WORDS OF

SRI
ANANDAMAYI
MA
TRANSLATED AND COMPILED
BY ATMANANDA

SHREE SHREE ANANDAMAYEE SANGHA

Head office

Published by:

Shree Shree Anandamayee Sangha.

Head Office: Kankhal, Hardwar, 249408

All rights reserved.

Centenary edition May. 1995

Printed at:

Ratna Printing Works, Kamachha. Varanasi.

Words of Shree Shree

Anandamayi MA
 Conversations:
PREFACE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25


PREFACE

This book contains a selection from Sri Anandamayi Ma’s replies to oral
questions, recorded at meetings of large and small groups. They have
been arranged, not in chronological order but, as far as possible,
according to subjects. The simpler ones have been put first. They deal
with meditation, the spiritual path and Self-realisation; with a great
variety of problems - practical, philosophical, and metaphysical as
encountered by seekers after Truth at various stages of their quest.

In her replies SRI MA responds exactly to the inquirer’s capacity to

understand, his specific disposition and line of approach. She throws
light on every question from many different standpoints. In fact, in her
utterances we find united every creed and philosophy, every school of
thought and method of yoga,-- yet she stands above and beyond them all.

It has been said of her that she has the right word, a the right time, in the
right manner, for every seeker after Truth, be he a believer in any faith or
an agnostic, an intellectual or an artist, a scholar or an illiterate, a
beginner or highly advanced on the path. Just as the earth provides for
each plant the substance necessary for its growth, even so does Sri
Anandamayi Ma guide every aspirant, according to his uniqueness and
his need at any particular moment. Her replies are not mind-made.

She has often declared unequivocally that he does not talk to ‘another.’
For her, everything is the One Supreme Being, who manifests in infinite
diversity, yet at the same time is beyond expression and limitation,
formless, immutable, inconceivable. In THAT there is no room for
distinctions, although on our level they do exist. Questions are asked
from the standpoint of the individual, but the true answer lies beyond the
ego-mind where no separation, no divergence of opinion exists, and SRI
MA gives it expression.
 The recorder of the discussions, Brahmachari Kamal Bhattacharjee,
well-known as ‘Kamalda’ to all devotees and visitors of
the Sri Anandamayi Ashram, met SRI MA first n Dacca in 1926, and
kept in touch with her ever since.

In 1942 he joined the Ashram and he came one of its most devoted and
prominent workers. Gifted with a keen intelligence and a great thirst for
real Knowledge, he conceived the intense desire to record SRI MA’s
exact words, since he was convinced that they emerged spontaneously
from depths to which ordinary human beings have no access. For his
own study and enlightenment, he took it upon himself to note down,
whenever he got the opportunity, SRI MA’s words as he heard them
uttered. Notwithstanding his numerous duties as the Joint Secretary of
the Shree Shree Anandamayee Sangha, the manager of the Benares
Ashram, etc., as soon as he got to know that SRI MA was replying to
questions, he would at once leave the work in hand, and hasten to the
spot where the discussion took place.

In the stillness of night he used to make fair copies of his records,

pondering over the profound significance of what he had heard and
written down. Often the dawn would remind him that he had spent the
best part of the night in this delightful mediation. In his eagerness to
preserve SRI MA’s utterances in their original purity and with the
greatest possible precision, he soon developed a technique of his own.
He might have missed a word here or there, but he never missed the
point of what was being said. If, for some reason, he was prevented from
recording a part of the conversation, he felt it as an acute personal loss.
But on many such occasions, he would later, to his great delight, hear
SRI MA explain the same point to someone else, thereby elucidating the
part of the conversation he had missed. Not only Kamalda, but many
others who have come into contact with SRI MA, have found their
questions answered by SRI MA before they were put to her.

SRI MA sometimes says about her own person: "This body is like a
musical instrument what you hear depends on how you play." The
wonder is that it responds even to silent playing To mention a striking
example: one night at Purl, a discussion occurred on the seashore. To his
utter dismay, Kamalda was unable to note down anything, since there
was no light. Soon after, however, he found SRI MA covering the entire
subject matter in practically the same words, and was able to take down
the whole of it. It is one of the most inspiring talks (‘TWENTY.FIVE’ in
 this collection), which probably gives a more consummate idea of SRI
MA’s universality than any other.

Kamalda’s diaries comprise several volumes. When, in 1953, he showed

one of them to Dr. Gopinath Kaviraj, this great savant was deeply
impressed with the contents. He suggested the publication of extracts
from those diaries in "Ananda Varta" and offered to write commentaries
on them. He himself selected the conversations to be published. They
appeared in "Ananda Varta" from May 1953 to August 1958 under "SRI
MA’s Amara Vani" in the Bengali original, as well as in Hindi and
English translations. The present volume represents a carefully revised
version of the English translation of most of these conversations.

SRI MA speaks of that which is beyond the experience of the ordinary

individual and can, at best, be only hinted at by words. It is therefore not
surprising that her language should n)t conform to either literary or
colloquial Bengali.

She has given new meanings to many familiar expressions and some-
times coined new words with an etymology of her own. Her way of
expressing is as original as it’ is relevant, and is intensely alive and
plastic, often condensed and pithy; with every unnecessary word left out.
In certain cases, when stating very profound truths, her language
becomes cryptic. The dissimilarity of the Bengali idiom to that of
English is a well-known fact. No adequate words exist in English for
many Bengali terms. In some cases two or three Bengali words have had
to be rendered by an entire clause or sentence. No pains have been
spared to translate as precisely as possible every one of the utterances, as
recorded. At the same time, it has been the ambition of the translator to
preserve, as far as may be, together with the exact meaning of the words,
their rhythm and beauty, the inspiration they carry, the matchless,
intangible quality that pervades SRI MA’s every expression her words,
her songs, her smile and her gestures.

It was the translator’s singular good fortune to receive the constant and
most generous help and, co-operation of Mahamahopadhyaya Dr.
 Gopinath Kaviraj, D. Litt., one of the greatest living scholars, who
combines quite unusually profound learning and spiritual insight, with a
thorough acquaintance with SRI MA’s universality. Without his
assistance at every step this volume could not have been what it is. We
are also sincerely grateful to Miss V. Sydney, an English woman of
considerable literary experience, widely read in the mystic literature of
the world, who gave the finishing touches to the English. Thanks are due
to Dr. J. W. Smith of California University, who went through the whole
of the manuscript and made many valuable suggestions. We are indebted
to Mr. Richard Lannoy, the renowned English photographer, who has
most kindly supplied the pictures.

If, in spite of our strenuous efforts, we have not been able to make this
volume as perfect as it should have been, we may be permitted to quote
here SRI MA’s own words: "Exert yourself to the limit of your power,
however small it may be. HE is there to fulfil what has been left undone."

We pray that SRI MA may graciously accept this humble offering laid at
her holy feet. May her words illumine our path!

Dedicated at the lotus feet of

Sri Sri Ma Anandamayi on the sacred

occasion of Centenary Celebrations, 1995-96

IN MEMORY OF MY MOTHER

MAHARANI RALJKUVERBA OF GONDAL

SHWRAJ SIA1HJI
 Hawa Mahal

Gondal, Gujarat



Publishers NOTE

As a part of the celebrations of Sri Ma Anandamayi Centenary year,

we have great pleasure In printing some of the books which have
been out of print for a long time.

The Words of Ma Anandamayi had been compiled by Atmanandaji

with great circumspection and care.

We take the opportunity of expressing our appreciation and

gratitude to Atmanandaji for her one-pointed undeviating aim
toward publication of Sri Ma’s Lila and Words.

We hope all devotees will rejoice in the availability of this valuable

book.
 

ONE
Solan, September 12 th , 1948.

From SRI MA one can but rarely get a definite decision on any problem.
That is why I wondered of what use it was to write down her utterances?
I asked SRI MA about it.

SRI MA: At least you have understood that there is a state, ’where’
problems are no longer settled in any particular way. In the course of
your life you have after careful consideration come to a decision on
many questions, have you not? But now you will have to realize that no
solution is ever conclusive; in other words, you will have to go beyond
the level where there is certainty and uncertainty. The resolution of a
problem arrived at by the mind must of necessity be from a particular
point of view; consequently there will he room for contradiction, since
your solution represents but one aspect. What then have you actually
solved? You will find a complete and final solution of each particular
question from its own particular angle of emergence; and you will also
find that there is a place where all problems (actual and possible) have
but one universal solution, in which there is no longer any room left for
contradiction. The question of solution or non-solution will then cease to
arise: whether one says ‘yes’ or ‘no’, - everything is THAT.
 TWO
Solan, September, 1948.

Concerning the value of religious and philosophical discourses, SRI MA

said:

By listening repeatedly to discussions and discourses on topics of this

kind, the path to first-hand knowledge of what has been heard gradually
opens out. You know, it is as when water uninterruptedly dripping on a
stone finally makes a hole in it, and then a flood may suddenly surge
through which will bring Enlightenment.

Be it the perusal of Sacred Texts, listening to religious discourses,

engaging in kirtan - God must be the alpha and omega of whatever is
done. When reading, read about Him, when talking, talk of Him and
when singing, sing His praises. These three practices are intrinsically the
same; but because people respond differently, the same is expressed in
three different ways to suit each person’s temperament and capacity for
assimilation. Essentially there is only He and He alone, although
everyone has his own individual path that leads to Him. What is the right
path for each, depends on his personal predilection, based on the specific
character of his inner qualifications.

Take for instance the study of Vedanta. Some seekers become

completely drowned in it.

Just as others may so lose themselves in kirtan as to fall into a trance, a

student of Vedanta may become wholly absorbed in his texts, even more
so than the one who gets carried away by kirtan. According to one’s
specific line of approach, one will be able to achieve full concentration
through the study of a particular Scripture, or by some other means.
 First comes listening, then reflection, and last of all the translation into
action of what has been heard and pondered over. This is why one has
first pf all to listen, so that lat on each may he able to
select Vedanta or kirtan or whatever else be in his own line.

Have you never come across people making light of kirtan, saying:
"What is there to be gained by it?" Nevertheless, after listening to it for
some length of time, they actually develop a liking for it. Therefore one
must listen before one can reflect, and then later, what has been heard
and reflected upon will take shape in action suited to the person
concerned. To listen to discourses on God or Truth is certainly
beneficial, provided one does not allow oneself to be moved by a spirit
of fault-finding or disparagement, should there be differences of outlook
to one’s own. To find fault with others creates obstacles for everyone all
around : for him who criticises, for him who is blamed, as well as for
those who listen to the criticism. Whereas, what is said in a spirit of
appreciation is fruitful to everybody. For only where there is no question
of regarding anything as inferior or blameworthy (asat) can one call
it Satsang - aplay upon words: Sat means True Being, the
Good; satsang the company of the good, and also a religious
gathering. Asal, the opposite of sat, means non-being, wrong, evil.
Therefore to find fault (asat) in a religious meeting (saiang) is a
contradiction in terms.)

Who is known as a Vaishnava? One who sees Visnu everywhere. And as

a Sakta? One who beholds the Great Mother, and nothing save Her. In
truth, all the various ways of thought spring from one common source -
who then is to be blamed, who to be reviled or suppressed? All are equal
in essence.

Thou art Mother, Thou art Father,

Thou art Friend and Thou art Master,

Truly, Thou art all in all.

Every name is Thy Name,

 Every quality Thy Quality,

Every form Thy Form indeed.

Yet He is also where no forms exist, as pure unmanifested Being - all

depends on one’s avenue of approach.

Is it not said that what is viewed by the Saivas as the Supreme (parama)
Siva, and by those who inquire into the Self, as the One Self, is none
other than the Brahman Itself? In reality there is no contradiction so long
as the slightest difference is perceived, even by a hair’s breadth - how
can one speak of the state of Pure Being?

For this reason, no matter what path anyone may choose, it

is THAT . Vedanta* actually means the end of difference and non-
difference. ( Vedanta -end or culmination of Vedic wisdom. SRI MA
here plays upon words: Veda, and bheda difference. In Bengali the
letters B and V sound alike. ‘Anta’means ‘end’.)

While engaging in sadhana one must concentrate in a single direction;

but after it has been completed, what comes then? The cessation of
difference 3distinction and disagreement. Differences do indeed exist on
the path, but how can there be a difference of Goal?

THREE
 Solan, September 16 th , 1948.

A member of a well known Indian family, who had distinguished herself

by devoting her life to social service, came for SRI MA’s darsana and
asked: "Does the capacity to meditate come by practice in this life, or is
it an aptitude acquired in former births ?"

SRI MA: It may be the result of either of the two, or of both combined.
Meditation should be practised every day of one’s life. Look, what is
there in this world? Absolutely nothing that is lasting; therefore direct
your longing towards the Eternal. Pray that the work done through you,
His instrument, may be pure. In every action remember Him. The purer
your thinking, the finer will be your work. In this world you get a thing,
and by tomorrow it may be gone. This is why your life should be spent
in a spirit of service; feel that the Lord is accepting services from you in
whatever you do. If you desire peace you must cherish the thought of
Him.

Question: When will there be peace on earth?

SRI MA: Well , you know what the present state of affairs is; things are
happening as they are destined to be.

Question: When will this state of unrest come to an end?

SRI MA: The fact that many of you feel concerned about it and ask:
‘When will it end?’ is also one of the ways of His Self-manifestation.

Jagat (world) means ceaseless movement, and obviously there can be no

rest in movement. How could there be peace in perpetual coming and
going? Peace reigns where no coming exists and no going, no melting
and no burning. Reverse your course, advance towards Him then there
will be hope of peace.
By your japa and meditation those who are close to you will also benefit
through the helpful influence of your presence. In order to develop a
taste for meditation you have to make a deliberate and sustained
effort 3 just as children have to be made to sit and study, be it by
persuasion or coercion. By taking medicine or having injections a patient
may get well; even if you do not feel inclined to meditate, conquer your
reluctance and make an attempt. The habit of countless lives is pulling
you in the opposite direction and making it difficult for you - persevere
in spite of it! By your tenacity you will gain strength and be moulded;
that is to say, you will develop the capability to do sadhana. Make up
your mind that however arduous the task, it will have to be
accomplished. Recognition and fame last for a short time only, they do
not accompany you when you leave this world. If your thought does not
naturally flow towards the Eternal, fix it there by an effort of will.

Some severe blow of fate will drive you towards God. This will be but
an expression of His Mercy; however painful, it is by such blows that
one learns one’s lesson.

The obstinacy of the mind must be curbed with resoluteness. Whether

the mind co-operates or not, you must be adamant in your determination
to do a certain amount of practice without fail - simply
because sadhana is man’s real work. For so long you have been
accustomed to perform actions that fetter, therefore from sheer force of
habit you feel the urge to bind yourself by activity again and again. But
if you try hard for some time, you will be able to see for yourself how
you are caught in your work, and that the more you engage
in sadhana the quicker will be your advance.

As to self-surrender: by constantly endeavouring to live a life of self-

dedication, it will come about one day. What does self-surrender mean,
if not to surrender to one’s very own Self!

Keep in mind what this little daughter* of yours is asking you to do!
 FOUR

Solan, September 11 th , 1948.

A Government Official and his wife had come for SRI MA's darsana.
They were meeting her for the first time. To a question of theirs, SRI MA
replied:

If you say you have no faith, you should try to establish yourself in the
conviction that you have no faith.

Where ‘no’ is, ‘yes’ is potentially there as well. Who can claim to be
beyond negation and affirmation? To have faith is imperative. The
natural impulse to have faith in something, which is deep-rooted in man,
develops into faith in God. This is why human birth is such a great boon.
It cannot be said that no one has faith. Everyone surely believes in
something or other.

The word ‘man(h)us’ (man) is derived from ‘man’ (mind)

and ‘hus’ (conscious), which denotes the mind’s awareness and
vigilance. This shows that man’s natural calling is to attain to Self-
knowledge. When children learn to read and write, they have to accept
rebuke and censure. God, too, now and again administers to man a mild
beating - this is but a token of His Mercy. From the worldly standpoint
such blows are considered extremely painful, but actually they bring
about a change of heart, and lead to Peace: by disturbing worldly
happiness they induce man to seek the path to Supreme Bliss.
 It is of course true that the human body lives by breathing, and hence
there is suffering. ( Human life, in fact animal life in general, depends on
breathing, which is a sign of disturbance in the universal equilibrium.
The entire creation is characterised by this disturbance. The process of
breathing implies a dual movement, inward and outward, and a periodic
rest between the two. The state of harmony can be reached by getting rid
of this urge for movement, by attaining to repose, calm and peace. This
is possible through yoga. When one is in a state of perfect poise, there is
no longer any need to breathe.)

There are two kinds of pilgrims on life’s journey: the one, like a tourist,
is keen on sight-seeing, wandering from place to place, flitting from one
experience to another for the fun of it.

The other treads the path that is consistent with man’s true being and
leads to his real home, to Self-knowledge. Sorrow will of a certainty be
encountered on the journey undertaken for the sake of sight-seeing and
enjoyment. So long as one’s real home has not been found, suffering. is
inevitable. The sense of separateness is the root cause of misery, because
it is founded on error, on the conception of duality. This is why the
world is called ‘du-niya’ (based on duality).

A man’s belief is greatly influenced by his environment; therefore he

should choose the company of the Holy and Wise. Belief means to
believe in one’s Self, disbelief to mistake the non-Self for one’s Self.

There are instances of Self-realization occurring by the Grace of God,

whereas at other times it can be seen that He awakens in some a feverish
yearning after Truth. In the first case attainment comes spontaneously, in
the second it is brought about by trials. But all is wrought solely by His
Mercy.

Man thinks he is the doer of his actions, while actually everything is

managed from ‘There’; the connection is ‘There’, as well as the power-
house - yet people say: ‘I do.’

How wonderful it is !
 When in spite of all efforts one fails to catch a train, does this not make
it clear from where all one’s movements are being directed? Whatever is
to happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time, is all fixed by Him; His
arrangements are perfect.

An eternal relationship exists between God and man.

But in His Play it is sometimes there and sometimes severed, or rather

appears to be severed ; it is not really so, for the relationship is eternal.
Again, seen from another side, there is no such thing as relationship.
Someone, who came to meet this body, said : "I am a newcomer to you."
He got the reply: "Ever new and ever old indeed!"

The light of the world comes and goes, it is unstable. The Light that is
eternal can never be extinguished. By this Light you behold the outer
light and everything in the universe; it is only because It shines ever
within you, that you can perceive the outer light. Whatever appears to
you in the universe is due solely to that great Light within you, and only
because the Supreme Knowledge of the essence of things lies hidden in
the depths of your being is it possible for you to acquire knowledge of
any kind.

The human brain may be compared to the root of a tree; if the root is
watered, nourishment spreads to every part of the plant. There are
occasions when you say your brain is tired. When does this happen?
When you are very busy with outer things. But as soon as you return
home and talk to your loved ones, your head feels light and you are full
of joy. For this reason it is said, because your brain belongs to yourself,
your own work does not produce weariness.

Really speaking, all work is your work - only how can you understand
this? Indeed the whole world is yours, of your Self, your very own - but
you perceive it as separate, just as you see ‘others.’
To know it to be your own gives happiness, but the notion that it is apart
form you causes misery.

To perceive duality means pain, conflict, struggle and death.

Pitaji, do take to some kind of sadhana!

INQUIRER: It is all in God’s hands.

SRI MA: Exactly! Always bear this in mind:

Everything is in God’s hands, and you are His tool to be used by Him as
He pleases. Try to grasp the significance of ‘all is His’, and you will
immediately feel free from all burdens. What will be the result of your
surrender to Him? None will seem alien, all will be your very own, your
Self.

Either melt by devotion the sense of separateness, or burn it by

Knowledge - for what is it that melts or burns? Only that which by its
nature can be melted or burnt; namely the idea that something other than
your Self exists. What will happen then? You come to know your Self.

By virtue of the Guru’s power everything becomes possible; therefore

seek a Guru. Meanwhile, since all names are His Name, all forms His
Form, select one of them and keep it with you as your constant
companion. At the same time He is also nameless and formless ; for the
Supreme it is possible to be everything and yet nothing.

So long as you have not found a Guru, adhere to the name or form of
Him that appeals to you most, and ceaselessly pray that He may reveal
Himself to you as the Sadguru.
 In very truth the Guru dwells within, and unless you discover the
inner Guru, nothing can be achieved. If you feel no desire to turn to God,
bind yourself by a daily routine of sadhana, as school children do, whose
duty it is to follow a fixed timetable.

When prayer does not spontaneously flow from your heart, ask yourself:
"Why do I find pleasure in the fleeting things of this world?" If you
crave for some outer thing or feel specially attracted to a person, you
should pause and say to yourself: "Look out, you are being fascinated by
the glamour of this!" Is there a place where God is not?

Family life, which is the Ashrama of the householder, can also take you
in His direction, provided it is accepted as an asrama. Lived in this
spirit, it helps man to progress towards Self-realization. Nevertheless, if
you hanker after anything such as name, fame or position, God will
bestow it on you, but you will not feel satisfied. The Kingdom of God is
a whole, and unless you are admitted to the whole of it you cannot
remain content. He grants you just a little, only to keep Your discontent
alive, for without discontent there can be no progress. You, a scion of the
Immortal, can never become reconciled to the realm of death, neither
does God allow you to remain in it. He Himself kindles the sense of
want in you by granting you a small thing, only to whet your appetite for
a greater one. This is His method by which He urges you on. The
traveller on this path finds it difficult and feels troubled, but one who has
eyes to see can clearly perceive that the pilgrim is advancing. The
distress that is experienced burns to ashes all pleasure derived from
worldly things. This is what is called‘tapasya’. What obstructs one on
the spiritual path bears within itself seeds of future suffering. Yet the
heartache, the anguish over the effects of these obstructions, are the
beginning of an awakening to Consciousness.

FIVE
Solan, September 21 st , 1948.
 A young girl was talking to SRI MA. She said:

"When I sit down to meditate I do not intend to contemplate any form,

but how is it possible to meditate on the formless? I have noticed that at
times, when I try to meditate, images of deities come floating before my
mind."

SRI MA: Whatever image arises in your mind, that you should
contemplate; just observe in what shape God will manifest Himself to
you. The same form does not suit every person. For some, Rama may be
most helpful, for some Siva, for others Parvati, and again for others the
formless.

He certainly is formless ; but at the same time, watch in what particular

form He may appear to you in order to show you the way. Consequently,
whichever of His forms comes into your mind, that you should
contemplate in all its minute details.

Proceed as follows: When sitting down to meditate,

first of all contemplate the form of a deity;

then imagining Him to be enthroned on His seat,

bow down before Him and do japa.

When you have concluded the japa bow down once more and, having
enshrined Him in your heart, leave your seat.

This, in short, may be your practice if you are not able to meditate on
the Brahman.

Be ever convinced that at all times and without exception He will do and
is doing what is best for you. Reflect thus: In order to aid me, He has
revealed Himself to me in this particular guise. He is with form as well
as without; the entire universe is within Him and pervaded by Him. This
 is why it is said: "TheSadguru is the World-teacher and the World-
teacher the Sadguru".

The aforesaid is especially meant for you. The same does not apply to
every person. The more you contemplate Him, the more rapid will be
your progress. If any image arises in your mind, it is He, just as He is
also the formless; mark what comes spontaneously.

SIX
Benares. August 18 th , 1948.

QUESTION: How can meditation on a particular part lead to

meditation on the whole? One can concentrate completely only upon one
aspect. It is said that when one is absorbed in meditation, a gradual
expansion of consciousness takes place; and when the mind reaches
what is beyond its containing capacity, it spontaneously dissolves (laya).
Then there is no more meditation, there is Divine Insight (Jnana). Some
hold this theory. How the mind can become all-pervasive by this method,
I am unable to grasp.

SRI MA: When meditation (dhyana) occurs spontaneously, then only is

it real meditation. It must come of itself, effortlessly. Furthermore, when
you say the mind subsides (laya), from where does it originate?

INQUIRER: From the Self (Atma). In the Srutis is said that it has
emanated from the Self (Paramatma) like a shadow.

SRI MA : Where birth is, there must be dissolution (nasa); is this what
you mean? But if it were so, the mind would emerge again. You say, you
cannot grasp the all-pervasiveness of the mind; quite naturally so,
 because it is not a thing to be grasped it is neither a thing, nor can it be
grasped.

You experience the pleasures and pains of the world; again, you enjoy
temporary happiness or bliss while in meditation. This also is an
experience, is it not? Yet it is of a slightly different nature from the
former.

When a man says that he describes or refers to an experience after he

comes down from the heights of divine ecstasy (samadhi), it implies that
ascent and descent still continue to exist for him, otherwise why should
he use these expressions? But there is also a state where ascending and
descending are out of the question. You may maintain that the mind
should be held as existing in samadhi, although in an absorbed state;
otherwise how can a person, on issuing from samadhi, speak of the
experience he had in that state?

You may further maintain that his mind is a purified mind.

I am speaking from your standpoint. Experiences occur on the path.

Between the two types of experience that have just been mentioned,
there is a difference. Nevertheless, they are both of the mind, though on
different levels, even what you call samadhi.

However, there is also another state of being where one cannot speak of
ascent and descent, and consequently not of a body either.

Should the question of the body or of action, or any question whatever,

still arise, it means that this state has not been reached.

When you say the mind dissolves (laya), into what does it dissolve ?

INQUIFER : Into the Self, of course.

 SRI MA : Just as salt dissolves, so does the mind -is this your idea?
From a particular angle of vision it may appear thus. In the case of a
dissolution of this kind, a perfect )’ogi can resuscitate the mind again.

INQUIRER : I was thinking of absolute destruction (nasa).

SRI MA : Destruction ( nasa) or dissolution (laya)?

Na Sa - means ‘not He’, na Sva* ‘not the Self’ - this surely is what is
termed destruction ?

Where destruction is destroyed, there is THAT. Do you call the

annihilation of the ego-mind (manonasa) its dissolution (laya)?

IQUIRER: How am I to grasp this?

SRI MA : It is for the Guru to point out the method; he will show you
the way to understanding and instruct you in your sadhana. It is for you
to keep on practising it faithfully. But the fruit comes spontaneously in
the form of Self-revelation.

The power to make you grasp the Ungraspable duly manifests itself
through the Guru. Where the question "How am I to proceed?" arises,
fulfilment has obviously not yet been reached.

Therefore, never relax your efforts until there is Enlightenment. Let no

gaps interrupt your attempt, for a gap will produce an eddy, whereas
your striving must be continuous like the flowing of oil, it must be
sustained, constant, an unbroken stream.

That you have no control over the body’s need of food and sleep does
not matter; your aim should be, not to allow any interval in the
performance of yoursddhana. Do you not see that whatever you require
in the way of food and sleep, each at its own appointed hour, is without
exception an ever recurring need? In exactly the same manner must you
aspire at uninterruptedness where the search after Truth is concerned.
Once the mind, in the course of its movement, has felt the touch of the
Indivisible - if only you can grasp that moment ! - in that Supreme
 Moment all moments are contained, and when you have captured it, all
moments will be yours.

Take, for example, the moments of confluence (sandhiksana) at dawn,

midday and dusk, in which the power inherent in the contact-point,
where coming and going meet, becomes revealed. What you call
‘electric discharge’ is nothing but the union of two opposites thus does
the Supreme Being flash forth at the moment of conjunction. Actually IT
is present at every single moment, but you miss it all the time. Yet this is
what you have to seize; it can be done at the point of juncture where the
opposites fuse into one.

Nobody is able to predict when for any particular individual this fateful
Moment will reveal itself; therefore keep on striving ceaselessly.

Which exactly is that great Moment depends for each one upon his
particular line of approach. Does not the moment at which you are born
determine and rule the course of your whole life? Similarly, what is
important for you is the Moment at which you will enter the current that
is the movement of your true being, the Going Forth, in other words, the
Great Pilgrimage. Unless this happens, perfection cannot be attained.
This is why, for some disciples, the Gurufixes special times
for sadhana, such as dawn, dusk, midday, and midnight; these are the
four periods usually prescribed;

It is the duty of the disciple to carry out conscientiously

the Guru’s orders, which vary according to the temperament and
predisposition of the aspirant. The same method does not suit everyone.
The average person can have no knowledge of the particular
combination of factors that are necessary to bring to completion the
hitherto neglected facets of his being; for this reason it is essential to
obey the Guru’s instructions. The decisive Moment is bound to manifest
as soon as by your attitude of mind, as well as by your actions, you are
ready for it. Therefore try to follow closely the path indicated by
the Guru, and you will see how everything just happens spontaneously.

Within the twenty-four hours of the day, some time must be definitely
dedicated to God. Resolve, if possible, to engage regularly in japa of a
 particular Name or mantra while sitting in a special posture, and
gradually add to the time or the number of repetitions. There is no need
for a daily augmentation. Fix the rate and the interval at which you will
increase, say fortnightly or weekly. In this way try to bind yourself to the
Quest of God; wherever you may be, take refuge in Him, let Him be
your Goal.

When by virtue of this endeavour you become deeply immersed in that

current and devote ever more time to it, you will be transformed and
your appetite for sense enjoyment will grow feeble; thus you will reap
the fruit of your accumulated efforts. You may also come to feel that the
body is liable to depart at any time, that death may arrive at any moment.

Just as there is ever new creation in the universe, so also does your
mental and psychological reaction to i undergo constant change. If you
proceed in the manner indicated, you will observe that as a result your
outer interests will gradually fall away and your vision turn inward.

The more ardent your pursuit, the vaster the possibilities that will open
out for you, and in proportion to your advance, suffering will diminish
and not increase again. It is also said, is it not, that karma is extinguished
by karma - that is to say, the effects of past actions are neutralize by
counter actions.

Indeed, if it be anyone’s destiny, this may be achieved in a very short

time. Look, even when the body is not given food, it does not stop the
assimilation of nourishment; we are told that in such a case it starts
consuming its own flesh. Therefore, just as you keep your body well
nourished, so must you take equally good care where your spiritual well-
being is concerned; then only will you flourish in that respect. Who can
tell, at what moment the flame of illumination will blaze forth?

For this reason, continue your efforts steadily without flagging.

Gradually you will get more and more deeply absorbed in Him - He and
He alone will preoccupy your thoughts and feelings. For the mind ever
seeks that which gives it proper sustenance, and this cannot be provided
by anything save the Supreme Being Himself. Then you will be carried
away by the current that leads to your Self. You will discover that the
 more you delight in the inner life, the less you feel drawn to external
things.

In consequence the mind becomes so well nourished with the right kind
of food, that at any moment the realization of its identity with the Self
may occur.

As regards laya: if you meant the mind’s dissolution into THAT, then
what you said was correct.

Jada samadhi is not desirable.

On the contrary, you have to realize what the mind is, who it is.

The mind subsides into THAT ‘- is this what you intended to express?

Laya may signify either that the mind has nowhere to go to, in other
words, can no longer find its way and hence subsides into latency; or
else it merges into THAT, which is Self-revelation, and consequendy
there can be no possibility of a separate existence of the mind. Where
Self-revelation is, how can the question as to whether the mind gets
dissolved or not, arise at all?

This has been replied to from the standpoint from which you asked.

You began by enquiring how meditation on a particular part can lead to

meditation on the whole. Surely, the whole is contained in the part; it is
in order to arrive at the realization of this truth that you have to follow
the Guru’s instructions, which are instinct with His power.
 The aforesaid gives but a faint idea of only one aspect of the whole
matter.

Again, look, there are instances when one loses consciousness while
sitting in meditation.

Some people have found themselves swooning away, as it were,

intoxicated with joy, remaining in this condition for quite a long
time. On emerging they claim to have experienced some sort of
divine bliss. But this is certainly not Realization.

A stage does exist in meditation, where intense joy is felt, where one is
as if submerged in it.

But what is it that gets submerged? The mind of course.

At a certain level and under certain circumstances this experience may

prove an obstacle.

If repeated time and again, one may stagnate at its particular level and
thereby be prevented from getting a taste of the Essence of Things.

Once genuine contemplation (dhyana) has been established, worldly

attractions lose all their appeal. In the event of an experience of anything
pertaining to Supreme Reality or to the Self, one does not say:

"Where have I been? I did not know anything for the time being;" there
can be no such thing as -’not knowing’. If it is possible to describe in
words the bliss one has experienced, it is still enjoyment and therefore a
hindrance. One must be fully conscious, wide awake.

To fall into a stupor or into yogic sleep will not take one anywhere.
After real meditation worldly pleasures become unalluring, dull, entirely
savourless.

What does vairagya signify? When every single objeet or the world
kindles, as it were, the lire of renunciation, so as to make one recoil as
from a shock, then there is inward and outward
awakening. This, however; dues not mean that vairagya implies aversion
or contempt for anything of the world, it simply is unacceptable, the
body refuses it.

Neither dislike nor anger will arise.

When vairagya becomes a living inspiration, one begins to discriminate

as to the true nature of the world, until finally, with the glowing certainty
of direct perception the knowledge of its elusiveness arises.

Each and everything belonging to the world seems to burn; one cannot
touch it This also is a state that may ensue at a particular time.

At present, what you enjoy does not impress you as being short-lived,
rather does it appear to make you happy.

But to the extent that the spirit of detachment is roused, the relish of such
pleasures will die down, for are they not fleeting?

In other words, death will die.

Now that you are advancing towards that which is beyond time, the
semblance of happiness brought about by mundane things is being
consumed.
 As a result, the question - " What actually is this world?" will arise.

So long as the world seems enjoyable to you, such a query does not
present itself.

Since you are progressing towards that which transcends time, all that
belongs to time will begin to appear to you in its true light.

If after coming down from the state of contemplation you are capable of
behaving, as before, you have not been transformed.

When there is real meditation, which evokes indifference to the world,

you will begin to pine keenly for the Divine, you will hunger for It and
realize that nothing transient can appease this hunger or satisfy you.

How am I to make it clear to you, Pitajl?

People come to this body and tell of their sons and daughters having got
into a car and driven away, without even looking up to see whether their
father and mother were weeping. They are quite unmoved by their
parents grief.

You see, this is precisely what it is like at a certain stage on the Path;
worldly enjoyment cannot possibly touch you.

You feel: "Those whom I had believed to be my very own, are merely
related to me by flesh and blood - what is that to me?"
 Nobody deliberately puts his hands into fire or treads on a snake; in
exactly the same manner, you just glance at the objects of sense and turn
away.

Then you will get into the current that takes you in the opposite
direction,

and later, when you have become detached even from detachment,

there is no problem of detachment or non-detachment - what is,

is THAT .

Some say, by sustained effort one may attain to Enlightenment. But is it

true that effort can bring about Enlightenment? Is Illumination
dependant on action? The veil is destroyed, and when this has been
accomplished, THAT which IS stands revealed. What is known as the
fruit of effort is nothing but the illumination or the particular aspect
towards which the effort has been directed.

Unveiled light ( niravaran prakasa ) is He Himself, the Eternal.-

The Guru knows which is the right line of approach for any individual.

QUESTION. : At times we feel that sense objects really exist, at other

times that they are merely ideas. Why does one and the same thing
appear so different on different occasions?

SRI MA: Because you are in the grip of time.

You have not yet reached the state where everything is perceived as the
Self * (*A play upon words: samaya and svamayi sound alike. samaya -
time;svamayi - ‘permeated by Self’) alone, have you?

Herein lies the solution of the whole problem.

To feel as you do is good, since your feeling is related to the Supreme

Quest; for nothing is ever wasted. What you have realized even for a
second will, at some time or other, bear fruit.

Thus, what water, air, the sky, etc. are, and hence what creation is, the
knowledge of the real character of each element (tattva) will flash into
your consciousness one by one-just like buds bursting open.

Flowers and fruit come into existence only because they are potentially
contained in the tree. Therefore you should aim at realizing the One
Supreme Element (Tattva) that will throw light on all elements.

You asked about sense objects: an object of sense visaya,( - sense object,
vis -poison, ha - ‘is’) is that which contains poison, is full of harm and
drags man towards death. But freedom from the world of sense
objects (nirvisaya) - where no trace of poison remains - means
immortality.

QUESTION: Still, something of the burning pain of varagya is left over?

SRI MA: What is it that produces the sensation of burning?

A sore surely! Because of it there is inflammation ; but whose sore is it?

Unless there is a sore, there can be no smarting. Therein lies the
deception : so long as Reality is not revealed, the sore will persist. If the
 inflammation is a healing process, it is of course beneficent. A patient
who becomes unconscious is not aware of his agony - you can see how
man is drowned in pleasure, loss and affliction - this surely is not what is
wanted! This is the way of the world with is never-ending
uncertainties*( Sansara - world, sansaya - uncertainty.)

Can you tell why one feels anguish?

INQUIRER: One is pulled in two directions, towards God as well as

towards sense enjoyment - this causes anguish.

SRI MA: You have a desire to give up, but you cannot let go; such is
your problem. Let that desire awaken in your heart - its stirring signifies
that the time is coming when you will be able to give up.

You obtain a coveted object, but still you are dissatisfied ; and if you fail
to get it, you are also disappointed.

The disillusionment you experience at the fulfilment of your wish is

wholesome; but the torment of the unfulfilled hankering after the things
you could not secure, drives you towards which is of death, towards that
misery.

INQUIRER: The hunger of the senses can never be appeased; the more
one gets, the more one wants.

The fulfilment of worldly desire only begets greater longing.

SRI MA: This world is itself but an embodiment of want, and hence the
heartache due to the absence of fulfilment must needs endure. This is
why it is said that there are two kinds of currents in human life : the one
pertaining to the world, in which want follows upon want; the other of
one’s true Being. It is characteristic of the former that it can never end in
 fulfilment - on the contrary, the sense of want is perpetually stimulated
anew. Whereas by entering the latter man will become established in his
true nature and bring to completion the striving which is its expression.
Thus, if he endeavours to fulfil himself by entering this current, it will
eventually bring him to the perfect poise of his own true Being.

QUESTION : And the anguish of not having found, the anguish of the
absence of God? I have no wish for sense pleasures, but they come to
me.

I am compelled to experience them.

SRI MA: Ah, but the anguish of not having found God is salutary. What
you have eaten will leave a taste in your mouth. You wear ornaments
because you wish to, and so you have to bear their weight. Yet this
weight is fated to fall off, for it is something that cannot last, can it?

QUESTION: Are there instances when an Enlightened person may be in

Ignorance?

SRI MA: You call a person Enlightened, and in the same breath say he
may be subject to ignorance? Such a thing, Pitaji, is quite impossible.

There is, however, a state of attainment that is not maintained at all

times, where what you suggest may apply; but never in a case of final
Realisation. In whatever way you may perceive an Enlightened Being,
He remains what He is.

How can there be a possibility of ignorance in what is termed

Knowledge Supreme? When you speak of ignorance with reference to a
Realised man, it is an example of Supreme Knowledge being mistaken
 for ignorance. Therefore, you also talk of ascent and descent. Just as
there is no question of a body for one who is liberated, so for Him there
can be none of rising up and coming down.

Nevertheless, there is a state of achievement in which ascent and descent

do exist, really and truly.

SEVEN
Solan, September 19 th , 1948.

Someone told SRI MA about a man who, without stirring from his seat,
would produce all sorts of articles, like flowers, garlands, sweets, etc.
They just appeared in his hands. In this connection SRI MA related an
incident that had taken place in Dacca many years ago.

SRI MA: What an incredible number of similar incidents has this body
not witnessed! As a rule this body makes no comments upon such things,
but on a particular occasion somehow something rather strange took
place. When a certain lady came, I felt like lying down across her lap. As
I did so, I distinctly noticed that a bundle containing various articles was
tied in the lady’s sari in the region of her waist. Everyone began to
request her to show them some objects that would come to her by
supernatural means, since many had seen her do this before. People had
heard it said that even the prasad from the Kali temple in Dakshineshwar
would of its own accord appear in her hands.

This body said: "Even before it arrives from there I could disclose it; but
would you like me to?"
 The lady said : "Yes, of course !" The question was repeated several
times, and every time she, as well as her devotees, replied : "Yes, please
!"

This is how it all came about.

Even so, this body did. not take anything out with its own hands - only
what was fated to happen, happened spontaneously.

Afterwards one of the lady’s devotees came to this body and

inquired: "Ma, you never put anyone to shame, and certainly not in
public. Why then did you do so in this case?"

She got the reply: "Yes, as you know, this body does not as a rule
interfere with anyone’s natural ways. Yet, whether it concerns the most
ordinary or the most extraordinary event, - call it as you please - what
holds good for this body to this day and has until now been so always, is
simply this:

whatever is meant to come about just happens spontaneously.

When that lady arrived, this body welcomed her with great respect,
offering her its own a sana and putting a garland round her neck. How
very pleased everyone felt !

Every form, every expression is He and He alone.

That day this body did not disclose anything.

But the lady of her own free will declared: ‘I shall come again
tomorrow!’ You all heard it, did you not? What occurred then was His
way of revealing Himself. Tell me, what is there to do? By whatever
method He may choose to teach anyone, at any time - as far as this body
is concerned, it has no desire of its own, - whatever comes to pass is all
right (‘ja hoye jay’).*

*’Ja hoye jay’ This terse phrase is uttered by

SRI MA again and again. It is pregnant with
 meaning; in fact, a whole philo sopby of
life is implied. It ignifies that whatever
happens is according to the Divine Will, and
therefore equally welcome o SRI MA. It also
expresses the complete absence of personal
desire, surrender without reservation to
Providence, and the conviction that nothing
can come to pass that is not ultimately
wrought by the Creator.

When (in the early days) this body used to do pranam to every creature,
whether an insect, a spider, a dog, or a cat, it did so with the full
consciousness of the presence of the Supreme Being in everything.

‘Whatever comes to pass is all right’ - there is something else to be said

in this connection. To take recourse to falsehood or deception can never
be for one’s good. He who deceives, will himself be deceived. On the
other hand, falsehood may also be converted into truth. Someone may
deliberately play false, yet through his disciple’s sincerity the truth may
actually be brought to light. As a result the disciple excels the guru. The
resolve to find the truth will inevitably lead to its revelation.

I told that lady’s devotee:

"How many times did I not ask you all ‘shall I disclose it?’ And without
exception you kept on begging me to do so. Therefore - what more can
be said?" What a great variety of similar incident occur!

Listen to the story of a young woman who, under the slightest

provocation, would go into ‘samadhi’ so people believed. She appeared
to become lifeless,. her hands and feet turning cold. When she came to
this body, she also went into this strange state that people mistook
for samadhi. The girl’s mother was called ‘grandmother’ by this body,
both of us being from the same village. She said to me: "Grand-daughter,
 please try and help this girl!" I quite understood what was the matter
with the young woman, so I whispered into her ear :

"You will very soon receive a letter from your husband;" whereupon she
recovered in no time. The news of the cure spread far and wide. People
felt greatly mystified, wondering at the powerful mantra SRI MA had
whispered into the girl’s ear. Indeed, under the circumstances it was the
appropriate mantra for her. The girl’s condition was solely due to
worrying about her husband’s prolonged silence.

Then again there was a young man - into what supernormal states he
used to pass, how many kinds of visions he had! He would, for example,
do pranamand remain in that posture for hours together, without raising
his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. He declared that he saw and
heard n Krishnateaching Arjuna, as described in the Gita, and that he
used to have many other visions and locutions of the kind.

This body told him that, if a sadhaka could not maintain firm control
over his mind, he would be liable to see and hear many things, both
illusory and genuine, all mixed up. He might even be subjected to the
influence of some ‘spirit’ or power.

Such occurrences, far from creating pure divine aspiration, would rather
hinder than help. Moreover, to see someone in a vision or to hear him
address you, may well become a source of self-satisfaction or egotistic
enjoyment.

To lose control over oneself is not desirable.

In the search after Truth one must not allow oneself to be overpowered
by anything, but should watch carefully whatever phenomena may
supervene, keeping fully conscious, wide awake, in fact retaining
complete mastery over oneself.

Loss of consciousness and of self-control are never right.

 In the course of the same conversation, SRI MA said:

The Lord Buddha is Himself the essence of Enlightenment.

All partial manifestations of wisdom that come in the course

of sadhana culminate in Supreme Enlightenment (Bodha Svarupa).

In a similar way, Supreme Knowledge (Jnana Svarupa) or Supreme

Love (Bhava Svarupa) may be attained.

As there is a state of Supreme Self-knowledge, likewise is there a state

of perfection at the zenith of the path of love. There one finds the nectar
of Perfect Love identical with Supreme Knowledge. In this state there is
no room for emotional excitement; indeed, that would make it
impossible for Supreme Love(Mahabhava) to shine forth. Be mindful of
one thing: if, when following a particular line of approach, one does not
attain to that which is the consummation of all sadhana, namely the final
Goal, it means that one has not really entered that line.

At the supreme summit of Love, - which is Mahabhava - exuberance,

excessive emotion and the like cannot possibly occur. Emotional
excitement and Supreme Love are in no wise to be compared: they are
totally different from one another.

While absorbed in meditation, whether one is conscious of the body or

not, whether there be a sense of identification with the physical or not -
under all circumstances, it is imperative to remain wide-
awake; unconsciousness must be strictly avoided.

Some genuine perception must be retained, whether one contemplates

the Self as such, or any particular form.

What is the outcome of such meditation?

It opens up one’s being to the Light, to that which is eternal.

Suppose the body had been suffering from some pain or stiffness - lo and
behold, after meditation it feels perfectly hale and hearty, with not a
trace of fatigue or debility. It is as if a long period of time had elapsed in
between, as if there had never been a question of any discomfort. This
would be a good sign. But if tempted at the first touch of Bliss to allow
oneself to be drowned in it, and later to declare : "Where I was, I cannot
say, I do not know," - this is not desirable. As one becomes capable of
real meditation, and to the extent that one contacts Reality, one discovers
the ineffable joy that lies hidden even in all outer objects.

If on the other hand one loses oneself as it were, lapsing into a kind of
stupor while engaged in meditation, and afterwards claims to have been
steeped in intense bliss, this sort of bliss is a hindrance. If the life-force
seems to have been in abeyance -just as one has a sense of great
happiness after sound sleep - it indicates stagnation. It is a sign of
attachment, and this attachment stands in the way of true meditation,
since one will be apt to revert to this state again and again; although
from the standpoint of the world, which is altogether different, it would
seem a source of profound inward joy and therefore certainly an
indication of spiritual progress.

To be held up at any stage is an obstacle to further progress - it simply

means one has stopped advancing.

While engaging in meditation, one should think of oneself as a purely

spiritual being (cinmayi), as Self-luminous, poised in the Bliss of the
Self (atmarama),and in accordance with the Guru’s instructions, try to
concentrate on one’s Ista.

The young man previously mentioned (the one who used to have
visions) was intelligent, and therefore able to understand this sort of
reasoning. As a result, the spectacular experiences ceased, and he now
attends to his meditation and other spiritual exercises in a very quiet,
unobtrusive manner.
 Later, when the conversation again reverted to dhyana and asana, SRI
MA said:

Look, if you spend hour after hour sitting in a certain posture, if you
become absorbed while in that pose and are unable to meditate in any
other, it shows that you are deriving enjoyment from the posture; this
also constitutes an obstacle.

When one first starts practising japa and meditation, it is of course right
to try and continue in the same position for as long as possible. But as
one approaches perfection in these practices, the question as to how long
one has remained in one posture does not arise; at any time and in any
position - lying, sitting, standing, or leaning over to one side, as the case
may be - one can no longer be deterred by any-thing from the
contemplation of ones Ideal or the Beloved.

The first sign of progress comes when one feels ill at ease in anything
but a meditative pose.

Nothing external interests one; the only thing that seems attractive, is to
be seated in one’s favourite posture as long as possible and to
contemplate the Supreme Object of one’s worship, plunged in a deep
inner joy.

This marks the beginning of single-mindedness, and hence is a step in

the right direction.

Yet, here great prominence is given to posture.

 If one stays in that position as long as the inclination lasts - confident
that the Beloved can never do one harm - and if one is able to remain
fixed in it, then the posture becomes of overwhelming importance.

This only shows that one is nearing perfection in the practice

of asana. Standing, sitting, walking in fact, any gesture taken up by the
body is called an asana. It corresponds to the rhythm and the vibration of
body and mind at any particular moment. Some aspirants can meditate
only if seated in the pose indicated by the Guru or formulated in
the sastras, and not otherwise.

This is the way to proficiency in meditation. On the other hand, someone

may begin his practice while sitting in any ordinary position;
nevertheless, as soon as the state of japa or dhyana has been reached, the
body will spontaneously take up the most appropriate position, after the
manner that a hiccup happens involuntarily. As one’s meditation grows
more and more intense, the postures will of themselves correspondingly
gain in perfection. When a little air is pumped into a tyre, the tyre will be
flabby; but when it is filled to capacity, it remains completely stable in
its own natural shape. Likewise, when real meditation has been attained,
the body feels light and free, and on rising after meditation there is no
fatigue of any kind, no pain, numbness or stiffness in one’s limbs.

In true meditation Reality is contacted, and just as the touch of fire

leaves an inipression, this contact also leaves its mark.

What happens as a result?

Impediments fall away - they are either consumed by vairagya, or

‘melted’ by devotion to the Divine.

Worldly things seem dull and insipid, quite foreign to oneself; worldly
talk loses all its appeal, becomes devoid of interest, and at a further stage
even painful. When a person’s earthly possessions are lost or damaged,
the victim feels disturbed, which gives evidence of the stranglehold that
sense objects exercise over men’s minds. This is what is called granthi -
the knots constituting the I-ness.
 By meditation, japa and other spiritual practices, which vary according
to each one’s individual line of approach, these knots become loosened,
discrimination is developed, and one comes to discern the true nature of
the world of sense perception. In the beginning, one was enmeshed in it,
struggling helplessly in its net. As one becomes disentangled from it, and
gradually passes through various stages of opening oneself more and
more to the Light, one comes to see that everything is contained in
everything, that there is only One Self, the Lord of all, or that all are but
the servants of the One Master. The form this realization takes depends
upon one’s orientation. One knows by direct perception that, as ‘one
exists, so everyone else exists ; then again, that here is the One and
nothing but the One, that nothing comes and goes, yet also does come
and go - there is no way of expressing all this in words. To the extent
that one becomes estranged from the world of the senses, one draws
nearer to God.

When attaining to true meditation, one’s chosen posture no longer

represents either an obstacle or a source of enjoyment ; in other words, it
is quite immaterial in what particular pose one happens to be. Whether
one sits straight or crooked, the right posture will form of itself, pulling
the body into the proper position. Again, there are occasions when one
becomes entirely independent of the physical pose; in whatever attitude
the body may happen to be, meditation just comes about effortlessly.
Though, without a doubt, there is also a state in which, if one takes up a
special pose, such as for instance,padmasana (the lotus pose)
or siddhdsana (the perfect pose), no interruption of one’s union with the
Supreme Being can ever occur.

EIGHT
Benares. August 11 th , 1948.
 QUESTION: The other day, when speaking about visions and similar
experiences that one has during meditation, you said these were not real
visions but mere ‘touches’.

SRI MA : Yes, viewed from the level where one can speak of ‘touch’,
this is so; that is to say, you have not been changed by the experience.
Yet it is attractive to you, and you can express the feeling in words,
which implies that you still take delight in sense objects. Therefore it is a
mere touch. If transformation had ensued, you would be unable to feel
worldly enjoyment in this way. How can there be enjoyment or relish in
a transformed state of being?

QUESTION: Atman and Brahman are different only by way of posited

limitation. The vision that comes by constant ‘meditation on ‘I am
Saccidananda’ is Atma darsana (the vision of the Self). Since there can
be no vision of the Brahman, it must therefore be a partial, that is a
limited vision of the Brahman. Is this correct?

SRI MA: If you think there are parts in the Brahman, you may say
‘partial’. But can there be parts in the Absolute? As you think and feel in
parts, you speak of ‘touch’ - but He is whole, THAT which IS.

QUESTION: Are there grades (krama) in knowledge?

SRI MA: No. Where knowledge is of the Self (Svarupa Jnana), how can
there be various kinds or grades? Knowledge of the Self is one.
Proceeding step by step refers to the stage where one has turned away
 from the pursuit of sense objects and one’s gaze is entirely directed
towards the Eternal. God has not yet been realized, but the treading of
this path has become attractive.

Along this line there are dharana, dhydna and samadhi.

The experiences at each of these stages are also infinite. Where the mind
is, there is experience. The experiences at different stages are due to
various forms of desire for Supreme Knowledge. The mind that has
formerly been en-grossed in material things, and arguing that one cannot
know whether God exists or not, had come to deny Him, is now turned
the other way. Therefore, is it not natural that light should dawn upon it
in accordance with the state it has reached? These states are known
under various names. When do the visions that one gets in meditation
cease? When the Self stands Self-revealed(Svayam Prakasa).

QUESTION : Does the body survive when the egomind has been
dissolved (mailond)?

SRI MA: At times the question is asked: "How does the World-teacher
give instruction? From the state of ajnana?" If his were so, the mind
would not have been dissolved, the threefold differentiation (triputi) of
the knower, the knowing and the known, could not have been merged.
So what would He be able to give you? Where could He lead you? But
there is a stage where this question does not arise. Is it the body that is
the obstacle to Supreme Knowledge? Is there even a question of whether
the body exists or not? At a certain level this question is simply not
there. On the plane where this question arises, one is not in the state of
Pure Being, and one thinks this question can be raised and also replied
to. But the answer lies where there is no such thing as questioning and
answering where there are no ‘others’, no division. And so, how can one
possibly approach the Supreme Teacher and receive instruction?
Similarly, the teachings of the sastras and other Scriptures have then
become quite useless. This is one aspect of the matter.

To speak of grades (krama) in knowledge, as if one were studying for a

university degree, is presenting the matter from the point of view
of sadhana.Where the Self stands revealed, there can be no question of
this. Yet, where there is personal effort, like the practice of meditation or
contemplation, it will certainly bear fruit. But in the state of Self-
illumination, there can be no such thing as attainment or non-attainment:
though being there, it is not; and though it is not, yet it is - just like that.

Some say a last vestige of the mind remains. At a certain level this is so ;
however, there is a stage beyond, where the question of whether a trace
of the mind remains or not, does not exist. If everything can be burnt up,
cannot this last vestige be consumed too? There is no question of either
‘yes’ or "no’: what is, IS. Meditation and contemplation are necessary
because one is on the level of acceptance and rejection, and the aim is in
fact to go beyond acceptance and rejection. You want a support, do you
not?

The support that can take you beyond, to where the question of
support or supportlessness no longer exists, that is the supportless
support.

What is expressible in words can certainly be attained. But He is THAT

which is beyond words.

INQUIRER: I have read in books that some say, they have to descend in
order to act in the world. This seems to imply that although they are
established in Pure Being, they have to take the help of the mind when
doing work. Just as a king, when acting the role of a sweeper, has for the
time being to imagine he is a sweeper.
SRI MA: In assuming a part, surely, there’ is no’ question of ascending
or descending.

Abiding in His own Essential Being (Svara);

He Himself play various parts.

But when you speak of ascending’ an descending - where is the state of

Pure Being? Can there be duality in that state? Brahman is One without
a second. Though from your angle of vision, I grant, it does appear as
you put it.

INQUIRER: You have explained this from the level of ajnana.

Now be pleased to speak from the level of the Enlightened (Jnani)!

SRI MA: (laughing): What you say now, I also accept. Here, (pointing to
herself) nothing is rejected. Whether it is the state of Enlightenment or of
ignorance - everything is all right. The fact is that you are in doubt. But
here there is no question of doubt. Whatever you may say, and from
whatever level - is He, and He, and only He.

QUESTION If this is so, is it of any use to ask you further questions?

 SRI MA: What is, IS.

That doubts should arise is natural.

But the wonder is, where THAT is, there is not even room for different
stands to be taken. Problems are discussed, surely, for the purpose of
dissolving doubts. Therefore it is useful to discuss. Who can tell when
the veil will be lifted from your eyes?

The purpose of discussion is o remove this ordinary sight.

This vision is no vision at all, for it is only temporary.

Real vision is that vision where there is no such thing as the seer and’ the
seen. It is eyeless - not to be beheld with these ordinary eyes, but with
the eyes of wisdom. In that vision without eyes there is no room for
division?.

Here, (pointing to herself) there is no question of giving and taking,

neither of serving.

On your level they exist, from there these topics arise.

This evening the following statement was made "Through the

observance of silence one attains to Supreme Knowledge (Jnana)".

SRI MA: How is that? Why has the word ‘through’ been used here?

A DEVOTEE : Silence is itself wisdom, the means is itself the end.

SOMEONE ELSE : By silence we have to understand the stilling of the

five senses.

SRI MA : Yes, but why say ‘through’?

A DEVOTEE: Complete and exclusive concentration on the Self this is

the significance of ‘through’.
 SRI MA : When speech is suppressed, the activity of the mind still
continues. All the same, such silence helps to control the mind. As the
mind dives deeper, its activity slackens off, and then one comes to feel
that He who provides for everything, will arrange matters. When the
mind is agitated by thoughts of worldly things, the benefit that should be
gained by abstaining from speech is lost.

One may, for instance, keep silent at the moment of anger, but some time
or other it is bound to burst forth. When the mind is centred in God, it
keeps on advancing steadily, and along with this emerges purity of body
as well as mind. To let thought dwell on the objects of the senses is a
waste of energy.

When the mind is thus occupied and silence is not observed, it finds
release in speech. Otherwise, this kind of silence might put undue strain
on the senses and possibly result in ill-health. But when the mind is
turned inward, not only can there be no injury to health, but more than
that, by constantly dwelling on the thought of God, all the
knots (granthi) that make up the ego are unravelled, and thereby that
which has to be realized will be realized.

To observe silence means to keep the mind fixed on Him.

At first one feels the impulse to talk, later all inclination and
disinclination vanish. It is also like this : just as the bee collects honey,
so alt that one needs is gathered together naturally. What is necessary
becomes available of its own accord -presents itself, as it were - when
there is ever closer union with Him.
When one entirely refrains from speaking and even from communicating
by signs or gestures (kasta maunam), how is the body kept alive?

Everything dovetails, and the silent person just watches as a kind of

spectator. In the measure that one progresses towards union, one will
notice that obstacles disappear, and whatever is necessary provides itseif;

It is one thing if everything happens by itself, and quite another to make

arrangements by one’s own effort.

Real silence means there is actually nowhere else for the mind to go.

In the end, whether the mind exists or not, whether one speaks or not,
makes no difference.

To say "through silence He is realized" is not correct, because Supreme

Knowledge does not come "through" anything - Supreme Knowledge
reveals Itself.

For destroying the ‘veil’, there are suitable spiritual disciplines and
practices.

QUESTION: What about the silent sadhu at Navadvip?*

( Many years ago, when SRI MA went to

Navadvip with Bholanath, a sadhu there
attracted very wide attention. He used to sit all
day long in the lotus pose, so perfectly still
‘that it was difficult to find out whether he
was a living man or a statue. Everyone felt
 awed and took it for granted that he was a
great saint in a state of deep samadhi.

SRI MA, however, made no comment on the

matter. Staying next door to the .u, she soon
made sure that he bathed, ate and slept
secretly during the night. By and by
the sudhu confided to SRI MA that he was
made to assume that pose in order to get
money. Through SRI MA’s benign influence
he gave up this life of deception.)

SRI MA: By practice he had made the body still, but his mind had not
been transformed at all; it was a case of mere physical control. If his
mind had been stilled, that kind of worldly behaviour would have been
impossible. However, even such practice is altogether useless, it does
lead to some result.

But That, which is the real need, is not found.

NINE
Benares, September 27 th , 1948

QUESTION: When the mind is immersed in samadhi, does one or does

one not experience the supernormal (camatkara)? If so, does this imply
that one has deviated from the object of one’s contemplation? And what
is the real cause of this?

SRI MA: Samadhi means samadhana (solution, completion).

INQUIRER: Solution involves a question, whereas samadhi is a state in
itself

SRI MA: This body does not use the language of the shastras; it refers to
ordinary things, such as water, earth, air, and so forth, when it speaks.
Those who have understanding are able to comprehend this kind of
broken and incomplete language. Samadhana signifies the perfect
resolution of form, formlessness, manifested being, and non-being - of
everything. The solution of a problem is one thing; yet there is another
kind of resolution where the possibility of problems and their solutions
cannot occur; this is called samadhi.

INQUIRER: Quite so; thus there are two kinds of samadhi, namely
savikalpa and nirvicalpa.

SRI MA: The first signifies the resolution of cosmic existence into the
One Pure Existence (Satta), and as for the second - there, there is even
no such thing as ‘Existence’.

INQUIRER: No such thing as ‘Existence’? What then is it?

SRI MA: So long as thoughts and ideas (sankalpa and vikalpa) persist,
not even Savikalpa samadhi can occur. Savikalpa samadhi signifies
Awareness of Existence. But when there is no question of Existence -
when there is no possibility of differentiating ‘what is’ from ‘what is not’
- can anything be expressed in words, however little?

This is nirvikalpa samadhl.

Where is there room for the supernormal here?

INQUIRER: The supernormal, in other words, matters that are beyond

this world (aloukik), are not within the reach of ordinary intelligence;
yet they can most certainly be grasped by the mind. If one accepts the
mind as a fact, its own creations are themselves the subjects about which
it thinks. There is of course something apart from the mind - Cit, which
is said to be complete in itself. Anything before the vision of the mind in
contemplation, other than THAT, is what is usually called camatkara.

SRI MA: Who perceives the camatkara?

INQUIRER: The mind.

SRI MA: So then, if there is no mind, the super-normal cannot be

perceived. Consequently, how can visions be seen in nirvikalpa
samadhi?

INQUIRER: My reason tells me that in both types of samadhi the mind

must be present. According to the shastras, in Nirbikalpa Samadhi the
mind ceases to be. Of course, the gross mind does not persist, yet it will
have to be admitted that the subtle mind remains in a state of latency.
Otherwise, how could the experience be known afterwards? In other
words, is it or is it Not remembered when it is over? If it is, then it will
no doubt have to be conceded that the subtle mind still exists.

SRI MA: Some say that a tiny particle ( the technical term is ‘avidya
lesa’ - a small residue of ignorance) of the mind remains; for if it did
not, how could there be the manifestation of the body? But this body
declares also this: If by the fire of illumination everything can be
consumed, should not this tiny fragment be burnt up as well? Where
experience occurs, the mind must of course exist; there can be
no camatkara without the mind.

INQUIRER: If that small portion of the mind ceases to exist, how can
the body continue? In which condition does the last trace of the mind
disappear? While the prarabdha is still active, or after it has been
exhausted?
SRI MA: What is your opinion, Pitaji? Of course, some maintain that in
samadhi the ego-mind does not exist. However, this body says that, if by
Supreme Knowledge everything is burnt up, should it not have the power
to consume the praradbdha as well?

INQUIRER: If the prarabdha has been effaced, how can the body
possibly persist?

SRI MA : Do you mean by this that so long as the body endures, there
must of necessity be some prarabdha left over, and therefore the mind
must also have survived? Well, yes, if you accept as a reality the body in
the usually accepted sense of the word, you will undoubtedly have to
admit the existence of prarabdha and, from your point of view, the
existence of the mind too. ‘Body’(Sarira - body, sora - to move away)
means perpetual change, that which is ever moving away. But in the
state where death may be said to be dead, can there still be any
question of a body?

INQUIRER: When one has visions of the supernormal, does it indicate

that one has turned aside from the Supreme state, or not?

SRI MA: When the Ultimate Reality has been attained, there can be no
question of either the super of deviating or not deviating from Reality.
What is meant by videha-mukti?

INQUIRER: Not to be obliged to assume another body after this one has
been left, is called videhamukti.

SRI MA : Very well; is the body then an obstacle, and does it therefore
fall away?
 INQUIRER: No, the objective of nirvikalpa samadhi is to attain to the
power of imparting true knowledge to seekers (and for this a body is
required).

SRI MA: Samadhi also has to be called a state. Everything is possible

according to the particular stage of a person’s development. Everyone
will assuredly gain the knowledge pertaining to the state he has reached.

INQUIRER: This being so, it is obvious that experience of the

supernormal indicates a deviation from one’s object of contemplation.

SRI MA: When one’s object of contemplation has become Self-revealed,

that is to say, when there is the revelation of THAT in the form of one’s
object of contemplation, how can one deviate from it?

QUESTION: Has the experience of the supernormal not its root in

desire ?

SRI MA: That only becomes manifest, of which the seed is sown;
otherwise, how could it come into being?

QUESTION: Take the waves of a lake; they do not constitute the nature
of the water, they are created by the wind; how is it possible to become
desireless?

SRI MA: So long as the seed has not been sterilised, it is bound to
germinate. Now then, what is your opinion, does the body survive or not,
when true knowledge of the Self supervenes?

INQUIRER: I should think it would survive.

SRI MA: Yes - as some say, supported by the tiny portion of the mind
that has been preserved?
QUESTION: Does a spiritual teacher instruct from the state of or is he
still in the state of

SRI MA: It would certainly not be right to presume the state of

ignorance of Reality when the aim of the instruction is Self-realization.

INQUIRER: This is why I feel that the karma cannot have been
completely exhausted.

SRI MA: Just as an electric fan continues to revolve for a little while
after the current has been switched off?

QUESTION: In this example, the electric current has been cut off
completely. Does this then imply that, in a similar way, ignorance has
been entirely destroyed?

SRI MA: The connection is broken. What had already begun and is
taking effect is called prarabdha.

INQUIRER: If this be the case, can prarabdha bear fruit or not? I think
that its destruction is not in keeping with the facts.

SRI MA: Does the teaching of the Enlightened Sage ( Jnani ) refer to
truth as it reveals itself before His prarabdha is exhausted, or does it
refer to the truth beyond?

INQUIRER: No, not to the Truth beyond. Instruction on pure Truth,

untouched by prarabdha, is given by an Avatara. The Jnani teaching is
limited by his prarabdha.
 SRI MA: Where Knowledge is Self-revealed, does its Self-revelation
depend upon karma?

INQUIRER: There are two kinds of knowledge: Svarupa Jnana

(Knowledge of Self) and vritti jnana (acquired mental knowledge). The
second kind of knowledge, which pertains to the jnani, enables him to
reap the fruits of his prarabdha.

SRI MA: Do you mean to suggest that, just as a child gradually increases
his knowledge by continuous study, here also there is progressive
accumulation of knowledge? But this can not be called the state of Jnani!

INQUIRER: Svarupa Jnana is Self-revealed, whereas vritti jnana is

knowledge of objects. Svarupa Jnana does not make a Jnani, He, who
posses vritti jnana is called jnani, for knowledge of the Self is common
to all.

SRI MA: Does ‘Knowledge of the Self’ mean that one is established in
any particular state?

INQUIRER: One is established in the Self.

SRI MA: Quit right, Pitaji. As you say, every-one without exception is
rooted in Knowledge of the Self; yes indeed, this is so.

INQUIRER: Nevertheless, not all are aware of this Knowledge. Those

who have gained vritti jnana may alone be styled jnanis, for they will be
able to guide an aspirant in keeping with his mental make-up.
SRI MA: Yes, but what has this to do with the state where the Self in its
Glory stands ever Self revealed?

He who by gradual development has acquired knowledge and been

progressively enlightened, he, as you say, is established in vritti jnana.

Words, arguments, language, and the like, are of the mind; whereas in
the state that has just been referred to, there, language has no place. This
body respects whatever anyone may say, because each person’s point of
view depends on the particular stairway by which he ascends.

Whatever idea may be held - be it on a high or low level - it is all the

same, so far as this body is concerned.

For this reason, whether anyone is of the opinion that the body can or
cannot exist without or advances a theory from whatever point of view,
everything is right on its own plane. Yet, beyond words and all
expression, where there is manifestation and non-manifestation, duration
and non-duration, space and space-lessness - there, nothing holds good.

Even the essence of the things of this world cannot be spoken about; but
the essence of Transcendental Being is something far more remote.
Then, there is also what is known as ‘merging’. But from that into which
one is said to have merged, a yogi may be able to extricate one again;
this also is a possibility mentioned by you people, is it not? Yet in the
state of which this body tells, there it is not so - and ‘not so’ does not
express it either. By reasoning and discrimination, one may arrive at the
conclusion that a small portion of the mind remains so long as physical
existence continues. But this body speaks of a state where there is not
even the possibility of a trace of the mind.

QUESTION: Does the body then continue to exist or not?

SRI MA: In this particular state, if the body were an obstacle this state
could simply not be. In this condition, the question whether the body is
being retained or not, cannot arise.

QUESTION: Can there be inquiry and response in that state ?

SRI MA : Yes, there can be - if the idea of the body is there. For those
who think there are disciples and Gurus, for them there are questions and
answers.

INQUIRER: But then to speak of Gurus, disciples and so forth, is quite

meaningless.

SRI MA: The progress of the disciple continues up to where the position
of a teacher is held. If the teacher is in the state of ajnana, and the
question is asked by one also in ignorance, how can there be even an
expectation of the revelation of real Knowledge?

All the same, a discussion that aims at elucidating Self-realization will

naturally be helpful and beneficial.

Very well, Pitaji, tell me, in the case of a preceptor who is a World-
teacher, is it not natural that there should be questions and answers with
a view to the attainment of Self-realization?

It is and will ever be so - surely?

Is this an untruth?

Something else has to be considered: Say, who replies to whom?

That questions are being put and replied to, is merely the idea of the
inquirer at his stage. Can you call him who gives answers an individual,
just because he responds? To whom does he reply ? Who replies, and
what is the reply? Who is who in that state of Pure Being?

The place of vritti jnana is, where Self-revelation is not.

 This is difficult to accept, while it is still a matter for acceptance or
rejection. On the level where the question of acceptance or rejection
cannot possibly arise, how can there be talk and conversation?

Pitaji, when you asked: "Tell me your experience," it would imply that
the experiencer has still remained.

This cannot be so here;

further more, the question of transmission of power by the Guru to

the disciple is equally non-existent.

If there is no body, this question cannot be there either. There is no

question of a physical or any other body. What is beyond even that,
cannot be put into words in any language.

Whatever can be expressed in words or speech, is a creation of the mind.

Pitaji, as to the saying "There is only one Brahman, without a second" -

in the Self there is no possibility at all of a ‘second’. The notion of the
‘two’ has come about through the operating of reason.

Just as you say:

"Without feet He walks and without eyes He sees."

This body maintains that whatever anyone may say from the plane of
reason - with the idea that the body exists, from the standpoint of the
disciple - can be supported on the level of reasoning.
 For one’s vision is conditioned by the spectacles one uses. This body
declares that, whatever theory anyone may hold is based on reasoning,
which presupposes the existence of a residue of the mind and
of prarabdha.

But where THAT stands revealed, it is quite otherwise: there, to

discriminate or speculate is impossible.

Beyond reason, beyond points of view, there is a state where none of

these can be.

Pitajl, in very truth, in THAT there is no room for words, language, or

discrimination of any kind. Whether one says ‘there is not’ or ‘there is’ -
these are also merely words, words floating on the surface ( Bhasa -
means language and also (spelt differently) "to float". Therefor it said
that here words, language, utterances of any type, have no place.

This is the truth, Pitaji, do you understand?

SRI MA added: You will not have received precise replies to your
queries. From what has been said, you will have to take what can be
grasped by the intellect.

TEN
Benares, August 12 th , 1948.

QUESTION: What are the benefits to be derived from hatha yoga, and
what are its drawbacks?

SRI MA: What does ‘hatha’ mean? To do something by force.

 ‘Being’ is one thing, and ‘doing’ quite another.

When there is ‘being’, there will be the spontaneous manifestation of

what is due to be manifested, owing to the prana functioning in a
particular centre of the body.

On the other hand, if one practises hatha yoga merely as a physical

exercise, the mind will not be transformed in the very least. By physical
exercise bodily fitness is developed. One hears quite often of cases
where the giving up of the practice of yogic postures and the like, has
resulted in physical disorders. Just as the body grows weak from lack of
adequate nourishment, so the mind has need of suitable food. When the
mind receives proper sustenance, man moves towards God, whereas by
catering to the body, he only increases his worldliness.

Mere gymnastics is nutrition for the body.

Now, as to ‘doing’ : Sustained effort ends in effortless being; in other

words, what has been attained by constant practice is finally transcended.

Then comes spontaneity.

Not until this happens can the utility of hathayoga be understood. When
the physical fitness resulting from hathayoga is used as an aid to
spiritual endeavour, it is not wasted.

Otherwise, it is not yoga, but bhoga (enjoyment).

In effortless being lies the path to the Infinite. Unless hathayoga aims at
the Eternal, it is nothing more than gymnastics. If in the normal course
of the practice His touch is not felt, the yoga has been fruitless.
 One comes across people who, by engaging in alt sorts
of yogic exercises, like neti, dhauti, and others of the kind, have become
seriously ill.

At Nain(dh)al I recently met a young man who had ruined his health
completely by practising hathayoga. He was suffering from persistent
diarrhoea, which simply would not stop. He and some of his friends had
decided to become experts in hadzayoga, and to start a College, where
union with God would be attained through this discipline. But they, one
and all, fell ill.

A competent teacher, who understands every change in the movement of

the disciple’s prana, will accordingly either speed up the process or slow
it down just as a helmsman steers a boat with the rudder held firmly all
the time. Without such direction hathayoga is not beneficial. He who
would guide, must have first-hand knowledge of everything that may
occur at any stage, must see it wit the perfect sharpness of direct
perception.

For is he not the physician of those on the Path! Without the help of such
a doctor, there is danger of injury.

Everything becomes smooth once the blessing of His touch has been felt.
It is just as, when bathing in a river, one at first swims by one’s own
strength; but once caught in the current, whether a good swimmer or not,
one is simply carried away. Therefore it is detrimental if this ‘touch’ is
not experienced. One must enter into the rhythm of one’s true nature. Its
revelation, acting as a flash of lightning, will attract one to it
instantaneously, irresistibly ; there comes a point where no further action
is needed. So long as this contact has not been established, dedicate to
God whatever inclinations or disinclinations you may have, and devote
yourself to service, meditation, contemplation - to anything of this kind.

Generally you perform your daily worship in the accustomed manner. If

you feel the desire to practise some extra japa or meditation, it shows
that you have caught a glimpse, however faint, and there is then hope
 that gradually the rhythm of your true nature may emerge. In this
condition, the sense of ‘I’ (aham)still persists, but this I is turned towards
the Eternal, intent on union with Him. Whereas, actions done with a
view to fame or distinction are of the ego(ahamkdra), and therefore
obstacles, impediments.

Whether you practise hathayoga or rajayoga, or any other yoga, it

can be harmful only if pure spiritual aspiration is lacking.

When doing asanas and the like, if you have found access to nature’s
own rhythm, you will see that everything proceeds smoothly and
spontaneously.

By what signs is this to be recognized?

There is a sense of play, a deep delight,
and the constant remembrance of the One.

Indeed, this is not the outcome of the practice of worldly observances.

What has been referred to here is that which can only become revealed
spontaneously - of its own accord. This is why there is constant
remembrance of the One: man’s true nature flows towards God alone.

Again, sometimes when sitting in meditation you will find that rechaka,
puraka, or kumbhaka have come about without effort. When the
movement of your true nature sets in, then, because it is directed solely
towards God, the knots of the heart will be unravelled.
 If during meditation you find perfectly correct asanas forming of
themselves - the spine becoming erect of its own accord - then you
should know that the current of your prana is turned towards the
Eternal.

Otherwise, when you are engaged in japa, the right flow will not come,
and your back may begin to ache. Still; even this kind’ of japa is not
without its effect, although its specific action is not experienced. In other
words, the mind is willing but the body does not respond, and therefore
you do not get the exhilaration that comes with the aroma of the Divine
Presence.

To let the mind dwell on sense objects, still further increases one’s
attachment to them. When intense interest in the Supreme Quest
awakens, ever more time and attention will be given to religious thought,
religious philosophy, the remembrance of God as immanent in all
creation, until thereby every single knot is untwisted. One is stirred by a
deep yearning: "How can I find Him?" As a result of this, the rhythm of
body and mind will grow steady, calm, serene.

Some of you naturally conceive a desire to do asanas and the like as

spiritual exercises.

If in this no wish to show off is present, it will be easy to enter into the
rhythm of your true nature. But if the mind is held captive by the body,
these exercises become mere gymnastics. It happens that aspirants are
driven in the direction they are meant to go, although at first they are not
conscious of this, or even if they be, they are unable to resist.

Suppose some people go to bathe in the sea and make up their minds to
swim ahead of everyone else; consequently they will have to look back.
But for him, whose one and only goal is the Ocean Itself, no one has
remained for whose sake he looks back or is concerned; and then, what
is to be, will be.
 Give yourself up to the wave, and you will be absorbed by the
current; having dived into the sea, you do not return anymore.

The Eternal Himself is the wave that floods the shore, so that you may
be carried away.

Those who can surrender themselves to this aim will be accepted by

Him.

But if your attention remains directed towards the shore, you cannot
proceed - after bathing you will return home. If your aim is the Supreme,
the Ultimate, you will be led on by the movement of your true nature.
There are waves that carry away, and waves that pull back. Those who
can give themselves up, will be taken by Him.

In the guise of the wave He holds out His Hand

and calls you: Come, Come, COME!

QUESTION: How can we benefit spiritually by action?

SRI MA: By doing work for its own sake, engaging in karmayoga. As
long as a desire to (distinguish oneself is lurking, it is karmabhoga -
working for one’s own satisfaction). One does the work and enjoys its
fruit, because of the sense of prestige it brings. Whereas, by
relinquishing the fruit, it becomeskarmayoga.
 QUESTION: How is it possible to work without desire?

SRI MA: By doing service with the feeling that one is serving the
Supreme Being in everyone. The desire for God-realization is obviously
not a desire in the ordinary sense. "I am Thy instrument; deign to work
through this, Thy instrument". .

By regarding all manifestation as the Supreme Being, one attains to

communion that leads to liberation. What ever work is undertaken, let it
be done with one’s whole being and in the spirit: "Thou alone workest,"
so that there may be no opportunity for affliction, distress or sorrow to
creep in.

Another point: If the attitude "through my shortcoming the work has not
been done well enough, I should have taken still greater pains over this
service," is not persisted in, the work must be considered to have been
done carelessly. Therefore, as far as it lies in your power there should be
no neglect. Beyond that, feel that whatever happens is in His hands; you
are but the tool. Because’ of this, put your body, mind and heart into any
service you may do, and for the rest take it that what comes about was
destined to be - "Thou has manifested Thyself in this way as was
ordained, and so has it been wrought."

QUESTION: Even when there is spontaneous action, it is still action.

Hence, if there is no other Guru, how can our doubts be cleared?

SRI MA: There are two kinds of action you may say, and an infinite
number of kinds.

However, this requires explanation.

When an asana begins to form, it speaks just as you - "I do".

In what manner? When the purpose for which the asana is done becomes
disclosed, when that, which can be attained through any
 particular yogic posture, is accomplished, this may be called as "its
language."

When a sick man moves about too much, he overstrains himself and
becomes breathless. Naturally everyone’s breathing changes its rhythm
constantly according to the way one sits or moves, only one is not aware
of it. One who has control over his breath can transfer it at will to any
level. In the beginning, those of you who practise yogic postures do not
know which leg to cross first and which after, and whether to inhale or
exhale while doing so.

Consequently, what you do is in part incorrect.

Why?

When you want to open something and you do not know how it is done,
damage may ensue. When an asana forms spontaneously, you will
notice that your legs fold and unfold in the correct manner and in
harmony with the breath. It is a sign that the Guru is - at work, when
the asana and the breath are in perfect concord.

While before one had no knowledge of the posture, it is now clearly

understood.

In terms of the mind: one watches oneself as a witness, like a child as it

were; one feels that someone is causing everything to be done, and that
at the same time the movement of the mind is being stilled.

When the vibrations of your body and prana have reached a stage where
there is great skill in every-thing relevant to the Supreme Quest, you will
find yourself voicing spiritual truths - this is the spontaneous action at
that stage. And when you become established at the level of a Risi to
whom mantras are revealed, that is to say, when the vibrations of your
body and prana have become centred there, words corresponding to this
level will issue from your lips.
 There is a state in which you may have neither knowledge nor
understanding of what is taking place, as for instance, when
a yogic posture of which you are ignorant forms unawares. Who has
brought it about?

The inner Guru.

In a similar way, when a mantra bursts forth, the solution to your

problem and the inner significance (tattva) of the mantra in its
supramental form(pratyaksa murti) appear directly before you ; in other
words, together with its essence, its subtle form stands revealed. At that
moment you come to understand the real nature of the inner Guru:

He dwells within and works from there.

Not only have your doubts been dispelled, you have also gained
understanding of the mantra’s esoteric meaning.

This is real darsana.

Here you receive a response without being aware of how it has come
about. In another ‘variety of experience’, the hidden process of what is
taking place is uncovered. Here the mantra, the tattva, the Guru and the
Ista are revealed simultaneously. This is an example of receiving
revelation with the full knowledge of all its phases and aspects. Suppose
one is engaged in japa or meditation. A question arises in the mind.

In a flash the reply is there.

One realises: "The Guru has told me this what has come to me is the
Guru’s own teaching."
 There is a line of approach through action, and another through the
mind: or to be more precise,

in the first case action predominate,

in the second the mind, although concentration of the mind is necessary

for both.

They work together, only there is predominance of the one over the
other: when asanas are, that means, action prevails, but
when mantras are used, the mind.

Again, who is it that guides me from outside?

It is also He, for verily, there is no other.

What has just been said are fragments from here and there. They have
been given, so that each one may get what is helpful to him, and as much
as he is able to grasp.

ELEVEN

Benares, August 13 th , 1948.

SRI MA: Pitaji, what do you call ‘niskama karma’ (action that is free
from desire) ?
 A DEVOTEE: Well it does not seem possible to perform action without
desire, that is to say, devoid of attachment for either the work or its fruit,
but solely from a sense of duty. According to the shastras, only the man
who has achieved perfect fulfilment is capable of such action. So long as
one is linked to sense objects, it is impossible. Yet, what is taken up in a
spirit of dedication to God may well develop into work done without any
desire.

SRI MA: Whether with or without desire - it is still action. One cannot
possibly remain without action until the state of Pure Being comes.
Therefore, let this aspect of the matter also be understood.

When you surrender yourself to the Guru, you have to obey his orders
unconditionally. In this, your sole motive is to carry out the Guru’s will.
Consequently, when going about the task you grow eager to do your
utmost, can you call this also a desire in the ordinary sense of the word?
To set your heart on being efficient, with the one object of fulfilling
the Guru’s will, is certainly a good desire.

If for any reason there should arise even the least feeling of resentment,
the action can no longer be described as being without attachment.
Suppose for example, after having accomplished by far the greater part
of some work, you have to abandon it, and towards the end someone else
takes it up, completes it, and gets the credit for having achieved the
whole of the task. If you mind this even in the slightest degree, how can
the work have really been done disinterestedly? Obviously it was not
quite fr from a desire for recognition.

When you have surrendered yourself to the Guru, he may do anything,

subject you to no matter what trials, yet you still regard yourself as a tool
in His hands. You will then have reached a stage, where in spite of all
difficulties, you persist with the work, knowing it to be the Guru’s order.
Keep in mind that by this attitude you will grow steadfast in endurance,
patience and perseverance, and your energy and capacity will be
enhanced.

In action there is bound to be conflict. When can there be freedom from

this conflict? When there is no question of feeling hurt. Even in the
midst of work, at all times and under alt circumstances, one must be
prepared to obey any kind of order Imagine you are hungry, and just as
 you are raising your hand to put food into your mouth, you are asked to
go elsewhere. At that very instant, you should gladly let fall the food you
were about to eat, and obey the call. Such an attitude is an indication of
one’s becoming established in a happiness that is not of this world.

When one is nearing effortless being ( "Sustained effort ends in effortless

being - in other words, what has been attained by constant practice is
finally transcended. Then comes spontaneity" ), whether one is blamed
or not for some short-coming in one’s work, leaves one quite indifferent.

Then only does one become an instrument in His hands.

The body moves like a tool, and one watches it in the nature of a
spectator. Then one observes what a great variety of work gets done by
such a body, and in how very smooth and efficient a manner.

Egoless work is full of beauty, for it is not prompted by a desire for self-
gratification. So long as the knots that constitute the ego are not
unravelled, even though you intend to act impersonally, you will get
hurt, and this will produce a change in the expression of your eyes and
face, and be apparent in your whole manner.

To long "let my heart be free from craving for results," is still a desire
for a result. Nevertheless, by thus aspiring after selfless action there is
hope of its coming to pass.

A knot means resistance.

Hence, so long as the ego persists, there will be clashes at time, even
when impersonal work is attempted, because one is bound and therefore
pulled in a certain direction.

QUESTION: So, until one has attained to perfect fulfilment, acting

without a motive is impossibility?
SRI MA: When impersonal work is being carried out and watched as by
a spectator, a deep joy surges up from within. If at that time the body
gets hurt, even this becomes a source of happiness. Nevertheless, this
welling-up of joy is not identical with Self-realization. The thrill of
delight brought about by impersonal work is His delight become one’s
own, His gladness felt as one’s own a stage has been reached where
happiness is bound up with Him. In this condition, since one has lost
interest in worldly pleasures, a great deal of work can be done in a
perfect way; and even if despite one’s utmost efforts some task has not
succeeded fully, one does not feel disturbed. For everything has its place
- here also His Will prevails.

Do you not see what an exquisite path this is!

But the aforesaid holds good only when action is not tainted by a sense
of possessiveness. However, even this state is by no means Self-
realization. Why not? Whether with or without desire, it is work that is
referred to here. Although done impersonally, the action still remains
separate from the doer. Whereas, where the Self is and nothing but the
Self, there the Guru, his instructions, the work, cannot each exist
separately. So long as the duality of precept and action persists, one
cannot possibly speak of Self-realization. The Play of one who has
attained to final Consummation is entirely different from the work that
has become selfless by effort. This has been explained here in reply to
your question.

Even when the state of samadhi has been reached, during which one
seems to be wholly absorbed within, this also is still a state. Yet, when
by this spontaneous inner process (antarkriya) the veil is lifted, then the
Vision of Reality may come about. It can never come through outer
activity, such as the attempt to efface desire.

Another thing, Pitaji:

There was a time when this body tried to carry out to the very letter
anything Bholanath asked for. But when he saw that this body became
rigid, that it was incapable of performing certain types of worldly
actions, unable to bear them, he himself mostly and gladly took back his
 request. This is how, notwithstanding that some tasks could not be
attended to, strict obedience was being observed in one sense.

However, one day the husband of Bholanath’s sister,

Kushari Mahaya, came on a visit. When he saw that this body obeyed
Bholanath in all matters, he felt annoyed and exclaimed: "Have you no
opinion of your own? Have you to consult your husband about every
little detail?

What a state of affairs!

Suppose he asked you to do something wrong, would you obey then

also?"

He got the reply: "Let such an occasion arise and, on setting out to put
the order into practice, see what would come to pass."

This answer left him dumbfounded.

Thenceforth he changed his mode of life and remained ever devoted to

the Supreme Quest.

There is a state in the spiritual life where unconditioned, self-sprung

action is possible, because there are no ties. And where no ties exist,
there is no danger and no wrong path - one cannot take a false step.

QUESTION: Was it not after Self-Realisation that you were in that

condition?

SRI MA: Leave this body out of it!

If you say that this condition only comes after Self-realization, you will
have to understand that then it is possible to play anywhere, in any way,

Oneself playing all the parts of Oneself,

 of course, which is quite a different matter from what has just been
mentioned.

It is a state of Oneness. Even while remaining in division one is

undivided, and remains in Oneness though appearing divided: this is
THATness Itself (Tat Sva).

Here, to obey and to disobey - both are THAT.

There are signs by which actions done as an instrument before Self-

realization can be recognized. At this stage, the stream of action is
directed towards the fulfilment of actual needs. Whereas, in the state of
Pure Being it is totally different:

to do or not to do, call it what you will, all is THAT.

Within this sphere everything is possible: not to eat while eating, and to
eat though not eating; to walk without feet, to see without eyes, and
much more of the kind, as you would put it.

When established in the Self, who obeys whose bidding?

There are no ‘others’, none are separate.

No longer does one talk to another - how can there still be the
relationship, that is based on the sense of separateness?

The level of selfless action is quite different from the state of Self-
realization.

So long as the Guru, the love of Him; the work, the ‘I’, are perceived
separately, there is no question of Self-realization.
Yet, it must be said that action dedicated to God is not of the same order
as work prompted by desire.

The one is for the sake of union, which leads to Enlightenment,

the other for the sake of enjoyment which leads to further worldly
experience.

What alone is worthy to be called ‘action’ is that action by which ‘man’s

eternal union with God becomes revealed; all the rest is useless,
unworthy of the name of action, no action at all.

It is not a new kind of union,

which has to be established, but rather the union that exists

throughout eternity is to be realized.

Very well, now listen to something else. There is a stage where working
is very delightful and gives intense happiness. Here one is quite
unconcerned with what may or may not result from one’s action; the
work is done entirely for its own sake, for the love of it. Neither is there
an external Guru in this, nor the love of Him. A state of being of this
kind does exist. There is great diversity in the realm of action.

The sense of contentment experienced at the fulfilment of some worldly

desire is relative happiness. This desire may be for one’s wife, son, a
relation, or any other person, and accordingly the fruit inherent in each
particular action will be reaped. This is working for the sake of self-
satisfaction (bhoga), not for the sake of union (yoga); it brings sorrow
along with joy.
 Now to come back to what has just been said about work done for the
love of it, not for anybody. Imagine how much at times gets
accomplished even while walking in the street, not for anyone’s sake,
work for the sake of work, work itself being one’s only God.

This also is one of the states. But if one goes on performing action of this
kind, there comes a day when one is liberated from action. There is such
a thing as labouring for the welfare of the world, but here even this
purpose is absent. It is a type of work not actuated by desire or craving,
one just cannot help doing it. Well then, why is it done? One simply is in
love with the work. When God manifests Himself in the form of some
work, which therefore exercises intense attraction on a particular person,
then, by engaging in this work again and again, one is finally liberated
from all action.

QUESTION: Work only begets more work; how can it come to an end?

SRI MA: Do you not know this?

If you can become so completely concentrated in any one direction that

you cannot help acting along that line, wrong action becomes
impossible.

In consequence, action is losing its hold on you and is bound to come to

an end. How many states and stages there are!

This is one of them.

Here one has certainly not yet attained to Knowledge of the Self; but one
cannot act wrongly.
Neither is there an opportunity for considering whether one should act in
accordance with the shastras or against them. Nevertheless, in such a
state of one-pointedness; wrong action that violates the laws set forth in
the shastras cannot occur. The human body - the vehicle through which
the work is being done - has entered a current of purity, and as a
result satkarma, action in harmony with the Divine Will, is performed.

It is only on the level of the individual that pleasure and pain exist. In
spite of attachment to wife, husband, son or daughter, during spells of
severe pain, when one tosses about in burning agony, is there room left
for the thought of these loved ones?

Does one not groan in a frenzy of self-pity?

At that moment the delusion of family ties loses its hold, while the
delusion of identifying oneself with the body reigns supreme.

Everything exists in one’s Self, that is why everything exists.

From here, on this basis arises the alleged coming and going of the
individual, its round of births and deaths.

Now you should understand that one who loves God is but out to destroy
identification with the body.

When this has come about, there is destruction (nasa) of delusion, of

bondage, in other words, of desire (vasana), of ‘not-Self’ (na Sva).

Your dwelling place (vasa) at present is where the Self manifests as ‘not-
Self’ (na Sva);

when that is destroyed; it is only destruction that is destroyed.

 Further-more, what is known as worldly craving, may also be
characterized as the activity that takes place because the action of Self-
revelation is absent.

HE is not there, this is the crux of the matter, is it not?

This body tells of yet another aspect can you guess what it is?

Just as the Beloved (Ista) is the Self (Svayam),

so destruction is also He Himself,

and likewise is that which is destroyed.

This is so where the Self is and nothing but the Self. Hence with whom
can one associate?

Therefore it is said that He is without another, existing alone.

When speaking of Him as appearing in disguise, what is the disguise?

He Himself, of course.

You speak of the world. Jagat (world) means movement and what is
bound is jiva (the individual).
 As the saying goes :

"Wherever a man is, there is Si va; and wherever a woman, there

is Gauri." Where no question of birth and rebirth exists, no question of
being bound, this surely, is called eternal.

Now grasp this thoroughly;

how can that, which is perpetual motion be bound?

Does it remain in one place?

Just as it dos not remain confined to any place, so it cannot be bound

when the mind is dissolved. Therefore, since it never stays bound in any
particular spot, can one not call it free?

Well then, what goes and what comes?

Behold, it is movement as that of the ocean (samudra), He expressing

Himself (Sva mudra)*.

The waves are but the rising and the falling, the undulation of the water,
and it is water, that forms into waves (taranga), limbs of His own
body (Tar anga)** - water in essence.

What is it that makes the same substance appear in different forms, as

water, ice, waves? This again, is asked from a particular plane of
consciousness. Reflect, and see how much of it you can grasp! No simile
is ever perfect; yet has it not helped you to view the problem with
reference to the world? What actually have you realized?

Find out!
 Very well you call transient that which never stays fixed anywhere,.

do you not?

But what does not stay?

Who does not stay?

Who comes?

Who goes?

Change, transformation - what are they?

WHO?

Grasp the root of all this! Everything passes away, that is to say, death
passes away - death dies.

Who goes and whither?

Who comes and’ whence?

This ceaseless coming and going - what in essence is it?

WHO?

Again, there is no question of action, no question of coming and going;

where does birth me in, where death?

Ponder over this!

 Look, this universe, you will say is nothing but the One Self.

As such, every form is He in His very own Form (Sva akara); that is, the
Self (Sva), the Eternal, revealed as Form (akara).

What does this imply?

Non-action (akriya).

In what sense non-action?

"Action dedicated to God is alone true action; all the rest is useless
and therefore no action at all."

This is your idea from the point of view of the world.

But here, this kind of action does not exist.

What then does exist here?

Self-Action (Sva-Kriya) - He Himself As Action;

He Himself As Form

- for this reason He is called Sakara (With-Form; He

Himself As Qualities (guna) - therefore, He is called
Saguna (With-Qualities). Where the Lord (Isvara) or
anything pertaining to His Divine Splendour is manifested,
He Himself (Svayam) appears in action, yet ever
remaining the non-doer.
 He, as such, is the Essence of Absolute Truth.

Non-action (akriya), yet form (akara)!

Form means embodiment (murti), in which there is neither action nor

one who acts. Of what can He become the doer, and who is to be the
doer, and where? In what you see as bondage by action, He is not
revealed. He Himself is action (kriya), He, the Eternal that can never be
destroyed. Destroyed (nasta)* means ‘not-the Beloved’ (na-Ista), not He,
who can never be undesired (anista); for He is the one and only thing
desired by all creation, the All-Beloved.

Therefore you should grasp that the One who is ‘Without

Form’ (Nirakara), ‘Without Qualities’ (Nirgua), is also "With Form’ and
‘With Qualities".

Water and ice - what in essence is the difference between the two?

Can you tell? Hence He alone IS, and nothing but He. The One who is
Pure Consciousness and Pure Intelligence has many shapes and forms,
and at the same time He is formless.

For this reason, call it worldly action or the action of the seeker, both are
THAT.

Every action is free, in other words, there is no question at all of action.

That is why, you know, it is like this:

There is only One Eternal Reality (Nitya Vastu), but since you are
limited by your diverse angles of vision, you speak of the non-eternal
and hold to the idea that the result of action cannot endure, that change is
its very nature.
 Where does ceaseless change of the ever-changing world lead to?

Action in which there is no possibility of bondage is indeed ‘being’.

‘Jagat’ (world) signifies the movement which is a constant dying, in

other words, perpetual change is its innate character. On the plane of the
individual and therefore of bondage, all change pertains exclusively to
movement of this kind. Facing towards THAT (Tat mukti), many are
striving, each in his own particular way; effort of this kind is certainly
everyone’s duty. In order to divert the course of his life into this
direction, the average person must occupy himself with actions aiming at
THAT (Tat karma).

But now, think carefully and realize you are eternally free, because
action is ever free, it cannot remain bound. Do you not know that the
rope with which you tie anything in this world must rot or wear out?

And though you use iron chains, or even golden, whatever binds will one
day break or be shattered.

Do any worldly fetters exist that can never be broken, never destroyed?
It is solely the cry of lament over temporary ties that alone fashions the
bondage of the mind - the mind that can not be confined to any place.

Like a restless child, unconcerned with good or bad, it seeks Supreme

Bliss; never satisfied with momentary happiness and herefore ever
wandering. But how can it possibly be at rest until it has discovered a
way to the Supreme Reality, until it has become wholly absorbed in its
source, reposing in its own Self?

In your innermost heart you know that you are free; that is why it is your
nature to yearn for freedom. Likewise, when by some good fortune He
becomes revealed as action, action will stop of itself.
 Stagnation is death; solely to give up this blocking of the movement,
man resorts to countless devices. Only what falls away of its own accord
is to be given up.

You go on insisting that the mind must be dissolved. But do not forget, it
is this very mind which is the mahayogi, yes indeed, the
sublime yogi. Your scriptures describe such a yogi as behaving like a
mischievous child, or as being oblivious of cleanliness, decency, and
propriety; also as a lunatic, or again as one seeming inert and unfeeling.
That which resembles complete indifference and inactivity, you regard
as very exalted, and moreover you say: "What is contained in this
microcosm is in the macrocosm."

A Divine Incarnation (Avatara) playing as a child - how lovely it is, how

enchanting!

When ordinary people read or hear about the childhood of Sri Krishna or
see it enacted, they interpret it in the light of the behaviour of their own
children, for this is what they are familiar with. From where would they
get the capacity to grasp its inner significance? When you witness a
dramatic representation of the love play for Radha and Krishna in
the Rasalila, or a performance of the Ramalila; you do not see the
real Lila; which is entirely spiritual,
supernatural (aprakrta), transcendental. Where there is actual experience
of it, it is due to the functioning of spiritual vision.

QUESTION When there is spiritual experience, how is it interpreted in

terms of worldly occurrence ?

SRI MA: As one is released from bondage, the destructible destroyed

and the Beloved alone shines forth - say, what can one behold? Whcn
ties are being broken, it is the breakable only that breaks. But the bond of
the love of God is not that kind of bond - it is an ‘unbinding’. Further,
where the Knowledge of the Absolute (Brahmajnana) is, there the
ordinary function of understanding (‘standing under’) no longer exists.
For to understand means to throw off one load, only to stand under a
new one; where as the Knowledge of the Supreme Reality is beyon4
thought and speech.

When the average person sees a performance of

the Rasalila or Ramalila; what can he possibly grasp of its significance
that will not be coloured by his worldliness? Where is the capacity to
experience anything beyond it? Nevertheless, since it is God’s Divine
Play that lie is taking in through his ears and eyes, there is hope that the
capacity may come.

It is the nature of the mind to accept the many. All that is needed is to
focus this acceptance on one particular thing, with or without form,
which, when accepted, leaves no further choice between acceptance and
non-acceptance. This One Thing altogether excludes the possibility of
duality. This is why one becomes one-pointed. The mind points to the
many. Amidst the cross-currents of the divergent mind, one has to
become firmly concentrated on one goal.

Think of a tree.

The boughs and branches that spread out from every side yield the same
kind of seed as that from which the tree originated. This is how one
single seed potentially contains innumerable trees, innumerable boughs,
branches, leaves and so on.

There is infinite becoming and infinite being, infinite manifestation and

infinite potentiality, - the seed grows into a tree, the tree brings forth
seed. Therefore when one becomes wholly concentrated on any one
thing, why should not the One be revealed?

There is endlessness in the One, and end in the endless;

but where the Infinite ONE is, there the question of finiteness and
infinity cannot arise.
 What is, IS - this is what is wanted.

Where you perceive an end, there is actually no end; for verily, He is

infinite. In all forms and in the formless is He, and He alone.

This much about attachment to work (karma).

Again, there is attachment to bhava (*Bhava means inner disposition; it

reveals itself as karma. Bhava is latent karma, where as karma is bhava
actualised . ).

Bhava also belongs to the realm of action, only there is predominance,

sometimes of action, at other times of bhava. This is all very difficult to
understand. Someone has asked the question: "What is attachment
to bhava?"

Here is one example: When one practises yogic postures and breathing
exercises, ritual worship, the repetition of God’s name, meditation,
contemplation - any of these - for the sake of getting into a
particular bhava, and having reached one wishes to remain in this state
all the time. So long as it lasts, or rather, so long as this condition
predominates, one is steeped in bliss. But in this one has not yet attained
to Enlightenment, one is only on the way to it. This is a pure kind of
attachment and therefore one may progress beyond it.

Since one delights in lingering on the level of this bhava, one could
possibly indulge in it day after day or even for the rest of one’s life.
Although remaining in this state for a great length of time does induce
transformation to a certain degree, yet there can be no special progress.
But if by some ineffable touch thisbhava could find its consummation,
one would be able to proceed further.

There are states where one soars up and glides down again. But to
become established in perfect poise, where ascent and descent are out of
 the question - surely this is what is wanted. Not until
both karma and bhava are brought to completion, can one go beyond
them.

TWELVE
In reply to a question, SRI MA said.:

Give in charity, engage yourself in service, do obeisance pranam ( "To

do pranam means to pour oneself out at His Feet, to become closely
bound to Them and thereby united to Him, to become His who alone
Is."), and you will yourself come to understand in what spirit these acts
are being performed by you. Feel convinced that, no matter what the
state or condition you may be In, Out of that very state Enlightenment
may come.

Never harbour the idea that you are involved in sin and evil deeds, and
can therefore not get anywhere. At all times and under all circumstances
you must keep yourself in readiness to tread the path to the Supreme.

Who can tell at what moment your giving, serving, or obeisance will
become an act of consecration to the One?

Everything is possible.

Concerning diksha (initiation):

He, from whom one receives initiation, will bring one in touch with the
levels up to where he himself has reached. Just as when one listens to a
 religious discourse, the speaker will communicate to the audience as
much as lies in his power. In this there are two factors: the effect
inherent in words of Truth, and the power of the speaker. Both are
received, and if the recipient has outstanding capacity, Supreme
Knowledge will dawn on him at the very instant he receives the
instruction.

There are various kinds of initiation: by mantra, by touch, by a look, by

instruction. Contact with a Great One does bear fruit. Everyone will
benefit in proportion to his own receptivity and sincerity. There is also
such a thing as special Grace, by which unusual power to progress will
be gained. On the other hand, there are cases where, in spite of actual
contact, no infusion of power has taken place; one who commands
power is able to control it giving and taking depend on his will. When
instruction frees a man from the knots that constitute the ego, this is
called initiation by instruction. In this case, the instruction has fulfilled
its purpose instantaneously.

When mantra diksha is given, the mantra is whispered into the initiate’s
ear, and the initiator will confer as much power as he himself wields. If
he is all-powerful he will, by his very touch or gaze, take the disciple to
his final goal. But if he is not endowed with such Supreme Power, he can
transmit to the initiate only whatever power he commands and guide him
as far as he himself has reached. It is obvious that the guru can pass on
only as much wealth as he possesses. If the person who has given
the mantra has not reached the final goal and hence is still on the way,
the disciple can not progress any further unless the guru does. This is
why the disciple has to wait on the path, so long as the guru does not
advance.

Anyone aspiring to Self-Realization, who starts giving initiation ‘while

he is still on the way, will remain stationary at the stage at which he has
arrived.

However, the possibility of the disciple surpassing the guru exists;

namely, when someone is initiated on the basis of his inner capacities
and predispositions brought over from former births, his power to
progress may thereby be stimulated to such an extent that he will be able
to advance beyond the achievement of his guru. Here the initiate needed
only just the amount of power conferred by the diksha to take him to his
goal. If a disciple has to rely entirely on the resources of his
particular guru, he will have to move side by side with him.

Furthermore, in the state in which one realises that one’s Guru is the
World-teacher and the World-teacher is one’s Guru (world meaning
movement, while the individual is that which is bound -
the Guru delivers from individuality as well as from the relation with the
world).

Then one comes to know oneself as His servant, or as His very own Self,
or as part of Him - any of these, depending on one’s line of approach.

How is it that my Guru may be said to be the World-teacher? For the

simple reason that this is the status of a Guru. Who for instance is a
cook? The word ‘cook’ surely does not denote the name of anyone in
particular; it means one who can prepare food. Likewise, when the status
of a Guru becomes revealed, one understands that it has nothing to do
with any person; the Guru is none other than the World-teacher.

If the power of the Guru can become effective, there will be the
realisation of ‘Who am I?’.

He who is able to bestow that power, is indeed a World-teacher.

A Guru is called He who, out of deep darkness, can reveal the hidden
Truth. My Guruexists in many forms as the Guru of each and everyone,
and everyone else’s Guru is in fact my Guru. Now you see how
the Guru has become one.

A person who performs rites and spiritual exercises of any kind is on the
path and not established in the Self, for he is still, making effort. How
can he be aGuru, since he has not transcended action? One speaks of
brothers in spirit: the Lord who is adored by the whole world is my Lord,
and my Lord is the Lord of the world.
 A Guru is not an ordinary preceptor, a Guru is He, who has the
capacity to deliver man from the sea of becoming (bhava sagara).

Suppose an aspirant has been initiated by someone who does not

command Supreme Power: he can progress only up to his Guru’s stage,
and then will have to wait. Yet, by some favourable conjunction - be it
through his own overwhelming desire for Self-realization, or through
faculties developed in former lives, or even without these or similar
causes, simply through the intervention of Divine Grace he may by
instruction, contact, a look, or a mantra, receive an influx of power that
wilt enable him to proceed further. When a flood comes, it does not
make distinctions, as for instance : "this tree will have to be saved and
that one uprooted", but carries away with it everything indiscriminately.
Likewise, there is no such thing as choice in the realm of the spirit, for
here the Self is contained within Itself.

Then again there is yet another possibility: without instruction, without a

look, touch, or mantra, power may be conferred, whether the recipient
becomes aware of it at the very moment it occurs, or only very much
later. The One who has bestowed this power carries along with Him
everything, just as the flood does. It is His very nature to bring round
within Himself everything and make it His own. Therefore it will not do
to say in a particular case that initiation has been received from someone
else and not from this source for is not everything His, nay indeed, He
Himself? So then, just as the flood carries everything along in complete
equality, so that Great Being quite naturally and spontaneously makes
His own what was wrongly believed to be alien. Here ‘mine’ and ‘thine’
do not exist - only the Self stands Self-revealed, THAT, and THAT
alone. A mother does not keep an account of what she does for her
children - for are they not her own? Likewise, here also there’ is no
accounting of how much power has been communicated.

A certain person took initiation from some guru. Later that person met
a Mahatma and began to seek his company frequently, since he felt
benefited by his contact. On hearing about. this, the guru became
irritated, saying : "I have cultivated the garden and you are giving its
fruit away to someone else?" The disciple replied : "Not so ; my contact
with the Mahatma has strengthened my faith in my Guru." But
the guru was unable to understand this. For theMahatma in question, the
world and what is beyond, was all the same. For Him there was complete
 equality, since he saw only the all-pervading Self. Whether one goes
near such a One or not, He will take along with Him everyone alike.
Therefore it may be said It is not that the man had another guru, for the
conferring of power happens on the level where all are one. Moreover, it
cannot either be said that so and so much power was communicated to
such and such a person, just as burning fire does not discriminate and dry
up one object, while leaving another wet, Spontaneously occur the
instruction, touch, look, or giving of mantra that constitute the diksha;

Here, there is no distinction between ‘mine’ and ‘thine’.

There are two ways : the power can either be controlled, or else
bestowed universally in perfect equality.

It is all in His Hands.

THIRTEEN
Benares, March 27 th , 1949.

SRI MA: Someone received a mantra in a dream. He had a vision of

some great Being who gave him a mantra, or rather, he had a vision of
the mantra.On waking, the experience of the mantra remained with him
pure and simple; in fact, in the waking-state too he continued to be under
the influence of his vision. With what consequence? A dilemma of many
days’ standing was resolved. He became free from conflict and began to
live in a transformed state of mind. lie had no more wish to take
initiation.

Is it necessary, even for a person in this condition, to accept initiation

again in the physical?

A DEVOTEE: It may or may not be necessary, depending on the

aspirant’s capacity and his inner qualifications.
 SRI MA: That is to say, not everything is the same for everybody. Let
me relate someone’s story:

I shall not disclose his name.

He had taken sannyasa according to the proper rites (viraja homa), as

prescribed by the shastras, and had adopted the staff of the homeless
wanderer. But no realization or spiritual experience of any kind was
vouchsafed to him. In his intense despair he finally gave up his pilgrim's
staff and turned into a sceptic as it were. He was so profoundly
depressed, he had no desire even to move his limbs. Then suddenly, one
day, he had an experience.

He realized: "all is contained within myself." His despondency vanished

together with his suffering. When, after having abandoned the order
of sannyasa and all his spiritual practices, he had a realization of such a
high order, should it still have been necessary for him to take initiation
again?

It does of course happen that someone, even after receiving a mantra in a

dream, takes initiation once more in the waking-state.

Many come to this body, saying : "Whether I take diksha depends on

what you advise. If you tell me to take initiation, I am willing to do so
but if you say ‘do not’, I shall also obey."

This is how they put it, is it not ?

Not all can be given the same reply; some may perhaps have been told:
"So long as you do not feel the urge from within, do not take initiation.
Just continue to practise the mantra received in your dream." To others,
on the contrary, it may have been suggested that they should take
initiation once more, from someone in whom they had faith.
 QUESTION : Initiation occurs on subtler levels ; it is not merely
achieved by pronouncing a mantra. Similarly, initiation received in the
dream-state takes place on subtler planes beyond the senses. Therefore,
in such a case, should the necessity to take diksha in the physical still
exist ?

SRI MA : The action of initiation is instantaneous, outwardly as well as

inwardly. Everything is already contained within you. Solely in order
that this fact may be revealed, in order that the outer and the inner may
merge into one, someone has perhaps given his blessing in the physical.
After initiation, some may, by practising sadhana attain to perfection,
while others may not seem to reach anywhere and die.

From the standpoint of the world, of the waking state, it can be said that,
just as a sense of fulfilment is experienced when receiving initiation in
the physical, it may be quite similar if it happens in a dream. If this
feeling of satisfaction is there, one will say : "There is no need for me to
take initiation again." Thus initiation may have the same result if it has
occurred in the dream-state, as it would if received in the physical. Why
then should, in such a case, the necessity for initiation in the physical
still exist ?

QUESTION: In other words, one’s own feeling of satisfaction signifies

that tile initiation has really taken place?

SRI MA : No, it is not merely a matter of satisfaction. Deep within, a

‘touch’ is felt that makes one understand that there is no further need for
initiation. At this stage, if there be any special person whom one wishes
to consult, one may then be made to understand. Needless to say, this
 person must be quite impartial and able to explain the real import of
one’s experience.

It is of course difficult to judge of anyone’s capacity to do so.

Generally speaking, one may find that in some cases people only
outwardly occupy elevated spiritual positions. However, if the aspirant is
completely sincere and has become pure as gold, he will himself come to
understand in time (whether his experience has been genuine).

Transmission of power constitutes initiation. It is this imparting of the

Guru’s power that is the important factor, whether it occurs in a dream or
in the waking-state. If the manifestation of power has actually taken
place within, then the need for an external giving does not exist
anymore.

QUESTION : What is the sign of this?

SRI MA : Having been blessed with this power inwardly, even if to

begin with, a sense of its lack is till felt, this feeling will disappear as one
progresses. It depends on various factors working together. In some
cases, for instance, the power may not at first have been felt inwardly;
only later one becomes aware of it. Or else, the realisation of it may
grow little by little, gradually, - this also is a possibility. Then again, the
result of the initiation may not be felt either at once or even at the close
of a long life. On the other hand, one may find someone transformed
immediately by virtue of the initiation ; its action has in this case borne
fruit instantly. If this be so, there will of course be no problem. But even
where no effect of the initiation is noticeable for a very long time, even
then the power is undoubtedly acting within.

Concerning the dedication of one’s japa to one’s Ista or Guru,

SRI MA said:

After doing japa one should dedicate it to the Object of one’s worship.
 If this is not done and it is stored by oneself; there is fear of its being
lost, since one is not aware of the great value of what is in one’s keeping.
Just as when a priceless jewel is left in a small child’s custody, he may
throw the treasure away, not understanding how precious it is.
Nevertheless, even by keeping thejapa stored by oneself, one will gain
something, but the full benefit of its accumulation will not be reaped.

The whole and entire fruit of the japa, obtained by dedicating it to

the Supreme Object of one’s devotion, can not be had if it is kept by
oneself.

For this reason japa should be offered to one’s Ista or Guru.

When a child receives something, he brings it to his mother, for he does

not know the value of what he has got. No sooner does the mother see it
than she realizes how precious it is. She therefor takes it at once from the
child’s hand and puts it safely away. But when the boy has grown up and
learnt to understand, then. his mother returns the invaluable object to
him, saying: "I have preserved your treasure for you; now take it back."

When one has acquired the necessary capacity (adhikara), that which
could not be understood formerly, is completely grasped. With age and
wisdom, understanding comes in its fullness.

By regularly offering one’s japa to the Ista, one slowly and gradually
comes to realize what the Name is and He Whose Name one repeats;
who one is; what Self-realization signifies. When all this is revealed,
then the purpose of one’s japa has been wholly fulfilled.

Nobody can foretell at what particular instant this may occur; therefore,
ever continue with your sadhana.
 Infinite are the sadhanas, infinite the spiritual experiences, infinite is
manifestation - and yet He is unmanifest.

The nature of one’s japa depends on one’s particular line of approach.

Why did I use the term ‘infinite’?

The leaves of a tree are infinite in number, and although they are all of
the same general pattern, yet there are countless variations within that
pattern.

Viewed from this angle also, diversity is infinite. Finally, when

Enlightenment occurs, this will be the end, and at that very instant He
will be revealed in the midst of endless variety. The seed as such remains
what it is, and so do the boughs and branches ; yet there is infinity in
each of them. Similarly, in the field of sddhana also everything is
infinite.

As one goes on practising a prescribed amount of japa - at some moment

or other, the fire will be set ablaze.

Fire exists everywhere, only one does not know, at what instant the
friction will suffice to kindle a flame. Therefore, be ever prepared !

Of course, some yogi may be able to foretell after how many repetitions
of a name or mantra Light will come.

For this reason persevere in the practice of japa. It will be carefully

stored for you, as if kept safely by your mother. The moment may come
 at any time, when you will realize the many in the One and the One in
the many. When will the number of repetitions be completed, and what
will then be found? That the Name and the One whose Name it is are
indivisible; thus, what you have offered will come back to you.

QUESTION: Suppose japa is not dedicated to the Guru but kept by

oneself; will its fruit be lost?

SRI MA : If it is the Guru’s instruction not to dedicate the japa, it will

be in His Hands even so for, did one not act according to his command?
He may bring it to fulfilment either by preserving it Himself, or by
leaving it to the disciple. He alone knows how it will be brought to
completion. Moreover, nothing whatsoever is altogether lost. If japa has
been practised continuously, it is bound to bear fruit some day.
Nevertheless, it may also be fruitless if; for instance, the mantra is
incorrect, or the japa is not done according to its inherent rules -no
possibility can be entirely excluded.

It may be found that someone practises japa and austerities with faith
and regularity, and yet there is no response. In deep despair he drops all
his practices. The agony of his suffering will not let him either sleep or
eat.

Here his eagerness is so great, although he has abandoned all effort.

If he is completely single-minded in his thirst for Enlightenment,

it must come then and there.

FOURTEEN
 Raipur, Dehradun, December 3 rd , 1948

Question : Is Self-realization subject to the power of the Guru or does it

occur independently?

SRI MA : First of all, it must be made clear that it is the action of

the Guru’s power which induces the functioning of will-power; in other
words, this will-power may be said to derive from the power of
the Guru. Thus it is but the One Himself who manifests in both,
the Guru’s power and will-power. Who or what is that One Self? All that
is manifest is He, and no other. Why then should the path of self-
dependence, (puruskara) be classed separately? Of course it may be
differentiated from the rest, but one must understand that it is based on
the working of the inner Guru. There are seekers after Truth who are
bent upon proceeding without a Guru, because along their line of
approach emphasis is laid on self-dependency on reliance on one’s own
effort. If one goes to the root of the matter, it will be seen that, in the
case of a person who does sadhana, prompted by intense aspiration and
relying on his own strength, the Supreme Being reveals Himself in a
special way through the intensity of that self-exertion. This being so, is
there any justification, from any point of view, for the raising of
objections against such self-reliance ? All that can be said or questioned
in this respect lies within the confines of human thinking, which is
limited. Yet, a state exists where everything is possible.

Thus the line of approach through dependence on one’s own strength

and capacity is, like all other approaches, but a functioning of the One
Power. Without doubt, this Guru-power can operate in a special way
through self-reliance,. so that there will be no need for any outer
teaching. While some aspirants may depend on outer teaching, why
should not others be able to receive guidance from within, without the
aid of the spoken word? Why should not this be possible, since even the
dense veil of human ignorance can be destroyed?

In such cases the Guru’s teaching has done its work from within.
In ordinary life, when children are taught, it can be noticed that, with the
average pupil, the teacher has to repeat the same thing over and over
again; but there are those who remember and grasp whatever they have
been told once only. Moreover, have you never come across certain
pupils who need not even be taught all about a subject, but who in the
course of their study awaken to such an understanding of it that the
whole subject becomes clear to them ? Intelligent students of the kind do
exist, as you well know.

Similarly, it sometimes happens that a number of persons receive

initiation together and practise sadhana. But it is only very rarely that
one or two initiates, realizing the Oneness of all, make such outstanding
progress as to advance to the status of a World-teacher. This may be
attributed to the effect of teaching received in former lives that has come
into fruition during the present one. On the other hand, may it not in
some instances be due simply to the Great Moment, which brings
Illumination? How can one tell who may become Enlightened, and at
‘what moment?

One meets some very keen seekers after Truth. The union of the
individual with the All eternally exists ; is not the eagerness to become
aware of this union due to the fact that the One will reveal Himself?

How many students attend college, but how few of them stand first,
although they are all taught by the same professors.

None can foretell at what particular time circumstances will co-operate

to bring about that Great Moment for anyone. There may be failure to
begin with, but what counts is final success. An aspirant cannot be
judged by preliminary results. In the spiritual field, final success means
success right from the beginning.
What indeed is a mantra? While one is bound by the idea of ‘I’ and
‘you’, and identifies oneself with the ego, the mantra represents the
Supreme Being Himself in the guise of sound.

Do you not see how beautifully certain syllables have been joined
together in the mahavakyas? You think you are wholly bound, but this is
only what your mind believes. That is why true Knowledge can
supervene at the very utterance of a word of power, which is composed
merely of a few ordinary letters joined together. How mysterious and
intimate is the relation between those words and the
immutable Brahman !

Take for example, the Sabda Brahman : merely by the Sabda one
becomes established in the Self. Look, the ocean is contained in the
drop, and the drop in the ocean. What else is the spark, if not a particle
of fire - of Him, who is Supreme Knowledge Itself.

It is the notion of ‘you’ and ‘I’ by which your mind has been held
captive all along; you should understand that the combination of sounds
which has the power to free you from. this bondage is the one to be used.
Verily, it is through sound that one penetrates into Silence ; for He is
manifest in all forms without exception.

Indeed, everything is possible in the state that is beyond knowledge

and ignorance.

So long as you are not finally established in that Supreme Knowledge,

you all dwell in the realm of waves and sound. There are sounds that
cause the mind to turn outwards, and others that draw it within. But the
sounds that tend outwards are also connected with those that lead
inwards. Therefore, because of their: interrelation, there may, at some
auspicious moment occur that perfect union, which is followed by the
great Illumination, the revelation of What IS. Why should not this be
possible, since He is ever Self-revealed? Further, since He reveals
Himself, why should one object to admitting that there may be instances
of Enlightenment without the aid of the outer word?
 In some cases there is reliance on the outer word, in others there is not.
However, in the world of men as they are, there usually is such
dependence. Where this is not so, it will be due to instructions and
tendencies dating back to former births. This also may certainly occur.
Further, is it not justifiable to imagine that Enlightenment may come
about even without having in previous lives received teaching and
developed a bent in that direction?

He, being Self-effulgent, how can any possibility be excluded ?

Diversity is our own diversity, everyone sees and speaks according to his
light.

FIFTEEN
In the train to Benares, December 5 th , 1948.

QUESTION: In ‘Vicar Sagara’ we read of a certain Raji’s minister,

named Bharju, who in spite of having gained Knowledge of Truth, was
still not free of illusion.

Similarly, that even though someone has, through the Mahavakyas,

attained to the Realization of the Brahman, this would not bring about
his liberation, should uncertainty and erroneous notions still persist.

I do not understand how, when a thing has become revealed, the

question of its obscuration can still arise.

Further, in such a case, where does the need of instruction come in?
 SRI MA: One thing is the full and final Realization of Unveiled Light;
but quite another is a realization due to some cause, in which the
possibility of its being obscured again, still exists. At the time when the
play of sadhana was being manifested through this body, it could clearly
perceive these various possibilities.

You should understand that if a veil of ignorance has been burnt or

dissolved, as it were, the seeker will, for a certain period of time, have
unobstructed vision. Afterwards it becomes blurred again. All the same -
what will be the result of such a glimpse?

Ignorance will have become less dense, and true

Knowledge gained greater prominence; in other words, by
the momentary lifting of the veil, the individual’s bonds
will have been loosened. In this condition, there is a
semblance of the attainment of real Knowledge; in fact, it is
also a state of achievement, although quite different from
the state of final Self-realization. By the power of
the Guru the veil has here been suddenly dissolved or
consumed - just as in the story of the ten men, when
the Mahatma said "You are yourself the tenth !"* - ( SRI
MA refers here to the following well
known Vedantic parable: Ten men had to ford a river by
swimming. To make certain that they had all safely reached
the opposite bank, one of them counted the lot and, to his
consternation, counted only nine. To make sure that he had
not been mistaken, another one of them counted the men,
with a similar result. Each one of them counted in turn,
confirming that there were only nine left, although they
could not make out which of them was missing.

A Man passed by and they told him what had happened. He

made them stand in a line, hit each one with his staff and
asked them to count as he hit. To their joy and amazement,
they at once realized that none of them had been drowned.
"Each one of you forgot to include himself," explained the
Mahatma .)
 But there is a Realization, after which the possibility of its being
obscured again by a reappearance of the veil of ignorance, simply cannot
occur: this is true and final Self-realization.

Lightning comes in a flash, but the light of day continues steadily.

QUESTION: How can anything occur that is not mentioned in the

shastras ?

SRI MA: To expound reincarnation, karma and similar doctrines, is

mainly the work of the shastras. Whether anything may occur that is not
mentioned in them - just remember that He is infinite!

Out of your union with this infinity spring your actions, feelings and
thoughts, at the present time or in the future, in whatever form He may
be pleased to assume. This you may not be able to learn from shastras.

Nevertheless, the shastras are also infinite.

Oh, how beautiful is the law of God’s creation!

Do you not know the feeling of delight, of deep bliss, when in a new
way you experience a glimpse of Him, the eternally new!

Just consider : The Infinite is contained in the finite, and the finite in the
Infinite ; the Whole in the part and the part in the Whole. This is so,
when one has entered the Great Stream. He who attains and that which is
attained are one and the same. It is not merely a matter of imagination
through ever fresh channels He is perceived in ever new forms.
 Having entered that unbroken Stream, it is only natural that yoga, the
hidden union of the individual with the All, should become mahayoga.

Look, everything. is contained in the shastras, and yet not everything.

Imagine that you are travelling by train to Dehradun. On your journey
you will pass through large stations, through towns and villages. Every
one of these has been indicated in the guide-book. But what is seen
between the different stations, can it all be described in full detail ? The
trees and plants, the animals and birds, the tiny little ants that are met
with on the way, could all these be delineated?

Looked at from this point of view, not everything has been written down
in the s hastras. Infinite is the diversity of creation, infinite are its modes
of being, its changing movements and static states, revealed at every
single instant. Besides, it is impossible to put into writing all that a
seeker after Truth experiences.

Furthermore, it is quite certain that Reality is beyond speech and thought

Only that which can be expressed in words is being said.

But what cannot be put into language, is indeed That which IS.

When at certain stages you have realizations, these will of course be

within the confines of your own particular line of approach. In the event
of complete Realization, can such a thought as, "it has not been
mentioned in the shastras," have any meaning? The main stages on the
path, which you think can be elaborated exhaustively, are no doubt
discussed in the shastras; but the numerous things that you imagine not
to be set forth there, are also included. In accord with the progress of
the sadhaka, spiritual experiences will occur of themselves.

However, where Enlightenment is complete, there is no more questions

of important or unimportant experiences.
 On reaching the end of one’s journey, full Enlightenment is bound to
take place. If someone has a doubt about something because it is not
contained in the shastras, can he have attained to the goal of his
pilgrimage?

Affirmation and negation are of significance only while one is yet on the
way, for there are paths without number, and they cannot be limited to
what has been laid down in the s hastras. Where the Infinite is in
question, the diversity of approaches is equally infinite, and likewise are
the revelations along these paths, of endless variety.

Is it not said : "There are as many doctrines as there are sages" ?

Unless one has a point of view of one’s own, one will not be classed
among the sages.

Very well, this is one aspect of the matter. Now to another: On the level
from which it can be said that everything is possible, it would be quite
sense-less to declare that, because something is not to be found in
the shastras or in any of the Scriptures, it therefore does not and never
will occur. Surely all this eager searching has for its aim only the
revelation of That, which is already Self-revealed. Could there be such
ardent yearning and pining for something that is not, that never can or
will be?

Later someone declared:

Repetition of the names of Rama, Krishna, Siva, Durga or any other

name, is quite useless, with the one exception of the name ‘Ma’, and only
while thinking of, not any Ma; but solely the special a that a particular
group of people is worshipping.
SOMEONE ELSE : Self-realization cannot be attained by the repetition
of any name whatsoever, but only by understanding the processes of the
mind.

Every problem that arises in the mind has to be thought out and
understood in all its implications, and in this way solved.

If a person be incapable of doing this himself, he may seek the help of

someone else, no matter whom. However, by this, the relationship that is
considered permanent between Guru and disciple will not be
established.

Who essentially is the Guru, since all are one!

SRI MA : Pitaji, when this teaching is given, do not those who are trying
to put it into practice, automatically accept him who expounds it as
their Guru?

THE PERSON ADDRESSED: No, for when their problems have been
solved, all are again on an equal footing.

SRI MA: Quite so.

Thus we are also told that after the Guru has given sannyasa, he
prostrates himself at full length before the disciple, in order to
demonstrate that there is no difference between Guru and disciple;
for both are indeed one.
There is a stage where one cannot possibly regard oneself as a Guru, nor
accept anyone else as a Guru. Another stage exists, at which there is no
way of thinking of Guru and disciple as separate from one another.
There is yet another stage, where it appears as follows: Everyone who
gives teaching or instruction in this world is regarded in the light of
a Guru. There are innumerable methods and sacred syllables, devised for
the purpose of helping man towards Self-realization ; by using any one
of them, he may advance towards the Goal.

By concentrating on the problems that arise in the mind, it may be

possible to undo the knots that constitute the ego.

For this reason the above method is not in contradiction to any other.
What has been said about being on an equal footing is also right, for in
this world people have to assist and teach one another in many walks of
life; therefore it can be truly said that everybody is a guru. From one
point of view one may call one’s guru every person from whom one has
learnt something, no matter how little. But the real Guru is He whose
teaching helps one towards Self-realization.

Suppose a person is walking in the dark and a dog suddenly starts

barking furiously quite close to him. What can be the matter? The man
switches on his torch and finds himself confronted with a big poisonous
snake. By taking great care he is now able to elude the venomous fangs.
Will the dog in this case have to be called his Guru or not? One may
certainly object to it, for the dog did not bark for the purpose of making
the man aware.

But He who bestows awareness may appear in the guise of a dog.

SIXTEEN
 Benares, August 17 th , 1948.

QUESTION : According to the shastras one may after Self-Realisation

either live in the world as a householder or remain aloof as a spectator.
Which alternative should be followed?

SRI MA : I see you are alluding to the story

of Chudala and Sikhidvaja. Do you mean to imply that worldly life is
possible after Self-realization?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: No, in the case referred to here, a trace of

ignorance still persisted. It was but a stage; at that time Chudala was
not yet fully Enlightened.

SRI MA: For a Self-realized Being, neither the world with its pairs of
opposites exists, nor does the body. If there is no world, there can
obviously be no body either

QUESTION But the body, surely, does exist?

SRI MA : Who says, the body exists?

There is no question at all of name and form.

To wonder whether a realized Being sees anything outside of Himself, is

also beside the point. Who is there to whom he can say ‘Give, give !’*(
A play upon words: deo - give, and deho - body.)

Yet this state of wanting is precisely the reason for one’s belief in the
reality of the body. Therefore, since there is no world and no body, there
can be no action either; this stands to reason. To make it quite clear :
after Self-realization there is no body, no world, and no action - not even
the faintest possibility of these -, nor is there such an idea as ‘there is
not’. To use words is exactly the same as not to speak; to keep silent or
not, is identical - all is THAT alone. There simply can be no question of
talking or not talking. Please try to understand this! What actually is it
that appears to you to be worldly life after Self-realization ?

Yes, of course, what is expounded in the Bhagavad Gita, is all true. Yet
here the aforesaid holds good, for this body responds strictly to the line
of thought and to the spirit in which a question is asked. Consequently,
what is the opinion of this body and what is not ? If there is a line of
approach, there must be a goal to which it leads; and beyond it is the
unattainable. But where the distinction between the attainable and the
unattainable does not arise, is THAT Itself.

What you hear depends on how you play the instrument. For this body
the problem of difference of opinion in no wise exists.

QUESTION : Does SRI MA then give out sound like a musical

instrument ? (Laughter).

SRI MA: According to your ear.

Whether the sounds* (• A play upon words: Baje means the sounding of
a musical instrument, as well as ‘useless’ or ‘senseless’.) you hear her
utter make sense or not, is for you to judge. Here, (with SRI MA) the
question of striking a chord or not does not arise. You will have to decide
whether your SRI MA is good for nothing or useful, because she is your
daughter as well as your mother. Whether she is worthless or of any
service, father will be able to tell. (Laughter).

FM THE AUDIENCE: If father knew, would there be any escape for

her?

SRI MA: This was said merely for the sake of argument. But it is not
like this either, and the word ‘not’ is also incorrect. Now where will you
proceed?
 Moreover, where is 'where'?

SEVENTEEN
Benares, August 14 th , 1948.

QUESTION : Since physical existence is the result of one’s actions in

former lives (prarabdha), must there not be at least a trace of ignorance
left over, so long as one continues in the body?

SRI MA: If everything can be consumed, cannot this trace be burnt up

too? At a certain stage, of course, a last vestige of ignorance does persist
however, there is a state where there is no question of it.

QUESTION : It is said, a Realised Being continues to be in the body due

to the prarabdha of others, in response to their desires for His presence.

SRI MA: One’s own desire, another’s desire and indifference - these
terms certainly indicate the various kinds of bondage due to desire. If,
although one seems established in one’s True Being (Svarupa), one
can be touched by desire or its opposite, it is a sign that
dependence in one direction or another still continues. You should
understand that He who is in the state of videha* ( freedom from all body
consciousness.) appears embodied to those who have body
consciousness. If you say, after Enlightenment the body will not survive,
is embodiment then an obstacle to Supreme Knowledge? Where the Self
is revealed, there the problem of the body simply does not arise, for in
that state there is no question of anyone or anything in particular.
 INQUIRER: Since Illumination can consume every-thing, it is only
logical that the physical body should be consumed too; some hold this
theory.

SRI MA: Most certainly, the body will be consumed; ‘body’ means what
is subject to change, and therefore it will be burnt up. It is as you say.
When you hold a theory, you thereby assume a certain position, and you
will be committed to it. But where Self-revelation is, the problem of
whether the body survives or not, cannot possibly arise.

QUESTION : What is Nitya Lila (God’s Eternal Play)?

SRI MA : What do you understand by ‘nitya’ (eternal)?

FROM THE AUDIENCE: That which cannot be affected by the states of

waking, dreaming, or sleep, is called ‘nitya’; this is how I have heard it
explained.

Someone Else: Duality (dvaita) and non-duality (advaita) are both

eternal; it is merely a matter of divergent angles of vision. When one
allows for different points of view, then amidst this diversity of outlook,
one may also speak of the non-eternal.

SRI MA: In the Supreme, in the Ultimate, when limited vision has
disappeared, how can there be distinctions, such as duality and non-
duality? He who inquires, perceives the two; and there is likewise duality
for him who practises sadhana, although he aims at Oneness. You must
grasp the truth that He who is dual is indeed the One who is non-dual -
just like ice and water.
 FROM THE AUDIENCE : Ice is not mere water; it is necessary to mix
something else with water to obtain ice*( • This was said by a dweller of
the Indian plains, where the temperature never sinks to freezing point.
He therefore was ignorant of the fact that ice is nothing but water below
a certain temperature. ).

SRI MA : No simile can be complete in every respect. Therefore, in this

case one’s attention is focussed on the water that is melted ice.

A state exists where the distinction between duality and non-duality has
no place. He who is bound by a particular angle of vision, will speak
from the standpoint that happens to be his at the time.

But where the Brahman is, the One-without-a-second, nothing else

can possibly exist.

You separate duality from non-duality because you are identified with
the body, which means you are in a condition of constant wanting.

Besides, it has to be pointed out that if, through sense-perception of any

kind, anything arises which is not THAT, and THAT alone, then this is
due toavidya.

If you say: "there is only One Visnu" - when you do not behold Him
everywhere - what have you accomplished?

Again, whether you say Sabda Brahman and therefore Brahma, or

whether you call it Visnu or Siva - these are only various manifestations,
necessary along different lines of approach. Thus all names are His
names, all forms His forms, all qualities His qualities.

The nameless and formless is also He alone.

A state of being exists where it is immaterial whether He assumes a form
or not - what is, is THAT.

In this case, what is there to express in words ? Furthermore, at a certain

level the Self may reveal Itself to Itself.

At the same time, He does not reveal Himself at all: to whom is He to

reveal Himself?

Where there are neither form nor attributes, what is to be put into
language?

Where nothing is excluded, how can Oneness be obstructed?

In this state of complete poise nothing at all is any longer apart from
Him; what is, IS.

So, what can be said or left unsaid, since It is entirely beyond words!

Obviously, each one speaks from the level at which he finds himself:
yet whatever is uttered are His words; His song, addressed to Him.

In the Supreme state nothing whatsoever can possibly be an obstacle: if

it is, then ignorance has survived. In reality there is only He - He alone,
and nothing but He.
 Suppose you have modelled a doll in butter; whichever aspect of it
you may survey - its shape, peculiarity, or appearance - butter it
remains, and nothing but butter.

As butter, it is one indivisible substance.

By division, its integrity would be lost; thus, division is impossible.

What is called ‘Nitya Lila’ means God’s Play, He Himself acting all the
parts. Where God is - His Play can never be transient.*( • The actual
EternalLila exists on the plane of Pure Consciousness. ).

He, the Almighty, stages His infinite Lila, His endless Play.

Within the Infinite lies the finite, and in the finite Infinity. He Himself,
the One who is the Self, stages a play with Himself: this is called ‘Nitya
Lila;’

On that plane different appearances befitting different occasions and

places are present; for is it not the sphere of Pure Consciousness! Here
even division partakes of the nature of Pure Consciousness, since it is
transcendental (aprakrt).

When you speak of non-duality, is not the idea of duality implied?

But in the realm of Pure Consciousness, if you say "Maya exists", so

it does ; and if you say "there is no such thing as Maya", it is equally
correct; for nothing can be excluded.
 Non-duality, which cannot be conceived of, is as true as that which one
is capable of conceiving. For all is THAT, and where THAT is, there is
no contradiction. The false as such must vanish. How can one speak
of advaita and include individuals, the world? Since there is non-duality,
can there still be individuals, can there still be the world?

In that state, where do these find a place?

Where exclusively Oneness is, how can there be room left for ‘two’?
Furthermore, is it not said : "Wherever a man is, there is Siva, and
wherever a woman, there is Gawri*."

From this point of view you should now try to ponder over all this.

Nevertheless, whatever anyone may say from any standpoint, everything

is right, nothing can be outside of THAT. Whether you say there is or
there is not the appearance of Maya - actually speech cannot express it.

Using words or not, seeing or failing to see, is merely a matter of angles

of vision.

On the other hand, where THAT is, there can be no angles of vision.
Problems are born through want of knowledge, due to the veil of
ignorance. Until one is established in one’s own Essential Being
( Svarupa), it is natural that queries should arise.

In the realm of phenomena there is much differentiation, such as ‘above’

and ‘below’. But There - what is and what is not?

Where ascent and descent can still be spoken of, what will you call such
a state? Must you not admit that various directions have remained? If
you speak of descent and ascent, it is implied that there must be a place
to descend to; but whither can He descend?

To Himself alone of course.

 Ascending and descending are one and the same thing, and He who
ascends, is He who descends, and the acts of ascending and descending
are also He.

Although you speak of Divine Descent (Avataran), He surely does not

become divided. You see fire flare up here and there, but this does not
affect its unity: fire as fire is eternal. This is how you should under-stand
it.

No simile is ever complete.

He who descends, whence He descends, and whither - all are one.

There is nothing whatsoever outside of THAT.

A QUESTION : If the Real remains what it is.

What then - do ascent and

descent mean ?

SRI MA : What you say represents a particular viewpoint of the world.

Where the Ultimate, the Supreme is, the question you ask is impossible.
On a certain plane, descent and ascent exist. It is you who say: "God
descends". On the other hand, there is no such thing as descent : where
He is, there He remains, and all possibilities are contained in Him. To
understand ( A play upon words: bhoja means ‘to understand’, as well a
‘burden’. ) intellectually - which means to ‘stand under’, in other words,
to be burdened by mental conceptions - prevents one from grasping the
Truth.
Again, to what can you attain? It is already present here itself! Anything
found will be lost again. To prepare oneself for the revelation of That
which eternally IS, there are injunctions, numerous paths.

But do you not see, every path must come to an end; in other words,
you should concentrate upon that imagination which will sweep
away all other imaginations and having gone beyond all
imagination, there is the revelation of THAT, which you really are.

The beauty of it is that man’s very nature is to long for Reality, Supreme
Wisdom, Divine Joy; as it is his nature to return home when the Play is
over. The stage of the Play is His, the Play His as well, and so are those
who take part in it, friends and fellow-beings - everything is He alone.

Surely, ignorance is not what one seeks. To aspire to Immortality is

man’s true nature - or is death desirable? The world is concerned with
the knowledge that is ignorance. Although it is true, even here one can
observe how man builds a solid house in order that it may last for a long
time, because he wants stability.

At times one may tell a lie under some uncontrollable impulse, yet one
feels uneasy about it.

To long for the cessation of want is your very nature, and to explore and
penetrate to the root of whatever you perceive. When you buy clothes
you choose durable material, which will not wear out quickly; even this
is an indication of your innate tendency to seek the Everlasting. It is your
nature to crave for the revelation of That which IS, for the Eternal, for
Truth, for limitless Knowledge. This is why you do not feel satisfied
with the evanescent, the untrue, with ignorance and limitation. Your true
nature is to yearn for the revelation of what you ARE.
 EIGHTEEN

HE alone IS - so there is no question of acceptance or denial.

Did He ever come into being that there could be a possibility of

accepting or denying Him? HE was never born. According to one angle
of vision, it is true that this world does not exist, that Truth is found by
eliminating name and form; on the other hand, name and form are made
up of the aksara,*( *The word ‘aksara’ means ‘indestructible’, and also
‘letters of the alphabet’. ) of that which is indestructible. But in essence,
THAT is Truth.

The appearance of the phenomenal world (due to erroneous perception)

and its disappearance (due to right Knowledge) are ultimately one and
the same thing: both are He. Then again there is no question of clearing
up error, for there is only He, the One Ground of all.

With Him as one’s goal, the error that there is such a thing as error has to
be uprooted. Talk of this kind is all-just by way of helping one to
understand.

The study of Scriptures and similar texts - provided it does not become
an obsession - can be an aid towards the grasping of Truth. So long as
what has been read has not become one’s own experience, that is to say,
has not been assimilated into one’s own being, it has not fulfilled its
purpose.
 A seed that is merely held in the hand cannot germinate: it must
develop into a plant and bear fruit in order to reveal its full
possibilities.

Nevertheless, in the state where one can neither speak of revelation nor
of concealment, there, what appears and becomes, is also ever present.
At a certain level one sees glimpses, sparks, as it were, of Reality - this
also is one of the states. One cannot understand what one perceives and
therefore is bewildered. There are indeed states and stages without
number. The power of fire to burn is one and undivided; but how can
there possibly be wholeness and completeness in the so-called glimpses
or sparks that one gets?

Only where that wholeness is, there, the question of division does not
arise.

What is wanted is genuine awakening, an awakening after which nothing

remains to be attained. The world of sense objects may or may not be
perceived - it makes no difference.

A state does exist in which this is so.

Whatever anyone does, belongs to the realm of death, of ceaseless

change. Nothing can be excluded. In the shape of death art Thou, and in
the form of desire; Thou art becoming and Thou art being, differentiation
as well as identity - for Thou art infinite, without end.

Thou it is who roamest in the disguise of nature.

From whatever standpoint a assertion may be made, I never object to it.

For that is to say, has not been assimilated into one’s own being, it has
not fulfilled its purpose.
A seed that is merely held in the hand cannot germinate: it must develop
into a plant and bear fruit in order to reveal its full possibilities.
Nevertheless, in the state where one can neither speak of revelation nor
of concealment, there, what appears and becomes, is also ever present.

At a certain level one sees glimpses, sparks, as it were, of Reality - this.

also is one of the states. One cannot understand what one perceives and
therefore is bewildered. There are indeed states and stages without
number. The power of fire to burn is one and undivided; but how can
there possibly be wholeness and completeness in the so-called glimpses
or sparks that one gets? Only where that wholeness is, there, the question
of division does not arise. What is wanted is genuine awakening, an
awakening after which nothing remains to be attained. The world of
sense objects may or may not be perceived - it makes no difference. A
state does exist in which this is so.

Whatever anyone does, belongs to the realm of death, of ceaseless

change. Nothing can be excluded. I the shape of death art Thou, and in
the form of desire; Thou art becoming and Thou art being, differentiation
as well as identity - for Thou art infinite, without end. Thou it is who
roamest in the disguise of nature.

From whatever standpoint a assertion may be made, I never object to it.

For He is all in all, He alone is - the One with form and without form.

In your present condition your divine essence cannot be revealed.

When a roof is being built, it is a law that whatever materials are

hammered into it, must remain there. No matter how much time it may
require, the roof must be made solid.
 Likewise, (no simile is ever complete) you identify yourself with any
line of work in which you are expert, believing it to be your real nature.
So far so good; but where is the whole of your being, which is with form
as well as formless?

Therefore you should reflect: What is it that has to be attained?

You will have to become conscious of your Self in its entirety. Nay, to
become fully conscious is not enough; you will have to rise beyond
consciousness and unconsciousness. The revelation of THAT is what is
wanted.

You will have to go on discriminating and make a sustained effort to

convince your mind of the fact that japa, meditation and all other
spiritual exercises, have for purpose your Awakening.

On this pilgrimage one must never slacken: effort is what counts! Thus
one should try ever to remain engrossed in this endeavour - it must be
woven into one’s very being, one has to be fused with one’s Self.

It is Thou that crying out helplessly in distress, and it is Thou Thyself

that art the Way and the Goal. In order that this may be revealed, man
must employ his intelligence vigorously and unceasingly.

A tree is watered at its roots.

Man’s root is the brain, where his reasoning power, his intellect is
constantly at work. Through japa, meditation, the perusal of Scriptures,
and similar practices, one progresses towards the Goal. Hence man
should bind himself and, fixing his gaze on the One, advance along the
path.

Whatever ties, bonds or restraints he imposes upon himself, should have

for aim the Supreme Goal of life.
With untrammelled energy one must forge ahead towards the discovery
of one’s own Self.

Whether one takes the path of devotion, where the ‘I’ is lost in the
‘Thou,’ or the path of Self-inquiry, in search of the true ‘I’ - it is He’
alone who is found in the ‘Thou’ as well as in the ‘I’.

Why should one’s gaze be fixed, while treading the path? The gaze is He
and the ‘why’ is He also.

Whatever is revealed or hidden anywhere, in any way, is ‘Thou’, is ‘I’.

Negation, just as affirmation, are equally ‘Thou’ - the One. You will be
able to grasp this fully only when you find everything within yourself; in
other words, in the state where there is nothing but the Self. This is why
you should direct your gaze towards the Eternal while on the way.
Where you see limitation, even this is a manifestation of the Limitness,
the Infinite. In essence it is none other than your own Self. So long as
this fact has not been revealed, how can one speak of full Realization -
complete, perfect, all-comprehensive - call it what you will! Then again,
how can the question of perfection or imperfection, of completeness or
incompleteness, still arise in such a state of Fulfilment?

NINETEEN
Raipur, Dehradun, September 6 th , 1948

QUESTION: You say all moments are combined in the One Supreme
Moment. I cannot understand this.

SRI MA: The moment of one’s birth conditions the experience of life;
but the Supreme Moment that is, revealed in the course
 of sadhana, leads to the completion of action, and therefore of one’s
karma.

You should understand, that one who is engaged in action is subject to

nature - prakrti. The constitutive elements of nature are called guna*(*A
play upon words: the word ‘guna’ means ‘to multiply’ as well as
‘quality’. ), because they multiply themselves; for this world is not of the
eternal.

The perception of the world that consists of the three gunas, is in time
and transitory. Looked at from this point of view the world will be
recognized as perishable. Vairagya can consume and bhava, bhakti melt
what is impermanent in human nature. But the moment in which burning
and melting are impossible - that Moment is eternal.

To try and seize that Moment is all you have to do.

In reality this is THAT - everything perceived is THAT - how can

THAT be apart from anything? This is so when one has entered the
Stream; for such a one, how can there still be the division of present,
past, and future? A yogi can get something that is on the other side of a
wall merely by stretching out his hand. When this is possible, the wall is
not there although it exists, and even if no wall exists, yet it may
function as an existing wall. Behind the veil lies the thing, but before
you is the veil. The veil was not there previously, nor will it be in future;
hence it does not really exist now. From a certain standpoint it is like
this.

You should understand that the yogic process, due to which the veil has
no power to hamper the free activity of a yogi, is analogous to the
method by which he perceives an ordinarily invisible object.
Furthermore, motion and rest, although each remaining what it is, lose
their distinction for him who can see. In that state there are unlimited
possibilities.
 But this body does not always have the kheyaIa to tell everything.

All this belongs to the realm of the marvellous (camatkara).

To return to the ‘moment’: the moment that you experience is distorted,

whereas the Supreme Moment contains being, becoming - everything.
Yet nothing is there, although everything is there. Then again, there can
be no question of either the. Supreme moment or the moment. that is a
particle of flowing time.

Later the topic of the ‘moment’ was again raised.

SRI MA: Moment means time, but not what you call time.

Time (samaya) means Sva-mayi,* the state where everything is seen as

the Self alone, where nothing whatsoever can exist beside the Self.

QUESTION : You say there is rest (sthiti) in movement (gati), and

movement in rest. What does this mean?

SRI MA: When the seed becomes united with the earth, when the two
have mingled, at that moment there is rest; but the process of
germination sets in immediately, and this surely implies movement. To
move means, not to remain in one place.

Nevertheless, it was in one and the same place - why was? - it still is!
Each stage in the growth of a tree represents a point of rest, yet is also a
passing one. Again, the leaves grow and then fall off, which marks a
change of condition; it does and it does not, for after all it belongs to one
 tree. The tree potentially contains the fruit: this is why it will yield it -
‘will’ means ‘does’.

(No simile is ever perfect in all respects).

Then again SRI MA said:

In reality, there is nothing but the One Moment all along. Just as one
single tree contains numberless trees, innumerable leaves, infinite
movement and untold static states, so does one moment contain an
infinite number of moments, and within l1 these countless moments lies
the One Single Moment. Look, there is motion as well as rest in that
Supreme Moment.

Why then should the revelation of the Moment be spoken of?

Because, misled by your perception of differences, you think of yourself

and of each and every creature or object in the world as being apart from
one another. This is why, for you, separateness exists. The sense of
separateness in which you are caught, that is to say, the moment of your
birth, has determined your nature, your desires and their fulfilment, your
development, your’ spiritual search - everything. Consequently, the
moment of your birth is unique, the moment of your mother’s birth is
also unique, and so is that of your father’s and the nature and
temperament of each of the three is unique.

In accordance with your own particular line of approach, each one of

you must seize the time, the moment that will reveal to you the eternal
relationship, by which, you are united to the Infinite, - this is the
revelation of Mahayoga, Supreme Union.

Supreme Union signifies that the whole universe is within you, and you
are in it; and further, there will be no occasion to speak of a universe.
Whether you say it exists or does not exist, or that it can neither be said
to exist or not to exist, or even beyond that - as you please. What matters
is that He should stand revealed, be it in whatever form.

At that ‘Moment’, at that point of time - when it is found - you will

know your Self. To know your Self implies the revelation (at that very
same instant) of what your father and mother in reality are, and not only
your father and mother, but the entire universe. It is that Moment which
links up the whole of creation. For to know yourself does not mean to
know your body only; it signifies the full revelation of That which
eternally IS - the Supreme Father, Mother, Beloved, Lord and Master -
the Self. At the moment of your birth, you did not know that you came
into being. But when you have caught the Supreme Moment, you
suddenly come to know - Who you really are. At that instant, when you
have found your Self, the whole universe will have become yours. Just
as by receiving one seed, you have potentially received an infinite
number of trees, so must you capture the One Supreme Moment, the
realization of which will leave nothing unrealized.

The sense of want, of emptiness (abhava), and one’s true

being (svabhava), are in exactly the same place - in fact, they are THAT,
and THAT alone. What is this ‘sense of want’, and what ‘true being’ ?

He, nothing but He.

For the simple reason that there is one single seed, which is the tree as
well as the seed and all its various processes of transformation - truly the
One alone.

You attempt to appease want by want; hence want does not disappear,
and neither does the sense of want. When man awakens to the acute
consciousness of this sense of want, then only does spiritual inquiry
become genuine. You must bear in mind that when the sense of want
becomes the sense of the want of Self-knowledge, then only the real
Quest begins. Whether you call it the One, th Two, or the Infinite,
whatever anyone may say, everything is all right.
 TWENTY
Benares, October 26 th , 1948

Today, SRI MA left for Jhusi. At the Benares railway station a

conversation. took place:

QUESTION: I have heard it said that a yogi can, by the power of his
yoga, lengthen a man’s life to the extent of one or two months at most.
The average yogi’s power cannot achieve more in this respect.

SRI MA: Yes, at a particular stage this is so. But the fact that human life
has been lengthened, even by a month or two, only shows that a further
increase might but be a question of greater yogic power.

One method of increasing the duration of one man’s life is to take a

period from another’s. Then, there is. also a method by which the
prolongation of a man’s span of life can be effected without deducting
the period from someone else’s. Yogis who are able to use their powers
in this way do exist. But where Creative Power is unobstructed - this is
quite a different matter.

QUESTION: Does it then follow that the physical body can be

immortalised?

INQUIRER: Without a doubt; if He is conceived as being omniscient

and omnipotent, how can anything be impossible for Him? Nevertheless,
not a single example of the immortalization of a physical body is to be
found in the Shastras.
Hanuman and some others are said to be immortal, but we are told they
also have to change their bodies from time to time with the help of their
yogic powers.

SRI MA : In the Supreme State everything is possible, as well as

impossible. To say "this or that has never happened", is merely to speak
from the worldly point of view of the individual. If the body has to be
retained in one and the same condition, this too can be and is being done.
Consider the matter now from another standpoint: bodies give rise to
bodies, trees to trees, and so forth. In a certain state there is being and
non-being. Where all that has just been discussed exists, is manifested,
and will continue to be manifested, there - what is, and what is not?
Besides, when you say that no example can be found in the shastras, the
reason for this is, that where Truth stands revealed - to the extent at least
to which it is revealed - those things are known by direct perception.

QUESTION: I have heard you say that one individual may have many
bodies. If this be so, a man may simultaneously practise yoga with one
body and experience the pleasures and pains of life with another. For a
yogi this may be practicable; but how can this happen in the case of an
ordinary person, who is still in ignorance?

SRI MA: Yes, quite so. This can be done by means of yogic powers; for
the ordinary person it seems impossible.

Look! When you see the bud of a flower, you perceive the bud only;
whereas actually the full-blown flower, the fruit, the seed, and the whole
plant, are contained in that little bud. Manifestation is universal and
unlimited, but your vision of it is partial, from one angle, dependent
upon what, at a certain time, appears before your eyes. Look with an all-
round, comprehensive vision and try to find out who a particular yogi, a
particular individual, in reality is!

Your body was first a child’s body, then became a young man’s, and
later will grow aged. Childhood, youth, and old age, are contained within
you. If it were otherwise, from where could they arise? You hear people
 say that as a child your face was such and such. This proves that your
face as a child is present at this moment as well ; otherwise, how could it
be thus described? In a similar manner, your body in every one of its
phases is always present : as it was in the past, is now, and will be in
future. This is so where past, present and future are experienced as being
ever-present.

Time devours ceaselessly. No sooner is childhood over than youth takes

its place; the one swallows up the other. This cannot be grasped by
ordinary perception. Change is observed only to a very slight degree.
Actually appearance, continuance, and disappearance occur
simultaneously in one Place. Every-thing is infinite - infinity and
finiteness are indeed the same. In a garland the thread is one, but there
are gaps between the flowers. It is the gaps that cause want and s-row.
To fill them is to be free from want.

TWENTY-ONE

Benares, March 21 st . 1949.

Someone declared that Vedanta and bhakti were two entirely different
doctrines or lines of approach.

SRI MA: Where doctrines are, there "all-inclusiveness" cannot be. (*A
play upon words: Vada means doctrine in Sanskrit. Tie Bengali
word‘bada’, means exclusion. The letters ‘V’ and ‘b’ sound alike in
Bengali). )
 What is emphasised from one point of view will be rejected from
another. But where is the state in which bhedabheda, difference and non-
difference, have ceased to exist? Some maintain that the conception
of Radha-Krishna is completely vedantic, for Krishna cannot be
without Radha; nor Radha withoutKrishna - they are two in one and one
in two.

INQUIRER: It is said that God’s Eternal Lila is based on duality.

SRI MA: The assumption of duality is also within Oneness; some

advocate this opinion.

QUESTION : What is the actual significance of the terms dharma, lila,

parikara?

SRI MA: They say that even in the midst of this Lila, Oneness remains
unimpaired. What is enjoyed in Lila is rasa, which is unique; and
in Vedanta too, duality is out of the question. Although duality appears
to manifest itself before the eyes of the bhakta, nevertheless, here also
there is nothing but oneness. If one does not view things through the
spectacles of the bhakta, this cannot be grasped. Seen from his angle of
vision, it appears thus.

Suppose when giving initiation the Guru instructs the disciple to practise
the formal worship of Radha-Krishna, and to regard himself as the
servant, andRadha-Krishna as his Master.

By regularly engaging in worship and service of this kind, the following

development may take place:
 First of all one feels that the room in which the worship is
being performed has to be consecrated to the Deity, and He
has to be worshipped with lights, incense, etc. (arati).

As one continues day after day to carry out these acts of

worship, one hegins to question : "Is my Lord as small as
this little image? Does He dwell only in my shrine-room
and nowhere else ?"

By performing His service one gradually comes to feel that

all is His. This feeling grips one and spreads like an
infectious disease.

Someone once said: "Do not venture near Anandamayi Ma,

there are small-pox germs around her." (Laughter.)

Single-minded devotion engenders deep thought, which

expresses itself in action. The Lord’s Light descends on the
devotee, His Power awakens in him and, as a result,
profound inner inquiry blossoms forth.

Then follows a stage, where it happens that one may have a

vision of the Beloved - for instance, while scrubbing the
vessels used for puja, or one may lie asleep and see Him
standing near one’s bed. Look, at first one believed the
Lord to be present in one’s prayer-room, but by and by one
is able to perceive Him here and there. At a further stage,
not anymore in particular places, but wherever one turns
one’s eyes : He is seen sitting in trees, standing in water;
He is perceived within animals and birds. However, even
here one’s vision of Him is not uninterrupted.
 Then comes a time when the Beloved does not leave one anymore;
wherever one may go, He is ever by one’s side and His Presence
constantly felt.

What, now, is the next stage like? The form, variety, appearance of the
tree - all is the Lord. At an earlier stage one perceived Him within all
objects; but now He is not seen within the objects anymore, for there is
nothing but He alone. Trees, flowers, the water and the Iand - everything
is the Beloved, and only He. Every form, every mode of being, every
expression - whatever exists is He, there is none beside Him. It may
occur that a sadhaka continues in this state for the rest of his life.

If everything is the Lord and nothing but He, then one’s body must also
be He - the One Existence. In this state, when one is deeply absorbed
in dhyana,no physical activity - be it the performance of ritual or acts of
service - is possible. For He alone IS. One no longer exists apart from
Him.

What would the Vedantists say?

"There is only one Brahman without a second."

Nevertheless, for some who have attained to this condition, the

relationship between the Lord and His servant remains and is felt thus
"He is the Whole and I am part of Him, and yet there is only the One
Self (Ek Atma)." If the Brahman is described as the splendour
of Krishna’s body - why should one object? Verily, everything is
identical, undivided. To realize this means to be immersed completely
into the Ocean of Oneness.

After this has been accomplished, one can again do paja and service, for
the relationship between Master and servant persists. Mahabir said "He
and I are one; yet He is the Whole and I am part of Him ; He is the
Master, I am His servant." One experiences Wholeness as well as the
status of the Lord’s servant. If, after the One Self has been realized, the
relationship of a servant to his Master still continues, why should anyone
object? At first this was the path to one’s Goal. After Realization it is
He, the One, who serves. This is real service - call it Mukti, call
it Parashakti, call it what you will.
 The spiritual Teacher gives instruction. For Him doing or not
doing japa is exactly the same. It does not involve a contradiction.

Calling Him ‘World teacher’, how one still find fault with Him?

QUESTION: After having realized the Oneness of all, due to what need
or imperfection does it become necessary again to worship a particular
deity?

SRI MA: In that state there is no need or imperfection.

INQUIRER: But then it cannot be service or worship, as we understand

them!

SRI MA: You may call it anything.

The point is this: Sukadeva was a liberated Being; why then did he relate
the Srimad Bhagavata?

What reply have you to this? The need or imperfection that prompted
one to serve and worship at the initial stage has no place here.

The Vedantists discard one thing after another, saying ‘neti, neti’ (‘not
this, not this’ ). Indeed, you see a beautiful flower, and a few days later it
has been reduced to dust; therefore what they say is perfectly true. What
is subject to change will most certainly change. On the other hand,
expressed in the terms of those who believe in the reality of name and
form, one may say: "All names are Thy Name, all forms Thy. Form."
Here name and form are also real. Again, it may be argued: "What is
bound by change is the world. By persevering in the practice of
discrimination, one finally becomes established in the One Reality."

When there is only the One Ocean - nothing but water - one cannot see
oneself as separate from the All.

This is full immersion.

Nevertheless, if outwardly or inwardly, even so much as a hair has

remained dry, it signifies that complete immersion has not yet occurred.
 When a seed has been fried it can never sprout again. Just so, after
realizing Oneness, you may do anything - it no longer contains the seed
of karma. Where this is not present, there, all form and variety are but
THAT. Look, by intense devotion as well as by Vedantic discrimination
one has arrived at the One Essence. Does then ‘to merge into IT’ mean
to become stone-like? Not so, indeed!

For form, variety, manifestation, are nothing but THAT.

The characteristic features of each person’s particular path will of course

be preserved; yet, what is attained is the One, in which no doubt, no
uncertainty can survive. In fact, what is there to be attained?
We are THAT - eternal Truth. Because we imagine that it has. to be
experienced, realized, it remains apart from us. On some levels this point
of view is valid, but on others it is not. The Eternal ever IS. What is
styled ‘the veil of ignorance’ signifies continual motion. Motion means
change, incessant transformation. Yet again, no change takes place
where there is non-action in action. For such a one duality does not exist;
who then eats, and what can he eat? In this state, how can there be
theories or disputes?

If someone argues that, since a certain person speaks, he cannot have

attained to this State, - what does he speak and to whom?

Who is the one to whom he speaks?

This is so when full Realization has come about.

When trying to explain this to others, one comes to see that they have
not understood it.

Does realizing that someone has not understood, imply that one has
oneself reverted to ignorance?
 One has realised both: being able to understand and being unable to
understand. He who is limited by the point of view of the world is in
bondage. But where the vision of THAT is, there, the knowledge of
ignorance and the knowledge of Knowledge stand revealed in their
fullness. There, the question of viewing knowledge and ignorance
separately can simply not arise. Actions such as eating, and so forth, has
now become action in inaction. Whether one still performs ceremonies
or not, what difference does it make? Knowing and not-knowing in their
entirety are now contained within oneself. But to understand this state is
difficult indeed It is easy to comprehend a particular line of approach or
level. But here, there is no question of attainment or non-attainment, and
therefore, even non-attainment is no shortcoming either.

However, if the very slightest attachment has survived, it signifies that

this Sublime State has not yet been reached.

By selling imitation goods people may become rich.

Why are imitation goods purchased at all? Because they resemble the
genuine ones; this is the wonder of it!

But by using them the deception will come to light, and then one will
again search for the genuine article.

Having realized the One Self, and that there is nothing outside of It, one
knows that the image one has worshipped is THAT in a particular form.

Having found Reality, one perceives it in this particular guise:

the deity I adored is none other than the One Self,

the Brahman - there is no second.

 Thus, the One is the Lord I worshipped.

When one has dived into the depth of the sea, water is known to be He in
one form. The aspirant who advances along the path of bhakti will, when
he has attained to the vision of his Master, become a true servant. The
methods of ‘not this, not this’ and ‘this is Thou, this is Thou’ lead to the
One Goal.

By proceeding in one direction It is reached, and by taking the other

direction, one also arrives at the very same Goal.

Those who follow the path of surrender to Shakti, the Divine Energy,
and those who worship the image of Siva, both must finally attain to the
one Shakti,the one Siva.

Those who advance along the line of Vedanta will find that ice is water,
that there is no form, but only the formless ; whereas the bhakta comes
to realize that his Beloved is but the Brahman - everyone has his own
method of approach.

Equality, Oneness must come and become permanent state. Having

achieved it, if someone says : "I am renouncing liberation", or "I am
giving up the worship of my Ista" - even though he may give it up,
nothing will be lost; for in this condition there is neither renouncing nor
retaining.

It may be asked, why there cannot be one and the same path for all?

Because He reveals Himself in infinite ways and forms - verily, the One
is all of them.
 In that State there is no ‘why’.

Quarrels and disputes exist merely on the way.

With whom is one to quarrel? Only while still on the way is it possible to
have disputes and differences of opinion.

TWENTY TWO
QUESTION: Are there as many names of God as there are creeds, or is
there in reality only one creed and one Name?

SRI MA: What is your own opinion, Pitaji?

Someone else: There are many creeds and many paths, but as a matter
of fact, all roads lead to one and the same goal.

SRI MA: Discussion and controversy belong to the path, but actually
everyone is in his own home. The same path is not for everyone.
Brothers of the same family will each have their different inclinations
and likings. Vedanta may appeal to some, Vaishnava to others, and the
cult of Shakti to yet others. Therefore it cannot be said that there is only
one path. In fact, seekers after Truth are moulded each in a unique way,
different frown others as well as from one another; but they all will have
to pass through the gate of Truth.
 QUESTION: Then, are the creeds really different from one another?

SRI MA : You can see for yourself that one Guru has any number of
disciples. Are you trying to convert every one of them to the same creed?
In spite of this, how many sects have not been founded, just as people
have abandoned their own. What you said, Pitaji is very true indeed - but
where?

In that, which emerges when everything is given up.

What then emerges? He Himself - THAT.

INQUIRER: My opinion is a borrowed one, derived from what I have

heard various people say.

SRI MA: Why have you adopted this particular point of view? This body
presents the matter from the standpoint of the is and Munis, from the line
of approach that they have indicated.

Countless opinions and schools of thought exist in the world, but these
will not serve the purpose of a seeker. The method that
the Guru prescribes for him is the one to be adopted: by following that
current he will be carried towards the Ocean.

QUESTION: Ultimately, when the process of time comes to an end, will

all have to merge in that Ocean? But how can it be that those whose
aims are so entirely different, as for instance the Vaishnavas with their
"salokya’, ‘samzpya" etc. and the Vedantists with their ‘Self-poised
state’, should end up by merging in the one Ocean?

From the AUDIENCE: Puffed rice and ‘murmura’ are names for one
and the same thing!
SRI MA: If puffed rice and murmura are the same, why should they be
called by two different names? There must be some element of variation
in the two - although essentially both are just rice.

The sense of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ has remained.

What do you say, Pitaji ? (Laughter). When discussing creeds and paths,
remember: it is only while on the path that one speaks of paths.

INQUIRER: When one has reached beyond the level where every creed
represents a different line of approach, there is no more talk and
controversy.

SRI MA : In ‘there is - not’, ‘there is’ is also implied - for without it,
how could the ‘is not’ have arisen at all? People claim to belong to a
particular sect. But where there is no question of any doctrine, nor of
controversy, there is He al the root - He who is present in all these
innumerable forms.

Whether you speak of the many or of the One, it is a matter of outlook.

One seed is sown, and a tree grows with countless flowers and leaves,
displaying infinite ways of becoming and numberless stages of rest; yet
essentially it is one.

Every creed, every school of thought has its particular method of

approach. So long as you advance along one special path, there is, for
that period, only one path for you. Very well, let us leave this point now.

You asked, did you not, Pitaji, how those who aim at entirely different
goals, can ultimately, - when the process of time comes to an end merge
in the one Ocean? When you speak of an ‘end’, this is within the limits
of time; yet where time is, there is also something beyond it. But where
 the question of ‘end’ or ‘time’ can no more arise, There, all will be
united.

QUESTION : So long as one speaks and discusses, does it mean that

some sort of imperfection stilt persists?

SRI MA: Yes; he who is still within the domain of speech, that is to say,
worldly talk on worldly matters, is in the boundary’ of tie. But ‘There’,
the question of speaking does not arise. This is why the aforesaid does
not apply to a real World-teacher. What a World-teacher says is not like
the speech of this world.

QUESTION: Please explain the nature of worldly and

divine happiness. SRI MA : Divine Happiness - that which
you call parama sukhadam - is pure, unalloyed bliss,
happiness in its own right.

QUESTION : But surely, there is happiness in the world too

SRI MA: Then why do you make this remark-?

QUESTION : Why do people run after material happiness?

SRI MA : You know this happiness from experience, and hence your
question. But God is gracious and makes you see that this so-called
happiness is not happiness. He kindles discontent and anguish in you,
which is due to the want of communion with the Divine. Worldly
happiness is derived from the countless manifestations of God. People
talk and marvel about those who renounce the world, but in actual fact?
it is you yourself Who have renounced everything.

What is this ‘everything’?

God!

Leaving Him aside, everyone is literally practising supreme

renunciation. (Laughter). It is only natural that the sense of want should
awaken. Even in the midst of comforts and pleasures, one feels homesick
in a foreign land. There is distress even in happiness, one’s possessions
are not really one’s own - this is what He causes man to feel. It is said, is
it not, that on being hit one recovers one’s senses, one learns by
receiving blows.

When He manifests Himself as worldly happiness, one dots not feel

contented, for along with it He appears as the sense of want.

But divine happiness, even the tiniest particle of a grain of it, never
leaves one again; and when one attains to the Essence of Things and
finds one’s Self - this is Supreme Happiness.

When it is found, nothing else remains to be found; the sense of want

will not awaken anymore, and the heart’s torment be stilled for ever. Do
not be satisfied with fragmentary happiness, which is invariably
interrupted by shocks and blows of fate; but become complete, and
having attained to perfection, be YOURSELF.

TWENTY THREE
 QUESTION : Why does one not remember one’s former lives?

SRI MA: Through ignorance; there is no knowledge, due to the veil that
hides it.

QUESTION : But why should there be a veil? After the body dies, the
mind continues; for one’s samskaras live on. Since these samskaras
persist, and also because one is able to remember what has happened
today and yesterday, why should the events of one’s past lives be
forgotten ?

SRI MA: Having entered the kingdom of forgetting, everything is

forgotten; this world is the abode of non-remembrance.

QUESTION: Why should so very much be forgotten? A small portion

might at least be remembered!

SRI MA : You say, do you not, that the Lord Buddha talked about the
events of five hundred of his previous lives. Can you recall everything
that you experienced in your present birth, from your childhood until
now? You die at every instant without being aware of it. At present, you
are neither an infant, nor a child, nor a youth. No sooner is a baby born
than he starts of his own accord to drink his mother’s milk, and when he
has drunk, he feels happy and satisfied; by this he has already given full
testimony of former births.

Now also, whenever your hunger has been appeased, you experience a
similar sense of well-being and contentment as you did in your early
childhood, although you do not recollect what you felt at that time.

QUESTION: How is it that samskaras persist?

SRI MA : Through the force of sustained practice (abhyasa yoga). Direct
your efforts towards God-realization, and His remembrance will come to
you automatically at the moment of death. The individual is that which is
bound, and the world perpetual motion. Whatever appears in this world
of creatures is the manifestation of the One.

The fact that you die at every moment, in other words, that Brahma;
Visnu, and Siva are ever at work, becomes evident when the body
expires.

So long as you wander about in the world of forgetting, you must of

necessity forget.

Now what is a samskara? Take for instance the samskara of a temple ;

that is to say, what had already existed becomes revealed. Then again,
whatever you do, consciously or unconsciously, leaves an impression on
your mind, whether you are aware of it or not.

This is styled samskara.

He who has the capacity to see, will be able to discern tit these imprints
or samskaras pertain to previous births. A yogi can perceive the
impressions of a great number of past lives. One may see the events of
thousands of one’s former births, but when the realization has come of
what creation with its ascending and descending currents in reality is,
what will he see then?

He will see, and also not see: and neither will he not see, nor see.

Where everything that exists is revealed in its fullness - this is called

Self-revelation, THAT Itself, the Self-luminous One - call it what you
will.
All that exists anywhere in the world, be it trees and plants, insects,
reptiles, or any other living thing - their birth is indeed your birth,
and their death your death.

On the level where everything is contained within you and you are
preseut in everything, there is only the One, and He alone.

Suppose you are able to visualise a few of your previous lives: your
vision is limited by number. If you recollect the history of your former
births, it means that you know only the course of your own individual
lives, in their own particular times and places. But you are not aware of
your various movements and static states in the whole universe. You see
‘the many’; how will you go beyond this multiplicity? By finding your
Self in the many.

Who is that Self?

HE, and none but He.

So long as He, the Self, has not been revealed, you are imprisoned within
the boundary; boundary means ignorance, and therefore there is
forgetting.

QUESTION: Are you suggesting that we must reach the state of Divinity
(Isvarakoti)?

SRI MA: The question of reaching that state does not arise at all so long
as the veil of ignorance persists.

Whether what has been said refers to Isvarakoti or Sadhakakoti, you

yourself must ascertain!
 QUESTION: Surely, one who has become established in the Self will
naturally forget the world?

SRI MA: In the kingdom of forgetting one forgets. So long as you are
identified with the body (deho), it is your very nature to call out: ‘give,
give!’ (‘deo, deo!’).

You say ‘give!’ because you are in want.

Where want exists, there must needs be error and ignorance; and
where error and ignorance abide, there will most certainly be
forgetting.

When in the mid of all this you practise sadhana in order to realize your
Self, or rather, when by God’s Grace sadhana comes about, - for to be
able to engage in sadhana is itself the Grace of God - then, after having
worked through layers and layers of ignorance, you discover: "I am in
fact the whole".

I am - this is why there are trees and plants, and everything that exists,
however manifold.

Every single form is in fact "I".

Where I am conscious of separateness, my natural expression is to want.

Even in this condition, I am infinite.

 In the very form of the human body lie moods of endless variety and
numberless modes of expression. Indeed, all existing forms are infinite,
and I am likewise infinite.

All forms and distinctive marks I see to be myself; eternally, therefore, I

exist. So then I have discovered this, and that I am of many forms -
infinite forms indeed, with infinite modes of appearance. They exist
within me in ways of infinite diversity, and yet I myself am all of these.
Within me exist the separate modes of display - in endless variation none
are excluded. When the like is directly perceived and all manifold
aspects are recognized as a whole, then the One will certainly be
revealed. How can the One be distinct from the infinite multiplicity? The
many exist in the One and the One in the many.

This is why, when you can visualise five hundred of your former births,
you are still limited by number; for there is so very much more than this!

When you have discovered yourself in all the untold forms, you realize
that the Lord is present in everyone of them.

When the essential nature of infinity and finiteness becomes fully

revealed, you see that there is finiteness in infinity and infinity in the
finite. Now you are in a position to resolve the polarity of Sakara (God-
with-form), and Nirakara (God-without-form).

Look, if there - were no veil of ignorance for the individual, how could
God’s Lila be carried on? When acting a part one must forget oneself;
the Lilacould not proceed without the covering veil of ignorance.

Consequently it is but natural that the veil should be there. So, the world
is the perception by the senses of what is projected, Srsti-drsti.
 To be a separate individual means to be bound, and that which binds is
the veil of ignorance : here is the clue to the forgetting about which you
asked.

When you speak of previous births you intuitively feel: "Was there
ever a time when I was not?"

It is you who speak in terms of ‘before’ and ‘after’, since you are
confined within the realm of time. But really there is no question of ‘in
time’ and ‘out of time’; nor of day and night, ‘before’ and ‘after’. So
long as. one remains enslaved by time, there will be birth and death.
Actually, there is no such thing as rebirth Still, at some stage the
memory of previous lives will most certainly occur, but what is the
significance of ‘before’ and ‘after’, since I exist throughout eternity?

QUESTION: If someone advances along the path of advaita, will he

acquire vibhutis (supernormal powers)?

SRI MA: If you speak of a sadhaka who aspires to the state of

unqualified Oneness (advaita sthiti), then, even if supernormal powers
come to him, he will not accept them.

Whereas the aspirant who worships God with form and attributes, will
accept whatever psychic or super-psychic powers are granted to him,
regarding them as manifestations of the One.

Such powers are bound to be developed in the course of sadhana, since

they represent the fruit of one’s efforts.
 The word ‘vibhuti’ signifies the various manifestations of the All-
Pervading (Vibhu). For this reason it is only natural and certain
thatvibhutis should come. The aspirant must however take care not
to be possessed by these powers, because his progress would then be
arrested at that stage.

The seeker following the path of advaita will not accept duality.

On the other hand, one who contemplates God-with-form will not accept
non-duality, yet, in the course of his practice will arrive at the
understanding that the One Supreme Form is revealed in all forms.

What is termed Nirguna, the Attributeless, must also become fully

revealed. Thus the resolution of the apparent discrepancy
between Sakara andNirakara must come.

When, on attaining to a certain state, multiplicity disappears, this must

not be mistaken for Self-realization. To those who advance by the
method ofadvaita, the realization of the One Self must come
through viveka and vairgya.

When all differences have been burnt up and everything has merged into
the One, this marks a state of achievement that some may call advaita
sthiti (the state of unqualified Oneness).

The ever-changing world, with its varying movements and states of rest,
and all diversity, have completely vanished; only the One remains. Here
the ‘many’ are simply non-existent; there is only One Supreme
Reality (Brahman), One Self (Atman). This is styled the state of advaita.
 Expressed from a different point of view, all is Pure
Consciousness (cinmayi) and nothing but that: nama, dhama -
everything; form, diversity, appearance are actually Consciousness
and in fact non-material (aprakrta).

In that state there are no ‘others’, only He alone exists as the One
Supreme Form. Diversity, as perceived from the worldly point of view,
has no place here. The word ‘vibhuti’ consists of ‘vibhu’ (He alone as the
One Form), and ‘ti’, which stands for ‘Tini’ (He), and signifies that the
Almighty reveals Himself in the many as the One Supreme Form -just as
there is ice in water and water in ice.

If there were no water, out of what could ice have formed?

If it did not lie in the nature of water to become solid under certain
conditions, how could ice come into being? In other words; all is in Him
and He in all.

This is expressed by ‘Sarvang khalvidam Brahman’ (all this

is Brahman). When the seeker realizes himself as the eternal servant, this
is a state of non-duality. ‘Eternal servant’ denotes that there is nothing
transient in this relationship. THAT manifests as forms and modes of
being.
 If someone who aspires at the Formless realizes Him as the One-
without-a second, but fails to realize Him in the field of His Divine
Play, his realization is not complete, for he has not resolved the
problem of duality.

Different methods of approach have been described here. But

Realization must be all-comprehensive, all-embracing, and one must
recognise one’s Self in everything.

The tree yields a shoot, and out of this shoot grows a tree. A spreading
tree is potentially contained in the small shoot. But as one gets new
shoots from this tree, It has again come back to itself.

**

That the One is in all, and that all abide in the One, have to be revealed
simultaneously.

It is and it is not, yet neither is it not, nor is it, - how can this be?

When looking at a seed one sees only the seed, but not the plant, or
anything else; but when the tree has developed, it bears leaves, flowers,
fruit, there is then an endless variety of growth. In the seed as such
nothing else exists ; therefore one may say ‘it is not’. Yet again, when it
is a tree, everything exists. To say ‘what does not exist now, did not exist
in the past’ is also correct. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that it does not
exist, for what has once appeared, is.
 Then also, it is not, because it was not.

How can all this be possible?

THAT manifests in an infinite diversity of ways and also as one integral

Whole. Where is the language to express all this?

It is said that there is Being, there is Non-being, and yet neither Being
nor Non-being.

The same inexpressible Truth is experienced in two ways: as Self-

luminous Silence, or as the Eternal Play of the One.

He Himself playing all the parts. In the aforesaid a state has been
described where everything is burnt and transformed into the One, so
that no trace of it can be found in spite of all searching. To say that
everything has been transformed into the One, means that here an
element of obscurity has still remained ; for this, surely, is not Self-
realization - the Kingdom of Pure Consciousness has not yet come.
There is no knowing when one may emerge from this ‘state of
obscurity’.

When the kingdom of Pure Consciousness has been attained, Form is

revealed as the Essence Itself. What was sorrow from the worldly point
of view is now v iraha, separation from THAT, in other words, the
agony of existing in a particular form. This ‘separation is without end,
and manifests in ever new ways. By a mere stroke of God’s imagination
this vast universe comes into being. What actually is this creation?
 He Himself, the One.

Why then are there distinctions, why should there be ‘others’?

There are no ‘others’. The ocean is contained in the drop.

How can this be?

When the One reveals Himself as a form (vigraha) - say for instance, as
Radha- Krishna - this vigraha exists eternally.

Where?

In Vrindavana.

For him, whose knots of the heart have been undone,

only Vrindavana exists, and nothing else. What you have thus realized
as Lila is infinite ; and how will this infinity be known? By discarding
the world and all that belongs to it? Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said;
"The Great Mother dances." Who is aVaishnava? One who
sees Vishnu every-where. The idea that the world has a boundary is
delusive; consequently, the conception of many different powers is also
an illusion. It is you who have created the distinction between the natural
and the supernatural; as a matter of fact all and every-thing is but
His Lila; In the All He his to be found. The supernatural is not apart
from the rest. If one remains confined within the boundary, one’s heart
cannot becomeVrindavana.

When Realization has occurred, there is nothing but Vrindavana, nothing

but va, complete non-duality. Then only can it be said that the entire
universe is His Divine Play.

Prakrti, which prompts one to distinguish between ‘this’ and ‘that’, is

also His.
In the state of Pure Being, the distinction between the natural and super-
natural ceases to exist. When Consciousness is being revealed in its
undivided Oneness, some find themselves in a pure Self-conscious
Silence (advaita), while It presents itself to others as His Divine Play. He
is Form (vigraha), and at the same time He is not. The
word samagra (whole, complete) denotes that sama (equality) comes firs
and foremost (agra). If it is not realized that equality comes first of all, it
means that one will still observe from the viewpoint of the world, which
is not advaita.

Whereas, when advaita has been attained, this signifies the recovery of
one’s original state. In worldly life one had been drowned in sorrow and
affliction - drowned means obscured (by the veil) - all this has now been
left behind and there is only THAT. His Presence has. revealed itself in
everything; one realizes that it is He alone who appears as being and also
as becoming. Who is the pratibimba (reflection) of Reality?

Also He alone.

In this condition - who can cause one pain or trouble? Your whole Being
is now in a state of complete integration. The grief that made you
miserable today has become the separation from the One. Worldly
sorrow comes through the sense of want, but to pine for God is man’s
true nature.

What are the experiences of a seeker who contemplates God with form
and attributes? At first he is engrossed solely in the particular
deity (murti) he adores. Then, as he progresses, he begins to question: "Is
my Beloved as small as that? No, indeed He dwells in Rama, Krishna,
Siva, Durga, and in all other deities. My Lord has many faces." At a later
stage he comes to realize that his Beloved abides in every creature, and
every creature in Him. On this pilgrimage there are many lines of
approach, and along’ each of them there are many states and stages. The
development along one particular line is described in the following: To
begin with, one is convinced that none can be likened to one’s own
chosen deity. If this attitude does not prevail at the start, deep devotion
cannot be developed. However, by and by, as one’s faith and adoration
grow, one comes to feel that one’s Beloved is no other than the One.
One’s intense love and veneration will not allow one any longer to hold
a petty conception of Him.
 The sadhaka’s humility and devotion increase; at last he realizes that
ultimately the One is in everything and everything in Him. In the One he
has now rediscovered the form of his own Beloved. From the seed the
tree has grown, and the tree has again yielded the same kind of seed.

"Devo bhutva devam yajet". ("Only by becoming identified with the

Lord, can one worship Him.")

If; after Self-realization, after one’s essential Being has revealed Itself,
one still performs the worship of one’s particular deity, it means
engaging in one’s own worship. This is Lila.

QUESTION: Whose Lila?

SRI MA: There is only God’s Lila.

Whose could it possibly be?

TWENTY-FOUR
Benares, March 20 th , 1949.
 QUESTION: If God is not different from the world, why should so
much stress be laid on maintaining it ?

SRI MA : No stress at all is laid on this; whether the world exists or

not, the question does not even arise.

INQUIRER : Some hold the opinion that the vision of the Munis and is
who attained to the Brahman was incomplete, because they lost the
world. They further contend that the world will remain as it is in name
and form. This seems as impossible as for a stone cup to be described as
golden.

SRI MA : Those who hold these opinions have not attained to Oneness.
They have kept themselves aloof from the world and yet speak of saving
it. Although they do not know what the existing world is actually like,
they want to establish a new kingdom. By realizing that the whole
universe is THAT, and nothing but THAT, it is transformed; this much
may be said.

To declare that the world ever remains what it is now, means that the
world as such is still perceived. Moreover, what have I gained or lost by
discussing the world? There is no question of denying the existence of
the world by declaring that it is alien from God; and there is no question
either of whether it exists or not.
It is said that He is in diversity as well as in oneness - just like water and
ice. Where water is called ice, that is to say, where space and form
appear, there form is also He. Why do you not grasp this?

Vapour as vapour will never become water as such.

INQUIRER: So far as the theory of evolution holds good, there is

diversity as well as identity.

Someone else: Worldly knowledge is of the many, and the Knowledge of

Reality (Brahmajnam) is of Oneness; how can both exist together in the
same place ?

INQUIRER: The oneness of Reality is not in contradiction to

multiplicity. Generally speaking one can distinguish four planes:

(1) The world alone appears, in other words, diversity; this is the plane
of ignorance.

(2) At times the world or the many appear and at other times Oneness,
which is Reality; this is the plane of nirvikalpa samadhi in yoga.

3. The world appears, reposing within the Brahman.

INQUIRER: There is no world! This is how it appears. When light

removes darkness, how can darkness be still perceived? The Brahman is
everyone’s fulfilment and nobody’s obstacle. That which is Caitanya
(Pure Consciousness) is Itself this and that object. But according to the
people mentioned above, there are two: form, as well as Pure
Consciousness. However, I should say, what appears as form is nothing
but Pure Consciousness.
 SRI MA: Even so, you have to speak of form?

INQUIRER: Yes, I speak of form, because 1 see its essence. My son is

acting the part of Rama, yet I know that he is my son. If the knowledge of
the world does not persist when the Brahman is realised, the possibility
of Jivanmukti (which is a fact) cannot be established, for the simple
reason that for such a one, contact with the world is impossible.

For him fire and water are both expressions of the one Brahman;
consequently he might swallow fire instead of drinking water.

According to some doctrines, perfection has not been attained so long as

‘this’ (the world) is perceived. There is a stage beyond it where there is
no more duality, and one becomes established on the plane of Oneness.
This should be understood to represent the fourth of the four planes
previously mentioned. (These planes are different from the seven planes
spoken of in yoga.)

I consider the third plane the highest; namely the play of duality rooted
in Oneness. In other words, on this plane there is oneness in duality and
duality in oneness.

He who is liberated, may nevertheless come out into the world and seem
to act like an ordinary man, while his Realisation remains perfectly
intact.

‘Sarvang kalvidam Brahman’ (‘All this is Brahman’), and ‘neti, neti’

(‘not this, not this’) are not contradictory in the least.

On this plane, the whole and the part exist in the same place; although
there is a difference between the two, namely, the whole and the parts :
flowers and leaves are different, yet they belong to the same tree. This is
why I will not acknowledge the difference of one part from the other, nor
of the parts from the whole. Am I wrong when I understand it in this
way?
SRI MA : Whatever is said is correct from the standpoint from which it
is said. In dhyana or samadhi there comes a stage where there is no
possibility even of perceiving a second besides the One.

There, the behaviour that arises out of duality can-not occur. What is
referred to here, is a state in which there is no movement, although there
appears to be. How can movement be possible here? When such a person
is seen acting, someone may perhaps remark: "He has descended in
order to do some particular work." When an M. A. reads the a b c does
he thereby lose his status as an M. A.? There is a state, where nothing
can possibly appear as a ‘second’.

Having dived into the Ganges, one is bound to be wholly drenched.

When established in Pure Being, one does not stray from it anymore.
However, before one’s status has ripened to perfect maturity, one may
have occasional lapses; but what has once been realized will, as it were,
draw one back to itself. At this stage there is oscillation between two
directions; yet it is a marvellous state, not one of ignorance. The next
stage is bhava; one enters and leaves it alternately, becoming immersed,
and then floating once more on the surface. Going still further, even this
state passes, and one becomes absolutely inert like a stone. If one has not
arrived at this rock-like inertness, and is still experiencing ecstatic
fervour with its ups and downs, - this is not a perfect, although a
supernormal state. It is like being alternately in a cool room and going
outside into the heat. Then comes Perfection, complete and final
immersion. When this has taken place, He who has achieved it, is still
seen to move and act as you do, but actually He neither goes anywhere,
nor eats, nor does he perceive anything.

INQUIRER: This sounds like a contradiction in terms he eats, yet does

not eat; he goes, yet does not go-how can this be?

SRI MA : Once immersed, one will have to be stabilised in that

condition, where the inner and the outer have fused into one. I eat as you
do, go about the same as you do. If one feels that the statement "he eats
 and yet does not eat" is self-contradictory, then one’s ‘realization’ of
the Brahman is of a piecemeal variety.

There is no ground for contradiction.

How can Oneness be limited? By limitation it would be broken up. This

is why it was said that there is no question of eating or not eating, and so
on. However, it is difficult to understand, even in part, whether someone
is asleep or in samadhi : gold and brass look more or less alike. But
when gold has been touched, one is transformed into it.

How can one who lives on the plane of the Brahman see petty
differences?

Due to your partial vision you perceive incongruity. There is in fact no

question of having realized or being in ignorance.

If someone calls himself a ‘man of Realization’, he thereby assumes a

certain position.

What does Self-realization signify? Knowledge, all comprehensive and

unlimited in every respect. What you have been, nay, what you are in
reality, becomes revealed. From whatever line of approach or attitude of
mind anyone may hold any view, everything is right. Just as you say:
‘He walks without feet, He sees without eyes." If limited by any place or
qualification, by any form or mode, be it through inclusion or exclusion -
the Realization is not full, not complete. What is expressed from any
standpoint, is seen from that particular angle, in a particular way; for
space and time have remained. This body does not falsify matters, it
speaks the exact truth. Everything is correct from the point of view from
which it is said.
 INQUIRER: If as you declare, everything is correct, then suppose
someone, wishing to have darshana of Visvanatha goes to a Durga
temple and says "This is Yisvanatha," is this also correct?

SRI MA : At a certain level one may rightly say :

"Yes, this is Visvanatha", because at that moment, it will

be Visvanatha. The Visvanatha now thought of in his mind will reveal
Himself exactly the same as the Visvanatha limited by time and space;
for everything is contained in everything. But it may also be said
that Vishvanatha is not in a temple ofDurga; Truth can be expressed in
many ways. All kinds of replies may be given.

INQUIRER: If whatever anyone says is correct, why then did Sri

ankaracarya, who was a man of Realization (Brahmajnani), refute the
arguments of his opponents?

SRI MA: Whenever it is necessary that anything should be done, it will

be done without fail. The top of the tree contains its root, because the
seeds are everywhere present ; there is no contradiction.

TWENTY FIVE
 SRI MA: You want to know whether Grace (ahetuka krpa) is without
cause or reason?

Certainly; for Grace is by its very nature beyond cause or reason.

When working, one reaps the fruit of one’s actions.

If, for instance, you serve your father and he, being pleased with your
service, gives you a present, this would be called the fruit of action. One
does something and receives something in return. But the eternal
relationship that by nature exists between father and son, does surely not
depend on any action.

The Supreme Father, Mother and Friend - verily, God is all of these.
Consequently, how can there be a cause or reason for His Grace? You
are His, and in whatever way He may draw you to Him, it is for the sake
of revealing Himself to you. The desire to find Him that awakens in man
- who has instilled it into you? Who is it that makes you work for its
fulfilment?

Thus you should try to arrive at the understanding that everything on

ginats from Him. Whatever power, whatever skill you possess, - why,
even you yourself - from where does everything arise ? And does it not
all have for purpose the finding of Him, the destroying of the veil of
ignorance?

Whatever exists has its origin in Him alone.

So then, you must try to realize yourself.

Are you master even of a single breath? To whatever small degree He

makes you feel that you have freedom of action, if you understand that
this freedom has to be used to aspire after the realization of Him, it will
be for your good.

But if you regard yourself as the doer, and God as being far away, and if,
owing to His apparent remoteness, you work for the gratification of your
desires, it is wrong action.

You should look upon all things as manifestations of Him.

When you recognize the existence of God, He will reveal Himself to you
as compassionate, or gracious, or merciful, in accordance with your
attitude towards Him at the time.

Just as, for example, to the humble He becomes the Lord of the Humble.

If you say "He is immutable, yet He also acts" you call Him the doer,
when in reality He is action-less.

Since your ego sees itself as the doer, you think of Him as equally
performing action.

Of course, He is whatever you take Him to be.

On the other hand, where THAT is just think - who is to become the doer
of what action, and upon what is he to act? He walks without feet, He
sees without eyes, He hears without ears, and eats without a mouth - in
whatever way you may describe Him, so He is.

When a sadhaka starts worshipping a vigraha of his Beloved, he will in

the course of his practice attain to a condition in which the form of his
Beloved is beheld, wherever his eyes may fall.
 Next he comes to realize : "All other deities are contained in my
Beloved."

He sees that everyone’s Lord, in fact all things, are contained in his
own Ista, and that his Ista also dwells in all deities, as indeed, in
everything.

The sadhaka comes to feel: "As my Lord resides within me, so He, who
is present within everyone else, is truly the same Lord. In water and on
land, in trees, shrubs and creepers - everywhere in the whole universe
abides my Beloved. Further, all the various forms and modes of being
that we behold, are they not expressions of my Beloved? For there is
none save Him.

He is smaller than the smallest, and grater than the greatest."

Actuated by your various inborn tendencies, you each worship a

different deity. The true progress in one’s spiritual experience depends
on the sincerity and intensity of one’s aspiration. The measure of a
person’s spiritual advance will be reflected in the manifestations that are
vouchsafed to him of his Ista, who will by no means remain inaccessible
or separate from His devotee, but let Himself be contacted in an infinite
variety of ways.

Conditioned though you be, you will find the All within you and on the
other hand, be able to grasp that your Own innate tendencies are also
part or this All. What has been said here, represents one point of view.

You cannot dissociate yourself from the Whole.

The multifarious kinds of beasts, birds, men and so forth - what are they
all? What are these varieties of shapes, of modes of being, what is the
essence within them? What really are these ever-changing forms?

Gradually, slowly, because you are rapt in the contemplation of your

Beloved, He becomes revealed to you in every one of them; not even a
grain of sand is excluded. You realise that water, earth, plants, animals,’
birds, human beings, are nothing but forms of your Beloved. Some
experience it in this manner-realization does not come to everyone in the
same way. There are infinite possibilities.

Consequently, the specific path along which - for any particular person
the Universal will reveal itself in its boundlessness, remains concealed
from the average individual.

What you have just heard in the discourse on the Shrimad

Bhdgavata about the universal body of the Lord, which comprises all
things - trees, flowers, leaves, hills, mountains, rivers, oceans, and so
forth, a time will come, must come, when one actually perceives this all-
pervading Universal Form of the One. The variety of His shapes and
guises is infinite, uncountable, without end.

"He who is multi-shaped, who constantly creates and destroys these His
forms, He is the One whom I adore."

To the degree that you grow in the ever fuller and wider recognition of
this truth, you will realise your oneness with each of these numberless
forms.

In this immensity there are diverse shapes, diverse modes, manifested in

diverse ways, without end, without number - and yet there is end and
number. When a sadhaka enters this state, he becomes conscious of the
perpetual transformation of all forms and moods. He awakens to true
understanding, that is to say, he comes to realize that the Supreme
 Himself manifests as the power of understanding. When the current of
one’s thinking that was directed towards worldly matters, is reversed and
turned inwards, the One Himself becomes revealed as the ‘secret skill':
Look at the ever-changing world, where what exists at one moment is
non-existent the next, where being is continually entering into non-being
- who then is this non-being? Even the non-existent exists.

In this connection it must be said that, if one wants to find Truth,

everything will have to be realized as it is in its own place, without
choosing one thing rather than another. It is a Kingdom without end, in
which even, what is discerned as non-existence is equally an expression
of the One.

In Cinmayi, the purely spiritual world, all forms - whatever they be -

are ever eternal. Therefore, simultaneously and in the same place,
there is non-existence as well as existence, and also neither non-
existence, nor existence - and more of the kind if you can proceed
further!

Very well, just as ice is nothing but water, so the Beloved is without
form, without quality, and the question of manifestation does not arise.

When this is realized, one has realized one’s Self.

 For, to find the Beloved is to find my Self to discover that God is my
very own, wholly identical with myself, my innermost Self, the Self of
my Self.

Then, according to the exigency of time and circumstance, various

possibilities may take effect; as for example, the revelation
of mantras and even of the entire Vedas by the ancient Risis, who were
seers of mantras. All this will occur in consonance with the individual
karma and inner disposition of the person concerned.

When a sddhaka realizes what form and formlessness essentially are, it

is indeed a consummate Realization.

He comes to know what bhava is, the inner relation of form to the Sabda
Brahman, numerous types of language - endless in variety - and he also
realizes language as Sabda Brahman. Sounds, numberless in kind,
manifest themselves before him, each in its own characteristic visual
shape; this is so where all forms become visible. All the same, form is
really void; one sees that freedom from form means the realization that
form itself is the void. In this way the world reveals itself as void, before
merging into the Great Void (Mahasunya). The void that is perceived
within the world is a part of prakrti, and therefore still form. From this
void one will have to proceed to the Great Void.

It is the perception of the world, based upon the identification of yourself

with body and mind, that has all along been the source of your bondage.

A time will come, when this kind of perception will give way before the
awakening of universal consciousness, which will reveal itself as an
aspect of Supreme Knowledge.

When this Knowledge of the Essence of Things has come, what happens
to the Essence Itself?

Ponder over this !

 When insight into form and the formless dawns in its boundlessness,
everything will be uprooted. On transcending the level where form,
diversity, manifestation exist, one enters into a state of formlessness.

What can this be called?

Godhead, the ParamAtma Himself.

As the individual self becomes gradually freed from all fetters, which are
nothing but the veil of ignorance, it realises its oneness with the Supreme
Spirit(ParamAtma) and becomes established in its own Essential Being.

Now to another aspect of the matter.

Everyone has his own path. Some, advancing along the line
of Vedanta, find, as they progress, the path of Risi opening out for them.

To others also, whose spiritual practices, worship, or yoga, proceed with

the help of images and other intermediary aids, the same path of
a Risi may become disclosed.

Yet others, guided by voices and locutions from the unseen, at first hear
these voices as audible sounds, but gradually hear them in perfect
language, conveying the full significance of what is expressed. By and
by it becomes evident that these voices arise from one’s own Self, and
that they are He Himself, manifesting in that particular way.

No matter what be anyone’s line of approach, in due course the path of

a Risi or a similar path may open out for him in one manner or another.
 But at what time this will occur and to whom, is beyond the ken of the
ordinary person’s understanding.

Well, now suppose a man follows his own specific path, which happens
to be the worship of a deity.

Who actually is present as that particular deity?

Certainly the One, who is the formless Self!

Consequently, just as the formless Self is He, so is the concrete object of

worship. One who, by the method of Veddi, has become fully established
in the Self, may also find the Supreme Reality in the vigraha, just as
water is contained in ice.

He will then come to see that all vigrahas are really spiritual forms of the
One.

For what is hidden in ice?

Water of course.

Where He is present as the All, in that ice there are stages of melting,
like slid and semi-solid ice.

But in the pure Self, the question of stages cannot arise.

Although ice may be melting, yet it had become ice, and the possibility
of its existing as such again is there.
Consequently, for Him who Himself manifests in the form of ice, there
can be no question of the eternal or the non-eternal.

Hence one speaks of dvaita-dvaita, signifying that dualism and non-

dualism are both facts - just as you are father and son all at once.

How can there be a son without a father, or a father without a son?

In this way one sees that neither of the two is less important than the
other and that here, there can be no distinction between higher and
lower; there is only equality, sameness.

However, there is a place where one can actually speak of higher and
lower states. Each of the two stand-points is complete in itself. (No
simile can be applicable in every detail, therefore take note only of that
much for which it is intended.)

Thus: both water and ice partake of the nature of eternity.

Likewise, He is as indubitably with form as He is without.

When with form - which is compared to ice - He appears in the guise of

countless shapes and modes, each one of them His own Spiritual
Form (Cinmayi Vigraha). Depending on one’s avenue of approach,
prominence is given to one particular form.

Why should there be so many different religious sects and sub-sects?

Through every one of them He gives Himself to Himself, so that each

person may advance according to his individual uniqueness.
 He alone is water as well as ice.

What is there in ice?

Nothing but water.

According to dvaita-dvaita, duality and non-duality are both facts;

expressed from this position, there is form as well as freedom from form.
Again, when saying there are both duality and non-duality, where does
this kind of statement hold good? There is certainly a level where
difference and non-difference are perceived simultaneously.

In very truth, He is as much in difference as He is in non-difference.

Look, from the worldly point of view, one quite obviously assumes that
there are differences. The very fact that you are endeavouring to find
your Self, shows, that you accept difference, that, in the manner of the
world, you think of yourself as separate.

From this standpoint difference undoubtedly exists.

But then the world is inevitably heading towards

destruction (nasa), since it is not the Self (na Sva), not He (na a).

It cannot last for ever.

Yet, who is it that appears even in the guise of the ephemeral? Ponder
over this! Well then, what goes and what comes?
 Behold, it is movement as that of the sea (samudra), He expressing
Himself (Sva mudra).

The waves are but the rising and the falling, the undulation of the water,
and it is water that forms into waves (taranga) - limbs of His own
body (tar anga)- water in essence. What is it that makes the same
substance appear in different forms, as water, ice, waves? This again is
asked from a particular plane of consciousness.

Reflect and see how much of it you can grasp!

No simile is ever valid in all respects.

What lesson have you actually derived from it?

Find out!

What you thought of as with-form you have understood to be formless.

However, the realization of Truth cannot come through this process of

speculation - this also you will certainly come to see.

The aforesaid implies that He eternally manifests, displaying form and

quality, and yet is without form and quality; and still further, that the
question of attributes and attribute-lessness cannot arise since there is
solely the One-without-a-second.

You speak of the Absolute as Truth, Knowledge, Infinity.

 In pure advaita no question of form, quality, or predication-be it
affirmative or negative - can possibly arise.

When you say : "This indeed is He and that also is He", you have limited
yourself by the word ‘also’, and as a result assume the separateness of
the thing referred to. In the One there can be no ‘also’. The state of
Supreme Oneness cannot be described as ‘THAT, and also something
other than THAT’. In the attributeless Brahman there ca be no such
thing as quality or absence of quality; there is only the Self alone.

Suppose you hold that He is with quality, embodied.

When you become wholly centred in the particular form you adore, then
formlessness does not exist for you -this is one state (sthiti). There is
another state where He appears with attributes as well as without. There
is yet another state where difference as well as non-difference exist -
both being inconceivable - where He is quite beyond thought.

Besides, one can take the stand of the Vedic Karmakanda.

This and all that has been said above, is within the Supreme State, of
which it is said that, even though the Whole is taken from the Whole, the
Whole remains unimpaired. There can be no additions and no
subtractions; the wholeness of the Whole remains unaltered. Whatever
line you may follow represents a particular aspect of it. Each method has
its own mantras, its own methods, its beliefs and disbelief - to what
purpose?

To realize Him, your own Self.

Who or what is this Self?

Depending on your orientation, you find Him, who is your own Self, in
the relation of a perfect servant to his Master, of a part to the Whole, or
simply as the One Self (Atma).

Look, if one believes in Svayam Bhagavan, His Divine Power (Sakti) is

already taken for granted. Here you distinguish
between Bhagavan andBhagavati, between God as male and His Power
as female.

Yet from one standpoint there is no question of male or female, while

from another the Divinity is conceived as divided into these two aspects.
The Eternal Virgin (Kumari) does not depend on anyone, She is the One
Itself as POWER.

Where the Supreme Reality is conceived as Shakti; It is recognized as

Pure Existence (Sattva) - with form or without form,- Power alone
constituting Its Essence.

This represents yet another standpoint.

When bhava (the mood to create) manifests as kriya (action), then only
can form emerge.

This also is a way of seeing it.

Further, if you think of Bhagavat Herself as Sakti, there are untold

manifestations of Her Infinite Power.

Again, Mahashakti is the root-cause of everything - of creation,

preservation, dissolution. Just as in the case of a tree, boughs and
branches spring forth from its root, so all kinds and orders of deities,
angels, archangels, and so forth, come into being as the manifestations of
that Power.

The specific character of Siva is a transcendence of all change and

mutation, symbolized by a sava - (corpse), which signifies that in the
death of death lies Immortality, namely Sva.

Where creation, preservation and dissolution occur, He is present as

becoming and He Himself preserves the universe as what is
called: Mahavishnu.
 As regards the various cosmic positions, He is indeed in all of them,
manifesting Himself in diverse ways, and as the formless. In each of
them all the rest are contained, and in this multi-formity behold the One!

When you gaze at one form you cannot see any other, but in each of
them the All is present, and every form reveals the One.

In the void there is fullness, and in fullness the void.

There are possibilities of every kind and description, but the root is the
One, the Great Light.

He is infinite.

Even when speaking merely of one path - how can the’ end of it be
found? Yet, when the individual is unable to proceed any further, then
there seems to be an end.

What is Pure Existence (Sattva)? The Self, the Supreme Spirit, call it
what you will. That which you variously name God (Bhagavan), Divine
Majesty, Glory or Splendour,- is only He, the One.

Very well, God is immutable, the non-doer (akarta), since He does not
act. Only one who engages in action may be described as the doer of that
action. Since He Himself is present in all causes and effects, how can
one speak of Him as controlling or not controlling them?

Thus, here He is actionless.

But where His maya is, where the display of His Divine Power and
Majesty is perceived, and where nature function according to fixed laws,
who manifests there?
 The One of course.

Mutable and immutable - these one-sided views of yours, belong to the

veil of ignorance. You speak of Him as the doer or non-doer, trying to
limit Him to the one or the other. From your angle of vision it is but
natural to perceive differences. He is whatever you take Him to be; you
see Him according to your way of thinking, and as you portray Him, so
He is.

As long as the curtain, the veil of ignorance exists, one is bound to see
and hear in this restricted way. Until the obscuration is removed, how
can one expect the revelation of Truth to occur in its entirety? When the
veil is rent asunder, the fact will be disclosed that even the rending of the
veil, in fact all that exists or occurs anywhere, is but He Himself.

Very well, the many creeds and sects serve the purpose that He may
bestow Himself on Himself along various channels - each has its own
beauty - and that He may be discovered as immanent, revealing Himself
in countless ways, in all shapes, and in the formless.

As the Path, He attracts each person to a particular line, in harmony with

his inner dispositions and tendencies.

The One is present in each sect, even though in some cases there appears
to be conflict among them, due to the limitations of the ego. This body
however, does not exclude anything. He, who follows one particular
creed or sect, will have to proceed right up to the point where he knows
all that it stands for in its entirety. When advancing along one line, in
other words, when adhering to one particular religion, faith or creed-
which you conceive as distinct and as conflicting with all the others -
you will, first of all, have to realize the perfection to which its Founder
points and then, what is beyond, will of itself become revealed to you.
What has just been explained is applicable in the case of each of the
various sects; yet it is of course true that, if one remains satisfied with
whatever can be achieved by following one line, the Goal of human life
has not been attained. What is required is a Realization that will uproot
conflict and divergence of opinion, which is complete and free from
inherent antagonism.
If it be anything less than that, it means that one's experience is partial,
incomplete. In the event of true Realization, one can have no quarrel
with anyone - one is fully enlightened as to all faiths and doctrines, and
sees all paths as equally good. This is absolute and perfect Realization.
So long as there is dissension, one cannot speak of attainment.
Nevertheless, one should undoubtedly have firm faith in! one's Ista and
pursue one's chosen path with constancy and single-mindedness.

As to the fruit of action. Just consider, where along whatever line of

approach-effort is sustained without a break and with undivided
concentration on the one Goal, who will thus be revealed?

He, the Indivisible One!

But even in action as such, the Perfect One stands Self-revealed. This is
the real significance of each action, of the striving, which is the innate
characteristic of the individual. Man's true nature prompts him to do
actions that give it expression, his true nature awakens in him the urge to
perform actions of this type. Man's true nature, Sva, Svayam, Atma - call
it by any name - it is the Supreme, I myself.