The Voice of God part-2

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*The Voice of God part-2*

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The sound which is generally audible to mortal hearing is the sound caused

by friction. But anahata dhvani, the unstruck sound--as the etymological

meaning suggests--is produced without any cause. The crude natural means of

hearing fail to catch the anahata dhvani. Mystics, yogis and sages develop a

subtle power to receive it. It is transcendental. It is likened to the

unmodulated sound of 'Om' flowing uninterruptedly, eternally. It is like

silent music, a music that does not lack in perfect cadences, but is not

detected by the mortal auditory organ. It is recorded in Sri Ramakrishna the

Great Master:

 

At that time the Master [sri Ramakrishna] heard, arising naturally and

unceasingly everywhere in the universe, the anahata dhvani, the great

pranava sound, which is the aggregate of all different sounds of the

universe. Some of us heard from the Master himself that he could at that

time understand the meaning of the cries of all animals.

 

The second way in which one can hear a divine command is through the mouth

of another human being. At Dakshineswar, Sri Ramakrishna's mind would always

tend to soar high beyond the usual level of spiritual experiences. He would

have many spiritual experiences, visions, etc. Haladhari, who was

well-versed in scriptures and whom Sri Ramakrishna regarded as a

knowledgeable person, would often express doubt about the genuineness of

these experiences and visions. Greatly perturbed at this Sri Ramakrishna

once importuned Mother Kali to solve the problem. In response, one day the

Mother, in the guise of a bearded person of golden complexion, appeared

before him and said, 'My child, remain in Bhavamukha'. Bhavamukha state is

the state between the unqualified plane of experience and the qualified

plane (saguna bhava). The same instruction came to him again from the Mother

through the mouth of a woman called Rati's Ma.

 

But more often in the life of saints we find that they listen to the Divine

command without the agency of human speech. This is called ashariri vani or

voice without a form. When Tota Puri left Dakshineswar after imparting to

Sri Ramakrishna the Advaitic knowledge and the Master dwelt in the

Nirvikalpa plane of consciousness continually for six months, he heard at

the end of that period the incorporeal voice of the Divine Mother: 'Remain

in Bhavamukha'. St. Francis of Assisi had heard such a voice telling him to

build the church, and that completely transformed his life.

 

Swami Vivekananda had a similar mystic experience which is illuminating. One

day at Kshir Bhavani he had been pondering over the ruination and

desecration of the temple wrought by the Muslim invaders. Distressed at

heart he thought: 'How could the people have permitted such sacrilege

without offering strenuous resistance! If I were here then, I would never

have allowed such things. I would have laid down my life to protect the

Mother.' Then the Divine voice of the Mother was heard: 'What even if

unbelievers should enter my temples, and defile my images? What is that to

you? Do you protect me? Or do I protect you?'

 

A rather unusual way in which the Divine voice can be heard is through the

objects of Nature. Prajapati had three kinds of offspring: gods, men and

demons (asuras) and He wanted to advise them all. To gods (luminous ones) he

said 'da' which means damayata, 'control yourselves'. To men he said 'da'

which means datta, 'give'. And to demons he instructed dayadhvam, 'be

compassionate'. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad thus discloses that with the

thundering sound of lightning the voice of the Lord can be heard as 'da'

pronounced thrice--'da', 'da', 'da'.

 

Satyakama, a teenaged disciple of an Upanishadic Rishi, used to happily

graze his herd of cows everyday at the behest of his guru. Like a free bird

he would enjoy the company of not only his herd of cows, but also of birds

and even inanimate elements like fire, air etc. One day, after the daily

pastoral duty he returned to the ashrama at dusk. The Rishi was struck with

wonder at the sight of the resplendent countenance of the young boy; it

radiated the divine lustre becoming a Brahmajnani! Speechless, he beckoned

the boy and tenderly asked, 'O dear one, you shine verily like a knower of

Brahman. Who may it be that instructed you?' It transpired that he was

taught by a bull, a swan, a diver-bird, and the fire. The guileless boy

heard the voices, no matter where they came from. Satyakama's experience is

unique in the religious history of the world. It proves that the Lord

whispers as the wind; murmurs through the leaves; and shouts as the thunder.

Through the firmament He teaches universality, through the blowing air the

message of ceaseless work, through the mountain the co-existence of muteness

and greatness and through the flowing river the need to move on, charaiveti.

 

 

God also speaks through holy books. St. Teresa of Avila has said, 'We speak

to God through prayer. God speaks to us through the scriptures.' Religious

literature is the transcribed form of God's injunctions to His creation.

'God inspired all books.' They are mute words. They are enlivened by those

believers who would translate them in their lives. That is why the

scriptures themselves enjoin that the reading of holy books is as good as

enjoying holy company. A discerning reader will one day hear what God has to

speak to him through the scriptures.

 

A man dreams that he has become a monkey. He is in a troop of monkeys. They

are in a forest jumping about from one tree to another; eating fruits;

breaking branches; busy with all sorts of pranks. Now, our dreaming monkey

feels very thirsty. He finds no water to quench his thirst. He has become so

restless for water that he moans while asleep. Somebody, hearing the moaning

sound, calls out to him by his name, which breaks his dream. He awakes to

see that it was but a dream. He was aroused to human existence by a word, a

shabda. Such is the potency and role of scriptures, which are called shabda

pramana, verbal authority, for a spiritual aspirant. They awake us to our

real nature.

 

Finally there are messages of the Lord spread all around us. We may 'hear'

the Divine voice at the sight of a sick man, an old person or a corpse as

did the Buddha. Or we may listen to the 'call' in a casual utterance of

somebody, as did Lala Babu. Lala Babu, a Zamindar, heard a washerman's

daughter calling out to her father, 'Father, its getting late; when will you

set fire to basna?' Basna is the dried stem of the banana plant. It also

means 'desire'. Lala Babu became desireless. Nanak, while measuring the

goods, was transfixed as he reached the count thirteen--tera (meaning

'yours')--which reminded him that he belonged to the Lord.

 

regards

 

Prasanna Kumar