Sathya Sai Baba Geetha Vahini - Chapter 22

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Sathya Sai BabaGeetha Vahini

Chapter XXII

Arjuna questioned further, on the basis of Krishna's answers. "You described the

characteristics of the votary of the Saguna aspect of Godhead. You said that

persons with such characteristics are Yogis. I am indeed happy that I came to

know all this. But just as the Saguna votaries have characteristics, the

votaries of the attribute-less Godhead, the Nirguna aspect, they too must have

characteristics by which they can be recognised, is it not? Please tell me

about them; I would like to know."

At this, Nandakumara of lovely form replied, "Arjuna! The votaries of the

Nirguna aspect must acquire full control of their senses. Next, they must be

unaffected by circumstances. Third, they must be of service to others in

distress. Such will be the nature of the Upasakas of Akshara, the

Imperishable."

Readers might therefore infer that the characteristics of the votaries of the

Saguna and the Nirguna or Akshara aspects of Godhead are all identical. Arjuna

was overjoyed at Krishna's reply. He exclaimed, "I have now clearly understood

this point. But I want you to tell me how I ought to proceed, how I must act to

win the Lord's grace", and fell at the feet of Krishna. Narayana lifted Nara

(Arjuna) and said this to him, "Arjuna! You have no need now for acquiring the

characteristics of either of these. They are not within easy reach. I shall

tell you of a path that is easier than these two. That path will surely confer

on you My grace.

"This is that path: Establish your mind and intelligence in Me. If you cannot

accomplish this and find it difficult, give up your egoism and carry on

activities that are moral and holy. If even this is too difficult, give up

attachment to the consequences of all your acts; offer them to Me as

Krishna-arpanam. Offering your acts to Me should not be a mere vocal exercise.

Take care that you do so by word, by deed and by thoughts, Manovaak-karma, as

they say."

"Do you feel that even this is beyond you? Then you will be made aware of the

aftermath." After saying this much, Krishna sat silent for a while.

Take note of this. The aspirant for grace must have before his mind the act and

not its consequence, beneficial or otherwise. That is the reason why Gopala

said that Jnana is superior to Abhyasa, Dhyana is superior to Jnana, and the

giving up of attachment to the consequences of your acts is superior to Dhyana.

Such non-attachment, Krishna said, will confer Santhi.

"Bhakthi and Dwesha are as fire and water; devotion and hate cannot dwell

together. I love those who feel no difference between grief and joy, affection

and dislike, good and bad. If hate, in whatever form, in howsoever slight a

quantity, resides in the heart, that person cannot be a Bhaktha. The Bhaktha

must be convinced that all this is Vasudeva, 'Vasudeva sarvam-idam'. That is to

say, one's own Atma is everywhere in everything; this truth must be realised,

acted upon and experienced. Hating another is hating oneself; scorning is but

scorning oneself; finding fault with another is finding fault with oneself",

Krishna continued.

Readers might be troubled by a doubt on this point. Can the mere absence of

hatred or contempt of another endow one with the full consciousness of the

truth of "Vasudevasarvamidam"? No; the mere absence of hate etc. cannot secure

the "dweller within", and the Ananda of recognising Him. That will not win the

grace of the Lord.

The task of the ryot who cultivates the crop is a good example of this; if you

pay attention to this, the truth will be known and doubts will vanish. Before

sowing the seed on a plot of land, the ryot removes all the wild growth, the

bush, the scrub, the other small growths. But that is not enough for bringing

the harvest home. The plot has to be ploughed and partitioned, watered and made

ready for the sowing; and then the sprouts have to be fostered and guarded into

maturity until the crop ripens and can be collected and garnered in the

granary.

Similarly, the thorny bushes of affection, hate, envy, pride etc. have to be

uprooted from the region of the heart, and the field has to be ploughed by

means of "good deeds". Then the saplings of Ananda have to be planted therein;

the growing crop has to be fostered attentively by discipline and Sraddha; at

last, as a result of all this effort, the harvest of Ananda will fill one's

granary.

The mere removal of hate from the heart will not ensure Ananda. Love too should

be cultivated. That is to say, uproot hate and plant love. If the absence of

hate ensures Bhakthi, hill and anthill, tree and twig, mud and mountain - what

do these hate? They have no dislikes. But for that reason, do we ascribe Bhakti

to them all? We do not, for that would be absurd. The Bhaktha must first be free

from hate and full of love. Besides, his love must express itself as service of

the distressed and the grieving, declared Gopala.

Arjuna was listening to all this with great attention. Then he asked, "Krishna!

Are these three enough? Or are there any more to be followed and practised?

Please tell me." Krishna replied, "The mere planting of the saplings is not

enough; the field has to be watered and manured. The removal of hate and the

planting of love have achieved only the first stage. As soon as the sprouts

have appeared, the two processes of Nirmamakara (absence of possessiveness) and

Nirahamkara (absence of ego) have to be followed. They are like watering and

manuring. These two are essential for the successful crop of Ananda.

"That is to say, you will have to rid yourself of the feelings of 'mine' and

'I'. They are not distinct; the first springs from the second and both arise

from Ajnana, the ignorance of the fundamental truth. For, once rid of Ajnana,

the sense of 'I' and 'mine' will not give trouble; they have no place in him.

Hence, it is laid down that the aspirant for Bhakthi must possess Sathatham

Samthushti, contentment always. What does this mean? It implies contentment

under all conditions, good health or illness, loss or profit, grief or joy.

Whether one's wish is fulfilled or not, the mind should not lose equanimity and

poise."

"The mind loses balance if the slightest obstacle arises in the path it frames

for itself. It is so fickle. Why, if the cup of coffee is not forthcoming in

time, if you miss seeing two films in one week, if you could not squat before

the radio both in the morning and in the evening for long hours; if many such

trifles are denied or disturbed, you feel overshadowed by discontent.

Samthushti is the state of mind which is unaffected by the achievement or

non-achievement of any wish, the happening or non-happening of any event; the

mind must be undisturbed, without excitement or disappointment."

Arjuna then asked, "O Lord, you often mention Prakrithi and Purusha. I am eager

to know what exactly is Prakrithi, what are its characteristics, what exactly

is its nature?" Krishna replied to this question in a simple

easily-understandable manner. "Arjuna! Prakrithi has another name too. It is

called Kshetra also. Prakrithi means this Prapancha, this composite of the five

elements. There are two entities in this Prapancha or Prakrithi or nature: one

is inert and the other active (the Jada and the Chaithanya); that is to say,

one is the seen, the other is the see-er; the knower is the Aham, the known is

the Idam, the 'I' and the 'this'."

"Prakrithi or nature is the sum of attributes or characteristics. The Gunas,

Thamas (delusion), Rajas (grief) and Sathwa (joy) are the attributes of

Prakrithi. Nature is but the permutation and combination of these Gunas. So

also are the attributes of doer and enjoyer, Karthrthwa and Bhokthrthwa."

Arjuna wished to continue his questions. So Krishna said, "My dear

brother-in-law! You are eager to question again?" Seizing the chance, Arjuna

put in his query. "Krishna! You have explained the Prakrithi-thathwa or nature

principle. Now, I wish very much to know what is meant by Purusha, what are Its

characteristics, what is Its nature."

"Arjuna!", Krishna said, "Whether you call it Purusha or Kshethrajna or Jneya,

it is the same. Kshethrajna is the knower of the Kshethra or field. Jneya is

that which is known. Purusha is the Jiva and Prakrithi is the Deha or the body.

The embodied is the Purusha, the person who knows the body. The Deha or body has

also a number of names, each having a significant meaning. It is Sarira, because

it wastes away; Deha, because it is liable to be burnt. The Jiva is that which

activates the body and becomes aware of its limitations."

Arjuna was pestered by doubt at this answer and so he started another series of

questions. "Krishna, how did this wasting and destructible body come to be

called Kshethra or field?" Arjuna was indeed a clever listener. Krishna

answered him with a great deal of patience.

Krishna replied: "It is through this body that merit can be acquired by engaging

in various beneficent activities; the body is the vehicle for earning Jnana or

the universal vision; it is the body that leads you on to liberation itself. It

is the repository of such great achievements and so it is called Kshethra.

Kshethra means an armour, for it protects and guards the Jivi from harm.

Another meaning is 'field', a meaning that is full of significance. Whatever

seeds are sown or saplings planted in the field, the harvest depends on their

nature and quality. The body is the field, the Jivi is the Kshethrapalaka, the

protector of the field and the crop. Sowing the seeds of meritorious deeds, one

reaps joy and happiness. Sowing the seeds of sin, one reaps the harvest of grief

and worry. Sowing the seeds of Jnana, one garners the harvest of Moksha or

liberation from the bondage of birth and death.

"Just as the ryot knows the nature and characteristics of the field, the

Kshethrajna or the Jivi must know the nature and qualities of his body. The

only difference between Kshethra and Kshethra-jna is the syllable 'jna'. It

means Jnana, he who knows, the knower. So he who knows the field or the body,

its excellences and deficiencies, he is the Kshethrajna. That which has no such

knowledge, the inert material thing, that is the Kshethra.

"Krishna!", Arjuna asked, "of what benefit is it to know these two entities:

Kshethra and Kshethrajna?" Krishna laughed. He said, "What a foolish question

to ask? By inquiring and knowing about the nature of the Kshethrajna, one's

grief is destroyed. Knowing about the nature of the Kshethrajna, Ananda or

bliss is acquired. This Ananda is also designated as Moksha."

Krishna then relapsed into silence. But Arjuna who is the representative of all

mankind on the battlefield between the higher and the lower impulses, prodded

Him further. "Krishna! Who are those who experience both these, the destruction

of grief and the attainment of bliss? Is it the Jivi or the Deha? Please

elucidate."

Krishna replied, "Arjuna! The Kshethra or body is associated with the Gunas or

attributes, Thamas, Rajas and Sathwa; so, the Jivi when in contact with it and

when it identifies itself with the body, imagines that it is experiencing grief

and joy which are the consequences of those Gunas. The Purusha or the

Kshethrajna has no real relationship with the Gunas; he is just a witness. When

iron is in contact with fire, then it has the power of scalding; but it is not

iron that scalds, it is the fire. Through contact with Prakrithi, Purusha

appears as the doer and experiencer."

"Therefore, it is not proper to infer that the Jivi is having grief and joy by

the very fact of its occupying the body which is the vehicle of the Gunas. The

earth sustains and helps the seed to grow into a tree or to decline. It is the

Guna of the earth that causes these two. So also, the seed of Jeevathathwam

grows and blossoms into Brahmathathwam in the body, which is the

earth-principle. Just as manure and water are essential for the tree to bloom

and bear fruit, Sathyam, Saantham, Samam and Damam are essential for the

blossoming of the spirit into Atmic wisdom. The attributes or Gunas of

Prakrithi make it assume multifarious forms."

"Think of this one point, then the whole problem will become clear. Man is happy

at one time, miserable at another; he is afraid one moment and courageous at

another. Why? Because he is shaped so by the Gunas. Do you say no? Then how can

you explain these changes? They alone can transform man from one place to

another like this."

"If the three Gunas, Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas are equally balanced, then there

will be no change in him. This never happens; it is always out of balance. When

one is dominant and the others are dormant, then Prakrithi makes him assume many

roles. The three Gunas represent the three aspects of human nature. Rajoguna is

the attachment that brings about desires and creates eagerness to enjoy the

objective world that is 'seen'; it breeds desire for physical and heavenly

pleasure. Thamoguna cannot grasp the reality; so it misunderstands easily and

takes the false to be the true. It lands persons into negligence and error. It

binds, instead of releasing. Sathwaguna controls the cause of grief and sorrow;

encourages people to follow the path of real joy and happiness. Therefore, being

single-pointed and unaffected by any of these three is the basis for purity and

steadfastness."

Have the glass chimney of the lamp clean; its light will shine bright. Have a

glass that is multi-coloured; its light will be dimmed. On the other hand, if

the lamp is kept inside a mud pot, the darkness will continue as it was. The

lamp is the same but the container affects its expression. Sathwaguna is the

lamp that shines clear through the white glass chimney; Rajoguna is the

many-coloured glass chimney that makes the light dim and poor; and Thamoguna is

the mud pot inside which the lamp is totally ineffective.

Sathwaguna is Atmajnana; Rajoguna is sullied to some extent, as smoke sullies

the chimney and dims the light, and it also agitates the flame of the lamp so

that it is not straight and steady; Thamoguna is the suppression of the light

or Jnana that is the very nature of man.

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