Swami teaches... Freedom of the spirit and Samadhi

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches.... (30 January 2005)

Freedom of the Spirit and Samadhi

 

No one in the world has absolute freedom. Freedom came to be used as a

political concept. It was believed that to liberate the country from foreign

rule and establish Government by thenatives of the country constituted freedom.

This is neither individual nor fundamental freedom. Freedom and bondage are

creations of the mind. When you are not engagedin spiritual enquiry, the mind

gets prominence and is the cause of involvement in matters likefreedom and

bondage, the worldly and the otherworldly, and other dualistic phenomena.

 

Any talk of freedom in this phenomenal world can only refer to an relative,

worldly, insane or egoistic freedom. Talk of freedom may also be used in

honorable respect of certain relationships like a parents attitude to their

child and others. You must recognise that you must accord to others the same

amount of freedom which you claim for yourself. Freedom is thus interdependent

and cannot be absolute or unrestricted.

 

In respect of three situations, human being has no freedom: karthavyam (the

discharge of duties), nirbandham (actions done under compulsion) and sambandham

(obligatory actions arising out of certain relationships).

If a poor man, unable to get food by begging, resorts to stealing, he cannot

claim that he is exercising his freedom to appease his hunger. When he acts

against his conscience, how can it be an act of freedom?

Actions done by the promptings of the mind or the senses cannot be regarded

as free actions.

There are some actions which are done according to the laws of Nature. Even

these are not free actions. Person is also subject to rules and regulations

laid down by the appropriate authorities. Human life is carried on between

these two types of restrictions. In view of this, no one can claim that he is

free to act as he pleases.

 

People talk glibly about free will. There is only one seat of freedom and

that is the heart (the spiritual heart). It is permanent and unchanging. As

long as a human being is swayed by the mind, there will be differences and

distinctions. These are due to the waywardness of the mind and are not

indications of individual freedom.

 

Freedom consists in the spontaneous expression of what comes from the heart

in respect of any object or any individual, at any time. But this cannot be

described as freedom, because the Divine is One. True freedom can come only

when one is free from the impulses of the mind. Only the Divine is free.

Only when unity is achieved will freedom be meaningful. Freedom should

express itself from the heart. Heart here does not refer to the physical heart.

"Heart" is not related to any particular place, time or individual or a country.

Hridayam (heart) refers to that Divine principle which is equally present

everywhere, at all times and in all people in every country. The true freedom

consists in the recognition of that Divinity by knowing which all else is

known.

Keeping the Atmic consciousness in the forefront, you may perform any act.

You will be acting in freedom. There are no two different types of freedom -

individual freedom and spiritual freedom. Spirituality itself is freedom.

 

There are four stages in the realisation of the Divine what is free.

Saalokyam (to be in the realm of God), Saaroopyam (having the vision of

God),

Saameepyam (proximity to God) and

Saayujyam (mergence in God).

 

These appear to be different from each other, but are all merely steps in

the realisation of oneness with the Divine.

The Divine makes no difference between one person and another. All

differences of caste or community relate to worldly associations. Even to

describe Rama as a Kshatriya, Krishna as a Yadava and Sai Baba as a Kshatriya

is a sign of narrow-mindedness. The Divine transcends such distinctions.

In this vast cosmos, you must develop a universal outlook based on an

understanding of thespiritual principle. You cannot aspire for the spiritual

from a narrow point of view. All forms ofworship and meditation, which are

regarded as spiritual exercises, are in fact mental excursions intended to

please the mind. God is described as father, mother, brother, friend and so on.

But all these are unnecessary epithets if it is recognised that we and God are

one.

Spirituality essentially means realising oneness with God. God and you are

not separate. Once you acquire this conviction there is no need for any kind of

spiritual sadhana.This oneness should not be a mere intellectual concept. It

should be a living reality. Then youwill experience true freedom - the freedom

of the Spirit, divorced from any association with thebody and the mind.

 

Swami does not know what is grief. Worry is totally alien to me. You should

remainunaffected by what others say or do. When someone comes and tells me,

"Swami! I am suffering greatly," I reply, "chaala santhosham" (very happy).

When some one tells meabout the death of a near relation, I say the same thing.

I am equal in my response to everything.

People come to Swami with every conceivable kind of problems and views. On

one side arethose who adore Swami. On the other side there may be those who

deride Swami. The two may be like two hillocks with valleys below them. Both

the hillocks and the valleys are the same to me. This is the proper spiritual

attitude as one expression of spiritual freedom.

(Occasionally I appear to be displeased with the behaviour of the students,

for example. However, the anger is only apparent externally as some kind

medicine. It does not come from inside).

The freedom is the realisation of oneness with the Divine. Principally the

same realisation has attained in Samadhi. Consequently, the state of Samadhi is

an expression of atmic spiritual freedom for human being or by other words the

experience the Being, the Awareness and the Bliss.*

What is Samadhi?

Some devotees claim that they have experienced moments of Samadhi

duringmeditation. Samadhi is a much misunderstood word. It is freely

misapplied. All kinds of emotional upsurges, attacks of hysteria, nervous

breakdowns, neurotic fits are now extolled and exalted as "Samadhi"! In common

parlance, in the eyes of worldly people and in the books written by worldly

individuals, Samadhi may be described in various ways. One may be in a state of

trance during meditation. But this cannot be called Samadhi. It may be an

emotional or mystical experience or it may be the result of a fit. It may even

be due to weakness. It is not Samadhi.

Deep sleep is often compared to Samadhi, for, the senses, the mind, the

reason, are all absent therein; only the ego is immersed in itself. It is in

bliss, but, it is not aware of that bliss, for, waking alone gives that

knowledge. What is the inner meaning of Samadhi? It is not a state of

unconsciousness or some kind of consciousness. Samadhi is "Sama-Dhi" - the

state in which the intellect has achieved equanimity. Whether in pleasure and

pain, in praise or blame, in gain or loss, in heat or cold, to be able to

maintain in equal mind in Samadhi. One who has attained that stage, or realised

that he is the One without a second, will be indifferent to fear or favour, to

hate or love, to exalt or execrate. Where there is One, how can even thought

arise. That is the Sama-Dhee - the being, the awareness and the bliss.

So the conclusion is that Samadhi means merging the mind in the Atma. In

that state, there are no two entities. Samadhi is a state of equal-mindedness.

In that state there are no dualities like joy and sorrow, profit and loss, sin

and merit, Nature and Paramatma. It is the state in which the oneness of

everything is experienced. As long as differences and distinctions remain,

there is no realisation of Samadhi, no realisation of the real (fundamental)

freedom.

(Reet's compilation from,

Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 23. "The Spirit of freedom and freedom of the Spirit," Chapter 21;

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 11, "Saline turned sweet," Chapter 4;

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 22. " Self-control and Self-realisation," Chapter. 21).

 

* My notes not directly concern to the compilation from Swami's texts in black.

 

Namaste - Reet