Great Devotees of Lord Siva 73D

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Om Namah Sivaya

 

 

 

Yogaswami

 

SWAMI'S LETTERS

 

3.11.1940.

 

LETTER FROM KASI

 

"After wanderings far in an earnest quest, I came to Kasi and lo, I saw the Lord of Kasi--Viswanathan within my heart. Let not your hearts be troubled by wearisome pursuits. There is a fine saying that the herb that you have been searching assiduously lies at your feet within easy reach. In this place too, men live very much in the same manner as our people. There is nothing wonderful, nothing mysterious in this world. In this holy city of Benares, I have performed the rites and obsequies most solemnly for my countrymen who have lived in bygone yesterdays, and to those of today and even of the tomorrow. From henceforth, live in obedience to your inner spirit imbued with love for one another;

and live in harmony with the world under the protecting shelter of His Feet."

--Nathchintanai. 373.

 

 

 

Swami's mystic experience of Oneness at Kasi has been communicated by Bhagavat Adi Sri Sankararcharya also, in one of his well known poems called Kasi Pancaka, written in Benares. It describes the eminence of Kasi, the holiest of the holy cities of all Hindus. Sri Sankara identifies the Jivatman with the sacred city. The hymn like Swami's letter above, has a message for all pilgrims. At the journey's end, there awaits for the seeker the great discovery of realising the Lord as abiding in his inner sanctuary. Pilgrimages to sacred shrines, and purifactory baths in the sacred streams as the Ganga and Kauveri have been some of the cherished spiritual practices amongst the Hindus. Kasi has always been held by them in the highest veneration, from the Vedic age up to the

present day.

 

A pilgrim is often found to create an exalted state of mind, and serves as a discipline in self denial and self-purity. The most significant award is the possesion of Santi (peace) and jnana (knowledge) which alone can lead man to realise within himself the divinity of his being.

 

He who gains this Awareness is considered to be the true pilgrim, and he enriches the lives of others, as did St. Appar who prompted by intense love, seeks the Lord who eludes the search of Brahma and Vishnu, till at last he finds Him in his heart.

 

The sacred Ganga on which is situated Kasi, is reputed to be a Jnanapravaha--the stream of wisdom, which cleanses man of all impurities. What is known as the Manikarnika symbolises Santi--peace absolute, which results from the cessation of all mental activities, as a result of an act of surrender at His Feet. The Hindu considers the goal of life as one of self-realisation. Annapurani and Viswanath, the Lord of the entire Universe and the procreative Mother, represent in one aspect the discerning Wisdom and Conciousness, which are manifest in every individual. Thus everyone is himself Kasi. Kasi means 'to

shine.'

 

A pilgrimage to the holy city of Kasi aims at directing our minds inwardly, to behold that which is the eternal Verity, and conveys to us the intimations of our own immortality. It guides us to look within and realise the Self. Given below a free rendering of the Kasi Pancaka, as it helps us to understand the full significance of Swami's Letter from Kasi.

 

 

 

 

KASI PANCAKA

 

"That Kasika am I of the nature of the realisation of the Self, the sacred manikarnika being supreme peace, arising from Manonivrtti; and the pure Ganga, the current of knowledge.

 

That Kasika am i of the nature of the realisation of Self

which is pure existence, knowledge and bliss, which is of

the nature of the Supreme Being, and on whom super-

imposed shines this animate and inanimate world, the

product of Maya's illusion, delightful to the mind.

That Kasika am I of the nature of the realisation of Self

which shines in all the five Kosas, where Bavani is

Buddhi, residing in everybody, and where Siva, the all

pervading witness is the Antaratman--the ultimate Reality .

He has indeed attained Kasi, who has known Kasi, where

shines the effulgent One, who lights up everything.

The body is Kasi. The stream of knowledge is the pervading

Ganga; Bhakti and Sraddha form Gaya. The contemplation of

the Feet of Guru is Prayaga. The Lord of all, the witness of

the minds of everybody is the Antaratman. Thus if in my

body is everything, what other place of pilgrimage is there

for me?

 

--Bhagavat Adi Sri Sankaracharya.

 

 

Sivaya Namah

 

 

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