Thought for the day

You should direct all feelings towards God These will bestow good fruits. These alone will liberate you. 


Chapter 3 
Bhakthi Yoga 

Whatever you see with your physical eyes is Bhutaakash. Whatever you see inside when you close your eyes is Chitakash. Yesterday I said that one can have visions internally by prayer and by meditation. Swami was telling the same. Chidakash is the Atma. By continuous sadhana, all that is in Bhutaakash (in the cosmos) can be seen in the cosmic mind or Chidakash. Yesterday I said that the scientists are spending so much money, time and effort to go to the moon. Whereas, by practicing sadhana and with internal vision, I have seen the moon. Swami made it possible. So also Swami took me to Mars. Before the scientists could go I have gone there already. Swami too has reflected these thoughts that one can see anything if he wants. By true prayer and through sadhana one can achieve anything he desires. Then Bhagawan himself takes us to all these worlds. 
Is going to all these different places the result we truly want from our sadhana? What is the fruit of our sadhana? It is to reach Chidakash. This means the Atma. What is Chidakash? It is Aham brahmasmi, the state of realising oneself as the divine Atma (or Aham brahmasmi). So true sadhana reaches Chitakash first (the mind) and then Chidakash (the cosmic mind). When one attains Chidakash he realizes Aham brahmasmi. Swami has said that the ‘I’ principle in every one of us is the Atma. But when  you identify the I with the body it is not the Atma. When you ask yourself who you are  you say, “I’m Vasantha I am 63 years old”. So this I is in relation to the body but this is  not the I that I’m talking about. The real ‘I’ is the Atma. So one has to think what was I  before the birth of this body and what will I become after its death? Only when you  address these questions and ask yourself who you really are, can you learn the truth of  your identity. So one has to go above and beyond body consciousness. 

There are two I’s. The first “I” relates to body consciousness and the second, the  big “I” is the Atma, God. How do we attain this state of Aham brahmasmi? One first has  to go on the path of devotion or bhakthi. Bhakthi at its conclusion becomes jnana,  wisdom. It is said that the path of wisdom is dry. So bhakti and jnana can be taken as the  two guidelines for reaching this state of Aham brahmasmi. There are two kinds of Bhakthi: Saguna and Nirguna. Saguna means praying to  God with form. For instance, all of us as devotees pray to and worship Sathya Sai Baba  as a physical form. Whereas Nirguna upasana is worship of the formless God. This latter  form of worship is possible only for people of wisdom, saints and seers. For ordinary  people Saguna upasana is the easiest kind of bhakthi to follow. For an example of Saguna  upasana we take Lakshmana in the Ramayana. 

Lakshmana never left Rama even for a moment. He was always with Rama. Just as a fish suffers when it is out of water, Lakshmana would suffer from separation from  Rama. He always wanted to be with Rama and this is saguna upasana. Before going to  the forest Rama told Lakshmana to stay behind and take care of the kingdom and the  kingly duties. Lakshmana said it is his duty to take care of the kingdom but because of his  love for his brother he wanted to go to the forest. He gave an example, how can a swan  lift up a mountain in the Himalayas? He could do it but he wanted to go with his brother  to the forest. He didn’t want to take on the burden of running a kingdom. This is the state of Saguna upasaka, the one who worships God with form. The other brother Baratha was  away from the kingdom in another place called Nandigram. After Baratha came back, he  was told by Rama to take care of the kingdom and do his duties. Baratha like Lakshmana  didn’t want to do it but because of his brothers command he consented. Half way through  he was not very happy so he came back and asked him for his padukas so that he would keep the padukas in place of his brother to rule the kingdom. So he returned to his kingdom and stayed in a small village, placed his brother’s padukas in a chair and ruled, as his brother would have done. Because of his love and worship of his brother he stayed for 14 years thinking of his brother and eventually he even looked just like Rama. 

So you see he was separated from his brother but still in part he was with him and this becomes Nirguna upasana. Lakshmana as Saguna upasaka was always with his brother, whereas Baratha was Nirguna upasaka, because he was always thinking of him. Both reach the same God. 

Saguna upasaka is like a small child. He depends on the form of God. He always wants proximity to Him and thinks of Him as his mother, father, guru, and friend. Just as a mother would not part from her child, in the same way the Saguna Bhakthas can not be away from worshiping their favorite form. 
 The Bhakthi sadhaka can start with Saguna but must progress to Nirguna. When does he attain such a state? Only when higher wisdom dawns does he see God in all forms. So for the ripening of bhakthi, wisdom has to appear. Nirguna upasana is like the state of a child who is away from the parent and grown up and can take care of his own needs. He is very independent. In Nirguna upasana he is also on the path of wisdom and he sees God as omnipresent. So, he doesn’t need a form. This is Nirguna upasana. 
What are the characteristics of a bhaktha? 
1. He has no hatred for anyone or anything in creation. 
2. He should be a friend to all and compassionate to all 
3. There is no ‘I or my’ ness in him. 
4. He should have equanimity in both pain and pleasure. 
 5. He always has a sense of self-containment. Such a person is a yogi. A yogi is one  of complete equilibrium. What is the reason for his containment? He has no needs, no  desires nor wants or complaints. There is only one and the only one is God. He doesn’t  have any worldly desires in his mind. Expectation might lead to disappointment. If one  ever expects anything he is never disappointed. So he doesn’t have any worldly desires or any expectations from the world. Dasarata said desires are the reason for all sadness. Such a devotee is my priya says Krishna. He has a very strong will and strong  determination. One who dedicates his mind and intellect to me is my priya, nearest and  dearest. 
 6. He is not displeased with anyone and no one is displeased with him. He doesn’t make other people angry. How can we stop others from being angry with us? This was a constant question in my mind. What is the solution? What we can do is to show no reaction to their anger. After all it is due to their ignorance that they are angry with us. So it may not have to cause a reaction in us. We should show kindness. Take the example of a Prahlada, a devotee of Lord Narayana. His own father was 
against him because his son refused to chant his name. Instead Prahlada chanted Lord Narayana’s name and this angered his father who punished him. He was punished in various ways like being thrown off the top of a mountain. But nothing affected Prahlada because he wa always chanting the name. When he was thrown off the mountain he was saved from certain death. How was this possible? Later he was given poison. He chanted God’s name took the poison and was not affected in anyway. Similarly he was nearly trampled by an elephant but escaped injury. It was because of his equanimity and his thought of God that he escaped. He was not affected by any of these punishments because of his union with God. Because he was established in himself and always at peace with  himself, nothing affected him. So you see, if we are not displeased with others, and do  not displease others nothing will affect us in anyway. 
 7. He has no trace of desire. None at all. Whatever comes he takes it as the prasadam of God. 
 8. He is totally pure both internally and externally. 
 9. He shows the same love towards all. Shows no partiality in his relations with people. 
 10. He is always happy. Nothing brings pain to him. He knows no grief. He is ever blissful. 
 11. Whatever he does he dedicates it to the lotus feet of the Lord. Each and every action that comes from him is dedicated to the Lord. 

Other qualities of a bhaktha: 

 He remains free from good and bad actions. He has no attachment. As a result neither good nor bad action binds him. All the fruits of his action are dedicated to God and so God takes the responsibility for them. Such a bhaktha is called a bhakthimaan. 
 
He has no permanent place of residence. Where God puts him that is his residence. So  you can see in the life of a sanyasi, he doesn’t stay in one place. He is always on the  move.  He has a stable and balanced mind. 
A bhaktha is described in the Gita as follows: 

1. Nahrishyate - He has nothing to rejoice about other than God. No other worldly object gives him the joy that God gives. Joy arises when one gets what one likes or when one loses what one dislikes. The devotee does not have such a joy that is not permanent. He wants only God. He has no mind for worldly happiness. No desires. Swami says ‘Die mind’. This happens when desires go. Then you have the dia..mond. (But our hearts are full of desires). 

2.Nadweshti - One does not have any hatred. A devotee loves God and sees God in all and loves everyone. When we hate somebody our hatred is reflected in him or her and he hates us back. In the same way, love is also reflected. This is the reason why the whole world loves great saints seers and realised souls. Swami gives love love love. That is His reflection reaction and resound. So we see that Bhagawan is attracting all these millions and millions of people it is because of His love being reflected back again and again. So if we also love people the same love is reflected to ourselves and there can be no room for any hatred. It is like looking into a mirror. Whatever you see is reflected back. When we show love, the love is reflected back. 

3. Nashoshati - One is not affected by worldly things. No grief. The devotee is in a blissful ocean of love. 4. Nakankshati- One has no desire except God. Buddha said desire is the root of 
all evil. Turn your minds to God and call on Him. Why want perishable objects? The eternal Lord is waiting to answer our call. 

In the Bhakthi Yoga Chapter 12 of the Gita, eight stanzas called  “Amirthashtakam” (the eight nectarine verses); end with ‘such a one is my loving  bhaktha’. So says Krishna about every devotee with these qualities. Chapter 4  Bhakthi Yoga - Part 2 

In continuation with yesterday’s talk on Bhakthi Yoga, I will give two or three more qualities of bhakthas. One quality is fearlessness. For spiritual practices fearlessness is essential. Yesterday in his discourse Swami was telling about Prahlada. Where did Prahlada get that iron will? It was because of his fearlessness. His father put him through many life threatening dangers and punishments but he was fearless and unafraid of anything. This is very important quality for sadhana. 

In my case when I was a small child I was very much afraid and apprehensive. I was afraid of my father and grandparents and was also brought up in a very protective atmosphere that made me even more fearful. I never used to sleep alone. I never went alone anywhere even inside the house. This was also true in regard with things to do with the body. Even if I had a small headache, I would immediately want to go see the doctor. It’s a small village so there were no good doctors and so for treatment I had to be taken to Madurai, which is some distance away. Even in such circumstances I wanted to be taken to a doctor. Later after I came to know about Swami, my first prayer to him was to remove my fear. Afterwards I began thinking why am I so afraid of everything? I realised then that body consciousness is the main reason for fear. If there is no body consciousness then there is no fear. 

Think about your own life. When you have a fever or headache you immediately think about your body and worry about your health. So body consciousness and fear are linked. Immediately we run to the doctor. So we must begin thinking that we are not this body! We are divine souls of God, Atma, and there is no relation between body and Atma. If we have this realisation then we will not have attachment towards the body. In the Gita Lord Krishna says that Atma is indestructible. It is not burned by fire or drenched by water and cannot be dried by air. So unlike the body, the Atma doesn’t undergo any suffering at all. If this knowledge dawns on us, we will not be affected by fear. We will realise that we have to identify with the Atma not the body. 

Since Prahlada had this state of mind he could undergo any amount of suffering. He had the wisdom that nothing could affect him. He was always in the thought of God chanting, “Om Namo Narayana”and the repetition of the name saved him from all dangerous situations. So fearlessness is one of the most important qualities of a Bhaktha. The symbol of truth is fearlessness. Gandhi followed non-violence and truth. His fearlessness made it possible. In the 16th chapter of the Gita divine qualities and demonic qualities are given. So you can see the Gita reflects the war between the Pandavas, the good and the Kauravas, the evil. Again it is the war between the good qualities and the bad qualities. Just as the opposing armies faced each other so bad qualities face-off against good qualities. The commander -in- chief of good qualities is truth, which manifests as fearlessness. But it is not enough to be commander without some support from behind. The backing for truth is non-violence and its companion humility. Truth is the hallmark of fearlessness and non-violence is the hallmark of humility. So how do truth and humility go hand in hand? If you know that you are following truth, you have a bit of ego (pride)that you are  following the truth. So we should have humility alongside of truth to protect us from this error. It has been said in the Gita that if you have truth and humility all other good qualities are also included. This is the reason Bhagawan has stated the main quality for a devotee is fearlessness. Gandhi had truth and non-violence as his two eyes and that is why an ordinary soul becomes a mahatma. We also can become a mahatma if we follow these good qualities. These qualities are the most welcomed and loved by Bhagawan. 

 Another quality is silence. What is silence? Some go into silence once a week as a practice. It is a good practice but they tend to write on to paper what they want to communicate to others. The mouth doesn’t speak but their hands speak by writing. . There is no use being silent for one day when you are still in communication with people. So again what is the silence I’m referring to? It is a thoughtless state… thoughtless of the world but with the thought of God. So at least one day we should be in this silent state. Swami always says don’t talk so much, talk less. He says this because too much verbal communication is a hurdle to spiritual advancement. That is why silence has been given so much importance. Swami was saying people talk and gossip even in darshan and in the darshan line. We think we alone are thinking of Swami while it’s the others who are gossiping. Swami says you are sitting there and have your mind on all kinds of things. So how is this any different than talking? In order to grasp the grace of Bhagawan we must maintain silence. Only then will it sink in. If we talk and are not silent, we don’t get the vibrations. So silence is a very important quality.