Thy Own self [3]

[Guest guest]

[Note: My teacher Swamini Saradapriyananda-ji used to write "Thy own self"

before signing off the any letter. You want to find that signature please

search for her name in this Advaitin archives. As you may remember, before

she attained Mahasamadhi on April 17th she participated in this list for a

short period of time.

 

During the years 1986-87 when I approached her for the first time in my

life, I asked her once about the meaning behind writing "Thy own self".

Later I went to live in the ashram to learn what it means at her lotus feet.

Consider the above subjected article is a humble attempt to understand the

great reality behind the signature of the omnipotent "Thy own self". Please

do not hesitate to comment or correct.]

 

"tat padaM darSitaM yEna tasmai Sree guravE namaH"

 

My teacher told me "God is a circle which has got center everywhere but

circumference nowhere!" Then who is this GOD! As a child, I am told by my

parents that GOD is very powerful! He can do anything. He will punish if

you do bad, and he rewards if you do good.

Then I wondered, "what is power? How do you define the power which GOD has

possess? How do you define the Good and the Bad?

How do you know which is Sin and which is not?..." Not that I came to know

the answers now, but I am satisfied... I am satisfied knowing that the "I"

--- which has lived in every human --- who walked in this presumed universe

since time immemorial, has set up the rules, has defined what is power, has

defined what is called as the original sin, has defined what is good and has

defined what is bad. The "I" which has lived long back is also living now,

and will live for ever. The "I" in my great-great-grand-father kindled the

"I" in my great-grand-father. The "I" in my great-grand-father has kindled

the "I" in my grand father, and my grand-father to my father and my father

to me, myself to my siblings... It is the life which is kindled. The

life that lives for ever... Then where is the beginning of this "I"?

Upanishads answer that "He wanted to become many"... (tadaikshata bahusyAM

prajAyEyEti)...

 

The science of vedanta is always considered as the Royal Science (Raja

vidya), as aptly named in Bhagawad Gita. Because it talks about the The

King, the "I" the first person singular, the most powerful in his own

kingdom! Though everybody knows about the existence of this "I" in them,

nobody talks about it, because nobody would like to face the harsh reality

of existence. Though everybody is blessed with a philosophical intuition,

nobody talks about it and keep it as a great secret! Something is

considered as secret as long as it remains in the heart of its creator, the

moment it goes out of the creator's lips, it is no more a secret but a

gossip.

 

In deed, I know about my own weaknesses, better than anybody else does! But

do I dare talking to everybody about my weaknesses? I am afraid what will

happen to *my* image after I reveal about my weaknesses! I read somewhere

"Do not tell people how bad you are, they may presume that you are too bad

and revealing only a little bad about yourself! AND do not tell good about

yourself because people may mistake that you are boasting..." Any attempt

which you make to reveal about yourself will get repercussions, that is why

nobody would dare talk. Neither I, nor anybody would dare talk... That is a

royal secret (Raja guhyam), as aptly named in Bhagawad Gita.

 

Everybody maintains their royal secrets, most of the people keep secrets

which they carry to their graves, they dare not tell even to their own

wives... Why is this situation? It is because of the image which the "I"

creates and maintains! Sometimes this image turns out to be absolute

pretense. I know people who pretended that they are very rich and committed

suicide when they knew that their reality is going to be busted! I would

call them masked humans, it is an iron mask clamped by the order of the

royal "I".

 

There was a mad man who lived in a small village. He went in to the village

and told to all the children that a rich merchant, who is living in that

village, is distributing sweets. All children ran in anticipation of eating

sweets. The madman also ran along with them. The children finally reached

the merchants place to find that there are no sweets being distributed. It

was an absolute lie. Then they asked the madman "why did you come with us

though you know that it is a lie!". For that the madman replied "after

listening to your excitement I also felt that sweets are really being

distributed". Everyone like this madman creates a desire, and run along

thinking that it is going to be satisfied. Did you ever wonder what is

desire and how it gets satisfied! Anyway, the harsh reality is that a human

can not live with out an image. How ever false it may be, there should be

an image.

 

The "I" having covered itself in the image, falsely thinks like the

madman... It never realizes that it has created the image! I have seen

people who claim themselves posing some powers, in reality they are not,

they know at least some people living in this world would know the truth.

But these some people are quite rare and these rare people don't care what

that pretending person is doing... Hence, the sham of that fellow

continues. Actually, we have to look at the "I" behind the pretending

human. It is an "I" hiding in the false image of a guru posing powers.

Here I am trying to point out that everybody will maintain the image. The

sad thing is by creating a devil called image, they get caught and they live

in it for quite long, till they get bored with that image.

 

Once upon a time a poor man was living in a village. One day he saw a very

rich man going on an elephant. This poor man desired that kind of power.

He wanted to become rich and he wanted to earn money. He tells the guru

that he wanted to become a very rich man. Guru blesses him and this fellow

becomes a rich man... Look behind this story. What this tells us? There

is an "I" which has looked at its own image and compared itself with the

image of an "I" which is considered rich! The "I" in the poor man *desired*

that he should get the rich image that "I". Both the rich man and the

poor man never recognizes their own self, but they recognize their outside

image. They never look inside... They never look at the "I" which is

surrounded by the image, rather they look at the image only.

 

Very few people realize this pretense. They try to go beyond the image,

which is nothing but the outbound vision of the "I". Instead, they try to

look behind the image, they turn their vision entirely inwards. "AvRUtta

chakshuH, amRUtatatva miccan" --- desiring liberation they turn their vision

inwards. They find the root, they find that it is "I". They moment they

realize that "I" which is hidden behind an image, they also realize that the

very same "I" is hidden in every being in this world. That is called

"samadRUsti" and that is the real yoga.

 

sarva bhootasthamAtmAnaM sarva bhootAni cAtmani

eekshatE yOga yuktAtmA sarvatra samadaRSanaH || Gita 6-29 ||

With the mind harmonised by YOGA he sees the Self abiding in all beings, and

all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere.

Such a realized person alone will enjoy the fruits of yoga. He alone can

enjoy the bliss which such a wonderful state of equilibrium can bring!

Indeed, it is the duty of every human to know their own self!

 

[To be continued...]