Dear Friends,
It is no doubt, for one who has transcended the body consciousness and there has resulted a complete vasanaakshayam, no rules are applicable, such person verily moves like a dry leaf without any course. What can be told of such an exalted person!!!
But, what is important is to be at bay, like Master has said, it is always best to be the servant 'I'
The "servant I"
MASTER: "It is true that one or two can get rid of the 'I' through samadhi; but these cases are very rare. You may indulge in thousands of reasonings, but still the 'I' comes back. You may cut the peepal-tree to the very root today, but you will notice a sprout springing up tomorrow. Therefore if the 'I' must remain, let the rascal remain as the 'servant I'. As long as you live, you should say, 'O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant.' The 'I' that feels, 'I am the servant of God, I am His devotee' does not injure one. Sweet things cause acidity of the stomach, no doubt, but sugar candy is an exception.
"The path of knowledge is very difficult. One cannot obtain Knowledge unless one gets rid of the feeling that one is the body. In the Kaliyuga the life of man is centred on food. He cannot get rid of the feeling that he is the body and the ego. Therefore the path of devotion is prescribed for this cycle. This is an easy path. You will attain God if you sing His name and glories and pray to Him with a longing heart. There is not the least doubt about it. "Suppose you draw a line on the surface of water with a bamboo stick. The water appears to be divided into two parts; but the line doesn't remain for any length of time. The 'servant I'or the 'devotee I' or the 'child I' is only a line drawn with the ego and is not real".
All these feelings that 'i' have now gone deep into self enquiry, and hence do not require to do any other things are all dangerous line of thoughts to nurture for an aspirant. Bhagavan himself was a Nithya-Upasaki, he had his routine, his own, he set highest examples, and got himself involved very meticulously in matters of importance, he is even said to have initiated Ganapaty muni, he has inadvertently initiated his childhood mate Pokkiri Raja in Shiva nama Japa, many others with Rama nama etc...
It is not even Upasana, the line of thoughts, that nothing is required is dangerous. But, we must question ourselves, should we be left around for a couple of days without food, shelter and money, then we would be able to see our true selves, as to where we stand.
we are not even ready to renounce anything, mostly we are comfortable placed, and hide these in the garb that only mental renunciation is required and that physically one need not renounce anything. Here i am reminded one incident from Sai Sat Charitra.
Quick Brahma-gyan
There was a rich gentleman (unfortunately his name and whereabouts are not mentioned), who was very prosperous in his life. He had amassed a large quantity of wealth, houses, and lands, and had many servants and dependents. When Baba’s fame reached his ears he said to a friend of his that he was not in want of anything, and so, he would go to Shirdi and ask Baba to give him Brahma-gyan, which if he got, would certainly make him more happy. His friend dissuaded him, saying, “It is not easy to know Brahma and especially so for an avaricious man like you, who is always engrossed in wealth, wife and children. Who will in your quest of Brahma-gyan satisfy you, who does not give away even a paisa in charity?”
saw Sai Baba, fell at His Feet and said, “Baba, hearing that, You show Brahma to all who come to you, I too have come here all the way from my distant place. I am much fatigued by the journey and if I get Brahma-gyan from You, my troubles will be well-paid and rewarded.” Baba, then, replied, “Oh, My dear friend do not be anxious, I shall show you Brahma. Many people come to Me and ask for wealth, health, power, honour, position, cure of diseases and other temporal matters. Rare is the person who comes to Me and asks for Brahma-gyan. There is no dearth of people asking for worldly things but people interested in spiritual matters are very rare, I think, it is a fortunate and auspicious moment, when persons like you, come and ask Me for Brahma-gyan. So forthwith, I show to you with pleasure, Brahma, with all its accompaniments and complexities.”
Saying this, Baba started to show him Brahma. He made him sit there and engaged him in some other talk and thus, made him forget his question for the time-being. Then He called a boy and told him to go to one Nandu Marwadi and get from him a loan of Rs. Five. The boy left and returned immediately, saying that Nandu was absent and his house was locked. Then, Baba asked him to go to Bala grocer and get from him the said loan. This time also the boy was unsuccessful. This experiment was repeated again twice or thrice, with the same result. Sai Baba was, as we know, the living and moving Brahma Incarnate. Then, some-one may ask, “Why did He want the paltry sum of five rupees, and why did He try hard to get it? In reality He did not want this sum at all. He must have known fully that Nandu and Bala were absent, and He seemed to have adopted this procedure as a test for the seeker of Brahma. That gentleman had a roll or bundle of currency notes in his pocket and if he was really earnest, he would not have sat quiet and be a mere onlooker when Baba was frantically trying to get a paltry sum of Rs. five. He knew that Baba would keep His word and repay the debt, and that the sum wanted was insignificant.
Still he could not make up his mind and advance the sum. Such a man wanted from Baba, the greatest thing in the world, viz. the Brahma-gyan! Any other man who really loved Baba would have given to him Rs. five at once, instead of being a mere onlooker. It was otherwise with this man.
He advanced no money nor did he sit silent but began to be impatient, as he was in a haste to return and implored Baba, saying. “Oh Baba, please, give me Brahma-gnyan soon!” Baba replied, “Oh my dear friend did you not understand all the procedure that I went through, sitting in this place, for enabling you to see Brahma? It is in short this : For seeing Brahma, one has to give five things, i.e., surrender five things, viz. (1) five Pranas (vital forces), (2) five senses, (3) mind, (4) intellect and (5) ego. This path of Brahma-gyan or self-realization is as hard as treading on the edge of a razor.
Sai Baba then gave a rather long discourse on the subject, the purport of which, is given below :
Qualifications for Brahma-gyan or Self-realization:
All persons do not see or realize the Brahma in their life-time. Certain qualifications are absolutely necessary.
1. Mumukshu or intense desire to get free. He who thinks that, he is bound and that, he should get free from bondage and works earnestly and resolutely to that end and does not care for any other thing, is qualified for the spiritual life.
2. Virakti or a feeling of non-attachment with the things of this world and the next. Unless a man feels disgusted with the things, emoluments and honours, which his actions would bring in this world and the next, he has no right to enter into the spiritual realm.
3. Antarmukha (introversion) Our senses have been created by God with a tendency to move outward and so, man always looks outward and not inward. He, who wants self-realization and immortal life, must turn his gaze inwards
and look to his inner self.
4. Catharsis – (eliminating all base ideas and emotions) – Unless a man has turned away from wickedness and stopped from doing wrong, and has entirely composed himself, and unless his mind is at rest, he cannot gain selfrealization even by means of knowledge.
5. Right conduct – Unless a man leads a life of truth, penance and insight, a life of celibacy, he cannot get Godrealization.
6. Preferring Shreyas (the good), to Preyas (the pleasant) – There are two sorts of things, viz. the good and the pleasant; the former deals with spiritual affairs, and the latter with mundane matters. Both these are open to man for acceptance. He has to think and choose one of them. The wise man prefers the good to the pleasant, but the unwise, through greed and attachment chooses the pleasant.
7. Control of the mind and the senses – The body is the chariot and the self is its master, intellect is the charioteer and the mind is the reins, the senses are the horses and sense-objects are their paths. He who has no understanding and whose mind is unrestrained, has his senses unmanageable, like the stray horse of a charioteer, does not reach his destination (get self realization), but goes through the round of births and deaths; but he who has understanding and whose mind is restrained, has his senses under control, like the good obedient horse of a charioteer, reaches the destination, i.e. the state of self-realization, whence he is not born again. The man, who has understanding as his charioteer (guide) and is able to rein his mind, reaches the end of the journey, which is the supreme abode of the all-pervading, Vishnu (Lord).
8. Purification of the mind – Unless a man discharges satisfactorily and dis-interestedly the duties of his station in life, his mind will not be purified and unless his mind is purified, he cannot get self-realization. It is only in the purified mind that, Vivek (dis-attachment to the unreal) crop up and lead on to self-realization. Unless egoism is dropped, avarice got rid of and the mind made desire less (pure), self-realization is not possible. The idea that “I am the body” is a great delusion and attachment to this idea is the cause of bondage. Leave off this idea and attachment therefore, if you want to reach the goal of self-realization.
9. The necessity of a Guru – The knowledge of the self is so subtle and mystic that, no one can, by his own individual effort ever hope to attain it. So the help of another person – teacher, who has himself got selfrealization, is absolutely necessary. What others cannot give with great effort and pains, can be easily gained with the help of such a teacher; for he has walked on the path himself and can easily take the disciple, step by step on the ladder of spiritual progress.
10. And lastly, grace of the Lord is the most essential thing. When the Lord is pleased with any body, He gives him Viveka and Vairagya and takes him safe beyond the ocean of mundane existence, “The Self cannot be gained by the study of Vedas, nor by intellect, nor by learning. He whom the Self chooses, gains it. To him the Self reveals its nature,” says the Katha Upanishad.
After the dissertation was over, Baba turned to the gentleman and said, “Well sir, there is in your pocket the Brahma in form of fifty- times of five (Rs. 250/-) rupees, please, take that out.” The gentleman took out from his pocket the bundle of currency notes, and to his great surprise, found on counting them, that, there were 25 notes of 10 rupees each. Seeing this omniscience of Baba, he was moved and fell at Baba’s Feet and craved for His blessings. Then Baba said to him, “Roll up your bundle of Brahma, viz. currency notes. Unless, you completely get rid of your avarice or greed you will not get the real Brahma. How can he whose mind is engrossed in wealth, progeny and prosperity, expect to know the Brahma without removing his attachment for them? The illusion of attachment or the love for money is a deep eddy (whirlpool) of pain, full of crocodiles in the form of conceit and jealousy. He who is desire less, can alone cross this whirlpool. Greed and Brahma are asunder as poles, they are eternally opposed to each other. Where there is greed there is no room for thought or meditation of the Brahma. Then how can a greedy man, get dispassion and salvation? For a greedy man there is no peace, neither contentment, nor steadiness. If there be even a little trace of greed in mind, all the Sadhanas (spiritual endeavors) are of no avail. Even the knowledge of a wellread man, who is not free from the desire of the fruit or reward of his actions, is futile and can’t help him in getting selfrealization. The teachings of a Guru are of no use to a man who is full of egoism and who always thinks about the sense objects. Purification of mind is absolutely necessary, without it all our spiritual endeavors are nothing, but useless show and pomp. It is therefore, better for one to take only what he can digest and assimilate. My treasury is full and I can give anyone, what he wants, but I have to see, whether he is qualified to receive My gift. If you listen to Me carefully, you will be certainly benefited. While sitting in this Masjid I never speak any untruth.”
When a guest is invited to a house all the members of the household and other friends and relations, that happen to be present are entertained along with the guest. So all those, that were present in the Masjid at that time could partake of the spiritual feast, that was served by Baba for the rich gentleman. After getting Baba’s blessings, one and all, including the gentleman, left the place quite happy and contented.
The immediate feeling would be that we are not the person in the story, but we must place ourselves before ourselves, and keep ourselves in razors edge and see where we really stand. First and foremost thing i personally feel really essential is nurturing humility, without humility nothing can really prosper. we should have such humility that we do not even say in the voice like nothing else is required, only this is required, who knows what really may be required by us? we have to be humble enough to be thrown here and there by Bhagavan's will or the will of Self. we have to become NOTHING, this is annihilation of ego, Shunya Sampaadyam, the earning of Shunyatvam. If Ego is really killed, why should it matter if one has to do upasana or not or fast or not? what matters? be ready to be thrown about here and there, this is annihilation of ego, that which opines that this is not required and this alone would suffice is to add fuel to the ego in subtle form, that will continue for ever. There are subtle things, we fail to take notice, and it is only because of lack of humilty. This is not acquisition on anybody, these are just personal musing. Be so humble that you simply disappear in the will of God or Self.
Thanks for opportunity!
--
