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Sri Krishna
Janmastami Celebrations 140 L.E. (2012) - Talk
delivered by Pujya K.C.Narayana on 26th Varada
140 L.E. (10/08/2012)
1.
Master concluding his article on
“Masters’ support” states “My heart is offered
as a playground for you all, never mind whether
one uses it as a recreation ground for his
amusement or as a dreary waste for him to wander
madly in. Let him use it in any way he likes. It
is free for everyone to settle in, a place where
one might see his own reflection, while another
sees that of the Beloved. Uniformity is the
characteristic of Nature and everyone has his
due share of it. God is known to be both
Samavarti and sama-darshi. A real master too
must have his heart full with the feelings of
uniformity, otherwise he is not worthy of the
job at all.”1 Such a Master is what we have in
Rev. Sriramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur,
India. The goal of life is the Master who can be
viewed personally as a mystic or impersonally as
the yogi does.
2.
The practice of meditation and other
techniques prescribed in the system of PAM is
also a time when spiritually-aware people feel a
certain aloneness, even in the midst of co
travellers in sadhana. It helps to know what can
cause such a sense of loneliness, and why it
affects spiritually-aware people more so than
others. Our outer personality is designed to
focus upon the five senses and upon the
experience of the outside world which those
senses deliver. Our purpose here on Earth is to
experience being an individual, (having our own
identity till the Maha pralaya occurs) and that
is exactly why a sense of isolation can occur,
especially during the time of contemplation.
Because we are all connected within, we need to
take a moment to go beyond the separated
appearance of a room full of individuals and
recall the inner connection that we share with
the people around us. Recalling that inner
connection is not hard. At night, in the deepest
level of sleep, we reconnect with our soul
family and thrill at the union we all share.
Soul families consist of people who resonate to
the same tone of consciousness as each other.
Each person has a signature tone of
consciousness which represents who they are, we
may choose to call that our identity.
3.
The Satsanghs and periods of
contemplation are a good time to remember that,
no matter how different people appear to each
other through their surface personalities, deep
down we are all one. We should endeavour to feel
the connection, feel the love that binds all of
life in this universe together, and remember
that, in the ultimate reality, we individually
and collectively are all Infinite Being.
4.
Master explaining the present day woes of
mankind says that “World peace is the crying
need of the day and those at the top are trying
hard to bring it about. But the means adopted
for the purpose do not so far seem to promise
fruitful results. The efforts for the
establishment of world peace do not seem to be
very effective only for the reason that they are
merely external, touching only the fringes of
the problem. As a matter of fact world peace can
never be possible unless we take into account
the inner state of the individual mind. World
peace is directly related with individual peace,
for which the individual mind is to be brought
up to the required level. If the individual mind
is brought to a state of rest and peace,
everything in the world will then appear to him
in the same colour. It is, therefore, essential
to find out means for developing within every
individual a state of peace and contentment.
Thus, all that we have to do for the attainment
of world peace is to mould the mental tendencies
of the people individually. That means the
proper regulation of mind so as to introduce
into it a state of moderation.”2 Thus we see
that Master asserts the need for samatva or
balance as the solution to the root problem.
Master asserts that “Since proper regulation of
mind is essential for the attainment of inner
peace, it is necessary from the very first step
to look to the proper moulding of the tendencies
of the mind which usually remain disturbed by
the effect of sense-craving in man. This, in
fact, must be the basic object of every Sadhana
undertaken for the purpose.”3 The real solution
of the problem therefore lies not in controlling
the mind by suppression, restraint or
mortification, but in its gradual moulding which
will relieve it of its misdirected trends.
5.
Master clarifies that “Sadhana has two
aspects, one the abhyas and the other the
master's help. Abhyas is meant only for creating
inner conditions which will be helpful to the
abhyasi in attracting the flow of the Divine
grace, and this involves one's self-effort. But
self-effort alone is not sufficient. It must be
supplemented by the master's support. As a
matter of fact what we really stand in need of
for our ultimate purpose is only Divine grace.
But owing to one's inner complexities, it is
almost beyond the capacity of a sadhaka to have
it by himself. For that reason master's help is
indispensable. In earlier stages Divine grace
flows into the abhyasi only through the medium
of the master. As such it is often interpreted
as master's grace. Whether it comes through the
master's medium or direct it is the same Divine
grace in both the cases. So long as the abhyasi
is incapable of having it direct, it rests on
the master to bless him with it. When he has
developed the capacity to draw it direct, the
master's job is practically over, though even
then he has to keep a watchful eye on him for
the sake of safeguard. This is in fact the real
function of a true master.”4
6.
Now the master's support being an
essential feature of Sadhana, it becomes
incumbent upon the abhyasi to seek a worthy
guide to lead him on, helping him by his power
transmitted through the yogic process of
Pranahuti. This is the only effective means for
bringing about the desired result. Under Natural
Path the Divine grace is directed towards the
abhyasi through the process of Pranahuti. Master
further clarifies that in the old system of
abhyas one has to keep on struggling with the
mind in order to stop its unceasing activities.
The struggle continues all the time without any
success in the real sense. Thus practically
there is no meditation at all, and all the time
is lost in mere struggling and suppressing
mental modifications. In order to overcome this
very great difficulty, under the Natural Path we
simply connect ourselves with the power of the
master whose mind has become thoroughly
disciplined and regulated. His power then begins
to flow into the individual, regulating his
mental tendencies. Pranahuti is therefore of
primary value in giving the abhyasi surest
success. Our tiring labour for ages and lives
can be saved only when, by God's grace, we are
able to get a master capable of helping us
through Pranahuti. The question is whether
getting such a guru or master is due to
selective process of God or is it available to
all who are earnest about getting such a help.
If God is Samavarti He should naturally help
all. Does it happen so? This leads to the
problem of how to get a guide or should we leave
it destiny. Lord Krishna in Gita said that only
those chosen by Him reaches Him. He also said
that one in a thousand and more persons only one
reaches Him. And that is His choice!
7.
Master however states that the choice of
the Path is crucial and that once he selects a
proper person to guide him in the path his task
is practically over. The onus of responsibility
lies with the aspirant. “The selection of the
proper guide or guru is the next point to be
taken into consideration. The guru’s job being
the most significant and invaluable factor of
spiritual life, it is absolutely necessary that
due precaution be taken to select the right type
of man for the guide. The slightest error in
this matter may often prove highly disastrous.
God alone is in fact the real guide or guru, and
we all get light from Him alone. But only he who
has cleaned his heart to that extent feels it
coming there from, while a common man engrossed
deeply in material complexities feels it not. He
therefore stands in need of one of his
fellow-beings of high calibre to help him in
that direction. His role is by far the most
important, for it is he who, as a matter of
fact, pulls the real seeker up and enlivens him
with the light which is lying in him under
layers of grossness. The light thus awakened
begins first to cast its reflection upon outer
coverings and removes grossness and impurities
there from. By and by it goes on developing,
affecting the deeper layers also. The light can,
however, be awakened by independent efforts as
well, but that requires persistent labour for
many years together. For this reason association
with a worthy guide is of immense value to the
abhyasi, since the master too, is duty bound,
and keeps on removing obstructions and
impediments on the path.”5
8.
“Every saint or yogi has his own
expansion up to a limit, great or small. But
when the seeker's thought is firmly fixed upon
Divinity, Divine force thus enlivened in him
brings about the greatest expansion. At lower
levels the expansion is less. In our sanstha
every abhyasi has his own limit of expansion
which is in accordance with capacity developed
by him. For establishing a direct connection
with the Divine it is therefore absolutely
essential for an abhyasi to connect himself with
the greatest personality of the type in
existence at the time. A master of the highest
calibre is indispensable for another reason
also. In our spiritual march we proceed from
point to point, crossing from one point to
another after covering the intervening spaces
known as buffers. These intervening spaces are
to be crossed in order to gain access to the
next point. But while crossing them it is
necessary to take a thorough tour through the
entire space in order to complete its experience
- bhoga. When we start going through bhog Master
asserts the eyes of God are turned towards us.
That is why we can seek solace when we go
through negative samskaras. No further ascent
can in any way be possible without it. Now if
one tries to attempt it by mere self-effort he
gets hopelessly involved in its intricacies and
remains held up indefinitely within it. There
may however be exceptions, but they are very
very rare and that too only when one is
specially gifted with an extraordinary calibre
and is favoured with the Divine grace. Now the
power that can take us safely along through all
those intricacies can definitely be of one who
has established an irrevocable connection with
the Divine source. Is it not thus necessary to
have him for the purpose? Definitely, yes.
Whether you call him your master or your
servant, he is after all your teacher and guide
or, in the popular sense, a guru, and no matter
in whatever capacity you might take him.
The buffers or the intervening spaces between
points are innumerable. They are all to be
passed through during the course of our journey.
With the help of a worthy master of calibre the
process of bhoga is considerably reduced and the
abhyasi’s stay at these places is much
shortened, saving thereby a lot of time and
energy. It may however seem somewhat strange and
unnatural as to how bhoga gets ineffective in
the presence of the guru’s support. The fact is
that the condition of the place where the
abhyasi is staying entraps him completely,
forming a sort of network round him. Unless that
is shattered the higher ascent is out of
question. By mere self-effort one might at times
advance a little, but only to slip down again.
Practical observation goes to show that most of
the sages so far have not been able to cross
these buffers except perhaps only a few of the
early ones. They remained lingering indefinitely
in the one or the other without finding a way
out. The simple reason for that could possibly
have been lack of proper capability and calibre
on the part of their guru to clear it for them
by his own superior power. Those depending upon
their self-effort alone remain held up at the
very first or the second stage. How the
necessity for bhoga does not arise when having
the Master's support is not very difficult to
understand. Really bhoga refers not only to the
undergoing of the effects of past doings but
also to the undoing of the effect of the
net-work one has got entangled in. Only when
that is torn off is the abhyasi able to go up to
the next point, and that is possible only with
the help of the Master.
9.
The purpose for which I have taken up
this point is to clear the wrong impression held
by certain people that it is possible for one to
conduct one's spiritual training by oneself.
That may be possible only to a certain limited
extent, and that too when one is gifted with
special capabilities. Beyond that it is quite
impossible and impracticable. The only solution
can therefore be to seek the help of one of the
fellow beings who is really capable.
The selection of a worthy guru is no doubt a
very difficult job. On the basis of my personal
experience I may give you an easy method of
judging the worth. When you happen to come into
contact with one, try to understand whether his
association promotes in you a feeling of peace
and calmness, and whether the restless
tendencies of mind get silenced at least for the
time being, without causing any weighty effect
upon the mind. If it is so you must conclude
that he can be a fit person to lead you on the
path.”6
10.
Master takes up the question about why
different persons grow differently and answers:
“Now if one person gets absorbed in God and
another in His material manifestation, what will
each of them attain? The one, the Reality and
the other the imitation. Can God be blamed for
that? Certainly not. The Divine flow is the same
in both the cases, but each of them partakes of
it in accordance with his capacity and merit. I
feel myself one with all my associates, being
attached to the same common master, God, without
the slightest idea of being high or low, great
or small. As a matter of fact one in the human
form though considered to be big or great in
respect of humanity, may be really the smallest.
In fact his very smallness may itself constitute
his greatness, though in his personal capacity
he may be no more than a zero. The zero has its
own importance, since when added to a number it
raises its value ten times. This is what
devotion may finally bring us up to.”7
11.
Lord Sri Krishna in Gita (chapter 5,
verse 18) said that the wise men have 'equal
vision'. This is a very important concept or
teaching in the Bhagavad Gita, and this needs
clear-cut understanding. Our master used to
point out 'Sama-darshi' - man of equal vision -
is different from 'Samavarti' - man who behaves
alike to all. We are asked to see the same self
in all the more particularly in human
fraternity. But that should not lead us to the
absurd position of trying to feed the goat with
meat, and the tiger with grass. The learned
jnanis to remove the possibility of such
misconception bring to our notice that the lord
used another expression here - 'samabuddhi'.
This same-mindedness is an entirely inner state
that is very difficult to bring down to the
level of external exhibition. The yogi is aware
of his unruffled state of mind when he meets
people: it is not necessary that others should
judge him so. It is always the Imperience that
matters. The yogi knows the difference between a
newspaper and a currency note, but the sight of
the currency note does not produce in him the
excitement that it does in a worldly man. The
only sign by which we shall know how he feels is
the total absence of greed he exhibits, and his
unwillingness to hoard wealth: that is
anasuyatmika buddhi. The yogi has trained his
buddhi or intelligence to be aware of the
indwelling presence in all. But as long as he
lives in the physical body, in this material
world, he has a double-consciousness: he sees
the gold and the clod of earth, but is aware
that they both are part of god's nature. His
intelligence is aware of god's omnipresence,
though the mind and senses still receive the
varied impressions in the world.
12.
His actions and reactions are strictly in
accordance with god's will, unconditioned by
personal likes and dislikes, love or hatred. He
is naturally not attached to anything, neither
rejecting it nor clinging to it. He enjoys it
while it is there. He knows that everything is
pervaded by god, and his will be done. His
individual 'me' always knows itself as part of
the great 'He'.
13.
It is said that Samarth Ramdas entered a
garden of sugar-cane along with his disciples.
One of his disciples ate a sugar-cane without
asking the owner. The owner came and gave a good
slap on Ramdas's cheeks. The cheeks were
swollen. Ramdas did not speak a word. He left
the garden quietly. He knew this was Gods’ will.
Sivaji asked Ramdas: "Guru Maharaj, what is
this? I see much swelling on thy face. Kindly
tell me the cause. Ramdas refused to tell.
Sivaji began to insist several times. Ramdas
narrated the story to him and asked Sivaji to
give some land free to the owner of the
sugar-cane-garden and not to punish him in any
way. Sivaji obeyed the commands of Ramdas. Saint
Ramdas we see was not only a man of equal vision
(Samadrishti) but a man who treated everybody
alike (Samavarti) and considered that everything
was of God. This is the most exalted state that
every abhyasi in PAM can conceive and achieve
through Masters’ blessings. For sincere and
conscientious seekers God/Master is always
Samavarti and Sama-darshi.
Pranam.
References
1.
Silence Speaks pg 200-201
2.
Silence Speaks pg 180-181
3.
Silence Speaks pg 183-184
4.
Silence Speaks pg 187-188
5.
Silence Speaks pg 190-191
6.
Silence Speaks pg 193-197
7.
Silence Speaks pg 200
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