PREFACE
Looking at the present state of the society I am deeply hurt. In the name of Shree Samarth I thought it prudent to write few things which may help in the menacingly spreading misdeeds to be burnt in the fire of wisdom. I had decided to spend time in solitude for two years, without reading or writing anything and remaining in peace with my own mind and self, but as the old saying goes, Although the mother bird flies in the skies, her attention never wavers from her off springs, I also had to break my silence and yet to respect my earlier commitment I am writing this ‘Folk song of Moksha’ and the ‘Moksha message’ with a straw and sending it to you. See the already seen/decipher the already deciphered/read the already read/again and again// (Dasbodh. 11-8-9). As said in the Bramhopanishad ‘Awruttiraskrutupadeshat’ I have repeatedly stressed and written on relentless studies, the real form of joy and disenchantment so that one can firmly decide on one’s further path. Do not consider this as a repetition but use this to benefit yourself. Venting of the feelings makes your mind calm and peaceful, therefore I have written my sincere thoughts which have intuitively come out for your perusal, Found here is/determination for knowledge//
-SHREEDHAR SWAMIJI
|| SHREE RAM SAMARTH ||
THE WAY TO MOKSHA
1. ATTAINING HAPPINESS: WAYS AND IMPLICATIONS
The Universe is a laboratory for happiness. Whatever experiments are done here are for attaining happiness. If we want to know the common aim of all the people in this world, it can be safely said to be happiness.
Shree Shankaracharya says, If you feel that your hypothesis is limited to this world only then you are grossly wrong. It is applicable to the whole of the Universe. Although the aim of happiness is the same the ways to attain it are different viz. Material and Spiritual. The outcome of these two ways is obviously material and spiritual. The signs of them are different. Relative to the country, time and material, related to the body and its organic desires, short lived, rendering one self fed up by repeatedly availing it, gains, sufferings, all in all aggrieving one throughout; forcing one to forget the real happiness, leading to the vicious cycle of birth and death, never giving satisfaction, increasing the greed, anger and hatred, masking the senses and with all this leading to that man being accused of all and sundry, infested with every ill and may even be leading to death. It is dependent as it can be attained only if the body and the organs are responding favourably, only if the mind wishes strongly and only if the desired things are available and the time and place are suitable. Despite this at the end after some time the very body and the organs which are so desirous of it may be utterly fed up of it and may even start to terribly dislike it, which then certainly leads to being thrown in to the hell. This then is the horrible consequence of material happiness.
The signs of spiritual happiness are exactly opposite of these. If you add a prefix of no or none or remove the suffixes for excesses then these become the signs of spiritual happiness. It can suffice if a tag is attached at the end, These are the signs of spiritual happiness or one can say that these will take you to heaven instead of saying that these will not land you in hell. The other name for material happiness is happiness gained out of family life and the spiritual happiness is also called as happiness of Moksha. For the happiness of family life one has to go through the cycle of birth and death while for the happiness of Moksha one has to bid adieu to this cycle. If anyone has not yet understood which type of happiness is the best, then let us listen to Mother Shruti who says that the one which is endless or indestructible, which is all pervading is the best, thus says the Shruti. Now anybody should understand this. The one which is destructible is short lived and hence not the best. There can be no happiness associated with anything short lived. It can then be deduced naturally that there is grief associated with it.
It is said that this short lived happiness is very proud and is head strong. It has the tremendous greed of blowing its own trumpet and insulting the elders. Its business is to cover the real happiness and prevent it being campaigned for. This is pure simple theft.
If by definition whatever that is unfathomably biggest and greatest is happiness, then whatever that is short lived has to be the opposite of happiness that is grief. One should not have any difficulty in understanding this. Material happiness is called by the Upanishads as the one sought for and spiritual happiness is known to be incredibly creditable. If one still doesn’t fathom for which type of happiness one should go for and asks the Shruti, she just tells that out of these two one who achieves the spiritual happiness gets the real happiness and attains all his goals which he aspires for. One who imprudently seeks the material happiness is deprived of the real happiness. A wise man goes in for the real happiness which is spiritual for his own benefit, and an unwise man who can not sustain the desires of his body and organs goes in for the short lived material happiness. Knowledgeable Brahmins get to know their real self and thence realize that the desire for the family, money and fame is meaningless and therefore are uninterested in it and they detach themselves from all these to go in for Sanyas. Now it is for everyone to decide for himself.
If we find the guidance of the Mother Shruti a little too mysterious, let us ask our Guru who is also like our mother to us, Shree Samarth and get some clarification. Let us listen to him carefully. He says, ‘Disenchantment is a blessing/Enchantment is no blessing/Disenchantment if longed wrong/No blessings//’
(Dasbodh. 12-7-17). Give away everything/Then only blessing/Adieu to the being/get blessed//
(Dasbodh. 12-7-9). Got blessed by family/Unheard, unseen, unlikely/Still did knowingly/Pay the price//(Dasbodh.5-3-101). Feel happy with family life/Get caught in a strife/Eyes stabbed by knife/Is the plight of idiots//(Dasbodh.5-3-102). We are listening to him as he also did not choose to have family or family life. He then naturally is one of those wise men who know what is worthwhile and very kindly tells us what will yield us the real happiness, and tells it candidly, fearlessly with the heart of a caring mother. He also says, ‘The prince of idiots/Happiness with family permits/Despite the grief it commits/Incommutably//’ (Dasbodh. 2-10-40). There is another saying of his from Manobodh ‘Horrific is the gist of this life/You wise mind find truth from the strife/Can poisoning yourself give happiness/You wise mind remember Ram always//'(Mano Bodh.66).
This life and raising a family and trying to gain happiness out of it leads to obliteration of the Ultimate Soul (Hereinafter referred to as Parbramha), thereby encapsulating the real happiness and therefore these are the enemies to be fought and not the goals to be achieved. The whole meaning of the sayings of Shree Samarth is that one should not allow them to engulf you as they will drown you and deprive you of the Parbramha which should be your goal.
Shree Shankaracharya has even thanked profusely the knowledgeable who have disallowed the desires to conquer them. We have to make this life worthwhile by selecting the great joy of the feeling of the Parbramha which enlightens the mirage of this unrealistic world and shines like the brightest sunlight. Shapeless is continuous/Shape is discontinuous/This is the continuous/query//
(Dasbodh/ 13-6-15). Conclusive seems inconclusive/Inconclusive seems conclusive/Find the elusive/by search//(Dasbodh. 13-6-16). God created all happiness/People made its mess/Died in unhappiness/Thus rebirth//(Dasbodh. 13-7-22). Leave all, search me/So said He/Disobeyed did we/The Almighty//Thence endure grief/Sadness always in a heap/Hope the happiness brief/Never achieved//Get happiness extreme/Idiots miss the theme/Die viewing doomed dream/In grief//Wise refrain/Drench in own rein/Search God in all gain/
All over//Wisdom yields happiness/Unwise deeds unhappiness/Prudently possess/Right one//
For achieving happiness out of the material things of this universe one has to endure the arduous task of striving and performing every time. While enjoying also one has to expend energy. Even after enjoyment one gets exhausted and bored. Therefore the happiness accruing to the living beings out of any material things is inexact and improper and hence leads to unhappiness in the end. The happiness which is gained from living or non living matter is nothing but grief. After reaching this conclusion through experiences gained in life time one can safely say that the happiness which is not dependent on living or non living matter, which is qualitatively different, beyond imagination and even beyond perception, yet is definitely worthy of a sense hitherto unknown through which it can be experienced is the real happiness. The feel of this happiness imparts upon the being the sense that he himself is immortal and incomparable. These are nothing but the signs of the Parbramha. The individual thence becomes The Parbramha himself, the only manifestation of which is nothing but happiness. This is so simple. Your own being is full of happiness or it should be, otherwise why is one so much in love with oneself? Get to know thy own self and then you will realize that you are nothing but the incomparable soul himself. What a knowledge indeed! If and only if you acquire this knowledge, you can safely swim through the torrid, swirling, devastating waters of this life. No other way friends!
If one has difficulties in finding out the real one hidden inside, The Guru is there to help you all the time. There is also Shruti which will tell you the same thing as The Guru does, You yourself are the Parbramha which is infinitely indefinable and which is the cause of everything in this world including happiness.
Without Guru you will never acquire the real knowledge. Never ever and those who are deprived of the real knowledge surely go down the drain. Whatever you do without acquisition of real knowledge it is an implication of ill knowledge and hence throws you in to the cycle of birth and death which can only be broken by the blessings of The Guru. You may try your utmost, put in your best efforts, utilize the strength of your own Yoga and achieve all kinds of powers, even supernatural but unless you have the blessings of your Guru it is improbable to further your own progress and what is worse, these very powers are likely to spell your doom! Ones own deeds lead to rebirth and are responsible for the grief and pain one has to endure during the intrauterine life and during the life itself. The cause of these deeds is more often than not undue lust which directly engulfs the soul and compels it to throw caution to the winds thus wrapping the soul in misdeeds which invariably lead to the cycle of birth and death. Only Guru’s advice can allow the individual to discriminate decisively and hence escape from these hurdles. Lack of knowledge implies that the individual perceives this non existent world as existent, which is detrimental to his cause, which is the cause of his ultimate grief and The Guru imparts this real knowledge to his disciples, roots out the seeds of obliviousness and tells all the tricks required to conquer the material and organic desires. The Guru is the only one who can preach the knowledge of the Parbramha, who can enlighten the darkness encircling the lack of knowledge and by doing so clears the path for the union of the soul with the Parbramha. The Guru eradicates all types of doubts from the minds of his disciples, he sets an example by following to the core all the commandments of the religion and never ever speaks anything untrue or anything apart from the Vedas or the knowledge about the self. The Guru has the cleanest knowledge about self. Deep inside him he is The Parbramha himself but in day to day behaviour he is like a stage ahead of the disciples. This is the best type of model to emulate for the disciple otherwise the disciple can’t easily get proximity to The Parbramha. The Guru is the one who is in complete possession of the knowledge of the Parbramha which keeps him at peace with himself and also allows him to be still on all accounts during his life time when he is in a state of unification with the Parbramha. This stage relieves him of all doubts. He becomes peace personified and never wavers from his real inner self which is nothing but The Parbramha. Apart from knowledge he is disenchanted, always prays the God, follows the path laid down by the religion, recites the greatness of the God and never deviates from all that is ultimately good, rather the best for him and for the mankind which includes strong morals and abidance of the law. He is utterly devoid of desires and is beyond any myths which can encircle anyone to engulf him totally. Because he is in possession of all these qualities he is in a position to preach them to the disciples who most of the times are devoid of those, yet The Guru has to find out the shortcomings of his disciples and tell them ways of overcoming and rectifying them. While reading these sayings of Shree Samarth the knowledgeable wise will be reminded of the quotes from various Upanishads. Therefore one who gets a Guru who is greatest in all respects, who has all the knowledge about the material and spiritual happiness and is literally a god sent gift has the unforeseen opportunity of attaining the Ultimate knowledge and becoming the Parbramha himself. Visible will in no time vanish, future will come and go in a moment, but that which is beyond the realms of sight and time is the filtered extract of life. Once you can extract it, it will last forever and if you fail in that you will be left with the highly evaporative supernatant. Human body is the temple where the deity is the soul. It is merely a question of recognizing the real God and his abode which a wise man will choose for himself as well. He will also keep himself absolutely away from any evils and go in for only the righteous ones, for he knows that it is the only way of not distancing himself from the Parbramha. The Parbramha which is the epitome of all that is truthful, all that is in congruence with the best faculties of the mind and becomes converged with the existing true state of one’s mind ultimately transforms one in to a state of non existence of any and everything which is the diagnostic sign of the Parbramha itself. Shree Samarth now tells the various facets of experiences. One of them is becoming unified with the Parbramha. Many ways of doing that have already been told by Him. He tells many more here.
2. DISENCHANTMENT ENRICHED BY KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE
Whatever has been discussed until now is the essence of the preaching of Shree Samarth? He says that the visible things which may look exquisitely beautiful have an obvious end and those who just go on enjoying them neither get the peace of mind while alive nor after death. Those desirous of material happiness and pursue it endlessly, neither get it nor do they stand any glimpse of the spiritual happiness. The very concept that happiness can be achieved out of any material thing is badly wrong and the idea that if one type of material does not yield happiness then another will is worse. One should therefore not run after these foolish concepts but should try to find the Ultimate happiness which invariably lies within oneself. Shree Samarth also tells that those who are inclined towards spiritual thinking should remember every moment that the Parbramha is nothing but they themselves and thence there is no need to wander all over in search of it. When one says that he is the Parbramha himself he loses any kind of shape or name as the Parbramha is shapeless as well as nameless (We call it as the Parbramha because we don’t recognize anything unless it is given any name or shape). Once the individual is transformed in to the Parbramha, he being name and shapeless he finally becomes the abstract form of all kinds of happiness. One who can not be described by any adjectives, one who has just plainly and simply unified with himself is freed from the cycle of birth and death, is sinless and hence is the perfect candidate for attaining Moksha or becoming the Parbramha fully and finally. We ourselves are caught in the web of our own pride when in fact we are non existent in the physical form as far as spirituality is concerned. We ourselves are entangled in the materials which vanish when we look at them with our inner eye. In this context it is important to recognize the real me inside everyone not only for putting the unreal one out but for bringing in the Parbramha in the picture for ever. One should always think and try to decipher what exactly is that form which is devoid of ? any adjectives and objectives, but while doing so he should never bear in mind that he is thinking about it for it imparts an unnecessary feeling of ‘I am thinking about it’, which is deleterious to the one’s own cause. It has then to be done in a manner which will help to abolish one’s self pride. On this spiritual path one aspires to constantly search for the Parbramha and when he knows that it is within himself, he also acquires the qualities of it, i.e., he also becomes non existent. The knowledge which is devoid of one’s own preferences is the knowledge of the Parbramha. This knowledge unveils the myth surrounding the Parbramha and helps the seeker to clearly understand the Parbramha. The Parbramha is beyond the reach of the flights of fancies of the mind and the intellect. It is also unreachable by any processes of thought and ideas. Once you experience it, the separate existence of the soul and the Parbramha readily vanishes. The thoughts and ideas may sometimes result in acquisition of knowledge, but this is transient and the very next moment this evanescent knowledge evaporates. The diseased state of mind is an expression of this type of knowledge. The thoughts and ideas are the origin of this Universe. Once they are got rid of it is comparatively easy to attain the Parbramha. Even beyond that one is apt to realize finally that rather than being the Parbramha himself he is the epitome of all the bliss which is absolutely untainted. I have repeated this oft that this universe is nothing but an illusion and as such is nonexistent (Dasbodh.). Bramha thought of the universe and it was created as per his wish. Same was true for the living beings. These thoughts of Bramha (The creator of the Universe) and their culmination in the so called creation is called Maya or the illusion. It has become all pervasive though nonexistent. Sounds contradictory? Let me explain. It is all pervasive because it is in the form which can be seen but being an illusion it is nonexistent. Illusion manifests itself in many forms, for example different looks and various colours but for all practical purposes one should not forget that these are nothing but illusions and as such are inherently destructible whereas the Parbramha which has no ascribable properties will last for ever. This is quite self explanatory. The Parbramha is the creator of this universe and being so nothing in this universe can disturb it let alone destroying it. The whole of the universe and even the Parbramha is veiled by the illusion and the knowledgeable will see through this fa’e and will be thus able to separate the Parbramha and discard the rest. It is common practice in life to discard the contaminants in water before drinking it and to boil the milk to prevent it from being spoilt, it should therefore be the same when it comes to the Parbramha which is veiled in the fa’e of the illusions of this universe. Illusion being illusion it is nothing but a mirage. This so called visible universe is unreal, it was never created, it is something like a person on cloud nine and believing that he is there and the clouds and everything associated with it is in fact his. If one finally decides to overlook his bodily appearance and to drown himself in his own real form the clouds covering his thoughts will disappear and then he will be able to view the Parbramha not only within himself but throughout the universe also. He will then have the liberty of swimming in the endless, joyous sea of bliss which the Parbramha is all about. In the path of course he has to encounter and win over the obstacles of the unreal ideas and thoughts and replace them with the real ones. Seems so easy but is difficult none the less. All of those who can completely shed off their sense of bodily feelings are sure to be unified with the same Parbramha which is not different for different individuals, thus said the Shruti. These saintly demigods may look different but being unified with the Parbramha they are ultimately one devoid of any form or shape. They first leave behind themselves all that is visible then even the invisible and see only that which is beyond the illusion which is the Parbramha himself. The only thing which does not change or distort in this universe is the Parbramha. Whatever is experienced far from these qualities of the Parbramha is some or the other form of illusion.(Dasbodh.) One should obviously indulge in constant thinking about the Parbramha, meditate over it and above all be in the company of the saintly people which will stabilize one’s mind and disallow it to waver every now and then. By continuously thinking, deliberating and meditating over all this the one who is really disenchanted with this material world would certainly at a point of time when he acquires the real knowledge find his own path to the final destination, Parbramha.
3. THE REALLY KNOWLEDGEABLE
Shree Samarth has said that one who aims at the Ultimate will be the Ultimate himself. The Upanishads also approve of this. Therefore one should always remember that no purpose will be served if one wavers from the path laid down by the Guru as the Guru is the impersonification of the Parbramha which by itself never ever wavers even slightly. There is no scope for effervescent thoughts there as well as nothing even slightly resembling the ego. Those who aspire to gain knowledge should first get rid of the ego. The ego has itself been responsible for creation of the universe in some measure. Once that disappears, one hurdle is crossed, in the sense that ego leads to grief rather than any pleasure. The next phase is to bid adieu to any remnants of the thoughts that ‘I’ exist. It is not I who exists but He who does. That He is in the form of total bliss. The whole process is not an easy job. It really is a big ask, a big jump across. But bearing in mind the fruits that lay ahead a family man must take this jump at any cost given the nature of the rewards; the only thing to be borne in mind is that one should not fall down during the jump. The timing has to be perfect. Here Swamiji means that we are enslaved by our own thoughts and selfishness and we should jump out of them to achieve the Ultimate. Knowledge never comes easily whether physical or material. It is common knowledge that incessant and relentless studies are required for pursuance of knowledge and hence those aspiring for knowledge should be after it right from the time of waking up from sleep till falling deeply asleep. They should also have restrictions on day to day activities like sleep which should be bare minimum; they should not interfere in others’ matters unnecessarily, should not be bothered by people and their praise or criticism and also keep away from obsessions like sensuality which are hindrances in remembering the real soul within themselves. They should always be in a state of meditation for as long as possible. Try to understand what Shree Samarth meant when he said that you shall not bother about what never existed, that is this universe. If one starts to follow his advice in its entirety, without allowing anything to disturb one’s own status of the unified mind and soul, without having undue love for animate or inanimate objects and without the feelings of uncalled for love or hatred then one is least likely to face any obstacles in his path of achieving the Universal Soul.
Those who are disenchanted with this material world and those who are totally disinterested in any human relationships, property, friends or foes have naturally nothing to do with anything else but their chosen path. They should then neither bother about any criticism nor any praise while pursuing their goal. They should neither have any love nor any hatred towards anybody. Here I will tell you a story of the great king Bharat, after whom our country is named. This path is very dangerous to tread upon. It is just akin to walking on a razor’s edge. Either side of it is hell. If you can’t perfectly balance yourself then you are sure to fall in to it. Therefore you should keep your eyes on the aim and not allow your sight to be distracted by anything to prevent this mishap. During this sojourn you should neither be arrogant nor a sycophant. You should avoid both, the favours and the cruelty shown to you by the people. Our own ideas lead to our downfall. What even the most beautiful of the ladies can’t do to seduce a man can be easily done by your own ideas to pull you down. Till you realize this you will always remain in the fool’s paradise. You should always be glued to your goal as the sailor is to his direction in the seas. If you lose your direction, then be sure to be drowned. You should look for every opportunity to break the barrier between yourself and the Ultimate. If you are for ever able to do that then you are the real knowledge seeker in the truest sense. You can have lots of organic pleasures but you are never fully satisfied with those and continue to ask for more and unless you decide to turn your back on them you can never have happiness, peace and lasting contentment which implies that you must have total control over your mind and rein it if it tries to go astray. Those who are disenchanted have no such problems and should not have them at any cost. The Parbramha is bodiless. Once you also become bodiless you will develop abhorrence towards the body. The consequence of these things is the fact that if one believes in the fact that he himself is the Parbramha, drenched in the bliss of real knowledge and puts paid to the unfounded belief that bliss, real knowledge and the Parbramha can only be achieved after death. Once you realize that the universe in its totality is an illusion then you will find the presence of the Parbramha in the whole of the Universe. It is oft said that if at the time of your death you think that you are the Parbramha then after death you become unified with it. When it is so simple why not think on those lines at the time of your death? Man always lives under illusions and lives in constant fear of the unknown. This universe, which is a myth is a consequence of our illusions. But once you realize that you are beyond the scope of any illusion and are unified with the Parbramha you are disillusioned and it finally dawns upon you that this nonexistent myth can neither give you any scares nor any pleasures. With the acquirement of this knowledge you are bound to become fearless. The visible which in reality is an illusion and the so called vision which is conspicuous by its absence is like the horns of a rabbit. That being the case the vision and the visibility are fallible whereas the Parbramha which is devoid of any vices which is indestructible and which is the only power that matters in this world is hence infallible. This then exactly matches the sayings of the mother Shruti that this universe was formed also and has not been formed. Seems contradictory but quite understandable. As light and darkness are two ends of the spectrum thinking about base roots, deep thinking and not thinking about them also are. If you don’t think rationally you will never understand the real by any fancy of imagination. If the resultant experiences you get out of deep thinking can be called as justice then the lack of experiences will have to be termed as injustice. One who is blind since birth can never be able to judge the quality of various jewels. On the contrary one who can really see the real has shed off all the adjectives and is capable of remaining in that state for ever, has achieved everything possible and therefore is and will be at peace with himself till eternity. Till the mind is in its own form there is necessity for meditation but once the learning phase is over and the mind is unified with the Parbramha the mind achieves ultimate bliss and there is no need for any thing including meditation.
The Shruti says that one who has incessant flow of creative intuitivism directed towards the discovery of the real creator is freed from this arduous cycle of life and death. Shree Samarth also says the same. His philosophy about talking about any deeds was, first do it and then talk about it and never the other way round. He also says that one should always be in a state of unification with oneself and despite being in the midst of the people should be alien to them not bodily but in that state of mind which allows him to do so a sure sign of a Saint. A Saint never experiences any dual existence. He himself is omnipresent. Dual existence is the cause of sadness and grief, but the absence of it naturally does not allow these things to affect him. This is just one part of following one’s own religion. This also exactly matches what the Shruti says. The realization that all the animate and inanimate objects are the expression of the Parbramha is real knowledge. With this Shree Samarth has completed the 10th Chapter of the Dasbodh named the chapter of knowledge. I feel that with this the whole science acquisition of knowledge ends here. He further tells that there is no difference between the rich and the poor, the ruler and the ruled or man and woman. After gaining knowledge one should always keep on asking oneself ‘Who am I?’ and should walk down the track trying to find the answer to that which will lead to reaching the goal one desires for. That goal is nothing but the bodiless form of you or any living or nonliving matter which is the Parbramha. One should strive to achieve this goal during this life and on this space of the universe i.e. the earth. The richness of Moksha is in the, knowledge, experience and the utmost strong feeling that ‘I am the Parbramha’. Therefore one should never forget it. Shree Samarth tells this through Dasbodh by his own experiences, which makes it an infinitely more valuable preaching to be followed to the hilt all the time all the while.
The common man sees life in the form of body, but the knowledgeable knows what is there before the body is born, in the body when it is alive and what still remains for ever after the death, therefore he is capable of seeing beyond the body. The common man also feels that the bodies and hence the minds and the soul of every different living organism are different from one another, but the knowledgeable firmly believes that not only the minds but the soul in every living organism are but the expressions of the Parbramha and therefore refuses to accept the dual existence of the soul and the body or the individual soul and the Parbramha. The knowledgeable are always in unification with the Parbramha. To simplify this whole thing, the common man devoid of this knowledge has to get the blessings of the Sadguru by which he gets the power to look inside him and find out the reality. He then gets to know from the Sadguru that the body is meaningless, he then starts to see the driving force not only inside the body but which controls this whole universe also and finally by continuous meditation and constant thinking and acting accordingly, becomes wise and knowledgeable enough to unify with the Parbramha. The bottom line thence is, the blessings of the Guru and conduct according to his preaching, which makes even the most illiterate in the field of spiritualism, the most knowledgeable.
4. THE WISDOM OF DIFFERENTIATION
The feeling that I am within the body is felt by the body itself. Therefore this feeling is the secret of unending force which keeps the body alive. Thus this feeling is required for continuation of life and not anything else like food, water, air etc. or nothing can destroy life like lack or destruction of anything. Life can be destroyed only by the loss of this feeling. Only a wise man is able to understand this and differentiate between this feeling which is so important and the rest of the things which are almost unimportant.
The body is visible but the feeling of ‘Me’ is invisible, the body is made up of many elements but ‘Me’ is devoid of them, in dreams we are unaware of our own body and see some other body but ‘Me’ is there in dreams also, if the body becomes ‘Me’ then the feeling of the body will never vanish, in dreams if the illusion of this body and in woken state the feeling of the body seen in dreams is not gone, still the feeling of ‘Me’ never goes. Therefore it is clearly evident that our existence and the existence of ‘Me’ is totally different from the existence of our body. Now when the bodies of either a man or a woman are an illusion the real ‘Me’ has to be beyond that illusion. The body is covered by a cloth, and we are covered by the body therefore along with the feeling being myself the real ‘Me’ has to be absolutely different from the body. This knowledge is the real knowledge and is known as wisdom.
The experiences of the wise and knowledgeable make them realize that the expression of the Parbramha has led to the existence of the living and non living matter. Therefore whatever they come across they take it as a different form the God. One who has this sight has seen the real universe others are plainly blind. The later stage of this knowledge leads him to see the God inside him and vice a versa. Through this he not only conquers life and death but the whole cycle of this universe itself. He thus becomes Moksharoop (The Parbramha).
Shree Samarth says that getting born as a human being is very difficult, still more difficult is living long enough, considering this one should utilize one’s own time to the full in pursuit of the real knowledge. One should very thoughtfully differentiate between the body and the soul, then imbibe this thinking fully and utilize it carefully during one’s sojourn of spiritualism. He further says that this body not simply made up by the ingredients but if you look at it very inquisitively then you will realize that it is all pervading as it has been produced by none other than the Parbramha itself but still the corollary mentioned until now holds water if you look at it with further insight, that is, then you come to know finally that this body being created by the Parbramha, what is the real truth is the Parbramha and not the body. One who gets this knowledge and behaves accordingly has attained the power of differentiation between what is an illusion and what is not! He then becomes the real knowledgeable.
5. THE PRUDENT ME
The me who sees that what he sees is an illusion and it is different from what the real me is sees the invisible Parbramha itself. Then the meaning of the word prudent changes to the one who can look in to the past also and realizes that it was also non existent. The power to completely differentiate between the body and the soul empowers the person to find out the root cause of the illusion. He realizes that I am none of these and also that in the fire of this knowledge burns the useless pride of the body and its deeds, the utterly deplorable organic pleasures and everything else related to this illusionary world.
One leaves the feelings of the body behind him becomes the real worshipper. Whatever one sees, one should know the reasons behind it and then leave them also behind. This way one can see oneself above all the illusions. It does happen but one has to be very perseverant with one’s own experiences, imbibe those fully deep inside one’s mind and during this whole process never forget that he is a part of that one and only Parbramha, which in writing and reading seems very easy but is rather easier said than done. The original illusion is the root cause of all the deeds this body and the mind in conjunction do and is the last veil of the Parbramha. Once one is able to unveil this, one is left with nothing to do but be unified with the Parbramha and totally enjoy the bliss till eternity. This again is easier said than done, but looking at the ultimate fruits of it this arduous task is really worthwhile, thus advised Shree Samarth. Any way what else do you desire or aspire for? Can anything of it, if you do get it give the immeasurable bliss you get by unification with the Parbramha? The answer is a big no. Then why not follow the path advised by Shree Samarth? These are the questions, one should ask oneself and answer them too. This on the contrary is very easy, as the readymade answers have been provided by the ultimate kindness of Shree Samarth.
During this process of differentiation one has to cross the hurdles of the macro and the microcosms, the reasons and the root cause of the reasoning, the greatest sources of energies by wisdom. Then only the uninhibited likings can be inhibited leading to disenchantment with everything except the Parbramha. Then one gets the real knowledge like a sudden lightening. Just as the Sun appears from behind the clouds after they are dispersed the knowledge also can suddenly be gained once the cover of the so called intuition which is most of the times of no use for the ultimate cause goes. One doesn’t have to make any special efforts for this. Again easier said than done!
If the body, the mind, the me and the soul had been different then one could have said that I have experienced the happiness, but that being not the case, the happiness is experienced by the soul.
One should always constantly think about the real me inside, get totally mingled with it which surely yields happiness. If such a man prefers solitude then his job becomes that much more easy and then their can be fair chances that he may become one of the greatest Saints ever.
Even the state that one finds himself in which he thinks is the end of the road, in which he feels that he has attained all the real knowledge and therefore his soul has almost unified with the Parbramha is not the end of the road at all. At that state he does see everything and is a witness to all the happenings in the universe, but only the one who can still look beyond this stage is the one who can attain Moksha, which is the ultimate goal or should be for anyone, for in that state only one gets the ultimate bliss and is freed from not only the cycle of birth and death but from all grief. He becomes the real Nirgun Swaroop(A state which can not be described by any adjectives, adverbs or any characters). That is the real essence of the Parbramha.
When the illusions leading to the so called knowledge gained by the use of the senses disappear totally, when the prudence also vanishes then the illusion of being me finally goes off totally. This is the sure sign of experiencing the Parbramha. It is said that the real happiness can’t be described by any words. When the person experiencing it is himself unified with the Parbramha, is in total bliss or in other words bliss is the other name of him how is it possible that he will describe it. Light enlightens the universe but still it by itself can’t tell its properties, or when you yourself become the light then you also find no words to describe your own characters, I think this will simplify for you what I have said just now. The natural sequence of this is the fact that even if you are no more doubtful that the body is different from the soul, you still have to pursue your search for the Moksha further by the same methods employed earlier but with even more effort and vigour. Clearing of this doubt undoubtedly beckons you towards the ultimate in spiritualism but for this you have to be very perseverant and always be on the alert that even a momentary lapse in concentration can land you back at the stage where you did realize that I am nothing but the soul himself, yet this is not the end of the knowledge as this feeling itself led to the creation of this illusionary universe. The real me is a never ending source of unforeseen light, lack of knowledge of this form leads to the feeling of me and mine. This again leads to wrong recognition of your real form which if rectified again leads to reunification with the Parbramha, which gives you its own authority and strength.
The soul doesn’t have any dual existence. Wherever there is absence of the dual existence the feeling of me can’t come. That feeling comes when one sees something else than the soul. This feeling never occurs in the Parbramha as there is absence of any intuition or feeling in it and as it is although devoid of any describable characters it has its own indescribable cadence.
According to mother Shruti, before this universe came in to existence there was only the unfelt, unseen and indescribable yet fully pleasurable presence of the Parbramha. It had a feeling that it is the Bramha(A stage before the Parbramha) which led to the formation of this universe. Shree Samarth calls this as an illusion which the Parbramha had and this is the original illusion (Hereinafter referred to as Maya). This then was the beginning of the universe. According to Vedas and Upanishads whatever is created is liable for destruction. Shree Samarth says that anything created anywhere will vanish there only, the only thing which doesn’t vanish ever is the Parbramha. From the immovable Bramha the highly mobile soul emanates. But the Parbramha which is full of peace and bliss, where all the knowledge merges and which is the epitome of all the lively witness of knowledge being the only God of the universe although is responsible for the creation and destruction of the universe, it can’t be blamed for coming under the influence of the illusion, because even though the original illusion started from it, it was a momentary step behind its own stage and devoid of any evils. On top of that the Parbramha although did seem to have that illusion it was more of an intuition and an expression of the wish to see the out come of it. Therefore on any count the creation or destruction of the universe despite being done by the Parbramha, it remains blemish less and can’t be ascribed to it. When we say that the feeling emanating from the Parbramha created the universe, we do agree that it was the reason for the highly motile and evaporative Maya and hence it is similar to the lack of knowledge and blinding darkness. This feeling also vanishes into the Parbramha from which it originated, thus finally what we can derive out of this is that nothing has been created nor destroyed but what we see is because of the influence of Maya and therefore an utter illusion, which further absolves the Parbramha of the deeds of creation and destruction.
The Upanishads and Shree Samarth also tell that one should track the course of the creation of this universe from before backwards, i.e. one should start from the end, the Sky, then sequentially go through the Fire, the Water, the Wind, continuously dissolving ones body and mind in them and imbibing the essence of them which leads to the realization of the inexpressible which also disappears in the Maya and then, when one is able to go beyond the Maya, one is almost near the Parbramha, which one should try to acquire at any cost for the ultimate peace and bliss and remain for times immemorial in unification with it?
Shree Shankaracharya and the Upanishads explain till only the inexpressible form but Shree Samarth and Swamiji have gone beyond that for easy understanding for the beginners which would help them in their sadhana.
6. THE EXTREME LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
There was only blinding darkness before the universe came into existence. The Vedas and the Bhagwad Geeta also support this concept.
The absence of the perception of the light (Presence of darkness) of the soul is lack of knowledge. On account of this there occurs the blunder of pride of the mortal body, the craving for various material and material pleasures and neglect of the real happiness and bliss. This pride, craving, neglect and the lack of knowledge are responsible for the existence of the universe and all the ungainly deeds done in it. The lack of knowledge veils the real knowledge of the Parbramha which has led to the chaotic situation prevailing on this earth and in the universe as a whole. Shree Shankaracharya and Bhagwad Geeta tell the same thing. The clouds covering the Sun get the light from it and seem to emanate light, but that light is of the Sun. In the same vein the darkness or the Maya which covers the Parbramha emanates the light of the Parbramha. The clouds are formed by the heat of the sunrays, but the Sun is not changed in any way by this. It remains as it was before the clouds were formed and even after they are gone. Moreover you can’t find the clouds or even a trace of them in the Sun. As all of us know, by no stretch of imagination is there any congruence of the Sun or the clouds. The same is true for the lack of knowledge or the blinding darkness, the Maya and the creation of the Universe and the Parbramha! That is why the Parbramha never changes even a bit before, during or after the creation and destruction of the universe. Therefore it would be a gross blunder and an unpardonable sin to blame the Parbramha for these things.
Just as the sunlight is visible through the cloud cover and different shapes of clouds, in the same vein the light of the Parbramha is visible through the darkness in the form of all that is there in the universe, all that is done by it and the universal feelings. Parbramha being the witness to all of this and even to the thoughts and their culminations into ideas and the further consequences of it, it is the only thing in the universe which perceives everything in every living and nonliving material of the universe. Nothing can be hidden from it as it is omnipresent thus!
Once the feeling of the body is lost on purpose, the knowledge also vanishes. The non existent bodies of which are acquired by the soul and the Parbramha are illustrations of ideas and are called the Biggest and the Source of all light respectively, which also vanish with the knowledge once the soul is unified with the Parbramha.
Some say that experiencing the invisible after purposefully overlooking the visible is the experience of Parbramha. But after you filter out the visible what remains is Zero and the zero can’t be called as Parbramha. Zero means no existence whereas Parbramha is all the existence unified in one. Therefore Parbramha can’t be called as Zero which will be insulting to Parbramha. Not only that, there is more than a fair chance that the person pursuing spiritualism may be misled by this mistaken concept. The fact is, Zero is at one end of the spectrum and the Parbramha is at the other end of it. Therefore one should by proper discrimination and differentiation be able to separate the millk from water when they are mixed together. I will explain it by a simple example. One person went to meet the King and on the way found his servant whom he mistook for the King. Then he met the real King and realized that he had made a blunder! The pursuers of spiritualism are liable to make the same blunder, which they should be aware of so that they can take the requisite precautions to avoid committing that.
Shree Samarth in his book, Dasbodh also has equated both the darkness and the Zero. This further gives credence to this theory and its explanation.
The veil which was there before the origin of the universe has become more solidified and has expressed itself as the universe. This has then come to the bodies of the living and the non living matter too. The consequence was that the feeling that I am the body and vice a versa prevailed over the real knowledge that I am the Parbramaha. The result is, for peace and happiness everybody started thinking of the bodily matters or the physical things rather than the Parbramha. It is needles to explain that the ultimate result of all these creations of the Maya led to the culture of bodily enjoyment where the Prakruti was the thing to be enjoyed by the Purush. You don’t know what havoc it has created, or you know that but for your own sake choose to overlook it. The same happened with the Biggest and the Source of life also which also get corrupted and the Gods representing them eventually come under the influence of Maya which leads to seemingly corrupt expressions of the Gods, but one should never forget that this is under the influence of the Maya and as has already been explained by the example of clouds, light and the Sun the Gods too are blemish less on this count as their real form doesn’t change but you perceive them to be like that because your wear the spectacles thrust upon you by the Maya.
Ultimately on the lowest step imaginable in this ladder taking mankind towards the hell, all Prakruti became the female gender and the Purush the male. Both thought of nothing but the organic and material pleasures. Both forgot that these are utterly destructible and finally will lead to grief. Both took great precautions to enjoy to the fullest from the senses of the sensory organs. Thus the job of the Maya was made easier by us the, utterly fallible mankind. The seeds sown by the Maya unfortunately became big trees of abhor able emotions. Mankind finally fell prey to these nonexistent pleasures. They forgot that this was just a script of the drama written by the Maya, but they enacted it to the fullest capacity with the best possible efforts and finest acting without anybody’s direction, and patted their backs themselves with resounding applause which was heard by no one as everyone was performing! Sadly it is only a drama which you took to the center stage of life for which it was never meant. I need not tell you that even the best performers in dramatics return back to their original identities once the performance is over knowing fully well that what they did on stage was an illusion meant for either entertainment or for passing on a message. They too don’t carry it to their own life which will be surely ruined if they do so and you have exactly done what even they have been able to avoid. You are continuing to not only enact this drama but to take it over to your real life also. So you yourself are responsible for your own plight and till you don’t take the measures to rectify it the chaos will be never ending and till eternity this will continue. Therefore it is with you to decide, differentiate and decipher the right things to be done and get on the right path as early as possible as it is never too late!
Men and women have the same desires as their real form which has originated from the one and only Parbramha. There is absolutely no difference between them but because of the darkness of the lack of knowledge the feeling of the body unnaturally comes to them and their desires related to each other are in the form of another illusion, the unreal cause of birth as perceived by them, the sexual attraction. When the feeling of the body disappears the whole sequence is in disarray and the influence of Maya wanes off and then the men and women unify with the Parbramha where there is no place for any desires let alone the sex! Then there is nothing called as man, woman, their desires and the sexual attraction, as the desires and attractions are now aimed at attaining the Parbramha. This is the beauty of spiritualism. You just have to throw away the feeling that I am the body and imbibe the spirit of the Parbramha and there it is waiting for you, to embrace you and shower upon you the ultimate peace, happiness and bliss which if quantified are infinitely more than whatever you can get on this earth.
Shree Samarth tells in his Dasbodh that the Parbabramha and the Maya are not the only ones responsible for the attraction between the two sexes. It stems through the power of the Lord Shiva. The God has utilized this attraction which is often fatal if exceeded beyond limits for the creation of all the living forms on the earth. If one looks carefully and dissects microscopically the reason and causes of this process one would come to know that these creations were made to impart the real knowledge on those who are desirous of it that the attraction between the different genders being fatal one should get rid of it as early as possible to avoid the cycle of birth and death.
One should not brood over the past and the misdeeds done then as one does it may not be knowingly many a times but at the same time one should learn a lesson from it and in the present and the future avoid committing the same mistakes again and again. The best possible way to do this is to make friends with the knowledgeable, accept him as your philosopher get his wisdom and behave accordingly, which reduces the number of mistakes one is likely to commit in the times to come which consequently reduces the obstacles in the path of spiritualism. This is what Shree Samarth advises in his Dasbodh. This method is advised by the Upanishads also.
The sanyasis who have won over the lust, anger and who do not discriminate between any beings see the soul and get it for themselves by constantly following the path of truth, by remaining in sahaj Samadhi avastha, by acquisition of real knowledge and by strictly following there bachelorhood. Without this having faith in your own soul is impossible. Bhagwad Geeta also sends across the same message.
One who has won over the temper and the lust, one who is the King of his own mind, has got control over his senses and organs and who are free from anger and hatred see themselves in all the beings and these sanyasis all the times work relentlessly for the betterment of all the living and even the non living. For them all that exists is only the Parbramha, which being the ultimate form of happiness should remain the same in all the form of the matter. They never see anything as different from their own being.
At the peak of the young age one should win over the senses, the sensualities and the organic pleasures. On the basis of the power of such individuals who can do this, the earth can bear the others’ bodies and their deeds. It is important to pacify your organic desires when the organs are powerful, which is easier said than done and therefore only a few can do it. When the organs have become weak any damned person can calm down their desires as by that time there are no desires left at all. He is the real man who wins over his organic desires during his youth when they are most demanding. He is the real Pundit who behaves according to the dharma and attains Moksha. He is the real orator who can tell the truth which is of the benefit for one and all and he is the real greatest of all who gives away everything with utmost grace. Sacrificing all the pleasures is infinitely better than enjoying them.
All the pleasures in the world including the sexual pleasure combined with the pleasures you can get in the heaven fall terribly short of the real pleasure and happiness. The best type of sadhana can be done by sacrificing everything. The happiness which the disenchanted ones get in solitude is denied to even the King of the Gods, which is why all the so called rulers bow before the Saints.
Sanyas is called as the fourth phase of life. The great sage Yadnyawalkya adopted sanyas even when he was living with his family to attain Moksha. His wife Maitrayi also did the same for the very purpose. In north India the married women and even the unmarried ones become sanyasinis. During the times of Yadnyawalkya there was a very learned young woman named Gargi who also became a sanyasini in her childhood itself. The sanysasis should never forget that they will gain bliss by totally avoiding the seemingly unstoppable tides of lust and anger without letting them affect their own self and by never losing their wisdom which helps in the avoidance of these. This is the surest possible way of leading a life free of any evil thoughts and living it peacefully. This what Bhagwan Krishna told Arjuna in Bhagwad Geeta.
Lust, anger and desire are the doors which lead to hell. Therefore even one without any knowledge will understand that burning them out of one’s body and mind is highly essential. Those who finally decide to bid adieu to these afflictions for ever are the ones who are on the right track to pursue spiritualism. Those only are likely to get the final Moksha, thus spoke Bhagwan Krishna in Bhagwad Geeta.
The three doors which open in to the jaws of terrifying death are the desires related to women, voracious appetite and money. One who has shut all the three doors is free from the fear of death. Therefore the real pursuer of spiritualism should keep away from these three desires as far as possible. Although it seems natural that the sexual desire will be there in any normal healthy human being, it is not so if one is blessed by Guru who opens his eyes and shows him the reality hidden behind it, which is nothing but the root cause of the vicious cycle of birth and death.
One who has been able to shut all these three doors and is able to see the others including the opposite sex by the sight of his own soul, who doesn’t differentiate between the genders, who considers every woman as his own mother is free from this fear of type of death. As he has no lust he is not in danger of being contaminated by it.
Just as a seed if heated in an oven can’t germinate, the lust can’t terminate the knowledge and the sadhana of the knowledgeable in pursuit of the Parbramha.
Once when Mother Seeta was sleeping on the lap of brother in law, Laxman, Bhagwan Ram came in the disguise of a parrot and queried him, When a woman is on your lap won’t your mind which so full of lust and which can waver most readily, compel you to do something which you don’t want to do? Remember, a beautiful, fragrant flower, juicy fruit and the youth of women can produce desire in the minds of even the disenchanted ones.
The answer which Laxman gave is fascinating. He said, ‘Although the mind has this tendency to stamp all over like an elephant, he who has the power of knowledge to control that elephant need not be afraid of it. Therefore even if a woman is on his laps his mind will never waver! One who is born of parents with the highest and purest moral values, is brought up in the best possible culture and remains in the companionship of saintly people is not attracted by any of the three things which you are telling!’
There are innumerable men and women in this world but their bodies although similar in the major components and in even the minor ones no one is a mirror image of the other, not even the identical twins. There are subtle differences in the body composition and probably vast ones in the mindset.
The thinking which may be beneficial in the so called worldly matters which are non existent is harmful in the world of spiritualism. If one thinks that his vices are his greatest virtues, this thinking itself is the greatest vice and sin. God himself had created diversities on the basis of which the universe runs. One has to unify these diversities to understand the real truth hidden behind this veil of diversities. Unfortunately most of us are blind to this fact and therefore unable to see it. This is because of the lack of real knowledge which hampers one’s progress in spiritualism. If you say that there is no difference between a poison and the pious juice to keep you alive for ever, nothing will go wrong except that if you consume a poison you will die. In the same vein if your deeds are pious you will reap a rich harvest whereas if your deeds are sinful then you are certain to go to hell. If you don’t know how to prevent yourself from being burnt by the fire it is foolish to jump into it as it will certainly burn you to death. A wise man knowing this keeps away from the fire unless he has the divine power to avoid burns. The same applies to all the desires and the worst of them the lust for any thing. Once the great Saint Tukaram Maharaj had to suffer an attempt at seduction by a woman to whom he told that she was like his mother and the Goddess Rakhumai. He also said that he couldn’t bear her fall from grace and if she needed a man she should marry some man and not try and seduce the worshippers of God like him. He also cautioned those doing sadhana that the company of women will lead them to forget the God, the pooja and they would not be able to rein in their mind which will race after the lust. You will see your own death on account of your desire to surrender to the desires of the organic pleasures and beauty is the last thing they should aim at.
7. HOW TO CONQUER LUST
One should always start doing a thing after giving a detailed thought to the pros and cons and also to the consequences of it. If this precaution is not taken then it is quite likely that one would find oneself in mess of his own creation and suffer the after effects of it lifelong. I for one can suggest the simplest of the ways to conquer the lust. Every one should consider all other women except his wife as his either sister or mother, not only in deeds but in thoughts also. Till the time the pride of the body is there the lust will remain. Once King Bhoj saw an old man and his old wife engaged in love. The next day morning he sent for them. They knew why he had called them and put two packets in front of him. The King asked what it was and the couple answered that one of the packets had a rice grain and the other one had ash in it. They further told him that till a man has even a grain of food in his stomach and the woman’s body is burnt completely neither can be freed from lust!
We should bear in mind that before deciding on anything we should always know the other side of it. We should know about the Nature, what we should acquire out of it, what is the reality hidden behind the facade of the world, how should we behave with the people and the animals living on this earth through our own experiences and more importantly from those of the wise and those listed in the religious books and then after getting to know the real truth then try to behave like the really wise.
Your original form is the one which is before the advent of the intuition of me. It is without any undesirable things and which is perfectly the epitome of happiness. You should always remain confined to it so that you will never ever come across the feelings of the body.
Till you are proud of your body there will be lust. Therefore once you leave it behind the lust will automatically go because then no one will consider himself as man or herself as woman. When this feeling of the gender goes the lust has to go. Therefore forgetting everything related to your body is the surest way of conquering the lust. This is what Bhagwan Krishna told Arjuna in Bhagwadgeeta. Here I will give you some examples of sadhaks who successfully avoided precarious situations where they were subjected to the lustful intentions of the other sex.
One of them stayed at a home during his journey for a night. There was an unmarried woman in the family who started to cast her spell on him and invited him to make love with her. He was horrified with this and made an excuse that he suddenly had to go to answer the nature’s call and fled!
Our philosophy tells that you should not have any untoward thought regarding any other woman apart from your wife. In situations as mentioned above even if some other woman even bares herself before you, you shouldn’t be affected, which is possible for Saints and the real sadhaks. Others whose mind is liable to be disturbed should at least be able to control there body and not do anything contrary to what the religion preaches. Even if you die while practicing religion you will get Moksha, but if you do things which are against the preaching of the religion then you are certain to go to hell. I myself have heard one sadhak telling such type of a woman that she was only constituted of nails, hair, skin, muscle, blood, bones, faeces, urine, and all such things which are there in everyone’s body and you think that I will get attracted by your so called beautiful face, forgetting all these utterly despicable things, get lost! There was one female disciple of the famous Kali of Bengal who had maintained her chastity. Once during a pilgrimage when she had to walk across a dense forest she was suddenly surrounded by scoundrels who wanted to rape her. Knowing their intentions she just prayed Kali and the attackers at once saw Kali ready to kill them all and ran away! I was told by her that the disciples like her always carry a dagger with themselves for such occasions, when they resist the attackers with it and if they fail they kill themselves with it! This is the real following of your religion.
8. THE PRESENT TRAGIC SITUATION
It seems that there is an epidemic of lust and desire spreading rapidly in the society. I feel that one of the primary reasons for this is the increased age of the brides at the time of their marriage. After menarche the girls should not be compelled to remain unmarried for a protracted length of time. The result is that they become vulnerable to have love with any man of any age, caste, creed or religion. Not only is this mentioned in the Manusmruti but this is what you see in today’s society. I am really greatly aggrieved by this utterly painful situation. On top of that there is this deplorable tradition of dowry. Whosoever has come to me seeking help I have done that to the best of my ability but for others who can’t approach me I just pray Bhagwan Ram to help them.
The social mind is always liable to take things in their hands if they are offered to them on a platter as everyone wants to get anything if it comes without an effort or any responsibility. In such a scenario the responsibilities of the Government is increased manifolds. I doubt if any of our Governments have realized this. If and when they realize this they should pay more attention towards it. Without properly preparing the children we are blindly following the western culture of education to them without gender bias, which is good but it we have forgotten that before that a lot of effort has to go in to understanding the psyche of the children who are brought up in a different atmosphere at home and are suddenly exposed to an alien culture when their education begins. This is reflecting in the chaotic relationships between the male and female students which are already showing serious repercussions. If not the Government then at least the society should try to rectify it on its own.
Guru Datt has said that a woman is like fire and a man is like cheese and when the cheese is brought near the fire it has its natural property of melting. One should realize this, which is not difficult for an averagely intelligent man and try and keep himself away from being melted. This is one of the ways to refrain oneself from being seduced.
As everyone’s way of thinking and behaviour is different everyone has to be told a different method which should be of course according to the religious science. This will increase the chances of the success of the method and the progress of the path seeker.
Bhagwan Krishna himself has said that lust, desire and anger are the enemies of all. We should be then prepared in all aspects to fight these enemies to such an extent that not we but the enemy should be frightened to attack us. If you achieve that level then you are sure to conquer them even if they attack you at the wrong place, wrong time and on your wrong foot.
9. THE RELIGION OF A FAMILY MAN
Those who want to rear a family should be married at an appropriate time. Keeping them unmarried for long is detrimental not only to their health but the health of the society, the nation and finally the religion. When they have the desire to raise a family it implies that they don’t have control over their own lust and desires and it is criminal not to allow them to fulfill it at the right time. Otherwise there is every chance of them falling prey to it and corrupting their whole life which can be prevented by this simple measure of marriage at the right time. They can then lead a normal family life, enjoy the material and organic pleasures and then pursue the path of spiritualism.
On the other hand there are some people who are unaffected by either happiness or grief. They have the ability to remain stable in any given circumstance.
The Shankaracharya has told how to follow the path of spiritualism while leading a successful family life which is also endorsed by the Vedas. He says that you should do everything but without expecting anything out of it. Always do sadhana and keep your behaviour simple yet exemplary to wash away your sins. You should remind yourself of the ultimate outcome of the organic pleasures and should try to increase the desire of reaching out to the self.
To follow the religion one should look at the women apart from ones wife as one’s mother, at the others money as poison, sinful deeds as death, should protect one’s family; follow nonviolence, truth, love towards all the living, curb the mind and body; donate as far as possible; be grateful and humble; follow one’s religion; do the work allotted as the work of God; respect the elders; if one is a Brahman behave according to the Vedic preaching, worship the God as directed in the religious books and do Jap, provide food and shelter to visitors; try to keep alive the Vedic and Aryan traditions; speak less and sweetly; do all that is possible in social work; always revere the Guru and the God and serve them with all might; pay due attention to the ultimate goal of spiritualism even while performing the duties of a family man; be calm quiet and solemn in any given situation; never loose composure even in a calamity; take gain and loss in the same stride; act according to the demands of the given situation; earn money by lawful means and collect and preserve all that is good. The great sage Tulsidas has said that if you follow all of these to the core then you will get the ultimate bliss and has also said that on this count he is prepared to bail you out if even the Gods refuse to accept it and grant you your due, may it be at the cost of taking on the Gods themselves. Shree Samarth also says the same thing but adds a suffix that while doing all these things you should always do the Jap also. The Bhagwadgeeta says nothing different than this.
Even when one is looking after the family he should be aware deeply inside that it is not his, it is a mirage and with this knowledge try to avoid the unnecessary desires stemming out every now and then. Once this stage is achieved one is able to detach oneself from the family while still seemingly continuing to be an active part of it and then one is able to pursue the final goal of unification with the Parbramha. Till that time one has to follow the path of spiritualism whenever the situation permits.
Shankaracharya in his five commandments for sadhana, the ‘Sadhanpanchak’, says that you can follow the spiritual path while performing your family duties by, not doing anything with the hope that it will accrue something in some form, doing everything without any sort of expectation, by continuous sadhana and by nice behaviour towards all which will dissolve all the sins and by constantly reminding the mind of the vices of the bodily and organic pleasures.
Shree Samarth says that, ‘A sadhak who wants to follow the correct path of spiritualism should first and foremost avoid the obstacles that are aplenty in the form of many types of desires. In a nutshell he has to sacrifice a lot but of course the gains in the form of unification with the Parbramha far outweigh any sacrifice.’
You should go from dispersed to unified, from plurality to unity and try to remain in unification with the Parbramha where there is nothing but endless happiness. In this state you will realize that you are the truth, the endless, the indivisible, the invisible and the griefless form. Then you yourself will never like to come out of it.
10. CONDITIONING OF THE MIND FOR BACHELORHOOD
Till the age of 25 years every one should be a bachelor as the development of a male body physically is incomplete till that age and also the mind is not ripe with inherent ideas and external experiences. The same applies to women till the age of at least 16 years. If this is not followed neither a man nor a woman is able to get the organic pleasures or can have spiritual aspirations. After attaining this age one can decide whether to have a family or remain a bachelor and become sanyasi with the orders of an authority in religion. This is the basis for achieving the goals one has set for himself in his life, by following either of the paths.
Those who want to raise a family should never have any sort of relationship with any woman till marriage, except as mother or sister. Even after marriage all men should consider all other women except for their wives as their own mothers or sisters. The same is true for every sadhak.
Being faithful to the core to your spouse is the key to a happy married life and is absolutely necessary for the spiritual progress also. The Maya which emanates from the Parbramha manifests itself in the married life in the form of the progeny even though the soul in the parents is unified with the Parbramha, as the destined work of the Maya is to create. In fact Maya itself is responsible for the creation of the female gender from the genderless Parbramha. To simplify the origin of the genders it can be said that the Parbramha through Maya became the male gender and from its left side of the body created the female gender and from the right the male one. Therefore the male and the female are a part and parcel of one body itself but seem to be different under the influence of the Maya. Hence for unification with the Parbramha those who decide to raise a family should never forget this and always be in a spiritually united state and forget that they are different from each other. This path is better for a family man from the point of view of pursuing spiritualism as well as enjoying the material pleasures in a better way.
While doing the duties of the family life if both the partners look at each other forgetting their physical appearance and looking at the soul instead it helps in reducing the lust automatically. If both the man and his wife develop this habit they can eventually influence their children who will imbibe it readily and the final culmination of this type of behaviour can lead to attainment of Moksha even while remaining in the family.
11. IDEALS FOR A SADHAK
The sadhak should always keep in mind the preaching of Mother Shruti that nothing has been created, nothing has been destroyed, nobody is bound by anything, no one in the real sense is a sadhak also, there is nothing called as opposition or obstruction to anything, no one is on the track for any achievement in anything including spiritualism and hence no one is free from anything. All of these are illusions and the real truth is nothing but Parbramha which also is nothing but the so called sadhak himself. Everything else is non existent. The apparent difference between the genders is also non existent. The Parbramha is the only thing which was there in the past and which will remain in the future without any restraint of time. It is the only source of real happiness. Despite knowing this if the sadhak believes in the dual existence of the soul and the body he is responsible for his cycling and recycling in the vicious circle of birth and death.
He should always remember and realize that he is the Parbramha himself in everything. The firm belief in this fact is the real knowledge and experiencing it all the while is knowing your real form which gives him the ultimate happiness and bliss. Wherever he is in this universe, in whatever situation he will always be in a state of absolute peace, happiness and unbelievable tranquility without doing any effort either consciously or subconsciously. Simultaneously he will feel that he no more experiences any sadness or grief come what may. When the sadhak achieves this state he has probably nothing to achieve afterwards.
A mother who gets utmost pleasure out of the playfulness of her child and always keeps on smiling and appreciating him doesn’t hesitate to scold him if he does anything which may harm him with his well being in uppermost in her mind. In the same way one should do everything required in family life but should constantly bear in mind that it is not his and that he is not doing it himself but is a mere medium through whom the Guru is getting all the things done and should concentrate on the achievement of the Parbramha. Here the Guru and the disciple are represented by the mother in the given example and the well being is the attainment of the final goal which is going to accrue ultimate happiness and bliss. Mother Shruti says the same thing.
What is that advice which empowers you to have access to anything in this universe? It is the advice of the Guru. He tells you to consistently be in unification with not only your soul but the Parbramha also. This gives you the vision to see the unseen, to hear the unheard, to understand the as yet ununderstood and to be permitted for any and everything till date not permitted. There is nothing except the soul and the Parbramha in this universe. All the experiences of any individual are felt by him. No one can tell what exactly this felt means. If you apply the concept of the soul then it can be safely said that it is the soul which feels it. What is visible is seen as such in the same form by all because they have the soul which is ultimately only one. Even if the feelings are different from one individual to another finally they boil down to consequences of the feelings which most of the times are same universally. This also points to the existence of the singular soul, expressing itself in many forms but finally uniting in to one as the water of a river filled in different pots is not different but is the same. When the souls from different bodies unite they also attain the Parbramha. Think about it and you will experience it.
12. THE STUDY OF MOKSHA
Attaining the Moksha is impossible without consistent studies. Shree Samarth says that you should never waste a single moment and always be engaged in studies. Regarding this Bhagwan Krishna told Arjun in Bhagwadgeeta that by total detachment and by studies and studies only, you can gain the control over the wandering and stubborn mind. You better have it for achieving Moksha otherwise it is very difficult and almost impossible.
The study of Moksha is nothing but trying to constantly remain in sahaj Samadhi avastha by disallowing any thoughts to disturb that state or the mind. The desire of the material things is a hindrance to this study, therefore by continuous effort one should try to dissolve the material and the pleasures it seems to accrue. Even a prudent man seems to be bound by the visible material; once this disappears he becomes freed of all the shackles and is ready for the studies.
In the sahaj Samadhi avastha the first perception is that of the Me inside. From this emanate all other desires or ills. One should always try to repulse this first perception of the Me. When this becomes easily possible there is no question of the others to arrive, germinate and grow. Therefore the crux of the study is to be always in sahaj Samadhi avastha trying to throw the Me whenever it comes, away from the mind and you have reached the goal.
The importance of the body in the study of Moksha is limited to being just a medium. Except for the fact that it bears the soul the body is full of all the wasteful things. It is required only for achieving the ultimate goal. Otherwise it is literally useless. Therefore in the Hindu philosophy it is advised to neglect the body and concentrate on the soul inside it, because if you go the other way round then you will land up with all the wicked desires. If you search the soul inside the body then only you are on the right path and have the chance to unify with the Parbramha.
Even the Westerners have said that everything that glitters is not gold. Things are not what they seem. Appearances are delusions! In other words they also agree that this universe is a myth and hence non existent. They have forgotten their own philosophy and we have ours! It is time both realize it and put it to practice, for the betterment of mankind.
13. SHREE SAMARTH’S PREACHING
Shree Samarth says that one should study by remaining in sahaj Samadhi avastha for as long as one can, which is the most blissful of states of mind, and at other times be in total Solitude, complete Maun, drink only milk, philosophize about the real Me and shed off all the desires and lust.
He advises that you should remain in solitude or be hidden till you have completed your studies or else you stand a chance of deprecating yourself by showing off before the completion of the studies.
He says that in the ultimate form in which you wish to merge there is nothing visible which can either be produced or destroyed. When you unify with it, you also become one who is devoid of creation or destruction, giving and taking but signify the ultimate bliss. When that is the case there is no question of thinking about anything, desiring anything, expecting anything, remembering anyone, loving or hating anybody and therefore you should then remain in a constantly blissful state not affected by anything.
The study can lead you till the sahaj Samadhi avastha. Once you become capable of going in to that at any time, for any length of time, in any given condition and whose mind can’t be disturbed by anything imaginable, either good or bad now acquires the credentials for leading the people on the correct path.
Such people experience that their family life has been fruitful; they have got the fruits of the sadhana without demanding it even while pursuing the Parbramha and getting it too.
People follow only that spiritual leader who does everything wisely and doesn’t allow any room for even the smallest error. This is a very difficult task which requires attention to the minutest details with a discernible mind where only blind faith will not help. He doesn’t expect anything from anyone, not even from his staunch followers. His worship, knowledge, wisdom and his perseverance is ultimate. The one who can do this is followed by the people who are metamorphosed by him, who show signs of changes from within and who become really wise with knowledge and are ready for the ultimate in the spiritual path. As per the teachings of Shree Samarth this is achievable, but only after continuous sadhana. Therefore I also feel that till the studies are not over the sadhak should not exhibit himself. The sadhak should ask himself whether he has it in him and then according to the honest self estimation decide upon his behaviour.
Parbramha is the place for the ultimate and pure rest. There is neither grief nor any diseased states. This is very difficult to achieve and therefore when one achieves it he should maintain it as his greatest treasure with all the wisdom and care till eternity. It is the real knowledge which includes realization of the real yourself inside you. Otherwise if you go by the knowledge of the visible things you will miss the real knowledge as it is formless and hence is invisible.
Regaining the lost knowledge of the real Me is very difficult. The reason behind this is the fact that this knowledge is acquired on the basis of the realization of the soul in its complete form by that Me. Therefore it is important not to lose it any time that is always be in unification with it.
The Vedas say that the real form of Me which is the purest is the origin of the universe. By experiencing this one can attain that purest and true knowledge. You go in pursuit of the real me or the true knowledge you get to know the Parbramha and vice a versa, therefore it is called as the knowledge of the Parbramha.
Now Shree Samarth tells us that he will reveal what his Guru (Bhagwan Ram) told him, which is the ultimate in spiritualism. The final statement is, ‘I am the Parbramha’, the real meaning of which is very difficult to understand. I will tell you what it means. You should never doubt that you are the Parbramha himself. The Parbramha being formless you are also no exception. For you also there should no existence of this illusionary universe. You also are free from the bounds of the material forms and the emotions emanating from it. All said and done there is no boundary for anyone but all become affected by the illusion and move around the bodily demands and pleasures. To avoid this it is always advisable to be in solitude for as long as possible and try to attain sahaj Samadhi avastha. Whatever is despicable should be thrown out at once and at the same time whatever is praiseworthy should be grasped and clasped for ever. If you follow this advice of my Guru you will also attain Parbramha.
14. IDEAL ROUTINE FOR A SADHAK
Shankaracharya has said that every sadhak should as far as possible remain in solitude and in sahaj Samadhi avastha, always firmly believing that he is the source of all illumination. He should read only those books which impart real knowledge. He should eat only that food which will keep not only his body but the mind also pure. The real food for a sadhak is the bliss he gets out of the sahaj Samadhi avastha! Oily and spicy food should better be avoided as they increase your basal metabolic rate and are an invitation for lust. It is said that one who can control his taste and eating can do the same for other senses as well. The corollary is that one who can’t do this puts his everlasting bachelorhood at stake. The food should contain the permissible mixture of spices, sour substances, salt, oil, butter and curds. Buttermilk is very good for spiritual sadhana. All in all the sadhak should remain satisfied with whatever food he gets and should eat that by taking all the precautions told earlier and should eat only after offering it to the God. This in itself is the beginning of the restraint which is so essential in a sadhak’s life.
One who is disinterested in everything that material can offer or is totally disenchanted with the worldly affairs can attain Parbramha, but he should continuously learn, throw away the vices and through the power of wisdom gained out of true knowledge overcome all the obstacles. This is the way to attain Parbramha by emaining undefeated by any impediments which are bound to be put by the evil forces and even sometimes by Gods to test the real worth of the sadhak, with a firm belief in the light emanating from within. He should be a friend of all yet independent. He should not blindly follow anyone. He should acquire all the virtues as far as possible. His talk should be very soft and sweet and his ways should be purest. He should be in the company of the like minded and have a Guru who can impart further knowledge on the same path. The Guru should be the best amongst all in all the aspects. If he can’t get such a Guru he should pray Shree Samarth who would either bless him or show him the correct path. As far as possible he should not stay in a family as that is likely to distract him from his chosen path. All in all he should always keep his goal foremost in his mind.
He should always read books like the Dasbodh, Upanishads, Bramhasutras and Bhagwadgeeta and also the books written by Shankaracharya. He should never forget the basic that this universe is being lit and therefore becomes visible by the light emanating from within him. He should always possess the faculty of analyzing this all the time. He should never expect happiness from anything else apart from the Parbramha and therefore not overindulge in loving anything else.
The sadhak should not fall prey to the lust which is liable to put impediments in his path every now and then. He should not allow his thoughts to be clouded by doubts about the correctness of his path, the concentration of the mind, getting afraid of anything and getting attracted towards the desires and instead be sure that he has attained the Parbramha and its light will thus clear all these evils. This helps in controlling the soul and the mind. It also can avoid any untoward events or remedy them. Otherwise he is likely to be haunted by all these things till death.
The feelings of happiness and grief originate in the mind. Then one starts loving and aspiring for the things yielding happiness and hating keeping away from those resulting in grief. The sadhak therefore should have total control over his mind so that he is able to go beyond the so called happiness and the grief. He should have no vices and should have the virtue of being in sahaj Samadhi avastha whenever he desires for it.
Although the sadhak has to live in the society he should ignore that and live like one in a forest. He should be able to effortlessly nullify the lust on the strength of wisdom, disenchantment and disinterest in everything except the Parbramha. He should remember that his enemies in this path are his own body, mind, intelligence, women except for his wife and other sense organs.
There are five vices in the body i.e. Lust, anger, irregularities of habits and excessive sleep. Neglect of the bodily feelings and of the female body allows you to control lust. To conquer anger you have to forgive, not talk excessively, not stay at a place for a long time and behave with others without allowing your ego to interfere. There is no need to elaborate on eliminating on irregularities of habits. It has been proved by modern science also that the lower your respiratory rate better is your physical and mental condition. To achieve that you have to take the optimum diet which is essential to sustain your bodily functions. You should not hate anyone, never criticize or unnecessarily praise anyone, avoid all mistakes and sins and never wish bad for anyone and all the time remember that you are the Parbramha. If you are able to do all this then you can be free of all types of fear. To avoid excessive sleep you should regulate your diet and exercise along with continuously philosophizing about your life. Sleep is a form of dark envelope around you. By meditation you can remove this darkness around you and reduce the excessive time spent and wasted in sleep.
The origin of this universe is from the happiness emanating from the Parbramha. It is maintained by the same and finally disappears in to it. This what Mother Shruti says. This being the case you should always remain in that state of happiness. It is the illusion of Maya which veils it. But it can’t do that with the Parbramha and therefore you should always strive for the enlightenment by the Parbramha.
Unification with the Parbramha and the realization that as all else is the expression of the Parbramha within me therefore is in no way different from me is knowledge. Meditation is nothing but disallowing anything to either enter the mind or emanate from it. Washing out the lust and the sense organs is bathing your mind. Dissolving the mind and the organs in the Parbramha within is purging your body. Yourself becoming the desireless happiness is the meal. Never forgetting that you and the Parbramha are the same is solitude. If you realize this and practice it too then no one can prevent you from attaining Moksha. If it is not possible to do it all the time at least you should always remember your Guru and consistently tell yourself that he is the source of the light of happiness. Always smile and consider it as an expression of the Parbramha inside you. Some of your time you can devote to reading the spiritual books, listening to the preaching of saints and thinking and philosophizing over it.
Shree Samarth says that you should never waste even a single moment. I always tell my foreign disciples that an empty mind is a devil’s workshop. If you don’t control your mind it is sure to wander all over. If you find this difficult to do, then try to remember the God or the Guru or do Ramnam Jap all the time. You should try not to give your mind any time to think over the desires and the lust. A mind bound by these leads you to hell whereas the unbound one by these leads you to Moksha. It is not an easy job but not impossible also. You can achieve it by perseverance.
The path of spiritualism is like a narrow lane passing through thorny bushes of material, physical pleasures, lust and desires. It is imperative then, that you have to tread on this path very prudently and carefully.
You should sleep at 10 pm and get up at 3 am. Immediately after that during meditation your first thought should be that you are the Parbramha. Then you should take bath with cold water. Even the modern science has now advocated this for obvious reasons. Then you should perform the pooja and yoga. If you are young exercise is a must to keep your body and mind healthy.
Then you should read some religious books like the Upanishads and afterwards spend the time till 12:00 noon in meditation. During the meditation always try to remember that it is the Guru you are serving by it. Then have your lunch after offering it to the Guru. In the afternoon, again read and think over the religious books. In the evening take bath and meditate for a while and then rest a little. When the stage comes wherein you can spend most of the time in meditation you can reduce the time allocated for the other things. Your daily chores should be very regular which includes diet, attention to the health of the body and sleep etc. Never keep long nights. Your diet should not have anything spicy or euphoriant. As far as possible the liquids should be avoided except water, milk and buttermilk. Try to avoid the company of bad ones and also avoid anything which is against the principles laid down by the spiritual path you are following. Constantly monitor whether your mind is becoming purer. This should be done till death.
Shree Samarth says, ‘All of this is a Herculean task which is not possible for a physically, mentally and spiritually weak.’ The greatest obstacle is your mind which is the most uncontrollable entity in this universe. Thence it becomes imperative that you make yeoman efforts to control it. You are the knowledgeable witness of your own mind. Neither at its beginning nor at its end there is any contamination of the companionship of lust or desire when you are able to control your mind. If you don’t do that then you are surely and certainly heading towards hell. Therefore with the wisdom acquired through the real knowledge control your ever wandering mind, otherwise it is readily subject to submission at the feet of lust and desire.
If you surrender to the desires of the mind totally then you are definitely inviting your death at an earlier time than destined. Lack of meditation, terrible interest in the bodily and family matters and enjoying all the demands of the senses leads to amnesia of your real self which again has the same implication. If you forget the presence of your soul even for a little while you are liable to go back on the track of spiritualism which is veiled death. All in all it is impossible to attain the Parbramha without controlling the mind. Shree Samarth states that constant remembrance of the Parbramha is a way to dispense with mind. Bhagwan Ram says that sacrificing everything is the best way to do that. Shree Samarth tells that control over the mind can be achieved by:
– Acquisition of real knowledge.
– Constant remembrance of the Guru and his preaching.
– Avoidance of the desires and lust.
– Yoga and Pranayam.
– Total surrender at the feet of the God and / or the Guru.
– Absolute love for the worship of the God and / or the Guru.
– Forgetting your bodily feelings.
– Always remaining in the state of unwavering happiness.
– Disallowing any thoughts to emanate from it except for those which are for tracking further on the spiritual path or for the betterment of the society
If you are able to do that then you can attain Moksha. This is what Bhagwan Ram and Shree Samarth have said and I have no reason to differ from them. I pray the God and my Guru that you do it and gain Moksha.
|| JAI JAI RAGHUVEER SAMARTH ||
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