True Essence of Yoga

[dattaswami]

True Essence of Yoga

 

Yoga is the most prestigious field of spiritualism. People think about 6 wheels (Chakras) or lotus flowers present in the spinal card, which are not seen by the eyes. They are imaginary and so they carry some inner meaning. When you say a face as a moon, fools search for moon in that face. But, wise people see similarity in the face and moon. Similarly, wheels and lotus flowers should not be searched in the spinal card. Spinal card is the main nerve, representing mind, which is the base of love.

All these wheels or lotus flowers are the bonds of love in the various relatives like parents, wife or husband, children etc. They are compared to wheels or the revolving whirlpools in the ocean, which attract a swimmer and drown him. Similarly, these love wheels are compared to lotus flowers, since the lotus flowers attract the bee by sweet fragrance and bind it. Similarly, these love flowers attract any one and bind them. “Kundalini” is the mind which is the energy travelling as waves like a serpent, should cross all these love wheels connected to 7^th lotus flower in the head called “Sahasrara”, which is Buddhi or intelligence that takes the decision, which is the firm love on God.

Bhagavat Gita is called as the main scripture of Yoga (Yoga-Sastra). Why there is not even single reference to these wheels or lotus flowers in anywhere in Gita or even in Upanishats? Since they are not real, they are not even mentioned. The author of the Gita was <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place>, who was called Master of Yoga (Yogeswara). <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place> also says that the real yoga was lost since long (Sa kaleneha mahata….). This means that in the beginning, Sages in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> knew the real yoga and loved God only crossing all their family bonds. In due course of time only, this true yoga was lost. Why? The middle age Indians were unable to cross their family bonds and so failed to succeed in Yoga.

They wanted to cover their in ability by twisting the very concept of yoga. The family bonds were removed from the concept and only wheels or lotus flowers are left fixed. Now, they close the eyes and say that they have seen the lotus flowers or wheels, which are only imaginary. Now they cross these wheels by their imaginary “Kundalini” and say that they have succeeded in Yoga. These blind teachers are also not to be blamed, because they were trained like that by their blind teachers. This misinterpretation was done long time back and hence, even at the time of <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place>, He told that yoga was lost since a long time.

We cannot catch those original culprits, who were the top most twisting masters and so the present tradition also cannot be blamed. Only rectification is the way left over. Some say that they see light, which is only an imagination. After all, the mind is a form of energy and on its concentration imaginary light can be imagined. Instead of such a week light, you better see a strong light with your open eyes. What is the use of these imaginary lights and colours, without achieving the Lord through your love, which excels the various worldly, loves.

I pity the foreigners, who are trapped in this false imaginary line of yoga, who are wasting their precious lifetime and energy. In fact, they are the best to succeed in yoga, if the reality of the yoga is exposed. Their family bonds are very weak and their love towards God is real, which is proved by their huge sacrifice of money to God’s work. Money is the fruit of work and its sacrifice for God’s work is “Karma phala tyaga” as mentioned in Gita. Again, the middle age Indians twisted this word “Karma phala tyaga” as sacrifice of the fruit of the work like praying God instead of sacrifice of money.

The reason was that these Indians were unable to sacrifice money to God due to their strong love on their children. Foreigners ask their children to earn after certain age. Indians store money even for ten generations and still continue to store only. Since prayers, meditation and knowledge are very much diverted to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">God</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> was blessed by God with good language, good mind and good knowledge.

Since foreigners are good in sacrifice, God blessed them with good wealth. Even Indian spiritual centres were strongly funded by foreigners only. Swami Vivekananda cried, “Why my <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> suffers with poverty in spite of so much spiritual knowledge?” Sacrifice of money (Karma phala tyaga) and sacrifice of work (karma Sanyasa) put together constitute the God’s service, which is the real Yoga (real proof of love) called “Karma yoga” in Gita. Foreigners are the best in this karma yoga and so they easily succeed in yoga. Throughout Gita, this karma yoga was explained as yoga and wheels or lotus flowers are not at all mentioned.

[dattaswami]

Should we not ask god for help?

 

If you are ordinary person you should follow the rules of your deeds and nature. If you are a devotee, even then, you should not ask God for help. Your devotion must not aspire any result. You are asking God for help means that you want God to violate his own natural rules. The impression of millions of angles and sages is disturbed if God violates his own rules. That will give a poor impression on God. You are putting God to inconvenience by forcing him to use his supernatural power. Whether you are a devotee or not, you must always try to solve your problems by putting your best effort.

If you fail, even then, do not ask God to help you. Then, you think that it is your fate and worship God as usual. Arjuna was fighting with his grandfather, Bhishma. Arjuna was not putting up his best effort to kill Bhishma. He was having sympathy to Bhishma, who has brought up Arjuna. Noting this, <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place> took His Sudarshana chakra and ran to kill Bhishma. That means the Lord tried to solve the problem of Arjuna through His divine power. Arjuna did not agree to this and forced <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place> to stop, because Arjuna knew about his inadequate effort. But when Sindhava was to be killed, Arjuna tried his best, because Arjuna took an oath to kill Sindhava before sunset and otherwise he promised that he would enter the fire.

Since the sunset took place apparently due to the Maya of Krishna, Arjuna stopped fighting and wanted to enter the fire. He was just going to jump into the fire but he never asked for help. He thought that was his fate. Therefore, the Lord helped him secretly. Therefore, if you put your best effort, still fail because it is beyond your limits, if you happen to be a real devotee and do not ask for the help from God, then you will be helped by the super power secretly. The secrecy is due to preservation of the sacredness of his administration in the eyes of others.

[dattaswami]

Lord never errs

 

The Lord is the writer of the constitution and He knows whom to punish. Some times you see punishment of innocent person. You think that the injustice is ruling. In the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1>:PlaceType w:st="on">kingdom</st1>:PlaceType> of <st1>:PlaceName w:st="on">God</st1>:PlaceName></st1:place> only the justice is the ruler by the grace of God. When the innocent is punished, the punishment was of some bad deed done by him previously and the date of the punishment coincided with the present incident accidentally.

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Antony</st1:city></st1:place>

[dattaswami]

What is the aim of the birth of every soul?

A) A soul is the part of creation. Veda says that the world is created for the entertainment of God only. Therefore, every soul should realize that its existence and life are for the pleasure of God only and not for the pleasure of one’s own self or his family.

Can we take all the human beings to be born with some purpose?

A) As long as the human being thinks that the birth and the life is meant for the pleasure of one’s own self or its family, till then the life has no purpose. The reason is that as told above. The real aim of life is only to please the Lord. Therefore, the life of such human being which thinks that the ultimate aim is only to please the Lord alone has the purpose of birth.

What are the duties of the human being?

A) The only duty of human being is the service to Lord. But, for the service, the maintenance of the body and family is essential. Therefore, the duties related to such maintenance are also part and parcel of the main divine duty.

What is the reason for human incarnation?

A) The main purpose of the human incarnation is to clarify the doubts of the devotees in the spiritual knowledge. Apart from this, vision, touch, conversation and co-living are the four fortunes that are the available to the devotees. To punish evil forces and protect the devotees, His power is able to do it. Mainly the human incarnation is only to preach the spiritual knowledge. Therefore, the incarnations like fish, pig etc., are only forms of His power. Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place>, Buddha etc., are mainly for the preaching only.

[dattaswami]

How the family should behave to please the Lord?

A) If the entire family believes the human incarnation, it will be possible to worship the Lord in human form. Since in your question the pleasure of the God is mentioned, we can observe the pleasure for our service only in the human form the Lord. In worship of idols or in the worship of formless God there is no proof of the pleasure of God that can be noted by us. Therefore, in this answer I had to limit to the human incarnation only. At least you can serve the beggars and note happiness on their faces. You will get heaven for the service though for a temporary stay.

Does Pravrutti lead to God?

A) The duties to be performed for the maintenance of the body and family are Pravrutti. Therefore Pravrutti is the basis to reach God, but Pravrutti alone cannot lead you to God. For a drama the stage is necessary. If you prepare the stage only without the drama the spectators will throw stones. Therefore, Pravrutti along with Nivrutti only leads to God. Nivrutti means service to Lord.

How to practice to Nivrutti?

A) Your question itself contains answer. Service to Lord in practice is the practice of Nivrutti. Nivrutti is in the form of feelings and in the form of practice. Praising or singing the Lord with words, loving God with mind and discussing God with intelligence is the feeling-form of Nivrutti. Sacrifice of work and sacrifice of fruit of work are practical Nivrutti. Nivrutti is completed when both forms exist. The drinking water is like the feeling-form and the practice is like the plate of meals offered to the guest. Then only we will get the complete grace of the Lord. Veda says the feeling-form as Asambhuti and practical- form as Sambuthi. You should not expect any fruit for the feeling-form. Even the hotel does not charge you for a cup of water! Only the plate of meals is charged.

If one follows justice, is there is no necessity to worship God?

A) Justice is the stage and worship is the drama based on it. Even without justice the worship can be done. Kannappa is hunter. He kills the innocent animals like rabbit. But by worship he got salvation. Even without stage the drama can be played on floor. But the stage without drama is waste. The aim of practicing the justice is only to please the Lord. Therefore, whatever pleases God that is justice. <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place> asked Dharma Raja to tell a lie, but Dharma Raja did not tell the lie. Dharma Raja was taken to hell because he did not tell the lie even on the advice of the Lord. Therefore, God is more important than justice. But in the Pravrutti which is the behaviour to the other souls, justice is more important than injustice. But in Nivrutti God is more important than justice. Since the Nivrutti is the aim of life mere justice is waste. By justice one can reach temporary heaven according Gita. By Nivrutti the permanent abode of God is obtained.

[dattaswami]

For which purpose Worship, service and praising are done?

A) All these are done only to please the Lord. Praising is like giving dinking water. Service is like offering meals. Both these are called as worship.

“All this is God” is Vedic statement. Does it mean that all the body of human incarnation is God or does it mean that the entire creation is God?

The word Brahman has two meanings. The greatest item in a category is Brahman. Brahman also means God. In Gita, Veda is called as Brahman. Since Veda is the greatest among the scriptures, it is called as Brahman. Since God is greater than any greatest item, God is also called as Brahman. The inert energy is greatest in the creation. All this creation is inert energy only. If you take God is Brahman, the entire human body of the human incarnation is Brahman. If you say that all the creation is God, then the entertainment of God as told in Veda is impossible.

The enjoyer and enjoyed cannot be one and the same, because the entertainment is impossible. Only the human body is equal to the world, because the nine items are common in the human body and the world (the eight items of Apara and ninth <st1:place w:st="on">Para</st1:place>). The intelligence (Buddhi) exists only in the human body. Therefore, God pervaded in the body of the human incarnation can be said as God pervading the world. Therefore you can see the body of Krishna as the world but the world cannot be seen as <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place>. If the Universe is God, the soul which is a part of Universe is also Brahman. Since there is nothing other than Brahman, who gets salvation and from which the salvation is needed? If that is true there is no need of spiritual effort.

You told that you are every thing and you are everywhere. Then why not the soul be God?

A) If you take My statement in the direct sense, then the spiritual effort becomes waste. If God is the whole Universe and if there is nothing other than God, how can the creation give entertainment to God? Veda says that the creation came to entertain God. Then Veda becomes futile. Therefore, the interpretation of God’s word must be done properly. In grammar there is statement “All this Kalinga”. Kalinga is the name of king. How the kingdom which is in the form of soil can be a human being called as Kalinga? According to grammar this means that the kingdom is under the control of king Kalinga. Therefore, you have to take my statement in that sense and so it means that all this is under the control of God. In some occasions, I tell such sentences to encourage the devotees. This indicates the affection of Satguru. In the climax of devotion where one sees only God and nothing else, this can be correlated directly. Gopikas reached that state. If this is true why are you eating food and not mud? You should not use this statement to escape the spiritual effort and feel that you are God. Such statement of the final Avadhuta- stage should not be used by every one.

Who am I? Am I the soul?

A) You are the soul. Soul is awareness. Awareness is the special work form of the energy. Awareness is a special of form of inert energy that is generated by the Oxidation of food in the body.

How can I see my-self?

A) The essence of the awareness is the inert energy. Awareness is proved as the form of inert energy. If you stop food and oxygen the inert energy is not supplied and the awareness disappears. In the deep sleep the awareness remains as inert energy which is its basic form. Therefore, in deep sleep there is no awareness. If you see the inert energy like Sun light, it is equal to seeing the soul. To day you can see the awareness as the basic form of energy flowing as waves in sophisticated medical electronic instruments.

You say that you are Datta and again say that you are not Datta.

Why this contradiction?

A) If some body is eligible to digest the divine knowledge, the first statement is told. If some body does not deserve, the second statement is told. <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place> never told any body in His life that He is God. Krishna told only to Arjuna during the preaching of Gita that He is God and Arjuna was close to the Lord for the past several births as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Nara</st1:City></st1:place> with Narayana. Therefore <st1:place w:st="on">Krishna</st1:place> did not face any danger. Sankara also did not face any danger because He told that every human being is God. Jesus told before a group of people that He and His father are one and the same. Therefore, He was crucified.

 

Egoism and jealousy existing in every human being oppose the acceptance of one human being as God. According to Islam there is no human incarnation. Therefore, the human beings accept either the concept of every human being as God or no human being as God. Even a great devotee will suspect the human incarnation in some time due to egoism and jealousy. Therefore, human incarnation uses these two sentences according to the context. Even in a devotee the second statement will pacify the egoism and jealousy hidden in the subconscious state.

[dattaswami]

How to enjoy worry

 

Never allow the worry to enter your heart in difficult times. When it knocks the door, shout at it to go away. Don’t open the doors of the mind. If you allow it, it is a thief which steals away your energy. It is like the dog that steals away your food. It is like the cat that steals away your milk. Food is your energy and milk is your courage. When you loose courage and energy tension is created, which is the source of all chronic diseases. Doctors say that the tension raises the level of lactic acid in the blood, which opens all the doors for all the chronic diseases. The physical health is spoiled because the mind and body are related to each other. The illness in the body affects the mind. The tension in the mind affects the body. Such tension results in the loss of memory and loss of intelligence.

In such state you are completely inefficient to plan for the solution. Your body is incapable of executing any plan. The worry cannot solve the problem and moreover it weakens you so that you will become permanently incapable to solve the problem.

Therefore neither should you run away from the life nor should allow the worry to enter your mind. If your realization about the unreality of the cinema, which is this life, continues, instead of worry, you can enjoy the problem in your life, which is as good as a tragic scene in the cinema. You may argue that you are involved in the life and not standing outside the life to be a spectator. This argument is not correct. The answer for your argument is that you can enjoy the tragic scene even if you are involved in it just like an actor acting in a drama.

If you are aware that the drama is unreal and if you are aware that you are only acting the role which is also unreal, you can still enjoy the drama as a spectator of the cinema even though you are involved in it.

Whenever you face difficulties and if you have not realized the unreality of the world (forms and feelings), there are two ways to solve your problem. One way is in natural level and the other way is in super natural level. The nature is the separated power from the Lord, which follows the rules of the logic and is called as Prakruti. The nature is separated because it becomes the separate object to be observed by God who is the spectator. God created this universe to see it for His entertainment. Even if He enters the world as human incarnation the spectatorship and entertainment continues because there is no difference between cinema and drama as far as its unreality is considered. Therefore if your problem is at the level of the nature, try to solve it using your courage and energy without allowing the worry into your mind which steals both these.

If your problem is beyond the level of the nature, then also you cannot solve it by allowing the worry. In such case the super power (Maya) has to enter into this world sent by God. The Maya is never separated from God unlike the Prakruti. Now, only the super power of the God can solve your problem and for this you must concentrate on God. For such concentration also, you need the energy and therefore you should not allow the worry to enter your mind even in this case. For doing concentration on God, you require the congenial atmosphere of real devotees around you. Therefore whenever the problem that requires the super power to interfere enters your life, you have to immediately prevent the entry of the worry into your mind and you have to enter into the association of real devotees so that you can concentrate on God for help.

If you remain in the association of the ordinary human beings, they will magnify the impossibility of the solution and force the worry to enter your mind. If you leave the association of these dirty people, who do not want to solve your problem and if you enter into the association of real devotees, you can easily concentrate on God for help. God will give an immediate stay because the problem cannot be cancelled forever due to the cycle of deeds presided by justice. However, the temporary stay has the possibility of permanent solution also. After the stay, there may be a chance for you to become a liberated soul by entering into the service of the God in which case your file may be condemned permanently.

If you are ungrateful to the help which involves the super power of God, your file will be opened after some time and the punishment can be given to you in some other form so that your impression about the cancelling of that problem by God is not disturbed. Therefore, at every step of your life, become grateful to God and transform yourself as a liberated soul through service to Him which alone can give the permanent solution.

You may be compensated regarding your loss in course of time. Thus you may recover the loss but the time you spent in worry can never be compensated. Since your lifetime is a fixed quantum, the loss of time cannot be compensated. If you entertain yourself with enjoyment even during the time of loss, the time is not lost. When the loss is compensated you have gained both the time and the lost thing.

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Antony</st1:city></st1:place>

[dattaswami]

Analyzing God’s attitude to wards souls

 

God created all the souls and has the attitude of father towards His children. The father sometimes may have partiality in showing the love equally to his children. But God is always having infinite love for all the souls in equal manner. Even the punishments in the hell are meant for transformation of the souls from lower level to the higher level. God always tries to help the soul even if a trace of possibility exists in the cycle of the deeds.

One soul need not recommend about the other soul to God to show the grace. If somebody recommends to his father regarding the welfare of his brother, how foolish it looks! No soul should recommend to the God about other soul for protection or for showing the grace. If any soul recommends like that it is only insulting the infinite love of God. It is only the climax of the ignorance and the emotional love on the other soul, which lacks even the basic analysis of spiritual knowledge.

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Antony</st1:city></st1:place>

[dattaswami]

Never criticize any one in the world

 

Never criticize any one in the world. If you do not like to praise somebody, keep silent. If you scold somebody and suppose God is hidden in that person, it will lead to immediate punishment. Worship of God and insulting God will have immediate results in this world because both are powerful (Atyutkataih Papapunyaih……). The help and insult to the colleague souls will have results in the upper world in heaven and hell. But the service and insult to God in human form and devotees will have immediate results here itself.

Generally it is very difficult to identify God in human form who will try to hide Himself by looking like an ordinary person or some times looking like even a negative person. God in human form acts according to the role taken on the stage of the world. The role is according to the divine program drawn by God Himself. The role generally does not contain the supernatural behavior, which will create problems of free mixing of God with the souls. The role consists of mainly normal behavior and sometimes subnormal behavior to test the devotees or to drive away the undeserving devotees who will try to exploit God. In such case there is every possibility of misunderstanding God as a normal human being or some times as a bad human being.

If you neglect God assuming Him as a normal human being, there is nothing wrong in it and you will not be in loss even though you may not have the benefit. But if you insult Him assuming a bad fellow, that is the greatest sin and will have immediate negative effect. Since, we cannot trace out God easily, it is better not to criticize even a bad fellow. Leave him to his fate. Who are you to criticize anybody? You have lot of bad points shown by your bulky thumb, when you point out others with your lean finger. The constitution of God running the divine cycle of deeds will take care of everything in the world. Why do you unnecessarily take the risk of insulting the hidden God?

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Antony</st1:city></st1:place>