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About One's Liking... Part II

Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 23:47:03 +0530 To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: About One's Liking... Part II From: Manomohan Sanyal Baba "Ta'i bhavi mane toma'ri smaran'e, path cale ja'i toma'ri sharan'e, A'ma'ra boliya ya' bha'vito hiya', ta' nahe a'ma'r bujhi ja'garan'e..." (PS 715) Purport: Baba, due to my extreme vanity and ignorance, in my heart I was thinking that everything-- all my material possessions like money, wealth, post, position, might, and strength-- is really mine and that they will remain with me up to eternity. In this way I was deluded. But By Your grace You have blessed me with samvit* and an awakening has come. Today I have realised that al those worldly things are transitory: They are not mine. They do not belong to me permanently. Rather I have come alone onto this dusty earth and one day I will depart this earth and will have to leave everything behind. Baba in this universe nothing is mine except You. O' Lord, You have given me the gift of bhakti and with the devotional mind I can understand that You-- and only You-- are mine. Because of this I am always singing Your divine glory and I am always engaged in the depths of Your ideation. in my heart I feel that You are everything. Every moment I follow Your path and ultimately by Your grace I surrender at Your alter-- O' my Lord. Baba Your liila of Yours is unfathomable: It is full of diversity. On the one side all the organs of my existence are engaged in negative engagements and crude dealings. That voice is drowned in its own arrogance and makes utterances filled with its own ego and audacity; and the eye is glued to its own feeling of superiority and vanity. With this vain outlook, there is disdain and disgust for others. All these negative features rampant. And then on the other side these organs do all kinds of positive works and dharmic pursuits. They engage in shravan, manan, niddhidhyasana*, dhyana, japa, dharana, kiirtan, and puja etc. Baba in this liila of Yours all these negative and positive activities are happening right in front of Your very eyes. You can see it all happening before You. Baba, my mind is wild. I do not have the necessary strength to control it and therefore ask for Your mercy and surrender at Your lotus feet. By the shadow of Your infinite grace, by Your divine compassion, by Your sweet ideation, by doing kiirtan and sadhana etc, I can control that wild mind which is running under the intoxication of maya. Baba, by Your grace I can keep that wild mind cool, calm, and quiet-- pointed towards Your divine Self. Baba, You are my ultimate shelter; I surrender at Your lotus feet... ASTERISK NOTES (*): *Samvit: Baba says, "The popular meaning of sam'vit shakti is "awareness"-- awakening from slumber. With the help of sam'vit shakti, unit beings become aware of their existence. They realise that they are the crown of creation, the most evolved beings whose goal is to attain the supreme rank and dispel the darkness of the avaran'ii shakti of avidyamaya." (APH-4) *Shravan, Manan, & Niddhidhyasana: Here below Baba explains the special import of these three devotional practices. Baba says, "To attain Him human beings have to take recourse to shravana (constantly hearing His name), manana (constantly ideating on Him) and nididya'sana (constantly meditating on Him)." (TK-3)
== ABOUT ONE'S LIKING AND ATTAINING HIM-- PART 2 ==
Eds Note: Here is part 1 on this topic:
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/12/about-ones-liking.html
Namaskar, In this grand expressed universe, there are so many beings of all shapes and sizes who do so many things. Everyone has their own liking and disliking. Everyone has their own preferences and distastes. This is the natural pattern of this worldly existence. And side by side people put immense emphasis on the fact that such and such engagement or activity is enjoyable whereas another is not. In this way so many judgements are cast about various pursuits. Some like reading whereas others like videos; some like kiirtan whereas others like VSS camps; some like having chapati & subjii (vegetables) whereas others like going to McDonalds; some like sadhana whereas others like bowling. Like this people have their own preference and liking. And accordingly they will sing the glories and treasures of their favourite items and vehemently cry out about those things which they despise. This is the way of the world.
MIND IS THE CAUSE
And the peculiar thing is that people never stop to think that it is they who are the cause of their liking or disliking-- not the activity itself. They do not realise that it is their own mind which is the reason behind their enjoyment of a particular activity or not.
Mano karoti....
Baba says, "It is the human mind which is the cause of bondage or liberation. If the mind is in bondage, the person is also in bondage. Similarly, if the mind is liberated the person is also liberated. After all, it is the human mind which engages in auspicious actions." (NHNS-1) Here the point is that one's preferences in this world are first and foremost based on the quality or status of their own mind. A crude mind will like crude activities whereas a subtle mind will like subtle activities. Everyone's standard is different and accordingly they find physical engagements or psychic pursuits that are pleasing and appealing to them. Yet all the while they think that activity itself is great or bad when the reality is that it is their mind which has a particular sort of attraction and liking, or not. And one other point is that since the mind is always changing-- always going up or down, always contracting or expanding-- that is why people's own interests and passions change. What one likes today one may or may not like tomorrow. And what one did ten years ago what may not have the slightest interest in that activity now. So behind one's liking or disliking, one's own unit mind is the cause-- not the activity itself.
ABOUT NOT LIKING OR NOT LIKING SADHANA
And this same rule applies to sadhana as well. There are many who tell that sadhana is boring and dry and that they prefer to do something else with their time-- like computer games or running etc. Should we therefore put the blame on sadhana. Of course not. Because we know well that there are many others who sing about the sweet ecstasy and divine enchantment of sadhana. So it is just a matter of the quality of one's own mind. Here-- with regards to the intuitional practice of sadhana-- the key point to remember is that it is the most subtle of pursuits for the human mind. Why? Because Parama Purusa is that most subtle Entity. And the whole practice of sadhana is based on the aim of getting Him. So to engage in that endeavour of sadhana one needs a subtle mind. This every sadhaka knows.
MICROSCOPE AND BACTERIA ANALOGY
However for the common people the whole thing-- the whole pursuit of sadhana-- is just a mystery. But one way of explaining it is as follows: If in the science lab one tries to see bacteria with the naked eye then one will quickly become bored and frustrated. Because bacteria are too small to be seen by the human eye. Rather a microscope is needed to see that bacteria. So with the help of that microscope one can deeply engage in experiments with those bacteria etc. And one can make all sorts of observations. Then looking at that bacteria will be interesting and captivating-- all because one has a microscope to see.
WHAT IS NEEDED TO ENGAGE IN SADHANA
Similarly to see Parama Purusa it needs the help of a refined mind-- pointed intellect and devotional longing. Otherwise sadhana will be boring and one will prefer to do something else. So it is not the activity of sadhana that is the problem per se-- just one needs a proper instrument to engage in that art of meditation. Here one has to remember that trying to do sadhana is itself the best practice for really doing sadhana. It is one's attempt in sadhana that allows the mind to become a proper tool for practicing sadhana and diving into that supreme bliss. That is why Baba encourages and guides us in countless ways to regularly do our sadhana and related practices. Because by this way the mind will become more and more subtle and eventually one will gain success. Here in full colour Baba Himself explains this endeavour. Baba says, "The Supreme entity is durdasha. In the case of Parama Brahma human beings cannot see Him as easily as they can see the external objects with help of their eyes because He is 'Oran'niiyan mahato mahiiya'n'. That is, He is smaller than the smallest, yet greater than the great. To see subtle molecules and atoms one requires the help of scientific instruments. Just as one requires an intellectual and scientific vision to conceive of atoms, one needs a spiritual vision to know the Supreme Entity. To attain Him human beings have to take recourse to shravana (constant hearing), manana (constant ideation) and nididya'sana (constant meditation). The Supreme Entity is Gurha, that is, He is lying hidden in the innermost recess of the human entity. To attain Him one must penetrate deep within oneself, and for that the development of an introversial outlook is essential an extroversial outlook will be no assistance. What we call inanimate matter with our extroversial vision is actually a conscious entity if analysed with an integral outlook." (TK-3)
QUALITY OF MIND
So by practicing sadhana and engaging in subtle pursuits then one will develop that desire and capacity to more deeply dive into the sweetness sadhana-- true meditation. Then the mind will be subtle enough for that divine exchange which occurs in the intuitional practice of sadhana. This is Baba's explicit guideline in so many discourses. So none should think that meditation is permanently beyond their grasp or out of their reach etc. And one should not fall into the delusion that true sadhana does not really exist. One should not give up in this way. We can think of it this way: A human being can contemplate so many things which an animal cannot. Similarly what a spiritually elevated soul can perceive and meditate on subtleties which an ordinary human cannot. So one's duty as a sadhakas is to make the mind more and more refined so that it can easily and smoothly drift into that subtle, blissful world of sadhana.
ONE CAN ATTAIN HIM WITHIN
Here Baba guides us that He lies within an that it is human dharma to attain Him. And by His grace all will get success in this mission-- all will experience that eternal bliss of Parama Purusa. This is His expressed guarantee.
"Tilesu Taelam dadhineva Sarpih".
Baba says, "He is there in you as the oil is in the oilseed. Crush the seed through Sa'dhana' and you get the oil. Separate the mind from Cognition or Consciousness; and see that His resplendence lightens up your whole inner being. He is like butter in curd ; churn it and He will appear from within. Churn your mind through Sa'dhana' and Parama Purus'a will appear like butter from curd. He is like a subterranean river in you. Remove the sands of mind and you will find the clear and cool waters within." "Thus it will be seen that for all creatures there is only one desideratum and it is Parama Purus'a. Move inward and you will attain Him-- What will you say to Parama Purus'a then ? What should be your prayer ? It should be "O Lord, lead me on the correct path. Let not my intellect be distracted from the path of Truth." You are all the children of Parama Purus'a. You will certainly attain Him. You will not deviate from the path of Truth. To attain Him is your birthright. The meaning of Ga'yatrii chhanda is this-- 'O Lord of this resplendent light that pervades all, let not my mind, my intellect, deviate from truth. Show me the way. Lead me on the correct path. I meditate on thy Divine Effulgence so that my intellect is guided towards You'." (SS-19, 'Salvation & Devotion') Namaskar, Manomohan Eds Note: Here below is the link to part 1 of this topic:

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