Upadesa Saram - Post 10

Verse 8

भेदभावनात्सोऽहमित्यसौ|

भावनाऽभिदापावनीमता||

bhedabhāvanātso'hamityasau |

bhāvanā'bhidā pāvanī matā ||

Better than a conception of difference is that “I am He,” thus, Meditation without difference is considered holy.

We are still with meditational practice, but we now move to the inner feature of the practice. We find that once again there is a factor which differentiates the practice into two types – in Duality and in Non-Duality, i.e. Saguna and Nirguna meditation; or Bheda and Abheda Bhavana in meditation. 

Let us see what is the factor which determines whether we are in Saguna or in Nirguna Meditation as we proceed further.

What is the “Single Thought” in Bhakti Yoga? 

In the early stages of contemplation in Bhakti Yoga, the thought that the devotee holds on to is: “O Lord, Thou art my mother and father. Please protect me!” The devotee at this stage still feels separate from the Lord, and so he addresses Him in this manner. There is a sense of the wave meditating on the ocean. The distinction is there. This distinction is what classifies this stage to be “in Duality”. 

The Culmination of Bhakti Yoga: 

This stage of contemplation without Duality is well-known among all saints, and all the scriptures, as being “sacred, pure, holy, superior, greater.” 

In a series of discourse delivered on Bhagwad Gita by Swami is late 80s in Prashanti Nilayam, Swami describes about a Guru / Preceptor who kept on teaching “DASOHAM” to his young students.

One day, the teacher starts chanting “SOHAM” and the students are confused and they ask the master, “Master, How come you have suddenly changed from “Dasoham” to “Soham”.

The teacher explains in the manner which can be understood by the young students and says, ‘You know that Krishna always steals butter and also he steals our mind and we worship Him as chitachora. 

He came yesterday night and he stole the “Dasa” in my prayers and left me with Soham”!!! 

(All these expressions can come only from Swami!)

Thus, The “single thought” changes as the devotee progresses from Duality to Non-duality. It becomes the thought “SOHAM” – “I am He”, which is identical to the Mahavakyas of the Upanishads. 

At this point, there is the merging of Bhakti Yoga Sadhana and Jnana Yoga Sadhana. 

In the upcoming January month talk in Sai center in Muscat, the author shall deal with this single pointed devotion which changes the dimension of devotion and this is the turning point of devotion from Duality to Non Duality, which we will see in the next 2 month’s satsangh.

In ordinary human love, the culmination is complete identity with the beloved. It is the same in divine love also – the devotee loses himself and becomes one with the Supreme Reality. 

As long as the distinction between Lord and the devotee is there, meditation has not reached its culmination; it has not reached maturity.

The general impulse of the devotee is to NOT want to be one with the Lord. There is a strong tendency among Bhaktas to want to remain distinct from God as they can then continue to enjoy the sweetness of loving God. 

But the Lord takes it as His duty to take His devotee to the highest even if he does not wish to. He will create the right circumstances for that to happen. Here is a classic example of how the Lord does this.

Sri Ramakrishna was completely absorbed in devotion to the Divine Mother Kali. The moment he closed his eyes, he would behold only the Divine Mother. To him one day, “God sent” the great Vedanta Guru, Sri Totapuri, who offered to take Sri Ramakrishna to the highest non-dual experience. 

Typical of Sri Ramakrishna, he went to the Mother Kali to get Her permission before following Totapuri. The Mother said, “Yes, take it. I Myself have sent him to you.” 

Ramakrishna began his tutelage under Sri Totapuri. Totapuri asked him to close his eyes. What did he see? Ramakrishna could only behold the Divine Mother. In Vedantic terms, it meant he was still stuck in form. Sri Totapuri was getting impatient and frustrated. 

He picked up a sharp glass piece and pressed it on Sri Ramakrishna’s Trikuti (between the eyebrows). “What do you see?” Sri Ramakrishna, recounting his experience, said, “I cut my Mother with the sword of discrimination, and went into the Nirguna state at once!” 

This was how God Himself ensures that His devotee is taken ultimately to the highest non-dual experience. 

In Devotion, the desire is to reach the God and attain God. God is the object of desire in this case and Devotee is the one who desires.

Till the time there is a Bheda or difference between the two, there is sense of incompleteness. Once the devotee transcends the difference and attains Lord, then there is Joy, there is cessation of difference between the desirer and the desired. 

However, in the world full of objective pleasure, this cessation of duality is for a short span of time and once the devotee wakes up from that experience of non-dual Joy, there is some another desire, waiting to catch him and to make him run after it.

What is the solution then?

Resolve all the objects of desire into only one object of desire, the LORD.

This is explained in an earlier verse where he wrote, “There are suppose 1000 objects which the eyes see, the senses desire. Channelize your mind, your thoughts in your meditation on God with such intensity that all other objects of desire dissolve in one object, The Lord.”

What happens after this? The meditation, the focus on Lord is single pointed and gradually, in the intensity of your meditation, the distance between God and you, the meditated and the meditator keeps reducing (which can be compared with the chitachora entering your home, entering your heart and stealing your mind (your mind which may jump to any other object, is being stolen by the chitachora) and with your mind taken by Him, all the duality between yourself and God is gone as the mind which is capable of perceiving the duality is no more there.

While talking about Swami, author said, “Who else but Swami can be the one who sacrifices maximum, who gives maximum”. 

He is prepared to sacrifice the stage of His devotee ever remaining at His feet, ever worshipping Him as a divine phenomenon which can never be attained but can only be prayed and worshipped and is prepared to take His sincere devotee from worshipping His form, to reaching the formless, Non-Dual infinite existence!” (Will we ever afford to let someone who adores us, our form to get away from us ever?)

Love.