Part 2

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SELF KNOWLEDGE AND

SELF REALIZATION

 

When we concentrate our attention on the origin of thought, the

thought process itself comes to an end; there is a hiatus, which is

pleasant, and again the process starts. Turning from the external

world and enjoying the objectless bliss, the mind feels that the

world of objects is not for it. Prior to this experience the un

satiating sense enjoyments constantly challenged the mind to satisfy

them, but from the inward turn onwards its interest in them begins to

fade. Once the internal bliss is enjoyed, the external happiness

loses its charm. One who has tasted the inward bliss is naturally

loving and free from envy, contented and happy with others'

prosperity, friendly and innocent and free from deceit. He is full of

the mystery and wonder of the bliss. One who has realized the Self

can never inflict pain on other.

 

LIFE DIVINE AND THE SUPREME SELF

 

With heartfelt love and devotion, the devotee propitiates God; and

when he is blessed with His vision and grace, he feels ever happy in

His presence. The constant presence establishes a virtual identity

between the two. While seeking the presence of the Supreme Soul, the

Bhakta renounces all associations in his life, from the meanest to

the best, and having purged his being of all associations, he

automatically wins the association with the Supreme Self. One who has

attained to the position of unstinted emancipation can never be

disliked by others, for the people themselves are the very Self-

luminous soul, though ignorant of the fact.

In this world of immense variety, different beings are suffering from

different kinds of ailments, and yet they are not prepared to give up

the physical frame, even when wailing under physical and mental pain.

If this be so, then men will not be so short-sighted as to avoid

their savior, the enlightened soul.

That overflowing reservoir of bliss, the beatific soul, does confer

only bliss on the people by his loving light. Even the atmosphere

around him heartens the suffering souls. He is like the waters of a

lake that gives nourishment to the plants and trees around the brink

and the grass and fields nearby. The Saint gives joy and sustaining

energy to the people around him.

 

THE ASPIRANT AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

 

Spiritual thought is of the Highest. This seeking of the Highest is

called the "first half" by the Saints. A proper understanding of this

results in the vision of God, and eventually matures into the

certainty of the true nature of the Self in the "latter half".

One who takes to the path of the spirit starts with contemplation and

propitiation. It is here, for the first time, that he finds some joy

in prayer and worship. At this preliminary stage he gets the company

of co-aspirants. Reading of the lives and works of past incarnations

of God, of Rishis, of Saints and Sages, singing the glories of the

Name, visiting temples, and a constant meditation on these result in

the photic and phonic experiences of the mystic life; his desires are

satisfied to an extent now. Thinking that he has had the vision of

God, he intensifies his efforts of fondly remembering the name of God

and His worship. In this state of the mind, the Bhakta quite

frequently has a glimpse of his cherished deity, which he takes to be

the divine vision and is satisfied with it. At this juncture, he is

sure to come into contact with a Saint.

The Saint, and now his preceptor, makes it plain to him that what he

has had is not the real vision, which is beyond the said experiences,

and is only to be had through Self-Realization. At this point, the

aspirant reaches the stage of the meditator. In the beginning, the

Sadhaka is instructed into the secrets of his own person, and of the

indwelling spirit; the meaning and nature of prana, the various

plexuses, and the nature and arousal of the Kundalini, and the nature

of the Self. Later on, he comes to know of the origin of the five

elements, their activity, radiation, and merits and defects.

Meanwhile his mind undergoes the process of purification and acquires

composure, and this the Sadhaka experiences through the deep-laid

subtle center of the Indweller; he also knows how and why it is

there, only that the deiform element is kindled. This knowledge

transforms him into the pure, eternal, and spiritual form of a

SadGuru who is now in a position to initiate others into the secrets

of the spirit. The stage of Sadhakahood ends here.

As the great Saint Tukarama said, the aspirant must put in ceaseless

efforts in the pursuit of spiritual life. Thoughts must be utilized

for Self-Knowledge. He must be alert and watchful in ascertaining the

nature of this "I" that is involved in the affairs of pleasure and

pain arising out of sense experience.

We must know the nature of the active principle lest its activities

be led astray. We should not waste our energies in useless pursuits,

but should use those energies in the pursuit of the Self and achieve

identity with God. Spiritual life is so great, so deep, so immense,

that energy pales into insignificance before it, yet this energy

tries to understand it again and again. Those who try to understand

it with the help of the intellect are lost to it. Rare is the one

who, having concentrated on the source atom of the cosmic energy,

enjoys the bliss of spiritual contemplation. But there are scores of

those who take themselves to be spiritually inspired and perfect

beings. They expect the common herd to honor and respect their every

word. The ignorant people rush towards them for spiritual succor and

do their bidding. In fact, the pseudo-Saints are caught in a snare of

greed, hence what the people get in return is not the blessings of

satisfaction, but ashes.

The self-styled man of God, speaking ad nauseum about spiritual

matters, thinks himself to be perfect, but others are not so sure. As

regards a Saint, on the other hand, men are on the lookout for ways

to serve him more and more, but as the ever contented soul, steeped

in beatitude, desires nothing, they are left to serve in their own

way, which they do with enthusiasm, and they never feel the pressure.

Greatness is always humble, loving, silent and satisfied. Happiness,

tolerance, forbearance, composure and other allied qualities must be

known by everyone; just as one experiences bodily states such as

hunger, thirst, etc., one. must, with equal ease, experience in

oneself the characteristics connoted by the word "Saint". As we know

for certain that we need no more sleep, no more food, at a given

moment, so too we can be sure of the above characteristics from

direct experience. One can then recognize their presence in others

with the same ease. This is the test and experience of a tried

spiritual leader.

 

THE MYSTIC

 

The blissful mystic clearly sees the difference between his

characteristics before and after realization. All that is transient

has an origin in time and is subject to change and destruction, while

he is free from change and can never perish. The unchanging one views

the ever changing world as a game.

All the characteristics of the Saint naturally spring from his

experience. As there are no desires left in him, nothing in the world

of sense can ever tempt him, he lives in the fearless majesty of Self-

realization. He is moved to pity by the unsuccessful struggle of

those tied down to bodily identity and their striving for the

satisfaction of their petty interests. Even the great events of the

world are just surface lines to him; the number of these lines that

appear and disappear is infinite.

Individuals are only the faint streaks of these lines, and only as

such lines are they recognized. When the streaks vanish there remains

nothing to recognize as individuals. The interval between the moment

of emergence and the disappearance of a line is what is called life.

The wiped out line can never be seen again.

The Saint who has direct experience of all this is always happy and

free from desire. He is convinced that the greatest of the sense

experiences is only a momentary affair, impermanence is the very

essence of these experiences; hence pain and sorrow, greed and

temptation, fear and anxiety can never touch him.

 

THE LILA OF GOD

 

Sport or play is natural to God, our experiences are known as the

Lila (play) of God. Without any prior intimation, we suddenly have a

taste of our own being; excepting this one instance of the taste, we

have no knowledge of the nature of the Self. But then, even this bit

of experience is hidden away from us. We are forced into a series of

activities and experiences: that I am a homosapien, I am a body, my

name is such and such, this is my religion, my duty, etc. One action

follows another, and there is no rest from them, no escape, we have

to see them through. This goes on inevitably, until perchance, it

loses all its charm, and we seek the spiritual treasure.

If the purpose of all this be inquired into, we get different

accounts from different people. Some claim it is because of the

actions of millions of previous lives – but nobody has the direct

experience of these past lives; it is obvious that this is fiction.

Dazzled by the ingenious inventions and discoveries of the

scientists, some base their interpretation on empirical facts and

offer them as explanations, but the suddenly experienced taste of our

own being cannot be interpreted in this way. When the world is called

by the word Maya or illusion, it is condemned to be mean; when the

same thing is called by the words "play of God", it becomes great! In

reality the facts are what they are. Who is the recipient of the high

designation – who confirms the uselessness for the condemnation – who

is He – what name should we give Him after first-hand experience?

That we have experiences is a fact; others tell us about their

experiences, we receive information concerning relations, and

instruction in the performance of activities, and we organize our

behavior accordingly. Someone from these guides initiates us into

what is said to be the core of the indwelling Spirit, but that too

turns out to be a transient affair. For the acquaintance secured thus

does not possess the experiential core of the taste, and the

initiator himself proves to be part and parcel of that bit; thus both

he and his knowledge are lost to us. Now we are free to go our own

way, but for want of the necessary taste, this self-help is equally

helpless. We are where we were.

What is it that we call the Lila of God? How are we related to this

sporting God whom we saw, talked to, had friendship with, and intense

love for. In spite of all this closeness and fondness, what is our

relation to Him? All the previous experiences with their

peculiarities have vanished. The Lila of God disappears along with

the pseudo experience with the advent of the present experience.

 

THE SPIRITUAL ASPIRANT, THE FIRST MOMENT OF BLISS AND ITS

CONTINUOUS GROWTH

 

The ever-awaited first moment was the moment when I was convinced

that I was not an individual at all. The idea of my individuality had

set me burning so far. The scalding pain was beyond my capacity to

endure; but there is not even a trace of it now, I am no more an

individual. There is nothing to limit my being now. The ever present

anxiety and the gloom have vanished and now I am all beatitude, pure

knowledge, pure consciousness.

The tumors of innumerable desires and passion were simply unbearable,

but fortunately for me, I got hold of the hymn "Hail, Preceptor", and

on its constant recitation, all the tumors of passions withered away

as with a magic spell!

I am ever free now. I am all bliss, sans spite, sans fear. This

beatific conscious form of mine now knows no bounds. I belong to all

and everyone is mine. The "all" are but my own individuations, and

these together go to make up my beatific being. There is nothing like

good or bad, profit or loss, high or low, mine or not mine for me.

Nobody opposes me and I oppose none for there is none other than

myself. Bliss reclines on the bed of bliss. The repose itself has

turned into bliss.

There is nothing that I ought or ought not to do, but my activity

goes on everywhere, every minute. Love and anger are divided equally

among all, as are work and recreation. My characteristics of

immensity and majesty, my pure energy, and my all, having attained to

the golden core, repose in bliss as the atom of atoms. My pure

consciousness shines forth in majestic splendor.

Why and how the consciousness became self-conscious is obvious now.

The experience of the world is no more of the world as such, but is

the blossoming forth of the selfsame conscious principle, God, and

what is it? It is pure, primal knowledge, conscious form, the

primordial "I" consciousness that is capable of assuming any form it

desires. It is designated as God. The world as the divine _expression

is not for any profit or loss; it is the pure, simple, natural flow

of beatific consciousness. There are no distinctions of God and

devotee, nor Brahman and Maya. He that meditated on the bliss and

peace is himself the ocean of peace and bliss. Glory to the eternal

truth, Sad-Guru, the Supreme Self.

 

(continued)