Swami teaches... Part 3. The inner vision is important

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Light and Love Swami teaches... 7 - 8th January 2008 Part 2. The inner vision is important Using our intellect to plan out an action whose fruits would benefit someone else, as is the case in the action of an old man who plants a tree whose fruits will be enjoyed by the future generations, can be called Buddhi yoga (communion through intellect). In Buddhi yoga we enquire into the consequences of our actions, and thereby base our actions on the reasoning power of our intellect. Intellect goes far above the narrow selfish considerations of the lower mind and senses. But even here there is still a tinge of selfishness. No ordinary person will be able to perform actions completely without desire. We will have to orient our actions and our desires towards the purpose of seeking and experiencing God. When that sacred orientation becomes the basis of all our activities, then such karma belongs to the A-sakthi yoga. The highest level of action leads us on the path of our goal. But involved herein will be the spell of Maya (worldly illusion, mistaking the transient for the real; non-awareness of actuality, appearances masquerading as reality).

 

There are two powerful sakthis that make up Maya: one is avarana (veiling power) and the other is vikshepa (projecting power). There is no particular form and shape for these two. Avarana refers to that which veils or covers. If it does not have form itself, by what means does it cover? How can it be removed? These questions cannot be easily answered. Maya is mysterious and inexplicable.

 

In what circumstances does this delusion exert its influence on us? It is during twilight or in the dark that we imagine that we see a snake when there is only a rope there. It is through darkness that the delusion comes and envelops us. The delusion beclouds human's mind and covers clear perception. In the light of awareness delusion disappears. That which exists will always exist; it will never cease to exist. It remains forever unchanged. It is only the delusion covering it which comes and goes. The form that this delusiontakes in the mind is vikshepa the second powerful sakthi of Maya. Vikshepa is the projection that is super imposed on the unchanging basis. (In this case the projection was pictorially the snake instead of rope, what we noticed in darkness. Another timeit will be something else). Moods, pains, pleasures all come and go. They are something like relatives that come to visit us, but they do not stay permanently. In the same way, this Maya comes and goes as a delusion for human beings. The delusion in our mind which covers the rope and hides from view is avarana, the veiling power. The illusion which has been projected by our mind on to the rope is vikshepa, the projecting power. With the help of the light we see the rope as a rope, and the snake vanishes. These two aspects of Maya have come in the darkness and disappeared in the light. Maya has no beginning. But it can permanently come to an end. When the light of wisdom shines on it, Maya will finally disappear; then One Unchanging Atmic Reality will stand revealed what is the base for A-sakthi yoga. From another angle there is no royal road for human life other than through Karma yoga, through the path of dedicated action. We will be able to enter into Bhakti yoga, the path of devotion only after we have laid a firm foundation through good actions. And only after we have purified our feelings and developed our devotion will we be able to enter into the area of wisdom and proceed on the highest path of Jnana yoga. A-sakthi yoga and Jnana yoga are practically the same.

However, there is nothing that cannot be achieved in the world through Love. Some things may be achieved by other means, but through Love even the Divine can be held in the palm of one's hand. What is the ultimate nature of reality of humans activities, knowledge? Without Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema all knowledge is useless; Without these four, all charity and righteous acts are of no use; Without these four, the value of all good deeds is zero; Without these four, the exercise of power is profitless. Many lectures are given today about the Divine as the embodiment of Truth and Righteousness. Have they tried to practice even a small fragment of this teaching? Have they made the slightest attempt to secure a vision of this Truth? To preach without practice is repugnant to spirituality. Every individual should try to practice and protect Truth and Righteousness. A few drops of nectar on the tongue will work wonders, but of what use are barrels of nectar which remain untouched? The nation will not be protected by an army or by the most modern weapons. If the people safeguard Truth and Righteousness, the latter will protect the nation and the world.

Many years ago, Sri K.M. Munshi convened a conference of intellectuals in Mumbay to be addressed by Swami. He was the chief guest at the meeting. Many questions were put to Swami. One member of the audience asked Swami whether it was not necessary for India to equip itself with atom bombs in view of the fact that both affluent America and Communist Russia had huge piles of atom bombs. Swami replied - "What folly is this! When there are millions in the country who lack food, clothing and shelter, the provision of these necessities is the most urgent task and not the manufacturing of atom bombs. Of what use are bombs when you cannot feed the people?How are we to meet an attack from outside?" one participant asked. Swami's finished His reply with words: “Our country's name is Bharath. If Bharath upholds Dharma, America and Russia will have to respect Bharath. Confronted by Dharma, anyone however powerful, will be cut to size. When Swami gave this reply, the entire gathering cheered Him for fifteen minutes.Thereafter Swami told them. "It is not enough to clap your hands; open the taps of your minds. There is no use merely applauding my words." For all the confusion and conflict prevailing in the world today, it is the feelings and thoughts of people that are responsible. What one gets in life mostly is dependent on what one has earned by own actions. This is called fate. This is by its nature temporary. What is got as the fruit of a past action will not last long because our lifetime is limited. The scriptures have declared that human's mind is the cause of bondage or liberation. Hence, the mind should be concentrated on actions of service to others. It should be devoted to concern for the welfare of the world. Together with the growth of one's wealth, one's spirit of sacrifice should grow commensurately. Increase in wealth should bring about an increase in generosity. (Now in the world wealth increases but not, as a rule, magnanimity). Greed for power converted people into demons. Power carries with it limits and obligations. There are five kinds of power. Power of knowledge, intellectual power, power of fame, power of character,and power of sacrifice. Only the person who has all these five attributes should aspire for a position of authority. Those who seek positions of authority should recognize their obligations. Nothing great can be achieved without restraint. Pandits from the past like Potharaju, Thyagaraju and Goparaju (Ramdhas) experienced bliss by their spiritual austerities. They sought no positions of power. They were content to seek the grace of the Divine. Owing to the influence of the Kali age today, even spiritual seekers are eager to earn wealth and positions.

However, what is consciousness with all its qualities (good and not so good) also wealth and positions in the mirror of modern quantum science and neuroscience? There are many scientists who have reached quite close (only close, science without Atmic awareness never will reach to Truth ) to Atmic Oneness through analyses of human consciousness as the main creator of the inner vision. (Nowadays, consciousness are generally attributed to physical processes in the brain, but exactly how chemical and electrical signals between trillions of brain cells called neurons are transformed into thoughts, emotions and a sense of Self is still unknown). There will be strong correlations between what's in the brain and consciousness. By David Chalmers, a philosophy professor and Director of the Center for Consciousness at the Australian National University the question is what kind of explanation that will give you. By him we want explanation - how and why do brain process give rise to consciousness? That's remains by science even today the big mystery. Science has nearly solved the problems that deal with functions and behaviors associated with consciousness and include for example the questions about perception and how does the brain bind different kinds of sensory information together to produce the illusion of a seamless experience. By Chalmers the finally unsolved problem is that of subjective experience. The subjective nature of consciousness prevents it from being explained in terms of simpler components, a method used to great success in other areas of science. The physical world, which can be divided into individual atoms, subatomic particles, living cells, crystals, etc. consciousness is an irreducible aspect of the Universe, like space and time and mass. So from this statement has concluded that Consciousness is a holographic pattern of Atma, God, Absolute, Swami's Cosmic form... According to this view, a theory of consciousness would not explain what consciousness is or how it arose; instead, it would try to explain the relationship between consciousness and everything else in the world. (But, not every scientist is support this idea). From aspect of physics, Roger Penrose, a mathematical physicist at Oxford University, believes that quantum mechanics, the rules governing the physical world at the subatomic level, might play an important role in consciousness. When small cannot get any smaller, you enter the quantum world of quarks, photons, and space-time foam. Let's look at this indivisible side of nature. Each atom has a nucleus of protons and neutrons, with tiny electrons buzzing around. Both protons and neutrons contain three quarks. But the dissection stops there: electrons and quarks are the smallest pieces of ordinary matter. How small are they? The electron is sometimes said be a few femtometers across (about a trillionth of a hair's width), but this is misleading. Now has detected Electrons and quarks are more like puffy clouds than rigid balls. This puffiness is the result of unavoidable quantum uncertainty: You can't precisely know a particle's motion and position at the same time. If you try to hold a quark still, you would have almost no idea where it is. Such slipperiness makes exact size measurements meaningless. Are quantum effects constantly carving us into innumerable copies, each copy inhabiting a different version of the Universe? Or do all those other worlds pop out of existence as mere might-have-been? Do our own consciousness surf on quantum waves and is a part of that quantum ocean? Alias:

More effulgent than the Sun, Purer and whiter than snow, Subtler than space, The Supreme Self pervades everything, There is no difference Between you and Brahman. What greater truth can I convey To all of you assembled here?

The Lord, when He has assumed a role in the Cosmic play, has to act in each situation according to what is appropriate to it and according to the rules of the game. When an actor in a play is assigned a certain role, he studies the entire play, but while acting his role, he has to play his part alone in each scene as required in the play and not all the roles that he knows. He has to suit his actions to the demands of his role in each scene in the play. Let's play this Cosmic play with Swami and be happy. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 11. "Liberation from bondage," Chapter 17; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 17. " Divinity of Avathaar," Chapter 26 and "Uphold Sai ideals," Chapter 28; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 20. "Developing the inner vision," Chapter 11; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 27. "The Avathaar and the devotees," Chapter 31; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 29. "Render unto God what is His," Chapter 19). Namaste - Reet