DIVINE VISION AND THE DEVOTEE
Divine
vision means acquaintance with, and crystalline understanding of, the
universal energy. God and the devotee are one, in his very nature the
devotee is identical with God. So long as one has not realized God, one
does not know what justice and injustice are, but with realization the
devotee comes to know the distinction between justice and injustice,
the essential and the contingent, the eternal and the evanescent, and
this leads to his emancipation.
The divine vision eliminates individuality; the manifest is clearly
distinguished from the unmanifest. When the sense of individuality is
replaced by that of impersonal consciousness the devotee knows that he
is pure consciousness. Manifestation is pure consciousness manifesting
itself in all the different names and forms; the spiritually enlightened
take part in it sportively, knowing that it is only the play of
universal consciousness.
The name and form of the spiritually enlightened Saint experiences the
pangs and sorrows of life, but not their sting. He is neither moved
nor perturbed by the pleasures and pains, nor the profits and losses of
the world. He is thus in a position to direct others. His behavior is
guided exclusively by the sense of justice.
The temporal life must continue, with all its complex interactions,
but the Saint is ever aware that it is only the pure consciousness that
is expressing itself in different names and forms, and it continues to
do so, in ever new forms. To him, the unbearable events of the world
are just a tame and harmless affair; he remains unmoved in
world-shaking events.
At first people, through pride, simply ignore him, but their
subsequent experiences draw them toward him. God, as justice incarnate,
has neither relations nor belongings of His own; peace and happiness
are, as it were, His only treasure. The formless, divine consciousness
cannot have any thing as its own interest.
This is the temporal outline of the Bhakta.
THE SOUL, THE WORLD, BRAHMAN AND
SELF REALIZATION
The consciousness of one’s own being, of the world, and of its
supporting primal force are experienced all at once. Awareness of one’s
own being does not mean here the physical consciousness of oneself as
an individual, but implies the mystery of existence. Prior to this, in
the ignorance of one’s own being, there is no experience of Brahman as
being there. But the moment one is aware of being, he is directly aware
of the world and Brahman, too.
At the stage prior to this cosmic awareness, the self and its
experiences are limited to the worldly life. This worldly life starts
with birth and ends in death. To become aware of ourself, the world and
God all of a sudden is a great mystery indeed. It is an unexpected
gain; it is an absorbing and a mysterious event, extremely significant
and great, but it brings with it the responsibility of
Self-preservation, sustenance and Self development as well, and no one
can avoid it.
One who leads his life without ever wondering about who or what he is
accepts the traditional genealogical history as his own and follows the
customary religious and other activities according to tradition. He
leads his life with the firm conviction that the world was there prior
to his existence, and that it is real; because of this conviction he
behaves as he does, gathering possessions and treasures for himself,
even knowing that at the time of death he will never see them again.
Knowing that none of this will even be remembered after death, still his
greed and avarice operate unabated until death.
SELF KNOWLEDGE AND
SELF REALIZATION
When we concentrate our attention on the origin of thought, the
thought process itself comes to an end; there is a hiatus, which is
pleasant, and again the process starts. Turning from the external world
and enjoying the objectless bliss, the mind feels that the world of
objects is not for it. Prior to this experience the un satiating sense
enjoyments constantly challenged the mind to satisfy them, but from the
inward turn onwards its interest in them begins to fade. Once the
internal bliss is enjoyed, the external happiness loses its charm. One
who has tasted the inward bliss is naturally loving and free from envy,
contented and happy with others’ prosperity, friendly and innocent and
free from deceit. He is full of the mystery and wonder of the bliss.
One who has realized the Self can never inflict pain on other.
LIFE DIVINE AND THE SUPREME SELF
With heartfelt love and devotion, the devotee propitiates God; and
when he is blessed with His vision and grace, he feels ever happy in
His presence. The constant presence establishes a virtual identity
between the two. While seeking the presence of the Supreme Soul, the
Bhakta renounces all associations in his life, from the meanest to the
best, and having purged his being of all associations, he automatically
wins the association with the Supreme Self. One who has attained to
the position of unstinted emancipation can never be disliked by others,
for the people themselves are the very Self-luminous soul, though
ignorant of the fact.
In this world of immense variety, different beings are suffering from
different kinds of ailments, and yet they are not prepared to give up
the physical frame, even when wailing under physical and mental pain. If
this be so, then men will not be so short-sighted as to avoid their
savior, the enlightened soul.
That overflowing reservoir of bliss, the beatific soul, does confer
only bliss on the people by his loving light. Even the atmosphere
around him heartens the suffering souls. He is like the waters of a
lake that gives nourishment to the plants and trees around the brink
and the grass and fields nearby. The Saint gives joy and sustaining
energy to the people around him.
THE ASPIRANT AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT
Spiritual thought is of the Highest. This seeking of the Highest is
called the “first half” by the Saints. A proper understanding of this
results in the vision of God, and eventually matures into the certainty
of the true nature of the Self in the “latter half”.
One who takes to the path of the spirit starts with contemplation and
propitiation. It is here, for the first time, that he finds some joy in
prayer and worship. At this preliminary stage he gets the company of
co-aspirants. Reading of the lives and works of past incarnations of
God, of Rishis, of Saints and Sages, singing the glories of the Name,
visiting temples, and a constant meditation on these result in the
photic and phonic experiences of the mystic life; his desires are
satisfied to an extent now. Thinking that he has had the vision of God,
he intensifies his efforts of fondly remembering the name of God and
His worship. In this state of the mind, the Bhakta quite frequently has
a glimpse of his cherished deity, which he takes to be the divine
vision and is satisfied with it. At this juncture, he is sure to come
into contact with a Saint.
The Saint, and now his preceptor, makes it plain to him that what he
has had is not the real vision, which is beyond the said experiences,
and is only to be had through Self-Realization. At this point, the
aspirant reaches the stage of the meditator. In the beginning, the
Sadhaka is instructed into the secrets of his own person, and of the
indwelling spirit; the meaning and nature of prana, the various
plexuses, and the nature and arousal of the Kundalini, and the nature
of the Self. Later on, he comes to know of the origin of the five
elements, their activity, radiation, and merits and defects. Meanwhile
his mind undergoes the process of purification and acquires composure,
and this the Sadhaka experiences through the deep-laid subtle center of
the Indweller; he also knows how and why it is there, only that the
deiform element is kindled. This knowledge transforms him into the
pure, eternal, and spiritual form of a SadGuru who is now in a position
to initiate others into the secrets of the spirit. The stage of
Sadhakahood ends here.
As the great Saint Tukarama said, the aspirant must put in ceaseless
efforts in the pursuit of spiritual life. Thoughts must be utilized for
Self-Knowledge. He must be alert and watchful in ascertaining the
nature of this “I” that is involved in the affairs of pleasure and pain
arising out of sense experience.
We must know the nature of the active principle lest its activities be
led astray. We should not waste our energies in useless pursuits, but
should use those energies in the pursuit of the Self and achieve
identity with God. Spiritual life is so great, so deep, so immense, that
energy pales into insignificance before it, yet this energy tries to
understand it again and again. Those who try to understand it with the
help of the intellect are lost to it. Rare is the one who, having
concentrated on the source atom of the cosmic energy, enjoys the bliss
of spiritual contemplation. But there are scores of those who take
themselves to be spiritually inspired and perfect beings. They expect
the common herd to honor and respect their every word. The ignorant
people rush towards them for spiritual succor and do their bidding. In
fact, the pseudo-Saints are caught in a snare of greed, hence what the
people get in return is not the blessings of satisfaction, but ashes.
The self-styled man of God, speaking ad nauseum about spiritual
matters, thinks himself to be perfect, but others are not so sure. As
regards a Saint, on the other hand, men are on the lookout for ways to
serve him more and more, but as the ever contented soul, steeped in
beatitude, desires nothing, they are left to serve in their own way,
which they do with enthusiasm, and they never feel the pressure.
Greatness is always humble, loving, silent and satisfied. Happiness,
tolerance, forbearance, composure and other allied qualities must be
known by everyone; just as one experiences bodily states such as
hunger, thirst, etc., one. must, with equal ease, experience in oneself
the characteristics connoted by the word “Saint”. As we know for
certain that we need no more sleep, no more food, at a given moment, so
too we can be sure of the above characteristics from direct
experience. One can then recognize their presence in others with the
same ease. This is the test and experience of a tried spiritual leader.
THE MYSTIC
The blissful mystic clearly sees the difference between his
characteristics before and after realization. All that is transient has
an origin in time and is subject to change and destruction, while he
is free from change and can never perish. The unchanging one views the
ever changing world as a game.
All the characteristics of the Saint naturally spring from his
experience. As there are no desires left in him, nothing in the world
of sense can ever tempt him, he lives in the fearless majesty of
Self-realization. He is moved to pity by the unsuccessful struggle of
those tied down to bodily identity and their striving for the
satisfaction of their petty interests. Even the great events of the
world are just surface lines to him; the number of these lines that
appear and disappear is infinite.
Individuals are only the faint streaks of these lines, and only as
such lines are they recognized. When the streaks vanish there remains
nothing to recognize as individuals. The interval between the moment of
emergence and the disappearance of a line is what is called life. The
wiped out line can never be seen again.
The Saint who has direct experience of all this is always happy and
free from desire. He is convinced that the greatest of the sense
experiences is only a momentary affair, impermanence is the very
essence of these experiences; hence pain and sorrow, greed and
temptation, fear and anxiety can never touch him.
THE LILA OF GOD
Sport or play is natural to God, our experiences are known as the Lila
(play) of God. Without any prior intimation, we suddenly have a taste
of our own being; excepting this one instance of the taste, we have no
knowledge of the nature of the Self. But then, even this bit of
experience is hidden away from us. We are forced into a series of
activities and experiences: that I am a homosapien, I am a body, my name
is such and such, this is my religion, my duty, etc. One action
follows another, and there is no rest from them, no escape, we have to
see them through. This goes on inevitably, until perchance, it loses
all its charm, and we seek the spiritual treasure.
If the purpose of all this be inquired into, we get different accounts
from different people. Some claim it is because of the actions of
millions of previous lives – but nobody has the direct experience of
these past lives; it is obvious that this is fiction.
Dazzled by the ingenious inventions and discoveries of the scientists,
some base their interpretation on empirical facts and offer them as
explanations, but the suddenly experienced taste of our own being cannot
be interpreted in this way. When the world is called by the word Maya
or illusion, it is condemned to be mean; when the same thing is called
by the words “play of God”, it becomes great! In reality the facts are
what they are. Who is the recipient of the high designation – who
confirms the uselessness for the condemnation – who is He – what name
should we give Him after first-hand experience?
That we have experiences is a fact; others tell us about their
experiences, we receive information concerning relations, and
instruction in the performance of activities, and we organize our
behavior accordingly. Someone from these guides initiates us into what
is said to be the core of the indwelling Spirit, but that too turns out
to be a transient affair. For the acquaintance secured thus does not
possess the experiential core of the taste, and the initiator himself
proves to be part and parcel of that bit; thus both he and his
knowledge are lost to us. Now we are free to go our own way, but for
want of the necessary taste, this self-help is equally helpless. We are
where we were.
What is it that we call the Lila of God? How are we related to this
sporting God whom we saw, talked to, had friendship with, and intense
love for. In spite of all this closeness and fondness, what is our
relation to Him? All the previous experiences with their peculiarities
have vanished. The Lila of God disappears along with the pseudo
experience with the advent of the present experience.
THE SPIRITUAL ASPIRANT, THE FIRST MOMENT OF BLISS AND ITS
CONTINUOUS GROWTH
The ever-awaited first moment was the moment when I was convinced that
I was not an individual at all. The idea of my individuality had set
me burning so far. The scalding pain was beyond my capacity to endure;
but there is not even a trace of it now, I am no more an individual.
There is nothing to limit my being now. The ever present anxiety and
the gloom have vanished and now I am all beatitude, pure knowledge,
pure consciousness.
The tumors of innumerable desires and passion were simply unbearable,
but fortunately for me, I got hold of the hymn “Hail, Preceptor”, and
on its constant recitation, all the tumors of passions withered away as
with a magic spell!
I am ever free now. I am all bliss, sans spite, sans fear. This
beatific conscious form of mine now knows no bounds. I belong to all
and everyone is mine. The “all” are but my own individuations, and
these together go to make up my beatific being. There is nothing like
good or bad, profit or loss, high or low, mine or not mine for me.
Nobody opposes me and I oppose none for there is none other than
myself. Bliss reclines on the bed of bliss. The repose itself has
turned into bliss.
There is nothing that I ought or ought not to do, but my activity goes
on everywhere, every minute. Love and anger are divided equally among
all, as are work and recreation. My characteristics of immensity and
majesty, my pure energy, and my all, having attained to the golden
core, repose in bliss as the atom of atoms. My pure consciousness
shines forth in majestic splendor.
Why and how the consciousness became self-conscious is obvious now.
The experience of the world is no more of the world as such, but is the
blossoming forth of the selfsame conscious principle, God, and what is
it? It is pure, primal knowledge, conscious form, the primordial “I”
consciousness that is capable of assuming any form it desires. It is
designated as God. The world as the divine expression is not for any
profit or loss; it is the pure, simple, natural flow of beatific
consciousness. There are no distinctions of God and devotee, nor Brahman
and Maya. He that meditated on the bliss and peace is himself the
ocean of peace and bliss. Glory to the eternal truth, Sad-Guru, the
Supreme Self.
DEVOTEE AND THE BLESSINGS OF GOD
The Bhakta pours out his devotion, molds his behavior in every respect
in accordance with the will of God. In turn, he finds that God is
pleased with him, and this, his conviction, takes him nearer to God and
his love and friendship with Him grow richer and richer. The process
of surrendering to the will of God in every respect results in His
blessings.
One who is blessed by God is a blissful soul. Being at peace with
himself, he looks at the objects of enjoyment with perfect
indifference. He is content with whatever he has and is glad to see
others happy. If a person believes that he is blessed by God and is
still unhappy, it is better if he give up this delusion and strive for
the coveted Grace with sincerity and honesty.
Divine plenitude and favor is not judged by the objects of sense, but
by the internal contentment. This verily is the blessing of God.
THE UNITIVE LIFE
Him have I seen now whom I so earnestly desired to see, I met myself.
The meeting requires an extremely difficult and elaborate preparation.
I pined to see the most beloved one. It was impossible to do without
it, I was sure to die if I were not to do it. Even with the innermost
sincerity of my whole being I was not able to get at it, and the
situation was unbearable. Yet with love and determination, eagerness and
courage, I started on my journey. I had to get through different
stages and places in the undertaking.
Being quite deft, it would not allow me cognition, at first. But lo, I
saw it today, I was sure, but the very next moment I felt perhaps it
was not it. Whenever I saw it I was intent on observing it keenly, but
not knowing its nature with certitude, could not decide either way. I
could not be sure that it was my Beloved, the center of my being. Being
an adept in the art of make-up, it dodged me with a quick change of
form ere I could arrive at a conclusion. These were the visions of
various Incarnations of Rishis and Saints, internal visions in the
process of Dhyana and Dharana, and external ones of the waking state
eventual to the siddhis, such as the power of prophecy, clairvoyance,
clairaudience, and the power to cure normally incurable diseases, etc.
Some were eager to serve me, to have faith in me and to honor me, and
this led me to believe that I had seen it for certain; it is here its
skill in make-up lies. It is so deft in the art of changing the form,
quality and knowledge, that the intellect does not know where it
stands, let alone the penetration through its nature. But, what is this
miracle? Wonder of wonders! The flash, curiously glistening, majestic
splendor! But where is it? It disappeared in a flicker before I could
apprehend it. No, nothing could be known about what happened to me or
to the lightning. I could not say whether the extremely swift flash and
the means of my reconnaisance were one and the same or different. In
the glow of the flashing miracle the whole of the cosmic array is
experienced directly. The contact is immensely interesting. The flash
experience makes one feel it should be as spicy forever; this is the
characteristic feeling of the cosmic experience. But in the very
attempt to arrest the glowing flash for a basic understanding, one
loses it.
It is extremely difficult to get at the root of the cosmic energy,
that perfect adept in assuming an infinite variety of forms. The
consciousness to be apprehended and the power of concentration are one
and the same. Being polymorphous by nature, it cannot be pinned down to
any definite form or name or place, as for instance, the internal
experiences of the Dhyana yogin. In the first instance, the attention of
the meditator is silence in excelsis, this is transformed into light,
the light assumes the form of space, the space in turn changes into
movement. This is transmitted into air, and the air into fire, the fire
changes into water, and the water into earth. Lastly, the earth evolves
into the world of organic and inorganic things. The water from the
rain takes the form of the juices in the grains and vegetables, which
essences supply nourishment and energy. This energy takes the form of
knowledge, courage, valor, cunning, etc. The limbless process goes on.
Neither form, name, nor quality is enduring. Nothing is permanent or
determinate.
The felt experience of the spiritually enlightened is difficult to
negotiate with. This may mean either that it is beyond our capacity to
get at, or it is beyond reach; yet one must go on with concentration.
The identity of the “I” as the miracle in the process of the dazzling
glitter, and the “ego” of the empirical consciousness prior to the
experience, must be firmly established in Dhyana Yoga (meditation). Is
the spiritually saturated soul the same as the experience or is it even
beyond that? There is no duality to the experience one has in the
process of Dhyana Yoga. At the enlightened stage even the sense organs
are involved in the meditation of the spiritual adept, for the sense
organs and the five elements are one and the same at the core. The
material elements, subtle matter and consciousness, the three qualities,
Satva, Rajas and Tamas, and the three sources of knowledge,
perception, inference and testimony were seen, are being seen, and lo!
They are not there.
The characteristics of origination, sustenance and destruction come
under Dhyana Yoga itself. The activity of Prakriti in all its forms,
manifest and unmanifest, and the consciousness of Purusha are also
included in it. In the Dhyana Yoga process the eight chakras are
activated simultaneously and are experienced as such. All these, in a
single, unitive experience, I constitute the contemplation. Meditation,
consciousness, experience, are all but a single unity.
Dhyana Yoga is the supreme activity of life. Concentration is the central thing in experience.
The transformation of Dhyana Yoga into Mama [sic]
Yoga is a difficult process. In the consummation of this process alone
is the Atman cognized with certitude. As long as Dhyana Yoga is not
completely transformed into Jnana Yoga, so long there is no Self
knowledge. The test of Dhyana is knowledge, then follows the duality of
knowledge and the Atman. In the experiential knowledge, there is a race
between knowledge as Self and Self as Self. But in deep samadhi there
is an understanding between contemplation and the Self.
This results in the realization of bliss. The bliss is transformed
into supreme beatitude and the self is absorbed in the supreme Spirit.
Knowledge to itself, contemplation into itself, the primal Maya, God,
the Absolute state and the original throb are all a single whole of
Self-experience. The ever cherished and desired Being is realized here.
OF YOUR ATTENTION WILL COME
WHEN YOU WILL START SEEING the truth..
Lead me from the complicated to the simple. Lead me from the obscure to the
obvious. Lead me from intention to attention. Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am. 
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness. Lead me to the place I never left, 
Where there is peace, and peace -from the Upanishads- 
Unless you know the emptiness and bliss inside yourself..you'll be a robot forced by the same emptiness and bliss trying to know itself..by pain..
...inside your self also..trust me!..said the mahayogi! so listen to the mahayogi..,grasshopper from heaven...
