Dear
Readers,
From
now onwards, some portions from Jnana Vahini are skipped and most relevant
portions are being addressed to, in the blog.
Swami
Writes,
“Look
at the clouds that wander across the sky; note that they have no intimate
lasting relationship with the sky which they hide but for a few minutes.
Such
is the relationship between your body and You, that is to say, You who are of
the nature of Paramatma. The body is but a temporary passing phase, hiding and
clouding the truth.
How
can the body's behavior - wakefulness, dream and sleep - affect in any way the
Eternal Consciousness, the Paramatma?
What
of your shadow? Is it not something separate from you? Does its length or
clarity or career affect you in any way? Understand that the same is the
relationship between the body and Yourself.
If
you take this bundle of flesh and bone as yourself, consider what happens to
it, and how long you can call it 'mine'. Pondering over this problem is the
beginning of Jnana.
This
physical frame, built out of earth, fire, water, wind and ether, breaks up into
its components, as built-up things do. Only ignorance will take it as Real;
only the uneducated will attach value to it as permanent and eternal.
Did
this body exist before birth? Does it persist after death? No. It appears and
disappears, with an interval of existence! Therefore, it has no absolute value;
it is to be treated only as the cloud or the shadow.
As
a matter of fact, this physical world is like the mango tree raised by the
magician's wand, the product of the trickster known as Mind.
Just
as clay takes the form of pot and pan and plate and after an interval becomes
once again clay, shapeless clay, so too, all this is the formless Sath - Chith
- Ananda;
the Niraakaara appearing with Aakaara for some time, on account of the delusion
and ignorance of the Mind.
(Author’s note - Swami compares the shadow and the sky,
with our unreal identity and real identity, thus:-
Sky = Man’s real identity -
SATH
Shadow that covers the sky for some time = Man’s body / identification
with body.
Shadow – Remains only for some time and passes away
Human body compared to shadow – Also is formed on birth and
perishes on death
Human body – Built out of 5 elements, as any other matter.
Then, Swami talks about the creation with example of a
magician thus:
Magician = Mind
Mango tree / any object brought by magician by trick = This
physical world (projected by one’s mind)
Swami concludes,
Clay takes form of pot but exists as clay, even after the pot
is broken
Similarly, all names / forms = Pot, arising out of the clay =
SAT CHIT ANANDA
All names and forms = Mind’s projection out of ignorance).
Love.
