Swami teaches... Vedic Statements of Truth

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Light and Love

Swami teaches... 10 - 11 March 2006

Vedic Statements of Truth

Since ancient times, Bharat has radiated peace and happiness to the rest of

the world with its power of spirituality. All the aspects of the culture of

Bharat are suffused with divinity. Human's life is like an ocean full of

opposite waves of union and separation, joy and sorrow. These waves co-exist;

in fact one cannot exist without the other. So, one has to be equal-minded.

Spirituality is the lighthouse to the people who are traveling in the ocean of

Samsara. Spirituality does not mean rituals and worship alone. Spirituality is

that which demonstrates unity in multiplicity. That is why since time

immemorial, the Bharatiyas have prayed for the welfare of all people in the

world.

People feel helpless before the flood of falsehood, injustice and violence.

They can be saved by the four-fold refuge of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema

(Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love).The enthusiasm which is aroused by the

study of Vedic scriptures and books related to them should not fade away, like

the boiling over of milk on the stove. (After a few minutes of bubbling over,

the milk starts cooling off. When one reaches home, after listening to a

discourse or finished the reading Swami's Teaching, the fervour derived from

the message fades into nothingness and one slides back into the fateful

routine.

The sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) must crave for deeper impression that Swami

is ever beside human, within as Conscience, without as Companion and Guide.

 

The Sastras (Vedic scriptures) prescribe yama (various forms of abstention

from evil-doing), niyama (disciplined observances), asana (physical posture),

pranayama (control of breath), prathyahara (withdrawal of the mind from sense

objects), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (super-conscious state of absorption

in the Atma), etc., as limbs of Yoga; besides japam (repetition of Lord's name

or mystic formulae), shravanam (listening to God's glory), mananam

(recapitulation of what was heard), nidhidhhyasana (constant musing on God's

glory), etc. - all these experiences have the same aim - of merging the

individual soul with Paramatma. All the manifold rules, regulations,

limitations, directions, do's and don’ts have prescribed for reaching to the

spiritual enlightenment.

Spiritual sadhana is like a duel with a tiger, Maya (world illusion); it is

like playing with fire, Maya. By means of the hammer strokes of joy and grief,

the iron piece is shaped into a hollow vessel, so that it may not sink in the

sea of Maya.

However, on the spiritual path, japa and dhyana are not that always

important. Purity of mind is most important and then you do not need to

undertake spiritual practice.

If you have selfless love and pure mind, you need not be afraid of anything.

Even if the sky were to fall on your head, be fearless. Never be afraid of

following the truth. Your heart is the source of peace, truth, righteousness

and love. You don’t get peace in the bazaar, you get only pieces.

 

This world is the jungle in which you roam; fear is the lion, which drives

you up the tree of samsara - worldly activities. Anxiety is the bear that

terrifies you and dogs your steps in samsara, so, you slide down into

attachments and binding deeds, through the twin roots of hope and despair. The

two rats are day and night, which eat away the span of life. Meanwhile, you try

to snatch a little joy from the sweet drops of egoism and 'mine-feeling.'

You have forgotten love and are hankering after all worldly things. Wherever

you go it is only money, money, money. Everyone is interested in amassing

wealth. But will the wealth accompany you when you leave this world? If you

earn the wealth of pure love, you are the richest person in the world.

In an empty mind, you can put anything. But how do you empty a brain that is

filled with all kinds of rubbish? And without emptying it, how can you find

place for pure thoughts? Your hearts are filled with all kinds of feelings. How

can you fill them with the nectar of the Vedas?

 

The Vedas seek to promote good thoughts; eliminate ideas of evil. If the

injunctions given in the Vedas and Sastras are followed by mankind, they will

be freed from affliction. When Sri Krishna declared in the Gita that the Lord

descends as Avatar to punish the wicked and protect the good, it does not mean

that the Avatars purpose is to destroy evil-doers. Evil refers to bad thoughts.

These thoughts are in everyone. It is these that have to be destroyed. The

Vedas, the Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavatha contain the

message of God; they should be taken to the doors of every human. Sadhaka must

be fed on it, so that the seeker may grow in health andstrength, courage and

confidence; because this is something which once you get, you can never lose.

It is Jnana (Self-Knowledge, Knowledge of the Self). There is another thing

which if you once lose, you can never get back; that is Maya. There is a third

thing, which you can never get, for it is You yourself; you can never lose

also, for it is You yourself that is Brahman.

Use your intelligence and you will arrive at the correct interpretation of

the manifoldness of the Universe. Science is fast approaching the view that

basically the Universe is One. Only, intelligence has to be rid of prejudice

and cleverness.

Prajnanam Brahma (the constant integrated awareness is Brahma), says the

Veda. It is that by which the intelligence integrates, that by which the senses

co-operate in bringing about workable conclusions.

The physical body and the Prajnana are related through the senses and the

intelligence. When human and God operate together, like the positive and the

negative, Prajnana, the current, is generated. It is this Prajnanam that

establishes in you the conviction, Aham Brahmasmi, I am Brahman. Aham has

merged in Brahman and there is only one entity, Brahman.

The Sama Veda has the great statement, Thath thwam asi (That thou art) -

which is beyond name and form is You, who now pitiably differentiate yourself

and feel distinct, by means of name and form, two transient changing insignia

of individuality.

"Among the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda," proclaimed the Gitacharya Sri

Krishna. "The essence of the Sama hymns is Udgitha," declares the Chandogya

Upanishad. Udgitha means the Pranava (Om). The essence of the Sama Veda is the

Pranava. Omkara (the sacred syllable Om) is the supreme mantra in the Vedas.

The single syllable "Om" is pre-eminent among the letters of the alphabet.

It symbolises the Paramatma (Supreme Omni-Self).

(The sage Vyasa first taught the Sama Veda to Maharishi Jaimini. From

Jaimini, it was taught to a succession of disciples and in the process it

developed many branches. Out of the one thousand branches which stemmed from

the Veda, today only three have survived among its practioners. The others have

been lost by the ravages of time.

These three branches are: Kouthuma, which is followed by Nagar Brahmanas in

Gujarat; Raanaayani, with its adherents in Maharashtra; Jaimini, followed by a

section in Karnataka. There are no big differences between them).

 

The Pranava has been equated with the Brahman (the Cosmic Self). The Vedic

dictum, Ayam Atma Brahma (This Atma is Brahman) points out that Atma and

Brahman are one and the same. Hence Om, Brahman and Atma signify the same

entity.

Every human being experiences four states of consciousness in daily life;

Jagrata (the waking state), Swapna (dream state), Sushupti (deep sleep) and

Turiya (the highest state of consciousness).

The waking state is the state in which one sees and experiences the

phenomenal world. Without the Atma, the waking state or experience of the

phenomenal world cannot exist. Hence the Atma in this state is known as Viswa.

It is also called Vaiswanara or Viraatpurusha. Krishna is stated to have

revealed to Arjuna His Viswaroopa (Cosmic Form). This really means that Krishna

showed to Arjuna that the Divine is present everywhere in all things at all

times.

The Atma that appears in the waking state as the phenomenal cosmos in its

gross form, appears in the dream state in its sookshma (subtle) form. The

objects and forms that are experienced in the dream state have a reality only

in that state. Each person creates own dream state and experiences his/her

dreams. There is a light that shines in a dream state. This is known as Tejas.

The Atma as the experiencer in this state is known as Taijasa (the effulgent).

That entity is described as Taijasa because it is present as an inner light

during the dream state. In the state of deep sleep (Sushupti) the experience

of the waking and the dream states are absent. All the senses are merged in the

mind and nothing can be seen or imagined. In this state Prajna (integrated

awareness) alone exists and the breathing process remains. It is because of

Prajna that one is aware of continuity of being in deep sleep state and and

experiences a feeling of bliss. Prajna is the permanent entity that exists

equally in the waking state as the body, in the senses as the Antahkarana (the

Inner Motivator) and in the deep sleep state as Atma. It is characterised as

Constant Integrated Awareness. It is not different from Brahman or Atma. A

doubt may arise that neither Brahman nor Atma is visible. But by understanding

the Pranava, the identity of the Brahman and Atma can be experienced.

The fourth state is Turiya. This is a state of complete ineffable Bliss in

which the Universal Consciousness alone is experienced. It is beyond

description. How do we cognise the Pranava and hear this primordial sound?

It is not perceivable. It is like something to be absorbed. All that is seen in

the visible universe, all that is heard in the realm of sound, all the

multifarious experiences of the heart - all of them are subsumed by the

Pranava.

 

Like the four states of consciousness, the Omkara has also four

constituents. These are: A-kara, U-kara, Ma-kara and Adhiratha (the humming

sound - mm...). A-kara is the first and foremost sound of Omkara. It is the

first letter of the alphabet. In the waking state, it is regarded as a

manifestation of the Viraatpurusha and is personified as Viswa, the ruling

power and sustainer of the phenomenal world. U-kara is the syllable

representing the dream state. It is the second sound of Omkara. It has the form

of Tejas or effulgence. It illumines everything and dispels every kind of

darkness. The third sound is Ma. It represents the state of Prajna (Integrated

Consciousness). It reveals the inner meaning of everything. It is also known as

the unifying entity, Antaryami (the Inner Controller), the the Atmic

coordinator. After the "A", "U"and "Ma" are combined, the fourth sound emerges.

That is the sound that is heard in Turiya state. It is the vibration "mm .... ",

known as Adhiratha. Because Omkara has four sounds, it is viewed as the

four-faced Brahma. It is also described as Sabda-Brahmam, the Brahman in the

form of cosmic sound.The Sabda-Brahmam contains Gaana-Brahmam (the Brahman as

music). The Sabda-Brahmam pervades everywhere. (The allpervasive character of

Sabda-Brahmam is first among eight cosmic powers attributed to the Divine).

The cosmic power of the sound can be known when the Sama Veda and Pranava

are properly understood. This knowledge cannot be got by external exploration.

It has to be got from within. The first requisite is to acquire the faith that

the Lord, who is manifest in Cosmic Sound, is present within as Pranavakara

(the form of Pranava). For nourishing this faith, it is necessary to abjure

impurity in speech. There is great energy in the powerof speech. This is the

great message of the Sama Veda. It proclaims the divinity and delight that are

inherent in words and sounds that are sacred and pure.

 

However, only reading the sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Upanishads,

and Sastras does not confer the vision of Brahma. Narada had studied the

four Vedas and six Sastras. He was a great exponent of the Brahma Sutras and

the Upanishads. In spite of all this, he could neither attain peace nor get rid

of his delusion. So he approached the sages Sanaka, Sanandana, and Sanat Kumara

and requested them to grant him peace and wisdom.Sanat Kumara asked Narada what

made him feel that he deserved to attain peace and wisdom. Narada replied that

he had studied the four Vedas, the six Sastras, the Upanishads, and the Brahma

Sutras.Then Sanat Kumara said, “Narada, it is a mistake to think that mere

study of the Vedas and Sastras can confer peace and wisdom. One has to practice

the teachings of the Vedas and Sastras in order to experiencebliss.”

The Vedas teach that all the education that human acquires should be

utilised for the welfare of society. Family are dependent on society and the

world at large. Society is a limb of mankind. Mankind is a limb of nature.

Nature is a limb of God. When you are surrounded by impurity, how can you get

purity? When purity manifests from within, you can experience its reflection,

reaction and resound in the external world. First and foremost, you have to

infuse purity in society.

You are born and brought up in society. Then why do you not work for the

welfare of society? All the wealth that you have earned has come from society.

You should show your gratitude to society. The world is facing problems because

human shows gratitude to the own desires, not to society.

 

The lesser the desires, the greater the happiness will be, the lesser your

sorrows. Excessive desires lead to the ruination of will power (ichcha

shakthi). Decline in will power leads to loss of power of action (kriya

shakthi). Develop unity of ichcha shakthi, kriya shakthi, and jnana shakthi

(power of wisdom). Will power will increase only when desires are reduced.

Excessive desires spoil health and cause depression in the mind. Reducing

desiresamounts to reducing the burden on the mind. Less luggage, more comfort

makes travel a pleasure.

In Tamil, there is a sacred book named Thirukural, which is equivalent to

the Vedas. It was written by Thiruvalluvar. He took to the path of

spirituality, worked for the welfare of humanity, and led a disciplined and

peaceful life. He used to ask his wife to keep a cup of water and a needle by

his side while he ate his food. As per the command of her husband, his wife did

accordingly day after day, but not even once did she find him putting them to

use while having food. When his wife asked him for the reason, he replied, “I

don't want to wasteeven a single grain of rice. The purpose of this needle is

to pick up the grain of rice if it were to fall outside my plate and to wash it

clean with water before putting it back in the plate. So far I have not used

this needle, since I have been very careful not to spill rice grains.”

So modest and disciplined were the desires of saint Thiruvalluvar. (Reet's

compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 7. The Mighty Mahaavaakya," Chapter

11; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 20. "Foster the Vedas," Chapter 23 and

"Pranavopaasana," Chapter 24; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 32, part 1. "Do Sadhana

with pure Feelings," Chapter 9; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 33. "Cultivate Love And

Become Divine " Chapter10).

 

Namaste - Reet