AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha

Day 147, June 12

Sri Sadgurubhyo namaha
Om Santissantissantihi

Yesterday we spoke about the procedure of sweeping out the visible world called Drsya Maarjana. Without Jnana, no sadhana will give liberation.

Mere pilgrimage, penance, or dhyana will not give liberation. They are only aids to clean the mind. One strengthens the mind and develops concentration by doing them. Vasishtha shows himself as a example of one who used the above means to become focused on Jnana alone, by strengthening his mind and by improving his concentration.

He looked at Rama's face and noticing the unspoken question in His mind, answered it.

Even Savikalpa or Nirvikalpa Samadhi do not grant Moksha/Liberation unless the world picture is completely wiped out from the mind without the slightest trace.

Neti Neti will only replace one object with another object in the mind. The repetition of that thought, that this is not it, this is not it, will not liberate.

It is more important to know what IS. You should become one with that. Identify with that. That is liberation.
Some are interested only in speaking and impressing others with their oratory. They wish to present themselves as scholars and knowledgeable persons. It is useless to do so. Their knowledge is only verbal. They do not make an attempt to actually experience the things which they have learned superficially and memorized. Their words are mere useless chatter.

Some people do regular worship with genuine devotion of their favorite God in some form. These so-called scholars go and discourage the worshipers saying that they are ignorant to be wasting their efforts in such activities. In truth, the devout persons are far better than the ones who pose as scholars out of arrogance.

Many are following their own spiritual path. It is not good to interfere in their lives and have them deviate from their true pursuits. It is wrong to do so.

In the attempt to know what IS, what Truth really is, one may be doing rituals, idol worship, meditation, or austerities. There is nothing wrong in it. But what the superficial scholars do, out of half-knowledge, who themselves are at the lowest rung of the spiritual ladder, is wrong, of dissuading the seekers from their sincere pursuits.

Such scholars and orators do not know what it is, or what it is not. They are not even in the middle level. They are at the very bottom.

A child may suddenly get enlightened with just one word, because of his past tendency and previously earned merit. Some do not get enlightened at all in their entire lifetime. One should not be discouraged that one is still on the way, in the middle of the journey.

A child asked his father: What is Kam? What is Kham? These are the first two consonants taught. We teach the consonants beginning with ka, kha.

The father said: Kam is the same as Kham. Kham is the same as Kam. Kam is Brahma. Kham is the sky. The child went away thrilled with the answer. The sky is so vast. Is Brahman, the Supreme Soul, greater than the sky? We see only space everywhere. It is the greatest and gives space even to Brahman to exist. Are the two different? If space is giving refuge or shelter to Brahman, then, is Brahman not inferior to space? These were the questions troubling the child's mind.

Father said both are one and the same. The child understood that the unlimited bliss which is vast and immeasurable as the sky, is Brahman.

Small happinesses belong to the body. Brahmananda, unfragmented, enduring, eternal bliss is Brahma. The child had a sudden realization of this Truth.

The Vedas said: This is not it, including the five elements which constitute the entire creation. But we do not have such a broad view. We begin listing small objects. We must understand that the entire universe is an illusion, that it is unreal. This entire creation is fabricated by your own mind.

Swami Vivekananda said: You are the creator of your own destination and your destiny.

A deeper version is: you are the creator of your Creation. To think that some higher power has created this universe, and is maintaining it, is the Bhakti Path. It is easier. It is easier to work for a boss, rather than to be the boss oneself. Being the boss involves a greater responsibility. Most people do not find it appealing. Vedanta makes you the boss.

Brahma and all other deities are prayed to, by us. We pray that our troubles should be removed. The gods consider the entire world as their body. Therefore, they come to help you. They find that all individuals are parts of their own body. Hence, they help us. That sankalpa of their is beneficial to us. This is irrelevant in this context when we are discussing Vedanta. But to think of Krishna, and His enchanting stories, make us feel close and intimate with Him.

Idam asatyam - this is not the truth - is itself a wrong statement. It at once shows that there is untruth, and there is someone recognizing it as the untruth. That shows duality.

A man saw an oyster shell and mistook it for silver. Then he realized that the sunlight is making it appear like silver, but it is not silver. To feel that there is a separate entity, separate from the object that has been recognized as the untruth, is also untruth. The object, the oyster shell, still exists in the mind. Mere recognition of the existence of the one and only one object is important.

While making a list for preparing for a wedding, one makes a list of what is required. One does not make a list of what is not required, and say that one should bring all other things. Therefore, it is more important to know what Truth is. Then untruth will go away by itself.

The feeling of: I am doing penance, I am engaged in a pilgrimage, is a deterrent to attaining Moksha, liberation. Those activities are very beneficial in purifying the mind. They should not be considered as useless. But they themselves do not give liberation.

verse

Some listen and learn. Some learn by contemplation. Some cannot do either of these. Such persons go on pilgrimages.

Sri Rama Himself went on a pilgrimage, did some Japa and penance. He became totally dispassionate. Now He is listening to spiritual wisdom. Now we came to the ashram and are listening to Sadguru's words. A pure mind is granted by performing a pilgrimage. Pilgrimage itself is not liberation and does not grant liberation.

jagat ...

This world is something that is seen. There is a seer and the act of seeing. Only if this is enduring, it is Truth. It is not permanent. So it is not Truth. Dharma and Truth are one and the same.

Sita felt afraid that Rama was acting like a warrior during His exile. Rama explained the subtle truth. If the world were to be Truth, it should not perish. Jnana is called search for Truth.

naasato vidyate bhaavaha -- this same line appears in the Bhagavad Gita. Did Krishna copy this statement from here? No. Yoga Vasishtha is more ancient than the Bhagavad Gita. for both, the Upanishat is the source.

This vyavahara/action and interaction is based on the law of the present time. Judgments keep changing. The way of determining worldly truth keeps changing. Therefore, worldly interactions are not permanent. They are not Truth. They change with time and location. Pure Consciousness alone is Truth. That we must realize and experience.

verse

Vasishtha could sense the doubt in Rama's mind. In the world, there are yoga practices which grant great siddhis, like the Anima Siddhi. It makes one become minutely small, so that they can go anywhere invisibly and go through even walls. They can go into the five elements, like fire, water, and so one, assuming the most subtle form. There is a stage that is higher than this. In that state, the yogis go and seat themselves inside the belly of the Paramanu, the smallest and the subtlest entity.

When yogis engage in penance, their body becomes very heavy. They should not rise at once abruptly. There is a procedure to follow. After Japa, they have to follow a procedure. Otherwise, the body loses its balance.

The Yogis claim that they can gain liberation through such Samadhi. Yoga sadhana performed forcibly, without proper guidance will cause harm. Doing the Garudasana, learning it from a book, is dangerous and could cause bones to fracture. Doing things without getting Upadesha from a Guru is harmful. By simply watching Television, without learning the fundamentals, to attempt advanced postures or procedures is very unwise. Do not consider yoga to be something simple and easy. It is difficult to even sit in Padmasana for a few minutes.

Hatha Yoga means, by hatha, forced determination, you control the limbs and the sense organs.

With Jnana, you should tame the horses, the sense organs. If you simply tie them up by force, they will snap the rope and run away. You cannot catch them again. But people living in the jungles have tamed elephants and horses. The animals were left free. But they behaved and obeyed the instructions. The persons held the horse's mane only to balance themselves for riding. In ancient times such practices were there. No saddle or reins were used. People rode on elephants also similarly.
This is taming. Not forcing.

The mind and the senses, if they are forcibly tied down with yoga, they will go wild once they are set free, or once they escape. In Hatha Yoga, the danger is there, that like in the Snakes and Ladders game, one has the tendency to fall down headlong at a point. One should tame the senses with Jnana.

Swamiji is familiar with Hatha Yoga. He learned it from his aunt Venkamma. He recognized the dangers in it. That is why, he has improvised the Datta Kriya Yoga, combining Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga with it, and other yogas. He has polished and refined the procedures to suit the present times. He has made it easy. In Hatha Yoga, there is too much force applied on the mind and body. The desires run amok. The senses do not behave. They are restrained by force.

Jnana Yoga is easy. No food restrictions are there. Eat well. Listen well. Jnana comes and gradually the preoccupation with food will reduce.

Nahi jnanena sadrsam - There is nothing greater than Jnana. Jnana itself is Paramatma. Through yoga, penance, and pilgrimage, one obtains Jnana. Satyam Jnanam Anantam Brahma. The ultimate Jnana/spiritual knowledge is itself Paramatma. It is total knowledge. It is not partial or fragmented knowledge.

Rebirth does not occur once Jnana is experienced. Sage Patanjali has given that declaration.
Yoga pursuits by themselves are not equivalent to Jnana. That is why here first Mumukshu vyavahara and other subjects were discussed.

First you swept off everything. Then you gathered the dust and placed it in the dust bin. Now put away the broom also. Now spread the carpet for Parabrahma to come and sit. If you fail to do this, the process is incomplete.
Sometimes, one does not sweep first, but places the carpet over the dust and trash. The guests do not know that there is dust underneath and they will sit on top of the carpet.

Ishavasya Upanishat explains this. Who cares? What does it matter as long as the dust is not visible? You are not bound or affected by the dust that you are not viewing and are unaware of its presence.

achetya chit swaroopaatma...

Pure Consciousness is immeasurable. It cannot be known. With the Jeeva Bhava, the idea of individual existence, it will bring back the entire world concept back, if even a sub-atom of the world remains within oneself. Even when the person is seated inside the Paramanu, the world will recreate itself by means of his own mind.

We speak of one going to *** and heaven only to make us understand. He does not go anywhere. He creates everything just wherever he is, in his own mind. The man does not become subtle and small as a mosquito to travel somewhere else. One does not go anywhere.

The street dwellers live happily on the sidewalk. We feel pity for them. We use the roads, the street lights, and the telephones. Remember and offer gratitude to all the people who worked hard to build the roads, to *** the poles, and set up the cables. We only remember the political leaders who are responsible for the improvements. But the workers should be remembered with gratitude, who went without even water under the scorching sun in desert areas. They worked in jungles amidst wild animals, to lay the roads and provide the facilities for us. One must recognize their efforts and sacrifices.

The moment you think: I have done this or that, or am doing this or that, realize at once that Jnana is not present there. You may do the best deed in the world, but the moment you think that you are the doer, you exhibit your ignorance. That is why people say sometimes that they are merely instruments in the hands of God or Guru. At least verbally if one keeps saying that one is merely a tool, slowly it will develop a belief in the truth of that statement. It is wrong to boast: I have done all this.

Out of ten trustees in a committee, one will try to take credit for the improvements made. Swamiji says: Say we. Be inclusive when speaking of the ashram. It belongs to all of us.

Even if you sit in the stomach of the Paramanu, still you are vulnerable to a fall, if you entertain the feeling that you have attained that state. It is not Jnana. It is not Moksha.

tasmat

Vasishtha is speaking about his own situation. What is called creation, I have swept away. I am not under the misconception that this world is real. I have given this up by means of penance, dhyana, and japa.

Many think that alcohol will make them forget their troubles. They get *** and come home and beat the family members. They act despicably. They gain an ill reputation. They are not contented. Many are never satisfied.
I know that this world is not real. I do not touch it, says Vasishtha.

Barley water was used earlier to make liquor. It does not mean that Vasishtha used to drink alcohol. He says he has given up the delusion that this world is real, as one gives up drinking alcohol. It does not mean that once he was an alcoholic.

It is only possible to purify the mind with penance, dhyana, and japa. With those, the mind becomes pure and concentrated, allowing one to obtain Jnana. Such Jnana, realization, is itself Moksha, liberation. Vasishtha, although, he remains in the world, says that he has given up the world. How is that possible? He has given up the delusion that the world is real.

The situation of one who sits in the *** of the Paramanu has to be explained now. What comes after the Paramanu, the subatomic particle? People think there is nothing beyond that. They think it is the ultimate state to be absorbed in the minutest subatomic particle and that is what is liberation.

Sri Rama questioned about that. We should also ask that question. The answer will be given tomorrow.
We will discuss further details tomorrow.

Today it is Jyeshtha Krishna Ekadasi. Please witness the abhishekam to Sri Datta Venkatewara. Also keep chanting the Hanuman Chalisa.

Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta

Om Santissantissantihi