Sathya Sai Vahini - Chapter 14

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Sathya Sai Vahini

 

Chapetr 14

This and That

 

Every living being refers to itself as 'I', 'I'. 'I am Ramayya', 'I am

Krishnayya', 'I am Sita', 'I am Radha'. Each one, assumes the 'I', as

his own, and uses it whenever he has to designate himself. If only

birds, beasts and other living things could speak, they too would have

behaved likewise and referred to themselves as 'I'. Besides these,

even mountain peaks, hills and trees might announce themselves as 'I

am hill', 'I am ant-hill', 'I am tree', if only they could speak.

 

When we spend some time thinking over this, it will be clear that some

great mystery is embedded in this expression, 'I'. The illiterate boor

uses this expression; the sage who has secured the Divine vision uses

it; even God, it is said, announces Himself as I. Nevertheless, who

probes into this mystery? And, among those who have dared probe, how

many have succeeded in unravelling it? And, even if there are a few

who have unravelled the mystery, how many among them have used the

discovery to transform their lives? Have the celebrated

intellectuals, the Pundits, the Paramahamsas succeeded in delving

into the meaning and significance of this 'I'?

 

No. Let us see whether the exponents and commentators of the

Bhagavadgita, who can reel off the eighteen chapters and the seven

hundred slokas in continuous stream, have grasped the full

implications and importance of the word, 'I'. In the Gita, the

declarations by Sri Krishna - " Aham mokshayishyaami - I shall absolve

you " , " Maam ekam saranam vrja - Come to me, the One, for

refuge " , " Kshetrajnam cha api maam viddhi - And, also know Me, as the

knower of the Field " and the like - He refers to 'I', does He not?

So, this expression 'I' is clearly omnipresent; it is the sign and

symbol of all Jivatmas; it has unlimited forms and appearances. Like

the string that passes through the rosary beads, it interpenetrates

and holds together all names and forms.

 

However transient names and forms might be, the 'I' persists without

being affected. Therefore, one has to know this omnipresent 'I' so

that one can understand all that has to be known. He who has known it

is the Jagadguru, (the World-Teacher), the Viswaguru, (the Teacher of

all Beings), The Sadguru (The Teacher to be followed).

 

The body is but the container, the Upadhi, the sheath. Nevertheless,

imposing differences and distinctions based on physical

characteristics and material considerations, some are elevated

as 'touchable' and some condemned as 'untouchable'; some are

classified as 'high' and others as 'low'. Intellect cannot claim

honour, and persons cannot claim to be Pundits, if studies are

directed to the amassing of money or earning the wherewithal for a

comfortable living; nor can skill and excellence in

argumentative scholarship be worthy of reverential mention. Really,

the word 'I' leads you to the Supreme Godhead, when you dive into its

significance. 'That is you', 'That is I', 'I and that are One', this

is what the great Vedic dictum, " Thath thwam asi - That thou art " -

declares. That is the very core of all teaching, the grandest of

counsels.

 

This sacred principle embodied in the 'I' is beyond the grasp of the

most learned scholars, by means of lone inquiry, without guides and

helpers. Only, the guides have to be those who are aware of the Truth

and who are earnest in living the Truth. It is beyond the reach of

scholarship, logic and grammar. Note that these are warnings

administered by the Sruthis and the Smrithis.

 

Well. When one intends to learn in a general way about this 'I' and

its implications, he can be told the secret in just three

sentences: " I am active in day time, when I am awake; I sleep at

night; I experience dreams when I sleep. Thus, acting and

experiencing both day and night, I die " . When one considers these

statements of the individual, one can conclude that they are based on

the individual's knowledge gained from this life. " The I begins, when

I am born " , he believes. But, did this 'I' exist before birth? If it

had, how can an existing thing be said to be born? Even if this

objection is ignored, how did it exist and where? Was it disembodied

apart from name and form? Was it beyond the pale of the senses?

Doubts such as these pursue the seeker in waves. It has to

be understood clearly that the 'I' is not related or affixed to one

object, thing, or being, to one name and form. Remember this when you

identify and recognise the 'I' or arrive at the true answer to the

question, 'Who am I'?, you have identified and recognised the entire

Cosmos and its mysteries.

 

It may be asked, what exactly is the urgency to understand the meaning

of this 'I', when there is an infinite number of topics that call for

study in the Universe? One can well try to unravel the secrets of the

Cosmos. Or, attention may be paid to understand what is meant

by 'jivi', or, by 'deva' (God). When such profound subjects as the

Universe, the Individualised Divine, the Divine itself - subjects

that are incomparably important - are clamouring for attention, why

give them up and investigate the meaning of expression used by common

folk and children, this 'I', 'I'? Of what benefit can it be? People

may ask.

 

The expression is simple, of course; but, its implications are

infinite, and fundamentally satisfying. This is the reason why all

great teachers exhort the seekers, " Know Thyself " , " Inquire into

yourself, that alone can give you release " . The Sastras too confirm

this exhortation. " Yad Vijnaanena sarvam vijnaatham bhavathi - That,

which when known, everything becomes known " . The Sastras extol the

importance and value of this inquiry, and make it clear that the

inquiry into the Atma is essential. The assurance is given that the

Atma is you, yourself, as in the sacred axiom, " Thath thwam asi -

That thou art. "

 

Therefore, to fulfil the yearning, you have first to inquire into this

mystery, who you are. You can then realise that you are nitya,

eternal, beyond the boundaries of Time. The Sastras will help you to

cast away the Ajnana, the dark clouds of ignorance that now hide this

Truth from your awareness. Then, you can delight at the experience of

the awareness of your genuine Nature. The awareness comes when the

Truth is revealed with the dawn of light. But, the Sastras which

guide man into the knowledge of these great mysteries and into the

region where such bliss can be secured are not studied now; instead,

man pursues with blinkered eyes his own silly notions. How then can

he attain the Atmic Principle? How then can he reach the very

embodiment of Ananda?

 

Mere worldly scholarship cannot delve into the meaning of the Sruthis.

The Grace of God has to be won by devotion and dedication, and that

Grace alone, the compassionate Glance of the Eye of God alone, can

instill into him the real meaning of the Sruthis. Only persons who are

embodiments of Divine wisdom and Compassion can decide what exactly is

helpful to the spiritual progress and well-being of man. Others only

flounder. They will find it impossible to cope with the task. For, how

can Gurus who fail to save themselves, help in saving others? The

Gurus of today endeavour to cleanse society while their own houses are

unclean. The number of such Gurus is increasing and, so, faults and

failures are multiplying; their haltings justified and explained away,

in various ways, and so the confusion grows worse. As a consequence,

endless argumentation ensues and Reality is lost to view. These Gurus

interpret the Sastras to suit their prejudices and partialities,

making them instruments for their aggrandizement.

 

Under these distressing conditions, the Grace of God is the only hope

of man; that is the beacon to illumine the path. That is the

compassion which rewards man for his spiritual struggle. That is the

strong steady ship that can take him safely across.

 

Many preceptors and teachers declare that the path of inquiry into

oneself is the path of liberation for man, " Swa vimarso mokshah -

Self-inquiry leads to Liberation " is the assurance. " That is the Atma;

that is my self " , " I and the Atma are not different " , " The Atma and

the Paramatma are not separate " . The yarn 'I' is both warp and woof

of the cloth, the Atma. When the 'I' yarn is found in different

bodies and feels that in each body it is distinct from the rest, the

Atma cloth can be said to disappear; but in both yarn and cloth,

there is one substance ever persisting, in spite of how each feels -

and that substance is 'cotton'. So too, Paramatma persists as the

only Truth, in the 'I' the Atma. Without the cotton, Parmatma, there

can be no 'I' yarn; without the 'I' yarn, there can be no Atma cloth.

These three - Paramatma, Atma and I - are only forms and names for

the One - the Paramatma, the One Atma, the Divine Atma.