Post Aarathi Talk 33 on 3rd June 2018

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Come on Nitya, there is a beautiful stotram by Shankaracharya, do you know, it is called Annapurna stotram, one of the most wonderful stotrams. Nityanandakari, like that it starts. Urabhayakari, Pratyaksha Maheshwari, I think it may be here. Samdarya Ratnakari, Nirdhutakila Gorapavanakari, Pratyaksha Maheshwari, Pralayachala Vamsa Pavanakari, Kashi Puradeshwari, Vikshamdehi Kripavalambanakari, Mata Annapurneshwari, Nityanandakari, Nityanandakari. So she is the embodiment of bliss all the time. So she also grants. Here is a wonderful principle, who can give what? Can a poor man give wealth to somebody? Can a person who doesn't know maths, can he give knowledge of maths to somebody? So can a person who is not happy give happiness to other people? It is not possible. A person who doesn't know music, can he give? So who can give what? First they have to be very happy. There is a nice joke, you know, one fellow went to a psychiatrist, Now it is all long back, 30 years back. They used to go to Ramdas Ashram, Anand Ashram. So on the way they used to stay in the ashram, Bangalore Ram Krishna Ashram also. And they used to do lot of japa. So God can give, what can he give? A person can give what he has. A person cannot give what he has not. Now what is the name of God in Vedanta? Satchitananda. Satchitananda is the most wonderful word. In English language, if you use the word God, it means nothing. Somebody, some old man sitting somewhere, and old age, whether he has got cataract also, we don't know. So if you apply, apply. Why? Because he can't hear, he can't see. But here, Satchitananda. Sat means pure existence. What is pure existence? Consciousness. Yes, but pure existence, pure consciousness and bliss, these are synonymous words. Three in one, one in three. So if you, we say the table exists, the chair exists, the book exists. So, come, come. I know, I know them. His name is Yogi. I know him. So, he claims he is a Yogi, but I don't see any yoga lakshanas in him. Yes. So, how are you? I'm very well, thank you. How are you? Hello, my friend. What's your name? This is Miss Ivy. Come, come, come, get up. Thank you. See, when he was bowing down, no smile. We are all... Now, big smile. Yeah. How are you? How are you? I'm fine, Maharaj. You haven't come for a long time, why? No, Maharaj, he had a cancerous tumour, so he had an operation. Is he fine now? He is undergoing radiotherapy now. That's very good. It will be done. So, how is your daughter? The younger one went to her house today. She has just come from India to see her father. Where does she live? East Court Lane. Okay, fine. So, you put on that light, Yogi. Middle one and... Yes, another one. Yes, thank you. So, these are the three characteristics. Everything exists with different names. You take these different names. If you remove the manifestation of existence, what remains is called pure existence. Also, if we remove awareness from every single experience, what remains is pure consciousness. If we remove the manifestation of happiness from every experience, what remains is pure bliss. You have to think over it, because these are not such easy concepts. What is common? This is a chair. This is a table. This is a door, etc. What is common? Whatever comes after this is a... that is common. Put a line. So, this is called pure existence. So, also apply it to awareness. I am aware of a table, I am aware of a chair, I am aware of a book. What is common? I am aware. What is uncommon? Chair, table, etc. Now, what happens? Something peculiar happens. When I say, this is a table, I forget this is a, and focus upon the table. When I say, I am aware of a chair, what happens? I forget. My focus is, I know this is a table, but I am aware of that part. Forget. So, also, I am happy because I have eaten a sweet. But I have forgotten, I am happy eating a sweet. I am happy reading a book. I am happy watching a movie. What is common? I am happy. The moment you bring something, we are moving from pure or absolute to something which is limited, broken, finite and time limited. So, what is God? He is not an object. He is unbroken by manifestation of existence, of awareness, of happiness. What is God? If we take this definition, there would be no controversy between any religion. So, two points we noted down. One, a person can give only what he has. He can never give what the person doesn't have. Nithyanandakari, Nithyanandakari, that is the Divine Mother's characteristic. She is Nithyanandakari. Why do we use Nithyanandakari? Because our experience is not Nithya. It is Anithya. We are happy, we are not happy. But in herself, she is always happy. She is happy because, like one joke that goes, that one husband and wife are quarreling. So, the wife said to the husband, you men are always unhappy. See how happy we are. And he replied, yes, no doubt, because women don't have wives. Women don't have wives. But she should have retorted, you know. Women have husbands. Nithyanandakari. So, that is what she can give. Has she got anything else? Divine Mother or Divine? She has got only three things. What is it? Sat, Chit and Ananda. I said she has got only one thing. Because existence, consciousness and Ananda are not three separate things. So, they go together. You experience any object, three things go together. Let me illustrate. You see a table. Three things are happening. First thing, you are aware. What is the second thing? You know, because if it is not existing, you won't have, you won't be aware of it. And if you are aware of it, you must be aware of it, of something. There is nothing called, I am aware of nothing, that's not going to happen. You get it? The third point is, whenever you experience something, some reaction takes place in your mind. I like it, I don't like it. That experience is called Ananda. That's the most wonderful thing we have to understand. Why it is Ananda? This is one of the controversial subjects. How can everything produce only Ananda? We are only looking from our standpoint. But everything produces Ananda to somebody. For example, you meet a hungry tiger. Does it produce happiness or unhappiness? Happiness. Unhappiness for whom? For me, the tiger is happy. So, somebody is very happy. That's what happened to Swamiji, you know. He was meditating, he was hungry. A hungry tiger also came near him. Then he looked at her, and it also looked at him. And after some time, it nodded its head and then went away. Later on, Swamiji narrated this incident. Then somebody asked Swamiji, What were your thoughts when the tiger is looking at you? He was also aware. He was sitting, no protection. Once it happened to me also. You know, the tiger was just one foot away. What should be my reaction? I was in a zoo. So, Swamiji said, I am also hungry. The tiger is also hungry. I cannot eat the tiger, but the tiger can eat me. But of course, the tiger decided. It also had the same experience. It was aware of Swamiji. It was aware of the existence of Swamiji, and it was not very happy. Because this is indigestible matter. It is better to leave it alone. So, why did the tiger not attack him? See, we have got peculiar ideas about these wild animals. We think, if you observe David Attenborough's these things, you see something very peculiar. There are deer grazing, and a tiger is passing by. You know what is the distance? Maybe ten feet. And the deer also is just looking like that, grazing and going away. The tiger also, or lion also is going away. Another day, the tiger is there at about hundred feet. The deer is very alert. So, what is the difference between these two? They are aware. Yes, correct. They are aware that these are not hungry. They are not out for hunting. They can read the signs of when they are about to be attacked, and when they are not needed. Because this nature gives them that beautiful love. So, let us come back to the subject. The moment you are aware, you are aware of existence. Therefore, existence is outside, awareness is inside. And it produces a reaction. Every experience produces a reaction. And that reaction is called Ananda. Every experience produces a reaction. We think it doesn't, but it is true. I will give an illustration. Suppose you are walking in a busy street. Cars are running. People are also moving, etc., etc. So, you have kept an eye out, because while you are walking, the bus or car is coming from the opposite side, coming from behind. So many people you are walking. So, you see somebody. That person has hopefully not seen you. And you don't like that person, because if he collars you, he will bore you with his acne for two and a half hours. Yeah, you have experienced. The moment you see, you duck into a shop and watch out for him until he passes. So, what happened? One experience. What is this experience? Negative experience. Suppose you see somebody whom you are very happy to meet, and then you run towards that person. This is a very positive experience. And you are walking. Then suddenly, a car is coming from that side. And you have an estimation. The car is passing ten feet on the other side. What is this experience? It is a neutral experience. Neither positive nor negative, but a neutral experience. Every single moment of our life, we are going through these three types of experiences. So, whatever it is, when a person is able to see pure existence and pure awareness, then what would be the experience? Ananda. Now, another way of interpreting, suppose you meet a person whom you don't like, you avoid that person, isn't it? Is it a negative experience or a positive experience? Negative. Negative from the person who is trying to avoid you. No, no, you are trying to avoid the other person. Is it a negative experience or a positive experience? No, it is a very positive experience. Because you don't want him to meet you. And if you have succeeded, what joy! Yes, these are things that are... Every day, unconsciously, every single experience, either we are going near or going away from it, or if it is neither, then we are without any reaction. That also is a reaction. Because if it doesn't fall under these two, it falls under the other. If it is not neutral, suppose it is danger, then immediately you will avoid. So, neutral experience is also a very valid experience. That is how we function in this world. Another important factor. Whenever we meet anybody, we are scanning for our judgment of that person. How do we know? Supposing you are walking in a strange place and your destination is to go to some house and you don't know where that house is and you don't know in which direction to go. Then you see some people talking nearby. Some people, 5-6 people. Mark carefully. Whom do you approach to ask for directions? Did you get what I am saying? You want directions to reach some place and you see 5-6 people. So, whom do you approach for directions? You want to approach. There are some people. Whom do you approach? The one who is similar to us. The one who will give attention. No, that is not the point. There are 5-6 people. You think you just randomly approach anybody nearby. You don't do it. You have already scanned their faces. One is scowling face. Another is smiling face. You are likely to approach because your mind has already decided. Probably this person will give me... My chances of getting directions are better than the other person. Whether we are right or wrong is not the point. Our mind has already scanned and come to certain conclusions. How did it come to those conclusions? Previous experience. What is previous experience? Karma. No. Memory, ok. But what type of memory we are talking about? Positive. But why this person? Let me tell you something in the background. Once a survey has been taken. Young people. Boys and young girls. Youths. You know boys and girls, they date. So why a particular boy is attracted to a particular girl and why a particular girl is attracted to a particular boy? Is it at random? Opposite actually. No. It is a deep psychology behind. Psychologists have made research. So they wanted to find out. It is a very wonderful subject. They made a questionnaire. Anybody who wants to research, the first thing is they have to design the questionnaire very thoroughly. Their success, their interpretation depends upon the data they gather. So there are hundreds of questions. Why did you fall in love with this person? What attracted her? Is it her hair? Is it her nose? Is it her... Whatever, whatever. And then, honestly, they have all replied. At the end, they collected the data and analysed it. Invariably, it boils down to this. When this young man or young woman who are children... You know children, they also have expectations. Chocolates, dolls, and then cuddling. So many things. So suppose this young man, he was a small boy and he has an aunt. Here is an example. And whenever this aunt comes, this boy's face lits up like a thousand-petalled lotus. Why? She always comes with the best chocolates that he loves, always hugs, always brings what? Joy. Now this joy is associated with that particular person. Now that person has peculiar features. It may be hairstyle, it may be the face cut, it may be nose, it may be the smell, it may be the voice of the... But now the boy associated these features with happiness. And that remains firmly established. That's why they say the deepest impressions are when we are children. A short-term memory, that's why people forget. Dementia when it happens. So they grow up. Probably the particular aunt is out, but that feature, association, it has not gone. So this boy becomes a young man and he looks at these hundreds of girls and one particular girl resembles his aunt. His aunt. Then something reminds him, he has forgotten that once upon a time, you know we forget our childhood memories, but the impressions we don't. These are called vasanas. So that association, this girl, particular girl reminds him that impression that this must be, this looks like that, so it must be an object of joy. Afterwards what happens, don't ask me. That's a different issue. So, this is how we all work, isn't it? You eat a sweet and you have a very positive impression. Next time onwards, a sweet like this would be a joyous thing. But is it always joyous? Because it depends on the particular quality. Quality, time, state of the, what is called our mind, state of our body, so many factors are involved. But what is important for us, what we are discussing, we are creatures of vasanas, habits. What is now, if the question is asked, what is the way I could be most of the time a happy person? So what is the way? And this was the subject matter in Time magazine several years back. Happiness. What is happiness? How is happiness attained? And what is the method for a person to be unhappy? So there were physicists, there were scientists, there were psychologists, there were ordinary people who gave all their impressions. You know what was the conclusion? Happy people, unhappy people, both have more or less same type of experiences. Happy, unhappy, a mixture. Then what makes a person happy? A happy person is one who tends to put down the unhappy memories and keep the happy memories upper hand. And an unhappy person goes on digging those unhappy memories and then go on harping on them, oh my whole life is a waste of time, never was I happy. Like that he bores himself and he also starts boring. And if you find anybody, this person I don't want to meet, give me one reason why you are avoiding that person. You know, simple. What is the simple? A beggar never approaches another beggar. We are also in search of happiness. If we go to this fellow then he might take away whatever we have. This is the truth. We are all in search of three things. We want happiness, we want awareness and we want existence, pure existence. So this is the unconscious way evolution is slowly taking us. Now the Vedas have got two parts. Usually Veda is divided into one classification into two parts. Karma Kanda and Jnana Kanda. Karma Kanda is a misnomer. If we use that Karma Kanda then it brings unhappy memories. We should call it Dharma Kanda. Because Karma every creature is doing. Animals are doing, insects are doing, trees are doing, everything. But Dharma is possible only for human beings. Why? Because below human level, non-human beings, there is only one faculty which is operating. You know what is that faculty? Instinct. No, no, no, not instinct. Instinct. So those who have advanced in spiritual life, for them another faculty functions. They directly apprehend truth and that is called intuition. But those who fall in between, they have been given a special faculty called reasoning. So reasoning is meant only for one purpose. What is that purpose? To shift the right from the wrong, the happy from the unhappy. I think one day we discussed about, while discussing about viveka, four stages of viveka. What is the first one? Sukha, Dukha, Viveka. We are not even in the first stage. Do we know what leads to happiness? If we really know, understand? Sukha, Dukha. We all claim, profess that we want what? What? Happiness. And do we know how happiness is obtained? What brings to happiness? What leads us to unhappiness? So does anybody want short-term happiness or they want long-term happiness? Long-term happiness. One of the characteristics of a mature personality is commitment for long-term goals. That is why a scientist, as an example, an artist, he dedicates his life totally only for that particular subject. He will not deviate. Even if he is not happy, you read the biographies of, for example, Van Gogh, Vincent Van Gogh. He had gone mad. He died very poor. Only because of his brother he survived. It's a very, very inspiring life. He went mad. He cut off his own ear. And he was imprisoned also for some time. Nobody bought his paintings. Today, each one of his paintings is worth 30-40 million dollars. But you know, he was ahead of his time. Similarly, Picasso. Monet. Very interesting thing happened in the life of Monet. After the age of 50, he developed cataract in both eyes. One eye was operated. It was successful. Then he went on. You know, he is famous for his landscapes. You know, wildflowers, bridges and these things. He developed his own special style. Shiva Maharaj from Hollywood. Last visit, only to enjoy this Monet's paintings. There was an exhibition. In London? No, somewhere here in Italy or somewhere. So, he went there just to see that. Monet was the most famous French landscape artist, specialist in that. Then after some time, second eye was operated. Something happened. He suddenly acquired infrared vision for some reason. His whole painting style has totally changed from that time onwards. People were astonished. You know, they could compare. Art critics could compare. So, they found complete change. Then they asked him, why this change? His reply was that after the second eye operation, he had developed a special sight to look at things. How animals look. Say for example, how a butterfly views a flower. How we view a flower. How a butterfly views a flower. This is a special thing. Now we have got that too. They have developed special cameras, infrared cameras. How, for example, a leopard. How it looks at night. What appears. Beautiful. It is like a dark full moonlit night. And it could see clearly. Whereas human being cannot see. Other animals cannot see. Have you noticed? When photograph is taken of wild animals at night, their eyes will be glowing like diamonds. Because they need that power. Because at that time these are vulnerable for attacks, etc. So the whole, how a bird looks at a flower. We think that we attribute. As we look, they also look like that. No, they do not. They have a very special type of looking. Therefore, if there is honey, the whole color of that flower changes. Whereas for us, whether there is honey or no honey, simply if somebody calls us, unfortunately our blood BP rises. Do you remember honey story? Honey story. There was an old man who was married for 60 years. And one day his friend visited him. And this man turned to his wife and said, Honey, would you go and prepare a cup of tea for our friend? She happily went inside. The friend was shocked. What? After 60 years of marriage, you still love her so much you call her honey? He said, No, no, not like that. I forgot her name long back. It is a substitute for forgetting. She is happy, he is happy, everybody is happy. What else do you want? So, we do not see any difference. But the birds, because they are in search of honey, they know which flower has got honey. We don't call it honey, nectar. And how much is there, they have a special eye. Like you know how? When you are seeing a mango, you will know which mango is ripe or which is not ripe. Everybody has got a very special way. And how do you know? What is that called? Bhindi, ladies finger. Whether it is old or new. Do you know? How do you know? You know that end of it, you just snap it. If it snaps easily, this is a young lady. If it is an old lady, you do this. So, what is the point we are all seeking? Only happiness. This is what Jnana Yoga wants to emphasize. Swamiji also brought about a harmony and said every yoga leads to the same goal. Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. What is the next line? Do this, either by work, worship, psychic control, philosophy, one or all of them, and be free. So, this is the Mahavakya for us. That means one can also progress in spiritual life and attain knowledge. Do you know what knowledge? We use several words. God-knowledge, God-realization, etc. But the correct word will be we know who we really are. That is smriti. Smritir labdha. Nasto mohaha smritir labdha. Remember, we discussed it one day. Shri Krishna, or in the whole Bhagavad Gita, all the questions were put by whom? By Arjuna. Krishna also puts one question at the very end, after the Bhagavad Gita was delivered. kashchid etat shrutam partha tvayekagrena cetasa kashchid ajnana sammoha pranastaste dhananjaya So, he says, Arjuna, have you heard with full attention, unwavering mind, ekagrena cetasa, kashchid etat shrutam, have you heard what I spoke to you? If you had heard, because this is the cause, hearing is the cause with one-pointed mind, then the result should be kashchid ajnana sammoha pranastaste dhananjaya. Your sammoha means delusion. Delusion means what? Forgetfulness of who I am. That should have been destroyed, because this is the teaching. That was the only question. And Arjuna asked, most beautiful answer, I cannot describe how beautiful. What is the first thing? Nastomoha. He is answering the question. He did not say, I heard. He said, nastomoha. My delusion is destroyed. That means what? I know who I am. I heard what you said. I heard whatever you said, I heard. How do I know? Because my delusion is gone. Smriti helabdha. This is the crucial word in the whole Bhagavad Gita. Smriti means what? Atma smriti. Who we really are. But he says, tat prasadat maya achyuta. By your grace, O Lord, maya achyuta. This Parashara Bhatta had commented upon Vishnu Sahasranama. And this particular word achyuta, he gives a very, very special meaning. So, what is chyuta? Chyuta means to deviate. To slip away. To move away. Achyuta means he never deviates. He never moves away. That is one of the titles of Bhagavan Vishnu. Achyuta. His interpretation is, supposing a devotee says once in his life, O Lord, I belong to you. That means we are giving our power of attorney to you. Until now, what are we saying? That you belong to. You belong means you are my servant. If I pray, if I apply, you must reply. I want money, I want this, I want that, I want so many things, and that's what happens. But now, I belong to you. If I belong to you, whatever belongs to you also belongs to me. But the crucial thing is, I belong to you. The moment the devotee wholeheartedly says, I belong to you, next moment the Lord accepts it. And then, whatever you do afterwards, he will not leave you. Because once you said that I belong to you, he understands, this child belongs to me. Afterwards, even if you try to slip away, he will not go away from you. Because my child said, Papa, you called me Papa or Ma, you called whatever way, you called me that I am yours, and I will not give you up. That steadfastness of God, he will never deviate from thinking that we are his children. Once we say that I belong to you, that is the meaning of Achyutam. There is a very nice song about Achyutam Keshava. Yes, I know. Beautiful. So, we are talking about this evolution. The whole life is designed only for this purpose, slowly to lead us. And to remember, this progress will happen only by the grace of God. Tvat prasadat achyuta. How did I gain back? The whole life is meant only for one purpose. What is that? I am deluded, and I want to get rid of the delusion. Now you can interpret the whole Bhagavad Gita in this light. What is life meant for? It is the evolution. To get rid of. Slowly, get rid of. And how can it happen? By the grace of God. And how can the grace of God come? By following his instructions. That is where you can connect it to Swamiji's. Do this. Means get rid of your delusion, either through work, through psychic control, means Raja Yoga, through worship, through work, through worship means Bhakti Yoga, psychic control means mind control, that means Raja Yoga, or through knowledge, which is called Jnana Yoga, by one or more or all of this, you combine and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, dogmas, temples, churches, books, these are all secondary details. If any religion is serious about their vocation, if he reads these four sentences, then what is Christianity? He is also trying to get rid of his moha, I belong to God. Because their own religion is telling, God made man in his own image. Very wonderful word. In his own image means what? And if God made man in his image, man also makes God in his own image. That is what we forget. And because my image of God is different from your image of God, we go on quarreling with each other and say my image is better than your image. The other fellow also with compound interest, he will also reply. And then how to decide? Let us fight. If I win, my God is superior. If you win, your... This is what is happening, the inquisitions, you know. The Christians go and interesting. This building is the same, whether it is a temple, whether it is a church, whether it is a mosque, it is exactly same until certain height. After that, if it is like half onion, it is a mosque. And if it is like this structure, it is, you can say, church also, gothic structure. Or if it is lot of goddesses and animals and so many things, layer upon layer, that is called temple. Now what did the Muslims do in India? They stripped off all images and then taken away, looted all the things inside and then they made it empty space. This is what they call mosque. So, if it is Christian, what does he do? He will replace Narayana with Jesus Christ. Krishna with Christ. That's why somebody asked one of our Swamis in America, Swami, are you a Christian? Swami said, no, we are Ram Christians. Ram Krishna's followers are Ram Christians. It is better. Anyway, I hope he did not mispronounce. We are Ram Christians. Understand? Yes. Hindus are very much aware of these things. That is why when you want to be fiery, what do you do? Two things you can do. You take up a bit of water and sprinkle saying, what? Ram. Agni Mantra. Or you can practically experience Ram. O Rama, ni naamam entha ruchira. O Rama, ni naamam entha ruchira. Do you remember that story? Oh, you have to hear it. It is unforgettable. So, in Andhra Pradesh, South India, there is a tradition of Haridasas, devotees of God, early morning in winter season, December, so they will come. That is why Tirupavai and other things are chanted only during that time. They come from village to village, beg for food at early morning, 3 o'clock. So, there was this one day in a village, this Haridasa entered, 3 o'clock, usually people get up and give some bhiksha. It was a bit chilly. So, this man was singing, Bhadracharya Ramdas sang, O Rama, ni naamam entha ruchira. You understand? O Rama, how tasty is your name. He was also singing sleepily. People are also listening. And then they gave something. So, he was proceeding from one village. He finished, he was going to the other village, which is only about two and a half miles away. So, he reached there. Before entering into that village, he saw there was one Rama's small temple, gudi, we call it gudi, Rama gudi. So, it was a little bit chilly. So, he entered inside for a few minutes to get a bit of relief. Then he saw that a few days before, somebody made a nama for Rama with silver. You know this? That is also called nama. Yes. Nama. Silver nama. So, he looked here and there at that ungodly hour who would be there. So, he took it off, went to a toddy shop, bought a bottle and then drank and started, O Rama, ni naamam entha ruchira. Got it. Then he got the taste of the nama. Anyway, it is a different subject, but there is some truth in it. This wine also enhances the mood which is before. That's why tantrics, they use it. They don't call it wine, but they call it karana. Again, come. Where is it? In Maidenhead. In Maidenhead? It is close, isn't it? Again, come. When is it? From when to when, sir? In the morning. Where? Here, here. Timings. Timings? In the morning? It is open by four o'clock in the morning. Okay. Anyway, don't start, O Rama, ni naamam entha ruchira. You can come. That's okay. Absolutely. I am very happy. How many years have you been here? Six years, sir. Is that so? Did you come from there? We used to live in Hyrule, in London. Oh. It has been one year since then. How do you feel here? Is it okay? How hot is it in Hindupur these days? It is not as hot as it used to be. It is okay. It will be like this for a few more days. Be happy. This is a good season, sir. Yes, this is a good season. I hope it will be like this for a few more days. God knows what will happen. Very good. Again, come. So, what are we talking about? Rama Nama. Oh Rama, ni naamam entha ruchira. So, the evolution. First part of the Veda is called Dharmakanda. Second part of the Veda is called Jnanakanda. Now here, Jnana means not what the Advaitins tell us Jnana. We have to be very careful. Because we are Dvaitins, we are Advaitins. Everybody is taking the same Vedas and interpreting it in their own way. That is why three schools of philosophy have come. So, according to this Jnana means, according to Ramanuja, the steps Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga leads Bhakti Yoga. How does it do? Because Karma Yoga purifies our heart. A purified heart becomes like a beautiful mirror. And this mirror reflects the truth. What is the truth? Jnana. Truth means Jnana. What is the Jnana? I am the part of God and God is the Sesi. I am the Sesha. He is the whole, I am the part. And that relationship forges Bhakti. See, supposing your child is lost and after some time she recognizes you. Then that knowledge comes. What follows that knowledge? Bhakti. Bhakti comes. This is my mom, like that. This is the process and I think she is right in a way. So, this is what Ramanuja wanted to advocate. Karma, Jnana and Bhakti. Whereas in Shankaracharya, Karma is common. But Karma leads to Bhakti. Bhakti leads to knowledge. What is the knowledge? I am God. I am Brahmasmi. So, Swami Vivekananda said there is no controversy at all. These yogis meditate upon Sat. The devotees meditate upon Ananda. The Jnanis meditate upon Chit. Three aspects of Sat, Chit, Ananda. Three in one, one in three. The difference is yogis meditate on pure Sat, existence. The Jnanis meditate on pure consciousness, Chit. And the bhaktas meditate upon Ananda. That's why they are more happy than the dry fellows. Jnani is a dry fellow. Usually he takes to Ananda, this Jnana. You know why? Usually we find that they are petroga. They suffer from indigestion. They cannot enjoy and they cannot tolerate others also enjoying it. That is why this world doesn't exist. A bhakta always enjoys. Everything he enjoys. Anyway, it is, Swamiji said, there is no difference. We are all ultimately thinking only about God. That is where the harmony comes. How does the Dwaitins approach this? Dwaitins? How do they approach it? You see, for Dwaitins, everything is different from everything else. So five types of differences they talk. I am different from you. You are different from the world. World is different from God. God is different from us. Everything is different from everything else. So they take three elements. Ishwara, Jagat, Chit, Achit and Ishwara. Chit means living creatures with life. Achit means inert thing like a table, carpet. And Ishwara. Ishwara means God. God consists of this triangle. So each one is different from each other. We are different from each other. We are different from the world. We are different from the table. And God is also different from the table. God is also different from the Jeeva. So if you equate, this is called Panchaveda Veda. Anyway, there is a technical subject which might interest you. What is the difference between Dvaita, Visita Dvaita and Advaita? There are three types of differences. This is called Vijatiya Veda, Sajatiya Veda and Swagata Veda. Vijatiya means two completely different species. For example, mango tree, apple tree and this chair, this table. Any two things which are not belonging to the same class or species, this is completely different. This is what Dvaitin's philosophy is. Everything is different from everything else. When we come to Visita Dvaita, the second type of... What is the second type of Sajatiya Veda? No, there is another Veda called Sajatiya Veda. Mango trees, but equally different. Different, they are different. This mango tree is different, they are not same. As species they are one, but as two separate trees, they are two different human beings, two different tables. Anything two different, they are completely different. They belong to the same species, but at the same time different from each other. So, Dvaitins accept these both, Sajatiya Veda and Vijatiya Veda. This is Dvaita. When we come to Visita Dvaita, they accept only the third type of Veda, Swagata Veda. What is Swagata? One mango tree, but the branches are different, the trunk is different, the flowers are different, the fruits are different, the root is different, everything, the leaves are different, and everything is consisting, it is one whole tree, but everything is different. So, Narayana is like that one tree, but Jiva and Jagat are part of it, but we are separate at the same time, not separate. This is called Visita, Dvaita means only one. Visita means there are certain distinctions are there, whereas Dvaitins, absolutely Abheda, no Veda at all. So, these are different stages of development. That is all the difference. It doesn't matter whether you are a philosopher, you are not a philosopher. Sincerely, if we follow two factors, Sri Ramakrishna tells ultimately in his teachings. The first factor is whether you want or not, you are moving only towards God. That's where I wanted to bring that Vedas. The second factor he wanted to convey is that everybody is reaching the same goal, but everybody has to go through Dvaita, Visita Dvaita. It is like climbing a staircase. So, these factors, everybody is moving, Dvaitins are also moving, Advaitins are also moving, but these are not parallel lines. These are vertical lines. So, first one sees a lot of difference, then as we climb, you know, like a mountain peak, here there is so much difference. As we climb, the differences become less and less, and at the peak point, this is what it says. So, now, the Vedas, I said, are divided into two parts. So, the first part is called Dharmakanda, and Dharmakanda deals only with three factors. Dharma, Artha, and Kama. The real spiritual quest starts only from the second part. So, here only I told, Gnana means, don't apply it to what Advaitins call, so-called Advaitins. They call it Gnanam. So, they do not understand the distinction between Gnanam and Gnanamarga. Gnanamarga is a path. Supposing, you call, instead of saying London, let us name it as Gnanam. So, there could be four lanes. One path, M25, M40, and whatever, you know, bi-lanes, whatever it is. They are telling there is only one path. That is what our Vedas deny. That is what our Upanishads, our great Acharyas, I mean, incarnations, they all deny, all incarnations. The quarrel is between Acharyas. But there is every incarnation. For example, Shri Krishna. What does he say? Anybody, whoever, whatever path he follows, they are all coming towards me only. Mamavartmani anuvartante manusyaha artha sarvasaha. A Christian is also reaching me. A Muslim also is reaching me, provided they are sincere. They want, they have to fulfill the conditions. So, that is what Shri Ramakrishna also says. Every faith is a path, valid path. But every faith has to go through this dvaita, visistha dvaita, and advaita. Because these are not particularised paths. These are progressive steps. That is what we need to see. So, another way of asking also is, supposing a visistha dvaitin, or dvaitin, or visistha dvaitin, he believes, I am totally separate from God. From whose point? From our, no, no, from our point. So, from God's point, you can say a mother has got three children. One is youngest, another is a little bit three years old, another is five years old. From the children's point of view, this is the youngest, this is the little more, but from the mother's point of view, they are all children, my children, that's all, completely equal. We are not thinking from the God's point of view. We are thinking only from our point of view. That is how mahamaya works. Now you know God, you don't worry. God was worried. Why? All these, my children, I know the nature of my children. They are all coming to me. Now I am at peace. But now my peace will be broken into pieces. Mahamaya is, you know, trusted old servant. He says, don't worry Narayana, I am making, I will make them okay. Don't worry, you are at peace, they are also at peace. So this is dvaita, visishta dvaita, advaita, they created and said, now you don't need to go anywhere, cause it here and go on quarrelling. God said, thank you, and he is happy, we are also happy. The whole world is at peace. This is what Sri Ramakrishna had come, no need to quarrel because two things, one thing is the truth is the same. Truth cannot be different. So we are all going towards the same truth. The second thing is a person who is really merged in truth seeking, where is the time for him to quarrel with anybody? So I am reminded of Rabiya's beautiful teachings. You know Rabiya, have you heard her name? Rabiya was a very great Sufi woman saint, Rabiya. One of the greatest saints and all saints are children of God. So when somebody reported to her that some people are criticising you, it's very common, and then she replied, some people praise me, some people blame me, but I am so absorbed in God, I have no time to think about who is talking about whom because I am so much immersed in God. Another of her saints, so beautiful you know, she is praying, Oh Lord, if I love you for the sake of escaping hell, then you confine me in hell, roast me in hell. If I am praying you in the hope of getting to heaven, then exclude me from heaven. But if I am loving you for your own sake, then do not withhold yourself from me. This is the purest teaching that we can get. And really it is true, when we are really absorbed in spiritual pursuits, we will not care who is talking behind our back or front or anything. If we are minding, that means there is something seriously wrong about it. You know, there was one day, a young man was walking, and he saw an old woman, some crowd, making hullaballa, he went near, he saw an old woman was lying, unconscious. Somebody was trying to sprinkle water to bring her back, some people were trying to fan her, and like that they were shouting. This young man, he said, hey, all those things are not necessary, she is perhaps a bit thirsty, give her a little bit of wine, she will be okay. Nobody was listening to him. Then she got up, shouted, you rascals, keep quiet, listen to what this young man is saying, and promptly fell unconscious. So, if we are minding what the other person is telling, that means we are not really absorbed in it. You examine the life of any saint, ultimately, say Ramakrishna, you think there were people who did not criticise him, backbite him? They called him mad, they called him so many other things, people kicked him, they did so many things. His own mother came to the conclusion he was mad. And Indian mothers know only one cure for curing madness. Get them married, afterwards they will have no time for madness. Very wonderful remedy. You heard about this Andhra quip? One young man, Andhra young man, promptly went mad. So, in Andhra also this belief, superstition exists. So, what is it? If a person goes mad, get him married. No big dilemma. This person has gone mad because he could not succeed in getting married. Now he can't get married unless he is cured, and he can't be cured unless he is married. That's what Sri Ramakrishna's mother promptly did it. This is the truth that if we are absorbed not only in religion, but in anything, an artist, he doesn't care because he is so much absorbed, he is passionate about it. A scientist, there is a real anecdote about a scientist. He was engaged and the day of marriage has approached. They fixed a date for marriage. And that morning he was walking up and down, deeply troubled. Today something has to happen. What is it? What is it? What is it? And after some time he remembered, oh, today is my marriage date. Immediately he phoned to the finance fiancée. Then he said, this is my condition. You will not be happy. And he promptly, what is called, broke the engagement. There is one wonderful book has come, Do No Harm, the experiences of a neurosurgeon, Henry Marsh. Do No Harm, such a beautiful book. His wife divorced him because he is a neurosurgeon. And sometimes these surgeries can take 17 hours, 18 hours, because it is a matter of such delicacy. One second's inattention can cause the man to go mad, the man can die, or the person can lose a part of the limb because it is operating the brain. And there is no such time, any time the surgeon can be called. And his wife could not tolerate him. But he said, this is my life. Such beautiful experiences. Some people he was overjoyed because he could save their lives. Some people, you know, inadvertently, or knowledge was not so much, and he ruined their lives. You know, they became vegetables. Some part of this brain, nerve or something, and they become vegetables for life. You know, our life is there. That is why, next to God, we always give respect to the doctors. Though, sometimes we also creep about them. Vaidyaraja namastubhyam, Yamaraja sahodaraha, Yamastu harati pranani, vantu pranani dhanaraja. You understand? Doctor is almost a brother of Yamaraja. Vaidyaraja namastubhyam. Salutations, oh doctor. Yamaraja sahodaraha. You are the elder brother of... Elder, not younger. Elder brother of Yamadharma raja. Yamastu harati pranani. Yama takes only your life. Vantu pranani dhanaraja. Take your money and then... Money and prana both. That's why there was a fellow, he was, what is called, made poor by his lawyer and doctor. So, he was with the doctor. And the doctor asked, the doctor declared, you are not going to live for a long time. What's your death wish? The man said, would you kindly call my lawyer? The doctor was surprised, what do you want to do? He said, you know, I want to die like Jesus Christ. Holding the hands of two thieves. One is doctor, one is lawyer. So, coming back to our subject, you know. Satchitananda. The whole first portion deals with dharma, artha and kama. This is called dharma kanda, karma kanda. The second part exclusively deals with vertical experience. How to progress in spiritual life. And that is what is called jnana kanda. Here jnanam means, I told you, jnanam is the name for God. So, whether we are devotees, our quest is to know who we are. Whether we think we are children of God, whether we think we are God, whether we think we are servants of God, it doesn't matter. Atma, true atma jnanam should come. So, I raised a question, very important question. I am reminding you again. We may think we are servants of God, we are children of God. First of all, does God think we are servants of God? Because servant means what? A person who serves is a servant, isn't it? Who is serving whom? Who is whose servant? Is God our servant or we are God's servants? What have we got to serve? You fan God's image for 10 minutes. After that what happens? He has to massage your hand for 23 hours. You fan him for 15 minutes. How much time he is fanning you? All the time. Is it not a fact? What have we got to give? He gives patram, he gives pushpam, he gives phalam, he gives koyam. So, he is sustaining us. Because of him we are born. Because of him we survive. And we go back unto him. Is it not a fact? So, now what is the point we are making here? We cannot serve God. So, God doesn't look upon us as his servants. It is we who think. We look upon ourselves as worshippers of God. God doesn't look upon us as they are worshipping me. What is the meaning of worship? Love. You are my mom, you are my mother, you are my father. Tvameva mata cha pita tvameva, tvameva pandhu cha sakha tvameva, tvameva vidya dravinam tvameva, tvameva sarvam mama deva deva. This is the truth. So, the question now comes. If anybody thinks I am either your servant or your child, what is God's view upon us? Does he think we are different from him? Even from a logical point of view, God is infinite, isn't it? Where do we get these parts? I am the parent, you are the son. I am the master, you are the servant. Where is this division? There cannot be division. Do you see that? It is difficult for us to understand because we only know our relationships with each other. That's why we say you are my enemy and I am angry with you. I am frightened of you. All these feelings belong to whom? To us. Okay, take another point into consideration. When we are in deep sleep, do we have all these relationships? Do we have what we call the negative emotions? Kama, krodha, lagva, maha. We don't know. That is called the state of oneness. That is an indication, that is a preview, pre-experience to the real spiritual experience. That's why we get so much of shanti. And the world also gets so much of shanti. Isn't it? Unless the person happens to be practicing anahata dhwani. Did you understand? Snoring, concert, kosa in some people, unfortunately. So, the second part, jnana means God. So, jnana marga is a particular path. It uses intellect to reach that goal. Bhakti is another marga, devotion. And analysis, self-analysis is jnana marga. And serving, serving whom? We don't serve God, we serve humanity. Considering them as God. Then that is also one path. So, any path can take us to God and that is the meaning of jnana kanda. But people, these people, unnecessarily they go on talking, only you have to come to the jnana marga. No, jnana marga, very few people. Even Shankaracharya, he wrote some of the most sublime hymns on Vishnu, on Shiva, on the Divine Mother. And in one of them he hymns, gatis tvam gatis tvam tvameka bhavani O Mother, gati hi tvam, you are the only refuge, I have no other go. There was a story, once Shankaracharya became proud, I am a jnani. Then Lord Shiva or Divine Mother wanted to remove that pride because without my grace, you know how that grace comes? In the form of smriti. Our whole life depends upon smriti. Tell me, answer one question, when you are in deep sleep, do you say aham brahmasmi? Are you a bhakta? Are you a karmi? In deep sleep we are nothing. You know why? Because these are relationships. The world itself is absent in deep sleep and therefore there cannot be any relationships at all. If we can imagine that, then we understand the true import of the Vedas. So, Ramakrishna had come, again Ramakrishna means Rama, Krishna, they all have come only to guide us, do not quarrel, you be devoted to God and you will be a happy person. So this is a subject which we have to, how can we become really happy? So what is spirituality? You know we have peculiar ideas, I have to believe in God, I have to do certain things. This is one way, it is right, but there is also a better way of interpreting what is true spiritual life. It is a journey from a lower state of happiness to a higher state. If you define spirituality in this way, then who will deny spirituality? Everybody wants only more and more happiness. Not only wants, it is what we call, it is not a choice. So what is evolution? It is moving from a lower happiness to a higher happiness. If we are not moving from lower happiness to higher happiness, can we call it that we are evolving? Another word for this evolution, Aldous Huxley uses, progress. He wrote a beautiful article and he gives three characteristics of progress. How do you know you are progressing? Three characteristics. What are they? You are supposed to be attending my talks. Anyone? Three characteristics he gives. First characteristic is, are you growing in happiness? Are you more happy than last year? If I am in the, where are you Putrag? Where you have left me 50 years back. Is that called progress? What is progress? You move away from a lower state to a higher state. From a lower happiness to... So have you grown in happiness? Second, have you grown in goodness? Third, have you grown in creativity? What is creativity? Because most people don't understand what is creativity. Creativity is not creating something. Creativity is a new positive way of looking at the same object. That is what it is. So if we are growing in goodness, happiness and creativity, definitely we are progressing. If we are not, there is something seriously holding us back. It doesn't mean we can't progress. It means it is our inevitable urge. In philosophy it is called teleological urge. Teleological means, you know, simple example, every seed is heliocentric. That means what? Wherever you put, you put it sidewise, you put it upside down, the plant always grows towards light. So what makes it grow? This is called teleological urge. The seed itself is so programmed, it cannot do anything else, but it has to grow towards light. We have got that teleological urge. You know what is the teleological urge? Each soul is potentially divine. You cannot help because we are divine. So that divinity wants to come out. In which form? Three, that is. He only took it, he re-translated sat, chit and ananda in these terms. But we put it, are you growing in goodness? Sat. Are you growing in wisdom? Chit. Are you growing in happiness? Ananda. If we are growing, we are progressing. It doesn't matter if you call it religion, science, art, whatever it is. If we are not, whatever we say, that is not spirituality, that is not science, that is not art, it is, you know, what is the state? The state of a foot rug. Foot rug. You know, suppose you had an old house in India and you are leaving it for UK. So there is a foot rug. After 50 years, you have nostalgia. You go back to that house and you want to see your old foot rug. Where do you look for? Exactly. Because that is where you left it. There is a small joke also, you know. One day a man was sitting in a room. Suddenly he heard a scratching noise. So he opened the door, looked here and there. Nothing was there. He banged the door, came and sat. Again after a few seconds, scratchy noise. Then he went to open, nothing was there. Then third time, he heard the scratch. So he looked down. There was a snail. So he took his toe and flicked it. Ten years passed. One day there was a scratchy noise. He opened the door, looked down. The snail looked up and said, what was all that about? Took it ten years. So, if there is to be progress, we have to measure goodness, wisdom, and ananda. Sat, chit, ananda. Now you question, what is wisdom? Because these three go together. If we are wise, we will be good and happy. If we are happy, we will be good and wise. If we are good, we will be wise and inevitable. Because these are the three aspects of the same thing. So what is wisdom here? Wisdom is, first wisdom is, that to recognize this is the fact. The world is like that. Winter will be? Winter. Summer will be? Summer. What is the point of saying this damn winter? That's what we do. That's what Zen Buddhism, it emphasizes this truth. So when somebody asks, Master, what is the secret of your happiness? And Master said, when it is winter, I say it is winter. When it is summer, I say it is summer. That's all, nothing else. That's all we are seeking. So what is wisdom? The world will be like this. People are born, people grow, people come together, people separate, and people die, and everything is happening every day, all these facts are happening at the same time in different places. Is it not a fact? Then why should we be shocked when suddenly something happens like this? That is the idea. So that is what is called wisdom. We also become born, we grow, we become old, we have some disease, we can have accidents, we can have separations, and one day we are going to die. So if we don't accept that, can we be called wise or otherwise? So another definition of spirituality. It is a journey from the state of otherwise to... Ananda, it is a journey from lower state of goodness to higher state of goodness, lower state of wisdom to higher state of wisdom, lower state of Ananda to higher state of Ananda. Whichever way we do, they go together, that's important. That's what every incarnation comes to establish. So do not quarrel, you are supposed to grow in goodness, in wisdom, and in happiness. Do whatever you like, but grow. Whether you are a believer, non-believer, it doesn't really matter. Don't quarrel with anybody. So what is the obstruction? There are certain defects. Find out the defects and try to eliminate. That is what this Ramayana has seven steps. Viveka, Vimoka, Abhyasa, Kriya, Kalyana, Anudharsha, and Anavasada. Beautiful steps. This is what Swami Vivekananda took in his Bhakti Yoga. He says, do you want to be a bhakta? These are the characteristics you will have to practice. Thank you. So where is Krishna? Krishna is practicing for 100 km walk this summer. Oh, he is taking part in this. Oxfam. Okay. So he is practicing. 100 km? He has done many times. What a wonderful thing. Anyway, it's good. He likes to take up that sort of challenge. So he can go and practice basically.