Pujya Ramsukhdasji Maharaj

[Guest guest]

Being Free from Fears and Desires - Part 2

 

Question: Giving up desire for equanimity as discussed earlier, is

more about exalted persons who have attained God Realization. What

about us?

 

Swamiji: Those exalted souls are we only. Those exalted persons are

not different from us. We ourselves are great souls. One with

Light itself is called an exalted person. There is no difference in

the light between us, and the exalted souls. Do not be afraid.

There is nothing to fear. One who is established in that Light

which is equally available to all, is called an exalted person.

Whether you call him a great soul or Brahma. To That Universal

Light what difference does it make? That Universal Brahma is One.

One point is to give up fear, and the second is to give up the

expectation of something extraordinary to happen. Fear and

expectation for singularity are the two real obstacles in spiritual

progress.

 

Sometimes you have a desire to do some forbidden activity. It will

be leave you. Now hearing this you are fearful. Now if you are

fearful of leaving, it is clear proof that you have given importance

to forbidden activities. First giving it importance and thereafter

trying to renounce, then how will it leave you? You have given it

respect. Become indifferent to it. There are three things †" 1) to

do an activity, 2) to not do it and 3) to be indifferent to it. Do

the activities that are lawful. Don't do the activities that are

unlawful and forbidden by the scriptures, but from within the heart

remain ever neutral, detached to both the sanctioned and forbidden

activities, because the light by which both sanctioned and forbidden

activities are seen has no affinity with them. Therefore be neutral

and detached to sanctioned and prohibited actions, as well as, fear

and expectation. When you think of doing the sanctioned and

forbidden activities, you have temptation to do the sanctioned

activities, but have fear while doing the forbidden activities. So

long as you have temptation and fear, you can't be established in

the Self. Therefore be indifferent and detached to them. By being

indifferent you will get rid of them. I am giving this discourse to

you because you are a sadhak who can understand the fact while a

layman may misunderstand me and take the meaning contrary to what I

mean. But you can't take the contrary meaning because you know that

I don't cheat you. You know that the sanctioned and forbidden

activities, feelings and thoughts are transitory, but the Self is

permanent. Therefore the transitory has no effect on the permanent,

the permanent is ever the same. So how can the transitory world have

any effect on the Self that is permanent? God in the Gita declares †"

 

" Udaaseen vadaaseena gunairvo ne vichaalyate

gunaa vartante ityeva yovatishthati nengate. " (Gita 14:23)

 

" He sits like a man who is unconcerned, is not moved by the

attributes (gunas) and knowing that only the Gunas operate, remains

firmly established in God and is never shaken from that state. "

 

He is never shaken. " gunaa vartante ityeva yovatishthati

nengate. " Means he remains the same.

 

So renounce fear and expectation. If you renounce them, there is no

bondage of the world for you. In that state keep quiet as long as

you can. If you can't get rid of fear and expectation for

singularity, surrender to God and pray to Him. " O Lord, I am unable

to get rid of them. " Your surrender with prayer has a great power.

By being quiet you will get power and by surrendering yourself to

Him, you will be successful in achieving your aim. You might have

experienced that by keeping quiet you regain energy to work, while

by being active, you lose energy and by doing activity for worldly

pleasures, you get tired. That tiredness is removed by sleeping and

again you gain the energy. Thus by being quiet and surrendering

yourself to Him, you will get success undoubtedly. This is the real

panacea. Be indifferent to activity or inactivity. Thus you will

become a great soul possessing metaphysical knowledge and be free

from bondage of worldly life without being affected by the world.