Rocks Are Melting . ‘The Everyday Teal igs of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Jagadguru Shankaracharya Jyotirmath, Himalayas, 1941-53 Pdited and Introduction by LB Shriver ‘Translation Edited and Annotated by Cynthia A Humes Clear River Press Fairfield, Towa 2000.1 Only one who is happy can bring happiness! to others. (One can only share what one has, To beg for money from a poor man is foolishness, for wea cat be pate niyo person wh posses In the same wa, knowledge [vidya canbe gained only fom one who possesses knowledge, Silay, great happiness canbe ined only from God [Bhagavn] who is the storehouse of happiness. [Noone can obiain happiness in worldly life {samsdral? without the grace” of God [Bhagavan]. Only those who have faith in Paramatma* and in spirituality can acquire it. ‘The rest remain in the trap of unhappiness and sorrow.* In worldy life we do not find anyone whois rly happy. One who lacks something considers another who hai tobe happy; but he who has tat thing is also unhappy, For example ian who does not have ‘child assumes the man who docs tobe happy, yet the man wit children i unhappy for ‘wanting something else. This shows that there sno happiness in wordy objects. The essence” of happiness is Paramatma, who is Sat Chit Ananda.’ Only by coming into contact with That whichis the embodiment of happiness can the individual sul become ‘happy. There is no other way. Paramatma is like a general merchant® who can deliver any object deszed without ever running out of supplies, But to obi his favor, we must conscientiously follow the precepts of the scriptures,’ for nothing will come from merely reciting the glorifications'® of his name. Can anyone become a rich man just by continuously reciting Lt of merchandise? !The rot word Ouro epoys heres sukhe, which may be lected a both adjective an noun. The te sma sometines rendered as "the wo.” Yet ts meaning nl ot ust bith inthis ‘worl bt ls (a its Sask rot of steaming” conn) the low of continuous eins experienced by the individ sul, > Weta fre a “vor or “gree.” Han als comnte “kindness.” “ Puan isthe "Creat Sef," which when seen without iluson enone ober than the Atma, als The team da ithe anonym of subtha © Searpa ia classic ter forthe essential frm of something someone. Here, Guiev says Pantin, which xis within and wits, truly happiness, oy " existance (Being), Conscionsess, ad lis, Kite nate of xine to bscome awe of af, ad this awareness ef * engi ted inthe origin ° te tem vid refs to enjoins religious rules of pry, commanded nia atons, ae posed Interpersonal ad cial dynes. "The erm mahamya denotes a specifi genre of devetiona prise stores. 2‘To expect to gain happiness from wordly-minded persons is a mistake, How can hhe who is himself unhapay make others happy? The happiness which appears in samira is arelative happiness." One person is happy in something, whereas another is happy in something ese. If you must beg for happiness, then you should only beg for it ina place where all Inappiness is available. Remember that only one who is inclined towards the Supreme {[Paramatma] can obtain happiness and peace in ths world [samsdra]. Others cannot, ‘Seeking happiness in worldly lf is like trying to quench your thirst by collecting drops of dew. Fulfilite's purpose by leaving this world behind, [No one ean say for how ‘ong we have carried the heavy load of lfe—sometimes inthe body of an elephant weighing five tons, sometimes in the body of an ant, sometimes in the body of a human, This burden can only be lifted through the grace of God [Bhagavin|. ‘Conduct yourset such that inthis very life you may receive the grace of God and are not forced to return to another hag of urine and excrement”, This will happen only ‘when you follow the intnetions of God as contained in the Veda Sastra ‘Whatever your station [vargal! or stage {dsrama]" of life, cary on your ‘enjoined duties! at all ines, and continue to take the name of God, ‘Cary on your upasana [spiritual practice] regularly, moming and evening, while ‘conducting your duly lle and activites in such a way that you always benefit others "an he Sans, dpetta means “pendent or elatve.” " Many sages om Indic ton which tess rede rom he eel of rei refer tothe body in ighlyderognorywaysto shock ther steer fom eomplscency and alacant. See, fo example, Mii Upmigd 1.3, Manus 6:76-7, und Dhammapsda 150, We hae chosen a “pole” rendering orp the ‘eae the shock ofthe ourleter Anglo-Saron equivalents ofthe eathy Hind employed inhi tak. "The en nara refers to ces cane and cil tts. ™ Aévama means esting lace or tage in ie ones ome i an arama, nd 0 & monastery In this cones ites othe four supe file which » devo Hind my pat hough on the pth to bert. Bralmacary the etied oc ara of «person's ie wich devote to edcation. The Grhatha <érama the period o hwxctoldng ad Fai if, A pers who move tothe thd age, ‘Vanaprsta, becomes oes-dweling enucite who riz fom active engagement in the wot, ba stl main link thi former ent. The fourth age, sonny, ental fl reunion, ocing the las of one's scar deny, Si ad RINE Wien expSONS| 3‘And if ts not possible o assist others, then a least soe toi that you do not harm anyone. tis extremely essential to see Bhagavan immanent everywhere." Ifyou see ‘Bhagavan immanent everywhere, then you cannot sin, Whatever sin you have committed inthe past will thus be destroyed; but see tit that you do not commit sin once you have stared taking the name of God, fort wil be very difficult o free yourself from those sins which are committed afte that. This is because the sins which were commited cir oun bo deatroyed by a more dip inthe Gang but the sina commited inthe Gang {within a holy place, ona holy sate] will be as vara lepa GBR as it set in stone. Hence, be fearful of committing sins while taking the name of the Lord. Following your own diarma [here] and taking the name of God [fn here?] \) ‘will eliminate all the accumulated sins from your previous bias, bestowing happiness | and peace, 3 ‘We have no control over the fruits of our actions A thiet is fee to steal, but the court will determine his reward he is subject to judgement ‘whether he likes it or no. Man, similarly, can do ashe wishes. He can choose virtuous acts, for which he will g> to heavenly realms and can enjoy divine pleasures, or he can choose evil acts, for which he will go toa hell such as Raurava'® and suffer extremely fearsome and sorrowful results Human birth is considered to bea birth of action, Here we ate free to ct; that is, ‘whatever action we wist todo is possible. IF we wish, we can even meetin person with Paramatma, who is omnpotent and Sat Chifcit] Ananda ‘We mus all eap the fruits of our actions —under no circumstances ean we eseape them, However, the scriptures tellus: [Sanskrit] Dharmena pdpanapanudari, “By performance of dharma, sn is destroyed.” Hence, if someone does commit a sn at some time, he should domeritorious acts to destroy the bad karma. Virtue will increase and thereby eliminate th effect of sins Therefore itis said: [Sanskrit] Japato ndstiparakam, “By repeating [japa] the name of Bhagavan, sin is destroyed." CE. Biagavad Gite 4.35, 629-90, Ct Bhagavad Gita 2.47, "ou have conta over acto alone, never ove ifs. Live nk forthe vis of ction, nor attach yours inaction.” "auravas one ofthe 28 hel. Thiel i for those who have pesctted ctr ving being ther one ime vit assume the form flee rau serpents and prey upon thse who formerly torment hem. "This sa qui rom he fit epment ofthe 108 Names of Vshna Sts, The fl vere ie: “anata pagopan jap ast ptakamfan individual ins committed sinsfe should plunge into virtuous action and should also take theappopriate name of God ith faith and devotion. In this fashion the accumulated sins will be destroyed, and within a shot time virtue wil begin to secumulate, by the help of which he wil reach the tre path [sadga) Even if one remembers Bhagavin unintentionally, one's sins will be destroyed, Just as fre burns even wen touched unintentionally. The purpor of this statement: even as itis the sel-nature™ cf fire to bum, it isthe nature of God that any remerabrance of im destroys ain" Because the mind has become sulied with the impressions of countless births, it {is diicul to generate lve prema} for Bhagavan, but even with a crude mind, if one contemplates God one can obtain his grace. ‘This fact must be grasped: that whalever the condition of the mind, whatever sins ‘may have been commited inthe pas, it doesnt matter. The power of righteousness that ‘resides in the name of Bhagaviin makes it impossible to continue doing evil in the present 4 Don't waste the higher powers of mind. Nowadays people consicer themselves to be highly intelligent, yet all heir cleverness is focused on their bellies. All their cleverness ends up in their stomachs. Their intelligence Ubuddh does not go beyond their belles. They devote all their time to bandaging the ‘ulcers in ther stomachs, and thus their whole lives are wasted. In reality, there ean be no ‘greater loss than this ins person's lie, ‘There is no alterative to serving, and no one is free from the necessity of| ‘worship. Sarvajna sarvasaktimdn kartumakarom anyathdkartusamartha, Ifyou do not ‘worship God, who is “ormiscient, omnipotent, the doer and non-doer, He who is eapable of anything,” then by default you will serve atthe feet of some king, nobleman [ras], ‘merchant [sth], oF weallhy person {sahukar] If we do not take help from a great person, then we will have to take help from a lesser person. Therefore, the great-minded will {depend on Paramitma, who will assist us in this world and the next. Regardless of how much wealth one accumulates, it will always be limited, and there is always the possisility that a change of fortune [due to prdrabdha] will bring _govan ot pradandnera aera fotaryeca 5 The complete ves lo asses tht the fnting wil bestow tes of tous of cow and hundreds of ort, “By coniaoouly repeating Ue sane of Kriss Gopal, fling will ever oscu:” * We unslat Sk syabhavas self-atue”, o¢ eset nai ® Cr Bhagovod Gia 437, "#5 lazing fue tars fel to ashes, wo dese fie of knowlege (dna) a all actions (karma) it abs"poverty. This shows tha itis of litle use to rely on one whose own position is unstable. ‘Therefore, he is most clever who sings hymns of praise to Paramatma, who ean grant happiness everywhere in this world and the next ‘Don’t attempt to Fulfill every desire. [Even the great ruler Dastratha, a powerful cakravartin,® could not have all his desires fulfilled —despite the fact that Lord Vishnu had incarnated as his son [Rama], and the divine king Indra had given him half of his throne. Unable to satisty his desire to see ‘Rama crowned king, he thrashed around like a foolish bullock and died.” On seeing that even great and powerfulones such as these cannot fulfill all their desires, why hope to fulfill all your dreams even while sleeping, much less inthe waking statc?™ ‘The divine and the mundane must go hand in hand, because it would be ‘impossible to maintain the body if you were to abandon all karma, Therefore do those things which are necessery to sustain the body, and leave aside fulilling all other cravings. In this world [:amsdra] there have been exceedingly powerful beings, but even ‘they could not fulfil their desires. Therefore, do only the actions required to maintain the ‘body, and concentrate your efforts on attaining the greater vision of Paramtma, ‘Trying to fulfill our desires by gaining the objets of your desize i like trying to relieve eozema by scratching, Worldly affairs are like coarse, entangled threads; as you luy to remove one, the rest start to unravel, Therefore conduct the affaits ofthe world with deep wisdom, concentrating on the greater goal of discrimination [buddhi). 6 Face the good and the bad with equanimity, © Catraartn (whet tre” refers toa ruler whose powers so great tat hea the whet” ofthe ‘wold, Us, his epithet fers to bing who rues hough vgheousness herma),as cored with hig whe” of Wetem cali, allues tothe Ramayana, the gea Hind epic about the avr of Vishow (Vga) name ‘Rim ho cartes himsel she son of Dasratha to rego rigecusnest othe word through the ef ofthe demon Ravage, Dasara despi ocured when Ra was fred ito eile upon the demands of is co-vite Kae, who demanded tht be on be corona ited Rms the sono acl >» Finda tens identity many dates of consciousness, Here, Guna contras the sate of seep (vpn) to ‘wakefulness greta an aquest in nitrate i possible tohave al of one's desis ull. 6‘A human being cannot st quietly doing nothing for very long. The human sel-nature ‘continually at through the mind, intellect, vital breath, and sense organs." Each Individual, according to his latent tendencies, will take up various activities. Hence iis natural tae. is confirmed fact” that one has to reap the fruits of one's actions, The fruit of| sctions done within a brief span remain unexhausted even over a long period of time. "Thus, the actions done in ove life want be fully ealsausted in the next, aud uaexhaunted sctions accumulate. Until one exhausts all the karma of previous lives, the ht hie is being created inthe present} —an ‘explained the means to exhaust cach” Accumulated karma(s)" are endless a jeannot be exhausted by experience. They are removed by knowledge [Ana], or by undivided ‘devotion to the lotus feet of Bhagavan, Avasyameva bhoktavyanh Krtarh karma ubhaifubham Commenced karma can be spent only by experience; there is no other way. By dedicating current actions to Bhagavan, one can avoid bondage. In this fashion, having burnt up accumulated karma through the fire of knowledge, commenced karma by ‘experience, and current arma(s) by dedicating them to Bhagavan (as and when they axe performed), one can be feed [muta] from [karmic] bondage. This stat is called moka, If for some reason you are unable to undertake a spisitual practice [sdahanal, and ave therefore impaired with respect to utaining knowledge, atthe least you should start ‘dedicating your curret actions to Bhagavan. Then the actions done inthis life will not be the cause of future bondage. Along with this, you should remember that even a sage [iin cannot escape the expetience of commenced karma, Hence, the unhappy ‘occasions which result from commenced karma must be faced resolutely. One should not lose heart even in calamitous times. In the sare way, do not become negligent when ‘enjoying happy occasiors. If you act in this fashion, merit will sccumulate, and you will win both this world and he next. Vib, mana, buddh, prin, and indigo. ‘the tem srr denote: the muiipe past impressions cre bythe thoughts, desires and deeds of individual which ear ovr ito che ives a ates tendences oman far action, 2 Vip, dda. Vi, sit, prada aed rived, These thee Fons of karma bave bee aught by Advis sages {or over 1000 yar 2 Vie, apaye, “sill meats” clever approach. > Safci arms >" Deabmanandh Suaswat eves untrnsated his Sans phrase which means, “nosh, he reside ‘faded wich ns been] dope must be experienced, whether auspicious or inauspicious.” 7Follow the path that makes human life worth living. _Do not waste precious time by worrying about the stomach and dwelling on the pleasures ‘of the senses (speech, touch, form, tase, and smell). You have been carrying on these cenjoyments in previous ives as animals, bird, and insects. If you continue inthis way ‘even after becoming a human being, you will remain trapped within the 8,400,000 life forms,” and attaining release will be difficult. Value your human bisth appropriately and ‘act with discrimination. Understand what path wil rly benefit you, and actin such & ‘way that you need not return to the prison ofthe womb”. ‘Commit your lite to virtue [dharma], Submitting tothe bondage of dharma yields ‘eat fortune, Despite having, freedom of will," don't imagine that you are free from the ‘domain of dharma. Ifyou subenit to the rule of dharma, it will better you in this world and even elevate you inthe other world [paraloka. Ifyou think you are free ofthe domain of dharma, then you will surely fall under the domain of adharma, and will ultimately destroy yourself. Minding your own dharma jis the means by which human life can be fulfilling. Minding one’s own dharma is urgent {nal the felds of individual lfe—personal, social, political, national, and international. Inall areas, if one maintains his body, senses, mind, and intellect according to dharma, Ihe can avoid adharma, Neglecting dharna means adopting adharma, In whatever field one neglects dharma, in. that field adsarma will ake over, and that pasticular field will become sullied Subsequently all the fruits of adharma will befall the offender alone. Only he ‘who commits the action will be held accountable forthe result, Hence, while earrying out ‘any action—be it persoral, social, or poitical—consider carefully whether the deed is ‘opposed to dharma, Donot execute even a portion of an action which is pposed to dharma, Sometimes actions which are opposed to dharma may be profitable to a man ‘whose intellect i characterized by aggression or darkness," but their net effect will be 2 pay-out ab (a aha mean of 10,00) xtch-pae fran inf numbex. 2" none of the mina ancedes of Branansndsi's if, repre sims o remember his expense nthe womb in considerable ea recauning the discomforts tht les wakefl sous normally fore, We assume tat here he efes tothe ceatining nature of wordy if, a exemplified by te complsory eee of ‘ith death and eb, We have translated votanra or “one's own devices" a having feedom of wil” Beahmanands Sarsat contrasts satan wih dharma ka tantra and adharme ba tana, which we uate a “the ‘domain of charm” and "te domain of ahara.” 2 Kalua ean mean profes, polls, dy, o ck" » Vi, rajoguya and amg.powerlessness and disaser. In sum: following dharma is always good, and following dharma or the dharma of another (paradharma] is always disastrous.” 8 Liberation Comes From Action." ‘The phrase Niskdma karma should not be interpreted as indicating that one must do actions “without any deste whatsoever.” Aetion is simply not possible without desir. “Two motivating factors are required for initiating an action one isthe knowledge of fsgasadhana, which means knowing that by carrying outa particular etion one can fulfill desire; the other isthe knowledge of frtasddhyatd, which means knowing that one is capable of accomplishing the ation. Unless on issue of bth thes things, the ation will not be inated, Ireven one ofthese two is in doub, the impulse to act will ot be catried out Inthis way, desire must precede the very impulse to act Hence, the rel ‘meaning of Nikama karma is hatte action which is intentionally dedicated to God [Bhagavan] canbe called desirelessaetion, Actions whose fruits ar surendered to God do net become a source af bondage. ‘You have the right o perform ations, but you should retain from desiring to reap the fruits of action, Because the individual soul has been experiencing such hardship over the span of millions of bith, it has poor diserimination as Lo what it should request ‘Therefore, when it des beg, it asks in accordance with its own Level, Thus if the individual soul desires to reap the fruit ofits ation, it wil desir something unimportant. If we leave it upto God, then He whois all-knowing and all-powerful wil distibute the fruits from his evel, anc bestow something great. ‘One who acts mindflly, ever devoted to Bhagavén, stains the abode ofthe Supreme. In accordance wih aw, he attains heaven, nearness to God, and Jieration””—pemanent release from the bondage of life and dest. The means to obtain liberation isto perform action while remaining free fom the bondage of Rama 2 See hagavad Gs 3.35, which asus the rade that following one's own dharma, however bumble is pefeleo flowing he daa of anchor, .Thedharms of another rings danger ® Moc lite, fom larma self moka appa” ° Here Brahmanandaj employs duce tems idicating sii tinmen elokye connotes «world (@eaven;sampye means "pointy", or neamess to God ad the moe commen enn mt means “ero on “eee”ive purposefully by preparing for the future. In comparison wit the ffs they expen to know God, wordy people spare no effort to become endowed wih welt, chile, nd fare. Such people ignore the comet means of saning greatest happiness, an instead employ the wrong means, leading to sorrow and pain, IU impossible obtain hapines from wordy things. Tying to obtain happiness with the help f wordy objects ike trying to marry the son of barten worn: how could one even prepare for such a matige when no such person exists? ‘When there sno real happiness inherent in worldly objects such as wealth, spouse, progeny, and s0 forth, thn how can we hope to obtin happiness from then? Tis dc to Jack of discrimination that we seek happinesin the wrong way Living becomes zurpsefal when one prepares forthe future. I, 95 he proverb ‘says—Yadl jholl bharani aur khdili karand itand hi hai*'—you live merely to fill the telly inthe moming and empty it by the evening, then if is ue dar (pet jh saver bharo aur io alka, You desi olive «worldly ie because you have no et had a vision arsana} of God ne should tive intend for that experience. ‘When seeds ae rasted thee isn chance forthe to sprout Iter Similarly, when the human mind isrostd inthe fire of knowledge and devotion, then here is no ence to return and germinate anew inthe cycle of life and death, Therefore, ty to become a devotee and kaower [ndnavanl. Bul dont become that ype of knower who mutters, Sivo ‘hari, Sivo ‘hart, on, ont, and Aharhbrahmasmi, “I am Siva, Lam Brahman,” and yet retains love fo sara in wealth, women, progeny, and soon. Such superficial knowledge produces more harm than benefit.” ‘When people cll themselves Brahman yet stray fom dharma and karma, they Jack sffcient strength remain in that state, Hence, as ngs you are not fee fom the love of wordy objects donot fall nto the trap of “Brahman,” but instead, develop devotion to God. When you practice devotion for a long time, greater desire [rdga] for Bhagavin wil dawn, oasing you fom the eyle of bith and death. 10 in this teaching. lum Hin proverb natin, Just filing and emptying your stomach i al hee i.” “ Bahmananda Saraswat hare satires would-be knower of od, Advaita philosophy, who ahough stl atched to sarisra ht mais etifying themselves wih te Led Siva andthe ret univers inci of Brahma, 10Free yourself from the painful cycle of birth and death. ‘The suffering one must undergo atthe time of death is many times greater than the suffering atthe time of bist. Scriptures say that the suffering at the time of death can be as intense asthe stinging of thousands of scorpions at once. To bear the pain of single scorpion’s sting is very dificult. Jus imagine then if thousands were to sting at ance! Fron this w ea infer the excruciating pain tthe ime of one’s death, ‘Along with the uin of birth and death, thre is no end to the suffering one ean ‘encounter during one’s lifetime. It is impossible to free oneself from this suffering ‘without the realization of Isvara As long as one has attachment [moha] towards worldly life, one must return to saisdra again and again, Attachment dawns because of impure ‘mental states. Hence, first one should replace all impure impulses with pure impulses, and then one should strengthen only one strong desire, the desire to realize God. This ‘impulse must become se strong that no other impulse ean aise before it u Let not the last days of life be spoiled. I is generally seen that whatever one worries about or practices fora long time is that hich is remembered atthe time of death. IF Vedie scholar goes mad, even in madness hoe will repeat the verses ofthe Veda, In the same way, during the throes of death, one will be unable to come to one's senses. At that time, itis highly probable that one will remember that which one practiced during life. Whatever mistakes that were committed in the beginning of life sre already past, but not so the mistakes at life's end, Its said, “alls well that ends wel’; in order to avoid mistakes atthe time of death, make your preparations now. This is prudence. 2 Don’t love this world and its objects excessively. © The Lard God. According Advaita Vedant, var isthe Supreme Being, who preset the sociation ofthe pure Balan wih ny, nd who tha ppeaso be the author of eration, See” 1"‘You will eventually be separated from all objets of this world. These objects, fom ‘Which separation is inevitable, are not fit to be loved. Furthermore, itis unnecessary to love them. Ifyou love ttem, you will weep, not only in this fe, but in many Lives to ‘come. There isa story illustrating this point. ‘Once Maharishi Narada went toa village where a local merchant treated him ssenerously as his guest, Seeing his faith and devotion, the sage accepted a glass of his ‘milk, The merchant inguired, “O Mahar from where have you come?” [Narada replied, “From Heaven.” ‘The merchant inquired, “O Maharaj, where will you be going?” [Narada replied, “After wandering awhile inthe morta world, will go back to heaven.” ‘The merchant prayed camestly, “O Mahardj, if upon returning you could take me toheaven with you, it would be a great blessing.” ‘Narada said, “Very good, we will go together.” ‘After few days of wandering in the mortal world, the sage came hack and asked the merchant, “Sethi, stall we go to heaven?” ‘The merchant replied, “ O Maharaj, of course [have to go sometime, but the ‘children are sill young and innocent. They cannot manage household affairs. After a litte while, when they ae ready to take care of themselves, then T would like to go.” ‘The sage lft anc then retuned after some time had passed. He asked, “Sethi now shall we go? "The merchant replied, “O Mabaj, dhe children nave mow growis up and eat, ‘observe and listen to sore extent, but they have not yet matured to understand complete responsibility. Next year let them be marred, then I will surely go." ‘After four years he sage retumed and inquired about the merchant at the shop “where his children were sitting, “Where is Sethji?” he asked, ‘The children repied, “O Maharaj, what ean we say? Our father used to take eare ‘of the whole business by himself, and since he let his body we have been in deep trouble.” Using his divine [powers of] vision, Sage Narada observed the whole scene and ‘discovered thatthe merchant had taken bist as a buffalo, The sage went to the buffalo ‘and asked, “O Sethji, now that you have left the human body, shall we goto heaven?” ‘The buffalo replied, "© Maharaj, you ate so kind. Lam ready to come with you, but I think thatthe other bufTaloesin the household are all so weak that iI don't pull the lead, all work will ome to a halt, Moreover, some more new buffaloes are supposed to ‘come. Until then, Pll carry on the work, after which, by your grace, I will surely go.” “ Nada andthe mechan afdes each other with respect tems. Nada fered to ase hing," ‘amen hoaoiic fr a leaned peron or sero, and the merchn—seth eased by his lasfoecupatin, but wit the six of affection,” 12The merchant had given him a glass of milk with love, so Sage Narada came back again after afew years to keep his word and return the kindness. However, on returning, he didn’t see the beast o” burden. He asked the children, “Whereis that old bulalo?” The children became quite sad and replied, “O Maharaj! That old buffalo was so very useful, always leading the others, Since it died, we've been unable to find another ‘ulfalo like i." ‘Sage Narada meditated for awhile, and thus learned in a vision that now the ‘merchant had become a dog who was sitting in front and guarding his children’s house. ‘Sage Nirada approached the dog and said, “Hail, Sethi, What's now’? Three lives have passed, now do you think you are ready to go to heaven?” ‘The dog said, “O Maharij, you are very kind, I see your kindness on one side, and ‘on the other hand, I see the laziness and iresponsibility of my children. © Maharaj! They are so responsible that if | am not here, a thief may come—even duting the day-—and steal from them. Therefore, I think that as long a8 Tam around, 1 should guard them, After afew days, 1 will surly go. Alter five or six years, Sage Narada came back again, He didn’t see the dog in front of the door. He asked the children and learmed that the dog had died. After ‘meditating for awhile, Sige Narada saw that this time the merchant had become a snake, and was siting inthe basement guarding the family wealth stored there. Sage Narada approached the snake and asked, “Say, Sethi! Why are you sting here? Has the time come to go to heaven or what?” ‘The snake said, “O Mahaiaj, these childcen lave become such spends hat if were not here, they woald waste it all. Therefore I thnk that the wealth which I have ceamed with such grea effort should be protected; so long as Iam living, it would be best to stay here protectin it Therefore, i is necessary for me to stay here, otherwise I would be ready to go." ‘Sage Narada left disappointed. Coming out ofthe house, he told the children, “There is a dangerous blck snake near your teasure—it could harm anyone who eamme near it, Therefore, you should beat it. Hitt such thatthe stick doesn’t crush its head, Just hit it on its body. Hit its that it does not dic, but atleast leaves your treasury.” Listening to the orders of the sage, the children did ashe suggested. They beat the snake all over its body with sticks, and threw it far away. Sage Narada aprroachedthe snake and ssid, “Speak please, Seyi. Your children have beaten you up! Are you happy with that or not? Are you thinking of going back to that house and protecting the wealth, or now will you go to heaven” ‘The snake said, “OK, Maharaj, I'm ready to go. ‘The moral of this story is that one who starts loving home, children, wealth, ‘women, and so on, maintaining bondage through such affection, will have to suffer rillions of births. Therefore itis said, “Don't love the things of this world excessively.” If you Tove them too much, then you will be forced to weep for many bitths. 13B ‘View your friends and enemies with equanimity. No one is really a friend, and no one is really an enemy. If someone were really the friend of another, then he woul always remain a friend. But instead we soe that today's friend ‘can become tomorrowsenemy. This proves that no one is either fiend or enemy by Inherent nature, Friends ae the manifestation of our good Karma when the frit of our ‘bad karma appears through the agency of a person it manifests 3s an enemy. Thus, happiness and sorrow both are the result of our karma. No one can give happiness or sorrow to anyone. Enemies and friends are merely the means through which the results of ‘our good and bad karma manifest. ‘When the result of good action arses, then all people appear as friends and they sive us happiness. When the result of bad action arses, all people appear as enemies and give us sorrow. Happiness and sorrow are both our own propety; you create either one according to your own desires. If T were to kill someone, I would receive the punishment of death by hanging, ‘The order to hang would be given by the judge and carried out by the hangman, but they ‘would not be punished for killing me, because the punishment we receive is the result of ‘our own aetions. Therefore the judge and hangman are not responsible for my death, and {cannot rightly regard them as my enemies. Just as karma is impersonal, so also isthe consequence of action, which sulomatically tums to te doer. There it affects the conscious mind {cetana], where it ‘brings happiness or sorrow. Remember that whoever brings us happiness is jus the conduit of our good karma, just as those who bring suffering are the bearers of our bad karma. “Happiness and scrrow are always our own property. Nevertheless, one who ‘becomes the means to deliver the consequences of our actions may mistakenly be seen as the cause for our happiness and sorrow. After fully comprehending this fact, we should free ourselves from attachment and aversion. When our own property is merely being ‘etumed fous, why should we blame another? If someone becomes the conduit af good ‘arma, then let them appear. We should nether love nor hate anyone. Why love or hate a ‘messenger? The package of happiness or sorrow is ours; so why should we eare about who delivers it? Refraining from atachment or hatred toward anyone, we should peacefully ‘experience the consequexces of our previous actions. Whether they come in the form of ‘happiness or inthe form of sorrow, both are our own property. Whether the consequences for us are good or bad, we should welcome them cheerfully when they aise 44 Confess your misdeeds, but keep your good deeds to yourself, ‘When we lc, the fits of our rituals [yh] are destroyed, and the benefits of austerity Ueapas) ate desttoyed by arrogance. L we insult pious Brain, we shorten the length of our own life. When we dnate something and publicly congratulate ourselves fr iin all four directions, then the benefit of giving goes to waste, When you wish to destroy Something, talk about it. When you wish to preserve something, cover it up. Ifyou do something wrong but confess it to another, its effects will be diluted, Similarly, if you do somthing good and then talk about it the effect wil be dispersed among the people who bear of it, and is effect will be diluted. 5 See God everywhere and behave accordingly. In reality, he who worships God with complete devotion is incapable of non-gresriied) 5 Oneness [ange “nowathemess"; ett] wih God lis in sexing ning GT «ser than God everywhere and in everyone, When you msnife this kindof loyalty in in that wal” % -Comenuent i sopeeme pps.” * uber presides over weal ants accumulation andi the word guardian of the nth 18[Never dwell on the faults of others. When we find fault with others, we pollute ‘our own inner instrumert® inthe process—this is not beneficial to us at all. When we ‘ourselves are repulsed by sin, why make our own mind” evil by dwelling on the evil actions committed by another? ‘When we dwel onthe faults of another, that person receives no benefit, On the ‘other hand, those faults enter into our mind and contaminate it, Please protect yourself from this. Ifyou don't, then one day a storm will eome and blow you away. Practice observing yourself every day, from moming to evening. Every evening, consider how ‘many good and bad impalses came, and how many lef. Ifyou continue observing yor ‘own faults—slovily, slowly, they will begin to leave you, Think frst about your ova faults; to thnk about the faults of others will be very dangerous for you. Therefore, first protect yourself; then later, worry about others. a ‘This world is not worthy of your love. ‘This world is like a dharmasala. To involve your mind here is a waste. Do your work in «simple way and keep your eyes on the journey ahead, I is great foolishness to entrap yourself in affairs of this world, Whatever comes your way, deal with it appropriately. In {his shor life itis not wise to make a fuss of things. As long as you breathe, spend your UUme singing the praises of Bhagavan, Conduct your daily affairs courteously. Don't get ‘caught up in too much thinking about things. If you allow your mind to get trapped in daily affairs, then you will have to be reborn again and again, wandering amidst the 8,400,000 lifesorms." Therefore, act with great diseretion; conduct your mundane ‘business with the help o” your body and your wealth, while keeping your mind in association with Paramaima. With these priorities, you ean become happy and peaceful. n Honor only those who are worthy to be honored. 2 See discussion in Teaching 16 onthe eta arana * mans) © a dharma, “dharma use," areal house or reting pace, often aesociatd with temples for piss. * Sec neteto Teaching 7. 19‘Mingling with those wh» lack characteris lke listening to the Gita Govinda or Sursdigar" from a huckster.“If you wish to drink water from the Gaga, take it from ‘where the stream is clea; you need not drink Gaga water from a gutter, If teacher is of ‘good character, then list to him. Ifthe words of one who lacks integrity ae followed, it ‘only serves to futher undermine his character. To bea devotee of Bhagavan, one must be of good character. If someone reveals himself to be of poor character, you must understand that he isnot a devotee, but is only putting on a show to cheat people. Protect yourself against people such as these, and try to protect other decent people as well. ‘Only he whois endowed with characteris fit to be respected. Sweets made with rancid ingredients will te misshapen and will even look bad, but ladoo made with pure _ghee will have a pleasing shape as wel. If samebody doclates that he is teaching devotion to Bhagavan, tven he should have an impeccable character. Only then will people know that such devotion ean destroy past sins and overcome present problems. ‘As amatte of principle, one should reject those deserving rejection and honor ‘hose deserving honor. unworthy people are honored, then their number will increase and their stench will spcil society. 2B Nobody is here to stay. Always keep your bags racked, We never know when the call will come. The eal of deat is ike a warrant fr arrest: there is no hope of further appeal. Then and there, one ‘must drop everything and leave. Wherover, however... ne must go. Fortunately, the Joumey need not be diffcult if you are prepared from the beginning. He who is always ready to go cannot commit sins. Sins are possible only when ‘one forgets the life hereafter. One who remembers always that he has to leave one day will never adopt lying axd bad conduct ‘this Sanat pom conentaing on the ge love of Krishna and Rad was composed bya Bengal named Jayadeva in the twelfth century. The Gita Govinda renin cme ofthe rot famous meal works of Indian Literatur, ants sags ate a npn pr ofthe devetonal mic and iterate al over Indi © te Sw Sagas ne ofthe most popula chan nd preformed sstions of sxeeth-cnty Hind telling of te Rameyana by th rat Vaishnava sit Tulsi, A member ofthe mera cls aemativey, “merchant” or via © & tao ia ound slighty fatened an ceaeople work tirelessly, day and night, for wealth and other ‘worldly pleasures, but expend almost no effort to know God. For Him by knowing whom they can gain everything, they don't have time and energy. How great is their lack of. discrimination! What can be more astonishing than the fat that one doesn’t focus on the very source of happiness and peace, the omnipotent Bhagavin, but struggles day and night to gain worthless worldly things. Iis said, Bkaki sddhe sab sadhe, sab sddhe sab ya, [Hindi] By knowing the one Bhagavan, you can easily gain everything, If you ignore Bhagavan and try to gain anything, you will achieve nothing, and {even if you aequire something, you will not be satisfied with it. I you chase afte~a shadow it wil elude you, but if you capture the object which throws the shadow, you will capture the shadow as well. That is why pursuing the shadowy wonders and luxuries of samsdra is such great foolishness. Ifyou apprehend the ° in Ka Upunigad 4.1, Deu teaches the young Naka, "The eles kre the sens openings ‘outward for this reason, nooks cutward no within oneself A cexinwite oe, while sockin ‘mena, intrspetively beheld the Se Aman) facet fae." 24veal nat ma, the things ofthe world will automatically come under your ‘command. Remember always that in worshiping God there is only benefit. Whatever ‘you invest will be returned to you with interest. a5 Don’t be ungrateful to the Lord. ‘The One who has created you i omnipotent, and his name is Visvamibaa: He has taken ‘upon himself the care ard sustenance ofthe universe. Have faith in Him—He wil protect {hat which He as created Bu if you forget Him, you committe fault of ingratitude, and then itis no wonder if He neglects you Ka cintd mama jvane yadiharirvisvambharo giyae| Nacedarbhaka-vanaya janant-stanyars tatha nisharet?|° I Bhagavan's name is Vivambhara (the doer of maintenance and sustenance), {hen tis te for me to worry in his life about filling my stomach. If semeone should ‘doubt Paramaima's ably to provide sustenance, then we must ask} how ist that a ‘mother has milk inher teats [even while the chilis il inthe womb? There cannot be amore shining example than this of Paramtma’s capacity to eae for us all, hat even tere the enjoyer apps, the provision fr his enjoyment i already complete. So have faith in Vigvambhara, The One wo tok cae of ou inside the womb wil continue to take care of you even new. Don't forget Him, 6 Live your life peacefully and without much fuss. [Even great emperors such as Dashatatha [father of Lord Réma] could not full all their desires. Hence itis a complete blunder to try to fulfil all the desires which arse in your ‘mind. ‘Don’t forget that one day it wil be necessary to leave ths place. Whatever your program,” you must leave it behind, You will be traveling alone and taking nothing with You. Therefore, you shoild not trouble yourself much forthe things which, one day, you eg ee phenomena uough woshipof thelial. oy ® Gude’ translation that allows a fly bral rendeing, The English “program” is the orignalhave to leave. As long as you live, live peacefully. When it is certain that all things ‘cannot be completed, then tis foolsh to make a great fuss sbout them, Continue peacefully with your enjoined duties while remembering Paramatma, Hee who has created you is Visvambliara, He protects and sustains all things. But if you do not have feithin Him, and instead place your faith in cleverness, deceit, and dishonesty, then your whole life willbe turbulent, and the path ahead will aso be darkened, Actin such away that you experience peace in his life, and your future path willbe bright too. an A life without power” is wasted. ‘Become powerful and live out your life. You have obtained « human body, so—pursting the aims of man”—became strong. Remember that you are the descendant of those ‘maharishi-s who could do anything in samsdra. Yet even though you are the descendant of those who could ereate another world at their will,” you are now surrounded on all {our sides by misery and chaos. If you have forgotten the treasure which is hidden in your ‘own house, then you ear only go begging from door to door. ‘What a shame it would be were a tiger to join a herd of sheep, start bleating, “baa, baa" and then begin thinking he was actually happy. Inthe same way, what great fall if citizen of Bharata forgets his own ancient spiritual and divine heritage, and starts thinking that happiness and contentment come from obtaining worldly objects of sensory pleasure. ‘To become powerful, recall the examples of your forefathers. Enter the shelter of the omnipotent controller of creation.” Develop your spiritual powers, Master the creative principle of Creston’s Controller." Only then ean you become powerful in reality, and thus become steady source of strength. Remain convinced that even today you can be a knower of past, present, and future, and you can make all he elements and ae tem Gurr ses Nee St, whic conaces “power” (umsly with religous overtones), 8 the spiritual power one develops tough hth and series, Ae personal noun refers to. gees or the Great Godess conceptualize! a “Power. te tem is purwartha, generally undestod tobe furfoi: pleaae (kine), wok gin (rts), arma ight ton), and meta (bein). the sage Vigvamita's creation ofan alerative heaven in which to eaablish the king Tia is ne ample fom Hindu mytoley of th aesone power of human ser 2 the enomotopedic sound in Hindi le, enpowers of the universe favorable to you. Your birth took place in Bharata, Unlimited powers reside within you. Strive to manifest them and become powerful, with head held high. 8 Don’t get invalved in the controversy over form and formlessness. ‘The One who is without form isthe One who takes every frm. Jus as waves appear to emerge from te surface of the ocean, the nrg {without qualities or attibues, nirakara (without for, all-pervading Paramatma assumes qualities [saguna] and form [sahara ‘The very appearance of Bhagavin in form isthe dreet poof ofthe existence of {he fomless Fire is immanent everywhere in wood, butte flame wil manifest aly ‘when the wood is rubbed to the kindling point in specific placs”. Likewise, the presence of the formless all powerful Loed can oaly be established when he takes up a form. The foraless, ttrbutless One alone becomes manifest and akes on atibutes, and Ho in turn makes the unmanifet available tous. Ii an established truth tha the rnirgupalnirakira andthe saguyasdkdraavecne, and that through qualities and form, the ‘qualty-ess and formes: is made visible. Hence, don't get involved in controversies over the manifest and the unnanifest. Faith alone i the key to your well being. You have ‘nothing .o gain from incting debates abou the niratara and satara ‘Wherever you pace your sal of approva"—on nid ot sdkira—to the sirakara and sara ic will make no diference. For your own welfare, have f something. Stengthen your faith in Ama ox Paramtma, learn the necessary spiritual his gory is an ancient prot of aman’ existence, and Advan sch Shankara have used for ‘eases lim the equal faites hide bythe vel of ignorance See, Biadiranyaka Upuniged 1.7 and Shankar's commentary on the Brahmas, 3.2.85 2 The English sean te igi. % area” or "te" gr, isan aueatic teacher. 24Don't sol he seat where you expect to sit. Whatever post you have accepted, don't degrade it Tis best to never consider any position as your own, but if you have assumed ‘ownership of something, then ake care of i appropriately, Whatever wotk you have {aken in hand, put you fl energy into it and bing itt a sucessful conclusion, ‘Acoxpt only wor for which you ae fi, Ifyou accept a lfy position for which you are not actually quid, it wil only lead to future difficulties and unhappiness. But ‘always pay allention to this matter: whatever post you have accepted, never bring Aisrace ti. Maintain excellent relations with your mother and fer, so that your postion as son snot disgraced, Maintain loving excellent relations with brothers and sisters, so that your position as a brother isnot disgraced. Maintain excellent relations ‘With your wie, exercising proper limits, so that your postion asa husband isnot disgraced. Be humbly devoted to your guru, that your positon a8 dieipe remains hove reproach Ifyou are workings a civil servant, conduct your work according tothe La ‘Don't ake advantage of your postion and thereby ruin your good name, The gists that ‘whatever scat you occupy, don't soi it In accordance to your bith, whether (you area] Bratmin, Ksatrxe, Vaiya, Sura, uphold your fanily dharma, Whatever aérama you hhold—Bralmacharya,Crhasth, Vanaprastha ot Sannyasa!®—protet the laws of each ‘while perfomning your dates with dignity. Don't ever ac in such a way that your place and position will be disgraced, 30 Love the Lord above all Don't invest your love ia samsdra, Even after you detach your mind from the affairs of the world, you will find hat they continue as before. Every kind of activity will persist As long as you have a body, your mundane affairs are perpetuated by the unseen consequences of your previous actions [prdrabdha]. Therefore you should not worry a bit that your detachment will result in your abandoning all ation Likewise, you wil always have preferences in the field of worldly objects and relationships. Reserve your greatest love for God and your oxdinary love for the activities ofthe world. Day to day dealings will be taken care of by prarabdha {commenced karma, just under the shadow of love, When work can be carried out with the help of simple shadow, it's a misuse to employ that which cass the shadow. Ifyou pursue worldly objects for theirown sake, then you'll find yourself ata loss. 1's a dangerous thing to become personally identified with wealth, son, and wife, Iflove forthe world © See met Dscouse 2, aovegroves strong within you, then you will become bound up in samsdra, and your further journey will be only dark Therefore give your foremost love to Paramatma, and keep the shadow of love for mundane affairs, so that your work here will not be disrupted and ‘your future wil be bright. 31 o be born a human is more Fortunate than to be born a deva, “Taking bith as a deva is considered comparable to taking bith as any oer ie form, Birth asa god is attainec by those who perform certain sacrifices" and karma, ec. associated with divinity, with the intention to enjoy divine pleasures. The minds of the devatas wander incessatly because ofthe abundance of enjoyable things inthe heavenly realms and hence they cannot perform purusdrtha.* For this reason, the human birth is considered superior, because here, hy doing as much purusdrtha as possible, one ean eventually become one with Go. ‘A human beng slike a lump of pure gold, whereas gods are like pieces of fine jewelry." Having been perfected as jewelry, their progression is complete, and they cannot be further improved, On the other hand, gold which has not yet been eafted by the jeweler is completely unrestricted in its potential. Hence the birh of @ human being i suid toe the very best bith fr action, Having attained this bia, one should not act carelessly, but should censcientiously perfoan the best purusdrtha, Fulfilling one’s own, dharma while keeping faith in Paramatma isthe greatest purusdrtha Strive to become ‘one" with God in this lifetime. Have firm faith in the Veda-s and Sastra-s and keep the company of those wise people who also have faith in them. Only then will he purpose of| ‘your lif be fulilled ae a. "The four righteous aims ofhuman Iie: arth Km, dharma, and mote, RST sagt parabahman. " Here Guudev engages ancient imagery seconded inthe Vedi sxigtes and suffice popular hat ‘woul ave been well Anows to his audience. Byladavayyaka Upansad 444 for example teaches, “AS a lami taking amp of od odes to anther newer and more exquite for, st thi tan sues down this boy and dspelling its ignorance, makes for itself ane new and more beat frm. such as that ofthe departed fuer, gandharvas [sees]. devas, oof Papal or of Brahm, rf ther ‘bings." This Upnigadi asage continoes by explaining, s Gury docs, that howsoever one acts, 302 Contemplate Him who can release you from your worries. ‘One can ata peace and happiness only when one is fee from all worties, If you want to ‘destroy all worries, then you must understand the intrinsic nature” of samsdra, By ‘understanding the true rature ofthis world, you can destroy the subtle impressions ofall sos uature of his world is such chat once you understand Its essence, it ean never again generate attachment in your heart ‘Worries crop up because of our love for Various objects, Because of worry, one ‘becomes restless inspite of having all possible wealth, name, and influence, “Cita cinta dvayomadhye cind caiva garivasi, cit dahati nj ein dahatisajrvakam|\" ‘Worry is considered more powerful and terible than a funeral pyre, hecause the funeral pyre bums the dead, but worry burns the living. Hence, try to become worry-free. Only Paramatma, whois supremely free and independent, is capable of freeing you from all worries. Thus you should worry more about attaining Him, and then all other worries of samsdra willbe dissalved, Continue to engage in worldly activities, but remain aware that all these things ‘exist for the sake of action alone, and they are not worthy to be loved. If your mind gets entangled with some object and then starts worrying about it, your whole life could be spoiled, Therefore, keep your mind on Paramatma and continue to live lie of dharma inthis worl, 33 Right and wrong are judged by Him who knows everythi Paramatma isthe dweller within. He resides in the hearts of every person at every ‘moment, watching each and every action. No one ean perform any action without his knowledge. To think while performing an action that nobody knows about i isto imagine Paramatma to be blind. You may fool yourself inthis way, but you won't fool Him, If you have done something wrong and have escaped detection by your peers, don't thnk for a momest that nobody knows, He who mus judge right and wrong is © sara * sasond jar’ translation is los eral “Between the two—the Funeral peor wonry—the wor, verily is woery. The pyre bums the dead; worry bum the ving” 2watching all your actions. You cannot escape the stention of Him who dispenses the fruits of your actions, ad who can do nothing forthe person who has ruined himself ‘What enormons lack of iserimination itso try to avoid the censure of the public. IF there’s anyone to fear, then fear the omniscient and omnipotent. Do not perform any ction which wll go against His king His law and tking is extolled inthe Vedadsira Do not perform any such ation or which permission isnot given there ‘Yu an never psform a sin if you keepin mind that Params is present cverywher Understancing Paramdtia tobe all-pivasive, bec pein of character, Infuse purity into all your actions, purify your emotions,” and conduct your daily affairs Jn accordance with your own dharma and fay standing.” Only then will you anti 2” be purified. As the purity of your inner instrument grows, your resolution is strengthened, your actions will come vituous, and your faith in Paratma wll, increase. Allanner of uspciousness will come frm increased fithin Param, Let this be the guiding prindple in all your etions, by which ll good things wil be gained, tosh inthis word and ie the next 4 Observe the four appropriate states of mind, Inthe life of human being, the gross body is not as important as the subtle body. The ‘ross body is only a frarie—its controller isthe subtle body: the mind [manas] and intellect [buddhi. In accordance with the mind’s thinking the sense organs and the body act. Hence it is essentalto culture the mind, “Maharishi Patanali teaches in the Yoga Sasa that the mind can be purified by keeping it always in one of four states [vt] They re: friendliness, compassion, happiness, and indifference”, Be friendly toward your peers; compassionate toward the weak, disadvantaged, oF suffering; and happy forthose who are wiser or better off than you in some way. “Maintain indifference toward those who oppose or hate you. Ifyou fail to remain inditezeet toward them, it will generate hatced in your own mind. In this fashion, maintain only these four mental dispositions. Then feelings of ‘envy, halted, jealousy, and so on will never arise in your mind, Purity of mind will » onda » swadharména ntl kara, ane intranet of mind inlet, memory and ego; spe Gurudey praphrases in Hid the Sanskimaxim of Yogastra 123: The mind becomes pried ‘trough the pct offrenins, compassion, cheefulnss, and equanimity towants happiness, somo, ‘ius, and vce. 28naturally inetease, assuting effortless achievement in your daily affairs. Ultimately this leads to freeing the mind from sense pleasures and makes the mind inner-directed so that ‘you can engage yourself in contemplation ofthe Lord, 35 Don’t pursue supernormal powers, Nowadays itis common for people to be tracted to supernonmal power. Very few people actually atin sypemormal abilities, bat many get cheated in pursuit of them. Our day is to war others, ike a watchman inthe nig, tht they will beware of such charlatans Desi the watchman's warning, some may choose tobe careless. Is, they will have only ther ow carelessness to lame fo their misfortane For thos of us who sive spiritual guidance, doing the watchman's ty sour work. It iso job to keep ‘wake and to awaken eters. Siddhis come in five ways: Jenmangadhimantratapah sami siddhaydh-Yogadarsara 4. 1 Some individuals ae bor with miraculous powers. They may have done sme supasana nei revo lives, but no enought have merged with Bhagavn This was the case with Fadabharata, who was a siddha from birth; he did not need to hear, learn, or memorie inorder to wetted 2) Many Kin 0 siddhs come abou though the ss of medicinal herbs. When T sed olive in the forests, on many occasions Kol and Bhs came an told me aout the ‘qualities of certain herbs.”* One time Bhil brought me a root, the use of which—even at 8 distance —would scare tigers away. By using cetsn medicines, man can live for hhundteds of years. Thus many kinds of sida ean come from medicines. There is also an het that proces the power flyin the sky when tis kept inthe mouth, 3) Sidhis can cee from using mantras. When the favor ofthe manta’s diy is rine it will confer wenders according t is nature This isthe essence of obtaining sidahis through mantras. Ordinary people may obtain some sda frm yak, or farsa picts aso o0 06 Bhutaprean, oiling demigod, and thxy wl tl poople about the past and present. Or they wil do some magic and pretend thal they are sida ‘yogis. This is how they cheat common people. © Viz, "Sddhis aise by bith, (special medicinal] pans, mat, ststertes, a ation,” * Kols and Bhls are groups of ital people who dvel inthe wild egons ofthe Vidya nd Hinata ‘mountain ranges. ° Here Gun Dev refesto varios types of sary beings in diferent reas, Yakdin- ae fret nym, Aarpapide- ae demons, a bite pret are ghosts demi sits 294)Sidahis can cane from austesity {tapas}. Practicing brakmacharya, fasting, and puting up with various difficulties to attain God ar forms of sativic tapas.” This Jeadsto peace and happiness. Tapas done withthe intent oatract, kl, deceive, ot immobilize someone is either rajasic or tamasic tapas. This wll not lead to peace or satisfaction, but wll ead rater to the increase of unhappiness anxiety, desire, and anger Dee tothe increase of these inner enemies, ultimately the aspirant wil be destroyed, 5) Siddhis an come from samadhi. However, these siddhis are impediments the aspirants efforts to gain liberation while tving (tvanmukf™, Wath these sidais ‘can come long-lasting eects, and if one doesnot use them wp, then they will become petmanent." kis not good to assume that just because somebody can show seme magic that isa yogi. The miraculous powers of yogis ar very subtle, and thei aim isnot to alain fame, money or other vantages. They ae used only out of compassion and forthe welfare ofthe world. We should understand these truths about siddis, and thereby protect people fom deltsion. Do the bhajan of God. I you hecome eligible for sds they wil seek you ont, One becomes “eligible” by conquering wordy attachments. As long as attachments forthe worl remain—whether for son, wealth, women, o name and fane—one will be weak, Ther is proverb tht even God [Khuda] fears a beggar. If you ut of attachment to the world and inrease attachment to meeting the one Paamaen, then clusters of sis themselves will follow behind you; you will ot need to search for them. ‘You should chocse sucha path that will nt destroy your dignity. When there is a possibilty thet you can develop a direst relationship with the omnipotent Paramaima, then it would be your misfortune if you should instead go around chasing alter some (Se stores of energy. The geneaizd form ndeates ustertes which confer spiral xine. Theft stage ofthe religous pa, abmachary, the prod of ttt involves chat. Theta {3 sometimes understood popularly a5 sexta abstinence, etc guns (sae, ea, tomas) ae the thee fundamental tendencies of manifestation that ive ‘othe qualities of the univers. Same geneates phenome, rjas mints or proms tem, nd ta ‘ear or spoils them, Sar ma ie associated wih purty and arony, raj gna wih ctv and passin, ad camo guna with des, inet, input, nd ignorance. "The fll ange of uate associated with ach guna is much broader. Although mos closely associated withthe Say stool of indi losophy. hey are found roughou Upside tought and ar pat f the every philosophy of Idi in the wasceedentPaanatina, In the understanding of Hid asceticism, he fess of opas—hee, sddhis—can be died trough ‘sage. Thus, merous sori lof jealous and word gods who delitestey tick apts who have sed such eserves of eng th he ia the gos in power 30peity siddhis. Understand clearly that if you pursue siddhis, they wil elude you. If you Understand siddhisas an obstacle inthe path of your spiritual progress and thus free ‘yourself ofthe desire toobtain them, then suddenly you will find yourself surrounded by siddhis, The best way to keep siddis under your control isto continuously be inclined {toward Bhagavan and never have a desire to use them. This isthe path of self-reliance." Ifyou begin to chase afer the siddhis, you choose reliance on another. Then you cannot ‘be the master of siddhis, only their slave." Therefore try not to be a slave of siddhis, but rather try to hecome ther master. If you become the slave of Bhagavén, then you become the master of sidahs. By becoming the servant of Bhagavdn, then all will do your service. This in realty is self-control" and the path to self-reliance." 36 Jiva and Brahma are One. tetweon paddy andhusedrce—as longa tb sk tl tere called pay and hea the husk is removed, iis called husked rice. In this manner, so long asthe jiva bondage with karma, its separate from Paramatma, When the bondage to karma is broken, then iva and Paramstma are one, Although paddy s rice, no one can cook and eat it without removing the husk. Likewise, no one attains Brafman without breaking the bondage of karma, even if they ‘are reading Vednta bocks and proclaiming, “T am pure, I am putif ro take bisth again isthe sprouting of Larma, The purpose ofthe Veda and Sara i to show the path ‘of escape from karma’ s noose. If we surrender our cureat actions" to Paramétma, then ‘we canbe freed from the cyele of rebirth. Even if not all of the husk is removed, if only & stom off that will make the kernel incapable of sprouting. Likewise, nirmali (a purifer) has the power tc render water useful, but if you do not grind it and mix it into the ‘water, it will have no effect. In the same way, however good Sandtana Vedic Dharma ‘may be, if you do not pit i into practice then you will not be able to remove sorrow and poverty. ° syaahinar: et depend, independence 1 We have transited dao slave, sevala a Serva, 1 ayévlombi ° Suns: ho ‘ho, ‘ha "*iyamae 3131 Renounce desire and worship Iivara. Bese pram et wey an, th in hl a brn for instance, was shocked when he leared about the infidelity of his wife. ‘The examples of Tuls¥ nd Pingala so confirm that only when the hope for happiness in this world is broken, do people turn toward the Supreme." Yet there are countless fools ‘who cling to demonic hopes''® despite repeatedly experiencing the uselessness of samsira, CCeasles, care thinking is imperative. Ifyou think tha tobe without women, ‘wealth family, servants and so on is sorrowful, then just examine the lives of those who have had al these things. I they have found happiness fom them, then go sight ahead and try to obtain them, to. Those who have all these things actually have more distress “Therefore, abandon thirting after them. You will find happiness by abandoning this and worshipping Isvara. Do not humble yourself before anyone out of the hope for happiness in this world—bappines cannot be gsined from external things. The Weasury of happines les within. Oalysortow les without “Those who think tha objects ofthis word can confer happiness eventually uncover a fraud, One cannot get water fom a mirage, We see wale fom a distance, and keep running, uning, slake our tint. This show its for people who sek happiness from worldly objects such as wealth, women, children, and soon, As oon as they ‘become engrossed in accumulating them, they become engrossed in worries. 'f.you want to experience happiness and peace, don’t seek them in the word outside, serch within yourself. The al pervading Paramndtma isthe essence of happiness and his permanent abodé is in your heart.'"' Therefore, seek Him inside yourself, and you will find Him quickly 38 ‘Don’t complicate your life with constant planning. Jags who terorie hunan beings, We rene pis pba a 5.17 Svedbvtare Upargad 320,417, an Mati Upanivad 77. 32‘This world is but a way sation. You remain here forfour days" and then move on. ‘When you ae on the oa, you never get wrapped up in plans fo renovating the hotel oom you are staying in—you do the things you have to do and then you are on your way. If her is something lacking inthe accomodations, you don't wony much sbout it—you think, “We'll only be ere a few days, so e's just adjust abit, and then we willbe leaving.” If someone begins to aange« hotel room to suit his tastes, he will end up spending all of his time on that, rather than achieving the very thing for which he let his city or village ‘You should think ofthis world as a way station, Life is but afew days, so you will not be staying here permanently. Therefore, don't ake geet interes in the management ‘ofthis world. Take intent only tothe degree necessary to sustain yourself. Keep in mind that you elaborate plans fr this world are unlikely to be filled. Ensnaredby the thread of hope, you make schemes! infulity, thinking about them restlessly day and night, ‘wasting time in the process—and have nothing to show forall that in the end. However much managing you do inthis word, something wll ways be lft lacking inthe outcome, Therefore itis useless to initate vain plans which can never be truly fulfilled. The scrpues suggest that you apply yours in moderation to meeting the requirements of day-to-day affairs, while applying yourself wholeheartedly to God- realization, with fll ith that only God ean give permancat happiness and peace: Yadasmadiyan va i tsparesdo| “Whats curs eeanot belong to other.” Whatever Lies in my destiny will surely ‘ome tomo, nobody cas top i ‘Maintaining this altitude, do what must be done to meet your worldly needs, hile keeping God foremost in your mind and heat. Tiss the plan for happiness and fora right spiritual fue 9 ‘What is the purpose of an incarnation of God? Inthe (Bhagavad) Gita [4.7], Bhagavin himself revealed the purpose of his incamation: “When dharma has begun to be destroyed, to reestablish it, o protect the good people * ahnanunda Sarsvardibertely emphasizes the brevity of he hum ie pan. This could also reflee the Indian onze of ime reckoning in eosmie ays,rter than or heiocerc cone of "day "tcould bea refereneto the fou ashamas, as wel ©The English sceme” sah signaland to destroy the wicked, as well as to reestablish dliarma, I descend at such times from age to age.” (One can ask: If Bhagavan is truly omnipotent, then He can destroy all of creation this very whim, so why can’t He protest dharma and destroy the wicked without ‘bothering to incamate hmseIf? The answer is that by assuming an incamation, Bhagavan displays his awesome power far and wide, and the multitudes of his devotees gain, liberation as they sing his praises. JAdna Yoga! is very dificult—one in a million is ‘qualified to practice it. Bhakti Yogal!®,on the other hand, is simple, and all humans are ‘qualified to practice it.I! God were not to incarnate, then how would there be any publicity for Bhatti Yoga? ‘When God assumes form itis not forthe purpose of experiencing happiness or ‘unhappiness; He takes on a body through the power of his mysterious ia, Just as an actor plays different roles without becoming affected by ther different qualities, 0 ‘Bhagavan performs only asa role in a play. 40 Let God take care of your lite ‘Many people wonder hew daily life ean go on without their constant attention, The answer to this question can be seen in the miserly man, who goes through life spending as litle of his wealth and boaeding as much of it as possible, thinking of his wealth as most {important and worrying about ital the time. Inthe same manner, keeping your mind oa God, you can earry on your dily affairs. There is no doubt that they will continue to unfold. ‘The answer fo this question becomes clear when we distinguish between our top priority and our secondary priorities. Furthermore, we will only be blessed by God when ‘we make Him our fit priority. Paramatma is omnipotent, Justa litle of his blessing ean ‘make an individual life completely auspicious. ‘The omnipotent Bhagavin made this promise: ‘Ananyachintayanto math ye jandh paryupdsate| {esd niyabhiyukadndm yogakgemam vahdbhyaham| (Gu 9.22) "This means: I will bestow yoga [help to obtain things which are difficult to acquire] and prosperity [ksem: protectin of obtained things] to those who worship me with the attitude of single mindedness. "Jnana Yoga the yop of disiminaton. 8 phala Yona ithe ops of devatio, / eae -) te uwile a he‘The human being spends his whole life for these two purposes: acquiring things and taking care of them, When almighty God takes the responsibility ofboth ofthese ‘purposes, then we become free to spend our lives worshiping Him. Instead, we keep our ‘minds continuslly engaged in acquiring and maintaining things, and we forget God. What greater foolishness is thee? ‘When God has promised that He will ake care ofthese wo things there is no reason to wonder how your daily affairs will Work themselves out, as long as you establish worshiping God a the frst priority for your mind, When your mind is engaged with God, your dsily business will continue to be cartied on, Moreover, it willbe carried ‘on quite nicely. This is the established teaching ofthe Upanigads and of the Bhagavad Gata, and its the experience of countless devotees of God. ‘There isa recent story about an incident which took place maybe forty or fifty years ago in the life of aconstable named Chunkai Das, This man’s daily routine ‘consisted in rising early 1n the moming, bathing, and reading the Rémdyana for awhile before going to work. One day while reading the Ramayana, he became so absorbed, he Tost track ofthe time. The time for his duty came and went, and only after several hours hhad passed did he remember that he was expected at his post. “He got up from tis place of worship full of anxiety because of his lateness for duty. When he arrived at his post he apologized profusely forthe problems that he imagined he had caused because of his error. ‘Then the soldier on duty sid to Chunkai Das, “What's wrong with you? You have already handed over your charge of duty to me, and now you come back and are talking like this; what has happened to your brain, are you allright?" Chunksi Das replied, "No friend, was distracted in my worship today, Ia fact Tam just now arriving, ‘Again and again he sepoy told Chunkai Das, “You just now attended your duty, and after completing it, you handed it over tome, Before Ieame, you were doing your duty as usual, When your time was over, you gave over the day to me, and just now you hhave returned.” After repeated confirmations, Chunkai Das realized that while he was absorbed at home in the worship of Bhagavin, Bhagavan himself had come and ‘completed his duty for im, ‘Then and there Chunkai Das left his job, saying, “If my Lord can take such pains for my sake, I can leave his job for his sake.” After leaving the job, he went 10 Chitrakoot [a famous place near Allahabad, associated with Lord Rima] where he ‘undertook spiritual disciplines. Many devotees have hd this type of direct experience, when Bhagavin has {ulfiled all their mundare affairs himself, The Vedas and Sstras emphasize that this is Bhagavan’s pledge: "WEoever thinks about me with exclusive devotion, I will cetainly 35tata tl a eee care nee ae an et ane yaar Suey aieen enema See eae Gn eae mere a By gaining liberation you gain worldly success as well. ‘Do not think that moksais the only benefit conferred by the contemplation of God. Spiritual practices will not only give you liberation, but wealth and honor aso. 3 etn sd! nbs te step of istenig The scl Sep ising pc Staph id ep emer ey 0 Contra thr ff Lard easly ond Bt alt ein sto pots cena Bags ot ining] “Lett the Lo ve ori Sorte eto ge [No woman wants the love of her husband to flow toward another. Therefore, to beak a devotees concentration on Bhagavan, Laks appears tothe devotes as wealth, fame, respect, and prominence, by which she may ensnare him in tis worldly trap and distract hm from his wership. Ths, Laksml approaches devotees of Bhagavan in the form of obstacles. ‘The wealth for which you worry and scheme, day and night, and on account of hich you sk about obtain cash, fame and prominence, will ome to you without effort if you but tum towards Bhagavan. If you want liberation there is no other way than through worshiping God. bt if you want worldly treastes, then you should also surrender to im, When a spiritual aspirant does pas, thea the Loe of heaven, cecupying the set of Tada, wil become fearful He wil ry to erate obstacles to his tapas in the form of temptations. Inthe same ‘this eens o Bhagavad Sd 9.22 2 ne regular spit pit, 4 One mus ea (avon. the pases (Riana) rele on amraye), a wel as asiite comple though constant sender snd service whe fx of God (pd evan) 96‘way, the goddess of wealth also brings the aspirant riches to distract his altention from God. This resembles something you might do if« dog came running to bite you: if you {oss him a morsel of bread, he will get distracted. In the same fashion, Lakgmt tosses the devotee a piece of gol, thinking, “It would be good if he leaves my husband and doesn’t ‘come back.” ‘The remembrance of God not only imparts liberation, but will also jolt Laksent and protect you from her trickery. Therefore, do those actions which will maximize your ‘wealth. By his we mean that through spiritual practice you can attain all the ends of life. ‘When you begin to altract the attention of the Omnipotent, then what is not possible for ‘you? In these times, peopl leave their own houses and are pushed around atthe homes of the seths." They have futh in the wealthy; yet they have no faith in the Omnipotent (One, Thus they stumble from door to door. Even now the world falls in line behind one who has faith in God. Therefore, if ‘you must praise someone, praise Bhagavan, so that the lfe here and the life hereafter wil bth benefit, Reduce your worldly desires and inerease your love for God. The right use of ‘human body is to embark upon that path where all manner of opportunities lie waiting. a Nobody in this world wants your j ‘Your friends and family members look to you to fulfil their own wants and needs, [Nobody wants your heat Ifyou doubt this, withhold from your son all the things needed” {or his stu, then sit beside him and say that you love him very much. Do you think he will be satisfied? Tell your wife that you always think of her and will nover forget he, ‘but do not provide her with the things she needs. Do you think she will be pleased? Inthe same way, tell your dear friend who wants your help in some project,“ respect you with all my hear"—but do not help him, He wil say, “Please kindly keep your respect to yourself, and please kindly try to do this particular favor for me instead." Set refer o the clas welty merchants, and can slso be fail ae ‘be tem used beri th Hind word man, which i clotly elated othe Sanskrit manas. The Sanskie teem is sully equated wit ‘ind’ bu covers some emtinal ition as wel, The Hind encompasses tt ales. In this scout seems appropiate in ane stance to rane as “min, while inane aisles more aprrite. This conundum represents one of thse instance wher an xa, eal translation is vitally posible o achiev. "2/-he grammatical forms hee ae exaggerated in the polees, suggesting tone of srcsm and an ‘atempt at makings humorous pin. 37“The point is that this word, nobody wants your Neitnind man. Everyone hore isa consumer with espet to your body and your wealth, You, on the other hand, ae Forcing your love on others. Vv Just remember tat the same eart/mind which nobody in this world wants is the ‘ery implement that ean belp you reach Paramitmia, Therefor, use your body and wealth to condict business in tke markeplace of samsdra, bt keep your heat onthe path 0 Paramita, Then the scvts of somsdra wil remain undisturbed, while the path tcoauds the utimate go! wil Bevel, “rain your attention oly on what is necessary. Don’t entangle your her nd ‘mind in the things of sansa, Worldly activites require just tiny bit of help to continue unfolding Save yourheart for God, ngage your body aid wealth here inthis wold, where they will remain afer ‘your soul departs. Engage your heart/mind, which stays with you always, in Paramatma, whos ikewise wit you teal. ‘Where meschancse is concerned, you must pay aconding (ots ale, For ephemeral aft you sould use only your flctng westh and this transitory body. But ‘your mindheart will always be with you, even in heaven, therefore keep your mind in contact with the permanent One, Paramima, Msinsin your ine focus only on Paramiima, who pervads everthing. Only He is worthy of your constant tention, ‘There is nothing else in ‘his world whosscontst wil confer pemanent happiness on ws. By now you have experienced that you at always focusing your mind on wealth, ‘women, children or favored frends. But can you keep your attention on any ofthese things? Actually, you inno isin your attention on any one place for very much tine a all I your mind were actually satisfied by wealth, or by sons, then why wonld it ever stray? Rather, the mind ean never stay on one go this proves that no objec of samsdra ives it eal satisfaction, You may think that something holds the key to your happiness, ‘ut within «shor time, rou abandon it From this itis obvious that no object of this ‘word can satis the min, ‘Thus, doctrine revels that in sama, no one relly wants one's heat, nd one’s heats never satisfied with any samsdrik obect—in other wor, the minder is not it forthe worl, andthe word is not fit forte mind. ‘Whe the heart sins the Supreme, i will vel hee forever. Aer acquiring arama, the heart desires nothing. Therefore, we can ce that Paraatmais the perfect objeto desire forthe rar, Uhimately, the heat must go to That which is worthy of 6 ‘Maximize your virtue, minimize your problems.‘Conducting your activities according to the guidelines ofthe scriptures is a means to ‘promote prosperity, moral development, and moksa. ‘Whatever something requires of you in life, your efforts must correspond. “However great the puny [merit] required to cross the ocean of samsdra, that rauch puny ‘you must acquire. If parched man requites a large draught of water to quench his thirst, ‘but you give him only asip, his thirst will not be quenched. ‘You can aequite punye by reading religious books such asthe Gitd, the ‘Ramayana, et., bul reading alone will not accumulate enough merit to cross the ocean of samsara, ‘We are not saying here thet reading religious books is useless, We aze saying that itis not enough merely o ead the seriptures—you must also apply the truths tht you find there to your daly fe. Only then can your reading be considered useful and ean you accumulate great merit If you want to escape from run, then free yourself from sin, tnd do not pursue human goals opposed tothe ssira-. Free yourself from sin, and acquire merit—this isthe way to improvement “4 [Engage your mind lightly in the affairs of the world. For most people it s not appropriate to withdraw from the world and become totally In contemporary Ina, communi etre tthe divisive etry by which ane group prclims its ‘wn pston of piilege wih respect to another group ten or plc reasons 69» Cultivate good company. Salcadeva expounded the Bhagavata [Purdn] and thousands of people heard, but among the thousands of listers, only Parikshit achieved mots. Many listened to Gokama, |” too, but only Dhundhakari became liberated. The question naturally arises: when there is sufficient rain everywhere, why is just one man’s thirst quenched? The answer is that ‘moksa depends onthe mind. Whatever one dwells on, then the mental impression of that, thought is strengthened, and the bondage or freedom of an embodied sould depends on it Sruti an smi give the established doctrines: ‘Mana eva manuydndnskaranans bandhamoksayoh—brati Dhyana eva manusy.nim karanar bandhamoksayob | Yajnavalkya amt! ‘We should continue to think and refleet onthe doctrines and teachings we hearin the company othe righteous, ‘By hearing the words ofthe devout, one's eas willbe purified. Bu if no futher contemplation is done on those words, they will either remain there inthe ea o they will 40 in one ear and out the ober. ‘The basi purpose of satsrga is to purify the mind. Mind {isthe primary thing here. Ithe mind remains impure, the if and death cycle will continve. If instead the mind becomes pure, one attains liberation. Meharishi Yajnavalkya says that tna [meditation concentration] is the cause for ether liberation or bondage. “Meditation is achievable only by the mind. If the mind becomes pure it starts meditating ‘on Bhagavan, and thus one attains liberation, But ifthe ming remains iexpure it gets entangled in bad tendencies, has fatile worries, and starts concentrating on unnocessary things. Ths, it keeps one wandering in the circle of samsdra, 80 (One can become a Mahitma even while staying at home, (One can become a Mahitma wherever one lives. No one becomes a Mahitina by simply ‘wearing ocher clothing or by applying some marks to the forehead, Dress and other extemals will not lead to theultimate good, whereas faith will eertuinly lead to it, The sale of a Mahatma is determined by the state of mind. So stay wherever you are, but 2 Vet the min ie binds or eteases human bing. Verily, meditation itl ins or relewses man beings. ”—Yajnvalhya srl 70change the direction of your mind. Tink less about samsdra and think more about Params, "Nowadays people think a great deal about things they should not waste thei time ‘on. One should primarily contemplate Parana; instead, people contemplate wordy objects. Tat is why they are unable to experience peace and happiness. Ifyou apply your vital breath to worldly activites and enjoyment ofthe senses, then your lungs ae like the bellows of blacksmith, Hence take car of your vital breath and aply yourself to Peramatia, Fit generate faith, You already have sufficient faith in money; tha is why you ‘able to think about it. When you have fit in Paramatna, then you wil start contemplating Him, You must realize that money and all the objec of samsdra wil remain here, while you have to cary ot you future joumey alone, Prepare for that future joumey al this very moment. nerease your fut in higher goals, and increase your love for that ever-bisfal Paranitma. Show superficial intrest in the things ofthe world, ‘which wil always remain hee, and place primary faith in the ulimate goal, which wil remain with you. ‘Once you discover that a tantalizing heap of money was actually created by a ‘magician, the temptation to tak it ill wither, and you will no longer covet it. Like the 1agician’s money, all the objets and relationships of sams are transient, Therefor, carryout ll daily affairs acconding o societal expectations, but do nat reserve apace for these things in your mind. Keep your mind fre forthe imperishable Paramstma, whose very essence is bis. Always keep Bhagavén in your mind and never transgress the bounds of propity—thisis what it means to bea M aL It is more important to purify the intellect than to accumulate money. you were to expend half as much energy in puriying you RNS os you expend in accumulating money, you len would benefit greatly If your nlc js pure, your eile cn experince preter peace and hapines ven wi ems money. However, if your inlet is impre, you hlden wl become entangled in bad habits and wl fal ino unhappiness and socron-regaress of your weal and rope ‘Therefore, ryt prt your inlet it, and then ear Your mone. ”‘Without knowledge there is melther Bhakti nor Moksa, ‘Many bits are required to work out the karma generated duting one human ifeime, ‘ ‘That is why the va has such a large balance of accumulated karma, To exhaust all ‘would ake innumerable births I the jlva wanted to exhaust all his accumulated karma through experience it would have to remain in the eyele of bith and death until the cumulated karma is destroyed. But jadna agni, the fire of knowledge, can exhaust the Jhuge mound of accumulated karma instantly. The awakened ones call the person who has ‘burned all accumulated karma withthe help ofthe fre of knowledge a pani. Indndgnidagdhakarmdgans tama pandivar buh”. If someone kills another within the flash of an angry moment, he will ther be hhanged or receive avery long prison term, From this example, we can see that even when an action is completed within jut afew minutes, it can ake many years to work off the ‘arma ofthat action, Jus think how many bss i will require to work off the Karma {rom the actions done inthe span of one entre life:This shows the greatness of the knowledge which ean destroy accumulated karma, Yathadhins samiddhognirbhasmasikarue ‘una i sarvakarmani Bhasmasatkurute cath?” ‘This means tht jut as the fire's flame burns all traces of fuel to ashes, the fre of| Anowledge bums up all accumulated karma. Therefor, destroy accumulated karma with the fire of knowledge and experience commenced karma peacefully. ‘To acquire that knowledge which can im up all accumulated karma isthe highest goal. After gaining that knowledge, there wil be nothing et to be done, Indnm rena tptasyakrtakrtyasya yoginah| naivastkithartayyar ast cennasatatevavii For the knowledgeable on, itis written, “Ithe desires something, then he should ‘chan the oma fo it.” Buddha tatvena dh dosa Sanyennekdntavdsinah | Seems Airghan pranavamucedrya manordjyan viliate.™* ae Alles gaining knowledge, one obtains videha moksha when releasedfromtic. TAA 8 See rrentrreren i a ‘Supreme knowledge is diect and immediate tis is knowing =from the study of a ves ie 4 the fasra and quru—the one, unigoe Parniima which pervades al ereation as pn cel Toy £8 fe whowe ations have ben but in the fie of knowledges called by he avakenot: pandtam.” ™ Bhagavad Gita 4.37: “As a blazing fire tums a log into ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge CL. 4 py wi maces: ed Etc yams ten nan ie wa Since 1 a a art af had ty oat . picnic dart irene tee read spur oh eamahit Tyr? an lt 5saichivananda and is the very embodiment of unbounded knowledge. This type of certainty —wisdom devoid of doubt—is dreet™” knowledge. Prahalada sai, “My God i fully immanent in all, everywhere.” OF this he was certain, so day and night he dwelled on thoughis of Bhagavan, Until one knows ‘Bhagavan, how can one perform His bhakti? To accept thal God is everywhere in creation is knowledge, and to apply oneself to is service and devotion is bhakti. To see ‘im appear in one place directly through bhakt is vidna [wisdom], and to become absorbed in that state is supreme devotion. 8 Do good works without hesitation, ‘The jiva has been experiencing samsara for many, many births. It is only natural, therefore, that its tendencies have become worldly. To tum its tendency toward Paramima and away from samséra requires effort. In reality, the aim of life isto stop~~ the mind from involvement with this World. If one engages inthe spiritual practice of [Bhagavan and in thinking and speaking sbout Him, the mind will staet dwelling on Hira, and ater some time, it wll withdraw from samsdra on its own. {In our daily affairs we should adopt a strategy of quickly attending to good works and things related tothe divine. Should any wrong thought arse, on the other hand, we should ty to postpone i to another time by saying, “I'l do it tomorrow, or the day after next.” In this way, wrong action can be continuously postponed, 4 It you want God’s blessings, invite Him into your heart. ‘The all pervasive, formless divine being." is incapable of action iis merely a witness, Only when it manifests itself in one place with the help of may can it take some ation inmaya.’s worl, which is characterized by three guns” Whea fre remains ‘unmanifest in wood—even though its all-pevading—it an do nothing fr us. But when ‘we ignite the wood a the appropriate place, then we can use ils lames as we ee fi 2 parte phecimall‘Simitasly, only when (through our spiritual practice) the all-pervasive divine being ‘manifests in some site—only then can He be of help to us, Spiritual practice is a staircase by which the devotee climbs to God, and God climbs down to the devotee. Only through updsana does the sprit of Bhagavan (which abides in all animate and inanimate things) manifest itself in one place, thus becoming. able to act in aocordance with the devotee's desires. Only when the formless, unmanifest pure existence manifests itself in a form with attributes can any activity unfold, Hence if ‘you want to receive Bhagavan's blessings, then carry out spictual practice and make him ‘manifest, cither inside or outside. Only when Bhagavin manifests in one's heart wil all the poverty of life be eliminated, 85 Ifyou want to be happy, approach the ocean of happiness. ‘You can acquire something only where you can find it. Ifyou want money, you must approach the weelihy; if you want wisdom, you must goto the wise. If you want to buy pearls and diamonds, you have to go to-a jewelers shop, beeause you will not find them ina vegetable market no maiter how hard you search, Similarly, if you want peace and happiness you must approach Paramatma, who is the essence of peace and happiness. ‘Otherwise, no matter how hard you pound your head against the ground, no matter how |hard you labor in samsdra, you will not be able to obtain peace and happiness. ‘However hard you may strive to gain peace and happiness by eaming money and acquiring recognition, you will be handed an equal measure of sorrow and restlessness, ‘You may think, “If can just get this pasticular object I will be happy." and then when ‘that thing is aequired, you may think, “Now I am happy.” This kind of imagining snother matter. Just understand that peace and happiness are in none ofthe objects here. By falling into the exuberance of samsdra, you have forgotten Paramatma, who is ‘unlimited and fll of bliss. Because you have distanced yourself from Isvara, you have ‘become unhappy, and that unhappiness will leave only in His presence. You have lost yourself so much in the things of the world that you have become deluded about your very nature. You eannot answer the question, “Who ara I?" ‘What can be said about a madman who is so insane that he has forgotten his ‘identity and cannot recognize his own true nature [svaripa}? Such a person could enter @ ‘dark cave in search of light. This is what its like to search for peace and happiness in things of samsia, Ifyou want fo be happy, then approach Paramitma whois the ocean of happiness, Only by approaching Paramatma can you obtain peace, happiness, and glory for this 74‘world and the next, As darkness surrounds a person bereft of light, so unhappiness and ‘roubles surround a person who tums away from Paramatma, 86 Pray to Bhagavan without fail, whether the mind likes it or not, 1 I you remember the Lord, even with an impure and wicked mind, your sins will be