You are the Atma, You are not this Body

Krishna said, "Arjuna, obey my commands. Give up body consciousness. Give it up completely. Stop identifying yourself with your body. The body is full of mucus and filth. You are not this body; it is only temporary and transient. You are the witness, the indweller, the atma inside this body. This six-foot frame is not you. You are the cosmic personality; you are boundless. This body is subject to birth and death. You, however, are the atma which is birthless and deathless. You are not a limited individual, subject to the passage of time. You are that most effulgent form which has conquered and mastered time itself. Discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent! Inquire into wisdom and ignorance! Distinguish between truth and untruth!"

 Krishna continued, "Arjuna, recognize your real nature! Censure and praise are associated with the body; they are not permanent. Profit and loss are also associated with the body. They are a result of activity, of karma, but they are not characteristics of your essence, the atma. Be indifferent to all these polarities. Treat joy and sorrow equally. Only when you develop this kind of equal-mindedness, will you be able to realize true fulfillment and become a truly wise being." In this way, Krishna taught Arjuna the highest wisdom, the discrimination between truth and untruth, the recognition of that which is permanent behind all that which is impermanent.

 God is everywhere.
 He is all-knowing, he is all-pervasive, he is all-powerful.
 He is not limited to the body.
 His power is not limited to the karma performed through bodies.
 The divinity is not just a particular body called Rama, born in a particular age, or another body called Krishna, born in another age. Those incarnations served as exemplary models for mankind to follow. But, the principle of divinity is not limited to any given body. The divinity is omnipresent and omniscient.

 Again and again this truth has been taught to mankind. Krishna spoke of this to Arjuna. He said, "Arjuna, in remote antiquity, in many ages gone by, I have taught this Gita to the sun god. Then others in a long lineage of sacred beings came to know of the Gita when the sun god passed it on to the many great sages of those times. But thereafter, slowly and gradually, this knowledge became hidden and was finally lost. But it is this same ancient, sacred knowledge that I am now teaching to you here today."

 When Arjuna heard this, a number of doubts entered his mind. He began thinking, "The sun god is a very ancient entity. Krishna was born only recently in this present age. How could Krishna have taught the sun god who is so ancient?" As soon as Arjuna had these thoughts, Krishna, who knows all minds and all hearts, spoke up immediately. He said, "Well, Arjuna, I know your doubts." With a smile on his lips, he continued, "You see, Arjuna, I am not this particular body. I am the one who has no birth. I transcend all time and space. I am not limited by circumstance. I exist in all ages, in all times. Basing your conception of me on my body, you are thinking that I belong to this particular age. But all these ages and all these eons are within me. Do not try to limit me to this body and to a given time. Bodies change but I never change. I take on different bodies, at different times, in order to perform karma and to fulfill a particular mission." The moment Arjuna heard this, spiritual understanding dawned within him and he recognized the timeless, unchanging principle of divinity.

 All people will not be able to understand the omniscience of God. Even spiritually-minded people will base their view only on the visible outward actions of the Lord, thinking of him as an individual entity associated with a given form. Since they identify themselves with their own bodies, so they also identify the Lord with a particular body. They speculate on the future of this particular divine incarnation and fail to recognize the omnipresence and omniscience of the divinity. But this is not right. Krishna commanded Arjuna, "Develop a broad mind and expand your vision. You can start with the concept of the individual personality; but do not get stuck there. Do not waste your entire life thinking only of individuals.

 "From the individual, you must move on to the concept of the society, which transcends the individual. Individuality and personality are associated with a limited name and form, but let your mind soar beyond name and form. Reach and experience that divine principle which is your very essence. You are still viewing everything in the framework of duality, and so your life is manifesting only duality. You are caught up in name and form, in subject and object. Make the effort to travel from duality and illusion to complete oneness with the divinity, constantly keeping this highest wisdom of pure non-duality as your goal. Make an effort to see the same divine principle everywhere and in everything, until you realize the ultimate truth that only the atma, which is your very self, is real and that it alone exists."

 Buddha taught the same great truth, although he may not have made reference to the Vedas or used Vedantic terms. Nevertheless, he experienced and demonstrated the essential spirit of the Vedas. First he said buddham sharanam gacchami, meaning, ' I take refuge in the buddhi, my power of discrimination.' This deals with the individual; it speaks of the limited personality. Gradually, he added sangham sharanam gacchami, meaning, 'I take refuge in the community, I take refuge in the extended family of spiritually minded beings.' He recognized that feelings associated with individual and personal considerations are selfish and narrow, and cannot take you very far.

Purify your Actions before Offering them to God

 What should be the qualities of the actions you offer at the feet of the Lord? How sacred should they be? Before an object is offered to an ordinary individual, you see to it that it has some utility, that it has some value, that it is pure and that it will be cherished. In other words, that it will be received with joy.

 That being the case in offering something to a nother individual, then how much more care should you take in making an offering to the Lord! How very pure and extremely fulfilling it must be! One must not offer all types of objects and all types of actions to the Lord. Before you offer anything to the Lord, you must first make it pure, you must make it sacred and great. Then it will be a fit offering for the Lord.

 For example, if you want to offer a rose to the Lord, you first select a beautiful, fragrant bloom. Then you remove the insects from the flower. Next you remove the thorns and any imperfect leaves from the stem; and in a number of other ways you make your offering as beautiful and as pure as possible. Only then do you offer it to the Lord. Every action you perform should be like this flower which you offer to the Lord. Just as a fine fragrance is inherent in the flower you offer, so also your actions must be saturated with the fragrance of love and sacredness. Just as the flower that you offer is beautiful and pure, so also your actions must be good and pure. Such is true karma yoga. The Gita prompts you to offer only such kinds of action to the Lord.

 You must be able to distinguish between wise action and unwise action, and for that you must understand the difference between wisdom and ignorance.

 You must develop your wisdom until it expands and merges with the cosmic wisdom, the divine wisdom. Anyone who wants to directly experience the Lord must develop this wisdom, and along with it a number of important qualities.

yoga of impersonal action

Whether you are actively working in the world or have withdrawn from it, the most important consideration is not the work that you do or not do, but how effectively you have been able to uproot and destroy the deep- seated tendencies which lie hidden in your heart.

 The principal objective of all spiritual practices is the removal of the deep-seated negative thought forms, impure habits, tendencies, and predispositions, which in Sanskrit are called the vasanas, and which have encased themselves deeply within you. They manifest in your thoughts and actions as the twin evils of attachment and hatred, or attraction and repulsion. You must cleanse yourself of all trace of these evils which have harbored themselves inside you.

 If you just run away to the forest or to a cave without performing the appropriate exercises to remove your inner enemies, then, whether you like it or not, all your latent tendencies will continue to produce thoughts and actions that bind you. These impurities will lie there as seeds in your heart and prompt a stream of thoughts that will be saturated with likes and dislikes, desires and delusions. As a result, you end up forgetting your true human nature.

 The Gita has shown that if you can root out the entrenched tendencies that cling to your heart, then you are free to perform any action without concern for the results. From that point on, you will not be bound by any actions that you may become engaged in. In other words, you will be freed completely from the fruits of your actions. People who do not understand this truth and end up renouncing all outside activities become mired in sloth and laziness. But the Gita has repeatedly warned that there is no room at all for laziness in the world of the spirit.

 What the Gita teaches is the yoga of impersonal action, in which you remain totally detached and free of any personal interest in the work that you do and in the results that accrue from it. It means working with full concentration to the limits of your capacity for excellence, but orienting all your actions to the service of God and remaining established in God-consciousness. You will not be able to reach this high stage of desirelessness in your actions and renunciation of the fruits of your labors, as long as your vasanas which have arisen from past actions are unfavorable for spiritual progress.

Highest Wisdom into Daily Life

The Gita brings the Highest Wisdom into Daily Life

 The Gita has not asked you to renounce all worldly activities and become a sanyasin, a wandering mendicant. Some people are under the impression that the Gita should not be taught to children, for the youngsters might get a notion to renounce the world and go to the forest. Many people suffer from such wrong impressions. But consider the great number of people who have been teaching the Gita. Are they all sanyasins? Have they renounced all the things of the world? Did Arjuna, who heard the Gita directly from Krishna, become a sanyasin?

 The inner significance of the Gita has to be understood in the context of human nature as it is expressed in the world, in the everyday activities of people. The most important objective of the Gita is to bring down the priceless, ancient wisdom to the level of the mundane world and to raise worldly life to the level of the highest wisdom. The Gita brings down Vedanta into daily life and elevates daily life to the level of Vedanta; it not only introduces philosophy and spirituality into daily life, but it also introduces daily life into philosophy and spirituality. Hence, it reconciles spirituality and daily life.

 Human existence does not just involve the daily, secular activities; it is not meant at all for just eking out a livelihood. The Gita teaches the sanctity of human life; it directs man to his ultimate goal. It teaches him how to make his livelihood in the world, in a way that enables him to transcend the human condition, and in a way that does not bind him to further human births. You will not be bound by your actions when they are performed selflessly, without any interest in the fruits. 

The Gita teaches you to develop nonattachment to all your activities, duties and possessions. What actually happens by having this attitude of detachment is that your actions become sacred. The Gita does not encourage you to renounce work; on the contrary, it encourages you to do your duty and perform all the activities appropriate to your status in life. But you must transform all these actions into sacred works by offering them to the Lord.

 For example, consider the work of a cook. Cooks perform their duties properly and do their job well when they keep their mind on the cooking. If instead, they do everything keeping only the wages in view, then they will not have much interest in their work and the cooking will not be good. Cooking should be performed with a sense of love and absorption in the work and with the welfare of all in mind, without concern for the monetary rewards. Then it becomes a sacred and pure service that nourishes and sanctifies.

 In the same way, when you perform your assigned duties, whatever they are, with full concentration on the work, offering it to the divinity, and without any personal interest in the fruit, then your actions become sacred and grand. With this feeling of disinterestedness in the fruits, your work becomes steady and you will also progress steadily forward towards your goal. But when you have a personal interest in the work that you are performing, there will be ups and downs, fickleness will develop and your desires will quickly grow. 

Krishna held out King Janaka as an ideal person because he ruled his kingdom with this sense of detachment, and thereby attained perfection. There are some people who have only outward vision. There are others who have developed inward vision. Outward vision sees only the illusory world outside. Inward vision transforms the mind and fills the heart with sacred feelings. In order to gain inner vision, you have to develop this quality of absorption in the work and detachment from the results, offering everything you do to the divinity within.

Turn Desire towards Wisdom

Turn Desire towards Wisdom to Gain the Divine Light .......

 A great sage used to say, "If you sing hymns of praise to the Lord and offer a light to him, then the entire world will shine with the effulgence of that light." In your worship you take a flaming lamp, and offer the light to the Lord. Your mind, which is made up of many desires, can be likened to the oil, the wick can be likened to the sacred wisdom you have gathered. When you join these two together, using your wisdom to turn your desires to God, then you get the effulgence of divine light blazing forth from their union.

 For this oil and wick there must be some holder. The body can be thought of as the container which holds this oil of desires and the wick of wisdom. The blissful joy that you feel is the effulgence of the light coming from this sacred lamp. If there is only a wick and you try to light it, it will not burn. Or, if you want to light the oil itself, you will not be able to do it. But when the wick is associated with the oil, then it will be able to burn, and you will have light.

 Another way of seeing this oil and the wick, is to think of action or work, which is associated with the mind and its desires, as the oil. The buddhi, or the intuitive intellect, which is associated with wisdom, can be thought of as the wick. When you combine these two, namely, action and buddhi, in other words, when you make all your actions sacred, following the dictates of your highest inner motivator, then the light will shine forth. This light is the eternal light of the atma. When all your actions become sacred, you will come into awareness of your eternal truth, you will be basked in the light of the one immortal self.

 Now, the flame in the lamp has a number of individual characteristics. When there is a breeze, the flame will flicker. When water comes on it, it will sputter, making some sound. If there are impurities in the oil, it will give forth smoke. It also gives off heat; if you touch it, it will burn you. And, depending on the type of oil and the flow of air there will be different colors to the light emerging from the flame. These various characteristics belong to the flame, but they are not associated with the radiance that emerges from the light of that flame. 

There is only one characteristic to that radiance; that is, it envelops all it touches in the splendor of its effulgence. The flame has a number of different attributes, but the effulgence of the atma has only the one attribute of illuminating and removing darkness. That immortal inner light of the atma is given equally to all people. That is its one all-encompassing quality. But, for the flame of life, there will be many individual characteristics. Many changes and problems will come into it.

3 types of action

The three Types of Actions

 There are three types of activities emerging from different aspects of this flame of life. There are the ordinary actions which lead to ordinary results, which in turn, lead to more actions in an endless cycle. This is like a flame that burns steadily one moment and sputters the next, or burns in various hues and at various temperatures.

 Then there are the good actions, those which always bring good results. These good actions are like an unchanging flame which is ever steady. This second type of activity applies to performing your worldly duties in a righteous manner, being active in good causes, engaging in devotional practices, etc. These are all good actions but along with them, there will still be a clear interest in the results. The Vedas have declared that even the best and most beneficial actions performed with interest in the results can only take you as far as heaven. You should not be under the impression that heaven endows you with immortality; when the merits of the actions have been consumed, you have to come back down to earth. So, this second type of action, also perpetuates the cycle of birth and death.

 Lastly, there are actions which are not related to the attributes of the flame. This third type of activity is associated with the pure radiance, the effulgence of the atmic light. For such actions, interest in the fruit is not relevant, at all. Such actions emerge out of your inner nature, your deepest truth, which is divine. You perform all your actions as an offering to the divinity, knowing that the one divinity is in everyone. Such sacred acts can be called yoga, for then you are engaged in karma yoga. This is purity in action where there is no attachment to the outcome.

 Realize that when you are interested in the fruits, they soon become exhausted, and new actions have to be undertaken again and again, in an endless cycle. Take, for example, a member of the legislative assembly who runs for election. If he achieves victory in the election, he can go to the assembly for five years. As time passes, his term of office runs out and at the end of five years he has to return home. Similarly, all the merits which you earn through your activities may be compared to this kind of limited term which lasts for a number of years. At the end of the period you have to come back into birth again.

 As long as your merits last you enjoy heaven, but as soon as they get exhausted you must again descend into birth. Therefore, while describing the doctrine of karma to Arjuna, Krishna said, "Instead of aspiring for the temporary result of an action, which keeps you bound to the cycle of birth and death, aspire to realize the supreme divinity which is your own true self. When you know that the one divinity is the immortal self of all and act from that knowledge, then your actions are aligned with the divine will and they will be sacred. Then you will never have to come back into birth again.

 But, if instead, your actions are motivated by the results, which, in turn, leads you into to life after life and you are perpetually coming and going, then how will you ever be able to reach your permanent goal?"

King Janaka's Dream

King Janaka had acquired extraordinary proficiency in the knowledge of God. He was called "the king devoid of body". In other words, he had been able to transcend body-consciousness. One particular night after dinner, he was discussing certain administrative problems with his ministers. He got back to his bedroom a little late. A meal had been set out for him but he did not touch it. He relaxed on a sofa while the queen massaged his feet. Soon the king fell asleep. The queen asked the various attendants present to leave the room and made sure that the king, who was extremely tired, would not be disturbed in his sleep. She covered him with a blanket and banked the light low, quietly remaining by his side.

Shortly afterwards, King Janaka quite suddenly opened his eyes, sat up, looked around incredulously at his surroundings, and in a most peculiar way began to ask, "Is this real or is that real? Is this the truth or is that the truth?"

The queen became a little frightened by his bewildered look and strange question. She tried to find out what exactly he was asking, but he would not explain or answer any of her queries. He just went on saying, "Is this the truth or is that the truth?" She called for the ministers, counselors and other important officials. They all assembled and began questioning the king. "Maharaja, what is your doubt? What exactly are you asking?" But the Maharaja would not respond to them. Finally the ministers brought the great Sage Vashishta to the court. Vashishta asked the king, "What are you asking? What is troubling you?" The king was replying to all the questions with the same query, "Is that the truth or is this the truth? Is this reality or is that reality?"

Sage Vashishta being omniscient closed his eyes and meditated for a while to find out the cause of the king's strange behavior. Vashishta realized that the king had suddenly awakened from a vivid dream in which he had forfeited his kingdom and found himself wandering lost, alone and despondent in a forest. He was feeling very hungry and also very tired and forsaken. As he wandered through that forest he kept shouting, "I am hungry, I am hungry." It happened that there were some robbers in that forest. Those robbers were just sitting down in a glade nearby to have their meal, eating from plates made of leaves. Taking pity on him, the robbers made themselves known and invited Janaka to join them, offering him a portion of their meal.

Just at that moment, a tiger came upon them and they all ran for their lives. The tiger helped himself to all the food. Again Janaka found himself staggering through the forest crying out, "O, I am so hungry. I am so very hungry." When he woke up he discovered he was in a palace, on a royal sofa by the side of the queen, with a silver tray filled with luxurious food and dainties sitting on the table nearby, and he began asking whether he was the starving, forsaken wretch begging food from robbers in a fearful forest or whether he was a king living in a sumptuous palace surrounded by all possible luxuries. "Is this true or is that true? Is this real or is that real?"

Maharishi Vashishta immediately recognized the king's confusion and said, "King Janaka, neither beggar nor emperor is real. You alone are real. You, yourself, are the truth. The you who was present as pure consciousness in the dream state playing the role of the beggar and who is present in the waking state playing the role of the king, this you who witnessed both these states, is your true reality. Life during the daytime is a day-dream, during the night it is a night-dream. They are both illusions. They are filled with defects and flaws because they constantly change from one thing to another; so they cannot be real. Only you who remain unchanged in all these states are real, free of all change and illusion."

This was also emphasized in the Gita, where Krishna pointed out the important truth that the world is constantly changing and that the atma alone is real and ever unchanging.

Egoism

Egoism Develops when you Forget the Indweller

 What is the root cause of egoism?
 Why should you ever feel egoistic?
 Egoism arises because of the ignorance which is inherent in you. You have to think out for yourself what is the birthplace of this egoism, where did it come from and where will it end? Consider these facts of the physical universe: Light travels at the rate of 670 million miles per hour. At this rate, light travels a trillion miles per year. We consider the sun to be very near; the distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 90 million miles. For us, the splendor of the light coming from the sun is exceptionally bright. But this is the light from only one sun. There are billions of suns and stars. The distance to the nearest of these is almost 4 light years, or something like 23 to 24 trillion miles.

 The stars look as though they are very close to one another, but the distance between any two stars is tens of trillions of miles. They look as though milk has been spread all over the sky. The stars that you can see with a high-powered telescope number in the billions. And there are many, many more objects in the heavens which you cannot see. What is the size of the earth in the context of such a vast universe, where there are billions upon billions of stars, spread over distances of trillions upon trillions of miles? And what is the place of this little planet earth in relation to the huge sun, which, nevertheless, is only a minor star among the countless stars that speckle the heavens?

 On this earth, what is the size of the country in which you are a citizen? What is the size of the state you are living in? Within it how small is this district that you are now in? And how much smaller is the little town that you call home? And then, how very much smaller still are you on this tiny plot of land that you occupy within it? If such is the scale of the universe and such is your size in it, why are you so puffed up with egoistic feelings? If you were to take true cognizance of the vastness of the world, you would not have any egoism. Only when you are oblivious of the greatness of the universe in relation to your minute size can you ever be filled with such a foolish notion.

 Perhaps you are proud of your own body. But the body consists of only the five elements. One day or another it will perish. Only the indweller is permanent. It does not have birth or death, it does not grow or decay. It shines everywhere. In the whole world it is the one permanent entity shining as the effulgent one, in a sea of changing forms. It is behind every form, it is the splendor animating every feature in the vast universe. Even in utter darkness it is there, for it is that which reveals the darkness to you. This all-pervading splendor is the indweller, the eternal flame ever shining inside this inert body. Look to this indweller, turn towards it, and you will not be deluded by pride and egoism.

karma

Krishna said to Arjuna, "All these attachments that you now have, all these desires to possess things, are not tendencies that you acquired yesterday or the day before. They have been with you for numerous births and they are responsible for all the pain that you are experiencing. You have no way of knowing when you will finally be able to rid yourself of the pain they have caused. But you cannot do much about the past, so do not worry about it. Focus, instead, on the means for eliminating the pain that would come to you in the future, were these attachments and desires to continue ruling over you. 

 "In the battle that you are about to fight, you have provided yourself with worldly armor. That will help protect your body from external enemies; but how will you be able to protect yourself from the internal enemies which you are battling inside you? To protect yourself from them, you have to wear the armor of wisdom. You are concerned about your external enemies, but you are not thinking about the inner enemies at all. If you succumb to your inner enemies you will never be able to conquer your external enemies. Therefore, first conquer these inner enemies." 

 It is natural to search for a doctor when you are sick and suffering, but it is of greater importance to see to it that you do not contract any illness in the first place. It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. From earliest times, the inner enemies have been subduing mankind and filling human beings with sorrow. 

 As long as you are filled with egoism and attachment, you will not be able to free yourself from grief and sorrow. You have been engaged in wrongful actions, and these have been responsible for all your pain. Does this mean that you should abstain from action? No. You have no choice but to act. You must act, and you are free to enjoy your actions as well. But from now on, you must perform all your actions properly, in a way which will not accrue harmful consequences and pain to you in the future. In keeping with this, it is very important that you understand the underlying principles of right action. 

 Action is called karma. You are born in karma, you develop in karma and you die in karma. It is karma, or the actions you perform, which are responsible for all good or bad, sin or virtue, profit or loss, joy or sorrow. Truly, karma is responsible for your very birth itself. Karma is really the creator for mankind. It shapes your life. It follows then that you should not look upon action with carelessness. Your entire life is associated with action. Therefore, recognize the importance of right action and engage in that, unwaveringly. 

Do not think that action is just a small thing. It may start as a small sapling but it will grow into a very big tree. Before a seed can become a tree, it has to break out of the soil in which it was sown. Then, once it has become a big tree, it will offer you its fruit. Whether this fruit brings you joy or sorrow depends on the seed that you have sown. To get the very finest fruit, the seed of action which you have performed must be of the highest quality and it must break out of the soil of egoism. Then this action can be transformed into yoga. Yoga is union with God.

Inner battle

In battle, warriors wear shield and armor. This gives them some protection against the powerful weapons that are shot at them by their enemies. In the spiritual battle which you must fight, you must also wear a type of shield and armor. Here the shield is devotion and love for God, and the armor is wisdom. In an ordinary war relating to the world, the fighting may last only a few days, or it may drag on for a few months or even some years. But the spiritual battle goes on continuously; it never ends. It has been fought by mankind unceasingly, right from ancient days. Since time immemorial there has been the fight between good and bad, between virtue and sin, between attachment and detachment.

 Humanity has been waging an endless war with its feelings of I ness and my-ness, with its feelings of hatred and jealousy and other evil qualities that have taken shelter within it. Egoism and attachment, in particular, have extraordinary strength. They are really dreadful. Compared to them, you, the individual who is fighting them, are not so strong. You are really quite weak. In fact, you have become so dominated by these negative qualities that, like Arjuna, you have identified yourself with them. Now, to fight such powerful enemies and qualities, you have to follow the directions of the indwelling Lord and you have to wear a very strong shield and armor. The mighty shield and armor that you have to wear in this spiritual battle are devotion and wisdom. They will protect you from such formidable enemies.

 When you have a parasol to shade you, you are not troubled by the hot sun. When you wear sandals or shoes, you are not concerned about stepping on a thorn. When you wear a shield and armor, you are not too much bothered by the weapons being hurled against you. " Therefore, Arjuna," Krishna said, "in this inner battle you must don your spiritual shield and armor." When Krishna lifted Arjuna out of his despondency at the beginning of the Gita, he gave Arjuna the armor of wisdom. That was the first teaching that Krishna offered.

Difference Between Desire And Longing

Arjuna raises a question: “O Krishna, I don’t want to do bad, but something is forcing me to do it. Therefore, what is that force which propels a person to do something even though he does not desire it to happen?

Krishna repies: “You may say, I do not desire it but I am doing it, but deep within your unconscious you are desiring it.” Like lot of smokers will say, “I don’t want to smoke Swamiji”. This is so often a spoken value, it is not a cherished value. Therefore, what Krishna answers is, ‘understand Arjuna, it is nothing but desire. There is a desire and that desire is propelling you, and if that desire is not fulfilled the kama itself becomes krodha, anger.’

There are two types of desires – desire out of happiness and desire for happiness. Desire for happiness leads you to samsara. But the desire out of happiness is different. If you have desire for happiness that means you have come to a conclusion that you are not happy. When you have formed this conclusion, you are never looking into yourself.

Nagarjuna, a great master of Buddhism, says very clearly that desire for enlightenment is also an obstacle for enlightenment. That is why in Buddhist teachings, at the end of the whole teaching – and I have never found a more meaningful statement than this – in one section of the Buddhists, they say, ‘if you come across a Buddha, kill him’ – in the sense, let not Buddha become an ideal which you start imitating and so destroy your uniqueness.

And if you see the great masters, each one was great in his own time. If enlightenment is going to happen, it is going to happen here. And therefore, you should be available here. Understand the paradox. That is why Nagarjuna says, “Have a longing but not a desire.” And he makes a distinction between longing and desire. Longing is being in the here, you have thirst. Desire is what J Krishnamurti called ‘future psychological time’. Therefore, longing is being here. The whole process is in the here and now and not in the future. Krishnamurti used to say, negative psychological time and just be in the here and now. And if you are here and now, you will find a different quality of receptivity opens up. The moment you are happy with what is, then you have a desire which is out happiness. You have to be receptive to the happiness which is always bubbling here.
Desire is always an enemy. What is desire? “I am going to become happy” – that is always an enemy. He calls desire fire, and if you add ghee to fire, it becomes more, it never says enough, therefore, desire also goes on increasing. For a stupid man nothing is an enemy. But for a man of understanding this is an enemy. Where does this great rascal exist? It exists in yourself only. Its abode is in your sense organs, mind and your intellect.

The sense organs are superior to sense objects; mind is superior to the sense organs – they are running according to the mind, so the mind is superior. And compared to the mind, your buddhi is superior. Because of the conviction, your mind is running; because of the value, the mind is running; therefore, superior to even the buddhi, he says, is that atma, that chaitanya, which cannot be defined, which can be only experienced.

~speakingtree.in

For Self-Knowledge Total Surrender of the Mind is Required

For Self-Knowledge Total Surrender of the Mind is Required.....

 Once a person has offered up his mind, and with it all his words, deeds and thoughts, then he will not have the authority or the power to perform any actions without the permission of the one to whom he has surrendered his will. As was the case with Astavakra and Janaka, so also with Krishna and Arjuna. Krishna told Arjuna, "Arjuna, offer everything to me. Surrender all your actions to me. I will take care of you and I will guide you towards liberation and deliverance." So also, you need to offer all your physical, mental, spiritual and worldly duties, all your various actions, thoughts and words, to the Lord, the inner director installed in your heart.

 But, you may wonder, if every duty and desire is relinquished and offered to the Lord, then does that mean that even the desire for liberation has to be given up? After all, that is also a type of thought. No. The real meaning is that when you offer up your load of desires and duties and responsibilities to the Lord, and allow him to make all your decisions, then he will carry all your burdens. And then you can be one-pointed in the one worthwhile goal of life, that of self-realization.

 All this education that you acquire, all this learning that you pursue, is associated with the three qualities of delusion. Only when you transcend these three qualities will you be able to gain self-realization. In celebrating a marriage, a benediction is given so that the couple might be blessed with a successful career, with material prosperity, and with a fine family. These are three of the four primary goals of human life. The first refers to duties and responsibilities and position, the second refers to the accumulation of wealth and the third refers to the desire for progeny and the continuation of the family line. All three of these goals have to do with the worldly life. But there is a fourth goal of human life. That final and most important goal is liberation. The fourth goal relates to the spiritual life. The first three of these goals of human life cannot be considered equal to the fourth, which is liberation. Offer up all your little acts involving these first three goals. Give them all to the Lord, and trade them in for the one priceless treasure which he will give you in return, namely, liberation.

Devotion, Wisdom and Detachment will keep you Pure

Devotion, Wisdom and Detachment will keep you Pure....

When ladies go out, they frequently take along a little mirror, a comb and a handkerchief, to make sure that they will present a neat appearance. Why do they take these three particular items? During the journey, it is quite likely that their hair will get disturbed. To put their hair back in order they take the comb. To see if their hair is properly in place, they take the mirror. And to wipe their face they take the handkerchief. If they leave any one of these behind, they will not be able to achieve perfection in their appearance. So, a comb, a mirror and a handkerchief are necessary to help maintain facial cleanliness and a neat appearance.

 In the same way, if you want to correct the disturbed beauty of your heart, you have to take certain aids for that too. Whether your hair is disturbed or not is shown to you by the mirror. Whether your heart is disturbed or not is shown to you by your devotion, which acts as the mirror. This mirror must be pure. When the mirror is clean, you will be able to see if your heart and mind are pure or if they have become covered by impurities. When you recognize that your heart is disturbed, you have to correct it. And for this purpose you need a comb, namely, the comb of wisdom. Wisdom clarifies the heart and returns it to a state of order and beauty. Then, just as you have a cloth to clean the dirt that has come on your face, you have to remove the dirt that has entered your mind with the cloth of detachment. With the help of detachment you can wipe off all the dirt that has accumulated in your mind.

 Just as ladies take these three things, the mirror, the comb and the handkerchief, along with them whenever they go out on a journey in the world, so also, in your journey of life, you have to take devotion, wisdom and detachment to keep your heart and mind pure.

Clean your heart

Clean your Heart thoroughly to Welcome God there......

If you are inviting a great spiritual being such as a sage or a revered teacher to your house, there are certain preparations which you will have to undertake in cleansing, adorning and decorating your house.

You will have to clean inside and out and bring order to the surroundings before the guest arrives. Great people will not enter a house which is full of dirt and which lacks sacredness. In the same way, when you have invited the governor or a high official to your town, you clean the roads and decorate the paths and keep everything ready and fit to receive the distinguished personage. Even though this person holds only a temporary position, you will still take great care to clean your house and make many preparations to welcome the honored guest to your place.

When you make so much effort to receive a worldly official, then how much more effort and preparation should you make to invite the very creator and protector of the world to come to your house? Clearly, when you welcome God into your heart, you must cleanse your heart thoroughly. Only when you purify your heart will God be pleased to enter it.

Krishna said, "Arjuna, up to now you have been taking me only as the charioteer of your chariot, but you must take me as the charioteer of your life! The seat on which I am seated in the chariot is clean and well decorated. Now, think of how clean and grand your heart must be to make a seat for me there, if I am to install myself as the charioteer of your life."

If you go to a park and decide to sit down on the ground, you put down a mat, or a newspaper or a large kerchief and sit on that. When you take so much care about the seat for this body, which, after all, is just temporary and full of impurities, how much more care should you take when you are inviting God into the inner sanctum of your heart?

As long as the two qualities rajas and tamas are in your heart, your heart will remain impure. These two qualities continuously pollute and dirty the heart. As long as it is dirty, the divinity will not enter your heart; you will not be able to perceive the divine presence there. Therefore, you must first remove the quality of density and inertia, the tamas quality, and having done that, you must remove the rajas quality. Then the satva quality will shine in you, and you will become a self assured human being, in touch with your divine source.

Start now by making every effort to remove every bit of dirt that has accumulated in your heart.

Mukti!

People may have different views on freedom.
For this slave, real mukti (freedom) is that i am never ever "freed" from Your service!
Real "mukti" is in unalloyed devotion and hurdle-free service!
Real "mukti" is always being caught in the web of Your love!
 Here's begging You to grant that boon!

Dear Dreams

Of silent evenings spent together,
Of beautiful nights in the company of my Lover;
Of days spent staring into Your Lotus Eyes,
i dream, at times with closed, and at times with open eyes!

 Krishna, of Your hug's warmth and comfort,
Of the electricity, dearest Hari, that Your touch would elicit,
O Parthasarathy! Of the loving kisses You would imprint,
i dream, at times with closed, and at times with open eyes!

 Of serving You sumptous food,
And fanning Your beautiful features as eat You would;
And the nectar of Your lips to partake in Your remains if i could:
Endlessly, infinitely; dream this slave would!!

 i dream, Parthasarathy, of our hands intertwined,
But somewhere, in between, myself lost i find;
Dearest Lord, i dream of serving Your beautiful Lotus Feet
But, lost, i suffer miserably in between.

 i have none but You
So, dearest Lover, save me anew.
Kill me if You wish with Your dazzling smile:
Own me in entirety with Your unparalleled might!

Be my guide

O Beloved Lord!
Usually, for but a glance this slave begs away,
Adorning You, Damodara in dreams so far, far away!
Today, o dearest, i am afraid i ask for more:
For if the end be defeat, it'd be rather sore!

 In this battlefield called Life
Except for You, alone myself i find!
Uplift me, guide me, stir me
Make me work for victory!

 Surrendered unto Your feet as always:
i beg You to cast Your merciful gaze.
You show the light at the tunnel's end
i beg You now to illuminate the path and its numerous bends!

state of Jnana or wisdom

What is this state of Jnana or wisdom that all scriptures prod us to achieve?

You see and hear certain things during the day. But when you go to bed and dream during sleep, you are not aware of all this; you see and experience a new set of events, which seem as real, as impressive, and as significant as those you witnessed when awake. And when in deep sleep, nothing ‘is’, except probably the inner consciousness that you are. When you dream, the dream is real; when awake, the waking experience is as real as the dream was. The fact is, it is all a dream, a creation of the mind when the Atma (the true self) is reflected on it. Remove that mind, then there will be nothing on which the Atma reflects. The Atma shall then shine in its own splendour. Jnana (Wisdom) is passing from the dream stage to the waking stage, and realising the dream to be unreal. Seek the springs of bliss within you and happiness will be your lot, here and for ever. Believe that the bliss within you is derived from God who is your Reality.

How to integrate the practice of human values in our day to day life?

A glowing electric lamp can be compared to Prema (Love). For the lamp of love to burn, there should be a bulb, which is Shanthi (peace). The electric wire connected to the bulb is Dharma (Right Conduct). The current flowing into the wire is Sathya (Truth). Thus, the lamp of love glows and sheds its light, using all other human values. Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema constitute a single whole and not separate values. All the four values have to be adhered to equally. Prema must express itself in professional life too. Develop the feeling that all in your place of work - managers, workers and others are members of one family. Develop fraternal feelings towards all. With mutual love and regard, harmony can be achieved even in one’s profession.

How eager is God to fulfill our desires?

How eager is God to fulfill our desires? And what is it that we need to do?

The best among men is one who has compassion; the most blessed time is the 'present', this very second, and the best act is to relieve the pain and grief of others. You decide to start Naamasmarana (remembrance of the Divine Name) ‘next Thursday’, as if death has assured you in writing that he will not call on you till that date. Do not postpone what you can do today or do now, this very moment. Make your efforts towards your goal. The goal will near you faster than the pace with which you near the goal. God is as eager to save you as you are eager to be saved. He is Love, He is Compassion for all who flounder on the path. God grants the desires of each one of His devotees, and hence has won the name, Bhaktha Abheeshta Pradha.