THE DANGERS OF DREAMING

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Swami Sadasivananda <sadasivanandaTHE DANGERS OF DREAMING

 

THE DANGERS OF DREAMING

 

From the beginning of time, at least from the beginning of the time man set foot within creation, mankind has maneuvered “here-and there†in an attempt to wriggle out of the responsibility of drawing near to, and inevitably uniting with God. We all have used, over the span of lifetimes, every trick in the book. Either we strive and fall short, claiming we can “do no moreâ€, or we boldly claim, “there is nothing that need be doneâ€. This is an age-old drama, but one truth remains for all: “If we had gotten it right, we would not still be here – suffering in a veritable ocean of misfortune.†Of course, in our more ‘modern’ era, we have the new twist from the most unpleasant folks around that, “There is no ocean of suffering, look at us! We are happy! Join us, bank account and all!†Do the Masters of the

religions of the world even vaguely support this claim? How far back should we investigate in order to find out? If we look to the Great Beings from ancient India, even the Avatars Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, the “do nothing†belief system (without beliefs nor a system) simply does not cut the modern mustard.. These incarnations of God took a human form in order to establish Dharma (righteousness and discernment of right from wrong) and kill demons that disturbed the spiritual practice of all of us. Does this sound like a philosophical or even a practical method of guidance if all the above-mentioned “need for effort†were dreamy figments of our imagination? The Buddha’s words, to those who cared, at the end of 45 years of teaching were: “Beware, days and nights fly by, fly by, what are you doing right now!†I don’t know about you, but I am

reasonably sure he did not mean, “Don’t worry, be happy.†If we want to drag Lord Jesus into the fray of “eat, drink and be happy, for you are already saved because, either, there is nothing to do, or, I have already done it all for youâ€, well then we have to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and a dead brain to many of the words He spoke, as well as the words his Disciples recorded that He spoke, again to those who cared. The least of these words, though well known, but so often shut away are: “Hunger and strive after righteousnessâ€, “pray ceaselesslyâ€, “I come to bring a sword between a husband and a wifeâ€, and “Verily, verily I say that you shall weep and lament – but your sorrow shall be turned into Joy.†And finally, for those who simply give no credit to the “old time†Masters of those moth-eaten “organized

religionsâ€, can we quote Sri Ramana Maharshi as evidence that He not only emphatically supported, but accentuated all of the above traditions? Is it fair to site as evidence that He did? In the recorded transcript of the exchange while Bhagavan was questioned by Paramahansa Yogananda (in Talks #107)?

D.: Why does God permit suffering in the world? Should He not with His omnipotence do away with it at one stroke and ordain the universal realisation of God?M.: Suffering is the way for Realisation of God.D.: Should He not ordain differently?M.: It is the way.D.: Are Yoga, religion, etc., antidotes to suffering?M.: They help you to overcome suffering.Yes, for those who are now yelling at me that the final words of that exchange were:

D.: Why should there be suffering?M.: Who suffers? What is suffering?I should admit that this does not sound to me like Bhagavan is saying “Suffering is a dreamâ€, but rather another profound pointer to His main theme of, “Find out who is suffering, who are you?†The point here should be, for those who care, that the emphasis is on the “finding!†With this central point now before us, let us again go back in time. In the epic accounts of the life of Lord Rama, both Sages Tulsidas and Valmiki make it perfectly clear that Sri Rama is at all times merely playing the role of a grieving or rejoicing personality, while internally He is the Divine Self, ever detached and unaffected by all circumstances that unfold in His life. Similarly, although every human being

experiences intense suffering in life, deep with one’s heart nothing has really happened. There in the cave of the heart, Rama or the Self is ever smiling blissfully. The task before every aspirant, meaning those who care, is to realize that Self within, and break the chain of pain that burdens the soul. So what are the obstacles (the links of this chain) to this internal, heart abiding, Self-Realization? Sri Ramana Maharshi did not mince words in answering this question:

“The obstacles that hinder realization are habits of the mind (vasanas), and the aids to realization are the teachings of the scriptures and of realized souls.†(Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, recorded by Sri M. Venkataramiah, Sri Ramanashramam 2006, Talk 13, p. 5.) So there is a mind after all! And if it is real enough to become an obstacle, even if we “label†it a dream, then the dream is real! Even more so, perhaps a nightmare! Now we must face the real question: “How do we break the chain and wake up?†This article is not yet another useless diatribe attempting to verify or criticize modern day “neo-Advaitaâ€. If that were the case, one might posture the premise of, “Simply look at their lives, and their quote-unquote “happiness†and ask yourself if that is enough to break their

or your chains; these down-right “obstacles†that the Gods, the Saints and the Bhagavan’s tell us are real. How real? Let’s not jump too far ahead with our historical references. Lord Krishna explains how real with words that to us seem like flat-out “street languageâ€:

“By what is a man impelled to commit evil, Varshneya [an epithet of Lord Krishna], seemingly against his own will, as if urged thereunto by force?†The Holy Lord said, “It is desire, it is anger, that’s born of the rajo-guna: of great craving, and of great sin; know that to be the enemy…The senses, mind and intellect are said to here be its abode…thus restraining the self (here the use of ‘atman’ denotes the mind) by the Self, then destroy that enemy so hard to conquer: desire.†(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, sections of verses 36-43) If we care, and thus believe and trust, that God came to our world to reveal, to unveil our eyes to the truth, then these words should begin the “waking up†process. We are shown that these obstacles, these chains, are in fact “evil enemies!†In our times, more so than at any

time in the far reaching past, the Grace of God seems much more immanent than transcendent. Thus, Sri Krishna and Bhagavan Ramana appear to have changed the “rules†of effort and attainment. In times past, we read the scriptures with a sense of gloom and despairing exclaim: “Oh no, O my God, NO!†especially when we arrive at the words:

“Among thousands of men, one perchance strives for perfection; even among those successful strivers, only one perchance knows Me in essence. (Gita 7:3) Even in the face of such a seemingly insurmountable attainment, Sri Krishna later said to Uddhava, just before He left this world, words of unparalleled encouragement that echoed forth to our very present time. He said that the essential and highest state would be granted through Grace by those in this final Yuga if they (meaning us) would:

“Shake free of sloth, and merge your mind within Me.†(Srimad Bhagavata, Book Eleven, Uddhava Gita) Sri Ramana Maharshi repeated this same “message of salvation†by simply declaring:

“Practice is necessary, there is Grace.†(Guru Ramana, S.S. Cohen) Let me end here with a question that the Masters I have been blessed to know asked me:

“Seek and find a practice, repeat it with religious fortitude, stop not until the goal is reached. Most of all examine your mind and change your ways. If you are making effort now to shake free of sloth, everything in the future will improve.â€