Part VI -Doubt dissolver: This series of dialogues with Baba

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"Doubt dissolver""This series of dialogues with Baba, published in the magazine

originally in Telugu, unravels the mysteries of spiritual truth and lovingly

removes the mist that hides the vision of aspirants. Perused with care and

faith, these dialogues are bound to clarify, reinforce and convince. May the

perusal lead you nearer and nearer the goal." N. Kasturi, Join group sai baba

of India Group resource <<Sainews HOME

<<Previous Dialogue V Next Dialogue VII>>...to be continued

Dialogue VI

Bhaktha: Namasthe, Swami.Swami: Subhamasthu.

Bhaktha: With Your grace, everything is Subham; without it, everything is

Asubham.Swami: Good, but have you realized how both these are based on grace?

In one, both subsist; both are conferred by the selfsame grace. Well, let that

topic stand by. Last time you got a folk poem to digest and it must have

affected your thoughts deeply. Now, in what stage of equanimity is your brain?

Bhaktha: Ah. Everything appears a puppet show now, Swami. But only off and on.

The mind forgets and gets caught by the fascination of the objects. What

mystery is this, Swami?Swami: Well, the mind is associated with all kinds of

activities or Vrittis. It always follows the trail of the Vasanas, or trails of

impulses and instincts. This is its very nature.

Bhaktha: That is as much as to say we cannot set it right. Then what is the

hope? Ultimately, Swami, have we to get immersed in Vasanas and become

degraded?Swami: There is hope, my boy! No need to get immersed and lost. Though

it is its nature, it can be changed. Charcoal has as its nature blackening all

that it gets mixed with. But you should not take that as final. When fire

enters it, the charcoal becomes red. So too, though the mind is always

wandering in the illusion of darkness, when through the Lord's grace the fire

of Jnana enters it, its nature changes and the Sathwic nature pertaining to the

divine comes into it.

Bhaktha: Swami, they speak of something called Anthah-karana; what is it?Swami:

The mind is referred to like that. Karana means Indriya. Anthah-karana means

internal Indriya.

Bhaktha: So, are there two types, internal Indriyas and external Indriyas?Swami:

Yes, of course. The external Indriyas are called Karmendriyas; the internal

Indriyas are named Jnanendriyas.

Bhaktha: Swami, please tell me which are the Karmendriyas and which the

Jnanendriyas.Swami: Well, all acts done bodily are by Karmendriyas; they are

five in number. Those which impart Jnana from inside are named Jnanendriyas.

These are: hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell. Both these are together

called Dasendriyas (the ten organs.)

Bhaktha: So, what is the work that both these do together? What is the

connection between their function and the Manas or mind?Swami: Well, really,

whatever work they do, they can't achieve anything without the meditation of

Manas. The Karmendriyas perform acts in the world and receive knowledge and the

Jnanendriyas discriminate the good and the bad and offer them to the Atma,

through the Manas. If there is no Mind at all, how can these transmit? When we

have to reach the other shore of a flooded river, we rely on the medium of a

boat or raft. When the Karmendriyas and the Jnanendriyas, which are connected

with Prakrithi, desire to attain the Atma, they have to accept the help of the

boat, Manas. Otherwise, they cannot attain.

Bhaktha: If so, where do these other things you spoke about, Buddhi, Chittam and

Ahamkaram reside?Swami: They too are in this only. The Jnanendriyas and

Karmendriyas are both together called Dasendriyas. Of these, four are

distinguished and referred to as Antah Chathushtaya, or the internal four

Indriyas. Those four are Manas, Buddhi, Chittam and Ahamkaram.

Bhaktha: Very nice. That is to say, all are in the same thing. Life is indeed

funny. But Swami, what is the function of these four?Swami: Manas grasps the

object; Buddhi examines arguments for and against; Chittam understands the

object by means of these; Ahamkaram changes the decision for or against and by

attachment, slackens the hold of Jnana. These are the things they do.

Bhaktha: Excuse me, Swami, I am asking only to know; where do these exist in the

body?Swami: I am glad; don't worry. Manas is in the cupola, Buddhi in the

tongue, Chittam in the navel and Ahamkaram in the heart.

Bhaktha: Excellent. So, Buddhi and Ahamkaram are in the most important places!

These are the chief causes of all the world's miseries. Then, if we examine it

with reference to Your words, it looks as if there will be no misery when these

two places are made pure!Swami: You have indeed listened to me attentively. Yes,

that is right. First, if words are used in a clean and pure manner, that is

proof of Buddhi treading the right path. When Ahamkaram is suppressed and

conquered, that is proof of the heart being pure. Therefore, be very careful as

regards these two. Then, even your Manas and Chittam will come to have good

Vrittis. Then only will you be free from pain and misery. They can happen to

you then.

Bhaktha: So, among all these, who is the 'I'? Who is the experiencer of all

this?Swami: We have arrived at the right point. 'You' are none among all these!

All these exist only so long as the feeling, 'This body is mine' exists. They

are all associated with some activities or Vrittis. The Atma which observes all

these Vrittis, that is 'You'. The joy and sorrow, the loss and misery, the good

and bad of these activities are all related to the body only and so, they are

not yours; they will not be yours. You are the Atma. Until this truth is

realized, you sleep the sleep of 'I' and 'mine'. In that sleep, dreams appear

of loss, misery, sorrow and joy. The dreams persist only until you awake and

after you wake up, the fear you had while dreaming the sorrow you experienced,

all disappear and are no longer true. Similarly, when delusion is thrown off

and you 'awaken ' in Jnana, you will understand that all this is not 'you';

that you are the Atma.

Bhaktha: Then, Swami, for whose sake do these, the Manas, Buddhi, Chittam, and

Ahamkaram, do all this work?Swami: For no one's sake! They are engaged in their

own work! The Atma observes everything and its shadow the Jiva, which is deluded

by the association of the body-consciousness, plays this drama, through all

these acts.

....to be continued (SBOI - Group Post) Join group sai baba of India Group

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Source: Sandehanivarini

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