Sathya Sai Baba Geetha Vahini - Chapter 14

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Sathya Sai BabaGeetha Vahini

Chapter XIV

"Nahi Jnanena Sadrsam." There is nothing to equal Jnana. And what is Jnana? That

which makes you cross this sea of flux, this Sam-saara. Of course, it is of two

kinds; the first is objective knowledge (Vishayajnana) and the second, integral

knowledge, or A-bhedajnana.

The first type is knowledge of the world; the second is the knowledge of the

identity of Brahmam and the individual Atma, which is called A-bheda or

undifferentiated or integral Jnana. This Jnana is not a function of the

intellect or Buddhi; it is a feature of something beyond it, something which

witnesses the activities of even the Buddhi. It destroys the delusion about

this constant flux, mistaken to be a reality; it removes fear from the heart of

man; it reveals to him the Brahmam which he and all this is. So it is called the

right Jnana or Samyak Jnana, the Sameepa Jnana or the nearest Jnana.

There are two paths by which man can approach this A-bheda Jnana; the inner and

the outer. The outer Sadhana is "Nishkama Karma," engaging in activity without

attachment towards the result of those activities as dedicated to the Lord. The

inner Sadhana is Dhyana and Samadhi. In Vedanthic terminology, this is named

Nididhyasana. Listen and meditate on what you have listened to - these two

steps are the bases of this Nididhyasana or inner concentration. Without these,

Dhyana is impossible of achievement.

This is the meaning of what is called Atma-samyama, the control of the senses,

detachment from the outer sensory world, the withdrawal of the mind from the

outer world. This is the goal of all life; knowing the Paramatma, attaining

liberation. There can be no second aim for man. Man is endowed with life, not

for the purpose of building bungalows, the requisition of estates, the

accumulation of wealth, the addition of progeny, the earning of titles or

ascent into higher rungs of social life. His greatness does not depend on

these. The chiefest success in life lies in the winning of permanent bliss,

permanent escape from grief and agitation.

"Srinvanthu viswe amruthasya puthraah!" is the call. "Listen, O! Ye, children of

immortality, all over the world!," that is the invitation. The heritage of

immortality must be recognised and experienced; it must be won back. The bonds

of name and form must be removed; they are but bonds made of dream-stuff. They

are changeable and temporary. They are not genuine natural characteristics of

the Jiva. Real wisdom consists in recognising that man is pure bliss; bliss

that persists from the past into the present and the future. Escape from grief

for a brief period of time and the attainment of joy for a short time - these

are not signs of real liberation. "If you seek this steady, genuine pure state

of bliss, you must be attached to Me," said Krishna.

"Arjuna! Whoever does spiritual practice after attaching himself to Me with a

view to liberate himself from old age and senility will know

all-that-is-to-be-known of Brahmam, Karma, and Atma. I am master of Adhibhutha,

Adhidaiva and Adhiyajna and if I am thus worshipped, the worshipper will develop

equanimity and full control of the vagaries of the mind. Besides, such a person

will dwell on Me without forgetting Me even in his last moments. For that

reason he will reach Me too. That is to say, he will merge in Me."

"Arjuna! Every one is anxious to avoid old age and death; it is human nature so

to be anxious. But of what avail is mere anxiety? One's conduct and behaviour

should be in accordance with one's objective. If one has sincere yearning and

if one places full trust and faithfully surrenders to the Lord, the fog of

grief will be dispersed by the rays of His grace. If on the other hand one

places his trust on the objects of this world, the consequent grief will never

end; nor can they be ended by any other than the Lord. Serve the master of

Maya, the designer of all this dreamland rather than the dream itself. How can

attachment to delusion yield anything but disappointment? How can joy be won by

such pursuits? If joy is not won and grief avoided, how can liberation be

achieved!" Krishna asked.

Arjuna intervened. "Krishna," he said, "cannot such men attain you? You say that

grief must be conquered before one can attain you. Well, what is the origin of

that grief? How is it to be tackled? How does it arise? How can one try to

overcome it without knowing its origin and course of development? Please tell

me how this grief arises in the human mind?"

"Listen, Arjuna," Krishna condescended to reply. "The source of all types of

sorrow is ignorance, A-jnana. You might ask Me now what is the source of

A-jnana? I shall tell you. It is the identification with the body, the delusion

that you are the body. This can be removed only by the acquisition of right

knowledge. To remove darkness, light is what is needed; you cannot frighten it

away, nor can you make it yield by prayer or petition or protest. Unless light

is on, darkness will not disappear, howsoever you may try. So too, A-jnana will

not disappear by merely wishing for disappearance. Once you understand the

nature and ramifications of this trait, this A-jnana, the truth will be laid

bare and grief will vanish."

"When A-jnana goes, grief too goes. So attach yourself to Me and earn the light

of true knowledge and tread the path of no-grief," said Krishna.

Immediately, Arjuna interjected, "Krishna! You were saying till now of certain

paths by which we can reach you. Now, at the end of it all, if you throw this

cannonball, how can I ever grasp its meaning? You did not even confer, as a

preliminary, a little power to do so! Please, therefore, make me happy by

describing this point in greater detail so that I might follow You better and

attain You."

Krishna replied, "My dear brother-in-law! Listen, My mystery can be understood

once you are clear about the meaning of Brahmam, Adhyaathmam, Karma,

Adhibhootham, Adhidaivam and Adhiyajnam. And let Me tell you this also. Whoever

understands My mystery attains Me."

"Then, O Lord, tell me about the first of these, Brahmam," exclaimed Arjuna.

"Arjuna! Aksharam-Brahma Paramam," Brahmam is referred to as the Akshara which

is Param. Akshara means without Kshara or destruction, indestructible. Brahmam

comes from a root which means big, vast, etc. How vast, you may ask. Vaster

than whatever you call vast, that is the answer. The word Akshara has another

meaning also. It means omnipresent, immanent everywhere. Brahmam is not mere

Aksharam, as you will have noticed. It is Param Aksharam. What does that mean?

It is that type of Akshara which is beyond the reach of time and space and

knowability; it cannot be known by any or all the categories; it never declines

or ends; it is Param Aksharam, the highest indestructible, indescribable.

"The Goal of Humanity is to attain that Brahmam; Aksharam and Brahmam signify

the same goal. They indicate the Saguna and the Nirguna aspects of the same

truth. For Akshara means also a letter, the Pranava, Om, which is a symbol of

Brahmam. That is why it is called Aksharaparabrahma Yoga. Brahmam has two

adjectives, Paramam and Aksharam. Akshara indicates the Pranava as well as

Maya. Maya too is subsumed by Pranava. These two are "attribute-ful,"

qualified; Savisesha. Brahmam, however, is Nir-visesha, qualificationless,

attribute-less, pure, in its own right. He who understands this attains me.

"Now for a second point: It is Brahmam that dwells in every body in the form of

'I'. In fact, every body hangs around this entity called 'I'. In the body, each

part and organ in the organisation performs one chief task. Each sense contacts

and informs about one particular set of impressions from the outer world. But

though related to the senses, there is an 'I' shining in the body, above and

behind all of them. If that relationship is broken, everything becomes inert

material!

When the 'I' power flows through the senses, they are able to carry on their

allotted tasks. That power is Aashyaathmam; it cannot be known without great

effort. Use the sharpest discrimination and you know it to some small extent.

Brahmam is the "Thath" entity; Aadhyaathmam is the "Thwam" entity. To make the

matter clearer to you, take these two as appearance and character, form and

substance. Brahmam is the form, Aadhyaathmam is substance," said Krishna.

Let us dwell on this matter a little. The Sastras describe Brahmam as

Sath-chid-aananda. This is a way of denoting it, in Vedanthic vocabulary. It is

also described as Asthi-bhaathi-priyam. Are both the same? Or do they mean

differently? Sath means that which persists in the past, present and future.

The same meaning is conveyed by the word, Asthi. Chith means that which is

conscious of everything; the same meaning is conveyed by the word Bhaathi.

Ananda means unending source of joy; Priyam also means the same. These three

are found in every human being; why, in every beast and bird.

Take the first of these - Sath, and this will become clearer. The body is

subject to destruction, sooner or later. Every one is aware of this; no one is

ignorant of this elementary fact. Nevertheless, everyone is apprehensive of

death! No one welcomes death, or is eager to meet it. Death is inevitable; you

have to meet with it, even though you do not welcome it, or try to avoid it.

All that is born has to die some day; still, no one likes to die.

What is the key to this paradox? Note this: What is it that does not welcome

death? What is it that meets with death? What is it that leaves and what is it

that remains? The answer: it is the body that dies; it is the body that falls.

What does not die is the Atma. Only you delude yourselves into thinking that it

is the Atma or "you" that dies. The Atma has nothing to do with death or birth.

The body experiences death; the Atma which is Nithya, Sathya, and Nirmala -

Eternal true and pure - does not die. You are the Atma that does not like to

die. That is to say, you are Sath; your nature is Sath. The Atma is the "child

of immortality," not the Deha or the body. The Atma is the Sath, not the body.

You are the Sath; the Atma; the entity that has no death. It is this Atma that

is in every casement and so, every being feels the force of that Sath in the

form of eternal unchanging existence. This is clear and unmistakable.

Now take the second: Chith - the force that urges you to know everything. Every

person is eager to know about anything that is apparent to his consciousness;

he asks the questions: "What is this? How does this happen?" The number which

actually succeeds in knowing may be only a few. Others may have the eagerness

only and not the steady intelligence needed to persist and win. That makes no

difference. The essential fact is the thirst, the urge.

Take a little boy with you when you go to the market or the bazaar or an

exhibition. You will note that the boy does not simply move along seeing the

various things on both sides. He will be continuously asking the person who is

leading him by the hand what this is and what that is. It maybe something he

does need or something that is beyond his power of understanding; but yet, the

stream of questions will not get dry.

Just consider the inner significance of this hunger for knowledge. It is the

Chith-sakthi that expresses itself. It is not its nature to leave things alone.

It cannot rest until knowledge is gained; so the hunger emerges as a stream of

questions. The Chith-sakthi is self-luminous; so it has the power of illumining

even inert things. That is why these qualities shine in man and make other

things clearer to him. This is enough to make it plain that man has in him the

principle of intelligence or Chithsakthi.

Now for the third: Anandam. Even beasts and birds crave for joy without any

prompting or persuasion from others. They make every effort to win it. Not one

of them craves for grief or pain; they make every effort to escape from pain

and grief and put an end to them, when they become unavoidable.

As for man, no further elaboration is necessary. He seeks unbroken joy at all

times and in all acts and activities. At no time, at no place, at no stage in

life, does he desire grief. He prays for the joy and happiness of himself and

his kindred through whatever worship he offers, or whatever Bhajan he shares

in, or whatever vows he fulfils or rites he performs, or pilgrimages he

undertakes or gifts he makes for spiritual merit. Why? When the body suffers

from any illness and the doctor prescribes a medicine to cure it and make him

whole, man wants even that to be sweet, soothing and pleasant!

What is at the root of this desire? Man is fundamentally happy-natured,

Sukha-swabhava. Bliss is his very personality. He is not of the nature of the

body he occupies. He is the Atma. Happiness is the nature of the Atma. That is

why no one is surprised when you are happy; they are not inquisitive about your

happiness, for it is something natural to you. Surprise arises only when you

observe something that was not there before. What you see every day does not

arouse your curiosity. It comes only when something unnatural happens or is

observed.

Take this instance. A child is in the cradle. It playfully laughs at either the

jingling of bells or some toy or perhaps some sensation which is pleasant

enough to make it bloom; no one is surprised or worried at all this. No one

loses his peace of mind as a result of this. Now, let the child that was

playing and laughing, start shrieking and weeping - every one within earshot

will run towards the cradle and frantically search the bed and bedclothes to

discover the causes of all this commotion. This is the experience of all who

have something to do with children. No one was worried to find out the reason

why the child was happy; but all sought for the cause when it wept. Why?

Because Ananda or joy is the nature; grief is unnatural, against its inner

composition.

This is not the entire point; there is something more. Let us take another

example from experience. When some friend or kinsman of yours is happy and

affluent, no one takes the trouble to inquire from him why he is so happy; they

ignore him and do not harry him with questions regarding himself. But when grief

strikes him and he is unhappy, you start worrying him and yourselves. Why?

Happiness is natural, it is to be expected, it is nothing surprising. For it is

the nature of the Atma, which every one is. That is why one is craving for

constant happiness, Ananda.

The above three, Sath, Chith and Ananda, we see in every being as the very core

of its very existence, as its reality itself. So it is the Lord Himself who has

assumed the Jiva pose and plays as an individual, in that role. It is this inner

meaning that Krishna elaborates upon, so that the relationship of the Brahmam

and Aadhyathmam, that is to say, the identity of both with him, could be

understood by Arjuna.

Then Arjuna prayed that the third subject, Karma, may be fully explained to him.

Krishna was quite ready to oblige him. He began, "Arjuna! The limitation that is

necessary for the creation, fostering and destruction of beings is what is

called Karma. The moveable and the immoveable, all are beings; why, the very

act of the resolution for creation is Karma, the very first, which still

activates all everywhere - this entire universe and the movements and

agitations and activities in it are the direct consequence of primal Karma, My

Sankalpa. And as long as My resolution lasts, the stream of Karma will flow

along. It can never go dry so long as I do not will it. All that you do is to

get drawn into this flood; why, you are but currents in this rush, or ripples

or waves. My will has prompted all Karma and so Karma done in consonance with

My will, becomes part of Me."

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