AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha

Day 153, June 22

Sri Sadgurubhyo namaha
Om Santissantissantihi

In the Yoga Vasishtha, we are studying Aadya srishti kartru varnana. There is nothing in the world that is beyond understanding. If we pray to God and Sadguru to make the topic easy to understand, and approach it with total sincerity, we will certainly grasp the subject. We are now beginning to get deeper into the subject field.

Even the name has a significant meaning. It has been thoughtfully applied - Aadya srishti kartru varnana.

We get a question about this creation. We feel that we are all very small creatures who are under the authority of a higher power which has created us and is sustaining us. We question about His story.

It is not called: Aadi srishti karta varnana - which would mean He or God does the act of Creation. It attributes to Him the action of Creation. If that were to be true, then He would not be eligible for liberation.

Hence, an individual would be denied the opportunity for liberation.

The cause and effect concept has to be wiped out first. It denotes that the initial substance exists, and an object that is made from that substance is different. We need to get rid of this from the mind.

Aadya means the initial manifestation. The very emergence of creation.

Vasishtha is answering Sri Rama's question. Even Death cannot *** into the realm of Hiranyagarbha.
Akasaja, the Vedic scholar cannot be captured even by Death. He is equated with Hiranyagarbha.
We are in the Utpatti Prakarana. The subject is getting deeper.

The atmosphere outside is cool. But our intellect must get heated up to grasp the matter. When it is too hot outside, the intellect has to be kept cool. Vedanta has the power to do both to the intellect.

The lump of wax must melt. Otherwise it is useless. It cannot be used. It only happens if heat is applied. Only when the intellect is heated, the essence that is hidden inside it can be extracted.

A piece of gold is stuck inside. Freeze it and then melt it, to extract it.

In Andhra it is very hot now. Here, in Sadguru's presence, in Mysore, it is cool. It is raining. People from Andhra are very surprised at this cool climate here.

This is not an easy topic to understand. But Vasishtha is making it very easy for us. That is the greatness of Sadguru.

We are in the Akasaja Upakhyana section. Akasaja is a scholar of Vedas.

Death, who had consumed everything else, now tried to consume Akasaja who alone remained. Akasaja built a ring of fire around himself and sat in Satya Loka. With great difficulty, Death penetrated into Satya Loka and into the circle of Fire. Yet, he could not touch Akasaja, to grab and gobble him up. He could see him and extended his one thousand arms to catch him. Akasaja was visible and yet elusive.

We see some 3 D pictures. We actually feel the presence of persons and objects in front of us and feel as if we are interacting with them. But if we extend our hands, we cannot touch anything. It is empty space.

Death was flabbergasted at this new experience of failure. He directly went to his boss, Yama, who had assigned him the job of subjecting everything and everyone to Death.

Death approached his Master Yama Dharmaraja and asked why he is unable to swallow up Akasaja.
This is Yama's Upadesa.

Akasaja has no gross body. He is imaginary. Who imagined him? Did he imagine himself into existence? Or did Death imagine his presence and existence? If Akasaja imagined his own existence, then how can Death see him?
Who is the creator? Vedanta searches and explores thoroughly. It does not hide anything. It lays everything out in the open in public view.
It is our nature hide a few things out of fear.

Guru never keeps any secrets. His job is to reveal all secrets. He throws light on everything.
Vasishtha now gives us Upadesha through the words of Yama Dharmaraja.

When Akasaja is a figment of your imagination, O Death, when he is just a fabrication of your own mind, how can you grasp him? It is impossible. Akasaja is his name. He is not just born from the sky. He is the sky itself. Space itself. How can you touch him or kill him?

Parents consider their children as if they are themselves, they identify with them.
There is no difference between Akasa and Akasaja, between space and what is born of space.

We say that God is formless. Everyone agrees. But based on the guidance of sages and seers, and the Vedas, we attribute a form and we offer worship. We do this to either receive boons or to pray to remove our troubles. We contemplate on the form. Only the imagined form is there in our minds (not the solid material of the image).

We have not yet reached the state of being able to focus on the formless. Therefore, we clutch the support of a form and a name. Without them, we are unable to concentrate upon you or understand you, we say to God, while we are on the path of devotion. Only the imagined form is there. We try to understand the Tatva or principle of God using the form as an aid. That is the Bhakti path.

God, in the Narasimha Avatara, the incarnation of Man-Lion says to Prahlada: It is the form I have assumed, as you have imagined it, to satisfy the conditions placed by your father that he would not be killed by such and such and so forth (I should not be killed by a human, or an animal, neither during the day nor at night, neither inside nor outside, neither on the ground, nor in the sky, neither by a weapon wielded ..etc.). You have therefore imagined this strange form to satisfy all those extraordinary stipulations of your father. Hence, I have had to emerge in this shape under these conditions, to kill your father, Hiranyakashipu.

Sankalpa, that is why, is most important. In all the rituals also, Sankalpa is important. What our intention is, determines the outcome. Let us set that aside.

We attribute a form to God and offer worship. That Creator, unless He is understood to be formless, we run into difficulties. We must give it some thought.

Unless we remove the form from Him, we cannot properly comprehend Him. Form requires the presence of the five elements. Mind, intellect, body, sense organs, all of these manifest. Birth, growth, old age, and destruction come into being as a consequence. This is unavoidable. Therefore, it has to be stated that there is no form, and no cause and effect for this Universe that appears as if it exists.

Some statements are made in the Vedas.

Dhaataa yathaa poorvam akalpayat
is a statement made by the Vedas.

Brahma has made the Creation as it had existed before.

We, or our society have constructed a court room in the initial creation. The very first court hall is what is talked about now. We have placed a judge there. He worked during the day. He went home in the evening. We expect that the next morning when the doors are opened, the place, the court room, would appear exactly as it had looked the previous day. That is how the system was set up.

Vedas were thus created. Jnana comes from the Vedas. It is Apaurusheyam. It is not composed or written by someone. It is a divine gift, not a human creation. Veda exists in God. It comes to light in the intellect of man. Man has kept it concealed deep within himself. He knew that it is only due to ignorance that he has taken birth. He knew that he has to dispel his ignorance and arrive once again into the light of knowledge.

To proceed from darkness to light, the path was first created; that path is the teaching of Guru; the Guru principle has been created even before man took birth. Guru's word is none other than the declarations of the Vedas.

What is the reason for the cycle of Creation to repeat itself? Where is the need for the Creator?

The man who locks and unlocks the door to the courtroom is there, at the courtroom. Like that gate keeper, the one who created this world is there. But, He has no form the way we have a form. How was He then visible to Death?
His is a mind-born body.

How can the mind create something out of nothing and give it a form?

The entire dream world is one such. The five elements have no existence there. Not even an atom is there. The dream is entirely brought into existence by your mind and it once again dissolves in your mind. Similarly, the Creator also is a figment of your imagination.

In dreams, we see so much. Not an atom of gross substance exists there. It is the perfect example. You see Akasaja as you see forms in your dream. O Death, how is it then possible for you to catch Akasaja? It is impossible. He is only made up of mind stuff, without any actual physical form or substance.

Rama expressed the secret insight he felt that Vasishtha had actually been speaking to him about none other than the four-faced Brahma all along. Vasishtha felt very happy that Rama was able to comprehend this. He acknowledged the truth of that statement.

verse

Up until now, Vasishtha did not use the term Brahma.

He only spoke about Akasaja. Can a mango simply drop down from the sky? Can you catch one such mango and offer it to someone? They will think that you need to see a psychiatrist. Such a thing is not possible for a mango to manifest out of space. The mango tree has to grow somewhere, in some city or orchard. In space, only space exists. A mango cannot manifest in space by itself. That being the case, why was this person referred to as Akasaja - one born from space?

Why was he not referred to simply as space? That would be the right term.

No matter how many descriptive names of God you use, to glorify Him, in the end, you say, Paramatma, the Supreme Soul. Annamacharya, the composer saint-singer, who composed thousands of devotional songs, finally addressed the divine as Antaryami - the inner radiance. It is not a form externally visible. All compositions of Swamiji conclude with the term Sachchidananda. Swamiji has told us numerous times that Sachchidananda is not his name that he is publicizing through the bhajan, but it is a reference to the Supreme Soul.

You attribute a form to the formless Supreme Soul because of your inability to comprehend the formless.
So, am I giving a form to the formless and offering worship to that form? The answer is: Yes.

When He is formless, why confine Him to only certain forms? Can He not be worshiped in any random form? If you do so, you would be deviating from a certain standard or a guideline suggested by the Sages and Seers. By deviating from such norms, you would be inconveniencing yourself. It is best to remain within the bounds of the system established.

If the earth were to turn into a ball of fire, can we exist here? If the temperatures rise even a little higher than the normal range, we find it impossible to bear the heat.

The collective mind has established a certain norm, a certain system, which is easy and feasible to follow by the individual mind, and when it follows it, it receives support.

Otherwise, if there is no support, all sinners may go scot free and be reborn as saints. Anarchy will take over. The individual soul takes birth having established a system within which it follows a certain regulation or regimen of right getting rewarded and wrong getting punished. Otherwise, life will become chaotic. We will not appreciate living in chaos.

The mind has also established a Creator. Our mind accepts one person as the head of the family, whose guidance we respect and follow. It is so ingrained in us that it has penetrated into our DNA. Once Sadguru is accepted and surrendered to, devotees see his presence in his photograph also. They follow his instructions for performing good deeds. Sadguru remains as a witness, that is all. One's own conscience, which remains as a witness to all thoughts and actions will not come and give evidence in a court of law. It merely stays there witnessing all happenings. What is the use of having such a witness? The system is maintained by the presence of that witness. We have place Sadguru in the home that we have created. We also declare that even before the house was built, he was already existent.

That is a fact. But where was he then? He was in your mind, but without a form. That is what is being stated here. Your dream experiences are all such. They exist only in your mind.

The more you think of a subject, the more likely it is, for such subjects to appear in your dreams.

I keep dreaming about the dialog between Death and Yama Dharmaraja and with my presence there listening in on their conversation. Appaji enters into the scene also. Such are my dreams. What happened to that dream? It dissolved into the same mind that brought it to the surface. Only if there is an underground spring of water, you can tap it and make the water come out. If water is non-existent, you cannot access it.

The mind establishes the system. It creates this entire universe. Unless the mind is wiped out, this world will not disappear.

The complete collection of all existing minds is Hiranyagarbha, Lord Brahma. Within that collective entity, a determination was made that the cycle should be repetitive; that each of us should be reborn the way we are now; this world should re-emerge just the way it is now. If such a determination were not made, it would not happen.
The space that we experience, constitutes the five elements. The space that we are talking about here is Paraakaasa. It is free from the five elements. It is just Pure Consciousness. Pure Knowledge.
It is neither born nor liberated.

From the lotus-like navel of Lord Narayana, another lotus emerged. In that lotus is found Kamalaja, the one born from a lotus. (Kamala is lotus; ja one who is born)
Brahma has no birth or death. How can he be overpowered?
Death, receiving the answer to his question, went home.

Now Vasishtha continues his instruction to Sri Rama. He further explains why Brahma eludes Death.

verse

Brahma is none but mere intention. He is not constituted of the five elements. He is born of the mind. Of the five elements, even air and space elude our grasp. Now, in an area where only intentions exist, how can one capture the Creator?

Lord Krishna, who is beyond anyone's capture, allowed Himself to be tied by a rope by his mother Yasoda. It happened only because of her devotion. Bhagavatam has shown us the easy method that when all else fails, devotion will succeed.

Through pure devotion, if we enter into the path of Jnana-Knowledge, then, we may capture Him. Had Yasoda captured Him with Jnana, He would never have escaped from her grip. Yasoda, instead of being content that she was allowed to tie Him up in the first place, went ahead and tied the other end of the rope to a heavy stone grinding wheel.
The path of Devotion leads to the path of Jnana. That is the route that one should take, our Sadguru tells us.
Here, Death failed in his attempts to capture Brahma.

Yasoda, having tied up Krishna, and having anchored him to the heavy grinding wheel, assumed that it was her own achievement. That is also ignorance.

Krishna proved her wrong. He was unstoppable. He rolled that impossibly heavy stone grinding wheel, and as a small child going on fours, went between two towering trees, dragging the wheel behind Him. The wheel got stuck between the trees. It could not go through and the two trees crashed to the ground with a deafening sound.

Is this not an extraordinary story? Would we ever believe that such an incident actually occurred?

It was Yasoda's imagination that she tied Krishna to the grinding stone. That is why, to prove that He could never be tied up or tied down, the child Krishna dragged the heavy stone wheel to fell two huge trees. This truth has been conveyed to us in the most mind-tickling manner by Sage Vyasa.

That Paramatma is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent has to be drilled into our heads in a comprehensible manner through appealing and engaging stories. It has to be explained to us in this very interesting manner. Vyasa is not ignorant. Bhagavatam is nothing but Jnana. It only has a superficial layer of Bhakti. It is like the silver leaf applied to a dessert. What is beneath the appearance of devotion is Jnana, the sweet. You must go deep into the stories of devotion to find the essence of Jnana. If we remain confined only in ritual worship, we will remain there. We may get liberated by His grace without our effort. That is a different matter. But we should try to understand the essence and obtain Jnana.

If we base our devotion/Bhakti on results obtained, on a day when a wish is not fulfilled, devotion might fly out the window. If you listen to a sacred story from the Bhagavatam on that day, coincidentally, you may succeed in attaining your wish. Another day, despite doing the same, the wish you entertained may not come true. Then you begin to question your faith and waver in your devotion.

Whereas, if you have firmly established Jnana in your intellect, then you know that the wish did not get fulfilled because you listened to a story about God, or because you performed a ritual. You would know the Truth about all matters, since you know and have realized that this is all an illusion. Then your mind will remain undisturbed.

That is why Jnana is hailed to be the highest type of sadhana. Once Jnana is attained, it remains steady and unwavering. In devotion we rise and fall. One should not remain contented with that. The danger exists that devotion may disappear and throw us into the deepest abyss. Jnana has less of a chance of throwing us into a dismal state. Using devotion one must enhance and strengthen one's Jnana.

manomaatram cha sankalpaha - the intention is merely a fabrication of the mind.

Siva is imagined to be of a certain aspect and nature by different devotees as per their imagination. Sadguru, similarly, appeals to different devotees in different ways. Certain photos of Sadguru appeal to certain devotees for certain reasons. It is based on their mindset.

What special feature you see in a specific photograph, another devotee may not be able to perceive. It is your intent to see that particular feature in that picture.

Whatever Sankalpas/determinations you make, let them all be good intentions. Bad intentions inescapably lead to bad consequences. Good intentions yield good results.

Just as mind has no form, the intention also has no form.

yaschit ..

Further clarification is given. Brahma is the interesting phenomenon assumed by Pure Consciousness. Following an interesting chamatkara, a form as an intention, took shape.

Sadguru is Paramatma. Why is he now appearing in this form? It is perhaps a trick conceived by Him or it may be a trick conceived by our mind. That point has not been touched yet. It will be spelled out later.

Our Jnana is very limited. Pure Consciousness has absolutely no limitations. Chidaakaasa is boundless knowledge. It is a term that we must constantly contemplate upon. Following the interesting intention, a form has manifested.

That Brahma, that Akasaja is none other than Pure Consciousness. Akasaja is nothing but an imaginary form. He has no cause and no effect. He transcends the concept of substance and the manifestation of it in different forms.
Vedanta has the great net to trap people's minds, called 'cause and effect'. One must keep the intellect free from getting caught in it.

Milk turning into curds is transformation - parinaama.

Can you ever make payasam (sweet rice pudding) with curds/yogurt? No. suppose you do prepare it, taking it up as a challenge, if you eat it, you end up spending three days in the bathroom.

vivartam is different. Without gold, you cannot have a jewel of any value. You are seeing the shape of a jewel. The substance has not changed. It is still gold.

What are all these names? Hiranyagarbha, Kamalaja, and so on. You have given so many names out of your whim. Film star fans give various names to their heroes. This is similar to that.

Do not forget that you are the one who has attributed all these names. Just because you gave a certain name or another descriptive name, does the person change?

They give three names to a baby; one per star, one per tithi, and one that you call him by, as a nickname, a vyavahara nama, given name used for address.

You keep in mind that the name is given to none other than Paramatma.

Do not think lightly about the thousand names. It is our attempt to describe the Almighty, the super entity called the Supreme Soul. He has no further creator. Do not entertain endless debates. You stop at Hiranyagarbha. He has no form.

verse

Sri Rama looked puzzled. Vasishtha explained: He is Jnana itself. How can Jnana have a form?
Rama, you have not thought deeply enough about it.

Do not ask Sadguru a question just like that, thoughtlessly. You may sometimes ask to confirm whether your idea is right or wrong.

Even without the five elements, sometimes you see shapes in the sky. In the clouds, or even without clouds, you suddenly see some visions, where no physical substance exists.

This is an experience in the world. children, if they see a form in the sky, they may even imagine that it is speaking to them. You must explain that it is only imagination.

Without the five elements can actually a form appear? Yes. Mind can create such forms. Sometimes when the mind is preoccupied, you do not even see physical forms. If your mind is not present, you do not see. It is not the eyes that see. It is the mind that sees. Without the mind, you cannot see.

See the world with devotion, they say.

The svayambhu - self-born, appears because of your mind. If the eye sees a pillar, you can hold it. But the form that only the mind sees, cannot be touched or captured.

nirmal...

More clearly, Vasishtha is explaining with another example.

In the clear sky, one can even imagine a city. The mind is like a blank paper.
You just bought a site in a new subdivision, a fresh layout where no homes have been built yet. You already imagine your house there, that is yet to be built, with all the different rooms, and even imagine that you have already started living there.

It is just jungle right now. But you even argue with the children about the location of each one's room in a house that is yet to be built.

If you think that you will go to *** in a dream, you would be afraid to go to sleep.

Rama, do not ever ask such a thoughtless question. It is actually Upadesha for us, not for Rama.
Svayambhu remains like that.

We will leave it like this today in suspense. What or who actually is the Creator? We will discuss further tomorrow.

Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta

Om Santissantissantihi