Nonduality

THE CHIDAKASH GITA (continued)

PART THREE

259. The sacred syllable "OM" is like a storm in the sky. OM is without beginning or ending. "omkar" is like a stage manager in a drama. As it works through the bodies of men, those bodies are pervaded by "Omkar". This syllable is inside us, outside us and everywhere. It is the cause of everything that exists. We need not bring it up to consciousness any-where. That sound exists in everything. We need not recall it separately to memory. This energy is not divisible but indivisible. This sound exists in every animal. Whatever sound is produced by animals, it is nothing but "Omkar". What is called Pranava is another name for "Omkar".When it is united with Prana and moves in the body, it is called "Pranava". When the nature and the subtle (i.e., physical and non-physical) "Sthoola" and "Sookshma" are separate, it is Pranava. When we feel both to be one, then it is called the feeling of oneness. This is identical with "Omkar". At that time, one sees the "ON everywhere. That which you worship with faith, becomes ALL.


260. That energy called "Omkar" pervades the uni- verse and is formless. It is the light in ALL and light of ALL. Ignorance and knowledge are mere phantoms, i.e., not realities. Happiness and misery will never touch a man who has realized the "oneness".


261. If you have "Manas", you want everything. If you have no "Manas", you do not want anything. If you have "Manas", God becomes a separate being for you. When you have merged "Manas" in "Budhi", you have no separate God. All appears as one. If you have desire, you want a separate God, because God's help is necessary to accomplish your desire. Then the "Manas" goes after the various objects of the senses and causes "doubt" about various matters. Then one feels the necessity of an idol or image. Cause and ef f ect appear to be two separate categories. The image worship is due to Maya or ignorance.


262. What is called "Akash" is in the upward direction. What is called "male" is a subtle state. What is called "female" is nature.


263. Men who have no desire, need not have a separate God. They need not strive for any- thing. When the mind runs after various objects of the senses, to bring the mind to "one pointedness",what is called the "practice" is necessary.Man should con- centrate on Budhi as long as there is the beating of the pulse in man, and as many times as the pulse beats. The Manas should not be united with the senses. Whatever you may do, your mind should be concentrated inwards upon Budhi. In order that a man may not be drowned in water, he must learn how to swim. Maya should be conquered by the Supreme Maya. Whatis Maya? When the Manas runs after senseobjects, variety of desires are created.Itis you that clings to the coconut tree; thecoconut tree does not cling to you.
Similarly,has Maya hands and legs to catch hold of you?


264. Purposelessness is felt only in the subtle.Discrimination is becoming one of Manas with Budhi. What is called Samadhi is seeing the one in all. By practice, one must conquer the six enemies of the Atman in the body; i.e., desire, anger, etc. A Sadhaka, i.e., a beginner in God realization, should not talk ill of others. If he does so, his progress will be retarded. Like that of a sprout on which a heavy stone is placed. A Sadhaka must not relax his practice even for a ghatica(24 minutes). The mind should be ceaselessly engaged in the practice.


265. The Prana must be firmly fixed in an upward direction with great faith. That is the path to liberation. This body is like a cave to the Atman, and in this eave, dwells the eternal Atman. Yoga means becoming one. When the two become one, that is yoga. When the mind and Budhi become one, it is called yoga. WhenJeeva travels by the path of Budhi and enters Brahma Randhra, it is called yoga.
Devotion, reasoning and power these three become one and become Omkar. Egotism becomes merged in Omkar. Just as camphor is lost in fire, mind and Budhi become one with each other. Like little children rocked to sleep, Chitta, being placed in Budhi, must know who the "I" is.


266. 0 Mind! Enter the house of Ananda! When thewhole area is flooded, we cannot distinguish the wells and tanks in that area. Because there is darkness, we must infer there islight. When you taste sweet things, remember there are pungent things to be swallowed.What is the state of Jeeva when Jeeva has realized that the Atman is not the body? Such souls have attained their pristine condition."I" and "mine" are not visible to the physical eyes. "Ill and "mine" are not to be found above the tip of the nose. That which is above these, has neither beginning nor ending.A visible object has a beginning and anending. Since Atma is invisible to the physical eye, Atma is without beginning and ending. It is impossible to lessen the powerof Atman because Atman is always constant.Just as "space" is homogeneous everywhere, so is the Atman, the same everywhere. The head of man is the abode of the light, of millions of suns. Which is bigger, the eye or the sun? If the eye is spoiled, is it possible to see the sun? So the eye is more important.
The form of gold images is the creation of the mind. When a man is photographed, the picture is according to the posture of the sitter; the virtues and the opposites in the photographer are not seen in the picture.


267. The fruit is according to the internal faith of a man. Good and evil are not of the Atman. Atman, like the reflection of an object, takes that form which the mind wants Him to take. The Jeeva is like a bird in a cage; when the nest is spoiled, the bird is not effected. The bird flies away. The bird may build a new nest and enter it in six months,in a year, or in five minutes. That depends on the bird's efforts. From this place to the railway station, you can go in 24 minutes or in a month.


268. Sadhana (practice) is necessary for Vairagya(desirelessness) to be steady. For Vairagya to be permanent we must have practice.Vairagya is not related to the body. When the mind is unwavering in all the external and internal causes and effects, then the one sees the Atman. When the idea of Jnyana andVijnyana is absent, then one sees the Atman.When one knows but he is not aware that he knows, then one sees the Atman. Men who have realized the Atman, are like blind men; are like deaf men although they hear; they do but they are unaware of what they do. When the senses are acting, they are disunited with them. So their action is inaction to them.In them, the idea of creation is less; the idea of nihility is more. Since their power of forgetfulness is great, their actions are inactions. Their attention is concentrated not on the coconut shell but on the kernel (on Atman, not on the body).They are beyond both sin and merit. They are like a boat in water. Just as water and boat are quite distinct, they feel the gross and the subtle to be separate.They are indifferent to bodily functions but concentrated in Jnyana. They drink the juice of the sugarcane and throw away the outer skin. When the sugar is manufactured, it does not become the can again. When by practice, one has realized that he is Atman, the idea that he is the body never returns. Like an old vessel, after the necessary repairs, shining with the lustre of the new, Budhi, when the Vasanas are annihilated, can be transformed into the pure Satwa quality.Then we will have contentment.


269. Unless the intellect is purified, contentment does not spring. Unless the intellect is purified, Chitta does not become steady. Unless Chitta is purified, a man cannot free himself from verbal delusion. When ice is placed in water, both become one. Similarly, man who has realized the Atman, merges in the Atman. Just as the rivers enter the sea, all Vasanas are merged in Atman. Atman is not a thing. Karma is a thing. The steamer is in the sea. To the looker on, it appears to touch the sea water, but the steamer is quite different from the sea water.There is no relation between the two.So must a man be in the affairs of the world. He must not have any attachment to worldly things. Just as Brahmins (Bhats) wait eagerly for plantain leaves to be spread and meals served, so must a man wait for mental purification and Mukti.


270. No one wants to look at a fruitless tree. Why is man called man? Because he has "Manas" (thinking power), he is called man. "Manas" should get knowledge of various sorts and being united with "peace", must become one with Omkar.He who desires Mukti (eternal life) should at once give up the idea "I am the body". Such people alone can realize the Atman. To those who think "I am this body", it is very difficult to see the Atman. Those who hold fast to the idea "I" and "mine" may practice for a thousand years; yet they will not attain even the slightest fraction of Shanti. If one bathes in a river, his body becomes clean, let him be a pariah or a brah- min or a child. Likewise, the internal state of man is the same, though the exterior of every man may appear to be different. Chilies, watermelons, etc., may grow in the same field; the nature of the one is dif ferent from that of the other. The heat of fire is only felt by those who sit near the f ire but never by those who sit in water. Peace is cool like water. Before you are hungry, thefood must be prepared.So also, before you become a householder, you must know the duty of a householder.A householder should have his exterior and interior equally pure. He should distinguish clearly between cause and effect.


271. A man may run after a horse in vain for any length of time; let him ride the horse. Let him bind the legs of a horse and get on its back, quickly. So also, worldly men must keep their mind free from attachment to sense objects.Just as water slips of f from an umbrella of palmyra leaves, so also, a man must be free from the idea "I am the doer". A householder must be like a calf offered to a temple.All should be offered to the Brahman. But one cannot say that a man who does like this is nearer God and a man who does not like this is far away from him. If you keep a light before a thousand people, it reaches all without making any distinction. Anyone may take it. Where there is light, there is no darkness. In the darkness there is no light. There can only be one thing (either light or darkness), not two at the same time.One's nature should be like the sun; one's Chitta must be cool like the moon.


272. Vairagya should be like fire burning a cloth. When Vairagya is highly developed, the interior (Atma) splendor will be visible. The body may sit firm but it is the mind that should sit firm.Those whose minds are not purified, seldom have "equal sightedness". Those who do not practice, will have great difficulty in possessing the Satwa quality in them. The subtle intelligence is developed by practice; unless you practice, the desire for worldly things cannot be destroyed. Hankering after landed property, after woman, and after gold, is difficult to be extinguished. What is the thing to be attained by man? When the chitta is free from the three forces - Satwa, Rajas, and Tamas, it is called "Purushartha".Just as dirty linen becomes clean when washed in soap water, so also, Chitta should be purified by washing it in the soap water of Budhi and it must be made as pure as space. when you learn sewing on a machine, in the beginning your attention must be fixed not on the legs but on the hands. When we fix our attention on Budhi and make the mind merge into heart space, then we will attain that eternal peace which is called "NITYANANDA".


273. Those whose minds are pure may call God by any name they please.
Prakriti is like a railway carriage; those who are in it, are like Jnyana; the stations are like "chakra" (six lotuses in the body); within the chakras is the "subtle"; the subtle is within the tube; within the subtle tube is the energy of the Kundalini; Kundalini in the form of Omkar is in the subtle tubes; let this "subtle" be known by experience.


274. A certain man is a lord of scores Of money. All cannot be millionaires at the same time. It depends on their past karmas. Everyone is rewarded according to his due. There is plenty of water in the sea. But the quantity of water one fetches depends on the size of the vessel one takes to fetch water. The fruit depends upon the Vasanas of one's karmas.It is because of the "Vasanas" of former births that a man has a hankering af ter hearing the teachings of a Sadhu.

It is because of these "Vasanas" that one feels no happiness in worldly pleasures. Those who are guided by the "Vasanas" of former births, do not require separate "Vasanas". "Vairagya" itself is the result of the "Vasanas" of former births. For such men, it is the time to tread the path to Mukti.


275. For attaining Jnyana and Mukti, age is no consideration. This very moment is the time for the attainment of Jnyana and Mukti. As soon as a man is hungry, it is the time for taking his meals.Those who are not hungry should wait for meals until they are hungry. One should have a keen hunger after "Bhakti". The greater the heat of fire, the greater the boiling of water. "Shradha" is the heat; peace is like the ice in the brain. It f ills the inside and manifests outside.

Such a man becomes contented in all respects and his mind becomes pure.
Peace of mind, for attainment, does not cost us anything, like charity and dharma. When one is filled with peace, those who are near him are also infected with peace. It is enough if one person is filled with peace. Out of a thousand, if one has peace, a fraction of peace is enjoyed by all those who are around him. A sadhu when he enters a crowd of worldly people, should have that peace which a hunter has when he approaches a tiger. A sadhu, to be in the world, should have immense peace and patience. Peace is very useful to move among thousands of worldly people.


276. Various kinds of articles are brought to a fair. Similarly, peace should be practiced in various ways. When we are in the midst of thousands of people, we should have a firm will. When you think (wrongly) that you are in the midst of thousands, the idea of duality arises in you. Just as an airplane moves without the help of the earth, so also, one must learn to act without the help of the body. The crown of firm belief "I am not this body" should be firmly planted in the heart. A traveller after being in the sun for a long time and is tired, goes for shelter to the shade of a tree on a hillside and there forgets his fatigue. So too, those whose minds are absorbed in the search of God, forget all their worldly anxieties. Just as in the shade, the sun's heat is forgotten, "mineness" is forgotten by the absorption in God. When we are inside a house, we do not want an umbrella; we are in need of an umbrella only when we go outside the house. Just as you do not want an umbrella inside the house, so also, when you are in the Great House called God, you feel no necessity of worldly enjoyment (found in human houses). When a man shuts the door of a house, he sees only things which are inside the house. Let him open the doors and come out; then he will see what is outside. Similarly, you must learn how to shut the doors of the "five senses" and how to open them. When the doors of a warehouse are locked, buying and selling ceases. When doors of the senses are shut, the difference between the external world and the "I" will vanish.You must always be careful about the senses. Like a horse being controlled by the help of reins, you must control your senses by the help of discrimination. Your attention on the senses should be fixed like a nail in a wall. Budhi (intelligence) should be concentrated in the head. Your attention should always be above the neck; never below the neck.


277. Just as gold is burnished after repeatedly put into fire, so by repeated exercise of discrimination, the subtle should be enlightened. You must see the world in you. Our intelligence is only a means of Moksha. What is called "Dharana" is nothing but clear understanding of the subject. By this clear understanding, we come nearer to the Atman. We do not get experience from books; first experience, and from that experience, books are written. The tree is in the seed; the seed is not in the tree. Man is not in the world; the world is in man. The world is subject to man. We express in words what we think in our minds. The heart should be free from hypocrisy, the heart of man should be perfectly pure. What the heart thinks, the tongue should talk. What one thinks, one must talk. Nobody you should deceive; nobody you should hate. You must not mix with others. Your mind must always be one pointed. When you have a deceptive heart, it is like the sun, in the mid-summer, a star comes out of the clouds and shines with glory. After a few seconds, it is hidden again by the clouds.
So also is the mind of man. Sometimes, it appears to be pure but again in five minutes, it is over clouded by passions. The egotistic mind melts in the Atman like a star which falls down from the sky. "Akash" (space) is not visible to the physical eye. "Akash" is that which is visible to the divine eye. By discrimination, we can experience discrimina- tion. Sound is known by sound. Mind is perceptible to mind only.


278. He is Paramatman (supreme being) who is in Jeevatman (Atman).
Paramatman is the witness to the qualities of the Atman. When Jeeva realizes that he is not different from Param- atman, he is called Nityatma (the eternal spirit). When the tender mango is on the tree, it is united with the tree; so also are Jeeva and Paramatman united. When sat (experience), Chit (consciousness), and Ananda (bliss) are in union and when the three gunas are merged in "Satchidananda", then only do we say that it is yoga (union).


279. The energy called "Kundalini" should be roused by Pranayama.By rousing Kundalini, a man must attain liberation. Faith is like a rope. Vayu (air) is the rope. You must hold the rope of Vayu tight. Faith must be tied by the rope of Dharana. What is faith is nothing but Dharana.our attention must always be concentrated on Dharana. That concentration must always be coupled with faith.Faith should be f illed in every nerve of the body. To such people, there is no existence of Maya as a separate thing. Mind itself is Maya. It is the mind that creates (mental) images or ideas. All sorts of relations, all creation, cause and effect, light and universe, universal light and the Supreme Light -- all these differences are caused by one's own ignorance (Maya). When this is realized, there is no fear of Maya. "All these forms are MY OWN FORMS" thus should a wise man meditate.When the mind becomes firm in meditation, and when the Supreme Oneness is realized in the sky of consciousness, it is called "Moksha". The path of "Moksha" is not far from one's Self. Like the distance between the eye and ears, the distance between sin and merit is very slight. Moksha is not beyond Budhi.

Pleasure and pain are things to be merged in Budhi. By the help of Budhi, one must attain "Moksha". When the mind is merged in the Self and when the "oneness" is realized one attains "Moksha". Jnyana is internal. At the beginning, Jnyana can be known. As one progresses, this Jnyana is also forgotten, then there is nothing to be said or nothing to be listened to. All is Brahman and Brahman is all, this state may be called the state of "nothingness". Prana is like a rope. When exhaling and inhaling it moves harmoniously. Prana is indivisible, it has no difference of time. Prana feels this difference when it is coupled with the gross. Jeeva because he is engrossed in the various qualities of the world, has forgotten his real Self and has occupied a lower rank. Let him take a higher (upward) direction by the help of Budhi. Prana should be tied down by the rope of faith. let Prana attain "Moksha" by its upward direction. Liberation from the sensual ties is "Moksha". Then comes peace. 0 Prana! Enter the abode of Peace. Have under control both this world and the next! Such souls will attain Sat-Chit-Ananda (existence knowledge bliss). They have no attachment to the results of karma. They are eternally liberated from bondage. They are eternally one minded. They have conquered the qualities of the Jeeva. Until the consciousness "I am the body" is not wiped off, Mukti is a thing far off. Unless the idea of "twoness" is annihilated, there is no yoga, no Mukti. In a sense, everyone is a yogi. But everyone of such yogas has a certain object in view. When a substance becomes one with the original substance, when the dualities of lives is wiped off, it is called "union" or "oneness". When this is realized, we see "oneness" in all. The real yoga is that which is detached from every-thing.

That yoga by which a man becomes free from "desires" is the path to "Moksha". "Doubt" will not disappear until Jeeva unites with Shiva and becomes one. When one does a thing which is not palatable to the other, one takes the other to be a mad man. When both are interested in doing the same thing, one does not take the other to be a mad man. When both are equally interested in doing the same thing, there is nothing strange in doing that thing.

The mind is like the cotton placed in the wind; devotion to God is like water poured on the cotton. Similar is the destruction of the mind. The mind which is like cotton should be wetted by the water of Jnyana and the Chitta should be freed from desires. That is "Moksha". In the manner of the cotton, let man attain Mukti. A man may meditate on the Atman although he is engaged in various actions.The various objects of the senses are outside us, not inside us. Even when we are performing various actions, it is not possible to keep the Budhi separate from them. If a car driver, when he steers the car, takes his hands off of the wheel the car runs in whatsoever direction and is endangered. Mind should be in Budhi. We must let the mind wander. Mind should be fixed on internal Dhyana (concentration). Mind should be developed by the power of introspection. 0 Mind! Enter the sky of consciousness by developing the subtle Budhi and filling every nerve of the body with this Budhi!
0 Mind! Be always content! 0 Mind! Do not be deluded by shadowy appearances!

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