some more thoughts on the Brahma Sutras

Brahman or God or Self, Truth, Consciousness or Existence or whatever you call is not an object perceivable to our senses, mind or intellect. We cannot see it through our physical eye, neither can we taste or hear or smell or even think of Him. Thus, the first approach always has been of negation- not this, not this. He is that, what is not. For example, in the Upanishads, the Masters says- That which cannot be seen, smelt, heard etc but by whose presence the senses or mind works is Brahman.That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship. If you think: "I know Brahman well," then surely you know but little of Its form; you know only Its form as conditioned by man or by the gods. Therefore Brahman, even now, is worthy of your inquiry.Thus Tatastha laksana becomes a must. In the katha upanishad also, we see the reference of a constellation Arundhuti. This constellation being very very far from us is like a dot in the night sky. To reach(see) it,we take the help of other bigger constellations near to this and thus reach the desired Arundhuti. That which helps us in the Self Inquiry in the very outset but looses its relevance once the goal is reached might be defined as the Tatastha laksana.
With this negation comes the right perception of that which IS and which cannot be expressed. This brings us a step further where we can have the benefit of the Swarupa laksana. Within this time, because of a continuous search, our mind also has become much clear where we can hold the idea of that which is transcendental.
The Upanishads holds the knowledge of the Self or God within it. But, there is lesser references of the means to attain the Absolute. Hence, the Br. Su. is an effective tool by which our search gets translated into attainment. The first Sutra starts with a question- 'Athata Brahmajignyasa' and ends with a confirmation- 'Anabritti Sabdat Anabritti Sabdat' - ( liberation from the cycle of birth and death, complete liberation from attachment and aversion, worldly happiness and sadness, fame and defame and from all conflicts and confusions and attainment of the eternal supreme peace while immersed into the ocean of bliss forever.
Now, why does the scriptures specially the Br. Su, advocate guided practice in accordance with the shruti or the Vedas? Once, I came across a reference made in the Vedas thus- ' Navedbin Manute Tam Brihantam'- ( one who doesn't meditate the Brahman according to the hymns of the Vedas, cannot know Brahman'. I was very shocked initially because that suggested only a very narrow minded approach. But, now, my experiences say how correct and perfect those words are of the Vedas. Here, I include all the spiritual texts available in the world when I refer to as the Vedas. When we approach something which cannot be seen or heard or touched or thought of, its the Master and the words of the scriptures which are our only guidelines. We cannot create our own path according to our wish when we reel within the limitations of time, space and casualty.
As to the idea of individual soul, I have to say, the Soul is one and thus infinite but is reflected in every being in equal proportion. The sun falls on a beautiful rose and also on wine bottle. But, there is no two. And while reflecting through the wine bottle, the sun doesn't become impure. Hence, there is one soul. Another example, there are ten pots of water. And within those ten pots, we will see ten suns, but they are one and indivisible. When we break one pot, there remains nine.....eight...seven....then ultimately, one reflected sun and one sun. When the last pot is broken, the one who remained earlier remained thereafter, unchangeable. Gone are the reflections, but the true object remained. That is the Existence, the substratum of every being.

Lakhsana used in the Brahma Sutras

Now, when we have already started our journey into the Brahma Sutras quite seriously, let us be acquainted with some of the technical terms used in the Br. Su. ( Brahma Sutra).
To have a better understanding of the Brahma Sutras, we have to know a word - Laksana and its significance. The literal meaning of Laksana is the identifying features or attributes or very close to an analogy. For example, while explaining the address of someone named Ram, we say, Ram's house is in the Ganga. We all know that Ganga being a river cannot be a place where someone could build a house. It means that Ram's house is in the banks of the river Ganga. This is known as the Tatastha Laksana. Tatastha Laksana is that expression by which we express a certain character of an object which is distinct from its real nature. The definition of an object that helps temporarily to identify the object, but which is discarded later for a better definition is called incidental qualification or Tatastha Laksana;
So, in the second Ap.( aphorism) of the Br. Su. ( Janmadhayashya Yatah), we find the use of Tatastha Laksana where the origin, sustenance and dissolution has been referred or related to the world which has no relation what so ever with the eternal, changeless and birthless Brahman but the second Ap. indicates the nature or characteristic of Brahman.
There is another way of expressing an object. Its the direct expression. In the scriptures, we find the references about Brahman such as -" Truth, Knowledge, Infinite is Brahman." This way of directly defining an object, here in case, Brahman is known as Swarupa Laksana. Through Swarupa Laksana, we define an object in its true essence. Here, though these three words are distinctive to each other and carry separate meaning when referred to in a different context, yet they talk about the one indivisible Brahman. For example, we say, H2O, two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. H2O means water. Though 'H', '2' and 'o' are distinct, yet, they express the nature of one water. Another example is, Ram is a good father, a good son, a good husband and a good king. Father, son, husband and king are different, but they all refer to the characteristics of one person- Ram.
Why is the use of Laksana so important in Vedanta? It is because to understand and realize the depth of any given object and its definition, we should understand and realize at length the basic or intrinsic qualifications of those that construct that said object. In the Br. Su, we will find the references and need to understand the applications of such Laksanas often.
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Vedanta- A journey towards Absolute Peace

Vedanta- A journey towards Absolute Peace (Kindle Edition)
by Puri, Swami Probuddhananda (Author)

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A journey into Vedanta.

A journey into Vedanta.
-Swami Probuddhananda


Discussion helps us to understand and realize the essence of Advaita Vedanta and make our lives better.


The journey of spirituality though has a beginning, yet, it doesn't have any end. The only thing which is true here is just to flow or March on. "He is beyond mind and speech". That, "He is"..While moving forward, sometimes it appears that we have accomplished the whole journey, that we had come to the end where everything immerses into an absolute unity. But, the next moment, another subtle world reveals itself with all its depth and shows us how ignorant we were and with a realization that we hadn't even started yet. The journey which was thought to have ended had actually just began. There are some who consider to have just started the journey after the attainment of Nirvikalpa Samadhi. What is truth? Truth is the self, real and absolute which cannot be negated after negation of all. What is then the world, or this body, or the mind or ego? The consciousness of world is the world, the consciousness of body the body, mind the mind and the consciousness of ego is the ego. Consciousness of the Self therefore is the Self, ultimate reality, Truth, Enlightenment.

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2nd Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras

Janmadhyasya Yatah

Janmadi ( birth or origination etc) asya ( of this world) yahat ( from where)

The second Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras says- That from where the birth and death (origination, sustenance and dissolution) of this world happens.

This 2nd sutra or Aphorism is considered to be the definition of Brahman. In the first sutra, the inquiry into the Self had began. But, then, it becomes necessary for an aspirant to know the characteristic of the one who is to be known or realized. Thus, Brahman is that from where we come, live and dissolute into. It is our past, present and future and thus the most important knowledge to be known. We see a similar echo of this sutra in the Taitiriya Upanishads -
" Yato Va Imani Bhutani Jayante. Yena Jatani Jivanti. Yat Prayantyabhi Samvishanti" - that from where the world has originated. That in which the world lives. That in which it dissolves is the Self or Brahman.

But, the question is- in the first sutras when an inquiry had been made about Brahman, why didn't the next aphorism talk about the means to attain that Knowledge. Instead we see that, there is a direct reference of that which is non perceivable or beyond all comprehensions. The answer to my mind might be thus-

There are two aspects of spiritual world. One the means and the other the end. Almost all the aspirant are been trained to follow the means to attain the end. The mandatory practices such as meditation, self analysis and the like. But, it is the Consciousness ( which comes out of constant perception) of the Self which the easiest, fastest and surest way to attain Self Knowledge and hence Liberation. Thus, with this second sutra, there is attempt to boost the endeavor of the aspirant so as to the real nature becomes clearer. We are the Self, the source of all sentient and insentient, ever unattached from all phenomena of Maya and its effect ignorance. Astavakra thus sings-- " Viswam sfurati yatredam taranga iva sagare....." 15.7

Question and conclusion of the first aphorism of the Br. Sutra.

As it has been said in the first aphorism that the question of the Self or Brahman has began. Now, the question is- why should we question about the existence of Brahman? Does the world cease to exist after the knowledge of the Self is attained? The answer is an obvious ' NO'. After the realization of the Self or Brahman, which has been described in the Upanishads as the destroyer of the world phenomena, liberator of the illusory world etc, we still continue to witness the relative existence or Samsara( world). So, why should we desire for Brahman or Self?
Answer - It is true that even after the attainment of the knowledge of the Self where one becomes conscious of the world beyond this illusory world, the Self beyond this empirical Self, one experiences and dwells within the illusory world but this vision of the illusory world is not because of its( world) actual existence but because of the past impression or Sanskaras. For example, if we keep a piece of onion in a bowl for seven days, the bowl will continue to smell onion for several more days even after withdrawing onion from the bowl. Though there is no onion present within the bowl, still, it would keep on smelling, thus, though the Self knowledge has already been attained, yet, we keep on witnessing and dwelling into this empirical Self which is better known as ego-consciousness but there is a difference. We can understand this better if we see an event in the life of Swami Vivekananda when He was a wondering monk. Once during His journey into the deserts of Rajasthan, He saw a village full of trees and lakes. Because He was thirsty, so He ran towards the lake but within a moment understood that it was a mirage. There was no such village full of lake within the vicinity of a few kilometers. He kept walking and while He continued, He saw the same village again. This time He didn't run, He knew that though He have seen it, yet in reality, it doesn't exist, its a mirage. Thus, a wise after realization of the Self though sees and experiences this world, yet, He knows it very certainly that the world with its attributes doesn't exist. That it is false. Falseness doesn't mean the nonexistence of the world, but, its not what it is seen. Thus, the Guru and the scriptures repeatedly speaks about the non reality of this world and the existence of the Self. The world is seen real because of the super imposition of the non real entity into the real. Thus, reality has to be perceived first and then realized.
Like in the Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna says-
" Na tewaham jatu nasam na twam neme janadhipaha
Na chaiba na bhavishyamah sarve vayamataha param" 2.12.
- (But certainly its not a fact that I didn't exist at anytime nor you, nor these rulers of men. And surely it is not that we all shall cease to exist after this).
Now, How do we exist eternally or how does the world exist eternally? It exists eternally because it is eternal by nature but because of delusion or ignorance it is perceived to be a name and form and with attributes.We are consciousness absolute but because of Maya or super-imposition, the Self is perceived and related to the three states viz conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious. This Self though perceived to be empirical and unreal is not so. We are the Real Universal soul and thus, this reality should always be sought. Thus, Brahma Jignyasa(question) is valid.
What do we know after the question is raised about the Brahman- The brahma Sutra gives us a very define answer to this question in the second aphorism-
Janmadhyasya Yatah.
(To be discussed in the next post)

The first aphorism of Bramha Sutra.

ATTHATHO BRAHMA JIJNASA --- Now this quest of the Truth or the Self or Brahman or the question of "Who Am I?" has arrived.
The word 'Brahman' has been derived from the root word (dhatu) 'Briha'. Brahman means the Self. The word self is derived from that dhathu. In Sanskrit root word is called dhathu. From briha dhathu. Every word in Sanskrit has come from a root. Like ‘Ram’ came from a root. When Ram was born he didn't have a name. His father brought Him to the sages to name him. When the sages saw that little child, they saw that he is attracting them in such a level that the sages feel the presence of that child in their mind. While they feel the presence of that child in their mind they get connected with the lord. So this child is a medium to connect with that infinite lord. This wonder child is the one whom the yogis can meditate upon spontaneously and that is why that child was named as RAM - “Ramanthi yogina yasmin sa Ram”, the one in whom the sages meditate and take refuse is RAM. Krishna was born and in the same way the sages came and they saw that the boy was attracting them towards him. The one quality of the God is attraction. The world also attracts us but there is a sense of dis satisfaction and extreme desire and unfulfillment. But with the attraction of God, we find peace and bliss and a natural flow of renunciation and fulfillment. We will see when we are meditating and are moving towards the self, the vibrations of the mind is very less we feel the attraction coming from inside. Like somebody is attracting from inside. Who is that? That is the Self. So when sages came to name Krishna they saw that Krishna is attracting them and that is why they named Krishna as “Ya karshathi sa Krishna”. Krishna has came from the word karshathi from "Krish" dhathu or the root word. In the same way Brahman came from the root ‘Briha’. Brahman doesn’t mean that somebody sitting in the heaven. Brahman means ‘Me, You, Everybody and my Self’. Briha denotes greatness to an infinite degree and therefore applicable to all objects which have the quality of greatness. But aptly to that object by nature and quality posses this greatness to an infinite degree. Hence the word Brahman primarily denotes that supreme person who is the abode of all auspicious qualities to an infinite degree and who is free from all worldly taint. This supreme person is the only being, the knowledge of whose nature results in liberation. After knowing Brahman the person becomes the possessor of all divine qualities and that also to an infinite degree. 'Then' denotes the immediate sequence and therefore signifies that the antecedent fact necessarily leads to an inquiry into Brahman. The word then means now the quest for truth has started, so when it says that 'Now' means 'When?'- when everything of this worldly activities have been accomplished and now we approach into the highest level where we come close to the realize the self and become free.

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Conversation...

hello my very good friend

how are you?

J:
Hello! I am good, and honored!

How are you?

Me :
I am good as well, just a bit busy with the publications

J:
;);)

Me :
where do you live?

J :
Oh, I am so far away! I am in Washington State in USA, the Northwest corner.

Me :
I am in Varanasi

J :
And you have a new school?

Me :
a new Ashram, yes, near the university

J :
Oh, that is good to be near the university, I would think.
I so wanted to attend Bhagavan's birthday celebration.

Me :
please come whenever you want to

J :
I have really enjoyed the Vedanta Society. It is similar to mine, and is serious work.

Me :
yes, quite serious and sincere

J :
Yes! Sincere!

J :
You know, India has contributed so much to spirituality, and she should be healthier.
How can I help?

Me :
lets work together to build a consciousness about spirituality which would be beyond any narrow mindedness or sectarianism

J :
Oh, yes! I am so for this! Shouldn't we all be learning about the same thing, really. We just have had different ways of coming upon it.

Me :
yes

J :
And then we need to be able to live it!

Me :
most of the spiritual worker gets struck to a particular form thereby loosing the universal outlook

J :
Right. so true. then we actually fear the new news.

Me :
they infact harm humanity because in the process of preaching peace and love, they preach very dangerous sectarianism

J :
Yes, it usually still come with an accusal of some kind as well...

Me :
I want to work with everybody and help people , no matter he/she follows Jesus or Buddha or Krishna or Allah

J :
So great, I have sensed that!

Me :
yes

J :
The more I learn the more I have appreciated that other sects have really concentrated on an area which is essential to fit with the whole puzzle.

Me :
yes, the puzzle which will never be solved till we are within the limitations of mind

J :
Well, here in the U.S. the big challenge is to realize that we have one!

Me :
I can help you in this regard
to realize

J :
Soon the consciousness of matter will need to pop out from under the microscope to say hello! Then we might learn what is in control.

Me :
it wont
it cannot be felt through senses

J :
So far, it is hoping that the scientist will tell it something about itself.

Me :
we can come to a conclusion, but, its impossible to know that through senses
we have to become that if we want to feel
and the moment we transcend our senses, we start to realize

J :
This is true, the scientist would need to have their own developed consciousness to hear of course.

Me :
yes

Judy :
That will be the day!

Me :
when the medium of understanding disappears, then does the one beyond comprehension manifest

J :
This is why we have always had to have faith instead of full comprehension.

Me :
yes faith and then make efforts to make it a confirmed knowledge

J :
We just have to begin to try with faith, and then we may have confirmation. This is what most Christians have done. Since Christian Scientists prove their health with it, we have a lot of confirmation.

Me :
yes, faith is the basis of all religion

J :
You know, though, it is really love which is the required ingredient.

Me :
love comes from inside
its the purest product of devotion and honesty

J :
Surely, and it needs to go out and be given.

Me :
whatever comes from inside will definitely go out spontaneously

J :
Right. without honesty we have not much.

Me :
any effort in that regard will make it an intellectual exercise

J :
This is where I find that although we do need to learn self, love self and appreciate what is there, we need to challenge the belief that others are not able, because we will never have our own thoughts pure.

Me :
spirituality starts from the point where you stop bothering about others and concentrate within yourself
the whole world you will find is within you
separation is such an illusion

J :
This is true, we must make ourselves responsible for what we experience from others.

Me :
that others is also the outcome of your own thought and actions
there is no other

J :
It is God from which we can never be separated, and since God is with all, we are really not different.

Me :
there is only One seen or perceived differently into different names and forms
God is not with all, God is all that is
there is no other existence than God

J :
It does seem to all have similar concerns to us, I have even checked this!
So that if we do not love these other things, and we do have the same God with us, it is difficult to then think we will have support for this.

Me :
to love others, you have to love God only

J :
It is to love God first, and then all else.

Me :
love God only

J :
Well, then we have to be very inclusive and correct about what we are loving.

Me
yes, that's why discrimination is a must for aspirants

J :
Yes!!

Me :
love Him till you feel that whatever there is, is all but Him

J :
Yes, I like that idea.

Me :
this is Vedanta

J :
That is lovely.

Me :
thanks

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Fear not...

In Sankaracharya’s Vivekachudamani we can see how a disciple after doing everything and by burning in the fire of this world comes to a master with folded hands and says “Oh master, I have been bewildered by this realms of the world. Please take me to that peaceful state, to that calm state. I want to rest in peace. I want to liberate from this burnings. I want to liberate from the fire of this world.” The first thing that the master tells is “Don’t worry. Fear not”. The first word of the Vedas, Upanishads, of the scriptures is this “Fear not”. Whatever happens to us we should know ‘fear not, fear not whatever happens, just hold it till you realize the self confirmly”. Upnaishads means the knowledge by which we always stay near the self with full confirmation. When a person realizes the self with this confirmation he knows that this is the place where the self, the oneness, unity, bliss, joy, happiness of freedom, of knowledge, of truth, of infinity, of divinity, of eternity, this is the place. We are all moving towards that state. But the negative thoughts are coming and distracting us. So we have to know why these thoughts are coming and from where they are coming. When we know that where do we stand then only we see that from tomorrow, today, this moment itself it will not come. It comes because of our weakness. This comes because we are always used to think in this way. We have been told that we cannot do anything. Nothing will happen with us. Study, get a job, marry, have two or three kids, that’s it. You cannot do anything more. This is the common dialogue everybody of us has heard. And by hearing this dialogue we grew up. People like Swami Vivekananda, Shankaracharya, all the great people said “no. You have infinite capability within you. You have infinite strength within you. Believe in this. You are the sun of the bliss, you are the sun of the immortal. You don’t have any death. Fear not. Go beyond death”. Only by knowing that person, which person? In the Vedas it has been said that person, that man, that existence who is bright like the sun thousand suns. You know this. I have known that Purusha. I have known that person who is referred in the Vedas as a person who is brighter than thousand suns. By knowing this man itself I can go beyond the truth. While knowing self there are many things which will come on our way and we have to go beyond that. Just by surpassing it we will see that we go to that place. Swami Vivekananada in one of his poems called the ‘song of monks’ in every stanza he put one word ‘leave the rope which is binding you towards the world’. There is an undefined attachment with this world. We feel that if we leave this what will happen to me. No, nothing will happen. When these ropes of thoughts try to take you with them to some unseen dark forest tell them just leave those ropes and say leave it and say ‘Hari Om Tat Sat’, ‘You are truth’. These thoughts have no power. They gain power because you are attaching with them. There is a famous story of a saint and mouse. A mouse used to live in the ashram of a saint. The saint used to love it very much. One day the saint saw that the mouse is very frightened and moving here and there and the saint asked “what happened” . Mouse said “there is a cat came to eat me”. The saint by his power turned the mouse into bigger cat and that cat which came to eat it got frightened and ran away. Now this bigger cat is very happy as it’s no more a mouse it’s a cat and nobody will come to it and eat. After some days the saint saw that this cat is again frightened. He saw that there was a big dog standing on the door steps. Then the saint transformed the cat into a bigger dog. The dog which was standing ran away. One day this saint saw that this dog is again frightened. The saint saw that at the door step there is a lion standing. Then the saint turned that dog into bigger lion and the lion which came ran away. Now this bigger lion became the king of that forest. One day that lion was sitting near the saint and the saint told the lion to do something. Because now it’s a lion the king of the forest, it has ego and its ego got hurt and it came to eat the saint. When it came to eat the saint, the saint said “become mouse again”. This is how we treat our thoughts. From mouse we take them up to lion. It’s a very small thought which comes but we feed them and we grow them until it becomes lion. We can’t make again into a mouse and that is why this lion comes and eats us. Why does it come to eat us? Because we don’t know that we are the saint. We have given this power to this thought to become like this to think that it’s greater than me. The thought when it comes, it comes in a very subtle way and we feed it and make it stronger and stronger and at one time it becomes so strong we get covered by its weight and we tend to die. In India we say “Chintha chita samaan hai”. ‘Chintha’ means thought. ‘Chita’ means the oven where the dead bodies are burnt. These thoughts are like that oven which burns us. The thought always burns. What to do? Know that you are the saint. Only by knowing this then only you can make that into action. You can transform that lion into mouse. We have to know that we are that Brahman, we are not thoughts, we are not mind, we are not the ego, we are not the body, we are not this world. There is nobody in this world who can disturb me. Nobody can kill me because I am one without second. Even the body dies but the Atman cannot be killed. This birth and death is only but imagination. The self or the soul is birthless and deathless. Only the body takes birth and dies. Death is only a fear. The first thing that a master or Guru or the scriptures says is “Fear not”. In Gita Krishna explains the twenty four divine qualities of man. The first word is ‘Abhi, fear not’. So if you want to become divine you have to be always very fearless. Every time you have to face. One day Swami Vivekananda went to Vrindavan. There was one sacred lake and he took bath there. When he was bathing some monkeys has taken his clothes. After coming back out of the lake he asked monkeys to give his clothes and the monkeys become very furious. They attacked Swamiji. Swamiji when he saw that the monkeys were attacking him, he started running. When he started running the monkeys were also behind him. Suddenly he heard a voice “Don’t run. Face it”. He immediately stopped and turned around. When he turned around the monkeys got frightened. They left his clothes and ran away. This is the science by which we have to lead our life. Don’t run away, stop and face it. See what is this. You will see there is nothing. It is only you that is standing. There is nothing that can ever scare you, harm you. Only one that harms you is you, yourself. We see ghosts, evil spirits. If you are always Brahman, how can a evil spirit catch you? If you are always divine can catch you? It catches you if you are weak. Now everywhere there are germs of many, many diseases. Why are we not getting all those diseases? Because, our body has all that power to resist all those diseases. The moment this body looses that power to resist at that moment all kind of disease will catch us. The problem is not because the disease has caught you. It’s because you have become weak. You have given a chance to them to act. Don’t give chance. Always be like a warrior and fight. Swami Vivekananda said always keep the sword of discrimination with your pillow when you sleep, not only throughout your day. Even in the sleeping state no fear should come to you. You have to cut the roots of fear, illusions, all weaknesses. Always keep the discrimination with you that “I am that Brahman”. The scriptures which are eternal tell me this. The scriptures are also divine because they talk about that divinity. The scriptures are nothing but the practical words of the enlightened soul. I should not have fear of anything because I am the son of the immortal. The son of a lion doesn’t fear, it knows that it is a lion but the son of a deer will fear. It is trained to be fearful from the child hood. The first thing that his mother teaches is to how to run. The mother of a lion will teach how to hunt. Learn this how to make people run. Stand still in your place. Don’t run away my dear. Whatever thoughts come to you are thoughts of ignorance, these are not yours. This is Maya. You have to know that this is also within the system.

Do not suffer in sufferings...

We have to find the solution within ourselves. Then only can we give a solution. We will know the truth, we will know why this is happening. We see things happening, but we don't know why they are happening. Actually this world has been going on in this way from time immemorial. Making and breaking is a process. We see people die and we see people live, but this is a process, it is going on. Nobody can change this. And, in this process, there are some people who know the Truth. There are people who try to know the Truth and they know the Truth, and they do not only live happily, but they bring happiness to many. But, this is also true that it will always remain (this process). So, the only solution here is this – I have to know that this world is false. When I know that this world is true, there lie all my problems.

One day I was thinking. One prince, Siddhartha, he was made to stay in an artificial environment where there was no sorrow. One day he went out of his castle to see what life is. And there he saw four things – first is old age, second is disease, third is death, and the fourth one is a monk meditating. So he came back but he couldn't stay because he wanted a solution to this. He wanted a solution to all the sufferings of this world. We know him, he became the great Lord Buddha. But, frankly speaking, could he bring happiness to this world? Is it possible? No. This is like this.

There are so many spiritual giants who have come to this world. There are so many noble souls that have come. But, the world moves on its own momentum. It never changes. We say or we think that it changes. We can change, but that is also an ignorance. Nothing can be changed. The only thing is to accept and face, that's all. We plan, we hope, we do many things, but that happens what has to happen. We cannot even walk one step according to our own wish. This is the truth.

There is a story about Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. One day he was speaking with the man who was the owner of the temple where he used to worship. His name was Mathur Vishwas. Mathur Vishwas was a great devotee of Ramakrishna. One day there was a discussion and in this discussion Ramakrishna said that whatever happens in this world it happens because of the Divine wish of the Mother. Then Mathur Babu asked is it really true that nothing happens without the Divine wish of the Mother. Ramakrishna said: "Yes. Without Her wish nothing can happen." Mathur Babu asked: "Then can She produce white flowers in a tree which always gives red flowers?" Ramakrishna said: "Yes, it is possible. If the Mother wishes, then it is possible." The next day Sri Ramakrishna saw that in a tree which always gives red flowers there was one white flower. He cut the whole branch and he showed it to Mathur Babu saying: "See. This is it. If the Mother wishes, then it is possible."

I will tell you another example, in the life of Swami Vivekananda. He went to a temple in Kashmir. That temple was known as Kshir Bhagavani temple, meaning that that Mother is always offered a preparation of milk and rice. It is a sweet Indian dish. The temple was very big, but the Mongolians came and they broke the temple, they devastated it. When Swami Vivekananda went to that temple, he was very hurt to see the devastation made by the people there. So he said that if he was alive back then, he wouldn't have let the Mongolians break this temple. In the night when he was sleeping he saw a dream. The Mother came to his dream and the Mother said: "Who are you to protect my temple? Who are you? My sons have broken my temple. If I wish I can build a thousand temples here."

So this is the truth. Everything happens because of a Divine wish. Because we do not see that, we do not see the Divine wish, we suffer. Yes, I also suffer. I suffered when I got the news that there was a huge earthquake in Chile. I have my brother in Chile (God brother). I wrote to him immediately – "Where are you? How are you?" And he came online on skype immediately and he said that he was good. But there is nothing we can do. He said: "Swamiji, you cannot imagine those two and a half minutes. Every moment I was thinking about Bhagavan. Every moment." So, just think about this. Whenever we see devastation, when we see destruction, then only our awareness towards Truth comes. We cannot say that every moment of our life we remember God. We cannot say this. But the moment we see any kind of destruction, any kind of risk or any kind of fear, immediately we think about God. But if we can do it all our life, every moment, if we can always be with God. There is a famous poet in India, his name is Kabir. You might have heard his name. One of his poems says: , it means: Everybody remembers You in a time of adversity." When we are in a difficulty we remember God. But, when we are happy, when we have pleasure, when we are satisfied, we forget Him. Kabir says that the man who remembers God even in the time of his happiness, he will never have sorrow.

So here we have to ask ourselves. What did we do? Did we always remember Him? Forget about Him. Did we always remember our fellow men, who are with us? Do we feel for them? We are all selfish. Human beings are the most selfish creatures in this whole world. They are the ones who have created this kind of devastation. All sorts of problems in this world. So many species have become extinct because of human beings. We don't even care for others. We kill them. We build weapons of mass destruction. We make bombs and guns and we kill people. An animal always kills when it is hungry. Man kills because of sport. He likes it. So this has to happen. If we can change this, this instinct within people so that we will not fight, not only fight, that we will not even think about fighting, then the nature might spare us. But, we cannot. In tsunamis you will not see one single cattle die, you will not see one single animal die. You will only see human beings die. Why? Because we lost our communication, our equilibrium with nature, we don't even understand it. We need artificial machines to understand climatic change. But a cow does not need it. A cow does not need to know when rains are coming, she knows it. The ants in India, just two days before rain starts, they come out of their houses, they come to the surface. And when they come out we understand that rains are coming. And exactly after two days rains come. How? They don't have any artificial machine. And we call ourselves civilized. We are not civilized. In this way, much devastation will happen until human beings accept or learn to live together. Until human beings learn to love. We all use this word, love. But no, this is not love. This is selfishness. We want to cover up our own needs by this word love. Love is not so easy. A man who loves forgets the word love. He only suffers. Suffers, why? Because he cannot react. He cannot repay the selfish behavior of others.

An Introduction to the Brahma Sutras.1

An Introduction to the Brahma Sutras 2
( Swami Probuddhananda Puri classes)

We are moving towards that state when we will be assured about the Self, how to get assured? we have to know that and then we have to get established there. But distractions sometimes do comes, we have to know why they come, why do we tend away from the truth? It comes because of our weakness. But, the moment we start to know where do we stand now, we will see that these weakness would be gone. The weakness comes because we are used to think that we are weak. We have been told earlier that we cannot do anything, Have a normal life as others have, nothing more can be done, this is the common dialogue that everybody of us have heard. We grow up hearing all these weak thoughts. People like Swami Vivekananda or Sankaracharyya or all those enlightened people say, no, no. You have infinite capability within yourself. You have infinite strength within you. Believe in this, you are the son of the bliss, you are the son of the immortal. You have no death. Fear not, go beyond death. Only by knowing that entity or existence, which person, the person whom the Vedas refer to be as the Purusa or the Man, whose body color is like that of the sun, by knowing that person alone can one go beyond death. So, our work is only to know the truth, that self and while we approach it, many other things may come, but we have to cross them and reach our goal.
So, here we start, the first aphorism, Athata Brahma Jignyasa. Before coming to this, I want to give you some brief idea about the vedas. The Vedas are divided into two parts, the first part is the Karma Kandya and the other is the Jyana kandya. The karma Kandya in brief means all type of works in this world, science, religion, politics, warfare, medicine etc etc, whatever work it is, its under the karma Kandya. The sole aim of the Karma Kandya is to achieve heaven or swarga. Its also called Purva Mimansha. The nest is the Jnana Kandya or Upanishads or Vedanta which talks about the knowledge of the Self. It talks about supreme or complete liberation, it doesnt talk about achieving Heaven because Heaven also is a temporary thing. There is another place beyond the heaven, a person who goes there, never comes back. A person who goes to heaven should come back again, but a person who goes there where he knows His self never comes back, he gets liberated from the cycle of birth and death. That is the ultimate attainment. Samadhi. In samadhi does one attains that state. So, the subject of the vedanta or the upanishads is the brahman or the Self. Its also called the Uttar Mimansha. A person who is within the limitations of the Purva Mimansha, after completing everything, from becomig a house holder, to the scientists, businessman, a king or a brahmin or prist etc realizes that the effects of this works are very temporary and full of sufferings. It doesnt give him that infinite results what he had been looking for. But because I am infinite, I will always look for infinite happiness or joy, or peace. So, then, after realising the falsehood of the Karma Kandya, he elevates Himself to the Vedanta, and then for the first time, he questions - Tell me about the Self. Athata Brahma Jignyasa, means now the enquiry of the Self or Brahman had started.

An Introduction to the Brahma Sutras.

An Introduction to the BHRAMHA SUTRAS
(Classes of Swami Probuddhananda Puri.)
Part 1.
Today we start the Brahma Sutras. Its a very important text of Spirituality or Vedanta. The Vedic religion or the religion prevalent in ancient India was depended on three texts or the three authoritative texts, one is the Sruti or the Vedas, the next is Smriti or the Bhagavat Gita, where Lord Krishna delivers His great teachings to Arjuna in the battle field, and the third one is the Vedanta Sutra or Bhramha Sutras or Nyaya. Vedanta Sutras means - these are aphorisms, these short of very small words, wherein the whole essence of the Vedas or spirituality has been poured in. Its believed that this Vedanta sutras or the Bhramha Sutras were composed by Vyasa because whenever we talk about these texts, we come across a name called Vadarayana. Vadarayana is the other name of Vyasa, the same person who has transcribed the whole Vedas, the Mahabharata epic including the Bhagavat Gita, the 18 Puranas where Bhagavatam also is one of them and Adhyatma Ramayana. Because He had compiled the whole vedas into words, so, He is also known as Veda Vyasa. He is the unanimous Master of the Vedic Spiritual tradition. All the vedic school of thoughts regard Veda Vyasa as their Master. So Vedanta sutras is the Authoritative texts because this is the Nyaya or the grammar of Vedanta.
Today I chose to read this Vedanta Sutras to you, why? Because as I mix with you, or talk to you, I see two different thought process going on simultaneously in your mind. One thought or one force is very very very powerful force or thought, which is always pulling you towards the Self or the Knowledge, but the other one is a lot of confusion, doubts which creeps up into your mind and sometimes I see that you suffer. But these doubts are very normal because the mind is like a wave, sometimes it will be high, sometimes it will be low. Its like tides, so there is nothing to worry. Because you don't have a very detailed understandings about the spiritual back grounds, what happens, why it happens, that is why you get confused and I have seen that you suffer a lot.
But there is no reason to suffer at all. Because once you have come to this question that I want to realize the self or God, it is very much evident that you will know the truth. The first thing that I want to tell you is that to know the truth we need three qualifications, one is a human birth, a cow cannot have self realization, why? Because she doesn't have that mental level which she can transcend her mind, she can go beyond the limits of the mind, she cannot discriminate. Any other creature in this world doesn't have that capacity to discriminate their mind which will take them beyond the realms of mind, beyond the limitations of the mind.
We all know mind, mind, a group of thoughts, group of all cloudy thoughts, is taking us always into the external world. when this group of thoughts act upon us, we get distracted, but we also have the capacity within us by which we can cut this distraction and this faculty of ours is called discrimination. Because of this discrimination, we can cut all the thoughts can we can go beyond the limitations of the mind. We can reach that unlimited Brahman and that is why human being is so much valuable. He is held equivalent to God. In the Puranas if you see, you will see that the Lord residing in the heaven also cannot become enlightened, if they want to become enlightened, they have to take a human birth. So, here we have to know that though we remain amongst sufferings and miseries, we are superior to any other creature in the whole scheme of creation. Why? Because it is only the human being who can get enlightened and liberated. so, the first thing that we need for enlightenment is a human birth, it doesn't say that you have to take birth in India or become a Brahmin, but it says you should have a human birth. Next is the extreme urge for freedom or enlightenment, I have to have this strong urge which will tend me towards enlightenment, liberation, freedom. Everybody wants to be free. The first thing that every human being wants is to become free, because he is always free by nature. But, he doesn't know this. Why do we always want to become free, to sleep? Sleep is the only state which we love the most, whatever we do, we do that for a good sleep, why? Because the sleep gives us the taste of freedom, freedom from our thoughts, mental distractions and sufferings, from physical sufferings also. We get freedom in such a state about which we have no idea, we feel refreshed after we come back from sleep. Enlightenment or Samadhi, where there is a union with ourself or God, the highest state of a human being is Samadhi, that state is nothing but conscious deep sleeping. I am sleeping but I am conscious about the sleep. We sleep but we don't know what happens, but the man who is conscious about his sleep is an enlightened man. We are all talking about freedom, enlightenment, how to achieve that? We have to elevate our self to such a plane of consciousness where we remain conscious in the sleep. This urge to realize God will take us up-to that point, so the next quality required is the urge to liberation. The third factor is a contact with an able Master. It says if you have these earlier two qualities, the human birth and un urge for liberation, then only you will come in contact with an able Master. When these three conditions are fulfilled, you get liberated. You go beyond your mind, the cycle of birth and death, time, space and casualty. A man who goes beyond the limitations of his mind goes beyond birth and death.
Now we have to see ourselves. When we come together, practice Vedanta, take classes, where do we stand? We have seen that we have this urge to know the Self. Everybody of us who are present here today have a genuine urge to know the Self and we are working very hard for that. Now we have to see what the scriptures tell us about this state of ours, where do we stand, where a man stands when this self search comes to him? Where does the man stand when this question comes to him that I want to know myself , O my Lord, tell me, tell me. We have to study Sankaracharyya also. We have to know the Vivekchudamani where we will find that the disciple comes to a Master and prays to be taken away from the realms of this world because he is bewildered by the fire of this world. He wants to get that peaceful state, wants to get liberated from these burnings. The first thing that the Master tells Him is -don't worry. Fear not. The first words of the Vedas or the Upanishads is this- Fear not. whatever happens to us, every time we should know, fear not, there is way, there is way. So when this opposite thoughts comes to us, I know that in everybody's mind, this is very obvious, till you know the Self confirmed , hold on, fear not. Upanishads means remaining near the self with full confirmation. It means that he is totally confirmed that there is the Self, that He is the Self, the unity, the oneness, the abode of peace, bliss, joy, happiness , freedom, of knowledge, of truth of infinity, of divinity, of eternity. This is the place, he knows it.Upanishads means the knowledge by which we stay near the truth with full assurance.

Vedantic thoughts and discussions...

This joy, this love, this peace, this bliss, when is seen through
the prism of Maya or illusion, peace seems to be chaos. Bliss seems to be greed or sadness. But there is
not two, there is only one. Truth, Self, Eternity...
A :
Interesting , when there is only one , then how one sees peace as chaos, Swamiji
Swami Probuddhananda :
we see peace as chaos because of a phenomenon called maya. Just like we see a snake in a rope or silver in shining sand.
A :
But still rope is there. we always deal with snake which i non existent. is the rope also non existent ?
Swami Probuddhananda :
Aji, Namaste.Rope here signifies the Self and snake the world. We deal with the snake(world) till we have the knowledge of the existence of the rope(Brahman or the Self). Here rope is the existence and snake is super imposed, so there is no question of non existence of the rope. The existence of the snake depends on the rope, but not the vice versa. Hence, this world is superimposed on the Self. The cause of superimposition is the wrong identification of the Self on the body, mind, ego etc. But, with proper guidance of an able Master and with self effort such as discrimination, perception or observation etc or by the path as elucidated by the Master, one can come out of this wrong notion or delusion that he is body, mind etc. He becomes conscious about his real nature. Thanks.
A :
Is the problem with SEEN or the SEER. Rope is seen by the mind as snake, therefore, chaos. When seen by Self , rope also become non existent or rope is existent.
Swami Probuddhananda :
Aji, The problem definitely is of the seer. The seen always remains the same, here a rope either you see snake or a rope or any other thing.

Why we see the world and identify that with our self is because of our past impressions. We see the Self as a body or mind etc because we are used to see thus. So, the wrong impression of the Self as non self is because of our past impression or sanskaras. How did the past impressions come? If you keep moving backwards, you will see that there is only the Self and nothing else. We then have to admit another faculty called Maya by whose phenomenon this is happening, the Self appears as Non Self. Though, practical experiences reveal that once that Turiya state is attained, there is no existence of any other object, thus Maya also is false here. But, as we come back, though we can feel the existence of that Super-consciousness, the Absolute existence is perceived to as I, then I am and then I am Ram. When I comes, it brings you, they, it, those etc etc and thus divergence of the One starts to be apparent. I sometimes feel this I is the root ignorance or maya. Because Brahman or the Self because is omnipresent is non specific. Whenever this specific I appears, it becomes specified and thus brings every delusions with it. The only way to get out of this delusion is to recognize the consciousness which projects the knower, known and the knowledge.
A :
Dear Swamiji
we are entering into very awakening dialogue . I appreciate your wisdom. we see the rope as rope . we see the rope as snake. snake in a rope is an illusion , therefore rope in rope is also an illusion. even we accept both, we accept existence of illusion that veils the self. negating does not dissolve the existence of rope or the snake. it is the same SEER who accepts rope against snake and snake against the rope. then we create another concept of the SELF who is absolute as a notion or as concept to support where we want to go or arrive at. to support anything absolute negates our understanding of Self as Absolute.
if we accept Maya as another faculty means it exists while we refuse to accept snake in the rope. How that is possible refusing to accept the existence of snake while accepting the existence of Maya. leaving aside the philosophy and concept of Vedanta , if we are moving inside from outside ----------nothing remains - rope or the snake. then we create SELF and follow it. are we not following our own creation of the self through the mind as same mind argues rope as snake and rope ass rope. Please enlighten
Swami Probuddhananda :
Aji, How is seeing rope in a rope be an illusion? How can the knowledge of reality be an illusion? Rope and the snake is just an example of the Self and the world in Vedanta.
When you come to the concept of the seer, yes, the seer sees everything except Himself. Thus negation is a process by which one negates everything till there is nothing more to be negated . But, these have been told earlier.
Your question, "How that is possible refusing to accept the existence of snake while accepting the existence of Maya?" I give you a simple example. When we look through a green glass, does it mean that everything that we see has become green? No, it seems green because we have green glasses on. Similarly, because of Maya or delusion, we see the world what it appears but when the Knowledge of the Self is manifested, the Self is evident everywhere.
And self is not the creation of human mind. Man searched for truth and found out within. They named it as Self or Atman or Brahman. When all arguments and confusions stops, one gets dissolved into the Self or Truth.
Thanks and regards, Swamiji
A :
Dear swamiji , I want to move with one thing - I know neither the rope nor the snake. how can i superimpose snake on the rope. Unless the mind knows before , what is snake and rope, i can surely separate what is rope and snake. The analogy that you have given about colors only becomes valid when i know the colors . When i say Self is not the creation of the mind. i am still using the same Mind which first creates the self in the mind and then approaches it as Self.
if the rope is an example of Self and snake is for the world. But from where the world came into existence at all. where all our logic stands if there is no world at all. and if the world does not exists and is snake in a rope, world still exists but behind the veil , like in sleep.
Please enlighten
Acharya
Swami Probuddhananda :
Aji, This is exactly what I told you before. The mind recognizes any given object because of past impressions. We can separate rope and a snake, but can you separate your I of the conscious state and the I of your deep sleep( dreamless sleep) state? When there is nobody in the deep sleep, who says that we had a good sleep? How do we know that?
Yes, it is the mind which says the Self is not the mind, but, this knowledge comes to him as a revelation, vouchsafed.And so, though the existence of the Self is not an obvious phenomenon or let me put it in this way, though after the Self Realization one again sees this world, He is completely confirmed about the existence of the world beyond.
What is the existence of a steel glass? Is it the outer shape or the atoms or electrons which are arranged thus which seems to be a glass? Can you show me two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen in a glass of water through a naked eye? The world didn't come into existence, it is existence absolute but because of delusion or Maya, we see the Self as the world. If you ask me from where did the Maya come from, the answer is - Maya or ignorance also is the knowledge itself. How does it work - I do not know. We accept the existence of the Mother then, Mahamaya or Jogomaya.
With regards and pranams, Swamiji

I am that...

This is the prime austerity of Advaita Vedanta. To negate everything that is perceivable. The first is to discriminate the real and unreal. The projected world is unreal because its perceived by the senses, the truth might be different. By denying the external world, one enters into the internal world where every object of the external is present in a subtle form, as thoughts. The thoughts has two parts, one the object, the other is subject. The object varies, but the subject or consciousness remains the same always. This consciousness is the truth or the reality. Negating everything means negating the objects of the thoughts and reaching the consciousness, the substratum. But, this approach is a step by step process. Though seems tough, but actually is quite easy. Practice is the only way to master it.
Look at your surroundings. What do you see? The external world. Everything here has a beginning or a birth. The one which has a beginning or a birth will off course meet its end or death. Truth is eternal, it has neither birth or death. It exists in time and beyond time. So, what we see, the name and form in the external world is not true. So, we deny them. This denial doesn't mean stop dwelling with them, its to dwell or use them knowing them as unreal, something which will not remain after a given time. After we deny the external world, we see the internal world which starts from our mind. The objects which the senses brings to our notice are being stored here subtly. Everything present outside are also present here, but, not as a gross object, but, subtly, as a thought or Vritti in vedantic terms. Because the external objects are not real, thus the objects present in the mind in the subtle form are also not true. We have to negate them, how?
Like, when we think, there are many things that comes to our thought. But we choose from them, the best one and keep them. This is very near to discrimination or vichar in the vedanta. Similarly, we have to discriminate, what among these thoughts or further which object among them are the real or the true one? We see, that not a single object present here is true because they are just the subtle presentations of the gross object present outside. Then what is the reality? The thoughts can be divided into two parts- the object and the subject. The objects are what we had already discussed, now, what is the subject? The Subject is the consciousness or the awareness that make us feel the existence of these objects. My hunger is a thought,precisely and object, but, with it, there also is a consciousness or awareness of hunger. This consciousness is not hunger but it brings hunger to my notice. Similar are all the phenomenon of other thoughts. The subject brings everything to our consciousness because it is that consciousness or awareness. Because the objects has their modifications and variation but the subject ceases to vary or modify, thus, this subject is the truth or the reality. This is called negation, or neti neti in Vedanta. Neti neti means not this, not this. Na iti, na iti. When we understand this phenomenon, we start to concentrate more on the subject rather than spending time on the various object. The subject because is unchangable, is the abode of peace. Silence, or we can say- supreme silence. This silence or stillness enables us to see, feel and identify ourself with the ever unchangable eternal existence. We realize that we are that, not the body, or the mind or ego but we are this infinite consciousness. The realization of infinity gives us the taste of freedom, freedom from finiteness. Freedom brings bliss. But, everything happens when we identify ourselves with the consciousness. Utmost desire is the only way to know this. The first line of the Vedanta Sutra--- Athata Brahmajiyansa, now the quest( question) for truth has begun. May we all know who we are. This is the only solution to any given problem. Soham, Soham Soham.

thoughts...

With the help of the scriptures and also with the words of the Master, when we realize oneness with the Self then the entire desires with the subtle worlds are destroyed. The mind then becomes no mind, the mind doesn’t remain. After enlightenment, you will observe that you have no mind but your existence will remain. You will have thoughts, but there would be no attachment what so ever with them. You cannot recognize yourself with the mind at all then. You will be completely separated from these thoughts. Existence of mind is nothing but attachment to it. When there is no attachment at all, then whose mind is this? When we know the truth, the mind becomes no mind. After realization of truth, there is absolutely no acceptance of any object from the outer world, because of the knowledge that the outside world becomes completely false. So, the acceptance of the outer world is nil. And that is the reason why the mind becomes completely objectless. The mind becomes completely conscious and goes beyond all imaginations. This happens because of the lack of any object.
The mind cannot stay without any support. So, if you want to remove the objects, desires or imaginations of your mind, engage the mind into the thought of the Self. Brahman then becomes the support of the mind and thus the outer objects cannot come inside. With very less discrimination, the mind with the effect of those imaginations will become a dreaming mind, creating something, living on the past or the future, ignoring the present, becomes similar to death. Thus the mind goes in vain. So, for a firm knowledge, discrimination is a must. Discrimination for ten minutes is much more powerful than meditating for several hours. With discrimination, you go directly to the point. A discrimination less mind falls often. So, engage yourself more in thinking. When we start discriminating, we do not find the existence of the mind.
The mind creates so many problems to us. A man becomes mad only because of the mind, he looses control of his thoughts not because of others. A man becomes depressed, restless, war, fight, all because of the mind. But, if we are capable to discriminate, we see the mind doesn’t have existence at all. So, this is maya or delusion. Though it doesn’t exist, it seems so true. A man becomes happy, sad, depressed, frustrated, angry etc etc because of the mind, but the truth is that, it doesn’t exist at all. This is Maya. So, always discriminate and within a very short time, you would see that you have reached the truth. Remain neutral always. Cut yourself, cut the heads of your thoughts, discriminate. It never says to cut others head, cut yours, it needs courage.
Because of the desires, mind is created. Because of the lack of discrimination, it is created. You are always beyond. As the existence of the dreaming state becomes completely immaterial or false, non existent in the conscious state, with discrimination the existence of mind also becomes likewise. In the conscious and dreaming state, we feel all projections of the mind. But, in the deep sleep state, with the disappearance of mind, all its projections and its effects disappear as well. But, I remain in these three states. I or the self or the knowledge is existent in all these three states.

enlightenment....

Before, I used to work in a particular way, trying to convince people about spirituality. Now, people around me know that I do not "work" per se. I leave everything in the hands of Bhagavan. This is the best realization that has ever happened to me. The more I used to work the more I spread ignorance. It only spread ignorance because "I" was the one doing the work. Now I prepare for people to come. I read quite a bit and meditate and write during the day.Prepare and develop yourself. Do not waste any time. Like Bhagavan says, avoid misuse of one single moment. However, you will always be frustrated if you work and do not get the results that you want. If you develop yourself internally instead, then, you will be a steward. You will not be affected by whether or not people become spiritual.So always focus on yourself first.

What is meditation? Why do we do this? Is just about practices? Meditation means engaging our mind with one thought, any thought that you like. We keep our thoughts on God because they are powerful thoughts that absorb all of the unimportant and negative ones. From the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep we have billions of thoughts. Yet as you try to recollect these thoughts before you go to sleep you cannot remember all of them. You may only recollect one or two. The rest go unnoticed. This means that most of our mind is wasted. The mind is nothing more than a collection of thoughts. So the mind works for 24 hours without any productivity. What I see is that the unimportant thoughts eat up all of the important thoughts. Even if you are not a spiritual person you must manage your mind so that you can accomplish a specific task.

So what does the Guru first do in order to work with person's mind? He engages that student's mind with the use of a mantra. This mantra or sentence has been given to him by his guru. So it travels from generations of master to disciple and then again as the disciple becomes a teacher. The vibration of water is seen in a different way as we learn to watch the waves disappear from generation to generation.

Hare Krishna, this mantra, is very simple. Hare means to steal. Here, God is compared to the robber. Why is God a robber? Because he takes things away from you without you even knowing that they are being taken away. In the same way God, or the strength that binds and enlightens you is the subject. We pray to him to steal our thoughts. We pray "Oh God, please steal my ignorance, my darkness and my sufferings, steal my mortality and make me immortal, steal my negativity, show me the Truth, bind me to the Truth, to the light."

So start this chanting slowly and softly and with reverence, like a prayer. It does not matter if you chant all of the time. The length of time is not the issue. Sincerity and honesty are the issues. Sincerity is the process, the subject and the Master. You must also be sincere to everybody and most of all to yourself. This means that when you chant you should not drift into your thoughts. True, when you meditate or chant thoughts will come. But you must notice that all these thoughts are there. You must see them, notice them, and also, the quantity of them. Then, concentrate more and more on each and every vibration and part of the chant "Hare Krishna". You will use this to see all of the thoughts as completely separate from you.

As you chant the mind becomes quiet. All of the thoughts are vibrating consciousness. The waves of consciousness are like the waves in the water, but they are the vibration of the water. We see that this water in the deep sea is still, but the waves on the surface are at a high frequency, and are disturbed. When your mind is absorbed in chanting, the extra vibrations decrease to zero. Then the vibration less and still nature of ourselves, without thoughts is revealed. The nameless, space less, formless identity of the Self is glimpsed and comes forth as the vibrations cease. We see the same thoughts but become much closer to our consciousness, much closer to the awareness of the observer.

Today in the morning my friends came to talk about the Self. "Neal is a name. Vineeth is a name. I know everything about Paula, Amit, Alexis etc. But I do not know the "I". I know about the association and the form only. When I am enlightened I know who I am.

What is enlightenment? Here is a very simple example. At night I see a dream. In this dream a tiger chases me and I run to save myself. I am shouting and I am crying and I desperately want to leave this, in any way I can. I do not want my death to be the next step. Suddenly the dream stops and I get up. When I get up, I find myself. The tiger has gone. The same man who had the dream that frightened him and was looking for a solution, is the man who found the solution to that dream. He found himself. He found the "I".

sometimes during the talks...

This is another day of Ashtavakra Gita. In these lectures we will introduce the lives of great saints, like Vivekananda, Ramana Marharshi, Rama Krishna, and Bhagavan. This is because spirituality is a character. It is not a search because whatever it is, it is, within us. So why don't we see it? Why don't we feel it? It is because the character of our past impressions always causes us to look outside. But this character changes as we listen to Vedanta and become engaged in this process. What is happening? Our character is changing. now through chanting, meditation and by listening to Vedanta we are trying to stop the mind from going outside, exactly at the place where the mind is. As we go on in this process we will see that the mind is going inside. When the mind goes inside, then only, it can discover the knowledge within itself.

So we have to know the character of the people who have gone through life in this way. As we go on I will try to tell you about the characters in the Bhagavatam also like Udav, like Nachiketa etc and this will help us to approach the subject in the right way. At the start of class I want to tell you a story about Rama Krishna. Spirituality is a journey from something to nothing. Whenever we are talking about Advaita Vedanta we are talking about, this is not this, this is not this....The body which I used to know myself is not me, The mind or the thoughts that I used to recognize are not me. As we negate and deny these things then something comes into my mind, that, there is nothing. It seems true now but as we go on negating we reach a point where we realize we have everything. Everything means what? Everything means everything divine, everything auspicious, everything eternal , peace, bliss, joy, love, Truth. But this joy, this love, this peace, this bliss, when it is see through the prism of maya or illusion, peace seems to be chaos. The same peace seems to be chaos. Bliss seems to be greed or sadness. But there is not two, there is only one. There is only one, Asthi Bhati Priya. Asthi means existence, existence of that self is there. There is existence you cannot deny this. Now I am saying "I am". This is an existence. But I am not conscious of it, which I is this I? I am only conscious of that I which is projected by me.It is apparent but it is not reality. I am seeing this but it might not be reality.

Reality is always beyond what we see. So when I am saying "I am" I have identified myself with my thoughts, my intellect, my mind and my ego, that which I see, that which I know. So whenever I have recognized myself I recognize myself as this. But the scriptures say, enlightened souls say, you are not this.Why? Because they have gone one step ahead of this. When they went one step ahead of this they found that these are not our identities. This is just an illusion. Our identity is beyond this and that identity can only be expressed as Brahman. Brahman is the Self, and that Self can only be expressed as absolute existence.That is why we have existence. We have not come from a void, we have not come from nothingness.We are not going to any place that we do not know. No there are places, everywhere there are places and I am there. So don't be scared. Don't be afraid that there is no place or that there is nothing beyond this. There is everything beyond this. But for that you have to go beyond this. Then only you will find this everything.

So first of all it is said that this state is existence, and then it is said that this state is knowledge. It is because that existence cannot be known. How do I say that I am not this? It means that I know something which is separate from this. When I say that I am not a body, I know that individual who is not a body. When I say that I am not an intellect, I am not an ego and I am not thoughts, this means that I know somebody who is beyond this. So that existence which cannot be known, which cannot be expressed can be felt. How? by a pure mind, a pure heart. What is a pure mind or a pure heart? A pure mind means a desire less mind. Why don't we see the Self? Because we are always moved by desires. What are these desires? Desires are those thoughts that always connect us to this world, those thoughts that make this world very true to us. These thoughts lead us to believe that all of our peace, our bliss will come from this outer world. Desire is that faculty of the mind which will always tell you that peace bliss, happiness, joy, liberation, whatever you are searching for can be found in this world. This is a basic need of man, to search for bliss. But if you have begun to search for bliss then you have begun a search for the self.

In my childhood I used to read one poem that said food, shelter, and clothing are the basic needs of mine. These are not basic needs of mine, they are the basic needs of my body. These are the basic needs of our body but our most basic need is peace. A man who does not have peace, he may steal, he may beg a million dollars but he will never be at peace. A man who sleeps on the roadside, he has peace. He sleeps and does not bother for anything. Money or any worldly things cannot give you peace. Peace is something extra, ti comes from the inside. So everybody in this world needs bliss and joy. Bliss means the continuous flow of joy and the divine from within. We are not peaceful, Why? because some of our thoughts are always mixed with desire. This means that our happiness is always dependent on what is outside.I f I love somebody and he or she acts according to my wish, according to my desire I am peaceful. But, if they do not act according to my desire I am restless. I am disturbed, frustrated. (Swamiji laughs) Give something to me, give something to me. But no, why should I expect anything from them? Peace is something that comes from the inside. That is why the peace and the bliss from Vedanta that we talk about is a spontaneous flow from the inside.

For those who have read the Bhagavatam, it gives a definition of God. What is the definition of God?

(That God is love unconditional by nature, without discrimination.)


He is always compared to a child who does everything indiscriminately. He gives away things to people he does not know. But we always calculate. So this peace this love this bliss that Vedanta talks about how does it come? It comes spontaneously from the inside without reason. If we do not get it, we have to reach up to that point. How? always by discriminating in the mind...not this...not this....

Today I want to tell you a story about something Thakur Rama Krishna, the Master of Vivekananda said. I am sure that this will help you in this path of enlightenment. Once there was a woodcutter. He used to go to the jungle and cut wood. One day he was coming back from the jungle and he met one saint in the forest. This saint told him to move forward, further into the forest. The woodcutter did not think much of it and went on cutting trees on the perimeter of the forest. But one day he remembered the words of the saint and he decided to go inside the forest. When he went into the forest he discovered sandalwood trees. Sandalwood is very very costly. So he cut that sandalwood and he sold it, becoming rich, instantly, overnight. After some days of cutting sandalwood and coming back he remembered that the saint said move forward. He did not say move forward and find sandalwood. So again, he followed the saint's words and moved further into the forest. There he found a silver mine. He mined and sold this silver and became even more rich.Days passed, and again he thought, the saint told me to move forward he did not tell me to stop at the silver mine.After some time, as he moved forward he saw a gold mine. As the owner of this gold mine he became the wealthiest man in his country. So, he was very happy and satisfied but again he thought, the saint did not tell me to stop at the gold mine. He said move forward, continue, march on. So he moved forward and crossed the river, and as he crossed the river he saw that there were precious stones everywhere. So this is the essence of Vedanta. There is a word in Sanskrit, Charivati. What does it mean? It means move on.

I am telling you that in reading the the lives of spiritual people one thing is very evident. They did not stop. Thakur Rama Krishna used to say, "Until I die, I learn." I have seen my Master Bhagavan who goes into samadhi every day and every day new knowledge comes out of him. He says that this is everything, this is the infinite coming out.So always I will tell you that on this path there will be many things that will happen to you. Sometimes you will see that you are very peaceful. Many things are coming out of you, from this peace. Many divine vibrations are coming out of you. Sometimes you will see that nothing is coming out and that you have become absolutely worldly. You will see that you have forgotten everything.It happens to everybody. This is very normal. This is called vikshep. It happened to me also. As a young man, I went to Bhagavan.When I went to Bhagavan I became so attracted to him that I began to realize within one or two days. But after two months or so I noticed that my mind was not as high as it was with Bhagavan. Sometimes this happens. Sometimes I did not feel that I liked Bhagavan. I wanted to go somewhere with my friends. I wanted to play somewhere else. Bhagavan used to call me and he used to ask, "How is your mind?" We used to say that it was not good and when it became good, we would come back. Bhagavan used to say if you don't come back your mind will never be good. In order to be good you have to come back. Why? because this is normal on this path. It also happened in the life of Swami Vivekananda.Why do we talk about Swami Vivekananda? Because his life is very practical.No other spiritual personality has a more practical life than him. Why? There was no miracle in his life. Many saints had some miracle in their life, somebody did this that the other thing.... But Vivekananda was a very normal human being. Bhagavan was a very normal human being.Everything seems very human and natural to us.

Whenever we used to say to Bhagavan I had this realization, I had that realization, he used to say, afterwards did you have samadhi? This is the benchmark, samadhi. It means that whatever you have realized you have to become completely merged with that. For instance I am feeling peace, but this is temporary. Now your mind is there now there is peace. But after some time it will move away from that state. Why? Because it is still vibrating. The mind is nothing but vibrating consciousness. Consciousness which is vibrating is called "mind". So Pavitranandaji, the Master of Bhagavan said: "The essence of this vibrating self consciousness is knowledge." This is very beautiful. It means you have been given everything. You are nothing but the Self. The mind is vibrating consciousness. What do you have to do? You have to realize the essence of this vibrating consciousness.Now the consciousness is vibrating and this is why it appears to be mind. The fan is moving. It appears as if there are a hundred plates on the fan but there are only three plates. How do we find out that there are only three plates? We stop the fan.We stop it and we see that it has only three plates. Self knowledge is nothing but the awareness of the vibration less mind. Why? because there is nothing more than pure consciousness. Pure gold is pure gold, pure silver is pure silver. But some of the ornaments that we use are not pure. Why? They are mixed with alloys.That is why they are not pure but pure gold is only gold pure silver is only silver, pure milk is only milk. A a pure mind is only a pure mind. Pure consciousness is only pure consciousness. So pure heart, pure mind, and pure consciousness are the same thing. It is only things from the outside that come and get attached. How does attachment occur? There is always a superimposition going on.

Master and the Self.

The Master sees everything as himself, all knowledge is within. So whatever he sees, whatever he knows, he knows his Self. That is why a Self realized soul is called omniscient. He knows everything. Why? because whatever he knows, first, he has known the Self, his Self, that omniscient part of himself. The Self is this knowledge and this is the only reality. This is the only solution. We have many problems but this is the only solution. Each of us contains the possibility of using this solution by realizing the soul. So we talk about many worldly problems, we talk about many worldly things. The only solution to these worldly problems is to know thy Self. When you know the Self you will see that gradually all problems will cease.


I bow down to the oh great soul, my Master
You are free from all attachments and the best of the learned and good
You are the embodiment of eternal bliss

This spiritual knowledge is based on the Master/disciple relationship. Spiritual knowledge goes from one heart to another heart. So the Master talks about the Self. When the Master talks about the Self the Master talks about himself, because he has realized that Self and he has become that Self. So when he talks about himself his words are so strong, because every word he speaks comes out of his own realization. He speaks from his own consciousness.He is speaking from his own feelings.When an unenlightened soul speaks about Brahman, he speaks, but because he does not have that realization he cannot show the way to another aspirant. But a person who has realized the self knows the path of realization. He knows the path through which we can go to realize the Self. That is why the total science of spirituality depends on the words of the Master. The vibration of realization is delivered through their experience, their voice, their words, their touch, their glace, their picture, their face etc...

Mantra mulam Guru vakyam (Whatever the Guru is saying, this is the only mantra.)

There is no other mantra other than this.

Dyana mulam Guru murtim (If you have to meditate, you have to meditate on the picture of the Guru)

Puja mulam Guru padam (If we have to worship, we have to worship the lotus feet of the Guru)

Moksha mulam Guru kripa (The mercy of the Master is our salvation)

When then mercy of the Master comes, only then, we realize our Self and become enlightened. Swami Pavitrananda, the Master of my Master said that the only way to come out of all the problems in this world is to follow the words of the Master. The only way to get into the problems of the world is to avoid hearing what the Master says.So, the spiritual world is the world of the words of the Master.

(The one whose glance, like the consolidated rays of the moon, washes away the worldliness resulting from the labor of birth and death)

His glace is like the consolidated rays of the moon. The rays of the moon are bright but they are not hot. They do not burn our eyes. I do not know whether you have any experience of the sun in India, the bitter sun that we have in India. Although the sun is bright it burns the eyes. So everybody in India loves the moon because the moon has a sweet and a soft light. It is also cool. You can stay and look at the moon for a long, long time. This is what the Guru is. This is what the Master is....one whose glance is like the consolidated rays of the moon washes away the labors of birth and death. Whatever pain we have had to endure throughout the cycles of birth and death, the Master's glance totally diminishes this pain.

Just his glance can wash it all away. Just a glance can take us beyond the cycle of birth and death. Now in the twinkling of an eye, I have attained this indivisible and inexhaustible treasure, the bliss of the Self. Just by a glance, the disciple has realized the soul. he has realized how peaceful the soul is. Now he can describe what the soul is. We have been talking about the Self. Now we will describe what the Self is.

(By the mercy of the Guru I have become blessed, successful, and free from the grip of the dragon of birth and death. Now I have become ever full of bliss.)

Yes now he describes the Self. I am unattached. This means that I am always unattached, I am always the witness. I am always the observer of this world. I am without a body. I am without all signs, subtle but I am indivisible, whole, ever peaceful, endless, pure and eternal. I am That.I am always free, I am always beyond everything. I am without a body, even the subtle body goes along with the mind and intellect.There was never any death. The subtle body did not die. I am always beyond death. Death cannot touch me. Death is of the body . It is not of the Self, which is indivisible.It cannot be broken, it cannot be killed.

(The body may die but the Self cannot be killed)

(It has got no birth. It has got no death)

Whatever death we see, it is only the death of the body, and the subtle body. But I am neither physical nor subtle body.You do not know yourself. That is why you are distracted. Go inside the mind and then go beyond the mind, go beyond the body and you will see that you are completely still. You are without vibration. The vibrations are only from this external world. Whatever vibrations you see are only from the external world. It does not have any relationship to you.

In science we used to study one theory called resonance. Resonance means that when there are vibrations in one body, those vibrations are transmitted to another body. In an airport, the people who stay close to the plane when the flight takes off, receive the vibrations of the plane. The buildings resonate with the vibrations of the flight. However, the vibrations are not from the building they are from the plane. So vibrations come from the external world, but we take these vibrations into our body and make them our own. It appears that the vibrations are coming from inside of us. In this way we develop and maintain an imaginary connection with the external world. It is not a real connection, it is imaginary.

We have to establish that this connection is imaginary. So ultimately, you do not have any vibration. You are always the Self, calm, quiet, peaceful. You are endless. Why endless? It is because you don't have any beginning. You have no limits. You are infinite. We limit our self because we associate our self with the finite. We associate our self with the mind and that is why we limit our Self. We think that we have an end but we don't have any end. We are pure, we are only the Self. We are only the Self, we do not have any vibration within us. We do not have any matter in us we do not have any ignorance in us we are always pure knowledge. We are only consciousness, that is beyond knowledge. You never, ever had any vibrations. You are, quiet, calm and still. We are ever present in all times. We are beyond time.

I am not the doer, I am neither he who acts nor he who experiences the result of any action.

All of our suffering comes from our actions and the result of our actions. But Vedanta says that you are neither the doer, nor do you experience the result of your actions. Everything is a phenomenon of nature, we have no relation to this. This is why a person who realizes the Self goes beyond all miseries, activities and words. At the same time, we may wonder why someone suddenly does something to us. We may think there is no reason. However, everything has a reason. However, this is the result of our actions. Every action will have a reaction. So whatever we have done, returns. But at the same time we are neither the one who experiences nor enjoys our actions.

I never attach myself to any works, nor to I have the attachment to the desire for work. This is also our nature. We are always unattached to the actions and the results of our actions. I am beyond action and I am changeless. Actions continue but I am always unattached. I am always beyond them. My nature is pure consciousness. Ignorance is illusion, illusion is maya, and again maya is also not real. If you talk about practicality, then realize that there is nothing but the Self, there is only the eternal. You are not a sinner, you have never committed any mistake. You have never done anything sinful. You are always pure, you are always divine. You are eternal bliss.

Yes, I am separate from the hearer, the speaker, the seer and the doer, the enjoyer. I am without all limits.I am eternal consciousness, this does not need any explanation. I am a manifestation of the Supreme, ever free from anything internal or external. I am Brahma, one without a second free from all imagination of I, thou, of this or that. I am free from all doubts. I am incomparable, I cannot be compared with anything, because everything is worldly, but I am always beyond this world. Everything we think we know comes from our senses. Yet, we are beyond our senses. I am the purusha, the supreme, the indivisible consciousness without ego and any idea of me or my. I am That, supreme knowledge, supreme existence and supreme bliss. I am the refuge of all, everything takes refuge in me. I hold everything and I am the destroyer of all things. I don't have any other controller or any ego Why? Because everything is me. When you realize the Self, this knowledge will manifest itself unto you.

The ultimate transformation in the life of Bhagavan.

After coming to Guwahati again in the year 1971, a transformation started in His life very fast which later proved to be the ultimate. We have mentioned earlier that though He had participated in the Railway movement and many other such labour movement and for His dedication to those movements had even cost His job, yet, He was very hurt by observing the variation in Moral values and its improper application. This variation of mind and speech was evident to Him in every aspect of life as well. He saw that the worldly values are all relative and which cannot be true. A question started hammering in His mind again and again," Isn't there any truth?" Lost in the love of humanity, Bhagavan had to always come across traitors in His life. "So, isn't there any value of selfless love?" He prosperity of His thought and will were blocked by these basic questions. He could only see darkness everywhere. He started feeling that there is no truth at all here. There is no light. That life is just another form of cruel death. Pained by extreme despair He had decided to kill Himself. A humble soft and simple lover of life became the patronize death by falling prey into the hard reality. In this time, He came across a poem written by Swami Vivekananda in the Library of American colony of Pandu, Guwahati. This poem not only changed His life completely but several others who later came to Him. He was flooded Light and hope. Extreme despair transformed into even more extreme joy and celebration of living. The title of this poem is, "To An Early Violet".