Sri Krishnananda

The nature of the experience of space and time depends upon the manner in which the consciousness happens to be objectively modalised. Persons who are in a depressed state of mind or who are in deep sorrow are apt to feel that, a moment of time is like a year, while those who revel in happiness would feel contrary. Space and time are ultimately conditions of consciousness and are not independent of it. In the dreaming state, experiences ranging over thousands of years can be undergone in a moment's time, while at the same time, the mind in this state can also project a moment's experience into a history of several years. In the state of intense spiritual contemplation and Samadhi, space and time are transcended, and only pure consciousness reveals itself. In this consciousness, the entire universal cycle is said to appear and disappear within the millionth part of a moment.

Swami Krishnananda

Sathya Sai Vahini - Post 20

 

Chapter VIII

 

Bondage

 

People can discard as many gross bodies in which they take temporary residence as the number of times they pare their nails. But the subtle body cannot be changed; it lasts and persists. This is the most secret doctrine of Indian spiritual thought. Going further along this line of discovery, it can be revealed that person means: a complex of the gross body, subtle body, and individual soul (jivi). Vedantic philosophy would declare that the individual soul shares the quality of eternal, unchanging, everlastingness (nithya).

The objective world (prakriti) is also eternal, but with a difference: it undergoes perpetual change. It is never the same, but it persists forever. The basis for the objective world, namely the life force (prana) and space (akasa), are eternal, but they act and interact without rest and manifest variously and manifold.

 

The individual Atma (the jivatma) did not have its origin in either space or the life force; it is not material in nature. It is eternal, without change. It did not happen through the impact of the life force on space or space on the life force. Things brought together will disintegrate.

 

But things that are themselves ab initio cannot so come apart. For, disintegration means resuming the original nature, becoming what it originally was, reducing itself to its native substance.

 

The gross body is the result of the combination of the life force and space, so it dissolves itself into its components. The subtle body also dissolves, but only after a long long time.

 

The embodied soul (jivi) is not brought together, so it cannot fall apart. It has no birth. It cannot be born. A unitive part-less being can have no moment of origin.

 

The objective world, consisting of billions of varied things, forces, and events, is governed by the will of God. God is all-knowing, all-penetrating, all-pervading; He is activating the objective world and acting through the objective world all the time. Creation is ever in His care. His sovereignty is beginning less and endless. This is the doctrine of the dualists (dwaithins).

 Ignorance, the source of evil

 

This gives room for a question. When the world is ruled by God, how does He permit it to be so wicked and evil? The answer given is that God is not responsible for the grief and pain.

 

The sins we commit are the progenitors of the grief we suffer. Joy and sorrow are the consequences of the good and evil that people perpetrate.

 

God is the Witness. He doesn’t punish or cause grief. The embodied soul (jivi) is beginning less, that is to say, has no birth, but it involves itself in incessant activity and thus has to go through the inevitable consequences of that activity. This is the experience of everyone, the characteristic of everyone’s mind. This is the unbreakable law of the objective world.

 

Grief or joy is the image of the activity in which one engages. It is the resound, the reflection, the reaction. The individual soul can be the witness without concerning itself with the good and bad of the activity. When involvement happens, good has to be experienced when good is done; evil, when evil is done.

 

Vedanta asserts that the individual soul is, by its very nature, pure and unblemished. This is the accepted doctrine, according to Indian (Bharathiya) thought. But this truth has been befogged by ignorance and neglect, so illusion (maya) pollutes the experience, and the shade of ignorance breeds evil.

 

But when beneficial activity is engaged in, the clouds of illusion are scattered and the reality of the Self is realized. All beings, all souls (jivis) are pure, by their very nature. Good acts can remove the taints of evil deeds and preserve this essential purity. Then, the soul is led into the Godward path. The Godward urge will transform the thoughts, words, and deeds of the individual.

 

Essence

1)               In the first part of today’s post, Swami describes and reveals that the gross body and the subtle body are bound to perish, though the subtle body takes longer time to perish

2)             However, the Soul /Atman is beginning less and therefore endless.

3)             Then Swami touches upon the belief that Easwara is the creator and sustainer of this creation and everything is as per His will, as per one of the Hindu Philosophy.

Swami writes, “The objective world, consisting of billions of varied things, forces, and events, is governed by the will of God. God is all-knowing, all-penetrating, all-pervading;

In one of the speeches, a monk of Rama Krishna Parama Hamsa ashram says, “In Christianity, In Islam in few other religion, it is stated that God watches and punishes the sinners, God even dissolves the creation . On one hand, we say God is ever merciful and on the other hand, we imagine Him as a harsh force, punishing the sinners. Is this not contradictory”?

4) Swami is bringing the same thought here in today’s post. God is ever compassionate and can never punish anyone for their mistakes, howsoever grave the mistakes are. If this is so, then why the world is so cruel? Why there is so much pain and sorrow in this world created by God?

Swami answers, “The sins we commit are the progenitors of the grief we suffer. Joy and sorrow are the consequences of the good and evil that people perpetrate”.

Swami’s statement unveils and reveals us the indisputable theory of Karma, which we Hindus, believing in rebirth, do and must accept without any doubt.

Is there any end to this continuous vicious cycle of Death-Rebirth-Death, for undergoing the results of our deeds?

5) Swami’s words come to us , soothing our heart and soul, like the breezy air that flows and cools us within. Swami says, “when beneficial activity is engaged in, the clouds of illusion are scattered and the reality of the Self is realized. All beings, all souls (jivis) are pure, by their very nature.

Good acts can remove the taints of evil deeds and preserve this essential purity. Then, the soul is led into the Godward path. The Godward urge will transform the thoughts, words, and deeds of the individual.

 

Love.

 

 

Sathya Sai Vahini - Post 19

Swami writes,

 

Gross and subtle bodies

 

The body is composed of cells, which are made up of atoms. The atoms are also physical phenomena. They are fundamentally inert matter (jada), composite and unfeeling. The Vedanthins speak of a subtle body, separate from this gross body. That too is physical. It is the centre of subtle skills and force. It is in this body that all the subtle mental feelings and agitations take place. Each force can work only through some medium or other, which is physical. 

The same power that operates the gross body works through the subtle processes of thought. They are not two different entities. One is the subtle form of the other, that is all.

What is the source of these powers? If we delve deep, we will find that there are two things in nature: space (akasa) and the life force (prana). Space is the source of all the gross and subtle material one encounters; when the life force contacts it, due to the impact the space principle transforms itself into either gross or subtle, in varying proportions.

The life force is omnipresent, like space. It can also penetrate everywhere and everything. Like the blocks of ice that water becomes and that float and move about on water, the life force acts on space and bodies appear. 

The life force is the force that moulds the space into various forms. The gross body is the vehicle of the life force that it has shaped out of space. The subtle body is of the form of thought, feeling, etc.

When the subtle body is transcended, the awareness of the Reality becomes manifest. Just as fingernails persist as part of our gross body, however often we pare them, so too the subtle body is an integral part of one’s makeup.

 

Introspection

 

Just now the author finishes one line on the next hanuman chalisa talk coming up on 8th Feb wherein, he hurriedly writes what emerges from within. He is mentioning the essence of  what came from within which he noted down for that talk- “ One may argue that Prana or Life force enlivens mind/senses etc. but can the life force bestow “awareness” or “knowing “ or “feeling”?? It is the consciousness / pure awareness that lends itself to enliven life force and through that, the mind, senses and due to this borrowed “awareness”, mind /senses can be “aware”.

Believe him  brothers and sisters, there was absolutely no plan of picking up the enxt part of SSV for writing the post today but somehow the author picks up and just read what Swami has written about the life force above and what is Swami’s last line in today’s SSV part?

“When the subtle body is transcended, the awareness of the Reality becomes manifest.”

Author swears, this is much more than a mere coincidence. Swami proves that it is He who gives the intuitive thoughts for each talk/session by giving the same thought w.r.t. to the upcoming hanuman chalisa talk and giving the same in the SSV part today.

It is overwhelming. The thought which came up related to the upcoming talk, came just 5 minutes before, he notes it down and then opens the SSV part to take up for the current post and Swami  talks about the same “ life force” and then the need to transcend the life force, the subtle body, to “KNOW” the reality (Consciousness)!!

Swami has talked about Gross and subtle body in today’s post.

Let us read what the sage from Ananda Kutir writes about the three bodies, in the form of a question answer session between a disciple and his master.

 

"The Three Bodies & their Enumeration

 

(The individual experiencer is a consciousness-centre enveloped by several layers of matter existing as the factors causing objective awareness in it. The analysis of these layers or bodies is necessary to ascertain the nature of the true Self.)

 

Hari Om. Om Sat-Guru-Paramatmane Namah.

 

Disciple: How many bodies are there in an individual (Jiva)?

 

Guru: There are three bodies in every individual (Jiva).

 

Disciple: Please name them.

 

Guru: The physical body or the gross body (Sthula Sarira), the astral body or the subtle body (Sukshma Sarira or Lingadeha) and the causal body or the seed body (Karanasarira) are the three bodies.

 

Disciple: Please illustrate them.

 

Guru: The shell of a tamarind corresponds to the physical body. The pulp represents the subtle body. The seed corresponds to the causal body. Ice represents the physical body. H2O represents the subtle body. The Tanmatras or root-elements correspond to the causal body.

The Gross Body

 

Disciple: What are the components of the physical body?

 

Guru: The physical body is composed of five elements, viz., earth (Prithivi), water (Apah), fire (Tejas), air (Vayu) and space (Akasa).

 

Disciple: What are the seven primary essences (Sapta-Dhatus) of the physical body?

 

Guru: Chyle (Rasa), blood (Asra), flesh (Mamsa), fat (Medas), bone (Asthi), marrow (Majja) and semen (Sukla), are the seven primary essences of the physical body.

 

Disciple: What are the Shad-bhava-vikaras (six modifications of the body)?

 

Guru: Asti (existence), Jayate (birth), Vardhate (growth), Viparinamate (change), Apaksheeyate (decay), Vinashyate (death), are the six modifications or changes of the body.

 

Disciple: What are the links with which the body is connected?

 

Guru: The body (Deha), action (Karma), love and hate (Raga-dvesha), egoism (Ahamkara), non-discrimination (Aviveka) and ignorance (Ajnana) are the seven links of the chain of Samsara (world-experience). From Ajnana (ignorance), Aviveka is born. 

 

Aviveka is non-discrimination between the real and the unreal. From Aviveka is born Ahamkara or egoism; from egoism is born Raga-dvesha (like and dislike); from Raga-dvesha Karma (action) arises; from Karma the body or the Deha is produced. 

 

If you want to free yourself from the pain of birth and death, destroy ignorance (Ajnana), the root cause of this Samsara (world-experience), through the attainment of the Knowledge of Brahman or the Absolute. 

 

When ignorance is removed, all the other links will be broken by themselves. This physical body of yours is the result of your past actions and is the seat of your enjoyment of pleasure and pain.

 

Disciple: Why is the body called Sarira or Deha?

 

Guru: Because the body decays (Sheeryate) on account of old age, it is called Sarira. Because it is cremated or burnt (Dahyate) it is called Deha.

 

The Subtle Body

 

Disciple: What is the composition of the subtle body?

 

Guru: The subtle body is composed of nineteen principles (Tattvas), viz., five Jnana Indriyas or organs of knowledge, five Karma Indriyas or organs of action, five Pranas or vital airs, Manas or mind, Buddhi or intellect, Chitta or the subconscious and Ahamkara or the ego. It is a means of enjoying pleasure and pain.

 

Disciple: When will this subtle body get dissolved?

 

Guru: It gets dissolved in Videha Mukti or disembodied Liberation.

 

The Causal Body

 

Disciple: What is the causal body (Karana Sarira)?

 

Guru: The beginning less ignorance that is indescribable is called the causal body. It is the cause of the gross and the subtle bodies.

Disciple: How can I transcend the three bodies?

 

Guru: Identify yourself with the All-pervading, Eternal Atman. Stand as a witness (Sakshi) of all experiences. Know that the Atman is always like a king - distinct from the body, organs, vital breaths, mind, intellect, ego and Prakriti - the Witness of their attributes.

 

Love.