Narada Bhakti Sutras Lecture 32 Su.46-47 on 09-April-2019
Full transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :
Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.
Spiritual Discourse on Maya and Liberation
The Nature of Maya According to Nārada Sūtras
The Nārada Sūtras, in the 46th verse, speak of "kastaratī, kastaratī, māyā" - who can cross over this māyā? This question is repeated twice, emphasizing how very difficult it is to cross over māyā.
Nārada also says: "Only he who worships me" - that means when God is worshiped, He becomes compassionate. Then He will speak to māyā, because it is His śakti.
Actually, you know how God saves us. There are two types of māyās:
- A māyā which seemingly is taking us down
- Another māyā which will bring us up
One type of māyā is taking us away from God - seemingly, not really. Another type of māyā seemingly takes us to God.
Understanding Our True Nature
But what does "seemingly" mean? If the Ātman is really divine, if something whose nature is divine can never become non-divine - it is like madness. When we call someone a mad person, is it his nature or is it a temporary aberration?
Fear is not your natural condition. If it were your natural condition, when you don't have fear, you would suffer. But the opposite is true - when you don't have fear, you feel very good. So you take medications to get rid of fear.
Do you follow what I'm saying? Because nature means that is our true nature. So:
- Not to die is our nature
- Not to be ignorant is our nature
- Not to be unhappy is our nature
That is called divinity - sat, cit, and ānanda.
Signs of Natural Health
How do we know this? The moment we become asat (opposite of sat), we feel it. Sat means not fearing death. Asat means unhealthy, ill-health, any type of bodily weakness - all these things.
When you become normal, you don't feel anything. How do we know this? Because when you don't feel anything, that is natural. When you feel something, it is unnatural.
When your head is absolutely fine, you don't remember there is a head. When there are no two things, you don't remember that you have a foot. This is natural.
Forgetting the body is called bodily health. Forgetting the mind is called mental health. Do you follow that?
The Nature of Happiness
What is happiness? Forgetting. That's why when you are happy, you don't know how much time has passed. The holidays just pass by because you are happy. The moment you are unhappy, you count every millisecond.
Swami Dayānanda Sarasvatī used to say: "You want to know what unhappiness is? When you sit on a burning pan, how do you count time? Minutes? Hours? No - fractions of seconds. Every second you are counting and want to get out."
So when we are remembering our mind, that means there is a mental problem. When we are remembering the body, there is a physical problem. When you are hungry, you remember food. So this is the truth about suffering.
The Meaning of Māyā
"Kastaratī, kastaratī, māyā" - this word māyā is a beautiful word. "Mā" + "yā":
- "Yā" means "that is there"
- "Mā" means "that is not there"
This is māyā. For example, in dim light when you see a snake, but actually when you bring light, what is it? A rope. So the snake is not there. This seeing the snake is called māyā - that which is not there, you are seeing there.
What is it? "I am the body." I am seeing this body. I am seeing this world. This is called māyā.
How to Cross Over Māyā
So how to get rid of this māyā? Only by "kastaratī, kastaratī, māyā" - we are all trying to cross māyā.
Another way to understand māyā: We are now, as we think, asat, acit, and anānanda (opposite of sat-cit-ānanda).
Asat means we are born. Though we don't think we are born, we are already frightened - maybe we are going to die. To think that the ātman is going to die - the ātman never dies. That is called asat.
The Illusion of Saṃsāra
What does māyā do? First, sat becomes asat. Cit means true knowledge, real knowledge. But we mistake unhappiness for happiness and happiness for unhappiness.
Let's say there are two bottles. In one bottle, there is amṛta (nectar), and in another, viṣa (poison). But inside the amṛta bottle, there is actually viṣa. Inside the viṣa bottle, there is actually amṛta. But we don't know that - we go by the labels.
What are we likely to choose? Viṣa. Because it is written that it is amṛta, so we believe it is amṛta. But we are actually taking viṣa. And the other one, we don't want even to go near it, but really that has amṛta.
This is what happens in saṃsāra. Everything appears to be amṛta, but actually it contains viṣa.
The Example of Cinema and Worldly Attractions
If you ask people why they are not able to come here for spiritual discourse, they say, "Oh, we are very happy." They give various excuses. Why? They are very happy with what they are doing in saṃsāra - making money, playing cards, watching cinemas. All these are the deadliest enemies of spiritual progress.
Cinemas are the deadliest enemies of amṛta. You know why? In cinemas, every heroine looks like a deva kanyā (celestial maiden). The hero also, like Rajan Kumar when he's dressed up - which woman doesn't want to marry him? Only we don't study what is outside the cinema.
That is why it is called cinema - we forget it is just cinema. But people in India are mad for it. Billions of people in India watch cinemas every day. They don't need to go to cinema halls anymore - you have mobile phones, TVs, and computers.
The Truth About Marriage and Worldly Life
So what I am saying is that this saṃsāra looks like amṛta, but people don't know that they are suffering. Actually, they are suffering so much.
I will share with you something very important. Marriage is like one drop of happiness in 24 hours - for 23 hours and 59 minutes, it is only suffering.
A man gets married and has children. The biggest, most problematic child is often his wife. He wants to prove to his wife how great he is. Outside, people are beating him up, but inside the house, he is the boss. The housewife has to say, "You are wonderful, you are my hero" - like a very small child, because she is helpless.
For this, so many people work from morning till evening without proper sleep, go to the office, work all day for a little bit of pleasure. And if something happens to anyone, the whole family suffers.
Analyze it. If a person is not married, he will have some problems, but he will not have the problems of others. But married life means problems multiply geometrically.
But it looks nice. After many, many janmas (lifetimes), one comes to know: "I don't need this." Then he moves to the next āśrama, which is called vānaprastha.
The Progressive Path: From Lower to Higher Happiness
There is a law: Higher happiness alone will bring renunciation of lower happiness.
If you are eating jaggery (bella) and you have not seen anything better, then your mind will be attached to jaggery. One day somebody brings you nice rasagullā. After eating this rasagullā, you don't want to have anything to do with jaggery. Natural renunciation comes.
This is how we progress from lower happiness to higher happiness. Interestingly, the first Indians were exporting jaggery to China. The Chinese emperor, having never tasted this before, was so happy he said, "I want everything made with this jaggery." But he didn't like the color, so the Chinese refined it into white powder. That's why sugar is called "cīnī" (from China). Our own jaggery came back to us in the form of cīnī.
This is the law: only by developing higher happiness can we give up lower happiness. That is why dussaṅga (bad association) cannot go unless there is satsaṅga (good association).
Three Steps to Cross Māyā
In this particular sūtra, three steps are given:
1. Asaṅga (Non-attachment)
The object is not a problem. Suppose somebody gives you a nice sweet. Eating and enjoying that sweet is not a problem. But if you develop attachment - "It is so nice, I want it, and I cannot live without it" - that is the problem.
Animals also enjoy sweets, but I have not come across any animal that suffers thinking, "If I don't get this particular sweet, I will suffer." If it is available, fine. If it is not available, fine. They go on with whatever is there.
This is called asaṅga - living in the world without attachment. It's like a maid working in someone's house. She does everything, speaks as though it is her house, but she knows that in the evening, she has to go to her own home.
Both saṅga (association) and asaṅga (non-attachment) are important. Asaṅga will come only when there is proper saṅga with higher things. Only when you reach a higher state can you give up the lower state.
2. Serving a Great Soul (Mahātmā Sevā)
Who can cross māyā? He who serves a great soul. Who is a great soul? If there are two people - one is caught in saṃsāra and another who has crossed saṃsāra - then the person in māyā can follow the one who has crossed it.
If both are having the same māyā, how can one help the other? Two drowning persons can only help each other drown more quickly. If there is an expert swimmer, then the drowning person can hold onto him and be saved.
There is a Buddhist story: Two Buddhist monks were traveling together - one was 80 years old, another about 25 years old. They came to a river they had to cross. A small girl, about 7-8 years old, also wanted to cross but was frightened.
The young monk saw her and said, "Don't be afraid. Sit on my shoulder, I will take you across." She sat there, he crossed and let the girl down, saying, "Now you go."
For 3-4 hours they traveled without talking. Finally, the senior monk asked the junior monk: "You are a monk - how dare you carry a girl?"
The junior monk replied: "It is true I carried a girl, but I left her 3 hours back. You are still carrying her."
Examples of Divine Protection
Where is saṅga? Outside or inside our brain? Ramakrishna came across all types of people. Mathur Babu tested Ramakrishna in three ways:
- Lust Test: He brought prostitutes to Ramakrishna. It could not affect him.
- Greed Test: He wanted to give him lots of money. Ramakrishna became so angry, he took up a stick to beat Mathur Babu, saying, "Do you want to make me a materialistic person?"
- Honor Test: When your chief minister comes and makes pranāms to a saint, suddenly everyone wants to come and make pranāms. Before that, they had not recognized the greatness.
The Power of Association with Great Souls
I was in Hyderabad where one devotee, Raghunathan, had many wealthy contacts including Birlas and Tatas. One day, one of our swamis went there needing money for some project. Raghunathan said, "Let me see what I can do."
At that time, one of the Birlas came to Hyderabad. When he learned that Raghunathan knew the swami, he showed great respect. Immediately, he donated two lakhs of rupees on the spot.
Another example: Indira Gandhi was very fond of Bharat Maharaj. When her mother Kamala Nehru used to come to Calcutta with Nehru, they would visit the Ramakrishna Mission. While Nehru would sit outside, she would go inside to meet the president.
Later, when there were some problems with workers at one of our institutes, Bharat Maharaj informed Indira Gandhi. She said, "Don't worry, Maharaj, I am looking into this." Within two hours, the problem was resolved because she threatened action if they didn't stop the harassment.
The Wisdom of Strategic Spiritual Leadership
So, what I'm trying to tell you is that power also can help sometimes. That is why Swamiji Maharaj used to go to the rājya's mahārāja.
Somebody asked him, "Where are you going? Why do you want to go to all these places? The rājya's mahārāja is there in Kerala. That means you're not going to enjoy their presence."
But if I want to run this school, if I ask you to run it, you might give a few rupees. But how am I going to run this school with that? However, if I ask this mahārāja, he might give one lakh of rupees. Then I can construct a school.
I'm going after them, and also they say they are rascals. Their pockets are very tight. So, if I go there and influence them, thousands of people will get benefit. And that is actually your money. They don't have their own money. It is all your money.
So, people are having that idea that people respect the svāmī. "He is a great svāmī." If nobody respects that svāmī, then he is not such a great svāmī like that. No.
Who is the real great svāmī? A person who has crossed māyā—he is called mahānubhāva. If we are fortunate to get such a mahānubhāva, then we understand true spiritual greatness.
The Meaning of Service to a Great Soul
What does serving a mahātmā mean? Does a mahātmā require any service from you? He doesn't require anything. Do you know why? God Himself serves him.
As the Gītā says: "Ananyāś cintayanto māṃ" - "I myself bring to them what is necessary and protect what they have."
The Story of Tyāgarāja
There's a story about Tyāgarāja. One day he went to a king's court. Without his knowledge, the king had given some precious gifts, which his disciples accepted. But Tyāgarāja didn't know - they put the gifts under his mattress.
That night, some robbers came to steal from him. They followed him the whole night but couldn't approach because whenever they tried to get near, two soldiers - one in front, one behind, on horses with drawn swords - were protecting him. They were so fierce that the robbers couldn't approach.
By morning, the robbers fell at Tyāgarāja's feet asking for forgiveness. He asked, "What did you do?" They said, "We were planning to rob you." "What is there to rob from me?" "There is money under your mattress that you don't know about."
"So why did you fail to rob?" Tyāgarāja asked. They replied, "You employed two soldiers who were very fierce." Tyāgarāja asked, "How did they look?" "One was dark, one was fair."
Tyāgarāja said, "Rāma! What kind of justice is this? I am taking your name, wanting your darśan, but no darśan for me. These fellows want to rob me, and you gave them darśan the whole night!"
The Third Step: Nirmama Bhāva (Egolessness)
So if anybody renounces attachment and serves a great soul, what is the third requirement?
Nirmamo bhavati - becoming free from "mama" (mine).
"Mama" means "mine" - my body, my hand, my leg, my mind. When you sit for meditation, is it your mind or my mind that becomes restless? It's our own mind that becomes restless.
This feeling of "mine" should not be there. If there is no mind, "I" will also not be there. Without "I", mind also will not be there. Both will go simultaneously.
"Nirmamo bhavati" - this is the meaning of the word "namaḥ". What is in the mantra "Rāmakṛṣṇāya namaḥ"? "Namaḥ" means "na mama" - not mine. Everything belongs to Him:
- The house is created by Him
- Plants are created by Him
- Your clothes are created by Him
Naturally, the doubt comes: "You cannot have the feeling that 'I am the body,' but the body is not going to go away, and the mind is also not going to go away. So who will look after it?"
Bhagavān Himself will look after it.
Four Additional Practices
The next sūtra mentions four more practices:
1. Vivikta Sthāna Sevā (Seeking Solitude)
Yo vivikta sthānaṃ sevate - He who serves solitary places.
"Sthāna" means a place. "Vivikta" means where there is nobody - nirjana. What is nirjana? A place which will not disturb our mind is called nirjana.
Why nirjana? Most of the time, what disturbs us is only jana (people) - my mother, my father, my friend. "We were friends for many years, but yesterday she spoke to me like that, or she didn't speak to me at all, or she didn't look at me, or she looked at me in a peculiar way."
I have really experienced this. In the UK, there were two lady singers who were close friends. Whenever I was invited by one of them, she would inevitably call her friend. One day, when one organized a meeting for me, her friend came, but the hostess didn't have time to speak with her friend. Afterward, the friend complained, "I came to your house, but you didn't speak to me."
The hostess replied, "I was busy. It's not that I was trying to ignore you." But slowly they separated.
If you speak, they take offense. If you don't speak, they take offense. If you look, they take offense. If you don't look, they take offense. If you smile, "Maybe she is making fun of me." If you don't smile, "She is being unnatural."
This mind plays so many tricks. You can collect all these experiences in your life.
Practical Guidance for Solitude
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to give three options for finding quiet places:
- Money (Mane): If you have no other choice, just close your eyes and think of God. Even if you have 15 minutes and finish your work in 10 minutes, use those 5 minutes to sit quietly and remember God.
- Bone (Vane): If you have the opportunity, don't sit at home. Go to a nearby park, sit on a bench where others are busy with their own thoughts.
- Kone (Corner): In the house, find the quietest corner. Unfortunately, most puja rooms are located, for reasons I can never understand, between the kitchen and toilet, so there's noise from both sides.
In western countries, many houses have basements. Once you go to the basement, it's quite peaceful - no traffic sounds. Here in India, you cannot expect such quiet, but some places like ashrams provide that atmosphere.
2. Loka Bandha Tyāga (Giving Up Worldly Dependencies)
Yo loka bandhaṃ unmūlayati - He who uproots worldly bondage.
"Loka" means world. "Bandha" means dependence upon it. Staying in the world is not the problem, but being affected by it is. If I get something, I am happy. If I don't get, I am unhappy.
Both praise and criticism should be received equally. A wise person offers salutations to both those who praise and those who criticize, because both give the greatest teaching.
How? When good people come to me, they give me happiness. When they go away from me, they also give me happiness - because I learn not to be dependent.
It's very difficult when it involves close relatives. You can tell an outsider that you have other commitments, but what do you do with very close relatives? You have to find strategies without offending them.
3. Nistraiguṇya (Transcending the Three Guṇas)
Yo nistraiguṇyo bhavati - He who goes beyond the three guṇas.
What are the guṇas?
- Tamas: If you want to sleep, tamas is the best guṇa. But tamas should not come at other times.
- Rajas: If you want to do something, rajas is needed.
- Sattva: If you want to concentrate, meditate, pray, or do bhajans.
One guṇa should not interfere at inappropriate times. When tamas comes during study time, that becomes a problem - like when sleep overcomes you during lectures or meditation.
Every guṇa is good at the right time, but becomes problematic at the wrong time. Since God is beyond these three qualities, and body-mind falls within these three qualities, a person who wants to cut through māyā has to go beyond the three guṇas, because māyā consists of these three guṇas.
4. Yoga-kṣema Tyāga (Abandoning Acquisition and Preservation)
Yo yoga-kṣemaṃ tyajati - He who gives up yoga and kṣema.
"Yoga" means acquiring what is necessary. "Kṣema" means preserving what we have acquired.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's life is the perfect example of giving up yoga and kṣema. He never went anywhere seeking anything - no gurus, no scriptures, nothing. He just said to the Divine Mother: "Mā, I don't know anything. You do whatever is good for me."
And what happened? All the gurus came in search of him. He never went outside, and the Mother brought all the necessary ingredients.
The Story of the Kulathu Garden
Once it happened that people suggested making a kulathu garden (a garden of dense bamboo plants). Kulathu plants can grow 10-15 feet tall and very thick - so dense that it becomes like a natural room.
Just talking with the gardener about this need, the next morning the gardener came running happily: "Bamboo poles have come, rope has come, tools for working have also come - everything is there in the garden!"
Because Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wanted those implements, they appeared. He planted the bamboo, and within three-four months, they had grown so much that anyone sitting inside would be completely hidden from outside view, providing perfect solitude for meditation.
Whatever Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa needed, he never went outside to get. The Divine Mother provided everything.
The Challenge of Attracting Spiritual Seekers
Even with disciples, nowadays we have to go outside to attract them because they don't want to come naturally. We have to offer incentives - sometimes even chocolates! Otherwise, they don't want to come.
I always say to people: "Practice this - celebrate one day with no bhajan (devotional songs) and no prasād (consecrated food). At 12:30, you will get just one small piece of food. Try this once and see how many people come!"
In earlier days in our ashrams, when a senior swami visited one of our centers, he asked after attending the evening program: "Usually how many people come?"
"About 25 people," was the reply.
"Yesterday I saw only 5 people. Where were the other 20?"
"They come only when there's bhajan and prasād," came the honest answer.
Complete Surrender: The Ultimate Solution
So what does this mean? We have to depend completely upon the Divine. If we depend totally upon Her, She will bring whatever is necessary. The Divine Mother will provide everything - provided we depend upon Her completely.
Otherwise, if we ourselves are trying to acquire and preserve, then we are not truly surrendering.
Here are the four steps summarized:
- Vivikta sthāna sevā: Go to solitary places
- Loka bandha unmūlana: Slowly reduce attachment. Every day remind yourself: "I have come from God, I am going to God. All these family members have come on their own, they will go on their own."
- Nistraiguṇya: Gradually move from tamas to rajas, from rajas to sattva, and finally beyond all three guṇas
- Yoga-kṣema tyāga: Complete dependence on the Divine
The Reality of Individual Journey
This is a fact: We have come alone, we will go alone. Nobody can share our fundamental experiences. Will your husband worry for you when you are sick? At best, he might say, "Okay, give me a glass of water" or offer basic help.
But we have to:
- Take our own medication
- Eat our own food
- Digest our own food
- Sleep our own sleep
- Read our own books
- Walk our own spiritual path
Nobody can do these for us. We came alone, we will go alone. This is not something you need to believe - it is a fact of life.
The Capacity to Forget
Nistraiguṇya also means developing the capacity to forget negative experiences. If somebody speaks harshly to you or insults you, after five minutes you should be able to forget it - like a buffalo that remembers being beaten for only five minutes, then forgets.
But what do we do? We forget God and remember negative experiences very clearly. In fact, we meditate upon them: "Why did he do that? Why did she say that?"
We should develop the opposite quality - remember God and forget the hurts.
Two Types of Divine Grace: Markaṭa and Mārjāra
There are two types of spiritual attitudes:
- Markaṭa kiśora (Young monkey): The young monkey clings to its mother
- Mārjāra kiśora (Kitten): The mother cat carries the kitten
I once saw a documentary about a tiger whose cave was in danger of flooding. She had to transfer her small cubs - they were only three days old with eyes not yet open. These cubs had become fat from drinking lots of milk.
The mother tiger had to carry each one to safety. When she picked up a cub, it completely relaxed, knowing "This is my mother." The mother opened her mouth wide so the entire back of the cub would be inside her mouth, then carried it to higher ground.
One cub kept trying to follow the mother back to the old den. Two or three times it tried to follow. Finally, with one gentle snap - though that same jaw could break a neck - she guided it to stay in the safe place. The cub relaxed completely, knowing the mother's love.
This is how God protects us when we surrender like a kitten. The mother carries the baby, and we have to depend completely upon the Divine Mother.
Complete Self-Surrender
As the Gītā says: "Ananyāś cintayanto māṃ" - for those who think of nothing else except Me, "yoga-kṣemaṃ vahāmy aham" - I carry what is necessary and protect what I provide.
Like a mother planning for a baby - the small baby doesn't need anything, but mother plans everything: after 15 days, what food will be necessary, how many diapers are needed during travel. The baby is quite happy in the hands of the mother.
So ultimately, this is complete śaraṇāgati called "ananya bhakti" - depending on God alone.
A Final Story of Divine Protection
There was once a devotee who was traveling through mountains. There were no roads, and he hadn't eaten for two days. He was climbing and became very weak.
But the food he was carrying was being offered to the Lord first, so when the mother (Divine Mother) wanted to give food to her child, she saw him suffering. "No, I cannot eat when my child is suffering like this."
Immediately, she took the form of an old woman, went to him, slowly brought him back to consciousness, and fed him. When he got sufficient strength and wanted to thank her, she had disappeared.
यदेव सर्वभूतेषु मातृरूपेण संस्थिता नमस्ते नमस्ते नमस्ते नमो नमः
Yadeva sarvabhūteṣu mātṛrūpeṇa saṃsthitā Namaste namaste namaste Namo namaḥ
"You alone dwell in all beings as the Divine Mother. Salutations, salutations, salutations to You."
Closing Prayer
ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :
Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.