June 24, Vasishtha
Discourse on Yoga Vasishtha
Day 155, June 24
Sri Sadgurubhyo namaha
Om Santissantissantihi
(note translator: beginning is missing in the recording posted)
He is Paramatma, Chaitanya swaroopa, the Supreme Soul; Pure Consciousness itself is His form. He is more subtle than the subtlest. Anything gross is always inferior to what is subtle. That is why atomic power is so immense. Anything physical is always inferior to what is subtler than the physical. Just remember that Paramatma is umpteen times more subtle than the atom. An atom or 'Anu' is the nearest that we can conceptualize. So the Supreme Soul is inconceivably more subtle than the subatomic particle. That is what is described to us here as Hiranyagarbha.
Yesterday Vasishtha clearly expounded to Rama that Hiranyagarbha, Padmasana, Kamala sambhava are all different names given to the same entity. We tell stories and describe Him as if He has a form. That form is only illusory. He has no physical form. He is just light and radiance. It cannot be ascribed a form. He is the vast sky called awareness or consciousness. He is Knowledge itself. We called Him Akasaja. He cannot be anything different from the sky or space itself, if He is born from the sky or space. That four-faced indivisible entity of Knowledge is called Brahma, Hiranyagarbha, and so on. However, He has no physical form constituting the five elements.
Meera came to me said: I am very upset that you have said there is no God. She had been the Postmaster General. She is not ignorant. She knows. Yet, Sadguru made her ask that question because such a feeling might linger in the hearts of some others.
What we have to realize is that we have become accustomed to the habit of belittling ourselves. We also feel a certain comfort in doing that to ourselves. It is wrong.
It indicates that there is absolutely no trace of interest in you in getting enlightened. You imagine that it involves stress and strain and hence, are lazy to approach it even.
If it is true devotion, it is a different matter and may be condoned. But, if it is escapism, then, it is certainly not the right thing to do. What God intends to give to a devotee who is truly devout, is not Ajnana/ignorance or wrong knowledge. God yearns to give knowledge and bliss, not difficulties. Therefore, first and foremost, we must give up the notion that we are very small. There is nothing wrong in believing that God is great and Sadguru is great. But to think of yourself as inferior is wrong.
When you pray, to admit your wrongs, and acknowledge your sins as a human being, that situation is different. We are now in a different context. We are studying the Vedanta Sastra, the Science of Truth. We should not camouflage or gloss over what is Truth. We cannot be half-hearted or inconclusive. This is Science. We have to explore the subject thoroughly.
You are God. But you do not realize it. You are limited by being bound in a body. You are happy if you are successful in your endeavors. You are frustrated if you fail. You are engrossed in the ordinary worldly life.
There are 3 stages.
Animal, human, and divine. We are now discussing the higher plane. When you look up at the sky, you should only see the limitless, vast sky. That is what actually exists. But you visualize different gods and attribute different shaped bodies to them and fight about your made up convictions. That is very limiting. It serves no purpose. That mistake we are committing. We are attributing to God a body like ours.
How can God confined to a body be everywhere? How can He exist everywhere at the same time? We also declare that such a thing is not possible. Therefore, we must give up placing limits on God. He is the subtlest of all.
Paramatma is the Creator.
He is the highest state where even the Trimurtis merge in Him at the end of the Kalpa. Sadasiva also merges in Paramatma. Then what happens? What is left? Only Pure Consciousness remains. All our imagined forms cease to exist.
We are still only in the middle level. We cannot comprehend that higher level. So tell us about God, you ask. Therefore, He is described as the Creator and He is given a name as such. Once a name is given, a form also is imagined, and we fall into a delusion. To remove that delusion from our hearts, and to clarify further to us, the story of Akasaja has been narrated to us. Just because you have given Him names, such as Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara, and so on, it does not cause any change in Him. He remains ever, as Pure Consciousness. He has no body made up of the five elements.
Guru likes to stir up our minds to raise questions in our minds. That is an activity he enjoys.
Manomaya sareera, Chinmaatra sareera, sankalpamaatra sareera, is how His body is described, meaning His is the form of the Mind, of Consciousness, of Intention. Your idea is manifesting there, your own mind is reflected there. Therefore, Mind itself is Brahma. Brahma is you, your mind.
Sri Rama asks a question:
This sarga begins with that.
verse
Manomaya is what is filled by only Mind substance. Nothing else exists except Mind. God is only your mind.
Kabirdas says, "Do not search for me elsewhere. I reside in your own mind."
Maanasa mandira vaasini (Swamiji's bhajan) also declares that God resides in the Mind. If mind is there, God is there.
Learn for yourself whether or not you have a mind.
Rama said: I have a question; you defined earlier that Mind is past tendencies. If past tendencies are absent, mind will be absent. Only Paramatma will be left. If mind is eradicated, only Paramatma remains. If mind is there, vestiges of past tendencies are there.
That is why you are told to restrain your thoughts, words, and actions. Why? You are asked to remain one-pointed when you think or speak. Why? All your thoughts accumulate as vaasanas/tendencies or traits in your mind. They will not go away.
The cook might have completed cooking and serving. Still, the smell of food remains in the kitchen even after washing the kitchen. If Vadas are fried in the kitchen, for three days, the smell lingers. Even if the body is given up, the vasana lingers. Good smells are tolerable. But stink is intolerable.
If there is no odor whatsoever, there would be no mind.
If there is no such thing as hunger, there would be no food. Then there would be no smell of cooking. That is bliss.
Develop good vasanas. Mind is vasana. Vasana is Mind. Once that is accepted, it implies that Brahma, the Creator is getting born with a recollection of all His past actions which linger in the form of vasanas. Therefore, if Brahma creates, he must have a janma and past tendencies that come back to him.
verse
What I have realized as the essence of your teaching, O Sage, after listening to all of this, is: Mind is Brahma. Mind is Vaasana. I travel with vasanas. What about these vasanas?
verse
A good question was asked by Rama.
Gitacharya affirmed that what you think of in the end, at the time of your last breath, will determine your future body. Even if you constantly contemplate on God, it is difficult to think of God at the last breath. That is why it is important to keep doing Nama smarana lifelong, constantly. Whatever thought your mind is occupied with, at the time of death, that thought will be predominant in the mind, and will shape your future.
In the computer, or phone, where you switched off, when you restart, it reopens right there. Therefore, keep remembering God all the time. If you end your life with the name of God on your lips and in your thoughts, then you will be reborn as a devotee. That is why unendingly chant the names of God.
Did you understand the question?
verse
Now Vasishtha gives the answer. Sri Rama, You have asked a good question.
Poorva ...
You said: because of the recollection of his past life, Brahma has recreated. But who has a past life?
Brahma has no janma at all. He was never born. How is it possible for Him to have a recollection of a past life? It is not possible for Him to have a remembrance, or taapatrayas (concerns and anxieties), or raagadweshas (likes and dislikes). He is eternal. You must understand Him.
Even for an instance if you allow the thought to come into your mind that He was born at the very beginning of Creation, then at once, death is ascribed to Him. Birth and death always go together. Brahma has another name: Ajaha - one without birth.
Birth occurs only as a result of death. If there is no birth, it automatically indicates that He has no death. He cannot have Samsara, tapatrayas, and ragadweshas. He is always only Consciousness.
Then why do we worship the incarnations like Rama and Krishna, which come and go?
We do it because we cannot comprehend that supreme entity that is formless. Since He assumes these forms for our benefit, we pray to those forms to grant us the realization of His true nature and principle. That is why we pray.
God is not our servant. It is wrong to pray to God to get our things done. Are we paying Him a salary? He is not our slave. He is not here to do our tasks for us. But that is the beginning stage for a devotee or a seeker. You teach children thus to pray saying, if you pray you will succeed in your exams.
Whether one is poor or rich, both really consider their own problems as the greatest. Hence, both pray for relief from their troubles. Because you tide over your troubles after offering prayers, you declare that God is great. But it is very selfish. Selfish prayer is not devotion. But we are in this world and selfishly we pray. Selfishness is not Knowledge. It is not Truth.
Only one who has a janma/birth has Smriti/recollection. God has no samsara. He is free from remembrances and concerns.
brahmanah..
He has no past karma. You tell me Rama now, how can He have any past recollection?
One who was never born can have no recollections because he has not performed any karma ever. Therefore, your question is not valid.
Next question from Sri Rama: Then, how did you call Him, Mind?
We have two perspectives, or ways of looking at things, says Vasishtha.
We see with the eyes of knowledge, and we see with the eyes of ignorance.
It is not wrong to see things in a limited way. It happens. But realize that it is not the correct perspective. It is not the perception of the Knower.
One thinks of positions and status in this world. You attribute the same status and position and political supremacy to Brahma. You must realize that He is above and beyond this worldly phenomenon. He is beyond our concept of Time. You must perceive Him under such terms. Only then, you will be able to understand His true principle. You will see Him as God only then.
Yesterday, we spoke about Punardarshana, seeing once again. Until you see with the right perspective, His true Self will not reveal itself to you. I only said, take another look. Keep looking repeatedly, until you perceive Truth.
I never said: there is no God. I have explained about the attitude one should have when one goes to have darshan of God or Guru.
You give one liter of milk and demand that three fourths of it should be returned to you as prasadam after performing the abhishekam.
See God in the right manner, with the right frame of mind. It should be Satya Darsana, the correct view. Why would I dare say there is no God? It is wrong to assume that I have implied that.
When you see the world as something fragmented and differentiated, it is ignorance. When you see it as a perfect whole, with no divisions, that is Knowledge. That is the state of bliss.
tasmad ...
You give one coconut and you expect to get a half of it back as prasadam. You pick a fight and quarrel and demand for it. You are only seeing the coconut piece as what is important for you, not God.
Guru is said to be in the state of absorption in divinity.
People ask: what happens to the Trimurtis at the end? Devi Bhagavatam says: They merge in Mother Goddess. What happens to Her? She is Parasakti. She is eternal. Nothing happens to Her. Brahma dissolves into Her. Then only 'Sat' remains. The 'IS' Truth alone remains.
This is a very profound statement made in the Sastras. One cannot go beyond that. Such a thing has been taught to us here with such facility and ease.
One takes a cow for grazing. One milks the cow and sells the milk. Here, the milk is brought, sugar is added, other flavors are added and offered to us ready to consume.
Here, Sage Vasishtha, as Sadguru, has taken the burden upon himself and is spoon feeding us. If we were to tackle the tough Sastra, we would have thrown in the towel and walked away, seeing what a tough nut it is to ***. It is very difficult to grasp.
Many scholars and scientists are there. They get tangled in debates and discussions.
All the facts are gathered together for us here and the answers are given to us ready to be received.
There are answers, no doubt.
aativaahika ..
Clearly it has now been stated. He always has only the most subtle form. He does not have a gross body. What you see as forms of God are parts of Saguna Upasana (worship of God with forms ascribed by you). These are forms which you have created for your convenience.
Rama says: Yes. You have spelled out that our Mind itself is God. His form is most subtle. It is not a physical shape or a gross figure.
verse
We have all come into this world with a purpose. Therefore, we have the causal body, the astral body, and the gross body. If you travel back in time, and try to conceive of what we were before we assumed the body, what were we? How did we live as an entity floating in water, and prior to that, as a part of the sun's ray? If you go searching deeper for answers, you go beyond the astral body, the Sookshma Sareera, to the causal body, the Kaarana Sareera. You combine all these three bodies and arrive at the present situation of occupying a gross body. Past recollections and vasanas are instrumental for this. Are these not? Sri Rama questioned.
It is a good question.
Rama asked: All creatures residing in a body have both gross and subtle bodies. Just as everyone else, He also has a subtle body. Is that right?
verse
Yes. Everyone has two bodies. After the gross body is given up, the individual still requires a vehicle to travel. He needs legs or a cart to travel in. He needs a body to travel to heaven or to the Sun. Scriptures make a mention of this. It is mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. It is touched upon in Guru Gita also. He proceeds in the subtle body. It is true that one needs a body to travel after death.
verse
God is the cause for all causes. He has only the 'aativaahika deha', the subtlest of all forms, which is free and devoid of anything physical or substantial. He has no gross form or body. His subtle body is not anything like the subtle bodies, the astral or causal bodies that we assume. Sookshma implies atomic, which is still physical.
Again it is repeated: He alone is the cause for the birth of every single being in this world. But no cause is there for His existence. It is stated very clearly.
naaste..
He has no physical form. The five elements do not constitute His form. He is Akasa which is not our sky, but only Consciousness. Soul.
verse
Chit alone is His form. Mind itself is His form. Earth, water, fire, and so on, which constitute the five elements, are not a part of His form. When you speak of the process of Creation, the correct sequence must be mentioned. You cannot say: The sky emerged out of the earth. That would be wrong. We have established a sequence. It will never change. It will never happen that the earth will grow more expansive than the sky. Creation follows a specific pattern. It was set up by Prajapati. You yourself have set up this system. It is Satya Sankalpa. It is an eternal, truthful resolve. Sadguru's resolves are like that. They are firm and rigid. They never change. They ever remain true.
Brahma grants life and existence to all creatures. Because of Him, life proliferates and spreads extensively.
If you raise questions now, I will be happy. If you have no questions, then I urge you to think deeply about this.
Prajapati is Mind. Mind is our mind. He is creating us. How can our mind become He, and how can He create us? This question must arise in us. Then the answer will be given.
Out of ignorance, the atheists speak. They say: Man has created God. How can God, who has been created by man, protect man? It is delusion. Has man created God? No.
Mind, it is state here. If our mind has created God, then who might we be? We have to be Paramatma Himself. That is the final conclusion. You yourself are Brahma. No other address is required.
More directly, this will be explained. We will discuss it tomorrow.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Om Santissantissantihi