SWAMI ANSWERS FOR SPIRITUALISING OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE

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BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA ANSWERS FOR

SPIRITUALISING OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE

CONCEPTS

Q97) Swami! We often hear the word srti. Does this word have any bearing upon

the life of the ordinary man? This srti, is it only for scholars? For us, the

common people, does it have any relevance?

Bhagawan: Srti is divine. Mati, mind, is human, worldly, and conditions your

progress. Srti guides buddhi, intellect, and furnishes it with fundamental

discrimination. Mati functions at the level of the separate individual. In man,

three nitis or principles operate: manavaniti, the human code, rajaniti, the

political code, and daivaniti, the divine code. Man's estate and fortune depend

on the code he follows. For instance, Bhishmacharya taught rajaniti, principles

of kingship, to Dharmaja. On another occasion, following daivaniti, he passed

on to Dharmaja the celebrated Visnusahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu.

But, when he led the war as the Commander‑in‑chief on the side of

the Kauravas, he forgot

the divine sr ti , and lost his fundamental discrimination. He followed his

mati, mind, which is his own individually. Because of this, he had to lie down

on the bed of arrows for so many days.

In contrast, note the role of young Abhimanyu. For that day's fighting in the

Mahabharata war, Drona had designed the military manouvre called Padmavyuha,

the lotus maze. The forces of the enemy were spurring Abhimanyu on to take up

the challenge. Noticing that the heroic Abhimanyu was getting ready to fight,

his mother said, "My son! Your father is not at home now. Your uncle Krishna

too is not here. You know your wife is pregnant. It is in these circumstances

that you are planning to enter the battlefield. Please desist from this!"

Abhimanyu's response reflects his adherence to rajaniti: "How come, mother,

that you din into my ears words of cowardice? When

the enemy challenges you to fight, is it consistent with rajaniti to say, `no'?

Does it accord with the dharma of a Kshatriya warrior? What an insult it would

be to my father, the greatest of heroes, Arjuna! Won't he hang his head down in

shame? O Mother! Bless me to return victorious, routing the enemies like the

young lion leaping on to the elephant in must!" This indeed, is rajaniti. In

this manner, manavaniti takes the cue from the mati, mind, of an individual

even as sr ti , being divine, stimulates the intellect into fundamental 

discrimination. Thus, Abhimanyu, who behaved the way he did, died heroically.

Similarly, in life the good meets with only the good. Evil necessarily

encounters only evil. This law never failed.

 Q98) Swami! We hear about pancak o s as the five sheaths, panca pran as, the

five vital airs, and pancendriyas, the five organs. Do they cover our spirit,

Atma? Are they obstacles to atmic bliss? What exactly is their position and

role in our body?

Bhagawan: The whole world is made of five elements: Earth, fire, water, air and

space are the five elements. Man is the product of these five elements, besides

his temperament. Raga attachment, dvesa, hatred, and bhaya, fear, originate in

akas'a, space. Our breathing process, movements like walking or other body

movements are due to vayu, wind. Hunger, thirst, sleep are the effects of agni,

fire. Phlegm, blood, bile, urine, etc., are the outcome of jala, water. Skin,

muscles, bones, nails, hairs, nerves are of prthvi, matter. Therefore, all the

five elements are equally distributed in everyone. Then you don't find any

differences among people. No one can be considered superior to any other.

The human body has five sheaths, `Pancakos'as'. The first one is annamaya kos'a,

the sheath of food, the second is pran amaya kos'a, the sheath of life, and the

third is manomaya kos'a, the sheath of mind. The fourth is vijnanamaya kos'a,

the sheath of knowledge and finally anandamaya kos'a, the sheath of bliss. One

sheath encloses the other. You know rice grains. They are enclosed within

husks. Therefore, a rice grain is within the sheath of husk. For the tamarind

seed tamarind pulp is the sheath. An embryo is within the sheath of its

mother's womb. Annamaya kos'a is a sheath which covers pran amaya kos’a. This

encloses manomaya kos’ a sheath of the mind. This covers vijñanamaya kos’a,

sheath of wisdom, which encloses anandamaya kos’a, the sheath of

bliss.

Annamaya kos'a is the product of food. The body is annamaya kos'a. You have all

the behavioural tendencies that result from the food you eat. Then, you have

pran amaya kos' a composed of the five organs of action, the karmendriyas and

five life breaths panca pran as (pran a, apana, vyana , udana, samana ).

Then comes mano maya kos’a, mental sheath consisting of five organs of

perception, jnanendriyas, and the mind full of thoughts and

counter‑thoughts sankalpa‑vikalpa. The fourth is vijnanamaya kos'a,

the sheath of knowledge, of sound, touch, form, taste and smell (s'abda, rupa,

spars'a , rasa and gandha) which constitutes the Buddhi, intellect.

The innermost sheath is anandamaya kos'a. In order to enable yourself to

experience this state of bliss, you will have to practice all that you

theoretically know and do what you are supposed to. Likewise, you should

understand the principle of samatva, equality, and ekatva, unity, and daivatva,

experience divinity. This leads you to a state when you will not hate anyone `

advesta sarva bh utanam'.

Everyone has an equal right to know and experience the atma, self. To attain

such an awareness, self-enquiry atmavicara is very necessary. However, an

intense and deep desire is essential to know and experience atma. Just like a

seed within a fruit, as a copper wire within a plastic covering, butter in

milk, sugar in the sugarcane and oil within til, sesame seeds and fire in wood,

atma is encased within pancakos'as , pancendriyas and panca pranas.

Q99) Swami! We come across words like manas, mind, buddhi, intellect, citta,

consciousness, and aham kara, egoism. How are we to understand and correlate

them? How do they differ from one another? It is our good fortune that Swami

explains in simple terms ever so complex.

Bhagawan: Here is an illustration. Consider a Brahmin. When he conducts

ceremonies like weddings, you call him purohit, priest; when he reads out from

the almanac at your home the tithi, lunar phase, the varam day of the week,

naksatra, star, etc; you call him the pancanga Brahmin; when he prepares food

in your home, you call him the brahmin cook.

Another illustration. Your wife addresses you in Telugu as e mandi, "Oh, you!

Please, Sir!" because, addressing the husband by name is not considered proper.

Your child calls you `Father' and your student addresses you as 'Sir': But, you

are, after all, only one individual, aren't you! One and the same faculty has

different names: manas or mind when engaged in thinking, citta or awareness in

a state of equanimity devoid of plans or decisions; buddhi or intellect while

exercising discrimination; and aham kara or egoism when introducing oneself or

referring to oneself as `I' . All these are one, but named differently

according to their function.

What is to be controlled is the mind. When you have that nigraham, control, you

obtain God's anugraham, grace. Once you consider something as evil, do not

allow it to enter the mind. The behaviour of trees and animals is regulated by

prakrti, Nature. Only man is disobeying the commands of God and has become

depraved. There is only one solution.

Another little illustration. Tie up kamadhenu, the wish ‑ fulfilling cow,

of your body with the pas'a, rope of prema, love, to the post called amna,

chanting the name of the Lord. That is enough. You gain control over the mind.

Then, on the citta, awareness, devoid of the turmoil of thoughts, is imprinted

the form of God. Buddhi undertakes fundamental discrimination; the `I' which

has been egoistic cognises its own true nature as atma and realises the

innermost Self in all beings. This is adhyatmika , spirituality.

Q100) Swami! You stress citta suddhi, purification of our heart, but how is one to accomplish it?

Bhagawan: You are mistaken here. Citta, heart is always pure. So, where is the

need for its suddhi, purification? You only pollute it.

Take for example this kerchief. This is white in colour. It becomes dirty as I

use it. I give it to a washerman to wash it and bring it back. When he brings

it, it looks white and bright as before. It was so before and it is so after a

wash, but it was dirty in between due to use. The washerman did not paint the

kerchief white. He only removed the dirt. So too like a kerchief, your mind is

also pure which becomes impure due to your desires and thoughts. Once you

remove the impurities from the mind, it will become pure. So citta suddhi means

exercising control over desires.

Q101) Swami! Now it is clear that citta suddhi is lacking in us due to our bad

thoughts and bad deeds. We have certain weaknesses, lapses, bad qualities and

thoughts. As you have said unless we get over them, citta suddhi cannot be

attained. The mind gets polluted very often. How is one to control bad

qualities?

Bhagawan: It all depends upon your determination and your understanding of the

intensity and the gravity of the problem. It needs an honest and sincere

attempt on your part.

A small example. You are moving freely without any hesitation and fear in this

room. There lies a rope in one corner. But, if you come to know that it is not

a rope as you have been thinking it to be, but a snake, would you move freely

in that room any longer? You know that it is dangerous to be anywhere near a

poisonous snake. You know that you will die if that snake bites you, and so you

keep off from that place. Similarly, when you are aware of the danger or harm

you will be put to, you will definitely stop your misdeeds.

You keep on holding the rope until you come to know that it is not a rope but a

snake. You drop it down immediately because of the fear of death. So long as

you think that these bad thoughts and evil deeds make you happy, you continue

to be in the same frame of mind. But, when you know that they are dangerous,

you will not hanker after them. Therefore, first of all, you must identify your

own bad qualities and then give them up gradually one after another until you

are perfect.

It is also strange to notice that some seekers undergo rigorous discipline for a

set period of time during which they lead a perfect life without any trace of a

bad quality. But after that avowed period of discipline they resume their

previous bad habits with redoubled vigour. This is a big mistake. That which

holds you for some time is artificial. Here withdrawal from bad habits is not

due to the realisation of the evil effects.

Here is an example. You see the ceiling fan rotating there. Now, if you switch

it off it will not stop rotating immediately. It stops slowly. The three blades

slowly stop moving. The fan does not stop rotating immediately. Therefore, in

full knowledge of the possible harm and the evil effects, you should give up

your bad habits slowly.

Q102) Swami! Pranayama, breath control, some say, is important on the spiritual

path. Would you please tell us about it?

Bhagawan: Pranayama, breath control, has to be undertaken in an exact and

perfect way under the care and guidance of a Guru. It leads to danger if it is

done imperfectly and irregularly.

There are chiefly three steps in Pranayama or breathing exercise. The first one

is purakam, inhalation. The second is holding the breath or the air breathed

in. This is called kumbhakam, retention. The third stage is exhalation or

recakam. The important, point here is that, the time taken during all these

three stages must be equal. It means that the time taken for purakam must be

the same as for kumbhakam. Similarly, the time taken for kumbhakam must be the

same as for recakam.

In the human body there are shadcakras, six life sustaining points on the

vertebral column. The lowest is called muladhara cakra, fundamental, primordial

life sustaining point at the bottom. In pranayama, during the second step,

kumbhakam, holding the breath, kundalini starts moving upward being restless

due to the lack of supply of air across the sadcakras. On the top lies

sahasrara cakra, head region. There exists a jyoti, divine light surrounded by

dalas, petals. The sahasrara cakra is like a thousand petalled lotus flower.

The petals touch the central jyoti when one has asura sampatti, demonic

qualities. If one has daivi sampatti, divine qualities the jyoti starts

touching the petals. Thus, kundalini affects the human body during

this course of sadhana. A living being taking many breaths per day is short

lived. A dog takes many breaths. So, its life span is short. Snakes and

mongooses take a few breaths per day. They live long. The breathing exercise

has an influence on the life span.

Q103) Swami! It is said that we carry with us certain traits, vasanas of the

past life. Is that true and how does it happen?

Bhagawan: Certainly so! Just as in accounts the balance is brought forward from

the previous page to the next page, the traits of the previous life are brought

forward to the present.

When you light an incense stick or an agarbatti or camphor, don't you get the

fragrance all over this room? When you have a fragrant flower, does it not

spread its fragrance? Similarly, bad odour or foul smell also spreads. So also,

the characteristics of the past lives are brought forward to subsequent lives.

Q104) Bhagawan! How is it that we have vasanas, traits of the past life? We are

born, we grow and die. The body is bound to weaken, wither, die and decay. How

then are our features brought forward to the next life?

Bhagawan: It is certain that the features of the past life are carried to the

next life. You can call them vasanas or samskaras or the qualities of the past

life. People with good samskaras will spend their time in a sacred way by

participating in satsang, good company, bhajan, singing His glory, entertaining

sadalocana, good thoughts, and satkarma, good deeds, and good discussion. On the

other hand, people with bad samskaras make their lifetime unholy by indulging in

duskarma, misdeeds, entertaining durbhavana, bad thoughts and asatya, speaking

falsehood. As you have said, it is true that the body weakens, withers, dies

and decays, but the samskaras don’t die. They follow you

to the next life.

A simple illustration will make this subject clearer to you. Suppose your hand

was injured. You got it treated, and for some time you put a bandage also over

and around the injured part. The hand was healed completely after some time.

But in that part of your hand where the injury took place, a scar or a mark is

left, and it remains till now as well. Similarly, the body may die. But the

vasanas remain as a spot in the next life.

Q105) Swami! Three Gunas or attributes such as rajas, Tamas and Sattva are said

to bind man. Does a sattvika quality also bind man? Is that also a bondage?

Bhagawan: These three attributes only bind man. Your life is conditioned by

them. All your deeds and expressions are governed by them. They monitor your

conduct and behaviour. Even sattvika qualities also chain you.

For example, you are confined with an iron chain. Is that not bondage? You may

be confined with a silver chain. It is also bondage. It may be now a gold chain

this time that binds you. Is it not bondage? After all, the three chains differ

only in the composition of the metal. After all, each is a chain and nothing

more though its value may differ from that of the other. Thus, the attributes

bind or limit you.

Here the iron chain is compared to that of 'Tamas’, dullness or inertia. The

silver chain is like the ` rajasika ' quality, active, energetic, passionate,

and the gold chain is like the ` sattvika ' nature, pure, steady; good. But

divinity is beyond these three `Gunas'. It is, in fact, attributeless.

Q106) Swami! We have many qualities ‑ tamasika, rajasika and sduvika Do

they change at any time? How are we to ennoble ourselves? Sometimes these

attributes may be responsible for conflicts with our colleagues in the office.

What is to be done under these circumstances? Kindly give us a solution to this

problem that we encounter everyday?

Bhagawan: The whole world revolves round these three attributes ‑

tamasika, rajasika and sattvika. Every individual has these three attributes

working like the three blades of a fan. But in a person, the quality which

dominates the other two decides his nature, his total personality, nay, his

very destiny as a whole.

He is a pious man whose sattvika quality dominates his rajasika and tamasika

qualities. He is an emotional, passionate, active man if his rajasika quality

dominates his sattvika and tamasika qualities. He is a dull, inactive and

passive man if he is dominated by the tamasika nature. Thus, everyone has these

three attributes.

For instance, in an eyeball don't you see all the three colours, white, red, and

black. They symbolise these trigunas or traits. Watch the sunrise. You will

notice three colours red, white and black indicating trigunas or the three

attributes. However, you should note one important point. Gunas have no

independent existence. Divinity makes them functional. But the gunas are not to

be found in the divine as God is gunatita, beyond attributes.

 Gunas are transformable. For instance, you can get over tamasika quality by

karma, action. Karma transforms tamasika quality into rajasika activity.

Rajasika nature is dual. It may give you success or failure, profit or loss,

praise or blame, etc. Man has to perform karma. In fact there is no one who

does not take any action. You may lie on a bed sleeping, yet your heart beats,

blood circulates and the nervous system and pulmonary system work. Don't they?

Does it not amount to action?

By doing selfless actions, offering all the fruits of action to God, serving God

in everyone and by realising indwelling divinity, one can develop anubhavajnana,

practical wisdom or experience based wisdom. At that stage, a rajasika person

becomes a sattvika person. Therefore, karma is important karmanubandhini manus

yaloke , human society is bound by action. Your very life is gifted to do

karma. Thus, janma, birth and karma, actions are inter‑related. In fact,

one should salute respectfully the action he does. Tasmai namah karman e, my

salutations to the action given or assigned to me. Therefore, a tamasika nature

can be converted into rajasika by volitional action, which can be further

transformed into sattvika by bhakti, and jnana, devotion and awareness.

This is sadhana or spiritual practice.

By atmavicara, self‑ enquiry you can improve and change your nature. When

any lower or animal qualities like wavering of the mind, excessive sleep,

gluttony, crop up immediately say to yourself at least ten times. "I am a man,

I am not an animal." Then, you will be able to get over them. Do your duty

sincerely. Don't be pompous. Don't show off nor do any stunt. Always be sure

that God notices everything that you do, though others may not. Do your duty

with love.

"Duty with love is Desirable.Duty without love is Deplorable, Love without duty is Divine."

If you offer all your work and the fruits thereof to God, your work will be

transformed into worship.

You may not agree with your colleagues in your office. Your temperament may be

incompatible with theirs, sometimes leading to controversies and in-­fights and

you may, as a result, lose your peace of mind. So, don't have too close a

relationship with too many people. Say "hello, hello" to everyone, `how are

you' to all those you meet and end with `goodbye'. That's all and nothing more.

Today, there is no real social service. Everything is either slow service or

show‑service. You should have a feeling that what you do is not for

anybody but for your own satisfaction and happiness. Whatever you do, do it for

the satisfaction of your conscience. You shouldn't do anything for praise or

appreciation by others. Your conscience is God. Know that character is most

important and you should never compromise on this score. What is always

necessary for success in life is co‑operation. But nowadays, we find only

operation.

By joining good company satsang, listening to the teachings of great masters and

seers and above all with God's grace, you can change your attitudes and

mentality. By Buddha's teaching the cruel Angulimala and by Narada's

instructions Ratnakara (who became sage Valmiki later) were transformed.

Visvamitra who was a Rajarshi, a sage among kings became a Brahmarshi, a sage

ever immersed in Brahman by the direction of Vasishtha. Visvamitra thus became

the mitra, friend of the visva, universe.

Arjuna, on one occasion dropped his bow and arrows in the battlefield. He became

tamasika (dull. passive, weak) and even reluctant to engage in a war for which

he stood in the battle‑field. He forgot all the vows he had taken and the

atrocities the Kauravas committed. It was at that time that Krishna induced

rajasika quality into Arjuna's mind preparing him for the war of Kurukshetra

with renewed zeal.

Emperor Janaka who became a rajarshi due to the teachings of Sage Yajnavalkya

renounced everything and became a perfect jnani, one known for spiritual

wisdom.

Therefore, by intense sadhana, tamas can be converted into rajas, and rajas into

sattva. In so doing an aspirant, becomes a recipient of God's grace and

ultimately a seeker of nirvana (liberation).

Q107) Swami! We hear of purusarthas, the four goals of life. How are we to achieve them?

Bhagawan: I tell my students quite often about the four `F's'. The first `F' is

`Follow the master'. Dharma, righteousness, is your master. Follow dharma at

all times. All your actions must be approved by dharma, the ideal norms of

life. If you hold on to dharma throughout, the very same dharma will protect

you, dharmo raks ati raks itah.  Manava, being human, should follow the dharma

of a human being, manavadharma, and never that of a demon danavadharma.

The second `F' is `Face the devil'. What is the devil here? While dharma is the

master, artha, wealth or money, is the devil. Most people struggle a lot for

money. They resort to all sorts of tactics, do unrighteous unjustified and

wrong deeds only for money. You think that the world goes by money,

dhanamulamidam jagat. No, the world relies on dharma, dharmamulamidam jagat.

One should earn money righteously and not unrighteously.

The third `F' is `Fight to the end'. What is the enemy you should fight till the

end? It is kama, desire. Until the last desire too vanishes, you should continue

to fight.

Once Sage Dakshinamurthy happened to walk along the shore of a sea. He noticed

the rising waves pushing a small blade of grass, towards the shore. He felt

bad. After all, it was a tiny grass blade and the mighty sea sent forth its

mounting waves to push it away on to the shore. "How arrogant is the sea not to

tolerate even a grass blade!" thought the sage within himself. Then the Sea God,

Samudra, appeared before the sage with folded hands and said very humbly, "Oh!

Great sage! I am not at fault: Do not blame me and call me arrogant. I am not

arrogant. I cannot afford to have a single, simple blemish. I do not want a

blemish, not even a blade of grass in me. So my waves pushed it away to the

shore and not out of any hatred or enmity". This is what `fight to the end'

means.

Then the fourth `F' is `Finish the game'. What is the game? It is the game of

life. When does the game of life finish? It finishes with the attainment of

moksha. So moksha is the final goal of the four objectives of life.

Here you should remember one important point. Of the four purusarthas, dharma is

`Follow the master',

artha is ‘Face the devil’, kama is `Fight to the end' and moksha is `Finish the

game'. The first one is dharma and the fourth is moksha, with the second artha

and the third kama in between. It implies that artha should be earned with

dharma: Then kama should be used only to attain the fourth goal of life

moksha.. So, the four `F's' stand for these purusarthas of life. But now, I

tell you there is another purusartha, the fifth one which is the supreme goal

of life. That is `Love'

Love is God,God is Love, hence, Live in Love.

There is nothing that you cannot achieve without love.

Q108) Swami! What is it that we should have in order to deserve your prapti?

Bhagawan: Your interest is the most important thing. With this you can achieve

anything in life. When you have trust in a particular matter or a subject or a

person, you are said to have interest in that matter or that subject or that

person. Since you have immense interest in Swami, you run fast and occupy the

front rows close to my feet. Isn't it so? During the morning time, in silence

you wait anxiously for Swami, and that is why even the slightest sounds such as

the sound of closing the door of Swami's car makes you think and alerts you that

Swami is coming towards you. Whosoever comes to the scene at that time is

expected to convey some message of Swami's arrival. What is the reason? This is

all due to your interest in Swami. If you have no interest in Swami, you don't

notice His presence even if

He stands in front of you.

Q109) Swami! What is illusion, Maya? Kindly explain.

Bhagawan: There is no illusion whatsoever. What exists is only Brahman, the

cosmic soul. The so‑called illusion or Maya is only your imagination.

There is only Brahman. Nothing more! The body attachment is illusion, Maya or

Brahma.

A simple example. Here is a huge tree under which you see its shadow, don't you?

The branches and the leaves are the cause of the shade. As the sunlight falls on

the tree you see the shade beneath the tree. Here you have to know one important

point. There is nothing like shade above the tree or on the top of the tree. It

means there is no shade in sunlight. Why is it so? The branches and the leaves

of the tree are responsible for the shade below. Sunlight is Brahman, tree is

life and the branches and leaves are attachments and desires. They are

responsible for the shade of Maya or illusion. Shade is out of question when

there are no leaves and branches. So, there is no illusion or Maya as such. It

is the fallacy of your imagination.

Q110) Swami! How are we to get over Maya or illusion?

Bhagawan: There is no Maya. It is your own creation. How is it then you want to

get over that, which does not exist at all?

In the night time, seeing a rope, you mistake it for a serpent and you are very

much fear‑stricken. Later on, enquiry reveals that it is only a rope and

not a serpent. What you should know here are two points. Neither the snake

disappears nor does the rope come especially to give you relief. All along, it

has been a rope only. You are the only one who is mistaken by taking a rope for

a serpent. So also, the reality is Brahman or Atma and the rest is Brahma, or

illusion or imagination.

Q111) Swami! It is often said and felt that none escapes Maya or illusion.

Everyone falls a victim to the influence of Maya. So, man is prone to delusion.

Then Swami, a person who has known what Maya is and has been out of Maya, how is

it that he gets into the trap again?

Bhagawan: Think of this situation. When it is dark what happens to light? Where

does it go? Similarly, when there is light, where does the darkness that was

present till the light came, go? Absence of light is darkness. Darkness does

not flow or run away. Because of the light, it is not noticed. Once the light

is put off, it will be dark as before. Here light is wisdom, darkness is

ignorance or Maya or delusion or avidya. To dispel the darkness the only thing

to do is light a candle.

Your question is, how the darkness of ignorance comes back again having been

dispelled once already by the light of wisdom. A simple example. Many travel by

bus. As the bus speeds forward along the rugged roads, we find the dust rising

behind the bus so long as it is on a continuous run. But, the moment the bus

stops the whole lot of dust collects inside. All of it just blows into the bus.

Similarly, human life is a bus. So long as it is on the move of Sadhana, the

dust of illusion stays behind. But, if the bus of life stops or halts Sadhana,

the dust of delusion will get into life. So, it is Sadhana that keeps you

unaffected by delusion. If you stop Sadhana you will again become a victim of

Maya. Therefore, you can never take it for granted that you are rid of Maya in

your lifetime. It is your constant

Sadhana that helps you.

Q112) Swami! Illusion is a non‑atmic feeling or worldly approach. To

identify myself with that which I am not is illusion. Truly ­speaking, the "I"

we often speak of is in reality only Atma. Nothing else. How is one to know

this truth, to recognise and experience this truth? Kindly tell us about this

Swami!

Bhagawan: Actually, `I' is only Atma or Brahman. A sincere attempt to know this

truth is called `enquiry'. Self‑enquiry is most essential in the

spiritual path. Puja, namasmarana , dhyana, tapas, yajna, yaga, and such

rituals are not truly spiritual. They are good activities to attain purity of

heart. True spirituality indeed, is self‑enquiry. I do not mean that you

should give up all rituals and sacred actions. Self‑enquiry is the most

important in my view. Since you do not have people properly experienced in this

field of knowledge to teach you, you find it tough and difficult to move in the

right direction.

If this question, "Who are you?" is put to a group of people you get different

answers. One says in reply, "I am an Indian". This is not correct, because you

may shift to America and then you become an American. If you go to Russia, you

are a Russian and so on. India is the country where you are born. But you are

not the country. So to say, "I am an Indian" is wrong. To the same question

"Who or you"? Another would say, "I am an engineer". This is

not correct, because you are an engineer by virtue of your profession. You are

not the profession you are in. Some answer in a different way, saying, "I am so

and so ...I am Ram, I am Syam." It is a name given to you by your parents. You

are not born with that name nor did you come to this world with a signboard on

your forehead. You are not the name as you may change it according to your

taste at any time.

One may prefer to answer the question "Who are you?" in another way saying, "I

am a young man", "I am an aged person'.”I am a boy" and so on. This is also

wrong. Why? Boyhood, youth, and old age are the different stages that you pass

through in your life. But you remain one and the same person all along. At one

time, you were a boy. Then, a man. Later a father and finally a grandfather.

But you have been the same person throughout. Then, how can you identify

yourself with your age which does not remain the same? Another person may feel

like saying," I am a tall person", "I am a handsome man", "I am a lean man".

These are again the replies related to the nature of the body. This is not

correct, you are not the body, which is merely an instrument, because while you

are in deep sleep your body is passive and static, and you are not aware of its

existence. You are not the mind also.

If you think you are the mind you lead the life of ego and pride. Even the mind

does not exist in susupti, deep sleep. You are not the intellect either. You

may be intelligent but you are not the intellect. Intellect is God's gift for

you to discriminate, judge, decide and thus to be discreet. But, when it turns

selfish, it is called "individual discrimination". But, what is expected is

"fundamental discrimination", which is universal, and is good to everybody. You

will also know that Buddhi, intellect, does not exist in deep sleep. So,

definitely you are not the intellect which is only an instrument like the body

and the mind.

So, what is the correct answer to this question, "Who are you"? It is "I am

Atma". This Atma is the eternal witness and is the experiencer of all. This

exists in all the three states of consciousness, jagrata ‑ waking state,

svapna, dreaming state, and susupti, deep sleep. You may be named in any way,

you may belong to any country, you may be of any age group or profession, etc.,

but as a matter of fact, you are the `Eternal Atma' only. This is the correct

answer you get in the path of self‑enquiry. This is true spirituality.

Q113) Swami! What is Vedanta?

Bhagawan: The Veda is dualism. Vedanta is nondualism. There is nothing beyond

Vedanta. Milk on curdling becomes curds. You get butter when you churn curds.

When you heat butter, you get ghee. Ghee is the final stage of milk. Even if

you heat further it remains the same. So, milk after passing through changes

becomes ghee. Milk represents dualism and ghee represents non‑dualism.

Q114) Swami, do you view that the three schools of Vedanta philosophy like

dualism, dvaita, qualified non‑dualism visistadvaita and

non‑dualism advaita as contradictory to one another? Does one school

advocate just the opposite of what the other says?

Bhagawan: This is how it is usually understood and practiced by many. But, truly

speaking it is not so. In fact; these three are integrated. You find one as

being the continuation of the other. You will notice that one leads to the

other.

Take for example, sugarcane. You find juice in the sugarcane. Here, there is

pulp and juice. This is the state of dualism. Now, you can extract juice

separating the pulp from the sugarcane. The juice, though very important and

the very essence drawn out of the sugarcane, does not stay long or cannot be

preserved for long. This state of obtaining the juice, separating the pulp from

the sugarcane is the state of qualified non‑dualism. This juice is

purified, refined and processed into sugar and sugar remains the same forever.

This is the state of non‑dualism. You can make use of sugar in anyway you

like.

Q115) Swami! One cannot escape from the effects of fate or destiny. Things are

pre‑ordained, and accordingly events happen in our life. This being

inevitable, we suffer and face difficulties. Would you please tell us the way

out of this?

Bhagawan: Everything in life is nothing but a reflection of your own thought and

deed of your earlier life or lives. You pretend happily to think that none can

notice you. But God within you knows full well all your thoughts, feelings and

deeds. God is everywhere. You cannot hide anything from Him. One day or other

you must face the consequences of your actions. This is the supreme truth.

You think and blame someone else, holding him responsible for your troubles .You

are thoroughly mistaken here. Your actions are responsible for both the good and

the bad you experience in this life. God is an eternal witness of all human

activities. He created this world and gave it to man for his enjoyment, but on

one condition that he must face the consequences of his own actions. God is

like a postman. He is least bothered about the contents of the letters that he

hands over to people. It is all a matter of relationship that exists between

you and the one who writes you a letter. God is not concerned in any other way

about the matter. Well, you receive a wedding card, you don't pay complements

to the postman, do you? If you receive a threatening letter from someone, you

don't blame the postman either. The postman is merely an instrument in

the process of delivering letters. But prayer does help you to withstand

tensions and problems with courage. Intense prayer, deep devotion, strong

faith, sincere repentance, constant yearning and supreme love for God can alter

the sequence of events in life. They can make even God reverse His own will.

Take for example, the life of Markandeya. Fate granted him only sixteen years

of life. But his devotion to Lord Siva was so intense that He made him

immortal. God had to review and revise His own master plan in response to the

prayers of Markandeya.

Take another example. There is a prisoner punished according to the laws of the

penal code. During the period of imprisonment, if the character and conduct of

the prisoner are found to be good and if he follows all the rules, regulations,

and code of discipline imposed by the jail authorities, there is scope for the

reduction of his jail term. There is another point you should note. Suppose the

appeal of a person in a criminal case is lost in all the courts from the

district level to the High Court even the Supreme Court, and when punishment

like death sentence or life imprisonment becomes imminent and inevitable, the

President of India can still order his release from jail on grounds of mercy

and for special reasons. Similarly, though you are bound to suffer and destined

to face difficulties as a result of your past actions, God in response

to your sincere prayer and repentance will change the course of your life and

save you from your suffering. God confers special grace on you being pleased

with your single‑minded devotion to Him.

Q116) Swami! Bhagavad Gita wants us to give up the fruits of our actions,

karmaphalaparityaga, both good and bad. Since we do good rarely, there is very

little or none to offer you as the fruits of our good actions. We feel that it

is not proper to offer evil or bad to you. What is to be done?

Bhagawan: You have to surrender both good and bad to God. Never get yourself

attached to the results of your actions, be they good or bad. God is beyond

these two opposites as He is non‑dual. Any water, pure or impure when

mixed with Ganga, you will notice, does not affect the sanctity of Ganga. The

sanctity never diminishes. Similarly, whatever you put into the fire gets

burnt. The fire is in no way affected or polluted by those things that are put

into it. Hence, if you offer both good and bad to God, ultimately you will be

benefited.

A small example. Suppose you have a five hundred rupee currency note in your

pocket, and you need to go out on some business and return later. You will be

very careful to see that you do not lose it. You keep your hand on the pocket

if you go to a cafeteria for a cup of coffee so that no one will pick your

pocket. Even in a theatre, you will be vigilant. But on the other hand, if you

deposit that money in the bank, it will be credited to your account and it will

be safe. Then, you don't need to bother about it further. So also, if you

surrender all the good you have done to God without attaching any value to the

results, what happens is that you will be humble and simple. Here you do not

take the credit. You thank God. You are full of thankfulness and gratitude to

God. But if you own and claim the results of all your good and meritorious

deeds, you will feel that you are the doer, so much so you will become proud and

egoistic. Hence, you should surrender the reward of your good actions to God.

Then how about the evil or bad to be offered to God? You may feel that it is not

proper to do so. Yet, you will notice that it will help you finally. A small

example for you in this matter. Suppose you have with you a spoiled, dirty and

half‑torn five hundred rupee note. You don't throw it away as it is a

valuable currency note. But you have not been able to use it. No one will

accept that note. You are not in a position to buy anything. So, you can

neither throw it away nor use it. But, if you deposit the very same currency

note in the Reserve Bank, they accept it and give you a brand new note. One

thing is very necessary. The number on the currency note should be very clear

for them to accept and give you a good note. Similarly, the currency note of

your deeds and consequences of your bad action, if offered to God, He will see

the

`number' of `devotion' on the note and give you in turn the good note or

transform you. God is the Reserve Bank. Only God can receive your evil

tendencies and misdeeds and transform them into good ones and give them back to

you. Hence, both good and bad must be offered to God for your own ultimate

benefit.

Q117) Swami! All the experiences, which are dual, are obtained due to our mind.

Swami says `Mind is a mad monkey.' Pleasure and pain are both due to our mind.

How are we to kill the mind (manonasanam), annihilate it?

Bhagawan: The mind never makes you suffer; it all depends upon the way you use

it. It is everywhere. It takes the form of that into which it gets. It is

deathless. So, it is said that the mind is the world, manomulamidam jagat.

Therefore, annihilation of the mind, manonas'anam is not correct. What you

should desire is the merger of the mind with the divine, manolaya .

Just as the river merges in the mighty ocean, the mind should also merge in the

Self . The mind surrendered to God becomes Ramadas, servant of Rama. But the

mind full of desires is a slave to the organs, kamadas.

The mind should not be allowed to be lured by what we call in Telugu balimi,

strength, kalimi, wealth and celimi, friendship. It should be filled with

divine thoughts so that it may become one with God.

Q118) Swami! Are there any who attained tadatmya with God? We hear that total

identification with God is the highest step in spirituality.

Bhagawan: Yes. There are many who experienced that state of total identification

with God. In fact, a devotee should aim at it. There was a Westerner by name,

Hen, who was very intelligent. The famous scientist, Darwin, was his guru. He

started seeing his guru by contemplating on him continuously. Darwin

concentrated his vision on a star and experienced certain vibrations. His

student also reached that state.

You also must have heard of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. At one time, while

worshipping Lord Sri Rama, he considered himself Hanuman. It is reported that

he developed a short tail during that time.

You also find another illustration in the great epic Ramayana. Bharata wanted

Rama to come back to Ayodhya and rule the kingdom. He pleaded with him

repeatedly. But, Rama refused to return, since he had decided and vowed to

follow the command of his father and follow dharma in toto. Bharata left the

place, after Rama promised that he would return immediately after the period of

exile. The period was almost over and Bharata was expecting Rama to return at

the appointed hour. Unable to bear the anguish at seeing no sign of Rama's

arrival, Bharata got ready a funeral pyre and was prepared to jump into it

ready for self‑immolation. In the meantime, Rama had sent Hanuman in

advance with a message to Bharata in order to avert this situation and to

inform Bharata of his arrival as he had promised before. Hanuman immediately

dashed off

to Nandigrama where Bharata was staying. As Hanuman was just landing, he noticed

the scene there. Bharata was circumambulating the pyre into which he was about

to jump and burn himself. Hanuman thought, "How is it that Rama is here? Why is

Rama circumambulating the pyre?" Evidently, it means that Bharata looked exactly

like Rama due to his constant meditation on him. This left even Hanuman

confused. This is the meaning of what the Veda says, "Brahmavid brahmaiva

bhavati" Constant awareness of Brahman makes you Brahman.

Towards the end of the Ramayana, after he had killed Ravana, Rama was returning

to Ayodhya along with his consort Sita and Lakshmana in a chariot. Bharata

himself was driving the chariot. As the chariot  was approaching the outskirts

of Ayodhya, the inhabitants were eager to receive Rama, Sita and Lakshmana with

garlands. Here again, the people were confused since Bharata, holding the reins

of the chariot, looked exactly like Rama. When the people were about to garland

Bharata mistaking him for Lord Rama, Bharata had to silently and softly point

out to Rama with his folded hands as to who should be garlanded. This is again

an instance of total identification, tadatmya .

Here is another example. You must have heard of Swami Samartha Ramadas, the

preceptor of emperor Sivaji. Like Bharata, Swami Samartha Ramadas also looked

for some time exactly like Lord Rama in his form as well as in his manner of

walking with the bow and arrow on his shoulders. People, watching this, were

amazed, and one of them asked him, "Swami! If you are really Lord Rama, can you

shoot the bird sitting over there on a branch located on the top of that distant

tree?" Ramadas killed the bird with an arrow. It fell on the ground. Someone

said then, "Swami! You have killed the bird for no reason. It did no harm to

you. Rama, known for compassion, never kills anyone without a valid reason. Can

you revive it now?" Then, the Swami collected the dead bird with both his hands

and lifted it. He prayed for its life. Lo and behold! The wings started

to flutter. The bird moved slowly and finally flew away. All present there

joined in a chorus shouting in praise of the Swami, "Jai! Samartha Ramadas Ki

Jai," Our praises to Swami Samartha Ramadas! This is an instance of total

identification with God.

Q119) Swami! You are referring to anubhavajnanam, practical knowledge. We think

we know many things. Is this not wisdom?

Bhagawan: Certainly not! The pity is that you do not realise that you do not

know. You know very little and what you know is at best negligible. But you

think you know everything. What you study is very little and it is a big

mistake if you think that you know everything. It is foolish too. There is a

lot to be known. What you know is but a fragment, and it is not total

knowledge.

Now, look! What is this? This, as you see, is a handkerchief. (At this point,

Swami, kept the handkerchief in his grip and held it in such a way that only a

bit could be seen outside his fist.) Now, what is this? This is only a piece of

cloth. It is not the whole kerchief. (Then Swami spread the kerchief and held it

in His hands). Now, what is this? You will say, "It is a kerchief'. Seeing only

a bit, you cannot call it a handkerchief. So also, acquiring a little

knowledge, you can hardly claim to have attained total knowledge. This is a

mistake the educated commit in this modern age. They know a little and claim to

know everything. Complete or total knowledge is awareness, and not knowledge of

a bit or a fragment. This you should remember. Go in for the whole. Be aware!

Q120) Swami! When does a devotee get total experience?

Bhagawan: Bhakti finds its fulfillment in. mukti Till then, we can't say that a

devotee has got total experience. Total experience is purnan ubhavam,

advaitanandam, a state of non‑dual bliss, brahmanandam, Supreme bliss,

and nityanandam, eternal bliss. A simple example, A river flows incessantly.

There may be a number of obstacles in its way. Yet, the river flows on taking

different turns. It overcomes the obstacles and proceeds forward. How long and

how far? It must reach the ocean and merge in it. The ocean does not permit the

merger so easily. It drives away the river or pushes it out. Still the river

does not give up its attempt. Finally, as the ocean tides rise the river

merges. When layam, sayujyam, merger of the two takes place, there the

river finds vis'ranti and prashanti, rest and peace.

Similar is the relationship between a devotee and God. The flow of devotion

leading to merging in God is Sadhana. The river merging in the ocean is the

merger of the individual Jiva with Brahman, which is known as jiva

‑brahmaikyata; a state of perfect merging or unison of jivatma and

paramatma or Jiva and Brahman.

Q121) Swami! What is wisdom?

Bhagawan: Wisdom is not textual information. Wisdom is not scholarship. Wisdom

is not preaching. Wisdom is not verbal or vocal. Wisdom is not an academic

Master's degree or Doctorate. Wisdom is practical experience. Wisdom cannot be

stuffed into the head. Wisdom is what enables you to identify your own

mistakes, faults, and defects, corrects them and leads you towards not

repeating any errors of the past

QI22) Swami! In the big human body, where is the source of life located?

Bhagawan: You think it is the heart. No. Don't you know that today surgeons can

do heart transplantations also? Even while it is done, the patient doesn't die.

Then where is the life principle that keeps you living? In the spinal column

between the 9th and 12th vertebrae, there is the life principle that acts as

the main switch.

In the mantrapus pam it is clearly indicated: vidyullekheva bhasvara, lightning

or electric current acts as the life centre.

Q123) Swami! What are the main principles of life?

Bhagawan: A newborn baby cries, but a grown‑up man should part from this

world smiling. Do you know why the baby cries? It cries because of the

misfortune that lies ahead of it, a long, troublesome and problematic life. In

the words of Adi Shankara, punarapi jananam punarapi maranam, punarapi janani

jathare s'ayanam.

Everyone is born again and again, life after life. So, the infant cries. But at

its birth, its parents, its relatives and elders celebrate, smile and

distribute sweets don't they? Life begins with a question, koham, who am I?

But, it should find an answer soham, I am He, I am God, before it ends. We get

the answer, through Sadhana, spiritual practice or exercise. There is no point

in going through the question paper again and again. without finding the

answer.

We can in one way divide life into three phases morning, midday and night.

Morning is the stage of an infant, the four legged one crawling on the ground

on both hands and both legs. Midday is the stage of a youth, the

two‑legged, walking with two legs. Night is the stage of an old man, the

three legged with a walking stick as an aid to the two weakened legs.

Brahmacarya, celibacy is the foundation over which a three‑storied

building, with the first floor, the stage of a householder, the second floor

that of a recluse and the top floor that of a renunciant is built. Thus, for

the mansion, celibacy is the foundation. By the time a person becomes fifty

years old, he should have full control over his five organs of action,

karmendriyas by the time he is sixty he should have conquered all the six

weaknesses, kama, desire, krodha, anger, lobha, greed, moha, infatuation mada,

pride, and matsarya, jealousy.

At the age of seventy, after overcoming the weaknesses, he is revered as one of

the seven sages, saptaris is, like the seven notes of music, saptasvaras, and

the seven seas, saptasamudra. At the age of eighty, having followed the eight

paths of yoga astanga yoga, he shines like the eight lords of the directions as

tadikpalakas. At the age of ninety, life shines like nine precious gems,

navaratnas having followed the nine paths of devotion. At the age of hundred,

he is master of the five organs of perception, and the five organs of action,

and is divine having experienced divinity in depth, brahmavid brahmaiva

bhavati.

You should also know another point. Whatever you do, it is for your own

satisfaction and not for other people's. In other words, it is for your

self-satisfaction. You put on new clothes. For whom do you wear them? It is for

your satisfaction that you wear a new dress. You construct a new house. For

whom? It is for you only, isn't it? You eat an apple not for the benefit of the

apple; it is for your own satisfaction.

Understand that Self is God. You have to play well your role in the drama of

your life. Swami is Sutradhari, the director while you are the actor,

patradhari. Consider this an opportunity. Lead your life in an ideal way and

get a good name in society. God should say that you are good. This is what is

said in the Gita, manman a bhava madbhakto madyaji mam namaskuru. Don't pray

for the fulfilment of desires. Pray to be with Him and Him alone. Then.

everything else will be added unto you. Be always humble and respectful.

In South India, food is served on plantain leaves when all the items are served,

the leaf on account of its weight, remains without being blown off by the wind:

When it is empty, it is blown off because of its lightness. In other words,

empty vessels make much noise. A tree loaded with fruits is always bent because

of the weight of the fruits. Similarly, a true scholar is humble and modest .A

cloud‑like mass of air goes up higher and higher, while a cloud of vapour

comes down. A person with ego ruins himself.

There are four main principles you should know and follow in life. The first

principle is tyaja durjana samsargam, run away from bad company. The second

principle is bhaja sadhu samagamam, be always in good company. If necessary,

you better lose or pay money if you must in order to avoid bad company. You

should never be separated from good, pious and noble people.

The third principle is smara nityamanityatam, bear in mind always what is

impermanent or transitory. In other words, distinguish that which is divine

from the one that is temporal. You are gifted with intellect for discrimination

and judgment. Discriminate between what is transient, perishable and dual and

what is eternal; immortal and non‑dual.

The fourth principle is kuru pun yamahoratram , do meritorious deeds day and

night. The body is meant for serving others. Paropakararthamidam sariram.

Source: SATYOPANISAD VOL - I [Part II, Chapter-V] by Anil Kumar Kamaraja 

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