Part 5

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SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE AND THE PACIFICATION OF THE DESIRE TO KNOW

 

This universe came into being through the activity of the primal

atomic (atmic) consciousness. There was nothing, not even a trace of

appearance before self-consciousness, and in this state there came

into being the consciousness of one's own existence, the awareness of

one's own being. In fact, there was no time, nor space, nor cause.

The awareness has no cause for it, hence it is futile to name one.

There was no time, hence it cannot be dated. There was no space,

hence its location is meaningless; yet the atomic consciousness was

felt as such and nothing more – why so? For there was nothing over

and above it to be aware of! The awareness only of being was there.

How long this state lasted, there are no means to ascertain; but the

great miracle is that the self-consciousness was there; with it was

the cosmic will, followed by its realization. The atomic

consciousness, on account of its will and its instant realization,

became many and pervasive. Although apparently many, it is all one in

essence.

When the atomic consciousness became many and pervasive on account of

its will and its instantaneous realization, the energy of the single

atom diversified itself into many centers, each with its own

peculiarity and will; hence the conflict. At any given moment, the

innumerable centers express their will in a variety of ways;

generally, the willing atom does not know the "whither" and "what" of

its will, but the effect is bound to be there. The tangible result of

the wills of the willing atoms is to be witnessed at the moment of

cosmic destruction, when the whole universe is reduced to ashes. The

loving wills are not cancelled altogether; the great moments of

happiness in the world are the result of these wills. The

characteristic of the individual energy to will is always operative.

It is its essence and it owes it to the primordial energy.

The primal energy that scintillated first is one and homogenous, but

appears to be heterogenous due to ignorance.

The quivering atomic energy is designated as the Great Principle by

the Vedantas: the essential characteristic of the Principle is

consciousness. The felt awareness expands itself into ether, the

expanse of the ether is the space. With a single quality this Great

Principle became time, space and cause. Next came the three gunas and

the five elements. The speed was simply immeasurable.

The original scintillation moved in space and that was the air, the

air gathered momentum and fire came into existence. The throbbing of

the fire increased and became cold and that was water; the water

cooled even more and that was earth. All the characteristics of the

previous forms are crystallized in the earth and vibrate there; in

virtue of this peculiarity there came into being innumerable

varieties of living beings and vegetation, and the original quiver

pulsates in and through their vital sap. The original will pervades

the whole range of moving and immovable things and is constantly

active there.

The scintillating characteristic prior to ether is filling every

electron and proton and is constantly increasing in strength. As long

as the quiver in the atoms is operative, so long the constituents

must be in motion. The original will pervades the whole range of

moving and immovable beings and is constantly active there.

The original consciousness sees nothing except itself. It has no

organs, yet it is in action with innumerable Spiritual Knowledge and

the Pacification of the Desire to Know 131 organs. It is never

polluted. The various conscious centers hedged by the limiting

adjuncts only think they are different from the original source, but

there is only one being, one spirit, one quality; formless, timeless,

non-spatial, the one, pure consciousness. There is no scope for

difference or distinction. The creature, deluded by the narrow

interests of "I" and "mine", suffers pain for nothing, it is limited

only to itself. Everything takes place at the proper moment, in

accordance with the law that binds all, and everything materializes

at the proper moment. When Ravana becomes unbearable Rama is there to

give relief. When Kamsa rules supreme, Krishna is there as an

antidote. This is how the rhythm of ups and downs is maintained.

The controlling force of all these events is the same, it never

changes. It cannot be that there is one God in one age and another in

another age.

Just a single quality gives birth to the glow of the expanded

universe; in the absence of that one quality, all is pure silence.

When this one single quality is known and befriended, the heart

mingles with the Heart; there is that supreme sense of inalienable

mutuality of oneness of quality in all, and all as belonging to the

One. The supreme unity is realized; hence it is called the Supreme

Self.

All time, all space and all cause have become one for eternity, the

One alone is all-active. It has no gain nor loss nor death. It is

unborn, eternal, and yet is born every moment and manifests itself in

every epoch. All spiritual and intellectual knowledge comes to rest

here.

 

THE GAYATRI HYMN

 

"The Hymn of hymns, oh Uddhava, is the Gayatri hymn. I shall explain

it to thee from the beginning to end; pray hear." (Ekanathi Bhagawata

XXI).

The Lord says, "Oh Uddhava, Gayatri hymn is the bedrock of all

hymns." All means many. That in virtue of which this number comes to

be experienced is Gayatri. The tri-syllabic A+U+M means Omkar – The

Logos. The next step starts with two numbers. The first one is the

consciousness of one's own being. It is the natural characteristic,

the unuttered word. It is the unknowingly spoken word given out

everywhere and every moment and no one knows about it. This word,

uttered unawares, is the Gayatri hymn, the basis of all hymns.

Innumerable words are spoken subsequently; and all the universes

spring from them, but the prime source of all is the Gayatri

Chhandas, the unspoken word, the unuttered sound. Everyone has the

same experience, and what is the experience born of this unspoken

word? One's own being.

There are innumerable varieties of being from the ant to the gods,

but what is the original being? It is Gayatri. The experience of this

being is one's own being. This Gayatri Chhandas comes first, the rest

only follows. The characteristic of that being is explained by the

Lord as follows: "What is the nature of that hymn? Even though there

be the power to create innumerable universes, it cannot be left hold

of." The original sound of the unasked for, unspoken, unthought of

and unuttered word was born in the form of Chakrapani and it is

unique to him; but not recognizing it, the Perfect has come to be a

deplorable creature through graded degeneration in the course of the

temporal process.

The pursuit of the Chhandas is fascinating. For everyone, it is the

same awareness of being, the unspoken word, yet spoken. In spite of

the efforts of the four Vedas, six Shastras and eighteen Puranas, its

interpretation remains incomplete ? Still there is the uninterrupted

fascination for the Gayatri Chhandas.

What does Gayatri Chhandas mean? It is the awareness of your own

being, it is whatever you understand without speech. Wherever there

is life, there is the hymn to support it. It vibrates in us, and in

spite of years of miserable drudgery, we do not feel like parting

with it. In virtue of this Gayatri hymn Sri Rama and Sri Vishnu came

to this earth as incarnations, but they mastered it. This unwitting

consciousness of your own being is the same in us and in them, but

they did it consciously and experienced it as such. Other beings get

only to the surface of the meaning, which is only a perversion

thereof; the yawning of the creatures lets out the syllables A+U+M.

Meditate on the meaning as you have understood above. You are

Chakrapani, the being with a thousand hands and heads, the unuttered

sound. The word and its resounding sense are the first Person, and

are experienced as such. The sign of the experience is complete

satisfaction of the mind. Gayatri hymn is the substratum of the

satisfaction of all and it bursts forth spontaneously, for the sound

is ever glorious. The name that resounds in you without being uttered

is your own indwelling spirit.

It is enough if you silently listen to the ten sounds, five

resoundings, dual reverberation and the single voice, and the

symphony of them all. This basic Gayatri hymn is with you only.

 

SELF KNOWLEDGE AND

SELF REALIZATION

 

Three groups of eight syllables make one series of twenty-four

sounds. Gayatri Mantra consists of twenty-four syllables as follows:

Oam, Bhooh, Oam, Bhuvah, Oam, Swaha, Oam, Mahah, Oam, Janah, Oam,

Tapah, Oam, Satyam, Tat, Savituih, Varenyam, Bhargah, Devasya,

Dhimahi, Dhiyo, Yo, Nah, Prachodayaat. Great Rishis and Saints

acquire immense power by reciting this hymn of twenty-four syllables.

Innumerable worlds are created and destroyed by its power, but

consider the power of the bisyllabic word Rama that easily cancels

all this power and rests in perfection.

VEDAS AS BASIC: They were basic to the subsequent interpretation,

hence they are called basic, but the primal root, first cause of

everything is this hymn.

THE BEATITUDE OF BRAHMAN: The experience of one's own being, of the

vision of one's own Self and the eventual peace that is unparallelled

is called Brahmananda. The experience of one's own nature without the

help of others is later on interpreted as the Great Beatitude,

(Paramananda).

SPIRITUAL LIFE: Just as there is the luster of luster, so also is

Gayatri Chhandas the very life of spirit. The Lord says, "I am hidden

and it is my treasure, but that which hides me also reveals me. How

do I appear when seen? Surely as non-dual, non-different. He who

listens to the vibrating hymn is hidden. With the devout recitation

of this hymn everything will be distinctly clear, for it is already

there; but if one wishes to realize my vision without it, he will

have it, and it will be Advaita – non-dual." (The reference is to

Nama yoga as an easy alternative to Dhyana or Raja Yoga.) What do the

syllables of this immovable one signify? Absolute bliss of the Self,

it is Sat (being), Chit (consciousness), and Ananda (beatitude). This

is the essence of the Gayatri hymn. Its contemplation confers

absolute bliss.

 

 

 

Self-Knowledge by Nisargadatta

First published on the Internet by Edward Muzika, August 22, 2005.

www.itisnotreal.com

 

 

LoveAlways