Bhagavad Gita Ch16 part 12 on 25 September 2021

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Oṃ jananīṃ śaradāṃ devīṃ rāma-kṛṣṇaṃ jagad-gurum pāda-padme tayo śrīdhva pranamāmi muhur-muhur vasudevasutam devam kamsa-cānūra-mṛdhanam devakī paramānandam kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagad-gurum sarvopaniṣad-ogāvo dogdhā gopālanandanaḥ pārtho vatsaḥ sudhir-bhoktā dogdham gītāṃ ritaṃ māt mūkaṃ karoti vācālam paṅgum langhayate girim yat-kṛpāta-maham vande paramānandam ādhavam We have been studying in quite considerable detail the 26 divine qualities every spiritual aspirant must acquire if he wants to progress in spiritual life. Progress in spiritual life and development of these qualities, they go hand in hand. One cannot be accepting through the other. So in our last class, we have talked about quite in detail Tejaha. Tejaha means spiritual splendor. What is it? Tejaha, according to Shankaracharya, pragalbhyam na tvak gata-dīpti, vigour, not the brightness of the skin. There are so many people of golden hue and very beautiful to look at in every proportion, but that is not spiritual splendor. That is physical splendor. Even that is something that is also a manifestation of God only. This is called Saundarya, beauty. But the real Tejaha is that which comes as a result of spiritual practice done for a long time with extreme sincerity and willpower. Then we have discussed about Shama, forgiveness. So among the greatest Devis, Bhudevi, Sita Devi, Sharada Devi, Radha Devi, Gopikas, these are all study in forgiveness. We normally read in the Bhagavata and other scriptures, Oh, they were in love with Krishna. Krishna was also attracting them and they had a gala time from the very beginning, not having any problems. We should be extremely unintelligent to cherish this kind of view. Look at the society, their husbands, their brothers and their parents, their relatives and so many people must be putting tremendous amount of social criticism, pressure on them to give up the company of this Parapurusha, another man. But they were not looking at him as another human being. Who can do that? Only those who have got the idea, I am not the body but I am the Atma, only such a person who dwells in that state that I am the Atman, Aham Brahmasmi, I am Atma Brahma. Only such a person look after anything else as Atman. If we think we are human, then we think God is also human. Swami Vivekananda gives a beautiful analogy. If you ask a pig, what is your concept of God? Says a huge pig whom nobody can resist, he can finish any other being in no time. If you ask a mosquito, God is the biggest mosquito. If you ask an ant, God is the biggest ant but with two antlers, not one. So if you ask a God man, he says that it is impossible to describe God. So that is why Gopis are loving Krishna as Antaratman. Nakhalu Gopika Nandano Bhavan Akhila Dehinam Antaratma Ghrik You are the indweller in every living being. That's what it says. A few points we discussed in our last class about Kshama. But one of the most important components of Kshama is forgiveness. Not only forgiveness, that is a very external meaning, but forgetfulness. So such a thing happened. There is a beautiful story narrated by Ramakrishna himself in illustration of this. In a village, there was a ferocious shark-tempered poisonous snake and everybody was afraid of that. So one day a brahmachari holy man was going through that path where this fellow always lays and way lays everybody. The villagers told, please do not go that way. There is a very sharp-tempered ferocious snake. Brahmachari said, don't worry, I know how to tackle it. So he went and then he saw this one coming to attack him. The holy man uttered some mantra and immediately this ferocious snake became as humble as an earthworm, but with full consciousness like the wolf that had become so humble at the address of Saint Francis of Assisi. Anyway, so Ramakrishna also once tamed a ferocious snake, driven it out of the Kashipur garden house. So in a very saint's life, we get this kind of stories. Now what is the point? So this snake became spiritual and it was initiated by the holy man. The holy man said, don't harm anybody and went away, I will come back. So after a year or so he returned and by that time the villagers found out that this was not aggressive anymore. So they got courage, slowly approached it, caught hold of it, whirled it round and round, and dashed it to the ground. The snake lost its consciousness, they thought it was dead and then slowly after a long time it crawled into its underground home and then it did not come out. After one year, the holy man came and asked, how is the condition of the snake? They said, sir, we killed it long back. The holy man said, it's not possible, let me see what happened. So he went to the spot, started calling it. After a long time, slowly, slowly, the snake crept out, fell at the feet of its Guru. Then the holy man asked, so why did you become like this? It said, oh, you asked me to eat only Sattvika food, not to harm anyone. So perhaps it is the Sattvika food which made me like this. The holy man said, no, that cannot be the real reason. Find out the real reason. And after a long time, it remembered what the boys did to it. This is what we are talking about, that the snake had developed so much of Sattva Guna, it completely forgot, not only it forgave the children, it also forgot completely, it did not even remember, that's one of the very important points. Sokshama, Shankaracharya says, is unaffectedness when beaten or reviled. Forgiveness is freedom from antagonism towards others, even when they cause injury to oneself. This is what the great Ramanujacharya says. But a real spiritual aspirant aims at self-effacement by forgiving the offender and forgetting the wrong. Only a strong person can forgive, never the weak. Yes, there are so many people, this has another angle, they forget, but not because they want to forget, because the memory has developed a problem. So what is the problem? They forget both what is wrong and they forget also what somebody has done, what good, what help somebody had given. Instead of being grateful, the person even doesn't remember. And we are in amniotic, this one, usually we also develop this in the course of time. So that is our condition. Now, so what is it? Forget what wrongs have been done to us and remember with gratefulness, what good others have done to us. So this is called self-effacement by forgiving the offender and forgetting the wrong. And who can do it? Only a strong person can forgive, never the weak person. Swami Vivekananda says, even forgiveness if weak and passive is not true. Fight is better. Argue when you could bring legions of angels to the victory. Then from the Bible, I am quoting, Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times. Up to seven times, this was Peter's question. Jesus answered, Nay, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven. That is seventy-seven, Matthew 18, 22nd verse. So what is Christ saying? That one should not keep count of times. True forgiveness does not keep a record. Go on counting pebbles, one, two, three, seventy-seven times and then seventy-eight times, finish that fellow. That's not what is meant. The practice of forgiveness is also a great service to the world. Gandhiji used to say that if we practice an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, soon the whole world will be blind and toothless. How much Nelson Mandela was tortured by the then South African government. This is an incident that has not happened very long time back. How many years he was kept in jail, how his wife was misbehaving, how his enemies were talking ill of him in so many ways. But as soon as independence came and he came into power, he could have shot all these people. He had that power who had given them independence. But no, let us forgive, let us forget, let us live like brothers and sisters. None of us are free. Sorry, the well-known saying that to err is human, to forgive is divine is too true. None of us are free from faults. So we must try to cultivate forgiveness and also develop forgetfulness. But to say I can forgive but I can never forget is another way of saying I will not forgive. One who cannot forget has not really forgiven. The memory is still lurking and may manifest at any given opportunity. Life is full of uncertainty and one has to put up with so many unpleasant things in life. There is no guarantee that good and righteous people will not suffer but evil people will only suffer. No, good people can suffer, evil people also can suffer. Good people can enjoy, evil persons also can enjoy. And oftentimes we see malcontents in our society seem to be thriving. They have all the power, they can control others, they do whatever they want to do. So they think that they go scot-free but they don't know according to the law of karma of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism that one has to pay sooner or later and when it comes, it becomes almost intolerable. But since we do not know, we go on questioning the very love and justice of God. Why is He making? Because I do not remember having done anything wrong. So when suffering comes and when evil and wicked people whose pleasure seems to lie in giving trouble to others, then one has to learn how to forbear, one has to suffer greatly. Suffering in any case is inevitable, inescapable. There is only one way, obtain Moksha, you will be free forever. But do good things, you will be free for a short time and again you have to suffer. Beautiful example comes to my mind, Ramakrishna was kicked by the family priest of Madhur Babu. What did Ramakrishna do? Hriday was a witness. He wanted to wring the neck of that priest and immediately Ramakrishna took a vow, a promise, I will never reveal it to anybody until Madhur Babu passes away. Long afterwards, Madhur Babu came to know through some other source what happened. By that time, that family priest for some other offence has been dismissed. But Madhur Babu, even after hearing this incident for a long time, Madhur Babu's eyes became red, his blood pressure started rising. Father, why did you not inform me? I would have literally wrung his neck from his shoulders and he would have done it. This is not an empty boast. So Holy Mother, what about Her? Had to put up with endless sufferings caused by Her relatives and especially Radhu. Only relatives? What about the devotees? They come there at any time of the day or night. Hardly Mother had any rest. She would have wished that Swami Dayatmananda is enjoying His solitary stay in Varanasi. How I wish I could go there and lock my door and not open it excepting three times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Swami Vivekananda had to face immense opposition in America. There was even an attempt to do away with Him in the US. Then what about Jesus Christ? Can anybody understand when that crucifixion act was going on? How much His delicate body must have suffered when huge rusty nails were being driven through His palms and legs into the wood that was crossed that was supporting Him. And yet what did He do? Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Swami Vivekananda had to face immense opposition. We all know it. Can we gauze the anguish of Shuddhiram, the father of Shri Ramakrishna when he was deprived? Everything, house, property, all the relatives, all the known or familiar environment, everything he had to leave excepting the dress he was putting on which is very simple with his wife and two children. He did not know where to go. He started for Kamarpukur. Did any curse escape from his mouth? Absolutely no. Now we all know Gandhiji was shot dead by Nathuram Godse. Supposing Gandhiji was alive after being shot, what would he have done? Would he have forgiven, forgotten or not? Yes. What did God do? He always forgets because He knows we are all His children. Not only that, God only knows if we are misbehaving. Who is the direct cause? Only He is the cause. He created Mahamaya. There was a very great soul in America, a Negro scientist who became extraordinarily popular, producing 300 products from the knowledge of peanut. His name was George Washington Carver and then he was not drawing his money. It was being accumulated and in those days you have to remember very slow accumulation and after several years the money accumulated to 70,000 dollars and then one day the bank collapsed and when he was informed what was his nonchalant reply? I was not using anyway but perhaps somebody has been using it. That's okay. Not one ripple of hesitation or abuse on his part. He was a great saint according to me. His mind was not attracted to lust and gold, money and sex and anybody who is not under the control of these two is a great saint. So did we find any of these mentioning? Any saint harbouring any grudge? Sri Ramakrishna, he is now elaborating. Shama means Sahana Shakti, the capacity to forbear. In the Bengali alphabet, there are three letters which are alike in sound. Sa, Sha and Sa and they all mean for us. Why three? Forbear, forbear, forbear. It is derived from the Sanskrit root Sah. It shows that even from our childhood we are made to learn forbearance through the very alphabet. The quality of forbearance is of the highest importance to every man. How does Shankaracharya define? Sahanam sarva dukkhanam apratikara purvakam chinta vilaparahitam sa titikshani gadhyati. A titiksha that is forbearance is the same thing as shama. A bearing of all afflictions without caring to redress them. Being free at the same time from anxiety or lament on their score. And if we study, every saint's life is an object lesson in forbearance. In fact, I would go so far as to say, saints suffer more than even ordinary people. But in another way, they don't suffer. Why? Because in another way, these people, they cannot suffer. Why? Because they take it as if God has created this for their own good. Kshama, what Shankara says, akristasya taditasya va antarvikriya anutpatihi. Kshama, forgiveness, the absence of internal perturbation when offended or assaulted. Utpannayam vikriyayam upashamanam akrodhah iti avocamaha. Absence of anger has been explained as the calming down of a perturbed mind. Ittham kshamayaha akrodhasya cha iseshaha. Now one doubt, Shankaracharya himself has raised. We do not raise because we do not think deeply. What was it he said? Utpannayam vikriyayam upashamanam akrodhah iti avocamaha. What is kshama? Kshama is if somebody is kicking us, abusing us or giving us suffering, there is no internal perturbation, there is no hesitation in the mind when we are offended or assaulted. But utpannayam vikriyayam upashamanam akrodhah iti avocamaha. But perchance if there is a little bit of reaction in the form of anger etc. Instantaneously utpannayam vikriyayam and the reaction comes upashamanam akrodhah iti avocamaha. Absence of anger has been explained by us as the calming down of a perturbed mind. Ittham kshamayaha akrodhasya cha iseshaha. What is the difference between forgiveness, forbearance and anger? Forgiveness, forbearance is no internal reaction will ever rise. But by chance if something rises, immediately to make it calm and quiet and not allow it to react in an adverse way, that is called akrodhaha, not being angry. This beautiful difference between kshama and akrodhaha that we would never think unless Shankara had highlighted it and pointed out. Truly kshama is a great help in living a happy life and he who has got the kshama in quite a good quantity and quality, such a person definitely the result is he will live a very happy life. The next quality we are going to deal with is dhrithi. Dhrithi means tremendous will power and patience. So what does Shankara say? dhrithi deha indriyeshu avasadam prapteshu tasya pratishedakaha antah karana vritti visesha I cannot tell you how marvellous are these definitions given by Shankara on his commentary on the 16th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. What is he telling? Dhrithi, fortitude is a particular function of the mind which removes the tiredness, the tedium of the body and mind when they become exhausted. See many times because of our duties or inescapable activities, we cannot do other than do finish them, but body will be tired, mind also will be tired. Just imagine if a mother has got two or three children, how much this shakti she must develop, dhrithi, forbearance, kshama because the children don't understand. Sometimes there are also dogs which go on barking all the time and disturbing not only them, but even the neighbours. What to do? You have purchased the trouble, you will have to deal with the problem. So what is the beautiful definition? Deha indriyeshu, body and sense organs, avasadam prapteshu. When they become extremely tired, I can go forward no more. This is the end of my energy. Tasya pratishedka, no, I have got that power, inside power. Such a antah karana uruthi visesha, a special type of thought, pratyaya, which counters all these things and say, I have got tremendous willpower, joyfully I will carry on for the sake of the future welfare, maybe myself, maybe my children, maybe anything else. Now we understand why a married life is so very necessary. To put up with all these things, when we seem to be completely tired and then just lay, throw the body on the bed and forget the whole world for several days, but no, I am a householder, I am responsible for my children. I have to bring them up and I have to look after them. A tremendous willpower somehow comes into being and a spiritual aspirant should have that. When sometimes he becomes tired upon calling upon God or practicing japa or meditation, studies, then one should not give up because once a person falls from that state, it is very difficult to go back to that, to reach that same place where we were lost. It will be almost impossible. Ena uttambitani karanani dehascha na avasidanti And being rejuvenated by this willpower by which the body and organs do not feel any more any fatigue, that is called dhriti. And in the Bhagavad Gita, we have got beautiful classification. There is a sattvika dhriti, there is a rajasika dhriti and there is also the tamasika dhriti. So you can say patience and willpower. This is defined as the ability to wait for an unexpected outcome without experiencing least bit of anxiety, tension or frustration. One of the most important qualities in spiritual life is patience. There are many factors affecting the outcome of all our actions. We can only do what best we can and accept with patience whatever be the outcome. Patience is described as a great virtue in every religion. It is highlighted in the Bible in the story of Job. Well, I am going to tell you very briefly, but this is one of the most inspiring episodes in the Old Testament. There was a great devotee of God called Job, J-O-B, nothing to do with work. And he was rich, prosperous, huge family, huge number of cattle, goats, etc. and children. And he was respected everywhere and he was prospering. He was greatly devoted to God. Whatever happens, he says, O Lord, Thy will be done. Thy will be done. Thy will be done. You see, once Satan made fun of Job to God and said, You see, he is only telling everything is good, Thy will, only because he is not suffering. Once he starts suffering, you will understand how much he will give you up on the very first occasion of suffering. God said, Let us bet. And then Satan said, Yes, I will take up the bet and give me the power to do whatever I like with Job. So first of all, he took away all his wealth, all his cattle, his children started dying and his wife also died. And he became a person totally dependent as a beggar upon the society. But every time something is taken away, Job with the greatest patience, he will tell, Let Thy will be done. You gave me, you took it away. So I leave it entirely up to you. Whatever you do to me, I accept it 100%. Every time something is taken away, that's what happens. But after being taken away so many things, the good neighbours came and inspired by Satan, they started criticising him. Even now you are clinging to that stupid God. See what God has done to you. You know nothing but God and yet you are put to all this trouble. But Job never criticised anybody but God and said it is His will. He has given, it belongs to Him, everything including this body and He can take away what belongs to Him anytime He wants. So this went on and finally Satan inflicted Job with a terrible, painful, incurable disease. And the flesh was rotting, falling off, he could not sleep, and his every part of the body is making him go through intolerable pain. But every time he would say, God, Lord, You have given, You have taken away. Let Thy will be done. And when he was about to die, Satan came and then he said, Why are you taking God's name? He has taken away everything. You did not get anything good. Job said, That is not true. He has given me life. He is taking away life. Let His will be done. Satan became defeated, bent back with a bent head and apologised to God. And by God's grace, he became cured of the disease. He regained his health, he married again, he had children, he became prosperous, he became even more prosperous than he was before. But whatever be the condition, he would always say, Let Thy will be done. This is such a beautiful story, the story of Job. I recommend, please go through it, this most wonderful story from the Old Testament, Old Bible. Now, what about God? Even God has to practice patience. And His patience knows no limit. Even though He knows all our doings, He waits with infinite patience for us to return to Him. Needless to say, patience is a quality all of us do well to cultivate. Just now, I remembered a very beautiful poem in Bengali of the great poet Rabindranath Tagore. I don't remember in Bengali, but this is the essence. There was a man and he was composing, lamenting, Oh Lord, what a great being You are. For years and years, I neglected You. I saw You running towards me and I was trying to run away from You. And however far I was trying to run away, to put greater distance between You and me, I look back now and then and see Your eyes with the greatest sorrow. Why is my child running away from me? I want him. And then after a long time, I became tired. I stopped and then I saw Your eyes lighted up. My child at last has stopped running away from me. Now he belongs to me. He will come to me. He opened his hands and embraced me. This is called God's love for everybody in this world. And God truly loves everybody in this world. There is no wickedness in the eyes of God. It is only punishment for those who deserve. Wicked people are there, not because they are wicked, but they give trouble only for those who deserve the trouble, etc. This is the greatest patience that we know. So that's why everybody says, needless to say, patience is a quality. All of us do well to continue. Ramakrishna says, with implicit trust in the sayings of holy saints and sages, one must try to secure God in one's own heart in the bait of devotion and the rod and hook of one's mind. With unceasing patience, one must wait for the fullness of time. Then only can one catch the divine fish. What about the present condition? We live in an age of instantaneous gratification. That's why we become so hesitated and things get delayed. We become deeply disappointed when our expectations do not come true, but success comes only to him who has infinite patience. Swamiji says, he who has infinite patience and infinite energy at his back will alone succeed in any endeavour. Impatience is a sure cause of failure and can impair our health greatly. Many times, impatience is a sign that our actions are done as a matter of duty, not with a sense of joy. So, Shri Krishna advises all spiritual aspirants to cultivate the divine quality called Kshama, consisting of forgiveness, forbearance and patience, and Dhriti, an important spiritual quality. Sandilya Upanishad describes Dhriti as firmness of mind amidst a period of ups and downs. To remain calm, steady and self-possessed even when confronted with the greatest calamity, danger or sorrow, and not to deviate from the path of righteousness or duty under the influence of passions like lust, anger, fear or greed. That is called Dhriti or fortitude. The great Shankaracharya, again we are quoting, defines Dhriti as that state of mind which removes the exhaustion of the body and senses when they droop down and upend by which the body and senses no longer remain rejected. It is said of the Buddha that he performed superhuman austerities to obtain illumination, but even after six years of superhuman austerity, he did not succeed. Then one day, it was a full moon lit night because it is said, Christ blessed full moon, Vaishayaga Poornima, that is a particular full moon night which comes exactly in the same month at the same time. He was born on that day, he attained illumination on that day and he attained Mahaparinirvana on the same day. When he did not get what he wanted, he decided that he would not get up from under the Bodhi tree where he was sitting till he attained illumination. Even if he were to die in the process, he uttered these words, here on this seat my body may dry up, the beautiful Sanskrit verse, इहासने सुष्यतुमेशरीरं वगस्तिमांसं प्रलयंचयातु अप्राप्यभोधिम् बहुकल्पदुर्लभाम् नईवासनात्कायं अतः चलिष्यते Let my flesh, skin and bones dissolve and become powder. But if I do not obtain enlightenment, which is so very difficult to get, even after many eons, not indeed from this seat will this body move. This is from the Lalita Vistara. With this firm resolve, the Buddha sat down under the Bodhi tree and obtained illumination the same night. Without steadfastness and strong determination, one reaches nowhere. Sri Ramakrishna used to say of people who have no willpower, no grit whatsoever, he says, there are some people who have no grit whatever. They are like flattened rice soaked in milk, soft and mushy, no inner strength. The mind is everything, bondage is of the mind and freedom is also of the mind. I am a free soul. How can I be bound? Whether I live in the world or in the forest. I am child of God. I am the king of things. Who can bind me? By repeating with grit and determination, I am not bound, I am free. One really becomes free. One must have stern determination. Then alone is spiritual practice possible. One must make firm resolve. One can be firm and steadfast under favourable circumstances. But none can escape the dualities of life. There will be, of course, trying times. It is under these difficult circumstances, one really needs strength, courage, patience and grit. One of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Turiyanandaji, often used to teach, Clench your fist and say, I will conquer now or never. Make that your motto. Even in this life, I must see God. This is the only way. Never postpone. Remember, this life is for the strong, the persevering, the weak who go to the wall. And always be on your guard. Never give in. It is natural to be dejected under unfavourable circumstances. Even great souls feel the burden many times. So he narrated an incident from his life. Beautiful incident, Swami Turiyanandaji. When we were living at the old mutt, now, many years ago, it happened once that I was very sad. I could not make any progress for some time. And everything looked dark to me. Remember, Saint John of the Cross, a dark night of the soul. I was walking up and down on the flat roof of the mutt. It was evening and the moon was hidden by clouds. Sleep was impossible for me. I was so unhappy. Then suddenly, from behind the clouds, the moon emerged. And everything looked bright and beautiful. As soon as I saw that, I thought, See, the moon was there all the time, but I could not see her. So the Atman is ever present, shining in its own glory, but I could not see it because of the clouds of ignorance. The cloud of ignorance stood between the Atman and my intellect. Circumstances may or may not be favourable, but who cares? We must train every nerve to accomplish the thing. You must struggle sincerely. Does one find circumstances always propitious? Consider what you have got to do as your duty and go on. There is a beautiful parable by Sri Ramakrishna. A man was determined to take bath in the sea. So he went there and tremendous wave after wave was convulsing the surface of the sea. So he thought, So let me wait. When all the waves subside, then I will take bath with greatest joy. Do you think such a time will ever come? There will be always waves only, but do not mind. Lunge in, have your bath and then only it is possible. And another disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Sivananda used to say, With firm determination, one has to strive for God-realization. Make a start from this very day, for life is fleeing every moment. Nobody can say when one will have the call for departure. So don't waste a single day. Those who think that these things can be put off for the future, never do anything. They will be tossed in this current of birth and death for infinite ages. Dhruti is a word rich with many meanings. It means steadfastness, fortitude, patience, courage, strong will power, etc. Without these qualities, no one is going to succeed in anything. But there is a small point, we have to be very careful. It is also very easy to misunderstand the word dhruti, will power, and confuse it with stubbornness, which is quite the opposite in meaning. We find innumerable examples of wicked and cruel dictators persisting in their wrong views, bringing immense harm to millions. Indeed, Sri Krishna himself in the Bhagavad Gita classified dhruti into three types. Tamasic, Rajasic, and Satvic. That result, by which a person persists in wrong, irrational views, indeed is Tamasic. We find many spiritual aspirants possess this Tamasic dhruti. Some are not even aware that they are treading the wrong path. A very interesting incident comes to my mind. Sister Nivedita, the future Sister Nivedita, Miss Margaret Noble, once met Swami Vivekananda in London, and she heard him. Immediately, she was attracted to Swamiji. Later on, she was analysing, why was I attracted? Is it because he was the most beautiful looking man, or is it some other quality? Then she hit the nail upon the head. What was that? I found this quality in Swamiji. If, suppose he is believing something is true for 25 years, and somebody can convince him rationally that what he was believing all these days as truth is complete untruth. If you can convince him, next second, without any regret, he will give up what he has been believing and practising and adopt the new truth. That flexibility is anything but opposite to stubbornness. So, even after becoming aware of this tendency, stubbornness, many refuse to change their ways, continue to suffer themselves, make others suffer, but still persist in their wrong ways. Such is the power of Mahamaya. I will give you a small example. There are so many devotees. They are old, it is very painful for them to bend and prostrate, but still they insist to do that. There are other people who cannot do puja. What they want to do is worship, but they have to do it sitting on the floor in their traditional manner. How many times I told them that take a table, sit there, a chair and table, keep the photographs of Ramakrishna etc., whatever your Ishta Devata, chosen deity, and perform the same worship. God doesn't see whether you are sitting down or sitting in the chair, but He sees your sincerity. So, you don't need to bend down. I want unbending devotion and I also joke with them, after 60, you are tax free. That means you don't need to bend and touch the feet of other people. I understand how much they suffer. So, I say, in your mind, respect us, but do not carry on these things. So, many, many devotees, even when they come to know that something they are doing for so many years is wrong, they are so stubborn. My Guru told me and it is my belief, I am not going to give up. Don't do that. Be alert and say, but how to judge? Is it advancing me towards God or is it becoming a mechanical exercise? And if we truly observe our mind, we can easily find out. So, to be steadfast, one needs tremendous willpower. It is impossible to be steadfast. If we do not have patience, fortitude, cheerfulness, positive thinking and infinite patience, an essential part of steadfastness is overcoming indecision of mind, constant indecision, the disease of the mind. Steadfastness with flexibility is what is needed. The spiritual path is a long and arduous process. No speedy result can be expected in this path. One has to go on preserving the path day after day, month after month, year after year, life after life with the same determination. If one is possessed of Sattvic Adhruti and sincerely go on striving with faith and patience, one is sure to reach the goal. And as an illustration of this beautiful divine virtue, Shri Ramakrishna has a beautiful parable, and we are all familiar with it. There were two yogis sitting and meditating under a tree. One day, Narada, a great devotee of God, was going to the house of Vishnu, which is called Vaikuntha, and these two devotees knew it. They asked him, Please ask God, when is He going to bestow His grace upon us? After a few days, Narada came, and the first yogi asked him, What did God answer? Narada said, You will have to be reborn one more time. Next birth, you will get His grace. And this sadhu went on lamenting, Oh, since childhood, I've been practicing, and I'm losing patience, and I'm losing faith in God. I cannot go on like this. Narada said, Sorry, that's what God said. He went to the next yogi under another tree. It happened to be a tamarind tree, and that yogi asked with joyful eyes, Narada said, Yes, God will bestow His grace, but you have to be reborn as many times as there are leaves on this tree. And that yogi got up joyfully, started dancing. What? So quickly, God is going to bestow His grace. What is the symbolism? For the first yogi, spiritual aspirant, seeing God is a very painful duty. Spiritual sadhana is a very, very painful, dragging effort. For the second man, taking God's name is the most joyful thing in the world. So all these births, billions of births, how much time it takes? I'm not going to count time. Just when we go to sleep, we don't know how many hours because we don't count time. A joyous person, happy person, never counts time. So for this man, taking God's name is the greatest joy. So he's not thinking, Okay, let God come, it doesn't matter, even if God sends with the answer, He's never ever going to bestow His grace upon me. I don't care because I am getting from God by repeating His name, what He Himself comes and confirms, doesn't matter. And this is called true dhruti, true willpower. I will not give up, but for that we have to be joyous, we have to be interested, and we have to pray all to God, to Lord, grant me that may my mind never deviate from your lotus feet even one centimetre. Now we will go to the 24th divine quality called Shoucham. Shoucham means purity, Shuchitra. And Shankara comes to our aid. Shoucham dvividham. Purity is of two types, external and internal. So what is external? Mrithu, Jalakritam, Vahyam. Purity by washing something with mud. Remember in India, many people used to scrub utensils, etc. with a particular type of mud or one's own body also. And by the way, the mud on the banks of the Ganges, it cures many skin diseases. It has a very special medicinal property. So this was used there and of course water. So these only clean what is outside. But the real purity, that is also necessary. But even more necessary is Abhyantaram, that which is inside, within. Mano buddhyo nairmalyam. Purity of both the mind and the intellect. What is the difference? Manas means that it will gather only what is the most important data, which is spiritual data. And the buddhi, it has developed a fine discrimination. And it will only ultimately sift the mud and then find the old particles. So the purity of mind and intellect and the purity of body, external things, etc. That is what is meant by Shuchi, Shoucham, Devidham. Maya, Ragaadi, Kalushya, Abhava. He continues. The absence of such impurities from the mind as trickery, attachment, Maya, that is ignorance. Ragaadi, Kalushya, Abhava. Abhava means absence. What is that? Kalushya means the stain, the impurities of attachment to pleasant things and dislike for unpleasant things and created by, because of the Maya, power of the Maya. Evam Devidham Shoucham. Thus the purity is of two types, both internal as well as external. Shri Krishna describes Shoucha or purity as one of the divine treasures. Purity is not merely a virtue, but the culmination of all spiritual practices. The sine qua non of spiritual life is purity of heart. The vision of God, a glimpse of the beyond, never comes until the soul is pure. That is why Christ says, Blessed are they pure in heart, for they shall see God. This is what Patanjali means. Yogaha chitta vruthi nirodaha. Not suppression, not what is called control of the mind. Purity of the mind. So the mind becomes like a pure, cleanest mirror reflecting our real nature. Tatha prasthu swaroope vasthanam. When such a state is attained, then thereafter man knows, I am not a human being, I am not the body, I am not the mind. I am nothing but pure Brahman. Swami Brahmanandaji says, God is manifest in the hearts of His devotees, His children. Therefore we must be pure in heart. The pure mind receives a clear reflection of God. If the mirror is covered with dirt, it doesn't reflect. So also the Lord's reflection does not fall upon an unclean mind. Purity is among the five observances which form one of the eight limbs of yoga. According to the commentator Vyasa, it includes both external and internal purity. While internal purity and the purity of mind is definitely more important, external purity is also recommended in every religious system. Purity is stressed in every religion. There cannot be any form of spiritual life without purity in some form or other. It is the very heart of all spiritual endeavor. The entire essence of all religions has been put into that one sentence, blessed are the pure in heart or they shall see God. No other virtue but purity has been mentioned as the precedent for the realization of God. The vision of God, which is the culmination of all spiritual practice, is reserved for the pure in spirit. Blessed are the pure in heart or they shall see God. Swami Vivekananda once said, In that one sentence lies the gist of all religions that alone could save the world from all other scriptures lost. A vision of God, a glimpse of the beyond, never comes until the soul is pure. All these forms and ceremonies, these prayers and pilgrimages, these books, bells, candles and prayers are preparations. They take up the impurities of the soul. And when the soul becomes pure, it naturally wants to get to the mine of purity, God himself. These are not mere words. Swami Vivekananda was an embodiment of purity. Ramakrishna used to say that there was nothing on earth or heaven which could pollute Narendra. He was like a burning fire, blazing fire. Whatever is put, even the most impure thing, it turns into ashes. It is a beautiful topic. We will have to continue in our next class. Om Jananim Sharadaam Deivim Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padme Dayo Sritva Pranamaami Mohon Mohon May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti.