Sathya Sai Vahini - Post 61 ( Concluding Post)

Brahman, the Cause of all causes

In fact, Brahman and illusion (maya) have an intimate relationship. Truth, once established and fixed, is ever unaffected. And illusion is not fundamentally true. What is learned by the impact of appearance is pseudo- knowledge (mithya jnana); it is non-knowledge (a-vidya). The illusion (mithya or a-vidya, ignorance) will vanish as soon as the appearance is negated and the truth is grasped. Illusion is neither invalid nor valid.

The universe appears to each in accordance with the point of view or the angle of vision. It has no independent existence, apart from the ideations that are projected by and from the observer. Its support and sustenance is Brahman. Brahman is the unaffected cause. The effect will not have any effect on It. Illusion is the effect that is prone to inevitable change.

Brahman is the one supreme truth, which has assumed the manifoldness of the universe (jagath), consequent on the influence of illusion. When Brahman is cognized as with illusion, It becomes the material cause of the universe. It is in the universe as the universe. Brahman is said to be the instrumental cause of the universe, but illusion is the prompting influence. Brahman is beyond both cause and effect. It cannot be a cause, either instrumental or material.

The universe can be conceived as a picture; the plain canvas is Brahman, and the colours spread on it form the universe. The appearances immanent on the canvas, the human figures, are dark. The individual soul (jiva) is the experiencer of pain and grief through involvement with the universe. He is the “seen”, “the observed”. Brah- man is truth; the universe is the play, the pantomime, the sport. It is the manifestation of the will that is latent in Brahman. To recognize the will behind the play is to attain liberation. Four prerequisites for the Vedantic path

Meditation (dhyana), worship (puja), rites and rituals, and other activities are laid down for those too dull to recognize this will. Only those who can renounce triple fruits of worldly endeavor can claim the right to follow the path of wisdom (jnana). Spiritual seekers on the Vedantic path must be equipped with:

(1) discrimination to distinguish the transient from the eternal,

(2) determination to desist from worldly and other-worldly pleasures,

(3) sense control, self control, detachment, fortitude, faith, and equanimity, and 

(4) keen yearning for liberation.

All things have to be viewed as products of the Divine Will and used with the reverence that this knowledge will kindle in the consciousness.

The paths of holy activity (karma) and intellectual discrimination (jnana) are intended for different spiritual seekers. It is not possible to mix the two and follow them together. Righteous living can confer new life; prosperity is the gift of the knowledge of dharma; liberation is the gift of the knowledge of Brahman. 

The awareness of Brahman does not demand for its continuance and constancy the practice of any spiritual practice (sadhana). It does not depend on the performance of any specific duties and chores.

Liberation is of two kinds: immediate and gradual. The first is the result of the attainment of wisdom (jnana). The second is the result of worship (upasana), spiritual study, and spiritual discipline. Wisdom (jnana) is pure, unmixed, monistic experience. Devotion (bhakthi) is of the nature of supreme love, characterized by love for God, for the sake only of the Lord.

 

Love.

 

Thus ends "Sathya Sai Vahini"!!