how to cross maya

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How to Cross Maya

by Swami Chinmayananda

[Narada Bhakti Sutra is a treatise on devotion. The sage Narada

enumerates the conditions necessary to bring a seeker to the Supreme

Devotion. In the following verses he discusses how a seeker can cross

maya.]

 

Mind is maya at play. Therefore, conquest of the mind is the

conquest of maya. But unless one constantly turns the attention to

the higher Self in deep devotion to the Lord, by seeing His glory in

the world of beings around, one will most certainly fall for the

enchantments of the world. It is only through deep devotion to the

Self that all illusions created by the mind can come to an end.

 

Narada now raises the question: " Who crosses maya? " How can we

transcend maya and get the fulfillment of true devotion? Is it ever

possible to rediscover the A & #8706;tman, the Consciousness within us?

Narada says that it is possible and gives some of the conditions in

the following sutras:

 

Who crosses maya? Who really crosses maya? 1) He who gives up all

attachments to sense-objects; 2) He who serves the great devotees and

3) He who renounces all sense of possession. (Sutra 46).

 

It is not because of the objects of the world that there is

maya, but it is because of our attachment to them. The false mental

relationship that we have with the objects of the world makes us

cling to them, and even deceives us to believe that the objects

themselves bring us pleasure or happiness, and this is maya. Once an

individual is convinced that objects cannot bring him total

happiness, he becomes less attached to the world of sensuality, and

he is able to conserve some positive energy. Where should this energy

be redirected? Having removed the mind from the world of sensuality,

don't hold the mind in empty idleness, because the mind will jump up

again and cling with more vigor to new attachments. Such a mind,

withdrawn from attachments, must immediately be employed in the

dedicated service of great men. In the service of the master, one

comes to imbibe the wis! dom that the master is living and teaching.

But the real service to the teacher is to try to understand his words

and his ideas, to reflect upon them and strive to live up to them.

This is called the seva of great men — the great R & #730;shis, the prophets

of the world. Popularly, service to the teacher is considered as

something done for the comfort of the guru—but the teacher does not

want any such service. To gain oneness with the teacher's vision of

Truth is the highest service.

 

Thus when the mind becomes purified by service, studying the

scriptures, and by reflecting upon the thoughts of realized masters,

it will no longer have that sense of `my-ness' with others. `My-ness'

is our relationship of possessiveness with the world. The great

masters do not say that we should not own objects. No one becomes

bound by possessions; it is the mental slavery to our possessions

that binds us. Try to remove this possessive attitude from the mind,

for that is what gives power to the sense objects and distracts us.

When the sense of `my-ness' is removed all worry and anxiety

(vikshepa) associated with it ends and then we can truly enjoy living

in the world.

 

So who crosses Maya? Maya is crossed by one who mentally

detaches from all his worldly attachments. After this first condition

is met, Narada enumerates some more conditions in the following sutra:

 

(4) he who keeps himself in a solitary place of quietude, (5) he who

plucks off his bondage with the world by the roots, (6) he who goes

beyond the influences of his `guna-s' (7) he who renounces all his

anxieties for acquiring and maintaining. (Sutra 47)

 

Narada now gives the second condition: " Let him go to a quiet,

solitary place and concentrate upon the Lord of his heart, free from

external disturbances and inner distractions. " But there are some

people who even if they go to the remote peaks of the Himalayas will

still be in a crowd. For their minds are full of the past impressions

of the world that would disturb them even there. Thus, it is not

loneliness that is to be sought it is aloneness that is to be

achieved. Be alone with yourself. The proper environment for

loneliness is not on the mountaintop or in a quiet cave. To be alone

with ourselves we have to be at our meditation seat where we have to

renounce all our relationship with the world. For the time being we

are no longer brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, a Hindu, a

Buddhist, or a Christian. These are only relationship! s. Detach from

all thoughts and be alone. And when we are alone we are with the

A & #8706;tman — that is the quiet place.

 

Therefore, we have to go to a place where neither people nor

the environment can disturb us — where for at least ten minutes, we

can temporarily retreat into ourselves. Throughout the day we act the

part of the mother, the elder, the officer, the shopkeeper—but we are

never ourselves. To interview oneself with oneself, and to feel our

essential oneness with God is resorting to aloneness.

 

There are also those who are always engaged in non-essential

things such as all the elaborate external rituals of devotion. These

acts must invoke true detachment from the false world of sense-

objects and bring attunement with the infinite Presence in our heart.

This is their purpose. If you enjoy other external acts of piety

perform them with faith as your spiritual practice, but always

remember that they are only accessories, and non-essentials. To seek

the Lord, and to directly experience His place in our hearts is the

peak of devotion.

 

The key words in the second condition are `by the root'. Throw

away your bondage — not only your contact with the world — but your

total fascination for the world of objects-and-beings. He who roots

out from the mind his total slavery to the world becomes free from

the three guna-s.

 

All our thoughts and action spring from the guna-s (sattva,

rajas and tamas). Our particular tendencies (vasana-s) express as

thoughts in the intellect, desires in the mind, and as actions at our

body-level. One who transcends all his vasana-s is the true tyagi

(relinquisher). For he can renounce his ego and the anxiety of

acquiring and maintaining things that may give him happiness. We

waste all our energies in the following two pursuits: (a) the

acquisition of objects and (b) preservation of that which has been

acquired.

 

Running after objects – acquiring and possessing things – is

called yoga, and the anxiety to look after those things is called

kshema. (Bhagavat Gita IX.22) From morning until night we search for

happiness, through wealth, position, name, and fame. But he who

renounces both yoga and kshema crosses maya, because such a one

declares, " I don't want the joy that is inherent in the objects of

the world. I want the happiness that is inherent in me. I want to

explore, and reach the source of happiness, not the reflected

happiness in objects; I seek only the supreme source of all Bliss. "

 

The lives of saints prove that the Divine Self provides

liberally for all the needs of the devotee who has renounced

everything of the world. He does not need to worry about his own

preservation or maintenance. Lord Krishna says in the Gita: " To those

who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, to those ever self

controlled, I secure them with that which is not already possessed

(Yoga) and preserve what they already possess (kshema). " IX.22

 

He who relinquishes the fruits-of-actions. he who renounces all

egocentric-actions, and thus becomes free from the play of the pairs-

of-opposites… (Sutra 48)

 

In this sutra the third condition is being declared; to

relinquish all fruits of action (karma-phala). Activities as such are

not to be renounced, but the " I-do mentality " (aham & #8776;kara) in all the

activities is to be given up. Renounce the egocentric impulses

motivating the activities. The devotee, who looses his identity in

the Supreme, works in a pure spirit of surrender and dedication. He

cannot do otherwise, immersed in total love for the Lord, he comes to

dedicate to his Beloved whatever may accrue from any of his actions.

 

This is in accord with the Gita wherein Lord Krishna says that

renunciation of the fruits-of-action is called tyaga — meaning the

abandonment of anxiety for the outcome of any action and anxiety for

the future. At the very opening of chapter eighteen, Arjuna

asks, " What is tyaga, what is sanyasa? " Krishna replies: " The sages

understand sanyasa to be the renunciation of work with desire, the

wise declare the abandonment of the fruits-of-all actions, as tyaga. "

 

Lord Krishna continues to explain that tyaga is to be practiced

first and sanyasa will be its fulfillment. When anxiety for enjoying

the fruits-of-action has ended and we continue acting in the world,

then the idea of `I am doing' will also automatically end. He who has

renounced the ego in all activities is a true sanyasin.

 

Thus when anxiety for fruit has ended, and when egocentric

ideas in the activities have ended, there is no more joy or sorrow,

failure or success, honor or dishonor, heat or cold. The pairs of

opposites shall no longer affect such an individual, for the pairs of

opposites are the experiences of the mind and the intellect. They can

only affect the little individuality in us, never the Self, the

Supreme. We are no longer the perceiver, feeler, thinker because the

ego has been eliminated. We are not contacting the world with anxiety

for future results because the vasana-s (mental impressions) are no

longer there. Such an individual goes beyond the experiences of the

mind and intellect.

 

he who renounces even the Vedas; and gains a pure unbroken flow of

devotion… (Sutra 49)

 

Even the Vedas are to be renounced, insists Narada. `Veda' here

means the Vedic Upanishads, the Vedic rituals, the Vedic studies.

This does not mean that one need not study or perform sacred rituals,

but there is no longer an `I do mentality'. When one's sense of `I'

has been completely renounced, one's vanity of all book knowledge,

meaning the Vedas, as well as the vanity of having performed all the

elaborate rituals is eliminated. What happens to such an

individual? " Then, " says Narada, " pure unbroken love alone comes to

him. " This love is like the unbroken flow of a river, as expressed in

the analogy which Sri Sankara so often uses, " like the constant

stream of oil flowing from one pot to another, " in which there is no

break. Unbroken and continuous, his mind becomes a constant flow

towa! rds OM, the Reality, rather than towards the objects, emotions

and thoughts. This stream of pure love never leaves him; it is never

dragged down from its heights, attracted either by the pleasures of

the earth or of the heavens.

 

Such love, continuously flowing towards the Reality, is rare.

In most cases it is not a constant flow — only a drop here and a drop

there, broken up through the day by our sense of identity with our

body, mind, and intellect, which produce other baser ideas and

anxieties.

 

These are the twelve conditions declared by Narada under which

the seekers' attachment of devotion to the Higher becomes continuous,

like an unbroken flow of oil. Each one of these twelve must be

accomplished through practice if we are to gain that perfect,

rewarding love for the Lord. How to achieve them are declared and

illustrated in the various yogas. Here Narada is only enumerating

what are the conditions to be accomplished so that the devotees'

hearts become receptive to the Experience Divine. There is no

technique specifically insisted upon. Whatever the seeker may

practice, ultimately these twelve conditions are to be realized in

one's personality for spiritual awakening.

 

he crosses, indeed he crosses. He helps others also to cross. (Sutra

50)

 

Having become perfect in his Love he indeed crosses maya. After

enumerating the twelve conditions to be created in our personality,

the teacher concludes that such an individual will indeed cross over

maya.

 

Not only will he cross over maya, but he will help others cross

over it too. Love or devotion is not a selfish end in itself. Love is

insistent by its very nature. Having achieved this liberating Love,

the devotee may remain submerged and breathlessly drowned in its

ecstasy for some time. But ultimately such an individual cannot but

help others experience the same divine state of Brahman. He comes as

a master to teach and help humanity cross maya.

 

:: avadhootha chinthana sree gurudeva datta::