Crosssed 20,000 page views today

Dear All,

Today, in about 1 year from the date of commencement of this blog, the total page views have reached 20,000+.

Any reader who would like to share his / her experience of going through the posts in the last one year may please share through the comments section in this blog.

Love.

Sandeha Nivarini - Post 29

Devotee: But, Swami, how can nature (prakriti) be said to be Supreme Atma (Param-atma)? When you ask me to discern this cosmos, which appears as the world (prapancha) to the eye, as the Supreme Atma, doubt is sure to arise.

Swami: That is true. Still, if the reality is reasoned out, even what you now see will appear as the Supreme Atma. 

Cloth cannot be formed without yarn, right? Yarn is essential for cloth. In fact, it is all yarn. In spite of this, yarn is not spoken of as cloth, and cloth is not called yarn. 

This is exactly the relationship, between nature (prakriti) and Supreme Atma (Param-atma). Supreme Atma is the yarn of which the cloth, nature, is formed. Have the yarn and the cloth become separate? No. The yarn is used in one way, the cloth in another. But for just this reason, it would be wrong to consider yarn and cloth as different.

Devotee: Yes, Swami. Since nature is formed of Supreme Atma, it is clear that they are not separate. Now, if both these are the same, which among these is the individual soul (jiva)?

Swami: That is exactly the doubt that is tormenting

you, my boy. The individual soul (jiva) is the “I” consciousness! It is associated with the limitations of body and the senses. But it is the Atma, true Self (jivatma), the inner “I” (pratyagatma), supreme-consciousness Atma (chidatma), doer, enjoyer, everything.

Devotee: Again another word, jada, is used to mean inert matter etc. What is it, this it? How does it operate?

Swami: From intellect (buddhi) to body, all transformations of nature (prakriti) are inert matter (jada). This is the unreal, the unconscious, the false (a-sat), the non-intelligent (a-chetana). 

You must take everything that is not being (sat) and awareness (chit) as inert matter. In essence the world is really inert matter and nothing else. But inert matter is inseparable from consciousness (chaithanya), or awareness and being, just as air is inseparable from the atmosphere. Why, it was said in the Gita that all movable and immovable creation is due to the union of nature and the Supreme Spirit (Purusha), don’t you know?

Devotee: Then what is the relationship between the intellect (buddhi) and mind (manas) on the one hand and Atma on the other?

Swami: Well, really, there is no special relationship between them and the Atma. Atma is pure and without blemish; the intellect is also pure and without blemish. And, just as the

Sun is reflected in a mirror, the splendour of the Atma is reflected in the intellect. Then the shining intelligence (chaithanya) of the intellect is reflected in the mind, the shining of the mind falls upon the senses, and the light from the senses falls upon the body.

Now, what is the connection between all these? The relationship of all is the splendour of the Atma, isn’t it? The activity of every other thing is caused by the fact that there is an intellect, which can reflect that splendour, right? So, note how the intellect is related on one side with the Atma and with the mind and senses (indriyas) on the other!

Devotee: Then what is the relation between the individual soul (jiva), which says “I”, and the senses and the body?

Swami: There is no relation at all! The “I” is separate from the body, mind, etc. The “I” simply superimposes on the soul — that is, on Itself, the

body consciousness and the internal behaviors of the mind, etc. “I am fair”, says the soul, superimposing upon itself something with which it has no connection. “I am dumb”, it says, making the same mistake about the senses. It says it has this desire and that and imposes on itself the activities of the mind, etc.

All this is mere superimposition. The basic truth is only One. The Supreme Self (Param-atma), the Supreme Light (Param-jyothi), The Eternal, the True, is only One! Understand this well.

Devotee: Ah, what superb teaching, Swami. If only this teaching of the principle of the Atma, which even children can grasp, would spread over the whole world, the world would emerge from darkness to light.

Swami: That is the why I converse with you about every point and allow all to partake in it. The sun’s light falls upon the mirror, the light from the mirror falls upon the bungalow, the light upon the bungalow falls upon the eye. Similarly, this “Dissolving Doubts (Sandeha Nivarini)” has been decided so that the illumination of My teaching may fall upon the mirror of the devotee and then onto the bungalow “Ancient Charioteer (Sanathana Sarathi)”, so that from there its effulgence may shed light on the peace and harmony of the world. 

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Dear Readers,

Swami taught us the profound truth of our ancient Treatise in such a simpler manner as we see in the above post.

He made it so simple that we perhaps took His teachings a little more simpler and in the process, the teachings got diluted and only His form remained in our thoughts!!!

In the next post, we will get further to the truth given by the Lord in today and Yesterday's posts.

Love.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba