Unfortunate Umbrella: Part II

Date: Sat, 07 March 2009 23:04:29 -0000 To: am-global@earthlink.net From: Subject: Unfortunate Umbrella: Part II Baba "Ceye gechi toma're, shato rupe shato ba're..." (P.S. 2503) Purport: Baba You are mine; my everything is depending on You. You are my Ista; You are my Goal. Baba, I long to see You in hundreds of forms, hundreds of times--again and again. But, You only got held in name, song, melody, and tune. I only got You in those few ways. Baba, with my deep yearning, I search for You very near in the depths of my heart; I do not ever want for You to remain far away. O' the Devata of Divine Effulgence, please come more close--silently, please smile in my "I-feeling", in the deep core of my heart. Baba, please fill my whole existence in Your divine effulgence, in Your undying love, with parabhakti. Baba, by Your grace I have a deep longing and earnest desire to have You close, with the bond of love, in Your rhythmic expression and resonance. Baba, I want You close, in the land of the sweet resonance of the divine flute, in each and every blissful moment, in the world of the divine effulgence and beyond-- eternally. Baba, please shower Your ahetuki krpa' and make my existence successful. O' my dearmost...

== UNFORTUNATE UMBRELLA: Part II == (Here is the link to Part 1) http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/02/unfortunate-umbrella.html

Namaskar, This entire topic about the 'Umbrella of Vanity' is closely linked with our devotional life and being able to feel His grace each and every moment through the course of our days. All are encouraged to write in with their own thoughts and experiences as well.

COMMON HUMAN LONGING

As diverse as human beings are in their various expressions from their outward appearance to their intrinsic talents, even then there are certain common points that are universal to all. For example, as Baba Himself tells us, it is the innate desire of each and every human being to develop a close, personal relation with God. Baba says, "Human beings want a personal God who will understand their joys and sorrows, who will have love for them, and to whom they can express love and feel kinship. They certainly do not want a God who will only impart words of knowledge or punish them and not listen to their tales of sorrow in a sympathetic manner. They want an Entity who will sympathize with them cent per cent in their prosperity and adversity alike." (SS-11) So when this inherent desire of wanting a personal link with Parama Purusa is such a universal characteristic of each and every human heart then certainly we should understand how to best satisfy and satiate this divine longing.

TWO DISTINCT OUTLOOKS

Looking at opposite ends of the spectrum there are two distinct outlooks which have a vastly different effect upon one's ability to form that sweet, intimate, and personal relation with God.

DEVOTIONAL APPROACH: CULTIVATING AN INNER LINK WITH HIM

On the one side there are the bhaktas who think that Parama Purusa is always watching them and caring for them and deep inside they believe that that He is in fact the doer of their good. By this way of thinking, by this type of outlook, devotees naturally develop a closer link with Him. Closeness between any two beings develops when one party feels that the next entity is helping them. So when bhaktas believe in the core of their heart that Parama Purusa is there to do everything for them, and that He is the most benevolent and gracious One, and that indeed everything happens in this universe due to His divine grace, then automatically those bhaktas become internally linked with Him in a most intimate way. That is one end of the spectrum.

UMBRELLA OF VANITY: OBSTRUCTING ONE'S LINK WITH HIM

On the other end of the spectrum there are those jinanis who are dominated by their own unit ego and in their arrogance they think that they achieve everything in this world by virtue of their own individual talent-- by their own efforts. In that case, they are not relying on Parama Purusa but rather giving full credit to themselves. And this defective approach-- egotistically thinking that 'I did and that it at all happened because of me'-- is itself the 'umbrella of vanity'. In which case one cannot feel His grace. By this defective outlook a distinct gap develops between those jinanis and Parama Purusa. In which case, consciously or unconsciously, these jinanis view Parama Purusa as being nothing but one theoretical God in the far distant sky, not that personal God Who is deep inside their heart. And this is all due to their umbrella of vanity-- thinking that 'I am the cause and I did everything'. That very defective approach creates the feeling that Parama Purusa is far away-- non-existent. In which case such jinanis never get to feel His sweet grace or divine bliss.

IDENTIFYING THIS UMBRELLA OF VANITY: 'I DID'

In a nutshell, bhaktas think that 'Parama Purusa is doing' and therefore move closer to Him; and jinanis think that 'I did' and thereby increase the distance between them and their Lord. Again if we identify the root cause behind this grand difference, it this very defective outlook: 'I did'. That egoistic expression-- 'I did'-- is the unfortunate umbrella of vanity which separates those jinanis from Parama Purusa. That is the dark umbrella which obstructs their relation with Parama Purusa. And that is why they do not feel His eternally flowing grace. So the whole thing is just a matter of one's outlook. When any small or big thing occurs in this universe there are two different ways to view the situation. The devotional mind will think that it is only due to His grace while the jinani oriented mentality will immediately try to take the credit for that action. By these divergent approaches, the bhakta goes closer to Parama Purusa and feels His sweet grace more and more while and the jinani goes away from Him and just gets caught up in the net of their own ego. And this is the umbrella of vanity-- giving credit to oneself-- when really it is due to the grace of Parama Purusa. But, through it all, we should always remember that Parama Purusa is equally gracious on all-- whether one understands this or not.

BABA'S DIVINE TEACHING

Baba says, "He has got equal love for each and every creature of this universe, for all animate and inanimate objects. His krpa' and His compassion is being equally showered upon each and every individual, upon each and every object. He bestows His compassion equally on each and every object. Equally on pa'piis [sinners] and pun'yava'nas [the virtuous]." "But common people do not feel it, they do not feel that they are getting His krpa'. Why do they not feel it? That krpa', that water of compassion, is being showered on each and every creature equally, but ordinary people do not feel that they are being drenched by those sacred waters. Why? Because they are holding the umbrella of vanity over their heads, that's why they are not being drenched." "And what is sa'dhana'? You will have to remove that umbrella from above your head and get yourself drenched by the sacred water. You will have to remove that umbrella of vanity...and get yourself drenched by that water; and then you will feel that you are being graced by Him. This is what is called krpa'. Krpa' is there, but you will have to come to feel it by your sa'dhana'. And when you will remove that umbrella, you will get proper direction, and then you will be guided by hla'dinii shakti, by Ra'dhika' shakti. Here you will come in contact with His nu'pura dhvani [Divine Sound]." (AV-33, 'Brahmacakra') Thus by moving along the path of devotional sadhana one will easily be able to remove that umbrella of vanity-- it will disappear naturally. In which case one will feel His boundless grace in each and every work, all day long. But for those crusty jinanis who again and again gloat about the fact that they themselves are doing everything and that it is all due to their own smartness, then they will permanently move around with the umbrella of vanity over their head and in their life they will never feel His divine grace. This is their unfortunate fate.

SPECIALITY OF DEVOTION

Here below Baba highlights the speciality of devotion. "Bhaktira'nanda ru'pa'ca... Devotion is bliss incarnate." (SS-18) Devotion means feeling His sweet grace and divine in the seed vessels of one's mind each and every moment. So the degree to which one is tangibly feeling His grace and bliss in their own mind is the degree to which they are a devotee. And to the degree that one does not feel His grace and bliss is the degree to which one is still holding that umbrella of vanity over their head. In this regard, when trying to calculate anyone's standard, best is for everyone to judge the matter for themselves. Only a tad bit of honesty is needed, nothing more.

BABA'S BLESSING

By Baba's grace, may we all move along the path of devotional sadhana and feel His ever showering grace and divine bliss each and every moment of our lives-- and beyond. Baba says, "By dint of sadhana, one is to arouse and exalt that sleeping divinity. ...But for this, one requires divine help and I know further that one is getting divine help, and I know still further, that it is for infinite time and infinite space, one is getting this divine help, and you are all sadhakas, you will certainly attain the Supreme Stance and enjoy that divine blessedness. You are sure to enjoy it my sons and daughters." (AV-23, p. 76) Namaskar, Mukunda

Note 1: ALL STRENGTH COMES FROM HIM

Here below Baba guides us that all our energy comes directly from Him. Baba says, "Human beings also move on, but to move forward sometimes they need energy. But where does this energy come from? The source of all energy is Parama Purus'a. With His energy all entities are moving. No living being has its own energy: endowed with the energy of Parama Purus'a, it moves forward." (SS-12, 'Adarsha & Ista') Thus when all our strength comes from Him then naturally He is the one behind our each and every work. But jinanis again and again overlook this eternal truth and instead proclaim themselves as the champion of their own deeds. And that defective mentality is their umbrella of vanity.

Note 2: WHAT SHOULD BE OUR APPROACH

In this next guideline Baba clearly tells us what our approach should be.

Yato vishvam'...

Baba says, "Out of the grace of the supreme, the universe has emerged; due to His grace, the universe preserves its existence; and because of His grace, everything will finally dissolve in Him." "So the final word in the realm of spirituality is the supreme grace of Parama Purus'a. Intelligent people will understand this supreme truth and move accordingly. It is true not only in the physical level, nor in the physico-psychic level, nor in the psychic, nor in the psycho-spiritual level, but in all levels." "Finally, whatever you say or think, everything is finally embedded in the grace of Parama Purus'a. The sooner this fundamental truth is realised, the better it will be for all." (SS-18, 'Cult, Inference, & Propensity')