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“One must become colourless
while playing with colours.” – Rev. Babuji Maharaj.
Sri. K.C. Narayana
1.
The topic of the seminar is drawn from the
article ‘Holi’ of the Master from the book Silence
Speaks. (pg 533. ed.2007) This statement of the
Master is in fact informing us, an aspect of the
nature of Master. All masters and all ordinary
beings are nothing but the One Mind (one may even
call that the original Kshob) in expression. We may
for all our purposes consider this mind as
beginningless and endless, unborn and indestructible
as at any point of experience or imperience we do
not seem to be away from it.(Though in the
metaphysics that Master gives us this is not so.) It
has no colour or shape, it neither exists nor does
not exist, is neither old nor new, neither long or
nor short, not large or not small, since it includes
and also transcends all measures, limits, names,
conceptions and comparisons. It is what we see in
front of us all the time.
2.
Holi is a festival of colours when there is
great participation in colours and connected
revelries. Master states the persons who engage in
this revelry are those whose temperament is inclined
towards plays. Most people are interested in
externalities and play is an act dealing with
external things, situations and people. There are
good plays and bad plays and each one of them is
played by the persons of such temperament. There are
also mutual conflicts and appreciations and
confabulations varying in degree according to the
level of persons in transaction. These persons are
never tired of playing and Holi is a time when their
play reaches a pinnacle of excitement. We may say it
is mostly the rajasic temperament of a group of
persons in full swing.
3.
Those who do not participate in this merry
activity, we may think are detached and satvic but
Master states these bystanders are also charmed by
the colourful form the play offers. Perhaps they
engage in the play in a vicarious manner and the
play is enjoyed in the mental sphere as contrasted
to the physical plane in which it is played. It is
similar to the viewers of T.V. or those who are in
the stands of a cricket stadium watching the game:
undoubtedly these persons are very much involved and
excited in the game even as the actual players. We
are having amongst us persons who belong to the
playful temperament and the so called involved
and/or detached observers. That speaks of their
viveka and the level of their frivolous activities.
But all these activities are coloured and they may
be orange, yellow, blue, black etc.,
4.
So long as a person has not moved out of Pind
desh that person will play with these colours and
colourful activities. It is to be noted that the
mind along with the faculties of perception are
involved in these activities. Master states that “as
long as the eyes bear the power of distinction
between black, yellow, blue colours etc., which is
real aspect of the colour, it (eye-ed) cannot be
called to have discrimination (real knowledge) about
colours. (This we know as the discrepancy of
perception-ed). So long as there is variety in
inclination, one does not give due respect to
colour.” Rev. Babuji raises a question here saying
“I am unable to comprehend as to whether the Holi
comes to get the colours distinguished or is it the
manifestation of His craftsmanship?” And says to the
abhyasi to whom this letter was sent “You may decide
it yourself.” The point is, are we celebrating the
beauty of the craftsmanship of God or just engaged
in silly colour mud slinging at each other?
5.
Master in the message given on the centenary
celebration of Rev. Lalaji Maharaj says that “Purity
starts from Being and impurities are the result of
the wrong suggestions and improper utilization of
the inner environment. When all these are combined a
narrowness of views is effected and this is one of
the factors for creating a sort of confusion
sometimes automatically and sometimes forced by
circumstances. When all these things are accumulated
they bring different colours. This affects the lower
part of the mind which gives direction to the higher
part of it. Now, your direction is not correct.”
When we contemplate on these lines we understand how
we see things in our own choice of colours. Every
one of us has his own pair of coloured glasses. It
is only when we can control and moderate the
impulses of the lower mind we can be said to have
moved out of the range of our pair of glasses.
(prejudices) This task requires as we all know our
individual efforts and the influence of the
Pranahuti received from a trainer.
6.
Master states that “Whether I be standing,
sitting, lying down or in any pose whatsoever, I am
always at the same point (the base)”. He therefore
suggests that while one may be engaged in the
festivities one should be in touch with the Base. He
says “That means, the base or the destination must
never go out of our mind. We must ever keep our base
in mind. The destination can only be arrived at by
him who has become crazy and mad after it. I do not
find any other method better than this. Whoever has
made progress in this field, has adopted this very
course. Whoever becomes mad after someone, then it
is just not possible that the latter’s madness may
not make him (the former) restless.” “… when pain is
there, the cure would also come. We have to create
pain in our heart. If someone asks me, I would say
that all the labour (practices) and abhyas is aimed
at this only. Will that time come when I will also
be able to see such burning hearts? Definitely, it
must come, when you develop feeling like mine that
is when you become eagerly impatient to acquire all
those states which I am restless to impart now.” I
am very sure that many amongst us here in this
august gathering have been restless to acquire
higher states of consciousness and continue to
acquire still higher states and moving nearer the
never ending state of negation, even as the seeker
to whom this letter was addressed by the Master.
7.
For the question as to how one should be in
the realm of colours he said his “brief reply to it
would be that one must become colourless while
playing with colours.” We know that the realm of
Pind desh is that of colours and that of regions
beyond is colourlessness. Holi is the festival of
colours and is connected with the Lord Krishna. The
Lord is supposed to have participated in that
festival with gusto. Colourfulness is the product of
our mind. Master states that the “...simple
unassuming character of mind has changed with the
march of times and has assumed a colourful
disposition, and begun to shed its effect on
everything in us, both outer and inner. Whatever,
therefore, we take into thought or action exhibits
colourfulness in all its phases.” (SS-401)
8.
However we know that we are all involved in
the process of developing the Unity of Perception
and Living according to the principles of the
Natural Path. Master states “The most peculiar
feature of our society is that when it is in full
bloom, it is all covered over with desolateness,
which further on gets transformed into wilderness.
For this reason it is devoid of any charm or
attraction. If I describe it as something pleasant,
it will then be a tasteless one. How can a professed
seeker of eternal bliss (Paramananda), who is
addicted to colouration at each step, be attracted
towards it? This condition can be appreciated only
by one, who having gone mad with love, wanders about
wailing and crying for what he knows not. In such a
state one would be feeling the same condition even
though he happened to be amid festivities and
revelries. As for myself, wherever I happen to be
the entire surroundings there are covered over with
an air of desolation on account of my presence
there. A humourist might well interpret it in funny
ways, but perhaps that alone can be the most
appropriate description of my condition. Really the
thing at the root gets exposed when the colourful
disposition of mind is transformed. When the
material world is out of view the thought naturally
settles down on the other one. But this
colourlessness of mine may not be much appreciable
to most people, except to those who have become
accustomed to it through constant association.
(SS-353)”.
9.
Should we therefore take for granted to have
such a condition because of our alleged association
with Him? Or because we coo his name very often and
more particularly when we see his photographs? It is
obvious that constant association with him would be
possible and true to those who have gone beyond the
Pind desh and when we “go on and on through
different conditions casting of four assumed
colouring, till finally we become quite colourless
“(SS-368). It should remembered of the four colours
of the first four knots is what is mentioned here by
the Master.
10.
Master further states “Now if somehow, I too
get affected by the colours of the Holi, then my
reply to it would be part pheasant and part
partridge, a mixture of coherence and incoherence
like that of a drunkard.” “… if we have linked
ourselves to the whole (ultimate) then certainly the
same view should appear before vision. It therefore
follows that if we get ourselves linked to the
ultimate then the colour of the same ultimate shall
pari-passu prevail in us and if per chance we become
unaware of that link by maintaining it repeatedly
then please tell me what would be your form or share
thereafter? The same state of mergence which we are
in search of? What a good thing it would be if we
learn this lesson from Holi.”
11.
It may be mentioned that there is a story
relating to the festival Holi. It appears that the
legendary Hiranyakasipu had a sister by name Holika.
She has a siddhi by which she can sit on fire and
remain unburnt. As a part of the various tactics
used by the Asura to kill his son Prahlada, he asked
his sister to hold his son on her lap and sit on
fire hoping that his son will get burnt and there
will be no damage to his sister. But Prahlada
survived and Holika got burnt. The festival is
celebrated to reassure that one who has surrendered
cannot be destroyed by asuric persons like Holika.
It may be seen here that the element of Fire which
refers to the third knot and control over that is a
siddhi due to devotion can burn but the one who has
surrendered to the divine, that is a person
established in the fourth knot will survive the
element of fire and move on the realm of air.
12.
The value of diamond is well known and
justifiably we from Andhra Pradesh can take pride in
stating that Golconda is the place where we have
found the first big diamond. We all know that it is
not the colour of the diamond that grants its value
but its colourlessness. In fact grading colour in
the normal range involves deciding how closely a
stone's body colour approaches colourlessness. A
diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colours
and reflect this light as colourful flashes called
fire. It is persons who have entrenched deeply in
the super consciousness of the highest variety that
emit or fire colours according to the need of the
aspirants in their system in the centres related to
the various colours. It may said even as the
colourlessness of the diamond gives rise to a range
of colours the ‘Non conscious consciousness’ grants
us various shades of consciousness and colours in
our march to Infinity.
13.
Colours play extraordinary tricks on the
mind. Play with the colours in the context of
spirituality is bound to be an interesting study by
itself. Black is associated with the Sufis and
goddess Kali, Orange with Sadhus and Sanyasis, White
with Jains, Nuns and Christian preachers, Yellow
with robes of Lord Krishna himself, Ash with Lord
Shiva, Blue with Mahavishnu and so on. This should
be enough indication for those who seek
colourlessness to avoid the association of these men
and demi gods and gods. It is obvious that the polar
opposite of positive mystical colour imagery is
colourlessness. Colour is the characteristic of the
individual while colourlessness is the
characteristic of the universal. This is obvious for
us as we transcend the realm of Pind desh we enter
into realms of colourlessness though certain times
the individuality of the sadhaka persists and we
have visions coloured with pink or ruby.
14.
We find that human civilization has always
programmed Happiness through sexual freedom and drug
and drinks including the Vedic soma which are
supposed to create feelings of euphoria. Scent and
colour objects and music provide momentary pictures
on our mind exciting virtual and unreal and
imaginary visions. That is the reason why many
persons indulge in colours (selection of garments is
a classic example where those who are interested in
colours indulge in excitement and never end that
game). That is perhaps the reason why those who are
seeking colourlessness, eschew bright primary colour
imagery in favour of dull hues which border on
colourlessness.
15.
It is because of this criteria of
colourlessness of the spiritual plane, application
of Religious thought in this plane becomes virtually
impossible. Spiritual societies therefore forbid
noise (including that of music) as the members seek
Silence. Silence is the auditory version of
colourlessness. We may recall that Master forbade
all music during celebrations except at the end the
recital of Marifat- a song in praise of Revered
Lalaji Maharaj for having given us a Master who is a
personification of Love. He is Silence which is
always emitting the colourlessness of spiritual
presence. Any one who tries to get into such a state
of Silence all on his own will never find the way
towards that. The aspirant has to learn that he/she
has to put a full stop to the conceptual thinking to
which one is accustomed to and it is then the Master
appears in the scene his presence being felt as
Eloquent Silence. That is a state when the
consciousness pure and simple reigns as we all know
during the deep states of meditation when neither we
nor He is there. That is Sri Ramchandra
Consciousness: it is then whether it is our state or
His state does not matter and it is all the same and
that is Laya or Mergence.
16.
It is when we are inspired by the great
purpose of the Master who is labouring hard to bring
in transformation of the human nature and partake in
that extraordinary project, all our personal and
selfish and self centred thoughts break their
bounds. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become
alive, and we discover ourself to be a greater
person by far than we ever dreamed ourself to be. It
is true even then adverse circumstances test our
courage, our strength of mind, and the depth of our
conviction in the Dharma propounded by the great
Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur,
India. There is nothing exceptional about practicing
this path of Dharma in a good environment and
atmosphere. The true test is if we can maintain our
practice in adverse conditions. That is possible
when we are totally colourless in an otherwise
colourful atmosphere.
17.
Being colourless when we remain firmly
committed to:
i)
the faultless path of the Master
ii)
take refuge at the Feet of the incomparable
One
iii)
take refuge in the Ocean of Bliss of the
Gracious One,
we are rewarded with a long and
joyous life of dedication to the noblest cause that
the Master cherishes and humanity yearns for.
17. Master states that
‘Satyapad is itself a science for which one
may not be well fitted unless he develops the
capacity to perceive Nature with his inner eye.” We
know that the inner eye gets vision from the heart.
While physical eyes feed the mind with all its
colours, it is the colourlessness that the heart
knows. The Natural Path is lighted by such
colourlessness of the heart. Broader the spread of
such inner light the nobler are the Visions. That is
what meditation on light without luminosity grants
and that is wisdom. Such is reward and destiny by
following the principle “One must become colourless
while playing with colours”
Pranam |
