Unity in Diversity

[Guest guest]

Various heavens are spoken of in the Brahmana portion of the Vedas,

but the philosophical teaching of the Upanishads gives up the idea of

going to heaven. Happiness is not in this heaven or in that heaven,

it is in the soul; places do not signify anything. Here is another

passage which shows the different states of realisation. " In the

heaven of the forefathers, as a man sees things in a dream, so the

Real Truth is seen. " As in dreams we see things hazy and not so

distinct, so we see the Reality there. There is another heaven called

the Gandharva, in which it is still less clear; as a man sees his own

reflection in the water, so is the Reality seen there. The highest

heaven, of which the Hindus conceive is called the Brahmaloka; and in

this, the Truth is seen much more clearly, like light and shade, but

not yet quite distinctly. But as a man sees his own face in a mirror,

perfect, distinct, and clear, so is the Truth shining in the soul of

man. The highest heaven, therefore, is in our own souls; the greatest

temple of worship is the human soul, greater than all heavens, says

the Vedanta; for in no heaven anywhere, can we understand the reality

as distinctly and clearly as in this life, in our own soul. Changing

places does not help one much. I thought while I was in India that

the cave would give me clearer vision. I found it was not so. Then I

thought the forest would do so, then, Varanasi. But the same

difficulty existed everywhere, because we make our own worlds. If I

am evil, the whole world is evil to me. That is what the Upanishad

says. And the same thing applies to all worlds. If I die and go to

heaven, I should find the same, for until I am pure it is no use

going to caves, or forests, or to Varanasi, or to heaven, and if I

have polished my mirror, it does not matter where I live, I get the

Reality just as It is.

 

So it is useless, running hither and thither, and spending energy in

vain, which should be spent only in polishing the mirror. The same

idea is expressed again: " None sees Him, none sees His form with the

eyes. It is in the mind, in the pure mind, that He is seen, and thus

immortality is gained. "

 

Those who were at the summer lectures on Raja-Yoga will be interested

to know that what was taught then was a different kind of Yoga. The

Yoga which we are now considering consists chiefly in controlling the

senses. When the senses are held as slaves by the human soul, when

they can no longer disturb the mind, then the Yogi has reached the

goal. " When all vain desires of the heart have been given up, then

this very mortal becomes immortal, then he becomes one with God even

here. When all the knots of the heart are cut asunder, then the

mortal becomes immortal, and he enjoys Brahman here. " Here, on earth,

nowhere else.

 

- Swami Vivekananda

 

.... to be continued