How long will you worship mammon? Open your eyes now. Wake up from the deep slumber and profound inertia. Regain the lost divine glory. Thou art divine. Thou art Truth. Thou art Soul. Realise this and be free.
There is a sovereign means which puts an end to the round of births and deaths and destroys the fear of Samsara. Develop the four means. Hear the Srutis. Reflect and meditate on Atman. This will result in Self realisation.
This body is the real prison. He who is a slave of passion and greed is the prisoner. His external fetters are wife, son, wealth, etc. The internal fetters are Avidya, Kama, Karma, Moha, egoism and Raga. First cut the external fetters through the sword of non attachment. Through Satsanga, Vichara and discrimination, cut the internal fetters.
The Supreme Soul which is not enveloped in the meshes of Maya, which is pure, eternal, self luminous, all pervading and indivisible is Brahman of the Vedanta. Know Him. Realise Him through intuition and be free.
The Big conflagration of spiritual fire, the Self luminous Atman, is ever burning inside your heart. Will anyone care to behold this little burning of palmyra leaves, the little lights that burn in earthen vessels with cotton wicks—the Kartigai Deepam?
Where Is Real Love?
The desire to attain knowledge of the Self will dawn only in the person who is free from desires, who has a pure mind, and who is quite disgusted with this worldly life. Such a man only is competent to hear, meditate and attain Brahma Jnana or Knowledge of Brahman. When the knowledge of the Self dawns, ignorance which is the seed for bondage and the cause of Karma is totally eradicated and the aspirant attains immortality and eternal bliss.
Do not depend upon anybody. Rely on your own self. Be centred in the Atman only. The sweet wife deserts her husband when he is on the role of unemployment and marries another young man. The rich husband divorces his wife when she loses her beauty on account of protracted illness and marries another woman. Even Lord Jesus and Buddha were forsaken by all their friends, followers and disciples. This is a strange world! Mysterious is Maya!
Real affection can be found in God and sages only. Worldly affection is only showy, hypocritical, illusory and changing. Just see whether your relatives, even your friends, your brothers and sisters show affection to you when you are unemployed, when you are suffering from a chronic, incurable disease without any money in your hands. It is to realise his selfish ends, to extract money from you, that the so called relative pretends to be affectionate towards you. This is a mysterious world full of selfishness. You have not got enough experience as yet. You will understand this in course of time. Beware, O Ram!
Take refuge in unselfish immortal God alone. Never depend upon perishable man, friend or relative, who will forsake you when you are penniless and when you are suffering from a chronic, severe disease.Saints and prophets who have realised God are shouting at the top of their voice that the Lord is dwelling in the hearts of beings and yet no one is earnestly attempting to make a vigorous search in his own heart. Is this not lamentable? God is above, below, within, without and all around. Thirst for His Darshan. Look within. Practise introspection. Turn your gaze inwards. Try earnestly to attain the Immortal Being. In Him, you can find eternal peace. Enter His Kingdom right now, in this very second.
Stand firm on the rock of truth or Brahman. Have a firm grip of your reality, the self luminous, Immortal Atman or Soul. Look upon this universe as your all full form. Only when knowledge of the Self dawns in your heart, you can free yourself from rebirths and become identical with the Supreme Self. Equip yourself with the four means. Hear the Srutis, reflect, meditate and realise. May you become a sage!
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