Sathya Sai Vahini - Chapter 10

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Sathya Sai Vahini

 

Chapter 10

The Yogis

 

There are three steps in the progression of philosophic enquiry (or

Vedantic thought) in India. They are the Adwaithic, the

Visishta-Adwaithic and the Dwaithic. It is not possible to advance

beyond these three steps by any human endeavour. Adwaithic thought is

beyond reach of the common man; it is not so easily comprehensible. To

conceive it with the intellect is itself hard. To experience it, a

powerful faculty of penetration is needed. Therefore, it is best to

start with the Dualist or Dwaithic step, and experience it as the

reality behind things; then, the second stage of Visishtadwaitha is

rendered easier to reach.

 

The individual must progress as fast or as steadily as the community.

We pass through boyhood, childhood, adolescence, youth, middle age

and old age; it is an imperceptible but inevitable progress. We

experience each only when we are passing through it. So, too, with

these three stages of philosophic discovery. Each of these views is

latent in the rest and each proceeds out of the experience of the

previous stage. It is not possible to be aware of all three at the

same time. Based on our Sadhana and the experiences gained therefrom,

each of these viewpoints comes into the consciousness and forms the

spring of action and thought.

 

Those who assert that the Universe is real, but, declare at the same

time that the existence of God is but a dream, are only proving

themselves foolish. For, when the effect, namely, the Cosmos is real,

it must have a Cause, for, how can there be an effect with no cause?

God can be denied only when the Universe is denied. God can

disappear, only when the Cosmos disappears. What now appears as the

Cosmos is really God; this is the Vision that the true Sadhaka will

get when he succeeds in his endeavour. As a matter of fact, the

Universe we experience is the dream. When we awake from the dream,

the Truth of its being God will shine in the consciousness. From the

beginning of time, the God whom we posit outside ourselves has been

the reality inside us also. This Truth too will become steady in the

faith of man.

 

Of course, there is no philosophy existent that can be satisfying to

all types and levels of mental equipment. Each has a distinct value.

The stages of intellectual development, or the powers of reasoning are

different from each other. So, the three schools of philosophical

interpretation mentioned above (the Dwaithic, the Visishta-dwaithic

and the Adwaithic) attain acceptance among different temperaments and

different groups of people. Therefore, no one school has the right to

claim superiority and impute inferiority. Only those who are unwise

will resort to such tactics.

 

When people approach us with fanatic views, we must meet them with a

smile, eager and yearning, filled with devotion to God. One can get

intoxicated, of course, but, only as a result of quaffing the wine of

Prema. When some one who is frantic for work approaches us we must

share with him our skill and strength and join with him in work. By

this means, it is possible to bring harmony between followers of

various faiths and philosophic thoughts. It will bring together

schools of thought and belief. If only this principle of harmony and

harmonious co-operation had become a permanent asset of each man, how

excellent it would be? How happy the world would have been, if every

one had this knowledge that his view point can at best be only

partial and that it requires the harmonious commingling of many other

facets to posit Truth?

 

Yoga means 'coming together'. In India, where yoga is flowing in the

veins of every one since ages, it is possible to have the harmonious

co-existence of many faiths and beliefs, which is the ideal type of

Universal Religion. Those who can heroically put their faith into

daily living can accomplish this 'together-ness' in the human

community. Togetherness or Union can be established between one's

outer behaviour and inner nature. The Sadhaka, intent on the path of

Prema, can strive for Union between himself and the embodiment of

Prema, namely, God. The Vedantin can achieve the Union of all that is

in the one concept of God. The path of Yoga is designated differently

in Sanskrit under different contexts; but, those who are able to

conceive and execute the Union are revered as Yogis.

 

Those who strive through activities and achievements to establish the

Union are the Karma-yogis; those who follow the Prema path, are the

Bhakthi-yogis; those who strive to manifest their latent powers and

canalise them are the Raja-yogis; those who stick to logical analysis

and rational interpretations and attain intuitive perception are the

Jnana-yogis. In the Bharathiya spiritual history, these four types

recur again and again.

 

First, the Karma Yogi. He adopts the path of establishing union with

Godhead by elevating and sublimating acts. We meet in the world many

who seem to have been born, just to accomplish one particular mission

or project. Their intellect is not satisfied with mere imagination or

planning. Their minds will be full of actual concrete achievements

which they yearn to realise. For such people, a guide-book or Sastra

is needed to direct them along beneficial paths. Every one in the

world is seen engaged in some activity or other, all the time. Yet,

very few know the significance and worth-whileness of Karma; or, how

best to realise the best results out of this inescapable trait.

Hence, life is being made banal and barren. Karma-yoga teaches man

the awareness of this significance and guides him along to achieve

the maximum benefit out of the activity. Where, when and how Karma

has to be done, how spiritual urges can reinforce strength of mind in

the performance of Karma, and how Karma is to be taken up so that

spiritual development can result - these are taught to us by the

Karma-yoga.

 

There is one great objection raised by some people about this and we

have to pay some attention to it. The objection is that Karma Yoga

involves too much physical strain. But, basically, it is the company

that one keeps that decides the strain and the stress that the mind

and the body of man are subjected to. " I like very much to engage

myself in only this task " ; " I sought only to do good to him, but, he

ignored my desire and tried to injure me " ; these are the usual causes

for the strain and stress mentioned above. Such disappointment makes

one lose interest in activity. It wants to do good and it seeks to do

good to some one in some way, hoping to derive joy therefrom and

distribute joy. When such joy does not arise, despair sets in.

 

But, without getting attached, without being aware as to whom the

Karma helps or how, the lesson that Karma Yoga teaches is - do the

Karma, as Karma, for the sake of the Karma. Why does the Karma-yogi

fill his hands with work? That is his real nature; he feels that he

is happy, while doing work. That is all. He does not bargain for

results; he is not urged by any calculation. He gives, but never

receives. He knows no grief, no disappointment; for he has not hoped

for any benefit.

 

The second Path: Bhakthi-yoga. This is congenial for those who are

emotionally oriented. It is the path for those capable of filling

their hearts with Love. The urge is to have God as the Beloved. His

activities will be different, for they relate to incense-burning,

gathering flowers for worship, building shrines and temples where he

could install and adore symbols of Beauty, Wisdom and Power.

 

Are you inclined to remark that this is not the right means of

achieving union with Divinity? Remember that saints and sages, great

spiritual leaders and guides throughout the world have emerged just

from this devotional and dedicatory stage of spiritual endeavour.

Some faiths tried to imagine God as formless, and described worship

of God through various such acts as blasphemy, tried to suppress the

Bhakthi cults and in the process, they slighted the Reality and Its

Power and Majesty. The belief that God cannot be symbolised in a Form

is evidence of blindness; the charge that such worship is barren is a

hollow charge. The history of the world is the witness to the

efficacy of Bhakthi. It is not proper to ridicule these activities,

ceremonials and rituals and the descriptions of the lives of sadhakas

who adhered to them in order to earn Union with Divinity. Let those

who yearn after the joy of worshipping the Form do so; certainly, it

will be a sin to shatter their faith and treat it as infructuous.

 

The glory of the great heroes of the spirit, those who have scaled the

highest peaks of Realisation, and those who attained spiritual

fulfilment is exercising immense influence on the mind of mankind. It

is as a result of a long line of such seers that the spiritual

Message of India has attracted the attention of all nations. If India

has been able to earn the reverence of the world, the reason has to

be sought in the precious treasure that they have earned and

preserved. Here, love of God and fear of Sin have been the chief

pillars of life and the everlasting guides for living. Bharatha has

won a name for being a holy land, a land steeped in renunciation and

in spiritual sadhanas aimed at union with the Absolute, renowned for

thyaga and yoga. The urges that this culture encouraged were all

directed to the conquest of the vagaries of the mind.

 

Can the explanations offered by this culture on the nature and

characteristics of Reality be palatable to those afflicted by agitated

feelings and passion? To the great builders of this culture, God was

tangible Truth, the one and Only Real Fact, the Goal of their entire

Love. So, the inheritors and followers of this culture treat the

nihilist arguments based on the inescapably limited 'reason' as the

fool is treated in the story. The fool saw an idol, and eager to

discover the God he broke it to pieces with a hammer!

 

The Bhakthi Yoga will teach such people the path of Love. It will tell

them not to love with a view to gain profit. Love all; love all as you

love yourselves. No harm can come to you then. It will only spread joy

and happiness to all. God is present in all beings as love. So the

Love is directed to and accepted by, not the individual but by God

who is resident there. The seeker of God who relies on the path of

devotion and dedication soon becomes aware of this fact.

 

Some love God as the Mother, some others as the Father, and some love

God as 'dearest and closest Friend'. There are others who regard God

as the Beloved, the Only desired Goal. They all endeavour to merge

their Love with the Ocean of Love that God is. Wherever Love is

evident, take it that it is God's own Love. God is the greatest Lover

of mankind. Therefore, when any one decides to serve man whom He

loves, God showers Grace in plenty. When the human heart melts at the

suffering of others and expands as a result of that sympathy, believe

that God is present there. That is the sign of the validity of the

path of devotion, the Bhakthi Yoga.

 

Now, about Rajayoga: Rajayoga means the process of establishing

mastery over the mind. One need not surrender one's intellect or

follow the guidelines of religious leaders. There is no chance of

being misled or mistaken. At every step, one has to rely on one's own

intellect and experience, as tested by oneself.

 

Every being has three varieties of instruments for acquiring

knowledge, and through that knowledge, wisdom. The fact

is 'instinctive'; this is very strong, active and advanced in

animals. This is the earliest, the lowest and therefore, the least

beneficial of the three. The second is the 'rational', the instrument

that seeks the cause and the effect thereof. This is most evident in

man. The instinct can operate only in the limited field of senses and

sensory experiences. In man the instinctive knowledge is largely

subordinated by the rational instruments. The limits of the rational

are very thin; reason can range over vastly wider fields. In spite of

this, reason too is capable of very poor performance only; its reach

is restricted. It can proceed only a certain distance. It cannot

venture further. The road that logic takes is not straight. It is

more circular, returning again and again, to the place where it

started from.

 

Take for example, our knowledge of the objective world, of the

elements and energies that compose it. That which urges and prompts

the objective world and its components does not stop with just this

much. It absorbs also that which is immanent outside the objective

world. And so, the extent that reason can spread over and explain is

as the 'consciousness' that is imprisoned in the tiny molecule, as

compared with the vastness and grandeur of the transcendent fullness.

 

For us to go across the boundaries of reason into this full, free

realm of intuition, certain spiritual exercises and disciplines are

essential. They can be grouped under the name, God-propelled Jnana.

For, we have only three stages of Jnana - Sahajajnana (Native,

derived from the senses of action and perception), Yukti-yuktajnana

(Knowledge derived by the process of discrimination and evaluation),

and Iswaraprerithajnana (God- induced knowledge gained through Grace

by inner vision or intuition). The first of these is the knowledge

possessed by animals; the second is the characteristic of man and the

third is the special treasure of high-souled individuals. It is

possible for everyone to foster, cultivate and develop the seedlings

of this third Jnana. For, the capacity is latent in all.

 

Another fact also has to be borne in mind. The three are stages of

growth and so not three mutually exclusive types of knowledge. The

Iswaraprerithajnana will not contradict the yukti-yuktajnana; it will

only bring to light what is unmanifest in the yukti-yuktajnana. The

later stage only confirms and elaborates the previous ones. Afflicted

by the vagaries of the mind and its fancies, some take their distorted

attitudes as God given or Grace-induced. And, they may even call upon

others to heed their counsel. They lead men astray by their barren

guidance. These morons announce that their absurd prattle is

God-propelled.

 

True teaching can never be counter to the yukti-yuktajnana, the

conclusion arrived at by discrimination and evaluation. The Yogas

mentioned above are all established in consonance with this view.

Rajayoga has to be practised mostly by the mind and its resolution.

This is a vast subject and so, we shall consider here only its

central theme. It is something that is the only refuge for the lowest

of the low and the highest of the Yogis - namely, single-pointed

meditation. For the person engaged in research in a laboratory, for

one walking along a road, or for a scholar reading a book, or an

individual writing a letter, or driving a car, the concentration of

all their attention on the articles before them and the activity they

are engaged in is very important. He understands the nature and

peculiarities of the object he is handling. The more intense your

concentration, the more successful will be your activity. When the

mental abilities are focussed on one effort, knowledge can be

acquired quicker and from a wider field. And, that is the only way by

which knowledge can be earned.

 

Concentration will enable one, whoever he is, whatever the activity he

is engaged in, to finish it much better than otherwise. Whether in

material assignments, or in ordinary day-to-day work or in spiritual

Sadhana, concentration of mental energies is a must, if success is to

be achieved. It is the key that can open the treasure-chest of Jnana.

This is the most important aspect of Rajayoga. It can even be said

that it is the only important aspect of that Yoga. Millions of

unwelcome, unwanted, unnecessary and even harmful thoughts enter our

minds and confound their activities. These have to be kept out; the

mind has to be guarded and controlled and kept under our rigorous

supervision. Rajayoga is the one refuge for persons endeavouring to

win this victory.

 

Jnana Yoga is mostly devoted to the study of principles, basic

principles. This Universe or Cosmos that we cognise as outside

ourselves can be explained by means of various theories of knowledge,

but, no one of them can be convincing to the uninitiated. The Jnana

Yogi weaves many such theories and hypotheses. He is not convinced of

the reality of any material object in the Universe, or of any

activity or even of any one else who propounds any other explanation.

He believes that he should transcend the daily chores of life and not

be bound by social or other obligations. In the vast Ocean of Isness,

or Sath, all objects are but drops, in his view. They are all

struggling to move from the circumference to the Centre, from which

they manifested through Maya. The Jnana Yogi too yearns to merge in

the Centre, the Core of Reality, away from the tangle of apparent

diversity. He exerts himself to become the Truth, not only to become

aware of It. Of course, as soon as he is aware of It, he becomes It.

He cannot tolerate the thought that he and Truth are separate and

distinct.

 

The Divine is his only kith and kin. He knows none other. He does not

entertain any other urge, any other attachment, any other desire. God

is all in all. He cannot be affected by grief or joy, failure or

success. He sees and experiences only one unbroken, unchallenged

stream of bliss-consciousness. For the person who is firmly

established in this state, the world and its ups and downs appear

trivial and illusory. In order to stay in that Consciousness, he has

to counter the pulls of the senses and face the fascinations of the

world without any agitation of mind.

 

The Jnana Yogi is vigilant against the temptations held before him by

his senses, and turning them aside, he approaches the Divine and seeks

strength and solace there. He realises that the power and energy that

vitalise the tiniest of the tiny and the vastest of the vast is the

same Divine Principle. His actions, thoughts, and words reveal this

vision he has experienced. This is the Paramartha Drshti, the Supra-

Vision. It sees all elements - the earth, fire, water, wind and sky -

as the Divine itself and all beings - man, beast, bird, and worm - as

emanations from God and therefore fully Divine.

 

One fact has to be noted here. If a person has this knowledge of the

immanence of the Divine, and even of its transcendence, he cannot be

honoured as a Jnani. For, the knowledge has to be digested through

actual experience. This is the crucial test. It is not enough if the

intellect nods approval and is able to prove that Godhead is all. The

belief must penetrate and prompt every moment of living and every act

of the believer. Jnana should not be merely a bundle of thoughts or a

packet of neatly constructed principles. The faith must enliven and

enthuse every thought, word and deed. The self must be soaked in the

nectar of the Jnana.

 

The intellect is a poor instrument. For, what the intellect approves

as correct today is tomorrow rejected by the same intellect on second

thoughts! Intellect cannot judge things finally and for all time.

Therefore, seek for the experience. Once that is won, the Atman can be

understood 'as all this'. That is the Jnana Yoga. According to the

Bharathiya way of thought, the Vedas are taken as the Voice of God.

Thus, the Vedas are the primary source of all knowledge for

Bharathiyas. Everything is tested on the basis of Vedas. The ancient

sages have laid down that what agrees with the Vedas is agreeable to

man; what does not thus agree cannot agree with him. The Vedas were

not spoken by humans, or composed by men and women. They were heard

and recorded by sages, and transmitted by the guru to the pupil for

generations by word of mouth. The guru recited, the pupil listened

and recited just as the guru did, with the same care and

correctitude. Thus the Vedas have been handed down from centuries. No

one can determine the exact dates when the Vedas were first heard or

recited. Therefore, they are taken as Sanathana or

Eternal.

 

At this point, we have to keep in mind another very important truth.

All other religions prevalent in the world hold as authoritative

communications made to some holy persons by God Himself in His

Corporate Form, or through some Superhuman personalities or

embodiments of parts or portions of Divinity. Bharathiyas do not

follow this line. They declare that the Vedas are based on no human

authority; they do not depend on any man for their validity. They are

emanations direct from God; they are primeval; they are their own

authority and validity. They were not written down or composed,

constructed or put together.

 

The Cosmos or Creation is limitless, eternal and it has neither

beginning nor end. So too, the Voice of God, namely the Vedas have no

limit, they are eternal, they have no beginning nor end. 'Vid', the

root from which the word Veda is derived, means, 'to know'. When

Knowledge began the Vedas too manifested. The rishis visualised and

announced them. They are the 'see-ers of mantras' - the mantra-

drshtas.

 

The Vedas have two major sections: the Karmakanda and the Jnanakanda.

First comes the Karmakanda and it is followed by the Jnanakanda. In

the Karmakanda, a number of different 'krathus' or sacrifices in which

oblations are offered in the sanctified fire, are mentioned. Most of

them have been given up by Bharathiyas in recent times, since it has

become difficult to perform them with the exactitude the Vedic rules

prescribe. Some still continue in a very attenuated form. In the

Karmakanda, the moral codes are insisted upon very much. The moral

rules and restrictions regulating life and conduct refer to the

Brahmachari (the student) stage, the Grhastha (householder) stage,

the Vanaprastha (recluse) stage and the Sanyasa (monastic) stage.

Also, the Karmakanda declares what is right and wrong for people

following various professions and occupying different statuses. These

are being followed here and there, in some thin form, by people in

India.

 

The Jnanakanda is called Vedanta or the end of the Vedas, the Goal,

the Finale. The Jnanakanda is enshrined in the Upanishads. The

adherents of the Dwaitha, Visisht-adwaitha and Adwaitha schools of

philosophical thought, the worshippers of Siva, Vishnu, Sakti, Surya

and Ganapathi - all accept the supreme authority of the Vedas. They

may interpret the Upanishads and other texts according to their own

predilections and intellectual calibre, but no one dare question the

authority of the Veda or the Vedanta. So, it is possible to use the

words Hindu, Bharathiya or Vedantin, to the same person. The various

schools of philosophical thought current at the present time may

appear difficult to comprehend or as derived from unripe

understanding; but, when the matter is thought over in quiet, or the

texts are studied in silence, or investigated without prejudice it

will become clear that they have all relied on the points raised and

the conclusions arrived at in the Upanishads. The Upanishads are

being symbolised and worshipped in image form in temples

and in private shrines, as a tribute to this universal appeal. They

have entwined themselves, inseparably, in our lives.

 

The Vedas are 'endless': Anantho vai vedaah. But, they are reduced

into four collations and their essence was preserved in those forms.

For promoting peace and prosperity in the world, the four were then

taught and propagated. They are the Rg, Sama, Yajur and Atharvana

Vedas. They uphold Dharma (Righteousness), proclaim the Reality, and

promote peace and harmony by developing among men the attitudes of

worship, music, and adoration and also by the cultivation of skill in

weaponry and war. They present the ideal before mankind, and exhort

them to follow.

 

Whether the Bharathiya is aware of it or not, invariably, every right

act of his, will have some Vedic injunction or prohibition behind it

as the regulator or the illuminator. From marriage rites until funeral

rites and even the rites for the propitiation of the manes, the Vedas

are the guides. A true Bharathiya should never forget the Vedas or be

ungrateful to them. The dualists, the special-monists, the monists -

all direct their lives according to lines laid down in the past by the

sages. But they do not now know the origin and the purpose of these

guide-lines. If only they do, the fruit will be much more plentiful

and permanent.