Nonduality

THE CHIDAKASH GITA (continued)

153. A lifeless thing is soundless. It is gross. A living thing has "Shabda-Brahma" (can produce sound). The universe is nothing but "consciousness". When you build a house, you must first lay a foundation and afterwards, raise the walls. So also, there is no effect without a cause.


154. Those who are physically blind have no knowledge of forms. To such, light is of no use. Those who have destroyed mental modifications, have destroyed all desires. Such people are not subject to dreams.


155. Those who do not breathe through the nose, have no desires of any sort. Their breath is purely internal. They concentrate their breath in the "Brahma Randhra" where the Ida and the Pingala meet. They have realized the Great Self; they look upon all things as Self. This is Swarajya (Self government). What is Swarajya is Jeeva's true place. The light of life is "Prana Vayu". "Prana Vayu" is the capitol of Swarajya government. Atman is the lord of the Swarajya government. Swarajya is one's own energy. This energy must be kept under perfect control. What is Swarajya is not a hill; it is not gold. Keeping under control both desire and anger is Swarajya. A man must say what he does and do what he says.


156. If you are afraid of water, you cannot cross a river in a boat. If you are afraid of fire, you cannot heat water. Fear must be banished. To accomplish anything worth doing, one must be thoroughly fearless. Mind is the cause of anything we do.


157. On a mango tree, all fruits do not grow at the same time and ripen at the same time. First, we have the tender fruit; by and by, the fruit ripens. The ripe fruit is eatable. So also, men must be like mangoes. In every respect, we must cultivate peace.


158. The head is the mango. In it, is the sweet ambrosia. This ambrosia is the essence of the five senses. This ambrosia is the supreme energy in man.


159. A house in which there is no lamp at night has no beauty. Whatever the nature of a house, the house is perishable. What a lamp is to a house, is Jnyana to the body. The light is the light of Kundalini. A thing hidden in mire, fetches no value. When it is recovered from mire, all make use of it. If you discover a diamond in mire, you do not throw it away.


160. A (bad) man falls into a well. We should take him up, not allowing him to die. We must not think that a man will always be bad. We must try to correct him.


161. If any powder falls into the eye, our attention is turned on the eye. Similarly, if our outer attention is directed inwards, it is called introversion, (internal sight). Ignorance is like a casket of powder. The possessor of a box only knows what is contained in it. Others do not know it. The real wealth is the energy of life. Intelligence is the box. The box is locked af ter the wealth is stored in it. Locking the box is giving the Manas its proper place in the head. that thing received is the soul in man. turn your soul to God within yourself; realize internally your own secret. The universe is in you and you are in the universe. The inner man is the ONE in All. He who is "there" and He who is "here" is the ONE and the SAME.


162. The supreme light is the universal light. 0 Mind! Abolish the idea of "otherness". Have the idea of "sameness".


163. When you were born, you were born with breath. When you leave this world, you leave breath only. This body of earth, you never made it nor can you take it along with you. That which Shiva gave us is the same in all beings, both mobile and immobile. All seeds have the same power in them. The subtle in seeds is one. There is difference in their behavior only. The delusion of the mind is not permanent but transient. What can be seen and heard is all transient.


164. When we call a man "pariah", it is nothing but mental delusion. A piece of cloth goes equally well into the mouth of a "pariah" or "brahmin". A Brahmin does not use even the chunam touched by a pariah. He does not sit on the same mat with a pariah. Some one acts like this; another sees it or hears of it and he blindly imitates it.


165. Those who call another a "pariah" are themselves pariahs. Suppose there is a bunch of plantains; from the plantains of the same bunch, we prepare various sorts of eatables. The plantain is a fruit. If it is cut into slices and fried, it is no longer called a plantain. It is called "fried slices". so also, variously named preparations are made from plantains (of the same bunch). In the beginning, there was only one bunch; preparations are manifold. The original form is one only. So also, in all creatures, the sound of Omkar is the one only.


166. There is a station where four railroads meet. One train goes to Calcutta; another to Bombay; a third to Madras; (and a fourth to some other place). They all start from one station and they reach one station only. Similarly is Maya. Maya is born of us and it disappears in us. It is like butter in milk. Butter emanates from milk and it merges in milk. The sayings of a great sage last long. Even if there is none to hear them, they continue to live long.


167. There was a bare plain; there a traveller's bungalow was erected. Scarcely two days had passed, a meeting was held there. Chunam was used to cement the stones. The walls were all white washed. On the very day of white washing, a meeting was held. A certain cooli was appointed to warn the people, attending the meeting, lest their feet and bodies be besmeared with the chunam. The meeting was over and all the people dispersed. But the cooli stayed behind. Afterwards, many a meeting was held in the bungalow. There was no body in the bungalow to tell the cooli, "You were engaged with a certain salary a month; now take your salary up today and go away. From tomorrow, your services are not required." Yet the cooli continues to do his duty. So is a Jnyani in the midst of worldly people. There are many people in this world who behave like the people in this bungalow. They are ignorant of the subtle. They are ignorant of what karma is. Hence the comparison of the world to this bungalow.


168. In a similar way, you must understand all matters. One is standing still. Another is working. All are imitating one another. They are ignorant of both justice and injustice. After knowing justice, they will not stoop to injustice. For a just man, it is very difficult to do injustice. Such a man will never tell a lie, even though his tongue were to be torn asunder. An unjust man wants everything. A just man wants nothing. He is not afraid of anyone. The whole world is in him. The minds of the unjust people are in the world. It is the duty of every human being to know what is justice and what is injustice.


169. Rivers and streamlets enter into the sea and there become one. Similarly, finite things become one in the infinite. Dualism loses itself in monism. Monism is oneness. This realization of the oneness is the most supreme.


170. After a man has realized the "oneness", he will no longer be born. Those who are immovably fixed in the idea of "oneness" die only when they desire to die. Such men are perfectly desireless. Realization of "oneness" is the most "subtle one". What is the "samesightedness " (the indivisible sight) is realizing the Atman in all. This equality consists in realizing the "one" in the "many". This is known as introspection.
When the next world and this world are realized as one and the same, a man has attained "same-sightedness". This is also called the union of Jeevatma and the Paramatma. What is Jeeva is mental modifications (vrittis). Paramatman is the Great Silence, who is above the three qualities. He knows not good and evil, cold and heat.
He is qualityless, formless. He is No-Thing.


171. If you cover your body, then the more you will feel the cold. Those who decorate their bodies, feel the prouder. It is very difficult to banish the "ego" from us. Whitewashing is required for the inside of the wall more than the outside. The outer cleaning is to show to others but the inward cleanliness is for one's own benefit.


172. All is He, pervading everything. He is the "One", pervading all creatures; qualityless; the one Omkar; one, whose form is everlasting peace; blesser of those who have faith in Him. The same being Punishes those who ridicule His devotees. He makes the death of His devotees easy. 0 Shiva! Do not lead me towards hell but lead me towards You. The giver is Shiva.


173. A dead thing is without motion; it is soundless. A living thing has the delusion of sound; it has "consciousness". Conscious creatures have impressions and movements. Creatures, conscious of sound, have the delusion of sound. They have the light of Brahma in them. Consciousness of creatures is light. Men know the distinction between justice and injustice. Lower animals have no distinction of such a sort. Man stands at the head of all creation. There is nothing impossible for man in this world.
Man is in the universe and the universe is in man. man is the greatest of animals. Mind in man is fickle. In man, both this world and the next, merge. ShivaLoka is the third (divine) eye. The Shiva nerve is the Sushumna nerve, also called the Brahma nerve.
The lord of Shiva-Loka is nothing but Shiva Shakti (Shiva's energy). What is Maya is in Shiva. Shiva is not in Maya. Creation and destruction are both Maya caused by Him. In the Great Self, everything becomes latent-effect, soul, Manas, Brahma, waking consciousness, Taraka, sleep, extreme ignorance, and the whole of the external world.


174. To probe into truth, requires subtle discrimination. This subtle discrimination is Upadhi. The subtle is hidden in the gross. The seat of Upadhi is the heart space. When the Kundalini is raised to the heart space in the head, then, the breath is single. In this highest state, one sees the universe in one's Self. Then one sees everything in Him. All the multitudinous changes are seen in oneself. Feeling of duality is hell; feeling of absolute oneness is Mukti. Absolute Bhakti (love) is Mukti. Perfect peace, never perturbed peace, is the goal of man. This is Yogananda; Paramananda. The ocean is bigger than all the rivers. The sea is almost boundless. You cannot measure the water of the ocean. It is not possible to practice Bhakti, leaving off Samsara. Being in Samsara, we must attain Mukti by being "this thing" and by doing "that thing". What is desire is Samsara. Desirelessness is Mukti. Then, one will enjoy eternal bliss, eternal wisdom bliss. Eternal peace which is the highest bliss, is the goal of man. When the mind is swimming in eternal bliss, it is known as Mukti. Bhakti is the state of eternal bliss.


175. God is in bliss. In God, is bliss. That is the nector of wisdom. In that nector, is joy. when we approach that nector, we experience joy.


176. The goal of man is Upanayanam, i.e., "to be lead" to immortality. Dwelling in the cave of the heart is man' s goal. Living in the cave means "living inside the body."


177. Meditate incessantly on the Paramatma who is in the Jeevatma. Space is in you; it is in the head. meditate on the heart space which is in the head.


178. Those who are born deaf have not the least idea of sound. They have no desires. They have subtle discrimination. Those who are always in yoga sleep, have no difference between day and night, between sun and moon. To the subtle discrimination, all is one. Those who have annihilated the mind, are men. Lower animals are so called, because they are in a lower stage of development. Sensual life is beastly life. The upward breath is the goal of man. The same is Gayatri, accomplished; the same is yoga-bliss.


179. One who has annihilated the manas is the universal teacher. One who has destroyed desire, root and branch, is the teacher of all.


180. He is a real Sanyasi who has burnt desire to ashes. He is the universal teacher. The universe is in those who have renounced desire. Mat is Akash (space) is Sanyasa. The same is light; the same is consciousness. The same is divine light. The same is fire, internal, and external. The same is the f ire of discrimination. This power of discrimination is in the universe.


181. Fire is essentially an internal thing. Fire is the supreme of all. The origin of all creation is fire. First, we must realize ourselves and then, impart it to others. This is the highest duty of man. When you feel pain, you must realize that others have pain just like you. When you feel hungry, you must realize that others have hunger just like you. We must think that what is our goal is also the goal of others. When a physician develops a new medicine and he does not reveal it to others till his death, the medicine is lost to the world with him. One who does not know the ways and means to realize God, is not a man. The most supreme knowledge is the knowledge of God. This knowledge must be imparted to others so that they may understand it. Those who are hungry must be fed. Nobody asks you about God unless he has discriminative power.


182. The first requirement is faith. The second is devotion (Bhakti). Those who have no faith cannot have devotion. The judge listens to what the defendents say. Faith is just like that. When Budhi (understanding) has attained acute discriminating power, we will experience Vivekananda. Vivekananda is Paramananda; Satchidananda. When existence (Sat) and knowledge (Chit) become one, Ananda will result. This is Brahmananda; Shivananda.


183. Shiva is in you; you are in Shiva. Maya is in you. Creation and destruction are both in Maya. Those who are free from the bondage of the qualities (Trigunas), are free from Maya. He who is free from the delusion that he is the body, is nothing but bliss incarnate. That which is free from the idea of "honor" and "dishonor" is internal.


184. In this world, those who are indifferent to honor and dishonor, have attained the goal. Such people only, have attained peace.


185. In the infinite (indivisible), there is no finite (divisible). Those who are without a guru, cannot attain the goal.


186. Consider the physical eye. A blind man may have a light in his hand but the light is of no use to him. Those who have eaten a belliful do not require food any more.
Suppose, the cooking is over; you are not satisfied by simply smelling the food. Your hunger is appeased only if you eat the food cooked. If you hold a piece of gold in your hand, it is of no use. It should be melted in the fire; its dross should be removed; then only, it shines brilliantly. Similarly, the dross of the soul are desire and anger; these should be destroyed.


187. What the nest is to the bird, is the body to the soul. The body is the house of the soul. What is "that house" and what is "this house" is subtle discrimination. The gross body is the beggarly house. What to say of Brahmanda! No one can describe it.
Truly, truly, realize that the eternal Atman is ONE in ALL. Hari is not the knower; Shiva is the knower. What is Hari is wandering. "Hari! Hari! I want this"; "I want that" "Give ne, give we" you say. This is of no use. Such a man is never happy. Let Hari merge in Hara. Burn Hari in Hara. Saying "Hari, Hari" is nothing but mental delusion. You praise Hara, hiding this delusion in your mind! He who has given you eternal joy is Shiva.
Shiva is the giver of eternal Mukti (liberation) and eternal Bhakti. What is Hari is keeping the mind in the world. Shiva is keeping the whole universe in one's Self. Saying "Hari, Hari" is going down. But Shiva is the guide to the path of bliss. Mukti is obtained by the upward course of Prana. Hari is like a horse without reins.


188. To ride a horse safely in the midst of a crowd of two thousand people, the rider must be efficient. Budhi (intelligence) is above; Manas (mind) is below. Budhi is the king; Manas is the prime minister. mind Rust be subordinate to Budhi, The first is sound; the second is the impression which the sound carries. The primary guru is the Manas; the secondary preceptor is he who initiates you. The secondary guru is the teacher. The primary guru is that which practices. Realization is the primary guru. You cannot have a secondary preceptor unless you have a desire to have him. When you have the desire to possess a thing you require a secondary guru. The secondary guru is he who shows you the well. The primary guru is he who drinks water from the well.

The primary preceptor banishes the darkness in you, giving you light. Darkness is ignorance; light is knowledge. He who shows you the path to the subtle, leaving aside the gross, is the guru. The one guru who is in all is the Lord of the Universe. One is not the guru to the other. One is only a secondary guru. Guru is the Lord of the Universe.
He is the Omkar, Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara, the origin of Para-Brahma. Vishnu is the mental modifications (Vrittis). What is Shiva is the decoration of the body. Brahmeshwara is leaving aside of the bodyidea, like the kernel of a dry coconut which is separated from the outer covering.


189. All things with form is OMKAR. OMKAR is the divine in them. What is OMKAR is the subtle "Bindu". Omkar pervades both in and out, in the form of air. It is impossible to describe Shiva-Shakti (energy of Shiva). Only those who have experienced it can describe what it is. Without experience, it is impossible to describe what Shiva-Shakti is. Men of book knowledge cannot describe it. But those who have the knowledge of the Atman can describe it.


190. If you see the dawn in the heart sky, it is possible to describe it. One must experience these things in one's Self. What is called Jnyana is in Budhi (intelligence). Those in whom Budhi and Jnyana have become one, can describe what this is. Those in whom intelligence and Jnyana are separate, cannot describe what it is. What is called "subtle discrimination" is the union of Budhi and Jnyana. The reflection of the sun, ripples in the water. So also, is mind. If mind is fickle, it is enamored of Maya.
This madness (delusion) is caused by the "gross". There is a madness caused by "subtle discrimination"; this is divine madness. The gross madness is the gross discrimination. Whatever we may eat, the path of food to the stomach is the same.

Whatever may be the contents of letters and poost cards and various newspapers, the box in which they are posted is the same. The tongue distinguishes between things pungent and things sour. To the mind, there is no such difference. Just as we cage a bird binding its legs and then teach it to speak, so also intelligence becomes one with the soul when it is caged in the cage of Manas.


191. The Lord of Mukti is Shiva. Shiva is the Linga in the head. This Linga is nothing but Omkar. Enlightenment is the most important thing. Without nerves, there is no sound. Bhakti may be compared to the oil in a lamp. Nerves may be red to the wick. Subtle discrimination is the flame or the light. The nerves are the glass of the lantern. The various air holes of the lantern are the Brahma-Randhras. The form of discrimination is intelligence.


192. If you hold nose and mouth tight, you are not able to talk. Similarly, a thing that does not breathe, does not emit sound. Just as water goes on diminishing in a well in summer, so also, the power of breath goes on diminishing in the body. When the water is moving, the air moves along with it. You can live without food or without drinking coffee f or f ive days. But you camot live for f ive minutes without breathing.


193. The highest of all powers is the power of Maya. A dead body and so also a stone, are unable to talk. Likewise, if air does not act, fire cannot burn; i.e., if breathing is not regular, the fire of digestion will be impaired. When the digestive fire does not act properly, the phlem in the lungs, becomes hard. Fat increases in the body. The food that is eaten, remains in the stomach undigested. If there is any obstruction in the pump, water will not flow out properly. Similarly, if the breathing becomes difficult, fever, thickening of the mucus, are caused. By this, all diseases are caused.


194. Everything comes out from within; not from without. One becomes bad by oneself; one becomes good by oneself. Similarly, there should be Omkar breathing within. Then, there is purity. 'When evil merges in the good, that evil is transformed into good; the thing in your own hand has no smell; it has no price. A thing that is got from others, has smell; it has price. A Raja yogi Mahatma is Nityananda, all pervasive Omkar, all pervasive Pranava. He who is the Sri Guru is Nityananda. In the beginning, before perfect peace is attained, the power of Maya (delusion) in us will be greatly manifested. Wherever you turn your eyes, you see serpents. In the beginning, when you sit for practice, the heaviness of a mountain is experienced. At times, you feel as if you leave of f the ground; you feel as if you are sitting in the sea; you feel as if hot water is poured on you. At another time, you feel as if you are sitting in a grand upper story.
Sometime you feel like a needle. At another time, you feel like a leaf. Sometime you do not feel whether you are walking or sitting or talking. At another time all feeling comes to a stand still. Sometime, the body becomes quite motionless, like a coconut tree. At another time, human beings appear like actors in a dramatic performance. At one time you see black faces. In perfect peace, one indivisible whiteness is visible. Light is in darkness; darkness is in light. The whole universe is in darkness. In the universe, is light. At one time, all this appears like a bioscopic performance; at another time, like Sat Chit Ananda. At one time, questions arise: "Why have men come into this world?
Whither are they going?" They do not know what their main duty is. Coming down is not permanent. Going up and up, is permanent. To those who have gone step by step to the upper story and look around, what is heard, what appears, what is done, all is like a net, that cannot be cut through. All penetrating Omkar is the all penetrating Pranava. Birds are like airplanes. Men are like beasts. Beasts are like men. Dogs are like Jnyanis. If you feed a dog, it will never forget you till its death. It will have constant love for the master, who has fed it but once. Men have no subtle discrimination. They think not whence they have come and whither they are bound. A man of perfectly ripe understanding should be like a dog.


195. If you go to see a king, you have not the boldness to tell him to his face what his defects are. But behind his back, you criticize him. So also, people (worldly) are not bold enough to criticize a Jnyani to his face. If you gaze at the brilliance of the sun and come into the house, you see nothing for a while. Similarly, if you emerge from a dark place into a light place, you camot know whence you emerged.


196. Suppose a man awakes from a sleep out of fear, and sits up, then he is so confused that he has no clear knowledge of anything. so also, Jnyanis who are always in "Yoga-Nidra" (yoga sleep) do not know anything about the external world. If you have an umbrella, your head does not become wet by rain water. Those who take meals daily, have hunger. Those who are entirely merged in cold water do not feel cold. A perfect man is never excited to anger. A fried seed cannot sprout. Like gold, well burnished, your mind should be always pure.


197. A high class cobra has internal Pranayama. A cobra is very attentive to the sweet music, arising from a musical instrument called "Nagaswara". A Jnyani loves ALL as a cow loves its own calf. This is what is called "same-sightedness". There is no house which is without doors; there is no cooking without vessels. A dog feeds on food, cooked either in earthen vessels or in gold vessels. Birds think of today's necessities; never tomorrow's. A seed, kept in a closed box, never sprouts. Such a seed, never yields fruits. If it is sowed in earth (and watered), it will sprout and yield fruits. Hence, we must practice and get experience. It is you yourself who is responsible either for happiness or misery.


198. Anybody can handle a lamp without distinction of caste and creed. So also, the sun gives the same light to all. Sun is visible to all alike. Fire is visible to all alike. Supreme Budhi (intelligence) and Jnyan (knowledge) are the one to those who have developed in them the power of the internal eye.


199. Those who have no subtle discrimination are not worth the name "men". A man is not an animal. The gross is the body idea. The subtle is the thought of Atman. Jeevatma is the gross. Paramatma is the subtle. Without the gross, the subtle cannot be realized. Without a foundation, a house cannot be erected. Thought power (power of discrimination) is what is called Shiva Shakti. The union of Jeevatma and Paramatma is called "Shiva Shakti". When this power is intensified, man becomes "superman". A superman is a happy man; he is a Brahmin, knower of Brahma. Vedantic conduct or behavior is "true character formation".


200. He who is desireless is an "Acharya" (teacher). Desireless man is the Sanyasi. He is an Avadhoota in this world, who has abandoned desire. Avadhoot is a man of the first class; he is the most supreme of men. There is no state higher than that of Avadhoot. Avadhoot is he who is above all. He to whom this world and the next have become one is an Avadhoot. Consciousness sky; real sky; emancipation from bondage; the bliss of self government; the bliss of Brahma; real bliss; yoga bliss; fulfillment of human birth; lordship of Mukti; power to teach emperors; these are the "possessions" of an Avadhoota.


201. He who meditates on God and who is desireless, is the saviour of the world. He who meditates on God is the "Muni" (sage). He is Shiva and Shiva is he. All that is visible is Shiva.


202. One who has not realized the truth is a beggar. One who has not destroyed delusion, one who has not left off the downward (worldly) path, is a beggar.


203. Those who are indifferent to honor and dishonor, enjoy bliss, true bliss which is the same as Brahmananda, i.e., at-one-ment with the God-head. If we concentrate our intellectual powers for five minutes, we feel that bliss. Those who have not realized the primoridal cause, have not realized the goal of life. Like flies falling into the flame of a burning lamp, those who have not realized the truth, are caught, in the "net of delusion".
The flies repeatedly see the lamp. They repeatedly hover round the lamp and at last they fall into it and die.


204. Those who do not practice Pranayama (control of breath) have no yoga. It is impossible to draw water from a well without a rope. Those who are not free from bondage have no peace. No one can live without drinking water. Those who have annihilated the mind, are desireless. Babies are Raja-yogis till the sixth month. After the brain is developed, the same baby is Hatha-yogi. The mind in such babies is very fickle. Because the discriminating power is less in them, babies camot distinguish between a lump of sugar and a lump of earth. Hence, such babies regard earth and sugar as the same. The fruit is always at the top of the tree. Similarly, the fruit in man is upwards. If you plant a coconut in the earth, coconuts are eventually seen at the top of the coconut tree. For every tree, the fruit is at the top.


205. The umbrella does not hold the man; all is held by the mind. when the mental moods are destroyed, all differences disappear. Such a man has no desire. He is a Sanyasi. He is a yogi. A man who has Manas wants everything. A man who has no Manas, has everything in himself. Just as in a steamer, there is all sorts of commodities, so also, a man who has conquered the mind, has the whole world in himself.


206. When a boat is sailing, everything around appears to move. So also, when mind is disappearing, everything appears to whirl round. What is experienced in sleep is not experienced in the waking state. What is experienced in the waking state is not experienced in sleep. If you place a vessel, without water, over f ire, no sound is produced. In order to produce sound, water is necessary. So also, those who have no subtle discrimination, will not be benefitted. If you are bitten by a cobra in sleep, you will not die. In sleep, mind is quiescent. When there is Manas, there is everything. What is called "creation" is a mental affection. When there is thorough "introspection", there is no creation.


207. In the beginning of practice, the neophyte should diminish sleep. when practicing moderation in diet, one should not bathe in cold water. If you bathe once in four or five hours in cold water, the blood circulation in the body will not be regular. An actor in a theatre, first acts behind the curtain, then he comes out. In the beginning, there must be secrecy; afterwards, it is not necessary. If you pour water in a vessel which is already full, that water flows out. So also, when perfect peace is attained, it becomes known to all. Such a man has no desire. This peace is the supreme. Perfect peace weans union with the God-head.

Back | Continue