AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha

Day 66, November 1

Jaya Guru Datta

Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha

Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha

asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrityor ma amrtam gamaya
Om Santissantissantihi

Please lead me from untruth to Truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. May there be peace.

Yoga Vasishtha Dhyana Slokas:
yatassarvāṇi bhūtāni pratibhānti sthitāni ca
yatraivōpaśamaṁ yānti tasmai satyātmanē namaḥ || 1
jñātā jñānaṁ tathā jñēyaṁ draṣṭādarśana dr̥śyabhūḥ
kartā hētuḥ kriyā yasmāt tasmai jñaptyātmanē namaḥ || 2
sphuranti sīkarā yasmāt ānanandasyāṁbarē vanau
sarvēṣām jīvanam tasmai brahmānandātmanē namaḥ || 3

We were talking about the dialog between Viswamitra and Sri Rama.

We can also achieve even-mindedness with practice. For example, sometimes when someone very close to us insults us, we bear it without complaining. That strength will be within us. But it is important to cultivate this strength and self-control at all times, so that even when our enemies do things to upset us, we remain calm. That is the final stage of emotional control as a spiritual seeker. The unperturbed attitude should be maintained at all times and in all situations.

Kevalam susamaha – describes Suka Yogi. He is steady and centered within himself. He is ever happy.

The four rules to follow to attain bliss are given to us here.

1. To ever be engaged in the contemplation of the Self.
2. To Remain unperturbed always.
3. To be centered within oneself, feeling self-assured.
4. to remain silent.

This is the formula to achieve happiness. Every one of these qualities is most important and has to be developed.
Now begins the actual discussion of philosophy.

Yesterday we saw how King Janaka tested Suka Yogi. To one who is waiting at the gates to be ignored completely, is a huge insult and let down. But Suka Yogi remained unperturbed. Until such a state of mind is achieved, one cannot get enlightened. It is achieved by removing the ego. In the worldly parlance we may refer to it as arrogance. In the Vedanta parlance, it is assuming ‘doer-ship’ such as ‘I am doing. This is happening because of me.’ Even to gain Guru’s grace, one must be free from ego. It is ego that makes one angry. It is ego which spoils health. It is ego that leads both to worldly and spiritual problems.

For Suka Yogi, it was all the same, whether he was invited in, kicked out, or simply ignored. After a week, when he was invited in, he followed the command. He was given all luxuries. He simply witnessed everything.

Sri Bhagavatpada gives us great advice: Do not wish for anything. But, as a consequence of our good fortune, we may sometimes obtain comforts unasked. When that happens, experience them without rejecting them. Your food may be tasty. Eat it then as God’s gift. It may be too salty or spicy. See if you can salvage some edible portions out of it to consume. But do not lose your cool. Remain calm and unperturbed. Slowly develop such even-mindedness. Sometimes unexpected good fortune occurs. Just accept it then without spoiling your health.

Unexpectedly you are served a delicious dessert. You did not ask for it or expect it. There is no need to reject it or protest that you have given up desserts and such enjoyments. The gift came your way by destiny’s will. Simply accept it with a steady mind. If marital happiness comes your way, just accept it. Do not go out of your way to obtain physical pleasures in an unrighteous manner. This is the first step.

Suka Yogi came to King Janaka seeking spiritual enlightenment. But he was offered royal luxuries instead. He just accepted it.

We came to the ashram to have darshan of Swamiji. It happened to be a festive occasion. A feast was prepared in the Annapurna Mandiram. You feel the special aroma. If you forget the purpose of your visit and run to the dining hall first, you may miss the darshan of Guru. First have darshan of Guru, even if you have to wait. Leave it to destiny as to whether the treats will remain in the dining hall until you arrive there. If you are served the full meal, then enjoy it. If not, let it be.

Suka Yogi witnessed the luxuries offered to him with dispassion. The informers of the king gave Janaka the news of the way Suka Yogi responded to the lavish hospitality offered to him. He remained like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. He was showing neither pleasure nor pain.

After 14 days of observation, King Janaka acknowledged that Suka Yogi had developed sufficient amount of equanimity of mind. With Guru also one must maintain mental balance and patience. If such level-headedness is maintained, Guru’s grace will automatically flow.

Yesterday Thathagaru asked whether requesting for Guru Seva is also wrong. You said one should seek only liberation. Then is seeking an opportunity to serve Guru a wrong desire?

No. It is most important to serve Guru. Once Guru is satisfied with your service, He Himself will place you on the path towards salvation. He does not like for us to be repeatedly taking birth. We have come to Guru only for obtaining knowledge of Truth. Other boons which he gives are not even secondary. Actually they do not even count.

He gives them only to divert our path towards the path of liberation. Guru’s desire is only to see that we are not reborn. If a person is suffering from severe physical pain, unless the pain is removed, his attention will not be turned towards enlightenment. For that reason, Guru heals our pain, improves our health and then leads us on the path to liberation.

King Janaka, having tested Suka Yogi thoroughly, and satisfied with his findings, finally came to meet him. He welcomed the Yogi with pleasure and courtesy and inquired of his welfare.

14 days after his arrival, what is the point in asking if he has got over his jet lag? But Suka Yogi did not mind. The purpose of his visit was different. It was not for exchange of courtesies or honors.

Janaka praised Suka that Suka had completely exhausted all his karma in this world. Suka was now free from all karmic bondage.

We have karma to perform. That is why we are here. It is imperative that we do our bounden duty without fail. We should not try to escape from it or avoid it. We have to earn knowledge while continuing to do our karma. When the karma is finished, it will automatically release us from its bondage. That is what Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa has said. As long as the coconut frond is attached to the tree, it has to serve the tree. Once its time has come to drop off from the tree, nobody needs to pull it off. It will get detached by itself and will fall to the ground.

Because Suka Yogi has become totally enlightened, he has no more karma bondage with this world, said King Janaka. He has already achieved whatever there is to achieve. He has no desires to gain anything. Then why is he still living? We may ask. That is called Prarabdha. There is a destiny that each body has to remain on earth for so long. That cannot be changed even if the individual has transcended all desires, like the one in the state of Kaamaavasaayitaa.

Having said this, King Janaka asked Suka Yogi the purpose of his visit. What is your wish?
Suka Yogi gave a list of questions, the same way that he gave his father, for King Janaka to answer. He addressed King Janaka as O Guru, not as O King.

I am not intending to get into a discussion now about castes. But in those days when the caste system was followed, King Janaka was a Kshatriya, one who belonged to the warrior class. Suka Yogi was a Brahmin. Normally a Kshatriya addresses a Brahmin as Guru, but not the other way around. That is the tradition. But here a very important thing has to be noted. Suka Yogi is none other than the son of Sage Vyasa, who actually organized the information contained in the Vedas. Suka Avadhoota himself is highly knowledgeable. Yet, he addressed a Kshatriya as Guru. It tells us that knowledge is not bound by the barriers of caste. Any person of any caste can be a Guru if he is qualified to impart spiritual knowledge to another individual.

A child, a woman, an old man, a person otherwise considered by the world as worthless, still qualifies to be called Guru if that person has become enlightened and can share his knowledge about the Supreme Soul. Good counsel should be accepted from anyone without any discrimination.

“How did this fully glamorous and well adorned Creation come into being?” I wish to know the answer, asked Suka Yogi.

Once we begin to explore into this subject, the answers will begin to generate by themselves from within the mind.

“How does this Creation become non-existent again?”
Anything that is born must die. In between those two, namely birth and death, sustenance has to be there. “How is the world sustained?”

Earlier, Suka had asked his father for whose sake this Creation came into being. Here he is not asking that question.

“What is the purpose of this Creation?”

King Janaka explained to Suka Yogi exactly in the same manner as Sage Vyasa had explained earlier to Suka Yogi.

After listening to the explanation fully, Suka Yogi mistakenly felt that he had not been told anything new. All this information he felt that he already possessed.

The Ramayana is always the same. No matter who narrates it, the story remains the same. How can it change? If we listen to it intently, an insight develops from deep within. New meanings will begin to strike our intelligence.

If Swamiji tells us to read the Sri Datta Darsanam, we must simply read it. That is all. We should not say I just read it recently. What the Guru intends is that you should read it again. This time some new insights will occur. Some deeper meanings will reveal themselves.

Similarly, using the same examples, King Janaka explained the subject to Suka Yogi, as Vyasa had done. Suka Yogi now felt that his own father had explained it better.

Suka Yogi kept looking for new facts rather than looking for the hidden meaning inherent in what was already stated. In what was already repeated, a wealth of knowledge lay hidden. That needed to be explored.

Om is always Om. Omkara is the same through the eons. It cannot be changed. If you change it and say Bhom, what good does it do?

In his mind, Suka Yogi felt that the literal meaning of the statements given in the Veda were once again repeated here. Anyone who explains this will use the same examples and the same format.

I had already studied all this. This is all mere theoretical knowledge. Why did I have to come all the way here to learn what I could have learned by studying books? Suka Yogi thought.

Is there not a difference between studying books and listening to Guru’s teaching? Is there no difference between the food that a mother lovingly feeds a child and the food you purchase in a restaurant? How can you equate the two? What Guru gives us is like mother’s spoon feeding.

Suka Yogi is very humble, gentle, and scholarly. If he should now tell King Janaka that he is dissatisfied with his teaching, he might send him to yet another teacher. This could go on endlessly. Therefore, what Suka Yogi did was to put together all the knowledge that he had gained by himself, gathered from his father’s teaching, and from King Janaka’s explanation, and presented a clear but succinct synopsis of his understanding of the entire subject.

This is very important for us. This shloka in this episode is very crucial.

“This Creation is born out of my own ignorance”.

Our joys and sorrows are also created by us. Without the sun, the moon, and the world, nothing exists. All these exist because we think they exist.

Suka knew everything. Yet, he went far and wide trying to confirm that what he knew was the ultimate truth. How great he is!

Everyone was praising Suka for his greatness. They spontaneously gave him the title of Avadhoota. The Gandharva women remained *** as Suka walked by but grabbed their clothes in a hurry when aged Vyasa came that way. Vyasa questioned their action. They explained that Suka is a Yogi, an Avadhoota, who does not differentiate between himself and others. Vyasa, despite his age, was not that pure in his heart nor that highly elevated spiritually.

We too should verify our information with Guru. We should be 100% certain of our knowledge.

Yathaa yam ..

Suka got the answer from within himself that Creation emanates out of his own ignorance. The moment his own ignorance vanishes, Creation also will vanish.

Creation may exist but it will not exist for the enlightened the way it exists for the ignorant. The way the enlightened see the world is different from how the rest of us look at it.

Dagdha samsara is this burned up creation. The apple that we consider as rotten is great food for the worms and the insects. We call it rotten because it will spoil our health. The Samsara will spoil us because it lacks truth. The enlightened are not affected by the joys and sorrows of this world. We desire joy and we detest sorrow. The Jnani treats them both as equal.

There are millions of snakes all over the world. Do we seek them out and kill them all? No. Only when we find that they might harm us, we take precaution. Like King Janamejaya, we are not going to take a vow to kill all serpents that exist. Similarly, the Jnani likes to live and let live. He is not affected by the joys and sorrows that occur in the world. He remains untouched by them. One should change oneself and not try to change the world.
When parents leave a child with Guru, he simply has to hold on to the Guru.

“This worldly life is without any essence.” Suka Yogi felt convinced that his understanding was right. Yet, he asked King Janaka whether what he believed as truth was in fact the Truth.

Now he is addressing the King as Mahabaho, a strong-armed one. That is how kings are addressed because they rule and protect the kingdom. We are the kings of the kingdom called our bodies. We have to similarly be masters of them to control and protect them.

The arm of the king holds things so that he can give them away in charity. Even monkeys have hands that hold but they do not know how to give away. Out of greed they keep grabbing, never willing to share with other monkeys. In a jar of peanuts, a monkey will place its hand and will grab a fistful and will not release the peanuts. Hence, it cannot get its hand out. The hand gets stuck inside and the monkey is frustrated and miserable.

Man is taught to give. He earns righteously and distributes to others. That is what King Janaka does.

Suka asked to be told the final truth. He wants rest for his mind which is tired with its spiritual quest. As long as the mind is busy there is no rest for the mind. Tarka Sastra tires out the mind. Even in dreams the same discussions and debates occur. When will the mind remain steady? Only when knowledge is firmly established there is rest for the mind.

King Janaka addressed Suka as Maha Muni/great ascetic. He assured him that his understanding was absolute. He said he has gained knowledge from his gurus and has also investigated on his own. He has gained complete knowledge. Such perfect knowledge is itself liberation.

We must employ the different means which are required such as self-study, listening to Guru, and so on, to gain knowledge.

Avichchinna ..

King Janaka gives his final thesis. Unbroken knowledge. Paramatma is Knowledge that is undifferentiated. Chit is Jnana. It is important both to Sat and to Ananda. That is why it is placed in the middle.

If only Paramatma exists, then do we not exist?

Paramatma is none other than Jnana. There is nothing like I and my knowledge. I am Knowledge. ‘He is
knowledgeable’ is only a verbal usage. He is himself knowledge. He is not separate from his knowledge. You have
to think this concept through. It is not easy to grasp. How are we not different from what we know?

Puman means Paramatman. He alone exists. Nothing else exists. This is as per Advaita Vedanta. Guru is Paramatma.

He knows it. We do not know that we are Paramatma. Guru knows that we are and he is trying to make us realize it.

Once this is understood, where is the existence of religions, castes, communities, violence, bombs, fighting, and cruelty? None of these exist. Is there any greater truth than this in this whole wide world? Unnadi okade Sivudega. Siva alone exists. Now, don’t think of Siva as one with matted locks and trident. We are talking about Siva as Paramatma, the Supreme Soul, the Almighty.

Because Swamiji wanted us to understand this oneness, he has composed that bhajan, declaring that Siva Himself is Sri Mata, Brahma, Vishnu, and all else and everyone else that exists.

You may ask, then who are we? Where do we fit in, in this picture? If the king alone exists, then what about the ministers, citizens, and the rest? Why is it we lack the knowledge that we are the one and only Paramatma?

The king actually identifies himself with the entire kingdom; he does not think of himself as a separate lone individual. Similarly, Paramatma includes us all in Him. But we, like the citizens of the kingdom, do not wish to bother with the affairs of the king. We prefer to limit our concerns only to ourselves, our families, and our immediate surroundings. We are like such subjects of a kingdom who forget about the king. Why have we forgotten the Paramatma?

Paramatma made a resolve to forget. That is what has caused this calamity. He decided to forget.

Svasankalpa …

He appears as if He is bound in the different forms in existence. The one became the many. Although the Paramatman is ever free and is never bound, in the multitudinous forms which He has assumed, he has become caught in bondage. This is a huge science. When we meditate upon this truth, there are no mantras to chant. We just have to unravel this knot as to how the Paramatman Himself has caused Himself to be bound in the individual forms.

We must meditate upon this truth: I alone exist. That being so, there is no one either superior to me or inferior to me.

That should be our conviction. We should not draw boundaries around ourselves to limit our scope and dimension.

We must develop a broad view, an all-inclusive view. Then we automatically feel the pain of others. In some countries like Ethiopia, children die from starvation. When that picture comes to my mind, I cannot even eat my meal. Similarly, when others are happy, I share their happiness. We must develop that quality. We will then try to promote happiness in others and reduce the misery in others.

Not having sankalpas is liberation. We must practice this slowly. It will not be mastered in a day.

King Janaka said: You are great. You have learned from Gurus. You have remained away from luxuries. You have established the knowledge of truth within yourself.

Suka Yogi felt happy. He returned to Mount Meru and performed penance for 10,000 years and attained total liberation.

We must learn this subject with great interest. We must enjoy listening to these discussions. I pray that everyone should be showered by the compassion of Guru.

Tomorrow a huge ritual begins here for the welfare of the Universe.

This evening Swamiji is arriving. Deeksha will be given to the priests for conducting some special rituals like Navagraha Homa. Keep witnessing the rituals as you chant the Navagraha mantra

ādityāca sōmāya mangaḷāya budhāyaca guru śukra śanibhyaśca rāhavē kētavē namaḥ

We are surrounded by these planets and are under their influence. It is important that we appease them and cancel their negative effects. This ritual will go on for 12 days. Try to chant the mantra for 108 times daily or at least for 18 times if that is not possible.

Please also chant Om Namo Hanumate namaha.

Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta

Om Santissantissantihi