Swami teaches... Human's mind in the mirror of Cosmic Consciousness (Atma)

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches... 17 - 19 October 2005

Human's Mind in the Mirror of Cosmic Consciousness (Atma)

 

Become entitled to the honoured title of Bhaktha. Swami's glory is spread

daily through those who call themselves Swami's bhakthas. Your virtue, your

self-control, your detachment, your faith, your steadfastness - these are the

signs by which people read of Swami's glory. Not that Swami wants any such

prop. But in this world people estimate others indirectly, rather than

directly. What is Bhakthi (devotion)? Who are Bhakthas? It is faith,

steadiness, virtue, fearlessness, surrender, absence of egoism. How to become

Bhakthas? Nothing is possible without mental work for obtaining spiritual

awareness about human's real Nature. To ignorance of one's real Nature,

ignorance so deeprooted that it affects thoughts, words and deeds. The drug

that can cure it is patented under different names: jnaana, karma, upaasana

(contemplation), bhakthi. They are all the same in potency, spiritual and

curative power. The difference lies only in the method of administration either

as mixture or as tablet or injection.

Below are the tablets from this drug for inner contemplation for everyone

who walks on the path of righteousness, dharma. (Dharma means morality, the

control of passions and emotions and directing them along beneficial channels.

If you have no greed or hatred, you will get good sleep, also. There is no need

to swallow sleeping tablets).

 

Spiritual disciplines determine the character of a person. Character

determines the destiny. Character is built up by constant practice of good

actions. Actions, in their turn are based on one's thoughts and intentions.

Whenever any thought arises in the mind, one should examine whether it is right

or wrong, whether it will do good to society or cause harm to it. Actions should

be based on such enquiry.

Bharatiyas have held the view that one should try to sublimate one's tile by

seeking a Guru and acting according to his teachings. There are eight types of

Gurus: 1) Bodha Guru; 2) Veda Guru; 3) Nishiddha Guru; 4) Kaamya Guru; 5)

Vaachaka Guru; 6) Soochaka Guru; 7) Kaarana Guru; 8) Vihita Guru. Bodha

Guru teaches the Sastras and encourages the pupil to act upto sastraic

injunctions. The Veda Guru imparts the inner meaning of tie Vedas,

establishes the pupil in spiritual truthsand turns his mind towards God. The

Nishiddha Guru imparts knowledge about rites and duties and shows how one's

welfare hereand in the hereafter, can be ensured. The Kaamya Guru makes one

engage himself in meritorious deeds to secure happiness in boththe worlds.

The Vaachaka Guru imparts knowledge of Yoga and prepares the disciple for the

spiritual life. The Soochaka Guru teaches how the senses are to be

controlled through various types ofdiscipline. The Kaarana Guru reveals the

unity of the jivi and the Atma. The Vihita Guru clears all doubts, purifies

the mind and shows how Self-realisation can beattained. Of these eight

Gurus, the Kaarana Guru is the foremost. Through various teachings and

practices, he helps the individual to progress from the human to the divine

consciousness. All other Gurus can be helpful to a limited extent.

The Bharatiya spiritual tradition has been based on four basic beliefs:

1. Every action has its inescapable results.

2. Belief in the role of Avatars.

3. No one can escape from the consequences of his actions.

4. A firm belief that there is something sacred in everything in the world.

Four items of enquiry have been emphasised for ages by the sages of India.

They are: Dheham, Naaham, Koham and Soham. First, the Body where you dwell, is

called, meaningfully, dheham, that which is combustible, liable to be burnt. It

is subject to growth and decay; it is the harbour of worms and viruses, of

foulness and illness. It is subject to impulses and the impact of passion and

emotion. It is the seat of disease and unrest; of fancy and fantasy and fear.

It calls on you enticingly to invest yourselves wholly in its care and cure.

When you delve deep into the transience of the dheham you get well rooted in

the next idea: Naaham, I am not the Body. Naaham means, Not-I. The Dheham is

Naaham, the Body is Not-I. I am the owner, the temporary user, occupier of this

instrument or bundle of instruments; that is all. Koham means, "Who am I?I am

a highly evolved ape," say some. "I am a conglomerate of chemicals," say others.

"I am a contraption with a limited life, I begin at birth and end at death," say

some. "I am an eternal entity, and this is but one sojourn of mine here on

earth," say others. 'I' is a false limitation imposed by ignorance; "I am a

wave of the ocean and so I am the Ocean itself," declare others. These last

announce that the I is Soham, 'I am He. He, meaning the eternal, Universal

Absolute, the Brahman, the Atma, the Boundless, Beginningless, Endless entity,

Cosmic Consciousness. When that axiom is meditated upon and made one's own

deepest experience, human has the Bliss of merging into the Atma. Human is a

spark of the Divine and must manifest in every activity of him/her the Divine.

Anybody cannot exist without the physical activity of breathing, or the mental

activity of thought. (We presume that the non-believers are those who have no

faith in God, but in fact it is not true. There canbe no one who has no faith

in himself. All people who have faith in themselves are believers).

Human existence can become meaningful only when human, at the very outset,

recognises the nature of the mind and bases the actions on that understanding.

You should not die; you should merge and fulfil yourself. That is the

destiny, that is the destination. You are not limited by any name. The name

separates; it distinguishes; it announces the divisive characteristics of

language, religion, caste, race, etc. Go beyond the name to the individual,

beyond the individual to the God who is installed in the heart. Get beyond the

horizon of body, mind and intellect, and be One with the Vastness. Brahman

means the Vast, the expanse without horizons.Then, kinship is cognised. Spend

the years of life, the wherewithal you earn or possess, in the service of

others who are in distress.

Serve others with reverence - that is the easiest and best method to cognise

the Divine content in each. Since all are His forms, His sparks, His children,

feel that kinship with every community; pray for the welfare and prosperity of

all mankind, whatever the political boundaries which might shut them from one

another. Pray that tolerance and understanding shall prevail and that love and

cooperation hold sway, more and more among mankind. Each country is but a room

in the mansion of God. Small minds select narrow roads; expand your mental

vision and take to the broad road of helpfulness, compassion and service.

Develop a calm unruffled serenity of mind. Welcome pain and grief, for they

toughen the moral fibre, they reveal hidden sources of courage and hardihood.

They appear to affect your career; but, the real 'you' is unaffected.

Everyone seeks peace and talk much about peace in the world. But it can

never be secured from the outside world. Alexander had no peace; Mohammed of

Ghazni had no peace. Accumulation of riches or power cannot endow peace. Peace

can come only from the fountain of peace, within. God is the inner Truth of all;

He is latent, in this vast assembly. He is patent in this Universe, which is His

vesture. Happiness arises out of union with God if one acts in consonance with

one's conscience one gets peace.

 

The scripture declares: "The mind is at the root of the Cosmos." Human is

bound by the mind and the senses. There is no place, or form or action wherein

the mind is absent. We have to recognise the fact that human life depends on

the functioning of the mind. As long as one is governed by the mind one

continues to be human. Once one goes beyond the mind, one can enjoy the

vastness of the limitless expanse of Cosmic Consciousness. Once you get rid of

this body consciousness, you will experience the vast expanse of the Universal

Cosmic Consciousness which is all-pervasive. God is the Indweller in all

beings, but there is no change in the Atma. Human lives will continue to be

generated like the waves of the ocean. But the ocean of Cosmic Consciousness

remains unchanged. In the pursuit of the spiritual path, first of all the

mind should be brought under control. Along with control of the mind, one

should control the temper and avoid tension. However, metaphysical lectures

alone will not transform the mind. What is learnt must be put into practice.

This is the real Vedhaantha you have to learn today. This is the spirituality

that is vital for you.

To see the lamp that gives light you don't need another lamp. So also no

other means of cognition is needed to realise the self-effulgent Atma or Self.

The Buddhi (intellect) has no light of its own but it shines by the effulgence

of the Atma. If the intellect is able to apprehend and judge everything in the

world, it is due to thepower of the Self. Buddhi or intellect is based on Medha

shakthi (intelligence). The power of the intellect is only a reflection, of Atma

Chaithanya (the effulgence of the Atma).

The mind has two aspects, as doer and experiencer. It is the cause of the

sense of attachment and possession. Human action is more evident in the wakeful

state than in the dream state or deep sleep state. In the deep sleep state, the

Super Intellectual Consciousness is shining and the mind, senses and intellect

are absent (as hidden during the deep sleep). When the mind is steady, you

reach the state of Super-Mind. In this state there is no room for physical or

transient worldly feelings.

To enjoy the fragrance of the sandalwood, it has to be rubbed on the

grinding stone vigorously. Likewise, to experience the great fragrance

emanating from Nature, its unity with the Divine has to be realised. For this,

it is necessary to transcend the limitations of the ordinary mind and proceed

to the Super-Mind, the Higher-Mind, the Illuminated Mind and the Over-Mind.

When does human experience the pure Divine Self? It is in the Thureeya state -

the fourth state of consciousness beyond the waking, dream and deep sleep

states. This is the state of the Over- Mind. In that state human is one with

the Divine. Nature is bound by the five qualities of sound, touch, form, taste

and smell (these are the qualities of space, air, fire, water and earth - the

five basic elements). With the loss of eachquality, starting from smell, a

process of expansion takes place. Finally, we have Akaasha (ether or space)

which has only one quality, sound, and is all-pervading.

When human develops the internal vision and experiences the Divinity within,

the Cosmos will appear as areflection of the Divine. This is called realization

of the Cosmic Divine. What is the difference between the Cosmic Divine and the

Inner Divine? There is no difference between the two. But when it is

experienced by the individual, it is described as Inner Divine. When the

individual experience is extended to the entire Universe, it is called Cosmic

Divine. The Individual Self and Paramaathma (the OmniSelf) are one, like the

rind of a fruit and the juice inside. Human's view of the world has to

change. This cannot be done by intellectual argument. When the mind is subdued,

the oneness of the Jeevi (Individual) and the Divine will be experienced.

We see before our eyes many persons dying, being cremated or buried after

death. In spite of this, everyone has a desire, "I must live for ever." What is

the inner meaning of this desire? You are eternal and the idea of immortality

arises in you because of this. The body is impermanent, but you are eternal.

Truth, Bliss, Beauty are forms of the Divine. They are also known as

Sathyam, Shivam, Sundharam. These represent the true form of human. Shivam is

that which has no death. Sathyam is that which is not subject to change (on

account of time, place or circumstance). Sundharam (Beauty) is the form of the

Divine.

 

The gross body flourishes on food. But it is bound to perish some day. But

the subtle body, made up of Praana (the Life-Force), Mahaa (the mind) and

Vijnaana (intelligence) lasts as long as the mind lasts. When the mind is

absent, what happens? This state is described as Sushupthi (deep sleep state).

In this state, there is only the Kaarana shareera (causal body). This is a

state of bliss.

Vijnaana is full of intelligence and common sense. It is called Divine

Intellectual Will. The Divine Will Power has to be-acquired by everyone. Only

then, they can realise their true human nature. It is through this Will Power

that the Cosmic Divine nature of the Universe can be recognised. This Cosmic

Power has to be seen with the eyes, experienced mentally, practised through the

body and made an integral part of one's being. Do not speculate whether this is

possible or not. If one has the determination anything is possible. If an ant

has determination it can travel any distance. But, even an eagle, if it has no

will to fly, will be confined to the ground. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya

Sai Speaks. Vol. 3. "Climb the right tree," Chapter 1; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol.

11. "Who am I?" Chapter 25; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 19. "The five-letter

Mantra," Chapter 14; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 24. "Enjoyment through sacrifice,"

Chapter 10; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "Tame the mind and realise the Self,"

Chapter 18, "Beyond the Mind," Chapter 20 and "Thought waves make up the

Cosmos," Chapter 21).

Namaste - Reet