Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 79

Sutra - 74-  Vaado na avalambya 

( Vain disputation should not be entered into)

Vaado : Disputation

Na avalambya : Should not be entered into

Sutra 75. Baahulyaavakaasatwaad aniyatat-waatcha.

[For there is plenty of room for diversity in views and no one view, based upon mere reason, is conclusive in itself.]

Baahulyaavakaasatwaat: as there is room for diversity in views

Aniyatatwaat: as no (view based on mere) reason is conclusive

cha: and.

In Kathopanishad, Lord Yama says to Nachiketas: “This Atman cannot be obtained by too much learning, or discussions or intelligence. He who gets the grace of God, who is chosen by the Lord as His favourite, gets the darshan of Atma. He reveals to him His Nature. To him alone He manifests Himself.”

Let us look into the essence of this Sutra from 2 angles, from the angle of one who wants to put forward his ideas and the other angle, the one to whom the former is trying to put forth his ideas. The discussion is on spiritual matter.

One who is speaking / initiating the talk

Unless one is a master who has grasped the inner reality in all the spiritual knowledge that he has gained, one must not take forward any discussion in spiritual matter where he feels and knows that the listener is not keen to listen and understand either because he does not believe in the one who is speaking or he is as such not interested too much in such topics even though he trusts and believes in the one who is speaking.

One who is listening to the talk / to whom the talk is addressed

The one who is listening, is supposed to listen with respect and then, even if he is not willing to accept the talk fully, it is expected out of a patient listener to maintain composure and not indulge in counter argument.

He can at best convey his gratitude and leave the place saying, "let me try and experience what you have told, in my introspection".

It is to be noted that whether it is the speaker or the listener, vain discussion / argument crops up because in their ego, each one tries to prove that what he says is correct and he expects the other person to listen and accept what he says.

This happens in social life, even within the family.

However, in spiritual matter, the fundamental requirement being getting rid of our ego, such vain discussions / arguments should never happen.

Vain discussion about God must not be encouraged because it can go on indefinitely and there will be still no certainty that it will arrive at the truth. There are as many different viewpoints as there are intelligent people.

  

Mere reasoning does not lead to realisation of God. Intellect is frail and finite. It is not able to grasp the Infinite. Even none of the great problems which affect human life has been conclusively solved by reasoning. Reasoning has only complicated the issues. Therefore depend not on reason but depend on intuition which is ever infallible and correct.

In argumentation there is room for excess. It cannot determine anything. A conclusion arrived at through the process of reasoning is never the truth. God is attained not through argument but through the practice of devotion.

Spirituality is not a subject of debates and arguments. Debates and arguments arise out of intellect (at a higher level) and out of mere ego without any logic (at a lower ego level).

In Spirituality, while Ego is to be ruled out totally, it has to be understood that even intellect does not work.

Any experience in Spiritual evolvement, whether it is in Devotion or in the path of Wisdom / Self enquiry, is subjective and is beyond intellect / beyond logics / beyond scientific explanations. 

Such experience when the mind is not functioning - how can such experience be discussed and argued with mind????

God is certainly not in Vyakarana or logic or prosody. He is in the chambers of the heart. He is to be realized by purity and meditation.

When a devotee / Mumukshu starts getting inner, subjective experience, call it Love or Bliss or experiencing the eternal witness in all states of consciousness etc., it does happen that, in his selflessness / in his purity, it immediately occurs to his mind / thoughts, to share such experience with all these who are / were nearer to him in his life, in social terms, or family members or co- sadhakas.

However, those who have traveled with such a person till some time before but have not been with him in his spiritual evolvement and in his inner experience have seen that person in a different angle as he had been moving with them in a normal manner,  with likes / dislikes / with attachment. So, those who were with him, his friends / family members etc. have a definite impression about him which cannot be removed.

So, when this person rushes to such people to share the joy of his inner experience, the impression that they carry in their mind about this person blocks them from receiving such an experience with open, clear hearts!!!

This has happened to Author practically and hence he is able to share this first hand truth with the readers.

The person who has had the inner experience gradually settles down in silence and then realizes, "It is not necessary that the people to whom I am sharing these things, would be really interested, it is possible that though they respect me / like me as such, they like me only as what I was with them and they do not expect / respect / accept the change in me and hence, they cannot accept the truth which my heart very much wants to share with them".

Again, this is also an intermediate stage.

Then comes the ultimate stage in such a sadhaka who comes to settle in his inner experience almost eternally.

At this stage, he / she transcends the duality of "my people" or "not my people", "my past acquaintance or my present acquaintance". 

In short, he walks and works in the society, unaware of the society / creation as such. This state is difficult to explain in words.

This is the state where inner silence takes over. 

Here, the declaration of Shveta Ashwatara  Upanishad is practiced even without thinking on the lines given in the upanishad.

It says at the end, in  the last chapter, thus:-

"This highest secret or mystery in the Vedanta, expounded in a former age, should not be given to one whose passions have not been subdued, nor to anyone who is not a worthy son, nor to an unworthy disciple."

Then, about this who are worthy to derive benefit, it says, 

"If these truths have been told to a high-souled one, who has supreme devotion to God, and as much devotion to his Guru or preceptor as to God, then alone they will shine forth, then alone they will shine forth, indeed."

Thus, the author  passed through the three stages - first, excited out of love to share his inner experience, then the second, realizing that people who have past impressions about the author may not accept his present transformation and then the last stage - eternal silence!! It just does not come within to speak anything in spiritual matter, where it is not asked for by any one who is sincere to understand and practice!!!!!!

However, after getting into silence, Swami prompted from within, "will you not give to the world what I gave You?". This prompting came from within in Nov 2016 around Swami's birthday time and the result of that prompting is this blog.

Thus, the question by Swami is answered and at the same time, no one is disturbed and no one is compelled to know the truth which is given in this blog.

Who reads, who does not, whether even a single person reads and follows or not, it is upto the world and Swami.

Swami asked a question and Swami being not only God but also the author's Sadguru as he had no Guru as such in human form, author is bound to respond and reciprocate to Swami's command!!!

Love.