S´raddha - Sri Anirvan

Transcription

ŚraddhaA Quarterly devoted to an exposition of the teachings of
The Mother and Sri Aurobindo
Vol.3 No. 3
Publication Details
Frequency of publication : Quarterly. Published on 15 August, 24 November, 21 February,
24 April.
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All correspondence may be addressed to
24 April, 2012
ŚraddhaSri Aurobindo Bhavan
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Editorial
Let us, for a change, dispense with our usual editorial format and turn our eyes
inward and look inside, not quarter of an inch within but deeper and deeper till we
arrive at the ‘welling core’ of our being where on an ‘argent floor’ burns the untrembling
fire of aspiration lit in her infinite love and compassion for her children by the Grace
and ever living Presence of the Mother. There let us pause for a while and concentrating
in the heart’s calm and silence, let us hear what Nolini Kanto Gupta has to say
about the Mother in his simple but far-reaching, luminous and moving words. The
chosen passages have been taken from the first few pages of his essay ‘On The Brink’
in vol. 6 of his Collected Works.
On the Brink
One of its legs the Swan does not lift,
as it soars upward out of the waters;
if perchance it lifted that also,
there would be then neither today nor tomorrow,
nor would there be day nor night
nor would there be dawning any more.
close to Asuras that the battle upon earth between Gods and Asuras seems to be an
unequal game. Man by actual nature is asuric: it is through aspiration that he is
trying to be godly but it seems he is now out of breath with his aspiration and has
fallen back on his normal nature of the Asura.
Man enshrines in him the individualised Godhead, the personal Divine: the
possibility of the incarnation of the Divine lies in him alone. Hence the struggle
between Gods and Asuras for the possession of the human vessel.
It was the intention of the Mother to implant the Divine upon the turbid soil of
normal humanity purifying it of its dross and suffusing it with the heavenly breath.
If that is not done, then she will have no other choice but to leave the field altogether
to the Asuras, in whatever camp or form they are, to fight it out among themselves
and finally destroy themselves in the act even like the Yadavas of old after Krishna’s
retirement. …………………………….
Then only, consequent on the self-annihilation of the Asuras, can this earth be
free and open for the incoming of the new race of beings born divine, not made.
Whether any remnants of the human race will be left and in what condition, if any
part of it could be incorporated or integrated into the new dispensation, is a mystery
that will remain so till the actuality reveals it.
But …. there is always hope and cheer, vistas of escape; the tunnel ends at last
and at the end there is always the light The Lord says indeed: I am Time, the
Destroyer of the worlds —ka–lo’smi lokaks.ayakr.t — but he also declares in no uncertain
terms his voice of assurance, the resounding bugle-call of his panchajanya , the Divine
Conch:
.
.
anityam asukham lokam imam pra–pya bhajasva ma–m.1
.
.
...ma–mekam śaranam vraja
Atharvaveda, 11.4.21
the Vedic Rishi.
Even so when the Mother withdrew physically from this earth we presumed
that she did so with one foot only, the other foot she left planted here below for us
to worship. Well, was that only a presumption or things have changed since?
Here on this earth, we know, a battle was raging and is still raging between the
Gods and the Asuras: men are their agents and instruments. The battle is to decide
the destiny of earth and humanity. Mother was the leader of the divine army here.
Now human beings are a very uncertain quantity. They themselves do not know
on which side they are ranging. Some perhaps may know to some extent but that
does not seem to count much in the actual reckoning of things.
… the pity is that man does not know much and yet so much, if not the whole
thing, depends on him. For man as he is now is so far removed from godliness and so
THUS
.
aham tva– sarvapa–pebhyo moks.ayis.ya–mi ma– śucah..2
Let us now conclude with these stirring words of the Mother herself speaking
to some of her senior disciples in April 1972, a year and a half before she
relinquished her physical body. The selected pieces have been reproduced from
vol.13 of the Mother’s Agenda, pp.124-127 with due acknowledgement and thanks
to Institut de Recherches Evolutives, Paris.
For centuries and centuries, humanity has waited for this time. It has come.
But it is difficult. I don’t simply tell you we are here upon earth to rest and enjoy
1
“To this ephemeral unhappy world you have come. Love me and turn to me.” Gita, IX.33
2 “Take refuge in Me alone, I will deliver thee from all sin and evil, do not grieve.”
Gita, XVIII. 66
ourselves, now it is not the time for that. We are here ... to prepare the way for the
new creation….
So I have called you to tell you that. Take what you can, do what you can, my
help will be with you. All sincere efforts will be helped to the maximum. ……….
Now is the time to be heroic. Heroism is not what people say, it is to be
completely united — and the divine help will always be with those who have, in
all sincerity, resolved to be heroic. Voilà.
…………………………………………
You must make an effort, you must conquer pettiness and limitations, and above
all tell the ego: your time is over. We want a race without ego, with the divine
consciousness in place of the ego. That’s what we want: the divine consciousness,
which will enable the race to develop and the “supramental being” to be born. ….
I ask only one thing: don’t listen to the ego. That’s all. The time of the ego is
over. We want to go beyond humanity and its ego, to leave it behind, we want a
race without ego, with a divine consciousness in place of the ego. There, that’s all.
If there is a sincere “yes” in your hearts, you will have satisfied me fully. I
don’t need words: I need your hearts’ sincere adherence. That’s all.
(silence)
…. We must give to the world the example of what must be, not petty egoistic
movements, but an aspiration towards the manifestation of Truth. Voilà.
(silence)
I can assure you that all sincere effort will be pleinement, fully helped by the
Divine. Of that I am sure. And I can assure you of that.
(silence)
That is all I had to say. (Mother’s Agenda, vol.13, pp.124-7)
We are grateful to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry, for its kind
permission to publish the following :
— the essay by Sri Aurobindo entitled ‘The Path’ appearing in the book Essays
Human And Divine, 1994, pp.178-180
— the Mother’s self-porttrait (1935) taken from p.2 of the book ‘The Mother :
Paintings And Drawings’ published by The Trust in 1992
— Krishnalal’s painting, attached herewith, taken from the resources of The
Studio
— extracts from the essay entitled ‘On The Brink’, pp. 20-22 from vol.6 of
Nolini Kanto Gupta’s Collected Works.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are reproduced here with
acknowledgements and thanks to the Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram,
Pondicherry. Our special thanks to the Studio-Archives duo of Samata and
Chaitanya for their timely and consistent help in respectively identifying the painting
for the cover of the journal and providing their high resolution image.
We regret to say that the name of the translator of Srimat Anirvan’s short piece
entitled Vande Mataram in the February ’12 issue of Sraddha, Smt Kalyani Bose,
was inadvertently omitted. Smt Kalyani Bose is a long time devotee of the Mother
and Sri Aurobindo and presently resides in New Jersey, USA. We are yet to receive
the final version of the sequel to Kittu Reddy’s series of articles on ‘Indian
Democracy’ but have been assured by the author that it will soon feature in one of
our forthcoming numbers.
Contents
The Path
Sri Aurobindo
9
The Mother
Barindra Kumar Ghose
11
Some Thoughts On The Vedic Godheads
Vladimir Iatsenko
13
Gitanuvachan-Part I
Srimat Anirvan
17
Veda Vyasa’s Mahabharata
In Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri
Prema Nandakumar
34
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Fate And The Problem Of Suffering
Debashish Banerji
44
Śraddha-va-m· l labhate jña-nam·
A Dialogue Between Thomas Aquinas
And Sri Aurobindo
Donald Goergen
62
Who has faith. .........he attains knowledge
—Gita IV. 39
How To Research Consciousness?
Suggestions From Indian Psychology
Matthijs Cornelissen
76
An Entanglement Of Chaotic Unity :
The Global Age And The Auroville
Experiment
Richard Hartz
80
Sri Aurobindo’s Concept Of Education
And The Mother’s Contribution To It
Anurag Banerjee
85
Individualism — Precursor To
A Subjective Age
Deepali Gupta
93
Rasa Theory, Bhakti, And Psychic
Enfoldment: A Psychologist’s Perspective
Suneet Varma
102
Unity In Diversity
Tapan Banerjee
110
Notes on Authors
133
Cover : Krishnalal’s painting
Our hidden centres of celestial force
Open like flowers to a heavenly atmosphere;
Savitri, Book II, Canto 12
Answer :
Gitanuvachan-Part I
Srimat Anirvan
[Translator’s note: Rabindranath had said in his famous poem “Sadhana” something
like ~ ‘my abilities could not match my wishful thinking.’ (Jato sadh chhilo, sadhya chhilo
na). That is exactly what I feel, whenever I try to translate anything written by Sri Anirvan.
Fortunately, the most applicable comment has been supplied in the Introduction to the very
edition in Bengali from which I have translated:
This unique commentary of Gita is possible only from the pen of Sri Anirvan. Gita
is the Vani sprouting from the speech of Purushottama Sri Krishna and Gitanuvachan is
the commentary of Gita coming out of the pen of Purushottama Sri Anirvan.
‘Gitanuvachan’ is a series of Questions by Swami Satyananda and answers by Srimat
Anirvan. It is divided into three parts containing the Q/A on three different Shatakas]
Question :
In the hymn of meditation, the Gita has been addressed as ‘Amba’ (Mother).
What is the inner meaning? Why has the Gita been compared to a Mother?
Answer :
The Gita has been classified with the Upanishads. All Upanishads are part
of Shruti. Shruti is the same as Goddess Vak as well as Saraswati. The Veda has
addressed Goddess Saraswati as the Highest Mother (Ambitame), and has given
an exquisite description of Her Maternal Form. With all these associations, Shruti
is termed as Mother and so Gita is also Amba or Mother.
Question :
What should be the real term? Srimad Bhagavatgito or Srimad Bhagavatgita?
If it is the ‘Divine Song of the Lord’ it should be ‘Gito’ (Sung). Whatever is sung
with a tune is ‘Git’ (Song), is not it? Then like the Sams of Samveda, is Gita also
to be sung? …Why does Gita have such adjectives at the end of each chapter
as Upanishad, Knowledge of Brahman and Yogashashtra?
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 17
The name is ‘Srimad Bhagavatgita’ — an adjective to Upanishad. It is not
plausible that the Lord was delivering the advice singing. Most probably He spoke
in regular prose. The lyrical form was given when it was arranged the way we
see it now. Gita basically is a scripture of Devotion. It can be proved even from
the Vedas that the devotees used to worship their Lord by singing. Even in Gita,
there is a mention of continuous chanting. (Ch. IX, Sl.14) The instructions of the
Lord, after being arranged, probably got the form of a ballad, which was sung
at that time. It was the devotees who used to sing. Gradually, an idea emerged
that the slokas were sung by the Lord.
It is an old tradition to compose the spiritual instructions in the form of a verse,
and this practice continued right up to the Middle Ages. Hence it is neither
surprising nor impossible that the Lord can deliver instructions in the form of
verse, but it is hard to visualise that Krishna and Arjuna were conversing in poetry
on the disastrous battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Actually Gita is a part of History. Both Ramayana and Mahabharata are known
as History. Itihasa (History) and Puranas together are considered as the Fifth
Veda. Hence there should be no restrictions to consider some specific part of the
Fifth Veda as Upanishad. In those days, a large part of the general mass followed
the path of Devotion. To them the verbal words of Vasudeva is verily Veda,
therefore Upanishad. And all Upanishads expound the study of Brahman.
Therefore Gita is also a study of Brahman. Gita has not only given advice of
the Reality, but has also given instructions of how to manifest that Reality in life
by sadhana or practice. Each and every system of sadhana is Yoga — Gita
expounds an idea like that. Hence each and every chapter of the Gita is a ‘Yoga.’
As a result, Gita is a scripture of Knowledge as well as of Yoga.
Question :
During the great battle of Kurukshetra, Sri Krishna advised Gita to Arjuna
before the war started. The need was to inspire Arjuna to rise up to his natural
Dharma and to fight against the Asuric forces of the Kauravas. Is it not so? Were
the Eighteen Chapters delivered holding off the battle? The background of Gita
was the great Battle, is it not so? According to many the great battle is not
historical and there are many who put importance on Gita only as a spiritual
exposition. What are the hidden mysteries?
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 18
Answer :
I do not see any valid reason for promoting the opinion that the battle of
Kurukshetra was not historical. It is true that ‘India did not produce a Herodotus
or a Thucydides.’ Therefore everything about her past is nothing but imagination.
Even the western scholars do not hold this opinion any more.
Sri Krishna is an historical figure; the time of the great battle has been
identified in Mahabharata itself and a lot of research has been carried out to
identify the exact date. Perhaps this battle took place around 1400 B.C. For those
who want to bring down the Vedic Era, with some selfish motivation, might have
some disadvantage with this timing, but their denial is gradually getting feebler
and feebler.
The illusion of Arjuna and the removal of that illusion by Sri Krishna are
natural incidents. It is hard to say if Gita, as we find today, has been in the same
form from the very beginning. That is why Mr. Otto is searching for the ‘Original
Gita’.
That the message of Gita is original, even if the language is not, can be proved
with references from Chandogya Upanishad. To accept the whole life as Yajna
and to be desireless — these two are the basic principles of Gita. The way Work,
Knowledge and Devotion have been synthesised in Gita is unique in the spiritual
history of India. This could not have happened without the influence of a great
and unique personality. It can be observed, too, that in depicting the personality
of Sri Krishna, the Itihasa and Puranas have everywhere followed a single basic
structure of philosophy of life. So much cohesion can never be accidental.
Therefore, there can be no objection to the veracity of Sri Krishna and His dictum.
The Gita was delivered before the onset of the war; there is no question of
stopping the battle there. There is nothing surprising in the fact that a great soul
will bring back to senses a like-minded relative with the help of a couple of hours’
advice!
In addition, please note that there was a marked characteristic in writing
history of this country. If there were any events in a human life that was an
expression of Universal Truth, then the life and experience of that man was
included as part of history. Elsewhere there was hardly anything other than the
list of names according to the genealogical table. This way Itihasa and Purana
used to acquire the dignity of the Vedas by being carriers of mass education. I
think the success of writing history lies in the art of presenting it as a guide to
an ideal life. Gradually, an event becomes just a pretext, expression of the truth
behind the event becomes the theme. The philosophers want to avoid that saying
that the ‘narration is the real meaning.’ But that is wrong. The blazing Truth
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 19
expresses itself through human life. On one side there is an event, on the other
a truth. The presentation of the Itihasa and Purana becomes successful when there
is a balance between the two. And human life then exemplifies the proposed truth.
Question :
In the mantra for meditation, Gita has been referred to as ‘showering the
nectar of Eternal Adwaitabad’. What is the hidden meaning?
Answer :
In the introduction, the body and the conclusion of Gita, everywhere is the
presentation of the doctrine of Non-Dualism. At the very onset, Arjuna is faced
with a very well-known problem — how to accept and adjust with the departure
of near and dear ones. Sri Krishna solved the problem with the doctrine of NonDualism, saying, ‘Know Him to be Eternal by whom all is pervaded.’ Life and
death are like bubbles rising and falling in the ocean of Consciousness. The
bubbles die down but the ocean remains the same. If you remain with the
consciousness of ocean, death cannot cause grief or distress.
From this we get the idea of the Eternal Self. In the middle, where He is
introducing Himself there, too, Sri Krishna expresses Himself as an all-pervading
Supreme Reality, as Unmaifest Brahman, as Time, as Purusha manifested in
myriads of divine qualities, the adorable beloved Lord of our beings.
Furthermore, he added no matter in whatever way one worships, it is the worship
of that One and Only One. Here we get a hint of monotheism.
He makes it very clear in the Eighteenth Chapter (conclusion). ‘All instincts
of life originate from the One Who is all-pervading. By worshipping Him with
one’s designated work, man attains salvation.’ Again we are getting the
application of Adwaita in life itself. The whole life is His worship (or Yajna
whatever you call it). He is all-pervading; from Him bursts forth the joy of life.
This way at the beginning, in the middle and at the end, the Gita has given
instructions of the same doctrine of Non-Dualism in the form of all-pervading
Reality.
Clouds send forth showers. This Dark Cloud is also sending us showers,
showers of the nectar of Immortality. The cloud is dark because He is beyond
the effulgence of the white rays of the Sun; He is that Supreme Blue Black in
whose unfathomable depth life and death both get lost. The showers of
immortality from this cloud bring healing balm to the life scorched by the blazing
flame of the three Gunas and barren life begets lush foliage. Patanjali has termed
the ‘Perfect Yoga’ as the Cloud of Dharma, meaning that the one stationed in
that Yoga is always being bathed by the shower of Dharma, which is beyond the
mundane world. The same idea is echoed here too.
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 20
Question :
What is the purport of the arrangement of Chapters from the Vishad to the
Moksha Yoga?
Answer :
In the Gita, Sri Krishna is gradually revealing Himself in the consciousness
of Arjuna. That is why it is wise to keep the context in mind while discussing
Gita.
In Vishad Yoga, the manifested self (Jiva) is desirous of knowledge. He is
facing the greatest problem in life, the mystery of death. The question, how to
overcome death has dramatically appeared before him.
In the second chapter we get the full answer to that from the philosophical
aspect of Self. Both dissolution in Brahman ( Brahma Nirvana) and existence
in Brahman (Brahmisthiti) has been expounded here. This is the core chapter of
the Gita. The other chapters are expansion of the same thought.
The third chapter gives the clues of Karma Yoga as conclusion to the second
chapter.
The fourth chapter synthesises Work and Knowledge. Incidentally the theory
of Avatarhood has been mentioned. This is important. Whatever has been given
as hint will be expressed in detail in the ninth chapter.
The fifth chapter gives the hint that Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga eventually
culminate in Bhakti or Devotion.
The sixth chapter gives practical instructions on Yoga.
This far is the First Shataka. Its main subject is Self-Knowledge, because one
cannot become Brahman without knowing oneself. Sri Krishna has said very little
about Brahman or of God so far. The main point is Samkhya or the Yoga of
Knowledge, that too not without Work. One may achieve success by following
this path only. So answers to Arjuna’s quest might have ended here. But it did
not. Without being asked any question, out of His own Grace, He is about to
shower the knowledge about Himself in the totality in the seventh chapter. To
know Him after knowing the Self, thus sadhana goes deeper. To know oneself
is Jnana, to know Him is Vijnana. Seventh chapter is the introduction to that.
To know Him one has to know the mystery of the universe. There are seven
great mysteries. The eighth chapter deals with them. Particularly one has to know
the mystery of death and that has been discussed well here. This has to be noted
that death is not extinction of a lamp, it is dissolution in Him.
The ninth chapter is the most important one. Once I know all the mysteries
of life and death, and of the universe, I know what is the True Self of this
incarnation in ‘Human Form.’ That knowledge is the highest Vijnana. He reveals
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 21
himself by bringing to light the Highest Secret (Raja Guhya) in Arjuna’s
consciousness. We have to understand that after this ninth chapter, each and every
word of the Gita is a grand revelation by the Lord Incarnate.
To make that understanding more vivid is the Bibhuti Yoga of the tenth
chapter. The hint is to see Him manifested everywhere. The concrete realisation
of that is in the vision of Universal Form in the eleventh chapter. But of course
Arjuna saw the Universal Form as Time the Destroyer in the context of
Kurukshetra. Vrindavan is understood here.
True Devotion is possible only by observing the universe in Him and by
realising the Highest in a human form. This devotion comes from the fullness
of Self-Knowledge. The Second Shataka is complete with the twelfth chapter.
With that comes the completion of knowing oneself as well as knowing the
Supreme Self.
Here, too, is the end of all questions but his Grace is again showering the
Universal Knowledge, and again even without being asked. Remember though
that the basis of this knowledge is the Universal Vision. The sadhaka is established
in Cosmic Consciousness. From that level he is seeing Prakriti and Purusha, the
three gunas, the three Sraddhas, the play of the Devas and Asuras, the diversities
of the Universe (chapter eighteen) and all other. The central point of all that is
the Reality of Purushottama (chapter fifteen).
By and large, this is the meaning of the arrangement of the Chapters in the
Gita.
Question :
There are three shatakas (group of six) in the Gita, Work, Devotion and
Knowledge. Many say that Gita is the scripture of Bhakti, some say of Knowledge
and others say of Work. Is not Gita a synthesis of different ways? Where is the
beginning and where is the end of Gita, in Knowledge, Devotion or Work?
Answer :
Verily, Gita is the scripture of synthesis and from this aspect Gita has no equal
among spiritual scriptures. It is a matter of abject sorrow that even in three
thousand years we could not apply the teachings of Gita in our practical life. The
whole life is a Yajna or a Yoga, that is the ultimate announcement of Gita. Even
from the ancient times, Yajna was termed as Karma, meaning whatever one does,
should have a sense of sacrifice or offering towards the gods. And that is
applicable both to daily work as well as Yajna. According to the language of the
Gita, where there is no sense of sacrifice, no presence of divinity, no sign of
advancement of human consciousness, there work is nothing but misguided
action.
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 22
A doctrine like renunciation of all action and the ensuing result of knowledge
was very much prevalent during the time of Gita. Sri Krishna did not pay any
heed to that. Again He has openly attacked the ceremonial rituals aiming at the
worldly enjoyment and wealth in the name of Yajna. According to Him
performing all work with a firm footing in Yoga is the basic aim and leads to
the eventual perfection of life.
Life starts with work. The teachings of Gita also start at Kurukshetra (Field
of Work) at the onset of a dire activity. Work has to be performed according to
whatever has been allotted to each one of us. But work is to be done without
any expectation of results and with equality to success and failure. Knowledge
will emerge from this understanding. It will be clear that whatever is to happen
is happening due to the determinism of Nature. There is no way to avoid that
nor is there any point in being involved in that. Once this discernment dawns,
mind becomes peaceful. It becomes easier to enjoy without attachment or
aversion and work with detachment and a feeling of non-doership.
This way knowledge comes after work. With knowledge consciousness
expands. We understand that it is the Divine Guidance that is at the root of all
natural motivation of work and eventually consider ourselves as Divine
instruments. He is the Player and I am His Flute, this feeling is very conducive
to the ultimate devotion. All knowledge culminates into desireless work and
ultimately attainment of perfection comes from doing all work with devotion and
a sense of offering. This is the living philosophy of the Gita.
Question :
What is the implication of the word ‘Karpanyadosho’ in the Seventh Sloka
of Chapter Two of Gita? Hasn’t the word ‘Kripana’ been used in the Upanishad
to identify those who leave the world without self-realisation? Why is the word
‘Prapanna’ being used even after ‘Sishya’? Is it natural with human beings to
go through the confusion about Dharma that Arjuna went through? Does a time
come to every man when he cannot choose his own good? Could Arjuna not have
received the direction from the Divine who resides in every soul? I find the
‘Guruvada’ as the foundation of Gita to start with.
Answer :
The word ‘Kripana’ comes from the root verb, ‘krip’ and from that comes
‘Karpanya’. The ancient meaning of this root is ‘to lament’. One who laments
is a ‘Kripana’; he is overwhelmed with sorrow, so lamentation is also ‘Karpanya.’
That word connotes misery too. The Gita says, ‘Kripana Falahetava’ (Ch.2, Sl.
49), meaning whoever considers results as the cause or initiator of work, is a
‘kripan’, he is lacking in understanding. Grief and illusion torment and eventually
completely engulf mind. These two are actions of Rajas and Tamas. As a result,
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 23
our natural state of understanding gets crippled and cannot blossom in its own
dignity. This mastery of grief and illusion over our normal self has been termed
here as ‘Karpanyadosho’.
One who is ready to follow the instructions is a ‘sishya’, that is, fit to be
instructed. Basically, a ‘sishsya’ is ‘Videheya’, a follower of discipline. ‘I follow
orders without question’, can be done even being unattached. Subservience or
surrender is much deeper in nature. Unless one can offer both heart and intellect,
absolute self-surrender cannot be achieved. Not all disciples have surrendered.
Delusion about Dharma is natural for a human being. The reality of Dharma
is ‘hidden in the cave’. It is not easy to understand. That needs prolonged
cultivation too. So everybody faces dilemma or delusion regarding Dharma,
particularly, when the law of family or race, in other words, the traditional social
Dharma rises up against the eternal Inner Dharma. At that point, only the direction
of the Divine within can dispel all doubts and show us what is good and right.
But that direction can be understood only with his Grace, only when He kindles
the lamp of Intelligence in our hearts. Then there is no difference between Him
and me. The outer instruction is secondary. For people of lesser understanding,
that might be needed, but not for those with higher intellect. In the words of Sri
Ramakrishna, ‘‘Then as if Someone tells from inside, ‘This follows that and that’’’
Man is a social being. All of his character and samskaras are fruits of his
upbringing. Hence, immediately after birth, in whichever way it does not matter,
he is under a teacher. Therefore, from one point of view, ‘Guruvada’ is a universal
truth. But man learns from the outer instructions well as from inner inspiration.
The mortal teacher outside and the Divine inside, both are Gurus. Between them,
the Divine inside is closer than the mortal teacher. He is verily the Sadguru. To
invoke the Divine within the disciple, to teach the disciple to walk the path with
His Light, is the duty of the right teacher. Sri Krishna has done the same in Gita.
After completing eighteen chapters, He has told Arjuna,
‘Whatever I had to say, I have said. Now do whatever you want to do’. How
many Gurus can say that nowadays?
Question :
What is the mystic interpretation of the 29th sloka of the Second chapter in
the Gita? What is the meaning of the word, ‘Ashcharya?’ What is the reason for
‘Not known in spite of having heard?’ Does the word ‘Ashcharya’ occur in the
Veda? If it did, in what connection?
Answer :
The word ‘Ashcharya’ does not occur in the Veda, not even in the ancient
Upanishads. It has been used for the first time in the Kathopanishad. This
particular sloka of the Gita is from there only. But Panini* has used an expression,
* The famous Sanskrit grammarian of circa 5th or 6 th century B.C.
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April 2012 n 24
‘Ashcharyamadbhute’. Therefore, the word is an ancient one. In the Vedas the
word ‘Adbhuta’ meaning, ‘something that never happened before’ has been used
in place of ‘Ashcharya’.
In the ancient Book of Rasa, two Rasas, according to two different sections
of philosophy, are called the original Rasa. One is erotic or Shringar and the other
is Adbhuta. In reality Adbhuta is the main Rasa. At the vision of the Supreme
Reality, human consciousness gets completely amazed as if gasping in the depth
of the unfathomable ocean of Sacchidananda, experiencing something that it had
never done before. This feeling of Beyond is the real feeling of the mystics. After
that comes the tremendous attraction towards the Beyond who is ‘Ascharya’ and
‘Adbhuta’. That is the erotic or Shringar Rasa, which too is an original Rasa.
In ‘Adbhuta’ is the merging of Self and in Shringar is rejoice of Self. So, actually,
as you see, the ‘Adbhuta’ Rasa is the original one.
To see Him and to hear Him — ‘Chakshah’ and ‘Shravah’ of the Veda —
are the supreme limits of knowing. Again, it is but natural to develop an urge
to express That, whom we have come to know. Hence this seeing, hearing,
understanding and expressing all are expressions of that ‘Adbhuta’ Rasa. After
seeing-hearing-knowing Him, when a mystic talks about Him, people hear
dumbfounded. But how many do really understand? That is why even the Veda
has said, ‘Whoever hears, hears in vain’, man does not understand even after
hearing. The fault lies with the impure mind and partly with the limitations of
language. Surely, the Supreme Mystery cannot be expressed in our day to day
language.
Question :
In the Thirty Ninth sloka of the Second Chapter in the Gita, Sankhya and
Karma, both Yogas have been referred to. Which path did the Lord Ask Arjuna
to follow to be free from the bondage of Karma?
Answer :
The way of Sankhya is one of Discrimination, and Yoga (Karma) is of its
application. First is discrimination and next is action. Sankhya establishes
consciousness on the concept of Non-Dualism, which shows that the whole
creation is nothing but a play of the Eternal That. With this thought firmly rooted
in the intelligence, doing work without any desire for the results and always
having the feeling of a non-doer is Yoga. ‘Everything is He.’ Therefore, ‘I am
working as non-doer’ and ‘I am unattached towards the results of the work too’,
a synthesis of these three understandings helps cut asunder the knots of Karma.
In the field of application, Yoga is more important.
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April 2012 n 25
Questions :
Please explain with your interpretation the Forty Fifth Sloka of Chapter 2 of
the Gita.
Answer :
By the expression, ‘The Veda deals with the Three Gunas’, the Lord has hinted
at the narrow dogmatic interpretation of the Veda which aims only at the
enjoyment and opulence saying, ‘There is nothing other than that.’ In Gita, he
has vehemently objected to that, saying, ‘That is not the real Veda. Verily do I
know what Veda is and I created the Vedanta’. Reference to Vedanta aims towards
the theory of Purushottama. And the foundation of that is in being beyond the
Gunas. Enjoyment and opulence, both are plays of the Gunas. One has to go
beyond that, one has to be established in the Atman. In that condition, mind is
as serene as the Akash, there is no duality of pleasure or pain, gain or loss, victory
or defeat, no desire to acquire anything, nor to protect anything. Yet this is not
the condition of merging in the Indeterminate Akshara. One has to go beyond
Gunas but the earthly life should be based on the Eternal Sat. Eternal Sat or
Existence is nothing but the Purified Sat which does not have the disturbances
of Rajas or the covering of the Tamas. It is like the rays of the radiant knowledge
on a clear blue sky. To live with the feeling and work as His instrument for the
good of all, this is the proper following of the Veda or performing Karma which
in essence is nothing but Yajna.
The result? To receive His sadharmya, sadharmya of the One who is beyond
Kshara and better than Akshara. He has said that Purushottama has been
mentioned in the Veda too (Ch.XI, Sl.18). Verily, He is the Eternal Existence or
in the words of Srimad Bhagavatam, the body of Pure Existence.
Question :
Traigunyavishaya Veda nishtraigunya bhavarjuna
Nirdwanda nityasattastha niryogaksema Atmavan (Ch.II, Sl. 45)
The Vedas deal with the three Gunas. Oh Arjuna, you be beyond these three
gunas. Be above dualities, always established in eternal Sattwa, do not aspire
for unattained possessions nor try to hold on to the ones you have. Be your
true self.
Please give me the mystic explanation of this sloka. Why have the Vedas been
termed as subjected to three gunas or desires? What is the mystery of ‘beyond
three gunas’ of Gita? What is the meaning of ‘established in eternal sattwa’?
Verily, the Vedas have sections of religious ceremonies as well as of knowledge.
As there is ‘Do work here and wish to live for hundred years,’ so is there the
essence of oneness beyond all states of existence and three gunas. The Vedas
mention actions with desire. Sri Krishna asked Arjuna to be without desire. But
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 26
giving up desire does not mean giving up work. Please clear my doubts by
bringing to light the deeper meanings of these words.
Answer :
Because he is beyond gunas, he is attributed with endless virtue. And its
expression is in benevolent actions, divine enjoyment and absolute bliss.
Question :
Sri Krishna has put down only those who have no clear judgment and merely
engage themselves talking about the doctrines of Vedas (Ch. II, sl.42). He is critical
about those who say that there is nothing other than the Vedas yet consider the
Vedas as nothing but a means to satisfy their desire. Hence He has hit hard the
so-called Vedic theory created by the dogmatism of underdeveloped minds. The
same way he had dealt a blow to the doctrine of Wisdom preached by Arjuna
at the onset of the battle. Sri Krishna has criticised those, who without
understanding the wisdom of the Vedas only go for the verbosity and follow
dogmatism. Otherwise, He has said elsewhere, ‘I am verily the subject of all
the Vedas; I have created the Vedantas and am the Knower of the Vedas too (Ch.
What is the real meaning of, ‘One who knows the Brahman needs all the Vedas
as much’ (as the place flooded with water needs smaller ponds) of sloka 46 of
Second Chapter? The word ‘Brahmanasya’ has been attributed to whom?
XV, sl. 15)
This cannot be said either that Sri Krishna has supported only the part of
Knowledge of the Vedas and not the part of Action. He has censured the
‘extravagant rituals of the desirous souls’, yet at the same time added — never
give up Yajna, because Yajna purifies the great souls (Ch. XVIII, Sl. 5). He had
received a comprehensive idea about Yajna from his guru Ghora Angirasa, and
had learnt that the whole life is a Yajna and, knowing that, himself became
‘Desireless‘ (Chhandogya Upanishad). He tried to introduce a new movement
in the spiritual life, spreading the teachings of Rishi Ghora, through Gita.
To be without three Gunas (Nistraigunya) is to be beyond the lower nature.
He has explained in detail the symptoms of one beyond gunas at the end of the
fourteenth chapter, both from the aspect of knowledge and from devotion. The
symptoms for a follower in the path of Knowledge are to be completely detached
from all activities of illumination, attachment and illusion. This does not happen
without attaining the state of Natural Being. There is no reaction of the gunas
on the one who has gone beyond the gunas. Now he can play with the gunas
because by being beyond he has become the master of the gunas. This is the result
of sadhana of the Purusha. Again if we perform our sadhana by being His Prakriti,
we will get the same result (Path of Devotion).
The Sattwa that does not have even a shade of Rajas or Tamas is known as
‘Eternal or Purified Sattwa’. Then by dint of my utter devotion and surrender
to the Supreme Self, I will easily sail the disturbing attacks of Rajasic and Tamasic
Gunas. From the state of Gunatita or beyond Gunas, the Being or Soul, with the
support of the purified sattwa and from the state of eternal Sattwa or Yoga, comes
down on this world of Gunas. But the Gunas can never bind him. In mundane
condition what was ‘Guna’ or tying rope changes to ‘Guna’ or innate quality.
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 27
Answer :
The complete Veda is comprised of the two sections of Jnana (Knowledge)
and Karma (Work). The higher Knowledge, (Vijnana) evolves out of a study of
the section of Knowledge and then a human being really becomes a Brahman
— ‘One who knows the Brahman is a Brahman’. For a Brahman, who has attained
this knowledge, ritualistic actions (and here the Lord has meant that part of the
Veda with elaborate ritual activities) are of no use. The performance of ritualistic
actions may be needed for purification of mind, but once the Supreme Knowledge
dawns in the mind, there may not be any inclination towards the excessive
ritualistic performances, because all work ends up in knowledge.
Question :
What is the mystery of ‘Yoga is the skill (Kaushala) for work’ in the sloka
No. 50 (Ch. II)? Does the skilful person go beyond good and bad work? ‘Be
attached to Yoga’ — what is this Yoga? Has not the Gita used the word Yoga in
a very wide and comprehensive sense?
Answer :
The original meaning of the word ‘kushala’ is one who separates the kusha
grass adeptly. Hence ‘kaushala’ means skill in doing something. The real skill
in work lies in the ability to work while established in the Yoga whereas being
established in the Yoga means mastering absolute equality. To master equality,
one has to live within oneself and not be disturbed by outward dualities.
Kathopanishad mentions that the speaker and the listener of Spiritual Truth
are both ‘kushalas’. At the root of that is the sense of wonder and response to
the Higher Intellect. The same has been suggested here too. The ideal of the
kushala worker is Sri Krishna who has neither anything to do nor anything to
obtain, yet is always involved in work. Because of his Supreme Nature, he is
beyond good or bad work. The discrimination between good and bad is at the
mental plane for a non-Yogi. But for the one established in the Yoga, this question
does not arise. Of course the word Yoga has been used in a very large and
comprehensive sense in the Gita, and the two basic characteristics have been
mentioned earlier also. They are to be beyond dualities and to be established in
Pure Existence (Nirdwanda and Nityasattwastha).
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April 2012 n 28
Question :
Is Shruti confusing (Sl. 53, Ch.II)? Is it needed to give up ‘everything to be
heard’ (Shrotavya) in order to attain steadfastness? How does that bring
consistency with the saying, ‘The words of Shruti are to be heard?‘
Answer :
In reality, Shruti is not the cause of confusion. It is the lack of understanding
on the part of the listeners that creates confusion too often.
The following two answers are based on Swami Satyananda’s various intricate
questions on the 58th sloka of the second chapter of the Gita written in two
separate letters. The questions are not easy to reproduce and might not be needed
for all. But the answers are, as usual, like the flow of Bhagirathi, in a class by
themselves and will solve many questions in the mind of a sadhaka.
The Sloka goes as follows:
“Yada samharate chayam kurmoanganiva sarvasah
Indriyan indriyathevya sthasya prajna pratisthitah”
One, who withholds his senses from their objects everywhere, as a turtle does
with its limbs, is firmly established in Wisdom.
Sri Anirvan’s answer : (one)
It is true that Higher Wisdom (Prajna) is established when withdrawal of
senses from their objects becomes natural. Yet the Gita propounds Karma. That
Karma or action is verily the action of a ‘Sthitaprajna,’ (One established in Higher
Knowledge) and Sri Krishna is the ideal among the Sthitaprajnas. Time and
again, He has said, ‘I am Absolute! I am Non-Doer. There is nothing I have to
do, nothing I have to obtain. Nor do I not have everything. Yet I am always in
the midst of work.’ By a constant meditation on this thought process of Sri
Krishna, one clearly understands the characteristics of a Sthitaprajna. All of us
know that action cannot be performed without involvement or inclination, which
are just the opposite of withdrawal or rejection. Then how does a Sthitaprajna
act if he follows the path of rejection? That is the enigma and this is the solution.
Natural withdrawal takes place in sleep, swoon or death. A Yogi withdraws
in samadhi which results in the vision of Reality. That Reality, in its very nature,
is both Akshara (Indeterminate) and Kshara (Deteminate) aspects of the Supreme.
One who realises both Kshara and Akshara simultaneously within himself during
samadhi, gets the Purushottama, who is definitely beyond Kshara (and here he
rejects) and yet greater than Akshara. This greatness is at the root of his allPervading Self. Then he is the divine Witness (This is His Akshara Nature), yet
at the same time the Sanction Giver, Master, Enjoyer and the Supreme Lord. This
permitting, protecting, enjoying and controlling — all are undoubtedly proof of
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 29
involvement. But this involvement is not the ignorant involvement of Jiva, but
the overflowing of action from the Eternal Self of Siva. Hence, in Siva,
withdrawal and action both are simultaneous, though the force of withdrawal is
much stronger. Actually three fourth is Mere Existence, only one fourth is
involvement. To be always established in the Self or three fourth withdrawn,
therefore being Sthitaprajna, and using only one fourth of the Self to be involved
in Action and Enjoyment is the Divine Nature of Siva, the natural manifestation
of his Shakti. This is the Absolute Condition at the root of Universal Creation.
Jiva, on the other hand, is away from this condition. He is unaware of the
fact that there is the backdrop of withdrawal behind all involvement. That is why
to understand the meaning of withdrawal, he has to behave like a turtle. The initial
sadhana is that of rejection and renunciation.
That is the Yoga of Discipline. The control of senses like the limbs of a turtle
is the result of that — to examine oneself in and out, whether any tint of desire
for either action or enjoyment is lurking anywhere or not. This is the basic theory
of this Yoga. It is like a ship sailing on a voyage of no return. Sri Ramakrishna
used to say that the ship does not come back from there. One has to respond
to the call of Unknown with the firm conviction of never returning to this petty
known world again. This is what has been expounded through this particular sloka
of Gita.
But there is an epilogue too. Someone might send you back from there. If
you come back, the flow of involvement and inclination will also start afresh.
But now, that will not be born of earthly desire. That would rather be a part of
the divine Enjoyment which is at the root of creation. Your will and enjoyment
would be nothing but a radiant part of His Will and His Enjoyment. Then you
do nothing while doing everything and your enjoyment is not from the worldly
objects but from the inner source, your Self.
Sri Anirvan’s answer : (two)
Prajna (in reference to Sthitaprajna) is a technical term. Prajna appears when
Atman dwells within Itself. This is a condition of samadhi during waking state.
It takes time to be established in that. Remember, samadhi is only a means, not
the ultimate state. With the opening of Prajna as a result of samadhi and an
eventual establishment in that — which has been termed as ‘Brahmisthiti’
(established in Brahman) at the end of the chapter, one can enjoy a steady blissful
condition and yet move around in the sense world, having complete control over
mind (Ch.2, Sloka 68). This is the outer characteristic of Sthitaprajna. The inner
characteristics have been described in (Ch.2, Sloka 58). Two previous Slokas
(57 & 56) throw some light on how this condition can be achieved.
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April 2012 n 30
It is something like this. In that condition, there is a complete separation
between inner and outer, like a betel nut within another dried betel nut, as per
Sri Ramakrishna. With normal people, the senses get excited by contact with
objects and run outwards (Ch.2, Sloka 60). But with the Sthitaprajna, it is just the
opposite. The touch or worldly objects brings about the touch of Brahman and
the same senses carry the Brahmic Consciousness to the mind.
The images of worldly objects reflect on consciousness as the moving objects
reflect on a mirror. This is just the secondary goal, a playfulness of the waking
moments. The real object is not the fulfilment of deep-rooted desires of the mind
(Ch.2, Sloka 55), but the attainment of bliss (Ch.2, sloka 64). When perfected, the
contact with sense objects creates a kind of inner flow of enjoyment. Floating
on that flow, gradually the objects transform into subject. In the words of
Sankhya, in the close proximity of Purusha, Prakriti changes as his own Nature.
Rabindranath Tagore has drawn a similar picture in his dance drama ‘Natir Puja’
(worship of a Court Dancer), where the court dancer, in the course of dancing
in front of the Stupa of Buddha, sheds off all her apparent fineries and emerges
as a nun.
The pulling inward of the limbs of a turtle is not rejection, not even restraint.
You can call it, in the words of Upanishad, going inwards. But it is really hard
to realise without understanding the Vast as the real goal beyond the apparent
touches of sense objects.
Question :
Please explain the mystic interpretation of “the attachment towards objects
given up lingers, till one ‘sees’ the Higher Being.” ‘Seeing’ the Higher, who or
what is the Higher? What is the hidden meaning of the expression that yearns,
for sense objects do not go away before seeing the Highest Being?
Answer :
The one who is ‘controlled’ meaning one who can restrain the natural human
inclination to run after sense objects due to practice, develops a sense of
detachment in course of time. But this Vairagya (detachment) does not change
to higher Vairagya immediately. The thirst for worldly objects is still hidden in
the depths of mind. True, it is checked up to a certain point, does not appear
on the surface and the upper mind does not want it and has completely forgotten
it. But if ever it appears and takes us unaware, we find the mind is enjoying it
even without knowing. In that case the thirst for sense objects is still there, the
detachment is not yet complete. That is what the Gita is saying here. The thirst
for sense objects, that lies deep within, can only be completely ousted if once
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 31
we see the Highest Being, who, according to the Taittiriya Upanishad, is ‘Verily
He is the Rasa (concentration of all enjoyments) and knowing that Rasa, one
attains Ananda.’ According to the Kaushitaki Upanishad, the taste for sense
objects can be controlled and changed into the ‘taste of Brahman.’ The
spontaneous Ananda that ensues without any object is the Ananda of self, or
Ananda of Brahman, or Ananda of Truth whatever you may call it. Once you
get the taste of that, there is no more thirst for sense objects. That is what is meant
by restraint of sense objects by ‘seeing the Highest.’ This way restraint of senses
eventually culminates into an eternal inclination towards the Divine.
Question :
What is ‘Prasad’ or ‘Graceful state of mind’ referred to in the 65th sloka of
Second Chapter?
Answer :
‘Prasad’ is a very old technical term meaning Transparency. In the Ramayana,
there is the reference of Godavari (a river) of transparent water. The Upanishads
refer to the realisation of Self by the transparency of elements, elements meaning
physical-vital-mental existences. Once they are made transparent, then like light
through a prism, the radiance of consciousness glows through body-vital-mind.
That is the sign of ‘Prasad’ or Grace.
Question :
What is the hidden meaning of ‘an abstinent keeps awake at night and it is
night for the Muni (ascetic) during the waking state of the common people?’
(Sloka 69, Chapter 2)
Answer :
All creatures are either asleep or shrouded with ignorance regarding Brahman.
But an abstinent is not. He is ever awake in the consciousness of Brahman,
whereas the rest of the people are awake with the outer consciousness of the
world. As a matter of fact, our culture, our civilisation — everything pertains
to the waking field, an outer state. Nobody has any inkling regarding what is
happening deep down in the mind. But to a Muni, this puffing and blowing of
the outer world are like passing of pictures on a screen in a movie theatre or
like a dream at night. Yet he is ‘seeing’ in the midst of all that with open eyes.
The human ignorance and the so-called knowledge both are floating on his
surface consciousness. Actually his is the eternal consciousness of the Sun
beyond the earthly rotation of day and night.
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 32
Question :
Are ‘Brahmanirvana’ (Nirvana in the Brahman) and ‘Brahmisthiti’ (stationed
in the Brahman) the same? It seems one hints at dissolution and the other at
eternal existence.
Answer :
Brahmanirvana is what has been termed in the Upanishad as the realisation
of Non-Existence or the Great Void or the realisation of the Akasha. In the path
of ascension that appears as dissolution but in reality that is a condition of ever
existence or what has been described in the Gita as the ‘Complete Brahma
Nirvana of one who knows the Self’ and Brahmisthti is to stay awake in that
Akasha like the radiant Sun.
Question :
Is this not so that Action based on Sankhya Yoga is really Karma Yoga?
Otherwise aimless action can never be termed as Karma Yoga. Is it wise to bring
in a sense of lower and higher between Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga? Is it not
right to look at both with equal eyes? What is Karma according to the
Upanishads?
Answer :
One Supreme Reality is covering everything (Sloka 17, Chapter 2) this is the
Knowledge of Sankhya. Towards the end of the Gita, Sri Krishna has said again,
‘One from whom ensue all activities and efforts of all creatures, One Who is
encompassing and covering the whole creation, a man can reach his goal of
spiritual perfection by worshipping Him through his work.’ (Sloka 46, Chapter18)
This great sloka gives instruction to work as the worship of the Highest Lord,
following the paths of Sankhya, Shakti and Bhakti. This is the real Karma yoga
and the essence of Gita’s teachings. Whatever Knowledge is attained by Sankhya
or the Karma Yoga results are the same. Hence, to have the same devotion towards
both has been expounded by Gita (Slokas 4-5, Chapter 5). The Upanishad, too, has
never asked to give up action, rather mentioned about working and living up to
hundred years. Furthermore, Upanishad has said that action with detachment does
not involve anyone.
Question :
Does the speaker of Gita put too much importance on Sannyasa (renunciation)?
Answer :
No.
[This is the end of Q/A on Sankhya Yoga in the Gitanuvachan. Translated from the
original Bengali by Smt. Kalyani Bose, a long time devotee of Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother now resident in New Jersey, USA]
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 33
Veda Vyasa’s Mahabharata
In Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri
Prema Nandakumar
(Continued from the previous issue)
12. Dawn to Greater Dawn
The attempt to exhaust the Vyasan inspirations in Sri Aurobindo’s writings
is indeed very daunting. The Mahabharata was not only a base for his creative
writings and a guide to get at the history of ancient India but also an instrument
to study the contours of Indian philosophy and from the heights of the epic, look
towards the spiritual horizons of Sanatana Dharma. For instance, Adi Śankara
had taken up the Gita segment from the Bhishma Parva and had written a
commentary to explain his Advaita Vedanta. Then came Ramanuja who has given
us an equally erudite commentary on the Gita. Many others have written
commentaries too for the verses. Nearer our own times was Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
whose monumental Gita Rahasya was written when he was undergoing solitary
imprisonment in Mandalay Jail during the Bande Mataram Movement. Sri
Aurobindo wrote Essays on the Gita after he was released from the Alipore Jail.
If the Mahabharata can be compared to an ocean, the Gita happens to be
the nectar that was churned out of the ocean. Here the Lord speaks to a mortal:
Narayana to Nara, and that is inspiration which has given us the remarkable canto
on Everlasting Day in Savitri.
The Kurukshetra War is the culmination of a sublime tale. Yet, the Gita speaks
of it as Dharmakshetra, the Stage of Righteousness. For, the aim of the Gita is
not a description of the war which took to unrighteous pathways. The killing
of Abhimanyu, the killing of the teacher-Drona by the disciple, Drushtadhyumna,
the destruction of the sleeping sons of Pandava by Aswaththama are but a few
scenes of the war which went contrary to dharma.
Yet, Kurukshetra remains the Stage of Dharma, for it was here that the dharmic
scripture, Gita was taught to Arjuna by Krishna. This is why we go there in a
Śraddha-
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April 2012 n 34
Vol.4 No. 1
Publication Details
24 April.
Annual Subscription : Rs 150.00 Single copy : Rs. 50.00 Those wishing to receive the journal
by post may please send an additional Rs. 100.00
for hard copy;
All Rights Reserved
15 August, 2012
Kolkata 700 071
Editor: Arup Basu
Phone: 98302 58723
Published by
Kolkata 700071
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Printed by
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Contents
Ourselves
Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
9
Gitanuvachan – Parts 3 & 4
Srimat Anirvan
12
Impact Of Swami Vivekananda And
Sri Aurobindo On
Indian Freedom Movement
Kittu Reddy
25
Sri Aurobindo And
Problems Of Human Unity
Amaury de Riencourt
35
Towards A New Science Of Society:
An Integral Approach
M.S. Srinivasan
41
—Gita IV. 39
Social Progress Through Symbolism
And Individualism
Usharanjan Chakraborty
53
The Genesis Of Sri Aurobindo’s Superman
Sandeep Joshi
65
The Psychic Being
Debashish Banerji
79
Om In Savitri And The World
Pravir Malik
105
Tagore And Sri Aurobindo:
How They Met In Their Vision
Supriyo Bhattacharya
127
Penal Labour, Mystical Longings
And International Vision:
The Paul Richard Story
Sachidananda Mohanty
145
Professor Arabinda Basu: A Tribute
Shraddhavan
160
Notes On Authors
161
Index To Authors And Articles
In Sraddha, August 2011 – April 2012
162
Cover : Country of the Mind by Giles Herdman
with others and his dedication to a larger self in the people and in humanity
and the beginning of an endeavour towards the solution of the economic
problem founded not on any western model but on the communal principle
native to India.
Our call is to Young India. It is the young who must be the builders of
the new world — not those who accept the competitive individualism, the
capitalism or the materialistic communism of the West as India’s future
ideal nor those who are enslaved to old religious formulas and cannot
believe in the acceptance and transformation of life by the spirit, but all
who are free in mind and heart to accept a completer truth and labour for
a greater ideal. They must be men who will dedicate themselves not to the
past or the present but to the future. They will need to consecrate their
lives to an exceeding of their lower self, to the realisation of God in
themselves and in all human beings and to a whole-minded and
indefatigable labour for the nation and for humanity. This ideal can be as
yet only a little seed and the life that embodies it a small nucleus, but it is
our fixed hope that the seed will grow into a great tree and the nucleus be
the heart of an ever-extending formation. It is with a confident trust in the
spirit that inspires us that we take our place among the standard-bearers of
the new humanity that is struggling to be born amidst the chaos of a world
in dissolution and of the future India, the greater India of the rebirth that is
to rejuvenate the mighty outworn body of the ancient Mother.
(The Standard Bearer, Vol. 1— First issue, the 15th August, 1920).
Srimat Anirvan
Question:Is there not a slight insinuation at the expression ‘mithyachara’
(act of falsehood) in the 6th verse of the Third Chapter? Why is there such
a comment?
Answer:This is a statement of fact, not an insinuation. In most of the cases,
we control our senses to a certain extent while practising Samyama or discipline,
but not the mind and go on thinking constantly about the sense objects. This is
an act of falsehood and ignorance. This kind of control puts away only the
sense objects but the desire for enjoyment does not die. Unless one realises the
Absolute Truth, and knows that to be the fount of all enjoyment, mental cravings
persist.
Question:What is the difference between ‘Yagnashishtashino’ (one who
partakes in the leftover from a Yajna) and ‘Pachanti Atmakaaranat?(to
cook for oneself)
(Ch.III, SL.13)
Answer:To work for one’s own enjoyment is ‘cooking’ for oneself; and to
work for His enjoyment and enjoy the results as His Prasad – no matter whether
that brings happiness or sorrow, gain or loss – means taking the leftover from a
Yajna or consuming ‘Ida’. Partaking in consuming ‘Ida’ was a very common
custom among the ancient performers of Yajna. The Gita’s injunction is to put
that consciousness in practice and expand that in all our activities.
(Towards the end of Chapter Four, Srimat Anirvan has mentioned Ida again as the leftover of the
food offered in a Yajna)
Question:What are the inner meanings of ‘Brahman is ever established in
Yajna’ and ‘Action ensued from Brahman’ in (Ch.III,Sl.15)? What is the mystery
behind the ‘Introduced Wheel’?
(Ibid)
Answer:In Sl. 14 & 15 of Ch.III, a wheel has been mentioned. Swetaswatara
Upanishad (1/6) too refers to a Brahma Chakra which is similar to the one
mentioned here. In Buddhist Scriptures again we have reference to the
introduction of ‘Dharma Chakra’ by Buddha during the full moon of the month
of Ashada. Here, in Gita too, in the following sloka (16), it is said that one who
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does not follow this ‘introduced Chakra’ lives in vain. The similarity is to be
noted.
Any point situated at the circumference of a wheel goes down and again
comes up along with the rotation of the wheel. Obviously the opposite movement
is equally true. By and large, movements in descending and ascending orders
are there. Brahman is coming down and Jiva is going up. Brahman is coming
down via Yajna and Jiva, with help of the same Yajna, is going up. Here lies the
justification of understanding and following the movement of the Chakra. His
Descent has been expressed in ‘Gayatri’, in the term ‘Dhimohi’ – ‘I hold deep
inside my heart’ and Ascent of the Jiva is expressed just after that in the term
‘Prachodayat’– ‘May He push us up’. In Upanishad as well as in Samhita, His
Descent has been termed as ‘Aavesh’ or absorption. In the Bhagavatam it is
‘Avatar’. The going up then is Ascension, Reaching Heaven, etc.
Now the Wheel or Chakra will be something like this:
Akshar
___________
(Yoni) Brahma ______
_______
Bhuta
Karma _______
_______ Anna
Yajna
_________
_______ Parjanya
It is to be noted that Akshara is beyond the cycle, there is no movement for
Him. The flow of Shakti is coming anticlockwise from Akshara to Brahman
following the movement of the Chakra.
This Brahman here is the same as ‘Mahat Brahman’ or ‘Yoni’ (Ch.XIV, sl.3&4)
or Source. Karma or Action is the ‘Visarga’ (Visrishti in Samhita) or manifested
creation. All creative Will emanates from this Source.
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Shakti comes down another step as the manifestation of Will in form of
Action (Yajna). Apparently this might be regarded as a descent, but inwardly
there is the will to rise up. Actually it is this upward pull that transforms all
actions to Yajna (Ch.III, sl. 9 – all actions other than Yajna end up in bondage).
Verily, it is with the help of Yajna that the Divine life and wisdom is showered
(Parjanya) on earth. This whole process has been described in detail in the
Vedas.
Earth, the powerful receptacle, bathed in that ‘shower’, produces Sustenance
(Anna). This, definitely, is not the ordinary food grains only but its inherent ‘Ida’
or the latent fire of energy that the Gita has described as the ‘nectar left over
from Yajna’ (Ch.III,sl.13).
The Being (Bhuta, the Mahabhuta of the Upanishad), that is born out of this
Sustenance is called ‘Annad’ in Samhita and Upanishad.
When this Annad Purusha, or the Knower of Vaiswanar (Universal Man)
attains Vidya of Chandoggya Upanishad, and reaches Akshar, he realises that
the whole Cycle of Brahman, Karma, Yajna, everything is originated from Him.
This is the origination of Brahma Chakra – a cycle which is all-pervading and is
based on Yajna.
Question:What is the art of working continuously without attachment?
Answer:Action is being performed continuously. Nobody can exist even for a
moment without doing some kind of action. In Prakriti the three Gunas are
constantly shifting and changing, causing continuous and automatic actions.
Hence there can never be any question of giving up work. What one has to give
up is the desire for results of work. In course of action, we are always getting
involved with its results. There is a kind of avid expectation like, ‘this action
should have that result’ or ‘that action should have had this result’, and so on
and so forth.
Basically, there are two attitudes we have to give up: the sense of ‘Doership’
and the feelings of joy at success or sorrow at failure. That is the way of
working without attachment.
Question:What are the inner meanings of the slokas from twenty to twenty
three of the Third Chapter?
Answer:At the outset, Sri Krishna has told Arjuna that he should not be attached
to the doctrine of Non-action (Ch.II, sl.47) and at the same time, He also had said
that the work should be done with discriminative Intelligence or Buddhi (Ch,II,
sl.49) and not in ignorance. In Gita, Buddhi means the same as Vijnana or Prajna.
Karmayoga is achieved when all actions are performed by the doer firmly
established in the Vijnanabhumi.
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Doubt clouded Arjuna’s mind. “If Buddhi is higher than Karma, why do you,
then, employ me in Karma, that too, in such terrible Karma as a devastating
warfare”?
(Ch.III Sl.1)
What Sri Krishna implied earlier is, though Buddhi or Prajna is higher than
regular Karma, there is no reason for giving up Karma under the pretext of
following the doctrine of Non-action of JnanaYoga. He has given two practical
reasons why Karma or action has to be performed under all circumstances.
First, giving up all actions is impossible, because without working no one can
exist even for a moment (Ch III, sl.5). At least some minimal action is needed for
livelihood. Modern economics is based on this theory and from practical point
of view this is an indisputable theory.
The second reason is from a collective view point. In order to help the social
system run smoothly, action is necessary. You can call this political aspect too.
Therefore, according to both the laws – economical and political – everyone
has to work, whether one does it as a Yogi or a non-Yogi. After presenting
these practical arguments in favour of Karmayoga, Sri Krishna says that man
is fond of imitating others, particularly he would imitate the actions of one he
considers to be ideally great. “People think highly of Me,” He continues. “If I
set an example of renouncing Karma, they will follow that.” Then the question
would rise how they would sustain if they follow the principle of Non-action? If
their number increases, would not that create a kind of topsy-turvy situation in
the society and stop all progress? Needless to say that Sri Krishna’s apprehension
turned out to be a dreadful reality in our country. As prevention to this dangerous
possibility He said, “In the Three Worlds, there is nothing that I have to do nor
is there any result from action that I aspire to. I am already in possession of
everything because I derive pleasure in Myself (Atmaram) and hence obtain
everything I desire (Aptakam). Yet I am always in the midst of action in the
most poised and perfect manner. And I do that,” He adds, “because people will
try to follow my examples since they consider me as the Ideal Man. If I minimise
the importance of work, so would the rest of the society. The whole social
structure would stumble due to inaction and that would lead to the instability of
the moral values. As a result of the renunciation of activities, the impurities of
the caste system you were afraid of (Ch.I,sl42) would prevail.”
In this context let me mention that by ‘impurity’ the Lord is not referring to
the intermixture of caste system only, but subtly hinting at the impurities and
perplexities in following Dharma as well (Dharmasammurah), which we can
see all around even today.
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Question:Please explain the hidden meaning of sloka 26 of the Third
Chapter.
Answer:Those who are merged in ignorance and by nature are attached to
work, are also to be drawn on to the path of detachment, but in a modest way.
Their reasoning power should not be confused with pedantic sermons. Moreover,
withdrawal from outer action does not mean giving up of inner cravings.
Renunciation is not an outward phenomenon – that is really an inner state.
Once ripened, a fruit gets detached from its stem and automatically drops off
from the tree. This process cannot be the same as plucking a green fruit before
it is mature and ripened artificially. Knowing this, a wise man would never give
up action fearing that that would set up an example, not conducive to progress.
He would continue working the same way like any other ordinary person, though
in the depth of his heart he knows very well that he is not bound by any action
and whether he works or not, makes no difference to him. To bring a kind of
outer revolution and confusion to the whole society can be termed as a play of
Ignorance.
A wise man acts while established in Yoga works with everyone and like
everyone. The apparent actions of a wise man and those of an ignorant one are
the same. But the inner difference between the two is like heaven and hell.
One works like Siva – in utter tranquility, with utmost desirelessness, and without
any expectation for the results. The other works like a goblin, jumping and
shouting, laughing and crying, disturbing everything and everyone around. But
the influence of the wise man slowly has an effect on the other. Seeing him, the
ignorant people also learn to work calmly and without expectation. Gradually,
they get the taste of real action and understand that actually action is not to be
performed raging and fuming. It is something like a bud blossoming into a flower.
To bring this kind of rejuvenating sap into action is to bring about a great inner
reformation, which a truly wise man does into the world of Ignorance. This has
been referred to as “Joshayet Sarva Karmani”– a Yogic Doer will add a different
flavour to work while working along with the non-Yogis.
Question:“The soul, deluded by ego, thinks ‘I am the doer’.” (Ch.III,
sl.27).Wherefrom does the Jiva gets this egotism of a doer?
Answer:Brahman has been manifested as Jiva. Hence everything that a Jiva
possesses comes from Brahman. “I am the Producer of everything, from Me
everything in generated”(ChX,sl.8). The original egoism belongs to Brahman.
“Brahman said, ‘I am Brahman’.” This ego passes onto the Jiva, and the Jiva
feels that he is Vast. On the one hand, this feeling of vastness expands him,
whereas on the other, because this feeling is adulterated with ignorance, it
becomes a cause of bondage. It is but natural to feel,’ I am the doer’, while
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doing something. But there are two types of doers – independent and delegate.
Apparently I am doing everything, but when we go deep within, we understand
that actually I am not ‘doing’ anything. Everything is ‘happening’– somebody is
getting things ‘done’ by me. An analogy by Sri Ramakrishna: ‘Potatoes and
parwals are jumping up and down in boiling water and thinking that they are
moving and jumping by their own volition. But once the heat is taken out,
everything is dead and still.’ At the root of my mundane actions, there is actually
the divine inspiration. I am just an agent. He is the Master and I am just an
instrument. In addition, He is both my action and the cause of my action. Action
performed with this kind of belief becomes natural and free of illusion.
Question:Why is it said that it is better to die following one’s own ‘Dharma’,
rather than pursuing others’, which would be dangerous?
Answer:‘Dharma’ means that which is holding my being – meaning the Divine
Will at the root of life is my Dharma. The Lord has not created everyone the
same. His multi-faceted Will has been manifested in the diversity of creation.
That is why everyone does not have the same Dharma. Under the present
circumstances of the battlefield, what He wants to get accomplished by Arjuna
is not asking for alms like a mendicant monk but a heroic warfare. Arjuna, a
prey to utter delusion, thinks that begging is better than fighting his own Gurus
(Ch.II, sl.5). It might have been true for some but not for Arjuna. The quality of a
Kshatriya is still predominant in him. Still he would want to punish the wrongdoer. It is not possible for him to tolerate everything or be equal to adoration and
humiliation like a true Sannyasi, not yet. Therefore, being a Kshatriya at heart,
if he tries to embrace the Dharma of a Sannyasi or a True Brahmin, because he
thinks that more glorious than or superior to the Dharma of a Kshatriya, its
results would be disastrous – both for himself and for others. Before he acquires
the qualities worthy of a true Sannyasi, he has to perform actions according to
Dharma of a true Kshatriya to wear out his Karma.
Question:In the first sloka of Chapter IV, the Lord says, “This Yoga had
been narrated to Vivaswan.” Which Yoga is it, Hatha Yoga or Raja Yoga?
Which Yoga had been lost in time and the Lord has reiterated its mysteries
to Arjuna?
Answer:The ‘Imperishable or Avyaya Yoga’ that has been mentioned at the
beginning of the Fourth Chapter of the Gita is beyond Raja Yoga and Hatha
Yoga. The primary means of practice in Hatha Yoga is Pranayama and of Raja
Yoga Pratyahar, implying gradual control of breathing as well as of restless
mind to reach a state of tranquillity. Elsewhere, the Gita has put emphasis on
those two as well. These are indispensable for spiritual practice but not the
ultimate end. This Eternal Yoga has been explained in detail in Chapter II – and
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has been repeated in Chapter III to clear certain doubts from Arjuna’s mind.
Two kinds of Buddhi have been mentioned in Chapter II – Samkhya Buddhi
and Yoga Buddhi. A dawning in the mind of “Yena Sarvamidam Tatamn,”– the
One who is All-Pervading – is Samkhya Buddhi. This Buddhi is “Vyavasayatmika”
– firm rooted-which leads the mind to attain Samadhi. Of course that is the
Samadhi of a Sthitaprajna, which remains unwavering even in the midst of all
activities. Being firmly established in this state of Samadhi or being in constant
union with the Divine and yet work with detachment is possible only when one
acquires Yoga Buddhi. These two (Samkhya and Yoga), combined together,
form the Buddhi Yoga of the Gita (Ch..II sl.49, Ch..X sl.10, Ch..XVIII sl.57).
This is the Yoga that Sri Krishna has mentioned here. Twice in the Gita
there are directions for following this Yoga too. Once at the beginning, while
describing the qualities of a Sthitaprajna, it is said that to one steadfast in Supreme
Knowledge, it is imperative to be free from attachment and aversion, bring
senses under control and move around amidst the sense-objects as an agent of
the Divine and enjoy everything as Bliss (Ch.II sl.64). The next instruction comes
towards the end, where it is said that the urge for action in the entire creation
has been generated from the Supreme Being. He is All- Pervading. With this
understanding (this is verily Samkhya Budhi or the first part of the Buddhi
Yoga), if a man can transform all his actions to His worship (this is Yoga Buddhi,
the second part of Buddhi Yoga), then he would attain the Ultimate Goal.
(In other words, Samkhya Buddhi is the understanding of the AllPervasiveness of the Divine and the Yoga Buddhi is to manifest that
understanding into works by dedicating all actions to Him). It is very clear that
this ‘Eternal Yoga’ is true for everyone, at all times and in all places. Hence Sri
Krishna says “I had told Vivaswan about the Yoga at the beginning of creation,
Vivaswan had told Manu and Manu told Ikshaku”(Ch.IV,sl.1)
In the Vedas, Vivaswan is Aditya, the Prajapatya Surya of the Upanishad,
who is the source of all creation. It is again in the Vedas that Manu has been
referred to as the ‘Primal Father’– the original Purusha and in Vishnu Purana
we see that Ikshaku was born out of breath or life of Manu, suggesting that he
was the First Man. Therefore, the significance of Sri Krishna’s saying is that
the Eternal Yoga has sprouted from the Sun at the beginning of creation and has
come down to the Original Purusha and thence to the First Man. Ikshaku was
the first to attain perfection in this Yoga. Thereafter this Yoga was spread among
the other great Royal Rishis (Ch IV, sl.2). But it was lost in course of time. Sri
Krishna expounded that again to Arjuna at Kurukshetra. This Yoga is verily the
all-comprehensive Purna Yoga, where the synthesis of Knowledge, Work and
Devotion has been achieved. (cf. Sri Aurobindo: Essays on the Gita “The Gita
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has to synthetise the Yoga doctrine of liberation by works and the Sankhya
doctrine of liberation by knowledge; it has to fuse karma with jnana…..It has
too its own luminous thought to add, the crown of its synthetic system, the
doctrine of Purushottama.”(p.88. Sankhya, Yoga and Vedanta)
Question:The ninth sloka of Chapter Four mentions the Divine Birth and
Work of the Lord. One who knows the mysteries of the divine birth and life
does not have to be born again. What is the significance of this utterance
‘Mam Eti (goes to me)? Does not the Bhakta come along with Him, while
He manifests Himself in every Yuga ( Sambhabami Yuge Yuge)?
Answer:To start with, let me tell you that your question can be answered very
precisely. One, who knows about the divine birth and work in ‘Reality’ (Tatvata),
reaches Him. In other words he becomes one with Him. After that, as the Lord
does not have rebirths, so does not he. What happens at His Will, is manifestation
or Divine Birth. Yet beyond this manifestation, He is also Unborn, Eternal and
Immutable as the Supreme Lord of all creation. Rebirth is for the Jiva and
Divine Birth for Siva.When you have Him and realise this process of
manifestation in its totality, then along with each ‘Sambhuti’ you may also have
the same and therefore partake in the divine work as His acolyte. That is not
rebirth. Rebirth takes place in samsara, in the lower plains, where the rotation
of birth and death takes place within the three lokas of bhur, bhubhah and swar.
A non-Vijnani cannot go beyond swarloka, but a Vijnani can. Beyond that, he
might move farther upwards towards a state of cessation from birth and
eventually attains the ultimate Equality in Brahma Nirvana. Similarly a Jnani, a
Bhakta or a powerful soul can be sent back as a chosen one in this lower world
for a Divine purpose. But this return is not like that of an inert puppet controlled
by Prakriti. The coming back is under His Will, as His servitor. This reasoning
is applicable while the movement is upstream, from here to there. There can be
a reverse movement downstream as well from there to here.
The Supreme Lord has become All. This becoming is under the control of
Yogamaya, who is also an aspect, the dynamic power or Energy of the Divine
Being. When He Becomes, He manifests with Vidya, not with Avidya like the
Jiva. That is why He is telling Arjuna that a number of births have already taken
place both for Arjuna and for Him. He knows them all, but Arjuna does not. As
you understand, the divine birth and work of the Lord is a manifestation of
Superconscience, and not of ignorance like you or me. Doing penance for
cessation from rebirth is applicable for Jiva only. For Him everything is bright
with the radiance of Consciousness. Even in the midst of our ignorance, He is
the Hidden Light of Knowledge as the Indwelling Lord of our heart or ‘gopah”
as per the Vedic language.
According to traditional beliefs, there are two ways of working of the Divine
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manifestation. According to the Saiva Philosophy, in one is expressed His Power
to restrain. Willingly, He is constricting Himself from consciousness to matter.
Yet matter is not all inert. There is a spark of consciousness deep inside the
matter that wants to expand day and night. Off and on it becomes cognisant
and active like the awakening of a seed under the soil. This awareness, which
at its culmination, becomes an urgency for the Jiva to transform itself to Siva, is
actually an indication of His playfulness. This urge for an upward movement
happens in the life of an individual as well as that of a community. When that
happens, it marks an epoch in the human history of evolution.
The whole process can be explained better with the example of an upward
movement of a spiral rotation as we see when a pitcher is made on a potter’s
wheel. The wheel is moving on a static plane but the lump of earth, rotating
along with it, is going upward. In that spiral rotation there is a tendency of going
forward and coming back; but even while coming back the baseline still remains
above the previous mark – the same way as we see in a spring or a screw. This
function of falling near to the base but again pushing up toward the upper level
is possible only due to His Grace.
“An endless spiral of ascent and fall
Until at last is reached the giant point
Through which his Glory shines for whom we were made
And we break into the infinity of God.”
Savitri, Book I, CantoIII
III
This happens in the world like this: When the kingdom of righteousness is
established, it moves forward to advancement. But following the law of spiral
movement comes the inevitable fall. In the language of the Jains, “Abasarpini”
or downward movement follows the “Utsarpini” or upward movement.
Uncontrollable evil power takes the hold of the whole situation and nothing can
stop it. At this crucial period, He Manifests (Sambhabami). No doubt when an
event like Kurukshetra takes place, the world consciousness rises up higher
again following the same spiral movement. This advent of Grace at such point
of time or at a particular moment of the growth of Universal Life is His Divine
Birth. This is what is happening from age to age according to His Will and
under His calm and merciful eyes. Verily, it is He, who is moving forward in the
spiral movement of His Shakti from the whirlpool of Matter to the serenity of
Consciousness. This is the reality of His Becoming. One, who knows this, gets
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away from the spiral to a straight movement and does not come back or may
choose to remain in the play of Becoming and joins the rest of creation in the
spiral movement. In that case, there is coming back, there is a rebirth but that is
not in Ignorance. Like Him and along with Him that is Divine Birth.
Question:Please explain the mysteries of Karma (Action), Akarma( Nonaction) and Vikarma (Wrong action) as mentioned in the slokas 17 and18
of the Fourth Chapter. Furthermore, it says that one who sees Karma in
Akarma and Akarma in Karma is called the perfect doer of all Karma.
Why is ‘The movement of Karma hard to understand’?
Answer:Gita has defined a universal characteristic of Karma. Action is the
effusion of feelings of the manifested beings (Ch.VIII, sl.3). ‘Visarga’ in Gita has
been termed as ‘Visrishti’ in the Vedas. ‘Visrishti’means an outflowing of the
universe from an Ultimate Fount. A stream of that outflow has come down
from Consciousness to Matter and another has gone up (Ud-bhava) from Matter
to Consciousness, from becoming to being. Both are Karma – the Eternal Karma
of the Divine (Ch.III, sl 22) (Varta Eva Cha Karmani)
But beyond this action of becoming or manifestation He is again a NonDoer. Even while creating the four Varnas, He is doing nothing (ChIV, sl.13). We,
too, can follow this example of His Witness Consciousness beyond creative
power. Then we see that it is our Prakriti that is working incessantly, while as
Purusha, we remain inactive and tranquil; moreover, we remain as instructor,
approver, supporter, even enjoyer and above all the master. This is the state of
non-doership or the state of Akarma. But because we are in this state of approver,
supporter and enjoyer (note that Gita is not following the traditional Samkhya
philosophy here since there may still be coming back even after moving up), the
action has to be spontaneous and automatic. This is the Karma of one established
in Yoga, where neither the self is deluded by ego as a doer nor is there any
hankering after the results of action. Under this state, even when we work,
there is no ‘doing’. On the other hand, since we are not working with ego at the
helm, this spontaneous outflow of energy brings forth action by itself. This is
respectively the vision of Non-action in action and Action in Non-action. With
this transparent, tranquil and radiant vision in the background, it is possible to
perform action to its utmost perfection. Then we become ‘Kritsnakarmakrit’.
Our perception, then, is illumined by ‘Buddhi’ or Prajna, we are then the
Karmayogis in the real sense of the term. Any work, other than performed like
that, is Vikarma.
Question :The slokas 24 and 25 of the Fourth Chapter talk about reaching
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Brahman by being in Samadhi in Brahmic Karma–‘Brahmakarma
Samadhina….Brahmaiva gantavya.’ What is the difference between Yajna
offered to devas and the Yajna offered to Brahman? Does the difference
lie only in thought? Please explain the significance of different Yajnas
mentioned here – Dravya Yajna, Tapa Yajna, Yoga Yajna, Swadhyaya,
and Jnana Yajna.
Answer :The general characteristic of Yajna, as per Mimamsha is, ‘Relinquishing
material objects in the name of gods.’ Of course, the whole function of Yajna is
symbolic. In reality all objects to be relinquished are symbols of the inner being
of the worshipper (Yajamana), on whose behalf the Yajna is being performed.
With the offering of each object to the fire, this is to be said, ‘Idam tava, na
mamo’, ‘this is yours, not mine’, and that object is to be considered as a part of
one’s self. Hence all Yajnas with material objects are, in fact, an offering of
one’s self to the gods. And the carrier of that offering is the rising fire of Aspiration
lit at the core of one’s own heart, which is represented by the Agni kindled at
the altar.
In the Gita, the meaning of the word Yajna has been extended beyond its
usual connotation. In the Vedas, Yajna is synonymous with Karma and
occasionally god’s work, By and large, people think of the ritualistic Karma
performed in the name of god as Yajna, The Gita says, ‘Why so?’ Let each and
every work be performed in the name of God, then that too would be a Yajna.
Moreover, the Gita says that there are various kinds of Yajna stretched (Vitata)
out to reach Brahman (Ch. IV, sl.32). (Vitata means extended from here to there.
Hence, in the Vedas, another term for Yajna is Vitan).
The practice of Yajna ONLY with materials is Dravya Yajna. But that is for
people of lower consciousness or for those following only the ritualistic part of
the Vedas. Gita is propagating a Yajna much higher than that. Yajna performed
with ‘Bhavna’ – the inner meaning – is the first step of Jnana Yajna. Real Jnana
Yajna is an inner spiritual discipline. One has to realise that the whole life is a
Yajna and its aim is Brahman. It is not aimed at any particular god with the
object of having wealth and enjoyment. What, then, are the signs of an ideal
Yajmana or the performer of a Yajna? He is void of any desire, liberated is he
from any will for personal gain, eternally he is established in Pure Knowledge.
Whatever he does, through all his actions, he merges into the Infinite and himself
becomes completely void (Ch.IV, sl.23). This is called Brahma Yajna or Jnana
Yajna. Then, himself becoming Brahman, the worshipper or the Yajamana offers
Brahman as the oblation in the universally lit effulgent Brahmic fire (Ch.IV,sl.24).
The whole function of Yajna that way is transformed to a comprehensive Brahmic
Consciousness. That is being termed as offering to Brahma (Brahmarpanam).
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Thus there would be no difference between Brahmic Consciousness and Karma
or the actual performance of Yajna. The state in which all this is possible is
called Brahma Samadhi – a unification of Brahma and Karma or merging of
Karma into Brahman.
This view has been expressed by a number of Sadhakas in our country.
Like: “Whatever I do, Oh Universal Mother! is nothing but Your worship!”
“Whatever I do, I meditate on Thee.” “I am nothing but Thy Instrument”! And
so on.
This is the way to realise Brahman in Its totality and everyone is doing
Sadhana for that purpose only – some by Tapas, some by Swadhyaya (study of
scriptures), some are following the path of Jnana and some are again practising
Pranyama – different method for different seeker. They are all ‘Yatis’, they
are all ‘Samshitavrata’ (Ch.IV, sl.28). Who is a ‘yati’? One who is controlled,
whose mind moves inwards. Who is a ‘Samshitavrata’? One whose will (vrata,
samkalpa) has the sharpness of higher intelligence. They are vigilant and evercomposed. Rightly practised, all these methods can take an aspirant to the
highest goal – to the Eternal Supreme or Sanatana Brahman (Ch.IV,Sl.30)
Question :The Gita says that even the recipients of the nectar in the form
of ‘leftover’ from a Yajna can reach the Sanatan Brahman(Ch.IV, sl.30). What
is the mystery in partaking in the leftover from Yajna? Has not the Gita
asked to perform all works with the sense of Yajna?
Answer:The basic truth behind Yajna is the sense of offering oneself. In Aitareya
Brahmana, it is said that the materials for offering are actually ransom (English
term used by Sri Aurobindo) for the Yajamana. Because the Yajamana cannot
offer himself directly into the fire, so he offers oblations as substitutes. The
material oblations are symbols of the Yajamana. A true Yajna cannot be
performed without this feeling associated with it. The Yajamana should feel
that the objects being offered to the gods are nothing but different aspects of
his own self.
Following the teachings of Ghora Angirasa, Sri Krishna has taught us that
our whole life is a comprehensive Yajna. A Yajna is not only a particular ritual
performed as an offering to a particular god, but each and every action can be
transformed to a Yajna or a self-offering to the Supreme Divine. Thus the Yajna
is transformed from a mere Dravya Yajna to a Jnana Yajna. As a part of the
Dravya Yajna, the remaining portion of whatever is offered as oblation, is to be
taken by the Ritwik or the Yajamana as Prasad of the Divine Being. This was
called Havirshesha (leftover of the Havir) or Ida. The thought behind this custom
was that the Divine had accepted whatever was offered and had turned the
remains of the offerings to nectar of Immortality. Hence with the intake of that
as Prasad, I too become Immortal. In other words I become one with the
Divine.
Śraddha-
o
August 2012 n 23
The Upanishad says:
Apamo Somam, Amrita abhuva
Agamya Joytir, Avidamo Devan
In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, it is said that though it is customary to
direct performance of Yajnas to different gods by saying, ‘Worship This’ and
‘Worship That’, in reality all gods are manifestations of One Atman. Therefore,
Atman or Brahman is the Only God.
So, whoever is Ishta, is verily Brahman. Siva for the Saivas, Shakti for the
Shaktas, Vishnu for the Vaishnavas – All are Brahman. The root of all worship
is self-offering. I tell my Ishta, “I am offering myself. You accept me.” He
accepts me, acknowledges me and enjoys me as offering. Being enjoyed by
Him in the depth of my being, I become submerged in Him. My outer life
continues with Ananda of His Enjoyment. Life, then, turns out to be His Prasad,
the leftover of the Yajna offered to Him. That is Amrita, the nectar of Immortality.
This way we have Him both outside and within the depth of our hearts – He
who is the Sanatan Brahman.
[This is the end of the Q/A on Karma and Jnana Yoga of Gita.]
Śraddha-
o
August 2012 n 24
Vol.4 No. 2
Publication Details
24 April.
Annual Subscription : Rs 150.00 Single copy : Rs. 50.00 Those wishing to receive the journal
by post may please send an additional Rs. 100.00
For overseas readers : Annual subscription : US$ 45 inclusive of postal and bank charges
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All Rights Reserved
24 November, 2012
Kolkata 700 071
Editor: Arup Basu
Phone: 98302 58723
Published by
Kolkata 700071
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Contents
The Law Of The Way
Sri Aurobindo
9
Sri Aurobindo: The Recluse
Of Pondicherry
Barindra Kumar Ghose
11
The Last Embodied “Darshan”
Amal Kiran
15
Srimat Anirvan
18
Avatar
Debashish Banerji
43
God And The World
Joan Price
69
—Gita IV. 39
Sri Aurobindo: Looking For
The True Vedanta
Anita Chakraborty Goswami
76
Lilavada In Colonial India
Nalini Bhushan & Jay L. Garfield
84
Involution And Evolution:
Murali Sivaramakrishnan
102
The Human Body – A Spiritual View
Alok Pande
111
Psychology: Five Major
Indian Contributions
Matthijs Cornelissen
118
Towards A Spiritual Mankind
Usharanjan Chakraborty
141
How An Egyptian Discovered
Sri Aurobindo
Zackaria Moursi
148
Bringing Brahman Down To Earth:
Georges van Vrekhem – An Obituary
153
Notes on Authors
157
Cover : Country of the Mind by Giles Herdman
picture of powerful ease, he sat gazing out as if towards glorious horizons for
humanity that humanity itself could not yet vision from its grope at the foot of
the Aurobindonian Himalaya. Imperturbable he looked, while the Mother was,
as usual, most graciously attentive to every shade of the passing moment. With
her expression of sweet intimacy she was taking away whatever strain the incoming people might feel on approaching the Master on such rare occasions in
the year.
Even as the writer drew near, nothing uncommon was visible to hint in any
distressing way the strange event that was to occur in less than a fortnight. But
one uncommonness marked the occasion to render peculiarly blissful this last
darshan. The Mother leaned towards Sri Aurobindo and softly mentioned the
name of him who was offering his salutation. Immediately Sri Aurobindo began
to smile. It was a smile of supreme kindness, whose meaning was understood
only later when he had left his body. On a back-look it seemed to have held a
royal appreciation of all the little toils done with the pen in his dear name and
also a vast beneficence assuring help for all future to one who had been in the
habit of depending almost helplessly on him for inspiration.
The inner assistance has not ceased to be felt. Always the touch from within
is ready as before and a wide store of thought and word is inwardly perceived
to be waiting above the mind as if in Sri Aurobindo’s masterful hands, to come
down at his sanction as in the years when the call used to go to his embodied
Light in a room in the Ashram. That smile shines out through the veil of socalled death. And like it the whole Aurobindonian power is at work, and today’s
darshan will be charged with it as on the day we last saw him beside the Mother.
November 24 is known as the Day of Victory, for, on it, Sri Aurobindo had
the experience which promised complete fulfilment of his vision. It is significant
that the last living darshan he granted was precisely on this day and in spite of
grave obstacles. He declared through the occasion that his life was victorious,
no matter what the appearance soon after. And the declaration was even verbal
and explicit, for the sentence culled from his writings and published as a message
on that day ran: “The Supramental is a truth, and its advent is, in the very
nature of things, inevitable.”
(This was Amal Kiran’s editorial in the November 1951 issue of Mother India, and is one of the
concluding articles in the book India and the World-Scene. The sole copyright for all books by
Amal Kiran rests with the Clear Ray Trust.)
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 17
Srimat Anirvan
Question:
In the 2nd sloka of 5th Chapter, we get, ‘Karma Yoga is preferable to Karma
Sannyasa’. Why did the Lord say that? Was Arjuna’s dejection or the feeling of
detachment or inclination for sannyasa a general trend in the then society? But
we find a glimpse of an exact opposite kind of mental state in Isopanishad,
where the injunction is to live a healthy life for hundred years.
Answer:
There is a historical foundation for the conflict between Karma Yoga and
Karma Sannyasa Yoga. Karma Sannyasa or the doctrine of Non-Action (Ch.II,
sl.47; Ch.VI, sl.1) is followed by the school of Munis (Muni Dharma) and Karma
Yoga by the Rishis (Rishi Dharma). Both Munis and Rishis were Aryas. But
the Munis were non-Vedic and the Rishis were followers of the Vedas. In spite
of being critical about the ways of Vedas (Ch.II, sls. 42-46), the Gita basically
follows the path of the Vedas (Ch. XV, sl.15). Therefore, even after accepting
the limited utility of Karma Sannyasa, the Gita has put stress on the Karma
Yoga. Sri Krishna has already accounted for that as follows:
(1) No one can sustain even for a moment without working, even if one
does not want to
(2)Prakriti would make him work (Ch.III, sl.5).
(3) Without work life will not continue (Ch.III, sl.8).
(4) Action is to be performed for the collective good of the society,
.
(lokasamgraha) just as the Lord Himself does or the royal Rishis like king
Janaka had done earlier (Ch.III, sl. 23-26).
(5)That Karma is the cause of bondage is a wrong notion, because action
performed as a yajna can never be the cause of bondage (Ch.III, cl.9), rather it
is a way to liberation.
(6) In support of that, he has explicitly said towards the end, ‘The urge for
Karma is coming from the all-pervading Being’ (Ch. XVIII, sl. 46).
In addition, he has also mentioned, that no one can attain the state of ultimate
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 18
immobility by just giving up action. All actions have flaws; yet, a man can reach
the state of blissful immobility by performing action in an unattached way. (Ch.III,
sl.4; Ch XVIII, sl.48 ,49). A hint of this conflict between Karma Sannyasa and
Karma Yoga can be found even in Rik Samhita.
One of the main centres where the theory of Karma Sannyasa flourished
was in Keekat or present Bihar. There the teachings of Gautama Buddha and
some Jain Tirthankars were predominant. They were more in accordance with
the Munis than the Rishis. The root of the conflict between the followers of
Sankhya philosophy supported by the Brahma Sutra and by Vedanta is based
upon the difference of opinion between the two paths of the Munis and the
Rishis. Sri Krishna wanted to unify the two. His instruction is, “Do not give up
action, but act as a non-doer, without expectation for results and considering all
action as my work”. This is Karma Yoga, proclaiming the singular superiority of
the Gita.
Question:
In the 5th sloka of the 5th Chapter it is said, “Whichever state can be attained
by Samkhya is attainable by Yoga too.” How can the followers of Samkhya and
the followers of Yoga reach the same state? Isn’t Kapila’s Samkhya philosophy
being referred to here? How can the viewpoint of theist Patanjali and the atheist
theory of Samkhya have the same goal? How can “Samkhya and Yoga are the
same” be possible?
Answer:
The Gita has not used the words ‘Samkhya’ and ‘Yoga” in the traditional
sense of the terms. The prevalent theory that the philosophy of Samkhya is
atheist and that of Yoga is monistic, is applicable in Samkhya Sutra and Yoga
Sutra. There we get the logical presentation of the Sutras. There are, along
with logic, a lot of debating, refuting views, intellectual fencing (especially in
Samkhya), which do not fit in either with the demand nor with the experience of
a devotee. The Samkhya and Yoga, that Gita has referred to, have been backed
by both Sruti and Smriti. It is a kind of superfluous attribution that because there
is the reference to God in Yoga, therefore it is a theistic philosophy. Yoga Sutra
is a scripture that can be universally applied. Since God is universally accepted
in all methods of worship, Patanjali had to make a place for him while giving a
scientific description of sadhana. But it is also to be noted that his God is the
Purusha, expressible only by Omkara (Om), He can be perceived only beyond
duality. Patanjali has never mentioned him as the Creator. According to him, it
is not known whether creation of the whole universe is a part of his Karma, but
surely being a guru is his Eternal Karma.
Sri Krishna has explicitly said at the very beginning what he meant by Samkhya
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 19
and Yoga by referring to them as Samkhya Buddhi and Yoga Buddhi. Knowledge
of an Imperishable Reality, ‘by which everything is covered’ (Yena sarvam
idam tatam Ch.II, sl.17 & Ch.XVIII, sl.46) is Samkhya Buddhi. As a result of
understanding, this one becomes serene and tranquil (Ch.II. sls.30/31), goes
beyond duality, becomes firmly established in that Reality without regard for
gain or loss and sorrow or pleasure and attains one’s own self. (Ch.II,sl.45).
That is Yoga Buddhi. Having Yoga Buddhi is to be stationed in that Samkhya
Buddhi and work with detachment, being always present there (Ch.II, sl.48).
One established in Samkhya is established in Equality. To apply this equality in
life is Buddhi Yoga (Ch.II, sls. 47-50). As the ultimate end of Samkhya is to rest
in the Immutable, all-pervading Reality, so the ultimate end of Yoga is to be
established in a state of Silence beyond the cycles of birth and death.(Ch.II,
sl.51).
(Note: In short, the knowledge of the Ultimate and all-pervading Reality is
Samkhya Buddhi and to manifest That in everyday thought and action is Yoga
Buddhi).
The word Samkhya means Knowledge in its totality and it is complete in and
perfected by Yoga. One can acquire Samkhya Buddhi in samadhi attained in
solitude but its firmness is tested in its application in awakened state. That is the
samadhi of the Sthithaprajna (Ch.II, sl.54), in whom Samkhya and Yoga have
been merged into one. Sri Krishna is effectuating the fierce events of
Kurukshetra, with the support of the heroism derived from the Samadhi of a
Sthitaprajna.
Question:
“Swabhavastu Pravartate’ — (It is nature that leads to activity). What is
the inner meaning of this (Ch.V, sl.14)? The Lord creates neither the relation
between cause and effect, nor the sense of doer, nor the action. The impressions
carried from previous births, born out of ignorance from time immemorial, under
the divine rule, create the sense of doer. Even while understanding the meaning
of it, the confusion still remains. ‘By nature’, what am I to understand by that?
Who creates nature, Jiva or Iswara? The Lord is beyond all. If that be so, what
is his action? What do we get by analysing nature? If the mastery lies with
nature, then what is the necessity of accepting divine lordship? Please explain
the mystery of this sloka in detail.
Answer:
The expression, ‘Swabhavastu Pravartate’ is in accordance with Samkhya.
The Purusha in Samkhya is not a creator. He ‘does not create’. Nobody creates.
Creation continues by itself. According to Samkhya terminology, that is a part
of the eternal evolution of Prakriti. The outcome of individual nature is a product
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 20
of that too. An organised play of the three gunas is going on eternally. This
might result in bondage as well as in liberation. Each Jiva follows the path
according to its individual and egoistic nature. This is the working of his nature.
From that come out the senses of a doer, of action and of the resultant enjoyment
of action.
But the Lord, or the all-pervading yet independent Purusha, who resides as
Pravu (Ch. V, sl.14) or as Bibhu (Ch.V, sl.15), in the heart of a Jiva, is not
affected by the enjoyment of the Jiva. When the Jiva realises that unaffected
Purusha, he also transforms into Him or becomes one with Him. There remains
no more any connection with the activities of nature. Whatever has to happen
is happening. He is watching as a seer.
To attain this unattached state of the Purusha is the first step of vijnana.
Note that the Gita has not used the term ‘Iswara’ or Lord here. As a matter of
fact, the Iswara, residing in the cave of heart drives the whole universe of
created beings mechanically with the help of his Maya (Ch. XVIII, sl. 61). In
that case, then, are there two Lords? No, that is not what it is. The Lord is One
and only One, but there are two aspects of him. As Iswara, he does or gets
done everything and yet as the unattached Purusha, he does nothing (cf. Ch.IV,
sl.13), there the Lord is non-doer even after doing everything). Both these
aspects can dwell in him simultaneously, even though they are self-contradictory.
Similarly, when we act stationed in Yoga, we ‘do not act while acting’ and again
‘act while not acting’. Thus we become ‘Kritshnakarmakrit’ – doer of action
in its totality (Ch.IV, sl.18).
This condition cannot be conceived unless one reaches the vijnanabhumi,
beyond Mind. Mind is ever confused. Either it is a doer (and at that time not a
non-doer) or a non-doer (and at that time not a doer). How can one be both a
doer and a non-doer simultaneously is beyond its perception. But should the
same theory be applied to the Lord?
Say, I am a doer and you are a non-doer. There are a lot of doers and nondoers in the society. But they are all in the Lord. Therefore through them the
Lord is simultaneously doer and non-doer. But can we conceive that with the
mind?
Now, action is in universe and non-action is beyond universe. The Law of
Cause and Consequence in Nature is only within the boundary of creation. But
the Master is not limited by the Nature. The universe rests only on a fragmentation
of his Totality (Ch.X, sl. 42). In the language of the Vedas, one-fourth of him
contains the manifested universe and the rest three-fourths hold the eternal
effulgence, where there is neither doing, nor work, nor any result of work. And
the most astounding part of the truth is that this Supreme Way of the Lord is
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 21
also deeply imbedded in here too. Rather we can say that because he is
completely Void in his Swarupa, that is why the one-fourth part of him is
overflowing with the ecstasy of creation into that effulgent Void. This is the
mystery of creation, mystery of life and mystery of sadhana.
Now I can answer your question. Like good and evil, all contradictory terms
are expressions of the duality of mind. In the philosophy of One or Adwaita,
there is no such word as good or evil. There is only vibration of Power. This
vibration came down to the world of duality according to the Divine Will.
Therefore the propensity of all activities is coming from him. Strangely enough,
as the light of divine freedom falls on the consciousness of Jiva, the Jiva thinks
“I am God”. We name this thinking ‘egoism”. As long as human nature is under
the control of lower nature, the Jiva thinking ‘I am the doer’ selects the mode of
action according to the urge of the lower nature. As a result, he suffers both for
apparent good and/or evil. Suffering leads to his urge for freedom from suffering.
Then he searches for God.
I have already mentioned that there are two aspects of the divine working.
He is a doer as well as a non-doer. Jiva can embrace either or both of these
aspects. Either he can be a complete non-doer like the Lord (this is the Samkhya
Buddhi of the Gita), or he might as well be the doer in spite of being a non-doer,
and that, too, is like the Lord (this is the Yoga Buddhi).The Gita has mentioned
that he can attain liberation in both.
Now we can say that the workings of individual nature, following the principle
of non-action, lead to the evolution of Nature. This is continued from time
immemorial – just like the rotation of the wheel of an ‘escalator’ (word used by
Sri Aurobindo). The wheel is rotating eternally. You might be caught into that or
you might not, if you are at the centre of the wheel (Chakranavi). Again, you
can be the master of the wheel too (Chakravarty), but that comes much later.
When you are caught, you would feel as if the rotation of the wheel and working
of the nature are taking places because of you. This is half-truth; apparently,
the working of nature does ensue from you as per your necessity but in a
subtler sense, and that is also according to Divine Will.
You can accept the importance of Nature or of the eternal evolution of
Prakriti and easily take the Lord out of the equation. In that case you are just an
unattached observer of Prakriti. This too can lead to liberation. But this does
not include one of the ultimate gratifications of sadhana, that comes in the next
stage when we see that he is the One turning on the machine of Prakriti and I
keep on working as his instrument. Then on the one hand I am ‘doing’ and on
the other, because He is making me do, I am ‘not doing’.
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 22
Question:
What is the significance of the expression, ‘see equally’ in the ‘wise men
see all equally’ (Ch.V, sl.18)’? The wise men look at a Brahmin who is an adept
in learning and humility, a person born in the lowest caste, a cow, an elephant or
a dog with equal eye. ‘Those who are steadfast in equality’. ‘The equal Brahman
is beyond all faults’. Equality has been highly commended (Ch.V, sls.18-19) in
the Gita. What is the way or what kind of sadhana is needed to achieve and to
maintain equality? Isn’t the feeling of equality the same as Brahmic feeling?
Can a sadhaka attain equality without attaining Akash-Bhavna?
Answer:
Equal perception has very lucidly been explained in (Ch. VI, sl.29) the Gita.
One who himself being united with the Self, sees the self in all and all in the
Self, has the vision of equality. To see all in the Self and self in all is the same as
seeing all in Him and Him in all. This has been mentioned in the next sloka and
a detailed description of the sadhana that leads to the vision of Self has been
illustrated in the few slokas on equality (Ch.VI, sl 24-28). The bottom line is
that you have to fix the mind in Self and should not think of anything else. This
way, once you reach the tranquillity, the ultimate ecstasy born out of Brahmic
touch will automatically be attained. And there will bloom lotuses of Light in the
Cosmic Void. When the yogi comes back on earth from that state, he sees
equality everywhere. He will see everyone and everything like multi-coloured
bubbles in the ocean of Self. A Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog or a person
of the lowest caste — all will be like the shimmering surf in the overflowing
ocean of ecstasy in the tranquil heart of a yogi. There will be no discrimination
like the Brahmin is higher, whereas the Chandala and his dog are lower; or the
wealth of cow of a Brahmin is greater than that of elephants of a Kshatriya.
But he would never create confusion among ignorant people by bringing
equality in behaviour. Dharma does not mean that the equality in perception
should lead to equality in behaviour. Equality in perception is the quality of the
Purusha and the quality of Prakriti is to promote the appropriate discriminative
conduct, so that the Purusha can evolve in all. When that happens, even a
Chandala will transform to a twice-born, but the second birth will take place as
a result of following his swabhava and swadharma. Otherwise, there will be a
chaotic situation due to intermixture of dharma.
Question:
When we read (Ch.V, sl.22), we feel that all enjoyment due to the contact of
senses with the sense objects gives birth to suffering. This contact is but natural.
What, then, is the way to withdraw mind? ‘One, who is able to endure the
upsurge of desire and anger’ (Ch.V, sl.23) what does this mean? Does endurance
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 23
imply not to act under any impulse or passion?
Answer:
The answer to your question is just before and after that particular sloka.
There are two kinds of contact — one outer which has been referred to as
perception through senses (Matrasparsha) (Ch.II, sl.14) and the other is called
the Brahmic contact (Brahmasparsha) (Ch.VI, sl.28). In both, there is a
connection between senses and sense objects. As a result of that, in our mind
controlled by ‘nature’, there arise attachment and aversion which has been
termed in Gita as ‘vyavasthita’, meaning pre-determined or mechanical. Nature
has already decided what kind of sense contacts would create happiness and
what would create unhappiness. The Gita asks us not to be controlled by this
arrangement of nature (Ch.III, sl.34), meaning not to be affected by attachment
or aversion. For that, cultivation of forbearance is mandatory. Patience or
forbearance has been mentioned earlier too in reference to perception by senses
(Ch.II, sl.14), where it is clearly indicated that perceptions come and go, one
should not be involved with them.
But remember, it is very hard to acquire patience. It is almost impossible
until the mind goes inward. The followers of Samkhya philosophy say that
patience proves that there is such a Person inside us, who is beyond happiness
and grief. And that is the Atman. Therefore, if we can remain unattached, even
when the objects hit our senses, we can be firmly established in our Self or
Atman by yoga. The Upanishad calls this state, ‘meeting with Knowledge-Self
or Jnana Atman’. As the experience deepens, the sense of expansion of Self
comes automatically. Then the mind, established in Self (Atman) gets established
in Brahman. It ceases to be termed as mind and the Atman, established in
Brahman, becomes known as Mahan Atman or Great Atman by Upanishad,
and enjoys the eternal ecstasy in itself. The touch of sense objects arouses the
touch of Brahman. To quote the Vaishnavas, ‘Wherever the sight falls, only
Krishna appears’. ‘This is bad, that is enjoyable; happiness lies here, sadness
there’ — this kind of duality ceases to exist. But that does not mean that the
senses stop working. Radiance appears inside giving birth to a kind of
contentment or happiness that inundates, overwhelms and saturates the entire
outer being (Ch.V, Sl.24). The sense of duality of happiness and grief is born
out of desire and anger, which again are expressions of rajas (Ch.III, sl. 37),
that covers the sense of vastness and increases the sense of narrowness.
Therefore just as to attain the ecstasy of Vastness (Bhumananda) or Brahmic
contact we have to acquire patience in our outer self, similarly we need to
control the urge of desire and anger in our inner self. This way, the mind starts
getting inward and gradually merges with Atman and finally we attain Brahman.
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 24
Question:
What is the significance of the expression, ‘Abhito Brahma Nirvana’ (Ch.V,
sl.26) — merging in Brahman here and hereafter. What is the way of being
detached from desire and anger? Does detachment mean not to attach the
mind with passion? But does it not depend upon discipline? Is it true that work
of the Lord is to create passion and the duty of Jiva is to be free from that?
How can Jiva battle with the Will of the Lord?
Answer:
Brahma Nirvana has been mentioned twice in the Gita. Once, in sl. 72 of
Chapter II, it is mentioned as the goal at the end of life. Here, though, the Gita
mentioning it for the second time emphasises on Nirvana in Brahman while
being in Brahman (Brahmi Sthiti) at the same time. The ultimate object is to be
established in Brahman in life and Nirvana in the same after death. Nirvana in
Brahman and Being in Brahman are interwoven. This is the unique teaching of
the Gita. It is not the only Truth that everything merges into Brahman, it is
equally true that everything comes out of That too (Prabhava Pralayastatha).
But the Immutable remains Immutable, even when everything sprouts out of
him. A little later, he says, ‘Nirvana is the abode of Ultimate Peace but that too
abides in Me’(Ch.VI, sl.15).
What is the state of Brahma Nirvana? That has been mentioned just a little
earlier. That is ‘the feeling of inner happiness, inner comfort, inner radiance’.
Happiness is a state of mind — a delight derived from the touch of the Vast one
attains due to harmonised propensities (Ch.VI, sl.28). Comfort or aarama
belongs to the Pranic (vital) area and it means having a sense of all-pervasive
equality attained when one goes beyond Matter and is absorbed in bhava. In
the Upanishad, Brahman has been attributed with Akasha as body, Truth as
Atman, comfort as Prana and ananda as Mind. This is a beautiful description
of a soul in Brahma Nirvana while in Brahmi Sthiti (stationed in Brahman).
Desire is a play of Brahma Shakti. When Purusha is weak or under the
power of Shakti, desire turns into passion, which is hard to control. This is what
happens when Purusha is controlled by Nature. But the desire in Brahman, the
Master — in the words of the Vedas — is the original seed in Mind — the
source of all creation.
(cf. The seed of the Spirit’s blind and huge desire
From which the tree of cosmos was conceived
Savitri, Bk.1, Canto III)
To differentiate this from the lower desire, the Upanishad has named the
higher one as Will. Kama as desire is craving of the weaklings and Will is the
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mighty potentiality of the Creator. Kama enters from outside and makes the
mind restless; it might or might not have the power to obtain the desired object,
whereas Will generates from inside and blossoms like flowers in a plant.
Therefore, there is Will in Brahman, but not desire in the ordinary sense of
the term. When the lower desire is obstructed, it gives rise to anger (Ch.II,
sl.62) that is hard to control. But to one, who is connected to the Vast, power
brings harmony, not discordance. Harmony creates prasad or Bliss, aarama
or Ease, and sukh or Delight. At this stage, there is no lower desire but its aim
– enjoyment – is easily available. Actually, at that point, the object of desire is
only a pretext. The sensuous contact of any object transforms itself into contact
with the Vast. That gives the feeling that the floodgates of Brahma Nirvana are
opened from all sides (Abhitah) and consciousness has submerged into That.
Needless to mention that reaching this state of being requires prolonged
practice. It is the Lord who creates velocity and it is he only who shows the
way to tranquillity. This play is going on since the beginning of time and will
continue till eternity. Therefore, it is not a struggle anyway. As there are problems,
so are there solutions.
Question:
The 29th sloka of Chapter Five mentions about ‘Enjoyer of Yajna and Tapas’.
What does that mean? After addressing him as ‘the greatest Lord of all beings’,
there is again an epithet, ’Friend of all beings’. Has there not been a hint of a
combination of sweetness and Lordship? Is it not the object of the speaker to
elaborate the fact that the only way to attain peace is to know God both as the
Supreme Lord and the dearest friend? Heart’s cravings for him are not satisfied
with knowing him only in his powers. Is it not a must to have him closest to the
heart too?
Answer:
Yajna or Sacrifice and tapas or penance are two very ancient ways of
sadhana. The former was practised by the Rishis and the latter by the Munis.
The doctrine of gods or devavad is at the root of yajna. The Mimamsa has
pointed out that yajna means the sacrifice of material objects for the gods, and
at the root of tapas is the doctrine of Atman or atmavad. One of the fundamental
sections of Patanjali’s Kriya Yoga also deals with a method of tapas.
The doctrine of gods or devavad eventually culminated into the doctrine of
Brahman and the doctrine of Atman or atmavad into the doctrine of Samkhya.
Again, for a householder the prescribed practice was yajna and for a hermit it
was tapas. The Upanishad has hinted that at an advanced stage all practices
transform from outer to inner and has given suggestions to that effect too.
Actually all religious practices, in a broader sense, can be termed either as
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yajna or as tapas. Nowadays, yajna has changed its name to worship or puja
and tapas to yoga. A combined practice can also be performed.
Any sadhana is work in some form or other. Whatever I do, I do for him.
Whatever I offer in yajna, is an offer to the Lord of all yajnas; whatever
asceticism I follow, my aim is to reach him through penance. The ananda or
happiness that comes out of my sadhana, I offer to him with the thought that my
right is only to the action and not in the result. He is the sole Enjoyer of all
results and the ultimate goal of my sadhana. He has explicitly asked, ‘Whatever
you do, whatever you eat, whatever yajna you perform, whatever you give,
whatever penance you observe, offer everything to me’. Hence all my actions,
all my thoughts and my feelings – my whole being is for him and for his enjoyment
only.
This should be the feeling for him in the course of the sadhana. This feeling
matures in Knowledge – a Knowledge of his Reality. And what is that Reality?
As He is the Lord of the Universe, so is he the closest friend of individuals. As
he is the lokeswar in different planes, so is he the dearest One to every creature.
His Omnipotence is expressed in Lordship and Love as the indweller of each
heart. As Rabindranath said:
“Though the King of kings, my Lord
Yet you’re ever awake and ever alert.
To beguile me you move around
And don alluring attire to win my heart.”
There is no dispute between sweetness and majesty. Even Narada has said
that unless there is an initial concept of majesty or greatness, absolute surrender
might not be possible. Gradually majesty melts in the depth of love. But that
does not mean it extinguishes. It simply changes form. Then “I am proud with
the pride of belonging to thee.’’ The explicit meaning? Thou art the Enjoyer of
both my outer and inner worship. Thou art the Supreme Lord in my Universe,
the sole Master of my heart.
Question:
The concept of a Yogi and a Sannyasi underlined in the first sloka of the
Sixth Chapter is not in accordance with the traditional meaning of the two
terms. It is understood that Gita considers the one who works without expecting
the results, both as a yogi and a sannyasi and not the one who does no action
nor does offer oblation to the fire. What are the significances of the terms
niragni (one who does not offer oblation to fire) and akriya (one who does no
action at all)?
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Answer:
Among the Aryas, followers of the ‘doctrine of gods’ were called Rishis and
the followers of the ‘doctrine of Atman’ were called Munis. The description of
the system of Yoga we find in the philosophy of Patanjali, was primarily conceived
by the Munis. Even in the Rik Samita we find references of Munis. These
followers of ‘no-god’ doctrine never supported the Vedic rites. Even from
Jaydeva, we have heard about Sakyamuni (Gautama Buddha) disparaging the
rites of yajna. The Gita has mentioned them as ‘non-workers’ (akriya) here.
Because they used to preach ‘kim kriten’ or ‘what do you gain by working,’ so
their country came to be known as ‘Keekat’. The Vedas have mentioned that
too. Sometimes they took up sannyas and roamed around the country as
mendicant monks. Then they were called ‘maskari’ which has the same meaning
as ‘ma kuru’ or ‘don’t do anything.’ We get references of them from Panini as
well.
At times, the theist Aryas or Rishis who followed the doctrine of gods also
took up Sannyas. The Rik Samhita has called them ‘yati’. Yajurveda, primarily
a Karmaveda has decried these yatis. The yatis, when they took up Sannyasa,
left home after withdrawing the celestial fires within the Atman, saying ‘Atmani
Agnim Samadhaya (Of course this was a symbolic rite). After that there would
be no further custom of performing any rites by kindling fire on their altars any
more. These yatis were called ‘niragni’. Even today there are many sannyasis
who do not touch fire, not even for cooking.
At the end, the significance of the terms ‘akriya’ and ‘niragni’ become the
same – giving up of all the ritualistic activities. These customs evolved due to
excessive stress on the doctrine of non-action (Ch.III, sl. 4) of that time. The
Gita, as she is against the interpretation of Veda which speaks of excessive
rites, so is against the doctrine of non-action.
Sri Krishna says that the general performers of Vedic rites have a deep
attachment for results in the form of wealth and enjoyment. Their Buddhi is not
guiding them towards Knowledge. On the other hand, it is similarly erroneous
to give up outer work or advise people to do so. By giving up outer work, a
person might very well call himself a sannyasi or a yogi but in reality he is
neither, unless he understands that the crux of the matter is not to give up work
but desire. To reach the goal of a true sannyasi or a yogi, one has to renounce
not the work itself but the desire for the fruit of the work. Whatever is your true
Karma or the dutiful work, you have to continue doing that. If everyone gives
up work then the society will crumble down (Ch.III, sl.24). The real sannyasi or
yogi is he, who does his duty without any expectation for the fruit of the action,
not one who follows the path of total inaction (niragni or akriya).
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Somewhere else, the Lord has said that the bondage of Karma falls off
easily from one without attachment or aversion (Ch.V, sl.3). It is not true that
the path of sannyasa is despicable, that is a way towards liberation too. But
according to Gita, Karma Yoga has certain distinctions over Karma Sannyasa
(Ch.V, sl.2). Again, the seers think that giving up of any work initiated by desire
is the real sannyasa.
Question:
What is the significance in saying ‘work is the means for ‘aarurukshu’(one
who wishes to advance) and ‘restraint is the means for the ‘yogaruda’ (one
who is established in yoga)? Is it true that to attain the ultimate knowledge
through meditation, a complete renunciation of work is absolutely necessary?
Answer:
The aspirant, who is about to enter the path or to be established in Yoga is
‘aarurukshu’. To think that he has to give up all work to enter in yoga would
be a gross mistake. It has already been indicated that yoga does not mean a
state of inaction. On the other hand, it symbolises an inner state of non-dualism
born from action performed without any expectation for results. Rather, action
is the primary means to reach the state of tranquillity. ‘Nobody’, says the Lord,
‘can attain the state of non-action, without doing some action to start with’
(Ch.III, sl. 4).
As work is the primary means of sadhana for an aspirant, so also is restraint
the chief accomplishment for a realised yogi. The characteristics of restraint
have been expounded in the slokas following immediately and meaning not
inaction but not to be involved in action. It is neither having craving for the
fulfilment of senses nor to cherish the desire to enjoy the sense objects, and
over and above to give up all resolutions driven by desire. ‘I have no desire of
my own; I am working as his instrument, not to fulfil my personal motive’– this
feeling works at the root of detachment that culminates in sannyasa.
That the culmination of meditation is in samadhi is in Patnjali’s yoga as well.
But the samadhi of the Sthitaprajna, mentioned in the Gita is not an inert
(jada) samadhi but a samadhi of awareness, which does not occur only while
only sitting in a particular posture and at a particular place and time but includes
all movements everywhere and all the time.
Hence inaction is not mandatory to reach the ultimate goal of meditation.
Question:
The Gita has called him ’united’ (yukta), who is at peace with himself by
attaining both outer and inner knowledge, is detached and has conquered the
senses. What is the technique or way to obtain equal feelings towards a piece
of sod, stone or gold? How can there be an equal vision towards a sage and a
sinner (Ch.VI, sls.8/9)?
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Answer:
There is a hint given to the sequence of sadhana and siddhi in these two
slokas. The sequence should be in ascending order. To be ‘united’ (with the
Divine), the first thing needed is to conquer the senses. That is possible only
when one is detached – detached but always aware and established in a higher
and steadfast existence within oneself, like always being mentally in-between
the eyebrows. Of course, this too only for beginners. When you are above all
yet a ‘sakshi’ or a witness of all, you attain knowledge. If you are involved with
each and all, you neither know nor understand anyone or anything. This is only
possible when you are detached like tatastha (standing on the bank and watch
the river flow) or kutastha (perched on a high peak and observing everything
below). As knowledge gives an actual conception about the object, so also it
gives a clear and firm perception regarding the true identity of the knower.
Once the reality of the outer world is understood, attachment to anything ceases
to exist. Absence of attachment makes way for the advent of inner contentment
– a tranquil contentment of Atman. When this matures, we call that vijnana.
Thus when a yogi attains all three, namely, (1) mastery over senses, (2)
detachment and separation from the outer world and (3) Knowledge or vijnana,
he becomes a yukta (united with the Divine) and yogaruda (established in the
yoga).
It is not true that the ‘yogaruda’ of the Gita is always sitting in the ivory
tower. He comes down to the lower planes too and acts as an equal with the
rest of us. The striking example is Sri Krishna, the Lord of the Yoga. But it is his
equality that keeps him separated from the ordinary people even when he is in
the midst of them. He does not have the sense of duality in the form of aversion
to a piece of sod and stone and attachment to gold. He holds everything in its
proper place, looks at them with an unbiased equal view and treats them
accordingly. If you are not attached, it is not very hard to develop this kind of
equal attitude towards outer objects. Coming to think of it, one, who is satisfied
with himself in the vijnanabhumi, why should he have any attachment towards
outer objects?
Yet, there might be some traces of prior impressions (samskara). The iron
shackle may not bind, but the golden chain might. It is harder to have equal
feelings for human beings than to have equal attitude towards objects. We are
bound to others in a thousand knots. To undo these knots is much harder than to
accept equally the outer objects. Do we look at everyone equally? For some
we have attachment, for some aversion and again for some indifference. It
comes naturally. But that does not happen with a yogi. The most difficult test is
to look equally at a saint and a sinner, for here come the hindrances from the
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subtle sense of moral and religious beliefs. A wanton woman used to come to
visit Ma Sarada. Having heard that, one day Sri Ramakrisha asked Sri Ma
‘why do you let her come to you’? The Holy Mother replied, ‘you can judge,
but I am the Mother. Won’t I let her come only because she is what she is?” I
hope the meaning of the sloka will be crystal clear to you now.
Question:
The Gita has indicated to fix the vision in-between the eyebrows or at the
end of the nose. Doesn’t the vision fall at the tip of the nose automatically with
half closed eyes? Is it good to maintain this vision at all times? To fix the gaze
in-between the eyes or having upturned eyes is meant for the last moments,
isn’t it?
Answer:
‘End of the nose’ may have a double meaning – the upper end as well as the
lower end. While meditating on the heart or the navel centre, the gaze has to go
downward. Similarly, while meditating on the spot between the eyebrows the
gaze has to go upward. To attain tranquillity, both are widely accepted. Moreover,
the ability to focus on a particular spot may vary from person to person. It is
very relative. The object of focusing on a particular spot is to take the mind
inward. Otherwise, just sending the vision upward does not have any effect.
There are a few spiritually charged areas in human body. The Gita and the
Upanishads have put stress on three of them – the heart, in-between the
eyebrows and the top of the head. Initially, with effort and imaginary vision,
mind has to be carried in those areas. Afterwards, those areas become a natural
abode of the mind. As a result, consciousness in areas below that particular
spiritual spot becomes vague and dull. After coming back from Amarnath, Swami
Vivekananda used to say, ‘It appears, Lord Siva is permanently stationed on the
top of the head. He refuses to come down.’ But that does not mean Swamiji
was always keeping his vision upturned. One has to turn the vision and along
with it the mind upward in order to channelise the flow of consciousness
upstream.
It is imperative for the consciousness to flow upward at the time of death in
order to attain the Ultimate. It has been advised to go from the heart to the spot
between the eyebrows and thence to the top of the head. But all that is possible
if we practise being in the higher areas during lifetime.
Question:
How do you interpret, ‘Buddhigrahya atindriyam’ (beyond senses, only
conceived by intellect)? Since Buddhi or Intelligence is over mind, is that why
Buddhi has been termed as beyond senses? To be established in the Self which
is perceived only by Buddhi and is beyond senses, one has to follow Karma
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Yoga with perfect awareness. Is not that the injunction of Gita?
Answer:
Gita has included even mind among the senses by saying,’ Six senses,
including mind” (Ch.XV, sl.17). Hence, when you say beyond senses, that should
automatically mean beyond mind too. The Upanishad says that beyond mind is
vijnana. From the vijnanabhumi, it is easy to reach Universal Knowledge.
Mind deals with specific knowledge, which comes via senses. When we see a
man, we see only that particular man and store him in our memory completely
depending on certain specific information derived through senses. But the general
knowledge that develops regarding manhood or humanity by seeing a number
of men does not pertain to the information regarding a particular man at all.
This is universal knowledge, born out of Buddhi. This is called vijnana. Vijnana
is beyond mind, therefore beyond senses. In the example cited, the tendency of
vijnana is towards the object and has been applied outwardly. But if this tendency
could be turned inward, if I can gain a transcendental knowledge about myself,
then I can perceive Atman with Atman (not with mind or senses). The delight
derived out of that is incomparable. In addition, there is never a fall. So the
vision of Reality remains unchangeable.
The conscious Kriya Yoga is definitely a well-acclaimed method for that.
Question:
‘Keeping the mind firmly fixed in Atman, even the slightest thought should
be discarded” (Ch.VI,sl.25) There has to be a degree of achievement of this
method. Have the stages of single pointed (ekagra) and completely stopped
(niruddha) mind being discussed here? ‘Even the slightest thought should be
discarded’– is it to be attained by effort or without effort?
Answer:
The method is through Yoga – Samkhya or Jnana Yoga. The symptoms and
sequences have been clearly explained before and after this particular sloka.
Yoga is such a stable state that even profound sorrow does not disturb the
mind. But remember, mind at that point is NOT inert. I do very well understand
sorrow as well as the cause of sorrow but they are coming and going like
waves on an ocean. There is no agitation on a deep sea. The connection with
sorrow, meaning sorrow as well as the cause of sorrow, has separated from me
like the skin of a dried betel-nut. This state has been termed as one of ‘absence
of union with sorrow’. And this is called Yoga (Ch.VI, sl.23).
The foremost attitude needed to reach this state is to be without the least
apathy or dejection. Whining like ‘Alas! Nothing is happening and nothing is
going to happen to me!’ is inertia, a state of tamas. This has to be completely
rejected. The path is like a razor’s edge. But I will and I must reach my goal
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traversing along this razor’s edge. There has to be a strong tenacity like that
(Ch.VI, sl.23).
Next comes giving up of desire will. The divine Will is Truth-Consciousness
and the effort to fulfil my personal needs is born out of desire will. ‘I am not
doing anything. Whatever is being done, you are getting that done by me’– a
dependence on the Lord like that slowly eradicates all personal motivation. We
have to be firmly rooted in the thought, ‘Let your will be victorious in my life’.
Next is the sadhana of restraint (samyama). Mind is always running after
attachment towards the outer world. The sadhana to control this movement
and turn the mind inwards is called practice of restraint. It is something like
instead of adding to, gradually withdrawing fuel from the fire, so that eventually
it extinguishes completely.
The inducement of senses, like fuel to the fire, draws the mind outward.
There has to be a complete transformation in the relationship between mind
and the senses. The mind will no longer be under control of the senses. It will
be vice versa. This can be made possible if we can make Buddhi, which is
beyond mind, shine brighter and brighter. This Buddhi is primarily established in
sattwa, the highest quality. Its salient characteristic is the power to discriminate
– to differentiate between inclination and detachment, non-action and action,
fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation (Ch.XVII, sl.30) A steady
intelligence would guide like, ‘I do not want to do anything being led by my
desire or an impulse. That would create involvement for me.’ This can also be
termed as purified Buddhi (Ch.XVIII, sl.51).
This Buddhi should be reinforced by steadfastness or control. Steadfastness
in its sattwic form always controls senses, desire and mind (Ch. XVIII, sl.33).
Work would naturally start with senses and with each sense is associated some
kind of involvement with pleasure and pain. One should not fall a prey to that
involvement (Ch.III, sl.34). ‘I am using the senses not for lower vital and mental
satisfactions, or to appease their whims, but for the gratification of Atman’. If
we can develop this feeling, we do not have to run after the sense objects like
puppets driven by a cord held by a puppeteer. This grace of Being (being
stationed beyond likes and dislike) is the natural outcome of Yoga. With sattwic
predominance, it becomes steadfast (Ch. XVIII, sl.33).
Enthusiasm, certitude, control of senses, restraint, higher intelligence and
steadfastness – these are the outer parts of yoga. Its inner parts consist of
serenity and bliss in the depth of consciousness. This can be achieved by
concentrating on certain given objects. Sri Ramakrishna commented that he
used to do that on the flame of a lamp. The Gita says the very same thing, ‘The
steady flame of a lamp in a place that is sheltered from the gust of wind is the
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correct analogy for the firmness in the mind of a Yogi’( Ch.VI, sl.14). The other
attribution is that of clear bright sky – always to think that there is an akash like
that in my heart. The Upanishad has also mentioned that. Patanjali suggested
meditation on a ‘heart void of attachment to sense objects’, which means to
meditate on the purity of the great souls who completely conquered all desires.
By constantly doing so, the consciousness about Self beyond mind, which is
always there in the depth of my being will surface just as the sand banks rise
above the water of the river once the monsoon water subsides. Then one
experiences the tranquillity of the deep ocean, even though there might be waves
on the surface. By habits acquired from previous births, even if the waves try
to disturb the tranquillity, that can be fought back with the recollection of Self.
Gradually, the tranquillity of the depth would spread over the surface too. There
would be no more waves on the ocean. Even the terrible upheaval of Kurukshetra
would appear as light sprays carried by a summer breeze.
This goes for application. Once the practice is firmly established, all
disturbances of mind automatically calm down while sitting for meditation. In
that serene mind appears the ultimate ecstasy of Brahmic touch (Ch.VI,
Sls.27&28). As a result, when we awake from meditation, we see Atman or
Him in all and all in Atman or Him (Ch.VI, sls.9-31).
Question:
‘Whoever sees Me everywhere and all in Me’ (Ch.VI, sl.30). What is the
mystic significance of this sloka? What is the sequence of vision? Is there a
difference between the vision of a Deity (vigraha) and that of the bhava of
the Immutable Being? Can you please simplify the analysis of the sequence of
feelings as the mind gets subtler to subtler.
Answer:
First comes the vision of Self and then comes the vision of the Lord. Here
the Gita has given clue to this sequence. The object of the first Six Chapters is
Self-Knowledge. To start with, when I know myself in totality, it would be
easier for me to know him too. Otherwise, my Lord will just be an imagination
of my impure mind.
You will understand the sequence from what I said just now. First of all, as
a result of prolonged practice of restraint, mind-consciousness merges with the
inner consciousness and one is established in Self. At that point the feeling is
like, there is only ‘I’ and nothing else anywhere. Of course, this ‘I’ is not the
ego represented by name and form but a perception of Self; according to Sri
Ramakrishna, a perception of ‘mature I’. This perception has two phases. At
first, the consciousness gets concentrated as a dot (bindu) and we get the
perception of Jnana Atman or Knowledge Self. Once this is established, the
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dot would, as if, expand into the solar system and we get the perception of
Mahan Atman or Vast Self. The latter is the effortless and natural outcome of
the former. There is another phase even after this. The light of the sun would
gradually get dimmer and dimmer. There will be neither light nor darkness,
neither day nor night, only pure Existence. This is the state of Shanto Atman or
serene Self.
To submerge again and again into this Jnana Atman, Mahan Atman and
Shanto Atman and come up with their ecstatic fragrance strengthens the
serenity of mind (Ch.VI, sl. 27). No turmoil of outer world would disturb the
inner peace any more. The outer akash and the inner akash have become one
now. I see the whole world on the backdrop of that akash like watching a
movie on a screen. There is neither attachment nor aversion. Every object is
observed with undisturbed tranquillity. This is being described as ‘equality of
vision everywhere’ (Ch.VI, sl.29). This is to see all in the Atman.
When this vision gets deeper, the inner vision opens up. Then not only do I
see the pictures moving on the screen, but can see why they are moving and
who is making them move as well. I realise that the Atman in me is the Seer, the
Enjoyer, as well as the Master and Supreme Lord (Ch.XIII, sl.23) of everything.
It is He who is in all. This is to see the Atman in all.
This Atman, this inner Being in all, is verily the Supreme Being, the Iswara
or Purushottama or Bhagawan Sri Krishna (Ch. XV, sls.17/18).
Question:
(Yo Mam pashyati sarvatra, sarvam cha Mayi pashyati) One who sees
Me everywhere and everything in Me, I am not lost to him nor is he to Me
(Ch.VI, sl. 30). How to conceive the significance of ‘Me’ or ‘in Me’? How are
we to understand ‘being lost from Him’ or ‘He being lost’?
Answer:
See all in Him and Him in all. First is to see in Him and then to see ONLY
Him. We find such utterances in the Upanishad as well. First to see all beings in
Atman, next to see Atman in all beings and eventually to realise that Atman has
verily become all beings. As long as vision rushes outward, we see neither the
Atman nor Him. Hence it is absolutely imperative to see the Self or Him within
by diverting the vision inward. As a result of absorption, all propensities will
merge in Him. This is the state of samadhi. As the perception deepens, it spreads
even over the awaking state beyond samadhi. At that point we see everything
pervaded by Him – ‘Tena savamidam Tatam’. Everything is floating and sinking
in Him like bubble-foam-waves on an ocean. At the inmost depth of our being
we know that He has become all. Whatever I see, I see only Him. He is not
hidden from me even for a moment. This is what is meant by ‘I am not lost, I
am not hidden.’
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It is not only my seeing Him, He is seeing me too. My vision is an outcome
of his and only with the light of his vision do I see Him. It is like a baby opening
its eyes under the loving eyes of its mother to be bathed in the overwhelming
flow of her love. After that there are no more reverse movements. He is looking
at me and I am looking at Him. He looks at me first and in that radiance of his
vision I see Him. First of all, I have to be his, only then He becomes mine. The
result? Complete eradication of difference between Him and me. Of course
the last part of the Supreme Vision is implied here.
The next step is to know the Lord the same way as I have known the Self
outside and inside of all. Of course, once you realise the Self, it comes by itself.
Then I see the Cosmic Self initiating all beings, including myself, move round
and round on a carousel and I cannot help but calling Him my Lord and Master.
Self-knowledge thus transcends to divine knowledge. But this aspect of divinity
is attained through knowledge or pure jnana. According to Sri Ramakrishna
we have to know Him, ‘Not there, but here.’ He is my inner being too, my
nearest of the near and dearest of the dear – my Self itself. Thus ripens knowledge
and emerges devotion. After that we see all in Him like waves in the ocean and
Him in all like ocean in each wave.
There is a sequence or an ascending pattern in the vision of Self, vision of
Brahman, and vision of Deity or manifested divinity (Ch. IX, sl.11), The
succeeding vision is the result of the preceding one. First I know myself; with
that purified knowledge and through perception I know the Lord as the inmost
cosmic Soul. When this knowledge condenses, the knowledge of the Deity
becomes pure and flawless. Otherwise, getting over-excited with the form of
the Deity without knowing his supreme lordship in its Reality is the same as
ignorant disrespect and neglect of the highest (Ch.IX, sl. 11).
(Note: Evidently, this answer and the previous one are interrelated).
Question:
What do discipline and detachment (abhyasa and vairagya, Ch.VI,sl.35)
mean? What are they in actuality?
Answer:
These terms used in the Gita can also be found in the Raj Yoga of Patanjali.
According to Patanjali, ‘Control of that (mind) by discipline and detachment’, is
the general practice for Yoga.
Discipline is mentioned as the effort to remain firmly stationed in one’s own
being and can be achieved by enthusiastic and constant practice for a long
time. As a matter of fact, our whole life is nothing but the result of practice. By
continuous lying, lying becomes a practice. But that definitely will not lead to
yoga. Discipline, backed by detachment is conducive to yoga.
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 36
The primary condition of yoga is to go inward, with mind being stably stationed
in the Self. But by nature, mind rushes outward; attachment towards outer
objects pulls the mind continuously out. The only way to disregard this pull is by
giving up desire for sense objects. That way one can attain detachment.
Objects are of two kinds – tangible and intangible. Patanjali calls one seen
and the other heard. The seen objects are perceptible to senses. Mind is one of
the senses too. Therefore mental objects are also under the same category.
Man wants enjoyment of senses, fame and power, all kinds of mental satisfaction,
etc. All these are ‘seen’ objects and are available here. But he wants to stretch
all material enjoyments to hereafter and for that imagine heaven and life after,
so that he can enjoy all the earthly materials there too. These are imaginary or
‘heard’ or related to intangibles. Nobody has seen heaven, only heard of it. So
he performs various religious rites hankering after heavenly pleasure. In order
to follow the path of detachment, the thirst for both seen and heard has to be
given up. Only one thing has to be asked for; to attain and remain in the Self;
and nothing else. For that it is imperative to go beyond the gunas of Nature.
This, of course, is the supreme and last step towards detachment.
The fundamental quality of detachment is renunciation or giving up of thirst
for sense-objects. This can be used as a way to control the frivolity of mind.
Sense-objects are outside of me and part of lower material nature. Lower nature
is fickle and changing every moment. Running after that would cause fickleness
of mind too. The less we run after the material objects of lower nature, the
more the mind attains serenity. Hence the Lord Krishna says, ‘For one who has
no control over mind, Yoga is very hard to achieve (Ch.VI, sl. 36).
Question:
What is the significance of ‘goes beyond Sabda Brahman’ (Ch.VI, sl.44)?
Hasn’t the Gita accepted the doctrine of reincarnation in using the term,
‘belonging to the previous body’ (ChVI, sl.43)?
Answer:
Mimamsa has mentioned two aspects of Brahman – Para Brahman and
Sabda Brahman. The quality of Para Brahman has already been described in
Gita as, ‘Akshara Brahma Paramam’ (Ch.VIII, sl.3). The immutable Reality
as the foundation of the universe is Para Brahman and the cluster of sounds
that expresses it is Sabda Brahman – that is Veda. The essence of Veda is
Pranab or Om, which is called Sabda Brahman too. Gita has accepted the
Sabda Brahman and said ‘Om is the mono-syllabled Brahman’. Further, the
Lord added, ‘Whoever utters this following Me in his thought, at the time of
departing from the physical body and proceed farther, verily reaches the highest
goal’ (Ch.VIII, sl.13). Again He has said, ‘Brahman has three units – Om, Tat,
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 37
and Sat… The followers of Brahman start their performances of sacrifice,
offering and penance by uttering Om (Ch. XVII, sls.23/24). This Sabda Brahman
is a step towards Para Brahman. But the Veda has shown ways to wealth and
enjoyment too. By and large, people are more inclined towards that and create
an uproar saying, ‘There is nothing other than that (wealth and enjoyment)
(Ch.II, sls. 42/43). Sri Krishna says that this aspect of Veda or Sabda Brahman
is ‘subjected to three gunas’– meaning no one can go beyond by following this
philosophy. One cannot go beyond dualities, be established in Eternal Existence,
or be without desire for gaining and retaining (yoga kshema) or knower of the
Self (Ch.II, sl.45) by following this aspect of the Veda. In that case what good
is that aspect of Veda (Ch.II, sl. 46)? ‘Only I and nobody else know the Veda
that can show the way to come to Me’ (Ch.XV, sl.15).
I hope this aspect of Veda or Sabda Brahman is clear to you now. The
Sabda Brahman that the yogi ‘goes beyond’, is the doctrine of Veda followed
by the people desiring wealth and enjoyment.
Another name for Sabda Brahman is Shruti. On another occasion, Sri
Krishna has asked us to go even beyond that too. ‘When your intellect would
overcome the whirlpool of delusion you would lose interest both about things to
be heard and things already heard’ (Srotavyasya shrutasya cha) (Ch.II, sl.
52). The underlying meaning here is there will be no more excitement about,
‘this I have heard and that I must hear’, because you have already attained the
state void of delusion by only listening about Me and all doubts born of ignorance
have been totally uprooted’ (cf. Ch.XVIII, sl.72). This way too a yogi can go
beyond Sabda Brahman.
Why only in Gita, in all schools of philosophy in India, excepting Charvak’s
doctrine, reincarnation is accepted. But our knowledge about its reality is still
very hazy.
Question:
Why has a yogi been given higher position than an ascetic, a jnani or a
worker (Ch.VI, sls. 43-47)? ‘People, who worship Me with Sraddha’– who
has been indicated by Me’ here? Is there any difference between the reality of
the highest Iswara and Purushottama? There must be some reason behind the
usage of the term ‘yuktatama’(highest among yogis)?
Answer:
According to Patanjali, tapas or asceticism is an external limb of yoga, a
part of discipline. One cannot become a yogi by asceticism only. Because it is
an external discipline, tapas has all sattwic, rajasic and tamasic propensities
and qualities (Ch.XVII, sls.18/19). Out of these, only the physical, verbal and
mental sattwic tapas is an important means of sadhana. Yet that is a means
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 38
only, not the goal. Knowledge or jnana matures in yoga. Whichever way you
interpret jnana, it is the same knowledge that dawns in mind when one goes
beyond the manifested world. And when one remains steadfast in that, even in
action, one becomes a yogi. Lord Krishna has mentioned at the beginning and
also added later that Yoga Buddhi is the active manifestation of Samkhya Buddhi.
In addition, He has mentioned that not only does the bondage of Karma decline
by that, but even the slightest practice of Yoga Buddhi saves us from great fear
(Ch.II, sls.39/40). Therefore, it is not enough to be a jnani by mere knowledge.
Only when we can manifest that knowledge in life, in other words, become a
yogi, then comes the fulfilment of knowledge.
It is not hard to understand that a yogi is higher than a man of action. Nobody
can exist even for a moment without doing some kind of work. The gunas of
Prakriti make everyone work even without any personal effort on the part of
the worker (Ch.III, sl.5). Does that mean all of them, though doing Karma, are
Yogis? Are they working being established in yoga? Therefore, a yogi is of
course higher in rank than a worker.
But the culmination of all is in devotion. I am working for Him, doing penance
for Him, doing the sadhana of knowledge with heart to have Him. Karma,
tapas, jnana all aim at Him – this is Bhakti Yoga – the greatest of all yogas –
the ultimate end of all yogas. So the yogi, who being a yogi– and all the eighteen
chapters of Gita expound eighteen kinds of Yoga – worships Him from the
depth of his heart, that absolutely surrendered soul is the Highest among the
Yogis. [Cf. ‘His is the divine birth in the supreme Nature, integral in being,
completed in will, absolute in love, perfected in knowledge. (Sri Aurobindo,
Essays on the Gita, The Synthesis of Devotion and Knowledge)].
In Gita Me always denotes Purushottama. Verily He is Brahman, He is
Paramatman (Ch.XV, sl. 17).
Question:
Gita is ‘Adwait Amritavarshini’ (she showers the nectar of Adwaita) and
‘Swayam Padmanavasya Mukhapadmavinisrita’ (coming out of the voice
of the Lord Himself). Does not Bhagavat too narrate about the same Divinity?
Does Bhagavat shower the nectar of Adwaita too? Is there any difference
between the Adwaita preached as well as the supreme Divinity described in
Gita and in Bhagavat?
Answer:
The Teacher in Gita is God Himself. There is but one God. This many-faced
multitude is also He. As the essence of the Upanishadic realisation is ‘All this is
verily Brahman’, similarly, ‘All this is Vasudeva’ is the essence of the dharma
of the devotees. Both are statements born out of realisation of the Adwaita.
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 39
Only He is there and no Universe – this kind of Non-Dual realisation comes on
the way upward, when you go beyond the world. Again, when you come back
to this world, bringing Adwaita along with you, you see all in Him, see all as
Him, then you say all is Brahman; all is Vasudeva. This is a doctrine of Adwaita
too. The perfection of the Immutable Adwaita lies in this manifested Adwaita.
Our argumentative intelligence creates separation between the two. But there
is no duality in God, or in the Gita. There is the complete and comprehensive
Adwaitavad in Gita. Her highest utterance is ‘Vasudeva Sarvam’.
This is one aspect of the Bhagavat dharma – the aspect of Knowledge. The
other aspect has blossomed in the Bhagavatam. That is the aspect of love, of
ananda, of enjoyment. When you have the Lord as Arjuna had, as a man, being
one with Him in samadhi and a surrendered agent in waking state, you get Gita.
And when you have Him sacrificing manhood, as a woman, as Sree Radha
had, by being enjoyed by Him, you get Bhagavatam. The knowledge of Gita
and love of Bhagavatam – both are to be manifested in life, in action, in
Kurukshetra. Work has to be done in Kurukshetra but the work has to have a
base in knowledge and in devotion. That is like being with God in daylight. But
Vrindavan is saturated with the sweetness of love. There to be with Him, for
Him and in Him to the heart’s fullest desire as a gopi, in the fragrance filled
moonlit night, is like fulfilling the ultimate desire.
Both combined complete the Bhagavat dharma. And the condensed form of
that completeness as the goal is Sri Krishna. You are his Higher Nature (Para
Prakriti), as Arjuna in Kurukshetra and as gopi in Vrindavan.
I offer you my vision. Now you can see as per yours.
Question:
There appears to have some difference between devotion propounded in
Gita and the one in Bhagavatam. Could you please analyse that?
Answer:
In addition to the Bhakti propounded in the Gita, Bhagavatam has Prema
Bhakti. And there is no conflict between the two; one is just natural culmination
of the other. Tranquillity, servitude, companionship – up to this much is the
introductory part of bhakti. Affection and love are the conclusion. The former
is in Gita, not the later. Bhagavatam has all. The affection and love of gopi
compelled the Lord to incarnate, to take birth. His infancy and adolescence are
not in Vaikuntha, his eternal abode. But in the Bhagavatam we find the description
of his eternal as well as his playful Reality as an infant and adolescent. The
idea, though, has been taken from the Veda.
One who wants to remain a sadhaka would say that without knowledge and
renunciation true devotion cannot evolve. Very true. How can one come even
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 40
near to devotion as long as worldly attachment and delusion persist? That would
be nothing but momentous hypocrisy. But one who has a stronger inclination for
siddha, would say, ‘I don’t understand all that. I love you. Because I love you,
everything other that you is just like poison (renunciation); I know what sweetness
exists in you; further I know what I am to you and what you are to me
(knowledge)’.
Question:
Please analyse the sequence of sadhana of Bhagavat dharma following the
system described in both Gita and Bhagavatam.
Answer:
There are three phases of sadhana – Karma, Jnana and Bhakti. Life, as
well as sadhana starts with Karma. When Karma is controlled by dharma, then
only it becomes an aid to sadhana. This is according to the Path of prescribed
discipline (vidhi marg). And this is approved by Smriti. But there is the
expectation of fruits of the work. If that expectation can be given up ordinary
Karma becomes Karma Yoga. Hence go on working by offering the results to
Lord Krishna. At that point, there might not be desire for the fruit of action, but
the sense of ‘do’s and don’ts’ can still be there. The first condition of a worker
without any desire is to work with the sense of a non-doer. That creates a void
within. As a result, at one end there is the dawning of knowledge (because
knowledge is born of the discriminative feeling of being above the turmoil, a
sense of being the witness), on the other, there is no more the bondage of
imposed ‘do’s and don’ts’. This is the condition of renunciation of personal
dharma. From that ensues the feeling of being a mere instrument.’ I am just a
puppet and He is the Puppeteer’– this gives birth to love for Him. Then the
condition of devotion mingles with knowledge. The work is going on like a
machine. Inside is the deep serenity born of knowledge and in the horizon is the
roseate hue of divine courtship.
Gradually, the roseate hue spreads over and colours the entire heart. The
ego sense starts to transform. The seat of ‘I’ is usurped by ‘You’. Only You are
there. There is no more consciousness whether I am there or not. The work
still continues but changes to service. Work is not mechanical any more, it is
vibrant with feeling. This is the stage of devotion without knowledge.
The rasa that bhakti brings in heart changes the entire being. I find a new ‘I’
that is yours. The first stage is devotion of servitude – the first step of Prema
Bhakti. Then You are Vast and I am less than an atom. In devotion of
companionship, You and I are equal. In devotion of affection, You are small, I
am big – I become big in love. All these conditions are nourishments of prema.
Eventually, it is love of a Beloved – which is the synthesis of all feelings and
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 41
emotions. This is the love of the gopis. I am no more a man – I am your Para
Prakriti.
End of Part I (The First Six Chapters)
(Translated from the original Bengali by Kalyani Bose, a long time devotee of Sri Aurobindo and
the Mother now residing in New Jersey, USA)
Śraddha-
o
November 2012 n 42
Vol.6 No.1
Publication Details
24 April.
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15 August, 2014
Kolkata 700 071
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was convinced that it could only point to the glorious and unmistakable fact of
the existence of a living Presence, an Almighty Power, a Consciousness, a
Being behind these visitations and glimpses of ‘brighter countries than man’s
eyes can bear’.
Editorial
This is the story of a youngster who recounts the first experiences of his
early visits to Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. Not that such experiences
are something exceptionally rare or extraordinary by any means, but that these
should occur to someone seemingly contented and easily satisfied with the
surface facts of life unseated his mental stability. A sudden stirring of the inner
contents of life disturbed the balance of his inner being and left him confused,
in wonder, awe, and mystery, even an unknown and impending fear. Even as
he neared the main gate of the Ashram building and was about to step inside, all
noise of the outside world seemed suddenly to fade away and ceased and just
as dusk silently and inevitably descends before evening sets in even so a strange
hush fell on him as he set his foot inside. Once within the Ashram precincts, he
met with a thick doorless wall of silence which engulfed him all over; he pushed
through this silent barrier and moved slowly towards the Meditation Hall as if in
half a daze. In those days, nearly 50 years ago, it wasn’t difficult to get permission
to meditate in Sri Aurobindo’s room. There were days when you could be the
only one in the room. As he gradually mounted those familiar green-carpeted
steps of the stairway leading to the sacred crypt, the silence that had greeted
him at the Ashram entrance now deepened into a wonderful calm and poise.
He sat down on the carpet near the door facing east towards the Darshan
room and concentrated for a while. The entire room was a solid block of peace
and silence, massive and concrete; he felt the weight of a stupendous force,
held within the silence’s core, inexorably pressing down on his limbs. At the
same time, an overarching soft, gentle warmth, compassion and love and a
large benevolence shrouded him with a protective wing. With a heart full of
gratitude, he left the room and walked towards the gate moving still in a stupor.
Only for a few griefless moments was he transported to the lustres and the
‘emerald rapture’ of the ‘immortal spaces’ that are within our reach. ‘The
rarity and wonder lived no more’ (Savitri, 4th rev.ed., 1993, Bk.I, Canto I,
pp.5). Once more he turned back to ‘... the common light of earthly day’ and
‘... the rumour of the speed of Life’, (Ibid, p.6) Yet in his bosom he gently
nursed the ‘… diamond light of the Eternal’s peace’ and ‘a crimson seed of
God’s felicity’ (Ibid, p.712). Being totally foreign to such inner turbulences, he
Aptly has the Mother said in her invocation on 15 December, 1950
Sri Aurobindo is here, as living and as present as ever and it is left to us to
realise his work with all the sincerity, eagerness and concentration necessary.
(CWM, vol.13, p.7)
On this blessed day, let us then bow down before The Master and pray with
the Mother that
… we may be worthy of this marvellous Presence and that henceforth
everything in us be concentrated on the one will to be more and more perfectly
consecrated to the fulfilment of Thy sublime Work. (CWM, Ibid, p.6)
As the August issue coincides with the Independence of India, political and
social issues tend to dominate in the papers presented. We are particularly
grateful to the Overman Foundation for allowing us to reproduce the two talks
given to the students of SAICE, Pondicherry, by Sri Surendra Mohan Ghosh,
posted on its website. Our grateful thanks to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust
for granting permission to reproduce the extracts from the Mother’s writings in
vol.6, 12 and 13 of CWM and the photograph of Sri Aurobindo taken from the
Ashram catalogue of photos and the few lines of Savitri used in the editorial.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are reproduced here with
acknowledgement and thanks to the Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust,
Pondicherry.
Contents
Finding the psychic being
The Mother
7
Kena or the Question of Questions
Alok Pandey
12
Gitanuvachan — Second Series
(Chapters VII & VIII)
Srimat Anirvan
24
The Mother image in Sri Aurobindo
Prema Nandakumar
45
Mind, Overmind and Supermind
– Theme I
Debashish Banerji
54
Talk to the students of Sri Aurobindo
International Centre of Education
(SAICE), Pondicherry
Surendra Mohan Ghose
64
A Trumpet Call : its background
and significance
Dasharathi Sengupta
80
Sri Aurobindo and the Hooghly
Conference
Trija Roy
90
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother
as Personnel Managers
Anurag Banerjee
110
Sri Aurobindo’s Critique of German
Poetry and Philosophy
Wilfried Huchzermeyer
130
—Gita IV. 39
Notes On Authors
139
Index to Authors and Articles
in Śraddha, August 2013 – April 2014
140
Cover : Painting by Giles Herdman
Thus we find that this great Upanishad leads us step by step to the home of
Truth that lies above in some infinite Consciousness from where this seemingly
finite creation with all its finite movements proceed forth. But the finite is only
a seeming. Each finite, however small it may be, is supported within and from
behind by this infinite Consciousness. All powers emerge from this infinity. The
gods are the intermediary powers who help us move towards That whose very
nature is delight and Peace.
Gitanuvachan
Second Series
(Chapters VII & VIII)
Srimat Anirvan
[Translator’s note:It is after more than a year that Mother’s Grace has worked to bring
about the second series of Sri Anirvan’s Gitanuvachan. The second series consists of
the second ‘shataka’ or cluster of six i.e. from Chapter VII to Chapter XII incl. Needless
to mention that Sri Anirvan’s writing is way beyond my capability of translating, yet the
pure ecstasy that I derived while studying Gitanuvachan made me forget my limitations.
We are all aware that some Sanskrit words cannot be translated and so they have been
left in their original forms. ]
Question:
In the opening sloka of Chapter VII of the Gita, the Lord has mentioned
about knowing ‘Him’ in totality. Is there nothing else to know, once jnana is
accompanied with vijnana? Knowledge cannot reach Infinity. Why then does
the Lord say, ‘there remains nothing else to be known’ (7/2)? What are the
inner meanings of these three words jnana, vijnana and savijnana?
Answer:
In the first shataka the Gita propounds self-knowledge which includes both
Raja Yoga and its subsidiary Kriya yoga. Once you know yourself, then only
you know God. You develop devotion and a yogi with devotion is the greatest of
all yogis (6/47).
Arjuna did not raise any further questions after that at that point. SelfKnowledge — devotion as a result of that — and eventually Realisation of the
Godhead within oneself — this is the progressive sequence and ultimate aim of
sadhana. But following this path we know Him and have Him within ourselves
but not in the Cosmic Nature. This jnana, though regarded as of a very high
calibre, is yet incomplete. Hence, to make the pupil aware of the ‘totality’, the
World Teacher, even without being asked, now wants to carry him into the
realm of vijnana, beyond jnana.
Śraddha-
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August 2014 n 23
Śraddha-
o
August 2014 n 24
Vijnana can mean both specific as well as general Higher Knowledge. The
perception of Divinity that we get by going deep inside might not always be
strong enough to repudiate the blows of the outside world. Therefore, in order
to have a firm and secure footing in the higher state of being, there is the strong
need of cultivation of samadhi even in the waking state. That Arjuna had had a
glimpse of it can be easily surmised from his questions regarding ‘sthitaprajna’
in the second chapter (2/54). But even there, we have seen that a sthitaprajna
is rather submerged in Atman, devotion or divinity is in the background. In the
second shataka, Self-Knowledge is culminating in Brahmic Knowledge. The
Reality of you is being purified and having the possibility of getting an access to
the Reality of That, Atman is getting the chance of being expanded into the
vastness of Brahman. Therefore, jnana or Knowledge is Self-Knowledge —
to know oneself and in that light to have Him within oneself; and to have Him in
the universe and in that light have oneself in the vastness of the universe is
vijnana or Knowledge of ‘totality’. He is residing in me — this is jnana, and
He is residing in the cosmos — this is vijnana. Self-Knowledge becomes mature
with vijnana.
Note, the Lord has mentioned about Nature at the very onset. This topic
never surfaced earlier. For the sadhana of Self-Knowledge, a general idea
about individual nature is needed. That is the knowledge of the lower (apara)
nature of the Divine not of his higher (para) nature. The concept of the higher
nature is a unique aspect of the Gita. This too is a part of vijnana after jnana.
In the context of vijnana, he has given some references to his vibhuti,
about which we will know more in detail in the tenth and eleventh chapters.
This also gives us some hints about knowing him in ‘totality’. The zenith of this
vijnana or total knowledge has been hinted at towards the end of chapter
seven and expounded in chapter eight (7/29-30). There is no end of knowledge
and nobody can know him completely. But as the pitcher, submerged in ocean,
can have nothing more to ask for, similarly, when Pure Knowledge with its
expression of infinity manifests in us, we feel there is nothing else to know yet
the endless ocean is dancing around my pitcher that is already filled with It to
the brim.
Question:
What is the underlying meaning of the expression, ‘Few know Me in
Reality’(7/3)? The term ‘real’ automatically brings in mind its opposite ‘unreal’.
The higher Nature that has been manifested as Creation evidently belongs to
the Lord. ‘Nothing is higher than Me’, ‘all this is imbedded in Me’ (7/7/). Does
this ‘Me’ indicate the Lord Himself or his Higher Nature? What is the relation
Śraddha-
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August 2014 n 25
between the Lord and his Higher Nature? It is evident that the Lord is beyond
the Higher Nature, then again is not everything strung in the thread of Higher
Nature?
Answer:
For a human being, the knowledge of reality is the knowledge of his own
self — a knowledge of whatever he is in own nature. But for the Divine, the
knowledge of Reality is the knowledge both of the Supreme Self and Nature.
Both are Divine Reality. Only Self is Real and Nature or Power is not — that is
not true.
Actually, his Nature is threefold — lower, higher and supreme. The lower
nature is the same as the one mentioned by Samkhya, which has here been
described as eightfold because earth, water, and other elements are only
indicative here. For example, as there are the five elements, so are the five
contacts (tanmatras), five senses of action, and five senses of knowledge —
all are the gradual ascension of the five fundamental elements (mahabhuta).
There is another cluster of five other than these — mind, ego, intelligence,
nature and God.
Other than the lower nature of God, there is His ‘manifested’ higher nature.
‘jiva’ or all embodied manifestation is His eternal ‘amsha”(15/7), meaning
rays — like each individual ray of the Sun. In the Veda, the ‘amsha’ is one of
the seven adityas (sons of Aditi, the Divine Mother).‘Amsha’ does not mean
part, jiva is amshu; there is no conflict between one amshu and the other;
every amshu, by nature, wants to expand and the aggregation of all amshus
forms the condensed yet manifested effulgence of the Divine. All these are told
by the Veda and the Upanishads. This Shakti to diversify (as each jiva) the
condensed effulgence is verily termed as his Higher Nature and that is the
Universal Womb in which the Sire casts his seeds (14/4). In one aspect, the
Higher Nature is expressing Herself in the form of multitudinous creation and
in the other as ‘Mahat Brahman’ (14/3).
Other than these, is his ‘own Prakriti’ with whom he is eternally united (4/
6). This is his Supreme Prakriti, another name for Yogamaya (7/25), meaning
Maya that is ever united with Him. The Prakriti at waking state is Becoming
and at closing is Non-Becoming. The latter state embodies the doctrine of Kumari
in Tantra which has been compared to a barren cow in the Veda. His Supreme
Nature is his Shakti behind Becoming and Non-Becoming; Higher Nature
represents his mastery in manifestation and the lower Nature is the mechanical
Shakti and rotates as the wheel of birth and death. Here ‘Me’ denotes the
Purusha, the Lord, the Eternal Father.
Question:
‘Oh, Great in the clan of Bharata, I am desire in the creatures, who follow
Śraddha-
o
August 2014 n 26
the path of Dharma(7/11)’. What is the significance of this statement in the
Gita? What desire is not against the Dharma? Who is the Law-giver here?
What does ‘power void of attachment and desire’ mean?
Answer:
Desire has double propensities. One is desire to enjoy and the other is desire
to create. Both the propensities have primitive forms. When creation means
expansion of self, it is something like flowering of a plant, which has been
described in the Veda as the birth of the One as many. That is the primordial
desire (adikama). The Veda has described it as ‘the first seed of mind’- the
urge of creation of the Supreme Being by dispersion of his Power. The ecstasy
he derives out of that dispersion of Power by offering himself as the manifested
universe is also desire — a satisfaction, an enjoyment of self by the Self. And
this is the primal form of desire, a fulfilment of self by the Self.
The enjoyment of self and dispersion of self are the two aspects of original
desire. This can be called in harmony with and in accordance with Dharma,
where dispersion is controlled by contentment in Self. When this desire is applied
by the manifested beings for the purpose of creation, it takes the form of
infatuated sensuality. Procreation derives out of that. Man, driven by the lower
nature becomes a prey to this infatuated sensuality and forgets his true self as
it happens when smoke covers fire. This desire is against the Dharma. The
Gita has termed this as the personified Kandarpa or the amorous god for
procreation (10/28). Desire is natural but has to be checked under the guidance
of Dharma. The seat of Dharma is in discrimination — by establishing Purusha
over Prakriti. Absence of Dharma is in Non-Discrimination — in intermixture
of Purusha with Prakriti. Under the influence of sensuality, when man forgets
his true self as Purusha, he becomes a prey to that.
The Gita has indicated three seats of desire in our being — senses, mind,
and intelligence. ‘The senses, mind and intelligence are called the seat of that
(desire)’ (3/40). Sensuality is the desire of senses; when the object of desire is
outside of me and I want to sink into that without discrimination, I become a
prey to sin. But if I can draw the outer object within and transform the taste of
material objects to a taste for inner feelings, then the lower urge transcends to
a higher one and physical desire becomes mental. When mental desire deepens
and ascends further and extends all over, it changes to intellectual desire. For a
human being this is the desire conducive to and sanctioned by Dharma.
The original Desire is just one step further up. The Guide who leads desire
to transcend itself is none but the Lord seated in the inmost cave of my heart.
He imposes the eternal Universal Rule that we must transcend the present
state of lack of Dharma and reach the state of perpetual Dharma. Desire and
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attachment are the obverse and the reverse sides of the same coin. The basis
of attachment is likings. Whatever we like that attributes a kind of hue in our
mind and we do not want to give that up. This tinted condition of mind is
attachment. No one can always possess the object of attachment. When mind
becomes restless for the thing unobtained, desire arises and looks for the
fulfilment. The sequence is like this: From likings to desire; from desire to
indomitable cravings; to fulfil the cravings comes effort; then comes power.
Eventually we want to own the object of desire by using force. But there is a
sense of defeat in the effort to control the outer objects by violence. A mighty
hero, in the true sense of the term, would never apply violence, because he has
neither likings nor desire for the sense objects. But an object appears to him, by
its own accord, rather as a source of ecstasy — as Uma approached Siva
Maheswar. The power of Maheswar is the true Power.
Question:
Why has the jnani (a wise man) being called the best among the four kinds
of people that worship the Lord, namely, the afflicted, the one who comes to
him with a latent desire, the inquisitive and the wise. He has said, furthermore,
‘According to Me, a wise man is like my own Self’ (7/16-18). It is also said that
a wise soul is in constant yoga with the Divine and steadfast in his devotion. Is
a jnani Bhakta the highest of all?
Answer:
The Divine Maya consisting of the three gunas is encompassing us all and it
is very hard to go beyond her realm. Yet, hard as it might be, that can be
achieved by knowledge and devotion. Devotion means to surrender to Him
absolutely and unconditionally, to cling to him as the only resort (7/14). But this
unconditional surrender is not easy to achieve — it can come only through his
Grace. Of course, Grace is being showered on us now and ever but we have to
do something to make ourselves a fit vessel to receive that. That ‘something’ is
called ‘sukrit’ or ‘good deed’. Whatever we do, forgetting him and under the
control of Maya is ‘bad deed’. The doers of ‘bad deeds’ or ‘dushkritas’ are
ignorant and contemptible (7/15). They are under the influence of Asuric
tendencies and have been described in detail later (16/4, 7-18).
Whenever, one’s ‘dushkrita’ is over and mind bends towards ‘sukrita’,
devotion tinges the horizon (7/16). Usually, this turning takes place when one
receives shocks from the samsara. Abandoning him, whatever I cling to, gives
me hurting blows sooner or later. Yet that is Grace too. Affliction or grief makes
me turn towards him. This is the beginning of devotion — though at the lowest
rung of ladder. A devotee with latent desire is better than the afflicted one. He
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wants something, though he does not know what, but is not content with whatever
he has. For him, the delusion is getting lighter, yet he does not get whatever he
wants. Outer objects do not satisfy him anymore. The search now turns from
outward to inward.
But initially, at the root of the search lies the desire to satisfy the vital self, a
subtle satisfaction of the senses. Still the devotee searches for objects, not him
in Reality. But the inward search purifies his mind. Outer objects do not bring
contentment any more. Once the sense objects are given up, mind goes further
inward and tries to find out the subject. This inward movement and search for
Self give rise to the questioning spirit. I want to know him, want to know myself,
want to know the relation between him and me. This is the symptom of an
inquisitive devotee. He definitely is a greater bhakta.
When I love more because I know more, I become a jnani devotee. Search
for him started with bhakti and the same bhakti carried me to Knowledge or
jnana. Knowledge and Devotion now mingle together. I do not think there is
any necessity to minimise this as ‘bhakti mixed with jnana’ and consider this
as less than ‘bhakti without jnana’ The Gita has propounded the Knowledge
of ‘All is Vasudeva’ (7/19). As ‘All this is verily Brahman’ is the motto of a
jnani, so is ‘Vasudeva is All’ the motto of a bhakta. Is there the slightest
difference between the two? The highest love is the one that erupts from seeing
him everywhere. Then I understand that all the three gunas — sattwa, rajas
and tamas— all ensued from him, yet he is not involved in any (7/12).
This concept is a sign of steadfastness as well as of constant unification
with the Divine. ‘All this is I’ and ‘All this is He’ are different expression of the
same Truth — in one it is subjective and in the other it is objective. One is the
vision of a jnani or a wise person and the other of a bhakta or a devotee.
When the jnani utters, ‘That Atman is all this’ — he means Him, not his own
ego — his Atman has transformed to Divine Atman or the Divine is verily his
Atman. When the Lord has confirms, ‘A jnani is my Self’— he is being classified
as the highest among devotees. Actually knowledge (jnana) and devotion
(bhakti) are like the obverse and reverse sides of the same hand and neither
can be without the other.
Question:
‘After many births a jnanavan comes to Me’(7/19). Does this saying of
the Gita indicate that a human cannot reach God by doing sadhana in a single
birth? And the siddhi can only be achieved by a gradual ascension through
sadhana along various births?
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Answer:
The Lord has mentioned about four kinds of bhaktas immediately before
this sloka. He also has mentioned that though all of the four categories of bhaktas
are great in their own rights, yet the one who wants to know (jijngyasu) and
the one who already knows (jnani) are higher in rank than the afflicted (arta)
and one with a latent desire (artharthi).
From the arta to jnani — there is a sequence. By jnanavana, both the
jnani and jijngyasu are indicated. From suffering or affliction to desire — this
is a step of mental progress. The next step is to free oneself from desire and
ask for ONLY Him and nothing else. This does not happen easily. The following
slokas elaborate that vividly. The Lord says, ‘Desire conceals Knowledge and
human beings forget Me and worship other gods to propitiate their desire. That
is their nature. I never challenge, rather strengthen their faith in those gods. As
a result their desire is fulfilled, though they do not understand that that is also
under My Guidance.’
This lack of understanding is another word for ignorance. It takes many a
birth to cut through that ignorance. With advent of the radiant dawn of knowledge
a jiva starts questioning and gradually the illumined sun cuts asunder all the
veils hiding him from Reality. And there comes the real surrender.
In the realm of Prakriti, there always will be consequences and sequence.
And sadhana is always to be performed under the guidance of Prakriti. Hence
sadhana, has to be sequential.
Question:
‘The ignorant (one without buddhi) ones consider Me, the inexpressible
One, as a human being’ (7/24). Is it only the ignorant minds that consider the
supreme inexpressible One as a human being? Is avyakta (inexpressible) aspect
the Highest Truth? What is the method of worship by the people of Higher
Intelligence?
Answer:
The Unmanifest is the Eternal, Supreme, Ultimate attribution of the Highest.
This Unmanifest has been manifested in the universe. In spite of being in his
Real Self, He has manifested himself in a human body among us (9/11), The
ability to conceive simultaneously his unmanifest Self as well as the manifested
forms is the work of buddhi or higher Intelligence. The people of lesser
intelligence either worship the manifested forms, excluding the Unmanifest or
ignore the manifested aspect by being too much attached to the unmanifested
aspect (12/5). Both are extremely one-sided views.
When he manifests himself, He appears as ‘devatiryangnara’ (god, lower
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animal and human). All gods are his manifestations; likewise He descends as
animals and human beings. But unless we realise the highest inexpressible Reality
- which he has described in detail in various places, especially at the beginning
of Bhaktiyoga in chapter XII, we can never know him in totality, even in the
worship of our personal deity.
In Gita, ‘buddhi’ is a part of a special terminology and a unique expression.
It is the same as ‘pratibodha’ in Upanishad, ‘bodhi’ in the Buddhist scriptures
and ‘prativajnana’ of Patatanjali. The Veda has used various terms for the
same like, ‘veda’, ‘sambit’, ‘vidatha’, etc. Buddhi, here, is definitely an attribute
much higher than the one in Samkhya. Here, buddhi is not immersed in the
gunas but beyond the gunas.
Question:
What is the significance of knowing him along with adhibhuta, adhidaiva
and adhiyajna? Only people absorbed in such knowledge do not forget the
Divine in their final moments (7/30). Why can most of the people not remember
the Lord in their last moments?
Answer:
This sloka has to be considered as complementary to the previous one.
Comprehensive knowledge consists of seven segments of reality — a gist of
which has been given at the very beginning of the next chapter.
The test of what I have learned in life is taken at the time of death. Precisely,
the whole life is a preparation for being able to embrace vaivaswat mrityu. If
living is vaivaswat, then only there is possibility of death being vaivaswat.
Vivaswan is god of the highest effulgence. Our aim is to live as well as die
amidst that effulgence. This is the vedic ideal.
The first phase of life is the phase of ascension — like the rising of the sun.
There is neither decay nor death. But as the sun starts to decline westward
once it reaches the meridian, so also we do after reaching the meridian of our
life. There comes the shadow of decay and death. We want freedom from that.
The whole life is an effort to achieve that freedom — an effort that can only be
successful if we take resort to him and feel him as All.
The first and foremost of feelings is the feeling of his Brahmic qualities. As
Brahman he is supreme, he is immutable. He is all-encompassing and beyond
all mutations, an existence like akash. Atman is just a condensed vibrant
existence in that Brahman — like stars in the vast firmament, like sparks of an
earthly fire. Of course, the Atman has, no doubt, an identity and carries specific
consciousness, but this individuality is a part of the eternity of Brahman, like the
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thousand rays coming out of the same sun. Thus the manifested cosmos,
representing the Eternal, actually is nothing but the self-expression of Brahman.
This manifestation is his karma (action). This is the threefold reality of jnana,
consisting of Brahman, Atman and Universe. The other threefold Reality consists
of adhibhuta, adhidaiva and adhiyajna.
Creation evolves as a result of manifestation of Akshara. Created beings
are essentially impermanent and eternally consequential. At the centre of all
the turmoil created by the law of cause and effect, stands the Atman with its
own Nature. All manifestation is changeable. The nature of Self though
unchangeable goes through a conscious evolution which culminates in the
expression of the higher Prakriti (7/5).The higher Prakriti travels towards the
divine Nature. This is the how it works: God is involving in Matter — from
Matter awakens Consciousness, both in individual as well as in universe. The
Veda has named these adhyatma and adhidaivata respectively.
In simple language, holding onto the mutability of universal manifestation,
my nature is being divinised. The Purusha is being evolved in me. This way my
life becomes a confluence of adhibhuta, adhyatma, and adhiyajna.
I become god through the medium of yajna — my whole life is a yajna.
Chhandogya Upanishad gives us a vivid description of how Sri Krishna
received this lesson from Angirasa Ghora. But it is verily He, who is the
yajneswara (lord of yajna) of my yajna. I am merely a yajmana (performer
of the yajna). He is enjoyer of my yajna as well as of all my penance. Therefore,
in my adhidaivata sadhana, He is the yajneswara in my five elemental body.
This is his form as adhiyajna. The last ceremony of somayag is ababhrita —
to let afloat all ingredients and elements of yajna in the current of Ananda.
Death is the ababhrita of the yajna of life. To float in his vaivaswat effulgence
towards him and with him.
But if we do not know him as the Lord of Sacrifice during every moment of
life, no wonder we would forget Him at the time of death. And once we forget,
we fall into the never-ending cycle of birth and death — samsara — and no
salvation or moksha.
Question:
In the first sloka of the eighth chapter of the Gita Arjuna asks about Brahman,
adhyatma, karma, adhibhuta, and adhidaiva. What is the significance of
these terms? Arjuna has asked the question to the Purushottama. Is he the
knower of Kshara as well as Akshara Brahman?
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Answer:
These terms have already been mentioned and discussed in the last part of
the seventh chapter. Brahman is at the root of everything. The realisation of
Brahman is possible only by the maximum expansion of consciousness of Self.
Again, Brahman has two aspects — as Vak or Word (6/44) and as the Absolute
or Paramam Brahman. The manifested universe is nothing but the ksharan
(precipitation) of the Absolute (Rig. 1/164/42) which is termed as Vak in the
Veda (Rig.1/164/41). Vak is verily the Word or Sound. Creation ensues from
there which results in the manifold universe — ‘bhutagrama’(8/19). This
manifested universe is born again and again and ultimately ends up in dissolution
(8/19). Thus Purusha assumes the role of mutability (kshara).
Again, the Unmanifest exudes itself as the vibration in the akash. That
vibration is verily Vak or Sound — not as vaikhari or the lowest form of Vak,
but as the highest or hidden Para Vak. Bhava or the innate quality, the seed of
all manifestation is hidden within Vak. The individual bhava of each creature is
its adhyatma — meaning everything that comprises Atman. Here the term
Atman, in the old Vedic way, denotes the inseparable union of body (tanu) and
soul (atman). Hence ‘the total adhyatma’ (7/29) means everything from body
to soul or the ‘own nature’ (swabhava).
At one end is the manifested creation is the extreme pole of existence or
Matter. The akshara expresses itself in a specific way through that medium.
That specific mode is kshara — the changeable — but the innate quality or the
bhava lies as seed deep inside all creatures (Bhuta). That urge for the seed to
sprout and bloom to its fullest comes from the highest and results in karma.
Karma is actually visarga — the overflowing of Brahman — precipitation of
the impervious.
The seed of manifestation (bhuta) is immortal but all manifested beings are
mortal. Gods are the condensed form of immortality as Purushas. The highest
of them — the source and origin of all the gods is the Divine Being, or the
highest Purusha (8/22).He is the Lord and Master of all the devas — the
Purushottama — but in a special way — as the condensed form of Sat, Chit
and Ananda.
The journey of life for an embodied being is a yajna and the Lord of that
yajna is verily Purushottama. This is his aspect as the adhiyajnana.
This is the first time that the term Purushottma has been used in the Gita (8/
1) but here it is used in a customary way. The real meaning has been expressed
in the fifteenth chapter. (15/18). There is has been used in the Vedic way.
Purushottama is All.
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Question:
‘Giving up the body with the thought of Me’ (mameva) (8/5) - who is the
Me? ‘He attains My state’ (8/5). What is this state? ‘Being immersed in his
thought’ (8/6). Here is it being asked to dwell on thought and not on any form or
vigraha? ‘Offering mind and intellect in Me’ (8/7). Is it in theory, or emotionally
or in Form?
Answer:
The Purusha hinted at by ‘mameva’ (only Me) has been introduced to some
extent in the following ninth sloka. He is the divine Supreme Being (8/8), because
he is the origin of the universe so he is the primordial Purusha, stationed in the
heart of every creature as antaryamin, being smaller than the smallest particle;
the supreme preceptor or Chaitya Guru and upholder of all. His form is beyond
mind, yet one can think of him as effulgence beyond all darkness. The Veda
describes him as Kavi (the poet). This universe is his evergreen immortal lyric.
This is the fundamental reality. This fundamental reality expresses itself in the
form of spiritual emotion. The supreme Akshara, in reality, is expressing himself
as adhibhuta, adhyatma, and adhijnyana (8/3-4). Again, the reality along
with the spiritual emotions has been manifested in the form (vigraha) through
a human body. The Lord will talk about it later (9/11).
Form is comprehended by senses. Spiritual emotions are beyond senses and
comprehended only by intellect and reality is beyond intellect. Reality is his
supreme bhava that is beyond all lokas. And He is to be realised inclusive of
all his ‘aspects’ — ‘sarva bhavena’ (18/62) — in all three — form, emotion
and reality. Then only our knowledge will be complete.
Not everyone is capable to conceptualise the All. At the time of death, one
clings (8/6) to the faith formed as a result of lifelong habit and samskara (8/8).
But the habit has to be formed by lifelong practice — ‘sarva kaleshu’ (8/7).
Again, it will never be enough to practise while renouncing work. It is a must to
carry his thought every moment while acting in the kurukshetra of life (8/7).
Mind, intellect — everything has to be offered to Him — in solitude as well as
in crowd, in inner self as well as in outer.
By and large we need an object, a form — like Arjuna had Sri Krishna: a
devotee has his personal vigraha with a particular bhava; a disciple has his
guru. But one should never limit oneself to a form only — be it gross or subtle
— one has to enter into the pure bhava and ultimately to the supreme emotion
and reality. Otherwise it will just be disrespecting him like an ignorant fool (9/
11).
Question:
What is Abhyasayoga? Is it Hathayoga or Rajayoga? Are the suprme
Purusha and the Purushottama the same?
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Answer:
The question is how to have him at the time of death. I have already mentioned
that if one does not have him in life, it is hard to have him at the time of death.
There is one way of having him in life and that is having him the natural way.
The Veda and the Upanishads have elaborated that profoundly. The Veda has
named it Dhi yoga. It falls in the same category as Buddhiyoga of Gita but
with a fine difference.
Besides, there are two other methods of yoga. One is the rejection of mind
and the other is the control of the vital (prana). The former is the subject of
Rajayoga and the latter of Hathayoga. Both have the same object — to draw
oneself inward. Even the Upanishad says that at the time of death, the
consciousness is drawn inwards, though in vaivaswat mrityu (solar death) the
consciousness might explode too.
Practice or abhyasa is the life breath of both Rajyoga and Hathayoga.
One of Arjuna’s questions was how to control the fickle mind. Sri Krishna said,
‘With the help of discipline (abhyasa) and detachment (vairagya) (6/35). Even
Patanjali has said the same thing — ‘control of that (mind) with discipline and
detachment’ (Samadhipad; Sutra 12). Control of the vital (life-breath) might
effectuate control of mind too — this is the directive of the Hathayogins. The
Gita indicates that in order to master, the breath has to be controlled and
concentrated mindfully (8/12). For that too discipline and practice are absolutely
needed.
The Lord is giving instruction to control both mind and breath, while explaining
the science of death. Hence, here the yoga of discipline is used for both mind
and vital — this particular sadhana is a combination of both Raja and
Hathayoga. There could be another way for the great departure — with the
conception of the vast Void (mahavideha dharana). But that needs lot of
practice and has not been mentioned here.
‘Parama Purusha (8/8), Parah Purusha (=Paramatman 13/23), Uttamah
Purusha (15/17) and Purushottama — all are the same. We find the reference
of Parama Purusha also in the Upanishad. In the Veda, the word ‘Purusha”
always carries the suggestion of a form. Sometimes his is the universal form as
in Purusha Sukta; somewhere he is all golden as in Chhandogya; somewhere
is his highest benevolent form as in Ishopanishad. Again, we come across
such expressions as Formless or Unmanifest also. The munis have put emphasis
on the Unmanifest aspect of the Purusha. In their vision, the Lord is allpervading. There cannot be any possibility of a form or vigraha. Similarly, the
bhagavatas or the devotees have put emphasis on the vigraha.
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But he is with form as well as without form — and according to Sri
Ramakrishna so many others that cannot be fathomed by human intellect.
Question:
From the divine instructions, we find that in order to attain the Divine Being,
it is absolutely needed to have the power of yoga coupled with devotion (8/10).
Practice of pranayam is essential in order to hold the life breath in-between
the eyebrows. ‘Bhakti coupled with the valour of yoga — not mere bhakti’ it
seems there is some mystic interpretation of this divine utterance. How do you
interpret that?
Answer:
Yoga is the universal way for sadhana. Karma, jnana or bhakti, whichever
way you choose you have to take refuge in yoga.
The common goal for all branches of yoga is to raise consciousness to the
level of one-pointed concentration (ekagrabhumi), which is better known as
vijnanabhumi — Overmind — beyond physical, vital and mental states. Unless
and until securely established in that state beyond mind, no one can reach
perfection either in karma, jnana or bhakti. I find it confusing if somebody
says that he/she would attain bhakti without following the path of yoga. Normally,
in such cases, the followers of bhakti mean either Raja or Hathayoga. But
the Gita, in all eighteen chapters propagates eighteen kinds of yoga.
The Hathayogins want to ascend the ekagrabhumi with the help of asana,
pranayama, mudra etc.; the Rajayogins want the same with the help of
controlling the mind and they follow certain methods to achieve that. But
concentration and absorption of mind are the main objects of the bhakta as
well. According to Uma of Kalidasa, ‘mind is saturated with one and only one
bhava’. Otherwise how can one reach Siva?
The success in the outer disciplines of the eightfold disciplines of Patanjali’s
yoga can be achieved by the followers of jnana and bhakti school by different
methods. Even the crux of Hathayoga — the yoga of Kundalini — can be
mastered by them following their own sadhana.
Have you noticed in the same sloka, the combination of bhakti and shakti of
yoga has been based on the inner disciplines of Raja Yoga? These are dharana,
(impression) dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (total absorption). These are parts
of jnana as well as bhakti yoga. The Gita did not mention about the six chakras.
Heart, in-between the eyebrows and top of the head —only these three places
have been prescribed for restraint, concentration and absorption of mind and vital.
This is the way of the Upanishad. The Aitareya Upanishad refers to these stations
as the abode of Atman. In the Gita, Sri Krishna has referred to this age-old Yoga.
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The ultimate test of a lifelong sadhana takes place at the time of final
departure. At that time all the latent samskaras can rise up and make the
whole life’s effort null and void. That is why there is a common saying, ‘no
matter how much japam (taking the holy name), no matter how much tapam
(penance), one has to know how to die.’ The darkness that covers the whole
consciousness at the time of death cannot be removed without the power of
yoga. The Gita has mentioned that yoga can be based on suppression as well as
by expansion and they are not poles apart. In the Upanishad emphasis is on the
latter one, the former is secondary there. By and large, the path of bhakti too
puts more stress on expansion of bhava, though to some extent restraint is
equally needed. It is better not to create any artificial differentiation between
the two, particularly while trying to understand the dictum of Gita.
As prana or life-breath can be controlled by pranayama of Raja Yoga so
also it can be controlled by the yoga of bhava (spiritual emotions). Bhava is
beyond mind — it is the wealth of vijnana — and can only be obtained by
wisdom or pure understanding. From the seat of heart to the region of in-between
the eyes and from there to the great void — this is the natural way of advancement
of consciousness. With pure understanding the path can easily open to a jnani
or a bhakta. Then the Purushottma, hidden deep in the cave of my heart, can
easily take me upwards at the time of my death.
Sometimes, depending on the skill and samskara of the individual sadhaka,
Raja Yoga or Hathayoga might be needed as means to reach the goal of pure
understanding.
To sum up, as we cannot say that Raja Yoga is absolutely imperative for
bhakti, similarly we cannot say that yoga has no place whatsoever in the path
of bhakti. Yoga has various ways and in the Gita, the term yoga has definitely
not been used in the traditional way.
Question:
Could you please explain the mystic significance of slokas 12 and 13 of the
eighth chapter? Hasn’t the Lord explained in full a method of sadhana to reach
the ultimate goal? What have we to do to achieve that?
Answer:
I have already mentioned a few aspects of that method. Along with 12 and
13 one has to combine the mode of sadhana expressed in the 10th sloka. In this
context, even 11th and 14th slokas are also to be discussed.
It has been mentioned earlier that this method of sadhana is an age-old one
and there are quite a few references of it in various Upanishads. Sri Krishna
himself has termed this as ‘yogadharana’ (8/12). Dharana is a spiritual practice
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belonging to the first part in Patanjali’s Inner Yoga denoting holding the lifeconsciousness at heart and other higher planes ( in the vast Void in the out-ofthe-body consciousness). One has to start with heart and then go upwards to
the area in-between the eyebrows (8/10) and then to the top of the head. Beyond
that is the ‘abode’ (8/11) or the highest place (pada) or highest Purusha (8/10)
or Akshara (8/11). Both ‘pada’ and ‘akshara’ have more than one meaning
and hint at both the Absolute Brahman (Para Brahman) as well as the Word
(Sabda Brahman). The Divine Word ‘Om’, the monosyllable Brahman (8/13)
is the denotative term for the Absolute Brahman. Om — the life-vibration of
the Great Void — is to be felt as a kind of jingle or twang all over the body. Its
expansive function (vyarhiti - 8/13) is to guide the consciousness upward with
the help of the uprising udana prana (one of the five pranas) through the
upper channel of the heart.
I have already mentioned that without practice in life, it is not possible to
direct upward movement of the great expansive force in the form of Om at the
time of death. This is a mandatory practice to be performed every single day in
life during the time of sleep when as a rule all the senses are naturally subdued.
During that time mind has to be concentrated in the heart and the lifeconsciousness to be sent upward to the head. Once pierced through between
the eyebrows, the consciousness expands in the great Void and the bodyconsciousness during sushupti becomes like akash. That is yogic sleep or
yoganidra.
Again, this can also be possible by constant remembrance. The sign of
constant remembrance (anusmriti) is to remember the Effulgent Being — the
Adityavarna Purusha — everywhere and always as the smaller than the
smallest in every particle of being and greater than the greatest in every aspect
of the cosmos (8/13-14). Along with the remembrance will continue the mental
utterance of Om in the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation. This is Kriyayoga,
meaning yoga in daily life.
During yoganidra, one has to think of the flow of life as going upwards. As
a result, the sense of the flow of respiration will become lesser and lesser and
eventually both prana and apana would equalise and be felt moving through
the nostrils only (5/27). There will be a sense of constant presence of the great
life-force at the top of the head (8/12). All individual lives would appear like
surf on the great all-encompassing ocean of Life.
To transform this yogic sleep to the ultimate sleep at the time of death is the
highest eventual goal (8/13)
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August 2014 n 38
Question:
The Lord has said that He is easily available to a yogi, constantly united with
him with constant remembrance (8/14). Does the highest salvation mean to go
beyond the cycle of birth and death? What is the mystery underlining the sloka,
‘Once coming to Me, there is cessation from rebirth’ (8/16)? If cessation from
birth is absolutely needed to achieve the highest goal, then is there no meaning
of the term ‘jivanmukti’ (freedom in life)?
Answer:
This sloka has to be understood in accordance with the two previous slokas.
While describing a way to reach him at death, the Lord has already told that if
this yoga is not practised in life, he is not easily reached at the time of death. To
do that one has to remember him ALWAYS and WITHOUT THINKING of
ANYTHING ELSE. One has to be eternally united with him. All these have
already been discussed.
Every word of the following sloka has to be meditated on. It is an ancient
Vedic theory (note the Yamasukta of the tenth mandala of Rik Samhita) that a
yogi passes to the eternal life through death. According to Upanishad this is
vaivaswat mrityu. In vaivaswat mrityu, death occurs only once and never
again. Hence in the Brahmanas and the older Upanishads it is called ‘victory
over recurrent deaths’. The god-lovers describe it as effulgence merging into
Effulgence; self-radiance dissolving into Brahmic radiance. In the Gita that is
mentioned as ‘attaining the highest Being’ (8/10) or attaining the ‘highest goal’
(8/13 parama gati) — an effortless merging into him.
This is like a bubble merging into the ocean. Though bubble is like an atom
and the ocean is huge, yet the huge ocean is deeply infused into that atom. As
a result of that the bubble gets so enlarged that is becomes one with Brahman.
In the language of Upanishad, this way the jnana atman of the atom enlarges
into the mahan atman (Katha 1/3/13). The mahan atman is the same as the
sun (Taittiriya 1/5/2) and beyond the sun is the Void or akash and that is silent
or shanta atman of Katha Upanishad. Jnana atman is the eternal jiva; the
mahat and silent atmans are the two aspects of Brahman or the highest Being
— the cosmic and the transcendental. At the time of death, holding on to lustre
of heart (hardya jyoti) the eternal jiva can attain both of these aspects. The
Upanishad has mentioned that (Brihadaranyaka 4/4/2) and so does the Gita
here.
Elsewhere, this journey has been referred to as one going beyond the solar
region (Mundaka1/2/6, 11). The highest below the solar is brahmaloka. That
is the ultimate boundary of samsara or the region of birth and death (8/16). The
yogi attaining vaivaswat mrityu go beyond that. He does not have to be born
again and again into the region of suffering. Up to the brahmaloka all regions
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August 2014 n 39
are transient — rise at the time of creation and dissolve at the time of dissolution.
The mahatma or the great atman is beyond this; He is Sun, He is Void. The sun
is his dazzling radiance (shuklam bhah) and the Void or Akash is surrounding
him as the supreme blue black (parah Krishna) (Chhandogya 1/6/6). The
yogi dissolves into this deep blue of the Supreme at the time of death. The
bright radiance and the deep darkness of blue are both eternal.
This is his highest abode — like an ocean of unmanifest radiance. In that
ocean innumerable bubbles are rising and falling — those are the bubbles of
births and deaths. The life of bubble is ephemeral, its rise and fall both bring
suffering. The yogi of vaivaswat mrityu observes all that and feels this rise and
fall within his own self, but since he is constantly united with the all-pervading
Reality, like the supreme Purusha, he feels no pain, nor any suffering.
This way to go beyond the world of transient creation yet observing the
swing of birth and death within oneself is to reach the ultimate goal (parama
siddhi) for a yogi. This is something even higher than the parinirvana of
Buddha. In the language of the Upanishad, this is gnostic death (savijnanana
mrityu) (Brihadaranyaka 4/4/2)
The followers of gnostic death may come back here, if they will. As the
death is gnostic, so is the birth. Like Sri Krishna, they witness both birth and
death (4/5). Their births cannot be termed as rebirth — transient and cause of
suffering. They are the chosen few. After vaivaswat mrityu, the jivatma has
no more functions, but the mahatma remains the same.
Question:
What is the mystic interpretation of the word ‘Knower of day and night’?
What again is the eternal beyond the Unmanifest? The Akshara Brahman
might be the ultimate goal for the jiva but what about the supreme Lord ( 8/1721)?
Answer:
You may consider the fact that the primary sadhana of the Vedic Rishis was
the comprehension of the mystery of day and night. The Veda says, ‘days
belong to Mitra and night to Varuna’, Mitra and Varuna are the famous dual
deity of the Veda.
The Aryas were worshippers of the sun--- the symbol of the highest effulgence.
But the radiance of the sun that encompasses our life rises as well as sets.
From dawn to noon is the period of upward movement of the sun and increase
of light and just after that starts the period of setting of the sun and decrease of
light. Eventually the night takes over for the equal time of the day. As light
decreases after the midday, the same way it starts increasing after midnight.
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August 2014 n 40
The deities for these periods are successively the black and white Horse
(Nirukta).
This way, in one complete cycle, half is light and half is darkness. When
there is plenitude of light, life is joyful; with the advent of darkness appears the
shadow of death. As the day gets eclipsed by night, so does life by death. Again
as light pierces through darkness of night, in the same way life evolves freed
from death. These thoughts have been repeated in the Veda again and again.
But we do not want the mélange of light and darkness, day and night, life
and death. We want eternal effulgence (amrita jyoti — Rik Samhita), we
want only day (sakrit diva), where there is only day and no night (Upanishad).
Where is that? Samhita, Brahman, Upanishad — all say it is there. The
upward movement of the sun (that we observe due to the rotation of the earth)
might enlarge to such an extent that there may not occur any downward turn;
as if the Sun can rise straight up and up from the horizon. This movement is
called ‘adhvar’ movement which leads to the ultimate abode of Vishnu. Beyond
the visible and volatile movements is the ultimate station of Eternity. There lies
Go-loke, the abode of the herds of multi-horned cows (Rik Samhita).Whoever
goes there, sees the rotation of day and night at his feet (Taittiriya Brahman).
Aditya is singular (ekal). There he does not rise nor does he set. (Chhandogya).
The Gita says, ‘The place, attaining which nobody comes back, is verily my
ultimate abode’ (8/21).
A linear diagram might make things clearer:
0
0
1
2
3
The half circles are the path of the sun’s journey. 0 is the rising point, 1, 2, 3
are the points of setting. The bigger the diameter of the half-circle, the straighter
goes the circumference of the circle eventually reaching to infinity indicating
Śraddha-
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August 2014 " 41
rise and set by the straight line 0-0. The half circles are the recurring or repeated
movements of the Sun as well as our limited life. There is light as well as
darkness. Eventually, when the half circle changes to a straight line, the diameter
will measure up to eternity. At that point there is no recurring movement —
only straight adhvar (Veda) or non-recurring — anavritti (Upanishad,
Brahmasutra).
As long as there is this curved movement of the sun Brahma rules. The
measurement of the period of time has been given in details in Puranas and
other scriptures in terms of earthly day and night. The calculation is beyond
human concept. Yet, there is the rotational movement of time in it. Hence there
is creation and dissolution; day and night.
The universe manifests itself in the course of this rotation of time and beyond
that is the Unmanifest — unmanifest Purusha as well as unmanifest Prakriti
(8/20). The Two are inseparably locked in that unmanifested state. There the
universe expands to infinity as ‘greater that the greatest’ and infinitesimally
contracted as ‘smaller than the smallest’. And both are the same. The points of
rise and set are also the same — zero or Void. In the Veda, this state has been
described as the void of Varuna — ‘His kingdom of mysterious ocean’. In the
Gita, this is akshara — the ultimate goal of jiva (8/21). But the supreme Lord
himself is the unmanifest supreme Akshara (8/20-21). Hence He is static while
moving and dynamic while still.
Question:
‘These two paths — one lighted and the other dark — are eternal in creation’
(8/26). I would like to hear a lucid explanation of the recurrence and nonrecurrence. Is there not a third state beyond those two? Does not ‘the highest
state’ indicate that (8/28)?
Answer:
The reference of two ‘Sritis’ or paths of movement occurs in Rik Samhita
itself (10/88/15). There they are mentioned as ‘Sruti’. It is said that one is for
the terrestrial and the other for the divine fathers. Note that in Gita, both are
mentioned as the path for yogis. Brihadaranyaka calls one ‘pitriyan’ and the
other ‘devayan’ (6/2/2) Gita is definitely closer to Samhita.
The whole thought process has been derived from the concept of worship
of aditya, the root of which lies in the Aryan concept of worship of Light. The
perceptible divine effulgence is the effulgence of the sun. In the God-vision of
the Rishi, aditya is not an inert cluster of rays, ‘Surya is the soul (atman) of
both animate and inanimate objects’ (Rik 1/115/10. This supreme Soul has to be
contemplated in one’s own soul, which is a combination of ‘tanu’ (body) and
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August 2014 " 42
‘atman’ (spirit).The aim of Vedic yoga is to be ‘sun-skinned’ by a continuous
meditation on this concept.
The sun in the sky, the moon in the intermediary region and Agni in the Earth
— by and large these three lustres have been taken as the means of Vedic
sadhana. Agni is the terrestrial god — lustre of our own self. The offerings of
oblations in the Agni is Yag — in the language of the Gita — Dravyayajna or
material sacrifice (4/28). When the offering is done inwardly, with deep
contemplation on the inner meaning of the whole performance but without
material assistance, then it becomes jnanayajna or yogayajna, which is higher
that the material sacrifice (4/18, 33). Here in the above mentioned paths of
sadhana the Gita has mentioned both to Yag or material sacrifice and yajna.
The offerings in the sacrificial fire are actually the ransom for the worshipper
— meaning that in reality he is offering himself. The thought behind the offering
is this that the material offerings to the fire turn into ashes and the upward
flame reaches to Aditya. This way my individual spark merges with the supreme
Effulgence and I feel the Purusha in Aditya and the Purusha in me are one and
the same. (Isha 16, Taittiriya 2/8). This is the individual salvation for a yogi.
But this could very well happen that not all of the offering is turned to fire
and most of it is turned to smoke. Smoke does not reach Aditya. It goes up for
a little while and then comes down. We do not want that to happen, but it does.
Actually fire and smoke, light and darkness are intertwined in life and in the
world. In the twenty-four hour span of day and night half is lighted part and half
is in darkness; a month consists of a bright and a dark fortnight; in one solstice
the daytime increases and in the other decreases. But we want only radiance in
life; let there be no smoke; let there be only light and no darkness. This craving
can be fulfilled only in thought, not in reality. But in real life we find that there is
a rhythm — especially in increase and decrease of light. There is a victory of
light from midnight to midday as well as in the lighted fortnights and summer
solstice. These are the periods conducive to perform yag. Actually all Vedic
yags were performed during these periods aiming to enhance the call for light
in consciousness. Since radiant consciousness is nothing but the innate symbol
of Brahman, or Divinity or Atman, then by nourishing the growth of inner light
with the help of outer Prakriti we will be able to defeat the darkness gone deep
inside our nature and yag will be converted to yoga. And then, since the
effulgence of the midday sun would brighten my atman, hence even when the
physical sun sets and night creeps in, its inextinguishable flame would still burn
within me. At the same time, the unit of time measurement would expand from
day to month, from month to season and from season to solstice. The rites
conducive to this sadhana of expansion are agnihota, dashpurnamas,
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August 2014 " 43
chaturmasya and gabamayan as per the Veda. A year is the largest unit in the
measurement of time since regular rotation of various natural phenomena occurs
annually. That is why the Veda has named a whole year prajapati or prajapatya
surya.
Now, the aim of a yogi is to enhance in consciousness the propensity for
radiance to such an extent that it defeats darkness and eventually attains a
state which is beyond the cycle of light and shade. I have mentioned about it
earlier saying that this is the Upanishdic state of ‘sakrid diva’ or only day —
where the sun is singular — neither does he rise nor does he set.
The way to reach that state is to separate (vichayan Rik 4/2/11) fire from
smoke and effulgence from darkness in the physical world. If a yogi, with the
lightning speed of aspiration, can do that especially at the time of death, goes
beyond the region of Sun. To be successful he needs the help of Agni, daytime,
the lighted fortnight and summer solstice (8/24). One who cannot do that comes
back from below that point. Taittiriya Brahmana says that all the lokas beyond
Aditya are eternal and all the lokas below are transient like the phases of the
moon. That is why here in Gita (8/25) as well as in the Upanishad this lower
field below the sun is called ‘effulgence of the moon’. The Yogi might come
back from that point, being deviated from the path of yoga, but he is never lost
( 6/40). And after coming back here, with increased aspiration, he advances
even farther. May be he would come back again but again would he move
forward. This is his cycle. But the one who goes straight up crossing the solar
region, does not come back again. That is his freedom — freedom from the
cycle of birth and death. But at the root of both the processes of rebirth and the
freedom from rebirth, lies the sincere yearning for an upward surge, which has
been especially described in Samhita, Brahmana and Upanishad.
In the Gita, the way leading to freedom from birth has been called the lighted
one and the other has been termed as the dark one. Both are ‘eternal’ paths (8/
26). Both have the same goal — the supreme Brahman. But he is beyond the
two — in his highest original abode. From there he is the Lord of both. As he is
the Master controlling the process of rebirth, so is he controlling the process of
freedom from rebirth. And since He controls the process of rebirth from his
supreme abode, it is possible for Purushottama to have as many incarnations as
he wishes (4/5,6,9). As the fully realised yogi understands both the paths and
their goals, he rises beyond all illusions — of births and rebirths (8/27). That is
the characteristic of a chosen one.
(Translated from the original Bengali by Smt. Kalyani Bose, a long time devotee of
the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, now resident in New Jersey, USA)
[End of Chapters VII and VIII]
Śraddha-
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August 2014 " 44

S´raddha - Sri Anirvan

Transcription

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