Narada Bhakti Sutras Lecture 46 Su.66-72 on 21-May-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.

So, our last class, I think: Bhajana Ātmakam, Prema Kāryam, Premaiva Kāryam.

The Three Types of Bhakti (Tri-rūpa)

So, what is this? Tri-rūpa. Earlier we had it in sūtras 54 or 56. That is Sāttvika Bhakti, Rājasika Bhakti, and Tāmasika Bhakti.

One has to go beyond all guṇas. Why? What is a guṇa? That which limits and binds is a guṇa. Even sattva also binds. But the way to go out of the bondage is this: from tamas we have to progress to rajas, from rajas to sattva, and then we get the strength to go beyond even sattva.

Or another way is through the progression of devotees: Ārta, Arthārthī, Jijñāsu. We have to reverse it. So, Jijñāsu is the lowest class of devotee—people who are interested in knowing what is. But then they become Arthārthī, a little more devoted, realizing that God alone can save. Then they become Ārta. Ārta means what? Not seeking any worldly goods—"I want nothing else but You."

But this is called Ārta: Śaraṇāgata-dīnārta-paritrāṇa-parāyaṇa, sarvasthā arthī hare devī Nārāyaṇī. That is the Ārta. So, one has to go beyond it.

The Nitya Dāsa (Eternal Servant)

Then what does that person become? Nitya Dāsa—he will become an eternal servant. What is an eternal servant? Our idea of a servant is somebody hired to do some job. That is not the idea. It is like every mother and father—the biggest servants are the children.

From birth, even before birth, they go on dreaming about the children. They buy all the things ready. They work so hard for whom? For the child, for the children. So, the moment a child is born, they become born slaves. What makes them born slaves? Love. This is the highest love we can get: parental love. Of this, mother's love is the highest. That is called Nitya Khaṇḍa Nitya Dāsya.

The Example of the Loving Wife

Then there is Nitya Khaṇḍa—a loving wife who will not think of anything else, who will not think of even her own comfort. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa describes three types: Sāttvika wife, Rājasika wife, and Tāmasika wife.

A Tāmasika wife says, "I don't know how you go on working. I want to get these things. Otherwise, I will throw you out."

A Rājasika wife is slightly better. She understands, limits herself, but is still selfish.

A Sāttvika wife—Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to call her Vidyā-Śrī—always thinks, "My husband works so hard. How can I spend less so that he does not work so hard?"

So, Lakṣmī is supposed to represent this ideal. Why? She is the eternal devotee. The relationship is not husband and wife; the relationship is God and devotee.

Hanumān's Example

So, that is called Nitya Khaṇḍa Nitya Dāsya. Hanumān always will be at the beck and call of Rāma: Yatra yatra Raghunātha kīrtanam, wherever Rāma's name is sung. That is why we always keep a separate plate of offerings to him—uncut fruits. Yes, we have suspicion about everybody. Suspicion is mixed there. Cut fruits mean poison might be mixed. Uncut means you know it is safe. That was the old way.

Now, he does not know that we can inject poison—we can do these things also. Bottles also they can inject poison, even unopened. Anyway.

So, Hanumān represents unmotivated service. If there is love, there will be service. What is service then? Expression of love. Love is what is inside; what comes out is service. If you love somebody, the way you even look at that beloved person is totally different from the way you look at anybody else.

The Protective Nature of Maternal Love

It is said, and I know that I have seen this also, that when a tigress gives birth to cubs, it won't allow even the male tiger to come anywhere near, because he can eat them up when he is hungry. It will not allow anybody near. So, anything that threatens the cubs from above or near—

I have seen one scene. There was timber overhang, showing a tiger—tiger or lion, it was a lion—a lioness lying down. And two or three cubs were playing there on a rock. They came down, and unfortunately, there was a snake—a special type of snake which can spray poison into the eyes.

So, these children, probably it sprayed a little bit, and it stings very much. Meanwhile, it can escape. The cubs cried. And the mother understands what is a playful cry and what is a cry when they are in distress. Immediately, what does it do? Immediately, like a lion, it sprang and caught hold of the snake. But that snake also sprayed into its eyes. That poison—you can see clearly in that slow motion—that spray is going there and hitting the eyes. Very accurate. These are all God-given gifts for them. It is not thinking, "This is my enemy; I am doing like that." It is simply, "I want to be out of danger." These instincts are working.

So, that is the natural tendency of every mother—every mother, animal or insect. There is one frog species: the female lays eggs at the underside of a leaf, a big leaf—small, small, small eggs. And the male is supposed to protect. And there are enemies who know where the eggs are. So, when they come, this fellow has got a lot of tricks. It will divert them, not allowing them near. The birds also do that.

If any jackal or something is coming, this fellow starts limping. The jackal thinks, "This fellow is a lame fellow, very easy to catch." When it comes near, it will—"ko-ko-ko"—like that, it will do and jump somewhere. Like that, within a few minutes, it has taken the predator far away. Then that fellow understands, "This fellow is not catchable." Meanwhile, it has forgotten about the eggs.

This is embedded in every creature. What is that? That unselfish divine love in the form of mother. It is there in every creature, in the smallest creatures. It is their tendency to protect their young ones.

Service as the Expression of Love

So, what are we talking about? Service is the expression of love. If there is no service, nobody can know whether that person loves or doesn't love. A mother says, goes on smiling, "You are my baby, I love you"—but doesn't cook, doesn't feed, doesn't wash, doesn't do anything. How does the baby know whether it is loving or not?

So, if there is love, there must be service. But ours is broken. Why is it not nitya (eternal)? It is anitya (temporary). Why? Because we are also selfish people. So long as things are favorable, we love. And the moment something happens, we could become even the deadliest enemies of those we loved.

But here, once a person goes beyond sattva, rajas and tamas, it becomes nitya. That is the most wonderful thing. So, nitya dāsya, nitya kampa, bhajanātmakam.

The Meaning of Bhajana

Bhajana means what? One meaning of bhajana is singing to the Lord, hearing the divine name. But there is a Sanskrit meaning for it: Bhaja sevāyām. Bhaja means sevā (service). This is in the Amarakośa, the second one.

Bhaktir bhagac ca bhajanam. Bhakti, bhaga, and bhajana—three words. What are these three words?

What is bhakti? Devotion.
What is bhaga? Jñānam (knowledge).
What is bhajana? Sevā (service).

So, karma yoga, jñāna yoga, and bhakti yoga—all these yogas are involved. What about rāja yoga? That is embedded in the word yoga itself. Yoga means full concentration of the mind. That is yoga citta-vṛtti nirodhaḥ (the restraint of mental modifications). Whether you are a bhakta or a karmī, the mind should be totally thinking only about God, about nothing else.

The Goal of Life: To Love God

So, that is what he says: one should develop that prema (divine love). What is the goal of life? To love God. Rāmakṛṣṇa specially tells this: "What is the goal of life? To love. That is the only goal of life."

So, interestingly, the word Bhagavān also means—Sanskrit has many meanings for words—Bhagavān means freedom. Do we love God or do we love freedom? What is happiness? Freedom.

You are hungry; hunger is removed, you are happy. You are free from hunger by eating, then you are happy. Something is paining you; you remove the pain and you are free from pain.

So, it is freedom—the song that the soul sings. Swami Vivekānanda says all the time, "We are all born seeking freedom." So, another name for God is freedom. That is why in Sanskrit, what is the word? Mukti. What is the meaning of mukti? Liberation. Liberation means you are in bondage and you are lifted out. That is freedom.

Part Five: The Glory of Supreme Devotees (Mukhya Bhakta Mahimā)

Now, the fifth part of these Nārada Bhakti Sūtras—we did not divide, keep it in mind. It is the persons who are commenting upon it who have divided it into these five categories.

Pañcamo'dhyāyaḥ: Mukhya Bhakta Mahimā. What is the glory? Mahimā means glory. Mukhya Bhaktas—mukhya means the most important devotees. Who are they? Those who are endowed with Parā-bhakti, supreme devotion. In their eyes, only one reality is there and that is God. And no other reality is there. That is what we are talking about.

The Ekāntina Bhaktas (Single-Pointed Devotees)

Sixty-seven sūtras: Bhakta Ekāntina Mukhya. So, bhakta—devotees. Ekāntina: eka-anta. Eka means one; anta means end, goal, lakṣya (aim).

So, what is the goal of man's life? Freedom. He only wants freedom. Suppose God says, "I will be with you. You will be with me, but you will not be one with me." What is the biggest bondage? The biggest bondage is to throw away God—because the last bondage is the personal God. Very difficult for people to understand. And that last bondage, the personal God, is called Brahma-ākāra-vṛtti (the mental modification in the form of Brahman).

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and the Vision of the Divine Mother

Totāpurī came to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and wanted to teach him Advaita. "All the ideas from the mind should be kicked out." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "I could easily throw away every single idea, excepting one." What is that idea? Divine Mother. Why? She was giving so much joy to him.

But this joy is coming from outside. What is the outside? Divine Mother. It is coming from the Divine Mother. Until Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa becomes one with the Divine Mother—suppose she doesn't appear, he suffers. She appears, he is very happy. And she doesn't appear, very, very unhappy. Why? Because she is an object. God for us is an object. You are thinking about him, and he is inferior to you.

Any thought is inferior to you. You know why? Because you can think, you can stop thinking about him, you can think something else. Kartuṃ akartuṃ anyathā kartuṃ (to do, not to do, or to do otherwise)—you understand? Anything you want to do.

See here, you can sit and listen. You can see just the beautiful smile—I am seeing the beautiful smile like, you know, like what? Like Viṣṇu as Mohinī. She appeared at the end of the Samudra-manthana (churning of the ocean). And she divided the Devatās and the Rākṣasas. Beautiful smile to the Rākṣasas; all the amṛta (nectar) for the Devatās.

Yes, you can listen. So you can choose not to listen. You can choose to listen to something else in your mind. Yes, that is our bondage.

The Final Bondage Must Be Transcended

So any thought about God is a thought. Don't permit it. Until we, the subject and the object, become completely one, it is a borrowed happiness. It comes from outside.

Do you understand now? Rāmakṛṣṇa was praying, "Oh Mother, please appear." And she was not appearing. And what was the feeling? He said, "If you don't appear, I can't bear it anymore. I will go and commit suicide." And because of that viraha-vedanā (pain of separation), his body became so hot. Even his Guru, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī, could not hold the body. She had to put a blanket around his body and catch hold of his hand with a bucket, and lead him to the Gaṅgā.

He used to say he used to stand there like that and then put a wet towel on his head because he has to breathe. Burning—what is that burning for? Because he is separated from the Divine Mother. And when the Divine Mother appeared, he was equally happy. Nobody can understand that happiness. But this is a happiness which is coming and going.

So we do not want that kind of happiness. We want it completely, eternally, all the time. How can it be attained? By removing the distinction between I and You. "You are me. Aham Brahmāsmi" (I am Brahman). That is the only remedy. There is no other remedy.

The Nature of Happiness and Suffering

That's why every happiness, all this parama-sukha (supreme happiness), you can meditate upon. Any great happiness that comes, it comes and it goes. It is sandwiched. Every happiness is sandwiched by—you know, by what? By duḥkha (suffering). Before also, duḥkha. After also, duḥkha. "Alas, it is gone, it has gone. It has gone." Yes.

Now if you logically, if you go on like that, it will not come to an end. You will be puzzled, because sukha (happiness) is sandwiched by duḥkha. Duḥkha is sandwiched by duḥkha.

A Logical Puzzle

Logically, it is expressed like this. There are two persons, A and B—a logical puzzle. A and B. A issues a statement about B and says, "B is a very truthful person." Keep in mind: "B is a very truthful person." And then B says, "A is a liar."

Now, if you believe A, then B is a truthful person. So you have to believe what he says. What does he say? "A is a liar." What is the statement? "B is a truthful person"—it is a lie. That's it. That means what? B is truthful? No, no. B is a liar. If B is a liar, he says "A is a liar." That means A is truthful. This is when we get to puzzle our brains.

Swami Akhandānanda's Vision

But I will tell you a most wonderful incident. This happened in the life of Swami Akhandānanda. One day, he was very sick. And he was Vedāntic—he studied all these books. He was in pain, and he perhaps decided, "I will give up this body."

So he is telling, "I am not the body." The moment he said, "I am not the body," his body consciousness departed. "I am not this and that. All these senses have no connection. I am not the mind. I am not the buddhi (intellect)." He was ascending from the lower plane to the higher plane, from the gross kośa (sheath) to the subtle kośa.

At that time, suddenly he looked up. Rāmakṛṣṇa was standing there with a red-bordered cloth. You know, Ṭhākur never used to put on a baniyan or anything. You never see Ṭhākur with a baniyan or t-shirt or something. So with that cloth around his shoulder, seeing him, Akhandānandaji jumped up. Seeing Ṭhākur like that, he jumped up and wanted to fall at the feet of Ṭhākur to make praṇāms.

Ṭhākur did not speak. He said—Akhandānandaji looked at him. What was he looking at? He was seeing Mother Yaśodā and baby Kṛṣṇa. Mother Yaśodā has taken a ball of butter, freshly made butter. In this vision, she was a tall and hefty and heavy woman. So she wants to feed him. That fellow was looking like that, always smiling like that. Whatever mischief he does, he is only smiling.

So she advanced, and Kṛṣṇa was slowly crawling backward. Akhandānandaji saw the face of Yaśodā—all the joy in this world is expressed in her face. Kṛṣṇa thought, "This lady is very happy. I should not make her unhappy." Then he turned his face and started crawling away.

The moment Kṛṣṇa turned away, all the duḥkha and the sorrow in this world were reflected in Mother Yaśodā's face—because without God, what is there? So she was trying to run. And heavy woman, like that she was running, slowly she was running. But he was fast—you cannot catch him. Droṇa, droṇa, Rādhā cakra, akrūra, chariot—all the Gopīs wanted to hold the chariot so that it will not move. When a song is there, you know: "Oh Gopīs, it is not the wheels that move the chariot. It is Kṛṣṇa's will that moves the chariot. Your holding is not going to help anyway."

So this lady could not catch him. He was running away. And that fellow, mischievous fellow, then he is having a glimpse of how near she is. So he saw that her face was full of sorrow—indescribable sorrow. Then he turned back and started crawling towards her. Instantaneously her face changes. All the joy in this world was reflected. As he is coming near, the joy is even more increasing, increasing, increasing. He saw she is very happy. Then he turned back.

So this play was going on a few times. And Akhandānandaji was absorbed. He was watching this. Then Ṭhākur asked, "Ere, eṭā kemon?" (Hey, how is this?) "You are telling, 'I am not the body, I am not the senses' and so on. How is this?" Immediately he fell down at the feet of Ṭhākur: Janma janma antara dhītali koda. Adhu veda, idhe veku (For lifetimes I have been searching. Now I know; this is what I seek).

This is the devotee's growth. He wants both.

The Glory of Viraha (Separation)

So the glory of viraha. That's why in the Vaiṣṇava literature, you don't get it in South India. It is only in North India, that bhakti, tremendous bhakti. So they composed a literature called Padāvalī—Vaiṣṇava Padāvalī. If they don't say Vaiṣṇava, Padāvalī means it is about Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, about the Gopīs, Rādhā and the Gopīs.

So these are the two scenes: viraha and what is called coming together again—what about union? Yukta (union). Viraha and yukta, separation and coming together.

So in the beginning, all separation—deep anguish that goes on. At the end, Kṛṣṇa suddenly appears. Then joyously they will sing another one and a half hours. By that time, sleep also comes. Nidrā Devī (the goddess of sleep) is also coming, and slowly people will go home.

Two Types of Bhāva

They have discovered many things where South India and Vaiṣṇavas have not been able to discover. A little of it we can get in the glimpse of the Āḻvārs. The Āḻvārs' devotion to Lord Viṣṇu—you will get a little of this feeling.

So this is called Kānta-bhāva. That is called Parakīya-bhāva. Kānta means the relationship between a husband and a wife—a good husband and a good wife, a chaste wife and a chaste husband. Whereas this Parakīya-bhāva is between a lover and a beloved.

So Rādhā was a married woman to somebody else, not Kṛṣṇa. So an immoral person or immoral situation? No. It is to show this strength of devotion, because one's wife is only fact. If there is a fact and fiction, which wins? Fiction. Fiction always wins. That is why romantic themes—I call it romantic theme.

Aṣṭapadī—yes, it is all Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa: tava virāhe (in your separation). Like that, gāna (songs) are going on. Beautiful. Bombay Sisters have some very beautiful ones. Priya Sisters have some. Balamurali Krishna had some. Ghantasala had also some. Aṣṭapadī—this is called Jayadeva's Aṣṭapadī. Beautiful pieces.

The Ekāntina Bhaktas Continued

Okay. So Bhakta Ekāntina—eka-anta. Only one goal in life. What is it? Me and God, nobody else. First point.

Second point is: no bhakta ever wants to be completely united with God. He wants to be a little bit separate, but only two. That is why it is called Dvaita. Dvaita means many things, but here Dvaita means only two: I and God, and nothing else.

So there are devotees, bhaktas—Ekāntina. They only want eka-anta, only one desire in their life: "I want only God." They are the most important. They are called Mukhya (principal). They are the most real devotees to be counted. Whether it is Prahlāda, whether it is Dhruva—all these great bhaktas: Nārada, Parāśara, Puṇḍarīka. At the end, Nārada mentions all those bhaktas. We will get to it.

Sūtra 68: The Characteristics of Mukhya Bhaktas

Ekāntina Mukhya. So when these great people, when they are together, when they are alone, or with somebody, how do they express that love? That is being described in the 68th sūtra:

Kaṇṭhāvarodha-romāñca-aśrubhiḥ. So first of all, kaṇṭhāvarodha—they want to talk, but because of that joy, emotion, the throat is constricted. Not able to speak properly. You know when there is great sorrow, alas, they want to talk, but that emotion doesn't allow them to talk. This is also emotion, but it is an emotion of great joy.

So then romāñca. Romāñca—you know, horripilation in English. It is a very horrible word: horripilation. Romāñca means the hair stands on end. Rāmakṛṣṇa is enjoying some devotion; his hair has stood on end. He is telling them, "Look, look, look at the hair. Every hair is standing."

Rāma was a great devotee of Bhagavān. He heard about all those things, but the first time he was witnessing how a man could have this romāñca. Then aśru (tears) believed. Constantly, continuously, tears of joy were flowing. "What great good fortune! How am I deserving this kind of grace of God?" Because they are beholding the divine in themselves.

Sūtra 69: Mutual Worship Among Devotees

Then with this kind of bodily expression, parasparam lāpamānāḥ (talking among themselves). They embrace each other. When one devotee sees another, he embraces the other. And then no other thoughts occupy their mind. So the words also—always words of only God.

Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful description. When a devotee is intoxicated with dancing, first he says to them, "Rāma, Rāma, Rāma," like that. And the emotion increases. "Rā, Rā, Rā." And in the end he can't even utter the word: "Rā." And then he goes into complete silence. Who is going to utter the words? And who wants to listen?

Parasparam lāpamānāḥ (talking among themselves)—they go on talking the same thing. The more they talk, the more wonderful it is for them. Such persons are mukhya bhaktas.

Sūtra 70: The Purifying Power of Great Devotees

So when such persons are seen on this earth, what happens? Pāvayanti kulamī (they purify the lineage). They purify the whole lineage. It is said that if one person realizes God, fourteen generations—seven before, seven later—they become free because of his greatness, without doing anything.

But without doing anything, they could not have got this kind of son. They must have done a lot of tapasyā (spiritual austerities) to get this kind of offspring. Simply move? Free gift? Free gift will not come like that. It comes only as a result of great labor in janma-janma-antara (many lifetimes).

Pāvayanti kulāni (they purify families). They alone are called true sons. Then pṛthivīṃ ca (and the earth). They also purify the bhūmi (earth) where they stand. That's why we have the habit of taking the dust of the sādhus, etc.

So what is it? These are the people dedicated to God. And therefore if we take that dust, we will also become what? Sādhus. Our goal is not to remain as householders. Householdership is necessary to know that it is not necessary—it is completely, completely a waste of time. But we will not know it is a waste of time until we go through it and suffer.

What is said in Hindi for this? Jīvan ek safar hai (Life is a journey). Life is suffering. Jīvan ek safar—English words, mixed words. Jīvan ek safar hai.

The Behavior of Ordinary Good Devotees

These are some of the characteristics of the mukhya bhaktas. But even ordinary devotees, good devotees, they should not talk anything except spiritual knowledge. If you have nothing to do, just do japa (repetition of God's name). If you have to talk about it, take a text, read to each other, discuss this.

It is a rare thing to do that. But unfortunately it is not easy, because the other person—they will get bored. And they may not like it also. "Okay, for a few minutes we tolerate you." After that... So that is the condition.

The Meaning of Purification

Then he says, what is it? They purify there. What is the meaning of purification? Very important. The more we are purified, the more our real nature manifests.

So in an analogical manner, what can you say? The more a student studies, the more his innate knowledge becomes manifest. This is again a Vedāntic idea: all knowledge is within you. No knowledge comes from outside. And Patañjali also gives that expression. Swami Vivekānanda brings that expression out: "All knowledge is within."

Then what is the proof of it? What is the analogy of it? There is a spring of water underneath the earth, but there are some stones and other things which are not allowing the spring water to come out. So your digging process is not to bring the water—it is already there—but to remove the obstacles. And the moment there are a few stones and other things removed, automatically the water just gushes out.

The Story of the Well

That is what happened. We wanted a well here. So one gentleman offered it—he had this boring machine. So he came one day. He will not give money; he said, "I will do this." So he brought his own machine, and we were all watching. You know, it is at the end of where that Swami—number one, it is at that place. It is electric. It is in the temple grounds outside.

So we were all watching in the afternoon. So he went on digging. All the soil and leaves were flying. You know there is a big screw-driver like that, thick bits. It was going round and round until it was of this size, and then inside there is a casing ring. Huge bits. And it was throwing out the soil like that.

So it went ten feet, fifteen feet, twenty feet. It was going. And the moment it went twenty, twenty-two feet—wow! Water seeped in. We were all standing. It was all falling all over. "Fall as much as you want! This is what we want!" What a joy, you know, that water. So much water was there.

Then he himself constructed one small tank and then one machine, a pump. So we used to store the water. Pure water, because this Halasūru Lake is there, you know. Underground water is there, plenty of water is there here. And this temple was being constructed below, underground. The whole thing was flooded. How much cement we had to put to stop it!

Some two years, three years back, again it has come like that. So much water is there, actually. That well was dug for a simple purpose: if we have dug that one, then that water we are emptying, so it won't go to the temple. Unfortunately somebody closed it. Should never have closed it. Then they constructed and put pipes here for all the neighbors. They used to come and then take water from here. "Take as much water as you want," because it is going on, increasing—all the Halasūru Lake water is coming out here.

Knowledge Is Within

Anyway. What is it? Within each one of us, knowledge is like that, but it is obstructed by these—some stones means what? Ignorance, etc. What does a teacher do? He helps us to remove the obstacles. The moment obstacles are removed, all knowledge is revealed.

You want to be a musician? You want to be a politician? You want to be a scientist? You want to be an artist? You want to be anything, everything? Additionally, it comes out in the form of ideas.

Modern Examples: Amazon and eBay

Even though it is not a very good example, I am giving you some example: Amazon, eBay—all these companies. Really, one idea. Somehow the idea came to this person. Now you see—worldwide: Amazon India, Amazon USA, Amazon UK, everywhere. What a brilliant idea it is.

This is one of the most honest companies. You order anything, they will send you. You don't like it? No questions asked. They will arrange themselves, and they will ask you, "What is the reason?" So most of the people, their reason is that there is some problem. No questions asked, because they are not sending it—it is not their goods. They are only agents for some other people. It is not in their hands. They will refund the money, or they will replace the object.

It depends upon the honesty of both the customers and the company, and it is doing very well. eBay—same thing. Your goods are protected. Nobody can cheat you. If anybody wants to cheat you, eBay will deal with that. But you will get back your money if there is any problem.

Innovation Through Inner Knowledge

So what am I talking about? This knowledge is there within, but that person worked hard. That creative idea had come forward, and he became very rich because of it. So if anybody can dream of some useful something—and now, even though you people know more than me, these phones, you know, Android and iOS—these are the two important operating systems.

Use your brain and create a small application which will be very useful for you, for everyone who is looking for that, and immediately you can become a millionaire. Why? How much do you get from each customer?

It is only one dollar, half a dollar. But how many people are downloading that application? And through the company, many people became millionaires by adding very useful applications. Say, WhatsApp—we are all using WhatsApp, so we can greet each other. WhatsApp!

What am I talking about? All knowledge is there—whether it is scientific inventions, a person becoming rich. If you study their lives, very few people became rich only by cheating and hook or crook. They have some brilliant ideas, concretized them, and because people found them useful, these ideas have given them tremendous riches.

So we should never become what is called jealous of those people. Bill Gates, for example—an idea. Simply got hold of the idea. Microsoft got hold of the idea. Anyway.

The Divine Nature Within

This is the explanation: if I am divine—divine means I am Brahman—and Brahman is Sat-Cit-Ānanda-Svarūpa (of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss), then all knowledge should be within me. All existence should be—not within me—I am all knowledge. I am all existence. I am all ānanda (bliss).

Some obstacles are there called māyā-śakti (the power of illusion). Remove the māyā-śakti, and you regain your nature.

Sūtra 71: Devotees as Tīrthas (Holy Places)

So earlier he said these mukhya bhaktas not only purify their lineage, they purify the whole earth. That's why he says—three beautiful descriptions are there. What is that?

Tīrtha. You know what is tīrtha? A holy place. Wherever a person practices devotion, spiritual practice, and progresses in spiritual life, that place becomes holy. What is the basis of it?

So just like, you know, you go on bringing some pebbles, put them in one place. In course of time, what happens? The pebbles grow and grow and grow. It can become even a hill or a mountain. Exactly similar to that, you collect the thoughts.

So there is what we call vibration—thought vibration. That's why you sit in the temple and you get another feeling. Sitting anywhere else, you get another feeling. Why is it? An ordinary temple gives so much of vibration. Where a mahāpuruṣa (great soul) is born, where a mahāpuruṣa actually became a mahāpuruṣa—an ordinary puruṣa became a mahāpuruṣa through sādhana, puruṣārtha (spiritual effort)—there the vibrations will be what is called intensified, embodied.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example of the Well

Rāmakṛṣṇa used to give an example. Water is everywhere underneath. Very difficult—you are thirsty. What will you do? Water is there, but what is the point? But somebody takes the trouble to dig a well. The moment a well is dug, instantaneously, not only is your thirst quenched, but anybody who wants water can get it.

So what is the specialty of this? Water was there before also. Water is there now also. Previously it was not obtainable, not accessible. Now it is easily accessible. That place is called tīrtha—a holy place, puṇya-kṣetra, puṇya-tīrtha.

That is Kāśī, Rāmeśvaram, Vṛndāvana, Haridvāra, Badrinātha, Kedārnātha—you name it. The whole of India is filled with such places.

If you go to England, it is a holy place—every place is full of holes! Holes means, you know, you go there, you become a hole. They suck all your—whatever you have got, they will suck you out. They want to—there is a magnet there. It will pull it. "How much money have you got?" What is a credit card? They make you pull—spend money. That is, you think, "Ah, Bābā, I don't need to pay now." It will come. You have to pay later on. Enjoy now and pay later on.

Only God is a wise person. He says, "Pay first and enjoy later on. Now I will give you payment." Enjoyment first? First pay. Afterwards I will think whether I should give you something. Like that.

Tīrthī Kurvanti Tīrthāni

Oh, tīrtha. A place becomes holy because of holy people. So when such holy places are there, every sincere sādhaka (spiritual aspirant) goes from place to place, and there is holiness. He will borrow it. He goes on borrowing. But one day he becomes perfect—a siddha (perfected one). No more a sādhaka; now he is siddha, perfect.

The moment he becomes perfect, he has a spontaneous urge to go on pilgrimage to tīrthas. This time he is not going to take; he is going to replenish. That is why he says, Tīrthī means a holy person. Kurvanti tīrthāni—they make a place holy.

Rāmakṛṣṇa went on only two or three important pilgrimages: Vaidyanātha, Devaghaṭa, then Kāśī, then Vṛndāvana—only these few places, because these are the most important places of pilgrimage for every Hindu. So when he went, what did he do? By his very presence, he replenished the whole thing like floodwater. It was simply dry, trickling. The minnows were playing. Now as soon as he went, it is completely flooded.

So whenever it comes to that state, some great person will go there and restore it. Then what did Holy Mother do? She went to practically all important places: Kanyākumārī, Rāmeśvaram, Madurai—all places. What do you think she was doing? Tīrthī kurvanti tīrthāni. So she makes the whole thing, brings back the glory of those places to the new state. New awakening, new faith will come.

The Effect of Divine Incarnation

M. was asked, "What happens when God incarnates?" Faith just flourishes in most hearts. If there is small faith, it becomes very great. If there is no faith, a little bit of faith will come. Excepting a few people, everybody will get the benefit.

So this is the glory: Tīrthī kurvanti tīrthāni—they make holy places even more holy.

Sūtra 72: They Make Actions Authentic

Sukarmi kurvanti karmāṇi. Sukarmi kurvanti karmāṇi. Karmāṇi means actions. What actions? Scripture-oriented actions alone are called actions. By observing them in their own life, they make them authentic. Make them authentic.

So I want to give you one example, one or two examples like that.

The Story of Holy Mother's Mother

Holy Mother's mother, Śyāmā Sundarī, there is one incident. So Holy Mother's mother, she had some health issues. In those days, there were no doctors and others, you know. So she went to the Divine Mother and she took a vow: "I will not eat food until you tell me there is a remedy."

And within three days, she got the remedy. A very funny thing also happened. The Devī appeared and said, "Don't you know this is our sleeping time? I am feeling sleepy." Imaginary conversation!

"Voilà! I thought we human beings only sleep. This is the first time I am coming to know Gods and Goddesses also sleep!" So it is new information, seriously. Then that Devī had given a ten-minute lecture on how at this time of the year, they should not be disturbed.

Then Śyāmā Sundarī said, "Look here, Mother, instead of wasting your time and my time, just tell the remedy and go back to sleep." Yeah, this takes less than one minute. Just tell the remedy and go back to sleep. You are spoiling your own sleep.

Anyway, so immediately she got cured. The neighbors were so shocked. "How did you get cured?" "I prayed to the Divine Mother. She gave me the remedy." Since that time, many people got cured. Many people got cured. So like that, that is one incident.

The Power of Mantras

Another incident is—you know, the scriptures give us remedies for all the tāpa-trayas (three types of sufferings). Because we don't know anything about how to remedy them, we have to go through the suffering. The same scriptures also have to show us a way, like we go to doctors. This is the way to get out of your suffering.

So there are so many mantras. This Śṛṅgerī Śaṅkarācārya, the present Śaṅkarācārya's paramaguru (grand-teacher), was a mantra-siddha (perfected in mantra). So one day there was a Muslim family. They don't know anything about the mantra, but they were rich people. They had one son, I think two or three years old, and he got some pain. So he stopped eating food and continuously crying, crying, crying. They exhausted all the medications which others could give. No remedy was there.

So one day they decided to go to some other doctor or something like that. They had a car and they were driving. When they were driving, the driver was a devotee of Śṛṅgerī. He knew about this Swāmī. So he said to them, "Look here, there is a great Swāmī. He has got powers. So why don't you..."

The men were dead against it. "He is non-Muslim. How can we go, being Muslim?" The wife heard. She said, "I will kick you out. What is this? A saint is a saint, whether Hindu or whoever can help my child. You know—now you go if you want. I will take my child."

They had no option. So they stopped the car. They did not come in. So the driver took the wife to the Swāmī and told him, "She is suffering because her child is continuously crying and not able to eat—stomach pain, intolerable pain. The child is unable to express it."

So the Swāmī asked her to sit, took the child in his lap. There were a few people there, and he started passing his hands over the child. The nearby people clearly heard he was reciting a śloka from the Qur'ān. They were shocked that they had never seen the Swāmī even touching the Qur'ān.

He did it for a few minutes. Slowly the child stopped crying. Then—probably two or three days he did not eat—he was ravenously hungry. All this pain disappeared. Then the Swāmī told her, "Now you feed your child. He is very hungry."

So the woman took the child and fed him milk. Meanwhile, the men folk heard about it and they came there to pay their respects. "Swāmī, we were suspecting that you are not a Muslim, so we did not want to come. But because my wife forced us to stop here, we are very thankful."

Then the Swāmī said, "In religion there is no Muslim, non-Muslim. We are all children of God. So we follow the same sādhana in every way. You call Him by one name; we call Him by another name. So don't cherish all these narrow, constricting ideas."

The Story of the Gaṇeśa

So he bid goodbye to them and invited the driver before he visited. At that time, the Swāmī gave him a small, peculiar Gaṇeśa. And after many years, something happened and that Gaṇeśa was practically spoiled. So the driver was called—in this time, because he stopped after many years.

So the Swāmī called him and said, "When I went to such-and-such a place, somebody gave me three Gaṇeśas, and I kept one Gaṇeśa for you that I will give you. I know you will be coming. This is for you."

The man was shocked because he wanted one Gaṇeśa. He did not know when he was going to visit next. This kind of miracle is a very common thing.

Making Scriptures Authentic Through Practice

So what was I telling you? That by performing certain mantras, ordinary people like us lose faith in them—"Are they effective?" But these great souls repeat the same mantras and they get the effect. By seeing them getting the effect, we also get a little bit of faith: "If we do it, we also can get the same effects." This is called su-karmi. So any actions, good actions done—they will become sat-karma (good karma). They become good karma, such as śāstras (scriptures).

Śāstras means scriptures are made holy. The scriptures always tell us something very good, but we have lost faith in the scriptures—every scripture. The Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a scripture. And this Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—every single sentence uttered by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is coming from the mouth of God. That's why it is called Bhagavad Gītā. Why is it called Bhagavad Gītā? The Gītā that came from the mouth of Bhagavān is called Bhagavad Gītā.

What is Gospel? That is also Bhagavad Gītā only, because if you believe Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa as Bhagavān, then what comes from his mouth? What else comes from God's mouth? Gītā will come. Gītā means that which brings joy to us. That is called Gītā.

If somebody says, "I sing for you," and whatever sleep you are getting, that sleep is also disturbed—that is not called Gītā. It is called non-Gītā, nonsensical disturbance.

The Effects of Music

All this rock music, you know—whatever little sleep you are getting, you will lose after hearing it for some time. You can become mental also. That is why it is called metal. If you hear metal music, then what will you become? Mental. If you hear rock music, what will you become? Hard rock, rich rock. This is the kind of music.

You know they experimented on music? Russian scientists experimented the effect of music on plants. You know that? Well, Bose did not experiment that—he discovered that plants have feelings. But here they experimented.

What they did: there are certain fast-growing creepers. There is one creeper that every day grows at least a meter—every day. You can clearly see hour by hour how it is growing. So they put some creepers there. They put two speakers like that. One with this rock music and the other one with Ravi Shankar's sitar. And from this speaker, Ravi Shankar's classical music; from here, rock music.

Slowly these plants were leaning. They veered away and came and lovingly surrounded themselves around the speaker playing classical music. That shows—and they were very happy. That is why when Kṛṣṇa used to play the flute, even the fruit-bearing trees used to bend down. They are so happy. Cows were so happy, and Gopīs and Gopas were very happy. The whole world was very, very happy.

And it is said Apsarās, Kinnaras, Gandharvas—invisibly they stand round to hear. Because what music can come from Kṛṣṇa? Only one music can come. You know what is it? Like Madālasā rocking her child. What is that? Tvaṃ Brahma asi nişkala nirajana, sadā mukta—this is the nitya-śuddha-buddha-mukta-svarūpa (eternally pure, awakened, liberated nature).

The Story of Madālasā's Sons

She used to recite this and then sing this song: Tvaṃ nitya-śuddha... So the first child, as soon as he grew up, he became a sannyāsī. The second child, the same thing happened. The third child, the same thing happened. The fourth child, the husband came and said, "Amma, leave one child for ruling the kingdom."

Then she slightly changed her tune and said that you have to be a good king like this, like this. In between also, this reminder. So it is said—the legend goes, it is true, don't ask—but these are the ideal stories. What he did: he became the king. His father died, he became the king. Are you okay?

We will talk about—so she was old, she was about to die. Then she gave one small—what is called—one small copper rod with something written inside, tied around his neck. Before dying, she told him, "My son, whenever you are in the greatest difficulty, then you open it and read it. It will come to your help."

So she passed away and he became a very good king. But as it so happens, once he had to run away from that place. So one day a king, another day a pauper, running away for his life. Somehow he entered into a deep forest, sitting there, brooding: "Why has this happened to me? I was a good king." He was a really great king, loving his people, working for them.

So then he was thinking, "What shall I do?" Then he remembered the mother's advice. "So this is the greatest period of difficulty." He opened it and then he read: "These too will pass away." Everything will pass away. Your kingdom—if you had opened it then—"These too will pass away." Now he is a pauper—"These too will pass away." Everything in this world will pass away.

So he became very cheerful, energetic, went into the next kingdom, and enrolled himself as a soldier. Being a wise king, you know, he very fast advanced, and then after some time, the king was so impressed he made him his commander-in-chief and then he married his own daughter to him. And then after that, he became the king.

Then that kingdom was having a large army. He came back attacking. As soon as the other king, the king who threw him out, heard that he was coming, immediately before war started itself, he surrendered himself like that. Then he argued, "You go back to your own kingdom," and started ruling.

So such great people are there. All these teachings are there. Those teachings will always become neglected in course of time. What great people will do: they will, as if they will take them out from old, you know, some old place gathering dust somewhere in boxes. They remove it. "Oh, this is the greatest treasure that our grandfathers have bestowed upon us. See how wise they were." They will demonstrate. Then people say, "Oh, we were happy, but we forgot how to use it."

The Story of the Bhakta and the Jñānī

So this is the story of this. So in a town, two people were living in a rented house—first floor and ground floor. On the ground floor, one bhakta was staying. Upstairs, one jñānī. They always hated each other. So whenever they saw each other, this fellow would say, "Jai Nārāyaṇa."

One day this jñānī thought, "I will not tolerate this." So when the bhakta was out, he took a piece of chalk and wrote "So'ham" (I am That). And then he was very happy. And then the bhakta came back. His eyes became red. So he added one "dā" before: "Dāso'ham" (I am the servant).

He was very happy. He went inside. Then the jñānī returned. His eyes became red. So he added one "sā": "Sādāso'ham" (I am always That). And he went upstairs. The bhakta was watching the whole thing. He came out. His eyes became red. He added another "dā": "Dāsadāso'ham" (I am not only the servant; I am the servant of the servant).

The Case of Hṛdayarām

So this is the case of Hṛday—that he was a companion, divine companion, who came along with the avatāra. His role was first of all to look after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. It is to illustrate the power of māyā. He became, instead of becoming enlightened in the company of holy people—and who could be holier than his own māmā (uncle) Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—arrogant.

"But for me, if I was not looking after you, you, Paramahaṃsa, would not have been there, because I was looking after you. You were able to meditate and do all those things. Otherwise you would have been dead long back." That kind of arrogance he developed.

So he had to be taught a lesson. So he had to—when he was separated from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, then he realized what a terrible mistake he had committed. Then he came several times to see Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. His death was also a very miserable death. He was so poverty-stricken, ultimately he became a cloth seller.

So he would—in villages only he would sell—some small pieces of cloth for women, blouses, and a few saris, all for village folk. A few shirts, dhotis like that. And roam from village to village. A few people will buy a little bit. And this is how he eked out his life. And in that condition, he passed away.

The Lesson of Holy Company

So it is true. The lesson was that holy company is okay, but it will not automatically make us holy. We also have to be a little bit cautious. "Am I thriving? Am I growing spiritually?" So we have to learn the lessons. How are they living? See, we have got company. We have to learn: How is that person living? And if I am keeping his company and if I don't change my lifestyle, if I am going on in the same worldly way, that's not holy company at all. So it doesn't do any good.

That is why they had to suffer a lot. It is to teach the lesson. But it is only for this life, because he came along with the avatāra. Then his body drops off. In mahāmāyā, so many things can happen. That is the lesson.

Closing Prayer