Mahatmas and the non-dual state, more

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

I haven't seen any postings on the Advaita list for a few days. I am not sure

if it is still working or maybe all of you, like me, are now back at the

university and our time is being scooped up with new classes.

 

To continue, there is more written on this subject in the Awaken Children

book,vol. 5:

 

.....A brahmacharin said, "Amma, I am feeling a bit of confusion about what

you said. Sometimes you say that once Realization is attained one becomes

full of love and compassion, that there is nothing but love in such a person.

then I have also heard you say thgat in that state of Oneness there is

neither lack of compassion. This sounds contradictiory. Amma please make this

clear."

 

"Children," Amma said, "once Realization is attained, some beings merge

with eternity, and a very few of them come down. Who would like to come down

after having entered the Ocean of Bliss? In order to come down from that

ultimate state, that state from which there is no return, it is necessary to

have something to hold on to - a determined thought, a sankalpa. Only a few

who can make that sankalpa to descend will come down. That sankalpa or mental

resovlve is compassion, love or selfless service to suffering humanity. If

you do not want to listen and respond to the call of those sincere seekers

and the cry of those who are suffering in the world, and if you want to

remain in that impersonal state and do not want to be compassionate, it is

all right; you can remain there.

"When you come down, a curtain which can be pulled away at any time is

putup by Self will, in order to make functioning in this world smooth and

uninterrupted. consciously, you do not pay any attention to the other side of

the curtain. Yet on and off you do go to the other side, but you manage to

come back. The very thought or a reminder of the other side can simply lift

you there.

"Once you come down, then you play the role well. You live and work hard

for the uplifting of all humanity. You will have problems, obstacles and

difficult situations. You wil also have to face abuses, scandals and calumny.

but you do not care because although externally you look like everybody else,

internally you are different - totally different. Inside , you are one with

the Supreme Truth; therefore, you are untouched, unaffected. Having become

one with the very source of energy itself, you work tirelessly. healing and

soothing the deepwounds of those who come to you, you give peace and

happiness to everyone. Your way of living life- your renunciation, love

compassion and selflessness - gives inspiration to others to want to

experience what you experience.

"If they do not want to be concerned about the world at all, those

compasionate and loving ones who come down can also remain in that non-dual

state and merge in Supeme concsciousness. In that state there is neither love

nor lack of love, neither compassion nor lack of compassion.

"In order to express compassion and love and perform selfless service and

in order to inspire others to experience those divine qualitites, one must

have a body. Once a body is taken, it has to take its natural course. The

Mahatma's body is different from an ordinary person's. If he so will, he can

keep the body as long as he wishes, without being afflected by disease and

suffering. but he conscoiusly makes the body undergo all the experiences that

an ordinary human being undergoes. Therein lies his greatness.

"Didn't Krishna get hurt during the Mahabharata battle? didn't he fight

eighteen times with Jarasandha the powerful and cruel king? Finally He

diplomatically left the battle field. He could have killed Jarasandha if He

had wanted, but Krishna didn't. He made Bhima, the second Pandava brother, do

that.

"Remember it was an arrow shot by an ordinary hunter which put an end to

Krishna's life in this world. Jesus was executed onthe cross. both of them

could have prevented the events which put an end to Their body, but They let

everything happen in the natural course of events. They let life carry Them.

They chose to be as They were and let the events occur. They were willing to

surrender. However, this does not mean that the natural course is inevitable

or unavoidable for Them, as it is for ordinary humans. No, that's not so. If

They had wished, They could have averted all bitter experiences. Being

all-powerful, They could have effortlessly destroyed those who opposed them.

but They wanted to set an example. They wanted to show the world that it is

possible to live with the highest values of life, even while undergoing all

the problems that ordinary humans have. yet bear in mind that if a

circumstance arises where it is necessary for Them to break a law of nature,

They can. Remember how Sri Rama was about to dry up the entire ocean and how

Sri Krishna lifted up the mountain Govardhana with His little finger."....

Amma paused and asked brahmacharin Rao to sing a song. Muka ganam

pativarum...

oh unhappy bees, melodies without words,

won't you come to the Abode of the Divine Mother?

 

No More do we have to wander

on the dusty roads of this earth

know that the Divine Mother has come to earth

 

With the flower of spring, the Goddess has come,

days gone by are gone forever..

now let us go to the Divine Abode

 

let us fill our hearts with new words of wisdom

full with the Bliss of Self,

exclaim that the complex of body and mind

Is never That.

 

After the song, Amma continued: "Children, you may attain the hightest

Truth, but still you may lack compassion. Without feeling love or any

concern for suffering human beings, you may remain in the state of Oneness.

You will be like a lotus flower blooming on some hidden peak in the

Himalayas. Or you will be like a lake full of pure crystal clear water that

is hidden in a deep inaccessible forest. Or you will be like a fruit tree

full of ripe fruit in the middle of a dense forest. Nobody can enjoy the

beauty and fragrance of that lotus; no bee will gather its pollen to make

honey. Nobody will come to bathe in that lake or drink from it. Nobody can

enjoy the sweet and delicious fruit. But still your existence is full, clear

and pure, for you have reached the goal.

"On the other hand, the compassionate ones, those whose hearts are filled

with love and concern, are like a river which flows down from the highest

mountain. They are like the Ganges, After having ascended to the highest peak

of bliss, out of compassion they flow down from the heights in order to let

others bathe in them, drink from them and swim in them. They are like a fruit

tree growing by the side of the road, offering its fruit to everyone. Tired

travelers can enjoy the fruit; they can quench their thirst and appease their

hunger. They are like a beautiful lotus blossoming in the temple pond. People

can gather around to enjoy its beauty and delight in its fragrance, and doing

so, they feel contented. Like bees coming to collect pollen for honey, people

will gather around the compassionate ones, waiting for pearls of wisdom to

fall from their lips. They themselves become an offering to the people. Such

souls have wholly surrendered themselves to all of existence, yet out of

compassion they offer themselves back to the world. Still they remain in

silence."

 

Jai Sri Mata

love,

Parvati