Sadhana Panchakam - Post 40

It is common experience that though unconsciously a person superficially identifies the body with his Self, with sub-conscious awareness he also refers the body as ‘my body’ and never ‘I am the body’, with an instinctive distinction between the body and his Self. 

He associates death to the body and accepts immortality to himself. Body is the gross sheath which covers the ‘I’, the subtle Self within. The destruction of the body is not the destruction of the Self within. 

The comprehension of the Self is possible through upanishadic studies. The ignorance which human beings are in, dealing with themselves superficially, is due to the influence of the senses on the Mind, the Self, remaining independent of such influence. 

Katha Upanishad confirms that the Self is not to be searched through senses, because through them, only the outer things are seen, not the things which are within. Only some men of wisdom seeking life eternal, turn their visions inward and see the Self.

Therefore, He says further that the existence of the Self, which is similar to the Prime Existence, is the only object for enlightenment, being devoid of any attributes, still it is necessary to speak about it with qualification, since people of dull intellect seek an entity for realizing Brahman. 

The Upanishad (Chandoghya Upanishad) therefore narrates a legend where both gods and the demons were eager to know their Self from Prajapati, who speaks to them of the Self, which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger and thirst, whose and whose thought is the Prime Existence. 

They were instructed to observe their individual reflection in the water. Virochana, king of the demons, seeing his well-adorned body in the water accepts his body as his Self .

Indra, the presiding deity over Mind, even though he sees his well adorned body in the waters, reflects and finds no satisfaction because if the body is adorned and dressed, then the Self would be deemed to be similarly adorned and dressed;

if the body is tidy, so would the Self be deemed to be similarly tidy; if the body is blind, so would the Self be deemed to be similarly blind; if the body is lame, so would the Self be deemed to be similarly lame and when the body perishes, so would the Self be deemed to be similarly perish. 

When Indra expresses his dis-satisfaction to Prajapati, he is explained that mortal is the body, controlled by death. But the same body supports the deathless, bodiless Self. If the Self is constrained by pleasure and pain, then there would no freedom from pleasure and pain. 

Pleasure and pain do not touch the Self, which rising from the body reaches as supreme light in its original form, without remembering its association with the body.

Sankara says in Vivekachudamani, that just as the cluster of clouds created by the heat of the Sun hides the Sun itself, similarly the ego-sense which originated from the Self covers the very Self. But when the eye, nose, speech, ear is directed towards space, it is the Self who sees, smells, speaks, hears, the bodily organs only perform the act of seeing, smelling etc. 

Hence in the world of Brahman, when the bodily organs cease to be, it is the Self alone that exists. Therefore, one should understand that Self is not the gross body but something far different, far subtle and far superior. 

One who is enlightened in this manner is not bound by the body. Sankara says that Self is not a thing to be possessed or to be dispossessed to be attained or to be renounced but to be experienced and realized.

Swami Explains the essence of today’s step with a story 

“Ubhayabharathi was the wife of Mandana Misra, a great scholar in Vedanta. She was a realized soul. She always used to obey the commands of her husband and perform the duties ordained on her, as a truthful wife.

One day, Ubhayabharathi was going along with her disciples to the river Ganga to take a bath. On the way, she observed a renunciant (sanyasi), who was relaxing with a dried bottle gourd under his head. 

He was using this as a container for storing drinking water, so he was mindful of it. Ubhayabharathi saw this renunciant’s attachment to the bottle gourd and said to her disciples, “Look! This man calls himself a renunciant, but he’s attached to a bottle gourd, which he keeps under his head as a pillow.”

The renunciant heard this comment but said nothing. When Ubhayabharathi and her disciples were returning from the river, he threw away the bottle gourd in front of them in order to demonstrate that he was not attached to it. 

Observing his action, Ubhayabharathi remarked, “I thought there was only one defect in him, namely, attachment (abhimana). Now I realize that he has another defect also, i.e. ego (ahamkara). How can one with attachment and ego become a wise person and renunciant?”

Her comment was an eye opener to the renunciant. He expressed gratitude to Ubhayabharati for imparting true knowledge of renunciation to him.

Ubhayabharathi then explained to him further, “The whole world is illusory. There are several objects in this world that are attracting people, but they are not outside. They are all the reflection of one’s inner thoughts. They are created by the person themself. You develop attachment to the physical body. 

Later on, you yourself will discard the body. You are the one who develops attachment to the body, and you are again the one who will discard the body. Developing attachment to the body or discarding it — both are the result of your delusion. 

You are developing body delusion. Hence, discard body delusion and develop attachment to Divinity (Daivabhimana). The body is a temple of God. Consider the Indweller in the body as the supreme Lord (Devadi deva).”

The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or later but the indweller has neither birth nor death.

The indweller has no attachment whatsoever and is the eternal witness. Truly speaking, the indweller, who is in the form of Atma, is verily God Himself.”

 

(From Sathya Sai Speaks, Divine Discourse delivered on 18.8.2006)

  

Love. 

 

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 39

Pride is the product of one's confidence in oneself, one’s appearance, attitude, analysis and intelligence. It is not the result of jealousy of the appearance, attitude, analysis and intelligence of others. Pride is productive if used properly while ego-sense is always corrosive and destructive.

One grave danger faces us in undertaking the above de-programming of our old habit patterns. “I am Brahman” has the potential to make us feel proud, because now we may begin to feel that we are “a cut above the rest”; that we are not ordinary beings but someone special – after all, who can be more special than “Brahman”!

The Ego tries to creep in through the back door!

The subtle or Sattvic pride of being superior has to be carefully warded off. This is the problem addressed in this step. With accomplishment comes subtle pride. While the intellect may be quick to recognize its growth, the Ego is even quicker to claim the credit!

The methods we used earlier will not help now. At that time we were dealing with Tamasic and Rajasic pride, so we used Sattva as an antidote to overcome it. We told ourselves, “It is not me, I am just an instrument”. That method cannot work now.

The “I am Body” thought and the “I am Brahman” thought appear very similar. We know that the former comes from the mind. The chances are that the latter, too, can come from the same place, and with greater intensity! The intellect has grown strong and powerful now, and so too can the Ego-feeling if we are not careful.

When we are engaged in grappling with the thought that “I am not the body, nor the mind, nor the intellect; I am Brahman,” the arena for this struggle starts in the intellect. But it should not remain there. That is where the danger of Pride setting in lies. The intellect has to be transcended. These affirmations need to come from the Witness, not the intellect.

In one of the sessions, the author clearly explained, “it is very much possible for one on advanced stage in sadhana to mistake intellect for SELF. Intellect is pure, Intellect keeps the sadhaka above body consciousness, Intellect always gives the correct direction, It stops Raga Dvesha from influencing the sadhaka’s thoughts / actions. With all these qualities of one’s intellect, it is possible to get stuck up at one stage in spiritual sadhana, thinking that this is the pinnacle in sadhana.”

To overcome pride that has reached the Sattvic level, we need to get help from a higher level than the Sattvic intellect. That comes from Meditation. In meditation our effort is to be the witness of the mind. That is where the help comes from. We take recourse to the deepest level in our being – the innermost Self. The removal of Sattvic pride lies in identifying with a centre higher than the intellect, namely, the inner witness consciousness.

It is not possible for the mind to instruct itself in such matters. The danger of self- deception is too great. The witness consciousness has to feed the thought, “I am not the body; I am Brahman.” Then alone will the Ego vacate its stronghold.

Pride is assurance born of conscious awareness of one's own capacity and capability to lead one's life based on one's attributes and inclination. Such a one resorts to detachment after examining the worlds acquired through performance of actions with full realization that there is nothing in the worlds that is not the result of the performance of actions, then why should one perform actions which does not reward one the wisdom of Brahman. 

Knowing the truth, such a one then goes with due respect to a qualified Teacher well versed in Wisdom and becomes absorbed in Brahman, declares Mundaka Upanishad.

 

Swami Sivananda says,

“Mind is compared to a garden. Just as you can cultivate good flowers and fruits in a garden by ploughing and manuring the land, and removing the weeds and thorns, and watering the plants and trees; so also you can cultivate the flower of devotion in the garden of your mind by removing the impurities of the mind, such as lust, anger, greed, delusion and pride, and watering it with divine thoughts. 

When the garden is clean, when there are no weeds and thorns, you can get good fruits. So also, when the mind is pure, the mind is free from lust, anger, etc., you can have the fruit of deep meditation. Therefore, cleanse the mind of impurities first. 

Spiritualize all your activities. This is very important.”

 

Love.

 

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 38

By reversing the process that created the Vasanas, we can start destroying them. It requires at least the same effort, if not more, to destroy Vasanas as it did to produce them.

This process is called Nididhyasana. 

Step 21 captures the positive part of this process: i.e. planting the single Vasana of Aham Brahma Asmi or the thought “I am Brahman”, which is a pure Sattwic Vasana, and therefore highly desirable.

The ultimate goal of every fragment is to merge with the complete, whole and entirety of Brahman from which it had become originally differentiated. 

Eastern rivers flow towards the sea on the eastern side, even as the western rivers flow towards the west, merging from the sea to the sea, not being aware in that state that 'I am this river' and 'I am the other', even so all the creatures have come from Being do not know that 'we have come forth from the Being', even as the fragment of manifestation which has come forth the whole does not know it has come from the whole, the essence.

Even as the flowing rivers disappear in the ocean casting their shape, even so the man of Wisdom, freed from name and form attains the divine Purusha (or Brahman), greater than the great. 

Even as in the ocean the separate rivers do not realize that they are different from one another, even so when they becomes again the distinct rivers they do not realize that they have come to be from the one ocean. This inalienable relationship between the fragment and the whole should be clearly understood.

Since human life is consequent to Divine Intent, creation having become the manifest reflection of the primary essence, the manifest fragments should endeavor to participate in that Divine Intent performing actions as the instrument of divine Intent and Purpose. 

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, when Ushata Chakrayana remarked that Self has been explained by him as one might say, ‘this is a cow’, ‘this is a horse’. To which Yajnavalkya remarks that self cannot be explained further because one cannot see the Seer of seeing, cannot hear the Hearer of hearing, cannot think the Thinker of thinking, cannot understand the Understander of understanding he asks him to the Self which is imperishable when all things, all else is perishable. Thus, the self within all beings is that which Brahman is. 

Krishna too said in Bhagavad Gita that abiding within everything that is created, Brahman energizes, illumines and makes every creation to perform as ordained. In doing so He conceals His Presence through the power of Maya, confusing the human mind. 

How Does “Aham Brahmaasmi” Work?

We have said that Doubts arise in an environment of mental impurity. Lack of purity belie the presence of anger, lust, greed, jealousy, hatred and delusion. If these were not present, doubts would not arise, and mere Sravana would suffice to awaken us into the state of illumination! This is something to think about.

However, in practice totally pure souls are very rare in this world. We don’t have to feel bad when negative thoughts arise. Spiritual life is, after all, a gradual evolution. We will get there when the moment is ripe. The negative thoughts simply draw our attention to the immediate problem that we need to deal with in our Sadhana.  

Forming the New Habit of “Aham Brahmasmi”

The solution lies in replacing the body-idea with a new idea – “I am Brahman”,

i)   for a sufficiently long time;

ii)  continuously, without a break;

iii) with devotion and conscientiousness;

iv)  with concerted effort (Abhyasa); and

iv) with the right intention accompanying the whole process.

This is called Nididhyasana. 

 

Love.