Paradox of Liberation

Liberation is believed to be the epitome of achievement of the human form. ‘Desire’ for liberation is contradictory in itself, because liberation is absence of all desires. Sage Ashtavakra said that liberation is merely a blink away. It need not involve any form of penance, effort or endeavour. The identity of self is totally a creation of the self and a figment of imagination. The name and the form, are merely projections of the mind. Liberation is instantaneously becoming aware of the absence of the subject-object dichotomy. Ashtavakra was a realised soul and his discourse to King Janaka forms the contents of Ashavakra Gita predates the Bhagavat Gita. The philosophy as enunciated by Ashtavakra and restated by Sri Ramana Maharshi challenges the basic premise that one has to make any effort to seek liberation – even ashtanga yoga as propounded by Patanjali. The true nature of the Self is beyond all identity and ego. It is plain consciousness. The ego is adulteration of this consciousness by total conviction in this fleeting illusory identity. And then the game of seeking begins, like the dog chasing its own tail. Holding on to the illusion of identity, one goes about seeking. The form can never ever seeking the formless consciousness of which it is a manifestation. It can only merge and this merger can happen only when the form realises the futility of all efforts to be become formless.

(Deepak M. Ranade – Taken from Sri Ramana Jyothi, November 2010)

Guidance from the Mother to Sadhakas

Guidance from the Mother to Sadhakas

The most important surrender is the surrender of your character, your way of being, so that it may change. If you do not surrender your very own nature, never will this nature change. It is this that is most important. You have certain ways of understanding, certain ways of reacting, certain ways of feeling, almost certain ways of progressing, and above all, a special way of looking at life and expecting from it certain things – well, it is this you must surrender. That is, if you truly want to receive the divine Light and transform yourself, it is your whole way of being you must offer – offer by opening it, making it as receptive as possible so that the divine Consciousness which sees how you ought to be, may act directly and change all these movements into movements more true, more in keeping with your own truth. This is infinitely more important than surrendering what one does. It is not what one does (what one does is very important, that’s evident) that is the most important thing but what one IS. Whatever the activity, it is not quite the way of doing it but the state of consciousness in which it is done that is important.

The true lasting quietness in the vital and the physical as well as in the mind comes from a complete consecration to the Divine; for when you can no more call anything, not even yourself, yours, when everything, including your body, sensations, feelings and thoughts, belongs to the Divine, the Divine takes the entire responsibility of all and you have nothing more to worry about.

There is no joy more perfect than to give oneself totally to that which is greater than oneself. God, Supreme Origin, Divine Presence, Absolute Truth – it does not matter what name we give HIM or what aspect we most easily approach HIM through – to forget oneself totally in an integral consecration is the surest path towards Realisation.

To achieve that, one must have an obstinate will and a great patience. But once one has taken the resolution to do it, the divine help will be there to support and to help. This help is felt inwardly in the heart.

Every day, every moment should be an occasion for a new and completer consecration, and not one of those enthusiastic and flurried consecrations, over-active, full of illusions about the work, but a deep and silent consecration which is not necessarily visible but penetrates and transfigures all action. Our mind, solitary and peaceful, should always repose in Thee and from that pure summit have the exact perception of realities, of the sole and eternal Reality behind all unstable and fleeting appearances.

It is always good to look within oneself from time to time and see that one is nothing and can do nothing, but afterwards one must turn one’s eyes to Thee, knowing that Thou art all and Thou canst do all.

... I know only one way out of all troubles and difficulties; it is entire self-giving and consecration to the Divine.

... the least details of life and action, each movement of thought, even of sensation, of feeling, which is normally of little importance, becomes different the moment you look at it asking yourself, “Did I think this as an offering to the Divine, did I feel this as an offering to the Divine?...” If you recall this every moment of your life, the attitude becomes quite different from what it was before. It becomes very wide; it is a chain of innumerable little things each having its own place, whilst formerly you used to let them go by without being aware of them. That widens the field of consciousness. If you take a half-hour of your life and think of it, putting to yourself this question: “Is it a consecration to the Divine?” you will see that the small things become a big thing and you will have the impression that life becomes rich and luminous.

(The Mother, Pondicherry -- Importance of Self-consecration in Sadhanka – “Taken from All India Magazine”, November 2010)

God's Ways God Alone Knows

God’s Ways God Alone Knows

By

Satish K Kapoor

Death is not just a physical fact and the human body, a part of the Universal body, is not the complete man. The Invisible Bing operates through the physical vestment in an eternal process of cosmic evolution.

The Rishis prayed for a full life-span (purnayu) of hundred years. ‘May we see a hundred autumns. May we live a hundred autumns (Rigveda, VII.66.16). ‘Living on are ye; may I live, may I live my whole life –time’ (Atharvanaveda, XIX.69.1); the purpose being ‘multi-benevolent activities’ (Yajurveda XXXV.15).

They why do some leave physical frame early and why some live long? Are they governed by the inexorable laws of nature, having little control?

The questions are baffling and may never be solved to the satisfaction of all. The individual mind can never fully grasp the working of the Universal Mind without merging into it. But after merging, there may be no coming back to narrate the experience. Human souls are like waves on the ocean of cosmic consciousness. Just as solid becomes liquid and liquid turns gaseous under certain conditions, the Supreme Spirit becomes embodied in gross matter and then reverts to its original state, in a process of creative motion. Different types of souls come with different assignments.

There are three types of souls – the evolved, the evolving and those in between. The evolved souls come as incarnations to help, support or guide humankind, kindle he light of love and knowledge, and to dilute negative forces. The evolving souls struggle to attain divinity through ethical means and spiritual activities. The middling category fluctuates between the pure and the impure spheres of consciousness.

Death is not the end of journey of life but the beginning of it as there are lives after lives in the cosmic process of evolution till one attains perfection. The cosmic force working through humans stays in the world till its mission is complete. All human activities are made manifest through the working of natural laws.

The impulse of consciousness is lesser in stone than in plants, lesser in plants than in animals. But it is at optimum level i in humans who can move from self consciousness to universal consciousness. Despite man’s will and his freedom to act, he seems to be no more than a puppet governed by the Universal Mind, which decides his role and duration, before providing him suitable vehicle of matter, and infusing in him the spark of life. Vital breaths allotted to a person are determined by his prarabdha karma or past actions of successive lives which shape the events of his present life.

The question, why do some die young, is the same as asking, why do some die old? Death is inevitability in human time. In cosmic time, there is no death. As the Bhagavad Gita says:

Worn-out garments, Are shed by the body;

Worn-out bodies, Are shed by the dweller

Within the body, New bodies are donned

By the dweller, like garments.

(Part of the article from The Vedanta Kesari of Sri Ramakrishna Mission, November 2010)

For Happy Peace and Luminous and Immutable Serenity

O Lord, I sense the infinite happiness which is the portion of those whose life is entirely consecrated to Thee. And this does not depend upon outer circumstances but on one’s own state of being and its greater or lesser degree of illumination. A perfect consecration to Thy law cannot but bring about modifications in the totality of circumstances, yet it is not these which make possible and express this perfect consecration. I mean that it is not under certain circumstances, always the same for all, that Thy law is manifested; for everyone this manifestation is different according to his temperament, that is, according to the mission which for the moment is assigned to him in physical life.

But what is unchangeable and universal is the happy peace, the luminous and immutable serenity of all those who are closely consecrated to Thee, who no longer have any darkness, ignorance, egoistic attachment or bad will in them.

Oh, may all awake to this divine peace.

(The Mother, Pondicherry -- Taken from The India Magazine, November 2010)

Consecration of One Block is Not Enough

Consecration in One Block Is Not Enough

Although my whole being is in theory consecrated to Thee, O Sublime Master, who art the life, the light and the love in all things, I still find it hard to carry out this consecration in detail.....

How many times a day, still, I act without my action being consecrated to Thee: I at once become aware of it by an indefinable uneasiness which is translated in the sensibility of my body by a pang in my heart. I then make my action objective to myself and it seems to me ridiculous, childish or blameworthy; I deplore it, for a moment I am sad, until I dive into Thee and, there losing myself with a child’s confidence, await from Thee the inspiration and strength needed to set right the error in me and around me, -- two things that are one; for I have now a constant and precise perception of the universal unity determining an absolute interdependence of all actions.

(The Mother, Pondicherry -- Taken from The India Magazine, November 2010)

Conscious and Unconscious Mind

Conscious and Unconscious Mind

The human mind is divided in two parts; conscious and unconscious. Numerous functions take place in the body like seeing, hearing, digestion and respiration which are governed by the unconscious mind, without any effort by the conscious mind. The conscious mind has unlimited capacity for thinking and analysing facts. The Creator has made the conscious mind free to involve itself in great quest for truth. What is truth? It is up to us to discover it... Everyone is a seeker by birth, but everyone lives his/her life without knowing what the real purpose of life is. We want to enjoy life, but we do not know what real enjoyment is. It is a paradoxical situation and everyone is living in this state of self-contradiction. When the Creator has given you a mind and made you free to use it, you should make use of this opportunity. You have to discover the reality. If you want to save yourself from going astray, activate your thinking faculty. Think who you are and what your true nature is, and you will surely reach the gates of truth.

(www.cpsglobal.org – Taken from Sri Ramana Jyoti, October 2010)

Rigours of Advaita Approach

Rigours of Advaita Approach

The advaita tradition maintains that only certain people are qualified to take up the study of Advaita Vedanta. This is because the path of advaita is like walking a tight rope across a ravine. One who is not competent to do so would most certainly get injured. It is out of compassion and regard for such souls that some conditions exist. Adi Sankara presented four basic qualifications:

1. Those who have cleansed their minds by spiritual practices.
2. Those who have achieved a degree of mental calmness.
3. Those who have realised that the cravings of body are ephemeral.
4. Those who sincerely desire liberation or moksha.

(www.nonduality.com – Taken from Sri Ramana Jyoti, October 2010)

Seeing Truly .. The Bhagavad Gita

Seeing Truly ... The Bhagavad Gita

If you see the soul in every living being, you see truly. If you see immortality in the heart of every mortal being, you see truly. If you see God within every man and woman, then you can never do harm to any man or woman. If you see God in yourself, then you attain perfection.

When you see the soul in every living being, you see that all actions are performed by the soul’s energy – though the soul itself does not act. You see that the soul inspires every movement – though the soul itself does not move. When you see that amidst the variety of living beings the soul is the unity, then you attain fulfilment.

The soul has no birth; it cannot be divided into parts; and it has no death; it dwells in the body, but it is not touched by the body. It pervades the universe, but is not affected by anything in the universe. The soul can never be corrupted or stained.

As the sun lights up the world, the soul lights up the body. Those who possess the eye of wisdom, can distinguish the soul from the body – and therefore they can break free from the body.

(Taken from the monthly magazine “Splendour”, November 2010)

The Direct Experience

The Direct Experience

The Buddha held that Reality is beyond sense experience. Like colour, say red, it can only be experienced, not described. Likewise you know the nature of Reality by venturing into your inner self. Those who are anxious to learn must experiment and accept their own findings. They should not be guided by dogmas or creeds, or by doctrines and theories, no matter how profound they may be. They do not have to believe the experiences of others. To the Buddha, self-verification through self-experience is the way to peace of mind, to higher wisdom, to nirvana – which is not an after-life experience. It is here and now.

(Ashoka Vohra – Taken from Sri Ramana Jyoti, October 2010)

The World - A Deception

The World - A Deception

Sri Ramana tells us that the entire world of experience is a mere shadowy illusion like a film projected on a white screen. Where are the characters of the movie before or after or even during the projection? On the screen? They simple are not. We know full well that the entire moving picture is a mere illusion. Sure, we are happily engaged with it and its characters and scenes. We cry with them and laugh with them. But most of us are content to leave them behind in the theatre and get back to our ‘real’ lives. Only few of us get so carried away by these fictional characters that we dream of them at night and, may even long to meet them and interact with them again and again in ‘real’ life as well.

(Dr. Sarada – Taken from Sri Ramana Jyoti, October 2010)