Dec 30, Vasishtha
Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 88, December 30
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
Om santissantissantihi
Vasishtha is glad that Rama is now on the right track. He liked Rama's words. He endorses his statement.
ata evahi
Vasishtha appreciated Rama's statement that Rama's past lives' karma is directing his present actions and speech. He commended him for that. As a result of his past karma alone, Rama was now doing sadhana and also questioning as he is doing now. He is engaged in this particular train of thought that he should seek the guidance of Sadguru because of the merit earned in the past lives. Everything that is occurring now is happening as a result of his past karma. The intention that he should tread the path that will lead to eternal freedom is caused by that. It was his own deliberate action of the past which is yielding this good result now in this present life. This poit should not be forgotten. This is something to be happy about. There is nothing to be displeased about it.
vasanaughena
The tendency that you have acquired from the past is totally pure and clean. This purity has been developed and gathered over many lifetimes. It did not occur overnight. Even if you bathe every day, if one day you miss taking a bath, you will smell bad. You might have bathed every single day since birth, but one day finally you miss, and you would have to bear the inconvenience of the bad odor. Therefore, every single minute, be only be concerned about doing something good. This way you will increase your pure Satvic traits. Because of your acquisition of such a pure trait, you are now engaged in this type of thinking and questioning.
Sri Rama's birth was not an ordinary birth. Dasaratha had performed a very great penance to obtain Rama as his son. It is a different matter that Sri Rama is an incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu. When we consider Sri Rama as a person born as a human being, we have to recognize that it is His utmost pure nature that is prompting Him now to have this desire to obtain the ultimate Truth.
The moment a thought stirs in one's mind that one should seek spiritual wisdom, it is an indication that the journey has begun towards his life's fulfillment. That thought should be preserved and strengthened. It is like the tiny spark that emanates when fire is generated by tremendous friction produced by effort, during a yajna, by briskly rubbing two pieces of a special type of wood. There is only a trace of smoke that is sensed. At once, that fire is treated as most precious and is nourished and made into a big fire by adding more suitable fuel to it. That is why that spiritual spark must at once be preserved, stored, and strengthened.
Vasishtha is very happy at Sri Rama's sudden interest in spirituality and gives credit for that to the his past lives' earned merit. He urges Sri Rama to preserve this spark and increase its vigor. When one is very hungry, whatever ingredients are available in the kitchen are utilized to prepare a meal, regardless of whether the matter is stale and stinking, as happened in the case of Kuchela. The small resource that you have at your disposal now will yield a treasure later on. Kuchela offered to Lord Krishna a morsel of stale and smelly parched rice and received great wealth in return.
Do not neglect it. Do not let it go, urges Vasishtha.
Sadguru gives only a one rupee coin as prasadam at Deepavali Dhanalakshmi Puja. He says do not spend it frivolously. Keep it safely in your altar. Do not ask why He gave only one rupee and not a million rupees. This blessed one rupee will yield you a million rupees in course of time.
Sri Rama, this desire of Yours that You should seek Truth is something very valuable. Preserve this and pursue it. Do not consider it as worthless. Gradually develop it. You will eventually reach the highest state. Even the greatest sages have had to wait for ages patiently, to realize their desire for liberation.
Once Sadguru senses that you have this spiritual spark inside your heart, He will certainly fan the fire and He will certainly grant your desire. But it will take time. Your merit must ripen. Your purity must become perfect. You cannot blame Sadguru for not giving you instant liberation. You must fully qualify to receive it and Sadguru will help you towards attaining such a qualification. Follow in the proper procedure. You will definitely reach the eternal state of bliss. That state of bliss should not be fleeting.
Vasishtha in his grace says that Sri Rama's interest is genuine and is willing to bless him.
Sadguru's blessing is earned by our own karma. If you show your back to Sadguru as soon as you have darshan, it is a sin. You must take at least a step or two backward before showing him your back. Sadguru will not give attention to one who carelessly turns his back upon him.
verse
Sri Rama, I have mentioned about your special case, Now, speaking of the common man, what is strange is that while amidst company people speak highly about themselves but find fault with themselves when they are alone. This attitude should be reversed. In the spiritual path, if this gets reversed, the seeker is benefited. In public, he should not seek praise. But in private, he must recognize his own special worth and merit. That will strengthen his self-confidence. One should build up self esteem for doing good deeds. If you consider yourself worthless, how can others persuade you to do anything good?
You must have confidence in yourself first. Then, Guru will guide you towards progress. When there are troubles, and you become dejected because of them, you must overcome them through the performance of auspicious activities. You must make a deliberate effort. Even a doctor urges a patient to be mentally strong when he prescribes medicines. You must have the faith that your efforts will be successful. Using Sri Rama as an excuse, Vasishtha is giving us all this instruction.
verse
We are all conscious beings.
This is a very important aspect in Vedanta. In my opinion, society direly needs this awareness that we are all manifestations of consciousness. Sadguru is referred to as Sachchidananda because His job is to reinstate in us the remembrance that we are creatures of consciousness. We have forgotten that there is electricity within us. We cry that there is no light. Sadguru turns on a flashlight using our own electric power. Guru dispels our darkness.
You are nothing but the light of consciousness. You are not merely the body.
We realize this when we undergo surgery to remove and discard diseased body parts. Even when we cut our hair or nails and throw them away, we realize that we are not just our body. Otherwise we cannot simply throw away our own body parts as if they are worthless. When we are well, we keep those parts. When they are not serving us, we discard them. How is this possible? It is happening. To identify with the body is an indication of absolute ignorance. We were born with only a tiny body. Thereafter, the body grows huge and weighs 70 kilograms. You claim that that the entire body is you. It merely grew to such proportions by the food that you have fed it. It is not all you. Do not use the example of a tree and say that the entire tree is a tree. When the doctor tells you to lose weight because you are obese, you reduce the size of your body from 80 kilograms to 60 kilograms. Suddenly you lose your love for that overweight body. The 20 kilos you lost you do not consider as you. You develop disinterest and hate towards the excess flesh and you get rid of it.
Realize that you are not the inert body. You are the consciousness. This body is a house that we reside in. People say that their stomach is acting up or their body does not feel well. The body gets the illnesses but not you. When you feel depressed, it is a mental disease. You identify with the mind and consider yourself as being ill. Like termites eat up a huge tree and make it hollow inside, worries and anxieties eat one up. Such a tree made hollow and weak, will fall down even for a gentle breeze.
verse
We must know this, realize this, and remember it all the time. You need not be concerned about another light showing your location when you are light yourself. Do you need another light to show you the location of a light? Do you need a flashlight to show you the sun?
There is no need for another light to make you radiant. You yourself are radiant. Light is your form. When the oil gets exhausted, the wick begins to dry up and the light becomes dim. Sadguru pushes up the wick so that it burns bright again.
verse
If one light lights up another, then it is required that another light has to light the first lamp. It will be an infinite chain. It is wrong. It does not happen that way. If this were to be true, then even Paramatma will need someone to give Him light. It is not so. Realize that you are yourself Light.
One should not visualize darkness during meditation. One should only visualize light. One should keep at least a small lamp burning during meditation, say the scriptures. One should not sit in total darkness to meditate, except in some extreme and unavoidable circumstances. Darkness is not useful for us. Our purpose is to realize that our nature is light. Daytime is a good time to meditate, when there is sunlight. One is advised not to meditate at midnight because evil spirits roam about at that time. At twilight time, i.e. at sunrise and sunset one is advised to meditate.
verse
Both the positive and the negative energies flow powerfully, like two channels or rivers. One must block the flow of the negative aspect, so that there is no confusion and merging of the two. If that is done, the positive energy flow will increase. This is an example given using a simile from nature. If the mind is drawn towards the negative, one must deliberately turn its direction towards the positive and increase the flow of energy towards the positive channel.
asubheshu
In Vedanta, a very important aspect is that one must never think of oneself as weak or incapable. If one has such a mentality, such a person will not succeed in attaining Jnana. One must have the confidence that one can succeed.
Vasishtha is praising Rama that He is strong and will certainly succeed. One should gradually turn the direction of the mind from the negative towards the positive. One must curb the mind from being attracted towards bad thoughts. The mind should be forcefully placed in the path of good thoughts.
verse
It is said that for all the scriptures, Yoga Vasishtha is the root, especially so for all spiritual works. Even the Bhagavad Gita reflects the words of Sage Vasishtha.
The mind is like a small child who keeps toddling away. The way the mother brings the child back and places him on the right track, one must guide the mind towards the right path with determination.
verse
When there are vices and addictions, such as smoking, the doctors advise that the habit should be given up gradually and not abruptly due to side effects and withdrawal symptoms. It is only a rare individual who can give up smoking overnight. Similarly, in a rare case one might be able to suddenly have a mental transformation. But normally the mind is best transformed slowly, and step by step, the way a child is trained with repetitive efforts. We must never climb or descend rapidly. It is best done slowly and steadily. Only Bhima can eat at one go food meant for several days and digest it. Arjuna cannot do it. Only some rare beings have such capacity. Arjuna's sadhana was gradual and steady.
sadhana
There are good and bad ways in the mind. The good ways or the Satva Guna must be nourished and developed. Rama is described as 'ari mardana' because He has conquered the inner enemies. Only our Indian scriptures, especially the Advaita Sastra describes this concept of inner enemies and the need to vanquish them.
Due to past sadhana, Sri Rama, in Your mind has emerged this desire for enlightenment.
Karma can also be of the form of thought. Even dhyana and upasana are karmas. Jnana alone stands apart from karma.
verse
In this janma - lifetime also, the actions you perform will create new tendencies. Therefore be sure to perform only good actions.
The ashram has published a work called: Durvasana Prateekaram. It explains how to combat bad odors of the mind. To remove bad smells, some good fragrances are used. This book explains what types of good actions will remove the effects of bad actions.
verse
The traits derived from the actions of past lives can now be voided by the good actions performed now. Sri Rama, therefore, be happy and comfortable.
Vasishtha thus blesses Rama. We will continue tomorrow.
This dialogue and discussion was very elaborate. The reason is that effort and sadhana are most crucial to achieve enlightenment. To emphasize the importance of that, this topic has been dealt with at length. Hereafter, all the upcoming topics will be less lengthy. This is the longest discussion.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi