AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha

Day 49, September 7

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.

Guru Dhyanam: Gurur Brahmaa, Sri Bhooyuta.. , Ajnana .. Akhanda, Dehe …, Akhandam ..

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

Brahmanandam, Sri Vasishtham Namami, Ramaya, Aapadaamapahartaaram, Om Purnamadah,

Om Santissantissantihi

Today this is a different venue. Similarly when the soul changes bodies also it causes some inconveniences. Microphone, lighting etc. will have to be adjusted. When body to body change occurs also, lots of adjustments are required. So it is better to pray for an end to rebirths.

We chase after what is undesirable. Last night we heard the wonderful concert by our Sadguru Sri Swamiji. Some people felt sleepy. Strangely, during a cinema, no one feels sleepy. The reason is, here there is a lack of interest. Vedanta also suffers the same fate. Sri Rama has done the world a great favor with this work. Sri Kuppa Krishnamurthy has written Yoga Vasishtha Hridayam in Telugu and its translation in English is available as Musings on Yoga Vasishtha. Some beginners have found it difficult to comprehend.

We are hence going into a detailed explantion here.
Aabrahma stambha paryantam - from the tiniest to the largest everything merges into Paramatma/Supreme Soul. Bhuloka/earth, Swarga Loka/heaven, Deva loka/the celestial plane, Patala/netherworld, every sphere disappears into Him. Deities, demons all merge into Him. Even time’s age is calculated by God who kills time as well. Even Niyati/all rules and discipline merge into him.

26th sarga is Daiva Durvilaasa/God's mischievous sport.

Even Brahma’s days are numbered. He lives much longer in relation to our lifespan. But he too has to face death.
We have to go above the stage of Bhakti/devotion, and go to the highest state of Mukti/Liberation. This is not ordinary devotion, but what Prahlada, Narada, and Dhruva have practiced. Here there is no seeking of favors. We merely pray to merge with the supreme soul. Be it Fire, Surya/Sun, Prana/Life force, or whichever form of deity we worship for obtaining boons, such worship falls short of the highest search for Truth.

Paramatma cannot be spoken to, He cannot be asked quesitons, or be seen. We can only gape at Him in wonder. That is all that can be done. He cannot be shown, described, or explained.

He only needs to end our rebirths. That should be our only prayer. Our Sadguru is needed for that purpose. When we view the topic from that perspective – this Deva Durvilasa makes complete sense, as Sri Rama explains it.

We have been created. We are born. We see this world. We make relationships. Some parts of the world appear useful to us; some are liked, and some are disliked. We have developed attachments. We find that one by one the people we are attached to, disappear from this world through death. Where do they go? What is the meaning of this? In devotion the celestial are far superior to us. Indra, Agni, and the Trinity we worship for obtaining favors. But they also vanish in time. What survives all of these is what we seek.

In the Sri Chakra either you worship from the top to the bottom or from the bottom to the top. Either way, we worship the Paramatma whom the Sri Chakra represents. Narada’s bhakti is superior to ours. Our devotional level is less. From this point of view we must understand. We must see the negative points of the play of Death as an aspect of God.

We said this sarga is one of the most important topics.

Among the celestials, one bad quality is there. They prevent us from transcending this world because they want to keep us here as their subordinates and servants. Not the Trinity, but some other deities are like that.
(This hum from the sound system is hurting the ears. It is making it difficult to talk. This is an example of Daiva Durvilasa.)

They pull us back. Neelakantha Vijayam is a play in Sanskrit. It clearly and beautifully explains the position of the deities. If any person thinks that he is superior to the deities, and does penance harder than a demon, the celestials use all kinds of strategies to get such a person destroyed. Every demon desires the position of Indra and the demons are capable of performing very severe penance. The celestials will not allow them to succeed.
But those, who, like the rishis/sages, genuinely try to achieve only spiritual wisdom, the celestials do not interfere with their efforts. These people bypass the traffic going to heaven. Like the traffic on a highway that bypasses the busy city streets, the city people of heaven simply watch these passengers go by and do not bother them. Vaikuntha, Kailasa, and the Satya Loka are also relative. They are also 'swaha' or will get consumed and merged into the Paramatma. The deities do not bother those who proceed in that direction. If we remain under the control of the deities they are happy. But Vedanta gives us freedom, full freedom. Those who gain strength through Vedanta escape the tyranny of the deities.

Why all this drama? Time is enacting this mischievous play. Paramatma will not allow Time to play such games with genuine seekers. Actually the Jyotischakras/the Wheels of Light (the zodiac) also merge in the final wheel of light, the Paranjyoti.

To understand all this we must study this sarga thoroughly. This is the introduction.

Diso ..

Earlier, many topics were explained. But, I suddenly saw an insight in a line that I did not clearly explain yesterday. This is another example of Daiva Durvilasa, where, my vision was obscured yesterday to a subtle variation in the meaning of a phrase. It is very tough to proceed towards Jnana. The gods always place obstacles in the path. Deva Durvilasa I noticed. Death is unpredictable. As if our hair is in the grip of death, we must perform dharmic deeds. One, who gets checked up for health, finds out about a lot of problems that exist in the body. But, knowing what the problems are, gives the courage to face them and shows a way to treat them and get cured.

Death always holds our tuft of hair. That is the awareness we always must have. Otherwise, even devotion to Guru will suffer a decline. Death will give us a visa and will take us away, as Time. This is our home, we think but he resides here, like a close companion. Mriti raga I kept thinking; but today I see it as mritir aga, which changes the meaning.

Even the directions become invisible. Imagine. Only when God alone exists, you can visualize a space without directions. In sleep we do not realize in which direction we face. Many do just the opposite of what they are supposed to do. We are not supposed to keep the head to the north. People deliberately question, rebel and do the opposite of what they are advised to do. Sadguru's words are rejected. It is a demonic trait. That is again Daiva Durvilasa. One cannot invent the wheel all the time. One cannot obstinately insist: I myself will grow the harvest. I will cook and I will eat. We need the cooperation of others. We must follow the guidance given by the seers.
We do not find any direction to follow. The countries and continents keep shifting. The landmass has shifted. The continental plates have moved. The Himalayas rose up due to land masses colliding. This is all Deva Durvilasa, Nothing is permanent. He throws everything into confusion. Even mountains are vanishing with mining. With God’s intervention even worse things will occur.

What is the fate of one like me, under such circumstances, questions Sri Rama.
Only when you think like this your attention will turn towards God. Sri Rama has ruled the kingdom for 11,000 years. How to compare ourselves with him?

The cosmos also is being swallowed by time. Space itself is disappearing. Only Paramatma exists. Time goes ahead of Paramatma and consumes everything as a preparation for the final annihilation. The earth disappears. This is the state that occurs at the time of Pralaya. We are reluctant to give up small things. But these vast changes occur. Oceans dry up. Stars burst to pieces. Siddhas, not Jnana siddhas, but yogis without Jnana perish. It means they get caught in the cycle of endless rebirths.

We must know the benefits of Pranayama and yoga. Ask Sadguru for answers. There are yoga and mantra sadhanas which do not yield spiritual wisdom. Such are also getting destroyed, which means that people who practice them keep getting reborn. Jnanis alone transcend rebirth.

Even great demons, danavas, asuras, daityas, they all get destroyed. For the entire creation there is a polar region/a fixed spot that supports everything. Like our poles and the pole star that we take as a fixed point. But even this also is impermanent.

Even the deities are smashed and beaten up by time. They have *** amrita but not jnanamrita/nectar of spiritual wisdom.
What to say then about someone like me? That is Sri Rama’s lament.
Do these deities include Yama, Indra, Agni, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva? Yes. It includes all of them. All of them will perish. All the forms which have been given to them will perish. Compared to us they are all much more powerful entities. But they are also mortal. Paramatma merges them all into Him in the end. If they earn the Jnana that he alone exists, then they automatically merge in Him.

There is no greater science than this. This transcends all knowledge.
Those who are incompetent, including even Indra, fall into the clutches of Yama. In Brahma’s view we do Sivaratri every day. Because his one day is one year for us. Our time scale is different. The time scale is different for the earth, the trees, large animals like the elephants, the dinosaurs, and so on.

Satya Loka is also relative. Paramatma transcends Time altogether. Even Yama faces death. Air stops blowing. The Supreme Soul has no need for air to breathe. We keep the tiny hamsas/inhalations and exhalations as our breath. Vedas come from Paramatma’s breath. To maintain life and knowledge we have to do Achamanam and Pranayama regularly.
Indra, Yama, Vayu, moon all go into nothingness. The sun breaks to pieces. It will happen after a huge amount of time.

Surya/sun globe is different from the sun’s energy. If the radiance goes, then the energy is not there; light, heat and matter are the components of the sun. The combination of the three is called Trivrit karanam - split into 3. If the components disintegrate, then there is no more sun. only Suryanarayana, the Supreme Soul, He is immortal. The energy and the existence of the sphere are impermanent. Even fire becomes cold. He tries to burn but cannot.

Hanuman saw Mother Sita as Parashakti. The fire that was burning his tail felt cool by the power of Parashakti. He has shown how fire can be conquered. What about some one small like me? That is Sri Rama’s question.

We will now fearfully inquire about the Trinity. They grant us all that we require. Do they also perish? They also merge into the Supreme Soul. Their forms as we worship, are given up. Their power and energy return to their source.

It is by God’s grace that we are able to listen to Sadguru. We still must worship the Trinity until we reach a higher level. When we reach the Supreme Soul, karma will fall away on its own, like a ripened fruit. That stage will come by Sadguru’s grace, if we strive for it.

After saying all this I will go and do the Sri Chakra puja. You may ask: Why not go directly to the worship of the Supreme Soul, the Paramatma? We have to go in stages. We cannot jump to the top all at once. We only got the key in hand now. We are yet to start the engine. After that we have to travel inch by inch.

Even the four-faced Brahma will give up his existence. It is a burden to live for too long with four faces. Even before Brahma was born God existed. The ocean of milk is another galaxy. It is not the milk that we drink and make curds with. We are shown many examples. The ultimate galaxy is termed to be white. God is in Yoga Nidra when the Creation is withdrawn into non-existence. Utthana Ekadasi we celebrate. God is in Yoga Indra at this time. If we do sadhana during such a time, we grasp the subject easier, the Sastra says. That is why, this is a good time for us to study the Yoga Vasishtha.

As per our view, Sri Hair has no birth. But even He gives up his form with four arms and merges into the Almighty. Siva also completes his act of destruction and he also withdraws into himself as the Supreme Soul. Siva with the trident, drum and other features disappears.

We take off our glasses, cap, and coat before we go to sleep. We are happy and relaxed then. Siva goes into dhyana about Himself like that. Rama asks: What about me then?

Even time’s time is up. Countdown has begun. Even time is swallowed up. Nityati also is withdrawn from existence. When nothing else exists but Him/Supreme Soul, nothing is required to exist.

Stephen Hawking is a great scientist confined to a wheel chair. He has explained about time. He goes nowhere. He has given great insights. Please read his writings. They are translations available.
Space also merges into the Supreme Soul.

Anantakoti brahmanda janani - is a description of Mother Goddess in the Lalita Sahasranama. Only His Hridayaakaasa/heart as vast as the sky is there. Nothing else is there. All this happens how quickly?
Unmesha nimishotpanna vipanna bhuvanaavalihi - within a blink.

But do not ask why should we strive then? Those who merge and become one with Him alone exist forever as He. Those who remain ignorant keep getting reborn.

Fast chanting of the descriptions of God, without any attempt to understand the meaning is futile. That is why no benefit is gained. We ask for frivolous boons from God. Food is served in the Annapurna Mandiram. There is no need to pray to Sadguru for a meal. Only Sadguru can give us this supreme Jnana. There is no need to ask for small boons from Sadguru. Take from Sadguru what He alone can give.

My wish and desire is that the next time you chant that name of Mother Goddess you will remember these words of mine. But next time you hear the 1000 names, you will be on the cell phone and will miss hearing the name chanted.
How can Time sport with us with his mischief? We have Sadguru who is protecting us.

Anantam – no end. Our view is small. We cannot explain or comprehend anything endless like an ocean. We say that it is endless because we cannot see the other shore. The sky appears endless to us. But even these have an end to their existence. When even oceans and sky are destroyed, then what about someone like me?

Asraavya ..

Paramatma is inaudible. We cannot listen about Him. He cannot be spoken about. He cannot be explained. He is invisible. That is the way the Supreme Soul is. He is beyond the perception of the senses. Only if the senses are turned inward, you can experience the principle of the Paramatma, only by personal experience. That experience cannot be conveyed from one to another. No science can capture it or document it.

What does God do? All this is his illusion. He sees through and at the illusion that He creates. We see only the dark eye glasses. Through the lenses we see the world. Dark glasses make the world dark. We do not see the world directly. We cannot see reality. We only see the illusion/darkened world.

Someone/the Almighty has caused this delusion. Truth is veiled and is thickly covered by illusion. Only Jnana should be used as a Vastram/thick cloth to cover up this illusion. Even heaven and everything in existence should be covered with this Jnana. Only then Truth will be experienced.

Isavasyamidam sarvam – All that is, is He.

Like a balloon the creation expands with the breath of God. In a blink the air goes out and Creation dissolves.
We are not trees. We need to get oxygen to live. God’s breath gives us the life force through his exhalation, and through the Sun He begins the act of Creation.

The three worlds mean: All that exists. Earth, what is below and what is above. It covers everything, no matter how low or how height you travel, it covers it all.

Each has to remove the veil of ignorance by themselves. No one can remove another’s veil. It appears from listening to the explanation of Vedanta as if the subject has been understood. We must ponder over it and grasp the deep meaning for ourselves. We cannot afford to listen and forget. It is like eating and at once purging. Then the body does not get nourished.

There is nothing but Him. He is the formless Siva, the Paramatma. He is not the Siva with form. He is Sat Chit Ananda.

Sri Rama explains in Kala-Deva Durvilasa, this wonderful principle for all of us to understand and change our perspective and our lifestyle. Sri Rama is our great benefactor.

The sun rises as naturally as boulders drop down the mountain slope. Creation begins anew with the sunrise.
The description of how Creation comes into being is explained in the future sargas.
We have simply gained a brief glimpse so far into this important topic. This is a wonderful sarga.

Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantisantihi.