LECTURES ON YOGA AND VEDANTA

Lecture V – `Vedanta, Thy Birthright' – now continues.
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Why do you bleat like a lamb? Assert. Recognise and realise your Brahmic nature. I will tell you a small story. Just hearken with rapt attention. There was once a lion cub, left by its dying mother, among some sheep. The sheep took care of the lion cub. The lion cub soon grew into a big lion and bleated Ba-a-a when the sheep bleated Ba-a-a.

One day another lion came and heard the sheep-lion bleating aloud with the other sheep. He was struck with amazement. He asked the sheep-lion: "Brother! What is the matter with you? Why are you here in such an abject state?" The sheep-lion replied: "I am a sheep. I am happy here amidst my brothers and sisters." "Nonsense," roared the other lion, "Come along with me. I will show you. You are under a false delusion." He took the sheep-lion to the side of a river and showed him his reflection in the water. He said to the sheep-lion: "Look at your reflection now. You are a lion. I am a lion." The sheep-lion looked at the reflection and then said in joy, "What a terrible mistake I have committed! I am certainly a lion indeed. I am not a sheep at all." He made a terrible roar and went along with the other lion.

Brother! You are also bleating like the sheep-lion. You have forgotten your real divine nature. You are hypnotised by Maya. Dehypnotise yourself and roar OM OM OM. Become a lion of Vedanta. Thou art the immortal Self. Do not identify yourself with the perishable body. Identify yourself with the undying, eternal Brahman and be free.

There is a permanent reality behind the universe. There is a living truth behind these names and forms and all phenomena. That is Brahman. That is Atman. That is Self. The goal of human life is to realise the reality behind the changing phenomena. The summum bonum of human aspiration is to attain Self-realisation. Self-realisation alone can eradicate ignorance and miseries. Self-realisation alone can break the bonds of Karma. Self-realisation alone can make you absolutely free and independent.

There is only one reality, Brahman. This world and body are superimposed on Brahman, just as snake is superimposed on the rope. As long as the rope is not known and the idea of the snake persists, you are not free from fear. Similarly this world is a solid reality to you until Brahman is realised. When you see the rope with a light, the illusion vanished and the fear disappears. Even so, when you realise Brahman, this world vanishes and you are freed from the fear of births and deaths.

A Jiva-Koti Jivanmukta is one who has realised the Self through gradual evolution and by his own efforts. He has raised himself from Jivahood to Brahmanhood by meditation. He has taken many births. Anyhow he has managed to free himself from the round of births and deaths. He can help a few persons only. He cannot elevate many people. He can be compared to a bullock cart which can take 4 or 5 persons or a plank in a river. Whereas the eternally free Ishvara-koti-Jivanmukta is born in the world for establishing Dharma, for the protection of virtuous persons and for doing good to humanity. He does not practise any Sadhana or meditation in this birth. He is an Amsa of the Lord. He is a born Siddha. He is illumined from his very boyhood. He can elevate many people. He manifests and disappears when the Lokasangraha work is over. He can be compared to a train which takes a large number of persons or a big steamer in an ocean. Sankara was an Ishvara-Koti. Vamadeva was a Jiva-Koti Jivanmukta.

Still the waves of the mind. Hold the mind steady in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. This needs constant and protracted practice of meditation. There may be breaks in the meditation in the beginning. But practice can make you perfect. Later on you can remain absorbed in meditation. You can merge yourself in Samadhi with a mind steady like a flame protected from wind. Before getting sanguine success in meditation get victory over the Asana (pose) first. Sit on your seat with the steadiness of a rock for 2 to 3 hours. If the body is steady, the mind also will be steady.

The student of Vedanta puts the `Neti-Neti' doctrine into daily practice. He says: "I am not this perishable body. I am not this mind. I am not this Prana. I am not the Indriyas." `Neti-Neti' means not this; not this. This is the path of negation. But he tries to identify himself with the all-pervading Atman or Self. This practice culminates in the attainment of Self-realisation. It leads to the immediate intuition of the all-filling Brahman.
Perform worship of the Atman at all times. Live a regulated life. Mould your character. Develop noble and virtuous behaviour. Be righteous and work for the good of others. Be devoted to your preceptor. Live under life-long vows. Develop compassion and power of concentration. Be generous. Be charitable. You will soon attain Self-realisation.
Open your eyes now. Wake up from the deep slumber of profound inertia. Regain the lost divinity. Thou art Divine. Thou art Truth. Thou art Atman (soul). Realise this and be free. OM! OM! OM!

LECTURE VI – LIGHT OF VEDANTA

A student of Vedanta should study again and again the Upanishads, which are but mystical experiences of the soul gushing forth in an unceasing stream of beauty. You will find in the Upanishads instances of a sincere quest after Brahman, the Supreme Soul. Nachiketas learned the science of the Reality from Yama. Kabandhi, Bhargava, Kausalya, Gargya, Satyakama, Sukesa—all these devoted to Brahman and centred in Brahman, seeking the Highest Brahman—approached the revered sage Pippalada with fuel in their hands to know Brahma Vidya and realised Brahman.

A rich man keeps his valuable jewels in an iron safe hidden in the innermost chamber of his bungalow. One has to pass through five compartments before he reaches the compartment in which the iron safe is placed. Five walls screen the iron safe. Even so, this most valuable jewel of Atman is placed in the innermost recess of the heart. Five veils cover this Atman. In other words, you will have to pass through the five compartments formed by the five Koshas if you want to get at the jewel of Atman.

To look for God without, abandoning the God within, is like going in quest of a conch-shell after giving up the precious diamond in the hand. If you cannot find Him in your heart, you will not find Him anywhere else. Search Him within the innermost recess of your heart. He is subtler than the subtlest. Make the lotus of your heart as pure as possible. Withdraws the fuel of desires and extinguish the fire of Sankalpas. Realise the Truth now through your higher mind. Enjoy the perennial joy or divine Bliss.

You cannot separate the particles of sugar that are mixed with sand or dust; but an ant can separate them very easily. So also, if you want to taste nectar of Immortality or enjoy the Atmic Bliss, if you want to separate the Atma from the five sheaths, you must become an ant, i.e., you must kill your egoism, pride and vanity and develop humility.

If you are equipped with the four-fold discipline, viz., Viveka, Vairagya, Shad-sampat and Mumukshutva, you will be able to make an enquiry into Brahman. If you have proper ethical training only, you will be able to practise deep meditation. If you possess moral qualifications, you will be able to comprehend the deep truths of Vedanta. If you have moral stamina only, you will be eligible to approach Brahman or the Absolute. Ethical discipline is an indispensable pre-requisite to the study of Vedanta. You can be a wonderful scientist or a philosopher of great repute without any moral qualification but you cannot be a student of Vedanta without ethical perfection. An immoral man can never realise Brahman.

If you can maintain, when you are engaged deeply in some work, serenity of mind which cannot be ruffled, balance of mind which can never be disturbed, you have made considerable progress in the spiritual path. This indicates that you possess immense inner spiritual strength.

If you have a serene and composed mind only, you will be able to practise introspection and meditation. The four-fold discipline makes the mind steady, serene and one-pointed. It removes laziness, inattention, sleepiness and makes you ever vigilant. The senses are kept under perfect control by its practice. You will develop the power to discrimination between the real and the unreal. You will clearly perceive the extreme evanescence of all mundane objects. You will also develop a burning desire for liberation and a burning dispassion. If you now sit for meditation you will at once enter into Samadhi.

Self-control augments energy, vitality, vigour and mental strength. A man of self-control is always cheerful. He turns out much physical and mental work. He commands respect and influences people. He always keeps a balanced mind. He is always serene, collected and composed. He never wastes his energy. He sleeps happily. He attains quickly the highest beatitude.

If you are extremely virtuous, if you are very courageous, if you are ready to give up all possessions, even your very life for the sake of Truth, if you have equal vision, if you are solely engaged in the pursuit of divine knowledge, if you do sincere service to Mahatmas or your Guru, you can quickly attain Self-realisation.

Kill desires. Rise above desires. Abandon your beggarly attitude of mind. Feel the majesty of your Self. There is neither desire nor Vasana in the Self. It is very pure. It is all-full and self-contained. Identify yourself with the glorious Self. Then all desires will die. Then all desires will be fulfilled. This is the secret of the fulfilment of desires. Then nature will obey you. You can command the elements. All the eight Siddhis and the nine Riddhis will roll at your feet. They will stand with folded hands to carry out your behests. This is the sublime teaching of Vedanta.

Jesus commanded the waves to subside. They obeyed immediately. Shams Tabriez commanded the Sun to come down a bit. The sun obeyed. Nimbarka commanded the sun not to move beyond the line of a Neem tree that was in front of his house. The sun carried out his behest immediately. Jnana Dev commanded the wall and the Masjid to move. They obeyed him at once. Visvamitra said, "Let there be a third world for Trisanku." Then and there a world was created. Akalkot Swami commanded, "Let this dead man come back to life." At once the dead man rose up from the ground with new life. These sages were absolutely free from selfish desires. They simply willed at times to do good to the humanity. Everything came to pass instantaneously.

Give up identification of your Self with the physical body. Identification of one's self with the body is the greatest crime. Give up planning and scheming. Abandon speculation. Relinquish cherished hopes, expectations and worldly ambitions. Give up completely thinking about yourself. Do not expect appreciations or approbation. Burn the desire for name and fame. Scorch the fears of disease and public criticism. Do not hoard wealth or anything. Do not care for the morrow. Do not pay any attention to insults or stinging remarks or abuses. Become impervious to ridicules and rebukes. Give up your rights and claims to worldly possessions. Burn all worldly attachments. You can enter now the vast domain of eternal bliss or the kingdom of Truth. You will be the Emperor of the Three Worlds. All Devas will now pay homage to you.

Wake up from the dream of forms. Give up this clinging to false names and forms. Do not be deceived by these illusory names and forms. Cling to the solid, living reality only. Love your Atman only. Atman or Brahman is the living Truth. Atman only persists. Live in the Atman. Become Brahman. This is real life.

There is neither birth nor death for you. Thou art the immortal undecaying Self. Maya deludes you and you identify yourself with the perishable body. You foolishly imagine that you are subject to birth and death. Free yourself from the clutches of Maya. Soar high in the realms of Supreme Peace and reach the abode of Immortality through purification and meditation.

The mind should be scientifically trained to soar into higher regions of awareness and joy. You should march slowly and steadily in the spiritual path. You can ultimately reach the goal if you have patience, perseverance and constant vigilant and if you are very regular in your meditation. You should avoid over-zealous nature and spasmodic effort. Constant meditation on the Self will eventually lead to the ecstasy of beatific vision or Nirvikalpa Samadhi, wherein the individual soul has become one with the Supreme Soul.

Mind is compared to a wild wandering bull. Take up the rod and beat the bull severely. It will go back to its shed. You can tie it easily now to the post. So also thrash the mind-bull severely with the rod of Vairagya. It will go back to its original home or shed, Brahman. Now it will rest in Supreme Peace.

Mind is nothing but a bundle of Sankalpas. Even if you renounce the objects, even if you abandon sensual enjoyments, it will be thinking of objects, when you close eyes and sit for meditation. This is very dangerous. You must stop this sort of thinking with the help of discrimination, dispassion and Vichara or enquiry of `Who am I?' Fewer the thoughts, greater the peace. Complete extinction of Sankalpas brings Moksha or absolute annihilation of the mind or Manonas. Simple living will help you to control thoughts. If you lead a simple life, you have only very few wants and you will have to think a little only.

Do not think of the past. Give up memories. You will have no desire if you give up memories. Do not plan for the future. Do not allow the mind to build up images. Live in the present. Think of the Immortal Self. Now you will have a very quiescent state. You will be pulled up. You will become one with the Being. You cannot describe this sate. Self-realisation is beyond the range of speech. You will have to experience it yourself.

Believe in the glory of your own Self. `Thou art That'. Search. Hear. Understand. Reflect, meditate and realise the immortal Atman. This Atman was never born and will never die. Abandon all superstitions and doubts. Scorch out all wrong Samskaras and wrong suggestions. Man or woman can realise the goal of Vedanta. Burn all false differences. There is neither low nor high, neither great nor small, neither superior nor inferior, neither animate nor inanimate. Behold your own Self everywhere. There is nothing but Self.

O Ye of little faith! Wake up from your long sleep of ignorance. Get knowledge of the Self. O wanderer in this quagmire of Samsara! Go back to your original abode of eternal peace, the fountain of infinite joy and power, the spring of boundless ecstasy, the source of life, the origin of light and love, the immortal blissful Brahmic seat of illimitable splendour and pristine glory. Fill the mind with thoughts of Self. Saturate your feelings with purity and divinity. Let the Light of lights shine in every hair of your body. Let the infinite Godhead vibrate in every cell of your body. Let every breath sing the song of Infinity and Eternity with `Soham'.

LECTURE VII – THOUGHTS OF VEDANTA

Vedanta is that sublime philosophy which teaches that the individual soul is identical with the Supreme Soul and removes the illusion of the Jiva. Vedanta is the science of Atman that helps the aspirants to eradicate fear, sorrow, grief, delusion and to realise the Self. Vedanta is that magnanimous philosophy which raises the ignorant Jiva to the sublime heights of Brahmanhood. Vedanta is a panacea for all human ailments. Vedanta is a sovereign specific for the disease of birth and death. Mere theorising of Vedantic principles will not do. You should live in the spirit of Vedanta. You should become a practical Vedantin. You should realise this Atman which Vedanta treats of. Then only you will become a liberated sage.

Brahman or Atman or the Supreme Self is self-luminous. Brahman cannot be manifested by anything else. Brahman manifests everything. The doctrine of self-luminosity is one of the foundational tenets on which the entire edifice of Vedanta is constructed. Atman gives light to the sun, moon, stars, lightning, fire intellect and senses. By the light of the Atman all these shine but they cannot illumine the Atman.

The ultimate principle or Atman or Brahman which is formless, colourless, fearless, timeless, spaceless, limitless, attributeless, endless and beginningless shines eternally and everywhere behind the names and forms. Vedanta treats of this ultimate Truth or Supreme Principle.

This world of names and forms is constantly changing. Seas dry up and vast sandy deserts come into being in their place. Elevations become depressions and depressions become elevations. Sand becomes stone and stone becomes sand. Blocks of stones become lime and lime becomes dust. Forests become model towns and cities become deserted places. Grass becomes blood; blood becomes milk; milk again becomes blood; blood becomes flesh. A young man becomes an old man and a beautiful girl becomes an ugly woman. A fat man becomes thin and a thin girl becomes a fat woman. A zamindar becomes a beggar and a beggar becomes a zamindar. At the back of these ever-changing objects there is the changeless, eternal, immortal Brahman or the Supreme Self. He who realises this Brahman attains Immortality, Freedom and Eternal Bliss.

Naturally the mind runs towards objects of the world. The usual flow of the mental current is towards worldly objects. You will have to turn the mind inwards towards the Self through Vairagya and Abhyasa (dispassion and practice). In the beginning the mind will run towards the worldly objects again and again even if it is turned towards the Atman. Constant practice is necessary to make the mind rest in the Self for ever.

Tear into pieces the veil of ignorance. Catch the fickle deer `the mind' with the snare of enquiry and Brahma Chintan. Mount on the elephant of Self-knowledge and roam about freely in the hilly tracts on the highest peak of Supreme Wisdom of the Self.

Shake off the bonds of Karma through discrimination, dispassion and non-attachment. Know the secret of true bliss through concentration and meditation. Root out the passion. Embrace Peace. Enjoy the glory of Self-Bliss. Delight in the Self within.
Abandon thoughts of this little body. Rise above the worldly thoughts. Live always in the All-blissful Self. Thou art the sun, fire, sky, stars, mountains, oceans and rivers. The whole world is your body. The whole wealth of the world is yours. The whole world is your Lila. Maya is your illusory power. Exercise your power of Sat-Sankalpa. She is ever ready to fulfil your wishes. Thou art immortal, beginningless and endless. Death, sickness, sorrow, sin, old age, cannot touch thee. Feel the majesty of thy real nature. Feel, feel that thou art the all-pervading, imperishable, diseaseless, fearless Atman. Rest in that stupendous ocean of peace. Be perfectly happy.

Learn to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent. Behold the Self in all beings and in all objects. Names and forms are illusory. Therefore sublate them. Feel that there is nothing but the Self. Share what you have, physical, mental, moral, or spiritual, with all. Serve the Self in all. Feel when you serve others that you are serving your own Self. `Love thy neighbour as thyself.' Melt all illusory differences. Remove all barriers that separate man from man. Mix with all. Embrace all. Destroy the sex-idea and body-idea by constantly thinking on the Self or the sexless and bodiless Atman. Fix the mind on the Self when you work. This is practical Vedanta. This is the essence of the teachings of the Upanishads and sages of yore. This is real, eternal life is the Atman. Put these things in practice in the daily battle of life. You will shine as a dynamic Yogi or a Jivanmukta. There is no doubt about this. There is no doubt about this.

OM is a symbol of Brahman. OM or Pranava is a sparkling ferry-boat for men who have fallen into the never-ending ocean of mundane life. Many have crossed this ocean of Samsara with the help of this ferry-boat. You can also do so if you will. Meditate constantly on OM with Bhava and Meaning and realise the Self.

That illumined sage whose mind is merged in his true nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda, who has conquered the enemy `ignorance', who is destitute of `I'-ness and `mine'-ness, who has rooted out pride, selfishness, love, envy and hatred, rejoices in the ocean of boundless bliss.

A cat made up of sugar is a real cat for a child. Sugar does not appear for the child as it is swallowed up by the cat. The cat has concealed the sugar. For an adult it is just sugar only. The sugar has swallowed up the cat. Even so, for a Jivanmukta or liberated sage, Brahman swallows all illusory names and forms. He sees only Brahman everywhere. All names and forms vanish. For a worldly man, the names and forms have swallowed up or concealed Brahman. He beholds the illusory forms only.

The Jivanmukta has his upper shoulder as his pillow, the sky as his covering, the earth as his bed. He embraces renunciation as his wife and sleeps fearlessly anywhere without any anxiety and enjoys the supreme bliss of the Self or the unalloyed felicity of the Atman.

O Ram! In essence thou art the Light of lights. Thou art the source for everything. Thou art the infinite power-house. Thou art the Beauty of beauties. It is thy effulgent light that lends life and lustre to the Himalayan snow peaks, sun, moon, stars, flowers and trees, the great scientists, poets, orators, politicians, scholars, philosophers and doctors. Thou art that power which moves the steam-engine, aeroplanes, steamers, railway engines, motor-cars, etc. Thou art the beauty at sunset, brilliance in the diamond, the sweet charming smile in young maiden, strength in athletes, endurance in ascetics and intelligence in geniuses. Thou art above, below, to the right, to the left, in front, behind and everywhere. Thy sweet effulgent, majestic, magnanimous presence shines. Feel this. Realise this. Rejoice in the Self. Move about with perfect joy. Get yourself saturated with deep abiding peace.

Thou art the peasant and the king. Thou art the rogue and the saint. Thou art the maiden and the youth. Thou art the child and the father. Thou art the seed and the fruit. Thou art the five elements and their combinations. Thou art the ocean and the rivers. Thou art ugliness and beauty. Thou art merit and demerit. The whole universe is within you. Feel this. Realise this through silent meditation.

Through thy light the sun shines, intellect functions and senses operate. Through thy power the fire burns. Through thy Shakti the wind blows, rivers flow towards the sea, magnet attracts the iron, flower blossoms and atoms move. Thou art electricity, magnetism and ultra-violet rays.

Feel your oneness with all. Feel your oneness with the sun, sky, wind, flowers, trees, buds, animals, stones, rivers and ocean. Realise the oneness of life, unity of consciousness. Behold the one homogeneous Self everywhere, in all beings, animals and plants.

Rise above the conventional distinctions of mundane life. Abandon the lower nature. Assume your true nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Meditate on the true principle of Brahman. Dispel the cloud of ignorance by the dawn of Jnana-Surya, the sun of knowledge. Extricate yourself from the three bodies and the five sheaths. Dwells in the abode of Supreme Peace. Revel in the ocean of boundless joy, O Ram!

LECTURE VIII – PRACTICAL VEDANTA

You must be a practical Vedantin. Mere theorising and lecturing is only intellectual gymnastics and lingual warfare. This will not suffice. If Vedanta is not practicable, no theory is of any value. You must put Vedanta in daily practice in every action of yours. Vedanta teaches oneness or unity of Self. You must radiate love to one and all. The spirit of Vedanta must be ingrained in your cells or tissues, veins, nerves and bones. It must become part and parcel of your nature. You must think of unity, speak of unity and act in unity. If you deliver a thrilling lecture on the platform on Vedanta and say, I am the all; I am the one Self in all; there is nothing but myself and show in action the next moment a different attitude of selfishness and separateness, you will not produce any impression on the public. You will be called as a dry Vedantin only. Nobody will care for you.

See how Raja Janaka lived. He lived the life of a practical Vedantin while ruling his kingdom. You cannot conceive of any man busier than Raja Janaka. He was ruling over millions of people and yet he was a sage, a deep thinker, a profound philosopher and a practical Vedantin. He had no attachment to his property or body or his family people. He shared what he had with others. He moved with all. He had equal vision and a balanced mind. He led a very busy life amidst luxuries. He was not a bit affected by external influences. He always kept up a serene mind. He held discussions with various sages on transcendental matters. That is the reason why he still lives in our hearts.

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Lecture VIII, `Practical Vedanta', will continue.